THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY. MAY 9, 1930. THE DE-GRADING OF TEACHERS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21021, 9 May 1930, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY . MAY 9, 1930. THE DE-GRADING OF TEACHERS.

In a previous article we gave some account of the operation of the teachers’ grading system and of objections which have been urged against it. The Otago branch of the Educational Institute has now supplied a statement on the aspect of degrading or down-grading which certainly repays attention. Because the reputation of the primary school teachers in Otago has been high the results of the examination by the committee of the local educational organisation of the application of the principle of de-grading throughout the Dominion may appear the more surprising. Accepting the comparative figures supplied as unassailable, as of course they should be in such a memorandum, it is surely rather curious that, while the Otago teachers represent one in nine of the primary school teachers of the Dominion, the number of cases of degrading in their ranks should represent one Tin four of the total number of such cases. Again, it is pointed out that, whereas the average loss of marks by de-grading in the case of 34 teachers in Otago has been 14, the average loss in respect of the remaining 114 cases in the rest of New Zealand has been only 3.5. The figures demonstrate clearly enough that the principle of' de-grading lias been applied a good . deal more extensively and more severely in Otago than in the rest of the Dominion. There should be some ex-

planatipn for. this, but what it ,may be the Otago teachers ,do not suggest. They establish their case in respect of the. lack of uniformity in the application of de-grading in.the various educational districts, and show that Otago teachers are peculiarly the sufferers. They have a good deal to say concerning the effect of this upon the teachers themselves, and upon their work, and they say it with considerable feeling. And if what they say is justified then the matter is one of public concern, for the conclusion is difficult to avoid that the standard of educational efficiency among the teachers in our public schools is being endangered, in that a proportion of the teachers at least ai’e a prey to a sense of discouragement and injus : tice. There may be another point of view and another possible conclusion, but no attempt has apparently been made to establish them. It is observed that the memorandum under notice that the discrepancy in respect of de-grading from district to distinct tends to undermine the confidence of teachers in the grading system generally,- We do not pretend to know to.what degree teachers as a class have confidence in the grading system. To.a good many of them, we have reason to believe, it v is' anathema. For our own part vfG have never admired the system, the application of which has from the beginning been attended, with too many , heartburnings. Theoretically the system may be excellent; in practice it seems to wear a different complexion. It is in any case reasonable to. accept tbe ground of complaint that has been advanced by the Otago branch of the Educational Institute as another indictment of the grading system itself. Speaking generally, there should be no need to hesitate in judging that a system of classification which subjects teachers to the humiliations on causes of discontent which seem to be associated with the application of the grading system is somewhat strongly impeached. If teachers cannot carry on their work in a spirit of some assurance and independence, exercising their individuality without being conscious, of the grading list hanging over their heads like the Sword of Damocles, their educational efficiency is surely impaired. On the other hand, the matter of the survival of the grading system should be in the hands, of the-teachers themselves. We do not.know to what extent the views expressed by “National Education,” the official organ of the New Zealand Educational Institute, reflect the opinions of the teachers of the Dominion. But so that the other side of the argument may not be unrepresented, it .is pertinent to note that in a recent issue the journal in question expresses surprise that the grading system is being attacked by some members of the teaching profession, chides teachers who are asking for its abolition, and concludes by saying: “If this foolish and irresponsible movement by certain teachers for the abolition of appointments by grading is allowed to- continue it will be' used as evidence ‘that- the profession is dissatisfied with the system. At present the teachers have a feeling of security. They will have none if the List goes.” The obvious comment seems to be that in the light of-, representations made by the . Otago branch of the Institute a good many' of the teachers have, little feeling of security if the List remains. Discussion of the subject at the annual meeting ( of the New Zealand Educational Institute next week should be interesting.

WILD LIFE CONTROL.

