EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Evening Star, Issue 16779, 6 July 1918, Page 2

EDUCATIONAL REFORM

COMPLETE NATIONAL SYSTEM. THE INSTITUTE'S SCHEME, Mr E. U. Just, organising secretary of 1 the Now Zealand Educational Institute, addressed a very representative gathering of inspectors, teachers of primary and secondary schools, and members of education boards and school committees in the Town Hall last evening, outlining the institute's tentative scheme for a complete reorganisation of education in New Zealand and tho provision of a real national system to meet the new and stringent conditions that will arise after the war, when upon complete efficiency will depend our nation's ascent or descent. The Mayor (Mr Clark, 0.8. E.), in introducing the speaker, said it was not sufficient' to get large, sums for education or to offer monetary reward that would induce the beat men to enter the profession, it seemed to him necessary that there should be :i complete reorganisation of educaLional methods to fit us for the war to follow this war, when the best I educated race, the most efficient nation, would win. Mr Just said his criticisms would be constructive, and were not intended to what had been done in the past. Educationists felt now that a step forward was necessary to secure greater efficiency. It had been said that the institute were an association of teachers sent to advance themselves. This campaign was for the advancement of the interest the institute represented. That was education, and the reason for tho campaign was to interest the public in educaLional reform, and to point the road of reform. Another criticism was that the time was inopportune, but there cpuld be no time like the present, when all things wero in the melting pot, for preparing new plans for the future. Tho education system of England had been radically reformed, and if that could be done iii England, surely in this happier and less harassed country it could also be done. The present system was not wholly a national system, "hut in all respects except finance' and the syllabus was a provincial system. This provincialism had caused hick of co-ordination and overlapping at many points. One of the prime needs of the day was the better education of the masses.in order to give every man the intellectual attainments which would humanise him and make him something better than a human machine, which was what modern labor methods, with their infinite specialisations tended to make him. It was inevitable if a man were engaged daily in work that was not creative in any sense, that gave him none of the satisfaction of making something; and if his intellectual attainments were not such as to enable him to take up some intellectual employment in his home—that the poison of discontent should enter hjs system. It was more essential in a democracy than in any other form of social life that the masses should be educated, and the State was the only authority with the resources to undertake such education. A complete national svstem was therefore- needed. His hearers knew that there had been encroachments upon the present national system ; and he could tell them that further'encroachments were being attempted. ]n various partsof the Dominion leaflets were being issued insidiously damaging and disparaging our system 'with a view to setting up opposition schools. He would therefore like to warn his hearers that if they wanted their national system to remain sound and strong, the only course was to so improve it, and so systematise it, that it need fear no competition from outside sources. The next question was as to the question of administration. Parliament substituted provincial for national boards, thus spoilins the intention of the author of the Hill. That system had now been 40 years in existence, and it was time it was changed, for the ideals of administration had changed and our boards were out of date. Of tho nine boards, he believed that the one in Otago was the least open to criticism, and he knew that the school committees in Otago had taken a great interest in education. Hut the, system was out of date. When the boards were established they had wide, powers, many of which had been taken away. Their powers of appointment had. gone, they had no control oyer the expenditure on school buildings or over tho training establishments.'" He was not criticising the, department, but it could not efficiently m-Tnage education in all respects, because it could not maintain that local interest, which was si desirable, and the inevitable, outcome was that the administration became mechanical. Then, as to the school committees, they were in an anomalous position. 'Tiey had no powers in the way of. controlling" education. The argument for boards ami committees was that they created local' interest: but as a fact the committees were not in a position to do anything' of consequence. One of the iiunoiianf necessities was to unify the control of the various branches of education and produce co-or-dination. The Hon. J. llanan, tho present Minister of Education, said at the last General Election that we must put all the branches of education under one board in each district. Incidentally, he would ask why the portfolio of Education should be of second or third-rate importance. The Educational Institute proposed in the first place to adopt the proposal of the author of the Hill and have, instead of nine boards, a national board ol experts to attend to matiers of professional administration. We also wanted local administration. There miist be local control to infuse local interest. What the | institute suggested was an extension of the local control that was supposed to bo exercised bv school committees—not quite in the same, form as at present, but, it would be an extension of the school coinmitten system. it was proposed to substitute local bodies with more [tower, by dividing the Dominion into districts according to community of interest and appointing to each district a controlling body that would supply all the wants of educa- I linn in that district. The constitution of j this authority was debatable. The insti- j tutu had two alternative proposals (1) Election on some franchise; (2) local bodies to he the controlling authority in; this sense that tho local education autho- ! rity would be appointed by them. j

