Lange in the eyes of six-year-olds

Press, 3 April 1989, Page 2

Lange in the eyes of six-year-olds

PA Wellington A Greytown primary teacher, Ms Helen Walker, wanted to know how her six-year-old pupils perceived the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, before he visited the Wairarapa school last week. From them she received answers that he was a Mayor of Featherston, the Mayor of Wellington, he knew most people’s birthdays, and made money for the people of New Zealand.

Apart from looking after the country, he also helped poor people and loved everyone. One child said Mr Lange was “boss of the bank.” Another said, “He has a black case with a handle for his cheque book. He carries it everywhere.”

Several saw him as a television personality and, apart from him loving everyone, one child said, “Everyone loves him.”

In relation to Mr Lange’s job, one said he worked in the Beehive, and another said, “He looks outside his building sometimes to see if anything is wrong.” Apart from “owning” New Zealand and going to Australia sometimes, he had “no hair on top,” but gave people jobs.

One child saw him as a hero who “takes care of baddies.”

After the visit, the headmaster, Mr John Robertson, thought

it would be worth while getting post-reaction. Hadleigh, aged 11, who showed Mr Lange the science laboratory, thought he would make a good science teacher. Mitch, aged 7, said Mr Lange was friendly, talked nicely, and looked like an ordinary person. But Cory, aged 6, said, “I thought he had purple socks, but they were black. He showed us. But I did see purple socks hanging out the Beehive once.”