E.—lA,

4

The third question in the section was answered more satisfactorily, though objectionable arrangements, pardonable perhaps in a school where the teacher has no help, were adopted for one of different character, where the same necessity no longer existed. The plan of simultaneous writing is an instance in point, though, with a teacher to each class, there could be no necessity for it, and although it involved taking a number of noisy lessons together at another time. In Section 11., dealing with " Notes of Lessons," we were brought face to face with the unpleasant fact that the notes submitted were in many cases not the work of the candidates, but merely reproductions, sometimes word for word, of published notes, and occasionally of very bad ones. Now, while we admitted the lawfulness of borrowing ideas from books, we deemed it unfair and very unworthy of teachers to attempt thus to palm off on an examiner published notes as their own work. How would these teachers treat their pupils who sought thus to impose on them ? We gave no marks for answers of this kind, and in the future candidates should give the examiners credit for knowledge of published notes. Again, in several cases the notes were outside the " standard " limits, and, worse still, had done duty before in other capacities. For example, the candidates were asked for notes of a lesson in history for Standard IV., or in grammar for Standard V., or in arithmetic for Standard 11. Six candidates from one district presented practically identical notes, of a history lesson, on a subject in advance of the standard, and so overladen with detail as to be only fit for a really good VI. Standard. It appeared to us that, had they known the standard requirements, they would not all have selected this extraneous subject; that, had they been able to gauge the attainments of children, they would not all have treated it in the same unsuitable way ; and that, had they had any other historical notes at command, or any power of compiling them, some at least would have tried to satisfy the conditions of the question. Moreover, the notes would not have been identical had they been really original, and the fact that all the six candidates preferred that lesson seemed prima facie evidence that they were still less qualified to deal with the alternative parts of the question. The same identical notes too had been presented previously for Standard V. We could therefore come to no other conclusion than that they were stock notes committed to memory and forced into service, and of no more value than those that had been copied out of a book. Accordingly we gave no marks for them, though we were regretfully compelled'on this account to reject some candidates who might otherwise have passed. The details of method, particularly asked for, were in many instances not furnished. The form of notes generally adopted too was bad, though a very common one. The method should, in our opinion, be interwoven with the matter, and not relegated to a separate column. Many of the particulars inserted in this column ought certainly to have been arranged under that headed " Matter," and vice versa. In one lesson we were gravely assured that a horse was a ruminant animal, and that a cow made a peculiar noise called its voice. The far-fetched introductions to some lessons, and notably two in the Gr. P. R. James style to lessons on that time-honoured subject, " The Common Pump," were very amusing, albeit sheer waste of time. There was a want of agreement too between the notes of lessons and the time-tables. These latter prescribed fifteen or twenty minutes for an object-lesson: the notes were for lessons of thirty minutes, forty minutes, or even an hour long. The third section, dealing with registers, was treated more satisfactorily, although, out of 199 candidates who took the first question, only 30 were perfectly right in their calculations. The chief blunders were, as usual, in the working average. Some very crude ideas of the admission register were entertained. One candidate wished to record in it all the absences of the pupils, with the reasons assigned for them ; another to register all the offences of which the pupils were guilty, with the punishment bestowed on each. Neither of the candidates explained how such registers were to be kept. Of the other sections it will not be necessary for us to speak at length. Many of the answers would be amusing if the ignorance displayed by would-be teachers were not so lamentable. We were told several times that arithmetic and Euclid offered excellent opportunities for cultivating the imagination, and were recommended in teaching grammar to " begin at the beginning and continue throughout the whole course ;" but what was the beginning and what constituted the course we were left to find out. We rise from the perusal of these papers with the impressions— (1.) That, even when every allowance is made for the imperfect character of the examinationtest, many of the uncertificated teachers of the country are not at all qualified for the profession. We cannot conceive the possibility of some of these candidates doing good work. (2.) That there is little or no improvement noticeable in the quality of the work done by candidates year by year. (3.) That many of those whom we examined this year have bestowed no study on their profession, and will not until some limit is placed on the number of times they may present themselves without final rejection.

List oe Passes, etc. [Extract from New Zealand Gazette, 31st March, 1883.] The following lists contain statements of the principal results of the examination held at the end of January, 1883. It must be understood that the granting of a certificate depends only in part upon the result of an examination, and that candidates who have not had the experience required by the regulations, or who-do not receive the necessary marks from a School Inspector, have no claim to a certificate. The first list contains the names of the successful candidates at the examination for Class D. The second supplies similar information with regard to Class E. The third and fourth lists give the names pf candidates who will be allowed to qualify for Classes D and E respectively, by passing at the next