NEW ZEALAND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 16

NEW ZEALAND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Second Dat. The New Zealand Educational Institute •xesumed its annual sitting at the Town Hall on the sth inst., there being a largo attendance of delegates, the president W. Xewton) in the chair. During the 'morning sitting Sir Robert Stout, Messrs D. A. M'Nicoll, D. R. White, M. Cohen, and Inspectors Bossence and Richardson attended as listeners, and were welcomed %y the president. SCHOOL DUTIES. Mr G. M'Morran, on behalf of the Wellington district, moved — " That at lcaet one session of the annual meeting of the "^N.Z.E.I. should be devoted to topics connected with the dibcharge of school dutie 3 ." 'In the course of lids somewhat lengthy remark}, Mr M'Morran said that after attend - 'iing come of these meetings he had almost losclved :K)t to go again — he had not found theuj profitable and helpful to the extent that they might be. In America the •National Education Association of representing the largest body 'of educators j* the world, devoted much attention to such subjects. He would eug<g«st as some topics: (1) How can the schools best assist in solving the problems 'pi national defence? (2) How far, in our is the free-place system a bucx»eas? (3) In what ways -can w« best assist in the smooth working of our educational system? (4) What i 3 the position of teachers 'with respect to public displays and ceremonies? (5) The epiri* of the syllabus — is it, and how best carried out ? (6) Is 'r]feoent oriticism justified? (7) How can '/w« best maintain intecrest in the local institute meetings? He considered it the duty of delegates to educate not only themselves ■but also the public. Mr Warley seconded the motion, which V^as supported by Messrs Davidson, Owen, J^ffery, Smith, Ferguson, and others. Tho motion was carried, the President stating^ in reply to a question, that the resolution applied to next meeting. FTJRTHE3 SYLLABUS MATTEKS. Mr F. J. Rowley moved, on behalf of Bawke's Bay — "That in drawing up English examination papers more attention. be paid to formal grammar." Negatived on the voices. Mr H. G. Cousins, in a lengthy speech, Tnoved a.rpmft from Auckland— " That the .mathematical and other difficult portions Jn Course A, geography, be deleted from the syllabus or transferred to Course B, and that a portion of Course B be subKtituted in lieu thereof." The motion was carried after con^idorablo discussion. Mr R. B. Eohnes fHawke's Bay^ rno\ cx 1 — "" That the travelling expenses of the oxrvutivo be paid out of the general fund." — This was seconded by Mr M'Kcnzie anJ carried. Mr D. M'Lennan fHawke's Bay) movp<! — "That ri".* '■hooting should l>e plac°d on iJio c yl'abu~ as an optional subject." The motion was lost. ADIfIXISTBATTGX. Mr J. Caujrhiey, M.A. (W^liv.u^ sr.ovcd — '"Tlat the Muiister of Education hi. requested to see thai the Ecu

' Act is administered by the Education j Boards in accordanc-o "with the provisions j of the act, and of the departmental regulations." J Mr MacMorran, in seconding the motion, said it was clearly the duty of the man. in charge of the department to ace that the ' act was given effect to. j The motion was unanimously agreed to. j Mr Lippiatt, M.A. (Auckland), moved — 5 " That the Minister of Education be asked to pay the actual expenses or transfer of teachers from on© school to another." — Lost. Mr A. N. Tyndall (Otago) moved— " That the Minister of Education be asked to classify teachers and positions, and to control all appointments. " The mover, having p touched on the election of school committees, endeavoured to show that it was not possible to have an adequate scheme of , promotion under the present powers of t.he Education Boards and school committees. Mr Jeffery seoond<ed the motion. A delegate strongly opposed the idea of lodging such powers with any political ' individual. The remit was then withdrawn. Mr W. Foster (Wellington) moved— "That the Minister of Education be asked to frame regulations so as to provide for th© Education Department's acceptance of % medical certificate on the first entrance of a teacher into the teaohing profession." — Carried. Mr Valentine (South Canterbury) moved — " That the Minister of Education be respectfully asked to formulate a tentative scheme for promotion of teachers, such scheme to embody the principle accepted by the institute at its meeting in 1908." — Agreed to. The remit was agreed