SCHOOL CADETS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 69, 14 December 1907, Page 14

SCHOOL CADETS.

THE CASE OF CAPTAIN ERSKINE,

LETTER-FB-OM. THE TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

The case of Captain Erskine,' of The Terrace District. High School, who, it will be ' ; remembered, took up a certain position with regard to his .right to withdraw. from! the .command of the School Cadet Company; un'expectedly fizzled out at the meeting of .the Education Board on ;Thursday. Copies of a letter received'.frorh-.tho.-.President of/.,the Teachers' Institute', embodying the results of a headmasters and cadet-officers held recently, we're tabled.. .. The. letterreads:— . \ , t .;:.-• „y ," At' a meeting of the Wellington District Institute," hold ion November 29, 1907, .the question of JVlr.'Erskine's'resignation ofvfche ',' captaincy of .the. Cadet' Company of ; 'The Terrace District High School, 'and also the question of the general organisation of the Cadets, were discussed. .'.- Tho mooting was .fully representative "of all "th'e'lbcaT schools and ;all the local School Cadet Corps. Wo do ■ to trouble you:with details ofrtho . ■ ' discussion,' 1 but- wevvent'ure to lay before;'you certain'pbints'which : may'be of interest to your Board, and which may ba of value whon the Cadet regulations are. being revised. We . plaoo these views before you'the" more readily, : because, hitherto, your Board has ever welcomed the expression of our opinion on •tions that effect ■ tho welfare of the service and the efficiency of our schools. Wo would like' to recall and to v emphasise ; the fact that the School' Cadet system;.was. in-, stituted to teach boys to drill, :»nd';lp. train them to shoot; and that those-objects >were to be sought to be secured with a.minimum of regulation, with an absence of ' red tape,' • and with no'element, or as small an element ..as possible, of rigid military method. .It must bo admitted that the tendency of the -' .' last six years has been to magnify; the lm- ,-,\ portance and to increase the number of. Departmental regulations: to'introduce the-.ele-ments of 'red tapo' and something of the -,_ ' rigidity: of military methods. _This .new development has occasionally caused friction, and is viewed with some repugnance by\the . officers' whose duty it is to .'carry out tho .'regulations,, and by.the head'teachers, who'aro , t responsible for the organisation of the Cadets. Teachers are citizens who', are not military men, and/wlio 'do not desire to be converted into military .men bound to carry out military methods;, but'they claim to be citizens exceedingly anxious-; to carry out,'"'if..thev are permitted; tho : ,or.igiiial purposes for which the .-.-.. Cadet system'was'established.'' Th>"-aim'. ojf ■J /'J'*™ Education Board is| doubtless, to"secure ■<■ -the efficiency of" each school'-company ;■, arid this, wo venture to think, will not be secured by the multiplicity and rigidity of the regulations. Military drill is ,ohly one subject amongst a dozen or more, and ws'are.-satis-fled that efficiency will be- best secured by saying to.eaoh-'h.ead •teacheri .as. : you.'■practii " ? 3 y s .y, witn : regard to the o'thef'sub'jects in 'the syllabus:—' Here is this militarv drill to . bo done; get it done as efficiently as possible; but it is no question of ours who does it; ■we shall look to the result..only.. If the arc satisfied that' goo'd Wit""is. / being done, we are satisfied.' Of late rears, ■■_.. one groat change in school management.-has been the throwing upon the head teacher the responsibility of using .his. staff to the. best advantage; and it has -been-a change that. judged_by results has given much satisfaction Under our New Zealand Syllabus, .ne he ; ad teacher is expected, and is strictly "ento use.the freedom given him to se.cure the best ; results.possible; ho is'to make' his: own programmes of instruction, to use his own place the members of his '"' On"^- 1 ? ?i c ' a th , e mosfc - out of them. . "nhv that freedom ' which is enjoyed ' ' tmin^' C - ";? r A S:: so ,' satisfactoril .V and sin ths : c'ase of military drillsUri'der ■ th e ,,new regulations, which are about to be drawn up, lt fs Bteed. that those obectionable features which, in thelpast have caused fr'SN?;may be removed; and that in the -..future there may be in the-Cadet drill, a l wort? IS rieXt er L 0 tj Jt r -ofschool work, perfect smoothness of working, and \only one desire on the part of public school - n,r C B he n r ffi a,,d m V ti ? n Board member to °£ cure efficiency. It is not thought advisable to forward to tho Board the bare resolutions of the meeting of the Institute witho t the ! foregoing explanatory letter,- but he follow! ing-is a brief resume of tho'onininnVnfTL prdc™ed S S n fhn^l^ ical I" st ™tio» is ' /Military Drill't^ a!,US: Inst ™tio» in ■JLi r ' , es 'en?tion : of the- Capta incv of a ■ 'sS^Sfft%laas-i6 parsment. .At the time, the Head / ntessa'rv for"'« 'w' W necessary for such teaching are in his hand* Board e wiri St ( lK te^- US , t C that tho Education fideratinn f'7' !* V e . fcter ■ f * s earnost'connoiiSJi. " d lf Jt - ls sati sned that the ab f one S n -r U !]f mtcd is - a ~ fair ">d,ten! in re°ard*to At "v H OO declsioil ■•lS ' E " klll e's resignation." ■•■m-iv ere ll was no discussion. Captain M'Donald roso and proposed :-"That -iV^W fonT* t? > the of the teacher*' Institute informing him that the Board 7s > asking- the Education Department to 'placl under ? d -°/ s in this dis P eHct r e >, Board i a "d, if. this js: agreed to, tha. Board w, 1. then . revise the reiulations and will benleasod to consider any suggestions, that the Institute may consider nec- , essary, niclud ng- the question of the com! maud and. instruction of cadets." Mr. Allan seconded the motion. •• ■ ~' + 31r. Vile said that tion a matte ,. whlch ha(J come 'M™ t e h,A° er i tam ao i l ? r ha . fl complained to him that teachers ,n the uniform of a cadet officer, were treated'with contempt by officers .., of,-th'e -Defence Force. -' This'sorl.of?tfSS s raent was calculated to bring the corps into M'Donald was- ; a'bVTt : -to4opV--'to the remarks of the previous speaker, but the Wairman intervened, and ruled such-refer-ences out of order. ' f Ji\u b 1 'If 3 "' u in , p , uttin e the motion, said - }f + V « U A eT should receive tho sympathy of the Board There was no use in putting , teachers backs , up.: •'. . . ■ The motion "was passed.'' ' ' , -The incident may now be said to have closed. Considerable interest attaches to the Board s proposal to bring the organisation of the cadets in tho Wellington district ■ under/tits direct control, and the tions between ,tho Board and tho Government- for that object, ;if successful, should pave- the way for. an agreeable adjustment of cortain .matters which are at present looked upon by,, teachers with an unfriendly eye.