ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 59, 15 October 1864, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

WE DO NOT IDENTIFY OURSELVES IN ANY WA*! WITH THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED BY OUK COB ■ EESPONDENTS. THE EDUCATION ORDINANCE. (TO THB EDITOE OF THE SOUTHLAND TIMES.) Sin, — Having been long connected with tin school system of Scotland, and having alwayi taken a deep interest in the education of tin people, I cannot stand idly by, at the prcsen crisis, when measures of a very doubtful expediency are proposed to be introduced with the avowed design of air ending and modifiying the existing Education Ordinance. Amid all the diversities of opinion which pre vail among the community on the question of tin Superintendency, and the other Provincia measures discussed at the election meetings, ot one point there seems to be a complete unanimitj on the amendment and modification of the Education Ordinance. Alterations are loudly de mancled, but what these arc to bo either in the extent or nature has not yet been indicated bj any candidate for Provincial honors, except b) Mr. Tarlton at tho meeting in the Theatre Roya on Friday night. It is a problem of paramouni importance, and on its right solution will depene the welfare and intelligence of the future citizens of Southland. It is a curious fact that men whe would not venture to propound a scheme for the management of roads or the sale of waste lands will, with an effrontery in proportion to then ignorance of the first elements of social economics apply themselves to the concoction of a favorite scheme for the elevation of the people in intellifence and morality. Being unacquainted witi: the distinction of matters in scholis and circa scholas, with the relation between state and loca action, and with the proper function and missioi: of the teacher, their "castle in the air" is usually a heterogeneous mass, without proportion of parts, or a solid foundation on which to rest, And thus ifc is not uncommon to meet with mer who, on the various departments of business life : the agricultural and commercial interests, &c. would remain prudently silent on subjects witi: which they professed their ignorance, but woulc nevertheless rush in medias res of some pet eduea tion scheme, though they may have some difficult*, in defining the difference between education anc instruction ; who regard every schoolmaster as s. thrashing machine, and every scholar as so man*, e:npty casks to be filled up to a certain mart every year with a certain ingredient called acquirements — fhe value of vrhicli ia fixed by M.r. Turltor at £2 per casli. Whon I wrote my lasfc letter, I had not seer M.\ Tarlton's last speech, containing his proposed amendments on the Education Ordinance ; bul I find them to be substantially the samo as those of the Inspector of Schools. Passing over Mr, Tarlton's denial that ho had had anything to dc with the framing of the Ordinance, and his opinion in regard to that measure, let us glance brietly at the amendments, whicli he proposes to make on it. His first amendment is, " That the entire management and direction of the education of Government schools be under the Education Committee." The functions to be discharged by this body arc of a very varied and onerous nature. They fix the fees, regidate the time of attendance, prescribo the course of education, form a yearly standard of acauirements for each child, and point out to the inspector the mode in which the inspection is to be made. This committee must of course be a responsible body, appointed from time to time by the Council, and bound to present and publish a report every year of their transactions. If not, then it is a species of centralisation so often resorted to by the absolute governments of Europe, but utterly unsuited to the demands of a country whose institutions are the result of the free and enlightened action of the people. This committee coine3 before us in a most undignified attitude ; and have work assigned to them which even the manager of some paltry subscription school at home would hardly perform, and therefore I think it would work better were the fees, the hours of attendance, and the branches taught;, fixed by District Committees subject to an appeal to the General Committee by any party who may consider themselves aggrieved thereby. There is one reason why this should be the case. It would relieve the General Committee of a mass of extraneous work which might sometimes bring them into collision with local influence, and which would be much better done by delegation to the District Committee, who must be better acquainted with the peculiar circumstances and educational demands of the people in their neighborhood. As a general rule, the higher matters of the educational system should be in the hands of fche Provincial Council, while its minor details, such as those enumerated above, should be under the control of the District Committee. The second amendment proposed by Mr. Tarlton is that to which I have already drawn the attention of your readers — the fixing of the standard of acquirements which each child must accomplish every year. To one who is accustomed only to theorise, this may appear very plausible and veryproper ; but to the man of practice and experience, who has .made the laws of paidenfcics, didactics, md methodology, liis study, and who has applied their principles in "rearing the tender thought md teaching the youri^ idea how to shoot," for, :t.ma^-. be, ja, lifetime, it is an ainaccouuita.ble.-bltro.-ler. Let us apply it to practice, and mark its iperation. There is a class of nine boys learning ■eography, whose standard of acquirement in that minch for one year is a knowledge of the four [uartcrs of the globe. The first three boys have 10. difficulty in reaching the prescribed standard 11 six months ; the second three do the same in iinb months" ; and it is doubtful whether the i*e-' nainirig -three will, from want bf -natural -ability r irregular attendance, be able to reach it on the ay of inspection. . What plan does the teacher dopt iri such a case, which is one of very common ccurreiice ? He has recourse to a process well - nown, to ihe teachers of Scotland by the name J f cramming, arid '.'by the German pedagogues. as . nclituiig; or funnelling-— that is, pouring khowsdge into: the lnihd through the ear, jusfc , in ' the : 1 uno way as ..liquor is poured into a cask by means ~ fa v funiiel, the boy being as passive during the 1 peratibn as "the inanimate , vessel. -There has 1 oen injustice .done here 1 to the whole class. , The„ ! iree clever boys have been kept; six months, tho * iree 'medium ones thi'ee months; ' loriger ' a":-*- thb V study V of -.A. a A /subject- 'A fchari : thoy. < Light „,to;, to; , have been, .while, the : thi'ee c uuces are seized with a fit- of riiental depression 1 hioh renders their thinking powers inactive for c

- afc least a quarter of a year, after tho day of in > speefcion. But never mind. The inspector conies } guages thera all witli tho guaging-rod marked anc b figured by the general committee ; finds thorn al 3 alike up to the mark — reports accordingly- — anc f tho transaction is wound up by tho teacher's re--5 ceiving an orderon thoTreasury for the: sum oi I eighteen pounds sterling. I think the reader .will • agree with me in affirming that it is tho pupils, , and not the teacher who should thon bo rewarded, ■ and that if the. teacher is to bo stimulated to a [ diligent dischargo bf his duty, ifc will bo 'better, [ and more effectually done cither by the plan mbni tioned in my former lotter, or by having- tlirpe 1 grades of salary— maximum, medium, and mini- , .mvm — to : ono of which ho could bo ontitlod for" 'a , year, according to the rank of the school in general efficiency. In a state-supportod school establishment, tho :"- teacher is as much a state official as the treasurer or the secretary, ancl if tho teacher's salary is to be dependent on a standard of this kind, by all means let the measure be uniform in every department. Let the merits of every G-ovornniont official be tested by the same undeviafcing standard, and let his salary be fixed; not by the amount of evil whichhc may have prevented, but by the positivo good which lie may havo actually accomplished. — I am, &c, EDUCATIONIST. Invercargili; llth Oct., 1864. [Ifc may bo nocessary to mention, as " Educationist " appears unaware of tho fact, that M . Tarlton and tho Inspector of Schools ai*e 0110 and tho same person. — Ed. S.T.]