The result of Criminological studies has indicated most clearly that no measures for the prevention or repression of crime will ever be adequate which are not based upon a scientific system of education. Whatever this system may prove to be, it must have one distinct aim, and that is to train all its members to love, and to work for, the social state. This aim must be accomplished most thoroughly no matter what the cost may be.

The decreasing birth-rate points to other conclusions than the obvious one that a large number of persons must be using preventive means. It points to a widespread selfishness which regards children as an intolerable burden, as in fact nothing less than a grievous misfortune. It is obvious that where children are so regarded a blight has fallen upon the domestic life. Home cannot be the brightest spot on earth to them; neither can the father and mother be their sympathetic guides, counsellors, and protectors. Nor can those children be studied (by those who alone have the special faculty for studying them) in order that their secret aims and ambitions and the difficulties which obstruct these aims and ambitions, may be understood.It follows then that from parental selfishness a great number (and close observation leads one to believe that by far the greater proportion) of the children of this generation and in this colony, are growing up with less care and attention being bestowed upon them than what their parents are prepared to bestow upon even their very horses or their dogs. This factor of parental selfishness cannot be ignored either academically or practically. It must in some way be overcome, or at least its influence for harm must be considerably reduced.

It would be interesting to discover how far this parental selfishness was a deviation from true parental pride. Possibly it may not be so very great as the vast difference in results may lead us to suppose, and if this be so the reorganisation of the child's educational system will not be insuperably difficult.

In many homes where there are more than two or three children, there is a total lack of domestic sympathy and pride. The children are not taught to love one another nor to understand and help one another. Adult influence is very seldom brought to bear upon them, and, worst of all, parental influence is either wanting, deficient or injurious. What children suffer from this want in the development in their natures must of necessity be, and it unquestionably is, sufficient to handicap them throughout their whole life. Parents profess that they have done their best with this or that child and that they have failed, but the fault largely lies in the parents undertaking the task with every expectation of failure, and the chief characteristics noticed by the child have been the parental irritability, impatience and incompetence. Having estimated these the child then knows exactly how to gain its own ends and has sufficient determination to persevere until it does. A certain amount of harsh treatment will suffice, until the child is old enough to rebel, in order to keep it in check, or, as is just as often the case, the child may be allowed to have its own way entirely. Under such circumstances it is not a matter of great wonderment that the child should be looked upon as a burden to be fed, clothed, and tolerated until it is old enough to "do something" for itself.

But our school system is also at fault, for by it our children are crammed with an amount of information the whole, or even the greater part, of which very few of them will ever use. Imagine the object, if one can, of spending the precious hours of a child's educational life in teaching it the names of every dozen or so of the different towns of each county in the United Kingdom, and at the same time entirely neglecting its moral training and giving very little attention to the physical.

If a child be bright he has every consideration from his teachers and receives from his companions the opprobious nickname of "Teacher's Pet." He gains a reward, perhaps a medal, and at the annual distribution of prizes the speech-makers point to the coming legislators and successful men of business in a manner which conveys to this scholar the idea that the one thing to live for is to gain an exalted position in the world. This would not be so bad in itself, were it not that the love for honest labour is not inculcated at the same time, and consequently the children imagine that they are going to be pitchforked into prominence. As an evidence, witness the speculative spirit so universal among our youth. They hope to make their way in life simply by "striking it lucky." Personally I have spoken to a large number of boys about the ages of from fourteen to sixteen years and I have never yet been able to find a boy who could tell me definitely what he would like to be. His father looks about for something for him to do without any knowledge of the boy's possibility of greatest success lying in one well marked direction. The boy remains in a billet only so long as he fails to get another with a greater wage attached to it, and when perhaps twenty years of age are reached he is conscious of where the true lines of his destiny lie; but it is then too late for him to begin the necessary education, and the consequence is that his life loses its inspiration. Now it is quite possible that if our school system were so reorganised that parents saw as a result that their children developed a true love for labour and worked with definite purpose, that they would take a more intense pride in them and enter more sympathetically into their labours and ambitions. The education of the child would thus be brought to react upon the parent and tend immediately to reorganise the domestic life and bring it closer to the Hebrew conception, which conception when realised would most thoroughly solve the problem of the moral regeneration of the race. It is impossible for the State to have to commence to educate the parent except by reactionary methods and by compelling the observance of all legitimate obligations. That our present school system does not react favourably upon the parent must be obvious from what has already been said. In the past when only the fortunate few were able to secure the advantages of a good education, they, for the most part, recognised the greatness of their opportunity and prosecuted their studies with zeal. But to-day, with an universal educational system the value of these opportunities is, by the child and sometimes by the parent, very much lost sight of. The child needs now a stimulant, something to arouse and sustain his interest in his work. He should learn to regard his school work with pleasure and his home with affection.

