The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1911. MANUAL AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 114, 6 July 1911, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1911. MANUAL AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION.

in his annual report to the Tartiuaki Education iioartl on manual and tecnnicai instruction, dir. W. ilallaaryne, Director, states, among other matters, that in most of tne schools taking up tiic suhject of agriculture, fcho practical work has been' earned on on sound lines, many or the gardens being laid out witu .considerable caste. As evidence that highly satisfactory work has been clone as far as the practical work is concerned, it is mentioned that wherever school produce has been exhibited at local ug: iculturai or hoiticural shows* the exhibits almost invariably toon a creditable place. There is room, however, for much' more experimental work being done than hitherto, and to this end every school in • which* the subject of agriculture is taught should -.be ially equipped with the accessary apparatus. i lie science of dairying promises' to be taken up to a mucu greater extent next year than preMously, and rightly so, lor-in a purely agricultural and dairying district lute laranuki, tlie science ei agriculture and dairying siiould play an important part in the education/ of our youth, air. llallautyno goes further, and says no child who intends to follow rural pursuits should bo permitted to leave school without having an intelligent grasp of the principles which nuclei he tne industries or agriculture and dairying, it is mentioned that tiie rural classes established in Juno, 1909, in connection with the District High School, Hcratford, have now passed the experimental stage, and although the work has bean hampered to a considerable extent by changes oi teachers, it is gratifying to lie able bo record that good progress has attended the efforts of the stall, and that a large increase in the attendance is anticipated for the coming year. Everything . points to a pruspei ous future. Tim course of instruction embraces English, arithmetic, l ook-keep ing, farm carpcniiy, cookery, dairy work, agriculture, chemistry, botany, elementary surveying, metal work, physical measurements, dressmaking, and drawing. Although the numbers on the roll of all classes are considered very satisfactory, on the other hand, there arc said to bo a large percentage of youths of both rex who never enter a technical school, and who would be all the heater fitted to discharge their duties as citizens ol the Dominion if they wove to undergo a course of technical training. It is a matter for serious consideration to know how to dead with those who arc totally indifferent to their own. interests, and it would scorn Hint tne only solution of the problem is to make the attendance, within certain limits, comnnlsorv. ilns power has

now boon granted by Parliament. In most of the (lasers good work continues tn bo done, and it is considered that thoso stndontK w*jo him* at l anded loguhuiy, and mo;coves, have done a fair amount of homo preparation, must certainly benefit from tlio^ training undergone. For the first time in the history of technical education in Taranaki, continues the Director, classes in wool-sorting were established. As an experiment a class was started at Stratford and was well attended. So groat was the interest evinced that classes were started in {flack succession at Toko, Te \V ora, '.latutawa, L’renui, I'ruti, and Waitara. The total number of students woo received instruction at those classes was 141, and it is clearly evident that there is ft considerable demand for stick classes as long as the services of a competent instructor are available. It must not be lost sight of. however, that much of the credit was due to those gentlemen who willingly came forward and assisted by inducing students to attend, arranging for buildings, and in other ways helping to make the classes a success. From time 'to time classes in the science of, dairying and .lie chemistry of agriculture nave been arranged tor with a view to benefiting the farming community, but the success that so far ims attended the efforts put forth in this direction cannot be considered entirely satisfactory. In some instances there have been a considerable number of students enrolled, but the majority of those have been drawn, not from the farming community, but from the/townspeople. In other cases the interest seemed to flag, the attendance becomes irregular, and before the completion of the full course the numbers dwindle down to two or throe. It is difficult to know how to stimulate interest in Such CftSeß. Probably the solution will bo found in encouraging the rising generation to. attend rural classes, and in establishing one day a week classes for farmers’ sons. Mr. Ballantyne concludes : “Tenths employed in dairy factories attended technical dairy work at Toko and Stratford during the year, and it lias boon suggested that provision should be made for the establishment of a colonial ( examination in daily work to enable factory employees and ethers to gain a certificate. So much capital is now embarked in the dairy industry that it is essential none but the very best butter and cheese should be manufactured,’ to ensure which, none but fully qualified and competent men should be employed in the business. I think I am correct in stating that no certificates-in daily work are now, issued or obtainable, so a manager when taking on a new hand has to depend to a certain extent on chance, and if lie makes an unlucky choice a big loss may bo the consequence. In some of the trades, c.g., plumbing, men arc compelled to obtain certificates of proficiency before they are entrusted with responsible work. Why, then, should not certificates be required from thoso engaged in the dairy trade? If dairy" science were added to the optional list of subjects for the Civil Service Junior Examination, the test set in connection therewith might be taken to qualify in ‘theory’ for such a certificate as is required, the other portion of the examination being based, of course, on actual experience in factory work. Moreover, the dairy industry is now so spread over New* Zealand that the subject is as important in a rural school as is agriculture, with which it is very closely aided. Agriculture is., and properly so, an optional subject in the Civil Service Junior Examination. Why not the other? Further, dairy " science now is, or soon will be, taken as a subject in all the rural schools'of'the Dominion, and provision should cor r tainly bo made for the examination of the children in the subjects to which they have devoted most study.”