KAIAPOI'S NEW “TEAM”

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32848, 23 February 1972, Page 13

KAIAPOI'S NEW “TEAM”

(By

JOHN BROWN)

A fervent belief in the rights of the individual and the responsibility each person has to himself and to his fellows marks the philosophy of the first principal of the Kaiapoi High School, Mr T. E. French.

The leadei’ of a small team of 140 pupils and eight staff, Mr French has no illusions about j the role of secondary -education today, which 'he sees as a preparation for life outside the school gates. This can only be accomplished, he believes, [by the fullest possible involvement of pupils in their own learning and school situations.

The days of dictatorial authority in secondary schools is fortunately dying out and Mr French’s hopes for a truly democratic school council, reflect the new era. For him, education is for living-together, and not apart from, one’s fellows. It is learning and growing to accept change and this is best achieved through coeducation. Co-education

For teachers and pupils alike co-educafion is a more natural, though often more difficult way of learning. The lasting results of greater tolerance, understanding and flexibility are surely worth the extra effort. Pupils will only learn what responsibility is, Mr French believes, if they are given the chance to use it.

The secondary school affecting its community represents one of the few chances young people have of growing into this type of responsibility.

In a decade which will see 18-year-olds given the right to vote, treating secondary school students-like Victorian servants is not only unrealistic but self-defeating as far as education is concerned.

Mr French takes full cognisance of these social changes, aware at the same time that his school “family” is unique in the South Island, for at no other time in the life of the present students will they be so set apart.

As the first group in a new < school, they will live for this i year in a somewhat unreal 1 atmosphere amidst all the i sights and sounds, the feelings and frustrations of new- ; ness. There will be no seniors i to look up to, to give advice : and to compete against and no younger group to assist. For the first 140 then the pressures for them to accept responsibility will be great, as will the opportunities. Within this group the school leaders of the future, will develop in a manger denied their less fortunate’colleagues in other schools. A<ra group they will by circumstances form closer human relationships that undoubtedly will have a marked effect on the future of the school in its fledgling years. For the staff too the benefits that accrue from a small group will give the chance for a more intimate type of education. The links formed between staff and students will give the school a solid foundation. Symbol Mr French is fortunate m taking over a school that is now, even before the cement is properly dry, a status symbol—the symbol that Kaiapoi has come of age. Later that symbol will be joined by another—-the town’s first intermediate school.

Through many years the residents of the town' have fought for their own high school. Their interest and

effort has helped to establish the first new high school in the Christchurch district in ten years. But Kaiapoi has not just given vocal support to the new school. The parents of new students and friends of the school have already raised $l,OOO for equipment. Predictably many more thousands of dollars will flow from the pockets of the township in the future, as education is like a hungry puppy with an insatiable appetite. That the community supports its own high school is of course in its own best interests and that of education generally. Standards All teachers worthy of their profession are acutely aware of the importance of a school to its particular community— Mr French is no exception. He sees die double standards that a school must face and the problems that arise when a school is expected to set standards that society itself will not set. While young people quickly perceive the fallacy of these double standards the task of reconciling them falls squarely on the shoulders of parents and teachers. Close community links already set deeply in the development of Kaiapoi High School will give the school a chance to come to terms with social change—the challenge rests with the community—the school is theirs, its future lies in the hands of each and every citizen.