The Review of Reviews. 



Noi-ember 1, 1906. 



' 



The Principal, Lecturers and Students of the IVIelbour-ne Training College for State School Teachers, 



all-important matter of education, set themselves 

 the task of reforming our State school system. 



To-dav that svstem is second to none south of 

 the line, and in regard to the teaching of infants 

 and Nature Study, it is probably the best in Aus- 

 tralasia. Since his appointment the Director has 

 lived the strenuous life in the cause of education, 

 and his example has been followed to such purpose, 

 both by inspectors and teachers, that the system 

 he and his colleagues introduced has, with neces- 

 sary modifications to suit local conditions, become 

 thoroughly workable, and has already begun to 

 influence in a marked degree the children of Vic- 

 toria. Mr. Tate has been sneered at and mocked 

 as a mere theorist ; but " mockery is the fume of 

 little hearts," and the scorner counts for but little 

 in the progress of niankind. 



The triumphant carrying out of the State Schools' 

 Exhibition, and the work shown therein, is an an- 

 swer to the Director's critics. The exhibits bear 

 mute but expressive testimony to the fact that the 

 programme of instruction has stood the test of ac- 

 tual practice. Mr. Tate has had a hard battle to 

 fight, and the end is not yet. But the exhibition is 

 a proof that much has been done, and it will serve 

 as a fresh starting point for further effort. 



THE EXHIBITION. 



On entering, the first impression of the average 

 visitor was probablv a feeling of astonishment at 

 the magnitude of the undertaking. Could dominie 

 .Sampson have revisited the earth, and seen the 

 work of Australian children, his first exclamation 

 would certainlv have been " Prodigious." 



As one passed from court to court a good idea of 

 the nature of the instruction carried out under the 

 programme of the Education Department was gra- 

 dually gained. Compared with the work of fifteen 

 or twenty years ago, it was noticed that the work 

 now is far more practical in character. The teach- 

 ing aids seen throughout the courts, and the appa- 

 ratus constructed by teachers or by pupils, 

 plainlv indicated that the concrete is everywhere 

 superseding the abstract where that is possible and 

 desirable. 



On the walls of the courts brush drawing, oi 

 brushwork as it is generally called, occupied a con- 

 siderable portion of the space. Some beautifvl 

 work was shown in this subject. Among the many 

 exhibits which merited special pr,>.ise one could not 

 help noticing the very fine work sent in by small 

 country schools, some from scho ils in the VVim- 



