EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Evening Star, Issue 9462, 6 August 1894, Page 4

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

The monthly meeting of the Dunedin branoh on Saturday was presided over by Mr Paterson and largely attended

AMBULANCE. Mr A. Mathews (Union streot School) read a paper on 'Ambulance,' dividing his subject into three parts—(l) A short sketch of the Order of St. John; (2) a summary of the colonial branches of the order; and (3) tne introduction of ambulance into the syllabus. Speaking under the third heading, he said that for the past four years the Dunedin centre had been endeavoring to get the Minister of Education to place ambulance in the syllabus. These efforts were unsuccessful till towards the end of last year when a local M.H.R., who had been present at an ambulance lesson in one of the City schools, spoke so strongly in favor of the work that the Minister promised to inquire into the matter. When tho Premier was in Dunedin the railway corps gave an exhibition for his special benefit, and with which he was so favorably impressed that at the annual meeting of the centre he stated that in future he should use his utmost endeavors to forward the good cause, at the same time promising to recommend those in power to introduce ambulance work into the military, mining, and police examinations, besides asking the Minister of Education to place it in the syllabus. He (Mr Mathews) regretted the subject was not made compulsory. He believed there was not another lesson in which the pupils took so much interest and real pleasure. The plan he had adopted in Standard IV. was to devote a quarter of an hour each week to instruction in bandaging the various organs or bones that had been mentioned in the preceding day's lesson on physiology. This, he found, not only fixed that lesson but made it of practical value, resulting in much better marks being obtained at the annual examination, an item of no mean importance from a teacher's point of view. He ventured to say that by the time a boy had passed the Sixth Standard the physiology pure and simple which he hail learnt in Standard IV. was gone ; but with bandaging the remit was different, for when once a child acquired a good knowledge of the subject it would be retained through life, and at a moments notice could be put to practical use. Of what practical use was the chemistry or physics taught in the public sehools? He believed the time given to these subjects was wasted, as not one child in fifty could two years later answer the simplest question in either of them. One at least of these two subjects could be done away with and ambulance su'istituted. The course would then read: '' Physiology, ambulance, chemistry, or physics," the first two being compulsory. The result of a year's training in bandaging, etc., would be that in after years every man and woman who as children had passed through the schools would in case of necessity be able to render first aid, which in many cases meant saving life. Mr Mathews pointed out the value of knowing how to restore the apparently drowned, and how useful a knowledge of ambulance work would be in country districts in c&sos of dents where the nearest doctor was miles* away. He concluded by quoting four cases within his own experience where a knowledge of ambulance work had proved of great service. Mr Mathews, with the assistance of Mr J. Robertson (Union street School) gave a number of practical illustrations of ambulance work.

The discussion was taken part in by Messrs Johnson, Garrow, White, W. S. Fitzgerald, C. Smith, J. W. Smith, W. Don, J. Southwick, ant! the chairman.