THE HOME AND THE CHILD.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16479, 24 March 1919, Page 8

THE HOME AND THE CHILD.

HOW TIIE TEACHER CAN HELP. "The Home and tho School" was the .subject of an interesting address given by Air C. T. Aschman, tho rotiring president of the Jforth Canterbury branch of tho Now Zealand Kducational Institute, at tho annual meeting of tliat body on Saturday morning. The home, saici Mr Ascliman, was 9no of the most potent influences in fitting the child to take its place in the world, The child came to tho teacher as tho product of a hontc, and, therefore,, the conditions of the earlier period of his life should lje of paramount interest to the teacher. The speaker touched briefly on the influence of heredity and of the "dominating influence'' or environment on the voung child, and continued that whatever the truth might be regarding the relative influences of heredity and environment, our duty was obvious, namely, to see that by wise restrictions every child got a "square deal" at birth and was given thereafter a chanco of full physical, intellectual, and moral development by surrounding him with favourable environment in its most comprehensive sense. .The duty of . the State was to see that real homes wore possible for all its children. After speaking at some length regarding homes which were belotf standard, Mr Aschman indicated a few directions in which efforts could . bo made to remedy tho defects.. He.reiterated the need for a teacher to know from personal knowledge the home conditions of each child. • With regard to children who wero left to their own devices during the day, owing to. the ■mother having to go. to work, he suggested that they might be sent to: day nurseries up to tho ago of three years, and to kindergartens from .three to five. He strongly commended the compulsory regular, medical inspection or schools, and the -appointment of school nurses, and, impressed upon his hearers the importance of the housing question, remarking that every "house should haie a minimum of essentials. Mr Aschman also advocated a simple course of instruction in the laws, of health, that the child at every suitable opportunity .should be taught, how, to: live in; a healthy manner. The school, he considered, was only just awakening now to its responsibilities' in regard to the health of the children. Teachers were living in a time of special difficulty and responsibility, but they should be sustained by the growing 'sense of the jjower of. education to remedy' social diseases, to- diminish the amount of wrong-doing, distress, and failure in life, to* spread knowledge, self-helpful-ness, and hope. The. profession • was rising more steadily in public esteem, nnd tho rate of progress would depend upon whether the members of the teaching profession , were putting it to the largest uses in the service of mankind. .