A "HORRIBLE EXAMPLE" IN SCHOOLS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2120, 9 February 1886, Page 2

A "HORRIBLE EXAMPLE" IN SCHOOLS.

A shout time since the School Inspector for the Wanganui district, Mr W. Vereker Bindon, reported very severely on the condition of Fo\ton School, forwarding detailed results of the examination in proof. The chairman of the Foxton school committee, a Mr Tbynne, thereupon attacked the Inspector in the most violent style, and the Board, with the most utter disregard of the proprieties, appointed a committee of its membeiH t.i report, virtually to act as judge and jury between the Inspector and Mr Thynne, though the former had adduced the fullest proof of the justice of his complaints. The result was that the Inspector was wholly exonerated, and the master of the school received three months notice of dismissal. Tho following extract from the report of the Board's committee, though not particularly savoury, may serve as a " horrible example " to other committees and teachers :—" Not one of the school committee could speak as to the discipline or ability of the master to keep order in the school, even when a direct question was put to them on this point by Mr Ross, for this reason, that none of these gentlemen had ever been inside the school during school hours. Biit your committee saw unmistakeable evidence that nothing approaching discipline or order could have existed for some time, the whole surroundings of the school indicating absolute indifference or inability to control, and if the unknown can bo even guessed at from the known, then the ruling spirit that presides over that institution is neither a clean one nor an orderly one. Windows are broken all round, nearly all the down pipes wrenched off, much of the spouting rendered useless evidently by children hanging on to it in order to climb on to the roof, the doors of the porches open, and the floor covered with sheep droppings, obscene writings on the walls of the s-choolhouse, which we were told were the accumulation of years (fancy allowing such ft thing), but which can only have been done since the last painting of the building. The closets are beyond description — the most disgusting writings in pencil all over them. The screens round these are evidently used a* targets to throw stones at, and are knocked almost to pieces, the result of the heavy lire sustained by them. And to show how opinions differ even in Foxton, one membei of the committee, in trying to explain this disgraceful state of things, said that Foxton suffered more than any other place from larrikinism. This was at once conj tradicted by another member of the committee, who stated that Fovton children were above the average intelligence of the coast, and larrikinism not known. However, the state of things we describe we saw, whatever was the cause, and your committee regretted exceedingly the absense of Mr Thynne. Before concluding this report, we 'would draw the board's attention to the following, which might be taken into consideration before appointing committies for a like purpose to that for which this committee was appointed. It is this : That when your committee expressed disappointment at not being able to get inside the school, and that nothing had been done to help, but every obstacle put in our way, one member of the school committee told us that if we were diiappointed we only had ourselves to blame, as they never asked us to come to Foxton. The conclusion of the whole business is this : That your committee unhesitatingly advise the board to at once remove Mr Forsyth, in terms of the Education Act ; and your committee is of opinion that if a suitable married man can be got as head master it will tend in many ways to produce a better state of things, both inside and outside of the Foxton school.

Ba HFnL.— " Your beau seems very bashful," said a mamma to her daughter. " Bashful !" echoed the daughter ; " bashful's no name for it." "Why don't you •ucourage him a little more ? Sotie men have to be taught how to do their courting. He's a jjood catch." Encourage him," said the daughter ; " he cannot take the most palpable hint. Why, only last night, when I sat all alone on the sofa, and he perched up in a chair ;:a far away as he could get, I asked him if he didn't think it strange that a man s arm and a woman's waist seemed alwaj s to be the same length, and what do you think he said ?" " Why, just what any sensible man would have done — tried it." "He asked me if I could find a piece of string so we could measure and *cc if it wh so. Ain't he horrid ?"