CONDUCT OF SOCIETY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 197, 21 July 1937, Page 13

CONDUCT OF SOCIETY

PREPARING THE CHILDREN. EDUCATIONIST’S ADDRESS. Per Press Association. DUNEDIN, July 20. The claim of society on the individual and the way in which children should be prepared to take their share of the conduct of society were dealt with by Rektor Zilliacus when speaking on “Education for Citizenship” at the New Education Fellowship Conference to-dn.y. Rektor Zilliacus instanced what was being done in Germany to produce the kind of citizen desired bv the Nazi regime. The school curriculum aimed at that object all the time and even in their leisure children were not allowed to forget that they must conform with the required type of education. In so-c.alled democratic countries they had no particular aim unless it was to pass examinations or satisfy certain syllabus requirements, and it was obvious that some drastic change was needed.

Outlining a suitable syllabus under the headings of intellectual, practical and emotional requirements, Rektor Zilliacus said the object of the first should be to teach children to form their own judgments about things and to east aside non-essentials. With respect to what should be taught bo'd experiments were taking place in the United States where generous funds had been made available for the purpose, but even in countries where owing to the rigidity of the education systems only tinkering was possible some progress was being achieved. Children should be encouraged to studv mod°rn developments in the world and their relation to what had gone Iwfore. It was not much use saying what should l>e done, however, unless they ’were given some practice in citizenship, and this could be done bv making the school a little community in wh : ch certain duties were allotted to children to enable them to share in the conduct of that community, thus bringing out in many cases talents and capabilities which might otherwise be overlooked.

Referring to the emotional aspect, Rektor Zilliacus said that knowledge and skill were not of much moment unless there was a driving force behind them. The object should bo to imbue children with the idea's of truth and free judgment and expression of opinion, and they should be brought to feel the need for lettering the conditions of the downcast. To ach.eve this end in children teachers must themselves be imbued with such ideals a.nd must keep themselves well informed on the social problems of the day.

VARIED PROGRAMME. Per Tress Association. DUNEDIN, July 20. The Congress of the New Education Fellowship was continued to-day when another interesting and varied programme of lectures and seminars attracted large audiences of teachers and others. The discussions at the seven semina.rs covered a wide field of thought, all the visiting authorities taking part. The main lectures of the day were delivered by Sir Percy Meadon (Director of Education in Lancashire), who spoke in the morning on “Education for Leisure,” and Dr. Cyril Norwood (St. John's College, Oxford), whose subject was “Christianity and the World Crisis.”

At the seminars Dr. Kandel provoked some interesting discussioh on “Examinations and Their Substitutes,” a.nd Air A. Lismer (Toronto) dealt with the technique of school programmes. The case for the decentralisation of school control was ably expounded by Dr. Malherbe (Pretoria) and Sir Percy Meadon spoke on “Education of the Adolescent.”

“Music in Education” was the subject of Dr. Cyril Norwood’s discourse, a.nd Dr. Harold Rugg (Columbia University) bad. some interesting comments to ma.ke on “The Curriculum and its Contents.” Rektor Zilliacus (Finland) devoted bis time to an absorbing discussion on “Individual Methods of Teaching.”