TEACHING BY POST

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 99, 28 April 1928, Page 10

TEACHING BY POST

VALUABLE WORK HELPING THE BACKBLOCKER SYSTEM EXPLAINED Although the method of teaching children of. primary school age by means of correspondence has been i» operation in New Zealand since the beginning of 1922, very few people know anything of the system or of the very veal progress that'has been lhatlc. Time was when children whoso parents lived in the outposts of civilisation -were denied the advantages of school training, but those days arc happily of the past. To-day it is possible for every child, no matter . in what remote part of New Zealand its parents live, to secure n sound education. And all this without attending a school! It was in February, 1922, that the Correspondence Branch of tho Education Department came into being. In the beginning many difficulties had to bo faced, for new ground was being broken so far as New Zealand was concerned, but gradually arduous spade work, conscientiously carried out, brought its reward and the benefits of the system began to make themselves evident. As tho school became known applications for enrolment became more numerous, and each year saw the work of the branch increase. To-day there are over 600 pupils on the roll. When it is considered that sets of lessons have to be sent out to each of these pupils at least once a fortnight the magnitude of the task of carrying on the work of the correspondence school may be imagined. And the duties of the staff do not end with the preparation of the lessons. The sets are posted to the various children, and when returned to tho office they have to be corrected and marked. Individual attention is given to each child, and an effort is made to point out individual weaknesses in order that " they might bo overcome by the pupils concerned. Once corrected, tho papers are sent out once more to the pupils, who arc expected to closely study the corrections made by the teachers. A careful record of each child's work is kept at headquarters, so that at any time it is possible to ascertain what progress is being made. Examinations are hold in July and November, but it is not always necessary for a child to wait until the end of the year to'secure promotion. Should a pupil show readiness for promotion at any tin\p ho or she is advanced into the next class. In fact, one of tho big advantages of tho correspondence school is that a bright pupil is not kept back by less-brilliant associates, as is sometimes tho case in ordinary primary schools. On the other hand, the dull child is not pushed beyond its powers. A READY RESPONSE. The really surprising featuro of the correspondence system is the manner in which the children, almost without exception, respond to tho instruction they receive. One might have been pardoned for supposing that without the ever-present authority of a teacher 'there- would bo quite a lot of "slacking," but, according to the correspondence teachers, the children generally arc particularly conscientious and anxious to learn. Lessons • aro promptly tackled by tho pupils and sent back to headquarters for correction. Only in a few cases lias it been found necessary to send out a reminder, and ono such reminder is usually quite sufficient. It might bu thought by some that tho leaching of young children by correspondence would bo altogether too difticnlt to bo of great value to tho pupils, but results go to show.that tho methods employed aro as successful as ordinary school methods. It is worthy of note Hint during 1920 Iwcnty-ono pupils obtained their proficiency certificates, and that during the previous year of twenty Standard 0 pupils who sat for their ccrtilicatcs nineteen were successful. That is an excellent record and one that speaks well lor tho cflicacy of the system. 'The subjects taught liy the correspondence school are (he folloWing: English (reading, recitation, writing, spelling, composition, and grammar), drawing, arithmetic, geography, and history and civics. Each pupil is required tv send in fortnightly for correction: (1) Answers to the questions contained in assignments of work in English subjects; (2) examples from each arithmetic exercise worked during the fortnight, and any sums with which he has had difficulty; (3) a pici'o <it! transcription (copy-book when asked for or when finished); (4) two drawings. Pupils in Standards 3, •1, 5j mid (5 aro also required to answer geography and history questions. In tho teaching of reading uso is mado of tho school journal and continuous readers, and pupils aro expected to read these with comprehension, parents assisting by taking tho oral lessons. Pupils are also expected to learn to recite examples of poetry. Attention is paid to writing, which is regarded by many as one of the most important phases of school work those days. A pi coo of transcription is included in each fortnightly set of work, and this, is carefully marked and the correct form of the letters is shown. -The cooperation of parents is sought in spelling lessons, and spelling errors in the samples of work sent in to headquarters are carefully marked. These words must be correctly rewritten and shown to parents. Compositions are set and grammar lessons are issued fortnighlly. Much the same practice is followed in the teaching of arithmetic, geography, and history. In drawing each pupil is expected to send in two samples of his work each fortnight. INSTRUCTING THE INFANTS. Not the least interesting phase of the work is the instruction of infant children. Naturally, this is more difficult than the instruction of children .in the standards, but, in the hands of specialists, it has proved very successful. Tho infant mistress at the correspondence school has made a close study of her work. The lessons which she prepares are well suited to the infant mind, and are such as to make school tasks a pleasure rather than something to be avoided. Each lesson sent out is really a story book, of which clever illustrations, neatly executed, are not the least pleasing feature. An interesting story, based' on some simple subject likely to appeal to the infant mind, is included, and the children aro asked to illustrate certain words. For instance, such words as wit, dog, cake, bun, flower, and so on are given, and alongside each word the child is expected to give his or her idea of what the particular article looks like. Tho manner in which the children—some of them tiny cots still clinging to their mothers' apron strings—respond to the lessons is remarkable. t PARENTS' APPRECIATION. To what extent the work of the correspondence teachers is appreciated is shown by the numerous letters which arc received at headquarters, letters which show (hat the people living in tho reunite portions of tho Dominion realise tho necessity of giving their children the advantage of a good education as do tho town-dwellers. Not only do parents write, but should they happen lo visit Wellington they almost invariably pay a cull at the correspond-

enec school, and express their appreciation personally. The writer had th«j pleasure of speaking to one such parent, and her enthusiasm for the correspondence school was unbounded. Perhaps there was little wonder at that, for her object in visiting Wellington was to place her daughter—a product of the correspondence school, and a very finished product at that — at college. Living many miles trim any school, this mother, anxious to do the very best for her children, jad been faced with a very difficult problem, but the birth of the correspondence school pointed to, the solution. Her daughter, naturally bright, responded particularly well to the instruction which she received, and such was her progress that at the age of thirteen she was able to. take her place at a secondary school, fortified by a sound primary education. At present tho correspondence school is housed in unpretentious quarters ou Wellington Terrace, and here a competent staff is actively engaged in the never-ceasing task of preparing lessons, correcting them, and attending to the many other details of administration. In selecting tho staff to carry out he work, the Education Department has acted wisely, for it is not difficult to gauge the enthusiasm which each member of tho staff has for the work. A personal interest is shown in the worii of each pupil, and in this way a very real bond of sympathy is established between teacher and scholar. In many cases that bond of sympathy has become a bond of affection, as instanced by the tone of tho letters received by the teachers from timo to time. Quite recently the duties of the staff were increased by the establishment of a library, but extra work is cheerfully undertaken, particularly when it is known, that the result' of that workas in the caso of tho library—will be to make brighter the lot of the backblock child.