HOME AND SCHOOL

Chronicle (Levin), 11 June 1946, Page 2

HOME AND SCHOOL

FIRST GENERAL MEETING OF ASSOCIATION Mr. R. Bills presided over a very good : attendance of the newlyfbrmed Home and School Associacion, 'which held its flrst general meeting in the. school on Thursday evening, when the guest speaker for tne evching. was ivir. D. P. o Connor., area organiser in physical edu-. cation for the Wellington Education District. The meeting decided. to accept donations for the purpose of obtaining a supply of crockery, it being pointed our that this would be the greatest expense the association would be calied upon to meet. The headmaster (Mr. James) informed the meeting that the term ended 011 August 23, and answered questions dealing with supplies of school books. . Mr. Bills then introduced the speaker, saying that Mr. O'Connor had come with a knowledge of the work at his finger-tips, and that the meeting was grateful for his presence. He also introduced Miss Eichelbaum, who is carrying out instruction in the schools of this area at present. Mr.-- O'Connor surveyed the development of physical education from the days when its military aspect was stressed to the .present methods used in the schools. From the old school cadets system, through the Swedish drill method, then on to the corrective syllabus of Dr. Renfew White, to what is known as the 1933 syllabus which is used to-day. The speaker showed how, with careful research into the physical needs of the child, a system had been arrived at, whicli appeared to be producing results. This was ably borne out in the'films which were shown during the evening. Mr. P. A. Smithells, who nad come from England- with a high reputation as an expert, had been appointed to the position of Director of Physical Education in the Education Department, and it is largely due to his efforts, and those of his 200 assistants, that the suc-

cess of the scheme had been assured. The w'ord drill had been dispensed with, and it had been found necessary to find a term with a wider application than that. It was the purpose of his department- to educate the child in all respects of his physical well-being, and so methods most suitable for him had been evolved. The gradual progression from the early stage of a tiny-tot handling., a ,soft flpffiyu^all to the much more difficult games played on. the fields of sport had all been given attention, with the result that children gained all the ; action necessary to develop a strong j body. Mr. O'Connor criticised tne old methods which, he said, were1 quite sound for developing big • muscles on adults, but which were j quite unsuited for children.

The films .shown • during the evening were "Walthamsowe Nursery School," depicting the work done in an English nursery school during the war years when children, whose parents were doing war- work, had to be left during Tne day in charge of someone. This type of school is also used in the New Zealand cities. "Progressive training in ball handling" showed the marvellous dexterity with which children from mere infanis handled the ball. A feature of this 1 film was the fact that very - few ! dropped passes were seen. PracJ tically all games are played with a ball, the success or failure of each game lying in the ability to ,con- ■ trol the ball used. This film j received great admiration from tht children, to whom it was shown on the following day at school. •; "A Full Lesson in Physical Edu- : cation" showed what could be accomplished in a Ne"w Zealand 1 school, where the class teacher; taught this particular subjec.t. Napier Intermediate School had' been chosen as a typical school for the purpose of filming the new syllabus. The wonderful precision with .which the lesson was carried ' out was shown, one of the most interesting f eatures of the film being the freedom of movement allowed by the use of correct costumes. During physical exercises with three or even four layers of clothes on the upper part of the body has been a common practice

in New Zealand schools, and it has. even been noticed that children have worn heavy hobnailed boots when exercising on a lawn. 'An Experiment in Vacation Enterta-n-ment" showed that for some considerable time there has been a want) especially in the larger towns, of organised games during a vacation when children are away from their play mates. This lieed wasn:et by the Christian congregations of Wanganui some years ago, and turned out successfully, so much so that Napier congregations organised a similar experiment. The finai day of th.e scheme had beeii filmed by an amateur who showed that the 600 childrtn, who had assembled 'in various parts of Napier for games,; had enjoyed what had been arranged for them. Besides games, children were read stories, and a pleasant ■ morning's entertainment was ! given. The scheme had the backing of the Education Department, although expenses were met by the various churches concerned. Shortly the headmaster of the school will arrange for a practical demonstration at the school, when parents and those interested will be invited to attend. Mr. W, Calwell, who moved %

hearty vote of thanks to the speaker, said that he was most impressed with what he had heard and seen, and expressed his pleasure at Mr. O'Connor 's pleasant manner in explaining the whole system. Many of those present remembered" tne old exhausting means of drilling, and to see the gradual process used was certainly an education to all. Mr. O'Connor had not been at allpedantic, but had kept the audience interested, as well as instructed throughout the evening. The vote was carried by an enthusiastic acclamation. , . After hostesses for the next meeting had been selected", a daihty supper was served. | It is hoped that these meetings j will develop into most interesting :and educational ones, where the | interests of the school will be uppermost in the minds of parents, teachers and the general public. The next meeting of the association will be held on Thursday,- July !4- . ..