THE MODERN BOY.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20621, 10 August 1932, Page 5

THE MODERN BOY.

CRITICISM ANSWERED. The modern boy, according to Mr C. H. Blakistan, headmaster or" Lancing College, England, ia "timid, untruthful, and dishonest." It does not seem likely that Mr Blakistcn will find anyone in Australia, at,least, to agree with him (states the Melbourne "Argue"). By schoolmasters in Melbourne xUr Biakiitoii's remarks have been received with mingled astonishment, indignation, and derision. It is recalled that Air Blakiston is an old Etonian and a termer master of Eton, so that his knowledge or boys must, have been acquired largely at Eton; and this fact, it i*> said, shows the hollowness of his charges, unless Eton has changed to an incredible extent, because in the past the Eton boy has been renowned for fearlessness and honesty. The headmaster or' Scotch College, Melbourne (Dr. W. S. Littlejohn) said that he was entirely at a loss to account lor such a statement having been made, even if it had any foundation in fact. "There is one thing about thy public schoolboy of to-day," he said, "wiiiuh stands out clearly, like a mountain peak, and that is his truthfulness. There, are tinies when a boy might lie to shield a chum, but never to shield himself. After 50 years of close association with boys, I can say quite definitely that liars among schoolboys represent'less than one per tent, of tho whole. Almost invariably a boy will own up to a fault, even though the fault be grave and the probable punishment severe. Tho boy or to-day is essentially truthful and honest. The Australian boy is as fine a typo as one could have to deal with."' Discussing the probable effect of the war years and the war psychology on schoolboys. Dr. Littlejohn said that some difference might well be expected from the f.oys of an earlier decade, but the war's influence, in his experience, had consisted mainly of a slight deterioration in physique and a restlessness that was a little more pronounced than that of the normal boy. There had, however—and in this Dr. Littlejohn was emphatic—been no breaking down of moral fibre, no tendency towards untruthfulness or other form of dishonesty. Ho beliovcd that the modern boy could compare r.ioro than favourably with his predecessors, because lie was fearless, energetic, and for ever seeking for something worth while—something that kept busy either his body or his mind. Never had there been a closer, more kindly, and more sympathetic relationship between bbys and masters than there was in the schools to-day. The moral qualities of the boys were excellent, and ho bad great faith in them. Why the modern boy should have been so sweepingly traduced bv a nan like Mr Blakiston, a man of great scholarship, Dr. Littlejohn could not understand. It seemed to h'm that such an utterance must reflect very gravely upon the man who made it. Boys had a very keen sense of justice, and when trusted were invariably trustworthy. , [ln a message from London, published on August Ist, Mr Blakiston claimed that he had been seriously mi»reported. In his address at the centenary dinner of the British Medical Association he said he was'dealing with mental doficients, not average' schoolboys.]