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32
As a matter of fact the truth of these words is as true today as it was in the
days of the Iron Duke. The battles of the world are fought not only on the
playing-fields of Eton but also in the playgrounds of our ordinary schools.
What a boy does at an examination will, of course, be very largely determined
by his work in the classroom, but what manner of man he is to be is worked out
largely, if not entirely, in the playground. It is in the playground that the qualities
of leadership are fostered; that the habit of self control is engendered, and the team
spirit built up; in other words it is here—in the playground—we find opportunity
for natural growth.
You will, I think, agree that the proper use of these playgrounds after school
will require supervision, but the supervisor need not be a man who by reason of his
wonderful games record inspires the boy with hero worship. He or she need not
be a psychologist. What is wanted is people who have a genuine love of children
and who are loved by children and who understand children, not by reason of their
learning in the abstruse sciences, but by reason of the fact that they are sympathetic
towards children and can sense their point of view.
I am not representing these people in any way of necessity as less intelligent
than the people who have to do with more formal education, but I do submit that
as in the case of all teachers they must have common sense and I use this word in its
proper meaning, that is, a sense which is common to all senses and which binds
them together into a united whole.
Question:—I have seen photographs in the Press showing children at
their lessons in the heart of the country-side. My children aged seven
and ten years respectively have never had such an opportunity. Why is
this?
Answer:—Children in the Senior Schools may be sent to Hydon Heath Camp
for a period of four weeks during term time or for periods of two weeks during the
school holidays. Approximately 500 children were so accommodated from
Barking during the year 1947.
Hydon Heath Camp which is a National Camp for children, was used for school
purposes during the war. It was staffed from Barking and mainly, although not
altogether, the children at the Camp school were Barking children. To this school
children were sent on what was more or less a long term policy but, since the war,
so that a larger number of children would benefit, the period for each individual
child has been cut down.
The Camp is situated on the upland near Godalming in the heart of Surrey.
I do trust there will be a sufficient number of Camps in the country to accommodate
a larger number of children for long periods instead of short periods of time.