XXVIII

j Appendix C.

E.—2.

conscious practise of writing as an end in itself was too short. In two schools the external appearance of the books was disreputable. Recitation : There were fewer cases where the ear was offended by weak enunciation or slack pronunciation, or where one was met by neglect of this subject, but the selection of passages for memorization still left something to be desired. Some young teachers do not feel the gap that lies between a " coon " melody and the poems of Blake or Stevenson ; emotional insight is strong in them, intellectual insight comes with the years —that insight which finds in "Tiger, tiger shining bright." or in " Foreign Lands " an ideal expression of deep-rooted instincts —rendering them adapted to periods of psychological development of the child when imagination is vivid and curiosity tireless. Arithmetic : This year the results in the Junior National Scholarship test did not accord with those obtained in Standard VI from the Department's cards. The latter were relatively good, the former poor. Only 22 per cent, of the candidates for proficiency certificates failed to attain the minimum in arithmetic. The Junior National Scholarship test was somewhat dominated by a geometric conception of arithmetic, and the decimal idea was strong in it. Both of these ideas are, to a certain extent, modern grafts on the arithmetic of practical life. In two schools the syllabus was not followed. The weaker schools were those in which the tables were neglected in the lower standards, and finger-counting was noticeable. History and geography: Geography continues to give the teachers trouble. The chief reason is the tendency to treat Course A as a book subject instead of making it a study in practical science. In many, especially of the smaller, schools a strong effort has been made to improve the standard in Course B; to this end there has been more evidence of mapping. It is very necessary to keep tinCourse B work up to date. A suggestive book is McDougall's " Our Own and Other Lands —The World," price 25., which correlates history and geography, and is remarkably freshly written. A new small geography of New Zealand (Shrimpton and Hight) has also been published this year by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs. Every teacher should obtain each of these hooks. Comparatively few schools excelled in both geography and history. It is satisfactory that history again appears on the list of subjects that must be taken by candidates for teachers' certificates. The change is sure to produce good results in the schools. Notwithstanding the number of excellent histories that are produced nowadays, it is difficult to find one to take the place of the old " Brief History." In the hands of a teacher able to dramatize history, it was an excellent manual ; the facts lay there handy for the children as soon as the drama was over; they needed only some selection and the ability to follow a topic from reign to reign. Those wishing to see. the possibilities of the dramatic method will find a good presentment in Miss Findlay-Johnston's book published by Nisbet and Co. Oman's "England in the Nineteenth Century" gives much inform: tion <>n recent history in a compact form. Sjme teachers hide away the cards issued by the Department to illustrate geography and history, others keep them on the table for constant reference. A number give increasing prominence to topics chosen from the history of New Zealand ; the schemes of work should be still moro liberalized in this direction. A few schools had programmes much too limited, and one or two which treated of more topics had evidently dealt with them on very narrow and inflexible lines. There are still some who emphasize history and geography at irregular intervals during the year, and others who by placing the single history period very late in the day suggest perfunctory treatment and a defective idea of the importance of the subject. " Art, literature, and history," says a great American writer, " are the school subjects that specially stimulate and train the feelings." Without history there is no such thing as " fame," which Milton describes as " the spur "to noble minds. It is desirable therefore that the value of this subject in moulding ideals should be highly esteemed. Ideals are not far-off things : they accompany the growing youth through all the common ways of life. The School Journal continues to perform a useful part in the teaching of geography and history. Singing : The lessons given by Mr. Robert Parker, of Wellington, at the summer school bore good fruit in an increased interest in the singing. Many of the smaller schools presi nted a better class of song, and the rendering was usually tuneful and carefully modulated. Mr. Wedde's efforts also doubtless stirred up those uncertificated teachers who followed his cours and maintained the interest that had been excited. Physical Instruction. —There is probably no part of the curriculum which is subject so much as this to change according to the whims and fashions of the. day. For the most part the physical exercises are of the Swedish type. Many teachers were aided in developing their programme in physical drill by the very useful lessons given by Sergeant-major Routledge at the summer school. Breathingexercises are regularly practised. Various schools exhibit wand, dumb-bell, and club drill. Military drill was well taught in all the larger schools. It is now decided that the Cadets are to be demilitarized, and, save in exceptional cases, drill is to be of a physical-training nature. Following on legislation of the past year, a Director and special instructors are appointed Io organize this work Any one who has read the first few chapters of such a book as Oppenheim's " The Development of the Child" will understand how necessary it is to use caution in applying exercises to bodies in a rapid state of evolution, when every organ of the body is year by year changing its relative proportions, its chemical composition, and its shape. Moreover, since the muscles do not take on training till about the twelfth year—a year near the end of the primary course —the object of drill in the lower standards appears to be, to a large extent, disciplinary ; it is of the highest importance that those entrusted with the drawing-up of a programme in physical instruction should have a full understanding of the import of these facts. During the past year in some cases the rifles on issue were called in, and in others there were new conditions, so the Chaytor prize contest has been suspended till new regulations are drafted. Drawing. —Taken generally, the pencil drawing was of a very satisfactory nature. Brush drawing was taught in forty-seven schools; many of the small ones teach it with success, and with growing freedom from the pencil. With lower classes crayon takes the place of water-colour (fourteen schools). Quite a number of sohools are making advance in teaching of design based on nature-study. Geometric drawing appears in four ways —plane, scale, solid, and design. It would be well if more country