TEACHING BY POST

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 278, 18 August 1921, Page 8

TEACHING BY POST

CORRESPONDENCE CLASSES TO BE ARRANGED EDUCATION FOR BACKBLOCKS CHILDREN At the monthly meeting of the Education Board yesterday morning a letter was received from the Government on the matter, of giving instruction by correspondence to children who have to live remote from any school. Tho letter Tan as follows: — “The Department is prepared to arrange for correspondence classes in private school subjects for children who are living in districts where no school is accessible. Such classes have proved highly successful in AGctorin. and if a sufficient number of applications is received a special teacher will bo appointed to conduct the instruction. 'The Department desires that the board will insert an advertisement in papers likely to reach residents in tho far back districts, asking for applications to be sent in by parents desiring instruction of this kind for their children. The advertisement will need; to contain the following:—‘Parents living where no primary school is accessible are invited to apply to the Secretary of the Education Board for forms and information regarding a system of giving instruction to children by correspondence. This system has proved highly satisfactory elsewhere.’

“The Department will shortly send a supply of forms and a simple description of the system. These can lie forwarded to parents who apply for information.” Air. AV. T. Grundy said he thought it was a step in the right direction. He had been looking into the Victorian system of teaching by correspondence, and found that it had Ipeen most successful. Indeed, in English the results had in some cases been better than where children were attending schools in tho ordin. arv way. Tho chairman (Mr. T. Forsyth) said there was no doubt that it was a step in the right direction, and the Department was to be congratulated on advocating and putting into practice a sys; teni that should be of great value to tho children of the back-blocks.