The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 1888.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8159, 9 May 1888, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 1888.

From the Annual Report of the Taranaki Board of Education for 1887, on which we reoently had occasion to comment, we are glad to learn that at least one sensible .thing has been accomplished under the auspices of the Board, during the paso year. Model lessons to teachers have been given, at weekly intervals, in the Central School by some of the most experienced members of the profession, the Inspeotor being, we understand, present, as guide, philosopher, and friend. A sorely-needed want has thus at length been supplied. But we have this serious complaint to make against the Education Board, albeit we willingly give them oredit even for this tardy repentance for former inexcusable negligence in this essential feature of training our future teachers. "What we have to complain of is this: That when about three years ago, the desirableness of instituting this training olass was strongly urged upon the Education Board by one of its own members, his arguments being, moreover, supported by the authority of the School Inspeotor, the majority of the members summarily dismissed the motion as impraotioable, after the briefest posßible discussion, oonduoted after that sagacious and courteous fashion not altogether unknown among that remarkable body, especially on those rare occasions when there happens to be brought forward some subject of perhaps equal impoitance, at least in the eyes of less enlightened individuals, with the bost method of erecting a fence, or the oheapest fashion of constructing a qhimney. We are all the more gratified, therefore, that even members of an Education Board are not too wise to improve by experience. Like some other local Solomons we oould mention, they are evidently " gittin' along," and will in time doubtless turn out really useful and sensible persons. Subsequently, however, to the date of this Report, December 31st, 1887, these Model Lessons have, we hear, been abandoned, on the plea of, rigid eoonomy being requisite. We venture to affirm, on the contrary, that here eoonomy is out of place, and might batter have been spared. From Table 8' appended to the Beporfc, we perceive that out of 9 pupil teaohers, at the end of the first year, who presented themselves for examination, 3 failed to pass. Of those 6 who passed, the two who obtained far the highest number of marks were pupil teaohers of the Oentral Sohool. One pupil teacher only presented herself at the end of the second year, and passed the examination. She came from Mr. Grant's school at Inglewood. Three presented themselves at the end of their third year, of whom two passed ; three at the end of the fourth year, every one of whom passed, all being pupil teaohers of the Oentral School. We may add, from those who have seen them, that the pupil teaohers' examination papers — set for the first time in the Oentral Education Department — were, especially ,orie or two, extremely difficult. Of the 35 schools in the Taranaki Educatipa Distriot, we notice that Upper Mangorei stands first on the lists in its percentage of attendance on the roll number, showing as high an average, as 91 per cent. The lowest sohool in its average attendance is Midhirst, with 54 per cent., or little more than half the total number on the roll. Of the town schools, the West Infants' presents 82 percent., the Oentral 78 per. oent., or the same percentage as Okato, both sohools being seventh on the list. We present in full the Inspector's observations on this topic, and earnestly commend them to the serious attention of School Committees and teaohers : —

" Coming to the information connected with the year's attendance, the roll number, 2395, at December 31st does not show the usual increase of tho past few years ; the mean increase, however, of tho four quarters is 87. The explanation lies in the fact that for one quarter of the year tho return was 2616, and, but for the serious epidemic, or rather succession of epidemics, which have visited tho District, causing many withdrawals, tho roll number would have stood higher than on any previous occasion. For similar reasons tho working average Bhows a gradual decline, falling from 1915 in March to 1800 in December, or 14 less than that of Deeembvr 31st, 1886, which return was tho highest for that year. If the returns of both years be compared, a dcci led improvement of four per cent, is apparent, thus putting beyond questhn the constant increase in nun ber and the quality of the attendance. This percentage o£ increase has augmented the revenue of the Board for the year by the sum of £500. While it is very gratifying to direct attention to this result, or to the steady rise of the Board's iucome from £5726 to £7369 during my fouryeurs' connection with the district, there still remains much to be done to bring the attendance to a sitis factory basis, because the reductions of the present year will press very heavily, and cannot but seriously affect the Bjard's relations with its teacherp, whose iucomas will now depend, 'to a very great extent, upon the regularity of attendance at their schools. The greatest credit is duo to the New Plymouth School Committee for the very active measures used to enforce better attendance, through thsnumpulsorj clauses of the Education Act. Were several country Committees, in whose districts a great deal of indifference exists, to move in tho same direction, there would ba less refusals to meet their numerous applications for assistance." We heartily agree, likewise, with Mr. Murray in his concluding observations, with which wo bring this notice to a close :—": — " Your Teachers labour under the disadvantage of a short schoolday, which in other districts extends to not less than five hocus. Au additional half.hour a day might readily be added to the attendance of all from Standard 111. upwards, becauee I am sure the Board is simply adding to instead of lessening the nearly effort of preparing so many bu . ,I'ots in each Standard. Unquestionably this burden of forcing so much into a given time is the chief ciubo of the endless agitation against the syllabus. Although I personally object to the reduotion of the syllabus by auy curtailment of its subjects, I protest against their present distribution over a fixed and unalterable □amber ot years in every child's case. Given the course of instruction pyer :

Beven years and leave to inspectors to except in special cases, less would be heard of " cram," " pressure," and 11 percentages."