EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2660, 4 January 1916, Page 9

EDUCATIONAL REFORM

i — SHALL WE CERMANISE OUR EDUf CATIONAL SYSTEM? 1 (To the Editor.) 3 Sir, —Great Britain and Franco have ' been saved from tile educational "'kul- [ tur" obtaining in Germany to some cx- , tent by their (perhaps undue) respect for tradition and: authority, but more particularly from tlio long-entertained ) conviction that mere knowledge and learning may exercise an evil influence on an individual or a community. They ' have, therefore, so far been pre-occupied } in their educational efforts with the 5 question of duly training and disciplining the moral as well as mental facul- ! ties of their people. Unless the mind ; is duly trained, morally and aesthetic- ■ ally, accumulations of general (and more • particularly of detailed) information, and dialectical dexterity in dealing with . such information are likely to exercise a , baneful influence on an individual or a ) community. The terms "kultur" and 1 "culture" may be said to indicate pretty 1 accurately the distinction between those national experiences -or "mental universes" respectively. At any rate, respect for, if not strict loyalty to the old 1 humanistic academic ritual, has, so far, 5 saved Great Britain and France from ; the fato which has already overtaken , Germanjj, and which it would appear is now seriously menacing America. The , evils incident to specialising on the part of the intellectually unprepared (or ! "unfit") are clearly discernible in the . shallow assurance and palpable lopsided--0 ness acquired, not only in certain unij versities in which early "specialising" > is encouraged or insisted on, but also in connection with whit passes for so- . cial philosophy and economics too often in communist and anarchist circles. There is, too, no little ri?k of this sort in connection with what is known as the "Workers' Education Movement," unless its patrons walk warily. One thing is beyond dispute: so-called research and specialism may prove, un--1 der certain circumstances, a doubtful sind even dangerous influence. Many New Zealand educationists are fully conscious of the fact that there is a strong disposition oil the part of s would-be educational reformers in the > Dominion to have doue for ever with the • 01(1 World humanistic cultural ritual in '' eduoation. There can be no mistaking ' the fact that those would-be reformers . are influenced in their ideals by the comparatively recent educational philb osophy and practice of Germany, 'lliey ; are, for most part (not modest students of- the phenomena of mind or of • matter), but extravagant partisans©! '• science, who keep persistently shouting the magical latter-day open sesame warcries: "Research!" "Specialisation! [ Research and specialisation are overytiling, and that too iit almost absolute disregard of the indifferent mental equipment and training of tlio great ma- >• jority of those who are urged to devote • themselves to research and specialisa- • tioni Tlio ovils and dangers incident to " such an educational trend arc clearly discernible in what is known as German I "kultur." The- entire political, social, and educational philisophy and policy of ;- Germany are prompted, inspired, "eretorniiiied M by 0110. consideration that •- the mere individual should-be (except as ' a mere individual) a negligible quantity. " The determining influences in the politi- ' cal social, and educational philosophy " of Germany are such that the individual i* citizen is, at most, but a mere detail an almost insignificant part in a luae ehino. The whole system is but an e attempt to find concrete expression alid embodiment for a philosophy of fatahs- '» tic determinism. Under Euch determm- ' istic auspices there can b6 room lor, at .' most, but one superman. In fact, it is i a case of an, "Overman"—a Grand- ' Master of the Royal Hounds—and a na--0 tion of under-dogs! The individual ; withers, but the "superman is more ; and more. Crack goes the dog whip J and there comes the inevitable and m- • variable Kaiseral "Ick befehle "When I opo my mouth let no dog bark 1" ~ .' . . ~ . Now, 1 have no hesitation in ailirrn i ll that in my honest conviction, unless the people of this Dominion are soon roused from their lethargic educational ' slumbers, our educational system wil. lie completely controlled by a superman or an oligarchy of superman; and that, ■ unmistakably, means our eventual complcte Germanisation educationally. In 0 connection with the phenomena of genii, eral politics wo arc likely to he saved i- from such a fate by our lynx-eyed demon cracy; and, at least for a long time to '• come, by such British ideas and ideals of justice and righteousness as we have • inherited. But, in education generally, n and more particularly in the special educational problems of this Dominion, I think it must be pretty generally admitted that the people of New Zealand have so far,bcen pretty mucn as a wliole, indulging in the luxury of Rip-Yan-Winkiedom! As a consequence, the "super-man" tendency in educational matters has already manifested itself strongly. Centralisation i- may be eminently desirable, but the d "supernianism" into which educational t. centralisation (or any form of social d synthesis) so easily drifts, should be :- studiously and rigorously guarded e against. This makes it absolutely ued cessary that we should keep all our wits l- about us, when those who either ate. !- or pass for experts in education, are o submitting to us what they would have i-' us believe, in their collective wisdom, ■s to be the best that the human mind is k capable of" devising in the way of edug cational policy. The danger, of course; n is that the direction of our educational n system generally may pass the 10 hands of so-called experts, who fail to :e see the wood for the trees or tree, d Disquieting symptoms have _ disclosed r- themselves more particularly in University circles during the past few years, •t Now the people of this Dominion take 3. practically no interest _ at all in our r- University system. It is almost imposv sible to get graduates of the. University l- even to take a live interest ill Univei'r n sity education! In all probability, s- therefore, the evils incident to eduea--11 tional supermanisni (of the German a typo) will first disclose themselves in V connection with our University system. ;s Here there is every prospect (unless the n people come to the rescue) of ail oli•o garchy of educational supermen securio ing complete control and direction. We r. have practically no such tiling in Now Zealand, to-day, as genuine popular election in connection with tho selection of representatives to educational bodies — f be they charged with the management of our primary, secoidary, or University education. The electing bodies arc of • the most haphazard creation, and easily influenced by educationists with an axe to grind, or by interested local officers '■ of the Education Department. 0 The influence of such would-be educaa tional reformers, as have so far assortc . cd themselves among us, is seen most significantly (I think) in the strong disposition so frequently manifested on the part of tho governing authorities, and d teaching stall's, of our University fola leges 1 to induce mere boys to specialise. T Now a great deal of what t.hrusts greatness on itself with the name of research in these latter-days, is of the order of the French that (thanks to old Chancer) > is so well-known as French' "after the Scole of Strati- I'ord-atte-Bowo." However, we aro ly likely to bo spared tho ovils and danis gers incident to specialism and grandiosc research, by tho fact that tho "researcher" or specialist of New Zealand manufacture _ has as little prospect of k 0 earning a living by his special "isni"'as a ' has (or ev,cr bad) a poet to earn a living J by poetry. Wo have, in New Zealand, .four university schools of science, all. comparatively, wcllcquipped and staffed with thoroughly competent teachers, , the demand for ptU;« bukllfc in our l.iimv/iVcitv. colleges, ifii, necea&arilsi.

