N.Z. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE

Otago Witness, Issue 3017, 10 January 1912, Page 13

N.Z. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE

ANNUAL MEETING. TIMARU, January 3. The annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute was opened hero today. All tho officers and delegates were present at the opening except live. Ihe Mayor (Mr J. Craigie, M.P.), and Mr J. Hamilton (chairman of tho Education Board) gave the delegates a cordial welcome to Timaru. The President (Mr 0. D. Fiamank), in his address dealt with health instruction in schools, including for those over 12 lessons in sexual physiology. Tho salient features of tho paper aro as follow; It is universally admitted that the greatest of all blessings is good health. Without it man has no truo enjoyment in this life nor is he caoabl© cf bringing enjoyment into tho lives of others, but a man in perfect health possesses what money cannot buy These aro facts that ar© slowly but surely being lost sight of. In highly-civilised countries to-day tho requirements cf mankind are of suen a varied, complex, and costly nature that th<* great majority of people aro directing all their energies to secure those positions which will prove th© most lucrative for the least possible outlay of physical exertion. Intellect and genius aro to-day th© commanding factory of what wo term “ success in life.” Tho race is to th© mentally strong, but we should evor remember that if we are to aohieve any suooess in the truest sense of the word, our physical strength must bo such that we are able not only to reach the winning-post, but to reach it in perfect condition rather than in a state of physical exhaustion.

As the health of children determines to a great extent the state of health in later years, let ns lirst consider if the sonool children of this Dominion have reached the highest at tainablo point of physical perfection. The superficial observations of people who have seen our scholars at play or giving exhibitions of physical culture on show occasions, and who are in many instances both incapable and biased judges, have led them to assert that the physical fitness of our children leaves nothing to be desired. Others, no better fitted as judges, who have had opportunities of making comparisons between our children and those of other lands say that cur children in no wise suffer from such comparisons. In the face of the urgent demands that are constantly being made for the medical and dental inspection of our school children and of the opinions of those who are qualified to judge it matters not how our children compare with those of other lands, for, if such comparisons are worth anything, they serve only to show in greater relief the pitiable state of affairs that must exist in those lands. My firm belief is that a thorough medical inspection would convince any unprejudiced person that the health of our school children is neither what it should bo nor what it is capable of being. How many of us who are parents can honestly take comfort in the thought that all the members of our families are physically as strong as we would have them bo? Many of us who have seen our scholars both at work and at play' between the ages of five and 15 years must often have been moved to pity by the sight of the pale faces and trail bodies of scores of children, who, for their own sakes and for the sake of those who may some day be dependent upon thorn should bo roaming the hills in the fresh air in search of health instead of exhausting their small supplies of strength in endeavouring to concentrate their minds on matters tar beyond their grasp. When, on account of pnyeical weakneeo aggravated by the vitiated atmosphere in which children often liave to work, such concentration is the result of compulsion and not of interest, a breakdown in health is inevitable. My reason for onoe ryore drawing attention to the physical disabilities under which many children labour is because 1 am convinced that in the majority of cases those disabilities are not inherited, but are the natural consequences of injudicious treatment during the years of lito preceding the age at which children are admitted to our primary schools. We are all aware that a very largo per contage of infants fail to roach the age ol one year. During ISO 9 the total number of births in the Dominion was 26,524. Though it has been stated by eminent medical men that tiro mortality among our infants is the lowest recorded in any country in the world, yet in New Zealand the deaths under one year are 68 per 1000 births. Thus in Now Zealand no fewer than 1800 children dio annually before reaching the age of one year. Of these 10 per cent., or 180, wore born with some inherent physical or mental weakness. The remedy for thio it is not my intention to discuss, but that the number is sufficiently large to demand public attention is evidenced by the steady growth of the eugenic movement —a movement which, by the way, deserves the support of every right-thinking teacher. The aspect of the case with which wo arc at present most concerned is that 90 per cent, of ilia deaths under the age of one year are those of children physically healthy at birth. Think of it. In a single decade this Dominion, with only one million inhabitants, and, as 1 said before, with the lowest recorded infant mortality in the world, loses 16.000 healthy children under the ago of one year alone —a number greater Ilian the entire population of Tirnaru and its surroundings. To-day the popular cry is, “ Population, more population.” We spend annually largo sums of money in advertising the country so that immigrants may bo attracted to our shores, but at the same time wo take insufficient moans to prevent the loss occasioned by the death of thousands of healthy children withhi our own borders. The immigration of the unfit wo dread: the birth of the unfit, the degeneracy of our native-born population, and the alarming loss of healthy infant life, we seem to regard as a matter of course which calls for no interference on our part At present there is widespread ignorance among parents concerning the care of infants. and it is surprising that the rate of infant mortality is not higher. This, then, ia my reason for advocating a oourwo of instruction in the elementary laws of physiology. hygiene, and dieting. Such instruction must begin in our-primary schools. Instruction in our high schools, technical schools, and universities is good, hut it will not moot the case for the great majority of our children, am! especially of those among whom in later years the birth-rate is highest. never see the inside of such buildings. The difficulty lies in formulating a scheme

