SCHOOL OVERHAUL

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1469, 18 June 1912, Page 6

SCHOOL OVERHAUL

BV COMMISSION,

MORE REAL EXPERTS CALLED.

DIVERSE VIEWPOINTS

SEX TEACHING IN SCHOOLS.

(By TolcEvaph—Press Association.) Dunedin, Juno 1". Giving evidence- before tlio Education Commission to-day, Mr. S. At. I'ark, secretary of the Oh«i) Education Board, expressed tho opinion that tho'jiuiu'b'or of returns required from teacho'f.s'arid'lioards was 'excessive, in (ho Dominion some GloO hours of teachers' time was.oqoupicil in lunkin.sr out' unnecessary returns. The grant for free- school books should bo abolished. Seventy-five per cent, of tlio children were still provided with their' own boohs.

' "A Chief Inspector. ' Mr. C.'-T(: Ijichardsou, Chief Inspector s.nid, that during'-.thq/last-li years tho increase in the cost of education had been as follows:—Primary, 7a per cent.; secondary, 23S per cent.; university and higher technical, 15S per cent.; industrial schools. 180 per cent.; deaf, blind, and 'defectives, ;IG(! per cent. Tho cost of technical education had increased tenfold. The policy- of • the Department in Tegard to primary 'education -. had been progressive,. and-.in .the niainVthe administration'hod "been'in'the direction of increased efficiency. The finances of secondary schools had keen rendered more stable, and fan avenue had been opened, to. a large number to whom it would otherwise have becn'ickse.d. -- -

If.ilia;agricultural-ami-rural course was to produce its full effect, provision must be'made for the appointment of a thor-oughly-qualified teacher to each school. The -salaries -of, first - secondary assistants should' be materially increased, and lha number of ■scholarships should bo increased, but tho-free'.places materially decreased. ..The system. 'of professional teaching at the training colleges required remodelling/- The Department should take immediate steps'.to' increase, the supply of teachers.- ;.Tho-.-present training colleges ■were .inadequate-',to cope, with the work, and, it'iauxi.inti'.v' 'iiistilutjons were, established ;three "years, the difficulty .would b' v overcome. '.' ',"•

Mr..-liicliardson: condemned the present basis of,payment,of teachers, and he opposed local'rating'for education. Teachers .were-not.well enough paid. "Child labour" existed .to a deg'rec'iiu Olago that re-, quired /looking into—mostly:, in the towns. l - Sex* Teaching, Agrarian; Classes, etc.'

Mr. Frank; .'Milner,. .Hector of the iWaitaki Boys' "High. School for . tho past; five .years, said that he wished' to emphasise the necessity of the introduction: of souu'd teaching'on sex physiology into schools. Such teaching, he admitted, was best given throiiglrpaiontal channels, but all his cxpcricnco'kd him to recognise that parents shamefully neglected their obligations. Every .teacher who . passed .through the traimrig' ; collegesxs'hould also ,bo familiarised with the scientific position.as regards alcohol. With regard to tho appointment of secondary school teachers, he considered that some form of. training was necessary be-fore-tho appointment was--made. The ordinary teacher went from tho university to the teaching stall' 1 of a'-secondary school, •and in many cases teachers gained their initial, experience at..'tho .expense of the ■pupils. ._He .advocated a guarantee that 'free-place pupils would stay two 1 years at secondary schools. He would debar girls from' competing for university junior scholarships on the same terms Ji.s bovs. With -regard to the secondary school curriculum, he said that' he considered Latin, vastly overrated as. an educational agency. Tho .Departmental "valuation of subjects was very iust.fand.he'tiiouglil: that the conservatism, of.-the University Senate was responsible for the i'ih'due valuation, attached to Latin, history, and geography. Liberally interpreted, however, these subjects shouldibe,compulsory for teachers' certificates. Ho would also include a proper course of physiology and hygiene. * .'"..■

The agricultural course hail thoroughly justified its inception at. Waitaki. Every penny.received went.for.tin- benefit, of the pnp|is.- 'after paying .salaries, iris own annual falary of ,£SOO had boon given to theiboard as a donation five rears ago, •when there wore 89 'hoys at tlie"?chool,"as ngainst 250 now.

A Champion of Schools, Wm/John Morrell, Hector of the Otago . Boys' High School for the. past six years, Kud'tli'afhe bslicved'that ilievworS if the. primary teacher was well done. The arithmetic was decidedly better done than In regard to tho'laltcr, his Hmpressiou was that in many cases '-there liiul hron Mo little practice-' in- reading ior understandr'3ng<"; The syllabus appeared to-be cpiite 'satisfactory if the pupil really acquired ,a knowledge 'ot" topic's. History should ■be a; compulsory subject,for all'teachers; i-audiwhat was reallv -required was -the 'establishment of a Chair .of History at one-, of the university colleges. 'The mathematical. ..geography . required in. Standard-V.[--was too hard, and appeared to bo profoundly "iiuiii'torest.ing to most hoys: He was in favour of a moderate Amount, of home work in the higher ■standards,? but .it should not exceed an ■hour an evening.

Ho-.believed that the special training of secondary teachers for secondary teaching would be : aivinimcnso advantage. '!At present he would as. soon have an able m.'iii without training as a man frpm a training college. ..The number of free-place scholars last year who dropped out after the first, year.'was 2-I per cent., but he did'not/think'that it was advisable to. binil-.parf-nts In keep boys at school for...'!y; : !>,'y; , 'M's; He was, however, in'favour -of- exacting a guarantee from the parents "of scholarship holders. Ho was strongly aga'ii.-t the abolition of scholarships, and, in lac/, lie thought that it would'be an excellent ide-i to increase the number, of senior scholarships, because'it was .it .the end of two years that the "pull" came. ■-

'So far .as. lie,'could see there was no overlapping; in Hie strict sense, between high schools arid, technical' schools. He •was against the amalgamation of primary, secondary," and technical education under one authority. He was strongly of opinion that there should be an educational council or consultative committee to consist entitely of experts repres»nfinsr different, branches of education. Tho Standing .Committee of the 'Secondary Education Conference should be consulted before regulations, were brought into operation.- ------ There was urgent need for expediting the progress of the quicker pupils in pfimarv'sclmols. so thatHicy mHit reach the filial-.standard a year earlier than they did." anil take up secondary work at! an earlier, age.' "- Private' schools should be subject to Government evnmimHui. He was strongly/opposed to the introduction into schools o'f--sexml physiology. To Mr. Wells: He would like to see established a trainim' college for secondary school tonehers. He thoueht that one would suffice for the Dominion.