PRACTICAL EDUCATION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18355, 28 August 1929, Page 12

PRACTICAL EDUCATION

AGRICULTURAL BIAS AND OTHERWISE. (Contributed). During the last Parliament, the then Minister of Education, Mr R. A. Wright expressed the opinion that the educational system of the Dominion required revising in order that better and more practical results might be attained and to that end a committee. known ' generally as the Primary Schools’ Syllabus Revision Committee, was set up. This committee spent many months on investigation and reported to the Minister in due course. Following this, what is known as the new syllabus was introduced into the primary schools, and is now being tried out. With a change of Government has come a new Minister of Education, who has expressed the opinion that the education system of New Zealand should have more tendency to. or be given, an “agricultural bias.” This Is no doubt quite a good suggestion in a country, which is so largely dependent on primary products for its prosperity, and whilst it must be borne in mind, that it is quite impossible to make “farmers” to order, or by "Act of Parliament.” it is certainly most desirable that the tendency towards agricultural pursuits should be fostered in the rising generation, and that everything that will tend to enlist the interests of the children at our schools should be brought under their notice and made available for their study. There is also in this connection the possibility of imparting (to boys, at least), an amount of knowledge which will prove of practical use in after life, even without this taking up farming life, namely, a thorough knowledge of grains, seeds, weeds and other products of the country, in which they live. Investigation discloses the fact that a very large proportion of our children are almost totally ignorant of what constitutes a bushel of the various grains and seeds which are dealt with and bought or sold by that designation. This may be surprising, but it is nevertheless a fact, and it was this discovery that led some members of the last year’s South School Committee to seek ways and means of assisting in providing the means of interesting the senior scholars in such things. To this end. Messrs J. E. Gray, W. J. Dickson and W. Gibb (chairman), have been collecting a variety of samples of grain and other produce. They have been put up in small screw ■ top jars, labelled, and are now ex- j hibited on a stand erected by another member of the committee (Mr A. W. McNeil). To these exhibits it is proposed to add samples of wool and timbers, which will no doubt be helpful in the teaching of various lessons. Assistance has been given by friends who have made donations of containers and a chrondrometer, donated by Mr W. A. Piddington, enables the children to learn how the test of quality on the. measurement basis, is I arrived at. It may appear to some that knowledge of the description indicated will not be of much use unless a lad takes up farming pursuits, but it will interest those who may hold this opinion to note the number of grain stores, grain merchants’ offices, etc., not to mention every grocers shop, where a lad or youth may find employment, and in ■which the knowledge is essential. The South School Committee is to bfe commended for its effort to do something practical for the education of the children of its school, which will help to fit some, at least, for after life, and may, to some extent, tend to fulfil the Minister’s desire that the system of education should be given an agricultural bias.