^\>\aou THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ^ Ex Lihris SIR MICHAEL SADLER ACQUIRED 1948 WITH THE HELP OF ALUMNI OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION H' SCHOOL INSPECTION. D. R. FEARON, M.A. Oxon., ASaiSTAXT-CUMMISSIOKEK OF KMJOWEU SCHOOLS. ILontion: MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YOKK. 1887. Printed by Richard Ci.ay and Sons, September, 1876. Reprinted, November, 1S76, 1877. Stereotyped and Reprinted, 1878, 1883, 1887. LB ■2^01 SCHOOL INSPECTION. The following observations and suggestions on the inspection and examination of Elementary Schools, which were written, and are now printed, at the joint request of the Chairman of the School Board in one of the most populous boroughs in the kingdom, and of one of the members in Parliament for that borough, are based on the results of the experience of ten years, from 1860 to 1870, during which I was acting as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools. D. K. Fearon. Easter, 1876. 810.'?24 CONTENTS. M). PAGR 1. Inspection aud Examination : wliat they Mean 1 II. Why both are Necessary . . 2 III. Why a School should be Inspected before it is Exaniiiied . 3 IV. Pupil-Teachers should be Examined before the Inspection . 5 V. Preparation for Inspection 6 VI. Inspection of the Infant School 7 VII. How Order is to be Tested 9 VIII. How Method is to be Tested 10 IX. Mistakes in Teaching Infant Classes 10 X. Gallery Lessons in Infant Schools 13 XI. Jlislnkes in Gallery Lessons 13 XII. Gallery Lessons by Pupil-Teachers 18 XIII. Examination of the Infant School 20 XIV. Conference with the Teachers 21 XV. Inspection of the Boys' School 22 XVI. How the Inspection should be Begun 2:? XVII. Importance of Last Year's Notes -i> XVIII. Inspection of the Teaching. How to Inspect the Candidates for Pupil-Teacherships 26 XIX. Inspection of the Pupil-Teachers 27 XX. Programme of the Day's Work 28 XXI. Inspection of a Reading Lesson SO XXII. Inspection of a Writing Lesson : Individual Instruction in Writing 34 XXIII. Class Instruction in Writing 39 XXIV. Summary of Points in a Writing Lesson «1 vi Contents. NO. PAGE XXV. Preparation for Inspection of Senior Pupil-Teachers . . 41 XXVI. Teaching of Grammar, Geography, and History : — Elfcct of the Revised Code . , 42 XXVII. Difficulty of Teaching English Grammar : Knowledge of Old English Required 45 XXVIII. Knowledge of another Language, such as Latin, Desirable 46 XXIX. How to Teach English Grammar 47 XXX. Advantage of this Method 50 XXXI. Importance of Inspection of Fifth- Year Pupil-Teachers 52 XXXII. Teaching of Arithmetic. Importance of Discipline . . 54 XXXin. Effects of Want of Discipline in Teaching Arithmetic . 56 XXXIV. How to Stop Copying in Teaching Arithmetic ... 57 XXXV. Pupil-Teachers to be Questioned on Method .... 58 XXXVI. Fractions to be Taught next after the Simple Rules . . 60 XXXVII. Inspection of an Arithmetic Lesson. Three Divisions of the Subject 61 XXXVII I. First Division. A Lesson of New Work 62 XXXIX. Illustration of an Arithmetic Lesson of New Work . 63 XL. Difference between Lesson of New Work and Lesson of Practice 64 XLI. Second Division. A Lesson of Practice 65 XLII. Third Division. A Lesson of Review 66 XLIII. Time given to these Lessons by the Inspector . ... 67 XLIV. At what Stage Pupil-Teaehers should begin Collective Teaching 68 XLV. Inspection of a Geography Lesson 69 XLVI. Divisions of the Subject 71 XLVII. lmportnnce of Home Preparation 72 XLVIII. Use of Blank Maps 75 XLIX. Geography to be Taught with History 77 L. Summary of Points in a Geography Lesson 79 LI. Insi)ection ot Singing 79 LII. Close of the Morning School 81 LIII. Inspection of a History Lesson. Importance of Home Work 81 Contents. vii NO. PACK LIV. The Text-book to be Learnt by the Chihlrcn, and Amplified by the Teacher 83 LV. Dates must be Learnt by the Children 84 LVL Summary of Points iu a History Lesson 85 LVIL Close of the Inspection 86 LVIIL Examination of the School: Advantage of conducting it Orally 87 LIX. Conference with the Teachers 90 LX. Inquiiy into Instruction of Pnpil-Teachers 91 LXL Consideration and Discussion of their Faults in Teaching. . 92 LXJL Consideration of the Condition of the School with the Principal Teacher 92 APPENDIX. I. Standards of Examination 94 II. Table of Specific Subjects of Secular Instniction . ... 96 III. Qualifications and Certificates of Pupil-Teaclurs at Admission and during their Engagement 98 SCHOOL INSPECTION. 1. Inspection and Examination : ichat they Mean. — The proper scrutiny of an Elementary School consists of two principal parts, viz. itispec- tion and examination. By "inspection" is meant the process of seeing a school at work in the course of its ordinary routine ; noting how it is constructed, warmed, drained, ventilated, furnished, and sup})lied with apparatus and other materials ; how its journals, registers, and other records are kept ; what is the course of education, physical and intellectual, which it supplies to its scholars ; whether it is conducted on the most approved methods for economizing time and labour ; what is the order and discipline ; what the relations of the scholars, to their teachers and to one another ; how the teachers give their lessons, and how in other respects they are qualitied to per- form, and do perform their duties. Jiy "examination " is meant the process of testing, by written and oral questioning of the scholars, whether the results of the instruction given in the school are satisfactory. 2. TFhi/ Both are Necessary. — Some persons main- tain that if a school is thoroughly examined, there is little or no need for inspection. Others say (or B Scl;00l llnspertmiT. used to say), that if a school is carefully inspected, there is little need for examination. Both these conclusions are, in my judgment, erroneous. Even if the duty of an inspector were only to find fault, examination would be by itself an imperfect test of a school. But I think there can be no doubt that his duty is quite as much to suggest how faults should be amended, as to find them out and report them. Manao-ers and teachers ou^ht to look forward to the visit of an inspector, not only with anxiety lest faults should be found, but also with hope, and an expectation that he will suggest means of overcoming ditticulties and amending defects. And examination without inspection will never enable an inspector to do this. Moreover, examination of children, even in the hands of the most experienced and patient of inspec- tors, is not an infallible test. Many an inspector's judgment formed on examination has been corrected, illustrated, or confirmed by inspection ; and many a teacher, who, if his school had been only examined, would have set his failures down to bad luck, has been convinced by a thorough but kindly inspection, that he has only himself to blame for them, and that it is his own fault if such failures ever recur. And it is an equal, or a worse, mistake to depreciate the importance of examination. No one can be certain of the results of teaching on children, until those results have been tested by examination. The capacity of children for receiving and retaining knowledge is so very various ; the roads by which knowledge comes home to different children, and to the same children at different times, are so different, that no one can venture to say that any given chilcl has apprehended, until he has proved by examination ,StIj0oI Jns|)cdioit. 3 that it does apprehend. Education, unfortunately, is an art which is subject to so many delusions, that teacliers whose work is not tested by <'X- amination as well as by inspection will be sure to deceive both themselves and the inspector. But the combination of careful and intcllinrent inspection with judicious and thorough examination obviates the defects which belong to either system separately, and I'enders the tests wherel)y an ex})ori- enced inspector is enabled to judge of the work of a school as sure and perfect as the means of forming any human judgment on such materials can well be rendered. 3. Why a School should he Inspected before it is JExamined. — Inspection should precede exami- nation : — First, because if he inspects a school before examining it, an inspector will find when he comes to the examination that he has already obtained much information about the school, which will help him to estimate rightly the value of the answers given and the work done by the children in the examina- tion. He will have seen much that will show him when and where he ought to make allowance, and when and where he may be righteously severe. Secondly, because the scholars having become used to his voice and presence during the ins]iec- tion, will be less shy, timid, or excited when they come to their examination, and less likely to do themselves injustice. Thirdly, because examination causes so much derangement of the ordinary routine of a school, that when it is begun no fair judgment can be formed of what would be the discipline and other B 2 Scbool Jitsjjcdbn:. conditions of the school if the ordinary routine had not been interrupted. The finer points of the teachers' relations with their scholars, and of the tone of the school, must be missed, under the pressure and excitement of an examination. Fourthly, because, inasmuch as the grant to the school depends much less directly on inspection than on examination, both teachers and inspectors will be apt to slur the inspection over, and go through it in a perfunctory way, if it is left to take its chance of what time and strength there may be left to spare at the end of a long and fatiguing day. There is little or no fear of the examination for the grant being so slurred over. km\, fifthly, to go to a matter of detail, because, in the case of a small school where inspection and examination are both taken on the same day, if inspection is taken first, the elder children, who can be better relied upon to return to school in the afternoon, can be dismissed as soon as the inspection is ended at about eleven or half-past eleven o'clock, to get their dinner and to rest, while the examination of the younger children is being conducted with a view to their being dismissed altogether about one, or half-past one o'clock. This will be found a most useful plan, particularly in cases where an inspector has to inspect and examine a small school single-handed ; as not only does it save all the children from exhaustion, but also gives more space and quiet to those who are under examination. In the case of a large school, where inspection and examination cannot both be got through in the same day, it may sometimes be necessary to take Sc|)oo( Jfnspcttioit. examination first ; as, for example, where children who have left the school during the preceding year for employment, or for schools in another locality, are recalled for the purpose of being examined. But even this necessity may generally be j^revented l)y a little forethought and care on the part of the inspector, if he gives the managers notice beforehand of the course he intends to pursue. And it may be taken as a general rule, to which the exceptions should be as few as possible, that inspection should precede examination. 4. Vupil- Teachers should he Examined before the Ins23ection. — The examination, however, of the candidates and pupil-teachers employed, in the school should have preceded the inspector's visit to the school. For, as I shall show presently, it is a most important part of an inspector's duty to take with him to the school the papers which have been worked by the pupil-teachers at such examination, and to speak to them, and to the principal teacher, on their merits and defects. Nothing can be more useful to the pupil-teachers and to their instructor than that the inspector should have an opportunity of actually showing them what answers have been made to the questions set in examination. And the fear of having their blunders so brought home to them will produce painstaking in young teachers, who are too often callous to warnings which come in dry and terse terms from Whitehall. 5. ^Preparation for Inspection. — I proceed, then, to treat of these two parts of an inspector's work, viz., inspection and examination. And, first of all, it may be assumed that he is aware of the import- ance of his being early at a school, and is therefore Stlj0ol Inspcttmit. an early riser, and ready either to breakfast at eight. or to take a journey before breakfast, so as to be at his school betimes. Let us suppose him coming to a large town school of three departments, — boys, girls, and infants. He is there by 9.30 or 10 at latest. By means of a circular, which he sends round to every school on his list, his district is aware of his method, and there is no uncertainty, doubt, or anxiety as to how he will proceed. Con- sequently, when he reaches the school, he finds it working without disorder or derangement in its usual routine, all the teachers and their classes beino; enijaged on the work wdiich the time-table shows they ought to be doing at that particular hour. The time-table itself is, of course, hung in a conspicuous place upon the wall, and it is only necessary that the inspector should go up and look at it in order to be able to understand what is going on at the moment of his arrival. Except that, of course, he interchanges salutations with the principal teacher, no interruption is caused in the work by his arrival. His circular has announced that the work of the school should, when he arrives, be proceeding, and should after his arrival continue to proceed, until he calls for a change, according to the time-table ; and that the log-book, registers, and all other records of the school, together with the returns required by the Education Department, should be lying ready on the table or desk ; that the order and discipline of the school will be chiefly judged by observation of the working of the school under its own teachers, in its regular routine ; and that, therefore, if the managers permit the presence of visitors at the inspection, it is most important that Bdpol ^mpdxan. they should request them to be perfectly silent, and to place themselves in such a position as will least interfere with the routine of the school ; that he will endeavour to give the children an interval, and to save them from unnecessary fatigue and excite- ment ; but that, as he cannot always undertake not to detain them beyond their usual dinner-hour, the children should be cautioned to come to school on the day of inspection provided with food. 6. Inspection of the Infant School. — If, as I have supposed, the school consists of three depart- ments, the inspector's plan will be to take the infants' department first, because its scholars will be less able than those of the upper departments to l:)ear the strain of expectation. I will suppose, then, that he has made arrangements to do this ; and that, on arriving at the school, he proceeds first to the infants' department, where they are expecting him. If the principal teacher is a stranger to him, and, on this account, or from his knowledge of her derived from previous inspections, he has reason to think she is nervous, he will endeavour to remove her nervous- ness, and that of her pupil-teachers and scholars (for the nervousness of a principal teacher is sure to communicate itself to her scholars and her subordinates), by finding something in the school about which he can say a kindly and cheery word. An inspector of any tact can always find something on coming into a school, such as the cleanness of the floor, or the large attendance, on which he can bestow a word of praise, so as to take away the teacher's fear, or overcome the stiUncss which is felt at the beginning of an inspection. As a general rule, however, it may be said that if an inspector has a Stf^ool |n5|3Cdl01T. reasonable amount of good nature, only the bad teachers in his district will be nervous. Ignorant, eye-serving, and incompetent teachers will always be nervous, because they fear detection. But teachers who know their business, and are on those good terms with their scholars and their subordinates which can only be established by thoroughness and com- petency, are not nervous. I will, for the sake of illustrating how the work of inspection should proceed, suppose that the infant school is Avorked by a principal teacher, with the assistance of three pupil-teachers, of whom one is at the end of the fifth, one of the third, and one of the first year of apprenticeship ; and that there are three candidates for pupil-teachership. In inspecting this, as in the case of every other school, the inspector will have two main things to which he must look. First, he must look to the order of the school, under which term are included the discipline, the drill, the musical and other exercises, and the means taken for economising time, and for avoiding coldfusion in giving lessons, and in changing from one lesson to another. He must also look to the method of the school, under which term are included the system and practice of delivering lessons, the various modes of working the dififerent subjects of instruction in groups or classes, and the means taken to train the pupil-teachers, and to make the scholars learn. 7. IIoio Order is to he Tested. — Having, as I have supposed, exchanged a few words with the principal teacher, and seen that his materials, log- book, registers, &c., are all at hand, so as to be available without again interrupting the school, the inspector will proceed to apply himself to the first School (Inspection. 9 part of inspection, viz., order. If his assistant is with him, he will set him to test the registers, and examine into other matters of technical detail at the table or desk. Meantime, he will j^lace him- self in some place, where he can, wdthout unduly attracting the observation of the teachers and their classes, quietly watch what goes on ; and thus he will proceed to note the school at w^ork. In less than five minutes, if the teachers are prepared for his mode of procedure, the scholars will have forgotten his presence, and will be at w^ork as cheerily and naturally as possible under their teachers. How long he will find it to be necessary to watch this ordinary life of the school depends on circumstances ; but if the time- table shows that a change is at hand wathin a reasonable period, it is w^ell that he should continue so to watch till the change is completed. There is no such tell-tale of the discipline, order, tone, and common sense of a school as the chanore. Is it made quickly and quietly ? Does everyone seem to know her business, and do it in a simple but self-reliant manner 1 Are books and slates distri- buted or collected and put aw^ay without noise and confusion ? Do the scholars leave the desks for the floor, or the floor for the desks, and are they grouped in the gallery for collective lessons, or broken up into classes for reading or arithmetic, without any misunderstanding ? And through it all, does the principal teacher keep her place and control the school by a look, a gesture, or a quiet word ? If so, there cannot be much amiss with the order of that school. 8. Hoio Method is to he Tested. — If, on lookinir 10 Srljool (InspcttioiT. at the time-table, the inspector sees that a change is not to take place for something like a quarter of an hour, he will leave his post of observation after a few minutes, and proceed to look into the second part of inspection, viz., method; taking care to return to his post in time to watch the change. What, then, is his duty in proceeding to test method m the case of the infant school which I have sup- posed ? If the principal teacher is unknown to him, or a probationer, it will be necessary to see her take a class, and hear her give a gallery lesson. And in an infant school, where gallery lessons form so large and important a part of the work, this last will be almost always desirable. 