SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20678, 25 September 1930, Page 12

SCHOOL COMMITTEES.

VALUE OF ORGAN RECITALS.

SCHOOL DENTAL TREATMENT.

Tho value of the organ recitals given by Mr. Maughan Barnett, the city organist, to children of Auckland schools was stressed at the meeting" of the Primary School Committees' Association last evening. The association had been requested by the Headmasters* Association for an expression of opinion on the subject.

The chairman, Mr. S. E. Chappell, said the executive had replied to the Headmasters' Association stating its belief that the introduction of gramophones and wireless inko the homes and the schools had not^altogether filled the need which was being answered by the organ recitals. It considered that the question should be left to the individual headmasters to decide, taking into consideration the distances of particular schools from the city and other factors. " The real position is obscured by the Education Department in its replies to our suggestions concerning school books," said Mr. Chappell, referring to a letter from the department on the subject. "The association has not requested the department merely to issue school books free to all pupils. What it proposes is that the Government should print the majority of the books itself and sell them at cost price." Mr. Chappell expressed the opinion that the department had not heard the last of the association's suggestion. The suggestion that children when once registered for treatment at the dental clinics should remain under dental observation and receive dental treatment until they have passed through the sixth standard, was made by Mr. R. Rew, who introduced the remit from the Ponsonby District Schools' Committee. He expressed the opinion that it was essential that the treatment, onco initiated, should bo continual to tho end of school days. The remit was carried unanimously. A reduction in the minimum average attendance entitling a single teacher country school to an assistant teacher was advocated in a remit from the Titoki School Committee, which offered the alternate suggestion that a specially selected teacher should bo sent to those schools which were close to the minimum attendance. "This, is a question that has received a great deal of attention from the department," said Mr. G. Brownlee. "The only way to get a better class of teacher in back-blocks schools is to make the salaries better for that class of school." Tho first alternative of tho remit was carried. • After discussion, it was decided that an expression of opinion on tho Recess Committee's report should be deferred until the next meeting of the association, unless there appeared a likelihood of the report being dealt with by Parliament this session. In that case, tho oxecutive would bo empowered to take suitable action.