HOURS WORKED BY SCHOOLMASTERS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7956, 29 August 1887, Page 3

HOURS WORKED BY SCHOOLMASTERS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sib, — You do not hold yourself responsible for the opinions expressed by correspondents. Depending on this, and on the general courtesy that you have at all times shown towards me personally, I trust yoa will treat this communication with your usual consideration. Feeling that your sub-leader in Friday evening's Herald may have the effect of deceiving Bouie of those parento with whom I am connected, and whose sympathy and confidence I value highly, I will ask space to show that the statement lepresenting the teacher's work as 4£ hours per day for five day t a weeh is altogether misleading and inaccurate. My duties at the Central School begin at 8 a.m., and are seldom over before half -past four or five o'clock p.m. My assistants come a few minutes after nine a.m., and leave about the same time as . myself. In addition to this there ie, for each, the correction of sixty or eighty pages of written work, which has to be done at home. Then w© find it necessary to make special preparation for each day's work; a certain amount of thought and study is required for that, and this is a duty that every teacher, hoping for success in his profession, must carefully perform. The pnpil teachers are in school from « a.m. to 4 p.m., and are in charge of classes numbering fifty, sixty, or seventy pupils. Thiß, combined with the amount of extra time devoted to their own studies, makes the life of a popil teacher not so enviable after all. The daily routine of a teacher's life, whether in town or country, in a school of 500 pupils or one of 50, is made up of : Actual teaching, overlooking work he has been unable to superintend, and preparation for his next day's duties, and it is as unfair to judge the amount of his work by the actual time he spends with Mb class, as it would be to say that the only labour required to prodace this paper was the actual printing. The salaries, you say, range from xloO to £450, but here again, as far as Taranaki is concerned, jonr fignreß are very misleading, the combined salaries of the two lowest paid headmasters in Taranaki, ac- ' cording to the last annual report, being less than £150, and that of the two 'highest paid under £460. With regard to your remarks about "cram educational machines," &c, of course that waa only meant as an introduction to your main subject, and I do not intend to refer to that part of your article. I would, however, invite parents to vißit the Bchool, or any of the State Bchools, and judge for themselves. As far as I am concerned, I shall always be happy to see any who may feel inclined to visit this school, and you, sir, shall be as welcome aa any. — I am, &c, H. Dbmpsey. [Our remarks respecting the time employed by the schoolmasters in teachlßg of course referred to the colony as a whole, but even according to Mr. Dempsey's statement, tbe hours put in do not amount to more than. 1540 in a y ear — that is about 32 weeks. A bank clerk's time we stated to be 1650 hours a year, bnt then we know that he has to be at the office many hours more than that, often at mail time he is occupied till late at night. Of course there are schoolmasters, and schoolmasters by name only. _ Mr. Dempßey iB one who, there is no donbt, takes a great interest in his profession, and tries to carry out the system we condemn in the best manner he can, which no doubt involves a lot of unnecessary time and trouble. His system is purely mechanical, and when the children leave school, the majority will be little better for the time and trouble bestowed upon them. The fault of tbe system iB that an attempt is made to cram alike the brains of all the children, without taking into account their intellectual ability to receive the instrution. Our contention is that children should only be taught to read, write, and cypher at the State's expense, and, if nothing else was attempted, that the cost of education could be reduced by fully half what it is at present costing tbe colony.— Ed. T.HJ

In reference to the supposed loss of the ketch Eecamia on the Kaipara bar, we may mention that a couple of residents here had made np their minds to take a trip to Kaipara in her when she left the breakwater at the beginning of last week, but ■were prevented from doing so by not being able to spare the time. It seems rather fortunate for them now that they were unable to take the trip. The x Marlborongh Daily Times, understands Ibat there ,will be more work for the coming sittings of the Supreme Court, a writ claiming £500 damages for slander having been issued against a prominent Blenheim citizen, arising out o£ commercial transactions. "I hold his receipt for the P. 0." said a bankrupt at his meeting of creditors in Wellington. " P.O. ?" asked a creditor, " what's a P.O. ?" " Well," returned the debtor with becoming scorn, " I thought every business mon knew whut a P.O. was!" "Post Office Order?" asked v creditor. "No," returned the debtor, apparently annoyed to find such ignorance so prevalent, " a P. 0., a promissory note, o£ course 1" No one laughed outright, but the snigger that went round was worth photographing. A New South Wales legislator said the other day that the land questiou Ihero was in a worße position than in Ireland. It is expected that tho approaching Melbourne Uup meeting will attract a great many .New Zealanders to Flemington. The Glebe Island abattoirs have cost the Government £164,000 since their establishment, and show a balance to credit as against working expenses of between £5,000 and £6,000. Sir Julius Yogel, in Danediu, ha9 ( got into a wordy wurfare with tho editor of the Otago Daily Times, und has written several strong lettets to that paper, to which tho editor has appended some very severe and bitter footnotes. The Wellington Post fears that instead o£ the new Parliament being better than the late House it will be decidedly Inferior, and founda this opinion upon the general quality q£ the panaidates coming forward*,