TEACHING OF HISTORY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 195, 13 May 1920, Page 4

TEACHING OF HISTORY

THE NEW IDEA. A short talk on educational questions was Riven to a conferenco i of teachers and inspectors assembled in Wellington Yesterday by Dr. Newton, Travelling 1 rofessor of Imperial History ot London University. Dr. Newtown is the hist holder of the chair, which was established under the Cecil Rhodes Trust. Dr. Newton discussed generally the composition of tho curriculum, dealing with it in most part from the point oi view of secondary and higher education, and with the special virtues and disabilities of certain special courses of study. He was most interesting in lus remarks on tho .teaching of history. Ho was of'the opinion that the study oi history ought to be given much import-.-ance among the subjects to be taught to th& young, and that the matter to p®, taught xinder this head should not bo simply the contents of text-books oi the o'd pattern. It was proper that the child should be given some men. of tho growtft and development of the- tree institutions of British countries, so that he might have some good idea of how the things he saw around him came to be. Ims was knowledge most necessary to tho boy or . girl who would one day have to exercise the rights nncl duties of citiisensliip. Without that knowledge there was danger that wrong ideas would be formed, and tho community, was in the greatest danger of falling under the worst possible'form of government-rule bv un uninformed democracy. In - these islands he did not consider that history should be taught from the narrow vim - Doint still adopted 111 England. 1 e child in these parts of the world ought to know something of the grow th of tho colonial Empire. There should also be moro study of-human geogiapby than, "had licen common in the past. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the visitor for his address on the motion of Dr. - Anderson, Director of Edu--1 cation,' the seconder being Mr. 1. U. Wells. .