M 17
to understand what style of answers would suit the questions. In teaching elementary Hygiene to students who have had no preliminary instruction in the elements of natural science, all that can be done is to impress on them certain rules and make them learn them, taking most of the reasons for them on faith. In Victoria School the results were poor, the knowledge shown being too small.
The girls' papers (except Kowloon School) were on the whole good. A superior knowledge of English enabled the girls competing to express their ideas much better than was generally done, and they appear to have studied the subject with interest.
Advanced Papers.
1. Queen's College. The answers were poor, a result evidently largely due to the fact that the students did not understand the questions, which were so worded as not to permit generally of an answer by quoting directly from the text book.
Even if no further study of the subject than could be given to it by reading only the school text book were expected from the advanced students, yet much higher marks could have been obtained if the questions had been carefully thought over.
So many of the boys evidently rushed into their answers, writing about something related to the answer required, but not the correct answer.
2. Diocesan School and Orphanage.--The VII Form produced mostly fair papers and one good one. The amount of knowledge of the subject is small, but the questions were fairly well understood so that the most could be made of the knowledge acquired.
In Form VI the results were poor as in Queen's College, and apparently from the same reasons.
3. Ellis Kadoorie School. This school produced mostly fair papers and one good one, the result being similar to that of the Diocesan School.
4. St. Joseph's College. From this school the results were mostly poor, but slightly better than those from Queen's College, owing probably to the boys being better able to grasp the meaning of an indirect question.
5. Italian Convent and Diocesan Girls' School. These two schools sent in very fair papers and some good ones. The English used was on the whole good and showed that the questions were understood, enabling the replies to be reasoned, so that the pupils made the most of their knowledge, which might however have been more extensive.
Generally.--There is ample evidence that the meaning of the terms used in the subject are not understood. Thus hardness of water does not seem to convey a correct idea to the pupils. Germs of disease are, as is usual with the public generally, confused with insects, etc., etc.