ABSENT FROM SCHOOL

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 283, 3 November 1925, Page 10

ABSENT FROM SCHOOL

ATTENDING COMPETITIONS. MAGISTRATE DISMISSES INFORAIATIONS. Further prosecutions of parents for allowing their children to absent themselves from school in order to attend the competitions were heard at the Magistrate’s Court this morning, when no less than 18 informations were before the Alagistrato. On the reading of tho first charge, Air Oram rose and said that ho appeared for the majority of the parents concerned. The Magistrate: You feel that you have a moral obligation ? Counsel said that he felt very strongly that certain aspects of these cases should he brought forcibly under the notice of the court. He would like the ease against J. C. L. Taylor to he taken first and would enter a plea of not guilty. Tho Alagistrato: Was the child away from school ? Counsel: Yes. The Alagistrato: Isn’t that a plea of guilty ? Counsel: The child was away from school for two hours. Air C. J. D. Skinner, attendance officer for tho Wanganui Education Board, said that he had taken action on the instructions of tho Wanganui Education Board, not on his own initiative. It seemed to him that tho Act was being used in a harsh manner in most of the cases. On September 19 he had received advice from the secretary that the board had under consideration the question oi the absence of children from the Palmerston North and Feilding schools for the purpose of attending the competitions held at Palmerston North and Otaki respectively. Returns had been obtained from the head teachers of the Palmerston North and Feilding schools and these revealed that several children had been absent for the above purpose. Tlie board at its meeting on September 16 had decided that the parents of the children in question should bo prosecuted, and the writer, in conclusion, said that he would be glad if tho attendance officer would take action accordingly. Continuing, Mr .Skinner said that the child in this particular case had made 207 out oi 217 attendances and was in the fourth standard. Air Oram submitted that the attitude the board was taking was a gross infringement of the liberty of parents, who had tile right to say whether their children should, be educated m music, elocution and dancing. If the child's English or speech required improvement, the parent had a perfect liglit to have the child educated in that respect. The Magistrate: Outside school hours. Counsel: Precisely.

Air Oram continued that no action was taken by the Education Board against parents whose children absented tuemseives from school to attend musical examinations. Counsel was not in favour of children being allowed to travel all round the country to attend competitions all over the place, but he tnought that a reasonable attitude should bo taken by the board. Almost invariably it was the practice of the bourd to issue warnings before issuing summonses, but in these particular cases no prior warnings had been made, nor had the board made its intention public prior to the competitions. Air Skinner: I was kept solely in tho dark by tho board as to what action would ue taken against parents. Continuing, counsel said that, if parents let their children attend the competitions alter receiving warnings, they would be doing so at their own risk.

in reply to the Magistrate, Mr Skinner said that in none of the eases before court had parents let their children attend competitions other than those at Palmerston North. The greatest number of absences amounted to 13 half-days. 'L'he Magistrate : Why can’t the competitions society arrange to _ hold its festival in the school holidays? Counsel, in reply, said tnat the society had now arranged to hold next year’s festival in the May holidays. The Magistrate: Why didn’t you do that last year? ’ Counsel said that the epidemic had prevented that. Mr Skinner told the court that he had issued warnings to Hokowliitu par- ’ cuts, but had had to withdraw these because of the instructions subsequently 1 issued by the board. Counsel stated that children who had boen absent from school in July to at- ' tend the .competitions had not been prosecuted because of the fact that the absences were not in the last six ' months, as required by the Act. He would submit that there was an injustice in prosecuting the parents of clnl<ireu who had been absent in August, liis second submission was that the board had departed from its hitherto invariable practice of not prosecuting until after warning had been given. 1 The Magistrate: It is not necessary in accordance with the Act. Counsel also submitted that childieii were allowed to attend musical examinations and agricultural shows without action being taken. Participation at competitions was certainly as good' for children as attendance at shows and musical examinations. The Magistrate: Whether participation at competitions is good for children or not is a matter of opinion. Counsel: Competitions have a bad effect only when children are “hawked” round from one festival to another. Continuing, Mr Oram said that if the board had issued warnings or had given public notice of its intention, the particular sections for children at the Palmerston North competitions could have' been held after school hours or on Saturdays. The children whose parents were being prosecuted were all ! good attenders and their absence from ! .school had in no way detrimentally atfected their education. In conclusion, counsel suggested that the information bo dismissed as being trivial, llie Act ■ had never been intended to cover cases ■ of this nature. The Magistrate: Competitions are a 1 new craze. , , , Leonard Frederick do Berry, lieadL master of Central School, then gave ? evidence that three children attendi irig his school were being prosecuted. 1 The attendance of these children at the competitions had in no way detn- • mentally affected their education, and • in one case at least improvement lnul resulted. He could not recollect a ! single case where a prosecution hud > been made in the past without a ■ warning. ’ Rev. Harold T. Peat, secretary of i tlie Central School Committee, deposed ■ that that body had protested to the Wanganui Education Board against the prosecutions, and had suggested their withdrawal. .Mr Oram intimated that this was all the evidence that he proposed to call. Mr Skinner commented that, in 99 cases out of 100, parents previously had had not only one, but two or three warnings before action had beon taken. 11l dismissing all the informations, the 1 Magistrate said that the attend-

ance officer had stated that in no case had any child been absent except for the time necessary for actual participation. There was a good deal to be said for the action of the board inattempting to prevent children attending the competitions, but he did not intend to discuss that matter. Warnings should have been issued by the board, or it should have made its intention public prior to the competitions. He felt justified in dismissing all the informations, but, if warnings had been issued by the board, the matter would have been in a different category.