HISTORY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10593, 27 March 1912, Page 4

HISTORY.

According to the Inspector of tbt Wellington Education Board, history as the least satisfactory of the subjjets taught in our primary schools. "There is," say the Inspectors, "a iaok of definite aim in its general treatment, and too much reliance has been placed on ,the dreary compilation of facts and dates which have hitherto done duty for text-book After most careful consideration.' a new publication, "The High-roads, ../f. History," ■has been issued to air our schools. The hooks have been so selected as to enable the subject to be treated on the periodic system, in large schools, while in th case of small country schools it has been thought better fin view of fhe shorter school Life and more broken time of the pupil) to adopt the concentric system. The series, which is beautifully illustrated aiiid possesses high literary merit, provides not only a thoroughly comprehensive course of British and colonial history, but contains also a survey of ancient history sufficient for all reasonable rtquirements. But after all no book can supply the place of intelligent teaching. tvr.ti no v.(V

ject is more difficult to teach, or demands more skilful treatment, than history, and we heartily welcome the recent amendment in the Depart-men-t'vs regulations which ensures that for the future proper prominence will he given to this subject in the professional training of the teacher himself. The absence of history from the compulsory subjects for a certificate, by depreciating its value in the eyes of the teacher, has in the past encouragtd him to neglect what is really a most important branch of English- literature."