Overpressure in Education

OVERPRESSURE IN EDUCATION

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A PROTEST A1-lD

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WARN INe TO PARENTS. DY

ALFRED J. TAY LOR, Llllr«(,'ian 7'ccs»l(Pti an

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Mr. Cil'iio p:, at 0. recent 111 ting of the Executive oCth e National Union of E1 oll1 t' nln.I'Y 'I'ca -hen" ,. ' i'lo! l'l'ed to t it · CIl~C v i a ll ile! who lJad then just !li ed of bmill . i'(, \7 I' , whose (' ntill ual 'I'y ill hi:; l a~ t delirium was" I 'Qll 't get it, !'ig-llt!

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3f)obart : ['!UN 'rED .AT " TUE llERe

I{Y , OFFICE, MACQU.tRIE STREET,

Overpressure in Education an Inevitable Consequence of Payment by Results.

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As the whole question of education will be cl e~ lt with by the Government during nex t session of P a rliament, a nd as it is whispered in more than one qu arter that an attempt will be made to introdu ce t he system kn own as pay ment by res ults, I desire, as one deer Iy inter es ted in th e welfare of the rising generation, to protest against any in · t erference wit h our Educatiou Act, which would be calculat ed to lead to over· pressure in educatiou. As to whetb er th e claims now being made fo r separate grants and separat e denominational schools should be enter· t ain ed 1 do not wish t o express an opinion.

In the remarks which follow 1 intend to deal only with th e One q u e~tio n of over. prrss llre, which 1 rega rd as being a n in ev it. ,.bl~ consequence of any syst em which neces. sarlly makes a portion of the t eacher's in. com" dependent upon the number of scholars he call bring up to any fi xed staudard of ed ll ca.tiol1 .

Wh en M,·. R obert Lowe, who bas been described as " .the first great a postle of the moder n edu ca.tlOn al movement " in th e home country propound ed his scheme be based it upou a 'prin ciple best d escrib e~l in his own w o rd ~ ,

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On ce p lace a ma o's ear 'w ithin

th e 1·ln g of pouud s, shillings and pence, a,ud IllS condll t ca n be counted ou with th e g rea tc~ t ulCety. " In an arti cle written for th e NI1~ 'l.cCll l h Cwtlll·Y he publi cly ex pressed the 0P."110n that wh en th e money- motive corn ef:!

III

men's " d eviations from a lio e of

c?nuu ct wbi ch C[tll be seen and pre. dl.cted, "re so slight that th ey may ~lhactlCally be considered as non.exist eut. " . at ?e correctly gllaged human nature III thi S matter is, I think sll'iIl ciently ~ ho.lVn by ~n oAl ei,,1 letter of 'the N a ti onal UnIOn of E l -mental'y Teachers to the Edu ca. tlOn department (N ol'ember 1883) whicb states that .. the t eachers ar~ of opin'ion that

80 long as high grants can be obtained by over·pre8sure , and in many caeee in no other wa y, 80 long 118 hnman nature remains what it is, managers will demal'd, and teachers will be compelled to obtain, high grants."

As an illustration of how a system based upon s uch a principle induces .. cram," the following may be given !l8 an example:(I b ke it from a thoughtful article, written

by Mr. Richa rd A. Armstrong, which ap· peared in the Modem Re6cw for April, 1883 ) :- " Mr. - - - , head master of St. - - - School, felt very dissatisfied with the results of bis a rithmetical t eaching, although his school passed very creditable examina· tions. Tbe wbole work seemed to him too mec hanical, and consequently little helpful in developing tbe intelligence of his 8cholars.

H e cha nged bis methods. He taught next On first principles.

H e was delighted t o see th e ingenuity shown by tbe children in in venting processes.

The a nswers certainly were n ot always cor· rect, but tb at was owing to mechanical d rill ha ving g i I'en place to rational meth ods, whi cb might be a little less reliabl e for a ns lvers, but whit.h were more fruitfnlof thought.life.

Th e well · kn own book of Sonneuschein and N es bitt was hi~ vadc muuln. .rhe exa min a ti on came round at las t. If the • intelligence ' of hi s school shou ld be now t est ed he was san guin e. But Intelllg.ence could not be test ed by a d umb ?ard With one or two a rithm etica l pu zzles on It. The ' res ults' of th e examination were bad. Th e g rant was poor. Next year llIr. L-- turn ed So nnenschein out and re· turn ed t o the old and profitable pl~n, getting a good grant for his reward. " .. Untler the stimulus of thili system of 'payment by results' " writes Mr. Arm· strong " the average teacher has, for the past 20 yearR, been pressing bis schola.rs

