TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 17 October 1921, Page 4

TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

NEW SCHOOL AT HAWERA

OPENED BY Mil. C. J. PAEB

J he unfavourable weather did not pre-

vent a large crowd assembling for the x official opening of the new Hawera * Technical High School on Saturday by "* the Hon. C. J. Parr, A\fair proportion c of the scholars were present, and tliese \ were drawn up in neat formation in 1 charge of the instructors in the corri- ' dors. Mr, Q, H. Buckeridge, chairman ; of the Advisory Committee for the ] school, presided, and those present in- ' eluded Messrs E. Dixon and O. Hawken, I M.P.'b, White (chairman of the Education Board), Sage (ex-chairman of the ' Advisory Board), and Walker (chairman of the Tawhiti High School). Apologies for absence, were received ' *™m Messrs R. Masters and S. Smith, MP.'s, JRev. Dean Power, Bridge (chairman of Manaia School Committee), C. J. Belcher (chairman of Eltbam ! Murdoch (chairman of Hawera County Council)., Mr. G. H. Buckeridge, chairman of the Technical High School Advisory Committee, wag the first speaker. He said his duty was a pleasant one—none , the less pleasant because it had to be ( brief. Ab chairman he would introduoe f the speakers/ They all knew how difficult it was for a Minister to get away from Wellington during & session of Parliament, and, while thanking Mr. j Parr for attending, he asked that the Minuter.convey to the, Prime Minister their thanks' for allowing him to come to Hawera. Continuing, vMr. Bucke-j ridge extended a cordial welcome to the residents of Hawera, who, he saMf should feel proud of their new school. H» also extended a welcome to the country people. Upon them the school" depended very largely for its scholar*, and m no less degree for boyg to fill the hostel. He hoped that the hostel would be taxed to its utmost capacity next year. In concluding, the speaker said that the future of the school depended on the boys and girla. As" hi looked at the facea of the scholars be-' fore him he felt sure that the district and the Dominion would have cause to be proud of them. Mr. Buckeridge then presented a silver key to the Minister. He also * presented him with a programme of the proceedings, the neat pen-work of one of the pupils.. The Hon. C. J. Parr, who was warmly applauded on rising to address the gathering, thanked the chairman for his wgfds of welcome. He had come to th«»n on a red letter day for education in the district. It had been very difficult for him to get away from Welling, ton, A Cabinet Minister was supposed to be chained hand and foot while the House was in session,, but his t chief seemed to have a soft spot_forHawera, and what had been denied"'other "districts had been granted to them.. • He had come to open a building which in importance to the community was second onty to the house of Almighty God. They did not always realise what a school meant to a community. In New Zealand he expected from education things even above scholarships and academio education. Any system of education failed that did not turn out citizens of good character, loyal to their country and its laws. Those who had been in public life would agree that it was not always the man of brilliant scholarship who came out on top and was looked up to and respected- hut the man with force of character. This was true of general or local politics and business. The next thing he wanted to see as the result of school work was'a good general education. In former days they thought a great deal of the.old style of academic education. To-day they were changing that, and were trying to give different types of education after the primary course. Tb»y wanted to see the "round" boy in a round hole and the "square" boy in a square hole. The education differed according to the capabilities of the pupil, who was assisted to prepare Hrr-self- for subsequent , life. That was the keynote of the edu- , 'cation of. to-day. A boy could^" if he desired, matriculate'and pass on to the university and professional schools/.but other cases were provided for. There was the commercial course, engineering, and business management, but a boy might not wish to take up a business or professional course. He might wish to be a farmer, and this emphasised the advantages of instruction in agricultural science. At school a boy's bent could be discovered, and he could be given an opportunity of taking up the type of education best suited to his inclinations and gifts. He wanted to say to the boys and girls that they could get nowhere in life unless they worked. Anything in life that was worth having could only be obtained by work. The man or woman who went slow never got anywhere and did an immeasurable amount of injury to their own characters. The boy or girl who was. a slacker had no conscience and when life was purposeless and no pride was taken in work there could not be happiness. It had been said that happiness was the result of a day's work worth doing and well done. The greatest happiness in life came from the consciousness of having done a job well. There was something else besides work. He thought to-day that there, was a tendency in some schools to do things in a slovenly way. Exactness and thoroughness were not insisted upon sufficiently to please the Minister for Educa. , tion. It had been thought that in the i old days they stressed these too much, I but he was of the opinion that they j had now gone a little too, far in the ( other direction. With regard to school work generally he wanted exactness, [accuracy and method, tt they cultivated accuracy and exactness in ?the boy and girl they would get rid of the slovenliness and go-slow methods which, he was afraid, were prevalent in some parts of the country. But the object of education was to teach them not only how to work, but how to play. One of its objects should be to teach them how to enjoy the leisure of. life. The many hours of leisure that there were in V single, day opened up a vista of what might Be done with life^ and any educational system failed that did not give boys and girls & capacity to enjoy the leisure hours of life. He knew of nothing better than a good book. If they could get into a frame of mind to enjoy a good book—he was not referring to fictional trash—their education would be amply accomplished. They wanted to teach -children to ejijoy in a reasonable way the leisure of life. There was one other feature he would like to stress. It was this: If they had a system under which boys and girls could be brought up to think clearly this was all that education could do. The boy who cultivated clear thinkinp; would become a useful citizen. -Continuing, Mr. Parr said the Government had attempted to do its duty to Hawera and district, (Applause.) The high school building was estimated to cost £16.900 Already £16,000 had actually been spent, and they were not done yet. Somehow the estimates of tl»e_most careful boards (aud the Taranalri Board was : very careful) had a habit of being exceeded. He wished to compliment the peocle of Hawera for their public spirit and the interest they had shown in education. Some five acres of land had «rivpii by the mayor and councillors for the school, and the site was one

