WHAT DO WE KNOW ?

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1638, 7 May 1925, Page 3

WHAT DO WE KNOW ?

RESULTS OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE TEST.

At a time when -parents in New Zealand have been forced to take a much closer interest in their children’s school lessons than ever in the past, and when t'he fear is expressed that by the closing of the schools the children will forget what they have already learned, it is interesting to read of a rather novel experiment that has been undertaken at Home as to the value of t'he present primary school curriculum there. Followingon a wide discussion as to the value of the education provided in the ele-

mentary schools, a test examination was held by Associated Papers, Ltd., to select a boy of fourteen years for training as a junior clerk in an administrative deportment. Two simple papers were set in arithmetic and the other eighteen questions in general knowledge. Twenty-six boys presented themselves, and all made a good impression by their intelligence; but only two did the arithmetic paper correctly, and twelve obtained fewer than half marks. In the general knowledge paper only one boy answered 75 per cent of the questions correctly. What was perhaps most surprising was that no single boy could give the capitals of ten European countries accurately, and such mistakes were made as “ Al-sace-Lorraine was the capital of Denmark.” Of the twenty-six boys only five could name four of the countries allied with Great Britain in the war. In the newspaper correspondence that followed these disclosures many of the teachers pointed out the difficulties with which teachers had to cope owing to the curriculum imposed on them by the authorities, and Mr W. R. Ray, vice-chairman of the London County Council Education Committee, expressed the opinion that the curriculum contained certain “ frills ” to the detriment of accuracy in regard to ordinary subjects. With the idea, therefore, that many of the teachers may be anxious to suggest improvements in the present scheme, knowing the weaknesses of the regulations, the London Daily Mail is offering £2OOO in prizes for the best scheme of curriculum and time-table submitted by teachers and others concerned in elementary education. Each competitor is asked to send in a chart setting out the names of the subjects which he, or she, considers should be taught and the number of hours a week which should be given to these subjects. The chart should show the nature of the instruction to be given to a child of nine, and should indicate when and how the curriculum should be varied until the child completes its fourteenth year. This is a very interesting experiment, the result of which might have some bearing in New Zealand, for every country is a little bit in the dark as to whether its education system is achieving the results aimed at and the position in New Zealand does not give ground for very great confidence that boys and girls are being turned out smarter than they were twenty years ago.