PRAISING N.Z. ABROAD.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17756, 7 May 1923, Page 11

PRAISING N.Z. ABROAD.

i LAUDED IN CANADA

: ■■r?.<j:j ot'?. cv,-:; cor^-iokdest.' i VAXCOI'VER. April 13. 1 Admirers of the laudable endeavours j of the Hon. (-,. J. Anderson, Ministerj in-Charge of Publicity of the Now Zen- | !: "'d Covernmeiit. to make New ZcaI hind better known abroad may be i:t- ■' t'-rcstcd to learn that the preaching ! y- the gospel of Xew Zeahun; is attainI l:: " remarkaldi- 1 strides in various parts •et ' ana.ia, not only in Pritisl: Coiuin- ! Ida. w!oto New Z.-aland dairy ].ro-'iin-ts ::;,ve obfaiiu-! ;: wide vogt:e. !>ut inor.' pnrrk-uiarly in Eastern Canada. • not.'.l.ly j., ; i, f , i' rov ince of Ontario. ; t '■'■ is already known that Eastern I Canadian dairymen have for several ! months l,(. en exhaustively enquiring ; '.-'Ho the suei.-essfnl metiiod's pursued l.v ; their eomoctitors in New Zealand, anil I have been battling valiantly to stem 1 " K1 vxtraordinarv demand for X?\v Zenj land butter in Ontario and Quebec, a ; demand whieii has made great inroads | into the domestic butter sales, but now i -New Zealand has attracted further at- ; tentioji in the big .Xorth American | Jlritish Dominion bv reason of the i educalional system adopted bv New ! Zealand.

New Zealand had a first-eiass advocate at the series of educational sessions, which have just concluded in Toronto, and Canadians, Americans, English and .Scotch delegates listened with exceptional attention to the learned disquisition ."delivered by Mr Xormau K. MeKenzie, Inspector of Schools, in the smaller of the two British Dominions under the Southern Cross. -Mr lleKenzio described New Zealand as a country where trusts are unknown, where democracy has found vent in an almost universal Government or co-operative ownership of publie utilities; a country where education is free to those who prove they have the brains to profit by it, where school eurriculums are flexible, where text-hooka are not compulsory, where examinations are not the supreme objective of juvenile scholarship, and where parents and not the "moneybags" elect school trustees. Such was New Zealand as delineated by Mr McKenzie to the meeting of the College and secondary school section of the Ontario Educational Association, and lie brought a humour and a store of startling but little-known facts which made his address on New Zealand 's educational system one of the most delightful and most informative delivered before the educationists in session at the University of Toronto, and it might, be mentioned that these educationists present in the "Queen City" of Canada-included Sir Michael Sadler, Chancellor of the University of Leeds, England, and General BadenPowell.

Enlightening Canada. •As he put it: "We have been indulging in what you call Socialism and what we call democracy. So far we have managed to keep out of serious trouble. In fact, we have the largest commerce per head of population of any country in the world. The Government owns many things—railways, coal-mines, electrical development works, tourist resorts, not to mention other things. The municipalities run their own trams, their water, their light, and generally their gas, and what is left is usually managed by co-operation. Dairy farms, creameries, cheese factories, and department stores are all co-operative. Of course, you can point to the fact that we walk with our heads where our feet ought to be, but we can say the same of you. Perhaps we are revolutionary, but we are still fanatically British, notwithstanding our misdemeanours. "Quality and not quantity has governed our immigration, and we are stiVJ 98.7 per cent. British descent. We do not believe in trusts. It is not easy to form a trust when the Government owns almost everything which could bo turned into a trust. We gave the vote to the women 20 years ago —and we are still in existence." With that as an explanation of the New Zealander's point of view, the speaker turned to describe an educational system which, to Canadian delehates at'least, appeared to be almost as revolutionary as that point of view.

Junior Higli Schools. Primarily, said Inspector McKcnzie, the educational system of his country was' designed to fit the individual. Attempts to fit the individual to the system had long since been abandoned. Just now the authorities were experimenting with the junior high school, in tiie hope that it would bo possible to determine exactly what a child was best adapted to. These new schools offered academic, industrial, domestic, agricultural, commercial, and "art" courses, and the child was given tho course which suited him. "We have no rigid courses of instruction. The teacher has the right to use his initiative. An inspector might object if Chinese were substituted for English, but that is »7>out the extent of the teacher's frerdom. Text-books are not compulsory. The Government approves of, say, 51 Latin grammars, and the teacher takes his choice. Our examinations are not set from books, and if a child does not want to bother with examinations the principal can give him a course that may have no relation whatever to the public examinations." Then there was the question of school government —also '' a trifle revolutionary." A board of governors of nine had jurisdiction over one school, of perhaps over the schools of a whole city. Whatever its territory, seven of tho nine governors were elected by parents of children in attendance at the school or schools.

