AUCKLAND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5, 6 January 1908, Page 6

AUCKLAND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

The annual conference of the New Zealand Educational Institute vvas concluded just before midnight on Saturday evening. Mr. J. Aitken, B.A. (president) occupied the chair. FINANCE. The financial statement for the year ended 31st December, 1907, showed receipts on ordinary account amounting to £375 IS/10J. against an expenditure of £114 0/12. leaving a credit balance of £261 18/8". The receipts on account of the legal defence fund (including balance brought forward £812 10/4) are Eet down at £037 17/-. leaving a credit balance of £013 .19/-. .1 Hie Journal of Education account shows a balance of receipts over expenditure amounting to i£7o-S/-. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The following officers for the ensuing year were elected by ballot:—President, 31r. W. H. Newton (Auckland); secretary, Mr. William Foster (Wellington); treasurer, Mr. Thomas Hughes (Christchirrch); non-official members of executive: North Island, Mr. James Aitken, B.A. (Wanganui); South Island, Mr. William. Davidson (Dunedin); Wellington Education District, Mr. George Mac--Alorran. ■I^ . STATUS AND PAYMENT OF |T TEACHERS. p Mr. Jeffrey (Otago) moved:— ' 12. Tlrai the Minister for Education be 1 asked to secure, as a tentative measure pemiirtg legislation to place the payment of teachers on a sounder basis than on that of average attendance, an enactment to the following effect:— (a) That no teacher's salary or house allowance shall he reduced by reason of the average attendance of his school having fa!lf*n in trra.de for ttic previous year. (b) That no teacher's salary snail be reduced by reason of the attendance of his echool having fallen in jjrade for the previous years, provided: 1. That the teacher -shall forward to any Education Board in" the iiDonrimon a general application for any position not involving a reduction in his emoln.rnent; and 2. That such application shall be forwarded not later than one month 'after the date when reduction in salary Nwould take effect. The motion was carried, after a brief * Hiisctrssion. On the motion of Mr. C. B. Monro it was resolved:— "That the system of payment of salaries 6n average attendance is inequitable and" ought to be abolished." :h Miss Craig (Wellington) moved:— "That in view of the fact that attend- " ance of children under seven years of age cannot be enforced, the salaries of teachers in separate infant schools should not depend on the average attendance, but while such a state of affairs exists no attendance should be counted unless at least Go per cent of the roll number are present." The mover pointed out that while children in other schools could to some extent be compelled to attend or else ■were the subject of prosecutions, in infant schools there was absolutely no compulsion, and therefore the teachers in such schools should not be penalised. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr. F. G. Gibbs (Nelson) moved:— "That a sub-con.mittee be appointed to draw up a scale of salaries, and to report to the Executive on or before March 31, £och report to be based upon the classification adopted by this meeting." Mr. Owen seconded, and on being put the motion was carried 'unanimously. Mrs. Dowling (Taranaki) moved:— "That a certificated teacher in sole charge of a school above grade O should receive a minimum salary of £130 per annum." Mr. Mail (Taranaki), in seconding, said that the class of school referred to was principally in the hack blocks. Teachers in those schools were deserving of every sympathy. Considering the amount of money spent by the Department on technical education, -which might be termed a luxury, the Department should not demur at granting an extra £ 10,000 for country teachers. After further discussion, the motion was carried unanimously. The following remit, forwarded by Taranaki, was adopted:— "That where there is only one assistant in a school, that assistant, if certificated ehould receive not less than £100 per annum." It was pointed out that girls in the post office, if 22 years of age, were paid not less than £100 per annum, and the mover argned that the teacher, who. was responsible for the post office girl's education, should at least be placed on an equal footing. , Mr. Macdonald (Otago) moved:— "That when a school is understaffed through a position in the school being vacant, the teacher or teachers who undertake the extra work shall receive the balance of salary that school has earned." The mover said tha't:.the Otago Board '•'would be quite willing to pay the amount, but there was some defect in the machinery. The motion met with come opposition. Mr. Holmes (Hawke's Bay) considered that it would be a mistake to convey the impression that a teacher was an india-rubber ball, and th*£ it you could squeeze hard enough you*could get double the work out of it. He further contended that there ■was an obligation upon the teacher on taking employment to-do his very best regardless of the number or class of pupils he had to attend to. Mr. Gibbs (Nelson) ttought that by asking for all these "tivo-penny half-penny" increments that they would throw discredit on their main object. On being put the motion was carried. Mr. Valentine'- (Soath Canterbury) moved, and it was agreed: ■ in of the discontent still prevailing amongst members of the teaching profession m the Dominion, the Minister for Education be respectfully asked to remove its chief cause by paying sniaries that are adequate remuneration f or the important work of our profession." The following recommendations were agreed to: "That in primary schools from which secondary schools are not reasonably accessible, the head teacher should receive special payment for approved instruction to any pupil who holds a Standard VI -proficiency certificate.—(Wellington.)" "That if the iniquitous system of payment of salaries on average attendance is to be continued, ail half-days on which the attendances less than 75 per cent of the" roll number for the time being shall be omitted from calculations of the average attendance.—(South Canterbury.)" "That the Minister for Education be again urged to allow education boards to have control of the conveyance of children to central country schools.—(Otago)." Mr. Parkinson (Wellington) moved, and it was agreed: "That the time has arrived when, owing to the establishment of a liberal free place system, all primary scholarships should be abolished. —(Wellington.)" THE SYLLABUS. The following remits in connection with the syllabus were agreed to: "That in the opinion of this institute the work being done in geography under the new syllabus is unsatisfactory in at least three respects:— Q.) Political geography is practically, neglected; (2) in many schools

