THE DALTON PLAN

Hokitika Guardian, 10 March 1932, Page 2

THE DALTON PLAN

EFFICIENCY O-F SCHOOLS. CHILDREN’S: PARLIAMENTS. LONDON, January 28, “There are »u mote efficient schools in tlie world than our central schools in London, where they have adopted the Dalton method,” declared Dr, P. H. Ballard, in an address to the Dalton Associaton. I The most far-reaching' reform in modern davs in the education of the world, he said, had undoubtedly been what they generally called the “clean cut” at 11 years of wge. That had forced on them the recognition of the [fundamental principle for‘which the [ Dalton Association stood, the principle [ of individual differences. It had been brought home to them more forcibly than ever before that children oi me •same age were not children of the same ability. ) There were, he said, no more effiI cient schools in the world than the central schools of London. Tt was an impossible task to deal with the children in the old way—the method of chalk and talk—and to get the pupils to try to proceed at the same pace. Until they were able to recognise the wide distribution of abilities among children they were unable to cope with them properly. They could not get the full benefit from this reform un- | less they recognised individual differ- ! enoes. Those senior .schools that 1 were doing their work successfully were the schools that adopted the principles that the Dalton Association advocated. They did not call themselves Dalton schools, hut they had absorbed some of tlie ideas advocated by tlie Association. The new senior schools were of a very mixed character. When they examined the central schools carefully and got teachers to express their ooinions frankly, they found that there, were greater differences between the children than was generally supposed. There were children below tlie stand- > nrd of intelligence for the work and there wore children who ought to lie in secondary si heels. Not only was it de-'i ruble that they should adopt methods in the new senior schools hut it was desirable that they should adopt (-!,„m in all i'-'ies of schools. Tn the old «chools children were not allowed to help one another; in some of the [Dalton schools it was part of the work that tlie chi’dren should help one nii- , other. Somet ilP n ' ; a child was a better i p.nclier of a eh :i l than was an adult. I The children had a right to criticise the curriculum and the allotment oT time to the various subjects. There was in some schools a children’s parliap.f.r't where Ihe v 6 Loir sod the qitoslioa of school discipline; and when Individual eases of discipline were referred to mm mittens, those committees of children were very much more severe on tin* offenders than any adult committee, and children took Ihe punishment very kindly. 'I hoy did mil resent, punishment at all when they fell, that the punishment had been con-

si rim'd just hv their classmates. When they advocated individual work they also wished to include social work. To complete the whole butsness, they must have collectivism as well as individualism. Turning to examinations,* he said they had no longer believed that examiners were infallible, lie criticised the methods of nearly all teachers and examiners of trying to turn out pi«*duet>s of ihe same type. The .sueop?*lul carrving on of the world depended ou 'people following their own bent and contributing of the talent they possessed to the general sum total of human welfare. If they had examination, let them have broad examination. There were no failures among the (■hi li I ■•• Mi ; (hey only failed in certain directions, and the reason might he found in the examination system. No child, he asserted, islmuld have to leave school with a son-e of failure, lie advocated the inclusion of the practical side in their examinations. Jt was pnctical woi k which generally succeeded in life.