The Dominion. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1914. A SEVERE INDICTMENT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1980, 10 February 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1914. A SEVERE INDICTMENT

There seems to be .a growing feeling in New Zealand, as wcjl as in and Great, Britain, that the prevailing methods of edueatioa.' 1 are in need of .far-reaching reforms. ' r In yesterday nibrnitig's issue appear - c'd the report of a Speech by, the New Smith Wales. Minister of 'Education I (Mr. CarmicßAel), in the course of 1 which ho gave an interesting skstch of the, improvements which Have recently been made in that State regarding the education of girls, the idea being toinakci their school course fit in m.6re effectively with the needs of their subsequent life as , grown-up members'-of the comntutiit}'. Something has been dtays in New Zealand to provide a move, rational '•■ system of instruction for girls in our (State schools, but much stilf remains . .to be done to meet the requirements : of actual life, and to establish a right balance between the intellectual and tho practical aspects of a woman's sphere of activity in the home and in society. As Ml, Car* michael points out, women have justas much right as men to share in the refined and intellectual enjoyments of life, and it is a good thing'.both N from the point of view of the family and of- the State that oiw women- , folk should be endowed with high culture and broad sympathies. By ' raising the average standard of the homes of the people the whole national life is eariched. It is the mother that gives the children-their ■ intellectual and moral start in life, ' and who sets the direction of the iu- . fant mind long before the: school , teachers commence their work oh tho • youthful intellect. : But it is not. only as regards the 1 education of girls that oui\'.school . system is'at.'.fattlt. There seems to , be something radically- wrong with, the teaching of the fundamental subjects of general education, , New £ca--1 land is spending a very large sum every year on its, national schools. . : The taxpayer'does not 'grumble at this cost, but he is di§satisfied-*-and he has a right to be—when he, finds that -the work done in the schools, makes such a poor show "when put to , the practical test of business life. Not very lq.n.g ago the Wellington ; merchants wore complaining ot : the bad writing and defective arithmetic 5 of the lads ceming into their employment, and quite recently.the examinations for noncommissioned officer's in the Defence Forces revealed, a most unsatisfactory state of affairs. It showed that a great many of those who presented themselves possessed a surprisingly, limited amount of general knowledge. The 1 examiners stated that "many of the paper's, both in military and purely educational subjects, were found remarkable for bad spelling,, bad gram- ' ■ mar, bad writing, and general untidiness. The questions were not .carefully read, and there was too often ii tendency to irrelevance." The examiner of infantry remarked: "I feel sure that some of the candidates who sat for this cxa.nlina.tion are in no way fitted for commissions from an educational point; of.view." A test like this gives a useful insight into the working of aur education system, and as a thoroughly practical example it is far more impressive than any theoretical argument as to the success or failure of the instruction provided in our schools. Still more recently iye have been given another striking illustration of the educational attainments of our young people.; In this ease, it was the girls that were on trial, the occasion being the examination of those who seek tn enter the Public Service as shorthand writers'and typistes. The following statement of the Public Service Commissioner shows that tho girls did not acquit themselves any . more brilliantly than tha young men:— General carelessness, slowhlbtss, and inaccuracy w'ere the choraekristic features. A kncwledge of gaod sound Kngiislr and punctuation found to be aliiiost entirely lacking:. The transcripts luuidetl in frequently nniouijted to sheet' hoiseensf. The ability. (6 grasp the meaning of a statement wii« wanting. The rocnbiihiry posieswi! by most of'Uic candidates, Die report adds, is conftned within vpf.Y tinrvoH- limits, nml even in Unit simiil vocabulary llio moaniuss (if tbe'words are 1 rarely fully grasped, : No pne can deny that tho two examinations to which we have called attention reveal an exceedingly unsatisfactory position, The great sums that tbo country is spending o» the building and equipment of achc-ols

and the training aiid salaries - of teachers ought certainly to produce better results. The weaknesses disclosed do not relate to what may be called .the frills ami ornaments of education, but to the foundation sub' jeets. "Bad spelling, bad writing, bad grammar, and general untidiness.'' This is a drastic indictment, and on top of this we arc told that the candidates, generally speaking. Were Unable- to think clearly or to express their ideas in good English. Looking at the matter from another aspect many critics arc declaring that the present system is unsatisfactory from the point, of view of citizenship and character-building. Only a few days ago tho Mayor of Auckland deplored the fact that our young men are showing a disTiielioation to shoulder .the responsibilities of public life, and that comparative'" ly few of them are doing their duty, to the community in the way of social service. What is the tensor for this'/ If this kind of work i? to bo efficiently done, sound knowledge is essential, for more barm fa often done in the world by wellmeaning ignorance, and zeal without wisdom than by deliberate malice, of. evil intention. In a country like New Zealand* where political power is in- the hands of the people, it is of vital importance that; the democracy should be- taught \to think clearly, to weigh argument, to form' an independent judgment, and to recognise the. duties of citizenship and social service,, If our schools fail to lay the foundations for this, if they dp. not even succeed in efficiently'providing ' that elementary education which forms the basis of β-ll subsequent culture, they cannot claim to have justified their existence. There can be no doubt that the whole sy's»' fcem wants a thorough overhauling.. Something mere requires to bo done in the way of domestic training for girls, and tire facilities for agricultural instruction must- to increased; bub it is no use'launching' out into hew schemes until the foundations of our eleffientary system arc more soundly established,