METHODS OF EDUCATION

Taranaki Daily News, 9 June 1932, Page 7

METHODS OF EDUCATION

THE ENGLISH TRADITION

GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S VIEW. MEETING MODERN DEMANDS. The opinion that modern requirements should be heeded in education, while the fundamental principles of the old traditions should be appreciated, was expressed by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, at Auckland on Tuesday evening. He suggested it was necessary to form a new conception of what was meant by culture. His Excellency’s remarks supplemented a lecture by the Rev. H. K. Archdall. headmaster of King’s College, on English educational principles and methods. The lecture was given at the University College, under the auspices of the Auckland Institute and Museum.

Lord Bledisloe said he was glad to be able to add a word of endorsement to the vote of thanks to Mr. Archdall, -moved by the chairman. For his part, he agreed in a very large measure with what had been said by the lecturer in reference to the English tradition in the sphere of education. This tradition he regarded as the finest in the world.

Whether the education system in a new country such as New Zealand should have the English principles firmly as a basis he would, however, hesitate to say with- ■ perfect' ' confidence; There were new elements to be considered, and a question of importance was environment. It was only fair to remember that the so-called culture of the old English schools was developed largely from the environment from which the students came, and also there was regard to that environment in which they were-destined to carry on. CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND. In hiis Excellency’s opinion, the • circumstances in New Zealand were different, and they required to be considered in the system of education. “I long ago gained the idea that culture can be as fully developed in a boy studying efficiently and thoroughly one of the many sciences underlying manual or vocational work as in one studying classics, for instance,” said Lord Bledisloe. ‘‘lt expends upon environment, and that environment is not necessarily luxurious. And then there are the ideals toward which a student is directing himself.” Pride could justly be felt for the -old English traditions in school life. They had served a great purpose, and their influence had continued. At the same time there was obviously a. trend in the direction of knowledge in modern and no less useful subjects. The traditions were becoming modified in accordance -with newer circumstances. Oundle had been raised from the level of a small country grammar school to a prominent place among English public schools by the recognition of this principle. There was always the need to move with the times, and to adapt education while maintaining fundamentals, religion above all. It was necessary to have vision in these matters. “There is no public school in England for which there is a greater demand for admission than Oundle,” his Excellency continued. “Why? Because something in the nature of vocational training, useful in earning a living, has been built upon the old foundations. The workshops there are an integral part.of the college, and even those taking classics and higher mathematics have to go through the training.”

ORIGIN OF TRADITIONS. Mr. Archdall dealt with the origin of English school traditions, and suggested ways in which they were endangered in New Zealand. English education had grown out of the life of. the nation and was deeply embedded in the various phases of national experience. There were many people who misrepresented the tradition in order to criticise it, while thev really were attempting to rear a different structure on different principles. Many derided what they did not understand, and sought to pull to pieces what they would not be great enough to construct. “The English educational tradition is not, as is sometimes said, the monopoly of a class,” said Mr. Archdall. “It may have been preserved in recent centuries in the schools to which the sons of the well-to-do resort, but it is the common inheritance of all English schools tree to live a life of their own.. That is the only disqualification, for its ideals are such that they cannot thrive unless the schools have such liberty and independence as to make possible the development of an individual soul. The ideal of trying to form the. character and teach the duty of service foi a united nation had emerged early in history. From the first, the State and the Church claimed the right to the service of the best brains of the people, and a common culture and outlook on life inspired the growing unity of the nation. First there were the great monastic schools, with rigorous intellectual discipline and deep spiritual piety. On this stem was grafted the school of chivalry, with the aim . of redressing human wrongs, the ideal of physical fitness, and admiration of beauty, courage, self-sacrifice, honour and honesty. Hie ideal developed until the foundation of Winchester by William of Wykeham in 1382, with the related New College at Oxford, The tradition became self-con-scious.

“MORE UNIFIED VIEW OF LIFE.”

At the end of the Middle Ages, England was developing _an education ideal which was national in spirit and possibility. From those days came down some of the ancient colleges which spoke, in the modern analytic and partial outlook, of a steadier and more unified view Mr. Archdall said the 17th. and 18th centuries were a dark period in-English education. It was to the 19th century that one looked for the rebirth of the old English education tradition. Arnold of Rugby, Thring of Uppingham, Almond of- Loretto, and Sanderson of Oundlc were among those who recreated the system. The ideals of .chivalry and training for the service of the community were expressesd in a system wit religion as the main foundation. . The lecturer dealt with the significance of religion, athletics, discipline, culture and the ideal of service in the community. It was taken for granted that the world would always need the aristocracies of character and intellect The system was the sworn foe of selfishness and selfish individualism. The individual was made to realise his part in the social structure. It was well to ask, the speaker said, whether New Zealand, in matters of higher education, was true to the great tradition of England.