HEADMASTER'S TRIBUTE

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21175, 28 May 1934, Page 18

HEADMASTER'S TRIBUTE

WORKERS OF THE PAST CHARACTER AND STABILITY "I feel that on an occasion like this it is the duty of the headmaster to consider the pivilege conferred on him by his being asked to speak to the finest and largest gathering of old boys and old girls this school has ever seen," said Mr L. F. de Berry, headmaster of the West Christchurch School, when speaking at the jubilee celebrations on Saturday. "It is a privilege, because we of the present day are the inheritors of all the fine gifts which you boys and girls gave to the school in years gone by." Much had already been said of the great ones of the past, continued Mr de Berry, but he believed that the backbone arid strength of the school lay not in these great names so much as in the rank and file of those who had attended the school. The school was great because it had a noble foundation. Much of its strength had grown out of its semi-religious foundation and from the work of the first headmaster, the Rev. James Cumming, who had brought to it the good influences of the best to be found in the Presbyterian Church, while at the same time it had absorbed much of good from the Church of England and the Wesleyan schools which had been incorporated in it in the early days of 'its history. "When we consider the work of Mr Cumming and of Mr T. S. Foster, work which was carried on nobly by Mr C. D. Hardie, Mr John Caughley, and Mr F. D. Waller," said Mr de Berry, "I say that the school has been abundantly blessed. Think," too, of the assistant masters, of our beloved Peter Menzies, who so often led the boys on the football field, of J. R. Wilkinson, of Mr Taylor, of J. R. Rowley and on the girls' side of Mrs Foster, the soul of the school for many years, of Miss Jack and Miss McGregor and others of that great band of noble women. '■ "The great value of the school har not been in its scholarship, great and fine as that has been, but in the character which it has inculcated in its oupils. I believe the school has helped to give this country a stability which has aided it in going through many dark and distressful davs. "I want to thank the Minister and all those in authority, for what they have done for the school, those masters and mistresses who preceded the present staff of the school, and all those committee members who have toiled for the school, and finally I want to assure you boys and girls of the old school that the oresent staff will labour long and earnestly to keep up the standards you set in former days." CHURCH PARADE SERVICE YESTERDAY IN CATHEDRAL Yesterday afternoon there was a church parade from the West Christchurch School to the Cathedral, where a jubilee service was held. The weather was fine, and a very large number of present and former pupils took part. Led by the Woolston Band, the parade moved off from the school grounds shortly after 3 o'clock and reached the Cathedral at 3.30. The service in the Cathedral was conducted by the Rev. J. R. Hervey, an old boy of the school and vicar of Shirley, assisted by Canon C. Perry, vicar of St. Michael's Church, the Rev. J. Lawson Robinson, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, and Mr L. F. de Berry, headmaster of the school. The chief value of the jubilee celebrations was that they made those taking part think of old times, Mr Hervey said. Old friendships were recalled and teachers who had given them their first tastes for art and science were met once more. In short, it made them think of the debt, they owed to ths past. If it stopped at that, however, it would fall short. The celebrations should also speak of the present and of the future. True education should never give a sense of mental repletion because it should simply lead from one form of learning to another without ever being finished. If the schools were not to fail they would have to turn out pupils who would go out into the world hungering and thirsting for more knowledge. The Education, of Life "We can and do graduate from school," Mr Hervey declared, "but we cannot graduate from the educational process. From the cradle to the grave we are under tutors. We leave the tutors set over us at school only to sit at the feet of others of our own choosing. We leave behind the school--1 room only to go out into the schoolroom of life." Life itself was a teacher, Mr Hervey continued, and wisdom stood at the cross-roads to guide and direct. While the jubilee of the school made former pupils think of their teachers it should also make them think of the greatest teacher of all—Jesus Christ. Some pupils could outgrow their earthly teachers, but no one could outgrow Christ. St. Paul when he spoke of the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ had meant that He coull never be outgrown. The first lesson, from Proverbs, Chapter 13, verses 1 to 21, was taken by Mr Robinson, and the second, from first Corinthians, chapter 13, by Mr de Berry. Canon Perry led in the prayers for the King, for the departed, for schools, and colleges, and for world peace. Miss J. L. Black, a

former pupil of the school, was organist, and the Woolston Band accompanied the singing of the hymns. The exhortation, the jubilee thanksgiving, the jubilee prayer, and the Grace were taken by Mr Hervey.

