COURSES OF STUDY
01 January 2007
Happy new year to all my readers. And here's a question to test your ageing memory: Exactly how many of those ASOPA courses that you diligently studied (or wilfully disregarded) can you recall? And how many subjects were you examined in during the two year program? Well, the answers are in this document, taken from the 1962-63 Cadet Education Officers course handbook. We studied an impressive 28 courses in our first year at the School and 25 in the second year. And seemed to have plenty of time left over for sport, dramatics, parties and frequenting the pool table at the Mosman Hotel. Ah, youth's fierce energy!
I think you've made a slight mistake about the number of courses - confusing the number of contact hours per week (28 and 25) with the number of subjects (19 and 17).
I have always thought that it was rather strange that we who went through all those subjects in two years had trouble being regarded as being equally qualified as the three year trained, when, as I understood it, they did in three years what we did in two...
Quite apart from that, I still have the cane bookcase and the wooden tray that I made in Craft classes. I don't think I've made anything else successfully since!
Posted by: Neil Harvey (1963-1964) | 07 February 2007 at 08:02 PM
The 'method' subjects were designed to teach us how to teach! My memory isn't perfect but I recollect that Harry ("ever increasing circles") Peake taught English method and Norm Foster Mathematics Method.
Posted by: Keith Jackson | 04 January 2007 at 09:16 AM
What in heaven's name were the subjects: English Method and Mathematics Method?
Who taught them?
They must have been pretty boring as I cannot recall any excitement where these two subject names are concerned.
Posted by: Colin Huggins | 04 January 2007 at 07:36 AM
The keen eyed amongst you may have noticed an air brushing of history in the document pictured. It is professed that we were taught a subject entitled 'Education in Papua New Guinea'. We were not. In fact, the subject was called 'Native Education' and it was conveyed by Dr Dick Pearse. It seems that, subsequent to our era, political correctness took over.
Posted by: Keith Jackson | 02 January 2007 at 08:55 AM
I NEVER handed in one assignment for Handy Andy in our 2nd year, that much I can recall.
Hanky-Panky Henry and Leslie Lyons were very diligent in preparing beautifully crafted and illustrated early childrens' readers I remember. Probably Dubdy did too.
So while downing a glass or three of vintage red in company with the fabled TalkSter back in March 06 we were mulling over events from our Middle Head days at Mick Wilson's place. This very topic came up. I asked how come I passed the 2-year ASOPA course and duly proceeded to PNG.
Simple, really said mine host Mick who of course knew a thing or two about repeating an ASOPA subject.
Handy Andy's stuff was peripheral to the overall diploma or whatever it was we received in November 1963. It wasn't vital to achieving a pass and anyway PNG needed classroom teachers not people who could make stick figures out of pipe cleaners and coloured cotton.
Posted by: Richard E. Jones | 01 January 2007 at 03:16 PM