IS IT WELL WITH YOUR CHILD?

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 280, 3 November 1944, Page 6

IS IT WELL WITH YOUR CHILD?

Spotlight on Education S it well with your child? If isn’t, it ought to be — that is, if it is true that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. It is certainly the case that education has become recently what it has not been for some years-a topic of discussion on ftramcers as well as in newspaper columns, and in church pulpits as well as on political platforms and seats of Chamber of Commerce Councils and business directorates. But above everything else, it has become a producer or evoker of books and booklets intended for parents rather than teachers. Here are five that have come recently in our own mail: Education To-day and To-morrow. By the Hon. H. G. R. Mason. Educational Reconstruction. By the New Zealand Educational Institute. Religious Instruction in Schools: By the New Zealand Educational Institute. Report on Character Training and Citizenship. Wanganui Education Board. The Flight from Reason. By W. Anderson. Whitcombe & Tombs, for Catholic Teachers’ Association, All of these are attempts either to reconcile us to existing trends or. to persuade us to arrest them; and two are highly provocative. For space reasonsand of course for other reasons, toowe cannot review them one by one, but we can give our readets some idea of their scope and purpose. Ea % * **"Education To-day and To-morrow’ ‘THE primary purpose of this book‘a quarto volume of nearly 100 pages printed on art paper throughout and with numerous illustrations-is to help those attending the Conference on Education which has just ended in Christchurch. That we have from the author himself. But if it achieves that primary purpose by presenting an accurate picture of the education system that the Conference was called to discuss, it must also have a secondary purpose which will remain when the primary has been forgotten. A cursory examination-all that is possible at such short notice as we have had-suggests that it is a kind of superior publicity for the education service as a whole: an effort to show how much has been attempted and how much done during the last 10 years, and where we go now. It is made fairly clear that where the Minister wishes to go is into that borderland that lies just outside the existing system and that is usually ‘supposed to lie outside the range of Government policy: the region where

education as it is commonly understood ends and merges into the life of the home and of the adult citizen. Primary Education ‘THE purpose of the booklet issued by the Educational Institute is to let the public. know what primary teachers think about the system. It is in fact a summary of the views of teachers made by an Institute committee-not really a book at all. For example: Section 1, which deals with the system as a whole, begins like this: -"The New Zealand Educational Institute subscribes to the Children’s Charter of the New Education Fellowship as the foundation of its conception of post-war education. Drawn up in London by the representatives of educationists of all the United Nations, it states the conditions for the realisation of a full education for all in a democratic State. | "The clauses are (a) We believe that the ‘aorta tale d of the child is sacred, and that the needs of the child must be the foundation of any good educational system. (b) The right of every child to proper food, clothing and shelter shall be accepted as a first charge on the resources of the nation. (c) For every child there must always be available medical attention and treatment. (d) All children shall have equal opportunity of access to the nation’s stores of knowledge and wisdom. (e) There shall be full-time schooling for every child. (f) Religious training should be available for all children. *The object of this whole report is to outline possible ways of building an educational system in New Zealand which, while rooting itself in our own ' historic past and fully cognisant of our peculiar varied environment still seeks to materialise these objectives." Recommendations About Health In Section 3, which deals with shealth, it is recommended

