EDUCATION COMMISSION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 307, 24 June 1912, Page 5

EDUCATION COMMISSION

EVIDENCE IN INVERCARGILL. By Telegraph—Press Association. Invercargill, Saturday. The Education Commission continued its sitting here to-day, and is still taking evidence to-night, with a view of finishing here before the week end. Miss .Tobson, Principal of the Girls' High School, said that the examinations for proficiency certificates did. not seem to lie a thorough test of proficiency. In the majority of profic'ancy pupils she had found a decided weakness in English | and Arithmetic. This was due, not to , I the teachers, but to the fact that too ' much attention was given to subjects less fundamental in education, and that the syllabus lacked definitcness, this inducing a lark of thoroughness. She would strongly advocate the reinstatement of grammar upon the syllabus, | though by no means desiring to return to the old state of affairs, when grammar was a grievous and unprofitable burden, yet the simple and fundamental rules of grammar were a necessity and its imj porta nee in relation to English composition 1 and as a basis for the studv of foreign innsuagcs. This would surety be admitted by any experienced teacher of these subjects, who would have probably i found the ignorance of elememrv grani- ; matical principles a seriou* difficulty. I Mr. T. D. Pearee, Rector of the Boys' High School, said that the foundation | of primary education lacked simplicity nnd solidity. With a liberal interpretation the three R's could comprise the primary course of education. He advocated more attention beine paid to the element- of formal grammar with the use of tin' .grammatical sense in the fifth and sixth standards. He was a believer in ikome work. They could not progress i in secondary subjects without exact j memorising. Bovs who came from schools ' where home work was not set made the poorest progress; boys from schools I where home work was set the solidest j progress. As regards scholarships he - had formed the opinion that the allotment of a scholarship of the value of £5 Jto town schools was a mistake. He con- , sirtered the money would be better spent in the provision of scholarships for J country boys, thus aiding them in the | desire for further education. OverI lapping, so far as he was aware, existed j one point, that was between t'he so- : called day technical schools and the high schools. There was little differj ence between their time-tables and subj jects of instruction, and as the day technical schools were born last they | were the guilty parties in the overlapP'ng- '

LEFT FOR CFmiSTCHURCH.

Invercargill, Last Night. The Education Commission concluded their TnvercargiH sittings and left, for Dunedin on Saturday afternoon. They will continue their journey to Christchurch on Monday, opening tliere on Tuesday.