N.Z. School Programme “Should Be Reviewed”

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30234, 12 September 1963, Page 16

N.Z. School Programme “Should Be Reviewed”

The entire New Zealand school programme should be looked at. with a review of the whole curriculum and the inter-relationship of the subjects within it, said the president of the Canterbury branch ot the New Zealand Geographical Society (Mr Rhys Griffiths) in an address to the branch last evening.

Mr Griffiths spoke mainly on the new primary school social studies syllabus, introduced about three years ago, and its effects on children and teachers. The social studies syllabus avoided overlapping and grew in a reasonably logical fashion. Within its framework a good teacher could do much for his pupils, Mr Griffiths said. But social studies was poorly and patchily taught in spite of tfae best efforts of teachers. For many of the topics suggested in the syllabus there were no adequate references. Teachers, as a result, were thrown back on their own resources. There were still children being taught that the first inhabitants of New Zealand were Morions, although this had been discounted since before World War 11. Mr Gnffiths said one of the first moves in improving the situation should be to put into operation a three-year teachers’ college course. Higher entrance standards

should be required for teachers’ college—university entrance and not merely endorsed school certificate. Candidates should also be required to have certain subjects. Suitable and adequate books should be produced for cfiildren and teachers, and so should suitable classroom equipment. Mr Griffiths also said he would invite the geographical society to consider producing social studies material in the form of booklets and pamphlets. He profoundly regretted, he said, that the social studies syllabus did not appear to encompass the teaching of physical geography as such. For a country which had always tried to achieve education “on the cheap’’ a lot of rethinking was necessary, Mr Griffiths said.