FREE SCHOOL BOOKS

Evening Star, Issue 14225, 26 November 1909, Page 6

FREE SCHOOL BOOKS

A CONFERENCE TO BE HELD. The Education Board dealt with replies from the Education Department .and the Educational Institute respecting the question of free school books. The inspectors, in their report, pointed out that the free books should bo iii the schools by the first week in February, for that was the time when children would be promoted, and would require new' books. The department’s proposals for the supply of free books apply ouly to the 1* classes, and classes SI, S2, and S3. It was understood, however, that S4 will bo included in the scheme in 1910, S5 in 1911, and S6 in 1912. Whatever might be done in respect of the books of the~classes up to and including S3, no change should, they thought, be made in those of SI to S6, for in the meantime other and better books may come into the market. Moreover, the introduction of new readers in these classes at the present time would lay upon parents a burden of expense that is not necessary for tho efficient teaching of the art of reading to the children, who would bo called upon to furnish themselves with the new books. The work of examining distant schools and preparing for tho central examinations for the certificate of proficiency had for some weeks been too heavy to allow’ them time to determine the relative merits of competing sets of readers. It would haw simplified matters if. instead of asking for a conference, tne teachers had made a recommendation of books, giving reasons for the choice made. What each class should possess is a miscellaneous reader of sufficient difficulty to proride real mental discipline for the class, and furnished with tho nocessarv apparatus for spelling and word-building, and a continuous reader to induce interest in reading. The local books in present uso answer well to the first consideration—to give real work—but of books answering to the second, there wore none in the schools. The Educational Institute recommended the holding of a conference. It was resolved—“ That a conference be held on the matter of new’ school books, the said conference to consist of the chairman, Messrs Israel, Mitchell, and Fraser, of the Board, the inspectors, the principal of the Training College, and three representatives of the Institute, and to report to the next meeting of the Board.”