P.B. TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3337, 2 October 1911, Page 2

P.B. TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE.

ADDRESS BY CHIEF INSPECTOR HILL. j A tn Saturday morning Mr H. Hull BA. Chief Inspector to the Hau -o ,v Bay Education Board, who has receufs ly returned from a trip round tlij world, addressed the local, teacher^j giying bis impression on cducationa, matters in countries he had visited. On his trip Home Mr Hill called at Suva, where he saw the school eon) trolled by the missionaries sent out from England by the Central Body of that country. The only point that Mr HU I had to say of tlie education of that ls-i land was that it was under the control, of the Victorian Department, and inspected by that State’s Inspectors. At Honolulu the examination of the school was being held while Mr HiII was there. The United. States control the education of that island, and: the metJiods adopted seemed- excellent. In the (schoolrooms the walls are duplicated, (the front one being of hyloplate, whidh can be raised easily showing the seoo|idi wall at the back, which provides pegs, for hats and coats. In the schools natu ;e study forms a veiy important part,of the school curriculum. Thfl schools at Vancouver did not impress/Mr Hill very much. He stated ■chat [the growth of the place had been phenomenal, and as a consequence buildings liad been hurriedly put up, and tlie placei had not had .time to settle down to formulate and carry out definite schemes. The tendency when schools were ' being erected seemed to favor two-storied buildings. Mr Hill contends I that that style of building is a mistake, and he favors buildings of the one floor with plenty of groupd for .recreation —five acres should be set aside with every school site. In Canada the education is controlled by local bodies, not by a central body, as it is in. New Zealand. Later on Mr Hill again referred lto this method, a,nd stated that in his opinion it was tlie best method of management. He quoted Gisborne to illustrate what he meant. 'Here we have, school committees, technical school authorities, and a, Board of Governors-. to supervise secondary education. The whole of the funds are derived from the Education Department, and yet the three.bodies work independently, ;whereas, were there one controlling body, the work could be carried on more economically and could be made to dove-tail each branch with the next. Mr Hill mentioned that his trip from, Vancouver across to Winnipeg seemed to be 1 the dreariest journey that one could jmake. For miles and miles nothing, was visible but prairie. At Toronto, which) is the educational centre .of Canada, Mr. Hill visited the training Colleges, which he described as being perfect. Art rooms, libraries, and writing rooms- are provided for the teachers arid students. Mr Hill touched on what he considered a defect in the United States schools. There, the country schools are opened for from six to eight months in the year, during which time the teachers are paid. The rest of the year 1 the teachers have to support themselves by taking, up some other occupation, and Mr Hill states that while he was at Niagara three .of the attendants in the hotel he stayed at were teachers who were earning their living in that way during their vacation. In. England the control of tho school is divided. In a mixed school there will be a boys’ principal, a girls’ principal, and an infant room mistress; each one is independent of the other. In New Zealand the schools have both sexes and one head, and Mr Hill states that in Ills opinion, our system is tlie better. The payment of salaries to teachers in the English schools shows that while tlie principals receive very good remuneration, the amount paid to the assistants was, very small indeed. . To' qualifiy for the headmaster's position in a London school one, had to serve' twenty years as an assistant. To Mr Hill’s mind the weakness in the primary schools in England was due to the vast number of schools that, were run as denominational schools. Of the 20,000 schools in England no fewer than 11,000 were denominational. , • Very good work was being done by the continuation classes in many parts of England. When children had passed through standard VI. places were found for them, and evening classes were arranged so that they could carry on their studies. • . _ ; - ; ■ ’ / The Technical Colleges were greatly admired by. Mr Hill, who considered that to his mind nothing better was being done anywhere in the world. In concluding. Mr Hill stated that lie did- not think- New Zealand had much to learn . from other - countries in the •,matter, of. primary education, and that the qualifications, of the teachers hero oompared very favorably with those, of other, countries. H e mentioned that in England there were 150,000 teachers, of whom only- 40,000 were certificated.