EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12198, 24 July 1925, Page 7

EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND

ANNUAL REPORT LAID ON TABLE. OF HOUSE MEMBERS DISCUSS MINISTER’S REVIEW CANCELLATION OF RURAL SCIENCE CLASSES Yesterday afternoon the Hon. Sir Janies Parr, Minister for Education, presented to the House of Representatives his report on the progress and condition of public education in New Zealand daring the year 1924.

“During ,the past year,” said the Minister, “the usual activities in the various spheres of education, ranging, from the kindergarten to the university, have been well maintained, and, in addition, substantial progress has, bean made through the extension or initiation of a number of reforms and improvements in the efficiency, management, and equipment of the several types of schools- “ While each of the changes referred to brings to educatioh an inherent benefit, it baa to be recognised that reforms, and advances in administration, practice, and equipment, have a stimulative and encouraging effect, apart from and far beyond the actual matter which each change affects. Provided always the changes are inherently valuable, they convey to teachers and others a sense of adaption, and development which are the marks of an active organism directly related to life. _ Of all the activities and. public services for which the Government is responsible, education in particular must always give scope and expression to this vital factor of development- “ Our various types of schools have, the distinctive advantage and-r&spon-sibility of dealing not only with 'human, . life but with young human lives in the making. Tb a great ' extent also the schools are, on the one hand, the sphere in which the changing spirit of the age and of the race makes a deep and. lasting impression, while, on the other hand, they are the seed-ground of influences and tendencies..which', will express themselves in a profound and far-reaching manner on the-growth of our national life and ideals. IMPROVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS . ‘The schools 'must, therefore, not only express and reflect the evolution of life and thought from generation to generation, hut must themselves haye a* a distinctive characteristic a spirit of hope, optimism, inspiration,* adaptivity, and adventure,' and it isgratifying to find that teachers of all grades are to an ever-increasing degree becoming. more - vqr satile, original,, and stimulative in their training of the children . and -students, under their charge; -t'Special and separate mention will presently be made pt improvements - anfl developments made during the past yhar, such as new buildings, remodelling of old buildings, improved lighting, ventflationj and equipment, more liberal staffing, establishment of new. types , of. schools, special provision for, - the "improvement of,the more humanistic v and sesthetio phases' or subjects of education. >6teps lave also been taken to investigate in a comprehensive man-ner-the- present ponditionof post-pri-mary anduniversity education, in order to survey tho trend of the many avenues of advance in education recently opened np and to-find the direction which our future progress should take. - Not every individual school or teacbsr'haa been directly affected by the changes just referred to, hot. these changes should have the indirect 1 effect of indicating to all concerned that edneatian is in a continuous state of flux, and that on? system is a living, growing organism, and not a piece of machi-nery_-It is, therefore, hoped that" the activities and changes of the past year, however incomplete they may he, will serve the greater purpose of fostering and encouraging"* spirit of prbgressiveness. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS four junior high schools now established are of entirely different types. Possibly only two additional types of school need to be provided to complete a series which by duplication. would meet the needs of the whole Dominion if the system be fully applied. Of the other two types one would be somewhat eirailar to a junior high school in that its pupils would be collected from the fifth and sixth standards of a number of small, schools in an area where at present not even a district high school can be established. Though such a school could not be as. fully equipped and staffed as the junior high schools proper, the arrangement would be distinctly beneficial to the pupils, and in apy case would be necessary so that, on the complete adoption of the scheme for pupils above the age of twelve, these children would be all engaged in a similar course of work, and could, if they changed their place of residence or if they transferred to a higher school, after completing the primary stage, be able to proceed with their studies on the same footing, as all other pupils where the junior high school system had been established tinder ordinary conditions. In addi tion, there would still remain many very small and scattered schools whose pnpils, after reaching the age of twelve, could not conveniently"' be conveyed to any central school for the purpose of combined instruction in a modified junior