SCHOOL TEACHERS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 July 1924, Page 9

SCHOOL TEACHERS.

MEETING OF INSTITUTE

' The Taranaki branch of the Educational , Institute met at Stratford on Saturday, Air. W. A. Curteis presiding over an attendance of about twenty. All apology was received from the presi_ dent (Mr. D. I*. Evans). ' A circular to the branches from Mr. W. A. Parkinson, (secretary to the Institute), dealing with publicity, was read, and Miss Andrews, Messrs Wagstaff and Evans were elected as a committee to watch for press references to educational matters. Teachers will be asked to forward-any references they notice to this committee. Mr. Wagstaffe, reporting on behalf of the annual conference of the institute, stated that the salaries question was thoroughly investigated, but the present system of-granting salaries had.become so complicated that it took the mind of a trained actuary to understand its working and to decide the justice or otherwise of its incidence. The report of the Wellington salaries sub-commit-tee seemed to prove that the department’s scheme involved a loss to teachers of £17,708 in the course of five years. The burden of Messrs. Caugir•ley and Bell’s statements on behalf of the department, was that there had been a slight increase, attributable to the present large number of over-scale salaries. The department had stipulated that the new scale should involve no increase in expenditure, and although this'condition bad imposed great difficulties, it had been followed almost to the letter.

At the conference, continued Mr. Wagstaffe, business between the depart, ment and the institute was carried out in .a most "amiable manner, the department showiiio- itself ready to meet the teacher# half-way on all points. A definite promise was made to re-draft the present galling regulations. Speaking of debates -. on the reports of the recess committees, dealing with arithmetic, spelling, ; history consoli. dated schools and local rating,. Air.. Wagstaffe said that the debates evoked much keenness, which together .with-the. trouble and c-are that bad evidently been- devoted to the preparation of the reports, *.gav©: striking evidence of' the reallyvaluable part the institute jplayed in the cause of education.

Air. -Wagstaffe’s report wag supplemented by Aliss Andrews. who moved that the branch urge upon the executive of the New Zealand Educational Institute the importance of stressing: the desirability of a. trial of the KaneHylson salary scheme. On being seconded, by Aliss Sartori, the motion was carried. s A vote -of thanks was accorded 'to the delegates to the conference for their report.

The following notice of motion was given bv Air. Wagstaffe for the next general meeting. ‘‘That the Taranaki branch divide into at least two branches, as the present single district of Taranaki is too cumbersome for efficient work.

. Owing to the unavoidable absence of Mr. H. F. AlcCiune, who was to give a lecture, a very interesting and instructive debate took place on the relative merits of print and cussene writing, the feeling of the meeting being fairly evenly divided.