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The School World
A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF
EDUCATIONAL WORK AND PROGRESS
VOL. V.
January TO DECEMBER, 1903
London
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1903
» 3@Fr
“The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
No. 49.
PSYCHOLOGIST AND TEACHER.
By C. Ltoyp Morcan, F.R.S.
Principal of University College, Bristol.
EFORE we ask what is the relation of
teacher to psychologist, let us enquire
what are the aims of the one and of the
other. The aim of the psychologist is to study
and formulate the laws and conditions of mental
development, or, in other words, to interpret and
explain the orderly growth of that body of ex-
perience which is effective in thought and conduct.
The aim of the teacher is to afford to his pupils
the conditions most favourable to their mental
development, or, in other words, to minister to the
orderly growth of that body of experience which
is to be effective in thought and conduct.
Now, at first sight, it would seem that, since
both psychologist and teacher are dealing with
mental development—both with the orderly growth
of experience—their relations must be exceedingly
close ; that the practice of the one must necessarily
be founded on the laws which have been for-
mulated by the other. It would even seem, and is
sometimes boldly contended, that the teacher is
dependent on the psychologist for the principles on
which the art of education is based. But, if we
desire to approach the subject in the spirit rather
of a judge than of an advocate, there are several
considerations which tend to show that the de-
pendence of educational procedure on the results
of psychological method is not so close and direct
as extremists strive to maintain. In the first place,
many able and eminently successful teachers, and
among them the greatest, have had no psycho-
logical training ; they have remained, either from
lack of opportunity or from want of inclination,
wholly outside the sphere of influence of a scien-
tific treatment of mental phenomena. In the
second place, there are others, not less successful,
who have diligently sought inspiration from
psychological text-books, and have sought in vain.
In the third place, we have not the data which
would warrant the assertion that the man who is
among other things a trained psychologist is also
and for that reason a more skilful and sympathetic
No. 49, VOL. 5.]
eV Pg
rw & att)
JANUARY, 1903.
SIXPENCE,
teacher than he would otherwise have been. It
may be so; but from the nature of the case we
cannot, from a judicial point of view, say more
than this, even if we can confidently affirm so
much.
Furthermore, it does not necessarily follow, that
because both psychologist and teacher have to deal
with mental development and the orderly growth
of experience, the analytic procedure of the one is
of essential value to the synthetic methods of the
other. Nay,’ rather, observation has not im-
probably forced upon our notice the fact that the
analyist is frequently apt to dwell so exclusively
in the plane of his analysis as to lose touch
with the broader and more synthetic aspects of the
phenomena with which he deals. Not he who
can most exhaustively unravel the diverse factors
which co-operate in the attainment of some form
of skill—say, in playing billiards—is necessarily
himself the most skilful player. Nor is the man
who is most deeply versed in the science of
acoustics a better musician than Handel or
Beethoven. The fact that the teacher, as artist,
deals with the self-same mental development which
the psychologist, as man of science, endeavours to
explain cannot be regarded as in itself sufficient
ground for the assertion that the procedure of the
one must be dependent on the principles elabo-
rated by the other. Indeed, it may be urged that
the constructive methods of art are so divergent
from the analytical methods of science that it is
unreasonable to hope for helpful and fruitful inter-
action between them.
And yet I am firmly convinced that there may
be helpful and fruitful interaction between psycho-
logist and teacher if they will but approach each
other in a spirit of mutual sympathy and with
a genuine desire to render assistance where their
spheres of work inter-penetrate. The teacher who
is worth his salt has a keen insight into character,
knows well what his pupils can assimilate, ap-
preciates by a subtle sense he can scarcely, if at all,
define, the difference, not only in mental capacity,
but in mental process, between the boy of seven
and the lad of seventeen; he has quite definite and
clear notions as to the manner in which, and the
conditions under which, valid and serviceable
experience is built into the tissue and fibre of
B
qe
“ded
2 The School World
mental muscle and has learnt the relative values
of the firm flesh and sinew of hard-won knowledge
and the accumulated fat of merely second-hand
information. All this is just what the psychologist
endeavours to explain; it is an aspect of mental
development he has, with all the assistance he can
get, to grasp in its entirety prior to his analysis.
