SCHOOL TEXT-BOOKS

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 17, 20 July 1921, Page 6

SCHOOL TEXT-BOOKS

PROPOSED STANDARDISATION.

The question of free and standardised school books was discussed at the meeting of the Wellington Education Board this morning, being raised by a letter from the Potone West School tKmmittee. The letter urged .that the board should supply school books, and should also standardise the books, so that th>ey could be handed on from pupilto p,upil. One member remaTked : "Free books— free lunches."

After a brief discussion as to whether inspectors or headmasters were beat qualified to report on the subject, Mr. Bakewell, the board's • chiof inspector, .said that there was a strong case for standardisation of certain text-books, such as airthmetics, though' there might not be with ■ regard to literature. The need for standardisation was much greater in the district high schools than in the-primary schools, for there were all sorbs of vagaries in the- secondary schools. In some subjects it was difficult to find a good to recommend. Standardisation of books, moreover, tended to standardisation of the subject, and was opposed to the idea of encouraging variety. He had himself taught geography and other subjects without any textbooks at all.

It was decided that the letter should) be referred to tho boards sub-committee set up to deal with the supply of sta, tionery. Mr. Clarke urged that the discussion on toxt-books should not delay in any way the provision of stationery, and Mr. W. T. Grundy expressed th« opinion that onoo stationery was bein^ generally supplied, much of the agitation regarding text-books would die down.