high school course. As instruction of senior pupils in these smalt schools is practically individual instruction, the teacher* would need to Jirovide the necessary course of study or.pupils. There is no need for exEment regarding the value of the or high school principle itself, t stage has passed. The testimony of other countries as well as dur own experience sufficiently establish the validity of the principle. We are now tryign out different methods of applying the principle to the varying sets of conditions to be found in the different districts, of- New Zealand, and the results already obtained are distinctly encouraging. AMALGAMATION OF SECONDARY AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS “In a number of towns outside the flnir chief centres there have grown up fide by side two systems of postprimary education—the ordinary secondary and the technical systems. As far as the work of full-time day pupils Is concerned, there does not appear to 1,0 justification for this separation. Moreover, in many cases each of the schools is so small that a complete' staff cannot be provided.. It would appear to be in the interests of the pujils in such places that the secondary

and teohnical schools should be amalgamated as far as the full-time pupils are concerned. . “To a . very large extent the samo steps are taken in both schools. The amalgamatiqn would provide' for a better, staff and for more complete provision for the various courses "of instruction. During'the recent investigations' made by Mr F. Tate, M.A., C.MrG., of Melbourne, there wad a general agreement .of opinion on the part of the various witnesses as to the advisability of amalgamating secondary and teohnical !dsy schools. This would involve the formation of one controlling hoard instead of two, with some modifications in the constitution. . ' “In several centres in New Zealand the Secondary and Technical School Boards concerned have approved of the .principle of amalgamation, and . the matter is being discussed in other centres. In the amending Act of 192-1 statutory provision was made for carrying into effect amalgamations' of the kind referred to whenever the local authorities agree tp the proposal. REGISTRATION OF TEACHERS ~“As a legal .difficulty had come .to light in connection with the cancellation of teachers’ certificates, it was necessary- to provide- an effective method of preventing the employment of a teacher on the ground of misconduct or other sufficient cause. Th« amending Act ctf 1924, therefore, provided that the names of all qualified teachers should hf placed on a teachers’ register, and that only teachers so registered oould he employed in a secondary, technical, or .primary school established tinder the authority of the department. Subject to safeguard by Way of appeal tea" properly constituted oourfc, tne name of any teacher, may be removed from the register for any grave offence.- This amendment makes adequate provision fan the protection of the sohoclß, while, it ensures that injustice cannot he done to any teacher. ", ' INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE. “The tofal expenditure, including endowment revenue." amounts to £3,723,000, as againsfl £3,350,000 for the previous year, an increase of nearly £373,000. ■ “In considering the yearly increasing cost of education' it - mast be borne in mind- that-nearly two. add a half millions, or 83 per cent., of the cost of education is devoted to the salaries if teachers, inspectors, and other officers of the'department, and that, owing to the natural yearly increase of school population,- amounting to nearly r four thousand in the primary schools, seven hundred in the secondary schools,- and six hundred in the technical schools,about two hundred must be added to the teaching etaffs.each year, at a cost of about' £50.000,- and other school expenditure must be correspondingly ■' increased.'Unless ohr free-education policy is modified and privileges restricted, or salaries reduced, this annual increasing cost, with its cumulative-effect, must be met from" year to year. “It has also to be .considered in connection with ...the expenditure for last vear .that owing to the very large, classes in some of our primary schools’ the staffs'of the larger schools have had to. be' increased/ during the year under review. - for the day has passed when the Government can permit classes of seventy, eighty, or nihety children under one teacher. Partof the increased east of education ladt year was due to this natural increase in numbers, but were also special circumstances affecting the expenditure.