WOMAN'S WORLD

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2752, 22 April 1916, Page 11

WOMAN'S WORLD

, (Continued from page 10.)

WOMEN TEACEERS

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The,annual meeting of the l New'Zea/- « ( Uld Women Association was held in the Wellington Technical College on- Thursday afternoon., • Miss ; P. ■Myers (president)] presided,-and there •were "present . the following; representatives from various Women Teachers' 'Associations in the North and . South'. Islands Miss Cooper and Miss Williams' (Wellington); MiSses Mowbray (2) (Palmerston North); Mrs; Dowling and Miss Andrews (Taranaki), Miss M. Smith and Miss Barker (Christchurch), ,Miss, Wilsou (Auckland), Miss' ..F,vffe ;(Timaru), Miss Dowdoswell and' Miss Sinclair (Wellington), Miss M'Kenzio and Miss Little (Dunedin), Miss Glan'ville and Miss Marsh (Hawke's Bay). Before proceeding to tho business . of the conference, the following resolution, proposed by. Miss Myers, was passed, delegates standing meanwhile:. "That this conference acknowledges its indebtedness to those who have suffered for

the sake of humanity, and expresses its deep sympathy with , those who mourn and the innocent victims of this great world tragedy."

In the course of her presidential address, Miss Myers said that, the possibilities of needlework in regard to education had seemed_ to her to open up-very many extensions of women's field of labour, as well- as being one of its fundamentals, and she had therefore chosen it as the subject of her discourse. The main object 'of . women s co-operation in tho matter of education was to strike.a new note" in the present system, and to represent the woman 8 point of view. Unless this was done there was no justification for separate institutions. In the'great rwonstruotion of society that would take placa after the war—was- in fact already taking place—special demands' would bo made upon women, and the lessonn that would have to be learnt were strength and the elimination of waste.' In Standards V and VI- of the primary schools the girls wero not obliged take needlework, and yet .it was through needlework that these Valuable lessons were taught. In the life of na*tions, in art, literature, history, science, and social economics, needlework playec an important part, and, brushed asids as it had .been for many years by tha introduction of machinery, it was ono4 more doing its work in the lives of women by means v of . the war.. ~

No work was so likely to develop tha delicate muscles of hands and fingers as needlework, and through it arith. motical calculations were brought into the scope of tho child's mental activities. _ By being taught where thfl materials came from, and the propel suitability of clothing for conditions of climate and country, geography and points in hygiene were acquired, as well as the. aesthetic taste-cultivated by the harmonious combination of colour#, Practical economics were also learnt by the renovating of clothing and of remaking .garments out of.tnose that had been used or cast aside, the elimination of waste being taught. ■ By learning how to make garments of all kinds lessons in social economics were taught, and later in life tho girls would knoiv their value, ahd_ would not want to cut down prices below their value, or on the other hand be ready to pay too highly for them'. They would havn learnt to think of others, and would have learnt _ their responsibilities in regard to their fellows.

In this great reconstruction, wome* would find that there would be great fields for their organising powers, for economy, and for ideality—ideality especially to leaven the fard-a of coni morcialism and materialism that would sweep over th6y world later. Miss Coad aiinbunccd that the women teachers associations in Marlborough, Nelson, and North Canterbury had become registered. The annual report, which has already been published, was taken as read, and the balance-sheet which _ showed a satisfactory financial .condition, was presented. The following remits which had been agreed to by various associations wero fully discussed, and several curious anomalies in regard to the existing Education Act with which the remits dealt were presented. :

, Remit No. 6 was as follows:—That Section 79, Sub-section 7, of the Education Act, be amended to read as fol. lows:—lf any school is at tlie beginning of any year placed in Grade 1 or a higher grade, and that school is thereafter changed in ' grade, .no teacher shall on account of such change suffor a .reduction in salary or allowance from.what he would-have received if no such change had taken place. Remit 11: That it is essential to the welfare of tie education service of.New' Zealand that the scale of salaries shall, as soon as normal! conditions are restored, be so amended as to provide foi teachers in Grade 1 and 2 who liavo ten years of efficient service proceeding to'a higher salary . than that already provided.

Remit 12: That the N.Z.E.I. consider the cases of all teachers with salaries below • £100 per annum who have been teaching from 10 to 33 years, and who have little chance' of promotion under the present Aot.

Remit 13: That the N.Z.E.I. con. sider the cases of those : teachers in Grade 1, 2, and 3 who have been teaching from 10 to 33 years, and who havo little chance of promotion under the Act.

Remit 19: That this institute wishes to draw attention to anomalies in regard to the £20 allowance by way of salary to married assistants.

That teachers Jiave a strong feeling in regard to some of the existing conditions, and their striking anomalies, was showii by the discussion and a great deal of surprise was caused by some of the instances that were brought forward in regard to the conditions *of teachers in Grade 1 and 2, instanced by the above remits. Following the discussion upon the re. mits, a resolution was brought forward to the effect that "this meeting . in. struct the executive of the N.Z.- Women Teachers' Association to take the neces. sary steps to get the association regis, tered as a society under the Act." Tho advantages in this, as in the following resolution, "That.-the women members of the executive of the N.Z.E.I. be members of the Executive of tho N.Z. Women Teachers' Association," both resolutions being brought- forward by Miss Coad, were so obvious that they were adopted by the conference with practioally no discussion. The election of officers,, which was tho next thing to be dealt with, resulted in the re-election of Miss P. Myers as president; Miss Birss (Southland) and Miss* Chaplin (Christ-church) were elected vice-presidents.; Miss Co ad, secretary; Miss Williams, treasurer; commit, tee, Misses ■ Forsyth (Auckland), Smith (Christchurch), Glanville (Hawke's Bay), Johnston (Nelson), and Mrs. Dowling (Taranaki). At, tho beginning of the conference visiting delegates were shown some excellent specimens of sewing that were made by girls attending one or two local schools. They comprised infants and email children's garments, made out of samplo materials, and also warm woollen clothing for little ones. They all showed most creditable workmanship,. and certainly successfully evidonced the / economy that Miss Myer§ spoke of as being so desirable! to acquiro. i