(a) Every child should have a complete examination at least once a year. (b) The service should be extended (see section above) to include the pre-school child in Nursery Schools. (c) There should be a complete and accurate follow-up service. (d) School Medical Officers and Nurses should have time and opportunity to give instruction to Training College students and to teachers, parents and children groups on matters affecting their work. These mildly revolutionary recommendations are made in Section 5, which deals with organisation: 1. That Teachers’ Colleges, affiliated with the University of New Zealand and incorporating the present Training Colleges, should be set up in each of the four main centres. 2. That there should be two types of courses: (a) Compulsory for all teachers, qualifying them for a diploma as trained teachers. (b) Optional, leading to a Degree in Education. 3. That the course of training should cover four years, instead of three years, as at present. 4. That the probationary year in the schools might come earlier in the course than at present. 5. (a) That there should be more adequate provision for the guidance and selection of students. (b) That it should be a function of each of the four University College Liaison Officers to assist in the guidance and selection of possible candidates for the teaching profession. 6. That the following associated Normal Schools should be established: (a) A. Kindergarten and Nursery School. (b) A Creche. (c) Mixed Schools. Pasae (d) Model Schools in adjacent rural areas. (e) Intermediate Schools. (f) Secondary and Tethnical Schools. (g) Special Schools and Speech "Clinics. (h) A Child Guidance Clinic. Radio, Films, Books, Fads But the really interesting section for parents is Number 9, which deals with "Evils Arising from Vested Interests." What are these evils? One is uncontrolled radio sessions; another is unsuitable films; a third is undesirable literature; a fourth is quackery-the influence of faddists, fakirs and cheapjacks of all kind, who stand in the way of straight and clear thinking. And so it (continued on next page)

{continued from previous page) ~ goes on. For each of these special evils the Institute has a remedy, but we have space for one only: "Even in the ‘comics’ to-day we find the good old comic buffoonery and foolishness of talking animals, etc., being replaced by strips illustrating violence and lawlessness under the guise of adventure. "We therefore recommend that an active campaign against this sort of literature should be inaugurated, and the Institute asks for the assistance of all organisations interested in the welfare of our young people. We recommend, too, that the Government should bring in legislation banning the importation and production of all types of pornographic, salacious and unhealthy literature." Religion In Schools HE booklet on religious teaching begins with "a brief historical retrospect": how "historical" believers and unbelievers will never agree. It. then proceeds in Chapter II. to, consider the example (or warning) of England: "Teachers in English schools have had difficulties and annoyances to which, as they are part of the history of English education, they have become accustomed. These difficulties and annoyances would seem intolerable to New Zealand teachers, working as the servants of a secular system. There can be no doubt that non-co-operation in religious instruction as given in English schools has prejudiced the careers of many teachers. This is a reason why active and even militent concern is manifested at present by English teachers in regard to any tests that may be imposed in order to secure the genuine spiritual teaching of the _ intensified Christianity now being advocated.’ In New Zealand also, the booklet proceeds, difficulties of interpretation arise: "Take one aggravated instance, that of a young teacher who, in replying to questions from a Standard III./IV., explained that the account of creation in Genesis was an allegory, and then in order to explain the word ‘allegory,’ said that it had something the meaning of fairy tale. This teacher was also asked questions in regard to the origin of life, and replied by giving the class a rough idea of the tree of life, from amoeba to man. "As the result of a complaint from a parent, this young teacher was brought before his Board, which resolved at the end of a prolonged inquiry in committee, "That the teacher be informed that the Board strongly disagrees with the type of ‘subjects dealt with, especially in the case of a mixed class with children of tender years; that the Board is emphatically of the opinion that he was indiscreet in allowing the matter to devel to such a stage . . . that within a period four weeks the teacher be transferred to another school.’ ‘ "In what way had this young teacher offended? It can without qualification be said that he had done no wrong in the eyes of educationists. His method of handling an admittedly delicate situation was upheld at the inquiry by the Principal of a Training College, who was also a church member, and by a Professor of Education. It can safely be said that their views agreed with those generally held by educationists throughout the world." Chapter III. asks what ‘will be gained if religion is taught in schools, and what the loss will be if it is left out. It is agreed at once that experienced teachers "can, in giving Scripture teaching, stir keen interest and rouse warm sympathy." "Some of the Bible stories, for example, are among the best in world literature, and their human appeal to young children is very strong. But when, as one should, one passes from the stirring of interest to that of enlightening understanding, a very difficult problem has to be faced, and cannot be avoided. The main aim is that faith should be instilled, and this requires that what is taught should be not merely understood but believed in a certain sense. A faith in other words needs a creed, however simple. : "Having regard to the confusion, and sometimes the conflict of dogmas, arising out of the study of the Scriptures, what articles of a creed is the believing teacher to have

