RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 11110, 6 May 1911, Page 10

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS.

— <! THE CHRISTCHUIICH EXPERIMENT. (By Tclcffrarili.-Snecial Correspondent.) Christcliurch, May 5. Li the course of a conversation with a "Lyttelton Times" reporter, Mr. S. C. Owen, headmaster of the Combined Schools in the East Christcliurch school district, made some remarks on the subject of the religious instruction' being given in the schools under his charge. The. lessons so far had been a success, Mr. Owen slated, though the attend-' anco had fallen off slightly since the first lesson. It had been found necessary to forbid the attendance of a few unruly pupils whose behaviour had been objectionable, but on ilie whole the discipline had been excellent. The work so far had been considerably hampered by the slackness of one of the instructors, who had attended once only out of the- livo times that the school had been open for religious instruction. Failure to attend on the part of one of the instructors meant that two classes had to bo crowded into one class-room and a double portion of work given to an instructor who probably already had as many in his class as he could comfortably keep in order. The unfortunato part of the scheme, however, was that the children who were attending the classes, were not. really t the ones, who, specially needed religious insiruetioiiVaa the majority of them were attending Sunday schools. Several of the teachers had made inquiries from the chil-' dren, and had ascertained thai in most of tho classes only one or two children were not pupils of Sunday schools. Altogether, there were about GOO children not attending the classes, and it .was felt that these were the ones who really needed instruction. None of. the school staff attended at the lessons, Mr. Owen stated, as ho had been specially asked by the ministers that tho trained teachers should not he in. tho classrooms to embarrass tho untrained teachers. Ho confident that tho work was progressing favourably, though it would bo impossible to form any opinion as to what might happen in the future. The success of tho movement rested to a jrrent oxtent with tho ministors, and if they showed slackness in attending the children would have to bo sent home, and the whole scheme disorganised.