9. Ilistakes in Teacliing Infant Classes. — In in- specting the class teaching of an infant school the inspector \\\\\ bear in mind what are the errors most frequently committed by unskilled teachers, and will look to see whether the principal teacher herself avoids those errors, and trains her pupil- teachers to avoid them. Such errors are, for example, — (1). Not Keeping a Class in Good Order. — When infants arc called out in drafts on the floor, as, for instance, for the purpose of a reading lesson, a chalk line should be drawn on the floor, and they should be made to stand carefully and steadily to that line. All fidgeting and ugly little habits, all lounging, slovenly ways of standing and sitting at lessons, should be checked with the most scrupulous care in an infant school, while such habits are yet un- settled, and are therefore more easily eradicated than they will be found to be in the ujjper schools. The utmost attention should be paid to the mode Stbool JnspedioiT. il of holding books, slates, and pencils — to the manner of rising up and sitting down, and to all the pos- tures and movements of the children in class, and when changing from one lesson to another. (2). Not Maldng the Children Speak out. — This is a common but a most easily cured fault in infant schools. If the inspector, or his assistant, when he comes to examine the infants in reading, calls them up one by one to a table, as is sometimes done, he will, by such a practice, greatly encourage the fault of not making the children speak out. But if he insists on making the children, who are presented to him for individual examination in reading, read in their classes at a reasonable distance from him, and re- quires them to follow on, and to find and keep their place in a reading book, he will soon check til is fault. All individual examination should, as far as possible, be done as part of class examination. (3). Moving to the Children and Touching them, instead of taking up a well-chosen ^Position and Controlling them from that Position by the Voice and Eye. — This is a most common fault in young teachers. And a good way for the principal teacher to correct it in her pupil-teachers and candidates is to make them, when taking a class, or giving col- lective lessons, stand behind a small desk. If a small reading desk is placed in front of any young- teacher who has the fault, and she is required not to leave it, she will soon break herself of this bad habit. Every school ought to be furnished with one of these desks, capable of being raised and lowered, to suit the various teachers' height, for every teacher in the school. But, foiling such a desk, a chair may serve the purpose, 11" turned 12 School litspcttmit. round, so that its back may form a barrier to the young teacher, and give her something to grasp with lier hands. (4). Alloicing the Children to Recite, or Head, Sbnultaneoiisly , or Individually , in a Ilonotonous, or as it is sometimes called, a Sing-song, Voice. — Exercise in simultaneous reading is of the greatest importance in an infant school, if properly used ; but it is a mode of teaching which is liable to great abuse, and when abused it is worse than useless, and positively injurious. If in the simultaneous part of the reading lesson the children do not imitate the voice and accent of the teacher, but repeat after her in a monotonous tone ; or if part of the class is lazy, and catches up the words repeated by the diligent children in a perfunctory manner, such simultaneous teaching is positively harmful. But I defer the suggestions which I wish to make on the teaching of reading till I come to treat of this subject as part of the inspection of the upper schools. All such faults as these the inspector will of course expect the principal teacher to avoid ; and, if she is a probationer, he will not issue her certificate until they are amended. AVhen once the training colleges come to see that teachers do not get their certificates if they have these faults, they will pay more attention to the work of their students in the practising schools. By similar tests, graduated in severity, the inspector will test the class teaching of the pupil-teachers and candidates. A fifth year pupil-teacher should have thoroughly, and a fourth year pupil-teacher very nearly, mastered all these rudimentary points in class teaching. And no certifieate of fitness to conduct a small rural school Sfljool litspcttioit. 13 should ever be given to a fifth year pupil-teacher who fails in these matters, or who has not got a proper control of children. Of the rest of inspection of class teaching, viz., by pupil-teachers and candi- dates, I will speak when I come to the upper schools (see § 1.5). 10. Gallery Lessons in Infant Schools. — Whether the principal teacher is a probationer, or known to him or not, it will probably be desirable that the inspector should hear her give a gallery lesson. Young teachers of infant schools are sometimes apt to think they can do this well, but have generally much to learn in it. And older teachers, unless called upon by the inspector to give such lessons, are apt to get careless and slovenly in them. There are few parts of the teacher's art in which practice is more important, or in which time and trouble are more often misspent. I have seen a gallery lesson given in an infant school, in a great town, by a teacher newly come from a training college, to a class of twenty or thirty children, averaging from five to seven years, with one or two lady managers sitting by in smiling satisfaction, which was perfectly useless as a means of educa- tion. The children did not understand half the words that were used, and though they preserved a grave and apparently attentive demeanour, they were unable, within two minutes of the end of the lesson, to answer the most rudimentary questions on the lesson, or, in fact, to tell one word of what the teacher had been talking to them about. 11. Mistakes in Gallery Lessons. — In inspecting a collective or gallery lesson, whether given by the principal teacher or by one of the senior pupil-teachers 14 Stbool Jfnspcctioii. in the infont school, the inspector will bear in mind those faults which his exnerience teaches him are most commonly made by teachers in giving such lessons, and will look carefully to see how far the teacher whose work he is inspecting is free from them. The following may be mentioned as among the most common of such faults : — (1). As to the Mattel' of the Lesson. — («) Not F^^eparing the Lesson carefully Beforehand. — No collective lesson ought ever to be given, no matter how simple the subject may be, without preparation. One of the most distinguished and successful of the head-masters of our public schools once told me that he never felt it rio-ht to oive a lesson to his sixth- form, even in so well-known an author as Virgil, without preparation. Yet he is one of the best scholars in the country, and must be familiar with almost every line of that author. And no doubt this is the right view for a teacher to take of the work of teaching. If an infant school teacher does not carefully prepare her collective lesson, the result is very soon apparent to an on-looker. The unpre- pared lesson will be unmethodical, ill-arranged, showing want of reflection and resource, and generally inadequate to the subject and the occa- sion. Teachers who do not prepare their lessons become more and more inefficient, instead of im- proving, as time goes on. Every teacher should keep a note-hook^ to he used on purpose for the preparation of lessons. And the inspector should, when he inspects the infant school, inquire whether the principal teacher keeps such a book and ac- customs her pupil-teachers w^ho have 2:)assed their third year to do the same And he should Stbool JnsjjcclioiT. 15 ask to see these note-books, in order that he may form some opinion of what is the work which has been done by the teachers in the infant school by way of preparation for the instruction to be given to their schohxrs. If no such notes are kept or forthcoming, the inspector will ask a few questions, such as, " On what subjects have you given ol>ject lessons, or lessons in JSiatural History, or any collective or gallery lessons during the past year ? " Then taking one of those lessons which has been recently delivered, he will inc[uire what steps the teacher took to prepare for delivering that lesson. If no such preparation appears to have been made, the inspector will of course call attention to this grave defect in his report. And if it appears that some attempts have been made to prepare, but that no notes have been taken or kept of such prepara- tion, the inspector will point out the advantages of taking and keeping such notes, not only for the sake of the scholars, but also for the sake of training young pupil-teachers. The preparation note-book of an experienced teacher is a most valuable aid to a young pupil-teacher in teaching her ho\v to pre[)are for a lesson, where to go for her materials, and how to manage them. It is also most useful to the inspector when he comes to ask the upper classes of the infant school questions on the gallery lessons which have been given them during the last lew months ; because, if the preparation note-book is put into his hands, he can see exactly what the children are supposed to have been taught, and on what it may be fairly expected that they should answer his questions. Every time that a lesson is given from the notes entered in the note-book the date of such delivery of the lesson should be affixed to the notes. 16 ^tbool Inspedbtt. This will not only help the teacher in reviewing or going over back work, but will also serve as a guide to the inspector in weighing the results of any examination, conducted either by himself or by the teacher on his behalf and in his presence. (b) Another fault which may be noticed under this heading is that of not giving a Lesson in 2)lciin, lioynely Language, or dicelling on those Points in it lohich come home to the Children. This is not an uncommon fault of object lessons. Such lessons sometimes consist of little more than a string of attributes, described in long names of Greek or Latin origin. It is scarcely necessary to say that such lessons are worthless, and disgust children with their school. The inspector will notice whether the class in coming to its gallery lesson is lively or dull. If the gallery lessons given in a school are good, the children w^ill come to them with a sense of pleasure ; they will know^ they are going to hear something interesting, and will be on the tiptoe of expectation. But if all that is going to be done with them is to hold up a piece of coal, or of wool, before them, to tell them its properties in long out- landish words, and to expect them to repeat those words after the teacher, they will of course be listless and dull. The curiosity of the young is so great, their desire for information on matters which interest them is so keen, that a teacher who takes pains will have no difiEiculty whatever in rousing them. Her difticulty will rather be to moderate their excite- ment. No object lesson should ever be given with- out the accompaniment of a little story or anecdote. This will not only help to fix the information given by the lesson in the children's minds, but wiU be repeated by many of them to their parents at home, ^tljool InspcdioiT. 17 and will serve to interest the parents in the work of the school. (c) Another fault which may be mentioned under this heading is that some teachers do not male the most of their resources. I have known an infant school teacher complain that the managers did not furnish her with an object-box, and give that as an (ixcuse for not having delivered any object lessons during the course of the past year, while all the time there were pictures hanging on the walls of the school-room from which she might have given a couiGe to last several years, and while the county all round was teeming with natural and artificial objects of interest. I remember once, in the county of Durham, taking down from the wall of an infiint school an excellent coloured print of a rhinoceros, and asking the first class, who were chiefly pitmen's children and fairly intelligent, some questions about it. Not one of them knew what it meant ; tliey had never been told anything about it. At last, after a careful and wondering study, one little boy said " It's a coodie," meaning thereby a donkey. One would scarcely have thought it possible that a teacher of infants should have spent a year in working with them, in a room where there was such a picture, and not have talked to them at all about it. But no one who has not been au inspector of schools can imagine how wanting in resource, ada^^tation, and the general power of making the most of their materials some of our trained teachers are. (2). As to the Manner of the Lesson. — The inspector will look to see whether the class is under proper control and whether it is judiciously arranged in the gallery ; whether the older and more steady children c i« School |itspccti0iT. are put at the back, and the younger children in front, so as to be nearer to the teacher ; whether the teacher takes up a good position before the class and keeps it. I have seen a teacher, when delivering a gallery lesson, walk up and down in front of the class the whole time of the lesson, like a wild creature in its den at the Zoological Gardens, thus always having her back towards some portion of her class. It is hardly necessary so say how bad such a practice is for all concerned, both teachers and scholars. The inspector will also look to see whether the apparatus required for the purpose of the lesson, such as a picture, is properly placed, in a good light, and so that all the class can see it readily. He will notice whether the teacher shows too little vis^our, or misdirected vigour ; whether she makes her voice reach all the class clearly, without screaming or un- duly raising it. He will carefully note all these and similar faults, and will speak to the teacher about them, as well as about her merits, at the close of the day's inspection. 12. Ga Uejy Lessons hy Pupil- Teachers. — If there is a fourth or fifth year pupil-teacher in the school, it is essential to hear her give a gallery-lesson. The previous pupil-teacher examination should have given, as notes for a lesson, a choice of two or three subjects suitable to infants. The inspector will make a point of having looked over the pupil-teacher's work before he comes to the school ; and he will do well to require fourth and fifth year pupil -teachers to hold themselves in readi- ness to give one of the lessons for which notes have been written at the examination. Only so can theory and practice be properly connected. No inexperienced person would believe how they become Stl^oul JusptttioiT. 19 disconnected in some teachers' minds. I have known a school in which " notes of lessons " were regularly prepared by the pupil-teachers for the principal teacher, but in which no one such lesson was ever delivered. Incredible as it may seem, I found, on inquiry, that no lesson was ever given from the notes prepared, and no notes were ever prepared for the lesson actually given. In well- written notes of a lesson, the teacher has the class, in her mind's eye, always before her, and the s}jirit of practice breathes through the written notes. The inspector will give notice at the previous collective examination of pu])il- teachers that fourth and fifth year pupil-teachers must be prepared not only to deliver a lesson if required from the notes written at the examination, but also to hand in to him some half-dozen copies of notes, made during the past year, from which he can select a lesson to be given. If a pupil-teacher has written bad notes, at the examination, nothing will bring home her defects more to her and to the principal than making her try to deliver a lesson from them. And of course it would not be fair to take those notes only as the invariable test, because notes for a lesson require, and ought to imply, careful thought and study beforehand ; so that those written at an examination are after all but an imperfect test of what the pupil-teacher could do for her class, in the quiet and leisure of her own room. The inspector will require the principal to be with him when a fourth or fifth year pupil-teacher gives her lesson. And he will do well after having carefully taken his notes, to ask the principal such questions as these — " AVhat oliservations do you make on that lesson ? " " What faults c 2 20 Srbool |nspccfi0n:. do you find ? " " What was good 1 " This will make her realize and turn her attention to correct her pupil-teachers' faults in the course of the year. 13. Examination of the Infant School. — Havinfj finished his inspection of the infant school, that is to say, having satisfied himself of its condition as to order, method, arrangements, the teaching power of the principal, and assistant, certificated teachers, and the means taken to train the pupil- teachers, the inspector will proceed to his examina- tion. It may be said — " Surely you cannot examine infants." " What can there be to examine infants in 1 " Of course in an infant school inspection is a proportionately greater affair than in an upper school, and examination is comparatively unimportant. Still even here examination is necessary and valuable. The subjects of examina- tion will be such as — First, the reading, writing, and arithmetic of the older children. They should all begin to learn the multiplication table as soon as possible, and to learn it as accuratehj as possible. Next, recitation, that is saying by heart passages from the poets and from standard authors ; the importance of which cannot be over-rated. Next, the collective lessons of the past year. The inspector will take into his hands the preparation note-book of the teachers (see § 11) ; and, by questioning the children himself, and by requiring the teachers also to question them, will very soon find out whether good work has been done in o gallery lessons during the past year. He will also look to the manual and other exercises of the scholars, whether accompanied by singing or not, A list of these exercises should be placed Stb00l InsjJcctroiT. 21 up ill the school, so that he may be able to call for any one of them, and that the teachers may be reminded to practise and go through them regularly. The inspector will not forget that, when onco he has begun the examination of the scholars, he is to a certain, though only a partial, extent responsible for the order and discipline of the school. When the routine of the children's work has been altered, and the inspector is himself addressino- them, and otherwise takinoj their classes into his own management, it would be most uufnr to find fault with the teacher for any little defects of order. The intervention of a third person between the teacher and the scholars must be regarded as transferring part at least of the responsibility for the order of the school to that person. And this will be more the case in an infant school than in an upper school, as the children are younger, and have acquired less settled liabits of self-control. Indeed it will, in an infant school, be more often desirable that the inspector should require the teachers to conduct the examina- tion for him, than that he should attempt to do it himself. Very few men examine infants really well. Women are naturally much better qualified for such a task. As a general rule, an inspector may be content if, knowing what ought to be done in an infant school, and what may fairly be expected of the scholars, he gets the teachers to act under his orders for the examination of the childivn in the results of the instruction which has been given to them. 14. Conference iclth the Teacliers. — When the inspection of the school and the exainin.iiion of the 22 Srbool |fll5|)Ccfl01T. children are ended, and the children have all been dismissed, the inspector will call to him the whole staff of the school, for the purpose of remarking on the papers worked by the pupil-teachers at the collec- tive examination ; of commenting on their faults and merits as teachers, as shown by the inspection and examination ; and, as far as possible, of telling them how to amend such defects. I look upon tbis process, for which the inspector will be careful to allow time, as one of the most valuable parts of his duties. But as a more complete account of the process can be given in connexion with upper schools, I defer my suggestions on this matter till I come to treat of the inspection of the boys' department. (See § 59.) 15. Inspection of the Boys* School. — Having finished his inspection and examination of the infant school, the inspector will proceed to the upper schools, taking the girls' school first, unless otherwise arranged with the teachers. But, as the inspection of the girls' school will be the same, except in respect of needlework, as that of the boys, while that of the boys will give a more complete account, I will suppose the girls' school done, and that the inspector is now going to begin with the boys. It is understood that while he has been inspecting the girls' school, his assistant has been examining the boys' school in the elements, aud vice versa. In the boys' school, as in the infant school, the circular (see § 5) has pre^^ared all for their part, and he finds the school, when he enters it, proceed- ing in its ordinary way. No derangement of the routine takes place, except such slight derangement as is caused by the presence to-day, for the purpose of being examined, of children who have left school. or who would not ordinarily be present but for the examination. This rule, that the school sh(dl ])e going on in its ordinary way until disturbed l)y the inspector, is a vital thing. If work is suspended, and the children are sitting idle, in enger expecta- tion, order cannot be preserved, the tone is lost, and the highly-strung nerves of children and young teachers break down. Moreover, owing to accidents of road and rail, the most punctual of inspectors may be late. If the school work is going forward in the ordinary w^ay, the evils of an accidental unpunctuality are reduced to a minimum. But, if not, the injury done to the prospects of the school for that year's examination may be most serious. 