NEW SYLLABUS.

Waipawa Mail, Volume L, Issue 43, 28 December 1928, Page 1

NEW SYLLABUS.

UNWELCOME XMAS BOX. FOR TEACHERS. During the holiday season, and right through the first month of 1929, one may find him in any secluded part of New Zealand, a studious per-

son deeply absorbed in a closelyprinted, red-covered volume. This book is the Christmas gift of the State to that growing army of its servants, the school teachers. It is, in fact, the new primary school syllabus, quite elaborately bound for an official document, and containing such a classified amount of prescription and instruction as would cause the layman to gasp, “Heavens! Did I have to swallow 11s much as that when I went to school?” Whether he did or not, the new syllabus lays out a most comprehensive programme for the youngsters of to-morrow, and it teems with advice, comment and command, while at the same time it breathes the spirit of freedom, and ' the power of selection, which it assures the teacher he now possesses — with some restrictions, of course, and subject always to the idiosyncrasies of the inspecting individual who supervises the teacher's work. IS THE TIME SUFFICIENT? If this new syllabus is to he brought into immediate effective operation when the schools re-open in February, it is the opinion of many teachers that there will be little of the true holiday for them this year. Il will lie impossible to get away from the atmosphere of school. No headmaster, no assistant or sole teacher of a country school, can possibly select and arrange from the great mass of material in the “red book” a full course for his year’s work unless he devotes weeks to the task, which will require planning, discussion and ofteii consultation with outside officials. “The change-over,” said one teacher, “is a very big one, both ill spirit and in matter, and it seems that it is to he rushed upon us at ridiculously short, notice. The Department have taken over two years to prepare and issue this syllabus. We were given advance copies some months ago, hut these were of small dimensions compared with the ‘Christmas books’ which have just arrived. To bring into operation in February what the syllabus, and its 150 pages of appendices, suggests will mean chaos for weeks. Teachers must prepare their schemes beforehand. Adequate preparation, especially where the teacher is allowed such liberty in selection of his material, will lake weeks. New text books are to he introduced, but even they are not yet available. 1 do not think that the public should blame the teachers themselves if the initial school month of next year is one of considerable confusion and little progress. It is far 100 hurried a business. Many teachers will go off for their holidays and not open the new syllabus until they return to school on February Ist. I don’t blame them. But what are children going to do in the early weeks of the year while new schemes are being plotted nut and arranged? Yes, it’ll wonderful Christmas box for teachers.”