least, four National Schools within a circuit of three miles from it, the Managers of which are desirous that their schools may receive the advantages of organization. 42. No less than four, or more than eight, schools are for the present to be organized by the same organizer in any particular locality.

4. As a general rule, the time spent in the organization of a school is not to exceed a fortnight; but the organizer is to return for a day or two, if necessary, before he leaves the locality in which the school is situated, to observe the results of the organization, and give such further instruction to teachers and monitors as the state of the school may at the time suggest as necessary and important.

4. The two weeks which may be spent by an organizer in a school are not to be consecutives a week, in all cases, is to clapse between the first and second parts of the organization. For instance, where four schools, A, B, C, D, are to be organized, tho following may be the order of organization :

45. The second great object which the Commissioners of National Education have had in view in establishing the staff of organizers, as already stated in paragraph 1 B, is to diffuse a knowledge of schoolmastership in all its practical bearings, and also of the leading principles of the science of education amongst the teachers of the

country."

46. To carry out this great object each organizer will deliver a course of lectures to the teachers who live in the neighborhood of the school in which he is engaged, upon method, order, discipline, school accounts, employment of monitors, construction of time-tables, arrangement of school furniture, use of charts, tablets, and apparatus, industrial education, and upon organization generally.

47. These lectures will take place on Saturdays, at whatever hour may be most convenient to the organizers and the teachers.

48. The District Inspector is to invite all teachers living within a reasonable walking distance-four or five miles-to those lectures; and whilst attendance is, under no circumstances, to be considered as compulsory, it is to be understood that the Commissioners will regard with satisfaction the conduct of those teachers who attend the instructions.

49. None but schoolmasters and monitors in their fourth year, are to attend the lectures of male organizers, and none are to attend the instructions of the female organizers but schoolmistresses and monitresses in their fourth year.

50. Teachers, whether trained or not, are eligible for admission into the organizers' classes; for it is hoped that both the trained and the untrained will derive such advantage from the instructions as to qualify them the better for a skilful and efficient discharge of their duties.

51. The organizers will keep a roll of the attendance of the teachers, and submit it at the end of the course of instruction to the District Inspector.

5. The organizers will require the teachers who may attend to take such notes during each lecture as will enable them to write out an abstract of it before the day for the following lecture; those abstracts and whatever other written exercises the organizers may require the teachers to prepare for them are to be examined and noted by the organizer, and submitted from time to time to the District or Head Inspector, to be afterwards, however, in the corrected state, returned to the teacher.

53. A statement will be made at the end of each course of lectures by the organizers, for the information of the Inspectors and Commissioners, of the attention paid by each of the teachers to their instructions, and of the proficiency which cach of them shall have made.

54. As the duties of an organizer, when organizing a school, will be such as to prevent him from doing much more, in reference to methods of teaching, than exemplifying and carrying into practical effect the instructions contained in his lectures, no school can be organized, the teacher of which does not attend, or shall not have attended, a course of lectures either from him or some other organizer.

55. The Commissioners desire that the Inspectors should devote as much attention as possible to the arrangement and superintendence of those weekly meetings; and they also desire that the Inspectors should sustain and encourage the organizers on those occasions, uphold their authority, give weight to their position, and contribute by every means in their power to their success.

56. Before an organizer commences operations in a locality, the Inspector should have all necessary arrangements with Managers and teachers completed, as to the schools to be organized and the teachers who are to form the Saturday class for prac

tical instruction.

57. Whenever a District Inspector feels that the services of an organizer are required for any particular group of his schools, all the conditions already announced being either fully complied with, or in a fair way of being so, he is to communicate with this office, giving information on the following points:

() As to the centre which he proposes for the residence of the organizer, selecting, of course, no place in which a suitable lodging cannot be procured for him and his family. (b) As to the schools which he recommends for organization and the distance of each from the proposed residence of the organizer.

(e) As to the number of teachers who would likely attend the lectures of the organizer upon Saturdays.

