APRTL 17, 1952

THE GUARDIAN. CHARDOTTETOWN .

Stresses important Trends in Ruijil Education Inijii

Noting that the trend in rural ,du;;guon in this Province in re- cem years has included improve- ment in school buildings and equipment. ” y facilities, IU- ditional teacher training and voca- uonsl education. Dr. L. W. Shaw yggterdsy warned the P. E. 1. Teachers Federation that this was not enough. .

”lf we are to overcome some of the weaknesses still apparent in our programme and if we are to extend and enlarge this pro- gramme to.the end that all our pupils both elementary and sec- ondary may have education suit- ed to their needs," the Deputy Minister of Education stated. "we should give immediate attention to the establishing of larger units .-,g administration and composite high schools in these larger units.”

"And we should continue," he added, "to improve the education- gl qualifications of our teachers both academically and profession- ally, for it is upon the efficient. devoted, mature teacher that the whole educational structure must

rest." Addressing the Federation at their annual convention yester-

day. Dr. Shaw took for his theme. "Trends in Rural Education." sug- gusting that the first question to present itself in considering the subject might be: "Does Rural htiucntion differ from Education in urban. industrial or commercial centres?"

The VI'hole Problem

”lt does." he stated, "if the whole problem of providing adequate rducational facilities is considered, for this problem will include ad- ministration of the one room school, the number of grades to be caught by one teacher, the pro- vision of teachers trained for rural school conditions and the provi- sion of a programme or curricu- lum so constucted and adminis- tered that the rural children and youth may have equal opportunity, both on the elementary and high school levels. with those from larg- er and wcalticr centres.

"Education in rural communities presents many problems distinct from the problems con- cerned with urban schools. Prime Edward Island can be looked upon as a community rural. therefore. the educational problems are very largely rural problems.

The second observation with rei- ennca to our subject might be: '1'hi.a Province has always been rur- al and we have always problem. Does it differ today from the problem in past years?" Again the answer is that it does differ because conditions and circum- Itsnces differ from those of the past. For example, let us look at our school attendance. In 1889, the year of the highest enrolment in our history, there were enrolled In the schools of the Province 23.- 06 pupils. The average, daily ai- taendanco was 13,159 or 57.1 per cent of those enrolled. For the year 1950-51. there were fewer pu- pils enrolled-18,468 - but there was an average daily attendance oi 1.5.310 or 82.9 per sent. This regularity of attendance in itself constitutes a change of conditions.

Longer in School

The fact. too, that pupils are re- msining longer in school in the school

changes

conditions and its

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entirely'

had this

Dr. L. W. Shaw Deputy Minister of Education

administration. We find, for ex-

ample. that in 1923, about 30 years

ago, there were Grades Ix and X. For the year ended June 30. 1951, there 2

WEIE

.266.

"In that same year (1923) the Principal of Prince of Wales Col- lege reports 341 in attendance in ii. arts. s:r- . Ir

- . e rnc pa reports an enrollment oi 958 or if we wish to take the First, Second and Third years to keep the comparison more accurate there were 554 enrolied- an increase oi 201. Conditions have changed. too, owing to the fact that so many occupations are now to open young people which were unheard oi'- a. few years ago. and these occupations demand varying degrees of education both general and specific.

"There is today a growing feel- ing that the occupa us of the 'farm and the farm home call for in background of education both Igcneral and vocational (so called) that would never have been con- ,sidered necessary is generation ago. ,Perhaps these examples will suf- lflce to make clear what is meant 'when we say that conditions have .changed.

"Changing conditions on the farm. in the factory, in business or in the professions demand changes in the manner in which we meet these conditions. So it

almost wholly is with our schools if our children

were meet satisfactorily the challenges of life as it is today. we cannot remain in the reaping hook stage in education any more than we can on, the farms. '

"History teeclis us that events are but the results of efforts to solve problem facing mankind. Trends in education then indicate attempts to solve problems as we see them. They are in fact educa- tional growing pains.

Provincial Problems

"wlth this more or less general statement as a basis let us con- sidsiv some of our own provincial problems. We have 454 schools administered by our thirteen hun- dred trustoes slid approximately 450 secretaries. That is a very considerable group of people hav- ing to do with the administration of our schools locally. I need not dwell upon the difficulty of secur- ing this nurnbe of.porsons suf- ficiently interested hi and com- petent to administer our schools locally. All provinces in Canada have had to men this same prob- iem but it remains with us and with Manitoba to a for greater extent than with any other pro-

l VillC0.

'"rhe trend has been towards the larger unit of school adminis- tration. By this is meant the grouping of a down or more dis- tricts into one large district un- der one Board. It does not mean, as so many people seem to thinlr the closing oi all schools in the arch and the transporting oi all children to a central school, but as we shall see later it does pro-

i,zes pupils ini

cannot otherwise be provided. "Let us see how this form of ad- ministration is being received. Here is a paragraph from the last An- nual Report of the Department of Education in Saskatchewan, a pro- vince which es you know is large- ly rural: 'During the past six or seven years the Larger school Unit has been generally accepted by the people of this province as an im- proved system of school adminis- tration. The greater degree of equalization oi educational costs and the improved educational fac- ilities which are apparent in their operation, together with able man- agement by unit boards. have been convincing evidence of the improve- ment achieved by this system of administering our schools'.

