MANUAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 103, 17 May 1901, Page 2

MANUAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

•—'— ADDRESS BY REV. E. ISAAC.

There was a very representative gathering at the Council Chamber* on ' Thuisday evening to hf.arthe Rev. E. Isaac's address <m manual and technical «duc.ition. His Worship the Mayor [presided. The Education Board and ' High School Governors wire wall wp resented, and seveial teachers from both schook were present, as were a'so a ondderable number of the general public. The Mayor bri fly stutad the object of the mse ing and said he hoped the Government would show the same life and energy W'th regard to tecHn'cil tducntioo a* they bad exhibited ia the other departments of education. He then introduced Mr. Isaacs to the meet irg. The Rev. E. 0. Isaac, who wan receivrd with applause said it gave him gr at plasuro as a repr.senta'ivo of >he Education Department to s iy a few words with aviiwof inspiring enthusiasm in favour of technical education, j He hoped to be aVe to put the nutters plainly that no one would go away and siy that they di 1 not understand what were the-intan'ioni of the Governn e <t in relation to carrying on the Techni al Educat'on Act. Like a good pars in we would stick to his t-xt and wouH divide his subject into two he; di; Ist annual and 2nd technical. It was highly becessary that every coast, u ted mind thould be able to 1 diff-rentia'e between the two.

With regard to manual insti u ,ti»n, ai a pr liminary he would supp se thai; meet of liia hearers w»re familiar with the system which was in vogua when ho was a boy. He had a ve y vivid r.co>lestien as to the way in wlreh primary cduca'ioa .was imp\ tad in jiis yoir.hf ul days when the piin.ipal good big care, er a shirt rape's md. Tha gentleman under whom he *as taughtwase.mbidexte.ous.an-Uheref'.re had an advance in wieldi-.* thr»e [implements (Laugh-er.) Underlying thaVth'.re was an effort in th 6 old t-ys-torn directed towards turning th" chhl-r-n into a girt of sius>g;-machine, in which so much word mit rial wasi chopped up and crammel into the child, to be kept there, as much us wa* j possick, until the G'vernmeat Inspector came round at th* end of the Vfar, when it was given up. He likened this to p-itting pwder and sbo'; into a gun, keeping it there fur twelve months, an<l fchm firing it off; but he was glad to say that stito of aff irs b longud to the past. The Government of this oolony bad in i'-s present InspectorGeneral one of the most enlightrn-d educationalist, and the D pirtment wagalivn to the necestity of child.en receiving tbe benefit* of the progress made iu educational methods. Tte usa of the eye was co-ordinate vuth 'be ufe of the brain. Children in the past were educated according to the standard of that t ; ur, but the adva"ce in (he study of psyefaol >py showed that the us j of tha tand-i "s hen *l- - nglected, theejosanJ 'as being alonn taught. Pa haps Mireason lor this was tVat it wa-- c nsidered to be infra dig to use the hinds then, but it w;is iow piovel that it was no use to attempt t > re-1 ye ucate a child \ hrou«h the ear and »ye only, as the use of the h»nl was of tlie highe=t importance, as it wat by handling objee'e, and testi'g th m with their own lands that childr. n could best grasp thai- lessons. He was g ad to say that the feeling which new existed was that it was jusi as honour able f or a man to work wi'h his hands as with his braias, and the manual worker played a* great _ a pxrt in thn social scheniß as the brain worker, He did not pr po»i to go into the history of educational reform, bu 1 . he ould not refrain from mentioning and paying a high tribute to Froebel, who, a century back, ret his maik oo tbe t?*ehing of to-day. Manuil and inlelle. tu >1 education were coordinate, and thereby tbe whole powers of a child weie brought int < play. The question was at what age to begin. Froebel contended that a child should c uumenc.i v* ■ education almost as soon as v- was born, and in this the spetker co cunod. He knew some'hing about little ohi'd en as he had some of his own and could sp~ k frotn experience as to the benefit ol ewly tr.ti-iitijr. Ho could not iii'i-imte a tithe of whate.uld be accomplished by the Kind. rga> ton Hjsem, wherry a'child from thuo years old nud upwards could bo tauglr. Any no «hj iwd .-eon ilv sys'.ein ;it «o> k would l> ■ convinced of its b. in« able to «uv iu-j yliAi what bo A- t d and would s oj ■lmt the vaiious funns of uiumi.l training l> gin »ith eh-Mron in t 1 eir o-ii'ly yinrs. Uedor she present-. Act a child must bo live yea's of >\p,o be!o e adnrssiou to a acbo 1. Ki ilui'iiutn, teaching c uld be boijiiii ti.foro th.t wh n ihe child entered »■ heol both intel'.ectu 1 at.d nmiiu-1 trail in; could go on togittu r. Tm< a ; m of t u Dcpaitm-.nt was not tha 1 . oJucation should baall mat ual bu v . nnnual and technical co-oidina'e. In m<nu.il trailing the md in view was ti iiismo accuracy. It was no: fo much do ng a particular thing as tho manner of doirg it thii was he'd to be important, and therefore t>y s cutinji ■ccuracy in manu'il woik a gool stt-j> was gained towards accuracy of ipeak inp, for it could Bot be conceiv d tba' when it he-amo p.rt. of a child's lifo to do everything a'curaiely, nfat'y an i caieful'y, that child iO'dd be ai.jthinj.Is j than tiuttiful. Mo'.e ling wasoi e of i he means and p ■per-fold ing ano'-ho'. The 1-tter wis rtadily t.kn to by little child)en, »nd if anyone wanted t.» s(e what coul.l be got out of six holies of paper they must go to tie -echnic\! schco' which was turn to le es'ahlished in New Pijrmuth bific O.-oidimt-rgnith paper-fi 1 iinj; | -ere o'ler things as I'ou dedon truths to ho git in'o a cKild's mind. With -jstem, which w<s-(Mr. Spencer ; " A peifeet farce !")- as Mr. S. oncer siy.<, a perf-ct farce, and a system tha'j hi should te pleased to see givtn"