16. How the Inspection should he licyun. — On entering the boys' school, the inspector will begin his inspection by watching for some little time, as before described for the infant school (see § 7), the school at w^ork. There is no loss of time in doingr this. The assistant is either doing some mechanical work for him, such as tcstmg the Registers, or is examining in the elementary sub- jects in another department, or is finishing another school in the same town. In the case of a boys' school, there will be some difference in the method of inspection, according as the school is a small or large one. If it is a small one, consisting only (say) of a principal teacher, and two pupil-teachers, the principal teacher must always be taking a large share in the actual work of teaching ; the amount of superintendence which he will have to do will be comparatively small ; the school will depend for its instruction mainly on his own exertions ; and the inspector accordingly will have to watch how he teaches, quite as much as how the pupil-teachers 24 Scljoci Inspccfion. teaeli. But in a large school, consisting (say) of a principal and an assistant certificated teacher, with five pupil-teachers, and three candidates, the case is different. Here the principal teacher must, during the year, have been largely concerned with superin- tending and directing, rather than with actually imparting knowledge. Not that a good and active teacher will ever fail to take some teaching work himself, both to keep his own hand in, and also to raise the standard of teaching and set an example. But still his main business, if his staff is fairly efficient, will have been superintendence and not teaching. And the inspector accordingly will be able to have him by his side as he goes through the school, to reply to any questions, to assist his judgment, and to give any necessary orders. This will be found in fact to be an excellent way of inspecting the principal teacher. Whether, how- ever, the school is large or small, the first thiug for the inspector to do is to consult the time-table, so as to understand what is and ought to be going forward, and to know how best to allot his time. In the case of a big school, he will also, if possible, consult the log-book. The log-book of a large school, kept by an intelligent and efiicient teacher, will throw a flood of light on the organiza- tion and character of the school ; the methods taken for instructing and training the pupil-teachers ; the share of the work in the school which has during the past year been committed to assistant - teachers and pupil-teachers ; the course of instruction which has been given in the higher subjects to tlie upper classes ; the difticulties which the principal teacher has met with in his } car's work, and the means taken to encounter them. These, and many Sctol Jnspccfioit. L'.) similar particulars, may l)e gathered from a well- kept log-book ; and, after studying it, an inspector will go to his task prepared in a great measure with a notion of what he should look at or look for. It is not a bad plan to make teachers bring their log-books to the collective examinations of the pupil - teachers, so that the inspector may have time to study them carefully. The inspector may with great advantage keep a private rota for this purpose of all the teachers in his district, so as to secure that every teacher should bring his log-book to the collective examination every two or three years. The inspector, in watclung tlie routine of the school, will consider also such important questions of method as the means taken to promote emulation, and to encourage effort in the scholars ; whether, for example, they are marked, either by valuation or place-taking, for any of their lessons as well as for attendance. It is sino-ular that this is so much neuiected in elementary schools. They might take exam})le in this respect from the secondary schools. 17. Importance of Last Year's Notes. — In the boys' school, as in the infjmt school, the inspector will endeavour to see a change take place. The remarks made on this matter in reference to infant schools apply here also (see § 7) ; and the bigger the school, the more important is this part of the inspector's duty. Having witnessed a change, or otherwise satisfied himself that tlie school is well in hand, conducted methodically so as to economize time, to avoid disorder, noise, and con- fusion, and to produce habits of obedience and self-restraint in the scholars, the inspector will proceed to look to the teaching of the various 26 Btqoal |»'ns|jcttt0iT. members and pro])osed members of the staff. If he has seen the school l)cforc, he will, of course, be careful to have with him his note-book of the last year, so as to be able to refer to it and see what improvement (if any) or the reverse has taken place. Nothing can be more discouraging to a young teacher, who has had fault found with him last year, and who has taken some pains to improve, and has looked forward with anxiety to the inspector's visit, than to find that the inspector takes no notice of the fault. And, on the other hand, it is surprising what an effect it has in a school, when the teachers find that the inspector remembers them, and all about them. A word from the inspector at the end of the lesson — " I see you have remembered what I said to you last year about so and so " — will work marvels. 18. Inspection of the Teaching. How to Inspect the Candidates for Pupil- Teacherships. — Unless there is some special reason for departing from that course, the inspector will begin his inspec- tion of the teaching, by looking to the teaching of the candidates. There is no more difficult task thnt an inspector can have to perform, than that of judging the merits of candidates for pupil-teacherships. Tlic pupil-teachers have definite w^ork to do by which the inspector can test them. But it is often not till a day ur two before the inspection, that managers arc; in a position to present a boy as a candidate. And then of course the inspector is in face of the usual difficulty of judging of raw material. To take a boy out of a class and judge whether he will make a good teacher is no easy task ; and the responsibility and difficulty are increased when the managers present four or five candidates for one vacant place, and ask Scbaol IfnspcdioiT. 27 the inspector to select the best. In practice I have found the following simple tests valuable : — Select a class to which the candidate may give a lesson ; which should not be one of the youngest in the school, but a fairly steady one, somewhere about the middle of the school. It is a orcat mistake in testing or training candidates and youuL,^ pupil- teachers, to put them to take very young classes. Jf the candidate has ever taken a class before, observe how he holds himself before the class ; whether he adopts a free and erect carriage, or is slovenly and listless in his postuies. Even if he has only taken the class once or twice, he ought to have received some drill from the principal teacher in these matters, to say nothing of his having, while a scholar, observed how his teachers conducted themselves in these respects. Observe whether he shows any power of using the eye in controlling his class. One of the first thincjs that a teacher has to learn is to make his class feel that every member of it is continually in his eye. If the candidate is short- sighted, he should not be passed for apprenticeship unless he has become familiar with the use of spectacles. Put the candidate to take a reading lesson. Use the lesson as a means of seeing whether he has been trained at all in the ordinary elementary rules of teaching that subject (see § 21) ; and after hearing this for a sufficient time, require him to question his class, as a means of testing his general intelligence and capacity, and his readiness. 19. Inspection of the Fupil-Teachers. — Having finished with the candidates, the inspector will proceed to take the pupil teachers. He has already, when he came into the school, by examination of the time-table and by a conversation there- 28 Bthool litspcdroiT. upon with the principal teacher, if the school is a large one, settled in what order he means to review the teaching of the pupil-teachers ; which of them he means to see taking the ordinary instruction in reading, writing, or arithmetic ; and from which of them and at what o'clock, he will expect a collective lesson. In arranging his programme for tliis part of the inspection (which it is most essential should be carefully thought out, so as not to waste his own time, or that of the school, and so as to get the greatest possible knowledge of the school, in the shortest possible time) he will take into considera- tion the pupil-teacher papers, which have been worked for him at the collective examination, and which he should make a point of having looked over before he comes to the school. If, for exampk% a pupil-teacher has done badly, he will give par- ticular attention to his teaching, in order to see if his bad work in examination is clue to idleness or to devotion to teaching. 20. Programme of the Dai/s TTorJc- — I have already supposed that the school, if a large one, con- sists of an experienced principal teacher, one certifi- cated assistant-teacher, five pupil-teachers, and three candidates (see § 16). In order fully to illustrate how the inspection of such a school should be conducted, I will further suppose that the assistant-teacher is a probationer, whose teaching power must be specially tested, but that, as regards the principal, being a well-known and experienced man, it will not be necessary to require him to give lessons, but will be sufficient to ask him to take part in the examination of one or more of the higher classes, in the higher subjects (see Appendix II.) ; and that of the five pupil-teachers, one is at the end of the fifth year, \ Scbnol Jiisjjcction;. 29 one of the fourth, one of the tliird, one of the second, and one of the first year of apprenticeship. The inspector, having examined the time-table, and conferred with the principal teacher, will make a sort of programme for himself thus. I will test the three candidates from 10 to 10.;^0 : at 10.30 I will begin my inspection of the teaching of the staff. I see by the time-table, that the follow- ing teachers will be doinn^ the followiiior work with their respective classes at the following liours : I shall therefore take the following course in my inspection ^ — First year pupil-teacher — reading lesson at 10.30 ; fifteen minutes, 10.30 — 10.45. Second year pupil- teacher — writing lesson at 10.30 ; fifteen minutes, 10.45 — 11. Change, and ten minutes' recreation, at 11. Watch this; speak to the senior pupil- teachers as to the lessons they are going to give. Fifth year pupil-teacher — collective lesson in English grammar at 11.10; thirty minutes, 11.10— 11.40. Fourth year jiupil-teacher — arithmetic lesson at 11.40; twenty minutes, 11.40 — 12. Third year pupil-teacher — collective lesson in geography at 12; twenty minutes, 12 — 12.20. Singing heard, and dismissal watched ; 12.20 — 12.40 ; and, if the time is likely to be short at the end of the day, and an opportunity will not occur next day, puj^il-teachers and candidates spoken to respecting their papers and teaching. Assistant master's collective lesson in English history at 2 ; thirty minutes, 2 to 2.30. Examination in grammar, geography, history, and the specific subjects of ' N.B. The secular hours of the school are supposed to be from 9.30 to 12.30 ; and from 2 to 4 for the lower clixsses, and to 4.30 for the senior classes. The inspector is supposed to have arrived at 9.50. 30 Srlj0ol Inspccftoit. higher instruction, throughout the school, the principal, assistant, and senior pupil-teachers tak- ing a part ; 2.30 to 4 30. Consideration with the principal teacher of the condition of the school as regards the results of inspection, and, if not done before, review of their examination papers with the pupil teachers ; 4.30 to 5. Such a programme as this will give a complete view of the whole organization of the school, its staff, their capacities and duties, its system, &c. ; and, when combined with the individual examination in the elements, which is to follow, or has already been effected, forms as complete and searching a test as any institution has to go through. No other class of schools, it may safely be asserted, could stand such a trial. And now for the details of it. 21. Inspection of a Reading Lesson. — The inspector, accompanied by the principal teacher, goes to the class-room, where the first year pupil- teacher is to take his reading lesson. They place themselves where, with least intrusion, they can best observe and hear all that passes between the young teacher and his scholars. The principal teacher does not of course interfere at all : the inspector only so far as the shortness of the time at his disposal renders it necessary for him, when satisfied on one part of the process, to ask the pupil- teacher to pass to a latter part. For example, in the above supposed programme (see § 20), the reading lesson of the first year pupil-teacher will really last half-an-hour ; but the inspector can only afford fifteen minutes for it. He must, therefore, if he wants to see the pupil-teacher's teaching in all the difterent parts of a reading lesson, stop him, when he is satisfied with one part of the process, and School luspcctioiT. 31 request him to go to anotlier. It is, of course, desirable to do this as little as possible ; as it dis- courages. If a young teacher has prepared his lesson properly, all the parts of it will hang together; and he will be sorely put out, if told to alter his course. In the above supposed case, where, simul- taneously with the first year pupil-teacher's reading lesson, a second year pupil-teacher's writing lesson is going on, a better plan will be for the inspector to hear the reading lesson, say, for eight minutes, then to oro for twelve minutes or so to the writinir lesson, and to return for the remaining ten minutes to the readinoj lesson. And this kind of thinjr should be done as much as possible ; t/te gi^eat object in inspection, as distingnlshed from ex- amination, being to disturb the order of the school as little as possible. On reaching the class-room, or part of the school-room, where the readings lesson is becjinninor, the inspector, having regard both to the pains which have been taken by the principal teacher in training his pupil-teacher, and to the diligence and aptness of the lad himself, will observe sucli things as tliese, in addition to those already noted for a candidate (see § 18):— First — Does he place himself where he can duh/ see, hear, and be heard ? — The class should be so arranged and he should be so far oft* from it that he can see every child in it with a movement of the eye only, by just raising the eye from the book. No child should be so placed, nor shouM he so stand or sit, that he is obliged even to turn his head to look at any one child, still less to turn his body. He should have a little desk in front of him, on which he may place his book and any preparatory klpol Jfnsptctbit. notes he may have made, so as to have his hands free. On the other hand, he must not be so far off as to be obliged unduly to raise his voice to make himself heard, or as that he cannot easily hear the furthest child in the class reading in his natural voice. Under no circumstances must he move to his scholars, or touch them, but must control them with the eye ; and the inspector, if he has with him his notes of what he was as a candidate, will look to see what progress he has made in the use of the eye. Secondly — What are the relations between him and his class? — Hasayear's apprenticeship produced a reserve on his part towards his former fellow- pupils, and a respect on theirs towards him '? Do they watch his eye ? When he speaks is he attended to ? The inspector will, of course, inquire carefully how long he has been in charge of this particular class. Is he ready and full of resource when a hitch or difficulty occurs in the lesson ? For example, when a child is unable to master a word or phrase, does he understand how to e^et forward without telling or helping him too much ? Does he keep all the class at work % For example, by questioning, and by requiring the better readers to help the worse ; and by not putting the children on to read in regular order. Thirdly — Does he understand the proper use oj simultaneous teaching ? — Nothing will show better than this whether the principal teacher has taken any pains to train him during the year, and nothing in teaching reading is more important. A reading lesson, which is designed to last half- an-hour, should be conducted somewhat in the following order ; — (1). Fifteen minutes, {a) The teacher reads a School Jfnspcrtioir. 33 passage aloud, the class listening, (h) He then reads it aloud by a few words at a time, the children reading after him simultaneously, and imi- tating his voice, inflexions, and jctuses as exactly as possible, (c) The cliildrtjn then read it aloud simultaneously. He stops them, and corrects them, if any portion of the class are working badly; and sometimes makes one portion of the class, sometimes another, go on alone without the rest, (d) This process is repeated until time expires. (2.) Ten minutes, lie puts on the children in- dividually in the passage which they have been reading simultaneously, and in other passages, taking care to make the worst readers go on oftenest, and calling attention to the merits of the best readers. (3.) Five minutes. He questions rapidly on the matter and text of the lesson, making the childn-n answer by hands, or by some other sign, and not allowing them to answer simultanecjusl}'. Suppose then that, as suggested, the inspector listens for eight minutes to the first of the al)ove- described processes, then goes to sec iov twelve minutes the writing lesson of the second year pupil- teacher, and then returns for ten minutes to hear part of the second and the whole of the thiril processes of the reading lesson, it is clear he will have been able to form a good notion of the sutli- ciency of the pupil-teacher in all parts of the work of giving his lesson. Fourthly — Docs he use prorincialisms, or avoid thern^ and check the use of them in his Scholars / Fifthly — Does the lesson show anysi(jns ofhavinfj been prepared beforehand .^^ — Many teachei*s will not think it worth while to prepiire a reading D 34 Scljool ^iiB^idmx. lesson beforehand. They will take the trouble to prepare a geography or grammar lesson, but not a reading lesson. This is a mistake. Lessons in the elements, as loell as lessons in the higher subjects, should be carefully prepared beforehand. For ex- ample, the teacher should not only have settled beforehand what lesson in the reading-book he will take with his class at the time appointed for the reading lesson, but should have selected the passage or passages in that lesson most adapted for simultaneous teaching, should have noted difficult words (that is, words liable to be mispronounced or misunderstood), and thought of the general nature of the remarks he will make on those words ; and should have settled in his mind a line of questioning with which to conclude the lesson. Preparation of such an elementary lesson as a reading lesson is, of course, more necessary in the case of a young pupil- teacher than of an experienced teacher, because he will probably himself be liable to commit many of the faults and fall into many of the mistakes which his class will make. Indeed it is difficult to see how an ordinary first year pupil-teacher can usefully give a reading lesson without such preparation. 22. Inspection of a Writing Lesson : Individual Instruction in Writing. — To the writing lesson as given by the second year pupil-teacher, the supposi- tion is that twelve minutes or so are allowed by the inspector. Of course, an inspector might well enough occupy a longer time ; but, well employed, this will be found sufficient. How, then, does he employ it ? To what does he principally look ? First he looks to see whetlier the teacher has had his mind impressed with the difference between examining and teaching. The confusion is a very Sdjool ^inspection. 