NAPIER DISTRICT SCHOOL.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5400, 5 June 1879, Page 3

NAPIER DISTRICT SCHOOL.

The course of technical instruction for teachers now proceeding at the Napier district school, under the Inspector of Schools, Mr H. Hill, is attracting a good deal of attention. One part of the course consists of class teaching, with criticisms. One of the teachers takes a class of children and gives them a lesson on a subject set for him by the Inspector. When lit is concluded the teachers and Inspector retire to another room, and there the lesson and the style of giving it undergo criticism. Yesterday our reporter was present when this branch of "technical instruction" was being proceeded with. A' teacher— Mr Poole, of Waipukurau— was giving the small boys a lesson in subtraction by the aid of the blackboard. At, its conclusion an adjournment was made to another room, and then the process of flaying Mr Poole was commenced by a teacher named Smith. First Mr Poole's demeanor was pronounced as scarcely dignified, because he stood with his hands in his pockets '; then his explanation of the lesson was condemned as obscure, aud his writing disgraceful. ; his attempt to make the children. understand the why and the wherefore was unintelligible, and was in fact a total failure ; and when endeavoring to demonstrate what should.be ,done in subtraction when the ower figure was greiter than the upper he lost himself altogether. Another teacher . — Mr G. Maberley — while coinciding with Mr Smith, remarked that Mr Poole was just going into the science of numbers when he stopped short, and got into such a muddle that he could not be followed. Mr Thomson then took a turn at the wheel of torture. . First he twisted Mr Poole one way and then he twisted him another, and finally got him down — figuratively — and jumped on him. But this was not enough for Mr Thomson, his appetite for criticism was still keen, and so he set to criticising the critics. One had used " was " when he should have used the plural " were," and another had improperly used the adjective '" wrong" instead of the adverb " wrongly " — which the gentleman referred to admitted to be " very wrong." After the laughter at the joke had subsided, two ladies gave their opinion of the lesson ; one said it was qnite a failure, and the other that the explanations of Mr Poolo were not very clear. Mr Poole being asked to speak in reply, said that if ho had committed all the faults he was charged with he must endeavor to amend. The Inspector then "improved the occasion,"pointing out how the lesson should have been given, and giving to the teachers hints in the art of instruction which will doubtless prove of service.

The school we may remark is really worthy of a visit, quite independently of the special course of instruction which is proceeding in it. In size it stands fifth in New Zealand, and there is not ono so large in Otago. The only drawback to it is the want of room for a playground, but as the whole of the site does nob exceed half-an-acre, the space for the yard is as a matter of course limited to small dimensions. There are nine class rooms on theground floor and two rooms on the upper story, one of which is used as a committee room, the other as a library, but both can be used as class rooms if required. Two of the lower rooms are GO x 24 feet, one 4G x 24, two 40 x 18, and four 20 x 24. It is estimated that the school will altogether accommodate 700 children ; the number now in attendance is between 400 and 500. There are threo entrances to the schoolone each for boys, girls, and infants. There is an ante-room at each entrance, where strong hat-pegs of wrought iron are fixed, for the Jiftts, c i oa ] £aj &Cj of the

children, one Bide of, the room being parted off for a lavatory, and furnished with basins^ soap and towel/ so as to train the children iii habits of cleanlirtess. The class rooms are admirably well fitfced up for the purposo of teaching and training, the one for infants especially so. The staff consists of the head master, Mr Thomson ; the second master, Mr Murray; the mistress,- Mrs Stanley < assistant mistress, Miss Robottom ; infant mistress, Miss Mann • two male and five female pupil teachersl.'