TEACHERS INSTITUTE REBUFFED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 25 September 1907, Page 2

TEACHERS INSTITUTE REBUFFED.

THEIR SUGGESTIONS IMPRAC TICABLE.

The Education Board's inspectors reported on Tuesday night that they had carefully considered the request of the laranaki Teachers' Institute for the holding of .Sixth Standard examinations

towards the end of the year at convenient centres, and pointed out some ot the more salient difficulties in the way of having the examination in Standard V 1 tor all schools held immediately lietore Christmas at convenient centres In this district the schools on the whole were so far apart, and oftentimes so remote from railway communication, that to bring all the pupils of Standard VI. to such common centres as had the accommodation necessary for the conducting of the examination would not only materially and unnecessarily inconvenience parents, but would probably entail considerable expense on the Board.

.Seeing that many of the Departmental as well as local examinations were held in the earlier part of December—such as Junior Civil Service, National Scholarships, free places in secondary schools continuation free places in secondary schools, matriculation, pupil teachers' and Board's scholarships—it would be inadvisable to crowd any more examinations into the last month of the year with the consequent clashing <i„ o to candidates wishing to sit for two or

more examinations held almost at the same time. Moreover, as a fair proportion of the pupils who would be examined for proficiency or competency certificates would also be candidates for scholarships, free places, etc, an uncall-ed-for mental strain would be imposed on them _ Under the proposed system, it would be impossible to conduct the oral examinations as they should be conducted. Ihe intelligence of a pupil and his htness to gam proficiency or competency certificates was guaged in no small measure by the oral examinations, "and as we feel keenly the responsibility of granting or withholding these certificates, we cannot fall in with a scheme that would minimise the value of thit oral teaching. In testing a school in -K'lice, nature study and kindred su ijects it was essential that the inspectors make use of the special apparatus set up by the teacher during the year, and o the special collections of specimens, etc,-made by him during the same pcn<>«, and these would not be available if several schools were examined at one centre.

Ileylley had found by actual experience that children from the country when examined under strange surroundings were paced at a great disadvantage, ■ind did not do themselves and their teacher justice. "The country," we take it, wants to be satisfied that it is getting good value toi the money it spends on education, and, with tins object in view, it requires that each school shall have to face sn annual examination when the work if the year us thoroughly tested It Standard VI. is examined at the end of the year, it follows that all promotions will also take place then, and will be determined, not by the inspectors, but by the teachers . . . The annual examina-

tions will become a thing of the past! • . . . We would not, except in a very few cases, have the opportunity of seeing a whole year's work in any one school. . . . Furthermore, we would not be able, as now, to ascertain whether a teacher has exercised the necessary discretion in promoting his pupils from standard to standard .... ,i n( j children passing from one school to another would be seriously handicapped thereby." In this connection it might not be out of place to point out that head teachers in schools where there wis no standard VI., and also those assistants who had not charge of this standard would labor under a disability, as the finished product of their work would not come under review of the inspectors, and hence the determining of their promotion and classification would be very haphazard. Undue importance had been given to the argument that if all the pupils of standard VI. were examined at the end of the year there would not bo that complexity of classification in the secondary schools that now exists on account of the admission of free pupils during any time of the year. This difficulty could be obviated i'f, instead .if admitting those pupils immediately they had gained the proficiency certificate, they were 'requested to wait in Standard VI: in their own school till the end of the year.

Mr. Monkhouse said expense was a fatal objection. For instance, it would cost £2 or £3 for a Whangamomona child to attend his sixth standard examination in Stratford. This would but add another drawback to the educational progress of the backblocks children.

Mr. Kennedy wanted to know what standing the Institute had. lie knew of several teachers who were not at all in sympathy with the Institute or with this suggestion.

Mr. Adlam considered the plan unworkable owing to inconvenience and expense. There would be (ravelling expenses and two nights' lodging in the case of the coast schools.

The report was accepted, and a coj of it will be sent to the Institute.