EDUCATIONAL NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14776, 15 October 1921, Page 9 (Supplement)

EDUCATIONAL NOTES.

SCHOOL AGE. I (By "Dominie.") Parents are often exercised as to when it is advisable to send children to school. Some are of opinion that no child should enter school before it it is seven. This is the. age at which children in Canada began their school life, but in New Zealand the regulations admit of entry at five years, though attendance is not compulsory till they reach seven yearsWhether a child of live years is lit, physically and mentally, to attend school is a matter of opinion. The strong, well-developed child of that age suffers no ill-effects from attendance under modern methods of education. The great majority are so fond of their teachers, of their school, and of their little companions, that it is a serious privation to them when sickness, inclement weather, or other reasons prevent their regular attendance. The relations of the teacher to the child, and of the child to Uv* teacher, arc now entirely different from what they were a few years ago. The teacher is the friend and playmate of the little one. This the young child fully realises, it runs to its teacher in all its troubles, for it is sure of a sympathy as deep as it is in the habit of receiving at home. Its playtimes are frequent, and are specially happy times, for often its teacher enters fully into its activities, and teaches it how to play many fascinating new games. lis lessons have none of the monotony and drudgery formerly considered essential to the proper upbringing of every child. The lessons are short, and arc made graphically interesting. Surely under these conditions no robust child of five can suffer either in mind or in body. Many little ones learn rapidly. This is especially marked in such subjects as reading and recitation. Under the phonic syllabic method of teaching reading, the drudgery of the old alphabetic method entirely disappears, while the progress is so rapid that in two years many children can read any regular word, no matter how many syllables is may contain. Parents often apologise to the teacher because their children do not know Ihe letters of the alphabet. No apology is needed. Teachers would much rather the entrants did not know them. Far from the knowing of the letters being of assistance, it is perhaps the greatest hindrance to progress in reading that teachers have to overcome. The Puipl's Progress.

The intelligent child who enters school at live should pass through all the Primer classes in two years. At seven, it should be in Standard 1., at eight in Standard 11., at nine in Standard 111., at 10 in Standard IV., at 11 in Standard V., and ut 12 in Standard VI. Thus it is possible for a normal child to reach Standard VI. by the time it is 12. Even if we make it 13 years, we are still far below the average age of Standard VI. pupils. The latest statistics give the average ages in the various classes at the end of the year:—Standard 1., 'J years; Standard 11.. 10 years; Standard 111., It years; Standard IV., 12 years: Standard V., 13 years; Standard VI., i;j years 11 months. "Since, under normal conditions, a child should pass out of Standard VI. at 13, it is apparent that great numbers are much too old for the standards they have reached. . . Many of the causes of retardation, such as mental backwardness, physical incapacity, and migration from school to school, arc impossible or difficult to remove. On the other hand, delay in beginning school life is responsible for a great number being over average age, although when measured by length of time spent at school, they cannot bo regarded as cases of retardation."—Educational Report. Figures taken over a group of classes in Hamilton show 46 per cent of children whose ages are below the average age of their class, and 20 per cent above the age. Effect of Irregular Attendance.

The attendance lias a very marker] effect on progress. Those who attend every day get the full benefit of the work of the teacher. The lessons to them are connected and continuous; they have the best of opportunities of learning all the new matter taught: they are interested in the work; their desire to maintain their position in class, to show their ability to keep Pace with their companions', causes them to work with a will; and they are trained in habits of punctuality and regularity. The irregular child loses the continuity of the work, misses the teacher's explanation of new matter, loses interest, and becomes a misery to itself and to its teacher. Much of the irregularity for several years has been due to the prevalence of epidemics. Prior io 1018 it was quite possible to gel an average attendance of from 02 to 0G pei' cent of the roll number, but since 1017 the average attendance has been unusually low. The evil resulting from this irregularity is (hat children stay at home for the most trivial of reasons. This is especially (he case with the younger pupils during their first school year. Parents appear to be of the opinion that the attendance of the little lots is a matter of small import, but teachers know casual attendance is one of the reasons why children take so long to pass through the primer classes. Mental Backwardness. It is difficult under present conditions to give the menially slow pupil thai individual attention so essential to its progress. What is needed is the establishment, of special schools or classes, where retrogrades can be , taught by special teachers. The most difficult pupils of all to classify and (each are those who move from school to school. Every efficient school has a "tone" and methods of its own. Its schemes of work, though based on the same general principles as those of all oilier schools, vary in detail, so that a child moving from school |o school has Ihe greatest difficulty in adapting itself to changing environment. ' I advise parents of normally healthy I children to send little ones to set I | at. llv • six years of age, and to keep them al school as regularly as their heallh will allow. It would be of ma(erial assistance if beginners were first brought to school nt ihe becinning of each quarter---that is. in February, on April I, on July I, and on October I.