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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5344, 14 May 1878, Page 2

“ Boston State-house is the hub of the “solar system. You couldn’t pry that put “of a Boston man if you had the tire of “all creation straightened out for a crow--bar;” Sucharethe words, if we remember rightly, of tho.author of the “Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.” Ho is speaking of the pride that the Bostonians, and not only these, but the inhabitants' of every country and ‘ place, ,■ take in their native city. There are, wo should imagine, but .few.who have lived in our city a year or so who would hesitate to affirm that .this is,, or is . to be, the most important place of New, Zealand, r Wellington has indeed.made, and is still making, wonderful progress. In commerce, in manufactures, and,in trade the city has advanced with long and rapid strides. In All points but one. we have at least kept our place in' the l race of progress, if . we have not distanced many oompeti tors. That one'eiceptidn is, however, of,no little im.portanoe. It would be difficult to find any subject'iwhioh more vitally concerns thei'present and future well-being and of our city and nation than the ’question of State instruction. :In this it is that we fall behind some other districts of the colony. To draw a parallel

between ourselves and the sister district of Canterbury may indeed be unfavorable, but can at the same time hardly fail to be instructive to us'.’

Before us are two: reports addressed to the Minister of Education. The one is that of the Education Board of Wellington, the other that of the Christchurch District. The first is dated March 27th, the second March 30th, 1878.- Each of these is intended to furnish a full and accurate account of the state of education in its own district at the time when 'the report was published. Owing to the fact that in each of the reports a different method of tabulating the information has been adopted, it would be difficult to establish a detailed comparison between the two districts. We shall therefore be content with drawing attention to the salient points of the different systems. “The time has now arrived,” says the Wellington report, “ when in order to “ obtain the best results with the most “ judicious expenditure of public money, “it is desirable that something should “be done to provide normal school “ training for teachers. The Board think “ that one training institution for the “ whole colony would be the best “ for this purpose ; but if it is impracti- “ cable to confine this work to one insti- “ tution, then they will look for a fair “ share of the sum of £6OOO voted by Par- “ liament for normal schools; and should “ the grant be made they hope to utilize “ it in a way which will bo a great benefit “ to the service, by appointing a normal “ master who can begin with a class at “ once in the spare rooms of the Mount “ Cook boys’ school. The proposed new “ schools at Thorndon and Kaiwarra “ could be built so as as to serve as model “schools, and there could be attached “ one or two suitable rooms which might “ serve for some time as the lecture and “ students' rooms of a normal school.”

Turning to the report for the Christ* church District, we find that there a normal school has been in existence for the last two years. It has met with great and unexpected success. During the nine months ending December, 1877, some £5500 in all were expended on the normal school j an experienced master was encaged from without the colony, and at the end of last year over fifty students, female and male, were on the books. The system of training is divided into three special branches. The first of these, the normal school proper, is managed by two able masters. The professional preparation of the students is placed in the forefront of the work, and no effort is spared to impress upon them the difficulty and responsibility of a teacher’s office, and the necessity of diligent and life-long study for it. The course of instruction is necessarily varied, in order to meet the’ special requirements of the students. At present it includes Mathematics, Latin, English grammar and literature, History, Sanitary science, Political. Economy, and Music. Closely connected with this private instruction are the public-lectures on education. Of these, forty-One were delivered during the last year, the average attend; ance being 170. A syllabus: of these lectures, divided into three courses, is appended to the general report; Prom this syllabus we gather that the first course treated of the fundamental principles of education, with hints on the application of these principles to school work ; the second course had for its subject the various methods of teaching and organisation ; and the third attempted to give a short account of the - lives of great teachers, and an explanation of their several systems. There is also in Christchurch a Teacher’s Technical Library. By its help the pupils of the normal school are enabled to study any.special branch of the general subject of education, and to followup original lines of thought. The contrast with our district in all these particulars, is a strong one. Agreeing with the Wellington Board of Education, that the establishment of one training - institution for the whole colony is most desirable, we venture to suggest that by associating itself in this particular with the Board of Christchurch it may give help to the attainment of that object', whilst securing at tlie same time efficient instruction for any persons in this district who may desire to qualify themselves for the work of teaching. Canterbury has had large means, and its local government has been careful in times past to make munificent provision for public education in all its grades. There can, we assume," be no desire on the part of the Education Board at Christchurch to exclude the people of other districts from participating in the benefits which its educational institutions afford. Education has, by the legislation "of last session, been raised to the. height of a colonial interest. The Bostonian sentiment of rivalry is the spur to progress, but the frittering awayiof resources which might suffice to maintain ''one good training institution,, in an attempt to establish others which could at,best be indifferent, would, we think, bo a fatal error.