much of the observational work required In course A cannot be carried out; (3) much of the mathematical geography is unsuitable for primary schools." '•That clause 33 of the syllabus should be so altered as to read thus:—-Needlework must be taken by all girls in class S3 to S6 in every school where there is an adult female teacher, provided that the girls who are attending a. class in cooking, dress--making, or laundry work that is recognised under the regulations of the Manual and Technical Instruction Act need Dot take geometry while so attending.' " "That this institute expresses regret that the Minister for Education hns not introduced amended regulations for inspection and examination as submitted to and approved by this institute in January, 1907; and urges upon him the urgent need for their introduction. SUPERANNUATIONS. The following motions were carried:. That house allowance ought to he included in the estimation of superannuation allowance.—(Waneanal.) That in the opinion of this institute allowance for back service amounting to one one-hundred-and-twentieth of the total salary received previous to January 1. 190U, gives a totally inadequate allowance to teachers who have spent their best years in the service of education, and that every effort ought to be made to obtain terms as good as those of the Railway and police Departments.—(Waneanui.) That in the opinion of this institute the Edncation Act should be amended so as to it compulsory that all male contributors to the superannuation fund retire at 65, arid all female contributors at 60. — Ovorth Canterbury.) MISCELLANEOUS. Recommendations as follows were agreed to: That the Inspectors ought to be placed under the control of the Education Department.—(Wanganui.) That this institute is of opinion that a colonial scale of salaries for school inspectors is urgently needed.—(Hawke's Bay.) That the New Zealand Educational Institute urge upou the Minister for Education the desirability of establishing an advisory educational councils—(Otago.) That in consequence of the widely different standards set in the matriculation examination, and in the teachers' r> certificate examination, the Education Department be respectfully requested to cancel the exemption at present granted under regulations for examination and classification of teachers, clause 21. —(Grey.) That the Education Department be asked to provide teachers - dwellings with washhouses and bathrooms.—(Auckland): also, that the attention of the Minister for Education be called to the very unsatisfactory condition of many teachers' residences, and that improvements should he provided so that these residences should hare at least —(North Canterbury.) That the Education Department be asked to make provision whereby teachers engaged in the remoter country schools of each edncation district who desire to become conversant with modern methods of teaching may be enabled to attend for a longer or shorter period one of the training colleges of the Dominion.—(South Canterbury.) That it is in the best interests of education that the ranks of the inspectorate bo filled by the highest qualified and most experienced head teachers of the Dominion. — (South Canterbury.) That the attention of the Minister for Education be drawn to the heavy fees charged by the Department to those teachers who wish to sit for only one or two subjects. CONCLUSION. It was decided to hold the next annual meeting of the Institute in Dunedin. Votes of thanks were passed to the officers of the institute, the chairman of committees, the auditor, the Auckland District Institute for its hospitality; the Mayor and City Council for the use of the chambers; to the Minister for Education (for a grant of £100 towards the expenses of the meeting); to the Auckland and Remuera bowling clubs (for invitations to use greens), and to the Press.