CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 41, 17 August 1942, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE

YOUTHS IN CAMP

EDUCATION AND DEFENCE

(To the Editor.) - Sir,—t desire to express my agrees ■ merit With mu6h of Whaf Mr. Living* i stdne and Ml*. lUteliett have Written m i regard to the plight of the iB-year'-oid boys Who- have been flr at ted -into 4iam£. The whole question as to the of the child at the present time sieMs to be answered. At a time when out j manpower, though conscripted, is hot! used to its full effectiveness,, when pur | Womah»poW!er is not conscripted, and; in many cases Ifrtmmdustrial or; domestic, occupations that jmake rto ; contribution to the winning of the War, it is the child, including the boy up to 18 yearfe, that is paying the penalty for our defective and incomplete mobilisation of the:-adults. ■;■ ;• . \ The term ''detective mobilisation" is perhaps tod ttiitd a term to |pply s to the almost Chaotic and even hopeless conditions to Which ttiany'Of out schbpi; staffs haye been reduced by the demands of the War. No attempt \VMte^er Has bfeeii. made to pfe&erVe fit least a skeleton force of key teachers, with the result that in many schools the standard of education Is how definitely beloW even a feasott&bl£ standard of eftlcifency ( It this "processOf deterioration Continues, then, thoupW6 will the War* We Shall . lose the peace; It is -obvious, or should be so, that the child of; today is tli§ bUilde? or* reconstrUctbi'of tomorrow, is he to Undertake that task With less tramiftl aftd less education than his •; prede* cessors o£ a yeat or two ago? .:• I leaVe your readers to ahsWer that Questibn» I Would most strongly "urge upon the ■aiithorities the necessity for conserving at least the keY men in Our profession and to recognise the truth t>f the fact that a man may be making a more ini^ portant contributioh to his country's Welfare, as a teacher, than he Would \ be doing as a soldier. , A The boy of 18 years has been caught in the net of mobilisation because only part of bur, adult population, has been cohscripted. If the War lasts for., two or three years the effects on such boys will be. disastrqus'r^ambitioii crushed* moral fibre slackened, and at,the age of 20 or 21 years, probably compelled, at the dictates of necessity, to take positions in which they cannot be ex♦pected to give the optimum service to their employers or -to the community. To put boys of 18 years into camp in close k association With adults^ is to court disaster^ ,To Make no provision for further educational training* togive hihl tib incentive, no adequate instruction as to ftpW to 4pend his hours of leisure, is simfely a rumbus waste of the ttountry's potei>tial_assets. The effect goes deeper yet. Parents who Were prepared to give thea* boys the widest arid fullest education up to the age of if years, or 17i.years» are how Withdi'awing tlieir boys from th£ school at 16 or ißiye'ars, They argue that it is easier for the bOy 16i years to get a job .than it is for the boy of I7i years.. "The employers," they say, "knowing that the older boy WUI have to go into catttp in a month or two, won't take him." So* at one stroke, the boy's further education's cut short and in many instances his chances of entering a profession vanish In principle, I agree that under pre* sent conditions, a boy should continue his military training both While, at school and after lie leaves school; but without detriment to his future career or tO ttle essential' services , of the country. For th*it .reason, I welcome the proposal that for boys of 18 andl9 years Who are still at school, their services in the' school unit should be supplemented by attendance" at pro* per^- 'organised Cadet 'camps held during the school vacation periods, a total oMI weeks. Tliese cartps be oMcered by 4 senior Cadet officel| and a training staff Could -.be. SU^ned by the defence authorities. Attendance at such camps could also be ittade compulsory for the boys who have left school, and their training could be supplemented by a specified minimum number of Saturday _or evening parades. , The Cadet officers in our sfefeondary schools, men used to hand--link boys, would, I feel sure,-give their services readily and willingly.-—I atrt> m" Prinfcipal, Hongotai College.