a decent funeral, Hi* doxire tu that every child should constantly gas good specimens of free hand work. if true, was merely an expression of thought in linos and colours, in wood, stone, marbk, or u>t<tal. Had a child now a chancj of fe«iug anything beautiful i tLe migeruUe specimens put bpfore t!.(?ia m lio prewnt copy book '{ D.'awiiig wjs a universal iau;;iKij;o, .i»:i3 under the i,aw sys'em it would U> taught ihorougl'ly so that a child tould express its tnough's in drawn lilies ai coirectly os in word*, The pioved that a child not, only was enabled to make an article, but to delineate it in a realistic way. He would mike it possible for every boy to sketch rapidly, frt-ely, and accurately any object before bim. In the next place tbe m»j >rit.y of children would be taught modelling. Why ? '■ In drawing, the intricacies of light and shads were not eeen except by spending an infinity of paint. Modelling was the only way in which we aouldk learn end memorise dm a, therefore he woull inlrrduce modelling as soon as possible. Next he would introduce catdbsardwork—that best step towards wood modelling work. Tbe Department was preparing a manual on this puhj'ct and when it was brought into use in the schools it would prove a powerful factor and would phy a large part in education. Next, trery boy should learn work. He did tot advocate making a nation cf wrp'ntew, bat the Department would help and encourage in ev*ry way instruction in woodword, not with <h> intention of turning out a lot of poorly trained carpewters and cabinet-makers but with cfae view of fostering manual training in woodwork. The D'partment was prepared to put up workshops, jproride tools and the means fo<* giving tbe teaching.* Tbe same policy would be pursued with regard to metal work, the manutl training in which he believed ban a higher educational value than woodwork. Manual traiuiig was using these rjKans aseducitienal factorsin the ?ame way as Latin, mathematics, or any )ther subject now taught. The London 3c v ool Board and t>th. r educational Mdies htd thrown themselves heartily into this work, reoftgni».irg the necessity o ? bejiniwg at the first step, as the B itish were reins driven out of some if the mat keU, owing to the neglect in ,he mat ual instruction of their child•tn Ordinary education was not to )e negl cted, but would go hand ill iau.l wi h technica'. He illustrated ho advantages of the fystem by reining io the beautifu ly a tistic silver md eofp-r work turned out in Gern*i.y, where the work people had bees r.iiu'>d from early yea> s, with a view to t : mu'atiug their faculties for the work if th-ir if».

(To be contisued.)