THE STANDARD OF EDUCATION.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13563, 26 October 1909, Page 5

THE STANDARD OF EDUCATION.

WORK IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

The question of primary education, and the relative values of various systems of work, have long been a fruitful subject of discussion. A wary eye is kept on every innovation, and its merits or demerits are discussed with a keenness which in itself is an indication of the general public interest. Tho ip--1 troduction of the new syllabus was one of the incidents which aroused tho giant of debate, and the last word in tho discussion has yet to bo said. ' Complaints have reached us latterly that the standard of work at many of the public schools in North Canterbury has fallen considerably during the laet few years; that the essentials of education were being neglected* , in favour of the study of more or less extraneous subjects", and that the Sixth Standard boy of the present day leaves school lesa well-equipped for his future trade or occupation than hie predecessor of four or five years ago. A representative of "Tho Press" submitted, these complaints to several gentlemen whose opinions on educational matters are entitled to some consideration. Mr W.i Brock, an inspector on the staff of the North Canterbury Education Board, said that the talk about the decline or falling off in the. standard of work done in schools was always recurring. It was no uncommon thing to hear people say that teaching was not done as well now as it used to be, the most frequent references perhaps being made to arithmetic. The arithmetic that used to be taught wae a different type to c that being taught now. There were not the long rows of figures to add up. or the big multiplication sums to do, but the tests given required the exercise of a greater amount of intelligence. The habit of aoouracqj/ehould b> taught in the lower standards;* Unless the child got tratod'] grasp of the oompoeitioii or numbers in those standards, and in the infant classes, it would not get that grasp in the upper standards merely by dealing with long tows of figures. ■; Hβ/considered, however, that the standard of accuracy in the upper classes now was satisfactory in most cases. The Sixth Standard boy had to stand a. very severe test before he obtained a proficiency certificate, and a- competency certificate was about equal to what was required oi a boy five years ago. He had no hesitation in saying that the standard of arithmetic was quite equal to what it was five yeare ago. .Composition was very'much better than it was in those days—there was no comparison between the two. The whole discussion led up to this question: was there an improvement under the new syllabus on the results obtained a few year* ago P As far as composition was concerned .there was no doubt that an improvement had taken place. The results of the '^mechanical ,, teacher, or tho teacher with a mechanical turn, • were not as good under thepresent eystem a* they were before. That teacher wanted the whole thing cut and dried for. Mm—he did not like to have to work on hie own responsibility. In regard to the introduction of what might be called more or less extraneous subjects, such as Nature study and technical work, Mr Brock found -that the schools which had cone in more for these subjects were doing equally good, and powibly better, general work than those who were doing very little in that respect. The benefit to the pupils was unquestionable. The amount of time devoted by the teachers to these sub- ! jecte largely depended on the bent given to them by the inspectorial staff. Sometimes a teacher might, through coming into contact with an inspector wbo had a strong feeling towards one particular subject, be induced, .through feeling that the inspector regarded it as a very important subject, to devote more . : time to it than he would icrtherwise give it, . and perhaps put some subject in the wrong perspective. He could cay, however, that the majority of the teachers appeared to recognise the importance- of the essential subjects in the . syllabus. The inspector always aeked -for the essential subjects first, unci , then got what he could about these things which people opposed to the syllabus commonly celled the "frills." A teacher in sole charge might hare some difficulty with a programme of work, but where a teacher bed assistance he should work on a full programme without difficulty. An interesting contribution was made to the subject by Mr J. C. Adams, an ex-teacher of large experience, and a member of the Canterbury College Board of Governor*. '"The multiplication of subjects that a irelleqnipped school has to deal with," lie said, "undoubtedly tends to the weakening of all the subjects that are taken, as no more time can be given in the school year. Thus tho introduction of a new subject must take some of the time that has hitherto been given to the others, ano consequently weaken them. Although a wider amount of reading is required than of old, no longer time is available. While this wider reading is very important, to n»y mind this, as a rule, is on the wrong lines. The supplementary reader should be aiich es to t» well within the power of a good papU of the class just below, so that supplementary reading should not prevent the difficulties of a leeson, but encourage fluency and a love for reeding. Of course the School Journal , does this to a certain extent, but not, to my mintf to the same extent es such a supplementary reader as I hare referred to would do. In arithmetic, also, I .think the alterations that hare been made in lessening the work in one direction while extending it in another, have not proved beneficial, and though now-a-daye a certain