5. Each District Inspector is requested to inform this office, within a week after the receipt of this circular letter, upon the points enumerated in the previous paragraph. 59. The office, on receipt of those communications, will advise them to the ficad

Inspector, whose duty it will be to select the schools proposed to be organized, to

instruct the organizers as to the schools assigned them, and the time of the commencement of the organization, and immediately to advise the office as to the steps thus taken. 60. In order to place the object and details of the system of organization, and the machinery by which it is worked, as fully and clearly as possible before the Inspec tors, the Commissioners append printed copies of the reports referred to in paragraphs 34 and 35. These reports, printed verbatim from the copies furnished by the organizer, are selected principally because the school to which they refer, from being one of the worst town schools in connection with the Board, has become, since its organization, distinguished for the neatness and completeness of its arrangements, and the general excellence of the order, discipline, and methods of teaching pursued in it. The Inspectors should peruse these reports carefully, inasmuch as they exhibit, with considerable precision, the chief points and details in the organization of a school. 961. The District Inspectors are requested to circulate, as extensively as possible, amongst Managers, teachers, and the public generally, information as to the object, scope, and leading features of organization; to let Managers understand that the presence of an organizer in their schools neither affects their privileges nor interferes with their functions; to inform teachers that organization is intended to diminish, in no way, their authority in their schools, or to degrade them in the estimation of their pupils or the parents; to acquaint all classes interested in the education of the people, that an organizer has nothing whatever to say or do in relation to the arrangements for religious instruction; that, on the contrary, it is the aim of the Commissioners, in the measures now taken by them for the improvement of their schools, to uphold the rights of Managers, to strengthen the power of the teachers, by rendering them more skilful servants of the public, and to realize what the Board have long desired to attain, a scheme of organization which, by combining all that educationists approve in the matter of instruction and commend in school keeping, will give a distinctive stamp and uniform character to the schools conducted on the National system,

The following extracts from Mr. Keenan's Report (1856) illustrates some of the above points.

School Organization. Prou

In organizing an ordinary National School, the teacher should divide the school into two divisions; and he would arrange that the divisions should move alternately from floor to desks, desks to floor, and so on. He would appoint specific business for each division for every moment of the day, whether in the desks or on the floor, and the spirit of the whole organization would consist in the unflagging nature of the work from morning to evening. On the floor there would be the active rira voce lessons in reading, grammar, geography, arithmetic, spelling, geometry, algebra, mensuration, &c.; in the desks there would be the quiet work, requiring only superintendence and occasional examination or instruction, as writing on slates and paper, dictation, composition, drawing, slate arithmetic, lesson exercises, book-keeping, and industrial work. "Lesson Exer cises" is a name which I have given to any exercise on paper or slate, which refers to some lesson previously learned. For instance, if it refer to grammar, the exercise may be to classify columnarly the parts of speech of the words of a sentence, to write out the derivations of a number of words dictated to them, &c. if it refer to the Lesson Books, the exercise may be to write out the substance of the lesson read a little previously upon the floor, or to summarize the lessons of a section of one of the books, &c.; if it refer to geography, the exer cise may be to write down the manufactures, population, imports, exports, &c., of some country, or to draw an outline map of it; and no matter, in short, what the subject may be, it will afford material for this very useful and interesting exercise, which has the advantage of being always an appeal to the judgment as well as to the memory.

The organizer takes care that there shall be no preparing lessons," home being the place for that, the suitable place where even if there were no improve ment on the hour and forty minutes' plan, it would be still desirable to enforce habits of reading and study and of preparation for the business of the school. The arrangement into two divisions the rotation being from desk to floor and floor to desk throughout the day-would be called a bipartite organization; but if the school were large and possessed the convenience of a gallery or class-room, the arrangement might consist of three divisions, the rotation being from desk to floor, floor to gallery, gallery to desk, it would be called a tripartite organization. The result of these arrangements is, that there are either two or three distinct courses of business going on at the same time, each course of business being regularly arranged and properly defined, and having strict reference to the gradual development of the education of the children in the school. There can be no haphazard work, no fortuitous employment; every one must be constantly engaged, the master teaching and the pupils learning. In Holland, one of the state laws declares-"The instruction shall be communicated simultaneously to all the pupils in the same class, and the master shall take care that during that time the pupils of the two other classes are usefully employed.” zpr PIVID VLTį

