EDUCATION IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 March 1917, Page 8

EDUCATION IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

THE BOARD'S TOUR. FROM ST'IATFOT'D TO WHAXGAMO- ■ :.[OXA, Tli" ci the Taranaki Education J.uMcmlav commenced their vi»s«t of ir..-pccixr.i io the schools in ijt.i district rust of !sI frii'tj, including that area of 'J'aranaki's hinterland that was liei'."t(if(,i'c c!:it:r,i('f<l in the Aiicklaml education district. The party, which comprised .Messrs I!. Masters (chair-' man), If. Trimble, S. ft. Smith, C. A. Wilkin,= 0:1, .M.i'.; members of the Board.. P. S. Whiteombe (secretary), and three press representatives, left Stratford shortly before 10 a.m., in three motorcars. Fa.vored by fine weather, though the nnmetalled roads provided a liberal covering of dust, the first day's tour as mapped out was completed,' save that time did not permit of a visit to Ilurimoaua, which will .accordingly be'the iipt sclirol visited on Tuesday. Six iehools were visited cn Monday", and the main feature was the few requests .made by members of committees who. met the Beard, showing that tliey must have been well satisfied on the whole with the way iniwhich the Board had catered for them in the past.. Another feature was the interest apparently taken in the seiiool and its surroundings by the committees of the majority' of' the. schools'visited, and another was the brightness, healthy appearance, and general bearing of the children, despite°the fact tliit many of them admitted to assisting with the milking Both night and morning. In fact, one bright rosy- v cheeked lad of 12 years stated* that be milked l(> cows night and morning, and he looked none the worse for it, and no doubt was proud of the fact that he was able in these diy-s of scarcity oi labor to r do his bit to assist his parents. Toko was the first school visited. It is the largest school so far met with, having a roll number of about 123. Mr. 0. L. Allan is the headmaster, his staff comprising Misses Spence, Allen, and Thompson. There are two large rooms. Two of the committee, Messrs M. Gernhoeli'cr (chairman) and A.M. Chancy Secretary) met the Board. A visit was made to the swimming pool, excavated some years ago; but unfortunately the design was wrong, as the deep end of the bath was away from the outlet, rendering flushing a. matter of impossibility. The bath as it at present, stands is uniit for use, and it would be difficult to make it of use. The committee intend asphalting a portion of the playground, the gravel obtained from New Plvmouth being already on the site.

Douglas was reached after a twentvjive minutes' run. This school, which is in charge of Mrs. Westrup and Miss Cameron, has a roll number of about ,00. It is perched on a knoll, w hence a line view of the surrounding countiy is to be obtained. Its location has caused the committee a Sot of work . in levelling off playgrounds, and tliev , have done admirably, having converted a hillside and a swamp into a (vi.!drained and level playground, on which some fifteen Jioys were playing football. The sporting instincts appealed to the chairman and Mr. Smith, and the Y organised n ..kicking competition, the'barefooted section being won by' W. Lochhead and the booted kick' bv Harold N'eedham. Mr. K. Walter (dhairnfan oi tho_ committee) asked the flphrd for assistance in providing a girls* sheltershed. The Board promised to build a shed at a cost .not. exceeding'£2(l, provided the committed levelled the necessary site, which it was expected would cost over ,CIO. In fact, right through, when the members saw that, committees were imbued with a spirit of seif-help. they expressed their willingness to assist as far as funds would permit, A plot that showed signs of having been recently cultivated wan t next looked at, did -Mr. Walters remarked that 1,0 would never take any interest in a school garden again, as it was a farce attempting one when there was no person to look after the gardens during the seven weeks' summer holiday, when it needed the most attention. Mr. Trimble pointed out that, other schools overcame this. .Air. Walter referred to the difficulty that Douglas had in securing a school, and in justification showed that although the school had only been erected five rears it hail already been found necessary to double it, and he averred that further additions would be necessary soon. He also pointed out a suitable 'site of half an acre immediately across the road from the school, which he thought would be eminently suitable for a teacher'.lesidencp, as such would be necessarv soon. It was, however,, thought prema*ture to talk of a teacher's residence. A splendid run over the Strathmoro saddle, with its rugged scenery and occasional glimpses of green valleys, though the country as a whole is' looking dry*, brought us to the Huiakama school, 21 miles from Stratford, passing en route the town-hip of Strathmore, which', judging from its two pretentious-looking two-storey boarding-houses, must have been of some importance, As. a result of meeting numerous mobs of'cattle and slice]) en route to Newton King's Douglas sale, Huiakama was reached over an hour- after schedule time. Mrs. Lamp'ougli, the school mistress, had luncheon prepared for the party, but as they had only recently lunched they, of course, were unable to accept this hospitality! This school has a roll number of 4!», and it is pleasantly situated. There is also a school vegetable garden and a flower garden, adding a bright touch of color. This is the first school in the Whangamomona county. The commissioners, Messrs A. Meredith and W. Holtz, asked for assistance in tar-sealing a portion of the playground, This had been done many years ago, but was now rough and dangerous*. Mr. Wilkinson suggested a coating of concrete, but the deputation considered the cost of gravel would be prohibitive. However, after a little discussion they agreed to do the work, provided the Board would find ,tio, This the Board will favorably consider,-the work to be done to the satisfaction of the overseer. The commissioners also deplored the fact thilli their capitation, £l(i Jss <ld, was hardly sufficient, especially as their stationery cost'. £4 4s, Members expressed surprise .at the cost of the stationery, but pointed out that hey were already paying committees the maximum capitatlp'i fll!°wpd by the Department. Soon Kftopwa|'f| s we ('hp into the 1111metalled roads. Jitiai: tjio 20-riiile peg a culvert had apparently broken through ,in two places, which were marked by •lo«§ pf wood pointing up, These may b*"goo4 ]an(li|iarks fey flay, but ljy night they would, prove vp'py 3ff!vWS r 4 sJjftuld any car bump one of' tiiein. At about the '29-mile peg from Stratford, Pohokura school was reached. It is pi; the s-iue of a hill, and 'presented ipasf for appearance of afljr

