OUR SCHOOLS AND HOME WORK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 226, 21 September 1906, Page 2

OUR SCHOOLS AND HOME WORK.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—As the mother of- a child uttending one of our Public Schools I gft. dorse much, if not all, of what Mr Cotterell says in his letter of the 18th inst. My boy, not yet nine, is in Standard 11., probably the average age.for that standard. The homework' set is— Spelling: 30 lines of a reading lesson, about 20 of the more difficult words to be neatly written in syllables. Reading: Three lessons from text-book, as much as possible to be read in syllables. Meanings of words: 32 lines of reading in class-book, 20 lines being from one text-book, and 12 lines from another; twice a week one short verse of" poetry is to be learnt by heart, and occasionally, there may be an example in aritumetie to work. Now, I do not say that any of this work so set is difficult, but consider the time it must take if it is to be conscientiously done, and consider the injury -done to the writing, if scrawled, at such an early age! Is it any wonder we find boys and girls leaving school who cannot read or write properly, who have a useless smattering of numberless subjects, and who can perhaps work out more or less abstruse arithmetical problems which are no use to anyone (vide views of Southern business men lately quoteu in your paper). And why should a little child, after being confined under strict discipline for the greater part of the day have in the evening to start work again, when others of mature years find it necessary, to their health to rest and amuse thenselves? One half hour of the school day might well be set aside for the children to prepare the reading and spelling for next day under the supervision of the teacher. I may say that any complaint ' made as to the amount of home work brings a note from the teacher: "Sorry your boy cannot do the work of the Standard, am afraid he will have to go back a Standard!" Instead of leaving the amount of home-Wssons to the dlfl- i eretion of headmasters and teachers, I \ consider it should be regarded as an offence to even allow a child under ten. years to do any home work. I do not know whether a record of every stroke of the cane is kept—l am sure it must needs be a heavy one. Ldttle A.'s atten- ' tion flags a moment; thoughtlessly he looks round; one sharp stroke brings him to attention. Little B. forgets, repeats the offence, two strokes; little! C. gets four, the number of strokes being doubled each time—the teacher never realising that children are something; more than automatic. What' the schools want is less stick and fewer examinations (even headmasters' examinations), and the teachers more knowledge of child nature and its limitations.—l am, etc., A MOTHER WHO KNOWS WHAT SHE WRITES ABOUT.