THE COLONIST. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1920. EDUCATION.

Colonist, Volume LXII, Issue 15308, 23 February 1920, Page 4

THE COLONIST. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1920. EDUCATION.

The extension cf the school holidays on account of the influenza epidemic i ■has not been as long as conceivably it might have been. Parents and educational authorities must be pleased the work of the year is now being entered upon. Tlie cost of education to the country, and the time occupied by the usual holidays, make it imperative that the best possible use .shall be made of the periods of instruction. At this juncture we have received the February number of "National Education," the official organ of the New Zealand Educational Institute. It might indeed be called the conference number. It contains the reports of the annual meetings of three associations of teachers, namely, the Institute. the technical school teachers, and the Women Teachers' Association. These conferences were all held at holiday time, and, as the delegates did nob confine themselves to questions affecting their own interests, but went into others bearing directly on the improvement of the education system, their self-denial is worthy of due recognition. Under the present •system the Institute Conference tends to be protracted, and it is probable that the remits nest year will he classified into committee sections and reports made upon them .before being debated in open meeting. Although the conferences were reported in the newspapers during their progress, it is interesting to read the assembled official reports, for the education of the younger generation is of supreme importance. One outcome of social education was touehted upon by Mr. C. R. Munro, sis president of the Institute, in his opening1 address, when he said it "should be the ability to use leisure wisely. | Science and invention tend more to economise the time of all sections of the community and reduce the amount of human toil and increase the leisure of the people. But shortening the hours of labour without at the same time enriching the mind and widening the outlook of the -worker by education is simply to give hini more hours in -which to -waste his mental and moral powers. The old narrow and iinsatisfying education leaving half the powers of the individual undeveloped and his interests largely untouched has failed to exert much influence on the occupations of leisure. This unsatisfying education must be replaced by -wider education utilising to a greater extent the active tand social instincts of the pupils and giving a training that has a closer bearing on both social life and the use of leisure." The changed conditions in schools, Mr. Munro urged, must include smaller classes. A noteworthy resolution ivas the one providing that a committee be set up to .consider and report upon retardation or-•back-wardness in the primary schools of the T>ominion. The mover of this resolution dwelt earnestly upon the vital importance of this question, and outlined startling results which had developed from an experimental examination of comparative figures_compiled by himself and others. This had convinced him of the necessity of having a comprehensive survey of the whole question, involving the help of teachers throughout the Dominion in the collation of statistics. A committee was also set up to consider and report on (a) some modification of, or substitution for, the system of proficiency certificates as a. test of promotion to seoond- | ary education, (b) the co-ordination of curricula in the primary schools, and j (c) the continued education of country children. Remits from the Technical j Schools Branch were adopted to the j effect (1) "That students leaving the primary schools be direqted as to their future course of education, such direction to be made by a small advisory committee after taking into consideration the probable future vocation of the child," and (2) "That tlie principle of the co-ordination of all grades of education be affirmed, and that the institution of one controlling authority in each district for all State schools and colleges be approved as a step in this direction." The first of these remits caused a- lively discussion at the Technical School Teachers' Conference, and it was decided to send it to School Committes and all-bodies.interested in educational work. High school "princi- , pals throughout the country complain that too many students attend: for a short time only—the time ranging j from a few months to one year—and j that they leave before they have der ; rived any benefit from their attendance at a secondary school. How much of

this waste- of time and opportunity is due to the students finding' that they are on the wrong track in attending high schools? For the majority of Standard VI. proficiency holders (it is stated) the technical school is far more suitable than is the high school; and the object of the above motion was to prevent, if possible, the loss of the large amount of energy and time at present wasted by misdirection or want of direction of the studies of boys and girls. A far-reaching motion carried iby the Technical School Teachers' Conference w-as that dealing with compulsory day-time education up to the age of 16. This was really a reaffirmation of an earlier remit: "(a) That full daytime education be compulsory up to the age of 16 years; and (b) that the State should make a maintenance allowance to parents who would otherwise suffer undue hardship oAving to the attendance of their children at full day-time classes up to the age of 16.' It was urged that, if New Zealand were to hold her place in tlfe coming economic, struggle, if she were to hold her own in competition with other nations her future citizens must bo better equipped for the fight. The first essential in this equipment was the provision for further education of her children. The principle of expecting growing boys and girls to work longer hours than the average man was held to "be wrong. La.bour unions throughout the country were striving their utmost to reduce the number of working hours per day for the worker, but, it was asked, what were they doing on the much more vital question of overworking our boys and girls just at the period when every ounce of their energy is necessary to produce healthier and stronger men and women? At ' present, youths of both sexes work ' their eight hours in. the workroom or shop and then, either through ambition ' or by compulsion, are required to at* tend evening schools for a further two ' or two and a-half hours. A publicity committee was 'sot up to keep this question well before the public.