The North School.

Southland Times, Issue 4951, 10 June 1884, Page 3

The North School.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sib,— A few .plain facts about the North School may be interesting to the public atthe present crisis in the history of tbat establishment. These if acts anyone can verify by a reference ;to the scale that regulates the Education Board's disbursements in respect of maintenance. According to this the North School cost for the past twelvemonths £fioo, "* not reckoning the allowance to the committee for cleaning, &e. Let us see what tbe education of the children wonld coat if they were distributed among » be adjacent schools. The distribution would in all probanility.be 40 to tbe South, 80 to the Central, and the remainder to the Gladstone school. >The[ South would not requi) e any additional teaching power, but would. be enabled to Retain the staff at pre-: sent* employed • there, which has been . for soae time invexcess pf what the attendance warrants. Thetjehlf al would need to have an additioi al pupil teacher appointed at a cost of £25 per annum. The Gladstone school would requiie two pupil-teachers, entailing a cost of from 3-56 ! tt>£80.T TThe increased attendance at each school wonld cause some little increase to thei-salaiies; of- the teachers'at present employed in them. This increase would amoua.t*jr|^b^6oiith tp.£s3, aad would affect favorably Hvef teachers. In the Central it would come to -£51, and would affect six teachers. In the Gladstone school the extra expense in this way would be £25. This gives a total ; bf from £200 to £240 ae the cost of the rdticatioti of the children of the North School if distributed among the other school* ; that i*,if the cost of keeping the bnilding clean be taken into account,— the saving effected in the Board's maintenance fund would be over £100— a sum that could with the greatest advantage be applied to the ajsistance of needy- country • schools. From a financial point of view it is apparent that the closing of the school is highly desirable. What then are the ebjici ions I "-Will it .be inconvenient for the pupils to attend the other schools ? Certainly not- s'for ho pupil wili have to walk more than a mile, and few of them that distance. -Will it entail an enlargement of the school accommodation ? That is probable ; bat it is a : matter for the building fund , which is quite distinct from the maintenance fund, and is provided for by a separate grant. The Central and South School buildings will have to be extended sooner or later, and it will cost proportionately little, more to erect a large room tban a small one. But what will be done with the North school buildings? It is impossible for me to say ; but they could probably, be leased until they are once more needed, slid the , sum so obtained would go some way towards improving the other school buildings. But it may perbap3 be said that it is not good to have very large schools, and that the- Central and South are large enough already. To this the fact, may be applied that in the experience of countries with national education it is found that, as a rule, a pupil makes fastest progress in a large school ; and the reason is plain :— in a small school a teacher has several classes to conduct, and each class gets but a fraction of his teaching; whereas in a large school, where there is a teacher for each class or subdivision of a class, the pupil has teaching and supervision the whole jf the time. _ All authorities are agreed that the only fully effective system is to have a teacher for each separate class, and this desideratum is only possible in a large school. On the whole, it appeais to me there is no occasion for. the outcry some mc disposed to make because of the school in question being closed. It is doubtless pleasant for those residing in the vicinity of it to have a place very near at hand to send their children to ; but it is somewhat selfish to desire this luxury al the expense of others. The £400 saved would do much to better tbe position of weak country Schools, and the Board is to be commended for the course taken. The committee, regarding only the town, have some reason for th« opposition shown, but the Board, as a matter Of duty, is bound to take a wider view, and regard the interests of the whole district.— lam, &c. 811S *