Chatham Islands Schoolchildren
Sir, —There has recently appeared in New Zealand an interview credited to Mr. Watson, late school teacher at Kairakau, referring to the academic capabilities o' Chatham Islands children. He states that few children pass beyond the third standard, and that the intelligence quota throughout is definitely low. I followed Mr. Watson iu the above-mentioned school. To contradict his first statement, when I took over the school there were two children in S. 6, two in S. 5, three in S. 4, aud three in S. 3; a total of 10 out of 26. The children of the Chathams, are no doubt seriously handicapped by their isolation, and by lack of eompara-. tive values, but they exhibit a keenness; and desire to learn unsurpassed, by New: Zealand children.. —I am, etc.. k. b. McClellan, Kairakau School, Chatham Is. December 4.
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Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 68, 13 December 1932, Page 11
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142Chatham Islands Schoolchildren Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 68, 13 December 1932, Page 11
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