The Daily News MONDAY, AUGUST 2. PRACTICAL RURAL EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 161, 2 August 1909, Page 2

The Daily News MONDAY, AUGUST 2. PRACTICAL RURAL EDUCATION.

At last week's meeting of the Taranaki Education Board the director of technical education submitted a report showing that there is every probability of the establishment at an early date of a technical day school with a curriculum bearing on up-to-date and scientific farming. As will be remembered, the Department last year vetoed the proposal for the establishment of a separate institution, but has since made provision whereby the work might be carried on iu conjunction with the District High Schools. It is a matter for congratulation that the Education Department has shown itself alive to the necessity of encouragiug efforts to further the cause of agricultural education throughout the Dominion. To our mind the promotion of this important uranch of technical education is educationally epoch-marking, and will do , more to solve the problem of keeping the country-bred children o» the laud, elevating the fanner's calling to the plane of a profession, than all the theoretical remedies ever, propounded. The Department's suggestions on this question provide means whereby a more Ultimate relationship could be brought, about between the course of instruction at District High .Schools and agricultural work. The Department has recently framed an additional regulation under the Manual and Technical Instruction Act providing for an additional special payment to Education Boards, so that these bodies will be enabled to make better provision for the teaching of agricultural .science in «m.District High Schools. The Depu: L :nent has suggested that, while a fairiy comprehensive agricultural course could be arranged for the larger District High Schools for this purpose, it might be advisable in certain cases to group small District High Schools for this purpose, and to arrange for the classes bearing bpeeially on agriculture to be taken by itinerant instructors. The course suggested by the Department would in.elude English, arithmetic (including farm-bookkeeping), mensuration and surveying, geography, the elements of political economy and civics, drawing to scale and elementary building construction, woodwork, elementary physics 01* farm mechanics, agricultural science and principles of dairying. ' All the above .subjects would be taught to boys j of fourteen to fifteen who had already passed the sixth standard, and the course for girls would lie slightly altered by the substitution i -dressmaking, hygiene and physiology, household science, for mensuration, surveying, and building construction in the case of boys. The girls', course would be such that it would give prominence to the various branches of domestic science. The proposed curriculum, even if it be a little overloaded, should ibe welcomed as tending towards a more practical and useful education for country boys and girls than has hitherto been provided at the continuation schools. We believe that without much increase of expenditure our District High School* could do much more in the way of agricultural education than they are doing at present, and the experience of other progressive countries, notably Denmark, tends to show that the improvement and extensiou of agricultural education would lead to an immense increase in the volume of our agricultural exports. Certainly the teaching of the additional or substituted subject** should give conntry pupils a greater iaterest in an occupation that has been termed "the healthiest, noblest, and most useful in Jhe .world." The Taranaki Education Board is in entire sympathy with the Department's proposals, and the director of technical education (Mr, W. A. Hallantyne) and Mr. Tyror, of the Straifnrd District High .School, have i-lrcady mapped out a suitable course of instruction, which has been submitted to the Department for approval, embracing the following subjects:—English language and literature, elementary mathematics, chemist's botany, physical measurements, drawing, bookkeeping, dairy science, agriculture, elementary surveying (boys)., dressmaking (girls), farm carpentry (hoys), cookery (girls), drill and physical instruction. As proI vision has been made whereby caudij dates for the Civil Service may be ex- | amined iu the subjects studied, in lit'il J of subjects such as Latin, the new curriculum will in no way handicap a student who does not purpose applying his learning to the land. We hope to see the new proposals given effect to in this province before loag, and are certain the change wiil meet with instantaneous success.