PRIMARY SCHOOL SYLLABUS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 190, 14 May 1928, Page 10

PRIMARY SCHOOL SYLLABUS

VIEWS OF LAY MEMBERS

RECOMMENDATIONS AMPLIFIED

The recommendations of the lay members of the Primary Schools Syllabus Revision Committee, who . presented a minority report to the Minister of Education, embrace some interesting references to many subjects, including tlie question of junior high schools. The report, inter alia, rays: —

‘•The primary school curriculum can be provided for in New Zealand without any considerable additional expenditure. The. next step in national education in New Zealand should be in the direction of reorganising a number ot prtmnty schools—selected and voluntary—to provide for a commencement of advanced instruction in subjects definitely suited to the adolescent. There is no place m New Zealand’s system of education for a new school as a separate educational entity. A vote was taken and the committee was equally divided on the acceptability ot rt! M schools should be preserved and their place in the system definitely’determined to articulate with the primary school below and the university above. The district high school should be sympathetically developed, strengthened in staffing .and more generously equipped. Consolidation of country. schools should be proceeded with. Equality of educational opportunity tor the rural girl aud boy, with a distinct bias to rural life; and more liberal provision in country districts for the practical instruction of rural children. . “Early consideration should be given to the question of compulsory continua-. tive education for all children up to at least the age of sixteen, and ultimately eighteen years. Administration. ‘■The control of education in each district should be vested in one elective body, functioning as a primary, second‘ary and technical education authority. Teaching staffs of all schools should be appointed by local administrative authorities in consultation with controlling committees. The inspectorial staff should visit, examine the work of all grades of school, and report to the local authority. Tciiehers should be compelled to serve at least a full year in the school. Headmasters should furnish annual reports to inspectors on the work of individual members of school staffs. The existing grading system for teachers should be annulled, and under a grouping system, m conformity with the grading ot schools and positions, which we recommend, committees would have the right of selection from a group of eligible teachers. Special attainments, such as abilitv to teach singing, swimming, etc., and take part in school activities outside the class room, should be taken into consideration in the selection of teachers to suit particular staff requirements of certain schools. Size of Classes. “Reduction of the size of classes in primary schools is strongly urged. Moro effective administrative authority should be provided to test the work of every teacher; incompetent members of school staffs should be afforded an easier gateway of retirement into less-important walks of life. . For classes in rural areas, the fulltime staff should be supplemented by peripatetic teachers associated with groups of schools Objective. “More freedom should be given in the making of the curriculum, and there should be no pressure towards the inclusion or exclusion of French or any other extra language. - The. child should receive with each lesson in every subject of instruction a further-advance towards that freedom of his native English. Special attention should be paid to imparting a more complete knowledge of New Zealand. Civic duty as an.obligation in return for the privileges of citizenship should be stressed. Cultivation of the aesthetic side of education should have a definite place in the scheme of work. "Constitutional authority should be upheld, and the menace of disruptive elements and forces pointed out. Pride in handicraft and the dignity of working to, produce something tangible should . be stressed. Instruction in personal hygiene and clean living must not be neglected. Orderliness, method, accuracy in detail, punctuality, courtesy and strict integrity are invaluable qualities in ordinary business life; and training which inculcates systematic and methodical working should be given in the upper classes. General. Voluntary contributions for school purposes should be wholly at the disposal of school committees. Election of committees to bo by postal ballot or through boxes sealed and placed under supervision at schools for 24 hours before .the' annual meeting of householders. School libraries should be established and stocked with books as approved by the Department. Libraries subsidies should be .on a more liberal scale. Playground equipment funds should be subsidised pound for pound. Increased incidental allowances should be provided. , Swimming capitation should bo restored. Central assembly halls should be provided in all new schools. Home work should not be given to pupils until Standard 4 has been passed. Further Inquiry. The appointment of, a thoroughly representative consultative committee to investigate and report on vital educational problems affecting New Zealand is strongly urged. Conclusion. “We are convinced that the soundest line of advance is to bring an enriched curriculum down to the pupils in the primary school, rather than attempt mass transference of pupils to a secondary school curriculum. If there are sharp differences of opinion on the educational suitability of the junior high school system, convincing statistical proof is readily available to show that the heavy cost of the experimentation now being conducted in several centres will compel the education authorities in New Zealand to proceed along less costly and less disturbing lines. AVe urge the safeguarding of the foundation of our education system ■ —the primary school—on the lines suggested in our recommendations. From the primary school selected pupils should go (1) To revitalised secondary schools or district high schools; (21 to reorganised technical schools. Above these schools should stand a university sufficiently broad-based to provide for qualified students graduating from secondary schools with leaving certificates and from technical schools supported by diplomas.”