to, Mr C. R. Munro (Auckland) moved— " That the inspectors of the Dominion should be placed under the control of the central department with respect to the interpretation of the regulation* and of the syllabus." — This was -seconded by Mr Lippiatt and aereed to. Mr R. B. Holmes fHawke's Bay) moved — ''That a colonial scale of salaries for the inspectorate i* urgently needed." Mr F. J. Rowley, 8.A., seconded the moticn Mr Davidson said he thought perhaps the teachers had belter wait till asked to interfere in tho matter of inspectors' salaries. Mr Munro nouited out. that there were men round tFat table who could be in- ! specter-, and who v.culd be inspectors wera j it not for the -.ir illness cf the inspectorial salary. aiM by pas'inn: this remit they vron'd bo !ooL : r,£- after their own interests. Th 3 remit wo., agreed to. Tuiud Day — .Taxiwbt 6. Tho Ne<v Zealand Educational Institute upon its thiid day's, fitting 6n Wpf'p-csday moi-niny at 933 delejraias at-ti-nnii'o; in lartje nami^ei-, and Mr W. Xcv.ton prc-iding. \nr,ltE-5.S Bl Sir. ROBKKT STOrT. Sn Robot Stot'f. who attended the meet)ii'r. \\a<, invited ro address those present, und did so. lie said (hat tho delegates v. of> .-"ssemblpd to deal with practical r.. arty s as exports, and ho uas not an e T ; e/t. Yd ho might venture to sny a

j word or two on the subject of the aim? of education. To be a great people it was j not necessary to possess great wealth or j great territory. Greece, Palestine, Babyj Ion — these were relatively small in territory, yet they had left their mark on the ages. Greatness depended upon the sort of people that were reared, and that in turn largely depended upon the teachers. It was in their hands to influence the rising generation. Environment was more important than heredity. In his boyhood days he knew a teacher who gave science the prominent place in the school work. From ten years of age the pupils had " Chambers's Introduction to Science " as their chief class-book. The senior classes were taken on excursions to study botany, geology, etc. As a result every individual of that senior class afterwards became distinguished in the world of science. This showed the influence of the teacher in guiding boys and girls in their struggle for knowledge. Teachers nowadays had enormous advantages over the teachers of earlier times, not only in social position, but also in having better conditions for teaching. The school was the unifying force in tho State, and was now taking the Slace of the Church in creating sooial conitions. Teachers should strive to maintain a purely secular system of education. Many of the teachers of the past had done noble work in the moulding of the State. Their names may not have been recorded in the history of the Dominion: their services may not have been lauded in the public press ; they may have passed from this life " Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung"; but they had performed an ennobling work in produqing a nation of brave, thrifty, and intelligent people. Sir Robert's remarks were, frequently applauded, and a hearty vote of thanks was tendered him at the close of his address. ATTENDANCE OF SCHOLARS. The institute then took u£ the ordinary business, Mr J. A. Valentine moving a remit from South Canterbury as follows—- '• That the Minister of Education be respectfully requested to introduce legislation I that shall make it compulsory for pupils ; attending the primary sch6ols of the I Dominion to attend e\-cry time their school jis open, the usual exemptions being allowed." | The adoption of the remit was seconded ' by Mr Thomas, and spoken to by Mr j Carrington, who said it was intolerable 1 that a pa.re.nt who was fined for the truancy ! of one child should be able to letaliate by | keeping at home all his children for one day in the week. The truancy regulations | ought to be so amended as to avoid a ! policy of pin-pricking parents who could not help absence, and at the same time would prevent culpable parents from escap--1 ing punishment. The remit was adopted. 1 TEACHEP.S' SALARIESMr Valentine then moved a remit from '< Westland — " That no teacher shall suffer a , loss in salary through a drop in attendance > until he lias a chance of transfer to a ) position of equal salary." Cases of hard.ship had occurred on the West Coast owing to there being po places to winch a teacher could be transferred. Tho motion was seconded by Mr Worley, and carried without discussion.

