WORK TOO EARLY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23354, 20 November 1937, Page 14

WORK TOO EARLY

CHILDREN LEAVING SCHOOL “DANGEROUS TENDENCY” GOVERNMENT URGED TO ACT (Per United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, Nov. 19. Grave alarm at what was termed the dangerous tendency of children leaving school and going to work at too early an age was expressed at a meeting of the Christchurch Boy's’ Employment and Vocational Guidance Committee. After a long discussion in which terms of the strongest condemnation were used by several speakers, a resolution was passed asking the Government to put into effect legislation now on the Statute Book raising the school-leaving age to 15. “ Prosperity seems to bring problems almost as bad as those in the time of the depression,” said the vocational guidance officer, Mr G. M. Keys. The problems were entirely different from those faced two or three years ago but they were none the less causing justifiable concern. Headmasters were complaining of the serious effects of children leaving school too early. Senior classes in secondary_ schools were becoming so thin that it was a * cause of serious worry. If children continued to leave school at such an early age, whence would come recruits for the bigger jobs in the country? Heritage of Depression One factor that Mr Keys advanced as a possible reason fpr boys seeking work at so young an age was a fear—the heritage of the depression years—that it was not wise to let slip any opportunity of finding a job. “But we want these young boys to stay at school and live the life of a boy,” Mr Keys added. A certain amount of what might be termed deception was also causing worry to the committee, he added, and employers were responsible. Boys were attracted to jobs with promises that the positions would lead to something, but in many cases the promises were not fulfilled and the boys came back to register as unemployed a second time with several valuable months of their lives wasted in a job which had given them nothing of work. Strong Condemnation The strongest remarks of all were expressed by Mr A. E. Caddick. He gave several examples from his own school (West Christchurch) of pupils leaving too early. “Under the present system schools are turning out pupils no more than half educated,” he said. “ Are we to produce a race of half-educated morons? ” he asked, Mr Caddick dealt also with the hardships caused children in having to work at day and go to evening classes. None of the committee would allow children of their own to undergo such mental and physical strain each week, and he claimed that such procedure tended to produce a race of C 3 people.