the State of "passes" awarded in this subject would be seriously affected. Reports on Considering the supreme importance of this branch it is disappointing Education. to find many teachers so little alive to their responsibility in regard to Dr. it. I was present at a good many so-called reading lessons (?) during the Alexander, past year, and can recall few instances in which the teachers attempted Inspector. more than the occasional correction of verbal inaccuracies. On many Cork. occasions the introduction of a little "simultaneous reading" would have been of advantage but it was never tried. Head The recent Circular of the Board regarding the inclusion of Expla- Explananation in the pass mark in Reading was issued none too soon. The evil tiou. against which it was directed was of long standing, and has already worked much injury. I have reason to believe that many of the teachers are now earnestly endeavouring to make up for past shortcomings in this respect, and I am hopeful that in time a substantial improvement will be effected. It must not be overlooked that the teacher's success will largely depend on the suitability of the reading books employed. The lessons should deal with subjects that are fairly capable of being brought within the comprehension of the pupils, by suitable explanation and expansion. Formal dissertations on the moral virtues are of littl use for children. Stories illustrative of these virtues in actual practice are mach more likely to influence them. Lessons, too, in which "fine writing" is aimed at are unsuitable. A boy of ten or eleven years of age, who reads the Fifth Book will find it hard to understand why Ireland "is not the legitimate abode of the refined sensualist of modern times," and the comparison of the Boyne-"serene and peaceful--" to a true philosopher will be quite beyond him. The progress in Writing is not uniform throughout the different Writing. classes. Thanks largely to the excellent copybooks in use the pupils in the junior division usually exhibit very fair proficiency in this subject. As the senior pupils are too often allowed to write very carelessly in their school exercise books they do not, as generally as is desirable, acquire a “neat, legible hand.” The attempts made by the pupils at Letter-writing leave much to be Letterdesired. In looking over the books of the pupils I find, as a rule, that writing. the letters written by them receive less attention from the teacher-so far as effective correction is concerned--than any other exercise. In some cases it seems to me that when teachers have suggested a subject for the pupils to write about they consider they have no further duty to discharge in connection with the matter. The junior classes are usually able to spell orally the selected words Spelling. at the head of the reading lessons--but they often exhibit weakness in phrase spelling. In good schools the senior pupils usually acquit themselves with credit in this subject; but in those of a different character less satisfactory results are achieved-mainly owing to the neglect of dictation. I venture to submit that the test in oral spelling prescribed for junior classes in the "Instructions to Inspectors" issued some time ago, is too easy. I trust a higher standard will soon be adopted. Arithmetic continues to receive a greater share of attention than any Arithmetic. other subject. Usually an hour per day is devoted to it. Measured by the number of "passes" the instruction is, on the whole, successful. In estimating the educational worth of the results accomplished, however, the character of the tests applied in accordance with the school programme must be borne in mind. When that factor is taken into account there is less ground for congratulation than might at first sight appear to be the case. I have not space to do more than touch briefly on this subject. the State of Reports on important factor in determining the quality of the instruction in subEducation, jects which appeal to the thinking powers-whether it shall be intellectual or still largely mechanical. Dr. Head Alexander, Inspector. Making due allowance for disturbing causes the attendance of the pupils is fairly regular throughout the Circuit. In many of the schools the average number of attendances for each child per year is, approxiCork. mately, about 150. Another favourable feature too, is the high Attendance. classification of the pupils, the Sixth Class being usually well repre Irregularity of attend ance towns. sented. As might be expected it is in the towns chiefly that the children are found who attend very irregularly or not at all. This is especially true greatest in of the city of Cork. It is to be regretted that for reasons into which it is unnecessary to enter, a School Attendance Committee has not been constituted in Cork. If formed, there would be a fine field here for its exertions. Owing to the absence of compulsion the Act of 1892 has had, curiously enough, the opposite effect of that intended in the case of a section of the child population of this city. I refer to those young boys who are employed selling newspapers, running errands, &e. Apathetic and selfish parents are not compelled to give their children the benefit of attendance at day schools, and they are not eligible for admission to evening schools under the age of fourteen unless they have passed in Fourth Class in a day school. These children are, therefore, "between the upper and nether millstones," and suffer accordingly. Monitors. School Libraries. Model schools. Reding. The position and prospects of monitors have been very adversely affected by the increase in the number of Training Colleges. Their chances of employment on the termination of their term of service are much less than they were some years ago, owing to the large number of trained teachers annually sent out by the colleges. Formerly the great majority of vacancies were filled by monitors but this practical monopoly exists no longer. Apart from the injustice to the young persons them selves it is a misuse of public money to spend it on the training of candidates for the office of teacher who have very limited chances of employment when their term of apprenticeship has been served. It has, therefore, become an urgent necessity to reduce very considerably the number of monitors employed in our schools. The literary instruction of the monitorial staff is, on the whole, well