QUITE SATISFACTORY

Evening Star, Issue 19765, 16 January 1928, Page 6

QUITE SATISFACTORY

SECONDARY SCHOOLBOYS' ABILITY HANDWRITING A WEAKNESS OPINION OF DUNEDIN EMPLOYERS. Out of live Dunedin business men who, as a rule, take on secondary schoolboys when vacancies for juniors occur in their offices, four declared themselves, in the course of a series of interviews this morning, to bo well satisfied with the tyros. The fifth agreed with practically all the opinions ventilated in a Christchurch newspaper by some of the business employers of that city. But this article of wholesale denunciation, which was telegraphed to the ‘ Evening Star ’ and published on Saturday night, has met with local criticism which indicates cither that the rumors and reports of schoolboy degeneration are greatly exaggerated or that the youths of Dunedin are being educated on sounder principles than their northern follows. Handwriting seems to be the prevailing weakness of the modern boy, and as the result of investigation it appears that this is mainly due to the speed at which pupils of our secondary schools have to rush through their term examinations in order to qualify for a good report. But, there, again we have the exception which can be applied to every rule. One gentleman declared to-day that his boy was by no means a good writer at his primary school, hut on entering the Otago Boys’ High School he quickly developed a clear, legible style, quite distinctive in every way. So that’s that. Read what the manager of a wellknown stock and station agency has to say on the subject. “As Jong as they can write legiby that is all we want,’’ he declared. “We don’t care whether they write backhand, fronthand, or any other hand. We have no need nowadays for -the old stylo of copper-plate writing, because the great thing, after all, is to get the work done quickly and efficiently. And in regard to actual composition and speaking, we have always found the boys above reproach. 1 may say we have as many as fifteen or twenty written applications for positions on our books now, and, judging from them, they all seem likely boys. Young fellows have come to us from tho Otago Boys’ High School, from the Waitaki Boys’ High School, from Christ’s College, from'M'Glashan’s, and we are well satisfied with them /all. A few are not very partial to working the long hours which those of tho last generation often had, but the majority of them are very willing workers.”

A bank manager, who was visited next, considered the Christchurch criticism to be grossly exaggerated. He admitted that there was certainly something in the attack made upon handwriting, but, even so, he produced some applications for positions which left little to be desired in respect to legibility, although a few letters showed signs of having been done up with the scrupulous, even laborious, care which the occasion demanded. in almost every case the English was faultless, the chief defect being an inclination to be long-winded. “1 should not say that the attack on schoolboy grammar applied to Dunedin/’ said this gentleman. “And I believe that the general standard of writing has improved within the last year or two. The hoys I have had to deal with all seem very intelligent, and in making an appointment my difficulty is in choosing one among so many.” When questioned concerning the merits of the new_ typescript style of writing the teaching of which has been introduced into some of the northern schools, the speaker condemned the method roundly; the old style was infinitely preferable. Here is a,voice from the other side; A city merchant stated that he would not go so far as to criticise to the Christchurch degree the modern secondary schoolboy’s ability to think and talk, but ho agreed with every word, of the northern article in respect to the handwriting. “With very few exceptions,” he said, “the boys we have had from the high schools have to be taught how to write properly all over again. We even have to teach them how to hold a pen, how to sit correctly at the desk, and bow to place the pen down when they are finished with it. Moreover, they have never been trained to pay attention to detail, and when they;come to ns they have only a smattering of book-keep-ing knowledge. They don’t know bow to keep a stamp book, nor do they know how to add it up and balance it. There is no doubt "they are very hard to train, and personally 1 prefer to get boys straight from the primary schools, because we can then mould them to suit our requirements._ While not decrying higher education, it seems to me that it is quite wrong to concentrate upon Latin, French, science, etc., at the expense of the fundamental subjects which are essential in a business career. Some boys come here thinking that they have not. much to learn. If they only applied themselves to efficient penmanship they would make a better start. No doubt their writing deteriorates as the result of hurried term examinations.” The speaker produced some ledgers which contained some very laulty figuring. Surprise that the subject should have been brought up at all was expressed by the manager of an insurance office. “The matter lias never occurred to us in that way,” he stated. “If the writing of the_modern secondary schoolboy is bad, it has not_ been bad enough to attract any particular notice. The writing of our boys is quite legible. Usually wo like to take them on after they nave been a year or two at a secondary school. We don’t care for them after they have gone through a full course, because we then find it more difficult to steer them the way wo want them to go.” A general merchant considered that the' secondary schoolboys of Dunedin were exceptionally well trained, and lie found no actual fault with even the much-maligned handwriting. “Clear, plain handwriting is what we want,” he stated, “without any flourishes or fancy touches. As long as a hoy is willing to learn he will learn quickly, and this is a characteristic I have found among the dozens I have passed through rny hands. If _ employers would only show a little patience when training new hoys their ultimate uscfulne;.,; would most assuredly follow.” This merchant bad no use for the new type-script method of writing.