EDUCATION IN BRITAIN RECENT CONFERENCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 15

EDUCATION IN BRITAIN RECENT CONFERENCES.

MR M. COHEN'S REPORT. At the la<-t meeting of the Otago Education Board tho following repoit was re|centd from Mr Mark Cohen respecting Ins investigations, at <he request of the board, j duiing hib recent \isit to England: — Dunedin, February 10. Dear Sir, — In accordance with Nour commission dated Febiuary 20. 1907, 1 represented your board at the Fan-British Confciencj on Education, which eat at the j Caxton Hal!, \Ve6tminst«M. from May 24- to I June 1. and at the request, of the High j Commissioner ior New Zealand I made I cno of a New Zealand delegation v;ho attended the International Conference on School Hjgiene at Examination Hall, Thames Embankment, presided over by Lord Strathcona. I Having made a pn'or engagement to xisit Germany at the end of May. I was unfortunately unable to attend continuously the i S'ttir.gs of the Pan-BriUsh Confeieme, but | I was present at most of the preliminary j discussion*. The Caxton Hall gathering j was tho first of its kind ever held within 1 the Empire, and attracted a great deal of attention from educationists, publicists, and politicians. The delegates, coming as they did from the uttermost enus of the Empire, witnout adequate knowledge of the business to be transacted, held \evy dnerse views on the leading questions debated, but it soon became apparent that there was a general desire to unite the Empire ■educationally, while giving full play to i each constituent part to work out its own j ideals. The question that gave rise to the ' best debate during the conference was a 1 proposal to exchange inspectors and i teachers. I took it on myself to express the opinion that this scheme was not prac- , ticable, the difficulties far outweighing the benefits in my humble judgment. I was in hearty agreement with those speakers who declared that the most that could be hoped for was that this conference, so admirably conceived by he league of the Empire under the direction of the Earl of Meath and so well carried out, might become- a recurring fixture, meeting synchronously with the Premiers' Conference, until replaced by a permanent and central Imperial Education Bureau, whioh wouid act a<s a kind of Educational Clearing-house between the heart and the distant outposts of the British Empire. In that manner those actively concerned with the administration of and in shaping the educational policies of our self-governing States ?nd Crown colonies would meet in London every four or five years, would exchange views, and would make suggestions for advancing the cause of national education in all its branches. In the interval between the assembling of the conference the officers of the bureau in London would gather all available information in reference to the schools in every State or colony, as well as relative to entrance examinations and curricula of the universities, besides preparing a complete agenda paper in ample time for full consideration before the delegates leave thir 6everal homes. For my own part, I ventured to suggest that if any additional means of keeping the educational outposts in touch witix the centre of educational activities were required it might be worth considering whether each State ought not to send to Europe, the United' States, and Canada, at reasonable intervals, some of its ablest educationists — teachers as well as directors and chief inspectors — to compare colonial methods with those of the older civilisations and more progressive educational schemes of the world beyond us. This special service should be the reward of successful and enthusiasfic work in the administration of our own education system, lam confident that great good would come of the realisation of such a scheme, but the men and women so selected ought not to bo chosen towards the close of their careers, but when their mental capacity is at its highest and their powers of observation keenest. A 12 months' leave, honestly earned, would be pi'oductive of great benefit alike to the individual and to the State if expended in the direction I ha\e suggested. The second conference that I had the honour of being present at dealt largely with qucrtions of school hygiene and temperance instruction, and was attended by fully 1000 delegates from all parts of the British Empire. The question of the medical inspection ' of schools bulked largely, and there was a pretty unanimous demand put forward that the time Tiad arrived when the Education Department should institute periodic inspections of all public school children; the woik to be carried out by medical officers of health, or by medical officeis specially appointed for the purpose. This demand has <=i??ce been embodied in a legislath c enactment, winch went into effect on January 1 la^t. It makes compulsory that which h-is been permis«i\e hitherto C'hiWien ha\e now to be examined at lea^t three tunes durinsr their school career first, when they aie admitted to the infant- department, sreond, when they are transferred to the senior department — i.e., our standards; and, lastly, at the ago of either 10 or 14 years. The examination has to be very thorough, for it has to take account of the following matters: -Previous di~ea«e, includint? infectious disease ; genera! condition and circumstances (i.e.. height and j weight, nutrition, cleanliness, c'othinjr) ;

