THE RESULT OF CRAM.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume III, Issue 310, 4 October 1882, Page 4

THE RESULT OF CRAM.

As)Bpe^i% ejcamples, of the general "lack of intelligence" and "blankness of comptehenaioVan. Inspector gives tfttfolidwirig:^" A class of tall girls in Stindard Three or Four, in a school in the Forest of Dean, read out a story on ' The Panther ,' how two yotmg panthers had been caught in the wilds of Afric, with the frolics and kdventures of one of them. " JvTiat is a panther ? " I asked. A dead silence, and Question repeated, when tie tallest scholar suggested a " yoking' mim," and on reference to the top class the same answer was gravely gfyen. In a school near Car- \ diff, questipning ia class" of boy's on 4 the k^igfyra, sat round the festive bowt^afoer infinite pains, the only explanation of c bowl* to be extracted was (>wljat { ,pe,op)e,go to of anight to.danpe.'V;,;' „, * (< Domestic, ecqnqiny is one. of, the subjects infwpich girls in the upper standards are crammed, and the inspector for 'one of the metropolitan districts quotes thd following answers to questions on this subject : — '* Digestion' is pains in the head, pains in the stomach, bad. tempers." ♦'tfrom digeWtioh comb's consumption,'infiamatipn, 1 headache, neuralgia."'"'' 1 " " ' "" ' ' ' " Inldction's 'are 'brought on by bad smells 1 , 1 such as small-pox, measles, scarlet |ever, glass pox, etc., they are brought on' by ; bad drainerges, suers, they must be well venolated." " Infection: desease are caught by touching suph as charcoal, chlorid of lime, " etc. 11 Fainted. Ha person as fainted, take her out in • the dpen air, lay her down with her head. And do the clothing round theneck, and dashed cold water the face arid hand, and put Bine,lling,sault to her nose." Speaking more at large, the inspector aftys'r" I, myself know nothing abqut | the ' treatment of food (T)o'mestic Economy, Second Branch, Third Stage), but by help of a friend who does, 1 and who has been for years studying' by daily experiment how td cook; in the best way, the simple 1 materials on which poor families chiefly live, simple questions of' ! a very practical character have been put to girls, who are supposed tot Jiave' had special instructions in tliis branch . of the subject. I need haj^y.fjajj^t.t^hose questions have never heen answered, although elaborate >; [paragraphs .have • been , written about nitrogenous and carbonaceous fodcl. 1 " : Oli'the' same subject another indpectdr sd.ysf ! "lt has notunfrequeutly been'my'lot'to sit and listen with whirV patience 1 ' I Can command to an elaborate' leHson 6n 'ventilation, with learned disquisitions on the properties of air( btf draugnt.'up 1 currents, down currents and all the rest of it, uuaccompanle'd byijne 'slightest! effort at pr'ictickl"ill ) u's'Watlbn. Oil one occasion,'wb.en' 1111 11, 1 the' teacher had been enforcing the 'absolute necessity of an exit for 1 tHe 'impure air, if we had any' r^aid f6r ' and comfort, I saW '^ome of the brighter members of the;clfls^ ; glancing round and round the'roqn\.atj'jjlie places where the ventilators.sVuld have been, and were not." (( ' ' ,' ] ' *' Jjitjeratuue ". i^ another of the spejeiflc^supjectyj upon which grants can; be earned, a^d,regardihg this the metropolitan inspector quoted above, who is more free than most of his broth^n in'illustvating and supporting hi* general strictures by particular in»tances,i i ( ateports in the wise: — '•Boy»'*ind ,girls are drilled to repeat long passage*, of. -pimple poetry with great' i accuracy . and rapiaity ; but if one after; another 1 , explains that a hart is ,'Jcind, of rabbit,' that the laboms ingiswain is ' the! farm pig what toJUfe--about,! that the bending swa\a in 4 acotinti'jr dandy,' tliat'thekiMfthty ring is ' a tHing^cimposedby laaghisv' that, a ' ninfet" is, r a 'fire . in a binge,.' a battlement ,»'tf 'place of batt W aadJ so. on, it is'ldvi'd'ent that weairo dealing with! JapurelV! mechanical exercise o^ memory 'whidh,' has no educatior ja j valtie. ,j A!mong ither example 8 o f the' literary. 1 efforts of childrr ' utftfif" ttteraW the y a^ e llov gives the following, preir lising tliat the wi^er was/^wolye ' yea rs of age, haji .beeji six years.at. t> ae J game Bcliool and, made, .three hur idred nnd sixty . five atte.nda.^c^» 4»\ r ing the year :-- " Pear, ?ir ,-rI . write a few line as to say I Swill Vj down at Brightown for a, day ftoq no pi n g yow are quite iu!l#4/ti\ 4r.he children as I hear he was ve,rff d\ 'indeed and his she better. • • •!-•! ii'Shettought about come to GrenwlQiifor a.week or two. Have you nny^Awojk to do not much for J"^ 8 - —- is ill' and she cannot work So Mr. rr-^is gone f orse a trip to «ea for a v ear or two. Now Harry has P/W^of work/for he is making over time every night and he earns £2 £10 a week anqV ( h© gives ; half of it for my .self now ne das lodge at aunts now and boys her £ shilling a work and iioWfldoes'hi like if he* said ho his happy now then he was before"" By way of general; [comment upon all#ify#ff) jngpectpg mildly sop— "These are \ sorry, , results 'of six years' attenaaxic^ ai. costly elementary schools I ; "Waft 1 ' I do- noli think that I judge harshliy, or nniustly if I-II -I yaymod'Wh literaWe 'is, in the wotdts. of the New Code, 4 wftthUUs. W- a'toean* of education ; ' yet tth^'sifeatme'iw which I have copied] aue by no means unusual samplJs* ofl" chil'dreh's work. I wish tjbey wereJ*-^Alll the Year Sound.