The extent to which deer and other browsing animals have multiplied and spread throughout the forests of the Dominion has been the subject, in the past,' of somewhat bitter debate, and it is all the more satisfactory, therefore, that, at the very representa : tive conference convened in Christchurch this week by the Government, the delegates , were unanimous in acknowledging that the rapid increase in herds constitutes a menace to forest, farm, and bird life in New Zealand. It would have been more than difficult to secure such unanimity of opinion on this subject only a short time ago,' but the experience of the State Forest Service, and the representations of various interested bodies, have made 1 it impossible for the extent to which deer are depredating our forest areas to be overlooked any longer. Culling has been carried out for several years, past, but unfortunately with indifferent results, especially as many of the deer have now made their way to almost inaccessible parts -and have continued to spread without restriction in the fiord country and remote mountain districts. Doer are increasing at a positively alarming rate, as may be realised from a perusal of the statistics relating to them. In the years up to 1909 some 111 deer were imported into New Zealand, and the number of deer in. the country only twelve years later was estimated at 300,000, It has been stated by the writer of a series of articles which we published last year that the ratio of increase in deer herds is 25 per cent, per annum. This estimate has not been seriously challenged, and it is clear that the Government’s payment of a small bonus per tail, on animals killed in certain areas since 1923, cannot ’ have counteracted this natural increase to any appreciable extent. It is .doubtful whether the removal of all restrictions on the taking of deer will in itself be sufficient to check the spread of these animals, and it is extremely improbable that their extermination could ever be brought about by such passive means. The question of finance naturally looms large when suggestions for the organisation of shooting parties, or of other means for the wholesale destruction of deex*, chamois, and other browsers are considered, and it is probable that in the meantime the Government will be able to apply, little more revenue in this direction than it has done in the past; but the advantages of some form of unified control of operations for the elimination of the pests are manifest, and it may be anticipated that in the future' it will become possible for the

authorities, to ’devise a more l effective means of dealing with them. The problem of the preservation of the bird life of New Zealand is so closely related to that of the deer which are destroying our native flora that it is- difficult;;;to consider- the two matters separately. With the introduction of deer, chamois, and thar, and of the übiquitous rabbit, the of our forests was begun, and the upsetting of> the balance of Nature by the opening up of forest -lands for-the purposes of settlement necessitated .the introduction of insectivorous birds—sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, and thrashes—to keep insect pests in check. The stoat and the weasel were ‘ also brought into the' country in an attempt to retard the-:multiplication of rab r bits, and these vicious animals also have spread alarmingly until, Mr Angel stated recently in his presidential address to the Otago Institute, they are threatening to destroy our wonderful, flightless birds. German owls have also been imported to keep the sparrows in control, , and they - in their turn have become a menace to the native birds. The absolute necessity of a more systematic and thorough means being devised for the control and eradication of the pests which we have so, ingenuously invited into the Dominion admits of no, argument. At the present time control of wild life is vested in nine Government departments and. • some. 32 acclimatisation • societies, obviously a wasteful and inefficient method, andthe proposal advanced .at ihe Christchurch conference and by. the Otago Institute, that unified action should be taken, appears to present the best means of dealing with a serious problem. ,

