N.Z. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3377, 5 January 1920, Page 6

N.Z. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

T ' AIMS 01+‘ EDUCATION. . ‘ ‘ s “ .WELLINGON’, Jlasn. 2., ‘ ‘..THel__a,nnualjconferencel-fofr~the New Zealand. Education Institute opened toaday. The.presid'ent,' Mr‘ C. .R. Munrb, -of Aucklal_ld,'in this opening -addressemphasised that '-the school ought to be essentially a moral institution, and its chief end ‘and aim should be lto instil noble ideals of life and duty’, as will express themselves in conduct H of the highest type. Writers on educa-4 tion in recent years‘ had laid stress upon the importance -of the recognition of the ‘social saspeclts of eflucation. They desired to get away from the ideal of the efiiciency of the individual «and to seek instead the training of the individual for the general good of society. The tee}? was 1140'?! Wholly 3501‘ l ‘the’ school, ‘or the home, or for thechurch, or thervocation, or the press, or ' A {soc.i'et§§ itself; each must «take its ’-‘share:-' The school aimed at turning l~ out pupils eflicient in every sensegl; physically, intellectually, and morally ‘ and he believed the school could attain . such a high ideal. ' ~ E ‘ Referring to the ‘German and Prus- ‘ sia.-n educational systems, the president‘ ' said: “The result we have seen. The : whole‘German nation was dominated lay one ambition-—lust‘ for world power. 1 Had leaders of the nation zdevoted ‘the ‘ same amount of efl:'ort:‘“alid -organised ' skill to the inculcdtion _ of really 1 worthy social ideals, there is .-no place among civilised nations‘ to‘ wliich their 1 country might not have aspired and : attained.” He went on to say that ‘ Germany has “featured as her ideal in ‘ schools, universities, and in her social ' structure—w-avr, and a T‘x'erm-an natiom ‘ resting on war.’ The public" -sc.hools could be used,'and had ‘been used, to mould :nations as their leaders desired, ‘ and they could be used again in future ‘ with a- Worthy ideal, not ‘of glorificarion -of the individual, but the ideal of ‘ social service. _

There were three ways by which he (Mr Munro) considered the selected ideal could be achieved: By the cor-i porate life of the school; through the methods, it employed; and through its studies and curriculum. The corporate life of the school had been, in ‘great -measure, neglected in -the past.’ He believed -one of the past weaknesses in Nw Zealand schools was over government by ’teachers. The fault was mot I the fault of the ‘teacher, but ‘Of the’ system which placed from 6Q to 110 children under the care of a teacher, and virtually made him a drill sen‘ geant. ‘There could be no real education, no development of the individual ‘ under such conditions. The problem of I the large class modified the conception ‘ of what was possible in educational! methods. Ourmconception of education, should be one that would induce alli the classes of value, ‘the attainment of which made for better men and women. After a long discussion on a remit to urge the Government to purify and elevatethe standard of moving picture-en‘tert-ainments, e.ventually'Miss Coad and Messrs Webb. Garry’. Wilson, and McNaughton were. appointed a committee to investigate the problem and report to the exeeutivein-ot later thanl the end of April, ' pp , APPRECIATION OF REFORMS. ' 3 WELLINGTON, Jan. 2. The New Zealand Educational Institute has adopted the following remit, introduced by the executive:— - “ (a) That the New Zealand Educa-tion-al Institute acknowledges and appreciates the advance registered by temporary legisl-a'tio-n in 1919;.‘ especially as' it is accompanied with assurances ‘of further reforms next year. It re-asserts the necessity for extending thé education of the youth of the Dominion provide the fullest training of which ‘the individual is capable, and for controlling by regulation the hours: of Work and Wages of school children 'before'!a.nd after school. It re—afi‘irms its conviction that the national system of education can be best directed by a‘ National Education Board, and can be best admini,s't'ered by local education authorities, and it, directs the executive to carry on its Work of propaganda with all the energy and re sources at the' command of the institute. ~ ' ' ‘ V “(b) That‘ the institute demands that an end be put without further delay to the ‘ intolerable‘ injustice perpetuated by some of the Education‘ Boards‘ in the appointment -of teachers in a manner not in accordance with the provisions of the Act.” An amendment to omit ret'erence'to the National Education Board was defeated.’