35 common one in teachers' minds on all su]»jects of instruction, but there is no subject in resj)ect of which it is more common than writing. 1 hav»; seen writing lessons given by certificated teachers (who certainly ought to have learnt better 4it their training colleges) in which the teachers did nothing more than go round the class behind the backs of the scholars and find f\iult with each individual boy's work in turn, never showing them how to do better, still less making the errors, and the mode of correcting them, a matter of class instruction. The inspector will discover in two or three minutes whether the pupil-teacher has been so badly trained during his two years of a j 'prentice- ship that he does not know that he ouglit to teach every boy io write as well as to examine how he does write. He can in a very few minutes discover whether he knows what posture a scholar should adopt for writing, how he should sit to the desk, how he should hold the pen or pencil, and how- place his book or slate. If he sees that the tcacht-r is allowing a boy to work with a tiny piece of pencil as long as a thumb nail, or to sprawl over the desk A\ith his left elbow across it, and his left car resting on his arm, or to hold pen or pencil witli the handle pointing away from him, or to raise his slate from the desk and hold it in his arm, he can very speedily put him down as either idle or untrained, and need not go further with the Ic.^son. But if his first observation shows him that at least these grosser fiiults in the mechanical part of the lesson arc avoided, he will then direct his attention to matters which require more thouglit and mental power. One of the earliest questions, in regard to D i 36: Scljool JnsputwtT. instruction in writing, in which the judgment and discretion of a teacher are brought into play, is the question ichether a child has progressed far enough in the use of the pencil to befit to handle the pen. This is a question which, in a thoroughly well- educated country, would be settled in the infant school. If all children went to school regularly, and if all schools were good, every child would have begun the use of the pen, and would have got over the first difficulties which accompany the manipulation of ink before leaving the infant school. But as this cannot be the case, the inspector will, in a boys' school, have to look and see whether any boy is writing with a pen who has not been first well drilled in the use of the pencil. And in taking his notes on this point, he will be judging the piin- cipal teacher quite as much as the pupil-teacher. One of the next questions on which the teacher's judgment is exercised in teaching writing is ivhether the scholar has advanced far enough in loriting text- hand to he fit to he instructed in small-hand. And another and most important matter for the inspector to note is ichether all the copyhoohs in the school contain copies in large as well as in smallhand. There are some schools in which the older boys wri,te nothing in their copybooks but smallhand. This is a great mistake. So long as it is usefub.for a boy to write in a copybook at all, it is im- portant that he should write large as well as small hand. It is the large hand that gives the reaj. grasp of the pen, makes the wrist and fingers supple, and enables the hand to follow with power and freedom the dictates of the brain and eye. If a boy's hand is formed, it is a waste of time to make him go on with a mere copybook : he should, for 5tlj0ol ditspcrlion. 37 his writing lesson, be provided with a transerijttion- l)ook, and be set to write out extracts from standard authors, and other thinpjs that will be useful for him to refer to in after-life, when his school-days an* over, and he has not the time or oi>portunity for going to a library. Or he should be set to composie letters and practise correspondence, to make precis and abstracts, and to practise other clerkly work which will connect his school training with the actual business of life, and increase his capacity as a wage-getter. But if his hand is not formed (and very few, in country schools, at any rate, are formed), he should have a copybook with three sizes of hands in it, and in which at least every third copy bhoukl be in large text-hand. If the class which the pupil-teacher is taking is one which is to be presented in Standard I. or II. (New Code, 1 876, see Appendix L), the inspector will note carefully whether the instruction is directed to enabling the scholars to ^9f/*.9 from copying and transcription into dictation. The i)roper way to instruct such a class is to go carefully through the alphabet; at each lesson forming a certain number of letters on the black board, and at the same time making the children note carefully how they are formed, shaped, or connected ; then rubbing the copy out, and making them reproduce the letters, with the closest possible imitation of the style of their teacher, on their slates or copybooks, from dictation ; then choosing a passage for transcrip- tion, which shall as much as possible reproiluce the letters which have been thjc study of this and the preceding lesson ; and, lastly, giving from dictation common words which illustrate the same or similar and a.naloivous forms and combinations. 38 School ^uspcctioiT. All this, of course, requires thought, judgment, care, and, above all, previous preparation ; and a pupi]- teacher who has not prepared his writing lesson will break down before an inspector who knows his duty, and does it, just as much as in his reading lesson. Another important matter which the inspector will note is lohether the teacher has any regular arid systematic method of correcting the writing which is being done by his class. Some teachers think that it is sufficient for this purpose if they go about through the class the whole time of the writing lesson and correct each child's mistakes in turn. But this is a most inadequate way of effecting the desired purpose. It is insufficient for the bad writers, and wasteful of time and power for the good. Some children's books require to be looked at much oftener than those of others. Some may safely be allowed to write from four to six lines without correction ; others cannot be trusted to write one line. Some are hasty, and require checking ; others require hastening. It is, of course, well that a teacher should sometimes go round his class during a waiting lesson, in order to enforce the proper holding of the pen, and to see from the best point of view how each boy is doing the mechanical part of his work. But this should not be done too much. The golden rule that a teacher should be before, and not among, his class, should always be violated as little as possible. And a far better and more systematic way of correcting the books of a class, is to have a rule that no boy may write more than a certain number of lines without standing up and turning round his copybook, so as to show it, for correction. By this means, regular and sys- <^cIjoo( Inspection. :^9 tematic correction of the writing is secured, Imsty writing is discouraged, merit is brought to the front, the teacher is forced to keep his attention fixed on his work, and matter for collective instruction is more prominently suggested. The number of lines which may be written without being offered for correction may be increased to good and careful writers, and diminished to the careless or nervous. And thus the pupil-teacher will have his whole class well in hand ; and, what is most important, the principal teacher, as he goes his ordinary rounds, will be able easily to see whether he is doing good work. To these points I may add that, in girls' schools, the inspector will, of course, look to see that no scholar is, under any pretence, ever permitted to write in that vulgar and slovenly form called "ladies' angular hand." 23. Class Instruction in Writing. — If satisfied on these, or some of these, points, the inspector will then look to see how far the jjupil-teacher is capable of giving class instruction (as opposed to individual instruction) in writing ; that is to say, whether he knows how to draw from the work of each boy, as he sees it in turn, general lessons of warning and illustration for the collective benefit of the whole class ; or is merely capable of the far inferior art of correcting each individual boy separately. Every teacher in giving a writing lesson, whether on slates or in copy-books, ought to have in front of his class, and in such a position that it ca^. be seen by all, a black-board for the pur- pose of this class instruction. If the lesson is one on slates, from a copy set on a l)lack- board, the 40 Sclj0ol Jnspcctbn. teacher should have before the class a second black- board for that purpose. When he observes that any boy sits at the desk in an improper attitude, or is faulty in his mode of handling his pen or pencil, or of forming or shaping any given letter, or of connecting any letters together, or is too slow or too quick in writing, or has any tricks or undesirable habits, he should (of course without acrimony) call the attention of the whole class to such faults, and show them how they are to be avoided. Illustrating with his chalk on the black-board, he should show how each faulty letter is best formed, and how letters should be joined, and should make the class see, by actual comparison of examples of good and bad work on the board, what is the standard at which they should aim. If the inspector, standing by a writing lesson for five or six minutes during its course, hears no word of collective teaching addressed to the class, and sees no use made of the black-board, he will of course suspect something defective in the pupil-teacher's training ; and will either ask him whether he has prepared any collective instruction to be given on the copy-head which is being done by the class, or (at any rate, in the case of a third or fourth year pupil-teacher) will call upon him to comment orally, and with black-board illustrations, upon any defects which he has observed in the work of the class, or of any members of it. If no such collective instruction has been prepared, or the pupil-teacher, on being so called upon, breaks down and shows want of training, the inspector will, of course, make this a matter of remark to the principal teacher, at the close of his inspection (see § 62). As one important part of tliis question, of the puj)il- teacher's power to instruct his class as a whole, the 5cbool JnspcdioiT. 41 insjx'ctor will look to see how far ho has advanced ill ahility to write well on the black-board. This writing on the black-board is a distinct art from writing on ])aper at a desk, and pupil-teachers require special and careful training for it. 24. Summary of ]?oints in a IVriting Lesson. — To sum up, the following are briefly such pabl3% to require our elementary school teachers to learn Old English or German, for the sake of teaching English grammar. But it is well worth while to make them learn something of Latin ; because some knowledge of that language will not only help them in giving grammar lessons, but will enlarge and enlighten their understanding upon the whole range of subjects, from spelling up to history, with which as learners or teachers they have to deal. It is to be hoped that the recent insertion, in the schedule i Srbool Inspection. 47 of qualifications required of pupil-teacliers, of the column headed "additional sulyccts" will do some- thing towards remedying this defect in tlie teachers of our elementary schools (see Appendix III.). But the degree of effect to be produced by this regulation will be found to depend very much on the inspector. If, when he inspects a school and hears a pupil-teacher giving a grammar lesson, he takes the opportunity to inquire whether he is studying Latin, German, or any other language than English, and cxf)resses his disapproval, if he finds that that is not the case, both to the pupil-teacher and the principal teacher, it will soon become common for our teachers to have some knowdedge of another language besides their own. I look, therefore, upon this great defect in the present teaching of English grammar in our elementary schools, viz., that teachers do not know anything of the grammar of any other language, a.s a curable defect. I observe that the Education Department is making an effort to amend the defect ; and I think that it now rests with the inspectors to push that effort home. 29. Hoio to Teach English Grammar. — Another curable defect in the teachinof of Eno-lish m-ammar as commonly practised in our elementary schools, is that it is taught as if it were a highly-iiiHected language, instead of being taught as a language which depends for its construction more upon the position and logical relation of its words than upon their inflexions. The proper way to teach English grammar is not to begin, as in the case of Latin, or of any other highly-inflected language, with the study of the noun, adjective, and verb, and their inflexions, but to begin w^itli the study of their logical relations ; or, in other words, to begin tcith 48 Srljool Inspection. the ancdysis of sentences. In studying Latin or Greek, it is absolute!}^ necessary to acquire a know- ledge of the ordinary inflexions of the noun, verb, and adjective, before any progress can be made with the sentence ; and this is also the case to a certain, though a less degree in German, and perhaps also, though to a still less degree, in the case of French. But in the case of English it is absurd to waste time over learning the cases of nouns which have lost all their case endings, and have substituted for those case endings structural position or logical relation in the sentence. What is wanted is to get as quickly as ijossible a notion of the structure of the sentence and of the logical relation of its parts. And for this purpose the teaching of English grammar should be begun, and based throughout its course, on the analysis of sentences. The teacher should, immediately after imparting the first elementary notions and general definitions, proceed to the subject and j)redicate, beginning with the noun and pronoun as the subject, and with intransi- tive verbs, as verbs of complete predication. He should then pass on to the direct objective relations of nouns and pronouns with verbs of incomplete predication, introducing no more study of case- endings than is absolutely necessary for the purposes of the pronouns. Number, gender, person, tense, mood, and voice, should be taught as modifications of these relations. Having thoroughly worked these forms and relations of the noun, pronoun and verb, always by means of the structure of a simple sentence, the teacher should proceed to the enlarge- ment of the subject, and thereby introduce for the first time the so-called possessive case-ending of nouns and personal pronouns, the adjective, the School Jnsptrlion:. 49 noun in apposition, the possessive pronoun, lanrl tlio participle. Having treated of the simplest forms (vf enlargement of the subject, he should proceed to tlic simplest forms of extension of the predicate. In this relation he should first introduce the adverb, showing its use both for extending the predicate, and, by means of the adjective, for further enlarging the subject. He should then introduce the indirect objective relation of nouns and pronouns (such as that which is called, by analogy with Latin, the dative case), always as a means of extending the predicate. All through this course of teaching, it is an essential thing that the children should be required to make and form simple sentences in various ways, so as thoroughly to understand the practical application of what they are learning to the art of speaking and Avriting correctly. The teacher should then go on, by w\ay of further extension of the predicate, and of further enlarge- ment of the subject, to the use of the preposition with nouns and pronouns. After this he should proceed to easy types of complex sentences ; teach- ing the children the use of the subordinate sentence, and therewith introducing to them for the first time the conjunction, the relative pronoun, and those words such as " why," which answer the puri)Ose of a relative pronoun and preposition combined. By this means, he will be able to teach them to dis- tinguish with confidence between the several uses of words — such as those words which arc sometimes used as prepositions and sometimes as conjunctions ; those which are sometimes used as conjunctions, and sometimes as relative pronouns, and the like. Having thus given the children their first notions of the relations of a subordinate to a principal B 50 St^00l dnsp^ctfmiT. sentence, he should then return to the simple sentence, and should instruct the children in the various kinds of phrases, in the more difficult uses of the participle, and in the nature and functions of interjections ; and after this should go back once more to the complex sentence, and carry on his teaching into the different kinds of subordinate sentences ; being extremely careful at this point of his teaching to ascertain that the children see clearly the reason why any given subordinate sentence is substantival, adjectival, or adverbial, by making them always point out the word in the principal sentence upon which the subordinate sentence depends. 30. Advantage of this Method. — Some persons may think that this way of teaching English grammar, by means, that is to say, of logical analysis, is more difficult for children than the old method of teaching it by a system of supposed inflexions, and of parsing those inflexions, based on the analogy of Latin ; and may imagine that it will be found too difficult for children in our elementary schools. I am perfectly convinced from observation and experience, both as an inspector and as a teacher, that this is not the case. The technical terms which it is necessary to use in teaching grammatical analysis are neither more nor less difficult in themselves than those which it is neces- sary to employ in teaching arithmetic, geography, or book-keeping ; and they are not more difficult than the terms which it is necessary to use in teaching grammar on the old system. As regards all such terms,' whether employed in the teaching of book-keeping, or of analysis of sentences, the great point is to make the children have an intelligent School Jnsjjcctioit. 51 uiulcrstandinfif of tlio real tliinccs which uinhji'lic them, and which they represent, and this can be satisfactorily done in the case of English grammar only by means of analysis. Moreover, teachers who adopt this mode of teaching English grammar, will find that the power of getting quickly at the sentence is of immense advantasre as a means of O interesting the children, and enfrairinfT their atten- tion, in what must otherwise appear to tliem a most dry and unprofitable study. As soon as a child can begin to construct sentences, he feels, as a learner in algebra feels when he is able to solve an easy problem by means of an equation, that he is really doing something ; and that he has got the best of answers to that question which children are always asking secretly of themselves, if not openly of their teachers, in their studies, viz. : — " What is the use of all this ? " I succeeded, when I was acting as an inspector in Liverpool and Cheshire, in spite of the disturbance of things caused by the recent introduction at that time of the Revised Code, in persuading two or three of the principal teachers in some of the best elementary town schools in my district, to try the effect of teaching grammar in this way to their upper classes ; and all those who made the attempt told me afterwards that they were satisfied it was a great improvement on the former method. And I have since that time myself taui^ht Enjrlish orammar to a little c^irl of nine years old on the same system, and have been more than ever convinced of its utility. 