HOME LESSONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 March 1926, Page 2

HOME LESSONS

WORSE THAN WASTE. The folly of home lessons was denounced recently by Sir Bruce Porter, the famous physician, at a London conference of school headmasters. It was cruel, he said to set homework to children who had not suitable homes in which to dp it, in joiliing the Boy Scouts or learning a hobby children would derive far greater benefit than through home lessons. # The average class should not last longer than thirty minutes. Beyond that time it was worse than waste, for it produced fatigue and nervous irritability. Discussing the health of school children, Sir Bruce-Porter urged that all children who lived too far from school to allow them to get home to the midday meal should be given a substantial one at school. Money so spent would be saved a hundredfold later in life. Many children were being treated as invalids ■ because a niurmur'had been heard over the heart. Some of these sounds had no significance, and were due to a narrow chest. In that case the children should play games to detelop the chest. It was essn.La! that beys should play games, even if they had heart defects, but they must be ' pervlsed and graduates. J3oys should not be told that it was wicked tp smoke. It was rot wickei, it was simply stilly. t was foolish to begin smoking young, bee use it did undoubtedly make the heart very irritable.

Boys would do anything if they were treated as creatures of intellig ence and give reasons for doing or not doing things. If told that if he smoked “fags” or brown paper it wou.d spo.l his wind and stop him from getting into the school team, a boy was most likely to let smoking alone. ‘‘Children are born with no moral sense,” Sir Bruce added. “Games are essential to the development of character. I should be very sorry to see that great expression ‘Playing the game’ go out of use in this country.” Another physician, Dr Crichton Miller, also had some, advice to offer mothers who were anxious to make their boys Little Lord Fauntleroys. If you see a boy of eight who is described as a Perfect Little Gentleman, be extremely suspicious, said the doctor'. “That Perfect Little Gentleman is failing to realise the sense of emancipation and will presently shirk his responsibilities.”