WANTED, AN OTAGO EDUCATIONAL LEAGUE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13894, 4 May 1907, Page 141

WANTED, AN OTAGO EDUCATIONAL LEAGUE.

Sib,—l tbinfc the want, must be increasingly felt by those interested in the education, ci'y anil rural, of this province, and in tho cduc-llion of the colony, of some means of coruercnco and of organisation whereby the host- inforaation and judgment may be elicited an<" made operative for flic public good. T}k> institution of school committees and of cducalion boards does not supply the want. Their time and energies are taken up with thoir proper functions, administration and control; they ire not adapted for conference on Ihe weightier questions bearing on tiie system as a" whole. They are rather for administering the system as find it, and, being themselves tlie product of the system, they may not be tho first to see nor ready to adopt changes ! that make for the good of ■ education, if. those appear likely to render their own position and authority unstable.- ■ Moreover, they lack in tlieir personnel a sufficient emJjodimenl of cx!>crt information, though they have no lack of common sense, which is .sometimes more valuable than expert information without that saving quality. There are, it is true, fichool committee .conferences, and even occasionally education board conleiences with other boards; but these again, while they no doubt give emphwis to tin? views .ofl tho bodies represented, arc bosct with the obvious limitations of their personnel, and of the bodies they represent. In short, '{{duration boards and committees are for putting into operation, rather than finding) and (jiving first eip.-,C3rion lo the best educational ideas of the> community. Then j there is tho Teachers' Educational Jnsti- I tuto, which originally vtas more fitted to supply the present want: but, for the purposo at present in view, it is too n.»ieh controlled by teachers, and is now piactically a leaders' union, having (lie virtues and the limitations of such o, union. There are, l>esidcs, the inspectors., a growing quantity .and power in the educa - tion system. The;- are 32 iri number, and there is an evident attempt Leinrj made by tiie Inspartor-gnucral to make llieir conferences with himself more powerful in £r> far as they agree w-ith himself. There is also'the Education Department, the most powerful, withal it is tV least satisfactory, element in the whole education sjiilem. On top is the Minister of Education, a very variable quantity, and for that reason the system should perhaps he least dependent, upon him. For years pa?t the system nf education owes him less than nothing. | He has never teen a leatlw in educa- ' tional progress nor an authority on the i subject; and in all my conmction with ] ' it, extending over 21 years,, the only | Minister worth • his salt was Sir Robert | ■Stout. His withdrawal from an active interest in common school education has been a decided loss. Of any of Ibe states, men in this colony ho had the k'st knowledge of it, and was ready to give it and tho teaching profession the standing and efficiency that are their due. | There is need more than ever of crcatisf; 1 and giving expression to an intelligent public opinion on this mosi vital subject ; a public opinion that shall not Ijo dominated by one influence or set of influences, but- bo the product of the intermingling of all the forces in the various bodies interested in education. We need, in short, en association or league composed freely of members of education boards, of -ehr.ol committees, of inspectors, of teachers, of professors, and of educationalists generally, irhero educationists connected with any of the bodies, from the primary school to the nnivorsity, and whether connected with them or not—many of the best educationists ar unconneci«l with any public body—may come together and have opportunity of giving expression to their ideas and of placing before tho community the latest and best information on subjects connected with e (juration. I hope my suggestion will bo favourably entertained, and that no great time will be loot in giving it effective operation. I suggest- that the league or association should meet every two- months—omitting December, January, and February—on, sav, tho evening of the third Wednesday of the month, when the Education Board meet; and its members are able to attend. Wiih a business committee to arrange for speakers and 6ubjeet6, and to receive and place notices of motion, there would soon be abundance of interest- and or work. I bclievo tho chairman of the lioard would grant tho use of the hoard room and, when available, most fittingly preside at tho meetings. A preliminary meeting might be arranged for at the first meeling o! the board, Wednesday, May 15, and a committee elected to arrange for (subsequent action. In another letter I may bring out other aspects of this question, particularly as affecting rural education, which needs a league all to itself.-I am, etc., Lovell's Flat, April 26. F. B. Frasee.