Educational Outlook.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 May 1922, Page 4

Educational Outlook.

ADDRESS BV MINISTER. WEi.LiXCTOX, May 17. | Addressing delegates attending the combined roiifcrenee of directors and j ■ supervisors ami members of boards of management of the technical schools of the Dominion the lion C'. J. Parr, speaking on tin* educational outlook as be saw it, said that tlie most conservative and reactionary of us bad to admit to-day that we bad to revise the whole outlook in regard to educa- j tion and educational systems. Jie , was afraid that tin* bias ot education | was still largely traditional and academic. with the lesuli that in this country, as in others, tin* best brains of the . young were being directed to the professions. That was not sound. He, declared emphatically that the best . brains should go to the farms, indus- J tries and business of the country. H . our education system was not giving a bias in this direction then be thought ' 1 kero was something wrong. It was ihiMr duty and bis, with open impartial mimls, to investigate our educational slant- comings and provide a sound system of education which would direct, the talent of our in til re citizens into channels more productive for the general good, because a hoy bad brains it did not follow, as was generally supposed, that he must go to a profession. Karins and industries required the brains now going to professions. We must get away from the traditions of the past. The old monkish system which we inherited, which trained about five per cent ot the community, which gave them education, sometimes not too much at that, and left- ninety-five per cent • practically without education was, of course, a thing of tlie past, but still to some extent Ibe system remained and it. was land to shake it off. We now lived in a now world when the whole hundred per cent of the population required to be educated and prepared for life, lie was glad that the conference bad devoted considerable time to the new idea of junior high schools. The new proposals broke away from the old idea of iducation. Junior high schools would take children at twelve years and so-called stupid scholars and might in after life place them far ahead of brillinn* children who had outrun them in the primary schools. The junior high s< hoid would afford a testing house foi the so-called failures of ti e primary s« l o ils. It. would try them out. Junior high schools would save a considerable amount of wastage of good imperial, which at present went on. and make brighter and liner citizens of many of these so-called dull and backward children. Some thought i‘ better that junior high schools should he a separate unit instead of being linked up with technical schools. Senior high schools should not iisk becoming inertly preparatoiv schools for teaohli ion I or other schools. Ihe department would try the junior high school a; a separate unit.