7

E.—2

Geography. —ln not a few schools this subject is very well taught, in many very fairly. In perhaps a dozen of the schools the masters cannot teach New Zealand geography, because they do not know it themselves. No doubt they will find it necessary to get the defect remedied before the next examination. Sewing:- —ln a few schools this subject is dealt with in a perfunctory way ; in most instances, however, the work is very good ; in a few there is nothing more to be desired, liukarere and Mangakahia, perhaps, stand first amongst the schools for excellence in needlework. I think that in future all girls that are not fully up to the very moderate standard requirements in this subject should be sent back, no matter how well their other work may have been done. Singing. —Maoris can be taught to sing English songs very well indeed : their own music, though generally not particularly pleasing to the unaccustomed European ear, contains very minute intervals, which are taken with surprising accuracy. It is seldom, therefore, that Maoris sing out of tune. In some of the schools the singing is wonderfully good. It is quite a musical treat to hear the boys at Te Aute, or the girls at St. Joseph's Providence, or liukarere, sing. The singing is also very good at Lower Waihou, Waikare, Ohaeawai, Kaiapoi, and Port Molyneux. At Pukepoto the children have made very creditable progress both in the theory and the practice of this art. Drawing. —But little has been done in this subject as yet. Drill. —In many schools drill is fairly well done. Torere stands first in this subject; next to this Bay of Plenty School, but after a long interval, comes Kaiapoi. Miscellaneous. Proposed Alterations in the Standards. —I think the following alterations should be made in the next edition of the standards, and that they should be in force for the examinations of 1883 : Add to Standard 1., easy set sums in addition, added to present requirements; to Standard 11., easy set suma in subtraction; to Standard 111., easy set sums in compound addition and compound subtraction ; very easy problems, involving the use of the first four simple rules : dictation, from the " First Royal Header:" and to Standard IV. (for boys only), weights and measures, easy questions in simple rule of three, and in simple interest. Illustrated Papers. —Much good is done in many districts by the papers supplied by the department. The Natives look forward to their arrival as a great treat. This is the case, however, only where the masters are willing to explain the pictures to the Maoris. It is desirable that all masters should do this. It is plain that it must be very advantageous to the school for the Natives generally to be induced to take an interest in anything connected with it. Night-schools. —In some districts night-schools have been established. These are generally very short-lived, but they do much good while they last. The rapidity with which elderly Maoris pick up writing and the elements of arithmetic is truly astonishing. It is but seldom that one hears of a European past middle age learning to write, but it is by no means uncommon to see Maoris, fifty or sixty years of age, attending a night-school for three or four months, learning in that time to write Maori very fairly, and picking up enough arithmetic to be of great use to them for the rest of their lives. My experience in this matter has led me to believe that a master wishing to do night-school work should form his class as soon as the crops are all gathered in ; that he should make each member of the class pay his fee for a whole term, which should not last longer than three or four months; that he should decide on a regular course of instruction, and carefully explain to his pupils what this is to be. When the term is ended, he should discontinue the class as a matter of course, no matter how successful it may have been, or how much the Maoris may desire to have it continued. If this plan were adopted, it is probable that a winter class might be carried on year after year with very beneficial results. If, on the contrary, a night-school is allowed to drag on until it dies a natural death, the Natives will probably get the conviction sooner or later that the whole thing is a bore, and will never desire to see the school reopened. If a cessation of work takes place while their appetite for learning is still unsatiated, they will be almost certain to ask for more the next year. Teachers' Knowledge of Maori. —lt is sometimes supposed that it is necessary that a teacher in a Native school should be a good Maori scholar. My own observation has led me to conclude that it really matters very little whether the teacher knows Maori or not. Several of our most successful teachers know hardly more than a few words of the language ; others again, equally good teachers, are thoroughly acquainted with the language. If one went through the whole of the staff and classified all the teachers first with reference to their success as teachers, and then according to their knowledge of Maori, he would find the same principle hold good. I think a native-school teacher's knowledge of Maori may be advantageous to him or disadvantageous. The case stands thus : A man that speaks the language can always make his children understand exactly what he means without difficulty. One that is ignorant of it has to make himself understood by the children sooner or later. It is not easy to do it ; it is very difficult; but it can be done, and the way in which it is done affords very good training to the children. As English is the only language available, it is by means of it that he has to make himself understood. Every successful attempt of his, then, to make himself understood is a valuable lesson in English. The children very soon get a small stock of words and phrases with their meaning ; this stock is added to rapidly day by day, and the children acquire a fair understanding of ordinary English phrases and become able to use them. As a matter of fact I find that children learn to talk English much sooner under a teacher that knows no Maori, than under one that is a good Maori linguist. On the other hand, the Maori scholar has for a time a very great advantage in teaching other subjects. He can begin at once to instruct his pupils successfully in any of the subjects in the course ; only, unfortunately, if he does this, English, by far the most important of all the nativeschool subjects, is being neglected. The best of all native-school teachers would be one who, knowing Maori thoroughly, had sufficient self-control never to use it in conversing with the children or in anj other way than as a language for translation into English. A knowledge of Maori is of great use to a teacher in his intercourse with the Natives; Ido not think he gains their respect by being able to talk their language (it is often rather a case of ignotwn pro magnifico), but he is certainly more likely to