The Roman Catholic Schools

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1059, 5 August 1904, Page 2

The Roman Catholic Schools

Chief Inspector's Report

The Chief Inspector ot Schools for the Auckland district, Mr I), l'etric, lias furnished to tho Education Board the : following report in reference to the Roman Catholic schools : During tho year 1903 22 Roinnii Catholic schools were inspected nnd 6ximiiiie<l, In general tho head teacher in ouch school determined tho passes in Standards I, to IV., whilo tho inspectors determined the passes in Standards V. to VI. In some casos tho inspectors, by request, determined tho passes in all the standards. Tho subjects of instruction are tho same as in tho public schools, except that history bus not boon taught in some sevon or eight schools. On inquiry I did not lind any evidence that tho pupils' parents objcctcU to the toachiug of history. The omission 'of this subject is no doubt duo to tho difficulty of linding time to overtako it, os part of the ordinary school hours is dovoted to religious touching anil exercises. Reading was for the tho most part of good quality. In eight schools it was considered " satisfactory" bv tho examining inspector, nnd in ono " fair;" but, most of these schools wero of the sinallost class, Tho comprehension of tho Innguago of tho reading lessons ranged from " fair" to satisfactory," and was in a fow instances good, Of Into these schools have made very considerable improvement in tho teaching of spoiling, Mistakes in tho spoiling of common words in written oxerciscs othor than dictation aro, uoweter' still rather provalont. Writ-, ing was" good" in ono third of the schools and in the others it was seldom below " satisfactory." Composition is not a strong subject iu these schools, being on the whole nothing moro than " satisftic* lory.' 1 The exercises wero, however, slowly done, and wero ofton deficient in mailer. The work in arithmetic was on the whole rather below " satisfactory," Id ono of tho larger schools it was "good," in four others it was "motlorate," Improvement in accuracy nnd in clear setting out of tho working should not be dilllcult to secure. A good deal of the work in this subject in individual classes was unequal. In several classes mental arithmetic was better dealt with than the slato exercises. Geography had been taught with very fair success though iu one school only was it estimated to be " good." Tho quality of tho answering varied greatly in tho different classes of a good many of the schools, In a fow instances the equip' incut of maps and globos is still insufficient, A large amount of good work has been dono in d awing and tho teaching generally has been of a satisfactory quality, Allied to this is wood-carving, a subject that has beon efficiently taught iu tho few schools iu which it has been taken up. On tho wholo, fair results hnvo attonded tho teaching of grammar, though it was very weak in a number of the less important eohools. Tho knowledge of history and scienco gained by the pupils was in general rather below " fair," hut there wero a low creditable exceptions to this moderate estimato Few of tho schools, indeed, have anything like an adequato cijuipmont or apparatus for teaching science except in a slight and theoretical way, Object lessons liavo bsen very fairly taught, In ono or two schools instruction in scionco had boon omitted, Recitation, was in general, vory satisfactory nnd not infrequently good. The most common fault was undue hurry in delivery. Of late tho teaching of tho primor classes hns ro-> ooivod moro attention with very boneficial results. In many eases their instruction is now good, and it is nearly ovorywhoro very satisfactory, Occasionally weakness in tho knowlodgo of tables has boon notod, Of tho additional subjeots, needlework has been woll taught j singing, too, Ims often boen good, As many of the schools aro taught by womon, drill has soklom re-* ceivod vorv spocial nttontion, though physical oxerciso, with Indian clubs chiefly, were credit.ib'y dono by tho girls in several of the echools. In a good many cases the tone of tho school is good, but in other vigilanco has to bo exercised lo proven! pupils from communicating with eneli other during the progress of written examination. Talking to oach other in school is also too often soon. In othor respects the disciplino was good, Tho pupils uro almost invariably well mannered, and pleasant to deal with. The olasilicat'on lias of lato groatly improved, and tho pupils advancod from class to class aro noiv foirly equal to the now work thoy liavo to take up, Oral answering has also improved, and iu tho better schools it is now satisfactory. In thu othors nnßWors aro hard to got, aud aro often incomploto, Tho work is sometimes so slowly dealt with tis to mako tho examination occupy an hour, or oven two, beyond tho timo ustr ally required. Tho teacher* of theso schools uro luoit devoted to llioir duty, and have always shown praiseworthy readiness in considmi.g suggCHii ns for the iiupiovomnut ol their school work. There is n good deal of irregularity of attendance. I inn of opinion llial tho Board should take thosanio siepstoensuro regular attendance at tho Roman Catholic schools that it does in connection with its own lohoolv,