throat, nose, and articulation; external eye disease and testin?. car disease and deafness; teeth and oral sepsi6 ; men-ta-l capacity ; present diseaoo or defect. The «cope and far-reachinsr powers of this act do not require to be pointed out. It hae been risfhtlv called, tho child) en's Charter of Health, the aim of which is to <irrost physical deterioration and to raise the efficiency of the lacs by checking: prevonuwe di^ase at rbc earliest possible stage. How far such a comprehensixe measure is necessary in our circumstances is not for me to say; I merely direct the attention of your board to the leading features of a most important legislative enactment, the operation of which will be watched with sjreat intciest in e\orv tountix that places hisrh siore on the physical peif-ctne« of it> i ; -ii>g generation. Dm ing the discussions at the Hysrieno Corfficnce which met a t-econd time undei the direction of the English Education Department. I was much -truck with the fact that, judged by the standards laid down by the experts in England, our schools in Otago arc. for the most part, well abreast of hygienic needs, both in i-ecrard ro the classrooms, gymnasiums, and ouH^or com eniences. Wfiat we appear to lack is sufficient provision for playgrounds, haviner regard to the possible expansion of populatior in the neighbourhood of our

cities and large towns, for the time must assuredly come when the playgrounds of to-day will not give even decent accommodation for recreation to the thousands who will use them.

Another point very strongly pressed a^ tins conference was that no class teacher should, under any circumstances, have charge of more thiidi 40 pupils; and I must confess that the evidence on which this demand uas based was incontestable. There was a consensus of opinion that there can never be thoroughly effective teaching so long as a class teacher has to care for 50 or 60 pupils (or even more), and the feeling wa s distinctively adverse to the continued employment of monitors or pupilteachers. This is, however, a matter that mnst bo governed in communities such as ours for many years to come by pounds, shillings, and pence considerations. We ha\e to staff our schools according to what is known as the colonial scale, but it may well come within the province of your board to direct the attention of the Minister to Ihe impolicy — in the centres, at all e\ents — of continuing what is an acknowledged evil.

Another important question that was incidentally mentioned was the desirability of advancing the age for leaving the primary school. There 16 apparently a growing feeling at Home that children leave the primary sthool and enter the labour field too soon, and that steps ought to be taken to check th<? movement. The London County Council are seeking power from the Legislature to enable them in the schools controlled by them to compel the attendance of children until the end of the term in which the pupil's fourteenth year is attained. It is thought that in cases where such children cannot immediately obtain employment, as often happens, they should be obliged to attend a. special day or continuation school for a year or two, and that the additional instruction so obtained would be ro the benefit of the pupil and of appreciable advantage to the community generally. I regret very much that, owing to the accident that befel me just prior to my arrival Home, I missed the opportunity of seeing the technical and trade schools in and around London in actual operation. I was, however, fortunate in being able to inspect one or two such insttiutions in different parts of the Kingdom and of seeing the great technical schools of Germany. I would like to take this opportunity of acknowledging my deep indebtedness to Dr Garnett (chief education adviser to the Technical Education Board of the London County Council) and to Sir C. Kinloch Cooke (a member of that body), who obtained for me every facility for inspecting the schools under the control of the London County Council. And I have to thank your board for honouring me with their confidence. My single regret was that circumstances over which I had no control prevented me from executing 3 r our commission in a more worthy manner. — Make Cohen. Consideration of the report was held over until next meeting. ;