OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 1472, 8 November 1881, Page 2

OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM

(To the Editor of the Hkrald.)

Sr R) _The subject of your le.der of Monday J. "I, is one wh'ch h. t not hi.bor.o met wiih that a.ten/onri the hau^s of .he puMic ;?enerJly, which i s impor.jnce enH.'rrj it to It is not possib'e to ignore the f.ct that there is al.'r ; 8 numoer of per-.ons in (he colony who are dirwu. : s2-d with our general edtjca'o)}.'l system, not merely on ihe ground ot the exi.ava^.itit expenditure which »t iivolvn, and of i.s "cram." but mainly on account of the ob lacles wh'ch it unf|uos; : oi)ably pace-" in the V7ay of any adequaie moral and re'ijious insfrucion. Now, those per. ons are not stupid fanuiics, con.'endin^ blindly for a mere sen'tirent. It wou'd be found on enquiry ib it, though taking no very prominent pjrt in pol<l.i*-, they are «renei-a'lyq'»ietlawabidina[peoplesirivin< to do their duly failhfnlly (o one another and (o (he Sale, and anxious (o see those children in whom they are interesiad breuiht up in such a manner ns to fit them in every way to be useful members of society, ft is such as these that form the back-bone of every community, and Mieir vi-*ws on any question which >hey feel lobe ur<rfl"t, may he overborne for a tim« by those of the more obstructive c'hsb '>f prnfeiaed po'it Icians, but will probably assert themselves vi-orously in the end, though it may be after many such a " crushing defeat" as you dpeuk of. Yon, wich a good many others, assume that the question at issue is whether the present fre« and compulsory system of education is (o be undenominational or not. This assumptio i, I think, is a mistake, though it may receive some support from the character of the Rill which was introduced into the Legislative Council last session by the Hon. Mr. Menzies. The Roman Catholics as a bony contend for the ri^ht of havinsj thoir children educated in their own schools ; but they have taken no part in what is called the "Bible in Schools" agitation. This ha« been conducted by members of other religious bodies, and I have observed that many of the leaders of this movement for securing religious instruction in schools, are altogether opposed to what is called the "denominational system." The question whether State aid should be given in any Torm to private schools is a very important one also, but it is not the question now at issno ; though the granting of such aid would perhaps satisfy some of those who are taking part in the present agitation. RThe roal questioa If,

whether or not tho State, having done a'l in its power to extinguish private effort in the eduction of children, should do what it can to aecur« those children the advantage of an adequate moral and religious training. The po.-i---fion which tho State h;\% aßMimed in the matter involves responsibility in re^ppci of every department of e'ernenl;»ry (raining, of the moral and rel);i>us department as well as the phynical tiod intulleciual ; Ihe cultivation of the faculties in each of these departments being necess.iry for the production of good cii'zens. Th's responsibility is not discharged by altenion to the physical and intellectual deportment] alone. Here, however, a difficulty comes in ; for the Stale could hardly undertake to provide religious teachers to suit every shade of religious opinion in Ihe community. How then is this difficulty grappled with by our present educational system? Is any effort made to induce any one rise to do what the Stale 6nds i'self pnwer'ers to do ? By no mean*. The tin y is «liirkr<l with « va-»»e sort of scrmise -hat "home influence." and church a^encVs" will as a mailer of course siepin and discharge it. Mow let us inquire what opponunii: e3 these aiencie* have for doinj? the work which it thus unceremoniously thrmt upon them. The children »re kfpt hard at work five day* in the week, five hours of e..ch day bein j spent in the school with aijupniiiy ml work in ihe shape of " home le<»ons" lo be prepared out of school hour* for the following day. First try Ihe home 'ofluences. Tlieso are not always of tho most suht.ary deicripi'ou, and even when hey are. the older memben of the family are very »>t»en not competent to give rel>;,ious instruction in co*nequenco of iheir own defective tvioing. Beside, t-hey are generally at work all day nm' glad to rest when evening comes. Then M 3 regards the children ihere are lessons io prepare in the evening ard to be looked over in the morning. It ib e'ear i hen very line re ious aid moral tr.rnin^ can be expected from this quarter. Now lot us Iry ihe church. It h found to be pr,>c«.'c«iHy impossible to add I o the school houra of Ihe wi ck, and it follows that "Church njenc'es" are restricted lo Sunday. The importance o f Sunday Schools is generally recognised, nnd under present circimisiances ca'i hardly be exaj^eratrd ; but no one who is acquainted with their working wilt maintain that they present a saa<<fac tory solution of the difficulty of providing adequate re'igious and moral tra'ning for the children. The teichers are ervrnest and self-deny-inj, but >hey ere not trained teachers, and the children are brought together for one short hour, a grfl.it portion of which isLikMiupia recovering ihe ground which has been lost during the week, so (hat pro/re"! is uece-jvrily ©xcecdinsly slow. Surely, u.ider these circumsunces, it is not unr«av)nable (o requite ihav, in the interetls of order and good Govurnment, the Legislature should sauc.'on some pirn by which the modicum i»f relisious insiru'tion provided by ihe Sunday School sh»i?ld b« supplemented during the week by any persons who are able and willing to help in the matter. According o present arrangements religious teaching dnrioj school houn is ab-olutely proscribed. The New B«u.h Wales system, to which you allude, v an attempt in the right direcl'on, and is not to be decried because volunteer teachers have not taken adtanuge of it as fully M they mi^bt have done. 1 am, Ac, PaT«R7IMILUB. Not., sth, 1881.