Conference of School Inspectors.

Manawatu Herald, 3 February 1894, Page 3

Conference of School Inspectors.

• ! The Conference of the School Inspectors of the colony opened its sittings at the Edueabicn Board Offic s on Thursday morn n?, the Eev. W. J. Habeni, M.A., Insfec tor-General, presiding. The Inspectors present were » Messrs Anderson, Bindon, Braike, •^ Dickenson, Gow, Fleming, Goodwin, doyen. Harkness, Wood, Hendray, Hill, Hodgson, Lee, Morton, Murray, Petrie, Kitchie, Smith, Spencer, Taylor and Airoy. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that tbe purpose of the meeting was to secure greater uniformity in regard to the valuation of-the work ot the schools, and to the interpietation of the various details of the Standard Regulations. Prominent amongst other' - subjects' Was the question whether the inspectors ought to be officers of the Department of Education, as the framers of the Education Act originally proposed, or officers ot the Education Boards, as they were now. No Inspector had proposed to deal with the question of periodical or occassional exchange, as apart from the transference of the control from the Boards to the Department. Nor was there in the proposals submitted any indication of a desire for an amplification of the code of instructions to Inspectors. The proposal to bring the Inspectors infco direct relation with the Departmant was a proposal to amend the Education Act; but they need not consider that as a reason for avoiding ifcs discussion. They were likely to devote much consideration to the regulations for the inspection of schools and to the syllabus included in those regulations. There were several proposals with respect to the distinction between subjects in which the individual pupil should be examined and subjects in which class examination should . suffice ; also for two new standards— a standard below the present Firsfc Standard, >-and a standard above the present Sixth Standard — and there were proposals for changes in the matter of the syllabus.' Becommendafcions were also to be discussed wifch "\ respect to the teaching df history ; Ithe questi.on Qf making a distinction between the work persoribed for boys and fchafc perscribed for girls; as to the conduct of the school examinations ; and with respect to books and school material. Other questions were — Teachers' certificates ; pupil-teachers' examinations ; evening schools, scholarships, and high *r schdolsj. cultivation of pedagogical science ;. the relations sustained by Inspectors to the Secretaries of the Education Boards and to the Department; the adoption of a decimal system of weights and measures. . ..--,. .With respect to what was now -Commonly called technical education,' he was of opinion the most important service the.; primary school could render was to give instruction— as far as possible in the form of object lessons — in that primary knowledge of fche laws of nature which went under the name of "elementary science," and to ground all .' pupils in elementary drawing, and espeoially in elementary geometrical drawing. The educative influence of practical geometry was of a very-high order, and its practical uses. would have an ever-increasing value. '■■■■•-■ . . . Under the present system of giving reading lessons, thqce could.be no interest to the children in the narrative, and no love for reading created. A lesson on the -present system should be given, only once a weeV, and fori thevotheu reading lessons they should have .a -of- constantly, fresh, intll'e^tin^i^tt^i*, to be .read continuously, with tew jri terr uptions by way of corr*o,tien. Four or five boaksinstead -.of . one would -be required-^ the course- or a year. . . , . .Jtopks would -belong to the Education Board, .which would arrange /fpj. the periodical, exchange "of parcels; The first cost would not be greafc,. and the books would last much longer than those which belonged .< the pupils. The demajld.. ior : uniformity was based Almost entirely on the question of cost. land-WOUldsoon die oiit under the influence, of, an interesting and instructive- variety cheaply scoured; He had 'lohg thought that if the cerftwd 1 Bfetoiitthrettt had full r cpnfcrcft of fsJtf^sist* % "would be v. isje to "leave the mechanical work of Standard examinations in large schools in the hands of the headnHsters, and lb jbav^ each of these sohools inspected bjrtwo inspectors — a looal inspector, associated with an inspector from another district, inspectors would still examine "^ for: ißtaiidards in the smaller schools, but in a large school the two ingpeQiQ_&_Wo.uld examine the classes, and ascertain whether the weaker pupils in each olass wero fairly up to the work on which they were engaged*- -A repo.* bated upon an iavtiiMos it §Hls MMI m»s. If

I it represented the judgment of only on?., inspector, be more open to | challenge than a report based upon ■ individual examination ; but ihe j deliberate opinion of two inspecfo'- , ! and one Of theso a stranger, would be likely to command assent and Confidence. Besides' this, thn close co-operation of two inspectors belonging to different districts would tend JTo the formation of a common ! standard of examination. It was possible that in some modified form this plan might be brought iuto operation by means of a mutual understanding among the Education Boards. . The Conference wenfc into committee to consider a motion to the effect that in the interests of education the -inspection of primary schools should be undertaken by officers under the control of the Education Department. After considerable discussion, this was negatived by 12 to 9.— Post.