EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18777, 27 October 1932, Page 9

EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA.

ALGEBRA PAPER CRITICISED. PARENTS COMPLAIN. Numerous complaints about 1 the severity of the algebra paper for students at the week’s Intermediate examinations have bee,n received by the Sydney Sunday Sun. A typical letter is one signed by “Parent of Four Boys,” "Who are the men who set tho paper? Have they any knowledge of the capabilities of boys and girls?" she writes. ‘‘Every year this algebra paper becomes harder and trickier, as though written by a man crabbed with old age and with a spite against children. The problems, in addition, are of absolutely no practical value. “Confuse and Trlok." “Parents and tea'chers should get together and decide that no ohlld should, In the future, sit for the mathematics I. examination unless guaranteed that a sensible paper—one that the average child has a possibility of scoring some marks in—shalljjbe set. Instead of spending time on a subject which seems to bo written to confuse and trick the child mind, they should study other subjects." The Director of Education (Mr G. Ross Thomas) said that he could not remember what was In the algebra papers, although he had seen them. Each year a sheaf of complaints about some subject or other was received after the intermediate examinations'. He thought that the paper was a reasonable one. Most headmasters refused to comment, although several stated that some questions were extremely difficult. Not Beyond Students. The headmaster of St. Joseph’s College said some of the questions j were difficult, but not beyond the powers of the students. “I think the paper was the bast maths, paper we have had for some years," declared Mr G. F. Longmuir, headmaster of the Hurls tone Agricultural High School. “Certainly some of the problems were, very difficult, but then some of them were very easy."