elf the school be large, the teaching power sufficient, and a class-room or gallery at his disposal, the organizer decides upon the tripartite system, and arranges the school into three divisions, the junior, the middle, and the senior. The junior division may be composed of the first class, the middle division of the second and sequel classes, and the senior division of the third and fourth classes. Sometimes it may be necessary, although to be avoided if possible, to break up a class and place the lower portion of it in one division, and the higher portion in another. For instance, the lower section of Second Book might be placed in the junior division; the middle division might include the higher section of second and the sequel class, and the senior division, as before, might contain the third and fourth classes. The head master might possibly have special charge of the senior division, the assistant master of the middle division, and a paid monitor might have the care of the junior division. The routine working of the tripar tite system is very simple. The business of the day, say, commences with the senior division upon the floor. The head master, having a monitor in each draft of it, goes from draft to draft, revising what has been done by the monitors, and giving the substance of the lesson for the time being to each class as he passes. along. The middle division is at this time, say, in the gallery, receiving a simul taneous lesson from the assistant master on some subject appropriate to the gallery; and the junior division is in the desks under the monitor, engaged in some befitting desk occupation. The head master, although having special charge of the senior division, is yet master of the whole school, and he must so contrive his duties, that whilst he teaches his own division, his influence and superintending function shall be felt and exercised in each of the other divisions of the school. Accordingly, whilst the divisions are disposed of as I have represented them, for the first lesson of the day, he must, in addition to the immediate instruction which he gives his own division, turn to the junior division in the desks, see how the monitor is managing it, take a momentary part in the teaching, and make a cursory inspection of what the children are employed at. This must be done without causing gaps or incoherency in the teaching of his own division, every draft of which must receive its share of his services, and every monitor in which must account to him for all that he is doing and for the proficiency of his pupils. He must also pay an occasional visit to the gallery, to see that his assistant is instructing the middle division with intelligence and effect, and that he exhibits evidence of having carefully prepared himself for the lesson. The order of the whole school is to be watched; a monitor inclined to rest upon his oars is to be aroused; a child disposed to idle is to be admonished. Every one must be employed; every monitor must be in earnest; every blackboard must show that work is being done. The quality of the instruction must be looked after; there must be no lounging or yawning or talking or whiling time away. He must know the extent of the instructions which have been given in the desks and in the gallery. The lesson has now lasted for thirty minutes; the bell announces the time up for a change, and in a moment the three divisions are simultaneously in motion. In less than half a minute they have all changed places. The senior division has gone from the floor to the desks; the junior from the desks to the gallery; the middle from the gallery to the drafts on the floor. There is no noise or confusion in the movement, no roaring out the orders; the stroke of the bell by the monitor of order, or the head master, is sufficient to announce the change. Immediately that the divisions reach their places, business is resumed. The head master starts his division at once to work in the desks; the assistant is going through a course with his drafts on the floor, similar to that pursued by the head master during the previous lesson; and the monitor is busy with his division in the gallery. The head master has more leisure now to pay attention to the junior and middle divisions, for his own division is engaged at some silent occupation in the desks, which only requires superintendence and occasional examination. He may possibly exchange with the monitor, and give the simultaneous lesson to the junior division in the gallery, or he may go from draft to draft through the middle division, and confer with his assistant as to the state of each draft, the industry or the ability of each monitor, and the whole scheme of the instruction of the division. It requires only an occasional minute to pass through the desks and overlook and correct the exercises of his own, the senior division, or he may spend four or five minutes with it consecutively, in explaining the principle of what it is engaged at, whether writing, or drawing, or book-keeping, or composition, or whatever else the lesson may happen to be. The same activity and the same watchfulness prevail during the second lesson, as during the first; and when the allotted time, thirty minutes, more or less, is up, the bell again rings, and again the simultaneous movement is made. As before, there is no noise; no confusion; no trampling of feet; no blundering; in silence and order each division reaches its new place. The

