"TRASH AND GOLD"

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 113, 13 May 1921, Page 7

"TRASH AND GOLD"

THE STUDY OF LITERATURE

MORE TIME REQUIRED.

English as a subject which should bo given pride of place in educational training formed the basis of ah interesting address delivered by Mr. T. Poarco (Invercargill), the retiring president of the Secondary Schools Conference, yesterday. "If English is the supremo subject in education," ho said, "are we achieving our goal when we turn out from our schools pupils who hardly read, write, or speak with fluency, and with little knowledge of English literature?" He went on to point out that teachers in secondary schools, !in tho intermediate stage between the primaries and the university, occupied a good position from which to survey the whole course. If they gave a' good grounding in English, insensibly they would mould the teaching of that subject in the primaries, arid eventually raise the present standard. Three years ago a motion had been passed asking the Department to strengthen the study of grammar in tho primaries. Could anyone say that ho had observed much improvement? . Could anyone say that tho syllabus of instruction in grammar was carried out?

Dealing with the most important phase of English, "the study of oui- glorious heritage of literature," he 'was prompted to ask whether in all grades a sufficiency of time was being devoted "to the comprehension and range of our literature" It seemed to him that there was too great a desire to make the reading of the primaries easy and interesting, too little desire to introduce them, to tho classics of our literature, the permanent and imperishable poems and prose, passages of our greatest authors. ' "I should like," ho said, "to see more literary gems an the readers,. and right from the first standard an introduction to what is good p.nd beautiful in our noble literature, so that imperceptibly there is created in the child a criterion of good taste, a power to discriminate between the ephomeral «)d the permanent, between trash and gold in our literature." As to memorising ho said:—"Of course, tastes differ in literature as well as in table; delicacies; but. I have sometimes been struck with the memorising by tho primaries of poor pieces of poetry, jejune pieces, both in thought and in finish. In the primaries of France a. table of classical pieces to bo memorisod is issued, with th/ deliberate purpose of familiarising, tlrfe child with the' highest and b'e^t of his literature. In the absence of these in our readers, a manual of l-epefcifcipn might very well be prepared, printed, and circulated by the Department." Secondary school teachers, he continued, should sco to it that their' pupils could read 'fluently and expressively and intelligently; that they c;uld sneak and writ© correctly p.nd clearly and, if possible, forcibly; -that they could appreciate and enjoy Rood literature; and that they had some knowledge of a fair range of author*. "Our time is all too short 'for this work," he said. "But if we have implanted some \lovo of reading that in after\life will,bo of use} and of comfort, and 'of solace, wo shall feel that our work has not been in vain." Ho felt that, not enough time was devoted to English. Mr. Poarco was of opinion that English should bo a compulsory subject for the B.A. degree. It seemed to him ah • intellectual absurdity that,V student could take a degree in an English-speaking country without a study of his Mother tonjrue. v .

"If then," ho concluded, "more literature were read, hi tho primaries, early moulding- the task; if more time could bo found in the necondarips for a wider wmgo o.f reading; and if insistence on tho continued study "of our literature were msdo in the university, tho general taste of tho copimunitv in literature would be dlevnted; and a,S our reading insensibly moulds our olmraeter, an ap-. prßCiation of what is good and a distaste of what is bad would .bo established within us. If we study our. masterpieces of literature, our thought* and our very utterance will in time be changed for the sjood. Our masterpieces will serve, 3* has be'en said, as prophylactics of taste. '