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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 23

Classes preparing for Standards V. and VI

Classes preparing for Standards V. and VI.

Elementary Science.—See Regulation 12.

Recitation.—Of a higher order than for Standard IV.

Singing.—More difficult exercises in time and tune; strict attention to expression marks.

Drill.

Needlework and Drawing.—See Regulations 10 and 11.

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10. All the girls in every public school in which there is a female teacher shall learn needlework, and if the Inspector is satisfied that the instruction in this subject is thoroughly systematic and efficient, he may reduce the minimum number of marks for passing the standards by 10 per cent, in favour of the girls as compared with the boys. The classes for needlework shall be approximately the same as those for the standards, but such changes of children from one class to another in this subject may be made as shall be found necessary to insure the passing of every child through the different stages in the order here stated.

First.—Threading needles and hemming. (Illustration of work: Strips of calico or a plain pocket-handkerchief.)

Second.—The foregoing, and felling, and fixing a hem. (Illustration: A child's pinafore.)

Third.—The foregoing, and stitching, sewing on strings, and fixing all work up to this stage. (A pillow-case, or woman's plain shift, without bands or gathers.)

Fourth.—The foregoing, and button-holing, sewing on buttons, stroking, setting in gathers, plain darning, and fixing. (A plain day or night shirt.)

Fifth.—The foregoing, and whipping, a tuck run, sewing on frill, and gathering. (A night-dress with frills.)

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Sixth.—Cutting out any plain garment and fixing it for a junior class; darning stockings (fine and coarse) in worsted or cotton; grafting; darning line linen or calico; patching the same; darning and patching fine diaper.

If Knitting is learnt it shall be in the following order: A strip of plain knitting; knitted muffatees, ribbed; a plain-knitted child's sock; a long-ribbed stocking.

11. The order of instruction in drawing(1) shall be as follows:—
  • Standard I. Freehand outline drawing from blackboard exercises (on slate).
  • Standard II. The same, but more advanced, and with some use of drawing-book.
  • Standard III. Freehand outline drawing in drawing-book (from copies).
  • Standard IV. Outline drawing from models and other solid objects.
  • Standard V. Practical geometrical drawing.
  • Standard VI. Practical perspective drawing.

[Note.—Solid models for Standard IV. can be made by any carpenter: cost in London, 24s.; in New Zealand, 30s. Tate's Practical Geometry (price, 1s.) is a good text-book for Standard V., and J. C. Dicksee's Perspective (4s.) for Standard VI.]

12. The teaching of elementary science for Standards IV., V., and VI., shall embrace elementary physics, a small part of elementary chemistry, elementary mechanics, and elementary physiology; and shall be sufficient for and applied to the purposes of illustrating the laws of health, the structure and operation of the simpler machines and philosophical instruments, the simpler processes of agriculture, and the classification of animals and plants. The head-teacher of each school shall prepare a syllabus showing the distribution of these subjects over a three-years' course, having regard to the amount and order of the information contained in the reading books used in the school. The Inspector will see that the syllabus is sufficient, and examine each class in that part of the work with which the class has been engaged during the year. The syllabus shall present a suitable arrangement of the matter contained in the follow-

1 The department has published two numbers of a series of drawing-books, from designs by Mr. D. C. Hutton, of the School of Art at Dunedin.

page 16 ing programme(1) (the portions enclosed within square brackets being, however, optional):—

Conditions of matter—solid, liquid, gaseous; force—gravitation, heat, chemical affinity, electricity, magnetism; properties of solids—compactness, porousness, comparative hardness, brittleness, toughness, &c.; forms of bodies; inertia of rest and motion; comparative density and specific gravity; centre of gravity; acceleration; the mechanical powers; pressure of liquids and gases; pumps, barometers, hydraulic press, &c.

Vibrations; velocity of sound and light; reflection, refraction, &c.; the magnifying glass and the prism; heat—expansion, convection, conduction, radiation; thermometer; ventilation; steam; mechanical mixture and chemical combination; [oxygen; hydrogen; nitrogen; chlorine; carbon; sulphur; phosphorus; lime; iron;] composition of water and of air; combustion; [acid and alkali].

[Characteristics of saccharoids; of oils and fats; of fermentation products; of albuminoids; frictional and voltaic electricity; the electric machine; the battery; currents;] the build of the human body, and names and positions of internal parts; constituents of blood, muscle, bone, and connective tissue; alimentation; circulation; respiration; [the kidneys and their secretion;] animal heat; organs of sense; principal divisions of the animal kingdom, and of the vegetable kingdom.

