164 Rural Education in our Village Schools. 



encourage lads to go to continuation classes. Another corres- 

 pondent states that, in his opinion, the need is for continuation 

 classes in subjects applical)le to practical agriculture. 



A member of a Midland Education Committee recommends 

 that peripatetic teachers should instruct in hedging, thatching, 

 &c., until such time as the regular teachers are competent lo 

 teach these subjects. 



Another gentleman tells us that he has found that having 

 plans of the neighl)ourhood of the village made with the help 

 of the Ordnance Survey was found useful, l)ut that the degree 

 of advantage derived from this depended largely on the head 

 master. He also approves of physical tlrill. The sime corres- 

 pondent suggests that technical education should l)e paid for 

 out of Imperial and not local funds. 



A suggestion from another correspondent is that there should 

 be workshops and an instructor for them in every village school. 



Finally, one correspondent considers that the managers of 

 schools in country districts should have the management of 

 their schools. 



The following refers to answers in which more or less 

 general complaints are made without proposing any specific 

 remedy : — 



Three correspondents complain of the education in general, 

 while three more complain that the education given in accor- 

 dance with the Act tends to lead the children to prefer a 

 town life. 



Mr. Thomas Latham, of Bishop's Court, Dorchester, states 

 that he has sat on many committees with no good result, as the 

 Board of Education do not understand the subjects necessary 

 for rural life. 



Another answer received is that the old School Boards 

 were much better than the County Councils. Another con- 

 cludes by saying that, if farmers were more careful to employ 

 boys as soon as they leave school, as is done in the writer's 

 parish, there need be no complaint of education. An interesting 

 syllabus of the work at the school in question has to be 

 omitted for want of space. 



A member of a County Council thinks that more discretion 

 should he allowed the school teachers, so that they could give 

 a more thorough education to the more promising pupils, while 

 cramming those children who will evidently have to live by 

 manual labour would be avoided. A similar idea is evidently 

 that of Mr. A. lies, of Fairford, Gloucestershire. After com- 

 plaining generally of the education as tending to fit the 

 children for a town life, he says that the future farm laltourer 

 has at present to take the same line as the futi;re clerk, 

 mechanic, and in some cases the small farmer's son. 



