REPORT OF THE INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 1885.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5318, 13 October 1885, Page 2

REPORT OF THE INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 1885.

(Continued.) General Remarks

Though I have reported generally of the schools that their condition is satisfactory, by doing so I do not imply that there is no room for improvement. With a few j notable exceptions there is a possibility of| , considerable improvement in the reading and writing, especially in the former. I' do not include the Greymouth School in these remarks, not having sufficient time at my disposal to make myself > sufficiently well acquainted , with its inner working, and will therefore omit detailed reference to these matters until after the examination. " '

The discipline of the schools is generally very satisfactory, aud I believe with out the exercise of undue .harshness in securing it. The matter of punshment is one upon which dogmatising should be carefully avoided, for perhaps on the whole it is the most difficult and unpleasant subject with which the teacher has to deal.

It is hardly necessary to say 'that in large schools as little as possible m this matter should be left to 'the immature . : 3 udgment of young teachers. And this applies specially to punishments which involve shame and degradation before the school. As an authority says :— " The kind'of' disgrace which wounds a. sensitive child i: ..to the quick and weakens his self-respect Ifor years, falls harmless on a harder,' bolder nature, and gives no pain at all." I think that in all schools a "log book" should be kept, and that no case of severe punishment, corporal or otherwise, should occur without an entry of the same being made, with a short summary of the reason for its administration. Such a book would also be , extremely useful as a record of events generally, such as the date upon .which ;one teacher left and another took his place, the, date upon which any redistribution of staff took place; I and, after trial, the effect- of dame, the introduction of .a new text book and its effect, &c, &c. ■•■'.• ■ ■ ; . Such a book- would be of. use to both teachers and Committees: as presenting a summary of the history of the school, Several teachers have expressed their regret that the advantage enjoyed by teach-, ers in other districts of occasionally visiting a Training. School cannot be obtained here. In some districts free passes by, railway

