SCHOOL COURSES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26045, 8 January 1946, Page 7

SCHOOL COURSES

FULL OPPORTUNITIES BACKWARD PUPILS HELPED “There has been considerable criticism of the standard of attainment in the essential skills of English and arithmetic during the past two years," states the annual report of the Education Department. “Deterioration is reported in soma districts, while in others the level of attainment is regarded as being maintained or even rising. A careful analysis of the whole situation reveals no cause for concern. but a need for constant care to obtain from the pupils the best they can achieve according to their respective abilities. “ Inspectors throughout all districts report that during the past year they have given special attention to English and arithmetic. The withdrawal of so many men from the service has added greatly to the difficulties of the schools. Another handicap has been the inability to reduce the size of classes in our larger schools. A further difficulty has been in the compiling and issuing of new textbooks in English and arithmetic. and also in manufacturing or procuring apparatus and equipment used in modern teaching. New Features “ Some of the criticism is based on a misunderstanding of what the schools are setting out to achieve,” the report points out. “In the days of the proficiency examination it was extremely rare for a backward pupil to progress beyond Standard IV or at the most Standard V. This thinningout process to obtain high examination results has pi’actically disappeared. Backward pupils are now given full educational opportunities, even in Standard VI. It would be unreasonable to expect from these pupils the same standards of achievement as those of the more gifted pupils, and certainly unreasonable to compare the general standards of heterogeneous groups with those of selected groups of former days. “ One of the major problems confronting educationalists at present is devising a liberal, well-balanced curriculum that can be covered in the time available. New features to meet changing conditions must be introduced. In addition to ordinary school subjects, there are such features as milk in schools, apples in schools, school savings banks, medical inspection, dental treatment, road safety instructions, fire drills, organised visits to museums or institutions, manual training, swimming, additional physical education, health and first aid. for which periods have to be provided in school hours. Quantity and Quality “What has been aptly termed ‘the crowded life of the modern school has to be compressed into the time limits of the school day, which has remained unaltered in length. “The reaction to these demands has been a searching scrutiny into _ the scope of work in various subjects which have hitherto usurped an undue share of school time. Arithmetic, which a generation ago was given five to six or even more hours a week, has now a little more than half that amount. The revised courses in arithmetic, although reduced in content, contain all the fundamental requirements linked, as far as possible with the conditions and situations of real life. There is nothing in the aims treatment or content of these subjects that condones slipshod, inaccurate or badly-executed work on the part of the pupils. A reduction in.content but not in quality is intended.”