THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2369, 27 July 1899, Page 44

THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM.

(Continued.)

In the natural and physical sciences and in mathematics there is less danger of the cultivation of the memory at the expense of the reasoning powers and the imagination, since in these subjects theoretical work and practical work proceed side by side. In natural and physical science the student has to show a practical knowledge of his subject before he is allowed to pit a written examination, while in mathematics the student is constantly doing original work ; but in subjects where the knowledge is obtained mainly from books the evils of the examination system are obvious. In literary subjects where the work is sometimes too wide to be overtaken in the time allowed, the student, in some cases as the only sure means of success has to learn up other people's opinions on a great many authors that he has perhaps not read. The student's difficulties, are added to by the fact that some examiners seem to have no conception of the time required to do even the appearance of justice to the papers they set. Some years ago tho English papers, for example, for the B.A. would have required small treatises in which to embody the answers, and how anyone could expect anything but the most meagre treatment of the questions passes my comprehension. In school the evils of cram are probably more apparept and more difficult to avoid. You all -know how ready children are to learn off by heart rather than think out for themselves, how readily they will give you word? that you find convey to them very little meaning, and how difficult it sometimes is to know whether they really understand, not merely what you say to them, but even what they themselves say to you. A teacher has to be constantly on the watch to see that the words his pupils use really represent ideae to their minds, and repi'esenl the proper ideas ; for words are not ideas, and as we have probably all found again and again do not necessarily represent ideas in the minds of the children using them. Now, preparation for written examinations tends strongly to encourage mere word acquisition, instead of the acquisition of ideas. But purely our work is to instil right ideas, not to fill the mind with meaningless words. We have to implant ideas that will grow and fructify into character and conduct. Mere word-learning is useless for this. If an excessive amount of work is demanded, and can be got through in the time allowed only by cram, are we not going directly against all the canons of education, against all the principles of psychology? Moreover by this cram we do not cultivate the memory, not even the verbal memory. Rather do we weaken the memory. We lessen its tenacity. On this point let me quote a recent writer : ' Memory is a habit, and memory in general is no more developed by cramming the child's brain with masses of words and figures than habit in general is developed by contracting the habit of playing cup and ball. When we force a child to remember trivial details, we do not strengthen, we really weaken, itf memory, because these useless details take the place in his brain of more important ideas. We know that the amount of knowledge which can find room in a human brain of average capacity is after all limited ; that one group of subjects may expel another; for instance, the pursuit of words is inoompat ible with the pursuit of ideas — frivolities are incompatible with graver matters. Not only is it harmful to store the brain with rubbish, which, so to speak, empties it, and does not fill it, but we ipso facto create a facility of adaptation with respect to those matters, mid make mind and memory .\like unfitted for the reception of really useful and serious ideas. The memory being nothing but a faculty of adaptation, it is deformed instead of being exercised if we adapt it to knowledge of inferior rank. Besides, facility in memory is one thing, tenacity another. The abuse of competitions, examinations, curricula fixing a total of knowledge to be acquired by a certain date, far from tending to develop, tends rather to destroy the tenacity of the memory. We all know tho feeling of intellectual relief aftor an examination, when we feel the brain freed from all that was so hastily thrown into it, when we feel it regain its equilibrium, and forget. An examination, for most pupils, is nothing but permission to forget. A diploma is often only permission to become ignorant again ; and this healthy ignorance-, which roturns by degrees after the day of trial, is often the deeper in proportion as the student,, has undergone more mental strain in mustering all his knowledge by a fixed dale, because of the nervous exhaustion necessarily consequent upon it. All knowledge 'that is not assimilated is an added burden to the mind and represents useless expenditure of energy.' " In order to pass well, Bay, in geography, the children in our primary tchools have to learn off by heart like so much poetry a great number of facts and name 3 that are mostly useless even as ' useful information,' and certainly quite useless as a menial discipline. A pupil who has passed the Sixth Standard has spent as lmich time and mental energy in learning geography as otherwise employed would have enabled him to obtain a fairly good knowledge of the best English literature, or even to acquire another language. If the pass in geography were abolished, I am quite sure that geography would be better taught and would be more interesting and more valuable to teacher and pupil than it is at present.

" The great evil that attends the acquirement of memory knowledge for examination purpose? without proper assimilation of that knowledge is the weakening of the power of original thought. The more one ponders over school work and its responsibilities, the more is one impressed with the great value of a good disciplinary training and the relatively small value of the knowledge acquired. If we merely impart knowledge without a thorough training in the use of that knowledge, wo are imposing a burden but withholding -the power to carry it ; we are fitting out a pupil for the battle of life by supplying him with weapons of war, but neglecting to train him to use them. School education is useless so far as it fails in preparing boys and girls in some measure to I've. As it has been said, ' Teachers should always keep in mind that it is not the boy but the man they are educating.' I am afraid we do not always keep this in mind, and one of the things that makes us forget to do so is this same examination pressure. In spite of all our theory, we are apt to confine our teaching to the exieencies cf the hour and say wo must make our pupils ' pass,' overlooking the more important fact, the effect our teaching will hay upon the character and conduct of our pupils in fitting them to be good citizens of a free country. Amidst much that is vague, Herbart insists again and again upon this. ' The formation of character,' he says, ' is the aim of education. The worth of a man is not is what ho knows, but in what ho wills.' If this then is our aim, to form character, we must develop as much «s possible the power of_ original thought, encourage independent thinking in preference. to servile dependence on books, cultivate the imagination wisely, and constantly keep before our pupils and before ourselves the highest ideals. We are

all aware of the ease with which charlatans, even in these enlightened day 3, can find dupes. We smile a smile of superior wisdom when we read of the South Sea scheme, of Cagliostro, of the elixir of life, and then we risk our memory in a gold mine, rush in crowds to visit the lady in the golden chariot, and ex- , pect to get perpetual motion from a Keely motor. Crowds are swayed this way and that as their fancy is captured by the orator 1 of the moment, and even in the weightiest matters, social and political, people act I oftener on impulse and fancy than from i reasoned conviction. Superficiality in edu- | cation tends to increase this fickleness. The remedy to a great extent lies in the formation of strong menial habits, in ■ the cultivation of the power of independent thinking on everything that requires decision.

(To be continued.)