, 1908-09-02
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

Our thanks are due to the Secretary to the
Education Board for a copy of the Report
on the Elementary Schools for the year 1907.
The Report bears date Of February 20, 1903,
and was one OF the documents hid MT the
meeting of the House OF Assembly on March
"a, 1908. The Report disc'oses that The
total number of schools in the Island of all
classes,-prlmary, coniblued, and infant
was 164. The avclape att IL lance WIS 1896,
as against 1850 or l. Of and is us for
1906. This number has been exceeded only
four times during the past 81 ycars,-in
1898, when the average vs.; s i, sos in 1924,
when it was 1888 i'll 1897, when it was
1856, and III 1904, when i was 1891.
The high average attendance OF 1907, IN the
'plniOn of the Inspectors, was due to the
freedom of the Island from epidemic sick
ness, the paucity Of wet days aud the coma
paraNively easy position of tho peasantry,
owing to the receipt OF raiIittances from
Their relatives who had emigra cd to the
Canal Zone and other cpuntli". In no pro-
vious Year was the average attendance,
quarter by quarter, so I'm fo"m, say the
Inspectors. As was TO be expected, the re-
Guctiou OF the number Of scho Is has caused
pressure on the available space. The Iu-
spectors have had frequently to complain
about the lick of accommodation, which they
IION say sun NOuNLLittOS NtN NtupIS 'Np'-
crovding in many of the schools. This
viii continue So say the Inspectors in II
tone of resignation, "until special relief is
afforded either by the local Nostries or by the
Legislature" This is a matter of which the
Education Commission should take due note.
To levy Il direct tax for the purpose of pro-
viding increased school accommodation is not
desirable. The cost of this extension ought
to be borne Icy the General Revenue. The
total amount earned IN pre- III ums by the 1913
schools examine was $5,373.48, rs against
t5,432.02 earnei in 1906 by l65 schools.
The percentage Of passes IN Reading, Dicta-
tion and Arithmet. c shows that, in the Com
bincd Schools, the degree Of efficiency in
each subject remained stationary, and that,
in the Infant Schools, there was a falling off
by 5 per cent. in Reading ana by3 per cent.
in Arithmetic, ond an improvement OF one
per cent. IN Dictation The Insl octors con
fess that. although Tie percentage Of passes
in Reading is high, they cannot obtain more
than verbal accuracy and n fair degree Of
furncy Intelligent reading is heard IN but
very few schools. The same remarks, VIC
are told, Will apply to the recitation OF
poetry learned 10y heart. Most teachers
explain The words aud references, but it Is IL
rare instance for the Inspectors to discover
any appreciation Of the sentiment Of the
poem. 1t is suggested that in some of the
lower classes the pupils are encouraged to
learn the reading lessons by heart. Most
can not accomplish this, bat the result 10
declared to be "a faniliaril with the lessons
which causes n Gu e ess hnbit, aud conse-
auently q consider bic numb I OF failures on
the doy of examination" In those subjects
of the examination which are taken on
papers-Dictation, Scripture and the extra
subjects-tle Inspectors declare that the
character of the handwriting IS, as u rule
very poor. This defect they sot down as
due, in part, to the use of states having been
too long permitted. We do not find any
observations in the Report on the quail
ty Of the Arithmetic done. 1t IS clear, how
ever, that the Inspectors find, from their
examination of The elementary schools, that
'intelligent reauiDg is heard in but very few
tchools' and that 1.-THE character OF the hand
writing is, as a rule, very poor. 1hls
means that we have the high authority of the
Inspectors themselves that two OF the 3 RS
are being badly taught in most OF the schools
of the island. Probably if the truth were
known about the third, it would be to tue
effect that no better re suits are being obtain
ed in Arithmetic. Such n state of affairs is
most unsatisfactory and 1t is the duty Of the
Education Commission how In session TO take
coonisnnce of this matter and strive to