The Dominion MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1944. THE SCHOOLS AND HUMAN VALUES

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 124, 21 February 1944, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1944. THE SCHOOLS AND HUMAN VALUES

If, observes the Consultative Committee in its report on the PostPrimary School Curriculum, recent events have a lesson for us. it is that the human values we sum up in the word “democracy” have too much been taken for granted. “They are still threatened, from without, and only active effort and unceasing vigilance can make them more secure within. The schools thus have the overriding duty of helping pupils to understand them and live in accordance with them; in other words, of assisting to build up a democratic society capable both of defending its essential values and of widening and deepening their influence.” This excellent sentiment appears in the statement of “General Aims” set out in the report. It would have assuring to the public, and helpful to the teachers, had the sentiment been amplified by precise definitions of what constitute human values, anu reinforced by explicit insistence upon due emphasis being placed on their importance in the daj r -to-day routine of school management and class-teaching. The Committee, however, simply adds that its belief in the sentiment expressed underlies the recommendation that the curriculum of all pupils should include the activities and studies set down under the heading of “the common core,” as defined in a subsequent section. This “common core,” it is explained,, “contains what any intelligent parent might expect his son or daughter to be given at school (apart from studies indicated by special vocational needs or personal talents).” But the Committee’s conception of the intelligent parent’s requirements, as set out in the subjoined extract from the report, must seem to most people concerned about the social and moral tendencies of the times, and human values, to be seriously inadequate. A parent (says the Committee) might reasonably ask that his child should have a course in physical education so that he may preserve good bodily health; that he be able to participate freely in games; that he have an adequate command of the mother tongue, and be-able to enjoy something of its literature; that he continue the study of his social environment in time and space—in other words, that he understand in their main outlines the social studies of history and geography, and fre introduced to the current problems of his country and his time; that he have a knowledge of the mathematics required for ordinary non-school purposes and be conversant in at least an elementary way with the methods and achievements of science; that he be able to listen intelligently to music, perhaps to sing or play a musical instrument; and that he have acquired a ** reasonable degree of skill in an art or craft. An intelligent parent would wish a daughter to have, in addition, the knowledge, skill, and taste required to manage a home well and make it a pleasant place to live in. At a first casual reading the average parent might be moved to applaud the foregoing as containing an encouraging promise of a liberal education for his children preparing for the battle of life. Further examination should reveal some notable omissions. These omissions'moreover are so importantly relevant to the “human values” which the Committee itself deems deserving, of very special attention, that the absence of explicit reference to them is the more surprising. , Human values rest upon the foundations of character, upon the virtues of self-discipline, truth, honesty, fair-dealing in social and commercial relationships, respect for other people’s belongings, for law and order;, for contracts and undertakings between individuals and groups, and so on. That there has been a definite deterioration in the standard of ethics by which these elements of sound character are measured is beyond question. The evidence of this as set out in published statements from time to time is familiar to the public. There is, for example, the record of juvenile delinquency, which both the Minister of Education and the Director of his department have assured the public, in spite of. the evidence, is not as bad as would appear. There is the dishonouring of contracts and undertakings, as borne witness to by the Institute of Accountants, by breaches of awards in industry to the injury of the people as a whole. There is the state of social morals. These are among the problems of the times, and they are urgent problems. ' A large part of the remedial influences could be, and should be, exerted from within the schools by a wholesome •and practical conception of what constitutes “human values.