This in itself is a remarkable stride in advance,
which the Separatist will find difficult to explain away. Who will be so
bold as to calculate the harm which was inflicted by the arid and
artificial system of "cram," introduced in 1871, but now fortunately
abandoned in the National Schools, which had only one object in
view--the money grant that was made proportionate to the output of
heterogeneous lumber that could be retained by the pupil until called
for by the examiner? Surely, the great aim of education should be
self-culture, the development of the mind, body, and character of the
pupil, consideration being had to the career he is likely to pursue in
the future. This the National Board has realised in time, and it is
owing to its efforts and the co-operation of men and women of all shades
of opinion who labour in the schools that such signal improvement has
taken place during the last few years.
Apart from this larger question, there are various other features of the
National Schools that ought not to be excluded from this brief review.
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