Sunday School Organisation.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XI, Issue 3, 1 September 1920, Page 315

Sunday School Organisation.

{ : "Ijakus, "in the ' ' Church^ Stan- . : . dard f^liasi\an intieresting article on sy stem.4ti.ie ■ Religious ihstructton. All the' Nonconformist ; bodies m : have a common syllabus of instruction for day school 1 elapses and : Sunday schools. .In this way tW removal; of a child from one Sunday school to another within the group does not affect its progress m religious knowledge. Similarly the N.Z. : State schools have a. syllabus by which, m all the' schools of the Dominion,- all children are learning the same work and lose little by transference from one school to another. The syllabus is arranged m such a way that each standard is built up on the results of the previous, one and the knowledge of the child grows steadily from infancy to adult age. In our Sunday schiiol system^ on the other hand,; there is nothing but chaos. Very few schools have any system at all; Each teacher teachies what he or she likes; teachers who may be utterly tinqualifiied to teach at all, have no set lessons to impart, ho method to'follow, and often not even a fixed class ]m the school. Every, anxiom of education is ignored and everyone (teacher, superintendent or Vicar, is- a law to himself. Is there any valid reason why religious education should be less efficiently administered than, secular education? The Bishop of Tasmania pleaded recently If ok moreefficient work m this regard. He said, inter alia : "Why should we not haye ■< . -.'■; j .' .a Church Educational Department, with a duly constituted Board ■* i& act as a 'directorate, over all the educational activities of the Churbh V.' The principle that the Vicar of a parish is solely responsible for the religious instruction . given in his Sunday school is carried; much too far wh>n; ! it results m such a chaotic state of affairs as exists at present. The province, or at any rate the diocese, should lay down some authoritative syllabus for Sunday schools, and all Sunday schools should be made /to follow, it. It need not , be too detailed. Abundance of room could be left for hecejgary /modifications, .:.. if approved;, |y : autiipr^yX '[ss!■ # end

shpuld be certainly p^ut to the present confusion, "v ' ■■'. Nearly, nqt ,all ; pur religious difficulties strise from inefficient !' Education of the children; m sp^itual and ; religious inattersiy yet we,;!blundierj on still. If we hegieet to f eed the iambs of Christ's- flock and to feed them with .npurishing food we are neglecting one of .our first duties and are traitors o^r : Master.^|t^'is useless to expect our laiity ever to have an mteiligenLt grasp p£ Church priricipies, teaching 'and practice, unless i they are ':. instructejd : in these 'things; regularly and efficiently whilst their.;miri;ds are still receptivej to truth, aiid; have iiot V yet' been contaminated witfcerr,W:And : 'doubt:. v - '■v/v ;v ' : y : . v \ :/ '■';''".:■ "'V;: :