Teachers Urged To Honour Pledges Of Service

Press, Volume C, Issue 29680, 25 November 1961, Page 13

Teachers Urged To Honour Pledges Of Service

Graduate teachers, who received their certificates at a graduation ceremony in the Civic Theatre last evening, were urged by Mr A. Greenwood, chairman of the Canterbury Education Board, to honour their pledges to give three years' service as teachers after training. “At your selection interviews you were all asked to undertake to give three years' service after completing your training,” said Mr Greenwood. “I hope you will honour that. “It costs £2OOO to train each of you, but the loss of trained young women teachers at present is as high as 40 per cent. “I draw your attention to these things in the hope that you can help us to alleviate the present shortage of teachers.” Mr T. M. Archer, the Education Department superintendent for the Southern Regional District, spoke to the graduates on a similar theme. “After spending a good many years receiving education, you are now in a position to give something back in the way of service.” he said. “I believe teaching is still a wonderful and worth-while profession, in spite of what the Jeremiahs say. Schools are better and brighter, and the condition* of work are not too bad. “There are shortages of teachers:, but It is the same in other professions. It is not money that is the trouble, but the shortage of enough people to do so many jobs” Mr Archer said many of the graduates would marry quite soon, but in the present changing world that did not mean the end of a career “I hope you wil come back to us later on," he said. However, Mr G. Guy. principal of the Teacher** College, assured the graduates he was not one of those who wanted to see these who mar-

ried come back to the profession at all costs. Mr Guy said he was proud of the fact that 228 of the 245 students who began courses in 1959 had completed them successfully. “Some fall by the wayside,” he said, “and we can often trace their failure back to some difficulties in the home. When you marry you do a wonderful job in raising families. I can’t help feeling proud of the way New Zealand children are looked after. Motherhood is a career, and a very important one.”