He has, therefore, much to learn through the
sympathetic help of the teacher. On the other
hand, all his analysis has for its final end and aim
a fuller and more complete understanding of the
broader and more general trend of the same
mental development. And although the analysis
he deems necessary to attain this end may often
seem to the teacher too subtle and too detailed for
educational purposes, yet the constructive syn-
thesis must, in so far as it is valid and true to
nature, be of service to the teacher, just as the
results of scientific botany are of value to the
practical horticulturist.
If this be so, it is the synthetic rather than the
analytic side of the psychologist’s work which will
most strongly appeal tothe teacher. And this is
the aspect of psychology in which many text-
books are deficient ; so that the teacher who turns
to them for inspiration is lost in a maze of detail of
which he fails to see the purpose and end.
There is some analogy—an analogy sufficiently
close to be of use for purposes of illustration—
between the relations of teacher and psychologist
on the one hand and those of naturalist and
morphologist and physiologist on the other hand.
The naturalist is a close observer of the life-
histories of animals and plants in their free and
open-air surroundings. He studies them as wholes
and is often impatient of the minuter work of some
of his scientific friends in the examination of
organs and tissues and microscopic details. But
he often has a wonderful insight into the ways of
animals and the habit of plants, and the relation-
ships they bear to each other. In his field of work,
if the work be good, he is eminently practical and
relies on the results of experience. He gets hold,
perhaps, of a text-book on zoology or botany,
written, maybe, to meet the requirements of a
London Degree Syllabus; and he finds little or
nothing therein to help him in his work in the
field. He is like the teacher who knows by
practical experience the relation of boys to each
other and to him in the educational field and who
turns to the text-book of psychology with hopeful
expectation, only to replace it on the shelf with
disappointment. But if the naturalist perseveres
in his study of the works of zoologists and
botanists, he finds that one result of their labours
is what is now termed bionomics, which is essen-
tially a return to the broader and more synthetic
aspect of the study of animals and plants with the
deeper insight begotten of close and patient ana-
lysis. And he finds that the meaning of many
relationships with which he was already familiar
in a general way has been deepened and rendered
clearer. He starts, for example, with a good
observational knowledge of pond life, and has not
much opinion of those who make a minute
[JANUARY, 1903.
study.of processes of respiration; he reads and
assimilates Professor Miall’s delightful work on
the “ Natural History of Aquatic Insects,” he finds
that the modifications of respiration have, after all,
a distinct bearing on his own study; he is led to
observe himself on these lines. and realises that
some at least of the more minute work of the
zoologist is eminently serviceable to him as
naturalist. So, too, I conceive the teacher, as
observer of the natural history of mental develop-
ment, may, if he pursues his study of psychological
bionomics, come to realise that it is in very truth
a return to the broader and more synthetic aspect
of the study of mental development with a deeper
insight begotten of close and patient analysis; and
that as such it has a real and fruitful bearing on
the principles which underlie the practice of his
profession.
It will, however, probably be asked how teachers
can most readily obtain the kind of training in
psychology which will be most helpful to them in
their daily work. The question is not easy to
answer, partly perhaps because the problem has
not yet been adequately solved. Taking first the
case of teachers in training and assuming that they
attend classes in psychology, the first thing, I take
it, is to develop what may be termed the psycho-
logical attitude. Every piece of experience, such
as that developed in an object lesson properly
conducted with due regard to individual observa-
tion and manipulation, has its objective and its
subjective aspect. We naturally tend to dwell
especially on the former aspect—the properties of
the things which are being examined—and to pay
little heed to the mental processes which are
involved in their apprehension. But for both
psychologist and teacher these mental processes
are of the greatest importance. Discussions on
the heuristic method for example, and those on
reform in mathematical teaching, involve consider-
ations of the manner in which mental assimilation
can be most effectually secured. The scientific
investigator as such can afford to take for granted
the manner in which experience is gained, infer-
ences are drawn, and a body of related knowledge
developed, the results rather than the psychological
steps by which they are reached being in the fore-
ground of his attention. But neither psychologist
nor teacher can afford todo so. The one tries to
explain, the other endeavours to establish the
conditions of such development. Now what should
be the guiding principle of the relations of the
psychological lecturer to teachers in training? That
the examples of mental process—what we may term
the subject-lessons of psychology—should be drawn
from the practice of the class-room. The stages
of the genetic process should be so far as possible
made clear. Memory, rising from simple re-
instatement through recognition and remembrance
to systematic recollection; attention, passive and
active; the process of assimilation, the develop-
mental steps by which logical inference is reached,
the growth of imagination, the successive stadia of
active behaviour, instinctive or quasi-instinctive
voluntary and volitional and their emotional ac-
ee mee
The
JANUARY, 1903. |
School World 3
companiments, should be treated by means of
comparison of the procedure of children and adults.
