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School Attendance. 1. Mr. Richardson to move, —(1.) That in section 3, line 2, of " The School Attendance Act, 1894," the word " fifteen" be substituted for " thirteen." (2.) That in sectipn 3, line 6, the word " three "be substituted for "two." (3.) That section 7 should be reconstructed so as to compel seven attendances out of nine, six out of eight, and five out of six where schools are open nine, eight, and six times a week respectively. (4.) That the words " and in every case the onus shall be on the defendant of proving that he is not liable to a penalty under this Act" be added to section 8. (5.) That in section 9 the words "on behalf of any School Committee" be struck out. (6.) That the following be substituted for section 11: " Any person convicted of an offence under this Act may be ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings." 2. Mr. Spencer to move, That, in "The School Attendance Act, 1894," the term "attendance" be clearly defined as at least one hour and a half for preparatory pupils, and at least two hours for pupils in Standard I. and upwards. 3. Mr. Bell to move, That this Conference recommend the Minister to amend the School Attendance Act, so that the services of the police as truant officers may be made available. General. 1. Mr. Lee to move, That a list of class-books and text-books authorised for use in schools be issued by the Education Department once a year, and that headmasters may select any of such books for use in their schools. 2. Mr. Braik to move, That the Conference make some pronouncement as to the division of the school day into working-time and playtime, the maximum and minimum to be devoted to each; and, further, as to the place of games and athletics in our primary-school course. 3. Mr. Lee to move, That the school year be divided into three terms, with intervals of recess between them. 4. Mr. Lee to move, That this Conference is of opinion that the success of any system of education depends as much on the personal influence of its teachers as on their scholastic qualifications; and that the cause of true education will be immensely benefited by a more careful selection of teachers capable of exercising such elevating influence over their pupils. 5. Mr. Braik to move, That it is imperative on the Inspector at his annual visit to devote the major portion of his time to an investigation of the character of the teaching, and of the degree to which the general intelligence of the pupils has been developed, and that pursuant to this end one at least of the arithmetical questions be a question on principles. 6. Mr. Braik to move, That, after completing the inspection of any group of schools, the Inspector confer with the teachers collectively. 7. Mr. Braik to move, That this Conference appoint Inspectors or committees of Inspectors to study, collect information, and periodically report concerning— (a) Methods of teaching the subjects of instruction; (b) the general principles of education; (c) educational tendencies in other countries; (d) educational needs of this colony. 8. Mr. Braik to move, That, to secure continuity of progress and solidarity of interest in matters educational, the Inspectors meet in conference triennially, and that papers there be read and reports presented. 9. Mr. Braik to move, That this Conference take into consideration the question of the uniform staffing of the schools of the colony. 10. Mr. Petrie to move, That it is desirable there should be a uniform scale of staff for the colony. 11. Mr. Hill to move, —(1.) That this Conference suggests the desirability of establishing a pension scheme for teachers. (2.) That, in order to foster an acquaintance with the fauna and flora of New Zealand, diagrams be prepared for use in the public schools, and that the study of the natural products of the country be more encouraged in the scheme of public instruction. (3.) That a map of New Zealand be constructed for the use of schools, such map to show the more important physical features, the tourist resorts, and the characteristic natural products of each district. 12. Mr. Pope to move, That, in consideration of the fact that teachers in isolated districts are not unfrequently seriously troubled by irritating and unjust charges (easy to make and hard to repel), it is desirable that no teacher should be asked to take what is, practically, the most important part in the process of assessing his own salary—viz., the furnishing of the actual data on which the amount of it depends. In other word 3, the same motion might read thus : That it is undesirable that any part of a teacher's salary should be directly determined by the ordinary school registers. 13. Mr. Bossence to move, That the Minister of Education be requested to appropriate a sufficient sum to enable Education Boards to make adequate provision for the inspection and examination of schools. 14. Mr. Hill to move, That, in the opinion of this Conference, it is desirable that the Inspectors of Schools be placed under the authority of the Central Department. 15. Mr. Petrie to move, That this Conference desires to express its warm appreciation of the Minister's liberality in making better provision for the adequate payment of teachers, and for the better equipment of the public schools of the colony. 16. Mr. Petrie to move, That the Minister be asked to take steps to enable Inspectors of Schools to vote at the elections of members of Parliament on the same footing as commercial travellers. 17. Mr. Smith to move, That notices of motion intended for the consideration of the next Conference be forwarded to the Secretary for Education some days before the day fixed for

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