TEACHING THE TROOPS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 158, 3 July 1942, Page 8

TEACHING THE TROOPS

Scheme To Counteract Boredom In 3 The Army

about Army education," said Mr. Hogwood, to The Listener. "I served in the last war, and my position in the Home Guard is bringing me in touch with the soldier of to-day. And I’ve. been a teacher for many years." E. L. Hogwood is President of the Auckland branch of ‘the New Zealand Educational Institute. He argues that war is not the occupation of the men who form the armies; it is merely an interlude in their lives. "Paradoxical as it may seem, the man who enters the army to defend the ideals which are a part of him and so answers the supreme call of citizenship, is exposed as a soldier to influences which tend to undermine his citizenship." "| SHOULD know something The most undermining of these influences is boredom, Mr. Hogwood maintains. The soldier is taken away, not only from his ordinary occupation, but also from those other activities which form such a large part of his life-his avocations, his hobbies, his interests. Many of the soldiers, especially those in the home armies, are very young men, who would in happier circumstances be starting out in various trades and professions. It is a duty to provide ‘such men, if possible, with educational facilities which would enable them to continue in some measure the studies they would normally be pursuing. In the case of older men, it is possible that opportunities for education have been denied them, and facilities could be provided for them to pursue studies in some branch of science or art. Undesirable Solutions "But this factor of boredom is such a bad thing from the point of view of morale," continued Mr. Hogwood. "There are two main ways in which the soldier tries to solve the problem, gambling and drinking. And neither of these is particularly desirable. I am aware that the army authorities and the people of the district do all they can to provide recreation, but the chief alternative to drinking and gambling provided for the soldier is dancing. Dances are sometimes given as often as three times qa week, and though this may be all right for the young soldier, we have at present in our camps a large number of married men who are perhaps not as keen on dancing as the unattached may be presumed to be. "Even when troops are actually in the thick of fighting, there are hours when they’ve nothing to do except wait to be shot at. I was right through the Gallipoli campaign from landing to evacuation, and I know that then the men would have welcomed any scheme that helped them to make some use of that awful time. of waiting for the next attack, ~

"But the mere fact of seeing other places and people, as our soldiers overseas are doing at present, is education for them. It’s the men here in New Zealand whose education need is greater. A Suggested Scheme "As I see it, an Army Education Scheme would have to embrace all the following: 1. Education of men for war putposes. This is, of course, part of the training, and has existed in our camps from the beginning, 2. Recreational education, to relieve the monotony of camp life. This would include talks by professors, W.E.A. lecturers, teachers, and others, on subjects such as economics, geography. popular science, history (chiefly civics), literature, modern languages, and so on. Then there could be lectures by engineers on engineering, or architects on building. Discussion groups would be formed, and various hobby clubs. A dramatic club, for instance, would be both recreational and educative. 3. Vocational training for rehabilitation purposes. Many of the men would be anxious to continue their education (Continued on next page)

(Continued from previous page) in their own trade or profession, and study facilities could perhaps be provided for these. In the case of camps fairly near to the towns, night classes could perhaps be held in neighbouring technical colleges. If this were not possible, perhaps instructors in various trades and professions could be drawn from the men in camp. "However, the men should be given opportunities of continuing with some other branch of study if it attracts them," concluded Mr. Hogwood. "It’s possible that many of them will want to start an entirely different trade or profession when they leave camp, and this part of the training should be made to dovetail in with the Government’s policy of rehabilitation after the war."