Teaching and Apliances.

Your commissioners have had before them deputations of representative working men who have expressed their views on the wants of the working classes will, respect to the teaching of science and art, and who have stated that the assistance afforded by the department is not sufficiently directed towards the requirements of their several trades. We believe that many workmen are disposed to attach too little value to the importance of acquiring a knowledge of the principles of science because they do not see their application. We are of the opinion that whenever it is possible persons engaged in the trade taught and having scientific knowledge should give instruction to workmen, and we have ascertained that a large number of such teachers are registered under the examination scheme of the City and Guilds of London Institute. We visited classes of this character at the Polytechnic Institution in Regent street, at the Manchester Technical School, the Lyceum at Oldham, and at other places, some of which were excellent.

The city guilds are trying a most important experiment in their practical classes. If empiricism be avoided, a great point will be gained by the attraction to working men and women of a mode of instruction in which the direct application of scientific principles is the means by which a knowledge of those principles is conveyed to their minds. As to this point, we refer to the almost unanimous expression of opinion contained in the letters of eminent manufacturers in reply to our circular asking their advice as to the best means of promoting technical instruction.

We cannot dismiss this branch of the subject without calling attention to the educational value of the museums of natural objects now found in many of the modern elementary schools of the continent. Probably the best examples of such collections are those of the Normal School of Brussels and of the elementary schools of Zurich. Collections of natural objects, pictures, and diagrams are of the greatest assist nice for illustrating object lessons in rudimentary science to children of the earliest years.

Many persons who have paid attention to the working of free libraries in our large towns are of opinion that the benefit of these might be extended to elementary schools by placing at the disposal of such schools books of a character calculated to interest children of school age. Among these books some suitable technical works, especially illustrated ones, might be included. These school libraries would be of the nature of the branch libraries which are now attached to many of the free libraries of our large towns.

Your commissioners, after having had the opportunity of further considering the value of manual work as a part of primary instruction and after having seen such work introduced into elementary schools of various grades in other countries besides France, are able now to express a stronger opinion in its favor than at the time of their first report. They do this with greater confidence because, in consequence partly of the suggestion contained in that report, the experiment of introducing manual work into primary schools has been successfully effected by at least two school boards in this country, viz, those of Manchester and Sheffield.