HIGH SCHOOL.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2757, 18 December 1871, Page 2

HIGH SCHOOL.

\Yc conclude our report of Mr Hawthorne's speech : —- He would merely say that the boys of the school would compare favorably, he thought, with other boys in other Provinces or in other countries.—(Applause.) He knew, and this feeling was shared by his colleagues, that the tone of their boys was gnpd hides 1 there was a high tone among the upper sections :f the school —and it pervaded the whole 'schdM Jpore or less—of truthfulness, straightforwardness,"ar,d man-; liness, which was very gratifying to all the ' masters. It was gradually increasing, and he hoped would increase not only during the time the boys remained at school, but when they left school and entered upon the various duties of life. He thought he ought to say a few words in regard to the boys physically, They had had some experience in the matter during the past year ; they had received a great impetus during that period. He did not know whence it came; but he was inclined to think that it came with their respective friends, the I'rofessors of tbe University—(applause)—who were not often behjijd active members of the community iu the varjops gapjes and amusements which all English people like to indulge hi. Moreover, they had got during the past year what had been a great want for a long time—a gymnasium. A slight mistake nas made in regard to the gymnasium when it was opened. He wished to say this, because there were some parents, unfortunately, he thought, who did not believe in physical education—who thought that it was sufficient that their boys should go to school at nine o’clock in tlio morning, stay iu the schoolroom till three iu the afternoon, and return home without indulging in any play whatever. The masters did not agree with that. He said this in order to show the importance which attached, in some cases, to proper physical training. Before the gymnasium was' opened they had some boys

whose muscular development was anything but satisfactory to the beholder. There were three in particular whose shoulders were very low down, and whose chests were contracted more than Nature ever intended. When, however, the gymnasium had been opened about three months, a very considerable improvement was manifested in the personal appearance of these boys ; and lie believed that the life of one boy, humanly speaking, was saved b" Min fact of his having gone to the gymn's’irn and practiced there regularly the exercises prescribed.—(Applause.) The boys of the school had also had friendly games of football with the University students, headed by their worthy friend Professor Sale, —(loud applause)—and bo (Mr Hawthorne) was very glad to say that neither side came off victors.—(Laughter and applause.) He wished to make a few remarks with regard to the Provincial and free scholars ; and he had done. There were sixteen or seventeen of those in the High school, and they ! ad all been doing remarkably well ; while the majority of them would be prize-takers that day. He thought he might say further that these scholars had done as much as could be expected ; they had maintained their position in the school; and some had done real credit to it.—(Applause.) He would just like to make one other remark. Hitherto the boys of the High school of Otago had alone had the advantage of these Provincial scholarships and free education ; but he did not think there was any valid reason why this same right -he considered he might call it a right—should not be extended to the girls to all girls in the Province who showed themselves to be equally qualified with the boys to pass the examination. (Applause.) He did not think justice would bo done to the most important section of the community until that was the case. And then for a few words to some of the pupils’ parents, who, he feared, were somewhat over-indul-gent to their children. This was a failing which sometimes acted verj r prejudicially to the interests of education. Some of the boys much too'often got kindly, indulgent excuses from indulgent mammas for neglect of work and absence from school, when there was no real reason for either. He hoped that next year |je should not receive so many letters frqm parents qn that subject. He had now tq thank-- ap4 ife dpi go ficartily, as heartily as hj« had dope ,qp apy formep qccariqn -his colleagues for their ftssjstijngo during tl}p past year. Every master in the school, he believed, had done his utmost to secure the object in view ; they had worked most harmoniously together; there had been no j rring between them, to mar the results of their efforts ; and he trusted that by the continuance of this feeling of hearty co-ope-ration among the masters, and