NEW SYLLABUS.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19481, 30 November 1928, Page 11

NEW SYLLABUS.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER. ENCOURAGING ORIGINALITY. [THE PBESS Special Service.] WELLINGTON, November 29. The Minister for Education (the Hon. Mr Wright) announced to-day that the new primary school syllabus would be issued to teachers at the end of the present year. He . also stated that arrangements had been made whereby there would be a reduction in the prices charged for the new primary ; text books which would have to. bo jssued. In an interview the Minister stated that the final draft, with explanatory appendices, was in the hands of the printer and would be issued to teachers before the end of the year. The Minister said that some two years ago he had set up a committee, consisting of educationists and business men interested in education, to effect a niuch-ncedcd revision of the syllabus. That committee, after calling evidence and holding a number of. meeting-!, had reported early this year and made certain suggestions, for , the' recasting of the syllabus and for the'reorganisation of the school system.- The committee's niain recommendations had already been made public.and.those.relating to the alteration of the syllabus were submitted to the' inspectors of primary schools for their.consideration.; The suggestions made by the. Syllabus Committee, the Minister said, had been of • considerable assistance to the Department, and lie -also desired to aeknowledgo the valuable work a special committee set up by the New Zealand Educational Institute. ; ' In revising the syllabus and in writing,the appendices,' said the' Minister, those responsible had relied as little as- possible on quotations from other sources. The trend of modern educational thought, had. of course, strongly influenced the contents of the .syllabus, but the inspectors who wrote the appendices relied mainly on their long experience of primary school work, and the advice they gave was in.tha.t senso original. The Minister stated that.a comparison with previous syllabuses would show that never before had so much assistance been given .to teachers or so much freedom ;offered them. .The methods of teaching de-s::ribed,.and.adwat£d..by-.the .inspectors were intended to be merely suggestive and ; no teacher need adopt; them unless he were convinced that he could put them to profitable use, Even the prescriptions in the itself were not intended,to be of a rigid,nature, and toacifers-.were invited, to modify in aily manner that appeared * to • 'them and 'to the 1 inspectors reasonable.'

. The' Minister thought that teachers would value the measure of freedom offered them and lie 'felt" sure that they would use it.„ wisely and to, the benefit. of their, - pupils., Hq Jiad.,.;#o desire, to encourage eccentricity in teaching, but ho had • always had . a genuine wish to encourage originality. He was therefore .particularly pleased that the new: syllabus was much more than a collection of" quotations from foreign- sources. .He so desired once again to "thank the' ladies and gentlemen who had so willingly given theii services. : on the Syllabus Committee, and'lie also desired to pay 'a tribute to- tlie fine;work done 'by the officers of his Department in. bringing .such ,an. important piece 'of constructive work to a successful'conclusion. - With-,regard., .1(0 f.the- -Tienf--'-primary school text boolis, ,tlie Minister stated that ho had beeii able, With 'the assistance' of' tli'e 1 Master Printers' 'Associa-ti-on. ■ to, effect a substantial ■ reduction in the price of .text books based, on those . formerly . iii .'use. 'As the ne'jv books Had- b'een written, in accordance with the more . -modern methods of. teaching,, they .were, somewhat jarger tlian'the books ; they. rsplaoed' and the prices had to be nixed accordingly. What 'ha'd been done'was to insist on the publisher 1 b'asi'ng his price bp a 20 per-' cent/ reduction on the t prices of the old 'books. "The ; new books wbuld found 'to -be* wtlV illustrated '«ind written:in -such -a- w r ay- as to induce the piipil (to-study' by. -his 05yd fefforts.. TIIO,. Ibooksl Vhich' .werev Beinjt--- replaced -'liadv been; in use for nearly fiften years,- so it ir'as full tinje-a change was made. The - Minister- said.,tliat'in order--to reduce the cost ,to parents, . he had directed, that only-one book should, be authorised for . each of.tjif subjects English, arithmetic,,history,, .and geography. All, reading, books in, the standard-classes'w-ould'be' free. ' The only readers that.parents, wbuld be required to buy were the tiny boolcs in the' preparatory clasfee's. ' t 1 ' '