EDUCATIONAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2704, 6 March 1924, Page 3

EDUCATIONAL.

MR BROAD RETURNS FROM LONDON. INTERTESTING COMPARISONS Mr R. Prows Broad, headmaster of Aramoho School and for a time temporary head master of the Foxton State school, who went to London about a year ago under the exchange of teachers scheme, lias returned to Wanganui and resumed his duties at Aramoho.

In the course of conversation with a Wanganui Herald reporter on Saturday, Mr Broad stated that on arrival in England he took up duty under the London County Council and during his period at Home was attached to the staff of over 12 schools in some of the poorer parts and others in the better districts of London.

Mr Broad considers that the New Zealand children compared more than favourably in regard to intelligence, willingness to work, resourcefulness and general behaviour. In many instances he found the London children very sharp, a class of sharpness distinct from intelligence. It is indisputable that the training our children receive in English and arithmetc (“bread and butter subjects” as they are some times called) is more thorough, while on the other hand the London children receive more advanced instruction in literature and dramatic work, music, English, dancing, art, handwork, and science. For instance, orchestras in the. schools are quite common. NO LARGE CLASSES. Summing up the position Mr Broad considered that the English education had greater breadth but not the same depth as ours in New Zealand. The London teachers have the advantage of small classes, Mr Broad having been in charge of no class exceeding 4-4 in number. There are a few classes in London up to 60 but this is the absolute maximum. No teacher is allowed to ov-er-crowd a room. If the school is full the children are drafted to other buildings, or extra accommodation is provided. The-number any school shall hold is definitely fixed by the authorities. One bad feature of thei system is that as a rule the boys and girls attend separate schools. Every large school is divided into three or more separate departments, each under the control of an independent head teacher. This results in a lack of co-opera-tion and co-ordination of the work. THE TEACHERS.

There are no pupil teachers. All teachers are thoroughly trained. There is no set syllabus as we understand it but on the other hand, the head teacher is allowed to draw up a syllabus of work to suit the needs of the children under his charge. Part of the headmasters’ duty is to form an advisory committee which meets once a month to discuss points submitted to them by the County Council, the latter body being guided by the decisions when framing new regulations or initiating a change of policy. SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

Coming to the matter of school buildings, Mr Broad said that the latest type oi building in New Zealand, especially those erected by the Wanganui Education Board (Queen’s Park, Foxton, Central School, Palmerston N.) were superior in design, workmanship and finish to most of those he saw in London. The London school is an institution, but the New Zealand school more like a home. The London boys seldom seem to take the slightest interest in their environment by keeping the playgrounds, classrooms etc. tidy and gay with flowers, etc. Our modern rural schools also compare more than favourably with the rural schools of England. We are also more liberal in floor space; there they allow 10 square feet per pupil whereas in our new buildings we allow 12. All the London schools are provided with assembly halls and the larger schools have a room specially set aside for science. A magic lantern is invariably part of the equipment, while the London County Council has one of the finest collections of lantern slides in the world, from which the teachers may borrow sets dealing with any subject.

The New Zealand system of cooperation with the school committees to improve the school environment is entirely unknown in London. Mr Broad showed teachers there, photographs of the environments of Aramoho school and explained to them how this work was carried out by an energetic committee and parents in a very short time and the teachers were amazed. Very few of the London schools are provided with swimming baths, the children going once per week, where possible, to the municipal baths.