an earnest perseverance and endeavor among the boys to secure honor and distinction, and above the t jo do their duty whether the performative "Cf ,- p: wsl succeeded |oy liquor and distinction 1 qr 4 no}?, ,vl |]e“‘Bhcul!a he &ble report better results 'aftb’e ilex'ti etDiVimai (Applause.) He had ajmqst omftted to refer to a matter ip cqnpeqtiop with th c mathematical department, The efficiency of that department during the last two or three years had been very considerably increased by the generous action of the Chamber of Commerce in establishing prizes—namo'y. three medals, for rewarding mathematical efficiency in the school. The action of the Chamber had given an impetus to that d<*putmentj which had been productive of very gfgJijC' good, and tnat, c.uipbipgd the earpesjs wqrk 'of MV’ f ßrent,a ]bhe jieaq.'Oi the i dcpaftpient, Jjipl prqquced result’s whpih ccrtajfjjy very satisfactory. ' I ? rqfpasor Shap'd', ‘‘to wfiom ifie HfMhpipatjcal' papers were submitted in July, IS? j, fer o?^irtination, reported as follows i—“ I pave examined the written arithmetic papers of the candidates for the gold and silver medals presented by the Chamber of Commerce, and find that they have obtained the following fiWlfg out of the total of 350.” Mr JfawthQyne wqulcf pass over thp tics which were given, Prqfessqr Sham} proceeded to say in his report i “The paper set was a long one, ranging over nearly all the rules of arithmetic, and including some questions of more than ordinary difficulty. As is evident from the number of marks obtained, it was extremely well done, especially by the candidates for the gold medal. I confers J yas agreeably surprised, not only by the y.markable accupaqy qf t!>e work, but stijl nqdre By ftie nearness; of the methods employed. fq neither respect Was tljerc' anything feft ih hj? (ksirc'd. Tfie work of the candidates nndpp jg considering their r.gc, quite equal to that of bqys j and there was ho mope gratifying feature qf the examination than the ingenuity which some of them displayed in attempting to grapple with rules which wore elearlv beyond the limits of their present studies. The whole results gave me the impression that the arithmetical training at tfio High School is very thorough, and coqductcif' oa & *y/stcm which reflects great qredit mi Vhc mathematical master. ’’ Then Dr Hocken, who hail exa pitied* the natural science paper*, wrote as follows on the same occasion : “ 1 have examined the science papers you scut to mo with much pleasure ; they exhibit a very high degree of excellence indeed. The first three in the senior chemistry, if not the fourth with them, almost deserve bracketing. Park’s calculations arc very neat. The chief deficiencies in the paper, as appear to me, are—first, the want of uniformity in naming some of the compounds in accordance with the present st«t.e of chemical nomenclature ; second, some want of ip tfi.o diagrams, and their trauspos'tions; andtbird, the omission to mention several characteristics and properties of gases referred to in the examination paper. Apart from this, the questions are of an excellent and practical nature, and just such as would test fairly the pupils’ knowledge of and advance in the subject. The junior ohemutry papers are good, though, as was to be expected, not nearly equal to the senior. I would suggest, though with deference, that on a future occasion a special examination paper should be prepared for the junior class, which on the occasion seems to mo to ‘be

weighted a, little too heavily.” [ \t this stage of the proccodiugs thj report of Profess&rs' Sa'p apd Sjiapd, which were given on Saturday, were read.] " Mr HAwmoiiMv, amidst hearty applause, then read a list of the donors to the High School for the past year. They are :—The Hon. Major lUchardsou, University scholarship of the annual value of LMO, and a rifle annually to the best shot in the High School. Chamber of Commerce, one gold and two silver medals for arithmetic, writing, and commercial geography. The Ladies of Dunedin, a silver cup, to he competed for at the anuual school games. Mr J. S. Webb, silver pen to the best wiiter. Mrs J. J. Atkinson, annual prize to the best shot. Mayor’s Prize, Mr H. S. Fish, jun., L 5, Mr

