CATHOLIC READERS.

New Zealand Tablet, 18 February 1915, Page 31

CATHOLIC READERS.

To the Editor.

Dear Sir, —As the delegate responsible for the remit, proposed at the recent meeting of the Catholic Federation, held in Timaru, regarding the advisability of approaching the hierarchy on the subject of a Catholic reader for our primary schools, I should like to state, in answer to Father O’Brien, that it is precisely because the authorities in the United States and in Australia have long since provided for their schools a suitable reader, that we, too, should neglect no longer to provide the same for our numerous schools. It must be evident that such a serial, compiled expressly to meet the requirements of foreign countries, cannot be considered quite suitable for use in this country. There will, of course, be in all Catholic readers selections from Catholic classics, that are the inheritance of all; but in regard to local history, whether of the country or of the Church in it, nature study, etc., special provision must be made by the educationists of each country for their respective charges. I remember, years ago, that a Catholic reader compiled by, I believe, Bishop Gilmour, of the U.S.A., was used in the Catholic schools of Westland. As far as my remembrance gees, it was not considered quite suitable even in those days for us young New Zealanders.

I would go further and state, that as our education boards now require the use of the Continuous Reader, in addition to the Standard Reader, that we should have some Catholic classic Fabio/a, Caflistu, or any such work, —instead of those recommended by the education boards. I have read that John Ayscough’s FauHttln is approved for such use in the schools of England. I was reading with a class the other day, a lesson in the School Journal for the present month—it was quite an ephemeral bit of literature inspired by the war, and it dealt with Poland. I don’t say it is altogether objectionable, but Poland’s pitiable state was all the fault of the corruption of Polish nobility, etc. Now, I don’t think that is the Catholic version of the history of that country, and it seems to me that we cannot maintain the boasted Catholic atmosphere of our schools if we allow our children to derive their earliest knowledge of history from polluted sources.

Again, I understand that the history manual, in use in our Catholic schools at the present time, is the Highroad* of History. Now, our teachers have told me, that in using this work they are frequently obliged to explain away to the children its erroneous presentation of facts relating to the religious strife of other days. Have we nothing of our own to place in I lie hands of Catholic children ?

Apologising for trespassing on your space.—l am etc.,

Delegate