Patea & Waverley Press FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1923. A NATIONAL STOCKTAKING

Patea Mail, Volume XLVI, 24 August 1923, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1923. A NATIONAL STOCKTAKING

THO SE who take an ii xterest in education in this country are agreed that there is s omething lacking- in the present system of education, though, unfon Innately, it is difficult to find two persons who are agreed on the question as to w hat is actually wr< >ng and which is he best course to pursue to imp rove matters. A lai .’ge number of people are agreed ithat the presetit syllabus is greatly overcrowded, but who will s.ay what shall be omitted or what extra subjects shall be included? A poinT that a number of people overlook is the fact that we are living in a progressive age, an age of hurry and bustle as compared w it'n that in which our fathers and grandfathers lived. If we wiyJi to travel from one part of the country to another we have the motor-car instead of the horse, or the railroad, and a journey that previously would have taken days is now one of a few hours—one might almost say minutes only. Then again the age. is one of progress with regard to the salaries paid. Boys of to-day are, thanks to the labour latvs, draw-

mg salaries that would have been thought beyond the dreams

oi avarice half a century ago. It is true that the cost of living has risen also, but the single man, when all necessaries of life are paid for, has far more to jingle in iris pocket than the single man of the early days. As a consequence, the youth of to-day is not content with the amusements and enjoyments with which his father was content when a boy. Years ago the father was content if he went to the theatre once of twice a year and to an occasional picnic or “tea-light.” To-day the youth must have amusement practically daily. There is no idea of thrift and little or no thought of the morrow. It is a case, for the most part, of “Let us eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we die.” The result is shown in a thousand and one ways to the detriment of the country as a whole. If the youth of to-day were to work on the lines of the pioneers of old, the country’s production would go up by leaps and bounds. How many hours a year are lost—hours that can never be regained —through time spent in unwarranted and unnecessary amusement? But for the fact that this country has been wonderfully endowed hy Nature, the effect of the craze for amusement would be more apparent. What is the remedy? Just as there are many cbntributing causes to the unfortunate state of affairs, so are there many ways in AviiicJi improvement may be effected. Encourage associations like the local Amateur Athletic Association that are out to foster clean and wholesome sport. Make the youngster realise from the start that there is more in amateur than professional sport. And with regard to the schools, we are old-fashioned enough to believe that we are on the wrong track in endeavouring to cram too much knowledge of material things into the head of the child at* the expense of the spiritual, in other words, too much attention is paid to the training of the child with a view to it being a success from a business point of view, and too little attention paid by parents, as well as by the education authorities, to the character of the child. The result is shown in the overcrowded places of amusement and the empty churches of the present day. An old sage has said that “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.” Very probably if the fear of God were made a greater feature in the education of the child, better results with regard to the future of the race would be obtained. Mr Isitt has a Bill, we understand, on these lines before Parliament at the present time. It may accomplish much in the direction desired. In any case the time is ripe for a national stocktaking, with a view to a change.