Report of the Juvenile Delinquency CommitteeAlgie, R. M. (Ronald Macmillan)
Philosophy
Report of the Juvenile Delinquency Committee
Algie, R. M. (Ronald Macmillan)
Juvenile delinquency -- New Zealand
"It is generally agreed that much of the cause of child delinquency
is due to unsatisfactory home influence and parental control and
example, but the fact that many of the offenders come from good
homes and fine parents is strong evidence, I feel, that there is
some important deficiency even in those good homes, and it may well
be that that deficiency lies in the fact that the parents do not
really know how to give their children the knowledge that they
should have in the way they should receive it. I am confident that
we have people who could help in this important work. Perhaps women
lecturers would be best."
We are of opinion that the views expressed above do merit very serious
consideration. We realize the tremendous difficulty we face in trying
to reach those who stand most in need of the help that is here referred
to. We recognize, however, that all our children must spend a big
portion of their young lives in our primary and post-primary schools.
It is here that positive and well-planned character training and
instruction in moral values can be undertaken with a certainty that the
instruction and the training will reach those whom we would wish to
help. Do we take full advantage of this opportunity? Do we give enough
attention to those inner disciplines that are so essential if a good
life is to be enjoyed by our young people? We are satisfied that our
teachers as a whole nobly discharge their obligations to our community
in this regard. We think, however, that the matters touched upon in
this paragraph are within the special province of the Department of
Education and its Minister, and it is our recommendation that they
should be referred to that Minister for examination and for such
positive action as he may consider proper and desirable.
We think also that much more could be done in the homes if the ranks of
our visiting teachers, public health nurses, and school psychologists
were strengthened considerably, and we strongly recommend that action
along these lines should be taken by the Departments of Education and
Health.
We are also of opinion that in any effort to reach parents over the
widest possible field a very useful agency lies ready to our hands in
our Parent-Teacher and Home and School Associations, and it is our hope
that this agency might be much more positively used to awaken and
maintain a due sense of parental responsibility and a proper
understanding of the moral and spiritual needs of children.
With such thoughts in mind, we would recommend that the Director of
Education be asked to confer with the appropriate experts to see how
far, and under what conditions, suitable courses of lectures could be
provided for parents and prospective parents.
The Special Legislation of the 1954 Session
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