MAORI STUDENTS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20635, 15 August 1941, Page 6

MAORI STUDENTS

MANUAL INSTRUCTION HOME SCIENCE FOR GIRLS INNOVATION ON COAST Details of the proposals to extend the curriculum of native schools on the East Coast to include manual instruction for Maori boys and home science for Maori girls, given in the annual report of the senior inspector of native schools, Mr. T. A. Fletcher, substantiate the claim that the endeavour will be perhaps unique in educational schemes. The report points Out that although some outstanding Maoris have secured successes in learned professions, the general run of the native race is not fitted educationally or temperamentally- for professional work, and that apart from the seasonal work on farms and in public works, the greater number of young Maoris have no recourse. The new departure is designed to exploit the considerable skill of the native in matters of handicrafts and manual dexterity, and has excited keen interest and co-operation among the Maori people generally. The East Coast scheme will be the first of its kind, and will be to a large extent experimental. The core of both sections is the basic needs of home-making, in the widest sense, and building construction, furniture making, metal work, and home gardening lor boys and home-management, including cooking, home decorating, and infant welfare for the girls will bffer a wide scope. Post-Primary Departments Owing to the configuration of the East Coast area, the original proposal to establish a large post-primary school in Tikitiki for native pupils had to be abandoned, on account of the distances which many pupils would have to travel. In its place, the department has designed postprimary departments for three of the larger native schools, in Te Araroa, Tikitiki, and Ruatoria, and has decided to staff them with teachers gifted in practical skills as well as in the normal requirements of their profession. In additional to the usual staffing, a man trained in building construction and a woman expert in homemanagement and its related arts will be appointed, and their activities will be shared among the three schools. The two specialists will be provided with a covered van, fitted with the more expensive tools, and it is around their work that the curriculum of the schools will be planned. Woodwork and cookery rooms will be provided at each of the three centres, and it is proposed that at each a full-scale building project will be put into immediate operation. The first task probably will be the erection of a model cottage.

The enthusiastic co-operation of all the parents, Maori and European, has been freely offered, and it is well understood that education of a practical nature only will be provided. As soon as the scheme is well under way, it is possible that adults also will be able to take advantage of the equipment and special facilities. It is hoped that as the boys increase in skill and knowledge, they will be found apprenticeships in the trades that appeal to them.