OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4454, 14 April 1883, Page 3

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL.

(To the Editor of the Kyening Star). Sib,—ln reply fo (he letter of your correspondent, "Gracchus," 1 may state that the reanon.why the"Thames School Committees do not amalgamate and bo come a body of some importance, instead ■ of a mixture of iron and clay as at present —is because the chairman of each Com. saittee is now virtually the Committee, '. and although they neglect doing any good, they feel that if we had only one Committee there could be only one chair- , .: man, and they would lose the positions which they now cling to without honour. As to the writing supposed to be taught in our Public Schools, it is simply, a disgrace to all concerned, there are not six scholars amongst Ihe whole of them, who can write well—in- fact they are not - tanght how to hold their pen correctly, which is a fatal mistake, because the constmction of the human hand dops not change, and therefore to write freely and well the pen must be held in a certain position. The whole school system is carried on in an equally absurd manner, and considering its enormous cost and yery bad results, can only be described as a gigantic fraud and waste of public,money. The children are treated like little pigs to be driven into school and driven out '' again. The majority of them are en irely without good manners, for the teason that ' many of .their teachers are equally so. It ia practically useless for parents to attempt to alter the present state o? things in the face of vested interests and the accumulation of regulations issued by the Central Board, at the suggestion of its Secretary and Inspector of coarse. I may therefore answer your correspondents . last query by saying that private schools are a necessity, tor those who desiretheir children to be taught anything which can be useful to them in adult life.—lam, Ac, \ K.W.A; [We have eliminated a strong sentence from the end of this communication, as we deem the statement in it inaccurate.—Ed. Stab.] .