A TRIBUNAL FOR SCHOOL INSPECTORS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 86, 17 February 1879, Page 2

A TRIBUNAL FOR SCHOOL INSPECTORS.

To the Editor of the Wairaiupa Daily.

Greytown, February 6,1879. Sir, —I beg to address you' on one of those important questions which arc occupying the minds of the most thoughtful teachers, and which will-have to bo settled, with several others, before teaching, like engin'cering, can' take its place as one of the professions. Further, I appeal to your sense of justice for sympathy in a serious injustice that'has.been inflicted on me, and entreat , your influence to do me right;

_ Every system must be founded' upon, right. In this respect the national System of , education of New, Zealand lias a very incomplete fomidatiph,' It wasfourid by experience that schdol-coimiiittees had no practical control over schoolmasters and it will be found, in like manner j that education boards have no'praeticiil control over inspectors. ' If the inspector does but frown on examination day, a meritorous school will be made to appear even, discreditable, This is only one of many ways, But what check is there ? None! For the board lias no practical control. No provisions is made for a re-examination by some one specially qualified.: Thus,' an inspector can with impunity'steal , a teacher's good name'and. rob the children of their due merit; and there is no redress. What doer a board know about the procedure and principles of examination ? To do justice to the teachers and the scholars then, provisions should be made for the re-oxamination of a school. Arid gener--•ally, as this is only one of many examples, ■a tribunal..qualified""in point of special knowledge, and' competent'. in othef' respects; should -be..established.' to. ; hear. ■ and redress the grievances of both parents. and 'parentsshould have the power of preventing tlioir children from being driven by overwork .to injure their-, health. I ; would'at this point submit to. your consideration that stepa'sliould" be taken to get siich a tribunal instituted,

• I -rail now-proceed'to show you that this Educational District is more urgently in need of such a - tribunal than others. From one or two years; back' there had been'iio school committees, and,schoolmasters, not.being responsible in any way to the inhabitants pf a school district, lost, by theiv own action gener^^j^j^j

thy and aupport of the parents; at least most of them did, and invariably the par; ents were estranged from the Byst-om vrhicli was carried on without their aid. The teachers looked to the Board as their protector. Tho. Board left everything practically to ita professional advisor. Lastly, the Board here appointed its Inspector as Secretary. Thus in everything the teachers have only had till recently to look to the Inspector, for committees still look somewhat coolly on teachers they have not appointed; and when the Inspector is adverse to a teacher what shall become of him? It is earnestly to be hoped'therefore that the influential body of teachers now in New Zealand will take early'action to get,.tho Government to establish a special'tribunal. Inspectors have been found necessary to detect unqualified, incompetent, and unworthy teachers, for entrance or development of such in any systom must be assumed; and, likewise, in the insspectional system it must be assumed that thoro are unqualified, incompetent, ahdunworthyinspectors, and provision should be made, as by the establishment of a Board of Appeal, for their detection. The inspectorate exercises, generally, a beneficial check oiitho body of teachers, and such a tribunal world exercise a beneficial check upon inspectors. The enquiries of this tribunal would bring to those circumstances which, of all others, tho State would desire to know,—viz., the real difficulty to be met, those conflicts of function injurious of the beneficial administration of any system. Onthis, evidence, similar to what would be obtained by Royal Commissions, legislative even, and certainly departmental, regulation could be based. My, when-justice is properly, carefully, thoroughly done .'to all, a happy, feeling ; of satisfaction pervades the niinds both.of those.who -believed themselves to be aggrieved and of those who feel sincerely how important is the just working of any system. • Though a teacher of over ten years' standing, and though I have been master of the Greytown School for the last seven years nearly, I have been dismissed from the school service of this district without an enquiry being granted me. If, therefore, you think the Government have the power under the Education Act .'to'establish a Tribunal of Appeal to hoar complaints against' inspectors, and if you should not think me presumptious in asking you to do so, I would beg, with feelings of of deep and fervent respect, that you tako action-early that I may obtain real redress if my charges against the Inspector of Schools of this District are just.

Ihave&c,, T. Wakelix. Head Master Public School Greytown,