31. Importance of Inspection of Ffth-Year Fupil-Teachers. — The probability is extreme that before the inspector has listened ten minutes to a lesson on grammar, from a lifth-yeiu- pu}>il-teacher, E 9, 52 .School JfnspcdmiT. he "^dll hear several things of very questionable authority told to the children, and one or two actual mistakes made. Unless the grammar lesson is very easy, and the pupil-teacher unusually wary, the inspector will probably soon find that he is out of his depth. He will thus have an excellent oppor- tunity, at the close of the day and when he is speaking to the pupil-teachers about their work, of bringing home to them all the importance, for purposes of general culture, and of improvement in their profession, of learning another language besides their native tongue, and of studying and teaching English grammar all through by means of analysis of sentences. But if the lesson on English grammar is a very easy one, and does not really bring out any illustrative difficulties, or if it happens that the lesson given before him by the fifth-year pupil- teacher is not on grammar, the inspector will stop the lesson after hearing it for a certain time, say for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, will select a simple passage from one of the prose books used in the school, and will request the pupil- teacher to question the class on that passage. This is particularly important in the case of a pupil teacher at the end of his fifth year ; because, in inspecting his teaching, there lies upon the inspector the responsibility of reporting (under Article 60, of the new Code) whether he has completed his engagement with credit, and having satisfactorily passed his final examination can be specially recommended for immediate service with a pro- visional certificate. With this responsibility upon him the inspector will of course take care to pay full and careful attention to the teaching of the fifth-year pupil teacher. If this is not his first School JnsjjcftioiT. r^.s visit to the school in question, but he has seen it before, he will not only have acquired some knovvlerlge of the capacity and industry of this particular teacher, in a previous part of his course of apprenticeship, but will also have some notion whether the school is one in which the training of pupil-teachers is so intelligently and carefuJly superintended, that he may feel justified in giving such a special recommendation. But if this is his first visit to the school lie will remember that there is no part of his work as an inspector which is more important than this duty of thoroughly testing the fifth-year pupil-teacher. He will grudge no sacrifice of time for the purpose of doing this properly. And whatever other part of the inspection he finds it requisite to cut short for want of time, he will not hurry over this. He may learn much of the capacity and qualifications of such a teacher, by requiring him to assist him in the examination of some of the classes in geography, grammar, and history, or in any other subjects besides the elements which are taught in the school, and by looking carefully over his note-book of the lessons which he has given in the course of the year. If the pupil-teacher has not been properly trained to give collective lessons on such subjects, carefully to prepare such lessons beforehand, and to make notes of such preparation with the help and under the superintendence of the principal teacher, or if he displays, in giving his lesson, any of those gross faults of which I have spoken, in treating of the teaching of the younger pupil-teaehers, and thus shows that he has not been properly trained even in the rudiments of his profession, it is scarcely necessary to say that the inspector will absolutely 54 Sdjoul |nspectt0iT. refuse to give such special recommendation, and will speak very seriously to the principal teacher on the subject at the end of the day, 32. Teaching of Arithmetic. Importance of Discipline. — Having heard the teaching of the fifth- year pupil- teacher, and either satisfied himself as to his fitness for being recommended for a provisional certificate, or made due preparation for so satisfying himself at a later period of his inspection or exami- nation of the school, the inspector will proceed to take the arithmetic lesson of the fourth-year pupil- teacher (see § 20). And there are a few obser- vations and suggestions which I desire to make in this place, before proceeding to treat of the course taken by the inspector in his inspection of this lesson, upon the general question of the teaching of arithmetic in elementary schools. The successful teaching of arithmetic in a public elementary school for boys is eminently a question of order and discipline. In girls' schools the un- satisfactory results in arithmetic are j)robably due as much to defects of knovvJedge of the subject on the part of the teacher, as to defects of order. But in boys' schools this is not the case. Our certificated masters have always been, within their range, goo*i arithmeticians, and well qualified as a class both to teach the subject to their scholars, and to train their pupil-teachers to teach it. And if the results of their teaching have been in many schools un- satisfactory, the fault has been due as much to want of clisciplhie as to anything else. And the discipline, it must be remembered, which is sufii- cient for teaching reading or writing, or any other subject, is not sufficient for the teaching of arithmetic. No serious mischief is done in a writing lesson by one Sfljaol JnsjJCttioiT. of the scholars overl<)oking the work of another. And the evil produced by undetected prompting in a reading or geography lesson, though it is, of course, real and serious, is trifling by comparison with the harm produced by undetected copying and prompt- ing in arithmetic. It happens also unfortunately that copying and prompting are particularly easy, and therefore specially difficult to detect, in arith- metic. One glance, or one whispered word, will often do the mischief. And teachers and examiners are always apt to underrate the powers of children in carrying on these practices so as to avoid detec- tion. In testing how far a class has mastered the instruction which it has received in a new rule of arithmetic, or in reviewing a class in back-work, or in conducting any examination in arithmetic, it is not sufficient to place the children a few yards apart from one another, or to give different sums to alternate children, or (unless there is ample space for spreading the children out so as to leave every alternate row of desks vacant) even to give different sums to every third child. Children who are lazy, and anxious to avoid the trouble of think- ing, or who have been inattentive during a lesson, and are anxious to avoid being detected and blamed for such inattention, or who have been accustomed to copy, and are therefore not self-reliant, can exercise an ingenuity which is perfectly marvellous in obtaining help at such a })inch from their fellow scholars. No one who has not experience of schools would believe how far they can see, and how rapidly take in, the mode of working a sum pursued, or the result obtained, by their more clever or tliligeut class-fellows, 33. EJfects of Want of Discipline in Teaching 56 ^c^ool |ns|jcdtoiT. AritJwietic. — And the effects of this copying are as disastrous in arithmetic as its practice is easy. The way in which the evil works is this. A new process in arithmetic is taught to a class of children. The diligent and clever members of the class have taken it in quickly, while the slower or less atten- tive members have obtained a less thorough, or perhaps a very slight grasp of the subject. The teacher proceeds, by setting examples to be worked, to test how far his instruction has taken hold of the class. At once the temptation presents itself to those slower or careless members of the class to copy from their quicker class-fellows. And, unless the teacher detects the attempt, he may be so far deceived as to think that the whole, or almost all, of the class have mastered what he has been endeavouring to teach them, and may therefore conclude that it is safe for him to pass on to the next stage in his instruction. The further he proceeds in this course, the more helpless and dependent become the children who have taken to copying, and the more necessary is it for them to persevere and become adepts in that deceptive practice, until at last the school is visited by an examiner, who takes such precautions as make it impossible for the children to copy, and then there comes a break-down which astonishes the teacher as much as the examiner and the managers. The reason why, after the introduction of the Revised Code, so many boys' schools failed in arithmetic, was, mainly, that copying had been much more general than was suspected. The schools do much better in this subject now than they did on the first introduction of the Revised Code. Yet the teachers are no better trained in it, Scfjool Inspection. 57 and their methods of teaching are very much the same. But the payment by results, and those results being tested by inspectors, who adopt measures which render copying impossible, have forced the teachers to adopt similar mea- sures ; and the effect has been a general im- provement in the arithmetical acquirements of the scholars. 34. How to Stop Copying in Teaching Arith- metic. — There is only one way of making sure that copying in arithmetic is not practised in a school, and that is to make it impossible. It is absurd to talk as if copying could be stopped by appeals to the children's honour, or by punishment of those who are detected in the practice. The sense of honour in children, in an elementary school, cannot be expected to be greater than that of Eton boys, or undergraduates, or candidates for the Civil and Military Services, and for Holy Orders. The code of honour of the examinee is naturally a different one from that of the examiner ; and what examinees at t-he public schools and uni- versities will freely do, unless prevented, chihlren in elementary schools will do. As for punishment, idle or slow boys will run the risk of it. Detection is not certain, but the trouble of having to apply the mind to a difficult question is most certain. So that the only real icay to stop copying in a school is to make it impossible. Pupil-teachers who have charge of the lower classes should always be trained in simple mechanical methods of giving from three to six different examples at once, so as to make it impossible for their scholars to copy ; and they should be required to use such mechanical methods with their classes whenever they are 58 Scb00l litspcftbn. reviewing or testing progress in arithmetic. They should also be taught, when taking a new process in arithmetic with their classes, always to work through a certain number of examples, orally, with the children, on the black board, taking care to make those who are usually slow, inattentive, or inaccurate in arithmetic do the greater share of this work. It is marvellous what a reform is made in the arithmetic of a school when once steps have been taken to render copying impossible. Boys who have been inattentive, learn to attend ; boys who have been in the habit of relying on others, get the habit of self-reliance, and find themselves so much happier and better that it becomes no very difficult matter, with a little care and judgment, to maintain that habit in them. And this change in their habits, as regards arithmetic, affects not only their progress in that subject, but improves their capacity and their work in all the subjects taught in the school. It is, therefore, as I have said, im- possible to overrate the importance of preventing copying in arithmetic in a school, and the inspector will make a point of inquiring, in the course of his inspection, what methods are adopted in the school to secure this result. 35. Puinl- Teachers to he Questioned on 3Iet1iod. — He will also inquire, as part of his general inspection of the school, how far the multiplication- table is learnt ; whether it is the practice of the school to teach it up to twenty times instead of stopping, as is usually thought sufficient, at twelve times ; and whether the knowledge of it is secured and rendered readily available by frequent and regular repetition of it, at least throughout all but the highest classes in the school. He will St|)O0l (|iispcdioiT. 59 inquire what system of mental aritlimetic is in use in the seliool ; and whether the pupil-teaehers, or at any rate the seniors among them, are acquainted with handy metliods of working rules by shortened processes. It will be found to have a great and most wholesome effect if the inspector, when holding the collective examination of pupil-teachers, will call up the third, fourth, and fifth year pupil-teachers, or some of them, and question them orally as to the methods adopted in their schools in respect of these and similar matters. By so doing the inspector will not only get some light to guide him in his forth- coming inspection, and will learn something of the intelligence of pupil- teachers, when taken out of the ordinary routine of their paper work ; but he will also awaken in their minds a desire to study method, when they see what importance is attached by the inspector to all the processes which they pursue in the exercise of their profession. A very good opportunity may be found for doing this, at the collective examination, by the inspector, when he calls out the older pupil-teachers to work their Euclid orally on the black-board. I used, when acting as an inspector, always to give an oral examination in Euclid, as well as the written one, at my collective examinations ; of course nut allowing the same letters as are employed in the text-book to be affixed to their figures by the examinees. I found that this practice had a most salutary effect on the study of Euclid among the pujdl-teachers, as the principal teachers of the school were generally present ^(as well as many managers and others), and were ashamed that their pupil-teachers should break down in so public a manner. I also found that 1 wjis very often able to use that oppuriunity to put one or 60 <§rI)ooI liispKlinn. two unexpected questions to the senior pupil- teachers on method or other matters which I had reason to think were apt to be neglected in the schools, 36. Fractions to be Taught next after the Simple Mules. — The new Code does not require vulgar fractions to be taught below the sixth standard (see Appendix I.). The inspector cannot therefore, of course, insist on any instruction being given in frac- tions in elementary schools below that standard. But he can point out to teachers how defective and slipshod all teaching in arithmetic must be in which fractions are not introduced, and can encourage them to begin instruction in fractions as early as possible. When the Revised Code was first introduced, frac- tions did not form part of the standard examination at all ; and many schools in which that subject had been regularly taught, gave it up and confined them- selves to the standard course. I was so persuaded of the evil of this, that I issued a circular to the effect that old established boys' schools would still be examined in fractions, and that those in which instruction in this subject was maintained would have a better general report. My own conviction is that teachers will find that it answers, for the mere purposes of the Standard examination, to teach fractions to all their classes immediately after the first four simple rules ; while I think there can be no question that the general effect of pursuing this course will be excellent. The teaching of arithmetic will thus become much more sound and intelligent, and can also be made much more interesting to the children. I do not believe that, in the long run, teachers would find they had lost any time, or any grant on arithmetic, by teaching vulgar fractions to their third and fourth standards, and decimal Scbool ^liTspeciioiT. 61 fractions to their fifth standards ; but rather that the time was, in every sense, well bestowed in securing to the children that their arithmetical training was really sound and scientific, which it never can be until they have learnt something of fractions. The gain, too, in the popularity of the schools among the intelligent artisans and other skilled labourers would be very great, and more would be done by such a course than by any thing else to remove one of the great scandals of our elementary schools, viz., that they turn out the mass of their scholars (who never reach the sixth standard) so deficient in their knowledge of arithmetic, that it is useless to attempt to give them any technical education until they have first gone through a course of improved arithmetic. I am quite aware, however, that while the standard course of arithmetic remains as it now is, and requires the teaching of the compound rules, of the weights and measures, and of practice and proportion, before vulgar and decimal fractions, the inspector can do nothing in this matter except exhort and encourage. Earnest exhortation and hearty encouragement will, how- ever, do much more than people suppose. 37. Inspection of an AriiJmietlG Lesson. Three Divisions of the Subject. — With these general prin- ciples in view respecting the teaching of arithmetic, the inspector will proceed to criticize the arithmetic lesson which I have supposed is to be delivered before him by the fourth year pupil-teacher. And the first thing which he will have to consider, in directing his attention to this particular lesson is, with what part of the art of teaching arithmetic, i^ this lesson concerned^ In teaching arithmetic, there are three essential parts — new work, practice, 62 Scljool Inspedioit. and revieio. The inspector will have inquired during the above-mentioned interval (see § 25), or he will inquire before the lesson begins, with w^hich of these three divisions the lesson of the fourth-year pupil -teacher is to be concerned, and will look care- fully to see if the pupil-teacher understands the distinction of the provinces of these divisions. 38. First Division. A Lesson of New Work. — If the lesson is one of mw work, that is in which the class first breaks ground on a new rule, the great points for the inspector to look to are — (a). Is the teacher thoroughly master of his subject ? Does he treat of it mechanically, or does he seem saturated with it, so that he can put it in many various ways, and can illustrate it largely 1 (6). Is he clear and logical in his treatment ? Do the parts of his lesson lead up to one another, and to the conclusion, by well-arranged, clear, definite, and yet easy steps, so that each one suggests the preceding and the following ? (c). Does the lesson show thought and preparation *? Does he simply adopt the line of any well-known good text-book, in his arrangement of the subject, his examples, and his reasons for the different processes, or has he so far thought over the matter, as to give it a turn of his own \ No intelligent teacher, however young, can think over his work out of school, and by himself, without giving it some originality of aspect. 39. Illustration of an Arithmetic Lesson of Neio Work. — For example, let us suppose it is a first lesson on multiplication of decimals. I select this subject because it is one in which the mechanical rule is exceedingly simple and easy, but in which the reasons for the rule, though perfectly capable of being Scbool dnspcctioit. 63 explained and understood by a class, are not so simple, and will bring out good teaching; while at the same time, besides its importance in a mathematical aspect, it is impossible to deal satisfactorily with division of decimals, or indeed to obtain any grasp of decimal fractions, until the principles upon which the reasons for this rule depend are api^rehended ; whereas, when once they are grasped, division of decimals becomes as simple an affair as division of money or avoirdupois. And let us suppose that the lesson is designed to last forty-five minutes— from 11.40 to 12.25 (see § 20). Let us further suppose that not only has the pupil-teacher prepared his lesson earefullij, (see § 10, 21), and taken counsel from the master, if there was any point in respect of which he was not clear in his own mind, or not satisfied that he could make it clear to others, but also that he has taken the precaution to tell his class heforehand^ that they are to have a lesson next time on this subject, and has required them to avoid waste of time by learn- ing the mechanical rule in i)reparation. Let us, in short, suppose that the teacher has not neglected ordinary precautions for making the most of his three-quarters of an hour's teaching. Then the S(?lieme of the lesson will be something of this kind ; — (1.) Five minutes. Questions on back work. For example : On powers of numbers ; on the true meaning of multiplication ; on the true meaning of the point in decimal fractions, and its function, as the exponent of the power of ten which is implied in the unexpressed denominator; on addition and subtraction of decimals. (2.) Fifteen minutes. The mechanical rule for multiplication of decimals repeated by two or three 64 Srj^ool Jfnspcdioit. boys in different parts of the class, as a sample how far the class has mastered the process mechanically ; and a few short examples, such as can be done wholly, or almost wholly, in the head, worked for the same purpose. (3.) Twenty minutes. The reasons for this rule developed and explained. Law, that the product of powers of a number is found by taking the sum of their exponents, stated, demonstrated, and illus- trated. Easy examples given, and questions asked, on the application of the law to integral numbers. The law applied to the process of multiplication of decimals, and to the rule for that process. Eule thus shown to be a mechanical process of applying that law. (4.) Five minutes. Eecapitulation, with applica- tion of above theory to three or four short, easy, examples. 