G. K. Turton, an annual prize for mathematics. He (Mr Hawthorne) was glad to be able to announce that there was an addition to the list of donors for the present year, and referring to the prize given by Mr Wilkie, lie said it was a pleasing thing to see links of this kind maintained between the old and present pupils of the school. (Applause.) The money given by the’Mayor had been devoted to the purchase of three prizes for the three leading boys of the school. Having gone carefully through the examination papers during the past week in order to decide who was the dux of the school, the masters had been unable to give that honor to any one boy in the school. Three of the leading boys of the sixth form were as close together us they could possibly be—there was, in fact, only a few marks difference out of 1150 The masters, therefore, had determined to bracket the three names, and instead of one boy occupying the honorable position of dux of the High School for 1871, there would be three.—(Applause.) No decision had been come to in regard to the prizes for drawing. Mr Hutton, the Provincial drawing-master, had been at the scbo.il that morning ; but through s unc misunderstanding, Mr Hutton had gone away without giving any award. The result of the composition, however, would be made known on some future occasion, and the prizes banded to those who had gained them. He had hoped to be in a position to distribute five or six medal*, but they were not to baud. It must be understood that examinations in connection with the school were held quarterly, as well as annually, on different subjects; and the pupils were divided into c’asaes according to age—first, for boys over 16 ; next, for boys under 16 ; boys over 15 ; boys under 15 ; boys over 14, and under 14 ; under 13; under 12, The English examination for these classes took place at the end of the first quarter; mathematical and natural science at the end of the sic nd, and classics and French at the end of the third quarter. Each boy who sto id first on the list, according to age, was entitled to a certificate ; and any boy receiving two such certificates in any one year, was, according to the regulations of the Education Board, entitled to a medal. He was sorry to say tluse medals had not been sent ; but in order that the boys might not bio kept without some recognition of their position, it had been d >cided' to give themprices, whfeh obijld ‘fig 1 pharggll fqf; medals, if the hoys preferred medals, when they arrived, or the medals could be used at some future lime, The reason why these examinations wae held was this : In the ordinary forms boys were classified irrespective of age, and consequently boys of twelve and thirteen years of age had to compete with those of fifteen and sixteen years. As that was unfair in one sense, the masters had thought it advisable to counteract the effect by having quarterly so that a boy could compete tjirco tjines- in iacU year with boys > f lii§ qwn"age,"at»4 fifigh only, apcofdmg tjt their forms, irrespective qf q.go altogether.’ This plan had ajiswergd admirably hitiiertcfi and in addition to the High School boys, boys from all tho schools in the Province—but practically merely the attending the Dunedin schools were admissable to these examinations. Hitheito they had had no competitors from the other schools—of course the examinations being conducted by the masters of the High School themselves, it was scarcely fair to expc:t hoys from other sc),ooh. Jfe figped that iirijutqro'the--examination wopld ba conducted' by persons' outside "the scbqol? apd tha fc they shoijld find qthor boys coW noting wjth bqya qf thp High Scliqol. ' Atj they fimnfiered qn tfie fjoipe f «r op five times more than the pupjla at the Hjgh School it was quite possible that the High School boys would occasionally find them selves second on the list—a result which ho should not be dissatisfied with, for it would tend to spur on the boys at the High School |q greater exertions. The hoys entitled ffl medals for the present year wer§ Solomon and Webb,

Solomon and Webb then received prizes in lieu of medals. Boys entitled to medals, 1870, Stuart i., Solomon, Webb, Stuart n. Mr Hawthorn*: concluded by thanking His Honor for presiding, and said—He had simply to say thit the attendance at the school during the last three years, had been steadily increasing, T})p average attendance in iß6h Was 70; ip bS ; agf| l«|i r 120. In addition fo this' it’ was only faif to say' that during 1 SO!)—the system of enpot being in existence at tjme—)io boys |ai|ecj. to pass, but ip IS7Q twelve of thp hoys who came up failed pags j and in 1871, no less than thirty 9 live boys failed to pass } so that if all those boys who presented themselvjs in 1870 and 1871 had been admitted, the numbers would now have been between 100 and 160. Applause.) His Honor Judge Chapman said : I wish tp cay a few words upon the subject of the distribution pf prizes to-day. I think that I may fairly, on the s:veral reports, tsdnj gratulafce the parents of the boys of the High School, as well as the boys th. mselves, upon the very satisfactory reports which have been read, and on what wo have heard said ; and I also think we are entitled to say that the several masters of the school have ul« doubtedly done their duty.