13

E.—s

who before entering the teaching profession have had a fairly wide business training, or are combining teaching and professional accountancy. There are, however, certain matters in connection with the teaching of some of the subjects of the commercial course in schools outside of the principal centres which appear to call for consideration, but only one will be dealt with in this report, leaving others to future reports. Except at a few schools little or no serious attention is given to the teaching of typewriting. Pupils sit down to the machine and copy from manuscript or the printed page a set of exercises which may or may not, given a certain amount of practice, lead to the mechanical mastery of the machine, and the ability to write so many words per minute. Little guidance is given in the use of the fingers, or as to which fingers should be used for striking certain keys; and although accuracy and speed, within certain limits, may be acquired by only using two fingers of each hand and the right or left thumb, it is considered that, if the typewriter is to be usee! intelligently, the keyboard should be known thoroughly, and the position of each key memorized, so that at tho end of the second year a student should be able to type correctly at a fair speed from shorthand notes or from manuscript without looking at the keyboard. The practice adopted at some schools of covering the whole keyboard with a piece of thin silk, or providing a set of blank key-caps, or some other device to cover the keys, and placing a diagrammatic representation of the standard keyboard in a conspicuous place so that each student can consult it, if necessary, are means which have been successfully used in teaching typewriting, and tend to obviate the necessity for typists when engaged in work te> divide their attention between the keyboard and the manuscript or notes. It is contended that better—that is to say, neater, more accurate, and presentable—work is produced if the typist's whole attention is given to tho oeipy. What is known as the " touch system " of typing appears to be most suitable for teaching in a technical school; it requires more practice at the machine than is'usually given, but when once mastered tho student can oemoentrate his or her whole attention on the subject-matter to be. typed, as the mechanical part of striking the keys and the correct fingering become almost automatic. As tho deciphering of " confused manuscript " appears to be a not unimportant part of the Public Service Examination for typists, the desirability of giving more attention to this part of the practical work is suggested. In the senior classes correction of errors in English, tho correction of phrases, and the addition of omitted weirds and sentences in confused manuscript, and generally the setting-out of tho memorandum or letter on the page, the paragraphing, the divisieui eif words at the one! of a line, the correction of mechanical errors, and other little details whioh make or mar the typist's oemipleted work are all matters that should receive attention. Domestic Subjects. —There is little new to repent in connection with classes in subjects related to home life. The popularity of dressmaking classes is unabated, and the instruction and the practical work in the majority of the schools appears to be maintaineel at the high level of excellence whioh has been a marked feature of the work for some years past. The classes are, however, attended for the. most part by those who desire the knowledge for personal and home use ; none of the classes have, so far as can be gathered, succeeded in attracting the attention of apprentices and young persons engaged in the; trade. This may be largely due to the fact that the advantages of a course of technical instruction have not been specially brought under their notice, and the suggestiem is offered that controlling authorities which provide a course in dressmaking including pattern draughting and cutting, dress design, and coat and skirt making might with advantage circularize all dressmaking establishments within their district, giving full particulars of the course of instruction provided. In this connection it is worthy of remark that serious consideration will in the near future have to be! given to the question of the training of young women and girls in some of the skilled industries. The trite saying that " women's sphere is tho home " has, fen- very obvious reasons arising out of the war, lost a ge)od deal of its force, inasmuch as a large proportion of them will never have a home of their own, and while it may be true that the avenues to dennestic service are sufficiently open and wide to admit all, it is nevertheless true that there are a large number of young women and girls who have a perfectly natural distaste for the drudgery and monotony so often associated with, houseweirk, and nothing would induce them te> enter upon it. At the present time the possibilities eif employment for women as shop-assistants and clerks are many, but there is a steadily increasing number cii welleduoated young women and girls who must earn their own living and for whom employment of a bettor type, other than teaching, will have to be found. For many years to come it will bo a difficult matter to provide seunc of the supplies for the markets of the Dominion from the Old World, and as it is te> be hoped we shall never again permit hard-earned British wages te> pass into tho hands of Gorman manufacturers, necessity will compel us to manufacture the needed supplies or go without them. The former of these alternatives appears preferable, and the question arises as to who is to exercise the necessary foresight and the preliminary investigations that will lead to the establishment of new industries and arrange for the entry of women into skilled industries. Private enterprise has done much, but it cannot be expected under present-day economic conditions to continue to act alone in this matter, and as there is no Department of the State empowered with authority to take the initial steps, it will devolve on those who are already in close touch with existing trades ; and tho hope is expressed that consideration will be given to the problem by controlling authorities and others connected with technical colleges before it reaches the acute stage. Engineering. —Steady progress appears to have been made in the teaching of all branches of engineering, the principal factor's contributing to this being the reorganization of schemes of work, a clearer understanding on the part of instructors of the purpose of the instruction, and, generally, the interest taken in this branch of technical training by those immediately concerned. For obvious reasons the extension of facilities in the way of buildings and equipment has for the time being been