EVENING SCHOOLS. THEIR BENEFIT TO BOTH OLD AND YOUNG.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 253, 7 April 1888, Page 4

EVENING SCHOOLS. THEIR BENEFIT TO BOTH OLD AND YOUNG.

Tiik man who first suggested nicrhL schools had a happy thought, and pointed out the means of doing an Lnmense amount of benclit to his fellow-creatures. In England, France, Germany and all the large cities ot the United States, night schools are per manont institutions, ami nowhere arc they conducted on a more liboial ba.-i.s, at least, so iar as the pupil is concerned, than in the latter country. San LTranci^eo s evening classes arc now in .session. A visit to them is in many ways more interesting than a tour to the day schools. There is a greater vaiietyin the scholars, as they include the young, the middle-aged and even the elderly of both sexes, makingthecontrast between teacher and taught often striking ; and the scholars go not with the proverbial unwillingness of the schoolboy, but with the earnest wish to make up lor lost opportunities which have never before been presented to them. All who attend these elates must be over 13 years old, and only those arc admissible whose business during ihe day prevents their attendance at a day school. This latter condition i-> to some extent an indication, at least among the older pupils, of the class who frequent the schools, tor no one can be blamed tor taking his case when his day ot toil is done, and it requires ■.nmt 1 criitto study, even for only the two hoursnighth. Despite! he limited hourolstudy the teachers ot tlienightschool&claim that their pupils learn quicken- and moie thoioughly than those who attend the da\ ,-chools. Thcie is some show ot reason in tln.s statement, tor the incentive is gi eater, and it anything is to be learned it must bo done by positno teaching in I he two hours, toi theiP is- no time to picpaie studies ; the k'-son mu«t be taught and diiven homo in the memoiy on the spot. The teachei% ton, 'ire piobably more able as ;i class, and ,noclio->en with a special eye to capacity foi intu^intr a mass of intoimation in a cle.u and ioicible manner into the minds ot their pupiK. There ai c me night schools conducted in San Kianciseo under the auspices of the Hoaid ot Education, as well as a largo miinbi'i of ola-sos and school- conducted under the auspices ot such in-t itutions as the Young Men's C'hu-tian Association, the Mechanic-* Institute, the viiuon.sbtM-ne-s collides aiul pi iv.ite individual-,. The -chools suppoited b\ the State aie all fice, and aie the Lincoln E\cning School with twenty eight classes, the Wa-hmgton C\uuni: School, the Ucnman K\ cuing School. ti)e Potieio ]\.ight School, and the Mis-iou Night School, each with two el, i— es. The lirst of these is the largest, and during the la.-t tcim the attendance 1 cached the hiuh hguie of 2,229 on one niuht. As a rule the attendance i- luigt&t to^.ud the middle of the term, and diminishes toward the end ; tins is accountable tor at Chn^tnnts time b/ the numboi of young men who«c employer? lcquiic their set vices at night, and at summei time by the attraction of outdoor pleasures when the school^ arc in session. The curriculum of the night schools i^ much the sirae as that ot the day schools. The regular graded course is gone through, and theie aie in addition special classes for Spanish, mechanical, lieehand. and fjeometncal diawing, as well a- elemental. y or ungraded clas-e-. At the Lincoln e\ening school there are tliree iir-t-giado cla-sct-. tlnee second, four thiid, foin fourth, two tifth, one sixth, and one seventh and eighth urade. There are ,ilso three ungraded cla.s-es, two for men and one for women : two diawing classes., tour bookkeeping classes, and one Spanish das*. The majority of these olas-es rue under the tuLoiship of young ladies, the bookkeeping, diawing and only one or tw-o othi r cLi--.i-s being taught by gentlemen. Tn the ungraded classes arc a laigc numbei oi toreiuners, one ot the classes being exclusively composed ot young Herman-, who aimed with -carci ly the knowledge of ,m liii^h-h \\oid, and who mihii learn to speak and uute intelligently m English, and aie then able ro pioi'u by the education the} h.nc iceehed in othei branches, while (he\ -(ill sojourmd undet the mlc ot the iion HMiiiiidv. In theSpani-.il das-, which lias emhty puj)il-, includmti se\eral ladies, are many youno- men who arc employed in commeieial house-, and wish to acquire Spanish on account ot the Mexican tiade. in not a feu of the giaded classes are to be seen men who are appioaching, and some who have c\en l eached the mcii dian of lite, but who, on the piinciple of better late than ne\ei. thi.-k it well to in-opa-e their knoukdye of ai ithmetie, history, geography and literafuie. The diawuig cla-s L --' enable the young mechanic to interpret the designs dail\ l.iid bcfoie him in the machine shop, and to study the i ea-ons for the pioportions, adopted a^ well as to de-ign for him-clf, and to project correctly any piece ot machinery placed before him. All the-e elapse? aie well attended, and the number of ab=en(ees i-. \ eiy small, while those airiving late arc so tow in number as greatly to encouiage the teacher. A circumstance which tells in favour of the nightschool teacher is the comparative ease with winch a Luge class i- handled so far as discipline is concerned. The presence of elder pupils restrain- the youngci and-moic cflei\csccnt -tiidents, and older is moie easily maintained than in a day-school. The other St.itc-suppoited night-schools are conducted on the same piineiples as the Lincoln E\ening School, and as soon as the cold weather at. all decreases the attend ance will be much larger.

JMr.J.*U. Witheford returned from Australia to-day. He is much pleased with the business activity of .Sydney, and no less with the kindly reception ho met, with, though a perfect stranger. Trade, though apparently so good, was- not. considered In Sydney people to be ;\r, prosperous as the\ could desire, though better than at the close ot last year. The mining boom had been very exciting, and people had been investing their cash in silver stocks without hnestigating the merits or the mitics. Aneaily depiCriation of silver shares v\ as anticipated unless fresh discoveries of importance wei c made. Mr Wit heford ottered a mining piopeity, and attcr inquiries were made as to its value by cable, the purchase was completed, the whole tian&aclion being completed within ten days. in some press notices Mr W. R. Wilson, who had invested at Te Aroha,is claimed as a New Zenlander, but he is not. He is a native of Ulster, and is the son of the late Kobcrt Wilson, a civil engineer of some note in that province. Mr W, R. Wilson iirst came out to Victoria many years since, but has been domiciled in South Australia, where he owns a largo extent; of property, and also in New Zealand, where he sojourned tluough the stirring times on the West Coast and elsewhere. He has several times obtained relict from rheumatism, from which he has suffered, from the Rotorua Hot Spiings ami the Waiwera. The advantage ol these places cannot be over-estimattd of having cured him. As he is so generally known in Victoiia, and the fact ot his Inning invested largely in the Aroha mines will also bring them into notice among the speculative men on that side,