DISGUSTED SCHOOL TEACHERS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11751, 27 November 1903, Page 5

DISGUSTED SCHOOL TEACHERS.

THE NEW SYLLABUS. (SPECIAL TO "TDK PRESS.")

DUNEDIN, November 26. Several Dunedin teachers luve been interviewed regarding the new syllabus. Most of tMem are apathetic over the matter. One teacher said:—"l have come to the deliberate conclusion that the syllabus, as far as teachers" work ia concernedt meant nil or nearly ao- H the new syllabus be lighter than the old one, well and good; if not, well, well nnd good. It can do no further injury to the poor camel's back, for it is already broken." * Another teacher said:—'• Without «• pressing an opinion as to the new syllabus, 1 should like it to go forth that there are three ways iv which the burdens imposed upon teachers have increased during the last ten years :—(l) By adding to the syllabus ; (2) by the tendency which inspectors beeni to have to always raise the standard of requirements; (3) and, mott peruwiou* of all, tiie practice of introducing school committeemen's "fada" into the work of tho school. Of the last point it is difficult to speak, too strongly, and lanef opinion that in the interests of our education system, the legislature will sooner or later have to introduce a clause into th* Education Act prohibiting this pcrnicioUH practice. These "fads," some of them commendable "fads" in themselves, too often do not appear on tho syllabus, but uuless the headmaster cares to resist their introduction, they have to be taught, and, what is worse, they subtract from the school •time."

Another teacher aaid-.•—"Business men] say that boys who leave our public school* cannot write. That is quite true. There j is no time to attend to suoh a common matter as writing. I have two half hours per week oh my timetable for it, and I have known teachers -who only give it one half Hiour, and half an hour on a timetable does not mean half an hour of writing, for in large classes ranging from sixty to a hundred pupils or even more, ths giving out ond taking in of copy Books and pens necessarily take some time." A fourth teacher field:—"Any increase to the syllabus would simply 'break down every claim which the system had to being called a system at all." An experienced headmaster declared that though tiie teaching profession had for some years been looking for & diminution in the number of subjects, tine new syllabus made it apparent that the number was on tiie increaee, and, moreover, the quantity of work required in some subjects was, at any rate, not Ices than under the old syllabus. If there was sufficient time and a sufficiently liberal stuff, very good work could be done under tbe new syllabus, bat teachers in small schools would probably find it impoawibla to carry out rive work required by th* syllabus. In larger schools, where there- was a teacher for each olass, it might be possible to overtake tho work, but in tiia larger number of schools, where, for instance, the attendance averaged forty, it would be impossible to cope with the work set out in the new regulations." To do justice to the new regulations, it would be necessary to take each subject in detail. It seemed as though the length of the echool day would have to be inciweed in order to ! allow teachers to overtake the work end to give the time required to eacK subject.