40. Difference between Lesson of New Work and Lesson of Practice. — A lesson of new work in arithmetic should, mutatis mutandis, be something of this kind ; and it is clear that in inspecting such a lesson the inspector will have a very different work on hand from the inspection of a lesson of practice or of review. And it must be observed that I mean by a lesson in new work an absolutely frst lesson in a rule or process. The inspector, when the notes of the intended lesson are put into his hand by the pupil-teacher, will be careful to ask how far the lesson is really on an absolutely new rule. All lessons, except the first, on a given rule, I call lessons of practice ; and I distino-uisli them on the one hand from lessons of new work, and on the other from lessons of review, which deal with a wider range of recapitulation, and Stbool Inspettion. 65 in a more miscellaneous manner. Not that there i.s not a certain amount of theory to be inculcated in lessons of practice. The reasons for every process should be constantly kept before the children's minds whenever workinjj arithmetic. But that practice, and not explanation of theory, is the main object of these lessons of practice. 41. Second Division: A Lesson of Practice. — In inspecting a lesson of new work in arithmetic, the inspector will look more to the teacher (according to the hints given above, see § 38) than to the class. In inspecting a lesson of j^ractice, he will almost look more to the class than to its teacher. Let us suppose that the lesson is the next lesson on the same sul)ject after a lesson of new work. The great points now for him to regard are — (a). Are copying and prompting absolutely u]i- known ? And does the class work as if they were unknown ? That is, is each member of the class, to the extent of his abilities, self-reliant ? (b). Does the teacher sort his class/' That is to say, does he find out quickly and accurately which boys have taken a firm and clear hold of the instruction he gave them in the last lesson, which have but an infirm grasp of it, and which (if any) have failed altogether to comprehend it ? (c). Does he understand that he ought to ad- minister a different treatment to these different sections of his class ; to push on the fii*st division, and give them more and harder examples, and to select some of the best of them in turn to explain and drive home the subject to the second division, while he himself draws the third division, or worst laggards, out upon the floor, and makes another eiibrt with them by way of recapitulation I 66 Sclj0ol Ifitspettmit. (d). Are his examples carefully prepared before- hand, and well chosen ? Arithmetical examples should not be always short, otherwise scholars will fail to acquire the valuable ha.bit of patient, and yet intelligent, labour, with the mind all the while fixed on a goal. Long examples^ as well as short, should be sometimes given ; but they should be the excep- tion. For everything, except a trial of endurance and accuracy, short examples are much more valuable than long. And they should be so chosen as to illustrate as many varieties of practical difficulties as possible. (e). Does he do as much work as possible orally — putting on the worst scholars in the simpler parts of the processes, and making the better scholars keep watch to correct them ; encouraging the diligent and accurate by marks or placetaking, and endeavouring to make the whole lesson as lively and as interesting as possible 1 (/). Does he discourage speed at the expense of accuracy, and of neat figures, while encouraging it, particularly by means of abbreviated processes, in the careful % 42. Third Division. A Lesson of Mevieio. — The lesson of revieio in arithmetic combines the leading features of the other two lessons. In it the teacher has not only to pass over back-work, for the purpose of preventing its being forgotten by his scholars, but he has the equally important work to do of trying to connect the different rules together, so as to show their bearing on one another, and to give his scholars a connected view of the science. It is in this kind of lesson that the teacher takes problems which involve the use and application of several rules, and works them through with his School diispcction. 67 class. This kind of lesson is, of course, from its nature, largely catechetical, and is as good a test of the teacher's capacities as any. If the lesson which the fourth-year pupil-teacher in question is to give is a lesson of review, the inspector will look particularly to such points as the following, in addition to those which I have noted in regrard to the lessons in practice and new work, so far as they are applicable (see §§ 38, 41) : (a). Are the examples which the teacher gives of such a kind as to draw out the intelligence of the children, and to make them think ; are they, not mere mechanical applications of rules, but pi'oblems, requiring the combined application of several rules, such as are met with in evenj-day life ? (6). When the scholars are puzzled by an example, does he understand how to help them judiciously ? In showing them, for instance, how to attack a problem, does he endeavour to show them some general principle, wherewith all similar problems may be attacked, and whereby they may be better able to help themselves next time they meet with such a problem ; or does he only look to helping them over the present difficulty ? (c). Does he rcquke a fair proportion of the work in such a lesson to be done orally, and reasons for all processes to he regularly and clearly stated? 43. Time given to these Lessons by the Inspec- tor. — It is supposed that the arithmetic lesson is designed to last forty-five minutes ; but that the inspector can only give it twenty minutes. He must, therefore, do, in the case of this arithmetic lesson and of the geography lesson which is to follow it, as it is proposed he should do in the case of the reading and writing lessons of the first F 2 68 Snj0ol JitSjJCftiaiT. and second year piipil-tcacliers (see § 21), He must pass from one to the other, so as to satisfy himself as to the leading parts of each lesson. It is seldom tliat an inspector will have time to hear the whole of a lesson completely out. Nor is it generally necessary that he should do so. He can very soon tell, sufficiently for the purpose not only of reporting on the teachers, but also of talking over their work afterwards with them ... and with the principal, and of addressing to them, or him, words of warning or encouragement, where their faults or their merits lie, and wha.t signs of ability and painstaking they show. In the supposed case of an arithmetic lesson by a fourth- year pupil- teacher, followed by a geography lesson by a third-year pupil-teacher, the former is the more important thing to hear completely, particularly if it is a lesson of new work, or of review. In the case of a lesson of new ivork, distributed in the mode in which I have suggested (see § 89), the inspector, after hearing the opening of the lesson (five minutes), and another five minutes of Part 2, will go to the geography lesson and hear that for fifteen minutes, and then will return for the last twenty minutes of the arithmetic lesson. 44. At lohat stage Pupil-teachers should begin Collective Teaching. — Having finished the arith- metic lesson of the fourth -year pupil-teacher, or so much of it as he finds it necessary or desirable to do before going to the geography lesson, the inspector, still accompanied by the principal teacher, passes on to the geography lesson of the third-year pupil- teacher (see § 20). The third year is the year in which the eliects of training first begin to be seeu most markedly ; in which the pupil-teacher begins Scljool Inspection. 6U really to shape ; and in which collective lessons can, generally speaking, first be given with any real eifect. The schedule to the New Code (see Appendix III.)? which defines the qualifications to be required of pupil-teachers during their course of traininix, does not define at what stage in their apprenticeship they are to begin giving collective lessons. So fiir as it afibrds any indication at all on this point, it would seem rather to point to the pupil-teachers not giving such a lesson till their fiftli year. This, however, can hardly be the intention of the schedule ; and perhaps the explanation of the matter is, that the term " collective lesson " is there used in the sense of " lesson to the whole school " or to a division of the whole school : whereas, I have used the term in the sense in which I believe it is generally used by teachers and managers of elementary schools, viz., that of a lesson in which the instruction is addressed broadly to the whole class, and is not, as in a reading or writing lesson, largely individual. My own practice, when acting as an inspector, was to require collect ice lessons in such subjects as geography, grammar, and history, for the first time from pupil-teachers at the end of the third year. 1 think that is a good practice, and I believe that it is not an uncommon rule with inspectors. 45. Inspection of a Geography Lesson. — To what, then, does the inspector particularly look when coming to hear the geography lesson of the third- year pupil-teacher ? He will of course first of all notice his progress in respect of the elemen- tary laws of teaching. Having his notes of Inst year in hand, he will see what improvement he has made in handling a class ; how far he has corrected 70 Befool ^mpdian. the faults which were noticed last year ; whether he keeps his place and controls the scholars with the eye, or moves up and down, or to them, or has any other of the gross faults which I have mentioned in speaking of candidates and pupil- teachers of the first two years (see §§ 18, 21). Next he will notice whether the lesson has been carefully prepared ; and whether the pupil-teacher has the power in a fair degree of attending properly to his class and keeping the scholars active, stimulating them, rousing them when weary, quieting them when boisterous and disorderly, and distributing work evenly among them ; and all this while keeping the thread of his lesson in hand, not forgetting the sequence of its parts, and not dwelling too long on the comparatively unimportant parts, or hurrying too quickly over the important parts. He will of course observe whether he has improved at all in his diction since last year, or his first year ; whether he speaks in an indistinct or hurried way, or uses any vulgarisms, or is at all undignified or trifling. When he is satisfied, which he will be in a very few minutes, on these rudimentary matters, he will pass on to consider the special value of the lesson, as a lesson in geography. And just as it is necessary to have some clear notions of what is grammar as taught in our elementary schools, in order to be able to judge properly a lesson in grammar, so it is necessary to have a clear notion of what is geography as taught in our elementary schools, in order to be able to form a good judgment of a geography lesson. 46. Divisions of the Subject, — There are two distinct subjects taught in schools under the name of geography. One is the study of those con- School Ifnsptdion:. 71 ditions of the earth which are due to nature — its shape and motions, its position in the solar system, and its relations to the sun, moon, and other members of that system ; its climate, and principal atmospheric, and other superficial changes and conditions ; the phenomena of its surface, such as seas, mountains, rivers, lakes, and the other natural divisions and formations of land and water ; and the like — which is called p%si(?a/ geography. The other is the study of those conditions of the earth which are due to its inhabitant man — the division of its surface into countries, and the subdivisions of those countries ; the commercial and political relations of those countries to one another ; the localities where men are most aggregated, and the social reasons of such aggrega- tions ; the seats of government, industry, learning, and education ; the courses and lines of operation of commerce ; and the relative progress of the inhabitants of different parts of the world in what we call civilization — which is called political geography. Physical geography comes first of the tico, as a study for children, not only because it is more adapted to youthful minds, is less statistical, cultivates thought and reflection more, opens the mind more, and (as an instrument of education) is less apt to degenerate into mere cram ; but also because it is impossible to study political geography without some knowledge of physical geography. Children ought not to be taught political geography at all, until they have at least a fair grasp of the rudiments of physical geography, nor to be taught the political geography of a country or county, until thoy have a good knowledge of its physical geography. School |ns|Jcction. In going, therefore, to inspect this lesson in geography, the inspector will look carefully at the notes handed to him by the pupil-teacher to see whether it would appear that the teacher has a clear appreciation of the difference between these two branches of geography, and whether the lesson deals with one or both of these branches ; if both, in what proportions or relations ; if one, whether that one is physical or political geography. If, on looking at the notes, he feels any doubt about this, he will, in the interval before mentioned (see § 25), put a question or two to the pupil-teacher, to ascer- tain whether he has realized how different the two branches are, how differently they require to be handled, and what a different state of preparation they require in the scholars. If he sees that the lesson is wholly or mainly on political geography, he will inquire how far the children are fitted for such a lesson by their previous instruction in physical geography. And, if he is not satisfied on these points, he will, in a subsequent conversation with the principal teacher, point out the importance of making political geography wait upon f)hysical, and will insist on the relative position, in a school course, of these two branches of geography being better observed. 47. Importance of Home Treparation. — The next question which he will consider is one of the utmost importance, not only in regard to the teach- ing of geography, but also to that of history, and to a certain though less dcOTee, in the teachin": also of grammar, in our elementary schools. This question is, what preparation are the children expected to have made for this lesson by means of home work ? All the mere dry matters of fact School Inspccttoir. 73 which are required to be acquired by the children in a geography or liistory lesson, sliould be so acquired by them out of school, in readiness for the lesson. Except the youngest children who cannot be trusted with books out of school, or who cannot read easily enough to study such books, every child should have a little rudimentary book of geography, with coloured maps, a little rudi- mentary book of history with dates, and a little rudimentary book of English grammar, with analysis of sentences, from which it should be expected to prepare its home lessons ; and those very young or very neglected and ignorant children to whom it would be useless to assign home lessons should have less time allotted to them in school for direct instruction, and should be gradually trained to give such spare part of the school time to preparation. It is a deplorable waste of teaching power, and is ruinous both to teachers and taught, to let the teacher's time and vigour be spent in telling the children mere rudimentary facts which they can gain from a penny text-book. In this important matter, as well as in that of marks and place-taking (see § 16), our elementary schools will do well to take a lesson from our secondary schools. No master at Rugby or Marlborough would think of wasting his time, degrading his teaching, and indulging his scholars in neglect and idleness, by occupying his lesson on geography or history with tellino; them thin as which they can and should learn from an ordinary and accessible text-book. There the scholars are expected to get up those mere elements out of school, or in special hours of l)reparation ; and the business of the master is one which pre-supposes in his scholars an acquaintance 74 Stijool Insptttiom with such rudiments ; it is to test, illustrate, amplify, and give interest to such pre-supposed rudimentary knowledge. With every allowance for the difference between a boarding-school and a day-school, and between the domestic circumstances of the rich and of the poor, this is what our elementary schools should likewise aim at. They should do so for the sake of the teacher ; because, if his powers are lowered down to the mere delivery of these dry facts, he will have no stimulus to read and improve himself for his scholars; and no chance of throwing over their work the charm of his superior knowledge, or of his genius. They should do so for the sake of the scholars ; because, if they are never practised in learning by them- selves they will never learn well at all ; and because their time is wasted and their golden opportunities are squandered, when the powers of their teachers are not fully called forth and displayed for their benefit. And they should do so for the sake of the parents ; because nothing will carry the civilizing influence of the school more universally into the houses of parents, into our alleys and street doors, than this requirement of home lessons. Day schools, with their home preparation and their place- taking at school, have been the two key-notes of the great and ancient Scottish system of popular education ; and in the hands of able and zealous managers, and faithful and judicious teachers, these two principles might be made to play a great part in the cause of popular education in England, 'i'he importance of this home-preparation is greater in geography and histoiy than in any other subjects ; and the inspector will, therefore, if he does not find it specified in the notes which the pupil-teacher kbool Jnsjjcdion;. 