TEACHERS’ WANTS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 17894, 14 June 1920, Page 2

TEACHERS’ WANTS.

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT DEPUTATIONISED. At the Marton District High School on Saturday afternoon a deputation from the Central Executive | of the Wanganui District Institute waited upon Messrs W.S. Glenn and E. Newman, M.’s P., each member, in a short address, giving details of the shortcomings from which the teachers are now suffering. The deputation consisted of Messrs F. L. de i Berry (chairman), Swinbourne, ! Thomas, Ratcliff, Gabites, and Buri igess and Misses Frayne, Hull, Cartwright, and Gills. I Mr F. L. de Berry, M.A., presiI dent of the Central Executive of the Central Executive of the Wanganui i District Institute, introduced the deputation. H e congratulated Messrs | Newman and Glenn upon their elec-; ; tion as members of Parliament, and I said that the teachers were pleased ; ■ to place before them matters of vital i , importance in a democracy—the i ! education of the future citizens. In 1 i these days of reconstruction a firm ; I foundation is needed, and that can' j be gained only by education. It is a ‘ truism that fhe schools depend upon ! the teachers, and yet there are two thousand teachers short in New Zealand. This shortage prevents I urgent, and necessary reforms, and ; fhe shortage is caused by three i things which tend to make the teach--1 ing service unattractive—lack of i prospects, uncertain promotion, low ; salaries. He said that there is much ; unresf, and dissatisfaction in the pro- ' lession to-day. Every year the supl ply of teachers becomes less and i less. At the base of all is the sala- ! ties question. Given adequate sala- ; ties, the supply of teachers will be | sufficient, and yet what do we find ! as to salaries Fifty per cent, of the ! teachers to-day receive salaries less I than £2OO, only one in twelve I reaches £350, and only one in sixty •! receives £450. Salaries should be raised to keep pace with the cost of living and, moreover, should depend upon efficiency, and not upon average attendance. To-day half the teachers of Wellington city receive less salary than do the tram conductors who punch ths tickets. Mr de Berry made a strong appeal for more liberal salaries to the people who were laying the foundations of the new democracy. Finally he urged that the pension to teachers’ widows be increased from the present utterly inadequate amount of £lB per an- ■ num. If it could be raised in no other way, the men teachers wire ■ quite prepared to increase their conI tributions in order that the widows J might receive more just treatment. Miss Frayne stated that, although I the only woman speaker, she was I not speaking merely as a woman I teacher. No doubt there were many j inequalities and instances of injusi lice, but fhe remedy for these could | be safely left to the chivalry and honour of the elected leaders of the Institute. She spoke in general terms of the aim of education and what was due fo those responsible for “mis-education.” The leaders had a clear idea of the teachers’ objects and knew in which direction they were going or wished to go. Their aim should be to help the people of the country to live well. Education would aim at. their moral,

