POINTS FROM LETTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 273, 17 November 1936, Page 11

POINTS FROM LETTERS.

YOUTH.

At last public opinion seems to be awakening to the fact that all is not well with the activities of our young people. At last we are beginning to realise that we are years* and vears behind many other countries in tackling the problems of the right use of leisure! Perhaps the time is now opportune for those sufficiently interested to press home the fact that it is the duty of the community to provide the facilities and the leadership and the duty of the authorities to educate youth to make fuller and betters iise of our increasing leisure. Some recent public utterances ha.ve set out to decry modern youth for its degeneracy. Much that has, been said is untrue, but if some of the statements are justified of what use is it to rail at youth itself, when the causes to which these faults are due are entirely beyond the control of youth'and are tho direct result of conditions brought about by adults'! Obviously youth cannot be held responsible for any of these things and whatever youth is to-day it is simply the product of the conditions and environment imposed upon it. Nor is it possible for youth of its own initiative to bring about an improvement. The lead must come from those who have the authority, the power and the means to change the environment. Given the facilities and intelligent leadership, youth will respond in a manner that will demon- : strafe that we can progress towards a healthier, a fuller and a happier state of life. The first phase, the school period, is entirely in the hands of the Government and the education authorities. The present Government has already shown that it is prepared to make changes. Let us hope that it will remodel our education system to meet present-day conditions, to make it truly cultural and not merely utilitarian, and extend it to make frames and physical, culture in all its branches part and parcel of the regular function of the school and not leave this important part of education to the present haphazard method. The second phase of the problem, after school age, is far, more complicated and difficult of approach. There is no existing organisation capable of dealing with the matter. It would appear that the most suitable bodies to make a move would be the councils of our main cities. These might well follow the example of practically every city in the United States of even a quarter the size of Auckland by establishing a recreation department. Were such a department created, its first function would be to make a comprehensive survey of the city in regard to recreation facilities. It is only by this means that the true position in regard to how youth spends its time can be determined and plans formulated to fill in gaps and encourages the most worth-while activities. The Government might establish a central bureau which should serve a similar purpose for districts not covered by the above surveys and at the same time co-ordinate the work done in the various centres as a. national scheme. G. C. BALLAXTYNE.