WOMEN AND EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2301, 7 November 1914, Page 9

WOMEN AND EDUCATION

~- DISCUSSING THE ACT. ''.'. ■ A meeting of'the Women Teachers' Association of the Wellington district was held in-the board rooms in Mercer Street last evening to discut>s the position of women teachers under the new Education Act.' Miss Myers, president of the -Association, was in the chair. In opening the discussion",- Miss Myers said that, since their last meeting important things had happened. The Education Bill had been passed,'and she intended, to speak'upon the advantages ,wiioh it conferred upon them. ■ . iJDf three particular benefits which fell to their lot, two w.ere so important that they could not" .yet realise how_ Jarreaching they .'were. .The recognition ofthe fact.that women were necessary on the highest body of all, that of the Council of Education, was something for which they could not be too, gratefull' ' The second advantageous fact was the appointment of women inspectors for-the 'schools; The necessity for this was so self-evident that nothing further needed to be said. Another •imp'royement. lay in the fact that one ■of the first ■ two assistants, in. schools must be a woman. The responsibility was now thrownupon them of electing suitable women' to the council.' 1 The primary schools in the north and in the wrath, would each have their" representative: the. secondary, .and; technical schools would' have their representative, and a further appointment would be made by the Minister of Education. In her opinion, the. women elected to the councjl .must strike a. new note in education, aid must .stand' for. the highest development of the woman's sliaro in

life generally. It was in recognising the differences, not in stressing the equolities'of men aid women, that the power of women lay. It would be necessary to -co-operate with other women, teachers' associations all over the Dominion, so that when the time came to elect their representatives to the , council they would know what each body was .aiming at: In addition to emphasising the women's vote in education they wanted to get women on school committees and on education boards. Miss ■ Helyer, who followed Miss Myers in'the discussion, spoke of the grading of the women teachers-in the 6eparate schools and upon co-education 'as, it was present carried out. .In the present system l girls and boys were ;taught in the same rooms; they were not supposed to be friends; they did not play together and to her mind it stcod upon a-false basis. They should be altogether separate. It was far better that girls should be taught by women, as men.could not have the-same influence over them that a woman could. It was difficult to make the Inspector-General and the Minister of Education see that that was.6o." It might be difficult to . arrange matters in this respect in the country, but not in the town. ..':■■.- -

Miss Coad, in speaking upon salaries ■ and promotions, said she had a mournful subject -tardea! with- The position of thewomen teachers (apart from the headmistresses, and infant/ mistresses) was the same under the now Act as 'under the old in respect of these two imatters. A number, were worse off. The_ promised .classificalion aid promotion scheme did riot fill them with hilarity. Until the teachers were paid for efficiency and service and not .upon average; attendance, injustices and an omalies would not be righted. What they had to/do was to plan some concerted", action .'whsreby all the women teachers of the Dominion ehpuld gain: (a) payment on efficiency and service; I (b) a classification and promotion sehpme not separato from men; (c) provision to ensure that women will not lose in salary Xas they do at present) when the > school rises in attendance. She could not think that •Parliament or 'the people would refuse to , listen , to such a reasonable request.. Miss Finlayson followed with the subject of the staffing of the / schools, a-most important matter if their efficiency were to be considered. At the present time, many of the schools were understaffed for the large classes which tlie teachers taught. She thought that the appointment of women upon the Council of Education was in the interests of tho best education of .girls. A vote of thanks was proposed by Miss Bright to the various women's societies that had. been .interesting themselves in the matter of education. Miss Sinclair seconded the motion, which was unanimously carried.