The Star. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1928. NOTES OF THE DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18643, 21 December 1928, Page 8

The Star. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1928. NOTES OF THE DAY.

HAVING won a test match at Sydney for the first time since 1912, the English cricketers -will naturally feel jubilant. In addition they seem to have placed themselves in an impregnable position for retaining the “ Ashes,” though, .-with three tests to go, the struggle is by no means over. By brilliant batting in the second innings of the game just concluded, Ryder and his men proved conclusively that the Brisbane debacle was far from being a true indication of form and that England’s famous bowlers, Larwood and Tate, are not unconquerable. On Wednesday it will be remembered, Hendry and Woodfull put on 215 for the second wicket, and later on Ryder and Nothling made another fine stand. They showed that the Australians still possess the fighting spirit when their backs are against the wall. The third test begins at Melbourne on December 29. That it will be hard-fought and intensely interesting there is not the slightest doubt. All lovers of the game must hope that it will not be marred, as the tests at Sydney and Brisbane were marred, by offensive barracking of a visiting player.

A FTER FORTY YEARS’ EXPERIENCE as a teacher, an Auckland headmaster finds that the abolition of homework from the primary school syllabus has brought about a marked improvement in examination results. The report presented on the subject at Mount Eden is startling enough to warrant full investigation by the education authorities of New Zealand. Of 141 parents, 125 favoured the change. Some noted an improved position of the children in class work, others remarked that the social side of home fife had been greatly strengthened, while still others emphasised that better health had been enjoyed by the children. That home lessons have been a fetish for too long is the view of experts in many other parts of the world. Close observation shows that the general type of home lesson set by the average teacher falls naturally into two groups—one in which the child can easily compass the work set, and to him the lesson is frequently useless because, obviously he knows all about it; and the other, in which the child, through his own ignorance and the lack of a helping hand at the difficult points, struggles dismally for hours and becomes a burden to all the inmates of his home. Wisely set home lessons have a definite value only when children have reached the mental age at which they can profit from the wider reading necessary to pass the examinations that must be passed.

CO POPULAR was the 1928 Winter Show held in Christchurch that the two organising bodies are now left with a substantial profit of, £2OOO to divide between them. Under these circumstances it would be exceedingly strange if plans were not adopted without delay to make the Winter Show an annual affair. Only one real difficulty faces the joint committee which is composed of members of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association and the Manufacturers’ Association, and that is the need of a large hall situated somewhere in the city and suitable for the purposes of an indoor exhibition. This has been brought home by an intimation that King Edward Barracks will very likely not be available in future j-ears. A proposal has therefore been made that three bodies, the Manufacturers’ Association, Olympia Ltd., and the A. and P. Association should acquire a block of land, two acres in extent, opposite the railway station and erect a building to house the Winter Show-, the Motor Olympia and similar exhibitions. Provided satisfactory arrangements can be made in regard to finance—and there should not be the slightest difficulty—the proposal has everything to commend it. A site near the railway station, and not too far from the centre of the city, would not only suit the convenience of town and country visitors alike, but it would prove extremely handy to exhibitors, and the building might easily become revenue-producing at other periods if let to big firms for storage purposes. Further than that, such a building would fill a distinct want in the citj-. If any additional argument is needed to convince the organisations more directly affected it can be found in the report of the officials in charge of the 1928 Winter Show-. They state that “ if the King Edward Barracks had been larger, many other firms would have exhibited. There was an increase of 50 per cent over last year’s figures in the number of people who paid for admission. In many cases exhibitors w-ere anxious to book up an increase in space at riext year’s Winter Show.” »