FUTURE OF THE CHILD.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 November 1915, Page 8

FUTURE OF THE CHILD.

EDUCATION AND AGRICULTURE. SCHOOLS IN SOUTH TARANAKI. VISITED BY MINISTER FOR EDUCATION.

School days to most people are associated with books and slates and unsympathetic teachers, but to see the bright and happy circumstances under which the children of South Taranaki work to' equip themselves to go out into the world is to realise how their task lias been lightened by the introduction of new methods into the modern system of education. Yesterday the Minister for Education, the Hon. J. A. Hanan, wa9 in South Taranaki, and he spent the day with school children in different part 9 of the district, seeing how they worked, and at the same time gaining personal knowledge of the great part agricultural instruction is playing in the province—not only in instilling a love for agriculture in the young people, but also in showing the farmers how they can increase the productiveness of their land. The day was beautifully fine and the country, in its various tints of rich green, looked splendid, so that the Minister saw the district under perfect conditions and he was immensely pleased with all he saw. | In his addresses to the school children the Minister emphasised the value of cultivating a love for the beautiful, and his remarks were particularly appropriate, for at all the schools visited an attractive feature was the plots of flowers and the experimental agricultural plots, which add a touch of brightness to the schools which is seldom found in other parts of New Zealand. One could always judge a person's character from the condition of the surroundings of his dwelling, said the Minister. The clean, healthy traits were not in the character of the man whose garden waa unkempt and untidy: but when one saw a beautiful, well-kept garden one knew the owner loved things pure and beautiful, and one could picture the joy and comfort inside the home, It was a great opportunity to cultivate a love for the beautiful by having gardens attached to schools, and Mr. Hanan stressed the fact that habits formed in childhood would survive in manhood and womanhood. The children who were taught to love the fresh air and flowers would be healthy in mind and body. He was not there to give a temperance address, he said, but he would impress upon them the necessity for watching carefully what they ate ind drank, for care in this respect would make them stronger physically and mentally. Everyone who had a valuable watch, for instance, took great care of j it, but there were many people who did 'not take such care of themselves. The watch could be replaced, but the man or woman could not. He was particularly pleased to see what was being done |to foster interest in agriculture, and also to note that the children were preparing themselves to be farmers and farmers' wives out on the rich land and in the fresh air.

These were, briefly, the ideals which Mr. Hanan set before the children at each school he visited, and made yesterday a happy day for hundreds o"f children in South Taranaki. Mr. Hanan also saw the part agricultural instruction is playing in the district and said he was highly impressed by it.

A BUSY MORNING. The Minister set out from Hawera by motor-car after breakfast, and did not return until late in the afternoon. He was accompanied by Messrs. F. Pirani (chairman of the Wanganui Education Board)', P. O'Dea (a member of the Board), E. Dixon (Mayor of Hawera, and a member of the board), W. Swanger (secretary of the Board), and his private secretary (Mr. F. M. Slierwood). The party'first visited the Tawhiti School, a branch of the District High School, and the necessity for a new building was pointed out' to the Minister. The present school was formerly a dwelling, and was unsuitable for a school. The teacher in charg* told the Minister a good story. One day, a Chinaman selling vegetables came there, and said the building was so like a house that he didn't think it could be a school and he was not impressed. When told that it really was a school the Chinaman was still doubtful, and left with the remark that if it Was a school it was a funny looking one. The Minister appreciated the story, which established the point of the request, and he promised to refer the matter to the Education Department. The District I High School wa 3 then visited, and the headmaster stated that eighty' old boys of the school were at the front. Then the Tokaora and Okaiwa Schools were visited, the Minister addressing the pupils and inspecting the gardens. The next stop was at Mr. J Stevensou's farm at Kapuni, where the Board's agricultural expert had carried out several experiments, which the Minister wished to see, and also to ascertain the opinion of farmers as to the value of the work the expert was doing. Mr. Stevenson provides a typical example of the farmer who is taking advantage of the expert's knowledge, and he is very enthusiastic regarding the benefits or experiments. Mr. Stevenson kindly entertained the party to morning" tea, which was greatly appreciated, and they then went on to Kaponga, where the school was visited. The Minister expressed keen pleasure at seeing the excellent gardens which the pupils had.

FARMERS AND EXPERIMENTS. After lunching at Kaponga, the party visited Mr. Tait's farm in the neighbourhood, Mr. Tait offering an example of the attention the small farmer is paying to the assistance given bv the expert.

In welcoming the Minister, Mr. Tait expressed the hope that the National Cabinet would do all it could to expedite the Opunake railway. The roads in the district were very good, but the farmers had to pay heavy rates, for the heavy traffic made the' up-keep enormous.

The Minister said that as Minister of Education he was very anxious to see the educational work which was being carried on in that part cf New Zealand. The desire of the Government was to do away with the weak districts because stronger districts were wanted for the benefit of education. He was seeing what was being done in the Wanganui district in order to introduce into other districts the' best features of educational work. Mr. Hanan said he was very gratified to see the interest taken by farmcri In agricultural instruction.

Science was now playing an important part in agriculture, and was showing that farmers were inclined to take too much out of the soil. He was very impressed with the importance that was attached in the district to the results of technical knowledge, for he was convinced that fanners Bhould be skilled so that they could get the most out of their land. By doing this they were going to increase the wealth of New Zealand.

In reply to the Minister, Mr. Tait said that farmers did not think this work should be left to the Department of Agriculture, but should be continued by the Education Department. Mr. Pirani pointed out that the time would come when there would be great.er sub-division of land in New Zealand and more men would have to be found to go on the land. Mr. J. Marx (who joined the party here), thought tSe Agricultural Department should assist the Education Department in training the children at school and in teaching them afterwards. The technical instructor was doing a great deal of t good. The children became intereste'd in agriculture, and they took their interest home with them and spread it amongst their elders. If the love for agriculture was grounded in the children at school they carried it with them through life. In view of the splendid work which the Education Department was now doing in this direation, he thought it would be disastrous for the Department to stop now.

\VISIT TO MANGATOKI. The party then went to Mangatoki, where the Minister inspected the school grounds and gardens, and addressed the pupils. Before leaving the school, Mr. Hanan planted a tree in the garden. Mr. Pirani announced that the school committee had given him a cheque for £SO, making £IOO altogether, towards the cost of improvements at the school. The party then adjourned to the hall and were hospitably entertained at afternoon tea by the ladies of Mangatoki, Mr. F. H. Watts, on behalf of the School Committee, expressed the unanimous wish of the committee that the district should remain in the Wanganui Education District, and he said if any change was made it should be in the direction of joining the Taranaki Education District to the Wanganui Education District.

Mr. Pirani expressed the thanks of the party to the ladies for providing refreshments. 4

The Minister said that the people of Mangatoki had increased the volume of appreciation he had heard of the work of the agricultural expert, Mr. and it had also shown to him that farmers recognised the importance of agricultural education. It was his hope that this feeling would spread throughout New Zealand. The results of this education of farmers would be an increase in the country's output and would also increase New Zealand's hold on the markets of the world. South Taranaki was a veuy prosperous district and farmers were putting pounds into their pockets by taking advantage of Mr. Brown's knowledge and skill. In regard to the education boundaries question Mr. Hanan said he could not commit himself, nor would he express any opinion on the question. The matter was now entirely in the hands of the Council of Education. As far as he was concerned he was only anxious for one thing, and that was that education would proceed in the direction of securing for people better training for the occupations they took up in life. He hoped the decision of the Council of Education would be in the interests of ,the children, and in the interests of the resources of the country. The party then returned to Hawera.