attended to, and the amount of extra instruction required by the Rules of the Board is usually given. Their professional training is less successfully carried on. I frequently notice grave defects in the methods of teaching followed by these young people. Their teachers do not, apparently, require them to carry strictly into practice the principles laid down in the manual of method studied by them. I take this opportunity of again adverting to the great importance of establishing school libraries. I know of only one case in which such a useful institution has been established, and it is much appreciated. The books are varied in subject and are in constant circulation. There are only two Model Schools in the Circuit-those in Cork and Dunmanway. The former is doing excellent work, and is conducted in a most successful manner. The efficient working of the latter is hindered by causes which are in no way connected with the teachers. It is painful to listen to the reading in many of the schools. It is indistinct, monotonous, and utterly devoid of intelligence and expression. Good reading should possess the following characteristics ---(1) verbal accuracy; (2) distinctness of enunciation; (3) fluency: (4) proper emphasis and intonation. These are not extravagant requir inents. Yet if they were all rigidly insisted on, the number of the State of Dr. "passes awarded in this subject would be seriously affected. Reports on Considering the supreme importance of this branch it is disappointing Education. to find many teachers so little alive to their responsibility in regard to it. I was present at a good many so-called reading lessons (?) during the Alexander, past year, and can recall few instances in which the teachers attempted Inspector. more than the occasional correction of verbal inaccuracies. On many Cork. occasions the introduction of a little "simultaneous reading" would have been of advantage but it was never tried. The evil tion. The recent Circular of the Board regarding the inclusion of Expla- Explana nation in the pass mark in Reading was issued none too soon. against which it was directed was of long standing, and has already worked much injury. I have reason to believe that many of the teachers are now earnestly endeavouring to make up for past shortcomings in this respect, and I am hopeful that in time a substantial improvement will be effected. It must not be overlooked that the teacher's success will largely depend on the suitability of the reading books employed. The lessons should deal with subjects that are fairly capable of being brought within the comprehension of the pupils, by suitable explanation and expansion. Formal dissertations on the moral virtues are of little use for children. Stories illustrative of these virtues in actual practice are much more likely to influence them. Lessons, too, in which "fine writing" is aimed at are unsuitable. A boy of ten or eleven years of age, who reads the Fifth Book will find it hard to understand why Ireland "is not the legitimate abode of the refined sensualist of modern times," and the comparison of the Boyne-"serene and peaceful--" to a true philosopher will be quite beyond him. The progress in Writing is not uniform throughout the different Writing. classes. Thanks largely to the excellent copybooks in use the pupils in the junior division usually exhibit very fair proficiency in this subject. As the senior pupils are too often allowed to write very carelessly in their school exercise books they do not, as generally as is desirable, acquire a "neat, legible hand.” The attempts made by the pupils at Letter-writing leave much to be Letterdesired. In looking over the books of the pupils I find, as a rule, that writing. the letters written by them receive less attention from the teacher-so far as effective correction is concerned than any other exercise. In some cases it seems to me that when teachers have suggested a subject for the pupils to write about they consider they have no further duty to discharge in connection with the matter. The junior classes are usually able to spell orally the selected words Spelling. at the head of the reading lessons but they often exhibit weakness in phrase spelling. In good schools the senior pupils usually acquit themselves with credit in this subject; but in those of a different character less satisfactory results are achieved-mainly owing to the neglect of dictation. I venture to submit that the test in oral spelling prescribed for junior classes in the "Instructions to Inspectors "issued some time ago, is too easy. I trust a higher standard will soon be adopted. Arithmetic continues to receive a greater share of attention than any Arithmetic. other subject. Usually an hour per day is devoted to it. Measured by the number of "passes" the instruction is, on the whole, successful. In estimating the educational worth of the results accomplished, however, the character of the tests applied in accordance with the school programme must be borne in mind. When that factor is taken into account there is less ground for congratulation than might at first sight appear to be the case. I have not space to do more than touch briefly on this subject. Reports on the State of Education. Dr. The exercises worked by the junior classes are rarely or never given a concrete application, and the thinking powers of the pupils are hardly ever appealed to. It follows, of course, that the children are quite Alexander, unable to interpret the results they obtain, and that if an exercise in any of the simple rules were given to them in the form of a problem, it would work disaster no matter how easy its character. Until the requirements of the present programme are radically altered, Inspectors can do nothing to bring about a better state of things. It is another serious blot upon our programme that it permits the awarding of sufficiently "passes" to pupils who may be very imperfectly acquainted with. cultivated. Notation and Numeration. Head gence of Grammar. Geography, Book keeping. Instruction in Reduction of Weights and Measures should be based, in its initial stages at least, upon suitable preliminary "object lessons." From an educational point of view it is greatly to be regretted that, so far as my experience goes, nothing of the kini is attempted at present. The teacher relies solely on the "Table Book" and the memory of the pupils. Unsoundness appears, too, in