CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXII, Issue LXII, 30 January 1912, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE.

SECONDARY EDUCATION.

(To the Editor.)

Siry-rYour article on local HiVh Scuool matters (the second tSt last few months) constrains rne to utw a protest against what seems Z beTa systematic attempt to belittle t£ work of the District High School, and to dL parage that institution in the eyJoitl Had it been your intention to deter secondary school in pl ace o f the District H,gh School and while you arl ££fe£ ly entitled to your opinion thatf sucß course would be an advantage to tht see SV* nQVG^<*s behovS you to ac-iuanued with the work and ideaS of the school you condemn ation a T «nStu"° e °f/ OUr kck Of information, 1 would point out that there was recentr 8?^ 1 ft- Wera <*»&**** the 5,,?? 1?' 31011 examinations, and that candidate is a pupil of the Dk ©o much, then, for the "necessity" for sending pupils away to secondary instf tl fn, 1 Chal^ sirH/prove that those pupils .attending the di £. -^ high schools, who wish: to pass any of the puuhc examir^taons, have not equat opportunities with the puoz of the secondary schools to which you refer. KoF

In any case sir, do you and the public or Jiaweia judge a school solely bv the ?Z prTf° f m T atriculation Passes ft se ! cures? If so, I venture to say that you are doing your best to convert you? school into a cramming establishment it a school's good name is to depend upon the extent to which it figure?^ exammaW ists, its task is an tas? ; m .A1.that if ? ecessary is to take the examination syllabus start the pupils on + T P hem t0 "? for a certain time, and then present them for examination The necessary tune can often be considerably shortened by a little intelligent guessing as to what questions are lißJy to be set. Is this education? Is this the standard, by which we are to judge our schools? JUUS» tbf ff°wt r ', corres P°ndenfe mentioned ant hSv at man-^ of our educational authonties are saying that the District High Schools have been to a large extent a failure Are you aware that the W guided by the.examination fetish" Av«« • V ? Is aimmg at one low ideal examination honors, have done nothing foi their future work in the world? Do you think that a child on passing tie sixth standard at the age of (SvVthfr teen should either leavf school ? r prel pare for a university course? If this is not your opinion, you will, perW Opinions diffi, of course J^" tog upon wlich all S'aSeed the worthlessness of the svstem l-Vh eFori- ti i i ' Sohoo]s are making an are being encouraged to use their hanS as ,well w their heads. In this way i? is hoped that "our coming men and wo! S 6nnS tlef m ia? SChO°T not a iSmbl^ ot unrelated subjects, to be forgotten g Wl, h heIP. to prepare them to fifi. then places m the world; and while those who require a more purely literary course of study are given every facility to pursue it, our schools are ceasing to make examination successes the be-all and end-all of existence. Mistakes have no doubt been made in thepast and will undoubtedly be made in the future; but I think, Sir, everv unbiased person will admit that the *D H bchopls are now working on right lines* Consequently, it appears to me that tiie Hawera Star would do more for the cause of education in this district if instead of weakening public confidence' it were to t»ke a more sympathetic interest in the work and aims of the school, and, identifying itself with the modern educational movement, it were to lend its aid, not in encouraging, but in stamping out the pernicious craze for examination results. However, Sir, as examination results. ' seem to be your only means of. judging; the school at present, I would ask you in conclusion, if you do not think the list of examination successes published in Thursday's paper a sufficient proof that the Hawera D.H.S., with a roll number of less than forty, is easily holding its own with other schools. F. W. MARTIN.