Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1897. SWEATING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XVIII, Issue 4364, 6 December 1897, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1897. SWEATING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

For some time past an agitation has been carried on, having for its object the introduction of technical education into the swllabn? Of the public schools. When the education p0 came into force twenty years ago, .the only |and. of technical education included in it jvas needlework ; and the instructions the© la;d down for the guidance of teachers have remained unaltered! to the present time, But jiittiqu&tj thf syllabus for the school sewing was unchanged, the requirements of the inspectors have become much more exacting, and, in order to meet these, tjie sewing teachers in the state sclipols have palled upon to devote a great deal more of the|r tip.® and attention to the preparation of the work for the girls " - *n«b ¥ to b« wjpected Urn $*%

under the circumstances. We are fully aware of the importance of sewing as a branch of instruction absolutely essential to a girl's education; out unless it be given a much more prominent place in connection with the standard passes in our public schools, it seems quite unreasonable that so much should be required by the Inspectors at the annual examinations. Thefact is, the way sewing mistresses—in the larger schools at anyrate — have been compelled to work long before and after the usual school hours to prepare the sewing for their classes, is nothing less than sweating. Recognising that some effort should be made to remedy such an unsatisfactory state of things, the lady teachers of Canterbury held a meeting in Christchurch some months ago to discuss the matter, and, if possible to suggest some better system of teaching sewing in the State schools. A report was drawn up in support of certain resolutions passed at that meeting, which re port is before us, and as the authors are not only experts, but are among those best able to give an opinion upon the deft cts of the present Bystem, we cannot do better than quote from it. It is pointed out that as sewing has never been a pass subject at annual examinations there is nothing to excite wonder that it has never occupied much of the head masters time and attention. " Similarly, inspectors have allotted marks to the sewing presented without any strict inquiry into the quantity of work done, and the amount of the burden undertaken by the teacher." On this point it may be added that the very absurd practice of submitting the work to the judgment of a non-expert, such as a Government school inspector, often leads to much disappointment to the painstaking and honest teacher, whose girls present work entirely their own, excellent and creditable alike to teacher and taught ; but not so highly marked by the inspector as that done in other schools, chiefly by the teachers and pupil teachers. That this is not only possible, but actually occurs under the present system of examination, many parents who have had girls attending certain schools are well aware, and if such an evil were the only one sought to be remedied by the lady teachers of Canterbury they would be entitled to universal support. But other blots upon the system have been pointed out, and as we have said, the uncalled for demands upon the time and energies of the teachers constitute one requiring prompt action to remove. Concerning this point the report says that " While it is undeniably a good thing to have the layman's interest in a reform movement, there is always a possibility that, through lack of practical know ledge, his anxiety for justice in one direction may lead him to overlook injustice in other directions." This proposition received an amusing confirmation a few days ago, when at a meeting of school committee d«!exatee held in Christchurch. more than one member protested against any change being made in the sewing syllabus, one going 80 far as to assert that " the agitation for a reform was merely got up because the teachers were too lazy to do the work now required !'' The ladies who framed the report on the sewing question, showed that they were, at least, good judges of human nature when they anticipated that through, lack of practical knowledge, it was more than possible an injustice would be done to them by the nonexperts who have be6n entrusted with the supervision of education matters throughout the colony. We. however, are not prepared to admit that the mere lack of practical knowledge concerning the question of teaching sewing in schools should be accepted «s a reason or excuse for School Committees or the public opposing a reform in the sewing syllabus, and a modification of the requirements of the inspectors. Although few njembers of School Committees have a practical knowledge of sewing, none can plead ignorance of the fact that the sewing mistresses are continually engaged outside of the regular hours in preparing the girls work, and we could name some committeemen having relatives employed in teaching, who must be aware of a matter so well known to all members of the teaching profession, the report very pertinently points out that "sewing and cookery and carpentry sheuld stand on the same footing, and be somewhat equally taught, but in fapt the twp latter are omitted altogether," and ft proceeds to show that both of these subjects might have been added, and all three taught "in a cheap and elementary way." But the present regulations have gone quite beyond that stage with regard to sewing, " and by prescribing cuttingout and garment making have dipped into the work of the expert," "and haye saddled the girls and sewing teachers "with purely technical operations that have no counterpart on the boys' side, or in the masters' work;" and at the same time the work now required is not for a primary, but for a technical or secondary school. In arguing against tlie provision in the present syll ibus for cutting out garments by the upper standards—a provision tha£; palls for much extra labor from the teacher^ the ladies' committee point out that the style of cutting out contemplated by the syllabus v quite out of date, and that "all that pupils now really require is a little practice in handling the patterns, now so cheap as to be within the reach of everybody." And !it is further sjiown that as the responsibility of*showing jbhat each article completed will bear close ihspectiorij it is evident that the adoption of garments for sewing practice' places " a burden unparalled anywhere else in the syllabus upon the sewing teachers." The sewing arrangements, we are informed, " create a drain—unjust and practically unprofitable, and useless— on the teacher's time, health, and chances for self-improvement. Preparing e|.ch pupils work " takes on an average the best par£ pjf two or three evenings a week, for the greafer part of the school year. Some teachers prefer to remain in the schoolroom to j do this work, and thus save themselves tfa© trouble of carrying the bags of sewing to and from fo<pe^ but the ] vitiated air of 1 the schoolroom, and the I fagged state of the' teacher at the end of the day, render this practice decidedly unhealthy," That this has been going on eyeri here jin Ashburton for yetts, every peri6»' interested j n

school matters well knows j and that it is nothing less than sweating in its worst form, for the teachers do not get aoy extra pay for their extra workmust be apparent to the most superficial observer. The views of the lady teachers were embodied in a series of resolutions, which have been adopted by the .North Canterbury Educational Institute, and ordered to be forwarded to the annual Council, which meets in Dunedin during the Christmas holidays. There is little doubt that the annual Council will endorse the views of the lady teachers on this ira portant question, and it is to be hoped that the Minister of Education will take steps to carry out tbe suggested reforms with as little delay as possible.