ADOLESCENCE AND ITS PROBLEMS

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27987, 6 June 1956, Page 2

ADOLESCENCE AND ITS PROBLEMS

PLEA FOR INCREASED CONSIDERATION ADDRESS BY MRS NANCY SUTHERLAND “I cannot sufficiently emphasise the importance of one aspect we have not even thought about in our adolescent school lite. We do not try to find out, and to make provision for, .the students’ point of view,” said Mrs i'Tancy Sutherland, when speaking on adolescence at a meeting of the Christchurch branch of the New Zealand Family Planning Association last even -1 ing. in many American schools the-.ei were student councils with elected rep • resentatives to give students’ opinioii and to share the responsibilities of student life with the teaching staff j she said. Senior students were ac-: cepted and treated as young men and ■ women about to enter life and full: maturity--‘‘We keep our adolescents at school longer than we used to, but give them no voice in our councils, no share in our school government, no right to state their views, and we can’t do this with impunity,” Mrs Sutherland said. ‘‘Why not have student representatives on our teaching faculties, on our secondary school boards, on our university college councils? They are no longer children, whatever we like to think. It would help to break down our too unrealistic attitude if we followed America’s lead, and referred to our upper grades as students, their teaching staffs as faculties. ‘‘lt would be more in keeping with their dignity and their responsibility, and would recognise, their approaching maturity. If we go on thinking of them as irresponsible children, and treating them as such, we can only expect them to behave accordingly, with a prospect of becoming irresponsible adults and irresponsible parents.” Another important and necessary change should be considered. Mrs Sutherland said. Adequate representation should be required on all bodies having as their business the promotion of the well-being and personality .development of young people of both sexes. Such representation at present was at best inadequate, but more often totally absent. Mrs Sutherland said true education should include training for living as well as for earning 'a livelihood. Therefore it must include education in emotional health, training for courtship, marriage, and parenthood. It was essential to use for this purpose the secondary school years and immediate post-secondary years—from the age of about 13 to 18 or 19.