EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2972, 9 January 1917, Page 5

EDUCATION.

';■ Sir,—l am troubling you with this letter because 1 find that jour journal is the most widely-read in this Dominion, and quoted by all classes of tl)o community. The Press of the Dominion has of lats been full of the allimportant subject of education, and we find even the some - of them —dissatisfied :with tie present system. This is not surprising, for the great majority of the most intelligent por-: tioii of the general public has long ■been very dissatisfied with our present' system of cram, the result of which is to overtax the young brains with a smattering of all sorts of subjects, the knowledge of which is of no use in the •"battle of life," unless every child is intended to follow the profession of a school teacher, in which, case such teaching must never flag, I but grind and cram without intermission, or all is forgotten; J the system giving no thorough grasp, or thorough understanding of any ono subject. . Take any hoy or girl who left school as dux, and examine them six months after leaving school in all the many subjects they passed-in,, and you shall :be astonished to find' how few questions they can answer. The system of cram has not allowed them to grasp anything. Those responsible forejudging teachers by. results could have had no experience of children or teaching. If you have not winning cards, you cannot win tricks; be you ever so good a player. • The system.is a rotten system. Many of the: subjects might with great advantage. to • the • child — especially in after life—bo cut out if replaced by that which should make better citizens, better men and women of them; such as moral education, and the forming', of character. Perhaps teachers will tell us that'this most important of all branches of education is not neglected to-day. Then why should Dr. Anderson, Director of Education urgo that '-'moral as well as tnental and physical development should 'receive more attention?" • Those whn keep their eyes and ears open .and study the children and .youths and girls of this Dominion will be astonished to learn that this all-important, subject is paid any attention to at all. Ono of the first tilings which strilie a new arrival in this Dominion from Europe is the shocking bad language of our children, youths and girls, their shocking pronunciation, drawl," and> twang, which is gradually becoming as low and vulgar as that of tho Yankee's. Then their utter want of love, respect, and obedience towards God, their parents, their elders, and their betters, the result of democracy. I have myself heard shocking bad language from quite young boys' during their play-time outside their State school and elsowhere, at the corners of streets by youthful loafers, especially when young girls were-passing; on oie occasion indecent remarks made directly to two young girls , who were approaching, when, to my horror, the girls answered them in worse language. Again, iu aWanganui paper we aro told that tho language used by. youths in tho dressing-shed at Oastlecliff during these holidays, and while the shed was crowded by young boys, and women within hearing, was most foul. "By their fruits yo shall know them." So much for your costly system of State educatieff. "A gentleman friend told me he came upon two very young men up-country, who could neither read or writer, who but a feir years before had been pupils of a State school. The Press gives us to understand that a speaker at tho New Zealand Education Institute's Conference- said: "This country will never get an improved status of education until it sponds moro money on it." This sounds like: "One for education and two xoT himself." We already spend far too much money on education, some two millions, I believe; the whole of this vasty Bum might-bo saved, and spent upon far more useful and much-needed works. Let every child -arriving at * ten years of ago present itself to a . properly-appointed resident of its district, who shall examine it as to its elementary knowledge of tho three It's, its knowledge to be earned in any way. its parents choose. This is really all that is necessary, and all the great majority of children would ever be likely to profit by. Those gifted by nature would lot themselves carry it further. Tho Government might assist such in secondary schools and universities. Tho present costly system is a most wicked waste of public money, and a most unjust tax upon the taxpayer. Thoso who talk bo glibly of education seem to be ignorant of the fact that the most successful men of every country were uneducated men, and that this Dominion, as every other country, is crowded by highly educated men and women who'are'only able, to earn very small salaries. So much for education. lon, Si?, may point to the German people as being so well educated. . Thoy havebid; a smattering ol leannngj and are

the most immoral, conceited, selfish, gluttonous, drunken, and brutish nation of people upon the face of this earth—so much for Gorman kultur.—l am,otc " akefobmbb: