EDUCATION REFORM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 197, 15 May 1920, Page 8

EDUCATION REFORM

4 THE PRIMARY SYSTEM PROPOSALS OF THE MINISTER

ENDORSED BY TEACHERS AND

INSPECTORS

The Minister of Education (Mr. Parr), a took advantage of the assembling in v Wellington of representative teachers 1 and inspectors to bring forward lor discussion at the conference yesterday a e set of proposals for tho remodelling of s t<ie education system of tho country in s certain important particulars. J! Mr. Parr said that ho proposed In nsk J the conference to discuss with him pro- f posals for the improvement of the primary education of tho country. He need hardly call attention, ho 6nid, to tho fact that educationists tho world over were devising a thorough recasting of v tho primary system of education. It t seemed now to be the general opinion I that the elementary course in education \ should stop at twelve years. Undet 1 our i law it went on to the age of fourteen f years. Ho thought also that the opinion ' was generally held that there was too great a gap between tho primnry schools and the secondary 9chools; there wero two sets of teachers, with different ideas ( obtaining among them. The two sets of > schools should merge, bo that boys and ( girls should scarcely know that they , were passing from one stago to another. ( This was tho object being aimed at all f over the' world to-day. The change would be a revolutionary one in Now Zealand, , and he wished to havo advice upon the ( question of whether at least a beginning < should not be made with such a change in New Zealand. The change would • mean as a matter of course more schools • and more teachers, but in .regard t o i buildings he thought a number of the i present schools could bo used. 1 The Scheme. The proposals in effect were that at the age of twelve years those scholai'9 desiring to take a secondary courso of several years should be drafted to secondary schools, that others who wished to proceed on technical lines ehould go os to junior technical schools, and that others who did not wish to do either of these things should go to central schools at which a pupil ehould receive an education with somewhat of a bias regarding his, future, calculated to fit him much better for his future lifo than was • the ordinary Standard VI course received by him to-day. While it was necessary to bear in mind the question, of expense, ho did not think that there could be a good reason for New Zealand lagging behind in development. It might be difficult to deal with country schools, but In thought that even there it would ho possible to havo central Bchools as in tho cities. Mr. l'arr ouoted from, tho utterances of prominent educationists in other parts of the world on this question, showing that all of them were i.i support of tho reforms he advocated. 11© suggested that in view of tho weight of this - outside opinion thora must bo a great waste of time anj mate-rial in our system by which pupils wero retained nt primary schools until tho age of fourteen years. The elementary courso should be completed when tho child had acquired a knowledge of the "3 It's." Progress beyond that was not primary education. After that , the child should go into the secondary school, or into the central school, whers the instruction would havo a commercial or industrial or agricultural bins in. tho ease of boys, or a commeicinl or domestic bins in tho rase of girls, Proposals might also be discussed for those who could not or would not attend full time schools over a certain ag-;.- This was the subject on which he would bo glad of tho ndvico of tho conference—as to whether it was not time that a beginning should bo madj with such a reform in. New Zealand. Already New Zealand had lagged behind Victoria and New South Wales in this matter. Facts in Experience, . Mr. E. IC. Mnlgnn (inspector, of Auckland) snid that the proposals of the Minister wero the most important that could possibly bo discussed oy tho eonfeience, involving as they did a radical reform or alteration in the education system. Ho was a supporter of tho proposals, but he wished to say that ho was not a supporter of early specialisation Even in regard to specialisation. however, ho thought we should remember the realities of life, reinembor'that. boys on leaving school at the age of fourteen years often had to specialise in milk delivery, or in factory or office work. He t-hoi.ight that some more endeavour should be mado to givo children the kind of ; training that would assist them in tho work t'Utey did on leaving school. This ' training should bo largely cultural m ! character. Great attention should bo | paid in this part of the courso to the ■ teaching of English. Ho thought also 1 tliat great benefit would accrue from th« removal of the child at the ago of 12 years from tho primary school environment, and tho removal of tho child to - another larger community of children . his equals in ago and development. Mr. Pitcaithloy (inspector) supported the proposals, saying that ho had seen ' eomothing of tho operation of a liko Bchemo in connection with the district high school system as'it was tried in this country. In those schools it had been the custom to begin secondary work in Stnndard VI,-and tho results obtained from this chnngo had been wonderful. If it should not be possible to carry out tho new proposals wholly, it should at ? least be possible to extend the syllabus r in order to allow of some secondary work being done in the primary .schools, Mr. M'Kenzie (inspector, of Auckland), speaking in. approval of tlw proposals, said that ho had seon a similar system in operation in Victoria and New South Wales. About Going Slow. Mr. T. U. Wells (teacher, of Auckland) said that he had uot seen the system at work, but he knew from his rending that this change was being mado in other countries. To his mind our 1 system had many great weaknesses. One 0 of the weaknesses was that it was quite t possible for a smart boy or girl to get 3 through the school course by tho ago of - about 12 years, but owing to the school 1 arrangements it was not possible to allow e them to do this. Such n- tiling was de- . ploraWo, and the fact of allowing a boy i. or girl to leave school at an early ago ' and drift about without discipline, for 1 unfortunately the school discipline was - the only discipline which many children 1 ever could know, ofton had deplorable re- ; suits. In. Standards V aud VI it wns not }■ possible for tho primary teacher to dif- . ferentiate botween the clever and the dull pupil. The clever boy could not be al--1 lowed to go ahead at his full capacity, and in order to reach full development it was necessary that a ' boy should bo induced to use his full capacities. Another point wns that tho primary and secondary systems did not at present dovetail into one another. One thing that , would help to remedy this would be. to bring all teachers in both branches of education undo- on<! control, and to make appointments from ono branch to tho ;1 other quite free. i- M.\ Stuckey (inspector) snid thnt ho i- favoured tho proposals. He suggested <> that the central school should be dilfert ent fro-n the'present secondary school, nnd that the tuition for the first two i or thre-3 years should be somewhat the s samo as for tho present higher standards. , , -o Mr. Pnrkinson (secretory of the Tenchy ers' Institute) snid that the institute e wns t-> bo congratulated on having ob:s tained such an influential recruit to c its programme as the Minister of Edunation. . . n Mr. Parr: T hnvo been studying it for g ten years. v Mr. Parkinson said Hint ho wns d nwnre thnt the scheme might be opi- nosed iii some quarters, but he did not s .think that any side issues should bo a allowed to divert such a move of pro--10 gross* i- Dr. M'llwraith (inspector, of Auckd lnnd 1 ), supporting the scheme, said that there never had been n lime in which 11 advanced education wns more needed, ic Owing to the loss of young nien in tho war it would in a few years ho neces-

