HERO WORSHIP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 June 1938, Page 9

HERO WORSHIP

NEW METHOD OF TEACHING. The hero worship way to learning has arrived. The 240 boys and girls of Winsor senior elementary schools, East Ham. do their reading, writing, history and geography by it —and are the happiest schoolchildren in England. The whole life of the school centres on four national heroes —Captain Scott, David Livingstone, the Earl of Shaftesbury and General Gordon. The four “houses” bear their names and each pupil is assigned to one of them when he first arrives at the school. The children write and act plays on their house "hero” and perform them to their schoolfellows. They follow references to him in the newspapers, in films, and "on the air.” The "hero-worship" method has been devised by the headmaster, Mr W. Skipsey, one of the most up-to-date and “human” teachers in the country. His idea is to encourage enthusiasm in children who lack the cultural background of the more well-to-do classes. "My experience with children from homes hard-hit by post-war conditions has made me realise how hard it is for them to learn by formal methods.” Mr Skipsey told the “Daily Sketch.” "They need ideals and a strong human interest behind all their work. "By identifying themselves with these great men, they have the courage and will to work —whether at their plays, their reading or their writing. "Boys and girls who were listless and uninterested before they came to the school have, of their own accord, brought me detailed 'lives' of the men they are encouraged to study and admire."

The Pacific Ocean is 1000 miles broad along the line of the Equator, and embraces more than 67.000.000 square miles; Tricked by the unusually mild season, several fruit trees in Napier have already commenced to burst into beautiful Spring blossom, and in some cases trees may be in full bloom within a week. Elm and willow trees have not yet commenced to shed their leaves in a number of instances, and new shoots are forming with great rapidity. This hoax that Winter has played has proved to be general, and trees all over Napier hill area are still displaying last year's foliage. This pre-season blooming is likely to mean the loss of many private fruit crops, as the frosts and rain that are undoubtedly to come sooner or later will play havoc witli the new shoots on the trees.