REAL EDUCATION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18617, 12 July 1930, Page 15

REAL EDUCATION

AUSTRALIAN EXAMPLE. “The Golden Key” or “Educating for Life.” By Dr Neil M'Queen. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, Ltd. This is a book which gives some account of the work of a school which has left the beaten track, and which with justice can claim to have kept in view the providing of an education which meets the problems of life. That it concerns itself with a school for girls does not make it the less valuable, for many of the hints and suggestions could well be adapted for use by those responsible for the education of the girls’ brothers. The Croydon Presbyterian 'Ladies’ College is one of Australia’s famous schools. It was founded in 1887, and the first principal, Dr. John Marden, remained at the head till 1919. Since, then Dr. M'Queen, has carried on, and the high ideals set up by the first principal have found further expression. In this school traditional routine has gone and in its place is something that seems to make education worth while. The curriculum is constructive and aims at making the youngster some use in the world. The view is taken that the years of childhood are too valuable to be wasted in what is immediately forgotten, will never be used again, and is entirely devoid of inspiration for life. Much of the traditional curriculum cannot be described as other than useless and uninspiring, so at Croydon it is quietly dropped. The aim set before Croydon is twofold. First, to qualify the girls to meet new situations as they arise, for which an underestanding of causes is necessary; and secondly, to enable them to live with others on the best possible terms. This latter implies cooperation at every turn, and a realisation that society cannot exist unless each member plays his or her part. The book is largely taken up with a full description of the curriculum, a study of which will amply repay every teacher. It will be sufficient to give a digest of the chapter on the teaching of chemistry to show how all lessons, no. matter the subject, are made alive. There is no starting off with an array of definitions, the formalism of which may kill the spirit. One course of chemistry began with a fire extinguisher. How and why it worked led to a discourse on carbon dioxide gas. Limestone and limestone caves naturally followed, and the connection with geology became clear. Then came the giving off of carbon dioxide by animals and people, the in-breathing of it by plants, physiology and botany being contacted effectively and naturally. Food was the next line of inquiry, proteins and carbohydrates joining in the quest. A correlation with domestic science was made, the class being delighted to know why their cakes did or did not rise, as the case might be. Questions got back to the fire extinguisher, why it was in a metal case. This led to the consideration of the action of acids on metals, to hydrogen, oxygen, and finally gunpowder. Through the year the course followed natural lines, and no one was troubled if the trend of inquiry led away from chemistry proper into the realm of other sciences. Chemistry Is, by this method, made to live: it ceases to he “stinks,” applicable only to the laboratory. All other subjects are treated in the same enlightened way. Obviously lessons at Croydon must be a delight, but equally obviously it must be comparatively hard to get the right kind of teacher. New Zealand mothers, one would opine, after reading this delightful book, would wish that Croydon was this side of the Tasman.