and other inducements are given to teach- ". ers for this purpose. i & ■•-... % I believe it would be agreat advantage < to country teachers if spme such plariias i the following were adopted :— .;V ] Ist. That the Greymouth School be called the D. H. ; School and Training School. -\ 2nd. That say two teachers of country ' t^ ffie Training School for the purpose \ of receiving instruction in me);hji><jL '■ By the adoption' of this plan every 1 teacher would visit the central school once -i in about- two months ; and I believe that ' ; the slight loss of time to his scholars ' ; would.be. jully counterbalanced by.theopportunity of improvement in method' offered to himself. /Supposing the Com-, missioners adopt my suggestion, and provided their funds will-admit of it, I recommend that, they pay one-half . of .the : expenses incurred by tne teachers in attending the school. Speaking of the teachers generally, I ; can say with, confidence that they are deserving of praise for their diligence and ' earnest attention to their duties in spite of the disadvantages in. many cases of small salaries, insufficient house accommodation, and great hindrances in the way of the prosecution of their own studies. In connectioir with the latter subject, I would repsectfully impress upon Committees the desirability of providing .a small library of reference for the use pi; the. teachers. Section 57 of the' Act for the establishment of school; libraries; but the general , impression as to, the . meaning of " school library" is that it. means a library for the scholars. : I believe the real meaning of " school . library" to-be a library for teachers, and it appears to me that ..'the question as to which is the most desirable does not admit of dispute. ■ The benefit -to , the -' scholars by the extension of the- scope of the teacher's read- ; iiig would' be considerable, and yery much . outweigh any benefit^ derivable' from the chance perusal by themselves of miscellaneous books, • possibly "' in j udiciously selected. ' •: •., Both in connection with the ordinary school work ;and. the teachers' preparation for examination a few Mr'ell-selected books would be to most teachers a,great beon. Having, however, provided' first for the necessities of the teachers, it is quite probable that "a few carefully chosen books would tend to give ' the scholars greater interest in the school. ' i ' : i : 5 In some few cases I have noticed an absence of tidiness _an<J7neatness in the schoolroom generally, 'md the teachers' desk or table in particular;- Teachers cannot be too careful in this ; matter, as everything a child sees at school is a part of -the educational process. ' /V „ Wk 6 / 6 ! slpb c ? W< •i^rt.pf the school ,ap-' paratus, 'there should'be & covering. ' provided, ito : ftraw> over fee'm 'when not -in The practice of holding a periodical ex-; animation of the schQol.by th'o teacher is, I find, 'not general,' and 1 recommend that the Commissioners insist upon its being" made so, and supply the printed forms of the report for parents. .Nothing is. ,b.etter..calculated to,.keep,up ;- the interest of the parents in the school or to promote" regular attendance. _ Without it a teacher's estimate of the progress of his scholars ia very much like guess work, and an examination hy the Inspector may reveal to him that he has greatly overestimated their . capabilities. The schools generally are fairly provided with teaching apparatus. Several applications have been made to 1 me for globes, and provided they are likely- to be made good use of, and carefully preserved from injury, I would . recommend that they be supplied. < Blank maps would help to make the teaching of geography much more effective, and I think they should be supplied, at any rate to the larger schools. The bail-frame while very useful and effective for teaching ideas of number, is. not, I think, sufficient for very your.g children. The hands require employment with them as much as the eyes and ears, and something in the shape oftthe'.Kindergarten gifts would be of great assistance. , Sets of weights and measures would also be useful. . '. ■' > Some of the schools are deficient in illustrated alphabet and reading sheets for the lower classes. I am afraid .we are not acting fairly to the children m expecting them to sit>for severa 1 , hours each day upon seats without backs. The effect is to make them restless, and 'to this cause may possibly beat-' |i|tributed the prevalence of round shoulders and of a stooping gait in walking. The ■ principal difficulty is that by attaching backs to the seats desk drill would be ihi terfered with. Possibly that * difficulty might: ' be Jovercome. 1 think the Commissioners might have backs supplied to afew desks in one or two schools, and get reports from the teachers upon the result. The practice of allowing childrerifb occupy seats without backs has been strongly condemned' by the medical' faculty 'm' : Eng- : land. ■ .. T.:- '"-'*{'•■■ ''"; '■!.' ■ j I think it is to be regretted that Committees have not made some effort to improve the. appearance of the school grounds by planting trees and shrubs. All kinds of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs can how be obtained at T so low a price that the consideration of expense can hardly be regarded as a difficulty. In son? c of the colonies it is the practice to supply teachersj^with trees, &c., the teachers performk||sjjttte operation of plant ;ipg. I. believe ;^^sniost of our teachers fft'ould no,V^gTi£sjj£ some trouble in the ifij|p'trees,. &c, were supplied to them.. - ? >- '..',...■■ Certainly we cannot be accused of going too. farcin;; the aesthetic direction with reference to the surroundings of our school buildings. The 7 rolls generally . are carefully and neatly kept. 1 have only found 1 it.neces-' /sary to call attention to a few; "trifling omissions in some cases. I have also ex- ! a»n hied the stock of books at: each school with satisfactory results. Greymouth District High School. The power asked for by the Grey mouth High School Board of devoting its funds to the maintenance of a District High , School having- been given in the ' ' Special Powers and Contracts Act, 1885," Ihave thought it desirable to embody in this report some suggestions as to the establish- ; ment of the District High School. I The period at which such a change |in the status, of the school is taking place, may be regarded as suitable for the consideration of the question whether it has hithertojfurnished the community with all . the educational advantages it is capable of ; giving, merely aB a primary school.

■■*(!•' . * The purpose of the Act of 1877 was evidently to supply such a scheme of primary education as would meet the necessities of all classes, and the question to consider is whether any portion of the community is standing aloof from the school ; and., if bo, what reason it has for so doing. ' And at this stage it should be remembered that while in the large centres of the colony * „P.KJy.ate. sehoplsjlo npj,. fii|d^he.ir.existencjß jeopardised by the public s"6hbbis, it is hejre ctuite^-differenty as I belieye it may truly be said that no really "good private school would be supported wellenough-in Greymouth to . justify the enterprise of establishing it.' . •

That there are some who object to send- ' ing their children to the public school is quite certain, and th^ireaspn may be found in a feeling thafc wnilstothe- public school leaves (Very 'little to -ibe desired in the way of instruction, there is an absence of any refining influence upon the manners' and behaviour. , ! ■•.• i/ /.;.■.:: r

