INEFFICIENT TEACHERS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 2, 5 April 1916, Page 2

INEFFICIENT TEACHERS.

POSITION IN AUCKLAND. Comment upon the unsuitability of a percentage of teachers for the profession was made at a recent meeting of j the Auckland Education Board..' | The matter arose out of a passage in , the annual report of the principal of the Training College, Mr H. A. E. Milnes, which read:—“Practical teaching has been, as in past years, our chief objective. As I have pointed out in several previous reports, there are about 15 to 20 per cent, of the students , who are not fitted for the profession, and much of our time is comparatively | wasted in trying to bolster them up so as to reach a passable level. Until the number of applicants for admission exceeds the accommodation, 1 suppose nothing can he done, but would-be critics should always bear in mind that there is no process for changing copper to gold—one can only burnish it.” j The chairman, Mr G. J. Garland, said it was well-known that quite a number of young people got access to i the college who never made what could be called the real, genuine article, from a teacher’s standpoint. The Board knew it, the inspectors knew it, the public knew it, and he knew it. It was not the fault of the students, but the fault seemed to him, and to the

board ail’d the Advisory Committee, to lie largely with the head teachers, who did not submit accurate reports as to the abilities of the various pupil teachers in some instances. Pupil teachers who were entirely unsuitable frequently served a term of year's of apprenticeship. When once these young people got into the schools as pupil-teachers and went through their second, third, or fourth-years, they wore then eligible to go into the Training College. continuing, the chairman said that .Mr Milnes, in his report, claimed that something should be done, and the board and the chief inspector agreed, Xo more students should be taken into the college this year, not matter how anxious they might be. There ought to bo some method of sorting out the inefficient students before they, got into

the college. j Mr E. K. Mulgan, chief Inspector of schools, said he would like to assure the members of the board that the remarks made by the chairman did not apply to all head teachers, but only to those who did not have a sense of re-

sponsibility. I The Chairman: That is so. i Mr Mulgan, continuing, said he was sorry to say there were some head teachers who were inclined to throw their responsibilities in the matter oi pupilteachers on to others. “We have a considerable number of inefficient teachers,” be added, “and we all know it.” The Chairman ; The -public know it as well as you. 1 'Flic inspector said they could not get rid o fsuch teachers,and they would have them for years to come. They

could not fill the Training College, as there was no great excess of supply over demand, and until they got it they could not weed out the inefficient. It was decided to defer further discussion on the question until the chiei inspector furnished a report, which, it is understood, will be submitted in a fortnight’s time.