NEW SCHOOL SYLLABUS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 11, 14 January 1929, Page 17

NEW SCHOOL SYLLABUS.

INAUGURATION NEXT MONTH. REGULATIONS GAZETTED. •' MERELY SUGGESTIVE." When the primary school children po back to school after the Christmas holidays they will come uniicr the operation of the new syllabus, which was framed la>t year after prolonged deliberation hy a committee of educationjot?. Regulation* concerning the new ivllahus have jn>t been gazetted.

In an explanatory introduction, the JMuPiition Department points out that the lift complete revision of the syllal>ll for primary schools was marie in ]f}]o, but that since then very marked changes have taken place in educational thought, with respect to school organisation iirirl cii! riciilii. The present revision ha* boon undertaken with the view of nuiiloniisiii.i both. ''The Department particularly desires that the present syllabus he regarded both by inspector? and teachers as ma inly supßOstive," says the statement. "'Poachers are to consider themselves free to make any alteration or rearrangement of work they think desirable, and the inspectors will approve any reasonable scheme that appears to meet the needs of children of a particular type or of a particular locality. It is not necessarv that the teacher should follow the order of instruction adopted in the oyllabus. As a matter of fact, the topics set down under each subject have not been arranged according to any hard-and-fast rule, and part of the duty of the teacher will be to select and rearrange the material in accordance with his own ideas as to the best method of treating the subject. He is also at liberty to transfer parts of a subject from one class to another, always provided that the requirements for the primary school leaving certificate awarded at tha end of the Standard VI. or Form IT. course are complied with. Further, the teacher may with tlie approval of the inspector base his instruction mainly on one subject to which all or most of the other subjects are related.

Some Freedom for Pupils. "It is recognised alsp that the pupil as well as his teacher has a right to a certain measure of freedom, and that the most carefully planned schemes of work may not satisfy the pupil's desire to pursue a course of study that appeals to him. The inspector will recognise that it is not always possible for a teacher to adhere olosely to his flaily plan of work. At the same time nothing can excuse neglect on the teacherV part of adequate preparation of his scheme of instruction. It is most important that the teacher shall use his freedom wisely and that he shall not nllow the instruction of the pupil to degenerate into an unsystematic dabbling with only the more interesting subjects or parts of subjects. "An attempt has been made to make the syllabus much more definite than its predecessor, so that the young teacher will receive more real help from a perusal of its contents. This effort to avoid vagueness may give. the. syllabus an appearance of being overloaded, but a careful examination of the various prescriptions will show how much the amount of work expected from the teacher and the pupils has been reduced or simplified. This is particularly the case with arithmetic.

"The syllabus has been enriched by the introduction at an earlier stage of the study of examples of good literature, and also by the earlier commencement of subjects that have heretofore been considered as belonging to the secondary school comae. The prescriptions 'in music and drawing have also been written with the same purpose in view. The makjng of a truly cultural course depends, however, more on the teacher's conception of the way the various subjects should be treated than on any prescription that can be devised. The prescription can at test be only suggestive of the richer and more fully cultural type of education it is hoped will become more and more prominent in all schools.

Promotion for Bright Children. "It is intended that the teacher should provide for the rapid promotion of children of quick and bright intelligence, so that these may reach the secondary schools at an earlier age than at present. The plan of providing an extended course of study, for the brighter pupils has been indicated in the syllabus in arithmetic and elementary mathematics, and this plan might be followed in other subjects. A more V-odest scheme of work might be provided for the pupil of moderate ability, end promotion should not be denied a pupil on the ground that he ha* not mastered every detail of the class prescription. Kather should his promotion depend upon his ability to cope With the benefit *rom the studies get down for Uw next higher claes. A ■ certain amount of repetition in the prescriptions for the various classes permits action to be taken on these lines with prejudice to the pupil." Character Building. The Department furnishes brief introductory notes on each subject in order that the main purpose of the prescriptions may be understood. In regard to character training the report says: "The whole of school life should centre in character-training. Every subject of instruction, and indeed every lesson, provide?, the teacher with opportunities for teaching right conduct and implanting such moral habits as honesty, modesty, perseverance. Ganges, if lightly supervised, enable the teacher to train his pupils to be self-reliant, bpt at the same time to seek the general -good rather than selfish ends, to be patient, splf-controlled, honourable and fair to friend and foe. Incidental training of this kind is probably much more effective than set moral lessons, which tend to be uninteresting and tedious to children. The most potent factor is undoubtedly the personal attitude of the teacher toward charactertraining. If hi« attitude Is one of halfveiled cynicism his influence is likely to be negative, if not definitely harmful. The teacher should show in hie eehome of work that he is following a wpll-defined plnn, even though he provillus no set moral lessons. The prog;vmme in one c'aes will differ verv little in subject-matter from that of another; but the treatment should be adapted to the capacities and outlook of the pupils." The lines on which it is suggested that instruction should be given ars given is ..'Mail,