•It may be noted here that the new regulations . fbriinspectibn coriiiri'g > 'iiiio^op Teration on January 1 1st, 1886,1m l e'riti6n specifically the matters upon which' r an ; lnspector isi to; report' when making" >We< visit' for inspections as distinguished • from 'that for- ; examination. > Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of the Regulations are as follow :— lv Once/.in, eyery yea^OTery!;pufciic school shall ;lye bbtn'- inspected- and exatriiriedjby a-' Public School •Bispector. If p6ssibieV ! 4hgr| t .shaH be an interval' bf time- beiween^tne'ifls^ecV tion and the examination. As soon-, as possible after ifie irispeetiori'tKte Lispector shall s present ah • " inspection report," and as soon as possible after the examinaiian an.-" examination report." '> ihese Ir'egulatibhs^ & year means a year counted from the Ist of " ; . January'!:^ ;!;[•; '^ >-uU>T-U. i 2. Theinsj*ect^ such topics' aß'ithp/.foUpwitg :— " I. List of stariaard classes and teach-. ; ers ; 11. .Remarks on the organisation, as shown under Topic r 1.,; in., ability of time-tables •, IV. JEtemarks on the methods' and quality of instruc-, tibri in general or in detail ; V. Order and -.discipline, .and the-tone-of-the school with resp'ect ; to diligence, alacrity, and obedience : : Vl. Supervision in recess ; VII. Manners and general behavior of the pupils ; yill. State : ■'■ of buildinge, ground, and fences ; I^. Sufficiency of - school accommodation. K. Cleanliness arid tidiness of rooms and premises, --including outside ! offices;; ventilation arid warming,* 51. &c. Other topics. V -.V-\.\ ■<■ I have already said that if the Coirimissioners had to depend merely upon their ordinary revenue^ thelpraotical 'use 6itcjalling attention to any; defects wouldJbSilil^ ; and therefore they might just as wellinot be ! mentioned. ■ It is therefpre r ;pnlyrby means of theiadditional revenue to be derived ifromtlfe change in the status of the school that we can expect to remedy defects, and ;I now venture to suggest ;the best means of the defect above referred to.

:-:. The appointment of aithoroughly qualified^mistress who will have charge of the Infant Deparlment is; I think, the surest way to meet the 'difficulty. Prbvided she is thoroughly trained, 6i cultivated mind and-refined manners, Ifeel.sure that Her influence would soon be perceptible upon the tone of the school, and would tend to make it generally popular. ; .<■--■<,■

