“OVERLAPPING.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 19 August 1927, Page 8

“OVERLAPPING.”

TECHNICAL AND HIGH SCHOOLS. DIE D, E. HANSEN EXPLAINS. Respecting the fact that .students were prepared in Technical High Schools for the matriculation examination and that they were overlapping m their courses, the work of the High Schools, Dr. D. E. Hansen, Principal of the Christchurch Technical College, made a report at the last meeting of the Technical College Board of Governors (states an exchange). Exception to the fact that students were prepared for the examination had been taken, he said, and the statement made that the work attempted should he solely along the lines indicated by the word “technical” and purely academic courses of study should be left to those schools set apart for that purpose.” “It is, therefore, as well to state quite definitely that no . purely academic courses are taken in the Christchurch Technical High School, and I 1 relieve that this is the case also witli the Technical High. Schools in the' other three centres,” said Dr. Hansen, “I must, however, disagree with the suggestion that technical courses should include only vocational subjects. Boys and girls pass Standard G from II years of age upwards, and when they enter a post-primary school, Technical, High, or otherwise, a large proportion of their instruction must be given in subjects of general education. At the same time we must not aim at that age to give them too much work that is purely vocational. “Tt is quite correct that in this school, as in all the others, some of our students actually enter from the Technical High School for the matriculation examination as well as for Public Service entrance examination. Tt is as well to draw the attention of the public generally A o the fact that the Public Service svllabus lias been redrafted by the Education. Department and the Public *• Service Commissioner. with a view to catering sneciallv for candidates from Technical High Schools, as will be seen bv the inclusion of such subjects as technical electricity, heat engines, home science, agriculture, dairy science, alternative mathematics (that is trade. matheImatics), shorthand, bookkeeping, and commercial correspondence, woodwork, metal work, dressmaking, and needlework, housecraft, and trade l drawing. Persons required in the Public Service are not clerks or professional persons onlv, hut others with different mialifications are certainly . required in many branches, and there is no reason why Technical High School students should not- qualify for such nests. “With regard to the matriculation examination, it is essential that students in the engineering, home science, commercial, and agricultural courses should he given a chance to pass the examination if thev have sufficient ability and can follow up afterwards with the university course. Matriculation and kindred examinations are the only means of entry to the- higher branches of engineering, agriculture, home science, and accountancy, and it is on this account that selected pupils of the Technical High Schools are allowed to include matriculation subjects in their courses along with their vocational .subjects. Tn this connection. it is of interest to note that a number of engineering bursaries, tenable at Canterbury College nnd elsewhere. are reserved specially for boys who have taken an engineering course in a. T-e-cTi ni ea.l KTifrh ifor four rears, and liave passed the matriculation and engineering preliminary examinations.

“With regard to overlapping, ire have had a recent pronouncement by Mr. T. B. Strong. Director of Education. who spoke, at the Technical Education Conference, and referred to the protests) about overlapping. He stated that where two or more .schools, side by side, bad full courses and classes there could he no harm even if they taught on identical lines. He instanced primary schools in the towns, and said that there was no crime in the overlapping of their activities, so whv should there he in regard to High Schools and Technical High Schools where the classes were well filled. He added further that there was harm in overlapping where two schools were competing with .similar courses' for a smaller numlier of pupils than could fill them both. Consequently, thev were working side by side with half classes. Air. Strong stated that he had noted with much interest a tendency on the part of a number of High Schools to introduce courses similar to those of Technical High Schools. “In the chairman’s report for the last meeting, attention was drawn to tbe. definitions of ‘technical schools,’ ‘vocational courses.’ etc., as given in .the Education Act. In view of the tendency on the part of some persons to regard technical education as being purely trade instruction, Mr. Strong in the address mentioned above gave a very definite opinion as to his ideas on the purpose of technical schools. He said that the object of technical schools should be to give the broadest type of education possible to hoys and girls in relation to their occupations. So long as his department maintains this attitude towards technical education T have no fear of the future of the. Technical High Schools and of the value of the work that they can accomplish.” The report was adopted.