75 puts into his hands, lose no time in inquiring, " What did you require them to prepare for this lesson ? " And if he finds that no preparation has been expected, or that the teacher is wasting his own time and that of the class in telling them tilings which they either have, or ought to have, prepared, he will speak seriously with the principal teacher, after the inspection, on that matter also. 48. Use of Blank Maps. — As a part of this question of home preparation in geography, the inspector will look carefully to see whether the school is well furnished with bkmk maps. It is impossible to overrate the importance of these appliances in an elementary school. In a school in which the geography teaching was really well done, full maps would seldom be used, except in history and reading lessons, and whenever a reference was required to be made. The children, or all those at any rate in the upper half of the school, would be expected to get up their full maps out of school, and would be tested in this knowledge by means of the blank maps in the school. It is an excuse sometimes made for want of such maps, that the teachers are expected to draw their own blank maps, for purposes of instruction, on the black board. This excuse ought not to be accepted. It is very right and proper tliat pupil-teachers should be able to draw maps, or detached parts of maps, on the black board, for purposes of illustration, &c. ; but it is an undue waste of the pupil-teacher's time to require him to draw on the board every map, from which he is to give a lesson in geography, with all the details which must be required for such a lesson ; and it will be found, as a matter of fact, by any active and inquisitive manager, that, where the 76 Stljcol Inspcrticn. only blank maps available are those whicli are drawn by the teachers, more lessons in geography are given without than with a blank map. I have seen in the course of my experience as an inspector, and of the inquiries which I conducted into secondary education for Lord Taunton's Commission, every degree of absurdity result from giving geography lessons without the use of blank maps. The worst absurdity is that which I have witnessed in some girls' schools, both secondary and ele- mentary, where the teacher sat before the class with a large map of England, hung up on an easel, and asked the class questions to which they could see the answers in print before their eyes. The teacher herself, wholly unprepared for her lesson, and profoundly ignorant, would nervously scrutinize the map between each question, and then, after an oppressive interval, she would point to a spot on it, in the bottom left-hand corner, and ask " What is that ? " The eyes of the front row of girls following the pointer saw the word "Start" in a fine bold print, and their voices repeating it, were caught up in parrot chorus, by the whole class. And this was believed to be a " lesson in geography." A less degree of the same absurdity is still, 1 fear, common in many schools. A child is selected to point out a place on the map, and is called out in front to do it. AVith much labour it disentangles itself from the back benches, the whole class watching while it comes round to the front. The pointer is placed in its hand, and it stands before the map search- ing for the required name. Perhaps it succeeds in finding it. Perhaps not. But whether it succeeds or fails, the process is equally uninstructive. The use of blank maps in a school will at any rate make ^ 11 inspection, he will make a pomt of caretuUy watching the dismissal at the close of the morning's ^rbool Jnspcttroir. I school. And, when that is over, if he has any reason to think that he will be hurried at the cljse of the day's inspection, he will take that opportunity of speaking to the pupil-teachers and piincipal teacher, on the work which the pupil- teacliers have done in the examination, on their tLaching,?.nd on the impressions which his inspection has, so far, made on his mind. But it will be much better, of course, that he should do this at the close of the day, when his knowledge will be more complete ; and I will therefore defer treating of this part of the subject, till I come to the close of the day. An interval of at the very least an hour is desirable after such a morning's work as that I have descril)ed, both for the inspector and the school. And the inspector who intends to do a good afternoon's work, will not, if he can help it, allow it to be shortened. 53. Inspection of a History Lesson. Import- ance of Home TFork. — On the re-assembling of the school at two o'clock, the inspector proceeds to hear the history lesson of the assistant-master (see § 20). This lesson will probably be designed to last from forty-five to sixty minutes. But it will be sufficient if the inspector gives about thirty minutes to it. I have already, in considering the in- spection of the geography lesson (see § 47), spoken of the importance of making the children jn-epare sucli lessons beforehand. Some teachers, not only in elementary schools, but also, 1 am sorry to say, in training colleges, give their history lessons as mere lectures, without requiring any preparation for them on the part of their hearers. This is a great mistake. A history lesson shoidcl be largely catechetical. The class should be required to prepare beforehand a G 82 Stbool JfiTSjjcdioF certain portion of an ordinary text-book. Then tlie teacher, having himself carefully read this portion of the book, and having also read in other books, and gone to any other available sources which Avill throw light upon that portion, and having made careful notes of such researches for the purpose of his lesson, will begin his lesson by questioning the class on what they ought to have prepared. Far from contenting himself with deliver- ing to children, who have given no previous thought or trouble to the matter, a mere cut-and-dried narrative, such as may be found better given in any ordinary school history, he v/ill use every means in his power to draw this ordinary narrative out of the children. By a rapid fire of questions distributed throughout the class, and passed down to be answered ; by making the children take places as they answer successfully, and so creating a keen emulation among all the better members of the class ; by marking the successful answerers on the results of those places, or on some other method, so that the school prizes and rewards may depend in a measure on the pains they have taken witli such lessons during the school term; by encouraging every genuine effort to improve on the part of the backward members of his class, or those whose home circumstances are unfjivourable to the pre- paration of home lessons ; by praising diligence, and, if necessary, punishing idleness and confirmed indifference, he will endeavour to make the children icork and think for the lesson beforehand as much as possible. It is impossible to overrate the im- portance of this effort on the teacher's part to make his class prepare for him out of school. And if I have dwelt somewhat persistently upon this matter, ,^c:^O0l Jnspcctioit. 83 it is because, while I feel how impoitant it is, as one of the best means of making the elementary school a really civilizing institution, I fear that it is much more common to neglect this rule of having lessons prepared at home, than it ought to be. A very great responsil)ility rests upon inspectors and managers of schools in this genera- tion. It is in their power to secure, at all events in the case of a vast number of elementary schools, throughout the country, that the habit of study shall be introduced into the homes of the labourinfr class, by insisting on this method of teaching subjects, such ns history and geography, which are suitable for such home study. If the inspectors insist, at their annual inspection, and at their visits widiout notice, that subjects which can be, shall be taught in this manner in the schools of their districts, and if School Boards and managers of voluntary schools support the inspectors in this matter, the practice will soon become general. 54. The Text-book to he learnt by the Children, and amplijied by the Teacher. — As he passes cate- chetically through the portion of history which his class has prepared from the text-book, the teacher will lose no opportunity of correcting and ampli- fying the brief narrative of the text-book, and of bringing out from his stores new details and things of interest, which shall breathe a life and reality into the subject. JMost class text- books treat of little but wars and insurrections, battles and sieges, and brief characters of kings and queens. The teacher will introduce to the children'' s notice, while questioning than on what they find in their text-book, things which they do not find there ; the lives, characters and works of G 2 84 School |ns|jctti0n. persons less conspicuous than kings and queens ; the inventions, the arts, and the literature of the period ; the social condition of various classes, and many other matters which may tend to make the cliildren think, and may destroy ignorant prejudices. He will dwell particularly on any period of the history, or any events, in which the men of the county or town in which the school is situated have played a prominent part, or in which the town, village, or neighbourhood of the school was the scene of action ; and wdll encourage the children, as far as possible, to notice carefully the topography of any country in which they may iind themselves living or travelling, and to try and associate its features with events which have happened there. But it will not be till he has questioned the children thoroughly on the text which they have prepared that he will give them anything like a lecture or a connected narrative. 55. Dates must be learnt hij the Children. — Besides requiring the children to read over, and, as far as possible, to prepare for him the period of history on wdiich the lesson is to be, the teacher will insist on their learning the leading dates. I am aware that many teachers pooh-pooh dates, and maintain that it is a waste of time to make children learn them ; but I cannot agree with this view. The tloctrine that dates need not be learnt is a conse- quence of the reaction against the old-fashioned method of teaching history, which used to be ])ursued in many schools and families, by making the children learn little else than dates. This method, of course, was unsatisfactory enough ; but the contrary method of not requiring the cliildren to learn any dates at all is cjuite as unsatisfactory. ^rbool Inspcctioir. 85 Dates are to the study of history lohat the multi- plication-table is to arithmetic. They are an essential frame-work on wliich to luiild up, and keep sustained, all the scholar's historical learning, without which much of what he reads and hearn will always be unmeaning and unfruitful. And dates, like the multiplication-table, should be acquired in childhood, while the memory is still vio'orous and retentive. Some system of meinorid technica for dates, metrical or otherwise, should Ix? used in every school in which history is taught, and should be frequently recited in the upper part of the school just in the same way in which the multiplication-table is recited in the lower classes. 56. Summary of Foints in a History Lesson. — Bearing in mind, then, these general principles as applical)le to the teaching of history in elemen- tary schools, the inspector, in proceeding to hear the history lesson of the assistant-master (see § '10), will consider, in addition, of course, to those points upon which I have already dwelt in speaking of the lessons given by the pupil-teachers (see § 21), so far as such points are applicable to the case of a history lesson, such points as the following, viz. : — First, whether the lesson is catechetical, or merely a lecture. Secondly, whether any and what system is adopted for makino; the children well versed in dates. Thirdly, whether the children aj^pear to have prepared well for the lesson, and whether the residts of such preparation are well drawn out from them by the teacdier ; and. Fourthly, whether the teacher has carefully ]ire- pared the lesson, and shown resource in such preparation. 86 Sclj00l |ns|3cdiott. And if the assistaDt-master was not a pupil- teacher in this school, but passed his apprenticeship in some other school, the inspector will note care- fully any differences which may he observable in his manner of teaching, and make them a matter of favourable or unfavourable comment to the principal teacher when speaking privately to him at the close of the day's work. 57. Close of the Inspection. — The inspector has now, at half-past two, gone through all the inspection of the school properly so-called. He has heard and criticized the teaching^ of the whole of the staff of teachers, except the principal teacher ; he has noted the discipline and order of the school, and, by his observations, combined with a study of the log-book, he has made him- self acquainted with the whole system pursued in the school. He has taken careful notes, which he can amplify as soon as he has leisure, and which he can compare with his notes of last year, and with those of other schools. By making a pro- gramme of proceedings in his own mind he has got through the maximum of work with the minimum waste of time, and, so far as the business of inspec- tion is concerned, he is now in a position to report to the Education Department, and to discuss the school with the staff. The only part of the work of inspection as distinguished from examination, which he has not done, is the conference with the teachers. There remains, therefore, now, the ex- amination of the scholars to be effected ; and, on the hypothesis with which I started — that, while he is engaged in inspecting the boys' school, his assistant is examining the girls' school in the ele- mentary subjects, and that he will have the next Scbaol 3nspctticjiT. 87 day to give to inspection of the girls' school, while his assistant is engaged in examining the l>oy3 school in elementary subjects — he proceeds n(ixt, after hearing the lessons of the teachers, to examine the school in geography, grammar, and history (see Appendix L), and to conduct so much of the examination of the scholars in the upper ])art of the school in the higher subjects (see Appendix II.) as there is time for. 58. Examination of the School in higher sub- jects : Advantage of conducting it Oralbj. — An inspector who is thoroughly conversant witli these subjects (Appendix II.) w^ll generally avoid written examinations, and will examine in them orally as much as possible ; because he can cover much more ground in a much shorter space of time by means of an oral than of a written examina- tion ; because he can, in an oral examination, have the advantage of making the teachers take a part in it ; and also because he can, by means of an oral examination, set the teachers an example of the right course to be pursued in handling a subject. But, then, in order to make such an oral examination really valuable and effective, the inspector should not only possess in himself the qualifications for handling a class which he expects to find in the teachers, and be in fact himself a good practical teacher, but he should also be thoroughly conversant with the subjects in which he is to examine. It is by no means sutheient that he should have such a general knowledge of modern geography, English grammar, and English history as is ordinarily possessed by an educated English gentleman. He should have gone more thoroughly into the matter than this. He should not only have 88 ^tljool JfnspccftoiT. read and tlioiight over these subjects for the special l)urpose of examining children in them, but he .should be icell acquainted icith the text-hooks used by teachers and scholars. It is a ride of examination, though often, unfortunately, neglected by examiners, that the examiner should have read the editions which have been used as text-books by the examinee. And the lower the literary status of the examinee, and the more elementary his knowledge, the more important is it that this rule should be observed. It does not, of course, follow that, because he knows elementary school text- books, the inspector should confine his questions strictly within their range, or be guided in his examination by their method. On the contrary, if he does so, he will sacrifice part of his usefulness as an inspector. But he should know what their range is, and be able, if necessary, to keep within it, in order that he may fully understand what it is reasonable to expect of the scholars, and what should be their range of knowledge if they have been fairly diligent, and may thus be able to estimate the precise value of the results which he obtains in his examination. Any inspector who is, by such knowledge of the subjects as this, and by his other qualifications, a good examiner, will do as much of his examination as he can orally, and will resort to written examina- tions only under special circumstances. He ivill call upon the teachers to assist him in such oral examinations, selecting, for this purpose, those of the teachers about whom he has found in the course of his inspection that he recjuires to know more. And in the case of the laro-e school which I have been supposing (see § 20), he will be very particular Stbool (|itS|3CctioiT. 89 to entrust some part of the oral examination to the principal teacher, one of whose main duties in the school ought to be the reviewing of all the classes, and so ascertaining by examination how they are progressing. By requiring the prin- cipal teacher to conduct part of the examination in his presence, the inspector will often be abb.' to discover the true cause of a fault in the method of instruction pursued in the school, and to speak al)OUt it to the principal teacher at the ch^se of the day's inspection with much more effect than he otherwise could. And if the inspector is a really good examiner, the j)rincipal teacher will, if he knows that he will be required to take part with him in the examination, endeavour, in preparation for that ordeal, to work himself, his statf, and his scholars, up to the requisite standard. Good teachers icill alicays be found anxious enough to take part in an oral examina- tion of their scholars. The inspector, when conducting an oral examina- tion in any of those subjects (see Appendix II.), will have it in his power to do much to enforce, by the line he takes in his examination, a proper method of teaching them in the school. In fact, if his advice and exhortations to the teachers are to have their full and proper etlect, it is absolutely necessary that he should be able to drive them home by means of his examinations. Take, for example, the case of English grammar. If the inspector, when examining, say, the third standard, in the noun, verb, and adjective, as re- quired by the 28th article of the New Code (see Appendix I.), conducts his examination on the basis of the analysis of a simple sentence, and on the su}i- position that the children will have been taught iu 90 Stbaol |fnspcctton. some such way as that I have described (see § 29), the teachers will be almost forced to abandon their defective methods of teaching, and at least to make an attempt to follow out the plan which the inspectoi considers the best. And so through all the subjects — one of the great advantages of oral examination in experienced and skilful hands is that it serves to indicate to the whole school, in a public and unmis- takable manner, the points to which, in the in- spector's judgment, their attention should be called in respect of their teaching of those subjects, and illustrates to them the advantage of the principles which the inspector desires to enforce. 59 Conference tvlth the Teachers. — I have now arrived, in my description of the inspection of a boys' school, at the close of the day's work, when the scholars are dismissed and the inspector is left alone with the teachers. And now follows Avhat, if the inspector is to be anything more than a mere detective of faults, I must regard as one of the most important parts of his duties, viz. — the duty of calling the whole staif of the school before him, and speaking to them respecting the impressions which he has formed of the condition of the school, and of their work in it. It is in my judgment impossible to overrate the importance of this interview between the inspector and the school staff. The praise which an inspector is then able to bestow, and the blame which he feels it necessary to give, will have more effect than the communi- cations which are made to the manao-ers from Whitehall. It is impossible for the inspector to embody all the remarks he would wish to make on a school in his report to the Department ; and, if he could do so, it would be impossible for the Jtbool IfuspctCioiT. 91 Department to transmit them to tlie managers. Besides, observations made orally, on the spot, while all the events of the inspc^ctiou arc fresh in the minds of all the actors, and made immediately to the teachers by the inspector, come home to the teachers' minds much more strongly thnn the summary sent down by the Department can do. The inspector who feels the importance of this part of his duty will make a point of not hurrying over it. And now that inspectors are al)le to pay visits to schools without notice, there is no reason why it ever should be hurried over. If the inspector is pressed for time, he can easily find half-an-hour for this duty on another day. And, indeed, there will be some advantao-e in his comine; back to the school for this business on a later day, as he can then have looked over the papers which have been worked for him by the older scholars, and can therefore speak to the teachers on the results of the examination, as well as of the inspection. 