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Evening Star, Issue 15394, 19 January 1914, Page 4

The brilliance and joyousness of yesterday's weather conThe Drowning at ditions were marred St. KIMa. and saddened by one of those none-too-infrequent bathing disasters that have given a melancholy notoriety to the Ocean Beach. And in this the latest, as in previous misadventures of a similar nature, the general trend of the entire circumstances goes to show that absolutely no blame can be laid at the door of any individual cr against the conditions under which surf bathing must of necessity be pursued on each and every Dunedin beach. If there is one thing more than another that has been insisted upon by the Press and the public, as well as byall organisations closely associated with sea bathing, it is that of "care " upon the part of bathers ; and in thousands of cases the precaution has been observed with beneficial results. Men and women—boys and girls, too—in countless numbers have indulged in the delightful pastime of surf bathing at the Ocean Beach, free from the least approach of changer. It is •'only the boldly daring, the ones who neither read nor give heed to the regulations, those who venture out farther than they know—it is these who, either deliberately or ignorantly, take chances. Therefore it would be most unjust to shake the head and moan "I told you so," and " It ought not to be allowed." because one name has been added to the roll of avoidable deaths. There is no greater danger in surf bathing along tko Pacific front than there is in the j St. Clair municipal bath. Each re-1 quires reasonable care and the exercise of common sense, as well as due atten- j tion to the self-imposed question: ! "Ought I to bathe at all?" We submit that the father of six or seven young children, who are wholly dependent on him, assumes a grave responsibility when he goes out to a considerable distance for a bathe on a beach that has a reputation to live down. The Life Saving Club havo done and are doing most excellent work in directing bathers to safe places and in watching over their safety. The least that everyone can do by way of return is to reciprocate the club's thoughtfulness and comply with their most reasonable requests.

Tiif proposal to establish a Teachers' Union met with little supA Teachers' Union, port from the delegates who attended Iho annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute, held in Auckland during New Year week. As the delegates present represented every educational district in the Dominion, it is clear that the great body of our primary school teachers are satisfied with their institute, and, generally, with its administration. Considering the history of the N.Z.E.I. and the -work achieved by that body during the thirty odd years of its existence, the decision of the teachers is not to be wondered at. We shall not attempt here to go back to the very early days in the institute's history, but shall refer mainly to matters of importance that have occurred within the past 14 or 15 years—say since the present Inspector-General has been in office. Prior to 1901 there was no uniform scale of salary for teachers. Each of the 13 education board* received a capitation grant, out of -which teachers were paid on a scale of the board's own making. The larger districts were" able to pay higher salaries than the smaller. This meant that the better class of teachers gravitated towards the providing the more liberal salaries. Discontent became rife throughout the whole service. In 1901, as an outcome of an agitation by the N.Z.E.L, a Royal -Commission, on-Teac>H»' Salaries

■waa set np by the late Mr Seddon. The report of that Commission resulted in the introduction and passage of a Bill establishing a colonial scale of salaries —the greatest and most important educational reform brought about since the inauguration qf the system of National Education in 1877. If the Teachers* Institute had done nothing more than this, it would have fully justified its existence. And here it is only just to say that to the sympathy and support of the InspectorGeneral of Schools the success of the institute's efforts -was largely due. In 1905, after having passed through the stages of educating the public- and agitating in favor of a superannuation scheme for teachero, a fund was established, under which the iold age or infirmity of every member of the Education Service was provided for. The provision for retirement tinder the original scheme was not, however, thought sufficiently liberal, and .again the N.Z.E.I. organised an agitation, the result of which was that by an amending Bill in 1908 teachers were brought into line with members of other branches of the Public Service. The peace of mind and freedom from worry as to the future brought about by the establishment of this fund has done more to increase the efficiency of the service than anything that had hitherto been done to improve the conditions under which teachers are employed. And again mention should be made of the fact—not generally known, we are afraid—that the Inspector-General of Schools did an enormous amount of work and greatly helped the institute in connection with this reform. Young teachers of a revolutionary temperament are too apt to ignore history, and to forget what the pioneers in the X.Z.E.I, have clone for them. If they would take the trouble to examine carefully the annual report of the Minister of Education for 1900 and for 1912, and especially to compare the salaries paid in the fever.i! districts then and now, they would, we think, get some idea of the improvements effected by the work of their institute. Xo union of teachers in any part of the world has succeeded in bringing about two such reforms in so .short a time as those we have referred to above.

Another and almost equally important change is the more liberal staffing of schools. In 1900 a sole teacher in Otago had to teach an average of 50 children before any assistance was granted. Now, when the average attendance reaches 56 lie gets the assistance of a certificated teacher. The- full import of this change will be readily understood by sole teachers of the present day. Then, ugain, ill Otago the average attendance at a twoteacher school reached 110 before further assistance in the shape of a pupil teacher was allowed. Now three fully-qualified teachers form the staff of a school having an average attendance of 81 to 120. In larger schooLs also the improvement in staffing has been very marked. The X.Z.E.1., with the hearty co-operation of the Education Department, is. responsible for this reform.

We might mention many other important changes that have been brought about during the past 13 years, such as'the revised syllabus, freedom of classification, and more liberal allowances to school I committees. But we have said enough to show that the Xew Zealand Educational Institute, by its close adherence to the policy of "educate, Agitate, legislate," has gained the support of all sections of the public, and of men of all shades of political opinion. Teach ere. as represented by their institute, .have stood aloof from party politics, and this is largely responsible for t'/.e splendid record of work accomplished. We trust that the N.Z.E.I, will continue to exist under its present constitution—amended it may he—and that thoso in charge of its affairs will carry forward the cautious and wise policy of education, agitation, and legislation. In this relation we regret to note that the time and place of the annua! meeting of the institute have been changed. The idea of holding this meeting in Wellington during the session of Parliament is not, in our opinion, to be commended. The midsummer holiday season is not, we, think, the most suitable one of the year ; but if the term holidays were made uniform throughout the Dominion the annual meeting might be held, say, in May. A parliamentary committee might he set up: and, if necessary, special meetings of the executive might be called in Wellington during the session of Parliament. We fear that the proposed change will not be in the best interests of education, or of the institute, and trust that at the next annual meeting the decision <.ome to at Auckland will be. reconsidered. In conclusion, wo would heartily congratulate the N.Z.E.I, on its splendid past record, and trust that it will continue to work on right lines in furthering the cause-of J educational progress in Xew Zealand.