TARANAKI EDUCATION BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 103, 18 June 1900, Page 2

TARANAKI EDUCATION BOARD.

RECORD JOR 1899. The annual report of the Education Board recently to hand is arranged on identical lines with that of previous reports. In addition to the reports of the Chairman (Mr. McAllum), the Inspector (Mr. W. E. Spencer, M.A., B.Sc,), and the Ladies' Sewing Committee, there ure full tables giving details relating to the staft, the pupils, and the results of the work. The changes in the Board itself have been few, but there is no doubt that by the loss of the late Mr. Bauchope the strength of the Board suffered, although the member elected to the vacancy, Mr. B. A. Hignett, is most active and zealous in the discharge of his duties. Misfortunes did not come singly, for besides the loss above mentioned there waß a change of Secretaries, and although this caused some little confusion and inconvenience the Board were fortunate in selecting so able and courteous a gentlemen as Mr. P. S. Whitcombe for the Secretaryship. Curiously enough, in spite of the additional schools, the number of teachers was less, according to the Chairman's report, by two than in 1898, while the number of children on the roll had increased from 3981 to 4039. New schools were erected at Waiongona and Denbigh Road, and large additions made to Egmont Koad and Toko. This indicates a steady progress, though hardly as large as might have been expected, In the Inspector's report the numbers do not tally with those given by the Chairman, for instead of 4639 pupils on the roll we find 4065 (an increase of 112), out of which only 2623 (scarcely two-thirds) were present at the examinations, while 2057 secured a pass. The large number of those absent is attributed to the prevailing sickness, which seems to have been general throughout the district. The Inspector rightly expresses satisfaction at the steady increase in numbers in the upper classes, and considering the little time and less opportunity that the majority of children have to spare for pursuing studies after leaving school, a decided advance is marked when they are allowed to stay beyond the statutory Bge at which it is permissible to take them away. The Inspector candidly regrets that only a small portion of the schools were inspected. To whatever cause this is due, it is one that ought not to have existed. Under the new regulations now in force, the Inspector's duty will chiefly be concerned with inspection, so that it is to be hoped a material improvement will be recorded in the current year's report of school work. We are glad to note that the Inspector has given prominence to one of the greatest blots in the school curriculum —readiDg. The ineradicable evil attendant on the parrot-like method in vogue has long been a standing disgrace to the colony, and the happy experiment tried with such sucoess at ! Napier, and referred to at length in Mr. Spencer's report, is one that should be generally adopted. The notice ofj motion tabled by Mr. Hignett for . encouraging the establishment of school , libraries is designed to give help in the i right direction, and should, if ever the | Bard find time to discuss and piss it, be a great boon to teachers and scholars.; With unsatisfactory reading there ino wonder that inferior composition I follows. "In a largo percentage of schools," says the luspactor, " the! : arrangement of the clauses and phrases' is often faulty, and loose, ambiguous sentences take the place of vs ell-con-structed periods." Unfortunately this j literary defect is not confined to child-, ren; the difficulty of finding a middle' course between a fluency of stilted language and abruptness is onG long, standing. Judging from the effusions of some of the teachers who occasionally act as local correspondents to the Press, there is every reason to fear that the construction of " loose, ambiguous sentences " is, so far as the children are concerned, more a mi-for.une than n fault. Referring to the teachers, the Inspector divides them into twocl isaes —good and bad. Of the former hiH praise is genuinely warm, while of the latter, in a spirit of charity, ho merely remarks that " there are some who from lack of ability, and sometimes, I am afraid, from lack of interest, perform their duties but very indifferently." How long the Board will patiently bear with the inefficient teachers has yet to be determined. Possibly some day when their whole method, or rather want of proper method, of conducting business is arranged on a sound common sense basis they miy find time to devote their attention to the consideration of many important matters uuder their jurisdiction whieh are being continually crowded out by the mass of petty trifles which could far easier and better be dealt with by the chairman and secre-j tary. Of the pupil teachers and expupil teachers, Mr. Spencer speaks very highly, eo that there is every prospect of the teachers of to-day being replaced by excellent material when the time comes for the rising generation to take their place in educating the children of the near future,

The Ladies' Sewing Committee's report is by no means encouraging. At only four schools is the quality of the work marked as " very good " ; ten are set down as " good " ; one as " very fair " ; several as " fair " ; several as " poqr " j sevei} as " very poor " ; and one as '-'bad." Too much reliance, however, must not he placed on thjs epor, as, unfortunately, it has created grave dissatisfaction in several places, and several teachers have been much distressed at the nwards made. Possibly the Committee may require reconstructing. There are so many faddists in sewing matters that it is doubtless dijlicijlt to fix a standard basis, bt)t untij this is done, and aij ! utellii'eotp'assifjcatiojiQf workadopted, there will be sui-'O to bfl unsatisfactory, results.

There is nothing to call for special mention in relation to the financial statement beyond the fact that the Uoard had fl, credit balance of £ll9B 14s 6d at tli.e close of the year.