AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12550, 13 July 1905, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

FARMERS' UNION ATTITUDE

REMARKS BY MR. WILSON

In his retiring address before the Farmers' Union at Wellington on Tuesday, Mr. J. G. Wilson (the president) stated that although the new syllabus had made nature study and natural science more prominent, yet no real progress had been made in the matter of rural education. Other count lies were making great strides. He was afraid education would not receive encouragement until the Minister was able to give the time which so great a subject demanded. The proper education of the nation was of such importance that it would require the whole time of a Minister to do it justice. They were encouraged by the Premier's statement when they last met him, "That it was first necessary to have the teachera instructed. The first question was to provide for the payment of instructors. Thore could be no question an to the value of such a system to tho country." In face of these relrarks, it was disappointing to find that no means had been provided to teach" tha teachers, nor had any steps been taken to secure an expert to give the teachers an opportunity of learning how to teach this mos'o vital subject. The Premier stated that the Education Ccmmitte served the purpose of an Education Council, but however much attention tho members might desire to give, their time was so limited that they could do very little. During tho recess, when they had more time, they could not meet. He (the speaker) gave evidence on behalf of the Union, but tho committee had no time to make a report. However, he had written to the chairman, asking him to take it up again this session, and he had suggested that Mr. Edwin Hall, of Auckland, and Mr. W. Gray, Chief Inspector of Schools, at Wanganui, should be called to give evidence as to what was being done in America. Both" had given a large amount of time to visiting colleges and schools in rural districts, and both had come to the same conclusion. Mr. Hogben, Inspector-General of Schools, had given a very interesting address on the subject to the Hastings branch of the union, in which he' showed himself to bS thoroughly in sympathy tvith them. He (the speaker) urged before the committee that they should secure the" services of a thoroughly trained teacher to go round a district collecting the teachers and the children wherever possible from several surrounding schools, and giving these a few hours' lesson. The teachers would ob&erve the methods, and perhaps spend tho afternoon with him in conversation. This was, of course, only a makeshift suggestion. They should have a real training college like the McDonald Institute at Ottawa, where a six months' course would equip a teacher to commence teaching. If they waited in New Zealand until a college was built and teachera trained, they might wait for ten years, and a generation of children would have come and gone untaught He urged each delegate to "buttonhole a member of Parliament" to press the Government to take active steps this session to provide the means to make rural education possible. At a later stage of the proceedings several motions on rural education were brought up.