The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1885. Unsatisfactory Schools

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 48, 1 October 1885, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1885. Unsatisfactory Schools

We learn from the Chronicle in its report of the meeting of the Education Board held in Wanganui on Tuesday last, that the Board went iato Committee to consider the Inspector's reports on the schools recently examined. On the Board resuming 1 , it was reported that the committee had made the following recommendations, (which were approved) with regard to the schools named: — Crofton : The teacher (Mr Delaney) to receive three months notice. — Riverton : Mr THORBtntN (the teacher) to receive three months' notice. — Matarawa and Makino road : Letters to be sent to the committees re poor results, and recommending that the teachers receive notice of dismissal. — Porewa, Feilding, and Bulls : Letters to be sent to the head teachers, through the committees, stating that the Board is very dissatisfied with the recent examinations, and stating that if better results are not apparent by next year, the Board may deem it necessary to give the teachers three months' notice of termination of engagement. — Mosstown and Campbelltown : Letters to be sent drawing attention to poor results. — Resolved, That a special meeting of the Board be held on the 13th of October to consider the replies of the committees with regard to the unsatisfactory schools, and other business. From the above it will be seen that Feilding is not only the place where the teaching at the State School has been unsatisfactory. It will be for the local committee to give an opinion on the question, whether they will allow the children to waste another year of their time, during which the inefficient teachei's are to be allowed to cram those lessons into the pupils which should have been imparted in the years gone past. The serious and too often fatal issues of this system are now too well known to the public for them to tamely submit to their children being forced to extra study in order to make up deficiences for which they ought not to be held responsible. On the other hand, the authority of the head teachers at Feilding, Bulls, Porewa must necessarily be weakened by the probationary form in which they now hold their positions. The children attending these schools must know that their masters are not supported by "that power behind the throne," which tends so much to assist teachers through the imaginations of their scholars. Therefore, without j being positively guilty of any crime, I which may bring down punishment on them, they may be so passively disobedient or indifferent that the teaching, for the time, is mere waste of time and money. We think it would have been much more conducive to ' the maintenance of discipline among ' the scholars, and to the self respect of the teachers, if the recommendations ' of the committee to the Board had been made' simply through the Chair- ' man of each School Committee, who would, no doubt, in each case have j conveyed the unpleasant intimation to ' the teachers in such a manner that no ; unnecessary publicity would be given ! and yet the public good properly; guarded. It must be remembered that the masterß are condemned entirely on results. They hare had no opportunity allowed them of explaining why certain classes should be so ignorant on ce< tain given subjects. In a previous article on this subject, we said that the .frequent absence front school of many of the children who came up for examination, might ac-

count in a great measure for their failures. Another point is the overcrowding which, obtains in the classes where the number of teachers is not increased in a ratio with the increase in the number of scholars. This feature is very prominent in Feilding. It has since suggested itself to us in addition to this that, in a population so mixed as ours, where the children of parents from every nation under the sun, almost, are taught in one common language, the master must surely experience unknown difficulties in conveying his ideas or facts in words which, have, to the minds of such scholars, an utterly different meaning — if they have any meaning for them at all — to that of the speaker. There are many other points which, the teachers could no doubt bring forward if they were invited to reply to the charges against them. That they will be allowed such an opportunity, all lovers of fair play will certainly be inclined to hope.