SYSTEM OR SHAM?

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1467, 15 June 1912, Page 6

SYSTEM OR SHAM?

OUR EDUCATION.

TWO REAL EXPERTS CALLED,

BY THE COMMISSION.

COST GREATER: RETURN LESS

ißy Telasiaph.—Preea Association.) Dunedin, June 14. The Education Commisjioa commenced its sittings in Dunedin- this morning. Those present were Mr.;M. Cohen (chairman), Messrs. Pirani, Wells, Kirk, Poland, Thomson, and Davidson. The In-spector-General (Mr. G. Hogben) was also in attendance.

It was resolved to ask the Minister to grant an extension to tho Commission of one month's time. It was also decided to employ a third Hansard roportor for the eittings in Dunedin. ; MR. DAVID R. WHITE. WEIED CONGESTED SYLLABUS. David Henfvew White (Professor of Education at Otago University, and principal of: the DuneUin Training College), with forty years', experience as a teacuer, gave evidence.' He drew attention at once to the' largo increase in tho number 'of sub- • jeets- taught in the primary school —from <-ix to nine, to twelve and even eighteen subjects. The' numerical increase had been intensified by the subdivision effect of thes9 increases. ■ In reviewing theso subjects it was seen that a number of subjects could bo (aught only once a week. A "once-a-week subject," in his experience, might bo necessary, but-was not of; much educative, value/ ■'.'.'. .Battling with the Syllabus. - . Ho had,- for many years, tried schemes for co-ordinating subjects, but he had to confess that he had been abie to do very little, in the way of effective co-ordina-tion; Similarly, he believed, concentration schemes to be an absolute failure. , Whatjie.did believe was that the syllabus might bo simplified. In tho first, place, £omo of the subjects were commenced too early,in.school life, and ho would liko to see the syllabus revised with that end in view.

For example, in the infant.department, formal writing might be altogether doue away with. Probably, history was. taken too early'. It was taken in tho -Third Standard with "civio instruction." Civic instruction was tho most difficult subject in'connection with history, and he would.sfly: Keep it for the Fourth; Standard. '. , • .;'•-.'■

A.'matter, which.was most-neglec-ted in the public course of instruction was th 6 training of the. understanding -by more attention to tho subject-matter of ..lesand knowledge 'of .thV'-,subject" ''regarding- which the lesson's jrerb couched.; Another,- subject which .seemed to;, mand much nioro ''time 'than ,ii'as' given to it was '.written 'composition. •'".." ■'.'.. '. .That Alleged "Nature Study." ■ Finally, he would simplify the syllabus by i omission, of certain subjects altogether. . He was not' at all sure that our "nature study" was of tho kind wholly: appropriate to children. It was given too early. Could it not bo omitted its a study, and taken as part of the reading lesson? In regard to science, there row seemed to bo a tendency to get all the "ologies" . crowded into . tho primary schools in some /way. • .Science, even in i(9 most elementary, form, might perhaps bo relegated to secondary schools, or taken nfter the pupil had passed the sixth standard.

He emphasised the necessity of more time being given to drawing as a primary school subject. He also emphasised ,tho fact that drawing must always be tho basis of technical end manual instruction. He did not think that agriculture should bo taught in the primary schools at all. After leaving tho primary schools, boys should be compelled to take some instruction .in a technical school, but he was not in,favour of compelling them to take tho full course. Probably better results would accrue to the State if boys were compel led to take at least one course in which they, were interested. As to physical training, it should be made compulsory. The Fundamentals. Neglected. In answer, to questions, Mr. White said that the amount of practical work insisted upon in the regulations was far too great, for too many sciences were included, and the Department had very unwisely put in the foreground physiology— a most unsuitable subject. He would like to see yiung teachers undergoing a threeyears' course. Students could then be sent out to getpractical knowledge in large schools. His own most successful university students .were also his best teaohors. He did hot think that boys leaving tho primary • schools to-day were as well grounded in the fundamentalsreading, writing, nnd arithmetic—as they were fifteen years ago. He would have little or no homo" work, except the learning of .poetry—a-'stibject greatly neglected in our public schools. ' In his opinion the heads of the large public schools should receive' higher salaries'. There was at present a tendency to undervalue examinations. There could, however, be no education without examinations. Hβ certainly.did not approve of . the proposal to bring ' out young teachers from Home, and he further expressed the opinion that, if better salaries were paid, much of the difficulty with regard to uncortincated'teachers would be removed. '~.'. '■'■'"-.' .".. INSPECTOR GOYEN. ' : THE-'.cdST AND THE WASTE. Mr ' Peter Goyen, ex-Chief Inspector of Schools under the Otago Education Board, submitted a written statement first, lhis showed that the cost per pupil wa-s £i Is 6d. in ISOO, and .El Bs. 3d. m 1010. Such statistics .proved u large increase in tho cost of education, and he regretted to say that, as far as his experience went, the increase in educational omciency had not been commensurate with the increase in' cost. There had certainly been a ereat improvement in drawing and other handwork, but ns certainly there had been a- decline in English. Geography, and History. In English thero had been a, marked decline in the knowledge ot tho "functions of-words Mid of .sentence ptructure. In geography .and history there had been a decline in knowledge of facts nnd their relation to life.

