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Education

- J. H. Bentley

Grogzone School (our motto 'Steady does it') has done it again. Yet another term of good solid work and steady progress. True, there's a staffing crisis (and you may be sure the government has watched it develop with grave concern). True enough, there's a shortage of post-primary teachers, but that sort of problem's world-wide, you know. And have a look at these figures: In 1962, only 48.7% of primary school classes had 35 or less pupils; in 1967 53% of the classes were in this happy position. This year, for the first time in Grogzone's history, probationary assistants have a maximum of 30 in their classes. What's more, if you still need more, some time in the 1970's, no primary school teachers will have more than 35 pupils. There's progress for you. Well, the 1930 Atmore Report did envisage such a happy state of affairs for 1935. Even so, 'some time in the 1970's' isn't bad. The inspector who said last week or so that schools today 'are in the grasp of dynamic forces of great power and energy' wasn't far out. To be sure, the Minister of Education is aware that there's a broad field of liberal general studies such as economics, citizenship and the fine arts that we've hardly got the plough into yet. But we will, in due course. And there are real weaknesses in the system, which must be recognised and grappled with. You can be certain that the Education Department will be getting to firm grips with them. Now, or in the near future. Economic circumstances permitting, of course.

There's the rub. Good old Grogzone, the governors regret to inform you, is up against it financially. When the cashbox is low, you can't afford the little luxuries, you know. Might as well let the free text book scheme go the way of the free milk scheme. (How to save money without affecting the cost of living index.) The teachers arc complaining that syllabus changes, book prices increases and the effects of devaluation have made their present grants unrealistic? Their textbook grants have been unchanged for five years, and they were promised a review after three years? They've made a report to the Minister of Education on the inadequacy of text book grants? Throw the report out. Throw the scheme out. They'll have no problems with it then.... Primitive but effective, you know.

Is that how the government does its reasoning? Some secondary school teachers fear so. They don't talk so loudly about it in the primary schools. One teacher who performed an interesting arithmetical exercise for his P.T.A. journal, on the inadequate textbook grant in the primary service, was reported to a senior inspector and charged with unprofessional conduct. He worked out that his textbook grant would equip one class with one textbook in one subject—in thirteen years. One catch, the text book had a life of five years. Other members of the N.Z.E.I. will perform similar arithmetical feats at the drop of a piece of chalk. They point out that although the Department of Education supplies books for maths and infant reading, and certain journals and bulletins. the present grant, (30 cents a pupil at contributing schools, 38 cents a pupil at primary schools, 63 cents a pupil at intermediate schools) is little more than derisory. So the P.T.A. runs a raffle or a fair or a Bingo meeting, to attract a Department subsidy. Even assuming that it's every parent's bounden duty to join the P.T.A. or the Home and School Association, should they, or will they, join what becomes no more than a fund raising committee?

Schools not only require text books. They need equipment for the 'new science courses', and for 'audio-Lingual training in foreign languages'. The Institute of Production Engineers calls for a wide range of better-class modern machine tools for technical courses Headmasters request more 'specialist' rooms.

The Department of Education is sanguine on this one. If recent schools are based on 1958 plans, and don't have the necessary specialist rooms, well, the department will do 'an exercise in the planning changes necessary'. And it promises that construction of school buildings will be given higher priority than, for example, a higher leaving age. But what sort of priority is it, when the choice for many school is more temporary classrooms, or a smaller intake? What sort of priority is it, when a high school accepts prefabricated classrooms, so several classes 'move out of the school's potting shed'? Or when a school of 1,030 has 13 permanent rooms and 13 prefabricated rooms? Or when only three of the six country schools approved in principle for conversion to 'Forms I to 6' schools are, in fact so converted, the original plan being shelved because of economic circumstances? Mr Kirk asks. 'Why are we holding up on certain aspects of the building programme—and I am thinking for example of technical institutes while in the same breath the government is talking about the need for job re-training?' The answer must be that economics, not school building, has priority. And it's short-sighted economics, at that.

What is the effect of the economic situation on the staffing of Grogzone? Says Mr Holyoake, Present indications are that recruitment to all teacher training courses for next year is proceeding at a very high level.' Certainly the following factors work in favour of a bigger intake at the training colleges:

• • Fewer job opportunities — for example men students with art degrees are-finding it hard to get suitable work in government departments — could mean more teachers.
• • The teaching bond might be a more attractive proposition when students can obtain neither a good wage, nor even the unemployment benefit, during their long vacation.
• • Suitably qualified students refused admission to the Otago or Auckland medical schools, say. or to the school of architecture at Victoria, or to the first professional course at the Canterbury University School of Engineering, might well turn to courses oriented towards teaching.

So far, so good. The government's attitude toward that unproductive investment. education, could, paradoxically, give us more teachers. And the prospective teachers thus gained could well make up for the forty teacher we lost to Canada during a recent recruiting mission. They might also take care of the 4,000 extra pupils we have staying on in our schools because of the economic situation, They cannot do much to alleviate the Staffing shortage outlined in the 1967 P.P.T.A. bulletin. 'Lost Opportunities'. For the following reasons:

• • No room at the Otago Medical School could well mean 'more teachers'. But by the same analogy, 'no room' at the Canterbury School of Art. or at the course in human biology at Auckland University. could mean 'less teachers'. What was gained on the swings could be lost on the roundabouts.
• • Bonded students can make unhappy teachers. And it is argued that a bonded student, unable or unwilling to go out into 'real life' before he starts teaching, is not the ideal man for the job.
• • A dean's statement that Auckland University 'is not geared to producing maths and science teachers' bodes ill for the Bay of Plenty teachers who say that in 4 or 5 years many schools will not be able to offer complete mathematics, physics, and chemistry courses to upper and lower sixth level'. Mr Holyoake's blithe optimism about high level training college recruitment won't help in this situation.
• • If teachers are leaving the service because they are unhappy about their salaries, or about the size of their classes and the associated work load, they will continue to leave. In the matter of salary, class size. and work load, things are no different, they are much the same.

To sum up. The government may, albeit unwittingly, have speeded up teacher recruitment. There will be doubts as to whether this is anything more than a temporary alleviation of the stalling weaknesses revealed in 'Lost Opportunities.' Recently, a Vocational Guidance officer, finding on his horizon no unemployed school leavers, said, '... fears on unemployment were unfounded.' This statement seems to ignore the people who have stayed on at school because they could not get employment. It seems to avoid questioning whether the school-leavers are in satisfactory employment. It is to be feared that the Education Departmen, seeing an adult in the classroom and less than 35 pupils in that classroom, may conclude in similar fashion. '... talk of a staffing crisis is uninformed.' It may say, (and I now quote a Secondary Schools' Council). 'We were agreeably surprised at the quality of the temporary classrooms supplied to us.... These prefabs are good and the teachers find them satisfactory.' But it's doubtful whether economic crises create enough teachers or enough textbooks or enough classrooms. And it's certain that ministers of finance can have less consideration even for the suitability of teachers, textbooks, or classrooms. A small Otago University survey once found that 289% of the students wanted to go leaching; and 61% expected to go teaching. Will the recent policies of the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Education change such attitudes?

I have written about free text-books, building programmes and teacher recruitment to show, in part, what is happening to our schools. A black picture. In my next article I hope to show what is happening in our schools. Colour my next article dull grey.