The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY). SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1879.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5765, 20 September 1879, Page 2

The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY). SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1879.

Two papers on “The Education of Chil- “ dren from a Medical Point of View ” have been lately read before the Philosophical Society. The subject with which they deal is one of such importance that we think it our duly to call attention to the leading points contained in them, as they appear to us to be worthy of a better fate than to be simply buried in the Transactions of the society, and perused only by the few who compose its members. The first paper deals with the question of over-taxing children, showing how the present system of school training directs itself almost exclusively to the cultivation of the intellect, often to the destruction of health and life. These risks have hitherto been confined more particularly to those who aspired to the higher places i'n tho intellectual world, either in the sihape of honors at one of our English Universities, or of high positions in the Indian Civil Service. The dangers, however, •of excessive education threaten to make tfcemselves felt in New Zealand, owin" to ihe unnecessarily large number of subjects taught in our Board schools. We do not se'-y that the number of hours actually spent in school are too great, but too much is required of children out of school : it is in home-work that most strain is put upon them, and they are expected to spend two .or three hours in the preparation of their .Seasons for the following day, at a time when they are tired and weary, and when their brains cannot work without a more.concentrated •effort than ought to bo put upon them. ITlie effectof this must bo to exercise an unq’uo strain upon the developing and growin g brains of children, and incur the risk of ed ucating their minds without paying

sufficient regard to their physical health. .1 fmssana in rorporcsa.no is an axiom we shall do well to remember, and try to act up to, for without a sound body wo cannot possibly expect to produce a sound mind, and, to quote the words of the paper, “ those who educate their pupils’ “ minds at the expense of their physical “ health, do not remember that success “ in life depends more upon energy than “ upon information ; and, that perfect “ health, combined with an average “ amount of education, will ensure an “ easy victory over competitors enfeebled “by excessive study.” Much stress is laid by the writer upon the extreme danger children are exposed to by requiring all to undergo an equal amount of work whether or no they are equally healthy, both hereditarily, by constitution, and by their individual physique. It is of course impossible for a master to know the hereditary taints of his pupils, yet the danger to which they are exposed would bo materially lessened if parents, when they send their children to school, were to mention to the master under whom they are to be, that such and such family defects exist. He would then be on his guard, and would not allow any pupil, known to be predisposed to disease, to be overworked, and would also, when any signs of impaired health showed themselves, be in a position to interpret them aright, and remove all pressure from the child before actual harm were done. If unwarned lie might, perhaps, attribute irritability of temper or want of power to learn to mere idleness, whereas it might be a sign of a latent tendency to disease of the brain or of insanity beginning to show itself, which he might be the first to detect and take steps to avert if taken into the confidence of the parent, and made acquainted with the family defect. With the part of the paper which points out the evils of and condemns high competitive examinations wo heartily agree ; as we can call to mind, as doubtless most of our readers can, many instances in which lives that have given promise of great usefulness have been marred and rendered useless by the intense strain which lias been put upon the brain by the long preparation necessary for some competitive examination. The prize has perhaps been won, but at what a cost! —an overwrought brain, impaired mental powers, shattered health, and premature decay. These arc strong words, unfortunately they are too true. It has been said “ours is an age of examinations.” Undoubtedly it is ; and while acknowledging that examinations of soma sort are necessary, wo think the effects of them could be secured without conducting them on such an elaborate scale as at present, and by making them rather of a qualifying than of a competitive character. Whenever any examination is remodelled the change is almost invariably in the direction of enlarging their scope and increasing their vigor ; this means that the candidates have to “cram” their brains as full of facts as possible, have to work much harder than their physical-or mental strength will boar without injury. 11l health is the natural result. Dr. W. D. Riohardsox, in speaking of the causes of impaired vitality in our people, says “ Rext to “ alcoholic intemperance I should place “ the physical and mental strain to which “ the younger members of our comrauni- “ ties are subjecting themselves, that “ they may stand first in the ranks, and “ at middle age retire to wither in empty “ competency. This rage, amounting to :: insanity, is checked by nature at every “ step. Her offspring are not made for “ this design. To work moderately “ until the end of the cycle of life is the

“ plan pre-arranged for us all—the con- <! ditiou under which we are born, that “ we may live until the cycle is perfected. “ If we break through this condition, if “ we destroy one organ only of the ex- “ quisitely balanced economy through “ which our vital faculties are construed “ into life, we simply die.” No doubt in educational reforms, as in all others, the tendency is to run into extremes ; for, whereas our forefathers were less educated than we are, and paid more regard to physical training, we have run into the opposite extreme, and are endangering the health of our children by enforcing such an amount of study as only the strongest can bea r without injury. Medical men whose judgment can be relied on have raised a cry of warning, and we trust the subject brought forward in the papers, to which we have referred, may receive the consideration it deserves, and that the directors of our national system of education may perceive the dangers which are inseparable from the overforcing of the mind and under cultivation of the body. The authorities can easily so regulate the demand made upon our children that they may bo free from the charge of having imposed more than nature can bear.