EDUCATION MATTERS ABROAD.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 96, 16 January 1908, Page 9

EDUCATION MATTERS ABROAD.

; ' INTERVIEW ! WITH MISS M'LEAN. Miss M'Leah,/principal of the Wellington ; Girls', College,, who-has for the last year been travelling in England and the Continent with her sister, and who returned to Now Zealand by. tho"' Mahono yosterday, ■ has had a ; ' very delightful trip. It was not all a pleasure trip,.. jtbougli/tho"'primary .object' was rest, but Miss M'lj/ean ;took the opportunity of visiting many schools'in'England, Scotland, and Germany.-' ' I ' * . ' ■ _ r Leaving/New Zealand iin January,. 1907, Miss M'Leah. spent nearly' three .months iii Italy and the'.Riviera; visiting Naples, Florence, Rome,', and Venice. There was no disappointment /in the. .sight. of R.<jme, and. she .was' :intensqlyv'.Jnt®cstis'd in J 'rri'' that city,. ''.After.'a'brief stay in Paris,' Miss M'Lean /crossed, over to.-England to attend an educationajjcorifetence there, and sho then, visited the'.girls' school at v Oxford; Cambridge, Winchester, Cheltenhanij and the big London' schools,. The {esthetic quality of these schools appealed to her; tho gocxl furniture) the colouring of the rooms, and tlie pictures /with which the walls aro hung. She thought it excellent for the pupils! to receive their education in such an environment, and wished that New Zealand schools could imitate them in-these respects. - i i Asked; how she regarded New Zealand schools' iiftbr having seen the great institutions at (Home, Miss M'Lean replied that she thought our ,schools were excellent, and the work here was done under easier conditions since there were not so many local considerations .to take into account, nor such a variety of organisations and management. Our education is good, but sho thinks it would be of \great advantage if some, of our girls, after •passing through our schools, could go to some of the training schools or women's colleges at Home. . .. The heads in some of' these schools impressed Miss M'Leah- very much, and sho piloted -with approval what Professor Sadler ,said recently, that :, "Tho spirit, and tone of ■ our best higher, secondary schools for <jirls .seem to me almost the most precious things we. have in the educational life of England. These lie in an attitude of mind and certain reserve and way of looking at things which are rather conveyed hv example and a longcontinued personal influence, and this is because we have hundreds of women who havo given their .best attention to this development." It is 'liot only among tlie heads of .schools that this strongly impressive personality is found, but Miss M'Lean was struck' with the enthusiasm displayed by tho younger teachers to whom she was introduced by the principals; their vivid interest in their work', and tho keenness with which tliey would discuss it. The schools in Scotland impressed her especially with their animation. The teachers and pupils seomed to be on tho best of terms, and tho pupils would ask questions, (juito freely.. Several of the Scotch schools visited by Miss M'Lean have sent distinguished scholars to New Zealand. ' . From England Miss M'Lean went on her travels again, and had a most interesting tour through tho Mediterranean. In Athens she spent several days,-visiting points' of interest from there. In Palestine she paid visits to Nazareth, Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Dead Soa, and in Egypt she went down' to the Pyramids. Altoßethor it has been-a delightful tour, and Miss Jl'Leaiv declares' that she has enjoyed every minute of it.