SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20274, 27 June 1931, Page 19

SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

TO lUK 7.IUTOR Of TUB PRESS. Sir, —I" a leader the other day,, :» Jre I'm:-* dr-Mi- attention to 'the astonishing .s|>.-«-tuHe" of the secondary i ghouls .-xUiiiy out to prove that they ofe vocational. Many others are equally Mirpri.«»-J :it the "spectacle," bet < or :1 " 'irc-H- different reason. There i« u « l ' ils . v feeling that, though the secondary s'-liooli are nominally , taking the wide variety of subjects mentioned !>y The Press, in reality the?" are, in many cases, only " tinkering" with them. In other words the ' jiteondary schools are introducing vocational work before they understand its weaning, and certainly before they havo tae accessary syxnpathv towards it to icake it of any real value in education. Arc the secondary schools not in danger it present of falling between two stools? The econdary Schools' Association, whieh name, by the way, is a misnomer, it fortunate in having as its president tbi? year Mr Frank Milner, and it has gruped the opportunity to use this redoubtable orator as its apologist for a system of education which, many think, clings too fearfully to the vestigeß of the old monastic type of the Middle Ages. Twenty-five years ago I remem--1 ber'Mr Milner as a lone voice crying in the wilderness of secondary education for the introduction of practical subjects as a necessary part of education. Because the secondary schools did not then follow his lead they feel compelled now to ask him to lead them cot of difiiculties that would not have arisen if they had recognised what most people look upon as a truism, namely, fkat, to develop the mind fully, all the I aeases must be pressed into use. If the telegraphed report of Mr Milner 'cs report to bis Board, as given in Thursday's Press is correct, Mr Milner is finding the assignment a very difficult one, and has adopted the legal nibterfuge of, "If you have a poof ease, abuse the other side." His defence is necessary, he says, because of tie "widespread disparagement of secondary education due to 'prejudice' and 'ignorance' intensified by the 'uncritical* emphasis placed on utilitarian education by the Parliamentary Becess Committee's Beport." This is sonor- * tins, but it is not necessarily a good pf'l argument to dub one's opponents as ♦'ignorant," "prejudiced," and "uncritical." It might, with perhaps more jastiec, be argued that the defence is rendered necessary by the "ignorant," [ . "prejudiced," and "uncritical" atti- | ' tude of secondary schools towards pracI, tkal education. Would it not be better It to accept the criticism as the expres- \ 1 gion of an honest endeavour to improve i - the secondary system and then proceed | to show just in what way the system is : fitted to meet the demands of present- * day conditions? The greater part of Mr Milner's report to his Board is taken up with platitudes which apply equally well to primary, technical, and the so-called secondary education. If these are omitted . the apology could be devoted to points from which we might learn whether our >, a- present secondary education is a positive factor, or, as too many of us fear, only - » negative factor in producing "character." We might also learn what is Want bv the phrase, "judicious blendL. j|g of the practical and cultural," tt&Cl&illy as those who understand prac- . Otas*rork claim that practical is also yrai Mr Milner give just one reason why tie humanities should dominate the tjnritaal process in education? Does not t&is narrow idea of education lead tvmmrd» a lack of humanity in our studtnh unless it is balanced by that fcmjlity that is begotten of the study of practical subjects—the humility of tfcfkfnattßt character that the - world bap known, that of Christ, the Carpent«rf" .Aaotber point that should be cleared ap is whether "character" is not liable f . to express itself in unexpected apd peri /- ' hk|A undesirable ways unless it is.built * ' tfn(i the widest possible basia of knowL-~ ledge iu which practice has been given i adequate treatment. Sir Milner is obtaining official inforL action ia' regard to ' differentiated muaa» in post primary Schools. SThi IfC/' ! Pw#B In its article is sufficiently ocjkJ; nntii in its description of the courses SpC 1 .-'ftalswi by secondary schools. • It. would be much more interesting to have offieial statistics of the actual content of I--- the various courses. It might quite posiibly be found .that many of them are ■v, ifanply aliases for the old matriculation §Mv cAttrae. For example, the matriculation 'wane is sometimes called an agricultwal course if its students take agrijjiy.ealtural science; an engineering v course ' if they-take mathematics and drawing; *" - a commercial course if one subject is I dropped for an hour'a bookkeeping per week; and a domestic course if the girls take home science as one of the subjects. If Tub Pkess could get an sceorate idea of the content of the van<RU courses taken up by secondary •eboola/it would very probably not need to worry about any loss of the academic fcka and the "educational value of the faßponderablea.'-'—Yours, etc., * B. J. THOMPSON. Technical - School. Ashburton, June 20th, 3931.