The Wanganui Chronicle "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." TUESDAY. MARCH 15, 1904. COMMERCIAL EDUCATION.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 12165, 15 March 1904, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." TUESDAY. MARCH 15, 1904. COMMERCIAL EDUCATION.

The time when specialised education was regarded as essential only to the professions has long since passed. The tendency of the present day, begotten of the fierce and unceasing competition cf business life, is toward the application of expert knowledge to every de 1 partment of trade and commerce. In this connection a lecture delivered on Thursday last by Mr. George George,, director of technical instruction, is of much more than local interest. Mr. George lectured at the request of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. lie dealt with the subject under the fa 1 lowing heads: —(1) The primary school n its relation to commercial education; (2) the secondary school in its rela+.Yn to commercial education; (3) the evening continuation school in its relation to commercial education ; (4) the hi**Vst commercial college in its "relation to commercial- education; (5) commero:°l education in other countries, those selected specially being Hungary arc' Japan; (6) the relation of Chambers nf Commerce to commercial education. It was, he said, the general opinion of educationalists who have studied this matter, that in the elementary tasge there need not bo any distinction in the training of a boy destined for business and of another boy who may look forward to a professional or literai^^tffl|

ing. It was only after the foundation of general education or culture had been laid that questions should arise as to teaching ordinary subjects so as to have a commercial application, and introducing other branches which were necessary in the proper equipment of those intended for business. The nature and extent of such specialisation •nmit depend upon the description of the business career aimed at, and the length of time which the pupils could remain at school or give to the prosecution <>i study, after school. It was absolutely necessary that when a boy left the primary school he should have a knowledge of the three R's, whilst the advantagf.? of a knowledge of drawing could hardly be over-estimated. People were ofton heard to decry such subjects as elementary science and manual training as part of the primary school course, but there was no doubt that these subjects, taught on the right" line?, provided invaluable training for the young. Passing on to secondary schools, Mr. George said it was of the utmost importance that these should be run on up-to-date lines. A classical education may have been excellent 100 years ago, but at the present time, Avhich was aptly described as the engineering age, education required to be on more practical lines. At 1-i or 15 years of age a boy should have made up his mind as to his future trade or profession. Those intended for a business career should at this stage enter the commercial department of the school, the curriculum of which should embrace English, modern languages, history, geography, mathematics (all of these especially applied to commerce); commercial practice, commercial economics, bookkeeping, typewriting, shorthand, and sciences bearing upon raw materials. The majority of the pupils in this department would no doubt be unable to remain at school bsyond 16 or 17 years of age, and it was quite likely that a number would be compelled by circumstances to leave before reaching that age. In either, case, after the pupil has actually commenced his business career, he should continue his studies at the evening continuation classes in connection with the Technical School. For those who are able to devote the time, there should be a higher commercial college, which pupils would enter after having completed the commercial course at the higher-grade school. The form of education avail able should be of the most advanced commercial type, and should be such &s to enable a man on leaving the college, say, at 21 years of age, to undertake a position of the highest responsibility in the commercial world. The curriculum of such a college might embrace: (1) Modern languages, dealing with E-.io-pean, American, and Eastern markers; (2) commercial practice, including methods of exporting and importing goo "if, foreign tariffs, weights, measures, moneys, and exchanges, markets at home and abroad, and trade customs, the technicalities of commercial docum3Ms, commercial mathematics, accountancy, commercial correspondence in English and foreign languages, organisation of commerce, etc.; (3) the study of materials, including commercial and Indu:'trial geography and history, knowledge of products and industries, chemistry of materials, etc.; (4) the principles of coin merce , including economics and statistics, commercial morality, banking, and currency; (5) commercial law, including civil and international law. If a technical college were provided for Auckland it would be possible to \itiluo the building in-the day cime both as a higher grade school as well as a higher commercial college. Mr. George described the system of commercial education in vogue in Hungary, and also thac so successfully carried on in Japan. l!:e former, which dated back to the hagi;:ning, of the eighteenth century, he described as excellent. The system of commercial schools was divided in-.o three grades—'commercial apprentice) schools, commercial courses chisL'y arranged for women, and secondary commercial schools or colleges. In addi tion there was the Oriental Commercial Academy. Apprentice schools were tabiished and maintained by the cit/> councils, and. their, upkeep was defrayed by a special tax. Employers were liabif, to a fine if they failed to send t'hVr clerks to these schools. There was oao higher institution of learning in Unngaxy (Budapest), the purpose of whic'» positions in the commercial world, an 1 wa sto train young men for independent for administrative offices, consular service, etc. It offered especially 'me cp portunities for learning Oriental .languages aud commercial practice. • ta course was one of two years. Admitted as regular students were (1) graduates oi any secondary commercial schoc's, (2; graduates of classical secondary schools, (3) commercial apprentices who have !ntl at least a four years' practice and could piove <hat they possessed the know ledge of graduates of a secondary conim&cial school. The students undertook annually journeys arid voyages into Oriental countries to study the status and methods of export, and other things necessary for thorough men of commerce. The expenditure necessitated by these journeys, as well as all other cobts oi the school, were borne by the State Japan was a nation that is very'prominently before the world just now, and one that has made vast strides during recent years that a consideration of i:s commercial education should prove f;f intere&t. Commercial education was not a neAv subject in Japan, the first coiti mercial school having been started in Hl^fllHHiMßMMt^iime there wer j

three grades of commercial schools, viz., (1) Elementary commercial school; (2) ordinary commercial school, (3) the high

er commercial college. Ony and two

ore municipal organisations, partly supported by the Central Government' A higher college was started in 1885 Students were sent to Antwerp ana Paris, and returned as professors, the. cost being defrayed by the Government. The Higher College at Tokio was the. finest in the world, containing over 500 students in April, 1902, taking up a complete - commercial course of an advanced nature, as well as 306 studying' foreign languages in a special department. The average age of pupils was about 20. It was the only commercial college in the world, as far as he kn°a. which taught commercial morality. Zensakuano, assistant director, visited America, and was astonished to fine? Americans did not know what commercial morality meant. The latter part of the lecture dealt with the commercial education system at Home. New Zealand, he remarked, had hitherto been rather backward in this respect. Ho advocated united action by the Cham bers of Commerce in a scheme of commercial study in connection with evening classes at technical schools with evening classes at technical schools, to extend over a period of four or six years, and to give preference, other things being equal, to applicants for positions as clerks, etc., who held technical school certificates. At the conclusion of the lecture it was unanim<;::sly resolved to request the council of the Chamber of Commerce to consider th« advisability of setting up a sub-comm-ittee to.report oii the best way n which the Chamber can identity itself with the furthering, of the cause cf education.