The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1928. EDUCATIONAL REFORM.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 July 1928, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1928. EDUCATIONAL REFORM.

In the course of an address at Christchurch on Tuesday evening, Dr J. Hight stated tiie Government might devote fifteen to twenty thousand pounds to some of the more urgently needed reforms just as evidence that they do recognise that these reforms are needed. Continuing, lie -said one would he doing the Dominion a real disservice if one did not point out the shortcomings of education. Neglect of one section of education must have a harmful effect on the other section. In England, Scotland and the United States there was a keener interest taken in primary education by the ordinary man than was the case here. In New Zealand we needed a system which was more liberal and more responsive to the changing needs of the times. The system should be less bureaucratic and less hide-bound, and one which did not sacrifice the interests of the future because of the mistakes made in the past. Very great improvement had been made in the past twenty-five years, but there was scarcely a point in which wo were not behind America. It was not the fact that we were behind that mattered, what did matter was our attitude of mind. AVe were altogether too complacent, too self-satisfied. One of the main features recognised abroad was that the school age must be lengthened. The day of mere elementary education was over. In California a child had to remain at school till the age of sixteen, and part time education must be continued till the age of eighteen was reached. The old idea that a child must he kept at an elementary school for eight years had been discarded. If a child was unable to take an interest in some of his studies, school might prove actually harmful to- his mental development. 1 The need for variety in the curriculum increased with the age of the people. In England opinion was slewer to change than was the case in America, hut it did turn in the same direction. The great wastage carried by tbe older system was recognised. The aim in England was to provide a different curriculum from the age of eleven to fourteen or fifteen, after which the child undertook vocational training. In New, Zealand, in some respects, things were made easier , for trainees for the teaching profession than elsewhere, but there were faults in our system which would not hear comparison with the systems of the more advanced American States. The training of teachers was much sounder in other countries than was the case here. An important difference was that elsewhere the trainees were brought together in residential colleges, and they had a higher academic training than was the .ease here. A fault here was that the young teachers were obliged to pursue their own general education at the same time as they got their professional training. That was absolutely wicked and should not be tolerated. In Scotland nobody was admitted for training as teachers unless they had already graduated. There was then two years’ probation before a certificate was issued. It would mean much to our harassed trainees if they were permitted to give their whole time to tlieir own education. Dr Hight described the system adoptedi in. America and also that in vogue in England. Greater attention, he said, was being paid in the elementary schools to speech and literature. Here a boy was judged’ by the number of sums he could get right. That was

.absolutely wrong. There were other instruments for training the mind just as valuable as arithmetic. The new syllabus, he was glad to see, made provision for lass time 1 wing given to arithmetic. The use of arithmetic in modern business life was being much narrowed down. The effort of education was to develop the powers of the individual. Reform in education must come if we were to have proper natural development. It had been retained by a lack of vision on the part of politicians. Tho concern of the Minister of Education should lie education, and not, ns seemed to be the case now, economy. Our remoteness from the centre of the world’s educational life demanded that we. should have a good educational system. The exchange of teachers was a good thing, but it did not mean much unless the teachers were allowed to move round the country.