AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2599, 6 September 1909, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION.

| MR. LOTEN’S VISIT. ADDRESS TO SCHOOL TEACHERS. There was a large and representative gathering of the school teachers of the district in the Gisborne school on Sat- /. urda-y morning, when Mr. E. G. Loten, the instructor in agriculture and nature * study under the Hawke’s Bay Educa- • tion Board, delivered an address touch--1 ing on those subjects. Mr. W. Morgan occupied the -chair, and in intro--1 during Mr Loten to the teachers he re--1 f erred to that gentleman’s great capa- ’ bilities. Mr. Loten, who was received with applause, said, in commencing, that he t merely wished to speak to the teachers . informally on the general principles underlying elementary agricultural education. In the.. Dominion it appeared to him that pursuits engaged the attention of more peoole than did any other trade or occupation. and it behoved them, as teachers, that they should see that the farmers of the future were well-equip-ped for their duty. In, the past, agricultural instruction had been principally confined to clerical and academical work, but now fortunately more time uris being given to the scientific branch of the work. He' would like to impress upon his hearers the importance of co-operation between the teachers and all those interested in the work. Outlining the course which he intended to pursue in this district, Mr. Loten said that he was going to make nature study the basis of all operations.' Down, in. the lowest standards the -work , would, necessarily, be .different to that of the upper standards, and the question might arise,“WKat shall I teach?” The teacher might perhaps take any subject which would be convenient, one day a flower, the next day the clouds, a bird, a stone, or a seed, as the case may be. This might interest the pupils, but he maintained that such a course was of little value as it contained no system, and he wanted the work to be thoroughly systematic. To accomplish. this, they must study (1) environment, {'l) the interests of the parent, the child, and the teacher, (3) the question of the development of the child, and (4) the most important question of all, the aim of the course of instruction. Next to this came the question of environment, and they should select all those subjects which, would ultimately lead to agriculture. In the lower standards the work would be of a broad nature, tending to increase and stimulate the child’s powers of observation. Geology, zoology, etc., might be chosen, but there must be a sequence between the lower and the higher classes, a bridge leading from one to the other. In the upper standards, the work would be more specific, and would deal with such, subjects as soil, grasses, weeds, farm crops, animals, and all rural ’subjects, which would 1 form a series of lessons, so that in the upper classes the observation in the lower classes would be recorded in books. After observation came generalisation, but the latter could not take place without accurate observation. He would outline a course, but, as the teachers were probably better acquainted with the district than he was, they would be able to a great extent to use their own. discretion. After nature study would come pure elementary agriculture, and "this by means of school gardens, which he would like to see consist of about an eighth of an acre, each pupil having a space, as near as possible 40ft x 10ft. The gardens should,. as in the Boston system, be divided into plots dealing, with (1) the ornamental or aesthetic side of the work, such as flowers, etc., which was most suitable perhaps for the girls; (2) demonstration plots, in which they could grow plants of commercial or •economical value; (3) experimental plots, which were the most important of nil. Artificial manures should only be used as a last resource, or in the case of barren soil, and he thought it would be of greater benefit and a more 'economic habit to teach a child the system of rotation of crops and the choice of seeds, to show the benefit of always choosing good seed. At the end of one or two years they might perhaps experiment a little with manures, but although such experiments were good mental training, he was'- not much in favor of them. Following on the agricultural work would come another portion, which would be more difficult to handle in schools, but which was extremely interesting. He referred to dairying, and he would like to see it taken up, as the coui-se could only be served when the child had been taught to observe that cleanliness was the main feature of all operations, as there" was nothing better than a course of instruction in dairying to show a child the dangers attending uncleanliness. Milk, cream, and ' skim milk testing could also be undertaken. This would, no. doubt,-be difficult work, but was most interesting and instructive. He would, like them also to give the child some idea of the good points of a dairy cow, and they would doubtless find that outdoor lessons would be much more interesting to the pupils than those undertaken indoors. Referring to teachers’ classes,. Mr. Loten intimated that it was his intention to hold classes in agriculture and chemistry, with a tendency to agricultural chemistry. He would take a course of twenty lectures in both subjects, and the agricultural lecture would consist of two hours, one of which would be devoted to the theoretical side and the other to the experimental and practical side. He would endeavor to make all the lectures of such a nature that the teachers could easily impart the instruction they , received to the children. In conclusion, he would like to impress on them' that he onlv came to be of assistance; to the teachers. On his periodical visits to Gisborne he would go round the schools and see in what way the work was being done, and he would be only too pleased, at any time, to give, a demonstration Lesson on any subject they might like. He was not coming as a critic, but rather as a helper, and he hoped that all the teachers would rea-

lise the importance of the work to the country in general. He also hoped that the teachers would be sympathetic and earnest in the work, as it would be utterly useless for him to attempt to do anything on his own account. (Applause.) At the conclusion of Mr. Loten’* address some discussion took place as to what subject or subjects would have to be deleted from the present syllabus to allow the agricultural work to be taken, up. It was. eventually decided that a mooting of the Teachers’ Institute be held next Saturday morning to consider the question, and to make a recommendation to the Education Board in terms of their decision. Oh the motion of Mr. D. E. Leslie, votes of. thanks to the Board for appointing so able an instructor, and to Sir. Loten for his able address, were passed by acclamation, and the meeting concluded.