ASSISTANCE FOR PARENTS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21656, 14 December 1935, Page 9

ASSISTANCE FOR PARENTS

CAREERS AND HEALTH OF CHILDREN \ 4: PROFESSOR SHELLEY’S PROPOSALS “I want to make a suggestion that I have not made before in Christchurch, and which I hope may be discussed in Wellington,” said Professor J. Shelley, professor of education at Canterbury College, in an address at the Technical College prize-giving last evening. “I realise,” he said, “that being a parent in these days is extremely difficult, but it seems to be thought that one can be a parent without the slightest training whatever. I do not suggest a school for parents, but I would do this. I would establish an institute or association consisting of members of the medical and educational professions so that parents could obtain advice from experts on the welfare of their children. “This institute cquld test each child three times during his school career, first at the age of five or six, then at 11 or 12, and again at 16 or 17. Every child could be overhauled physically by a medical expert who would be able to inform the parents of his condition'. If any accident or illness occurred which seriously affected the life of the pupil the parents should be able to go again and ask for advice. Vocational Advice “The same institute could test the child’s mentality in order to give vocational advice. Parents could be told whether their children were being hurried through their courses too fast and what direction their work ought to take when they leave school. “If this sort of medico-educational institute to which parents could go for advice were established, I am sure a great number of the mistakes made by parents would be avoided. I am speaking of the need of it from actual experience. I continually have cases of children who would have altered their lives if they had known when they were young what was bes. for them. “If there Is one thing which is the aim of educationists at prize-givings it is, in a sense, to use the education system as an aunt sally or a chocolate shy. If they want a good clap they say that our examination system should be done away with; so I am going to set about telling you why it should not, and to explain the reason for it. “In this life we must have something to aim at. The education system is so far divorced from life that it has to put up an artificial thing, an examination, as that aim, to spur us on to do something. It cannot find anything real, but even so perhaps examination is the measure of life in a way. We are all the while wanting to be tested and wanting something to aim at, something to show we have achieved something, We have got to have some ami. artificial or real. Bases of System “Before we condemn the examina- • tion system, and I am as ready to condemn it as anyone, as an artificial thing —we have to realise that if we do we have got to alter our whole education system, because that system has examinations as its basis. Take away the examinations and you take away the whole of our education system. There is no zest when there is no cup to win. “The present Government certainly cannot introduce a completely new system during its term of office, because if it did try to do so its term of office would not be very long. The people are not ready for it. “We must have some big aim if we are going to replace the examination system, and the direction from which that big aim is goihg to come is the school. It is the one institution people all believe in. The school must find what the big thing is that we are to aim at, but I do not yet know just what that thing is.”