in mind and instil into his: pupils? Ie {ft possible to have general agreement on this point? One has to remember that differences as to the tenets of a creed still keep dozens of Christian denominations divided. History, moreover, points tothe fact that these differences, ultimately dogmatic, have, in the past, led to clashes and conflicts, some of them of fierce intensity and appalling magnitude. Can it be argued that the study of the Bible itself results in all minds grasping and adhering to a single faith which can therefore be adopted as universally suitable to the teaching of all children? Biblical study throughout recorded time has never done this. It has resulted in very different beliefs, definitely held by what has always become, or tended to become, different sects. The alternative to such definite beliefs is surely ‘some vague spiritual attitude based upon emotional rather than upon the disciplined exercise of the thinking powers. Is such an emotional faith an adequate basis of religious belief? None of the great theologians of the past, whatever their creed, would agree ‘that it was." The main issue, of course, is whether faith should be taught. "The Christian teaching now to de. manded requires the imbuing of children with a faith. This is why it is deemed so essential that the teacher should believe. His believing from this point of view is more to be desired than the qualities that have heretofore been regarded as of prime importance in a teacher. Every profession has a professional ethic. That of a teacher, made guardian of young minds, is to scrupulously refrain from imbuing them with his own set opinions. Whatever ‘ism he espouses, whether it is socialism or conservatism, he does a wrong that should cause his dismissa] if he takes advantage of his position and the unprotected state of young minds to . inculcate his personal opinions." (continued on next page)

Is It Well With Your Child? (continued from previous page) The teachers’ alternative is the Nelson System, which places "religious instruction in the hands of those who alone should be entrusted with it, people ordained to do that work." To place it in the teachers’ hands, the’ Institute argues, is to divide the community as the Churches themselves are divided. Character T raining ‘THE most interesting feature of the Wanganui report is the fact that it represents months of deliberation by a Special Committee brought into being by an Education Board. Education Boards cannot often "implement" their own reports, but they can pass them on, and the publication and this report in book form means that the Board has appealed to the public at large, and through the public to the makers and unmakers of policies. As an example of the range of its investigations, we quote two passages dealing with adult coms munity influences on the chafacter of children: The Radic "The Committee has no direct evidence to suggest that the sadio is directly a factor likely to cause child delinquency. Many wit‘nesses have, however, stated that in their opinion. the low standard and _ sensational character of .some of the B station programmes have had a detrimental effect on the character, speech and cultural taste of many children. With this the Committee is inclined to agree. Once again it is a case of the efforts of parents and schools to raise standards of behaviour, speech and culture, being undermined by the lower standards permitted in community broadcasting. The remedy is simple. If the broadcasting authorities will but insist on higher standards for those programmes of a doubtful character, many parents as well as children will greatly benefit. The high quality of the present school broadcast pro-grammes-to which children listen with great interest, and from which they derive considerable benefit — plainly shows that this can readily be done." Cinema Here the Committee had, in addition to the opinions of many witnesses, actual evidence from Child Welfare Officers and Magistrates of child delinquency arising from attendance at the cinema. There are two distinct aspeggs of this. 1. Serious misbehaviour while in attendance at theatres. 2 The development in childish audiences cf unwise emotionalism sometimes leading to irresponsible speech and action, resulting from the sophistication, sensationalism and doubtful morality of a number of the films shown. . "That the Committee is far from unsympathetic towards the use of films generally is clearly shown by the appreciative and constructive nature of the recommendations concerning the, cinema made [by it.] It is, therefore, disappointing to have to record that in spite of all the Committee’s efforts to obtain a complete survey of the situation it -was unable to obtain evidence from managers of picture theatres or from representatives of the New Zealand Motion Picture Exhibitors’ Association, The Committee was also in touch by correspondence with the film censor, but, in spite of several communications, it was unable to elicit a clear statement of the actual method by which the, film censorship is actually carried out." Back To **Reason"’? PROFESSOR ANDERSON’S pamphlet, which has been published by the Association of Catholic Teachers, is a broadside on modernism in education, written with considerable vigour, but in a spirit of unrelenting and unconcealed hostility to those who would make education easier and brighter.