SECONDARYSCHOOLS.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 August 1919, Page 7

SECONDARYSCHOOLS.

ADDRESS BY MR. MOYES. ; the quarterly meeting of the School Committees' Association on Monday evening, Mr W. H. Moyes, principal of the New Plymouth Boys' High School, delivered an adress dealing with some of the aspects of education as viewed by one engaged in secondary work. It was generally agreed, he Baid, that an adequate system of education would be the main factor in solving the serious problems that the war had handed to us. When the world was stirred from end to end by social unrest it was more than ever necessary that all engaged in training the young should be united in their aim and that there should be complete co-relation between the primary and the secondary schoolsEvery teacher in a secondary school Would be of greater value to the community for a period of training in primary work, and under a proper system there should be nothing to prevent the primary school teacher from gaining the qualifications necessai/ for the more, advanced work of the secondary school. Training colleges, to a certain extent, offered facilities to the primary school teacher, but there wa,s no such institution for secondary teachers, who had ofteb to be recruited from untrained and inexperienced men and women. It was surely a blot on our national system of education that no training college was to be found for secondary teachers, and that outside the university towns no facilities were offered primary teachers to qualify for the advanced work in the upper forms of secondary schools. '

Tie question of education as a preparation for future work had from the earliest times interested deep thinking people. Realising the complete questions that, had arisen and that would arise during the reconstruction period ,it would be asked: • What" were the secondary Schools doing to carry on the work of which the primary schools were laying the foundation? Although at present everything was in a state of flux, educationalists were alive to the situation, and _thfl department was gradually evolving a scheme of work more in touch With'.,the* national life. Humanistic studies were, in the case of many boys, taking the place of Latin, which was not now compulsory. Science and chemistry were given importance. Civics and history were compulsory, and commercial- and -agricultural training was more and more gaining a place side by side 1 \Hfch the- professional or classical cause.

Every secondary school recognised that the building up of character should be its chief aim. Not every boy could be turned out a scholarship winner, but every school could in a largo measure succeed in incorporating the public school .Meal with 2est for work and earnestness of. purpose, iwnt was encouraged outside of the classroom. Tho discipline'was largely in the' hands of the prefects and senior •boja,-

Hp gave a brief account of the "working, of the school, the curriculum of which was designed partly to prepare pupils for further study at the university and for entrance to the professions; ttnd partly to equip them with knowledge that will assist them when they entered business life or settled on the lafid. Ho touohed on the various leaving certificates, which carried'certain advantages and privileges, the higher leaving certificates entitling the holder ,to apply for a university bursary, tenable for three or six years. It would thus be seen that a little had been done to bring the university within th« reach of boys of average ability, and it was a matter for regret that so few remained long enough at school to take advantage of the facilities offered. The physical well-being of the pupils received special attention, as they believed that physical power was the basis of all power, physical fitness led to moral strength. The coordinates of sense and muscle and the habit of quick decision were a most necessary preparation for almost all pursuits in life. ' Secondary schools dealt nfetinly with pupils at the adolescent age, when physical growth Was one of the main businesses in life. From 14 to 17 years of age, the school boy took as his hero, not tie pupil of high attainment, ' but the one who excelled in all kinds of msuily sport. This could result in no harm, provided the teacher did not adopt the boy's standard. . On all sides, he said* there was a demand for education, which was no longer looked upon as a luxury only for the wealthy. Every year brought evidence that the workers were asking that their Children should be given a chance that was denied them in the past. A great Step forward Would be the establishment of university extension lectures at the Secondary schools. The university colleges had done good work but had been open mainly to the privileged, and in this and every town in New Zealand there Were hundreds of young people who, through f6rce of circumstances, were debarred from competing with those more fortunately situated in the university centres. There should be fto insuperable difficulty about introduoifig the scheme, as the machinery was available. The university, he held, had in no way attempted to make its teaching an integral part of the national life, and he hoped the, matter would be taken up by the public of New Plymouth, urging the need for the institution of extension lectures.

Referring to the age at which boys should leave school, he gave instances to show that the average school life was very short, and held that any "boy accepting a free place should be compelled to use it for at least two years, thereby bringing the age for compulsory education up to about 16. An important feature, too, was the failing supply of teachers, due to the inadequate salaries paid.

No matter how much the Government denied it, the fact remained that in all grades of schools a satisfactory service of well-qualified teachers wonTd not be maintained until higher salaries and more definite prospects wero assured. Not the least important of the lessons learnt from the war was the necessity of having our children under men and women fit to fulfil the important trust imposed on them.

In conclusion, he appealed to all to make more use of the facilities offered by their school, which, thanks largely to public generosity, had buildings that compared favorably with any other in Jiew Zealand. It had well-equipped science laboratories and a staff of qualified teachers,, and he was looking forward to th% time when the school would be looked upon as existing, not for the benefit of a few, but for the good of the whde community. THIS discussion: In reply to Mr Stratford, Mr Moyes said that a higher standard of profici«ks? certificate would help considerable

in the work of. ft high school. There was a gap between the primary end sec* ondary schools which should be bridged. This Applied to pupils from the preparatory department of the school as well as the primary school and Was not the fault of the teacher. He thought a conference between the' teachers of the primary and secondary schools so as to effect co-ordination, would be beneficial. Mr Stratford said that he felt that a better foundation might be laid upon Which to build the superstructure, and the primary school teachers would be pleased, to met Mr Moyes and discuss the matter. In reply to Mr Dolby, Mr Moyes said they should get a better percentage of boys from the town. Of 120 new boys, there were only 52 came from the town. Then, too, many of the town boyu only remained at the school a few months.' Mr Johnstone (Pitzroy) said that the crux of the question was that many parents could not afford to keep their boys at a seebndary school, and many only did so at considerable sacrifice. There should be a fund from which parents could be assisted and so save many of the brightest brains to the country. Mr Moyes said that the Government should be urged to take the matter upThe chairman considered that primary school committees should interest themselves in having secondary or technical education made compulsory. It was said that the education system was in the melting pot, but at present only portions'of it were. He thought the whole of it should be. He hqped that very sooa it' would be made compulsory to send children to secondary or technical schools up to the age of IT, and that some system would be adopted to help parents who could not afford this. A vote of thanks to Mr Moyes was carried by acclamation.