NEEDS OF EDUCATION

Waikato Times, Volume 93, Issue 14538, 9 December 1920, Page 6

NEEDS OF EDUCATION

SHORTNESS OF SCHOOL LIFE, ]’ PUPILS LEAVE TOO SOON. In his address at the breaking-up ; at the Hamilton High School to-day the principal, Mr Eben Wilson, In referring to the school work, said:— “One of the defects of our high schools is the shortness of the school | life. Many who enter do not stay long enough. This year more than usual left before completing even one year. There is no doubt whatsoever that tho third and subsequent years of the school course are the must valuable, and parents who can afford to give their “ ..children a good education should not be tempted to withdraw them too early. The future should be considered, and the offer of high wages should not be considered sufficient reason for bringing a hoy’s study to an end. Education is rot a luxury; it is a necessity. In England free places arc being granted only on condition that the school life of a pupil entering extends to 16, the age ai which the distinctive inllucnce of the secondary school life begins lo take lull effect upon the pupil. Health, Training and Games. “In New Zealand we have no regular medical inspection of the pupils in our ■ secondary schools, but at the request ’ of the governors, Dr. Henderson, medi--4 cal officer to the Education Department, visited the school in July. Dr. Hendcr- • son was much impressed with the . general good health of the girls. In the Old Country the medical inspection “„■' of secondary schools is already m operation. It is thought that all pupils should come under medical supervision, ! as there are many defects that arise , during the period of adolescence. The ' Inspection is made at the schools, and , women doctors arc employed where ■possible for the girls. In the sccon- 1 dury schools of New Zealand it will probably be found advisable lo have a local doctor appointed lo each school. | His work would not be confined to the ■inspection and treatment of pupils. He | i would visit the school at least once a term, and advise in all matters con-j corning the general health ut the •pupils, tlic suitability of Hie physical ; training, and the school games. The ,

£ £ possibility of harm resulting from in- * ".Judicious exercise would he reduced ;; to a minimum if games were under medical control. The aim of the mecli- ’ cal inspection is to develop a healthy ' race, and there seems to be great possibilities of good in the system ii only the work can be regularly and thoroughly carried out. If we can improve the health of our people we shall .at the same time surely add to the national happiness. Agricultural Instruction. , “We have between 30 and 40 boys

in our agricultural classes, and con--3 " sidering that so many of our people Z .“ are engaged in agricultural pursuits, it ; Gs anticipated that once the work being •cone by our school is more widely known these classes will be greatly increased in numbers. The school pos»s:sesses a first-class laboratory for the “ “.'teaching of agricultural and dairy science. The classes arc under Mr Tail, who was for several years chief instructor in agriculture at the Waitakl Boys’ High School. During the year the - agricultural students have inspected various pedigree dairy herds in the district, and visited Ruakura to keep n touch with the wide variety of work being carried out there by the Department of Agriculture. They also for the first time competed in the judging of dairy cattle at the Waikato Show. Home Work.

“All scholars, with the exception of those who are-exempted on the grounds of ill-health, are given home exercises. Lessons are set by each form teacher according to a carefully planned and approved time-table. The exercises involve little mental strain, and are set not to cover new ground, but to tlx definitely in the mind work already done in the class-room. First-year scholais are asked to do one and a-half hours’ home-work, second year two hours, and senior scholars two and a-lialf hours. Clear instructions are given to pupils that they are not to exceed the time set, even if the lessons are not completed, and it is hoped that parents will cooperate with teachers so that this rule nr,ay be carried out. No doubt there are. some boys and girls attending secondary schools who, because of the limited time their parents are able to keep them at school, do more than they should to qualify for examinations. The matriculation examination, for ex-

ample, represents a four years’ course. Timer are many of our pupils who wish - to cover the ground in three years. Ti do this means hard work. Personally 1 -uni of opinion that evening lessons should not be continued later than nino- ' thirty. Any scholar who works later than this does so entirely on his own initiative. If for any reason a pupil ought to do little or no homework, the parent, who is the best judge, has only to bring the matter under our notice and the exemption is granted at once. We have at the present time a few pupils who are exempt from homework altogether. The health of the child is made the first consideration. Excessive home-lessons are injurious. Tn moderation they serve two good purposes. They make for progress, giving the scholar the maximum of benefit from his school life, which is for the most part of short duration. They encourage the establishment of good habits, in particular habits of application and industry, the formation of which is one of the chief aims of education. The modern boy is no more aii-aid of work than his father was. It :s only from hours well filled and from determined effort that our boys and girlt can hope to achieve anything or l;e*ome useful members of the State. Education and the Future.

■‘Since the war it has become a common saying that without education we Till lag behind other nations of the world. This is undoubtedly true, but there is more Ilian this materialistic view behind the movement for higher education. There is the realisation that it is to the schools that the nation must look to widen the outlook of its people, to train the young in habits of thinking, ir good habits of conduct and high ideals of life. With the idea of extending the work of the elementary schools, England has established a compulsory system of day continuation classes and extended the facilities for secondary school training. At the continuation school every child from l-'i t.> 18 who is not a pupil at a secondary school is now in altendance at day classes for two hours each day during the school year. 'Hie object of the continuation schools is not to intensify interest in commerce or industry, but to give to all a complete and generous education. Industrial life is everywhere daily becoming more and more monotonous and mechanical, and the aim of the continuation school is to give the boy and girl workers interests in life beyond the narrow limits of the r particular trade or profession, to train, not so much for a livelihood as for life itself. The English Minister for Education recently expressed the opinion that a solution of all the difficulties between labour and capital would ultimately be found, not in wages, but in improvement in the general atmospher •, cue to the spread of knowledge anions the workers. One of the most pleasing features of English educational reform is the awakened interest of all ranks >f society in the pursuit of knowledge felts own sake, and the enthusiasm for

sludles that do not directly minister to the students’ material advantage. When i* is remembered that before the war only 5 per cent, of the children leaving Ihe elementary schools of England entered a secondary school at all, and less than 1 per cent, a University, it will be seen that the new Education Act, whicn ensures the education of the whole nation till the age of 18, is a wonderful achievement, and one that cannot but l ave far-reaching and beneficial effects on the social and industrial life of the people.

“In New Zealand the proposals of the Education Department foreshadow a belter state of tilings. The school age is lo be raised to 15. The primary school course is to end at 11 or 12. And as at this age it is impossible to say that some should proceed to a higher education and some should not, the elementary course will probably be followed by an intermediate course of gencnl education extending over four years. Pupils completing the intermediate secondary course at the age of 16 or 17 will, if they wish it, then continue advanced secondary school work, or proceed to technical or agricultural colleges for specialised studies. The scholarship system will be simplified and extended, an I in the near future we may look to s t a much, larger percentage of our young men and women proceeding to the University.”