The Press SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1960. School Discipline

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29384, 10 December 1960, Page 12

The Press SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1960. School Discipline

This is the season for secondary school principals to have their say about education. Too often what they say is politely applauded and then forgotten, while administrators remote from the classroom settle all the problems satisfactorily in theory. It is time, as “ Prac- “ titioner ” said in an article on the education page of “ The “ Press ” recently, that more attention was paid to those who have to make the system work. They see its considerable merits and its faults close up; and they know better than anyone else why it is hard to get and to keep good teachers. This year they have received powerful support from the GovernorGeneral (Lord Cobham), who, with his felicitous balance between propriety and frankness, told graduating teachers at Palmerston North that the selfdiscipline needed to master a hard subject formed character. His address should be read in conjunction with remarks of those with more freedom to comment on a weakening of

discipline. Miss V. F. Townsend, headmistress of the Avonside Girls’ High School, recently discussed the disciplinary problems that drive young teachers out of the profession and methods of holding the interest of the more

troublesome pupils. Miss R. I. Gardner, headmistress of the Auckland Girls’ Grammar School, with experience of the same problems, asks why a small disturbing element should be given the privilege of hindering the education of those who wish to learn. Miss F. F. Duff, principal of the Gisborne Girls’ High School, goes further, blaming not a minority of pupils but a majority of parents for a lack of self-discipline in secondary schools. It should be noted that these particular criticisms all come from girls’ schools, where corporal punishment has never been an instrument of discipline; so the cause of the trouble must be sought elsewhere. No doubt these principals and others will continue to experiment with their own methods of improving the tone of schools. They are entitled to the co-operation of administrators, who may get some guidance from the report of the Royal Commission. They are even more entitled to expect support from parents, who should .have the greatest reason for wanting a good education for their children. Parents should not evade all responsibility for the training of the young nd then make the task harder for the schools by encouraging or condoning breaches of discipline.