Appendix C]

E.^2.

No. 2. EXTRACTS PROM THE REPORTS OF INSPECTORS OK SCHOOLS, DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS OF MANUAL INSTRUCTION, ETC. [For Reports on Rural Courses in District High Sohools see E.-6, Report on Secondary Education.] AUCKLAND. Extract from the Report of the Supervisor of Manual and Technical Instruction. During the year school classes in woodwork and cookery were held at Whangarei, Tc Kopuni> Dargaville, Helensville, Devon port, Northeote, Newmarket, Newton, Ponsonby, Otahuhu, Pukekohc Ngaruawahia, Hamilton, Te Kuiti, Taumarunui, Cambridge, Matamata, Rotorua, Tc Aroha, Thames, Waihi, Tauranga, and Coromandel. Laundry-work courses for girls were carried out in nearly all the above-mentioned centres. The Manual Training School buildings at Rotorua, Northeote, and Ngaruawahia were erected during the year. The Department, has approved of the erection of manualtraining schools at Vermont Street (Auckland City), at Onehunga, and at Avondale. In each case, the buildings will be designed to allow of extension for use in technical and continuation class work. The capitation paid by the Department for school woodwork classes has proved utterly inadequate to pay reasonable salaries to the instructors, and it was only by drawing largely upon its general fund that the Board was able, to deal fairly with these teachers. Domestic Science. —During the year the Board's Organizer of Domestic Science visited each of the manual training centres and gave assistance regarding general management of classes. Equipment was inspected and brought up to requirements, Evening classes were also visited. Full syllabuses of work were made out for cookery, laundry, home management for all school classes, and also for invalid cookery for nurses' classes, and for adult cookery classes. Courses of work for school, continuation and adult dressmaking classes were also drawn up. In July the domestic-science teachers attended a week's course of instruction in cookery-class management and science work. The, Domestic Science Organizer reports that the work in this district suffers from the following defects : - (I.) It is very difficult to sustain interest amongst the older pupils where Standards IV, V, and VI attend together. This is done to obtain sufficient capitation, but is not educational. In some centres secondary-school pupils are taken with primary pupils for the same reason. (2.) The duration of a two-hour class is insufficient to cover many of the longer processes of cooking. If girls could attend a whole day monthly, or a three-hour half-day bi-weekly, the results would be, more satisfactory. Where, as is often the case, a teacher has three classes daily, each of two hours' duration, the work is often necessarily rushed and suffers in consequence. This is especially difficult for our city teachers with their entirely too large, classes of thirty-six girls. (3.) Owing to the increasingly high cost of food it is difficult to give good practical lessons at 1-Jd. per capita, which is what the pupils' fees work out at. If the, lessons were lengthened, and more money available, a meal could be, cooked and eaten. (4.) The absence of any definite New Zealand standard of training and examination for teachers of domestic subjects is to be regretted. The entire absence of any training whatever for teachers of dressmaking and millinery is a serious matter. At present any available instructress (who has some trade knowledge) has to be taken for dressmaking and millinery. As they seldom have any experience in teaching, the work is not always as useful as it might be. (5.) Teachers of cookery in some cases lack—(a) Good housekeeping knowledge ; (b) business methods as regards data required by the office ; (c) good general education of matriculation or normal standing ; (d) training in the principles and practice of teaching. If domestic-science teachers had to take two years' normal training before specializing in domestic science, their value, as teachers would be greatly increased ; and under those circumstances a teacher could be, appointed, to a school staff and take ordinary lessons at those, times when not engaged in domestic-science teaching. This would also do away with much travelling, for work suffers where a teacher has to rush from centre to centre. (6.) The absence of any trained women at Wellington to correlate this work throughout the, Dominion and to safeguard the work as regards both pupils and teachers. In answer to a request made to the. Department that a conference of those responsible for this work be called, a reply was received that the, matter would be considered, but no arrangements have yet been made. (7.) Better results will certainly be obtained when daytime compulsory continuation classes are established— (a) By dropping domestic, subjects in the primary schools, and substituting lessons by class teachers, to boys and girls alike, in food-values and nutrition, with the, object of forming sound food habits ; (b) by giving the older girls in the continuation classes intensive training in cookery, home science, laundry-work, dressmaking and needlework, home nursing and child welfare, with practical work in all that goes to make up efficient housekeeping in a hostel or other building where people live daily. Girls at the, age of sixteen and upwards would be at an age to appreciate and benefit by such training. Certificates would be granted, and those who desired be trained to earn their living as home assistants. School Agriculture Classes. —232 schools (including sixteen Native schools) had recognized classes in elementary agriculture, and 114 had recognized classes in the, combined course (agriculture and dairy science).

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