THE IDEAL TEACHER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 66, 19 March 1925, Page 12

THE IDEAL TEACHER.

SIR JAMES PARR'S AIM. IMPROVED TONE IN EDUCATION GOOD STUDENTS IX TRAINING. "Wo want to get the best of our young people into the teaching profession," declared Sir James Parr, Minister of Education, nt yesterday's ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new training college in Epsom .Avenue. Sir James pointed to the attractions offered to students to train for the teaching profession. They received £90 per annual plus £13 per annum 'boarding allowance if they resided away from home while training. These allowances were the highest in the world. His aim was to get the best •young people into the profession, and to do that.he had to make it worth their while.. Hitherto there had been competition from the Civil Service, but from reports he had received the department was now succeeding in attracting the right type of students. The aim should bo to train young people who would carry the lamp of learning and the torch of high character into the schools.

A large sum of money was being expended on the new college—about £:»i.OOO on the lirst portion of the building, with £3001) for the levelling of the ground. AVas such an expenditure worth while? Sir James thought it was. When he received the portfolio of education five years ago, he found twenty-five years or more of comparative neglect. There was a great deal of leeway to make up, the most serious evil being the insutticient liuni'ber of teachers being trained to carry out the educational work of the Dominion. Throughout New Zealand, notably in the city of Auckland, he found there were classes much too large for any one teacher. In Auckland nearly half the classes at that time had over 00 pupils to each teacher, while in many schools there were classes reaching to 120 pupils, and in some cases 130 pupils to oue teacher. That was not education! Then again, he found that 34 per cent of the teachers were untrained, unqualified and uncertificated. He felt immediately that his first task was to set about training more teachers. A-t that stage there were 347 students in the four training colleges. Could it be asserted that the department had not spent money to advantage when to-day there were 1200 students in these colleges? (Applause). Every one of these students was needed, because the large classes had to be reduced. He was thankful something in that direction liad been achieved during the last three or four eyars. The old classes of 120 had gone for ever, and there were fewer classes of 60 pupils. He hoped with this year's influx of promising teaching material sent into the classrooms, to be able to say that no class exceeded 55 or]. CO children. That would be a great!achievement in primary education. Teachers Can Cure Unrest. The people in the front firing line of education were the teachers. A weak teacher meant a. poor school. Sir James considered that hioney wisely spent on the training of good material in teachers was the best investment the public could? make, The future lay largely with ;"the teacher. What was the cure of the social and industrial unrest of to-day? Largely it was to cultivate in the minds of our children the- true spirit of goodwill in the community; the Spirit of disinterested service in the community; the spirit of teamwork in the community; to -j>ut into every child's mindj r the sense that-in sofi'iol and out of it; he. cannot live by fe.' T.self alone, that ;lie is part and pares'! of society, and that he must accommodate himself to society and help society if we are to save ourselves from anarchy and disaster. Largely that was the mission of the teacher.

In. the first place, "continued Sir James, the teacher should be a good healthy animal. He wanted to see. well set-up people—not poor anaemic people —among our teachers, young people radiating health and:.!vitality, young people with personality. He preferred in a teacher an individuality that impressed itself upon the young, before the highest scholastic degree. (Applause).