HOME WORK AT SCHOOLS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 17 April 1907, Page 2

HOME WORK AT SCHOOLS.

J To the Editor. Sir, — With reference to some remarks which were made at the Town Schools Committee meeting last Monday evening, will you allow me to state that the home' work set in the town schools is extremely little in amount and of such a character as to require no assistance on the part of the parents. It is true that a few parents do coach their backward children in the evenings, but of course they do this of their own free will, not at the request of the teachers, who have therefore no responsibility in the matter. Although the new syllabus is somewhat overburdened, it is acknowledged by all to be infinitely superior to the one it superseded, and it is, in my opinion, better than any other syllabus in force anywhere in the whole world. The spirit and letter of it from cover to cover are entirely directed against "cram," and I venture to say that those who speak of the present system as being one of cram simply do not know what they are talking about. But the size *of our classes is undoubtedly a great evil, and it will indeed be quite impossible to do anything like justice to the children and give them the amount of individual attention they require until we have at lear 4 double the number of teachers that we have at present. But that is merely a question of £.s.d. The colony spends less than one million annually on education and over three millions on drink. If only the amount now squandered in drink were devoted to educa- I tional pnrrmsps. Uift nnmWr of teacliers could be trpblod and various other > improvements effected. I am, etc.. F. G. GIBBS.