South Canterbury Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1883.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3300, 30 October 1883, Page 2

South Canterbury Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1883.

Physical education, it is satisfactory to perceive, is rightly estimated in the colonies, and deservedly popular. The scheme of public instruction finds favor now-a-days, which does not include a regular course of physical training. This wise idea is as ancient as civilization is ; it was the idea of the Greeks, the Persians, and the Romans, and it is the idea of the English of today. Of the value of physical training, it is almost needles to speak. There can be no doubt that the comparatively healthy condition of the British mind, and the durability of our political constitution are, in a very great degree, due to the wise regulation which insists upon the developement of the bodily powers, simultaneously with that of the mental faculties. “ A sound mind in a sound body ” is not likely to run into dangerous channels, or to indulge in the theorising, vaporising, and speculative philosophy, which have been the fruitful source of revolutions and disturbances. It takes a practical, healthy, and common-sense view of life, and while it prosecutes its work vigorously, it runs in a utilitarian groove. While, however, we rejoice at the sound condition of things in this respect, we cannot help lamenting another feature of the education system

which is not nearly so good, viz , cram. The facilities offered to our youth to enter upon the paths of learning, have very greatly stimulated nil educational work. The common school teachers have been spurred on to turn out their promising pupils for the higher schools ; and these latter in their turn, have made great efforts to send up their most promising students to cut a dash at the University. The results, so far, are satisfactory, and very creditable to the several institutions engaged in the good work of teaching. But we say advisedly—the results are “so far satisfactory.” They are not wholly so to those who have at heart the interests of education. We cannot conceal from ourselves that the successes of individual pupils are purchased at the expense of the general body, and the bugbear, monopoly, is just as disagreeably prominent in education as it is in land. The efforts of those engaged in teaching should be to devise means for instructing and urging forward the whole body of the pupils rather than for producing prodigies ; and this duty is not attended to with the solicitude which its importance seems to demand. Moreover, tins high pressure rate of working up individual pupils, is not more beneficial to the pupils themselves, than to the cause of education. The training is too hard a process. Great horsey authorities predict the worst results from the prevalence of the system of training horses for short distance competitions; they say that the stamina of the race is materially weakened, and that excessive speed is too dearly purchased by the decline of the powers of the animal. So it is in education, and every day furnishes us with examples that bear out this theory. Show pupils and phenomenal undergraduates may be the pride of pedagogues and doating mothers, but they are not educated in the true sense. The ground-work is in too many instances slammed over. The state of the classical learning of the present day illustrates our meaning. There are classical scholars now-a-days undoubtedly, but no man will seriously contend that they are of the same calibre as the classical scholars of even fifty years ago, or in any way comparable for soundness, depth and completeness, with those of the seventeenth century. The same remark holds good all round—we have phenomena, but they are pushed ahead too fast, and are without solid basis, while the rank and file in our schools suffer more or lees from neglect.