EDUCATION OF GIRLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22405, 29 April 1936, Page 5

EDUCATION OF GIRLS

A VISITOR'S COMMENTS VALUE OF HOME SCIENCE Interesting views upon the subject of education are held by Miss M. Grace, of Vancouver, who with her mother, Mrs. J. S. Grace, sailed yesterday by the Aorangi after spending some time in both New Zealand and Australia. Miss Grace, who has been enjoying a six months' vacation after a serious illness, has had a great deal of teaching experience in the schools of f"anada and on two occasions has taught in a girls' high school in the United States. During her stay in New Zealand and Australia Miss Grace gained some knowledge of teaching methods in these two countries, which, she said, compared very favourably with those in the United States. The successful method of governing or controlling the schools by an Education Board showed that the American system of locallycontrolled schools left much to be desired. In New Zealand she found the schools were almost uniformly good, whereas in the United States schools of a very high standard were often to bo found in close proximity to schools of low standard. The school curriculum in the three countries differed very widely, said Miss Grace. The schools of the United States dealt very largely in such subjects as history, geography, civics, social problems and health, with several periods a week devoted to sport. In Australia the children seemed to receive most of their education in mathematics, with preference for arithmetic, while the New Zealand schools gave English, grammar, literature, chemistry and home science very important places. In New Zealand schools, too, agricultural training was more important than it was overseas. She thought the training that New Zealand girls received in tlie primary schools in cooking, first aid and general housework could well be continued in the high schools, in conjunction with the usual course in home science, which in itself she considered one of the most useful and practical subjects for girls. Asked to suggest what she considered an ideal curriculum for a girls' school. Miss Grace said that most of her experience had been gained in primary schools, but she thought that in a girls high school a girl should be fitted to earn her own living and also receive instruction upon the running of a home and social life. One of the greatest shortcomings of schools in New Zealand was, in Miss Grace's opinion, the inadequate provision of libraries. Every school of any size should be equipped with a sound reference library and, if possible, witn a general library. It was vitally necessary that young people should be taught the'art of reading, to choose their literature with discrimination and to gain something of lasting value from what they read.