4 f t· mol'

o.ud more re lllune rative res l. ouse to h is in s truction. T he motiytl appea l LI to ~Y M r. L owe bas b en s nceessfu lly b rou g h t mto fu ll a nd co nstant pby, till in t he m iuds o f m o.ny it has outdone a ll others. E xcep· ti onall y o.hl ami a mbit ious t eachers h;:w e driv n the ir schools e ven ha rd e r t han th eir neighboUl's, o.nd ha ve obtain ed r esult s from whi ch gold en g ra nts have flo wed in. " In a s peech d eli,' · r ed last yea r a non D ani I, o f th e 13n.tte rsen. Tra inin g College, said "th nltim at e cans R of ov l'·press ure n.re to be m a inl y se u" ht for in th e a bn se of th e prin e ipl of p ay ment by r csults; a very 'ood pr iLl ipl so 10Llg as we arll d ea li ng with r sn lt s e mbodi d in brute m .1tt er, but :\ mo ~ t dangerons principl wh en incliscrim a t ely n.p. plied t o I' ults produ ced iu livin g chi ldren tor tb b ncfit of oth ers th an chi ld ren th em· seh r s. P a y n. brickmak r for Lis tal c of bricks, a nd you wi ll not do mt1(;h ha rm ; brick s hn.ve DO orga ni satiou s, physical or m ntal to ig uore. P ay n. body of mn.na gc r~ or n. t each I' for a t a le f passes, n.n d th ere is a ri sk tho.t in th e process some of th e chi l· dren oper at d u pon may suffer irreparable in j ury in body and mind. " Attempts have bpe n mn. :'e to s how t hat th e over ·pres nre ar gum ent has been grossly exagg ra ted, and th at the ch arges of ov r· stra in in edu cation und er the work ing of th e payment by re nIts system cann ot be sus· t ain ed. I ask th ose who hold th ese views t o consid er th e fact s w~i c h I am now n.bout to p lace b efore th m .

The syst m lmowll as paym ent by r esults first came into force n.t home und er th e V ice · Pres identship of Mr. L owe in 18G2, sin c whi c h year two alterations ha ve b en mdde in th e code with a view to r edu cing t he t emp. t ation to overcramming.

This in itse lf afford s a very strong argument in support of the position wh ich I am now contendin g torth at th e working of th e system h a~ been :~t· t end ed with ev il results.

Quite recently Dr. Chri chton Brown e a medical gentl eman, who achi eved much 're. putation as superin tendent of one of t he larg at lun ati c asy lum s in t he home cou ntry, a n~ who afterwa rds held th e pos ition of hler L ord Chancell or's vi sitor to L unatic Asylums, was . u&I,e l to s pea k at Bradt ord upon t h Cju st lon I am now discuss ing. 1)1'.

Browne was un able to :1t t end, but \Hote l\ I · tt r whlch contained t be sbt cmel)t t hat he .. wonld h:1:,e b n gl:vl to hav e joined io t ho pro.t est a.galllst .the gL"indiog t y n, ony of e,lu . cat Ion wI t h WlllCh we are no w t h reat ncd. " H e also sa icl io th at letter ''It se 11 18 to Ine that it is hi gh tiu)e fo l' a, d' ela" ati Ol~ of ri ghts on I ha lf of hel.pl ess cbil dren, and on beha lf nf futur g ' n ratloo8 also. whOln, if \\" :"',, I! ot car fu l , we shall loa,l with " btu'cl n mol' gri.evou8 than the Nation al debt; a burden

5 of d is integration and disease" S I101·tl . . ' a ft or t Il IS lette r appeal'ecl lll p ri n t M.l'. M Y d ella, the vice ' prus id t' nt of t he Edllc~'t~Q· . L oncI on , h ad an iutel'v " 'IOu l1e p'Htme nt ID .

I D ]) 1 lew Wit 1 r . .> rowne an e l'efJu sted hi m to visit some of th e clemClltary sc hoo ls, and r~ po l.t as to th e cITect of t he work don e in t ho upon t he h e;d t h of th e e hiJ drell. Dr. B rowu~ ill t erms of t he r cq ues t for ward Eld a repo l.t of his lab oLll's to t he v ice-pres iden t of the cou ncil, t\n d some :l.tte mpt :\ppea rs to h;1Ve been m ad e to bury it iu t he wn.st e· p<tpel' bas ke t for th e obv ious r aso n t hat it was n ot in conformity with Mr. Munu ell a'~ vi ws. But th e ParJin.1Il nt of En gland ca llell for th e prod uction a nd pu bli cat ion of th e docum ent, amI, of co m's , th e call had to be complied wi t h. 1\1r. Mu nci elln. then instru ct ed Mr. Fit h, t he priu cipal inspec. tor, to prepar o It criticism of Dr. Browne's l' port.

S uch an ord I' cou ld on ly mean one th iug, andlVIr. li'it ch d ealt rdverseJy with t il e re po rt in a d oc um ent a nyt hi ng but COUl't eo us in its t one. Dr. Brow ne wrote his an s we r t h rou gh t he colu mns of The 'l"imes, a nd r efer rin g to thi s controve rsy t hc West· minste )· R eoiew of January last wr it es (and this is th o point wh ich I wish to maR e clear) - " VVe ca nn ot but adm it t ha t , on t be whole, Dr. Cbrichton Browne's observa tions go t o es tablish th e fact th at tb ere is over· press ure in the e le mentary sc hoo ls in L on· d on, and \\'e co.nllot see tha t Mr. Fitcb's unh and so me, and in some res pects (as appea rs from Dr. Chr icht.oll Browlle's letter in 'l'/! e 'l'imes of tb e 18th Sept em ber), mi sleadin g criticism has don e anyt hing to skLk e th e subs ta nce of th se ouse rv ations.

