THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service.” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1945 ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 54, Issue 32536, 14 February 1945, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service.” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1945 ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR

The beginning of another school year is a timely reminder of the part that education wfll play in the future. This year especially is the occasion important, as signs of the peace that has been so long awaited begins to , appear, and that fact strengthens the thought that it is in our schools to-day that the citizenship of the future is’ being moulded. It is a remarkable truth that wars are strangely favourable to educational progress; perhaps they cause more searching than is usual about the future of the human race, and in any case the result is a deeper realisation of the essential qualities of education.

At the opening, of another school year, therefore, there can well be a recall to the duties and responsibilities that are associated with the equipping of the future citizens to carry into the days of peace the order in our society which has been preserved during the bitter conflict of war. Gone indeed are the days, when the schools were regarded merely as training centres for no more than the elementary rules of addition and! subtraction. Modern educational thought is toward a much deeper • purpose. The modern school is fast becoming in popular acceptance a civic centre. In building design there is less of harshness ; in educational progress there is less of stern discipline and more of cultural leadership. _ The trend moves steadily toward greater self-expression and the encouragement of collective pride in progressive accomplishment.

Citizenship is, in fact, originating in our schools. But, and the fact needs emphasis, education can fulfil itself only where parents are willing and keen to play an active part in helping their children to derive the most from it. The influence of the home remains ever the foundation of our society, but that influence can and mu§t be carried into the schools. In these circumtances it is fortunate indeed that the appointment and facilities for both primary and secondary education in the Paeroa district are expanding. At the commencement of this school term, therefore, as the people dedicate themselves to greater equality of oportunity, parents, teachers and authorities must work together to fill the whole edifice with an heroic spirit—not for self-aggrandisement, but for service. which can alone assure the fulfilment of every aim in education.