[Note.—The extent of the knowledge indicated by this programme is intended to be not greater than the ground covered by the ten popular lectures contained in Parts II., III., IV., V., and VI., of "Science made Easy," by Thomas Twining, price 1s. each part, published by Chapman and Hall, London. The "Science Primers," entitled respectively "Introductory," "Chemistry," "Physics," "Physiology," "Botany," price 1s. each, published by Macmillan and Co., will be useful to teachers, but they go beyond the programme. "Health in the House," by Mrs. Buckton, price 2s., published by Longmans, is a very useful illustration of the application of elementary science to the practical concerns of common life; and Johnston's "Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry," price 1s., published by Blackwood and Sons, should be studied, especially by teachers of country schools.]

1 The inclusion of this modicum of knowledge of science in the primary-school course is no now thing. Before the end of the first half of this century, lessons on the subjects specified in Regulation 12 were contained in the reading books used in common schools in Ireland, and in the schools established by the British and Foreign School Society. Thus, the programme of the "Daily Lesson Book, No. IV.," issued by the Society just named, included "a complete course of lessons on the various branches of Natural Philosophy," and "a systematic course of Natural History,"—in addition to an outline of English history, a short course of general history, (ancient and modern), and miscellaneous lessons on government, commerce, &c.; and the book was published at the low price of 1s. 6d. to promote its use in "schools for the poor." If the teacher will ascertain the scope of the lessons in physical and natural science contained in that book, and then familiarize himself with the more modern methods of stating scientific facts, as he will find them in the "Science Primers" referred to in the note at the end of Regulation 12, he will have no difficulty in understanding what is required of him by that regulation; and he will probably be stirred with the desire to impart to his pupils as much as he can of what he himself has acquired in this department of knowledge. Nor need he fear that these subjects, if intelligently taught, with abundant homely illustration, will prove uninteresting to his pupils, or be beyond their understanding. Professor Huxley, and several other witnesses before (he Scientific Instruction Commission, expressed their decided opinion that a knowledge of the principles of science could be profitably imparted to very young children; and the Report of that Commission asserts that "there can be no good reason why such elementary scientific education as has long been given in the primary schools of Germany and Switzerland should not be bestowed upon English children." (To-day the Native children of Samoa use a hand-book of natural philosophy in their own language in their schools.) The Science and Art Department in Great Britain encourages, in every possible way, the teaching of science in primary schools.

The mere learning of the words of a text-book is of scarcely any use. The "schoolmaster" must be a "teacher" (a much nobler name) before he can do any work that deserves to be called education. Whatever facts can be observed by the children, and by them reduced to a law, they must be led so to observe and reduce. Where the "Science Primer "says "suppose we have a tumbler half-full of water," and "if the water is emptied out, the tumbler feels much lighter than it was before," the teacher must drop the "if" and "suppose." Exhibition of facts, and of the operation of laws, must take the place of mere talking about them. Why should a teacher be content to talk about the pendulum, when with a string and a stone he can make one, and can make another with a string and a cork, and vary his experiments by altering the length of the strings? If the children see these things they will come to think about them, and, thinking, to appreciate the simple laws of gravitation and momentum, which can be illustrated by experiments that cost nothing. The department has in preparation a hand-book for teachers, designed to show how much can be experimentally taught with very simple and inexpensive apparatus. With five pounds' worth of appliances (and with much less, if necessary,) a good teacher can easily give a course of lessons, every one of which his pupils will regard as a Friday afternoon treat to finish the week's work with. No exercise will do more to develop and strengthen the faculties that make a man a good teacher, and none will do more to quicken the general intelligence of the scholars. In its reaction on the work done in other departments it will be found to pay. Let the teacher who does not know where to begin think how much he can do with a bowl of water, a tumbler or two, and a bent glass tube. He has the solid bowl and tumblers and tube, the liquid water, and a supply of gas ready to hand in the atmosphere. By inverting a tumbler, to illustrate the diving-bell, he can exhibit the air as exerting and resisting pressure. He can use muscular force to put the matter in motion, and can show how the force of gravity tends to move it. He can exhibit matter and force in contrast, and he can show the properties the possession of which by solids, liquids, and gases, in common, renders it suitable to designate them all by the common term, "matter." He can illustrate the principle of the barometer, the syphon, the pump, and the water-press. (A penholder wrapped round with cotton-wool will answer for a piston.) With a stone, a cork, and a sponge, he can illustrate specific gravity, and capillarity. Water itself can exist in the three conditions, solid, liquid, and gaseous, and the formation of ice and of steam are familiar illustrations of the laws of heat. The material for many lessons has been already suggested, and when this is exhausted the teacher may consider how he can best convey some definite idea of the chemical composition of water, and of the electric current by which it can be decomposed. As soon as the conception of chemical combination and action has been formed in the pupils' minds they will be capable of receiving instruction as to the laws of respiration, the necessity of fresh air and of cleanliness, &c. There are some subjects in the programme that, cannot, from their very nature, be taught experimentally in schools. The elementary physiology, and the classification of plants and animals, can be well illustrated by diagrams and pictures. But, as a rule, whatever can be taught by such ocular demonstration as is within reasonably easy reach ought to be so taught. (See Tyndall's suggestions for experiments with a magnet and darning-needles.)

