Land 1 Problems and National Welfare 



and Cambridge examinations, instead of to turn 

 out teachers versed in the art of teaching. The 

 instruction given at the training colleges has 

 undoubtedly improved greatly within the last 

 ten years ; at the time of Mr. Scott Coward's 

 report the education given was very deplorable 

 indeed. It is to be regretted that there is but 

 little up-to-date information available in regard 

 to training colleges — new ones have been built 

 of late years, but the training college accommoda- 

 tion must still be far short of the requirements. 



Training colleges should be national — that is 

 the only satisfactory system ; and all teachers 

 should be trained in a college and not permitted 

 to enter the profession by means of pupil teacher 

 centres and other back-door methods. 



Though the ideal arrangement is for the 

 would-be teacher to spend two years at a train- 

 ing college, and then to go out and do practical 

 school work for the next year or two, and after 

 that to return to the training college — it must 

 not be forgotten that during the first two years 

 he should receive sufficient practical instruction 

 in the art of pedagogy to make him a thoroughly 

 useful teacher when he leaves. Yet I find that 

 many capable headmasters, whose opinions are 

 worthy of attention, consider that a large 

 number of teachers fresh from the training 

 college do not know how to handle their classes 

 and are not so good at pedagogy as those who 



170 