Th a t over·prcss ure of th e backward and 11 rvous and stup id chil dren is p rod uctive of mu ch n ervous d isease, thn.t headaches a nd slee plessness and somLln.mbnli sm a nd s hort· sig hted ness are more or less ca used by the over work to wbb h th ese chil d ren n.re sub· jected , see ms to ue mad e out past t he paltry ca.vil of th e chi ef inspecto r, th a t D I'. Browne on ly exam ined 6,000 children, while th ere are so me 4, 000,000 chil dren io elemen ta.ry SClIOOls, a nd tha t Dr. B rowlle's met hod of encluiry was not sc ientifi c." I have onl y room for one 'J Ilotatioll fro m D r, Bro wlle's report, "The s'l hoo lm asters of t o.clay, " he wr ites, " have an un easy t im of it owin g to p"'Y lll ent IJy r es ul ~s . To a ll modera t e men it \ i11 ~ee m th at th e system of p,)ym ent by re· au It~ , that is to afty by pl"OX illl a te or p,wtbl 1'0 ' sui ts, mu st ba very ca.uti ously applied, :lOci smrou nded by m'lll Y safeg ua rds if it is Dot to prove i nj u riouB t o t be mast ers and chi ld re n. Every chil d th at th e teacher f:liJs t @. pass is so I!l nch In oney out of poc ket.

It IS u nfort un ately poseiul uucler t he prescnt system th at t h , L ac her wh o d eserv es best of hi s coun try mig ht receive least froUl

1 ' 1 I e wllo is most da.mag in g it mi g bt iL, IV)\ to ':ehJy )'e w;1fded. It is poss ible th at b.e J1l0 S ty11"'nt who is ruthless ly ov ·rdr iving [I 'rLl e1 '"m is raillo chIldren, . l ' a ll C sOlVing teams 0 f . ' ht .

HlJ g l' cel ve 1ca at Lh e seeus ofI d ,sease, uroa( I I ' ll ent til o 1I1eri t gru n t, i.o )o .c asset exc" .' ' wh il o a hum ane and WISC nl as ter , w ho 18 ,out ly Jead ill g I,i a flock a long th e path of grogresB, inIusiu g s treng t h and h ~pp l n ~s8 into m[lllY li ves , m igh t be d arn~ ed Wi t h fam t . ise an d cutdownasregal'da lJl se mo lurn en ts f~ ~i)e' lowest p oint." Corn rnonting fu,'·ti.' er u pon th e report the Wpstmtrl ster 1," "tP11' writes :- " No w let ns Bay at once, to s llm Llp t ha.t Dr. Chricb ton Browne has prov!:d wl;at no ono w it h any I nowledge ~f hu man natur e ancl red · tape systcm as uea n ng. upon it cou ld for an insta nt have do u bt ed. Th ere must with n. baru and· fas t sys tem be over· p ress uro. Y ou mllst w hen you have st anlards ha ve them for t he ave rage child . Tb ese standards lTIust uecessaril y be t oo easy for th e clever chi ldr en a nd too severe for th e stupid ones. If you havo to get all the fl ock in at 0. door in a certa in time, those which ru n fa st relJuire no herdin g, those th a t a re lame mu st bc hurried. T his we say oug ht t o have bee n obvio lls. W hat Dr. Brow e e has done is not only t o show t ha t t hat is th e case, but to some extent to point out the res ults of t he over'l ress ure.

Th e most star tli ng resu lt, which he br ings u nd er t he notice of t he pu bli c, is t he curious pre· valence of headaches amongst ch ildren. H e foun d th at out of 6,580 ch il dre n examined, 3,034 suffered from headaches, or a pece ntage of 46' 1. " I ask my r 3ad ers to k\l;:e thi s stat ement in con nect ion wit h th e statistics r ei:1ting to Scotbn I, whic h I quote furt her on. " It must be remembe recl " continues the wri t er of t he ar t iole I am n'olV quoting " th a~ Dr. Chriohton BrolV ne is not a lone i~ the " ,ews which he has advoca.t ed or ill us. trat ~(l 'IJ) h'IS r port. A large n umber of med 'clll meu ha.ve come t o the conc lus ion th at . schoolwork in elementary sciLOols i causmg . Llisp-ase in th e child ren \\' ho ~ re s ubJ ~c t to t hi s s train.

It IS son:etlllles saicl, in answer to th ese eomplalJ)ts, t hat t here ar6 f cases 0 . d very w . ~l I ecor \I' hel'e ol'cr work has I es u.lted ~'~ t he actua l break 1 0 WD of th e pup ils. Ih at may be t rue, but to wb~ has any kn ow:edge of t h subj ~~~~~: obVI OUS t hat YO II may be proLl uciu g a vast amount of . menta l aucl ner vous disease amongs t chil dren wit hout . deaths." causmg many Spelal iug of t he clangers of overworl- in I s 'I S a COllS sc ' . 100 I " eq uence 0 f th e paymen' t by ~~~) f~?t~;~nt ~efOI~~ t he Natio~al Associa10,mo Ion of SOCln.l Science D AI . i k'UOlVe~~~t~r ;~~Iltlt· said, "There are (anci s 0 lem are of these opiuions

in t his ma tter) < commi ssion ra of l unacy ,' whose du ty it is to sec t ha t facts are ?-B cer · t a ined, a l cl w isely a od prudeDtly met In r~· ga rd to those who are brou ght under t heIr specia l comm ission'!i scr utiu y . ~be said co mmis ion l'S in lun acy , a od l unatIC asy lum sup rintentl cnts, aro entirely w it h us in. the vicws n w exp resser); t hey u,o l1?t hes ltat c t o report ag •.in st th c m:lUdolllng. lOfl u ~" ce of u ndu e edu cational efforts, espeC ia lly III re· gal'd to th e tr an ~ mi ssi o.n of h ered itaril y ac· qn ir ed or more l':"ln:,cd l t el y arou sed men t a l d is turbance. It IS tn d ~ed not too mu ch t o say of this edu cational. d istur ber ?f r eq uired nl cntal r epose, tha t It I S t he cry lll g e VIl of t he age."

