THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1882. THE HIGH SCHOOLS.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2716, 22 December 1882, Page 2

THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1882. THE HIGH SCHOOLS.

The days on which the prizes are distributed at the High Schools of Christchurch are days which are naturally marked with great interest by the general public. The pupils of those institutions are drawn from the mass of the residents in this city, and anyore attending the distributions will find there, both among the pupils and the audience, representatives from most of the classes in the community. The schools have indeed already become, as the Head Master of the Boys’ School stated on Wednesday he hoped they would become, the schools of the town. It may be trusted, therefore, that, according to his suggestion, the town may take the schools to itself, and that the schools and tho pupils may prove themselves worthy of the town. The practice that obtains of publishing in the daily papers tho reports of the examiners is a very satisfactory one, as they give a true gauge of tho value of the work performed. They are evidently written under a full sense of the work entrusted to the gentlemen undertaking the examinations and bear the imprint of strict impartiality. With regard to the Girls’ High School tho verdict of the Inspector of Schools declares that it is one of the very best schools he knows. The knowledge of the Inspector-General of Schools with regard to the higher classes of schools is perhaps a little limited. We should look upon his dictum with reference to a District School with greater trust, but still of course it is satisfactory to see that ha is pleased with tho work done and the tone of the school. The reports sent in by the Professors of the Canterbury College are more valuable as an indication of the true standing of the institution. Of course in a critical examination of the attainments of the various classes, it cannot be expected that all shall be praise; indeed it is impossible that any report worth its salt could find no faults in a large school. But it fairly be said that the results attained in the Girls’ High School are most satisfactory. Professors Brown, Cook, Haslam, and Bickerton have each of them much praise to bestow. As a rule they find that the weakest part of tho school is the middle portion. This may well be expected, because, as one of them remarks, it is mainly formed of girls just pushed up from the lower classes and the less enterprising and industrious of the girls who were in those classes th# previous year. As to the general discipline and tone of the school the words of Professor Brown are worth quoting :—“ I have never been in any school where such perfect order and quietness wore maintained throughout, tho whole day, or whore there was eu*h gentleness of manner and such kindly relations between teacher and taught, or where the pupils seemed so earnest in their work. This higli tone seems to have fixed itself permanently in the school, as the girls who have been for more than a year in it now form a majority; it is also noteworthy that it is almost invariably these very girls who are farthest advanced in education for their ago.” Professor Haslam’s report is the most severe. With regard to tho translations of passages of Latin previously unseen by the pupils, he remarks as follows :—“ Tho unseen translation was not well done. I should recommend that the pupils be discouraged above all things from writing down what is neither grammar nor sense, in the hope that the examiner may discover some meaning in it. No amount of difficulty in a passage can excuse students for writing what they must know to bo nonsense.” This has naturally grieved Mr. Haslam’s professorial mind, but all of us who remember our own school days will have some sympathy with the somewhat amiable weakness exhibited by the scholars in this direction. A girl knowing something of (he meaning of tho words in a given passage will argue that, although she herself may not sea the sense of the worda whoa strung together, that, after all, is the look out. of the author. She may possibly have heard her parents discanting on some of Mr. Browning’s poetry, where the words are clear enough, bat where it takes a very imaginative person indeed to find out what it all means. If an English anther, and a good one too, can write in such a fashion why should not a Latin one, and why should it not be left to the superior wisdom of the examiners to puzzle the affair out. However no doubt Professor Hsslam is right when bo wishes to insist on plain good English sense being a sine qua non in every translation. Tho Principal of the school, Mrs. Ingle, who is, we believe, about to sever her connection with it, is certainly to be congratulated on the results of hop work. f 'n her has fallen the burden and heat of the day in the matter of general organization, and she will leave with the proud satisfaction that her labour has not been thrown away, and that alia has brought into full and satisfactory working order the heterogeneous elements out of which some few years ago she was sot. to shape an organised teaching establishment of a high class. There are few harder or more thankless task* than that of starting a new school, ami she has done that task well.

With regard to the Boys High School, as it has been bnt lately founded it is natural to see that the examiners do not find the work so forward as in the other High School. Bat taking the facts of the case into consideration the staff of misters have done great things. The ropwts indeed would seem to hint that there is some danger of their over doing it, and that an increase in the teaching staff is very desirable. If such is the case we trust the Board will see to it at once. Boards have n happy, or rather unhappy, knack of ga - ting as much as they can out of their 00.-

ployeea, regardless of their comfort orwelfare. Wo hope this short sighted policy will not be carried out in the present instance, if it is found that more mastersare indeed desirable. The late examinations having brought out prominently the fact that Christchurch is in possession of two very good upper schools, quite suited to the requirements of the place, and affording, either excellent stepping stones to the higher education of the University, or suited for turning out into the world young men well grounded in sounds useful knowledge. Under a theoretically perfect educational system no doubt boys and girls would enter these schools free of charge, but the system is nit yet complete, and we may well plume ourselves on the thought that the establishment of these institutions has been &- groat step forward.