ABOUT THE SCHOOLS.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1915, Page 6

ABOUT THE SCHOOLS.

VISITS BY MINISTER OF EDUCATION. } TALK TO HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS. PHASES OF EDUCATION. A busy day visiting the schools in New Plymouth was spent by the Minister for Education (the Hon. J. A. Hanan) yesterday. It is unusually interesting to accompany Mr Hanan to schools, for the new Minister has entered office equipped with refreshing ideas of education, and in carrying out his work he takes every opportunity to draw the opinions of teachers, to question them as to how they think education should proceed in the future, and to personally test the children %t work. There is nothing of the stereotyped Ministerial attitude about Mr. Hanan. In receiving deputations he is not content with simply listening to requests and formally answering them, but he prefers to cultivate discussion, to pick out the defects educationalists have discovered, and to ascertain in what direction teachers and members of the boards see room for improvement or the introduction of advanced ideas. It was on these lines that Mr. Hanan worked yesterday, and so thorough was his inspection of the comparatively few schools he visited that the tour occupied the whole day. Soon after nine o'clock the Minister, accompanied by Mr. H. Okey, M.P., and others, visited the Boys' High School, where he was met by the principal (Mr. W. H. Moyes) and members of the Board. The Minister made a thorough inspection of the school. Speaking to the senior boys, Mr. Hanan congratulated them on their excellent physique and impressed upon them the <alue of being sound in mind and sound in body. There was only one way to get on in the world and that was by work —by hard work. He hoped the boys would value their physique and take care of their bodies, .and so preserve that sound constitution which was essential to a successful life. They had to learn selfcontrol' and to learn to say the most difficult word in the language—the word "no." Later on, the Minister addressed all the pupils and he gave them a spirited and patriotic address. He traced the growth of New Zealand and the great work which the fathers and mothers of the boys had done, leaving a wonderful heritage for the youth of to-day, who were the trustees of the future. It was the duty of the young people to continue that splendid work which their parents had commenced. The boys and girls of to-day had to cultivate a national spirit and a love for their country. Some of the boys who had passed through the' High School had recently shown that they not only loved their country, but that they were prepared to die for it. Mr. Hanan said he was proud to hear that one boy who had passed through the school had won the Military Cross. That lad not only brought honor on his old school, but on the people of New Zealand. The party then proceeded to the Girls' High School where, after inspecting the buildings, the Minister briefly addressed the girls. He said there was such a thing in New Zealand as lop-sided education and it was his aim to right this. The girl of to-day had to prepare herself to play an important part in the life of the nation in the future. She had to foster an interest in the home, for it was in the home that the natio" was made. The girl of to-day would influence the man of the future, and by raising the character of the girls to the highest plane so would the lives of men be raised. He hoped the girls would ■receive a good all-round education which would not be lop-sided and he hoped they would be trained to be good mothers and good wives. They should seek to be self-reliant, and should gather as much information as possible to®go through life with. .When a girl lost her character she lost her greatest asset in life; it was no good her being clever and bright then. The party then visited the proposed site of the" new Girls' School and this concluded the programme of the High School Board. GAMES AXD HEALTH. The party then motored to the West End School, where they were received by Mrs. Dowling. The extent to which tlie school is overcrowded was pointed out to the Minister, who was shown class-rooms, full of pupils, and the shelter shed being used as a class-room. The land adjoining the school, which Hie Education Board desires to acquire for the extension of the school, was inspected, and the necessity for securing a grant to purchase the prosperity was impressed upon the Minister. While speaking to the pupils in one room, the Minister touched on an interesting poifli. By asking several pupils he sought to ascertain the weight which was represented by the school bags carried by them, remarking that this afforded an interesting sidelight 011 the effects of carrying heavy school bag?. "It seems to me," said Mr. Hanan, ''that in some schools pupils arc made packhorses. This is an important matter, and it is a question I intend to go into." Tiie Minister then proceeded to question the boys to learn what games they played. Boys in New Zealand, he said, should know more games, instead of only being acquainted with cricket and football. There was not sufficient varietv i/i tile games played at schools at the pre.sent time, and he said that he intended to take some steps in tlie direction of inducing Educations Boards to organise more games. The presence of knitting material then attracted the Minister's attention, and he expressetd keen delight when he learned that the boys as well as tlie girls were taught knitting. ''Well done, boys," he remarked, "it is very useful to be able to knit."

Tie party then proceeded to .Vogeltown, where tlie site of tlie suggested new school was visited and a few minutes were spent at tlie school. Then the party returned to town for lunch.

Jn the afternoon, the Minister was motored to Fitzroy, where he inspected the farm plot and then visited the school, being conducted over the building by Mr. 0. Johnson, the principal. When the party entered one of the ciass-roo.ns a pre'tty welcome was given by a number of little girls, who left tneir seats and presented each member of the party with a button-hole. This gave the Minister an opportunity, for the ideal which a love for the beautiful presents is one which appeals to Mr. Hanan. He thanked the children for the flowers, which, he said, showed they had a love for flowers and things beautiful. "You are little iuman flower 9,"

added Mr. Hanan, ''and it is our duty to care for yon in the same way that a lover of flowers cares for them; and we want to look after you so that you will grow up beautiful in mind and beautiful in character. I would like to see your school surrounded by a beautiful garden, and I want to see boys and girls fond of flowers. It shows your character it shows that you love everything that is clean, fair and beautiful. I also want you to cultivate good habits—to clean your teeth every day, brush your boots, and wash your bands when they are dirty. These are only little things, but they mean a great deal. And last, I would also like you boys to go in for plenty of games and take plenty of fresh air." Speaking to tlie Minister later Mr. Johnson referred to physical work, and said he felt that not nearly enough of this was done. 111 regard to the medical inspection of schools, he thought it I was a waste of the inspector's time.

The Minister: Do you think it would be better to get light at the children with physical defects and attend to them and leave the normal children alone?

.vLr. Johnson agreed with this suggestion, and expressed the opinion that teachers should be trained so as to be able to detect physical defects in children.

The Central School was next visited and the Minister was shown round by the headmaster (Mr H. Dempsev), and the chairman ol the school committee (Mr. S. G. Smith) Mr. Hanan expressed his admiration of the work which was being carried out. THE TECHNICAL COLLEGE. The last stage in the day's programme —a visit to the Technical College—was then carried out. The Minister was received by the Director (Mr. A. Gray), and was shown several classes at work and tlie need for further accommodation was pointed out* to him.

The Minister conversed with some of the boys and asked tiiein why tliev had not gone in for a secondary education. The answer of every boy was: "I wanted to learn a trade, sir." At this the Minister remarked that to-day it was essential that a man should learn a trade, which he could take anywhere in the world with him. Many boys who went to secondary schools went out in the world without any definite object before them, but every boy who went to a technical school was equipped with a trade. In this position, the value of .technical education was strikingly shown. The Minister was keenly interested in all he saw, and spent a long time in the engineering department, where particularly good work is being carried out.