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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 plant-life, on animal-life, andjparticularly on human life, are matters with which geography is concerned.% The teaching to be a valuable mental discipline must be based on matters within the range of the'pupils' 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 horizon of the pupils will be enlarged if their imaginations are so called into play that they can form mental pictures of things which be wholly beyond the range of their own observations. The subjects taught upon the principles explained will prove both, interesting and attractive to the pupils. ... It does not appear to be sufficiently appreciated that the first and most important aim of nature-study 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 of instruction in language, number, drawing, modelling, or other handwork. It follows from the recognition of these principles that the admission of technicalities, whether in the method of study or in language or terminology, will merely obscure the chief aim of the instruction." Handwork. —Elementary Manual Training. —In most of the schools very creditable work is done, and in a very fair number this work is excellent. Two or more of the following occupations are taken up by the teachers : Mat-weaving, paper-folding, paper-cutting, and paper-mounting, carton-work, plasticine, and cardboard modelling —the materials for which are provided by the Department. In several schools the teachers also undertake, with good results, clay-modelling, using material obtained locally. In a number of schools the work is not entirely satisfactory, and it is necessary that the teachers should bear in mind that the object of this occupational work is to train the pupils —through the discipline of the hand and eye —to be industrious, careful, and accurate. Drawing.—Very good work is done in many of the schools in this subject, likewise in brushwork and crayon work. In a considerable number of the schools, however, the work may be described as ranging from fair to satisfactory. Needlework and Sewing.—ln this subject very fine work is done in a very large number of the schools, and the displays of work are most interesting. Sewing-machines have been supplied by the Department to many schools, and by the aid of these large numbers of useful articles are made by the girls for themselves and for other members of their family. The material is generally supplied by the parents, who display great interest in this work. Knitting is also taught, and the girls in a number of schools knit woollen jumpers for themselves. Woodwork. —Instruction in this subject is given in a fair number of schools and is generally of a useful character. The workshops have in most instances been erected by the Maoris with the assistance of the teachers and the Department. The tool equipment and the supply of timber for instructional purposes are supplied by the Department. Where the pupils are sufficiently advanced in their work useful articles are made, and they find a ready sale among the pupils or parents at the actual cost of the timber. The money received is usually spent in procuring additional tools or additional supplies of timber. Elementary Agriculture, &C: —By means of an arrangement with the Education Boards in Auckland and Hawke's Bay a very large number of Native schools receive visits from the instructors in agriculture. The reports of the instructors indicate that a very satisfactory amount of interest is displayed in the work by the teachers and pupils. In many of the schools in districts not visited by the instructors good work is also done. Singing. —This subject receives a good deal of attention in the majority of schools, and in many" of them very good results are achieved. The notation generally used is the tonic sol-fa; and the pupils are taught not only to read and sing from this notation, but also to use it in the written exercises. Voice-training exercises do not always receive, however, adequate attention ; and this is not as it should be as, in addition to improving the musical tone of the children's voices, the exercises are beneficial in counteracting a tendency to make use of impure vowel sounds in their reading and recitation, and also in their spoken English. This singing in a comparatively large number of schools is still of poor quality, and this state of affairs is due not to the lack of musical ability on the part of their scholars, but to incompetent teaching. A teacher stands condemned as far as the teaching of singing is concerned when without the use of a tuning-fork or some other means of giving the key-note the pupils are requested to sing one of their songs. Singing should be a particular feature of infant-class work, and yet, although books of action songs, singing games, and marching songs are easily procurable, they are not to be found in some schools. Physical Instruction. —This subject is dealt with very satisfactorily in most schools, and in a very fair number the work is particularly good. Secondary Education. The following private boarding-schools have been established in different parts of the Dominion by various denominational bodies for the purpose of providing a suitable form of secondary education and training for Maori scholars : Qaeen Victoria School for Maori Girls, Auckland ; Turakina Girls' School, Wanganui; Hukarere Girls' School, Napier; St. Joseph's Convent School for Maori Girls, Napier ; Te Waipounamu Girls' School, Christchurch ; St. Stephen's School, Auckland ; Waerenga-a-hika College, Gisborne ; Te Aute College, Hawke's Bay ; Agricultural College (Latter-day Saints), Hastings ; Hikurangi College, Carterton ; Otaki College, Otaki. At all the foregoing schools sonic form of practical training is included in the course of instruction. The Wesley College, Paerata, Auckland, which is attended by Europeans as well as Maoris, also provides a training of a practical nature for Maori lads.