THE CREATIVE SIDE

Hokitika Guardian, 18 February 1932, Page 8

THE CREATIVE SIDE

SIR W. ROTHKNSTEIN'S address

VIEWS ON EDUCATION

LONDON, Fob. 16. The twentieth annual conference of educational associations was opened yesterday ait University College, Uowei street, by .Sir William Rothenstein, principal of the Royal College of Art, South Kensington, who, in his presidential address, spoke on ‘'Education and the creative and imaginative activi-

ty ir William said that at this moment of the world's history—he might almost say at this moment of the world’s agony —they should reconsider one or two of their educational standards. He could unit heip regretting that one tendency of modern education was the mechanisation a f everything. There was more and more a tendency to lay down rules •is to wlmt should be taught, and how it should be taught. That, was a very great mistake. He had a great faith in the real missionary seal of the teachers themselves. He knew from experience how definitely and steadily that missionary zeal could be crushed it people found themselves merely parts of a great machine.

USE OF THE HAND

He knew how little time was devoted to wmu lie called me creative side or education. One of the most important . inngs was the use of the human hand, t wa s not merely a question of manual iabour. The universe was one, and each one of us was part of the whole. There was something about the human hand which was intuitive and obeyed intuitively the great laws of the universe which we could not consciously understand. It was not just a question of skill. Every one who used his hand knew that his hand had its own wisdom, and that it was not directed entirely by the will. The hand had its own profound intuitiveness, and to leave that out of education was missing soar thing extremely important. The difference between the disclipined hand and the hand which merely scribbled was a kind of miracle. We were all equipped by Nature to go as far a s possible in some particular direction, and he was doubtful of the value of making all children in school draw or learn music. They must have a natural basis of understanding in order 'to go far with any know.edge. He hoped that those who devoted themselves to teaching would have no hesitation 'in saying that a eh.ld hr." • • : ' the necessary intuition to devchy "i"' - this or that direction. There v.vr,

many way s in which a child could develop that if they tried to apply too many keys to too many doors they would risk superficiality and oven failure.

LOCAL LIFE AND UULTURf

When ho was connected with a university in the North of England he was intensely iinterested in local lile and culture, and believed in local culture. The. year 1066 was the one sinister date in English history. AH local Culture was brought to I .on don. One of tho things we must do in England wa s to bring back the fai'th ot people who lived in what were called the Provinces. It was a. deadly thing thait 'all the talents 'should he drawn to London and that London should be so ' tractive in conserpience. I hey must create great local centres again. There they .had a great task before them. 'Coming beck to the question of mechanisation, he said 'that they ought to have the same system of examinations throughout the country—but there he wa s on dangerous ground. He was a member of the Board of Education and had >to carry out certain principles with which he was in absolute and complete disagreement. He believed in a local university, but it should be a citadel in which truth should be pursued for its own sake and should give citizens exactly 'that chance to pursue tiuth for its own sake as wa.s done at Oxford and Cambridge. To allow provincial universities to take a secondary place was a most undignified position. Has colleagues throughout the country ‘were most anxious to bring education into closer touch with industry. That was excellent, but he saw a great danger in what he called the limited ohjec-

THE LfM TEH OB.IECTTVE

Thc country needed the very best Hr iins, and if they were going to stop ot voci'iional education—the H'nited objetivc— how were they going to get the best brains attached to industry If H man was to be a designer In cotton works, he had as great a right to a mi,p.efe edueat on in the arts as a .■mil who was going to be a poet or painter. It was for the heads ol our commoni"! businesses to be intelligent enough to make use ol the best assets of the country.

At 'ibis moment we were beginning to find out that in certain artistic industries we were a Idle behind other countries'. l'<>r years a few persons |i;id polluted out that somehow or i,i 1,,.,' we had not, made use ot the best assets which educational people had pro vided’ for the country. He was told that our manufacturers "me ui"ii ~t zeal and i ll'lelligelli'c " i'o ■ nt "d to produce the eery '"'l ' • I slide but there were |>< '|'le H|„. :ma ii ii fact liters wli.il lb oceded. dust as publie "pillion was always ill advance of polilanans, so public baste was always in advance "I those people wlm advised. It "as i n people like the the members of the e'l"- || assoeialioiis to Imlp Hus rry by producing ihe veiy bed bring.

SEARCH FOR EASY PATHS

In his experience as a teacher he found that students ill some mysterious way expected that teaching would make a gap in the hedge through which i.hey might pass easily. 'That was one of the difficulties which they had to face. One of the first things they had got ito do was to get buck to technical education and realise in their teaching that it was no use teaching wluit was called appreciation. 'Pile whole tendency to-day was to teach pupils not i<> do things but to learn how they we-e done, and that the educated man was the man who appreciated and the less educated man was the man who dm things. The prestige of the man who knew about things was infinitely greater, until he was dead, than unu of the man who did them.

Dealing with the use of the pen ami pencil, he said that very few person, knew how to hold them correctly. The child should be taught how to use the pencil. He appealed lor some kind o. handicraft in the school, and for more—he would not say intelligent but honest use of what they called and literature in sehols. It would bi quite ligitimaie to leave out a suojo; entirely rather than treat it as . minor one. In these days they ough to consider how important it was tha children who were one day going to u Cabinet ..Ministers should have as mud imagination as poets and painten. I, Cheers.)