THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1911. TO MAKE GOOD CITIZENS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10464, 31 October 1911, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1911. TO MAKE GOOD CITIZENS.

An address recently delivervl hcfor.?. the British Association % Bis)Ki> Welldon has attracted a grsit deal of attention. , As this* church dignitary has had wide experience in edueafvvi matters, and has become famoiiSi fox* his endeavours in the cause of social reform, his views on present-day edu. cation and tlie lines for lutr.re pro* ,gress must carry considerable \"c? ; gat. In the opinion of Bishop Welldon, the supreme object of education is to provide good citizens. The supreme triumphs of educational skill are good inen and women, good fathers and mothers, good servants of the State and of the Church. . . The object of all education is to prepare pupils for the civic duties of mature life. It is not the intellectual attain-, ment of the young at the age of 13 or 18, or even 22; it is rather the service which they render to the State in the maturity of their powers which is the proof of the teacher's influence upon their lives. This opinion will be shared by a large section of the community in New Zealand. The success of a teacher does not depend so largely upon the number of pupils he can push through to the University, as upon the preparation of these pupils for the civic duties of mature life. Are we, n. New Zealand, as mindful of the principles underlying success as we should be? Bishop Welldon stated these principles as follows: 1. Every child should enjoy the op- | portunity of developing in full measure the intellectual and moral faculI ties with which God has endowed him lor her. 2. No difference of opportunity, or I as little difference as possible, should exist between the richer and the poorer classes of society. 3. That the supreme object of education is to provide good citizens. 4. That as the personal influence of the teacher is a. potent factor in education, it is the business of the State to ensure the highest possible efficiency, not only of intelligence,

but. of character, in the men and women who adopt the educational profession as their life work. The latter dictum is one that the modern educationist is too prone to ignore. The personal /influence of the teacher is often made subsidiary to has scholastic attainments, with the result that the general efficiency ©f our school work is impaired rather than strengthened. The day is coming when character will stand as high, if not higher than scholarship in the qualifications of a teacher. In the meantime it is the duty of those charged with the control of our education system to make the conditions of the teaching service such that the best and strongest men and women of the Dominion will be attracted to it.