TARANAKI TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81918, 4 March 1907, Page 2

TARANAKI TEACHERS' INSTITUTE.

Twenty teachers attended Saturdays meeting of |he Aew I'iymouth centre of the '.L'aranaki branch of the Teachers' Institute. Mr Oscar Johnston presided. Mrs Bowling, one of the representatives at the. annua.l nieeljing l erf the; -New Zealand Educational Institute, delivered her report, tin; tenor of \vh eh

Has that the representatives seemed to think no good thing' could come out of Taranaki, and the remits from this district had been almost ridiculed. Mrs Dowling also read a splendid essay by a southern teacher dealing with tiie work of training colleges. The chairman said lie had had a conversation with the Chief Inspector, Ah liallantyue, concerning matters ail'ecting the profession, and had ascertained that jllus Juspccljor was! iflq&ujjj} oil meeting the teachers at an Institute meeting. Mr .Liallantyne would attend the iiist meeting after the arrival of the new ass.staul-iiispeetor. The chairman mentioned Ilia, there were many things needing readjustment, and it seemed to h;ni that there could be no more Jilting opportunity. ilr Dempsey said he had gleaned 'the same infiltration from JJr Ballantyne, and understood that the inspector lumseif would suggest a conference. A resolution was carried to the ef-

feel that the Institute would welcome an opportun.ty of discussing matters with the inspectors. Mrs Dowluig moved that the Education Hoard he asked to re-adjust the holidays, giving six weeks at Christmas and a week at the end of each of the other terms, at ihe beginning of May and September. The mover remarked that under the present system in a family with some children attending n secondary school and others at

a penary school tyie (children ."oJujly spent the t.'hr.stains holidays together, for the secondary schools had term holidays. Another thing was that nom the midsummer holidays to the fortnight's spell in winter was a very long period, which might iwith advantage be broken.

Mr JJojinpsey seconded, and slateid Wanganui and ilawkc's Bay were working iu the same direction. Tcaehcrs did not want a fortnight in midwinter, an at present, and would prefer two separate weeks. ill- Pope said that from the country teachers' point of view tile longer the winter holidays the better for the school, as ill that season the attendance was always small on account of the almost impassable state of the roads. Mi; Peulington preferred the term holidays. :ilr llice, tyeiuarkeU that ftVu-aWvW was the only district where the Christmas ivaeatdou was Jiwited to live weeks. On the amendment of Messrs Pope and Mellroy, that the Board be asked to allow two weeks at the end of each term, was lost, and the resoluton carried. ill- Dempsey mentioned the matter of the appointment of Mr Burnside, their president, to the position of an inspector ol schools. It was, he said, a feather in the cap of Xaranaki teachers, and an honor to the Institute. It was pleasing to notice that

in -everal recent appointments of inspectors the Boards were taking more notice of practical teaching than they had done in the past, when other high qualilications had been favored. 'The Boards were doing the right thing, for a man could kindly be expected to make a good inspector without first being an experienced schoolmaster. ill- Johnston, in seconding the molion, said there was a tendency abroad to belittle the Taranaki teachers, and lo look down on them. This appointment seemed like the lirsl step in their assertion of their equality with any outsiders.

-Mrs Don ling mentioned the resolution passed at the. meeting 'of the Co-

loiral .Institute recommending that no one lie appointed an inspector unless lie lias hail seven years' experience as head or solo 'teacher in a New Zealand primary school.

A resolution congratulating Mr Uui'nside was carried.