The three principal standpoints from which education is regarded are:—(a) the utilitarian, (b) the disciplinarian, and (c) a compromise between the two.

The Utilitarians consider that an educational system should store the mind of the child with such knowledge only as shall be of direct value to it in its after life. The disciplinarians consider that a child's education should content itself with so developing the faculties that when matured they may be adequate for such mental tasks as the after life or vocation may provide. The middle course is held by those who endeavour to train the faculties of the child in the manner prescribed by the disciplinarians, but in so doing, they employ the mind upon exercises, the accomplishment of which, is of immediate and permanent value.

The education system in New Zealand is constructed upon the utilitarian basis. The children's minds are crammed with knowledge—USEFUL knowledge let it be called—and they are encouraged to be diligent because of the great benefit this knowledge will be to them when they become men and women—which development the child of eight expects will be attained sometime before the end of the world, and will then come by chance. The reward of the child's labour is thrown into the far distant future, and is so entirely lost sight of as an inspiring factor, that artificial rewards have to be provided and the child ponders over his lessons in the hope of winning one of Ballantyne's or Henty's "Books for Boys."

Now, the facts of a child's life demonstrate conclusively that the child is capable of having all its interests absorbed in its work. The diligence with which it will build up a doll's house out of a soap box, a jam tin, a few stones and any odds and ends that it can lay its hands on, is sufficient evidence of this. The child loves to make things for itself, and its affection for the rude creations of its own mind is far greater than that for its most gorgeous and expensive toys. Upon the recognition of these facts, the kindergarten system is based.

In Sweden a very successful attempt has been made to construct the whole of the primary system upon this basis, and for this purpose Sloyd has been introduced into the schools. Certain Sloyd exercises have made their appearance in our New Zealand schools and have met with somewhat severe criticism, the whole system being condemned as being ideal theoretically, but valueless practically. It took many years before the Swedish system was perfected, and it should follow obviously that a very partial experiment, such as the colonial one has been, gives no idea of what value the complete system may achieve.

By Sloyd, we understand a system of educational hand-work. The children are employed upon various kinds of hand craft with the object of developing their mental, moral, and physical powers. The object is NOT to make artisans of the children, although undoubtedly those children who afterwards become tradesmen find that the educational principles of their trade has already been grasped by the intellect, but the same will apply to those entering any legitimate vocation without exception.

Although there are many different kinds of Sloyd, woodwork has been discovered to be the most useful, and it alone survives the severe tests imposed. A glance at the accompanying table will explain what is meant.

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SLOYD.

Key:
A - Does it accord with children's capability?
B - Does it excite and sustain interest?
C - Are the objects made useful?
D - Does it give a respect for rough work?
E - Does it train in order and exactness?
F - Does it allow cleanliness and neatness?
G - Does it cultivate the sense of form?
H - Is it beneficial from an hygienic point of view?
I - Does it allow methodical arrangement?
J - Does it teach dexterity of hand?

The objects of Sloyd are:—(a) to instil a taste for, and love of, labour in general.

Note.—(For this analysis of the Sloyd system the author has based his study upon Herr Salomon's works "The theory of educational Sloyd" and "The Teacher's hand book of Sloyd.")

Children love to make things for themselves and prize their own work much more than ready made articles. The educator should follow Nature's lead and satisfy this craving. By a skilful direction of the child's interest a love for labour in general is instilled, and rewards are found to be unnecessary, the children being only too eager to achieve. To sustain their interest in the work they are engaged upon must be useful from THEIR OWN STANDPOINT. The work should not be preceded by fatiguing exercises, but the first cut should be a stroke towards the accomplishment of the desired end. The exercise must afford variety. The entire work of the exercise must be within their power and not requiring the aid of the teacher to "finish it off." It must be real work and not a pretence; and the objects should become the property of the children. To give children intricate joints to cut is of no real value. The child has no genuine interest in what are simply the parts of an exercise, it must make something complete and useful in itself. To make a garden stick accurate according to model is of more value than to make the most intricate joint. One may say that the child who could do the one could do the other, but that is not the point, for the object is not merely to gain manual dexterity but to develop all the faculties of a child, and this is what the complete exercise achieves and in what the partial exercise absolutely fails.