NATIONAL SCHOOLS OF IRELAND.

occupies the desks; and the senior division has marched to the gallery. Busi ness has again commenced. The head master is giving a simultaneous lesson in mechanics, geometry, geography, or some other gallery subject; the monitor is engaged with his junior division on the floor; the assistant has the copies or slates, or pens or pencils, distributed in the desks, and his division is soon in full work. Every body is engaged. The change of place has relieved the minds of the pupils, the change of subject and position has protected the teachers from tedium or fatigue. Already much solid business has been done, much permanent good accomplished. The assistant has now time to turn for a moment from the desks to the junior division, and to cooperate with the monitor in instructing his drafts. He controls and directs the monitor whilst he aids him, keeps an eye to the general order of the room, and reports to the head master how matters proceed during his absence in the gallery. If the lesson which is being given in the gallery, admits of a break or rest in the middle, or in any part of it, the head inaster may take a brief glance at the principal school, have a word with the assistant or the monitor, and return to finish the lesson with his division, or, in order that he may occasionally have an opportunity of examining the pupils of the junior division in their drafts upon the floor, and those of the middle division whilst they are engaged at some desk occupation, he may change places with the assistant master, having previously given him notice of his intention, allowing the latter to give the gallery lesson to the senior division, whilst he himself takes, charge of the divisions in the principal room. And thus in a quiet orderly rotation of this kind, in a life-like series of changes, with every body busy, every body happy; the head master guiding and inspiriting his assistant and his monitors; his influence every where; the instruction progressive; results, sterling and impressionable, produced at every lesson, is a school conducted on the tripartite system of organization.

Bipartite System.

By the Bipartite System the school is arranged in two divisions, the junior and the senior; and even without the assistance of a paid monitor, a teacher following the system laid down by the organizers could conduct a school with the same energy and effect, as that which I described in the case of the school organized on the tripartite system. The master of a bipartite school has always one division in the desks, another on the floor; the rotation is from desks to floor, and floor to desks. It does not require the same exertion to teach and superintend a bipartite, as a tripartite school. The master has a limited number of children; the operations of the school are concentrated into one room; he never quits the gaze of the main body of his pupils; the changes are easily made; and he has but to labor assiduously to insure success. The pupils of a tripartite school have the advantage of gallery instruction, which is not embraced in the bipartite system; but in other respects, the latter is just as effective as the former. By omitting what relates to the gallery, from the illustration which I gave of the tripartite system, and by substituting an intelligent paid or unpaid monitor for the assistant, the description would answer just as accurately for the simple operations of a bipartite school. I need not, therefore, describe the order of procedure in a school of the latter kind. The golden rule of either system is, that the teacher as well as the pupil is constantly employed; that he has a special duty for every moment of the day; and that he discharges this duty in such a way that he can superintend the whole of the operations of his school.

Modified Monitorial Teaching.

The Commissioners of National Education have always encouraged monitorial teaching; they have seen that a child who is employed, at stated times, in the teaching of a class of his fellow-pupils, is rendering most valuable assistance to the master, is improving himself in knowledge, and is obtaining a taste, and undergoing the best possible training for becoming a teacher. They approached the consideration of the question with the greatest care. They never contemplated conducting a large school solely by monitorial assistance; nor did they ever permit their monitors to forget that they are pupils. The first regular monitors in the service of the Board, were those in the Model Schools, Dublin, so far back as March, 1833. Some were paid, and others acted gratuitously. One of the greatest prizes and highest distinctions in the school was to attain to a monitorship. At one time during school hours the monitors taught some of the classes, and at another time they were themselves instructed; and, before school hours, there was a special course of instruction always given them.

