SCHOOLS COMMITTEES’ ASSOCIATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19038, 7 December 1923, Page 6

SCHOOLS COMMITTEES’ ASSOCIATION.

QUARTERLY MEETING. The quarterly meeting of the School Committees’ Association was held in .the Otago Education Board office last night, when Mr J. W. Patton (president) 'occupied the chair.

The President reported that there were 46 school committees in the Otago Education district affiliated with the association. The country schools, he said, had set a fine example to those nearer at hand, and he was pleased to see that there were three members present from Mosgiel and two from Green Island. ' A letter was received from the Normal School Committee notifying its withdrawal from the association. The president mentioned that for the last five years, to his knowledge, there had not been one of the three Normal School delegates present at an association meeting. As they had not graced the association with their .presence, 110 objection would be raised against their withdrawal.

The Otago Education Board wrote under date October X stating that at its. last meeting it had before it the association’s letter regarding school inspectors’ reports, and the -following resolution was carried—“ That the School Committees’ 1 Association be informed that the board simply carries out the duty laid, upon it by the present Act and regulations;' that it sympathises with the association in its desire that the old system of reports on individual teachers should be reverted to.” A communication on the ■ subject under date October 17 was received from the Hon. • -G. J. Anderson (tor the Minister of Education) advising that there was nothing in the regulations to prevent inspectors from giving a clear indication in their report of the general efficiency of the work clone by individual teachers. On August 25 the association had been informed that the department had no objection to inspectors including general references of that kind in the report which came before the board and the school committee. ■Mr C. R. Eossenco remarked that the Education Board went out of its way to place restrictions on the school committees securing detailed reports. The Education Board, he continued, should withdraw its intimation to headmasters that “this report is not to be presented to school committees.”

Mr J. Wallace objected to this statement, and said that Mr Bossence had attacked members of the Education Board personally, whereupon Mr Boscence appealed to the meeting: “'Did I attack members of the Education Board personally?” The answer of the meeting 'was “No,” and subsequently Mr Wallace left the room. Mr Sanderson remarked to Mr Bossence that he had taken something from the meeting that was not according to fact. Mr Bossence: Mr Sanderson ought to know that these detailed reports have been customary in Otago for close on 30 years. I wish now to enlighten him. A year or two ago the department advised inspectors to write confidential criticism to teachers. These had nothing to do with the reports —they were a matter only between the teachers and the inspectors, to help the teachers, and that was what the department referred to. _ ", Finally it was decided, on the motion of Mr Steel, seconded by Mr Dalton, that the Otago Education Board be asked to send a detailed report of the work of each teacher to the school committees in their district. ' The secretary Green Island School Committee forwarded the following remit passed at the last meeting of the committee; “The Green Island School Committee wishes to call the attention of the School Committees’ Association to the way that the teachers are changed during the year. The Green Island School has had a very unfortunate time this year in the changes in its teaching staff, and consequently the school as a whole has suffered. It is thought that a specified time should *be ade for all changes in the teaching staff made for all changes in the teaching staff mittee looks to the association to give the matter its close attention and see if soma arrangement similar to the above could bo arrived at and placed before the Education Board for its approval.” Mr W. H. Steel suggested that all staff changes should take place in the Christmas vacation, and in exceptional cases a relieving teacher should be appointed. Mr Bossence spoke supporting this view. Mr Steel then moved—“ That the Education Department be asked to change the system of transferring and promoting teachers and substitute a system whereby the changes shall all take place during the Christmas vacation, and that extraordinary vacancies should be filled by temporary teachers.”— The motion was seconded and carried.