A CLEAR PHILOSOPHY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 14, 9 May 1933, Page 9

A CLEAR PHILOSOPHY

NEEDS OF COMMUNITY

BASIS OF TRUE EDUCATION

An address on various aspects of education was,given by Professor W. H. Gould, of Victoria University College, at the conference of the- New Zealand Educational Institute today. Professor Gould said-that'the State engaged in many activities, all of them no doubt vastly important, but none of greater importance than its educational activities. AH thinkers of. the past had recognised that one of the first duties of the .Stato was to foster education, but he greatly feared that some modern States were only concerned with the control of education. Fostering: of ..education might, he readily admitted, involve some measure of control, but, in his view, fostering and control were not precisely the same thing. Their own State, in particular, had.the tendency to assume control, and in that respect had departed radically from the traditions of the Homeland and the practice of the United States. . ■ . TRUE TO TRADITIONS.. Looking back on the years that Saw the birth of* tho New Zealand Educational Institute, said Professor Gould, he could not but feel that the New Zealand Government was then true to those traditions, and that its attitude was largely responsible for the early success of education in the Dominion. IFe* congratulated the pioneers present on the part they .had played in laying such worthy foundations, without which the institute could not. have grown to its present dimensions and importance. They had'given service of which they might justly be proud. Proceeding to analyse the reasons for the sliccess and efficiency of the pioneer teachers, Professor Gould said that the results were not achieved because the teachers were so skilled in the art of teaching or so, highly trained in the technique .of their prof essiou, but because, they were animated by a sense of the functions and importance of education and saw the- needs of the community. It was not to be wondered at, then, that in the latter-part of the nineteenth century New Zealand • was definitely plac»d on the educational map. He felt, ' however, that the Dominion had relied too much on its past reputation and had not, moved forward as it should have done, always adjusting, its system to the gro.wing heeds of the country. ■ ■'■ : . ■ FETISH OF UNIFORMITY. " Individuality was another factor in tho success of the pioneers, Professor Gould1-continued. The. fetish of uniformity was not imposed upon them, as it had been imposed on a later generation. They we're left •to make '■ their own decisions, and in consequence developed a high sense of responsibility and a personality. ~■....■;.: What bi the teacher of today? he asked. Ho believed that the presentday teacher was better trained, better educated, and had a better knowledge ofHlie technique-of his work, as well as that essential qualification, a better knowledge of the psychology of his pupils. Indeed-, he ' had in a marked degree all those qualities that were necessary for. the success of any educational system, and yet, although he worked harder than his "*■ predecessor had' done, there was a greater disparity between his possibilities and his achievements. - MANY-SIDED DEVELOPMENT. The aim of education was the development of the child, but that development was many-sided, and the philosophy of education must grow and be modified as the community changed and grew. He was convinced that the great thing in .education today was the need for the development of a clear philosophy growing out of the soil, as it were. That philosophy must come from the atmosphere and needs of the community life. The teacher of today did not have: the blind confidence in his work that was common fifty years : ago. Old ideas were being constantly re-examined, and it was not exceptional that education should be.in some doubt as to the direction in which it should move. SUBVERSIVE TO PROGRESS. - The teacher of today had. become too much a mere carrier-out of regulations ; which robbed him of initiative and the feeling of ripe responsibility, Professor Gould continued. To those who realised the essentially vital nature of education a smooth-running machine on such lines was subversive to.true educational progress. Teachers themselves were not wholly to blame, for the position, but he felt that unless a larger measure of responsibility ~ was vouchsafed- to them the. personality of the _ teaching services would slowly and inevitably deteriorate. He believed that the great work ahead of the institute was to fight so that the teacher might be captain on his own deck. -Anything that would raise his sense of responsibility and assist him to. appreciate, the fact that he was personally and directly responsible to the community for the welfare, of the young people in his charge would enhance the- worth of the services he. had to, give. • i ' Professor Gould expressed optimism regarding tho future, Whatever he had said, New Zealand's, teachers compared favourably with those in othor lands he had visited, and they excelled in the technique of classroom practice. They lacked the spirit of adventure that was so characteristic .of their kindred in Great • Britain and some other countries, but. that was1 to be attributed to the .: conditions • under which they worked, conditions -which, he believed, were merely temporary. When, New Zealand" developed a philosophy of education based_ on the requirements of the community she would make herself less dependent upon other lands and would, ho hoped, initiate rather than slavishly imitate.