Education Essentials

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 205, 30 August 1943, Page 4

Education Essentials

Concern at the ‘Mow standard ot education essentials, like English ana arithmetic, of pupils entering postprimary schools’’ was expressed at the conference in Christchurch of principals and board members of Dominion technical schools. Mr. I. E. Newton (Wanganui) said that teachers should be given charge of classes to instruct fundamentals instead of operating the theories of a “lot of educational cranks.’* Mr. W. A. Armour (retirea headmaster of Wellington College) saia the present system was a patchwork. Ho proposed a now system of junior ana senior schools covering five and seven year periods respectively, the junior schools to teach rudiments and the sen- | ior schools in the first four years to ' givo a diversified general course and . discover aptitudes, with the last three {years given to vocational courses, ana j after that the universities and techjnological institutes. With only a few dissenting voices, a motion was carried expressing concern at the present low standards. Some speakers said these I resulted from the new primary curricu- | lum and hoped a similar result woula not come from the new curriculum, 'being planned for secondary schools.