13

I.—B,

TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Mr. A. D. Riley, Director of the School of Design, in attendance and examined. 143. The Chairman.} Will you state your position in connection with the subject of the education given in public schools ?—My position is that of Art Director to the Wellington Education Board. That includes the direction of the school of design and the supervision of drawing in the public schools of this district. The work I have principally in hand in connection with the public schools is the training of teachers in the course of instruction to be adopted, and seeing that instruction carried out by the teachers in the public schools in accordance with the recommendations made. My first act was to issue a Syllabus to the teachers, giving them a brief and general idea of the manner in which drawing should be conducted in the schools. That document has been printed by the Government, and issued to the Education Boards of the various districts, this being a copy which I hand to the Chairman. [Evidence put in.] I might state that, although it has been issued to the various Boards, it is only adhered to, I believe, in tho Wellington District, though other Boards have ordered through me sets of apparatus in accordance with the Syllabus I issued. It contains all that I consider necessary for the public-school work. My experience of the teaching of drawing in the public schools is that the drawing is more of a copying character than drawing, properly understood, should be. It was not regarded as the expression of the idea of form so much as the mere copying of a given sketch. I introduced the following separate sections : (1) Dictationdrawing ; (2) memory-drawing; (3) cutting-out lessons. This I found to be the best method of giving instruction in the lower standards. Copies have to be drawn for the upper standards upon the black board, the whole class drawing from the same copy, thus compelling the children to judge of proportion, construction, &c. They are unable to take exact measurements as in the case of a copy beside them. One explanation from the teacher serves for the whole class, and this allows much more time for supervision of the work done. The Government books, Standards I. and 11., do not give the children the faculty of drawing, but merely an imitative faculty. In Standards IV., V., and VI. I give them the object to draw from. I find now that drawing in the schools has considerably improved in the lower standards. I would like the members of the Committee to visit a school and see exactly the nature of the instruction given. That would be much better than talking at any great length about it. You would then be able to see the results of the system now adopted. In connection with my duties in giving instruction to the schools I found that the time devoted to drawing was very short, and applied for an extension ; but it has been found impossible, in view of the work of the standards, to be carried on. In the lower standards the time is so taken up with other subjects that at most we can only get one hour a week for drawing. This is very unfortunate, for it prevents sufficient instruction being given when it would be most effective. In .the Report of the Royal Commissioners on Technical Education, 1884, it was recommended that " elementary drawing be incorporated with writing as a single elementary subject, and that instruction in drawing be continued throughout the standard." That a school shall not be deemed to be provided with proper " apparatus of elementary instruction " unless it have a proper supply of casts and models for drawing. This we have not got, but I have endeavoured to obviate this want in the district by applying a vote of £100, given by the Board of Education, to the purchase of wire-models, so that the child might see and understand the vanishing of lines from the objects they have, before them. Suppose a solid model is used, it is hard for a child to understand why lines of a figure are foreshortened, knowing, for instance, that the faces of a cube are all the same size. These wire-models are also used to illustrate lines, angles, diameters, diagonals, and simple figures, the drawing being done upon plain (unruled) slates. A series of elementary casts are also provided, so that outline may be taught from the object; the pupils can then see the relief of the object, and endeavour to express it from the various points of view. Ido not see how drawing can be efficiently taught unless these models are supplied. The examination of the schools is conducted in the following manner with reference to various grades : First grade, for public schools, consisting of elementary freehand, model, scale and geometrical drawing. Certificates are issued for each section as passed, and a full certificate upon completion of the whole. [Examples of papers worked by the children, together with sectional and full certificates, handed in.] Children not connected with any public school may sit for this examination upon payment of a registration fee of Is. for each section taken. Second grade, for teachers of public schools (teachers and scholars of private schools, upon payment of 2s. 6d. per section), students of schools of design. Sections: Freehand, model, geometrical (plain and solid), perspective, with black-board practice from memory for teachers. [Worked examples handed in.] Third grade, for students of schools of design, consisting of a two-years' course in drawing in outlines and light and shade from the cast, and group of models, and a two-years' course in geometrical and perspective drawing. Special certificates in accordance with school of design syllabus are issued for special sections. All advanced works, and works for art-class teachers' certificate are examined by the South Kensington authorities, with whom arrangements have been made. [Note. —The above certificates are in accordance with South Kensington requirements.] I have endeavoured as much as possible to make the course thorough from beginning to end, so that the child going to the public school commences with the simplest elements, and makes steady progress from that stage until he goes to the second scale, and thence to the school of design. There is one important point in respect to which I am persuaded, if attention were given to the matter, it would result beneficially. That is in regard to the present examination of teachers by the Education Department—teachers who pass in the majority of subjects, but fail in drawing. I think