that shall bo sufficiently comprehensive to meet the end we have in view without adding to the burdens of an already overweighted syllabus. It is not intended, however. that another subject shall bo introduced into the syllabus, but even if such a course were necessary many of tho present “frills” of our education system might well be displaced by those studies which will tend to develop what is paramount in the welfare of every nation, —a vigorous manhood. I know that in many oases health instruction forms a very pr-ornincsit feature in tho work of tho school, but I also know from the admissions of teachers themselves that in many other schools tho matter receives but scant consideration. A suitable book cf instruction, carefully designed and illustrated to meet the requirements of the various classco should be one of tho free books distributed to tho children. Such a hook would ho of great advantage, ©specially to teachers in country schools where classes must necessarily bo grouped for instruction. As a basis for discussion I now put forward the lines along which such instruction should proceed. The detailed series of lessons are purposely omitted, for if this institute sees fit to affirm the question of tho necessity for such instruction, I am i.n hopes that a committee will bo set up to bring forward a detailed scheme for tho consideration of the next annual meeting of this institute. Standards I, IT, and 111 Lesions c.n the ca.ro of the teeth, the cleanliness of tho skin, the importance of fresh air. the value of exercise, and such other matters as are readily intelligib'e to children of these classes. Standard TV--In this standard the.ro should be a definite course in elementary physiology and hygiene; this should form the science course for Standard IV, and could easily be overtaken in lessons of one hour per week throughout the school veor. Standards V and Vl—ln Standards V and VI a two-years’ course should bo drawn ur) for both boys an. girls; first aid to tho in hired should form an essential parfe of tho military training for boys. The girls of Standards V and VI should have a twoyei.rs’ course in cookery and domestic science. This should include instruction in plain cookery, the relative values of foods, the enne of tho sick, and common-sons© metbr-da of clothing. Instruction similar to that given to the boys and girls of Standards V and VI should be continued in the technical and high schools. SEXUAL INSTRUCTION FOR CHILDREN.

I now wish briefly to discuss the necessity of providing instruction in eexual matters for boys and girls of the upper classes of our public schools. In advocating suoh instruction I know that I am on very debatable ground, and that the question is one that is sure to meet with that adverse criticism which is always hurled against any reform. Nevertheless, straightforward, honest criticism, favourable or unfavourable, will be heartily welcomed, inasmuch as it will help to create a deeper and widlor interest in the matter, and finally lead to the most satisfactory solution of the difficulty'. Though wo may not see eye to eye in the matter, I believe that we are all equally sincere in advocating what is considered brst for the moral uplifting of our youth. Is there any necessity 7 for reform? The answer to this question is to bo found in the increasing necessity for the extension of our schools for incorrigibles, our mental and physical hospitals, our gaols, and ou>r rcooue homes for fallen humanity. To what extent sexual impurity is responsible for the extension of the first four of these classes' of institutions I am unable to say. No doubt those in charge of such institutions could enlighten us if they were permitted to do so. But it is patent to everybody that the degradation engendered by eexual indulgences must lie at the root of the necessity for the erection and extension of rescue homes for fallen men and women. No observant person who reads the accounts of the proceedings of our criminal courts or has mixed to any extent with the world around him can deny that impurity in word and deed, if not actually on the increase, is at least prevalent to an alarming extent. We point with pride to the great piles of buildings orectc-d in and near our centres of population, for, perhaps not unnaturally, wo have come to regard them as monuments to the humanitarian and philanthropic spirit of our ago. AH honour to those public-spirited and generous souls who have so ungrudgingly contributed to the cost of their erection and maintenance. But, while I by no means underrate the utility of suoh institutions as a means of rescuing the perishing. I believe that the more enlightened generations of the future will probably regard these buildings as monuments to the shortsighted folly of their ancestors who uncomplaimnglv submitted lo the burden of taxation necessary for their equipment, without taking any- steps whatever to cut off at their source those evils which not only fill suoh institutions with inmates, but sweep still larger numbers for ever beyond all hope of rescue. The moso effective moans of checking these evils lies in the education of the youth, for the surest bar to entrance into any evil is a clear and adequate knowledge of the consequences of that evil. “ Where ignorance is bliss ’tis folly 7 to be wise” is often quoted as an argument against such education. The argument might have some force if it could be proved that “ignorance” existed. But does it? One of the chief aims of a teacher is to stimulate healthful curiosity in and intel-' ligent observation of natural phenomena, and in the face of the reprcduct'on which is continually going on both in the vegetable and the animal kingdoms, the more highly the observation is trained the lees likely is the so-called “ ignorance ” of mind to exist. Curiosity cannot be stifled, and therefore it should be judiciously guided along thoso lines which lead to pure and correct knowledge. The innocent mind, on account of its very innocence, at first comes unhesitatingly to its parent fer enlightenment, but the child is silenced either by an evasive answer or by a deliberate falsehood. That child soon ceases to approach the parent, and its silence is mistaken for “ innocence.”

