TEACHERS CONFER

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 190, 10 May 1938, Page 13

TEACHERS CONFER

Educational Institute Annual Meeting

CHANGING TIMES

Shift Of Emphasis From Subject To Child “Looking in retrospect we must realise to-day how much the world in which the modern child is growing up has changed, and still is changing, said Mr. K. McGlashen, Naples in ids presidential address at the 55th nual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute, which opened at Wellington yesterday. These changes had brought in their train a realisation that the shift of emphasis in education must be from the subject to the child, so that every serviceable talent of the child would be brought to fruition, he said. Commenting that the educator was frequently confronted with the problem not only of how to make the change, but also what change to make, Mr. Mc- - Glashen reviewed education during tbe past 100 years. Of more recent years the wider knowledge of psychology had assisted the teacher in answering the first problem, but general world conditions and tbe advance of science continually altered the answer to tbe second problem. “History will perhaps regard tie present age as a second great industrial revolution, which has brought changes in standards of living and changes in thought,” said Mr. McGlashen. “These changes are such that we recognise that the world is in the first stages of what is probably tlie greatest transition in human affairs since the dawn of history. The educationist must see in this change new concepts of education. Modern methods of transport have brought close to the vital centres of world affairs countries that in the past have complained' of geographical Isolation, while, more important still, .radio has completely annihilated distance. The universal use of motor transport, of broadcasting, of sound films, the better conditions of housing,_ the increasing employment of electrical and mechanical devices, the possibility oi more leisure hours for the worker, all bring changes not only in social aspect, but also in educational thought. The modern world, because of the amazing gifts of science, lias grown smaller; and life in turn has become exceedingly more complex. The worker must be prepared to change his location more readily than before, and must in turn be more adaptable, able to accommodate himself to sudden changes of process and method in the occupations he is likely to take up. Use of Leisure Time. . “As a result of the amazing gifts of science and the consequent shortening of work hours, it is imperative that all must be in a position to select for • themselves some worthy occupation for this leisure time. The educationist cannot here divorce himself from politics and economics, in that the employ-

ment of this leisure time presents pro-

blems that have to be faced up to in earnest. Definite progress has been made in New Zealand within the past year, but still greater attention has yet to be paid to this important aspect brought about by political and economic thought.

“In all these matters pertaining to the changing world, the child must be taught to think for himself. Surely in this one sees the utter futility of au instruction system as . compared with the educative process. YVe have real-

ised more and more the need for

broadening the aims of education so as to place far greater emphasis than previously on the social development of children. We have thus come to a complete realisation that the shift, of emphasis has been and must be from ■the subject to the child, so that every serviceable talent of the child will be brought to fruition.” Stress on Individuality. Noted educationists had urged that individuality must be stressed in education, said Mr. McGlashen. ‘‘lf individuality is to be the keynote, and in consequence the potentiality of every child is to be developed, I cannot subscribe to the opinions expressed in a New Zealand paper recently that the education system of New Zealand could be reorganised without adding at all to its cost. A few years ago we as an institute fought for the readmission to our schools of our five-year-olds. To-day we tiud a recognition from all who view education at all seriously that our system should' cover a period not from live onward but that, commencing in the kindergartens at three years, education should continue, as Shaw says, to the grave. Exploded is the fallacy that learning ceases at 25 years of age, for, given a purpose and a meaning, learning continues indefinitely, so that adult education, as was recognised by Gruntvig and expressed in the folk schools of Denmark, becomes a necessary part of any country's education system. As education must begin earlier and occupy a greater span in the life of the individual, so necessarily must the education vote be increased. When at last the real value of education is recognised, net only in words but. in fact, the taxpayer will not complain of the amount spent wisely on education, for then will be given a meaning to the oftrepeated expression that an investment in education is the best investment that a country can make.” (Applause.) Unified Control. Dealing with the administrative side of education, Mr. McGlashen said it was a wonder that the present muddle of separate and overlapping governing bodies had been allowed to exist. He contended that it was a system under which each individual school fought for its own preservation with little thought of what was best for the child. The urgent, need for a co-ordinating force should be desperately apparent. The institute had for many years advocated complete unification of control for the reason that it believed that the reform would bring unity of progress and continuity of curriculum. A single authority would be able to take a comprehensive survey of the whole field of education within its area, thus using to the best advantage the available facilities and providing opportunity foT pupils to change from course to course as development and ability demanded. The modern tendency was toward unified control, said Mr. McGlashen. ‘‘Unification meant differentiation. The task to-day is not selection, but the distribution of education. Great responsibility rests on our education system in this machine age. We have been caught in the revolution of a machine which we cannot stop, and one of the inevitable results is that the Ijrstem tends to make everybody like everybody else. The industrial system among other things tends to over-speci-

ailse and dehumanise the expert, lie becomes merely one of the cogs of the machine, for outside his specialisation lie knows nothing. We must, therefore, stress the individuality in education, and if we lose this principle then all is lost and mass production pervaries the very soul of man.

“I claim without apology that the full development of character cannot eventuate while we have, as in New Zealand, tin- various tyiies of school working a,s separate units instead of having a co-ordinating influence so that all in the respective fields of the teaching profession are working in harmony for a common irleal, so that, following unification of control of all types of schools, we shall have a unification of the services. When we have in New Zealand a realisation of the vision of a single service bound by a single spirit in the service of a common ideal, then shall we, as members of the New Zealand Educational Institute, be proud of our persistent advocacy of unification —not only of control, but of the whole service of education.”

The conference was opened by the mayor of Wellington, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop. The Minister of Education. Hon. P. Fraser, was present during the morning session. This morning lie is to deliver an address to a combined gathering of primary, technical, and secondary school teachers.