THE SCHOOL AGE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2893, 4 October 1916, Page 6

THE SCHOOL AGE

WHEN SHOULD CHILDREN LEAVE? A "REVOLUTIONARY" SUGGESTION PROBLEM OF THE lATE-DE-VEUOPER, Last evening a sub-committco recommended to the Wellington 'Technical Education Board that certain suggestions of the Christ-church Technical Board should bo supported in of the following resolution:— 1. That tho -primary school course should end at 12 years. 2. That all children should take (coinpulsorily) a full day course to ago of 15 in either (a) a secondary > school, (b) a technical, school. 3. That frco places bp optional for those who deservo them, from 15 to 19 years, in (a) a secondary school,'(h) a technical school. 4'. That free places, from age of not loss than eighteen, be available at university "or higher tech- . nical college for four years for those deserving them. , Tho director ,of technical education (Mr. W. S. La Trobe) .submitted tho following report_ on tho subject:— "This suggestion means raising the compulsory age to 15. The suggestion is probably perfectly sound educationally; i.e., it ib probably true that the percentago of children who would not be benefited., by such" raising of the compulsory ago is small enough to be negligible ; especially ,is the committee has in view for. <the last three years of compulsory attendance a widely di'versified system of instruction, under which children who displayed fittlo inclination or ability in book learning would have opportunities of discovering whether tliev had any special ability outside of book learning. Another advantage of the raising of the compulsory ago is that it would help to give tho slower-developing child a better chaise to prove his worth. "Tho .problem of tho late developer, is one of the most difficult in education, and it is a real and pressing difficulty. Ono has only to tako a rough survey in any walk of life of those who have ultimately come to the front to get a very fair idea of the large proportion which late developers bear to the total of thoso who are abovo tho Now; while it may be argued, with some reason, that tho fact that there are so many late developers has been the only, important factor iu sa.vmg our educational system as heretofore . constituted, from being a -colossal failure, yet this is no reason why thoso late developers should bo neglectcd—it is indeed merely an additional and very strong reason for trying 'to make better provision for educating all types and olasses of young people. "On the other hand, it seems pretty certain that the fixing of the limiting ago of compulsory attendance at day schools will not be determined by educational conditions, alono; but that economic conditions must .also be considered. The members.of the committee were of opinion,- however, that, as educationalists, they were not concerned at this preliminary stage with such questions, anfl that it is advisable to leave out of aetount, in a statement of what is desirable from the educational point, of vie,w, any detailed consideration of what may be economically possible. It is, besides, far from certain that if the educational necessities of tlio, people aro properly met, the economic position .will be in any way imperilled. Evidence is-not wanting, in tho economic history of nations, to,show that economic prosperity is mainly based on high educational development. "The committee does not, in the resolution, favour the establishment of schools to,take in hand both the pre--, sent work of the secondary school and the more specialised work-of the technical high school, cither',as regards the intermediate work of the .last three years of compulsory attendance or tho moro advanced work between the ages of 15 and 19 years. In this respect the committee does not support the report (which has conic out since the committee sat) of the Council of Education.I cannot, of course, say what the committee would havo thought it advisable to say on the council's proposition of large combined schools taking ,bbth ' ordinary secondary wiork '(i,e.', preparatory for university matriculation and junior scholarship examinations),, and technical high school work. Personally, 1 am of opinion that while there is no fundamental .objection on educational grouuds to including secondary school courses of the ordinary typo with technical high school courses in tho same school; yet in practice, and under tho present conditions of entrance to university courses, there are numerous objections from the technical high school point of view; and these objections apply equally to the junior technical'(school course and the senior."- . Tho Hon. J. 0. W. "Aitkcn said tliat ho could not see how any child's primary education could be finished at the age of twelve. He thought it would l be better to sot up a standing commit-too to go into the whole ques'tion. _ Mr. J.. E. Fitzgerald thought it iin-.' possible for this board to say that the, school age should 'end at twelve years, and that in any case the suggestion was too revolutionary to vote hastily on. Mr.. J. Hutcheson agreed with Mr. Aitken's suggestion, and called attention to the fact, that some parents found difficulty ill keeping children at school 'to tho ago nf 15. Tho suggestion was adopted, and the following is the committee: —Hon. J. C!. W. Ait'lien, Messrs. G. .l (, rost, G. L. Stewart! W. H. Field,' T. Ballinger, W. H. Bennett; and Atkin. '