GIRLS' SCHOOLS.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20412, 5 December 1931, Page 10

GIRLS' SCHOOLS.

PROBLEMS AND j DIFFICULTIES. j j "RAW MATERIALS" AND " FINISHED ARTICLES." REPLY TO RECENT CRITICISM. (S?*ClAi.Ur WRI'iTBM FOR THK PRESS.) |Br Mrs* -T. R. 8ite,.31.A., Headmistress, Timaru Girls High School.] The criticism levelled recently against the secondary schools has at least had the effect of making those of i:s who are connected with them examine more carefully not only the difficulties against which we have been striving, but the problems -presented by the system as it exists at present, j It is a mistake for the schools or for our critics to assume that pupils leav- ! iii.j; the secondary schools are "finished articles''; lor, as Dr. Norwood}, of Harrow, pointed out recently in an article to the Press, the pupils who leave the secondary schools are still .'Maw"" material.! As schools, it is our aim and duty to turn out this material "fit to take readily the special imprint that is desired." For a; good MH-ondary education Tjtit Jays the foundation for the real 1 business of life, and that school lias..fulfilled a Very important function when i ts pupils are found, to be '-teachable'' after they have left it. Twq Groups of Girls. - The girls in our secondary schools in ay bu divided - into tw<r groups—the otjo containing ', thoso that come on from, th 6 primary." schools well equipped and the oth&y, thiose. that come on poorly equipped. . One -• of the problems that .ivc.as. ■' secondary teachers have to face, ii: how, to ensure for the giils who belong to 'the-second group a reasonably good secondary education; lor. notwithstanding the value that we, jufctly set tipon character training and environment, the public generally, has the right to expect, in addition,- sub-

stantial evidence of education in the I ordinarv sense of the word. ■ - | These girls—lacking a sound elementary education —often become, quickly i disheartened and uninterested in their | secondary work because of the_ difficulty they experience in getting a grip of it. This is largely due to the fact that they hare to cope with a syllabus containing subjects that are beyond them—either because of . the inherent difficulties in the subjects J themselves, or because too much ground has to be covered in what is, j for these girls, too limited a space of | time. i Over-loaded Programmes. Unfortunately the number of entrants in the ill-equipped class has increased within recent years. This is due, I think, to the too full programme that has been imposed upon the primary schools. To make their secondary course the success it should and can bo for theso girls, and for a number of others also, . who. cannot be described as ill-equipped when they leave the primary-school, greater elasticity in our secondary curriculum is necessary, together with a relaxing of rigid rules in regard to units of work. For the sound general education which we aim at giving to all pupils can be attained only by following a curriculum that is judiciously arranged to meet the requirements and capabilities of the pupils concerned. Mental Laxity. At the end of last year I drew attention to the prevalence among our voung people of mental laxity. This begins in the primary schools and is continuedin the secondary ones. Nothing will induce it more quickly than attempting to cover too much ground in a limited space of time. Its chief characteristics are confusion of thought and inaccuracy of statement. The following extract from a history test given to. entrants'the first, term ot this year will 'illustrate, what I mean, and will at the same time bring 'home to those interested what & serious fault this loose and inaccurate thinking is: * There were' several important things Elizabeth did when die Fas reigning. One of them was, . when sho was reigning thefe was "English Literature" / and the ages of the poets Shakespeare and "Spencer. There was the great social legislation. Another was when they were out on sea, and/there was.greatness between England and Scotland in Elizabeths reign. i Here is another extract taken at random from a' test paper written shortly after admission to our High School by a girl holding a proficiency ! certificate. It .will serve perhaps to illustrate the difficulties of attempting to teach French, tfor instance, to anyone so poorly equipped. so far as EngJish is concerned: !,,, The atructer of meat. Meat is nade ■Uip of meat and mineral salts and nmcel. Tender meat, .'is | yery easy to cSook. To cook a piece §o£ tuff neat to nake it tendei; *you hanner it till it is fely soft. Then you put it in a sauspan of water and lot ;it simmer; slowly for two or three houres. . It altepends how tuff the • meat is. • , Surely the concern that has been expressed, recently in regard to the preva-. lence of bad spelling is neither exaggerated nor premature! *

The Menace of ■ Unemployment. ; Perhaps the most > difficult pfoblem that the girls' secondary Schools are 1 , facing to-day is the menace of unemployment ' for ■ those who ai;e leaving school. ' before have those who | must earn tfreir. own livings been faced. witJ* thb .difficulties and | disappointments that Confront the girls of to-day. They are facing the frustration of hopes that have filled mrnds; for. several, years. The carefully'. laid, plans for entering * professions ..and the world of business have suddenly been rendered useless. These girls have never. before beeii: so unexpectedly 1 and truly put to the test, and we as. ; their teachers will have an -opportunity o¥ judging how deeply the principles we' have tried to instil into them have sunk. Those who find themselves, as one of them expressed it tho other day, on the, very edge of the charmed circle, yet with no. posisible means of entering it„ must not be discouraged. , The greater the difficulties,, the greater the thought put into them, and these girls can be assured that "those of us who have their interests at heart will make every effort to find " a way but. .. 1 So I advise all those for whom it is "at all possible to mend up ' again the tunics that have been so carefully tended to make them see ,1931 out, and return, to school, in the. hope that times willv improve and the -coveted opening occur.