REPORT OF THE SCHOOL INSPECTORS.

Evening Star, Issue 8506, 4 May 1891, Page 1

REPORT OF THE SCHOOL INSPECTORS.

—— J! In a recent article yrt referred to tpfjoint report of the inspectors under the Otago Education Board, for the year 1890, in which they have not hesitated to point oat certain manifest defects in the syllabus, which, in their opinion, militate against the education afforded in the primary schools being so generally effective as it ihould be. There is good reason to believe that their practical recommendations as to leform will receive consideration at headquarters, and thatmoreattention will infnture be devoted to subjects whioh tend to fit the pupils for the duties of citizenship. It is of very special importance that instruction np to the compulsory standard (IV.) shofild be so regulated that the boys leaving school at that stage should be far more proficient in reading, and in understanding wlat they read, than is the case at present. They should be able to spell all ordinary words, and have obtained some facility in composition. The inspectors seem satisfied as to arithmetic and writing, in which the average proficiency is sufficient, they think, for the ordinary purposes of practical life. The truth of the matter hj that technical grammar occupies a position in the school curriculum which involves the waste of a great deal of time; the knowledge acquired, such as it is, being in the vast majority of instances absolutely useless. Certain rules are learned by rote, with little comprehension of their meaning or application; whilst in the higher standards there are attempts at composition, purely mechanical. The inspectors hardly venture to condemn outright what has, by some inscrutable means or other, become an• educational tradition; but they dearly intimate that the time occupied by the subject might, with great advantage, be devoted to acquiringthepower of reading with understanding, which is rarely, they say, possessed by the " finished Eublio school pupil." The question) it may e noted, was discussed at the meeting of the Dunedin branch of the Otago Educational Institute on Saturday, 'when Mr EtTDEY read a paper on ' Stray Thoughts on Grammar,' in which he altogether condemned the: waste in a child's school life entailed by cramming the technical rules. Mr White, in commenting on the paper, affirmed that every teacher would admit that there was too much formal grammar in the school system. He bad, he stated, represented this to the Minister-of Education, and believed that a ohange in this and other points in which the syllabus was defective: was being now considered by Mr Rhvbs. "He was sure they all hoped that one "effeot would be that a great deal of " formal grammar would be cut out of the " system in the future, and its place taken "by some more useful form of knowledge." The Otago inspectors evidently understand their work, and take a thoroughly Intelligent view of the system and the manner in which it works out. They note, as we have seen, where changes are desirable, and are definite in their suggestions for improvement. The principles in the Education Act are in no respect involved in the fault they indicate, which can indeed be remedied, as they state, by " a stroke of the Minister's pen." In the light of the experience of thirteen years there should be no difficulty in amending the standards, so as to better suit the requirements of the pupils and give the teachers a freer hand. Teachers and pupils alike have to work under the regulations as they are; and that the best has been done during the past year whioh was possible under the circumstances is evident from the report. The statistics show that there were presented on the schedules 22,430 pupils; of whom 14,271 were entered for examination in one or other of the standards, 13,915 were actually present, and of these 11,399 passed, being 82 per cent. The percentage of failures exceeds that for 1889 by a small fraction—a result, the inspectors say, more favorable than they had expected, and to be attributed to drawing having been made a pass subject in Standards I. to V,, and in Standards IV. and Y. practical and plane geometry having been required. The average ages at which the standards were passed compare very favorably with those of previous years. The object and aim of education are, however, not confuted to what may be understood as mere book learning ; and it is satisfactory to find that the inspectors report favorably as to the "moral training" of the pupils of the schools "in habits of neatness, "order, and attention, in industry and "application, in truthfulness and honest "work, and in mutual forbearance and "good behaviour." In all these directions, they state, " the schools, beyond " question, exercise a great and steady influ- " ence. It is true that orchards are robbed " and rough boys sometimes behave badly " in the streets, but as a rule the influence " of the schools bears directly against such " practices ; and that is all that can reason"ably be expected of them." The inspectors refer to the " excellent plan" for school libraries that has lately been recommended to head-masters by the Minister of Education, and consider that it should receive a fair trial. It has been found, they say, to work very well in the two or three schools in Canterbury in which it has been for soma time established, and should do much to encourage a love of reading. "To do "this should be a distinct aim with all "who are entrusted with the training "of the more advanced pupils, ana "a workable scheme like this should "be accorded a hearty welcome." The only Otago School in which, to their knowledge, the habit of reading has been thus encouraged is, they say, the Dunedin High street school, where there is a good library created by the head-master, Mr Pabk, who has always "taken a warm interest" therein, with very marked beneficial results, numbers of children having thus acquired a taste for reading and study. " Probably the difficulty of providing books has prevented " others from following so good an example, " and the chief merit of the scheme recom- " mended by the Minister lies in getting " over this difficulty. No doubt one of the "reasons why the elder children read so "little is the preposterous amount of unnecessary home lessons that is still, in " spite of continued remonstrance, prescribed "in so many schools. This is, we think, " largely a result of thoughtlessness on the " part of the teachers, who, as their frequent " publio discussions abundantly testify, are " becoming more and more prone to regard " the passing of standards and the gaining " of marks as the be-all and end-all of the "school system, rather than the adequate " training of the young for the duties, the "responsibilities, and the rational enjoy- " ment of life!" We commend these remarks to the attention of all who are engaged or interested in the work of educaoation, whether instructors, administrators, or otherwise. The inspectors direct the attention of the Board to the fact that, although the condition of the school buildings and premises is generally satisfactory, very little is being done to improve the school grounds by tree planting or horticulture. It.is much to be regretted, they think, that the country teachers do not take more interest in these matters, "as a little encouragement from "them would generally induce the oom- " mittees to make permanent improvements " for ornament and shelter. . . . Moch " could be done to form taste in this direc- " tion if shelter from the winds wen pro- " vided, and if the teachers would interest I ** themselves more in exwa-nntr»l employ-

"menta and interests of their scholars.' This is a matter in which the Board might reasonably take action, at least by way of ■uggestion. It would not be a bad idea in those parts of the country where there is little or no timber to follow the example of some districts in the United States, where once a year there is a tree-planting day, and every child attending the State schools is required to plant a tree—the planting of course being on a systematic plan. " Arbor Day," as it is called, has been successfully instituted in several districts in the North Island, and there is no reason why it should not be equally successful in most localities in this educational district.