THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 2.30 P.M Friday, January 10, 1913. Primary School Education.

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 2, Issue 24, 10 January 1913, Page 2

THE HUNTLY PRESS PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT 2.30 P.M Friday, January 10, 1913. Primary School Education.

THE question as to their capability sta derive substantial benefits, : commensurate with the cost to the state, on the part of the “free | place ” pupils who have secured, as the result of examinations held throughout the* Dominion, the certificate of proficiency ; which entitles them to attend with nit payment higher grade j sell .Ms or technical colleges, has ago ited for some time the minds 1 of tlie head-masters of several secnn.lary schools in New Zealand, of educationists whose opinions on the subject are well worthy of serious cosideration, in that, as the finished product, the elite, of our primary schools go through their Jiands, they are in a unique Position to pronounce judgment. : M r Tibbs, the well known headmaster of the Auckland Grammar \ school, and a gentleman who is one of our soundest thinkers and \ \ critics of matters scholastic, \ speaks with no uncertain sound. Iu the course of his annual re- ' port he said. “ 1 find myself com- ; pel led to say that of the 42 boys ! in their fifteenth year who came to us [during 19121, mostly from the town schools, under the certificate of proficiency, a great ! number could not he considered proficient in any subject of the primary work, but were, educationally speaking, so ill-favoured that it was hard to know where to begin in order to teach them i lie elements of secondary ■"knowledge. This is a strong indictment against certificated | pupils of primary schools; but I make it advisedly.” As was to be expected, Mr Tibbs’strong indictment evoked a reply from Mr E. K. Mulgan, chief inspector of schools under the Auckland Board of Education, another enthusiastic and keen ! educationist, who, in resenting the attack, declares that in his mind “ the general level of attainments reached by pupils in our primary schools, and the value •f tlie training received during the progress of school life, have steadily and substantially risen during the past ten veers,” a result that is due to the careful and systematic training received 1 by teachers at specially epuipped training colleges. Mr Mulgan, whose letter contains “the re-j suit of experience gained in two j large education districts of the ; Dominion, and of enquiries made I from inspectors throughout the j - Dominion,” continues: “Any statement, however, to the effect j that the average free place win- j ! ner of to-day is less well prepared | for further training than the i average Standard VI pupil of ten j years hack is entirely without j | foundation. In the great bulk of our j schools our young people are steadily acquiring useful and I usable knowledge, are being i t a u gh t so as to huve - "d i* \ver of thought | develop (] and strengthened, and i are receiving a sound and | g-me rolls training in the acl quisition of those qualities which j make for good citizenship. “The amount of knowledge | | acquired during the progress of ( ! school life has in no way suffered of late years, whilst teaching j effort is steadily becoming more j educative, and hence of greater 1 value to the individual, and to the community.” Both gentlemen Ypeak from the point of view of the individual, 1 Mr Tibbs dealing witli the fin- ( ished product of the primary * schools as it comes to him, and * Mr Mulgan with the same as it 1 leaves his hands. While we are j 1 not in a position to make a pro- ‘ nouncement on the question, it is ' c evident that the standard for the 1 certificate of proficiency is not as % high as it ought to be to enable a boy or girl to continue, without r loss of time and without consid- I erable ejjtra expenditure of I teaching power, the educational 1 processes Avliich a syllabus pro- c porlv graced up to the demands a of the secondary school would j naturally yield. It is clear that v a hiatus exists, and the question t of how it is to be bridged de- E mands thfc best intellects of C the secondary and primary s teachers, as well as of inspec- v tors and educationists generally. £ It may hfcfsafely conceded that p our Standard 6 pupils leave the c primary school w ith a fairly good a general knowledge of the rules v of arithmetic ; that they write b and spell well; and that they p read fluently and with expression, v Beyoiid those, it is not safe to go. s Formal English—which w r e take p

to mean an acquaintance with the grammar and syntax of the Mother Tongue—is not taught as it ought to be, with the result ■ that few pupils on leaving the primary schooL can write a “heady” composition or an interesting letter. When they enter the secondary school, and take up a modern or a dead language, they are therefore, badly handicapped ;by their ignorance of English; they have ■ no standard of comparison ; they are unaware of the analogies. , the similarities or the differ- . ences in the language they , take up and those of their own ; and hence, the secondary teacher has to do work that ought to have been done at the primary school; for there is no doubt that a thorough knowledge of one language, even of one’s own, is a tremendous help towards the acquisition of another. Our teachers are fully cognisant ' of this defect, and do what they canto improve matters, but that weird thing called the syllabus by making such strenuous calls* , upon their time, and by forcing them to teach so great a multitude of subjects, causes , primary school work to become scrappy, vaguely general, and of the tit-bits order. What is said about English can be said of geography, history, scienceand otj subjects, s > that Mr Tibbs’ indictment is somewhat justified, and will do good if it lead-*’ to a re-adjustment of th? syllabus and an improvement in the standard demanded from holders of certificates -and these in the best interests of the pupils, of the teachers, and of the community, as a whole.