of the finest in Hawera. It was well t# have a Borough Council which took # keen interest in the eduoation of the young. This was just as necessary as tar look after the gas and water supply for "-*^ the people. Children were the best - asset a country could have, and whether' the children did well or ill depended very largely on local bodies. ~TJ»-far- - ; raers had not been behind in assisting the school, and he believed that the A, and P. Association was gjving t the us* 'of four acres for agricultural "and pastoral instruction in connection with tlto> school. This showed that the farmer* took a keen, practical, And intelligent interest in the education of the jroung. He wanted them to realise ,that thtv school was not the Department's school. It belonged to the people, and he wanted tho farmers and town&peojpjt^to clob together end help make thoslground» as good as any grounds in New 2teala^d 4 Concluding, the Minister said .that du>~ - ing the two years he bad been Mtnu- . ter of Education he had done hm bes* for the teachers. He had realised-that unless their status and emoluments were improved the best result* could not b» obtained. He wanted the teaching profession to realise their responsibility awl do the best for the children under their care. The teacher could make or mar the characters of children, and he rejoiced to know that they had good me* and women for the work of teaching. It gave him the greatest pleacure to come there as Minister or Education and open the school and dedicate it t» its mission—the greatest mission cpt earth. H« trusted the school would b#- . come & real temple of education in tfa» , noblest and widest sense.