Yesterday afternoon the Mayor; (Mr R. S. Black) received the 'following radio from Captain Brown, of the Eleanor Bolling: “ Now 2500 miles from Panama, with City of New Yoi'k in tow. Best wishes to all,” ■ ' . The- City Fire Brigade received a malicious false alarm last night from Grove street, St, Kilda. i The city electrical engineer {Mr M. C. Henderson) states that the'position in regard to the' supply of water' power at Waipori has not by any means been-ex-aggerated by -the department in its statements. He . also says that water-heating by electricity makes a ,big demand ,on power, and that" if. householders-will, use these heaters as little as possible,it will make an. appreciable difference to the amount of current used.. He also, requests people to turn off their radiators 1 as soon as the rooms in Which they are placed has been warmed. ;; t - •. ■ - Divorces at the rate of one every five minutes were disposed of- by Mr Justice Ostler in . the Supreme Court at Wellington yesterday, when 29 cases were - dealt with , (states a Press Association message).' - ' An interesting reference to thar and chamois appears in the report of the De?r Committee of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, which .was presented to, the , council of the society at its last meeting. “ Thar and chamois,” stated the Deer Committee, “had been reported at different times in the high country, and it was to be , hoped that the Government wouldiremove ,protection from these animals' in : the society's district, .so that- they could, be destroyed! 6iT sight, .otherwise the deer. would be blamed'for the destruction of; the beautiful Alpine flora, when, undoubtedly, thar and chamois were ‘ the culprit's.” -The recommendation was adopted unanimously, ■ - - “ v , In .the - City Police Court, yesterday morning, before Mr J. E. Bartholomew, S.M., Cyril Falconer, who was represented by' Mr' 0, J;- Cooke," was charged -with being; a rogue and vagabondi with being found by night on the premises. of John Thomas Alcock ;at. ,Waikouaiti; and with assaulting John Thomas Alcock so as to cause him bodily Harm.. In asking»for a remand. Senior Sergeant Quartermam said that the accused had,, been, found nt 1.30 a.m. in Mr Alcook’s garden. .On being spoken to he-became abusive,' and after knocking- -Mr Alcock. down, kicked him so. severely that two ribs were broken. Mr Cooke said that there appeared to have been .some mistake and that the ■wrong man had been arrested,' for, the accused, whilst he, admitted going through Mr Alcock’s garden, denied assaulting or even seeing him. A remand until Monday was, granted, bail being allowed in the accused’s, own recognisances of £l6O, add one surety of £IOO, or two of £SO, conditional on his reporting daily to the policed Charged with drunkenness, Arthur Ernest M'Ginn, a statutory first offender, was fined 10s, in default 24 hours’ imprisonment. In the afternoon, John Murdoch appeared before Mr. Bartholomew on a charge of keeping a common gaming house at 20-Prince Albert road, St. Kilda, and Hugh Chooquee.was charged, with allowing the premises to be used for this purpose.. Mr White appeared, for both of the accused, who, on the application of Detective .Sergeant Nuttall, were remanded until May 16, bail being allowed in each case on the accuseds’ own recognisances of £SO and one surety of £SO. Mr L. J. Schmitt, who was recently appointed Trade Commissionerfor New Zea-land-in Australia, met the executive of the' Dunedin Chamber of Commerce yesterday morning, and discussed with it various matters connected with Australia’s trade and tourist traffic. Mr Schmitt expressed the hope that/'his, knowledge of the conditions here would enable him,to render considerable service in Australia, and said he felt that as the result of his visit and the'new i departure taken fay his appointment there would be considerable development in trade- relations between Australia and New Zealand. / ' A fight between a flock of starlings and a' hawk was witnessed over Camp Farm, Otahuhu the other day. The swarm of starlings must have numbered thousands,' apd they manoeuvred with a .precision that seemed ahnost uncanny. The hawk was able to keep the smaller birds at a distance for a while, but when it attempted to break away the starlings would head it off. As. the larger bird began to weaken, the starlings. plucked up courage, and appeared to be picking it to pieces. As a last resort the hawk tried to fly high, but weight of numbers began to tell, and after a final rally the hawk’s body was seen to drop toward the earth with the victorious starlings iu hot pursuit. During this conUst a smaller flock of starlings near, but took no part in the fight. During the hearing of a deputation in Christchurch yesterday from tomato and fruitgrowers* and other smallholders, the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr P. A. de la Perrelle) stated that it - was the povernment’s wish to put unemployed men on small holdings, and hinted that ah area of. land for that purpose might be obtained near Christchurch. Several remarks had been made about small holding, said Mr de la Perrelle. He could say that Sir Joseph Ward was determined to popularise small holdings; One of the .hopes for the relief of tho-unem-ployed was to give the men close to centres of population small holdings of their own, not that they could necessarily make living from .the land, but so that they might have homes for their wives and families even if they had to .find seasonal work elsewhere. .“As soon, as that ,is, dqnp <we wRI have good citizenship,’’ said Mr de la Perrelle.

