EDUCATION : SCHOOL FOR DEAF-MUTES. [In continuation of E.-4, 1903.]

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1904 Session I, E-04

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No. 2. Report of the Dibbctor. Sir, — School for Deaf-mutes, Sunnier, sth May, 1904. I have the honour to report that there was little variation in the course of instruction marked out by the Director throughout the year. Contrary currents and favourable breezes might retard or favour the propelling-powers of the assistant teachers, but there was no vacillation as to

No. 1. ' Extract feom the Twenty- seventh Annual Eepokt of the Ministek op Education. The building which was in course of erection at the date of the last report is now finished, and will shortly lie occupied ; the arrangements for lighting and furnishing it are in progress. It contains quarters for the Director, a dining-hall 30 ft. by 60 ft., five class-rooms, dormitories for some forty inmates, and other necessary accommodation for their care and comfort. All the inmates will now be taught in this building, but until its completion by the addition of another wing only the girls will live in it, the boys continuing in the meantime to occupy the old building. The sum expended during the year upon the new building was £8,494 3s. 9d. In 190>! the amount was £609 12s. Bd. Four boys and 6 girls left the school during the year, and 3 boys and 11 girls were admitted. At the end of the year the number in residence was 34 boys and 30 girls, 1 boy and 5 girls more than at the end of 1902. The ordinary expenditure on the institution for the year 1903 was : Salaries of Director and teachers, £1,715 125.; steward, matron, and servants, £664 6s. 6d.; rent, £172; housekeeping, £1,076 95.; travelling-expenses (including transit of pupils), £210 17s. 3d.; school material and material for technical instruction, £7 9s. 5d.; general maintenance of buildings and furniture, £84 18s. Id. ; clothing, £27 14s. Id. ; medical attendance and medicine, £30 9s. Bd.; water-supply, £33 14s. ; sanitation, £16 17s. 6d. ; boarding-out of pupils, £221 9s. 4d.; sundries, £85 os. l()d. : total expenditure, £4,466 17s. Bd. Deducting recoveries, parents' contributions, £370 7s. 9d., the net expenditure was £4,096 9s. lid. The amount expended in 1902 was £3,655 10s. Bd. Two deaf-mute children who, from having received partial training the manual or sign system, were ineligible for admission to our own institution were maintained in the Victorian School for the Deaf, at a cost of £100 ; and one was under a private teacher in Auckland, to whom a fee of £20 was paid by the Department.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

EDUCATION : SCHOOL FOR DEAF-MUTES. [In continuation of E.-4, 1903.]

