SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

Patea Mail, Volume XLIV, 26 July 1920, Page 2

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

POWERS OF COMMITTEES . “To impress upon School Committees that the Board would strictly enforce the regulation limiting the power of a committee to give but three holidays in the year,” was a motion presented by Mr. Freeth at the meeting of the Education Board at Wanganui last week. Mr. Freeth condemned the promiscuous giving of holidays, which was setting a wrong standard of school life. Ho had read that at Wanganui General Birdwood asked the children to hold up their hands if they wanted a holiday, and they got one. When ho came to Palmerston North he courted more popularity by doing it there. It was time that the Board took a firm stand. The chairman said that at Marten Lady Birdwood got the children a holiday, and when General Birdwood came they got another. Mr. Bruce : What Could we do 1 It was an awkward position for members of the committee. A member : You were out-gcncrallod. Mr. Bruce said it was difficult to know what to do under special circumstances. He felt that the matter could be loft in the hands of the School Committees. The chairman said that years ago the Board took a stand over Empire Day. Promiscuous holidays were becoming a farce, and they were generally holidays for the teachers, who barracked for diem. When they got to 14 weeks' hol;days in a school year it was a farce. It would have been better, in connec‘ion with General Birdwood ; s visit, to have had special lessons on Gallipoli. There was one case of a country school of Maori children voting . against a holiday. That was a splendid thing to do. Mr. Hemingway strongly supported "he resolution and said that no extra holidays should be given without the sanction of the Board first being ob‘ained. Mr. Bruce said that on the occasion if the Prince's visit the schools had a holiday, but what else could they do ? tt would have better to have closed for a fortnight then because of the amount of sickness, Mr. Bryant considered there should be uniformity in the schools in regard to holidays. The motion was carried.