THE DALTON PLAN

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20490, 8 March 1932, Page 13

THE DALTON PLAN

. EFFICIENCY <SOF SCHOOLS. CHILDREN'S PARLIAMENTS. (FROM O L T B OWV COKKESrOHDENT.) LONDON, January 28. "There are no more efficient schools in the world than our central schools in London, where they have adopted the Dalton method," declared Dr. r*. H. Ballard, in an address to the Dalton Association. The niost far-reaching reform m modern days in the education of the world, he said, had undoubtedly been what they generally called the ''clean cut" at il years of age. That had forced on them the recognition of the fundamental principle for which the Dalton Association stood, tho principle of individual differences. It had been brought home to them . more forcibly than ever before' that children of the same age were not children of the same ability. There were, he said, no more efficient schools in the world than the central schools of London. It was an impossible task to deal with tho children in the old way—the method of chalk and talk—and to get tho pupils to try to proceed at the same pace. Until they were able to recognise the wide distribution of abilities among children they were unable to cope with them properly. They could not get the full benefit from this reform unless they recognised individual differences. Those senior schopls that were doing their work successfully were the schools that adopted the principles that the Dalton Association advocated. They did not call themselves Dalton schools, but they had absorbed some of the ideas advocated by the Association The now senior schools were of a very mixed character. When they examined the central schools carefully and got teachers to express their opinions frankly, they found that there were greater differences between the children than was generally supposed. There were children below tho standard of intelligence for the work and there were children who ought to bo in secondary schools. Not only was it desirable that they should adopt individual methods in the new senior schools but it was desirable that they should adopt them in all types of schools. In the old schools children were not allowed to help one another; in some of tho Dalton schools it was part of the work that the children should help one another. Sometimes a child was a better teacher of a child than was an adult. The children had a right to criticise the curriculum and the allotment of time to the various subjects. There was in some schools a children's parliament where they discussed the question of school discipline; and. when individual cases of discipline were referred to committee!, those committees of children were very much more severe on the offenders than any adult committee, and children took J,he punishment very kindly. They did not jresent punishment at all when they felt that the punishment had been considered just by their classmates. When they advocated individual work they also wished to include social work. To complete the whole business, they must nave collectivism as well as individualism. Turning to examinations, he said . they had no longer believed that examiners were infallible. He criticised tho methods of nearly all teachers and examiners of trying to turn out products of the same type. Tho successful carrying on of the world depended on people following their own bent and contributing of the talent they possessed to the general sum total ot human welfare. If they had examination, let them have broad examination. There jvere no failures . among tne children; they only' failed iu certain directions, and the .reason might be found in the examination system. No child, ho asserted, should have to leave school with a sense of failure. He advocated the inclusion of tho practical side in their examinations. It was practical work which generally succeeded in life.