Mr. Hrod ie, ao insp ector o f schoolA, d e· fends the t est by p rcentages of p asses.

"They at test, " he says, " when high, to at least mu ch solid hard work , d ogged labour, and persis ten t every -d a.y d rudgery!" Alas for t he children, wben the syst e m of education n ow in voaue can be d efended upoa such gro unds. o\Yhat does such teaching amou n t to ? Mr. Ba rrington -\Va rd gives hie experience as followb :-" Too many element ary t eachers, men and women alike, still fancy that it ie s nfficient to :1im at mere mechan ical excellence, to the ex clusion of the de\7elopment of those ration al faculties wb ich raise man t o bis noble rank above the brute eTeation. ' Vith some t eacbers whom I cou ld name a pa rrot or a monkey would a lmost form as ap t a pupil as hie present charges . ., Mr. A lderson , one of th e best of insp ectors, complains tha t he finds in t oo m a ny of tbe sc hools <. reading wbi c b does DOt expa nd the mi11d : grammaT w hich does n o t leaven sp~ ec h and. writin g : arit h meti c, whicb d oes not form a h abit of exact t bi nk ing; geography which does not inte res t t he ima,' in u,tion ; lite rature t hat does not impr ove" th e tast e ; phYSiolog y t ],at has n o bea rint7 on th e simple laws of health; Llomestic ~onomy t.ba t does not contribute to t he comfor t of homes. " Row far can th e charg of over· press ure as a consequence of p:lYlll eut by r es ults be SUpported by a n ap13eal to stati tics? l .n a d e hate 011 tb e presen t edu cation cod e whICh t oo k place in th 'l Ho use of Commo ' ~ 11 13th Apd l last, Sir 1. P layfai r sa.id, Scotland , w here nn.t,lolla l ed u ca t ion h ad beeu :~~llct longe.r eS,tab lls il ecl, and was of a hi<>he.r ,1l1( than IU England, and wh ere t h ere "was a lso mu ch more press ure, w ho ever b eard of Over'l r ess u re '? " . '';,-Iell' llet us take t he statistics relatlUg to t l~O an c , a nd w hat do we find ? At one of Ede re~ent ann ua l me et ings of t he Scot ch I l\ ~a~LOnal I nstitu te D r. Robert B e veri d e ~ , p lYSlcla n to t he Aberdeen Ro yal I fi 'we t t' . , n Irmal y g, s a I S t ICS of t he increase of d eaths fro~

"I:

G dis as s of th o brain am ng childl'on of school age in eig ht of th c t OWIl S of l:icotlnnd fo .· t he yea rs 1872-81, wh on th o Ed uca ti on A ct wa in force, compared w it h th y ears 859- 68. '1'h e comp:u'ison g i ves th follow· m g resul ts : -

r

'rh o fi g ur s I hav qll ot cl spea l f sel l' s, bu t it may h as w .11 to ' 8' t hOll1. tho e vi dence th y a lfo n! a" bea dn gce l OW fat q uesti on of ovc "-p,' S8 U.'O in ' I UIl?' Oll " tho • b o,·no out by a l' fe"cn'o to indivCl'.lIl CiiL .I 'i .I ' I I l II a CUBe w l1 e 1 Ill ay '} ta k ~ n a s typi ctd of ot i . "'I the samo class. ' C' s of D." A I'xa nd or K oill cr, in t ho " ]1\rCSS' b referred t o, menti on d a caso iu w hi~~' 01'0 ,~a~ eam cs t ly "e'jll est od by t heir Pllrcnts 1;0 v.s.t a t t heu' suhool two YOll ug ladies b 0 B .ym~rs of age, wh o had boc n fo r some\~~! s~,tl e\'l u g from s leeplessness ~ nd loss of a~'po. t. te. lie had. no d.fn culty ID dec iding that they wer.:: SUUel'lll g from over -Iressure. " ID the evenlllg of the ~ " lll e day ," he snid, " [ met a. well -kn own t eacher wh ose very lar e ~ bU, 1 6SI ~ ~7 2-1 S ~ 1 50:~ J 872- J ~ e xpe n ence nf el!ueatioll le:! t o his bei~g A. berd c(,l1 7'5 0'2 11 '3 12'7 sel ec ~ d to fi ll o ~, e of th e best ed ucational 5 .~ S· ~ 1" --' Dundee . . apP.Ol ntm.cnts go.ng, a.nd I ould not help Ed inburgh 6'6 77 10'_7 13'4 asklllg hlln th e q uestIOn • Are you not un, C:h\ gow ... ..