The Commissioners, in their Report for 1837, refer to a new system of rémunerating this class of young persons, in the Model Schools they were intending to establish throughout the country, which shows the permanency of the moni torial system at that early period in the history of the Board. They say, "that

the money, so paid (in school fees), shall constitute a school fund, and that it shall be divided into such proportions, as we may determine, between the head master, his assistant, and the most advanced of the monitors whom he may employ." The system was always worked with moderation; it was free from the wild pretensions of the plans of Bell and Lancaster; and the pupilary and the monitorial functions were happily coalesced. It was the first rational trial, in my mind, which was given to monitorial teaching in these countries. In their Report for 1846, the Commissioners refer to the fruits of the system; they develop its organization, and they announce their determination to extend it to the Ordinary National Schools throughout the country. Each monitor was to serve for a period of four years; at the end of each year there was a sifting examination as to his proficiency; his teacher was required to employ him moderately as a monitor, and freely as a pupil; and his income increased each year up to the last of his service.

The system received a further development by the institution of a small staff of pupil-teachers in each of the Model Schools, who, in most cases, were the elite of those monitors who had completed their fourth year of service. It should be remembered, that the functions of the pupil-teacher and the monitor are very different; the former is more fo a teacher than a pupil; the latter more of a pupil than a teacher.

In 1855, the monitorial system received a still further extension of its usefulness, by the appointment of a number of junior paid monitors, commencing at eleven years of age, and serving for three years; to receive £2 for the first year, £3 the second, and £4 the third. If the conduct and attainments of a junior paid monitor be satisfactory at the end of his period of service, he is then drafted into the ranks of the senior paid monitors, to serve for four years more, and receiving respectively each year, £5, £6, £8, and £10. The paid monitor is now eighteen years of age, and should he persevere in his intention to become a teacher, and exhibit the necessary qualification, he may then be appointed to a pupil teachership in a District Model School, in which he remains for twelve months or two years. In this last stage, his professional education is carried to such a degree, as to qualify him in the most superior way for the offices of teaching; and at the expiration of his stay in the Model School, he is very likely at once nominated to the charge of an Ordinary National School. After serving a year or two as teacher of a school, and becoming acquainted with the difficulties and the responsibilities of the position, he is then brought up to Dublin to receive a final course of training in the Central Institution, Marlborough Street,

Elaborate and well designed as each step in this gradation of monitorial training really is, and superior as have been the results flowing from it, there yet remained a gap in it, the want of a regular scheme of unpaid monitors, which has been filled up by the system of organization, and which has tended to make our monitorial system still more comprehensive and perfect. When a school is being organized, the organizer selects a class which is called "the monitor's class," from amongst the most deserving and intelligent children of the school; he admits as many as possible into the class, in order that the duties may be distributed amongst them and be light upon each; he impresses upon them the importance of their new position and the extent of the distinction which is conferred upon them; and he then arranges that in lieu of the hour a day during which, on the average, they will be called upon to teach, they shall receive an hour's extra special instruction before or after the regular school business. Wherever practicable, it is better that the instruction should be given before school hours, as the minds of the children are fresh and the teacher himself is vigorous. The subjects which are specially taught during the time for extra instruction, are those which bear most upon the duties of the monitor, the preparation of notes of the lessons, and the art of teaching; and care is taken that this instruction supplementalizes and completes the course of business of the day. In order to encourage the teachers to take an interest in the instruction of their monitors, and as a recompense for the additional duty imposed upon them, the Commissioners grant an annual gratuity of £1 for each paid monitor of the first year, £1 10s. for each paid monitor of the second year, £3 for each paid monitor of the third or fourth year, and £4, as I have already stated, for the careful instruction of an unpaid monitor's class in any school which is organized. Every school that is organized will thus have its staff of unpaid monitors. Some of them, in the course of time, will be placed on the list of junior monitors, be again drafted into the class of senior monitors, and be finally appointed as pupil-teachers in a District Model School. During each stage they are pupils one hour, monitors the next; blending the didactic with the studious; rising in powers of thought and expression with their daily experience in teaching, and feeling the counterpoising and disciplinal influences of submission and authority,