Page 29 - Fr. Jimmy Tompkins Speaking

ISSUE : Issue 40

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1985/8/1

way from the truth? Then why cumbreth it the ground?" Adult Education is the knowledge that min? isters to self-development, character and social intelligence. I see no reason why, using your brains to bring knowledge, that is, power, to bear upon something that will put necessities on your bare table, clothes on your naked back and a covering over your head, should be called propa? ganda. _ It is technically impossible anyhow to keep people in ignorance today concerning economic affairs. It has become technical? ly impossible--quite apart from the ethics of the thing--to keep people in the dark a- bout who gets the lion's share of the wealth that issues out of the economic pro? cesses. There are too many ways of getting "wised up." Libraries Promote Adult Education The chief instrument for promoting Adult Education will be the well-stocked Region? al Library, the people's university of the future, supported as our public schools It will not emphasize alone books, but in? terpreters of books and trained guides in the choice of books and subjects, suitable to the needs and tastes of the reader. The trained librarian of the Regional Li? brary ought to be, first and foremost, an Adult Educator. It is one thing to be ac? tive in library service and it may be quite another thing to be a promoter of A- dult Education. Adult Education works to? wards the development of the community. A library might unwittingly become a hin? drance rather than a help in the spread of genuine education--Adult or otherwise--and become like so much formal education in the past, the opiate of the people. The American Association of Adult Educa? tion feels that one of its chief duties to? day is to set men "free from the utter drabness of unfulfilled lives." To do this, our methods must be flexible and informal. Faith in the educatability of the average man is one of the chief underlying ideas of the Antigonish Movement. Today, we tremble before the spectre of war. Enthusiasm can be whipped up by mili? tarists. Why not the same enthusiasm for feeding and clothing people as there is for killing them? We are not against propa? ganda on these occasions, are we? If we co? operate for death, we ought to be able to co-operate for life. People in times of crisis have to be shocked into knowing the true nature of things. People have, for too long, been fooled into hiding their light under a bushel, largely by propagan? da, for laissez-faire and in the interests of greed. Religion, Education and Economics In regard to the future, I am not so con? cerned with setting the exact limits of the Antigonish Movement. This education is not confined to economic things alone. For 150 years, we have been listening to the propaganda • keep religion out of business. The fact is that laissez-faire industrial? ism is reeking with religion--the cult of fatalism that expects things of themselves Tourist Brochures & Colour Printing A Specialty PRINTERS LIMITED 180 TOWNSEND STREET, SYDNEY, N. S. TELEPHONE (902) 5644245 Druker Insurance Charlotte St., Sydney . . .562-5504 Mayflower Mall. ...... 564-1818 Will tNSUM VIRTUALLY ANY CAR, HOUSE OR BUSINESS COMPARE RATES.' YOU COULD SAVE. .... fj'nd 9te(ax Phone Toll Free 1-564-6000 BUDGET PLAN AVAILABLE IN EMERGENCY: Awie Druker, F.I.I.C. 564-6615 - HERE TO HELP - ?i|e • i|tli??ren*fi Ati 'ottctg of CHapc Breton '% ' SERVICE AGENCY INTAKE information, problem identification, & appropriate referral for service PROTECTION home visits, support services, & crisis intervention to maintain adequate child care Suite?, Provincial Building 360 Prince Street Sydney, Nova Scotia 81P 5L1 THESE ARE SOME COMMUNITY SERVICES: HOME STUDIES SINGLE MOTHERS custody reports, information, counselling, social histories for support, & assistance in other agencies, decision-making during private adoption reports pregnancy FOSTER HOMES selection & support of temporary & long-term homes for children in care of the agency ADOPTION placement of children of all ages in permanent homes CHILDREN IN CARE individual counselling & support services for children in care of the agency 71 YEARS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE TO CAPE BRETON ISLAND r. Robin B. Campbell Executive Director Mr. Cyril Reddy (29)

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