DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25547, 15 July 1948, Page 3

DEVELOPMENTS IN EDUCATION

SCOPE OF MODERN CURRICULUM ADDRESS BY MR S. J. IRWIN If school pupils had lost something in accuracy under the present education system, they had gained infinitely more in the scope and usefulness of the curriculum, said Mr S. J. Irwin, formerly senior inspector of the Canterbury Education Board, in an address to the Canterbury School Committees’ Association last evening. In the past, their development had been lop-sided. To-day, all faculties were given play. He expressed the view that reintroduction of some external examination might be useful in giving pupils a standard and a goal. Any shortcomings in the products of modern education could be explained on the grounds that a very full curriculum, busy teachers, and large classes restricted the amount of attention which could be devoted to each pupil. Some of these difficulties were being overcome. A comparison of school class photographs of 40 years ago and to-day would show striking features, Mr Irwin said. In the former, most children looked dull, even cowed. Modern classes appeared bright-eyed, smiling, and intelligent.

So much* of early education amounted to repetition or imitation. Mr Irwin ; recited from memory a long extract from a primary reader which he had used in teaching many years ago. Where education formerly meant the three r’s, to-day it acknowledged that the child had a brain, imagination, eyes, ears, hands, legs, and a heart, which should all be used. Wonderful work was now being done through libraries, music-making, and musicappreciation groups, free art and handwork classes, and physical education. The old training in arithmetic certainly seemed to produce accuracy, Mr Irwin continued; but many of the exercises were junk. He remembered learning to -work out bankruptcy dividends, brokerage, square roots, and other problems which he had never had to use. The deficiency of sums correct was made up by punitive strokes. Two and a half to three and a half hours a week, plus time stolen from history, geography, drawing, and playtime, were previously devoted to arithmetic. In those days there was no time taken up with milk in schools, medical inspection, dental clinic, Bible lessons, full physical education, and games periods. Problem of Big Classes The modern scheme allowed for a full education, with consideration for the. child's particular abilities; but it was hard on the teachers, who had so much more to do in the same working week. Were they a more militant union, they could quickly convince the public of this, Mr Irwin said. Large classes and lack 'of accommodation were a major problem. Mr Irwin said spelling errors arose from lack of concentration. An external examination might encourage accuracy. Varied letter combinations, giving similar sounds, caused complications. Many of the business magnates who criticised the hand writing of modern youth could not produce a legible signature, he continued. As a School Certificate examination supervisor last year, he saw no writing in 550 papers which was not quite legible. Many imperfections arose from the greater speed demanded to-day. Copious notetaking in the university did not improve legibility. He favoured the Palmer system of writing. “Wonderful strides have been made toward the ideal in education and more and more we are realising the complex nature of the child and his many needs,” Mr Irwin said. “In spite of some weaknesses (and there were just as many complaints years ago about spelling and writing) I have a very wholesome faith in our boys and girls ’” __