K—s.

The causes of hand and eye work not having been taken up appeared to be due, in most cases— (a) to the teachers not having had an opportunity of receiving any training in the work themselves ; (b) to the difficulty of obtaining material ; (c) to the great amount of formality that had to be gone through with the Department before the classes could be recognised. Eegarding the teaching of cookery and woodwork, I found that a recommendation had been made by the Chief Inspector that centres should be provided at Newmarket and Newton Bast or Howe Street where these subjects could be taught. The Board, however, decided that no steps should be taken in this direction until the advice of the Director of Technical Education (who was about to be appointed) had been obtained. After carefully going into the matter, I made the following suggestion to the Board :— (1.) That centres for the teaching of cookery and woodwork should be provided at Richmond Road, Canada Street (Newton Bast), and Newmarket, at which the girls and boys of Standards V., VI., and VII. of the city and most of the suburban schools could attend. (2.) That three trained cookery mistresses and three trained male teachers of woodwork should be engaged from England, in order that the work should be started on the most modern lines. These recommendations were adopted by the Board, plans and estimates were prepared, and the Department was asked to grant a sum of £2,528 for the building and equipment of the three centres. The sum granted, however, was only £2,292, and I venture to point out that the decision arrived at by the Department in this matter was neither fair nor critical. The three centres, it is hoped, will be ready for work to be commenced in them at the beginning of July, and the six instructors are expected, to arrive in New Zealand at the end of June. That the introduction of these subjects—cookery and woodwork —into the primary-school curriculum will have a very beneficial effect upon the rising generation of Auckland there can be no doubt, as both are subjects which have a utilitarian as well as an educational value. THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL. On my arrival I found that classes in plumbing, carpentry and joinery, graining and marbling, freehand and model drawing, architectural drawing, machine-drawing, and mathematics were being conducted in a building (formerly a cabinetmaking factory) which left much to be desired in the matter of lighting, ventilation, equipment, and cleaning. The classes in plumbing, carpentry, and graining were entirely practical, the instruction given (which certainly appeared to be very good as far as it went) was such as should have been obtained by the students in their own trade workshops. Technical education embraces not only " the know how," but " the know why "as well. " The know how " was certainly in evidence, but " the know why " seemed to have been entirely lost sight of. As a result of my investigations I made the following recommendations to the Board : — (1.) Obtain lease of present building in Rutland Street for two years, with option at the expiration of that time of renewing lease for another year. (2.) Obtain permission from City Council to erect a lean-to corrugated-iron building at the back of present building in Rutland Street, the added portion to be taken down as soon as building ceases to be used as a technical school. (3.) Clean down, decorate, and make structural alterations in Rutland Street building. (4.) Obtain, if possible, use of two rooms in Wellesley Street School for use of additional technical classes. (5.) Equip the various class-rooms and workshops with modern furniture and fittings which could be used for a permanent technical school when built. These recommendations were adopted, and a sum of £896 16s. was granted by the Education Department towards the carrying-out of the various alterations, &c, whilst the granting of a further sum of £810 14s. Bd. is still under consideration by the Department. It is proposed to commence work on the 23rd March, when the following subjects will be taught: Commercial arithmetic; commercial geography; English composition, including commercial correspondence and precis-writing ; shorthand ; typewriting; book-keeping ; French ; cookery; dressmaking; practical mathematics ; theoretical and practical magnetism and electricity; machine construction and drawing; steam; applied mechanics; practical geometry; building construction and drawing; wood-carving; carpentry and joinery; cabinetmaking; plumbing; painting and decorating ; chemistry and physics for plumbers ; freehand, model, and geometrical drawing for carpenters, cabinetmakers, painters, plumbers, &c; and experimental science for teachers. Courses of study at the Technical School, extending over a period of four years, have been drawn up in connection with some of the most important trades — e.g., plumbing, cabinetmaking, carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering ; and an effort is being made to get the masters to give practical encouragement to their apprentices to take up such course as relates to their trade. These courses have been arranged so as to enable a student to obtain a thorough knowledge of the principles as well as the practice of his trade. With the present buildings and equipment, in most cases, only the more elementary portions of the course can be taught, but it is hoped that by the time that students are prepared to take up the study of the more advanced work Auckland will have a fully equipped Technical School, of which it is so much in need. A four-years course in connection with commercial subjects has also been arranged in order to provide a training for clerks and others engaged in business. This scheme is approved of by the late Chairman of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce (Mr. J. H. Upton), and by the Director of Technical Instruction for Wellington (Mr. A. D. Riley), and is to be discussed at a conference of the Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand to be held at Auckland shortly.

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