THE BREAKING UP.

Waikato Times, Volume 104, Issue 17586, 15 December 1928, Page 13 (Supplement)

THE BREAKING UP.

CHILDREN COME OUT TO PLAY.

(By "Marama.")

In most households the great event Jo-day is the school break up, and the festivities connected with it. The greatest change of modern times is the attitude towards children, and the break up at school is the culminating point. It was always, of course, a great day for the children, but now it has come to be a great day for the adults. Old people may wonder sometimes whether it is good for the juniors to be brought into the limelight to such an extent, but we may comfort ourselves with the reflection that it has been going on for a good many years and that there is so far no sign of any bad results. It used to be the fashion to have a formal prize-giving, which was a sufficiently thrilling occasion for the few who were in the 'running, but was dull enough to parents, for not even Demosthenes himself could have found anything fresh to say. That is the only apology that can be made for the behaviour of chil- ; dren of a larger growth attending a , University. They are supposed to <

have reached the stage when they can ¥regulate their conduct without a master to maintain discipline. Unfortunately, only one part of the hypothesis holds good. There is no master, but

also there is no regulation of conduct, and students turn the proceedings into a bear garden. Dull speeches are an inadequate excuse; most of them in after life will have to listen to speeches equally long and equally dull, and will not be able to play the clown to relieve their feelings. Many of them, indeed, may be concerned in the making of lons dull speeches, and will be just as merciless as those who do such things to-day. The Play's the Thing. We have Improved on the speeches, and to-day it is the custom to entertain the parents with something more enlivening. Often it play of some kind in'which the young people take the parts, and one of the real surprises of to-day is the discovery that a certain amount of dramatic talent and often a very respectable amount is anything but rare. Probably if any- , one were asked he would say it was Qot a line in which our people would shine. In spite of a general taste for pleasure there is a strong Puritan element in the community, and it would have been expected that the people of New Zealand were too stiff necked and too self-conscious to succeed in drama. We have not yet made good

in careers that would have seemed more likely, and are making up by succeeding in the unexpected.

Life is Short; Art Long.

It would be pleasant to think that with the dramatic show there went a certain cultivation of'.literature. -It is to be feared that this is seldom the case. Plays are not as a rule of any great literary, quality, in spite of Shakespeare;* indeed, there arc some of his plays that require all the glamour of his name to make us think much of them. The strain of combining stage action with literary quality is generally too great, and the literature is sacrificed to the stage action. With young people the difficulty is increased because the range of subjects is narrowed. But within that narrow range it is often found that a good deal of the actors' quality is present. We have many of the conditions favourable to art in New Zealand, but not we should have thought to dramatic art. Let us be thankful for any of art, and not complain because it is not what we expected. We are often told that it is a materialistic age, and science in some shape is that which shows the greatest growth. It is a matter of congratulation therefore to find that art still possesses attraction, and that it appals to,the young people who will be the New Zealanders of a few years hence. In a country so favoured with scenery and climate art should flourish. It has endless forms, and is not by any means limited to painting in oils. There is, in fact, something rather artificial and forced in that particular manifestation of art, which should rather be found in the articles of every-day use, or in the lay-out of the garden most people possess. It is a sad fact that as one rides through the country the number of attractive farm-houses to be seen is small. It is not a matter of money, for it costs no more to have a dwelling in good taste, and in keeping with its surroundings; but after all, this is a matter which will be duly attended to by the bright boys and girls who are now leaving school.

The Child Is Father of the Man.

Breaking up is commonly a lime of . high spirits, but at the same time "f there is often an' undertone of sadness. The children can scarcely expect to be as happy again, and some of them know it. It is the parents, however, who feel it most. A large part of their life's work has come to an end. For most men and most women the chief part of their life's work lies in giving the next generation a good start. Some parents are happy enough to have younger ones to follow, and there is a kind of Indian summer for grandparents when the second generation began to appear, to grow interesting, to win prizes, maybe to matriculate and distinguish themselves. The Indian summer is charming, but It is not quite the same as the first pleasure and pride in the achievements of the offspring. The restriction of the family is preached *■** to-day, and the arguments for it are very strong, but it is still true that "Blessed is the man that hath his quiverfull of them," and even more blessed are they that have the fortune to grow up in a big family. The big school is the next best thing, but it is a poor second. An old gentleman of taste and discernment said that there should be a child of about two years old provided for every household. It sounds impossible, but if orphan homes and their inmates were scattered over the country it might be managed and would compensate for many of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Certainly they are not always as amenable and agreeable at 22 as at two, but if the truth be told the fault lies as often with the parents as with the child. Such an idea would have been considered preposterous a couple of generations back; now it is a truism, and indeed it a' question whether we have not cone too far in consideration of the child's pont of vew. Perhaps someone will start a Society for the prolccof oppressed Fathers and Mothers.