And then the general principles thus reached
should be applied to the disciplines of the curricu-
lum. Take, for example, a lesson in grammar or
the analysis of sentences. The sentence describes
certain relationships in the external world—what are
they and how are they apprehended? What are the
relationships in thought corresponding to those of
the words in the sentence? How have the verbal
relationships come to be symbolic of the natural
relationships? Are we dealing with percepts or
concepts? Are there any inferences involved and
of what type are they? Is the sentence descriptive
or explanatory? And so forth. Or take some
simple physical research (actually demonstrated
before the class), say with Atwood’s machine.
How do we pass from particular observations to
general conceptions? How can we symbolise the
results in a plotted curve? What does the curve
mean, and what connections in thought are in-
volved? How, for example, do space relations in
the curve stand for acceleration and so forth in the
experiments? What is. the meaning of interpo-
lation in the curve, and what is its relation to the
process of inference? What is the nature of veri-
fication, and how does the coincidence of results,
reached by different methods of observation and
inference, beget that mental state we term convic-
tion? Or, take a lesson in history. How are the
time relationships implied in dates related to those
in the experience of our own lives? How far and
at what stage does the child get anything like
a definite notion of time scale? How far can the
teaching of history be made anything better than
the imparting of a body of more or less vague
information? At what stage of mental develop-
ment does the historic imagination cause the events
to stand out in dramatic form? Or, again, in
a series of lessons in astronomlcal physiography—
say the demonstration that, if physical principles
obtain throughout the universe, the earth-moon
and the earth-sun systems rotate around their
common centres of mass—what faculties are we
endeavouring to train? What part does imagina-
tion play in such studies, and what is the relation
of conception to imagination? These are but
samples of the kind of discussion in which the
psychologist and his class may take part. For
much more can be done (when preliminary ques-
tions of definition have been settled) by free inter-
change of opinion than by set lectures and text-
book work. :
It is more difficult to suggest what course should
be adopted by those teachers, already in the
practice of their profession, who are desirous of
seeking such aid in their daily avocations as can
be given by psychology. But where any number
are banded together in an association those who
are interested in the matter might read some
standard text-book and meet from time to time to
discuss those portions which are in closest touch
with school studies. If they can secure the ser-
vices of some. psychologist of standing who is
interested in the kind of applications of the subject
which bear on class-room methods, who is ac-
quainted with the problems which present them-
selves to teachers, and who has paid special atten-
tion to the comparative psychology of children and
adults, these discussions are likely to be more
fruitful. But above all it should be remembered
that the school is a specialised psychological
laboratory, and that it is the problems which there
present themselves as matters of practical experi-
ence which should form the basis of discussion.
TWO VIEWS OF CULTURE.
I.
By JOHN SARGEAUNT, M.A.
Westminster School.
“s HE mental equipment of a cultured man”
is in part an outcome of his education. It
is not the only, not even the chief outcome;
but I am not now to speak either of moral and
physical qualities or of that which merely fits a
man for his particular calling. On what is left it
must always be remembered that woAvuaéln vdov où
8:8doxe, knowledge is not wisdom, and that our
theme is but the prelude of the strain, 3» e? waded.
We, moreover, must make two distinctions. We
must distinguish what is in itself ideal and im-
mutable from the changing forms in which the
ideal is represented by different generations, and
we must distinguish in the individual that which is
immediately evident, as shewing itself in the form of
assimilated knowledge, from that which the vulgar
cannot put to so ready a test, the power of thought
and the appreciation of beauty, the esthetic sense.
Of unassimilated knowledge there is no need to say
anything: it has been condemned once for all in
Bentley’s epigram on Warburton, ‘‘a huge appe-
tite and no digestion.” A third distinction may
suggest itself. Goethe, said a fine critic, had his
source in a great movement of thought, Byron
his in a great movement of feeling. For our
present purpose, however, feeling is only so far to
be considered as it is dcminated by thought.
