UNIFORMITY ? SCHOOL BOOKS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 44, 21 February 1908, Page 4

UNIFORMITY ? SCHOOL BOOKS.

'AN EMPHATIC PROTEST, [BT TfiLEfiBArH.— PBSS3 ASSOCIATION.] AUCKLAND, 20th February. Afc a meeting of the Education Board yesterday the question of uniform scnool books was discussed. Tho board's inspectors furnished a report to the following effect: — "For uniformity we no desire j indeed we aro strenuously opposed to the adoption of any course that would tend to cast in tho same mould the minds of all children in tho Dominion, and tho adoption of the samo readers throughout the Dominion would, without doubt, strongly tend that way. Still it is easy to over estimate thf effect of reading the same matter f -urn end W And of the land, for the ahiping of thfi pupils' minds will ever depend much more upon tha teacher than upon the toote ho uses. At present the department exsreises -what is in reality' a power to 'forbid the- use of books recommended by thia local authorities, end if it-'-.pub'lished books of its own it would probably forbid the use of others, however strongly they migtfc bo recommended by local authorities who ought to be, and generally are, better judges of ,the needs of their districts than any. central authority can be. Tho books in present use aro the outcome of ke&a competition among the publishers—competition that will cease to operate in»New Zealand when the books are jbublislied by the State Department, which has the power to impose taem, •whatever their quality, on every district in the Dominion. We know of no books published by a State Department ttert-ar* equal in quality And form tf> those published by private iirm3, and syS^Miv'S iio reason to supp >st> that car awn would succeed wher© others have failed* .-Failure' is, inevitable in, circumitaUteVifl'whitih attch departments have to work." t It was decided; to enter an earnest Ind emphatic protest against the proposal to fores a uniform set of school looks upon the schools of the Dominion on the ground t&at" su/jh a course was opposed ,to the ifest interests of education and to tho freedom' of - tl;e people. '■ AN AUCKLAND VIEW. jjßr TEiasßAra,-^sPßoui to Ths Pgst.] ~ Speakjlig on the question of uniiormity in school" bbo&s at' a meeting, the chairman (d the fcpsfrd (Mr. L. «L Bagfcall) esgressed' the' belief that a great deal mtka'hacl' b^en- jjtiade of the changes In ~*£BB&'GBtfi&-.'Wtito : «** " warJante"dr^fl'© H .'^On l^hfe it desirable that there might *6di -unit ormity throughout sle. DflPravWD to , a certain extent, but |ia b'efieved'it woald be possible-to carry Ifc so far that i«r' would be a- danger Io education in the long vun. It was % mistake in education to try and have everything on a dead level uniformity, which left no scope for variety, and tendid to bring everybody down to a dead level of mediocrity, a thing to be avoided. He did-^ibfcto* that the matter Should b£ vso.&wkfc: that there would »c np-'titoics.. of- -change. If teachers, |upil'ss'?ff^ r jp' aic * a^- "^ D6e fo ha * e a * 1 * Jjitipnal b'fepjes of,Jmy kind' they should, not b& pre-vented-'itroih having them, «<f that there- might ba' Something .to lift them from the dead level which must lead to mediocrity and inferiority. There was a great' deal in having boc-l^s yhicfc are up . to date, . and suitabk for the Dominion; many itnpurtedjiofiks. were not suitable (*-ior( *-ior the floutnern Hemisphere: they Were written for thenorth and tetfo 1 to> give a f alsfe ilnpreßsion. : cJXTJLER EDUCATION BOARDS, it : v '- piyeßSE' OPINIOIf S. The circular al tbo Minister for Education to tie Education Boards was as fqHos#s*? i - J '"l :! b»-5filBasteri would be glad t! .K6w~whether in the opinion of your bp&rd and of the inspectors of soioois itfis desirable or feasible to havq- uniform school books in all th& public schools of the Dominion; especially Whether there should be ofle uniform series of reading books in all the education districts." A copy of the circftlar was also sent to the Educational Infitute, which represents the teachers. >.All the Education Board except Wellington, Marlborough and Nelson have de»lt -with the que&tion Their view* are as follows: — ' Taraaaki : If a series of books is adopted, a selection should be made by a conference of experts, and there should bfe provision for periodical region. ' South Canterbury : Sees no reason to recommend 'a unjlorcn set of books for the whole Dominion. "Grey: It/ is most desirable and feasible that there should be uniform school Backs. * jHawke's Bay approves the principle of uniformity, and thinks thf series should b& dunged penodtuiily. \ Wanganui : In favour of uniformity, .With periodical change. - -Westland : In favour of uniformity. -!North Canter-bury: Btrongly against qafifornuty. -» Southland : In favour ot the adoption 6t a unifoim set 1 of boo!«. The present policy of the Education Dbpartmfent, as stated to a Post reportet i, fiwtnight ,ago, is to authorise a list of boons, leaving tht boards fret to sekicfc from that list. In the Ministor's opinion there would b;. less complaint if the Boards of Education insisted on all the schools m one district using the same set of books. Tho Minister expresses the opunos, thafc in the abxt,'revUion the list of books would probably be reduced. The question will be considered by the Wellington Education Board at its meeting on Thursday next.