CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 222, 19 September 1877, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

EDUCATION. To the Editor of the 'Evening Mail.* Sir — A somewhat unusual pressure of work has prevented my completing my say ou the Education question, which I will do now by a few observations on the position and qualification of the teacher. In any system the ultimate result is determined by the teacher. It is therefore of primary importance to ascertain what is demanded in this direction In this as in all things our conclusion will be affected by our ideal of what is to be realised. If we have a low idcßl as to the character of the instruction to be given, onr requirements as to the qualification of the teacher, will be correspondingly low. The question that will determine our view as to the teacher is, what is to be the character of the teachiug. Is it to be a mere mechanical teaching of what is technically known as the three Rs— reading, writing, arithmetic— or is it to be a fair attempt to educate all the powers of the child? If the former, a somewhat cnuie instrumentality will suffice— if the latter the instrument will have to be of a very different temper. Now I presume that it is accepted by all who have attempted a philosophical estimate of tho end sought to be realised by the educational efforts of the present age, that it is to develop the intellectual, the thinking powers of the people, with the object of making them intelligent and virtuous citizeus in whose keeping the civilization, wealth, and. culture of the age would be safe. That its object is not— or only as a meaus to an endto lit the youths of the land for any particular calling in life. The utilitariau idea is a wide and general, not a particular and special one. It relates to tlie community, not to the individual. Therefore it is that the object aimed at is to give the child general information, to instruct him in the kuowledge of common things, to give him correct ideas respecting the world in which he lives, moves, and has his being, and to cultivate habits of " observation, inquiry, association, and induction," aud so, through that which is' concrete, and with which he is familiar, to lead him to the knowledge of the abstract aud thus to prepare him by the exercise of his own mind for a due comprehension of the problems of life, which as a free citizen of a democratic state he will be called to pronounce upon. Now this is the ideal I take it, and is really what is contemplated under every efficient system of popular instruction. In some places it is— everywhere it should be|— begun systematically and scientifically in the infant school before ever abook is placed in the hand pf the child. All education to the child, as tp the adult, _3 valuable, just as the mind sees clearly, and grasps firmly, the real utility of the subject taught, and the little boyling and girling of a very few years can be taught to see and understand very marvellous things when properly presented. Now if this be true the'qualilication of the teacher must be a special qualification. These considerations, so far as they have any value, show that teaching is a profession thac has

to be studied and acquired in its methods, and its special information as any other profession—that of law or medicine --has to be. This being thus the special aim of any Government scheme should be the preparation of its teachers, first by an efficient system of pupil teacher training, then by the finish to be fouud in training institutions. It is not classical aud mathematical knowledge that is deraauded, but a theoretical and practical knowledge of the beat methods of imparting instruction. Then as to the position of the teacher. If the real object of our public school systems is the true elevation, refinement, and moral culture of the people, then the position of the teacher should ba of the highest. I think it should be made as attractive as possible by elevating the social status of the teacher, and by liberal remuneration. Of all the branches of the public service it should be the very highest. If it is desirable to have men of gentlemanly instincts and deportment in the public service at all— here it is essential. The subtle influence of deportment and general conduct is a powerful educator, and when the rough, rude, vulgar boy and girl are brought into contact with the refinement of a cultured teacher they are moulded and fashioned in a way that no tnere precept and inculcation of wise saws can ever effect. The "first step to secure such a class of teachers should be by {making the teachers of the colony members of the Civil Service. Your space forbids enlargement. I am, &c, Cerip.