354 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



November li 



1917. 



to the West Indian Bidletin, Vol. I, pp. 77-108 

 and pp. 229-()6: Vol. II, pp. 97-130: Vol. VI, pp. 197- 

 233; Vol. VIII, pp. 280-312: Vol. XI, pp. 430-47: 

 and Vol. XIV, pp. 172-80. 



Reference may more particularly be made to 

 Vol. XI, p. 439, where a brief summary is made of 

 departmental efforts in this connexion up to 1911. 

 It will there be seen that assistance has been given 

 in respect to many phases- of education, and not 

 only in regard to agricultural instruction in prim- 

 ary and secondary schools. Aid has also been given 

 to encourage the teaching of elementary principles of 

 agriculture in the primary schools by giving instruc- 

 tions to the teachers of such schools, and by the 

 production of text-books especially suited for local use. 

 It is noted in this article that: — 



'The following courses of lectures or classes for 

 teachers have been given. In many cases they were 

 accompanied by demonstrations and practical work 

 conducted at a botanic or experiment station, and in 

 these instances their value was considerably enhanced: — 



Grenada, 1900 (two courses) and 1903. 



St. Vincent, 1904-5. 



Barbados, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902-3. 



St. Lucia, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1909. 



Dominica, 1900, 1901. 



Montserrat, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1906. 



Antigua, 1900-1, 1901-2, 1903-4, 1904-5, 190-5-0, 



1906. 



St. Kitts, 1902, 1903. 



'In order to aid the teachers in their work, a small 

 ■band-book entitled "Nature Teaching" was prepared, 

 with the object of providing a simple outline of scientific 

 studies having an agricultural bearing, and at the same 

 time indicating VHrious pieces of practical work and 

 experiments capable of being carried out by the teacher 

 or his pupils, and affording directions for accomplishing 

 this. In the Leeward Islands, again, a pamphlet 

 entitled 'Hints to Teachers" was prepared, fur the 

 purpose of assisting in the instruction detailed in the 

 syllabus of science and nature study, in the coile 

 governing the elementaiy schools of the colony: this 

 has been embodied to a large extent in "Nature Teach- 

 ing" in connexion with the successive enlargements that 

 this vvoik has received in recent years. Further, in the 

 Pamphlet Series, several issues have been made of 

 a publication entitled Hints for .School Gardens", the 

 scope of which has been greatly increased in the new 

 editions. A small work dealing in a simple manner 

 with Tropical Hygiene has also been prepared for 



the Government of the Leeward Islands. It must 

 be mentioned lastly, although this is not one of 

 the publications of the Department, that a booklet 

 having the title "Suggestions for School Gardens" hy 

 J P. Williams. M.A., has been published by the Jamaica 

 Board of Education.' 



In treating the question of agricultural education 

 it is worth while to try and obtain a clear idea of the 

 position of the pupils, and their requirements. 



As regards such education given to the scholars in 

 elementary schools, both critics and well-wishers are 

 often disposed to consider that the method of instruction 

 should be purely utilitarian. Most of these scholars 

 are likely to earn their future living as agiicultnral 

 labourers it is said, therefore teach them to handle the 

 fork and the hoe and such like things, and they will 

 turn out good labourers, able to maintain themselves 

 and fill a useful position in their country. Now this is 

 really not fair, either to the scholars or to the teachers 

 of elementary schools. All that can be expected is that 

 the elementary facts of agricultural life should be 

 taught and made familiar to the children, especially by 

 training their powers of observation. To expect the 

 scholars of an elementary school to leave school as expert 

 labourers, is to expect the elementary school to fulfil 

 the functions of a technical school, and the teachers to 

 be expert planting overseers. 



Too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity 

 of training the powers of observation of the scholars 

 in elementary schools in the West Indies. Most of our 

 children here have excellent powers of memory, but 

 their observant faculties seem sadly lacking. They can 

 learn by rote pages of a text-book, especially of a cate- 

 chetical kind, but they do not seem, except in rare 

 instances, to observe differences or likenesses in the 

 objects of plant or animal life with which they are in 

 continual contact. 



In is in this particular that the agricultural edu- 

 cation in elementary schools in the West Indies seems 

 largely to have failed. In spite of the excellent text-books 

 referred to above, adapted to local conditions: perhaps 

 indeed because of tbeni, very little real knowledge of 

 the matter seems to be freely attained by the pupils. 

 That is because the teacher, and let us say the examiner 

 also, is often content with glib, parrot-like repetition of 

 answers derived from the books. Direct observations of 

 the actual plants, tools, and appliances are necessary to 

 good teaching: in most country districts in the tropics 

 there is no dithcnlty in gathering from around the school 