PROGRESS IN EDUCATION

MINISTER'S REVIEW ADVANTAGES OF PRESENT GENERATION The changes in facilities for education in the Dominion since the West Christchurch School was founded were remarked on by the Minister for Education (the Hon. R. Masters, M.L.C.), in an address at the school jubilee celebrations on Saturday. Of more recent events, Mr Masters referred particularly to the considerable redaction m the number of very large classes in the last 10 years. When the West Christchurch School began, said Mr Masters, there had been no national system of education, there was no organised means of training teachers, and there were no national post-primary schools. There had been only one secondary school for girls in the South Island at that time, and free secondary education did not come for 28 years afterwards. Then, too, the method of appointing teachers was different, a great deal depending on patronage. The comparison with the pre-

sent showed what progress had been made in education since that small beginning. Better Surroundings Other differences were to be found in the schools themselves and their surroundings. Nowadays the schools had fine playgrounds and sports areas, because of the energetic work of the parents and the school committees, and the buildings were well ventilated and healthy. From a humanitarian point of view great advances had been made since then, and there would be further progress yet. It was scarcely necessary to mention such things as the school medical service and the dental clinics. In the old days there had been the well-known "three R's," but there was in addition a fourth—the rod. Things were greatly changed nowadays, with the result that the children found it a pleasure and a delight to go to school. Nowadays 98 per cent, of the children at the secondary schools went there free of charge to their parents, the only condition being that they should pass the proficiency examination. If they passed only the competency they could go free to the technical schools. Children in Remote Places It had been the responsibility of every government in New Zealand to extend the facilities for education as far as possible. Now even children in such remote places as the lighthouses round the coasts were not neglected, for they were served by the Education Department's correspondence school. The value of that correspondence teaching, which was providing for 1500 pupils, was shown by the fact that every pupil from the school who sat for proficiency last year passed the examination, and six of the 12 who sat for the matriculation examination passed it. "So you see," said Mr Masters, "while we do look after the interests of the town, we feel our responsibility to those who live in the backblocks."

The Size of Classes A more recent example of progress was to be found in the size of clashes. In the last 10 years a distinct advance had been made. In 1924, there had been 36 classes with more than-100 children to one teacher, 52 classes with from 81 to 90 children, and '136 with from 71 to 80. Nowadays that were no classes of these sizes, and only 10 with more than 60 children. These figures showed how the Dominion was moving over a period 'of years. It was a question whether .the school children to-day realised how much better off they were in educational facilities than their pareott were. Everybody was inclined to think little of what had been achieved be* cause it was so familiar. • The people should be thankful'that they lived in New Zealand, because it was the best country in the world to-day. The Dominion was fortunate m being a part of the British Empire, because no part of the world.- was standing up to the present difficult times better than the Empire. The only way of getting through was by sticking together and working together for the good of all. . TEACHERS' SALARIES MAYOR ASKS FOR RETURN OF "CUTS" "The Minister for Education in Zealand has a very great respond" bility, perhaps a heavier one than Mf other man in the country, because S he makes a mistake it is a mistiW which cannot be rectified," said>tW Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.), wl}e# speaking at the jubilee the West Christchurch School :<a Saturday afternoon. "I mean tbi4 that if in the education system of; 16* Dominion a mistake is made whidl affects the children, those childr® will have lost their chance for ev® 6 The mistake may be rectified soon# or later, but for the children who® it actually affects it can never b* rectified."

The Mayor remarked that while W knew it was not desirable to discus* controversial matters at such a gattej! ing, and as the problem of teacher" salaries was a controversial matter,'M could not help wondering whether®" -teachers of to-day were as enthusi|?wF about their work as they had be® • few years ago. He had talked to of them in town and country time to time, and -he knew,. I* example, that they were not as many books as in past years so were not keeping themselves ;«• thoroughly abreast of the times,: they used to do. He did not wish to touch on matters, but for this reason he BOIK that the Minister would soon set way to replacing the salary redrew? v 'iich had been imposed on NeWjjrL land teachers, in order that their ffijj might be maintained at the flis n r possible level. /