1904. NEW ZEALAND.

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the goal for which to make. The goal was and is—speech, language, and lip-reading to the deaf, for the deaf, and by the deaf, not as ornamental toys but as solid instruments for their intelligent use and practical benefit throughout school and life. The number of pupils on the roll at the beginning of 1903 was the same as that at its close: viz., sixty-four—thirty girls and thirty-four boys. One intelligent little fellow had to be sent home by order of the Medical Officer owing to a serious bodily complaint, but his place was soon filled by the arrival of another pupil equally bright. One other addition to this year's roll was that of' a girl of thirteen, whose loss of hearing was only of recent date, and who, on the recommendation of an up-to-date aurist, was at once sent to us for the express purpose of being taught lip-reading, thus preserving her already acquired speech. All parts of the colony contributed their quota to the number of scholars—ls came from Otago, 12 from Canterbury, 2 from Westland, 2 from Nelson, 1 from Marlborough, 7 from Wellington, 4 from Taranaki, 10 from Auckland, and 1 from Hawke's Bay. Owing to the crowded state of the institution and to tuberculous tendency in four of the pupils a cottage had to be rented in another part of Sumner. Much benefit was derived by this measure. One of the rooms in this cottage was made use of as a class-room for the teaching of the special class of dormant-hearers referred to in my last year's report. The somewhat laborious task in the lowest or preparatory class-room was carried on with much patience. Its ten pupils, all deaf and mute little children—that is, ignorant of sound and language —went through their exercises with credit to their teachers and pleasure to themselves. They all vied with one another in learning sounds and letters. In a few weeks the quickest of them would slowly articulate " sh-ee-p," " s-oa-p," "h-00-p," &c. ; others would take longer time. In ten months all of them were able to pronounce all the letters phonetically —to say aloud slowly but intelligently as well as write scores of words. Not elaborate words, but such as are used to signify common objects, a collection of which is kept on the walls, and to express such actions as run, lift, go out, stop, move, &c. They were also ready to be taken through such exercises as — Who? —Tom, Mary; that man, that boy; he, she, I, you, we. What? —That is a boot, a hat, an apple, a house, a tree, chalk. Does what? —Run, he runs, I run, we run; lift, you lift, &c. ; put on, you put on, &c. Where ? —On the form, on the table, in the room, there, &c. With the word " When? " ideas would be brought out as such are indicated by the words " now," " soon," " after." For instance: Write now? —No, after. Go out now?— No. When?— Soon. The highest class, consisting of eight boys and two girls, read during the year a number of stories from the Royal Readers, No. 3, Sequel to No. 3 and No. 4, and also the History of England from the time of Julius Ctesar to the reign of James I. In addition to this one hour a week was devoted to newspaper-readings, the British and foreign cablegrams, reports of experts on the waterpower of New Zealand, meetings of local bodies, produce notes, and general news being usually selected by the teacher as reading-matter. The children of this and of other classes take a very keen interest in the newspaper, and out of school-hours eagerly peruse its columns to get some knowledge of current events. The geography taught to this class comprised the physical, political, and social geography of the British. Islands and of Europe, special attention being paid to its commercial side. The elementary-science course included lessons on the pressure of the atmosphere as deduced from a study of the syringe, the suction-pump, force-pump, and barometer; lessons on the phenomena of nature including the solar system, the movements of the sun and planets, day and night, the seasons, the phases of the moon, the attraction of gravity, the tides, and the eclipses of the sun and moon. The expansion of bodies by heat and contraction by cold was exemplified by a study of the thermometer and of the electric fire-alarm which is installed in the building. The scientific classification of animals was also treated of. The class worked through the latter part of the Southern Cross Arithmetic Standard 111. and part of Standard IV. The general work done by the class comprised miscellaneous examples in the four rules, and sums in the various weights and measures, and a drilling in the use of money. With regard to the special class of pupils —now six in number, all boarded out— referred to in last year's report as possessed of some slight degree of hearing, then dormant, their progress in speech and understanding has been marked to a degree. They not only soon learnt to say or read aloud a number of words in common use, but in one year the;' learnt to ask all sorts of questions in a natural tone of voice, to verbally compose little sentences with ease, and to write short simple letters without being prompted. Beyond pointing out that such results as I have referred to in these three classes are possible only under the pure oral method, excluding entirely the use of artificial signs, either alone or in combination with articulation, there is no need at present to further enlarge on the.work of the school. I would only state, in conclusion, that, whilst I do not wish to give it out to the world that the institution at Sumner is a model one, or to assert that the work as carried on there is perfect, still I do say that the work done there is very creditable, the greatest want being some provision for teaching the boys a trade during the last two years of their schooling. As to our mode of teaching the deaf pupils to think in English by means of spoken words, I believe there is no other feature of the establishment equal in value to it in promoting the permanent well-being of the deaf-mutes of this colony. I have, &c, The 111. Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington. G. van Asch.

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No. 3. Report of the Medical Officer. Sir,— Christchurch, 6th June, 1901. I have the honour to report that the health of the pupils at the Deaf-mute Institute has been very good during the past year. We still labour under a great difficulty in finding accommodation for the sickness which occasionally occurs, as the buildings at present used are sadly overcrowded. There is no spare room or even spare bed for a sick pupil, so that any infectious case could not be isolated at once, and if such illness occurred it might spread through the school. We rented a cottage for this purpose last year, but the good people of Sumner drove us out of it. Eight of the girls are boarded in private houses. The clothes of the pupils are provided by their parents, but are in some cases insufficient. I found yesterday eight girls without flannel underclothing suffering from coughs and colds. I recommend that in such cases the Matron should have authority to supply the deficiency. I find that the amount of milk used is only four and a half gallons a day, which allows about half a pint per head. I recommend that at least a pint of milk be allowed per head, in addition to 1 oz. of cream, as this is cheaper and as effective as cod-liver oil. There is a lack of variety in the dietary, and I have repeatedly tried to remedy this, but the Matron says it is impossible to get a cook who will take the necessary trouble. I have, &c, W. H. Stmes, M.D., The Secretary for Education, Wellington. Medical Officer.

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SCHOOL FOR DEAF-MUTES, SUMNER, NEW ZEALAND: ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRAL BLOCK AND GIRLS' WING.