TRAINING TEACHERS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 255, 22 July 1921, Page 6

TRAINING TEACHERS

EXPERTS CONFER- IN WELLINGTON THE DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS The affairs of ,the training colleges were discussed at a departmental conference held 111 Wellington yesterday. The Director of Education (Mr. J. Caughley) presided, and inspectors, teachers, and educational officers were present. The conference had been calle;! at the direction of the Minister of Education in order that he might be advised concerning tho standard of efficiency secured by the colleges, which are at present training more young teachers than at any other period in the history of the Dominion.

The Minister told a Dominion reporter subsequently that ho luid asked the conference to consider specially the question of whether.or not New Zealand was getting the best value possible for the very large sum of money that was lining spent on the training of teachers. There were now some 922 trainees in the colleges, as against about 500 three years ago. The. payments made to these young people, who were bping taught a profession, compared most favourably with the payments made by other countries under similar conditions, and the professional opportunities ahead of the teachers had been made decidedly attractive. It was his duty in these circumstances to see that ihe country got the best value for its money.

The discussion at tho conference, continued the Minister, had justified the training colleger and their present couise of instruction. Certain deficiencies hud been pointed out, but these could not all be laid at fire door of the training colleges. It had been stated during the discussion that about 20 i>cr cent, of the students were not physically or mentally suitoble for the teaching profession. Tins statement had been accepted by tne experts present, and on that point he felt it his duty to insist that some process of elimination must be devised, so that only the really fit students should enter tire profession Some complaints had been made, by headmasters and inspectors regarding the product of the training colleges,, it being suggested that ihe young teachers had too much theory and not enough practice. The complaint deserved attention but it had to be remembered that some of the older teachers were rather out of sympathy with modern educational methods. He had heard of an elderly headmaster who remarked to a young and highly qualified teacher, newly arrived from the training college. "Mv’dear young lady, the first thing you have got to do in this school is to forget all that you have learned in the training college.” Thnt was an extreme case, but it indicated that there was some prejudice to bo overcome A point emphasised during the discussion, added the Minister, was that there should be closer association between tnl staffs of the training colleges and the inspectors, who were largely the arbiters as to the work of the schools. It tuignt. be a good thing that ilm merely* of the training college staffs should get out into ihe schools occasionally and that the inspectors should pay more frequent visits to the training colleges, lhey did not get much time for that under present conditions. The conference had no doubt at all about the importance of insisting that young teachers should be physically qualified for their work. A teacher who lacked physical health and vigour could not. he successful.