DRILL AT THE CENTRAL SCHOOL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 56, 22 March 1900, Page 2

DRILL AT THE CENTRAL SCHOOL.

One of the benefits that will accrue to the rising generation, and through them to the community at large, as an 1 outcome of the present war is the keen attention that is being directed to the 1 pressing need of the physical training and discipline o c our children. Recogmsiug that the school boy of to day is the hero of to-morrow, the heads of our schools are acting wisely in devoting a small portion of each day to drill and physical exercisos. As everyone knows there are three main advantage;; attaching to this important branch Ol education—viz. (1) development of the growing frame, thus securing tne mu.jh desired mens soma in corpore sauo, (2) subservience to discipline, and (3; the promotion of that esprit de corps deathblow to selfishness) wiiic.i is the charm of public school pfe_ in t.hs Okl Country, and is rich in ti'.iK iluoughout life, foiming a sympaUiuUcbondof union and strength. At tne Ccntr.d .School, Mr. Dcmpsoy, the ueservedly popular head master, ha-, wng since taken this important nr.iti.cn'm hand, and has infused both girls and boys with that infections eniiusiasra which makes drill and physical j. exercises a pleasure and acts as an ' elective tonic on the nerve system, thereby giving an incentive to school work us well as stimulating the mental (acuities, the proper expansion and , drection of which is the one great i aim of education. In the squad of cadets under Mr. Dempsey's command < are many kds of bright promise, whp ]

'enter intojthe drill cm amore, v-Thel bright intelligent eyes gleaminglvitlJ conscious pride, heads proudly erect on well-squared shoulders, all give ample promise of their owners rendering a good account of themselves in the days to come. Of course here and there can be detected an apathetic and listless recruit, whose unsteadiness of step makes an unpleasant intrusion on the rhythmitic sound of feet which step to measured tread. It is often thus with adult squads, and so every excuse can and should be Made for the young beginners, to whom every encouragement to better things is due. Mr. Dempsey is evidently a firm believer in aiming at perfection in precision of movements—he may not aetain it, but failure will not arise from lack of perseverance in the right direction and by the best means. The correction of faulty or slipshod movements, insistence upon erect carriage and expansion of the chest, learning the smartness of movement as of men, instead of the lazy crawl of repliles, are all valuable lessons aad have a far wider reaching effect than the confines of the parade ground. It is a real pleasure to sea the lads at this school going through their drill; even the juniors under Mr. Gray's charge are thoroughly in earnest over the business, and by the time they pass into the ranks of the cadets wi'l ba well up to the smartness required. To see a combination of happy faces and graceful movements, however, one must step into the gymnasium where the girls go through their physical drill with wooden dumb-bells. Here Mr. Oscar Johnson, the second master, holds sway, and evidently has heart and sonl in the work; but it is the happy, healthy-looking faces of the girls that one looks to, and.not in vain, for an evidence of the beneficial effects of this preparatory exercise before the commencement of studies. The precision and accuracy with which the various movements are performed reflect credit alike on teacher aud pupils, and, were only music available, thete is no doubt that even greater accuracy would be attained, and the pleasure of the drill correspondingly increased. Altogether there is abundant evidence that at the Central School at leasi every effort is being made towards training our young folk for a career of future usefulness, and it is very pleasing to find that while the education of the brain cells is the chief business, the training of the other members of the body is not neglected. It is by such a process that the in- ', terests of the units and of the Empire : are best furthered and the seeds of ' loyalty and obedience sown at a time most suitable to favourable growth and ; fruition. It is to be hoped that ere ' long every school in the colony will • have in operation a regular system : of physical exercises suited to the J varying ages of the children.