THE SCHOOLS' PRODUCT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 95, 19 October 1944, Page 9

THE SCHOOLS' PRODUCT

DEFENCE OF THE SYSTEM

! (To The Editor.) Sir, —Educationists will welcome ; criticism^ the theory and practke hv? ca A '-but the statement made !m™ £ S AToClat£ d Chambers of Commeice of New Zealand does not conI^W + - ""Pression of being purely its intent. Thl reading public will be aware that Chamber! Sp «2r?-er^f thr?u§hout New Zealand srfmFJ? htlcally minded, and may, consciously or unconsciously, have politi--1 criticism a T s h educa«onal motives for vi,^ +m" T? he references to the of& Department, to the fruits ti. P nf V^ al o+glJatlon' and t0 the characfnl ?£• he State § lye adequate reasons tor this supposition. ™iL Associated Chambers of Commerce wish to raise the standard of edu- £ n. m New Zealand there are many ways m which they could be helpful. Lrt i tn ° doil bt that the Professors vpi/tl?Urer^ °. f education in our uniIS a. nd training colleges could edSStfrfn i that in aw* W Phl] Os°Phy we follow Jl e p .? ol»s of Great Britain and wm^i° a- + üßy edu<^tional philosophy Wem™iV he ei? ds we seek t0 achieve. SinniS? co *™c our critics that in of t£ P P ~^ + S f teaching, i.e., the basesl niv . f S lethods by which we achieve SrL«^? ds> T? seek the guidance of 21 Practice and of overseas educational psychologists. In the matters hi and which seem to ar^ fn r lengG-l the statement, we M luf wi th "?° se of the best scholfh?£ ab™ad- + They are embodied in tw?^ ab *S 0± Instr«ction which the Department gave the schools in 1928 fh2r. on,whlch .teachers have based their schemes since that date. linr ;^V T the^' our astern is pecuarimini 3?6^ Zealas d> to bring upon our administrators and teachers the charge of lack of educational ideals? I beffinhp co"ld Prove to the Associated nIS S (1 ? f Commerce that the geneial aims, the methods, and the syllabus °4h ntl rUCi 101J aJ e all in accordant he Jnri b tSt, educational thought in the world today. It would thus retion h ? 1S s?- ciety to assist educaof ma^ .advocat ?ng the improvement us ?J fill 51 condltions- Let them help1 us to get smaller classes, more space ™ lassrooms, more teaching equipSl ah??, d t Salari^ S sufficient to attract riiK+J^ 811* be A 1 remarked that few proS^"^ the war period have mainth?^ Q^? eir Pr, e"war standard. To stanel l km£ Wh° dimcult «rcumSffi s >, both .as regards home and siti&m anf S i Ve? f^ fnl servlce > the criticism of last Friday's is^np if iZfl in intent, musTstm appear unfair, and to the general public untimely.-I am etc. general

F. C. LOi'DELL, Principal, Wellington Teachers' Training College.

Sir,—The Associated Chambers of ™k^ 8\ a — -COrrect gelling to boys threl v*i OU? mg the Staff after two ™ Thif fh years secondary education." This they assert is "evidence of deficiency in the New Zealand educahmvevPr yStem' , ,No such conclusion, nowever, can safely be drawn The deSnd^lf the ducati°n of Siete bS|s causes, some arising from special war conditions. During the past five X q ? cS°°. ls i have frequently been sftoit staffed less experienced teachers n««« 6n P c place of §ood teachers away on active service, classes have S ro been abnormally large, and both children and teachers have suffered tiom the personal and social strains of war. For deficiencies caused by these circumstances the educational system cannot fairly be held, responsible: they are analagous to the defects in many manufactured goods resulting from shortage of labour and materials of the right kind and quality. It is likely that more general causes have also been operating for some considerable time, undetected by any but the most alert and intelligent employers. Owing to the increased demand for good clerical workers by new or enlarged Government departments and industrial and commercial concerns, the boys and girls now seeking positions in such firms as the Auckland one are probably less able on the average than those they employed a decade or two ago. Further, it is possible that some competent arithmeticians, writers, and spellers have during the war period, if not before, been attracted to jobs requiring less skill of this kind but better paid There still may have been "a decline in the quality of the average I pupil coming from the schools, as the [Associated Chambers of Commerce claim, but it must be emphasised thfet me instance they give is valueless as evidence of it. So, too, are the generalisations in the rest of their statement: "Commercial people know the qualities that are lacking in those they employ." "They are certain that the education of young people today is inadequate and of inferior Quality " The Associated Chambers of Commerce have not conducted any thorough investigation to discover how many commercial people" have these opinions; nor would it in any case have much validity, since the opinion of men untrained to collect and assess evidence scientifically would scarcely be reliable.—l am, etc.,

W. J. SCOTT, Chairman, Executive Committee, Wellington N.E.F.