EDUCATION BOARD.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11976, 20 September 1906, Page 2

EDUCATION BOARD.

The usual monthly meeting of the Education Board was begun at five o'clock yesterday afternoon in the Board's offices, Nixon Place. Present : Messrs. F. Pirani (chairman), G. Carson, E. Dixon, J. Smith, F. M. Spurdle, A. Fraser, G. H. Bennett, D. H. Guthrie, F. Purnell.

MINUTES. — The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed, after which the Board adjourned till 7 o'clock, when the following business was transacted: — RESIGNATIONS.— Ohingaiti, G. Mossman; Marton, C. H. Gair and C. Mossman; Colyton, M. A. Stace; Foxton, W. S. Stewart (headmaster). APPOINTMENTS. — Waitotara, Miss Tuffin; Waverley, Miss B. Elmslie and E. J. Henn; Gonville, Miss J. Ross; Campbell Street, Miss McDonagh; Warrengate, L. W. Bassett.

TXAMINATION LEAVE. — Examination leave was granted as follows: — Linton, M. I. Ferguson; Campbell Street, J. Chapman; Normanby, R. P. Clarkson; Wanganui Infante, A. Woodham; Feilding, H. Amos. SICK LEAVE.— Sick leave was granted to J. C. Slattery and R. E. Armstrong. FOXTON. — Re headmaster's resignation, he to be relieved of duty at the end of the year, and his successor appointed relieving teacher till the end of March, when the appointment will be made permanent. Application for headmastership to be iivited.

FINANCE. — The cash statement showed a balance to credit of general account of .£IBO 8s Bd.

TOI TOI. — Teacher to be advertised for.

DAIRYING.— Resolved that the Chief Inspector take the necessary steps to carry out the recommendations in his monthly report with regard to instruction in dairying. LIBRARY. — The scheme recommended in the Chief Inspector's monthly report for the establishment of a Board Library was approved, and it was resolved to vote the amount required and to ask the Minister for assistance.

RECOMMENDATIONS. — The recommendations of tbe Chief Inspector with regard to candidates for pupil teacher* ships, and the revision of the Board's regulations, were adopted. CROFTON. — Mr. Purnell recommended new latrines. Referred to the Building Committee, with power to act. TAIKOREA.— Mr. Purnell recommended alteration of the drainage, which was agreed to. MANAIA. — Mr. Dixon recommended papering and drainage of residence be attended to at once. Agreed to. Committee to forward price for fencing.

TABLE FLAT.— Mr. Guthrie's recommendations for alterations, etc., referred to the Building Committee with power to act.

ACCOUNTS.— Accounts amounting to £2092 9e 6d were passed for payment.

COOKERY.— The salary of Miss Mollison, instructress in cookery, was raised to £150 a year, reference being made to the satisfactory nature of her work and the success of her classes.

RESIDENCES.— Letter from the Department postponing consideration of applications for grants for residences at Kaitoke, Mataroa, Tiririaukawa, Owhakura, Hautapu, and Stoney Creek, until the Estimtes were passed.

UTlKU.— Department declined to increase grant for school.

EXCHANGE.— Letter from the Department declining to provide cost of exchange on teachers' cheques.. RAT A. — Department declines to increase grant for residence.

MOSSTON.— Letter from Department authorising increase in the grant for enlarging the school.

WANGANUI TECHNICAL SCHOOL.— Department notified grant for alterations and additions.

SCHOLARSHIPS.— The Department regretted it could not authorise increase of scholarship held by A. S. Scott, and suggested an alteration in the Board's regulations to deal with the matter. Resolved to give effect to the suggestion. LEIAVE. — Mr. W. Andrews, instructor in wood-carving for the district, applied for 12 months' leave of absence in order to proceed Home for a course of study, such leave to start from next. Mr. Andrews guaranteed to remain in the Board's service for at least three months after his return. Resolved that the application be granted, Mr. Andrews to be paid three months' salary. TAIHAPE.— If the Committee will guarantee the salary of a special teacher, in case the average is insufficient, the Board will take steps to convert the school into a district high school. WANGANUl.— Application for grant for fencing referred to the Building Committee.

KIMBOLTON.— Enlargement of school and of residence referred to the Building Committee with power to act. LINTON. — Enlargement of porch referred to the Building Committee with power to act.

COLLEGE STREET.— Matter of drainage referred to the Building Committee, as was also the question of certain requirements at residence.

TOKAORA.— Application to be made to the Department for a grant for a 40 school. Mr. Dixon to visit the locality re a site.

ELTHAM.— Repairs to fireplace authorised.

MARTON. — Board does not supply hanging bells.

STONEY CREEK.— Correspondence re purchase of site to be laid on the table at next meeting. COLLEGE STREET.— Accounts for repairs to paths to be applied for as addition to grant. Repairs to gallery referred to the Building Committee. JACKEYTOWN.— Fencing and repairs to residence referred to Building Committee with power to act. NIKAU. — Matter of metalling grounds referred to the Building Committee. KAITOKB.— The Board will endeavour to arrange for assistant teacher remaining till after the examination.

