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Extract from the Report of the Director op Technical Education and Manual Training. Handwork. —The teaching of handwork, such as brush drawing, plasticine-modelling, freearm drawing, crayon drawing, stick-laying, paper folding and cutting, cardboard modelling, &c, are now universally recognized as being a necessary part of the primary-school curriculum, and it is pleasing -to be able to note that the schools of this district are keeping well up to date in this important work. The teachers generally are most enthusiastic, and are realizing more and more each year the great benefits to be obtained by correlating handwork subjects with the ordinary subjects of the school curriculum, such as nature-study, agriculture, botany, geography, composition, &c. The introduction of crayon drawing in the primer classes as a preliminary course to brush drawing has proved most beneficial, both on account of the very valuable muscular control that it provides for the little ones and also for its aid in imaginative and memory drawing. The excellent help that has been given in the schools by the Board's chief art instructor, Mr. Harry Wallace, during the past eight years has been, and is still, very much appreciated by the teachers, who are ever ready and willing to take his advice. The number , of schools in which handwork was taught last year was 197, as compared with 164 in 1910. Domestic Science and Woodwork. —The teaching of domestic science and woodwork to pupils in the upper standards of the primary schools, which was commenced by the establishment of three specially equipped manual-training schools in Auckland in 1903, is gradually being extended to the larger centres of population in country districts. Two new schools were opened last year, one at Cambridge and the other at Hamilton, and these have now been attended by pupils from the following schools : Cambridge District High, Cambridge West, Hamilton High, Hamilton West, Hamilton East, Ohaupo, Horotiu, Marsh Meadows, Matangi, Frankton, Te Awamutu. The same staff of instructors give instruction in both schools, three days per week being devoted to the Hamilton centre and two to Cambridge. The woodwork department is in charge of Mr. L. Ward, and the domestic science is taken by Miss D. B. Johnson. Manual-training schools were also erected at Helensville and Devonport during the year, and these have since been opened. Similar schools are also in course of erection at Pukekohe and Waihi, and these will shortly be in full working-order. Money has been collected locally at Te Kopuru, Dargaville, Waipu, Maungaturoto, and Paparoa, and it is hoped that during the year manual-training schools will be erected at all these places. It will thus be seen that a great deal has been and is being done to spread the teaching of domestic science and manual training into the country districts, and although in some cases the advent of the work is not heralded with any great enthusiasm yet the teaching of these branches of education is generally much appreciated where it has been in existence long enough for its practical benefits to be seen. During the year Miss M. L. Renwick, who had been appointed by the Board as chief instructor in domestic science at the Auckland Technical College, arrived in Auckland, and amongst the first duties which she undertook was that of becoming acquainted with the domestic science teaching as carried out in the Auckland manual-training schools. As a result considerable improvements have been introduced in connection with the teaching of this important work. It is pleasing to be able to note that Miss Renwick was agreeably surprised to find that we had such excellent centres for the teaching of cookery and laundry-work in Auckland, which she considered were superior to any she had seen at Home. Needleioork. —In order to get over the difficulty of providing instruction in sewing in schools below Grade IV taught by a single male teacher, the Department provides a special capitation grant for sewing-mistresses in these schools. The grant is paid at the rate of 10s. per head per annum, on condition that at least two hours per jreek are devoted to sewing throughout the school year of forty weeks. As some of the schools in the backblocks are very small, the Department provides for a minimum payment of £6 per annum where the average attendance of pupils taking sewing is less than twelve. Although great difficulty is sometimes experienced in getting suitable sewing-mistresses in some of the small schools, yet there can be no doubt that the provision of funds for teaching this very important subject has proved on the whole most beneficial, and last year 75 schools under Grade IV had specially appointed sewing-mistresses. Swimming and Life-saving. —This subject still does not receive the consideration in the primary schools that its great importance demands. Up to the present Auckland City and suburbs have been very poorly provided with swimming-baths, and the distances of most of the schools from the Albert Street baths have had the effect of preventing the headmasters from sending the pupils there for instruction in swimming. New baths have recently been provided at Mount Eden, whilst others are being erected at Shelly Beach, Ponsonby, and at Hobson Street. When these are open to the public a large number of school-children will be within easy reach of one or other of them, so that it is hoped that in the near future the majority of the boys and girls in and around the city will receive instruction in swimming and life-saving. As in previous years, several country schools avail themselves of streams and tidal rivers for teaching this subject; but the fact that in 12 schools only out of about 575 in this district was swimming taught indicates that very little is done in this direction compared to what might be. Elementary Agriculture and Nature-study. —lt is pleasing to be able to report that considerable progress has been made in the teaching of elementary agriculture and nature-study in the primary schools during the past year, the number of schools in which this important branch of education was taught last year being 140, or nearly double that of the preceding year, when the number was 73. This remarkable progress can be accounted for chiefly in two ways. In the first place, the late Chairman of the Board, Mr. C. J. Parr, was instrumental in getting the Board to offer prizes of £5, £3, and £2 in each of the six inspectorial districts for the greatest improvement to the school grounds and gardens during the year. As a result many of the teachers who previously had not taken a great deal of interest in the school-garden entered into the competition with spirit and enthusiasm. In the second place, the sympathy given to the work by the Chief Inspector and his staff did much to encourage teachers to take up the teaching of elementary agriculture in their schools. One has only