To the Euitor of the "Norra-"niwa Datty News,"
81n,—Wiill yon ye mit me to trenpasupon soar valuable "pee re a matter which to rome of your readers may rear of mre public imro: tance than even robber compaviex? I refer to Scho 1 if they wi-h them to be educated at all, and at which the fees are exceptionally heavy in comparison with other places. The headmaster is at present at home on furlough and, we have beea informed, will inquire methods during many parents great need of improvement First, the education below the standard of even the ele: tary schools in Great Britain. By education I mean the instruction the children receive and not the syllabus as printed. There is no reason why our tebool should not rank as high, at any rate, as there of the London' County Council, My own children for some years attended elementary schools in England, but since they have been at the school here their progress has not been nearly so satisfactory. Other parents corroborate this view. My eldest som, who la till under age for basines, has, I fear, been merely marking time—one reason, h's class is often left without " teacher at all. I wish I could keep him at home and coach him myself bat have no time; bat a year dropped out of a boy's educational life is no slight matter. An increasing namber of parents have now to settle down and bring up their obildr here, and their education becomes matter of greatest importance, and few can afford to send them to boarding schools away from home.
Second,—The discipline is very lax. Amongst some of the scholars there seems to be a state of each doing what right in his own eyes. he teachers seem to have little authority over the bigger boys especially. I understand one youthful aspirant to fame came into class a fow ago with an open umbrella over bim, on purpose to cause disturbance, and that often one class is so noisy thet other classes are disturbed. Barely such things ought not to be and would not be permitted a day in pablic school at home. I sympathize mach with the teachers in having such a mixed maltitade of scholars, but some means shoold be teand of keeping wholesome discipline over all—and those' who have careful b training should not be kept back and educationally injured because of the lack of discipline over others. We all know how our 37
Shanghsi atmosphere tends to cause slackness in everything, and personally, professionally, and in every other way we need at times to gird things up.
Coald there not be a rule thst the teachers should not indulge in the weed" on echo! premises daring school hours before the children? Thera is no need to teach smoking at school, the boys will learn fast enough Thirdly—The fees are exorbitant and more than many parents can really aff'd. They are as high or higher than st " Grammar School at home.
ngepore, I have been told, the fee $3 per month, say about $5 in local currency. Here the free are $8 and $12, without many advantages enjoyed st Singapore In these daya wi rents so tremendons'y Ligh and val tradily dec-essing. it is becoming more and more difficult to make ande meet.
As a parent sod ratepayer I plead that a thorough inguiry into the whole status of the school should be made by 'a0 independent committer, pon which parents of rcholare at the School and ratepayers should be strongly represented, as well as the teachers and Manicipal Coanoil. Sach a committee, having come to a decision as to what Shanghai needs, would then be in a position to consider carefully any suggestions the headmaster may make when he retains.
There i, I believe, a school Committee, bat most ratepayers and parents sre in ignorance as to ite personnel or its work, I am, ete, Panzwr, To the Editor of the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.