"TOO MUCH SPORT"

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 224, 16 June 1920, Page 8

"TOO MUCH SPORT"

IS SCHOOL LIFE PROLONGED ?

A SPEEDING-UP SUGGESTED

Tentative suggestions fof a general speeding up" in tho promotion of primary school children front one class to another with a view to thoir graduation to the secondary, schools at an taitier ago than at present obtains wero i made by tho Director of Education (Dr. W. J. Anderson) in the oouse of Lis opening ruldrosg at yesterday's sitting of the Council of Education. Ho pointed out that he .was firmly convinced' that they .'. ought to get tho children earlier through the primary school course than they did at the present.. Tho average ago whiohthe children of the Dominion left the primary schools, and the average age at which' they entered tho secondary sohools were both tool high. By tho adoption of certain devices to hasten promotion if they could bring the average age which a nhild graduated from tho primary school down to 12 yeara and |6ix months, the educational authorities .woiild be doing a very good thing indeed. There wore, however, certain 'problems in the process of administration nnd promotion that would have to be considered before thoy could get the age limit down to what ho considered it should bo. In England six yeara nnd nine months was the average age at whioh tho children entered the - First Standard. Our ohfldren did not do f.ny- . thing tike that. In passing, tho Director- •' General said that ho was perfectly aware that the age test wag nn uncertain te,<t, but it applied in general averages. He then went on to point out that ccnespoiidingly the children "passed cut of the English schools something earlier than here." Double-Promotion Scheme. In the adoption of any methods to lower the age at wluch children passed out of tho primary schoots, Dr. Anderson . Bfiid he would prefer a doitblo scheme of 'promotion rather than the establishment 'of backward classes. Under a double scheme of promotion the brighter children would be enabled to pass from one standard to another in, say, six months, and the others in twelve months. More careful attention to tho attendance of children might nlso do something to nccompHsh the' ideal he had ontlins(l. It might be, too, that New Zealand childTen had not tho same habit for school work as that possessed by children under less favourable conditions in the Old Country. "Maybe," he added, ."there is too much pleasure, too imieh sport, and too many holidays. At all events the problem requires examination. lAbove all, one thing that we can do in the organisation <rf our education is the duty of cutting down the numbers of children in the classes to each' teacher, end correspondingly the elevation in the position of the -teacher, so that by rais'wg his status we can get a much better . class of people generally in the profession. That is tho crux. In these two ■Ways more than any other way you will get the children properly educated nnd a reasonable primary course finished and completed at a reasonable age."