HONGOTEA.— Teacher to be refunded amount of improvements effected by him. TRAINING COLLEGE. — Resolved to nominate Mr. G. Carson as a member of the Committee of Advice of the Wellington Training College. WHAKAMARA.— Mr. Kerrisk's election on School Committee approved. DENLAIR.— The architect reported thai the old portion of the school was riddled with dry rot; and should be rebuilt. Referred to the Building Commitee with power to act, the chairman expressing the opinion that a new 20-room school should be built.

SANSON. — The Committee forwardod an estimate (Jl2 10s) for work needed; of which it was willing to find £5 Hesolved to grant the balance. .MEETING.— Resolved that the December meeting of the Board be held on the first Wednesday of that month. EXCHANGE.— Mr. Bennett gave notice to move at next meeting that in future tbe Board pay exchange on teachers' cheques. THE CHIEF INSPECTOR'S REPORT. The Chief Inspector, Mr. <*. D. Braik, presented the following report: I have the honour to present my report for the period commencing August 21st and ended September 15th.

Inspectors' Reports on Annual Visits. — Forty-six reports are presented. They may be classified as follows: Very good, 5; good, 5; very satisfactory, 5; satisfactory, 9; very fair, 7; fair, 12; not quite satisfactory, 5. A perusal of the details of the reports will show that in the opinion of the inspectors the least satisfactory features are geography (including nature study), formal composition, and drawing. In other words, the inspectors feel that the teachers' great allies, experience, observation, and experiment, are not yet assessed at their true value; that in many cases, the component parte of an English sentence, and its essentials — clearness, accuracy, and brevity, are not yet sufficiently understood; and that parts of the complete scheme of drawing, outlined in the syllabus, have been at some schools overlooked. It is gratifying to note an almost entire absence of animadversion on. the discipline and tone of the schools.

Manual and Technical Training. — The director's report makes it clear that excellent work is being done at Eltham and Feilding, and that in the district generally the outlook is promising. Two matterd mentioned in Mr. Varney's report require the Board's consideration. There is the question of procuring manual and technical material for next year's work, and the question of establishing at Wanganui a central Trades and Agricultural Technical College. Agriculture. — Mr. Grant reports having visited 16 schools, and also having delivered lectures at six centres. A promising class in botany is being conducted on Thursday evenings at the Wanganui Technical School, and lectures on animal life are being delivered on Saturdays at Palmerston. These lectures are being attended by 22 students, 18 women and 4 men. The proportion of the sexes in attendance is not without significance. Dairying. — A circular re teaching dairying at the schools was sent to every school in the South Taranaki part of the district. Five replies have been received, three of which indicate a keen desire that something should be done, and vouch for the attendance of 105 young people and adults. The matter cannot be allowed to remain unattended to, and I doubt not but .that there will presently be sufficient justification for the Board's taking the step I proposed. The more one sees of the district the more one feels that scientific dairying is a sine qua non for its development. Inspectors' Reports from Pupil-Teacher Training Centres. — The reports are on the whole more favourable than they were last month. One can of course sympathise with pupil-teachers who work and study for five days a week and then make a long railway journey on Saturday to a Training Centre. The case of fully developed men and women is not so hard, and it is to be hoped that all who possibly can are taking advantage of the special instruction so bountifully provided by the Department. 'Board's Library Suggested. — I would respectfully urge upon the Board the desirability of establishing a reference library of standard and current educational literature. Such a library, which would ultimately prove a great boon to the district, might be worked on some such lines as the following: The periodical literature would lie on a table in a room at the Board's office for a period of one month, thereafter be sent to the Palmerston branch of the Teachers' Institute for one month, thence to the Hawera branch for a like, period, finally to the Board's office, ifrere to be filed. When a sufficient number of volumes of standard literature hae been collected a catalogue might be prepared and a copy pent to each school in the district. Teachers might then ask for any desired volume, which would be 6ent in order of priority of application. The library would at all times be available for consultation by members of the Board. I would accordingly ask the Board to make an annual grant of, say, <£25 to £30 for the purpose indicated.

Candidates for the Position of PupilTeacher. — As the Board is aware, candidates for the position of pupil-teacher will hereafter be chosen on the following grounds: Scholarship, physique, deportment, character, and aptitude for the work. As a candidate's fitness in the last-named respect cannot be adequately judged without his having had some practice in actual teaching I would ask the Board to approve of some such circular as the following being forwarded to head teachers: "As far as the organisation of their schools will ndmit. head teachers will be expected to afford facility, for those desiring it, to gain, some experience in the art of €eachmg, especially in the lower classes. The admission of young persons to school for the purpose of ■uch practice, shall be wholly in the discretion of the headmaster, who will make it perfectly clear that mere length of time spent in practice will give a candidate no claim whatever to appointment." Board's Regulations. — As the Board's regulations are not in all respects in con6onan.ee either with the Board's practice or with the provisions of the Education Act, I would suggest that a complete 'revision of them be undertaken.

•h