THE Wairarapa Mercury. MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1867. TOWN EDITION. STATE OF EDUCATION IN THE WAIRARAPA.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 31, 5 August 1867, Page 2

THE Wairarapa Mercury. MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 1867. TOWN EDITION. STATE OF EDUCATION IN THE WAIRARAPA.

God forbid that we should underestimate the benefits which a sound education, in its broad signification, is so well calculated to confer upon mankind, we must nevertheless be permitted to doubt whether the advantages of mere instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic have not been overrated. Such instruction has its advantages, but they are neither of that character, nor of that magnitude which many well-meaning men require to believe. Instruction, in its broadest sense, means intellectual training, by which the mind is supposed to acquire the faculty of reasoning and of drawing accurate conclusions from observed or recorded facts. Rut notwithstanding the immense improvement which has taken place of late years in the machinery by means of which such instruction is sought to be conveyed, we doubt whether intellectual training, in the sense here referred to, has been much facilitated or much extended by it. The difficulties which formerly existed to the acquisition of knowledge constituted means of themselves for intellectual training which proved more efficient for the purpose than those which have been substituted for them. There may be a more easy method adopted now for acquiring a smattering of knowledge than existed formerly, but the intellect cannot be strengthened nor the mind cultivated by any easy process. But education in its common significance does not even mean intellectual training, but the mere initiation in the arts of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and though an initiation in these arts is beneficial and even necessary, the facilities which now exist for such initiation are rather calculated to retard than to promote the pupils intellectual training. A man may receive a sound intellectual training without knowing how to read or write, and a man who can read and write with facility, and even pass the examination of our School Inspector may be without any intellectual training worthy of the name, or with such, intellectual training which may have nevertheless failed to give a right direction to the energies of the mind, to suggest virtuous principles, or to promote the cultivation of moral and useful habits. The instruction of the fireside is really an important branch of education, and it is here, and not in the common school, where lessons of good or evil are generally acquired. Elementary instruction in early youth is not without its advantages, but a lad 15 years old could, if he put his mind to the work, obtain a better knowledge of reading, writing or arithmetic in six months than he could have acquired at an earlier period in six years by being sent to school. But children, by being sent to school, acquire something more than instructions in reading, writing, &c., they are or ought to be taught, habits of cleanliness, order, obedience, and good behaviour, and hence school education means something wider and better than what the term—elementary instruction, now so much insisted on, is capable of conveying ; ana for our part we would excuse a teacher’s ignoronce of mental arithmetic or of the fivers in Africa, if he could prove to us that he could enforce the strictest discipline by moral suasion only.

We give below an account of the condition of the common schools which have been established in the Wairarapa, extracted from the report of the Inspector of Schools, which we have no doubt will prove very interesting to the majority of our readers. It will be gathered from this statement that the two most efficient teachers then in the district were the two worst paid; but we hold that it is a fallacy to suppose that teachers who can best pass an examination of a School Inspector are consequently the most competent to teach.. The facility shown in acquiring knowledge, or the mere possession of knowledge does not in any way indicate the ability or the tact to convey it to others. One man may answer all the questions put to him at an examination, and yet from some natural defect be not a competent teacher, and another shall not be able to answer the major part with accuracy ( and yet from having his heart in his work, andanatmul capacity for it, be a very competent teacher for a common school.

Featheeston. —A small mixed school, mostly girls, under a mistress ; bnildiug sufficient in size, but neither lined, painted) nor fenced; furniture poor; no wall maps; teacher pro. tem. uncertificated but experienced; progress very

fair ; order and discipline good ; attendance very irregular; registers imperfectly kept j time table not in use.

Tauheeenikau. — A mixed school, under & master ; opened since January, 1866 ; buildings new and very good, not painted ; maps and apparatus insufficient; teacher holds a license till the examination in 1868, appears a painstaking and successful teacher; order and discipline satisfactory; registers correct but untidy; time table not in use. Greytown.—A mixed school, under a master and mistress ; building poor, and not conveyed to school trustees, neither lined nor painted ; furniture fair; books fair, but maps old and poor ; teacher holds certificate of compentency ; is diligent and successful; progress satisfactory; order and discipline satisfactory ; method fair ; registers correctly and neatly kept; time table not in use. Morrison’s Bush.— A small mixed school,, under a mistress ; building very small and poor, neither lined nor painted ; fence and outbuildings dilapidated; committee very inactive; books, a fair supply; apparatus deficient • teacher holds certificate of merit, class 3, grade 8., had some training in the Otago Central School, skilful and energetic; progress satisfactory ; order and discipline good; method good; registers satisfactory; time table well arranged.

Carterton.—A mixed ichool, under a mistress ; buildings too small, neither lined nor painted, without desks or apparatus ; no wall maps ; the teacher is badly paid and the weekly fee too small—the district proportionately careless about education ; teacher holds certificate of merit, class 3, grade 8., is active and painstaking ; progress under the circumstances satisfactory ; order and discipline good; method fair; registers fairly kept; time table no in use.

East Mastekton.—A small mixed school, mostly boys,under a master ; building sufficient in size for school-room ;no dwelling ; site not conveyed to School Trustees; no fence no outbuilding; books and apparatus insufficient; no wall maps, teacher holds certificate of competency ; but is unsuccessful or negligent in his work ; progress unsatisfactory ; order and discipline bad; registers imperfectly kept, time table not in use.

Note.—l have visited the school since the above report was written and find considerable improvement.

West Masteeton.—A mixed school, under* mistress, opened since January, 1866 ; building sufficient for school-room, but not on school site no dwelling ; books and apparatus insufficient : no wall maps : teacher holds certificate of competency, is 'experienced and able ; order moderate ; discipline lax ; method fair ; registers satisfactory; time table not in use.

We also learn from the report from which the above statement is extracted that the salaries of the school teachers last year at the schools referred to were as follows;—At Featherston £100{; Tauherenikau £120; Greytown £140; Morrison’s Bush £SO; Carterton £80; East Masterton £9O; and West Masterton £7O. Greytown furnishes by far the largest number of scholars, and East Masterton has the worst school teacher ; but how good teachers can be expected at such salaries is beyond our comprehension. The salary paid to the School Inspector far exceeds in amount the sum contributed by the Government in aid of the salaries of all the school teachers in the district. The Inspector informs us that the Government place it in the power of every district to secure a grant of £75 per annum towards the salary of the teacher, but if he had added that by the plan adopted most aid was given where leastwan ted, and least aid where most required the information would have been fuller and more accurate. Town and village schools receive more assistance than is necessary, while those in country places, like most of those in the Wairarapa, do not receive the aid absolutely’ required to secure efficient teacher*. We long ago called the attention of the Government to the subject, but instead of contributing one-thrid to town schools and two-thirds to country schools, as we recommended, they persist in maintaining the absurd andunmir system with which they started. If Government aid is required at all, it is manifest that it is required most in sparsely populated districts. We shall return to this subj ect.