The School Committee is by no means an altogether insignificant feature of our national system of primary education, and is an institution of too useful a type to be allowed to languish.
The work done by the committees in furthering the interests of the schools in connection with which they accept responsibility is not an ostentatious work, and is limited by an allowance that is decidedly restricted, but the school committee system seems to make undoubtedly for economy.
The gratuitous services lent by members of committees in the cause of education possess this particular virtue that they associate the householders of each district in a more or less intimate way with the schools in which their children are being educated.
The system has the important merit of encouraging local interest in the public school, and experience has shown most satisfactorily how much an energetic committee can do to enhance the prestige of the school with which it is connected.
The most successful and popular primary schools are those in which the local interest of residents is manifested through a committee which takes its responsibilities seriously, does its best to further the interests of the scholars and the teachers, and makes generally an effort to supply those minor school wants of which the educational authorities do not take direct cognisance.
School committees have still some voice in the appointment of teachers, and it should interest members of these bodies to consider what should be their attitude towards a proposal, of which more is sure to be heard, to take such powers of appointment entirely out of their hands.
It is the contention of the New Zealand Educational Institute that a dominion scheme for the appointment and promotion of teachers controlled by some central authority is not incompatible with a system of school committees under which keen local interest in education is created, fostered, and maintained.
• The Wakatip Mail states that some time back a well-known hotelkeeper in Queenstown and a prominent mining man secured the right of purchase of some of the most valuable water rights and hydraulic claims along the Shotover River.
This created a flutter among those who held mining properties for a time; but as no information was forthcoming as to what was the method to be adopted in working these claims the little excitement created soon died out, and, as a matter of fact, was forgotten altogether in many quarters, so well had the progress of the business been kept from the public.
But the pent-up preparations suddenly burst in Arrowtown one morning recently by the appearances of the mining hotelkeeper from Queenstown with some very well-known and successful mining men from Oamaru and Gore, and before the residents had time to realise what was going on, the Arrow Flat, which had long baffled every attempt of mining men to win its golden treasure, was marked out as a mining claim, as was also Bush Creek and the Arrow River up to Cooper's terrace.
This same party had also purchased the Arrow Falls claim, water rights, and plant. Costly electric mining machinery commenced to arrive from America about a month ago.
Beyond knowing that the method to be applied is electric hydraulic - new to New Zealand and all other mining parts of the world - it is kept a close secret. - ODT, 27.4.1914.
• COPIES OF PICTURE AVAILABLE FROM ODT FRONT OFFICE, LOWER STUART ST, OR WWW.OTAGOIMAGES.CO.NZ