sary for young men to take.np duties formerly left to men of middle age. Ho urged also that the conference should tn!c> n stand against child slavery, whicihl he declared existed, especially in tho. dairying districts. "This leads," ho said, "to the bitter iibc that tho hunmi animal is the only one that degrades itself by living on the labour of its young." Facts Not So Bad As Stated. ' Mr. T. B. Strong (chief inspector) said that he did not think we were so far "behind in this matter as appeared to "bo supposed. A very large number of our pupils from the primary' schools qualified for admission to tho secondary schools nnd the technical schools nfc an earlier as* than fourteen years, many of them at tho age of about twelve vean?. He did not think there had been ret any real demand for drastic clianga in tho system. Tho complaint was rather from teachers of secondary schools that tho children coming to them from tho primary schools did not know enough. He did not think it would bo possible to say that primary education should terminate at any definite age. Mr. F, H. Bakewell (inspector, of Wellington) said that there was need for a linking up of the three of education at the primary schools, tho secondary schools, nnd at the University. Examinations were largely to blame for the present weaknesses in this respect. Secondary education was largely dominated by the matriculation requirements. A child going to a secondary school enat oneo on a preparation for nn exacting examination for matriculation at the end of three or four years. He also had a little to say about the loading of the schools with a lot of work which need not belong to them. In tlr's country if a reform of any description was to be tried the cry was always "Begin with the children." A Resolution, Air. Mulgan moved tho following resolution :— "That the whole syllabus of instruction be recast with the object of providing for. (a) the termination of the primary school course at approximately the age of twelve years; (b) the preparation of pupils for admission to the secondary sohools at the ago of twelve years; and (c) the establishment o£ central schools at which pupils who do not proceed to secondary schools will bo üblo to continue their education up to tho age of sixteen years. Mr. T. It. Fleming (inspector) seconded the motion. He mentioned, however, some obstacle to the adoption of the scheme, and expressed the opinion that before it could be T>ut into operation it would have to be discussed by organisation quite outside of th'e profession. First Things First. Mr. Gibbs (Kelson) snid tliat a heavy expenditure was needed now for the building of new schools. First things should come first, and if the introduction of this schcme would mean a postponement of better buildings for schools, and increased staffing, it would defeat its own end, and would bring about a very great calamity. Ho pointed out that it was largely owing to deficient staffing in prmary schools that pupils were allowed io mark timo in tho higher standards now. If there were better staffing it would be possible now to liavo children ready for secondary schools at. the age of twelve years*. Tho motion on being put to tho meeting was carried without dissent, Mr. Parr thanked the meeting for tho discussion, which lmd been to him, ho said, very helpful. The teachers and inspectors might depend upon it tlint the Minister and the Department would do nothing hasty, and any action taken would be taken only after very full consideration. He could assure Mr. Gibbs that what he feared would not be done. What he would suggest was that there should bo an experiment with tho scheme, and ho saw no reason why a modest start should not bo mado with Rich an experiment.