JOTTINGS BY THE WAY

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3829, 4 November 1936, Page 8

JOTTINGS BY THE WAY

By IAN ROSACH. No examination in our education system lias been so changed as has that known as proficiency. It was a straightout test and then acrediting in connection therewith was tried out and abandoned. NOw it is proposed to abolish the examination, and some other test substituted. The change is welcomed by teachers, but the layman interested in education will be pardoned for questioning the wisdom of the step. Is the educational system in New Zealand of so high a standard that we can afford to lower it? I doubt it; it is recognised that the University Entrance Examination, commonly known as matriculation, falls far below the scholastic require-, ments of those entering the university. A great deal depends on the form of test substituted for proficiency. After the general election of last year, when Sir Alexander Young was displaced as M.P. for Hamilton after a quarter of a century in that position, by Mr C. A. Barrell, the Labour candidate, many said the change was appropriate, as Hamilton was fast becoming an industrial centre. If that is so, and with the added qualification that everybody in a job or looking for one has to be unionist, the number of the latter who testified to their political faith by marching in the Labour Day procession was most disappointing. Were they shy, or indifferent. It was most disappointing and unfortunate that the weather did not give the promoters of the Labour Day sports and procession an altogether fair spin. The procession, while it lacked quantity, was most effective in quality. The humorous •‘demand” of the housewives for a 40 hour week was an outstanding feature, and made one ask, why not?. The three bands were noteworthy features. Hamilton is fortunate in possessing so much musical talent. Steele Park made an ideal location, the stately old trees affording shelter from the sun (which was very warm) while it lasted. The sports were going along swimmingly (a somewhat appropriate simile) until shortly af-

ter two o’clock, when a torrential downpour caused a temporary cessation and a partial abandonment of the programme. The officials, with Mr V. Drummond as chief executive official, were most assiduous in the discharge of their- duties, and one felt sorry for them in that their efforts were so handicapped. The hospitality dispensed towards the bands, St, John Ambulance people and the press was most kindly, and was the subject of complimentary remarks — well earned. The national dancing proved a source of attraction, and a large crowd watched the youthful competitors. One wishes the committee better luck next year. They certainly deserve it. One notes that Hamiltonians want the name Frankton Junction to be changed to Hamilton Junction. Are they jealous of the fishing that the railway settlement affords visitors right in the very heart of the business area? Some £lO,OOO is being spent on improving the Frankton railway station yards. A very needed amenity is a signpost on the overhead bridge indicating the direction to Hamilton. Quite a few people, strangers, take the turn to the right, landing them in Massey Street. The suggestion is made in all seriousness. Such a direction would be a boon. Thought for the week: ft is better to be worn out with work in a thronged community than to perish of inaction in a stagnant solitude. — Mrs Gaskell.