NORMAL TRAINING COLLEGE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 66, 11 December 1907, Page 8

NORMAL TRAINING COLLEGE.

BREAKING-UP CEREMONY. Tile students attending the Normal Training College at Wellington assembled in the lecture-room yestorday afternoon, where they wore addressed by various speakers prior to their departure on tho holiday vacation. Mr. Robert Leo, Chairman lof the Wellington Education Board, presided, and there wero also present Principal of tho College (Mr. W. .Gray, M.A., 8.5 c.),,' Mr. T. R. Fleming, M.A., LL.B., Chief Inspector of Schools; Mr. • Wm. Allan, and Captain M'Donald, membors of tlio" Education Board, Mr. J. C. Webb, 8.A., headmaster of tho school, and the membors of the teaching staff. ' • . Addressing the students, Mr. Lee contrasted tho position of training colleges in tho present with those in the past. Fifty-nur years ago he had beon a student at St. Maine's College, Chelsea, London, and, looking back to that time, he'thought that bis old collego compared very favourably with modern institutions. The college at Chelsea was a largo building, containing class-rooms; residential quarters for. the staff, and diningroom, and the college grouncls covered an area of 11 acres —in the heart of London. They had manual and technical classes, school gardens, and many of tho features which were here regarded as new ideas in education. St. Mark's College was divided into three sections—the secondary, the prim '.ry, and the infant departments. Tho students, however,. had to do more active teaching than they were asked to do nowadays, and' in that respect they had progressed. The old system was not fair to the .children. Concluding, the speaker . said that liowo 'or good tho laws, however fin# the school buildings, however advanced the means of providing instruction, however apt the pupils might be, the fact still remained that unless a teacher possessed the essential tact, aptitudo, discipline, and personal influence, his work would be in vain.

Mr. Gray, Principal of the- College, then addressed the assembly. He said that the College had had, during the last year, practically its full comploment- of studonts — eighty. The total* number, estimated, to ultimately provide for the supply of teachers throughout the Dominion was fixed at 320. studonts at the various training colleges. Forty-six of'their .own students had l now been two years at the College, and the remainder —thirty-one—had completed their first year. Of the. total number, forty-nine had first been pupil teachers, beginning at fifteen or sixteen years of ago, and had served from one to three years at school. Twentyeight had'entered by the new way, having matriculated first,' and later had either been admitted as approved students, or, in some cases, as probationary students.' Referring to their ideals, lie was afi'aid that their realisation was some distanco ■ off. There was a great dearth of teaching talent at the present time, and it would be some considerable time before they would bo able to dispense with |the pupil 'teacher system.- He would draw their attention to'the fact that in the MiddleUniversity District, which their Training College served, there were 880 teachers. Of these, 290 wore uncertificated, and, of that 290, no less than 220 had passed no accredited examination at all. The balance, 61, had passpd' some, part of their examination. Ho considered/this an. astonishing and' appalling statement. Of the ,46 students] who had now completed:their course, 12. had' obtained the Training College 'Certificate, witlv the highest honoursl6 'had obtained first-class honours, ' and 18 had lic.en awarded second-class honours. The authorities had been in communication with the National Frocbel Union iVith refereneo to examinations for students in kindergarten methods, and as a result it was probable that an examination would he held next year. This would be the first of its kind, to ba held in the 'Dominion.' It was significant, said the speaker, that of their own students, 51 were women and 16 wero. ui«ai. Wellington had' contributed 24 students, Wangauui 24, Hawke's Day 11, Marlborough 3, Nelson 7, and Grey-1. Other speakers who' made brief addresses wero Mr. T. R. Fleming, M:A., LL.B., Mr. J. C. Webb, 13.A.,..Mi5s Fitch, and Mr. Hoult, B.A. (one of the students). On' behalf of the students Mr. Hoult presented the, Principal , with a handsomely mounted photograph of the College, students. The drill competition .medals, presonteu .by Captain Kebbell and Mr. Allan, for the men students and tho girl studonts respecti 'jly, were handed to tho winners by Mr. Allan. Cheers were then givon- .for the College staff and.others, and the proceedings terminated.