AMERICAN SCHOOLS

Hokitika Guardian, 14 February 1933, Page 8

AMERICAN SCHOOLS

NOT EQUAL TO BRITISH. LONDON, December 23. The Master of Wellington College, Mr F. B. MaJi'ni, criticised the American equivalent’ 1 of, our public schools. Speaking at the annual conference of the Incorporated Association of Proprietary Schools, held in London, 110 explained that fiv. e years ago he visited half a ilny. ,>n of the great schools in Massachusetts. T'hese schools corresponding to our public schools, charged extremely high lees -and were devoted to athletics. At one school lie was shown the new playing field..-., which were 1300 acres in extent. The genorositiy of parents and old hoys was astounding, but with all this wealth and all this equipment the intellectual achievement appeared to him lo !i t . meagre. They were content if they could pass their boys into Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, ami he did not think it was unfair to say that the ordinary American schoolboy of 18 could pass- the Schools Certificate examination, and that, was all. .Sixth form work, as we understand it, was done (luring the first two years at a university. “Oxford tutors, who deal with large number.? of Rhodes scholars, will give you a. not very flattering estimate of the work do"© in American schools, and .recent’v 1 have made inquiries of rome Welljng’on boys who have boon for a year in the United States under the very generous American scholarship scheme Their evidence goar to show that the standard is a good deal bo. tv that of an English school of the fame standing.” One reason undoubtedly was that there wiv practically no standard of attainment r "' '■"“■mice.