Education in America.

On Sunday, June 7, Mr. and Mrs. Cramer paid us an informal visit. Mr. Cramer is Director of Education in the state of Oregon. He has been doing education research in Australia, and is passing through New Zealand on his way back to America. After he had been entertained to tea, he gave the residents a talk, not only on college life—that is, university life—but also on high and lower school methods of teaching, the examination system, and grading. When he had finished his most interesting talk the meeting became still more informal, chairs were drawn nearer to the fire, cigarettes were lit, and all awkwardness vanished.

Mr. Mason wanted to know how much communal spirit there is in the United States, and soon Mr. Cramer was plied with many questions, pertinent and impertinent, which he answered with an unusual ease of diction and fluency of language. Mr. Cramer showed a remarkable knowledge of New Zealand problems. Weir rejoiced to hear that students in Oregon had perfect academic freedom. Mr. McGhie wanted to know what would happen if a university went Red. Mr. Cramer thought that might be too severe a strain on the principle of freedom, for American universities, like New Zealand ones, are controlled from above and the student has no representative on the higher governing bodies.

Mr. Cramer explained that the English public schools were called public because they were exclusively private; English because they taught Greek and Latin; and schools because their essential interest was sport.

At the end of the discussion Mr. Mason thanked Mr. Cramer, and the residents entertained the visitors with two rousing hakas as a token of their appreciation.