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These courses not only helped to increase the efficiency of the schools, but they inspired a spirit within the service. After the war was over, the courses were resumed, one being held for the North Auckland teachers at Ivaikohe in 1945 and for the Waikato - Bay of Plenty - Hawke's Bay teachers at Rotorua in 1946. The keenness displayed by the teachers at these two courses was the subject of very favourable comment by visiting speakers. From the inception of our campaign teachers have been encouraged to use their initiative in promoting schemes for the increased efficiency or the wider influence of their schools. While the Inspectors have laid down the broad general plans on which they wish the schools to be conducted, there has been ample scope for teachers to use originality. On the whole, teachers have used this freedom well. There will always be a considerable number of teachers who prefer the formed road to the untrodden track, but those who have given thought to their work and have been prepared to try out a well-planned experiment have initiated many ideas that have proved of benefit to Maori education. The Department established woodwork and cookery rooms and bathhouses, but such institutions as model cottages, school farms, poultry clubs, pig clubs, calf clubs, women's institutes, citrus culture, community centres, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Junior Red Cross, and organized school tours have been inspired mainly by the teachers themselves. Success in one school has led to their introduction into others, and valuable results have been achieved not only for the schools, but also for their communities. Then, too, we have tried to inculcate a new spirit into our schools—the spirit of child activity. From the beginning we stressed the fact that we did not want the children to be kept sitting passively in their desks listening to long lectures by the teacher. The chief task of the teacher was to awaken and foster a keen interest in each and every subject. In certain subjects the children should be taught how and where to get information for themselves, how to compile short talks and conduct discussion groups, so that they can speak with authority on the topic of their choice. Many of the schools have adopted such methods, and in these schools the spirit of industry is in strong contrast to the old spirit of boredom. Another objective was to secure the co-operation of the Maori people. It was extremely probable that they would view with considerable misgiving any changes from the old established order. Consequently, whenever opportunity offered, we took them into our confidence, and soon found that if the new changes were to be for the benefit of their children they were pleased to help ; and they have done so. In 1942 we held meetings of Maori parents on our routine inspections of schools. Last year we tried a new method of approach. Starting from Wairoa, in Hawke's Bay, we went up round the East Coast and down, to Tauranga holding small groups of teachers' meetings. At the same time we collected representatives of the Maori School Committees and gave them a review of our work over the last few years. I was very impressed by the intense interest taken in our talks by the Maori people, and in every case they wanted pencil and paper to take down the information supplied, to take back to their own people. They were particularly interested in the growth of post-primary education for Maori children and the success attained by training college and University students. For many years the Maori schools have had the benefit of a junior assistant. This position was filled by a young Maori girl who had had a year or two of secondary education, and her duties consisted mainly of helping the infant-teacher. The position offered little prospect of advancement, and the girls stayed at the school until they married or found a more profitable occupation. We felt that much latent teaching talent was being lost to the service. With the increase in the number of scholarships (and particularly those giving a third and fourth year of secondary education), we have had more and better qualified girls offering for these positions. We therefore arranged for a continuance of their studies through the Department's Correspondence School, so that

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