188 



REPORT — 1900. 



science teaching could be given throughout the standards. But the effect 

 of this was that as the other recognised class subjects were History, 

 Geography, and Elementary Science, and of these Geography was by far the 

 most popular amongst the teachers, while English History was adopted in 

 most other cases, Elementary Science scarcely received any attention at all. 

 It should be borne in mind, moreover, that up to that date Geography itself 

 was but little taught from a scientific standpoint, the details of topography 

 occupying the pupils' time almost to the exclusion of the study of the physics 

 of our globe. In the year 1889-90 the number of school departments in 

 which English Grammar was taken amounted to no less than 20,304, 

 while Elementary Science was taught in only 32. Since that year a free 

 choice of subjects has been allowed, and the wide discrepancy between 

 these figui'es has been regularly reduced year by year ; in 1890-91 

 English dropped to 19,825, while Elementary Science rose to 173 ; and 

 the table below will show the change that has been going forward since 

 that date. It will be observed that Object Lessons were introduced in 

 1895, and these were made obligatory in the three lower standards on 

 and after September 1, 1896. In the report presented by this Committee 

 last year it was pointed out that the distinction between Object Lessons 

 and Elementary Science was one of nomenclature rather than anything 

 else, and now in the Government return for 1898-99 the distinction in 

 name has been abolished, and all are included under the term Elementary 

 Science. 



Class Subjects — De- 

 partments 



English . 

 Geography . 

 Elementarj'- Science 

 Object Lessons 



1891-92' 1892-931 1893-94 1894-95 



18,175 \ 

 13,485 



788 



17,894 



14,256 



],073 



17,032 ! 

 15,250 j 

 1,215: 1,715 



16,280 

 15,702 



1895-9611896-97 



15,327 14,286 



16,171 ! 16,646 



2,237 ; 2,617 



1,079, 8,321 



1897-98 1898-99 



13,456 1 13,194 

 17,049 ' 17,872 

 2 143 

 2l',8S2,|^''^°^ 



The number of departments in ' schools for older scholars ' for the year 

 1898-99 was 23,191, all but two of which took one or more class subjects. 

 But Histoi-y was taken in 5,879 departments, and needlework (as a class 

 subject for girls) in 6,952 departments, and sundry minor subjects in 

 1,034, making, with the other three subjects of the table, a total of 66,232. 

 This shows an average of nearly three class subjects to each department ; 

 but it must be borne in mind that the same subject is not always taken 

 in all the standards, in which case three or more class subjects will appear 

 in the return for a single department. That there has been less splitting up 

 of the subjects between the upper and lower standards is apparent ; and 

 also that such a subject as Geography must, in some cases, have been 

 taught by means of object lessons, as otherwise it would have been found 

 by this time that the figure for object lessons had equalled the number of 

 departments, whereas the 21,301 is actually considerably less than that 

 for the previous year. It can hardly be assumed that under the regula- 

 tions of the Code there was any actual diminution of such teaching. 



It has been previously remarked that 'the increased teaching of 

 scientific specific subjects in the higher standards is the natural conse- 

 quence of the greater attention paid to natural science in the lower part 

 of the schools,' The following table sho-\YS that such is the actual 

 result : — 