5'5 7'S '4 9'9 The eight Inrge ~. s uall y bus.y at this time of t he year, and is t owns o f ScotIt not provlllg t oo lllu ch of a good thing to ] lIn d 58 7.7 9 '05 w or k on s? very ha rd, as I suspec t you and yonr stafl are now doing ? . . . The M r. R. A . Al'm stl'ong has pointed out th at an s wer I got was in th ese un equivocal word, as th ese fignres cover about a thir 1 of t'le • U nusua lly bu y. ,Ve are a ll at it now: p opul al ion of Sco tland, and compa re wh ole worklllg a t killin g pacc : th e exam inations d ecade , tb ey are on a scale la rge enoug h t o and pri ze competitions arc ri g ht ah ead, exclud e casual sou,'ces of fallacy. H e also and th ere is now no rest for us unt il all is calls at t ention to the fact t hat th e signifiover . H can cy of th e fi g ures abovc quot ed is more Mr. R. A . A rmstrong, whose name I have a p parent w hen convcrt ed into t he following mentioned mOre th an once, made it hiB form :busin ess t o acquaint himself by COl'l'eSpOll' d ence or cOD\'ersation with t he experi ence of I nc r ase of a large number of head t eachers of wide ln crea e of P r o p ort ion ex peri ence, and of th ese 75 per cent. re: Pr o p o r t ion 0 f D eaths p arted that th ey th emselves, or members or of D eath fr om B rai 11 their st a ff, had s ufr~ red f rorl'. th e pressure of from Bra in Di sea e to Code requ ircmcnts. " Some of the stateDi sease to D eath s f rom ments which have reached mc," writes Mr. D eaths from all sources Armstron g, "d eserv e a more special .·erel" all sources. except zymence. Th e h cadmast er of a brilliantly suc' otics. cessful sc hool ill Li verpool writes to mo - - - -- -- - 1- - - -- 1- - - -that, though hc is enthusia st,ically food P er Cent. P er Ceut_ of his work he is, at 39, prematurely grey, Ab orleen .. .. ....... , .. , 12 '~!)

2-2'G7 and has und ergone a surgical operation for D un dee .. .... .... , .. , .. .

45'2!

GI a disease bro\1 gh t on by o\'erworl" , E d in burgb . ... , .... , .. .

30'48 l6 'G7 H e add s th at t he mast cr of a ueig hbOul'lng Gluosgow . ..... ... ...... .

17'8G 32 '73 school di ed of di sease of th e heart at. th e a ~ 'I'Re Eight L a"ge of 42,. brou g ht on, in . the word s ~f b~l 20 .!)!)

T owns of Scotland 32'76 phys.clan, 'by th e WO.T. es an 1 alllu etlCs I school work .' ' On ly those,' says th e heaC' Th e retur ns of the Reg istrar -G eneral, mast er of one of t he largest board schools .~ from wl,i ch Dr. Bev eridge t a k s his fi gores the E as t of L ondon, I who kno w th e "Dx.et)e for tbe peri ods nttlned , show th at th e chief of th e t eacher for a few weel,s b fo re th d isease of the brain or nervous sy st em t\llI ong inspect ion can f llll y cntor into th e stralU p erson s between 5 an 1 20 t o be ceph aliti s, upon th e min d , t ho xcessi ve n e r vo ~1S0 C Ssl or io Bamm ati oLl of th e brain prop r. Thu s, out of 969 who <li ed of bra in di seases b - and even sO ll1 ctill' os irrita bility caused ~yo th e desire to do woll on inspec ti on d~y.' l tw een t he age 0-5, 350 d iecl of cephalitist eachcr of a clllll'ch school ill a thn v.n!: ''d' to (of the b alance 453 d ied of con vulsions).

I Out of 267 who died of brain di seases be- land town t ells rne- two years ago I ha t r exercise th e greatest ca l'O, or the doc T~e t ween th e alles of 5-20, 110 d ied of sa id tb e mind wonld collapse.'

I cephalitis.

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head ll1 ru!t er of L ow r . M osely' ~~~"t ach.. oI8, Mnn hester nl entlOns two of I,'•• aCIJIl intonc , "(It.11 of whOln , toa<" I ra I I weN paralyscd , a wl says that t IPY a w"'y· ,' lu tl'll th eir urcal" IO\\ Jl to LI,," halTasstt ll " aing . Hof. t lle' c.oele'-' nnd u n y i (' lcl ~ n g . poll (I'ItlQII . l ~· . t'OI)" cOl nblO cd I,erll " ps w. t h t li e con gll I 0, ., 1 '1 d' 8ta ut inlia,la tioll of \~ l tl:.1tC( a ll'. JJ Y , tn e . I· 011 1 ,,,] vis 1', says " Bl'lsto l t acher , IhlS d .sti llct ly " . rlled mo of t he re' ,llt of t) 1I8 pr RSlll'e goillg 80 rar as to "sse l·t th at , If not sto pped,' 1 shCille! mater ially 81, 0.'t OIl my ch.Ys. A fd ead. o~ m y OW l! wil ose ~ch ool stands lorelll ost III .ts t a wn has b eo a t the pains t o place in my hauds " .s tatem n t which derives great weight f"om b. s loug ~n el wide experience. I n t h conrs of a re~ le w of t he eU· ·ct. of t he sys tcm on th e ph ys.q ue of teachers he says the n ervous power of tb e dig s ti v ~ .o.-gaus !"i1 fi rst_ g nerall y. l:Iead affectIOns pr vall. P aralys.s, a popl exy , demeut ia sup r venc. W ere it possibl e to got at the vita l statist ics of th e g reat bod y of cert ifi cated teachers during th e last 25 years, a sad history would be r evealed . I judge of t il e mass from my act ual knowledge of soven t eac h rs w hom I Im ew best during my coll ege life . Of th e seven only two sur vive, anel th ese ha vC had since passing their fortieth year very severe and protract ed illnesses. f beir lives are no longer such as a careful in surance otfice wou ld accept a t Ol'dinary rates.' A few days since a successfullllistress told me of one a fter another of her successful pupi l t eachers who had founel their way to the asylum Or oth erwi'> e utterly collapsed . S be hcrself suffers acutely from c h ro ~ i c nervous s train, a Dd cl scrihes how a~ lllght, not sleepi ng, but alrakc, ote,. llltO some expla nat ion sbe w.1l to. her pupil t eacher to find after manv mmutes th at th ere is no pupil teacher there and that it is the walls of her chamber not those of t he schoolrooll1 t hat SlllTOlllld her.

