The Star. SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1922. APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16738, 20 May 1922, Page 8

The Star. SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1922. APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS.

Th© dissatisfaction of school commitj tees with tho present method of api pointing teachers has been expressed | frequently during the past few months. The position is that the Education Board receives the applications for any vacancy, and the inspectors make their report, recommending for appointment | the teacher whom they consider the I best qualified and most suitable. The one name is forwarded to the school committee, with an intimation that the board proposes to make the apj pointment. Unless the committee can I bring forward some disqualifying obI the appointment is made. The reference of the matter to the comj mittee is practically worthless, and it j ri only included as a Departmental | recognition of the fact that the com- | mittee exists and lias some slight interj es "k in the staffing of the school. ComI mittees all over the Dominion are be- , coming restive under this cavalier treatment, and are demanding that the consultation should become a reality instead of a myth. At the annual meetings of householders held in April a resolution drawn up by the School Committees’ Association was largely endorsed. Tt made the proposal that when applicants for a position were graded within five of the highest graded applicant these names should be sent to the committee for the final selection. The principle contained in the resolution was supported by the Canterbury Education Board, whose representations to the Department produced an interesting reply from the Director of Education. The Director —whose zeal for education is unquestionable—protests against the assumption that the committee is in a better position than the inspectors to judge which is the best teacher, and he argues that the Dominion system of ! promotion can only be secured by giv- , iug the position to the teacher highest on the grading list. The reply of ! the Education Board to these objecj t-ions is conclusive. Tt points out j that “ the existing mechanical and j automatic system often fails to secure j the best and most suitable teachers for positions, the special needs of which vary so widely, since in general practice appointments are rigidly assigned to the teacher graded highest on the list of applicants.” The board has considerable misgivings as t-o whether the best and fittest teacher for a specific task always gets the position, and it supports its apprehensions with some very cogent reasons. It is imI possible not to conclude that in its anxiety to control appointments and promote the efficiency of the grading scheme the Department has lost sight of the personal or human side of the question. School committees are 1 usually composed of men and women | who take a very sincere interest in the ■ schools, and who have reasonable and | intelligent ideas as to the peculiar | needs of their schools. In the old ! days it was not uncommon for school ; committees to be accused of log-rolling J in connection with appointments, but there is a new and more enlightened spirit abroad to-day. The public concern in matters connected with education has developer i enormously, and any attempt to use the enlarged powers proposed for private or personal ends would be exposed and defeated. Local preferences and prejudices would be checked, but the committees would be required to give due consideration to local needs. “ The good of the school” is the modern slogan of school committees, and they are entitled to a voice in regard to appointments which must profound! .* influence the future of the school unde:* their charge. The Education Board presses the view that the present system is detrimental to the best interest. s of education. Any system of promotion which becomes a rigid one is exceedingly dangerous, and it appears that in practice, the present system is a rigid one, as appointments go automatically to the highest on the list. The board supports the submission of two or three names to the committees, and that is the least that should be done. The committees are entitled to a genuine voice in regard to a matte r in which they are deeply interested, and they are just as likely as the inspectors and the board to select the right man for the job.