No Adequate Return to the State. He would not like to suggest that too much motiey was spent on education, but he did suggest -that the Dominion was riot "f eceivinfc an adequate return for what it'spent. This was, he thought, owing partly to tho unnecessary multiplication of governing bodies, partly to the pressure exerciswl on . tho Department, and partly to the circumstances that (owing to'the indifference of many parents) we did not get out of the machinery, eo liberally provided, what we ought to get Obviously tho multiplication, of governing bodies did not mako for economy. Same Subjects Taught Twice. Littlo caro was taken to 'prevent overlapranf in tho subjects taiight in the sanS area In Dunodin, for ciample, molt nT the subjects taught in tho day technical schools and h.gh schoo s wero identical, and could be taught in ,the same school. In his opinion, "there was no subject tnupht in a day techmoal School for wnich . a< equate P«™ion could not be made in high schools. More Waste and Leakage. The same waste of money and etogy occurred in other large matters. At the end of 1903 first year pupils at the secondary Schools numbered 1643, and at the end of 1909 second year pupils Trumbered 1217. In other words, 1217 pupils co;nn!ft-:<l tho second year's course, and hcr.ee U3l pupils (or »C per «nt.) took onlr part 'of it. Th* u«ru« e «»t: wr pupil h» FH'Mulary schools tyas sli ? htl) ov'er Jfcll. ami ll.t- rost to Jl.b Dommiou of ilu-ic i'M pupils I'or Hie first y«-»r «m, therefore, .E-17-11. Much of it was pure wi--te for most of the pupils might (vntl profit) have ()k» l.yne at ii-iiinrv schools if lh» system \w\ been bo• r.r»ani''Vd a= to prfpvide for tho rontir'inW.e of ihw aft«r lenvin?. The'-o oprw* , b> "■ drmhr l<V)M£ro in- day technical schools for, according

to (he only return which ho had been able to find, first year pupils numbered 7;!0, while second year pupils numbered only L'S7. Between Standards IV and V tliero was a leakage of about 19 per cent., and between Standards V and VI a leakage of about S'i per cent. Thcro was also wasto in the employment of itinerant teachers to teach special subjects. By this time tho training colleges should have prepared ft snfhcicnt number of teachers qualilied to teach these subjects in all schools in which they wero Lastly there was wnstc in tho employment of special inspectors to report on tho manual work of the primary schools, and tho management unci teaching ot secondary work in tho district high schools lor all this work was really done by education Board inspectors. Another Brickbat at the Syllabus. The aim of education was training for efficient citizenship,'so that the duties imposed by universal suffrage might be properly discharged. Tin's end could not bo achieved between the age of G or 7 and 11. The attempt to attain it between those ages had resulted everywhere iu overcrowded syllabuses.- ThoioTighness was tho touchstone of education, and thoroughness was impracticable with most present-day syllabuses, lie believed that the Education Department's suggestions, under the heading of composition, should be deleted because they encouraged superficial treatment. ■ v He was entirely in favour of nature study, and, in answer to questions, lie apparently disagreed with Professor White, who said that nature' study should begin with the reading book, lie advocated taking tho child direct to nature itself. . Many of the classes in tho town and suburban schools were much too large. A teacher could not do justice to a class of GO or .70, and it was owing to theso circumstances very largely that clever pupils did not obtain their certificates of proficiency and pass to Hie .secondary schools at a low/a - .age. lie also expressed the belief that students at the Training Collego attached,- more importance to their ■university classos than to those studies which would. more, directly fit them for their life .work. ..:■-.

' ' OTHER EVIDENCE. Angus Marshall, Director of the Dun- , ediiiTechnical School, said that he thought that a council of education should bo a first recommendation by the commission. Scholarships were fairly well provided for, but it seemed to him that the technical education standard might very well be raised. There was no use in a pupil attending a secondary school at all unless he attended for at least two years, and preferably .tliree. In the day technical classes there seemed to 1)3 a dearth of teachers to give instruction in trades, .and there was an absence of provision for the training, of teachers in commercial, domestic, and general technical subjects. With regard to evening schools, thero was one very large of persons who had not |been provided children who.left tlte'primary, school before passing tliff sixth standard.' 'About 51'jicricent. of -the-pupils,who -passed the fom-fh-stan-dard never parsed; the sixth: If they were going, to introduce 'continua-tion-cTassesthoso children-should be-given most ..'.-prominence.-, Seeiiig ,that .military training had "been made compulsory for boys, he;thought that .girls from \U to,-17 should Be compelled.'to spend oiie evening or-one : 'afternoon, each 'week learning domestic'subjects at a, technical-school.