THE SCHOOLMASTER ABROAD.

Evening Star, Issue 3614, 22 September 1874, Page 3

THE SCHOOLMASTER ABROAD.

In the course of some comments on the speech of his Excellency the Governor at Wellington, the ‘New Zealand Times ’ remarks : It is too much the case here, as elsewhere, for persons who are utterly unfitted for the work to commence what it is idle to call teaching. The pedagogue is but too truly regarded as a man who has commenced school-keep-ing only when all other trades have failed. There is no denying the fact that this has been the case in New Zealand, but to what extent we are not prepared to say. There is a vague sense of distrust in the competence of some of the schoolmasters and mistresses, but by how much it is justified few people know. Proceedings that we see chronicled elsewhere are sufficient to generate this, A notable instance comes to hand from South Australia. In that Colony the teacher’s in Government schools undergo an examination before they receive a license. The necessity of this examination was recently proved by the published report of the gentleman appointed by Board of Education to conduct it. Out of thirty-four candidates desired to analyse a sentence grammatically, twenty did not make an attempt to answer, seven others failed to understand the relation one sentence had to another, and only one was able to properly go through the process. Of history the majority seemed to have some slight knowledge, but three could not answer at all. Only easy questions were asked in geography, but some teachers could not secure one mark. In arithmetic one of every six failed to get a single sum right—seven out of fifteen could not do a sum in addition, and four could not do one in simple multiplication. The answers given to ques tions were grotesquely absurd. One candidate when asked what changes were introduced at the Norman Conquest, replied, “ The introduction of Christianity /’ another, “ The ringing of the ‘ Corfu’ bell and a third, t( Prom the house of Plantagenet to the time of Tudors.” Another genius, when asked,' “ What was the cause of the Crusades, and which of our kings took part in them]” replied, “The boundary of Nova Scotia and Charles I. engaged in them.” Another, when asked, “ W hat battles were fought between Charles I. and the Parliament]” replied, “ Robert Bruce encountered him at Bannockburn, and gained a famous victory.” Another, when asked to explain the term “ship money,” said, “ That amount of money that is voted by a nation for fitting out and permitting investigationary proceedings by sea, either explorationary, offensive, or defensive.” And, as if to cap all, one described a geyser as an “ iceburgh.” It seems almost a pity that the examiner had not the power to cane such a set of ignorant and incompetent aspirants for teachers’ licenses ; and it is sad to think what mischief they might effect if they were permitted to have their way with some poor children.