other directions, owing to the fact that a proper foundation is not laid. Many pupils who can, for example, take from when tur example is formally given as an exercise in Subtraction of Fractions, are quite unable to find out which of them is the greater, and by how much, if the question is cast in the latter form. I find that blackboard demonstration in connection with arithmetical instruction is very much neglected in many of our schools. It is obviously necessary to tech the rationale of the Rules so far, at least, as a knowledge of it is essential to correctness in the method of working. As Grammar, or Parsing, is taught at present the time spent on it is, for all practical purposes, wasted. I cannot say that the subject is neglected; it usually gets a reasonable share of attention. Apparently, however, few teachers have grasped the main principles upon which instruction in the subject should be based. I have often heard parsing lessons in the schools, and cannot remember a single instance in which there was any preliminary analysis of the sentence chosen for parsing. The words were taken just as they stood, and the half hour was spent at a dreary sing song of "of, a preposition, the, the definite article. man, a common noun, third person, singular, and objective governed by the preposition of," &c., &c., no pause being made to test how much of this was mere parrot work. In the hands of a skilful teacher parsing when based on analysis, can be made a useful instrument for intellectual training-its chief, if not only value-but this object can be equally well attained by means of other subjects of the school course. The want of proper apparatus, the unsuitability of the text-books in use, consisting for the most part, as they do, of strings of names, and an unsatisfactory programme, all co.nbine to hinder sound progress Geography. Under existing conditions the results achieved in this branch can only be of small permanent value. The children commit to memory the lists of towns, rivers, capes, &c., given in the text-book and then identify the positions of these on the map. Nothing more is attempted. This represents the usual highwater mark of effort. Even the merely mechanical exercise of pointing is not always correctly done. The name of the place is pointed to instead of the place itself. The pointer should be drawn round a country, along a river or coastline, and laid precisely on a cape er town. I am of opinion that Geography should be taught by the analytic rather than the synthetic method. Pupils are occasionally presented for examination in Book-keeping. The subject is taught with a fair degree of success, but neatness is not always a characteristic of the exercises exhibited. 66 passes" Education. Dr. Alexander, A good deal of time is devoted to the study of the text-book on Reports on Agriculture, and influenced, doubtless in some measure, at least, by the the State of high fee paid for the subject, the teachers work hard to secure in it. This branch is still taught by means of a book, exclusively, in the ordinary National schools, and the instruction in the subject is Head not, in any way, based upon practical demonstrations. Adults who Inspector. have already actual experience of farming operations may read such a Cork. book with profit, but this is not the right method to adopt with Agriculture. children. No other practical subject in the School Programme is taught on this principle. The female pupils usually display very fair proficiency in Sewing Needleand Knitting, but it is to be regretted that they cannot turn the former work. to more practical account, in many cases owing to their practical ignorance of Cutting-out. I trust the Directress of Needlework will soon see her way to take some practical step to have systematic instruction given in the last named branch. Until some guidance is afforded to the female teachers in this matter by a skilled expert, little progress can be made. Drawing and Vocal Music are taught in only a limited number of Drawing; schools. The latter is usually well taught, but I cannot speak in high vocal music. terms of the progress made in the former. The dawn of a better era, however, is at hand. The teachers are beginning to use, very generally, excellent Drawing Charts that have been put on the market in recent years. Extra subjects appear to be taught in a smaller number of rural Extra schools than formerly. It is only in the larger town schools that the subjects. course of instruction extends beyond the ordinary curriculum to any considerable extent. The subjects taken up in boys' schools are Algebra, Geometry, and Physical Geography; and in girls' schools Domestic Economy (theoretical), Pratical Cookery, and Sewing Machine (with Dressmaking). The introduction of a suitable syllabus, and the continuance of instruction for a second year, would make the course in Practical Cookery much more beneficial to the pupils. In this connection I may mention that, in accordance with arrangements made by the Board, a special teacher of Cookery conducted classes during the past year in a number of National schools in Cork. Her lectures were much appreciated. This The teachers are, as a body, energetic and painstaking in the discharge Teachers, of their very onerous duties, and give faithful service to the State. Taken collectively, they lay themselves open to serious criticism in one direction only- I allude to their neglect of professional study. must re-act injuriously on their efficiency as teachers. conference and study has been so much felt by the American teachers that in many of the States they have formed "Reading Circles" for the purpose of promoting by mutual support and sympathy the special reading of the members. I extract from a recent educational work the following account of the way in which these " Reading Circles" are carried on: "Each year carefully selected books are chosen, having a more or less bearing on the teacher's work, and every member procures copies, and promises to carefully read them in the course of the year. Authorities on the subjects dealt with in the books prepare and issue, from time to time, to all members, general directions, suggestive hints, critical notes, and so forth, which will the better enable them to fully benefit by their reading. At the close of the year questions are sent out, by which readers may test themselves on the result of their reading." |