EDUCATION IN AUCKLAND

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 79, 1 April 1908, Page 5

EDUCATION IN AUCKLAND

REPORT FOR THE PROVINCE. THE CHIEF INSPECTOR'S COMMENTS. Mr. D. Petrie, M.A., chief inspector of schools for the Auckland Education District, submitted his general report on the public schools of the district for the year 1907.

The report states:—"There were in operation at the end of the year 484 schools, of which - 82 were half or parttime schools. The number has increased by 21 during the year. The public schools inspected numbered 417; as in the past only one of the grouped part-time schools was inspected. An ' annual visit' was made to 472 public schools. In addition to the above 24 Roman Catholic diocesan schools were inspected and examined, as well as the Parnell Orphan Home School. Early in the year Mr. William Burnside, MA, joined the inspectorial staff. He took up his duties early in March. The considerable increase in the number of aided and household schools, all of them situated in districts more or less out of the way, has added to the work of inspection in a I much higher proportion than the increased attendance would indicate. In a number of these.;very small schools, with an attendance not unfrequently below 10, the inspection and the annual visits have been combined in a single day. The promotions of pupils from class to class now rest with the head teachers. On the whole: they are being made with satisfactory discretion. In the larger schools, with one or two exceptions, the classification is thoroughly sound, and promotion is withheld from" all unworthy pupils. But in a considerable number of the smaller schools the soundness of the teaching is being impaired by the premature advancement of a certain proportion of the pupils promoted. A good many head teachers of such schools do not, as yet, .sufficiently realize the weighty responsibility imposed on them by having the classification of their pupils placed unreservedly in theiir hands. Their treatment of this is a matter of fundamental importance for the success of their work as educators. . Unfortunately, in dealing with promotions, the head teachers of many of the smaller schools are often subjected to local pressure, which it is not always easy for them to withstand. The inspectors, and I believe the Board also, will firmly support all head teachers who may be threatened with trouble through exercising an honest independence in dealing with promotions, and in keeping the classification of their pupils sound and healthy." The progress in the public schools has suffered to some degree during the year from the unprecedented train of interruptions of regular attendance caused by the wide prevalence of epidemic sickness and the protracted spell of rainy and stormy weather that continued almost without a break for four of the busiest months of the school year. The inclement weather made the work of the inspectors in the country districts very trying, and they deserve very great credit for carrying it on without interruption.

For some time past the most pleasing feature in the work of the public schools has been the good and often excellent work done by the pupils of the Standard VI. class, who are preparing for the Certificate of. Proficiency Examination. The application of the scholars and the progress they make, during the year they pass in the Standard VI. class are highly creditable both to ! themselves and to their teachers. Considering the relative difficulty of the examination, the quality and the number of the passes are highly satisfactory. In many of the larger schools nearly all the standard VI. pupils qualify for this Certificate. In many smaller schools the example of the Standard VI. class is not set in vain. "The mere fact," Mr. Burnside notes, "that a small school has one or more candidates for proficiency, seems at once to raise the tone and standing of the school." Undoubtedly the prospect of gaining a certificate of proficiency is proving a powerful stimulus to good work. 1 This experience does not countenance the depreciation of school examinations that has been so conspicuous a feature in our recent educational policy. Where the younger teachers, and especially the younger men, predominate the efficiency is distinctly higher. These are the men who are raising education in the country districts, and in acknowledging their good service I cannot help feeling that the great weight in connection with professional advancement, now attached to mere length of service, and even to length of tenure of a particular position, must be sadly disheartening to them. The teachers most deserving of advancement are, in my belief, those who have done and are still doing the most efficient service. A teacher who does not reach the best he can do within ten or twelve years of his taking up the work, is not very likely to prove a great success later.

The report goes on to deal with the various subjects taught at the schools. Beading is considered to be on the whole well taught, whilst in writing the pupils are regarded as exceptionally proficient. Other subjects the teaching of which has been favourably commented on are spelling and dictation, arithmetic, drawing, and geography. On the other hand it is stated that recitation is indifferently taught, whilst disappointment is expressed with the progress being made with composition and sentence structure. The report-is very full, concise, and comprehensive, dealing with the various subjects under review from various standpoints. Every subject in the curriculum is criticised fully, and suggestions are given in nearly every case. The report concludes: "All the inspectors recognise the conscientious and diligent work of the great body of the teachers. If some are too much wedded to routine, and experience difficulty in outgrowing mechanical methods, there is at any rate a very general ambition to make the teacher's work educative by requiring pupils to do their share— the principal share—in the training of school life. There is also a growing recognition of the fact that self-training is the best training, and that it cannot be secured unless pupils are equal to the efforts they are called on to make. Nowadays a great deal is being asked of teachers; all the more do they deserve <redit for striving, whenever opportunity offers, to improve their qualifications for their chosen and responsible work."