Junior High School.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 August 1922, Page 3

Junior High School.

At Christchurch on Friday Mr T. Caughley, Director of Education, discussed with the Canterbury Board the proposed scheme of junior high schools. The principals of Canterbury College, High Schools, and Technical College were present by invitation. Mr Caughley traced the development of State education to its present stage and said that the gap between the primary and secondary classes was so vide that it caused a shock to students in suddenly having to take up a number of new subjects. It was proposed by establish, ing Junior High Schools to make the flow of education more even by dosing the primary course at about the present fourth standard and passing the pupils on at from 11 to 12 years of ago into the Junior High School where their future vocation could be studied and their course of education directed accordingly. .Mr Banks (Education Board) welcomed the suggested innovation and thought it would lie admirable for Timartt and such places.

All- Wild (Education Board) said that there was already a feeling that tho Department were administering tho. schools in the interests of the teachers rather than the pupils and this would be intensified by Mr Caughley’s statement that the new movement would mean promotion for a number of teachers. He asked what the increased payments to the staff would cost and what was the objection to feeling their wav with the project by assimilating the present sixth standard primary with a lower standard than the present first year high school. Mr Caughley replied that it was not possible to go into tho cost of a schemo of ton vears lienee that if the change was desirable the cost would have to ho provided by some means. Mr Lancaster (Headmaster High School), described his method of tuition and classification by which the pupils had no choice of more than one extra subject and thentuition was directed according to their future vocation, engineers taking science, mathematics and drawing, while those adapted for or intending to follow professional or clerical pursuits took Latin and an academic course. It might he desirable for the heads of the Colleges and High Schools to he appointed a committee to direct to which school a pupil should lie sent. Mr Caughlev asked Mr Lancaster wlmt he would say if, he giving both classes of education in the high schools the technical college did the same and also specialised in both classes. Mr Lancaster saw no objection to that m l thought they should all ho "imply "wf’ Lane (Secretary Education Board) said the scheme if earned out to anv extent would he at an enormous cost.' It might he hotter to allow jnore generous staffs to District H i Schools and do more tor country schools. The tuition h« getting in the District V ‘ could ‘not he improved. Mr said the school named • ' High School in name only and shi.nl -Tunuir Hirf. School. lislied in the South Tsh-nd next via. and all hoards had applied for them V vote of thanks to Mr Caughley was passed. , lMr