THE IDEAL TEACHER

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12094, 23 March 1925, Page 8

THE IDEAL TEACHER

SIR JAMES PARR'S AIM “TEA OH HRS THE FRONT FIRING LINE CtF EDUCATION.” GOOD STUDENTS IN TRAINING. (Special to “N.Z. Times.”) AUCKLAND, March 21. Sir James Parr (Minister for Education) made some interesting remarks at Epsom the other day when he laid the foundation-stone of the new training college there “We want to get the best of our young people into the teaching profession,” he declared. Sir James pointed to the attractions offered to students to train for the teaching profession. They received £9O per annum plus £35 per annum boarding allowance if they resided away from home while training. These allowances were the highest in the world. His aim was to get the best young people into the profession, nnd to do that he hail to make it worth their while Hitherto there had been competition from the Civil Service, but from reports he had received the department was now succeeding in attracting the right type of students. The aim should be to train young people who would carry the lamp* of learning and the torch of high character into tho schools. A LARGE EXPENDITURE.

A large sum of money was being expended on the new college—about £36,000 on the first portion of the building, with £3OOO for the levelling of the ground. Was such an expenditure worth while Sir James thought, it was. When ha received the portfolio of education five years ago, he found twenty-five years or more of comparative neglect. There was a great dea.l of leeway to make up, the most serious evil being the insufficient number of teachers being trained to carry out the educational work of the Dominion. Throughout New Zealand, notably in the city of Auckland, he found there were classes much too large for any one teacher. In Auckland nearly half the classes at that time had over 60 pupils to each teaoher, while in many schools there* were classes reaching to 120 pupils, and in seme cases 130 pupils to one teacher. That was not education! Then again, he found that 34 per cent, of the teachers were untrained, unqualified 'and uncertificated. He felt immediately that his first t: sic was to set about traitiing more teachers. At that stage there were 347 students in the four training colleges. Could it be asserted that the department had not spent money to advantage when to. day there were 126(7 students in these colleges? (Applause.) Every one of these students was needed,, because the large classes had to foo reduced. He was thankful Something in that, direction had been achieved during the last three or four years. The old classes of 120 / ad gone for ever, and there were fewer classes of 60 pupils. He hoped with this year’s influx of promising teachi.ig material sent into the classrooms, to foe able to say that no class exceeded 55 or 60 children. That would be a great achievement in primary education. TEACHERS CAN CURE UNREST.

The people in the front firing line of education were the teachers. A weak teacher meant a poor school. Sir James considered that money wisely spent on the training of good material in teachers was the best investment the publio could make. The future lay largely with the teacher. What Was the cure of the social and industrial unrest of to-day ? Largely it was to cultivate in the minds of our children the true spirit of goodwill in the community; the spirit of disinterested service in tho community; the spirit of teamwork in the community ; to put into ei ery child’s mind the* sense that in school and out of it ho cannot live by himself alone, that he is part and parcel of society, and that ho must r.ccommodatex, himself to society and help society if we are to save ourselves from anarchy and disaster. Largely that was the mission of the teacher.

In tho first place, continued Sir James, the teaoher should bo a* good healthy animal. He wanted to see well set-up people— not poor anaemic people—among ou- teachers, young people radiating health and vitality, young people with personality. He preferred in a teacher an individuality that impressed itrelf upon the young, before the highest scholastic degree. (Applause.)