SCHOOL SYLLABUS.

Hokitika Guardian, 30 August 1919, Page 4

SCHOOL SYLLABUS.

AMENDMENTS PROPOSED. A statement regarding the revision of the primary school syllabus was made on Saturday by the Hon J. A. lianan, retiring Minister for Education. The amendments drafted by Mr Hanan’s officers were considered recently by a conference of teachers and inspectors, and the draft syllabus lias now been printed. “ In the revision of the syllabus,” said Mr Hauan, “ the main purpose has been to set out the regulations and the course of instruction in a simpler and more definite manner, so that young or inexperienced teachers will be able to follow it with greater ease. The actual contents of the course of instruction have not been altered to any great extent, though some improvements have been made. The course in English has been considerably improved, special emphasis being laid on silent reading, on training in the independent use of books for the purposes of recreation and study, and particularly on oral English, with the object of securing correctness, purity, and facility of speech. The course in spelling and dictation lias been considerably simplified to meet the limited vocabulary of school children. The course in

fviMimetic has been considerably shortened and simplified, chiefly by the omission of rules and types of examples that have merely a conventional or pedantic interest. A considerable amount of the arithmetic formerly done in primary schools has little Or no relation to ordinary life, or to business, and frequently deals with examples which never require to be worked outside of a schoolroom.

“A more even distribution of work amongst the standards has also been made. Increased attention is to be given to instruction in home science, home nursing, fust-aid, hygiene, temperance, hisiory and civics. The numerous explanations and suggestions formerly incorporated with the syllabus have been removed to appendices; and, together with a large number of additional suggestions, have been set out in a consecutive and comprehensive manner. Tims, there is an appendix relating to each of the subjects, such as speechtraining, reading, .composition, arithmetic, history, geography, homo science, etc. It is hoped that the matter dealt with in the appendices will he of considerable assistance particularly to the less experienced teachers, m framing their schemes of work and in planning their methods of teaching. Several specimen schemes of work, in subjects such as history and geography, are included in the appendices, and tbeso will be supplemented by others in the Education Department Gazette, which will shortly he published monthly and circulated amongst the teachers of New Zealand.” ,

Mr Hauau mentioned that the Revised syllabus, which would have to

be considered now by his successor in office, would not come into operation

in any case until the end of the year. It embodied sonde of the results of his own observation of the weak points of the syllabus now in use in the schools.