SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 86, 8 October 1931, Page 12

SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS

Further letters on education expenditure1 are summarised below. ' „ It is very disconcerting, writes ».r., at this juncture to note the cleavage which is rife among our educationists, if the views expressed in correspondence and reports appearing in your ,issues recently, may be taken as a criterion. Each section of 1 instructors—primary, secondary, and tcchhical-appears to be Quite out of touch with its fellows. This course, if pursued, cannot fail but, to damage, perhaps destroy, the birthright of the children—free and full education. Nature never intended that the mmds and bod.es of our boys and girls should be moulded all to a set pattern, similar as candles arc. There must be various courses of instruction and hence varying, methods and schools become requisite. . . . Each «roupr of teachers should cease endeavouring to stop leakage, present or prospective, from its own puncture. All three groups should combine and apply such a tour-i niquet as will make education—so long vauuted in this land as secular and free from kindergarten to university to all its children—secure. Our education systemprimary, secondary, and technical—forms a trinity of correlated and interdependent interests. Three in one and ono in three it must continue a perfect entity. No lopping of limbs to spoil its symmetry or impair its utility must be pernuted. The great majority o£ our. .legislators, like the people from which they spring, Owe thenknowledge to our education system, and it is incumbent on them to see that similar advantages arc extended to all others. ... To some of our senior politicians, likely enough it matters little whether education is free or no. Some h#ve no children of school-going age; most of them have means and can afford to pay. It seems in all the discussions on education that there is very little understanding of what i« meant by the .word, writes "Modern Parent." If you are buying a commodity, the fiwt, thing is to decide what you want, how much, and of what quality. Then, look to your pocket book. You must so arrange your budget that you will get as much as you can of what you want i'or the money available.' Now in buying education what, does Mew Zea.land want? If the New Zealand public, 'as a whole, wants to lower the standard of education in our country, of,course it may do ho. 'AH .it has to do ia to.redtice I the expenditure on 'education, until it will !just cover, what New Zealand deems 'necessary. But I very .much "doubt that New Zealand does desire «o to reduce its ' standard—or, rather, I doubt that .New Zealand' would desire to do so had it a definite notion of whafit wanted. I sub'rmt' that the first, thing for New Zealand Itq do, before they ■ use the axe on education, is tc decide what they consider a Bufficient education for their children.