RESUME OF LECTURES ON EDUCATION, DELIVERED BY C. C. HOWARD, ESQ, F.R.G.S., AT THE NORMAL SCHOOL, CHRISTCHURCH.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 205, 5 July 1878, Page 2

RESUME OF LECTURES ON EDUCATION, DELIVERED BY C. C. HOWARD, ESQ, F.R.G.S., AT THE NORMAL SCHOOL, CHRISTCHURCH.

Thib'd GorjfisE—General Subject.,: Gbeat Teachers.and StsTßMs.Qr, Education.' ,

I:—lntroductoVy. Ancient ; Schools] an<j t thjeir,influencei on the present. j ,i.i i ' Vn i I :\ . (Concludadij.; c-i] . i i.! \

A brief outline of the lives of those two' great men was then given. Different! opinions are held respecting. Socrates, and' in Dr Draper a champion has been found! for the character of Xantippe, his scolding wife,, .while the, character y of Plato has ; ever been "held in the greatest respect.; Socrates, .whatever may have been his failings, which we should" speak very tenderly of, was a great genius' and saw the deficiencies of his day. He was the son of a sculptor, the pupil of Anaxagoras,' and fellow scholar of Pericles and Euripides. ; Brought up as a sculptor and a soldier, lie became a t'atn'ous philosopher* imparting; hisj .teaching, in = a- catechetical jany l w,here that : he could obtain a hearing. At'the age of 70 years he was brought to trjal on, the charge of impiety and misleading the youth of the country; and by a majority of 5 votes out of 550 was condemned as guilty and died by poisoni He was almost worshipped by Plato,'whoj after &■ long, and successful .career as a teacher, in which he systematized, the Socratic teaching, and gave, in conjunction tyithi Pythagoras,' immense;; impetus to the study of geometry, died on his 81st birthday. Socrates and Plato were both Uui-

versity professors rather than schoolmasters. Mr Howard then reviewed the general educational policy of Greece as described in Mnhaffy's '-Old Greek Life," dwelling upon the importance given to thj? domestic training of girls, and the careful education of boys, who, especially in Sparta were under compulsion to attend the public schools. At Sparta the schoolmaster was a State official, and elderly slaves, when unfit for hard work, acted as truant officers. The school discipline was severe and tended in every way to suppress nature, but only led to the utter demoralization of the pupils, who became unruly and are described by Plato as the most insubordinate animals in creation. The schools were opened from sunrise to sunset, and were under police supervision that the stated hours were kept. No foreign language or arithmetic was taught, but rhetoric, classics, music, and gymnastics were, in favor, and every boy was taught to sing and play a harp or flute. From ■Greece Mr Howard passed to Alexandria, and dwelt at some' length upon the course of education given there, where the first "University" "worthy *6f the name was founded chiefly by tlie munificence of the Ptolemies, iv carrying , out the policy of Alexahaer; (the ) Great, This'; was ■ the Museum which had some "students, a library of 700,000 volumes, botanical gardens, zoological'collections, and .schools o£ ' 'anatomy* l -- astronomy, chemistry, mechanics, and engineering.. £250,000 had been spent in collecting materials, and Alexandria, became the head-quarters of the scientific -teaching' of the world. Passing on to Rome, the lecturer'felt that moderns were further indebted,, though in a lees degree, to this city.for the study of jurisprudence. The universities of Bologna, Pisa, and Padua, wete noticed, and it was shown that che study of law still continued to form an element of a liberal education in various continental countries. In conclusion Mr Howard reviewed the common school system in Rome, showing that it contained the elements of our present system of education, excepting that its discipline was severe, and that it encouraged frequent corporal punishment. The lecture was deeply interesting and instructive, and during its delivery was eagerly listened toi and frequently interruped by loud applause. ,