TEACHERS’ TROUBLES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16737, 18 December 1914, Page 10

TEACHERS’ TROUBLES.

physical instruction in SCHOOL. WEEK’S DRILL ORDERED DURING VACATION. DEPUTATION TO EDUCATION BOARD. As the result of a recent visit to Christchurcl* by Mr Reyd Garhck, lirector of pnysical instruction in the schools, a circular was issued for a men teachers’ camp for a fortnight and a #omen teachers’ session for the same trine, the first week to be abstracted from the summer vacation. The case was involved by the prescription of a “short” costume for the ladies, and this, coupled with the loss of a week s badlv-needed holiday, has drawn a united protest from the teachers, and tho matter was brought before the Education Board yesterday. DRILLS NOT DIGNIFIED. A letter was read from the women teachers of tho East Christchurch infants’ .school protesting against the circular’on tiie'subject of physical education. While recognising the importance of the subject, they d.d not see why the-teachers: should be. called back from their hummer vacation a week earlier ind be kept another week in drill K'hile other teachers were spending the time in arranging their annual work. The teachers had m most cases arrived at maturity, and the exercises were net dignified or. suitable. It would not be possible for the teachers to leave their classrooms to don the special costume proposed, for at the present time thov had no dressing-rooms or even a rhom where they could lunch away Irom the vitiated atmosphere of the classrooms. A DEPUTATION. A deputation from the Educational Institute waited on the Board to protest against tho-change. .Miss Morrison,, the spokeswoman, said that at a large meeting of women teachers it had been decided not to accept the invitation to attend, classes without a protest. ...First of. all, the scheme would cat a week off the long vacation, which was the chief opportunity the teachers had for recuperating and fitting theme&lves for the work of the year. There were many teachers on the sick list owing largely to the vitiated air of the classroom and the strain of keeping large classes at work. To curtail the holidays would increase the sick list. As for the drill itself, the teachers of Canterbury, in particular, had been physically trainea from their entrance ©to their profession, and the huge displays that bad be or. at Lancaster Park were evidence u the work that had been'done. She •aa not entirely an advocate of text-books, but the drills could be learned from text-books, dr'at all events they could be learned in-school hours. She d.d not think the new proposals were progressive, and the sacrifice was out of all proportion to what might be gained. MILITARY CLASSES FUTILE.

Mr Adams president of the Instigate, said- that representations had been received from various teaching bodies. Referring to the classes in military drill, he said that they had teen:; futile, so fiir, and in the end the teachers had had to go to the text hook to worry the system out for themselves. Incidentally, he did not see why the text books had been withheld by the Department. He pleaded, for a full enjoyment of the long vacation, which was already curtailed to some extent for those who entered Jpr. departmental examinations in January.. He was sure that the Board ♦buld extend its full sympathies to the teachers, whose one thought was i or the welfare of the children. DEMONSTRATION SUFFICIENT. Mica Smith, speaking on behalf of the older members of the profession, urged that they should be instructed by demonstration lessons. A system of drills suitable for children was not, after all, suitable for older folk, who /night injure themselves in taking up onaccustomed postures for, four or five day for a fortnight '“{Mr Waller said that in most cases the teachers had arranged for their holidays, and a week’s curtailment would be very inconvenient A camp fdr a fortnight was a waste of money, because all the teachers lived close to the camp, and this had been admitted because the women teachers were not to go into camp. The expenditure for the year 1914 had been £B9OO, of which £3OOO was spent in training and camps, and this seemed to be quite unnecessary when New Zealand required the money available. It was a waste If time, also, for the teachers to spend their evenings in camp. ‘' The chairman (Mr G. Rennie) said that the system must go on, because It .had .been arranged by the director of physical training. Ho thought that the deputation’s appeal was principally for an extra week’s holiday, and if the comp had not proposed to trench on

the holidays the protest might not have been so emphatic. Mr Adams controverted this statement, pointing out that the teachers unanimously were opposed to the fortnight’s training, believing that after all they would nave to work out their own salvation from the text book. He was quite persuaded that the best method of introducing the system was by small doses at intervals. In reply to appeals from members of the Board for a wiser application of the training scheme, Miss Morrison said that the director was paid well, and he should think well on that subject. There were plenty of ways out of the difficulty. The director had had a year, and if he had sent out a few printed instructions from time to time he could have visited the centres at intervals to see how the system was

going. The chairman said that the teachers were being asked to do no new tiling, because country teachers already nad been giving up a week of their vacation for an agricultural course. The difficulty was to get enough instructors to go round, and that was why the camp had been suggested. NO ALTERATION IN ARRANGEMENTS. When the deputation had withdrawn,, the chairman said that the Board waß committed to the course, and could not abandon it. If the course was good for the teachers, they, should be prepared to make a sacrifice. Mr W. H. Collins moved that no alteration should be made in the arrangements this year. Mr C. H. Opie said that tho deptation had made out a good case, and he moved therefore that the Department should be approached to postpone the camp until the first week in February. . , , , Mr W. A. Banks seconded the amendment, but it was rejected by 6 votes to 3, and the motion was carried. ACTION BY DR THACKER. TO INTERVIEW MINISTER OF EDUCATION. Dr Thacker, the member for Christchurch East, stated last night that he felt so strongly in regard to the injustice sought to be placed upon the teachers that he would leave for \\ ellington to-morrow night in order to seek an interview with tho Minister of Education and ask that the regulations should be modified. It was distinctly unfair, Dr Thackersaid, to take a week off the teachers holiday for physical culture instruction. It was humiliat ng to ask lady teachers! who had been in the service for and who were middle-aged, to don physical culture costumes and go through exercises intended for young people. As a matter of fact, in many of the schools there was no place for tho lady teachers to change their costumes. The arrangements were so bad that in some cases they had no place in which to wash their hands, and if they had to have their lnnoh at school it had to be taken in an atmosphere in which classes had been held for hours.

He intended to take this question in hand, and in addition to make a tour of all publio schools in Christchurch East, and ascertain what improvements were required from a sanitary point of view.