INCAPABLES FROM SCHOOLS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 96, 13 October 1911, Page 8

INCAPABLES FROM SCHOOLS

CAUSE-TOO MANY SUBJECTS. . Christchurch, Wednesday. A short discussion on some defects of the present-day educational system arose at the meeting of the North Canterbury | Education Board to-day. Attention was drawn by Dr. C. J. Russell to the unfavorable comments made in the hist annual report of the ' board's inspectors with regard to the | degree of proficiency in recitation shown i in the public schools, j Mr. C. 11. Opie, who was once a 1 teacher in the service of the board, j stated that -the question was a very im- ' portant one. There were university graduates who took the very highest honors, and yet practically murdered the English language. Adjectives, in particular, were very much misused by "educated" people. For instance, one often beard "educated" people—he would like to have been able to say "cultured" people —using such expressions as "We had a frightful frost," or "She had a frightful hat oik" Though he admitted that the adjective in the latter remark did apply correctly to some of the headgear worn by ladies nowadays, still more attention should be given to the correct meaning of words, and the proper, pronunciation and use. I Mr. W. R. Smith urged that too many ['subjects were being introduced, into tlw. schools, and too much time devoted to "fine points." He did not believe that I one person in ten—it was questionable if I one in twenty—could speak English. Th« I old system which qualified a boy or girl , to take up an occupation to carry them j through life properly was the best. He I believed that the present-day system was 'not doing that. Not one boy in ten j was capable of going into an office and doing the ordinary work he would be set to do there. The whole system today was a system otf cram, and every year they were putting something fresh in the syllabus for the boys and girls to learn.

It was resolved that the boaixl concurs with the inspectors' remarks, and trusts that in future more attention will be given by teachers to the subject of elocution.