"ORPHAN SCHOOLS"

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18906, 22 January 1927, Page 16

"ORPHAN SCHOOLS"

PROMOTING EFFICIENCY. AN AUCKLAND SCHEME. [THE PRESS Special Service.] AUCKLAND, January 21. There are "orphan" schools as well as children, but an excellent scheme evolved by the Senior-Inspeetor of the Auckland District, Mr C. Yv\ Garrard, has gone a long way to ameliorate their lot and bring them some o£ .many advantages of large schools in the more populous places. "During 1925," states Mr Garrard in his report to the Auckland Education Board, "I recommended to the Board a scheme which, if Adopted, would, in niv opinion, increase the efficieucy of sole charg schools. These schools represent some 50 per cent, of the total number under the Auckland Education Bo.ird. Owing to their isolation and to the fact that they are in general taught by inexperienced, though in jiia-.y cases promising, teachers, the standard o* work is usually low and there is an urgent call for their improvemei.t. To achieve this result I suggested that large city, suburban, and country schools should each adopt a country one and endeavour to assist the teacher thereof to raise his standard of efficiency.. Besults during 1925 wero distinctly pleasing, while the cost of the experiment v/as prnctically negligible. "In 1926 I enlarged tho scheme, some 50 schools were selected as parents, the number of adopted ones being 00. The headmasters, and staffs of the former schools entered most wholeheartedly into the work and it is due to their enthusiasm that unqualified success has followed.

Methods Used. "The methods iu general uso by the parent school giving assistance were as follows: I. Advice re drawing up schemes of work, time-tables, work books, school organisation and classification of pupils, school environment, and playground activities, and general routiuo wor'- of the School; 2. Interchange of work in all classes to indicate the standard to be aimed at; 3. The encouragement of correspondence between pupils in the same class iu each school; 4. Suggestions as to the best method to be adopted in teaching various subjects of instruction; 5. Suggestions for suitable occupation and busy work for pupils in primer classes; , 6. Advice forwarded re difficulties in class management, class discipline, teaciiers* relations with committee and parents, etc.; 7. Detailed schemes forwarded in history, geography, and nature study; 8. Suggestions as to mothods to be adopted in thp teaching of drawing, writing, and singing; 0. Suggestions for suitable books for school library, and for use as supplementary readers (in many cases reading books were sent); 10. Examination tests sent as a guide to the standard to be secured; 11. In many cases full teaching 1 notes were sent on several subjects; 12. Suggestions as to teachers' place- in the commu"That good results have followed from the scheme is proved by the fact that headmasters of parent schools have noted as the year progressed a distinct improvement in the work of the adopted school. Inspectors on their visits to schools have also commented on the improvement. The cost of. the ..scheme during 1926 was £3 Bs. lid, consisting of postal charges on letters and parcels of papers forwarded. More than 70 per cent, of the teachers of parent and adopted schools expressly to make no charge, the former stating that they had been amply repaid by the satisfaction their received in affording assistance; and by the letters of appreciation from their foster children, while the • teachers'of the adopted schools stated that anything they had had to pay was more than compensated for by the help they had received.... ■ "One of the latter tersely wrote, as follows: 'The cost of postage is a minus quantity compared with the value i have received.' Another stated: A. corfes E ond<fnce school usually charges for instruction'." The Board has expressed its appreciation to Mr Garrard and has approved of the scheme being continued.