REFORM OF EDUCATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17254, 2 September 1919, Page 9

REFORM OF EDUCATION.

: ,.- ASSOCIATION.

GREATER INTEREST NEEDED. CAMPAIGN TO BE INITIATED. : . The first> annual; meeting' of,the, Auckland Association for the Advanceme.nt of Education was held last-evening, Mr. T. U. Wells presiding. Twenty members, constituting- a" bare quorum, were, present. The report'had a pessimistic tone.' The epidemic and the lack of funds had. hampered the •work, and the ; attendances at i meetings generally t had been. pqor. The* president said that' 1 after the' asso- j ciation was formed, there had been'really lasge meetings, which indicated a very general interest in education, and a very general desire to see the» cause of: education advanced. The epidemic then in-tervened,-and it was n6t until the,end of the summer that the work could be resumed. Then'there were one or two -good meetings, but the constitution had to be discussed, and this dreary matter helped to cool the ardour of members. Committees, however, had presented valuable reports upon various phases of the education question. He urged a more representative executive, including businessmen, if the association was to continue.

Mr. E. C. Banks, chairman of the Education Board, said he was not very optimistic that the association would survive, . seeing that only 20 members were at the meeting, although 550' notices had been ' sent out. Without- the interest of the business people the association would have to disband. / ' . Mr. E. 0. Purdie suggested that, a delegation be appointed to wait upon the Chamber of Commerce, the School Committees' Association, and labour unions to ask for support, and that. the meeting adjourn in the meantime. Miss Butler, principal of the Girls' Grammar School, supported this proposal. The association, she said, must carry out the duty it had undertaken. They must see it through in the interests of the children. The executive * should be run by business men, and educationists could act "as "the power ' behind the throne,", if she might use the term. Mr. T- H. Macky, a. member of the Chamber of Commerce, outlined a plan of campaign by- which the association might obtain the services of some influential man, to push its projects. The educationists should not be' humble, because they would have to supply the ideas. f Mr. O. Mcßrine, secretary of the City Schools' . Committee, said it would be a tragedy if the association went out of existence. Labour would support any concrete proposal the association put forward in the interests of education. A delegation, consisting of Miss Butler and Messrs. E. C. Purdie, C. A. Munro. T. U. Wells,.the Rev. A; B. Chappell, and Mr. George George, was finally appointed to wait.. upon the-bodies mentioned by Mr. Purdie and enlist their support. A committee, consisting of Messrs. T. H. Macky, Potter, and 0. Mcßrine, or his. nominee, was appointed to work among the business people, the school committees, and the labour unions.