A study of the philosophy underlying Labour's educational reforms in New Zealand, with particular reference to the period, 1935 - 1940

Abstract

As a Labour supporter I have always been interested in T.S. Eliot's observation that: The lengthened shadow of a man Is history, said Emerson, Who hadn't seen the silhouette Of Sweeney straddled in the sun. On the one hand I have always felt and hoped that the visionary plays at least some part in lengthening man's shadow. On the other hand, a working-class upbringing and early manual occupations suggested to me that the raw material of the future lies in the mass of common people who so often frustrate the designs of visionaries by being undesignedly human. At what point, if any, do social ideals and common needs meet? This problem, which head created something of a dichotomy in my way of thinking, was intensified on entering the teaching profession. As I saw it then, and still see it, educational ideals are of little value unless they can be translated into a source of social power; ideals which cannot be accepted and understood by the great majority of the people are destined to remain ideals and no more. If the main function of education is to lift man above his environment, then at some stage the common man must share in the ideals which, it is hoped, will bring this about.