p 1 11 t hi < m 1 < 1 m 01 i nt iu M Tut nU 1 tU m Mi 10 11 .td hj t\to 1011 of I' m u 1 [ t ldi h i hun '1 is lo 10 11 Up it ( mi it mi utti tut 6th tiiwi ul \ 1 1 1 i\ did <ud 1 1 th hj 1 \ ho o 1 t me J Un pin 1 in \ t ci t lu it no nt ' nl u) tbt 1 t > ' hj n I l 0 oi the o[ pr 1 ■* 1 n t\ ' hj 11 t I It 1 ( hi ih 111 to ui 1 t pu 1 u lit, . < hj 1 du 1 01 1 1 1 11 _ ' 1111 It In t'l t w 1 w n it i'u p 0 1 a nc 1 1 1 f11 itt 1 11 to 1 e- fit "s 'th -t mil ti 1 lu i I 1 1 e m a II 11 K 1 nij) 1 itoi\ s* 1111 1 fi 1 d I u 1 tin i] titudi ol ill ini| d 1 1 p t p 111 t 1 in it tP 1 1 1 t ( ll r i t 1 1 ll pi J-o ll p t I ' 1 flip < hi < i ui t i 11 pin lk in 1 011K (he 11 uiti II \t 1 e cut \ t 1 n]V" ' r ui thi' 'un 1 orn tuftl r \ bin (P hj A 1 \{ 1 pi n t uuM hot to u '1 11 Vi i \n] 1 1 th m Id be it'l1 1 in d 1 ln_c ]iio]iin t nn of uft 11111 < ~\ 1 1 \ 111 r mi il 1 tf In T ulind lu mi hf at thtA t\ ->vtindin 1 of tuit'm ti 18 c is- whole timt tio 14 t) lo ini '\ whole or part time from 16 to 18 V! 1 ( in nc to th qui fun of \<\ t mil (1 mm it li 1 li tn sim istr 1 th it it ho 11 P 'in it 12 ieir 1 tl i" y\as 1 U 1 dun *o 'ower thr cho 1 a p n lei t> allot Ih Mfit'oril ti m i_ to 1 1 -rm t lit 1 lu Klu t 0 al Ip 4 i( te th 11 id tnat then 1 da c 111 (1 c iu n i ti< 1 If P i'ed tl \ n ( id '1 tt \ 1 1101 1 '1 1 n n \\oul 1 lao t uh I 11 1 il 1 lu tt 01 < u 1 t to ] trie r 1 'lOl al -p ! 1 if ian J h j" H>jpct (.he 1 tr' p In >n il n li 1 111 It i_s fii ' Now ton] 1 enc el 00 r tho \o 1 irn ot a thn 1 it 12 y li r d t fp \t 1 1 >,> t s 11 In hpi 1 1 1 (h\t lP Ul gic IUI it kitti I f lnintnl 1 no Mig ( ful (hit to fionil ti lining hr 1 it P m u il (he \ocat on tt is (lit n n nl th it t th mid thnn ron'unio to th n i 01 18 i''.iiizi.aiid was very py.rticular about that. ! Rural education was tho next subject, j There was considerable divergence, of opinion as- to the efheienev of rural eilncation iu thi? Dominion. It wa.s a difficult thing in a yountf country ki provide for arleipiato trainiui; in " that dilwtion. America and Cmada had, however, done fiomethine worth while, and so had Australia. Two proposals were now rondo by tho Educational Institute. One was that

there should bo consolidation, by dosing all the schools in a district except one, and ■doing iull tlie rujvil in that one. | The other proposal was to keep all the schools open, but have one aa a central I school for the older children, the ma.-ter I of tho central school to be responsible for I the efficiency of the other schools. This | rural education must be practical and related to the needs of a district. He did .not mean that in a minimi; district all the I boys should be trained to be miners, nor ! in a dairying district ;ill should be made dairymen, but regard should b<? had in a general way to the needs of tile district. finally Mr Just referred to a few reforms urgently necessary : (1) that cadets in the teaching profession should receive at least the same pay as cadets in the Public Service; (2) more and bettertrained teachers; (3) smaller classes; (4) State kindergartens ; (5) better lighting and heating of schools j (6) an increased inspectorate, in order that inspectors might be able to spend more time in schools where their help vras needed ; (7) bigger playgrounds; (8) continuation classes and adult classes. For these latter there would bo no need presently if a proper national system, such as he sketched, were instituted. hi conclusion, .Mr Just said that the education in New Zealand was drifting into the same state as had existed in England in 'a'3. when an authority said that there wee'n only two faults in England's national system ; one that it was not national., and two. that it was not a system, it was the heft devisable national feheme, nationally administered and nationally maintained, that New Zealand urgently needed. The institute were not trying to force upon the people the scheme he had outlined. They were prepared to support any better scheme. (Applause.) Questions were invited, but nobody rose. The Mayor proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mi' Just for an address which had given food for thought to all who had the interest of education at heart. The motion was carried with much cordiality, and Mr Just suitably acknow- j lodged the compliment. I A verse of the National Anthem ended j the meeting at 9.35.