amount of loirer class work can bo undertaken, yet sufficient time is not, and never hos been, available for keeping up work dealing with large figures, and thus ensuring accuracy in calculations that come within the ordinary work of. a lad who, on leaving school, goes into an office. It might be noted, however, that, considering the average ago of a pupil leaving school, employers of such lads expect a standard too high from such youths, and with that facile remembrance of 'what I was able to do forty years ago,' that we old men all have, receive and voieo the impression that the youth of to-day is not to be compared 'with the youth of their good old days. But my own opinion is that in a Rrneral way the lad of to-day will compare favourably in very many respects with those of bygone days. The alteration that has been made- in the teaching of geography is one for the worse. Too much time is now given to the scientific side, and whik , it is an advantage to give the child <i certain amount of elementary knowledge on this side, yet we are asking them to profess a knowledge which is really too übstni«o for them. The old-fashioned political geography, in the hands of a capable teacher, presents such charms to the pupil that he is really in tho best of receptive moods, ami thus is able to absorb and assimilate the knowledge offered, while, as I think, this is not the case- now. In all eases, however. we must hear in mind the teachers are not to blame. They are every whit as capable and earnest as their predecessors, ond arc as well or better equipped for their duties. But the fault is with the wish of thoso who will try to overcrowd tho syllabus, and, to use a forcible expression, to put the contents of a ounrt rot into a pint." "In our "education of to-day, Mr Adams concluded, "one important point, I think, is overlooked, and that is that the work in the primary schools should bo not so much the acquisition of a smattering of knowledge of many subjfcl.ii, but a thorough grounding in the essentials, so as to cnoble a lad on leaving school to pursue, if he wishes it, a study of tho matters ho has a loaning to." In other 'words, he should be taught at school so that when ho leaves ho should know how to profit by that teaching; that is, he should know how to teach himself." Mr T. Hughes, headmaster of the Waltham School, and who has been acting as acting-inspector for the Board for some months, did not think that thero h-ad been a falling off in the standard. Where thero was an intelligent understanding and application of tho principles of the syllabus there was no falling off. With the introduction of any now system there must be a time during which tentative efforts would be noticeable, and this must be tho case particularly where the new system gave greater freedom to the teacher. Any change of system brought temporary instability. Under tho old system mechanical accuracy was made almost a fetish, but now the teacher wae free to use his own individuality, and to apply the methods which appealed to him as being the best. Hβ would say that there had been a marked improvement in the treatment of English, . especially composition and reading. With regard to arithmetic, which was the subject generally attacked, thero might be some lack of accuracy now, but as far as thoroughness in the understanding of principles was concerned there was on improvement. On the general question he eaid that it would , be invidious of him to make distinctions, but they could point to schools to-day in which the present system had acted most beneficially. ■ Education was broader, the mental training was wider, and the child as a whole- was more adaptable and resourceful . -Aβ to the fitness of the boys for occupations after leaving school, he (thought tlvat in clerical work particularly too much was expected or them If a boy was sent to learn a trade, say cabinet-making, his employer would expect him to break things for a while, and the boy would only learn his trade at come cost to hie employer. In anfroffice a boy was frequently called j upon to do a roan's work, and it was j only reasonable to expect thai for some time he would not be able to do it. There had been - the same complaint' made at Home about a decline in the j standard of education. There, as here, it followed the introduction, or freedom of classification, and the reason was that things were in a tentative etage, \ tho teachers sot having learned to use ! tho freedom of classification and power j to formulate schemes of work; that had been given them. He would like to emphasise the fact that the present syllabus allowed any teacher to do all that the old syllabus allowed, but ho was clear In ibis own. mind that the present syllabus, faithfully applied, would result in securing a more liberal measure of education. After all, very ■much depended on the individuality of tho teacher, and would do so under the most perfect system conceived.