—(Applause. In distributing school prizes there is always a very great difficulty, which 1 can easily cx» plain. On one side there is a very great temptation to satisfy, to placate, as it were, the fooling* of fhe mjreijts by-giving top many prizes. I fvculkct, on one‘occasion} that every boy at a certain school; which shall bo nameless —it was not in this country,—had a prize given to him. I ascertained this from a little boy of my own who a* ten* ded there, preparing for a higher school; Of course, if every boy gets a prize, it ceases to be an object of competition. Of course it is very gratifying to a parent to be able to sxy “ Oh ! my boy got a prizebut if every boy got a prize the gift would be valueless ; it would be simply a gift from the master or or masters to the pupils, and it would lose its distinguishing character as a prize. Theie is no doubt masters, directors, or managers, er by whatever name they may be called, a Strong feu|P)>atipn to please parents • apd it is the resistance to that 1 temptdtiSp which constitutes their duty. The fewer the number of prices, the sharper the conn peticion, the higher is the honor conferred on the prize-holders, and the greater, I think, is the use of the competition co those who are not successful. On the present occasion, we hear that there are upwards of one hundred and twenty boys in attendance at the High School, and that the prizes do not exceed oue-third of that number. But we must recollect that those prizes are for different subjects, so that in order to test the value of the prizes, we must multiply

the number of boys ; we must count Smith and Jones as mathematical, and classical boys als and by that means the one hundred and twenty will become really more than one hundred and twenty boys, and therefore the forty prizes given to the boys of the High School for the different subjects taught here will not be deemed, I think, too many. There is one circumstance I was very glad to observe. As each b »y received his prize, and esjiacially on receiving a second and a third—Park, Wilmot, Solomon, and a few others, who have distinguished themselves in almost every department of study—there was almost universal applause on the part of the boys, and therefore on the part of the unsuccessful boys. That showed that they had satisfaction in the success of those who had successfully competed with them, unalloyed by envy on the parts of those who had succeeded. And now let me say a word of consolation to those boj's who have not obtained prizes. Iso doubt it is a very encouraging thing to obtain a prize in a compoti ion, but undoubtedly the most useful part in the competition itself. The least successful boy of the school has unquestionably received benefit from the competition. Of all the difficult things which masters have to impart to hoys, the mO't difficult is to create in them a habit of attention, of abstracting their minds from external objects, and concentrating their attention upon the work before them. That habit is undoubtedly very much encouraged, I may almost say generated, by the strict attention which the boys themselves, without any interference on the part of the masters, must give to their work if they wish to succeed. When they compete for prizes, they have the vision of prizes floating before their eyes, and that vision keeps their attention on their work ; so that although the re are perhaps only one-third of the boys who have received prizes to day, all who have e mipeted for them have really shared in the moral benefit of the competition. That, 1 hope, will be a sufficient comfort to the unsuccessful competitors ; and, permit me to remark, that this comfort which I am now giving is not an original thought of mine, but is actually the sort of comfort which one of the greatest teachers of youth, Dr Arnold, communic Jed to an unsuccessful candidate who went in for one of the highest prizes at Oxford. Dr Arnold wrote him a most affectionate fetter, showing that a though hje 1 had not Succeeded in the object of his wishes, it was ■jibe effbrj; which wrjs' idse|ii]. nncj thatofibrf qe br»tt made, although the pri-p was beyond bis grasp. The reports of the various Professors who have so kindly assisted in examining the examination papers, shew that the general nature of the attainments, classical, mathematical, and also in the English language, have been creditable to the competitors. Of course, there must be a line drawn somewhere ; every boy cannot obtain a prize. It very often happens there is extreme difficulty in deciding where the line ought to be drawn. The papers of Smith and Jones may be so near to each other that although t|m examiner cjetanbfhca td gi\'e file prize to Smith, he ! almcist fedls a iaental and moral