WOMEN TEACHERS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2169, 6 June 1914, Page 3

WOMEN TEACHERS.

MEETING OF ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Wellington Association of.' Women Teachers was held in Godbor's Rooms, Cuba Street, last night. Miss Myers presided, and there was aji attendance of about twenty-five. Miss Myers said that a letter had been drafted, and forwarded to the Minister of Education, bringing under his notice certain aspects of education! I interest, and advocating that women members should be appointed to the proposed Council of Education. The step was taken in rcsponso to the request made by the- Minister that .important matters discussed by tho association should be placed before him. Appended to the letcer were the reasons why such a step was advocated. The Minister's reply was read, and stating that the matter would receive attention. Mrs. Walker, of the W.T.C.U., Gisborne, said that the request was an important one, as affecting -women. Other associations should take the • matter up, although a society specialising in educational work was best able to deal with it. Appointmont of Teachers. Miss Coad moved: "That the powers of appointing teachers be removed from school committees, and rested in education boards and inspectors." Miss Coad explained that the motion was the one she had moved at the last meeting of the association. Sho then withdrew it, owing to the fact that many teachers thought that the time-was not opportune for such a resolution. Since then she had spoken to a piominent member of the institute, who had advised her to have the motion carried, and a copy forwarded to the Minister of Education.

Miss Coad repeated her remarks made at tic previous meeting, and instanced the fact that committees were not qualified to appoint teachers. Tho reform she advocated would bring them nearer to their hoped-for classification, based on efficiency and qualifications. Only by that means would they bo recognised when somo of the higher positions were vacant. It was only the board, acting on tho advice of thq inspectors, who wero qualified to appoint teachers.

Miss Myers said they recognised that the inspectors were best qualified to judge as to whether a teacher was suitable; still the school committees were the representatives of tho parents. If -the reform was carried out tho school committees should be allowed to protest against any appointment. In reply to a. question, Miss Myers said that tho Council of Education was hot yet appointed, and it was difficult to say whether they would take the power of election from the school committees. ' Miss Coad accepted an. amendment, as an addition to the motion, as follows:—"Pending the apopintment of an administrative Council of Education," and the amended motion was carried unanimously..., .

"An. Amiable Class." Miss Sinclair delivered a short address on educational matters affectinf* Now Zealand teachers.. "Wo womeitteachers, on the whole, nro an amiable class ,of beings," she said, "working 'steadily at the tasks set' by others. What tho accumulated knowledge of women teachers could say, provided w,o had a voice, would bo of' great value." Proceeding, Miss Sinclair said that on the, education of gffls : , especially, their' practical knowledge would be of great assistanco intho educational system. Scholarship examinations for girls were a heavy, task at a time when their work should bo.enlightened. Why was it necessary, she asked, under tho present free system, to have scholarship examinations for the secondary system. They were , a necessity in tho past, but wero not so under the present changed conditions. A lot was heard about the overstrain on girls, on going into tho secondary school. That would bo removed if there was just a passing from Standard 6, in the primary schools, into a higher standard. Modern conditions seemed to have made it necessary for girls to earn their living, but there was too great a hastening to mechanical tasks, such as typowriting, when the girls were- not fitted to do tho correspondence required by a merchant. The old barriers between tho High School and tho Public School were down, and.there should be no break in tho education of tho pupils. All pupils passed from one school to the other, and there should be no overlapping of tasks.

In tho discussion which ensued it was pointed out that tho Council of Education would be tlio only body to remedy the difficulties. Anomalies as regarded holidays had also to be attended to, as they were inconvenient to the parents. Regarding the break in the continuity of study between the primary and the sewndary schools, ono speaker said that there was some tendency to regard the primary school as a tail to the kite of the secondary and university education. Miss Myers did not think tho.y could havo a settled system of education for girls until they had tried various methods to see which was the best. Education In Scotland. A paper on "Some Aspects of Education in Scotland" was read by Miss Little, who explained that most of her experience had been in the teaching ofinfants. During the course of the paper she said that it had been found that the study of languages was heneficialin developing tho intellect. In the kindergartens and schools, in Scotland, all pictures that were not beautiful had been banished from the school-walls, and only beautiful prints allowed. The kindergartens, live in number, in Edinburgh, were doing good work, especially in tho training of the slum children. Another feature of education was the "play centre," its object being to get the poor children off the streets at nights , , , A vote of thanks was passed to both teachers. '