Rural Education in our Village Schools. 159 



The first part of Question 2, as will be seen by reference to 

 the circular letter on page 157, deals with the qualifications of 

 rural teachers. The following paragraph summarises the 

 answers received. 



Eleven correspondents reported that the teachers failed for 

 want of training, four that they failed in sympnthy, one that 

 they failed in all ways, and one that it was difficult to get 

 teachers. Five reports were favourable, two were doubtful, 

 and in thirteen cases the answers were indefinite. 



The teacher plays so great a part in any educational scheme 

 that the perusal of these answers gives grave cause for reflection. 

 On the one hand, no one having the interests of agricultural 

 life at heart can be satisfied with the fact that only five out of 

 thirty-five correspondents express themselves as satisfied. On 

 the other hand, a knowledge of the true state of affairs fills 

 one with a feeling not far short of admiration. The country 

 teacher is known to be less well paid than his confret'e in the 

 town, many educationists holding that a large proportion of 

 capable village schoolmasters consider themselves merely on 

 probation while working in the country, their ambition being 

 to earn promotion as rapidly as possible to the more lucrative 

 urban positions. Any one having any knowledge of the powers 

 of a teacher over a class, more especially one composed of 

 children or very young men and girls, will admit that the 

 influence the instructor wields is enormous. A capable teacher 

 can, furthermore, use this influence without in any way vio- 

 lating the most stringent rules laid down by a syllal)us, and 

 without in any way falling foul of the most skilful inspector. 

 It would not be too much to say that a teacher giving lessons 

 in a village school might quite unconsciously impart to his or 

 her class a desire to migrate to the town. The matter of the 

 adequate payment of village school teachers is, therefore, one 

 for most serious consideration, and it is only to be attributed 

 to the fair-mindedness of the present-day teachers that greater 

 complaint is not prevalent as to their adverse influence on the 

 children whose avocation is evidently on the land. Obviously, 

 for every reason, the schoolmaster in the country should not be 

 paid so low a salary that the education authorities in such parts 

 are forced to rely on inexperienced teachei"s awaiting promotion 

 to the towns, or worse still, to utilise the misfits of the 

 profession. 



The latter part of the second question deals with the 

 syllabus enforced in country schools, and before dealing with 

 the replies it may be well to repeat it. 



" Does the syllabus (in your opinion) enforced by the school 

 curriculum interfere with proper instruction being given ?" 



In eleven cases the question was answered in the affirmative, 



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