The Dominion MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1915. OUR SCHOOLS AND COUNTRY LIFE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2385, 15 February 1915, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1915. OUR SCHOOLS AND COUNTRY LIFE

The Auckland Board, of Education is at present giving special attention to the question of agricultural education. , Representatives of the board recently went on tour for- the purpose of obtaining fiht-h'and knowledge as to what is being done in this matter in other centres, and the chairman remarked it had always been his aim to do more for the children in the country schools as regards agricultural instruction without paying less_ attention, to tho manual and technical training of the artisan - class _in tho city. There can be no doubt that our education system has very serious shortcomings from the rural point of view, it is not so successful in providing for the requirements of country life as in. fitting children for those occupations ana industries whioh are more or less peculiar to the centres of population. All our boys and girls, whether they live in town or country, are entitled to a knowledge of those rudiments of education—such as reading, writing, and arithmetic—without which they would be not far removed from barbarians. They must be taught these subjects both for their own sakes and in the interests of the State, and to this extent there need be no difference in the nature, and method of instruction in town and' country schools. But reason and practical common-sense both demand that, apart from these fundamentals of education, the child whose future life is to be passed in the country should not be taught and trained in the schools in precisely the same way I as the pupil who is destined for a city career. A satisfactory school system should , aim at fitting the rising generation for their after life, land enable them to make the most of the opportunities which their own sphere of activity provides. Hitherto the education given in country schools has not been so successful in meeting the needs of the children as that provided in the city schools. Our educational authorities are, however, taking steps to remedy this defect.

The problem is a difficult one, but experiments whiqh have been tried in various parts of the Dominion show that it" is by no means' insoluble. The chairman of the Auckland Board was favourably impressed with what is being dono in- the Wanjjanni and Taranaki districts, and it is satisfactory to know that Auckland does not intend to lag behind. As a first step a-weekly class is being arranged in Auckland at which free instruction will be given to 25 selected teachers in the rudiments of dairying,. to enable them to carry on more thoroughly the work in this department which has already been commenced in some of the country schools, and it is proposed to establish similar classes in other centres. The whole question is to be dealt with in a systematic manner, and further developments are promised at an early date. The experiments which arc to be made iii Auckland will be watched with groat interest by educationists throughout New Zealand. The problem of rural education is of vital importance to the nation, and must have a powerful influence on the progress and development of country districts. The education which is now given in many country schools, instead of attracting the children to farming pursuits, has the opposite effect. It seems to point them to cities as the natural sphere for the oxercise of their talents, and is in a measure responsible for that exodus from country to town which is one of the most unsatisfactory features of modern life, There is,abundant room in the country for the use. of brains, and plenty of scope for intelligent enterprise. The great possibilities and wide interests of a rural career ought to be impressed upon our young people while they arc at school,'and before they leave thoy should have some conception of the groat importance of the application of scientific, methods to the work of the farm and the dairy. Science is a word to conjure with nowadays, and our boys and girls should be made to undoi-nUnd that, tbo opportunity, ior scientific research and

practice is as great in the country as in the city,- if not even greater. New Zealand owes a deep debt of gratitude to men like the late Mr. G. D. Bkaik, of Wanganui, for their efforts to crcatc an enthusiasm for country life in the mind of the young Now Zcalancler. Mr. Braik's remarkable success should encourage others to emulate his achievements.