Schoolchildren Train For 40-hour Week

Chronicle (Levin), 6 May 1948, Page 7

Schoolchildren Train For 40-hour Week

— Press Association )

(Per

BLENHEIM, May 5. Bomci people thought that children ' had too much play.at school, but the objeet of this was to teaeh the pupils ,o oceupy the spare time they would .lave on their hands later on under the 10-hour week, stated the headmaster oflie Blenheim School (Mr.' W. S. Pratt) „o a ; meeting. of hou'seholders when deending thepresent system of education r rhieh, Jie recalled, had Qome under lire,. ' . roin the tlniversity Senate and » the 'hamber bf CoAimeree.; • . ' " Bemarlcing that the system had been ehanged to meet iiew- re-quirements, Mr. Fratt said there wefe often .qomplaints Aitt not enough afithmetic was taught,' •at t.hiS subject, he thouglit,- was- not so lecessary- today, when tliere were all .inds of machines to do this work. ■ '■ ' \Ye speak and write inore than any-r. ling else, and the stress today is- on . he* written expression-' and the oral tde, ' 1 he Said. . ( - There ' were quite a number in the eachiiig profession who thought that iu he standards writing and spelling were lipping through being crowded out by •Ultural subjects and the like. However, •ie did not agree with this view. . In his opinion, the children are not as placid as those of years gone by. £ 'Tliey had the wireless, the pictures, a continuous stream of traffic, .and ever^--hing that kept them on the move. They vlid not have the opportunity of letting their minds settle doxvn for a moment o concentrate. "I do not tliink we will know ■ hether we are 011 the . right or the ' rong • traek for about 10 years, by • hich time today 's children will be out n the world as men , and women," -oncluded JMr. Fratt.