SUPPLY OF SCHOOL MATERIAL.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 459, 26 August 1919, Page 3

SUPPLY OF SCHOOL MATERIAL.

i Sin,—Tn your 1-ader oi August 22 j you hav<> touched on what appears 10 ni • to ha oi,o of the most important dinjects that should claim the attemi n of all true patriots. The question of education is one that enters into every calling, and permeates the whole fabric of civilization to such an extent that it must be considered as the keystone in the great arch of national efficiency. Educate the young into the duties of citizenship, and form a solid foundation tor the progress of the nation. In mot-t of the progressive countries there are more or less effective systems of State education, and it is up to us in Now Zealand to see that the Government, who have charge of the framing of our Education Acts, adopt such measures as will assure to us the greatest return for the leant monetary outlay Every father and mot hoi can bear me out when I say I that today our system is anything! hut SHtiifnctory. It is wasteful, and is bringing up a generation who will I lack two of the most essential quali- I ties in a good citizen —thorough-1 ness and tbi ift. The old adage, "What is worth deing is worth doing well," is one almost unknown. The writing of the average boy or girl is scratchy and irregular; their, reading lacks intonation and attention to pronunciation; and their general knowledge is of a most meagre description. This is not for the want of expense that parents are put to. A year or so ago a child of mine passed from the primary school I to the high school, having gained a j proficiency, entitling him to two years' free training. The first call j upoa my purse was some thirty shil- j lings, to be expended on a variety of I books. Now, Sir, this expenditure j was not begrudged—but, after six months of what appeared almost wasted time, many of these books | had not been opened, let alone read. ; Upon the examination of a gigantic j swag of books carried to and from j school, I counted some sixteen exer-! rise b )oks. Upon investigating these I I found a most deplorable want of | <onsideration of expense ; some pages j hid a few words only written on them, the words "Home work," " Arithmetic," occupying about one- j ;lurd of the page. These books, ati the time, were costing from 4d to fid each, and the outlay must have run into a question of pounds du ing the y.;nr. Now. Sir, in my case, I had uniy one child at school, so thy nggre- , g-uo expense tor the year was no- , thirg compared with that of a large l family. j

Iho question of uniformity of sch'ol-hooks i.s not new. Over 2/> ' yeas ago the Trades mid Labour; Councik in New Zedand were advo- . eating this reform, ai.d in reply, the j (ion W. 11.I 1 . Reeves, who was then Miii*t<u for Education, i;.sued, per' the medium of the (foverument print ing f.ffifse, a " Now Z aland Reader." This ijook did not ra6et with the approval of the Education Boards, and so was lost. True, to day we have the "School Journal," which, in its way, answers very well, but why not go further, and provide all school requisites, and make the teachers responsible for the books used in the various classes. I have been permitted to handlo some of the books belonging to scholars, and lhey present a sure indication of the lack of at ention and want of interest displayed by the teachers. Drawing, pencil-marking, blots, and dog eared are almost the general rule It would appear that a certpin amount of (ui'ion had t<> ?>•• given by the teacher, who, learning a set lesson, repeated it, leaving the child to absorb or reject as it willed. We hear of oducaiional experts being paid £2,( 00 per annum to look after the interests oi our rising citizens, and we who think marvel at the educational condition of the boys and girls that we coma in contact with Y«<u, in a previous issue of your paper wore " rubbing it in " to some pedagogue wh) had criticised the English of the ordinary newspaper. In my opinion, tho English of the average newspaper is far and away better than the extraordinary languago used by tho boys and girls who have been coached aad crammed to pass an examination under our present system. The matter, iu a nutshell, lies with the callous indifference of the parents themselves. They have the power to re-construct the whale system; the election of School Committees by the people, and the election of the Board of Ediieat-on by the School Committeos, i", apparently, none of their business. When the annual meeting of householders is held, a very small per centage of parents tako the trouble to attend. The few that do generally tako the proceedings as if they had been previously hypnotised, and, in many cases, it is a hard job to get the requisite number to stand for the ofhceß of committeemen.

To ijuote from your leader "If it lie true that the business (.f the State is tils rearing of good ci iz ns, and the duty of the parents i.-> to bring up children to be good citizens of the State," then tho sooner Some measures are adopted to puige tlie present system of its many incongruities, and something done to establish a mode of education that will pro--11 in .i a manly rao, which shall he morally, physically, and montally li for (mi great duties of life, and which (-hull h.ue higher ambitions than tn live on [ho products id' other in uplr's luboius the better. The oi'i i.i of tho country, by the groa' i i-s of physical power through the iavip'l of war, are men and women n'lin cm do tilings, ;ind this must be the foundation of the educational -ys'em that must bo striven for. llu wealth of tho country is its power to produce, and our strength uii ! lie in tho ability of our papulaurn to provide for itself. We must ben 1 louiiniou ;jf workers, tillers of : .!ie i il, mechanics, and thoso physic- .!'\ li fir manual labour must be in initiating niimli.iis ; on.y the wcfikly Hi.d deformed must be allowed '•i I'dSoA tlio lighter employments of lif.>. Then ovory man and woman lictwcon tho of If! and 10 will look upon il as tho highest form of patriotism to ho a worker ; and tho objects of the education imparted be :he ice gaition of the divinity of labour, instead of, as at present, the

instilling of the ambition to get through life without soiling the hands:— " New times demand new measures and new men; The w i.-ld advances, and in time on Tii la>»s that in .ur fathers' da. s we-i) bust," Yours, etc., PAREN r.