PUPILS ENTEBING A HIGH SCHOOL Mr E. Smith, on behalf of Southland, moved a remit: "That a leaving certificate he I granted to primary school children, and that the entrance to the high schools should b© determined by special examinations." Explaining trie position, Mr Smith said there were now two certificates — one of proficiency and one of competency, — and there was a feeling that the competency certificate was useless because of its depenenoe on the other. — Lost* THE DECIDING OF APPOINTMENTS AND PROMOTIONS. Mr Valentine moved, on behalf of W«etl»nd:—"That appointments and promotions shall bo decided by merit, length of service, and experience, irrespective of whether the applicant is ineide or outside the district in which the vacancy occurs." Though the legislation of last session declared that boards shall consider the claims of all ap* plicante, there was no means in the Dominion of compelling boards to do this. The remit aimed at securing legislation that would give an equal chance of promotion to dtl qualified applicants. . Mr Tyndall seconded the motion, which was carried. TEACHKBS OF INFANT DEPABTMENTS. The following remit from Southland was moved by Mr A. Ingtis : — " That & fixed position on the staff be allotted to the teacher of the infant department of primary schools. 1 ' The mover pointed out that two boards classified the teachers of the infant department aa the second assistant, the other boards giving the classification of third, and this, he considered, was unfair. He also mentioned that the teaching of in- ; fants was specialised work, and involved speoial training. Mr W- Davidson seconded the motion. Miss H. Grant mov-ed, and Miss E. Chaplin seconded, as an amendment:— ''That paragraph C, eecond schedule of The Education \ct Amendment Act, 1908,' ehould be amended by deleting the word 'three apd substituting the word ' two ' m lieu thereof " The paragraph would then read : At least one of the first two assistants in any school shall be a womap." After further discussion, the amendment was carried, and Mr Marshall, having men- 1 tioned that he intended to move a further ( amendment, the luncheon adjournment was taken. OFEICEHS. i The institute having resumed, the election of officers for 1909 was proceeded with, and Messrs H. G. Cousins and L. F. de Berry ha\ing- been appointed scrutineers, resulted as follows.: —President, Mr G. \V. C. Maodonald. Otago (nominated by Otago and Southland) ; secretary, Mr Wiliam Fostftr. 8.A., Wellington (nominated by Wei- j lington, Otago, South Oanterburv, and , G-r«y) ; treasurer, Mr Thomas Hughes, ' 8.A.. Waltham, Christchurch (nominated by North Canterbury, Scuth Canterbury, Wellington, and Grey). Non-offioial members of executive: North Island, Mr G. W. Murray, Auckland (nominated by Auckland, ' Wangar.ui, and Taranaki); Wellington Education District, Mr John Caughlev M.A., "Wellington (nominated by Wellington, Otaf?o, Taranaki, and South Canterbury) ; ' .South Inland, Mr J. H. Harkness. 8.A., j Reefton (nominated by Grey, Wellington, ; j Otagro, Wanganui, and Auckland). ! i Eulcgl tic j.-ofercices were made to tho

excellent work done by the secretary (Mr Foster), and it was resolved, on the motion of Mr A. Marshall, seconded by Mr J. Menzies, that his honorarium be increased from £30 to £40 a year. Mr T. Hughes, In moving t/he adoption of the balance sheet, complimented the institute on a successful financial year. The legel diefenee fund by the end of the yeans should show a considerable balance over £1000. In seconding the motion, Mr Cousins suggested the formation of a com-, mitte© to regulate the sendrag in of ways and means. He congratulated the treasurer (Mr Hughes) on ms efficient work. The statement of funds for the year ending 31st December 1908, showed receipts at £1404 2s 6id; balance in bank, £460 15s Bd, less outstanding cheques, £62 4s o£d; expenditure (investment on mortgage, deposit in savings bank, etc., etc.), £1005 10s lid. Tho legal defence fund was shown as standing at £1059 15a Id. The President stated that the membership at present amounted to 2217, an increase of 348 since last annual meeting 1 . Mr Aitiken said this large increase of members was largely due to the president's personal efforts, and he didl not think the matter should be passed on without the meeting expressing appreciation of what the president had done. The balance sheet was adopted. The pyesident-eleot having entered