A WORD OF WARNING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 238, 5 October 1923, Page 4

A WORD OF WARNING.

■ DONT OVERWORK THE CLEVER. (By Telegraph—Special to "Star.") DUNEDIN, this day . i A word of warning to parents and teachers was given in a friendly spirit by Mr. W. L. Paine, of Melbourne, who adjudicated in tht elocutionary section at the Dunedin Competitions Society's festival, just concluded. In announcing: his decision in the character recital for girls and boys under twelve, Mr. Paine stated that the other night he had occasion to say to a number of competitors in the class twelve or thirteen that they, were attempting selections quite beyond their capabilities. Now he had had a class for competitors under twelve, arid they would see that the character of Prince Arthur was appropriate. He must say that he recognised that the talent of the children in Dunedin was equal to anything he had met or judged in Australia, but he wanted to offer a very kindly word of warning. "Please do not give your children quite so mucli to do." Evidence of having too much to do had been very pronounced in the eat* of one competitor, one of the clever children of the competitions, whose work had gone back considerably simply because the child was "fagged out." She had had a fortnight's work reciting and singing, and he thought dancing. Could a child under twelve years stand that?" If she were his child he would say that she would not attempt it. YVhcn they had clever children i they ought not to force them; there were scores of instances in Australia where the very cleverest children on reaching the age of eighteen or twenty, when they should be doing their best work, were not heard Ot, because they had dwindled down to nothing.