WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20875, 15 November 1929, Page 3

WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING. ADDRESS BY DR G. E. THOMPSON. 1 There was a large attendance at the annual meeting of the Workers' Educational Association held in the Council Chambers at the Town Hall last night. The president (Dr G. E. Thompson) occupied the chair. ADOPTION OF REPORT. In moving the adoption of the annual report the president stated that he wished to make a few remarks on the movement as a whole, and on the work done by our local organisation during the year. The report was full and comprehensive, and gave u clear indication of the progress made, of tho difficulties encountered, and of tfie plans for the coming year. It showed that tho local district council was striving to tho Utmost limit of its resources to extend and develop tho work wherever an adequate demand existed. By the aid of tutorial classes, preparatory courses, circles working under the bos j scheme, and broadcast lectures, tho assoi ciation was reaching out into the outlying parts of the province from Oamaru to the Bluff; and there were abundant evidence? ] that its efforts were being appreciated. One or two items in the report deserved special emphasis. The first was tho proposal to institute a bursary system giving free tuition in university classes to promising W.E.A. students. This had been submitted to tho University Council, and there was reason to hope that a beginning ; would be made by tho selection of such a i student for 1030. In Auckland, where the scheme had been in operation for a number of years, the results had been most impressive. One Auckland bursar, after passing through the W.E.A. classes, had taken his degree, and had become assistant lecturer to the professor of economics. ' —(Applause.) Secondly, a most gratifying indication of the faith of the commitnity in the work of the association was the generous action of the trustees of the Dunedin Savings Bank in making a donation of £2OO to the funds. As finance was the most pressing of the association’s problems, this donation, which was subsidisablo, was, therefore, doubly serviceable. Other points worthy of note Wote the success of Mr Lloyd Ross’s factory lunch-time talks, the opening of a class for the staff of the Scacllff Mental Hospital, and the well-directed enthusiasm of the drama class. This class was doing an immense ■ service to the local movement by making itself the social centre. One of the most significant facts of the present educational situation throughout the world, said the president, was what one writer called the boom in adult education, especially in English-speaking communities Adult education was not a new thing. In one form or another it had been in- active operation for many generations. But the institution of the W.E.A. had focussed the whole movement, had given unity and prestige to the scattered elements till adult education, formerly a matter of private, occasional, and individual effort, was now an integral part of the educational system of the State and had become the people's university. The university tutorial class system, which had been called the eldest child Of the W.E.A., had given body and tone to its methods, But the movement had developed still further and other children had been born. Under tho tutorial elass system students were required to enrol for three years for advanced study in some subject, and the class was preserved as a self-contained, exclusive entity till the three years’ course was completed. Already in England, as in New Zealand, tho need hod arisen for some relaxation of this ultra-rigid provision, and the English Board Of Education had had to extend the scope Or its grants to other activities such ns 'one-year classes, short courses, and classes of the‘ type of extension lectures. ; There Was thus some justification for the j almost total abandonment in New Zealand of the three-year class. In no ago had. been so much heart-searching and ; anxious debate on the subject of education as the present. A survey of the opinions expressed by writers on the aims, methods, and effectiveness of education often made depressing reading. Some T rl f ei Jf "’ cre frankly pessimistic, saying that the time had come to scrap everything and start, afresh; that the, whole process and aim of education was wrong; that its methods were too standardised and too stereotyped, resembling the famous bed °* Procrustes: ’that they wore working under thc_ fallacy that a perfect system ot education could of itself prove the salvation of the world ; that the fallacy lav in the assumption that everybody was capable of being educated; that tho spread of Knowledge had not created a more orderly society than that which existed before the days of modern education; that education had not improved the moral fibre of mankind. Happily, there were writers quite as optimistic who regarded education ns the hope of the world; who hold that disappointment , in results was merely the natural outcome ot over-high ideals and exorbitant expectations; that everybody was educable not ell in the same way. but in some way; that the present disorder in organised society was the restless but healthy stirrings of an awakening world. Democracy was not yet free from all danger. f.. ar fl i on £i u ;. , A - s a . writer stated in a current English review, democracy was graiely menaced by tho ever-growing complexity of the world under modern conditions. The social organism was no longer a simple thing, but an immense maas of inextricably interming'ed interests. The problems set bsfore them are so vast and so difficult that an age specialisation had set in—not only sn science and the _ realms of pure knowledge, but in social and political matters as well. Each individual and group was becoming more and more specialised, and it was becoming more and more difficult for the plain man to comprehend life and to adjust himself to it. In the political field alone issues were constantly arismg which were too intricate for the ordinary voter, or even for the “ special's®? man in the street called the politician. There was a danger lest the voter, lacking the education and knowledge necessary to enable him to analyse and weigh difficult issurj, might be content to hand over his judgment lock, stock, and barrel to his neighbour, tho politician, and surrender the affairs of government to anyone who impressed him w’th an assumption of knowledge. The article in question made the significant statement that.’ the least educated parts °f Europe, were Italy, Russia, and Spain, and that it was precisely in these countries that the hands of the clock had been turned back and an almost mediaeval despotism had arisen. “ The only alternative to (his despotism is adult education. Study, hard study, becomes increasingly necessary to all countries that wish to retain the democratic forms of polity. Paradoxical though the statement might seem, there was a certain amount of despotism rife even in their much-vaunted democracy. They have despotism of party interests, despotism of doctrine and theory, despotism of party* shibboleths -iay. even despotism of one book. It was every man’s sacred duty to think for .himself.. They must cultivate their individual judgment, and not become mere passive receivers of knowledge. One aim above all others was part and parcel of the W.E.A. tutorial class work; to encourage active and independent thought. This was why the W.E.A. clung to its class system of one hour of lecturing ny the tutor and one hour class discussion. The first hour was devoted to informing, the sccon. to defining., criticising, estimating. judging. The learner who accustomed himself to asking “why ” had gone a long way to building up bis individual judgment. In conclusion, he would like to express the appreciation which he knew the whole District Council and Tutorial Class Committee felt of the services performed by the director- (Dr Fisher) and the secretary (Mr Bradley) Everyone in tli movement knew the ability and the energy with which they had devoted themselves to the many details of the organisation. Further there were few j institutions in the Dominion that wore more indebted to the unselfish and wholehearted enthusiasm of both staff and ; members of the W.E.A. The motion was seconded by Mr L. J. Spence.. Mr W. J. Morrell (vice-chancellor of the University of Otago) said that the University Council was will'ng to take its share of tho work, but the extent to which it could help was limited by lack of funds. It gave the members of the council pleasure to see what success the association was having. He predicted a great future for the movement, and referred to the value of the work it was doing. He also referred to recent criticism of the movement, and stated that the answer was that the pursuit of knowledge was disinterested. He hoped

that the association’s operations would go on with ever-widening success and ever-widening recognition by the community. After the report had been discussed at length the motion was carried. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The election of office-bearers resulted as follows: —President, Dr G. E. Thompson; vice-presidents—Messrs T. K, Sidey, W. J. Morrell, and F. Jones; auditors — Messrs H. Brasch and F. Jones. VOTE OF THANKS. On the motion of Dr A. G. B. Fisher, a vote of thanks was accorded the press, bodies which had provided rooms for meetings, and people who had assisted tho association during the year.