r-As-4o*the number- of scholars likely to attend the higher school, I do not thinks am making an extravagant estimate in putting it at 30. This number at £15 per annum would produce £450. The following would, I think, be an absolutely necessary staff of teachers if the school is to be really effective, and to make it thoroughly effective is, I believe, the surest way to make it successful : — Head Master ... £350 Assistant Master'"*" rn — ~"" ?:r~ """ ;r; 225Assistant Mastjer, capable of teaching Trench, iSerman, Writing, and Drawing . 1 200 Head Mistress, icapable of teaching French, Domestic Economy,; (ajidi ■; Drawing, and' having sonwknowi " ledge of the Kindergarten system 200 Assistant Master 150 Assistant Master or Mistress ... 120, One Junior Assistant {??) One Junior Assistant . ~ ..." \65 Two Junior Assistants at .£55 ... 110 Six Pupil Teachers averaging £30 ... 180 Six Monitors averaging £1 10s ... 45 t ' './.rfn.'y, Total .[. ... LiIdIJMWL Having provided the Head Master with a staff sufficient for producing satisfactory results, I woul<| not hamper him with any useless and unneces? ary restrictions, but leave the general arrangement of it to himself, the only fixed.arrangement/beingthat the Headf Mistr^Hhiv^/lcnarge !of; the Infant Department, and come as often as possible into! contact with the female Pupil Teachers jboth in their school-work and studies, for) it is to her influence over them that we mjust look for a great part of the general effect upon the school. ,- The staff proposed will allow fof a male' I teacher having fcharge of the Fourth Stani- - dard. | I propose the; employment ok ,s.ix of^the. higher class pupils as^Monitors* for two" years, the paynient of the first year to be £5,. and for the year £10, and subto the following conditions': — i 1. That each|one shall be employed for ;,'«% half a day only. 2. That extra instructionsbe Hvl£j:'-fcp| them so that'their'WkWpUpWshailnot be interfered with. 3. That they, are employed at suitable work, principally hearing repetition of tasks, helping dull scholars, giving out dictation, hearing reading of lower classes, and examining written, qxerrißp<! i i'■ 'I i i. i' i > / 1 , p I i ? 1 0 \< 4. That theirjwork is always under the direct supervision and control of one of the assistants, and that they are instructed how to perform the work rel quired of them. „. ...,_,. „. ,. r , , , r E7^ ... 5. That from jthe Monitors' all vacancies *" in the ranks of the Pupil Teachers shall be filled up, seniority to take' precedence ; if combined with efficiency, j .■-:.•'. • | .i>i'.i r By the adoption of this plan the chances of the appointment of an unsuitable pupil as Pupil Teacher will be much lessened. Seeing the total., annual. cost of the staff proposed is to be £1725, it may be well to compare it with the cost of similar schools, and I find that those in Otago supply the best means of comparison. The Oamaru District High School with a trifle over half the average attendance of Greymouth t School, costs The Tokoma"iriro D. H. School, with an average of 346, costs " ; gv£l4oo._ The ..Lawrence. D.....H. School, ""■"" witH*»n average oi 242, or- much less than half that of the 'Greymouth. School, costs £1060: The Greymouth Primary. School is ,at< ptpse.nt costing for salaries £1100 per an- . num,'so that the extra charge will amount to £625, and this we may reasonably expect to be provided for by the fees and &^_ by grants from the High School Board. j^^allo^wing that for the first year or two ouf^expectations in this respect jnay not be realized. ;'l feel sure seeing that the town of ■ Greymouth is growing rapidly in importance, (and that 'the necessity for higher class instruction undoubtedly exists; there is sufficient public spirit to prevents the 'failure of the Commissidners' efforts; provided ( the District High School as established commends itself to the public as thoroughly efficient for its purpose. ■-■'■;- ■•'■;'<''>■ : - ■'' T would recommend "that to meet the case of those persons whose means do not permitr'o'f. their use of the High School that there shall be at ieast six scholars admitted free to the upper course yearly, two to be chosen for proficiency in the work of the Sixth". Standard, two for good.beh'avjotir.'an'd two I for regular attendance. In^the' two 'last /cases proficiency of -courseware tp" : be also considered. For ; country '^schools- ' ! six presentations should also-»be offered' 1 yearly, dependant uponthe result; of the examination in the Fifth, and Sixth Standards. 1 ■ The es!ist-, . ence 'of; such a school, would also, I; think,' 1 1 enable the Commissioners ;to; 'give > two' scholarships yearly' instead of 'every 'other : year.:.' • . r '.' ''■'•■ ■ • •' " ••' !i * ";"''' \ ; ''■ '■'' ' With reference to the programme of in- j struction, I have taken some pains to j ascertain the procedure in other places, and believe that the following will be equal to the advantages offered • elsewhere : — ] Latin I , French, 'German, English. language ( and literature, history of British Empire £ generally, New Zealand and Australia par- \ ticnlarly, physical geography, algebra, geometry, andtriginometary,.drawing, freehand' and geometrical; vocal music so that * after a course of three years pupils may l read|^ell at sight, science, especially s . geology£.mineralogy, and chemistry, and J for giris" domestic economy. The choice of subjects; for each scholar should be en- * tiusfed* solely to the Head Master. " * The only particular in which this pro- s \ gramme differs from that of any other D. v \ H., rS.lisin the introduction of German, and \ l imnvine that its omission arises more from 5 the*difficulty ? of obtaining teachers than J from any doubt, as to its importance. With reference' to the alterations neces : / 1: sary to provide sufficient accommodation * for both primary and higher classes, there are twb alternatives — one'is to take down r the paHjtibtf 'between ;the rooms Occupied c by the 2nd and 3rd Standards and devote ; t thfj-wli6le spaje to the 3rd standard! To : '"V do the same with the partition between c the rooms occupied by che 4th and, 6th Standards,' and' give the whole room to ti the 4th Standard. - ; These, alterations b would necessitate the building of three c; additional .moms; one each for .the 2nd Standard, the, 6th Standard, and the higher class! " The other plan is to alter the gymnasium so as to fit it for the Inf-nt. Primer, and :, Ist, glasses, -nd this would K-epifß.?itate the j erection of two sheds for the scholars to? play in during wet weather. '