meagre. At- present, the prospect for tho student of pure science is most discouraging. Apart from the very limited requirements of our four university colleges (in this connection) nothing in tho way of appointments, financially worth applying for, offer. All that the average "research" student in this Dominion can hope for is au appointment in on© of our primary or secondary schools, where there is no adequato scope for his specialism. In fact, <so far_ as our primary and secondary educational institutions are concerned, specialism is really a handicap. The one-subject teacher is at a discount where headmastership iB concerned. Under these circumstances we can readily understand why, notwithstanding the existence of four schools of pure science in the Dominion, and the costly provision made for theil- equipment and direction, tho number of students should be eo disappointingly small. Now, if there is so little demand for, and so little encouragement to, teachers of science in tflii.s Dominion, the prospects for tho New Zealand rcsearohcr, or specialist, in pure science, within the Dominion itself, is practically nil! The very limited, needs of tho people of the Dominion'make research and specialism, /ixcept in agriculture and a few other industries, of but the very slightest prospective financial value to the student. Thus, as I have indicated, wo are likely to be spared, at least for some time to come, such evils as have followed in the wake of over-specialising in Germany and elsewhere. None the less, ugjess we, as a people, exercise every care, and take every precaution, wo shall shortly find our educational ~ system—more particularly our univer- . sity system—completely controlled— commandeered, indeed—by woukl-bo experts inspired by German ideals. It _ should be-solemn duty of tho : Parliament of this Dominion to see to it that an effective system of popular election and control is instituted in , connection with tho governing bodies of our educational institutions, from tho ] primary school to tho university. Fur- [ t'her, it is eminently desirable.that the I Education Department (or Parliament) s-liSuld carefully investigate tho expenditure incurred iii connection with the administration of the various Departments of our educational system. Is, for ' instance, tho expenditure on special | schools (secondary and university) justified? Aro our present faculties of piiro ; science \more or less parasitic, living ' largely oil the earnings of the much larger and more flourishing faeultios of j arts and law? Careful study of faculty | statistics and of supplj and demand in ! the educational fare provided at our ' lour university colleges would, I am ' convinced, come as a startling revelar tion to the members of Parliament of > this country. It, I think, cannot bo disputed that nearly half the money at ; present expended on university eduea--1 tion in New Zealand goes toward tho ' maintenance of faculties in which, the "demand" is painfully meagre; while the larger faculties, in which tho "demand" is, comparatively, enormous are frequently as good as starved. Our college councils rarely, if ever, investi--1 gate the needs of tho faculties which j they arc supposed to control. In connection with the question of establishing chairs or lectureships, little conI sideration'scems to bo given to tho local | need or domand for such faro as is ! provided by the chair or lectureship. | Chairs are often established in our univorsity colleges simply because in the opinion of certain influential members, or would-be experts, on our coun- ' cils, thero ought to be such a chair or : lectureship, not because there is found to be any real need for such chair. Theresult is that we have, in the Dominion, 1 in several instances, three or four lectureship or professorships wliere one |. would be amplo for the whole Dominion, j The wholo position calls for careful in- , vestigation by tho Parliament of this ' country. If the control of university j education passes.(and there is now real danger of its doing so) into the hands of would-be experts, with the German specialisingi craze, this kind of-waste-ful luxury w|ll almost inevitably i be indefinitely extended, and our university educational "supply" take practically no -account, of the educational needs or demand df the people of tho Dominion. Thi issue involves the momentous question as to whether the University of New Zealand is intended to provide for the educational requirements of tho people of this country, or, as in Gerj many, for tlio maintenance of specialising supermen. Is, in a word, the university primarily intended for the stu- ° dents and people, or is it primarily in- " tended for would-be professional super--men ? Does the peoplo or the clergy , constitute tlio Church is a question \ that appeals to the clergy and people r differently. The question as to whether [ the students or professors constitute the university belongs_ to the same category. If, ill both instances (Church and Univorsity) reason demands some i compromise, there still remains the pos- ' sibility of a question of top and bottom dogs. So far as our university is conj corned, it is for Parliament to soe to j it that both dogs are kept on the chain. ' —I am, otc., [ - FESTINA LENTE.