An accompli sed hel1dm istress in Suffo lk reports :- ' After the honest work 01 nin e m .nths, and the overst raill of th e t hree in whICh t he examill " tion falls, I often feel as .fIh ~d been put UpOll th e rack- bruised and sore ID body as well as mind. About fi '-e years ago I had a complete hl'eakdowu wh en I became very deaf. and rn y m e l1l0r ~ seemed suddenly to have failed me_ long l est restored the headn !! but t h memory has_ ncver re"a ined t be-- ,0 11 0' l pow re . - . Wh en I go t o b d th e.'. is stili th e array of hildren t o to"ment me I'n sleep. ' 11 my

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lIra.ny SllCh. expe"i uces as thosc a bo ve mentlOn ecl lll 'g ht be quot ed b t I ' 11 ~erely a In as "egar,ls teacher~ th:t acc~~~1 A~~;~l t~~e ~rh~ot"'C(,,{u., the mortali ty' amon~ U . Ol S amOlln ts t o ~ per ent. p •.

annum, as against ~ p er cent. among police a nd sai lors. " 1it li I'Pga rrl t o th U'ects of (J,' er -prrssure on cld ldren, Mr. A rmst rong ~ay s , .. The most common "ym pto.ns of t h . n]" r? " 8 00 a Ij u~ n ce is t he ta lking _of le8soD8 ' " sleep, to w hich a chorus 01 ", speet ors, t pnchers , a " rl parents bear u nited witn SB. .' Dn ns of inst ances,' says M r., Quayle: of L. ~c rpoo l , li eD ,1 master of ~ t . Thomas and il t . M"'t th ew's, 'of complail1 ts from pnren ~ concc!ning tbeir chi) ell'en :- IOS8 of npp tlte, t lklllg ill sleep, languo r, ner vous stat e, incliffi rence Lo childi sh sporta, etc. N o rouu stnc8S or energy.'

M r. J Obll_ S t~edm a n, of Not tin g han" Rays that, ID h.s former school, wliere mu h ha rd work wall done con tinnously, and where th e population was settled , tb e r egnlar bOy8 w ere vor~ small. ' ' The ch ildren won ld be botter, writeil a mistress, I both in body and mind, if their scbool life was happier; the .train of the code prevents this.

'The children'. health is p laced, unfortunately,' writes a. mas ter, 'in competition with the Bchool· m aster's means of livin!!.' 'About a week ago,' said a La ncasbire mother, • they began to cra m my little one, and ahe not leven ye",rs old , for examination . It wu lessons morn ing, afternoon, and Dig bt, and ynu Dever sa w her without her books. I don't underst llud all this learninl', bnt at last I sa w that they were ki lling bel'. So I went t o the school, and said that I could DOt let her wo.-k 0 hard.

But t hey would not let her stop. They said s he wou ld do g randly _ B ut I wanted t o keep my child_ So a t l:lSt, with no end of d ifficulty, I got a mpdical certificate, and now I mean to keep her at home t i~1 t he inspector's been and gone, I do.'

In NottlUg bam not long since t he parents of a litt le g irl, seeing her ov erdone and talk ing of les.ons in her sleep, gave notice that th ey would keep bel' from sohool for a time. The ~ea r h e r jJromptly call ed and offered a present ~f t~e chtld a ttended regul a rly I A mistress 10 l or kshlre was called before a committee of her boa rd for uumercifully heating a girl years old on th e head, because slie fa il ed t o work a probl em in arithmetic (Standard ill.) 'll'h en t he moth er co mplained the answer was that the child was clever eno ug h, and could do th e sum if she cbo.e_ T he parents pleaded tha t s he was delicate, a!ld t hat th ey would much rather she d .d n ot pass th e exa mination till t~ e n e~t year ii any se verity had to he nseel.

