IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1921, Page 6

IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

EDUCATIONAL DIFFICULTIES. TEACHING CHILDREN IN ISOLA-, TED DISTRICTS. At the Educational Conference at Wellington, Mr. T. F. Warren (a Wellington inspector) gave an interesting statement of his experiences in the backblocks districts, the Sounds districts of Marlborough. In that he stated, he had upwards of 70 grade O schools, and a greater percentage of uncertificated teachers than existed in any other district in New Zealand. There had been talk of the board employing another organising teacher for the schools in the Sounds, and the only way he could work the district would be by means of a launch. He had considered all methods of . dealing with the problem of training the teachers, practically all only sixth-standard girls, in these isolated schools; and this last year he had held a summary school for 20 to 30 of them, using the Technical School as both hostel and school, Mrs. Warren assisting him. They had given the girls three weeks’ training, and he thought they had considerably benefited as a result 1 The board had consented to a similar plan being adopted next summer. T.’. MINISTER’S APPRECIATION. The Hon. C. J. Parr (Minister for Education) said that he desired to com‘ment, as Minister, very highly on the enterprise shown I by Mr. Warren in Marlborough in dealing with his uncertificated teachers. There was no item in the Education Estimates that attracted more attention than education. He got quite a lot of criticism to the effect that the department was doing far too much for the cities and far too little to backblocks districts. He thought that, even if the parents objected, it would pay in the long run both for the teachers and the children, to bring the teachers in the backblocks into town for two or three weeks’ training during the term. The children would, he thought, get in the long run better teaching in that way. He suggested a scheme of itinerant wellqualified teachers, in place of the sixth standard, uncertificated teachers now working in small country schools. Mr. N. R. McKenzie (Auckland) said that they had such a scheme in the Auckland province, and had received excellent results. A small portion of the time 'of a qualified teacher was worth the whole of the time of these unqualified teachers.' SUGGESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS. Mr. W. W. Bird (senior inspector, Hawke’s Bay) suggested that arrangements might be made for grade 111. teachers to act as local supervisors, or , district headmasters, to a number of small schools in their areas.Mr. F. H. F. Bakewell (senior inspector, Wellington) said that the itinerant school teachers would do for most backblocks portions of the Wellington district, but they would not do for the Sounds. He had spent a month going round the Sounds in a launch with Mr. Warren, and the itinerant system, in view of the weather conditions so often prevailing, would not do there at all. Professor Shelley (Canterbury College) said that he looked with some misgiving upon bringing the best uncertificated country teachers into' the towns for training. It would denude the country] of good teachers. Give these teachers town interests and they would cease to be saturated > with the rural atmosphere which was,so essential to the success of the country teacher.