The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1918. PROPER EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 January 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1918. PROPER EDUCATION.

Progress is a word that is in very frequent use, but there are lew who pause to consider what it really meanss. There is a generally accepted idea that the term signifies going forward, but when we come to apply it nationally it has a far more extensive meaning. It is only when we come to view progress as a real live influence in the enrichment of human nature that we get down to l>ed rock and discover its ethics and the part it plays in a nation's greatness; then we realise its real import. Progress is merely the result of proper education, and education lies at the root of happiness and prosperity for every people. One of the great lessons resulting from the war is that which has ennobled universal service, and the recognition that those who render it are worthy of the best from the community, for they have given their best to the community, while another lesson is that we must have a better Empire after the war. Obviously this 'betterment must be based on improved education, not only to ensure the continued greatness of the Empire, but also to meet the new conditions necessitating a successful competition against enemy trading operations. So impressed is the President of the British Board of Education (Mr. 11. A. L. Fisher) that he is working out a new scheme of education which be believes will be the best of all monuments to. the men who have fallen in the war. Britain has not yet attained to the step ladder system in vogue in New Zealand, probably owing to the vast difference in the populations and the colossal cost that would be entailed, judging by that of the Dominion. Moreover the conditions here and in the Motherland are almost entirely different, owing to many factors that tell against Britain. In spite,of the enormous task and expense involved in establishing in the United Kingdom a scheme of education having connecting links from the nursery to the University, Mr. Fisher is not dismayed, but is entering on the work with confidence of success. In the past considerable difficulties have existed in getting the workers to realise the importance of a sound education for their children, the great stumbling Mockbeing the need for the children becoming earners at a very early age. Now that wages are much higher the workers are calling for free secondary and university education for everyone who, by scholastic efforts, show a real desire for it. The question »f child labor is one that has had a very retarding effect on

education in all eounlric.. Experience in Britain ami elsewhere lias proved Unit children who perform three hour* work before school are not unlv tired, bill their minds 'become full of oilier inleiosts, so that it is considered there nubt be a strict limitation of hours of labor for children under fourteen, no labor under twelve, and on schaol (lays none whatever before 5 p.m. or after 8 p.m. Tins signifies that education must come first and employment be secondary. The first requisite for this new scheme is to secure teachers thoroughly qualified for the work, recruited from a class mentally arid, psychologically better than heretofore, involving higher salaries and making teaching a liberal profession rather than low grade labor. Where leaching is inferior, good government cannot be expected, and the nation which has the best teachers, with the highest pay and as a part of the best school system will be the best governed, the most progressive, and therefore the greatest nation. It is interesting to note that the proposed programme includes nursery schools for children between three and six years of age, where sleep and play are combined with very little routine instruction, though both will be under those good conditions which will help the children to become strong and healthy men and women, open air being a prominent factor. The benefit of such institutions in crowded districts will be incalculable, especially as medical supervision forms part of the scheme. This is really laying the foundation of sound minds in healthy bodies. From six to fourteen the elementary school is brought into use, and up to the age of twelve rudimentary education will be imparted, while between twelve and fourteen more elaborate training will be given in literature, foreign handwork, housecraft (for girls) and general handicraft for boys, music being offered to both sexes. Then follows the secondary period wherein full time is required. There, is to be an examination of pupils at sixteen and another at about eighteen, and it is hoped to get these examinations accepted as credentials for entrance into various professions as well as the universities. The secondary education is to he carried on up to 'the. age of eighteen, and part of the training is to be physical. A new feature in the scheme is the institution of summer camps for boys every year till the boys reach eighteen, thus carrying on the work of education, discipline and physical culture. It is considered that by carrying on education up to the age of marriage will prove of great benefits, as adults will not have lost interest in educational matters when their children 'begin to arrive, and it is hoped that the new system will give the girls, so to speak, a light hand rail which will help them from school to matrimony, ensuring their keen interest in the education of their children. The scheme does not attempt much with regard to the Universities, its purport rather being the general enrichment of human nature and the attainment of liberty. For that reason also no special provision is made for winning trade, but the whole programme is designed to produce citizens who will win the best for their country and themselves. The combination of the two great factors in education—the school and the home —is an ideal process, but in view of the coming struggle for commercial and industrial supremacy there is an urgent need for technical instruction. Little by little the education system is being built up on practical and sensible line 3. We have to bear in mind that specialists are rare and that the scope of education is nation wide. The scheme outlined is by no means complete, hut it is an advance that is capable of development into a great national uplifting.