ELEMENTARY EDUCATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 260, 7 November 1906, Page 8

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION.

ATTRACTIVE TEACHING METHODS. (From our Own Reporter). OEIRISTCHURCH, this day. v This is the last stage, when the buds are nearly out," writes an eleven-yearv old girl in a big round hand at the foot of a neat, coloured drawing depicting a spray from a South Canterbury orchard. Her early efforts at brush-work, and a good many other specimens of nature drawing from the public schools of the colony make an interesting exhibit in the South Gallery # Christehurch. Exhibition. Auckland schools are exceedingly prominent in this section, and the work is generally very creditable. Some beautiful colour-studies of the iris have been sent uy a thirteen-year-old pupil at the Northcote schools. He has represented the graceful form and rich colour of the flower with great success. The Auckland Normal School pupils have provided beautiful brush drawings demontrating the applicability of flower and leaf to conventional decorative effect. Similar work come from Onehjinga High School, which makes a fairly large display of effective flat-tint designs, and there are many good examples of drawing from nature contributed from the Mount Albert, Parnell, Remuera, Devonport, Ponsonby, and Bayfield elementary schools. The Education Department has secured specimens from all parts of the colony to demonstrate how children are trained to deftness of hand and accuracy of observations by means of these interesting " nature studies." Statistical facts relating to the colony would be hard to teach straight from the printed figures, but one inventive teacher has put his class to model-making, cardboard boxes being turned out to scale representing comparative exports of butter, cheese and 'wool, and gold production since New Zealand has been exploited for the precious metal. The excellent examples of woodwork from manual training schools in the chief centres have already been noticed.