TRAINING OF MODERN CHILDREN

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 72, 18 December 1937, Page 10

TRAINING OF MODERN CHILDREN

Made Difficult By Gap Between Generations

Dominion Special Service. Wanganui, December 17.

"The New Education Fellowship conference in July was a unique event : u educational circles iu New Zealand,” said Miss A. C. Tizard, M.A.. principal of the Wanganui Girls’ College, in her annual report. “It was a stimulating experienc e to attend the meetings and enjoy not only the inspiring and often provocative addresses but also the fellowship of such large groups of teachers.” Miss Tizard added that educationists everywhere at present were striving to work out a system of training which would fit the modern child to live,successfully in its modern environment. Constantly ehanging conditions made the task a dilliult one. and it was further complicated by the fact that the workers were scheming for individuals who were growing up iu a world so different from that in which their own childhood was spent that it was practically impossible for them to understand their mental eon tent and outlook. “Never before has the gap between two generations been so wide and therefore difficult to bridge, and yet understanding of the child is an absolutely necessary preliminary to realisation of its problems and needs,” the report said. “It is little wonder then that there is evidence of bewilderment and confusion in educational systems of to-day. which are like kites tied to the ground of the past hut straining upward to something fuller and freer. A great deal of experimental work is being done abroad, and the New Education conference gave us the opportunity of hearing at first hand of th: latest developments in Great Britain. America and Austria. There is bound to be considerable reorganisation in our system shortly.”