Lincoln District High School

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26869, 23 October 1952, Page 8

Lincoln District High School

The interest of the Canterbury Education Board in the develop- , ment of the secondary department of the Lincoln District High School is commendable, although if this growth proceeds at the pace suggested to the board meeting the time* may come when some other form of control of the department may be desirable. Probably no school is so well situated to give agriculture its proper influence in education. Close association with Canterbury Agricultural College can produce not only practical benefits but also the climate in which appreciation of the importance of agriculture can be nourished. It is not so much some knowledge of farming techniques and of the sciences on which modern agriculture depends that is important. What a school with an “ agricultural bias ” should do isnot to provide only a narrow specialised course of instruction but rather to combat actively the attitude that farming is only an economic necessity and an exploitation of nature. Earming is a way of life; and it should be the aim of education to fit farmers to make it a satisfying way, and to lead others to regard it as an honourable and respected calling. The Stratford Technical High School, Wai- > taki High School, and the Rangioral High School have been cited as | schools which have done much to develop a healthier attitude to the land; the growth of the Lincoln District High School suggests that it may have its individual contribution to make, too. The Education Department has tried for many years to make agriculture a popular subject in schools because of the theory that a country’s education system should bear a close relation to its economic life. It has not had a great deal of success, because even in the smaller district high schools, where the provision of an agricultural course is compulsory, the emphasis has remained on academic and commercial courses, with agriculture nowhere the core of instruction. Though high schools and technical schools have done their best to make agricultural courses popular, generally their facilities outrun the demand for them. This does not mean that what they are doing and what they are trying to do is not worth doing. They do provide courses 'suitable for prospective fanners and for boys who will take

up many other callings related to the land. These courses, too, can provide a useful introduction to scientific work, because agricultural science emphasises the inter-rela-tion of the several pure-sciences on which it is based. The longer range value of the agricultural courses is that they send into the community men better able to speak to their fellows of the importance of the land, of its conservation, and of its use. They may be. too few in numbers yet, but they are the most effective agents for changing public opinion. The development of Lincoln into a secondary school strongly influenced by the best in agricultural thought can help a great deal in this process.