In justice to our senior scholars it is only riir lit to state that, while I deny in the majority of cases their innocence of mind. I be’icve that impurity of action ami sneech during- their school hours is practically non-existent. The condition's of school life and the strict playground supcnision generally exercised by teachers place such beyond the, bounds of possibility. The schools are not fh© fruitful source of contamination that some peonle would hay© us beieve. Unfortunately, however, the child in the school and the

child on tho street are too often totally different being's. Parental control to-day is so lax that many children are allowed to roam the streets when they should be at home and in their beds. And do what they wiE the wisest of parents cannot chooso the associates of their children while going to or returning freon school. The debatable point is whether or not the necessary instruction should bo given individually or collectively. It is readily admitted that the homo method of instruction is the ideal one, but for reasons best known to themselves the vest majority of parents shrink from doing what they recognise as their duty. My belief is that parents will gladly welcome any welldevised scheme which will make it possible to place these matters before their children in a more suitable manner than they feel themselves capable of doing. The chief advantage of home instruction lies in the fact that children can be dealt with at an earlier age than is possible under collective instruction, and this is a very important point. Seeing that the age of maturity varies so greatly. It is doubtful, however, if the atmosphere of tho home is not, in many cases, inferior to that of the school. While, under perfect conditions, the home method of individual instruction is clearly the ideal one, wo must be forced to the conclusion that, viewing the question from, the standpoint of conditions as they at present exist, the home method ie more ideal than practical. The individual method is too slow, and generations must pass away before even the bare majority of children receive any such teaching. Our eugenic societies are doing praiseworthy work in developing a healthy and powerful public opinion regarding the question, but even tho most ardent eugenist must admit that tho efficiency of the individual method il marred by its slowness.

Until quite recently I was an advocate ol the individual method, but since I have seen collective instruction given by the secretary of the White Cross League I have changed my views, and am now an out-and-out advocate of the collective method of instruction in our primary schools. It is of the very greatest importance that, before entering upon any step for the instruction of children en masse, the course of instruction should have the approval of those best qualified to judge of its suitability, and tha.; the chosen instructors should be Christian men and women, specially gifted for the work. As a general rule, instruction should begin at the ago of 12 years. Instruction to school children should be of the most elementary nature, such as will lead the young minds along the Lines of pure and holy thoughts. Th<* holiness of purity must be kept in the foreground', and on no account, except in special circumstances, which call for individual treatment, should the evils of impurity be brought under the notice of the child I hold no brief for the secretary of the White Cross League, but I am convinced that, while differences of opinion no doubt exist with regard to the wisdom of dealing with certain phases of the question, the lectures delivered by Mr Bligh are on sound lines and calculated to prove of inestimable benefit to tho majority of the youths of the rising generation. Lectures may not do all that even tho least sanguine among us expect, but they will he a modest b< ginning and an honest endeavour bo cone with the existing evil of impurity. We would all welcome any other scheme that would have a reasonable chance of achieving the end we have in view, but, in the absence of any other scheme, I put this forward not in any dogmatic manner, but simply to provoke an interesting discussion on, the matter so that we may bo able to evolve some satisfactory solution of tho question.

