The Star. TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1921. MUSIC IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 5 July 1921, Page 4

The Star.

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1921. MUSIC IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock Hawera, Manaia, Nonnanby. Okaiaw*. Eltuaia, JlAujfAtukl, lUpouA**, A»i.tuc«, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hur leyville, Patea, Waverlej.

"' t The truth of the maximum that if excellence is desired in the individual in any phase of work or in any pursuit in life, the best results can only be obtained by making a beginning early in life has been borne out by experience, and is a generally accepted fact- To catch and harness, as it were, the enthusiasm that is dormant in the young, is a work that will bear! ample fruit later on. The mind of the child is very plastic and receives impressions easily, and is, as said the Roman poet and philosopher, Horace, "so easy to be turned on the wrong path," that any effort in directing the youthful inclination in a. goodl path is to be encouraged in every way possible. The value of music in the school is acknowledged as a power for good, and although every child cannot be a solo singer it is only the few who cannot take some part in concerted singing. . The influence for good is increased by the lesson taught of subordinating the individual to the good of the many. It is a lesson that cannot fail to bear good fruit in later years. The move made by the Hawera Male Choir in the institution of competitions for children's choirs should therefore commend itself to everyone in ih& community, and should secure general cori dial support. That this is so is evidenced by the great success achieved at the first competition last week. It is a project that will be for the good not only of the children and of the schools, but of the general body of the people. It will exercise a good healthy influence on those who take part and on those who help by their presence and co-operation. It will* encourage the children in the desire to excel and inculcate in their minds the necessity of taking pains, if a high standard of work is to be attained. This, in itself, is a valuable lesson to be learned and a healthy principle to be instilled in the young mind. In these days when there has been a; tendency in the world at large to slackness, it is of the utmost importance that the young people who are growing up and developing should be encouraged to foster a spirit of thoroughness. So we say that a movement rection is to be encouraged most heartily. So we say that a movement that inculcates in the mind of the young the desire to excel deserves . hearty support. . We hope next year the society will extend the scope of the competitions and classify to some extent the entries so as to make conditions as equitable" as is"'possible. Another point about such competitions is that they foster the best sporting spirit which accepts a beating and rejoices in the success of the " other fellow-" This, of course is one of the , important results that should follow all sports competitions, and that is and always has been, a marked characEristic of the English public school life and of the nation generally. Then , competitors see in what respects others are better, and they learn by experience to improve their own work. The steady development o f character and the inculcation of liigh ideals are most important features of a right education. Anything that tends in the direction of such development has a distinct place in the educational system. Music might well take a more decided part in the system. This is a point made by the judge in his remarks at the competitions- He ' realised, as all will, the value of music. In fostering competitions for school children's choirs the Hawera Male Choir are doing a good and useful work. . They deserve, as we feel sure they will receive, the utmost support. The great reception accorded their first attempt will be, we hope, an earnest of even greater support in the future. There is a good and great work to be done. They are to be heartily commended for their efforts which will, in addition to the indirect influence wielded," lead to a new era in musical mattens in the district and be the beginning of a movement that will have an important part in the musical life of the Dominion.