AGRICULTURE IN SCHOOLS

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1933, Page 12

AGRICULTURE IN SCHOOLS

SCOPE OF WORK WIDENED. REPORT BY SENIOR INSPECTOR. The’ year’s agricultural work in Taranaki schools continued alor" the broad lines of former years without any apparent narrowing of the scope and in one or two aspects there had been increasing width, remarked Mr. Duncan Mackay, senior agriculture inspector, in his report to the Taranaki Education Board yesterday. It was rather gratifying to know that the broad policy the board had followed in rural science instruction was being extended to parts of the Dominion where the same prominence was not given to that side of school work.

Club work had extended during the year beyond the limits of past years and the widening public sympathy with that movement in the schools resulted in some degree from the support lent by the board to the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs through its teachers and instructors Who Were able to co-operate on the various executives.

Forestry work had continued to receive attention. The nursery work at the schools and transplanting of the trees to school plantation and to farm offered means of useful practical instruction besides winning interest in afforestation. The rd was an increase in the number of trees given to farms, while there was an expected decrease in the numbers going to the school plantations, which reached full capacity.

The improvement to school environs had received continued attention and because of assistance from the “unemployed” some ambitious schemes had been carried out. Generally the state of school environment was quite suitable.

The question of the issue of a general scheme of work in rural science indicating more definitely, the board’s policy in rural science work should have attention as the stocks of the Ridling scheme were exhausted and those teachers, in particular, who had recently came into the board’s service found the need for such guidance.