TECHNICAL COLLEGE

Southland Times, Issue 20495, 25 May 1928, Page 4

TECHNICAL COLLEGE

MONTHLY MEETING OF BOARD. At the monthly meeting of the Southland Technical College Board the following members were present:—Messrs J. H. Reed (chairman), W. G. Tait, A. le H. Hoyles, J. D. Trotter, W. J. Thomas, A. J. Service, J. Alsweiler, G. R. Cooper, J. J. Moore, A. J. Ball and the Principal of the College, A. C. Stewart. The board went into committee to discuss staff matters. MACHINE FOR WORKSHOPS. Correspondence of a routine nature was then dealt with, after which a letter from Mr Beer asking for the board’s consent to the purchase of a machine for the woodwork room was read. Inter alia, the letter said: “There are several points of view from which one can advocate the use of the machine, none of which supplants in any degree the training in hand work. Rather it should be a complement to the earlier work of the student to set him a standard of attainment in quality of work and speed of production. This type of tool, although occupying a small floor space, can deal with a wide range of work. The all-round tradesman should know the value of his hand skill as compared with the machine, and at which point thq job should be sent to the machine in preference to attempting it by hand.” Mr Ball submitted that technical training was for everyday work. He supposed that only three builders in Invercargill would have such a machine. Mr Thomas stressed the danger of the machines. He knew many men who had sustained serious injuries; with boys there would be more danger. After discussion it was moved by the chairman and passed that the matter be left in the hands of the building committee with a view to conferring with the instructors and reporting on the question. The finance and visiting committees presented their reports, both showing very satisfactory conditions. PRINCIPAL’S REPORT. The Principal (Mr A. C. Stewart) reported as follows: “The school re-opened after the vacation on Tuesday of this week; some half-dozen new first year pupils have enrolled, most of them from the country. Term reports at the end of the first term showed that in almost all classes satisfactory work is being done but I believe that great good would result to all concerned if more parents would make a practice of conferring with teachers and myself in regard to the work and progress of their children. Suggestions from parents would often help us to a better understanding of our pupils, and so to better methods of treatment and on the i other hand there are occasions when teach- j ers may be able without offence to give advice to parents. In any case we can do our duty in planning a useful course for a pupil only if we have the co-operation of the parents. TOWN PUPILS AND COUNTRY PUPILS. “It is our usual experience that town pupils on account probably of better primary school grounding and better facilities for ■ home preparation do rather better, work than pupils travelling to school from the country. This, however, is not by any means an invariable rule. We often notice that the country pupils, although backward in the early part of their course, make up the leeway in their second and third years and carry off their fJI share of class prizes. This year our trades class for country boys travelling daily, many of them long distances, is doing noticeably better work than the corresponding class for town boys. I mention this for the information of board members because of the frequent criticism that train travelling incapacitates boys and girls for steady work.

EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENTS. During the month there have been several events of educational importance. The Department has published long extracts from the majority and minority reports of the committee set up some months ago to revise the primary school syllabus; we have also received advance copies of the revised syllabus, and of a standard scheme of control for secondary schools. All of these contain much matter of interest to us, and likely to affect our work, but their exact significance may not be clear for some little time. “In the first week of the vacation there were held in Wellington conferences of all the three associations of teachers, primary, secondary and technical. These meetings had significance not only from the discussions that took place, and from the focussing of public attention for a little time on educational problems, but also from the opportunities given to the Minister and the Director to make policy statements before the various meetings. One of the most definite official pronouncements made by the Director is that the primary school course should finish at the age of 11 or 12, and that the intention is to establish junior high schools as occasion may arise such schools not normally to be separate institutions but attached to existing secondary schools. It will plainly be a matter of vital importance to Technical Schools to know in what relation they are to stand to these junior high schools. On that matter the Department seems as yet to have made no clear statement, but it has declared that there must be due attention to manual work and to variety of courses. TECHNICAL SCHOOL TEACHERS’ CONFERENCE. “I believe that the work done at this year’s conference was of more than usual value. The meetings lasted for three full days, and comparatively little time was spent in discussion of remits and matters of concern merely to teachers. Three very fine papers were read by teachers, and the rest of the time was given up to committee work in connection with matters referred to us by the Department. Six committees were formed, and their reports were then hammered into shape for presentation to the Department. It is hoped that some of these reports will be published in full and the remainder in precis in our journal. The committees dealt with the following matters: (1) Junior and Senior Technical and High Schools. (2) Technological examinations and the training of teachers of I technological subjects. (3) Vocational guidI ance, and the place of vocational subjects in the Technical High School. (4) Problems of small Technical Schools. (5) Statistical returns for educational purposes. (6) Agricultural courses in large urban Technical Schools. The new executive has been entrusted with the duty of drawing up for presentation to the Department a comprehensive and coherent scheme of post-prim-ary education. MAY FAIR. “In the last week of the term, the staff decided that the school should take a part in the May Fair demonstrations. Through the kindness of Mr Hoyles we were given the use of a large electric truck, and the concentrated efforts of a few members of the staff during several days of the holidays were responsible for a very creditable display. I should also express my personal appreciation of the voluntary work done by many of the teachers in connexion with our exhibits in the Winter Show. Mr Stewart, commenting on the new syllabus, drew attention to the overlapping in vocational courses of the Technical School by the High Schools. Messrs J. J. Moore and W. G. Tait were appointed the next visiting committee.