UNITY IN EDUCATION

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue CXXIII, 10 April 1937, Page 13

UNITY IN EDUCATION

"A PRIME NECESSITY"

THE ATMORE REPORT

ADDRESS BY MR. F.\L. COMBS

(From "The Post's" Representative.) WANGANUI, This Day.

A case Jn favour of unification of primary and secondary education was presented to the Wanganui -branch of the New Zealand. Educational, Institute last night by the Dominion president (Mr.; F: L. Combs, M.A.).

Taking the long view, unification was not merely desirable, it ./as a prime necessity, said Mr. Combs. As a matter of educational policy it hardly took second . place to smaller classes.. The Atmore report had to be unified around the core of a certain administrative principle. Anyone who read that report would readily admit that this core was -unification. Need' of it- became apparent to "the committee not once but dozens of times, and one of Us major recommendations was its desirability. Such an opinion, coming, so to speak, from a jury of able and impartial laymen who had thoroughly in-, vestigated all the issues involved-, in educational reconstruction, had great weight. . Two Ministers of Education, the present Minister and the.Minister .then in office, had concurred in the unanimous findings of this committee in regard to unification. . '. ". LEGITIMATE INTERESTS. 'j It-would be argued ' that primary teachers had certain interests' to serve in. their advocacy-of; unification, said Mr, Combs, and hevwould readily ad-mit-this.' He would not, however, admit that these interests were .very material, nor werje they narrowly construed. He would willingly accept any challenge' from opponents of unification and show,that these interests .were legitimate.. /Aspiring , and capable teachers would naturally wish to ■: go anywhere in, the State system of education that gave most ccope to their abilities and the highest reward attendant upon the exercise of these abilities. Conversely, no, education system would be at its optimum that:did,not thus employ its teachers .irrespective of the largely, irrational -"divisions that existed between primary, and secondary schools.■ ■■ : v--;'.■• > :■'•;-'■'-' '■;...■">■''' The. free interchange of teachers' between the, various branches of the edu^ cation service in. this way was an indispensable means of'knitting them in to\ unity. The State, on behalf 'if the people of the Dominion, had a right to demand that this unity so vital to educational progress should be consummated. , It had this right-because, paying the bill1 fc? the educational service,, it could claim that its interests should be paramount. : ,:. ■».,',\ ;'. - ;■•'■■ EXISTING EVILS. ..- , : Mr.'Combs went on; to deal with the evils .of the existing divisions; in,; the education service; '•'': Education; was a living activity. It was most essential that all'those taking part in it should meet and mix freely and get to know each, other thorpughly. Today' very few teachers, whatever branch of the service they belonged to, wished otherwise; but their separate services /built up separate interests and it wasj rarely indeed outside of a few. personal friendships that teachers!, did thus comingle. Teaching should place all engaged in it inside the bounds of a professional fraternity. ■ Only, the rommon understanding arising out; of such intimacy and the mutual confidence thafrjt; begot would enable a. body of professional .workers -to co-operate .in. a common policy with, a single aim, the :wellbeing;pf:th,e children.: in their, charge.' To this aim everybody.?n the education service from the highest official down to; the first year training college student should feel himself subordinated. ' ':.. '' ■".. .'- .'. ■'.' '. INSTRUCTION-RIpDEN SCHOOLS. •Without unificatiqn it would be impossible to get rid of the worst faults of. the existing system, Mr.' Combs asserted. Both:-primary and secondary education were too academic, too,book-, ish, too regimented, too instruction-rid-den. ; Efforts were being made on an increasing scale to do away with academicism and enable the pupils in our schools to develop, their personalities and face the realities of life.: Such an ideal could;not'be segregated in separate institutions. It was most convincing to an educationist to see the awakening of personality that went on in kindergartens. Because of this he would have .■•little hesitation in saying "that kindergartens : were better fulfilling their true function ; than , any othar branch of education. ' : EDUCATIONALBARRIERS. In conclusion, Mr., Combs said, that unification, by-breaking down the re-' maining vestiges of educational barriers, would .not only put all the inmates of our schools on a high level, but it would put them on a common level. Such, unity was, therefore,, of paramount importance as bringing about social .and. national unity, Unity in this latter sense would be the means of enabling the inhabitants'of/.this or any'other country to make common cause/and to .combine the efforts u£ alLin'a flynamic.effort to achieve social progress and "universal wellbeing. Having regard to*the future every■reason was in fa>bur.6t'unification. The State, which, paid'ior, both, had;a right,-there-fore;,, to clairri^ that, those should be joined that should never haye"been set asunder. ■ - ■ ■ v ..''' ■■ •; ;' ■■ ■•: '■ - '