NEW TECHNICAL SCHOOL

Evening Star, Issue 15032, 14 November 1912, Page 6

NEW TECHNICAL SCHOOL

MR ALLEN AT MILTON

PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROPOSALS,

The weather at Milton kept fine yesterday, and enabled the. opening of the Technical School attached to the Tokomairiro District High School to be conducted in the open air without inconvenience.

As the chairman of the School Committee (Mr W. N.-P. Hall) explained before calling on the Minister of Education to declare the school open, there was some doubt in the minds of local residents as to whether the building was under the control of the Technical Classes Association or not. It was attached to the'school, and had been erected by the Education Department. At first it had been intended that -it be built of wood, but the committee, by collecting. another £4O, had enabled it to be built in brick, and he felt sure that £4O had indeed been well spent by the people of Milton. (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Mr Allen, who was well received, said that when the foundation stone of the building was laid he had no idea that it would fall to him as Minister of Education to open the school. However, he was there for that purpose, and also to encourage those who were going to work at the school, whether as masters or pupils. “This building marks the line of progress and development taking place in this country for some time now, continued Mr Allen. "It is very pleasant to see here one of the pioneers of our education system and an old rector of this school—Mr Reid. Since 19C0. when the Manual and Technical Instruction Act was passed, this school has been one of the. centres of that instruction. This district owes a great deal to Mr Reid and his masters for initiating a system of manual and technical instruction. We have come to a time when we cannot dissociate from our system something in the nature of vocational training. Our boys’ attention must be directed to the life they will have to live in the community, and it is very necessary that the girls should be trained to realise that they have before them tremendous responsibilities. These they may be helped to bear by the training that will be given in a scliool like this. Since I have been Minister of Education we have made, or are about to make, changes in the primary schools. I mean that part relating to physical training. There will be appointed in a few days a director of physical education. The idea is to train our young boys and young girls, from the time they enter school life, on such lines as will develop them physically as perfectly as we can develop them. The ideal before us is that they may be strong—physically, mentally, and morally. I hope that the director of physical education will succeed in this. He will have under him 10 or 11 others, so that they may train the teachers on more scientific lines than at present, and the training of the boys and girls tie as perfect as we can make it."

After reviewing the proposed scheme of work in the Technical School, Mr Allen said that the boys Would be able to obtain training in rural occupations. In this land we wanted our boys to grow up with a. full knowledge of the possibilities of the country and tlie necessity to use them to the utmost. It was essential that in their early days we should instil into them something of a scientific education having a bearing on rural industries. He wished to impress on the girls also the benefits of taking advantage of the. classes to be established the.re. He then formally declared the school open. Subsequently refreshments were provided for the somewhat large assemblage, and the arrangements of the rector of the scliool (Mr W. B. Graham) and his assistants were most satisfactory, The School Cadet corps formed a guard of honor to Colonel Allen, and the challenge shield won by the. corps in shooting competitions amongst the schools of New Zealand was as eloquent testimony of the efficiency of the corps in this important branch of the service as was their bearing yesterday of the excellence of their discipline.