The two great faculties of the mind are reason
and imagination. In training these faculties
education has certain instruments, which are, in
the first place, nothing more than instruments,
even though in individual cases they take their
place in the store of learning. Obvious examples
are grammar and geometry. The forms of Attic
verbs and the pons asinorum are taught not because
a man must needs have them, but because they are
definite, because they train the reason and
strengthen the memory, because they do a work
which, at present at any rate, is beyond the power
of such subjects as history or natural science.
Take an example. A boy of eighteen, who has a
taste for mathematics and has been trained in
them, will cram within a few weeks enough
chemistry to deceive the Civil Service examiners.
Reverse the process and observe the failure. Of
4 The School World
the type of instrument, as a training in logic, are
riders in Euclid, and what are called in schools
“ unseens.” Now all these instruments go to
the making of a man of culture, but it does not
follow that they remain as a visible part of his
equipment. Their matter may be in part or
altogether forgotten, but they have, none the less,
had their effect. We can do no more than allude
to the many other qualities, such as readiness,
observation, the capacity for receiving ideas, and
the lasting freshness of the mind, which should
have their training in schools and are blent with
such moral qualities as industry, humility, and
enthusiasm.
The loftiest mind of the seventeenth century
found the perfectly educated man in him who is fit
“ to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously
all the offices both private and public of peace and
war.” We can no longer even profess to aim at
Milton's ideal. Such an aim would defeat itself.
Nor is the scope of our argument the whole field
of education. We have rather to consider what
the man of culture must know.
Much as the modern world has been affected by
the Hebrews, still it is true that our culture is
based upon the thought and art of the Greeks.
It does not follow that a man of culture must
needs know their tongue or tongues. No modern
can know Greek completely, no modern can wholly
bridge the gulf—novies Styx interfusa coercet-—which
separates us from Greek life. Through translation
and other helps he who has no Greek may get a
creditable acquaintance with the spirit of this
ancient world. Yet he will lose something directly,
and much more in that subtle power which the
phrase and the word refuse to transfer to an alien
speecn. Platoin English can be better understood
than enjoyed ; the mannerisms of Attic tragedy are
apt to grow grotesque under transplantation, and
no English version can keep the grandeur of
Homer or of Thucydides. The greater the author
the more impossible is translation. Look at
Shakespeare in a French dress. The translator
may imitate the cry of Dryden’s Cleopatra:
Up, up, my friend, and rouse the serpent’s fury.
He is powerless before Shakespeare’s
Poor venomous fool,
Be angry and despatch.
Recent discoveries have stirred a new interest in
Greek archaeology, but it must not be forgotten
that archaeology has little worth except so far as it
illustrates thought whether of literature or of art.
Scholarship must ever be the mistress, and
archaeology her handmaid.
Above all, in their philosophy the Greeks shewed
themselves to be the people that has been ‘ most
industrious after wisdom.” It cannot be denied
that some men of great attainments have been in-
capable of studying metaphysics. To Macaulay
much of Plato was a sealed book, and when he
found that a translation of Kant conveyed no
meaning to his mind he somewhat pettishly threw
the blame upon the ‘ Liverpool merchant” who
[ JANUARY, 1903.
had Englished the German. The fault was in
himself, and despite his great gifts it makes
some of his work inadequate, if not futile.
Indeed, the study of history cannot be properly
divorced from the study of speculative philosophy.
History may, it is true, be regarded as a series of
events, a record of stirring actions, of wisdom and
folly, of heroism and crime, and as such it has its
value in early education ; but such a view will not
carry us far. ‘ All the epoch-forming revolutions
of the Christian world,” said Coleridge, ‘‘ the revo-
lutions of religion and with them the civil, social,
and domestic habits of the nations concerned,
have coincided with the rise and fall of meta-
physical systems.” We must look to the phi-
losophy of history, to its bearing on morals, to its
power to teach us our own nature. Only in this
light is it true that history repeats itself, only by
so studying the past can we gain a forward glimpse
Tay weAAdyTwy wore abbis Kata TÒ dvOpwreiov TotovTwY Kal
waparAnolwy tcecdar, of the working of human nature
in the circumstances that are to be. So Hegel
well said that the philosophy of history was the
supreme end of philosophy.
