SIZE OF CLASSES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 134, 7 May 1940, Page 8

SIZE OF CLASSES

STAFFING OF TEACHERS. REFORMS URGED. In his presidential address to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute in Wellington yesterday, Mr D. C. Pryor dealt with the questions of size of classes and staffing by teachers. “At present progress in our schools is being hindered, by two important factors, which it is our duty as an institute and as teachers to work to our utmost to put right,” he said. “I refer to tlie large classes still existing in our schools and to the lack of co-opera-tion between the school .and the home. It is not my intention to elaborate the deadly evils of largo classes. That has been done most capably by two of our .past presidents in their presidential address to this institute: by Mr B. N. T. Blake in 1927 and by Air F. L. Combs in 1928. Those addresses were given twelve years ago and have been repeated since, but the evil is still with us. Our work is still hampered by classes of 40, 50 and 60 children, and the time has come for us as an institute to say ‘this shall not be.’

“In February of this year there were still five or six classes of over 60 pupils and some 343 classes of between 50 and 60—actually a worse state of affairs than that pertaining at the same time last year. Lower in the scale wo find 1150 classes of between 40 and 50.

“It is interesting to compare these figures with, say, five years ago—the year ivas actually taken at random. 1935, 9 classes over 60; 1940, 6 classes over 60; 1935, 349 classes 50-60; 1940, 343 classes 50-60; - 1935, 1007 classes 40-50; 1940, 1150 classes 40-50. These figures do not indicate any great advance, and it is clear evidence that we as an institute must maintain our advocacy for smaller classes. For years now we have fought for this reform, and of recent years we have worked with the goodwill and cooperation of the Atinister for Education and the department. But the evil still exists, and I believe there is no sound reason why it should. “We have to admit that much has been done. Some stupendous difficulties arc being overcome. We could not have smaller classes until we had more teachers or until we had accommodation for those classes. In recent years the building programme of the department has shown marked progress. The annual amount spent on education building lias been:—l93s, £57,160; 1936, £131,457; 1937, £281,896; 1938, £561,432; 1939, £680,123. This indicates a very earnest endeavour to overcome . this difficulty. However, at the commencement of this programme our schools were in an extremely shocking condition and much still remains to be done. But the great reform need not and must not wait for tin’s. For the sake of our pupils—l believe for the sake of the welfare of this Dominion—our slogan must be: ‘Give us the teachers. Aiake our classes smaller, and let, the building catch up with us.’ The matter is much too serious, much too urgent to be held up by a detail which can in the last resort be overcome by numerous expediencies available to tlie headmasters of the schools concerned. SUPPLY OF TEACHERS.

“The other aspect, that of teacher supply, is much more serious,” Air Pryor added. “Although the training colleges have been working" under full pressure for the last four years, it has not been until comparatively recently that teachers have been available for additional permanent staffing. But the point is that they are now available—have been available for some months, and they should be absorbed into the permanent service immediately. Figures available to me indicate that at the end of February there w r ere some 800 supernumerary teachers without permanent positions. This should not be. The position is completely unfair to the schools, to the teachers concerned and to the children.

“The staffing schedule in the new salaries regulations allowed for the most liberal staffing with the teachers available at the time. Rut we all realised that it was far from satisfactory and must be adjusted, as new teachers were ready. A careful analysis of those schedules clearly indicates the real seriousness of the position. If wo admit that no probationary assistant should be placed in charge of a class of more than 30-—and who will challenge that? If we further admit that no infant teacher should have a class larger than 35 —and again who will challenge that? If we admit these .two statements, then it is impossible under the present staffing schedules for a headmaster in the majority of Grade V and Grade VI schools to have standard classes of an average size of less than 50 pupils. That is a very serious position, and a position which should be remedied immediately now that teachers are available.

“The position is unfair to the young teachers—fully trained, eager to show their abilities, but moved from school to school, unable to develop their ideas, or accept the responsibilities they feel to be their due.” The supernumerary system,. Mr Prior, said, had much to commend it as a temporary measure, hut only at such.

“This state of affairs,” he added, “should be righted, and can bo righted immediately by the adjustment of the staffing schedules, so that all the available teachers are absorbed on to the permanent staff of our schools. Only then will it be possible to say that we have made definite and permanent progress in the great objec five of the institute over many years the reduction in size of class —only then will we be on the way to the ideal of all teachers: the opportunity to educate to the full—to leave behind us for ever the days of instruction and repression. That will be the first step. But no one interested in the true education of our children will be satisfied, until: (1) There is no class of over 30 children-; (2) all probationary assistants are supernumerary to the staff; '(3) headmasters are more free to do the real work of their schools. We have much still to work for —there can be no slacking by any; anxious for the welfare of our schools.”