"Now a paragraph from the last Ontario report: in recent years there has been a definite trend in the province toward 3 reduction in the number of administrative units for the elementary schools. The formation of 536 areas in ex- istence at the end of 1950 has in- volved the dissolution of 3,168 for- mer school sections)

"A brief statement from Mani- toba: 'The operation of the Dau- phin-Ochre School Area No. 1 con- tinued to demonstrate the value of the larger unit of administration in providing superior educational services. The standard of the one- room school has been improved and the composite high school has continued to grow in size and has attracted an ever-increasing num- ber of students from the rural arcas'.

I "And just one other from Brit- ish Columbia: where in 1946 by not of the Legislature the 660 small. school districts were abol- ished and '14 large areas were or- ganizcd each under ll. single school Board. The 1946-47 report of the Department states as follows: The new organization is unquestionably much superior to the old one. Great benefits both educational and financial were immediately apparent particularly with respect to the operation of the small rural school'.

"We could quote from other De- partmental reports but perhaps these are sufficient to show the general attitude towards the Larger Unit of Administration. It seems, to be favourable from the stand- point of efficiency in administra- tion nnd in the provision of ii better school service."

Education Under Fire

"Let us look at the larger unit idea having in mind some of our ..:.m..:m..

IN MEMORIA-Mg

In loving memory of my dear wlie. Mrs. Boris,-a.m B. Auld. who passed away April 11th. 1947.

Then is no death! The stars go down - I To rise upon some other shore. I And bright In heaven's Jeweller!- crown. i

They shine forevermore.

And all things, that for growth or

3'. An worthy of our love or care. Whose loan has left us desolate, Are safely garnered there.

Though llfe become a desert waste We know its fairest flowers Transplanted Into Paradise. Adorn Immortal lmwers."

Sadly Missed by Her Husband.

L ATTENTION

ALL FARMERS

Donit forget. the John Deere Day Show, Tuesday, April 22. 7:30 P.M., at the Prince of Wales College Aud- itorium. Tickets are free at our show room, Maipcque Road. Valuable door prizes and a good evening's enter-

own special problem. In com- mon with other provinces, educa- tion in Prince Edward Island has been under fire because our schools. so it is said. have deteriorated in the f dament l activities of reading. wrltinir. spelling and arith- metic. It is said that the recent product of our schools is unable to read or write or spell. In this connection. I should like to quote from the Annual school Report of 1911 as prepared by the late Dr. Alexander Anderson.

"In a paragraph dealing with matriculation or entrance examina- tions, Dr. Anderson says in part: The examiners reported a decid- ed falling off in neatness. accuracy, spelling. writing and arithmet c'.

"And this reminds us that a ut two weeks ago a radio commen a- tor referred to a recent report of the president of one of our larg- est Canadian universities. In this report it was stated that students entering the university today are terribly deficient in their ability to read, write and spell. The commentator went on to say that in 190). a former president of the same university made the same ac- cusation against the students of that day and in almost the some words. Is this Just a matter of history repeatin, itself or can it be that in the early years of the present century a slump occurred in education in Canada from which we have never recovered?

"Ali down through the ages since the days of Plato we have heard similar criticism. After many years experience in the schools and col- leges and Departments of Educa- tion in this and other provinces. I am not prepared to say that the product of our schools has de- teriorated, but I do deplore the fact that our schools have not im- proved more than they have. I have referred to that repeatedly in annual reports of the depart- ment, and these references have

been made. not merely as a mat- ter of opinion. but after personal contact with the schools and af- ter using tests in our schools that have been used in the schools of every province in Canada.

"Now if our schools have not improved as they should since the beginning of the century and I am quite prepared to admit that, while they have improved, they have not improved as they should have done, let us look at some of the possible causes. era of course are never free from criticism and naturally the De- partment of Education receives much of this criticism either ver- bally or by letter. We hear from parents and trustees that teachers are too young and immature, that they themselves do not know well the work they are trying to teach, nor do they ignow how to organize and teach it.

in an effort to meet these critic- isms, which experience has shown to be justified, we are today risk- ing our prospective teachers to take one full year of general edu- cation beyond Grade 10 (this is a year less than is required in any other province in Canada) and then to take another year in which they will take further English, Arithmetic. History, Geography, Drawing, etc. but with emphasis on the planning and organization of classes and lessons and the teach- ing of these school subjects.

Conflict of Opinion

"This, as I have said. is a year less than is required in any other province of Canada but it is con- sidered to be too long by some. es-

pecially by parents who have boys.

or girls in. or about -to enter the teacher training classes. These latter feel that one year beyond Grade 10 should be sufficient for both general and professional Continued on page 11

The tee.ch- 3170

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PAGE THREE

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