'I o whlllh ans wered tb e t eacher I But I want ~y mouey and I'll make her' pass .' Th at acher put the whole syst em of paym ent by result s in a n utshell. Mr. Sykes the PTI~laent of the Teachers' Union, 'says, b : e pale faces, lack -lustre eyes aching rains of the litt le ch ildren, and tlle 'repeated

"3 8 eom plnin ts of brain fe v 1', l oss of ey sight , and borl il y d cpression an w akn ss plain ly vin e th e cru el ty as well as scnsclesBll ' ss of the system.' '. 'omo t\ 0 Y a l'S ago,' says a Li vcrpool mast er, • a v r y int lIigent but d licat c b oy cut l' d t h sc hool a nxiou s to compete for on of th o schola rships .)s tab lishe 1 by t he Liv e rpool 'outlcil of J ~ du c,­ tion. Aftcr bein g in th c sc hool I ss th un six m onth s h d ied, th o innn d iat c C(l ll b6 of d nth I ein g rh um atism of tll c heart; but durin g t h d l il'lum of th o last f IV days he moaned sadly about his sc hool work. '" A lad V t 'aoh er l' lates to Mr. Arm strong t h case of a p ar ent obj cting to her IlUving put forward on e of her children on t he g round that" last year but on o my oth I' girl was served th c same, and th e very week after t he examinat ion she wa s t n,ken i ll n,ncl died. " A Bradforcl master writes : "I have hoard of m n,ny instatl s in town of pel' manent br akdown or death r esn lting from the strain of sc hool work. A fe w years ago a girl committed su icide owing to uepressioll of spirits oaused by h r iu a bil ity to do th e homo work prescribcd a t schooL"" 1\11'. ·irl ing at a r ecent meoting of the executi\'e of th e National Un ion of E lementa ry T eachers, referr cd to th e case of a cllild who had then j ust d ied of brain fever whose continual ry, in his last d el irium was, " I can' t get it right ! I can't get it rig ht !"

And no IV, sir , to bring t he matter more closel y home to those for w hose benefit I hav e written th is paper, let me refe r briefiy to ou r own ex perience of tbe syst em of " paym ent by results," for we h ave had som e ex perience of that system in t he wor ki ng of our so·called hi g her ed ucat ion. Of t he number of lads wLo ha ve tak en the scholarship more than on e has been co nsigned to th e lunatic asylum. I cou ld po int t o quite a number who ha ve suffered in body and m ind from over-press ure. On e candidate for the scholarshi p broke down h efore the day apTlointecl for t he examinat ion and for a t ime I was hi s close compJ-nion.

I shall never forget how much he sl1flel'ed, aod t he poor, moping, help less obj ect t hc b ri~ h t boy o! form er yea rs had beco me. By entire cessation h om mental work and carefu l treatm ent, he was sntficiently restored t o go up and win t he pri ze he bad work ed so hard to ga-in. I n another case a lad after complaini ng t hat hi s head was bad, fell senseless upon th e 11001' and remained UUCOnBciou s and bov ering between life and detlth for sever:>l days-anotiJ cr victim t o Ov~ r ­ p ressure.

A Kukhl u :lH :t rOI;\J lt o( ovcl"p rOSsuro nh;o o " u"'eel i ll Aplil lHat .-A.:I.T.

If all t h boys \V ho havo t o stud work ::L! lott ' cl to thorn f" id y, fowY;l~cllh! pass, or mol' wou ld break dowo ('0 VQ\ld~ · ]- ut. lII . Stc",1 0 f UOtng -, . t ltiij ' tb h .111 a, ,01 d le. dow n to th 1' llb lic L ib l'al'Y and' mlll(~ Olll! the translation s, fro m w bich th ey copyUSUOI after p go. pagi A ge otle man told me onl y t he other d th t wll -n ho C:1l1le to Tas man ia and saw t~Y . lIrricu lum \~ h i c h boys have to go t hrou gb In order to WID th e prIzes t o be gained und our system of hig her ed nca.t ion , he resol\'~ th a t none of his sons shou ld r isk th e 108B OI bodily and menta.l be:1lt h by co mpet ing.

Th co mpe t iti on between ollr present pti. vat o ed ucat ion:11 cst ab li shm ents is doiog more harm i n Ollr communit y th an l11aoy are aware of, :tnd I have ample proof of thiJ fact. I w ill on ly relat e one instance aB aD ill ustration of th e way in which children are subj ected- in mn,ny cases t hrough grOii i ~ uora u ce on t he pa rt of the t eacher of the sllnplest la ws of p hys iology-to over-preBBure even in 0111' private schools. A lad y said to me th e other day, "A short t ime ago I beot my grandc hi ld t o school. S he is only 8 yem old . For a t i me her lessons were a pleasure to her . I n ever had t o p ress her to learn t hem. S he is a. brig ht intelligent child and after a very short t ime was advanced to t he next class.

T hen I often noticed th at h er ch eeks were stain ed with tearB. She often co mpla ined of headache, One day she came to me a nd said, "Gra ndma, I can ' t do it." I too k th e book from her hand, and to my borror found t hat my darl· ing was expect ed to learn for th e n ex t moro· in g a page of st atistics, w hi ch would pu ~zle a n adu lt brain to remember. N ext mornlDg I sent fo r t he teacher, and when she cn,mc, t old her th at I wished my child t o be educat ed, and not crammed. I sh Juld be ob· liged if sha would put her back t o her first class again ." W ould t hat every moth er would fo llow such an example. " On ental'ing the Dome Saloon of tb~ N e w Capitolil1o Museu m at R~m e, writes Mr. Armst roJ g, "the VISitor may see 011 his left- han d side the t ombst.o n6 of one Q. Slllpicius Maximus. T he subJcct of t hi s mon um cnt was ~ o hero of t he cam~ or t he Sena t e, bnt a littl e fellow not II yen,rs old, w hose t itle to fa me was t he ~ofcaf of 5'2 compet it ors iu th e i mprovi8atLOnk~1 Greek versos. Specimells of bis pretty 8 1'0 are graven on t he marble. But t he pn.thetl f cp itttph relates th a t dea th was t he p rico .o th e ovcr· stimulati on of t he boyish br~l ll ' Such , as far as I know, outside of Chll1a, was th e first case of deat h from competl' t I,IV examill atioll. '~T h en wi ll be t he last ?"

