EDUCATION IN JAPAN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1994, 28 December 1874, Page 2

EDUCATION IN JAPAN.

The report furnished to the Imperial: Government by Mr -Watson, of Yeddo,j on the! present educational ' system of: Japan, "describes ; what can only be ore-! garded as : a revolution- in the intellectual! history of , that country. Two years ago! a law was promulgated by the Japanese! Government 11 for the; ofi 53, 760 schools in that empire, where pre-i viously ho national system of- instruction: prevailed. For this purpose the country! has; been: (divided ; into ten high school circuits,! each ■• of which is, partitioned into thirty-two middle school districts, "arid: these are. subdivided into 210 small school districts. All children "over six years of; age are bound to attend school five hours! a day for six inp piths ;;; and t we ;observei that among the'subjects taught, in the small or common Jichools, the following occupy , a, prominent .; place-rJuisbandry,: explanation' of .things in common use,! oral : instruction on health, natural philp- 1 sophy, drawing and mensuration, rules of life, chemistry, and natural history. In; addition to the foregoing, the curriculum: of -the middle schools —to which '"are) attached engineering, mercantile, interpret ting, and Agricultural schools— embraces; foreigu languages, geometry, chemistry,! morals, physiology, mechanics, political economy, zoology, botauy, geology, mineraology, moral philosophy, and astronomy.; Of course, 1 as the machinery had to.be improvised, and, an immense amount of preliminary work got through, the act is only partially operative at present. Nevertheless; 480,000 children hava. already been been brought under instruction, or ~ about one iii 68 bfthe eutire population. Accord-; ing to a series of articles on this question 1 in the ** Japan Mail," the Japanese schoolboy is quite ep;ual to the average Western student in intellectual power and general ability, and superior to him in docility, industry, reverence, and politeness. "In the course of five years, the writer," an English teacher, " can remember no in^ stance of rudeness, no case 'of slander, no uncanny trick, no impudent reply from any of his many pupils. ...:/ .."'.. : :

For reMavridet of News- see 4&h page.