Subiaco Infant’s School...Miss Elizabeth Glendinning (Head Teacher).
The Subiaco State School was first established in 1897. By the turn of the century the school had grown and there were several hundred children attending. The school was divided in a “Senior School”, an “Infant’s School” and an “Intermediate School”. By 1912 there were over 400 children at the school. The Thomas Street State School was opened in 1904 to accommodate the over crowding.
Articles sourced through the pages of various newspapers of the time provide an insight into some of the activities of the young children participated in. These included concerts, preparing school work for display for parent’s nights, sport’s carnivals, celebrations of special days like and examinations.
But what was the philosophy of teaching young children. From 1900 to 1956 the Subiaco Infants School had a number of Headmistresses. From 1937 to 1948 Miss Elizabeth Glendinning was Headmistress and taught there for 28 years. She resigned in 1948.
On the 18 June 1948 there was a photograph in The West Australian of Miss E Glendinning receiving a present from her students after retiring from teaching. The photograph is copied below.
Throughout her time at the Miss Elizabeth Glendinning shared the philosophy of early childhood education at school events which were recorded through newspapers. Of particular interest were articles from 1937 and 1938 which explained how the philosophy of early childhood teaching was organised around organised play, the importance of working together as a group, and music. The “Infant’s School” had become a model for best practice and used to help train student teachers. Nearly 90 years on play, group work and music are still considered best practice for early childhood education.
The articles and photograph are from Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
West Australian, 28 October 1937.
INFANTS' SCHOOL DISPLAY. Wide Variety of Work.
An Interested audience of educationists and others interested in educational methods was given an opportunity yesterday afternoon of seeing at work some of the 350 or more children in the eight classes at Subiaco Infants' School.
On two occasions last week gatherings of parents witnessed a similar exhibition. Among the special guests yesterday were the Acting Minister for Education (Mr. Milllngton), the Mayor of Subiaco (Mr. W. Richardson) and Mrs. Richardson, the vice-principal of the Teachers' Training College. (Mr. T. Milligan) and Mrs. Milligan, a former Chief Inspector, Mr. J. A. Miles, and Mrs. Miles, the Town Clerk of Subiaco (Mr. McCormack) and several councillors. Apologies were received from the Minister for Education (Mr. Wise), Mrs. Cardell-Oliver, ML.A., the Acting Director of Education (Mr. C. A. Hadley), Professor R. Cameron and District Inspector E. A. Coleman.
In a brief address of welcome the head teacher (Miss E. Glendinning) referred appreciatively to the support given to the school not only by the parents, but also by citizens. The work which the children were going to present, she continued, had not been specially prepared, but was the same as done day by day in the classrooms.
Teaching at the school was carried out to a large extent by organised play, the duller features of education being given to the children in the most palatable form possible. Miss Glendinning expressed her appreciation of Mr. Millington's assistance in obtaining for the school an adjacent block of land Mr. Millington, in replying, expressed regret that more forethought had not been shown earlier in setting aside land for schools and playgrounds in and around Perth. It was gratifying, he said, for parents and others interested in education to be given opportunities of seeing their children at work.
Educational methods had altered considerably in recent years and now, instead of having to persuade children to attend school, it was difficult to keep them at home. In the schoolroom, too, children were learning early the value of pulling together as a unit, and this should prove invaluable in their after life as citizens of Australia and the Empire.
A Comprehensive Display.
An interesting feature of the work presented by the children yesterday was that it was not carried out under the direction of the teachers, whose main functions in the display were to officiate at the piano. Instructions for marching, descriptions of the work being done, explanations of songs and of the origin of dances and the conducting of the percussion bands and singing were all left in the hands of the children, who carried out their tasks with a precision, confldence and clarity of voice surprising to their adult audience. Nursery rhymes with actions by small boys and girls, who had been at school for only eight months, were much admired, and a display of physical exercises by a group of little boys under the direction of a seven-year-old boy, who issued instructions and blew his whistle with the air of a martinet, was another outstanding item. The work of the percussion bands, under miniature conductors, who displayed a surprising sense of rhyth, the singing and the group recitations, were all of a high standard and the children managed without any difficulty to keep their audience entertained for almost two hours. That subtle education in matters pertaining to health is being given the children was demonstrated by two plays, one of which portrayed the invasion of disease germs into a small body undersupplied with such vitamin-containing foods as milk, vegetables (particularly spinach), fruits, etc., and a second play, set in a dentist's surgery, where a competent young dentist (aged roughly seven years) and his nurse attended first to a child who had a tooth extracted with graphic realism and, secondly, to a little girl who had eaten the correct foods and, therefore, had no faulty teeth. Throughout their work the children revealed a dramatic sense surprising for their years.
A vote of thanks to the staff of the school for the interest taken in the children and the excellent results obtained was moved by Mr. T. Milligan and carried with enthusiasm. The Subiaco Infants' School was a training centre for pupil teachers, he said, but this did not in any way detract from the success of the pupils. Young teachers, with their youthful enthusiasm, rarely failed to bring a new freshness into any schools to which they were attached. Following the display, the visitors inspected the handicraft, sewing, writing and other work of the children in the classrooms.
West Australian, 16 July 1938.
HAPPY DAYS IN SCHOOL How "Atmosphere" Helps.
Modern methods of teaching young children were demonstrated yesterday morning at the Sublaco Infants' State school before the senior Inspector of schools (Mr. E. A. Coleman) by the head teacher (Miss E. Glendinning) and her staff. Accompanying Mr. Coleman were some friends, who later told him of their high admiration of the work done in the school, and the remarkable influence which the teachers exerted over the pupils by establishing warm mutual friendship with them. The visitors were told that the age range of the children was from six to nine years, and as they went from one classroom to another they were informed that the children had had six. 12 or 18 months tuition, as the case might be. It was ascertained that many of the pupils of only six months standing had voluntarily read 60 books in their library, and had shown great aptitude for seeking knowledge. With the aid of wisely selected pictures of a type impressing the child mind in the desired direction, the classrooms created a bright atmosphere, and a different theme or project was denoted in the decorative feature of each room. These projects were changed from time to time, the visitors were told, and as the pupils were advanced from one room to another they widened their knowledge and perception. One classroom denoted Japan, and was adorned with pictures of Japanese scenes and objects, as well as articles of the same nature made by the children. In this room the visitors were greeted by a group of the children dressed in gaily-coloured kimonos, and offered a ceremonious "Good morning!" Children, in turn, recited a few remarks on some national custom, or sang a translation of Japanese songs, while one boy aged eight showed two dictionaries which he was compiling on his own initiative, one for pocket purposes and the other illustrated. An accurate sense of musical pitch was demonstrated by the oldest children, a number of whom recently gave a broadcast session from 6W?. They sang a variety of little songs culled from the folk-lore of various nations, and the visitors were astounded to notice the high standard of their work. Some of the tunes, involving chromatic runs and, in other cases, bridging awkward intervals of tone, would have been difficult enough for adults to sing accurately; but those children rendered them faultlessly. There was a freshness of sincerity about their singing. The representation of a broadcast which introduced this final vocal work was preceded by an example of a percussion band in which the rhythm of the tune played on the piano by the teacher was caught by groups of "instruments" (many of them improvised) on the direction of a little girl who conducted. Proving that rhythm was instinctive among the children, it was noticed that several were reacting to the beat by tapping with their fingers or swinging their wrists during periods when their particular groups were not "playing." The general impression formed by the visitors was that the children were' radiantly happy in their school life and were given every opportunity to develop their respective personalities; also that there was complete and friendly understanding between teacher and pupil.
