E.—2.

'Appendix D.

in the year to withdraw to take up work in schools, and some others were allowed to go out for a time to meet temporary emergencies in schools. This latter step was a new feature in the year's course, but I recommended it to the Board, feeling that in the recent shortage of teachers the Training College might well be looked to to help schools and teachers in the emerge! icies. In a few of these cases the students' preparation for their certificate examination was somewhat interfered with, and the experience of the year has shown that if the experiment is repeated care must be exercised in this respect. Students , Professional Work. —In order to introduce into the students' course of training such features as the Department insisted on as positively necessary, I had to change largely the plan followed in previous years. The change was in the direction of giving more attention to matters of professional equipment. This necessitated a limitation being imposed on our students' universitywork at Canterbury College. It must be well borne in mind that in Christchurch the University lectures at Canterbury College have been given in the early part of the day to a much greater extent than in the other three university centres, and this conflicted with the students' professional work during those hours of the school day when school classes are available for students' teaching-practice. A large number of the students resented this change. They argued that both the regulations for training colleges and the plan hitherto followed in the Christchurch Training College had led them to expect that they would be allowed full opportunities for keeping university terms. To many of the students the change was indeed a serious matter, and they naturally endeavoured to obtain some amelioration of their lot; but I must bear testimony to their restraint under the trying circumstances, and to the sincerity and earnestness they showed in the additional professional work they were called upon to undertake. Various checks and delays in the adjustment of the matter led to most of our students losing from two to three weeks' work in some subjects at the beginning of the Canterbury College firsi term. The students were informed by me that if any of them wished to be set free for university-work they would be allowed to withdraw from the Training College without prejudice, and be readmitted in a later year if they desired it. Necessary concessions were made by me as time went on whenever a good claim was urged, especially in the case of second-year students who had taken a university course for terms in their first year, with the prospect of completing a degree course. If these concessions had not been granted hardly any of our students of the second year would have been able to attend the lectures absolutely necessary to enable or entitle them even to attempt keeping terms ; for Canterbury College refused to grant to our student teachers of the Training College the privilege of being " exempted " students, though it grants this privilege to the young teachers of the other educational institutions of Christchurch. The position was made more acute by the fact (wholly unexpected and surprising to me) that our student teachers of the Training College were not recognized at Canterbury College as entitled to attend, with ordinary students' rights, the Latin class labelled " Teachers' Class." The change in the plan of work unquestionably increased the opportunities for the professional equipment of the students, but at times during the year I regretted the loss of the stimulus to study formerly afforded to earnest students by the fuller prospect of securing university status enjoyed by students of previous years. Students , Studies. —In consequence of the circumstances referred to above as lessening the opportunities for successful university study, fewer students than in recent years endeavoured to keep terms at Canterbury College, and, for the examinations necessary to keep terms, only 21 students presented themselves, of whom 15 passed. Many students who did not attempt to keep terms attended some classes at Canterbury College, as shown in the accompanying table of statistics. Speaking on the matter of the university studies of training-college students, the annual report of the Department for 1909 says, " There is, of course, no desire to cut off suitable students from a university course," but unfortunately the report gives no clue as to what qualifications are to entitle a student to be considered a " suitable student " to receive consideration in the matter of not being cut off from a university course. It is possible that the expected new regulations may shed light on this point. One factor which I cannot help thinking will militate against our students keeping first-year university terms to the same extent as students can in some other of the university colleges is the fact that Canterbury College requires three subjects for first-year terms, while some of the university colleges require only two. Excellent as this regulation of Canterbury College may be. looked at from the university standpoint as affecting a complete university course, I cannot but think that, in tin! case of students who may not be able to look forward with certainty to finishing a full university course, the responsibility of having three subjects on Jbhe mind weighs heavier than that of having only two. As a result of conferences between representatives of the Board of Education and the Board of Governors of Canterbury College changes have been made in the times of lectures at Canterbury College, which will now give many of our students better opportunities of attending them. These changes, which have not yet been in force, will come into operation next term (i.e., in the first term of 1911), but they do not completely remove the difficulty in the way of students attending satisfactorily to both university study and training-college duties. In 1911 the students' vocal music will be taken at the Training College. In connection with this I may point to the desirability of all young teachers taking up singing during their pupil-teacher-ship or probationership. If it is deferred till they are, say, twenty years of age, they are unable to prepare for the examination in music, and then, however good they may be in other subjects and as teachers, they go to swell the ranks of " uncertificated " teachers. One-year Students. —This year we had a considerable number of students who only took a oneyear course of training. If we are to have at one and the same time in the College some students

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