CANTERBURY EDUCATION BOARD

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18265, 26 December 1924, Page 8

CANTERBURY EDUCATION BOARD

__ 4 . REVIEW OF THE YEAR. 7l>iucatior, 15 a sphere wherein it is impossible .to mark timo if a oov.ntry is to retain its place in the. march at* progress. Host of us remember Vere Foster's axiom that ''.a nation's greatness depends upon, the educatjou o<f its people." Whether we believe that i" its entirety or not. it cannot bo denied that, the more education a child can got the better equipped he Trill he to meet the difficulties that will confront hint in tho great battle of life. Tho hnsinews of educating the child is therefore ' one of the most important jobs anyone ea.n put his Kind to. The. real difficulty is to knew how 11. can ho done, Methods that vert some rears ago regarded as being able to stand the U'*t of time have been sorsipr>rd. and new idea; are continually brine; desalcncd. • The great general public unfortunately knows too little of what i> being done for tltc young citizen and mneh less how it is being donn: but the work still goes on. The (is n tor bury _ Education Boarrl. whose roncvn is the primary education, of the c-hild. has bad ;i, comparatively busv year in all departments. One nf the" outstanding events from the teachers' (Hiint of view was,the visit of Professor .rohu Adams, of London I'niversity. who came to Now Zealand at the invitation of the Education Department. The ;'ddi-cs.'es given. opened riif a. nr"*- vist'.fi to tnany'of those who lic;rd tliem and the result <annot )*?• anything but beneficial to those who wore privileged to listen to the words: of wisdom that fell from the.lips of this: experienced and shrewd exponent of the a?f of educating.

There are Wi schools in the district with art average-Toll of :26.5?0 pupils. The attendant during the year has been "adversely affected by epidemics of-measles and whooping cough, and as a result the average attend a nee has been about 00 per cent, of the average roll number.

The'year of the village school seems |o be passing. These are the days ol quick transit and a fire-mil© run in a motor is a, matter of minutes. The, result is that when the roads arc good, it is much m,oro economical and more satisfactory to convey the children from the country to a large central school. Contracts for this purpose have been arranged in the Mackenzie. Methven and Hari Hari (West Coast) districts and one on a larger seal© will shortly be inaugurated in tho Oxford district; it.fiOO pupils living over two or three miles from a school receive an allowance to cover the cost of conveyance to the nearest school, while 1.50 pupils who could not be conveyed receive assistance to enable them to board at a school centre.

Further facilities for those pnpik who desire -to proceed beyond, the primary school course have been provided by the establishment, of District High Schools at Mcthven. and Suinner. In this connexion also the staff of the Canterbury Farmers 5 Co-op. Association has endowed a Memorial Scholarehip, which will make it possible for a number of ,boya and girls to attend good secondary schools without weenniary worries. T.lie frequent changes in the teaching staffs of schools has again been,aisource of anxiety to the Board and also to the local "authorities. It was thought that the new sqale of.salaries that waa brought into operation at the beginning, of the year, and which provided for a wider range between the minimum and maximum salary in each grade, would tend to keep teachers in their positions, but such a result has not been apparent: changes will occur with irritating regularity. A recent enactment requiring a teacher to remain until the second .December after appointment is expected! to stop the flow to a certain extent. There were 380 ; students at the Teachers' Training College, and it is expected that the supply of fully qualified teachers will soon be sufficient to enable the Board to place a trained teacher in every position where one is required. An endeavour was made during the year to give relief to School Committeea which were finding it difficult to make ends meet, and; those schools which could show that the incidental grant was not- sufficient for essential services were given a of £SOO th.nt had been set apart for this purpose. Committees in charge of District High Schools were also given an extra, ca-pi' tation grant on the number of pupils attending their secondary classes. During the year the Board members, who represent various wards, visited other parts of the district with 1 which they were not so well acquainted. The Canterbury district covers thatjvirt of the South Island from the Clarence River to the Waitaki Kdver on the East Coast, and a similar stretch of coastline on the West Coast. This is a large territory in which climatic and other conditions are extremely varied and the interchange "of visits was of distinct value in enabling members to see at first hand the schools under their jurisdiction.

During the year Mr Brock, Senior Inspector. speCnt three months in the Wellington district studying the conditions m that part of the Dominion, while Mr Stuekey, of Tavanaki, held a similar position in Canterbury. While tii is arrangement naturally had its advantages, it does not appear that Canterbury has mueh to learn from ontside districts regarding methods and administration of educationa] affairs. Mr D. McCaskill, who had been stationed for two years on the "West Coast, was transferred to Napier ami bis pi are was filled by Mr S. J. Irwin, one of the Board's teachers. Another teacher, in the person of Mr J. Wrn Irwin, was also promoted to the Inspectorate. The Board suffered three distinct losses during the year in the retirement of Mr A. Peverill, member, Mr H..C. Lane, secretary of the Board, and Mr 0. T. Aschman, headmaster of the Normal School.

Amongst the many works carried out by the Board's building staffs If>2t were new school buildings at Avonside (for Girls' High School, portable), Phillipstown (portable), Bell Hill, Moonlight, and Orari, ■while additions have been completed at Shirley and Waimairi. Remodelling has been commenced at Botherham, to bring the building into conformity with modern ideas regarding ventilation and lighting. Much necessary work yet remains to be done, as some of the older schools are still overcrowded, and the rapid spread of population will have to be provided for by schools in the newly-settled districts.