Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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The Voyageur of schools for Toronto, is quoted as follows: HWe have now lost about 140 men teachers of 900 on our staff by enlistment, and it is soon coming to the point where further enlistment may injure the school system. It has already reached the point where it is almost impossible to obtain teach- er replacement in certain subject areas, particularly mathematical, scien- tific and technical branches. If this process continues the time is not far distant when we may not be able to provide a continuing supply of ade- quately trained young people for industry or for those branches of the ser- vice such as the Air Force in which a fairly advanced educational status .is absolutely necessaryf, - This is not imagination. England already recognizes this danger. R. A. Butler, president of the Board of Education, is quoted in the London Times as saying: uthe teaching profession has contributed to the forces as much of its share as can safely be permitted. No further inroads are con- templated at present. V These facts all point in one direction. One of the most important but most neglected matters at the present time is the adequate use and conser- vation of our human resources, not only for the immediate present but for the better tomorrow. Effective training and education of today's youth is more important than ever before. All expenditures to this end constitute no more than an insurance premium that all we are spending to win the war, will not, in the long run, be lost. In our organization of man power we must not neglect the reserve of man power still available in our schools. It is unfortunate that our Fed- eral Government is so hesitant to touch the subject of ueducationv. We all recognize that there are constitutional limitations but surely in a time of such emergency as the present, ways and means should be found to de- velop a great national revival among our youth in which all agencies would unite, federal, provincial and municipal governments, schools-public and private, all the voluntary welfare organizations and agencies, service clubs, the churches, the Y.lVl.C.A.,s, the Boy Scouts--in other words, all those who believe in youth. Such a national youth revival would capitalize on the enthusiasm and idealism of youth. lt would provide an outlet for youthful energy in terms of immediately useful services. lt would help to give faith in Canada and Canada's future and to train young people to serve Canada, the Empire and humanity both for today and for the fairer tomorrow. Such a task is too big for the schools alone. To be successful it must be national in scope and broadly conceived to capture the imagination of our whole people. In the meantime, however, there are some matters to which members of high school boards and teachers can give their attention. The Department of Education is planning to introduce a number of so-called defence courses which will be correlated with other branches of the curriculum. For older students these courses are at the present time a necessary step. They will help to provide older boys and girls with some feeling of participation in the total community effort. We must, however, be certain that in provid- ing specialized training for immediate needs, that the basic content of good education is not lost. 28

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The Voyageur subordination of the individual. In our new order every individual must have dignity and importance in his own right. Professor George S. Counts of Columbia University has defined democracy as HA sentiment with respect to the moral quality of man and an aspiration towards a society in which that sentiment may find complete fulfilmentn. To create that society is our privilege-it is our task,-the objective of our struggle, our effort and our sacrifice. The period in which we are living is undoubtedly one of 'the great periods of change in human history. What we do now, not only may but will affect the pattern of life for millions of people yet unborn. Our task, therefore, at this moment, -is a three-fold one. If we are 'to survive at all the war must be won. To accomplish even this task will take all that we have of fortitude and courage. At the same time we must preserve all those values that make civilized living worthwhile, and we must determine a peace of such a character that the transmission of those values will be guaranteed to posterity. It is an obligation on all of us. to utilize our every effort that these three results can be achieved. Anything less than that is a denial of the finest traditions of our nation and our race and equally certainly it is a betrayal of the future. In recent months there has been much talk of Hprioritiesw in business and industry. I do not believe that we can achieve these three-fold objec- tives unless we can concern ourselves here and now with human priorities. Tanks, battleships and aeroplanes do not alone win wars. Modern war requires men, not only of hrawn but of brain. Similarly to win the peace and to achieve uour brave new world will require men better, stronger and of finer calibre both mentally and physically than any previous generation. We have seen our young people unwanted, untrained, under-nourished, growing cynical and disillusioned, doubtful of their place in the world and in society. Today we are depending on them, and the shape of things to come will depend upon them even more. We are, however, I am afraid, still unconscious of the importance of our human resources. The figures on rejections for military service have drawn our attention to the fact that we are not an A1 nation physically. It is a sad commentary that over 4092 of our young men are rejected for military service on purely physical grounds. It is too bad that it takes a war to make us conscious of such defects. Bad as this is, I am more concerned with the moral and spiritual de- terioration that is evident since the outbreak of the war. Reports from England indicate a large increase in juvenile delinquency. The Big Brother Movement in New York City has already reported a sharp rise. In our own city of Toronto the juvenile court reports an increase of 1L71QQi, in juvenile delinquency in 1941 over 1940, and the Big Brother Movement has reported that 512, of all cases coming to their attention are affected in some way by the warj In a Toronto suburban area there was recently reported a sharp struggie over the school budget. I do not know the rights or wrongs of that par- ticular conflict but it has been drawn to public attention at the recent an- nual meeting of the I.O.D.E. that Canadian education is suffering from de- creased financial support, from curricula speed-up schedules and lower standards of teaching. In the Toronto Star, Dr. Goldring, superintendent 27

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The Voyageur Under date of Nov. 12, 1941 the Bureau of Navigation at Washington, D.C. noted that of 8,000 applicants, all college graduates, for commission- ing as ensigns, some 3,000 had to be rejected because they had no mathe- matics or insufficient mathematics at college. The Educational Policies Commission, in HA War Policy for American Schoolsn goes so far as to recommend that high schools provide no further extension of specific mili- tary training in the schools. It is obvious that there are fundamental as- pects of an educational programme which are essential and which must be continued. There must also be more awareness by our teachers and by school boards of the physical needs of all our children. ln this country where good food is still available, it is vital that no child should suffer from mal- nutrition and there must be ample provision made for medical and physical programmes in our schools that will raise our C3 level to an A1. It is my conviction also that it may be necessary for the authorities to demand that certain teachers should stay with their teaching jobs as a form of essential though non-military service. I realize that such a procedure raises problems, but we have proven equal to other problems just as dif- ficult. Lewis Mumford, in a recent article in The New Republic, pointed out that in a time of famine even primitive tribes had enough sense to save the seed corn for the next crop. In a very real sense we are responsible for saving the cultural seed corn of the next generation if the total objec- tive of our war effort is to be achieved. School Boards will be tempted to economize. Great care must be taken that any economies that are exercised are not of the apenny wise and pound foolishn type. The proper conser- vation and training of our human resources is an A priority, and members of Trustee Boards can best serve their constituencies and fulfil their obli- gations to the future by facing their tasks at this time in that spirit. I know it is a truism to point out that the youth of our country con- stitute our single greatest national asset, but under the strain of war time emotions we are apt to overlook or forget it. What is a boy? 'GA person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is to sit right where you are sitting and attend to things which you think so important, when you are gone. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they will be carried out depends upon him. Even if you makes leagues and treaties, he will have to manage them. He will take your seat in Parliament, assume control of your Cities, States, and Empires. He is going to move in and take over your Churches, Schools, Universities, Corporations, Councils and Prisons. All your work is going to be judged and praised and condemned by him. '4The future and destiny of humanity are in his hands, so it might be well to pay a little attention to him nowf, 29