TEEN-AGE PROBLEMS

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31908, 8 February 1969, Page 14

TEEN-AGE PROBLEMS

Special Work A Help

“Loss of purpose and a sense of failure to identify themselves are major factors in the crises suffered by many teen-agers today,” said the Rev. G. Sweet, outreach worker for the Aldersgate Centre, in an address at the monthly meeting of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Association of Teachers of Speech and Drama. “Teachers in this field have a great opportunity to assist young people by developing their ability to communicate with each other and people at all levels in the community. They can also provide a release for tension in dramatic work," said the Rev. Sweet, according to a supplied report. “Among the teenagers who gain most prominence in the public eye are the few who engage in altruistic work such as Volunteer Service Abroad, or the deprived minority whose sense of isolation leads to vandalism and acts of violence against society. But more effort should be given to developing the potential of the great majority in whose hands lies the future of our nation,” he said.