WEAKNESSES IN ENGLISH.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20918, 27 July 1933, Page 15

WEAKNESSES IN ENGLISH.

TO THE EDITOJI OK TIIB FRE3S Sir, —The annual report of this district's school inspectors draws valuable attention to that which most parents and teachers regard as a weak spot in our children's work. "Overcrowded Syllabus" agrees, and sees a cure for this- state of iill'aira in the cutting down of tne time spent on geography, history, and science. This attitude towards the worK done in scnool has xound expression on innumerable occasions during the last 10 years, and the attack, in large measure! has remained unanswered. By this I mean unanswered l'rom the point of view of the working teacher. I should therefore ask space to place some aspects of the question before a public which is beginning to realise issas* s % S °Of l r?c e e C m a months the weakness in science has been laid at the door of the teacher's incompetence. Similarly, inability of the child to express himself clearly with fine command of 1b due it is claimed, to the Dresence of "frills" in the syllabus. attacks, generalising as they do, nr« extremely unfair, and it is high /that the public of this country time that tn p some Qf the condifioruTunder which children and teachtions unae - ur gency of the CrS .7c°o r LeTs me to mention first the case compelsme expected to Th f varies, of course, and mia there are in Canterbury less i n dozen more than 60 (heaven * h> wh?i a census of those which range forbid!) a census ould te n another between 45 andl 59 endeavSur turn over the pages modem writers on elu-

cation ana discover how many expect j from a class of 50 children what our critics hope for! He will be very sadly disappointed, and I think more than willing to pull his weight with those who, from day to day, are forced to adopt all sorts o£ expedients, at the expense of the child, in order that they may make something practical in spite of that most shameful of all blots on our education system—the large class. And the irony of it all can be seen in many schools to-day. In the playgrounds, half a dozen men at work giving flowers, paths, and weeds far more attention than they require, while inside the schoolroom, where the assistance is so badly needed, none can be found, even though the number of unemployed teachers is of such dimensions that it is regarded as essential to close down the Training College in Christchurch at the end of the year! Second, I would ask our critics whether they have ever looked into the question of the equipment of our primary schools. By some we are exhorted to make this ourselves; by q department we are asked to buy even the writing paper necessary for that department's records. Yet nobody has seen the obviously rational viewpoint that when the boss wants an important job done (and I take it that our work is fairly important) he never asks his employees to supply the spades and timber. As far as asking a manager to spend his time doing clerical work —well, the manager would be justified in having a few ideas about insanity. "Times are hard" is no cry, even though conscience may add a supposedly comforting afterthought that all this is only temporary. My reply is that childhood, too. is only temporary, and when a heavily-burdened taxpayer in England can support an education system the funds of which provide much more a head for consumable school materials alone than our own system provide? for everything, including rnretpVers. T hope that are more than a f"w who will refuse to raise the financial bogey, and monv more who will see. not so much the weaknesses of our children's work, htit the real underlving causes of all that thev criticise.—Yours, etc., G. D. ASHTON. July 20. lflM.