13

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distracted. The teacher should stand erect and steadily on one spot, with the blackboard at his left hand. As a lesson proceeds an abstract of it should be placed on the blackboard. The registers generally are neatly and correctly kept. The filling in of dates is sometimes omitted or put off too long. There is a strange idea prevalent amongst some teachers that when a quarter ends on a Monday the attendances of that day should be counted with those of the following quarter. The log-books are not w 7ell kept, as the most of them show merely entries with regard to the weather, the attendances, and the punishments given. Sometimes I found entries of offensive messages sent by unreasonable parents through their children. Now, though these messages are very annoying, a teacher may, by resenting them, considerably weaken his usefulness in a country district. I would therefore recommend him to exercise a little forbearance, and by so doing he may make a firm friend of one who under different treatment would become an inveterate enemy. But, as entries of such messages are found year after year in the log-books of the same schools, and at these schools only, may not the assumption of superiority by the teachers have somewhat to do with the sending of such messages? I have frequently recommended teachers to enter in their log-books the result of their own periodical examinations, remarks on the progress of classes in various subjects, weaknesses found, and suchlike. On my late visit to New South Wales I found that teachers there are required to keep programmes of work to be done and statements of lessons given. Of this the Inspector-General of Victoria writes as follows :" We think the practice has several advantages. The necessity for arranging the course of instruction for three or six months beforehand prevents too much time being spent over part of the work, and compels the teacher to weigh the importance of the different portions to be dealt with, so as to assign to each its proper number of lessons. The lesson-books enable the headmaster to judge to some extent of the character of the work done by assistants and pupil-teachers, help the Inspector in forming his judgment on the school, and, where there is a change of teachers, show the new-comer exactly what his class or the several classes have been taught, and how it is proposed to complete their instruction." The italics are mine. In many schools in this district, when a change of teachers takes place, the incoming teacher has little or nothing to tell him what the various classes have been taught, whereas if some such book as the one mentioned above were kept, or if the entries in the log-book were of the kind recommended, he would easily know* where to take up the thread of the teaching. The following useful rules with regard to organization are laid down by the regulations in New South Wales, and I would recommend them to the careful consideration of the headmasters in this district: "1. When a subordinate teacher relinquishes the charge of a class or section it should be examined by the head of the department in the presence of the outgoing teacher and his successor. A record of the condition of the class or section should be entered in the lesson register, and be attested by the signatures of all the persons concerned. 2. The head teacher will devote a portion of his time weekly to the instruction of each class in his department. 3. He will examine each class in his department at least once a month, and will record the results, note the defects, and enter suggestions for their remedy in a book kept for the purpose. Such entries should be signed by himself and the teacher of the class. Mannees, Discipline, and Oedee.—The manners of the children at most schools I found very pleasing, both during working hours and on the streets and roads. The discipline generally is satisfactory, especially in the marching of pupils to their places and in dismissing them. Class movements at changes of lessons I should like to see conducted more quietly and methodically. A tendency to rough play in the grounds should be stopped, and the pupils should not be allowed to romp in the corridors of the building. lam always very glad to see play sheds erected, if for no other reason than to stop this romping. It is very important that pupils should be got to look upon their schoolrooms with a certain amount of affectionate reverence, if I may so describe the feeling, and to understand that as soon as the outside doors are passed all frivolity must cease, and the serious work of the day begin. But the using of the building for play out of school hours is opposed to all this, and is prejudicial to good order during the first half-hours of the school sittings. The attention and behaviour of the pupils under examination was all that could be desired at a great many schools, but I must confess that this year I discovered, through my clerk, that talking with a view to obtain assistance was more prevalent than I hitherto imagined. The carriage of the pupils might be much improved by some setting-up drill, but for this it is difficult to find time at the small schools. During the year I frequently remarked how many children in the upper classes, especially girls, stood with one shoulder much higher than the other, and with contracted chests, and how few could walk nicely through a room. The almost universal habit of lolling during standing lessons against any wrall, table, or desk that happens to be near should be rigidly stopped. Classification op Assistant Teachees. —During the year I suggested to the Board that all assistants should be graded as of the first rank, of the second rank, or of the third rank, according to their teaching ability, their certificates, and their length of service. The Board agreed with the suggestion, and proceeded to carry it out, but in a manner quite at variance with my intention. Thus, the Board classified the assistants according to their schools: if there was only one assistant at a school, he or she was appointed first; if more assistants than one, they were classified in order of merit. Now, in any one large school considered by itself this might work well enough, or it might not if two assistants had equal claims to be first; but, taking all the schools with assistants into consideration, the anomaly was presented of having a teacher first assistant at a small school who was inferior in every respect to one who was only third assistant at a large school. My chief reason for desiring the'grading of assistants was to encourage them in their work by the hope of promotion ; and, according to my intended plan, they would have been graded according to their deserts, quite irrespective of the schools at which they served. Thus, according to my plan, a pupil-teacher on being promoted assistant would be graded- of the third class, and as soon as he