E.—lβ.

12

at inspection visits. With a view to the attainment of greater readiness and facility in this respect, and to the enlargement of the pupils' vocabulary, we think that at least two reading-books should be mastered during a school year In the lower classes especially it is all important that a wider course of properly graduated reading should be gone through, so that the pupils, when they reach the higher standards, may find no difficulty with any ordinarily simple word. At present it is quite a common thing to find pupils knowing their one book by heart. The higher numbers of the series of reading-books at present in use might be much improved upon, but we forbear recommending others pending the issue of the Education Department's publications. No subject appears to demand in so great a degree as reading that the teacher shall be able to secure the active sustained attention and the hearty co-operation of his pupils. Consequently we occasionally find that some teachers, who are exceedingly earnest in their work but weak in controlling capacity, fail year after year to obtain good reading from their pupils. Such failure we might be inclined to lay at the doors of the children, did we not find so often that a change of teachers brings about in a very short time a complete transformation in the style of the reading. Dictation and Spelling. —ln accordance with the new regulations, the tests given in dictation were shorter than in former years , and in spelling, in Standard 111. only were errors in isolated words counted against the pupils. In Standards IV , V., and VI. we gave such words, but merely for our own information. On the whole, the quality of the work varied very much, not only at different schools, but also at different classes in the same school. We should recommend that pupils in Standard 111. be always required to write the isolated words in syllables. In Standard I. and Standard 11. the spelling generally was very good. Some teachers might remember that, when this work is written on slates, scribbling should not be allowed, for in the lowest classes it is most important that, in any work entailing the formation of letters, such letters should be formed as carefully as in the writing-lesson proper Writing. —On the whole, writing is generally good, though hardly in so many schools as it used to be , probably because it was, as a rule, from this subject that the extra time required of late years for drawing was taken. In several schools sufficient attention is not paid to the position of the pupils and to the style of holding the pens. We are glad to be able to speak in high terms of the writing, methodical arrangement, and neatness of the examination papers of the district generally , indeed, we were frequently astonished at the accuracy of the ruling off and arrangement of work by very young pupils. Drawing. —Freehand drawing and scale drawing were generally very good, while in some schools they were very fine indeed. Standard IV plane geometry has shown considerable improvement as regards both knowledge of working and mechanical accuracy and neatness now that the number of problems has been reduced. Sometimes it was necessary to make allowance for poor instruments. In Standard VI. model drawing generally was poor, but all the schools have not yet been supplied with models , and solid geometry was seldom good at examination, though frequently so in the books where the pupils had the instructions before them. Now that only two branches of drawing need be taken in Standard VI. we hope to find a great improvement in model drawing and in solid geometry wherever either is taken. Arithmetic. —With the exception of a few schools examined during the earlier part of the year, all pupils above Standard 11. were examined in arithmetic by cards issued by the Education Department. In Standard I. and Standard 11. the tests were given by us, and the work was generally very good, and in most cases was set out in highly creditable style, with neat figuring and arrangement. In Standard 111. to Standard VI. the somewhat different style of the cards affected the results to a greater or less extent, particularly in those schools examined immediately after the cards were issued. In Standard V and Standard VI. the full requirements of the syllabus were demanded, whereas hitherto questions on time, rate, principal, and compound proportion in Standard V., and present worth and true discount in Standard VI., had not been set. We were surprised that Standard 111. did not do better work, as the cards were of a very easy character, in fact, a very fair proportion of the work was such as is required from Standard 11. Mental arithmetic still remains very unsatisfactory Not only are pupils, as a rule, quite unacquainted with the commonest short methods of working {e.g., one dozen at 9fd. each), but they are quite puzzled by simple questions such as are constantly occurring in daily life. Questions such as " How many books at 4d. each can I get for 2s. 8d.?" to Standard IV., and "What change should I have out of £2 after spending 13s. 4d.?" to Standard 111., would produce a very small percentage of correct answers. In Standards V and VI. the work was even poorer, and we found that many simple operations, such as are in the class text-books described as "oral work," and are introductory to the arithmetical processes, were very poorly done. Easy questions on simple interest and on fractions were marked by a want of knowledge of the principles involved rather than by merely mechanical errors. We strongly advise teachers to make a freer use of mental arithmetic to lead up to the slate work; in fact, all new rules should be preceded by properly graduated mental exercises, which would serve to illustrate and elucidate the principles involved. Teachers should also insist upon the pupils working mentally many of the simple processes which may occur in the mechanical work, and for which the slates are now used. We have frequently noticed pupils, when they wish to reduce such a sum as 575. to pounds, put down 57, and divide by 20 by cutting off the 0 and the 7, instead of at once obtaining the answer mentally A very good little book on mental arithmetic is published by Longmans and Co., and we recommend teachers to use it as a text-book. Geography. —A change has again been made in the requirements in geography In Standard IV it has been lightened and made a pass-subject, and in Standard V and Standard VI. slight modifications have been made in the distribution of the work. The syllabus of work previously prescribed for Standard IV was too heavy, if proper attention were paid to New Zealand and Australian geography and to the map of the world, and the transference of physical geography to the higher classes was a very desirable relief.