[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
Sin,—I would call attention to a point which I have not seen noticed in criticisms of the proposed cut in the Board of Edu- cation. The entry of children at six years of age, instead of at five years, would rob them of a year of medical inspection, treatment, and supervision, as well as of very valuable and beneficent training in the infants' schools, besides throwing an additional burden upon mothers. To increase the size of classes, already far too large, would be disastrous to the education, and seriously diminish the teachers' power in the formation of character. In the past large classes have clogged the wheels of progress by hindering promotion and sacrificing the quick children to the dull, and they have also been responsible for undue strain upon the teachers. As to salaries, if they are reduced there will be little likelihood of obtaining well-qualified teachers. What is of extreme importance is to obtain good value for these salaries, which is not always the case.—I am,
Previous page
