TRAINING TEACHERS.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17632, 8 December 1922, Page 14

TRAINING TEACHERS.

■ +• SMALLER CLASSES IN SCHOOLS. Addressing the student teachers of the Kelburn (Wellington) Training Colleg© at the annual "breaking-up" function on Wednesday, the Director of Education (Mr J. Caughley) said he did not anticipate any difficulty in placing all the students who were going out from the four training colleges this year. The number of stud- 1 ents leaving the training colleges was considerably larger than in previous years, but the Education Department appreciated this fact, as it would jenable the size of classes to be reduced to the better standard of sixty or less pupils. He hoped that by the beginning of 19*24 none of the classes in the public schools would contain more ihari that number. (Applause.) Until that was achieved the Department looked for some assistance from the young teachers, in accepting for' a year or two appointments to schools in localities in which they might not like to be sent if they had an option. He pointed out that they enjoyed unusual privileges in New Zealand which were notgiven to student teachers in other countries, and referred, particularly to ! the allowance made for,payment of expenses. He appealed to them to show a little of the mission spirit until the Department had achieved its object. In conclusion, Mr Caughley reminded them that the personality of a teacher had a great deal to do with the education of the young, and remarked that in that respect the Department wished to see the teachers set a very high standard indeed. The Principal of the College (Professor J. S. Tennant) referred, to . the , frequent allusions made to the tremendous expenditure on education. He thought the fact was very often over- J looked that values were relative, and that while there were increases in expenditure in some directions, there was a general tendency towards a decrease proportionally. "You are told," he said, "that you are treated better than other students. While that may be so, I must say that the training colleges are certainly not treated better than those in any other country in the world." The college, he went on, had been in existence for sixteen years, and the thousandth student teacher was leaving that day. The occasion was therefore a very important one. Each of those teachers was responsible for the instruction of forty or fifty, pupils, so that the college had now in effect provided one-fourth of the teachers of the Dominion. Referring to the opportunity now offered for teachers to take the educational degree at the University, he expressed the hope that a large number of the rising students would be ambitions enough to desire to improve their professional standing through that channel.