PLAYING AND LEARNING
Sir-I was interested in the article "Playing and Learning" (Listener, No-+ vember 16). I do not want to enter into a discussion on the new and old ways of education as I am trying hard to see where the new education is leading our children and I try to keep an open mind, but I have certain ideas of what my children should know and a certain standard they should measure up to in education. Perhaps what I do will help Mrs. Wynne and other mothers. Each night I encourage the children to chat over the lessons they have had at school that day. This comes quite easily as I tell them what I have done and their father has always chatted to them of his doings. Any new work they put down in an old exercise book. I find out just how . they have been taught to do each: type of sum, etc. Each evening we go over some of the sums, tables, rules, etc., in the book. If they have had @ nature les-" son or a social studies one we look up
the subject in our encyclopedias. Any subject they are weak in I give them a few minutes of each night, but keep to the ways they have been taught at school to do it. At school they have more silent reading than reading aloud. But I can see many faults in so much silent reading, and my children read aloud for a short while each evening. When e child reading aloud comes to a word he doesn’t know either compare it to a similar word he knows or break it into syllables for him so that he will learn to do the same for all difficult words. he. comes to. Otherwise in silent reading they will just skip. In regard to Jean in the article using her fingers for her sums, I think the use of counters for so long in the Primers is making the children brain-lazy. I find this shows up in our youngest who is being taught under modern ways, while the older ones in the family were taught by teachers whose methods’ were more old fashioned. If Jean were my child I would give her about five minutes each evening of quick sums, starting with very simple ones, forbid the use of her fingers, and time her with the idea of improving in quickness. She would soon catch on to the idea and enjoy it. I find that our youngest does not face up to things and am constantly on the watch to correct this in his character. I truly think that it is a product of modern education. I have perhaps more to do than the average mother, but. because I sincerely believe I am helping my children in giving them my time each evening I arrange my work to leave that time free. But it’s a grand time to also do plain knitting or handmending. After all, they are my children and if I think schools are leaving out something in their education I must supply it.
A MOTHER
; (Makarau).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19511214.2.14.2
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 25, Issue 650, 14 December 1951, Page 7
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523PLAYING AND LEARNING New Zealand Listener, Volume 25, Issue 650, 14 December 1951, Page 7
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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