Secondary Education

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 3 December 1927, Page 3

Secondary Education

THE PRINCIPLES INCULCATED

Character —Knowledge — Adaptability

ADDRESS BY MR. W. A. ARMOUR

“The secondary schools of New Zealand are faithfully inculcating the principles of character, knowledge, adaptability and skill, year in and year out, day by day, into the pupils. Education means much more than learning lessons and no boy, whatever his capacity, is wasting his time by attending a secondary school, unless he remains there too long, without a specific goal in view,”

This was the keynote of the address pf Mr. W. A. Armour, headmaster of the Napier High School, who was the guest of honour at the Hastings Rotary luncheon yesterday afternoon. Mr. Armour has steeped himself in the practical study of education, a subject about which the mass of the population, and even many better informed people, have only nebulous ideas. The judgment, then, of such an authority as Mr. Armour, who has explored the subject to its depths, as a student and as an enthusiast, is well worth serious consideration and, therefore, his pronouncements on this much discussed and vital concern of the nation, will be read with profound interest. THE SCHOOL AND THE WORLD. Speaking in defence of secondary school education. Mr. Armour took for his text “The School and the World,” as suitable for introducing some of the problems and peqilexities the school, especially the postprimary school, has to face in its preparation of boys for participation in the world’s work. EMPLOYERS’ CRITICISMS. In the course of his remarks, Mr. Armour said that the secondary school stage had been subjected to much criticism by employers of ah' kinds. Some of the objections raised against secondary education as a preparation for the ordinary occupations of life were:— (1) Boys spent too long a time at i<ie suaontlary schools and so wore too old to begin a trade or a commercial career; (2) The course of education was unsuitable for practical tile. (3) The secondary school educated the sons of ordinary people beyond their station in lite, making them too “uppish” to enter on everyday pursuits. (4) Secondary school education educated boys almost entirely for “black-coated 1 'or “cuff-antl-ccllar jobs.” (s) It inculcated extravagant habits and the pupils wanted wages that were too high to begin with. (6) The secondary school product would not perform menial tasks and would not start at the foot of the ladder.

worked well during the war, when one could place more than double the number ou the register; but when the supply of boys was greater than the number of vacancies, Ike system broke down, because the em ployers could easily find all iue boys they wanted for the few jobs available. BRIDGING THE GAP. As a means of bridging this gap he suggested: (1) That parents should give more study to the capabilities of their sons and explore their aptitudes, so that the boy will come to know what kind of position he wants. (2) Teachers should place before their pupils more prominently the necessity of studying the problem of future occupation and, as part of their work, induce boys to consider their future occupations. By these means, he thought, the majority of boys could arrive at a knowledge of what they actually wanted and half the trouble would be solved. In addition to the- principlal’s register, such organisations as “Parents’ Associations” and “Expupils Associations” might establish a register of vacancies and an arrangement might be made whereby employers could register vacancies open to suitable candidates from post primary schools, such bureau to be under the charge of officials of the secondarv school Board or some other responsible body. FAULTY METHODS. Tn quite another direction, an attempt had been made to fill this gap by making the school course much more practical, even to the extent of making it a sort of apprenticeship course, hut such attempts had needless to say, ended disastrously. WHAT IS EDUCATION? “I want now to view the question from the schools’ standpoint.” said Mr. Armour. “The purpose of education is to develop character, knowledge and adaptability and skill and the greatest of these is character. “Character includes honesty, faithfulness, conduct, manners, politeness, cheerfulness, self-sacri-fice, and service, and if an employer gets tiiese qualities developed in his boys, has ho not got the major portion of what he requires ? I venture to assert that the secondary schools of New Zealand are faithfully inculcating these principles year in and year out, and day by day into their pupils. You see. then, there is much more in coming to school than merely to learn lessons. “No boy, whatever his capacity, is wasting his time by attending a secondary school, unless he remains there too long without a specific goal in view. TUITION--ITS DURATION. “The present system of education,” continued the speaker, “is the 8— 4 plan, that is eight years are spent, on the average,.in the primary school and four years normal course at a secondary school, but the scheme now being advocated is the 6—3—3 plan, entailing six years primary work, three years intermediate secondary and three years senior secondarv work. This is the scheme that will at once meet several of the objections I raised at the commencement, because under the 6—3—3 the primary "ourse would be ended at 12 and the intermediate

(7) The education was too theoretical. too narrow and catered for only one type of pupil. (8) It cultivated the spirit of snobbery. (9) Induced indolent habits and (10) attached too great a value to athletics an-j was inclined to make athletics an end of life—not a means. More linos of criticisms might easily be added and members of his audience might offer some. VOCATIONAL ASPECT. ’ In meeting these objections, the speaker developed his theme to answer to them, if not in particular, at least inj general terms. There was undoubtedly a gap existing between the school and the world, and to this gap, rather than to any fault of the school, much of the discontent prevalent regarding the value of secondary education was due. So far, they had found no adequate means of linking up the school with the outside world. Tn very many schools, the principal kept an employment register, containing the names, ages, characters and qualifications of lads awaiting positions, and of employers requiring juniors, which

