Page:Speeches And Writings MKGandhi.djvu/451

 disregard of our social system, and according to an English proverb, the cart was put before the horse. Malabar! has stated that if we want to teach our children History and Geography we must first give them a knowledge of the geography of the home. I re- member that it was my lot to have to memorise the English counties. And a subject which is deeply inte- resting was rendered dry as dust for me. In history there was nothing to enthral my attention. It ought to be a means to fire the patriotic spirit of young lads. I found no cause for patriotism in learning history in our schools. I had to imbibe it from other books.

In the teaching of Arithmetic and kindred subjects, indigenous methods have received little or no attention; They have been almost abandoned and we have lost the cunnirfg of our forefathers which they possessed in mental arithmetic,

The teaching of Science is dry. Pupils can make no practical use of it. Astronomy which can be taught by observing the sky is given to the pupils from text- books. I have not known a scholar being able to analyse a drop of water, after leaving school.

It is no exaggeration to say that the teaching of years' training how to save ourselves from plague and such other diseases. It is in our opinion the greatest re- flection upon our educational system that our doctors have not been able to rid the country of these diseases. I have visited hundreds of homes but have hardly seen a house in which rules of hygiene were observed. I doubt very much if our graduates know how to treat snakebites, etc. Had our doctors been able to receive their training in medicine in their childhood, they would

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