BACK TO THE SOIL.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20104, 6 December 1930, Page 6

BACK TO THE SOIL.

A RETURN TO j REALITIES. j j THE FARM AND THE HOME, j _ ' ! CAN AN aUKICL'LTIJKAL BIAS BE j IMI'ARTKD 7 j ;im.. wi-i'-rEX evi'. ,|llc rn>.ss.) fIJv .1. Sii;acii.\n, M.A., 11.5 c., IYi neipnl, Kangioni lligli School.] I iia\ 1! bei!it asked whether ! think J that an agricultural bias can bo .riven in the. secondary schools, j Personally I think that the problem for the school* is not to ereain a new -as hut to correct one is I i'*'u already by comt other than the ' hind of kink or 's just and imr--aigliten out. iuu'k to aiity, and .-nee.|. f believe . 1110 schools upon .oral and vocational, • aral life, and husbandry, . part of the process or' slraight- • g out tho ki a li v :. Pacing the Pacts. i';iii anyone, taking a dispas.-ionate view of our national, social, and industrial life in New Zealand to-day, say that it is healthy or normal'/ In spite of all our wonderful resources in men, material, and power, wo are piling up debts, .increasing tho burden of taxes, feveri.-h ly protecting this, that, and the other vested interest, and, with it all, there is a steady increase of unemployment, ami an ever-growing crop of new problems to be solved. f l he truth is j that New Zealand is suffering from a. ] sickness that afilictn the whole of our I civilisation. X venture to suggest that in tho diagnosis of that sickness there are certain unmistakable symptoms of abnormality, or departure from the way of health. Hero arc two of them. Wealth is something created in a working partnership between .Man and .Nature. Society, being no longer soundly based upon tho idea of wealth-creation, is engaged in a fatuous and suicidal struggle for tho possession and protection of titles to wealth. As a result competition litis taken the place of cooperation and business sharpness is more highly rewarded than honest work. In our industrial organisation there is an ever-increasing proportion of the people living 011 their wits, or performing clerical or administrative servics in the way of iirotccti-'g tho interests of those who do. Straightening out the kinks, in this respect-, means more concentration on wealth production, more

application of knowledge and power in I honest creative work, and demobilise- ! tion of the forces of commercial war ' If "agricultural'' bias means anything | ! 0 , th *M s«y that ii; e, ui and should be given in the schools. ' The Zest of Life. Another symptom of ill-health i n tho I nation is unhappiness and restlessness, f A. feverish hunt iur soiiaution fts ? re 1 lief from boredom arid discontent" has taken tho place of tho joie-de-vivrc that I is our just inheritance. Whatever nr'iv bo the Clements of real happinc-s -nd I peace of mind, it is certain that wo cannot experience the zest of life so long as we cut ourselves off from what, i- cs ' sentially good and beautiful, and «übsti 1 tutc something that is spurious and false Truth, beauty, and life itself have their roots in Nature. Keal achievement is inspired by association with Mature To live long out of touch with Nature which has taught, im oar speech, in'! spired our art and poetry, and supplied us \\ i th all we call good, is dangerous. If agricultural Idas means getting back to a closer association with' Nature and a rediscovery of our spiritual affinities, again I say that if should and can be mad.! r» powerful motif in our school Curriculum.

Tho New Itural Scliooi. Now may I any something as to what lay lie done in a practical way in a New iealand rural secondary school, always tearing in mind that New Zealand is jritish, that it is not over-populated, ,nd that its major contribution to the vorld's wealth must come direct from lie land. .First of all we must get together a taff of teachers who are alive to the dvantages of a spacious environment in caching, and who, from preference, hooso a rural school for the exercise of heir vocation. The teacher whose |Ua liticalions are limited to ''teaching icrtain this fir that subject to matricuation or scholarship standard" will lover be happy in tho type of school X lavo in mind. lie must be able to •elate his cultural subjects to their ioure.e, and to apply his practical knowedge to the real problems of life, lie mist bo adaptable, willing to experiment, and, above all, he must be in love with life, in love with Nature, Did in love with Nature,'s children. Then we must get the school organised on a democratic basis, so that the interests of all concerned in the school as an institution may be consulted, and so that there may be sympathetic and co-ordinated effort towards the ends envisaged. This implies setting up some sort of school council representing tho staff, the parents, the Board, and the students themselves. It should meet, regularly to discuss all projected activities, and to make plans for tho solution of its problems by joint effort. The New Curriculum. j So organised we may proceed to le- j orient the curriculum, the first step being to abolish tho stupid and futile j txamination-cram system in favour of a cultural course of studies in literature, art, music, science, and human history. The motif of these studies is the story of human achievement. Such a course can best tie undertaken where, as students and teachers, we live in close association with Nature, and where the walls of class-rooms do not imprison or separate us from the fields and woody. Only then can wo get back to the real sources of inspiration, knowledge, power, and wisdom. The next, step is to establish in the school an industrial organisation conceived as a model of tho larger industrial community. In New Zealand this can bo done most effectively in the rural school. Industry in Now Zealand should be regulated in relation to tho farm and the home. Therefore at the school, wherever possible, there should be a farm and a homeBtienco department. Tho farm, which will be run on scientific and economic lines, utilising the results of research conducted by our argicultural department and colleges, will supply at once the matter for practical study and the opportunity for practical work on the j'urt of agricultural studenta. It will do more than that. It will create tho necossity for other vocational activities in the school such as building, machine-shop work, butter making, and so on, and for cortain necessary clerical and commercial services. These will be undertaken by other departments in the school in which students wishing to take up certain trades or professions will be trained. Moreover, the farm should finance the services of these departments. Ho the school becomes a co-operative wealth-producing unit in the national industrial organisation, and everyone is made to realise tho necessity for playing an effective and useful part in that working unit. In this way the school does its part in preparing the way for better rural homes and more efficient rural industries—the two foundation stones of our national prosperity. Tlio final stop is to recreate a capacity for enjoying simple, healthy, and natural pleasures. To a great extent this will follow inevitably from the pursuit of tho more serious ainiß of the school, but such endeavours may well be supplemented by establishing hobby clubs in sketching from Nature, photography, natural history, drama, radio, music, and'various other arts or crafts. Briefly, these are some of my ideas of the significance of what has been most inadequately described aa "the agricultural bias in education." I prefer to think of it as a return to realities, or, perhaps, a return to sanity and health after the delusions and siekness characteristic, of social disorder and loss of vital purpose. Convalescence may begin in tho schools.