THE COUNTRY SCHOOL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1776, 14 June 1913, Page 26

THE COUNTRY SCHOOL.

-.„■'? v ; AND THE FARMER. BOTH SIDES OF THE MEDAL, "First .the axa 'aid the lire. Afterwards, Ilia' pioneer"settlerall little community in the making. In tho midst of it, not without fierce contentions as ,to the site, is set down the little State school, a building of one fpom, with a porch for hat-pegs, cutbuilding9, tho official paint staring out through the 6paces between the gaunt . blackened tree-skelotons—-a strange incongruity in a region half-civilised. This, of; courso, is as it was in tho very beginning. Tho rough;,places have-since been made valleys exalted, and these advanced posts of the Department of Publio Instruction -now repose more artistically in their surroundings. But in the very Back-of-Bcyond there is still a:igreat region of small beginnings, of baby communities newly born, and strug-; ( gling to grow strong, where men work and women weep in their eternal strifo against tho inevitable adversities of pioneering, and half-wild children Ecamper , about the kg paddocks and exploro mys- . toricus wildernesses. society, less concerned with drawingrpoin notions thauj with its bread and huttor, comes tho country, school teacher nine cases out of ten from a civilised city, where the roads are always.passable, transit is easy and comfortable, and physical and intellectual comforts within easy-reach. ' ' '•'.•■■

Two Sides to:the Question. Now, this business of rural education is.'like a medal. Thoro are two sides to it,..and when people overlook that fact trouble invariably ■ attends their neglect. The teacher, his board, his Central authority, and the interesting company of theorists who "elaborate fine schemes by their firesides and would straighten social pTpbloms with pon and ink,, are apt to look only at the Departmental side of* the niednl, regarding-',the. farmer as a complacent being-who, having no time :to' Hink deeply about these matters, accepts thankfully 6nch scholastic benefits as are extended to him and hi 3 neighbours. But tllb farmer himself has his point of view, iM regarding his district school .from' that standpoint, sees in its, organisation, Equipment, and programme, certain things ivhich satisfy, and' certaia things which tiunoy. The educationist says, in effect, that ft particular- subject must be taught in a prescribed manner, ignorant, because his investigation' of the matter has not proceeded far enough into tho region of practice, of circumstances that stultify his prescription. ~, ' ;'; These considerations ::ma'y ; bo taken to apply, to the system of rural education - generally,- whether the country school be a;fairly large one or a little one-roomed "sole charge" school in tho Back-cf-Bc-yfthd. Tho difficulty has been, and probably always will be, to a greater or less extent, to get both parties to the rural system—the farmer and tho educationist—to stand together on common ground, and arrive at something which will.represent a reasonable compromise, based! on efficacy. Some farmers are shrewd, observant, intelligent, well educated, and possessed of that "sanctified common sense" whioh penetrates tho flimsy logic that seeks to,fortify unsound theories. Then, on the other hand, the teacher is confronted sometimes with a fartaor who will trust nobody, and is constailtly.on the alert lest someone, the Khool,teacher perhaps; may try to "do" mm?\ These kind of people, get along

[ somehow, but they make things rather uncomfortable, sometimes, for those with whom they are brought in contact. Their otornal question is: "YYhero do wo come in." The Staffing Problem. What is it that the farmer—the shrewd, observant, intelligent farmer—particularly wants to seo in his rural school ? Punctuality, regularity, whole-sorae discipline, a good tone, and efficient instruction will more than satisfy him. But in a great many-cases theso desirable attributes—the attributes of the model school—are never wholly, present, and this touches-the real crux of the present-day 'problem in rural education—tho efficient staffing of tho country schools. It is an axiom in all questions of employment that the value of the service, speaking generally, of course, is proportionate to the payment offered. Tho farmer has a right to expect the teaching quality of his rural school to be just as go<xl as that in. the towns. This rig-lit is conceded him by tho Theorist, wha says: "Why, certainly." Does this work out in practice? Nothing of the kind. The system designed by the Theorist makes ..that impossible. He grades the schools according to average attendance, and'classifies the salaries or the teaching, staff according to the grade. Thus it happens that tho little outpost of education in tho Back-of-Beyond is placed in. tho lowest grade in respect of the number of its pupils who attend regularly, and its teacher ;receives a correspondingly low salary, irrespective of the fact that he or she may be leaching all the standards, a3 is often the case. In other words, the schools established for the education of the children of the farmers «ro run by cheap labour. This is one of the standing anomalies of the "System." Tho rural school should be classified as a special school. Sural.school teaching should bo regarded as an expert branch of the service,, and service therein should be paid for at expert rates. Until this fact is properly appreciated, the children of the farmers will continue to be taught by cheaply-paid teachers. I know of ono "sole charge" country school that had no fewer than four changes of teachers within the remnant of the year in which it was opened. Is this fair to the farmers? Do the farmers think it is fair? In a great many cases the country school—l am speaking particularly of tho back-blocks school—is made a convenient dumpingground for persons who "want a job." Clearly it is time that the farnvers' school should be placed upon a mora elevated plane. . j

Consolidating the Schools. The fundamental difficulty, of course, is mauey. Granting that this obstacle is for tho moment an insuperable one, there is an alternative, although its advantages, in my opinion, are purely financial. I refer to the suggested consolidation of small schools in the country Into a central school, convenient of access by tho children of all the communities interested. Take a case in point. In- the Forty Milo Bush district, near Pahiatun, are four small schools that might well be consolidated Niroaha, Manma, Mangamaire, and Konini. Only a matter of three miles, or a very little over, separates Mangamaire from each of the others I have named, while four miles to the 60uth of llangamaire is Hamua. Suppose some central point were fixed—even if only the llangamaire, Maxima, and Nireaha schools were grouped—a. school could be established at that point to which with its larger attendance, and consequent elevation in grade, the appointment of headteacher would carry an attractive salary. The result would be obvious. In the case of children in outlying parts of the district, suitable arrangements could bo made for their conveyance. , This problem of the rural school is a pressing one, and should not be deferred. The marvel is that the farmers have not seen, this long ago,

A very fined trio of. Jerseys arrived in Melbourne by the Indrapura the other day, en route for Sydney. They were purchased by Mr. H. R. Denison, from Lord Kothscliild's Tring Park held, for his Eumaralla stud, and consist of one bull, "Merry Mike," and two heifers. Tho bull was considered the best they have ever had on the Tring Park Estate, and for three times exhibited obtained three first prizes and one championship. One of the heifers is but of the cow which recently gavo the wonderful record 7700 lb. milk in seven months.