-The increase was accounted for by the following til, An, increase of nearly. £.160,000 ip the expenditure on the erec- ' tion ' of i hew buildings rendered necessary by the curtailment of. • this.. work during, the war ' and 1 subsequently, so that large arrears of building at greatly increased -cost has ]iad to be undertaken. (2) A* grant of £SOdXX) to increase the salaries of teachers daring the financial year.. IS) An extra expenditure of £22,(W0 » on high-school . teachers’ salaries' ' to provide teachers for' the in- ' . creased numbers of pupils now taking advantage of free* education in the district high, technical high, and secondary schools. (4) The additional cost, - estimated at £37,000, of providing teachers in primary schools -for the annual increase of*the number-of pupils, and for the purpose of reducing the size of the very large classes: (5) A much larger expenditure than usual (£35.000) . on rebuilding schools destroyed by fire. (6) The inclusion in the expenditure on education for the first time, of subsidies-to "the Institute for the Blind (£15,O0O). ; (7) The. restoration of the grant (£3000) fqr public libraries. . (8) Increased grants, amounting to ' about £6OOO. to the Workers’ Education Association and universities. (9) Increased grants of over £4OOO to school committees. (10) Smaller- increases in the other votes.... From the above it will be apparent that, though a keen eye be kept on every increase in annual cost, yet it would he extremely difficult, if nottimpossible, to cut down the department’s yearly expenditure without attacking and doing hurt to the essential feature? and main fabric of the whblo system. OPEN-AIR SCHOOLS “Medical and other authorities have in late years urged the establishment of open-air schools—that is, of schools with at leaßt orie wall entirely open to the air, though in very bad weather it may bo closed with sliding-doors. Under this system each room would have to be a separate Wooden building, and for schools with not more than rix or eight rooms the distribution of separate class buildings around the school-site would not present any serious difficulty. "Schools up to the size mentioned contain about three-fourths of the primary-school children in public schools. More difficulty would be found in connection with the largest Fchoolß, which are generally situated in towns and have often a small area of playground. The advantages claimed for the use of tlte open-air cepnrate clnss-r~om are the stimulus of moving flesh air. of

more sunlight, the opportunity for more freedom of movement by the pupils. and the mental effect of an open outlook as Compared with the alleged restrictive effect, on pupils taught in a room with four walls. Though the' amount of benefit sometimes claimed or suggested by the supporters of the open-air principle can scarcely- be always realised, there is sufficient to justify a thorough trial of the open-air-school plan finder the best possible conditions and with a genuine desire for its sucoess. Approval has accordingly been given for the erection of open-air rooms in connection. With four or five schools, arid it is expected that shortly a complete school of four or five rooms will be built on the new plan. In order to test the system, full and exact, records will be made of the state of hpalth of the children at the outset and during each succeeding year of school-life. These can then be compared with those of children - taught in'the best type of school building now being erected. MEMBERS’ VIEWS Though members had not seen the report, they spoke freely on the subject of education. Mr L. G. Smith said be was pleased to say that in Taranaki they did much of their own work, they had their own factory, did the work efficiently and at a less cost than was experienced in other districts. He suggested, therefore, that education boards should be made a grant by the State to allow them to follow the lead of Taranaki. He pleaded with the Minister to restore to tho Taranaki Board the right to establish .rural scienoe classes. It was essential that children should have manual instruction and training. The teachers based an objection on the percentage of marks the pupils could get in examinations of proficiency certificates. The Taranaki Board' instituted rural science classes arid arranged that the pupils* should not lose any time in their attending them, hut were told that the classes were valueless. If a hoy* was to riiake s success on the land he should not be denied i practical study in rural science. He hoped Taranaki would have restored to it the 'right' to go on with these classes. Speaking generally, Mr Smith congratulated the department on the making of some progress. Mr J. McCombs (Lyttelton) commended the Minister and department on the many improvements which had been made. He had no doubt that technical education was of value if carried out properly; but it must be carried out’ properly. He entered a plea for attention to be given to Canterbury schools. The department’s work was nothing if not up.' to date, said flr O. J - Hawken (Egmont), and when _ people saw new schools in other districts, it mado them impatient pf delay in replacing their own old schools. Great work had been done, and though-there were still old schools in the, Taranaki districts they.' were being repaired and replaced. . ' ‘ He thought that while the worker* educational movement had been a good one, the money couid he better employed in giving the older hoys at The schools a thorough grounding in economics. The worker? education facilities seemed to be taken advantage of by those whose interest was only of a dilettante nature. When they considered the fact that a teacher had to travel a good way to give perhaps one lecture, it must appeal to them. The older pupils would be better