THE PRESENT-DAY BOY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21249, 1 August 1932, Page 11

THE PRESENT-DAY BOY

ENGLISH CRITICISM REMARKS NOT SUPPORTED POST-WAR TENDENCIES Tho severe criticism of tho modern English boy, uttered by the headmaster of Lancing College last week, at the centenary dinner of the British Medical Association, is gravely open to question, in the opinion of two leading Auckland headmasters. The headmaster of Lancing, Mr. C. H. Blakiston, according to a cablegram published on Saturday, said by comparison with the boy of 30 years ago, the modern boy was timid, untruthful and dishonest. Ho expected to bo taken everywhere. Above all, ho feared loneliness and boredom. Consequently tho old spirit of adventuro was destroyed. The war had had a definite result upon those who were infants in the period 1914-18. Consequently there were numerous young peoplo who worked feebly and played feebly. " I heard no complaints of the kind when I was in England lately," said tho Rev. H. K. Archdall, headmaster of King's College, when asked for his opinion. " There is no doubt about the physical effects of the war upon children, but I do not believe that on tho average boys to-day are inferior in character to thoso of years ago. Generalisations of this kind are to be condemned; they are easy to mako and as easy to refute. The results of the war are very real, but the only fair way to discuss them is in relation to the whole population. It is not right to single out the poor boy for criticism, and especially without reference to his environment. If Mr. Blakiston's remarks are justified, they should be made to apply to the people in general."

Post-war Environment, There was much in modern life that made a disquieting outlook for the future, Mr. Archdall continued. In the post-war period, society had gone through a good deal of demoralisation, and the moral fibre of the people had coarsened in some degree. It was even arguable that civilisation was slipping. Many people were playing fast and loose with tradition, and institutions of all kinds threatened to go under, including the greatest—the Christian Church. In the community at large there was no longer the cultivation of character that had produced such great and beneficial effects in the past. " The post-war world has not been particularly helpful to the younger generation," concluded Mr. Archdall. " Anyone who finds fault with tho character or conduct of young people should not treat the matter in a shallow way, but should be prepared to discuss the causes, which lie deep in our present civilisation." The headmaster of the Auckland Grammar School, Mr. H. J. D. Mahon, in reply to an inquiry, said he did not consider the*, criticism at all applicable to New Zealand boys. "In tho course of long, and, I believe, wide experience as a teacher, I have never noticed any general deterioration of character among boys in the past 20 or 30 years," said Mr. Mahon. " In fact, I believo that tho boy of io-day could more than hold his own with the boy of a generation ago. Effect on Physique. " It is quite true that some of boys born in the war period, who have been entering the secondary schools in the past year or two, are rather below the average in physique. We are doing everything possible for them by arranging remedial exercises and so forth. Of course, by no means all boy s of the same age are affected in that way. Apart from this physical aspect, I cannot see any ill-effects of the war upon our boys." Mr. Mahon added that he found tho average modern New Zealand boy very far from " timid, untruthful and dishonest," or lacking in character and initiative. In school, games and military drill, large numbers of boys were placed in positions of responsibility, and usually did themselves much credit. Hobbies and outside pursuits, such as choral and orchestral music, photography and wireless, were fostered, and were taken up keenly. It was certainly untrue to say that among the many interests round them, New Zealand schoolboys suffered from lassitude or boredom.