Secondary Education.

Hokitika Guardian, 9 June 1922, Page 3

Secondary Education.

i REPRESENTATIONS TO AIR PARR

WELLINGTON, .June 6. Representatives of the Secondary Shoo. Teachers’ Association waited on the .Minister of Education (Hon. ( . .1. j Harr) to-dav. t<v jiiaee before him rc- ! mils passed at the reeout conlerenee. j Mr 'l'. K. Cres-woll. president of the ; Association, spoke of the use of lios--1 tels for secondary schools, claiming that ! they ; laved a very mneh more iinpo:- | taut part in the progress of schools ( than had licen recognised a few yea is ; age. lie admitted that mneh had been i done by the Department in regard to hostels, hut the conference wished the Minister's attention to ho drawn to the fact Hat the hoarding allowamo fo o pci v. ee!\ pa id to the backhlock ehildlCll ceased when a child went to a sennit ary school, and wished him to remove ' the anomaly. Mr fresswell also urged the appoint- ! mem of an .Assistant-Director of Edu- • cation specially qualified to deal with j secondary school work, and brought to the Minister’s notice a remit asking for the avoidance of undue centralisation i„ education. The Department. lie said, for instance, interfered too much in the method of expenditure of the money from the incidental fund. The Minister said that hostel accommodation for secondary schools was on the Covernmont’s programme. That was shown in tile education purposes of tile l.oans Act. but- since the slump the hostels had had to be put aside. He cordially agreed that the hostels were a big factor in the success of education. and lie considered that when the country was ‘‘round the corner” it should take up again a comprehensive hostel building programme. The estimated cost of hostels now required was a quarter of a million sterling. Personally, Mi Parr continued lie objected to centralisation, unless it could be shown that it was in the interests of education as a whole that further influence should he given to the Department. \s far as the incidental

funds were concerned, tic saw no reason

•or interference, unless the amount voted was overspent, lie agreed that it, was desirable that the Assistant-Di-rector of Kdueatioti. when he or she was appointed shortly, should have a thorough knowledge of secondary school work.

Miss X. E. Cloud spoke of certain

tinning first the congestion m the \ aliens grades. In'one grade, lor instance there were IS positions for 32 teacheis and in (trade 0 18 positions for '>3

teachers. Shi' suggested the creation of more A. It. and C. positions. Mr K. M. Kenner explained that Boards controlling secondary schools had written to them frequently complaining thaf t he\ could not get teacheis to apple lor vacancies on the'' stall's, lie felt that lb,, c. smi v. - that teachers did not ai present rate

to face fhe high cost of transfer. Therefore he suggested that the Department. when satisfied that a Bon'd had made a good choice, should pay at least half the cost of transfer. Miss l'o"d brought forward a remit advocating separate schools for boys and girls over 12 years of ago. The Minister said he was inclined to Miss (load's view of this latter point, hut iL was too large a m dter on which to express an unoottsidered opinion.

Miss Coad urged that home science, a matter of pure thorny, should be made an optional instead of a compulsory subject. A groat deal of public money, she stated, was at present being raised on this subject. which was only of use In specialists. Music, it was asked, should he given more prominence. Finally Aliss CYad asked that, the maximum salary lor women assistants should he raised to £450.

Th,. Minister, reply to tile question of congestion in the grades, sod the Department's view wa s that if teachers would apply for positions in smaller schools, the difficulty would very largely he overcome. The crux

if the position seemed id be me question <f payment of tran-lci expenses and he was unuhle to deny that a necessary corollary of national classifica-

tion was me payment of these reasonable expenses. At the present time he did not know, however, whence the munev was to come, fie would consider the proposal that half the expeti-es should he paid, 1 would put it before Cahinct. The suggestion that more fositions should lie created was out of tin- question at present. lie

would look into the aspects of tln* home science syllabus mentioned by Miss Coad which were quite new to him. Mr Pan agree;) as to the importance of music in schools. Mr Heuner dealt with teachers' superannuation, and urged the Minister to bring in necessary amendments. Mr Parr: They all mean more money from the Consolidated Fund. 1 am inst I noted that that is the trouble. Mr Benner stressed the need for com. bating wrong methods of speech and pronunciation. “Lip laziness ’ among children, he said, was becoming worse year by year. The proper teaching o! pin neties was essential. The Minister sai.l lie had in liis desk draft legislation dealing with supcaoiiiialion, but it: had been laid aside for the moment owing to the financial position. As a matter of fact, too, netunj'ies had reported that first of all it was necessary to increase the Government enntrihution from (Ml .000 to COS.(100. if the fund were to he on a thoroughly sound footing. The country was hound sooner or later to remove the anomalies of which the teachers complained'. Mr Parr added that he was afraid that in some -schools there were too much carelessness ill the matter of had pronunciation, and he felt that proper voice-production and pronunciation should he taught both in the schools atid in the training colleges.