ARE HOME LESSONS NECESSALY?

Marlborough Express, Volume XXIX, Issue 201, 16 August 1893, Page 3

ARE HOME LESSONS NECESSALY?

Agood deal of correspondence has taken place in the newspapers recently on the subject of the necessity or otherwise of home lessons. A great diversity of opinion existed during tbe controversy, it being contended by some that the system of education could not bo carried on without home lessons. On the other hand, it was held that these additional burdens on the minds of the children were entirely unnecessary. Under these circumstances the experience of Mr Baldwin the head-master of the Sydenham school, who has just completed a twelve months' work without home lessons, will be interesting. A representative of the Press (Christchurch) had an interview with Mr Baldwin on the subject, and hia opinions will be found belcw: — " Last year," Eaid Mr Baldwin, "my attention was directed to the subject of home lessons by the fact that there were thirty-two boys punished in one day on account of non-completion of their home work. This decided me to put a stop to the imposition of sot home lessons altogether, and accordingly it was done. The home lessons were done away with, except the spelling and reading. A:l the other work which used to be done at home is now done in the school. Since I have taken thia step I may say that the writing in the school has greatly improved. The experiment as a whole with regard to tbe general work of the school has been a decided success, if one can judge by tbe result of the examination just 07er, in that there baß been an increase of from 2 per cent, to 4 per cent, in the passes, and a decrease of 1 percent, in the number of failures. lam now, after a year's experience, folly satisfied that the decrease in the home lessons has been in the interest both of the school and of the children. I have had no complaints whatever from the parents, but the reverse. I maintain that after a child has had five solid hour's work in the scbool it has had quite enough. I therefore came to the conclusion that there need not be any set home work at all, but that I would get the children in the upper standards to read standard literature at home. I then encourage them on Monday to write an account in their own worda of the literature they have been reading during the week. Now, in our school there is another matter to which I would like to call your attention. We have one half-hour's keepiog-in at the end of the gcoool day. I was very much amused to ; read in a ' Manual of School Method and Order, ' by a schoolmaster that * every moment outside of the school must be taken advantaae cf for study, aa there is so little time fo? a child to acquire knowledge. ' Now that might have been very well at Home ten years ago, when boys had to go to work at the age of ten years. But with regard to our boys here, they are thirteen, fourteen, and even fifteen yeara old when they passed the standards. As a matter of fact, the average stands at thirteen years seven months. Another cry that is raised ia that the home lessons are necessary to keep the children off the streets. But this, I would point out, simply means that the schoolmaster should do what the parents ought to do. If the parent3 do their duty then this statement has nothing in it at all. Another objection that I have found to be in force with regard to home lessons is that the teachers drift into the habit of giving so many home lessons that all the real teaching is stopped to hear the leesons which hava been set to learn at home. As I have said, the parents shirk their duty. There are many things in connection with household work which might be given to the children to do which would profitably occupy their time. Another olfaction to home lessons has come from the clergy, who say that the children have not got time, what with tbe home lessons, etc., to come to religious instruction. Now, with the system we are carrying out in our school, thi 3 excuse is done away with. Then let me eall your attention to the medical opinion on the subject. Dr Anderson, of Sydenham, read a paper at ths recent meeting of the Medical Association, to the effect that the prevalence of home lessons wa3 very injurious to health, more particularly as it affects the eyeßißht, through straining the eyea at night. What I eay ia tbis : if the work cannot be done in echool hours, then one of two things is the result— (l) That the teaching is deficient ; (2) that the syllabus is too large.