Regina Leader Post
February 10, 1948. p.7
The newly-created Saskatchewan arts board will give the people in smaller towns and in rural areas of the province a new opportunity in cultural fields, according to board secretary Miss Norah McCullough who was interviewed in Regina Monday.
The board's program, Miss McCullough explained, is mainly concerned with adult education, although wherever possible teachers will be assisted with their work as well.
According to the secretary the aim of the board is the fostering of Saskatchewan talent in the fields of drama, music, literature and art. Facilities already in existence will be extended and the public will be informed of the different ways in which it can utilize existing services.
The use of the radio in education is being investigated, Miss McCullough said. It is hoped that, by means of this medium, rural communities will be helped in the problems faced by their local drama groups.
A music forum may be set up on the radio to discuss problems in music submitted by people in isolated areas. In the field of art a question and answers department is being considered.
Radio may be used also to encourage winners of musical competitions by having them perform on the air.
It is her hope, Miss McCullough said, through the arts board to see the work of Saskatchewan painters "more widely seen and appreciated." This can be accomplished by means of circulating exhibitions and by giving support to existing art organizations in the province. Reproductions of paintings by Canadian artists will be circulated by the board.
Prior to coming to Saskatchewan Miss McCullough held a similar position with the Cape department of education in South Africa. Having spent eight years there, two and one half in Victoria and five and one half in Capetown, she returned to Canada in 1946.
She worked with the educational department in the Union she said, and was able to give service to native teacher training schools.
The African natives she described as intelligent and extremely appreciative of any assistance given them. As there is no compulsory education for the "blacks" many are illiterate.
In Miss McCullough's opinion the natives are especially talented in handcrafts. She has yet to meet one who cannot sing. With perfect rhythm they take part in folk songs which describe their wars and social advancements.
In South Africa the "whites" do not attend the same schools as the natives. Miss McCullough explained. However, European teachers and white teachers are to be found on the staffs of native institutions.
There are few instances of natives obtaining entry into "white" universities. This is due to the color bar, similar in many ways to that existing in the southern United States. As in the States, natives are not allowed to ride on "white buses or trains."
For the white man there are consolidated schools throughout South Africa Co-educational boarding schools, which give opportunities to rural children, are quickly replacing the one-roomed country school. Here the children have an opportunity to learn to live in harmony with others. Tuition is free, boarding is inexpensive and food is wholesome.
Almost all native schools are financed jointly by the government and Christian missions, Miss McCullough said, but the majority of black children do not get to school at all.
Adult education is "just beginning to move in South Africa," she pointed out but the program is mainly for Europeans and not for natives. Under social welfare however, a little is being done for the adult native. A few of the missions, for instance, have courses in weaving, home nursing and prenatal and child care.
Malnutrition and ill-health among the natives is high in Miss McCullough's opinion. It is a serious social problem. However, the difficulty is being remedied in part through a system of state-aided free meals in the schools.
