EDUCATION

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2952, 26 November 1900, Page 4

EDUCATION

MANUAL AND TECHNICAL IN

STBUCTION

Mr G. Hogben, Inspector-General of Schools and Secretary for Education, met a number of teachers at the Main School on Saturday to explain the provisions of that Manual and Technical Instruction Act of last session. Mr J. G. Gow, Inspector of Schools, occupied the chair, in the absence of the chairman of the Board of Education (who was indisposed), and an apology was also sent by Mr Famie, another member. There were about five-and-thirty present, including the headmasters of the Timaru, Waimate, and Temuka High Schools, Bros. George and Pius of the Marist Brothers’ school, Mr Bell, assistant Inspector, and one or two members of the Timaru Main School Committee. The attendance of teachers would have been larger if the meeting could have been held next Saturday, when most of the teachers would have been in town for pay-day. Mr Hogben explained how he came to be present. When at Invercargill, the member for the district, Mr Hanan, asked him to give some explanations of the Act in public, -"'and then suggested that he should do the same at Oamaru and Timaru, and on this he wrote to Mr Howell, chairman of the Board, offering to do so, and the latter had called the meeting. It must be understood that he was not speaking officially, but he was very glad to meet them. The new Act was very much wider than the old one. In the first place it provided for the establishment of many more different kinds of /schools, and it provided a larger sum of money to assist such schools. It was. an Act to promote “manual, technical, and commercial” instruction. All subjects connected with agriculture and industrial pursuits woulld be included under these heads, and any pursuit in the colony may benefit by the Act, to the extent that help can be given to schools that train those who are going into any industry whatever. As regards technical education, it gives facilities for v making as complete provision for it as the colony seems to want. It also provided for ■manual instruction in primary and secondary schools. “ School classes” may be established by an Education Board, or by the board of a secondary school; these classes to be held during school hours, the syllabus to be defined by regulations under the Act. These regulations have been drafted, but hot yet approved. As drafted they will practically allow any subject to be taken np that trains at once hand and eye and brain.’ “Manual Instruction,” as the De partment understands it, is part of the gen- •.. 'efal education, and is not intended to make .1 tradesmen or even to be the first step , towards the making of tradesmen. It is ' simply an extension of the kindergarten “ occupations ” ; of modelling in various materials and practice in the use of tools, so far as these can be made parts of general education. A distinction is made between “school classes,” which are to be held in school hours, and “ special classes” to be held out of school hours. The latter may or may not be connected with any school, but they are to be controlled by school boards, and these “ special classes” may include the work of the ordinary schools. A third class of schools are called “associated classes.” , These may be established by an Education Board, or by a School' Committee if the Board does not undertake to do it, or by a ' University College, in conjunction with an agricultural association, or any industrial association or union, or any public association formed in connection with any branch of trade industry dr commerce. That is to [ B ay,. one of the educational bodies must be joined with the non-educational body to establish these “ associated classes.” “ College classes” are classes for higher technical education established by any University College. There were two very distinct aims, which the teachers, as representing those interested in education, should keep before them. One concerned the introduction of “manual instruction” into the primary and secondary schools. He hoped they were all convinced of the importance of this. The new school regulations to some extent provide for it, and he hoped that some result would follow in the direction of a modification of the syllabus by the conference of inspectors to be held in January next. Consideration of this question had

been purposely postponed by the Minister until after the conference, and he had no doubt that the syllabus would be considerably modified. One of his points would certainly bo the desirability of allowing facilities for a larger amount of manual and practical instruction. The Act does not'specify any amount of capitation for “school classes,” but it allots grants to be made m aid of such classes, not exceeding the payments made to other classes. Regulations have been drafted fixing the amounts to be paid for the different kinds of instruction, on the basis of the cost of carrying on such classes with efficiency. In most cases it would be simply the cost of the material, and this cost he had carefully ascertained from teachers in different parts of the country.’ He did not think there would be much difficulty in arriving at the amount per head payable to the Boards for children, in the primary or secondary schools for manual instruction. The Act also gives the Minister power to make grants in aid for the erection and equipment of buildings and for schools for the training of instructors under the Act, and for various other purposes. Manual instruction could be introduced into the schools with very little delay, but the Board, its officers, and the teachers, would have several questions/to consider besides that of cost. The questions, how far teachers were qualified to take up such work and the special needs of the district. Certainly the training ought not to be the same all over the colony but should vary with the industries of the locality, the needs of large towns differed from those of smaller ones, and from those of the country. It must rest with the local authority to use their best judgment in determining the particular kind of manual instruction suited to their district. He would have strongly impressed upon the members of the Board of Education had they been

