WORK IN SCHOOLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23103, 30 July 1938, Page 17

WORK IN SCHOOLS

DOMINION STANDAED

COMPARISON WITH ABROAD THE INTERMEDIATE SYSTEM RETURN OF MR. J. F. WELLS The opinion that, in the teaching of fundamentals, New Zealand schools compared favourably with any in the world was expressed yesterday by Mr. J. I'". Wells, headmaster of the Kowhai .Intermediate School, on his return by the Awatea alter an extensive overseas tour. New Zealand teachers, ho added, could also hold their own against those abroad. Mr. Wells received a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York last year to enable him to visit intermediate schools overseas. Accompanied by Mrs. Wells, lie left the Dominion at the beginning of the year and in a six months' tour has inspected many schools in the United Slates and Great Britain and on tho Continent. Elaborate Buildings Making it clear that he was speaking only of intermediate schools, Mr. ells said schools of this type in New Zealand were lacking in a number of important features possessed by similar institutions abroad. Dominion schools did not have tho buildings, the provision for physical education, the libraries or tho staffing which wero to bo found in the intermediate schools of the United States and Ivirope.

"1 have seen some wonderful buildings abroad," he said. "Practically all of them have large assembly halls excellently equipped with stages, lighting, curtains and many other facilities. In some schools there aro as many as 20 special rooms for the teaching of such subjects as music, dramatics and sciences, and specialists are in charge of this work."

Mr. Wells added that in Stockholm two intermediate schools had recently been built at. a cost ol £70.000 each. They were modern in every respect and were remarkably well equipped. Physical Education More attention was given overseas to tho physical side of education and practically every school had its gymnasium and a full-time instructor. In the United States they even went to the extent of employing a corrective officer, a speci-ally-qualified instructor who was solely engaged in attempting to remedy physical defects in children.

Compared with American and European schools, the Dominion's intermediate schools were ill-equipped as far as libraries were concerned. In overseas schools these departments were well stocked and there was generally a lulltime librarian in charge. Appropriate lectures wero given, the children even being taught such matters as how to use indices correctly and efficiently. Staffing overseas was generally better than in the Dominion, Mr. Wells added. With the exception of Germany, and one or two other countries, the average class in European intermediate schools numbered about 00 pupils. Mr. Wells said that when in Helsingfors he visited the school controlled by Dr. L. Zilliaeus. who attended the New Education Fellowship conferences in New Zealand last year. Dr. Zilliaeus had spoken highly of education standards in the Dominion, lie added.