The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1921. CHANGING IDEALS IN EDUCATION.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 658, 12 August 1921, Page 4

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1921. CHANGING IDEALS IN EDUCATION.

“We nothing extenuate, nor aught set down in malice.”

No one will dispute the axiomatic statement that the universality and efficiency of a nation’s educational system is the bedrock foundation upon which are built the twin structures of civic greatness and national progress. The war has caused the Great Powers to examine more intently the direction whither their systems were leading them, and to ask themselves the searching questions if they had wisely spent the sums of money voted for education, and—what is of greater moment —if they had acted wisely in the past in stinting the national investment in education. However, leaving the political aspect of the question alone, we shall confine ourselves to a consideration of the trend of modern educational thought and policy in New Jealand. In the first place we cannot help noticing the tendency to give a more practical and vocational bent to the subjects of the school curriculum. The old idea of basing one’s studies on the classics, of grinding away at Latin verbs and Greek particles, has passed away; and the modern side, with its study of science, and the application of its truths, the study of language from a commercial point of view, police 1 economy, economic geography, agricultural and veterinary science, and commercial training, now holds sway. But who can say how long and how far the pendulum will swing in this direction ? No one in reason will attempt to deny the ' disciplinary value of the study of the classics as a means of teaching the correct uses of words and clearness of meaning, and their aesthetic value as a means of imparting a feeling for literary form and felicity of expression. As a monument of culture, of the perfect harmony of sound and sense they will ever live; and their connexion with the established professions will never be broken.

Contemporaneous with this bias towards the practical and the vocational will be observed the expansion of the day technical school and evening technical classes, the provision of better buildings, more adequate equipment, and a corresponding elevation of the status of the teacher or instructor. These changes for the better are consequent upon the desire of Government to extend the period of instruction, and thus clinch the work clone in the primary division by raising the Dominion standard of education.' A very high percentage of the holders of proficiency certificates fail to proceed any further in their studies. The wastage of potential intellectual energy is obvious, and is a direct loss to the State.

Another aspect of modern educational policy consists in the belief in the efficiency of utilising all those agencies which minister to the growth and culture of our higher nature—the aesthetic side of our being, the nobler emotions and the social instinct. The drama teaches another language—the language of gesture and motion—as well as it shows forth the mighty power of the trained voice; the cinema portrays the mysterious workings of art and science and shows us other nations, other countries at work and at play. Musicraises us into another sphere; and its chastening influence is felt by all. School children in England, we understand, are already being treated to the luxury of Sullivan-Gilbert concerts whereat the lecturer, as distinct from the player, gives appropriate explanations of musical forms and expression; and recounts notable facts in the biographies of great composers. No one, we feel, would challenge the hostel, the residents! college, as a means of developing a healthy social instinct, and of giving, in some measure, an idea of corporate life. Summarising the argument, we find that modern educational ideals tend to throw greater emphasis on certain aspects of mind-training than has heretofore obtained. Thus the child intellect is developed in all Its faculties. For example, ordered attention is paid to the natural desire of the young to “do” or “make" things; to their insatiable longing to “ know why"; and to their instinctive love of bodily activity. Further, and quite as justly, chosen influences are set to work to direct their emotions along healthy paths, to mould their higher natures by bringing them under the formative influences of such builders as music, drawing . eloquence, and other form of art. It seems to us that this method of envisaging education gives truer per-

spec lives than the old methc.fi of treating education as the art of 'Heading forth” or eliciting facts, often dull, obvious, and dry as (lust. Further, this method seems to he in higher consonanec with the reputed modern etymology of “education,” via., a derivative of the Latin word “ edere,” to eat. Education then, consists in setting before the Voting a full and adequate supply of mental pabulum; and does it not appear as if this desirable method of nursing the young mind were coming nearer realisation? In the light of'-the above observations it seems to us that a most cogent reason exists for giving full and ready support to any reasonable scheme for enlarging the scope and increasing the accommodation of the Franklin County Technical High School and the allied evening classes. Judged on the lowest plane—the number of scholars in attendance—the school is a success. But its very success will be its undoing next year! For,, with tne natural increase and annual' influx of free place students, the present building will he quite incapable of •housing them all. It is inevitable that recourse must be had to public ha!.s, and this expediency spells loss of time, control and efficiency. Finally, the claims of a hostel cannot be overlooked, seeing that, though the number of resident students would at first be small, such an institution would cater particularly for the wants of those scholars who are denied the advantages of a secondary education on account of the remoteness of their homes from railways and other means of transit. Another feature worthy of observation is that the erection of a hostel Would eliminate the wasted hours spent in traintravelling; and, in the case of longer journeys, cut out'a doubtful convenience with its patent disadvantages. As a centre of social training, as & means of securing closer supervision and more intimate observation, and, lastly, as a nuturing ground for the cultivation of “esprit de corps,” theresidential school is unrivalled. .