EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17823, 3 January 1920, Page 7

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE

ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

(Pee United Pkkss Association.) - WELLINGTON, January 2. Tho annual conferonco of the New Zealand Educational Institute was opened today. The President (Mr C. R. Munro, of Auckland), in his opening address, emphasised that tho school ought to be essentially a moral institution, and its chief end and aim to instil noble ideals of life and duty. Writers on education in recent years laid stvess upon tho importance of tho recognition of the social aspects of education, lticy desired to get away from the ideal of tho efficiency of the individual, and to seek instead tho training of tho individual for the general good of society. That task was not wholly tor the school, for tho home, tho Church, the vocation, tho press, and society itself, each must take its share. The 6chool aimed at turning out pupils'efficient in every sense—physioaily, intellectually, and morally,—and ho believed tho school could attain such a high ideal. Referring to German and Prussian educational systems, the President said: "The result we liavc seen. Tho whole German nation was animated, by ono ambitionlust for world power. Had the leaders of the nation devoted the same amount of effort and organised skill to the inculcation of really worthy social ideals, there is no placo among civilised nations to which their country might not have aspired and attained." He weit on to say that Germany had featured as her ideal in the schools, the universities, and in her whole social structure, a German nation resting on war. The pnblio schools had been used to mould tho nation as their leaders desired, and they could to used again in future with a worthy ideal, no"; of glorification of the individual or of Iho nation, but the ideal of social service. There wore three ways lie (Mr Munro) considered by which the selected ideal could be achieved—by the corporate life of the school through the methods it employed and through its studies and curriculum. The corporate life of the school had in a great measure been neglected in the past,. Hie believed that one of tho great weaknesses in Now Zealand schools was over-government by teachers. The fault was not* the fault of tho teacher, but of the system, which placed from 60 to 110 children under the care of a teacher and virtually made him. a drilf sergeant. There could be no r<-al education, no development of the individual, under such conditions. The problem of tho large class modified tho conception of what war, possible in educational methods. Our eoncention of education sliould be one that should include all tho classes of values the attainment of which mado better men and women.

The following- Temit introduced by the executive was adopted:—"(a) That the New Zealand Educational Institute acknowledprs and appreciates the advance registered by the temporary legislation of 1919, ospociallv as it is accompanied with an assurance of further reforms next vcar. It reasserts the necessity for extending the education of the youth of tho dominion, to provide the fullest training of which the individual is capable, and for controlling bv regulation tho hours of work and the wages of school children before _ and after °ehool; it reaffirms its conviction that tho national system of education can be best directed \y a national education board, and can be best administered by local education authorities, and it directs the executive to carry on its work of propaganda with all the energy and resources at the command of tho institute, (b) That the institute demands that an end bo put without further delay to the intolerable injustice perpetuated by some education boards in the appointment of teachers in ;i manner not in accordance with the provisions of tho Act."

An amendment to omit reference to a national education board was defeated. The secretary of the institute. Mr H. A. Parkinson, was invited to explain to the conference the point of section B of the remit which complained of the intolerable' injustice perpetrated by education boajxis in tho appointment of 'teachers. Ho said the four largest boards had made of their districts watertight compartments to which outsVle teachers could not gain admission. While such conditions existed the clans? of the Education Act requiring boards to appoint in every case the applicant best suited to the position was being ijrnored. The Wellington, Canterbury, aind Otago boards made use of school committees in order to shirk their rospcnsibilitiV-B in the matter of appointments. They had made a practice of .lending to the school committer three names of applicants. The committee not, infrequently made a wrong choice. Sometimes the committee had not the data upon which to make proper appointments. Mr Hall defended the method of appointment used by the Auckland Education Board.

There was a long discussion on the remit to urge the Gorvemment to purify and elevate the standird of moving p : eture entertainments. Eventually Miss Coad n.nd Mows Wr-bb. Garrv. Wilson. and M'Nnus'hton wero p,r>pointed a committer to investigate the nroblem and report, to the executive not later than the end of Aprrl