COMPETITIONS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 85, 8 October 1923, Page 6

COMPETITIONS

ARE THEY BEING OVERDONE?

EFFECTS ON SCHOOL CHILDREN

OPINIONS OF HEADMASTERS.

(BY TELEGRAPH.—SPF.CIAI, TO. IHJ POST.)

DUNEDIN,.This Day. A Dunedin " Star " reporter obtained the opinions af a number of headmasters on the statement made by Mr. W. L. Paine, the judge in the elocutionary section at the recent festival promoted by the Dunedin Competitions Society, that children^ were " fagged out " as the resuit of their exertions, and warning parents to "go slow." In the majority of cases they were most scathing in their condemnation of competitions, declariiijr that they interfered with the school work, and had a bad effect mentally, and physically. The first headmaster ap. proached said that he agreed in every particular with Mr. Paine's strictures. '" A few cases have come under my notice,"' he stated, "and I can unhesitatingly stat<3 that the strain and Worry consequent upon preparation for the competitions, and the three weeks oj intense excitement during which the events are being decided, cause irreparable damage mentally, morally, and physically. I have had some clever singers and reciters here, and my teacher's will bear me out when I say that nearly all of them have been weak and weedy It could hardly be otherwise, and it is not surprising that after the ordeal-that they have to undergo. Combined with! the fact that many of them never get to bed until nearly midnight, they come, to school listless and absolutely tired out. Parents should realise that this is grossly unfair to tha children, as it also is to the teachers." It had always been his belief that homework had a bad effect on children, and at his school it was practically eliminated. " Eight hours' work is generally considered to be enough for an adult, 1' he said "and five at school a day is enough for the aneraeL-f- iM-, At this C™ial P^oi any additional "strain in the form of much mental activity is exposing the ch,ld to semus danger of becoming a mental and physical wreck. Compel!tions for the development of a child's .Went might be defensible in small doses! but I certainly think thafthey are being grossly overdone, and' for that reason they are productive of more harm than, good. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE "Yes, I agree with Mr. Paine, and i. think most teachers will, that this competition business has reached a sta-e when something must be done in the interests of the children themselves." lhis was the opinion expressed by the aDnfn^ °f a, lai' Se city when approached on the matter. "The syllabus provides quite sufficient work fop the children m our classes without ask*m J?\u? rV Te l Or Bometl»ns which A \ p/.obably b, e °f no use to' them. And then another most objectionable feature^ is the unfortunate competitive spirit that is* being produced, which is simply developing a lot of little prfrs " He gave it as his emphatic opinion that as a rule children who spent any considerable time preparing for the competitions were not so alert as far •as general school work., was concerned:as they should be. Another unfortunate aspect of the matter, he contended, was thi-t children were becoming discontented with the ordinary things of. life largely as the result of the "fuss" that was made over them for the time bein-. SERIOUS EFFECT ON SCHOOL WORK. - The headmaster of another school via. ited said that he was pleased to sea that something was being done about tha matter, as he felt sure that the >aat majority of masters would agree with him that competitions had a most serious effect upon school work "It is not so much the .loss of time at school, though that is bad enough," he said fc-M it \ S m e? ect thafc 5t has on t!'e child that calls for particular attention A large^ number of these children aro taken all round tlie place, exhibited as if they were some prize animals, and naj? Uy they develo P 'swelled head* and become precocious.. Being out so much at night also has a marked effect on their physique. If I showed you one i- £? r t cla,! ses y°u would not have the slightest difficulty in detecting them, as their pinched faces speak for selves.Asked whether successful competitors made good pupils, the headmaster replied that they certainly did not;at leaeti that was his experience, and it was extensive. In support of this statement he called m a lady teacher, who said that she had one or two pupils in her class who had secured honours in elocution, . but in every case they were very backward m ordinary school subjects/ "AnA," she added, "the most extraordinary thing about them is that they with til their elocutionary powers are quite incapable of reading even the easiest read-ing-book lessons properly, showing that their competition work was only learned parrot fashion."