A discussion arose at the ' meeting of the General Committee of the Auckland Manufacturers’ Association' on -Monday, out of a letter from the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation, asking-for an expression of opinion regarding the ob-servance-of Anzac-,Day. It .was stated that .as Anzac Day tended ,tq be regarded more-as a-holiday while observed on a week-day, its purpose would be better served if it were observed. on a Sunday. Air J. Alills-Falmer * said the question should be' decided by majority, of the people- and not by a small group. From what he. could gather the greater -proportion of the public- was in favour of it's observance on Sunday, Certainly the labour-, ing and business classes objected to having a holiday in the middle of the week, owing to the financial loss. The'chairman (Mr G. Finn) said he thought-most people would support -Mr Alills-Palmef. ■/ Anzac Day on a week-day was a costly anniversary/' Ale W. H. V. Taine also' supported Air Mills-Palhler,- who moved that’ in view of the fact-that Anzac'Day was essentially a day; of - revereht commemoration; and not a holiday in-the ordinary sense, the association strongly recommended that in future the occasion be commemorated on the nearest Sunday. The resolution was carried. ■ / The new Post Office for Christchurch will, it is understood, be commenced shortly after the completion of -the 'rebuilding , of the Dunedin Post Office, on which the,’’contractors have been at-work for, the last two years.. The scheme for Christchurch is. the rebuilding of the office on the present site. l - - “ There - are more ,' toheroas on the Ninety-mile Beach - this season than’•ther e have-been' for the last seven years,’/ said Mr W. K. MTiean, .of Northland Canneries, Ltd.,' to a New. Zealand Herald reporter bn'; Monday. “.Every, year some small portions'; of -.the -tbheroa .beds, are covered by sand- driven by easterly winds, but when, it is understood that the beds cover a distance-of—oyer 60 mile's ‘it is', not reason able - toeugges t that, the toheroa beds are obliterated merely because' two miles; of them have, been covered by sand.” Air; Al'Lean said that the,present happening near Hukater e was‘unusual, as it was 19 years since such a thing,-had occurred previously. The' loss would, however, in uo .way hamper panning operations for the coming season; -as’'.the banners had more thaUij .sufficient - for their requirements ■ south -of .Hukatere. - He said, the: toheroas that are left could avoid the affected area, and the extra' food available would’ enable the survivors to grow to, maturity A bachelor whose.menage consists of four cats-and a fds terrier, recently watched an amusing display of animal jealousy. A kitten, -which had wandered into the .house in search of a meal, joined the family, and the bachelor made ‘ something of a fuss of it. .Next/day; -when he; came home from .work, the kitten was missing, but ; the following morning he heard.it mewing, and/discovered, it lost in a scrub-filled gully about 50:yards from-the house. He brought it -back -and set .it down in ~the kitchen with .a saucer of- milk} and turned to. go on . with his task; of washing, the plates.. Looking round , a fewseconds later; he saw, the;-fox terrier, pick up .the kitten by .the scruff of'the neck and tiptoe outside. ,He fol lowed the terrier- and watched : him • drop the kitten' in the densest part of the scrub. phviously in the hope of - getting ■ rid •of - a rival in ■ his master’s'affections. When the-bitten was rescued a second '.time," the dog decided he would have to .put up with it, and the kitten is now ; an accepted member ,of the family, Alethodist ministers /in the'Auckland district are about to bevpfovided with" a comfortable retreat at Takapuna (states the NeW'Zealand Herald); /The movement started with a. bequest made, in, the will of the -Rev, W. S.' Hotter, a' veteran minister .of the church, who; died in Auckland :two' of three-years ago; for- the’ purpose Of. providing a' rest home for clergymen, and the fund iS/to besupplemented by any donations received; from others. A property in Tennyson;, avenue, ad joining the /Takapuna /Methodist parsonage, on ■ which stands a six-roomed dwelling, has /been detached, by subdivision from the local church property and vested in separate .trustees.. As ’soon as the necessary arrangements can be Completed the home will be made available for the use of ministers who are. in need' of, recuperation. It will be managed by a: body kndwn as the rest / house board,' of ; which the Chairman of/the A.upkland .district ministers will L be the head. No permanent staff will:.be. maintained by the trust, each minister who uses the. home making his .arrangements, ' . / }' - A Contribution bf; f 1 from' * HW-.S.’* .to the /maternal' welfare fund ia, acknowledged. ' /. W; V. Sturmef, G.A.0.C., D.5.0.l optician. Consulting room, 2 Octßgop Dunedin. Most modern scientifie equipment for sight testihg.—Advi. ~ A-..-,B; J- Blakeley and W . I-C, Bagiev, dentists: Bank of Australasia, /corner of Bond ’ and Rattray streets ‘ (heit Tete graph Office) Telephone 12*359.—AdvtS. E. Ferguson/ qualified, optician' and refraetioniet, 6.P 0.C., 45 .George 'street Twenty years’ experience in sight-testing .and spectacle fitting. If your eyes trouble you. .comult us. , Doctors’ - prescriptions £i|reyil|j: “faltmided - to.—AdvW I ' ' Choice Jewellery.—Cdmpa'fe bnr values. Just landed, large , selection Diamond Rings, Reliable Watches. Jewellery arid Silverware.—Peter, Dick. . the most' reliable jewellers, watchmakers, and' opticians, 490 Moray, place. .Dunedin. — Advt.