60. Inquiry into Instruction of PupU-Teachrrs. — The inspector will make a point of bringing with him the papers which have been worked by the pupil-teachers at the collective examination, all ready looked over and marked. He will read from them any answers or parts of answers which he has noticed as particularly good or bad ; the good for the encouragement of the diligent, and as an example of the most practical kind to the rest of the staff ; the bad for the purpose of making the idle feel ashamed of their idleness or carelessness. He will show the papers to the principal teacher, and will comment on them ; pointing out how such questions ought to he anstcered, and suggesting icays of doing better in future. I have known 02 ^cbool JfnspfctioiT. pupil-teachers who were made to bestir themselves and take pains w^ith their studies by the fear of having to pass through this ordeal, on whom all other means of threatening and exhortation had failed ; and who, but for this resource, would pro- bably have had to be dismissed from the service. The inspector will inquire into the time given to the instruction of the pupil-teachers, and the place and other circumstances ot such instruction ; and, generally, will investigate anything in respect of which the papers suggest to him that improvement is required, 61. Consideration oiul Discussion of their Faults in TeacMng. — When he has done with the papers of the pupil- teachers he will speak to them about their teaching ; ask them to explain anything in respect of which there has not been time for inquiring during the inspection ; jjoint out to them what mistakes they make ; and, above all, tell them ivhat his experience suggests as the best icay of doing anything which he thinks they do amiss. All such points as those which I have gone through in describing the different parts of the process of inspection will have been noted by him in his note- book, and can be made the subject of most useful hints to the teachers. 62. Consideration of the Condition of the School with the P?Hnci2yal Teacher. — Lastly, v;hen he has finished with the pupil- teachers, the inspector will see the principal teacher alone, or in the presence of managers only ; icill tell him 'plainly what defects and what merits he finds in the school; will say how much of such defects he considers to be due to neglect or other fault on his part ; and will ask him to offer any explanation or excuse ;^fbool "tepcctioit. i>:^ he has to make in palliation of anything that has been found seriously amiss. He will encourage him to state his special difficulties, if he has any, and to ask advice, if there is any matter ni respect of which he is puzzled or uninformed. An inspector who will take pains to do this part of his work with earnestness, and yet with genial good temper and impartiality, may form as high a standard, and be as severe in his requirements, as he pleases. No matter how high his requirements or how severe his standard, he will be regarded with respectful affection by the teachers in his district ; and will be al)le to feel, when he leaves it, that he has not wholly missed his opportunity of doing some good work for his country. 'C >f= '*^ M ?.S = — p. vCie c O O K « ^ ^ I a,-c.S~ >» 5-^ o :;3CCt;.2-£o hH ;5 M (— 1 X P W ^ h W Ph r/5 Ph (-1 -^ ■r M & c a "il iio;S =-3 . .cc^.-; ^-2 S fr-HP g.Sg ■5-3^ .c 9 .a p,.=: C3 ^ To read with in- telligence a sliort paragraph from a more advanced reading-book. A sentence slowly dictated once from the same book. Copy-books to be shown (small hand, capital let- ters, and figures). -3 To read with in- telligence a. short paragraph from an elementary reading-book. A sentence from the same book, slowly read once, and then dic- tated. Copy-books (large or half-text) to be shown. •p M To read a short para- graph from a book not confined to words of one syl- lable. Copy in manuscript character a line of print, on slates or in copy-books, at choice of managers ; and write from dic- tation a few com- mon words. * 00* to c 1 cq « « fe (1.) Parsing and analj/sis of a short "complex" sentence. 1 2fe S a 6 2> 5 ?'5' 11. m J: c: "c "S >- ^ « i "s-i-s o' i jl ~ o- 3 ft £ " •- a 2 1^' _s - r-i S: -S 6 "5, s ■fc. 2 ^ 2 s •c-7 3 c •_ CJ C i |-2 ei '~-' ^-^ ^^ - .5^ "ill ■o 5 If 3 3 "g, s e 1 ■5 O ffl o S E S •d If ^ ~s. •" !>' '« » 2 c "^ ., >i 3 c-e-d o a a ;5 3 ci d o 9 ». 1 ■5 ^r'= *u |S5 a o S .1 ^-■■1 51 § IP s 5 «■« € .^ v2 ^11 I.E-=1 ft "c a> £|S m ^■Ka t; s «-i'§ ;g "^ Iss-"^ 1 i g £'5^£ 1 1 E^ ? •5. 8 a |:pl !5 H |i|| -gas §2 2 1 4. « - ^ s 3 o y a aT P KS^i ig§ t^ s £= = 3 a 2 3| a S o 2 5 5 2 m *S td a o cii 5 Ik •c ->a ": ^ - ~ o .^~ » V n '^ J _ = 3 I Si's. ? « 3 Tj — „ 5 = r a rst^a «~ "S 2 3 -1 D 3 =j -» 3 a -g'S "^ 3 3 5 ft g * 5 C*^ — — S 2 c -^ .0 2 = 3 S~c.25 5.2 3 5 2 jt'Si , = J — .ss. *^ - .320 53 — '- => £-^ 3 8 •*" ** N*' :3 3 M =- ci^^ r '. a P c APPEN Table of Specific Sub English Literature. One hundred hues of jioetry, got hy heai-t, with know- ledge of meaning and allusions. Writing a letter on a simple subject. Mathe- matics. Two hundred lines of poetry, not be- fore brought up, repeated ; with knowledge of meaning and allu- sions. Writing a para- phrase of a pas- sage of easy prose. Three nundred lines of poetry, not before brought up, repeated ; with knowledge of meaning and allu- sions. Writing a letter or statement, the heads of the topics to be given by the inspector. N.B. — r/te passa- ges need not be con- tinuous : and no passages may &e brought up which have been learnt for the Standard examination. Algebra, notation, addition, subtrac- tion, Eu- clid, book I., prop. 1 to 15 in- clusive. Algebra, to simple equations {incliiy- sive), 'Eu- clid, book I. Algebra, to quadra- tic equa- tions (in- clusive). Euclid, books T. and II. Elements of mensu- ration. 3. Latin. Grammar end of verbs. to the regular Irregular verbs and First rules of syn- tax. Knowledge of Delectus or other first Latin reading - book. Translation of simple sentences of English (three or four words) in- to Latin. Tlie Latin Gram- mar. Cassar de Bello Gallico, Book I. Some- what longer sen- tences to be trans- lated from English into Latin. French. Grammar to end tif regular verbs. Ten pages of a Fnnch voca- bulary. Grammar, and translation in- to English of easy narrative sentences. Ten pages of a French con- versation - book approved by inspector. Grammar and knowledge of some easy French book approved by inspector. Translation of conversa- tiimal sen- tences into French. Tole- rable cor- rectnes.s of pronunciation. German. Grammar, to end of regular verbs. Ten pages of a Gerniau voca- bulary. Grammar, and translation in- to English of easy narrative sentences. Ten pages of a German con- versation - book approved by insi)ector. Grammar, and knowledge of some easy German book approved by inspector. Translation of conversa- tional sen- tences into German. Tole- rable cor- rectness of pronunciation It is intended that the instruction of the scholars in the Science subjects in this Table shall be given mainly by experiment and illustration, and in the case of Physical Geography by observation of the phenomena presented in their own neighbourhood. If these subjects are taught to (children by definition and verbal description, instead of by making them exercise their own powers of observation, they will be worthless as means of clucation. DTX II. JECTS OF Secular Instruction. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Animal Physical Domestic Mechanics. Physiology. Geography. Botany. Kconomy (for Girls). Eleu'.entary know- The build The nature of a river Characters of the Food and itji ledge of the dif- of the liu- or stream, whence it root, stem, leaves, preparation. ferent states of inan body, issuiii)Iied. and what and parts of the Clothing ano directed to elicit from the scholars as far as possible, in their own language t he ideas they Lave f( jrmed of what they lave seen. H APPEN D. Qualifications and Certificates of Pupii Ij 1. 2. 3. ' Health.* Character and Conduct. Reading and English Grammar | N.B.— Copies of all these Certificates should be Eepetition. and Composition. entered in the Log Book. For Admia- A medical certifi- A certificate from raa- To read -with fluency, To point out the parts of ' siuu. date that candidate is n.agers that the moral ease and exprcEsioii. speech in a simple sentence ; « not subject to any in- character of the candi- and to write from dictation in in firmity likely to inter- dates and of their homes a neat hand, with correct tipei- fere with profession justifies an expectation ling and punctuation, a pas- of teacher. that the instruction and sage of simple prose. t training of the school will [/n the fullmving years, cttpy _ be seconded by their own writing, one line of large hand efforts and the example of and one of small hand, wiU be their jiarents. required.] Eud of 1st Certificate from ma- 1. Certificate of good con- To read as above The noun, verb, and adjec- h Vear. nagers that pupil- duet from the ntaiiagers. tive, with their relations in a \f teacher has not suf- 2. Certificate of punc- simple 8*^ntence ; and to write (SJ fered any failure of tuality, diligence, obedi- from memory the sub.stance of health likely to inca- ence, and attention to their a passage of simple prose, read pacitate for profession duties, from the master or to them witli ordiuary quick- of teacher. mistress. ness, or H abort letter or thema Eud of 2nd Same as at end of Same as above . To read as above ; and to The pronoun, adverb, and pre* V Year. first year. repe.at fifty consecutive position, with their relations It lines of poetry with just in a sentence; and to write k expression and knowledge from memory the snbstance of of the meaning. a passage of simple prose, read to them with ordiuary qolck- nesa, or a short letter. End of 3rd Same as at end of Same as above . To read as above , and to The conjunction, with the i Yeax. first year, together w ith repeat forty consecutive analysis of sentences ; and to ho one from a medical lines of prose. write full notes of a lesson on u practitioner. a subject selected by the In- spector. fit Ft Eud o! 4tb Same aa at end of Same as above . To read as above : and to Recapitulation of the preced- Year. first year. repeat one hundred lines of poetry. ing exercises ; the meaning in English of the Latin preposi- tions ; and to write a letter, or to write fiom memory the sub- (, stance of a longer passag'; than ii at the end of second year. End of 5th Same as at end of Same as above . To read as above ; and to Recapitulation of the pre- E Year. first year. repeat eighty lines of prose. ceding exercises; to know 11 1 something of the sources and N.B.—The passages for growth of the English lan- • Scrofula, fits, asthma, deafness, great imper- repetition in prose and guage ; and to write an original fections of the sight or voice, the loss of an eye poetry mu^t be of a secular composition on some simple from constitutional disease, or the loss of an .arm character, and taken from subject selected by iler Ma- or leg, or the permanent disrtbility of either arm sntne standard English jesty's inspector. 'SI or leg, curvature of the spine, hereditary ten- writer, approved by Her dency to insanity, or any constitutional infirmity Mujesty^s inspector. The of a disabling nature, is a positive disqualification meaning and alhi-sions if in candidates for the office of pupU-teacher. well known will atone for deficiencies of memory. Female pupil-teachers, before admission, must produce a certificate from the schoolmistress and managers that they posseaa re:t30uab!e competency as sempstresses; and. at the annual examinatioDS, must bring certified specimens of plam needle- work to the inspector, together with a statement from the schoolmistress specifying whether they have been receiving practical instruction in any other kind of domestic industry. The inspector, at the time of examination, or afterwards, will obtain the opinion of some competent person upon the merit of the needlework. A paper of questions on domestic economy is ifiven to the female candid.xt.es for admission to Training Schools at the Christmas examination (Article 91). • For detailed information respecting the means of instruction, and the places and times of examination, apply by letter to "TheSecreta ry. D'ipartment of Scien< e and Art, South Kensingtoi 1, London. W." n bix III. Teachers at Admission and during their Engagement. 5. 6. 7. 8. ». la. IL 1 Arithmetic ' and Geography. History. Teaching. Additional Drawing.* Where suitable Music.t tVlure suit 'hie M.-ithcni.'Ltics. Subject. Means of .it rant nf hu'ruetiun Instruction exist. exist. To write from dictation, Geographi- To teach a 1. Pupil - teachers 1 and work correctly, sums, cal defini- class to the who during llieir in the tirst four rules of tions ; the satisfaction of 1. A paper will engagement success- arithmetic, simple and com- distribution Her Majesty's be set at the fully work exercises pound, including weights of land and inspector. examination of in freehiUid, geome- and measures. water ; and the outlines candidates for try, iwrspective. of Biigland training schools board drawing, are Male Female and Wales. (Ajticles 91, 92) credited with marks Pupil- Pupil- in in any future exami- Teachers. Teachers. 1. Latin. 2. Greek. 3. French. nation under Articles 44, 91. or 100. 2. The exercises The natural Practice and Practice The British The s.ame, and 4. German. may be worked in scjile, and the proportion .lud bills of Isles. to show in- any order, except intervals found (simple and parcels. creased skill 2. This paper th.at pupil-te.'ichers in it. compound). IMapa to in instruction will contain cannot be examined Shapes and be drawn and discipline. grammatical in l>lackboard draw- relative values in thU and questions and ing till they have of notes and the follow- eiusy passages for passed in all the resU. Places ing years.] translation into English. other subjects. of notes on the treble stave. Vulgar and Proportion Europe . The suc- The same 3. Marks will 3. Examinations Relation of decimal frac- (simple and cession of also i>e given to are held— treble stjive to tions. compound.) the Eng- any umdiiiate at (1.) In March l.as.s. Places of lish Sove- that examination at the elementary notes on both. reigns from who, at one of schools in which Simple com- ttic reign the examinations di'awing is taught. mon, and sim- of Fgl-ert, held in May of (•2.) In .l/ai/ at ple-triple time. withilalcs. ea. h year by the the Schools of Art U)the pre- Department of (and Art Night sent time. Science and Art.* Classes) connected Interest and Vulgax The Colo- Outlines The same . Xim taken a tirst with the Depart- Scales and in- per ceiitages ; fractions. nies. of British class in the ele- ment of Science ter\al8 »llcr.d and Euclid, history to ment-'iry stage. and Art. by sharps alu' Bookl.,toeiid the acces- or pa.s8ed in tlie 4. Pupil - te.achers fiats. Com- of the XXVItb sion of advanced stage. should attend the pound times. Proposition. Henry VII. of one of the fol- lowing subjects, 5. Mechanics. 6. Chemistry. 7. Animal Phy- examination at their own school, if one is held there; if not, they should be ex- amined at the Art School, or Class, Euclid, to the Decimal Asia aud Outlines The same siology. where they h.ive been The minoi end of Book I., fractious. Africa. of British 8. AcousUcs t.aught drawing. scale in itsdi.%- Algehra, to history Light and They cannot lie ex- tonic fonua. simple equa- from the Heat. amined both in March tiouH (inclu- accession of 9. Miignetism, and May ; nor on the sive). Henry VII. to the pre- sent time. Electricity. 10. Physical Geography. occasion of Her Ma- jesty's inspector's visit to their schooL Euclid, Book Interest America Recapitu- To satisfy 11. Botany. 5. Pupil • teachers The minor II. ; Mensura- aud recapi- »ud the lation of Her Majesty's 4. Candidates may also, with the scale in »ts chro- tion of plane tulation of Oceans. the above. inspector of may obtain consent of the au- matic forms. ' surfaces, and the preced- power to con- marks at the ad- thorities of a Train- and the chro- Algebra, to ing rules. duct a division mission exami- ing College, be ex- matic inter- quadratic equa- of the school, or nation (Article aminett in- black- vals found in tions (inclu- manage group- 91) for any one board drawing (mi/y) it. sive). ed classes in the class-room and specially to give a col- lective lesson. (but not morel in eacn group (1-4, and 5-111 of these eleven subjecta. at the examination lield, tow.-LTds tjie close of the year, at each of these Colleges. f At the examination for admission to Training C olleges (Article 91) additional marks will be given to candidates who pa$a the following examination in practicil skill:— 1. Sounding single notes, or passages by the examiner. of two or mo re notes, in a given scale, from dictation ; or, naming such notes sounded 2. Sol-faing, or reading without mus ical intonat on, a unison passive of one or more measures, in time; or^ giving the time, names of such measure, o measures, r ecited by the examiner. V.'B.—Pupi and 11 0/ thU ^ -teachers nu ichedule. I/be examin ed at tlie e>ui n/ atitf pnar in * itbi^cts prescribed for preceding yrari in coIum>u4, S, 6, P.iCHARD Clay and Sons, LONDON AND BUNGAY. TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE NEW CODE. THE SHORTER GLOBE READERS. A New Series of Reading Books for Standards I. to VI. Edited by A. F. MURISON, soinetiiiie Euiiiisli Maioter in the Aberdeen Grammar School. Primer I. ... 48 pp. . .. 3d. Standard III. . . 178 pp. . . Is. Od. Primer II. ... 48 pp. . .. 3d. Standard IV. .. 182 pp. . . Is. Od. Standard I. ... ... 92 pp. . .. 6d. Standard V. .. 216 pp. .. Is 3d. Standard II.... ... 124 pp. .. 9d. Standard VI. .. 228 pp. .. Is. 6d. " The reading-books are undergoing a change to accommodate them to the demands of the circular of tlie Lords of the Committee of Council addressed to the inspectors. The 'Globe Readers,' from tlie house of Maoniillau and Co., were well known in tlio schools before the days of the circular, and they are to be known for the fnture as tlie ' Shorter Globe Headers.' So far as the first and second primers are ccmcerned, and the reader fur Standard I., no alteration is necessary ; the moditication, therefore, is made only in the books for Standards from II. to VI. The volumes contain tlie new regulation number of lesscins, and they are revised with a view to the fact that three different sets of reading books must be used. The adaptation atfords an opening for some other changes. There is a less mechanical tone in those earlier lessons in which the child's mind is to be trained in orthographical construction ; or, as the author puts it 'the formal word-exercises are now released, and the lessons flow with the ease of a less restricted vocabulary,' but 'the graduation of difficulty, though now it becomes not quite so obvious, has none the less been carefully considered.' The lessons How on easily enough, and there is a good deal of variety and interest — and especially of fancy and poetic suggestion — in them. At the same time, they are a specially educative order of reading books. . . . They are a bright set of readers, full of culture, pure tendency, and tine feeling " — School Board Chronicle. A NEW HISTORY OF ENGLAND FOR SCHOOLS. A HISTORY OF ENGLAND FOR BEGINNERS. By AR.\BEi.tA Buckley, Author of "A Short History of Natural Science." With Maps. Globe 8vo. 3«. A JURILEB BOOK BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. THE VICTORIAN HALF CENTURY. By Charlotte M. Yoxoe, Author of "The Heir of Redelyffe," "Cameos from English History," "A History of France," &c. With a new Portrait of the Queen. Crown 8vo, paper co\er, 1«. ; cloth binding, U. fid. OUR NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. A Short Sketch for Schools. By ANNABUCKLAND. 18mo. Is. The Literary IForW says :—" An excellent idea has been worthily carried out. The boy or girl who reads it carefully will from that time be in a position to take an in- telligent interest in national .and also in local questions. A very large amount of information has been compivssed into the 111 jiages of the book. The author's plan has been to descend from the higher matters of State to the details of Local Governmeut." A FIRST SCHOOL POETRY BOOK. Compiled by M. A. Woods, Head Mistress of the Clifton High School for Girls. Fcap. 8vo. 2». Orf. THE TEACHER. Hints on School Manaj^cment. A Handbook for Managers, Teachers' Assistants, and Pnpil Teachers. By J. R. BLAKISTON, M..\. Crown 8vo. 2s. iid. (Recommended b/ the London, Birmingham, and Leiccsier School Boards.) "Into a comparatively small book he has crowded ii gre.at deal of exceedingly u.seful and sound advice. It is a plain, commmisenso book, full of hints to the teacher ou tlie management of his school and his children." — School Board Chronicle. ON TEACHING. By Professor Henry Calderwood. New Edition. Extra fcap. Svo. 2». 6d. OVERPRESSURE IN HIGH SCHOOLS IN DENMARK. Br Dr. IIP;RTEL, Municipal Mcdicnl OfRccr. Ooi>cnli:i,L-cn. Traus'atcl fr^'iii the Paiii^li by C. GoPFREv SuKENsEN. With Introduction by Sir J. Ckichion-Buowne, M U LL.D., F.R.S. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. MACMILLAN & CO., LOXDOX. MESSRS. MACMILLAN AND CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. A NEW SERIES OF ILLUSTRATED READING BOOKS. THE GLOBE READERS. New Series of Reading Books for Standards I. to VI. Selected, Arranged, and Edited by A. F. Murison, Sometime English Master at Aberdeen Grammar School. With Oriirinal Illustrations. Globe 8vo. PRIMER I. (48 pp.) ... 3d. PRIMER II. 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