very largely on local bodies. ~TJ»-far- - : raers had not been behind in assisting the school, and he believed that the A, and P. Association was giving--ythe us* 'of four acres for agricultural "and pastoral instruction in connection with tlto> school. This showed that the farmer* took a keen, practical, And intelligent interest in the education of the jroung. He wanted them to re&lfee ,tSit thtv school was not the Department's school. It belonged to the people, and he wanted tho farmers and town&peojpjt^to clob together end help make iMe^jjßeouvsm as good as any grounds in New Zealand., Concluding, the Minister said .that du>~ - ing the two years he bad been Minis- . ter of Education he had done hm bee* for the teachers. He had realised-that unless their status and emoluments vet* improved the best result* could not b# obtained. He wanted the teaching profession to realise their responsibility awl do the best for the children under their care. The teacher could make or nor the characters of children, and he rejoiced to know that they had good me* and women for the work of teaching. It gave him the greatest pleacure t* come there as Minister or Education and open the school and dedicate it t» its mission—the greatest mission cpt earth. H« trusted the school would b#- . come a real temple of education in tfa» p noblest and widest sense. ■ i At the call of one of the High School i boys three hearty cheers were given for ,' the Minister. Mr. Sage, who had been chairman j of the school committee in ite earfar I stages, also spoke. He referred .to to* , days when the committee jTM,,coal nected with the Wariganui Wfffitim^Xj, I Board, and he made special mention of \J, f Mr. Dixoit'tt pfflvwifrt--^« fomtrtfrm '.-. r with the board. Passing on, Mr. B*am~ r _ dealt with the growth--of the school .i , Four years ago there were less thak . 70 pupils attending, and "to-day -tbelt l were 180 on the roll." He cbngra^lated the people of Hawera on £$£» - position *>f "our school." .„ He a!a» hoped that the people would send their ' children to it. Now that they &ad^ 1 school which they could!see and appreciate, he" felt sure that it would be biijjk ' ported and Mr. Gray given every assist- " ance. Mr. Sage concluded by thanking.B the committee for their invitation S|i 8 speak. , > B Mr. B. Dixon, M.P., said that Mr. 3 Parr had been good enough to reftr - to the,fact thatithe Hawera Borough - Council had given the five acres o» 2 which the school was situated. Thejr* ' & had been some who had murmured - f against that, but he wa^ prepared 1»» - ', stand by it for the next 20 or; 50 yeaj» - if need be. If the' Borough Council hai s not given the five acres they woidl a not be standing where they were thew, !- nor would they have got auca * achoai :. for another five /ears. , He had had a visions of the new school* for'the las* •■ f 12 years and the road toward* its coma pletion had not been an easy one t* i travel. He had predicted 200 pupils ii f five years. Continuing: Mr; Dixon sail" t that he hoped the Agricultural, amL r Education Departments would work i hand in hand for the education of tbi t growing boys of this district. Ths> I trend of the times was all in the direc,l tion of making'boys and girls go t* - t the cities, and. he hoped that the d»> g partments would see to it. that more boys followed the .life "of—the farmer. 0 The boys would then be increasing .production. Mr. Dixon also hoped that the Moumahaki State Farm would t» t further developed, so that those* whY wished to improve their education m f agricultural matters wouß be ;aHe t*~ -.U "do so. Continuing, the 'speaker con-- 3f £ gratulated the boys and girls on having * j* such a splendid school, He urged them c all to always play the game; the mv. '• or woman who did 4;hat was the persoa c who was most respected. , - =• 1 Mr. 0. J. Hawken, M.P., told ai h interesting story relating to the -mci— * . dents which led .up to the Minister* ' coming to Hawera. ~ [Referring*" to the- „ . school, the speaker said. that it hai taken a long time to get it, 'and ht , hoped that the boys and girls who would " •> attend it would prove to be the asseV * that would pay for'it. People hid found fault with Mr. Dixon for giyii|g' 0 the five acres on which the school stbojL 6 Asa matter of fact he thought it shouM - " have been ten acres. (Laughter.) Hie * hoped that the people of Hawera aiM c the surrounding district would Jsee that ~ ■ 6 the grounds were so laid out that they - - would be second to none in New Zea> 0 land, and he said he thought that i»~ " V Mr. Gray they had someone who could' " . f carry it out. He concluded by coifs granulating the people of Hawera oil - f- their hqw school. ' ._, -f ~ Mr. White, chairman of the' Taranaki * Education Board, said he would likjis r to refer to the new building.. They iad j some difficulty in getting the depai-t----1 ment to acquiesce in the very large i sum of money that was necessary for » its erection, and they were afraid that - they would be unable to do the "work themselves, and so have to let-_outside - contracts. They received two tenders, - the lowest being for £19,000, but Mr. . Moore said that they could save fully " - . £2000 on that amount, and eventually i the department granted £16,900, This. > was the third high school in-,Taranaki, - said Mr. White, which he had had the - honour of going to Wellington about. . New. Plymouth and Stratford High s Schools were the other two. He thanked , Mr. Moore and his sta^F, and particularly Mr. Eowe for the very fine job , they had. made of the school. Th» [ speaker said that he hoped to give particular attention to primary educa- J tion; Continuing, he said that the , standard fbf education of our boys. , and girls was amongst the highest m the world. He pai<T & tribute to the , teachers who did not weary in~ the . development of the children. Th« . speaker thanked Mr. Dixon for the very : fine support he was giving the Eduea- - tion Board. He referred to the gift of the five acres, and said that was th.* thing which made -jossibleithe <jr^ct:on of the-Vsehopl. He thechairmah and member^ of; the^bpmmittee and Mr; Sage. L ' **\ Mr. A. Graj. headmaster, said that he was struck with the Minister's idea of what education should be-^the principle of the pleasure of work for itsown sake. They had already proposed, toembody this in the school motto: --Thepleasure of work well done for its own sake." During they last few years the school work had been carried" on in the old building under shocking, conditions. He paid a tribute to the work of the staff. Continuing, the headmaster said that sport was a necessary part of education, and while on the subject he thanked the different sports clubs for their generosity and Assistance in providing footballs, cricket balls, etc. ~He also thanked the ladies' committee for theirwork. ■ ....... On the call of Mr. Buekeridge, three* hearty cheei-s were given for the Minister: :■ .■"".-■■■■■■.- :- ■•■.■-.■■ Mr. Parr, in 'thanking--them, exn>ressed his pleasure in seeing such a fine, healthy Tot of. boys and girls. In opening .the new school "an honour~ha«l" been conferred on even the Minister of Education." On his call threehearty cheers were given for Mr. Buckevidpe and three more for the new school.