pang that he is riot able to give it to Jones also; they are perhaps not so nearly equal as to require to be bracketed as equates, but so nearly so as to render it painful to ieject the work of one and give the prize to the other. Tho e boys, therefore, who have been unsuccessful may take the benefit of tho doubt, and consider that, although they did not gain a prize, they were very near it. —(Applause.) The Vice Chancellor Q f tho University, the Rev. Lj IVj(. SquAß'i, said he had listened with great‘-pleasure -fo tile remarks of His pfono.r the judge. He parried him along wi+U iri almost evpry sentence he gpoke, and iff PCMWhfljug lip fallowed vci.y much |hp method ftf ministers, he closed his remarks with comfort. The boys must take comfort with tiie idea that those who took the second place this year might he first next year. In the real battle of life they might actually take the lead, In competition for a prise a good deal depended upon nerve and temperament, and not altogether on ability. He was glad to find that every where, and inOtago especially the High school was well spoken of, and that it was steadily making its way in the estimation of the people. Many were unbelievers in the advantages derivable from it, merely because it did not, like Minerva, spring into existence full gi own. They remiiuledhim of K\ng Hiram, whp thought, hi .gaps a tlm • had rmt their pyepty crtojs-, -j;bp'y^ 'xviff nofightv- The ! gchofii was hotnqig pi the estimation bf certain people, just because they hfid not at oppe reached the standard of perfect gentle, men- For hi* part he was astonished, net that they knew so Ijttlp, hut that they knew fio muph of mathematics and languages. The High and Common Schools in Otago were doing a good work well, and, if he felt disappointed, it was that the pupils of the High School did not take precedence of the students at the University. Mr Hawthorne said no High School boys had yet been sent to the University. Mr Stuart was glad to be corrected. He felt proud of the High 'School, for he looked upon hifusclf as its godfather,' and was extremely anxious that it should prove creditable to its founders and the country that supported it. He was glad an opportunity had been given him < f expressing the hope that the pupils would enjoy their holidays, and return to their studies in permanent health, determined to succeed. Mr H isi.op, on behalf of his Honor the Superintendent and the members of the Education Board, ’expressed regret that', o\Viug to ; the absence ef nearly all the members of the Board from town,'they coujcl riot be present at tho ! distribution of prized They felt highly- gratified that the report of judges, so competent asjtho professors, of the work in the school, was so satisfactory. The Superintendent and Board felt deeply indebted to his Honor the Judge for having so ably presided atthe distribution of prizes. He might be permitted to remark that it was the intention of the founders of the education scheme that a close and intimate connection should be maintained between the District Schools, the Grammar Schools, the Hbdi School, and the Univcr.-ity ; and he was glad 1 [o find, greatly through the ctf'brt's of Mr Haw ill"! uc, that < dutiectioii was becoming cldser. Ho was glad to notice, during the delivery of the prizes, boys from private preparatory schools bad received a .fair proportion of them, although boy a from the District Schools carried off tho greater portion of them ; and although Dunedin carried off their share, a largo portion went off into the country districts. Tho goldfields districts, too, were creditably represented by Low, Tudor, and Ash. He trusted that at no distant day there would be an intimate connection detween the schools of Otago and the merchant’s desk, the banker’s counter, the bar, tho pulpit, and the Houses of Legislature—that by and by the chief offices in )

the country would be filled by persons educated in them, and in the other schools of fsew Zealand, lie desired to express in tho r warmest manner his appreciation of the untiring zeal and earnestness of Mr Hawthorne and the other Masters of |the school, in the prosecution of their arduous duties. The Hector said he had simply to add that tho school work was over for the present year, and would bo resumed on the *2OJi January, next year, on which day an entrance examination of new pupils would lake place in the morning at !0 oVock. Although almost unnecessary, he wished the pupils pleasant times during the holidays. The hoys gave hearty cheers in honor of Judge Chapman and their teachers. At the close of the proceedings several ladies and gentlemen examined the gymnasium--a fine lofty building with every appliance necessary for developing healthily the human frame.