SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Marlborough Express, Volume LI, Issue 155, 3 July 1917, Page 3

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

IS THE TRAINING EFFICIENT?

INTERESTING DISCUSSION

An interesting and useful-discus-sion took place at a meeting of the Council of Education on a motion. that the appointment of teachers .in primary, secondary, and technical schools should be in the hands of one controlling authority. ,T/he mover of the motion said that the reason that led him to propose the motion v.as that he believed it would tend to greater unity in our educational system and provide a better and wider outlook for teachers generally. Members of the council would all be aware- that criticism was made from time to time that thevprimary and secondary systems did not dovetail into one another as well as might be. The pupils from primary sc-hoois did not always fit into the secondary schools and take full advantage of the secondary education provided. The- secondary teachers complained that the primary schools' sent up the pupils not as well prepared as they should be to t.ake advantage of secondary teaching, and primary teachers often complained that the boys arid girls who had shown good promise 'in the primary department did not Succeed as well as they expected in the secondary schools. That was actually a weakness, and it was partly due' to the fact that in the lower forms of the secondary schools the teaching vas often in the hands of young and inexperienced teachers, appointed to' their positions straight from the O'niversity—teachers., J that had [ had no tracing in teaching work. One means of meeting this state of things would be to make it easier for teaichers to move from primary to technical and high schools. There, was -no reason why teachers who had- "^oiie good work for the higher standards in the primary schools -should -iiot go on to take ,positions in the secondary schools?* •'■•*■ • • >.

PROM PRIMARY TO HIOH SCHOOLS.

Where there were separate, boards of. control. there /-was. the speaker contended.,- always hesitation about removing fmm one; class of '.school' to •mother, and even where- a teacher did make application it-■-was difficult to secure_ a position 'under another board which had no personal knowledge of the candidate. Ad thepresent time there was a tendency to regard primary, secondary, 'and! technical education as separate individual trees in .'.the educational orchard, whereas the better conception >yas of one great tree, the primary the trunk, the secondary and! technical the-branches, and "they in turn branched off to the higher 'education at. the smnmit..:..... The .'suggestion would have particular value with regard to retaining teachers in the district high schools.' At present it was generally recognised that there was a difficulty in getting suitable teachers to do good work in the .district high schools, and this was because these schools were looked upon as a dead end. If the appointments to all big.schools were in the hands of one body there would be no hesitation of that kind. A young fellow who had taken his degree would have no hesitation in going into a district high school if he knew that it-might lead later to his appointment as an assistant in a secondary school, and in turn to the headmastersliTp of a district high school or .1 high school. At the. same time .th* plan advocated; would onen up-wider scope for-all branches.. Ihe speaker did not know any reason why an assistant .who had done good work in a secondary 'school should not look for promotion fp the headtnastership of .a large' primary school It might lead to the better linking up of our primary and secondary work and give wider scope to our teachers. "The difficulty was to determine what -authority should exercise the power' of appointment; and the mover suggested the education board as the body that under •H.ir present, system should be selected lor tine purpose, and pointed out that any injustice that would thus'be-d-one to the governing bodies of secondary schools would be more than compensated fjr by the benefits that would accrue to education generally. THE POWER OF APPOINTMENT.

Other speakers, however, while agreeing that the proposal to give the- power of appointment to some one authority was a good one, pointed out that it would- not be practicable or just to make high school boards responsible . for r the/ maintenancq and efficiency of their schools, and at the same time to' deprive- them of the power of selecting ,and con-, ti-olling the teacliing- staffs. Further, the opinion was expressed that while some education. .board members Were1 quite competent to exercise the power of appointment of secondary school' teachers, there were others, whose education and experience were such-as to make it highly undesirable that they fchould exercise any such function, and the general opinion of the council was decidedly against this part of the proposal. The motion, therefore, opened up a general discussion on the whole question of the control of education some speakers advocating the placing of" primary, secondary, and technical schools under the snme au taorj.ty. while others favored the establishment- of hoards in each centre to administer secondary and technical education. There would be less overlapping and less jealousy, and fric-fc-on between secondary and technical schools in certain centres if the same governing body controlled both institutions The question of reducing materially the number of local bodies m some of our over-governed centres, and of placing education under special committees of the borough or county councils, in much the "same way as the Education Committee of the County Council controls education in London was warmly supported by some. But whatever the system of control adopted should be, there was a general agreement that the object of the mover was a worthy one, that should if possible be made practically attainable, not only in tne interests of the teachers, but "also of the children of both primary and secondary schools. The council was also agreed upon the necessity of improving .the teaching in the lower forms of secondary schools.

Writing pads of good quality paper may b*> obtained at "Express* Office