INSPECTORS' CONFERENCE

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 41, 17 February 1910, Page 5

INSPECTORS' CONFERENCE

GRADING SCHEME ADOPTED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. The inspectors' confsreace continued its sittings to-day. The Teachers' Trai&iag Committee presented its report, j Is recommended that in order to facilitate the system of transfer the Department establish a uniform system of grading, to be applied to all certificated teachers in uje Dominion, and that a scheme as ayriended furnish a basis for the working of the system. The total marks attainable are 100, to 'be allocated as follows:—-Service, 10 .marks (two years, one mark); academic attainment, 15; "teaching proficiency, 40; personality (including ~ tone, tact, influence, and thoroughness), 20; organisation, 10; environment, live. Theoretically the scheme was perfect,, said the Inspector-General of Schools, but .'in. practice it would not work. Ideas as to the value of marks differed • in different districts. He would person- ! ally like the observers' general impression to 'be counted as a factor. • ■ Mr. P. Goyen (Otago) moved that tho scheme be drawn up under the four heads of service, academic attainment, teaching proficiency, and organisation and control. :.,.., Another criticism of the detail of the scale came from Professor White, who said "personality" was altogether too indefinable—& kind of a charm. The. Inspector-General: Especially in the case of lady, teachers.Professor White: Exactly so. (Laughter.) Mr. G. D. Braik (Wanganui) strongly supported a scheme of grading, because it had worked so well in his district. The marking of personality was found in •practice to be quite equitable. When an appointment was to be mode the •board examined the register, and the man -who stood best in the estimation of his colleagues and the inspectors gained promotion. "Personality, including tone, tact, influence, "and thoroughness," was subjected to several, votes, as a result of which the words within parenthesis were eliniinated and the clause amended to read,, '/Personality and .discipline,, 20. marks." : The whole scheme was then agree to. The Training Committee reported upon Mr. BakeweU's motions regarding teachers' certificates, recommending (1) That -the present system of classification be modified •with a view to 'substitute three for five grades; (2) That the scheme circulated be 'taken as.a. "basis to indicate the direction in which simplification should take place. Mr. W. (Jray, chairman of the committee, explained the • scheme reeom-. mended, pointing out its emphasis upon, proper training in the art of. teaching. He moved that it 'be referred to a special committee to confer with the Education Department to draw up a- final scheme. j The ■ discussion, which was upon technical lines, indicated a general feeling in •favour of radically revising the present system. The motion -was adopted, and Professor White, Messrs. Heming, Bakewell, Gray, and Milne -were appointed to constitute the special comonrttee. Regarding extension scholarships at "the training colleges, as proposed by Mr. E. K. Mulgan, the Training Committee recommended—(l) That .for each of the four training colleges two annual extension scholarships be established, open to i all students at the end of "their second year training and tenaiWe for one year at some university college, or its equivalent, to be approved by the Minister for Education; (2) that holders of scholarships be required to specialise in agriculture or some science subject, and that the scholarships be awarded partly on the restdt of examination and partly on the recommendation of the principal of the training college. I Tha recamnien>|gtiora -were accepted, j

Dealing iwith a notice of motion, by Mb Bossance," the Training" Committee »• commended- "that in ;tihe case of candidates for teachers' certificates- wibo an unable to qualify * for *tihe practical mi«»cal test a reasonaMe proficiency in pJaying the violin or some other etntable i* strument be accepted." The motion was adopted, and the Co* f erence adjourned.