th« rcom, the President heartily congratulated him on his being elected unopposed. Mr Macdonald said he felt proudf to be elected the president of such a body as the New Zealand Educational Institute. He thanked members of the institute for the honour they had done him. — (Applause.) FEIXAtE TEACHERS. Discussion on the remit — "That a fixed position on the staff be allotted to the teacher of the ■infant department of primary schools " was then continued. Mr Angus Marshall moved as an amendment — "That in the scale of sbaffe and; salaries the positions for men and women teachers be shown separately, and that' wbere there are two or more women on the staff the first be designated ' mistress ' and , be paid a salary not less than that received! j by the second male assistant." — This was i lost, and a further amendment by Mr , Marshall was ruled out of order. Mr Parkinson moved that the institute • proceed to the next business. This being carried, Mr Cousins said the carrying of this motion after the manner in which the question, had been debated showed a great lack of courtesy to anil consideration for , the ladies. He moved that the houso I divide. The house divided : Ayes 30, Nces 21. Mir A. Ingl >3. M.A. (Southland) moved— | "That the 'Education Department be asked to formulate regulations as to sick leave l granted to teacher 3, taking into con=idera- ! tion length of service while drafting these; | and also to allow for the granting of leave of absence on full nay after certain periods of service as is the case in some of the Australian State?.'"' Mr Davidson, in seconding th*> motion, said tho vomit was sound and should be , sent on to the department. The remit waa carried. i Mr S. C Owen (Norbh Canterbury) moved—" That this institute consi^re that x>udU teachers who are compelled under

boards' regulations to sit for niatriculatior exeminations should not have to pay ex amination fees." Seconded by Mr AiH-en, and carried. UNIFORM SCHOOL BOOKS. Mr T. Hughes /(North Canterbury) moved — " That in the interest of education the introduction of uniform school books is undesirable." In doing so be said uniform school books were against the interests of chiild and teacher. The sacrifice parents were called on to undergo would be amply compensated for by the better education their child Ten would jjiain- The collateral disadvantages of uniform text books would be great, and such would be kept in force long after better books wore available at the publishers. Mr Hardy seconded the motion, which was carried after some discussion. Mr.' J. A. Cowks, B.A. (Wellington), moved — "That the N.Z.E.I. bring before the notice , of the Minister for Education the necessity for providing for better physical ccnd.ir.ions for the childiren in our schools, especially with regard to heating and outside sheker." This wfes seconded by Miss M. H. Craig, and carried. Mr Bowden (Auckland) moved—" That teachers' houses be fitted with modern conveniences of life," and, in doing so, said that in Auckland quite a number of teachers* houses weire unprovided with bathrooms. There were seldom washhouses, and the wa»hf.n<r bad to be don* in the kitchen. The Government had enected workmen's homes,^ and these were fitted with every convenience. Mr Tyndall seconded the motion, which was carried after discussion. Mr Marshall (Otago) moved, and Air Carrrng'ton seconded— " That in the best interests of education, Education Beards be. requested to grant their teachers .*wo or more day? in every year for the purpose of visitinsr the best .schools in the various educational dietricta.'' — Carried. The remit—'" Tha* the attention of the Education Department be drawn to the existing discrepancy in the fees payable for the subjects in Class C examination '" — was moved by Mr W. J. Evans (Taranaki), seconded by Mr M'llroy, and carried. The remit— " That the Government be asked to s-et up a permanent commission to, revise place aiames in New Zealand with a view to removing anorralies in the repetition of the same name and in spelling, and to bestow new names " — caused a division, and was carried by a majority of four. The main objection of the " No's" was that the remit was not in the province of the institute. It was resolved that the following be a N recommendation— "That the district institutes consider the propriety of establishing branches of the League of the Empire in their districts." The institute having resumed at 7.30 