NEED FOR UNITY

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20493, 9 May 1938, Page 8

NEED FOR UNITY

NEW ZEALAND EDUCATION USE OF LEISURE HOURS (Special to Times.) NAPIER, Monday The annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute was opened by the Mayor of Napier this morning when 88 teachers, representing 4 4 branches, were present. The meeting will continue until Friday. A review of the progress and the changes wrought in education over a number of years were traced by the president. Mr R. McGlashen, in his presidential report. “We must realise to-day how much the world in which the modern child Is growing up has change.! and is still changing.'’ continued Mr McGlashen “ The modem world, because of the gifts of science, has become smaller and life in turn has become more complex. Consequent on the shortening of the working hours it is Imperative that the people should be in a position to select Mr themselves some worthy occupation for their leisure. The educationist cannot divorce himself from politics and economics, in fact the employment of this leisure presents problems that have to be faced. Definite progress has been made in New Zealand within the last year, but still greater attention has yet to be paid to this important aspect brought about by political and economic thought. An Anomalous Position ** Does the public realise that, excluding the 2500 school committees, there are approximately 60 constituted school authorities in many cases overlapping, not only in the geographical districts, but also in the same fields of education?” asked the speaker when dealing with the haphazard manner In which the education system has been allowed to grow over a number of years. “ The position is so anomalous as to appear ridiculous. The result of the present system appears to be that each school fights for Its own preservation with little thought of what is best for the child. Further, each type of school appears to take little he*si of the course of Instruction previously taken by the pupils, so that there is generally little attempt to show a continuity in courses of study. Such a system is wrong and though the barriers between the various types of schools will take years to destroy, there will be greater possibilities of this being done when all types of schools in the same area are controlled b - the same authority.

When we have in New Zealand a realisation of the vision of a single service bound by a single spirit in the service of a common ideal, then shall we, as members of the New Zealand Educational Institute, be proud of our advocacy of unification, not only of control, but of the whole service of education.'’ coqcju-lssl gfi *££*&& ■