"JOURNEY SCHOOL."

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9299, 29 July 1901, Page 8

" JOURNEY SCHOOL."

An Australian's Novel Idea. A Victorian school inspector was recently responsible for a new departure in the matter of education that will probably be largely imitated in Australia. It was the inauguration of a " Journey School," by which a large party of schoolboys were taken a two days' trip and shown a number of interesting country industries. About eeventy of the highest scholars in the" upper standards of several neighboring schools gathered at Shepperton to undertake a road journey to the Agricultural • College at Dookie, the Chateau Dookie Vineyard, the surrounding hills, and a model dairy farm, and to receive appropriate lecturettes from competent men on the various points of interest. The Minister for Education lent his patronage to the undertaking by coming to see the expedition Btart and promising a silver medal to the lad who wrote the best essay on the trip. Each lad's kit consisted of a blanket or rug, a towel, brush and soap, notebook and pencil. Traps and waggone were provided by parents and teachers and on a cloudless Bunny morning the merry party set off. When half way to Dookie a halt was macle, and one of the teachers, who is also interested in farming, gave a lesson on soils, illustrated by various samples, and showing how they had been formed and fpr what crop each was most suitable.! At the Agricultural College the boys were divided into four squads, and taken in charge by the resident teachers. The vinery, the butter factory, the poultryyards, piggeries, experimental wheat plots, olive oil making, which was in full swing-—all afforded rich material for illustrating object-lessons which may be given in the schools. ... It was interesting to.watch the lads crowd round Mr Pye to catch his explanations, and attempt, as best they could, to set down in their note-books, while on their legs, the chief items of interest. It was work that was new and difficult, and some of the notes became ludicrously jumbled. After a visit to the poultry-yard, where a fine group of Langshans were Shown, and the piggeries, where there were some good Berkshires, a< peep at one little chap's book revealed somethiug about Berkshire hens and Langshan pigs. That night the boys were billeted, free of charge, amongst the residents of the township, taking their meals at the hotel, and early next day a start was made on foot for the Chateau Dookie vineyards, where the whole process of wine-making and distilling was shown and explained, from the pruning of the vines onward. After this the whole party climbed up a high neighboring hill, and at the summit the teacher gave a lesson on geology, and the story of the rocks, after which another had something to say about birds and their habits, impressing upon the boys that it was baa form to kill insect-eating birds. Then another teacher gave a lesson on local geography, illustrated by views from the top of the hill of a landscape that stretched for sixty miles into the blue distance. The return journey began in the afternoon, being broken on the way by a visit of inspection to a model dairy farm where the process of profitable butter-making was explained. The boys enjoyed the trip immensely, and the idea is one which will assuredly be taken upon an extended scale if teachers and parents are alive to its benefit.