11 C.P. St. Vital of Battleford_ 2 Rev. Sr. St. Pierre Damien

Salary

Enrolment

$750 145 500

130

$660 100 900 279

REPORT OF THE PRINCIPAL OF THE PROVINCIAL NORMAL SCHOOL.

I have the honour to submit for your consideration the following report for the year ending December 31, 1906:

During the year two sessions of the Normal School were held, the first being from January 3rd to April 29th, and the second from August 21st to December 23rd.

At the spring session there were three distinct classes: First, Second and Third. In the fall term but first and second class training was given.

The attendance at the spring session was 99, 47 males and 52 females; at the fall session 88, 18 males and 70 females. The average age of those in attendance was 21.7.

During the year students were admitted from England, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova S. otia, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. As the follow..ng schedule will show the schools of Saskatchewan furnish the greater proportion of students for the fall term while outside provinces and countries contribute most largely to the spring session.

Of the 187 students who attended the school during the year, 75 had previous training and experience.

At present students may be admitted for training without any previous professional instruction or teaching experience, and while the conditions of the province demand more teachers than we can train, yet it is noticeable that those with previous training receive much more

benefit at the school than the absolutely inexperienced student. Particularly is this true of those taking training for first class certificates. A plan by which all first and second classes should have had some previous training or experience would ensure better results and promote the standard of excellence of these classes. This would mean that before students would be admitted for Second or First Class training they would be required to complete a short professional course for Third Class certificates. Until all First Class teachers have had Second Class training it would be unwise to shorten the First Class course. We find our present accommodation altogether too limited. It consists of two class rooms, the principal's office and a library. The library also serves as a reading room, students' meeting room, museum and staff offices.

During the year considerable additions have been made to the library, particularly along the lines of pedagogy and reference works. We hope soon to have a library covering all the branches of our work as well as reference books to which students desirous of making more extensive study may have access, and yet a library which may be used with profit by the average student.

The Normal School has started the collection of specimens of the more characteristic flora and fauna of the province. In this work we are receiving great assistance from the Department of Agriculture. We hope to so interest our students in the natural history of our province that they will materially assist us by sending specimens from those parts of the province where they may be teaching.

We beg to call your attention to the limited supply of apparatus for physical science and nature study. Unless it is considerably increased the school cannot give the best instruction in the art of teaching, these subjects.

The plan of work followed is that of lectures and actual lessons by the members of the staff together with the observation and practice teaching under our control. We are totally dependent upon the generosity of the city school authorities. Our thanks are due them for giving us every opportunity for observation and practice teaching.

Every student is required to actually teach until in the opinion of the staff he shows that he understands the principles of teaching and that he can apply these with some degree of art. Each lesson taught by the student is personally supervised by some member of the staff, who not only criticises the lesson plan before the lesson is taught but also criticises the teacher after he has taught the lesson. In this way we seek to secure for each teacher the greatest amount of personal benefit.

In the outline of our work considerable stress is being given to the essential subjects of reading, writing and composition and many practical tests are given in these subjects. While we base all our method on realised pedagogical principles we do not assign any absolute plan or outline which the student is supposed to rigidly imitate. We try to fit our students to take charge of and teach to best advantage the schools in the province. Through the inspectors reports and from the inspectors themselves the Normal School attempts to keep in touch with the actual requirements of our country.

The student life is varied from the purely study side by lectures upon current subjects by men whose success has enabled them to speak authoritatively. The students meet weekly as a literary society in which all are expected to take part.

It is to be regretted that many of our students when they come to our school are poorly equipped in the knowledge of the history or geography of the province or even of Western Canada. Besides there is a weakness in oral reading and writing, while a greater number of the students have had no instruction whatever in drawing and singing. This means that besides attempting to give methods of teaching these subjects considerable time must be given to actual instruction. In singing, particularly, is this true and to overcome this difficulty we would suggest including this subject in the nonprofessional examination.

The subject of nature study has been prominently before all schools for some time and that we might make it of some practical use rather than treat it as an educational fad Mr. Bennett of the Normal staff spent some three months at the MacDonald Institute at Guelph and visited several educational institutions of the eastern provinces. As far as possible the nature study course here is being closely allied to the agriculture and natural history of the province. In connection with the nature study work the classes visited the experimental farm at Indian Head where the personal help and direction of both the minister of agriculture and the superintendent of the farm added greatly to the interest and profit received by the students.

The staff holds regular weekly meetings when one of the members outlines the method of treatment of certain subjects. This is followed by general criticism. In this we seek to establish a certain unity of principle throughout our work.

I would like to express appreciation of the courtesy of the officers and teachers of the public schools and satisfaction in the loyal suppor and deep interest of the regular members of the Normal School staff and the inspectors who have at different times been assisting us.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your obdient servant,

T. E. PERRETT,

Principal Normal School.

REPORTS OF INSPECTORS OF SCHOOLS.

J. A. CALDER, ESQ., M.L.A.,

YORKTON, SASK., February 28, 1907.

Commissioner of Education.

SIR, In accordance with your instructions I beg to submit the following general report for the year 1906.

My inspectorate extends north from the Qu'Appelle river to township 36 and from the Manitoba boundary to range 14 west of the second meridian. The population of the district is probably more diverse as regards nationality than any similar area in the province, containing large settlements of Germans, Hungarians, Icelanders, Doukhobors, Galicians, Patagonian Welsh, Crofters and Poles, besides smaller settlements belonging to at least seven other nationalities. At the close of the year there were one hundred and ninety districts in the division, of which twenty-seven had been gazetted since the end of March, a remarkable indication of the rapid and permanent development of this portion of the province. Ten of the new schools are in Galician settlements, their establishment being directly due to the initiative of the Department of Education. One hundred and forty-one districts had schools in operation during the year. Of these, 50 per cent. are in districts largely foreign; one-third of the schools are altogether so, the Germans being in the majority with twenty-three schools. There were two Galician schools in operation, and Doukhobors were in attendance in one district only, Devil's Lake, although some thirty townships in the division are comprised in the Doukhobor reserve, and as many more are settled almost wholly by Galicians. It is a regrettable fact, that except in the case of foreign schools of Icelandic and Swedish origin, the attendance of the pupils is most irregular. There is only one school doing high school work, and but three employing more than one teacher, consequently this division involves a great deal of travel by road, each actual inspection of a rural school meaning an average drive of twenty-two miles.

School Houses.

The class of school houses erected is steadily improving and the disposition to complete the school buildings, so as to include painting and interior finishing as well as fencing (at the outset) is much in evidence. The plan for a rural school, which places all the windows on one side is not giving satisfaction, not because the plan is wrong, but that the stock sizes of window frames are invariably used and are too small to give the requisite amount of light.

Heating and ventilation need more attention. Frame buildings with the interior finished with ceiling lumber, unless built with well seasoned material, are often draughty, and exceedingly difficult to warm