1936-06-10 — Page 6

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1936.

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The

Hongkong Telegraphı.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1938.

CHINA PUZZLE

From the plethora of pro- clamations, manifestoes and official disclaimers it is not easy to gain a truc picture of what is transpiring in Canton in con- nection with the renewed dis-i play of patriotic zeal which finds expression in an allegedly in- tense desire that China should, without further ado, meet Japanese inroads into Chinese sovereignty by actual armed ré- sistance. Not only is it difficult to appreciate what is the real motive behind the movement,

but even on points of fact, such

na the exact disposition of the Southern armies, reports are|| strangely confusing. In some quarters it is stated that Kwang- si and Kwangtung forces are actually over the Hunan border;į

E

CRAMMING KILLS

|DUCATIONAL experts have for years theorised on the problem of the backward child, the prob- lem of the dunce who becomes an outstanding success in after years, and the problem of the brilliant chlid who never Ulses above mediocrity in adult Bro.

The Prime Minister recently stated that, he was convinced ho Owed any success he had achieved to the fact that ho was slow at school, and developed inte. Again and again, he said, he had seen the brilliant youngster burn out and become a tired 'nonentity at forty. Obviously, it is problem of the very

first importance and has an immense effect on the life of the nation, yet so far as I am aware there has been no attempt at an exhaustive and unbiased exam- ination of it by the educational experts in conjunction with the doctors.

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NLY the doctor can say. If anyone can, just why these things happen and how Is that our hopes and fears concerning a youngster's future are so often falsifrd.

Admittedly, the schoolaimstet da in a difficult porinton. Luis 190 is to 1700 results. Parents and their children to school to be taught, and If the child does not in it must be through the incizacy of the school and the stupidity of the form master.

In self-defence, therefore, the schoolmaster must get his steady flow of successful scholars, and it these are sufciently impressive, his proportion of failures will be tolerated.

Inevitably, this leads to the brit-` llant boy being driven as hard as possible while the lazy one is. sooner or later, left to his own devices. Yet to produce results of a lasting character, the cutreck procedure would usually be the exact opposite!.

Boys can be divided into five types-stupid. Inzy, Intelligent but obstructive, Intelligent and co- operative, and brilliant. About the only types likely to derive any per-

manent benefit from cramming are the stupid and the inzy, and those are the very types that never get.it

T

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HOUE boys who are either brilliant ar tell-

cent and co-operative are the master's pride and joy. The former absorb knowledge almost without effort. The latter try so hard and work so enthusias-

tienlly that there is often little to choose between them in actual.

results.

From the master's point of

view, the really heartbreaking boy

-To-day's Thought..................... ENVY is the most corroding of

the vices, and also the greatest power in any land.

-J. M. BARRIE..

in others, it is reported that the tact with the the situation than

for perfervid patriots far re- troops are merely being held in

moved from the real danger- readiness to march north once the order is given. It may,

spot. This much seems certain that noisy clamouring for re- however, serve the clarify the.

sistance to Japan, especially if situation from the military

it carries with it the possibility standpoint to point out that the

of internal strife in China, is! proclamation issued a few days

likely to defeat its own purpose. ago by Southern army leaders,

Never was there a Frenter including Generals Chan Chai-

need for caution in China's at- tong, Pei Hsung-hs and Li

titude towards Japan than at Chung-yen, went no further than

the present time. Meanwhile, appealing to Nanking to take a

there is more than a suspicion determined stand against Japan

that personal ambition and and asking permission to des-

enmity are at the back of the patch troops for the purpose of present agitation, coupled with aiding in the resistance. On the other issues which bear little re- general question of the motives | lation to surface appearances. behind the fresh outburst of

|

NOTES OF THE DAY

SHIPBUILDING

BRAINS

by a

Wimpole Street

DOCTOR

Is the Intelligent but obstruc- tive. That is the boy of whom It is continually said, " Could do far better if he made an effort." He has the brains, but he just won't use them. Yet that is precisely the type of boy who develops Inte in life, who is striding forward to fame and success at forty when the boys who won all the scholar- ships are lost in their safe and uninspiring jobs.

As we watch the daily miracle of a growing child, I scens such a simple, natural operation that it is impossible for anything much to go wrong with It. Yet actually It is such an incredibly intriante process that even now our moviedge of precisely what #003 on 15 hazy and incom- plete.

The speed of a child's develop- ment I controlled by the Endo- crine 633tem-that battery of duct- less glands whose power and Influ- enco have only recently been re- cognised. Yet the endocrine glands, In turn, are at the mercy of dozens of other bodily factors, any one of which may produce far-reaching results.

A

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LTHOUGH

All the glands are formed at the time of birth, they do not all assume their functions

at the same time. Their develop- ment may be retarded by some unknown factor innate in them- solves, or by some extraneous condition such as septic absorp- tion from bad tonsils, from ade- nolds, from under-feeding, or from constipation.

Bear in mind that underfeeding includes an inadequate and un- suitable diet and may be found In children of the wealthiest familles and at the biggest public school:.

