EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3871, 22 May 1928, Page 16

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

ANNUAL MEETING OF OTAGO BRANCH. . The fifty-first annual meeting of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Educational Institute was held in the ciuoroom, Moray place, on Thursday. Mr F. E. L. Forrester (president) occupied the chair, and there was a good attendance of members. PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. “ Teachers are not only concerned with the intellectual progress and the formation of the character of children under their charge,” said Mr Forrester. “ They are also immediately concerned with the development of their bodies. The three phases of education are certainly closely connected with each other, and I would like to speak on the last of these three — physical training. “ If we neglect physical training in any . system of education then we fail to make use of the most potent aid to intellectual and moral training and to the formation of character. The physical health and bodily condition of the child must serve as the foundation of mental training. We ourselves know from experience how adversely even a slight falling off in our bodily health affects not only our capacity for mental work, but also the efficiency of that work. How much greater then must the growing child be affected. It is while the child is growing that provision must be made for- systematic physical training—hence it must find, and has found, a place in the curriculum of our schools.” Physically unfit children were, generally speaking, below the average mental ability, said Mr Forrester. Therefore, it was necessary to improve their intellectual progress by first improving their bodily health. The most advantageous way of doing this was by scientific physical training. The purpose of this training should, therefore, be not only the improvement of the physical condition of the child and of its health and strength, but also an aid in the development of its mental powers and in the formation of character. A course of physical training, such as the tables of the Swedish drill scientifically arranged by exJ>er£«, ahoald, if properly and carefully

taught, considerably improve the physique, prevent and correct incorrect nos : tures when standing, walking, or sitting. : and develop and co-ordinate the musculai ■ system. jlentally, the course should teach the children habits of discipline obedience, quick self-control, and mental alertness. These qualities were of the greatest value to the child as an individual, but as the children were taught in groups, large and small, a healthy public spirit might thereby be engendered. Physical training should not be confined solely to systematic physical exercises, but should include, all summer and winter games, such as athletics, swimming. football, hockey, basket ball, cricket, and tennis. Organised games were of special good in the education of children for their mental, physical, and spiritual values. The mental gains were alertness, concentration, and quickness of decision; the physical gains were strength, agility, and endurance; the spiritual, self-sacrifice, fortitude, and leadership.

“ The value of games to the child,” continued Mr Forrester, “is recognised by the teaching profession and has resulted in the establishment in various parts of New Zealand of schools sports associations, which are conferring a great boon on the community by promoting the physical welfare of the rising generation. Games have preeminently an educational value as well as a spiritual one, and are indispensable to an all-round system of education. They are very essential to formation of character, as they cultivate a sense of true sportsmanship and a spirit of unselfishness. The child learns from experience that he is one'sof a number, one of a team, that he must (frequently against his own inclinations) conform to the ideas and aims of the majority, and that all team work implies a leader, to whom implicit obedience must be rendered. Games afford the greatest facilities for teachers to discover the dispositions, temperaments, and characters of their pupils. How often has a teacher’s conception of a boy’s or girl’s character gained in the classroom been found to be completely at variance with that shown on the playing assa? In the classroom there is a certain amount of artifiei”litv which frequently prevents the teachers seeing’the true child, but in the playing fields the child is natural and reveals himself to the teacher.”

With regard to organised games as a means of cultivating in the chiltl a spirit >f honour, a healthy public spirit, and a ine character, the teachers of Otago vere putting forth every effort to place ;his form of physical training in a sound position in all their schools. Mr Forrester then submitted a review of the activities of the Schools’ Sports Association, which had been in operation in Dunedin for some years. The returns 01 the children engaged in the various branches of athletics and sport showed conclusively the immense amount of work done by the association in assisting these boys and girls to become healthy and useful citizens of the Dominion. They were resident in the immediate vicinity of Dunedin, but now that the association was well organised and in a sound financial position, an effort was being made to widen the scope of its work. The speaker detailed .the childdren’s sports meetings in various parts of the province. These showed that the country teachers were fully alive to the values of the organised games. The Dunedin Association was this year approaching a few of the country districts with the suggestion of forming affiliated subassociations for the promotion of athletic and other games, and was prepared to assist in their formation in every possible way. Many of the teachers of Otago spent many hours of their own time in promoting sport amongst the children, and school committees and parents showed their appreciation by giving their whole-hearted support and assistance.

“ What is the Education Department of New Zealand doing to assist in this laudable work? ” asked Mr Forrester. “ With the exception of assisting in the purchase of basket balls the department does nothing. Would it be too much to expect the authorities to place at the disposal of each of the education boards a sum of money with which to subsidise schools requiring assistance in the purchase of sports material? .1 think not. I am quite sure that an. equitable scheme of distribution could be.devised, and the Schools’ Sports Association of New Zealand would assist willingly if requested to do so.”