p.m., consideration of remit 29, to which the closure had been applied in the afternoon, was reonened. and it was resolved that Mr Marshall have leave to nut his ampndment in an amended form. Mr Marshall then put his amendment, which was lost. Miss Craig pointed out that conditions Erevaihng in various districts were so dif;rent that the matter might well be shelved for a year. Finally it was decided to proceed with the next business. _ RESOLUTIONS. j In accordance with notice of motion, Mr J. Aitken (Wansrenui) moved— "ln the opinion of this institute, the present method of electing members to seats on Education Boards is unsatisfactory, and ought to be superseded hy soine method which will (1) give the suffrage for the election of boards to householders, as defined in the Education Act. and (2) bring up the members of boards periodically for re-election."— Lest. Mr G. MacMorran (Wellington) mover 1 — " That district institute, especially i" the larger centres, should take into consideration the question of the use of OadeK of school children, and of public school teachers for purpose of display, with the tfiew of taking action to limit such displays." He denrecnted the calling out of Bchool Cadets for displays on all kinds of occasions, and said that it grated upon them to know that they were being used In such ways for, sometimes, such mean ends; or, perhaps, for the glorification of some public servant. In seconding: fche motion, Mr Cousins eaid that if the whole emphasis of the "fetork was devoted to perfecting the inwardli^ds of the Cadet movement it would be better for the Cadet movement. There could fa© no doubt that often tho Cadets wexe used as an advertisement for certain people wi© jveeded that advertisement. — ("'Hear, Shear.") There was a dangerous tendency f{>r people to praise the Cadets ?nd to p=<v iia£ they did better than the Volunteers, jy^is gave the Cade'te "swelled head,*' and "Was unfair to the Volunteers. The motion was carried.

i Mr A. Inglis (Southland) moved— "That - the Minister of Education be asked to siate definitely before the end of January the grounds upon which the proviso to clause 12, Teacher 1 ?' Superannuation, will be ma.de operative. 13 The motion was agreed to. i Mr J. R. A. Gifford (Marlboroug-h) moved — '" That this institute would respectfully draw the attention of che Minister of Education to the fact that the Maryborough Education Board, by appointing its teacheis only from year to year, makes a deliberate attempt to deprive its teachers of the privileges and benefits conferred upon them by the Teachers' Incorporation and Court of Appeal Act." Afr In.glis seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr F G. Gibbs (Wellington) moved— " That experience in a school in Grade 1 should be allowed to count half time in the 6crvice qualification for a certificate.' 1 ■ Thi s was seconded by Mr W. F. Worley, and carried. _ Mr Cousins obtained leave to move without notice—" That the attention of district institutes be do-awn to clau&e 11 of the constitution.*' A %ote of thanks to the officers of the institute was passed on the motion of "Mr Jeffery. , The President having replied or behalf of the executive, votes' of thanks were accorded to the chairman of committees (Mr J. H. Harkness), the acting assistant secretary (Mr 0. D. Flamank), to the auditor (Mr H. G. Cousins, M.A.). j Mr Cousin 9 proposed a vote of thanks to the Otago Institute for its hospitality. This had been the most agreeable meeting they had ever held. There had been no "phalanxes,"' and everything had gone off with great smoothness and pleasantness. ' Mr G. W. Carrington, o n behalf of the Otago Educational Institute, said he felt certain that that meeting of the institute ; had been conducted in a manned which would make that meeting one to be looked i back to with pleasure. The members from j other parts were heartily welcome to Otago. ' 1 Votes of thanks were tendered to his ■ Worship the Mayor and City Council for the U3B of the Council Chambers ; to the ■ committee of the Dunediu Atfoenfflum. and to the management of the Kaikorai Tram- | ways for its courtesies; to tho Minister of Education for the grant of £100 towards ' the travelling expenses of the institute, aawi , to the press of Dunedin for the excellent | \ reports of the proceedings that had ap- , pared in both papers. j ; The next annual meeting of the institute will be held in Wellington. j i I