FOR THE CHILD

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 172, 15 April 1919, Page 8

FOR THE CHILD

THE PURPOSE OF OUR SCHOOLS j f A TILT AT THE CRITICS ) t In the course 'of his annual report 1 the headmaster' of the Clyde Quay ( schools Mr. W. -F<Bter, B.l'd. flu* the one occasion during, the '■eai on which ho could stop outside the bounds of the schoolmaster and become discur- ( ""An outstanding feature in recent years," said Mr. Foster has been the , amount of criticism to which the public : school system, in common witli tlie ' othei , component parts of the «Ideational fabric. has been subject. Educational experts are fairly numerous (and some of them very vocal), and educational theoiries naturally just as numerous. I can quite easily understand an iitellisent parent, who may have read all lecent contributions to the jdncatioTial controversy appearing m the public- Press, fecliti" 'seriously unsettled as to what in tho educational system •concerns linn most closely—namely, the welfare and progress of his own children. I can undwftand such an attituiie. . "It would be quite a bad thing for progress in education if tho experts; and their theories were not, like the i cor, always with His. New theories often reveal good fields for investigation, ana experts quite frequently give us. thought* valual)le to tho common weal. But I sometimes fancy that some of these enthusiastic gentlemen ill their various counsels of perfection lose sight entirely of one or two great basic principles 011 which any educational fabric must be reaml. I sometimes wonder whether, tor instance, they have any first-hand and sympathetic knowledge of child life, its capacities, and its limita uns-especia 1ly its limitations— physical, intellectual, and moral. Speaking out of a full experience of some 40 jrears teaching-an I hopo out of a loving sympathy with our children—l say that I wonder who. ther thes.o theorists realise that. if thej pall the educational time, 't is the ehildren who frequently have to pay the hear much of the defects hi our system in tho past. We hear, perhaps more of tho weaknesses of the sj stem now. We hear a. great ileal of what our children cannot do, and of what thej ought to do. And again I say, I wondei after all, what is the supreme, test ot the efficiency of any school system! It is not to be found in tho amount of book learning a child of tender years has absorbed. It is not to be lound in the successes in the examination room. But it is to be found in the citizen into which that child developed . lhe f re , ; your supreme test. ■ 'By their fnn s •"shall they be known, .tiulged b) that test, schools of the past decades can safely bo left to answer their critics. I And' who amongst these with tho record that New Zealand has engraved on the scroll of fame shall dare to traduce her citizens? 1 do not claim that thei public schools alone are responsible lor tho fjew Zealand spirit, but 1 do claim that thej have helped, and theie cannot bo much fundamentally wrong with a system that has helped to make such citizens. "So too for tho schools ot to-day. Let the critics realise'that the piipi f ; ot the public primary school are but cliildionmanv of those in the highest standards only'thirteen years of age, and many_ ot • their complaints fall to the ground. Our ' business is to remember they are children ' and our responsibility is to keep tncin children. Our syllabus should be dratt- • cd and interpreted on those lines, and our ' demands should be in consonance I fre- ' quently notice parents anxious-m my : opinion, unduly anxious-about their ' children's progress.. It may be a case ot somewhat slow mental development, anil 1 when .1 invite the. parent to take this • view and be more sympathetic both with 1 pupil and teacher, I am countered by tho " replv: 'But if he doesn't get on more f quio'klv, he will not get his proficiency 1 certificate at fourteen years. Hero is • a point where I think the Department » might reasonably make a concession • .abolish the ago qualification m the pro- " ficiency examination. In nine cases out ' of ten our pupils will qualify for their leaving certificate before they are fourteen. There are sound psychological rea- !; sons why the tenth child should not- be ' j penalised. by reason of a tardy mental 3 | development, over which neither lie, nor ? his teacher have control."

British subjects 111 Singapore are asking that measures may bo taken by the British Government to prevent, any German from living in or trading with the Slraits Settlements or the Federaled Malay States for at least ton years alter peace lias been made. Ceylon has decided that 110 enemy aliens shall bo allowed to reside or carry 011 trade 111 the island for some years. Most of the Crown estates in Austria are to be used for children's homeS' Vienna has decided to convert tho_ Castle of Schveirbrunn into o children's hospital. ICinneir, the Warwickshire left-hand batsman, has informed tho County Cricket Committee of his intention to resign. He qualified for Warwickshire in 18'J8, and from 1000 to 1914 was. a regular member of the side. His loss will be severely felt, and will increase tho difficulties of the committee in building up a team for the championship tournament. ICinneir is 45 years of ago. The train arrangements for tho Easter holidays are advertised.