The parts of the programme enclosed in square brackets are such as cannot be taught by a teacher who has not made considerable progress in his own study of science, or are not suitable for classes in which boys and girls are taught together.

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13. Standard IV., as defined in these Regulations, shall be the standard of education prescribed under "The Education Act, 1877," section ninety, subsection four.

14. These Regulations(1) shall come into force upon the date hereof; but the examinations of schools at any time earlier than the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, shall be regarded as merely preparatory to the complete observance of the standards as herein defined.

1 The standard regulations are primarily regulations affecting the examination of schools. No attempt, however, is made to fetter the Inspector in his choice of what he may deem the best method of ascertaining whether a pupil presented for examination has fairly reached the proposed standard or not. He is free to set written questions, or to examine orally. He may set long papers or short ones, according to circumstances. Inexperienced observers (some teachers among the number) are prone to think that uniformity of method is a necessary means of making just comparisons. But the expert examiner knows that there are many different ways of arriving at fair decisions. A short and easy paper, for example, may be just as difficult as a longer paper composed of far more difficult questions; because, in the longer paper a good candidate's chance of meeting with a large proportion of questions that he cannot deal with at all is much less than in the shorter one. In many cases it is impossible to judge from the papers alone whether an examiner is unduly severe or the contrary; because so much depends on the standard of excellence that he has in his mind when he is assigning marks for the work done.

Any interpretation of these regulations is altogether mistaken which does not recognize that they are designed to discourage the mere learning of lessons, particularly of lessons that are not understood; to promote a kind of instruction calculated to cultivate the intelligence of children, so that they shall not be set to do work that has no meaning for them; and, generally, to call for the fullest exercise of the proper functions of the teacher, and throw the onus of the pupils' education on him rather than on them.

No suggestion is offered in the regulations as to the average age at which the pupils should be expected to pass the several standards. As, however, the school age is from five to fifteen, and the age to which the "compulsory attendance clauses" apply is from seven to thirteen, the age of ten years is the mean age contemplated by the Act; and therefore Standard III. ought to be such as children may be expected to pass at ten years old. There is reason to believe that Standard III. is well adapted to that age. A teacher in a country school in Otago, having forty-one pupils and no assistant, presented twenty-four for examination in 1880. Twenty-two of them passed, the average ages being:—First Standard, 8 years 2 months, all passed; Second Standard, 8 years 9 months, all passed; Third Standard, 9 years 11 months, all passed; Fourth Standard, 11 years 4 months, one passed (out of three); Fifth Standard, 13 years 1 month, one (sole candidate) passed. Nothing but systematic and thorough teaching, however, from the very beginning of the school course, is likely to secure the passing of the standards year by year, at the age of eight years for Standard I., and so on, up to thirteen years for Standard VI. But the limits of school age (five years to fifteen) leave a considerable margin.

The subjects of instruction included in these regulations are those prescribed by "The Education Act, 1877." The regulations are intended to indicate the smallest results that ought to be expected from a course of instruction in these subjects, continued through such a period as is contemplated by the Act. Under sections 89-92 of the Act, a parent may be compelled to send his child to school for six years, from seven years old to thirteen, or until the child, though not thirteen years of age, has passed "a standard of education prescribed," the prescribed standard being now Standard IV. Section 83 defines school age to be "any age between the years of five years and fifteen." The period of school life being thus regarded as varying from ten years to something less than six, section 84 prescribes the subjects of instruction: "8£. Every public school shall be conducted in accordance with the following regulations (a copy of which regulations shall be conspicuously put up in every such school), namely,—(1.) The subjects of instruction shall be as follows:—Reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar and composition, geography, history, elementary science and drawing, object lessons, vocal music, and (in the case of girls) sewing and needlework, and the principles of domestic economy. . . ." This is the description of a good primary school course, excluding the subjects (such as classics and mathematics) that fall more properly within the scope of the secondary school.