Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY. DECEMBER 7, 1940 THE ADVENTURE OF LIFE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 7 December 1940, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY. DECEMBER 7, 1940 THE ADVENTURE OF LIFE

FOR many of our young people the end of the school year marks the termination of class-room studies and school discipline and the beginning of joyous weeks in the summer sun to do much as they please. Thus they look forward to the holidays with an anticipation which is usually productive of high and even boisterous spirits. For others it is a transition stage in their school days. Senior pupils in primary schools have reached the end of stage one in the educational process and are about to begin the second stage at a post-pri-mary school. It may be wrong educationally, but this passing from primary to secondary is always a great adventure, both in the emotional and intellectual life of a boy or girl. In a primary school thqy have learned the three R’s—and in a modern primary school very much more besides. But they are going on to a fresh environment, to new and unplumbed studies, to fresh achievements in sport, or to experience the thrill of wearing the colours of their school. Some may not altogether relish the prospect of more study; others may be going on because mo-

I ther and father say so, but there are ! few modern children to whom the | thought of going to a secondary school ! does not appeal in one way or anj other. ! But some there are who have had 1 these experiences. For them prizegiving is tinged with a certain sadness because it marks the end of the road- They will be leaving the cloistered halls for the wide world beyond. Naturally they wonder what it holds for them. Some will be continuing their studies to a still more advanced stage at the University, but most scholars for whom this year is their last, will be entering on their life’s work, for which their training so far has been a preparation. Choice of an occupation is always a knotty problem both for boys and girls and their parents. Except for the few whose course is already marked out in father’s footsteps, and for those, equally few, who have bias and brilliance in one direction, the average boy or girl has no marked preference for any particular avenue of employment. Some will do equally well in one of a number of occupations, while others will achieve only mediocrity in any. This should not disturb them, for they will find that most of the outside world is made up of the rank-and-file, carrying out their daily tasks to the best of their ability. But neither should they let this dampen ambition or lose sight of the great opportunities for leadership in civic life as well as in the particular calling in which they engage. It has been charged against our secondary schools that their products do not take nearly the prominent part in the public life of the Dominion that they should, considering that their training fits them so well for such activities. Some start out from school into life with high hopes, but their first contact with the world often brings disillusionment. For one thing, after having reached peaks of eminence in their own school circle, they find themselves relegated to the bottom of the ladder, up which they have to climb all over again. For another, they sometimes find their sense of values distorted. The things they were taught to revere most at school do not always appear to be held in the same respect by the world at large. Then may ensue a stage of cynicism or even rebellion against existing orders and established institutions. But, unless they have experiences which sour them against the world, this* stage soon passes. It is after this period of doubt that they discover, with satisfaction, that those things they were taught to regard as the most important at school are still the most important in life, whatever occupation they may follow. But amid these youthful trials, which thousands have endured before them, they would do well not to undervalue their own individuality, however humble their station. Everyone of them is a potential asset to his country, and the community can ill afford to lose or neglect to make use of the best that is in all of them. But it can be rarely, if ever, in New Zealand’s history, that a generation of school-leavers has faced such a stern world as that of 1940. Many of them are the sons and daughters of men who “fought to make the world safe for democracy,” yet they are about to be launched into a world which is fighting for its very survival. As the war goes on many of those young fellows now about to leave school will be joining the ranks of “those strong young hands” of the Air Force or serving with one of the other branches of the armed £:>rces. Their civil careers, after leaving school, will be interrupted because their country needs them. For them this is the natural thing to do and the prospect is not discouraging because the youthful heart throbs faster at the expectation of adventure. For those who serve, a civil career must be postponed; and it is not always easy to pick up the threads again when peace is restored. But it is the generation now leaving secondary schools which will be called upon to be among the chief builders of the new world which will arise out of present tribulations. It will then be their task to make certain that those qualities which tfyey learned to respect at school are really put into practice in dealings between nation and nation and man and man. For youth, perhaps more than for age, there is a sad side to the present human tragedy, but it avails little i to dwell on it. Youth prefers action to moralising. Our young people can still rise to great heights. Worthy causes and great leaders will still inspire them. As they continue on in the adventure of life what truer example could they have than that of our own Empire leader—Winston Churchill? In one of the darkest moments of history he is was who gave this message to the world: “Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilisation. We shall do our duty and so bear ourselves that, if the British Commonwealth and Empire lasts for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’ ” It is something both for youth and for age to be able to say that they have lived through the finest hour in the history of a great nation.