OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

Putaruru Press, Volume VIII, Issue 349, 31 July 1930, Page 5

OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

(By

“Veiar”)

■ The educational system of New Zealand is in the melting pot. No legislation of its importance has been subjected to so little alteration as has the Education Act of 1914. As the report of the Recess Education Committee points out, other countries have since the Great War developed and- changed the curricula, etc., of their educational policies. The first instalment of the commission’s report shows that it is one of the most important documents issued for many a long day. The recommendation to end the primary school course at the age of 11 plus or after passing standard 4 is in keeping with the ideas adopted in a number of countries. The writer is of opinion that even though the school leaving age is going to be raised to 15 years there appears to be a desire to rush the child too quickly through school. Great Britain recently raised the school leaving age to 15 years, mainly as a means of easing the unemployed situation.

The Minister of Education has seen to it that “ agricultural bias ” has received the endorsement of the committee. The writer is not opposed to such, but he cannot understand how the mere fact of giving agriculture a greater prominence in the syllabus is going to cause childreri to take a more definite leaning towards farm work as a means of livelihood. It is not because such good marks have been given to subjects such as Latin that the legal profession has attracted so many young men, but because of the cultured conditions that exist for its members. To_ encourage the young people to take up farming the conditions must be made more attractive than they are. Land settlement legislation must be provided whereby land can be acquired by young men who have little capital. Mr. Wild, principal of the Feilding Technical College, which specialises in agriculture, speaks enthusiastically of the success that has attended the agricultural side of his school. Yet we find the same gerftleman saying:— “ What I want to know is, are we prepared to do it ? The general standing of the New Zealand farmer is higher than anywhere else in the world. Are we prepared to see it go down to the standing of the pig breeders of Denmark ? Are we going to put up with the ties and the drudgery of small farming like they do in Denmark? It is a problem we must consider, even with football the great industry it is in this country, and racing, too. We have to think about these things. Are the economic conditions not forcing us to get down? World conditions might be forcing us down to the level of peasants. I do not say they are, because I do not know, but that is one of the problems we will have to face if we talk about the day of the 25acre farm.” The day is rapidly coining when small farms will be the salvation of cur country. The commission stressed the value that agricultural education h;v; been to Denmark. Yet we have .one of our leading agricultural .teachers talking in the above strain. The most obvious omission in the recommendations is that of a cultural course. The hard businessman might say there is no room for culture, but the appalling lack of this virtue is apparent everywhere. Unemployment is so rife that it appears quite likely that working hours (and maybe .T'.gos) will ,bp reduced as a means of solving the question. What is wanted is a capacity for the right spending of leisure hours, and it is within the province of the schools to teach the rising generation the right way. It is not without cause that Lord Bledisloe regrets the fact- that the average working man (including the white collar section) does not take an interest in the arts. If the young idea was given a cultural course he would be able to appreciate the beautiful in life, be it music, art or literature. However, the \commission has done good work, and it may be the start of a new era in our educational system.