The Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1865. EDUCATION.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 8, Issue 693, 21 October 1865, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1865. EDUCATION.

Besuming- the subject of. education, we would remark that our hopes of improvement soar far higher than the simple remodelling of our common schools, and that we trust shortly to . see the foundation of some institute, of loftier aims; and pretensions than the operation of theY Government system tinder the most able management ' is capable of effecting, or than the actual exigencies of the humbler classes positively demand. Provision must be made for those children destined to occupy positions in life involving the necessity of a superior men-!; tai training to that which it is witnm-the scope of such schools to afford, and great diversity of opinion must naturally exist as to tho most effective means by which that end may be attained. Am establishment corresponding to a grammar-school at home, would hardly meet the peculiar requirements of a community like, this. In fact, the general success of such institutions is matter of grave question. It is only in rare and isolated instances that the classical achievements of the pupils of _ such schools are at all brilliant or extras ordinary; their scholarship is not exten- ■•. sive or profound, and, in many cases, a few years' absence from habitual study almost completely effaces the impress of classical research, and leaves but an indistinct and inappreciable trace of their acquaintance with the languages of antiquity—sole vestiges of learning to bear,;, testimony to a master's anxious toil and, a pupil's patient industry. Yet we would by no means proscribe the classics from our proposed scheme : of education. On the contrary, they ought to constitute an important element therein, be made valuable auxiliaries thereof^ but rendered subordinate to the comprehensive purposes that education is designed to fulfil. A knowledge of the classics expands the mind, refines the taste, and liberalises the ideas. The exquisite beauty ' of thought and felicity of expression, with . which the best classical wqrks exuberate, guide us to an elegance and symmetry of conception and utterance in our vernacular tongue ; while the mental discipline through which that knowledge has been acquired, facilitates the study of modern languages and sciences, and renders it less difficult to grapple with other more subtle branches of learning. Therefore, while we do not withhold all lawful homage to the good influence of a cultivated knowledge of the bost Latin and Greek authors, we refuse to acknowledge it as the ne plus ultra of educational worth. We must not forget, too, that the average of a youth's attainments in these subjects does not extend beyond an indifferent acquaintance with Virgil and Xenophon, and an ingenuity in versification which enables him to construct elegiacs or iambics out of particular passages of Shakespeare or Milton. We are inclined to regard mathematics as a most important principle of school instruction. The severe aud inflexible process of reasoning, from the premises to the conclusion, is an exercise that invigorates and nourishes the most potent faculties of the intellect. The pupil, as he advances step by step in the consecutive chain of logical argument, is unconsciously taught to distinguish between the actual and the absurd, the genuine and the spurious ; is enabled to detect gold from tinsel, truth from falsehood. The power of abstraction, and the habit of fixing industrious and absorbing attention upon the subject of thought, is an important mastery of a valuable method of application gained by the assiduous mathematical student. English literature and composition, ought to hold a high place in our code of education, especially so far as they can be made subservient lo the pursuits of life for which boys are intended. It is notorious that very few boys leave school with a knowledge how to turn their education to any purpose of practical utility. The numerous academies that profess to teach " all the usual branches of an English education," seldom dismiss a youth from their walls, capable of rendering that English serviceable in the ordinary occupations of life. Very few are able to give a simple account of the most commonplace occurrence in plain, homely Saxon, aud in an intelligible and concise manner ; to conduct a correspondence relative to commercial transactions in a manner spirited and scholarly ; or to exhibit any palpable proof or indication

g vl^Jfc^^eal of tuition 5 through Ktj^c^ -'• ' '■■ v . 77|:Sfetoi7, :;^gr>phyv ahel the; ologies, Tmust: tS duly honoured in the distrib u tion yy^^J^.^Bi;tiimy I.ut the possibility ■ : P:6£?6ixt'y schools' degenerating into mere V crahiming establishments, by :. which a 7 youtfr^ill be taught a little of everything-, and not much of anything, should'be carefully guarded against. Sometimes the -faxige of subject is so vast and exhaustive that the most diligent pupil can attain only a superficial, knowledge of any one. A 7j boy, under these circumstances, enters the .-'j: world it the close of his academical probation, with a confused idea of the lives of the most remark and a :hazy recollection of certain dates connected with the history of his Own country ; aii 'unprofitable familiarity with certain countries and capitals, but an imperfect acquaintance with the leading features of geographical science . a bewilderment amidst botanical terms, monocotyledons, ;l di6btyledohs, &c. j sufficient skill in chemistry to be constantly exposed to risk, from trying, dangerous experiments ; and ail astronomical enthusiasm for gazing at the, stars when he ought to be in bed. .'. ' t ; v jLuiUiterian ip^ i j^i^mj^^^^-'feiioliF an. 1 " 'ei-teiitiq^" Btudy, as, by Vfert^ stimulating the activity of the mind, will create a literary arSpur within the pupil himself, and imbuiefhim with a keen relish for mental culture. • •"7' : " ,; ' ;:':rV' • ■ v : Jf a thirst for knowledge be once [implanted in 'a youth, if he be impressed with a due reverence for the immortal dead, and a fervent admiration of the illustrious living, he will instinctively prosecute his researches, and eagerly cultivate the highest advantages of intellectual enjoyment. We do not pretend to lay down the V precise limits to which school instruction shouldbe confined, but enough has been said to justify exertions. to organise an educational system adapted to the increasing demands of our population, and especially of that portion of it to which the views incorporated in this article have -V special reference. We can perceive no • -[._ extraordinary difficulty in : accomplishing : a, purpose equal only to what has been 7 achieved by similar communities. The ': 7 abtivity and resolution of a ; few energetic 'and determined individuals would do much 7 ; to place the education of the province upon a surer and more promising foundation, V .mdi to ensure creditable and satisfactory Results, commensurate with! the progressive advancement of the age.