(b) To instil respect for rough, honest, bodily labour, which is achieved by the introduction of the work into schools of all grades so that ALL classes of the community may engage upon it, and by the teachers taking pride in it themselves, and by their intelligent teaching of it to their classes.

(c) To develop independence and self-reliance. The child requires individual attention, the teacher must not tell too much, the child should endeavour as far as possible to discover by experiment the best methods for holding and manipulating tools, and also to be allowed as much free play as possible for its judgment.

(d) To train in habits of order, exactness, cleanliness, and neatness.

Which are acquired by keeping the models well within the children's range of ability, demanding that the work shall always be done in an orderly manner and with the greatest measure of exactness that the child is capable of. How far cleanliness and neatness may be instilled is apparent from the nature of the work.

(e) To train the eye, and the sense of form. To cultivate dexterity of hand and develop touch.

The models are of two kinds:—rectilinear and curvilinear. The former are tested by the square, the rule and the compasses, but the accuracy of the latter depends upon the eye, the sense of form and that of touch. This training enables the child to distinguish between good and bad work and to put a right value upon the former, to understand the right use of ornament, and also cultivates the Æsthetic taste upon classic lines. An enormous number of jerry built articles are sold, which the public readily buy simply on account of their ornamental appearance. If the ability to distinguish between good and bad work were more universal it would go far towards improving trade morality.

(f) To cultivate habits of attention, interest, etc. The success of the work requires that the mind shall be closely concentrated upon it. The nature of the work excites the interest of the child, and under careful direction this interest is sustained throughout. A genius has been described as a man capable of taking pains—a master of detail. Sloyd is eminently suited for concentrating the attention upon the details of work and for training the Sloyder to be thorough and never content with "making a thing do."

The desire of the child to finish the work and to finish it well, overrides any element of impatience or irritability that may be in his character, and in a natural way introduces the elements of patience and perseverance in his work. These qualities are not confined to his Sloyd work but extend throughout his character, so that he realises that the work of life all contributes to some definite aim.(g) Uniform development of the physical powers. Statistics collected from any country show that many forms of disease before unknown among the young, are now very prevalent among the children taught in the schools. These diseases are attributed to the many hours during which children are required to sit and to the bad positions they assume during those hours. Skoliosis—curvature of the spine—a serious disease, as it produces displacement of the internal organs, nose bleeding, Ænemia, chlorosis, nervous irritation, loss of appetite, headache, and myopia, are diseases which are declared by experts to accompany the present system of education.

Sloyd when properly taught tends to develop the frame according to the normal standard. It may not be as good as gymnastics in this direction: but it has this advantage that it trains the pupil to engage in his work in such a manner as not to hinder nor stunt the development of his body, and not to cramp the vital organs in such a manner as to interfere with the discharge of their functions. The pupils are taught to use both hands and to develop both sides of the body. The following chart from Herr Salomon's work will show to what degree the body may develop on a lopsided manner when one side only is used in performing work. The chart shows the sectional measurement of the chest of a boy of thirteen years of age who for three years had worked at a bench using the right side only.The foregoing brief analysis may show the ends which Sloyd is destined to accomplish, and upon the value of those ends no explanation is required. Habits of industry, patience and perseverance are inculcated. The child learns to know his own power and how best to use it. His tastes are cultivated and he learns to love work and understand the true dignity of labour. Such results are not the results of the copy book but they are permanently impressed upon the child's character. That such an education must react upon the parent is obvious. The child's life is full of aim and he does everything with a purpose, and in such a child only the most depraved parent will fail to take interest, and children have this characteristic, that they force their knowledge upon the notice of their parents whenever they can. The boy who begins to learn house painting soon expresses the wish to paint his own home; if carpentry, he wishes to build a shed; if joinery, he wishes to make a table; and how often one notices a home where tidiness and order are due to the educated child, and where taste in furnishing is accounted for by the daughter's cultivated Æsthetic taste. Children then, so trained as the Sloyd system provides, may contribute enormously to the happiness and brightness of the home life. Instead of regarding them as a burden their parents will behold them with delight and pride, and instead of looking out for "something for them to do," indifferent whether it be driving a cart, selling in a shop, or clerking in a lawyer's office, they will find that the child himself has a definite idea of where his after course should lie, and they will do their utmost towards assisting him to follow it.

