GRADING OF TEACHERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 195, 13 May 1920, Page 5

GRADING OF TEACHERS

CONFERENCE V EXPERTS There has been for 6ome time paßt discontent among primary school teachers with the present grading system, which is now the basis on which promotions in the service are made. It is claimed by the teachers that the system is in many respccts. inequitable in its working. In order to get the best advice possible as to the defects of the present system, and the possibilities of amending it, the Minister of Education (Mr. 'Parr) convened q, conference of the inspectors of the Department, who are the grading officers in the 'several districts in which they 'are stationed, and representatives- of the ttfriching profession, these, latter 'selected from every district, by the Now Zealand Educational Institute.* -This conference began its sessions in 'Wellington yesterday. There are some forty inspectors and twenty-seven teachers present ■ The Minister welcomed the delegates at the opening of the conference yesterday morning. He said that this was the first occasion on which grading officers, —the inspectors—had been assembled to deal with the problem of grading, ' and there were present also representatives of the teaching profession from all ! /parts of the Dominion. The task before the conference wa6 a most import- . ant one. He realised the importance as well aB ■ the difficulties of the grading scheme. There were many _ problems at present confronting the Minister of Education, some of them arising out of the war and tho conditions it had created, i and others out of the fact that the sys- '< tern of education had had very few i changes made in _it for the forty vcai'B ; it had been in existence. He could! not 1 solve all the problems immediately, and ' plainly his proper course was to take them in their order of importance, and to deal with them. He looked upon the grading of teachers as an urgent matter. and he had taken an early opportunity of summoning the conference. He was aware that it would never be possible to get a grading system that would satisfy everybody, but he did hope that as a result of this conference a system would be devised which would J be 'satisfactory to the great majority of teachers, fte had been asked to invito I to tho conftTence representatives of . education, boards, but to this proposal lie had not agreed for the reason that • the conference would bo discussing a t difficult and technical matter, and that then was risk of the conference being : made unworkable by the introduction ' of a fresh element. He had, however, ' invited Mr. T/ Forsyth and one of his I colleagues ,on the Wellington Education . Board to be present. ' t The Auckland Education Board had introduced a grading system in 1909, I under his .chairmanship, tho object 1 being to ensure fairness in promotion > and to do away with wire-pulling in • connection with appointments.. Emally " the Auckland system wits developed into ' a fairly satisfactory one, and four years ago the Education Department introduced a Dominion soheme. That schema liai not proved to bo without fault, but they had all now had experience of it t in working, and' he hoped that 'they c would bo able to get 'rid of some at i any rate of the defects. The inspectors 3 had never before met to oompare notes, i and as a result of their conference he - hoped that it might be possible to arriv3 at a uniform standard of-appraise . mont throughout the Dominion. The i quota system would also come up foi i consideration.. f Mr. Parkinson, secretary of the Edu- - caticnal Institute, congratulated the o Ministor on having convened the . con' o ference. It was a most important meet e ing, and it was the firßt. occasion withir ■. hie memory when teachers had met ine spectors and representatives of tho De e partment on tho same footing. t' The arrangement for: ■••the;/conduct ~0l e tha conference whs that tho ffrst" uaj sliould bo spent by tho teachers ant is the inspectors soparately, each grou{ y discussing the question fronr its owi it poin; of view, and formulating pro 's pastils. Tho inspectors and the teach if era will meet together to-day, when th< conference Broger will ■commence,