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Inspection.
and
At my latest inspection I took especial pains to discover how far the new method had succeeded in improving the teaching of English. I must say that used as I have been to the difficulty of extracting other replies than "yes" "no," even from boys who have been under instruction for several years, the change for the better was most promising. To make this clear I give the following notes, taken down at the time, of an attempt made at conversation with 5 boys selected at random from a Class; none of these boys had attended school for more than ten months:
"I live at Elgin Street. I am ten years old. I have been 9 months at school. We learn reading. We learn poetry. We learn pictures. Pictures of pigs. Yes, I have seen a pig, Sir. I see a pig at Kowloon. He is looking for food. It eats oatmeal and flour. The dog eats beef. It eats bones. It find the bone in the ground. Boys eat apple-rice-lichee Boys drink tea-wine -water. Girls drink the same. A girl is a woman
-a young
woman. I have two sisters."
Boys of the same standing were told to write descriptions of a picture of dogs hanging on the wall, which had doubtless been already the subject of some such exercise. I give some of the results. It is noticeable that they are not all the same, which argues that the child is beginning to think in English, and is not merely reproducing sentences learned by heart.
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That is a bull-dog, Sir."
That kind is called the bull-dog."
No, Sir, it is not a big dog, Sir.
"The bull-dog has short legs and an ugly face."
A bull-dog is looks like a tiger."
The bull-dog is good for keeping watch."
In Elementary Geography an important change has been effected, and the same beginners shewed, especially at Yaumati, a good knowledge of the topography of Hongkong. The course now followed is certainly the right one, which is, to proceed from the known to the unknown, from the school to the street, the city, the Colony, the Canton Province.
The Arithmetic done by the first year boys was good. The first four rules were offered for examination, and at Saiyingpuu the compound rules with English money as well. I consider that to be too much.
I have dwelt upon the work done by the lowest Classes, because they best illus- trate the new methods. But considering the not very satisfactory nature of their early training, I have good reason to be satisfied with the progress made by the boys in the highest Classes. Composition, generally speaking, was weak, except at Yaumati where some very good work was done. Geography was very good at Saiyingpun in the highest Class, and passable at the other two schools. A beginning of History and Algebra has been made at Saiyingpun. As regards Colloquial English the senior boys are suffering from the effects of having hitherto been taught through their eyes instead of through their ears and eyes: but at any rate they now talk courageously.
The Chinese composition was, generally speaking, bad. It might possibly be considered fair at Saiyingpuu. To remedy this the Government has consented to abolish the Vernacular Schools connected with the Anglo-Chinese Schools, and to employ the Masters as Vernacular Mastors in the Anglo-Chinese Schools. By some means or other this serious shortcoming must be made good during the current year
Apart from this the schools have made an excellent beginning.
GRANT SCHOOLS.
The Grant Code was adopted by some schools at the beginning of July, but I am not yet able to report definitely as to its effect. The Italian Convent and one or two other Roman Catholic Schools drew up what appear to be very sound courses of study under the provisions of the Code, and will, I feel sure, be materially improved by them. Unfortunately the necessity of holding the winter examina- tions in the schools which decided not to come under the Code at once, prevented me from continuing to examine the proposed courses of study of those that did come under it.