It cannot be supposed that Sloyd will succeed in the midst of incongruous surroundings. To train the eye to a sense of the beautiful in a dirty schoolhouse is somewhat difficult. The glorious handiwork of God will not be taught in the playground which, with its mudholes, ruts, and filth, more resembles a cattle yard than anything else. A school and its grounds must at least show that the authorities themselves really appreciate the lessons they are endeavouring to have instilled into the minds of their scholars. So, too, a similar system must underlie the method of teaching the ordinary lessons at the school desk. How many children will say "I love history but I detest dates"? What value are the dates? Let history be taught as Fitchett teaches it in his "Deeds that won the Empire" and the end will be accomplished, patriotism will be inspired, and the nation loved. Dates, names of deeds, causes of war, international policies may easily be introduced incidentally. Let geography be taught as Fraser teaches it in his "Real Siberia" or Savage Landor in his "In the Forbidden Land" and the map will be studied with interest and the subject never forgotten. Let the notation be dispensed with until the child understands the problem or theorem and Euclid will become fascinating.Without a shadow of doubt the best preventive of crime is an universal system of education so designed that the whole interest of the child is absorbed in its work. An absolute solution of the whole problem undoubtedly requires that the religious education of the child be also undertaken and effectively carried out. The question of the religious education of the young is one which is exciting attention throughout the whole of the English speaking world. There are those who advocate that instruction in the Bible lessons should be given by teachers during school hours to the scholars attending the Government schools, and there are those who vigorously oppose such a course.

The advocates base their arguments upon their belief that no system of education which ignores religious teaching can be effective or complete. Their opponents declare that it is unjust to call upon the teachers of a secular education to give instruction in religion, or for the State to, in any way, subsidise the various religious denominations or to supplement their efforts in this particular direction. Both sides petition the Government and both sides prepare the people for a possible referendum upon the question.

The State cannot be expected to regard the matter from other than a purely utilitarian standpoint. "Will it make the people better citizens?" it enquires. "Will it lesson crime and promote honesty, thrift and loyalty?" These questions still remain unanswered, and in the midst of so much rationalistic teaching, and especially with the example of the noble lives of many rationalists before it, the State believes that there is room for much difference of opinion, and therefore it cannot move in the matter. The advocates of religious education seem to take it for granted that their beliefs are unassailable and that they are simply fighting against the powers of Darkness: but they forget that they are doing very little to bring others to hold the same convictions as themselves. It should not be a difficult task to answer to the utilitarian position with an emphatic affirmative and to bring conclusive evidence to support that affirmative. Where, it may be asked, are to be found the men who are leaders in thought and action who have, without any religious influence whatever, risen from the depths of misery, crime and filth? Where are to be found the families now living in honesty and virtue, though still in poverty, families in the midst of which every form of wickedness was once to be seen, who owe nothing to religious influence? The rationalist may claim that when his educational theories are adopted and put into practice all dens of misery and vice will disappear, but he cannot support his statement with convincing proofs. The teacher of religion is infinitely better off. While he strenuously supports the adoption of better and larger educational effort, he insists that, in order to gain the active co-operation of those on behalf of whom it is to be employed, religious influences must be brought to bear, and for the support of his statement he need only say "open your eyes and look around you."

The influence of religion in regaining criminals cannot be gainsaid by any, and the United States Educational Report for 1897-98 declares that it is most important for the inculcation of sound morality, that children should, from a very early age, be brought under the influence of good religious teaching.

When the State is convinced that religious education is an absolute necessity, it will approach the question of ways and means with a determination that a satisfactory solution must be arrived at, and what it will then demand is not so much an emasculated Bible as the bringing to bear upon the children of the vital regenerative influences of religion.