Physical training of the systematic kind has been taught in the Otago schools for many years, and Mr Forrester traced the development of the culture from the time in which one hour per week was devoted to physical exercises. Dr White has

most willingly placed certain information at his disposal. The doctor, during the past two or three years, had examined hundreds of primary and secondary school boys and girls, showing what percentage of them were physically defective, what chief defects were; and the causes of the defects. Mr Forrester submitted statistics relative to the posture of the trunk, taking this as being the seat of the vital organs of the body, and therefore the most important, and read a report of a lecture given by Dr White to the Australian Medical Congress last y ea . r - Information from Dr White’s examination showed that the position of the chest for normal respiration was very little removed from that of full expiration. In a very large percentage of the cases, the difference between full expira.tion and normal inspiration was only half an inch, while the difference between normal and full inspiration was 2in. Thus the child was not using his lungs sufficiently in the normal inspiration and expiration.

If these results are of any value — and I have no doubt that they are of the greatest value—there is a great responsibility on the feathers to do what they can to alleviate and, if possible, eradicate these defects,” said Mr Forrester. ‘‘ The means to.be adoptdti must be thought out by experts, even if they are not agreed as to the best course to be followed. Medical men and expert teachers of physical training in various parts of the world differ m their conception of the best methods of eradicating the prevalence of the posture defects of the rising generation.” Judging by an editorial in the “ School Hygiene and Physical Education,” it was seen that what one country was discarding as. unsatisfactory another was seriously accepting. It was very important that they should not be satisfied with old principles, because they were at one time highly authenticated; but it was just as important that they should not be attracted to and adopt every new fashion without adequately observing and gauging its results.

Mr Forrester said the following were some of the pointe which occurred to one “ s necessary to physical training:— 1. The physical exercises taught must be based on sound physiological principles. 2. The teachers must be thoroughly trained oy experts. 3. -'ine children must be well and intelligently taught. 4. The instruction should be for short per mds at frequent intervals. 5. Hygienic furnishing of the schools. 0. The child must be impressed with the necessity of assuming the active posture position at all times —that is, the active posture position must become u habit.

XV hether they agreed or disagreed with hi.j information, said Mr Forrester, he" felt he would be repaid if his address caused - the teachers to think seriously ci the vaiue of physical training to the boys and gills of the Dominion.— (Applause.) Mr G. T. Palmer congratulated Mr Forrester on his address. He said that the teachers were doing what they could to improve the physical training of the children placed in their care. The goitre treatment carried out had appeared to be successful, but recently the treatment had ceased. They would have noticed in the Otago Daily Times a report by Dr Paterson, in which she stated that during the past 10 years there had been a great improvement both in height and weight of the children examined by her, and that physical defects had largely decreased. The physical instructors and the school medical officers were, he thought, doing excellent and they would be able to do more with larger staffs. Mr Palmer referred to the good work ' being carried out at the Sarah Cohen Open-air School for backward children. Those children were not sub-normal, but were suffering from broken training following on some physical disability. The system was one which the department would be well advised to extend. The speaker also congratulated the School i Sports Association on- the work it was doing. Altogether the physical training of the children in sports and so on occupied their thoughts every day, and Mr Forrester had put their responsibilities plainly before them in a very thoughtful manner.— (Applause.) Mr H. C. Jones said that there had been some apathy on the part of the department in regard to physical training. It certainly appointed tli° instructors, but most of the older members would remember the department had established a refresher course for teachers in physical training. That course had been a very valuable one. but the department had made no further move in regard to_ the matter. It seemed that the department viewed with alarm any proposal to spend a few extra pounds in connection with this course. Mr Longworth, the director of physical education in New Zealand, had often approached the department in regard to the matter, but the department had apparently turned a dc-af ear to the question. The speaker went on to refer to the question of the teaching of children to swim, and pointed out that they were now being taught in the winter months. Owing to the delay in making a start, the children had lost the opportunity of learning during the more suitable months. It was beyond comprehension that the course of in-truction in .swimming should be started' in the winter time. The delay, he suggested, might have been caused by the department desiring to save money, and holding back until after the financial year ended on March 31. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr Forrester for his addreso. ELECTION OF OFFICE-BEARERS. The following officers i££re appointed:— President, Mr W. F. Abel; vic°-nresident, Mr A. J. Woods: secretary andtreasurer, Mr J. P. Hawke (re-elected); auditor, Mr D. Forsyth.