OUR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Hokitika Guardian, 14 August 1924, Page 4

OUR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

ENGLISH INSPECTOR'S VIEWS. WFI.ihIXGTO.X. August 12. Fud.-r the svsiem of exchange of education ofliier.-; between New Zealand and the United Kingdom.-the Deminion h:is been visited hy Air CL A\ ■ Buckle, one of his Alajesty’s inspectors stationed at Sheffield. After seven .months of varied experience of. the New Zealand education system. Mr .Buckle is returning to Kngland, and he has furnished the lion. C. .1. Parr. Minister of Ldiicatiou. with a. valuable summary of his impressions. The report, as it is written without reservation, is not .suitable lor detailed publication, but the Minister expressed the opinion to a representative of the “Lyttelton Times” that it contained so many valuable suggestions and was of such an encouraging character, not only to teachers of the Dominion, hut to people who have .supported the progressive developments in our education system that ■some of Air Buckle’s general conclusions should l<o made public. During his seven months’ stay in New Zealand. Mr Buckle spent three months among, conn try schools in

North Auckland, where he inspected a number of rural schools, including many- of the sole-teacher typo. He then gained experience of Auckland city schools, including tlie Kmvliai Junior High School, which moots with his cordial approval, and completed his work in Canterbury, where he visited a number of the larger schools. Air Buckle notes "lint lie calls the splendid provision made lor free post-pri-mary education in New Zealand, and referred to the fact that many children do not stay long enough in secondary schools to benefit fully hy the instruction given in those institutions. “The system under which the primary .schools of the Dominion are administered is, of course, different in many respects from tlmt obtaining in England,’’ lie says. “As regards the details of the Dominion system, T have been particularly struck with the potentialities of the school committees. It is true that in some places it does not yet seem easy to secure the services of an enlightened, enthusiastic school committee, and that in this respect a great responsibility rests on the head teacher. It is true also that the raising of the necessary local funds may be left too exclusively to the efforts of the school itself, and it may form a heavy tax on its time and resources, hut if those difficulties can be got over there is much tio be said in favour of a system which calls for local effort to do its share towards making the school environment on© of beauty and culture.’ ’ fu nearly all the primary schools Air Buckle has seen, he regards the tone as thoroughly good and the behaviour of the children excellent and there has Icon a capital working spirit. “Tlie only criticism that lias occurred to me tiiulor this head.” lie says, “is that there are a fair proportion of schools where tho ch'ijdren are too dependent on the teachers’ orders and are too restrictively controlled. In such schools the older childreii get little training in working by themselves, and consequently little opportunity of developing habits of sell-reliance. It is only fair to say that the cases in which this criticism has suggested itself have nearly always been tlie.-e in large schools, where tlie size of tlie top classes was sixty or more. I firmly believe that to got the best out of children over twelve in primary schools wo should aim at classes of forty, oven if we have to he content with classes of fifty for the children between nine and twelve.” SOME OUTSTANDING AIERTTS. “Aly outstanding impression of the work done in the primary schools of New Zealand is that there is an amazingly small amount of really unworth} - work turned out in the schools. It is quite clear that the children are being systematically and successfully trained to do their very best at all

times. Almost equally striking is tho excellent response that can ho got from nearly every class when it is questioned on work that has been taught. I do not consider that the response, taken as a whole, is quick, but it is remarkably sensible tmd is based, on sound knowledge. Aloreovor the majority of the class can take their full share of this response if they are pressed to do so. I consider that l>oth these outstanding merits constitute great testimonies as to the thoroughness with which the schools tiro taught and to the efficiency with which [ they tire inspected.” I Air Buckle goes on to systematically record his impressions of tho teacli--1 ing throughout- tho syllabus. He notes that the speech of the children in the Dominion is naturally good, at least to the ear of an imqieo.tor accustomed to the difficulties involved in the use of certain English dialects. Mo makes several valuable suggestions in regard to the teaching of English, and remarks that ho regrets ho lias not come across many schools where any great attempt is being made to teach literary appreciation as a definite

branch of English teaming. Air Buckle considers that less than might ho expected seems to lie made of the history of the Dominion and of the world histoiy in relation to it. He. suggests that teachers in the ■course of their ‘training might he encouraged to specialise in one or other of tho following subjects:—Literature, history, geography, agricultural science, drawing and singing. Those, he says, are nil subjects that require enthusiastic and well-informed teaching, and it "oiihl he for the benefit, of the system if te-K-licrs wen

encouraged, if not expected to have at least one subject in •which they can give expert advice to a headmaster and can inspire a class. Such teacher.-, will b© especially needed in connection with the proposed developj meiit of the junior high school system. THE PROFICIENCY F.XAAHXATION Mr Buckle is not- sure that the present proficiency examination forms tlie b,, s t test of suitability for secondary education. He concedes, however, that it provides a very fair tost of whetfior a child lias reached to the standard of actual attainment by the age of fourteen to which a primary school would firing him, and it supplies the I teacher with a definite aim which, in country schools, at any rate, is well enough suited to the capacity of the ordinary child. “On the other hand,” continents Air Buckle, “it- may H.fo doubted whether the examination- as I at present constituted forms a very reliable test, as to whether a child is or is not likely to benefit hy a prolonged course oT post-primary education. For this purpose it may bo argued that the examination places too niucli stress on actual attainments and not enough on positive intclli--1 genre or creative ability. In tbe second place, if the examination is t< be taken as at present, when it child is about fourteen the standard is in my judgment, suited to a child ol I average ability, ’but it is not sufficient. |v ambitious for tho able child, whilsl lot- the slow child it is uiinoeessarili advanced in some respects unless il is intended to exclude weak candi dates for post-primary courses. “I should like,” adds Air Buckle •‘to see. the experiment tried of re during the examination a good dea in scope, say. to English and urilli I un-tic. and of varying it so as to la: I more -stress on the testing ol in.telli genre. T think, too, that it shoiili 1).- made possible for clever childrei I and children not dull to take an e> I animation at- the age ot twelve, so a

1(1 la- able to begin pest-primary work on a fairly wide basis with several clear years bi-lore them, free <»f ail thought of examination.” Air Buckle evidently looks forward to the- widening of the junior high xcltool movement, under which primary pupils may begin a secondary course at about, twelve years of age.