EDUCATION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 28 January 1927, Page 7

EDUCATION.

TEACHERS’ REFRESHER COURSE TO: BE HELD NEXT WEEK. Though the refresher course for sdiO'Cl tea clients, to be heicl • 11 New 1 lymouth, commencing next Monday, as not absolutely the first of its kind held in the province, none have been held recently. The idea of refresher courses is not new, and as far back as 20 years ago the courses had been well develop-, ed by the Taranaki Education Board. The great majority of teachers from South Taranaki will attend the. course in New Plymouth. The most important- features of this year ’& instruction will he toy-making for infants., and singing for the senior classes. The toymaking is part of the ordinary handwork on which much of the education o! junior pupils is now biased. The tendency to-day is to allow children much more initiative. Instead of being told how to do things, land set to do some special detailed work, the children are given material, and encouraged to exercise their creative ability. The singing will cover the whole range from infants to Standard A I, anil will include more than mere instruction in singing. It will seek to enable the scholars to lappreciate music. The idea is to make .not singers only, but listeners as well. The use of the gi amap.hone will probably be a feature of the classes; i.e., if Mr. E. Douglas Taylor, the New Zealand director of school music, who* will be present, follows the lines lie had adopted iat refresher courses in other centres.

Seeing that there is so large a Miaori population in Taranaki, it. has been thought only night- that Maori art and design .should be introduced to a greater extent into, the handwo-rk classes. The Maori art includes section® m welavfng and the preparation of flax. In. all it is expected that 300 teachers will attend.