Proceeding with tho order paper remits concerning the constitution and superannuation questions were referred to committees. Soni.e remits dealing with the administration of the act occasioned long discussions. That inspectors should lie appointed by and be under the control of the department was lost by 28 to 22. but a subsequent one —that in^portlon should be centralised—was carried almost unanimously. That assistants should displace pupil teachers was carried without discussion. Other decisions were that term examinations should be reduced from three to two ; that scholarship funds should be wholly devoted to paying lodging allowances : that the cost of removal should be repaid to teachers compulsorily transferred; that the Minister’s dej ciaion in disputes should be final on the ! question ; that a Dominion scale of classifii cation and promotion should be adopted. A 1 stepping stone amendment was carried that j the number of education districts should be reduced. The Auckland teachers praised j highly the system adopted by their board, j and said it ought to be made a statutory ' system and applied throughout tho i Dominion. TIMARU, January 4. j At the Educational Institute Conferj ence the morning was spent in discussing i in committee the executive’s report on the ; past year. j The report stated that the membership ' was 2633—an increase of 176. The trust fund had not been drawn upon, and now i stands at £1330. Much work was done j with regard to the promotion scheme, but i no material progress could be claimed. | Teachers were asked to request the housej holders’ meetings to pass a resolution in j favour of tho Dominion scheme, but not one-sixth of them did so. Rnperannuai f’on affairs had made no progress either, ■j An amendment had been made in the law j giving a teacher a right of appeal against ; an unjust transfer. Appreciation was re- | corded of the careful attention to detail and the breadth of view of Mr Fowlds, • as Minister of Education. The expendii ture on legal oases had been heavy (details would be given in the balance sheet i next day)- rr h" benevolent fund now amounted to £297. ; It was resolved that a disnute from i Wanganui regarding a house allowance be j gore on with to legal proceedings if neces- : sary. I a remit that pensions for teachers’ widows should be increased was finally, i with other superannuation questions, re- : ferred to a committee to report within ; six mouths. It was stated that the smvrI animation fund now stood at £180.009. I and the income £54.009, of which £7090 : was from the State. ] )t was resolved that tear Imre who had : omitted to join in time should be given the opportunity to do so; that the atteni fcjon of the Minister be drawn to the in--1 adequacy of staffs in schools of 401 to I 1 Miss Simpson (Auckland) made a power-

ful appeal for equal pay for equal work for women teachers. The discussion was taken in the morning. In the afternoon addresses were given by Messrs J. Brown (agricultural instructor) on the subject in his line, W. Davidson on observations on schools and school methods in other lands, and a paper was read by Professor Miss Boys Smith (Otago University) on domestic science in schools. i TIMARU, January 5. ! Tho Educational Institute sat long hours to-day attempting to complete consideration of remits. : The balance sheet was presented, showing the total funds to be about £2OOO, i which £IOOO is for the Legal Defence Fund. Tue resolution of the previous Jay regarding late admissions to the superannuation benefits was amended to provide for tho payment of compound interest on arrears. ; Remits were carried os follow: i Auckland: That the principal women assistants should have at least equal rank or pay with second assistant. Otago: That geometrical and scale drawing be reduced and not required for proficiency in tho case of girls North Canterbury: That tho Government should exercise supervision over picture shows, as films depicting crimes are unfit for children to see. Otago: That salaries should not fall so long as a teacher is in the same position, provided that he docs not, within two years, refuse transfer to a post worth as much : that the salaries of assistants in the secondary department of district high schools should be increased. Auckland: That all teachers' residences should bo fitted with modern conveniences. One speaker said he had asked a good many delegates about their ; houses. Only one bad a satisfactory home. An Auckland remit in favour of special provision in each city for teaching children of weak intellect was carried unanimously, but slow development was suggested as the better term. Remits- in favour of travelling, school libraries, the supply of educational lantern slides, and reducing the minimum ago for the swimming capitation to nine years instead of the Fourth Standard wore carried; and also carried- unanimously was a Southland proposal that instead of establishing several small schools tho department should introduce a system of conveyance to the central school. „ The president’s motion m favour of a definite scheme of health instruction was referred to himself and Mr M'Donald as a committee, with power to add to their number, to formulate a scheme. Other subjects referred to committees were: Improvement in tho sewing syllabus, an inquiry into tho methods of providing reading matter for schools in other countries. The conference was Concluded at 10 o’clock p.m. The business this evening included a decision to enter into a freeh agreement with Messrs S. N. Brown and 00. to continue publication of the Journal for a further five years. A motion by the president that the Minister be urged to provide two special instructors in sexual physiology to instruct senior scholars was carried unanimously. It was decided to ask the department to provide an initial grant for school classes in dairying. A motion that the present method of election of education boards by school .committees be discontinued was lost on the motion of Miss -Newman (Auckland). It was decided that steps be taken to secure for women their legal rights in regard to appointments. On a motion carried unanimously, with applause, it was decided that tho next annliol conference bo held at New Ply- I mouth.