E.—3

8

fluently, intelligently, and naturally. In the upper classes pupils who are proficient in reading aloud should have opportunities for silent reading in order that they may discover not only a pleasurable occupation, but a ready and desirable means of adding to their store of knowledge. In this connection teachers are recommended to encourage their pupils to make good use of the school library, to which, suitable book's should be added from time to time. During the year the schools were supplied with a new set of continuous readers, and these together with the School Journal afford a satisfactorily adequate supply of reading-material for class purposes. Recitation of poetry and prose is in a large number of schools unsatisfactory. Often unsuitable pieces are chosen, and they are frequently very imperfectly memorized. The pieces selected should be discussed and comprehended before any attempt is made to commit them to memory, and as a rule those in which the meaning is obscure should not be chosen. Poems and prose passages which permit of dramatic treatment, and also suitable dialogues, particularly in the lower classes, will be found useful in securing better expression, and in assisting incidentally the English of the pupils. Not sufficient attention is given to the value of recitation, and a valuable means of training in voice modulation and expression is lost. English (spoken and written). -Among the elementary technical instruments of education which a Native school provides for its pupils, English (speaking and. composing) must occupy a very important place, if not the most important. The importance of the subject will be recognized when it is realized that practically the whole educational advancement of the pupils is very largely dependent upon their proficiency in it. The task of providing this instrument of education constitutes a problem the difficulties of which must be apparent to all teachers. But while they may be recognized, it frequently happens that their significance is not always appreciated, the consequence being that the methods of teaching fail in very many instances to overcome the difficulties. For example, it is not understood by teachers that the idiom and grammatical usages of the pupil's mother-tongue cause it to fall into certain definite errors in the acquisition of the new language, and that therefore special exercises must be designed to rectify these errors. So strong are these influences at work, and so numerous are the pitfalls for the pupils, that unless well-considered methods are used and backed up by skilful teaching, these errors will persist after several years of instruction. That they do persist is painfully evident in a large number of schools. It is thus obvious that if the problem is clearly realized and teachers are able to analyse the complex influences that render the teaching of the subject difficult, the instruction is much more likely to be. effective. The importance of oral work in the teaching of English, meaning thereby practice in speaking, and the need for well-considered schemes of work, have been stressed over and over again. In this subject there is a great amount of inefficient teaching, and many of the teachers have little reason, to feel satisfied with the success they achieve in teaching English to their pupils. The quality of the instruction, varies very considerably throughout the schools. In a fair number of schools it is very good, in many schools it ranges from satisfactory to good, while in a considerable number it is of more or less poor quality. Arithmetic. —In the majority of the schools the subject is satisfactory, and in a very fair number it is intelligently taught. In a considerable number of the schools, however, the treatment of arithmetic is poor, and consequently the pupils do not show to advantage. The setting-out of the work in the upper classes, S3 to S6, is frequently very faulty, and teachers arc advised to insist on a proper arrangement of the work in order that the various steps in the process may be easily followed. In the upper divisions there should bo much more practical work in connection with the compound rules —keeping shop, weighing, measuring, and so on. The text-books in use provide suggestions in this direction, but it is found that these are completely ignored by many teachers, who either fail to appreciate the value of the course suggested or find it too much trouble to get together the necessary materials and apparatus. Much more time should be devoted to oral and mental work in many schools where it is certain that by such a course better results in arithmetic would be obtained. "At all stages in the elementary school the mental and oral work should predominate over written sums, the written work being designed mainly to teach the child to express clearly the several slips in his calculations and thus lead to clear thinking, and also at the later stages to enable him to solve questions involving somewhat higher numbers than the ordinary child can manage without the aid of paper." In the preparatory classes of the schools the teaching of number is generally very satisfactory, the principal defect being not in the method adopted, but in the application of the method; in other words there is a lack of thoroughness. Geography and Nature-study. —In many of the schools the methods followed are stimulating and interesting, and good work is done. In many others, however, the purpose and aim of instruction in this subject are not properly realized, with the result that the work is more or less unsatisfactory. Observational work by the pupils does not occupy the place it should, and the consequence is that they are called upon to approach the study of other lands without that body of geographical concepts necessary to enable them to construct mental pictures of what they cannot see. It is not surprising therefore to find that neglect in this respect reacts upon the subsequent teaching. It is found that in many instances insufficient use is made of pictures, stories of countries, and of adventure and discovery, which would undoubtedly assist in stimulating the imagination of the pupils, and in widening their sympathies and their mental horizon. W Singing. —ln a large number of schools very fine work is done in this subject. In these schools the pupils are not taught songs merely, but are taught to sing. In a considerable number of schools the singing is of poor merit, and the teachers would be well advised to give a little more time to the study and practice of the suggestions that have been prepared for their use and guidance. In some schools it is quite evident that the teachers have not yet relieved themselves of the drudgery associated with teaching by " car." In a few schools where the teachers arc enthusiastic the pupils have performed operettas with much success. Physical Instruction. —In the majority of the schools considerable attention is paid to physical instruction, and in some schools the work of the pupils is excellent. Greater attention is being paid to organized games, the materials for which, where necessary, are provided from funds raised at school concerts.