Janet And John

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31802, 5 October 1968, Page 12

Janet And John

Sir, —I strongly object to your patronising sub-leader, “Janet and John.” Our present school system does not provide adequate preparation, for responsible adult life in the twentieth century. Schools have in the past conditioned pupils to accept blindly the restrictions and inflexibility of an authoritarian system in which the emphasis is on imposed discipline—not selfdiscipline—imposed control, not self-directiveness. These young adults seek to break through the cycle of one authoritarian system producing another authoritarian system, in a positive and rational way. Your sub-leader is merely negative. Is it intended as an

example for the young people of this country?—Yours, etc., R. M. BROWN. October 4, 1968.

Sir,—We were talking about your leading article during developmental period today and we feel that you are “not with it.” Janet and John are “out.” The “in” books are about Peter and Bill and Sally and Martin. Nobody at school nowadays reads that old stuff. Mind you, I think a cousin of mine did read them once; but he is at varsity now.—Yours, etc., NEW ENTRANT. October 4, 1968. [This correspondence is now closed.—Ed., “The Press.”]