SECONDARY EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23811, 18 May 1939, Page 7

SECONDARY EDUCATION

SOLE-TEACHER DEPARTMENTS SENIOR INSPECTOR UPHOLDS EFFICIENCY JUSTIFIED BY RESULTS The discovery by the Otago Education Board of a feeling in one district that one-teacher secondary departments might not provide an adequate and efficient secondary education up to matriculation standard and also that undue stress was being placed on the teaching of Latin prompted it tc ask its senior inspector (Mr T. A. Morland) for his opinion It was given to the monthly meeting of the board yesterday, and it was that such an idea was entirely mistaken. “ It is quite a mistaken Idea that a one-teacher secondary department of a district high school cannot successfully prepare pupils for the University entrance examination,” he said. “In fact, some of our schools of this type have very fine records in this respect. It is remarkable how effectively one teacher can cope with such a wide range of subject... Instances are not unknown where one teacher has, in addition to science, mathematics. English, etc., taught successfully bookkeeping, French and Latin. As a rule, Latin is not taken nowadays in our secondary departments, even in those with several teachers Matriculation can be passed without it. and only those pupils desiring to take up law or medicine really require it. French seems to be more popular. “ In Otago there are two flourishing sole teacher secondary departments and all concerned are very proud of them Pupils, parents and teachers leave no stone unturned to further the Interests of their local post-primary department,” Mr Morland said. In departments of this type, the teacher was in very much closer contact with the children and his teaching was a continuous process. Since he was taking them for all subjects, he could relate one to the other, whereas if there were a separate teacher for each subject, it was possible for there to be some disjointedness. In that respect, the sole teacher had a big advantage Speaking particularly of the department at Middlemarch, he said that the interest and enthusiasm of the people of the district was amazing. There was another point to be considered, Mr Morland added. A sole-teacher department in those circumstances was a very different matter from a sole-teacher country school. It was closely related to the life of the primary school to which it was attached. “There are disadvantages, of course,” he said; “but it is not a bit of use saying that these departments cannot take pupils up to matriculation standard because they can do it and have proved that they can.” Mr N. Colquhoun: That is a very good report and a correct statement of fact. The board thanked Mr Morland for his report.