secondary at 15. Boys would still" bo young enough to begin an apprenticeship, would have, an education considerably in advance of standard 6, would be equipped with a sound basis of secondary education, would have the advantage of the best training the secondary school could give, would have their aptitudes thoroughly explored and developed, would be imbued with the secondary school spirit and would be ready to pass out into the wider world of industry, alert in mind and body, prepared to render tho best possible service to their employers, and yqung enough to begin at the very bottom of their particular occupation. Those who continue in the senior secondary course have the advantage of b>ing able to follow their studies, while yet young, in preparation for avocauons in life, requiring more concet trated and more lengthy study.” KNOWLEDGE AND ADAPTABILITY. Dealing with knowledge and adaptability, he said the brain should be able 'to direct its attention where clear thought was reciuired. All employers demanded capacity to learn. The mind must have agility in adapting itself to circumstances, it must be self-reliant, capable of taking responsibility and of gripping problems as they arise. The secondary schools aimed at developing both knowledge and adaptability. SKILL It was with regard to skill that the school was most often said to fail. “Ear too many people,” he said, “demand of the school practical skill and practical knowledge of particular occupations If these are undeveloped, then the school was said to fail. But actual skill is only the third of the three great objects of education, and is worthless, or nearly so, without the broad basis of character and knowledge. Actual skill comes by doing. ‘Practice makes perfect.’ To aim at skill alone would lead to the production of a machine-like organism lacking in adaptability and deficient in all those qualities that go to make character and leadership. Yet the school does give ample opportunity for manipulative skill through these processes of accuracy and exactitude which compose so, much of what we term skill. EMPLOYERS’ DUTIES After all it is not the ability to do that employers shohld demand >n boys leaving school and coming to them. The “will to do,’’ a sincere desire to do. cheerfully and at nil times, is a peerless endowment for n lad about to enter on life.' This desire is developed through character and knowledge, while the skill will duly follow. BOY TYPES Continuing Mr. Armour said it had lieen laid down that there were four types of boys ready for employment—the boy decided on his occupation, the one undecided, but responsive vn guidance, the boy without ideas and the boy who was allocated, willy-nilly, to an occupation by his parent or guardians. The first type was generally a great success and so, generally, was the second. In the third type, there would be much speculation, trial, loss and disappointment before a settled occupation was reached, whilst-, in the fourth the result was often disastrous, unless the boy had much ambition and could rise superior to circumstances to get on to the right path. In type three the school often finds an unsolved problem but, by guidance, experimentation and exploration of aptitudes, the school may often convert this type in to one of the first two. Type four was beyond the authority or influence of ms school, which must often remain as a spectator of a tragic failure. DUTY OF THE SCHOOL In an article in the April number of “The Rotarian,” the writer declared the duty of the school to be seven-fold, and of the seven processes tabulated, four were directly concerned with character, one with knowledge and one with skill—tho three great purposes of education wljich he had mentioned. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT There was another, dealing with physical development and the preparation of boys to spend their leisure properly. Physical fitness was the basis upon which all human efl'o-t. developed, and on which the very life of the Human race depended. It was, therefore, impossible to overrate, in any system of education, the importance of developing and conserving physical fitness. The secondary school had for a lung time realised tho necessity of raising the standard of the physique of its pupils, by developing bodily fitness through all sorts of games and exercises. ' MIND AND BODY “It has recognised too,” said Mr. Armour, “that the mind and the body and the morals are inseparable and are strictly inter-dependent. A physical degenerate may readily become an intellectual and moral degenerate. The lad who is taught to look upon his body as a temple that must not be defiled, is likely to have a clear and pure vision oi life. Con. versely. a corrupt mind will produce a corrupt body, and so we establish u basal principle in teaching, that physical perfection is a desideratum, and the first aim in life. Man’s usefulness, too. should not be a matter of a few years, but of a life-time and hence correct physical dcvclonment and correct care of the body in youth will go far to produce men more useful in their vocations, as citizens, over a long period of years. I have long advocated tho attactiment to every secondary school of thoroughly qualified nnysicai instructors, with tiigh ideals of lite. Given that. you. have the very best means pos. mble of ensuring that your sons will grow up worthy citizens, clean in their thinking, noble in their ideals and understanding and venerating tho mystery of sex. Games are to be encouraged, hut as a means to an cm! and not as an end in themselves.” THE LEISURE TIME Speaking of preparation for leisure, he said.the school gave attention to this question as part of its work, with tile object of fitting the pupil In use his leisure correctly by encourag, mg games, general reading hobbies, nature studies, walking and rambling, music, art and painting, mvestiga-

tions of businesses, animal breeding aud many other interests, so as to secure an attitude of mind to make the pupils fill up their leisure in an elevating and profitable way. They must learn to refresh and recreate the mind and body, as a training to fit them for work when it comes in its turn. Leisure in its wide sense, included the participation in all those altruistic efforts and endeavours in a community or state, for the uplift of humanity. THE SPIRIT OF THE SCHOOL. In concluding, Mr. Armour said: “The world, thank God, In spite of all endeavours in our own day to make it materialistic, is still largely idealistic. The' secondary school teachers’ idealism. Whenever it becomes largely materialistic and realistic it is doomed and somethin- very sweet will depart from life.” (Loud applause). A very hearty vote of thanks was accorded the lecturer at the close of his very interesting and instructive discourse.