EDUCATE THEM AIL,

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 165, 30 December 1926, Page 1

EDUCATE THEM AIL,

WHAT TO DO WITH OUR BOYS AND GIRLS. Tits 'Bitisli nation wastes the results of most of the education given in its elementary scjiools by failing to train the children beyond the aga of fourteen (writes the Right Hon. Chartss Trevelyan, MJP., in a London journal. It is most stupid to spend 'lavishly on educating children up to fourteen, and then begin to neglect their minds altogether. I do not see why our nation should hesitate. To give: two mor; years’ education to all children would mean a great initial expenditure in new school buildings. But we are not accustomed to jib at the exp. nditur e of lions on a now sguadrrn of cruised if public opinion demands them. Why not a new fleet of schools? It is clumsy national finance 10 be spending millions on unemployment benefit and poor relief for adult unemp' oy »I while wr- allow children of 14 to trpep into ihe labour market every year. Indirectly these youngs ttfrs oust 'the' adults from work. It would pay us as a nation to save money cn the adults and spend it on keeping the 14-year-olds in school. I am prepared to prophesy that a generation hence we shad be leading the' world in education, (With a system as universal as that of the United States, and much more elastic 'than that of Germany. My answer 'therefore to “What are we to do with our children?” is: “Educate them all.”