The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1908. THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2145, 21 March 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 1908. THE BIBLE IN SCHOOLS.

Tlio resolutions passed at- the last mooting of the- Hawkes’ Bay Board of Education seem likely to soriousfy interfere with the work that has been carried out in the past in imparting religious instruction to the scholars. The practice has been to take half an hour from the ordinary school day once a week anil devote that period to scripture lessons conducted by members of various denominations who givo their services voluntarily for the purposo mentioned. The time is taken between 9 o’clock and 9.30 and as tliero is no compulsion upon the children to attend the school at that time, any cause of annoyance there might otherwise ho to parents who object to this form of religious instruction is reduced to a minimum. So far as a comparatively brief experience can show the experiment of permitting Biblo lessons in school has been entirely satisfactory. The dreadful results that were predicted by the opponents of tlio scheme when it was first mooted have never been realised, and tliero has not been tlio slightest sign of friction as tlio result of sectarian differences. In this respect wo undoubtedly owe a good deal to the. tact and thoroughly Christian spirit of those who have unselfishly devoted valuable timo to tlio welfare of the cliild•ren, and so long as this -fooling is manifest there is litt/Io 'doubt that some way will bo found of continuing tho use of the Bible in our local schools. It is, of course, difficult to point directly at any manifest advantage accruing to the children as the outcome of this Biblical instruction, but few will deny that some benefit must result. Apart from the spiritual aspect, which is the chief motive of those who agitate for the religious teaching in schools, there is no question hut that the moral lessons found in the Bible cannot be impressed too forcibly nor too frequently upon tho minds of the children, whilst the historical value of the scriptural lesson book is also very great. Unfortunately, it has been found that the Bible lesson interferes with the ordinary curriculum of tho school, and unless some fresh arrangement can be como to, it will have to bo discontinued. It "was found that in one schooil —not in the Gisborne district—that- the Bible lesson was being continued until 9.45, and the -Board’s inspectors consequently asked for a definite ruling as to the hours which the pupils wero compelled to -attend school and to what oxtenfc, if any, time could bo taken from ordinary school work for the! purposes of -religions instruction. The facte then elicited wore that- the regulations of the Board provido for five hours’ -attendance each day at school and that no provision, can ho mado within that period for other than secular instruction. In other words tho Biblo can stilil bo taught, but it must be out of t-lie ordinary I school hours, which in the case of the local schools, have been fixed at from 9 to 3 o’clock, and this will disturb an arrangement that has worked very happily in the past. . It has boon suggested that in the case of local schools the difficulty might- be met by keeping the -school open until 3.30 on tho day upon which the Bible lesson, takes p'laee, but- that is -a proposal which has its drawbacks, for tfipye are certain to be many parents who wiil object to their children being kept later jthau. -at present, pair ticularly -as the shorter days are now fast approaching. Tho Bible lesson might be fixed- for half an hour after the ordinary school work had been finished, but this arrangement would probably be- objected to by those who undertake to give religious instruction on the grounds that the children would bo too tired to pay proper ■atttntion to the /lesson. For the matter of that the State teacher might justly -use the same argument and object to being left with the worst half hour —from tho i>oint of view of getting results from the children—in the day. However, the clergymen and their friends would appear to have a prior claim in this respect for it would be a- poor sort of spirit-which, in giving im/lf .an hour per week, stipulated that- that halfhour should be the least useful that could possibly be chosen. The -fact of the matter is the arrangement which has been followed in the -past, is probably the best that- can be devised, and under the circumstances it is hoped the Board wifi see its way to .so amend the regulations as to permit its continuance. One can scarcely blame the -teachers for desiring to retain the full five hours per day for their own work. They are given a- most exacting and comprehensive syllabus, one that- would require almost superhuman skill and energy to comply with, and they are supposed to get- through it -and to show certain results at the end of the

twelvemonth. Under these circumstances tlioy naturally grudge every halfhour dednetod from working time, but tho parents are also entitled to somo consideration, and if they express a desire that their children shall rocoivo Biblical instruction they aro not making an unreasonable demand in asking that on ono day of tho week the working day shall bo reduced to 4J hours so that on that day tlio odd half-hour can be devoted to - scriptural lessons. As a matter of general principlo wo aro strongly opposed to anything which will in tho slightest degree interfere with our secular system of education, but .at tho sarno time recognise that tliero can be no possible harm, but on tho contrary, pronounced benefits, from Biblo lessons given outside tho ordinary school hours 'and under tlio very admirable conditions and management which prevail /locally at tlio present timo.