SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16220, 24 May 1918, Page 7

SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

TEACHERS IX CONFERENCE.

The annual conference of the New Zealand Secondary School Teachers' Association was resumed in the Canterbury College Hall yesterday morning, Mr T. D. lVa roe (Southland Uovs' High School) presiding.

Mr T. 11. CresswelL inspector of ~econdary schools, suggested that Form oA in ai[ schools should be reserved for matriculation pupils—llo pupils to oo put into the lorm unless doing postlmuricuation work.

Mr W. J. Morrell moved that the attention or the inspectors should do drawn to the resolution passed by 'lie 1910 Conference with special reference to the denomination of forms. Subsequently Mr Morrell withdrew his motion, and the matter dropped. Dr. Anderson spoke in regard to complaints of the cost of books. Tho increase was due to some extent to.tho war. which had caused a large advance in tho price of paper. He advocated concerted action on the part of those controlling secondary schools to reduce tho number of books used. Personally ho would be pleased to supply the Conference with particulars which might assist members in solving the problem. In the interests of the parents who had to pay for th 0 books, many teachers should be more conservative in adopting new books. While it would be impossible and impracticable to lay down a hard and fast rule regarding the selection of school books, it was possible that a select committee might ho able to do something in the way of narrowing down the scope of selection.

Mr Morrell said that tho average cost of books in secondary schools over a four years' eourso was £G lis, a yearly average of £1 12 s 6d. This could not be regarded as excessive.

It was resolved to refer tho matter to the incoming Standing Committee for investigation, a report to bo submitted to tho next Conference.

Mr F. Foote brought up tho subject of compensating marks for matriculation. It was frequently found that, whilo candidates were exceptionally strong in some subjects, they were weak in others, and it was unfair that weakness in one subject should jeopardise a candidate's prospects if he was strong in others. Tho general standard of attainments should bo considered.

Dr. Anderson said it -ftrould bo wrong to allow strength in any one group of subjects to compensate for weakness in another.

Mr Morrell said that the ' present standard of efficiency for the matriculation examination was quite low enough. A motion affirming the principle advocated by Mr Foote was lost.

A resolution moved by Mr W. Walton, "That section 4 of the constitution he amended as follows, by the insertion after the words 'not loss than' in line 2, the following 2.50 pupils on ':h© roll for the term preceding any meeting of the Conference shall bo entitled to elect three of their number, and the staff of every secondary school having less than 250 but more than 200 on the roll, shall be entitled to elect two of their number," was carried unanimously.

The following motions wero passed:— "This Conference requests the Department to send out the forms for annual returns in September, not in December."

"This 'Conference recommends fhe "University Senate to make Latin optional and not compulsory for the medical preliminary examination, thus following the reform instituted in Great Britain."

The following motion, moved by Mr C. E. Bovan-Bmwn, was lost by 19 votes to 36:—"That this Conference recommends to the Senate that a pass : n mathematics and Latin as for matriculation be required of those who proceed to a degree in arts. and_ a similar pass in mathematics and science of those who proceed to a B.Sc. dogree."