How often, then, can one And boys who at some time or other during their development are not subject to self-poisoning from at least one of the causes I have mentioned? Very rarely, indeed, yetboys are expected at all times to produce a fixed output of work, irrespective of what their physical condition may be.

It is not sufficiently widely re-

SIDE GLANCES

From the master's point of view, the really hoart. breaking boy is the intelligent but obstructive type. ·

cognised that the mere action of growing and developing throws n big strain on a child's physical and mental powers. Only the most robust have sufficient energy both to grow at a normal rate and to study. hard.

That is why we so frequently see that the "clever" children are small; thin and dislike games. Their supply of what might be termed vital force" is insum- elent to nourish both brain and body. As most of it is absorbed by the brain, the body inevitably sufferu.

tor.

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ONSIDER a simple and familiar apparatus like the electric accumula- If it is to give good service it must be charged at a certain rate, and only a fixed amount of electricity must be put into it. If either of these factors is exceeded, the plates will buckle and will be. ruined.

Now the human body-particu- larly the body of a child-is very like an accumulater. It is safe to pump. only.a. certain amount of knowledge in at a certain speed. Naturally, the amount and the speed will vary with individuals, Just as it varies with different

By George Clark

"I could have been a big shot, but my mother wouldn't let me fly the ocean when I wanted to.”

types of accumulators. But the limit is there, and it is fatally easy to exceed it.

The dangerous thing is that each year the schoolmasters want to alm at higher ɛlan- dards, to pump in more know- ledge in a shurter tinic. Twenty-five years ago the amount of knowledge nessa- sary to pass matriculation was. almost negligible compared with the amount needed to pass it to-day.

Yet can it be contended that this: extra accumulation of scholastic: facts will give the boy of Lo-day any advantage in later life cont- pared with his predecessor of twenty-five years ago?

I wonder what the result wilt be in twenty-five yours from now of this forcing-house system of education and the fetish of the competitive examination. Tena of thousands of appointments which constitute those vital frst steps up the ladder of success are being made to-day on the results of examinations, and these posts are going to young men whose glandular and nervous systems have been over-taxed by years of cramming.

S

*

OONER or later, the juneven development of

these all important functions will tell its tale. By that time the routine of promotion by seniority will have brought these men to relatively high places, so we shall get our Civil Service and our big businesses run mainly, by burnt-out men-men who no longer possess the nerve or drive or initiative to cope with big events and to make swift and accurate decisions,

↑

This subject should be tho- roughly investigated before it is too late. The object of school education should not be to achieve a number of examination Luc- cesses, but to give all boys a carc- fully graded physical and mental training that will them and prepare them for the tasks they have

to do in after life,

In an ideal school the 'brilliant boys should not be encouraged they should be retarded. It is the slow and dull ones who should ab- sorb the major portion of the teacher's attention. It might be argued that this would tend to produce a dull level of mediocrity. but if it did, would that be very serious?

T

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HE brilliant boy would still be brilliant,, even

if he had not dómog- strated his ability by passing examinations, And the slow boy would still be a dull plodder, even if he knew a good deal more than does the slow boy who is taught by present-day methods.

But we should see the difference when they went out into the world. With bodies and brains carefully matured, with the intolérable strain of growing up taken from them, the clover boys would shoot up like rockota,

Southern patriotism, it is ap- parent that a great deal of mys- terious activity has been going on behind the scenes, and if the Of all the industries in Great whole facts were known it might Britain which are enjoying a well be found that the greater measure of prosperity than real issue has little to do with they have known for some time, there is none where recovery is military resistance to Japan.more welcomed than in the ship The intricacies of Chinese in-building Industry. Progress has ternal politics are so many that been achieved under great dif- the apparently obvious explana-ficulties, but to-day the industry has regained the position it hold tion often bears the least resem- before the depression. The amount blance to the actual facts. of tonnage building, totalling 842,- on which work was started exceed- efforts of the industry itself. All General Li Chung-yen asserts 361 tons, is the highest since the ed the shipping launched by 38,248 the chief shipbuilding areas have tons. Of the merchant shipping had their share in the recovery. that the majority of the Chinese end of 1930.

At the and of March, 1986, the now on the stocks throughout the and it is expected that there will favour a war of resistance tonnage in hand was nearly 100,- world forty-six per cont. lain be a steady and general expansion, against Japan. That may be 000 tons more than at the begin British yards. Government policy. Meanwhile the carrying trade also the case, but whether the pre-ning of the year, and 286,000 tons has been an important factor in flourishes, and London maintaine sent is the correct moment to more than a year ago. During the revival, but the present degres her position as the centre of the ended March, 1936, about 16,000.. the quarter ended in March there of prosperity could not have been world's shipping. She handles ships arrived in the Port of force the issue is more a matter were launched 194,275, tons, an in-achieved without the determina more traffic than the next two

London from foreign porta-fifty per cent, of them being British for those who are in close con- crease of 62,136, and the, tonnage tlon, enterprise and indefatigable largest porta in the United King vessels.

And it might prove that even the dullones were left with enough staying power to be of more last- ing benefit to their country than the brilliant men who, through our present methods become too old forty,