E.—B

4

the syllabus, or ill the Department's pamphlet, Teaching of English, or in the annual reports, and any attempt to do so will be regarded as mischievous. Every effort must be made to'secure an enlargement of the pupil'sj vocabulary and the attainment of fluency in speech, and for this reason the pupil's efforts at continuous narration should bejnterrupted as little as possible by correction of his language. Teachers are warned against collective answering and collective!repetition, as frequent recourse to this method is an obstacle to the development of genuine thought and free expression, and children accustomed to its use rapidly lose any desire or ability to act or speak for themselves. Every lesson should afford opportunity for free expression and for developing the power of connected and continuous speech. The written composition should be as much as possible the outcome of the course in oral English, and should be as much as possible a free expression of the thoughts of the pupil on the subject given. Arithmetic. —This subject is usually well taught in a good many of the schools, and where the pupils have a good grasp of English creditable work is done. Where, however, the comprehension of the language used in the arithmetical questions —often incorrectly described as problems —is poor the pupils invariably have considerable difficulty with the work. This experience should serve to impress upon teachers the need for securing proficiency in the English of their pupils, and should not serve merely as an excuse for their failures. To ordinary intelligent Maori children the mathematical thinking in connection with arithmetic presents little or no difficulty; it is the meaning of the [questions, couched probably in more or less unfamiliar language, that causes the difficulty. Consequently it is highly necessary that viva voce arithmetic and mental arithmetic should be much used in dealing with " problem " work. In a good many schools there is a lack of appreciation of the value of viva voce arithmetic and of mental arithmetic, and teachers will do well to give much more attention to this aspect of the work. Geography andiNature-study.—TheTremarks|made in last year's report on this subject are still more or less applicable to a fairly large number of schools. To be of educational value geography must not be regarded as a process by which certain facts about the earth, or the portion of it on which we live, are committed to memory. In this subject the youngest child as well as the more advanced must be brought into contact with the outside world—the world of nature as distinct from the world of books. Although, as advance is made in the study, reliance to a great extent has to be made upon the investigations of others, still in order that these investigations may be understood children from the first must be taught to work for themselves and to take nothing for granted. The earth's surface, the condition of its various parts, their relations to one another, and the influence of those conditions and relations on plant-life, on animal-life, and particularly on human life, are matters with which geography is concerned. The teaching in order to be a valuable mental discipline must be based on matters within the range of the pupil's observation, and must deal with the simplest and most significant facts. A generalization from these facts will thus enable the main principles to be established and impressed upon the minds of the pupils. The mental of the pupils will be enlarged if their imaginations are so called into play can form mental pictures of things which lie wholly beyond the range of their own observations. The subject taught upon the principles explained will prove both interesting and attractive to the pupils. In the upper classes in many of the schools there is still insufficient use of the globe, thejwall-map, and the atlas. Map-reading by the pupils should receive much attention so that they will be able to form from the map fairly correct ideas of distances, and also form correct ideas of areas from the map symbols. The pupils should also be encouraged to read books of voyages and travels, and by the use of their atlas learn to appreciate and understand what they have read. Nature-study in many of the schools cannot be said to receive very adequate treatment. It does not appear to be sufficiently appreciated that the first and most important aim is to teach the pupils to observe, compare, and contrast, the second is to add to their knowledge of common things, and that these ends will be more readily and securely attained if the results of the direct observation of the scholars are made the basis for instruction in language, number, drawing, modelling, or other handwork. It follows from the recognition of these principles that the admission of technicalities, whether in method of study or in language or terminology, will merely obscure the chief aim of the instruction." " Side by side with increasing power of observation should go training in expression, for the child's expressions are the teacher's only guide to its impressions. While expression should not be looked upon as of equal importance with observation, it clinches new impressions and definitely gives them a place in the child's system of knowledge. It may and should take different forms : oral and written descriptions, drawings, objects made by the child." Handwork.—Elementary Manual Training : Two or more forms of handwork are taken up in all schools, a choice being made by the teachers from the following occupations : Mat-weaving, paperfolding, paper-cutting and paper-mounting, carton-work, plasticine and cardboard modelling. The materials for these occupations are forwarded annually by the Department to the various schools in accordance with requisitions made by the teachers. In some schools additional material for other occupations is purchased by the teacher from the school funds. In a large number of the schools very creditable work is done, and the pupils are eager to display their handiwork at the Inspector's visit. In many schools, however, the work is more or less disappointing, and it would seem that the occupations are looked upon more or less as a means of simply keeping the pupils employed. It must not be forgotten that the subject is not an isolated one, and that it should be correlated with other subjects of the time-table. This manual training should be regarded more as a method of teaching than as a subject to be taught, the intention being to teach the children to think clearly and work accurately through the discipline of hand and eye, and to form habits of industrious, careful, and accurate work. This training can thus become a valuable aid to the development of character in