school visited. Tt is on nn area of three acres ot land given by Mi ItcChiegftgc. There is a roll number of about. 2'5. Mrs Calvert U sole teacher. Messrs D. Pitcait.hly C. C. Pridcaux waited on the board relative to fencing the grounds. The members stated that/ they would look into the matter and if deemed necessary, would have Die fence put in order. They also promised a grant of .£■2 towards improving the entrance to the grounds, conditionally on the committee doing the work and obtaining the pipes, which it. was said could be procured from the Whanga County. Mr. Wilkinson drew attention to the state of the shelter shed, and the commissioners undertook to floor this if the board granted the necessary timber, which will be done. It was pointed out that Poiiokura had been badly treated in the way of grants.There was a delay here owing to a puncture, and Whangamoniona was reached later. It was to drive straight 011 to Marco. This* school is situated about 5 miles past Whanga, at the corner 01" the Marco and East roads, in a commanding position above the Marco valley. .Members were at once struck .with the skill displayed in the laying out of the grounds, which were charmingly effective, with shrubberies and a pretty fernery, the paths and all appointments being tidy. Alongside is a school tennis court, The attendance is about 4f>, .Miss Oleescm is headmistress, and Miss Ilodder assistant, the committer being Messrs W. Gill (chairman), R. ilill (secretary;, C D. Hodder, T. Trask .'ml S. Kosewarne. Tin effect produced here serves to show what can bo done if persistent effort is directed aright. Tile only requirement of the school was 1 stove, and this would be procured. The school is in keeping with the grounds, each hat peg bearing a child's name, and 011 it were the liats and coats neatly hung up, not thrown about as at some schools. Later the chairman asked for ii tank and concrete flooriKg for the shelter shed, which will be considered A return was then made to Whangamomona (passing en route a fine mob of fat cattle from the Ohura, which were to be railed to Smart Road), where a deputation was received., A visit was then made to the school grounds about a .quarter of a mile down the Whanga road, Mr Mills is the headmaster, and Palmer the assistant, the roll number being 58. This school is in two sections, a small school having been built originally, but when the railway line came near Whangamomona a temporary ■ftriieturo nns erected near by in two sections, with the intention of moving it as the rail head advanced. The school attendance,' 'however, /lid not decrease, and the temporary structure remains. T lie committee look upon it as an eye-•-!cro, and would like it removed and the school proper enlarged. The board decided to instal hyloplate, instead of the wesc'nt black boards. The main school, like the other, is kept very neatly, the v ails biting adorned with samples of paper folding and prize-winning writing. Messrs M. W. Bovis (chairman), A. i'\ Sharp and Rev. Xorris, representing the

committee, waited on the board, and stressed the matter of doing away with the temporary school. They also' asked that the shelter ilied should be floored. 1 hcA board suggested concrete, and the committee, wiho stated that they were in debt, offered to cart the material from the railway station. The board will eon--idcr the matter. Mr Bovis also objected to the principle involved in advising the rssistant direct of any change of assistant, instead of advising the master or the committee. Ile also objected to the board taking away the committee's powci's of closing a school in the event of e.n epidemic, without first advising the secretary, Members stated that the regulator had been now altered so as to allow committees- to ciose under spec hi circumstances. They Hated »that the regulation had been brought in owing to committees often abusing the power. Mr J.iovis pointed out that'"the more responsibility the committee had the better work it did, Take away thoir powers, and the committees were weakened. Mr approached the board re the provision of a wash-house. The matter wi|| he considered. The proximity of a ppwdw magazine to the school was also pointed out, The school garden was also visited and favorably commented 011. The sehool iionors board Was also tlie subject of interest. The evening was spent at Whangamomona and In the morping a start was made for Ohura.