SYLLABUS REVISION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19721, 11 December 1926, Page 10

SYLLABUS REVISION

FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS COMMITTEE BEGINS EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION [Per Press Association! WELLINGTON, Dec. 9. fcoinc of tho problems of primary education which he considers require careful consideration in the revision of the school syllabus were outlined by the Minister of Education ,th.o Hon. K. A. Wright), to-day in addressing the inaugural meeting of the committee appointed to inquire into and report upon the' present syllabus. At tho outset the Minister stressed the importance and difficulty of the task tho committee was confruuted with and assured the Bombers that their findings would be awaited with much interest bot only by the Government and the Department but also by parents and pupils. He thought H would be' generally admitted that the time was ripe for revision of the primary school syllabus. The need was recognised not only by members of the teaching profession but also by those who gave any attention or thought to the education of the young people. He believed that generally the parents of children attending the' schools showed great interest in the subject of education, and therefore a new syllabus which would enable the children to obtain such education in tho primary ! school as would assist them to proceed further if they were capable of so doing and go right on to the University must appeal to everyone as very necessary. To obtain a syllabus which would be suitable for and adapted to the present general needs would therefor bo a step in the right direction. Employers’ Criticism, There had been a very great deal of criticism of the present system both by non-experts and by men of intelligence. It was said that young people leaving school to-day were not as valuable to the employer of labour as they were 25 years ago. Air. Wright said he was not endorsing that view. The statement might not bo worth anything at all, but the men who took that view were in a position to form an opinion. Anything that could bo done to try to provide a syllabus laying a foundation for education suitable not only for higher at:ainments but also bearing in mind tho most important fact that 40 per cent of the pupils did not go past the primary schools would bo very valuable. Speaking as a layman he thought the number of pupils who did not go beyond the proficiency certificate must be borne in mind in the framing of any syllabus. The Economic Difficulty It had been contended that if improvements were made in tho secondary schools more pupils would bo induced to attend, and others supported the idea of the junior high school. The real difficulty was an economic one. The plain unvarnished truth was that the great mass of men in New Zealand received less than £5 a week in wages and anyone living in the cities knew that that did not go very far with a married man and family. The educational authorities had nothing to do with that, but the fact must

be faced that when tho child passed, from the primary school the mother and father felt they could not afford to allow him to go any further in his education, and that child must go out and bring something in to the family exchequer. Air. Wright made it clear that he did not wish to appear to be dictating to the committee; ho was simply laying down suggested lines for it to work upon. Its work would be absolutely clear and unfettered. The Committee’s Task There was a general consensus of opinion, he continued, that the revision of tho examination system was justified and that improvements should be made. He quito saw the difficulty of framing a syllabus when one had regard for the varying intelligence of ■ the pupils. There was tho brilliant pupil, tho pupil of average intelligence, ' and then there was the retardate, and > he did not seo how all could be provided for in a syllabus. There was already a system of partial accrediting so that a smart child could pass on instead of marking time with other children. It was manifestly unfair that ; progress of a smart child should be i hindered through his having to wait i for others who naturally made the pace. Ho was somewhat disturbed ar i the increasing number of retardates ! in tho schools and he suggested that ! perhaps the system already in praci tice might be improved upon. ' The Minister suggested to the committee that it should submit its re- ! port before tho end of March. In 1928 the Department hoped to produce an absolutely new list of school books. He did not wish the members unnecessarily to hasten their work. Their recommendations could bo taken into consideration in the selection of new books. In setting up the committee he had deliberately refrained from including any members of the Education Department who might be thought, to be biased, but he assured the cornmitteo that if it required departmental assistance It would be readily given. Touching upon the order of reference Air. Wright said that it did not confine tho committee to strict lines of inquiry; it was at liberty to review the whole question from Dan to Beersheba. One of the matters for inquiry was that of homework. A great many parents had represented to him that the homework set was too much for their children. The point was whether children were not being overtaxed for 'heir strength. One employer had told him he found many lads who had matriculated at tho expense of their health and had become nervous wrecks. Air. Wright said that personally he would sooner see his children “duds” than be nervous wrecks. Health came first. It might be that pupils had undertaken too much and that they had attempted something beyond their mental capacity. It seemed to him that the question as to whether homework should be set in primary schools might very well be inquired into. A teacher at Nelson had stated that ho had eliminated homework with successful results. Tn conclusion tho Minister said he thought tho present syllabus was overcrowded and that too much was being attempted in too short a time. While everyone was anxious for his children to make rapid progress, it should not be done at expense of their health or comfort.