mental, and physical welfare ar should give a sure foundation < which our young citizens wou build useful and beautiful live They would all agree that the futui , of the country was in the hands i le_ the teachers. We wanted our cit I zens to be honest and broad-minde, ' and to have the best that New Ze: t | land, nay, more, that the wori could give. New Zealand was on o ’ a remote speck in the Pacific. If tl h(? children were to be inspired the : e ' must gain inspiration in the school de J low could the X B ain inspiratio from teachers forced by harsh an ir l unjust treatment to live narrow livt . t . —“cribb’d, cabin'd and confin’d” i a small area of a small island. A 3i _ earnest teachers wished to be me he and women in the world, not mei i pedants living on book knowledg e _ How many teachers had first han rs i aC(,ua * n^allce w *th the phenomen , c _ I about which they taught their pi rd I V. 1 ' 8 ' Teachers were giving secont 3( j I band iknowjadge—real knowledg al i they could not hope to obtain. Sail ae Ties were so small that very fe In I teachers in their useful years coul m | hope to go beyond New Zealand. B in I scraping and starving through the. best years the unmarried teachei >n L uot the married ones) might hop ,- 0 t 0 the Old Country and lear • w at first hand. The average teache ts H 1 twenty-five years of service, cam id con tact with a thousand youn „ e lives, exercising incalculable inili h- ence on them. Would anyone sa of J. t giving shape to a thousan w !‘ was not a greater matter tha , h lighting a city with eleclrity or 0 : o- ganising railways. Yet managers r these were sent abroad to stud’ id Te achers, with the lives of thou; a . ands of citizens in their hands wer a _ paid a miserable pittance. A fe’ >e (so-called) educational experts ma id be sent abroad, and a few gleam ie !T°™ , the greater world wande ss through to us, but in general teach , e ers had no opportunity of travellin iy ’fifiil years of usefulness were pas: ,e The speaker suggested that teacher 3 f should be given a pass on the rail id ways for a certain period, or that i r- the period of the greatest usefulness ie before reaching 40 years, 12 month ■e leave of absence, on full or doubl c- pay should be given to enable ther ie to travel and phus give the pupil . e the best that the world could give 1O She was sure that Messrs Glenn am ie Newman would do their best for th >d country, and do it in no surer fash • s ion than by considering first th r- needs of fhe children. Having don i- this, they would be convinced tha 10 the demands of the teachers erred ’e if anything, on the side of modera i_ tion. and that the courses she sug ;s gested could not do more than jus t. tice to the children of the country, h Mr Thomas contended that th is position- of District High Schoo n secondary teachers was the worst o y any in the country. A teacher in th s- secondary department is nop lon, d before he finds he is in' a blind alley d After spending years in study am e obtaining degrees he finds that hi 11 services to the country are onl; d valued at £370, with a possible £4l e grading allowance. Beyond tha ■s there is no outlook. There are onl- >- two receiving this salary, four sa; n £3 65. There is no system of pro J. motion even for those in this posi e tion. Grading counts for nothing 1. and the positions are liable to be fill 1, ed by degree men fresh from thi University, by English teachers, b; - junior teachers in the same school and by primary school teachers. Ex t cept in exceptional circumstances I the absolute limit for the special as t sistant is £295, plus £45—£335. Thi 1 first position in a District High School is usually filled by a man. ■ The female teacher has a limit ot £275, and a possible £4O, i.e., £3lO, but practically no female teacher receives more than £2lO to £240 and grading allowance. Again, fhe higher positions of recognised sec. ondary schools are not open to them, where no system of grading is carried out, and where degrees and tone count above ability and experience, and where appointments depend entirely upon Boards of Managers. Their services as special assistants in District High Schools, he was sorry fo say, were looked upon more as a barrier than a recommendation. Several other phases of the disadvantages under which second-ai-y teachers labour were outlined by the speaker. Mr Ratcliff spoke on the housing problem for teachers in the back blocks. Coming from the heart of

ujuvao. fuming num ing nean oi London to one of the back blocks schools, it had done him a world ol good, but by going back to the conn try schools the teacher gave up a good deal of social life, and the housing was not all that could be desired. He pointed out that the Upper Tutaenui, Mount View, and Greatford residences were totally unfit for habitation. He contended that if a teacher was of the high status that he should be able fc entertain his friends in a manner that his position warranted, and not be looked down upon as an outcast. He considered that teachers who went to the country schools should have every consideration shown them. He also referred to transfer expenses, which had to be borne by teachers in a number of cases. F.e advocated better accommodation for teachers’ residences, and a garden should be an adjunct to country teachers’ residences, also payment of transfer expenses. Mr F. Gabites said that one of the previous speakers had emphasised the importance of the formation of character, and rightly so. The work of education is generally understood to be confined to the periods of infancy and youth, and even fo extend into adult life, but all are untjimous in the fact that no period is so critical and fraught with danger then that of the age of 14, and yet the majority of children leave school nt this age. Character depends on the right formation of habits, and much of the training received by the pupils of the primary school is minimised by the short period of the usual school life. At this age the average boy leaves school and enters on his life work. After the short hours of school he finds the work arduous, and as we frequently find, casts about for change. The technical and continuation classes certainly do good work, but they fall far short of what is really necessary 7. The real remedy would be to lengthen the school course, raising the school age. It may be said that such

