REPORTS OF SCHOOL INSPECTORS. SIR, MR. T. BEAULIEU, (Translation) ISLE-VERTE, 7th August, 1889. I have the honor to submit my report for the year 1888-89. There were forty-two school-boards in my district and they had in operation during the year, 232 schools: viz: 215 elementary and 17 model. If to this number we add eleven independent institutions we have a total of 243 schools of all kinds for the counties of Kamouraska and Temiscouata, of which my district consists, making an increase of 11 schools over last year. The number of teachers in all these schools is 313 viz: 12 priests, 11 ecclesiastics, 7 brothers, 47 nuns, 4 male and 232 female teachers. The number of pupils is nine thousand, being an average of 29 to each teacher, Of the 218 schools in which I had an opportunity of examining the pupils, 11 seemed to me excellent, 35 very good, 94 good, 93 fair, 11 middling, 4 very inferior. The remarks I made last year apply to this also. In order to avoid repetition I refer to my last report. I must say, however, that some attention has been paid to the remark I made with reference to giving the teachers an opportunity of studying some authors on the art of teaching. The Honorable Provincial Secretary has taken a good step in the direction to which I pointed, by sending Mr Magnan's book to all the elementary school teachers. I tender him my most sincere thanks, both for myself and on behalf of the teachers and of those who take an interest in education in my district. I am grieved to learn that I will not find this book in several of the schools when I pay my next visit. A good many teachers give up teaching every year and several who intend doing so this year told me that the book had been addressed to them personally and that they were determined not to leave it in the school at the end of the year. I deem it my duty to call your attention to the negligence of the school boards with reference to the question of cleanliness in the school rooms. Some municipalities compel the teachers to do this, in the engagements they make with them. The salaries these teachers receive do not allow them to incur the expense of keeping the school clean, Some municipalities do not bind the teachers by a special clause in the agreement to wash the school rooms, but consider that the usual formula compels them to it. Hence arise difficulties between the Commissioners and the teachers and the schools are neglected. are The school boards which consider that they themselves obliged to have the washing done, think that once or twice a year is sufficient. I have endeavored to persuade the members of the school boards that they have to see to the classes, that they must not compel the teachers to do it and that they must keep their schoolhouses at least as clean as their own dwellings, if they do not wish the children to injure their health and become disgusted with school. The regulations of the Council of Public Instruction require the commissioners to have the class room washed at least every two months. This is the least that can be expected, but there are very few schools in which it is done. I will now make some remarks upon the teaching of the various subjects of the course of study for elementary schools. Reading: I do notfind that sufficient attention is paid to this subject. Reading which I consider the basis of education, should not be neglected, but, on the contrary, should be taught with scrupulous care. Why are there so many intelligent, well educated men occupying good positions in society who speak and read in an unintelligible manner? The reason is because they were not taught to read properly at the elementary schools. They learned to read hurriedly, without pronouncing and articulating properly and paying attention to punctuation. When they went to college, they had no opportunity of correcting these defects and continued to speak and read incorrectly, and now when they have to read a document aloud, to address public meetings as members, lawyers, notaries clerks of courts or municipal councils they can only mutter what they have to say. I considered that I was rendering a great service to education by paying special attention to reading at my last year's inspection. I took great pains to induce the teachers in my district to make every effort to improve it. I myself gave reading lessons in all the schools which I inspected, making the pupils repeat frequently the same sound, the same sentence with the pauses and inflections until I got them to do fairly well, I endeavoured to prove that teaching to read does not merely consist in showing the children how to find words in a book, but also and above all, to teach them to speak them, that is to develope the vocal organs by exercises in repeating sounds, articulations, &c. I have the satisfaction of being able to say that my efforts have not been in vain. In many schools my lessons and advice have been so well heeded that, at my last visit, I found a complete change in the reading. In others there is a less perceptible improvement. In those where I found no change, and they are more numerous than the others, I repeated this year the |