M'GIASHAN COLLEGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22367, 14 September 1934, Page 7

M'GIASHAN COLLEGE

NEW HEADMASTER WELCOMED RECEPTION BY GOVERNORS AND PARENTS FUNCTION IN TUDOR HALL The Tudor Hall, Savoy, was the scene of an important function last evening when the Board of Governors of John M'Glashan College, together with parents of pupils, old boys, and friends of the school met to welcome Mr K. G. C. M'Nab, the new headmaster, and Mrs M'Nab. The chairman of the board (Mr T. C. Ross) presided, and with Mrs Ross and Mrs Stevenson (the mother of the head boy of the school) received the guests and introduced them to Mr and Mis M'Nab. , „ , Mrs Stevenson presented Mrs MNab with a bouquet of flowers comprising the college colours (red, blue, and gold) with streamers to match. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS.

The chairman, in welcoming the guests of the evening, said he would first of all like to express his pleasure and that ot the Board of Governors at seeing such a large gathering to meet Mr and Mrs M'Nab. It augured well for the schpo when so many of its supporters rallied round it to welcome its new headmaster. Although to most of them that was the first opportunity of studying Mr at close quarters, he had been in Dun-, edin for nearly a fortnight, during which time he and the speaker had had plenty of time to size up each other. they had found themselves in agreement m one important matter at least, and that was that public speaking should be indulged in as little as possible. Mi M'Nab bad also taken to heart the replj which one of the Kings of Israel gave to the King of Syria, “ Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as lie that putteth it oft, and he preferred to let his works speak for him rather than to make large promises about what he proposed to do. He recently re-read a book entitled " The Lighter Side ot School Life,” by lan Hay, a writer who had a light touch, but nevertheless brought out some very sound philosophy. -Una book was dedicated *to the members of the most responsible,, the least adve • tised, the worst paid, and the most richly rewarded profession in the world. The author described in + some.detail the headmaster, and stipulated first of all that he must be a scholar and. a gent e man, and rightly laid emP h « » “gentleman,” as boys.were rcmaikai y keen judges of their masters, and recognised and looked up to a gentleman without worrying their heads agg his family tree or lack of it. ran n > also stipulated that a headmaster niust have a sense of humour, otherwise he W “He C must n also? without spying, know everything that goes on in his school Mr Rosa continued. “He must be a g°°d manM business, be able to run the scW on his own responsibility for. months at a time, and finally satisfy an ignorant and inquisitive board of governors which meets at very infrequent intervals. After spec lying all these virtues the author concludes’ by saying that the man who can run a great public school is fat to run me British Empire. The rich rewards spoken ofare intangible, but very real and very precious, being tie affection and trust of fo ßaSSiA”rid Mr M'Nab’. heart by S.»atr«li»S he is expected to-be, I T°u ld m nnJ this ideal is only reached after many years of experience, 'and we are not so unreasonable as to. ask him to attain such full stature immediately, we ne lieve that in the John M GlasLan College we have a school which in spite of its early troubles is now firmly established, though like most educational establishment" it still suffers reason of the financial stringency which over shadowed the country of late. Mr M'Nab had come to them from one of the oldest schools in the country to one of the youngest, which, thanks to the untiring efforts of his predecesor (Mr Gil ray) "and his staff, had come to be considered one of the most promising schools in the country, Mr M'Nab had advantages of being first of all of Scotch parentage and also being a comparatively voung man. The board trusted and believed that under his direction the college would continue to prosper and to turn out good citizens for the country, who would in various ways give it the benefit of the lessons of patriotism and service had imbibed during their schooldays. In conclusion, he would assure Mr MNab. that he could rely upon the support and kindly interest of the board, the parents, and last, but not least, of that young and enthusiastic body, the Old Collegians Association.— (Applause.)

SPOKESMAN 1 FOR PARENTS. Mr J. M. Fraser, speaking on behalf of the parents of boys at the school and ot past pupils, said: Mr MNab came to them from Wanganui College with a first-class reputation for discipline, scholarship, and love of school tradition, and they considered themselves fortunate in securing his services. If any evidence were necessary to convince them tuat they, as parents, were fortunate, tfaey had it in the spontaneous expression of devotion and loyalty expressed by his expupils who were residing in Dunedin. To his mind, this was rather remarkable. Looking back on one’s schooldays after a period of years, one was prone to forget and forgive the shortcomings of the teacher and magnify any virtue winch one could find in his character, ihat Mr M'Nab had retained the respect and admiration of his most recent pupils was, therefore, the more remarkable. It proved conclusively that Mr M‘N ab s association with his pupils had been tempered with that most admirable and essential quality in any teacher —justice in hie dealings with them. After all, nothing appealed more to a boy’s mind than a sense of justice and fairness in his teacher. “On the other hand, said Mr hraser, “ I consider that Mr M'Nab is fortunate in attaining his present position in Dunedin. He comes to a college which, compared with the great schools of this Dominion, is still in its infancy. He is a young man, full of ambition to make good, and we have every confidence that he will do so. M'Glashan College, although so young, has already commenced to build up its traditions, and we are sure that we can leave the keeping and extension of these traditions safely in the hands of our new rector. Our late rector. Mr Gilray, built up the tone and esprit de corps of the school in a remarkable manner, and we consider that Mr M'Nab has an excellent foundation to build on. Added to this. Mr and Mrs M'Nab have the added good fortune of residing in a city imbued with a university atmosphere. We consider our city tlie leading one of the Dominion and, while on account of our Scottish nationality we may be somewhat backward in making friends. I would like to assure Mr and Mrs M'Nab that we pride ourselves on our city’s hospitality and friendship to new arrivals.” On behalf of the parents of the M'Glashan College boys, bo extended to Mr and Mrs M'Nab the heartiest welcome. He trusted they would find everything pertaining to their new position most congenial, and he felt sure that M'Glashan would continue to prosper under their control. He could assure them of the sympathy and help of the parents, who. hoped that they might long continue to guide the destinies of the college. That they might both enjoy good health and their stay in Dunedin was the sincere wish of every parent present.—(Applause.) MR M'NAB’S REPLY.