d ; a step would entail serious hardship n : on those who depend on their childtl j ren to assist at the earliest possible i age, and undoubtedly this would be e so, but is it not a duty that tbc y owe t their children that they be sent out . thoroughly equipped for good citi- !, zenship. He earnestly requested the _ members to give this matter their 2 closest attention. y Mr Swinbourne referred to the e grading scheme, promotion of y teachers, more inducements for L teachers to enter and stay in the fl profession, and to improve themj selves in order to deserve promotion. s He also referred to the anomalies ! tht existed in the appointment of 1 teachers, and quoted examples. The 1 time had arrived to make the grado ing scheme a promotion scheme. There was a good deal of stagnation j and discontent. What was wanted i, was a Dominion scheme, free from . influence and favour, and on merit _ alone. , e Mr Binger spoke on the reduction _ of the size of classes under one f teacher. He contended that in a j number of classes the pupils were r too many for the teachei- to handle r with satisfaction to himself and the ? pupils. j Mr Glenn, M.P.. in reply, stated i that he was pleased to be present, and unless they got together and j had a chat members of Parliament { did not get into touch with their re- ‘ quirements. He was not the Minis- , ter of Education, nor Mr Lloyd I George. They must remember that ! ■ for five years they had been engaged . in a light that had taken them all p their time to settle. During that time teachers’ troubles had multi-1 .' plied, and they must realise that the , Minister of Education could n.t ' straighten them out at once. He r was entirely in sympathy with them , in their demands, and congratulated . the speakers on the concise manner . in which they had put forward their . claims. To an ordinary member of ' Parliament a gathering of this kind i was a great education, and he now . had some idea of the trials and con- , ditions under which teachers labour'ed. They could congratulate themi selves on having such an able Minis- , ter of Education, but unfortunately he could not handle the money that , he required for all these reforms. Generally speaking, the Minister was in sympathy with the teaching pro- , fession. The history of New Zealand for the next eighteen months . was going to be an acute one, and in- . dustrial unrest was making it more difficult. He recognised that teachers should have something to look . forward to and should not be placed . on the same level as labourers, with . no chance of advancement. He was quite satisfied that the complaints ; were quite general throughout New Zealand. He asked the teachers not ’’ to be discouraged if they did not get ( all they asked for, but to carry on, ■ as it was a profession that was honoured in the country. He would not make any promises, as they had a very able Minister in Mr Parr. (Applause.) Mr E- Newman, M.P., who had only returned from Rotorua the previous evening, stated that he had listened with great interest to the various addresses by the teachers. He realised the importance of education. If they wanted an example of what lack of education could do they bad only to look to Russia. Mr Parr was imbued with the idea of improving the system of education in New Zealand, and had already done good work in this irection. He realised that the teachers’ complaints could be placed under three headings: Firstly, insufficient./ pay for teachers; secondly, inadequate accommodation for teachers; and thirdly, smaller classes were required. He would do his best to have these defects improved whilst he was in the House. The pay in teachers in the rank and file must be rectified, and the finances of the teachers put on a better footing. Although bonuses had been paid in the past, the flnan- S cial position of the teachers had not been improved. He hoped that within the next twelve months they would be bettered. With Mr Glenn’s assistance he would do his best to improve the sanitary conditions of residences, raise the salaries of teachers, and reduce the size of the classes. (Applause.) Mr F. L. de Berry returned thanks on behalf of the Institute for the. splendid manner in which the members had listened to the enumeration of their wants, and the conference ended.