present, the desirability of as soon as possible making arrangements for the instruction of instructors. (Applause.) This had not been overlooked in the Act, and the Minister was quite willing to give grants in

aid of classes for this purpose, to equip if”' them, and to give facilities as far as the ** Railway Department will allow, for teachers travelling to suph classes. This was one of the first things to be attended to. me teachers had introduced such work already, and some of ihe work requires very little preparation, beyond a book of instruction and some practice on the part of the teacher. But the system could not be , got well under way until they had competent instructors, and he hoped soon to be able to place before the Minister applications for such appointments, and he had no doubt, from what he of them, that the teachers of South Canterbury would enthusiastically welcome the opportunity to attend the classes. Besides manual instruction there was technical instruction. This did not, as many supposed, affect the towns only. The Act applied to every place where there were sufficient people to form a class. Every member of the community would be fhe better for some technical training in his special line, and every line could be provided for. The London County Council and the City Guilds’ Institute have about seventy subjects in their course, and the English Board of Education provision for 48 groups of different subjects, so that a very large choice of subjects s indicated by English experience. Of course a syllabus to suit New Zealand must differ from one suited to a closely - populated country like England. He hoped that at Timaru, Waimate, Temuka, Geraldine, and other places if possible, there would be technical schools established very soon. A very important point was this, that it is no use try*

ing to give young men or young women technical instruction if their general education is not good enough. (Hear, hear.) If they cannot understand English, cannot write English well enough to describe what they see or do, technical instruction must sooner or later break down. And they must be able to do arithmetical work arising from, their trade. 'These preparatory qualifications are absolutely necessary. It has therefore been found necessary in all countries to warn people that, however eni husiastically they may take up the subject, they cannot have successful technical schools without “ continuation schools,” to continue the general education. Continuation schools therefore are not only valuable in themselves, but are valuable as concomi-. tants to technical education. The capitation to be paid for classes other than “school classes” is defined by the Act, and is just twice what it was under the former Act, and is still more because it can be paid on a greater number of attendances. It is threepence per head per hour, for ten weeks per quarter; so that attendance for ten hours in a quarter gives a minimum of 2s 6d per pupil to the controlling authority, and more may be paid if the attendances are larger. The English rate is not so much. Continuation schools may earn half that amount. They do not need so much apparatus, and the size of the classes need not be restricted as they must be for technical work. Mr Hogben quoted a few other provisions of the Act, and then said that there were so many other points that it would be better if he gave the rest of the time to answering questions. The chairman said the Board of Education was quite willing to take up the work, and were only waiting for a lead—for some one to show them what was to be done and how to do it. They were waiting for reduction of the syllabus for one thing, and to see what the Government were going to do in the way of providing instructors from headquarters to organise the classes. In England they have organising instructors. Mr Hogben said there would be two organising inspectors, whose business it would be to go round the different districts, not to give lectures or instruction (though they might do so, but not to give a course of instruction), but to assist the districts to organise the work. The Department would tret the best men possible, who would have a svllabus, etc., to place before the people, and it would be their business to do everything they could to in the institution of classes. As for instructors, he did not think peripatetic instructors would answer very well, the instruction must be local; and all the Department could do would be to send an organiser. Mr Valentine asked whether the new Act over-rides the Act of 1877 concerning continuation schools, was to be read with it. —]Vlr Hogben said continuation schools must be up to the standard prescribed by the new Act. If it was desired to get capitation for them, the proper course was to get the Education Board to recognise them and act as the controlling authority. If the Board was unwilling, then a committee could establish them in conjunction with any people who liked to form themselves into a public association. The Act does not prevent any evening classes being established under the Act of 1877; but it says that such classes will be recognised and capitation paid only cn their conforming to the conditions laid down in the new Act.

In reply to Mr Johnson, Mr Hogben said fees could be charged for attendance at continuation schools, but they must be approved by the Minister, who, he knew, would not approve of high fees.—Classes for training teachers would be under the local authority which instituted thend, not under the central Department.—One of the first things to consider was by whom a class should be started —whether by the Board of Education alone, or by the Board in conjunction with some public association. There were several ways of doing it, and each district could make its choice among them. If under joint control, the Minister would regulate the proportion of representation in the management according to the proportion of the cost of maintenance provided by each. Mr Johnson asked whether there was any probability of teachers’ salaries being cut down to provide funds for these classes. That was a ticklish point with teachers. Salaries were, low enough now, without their being reduced to provide means for carrying out the new Act.—Mr Hogben said he could express no opinion on that point, but he did not think it would be necessary. Mr Valentine asked whether the Department or the teacher would fix the syllabus, and Mr Hogben said that the Department would issue regulations which would only contain suggestions, and the teacher would prepare his own syllables within the lines laid down. No doubt a syllabus would be prepared, as is done at Home, but not to tie the hands of teachers. It would be better to leave the teachers free, so long as their syllabus comes up to the requirements the Department had in contemplation, and so long us their teaching is efficient. In reply to Mr Pitcaithly, Mr Hogben said there was nothing to prevent continuation and technical classes being taken by the same set of teachers, but they must be dealt with separately.—At a place like Waimate, he should say that agriculture would be the best subject for a technical school; these schools should reflect the life of the district, and this was the case also to some extent with manual instruction, bearing in mind however that all manual instruction is to be given as a part of general education.. It was important to notice that instruction would not be accounted technical unless it combined in-

