The teaching of English to third and fourth forms in New Zealand

The authors of the Spens Report state that the curriculum of the secondary school should be developed around an attitude to life, and one main core of learning which is to be found in what are generally known as the English subjects. These consist of history and geography ("social studies" in the third and fourth forms) and English itself. Of these, perhaps the one most capable of integrating the others and giving meaning to the secondary course is English in the narrower sense. Its influence does not end with school life; the outlook of boys and girls, and consequently their actions, will have been influenced, perhaps quite unconsciously, by the "reading, discussion and reflection which the study of English provides and stimulates." It is the hope of the teacher of English that this will produce clear critical thought and expression.