1910

The Schools Health Inspection Act is passed by the Provincial Legislature. British Columbia is the first province in Canada to have legislation governing and controlling the medical inspection of schools. Inspections commence in January 1911 and are carried on annually thereafter under the direction of the Provincial Board of Health.

J. S. Gordon is appointed Inspector of High Schools. A second provincial High School inspector is appointed in 1920.

Federal Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Technical Education. The Commission emphasized the value of manual arts, home economics, and technical education. The provincial government agrees to pay a portion of costs of manual training equipment in public schools, thereby reducing the financial burden on local school boards.

A programme of physical training is introduced in many City and Rural Municipality School Districts. The schools adopt the syllabus of the Strathcona Trust and accept instructors provided by the Department of Militia. The Strathcona Trust Syllabus of Physical Training is adopted province-wide in 1919.

1913 The office of Assistant Superintendent of Education is re-established in the Education Department. George H. Deane is appointed and holds the position until 1917, when he becomes Director of the Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment Board. Deane is succeeded by J. D. Gillis, who serves as Assistant Superintendent until his retirement in 1932.

Norfolk House School, an indepenedent school for girls, is launched in Victoria by Julie McDermott and Dora Aitkens.


1914

Technical Education is recognized as an important element in the public school system and John Kyle is appointed Organizer of Technical Education. An Inspectorate of Technical Education is created in 1938.

School gardening and rural science courses are introduced in elementary schools, province-wide. John Wesley Gibson is appointed Director of the Elementary Agricultural Education Branch.

A Summer School of Education is established in Victoria for teacher training. J. W. Gibson is named director of the Summer School.

World War I: The British Empire (including Canada) declares war on Germany on 4 August 1914. In British Columbia, the Department of Education organizes the Patriotism and Production Campaign among school children in support of the war effort. J. W. Gibson coordinates the campaign which raises money for the Red Cross and for wartime organizations such as the Belgian Orphans Relief Fund.

1915

A second Provincial Normal School is opened in Victoria. The Victoria Normal School caters to students from Vancouver Island and from the interior of the province; the Normal School in Vancouver (1901) enrols students from the lower mainland. A Provincial Model School opens in Saanich and operates in conjunction with the Normal School in Victoria.

The University of British Columbia opens in temporary quarters in Vancouver (Fairview). U.B.C. moves to its permanent campus at Point Grey in 1922.

The first Parent-Teacher Association is launched at Craigflower School near Victoria on 8 September 1915. In November, PTAs are formed at Bayview Elementary School and at King Edward High School in Vancouver.

1918

Armistice Day, 11 November, marks the end of hostilities and the end of World War I. Armistice Day was observed on November 11th immediately after the war, but from 1921 to 1930 was merged with Thanksgiving Day. In 1931 it was renamed Remembrance Day and its observance reverted to November 11th, a statutory holiday observed throughout Canada. In British Columbia, as in other provices, Remembrance Day ceremonies were held in provincial schools on the day preceding the official holiday.

1919

S. J. (Samuel John) Willis is appointed Superintendent of Education.

The Public Library Commission is established. The Commission provides "travelling libraries" to communities outside Victoria and the lower mainland and supports school libraries in rural schools.

Elementary Correspondence courses commence. James Hargreaves is appointed Officer-in-Charge, Elementary Correspondence School.

The Vancouver School Board launches School Days Magazine. The magazine was published until 1930. Ruiter Stinson Sherman, a well-known teacher and school administrator, and a distinguished naturalist, is a major contributor to the magazine.

British Columbia Teachers' Federation is incorporated under the Benevolent Societies Act.