material and more easily taught. A knowledge, of economics was essential, and at present the women of the Dominion knew very much less pf the subject than they ehpuld. • People needed a knowledge of interest and of the right meth3d of investment. He was sure that the Labour Party would not receive the hearing which they did were the people educated in "economics-. They might find this better worth while than agricultural education. • The school leaving age was too early, said Mr G. W. Forbes (Hurunui), end they, also had grown-ups who. needed education. There were members on the other side of the house who would not be the worse for some. He thought that they oOuld do more in the direction of agricultural effuqation. He did not think it right to regard the question as one for turning, children upon an experimental farm. 71 ' If the Minister was te give them all for which they asked, he would need a few millions a day, said Mr G. Witty (Riccarttm). Sir James Parr: Hear, hear! THE W.E.A. Mr J. A. Lee (Auckland Hast), attacked the member for Egmont, who, he said, has displayed very little knowledge of economics, His economics were, of the pawnshop brand, dealing solely with the methods of investment. The W.E.A. did remarkably good work, and its work was by no means restrict-' ed te. economics. It conducted classes in philosophy, literature, history, music, and other subjects. He pleaded for proper, conditions in schools to ensure the health .of pfipils, and for free school books. At present some books were sold cheaply, but they should go further than that. He knew that such things could not he had in a- day. Mr ft. P. Hudson gave his opinion that, as an agricultural country, it was particularly desirable that the Dominion youth should have country knowledge and country tastes. It would help him materially in his-work, anti when he was farming would enable him to know whether he was throwing away money or not. Centralisation of schools, he urged, "comfort and " consideration for country children. Mr R. Masters (Stratford) also ipDke of the necessity of pushing agricultural education. Tlia Education Department had not been as sympathetic towards agricultural education as it be. Thev had the proof of tiiis in the disestablishment of the special. classes which were run jn xaranaki. New Zealand was lagging behind,' because the Minister for Agriculture was not in sympathy with the question, and did not seem to give any thought to it at all. Meanwhile the other primary pro-’ during countries were moving ahead. They had spent much time in equipping students for work in other lines, such as medicine and law, yet the class of the community which produced 85 per cent, of the' country’s wealth received no consideration, and when the Taranaki Board set up special classes the Minister for Education came alongand smashed them. He regretted that the Minister was being led astray by his * officers, who were not practical men, and who had no sympathy with trie movement. He argued also that much good could be done "by a system of post-primary agricultural instruction, and that such classes would be popular. THE MAORIS The needs of Maori secondary educational institutions were brought up by the Hon. A. T. Ngata (Eastern Maori), who asked that the value of Maori free pistes should be increased to £4O. There were 500 Maori children receiving seconder'- education, and the cost of it was £4500. Maoris were spread qver » number of schools m various districts.

and many of the bursaries went into the hands of various denominational authorities. He pointed out that education would prove the best means of combating ‘reactionary movements, which were very prevalent among the natives in the western districts. Lack of education was responsible for superstition and misunderstanding, and there was here a great weakness in'tbs form of a small number of native 'schools. Until more attention was paid to education reactionary movements would continue to retard the progress of the native race. ■ Despite what had been done in providing money for education, it was essential that ’ the department should have more money in order to replace old schools, said Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon). He hoped what had been said would lead Cabinet to place more money at the Minister’s disposal. , Practically every speech seemed to have been in the direction of asking the Minister for mbre money, stated Mr W. H. Field (Otaki). Of course, they could spend no more than the country’s finances would hear. He thought that the capitation should be increased, particularly in the country districts, and that' better means pf conveyance should be provided for taking children to schools. He would like to ask for the school at Otaki to be rebuilt; but he knew that that was beyond the power oF fhe Minister at the present, time. Therefore he would urge that a sum should be provided for remodelling the school and.making it into a buildin" suitable for the purpose. Music, in the shape of singing, and elocution found a champion in the Hpn. D. Buddo ( Kaiapoi). He honed that the Minister wpuldytahe a little time ny»r consolidation of schools Ho would find that motors did not ruu evsrywht.ro.