struction in the principles of the science as applied to industry, with individual laboratory or workshop practice. In chemistry for instance (suggested by Mr Pitcaithly) “demonstration experiments” by the teacher, who simply showed the pupils the experiments, would not count at .all- The whole class must individually perform the experiments. Otherwise the work would be that of a continuation school, certainly not of a technical school. That necessarily meant more apparatus than was needed for “ demonstration ” experiments, and the Minister has power to make grants in aid to the controlling authority for the initial cost of apparatus, and for the subsequent supplies of materials. The amounts to be allocated to different subjects would be fixed by the local authority, and this would apply to buildings also. The amounts voted by Parliament for this year —of which nothing could now be spent, except in the last quarter—were £IO,OOO for building, and £BOOO for maintenance. As time goes on the demand for grants for buildings will decrease, and the demand for maintenance will increase.

Mr Johnson; Do you think that in a small centre like Timaru we should start with a continuation school and try to work up to a technical school; or should we begin at the top and expect the rest to follow ? Mr Hogben would start both if possible, taking the technical subjects for which there seemed to be a reasonable demand in Timaru, if necessary calling into consultation representatives of trade societies or industrial associations. The assistance of these bodies had been most valuable in some places. Men who could take a broad view of their trade were anxious that their apprentices should be properly trained. The building trades were particularly safe to approach in this matter. He should say, take one or two subjects for which there was most demand, establish schools for them, and at the same time establish as many continuation schools as they could get boys and girls to come to. It was not easy to get pupils to attend continuation schools, but it would be much easier to get them if there were technical schools for them to go to later. Many young people take an interest in learning about their trade, who would not go to a continuation school for its own sake, as they think they have done with school work. In some places it is made a condition that the pupils must have attended continuation schools before going to the technical schools. , In Germany it is compulsory on all to go to continuation schools until they are seventeen.

Miss Watt (Principal of the Girls’ High School) asked whether technical teachers already engaged, not possessed of any certificate or diploma of competency, would have to be replaced by others. Miss Watt instanced the teacher of cookery at the Girls’ High School —Mr Hogben said that efficient instructors would be recognised. In a few years the standards of qualification would be raised as it had been raised in the Old Country, but in the meantime efficient teachers would be recognised by the Minister, whether they possessed diplomas or not. Mr Hogben remarked that the most expensive school classes were carpentry, cookery, and dressmaking. Speaking 'to the question generally, he would give them an important warning which had been sent him by a friend in London, Dr Garnett, organiser to the London Technical Board, and that was that it is a mistake to pay instructors simply by capitation. They- should be paid for their time. To pay by capitation makes them compete with one another, and it disheartens the man who teaches an important subject, but who gets few pupils. That was .the experience of the Board in London. Mr Johnson said the practice of the Dunedin Technical Classes Association disregarded the number of pupils a teacher had.

In reply to Mr McLeod, Mr Hogben said the Department would not supply instructors for teachers, but would help districts as far as possible in searching for competent men.

In reply to Mr Valentine, who quoted the failure of classes formed at Gore a few years ago through the burden of railway fares for instructors, Mr Hogben said the Education Department always did its best to get concessions in the interests of education, but as the Railway Department had to produce its own balance sheet they could not get everything they asked for. .No' further questions being asked, Mr Gow on behalf of the meeting thanked Mr Hogben for giving them an explanation of the bearings of the Act, and how classes may be established. He was sorry that it had been given almost wholly to representatives of the teaching profession. He would have liked the meeting to be held in town when some of the business men might have been present to hear what was said, seeing that they are as much interested in this matter as the teachers. Perhaps at some other time Mr Hogben could address a public meeing. The vote of thanks was carried with applause, and in returning thanks, Mr Hogben said he hoped to see the Act largely taken advantage of. They should not forget that it is desirable to obtain the co-operation of those connected with business and trades, nor that school life is a part of the whole life, if they could form an idea of what the community wanted, the community would help them in the matter of organisation. Get the business and trades people to co-operate and the scheme would be made thorotmldv successful. °