Bulletin Spring 1977

Function of the secondary school Let me now proceed to secondary education. Here, to begin with, I should like to mention what I consider to be two important principles underlying its organisation. The first general principle is this: each school must realise that its first duty is to its pupils as indi viduals. Each pupil must be regarded as a unique personality with his own needs and abilities. The school must satisfy the pupil's needs, find out his abilities and develop them. Such an attitude implies placing less emphasis on tests and examinations; fur ther, it implies a reduction in the quantity of oral teaching and the transformation of the teacher into a guide and friend. The second important principle is that the school must remember that education is an unending process. School life is merely one part of the pupil's life and when he leaves school education will not cease. The school must therefore fit in with the back­ ground of the pupils, must bear in mind the important economic features of the community, and must see to it that the pupils do not feel cut off from the life of the outside world when they are engaged in school activities. The school must be merely one part of the pupil's world, and the outside world must be very much more closely connected with school. But be­ yond this, each pupil must be sent out into the world with a set of abiding interests, determined to con­ tinue the education which has been begun at school and genuinely interested in and aware of what is happening around him. A summary of what the school can do We may sum up the functions of the school as being: (a) to provide the kind of environment which is best suited to individual and social de­ velopment, (b) to stimulate and guide healthy growth in this environment, (c) to enable children to acquire the habits, skills, knowledge, interests and attitudes of mind which they will need for living a full and useful life, (d) to set standards of behaviour, effort and attainment by which they can measure their own conduct. Marks of a good education It is obvious that the school can fulfil these functions only if it insists on thorough and effective work in the various daily tasks it provides. However, the ultimate test must be whether it assists in the de velopment of citizens who desire the common good and are prepared to make sacrifices to secure and maintain it —men and women, that is, who care for all that is lovely and worthy. As I see it, the fully edu cated person is one who is enlightened in his interests, impersonal in his judgements, ready in his sympathy for whatever is just and right, effective in the work he sets himself to do, and willing to lend a hand to any one who is in need of it. Importance of the teacher's role Every age is an age of transition. Aims, methods and attitudes to education, to be of real worth, are always in course of evolution and comparative values are continually changing. However, any success in bringing about educational innovations also depends, to a large extent, on the initiative and energy of the school heads and their staff. The teachers, in parti­ cular, are at the grass-root level o f the system. In spreading and experimenting with new ideas and ap­ proaches they have an indispensable role to play in order to fulfil the purpose of the school. In fact, the high reputation which many of our schools have built up is a lasting tribute to the teachers' professional skill, hard work and dedication.