STRESS ON SCHOOLING

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 144, 14 December 1940, Page 7

STRESS ON SCHOOLING

BATTLE OF LIFE

PROGRESSIVE RONGOTAI

Advising parents to keep their boys at school as long as they cojld Mr. F. Martyn Renner, the principal, stated at the prize-giving ceremony of Rongotai . College that the child of today needed every bit of training and education he could ge,t to fit him for the task lying ahead, the building of a new world from the ruin of the old. The lad's turn would come soon enough without turning him out only partially equipped for the battle of life.

Signs were manifesting themselves that the demand for juvenile labour to replace adult labour was becoming increasingly insistent. "Not only are we finding the rate of withdrawal of boys from school becoming accelerated," he said, "but the withdrawals are taking place much more marked- i ly from our first-year forms of the upper school." After quoting a specific case Mr. Renner v/ent on to say that it was often a sacrifice to keep a boy at school, but every parent worthy of the name had made sacrifices for the sake of his children ever since civilisation began, and sacrifice should be part of our normal lives. Why put a boy's whole future, his mental and physical development, in pawn for an extra shilling or two a week. There was welcome evidence of growing belief among parents that the education of the child was a joint responsibility of parent and teacher and that neither could succeed without the co-opera-tion of the other. The Minister of Education, Mr. Mason, said there was a good deal of complaint today about the cramping effect of the University Entrance Examination, and he thought justifiably so. The rest of New Zealand could well take notice of the fact that here was a school free from that, a school which did not complain, but overcame the difficulty. Mr. Mason spoke of the broad cultural effect of the Rongotai curriculum and of the development by it of powers useful in the real world. The parents of the Rongotai boys were fortunate in having a headmaster and staff who so fully understood real values in education. Mr. L. Mackenzie and Mrs. E. M. | Gilmer also spoke. THE PRIZE-LIST. | Mrs. Mason presented the prizes. The special prizes were gained as follows: — [ Pinhey Memorial, R. G. Coleman; Ralph Edwards Meniorial, E. W. Munro; Dr. E. G. Anderson's prizes, art (Upper School), G. Fuller, art (Lower School), G. V. Giblin; dramatic work (Upper School). K. H. Lang, dramatic work (Lower School), M. L. Caigon; Donald Medal (for best literary effort), G. G. Robinson; head of the school, B. K. Knowles; proxime accessit, G. Watson. The head prefect, H. A. Colquhoun, was presented by the college teaching staff with a book autographed by them all. It was in recognition of • his meritorious services during the year.