W.E.A.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 288, 5 December 1929, Page 27

W.E.A.

ANNUAL REPORT. POPULARITY OF TUTORIAL CLASSES. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE. . (ByJAQUES.) ■An admirable eurvey of W.E.A. activities in the Auckland district during the past 12 months is contained in th annual report, just made available. Th • figures show that the association ia expanding, but the real value of the report lies more, perhaps, in the indication it gives of the general tendency of the movement and in the suggestions for future development. Following are some extracts under the main headings. Finance. We have a balance of £76 2/8 of excess of income over expenditure for the year, but. this result has only been achieved by turning a deaf ear to appeals for more classes, especially in the country districts. This is not a satisfactory state of affaire. Classes and Lectures. The volume of work organised from Auckland has again taken an upwara turn, with a total of 1452 students enrolled and 917 "effective," i.e., an attendance of at least 50 per cent (last year's figures were 1190 and 83(5 respectively). Some parts of this expansion is due to the growth of more outside classes. Besides the drama class, whose size wo have become accustomed to, there have been three other classes (international relations, music, the English novel) whose' roll ' number has exceeded 100; while the psychology class has numbered 84. On the other hand, a step has been taken in the direction of intensive work with the advanced economics class. This class was limited to those with some previous economic training who would pledge themselves to attend at least two-thirds of the lectures and write at least six essays. With an excellent report from the' tutor, t)r. Belshaw, on the essay work produced, the experiment seems to have been fully justified, and the tutorial class committee is keeping steadily in view the extension of the method to other subjects. V Some classes presenting new features have been: International relatons. where the Rev. W. G. Monckton has drawn a large and enthusiastic audience to his first session in the city; nature study, where Professor -J. C. SperrinJohnson has built on the foundations laid in the botany class, and lias been generous in extending his course for three lectures beyond, the appointed' spin—to the delight of the members; art and life, where we have secured in Mr. F. N. Bam- " ford a man who brings the widest education to a subject of vital importance; French literature, a. new sub'jeqt in which a successful short course was conducted by Miss D. L. Miller. An entirely new class arose almost overnight at the Chief Post Office, where Mr. R. S. Wheeler, an enthusiastic member of the city economics class, organised a body of his colleagues in the Telegraph Department, raised funds for a library, and secured Mr. Richmond for a course of 12 lectures in economics: A class in economics was also taken by the director at the ■ Trades Hall, but the interest among trade union members eeems hardly what it was in the early days, and it would appear necessary to. seek ' an audience rather in the workshop ; or on the job. The monthly lectures at Mount Eden Prison have continued with ' marked success, the subsequent discussions being of a keenness and ability which put to shame many of the W.E.A. classes in the outside .community.

Meetings of Tutors. . . .\ Two meetings .have been held, at which tiitors and tutorial class committee have discussed the progress of our...movement. An address by Mr. T. Bloodworth on "Education as the Workers Want It?' provoked a very interesting discussion on the extent to which, the W.E.A. in Auckland, has developed away from its original scope and method? while the Rev. W. A. Constable, who for the past 15 years has been closely associated with the W.E.A. in England, spoke of recent developments of the.movement over there, dealing, especially ,with vari-, ous ways in which written work is being encouraged, and an experiment as to whether the appointment of non-univer-sity trained tutors would result in a greater accession of trade union students. The Box Scheme. A course of lectures under this scheme , was again borrowed from Canterbury, the subject this time being "Music, Art and Literature of the . Latest Age." Fourteen- centres joined" the circuit, extending from Kaitaia to,Waiuku, and from Tauranga to Kaglan. The scheme is, on the whole, serving its purpose of opening" wide fields of interest, to I'those who are isolated from the main centres, i and in two or three cases a very remarkable stimulus to the intellectual and artistic life of the community has resulted. The director and the Waikato tutor-organiser between them. were able to visit most of the groups working under the scheme, thus providing a liaison with the W.E.A. movement as a whole and also receiving criticisms and suggestions which should tend" towards the improvement of the scheme for the future. Progress and Vitality. The gcneralimpressiori from the year's activities is one of progress and vitality. Success has not by any means been uniform in all directions, and disappointments have occurred. But. there are many evidences that the W.E.A. has now attained a momentum which should carry it a long way. The spontaneous organisation of an entertainment by which the last summer school deficit was-wiped off, the excellent efforts associated with the newly-formed Dramatic Club the unprompted formation of .a strong class at the Chief Post Office— these and other signs show that W.E.A. members are doing things and pushing ahead without Avaiting to be asked. • This spirit makes the task of organisation an easy one, arid its presence —far more than the mere fact that our numbers are increasing—gives the brightest hope for the future. •■' , ■ The prospects for the success of,the summer school, to.be held-at Hun ua Falls during Christmas week, are particularly bright. It is estimated, that quite 80 people will be present for the full.period. ~, . ■, ; : i ,;