OUR COUNTY SCHOOLS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 75, 20 May 1879, Page 2

OUR COUNTY SCHOOLS.

Tttß INSP3CTOB'B EE?OttT.

(Concluded.)

Awakuei— November 16. Mi?. E. M. Menzies-m charge 13 months. On books 40 ; pre:ent, 42. Two scholars failed in the first; standard, out of nine presented. The second otandaid children acquitted them* ' aelvep Welt, fcsoven competed and all passed. The third standard candidates passed pas'ly. Two brothers tried the fourth Standard : papers. The younger succeeded, but the elder failed; Percentage of passes in the three lowe." Standards, 88 per cont, and m the three higher, 50 per cent. A pleasing feature waa the olearj distinct, intel'rgent style of reading which pervaded all the classes. The recitation of poetry was very good. Joseph and Edward Bennett rendered their pieces very well indeed. The Maori children who were presented in standard work acquitted themselves well. Out of the 4& children present, 15 were Maoris. I examined such as were not presented, and they did tolerably well. Order and discipline, excellent. Mr Menzies is a painstaking, rtealous. and earnest teacher, and under his management the school must succeed.

FEittrnvd— November 18. Mr R. 0, Dowling— in charge 4 years j assistant. On books 105 ; present, 93. In the first Standard 47 were preseuted. Thirty-nine passed successfully, and eight failed. Twentyeight tried the second Standard, and all passed but three. The weak points were Arithmetic and Geography. Two attempted the third Standard, but only one succeeded. Percentage of passo3, .84 per cent. This school, notwithstanding the disadvantages which it has had to contend against from a mixed population, madeayery good appearance. Order and discipline, improvable; school accommodation, inadequate. This is being remedied. Tbe teacher, in point of demonstrative talent and power of governing, surpasses the average, but the fluctuating attendance deprives him of the power of accomplishing much permanent good.

Foxton — November 19 and 20. Mr 0. Hulke — in charge 3 years aud 10 months. Two pupil teachers. On books, 136; present, 117. The fourth, fifth, and sixth Standard candidates were examined on the 19th. The work done by the first Standard pnpils waa excellent. All the twenty three presented passed most successfully. "Tli9 reading of prose and the recitation of poetry were amongst the best in my district. The moral tone of this class was excellent. Such as tried the second Stan~ dard, succeeded fairly well. However, they were not free from weakness in Arithmetic (notation) and in Grammar. The results of he third Standard were wide of expectation. There was marked deficiency in the nunier* ation, and moderate failure in Qrammar and Geography. From these causes, seven out of the twelve put forward, did not succeed. After a very careful examination of the written papers handed in by the fourth Standard competitors, I came to the couclusion that all the candidates put forward under this Standard, had been wrongly classed, with the exception of two. Their papers shewed marked deficiency in Arithmetic, and in Geography. Two only out of the fourteen who wrought the papers, succeeded. On casting up the results of the fifth Standard papers, I found that eight out of the eleven, put forward, had more than succeeded. Their papers were very carefully written, and pretty free from matter not connected with the answers to the various questions proposed. All the candidates put forward under the sixth Standard, succeeded very well, except one. Four were presented. Percentage of passes in the three lower Standards, 84 per cent ; and in the three higher, 45 per cent. This very large and important school was being conducted under great disadvantages, in the Town Hall. The Fall is ill adapted for teaching purposes, and the outcome of the examination has been affected in consequence. Order and discipline, satisfactory ; but under more favourable ciroumstanoes, I have no doubt it would have been excellent. Military drill is enthusiastically taught, and is entered into most heartily by the boys. The exercises wero gone through in a soldierly manner. Ably, however, as the mastei drills his boys, I should prefer seeing it carried out as ii\ Palmerston North, by a Sergeant or officer specially appointed for that purpose, for the work would then be more thoroughly done,, and the teacher would be relieved of a good deal. of the shouting and straining of the voice which the practice of drill involves, and so could husband his strength for that which lies more immediately within his own province. Joseph Flower, a pupil from this school, under 12 years of age, gained a Scholarship at the competition held on the Bth of Janu-. ary, 1879. He obtained 173 marks out of an obtainable 200. This wonderful result must have been gratifying to Mr Hulke his teacher, and also to the youthful competitor himself. The teacher has much intelligence, and excellent abilities, including what is necessary to make these available in his place, the teaching faculty, which he possesses in a surprising degree.

Motoa— November 20. The school was olosed on the ouoaiion of my visit, owing to the difficulty experienced in procuring a suitable teacher. ■ :

Carnarvon -November 21. ; MissO. E. Chatwin— in charge 2 years and 7 months. On books, 28 ; present, 27. Fourteen pupils were presented in the first Standard, and nli passed with one exception. In the soco.u. Standard, the oaiy weak point was Geography. Six were presented, and all succeeded very well. Four children were put forward under the third Standard, aud all passed successfully This tidy little school made an excellent appearance in all respects, and the results were extremely creditable to Miis Ohatwin, who is an energetic, active, and zealous teacher. ■ ■

Waitohi — November 21. Miss Stereos — in charge 6 weeks. This school had only been open six weeks, and in consequence there were no pupils prepared for the Standard examination. On the occasion of my visit, sixteen ohiidren wero present. I examined them, and was satisfied that with careful teaohing they will give a very good account of themselve at my next examination.