WORKERS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18804, 5 July 1929, Page 15

WORKERS’ EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION NOTES.

(Con tributed.) In organising W.E.A. classes throughout the country one often comes across the statement from men and women, who feel that they are too old to take up a serious study of any subject; “ That they are too old to begin learning again.” Professor Thorndike, of Columbia University. U.S_A., one of the greatest psychologists of modei n times, has done a great deal of experimentation along the line of the power of the adult to learn, states, “In general, nobody under forty-five should ~estrain himself to learn anything because of a belief or fear that he is too old to be able to learn it. Nor should he use that fear as an excuse for not learning anything which he ought to learn. If he fails in learning it, inability due directly to age will rarely if ever be the reason.’* This conclusion has been amply demon strated in W.E.A. classes in New Z°aland. In Auckland and in Canterbury W.E.A. students have passed on to the University Colleges and have been equal in study and thought to the other students attending those institutions. Therefore the age of a person should not prevent anyone making use of the facilities of adult education

Again the growing consciousness on the part of adults that they should continue their education is revealing itself in all civilised countries. There are those who think that the development of adult education movements is one of the most important forces making for race improvement that the world has ever known. The last decade of the nineteenth century saw the development of child education in most countries; the first decade of this cev witnessed the tremendous growth of secondary schools, both cultural and technical, while the last ten years particularly since the close of the war have seen a phenomenal development of adult education. This completes the educational highway along which anv person can now travel and reach the goal of an educated citizen, realising his duties and responsibilities to his community.

* The ideal of the W.E.A. in New Zealand m to have a class or study circle in every town and hamlet where the population is large enough to support a class. The only real obstacle to that end is the lack of finance for the em-

ployment of suitable tutors and for 1 the means of transport. As the rural districts or townships are so scattered a motor-car is absolutely essential unless the tutor is to waste his valuable time travelling: by train or bus. The geology class was thrown open to visitors last Tuesday evening when the tutor, Mr G. Jobbems, M.A., lectured on earth faults in relation to earthquakes. The large audience present were interested in the slides and the lecture in which these phenomena were explained. On Saturday. July 13, Mr W H Dixon, A.R.C.M., conductor of the Royal Choral Society, will give a lecture ih the W.E.A. rooms on “Schubert and his Songs,” illustrated with vocal items. Any person interested in music is invited attend. Public Speaking Class. A report on the work of this class for the half term just concluded, presented on Monday evening by Mr Reginald Jones, the secretary, stated that the roll had been purged by removing the names of students who had aot been attending the class regularly, and that the number on the' roll had been reduced to fifty-two. Of this number thirty-one were effective students—those who had attended at least 50 per cent of the meetings of the class—and the average attendance for the halfterm had been thirty. The lesson given by the tutor (Mr John Rigg) concerned logical reasoning, which he said was essential in debate. He did not advocate a serious study of logic, but some knowledge of direct and indirect inference—known as the sylldgism—would prove useful. He then explained the rules, and gave a number of examples of syllogisms. His next lesson, he said, would be devoted to showing students how to construct a syllogism. The debate on the question, “ That total prohibition of the liquor traffic ] would be in the best interests of this Dominion,” was continued by Mr T. A. < Stewart, Mr C. H. Godfrey. Mr Rowlands, and Miss Amy Parkinson. Mr J. M'Giinchy (negative) and Miss Mar- , ion Rigby (affirmative) having replied, a vote was taken which showed a ma- * jority of two in favour of prohibition, j In announcing that his criticism of the speeches delivered would be given next Monday evening, the tutor remarked that the number of speeches delivered in this debate—twenty-five—was the largest of any debate since he had been in charge of the class. A recitation by Mrs Broughton was well received.