BIAS TO AGRICULTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20564, 15 May 1930, Page 11

BIAS TO AGRICULTURE.

SECONDARY EDUCATION. DESIRABILITY QUESTIONED. TEACHER CRITICISES MINISTER. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Wednesday. The desirability of giving tho secondary school education more of an agricultural bias, as advocated by the Minister of Education, tho Hon. 11. Atmore, was criticised by Mr. G. W. Morice in his presidential address this morning to the Secondary Schools Assistants' Association. "The Minister has stated on frequent occasions his belief that to do this will in tho long run cure unemployment in this country. With this conclusion I for one do not agree," said Mr. Morice. "We recognise that if New Zealand is to retain her markets for primary products agricultural education will become more and more necessary. This type of education is not, however, for tho primary school, nor yet for the secondary, except in so far as a firm foundation can be laid by a general course in science and some elementary principles taught in special agricultural classes. "Experience has shown that, for reasons more or less obvious, there is little demand for these agricultural courses even where they are available. A start must be mado in some other way than by giving a smattering of agriculture in the existing schools. Probably the best that the schools can do is (0 cultivate an intelligent. and sympathetic attitude toward the great primary industries. "One factor tending to produce an unsympathetic attitude toward farmers is that some of them seem to believe that because over 90 per cent, of New Zealand exports consist of farm products, the farmers themselves do over 90 per cent, of the production in New Zealand. Rut in making the products ready for tho market many others are engaged in what may truly be called primary production. "The schools are probably largely to blame in not producing a more intelligent appreciation of the. process of production. The Minister has quite .rightly stated that our educational system is out of touch with the life and needs of the community. But it is surely as important to give it a technical bias as an agricultural one."