SPOKEN ENGLISH.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13642, 28 August 1937, Page 7

SPOKEN ENGLISH.

VALUE OF ARTS AND CRAFTS. The deplorable conditions of use. or “misuse/’ into which oral English has i alien were criticised by Air W. (I. Black, president of the Dominion Federation of School Committees’ Associations, in his address to th© conference at New Plymouth recently. Mr Black urged the conference to make an appeal to authority to give the subjects of English, Arts and Crafts and th© Science of Internationalism and Peace their necessary and immediate place in any revised curriculum.

“Other nations teach a pride in the full and correct use of their own language,'’ he said. “AYhere is our pride in. our own tongue? Where is the style, dignity and thoughtfulness of expression ? Where is the beauty, grace and rhythm of diction ? Is there much real love of literature? Do scholars really know the difference between good and bad English ? If so, why do we hear so little good English •and such paucity of expression? Whose is the responsibility ? Is it the answer. ‘That knowledge and correct use and style of oral English cannot be measured by examination.’ EARLY TRAINING.

‘ I think that the teaching of good oral English is a matter of example and of careful and constant early training. All teachers themselves should possess certain proved qualifications in this regard and should be a living example of correct oral English and dignity of expression, no matted what the subject matter being taught at any one time. 11l eveiy subject in our school curriculum constant, if not paramount, attention should be given to pronunciation and correct use and style of English even though it delay somewhat the teaching of other subjects. It is too important and too much a vehicle of constant use and habit ior its neglect to be continued.” IMPORTANT PART.

The second thought he wished to leave with the conference was arts and crafts. Too little attention, he said, was paid to this phase of education as an important part of any national life.

With increasing leisure in the adult a S e , c ! < ? rnin S from the mechanisation oi all classes of production and changes m the social order, there was increasing necessity for useful and healthy means of occupying the mmd and hand. Sport alone did not appear the remedy. It might be healthy for the body, but did it fully satisfy both mind and body? Arts and crafts were things to develop the creative instinct, something to maintain and promote interest! something to exercise yet ease the mmd, a. solace, a stimulation for the .something to turn to outside the daily routine, in any leisure hour under any conditions and without v liicli leisure was dangerous, and resulting idleness would create unrest and discontent. VITAL THINGS.

Mhv are the peoples of so manv small foreign nations so happy and contented under almost any economic and social conditions, when others so called more enlightened, are' in a state of unrest, Mr Black continued. Jf is because of their folk lore, their music, their national crafts and arts ; the vital things which help to mould character and develop selfreliance and initiative, the real playground ol leisure which constitutes the background of their national life • the essentials to a peaceful, satisfied nature. Their inheritance and their use should almost be instinctive to us all. No national life can be sound or peaceful without the right background. MINISTER. OF PEACE. Dealing with the third subject, Mr Black said that in every Cabinet of the world s Governments one of the first appointments made is that ot Minister of War. In these (lavs „f so called advanced civilisation whv Should not the first Cabinet appointment not be a Minister of Peace? “If we begin with the child's mind by inculcating in it the fallacy, waste and tragedy of war; if we can teach the value of tolerance and the necessity of understanding tliorough•y fhe national outlook and nature of other races, we will have gone some distance on the road to promoting a life of peace and harmonv with other peoples. -I*>es not the greatest opportunity •or this lie in the eyes, ears and brains of youth? Wireless, television, ail* travel and increasing leisure are bringing the world closer together with greater means of understanding all nationalities and their problems. J NTER NATIONAL. “Insularity has disappeared. Music, love of literature, arts and era its are international by instinct. \\ by not peace by instinct? Why not teach the new philosophy in the world s schools, the 'Science of Internationalism and Peace. “If J v £ hi our generation cannot succeed perhaps in the rising generations ol tlit* world such a. philosophy would possess greater potentialities of success. Let iis in all our efforts to develop and improve the curriculum of our primary school life, try and express a. more human conception of man and his place in Nature. “It we can create amongst our children a sound knowledge of love of good English and literature, if we develop the use amongst them of arts and crafts until the desire for them becomes almost instinctive, then the third—the science of internationalism and peace—should be easier of development.