The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1893. CRAMMING V. EDUCATION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2904, 21 February 1893, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1893. CRAMMING V. EDUCATION.

The School Committees of Otago are to be congratulated on having among their representatives on the Education Board o£ that district a man possessed of the sound common sense displayed by Dr, McGregor in the series of resolutions which he brought before the Board at last week's meeting. These resolutiors had for their object the putting an end to the system of " cram" which prevails to only too great an extent in connection with our public schools under a system of percentages ab examinations which almost forces upon teachers the necePg sity of aiming chiefly at making a record before the inspector, the results of examination day being more important to them than to secure sound and permanent educational results for the pupils. Mr McGregor condemns not only this feature of the present system, but also the practice of keeping childreu iv school for the i purpose of specially, preparing for the inspectors' examinations, and he urges that more importance should be attached to the tone, order, and discipline of schools than to the percentage of passes obtained. We- are not inclined to concur with him that an, undue proportion of the pupil's time is now devoted to arithmetic, but we entirely agree in the opinion that- far too much attention is given—not to grammatical composition, but to what' he rightly characterises as the technH calities of grammar, and be is entirely; right in the view that the inspectors should make their, examination!* on these subjects as simple and elementary! as may be consistent with a fain interpretation of the standards^ There is indeed large room for reform in these particulars, as alao in the matter of home lessons, which now, in the case of some schools at any rate, unduly tax the children in what should be their leisure time, and we heartily wish Dr McGregor success in the efforts which he is putting forth to bring that reform about.