]~ rjll t{;(\ at 11 T it..., M U)'CUl'Y 11 Off'h.:u, H ubart .

AU CKLAND, THEATRE ROYAL, On APRIL 14th, llY Tll1t

I-IoN. ROBERT STOUT, Premier of New Zea.la.nd.

SUBJECT : "TECHNICAL EDUCATION." 14, 1885). h Premie]' (~tr. R. tout) woul d add re.. a TUE an1l0Ul~cem.e~lt that the k~onci ;t ~he Theatr" noval laBt nigh t, at t be rMJu~ t of meetin g of tD e CllJ.ze ~ 8 of Auc t t bring togeth'er almost as JarJ;e 110 Bud lene tb e Liberal ASBOCl:ltL? n, . wa. 8U cleo ~he buu of the ball wa_ a dense maM of as ever assem ll ed wlthlll Ita wall ~__ _, f r lad',n•. , an"u gentlemen who d . I I h wa~ r e-cY r \'cu 0 hum an ity, and the r ess C1rc e, .w llC . -h ' b a char"e \Vu. made Wii well filled . accompan ied thLm , ~od for. ad ml Q Ion to Vi ~\ of leadin citizen, 'membe r of the T he stage was a l 0 filled wltb a larj!;e nuill ~r b d g A.mon" t them wer e the C ity Co un<:}l , H arbour Boaru'handH oth er,,, PU;::; ~~n ';n I "~ie~ r a. Th"omp&oll, Peacock, Hon. S ir :F1'~ uk. 'W hltaker, t e 0 11.

1 . , llamlin and Durga\' ill ,~l.H. R's . . \, I ' I "'r ' . d anie! by ITI Ol'S 11]' le .' <l )'OT, W hen Lhe Hon. th e Prem ie r entere ,a~com!J' • 1 . he advanced lO the l,e was !(reeted with pro l on~ed appl austl, wlllch was contlllUt:l db d' t'rout a nd took hi s seat.

Hi s -Worship Lhe MAYOR pIr. \V. n. Wad del ) op 11 d the pl'ocee lOgs y rea IIlg t he advertisement and briefly illtro.lucing th e speake r. .

Ma STOUT wh o 00 ri ~i l1 to peak, \\'a~ rec~ivell wiLh renewed CheE-TS, a!d: Mr. Mayor, La li es a~d Gentlemen, - Betore I begin to ad.i r e s ~?U on the , uhJ ect tha t I have hose n to-ni ght, I wish to say n few worus as t DIy po III , 0 ~Iere. . ·... we time ago th e Auckland Libera l As,oeiation S~l1 t a rel~" e_ t to me that If I c:1lIe to Aucklall d I sb ould add regs a nwet in g uncler 11 au . IJIC~e , .tlBU I at once a __ ente~, becau e I ca tI myself " L i ber al-(cbe r. ), -a ncl ~ a lll \:xc~e,llll~ly ~h~J to see that IU A uckland tb t' re is still pol itic" llife an ti st ill allxlety for hb~ I" 1 principle. (lIear.

1 h av c nodorgo tt n th at in vea r ~one bY- In 18 75 -1 was l1!!\'tll~g ~ II . the·tllllC <1.le as the majori ty of ll1 Audd a nJ people. figh ti ng in favour of Prol' llIclall <m, anJ I fdL sure t hat th e pe pIe who th en h ad fOll_ ght s o ubly for 10,·,, 1 s If-g on~ rnw e ll t Wel e actuated by som e hi g h political principles, and h~d not f()rgo t tL II them. [ (",.Ie, h owever, in a diffi ult) in choo io g a subject on wbt,eh to speak. :'Ily c?lkug'le, ,Ir J. Vog I, bad spoke n to YOll 11 general politics . lOur ow n r epr".elltat." e. 11'11 e U u dou bt all d oth ers will no d oubt giy YOII "n account of what touk place III the lluu. e of R eprese otatiYes, and I do ~ot desire in a m eeting of this kind to e nter u pon any questiol1 of party politics.

P olitical Ideale.

I th Oll gbt I wOllld be doing myself the better justice a nd pLlyin g y 1I tl hig h e r com p liment hy see in g if I could poin t out some po litical ideals that I be lieve every ~1'11t! colon itit Aholll,l h avu ever bef r e hil11, a nu l' ·rh a ps Le lp YU II to see hillY w ' mlght attain t hem . (Chee rs.) TO-Ilig ht, th " l'e fol' e, 1 ha e I!Lu~c lI thi ; .ulij , .ct tu r. In ad dress. .Before I begin t spe(lk UpOll it I wallt to s bol. you \ by I th lll k Il b an exceedingly practical subject. [ NEW hEALAJlD

HERALD, T UI!lSDA.T, APRIL

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