Mr M'Nab, in reply, said he had to thank them on behalf of Mrs M'Nab and himself for the warmth of their welcome. It was not unexpected. From the day, some months ago, when he met Mr Foss and Mr Begg in Wanganui, he felt that there was a peculiar warmth and kindness about the school. AH communications with old boys and staff strengthened the impression/ and it was clear that any principal coming 'here would receive the sincere and friendly co-operation of all who should be helping the school. The experience of the last few days and of that night’s function was one more confirmation. He could only hope that they would never have cause to regret their support of the choice of the Board of Governors, and he assured them that he would do his best to justify the board’s confidence and their own encouragement, lie was well aware of the capacity of the maji whose place he was taking, and the prestige he had won for the John M’Glashan College. He hoped it would be maintained.

“ It would he futile at this stage,” be said, “to refer either to my own definite plans, or to report upon the school. During the next three months. I will carry on the policy and organisation of .my predecessor, and thereafter will interfere with them only when some change seems unavoidable. My knowledge of M'Glashan boys is, as yet, scanty, but it is sufficient to indicate that they have an intense admiration and affection for their school, and that they are well thought.of by the community. That is something to be proud of and worth preserving at all cost.”

One question they were entitled to ask, however, he said, and it was his duty to answer it. “What was his conception of the duties of headmaster? ” There had recently been conducted in England a controversy which was something to the point. At Eton, Harrow, and Uppingham there had been lately appointed young headmasters, who were university dons, not professional schoolmasters. This did not please everyone. One controversialist, the Rev. Adam Fox, fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, had declared that the headmaster of a public school should have three qualities—business, capacity, social case, even to the point of agility, a flair for making an impression in public. Ho mentioned other desirable, but not indispensable, qualities—that he should be a good teacher, a good speaker, a goodlooking man, or good with the boys. There was more than a touch of worldliness about these prescriptions, and he hoped that they were not in the minds of those who appointed him. It seemed to him that the position was very different, especially when one regarded New Zealand headmasters of acknowledged greatness like J. W. Tibbs, of Auckland Grammar School, or J. P. Firth, of Wellington College. “ I believe,” said Mr M'Nab, “ that these men regarded their schools more as places of learning than is the fashion today. They had a reverence, for scholarship, a determination to display its intangible rewards, and a determination to make their boys work. Balance has sometimes been lost in letting it appear that character building is better achieved by organised athleticism and by other out-of-school activities. True, such influences arc powerful, but character building is most successful when it is least talked about and it is done imperceptibly. I believe that to produce good habits of thought, speech, and conduct is the chief work of a headmaster, and it was the great achievement of men like Mr Tibbs and Mr Firth, ns it was in England of Percival, Almond, and Thring, but most was done in the classroom. The work there is designed to inculcate a regard for truth and a respect for facts, to train the niind, to exercise the memory, to develop powers of reasoning, to encourage initiative and to cultivate powers ol expression, and it is in the classroom that boys come into closest relation with the master in his true capacity of leader, controller, and instructor. -There the master’s best qualities—his patience, kindness, his mental and moral superiority, and the force of his personality are called into play. It is the. business of the headmaster to see that in his school the classroom, the playing field, and other methods of training receive their due consideration, but the greatest of. these is the classroom.”

Continuing, Mr M'Nab said iie would also try to see that M'Glashan went about its affairs quietly, without fuss or undue publicity. At appropriate times, no doubt, their doings would be reported by the press, and no one desired a return to monastic conditions, but in some ways they were preferable to the by no means rare modern circumstances in which newspaper attention was unwarrantably directed upon schools, upon the activities of masters and boys. He had no intention of being one of that type of English headmaster described by a wise old man, George Saintsbury, who spoke of “the modern busybody who runs about to congresses and talks, and who sometimes merely administers and does not teach at all.” No, he hoped that they would be left quietly to go about their work, and that they would do it thoroughly and well, without fear or favour, and with confidence that their manners were making men. From his own observation of three good headmasters in whise service he had been lucky enough to work, he could say that the headmaster should perform the most trivial duty cheerfully; he should have complete self-control, he should be inspired by tradition, but not wedded to it; sympathetic to new ideas, but quick to detect the crank; fair to masters and to boys; firm, yet forbearing, with parents; conscious that his was a work of creation in the most precious materials. _ , _ “In all humility may I say that I accept those ideals as my own, and that I pray that from this religious foundation there will emerge young men tolerant, but firmly grounded in Christian conduct with that sense of freedom and individual responsibility which has been a principle of the Church which founded the school.” —(Applause.) , He understood, said Mr M Nab, that it ■ had been considered desirable that a parents’ association should be formed. To be quite frank,’he had had no experience of such organisations, which, in his opinion, were quite unnecessary. He said this for the reason that he knew of two instances where in later years they had caused friction between the college and themselves. His first request on assuming the headmastership would be for such a matter to be deferred for consideration next year. In this connection he would be plad at all times to see parents who were anxious to appreciate and understand the external workings of the college. _ During the evening musical items, which were much appreciated, were rendered by Miss Teviotdale and Mr J. iv. Davies,‘and after supper those present had an opportunity of talking to Mr and Mrs M'Nab and other members of the staff. ________