THE Thames Star. SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1927. A MATTER OF EDUCATION.

Thames Star, Volume LXII, Issue 17320, 7 January 1928, Page 4

THE Thames Star.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1927. A MATTER OF EDUCATION.

"With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the rijjht."—Lincoln.

It is not unreasonable to assume that the powerful pronouncements against war, in which even men who have devoted their lives to the profession of arms seem on occasion to, he ready in these days to join, .give voice to a feeling that is entertained by the great mass of the people of all enlightened nations. The meaning of modern warfare has been learned by bitter and terrible experience, the memory of which is still to a degree poignant and disturbing. And the knowledge that even within a decade there has been such an advance in the development of instruments of destruction, in the mechanisation,of armies and through scientific and chemical discoveries and so forth, that another war would be fought in 'circumstances still more ruthless and devastating, must, ever and anon, even in the case of the optimist, dissipate the hopeful reflection that everything is for, the best hi the best possible of Avoiids. If war has become unthinkable, as is sometimes suggested, the f<jar of it should not exist. But as that fear does exist the best that can be done is to utilise it to such purpose that the feeling against war may render such methods of settling' international disputes truly unthinkable and impossible. Not through mere pacifism will the desired end be achieved. Constructive effort is needed, and education must be its handmaiden. 'Those who look to the League of Nations as the most hopeful instrument for the preservation of world peace realise the importance of educational propaganda. The League is itself alive to the desirability of winning to its cause the youth of the nations which it represents. Its International Committee on Intellectual Co-opera-tion has adopted the recommendations of a sub-committee of experts oii* the instruction of children and young people in the existence and aims of the Geneva organisation, these recommendations coming under the headings: (1) How to make*, the League of Nations known to children and young people; (2) How to deyelop the spirit of international cooperation among children and their teachers; (3) Administrative machinery. It is proposed that instruction in the work of the League and the International Labour Organisation should be given to all children and young people, not only in ordinary schools, but'also in special schools of all types —agricultural, technical, commercial, military and naval. Emphasis has been laid upon the desirability of co-operation, when possible, on the part of "universities for the people/' trade unions, and co-opera-tive societies, and it has been recommended that a special reference book giving an account of the work of the

League and the Labour organisation be prepared for lire use of teachers, I the form of work to vary in each' country. All this seems to point to a hopeful prospect for the furtherance ! of the ideals of the League through the educational systems of the na-1 tions. Only the pessimist would say J that the plan is not worth trying. The Council ,of Education in our own Dominion has expressed its realisation of the ''paramount need for educative work in the direction of international knowledge as the indispensable preliminary for international goodwill and service," and has recommended the Department of Education to utilise more fully available educational publications for the purpose of familiarising schools with the'organisation and,activities of the League of Nations and the work and ideals of the League of Nations Union. There is no reason why New Zealand should,not keep pace with others which are interesting themselves in educational effort of this kind.