DEPUTATION TO MINISTER FOR EDUCATION.

White Ribbon, Volume 21, Issue 251, 18 May 1916, Page 4

DEPUTATION TO MINISTER FOR EDUCATION.

On Tuesday afternoon, May 2nd, the deputation (Mesdames Atkinson and Evans) appointed by Convention to wait on the Minister for Education re Scientific Temperance Instruction in the schools, were received by the Minister. They took with them the* chart that had been forwarded to Convention by Mr J. \Y. Maunder, and also a copy of the chart and manual supplied by Mrs Neal, Superintendent for Scientific Temperance. The Minister was greatly interested in both of these, considering the former eminently suitable- for the higher standards, especially if the sheets could be printed in larger type, so as to be easily read when hung on the wall. The subject matter in them appealed to him as being excellent. It was most unfortunate that the manual b - longing to them had been lost in transit, as he considered that of equal importance with the charts themselves. Mrs Neal’s chart and manual also aroused very great interest, particularly the graphic representation of the effects of alcohol and tobacco on the human body and on the efficiency of the workers. The Minister requested the presence of th»- Director of Education, Dr. Anderson, but as he was away, Mr Caughley came- instead, and after examining the- < harts, he expressed the highest opinion of their value, being most struck by the coloured graphs and the* general suitability of Mr.s Neal’s sheets for school use. The Minister referred to the circular that he had sent last year to the Inspectors, and again stated that he considered Scientific Temperance ought to be a compulsory subject, and that he had requested the Inspectors to intimate to teachers that they were going to examine on the wall sheets. An exceedingly interesting conversation followed, in which the Minister deplored the fact that modern education was to a large extent receiving a wrong bias in making boys and girls regardless of the true dignity of labour. It was the tendency for them to aim at being clerks and typists, instead of going on the land or taking up domestic work. He was grieved to find that while the commercial classes in the High Schools and Technical Schools were crowded, comparatively little Use was made of

the facilities provided for agricultural or domestic science courses. He wished that parents would realise that six or twelve months study of Latin or French was really of very little value, and the time would be far better spent in work of a more practical nature, that would fit for life on the farm or in the house. Another lamentable fact was che unwillingness shown by boys and girls to give assistance in the home as soon as they began to attend the Secondary and High Schools. After thanking the Minister for his courteous and sympathetic reception, the* deputation withdrew.