EXAMINATION FETISH

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 70, 15 December 1932, Page 5

EXAMINATION FETISH

Danger to Youth EMPHASISED BY PRINCIPAL Dominion Special Service. Masterton, Dec. 14. 'J'he danger of exaggerating the importance of passing examinations at an early age was emphasised by Mr. A. W. .Don, principal of Hadlow Preparatory School, speaking at the annual prize-giving ceremony at the school. In outlining what he considered a preparatory course should be, Mr. Don said a boy might be hurried through with the idea of fitting him for entrance to a higher school by laying great stress on the academic side. There were those who wished their boys to pass their final examination at the earliest possible age and many people judged a school by its ability to do this. The Professor of Education of the Liverpool University, in a recent lecture to the Court of Education, London, had stated that in his judgment ‘‘a boy or girl who passed examinations at an early age was often worn out by the time he or she left school or went on to the university, and that they were by no means likely to be the most alert in mind or even the most intelligent.”

“I have found,” said Mr. Don, “that by far the great majority of those who prove of worth in after life are those who have not been subjected to undue pressure in their early years, especially during those periods when the larger portion of their energy is required for physical growth and development.” In the world to-day, added Mr. Don, we continually came into contact with the products of a system which had made the passing of examinations solely its goal, anil which, in doing so, had neglected the elements of character training and the imparting of Christian ideals. Only during the early years of a boy’s life was it possible to lay the foundation firmly. Later, when life became more complex and crowded with other things, the opportunity seldom arose.