I believe the latter to be decidedly the better of the two, for several reasons, but principally because the Infant Department of a school can be worked more satisfactorily apart from the upper classes, especially if something similar to the Kindergarten system be adopted. The expense of the latter plan would also be lighter. Programme op Instruction for Pupil "' '""Teachers. I refer to this matter fin this report so that if the Commissioners should decide upon .making^ alterations^ the programme may be jthprqughly considered before the commencement of the school year. Under the present regulations the following subjects outside! bf the ordinary school programme are made compulsory : and algebra commencing with the first year for females, and science, algebra, and geometry for [males, also commencing in the first year. { Thellnglish. Code requires nothing outside/ojEltHe programme for fe,males, j ;andialgebra and Euclid for males commencing in the second year. The Otago Board requires no extra subjects for the first year. I In the second year Latin for males, and French for females ; in the third and fourth years algebra and Eucjid, are Jadded for both sexes.} pln^South ? \Australia nothing is required from females but the ordinary programme, and for males algebra and Euclid commencing in the third year. The Wellington Board demand only drawing and physics, commencing in -the first year. The South Canterbury j Board requires (nothing' extra' for ''females! and for males, science only commencing in the second year. The Wanganui |Board requires science only from females* and for males, science,! algebra] jimd Euclid, commencing in the third year."' The Victorian Department requires no extra subjects. I requested the Inspector for the 1 Hawkes Bay District to send me a copy of the regulations in force there, and I received from him a proof copy of an gmended r«o.d.e Jatelyiprepared, which ap>p..ears to.. Me]i6jhs.>ie; Sbeeri drawn up with the intention of reducing the strain upon the Pupil Teachers. In our present regulations there are some curious .nomalies : — ; Clause 3 provides that a scholar having passed the Sixth Standard with credit is eligible; for ajjpointinent as a Fourth Class PupilfTeacherJ } \'\ \ Clause 2 requires a pass in the Sixth Standard as a test for fitness, and if no scholar who has passed thelSixth Standard be considered eligible, one from the Fifth f may f be;taken?T;.i[n either case the appointment tboeaV unclassified Pjupil Teacher. .' It is a fair inference thit other advantages being equal, the scholar who passes the Sixth ,with credit is quicker and cleverer' tliaii the scholar who merely passes, and here come in the anomaly. The first takes rank at once in the Fourth Clsss, but the latter before entering tb.at,.. class, has io.-pass in three additional subjects, viz., science, algebra, and the art of teaching, and to enter the Third Class the first requires to undertake the extra subjects of the two years. I here append a list of the subjects required in a pass for Class E, and a pass into the rank of First Class' Pupil Teacher under our regulations : — Class E. — Reading, writing, spelling, English, grammar, English • composition, arithmetic, geography, English history, 'elementary science; or domestic economy, vocal music, . needlework, drawing, and teaching. First Class Pupil Teacher. —Reading, writing, spelling, English grammar, English .composition, arithmetic, algebra, geography, geometry, English history, teaching, science, needlework, and domestic economy ; optional.—Drawing and Latin. After serving one year in the First Class the regulations allow the Pupil Teachers to rank as Junior Assistants with an increase of salary, and : give them two years to prepare for ,ClassE. . : . . It appears to me that these two years are simply wasted if regarded as necessary for preparation for Class E, and I would recommend; tho .Commissioners to have the regulations so amended as to permit of the Pupil Teachers going up for the E. examination in the same year that they obtain their final pass, and to provide for theii', obtaining an E certificate .the following year. The principal difficulty would be with the science for Class E, -which covers rather, a wide field, but as females who show .proficiency? ..in needlework are allowed to .take .domestic economy instead, and our Pupil Teachers are, and probably wiJLI continue to.be, principally females, it need rot enter . into „-our, calculations. Science for males, domestic economy for females, 1 and iTPcal music and drawing for both.should be included in the programme, and algebra^ geometry, Latin, and French be made optional subjects, commencing in the third year. ,., Pupil Teachers would then commence the extra work when their powers, are more matured, and supposing, they go up for D certificate two years after obtaining E they will' have had five years' study of the extra: subjects required for that pass. ; ; „. . : Though it is not desirable to insist upon extra subjects, yet I think some encouragement should be given for their study, say a small bonus for a pass in each extra subject. ...'.,..,_;, In connection with the Greymouth High School, I. would t divide passed pupil teachers into two classes of Junior AW sistants, serving in that cap: city for three years, the lower class to receive for the first year £55. second year £75, and third year £85, and the hisrher class first year £65:^ second year £85, and third year £105, the Head Masterf.' to receive payment during this time for -preparing them forClossD. - ' At any time during the three years they may be required to take charge of a country school (for a period to be fixed) at .the salary payable for such school,' provided, it be not less than that they are receiving. In the event of their being transferred . to a country school, an allowance of time' be made for going up for the D certificate. /.',,.., ... v' ■''•»..■.'.' '.•'• ■■■•<■•■ . In conclusion,' I may say that it -was with spine diffidence that I undertook the performance of ,th,e half-yearly inspection, and with equaVdifJ^dencp I now submit my report to your consideration. ] E; T.. Robinson, : , Inspector, pro. iewn