PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHING

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28481, 10 January 1958, Page 15

PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHING

By

J. F. JOHNSON

SENIOR INSPECTOR OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS, CHRISTCHURCH.

T?OR many years the * number of qualified young people offering for the primary teaching service has been barely sufficient to staff primary schools adequately. This year, however, the position has shown significant change, and in very few Education Districts wjll it be possible to accept all- the suitable qualified applicants.

This will mean disappointment for many, but it will result in some of the younger candidates returning to school for a further year, and this is all to the good, as many teachers and others feel that students who are both older and better academically equipped will certainly make better teachers.

Teaching calls for a good background of general education, interest in young people and sympathy with their affairs, and a willingness to continue professional studies throughout one’s stay in the profession. It calls for a cheerful disposition, good intelligence, a sense of vocation, ability to face up to the drudgery of the routine side of the work, and the patience and understanding necessary to work not only with the bright pupils but also with those who may be both dull and difficult. It is by no manner of means easy, notwithstanding that both

hours and conditions of the service may appear to be most attractive.

On the other hand for those suited to the work the attractions are real. Firstly, training itself, while it provides the professional skills necessary, also has a broad cultural value, and gives a young person first hand opportunities for the pursuit of such special interests as music, drama, art, craft, and physical education. Training Allowances Generous allowances are paid during training, numerous positions are available when training is completed, and employment may be obtained in any part of New Zealand irrespective of the area from which a teacher has entered Teachers* College. University studies may be undertaken, and degrees or diplomas completed without cost to the student.

Opportunities for advancement are many, and merit plays a larger part in promotion than in most Government Departments.

Provision is made for sick leave on full pay. and superannuation benefits are available to all who elect to participate in them. Buildings and equipment are steadily improving, and there is no other field of employment in which workers enjoy longer holiday periods. There is security of employment, and teachers travelling overseas find that their New Zealand trained Teachers’ Certificate enables them ,to secure employment readily. Most primary teachers are employed in general class work. For those with gifts in music, art, craft, nature study or physical education there is opportunity for selected students to remain in college for a third year specialised study. After completing their year of special training students may work as itinerant teachers, visiting a group of schools and giving instruction in their specialised subjects, or they may become specialist teachers in primary or intermediate schools, spending part of the day in general classwork. and part in specialist work. There are other specialised fields for trained primary teachers. Some become visiting teachers, child welfare officers, museum officers.

organising teachers, or education officers in the armed services. Children suffering from handicaps of different kinds call for particular help, and each year specialised training is given to selected third year students in speech therapy and the education of the deaf. Teachers of cerebral palsied children, partially sighted children, and intellectually handicapped children are drawn from the general stream of teachers, and although no specialised year of college training is available much is done to help them meet the special problems of their work. Bigger Rewards

Attractive as the salary rates are, there are other and bigger rewards. There are few, if any, finer services that anyone can render to the community than working with children, helping them to adapt and grow into responsible and informed people, able and anxious to work for the common good, courageous and tough where courage and fibre are needed, and willing to serve unpopular causes when truth and justice point that way. The teacher who, himself, possesses these

qualities and uses them wisely is doing; no less than laying the foundations bf society itself. To become a qualified primary school teacher it is necessary to be at least 17 years of age at the end of February in the year in which training commences.

although this is reduced to 16 years 9 months for applicants who have had a year in the sixth form. The minimum qualification is the School Certificate examination, and although students , may apply in anticipation of gaining their School Certificate at the end of the year it is an advantage to remain at school for at least one year beyond School Certificate standard. i Applications for admission to Teachers' College usually close at the end of August or early in September, and forms can be obtained from schools* careers advisers or ' from any education board. Applicants appear before a selection committee towards the end of September, and selections are made after careful consideration of the school principal's report and the applicant's record both in school studies and in those Interests and special abilities which may be of use to him as a teacher. They are required to undertake three years of service after training, and to undergo medical examination. Nearest College

Selected candidates are given a two years’ course of training at one of the six Teachers’ Colleges, usually the one nearest their i homes. This, however, is not always possible, particularly in the South Island where Christchurch Teachers’ College is un-, able to provide for all Canterbury, students. Dunedin’s College, on the other hand, because of population trends, has fewer demands made upon it, and is able to take almost a third of Canterbury’s annual quota of two-year students.; The training course includes lectures in subjects with. which students are already familiar, and work in such new subjects of a professional nature as education, psychology, and methods of teaching. Approximately a third of the student’s time is spent in selected schools observing experienced teachers at work and in actually handling groups and classes of children.

After two years at college the student is appointed to a primary school as a probationary assistant for one year, and at the end of this period he is Issued with a trained teacher’s certificate, and is eligible to apply for teaching positions anywhere in New Zealand or in Island Schools staffed by New Zealand teachers.