'' We look upon the mini, and not tho money-bag, as the most important thing. So we do not allow the moneybag to vote when this matter of education is at stake. The two other members are appointed by the Gover-nor-in-Couneil. He may pick whomsoever he wills. That, I think, is something approaching democracy. Yes, when a voter ceases to have a child at, school lie loses his franchise?

Boys Taught by Men. So far as possible the sexes during the period of artolesence were separated, the boys to be taught by men, the girls by women. They had even gone the length of making domestic .science compulsory for girl matriculants, and exempting them from algebra and geometry. In all, there were only two compulsory subjects for matriculation, and IS options, live of the latter to be taken.

Including the Universities, education was free to those who showed the necessary aptitude. A child leaving public school was given one of three certificates, one which sent him to high scho.ol without fees, one which sent him to a vocational school, and a third which enabled him to attend high school provided he paid for his instruction there. The latter was tantamount to a certificate of lack of proficiency; the State had declared that it would no longer educate that particular child, but if the parent wanted to pay for further education the waywas open. This system, followed through to the University, insured that the most proficient would secure the host education. And at the University it was possible to take an arts., science, commerce, or law degree by

studying before nine in the njonung, after five at night, ana on forenoons. That meant that :!1 * .V" dent worked in the daytime. in mv tixim we u.s.--i f regard t:i<? o.a> men as parasite,: wo-the m^'«f«wore the real Cidversity men. _ mar, however, had changed wit:, tne in-

crease in free education. And with all this freedom. _ vvlu.t happened to the scholar? "'" our .-itv school* 55 per ■.■ out. of the noys. and S.Vror cent, "f ri.o pr- take La.m: O'-J Per Vent, and ikl per cent., tively. take French. We push rreach in our schools." Nor did tk.> svstem drive The_ student toward a '"white-collar )00. Fr„, one ,-ity '2'-' i".'r vent or the Piudis in scroadarv schools had gone to'the CniversiM-. but -4 r>'r cent.nad gone to the farm. _ seems peculiar, but -rill ii is a * e turned 2-1 per cent, of' that year s grist in the ),;«■ ,-i-v iii'o fanners.- con-chi-.k-d the New Zealand inspector. Newspaper Comment. Commenting on Inspector M< t\enzie's dissertation on New '-'-''•' h.nd.'s educational system, the Toronto "Giobe" said: ••from far away New Zealand comes nn of bold and original departures in education, as m Government ownership. _ Government ownership is charged with discouraging initiative and individual enterprise: yet the New Zealand of educ-ation shows no marks of deadening influence of -State paternalism. On the contrary, uiiforiuity is thrown to the winds." "Attempts to lit the individual to the system have long been abandoned. ... So bold an

exercise of liberty takes away our bread). But it is inspiring to hear about it, and at. least to consider it. The separation of the sexes in the period of adolescence —which would mean with us in collegiate institutes and high schools—is at least suggestive and provocative of thought.'' Other Canadian newspapers are convinced that the Dominion has much to learn from the enterprise of Xew Zealand and the "Guelph Herald." of Ontario, in a recent issue, said: "Canada, with a total of 4000 forest fires in 1921, continues to suffer appalling losses. There is a rich national heritage in the, lost timber that fires cause every j-ear. , From time to time there is talk of reafforestation schemes in Canada, but so far very little of a definite plan appears to have been decided upon. We have much to learn in'this respect from New Zealand." New Zealand and its potentialities are constantly being brought before the people of Canada, and it is highly probable that, should the New Zealand Government Publicity Department dispatch a "live" representative across the Pacific Ocean lie would have a cordial reception from Vancouver to Halifax, and an illustrated lecture would prove a most attractive feature of his tour, the Canadian nation being intensely interested in outposts of the British Empire, and more especially are they desirous of learning more of the remarkable advances made by New Zealand in that country's varied developments of life under the Southern Cross.