And what, then, of the disagreements among
historians? They differ not only in the truth and
the interpretation of this or that fact, not only on
the thought and the spirit of this or that age, but
on the whole philosophy of human life. Even
Hegel’s disciples sometimes come to conclusions
that might well astonish their master. For
instance, one of them discovers a support, nay,
the chief support, of freedom and progress in the
Society of Jesus. When glasses can be so
coloured, we cannot hope that all men will see
alike. Yet we need not on that account cry out,
with Walpole, ‘ No history, for that I know must
be false.” But we must bring to the study of
history a sense of evidence, of proportion, of the
meaning of great movements, of events as a record
of the thoughts of man. Above all, we must bring
that elevation of mind without which all learning
is but a tinkling cymbal.
From the science of history we cannot separate
the science of politics or the science of law.
History is the politics of the past, and law is the
established and recorded witness of the ideals of
an age. Ona lower plane stands political economy,
an exact science, even if it has not in all points
attained to its own exactness. Like geometry, it
deals with inevitable consequences. Youcan no
more break its laws than you can break the law of
gravity. It tells you, for instance, that one course
leads to prosperity and its opposite to adversity.
It cannot compel you, it is not its business to
advise you, to take either. The law of gravity
cannot prevent a lunatic from throwing himself off
the Monument, but he knows what will happen if
he does.
We are not done with the Greeks when we turn
to criticism in literature and art, for its ultimate
principles must be sought from philosophy. Here,
however, we can, if we choose, take an easier
course. A sound critical faculty may be obtained
from an intelligent study of the best models. Such
JANUARY, 1903. ]
a study will naturally begin with the works of our
own people, and in literature at least we have no
lack of the best models in prose and verse. It
will not take long to see that in substance and in
manner Drayton's “ Agincourt,” for instance, or
Tennyson’s “ Revenge,” is poetry,and Mr. Kipling’s
« Islanders’ is not; that Burke’s “Letter to a
Noble Lord” is of another order than Junius’s
“ Letter to the King ”; that ‘“ Silas Marner ” is a
masterpiece, and “The Christian” a monstrosity.
It will not, however, be easy to deduce from such
a study the true principles of criticism, whose
business we are so apt to suppose to be the finding of
fault. The critic is a judge whose aim is to see
things as they are. Criticism is therefore ideal,
while what is called realism sees things not as they
are but as they seem. And we must remember
that the critic is creative in his own field. If we
wish to prove Johnson's claim to be a creator, we
point not to “Irene,” but to the “ Life of
Dryden.”
In the arts of design we may build our judgment
on the same lines. The literary expert may not be
an expert in them, but he must have some love,
some knowledge of them. Horace Walpole took
Strawberry Hill for true Gothic, and Cambridge
allowed itself to be disfigured by Wilkins. Some
still admire Gilbert Scott and decry Wren. Criti-
cism sees that in Wilkins and Scott there is no
thought, no claim on our admiration, while it
admires both the temple at Pesto and Giotto’s
Tower, both York Minster and St. Paul’s, for there
the artist was subject to his art and found his life
by laying it down. It is the same with sculpture,
with painting. We come to know the beautiful
by loving and studying beautiful things. We have
still much to learn, but at least the Alps are no
longer to us the howling wilderness of hideous
precipices which they appeared to the contempo-
raries of Pope and Fielding.
I am tempted to declare that Latin is almost
vital to culture. The Romans were not an imagi-
native people but they produced in Virgil the most
consummate of artists. Their speech was for
centuries, and still almost is, the language of
learning. More than one masterpiece of our own
literature is written in it. The ancient world has
been interpreted by it, and much of its vocabulary
has passed into our own.
In the study of modern languages culture is not
at one with commerce. It is well but not vital to
have a complete colloquial acqaintance with some
of them, but the man of culture may not have had
the time or opportunity to get it. But he may
have, even without it, enough Italian, for instance,
to delight in Dante, or on a lower plane in
Goldoni’s comedies and Mazzoni’s novel. To say
truth, the learning of a spoken language is some-
thing of a knack. There are men who speak
French and German almost as a native, and yet
are scarcely reasoning creatures. Macaulay took
a tutor to teach him the phrases necessary to pass
his luggage through the Customs and take his
rooms at an Italian inn, and having learnt them,
poured upon his tutor a deluge of literary Tuscan.
The School World 5
Early training should, and in fact does, include
some of the exact sciences. The man of culture
must also know something of the principles and
methods of the sciences which have arrogated to
themselves the title of “ natural.” He cannot hope
to become an adept in any one of them. His best
course is to get a knowledge, sound if elementary,
of at least one of them. This will help him to an
intelligent interest in them all. Thus equipped he
will not be likely to talk of a conflict between
religion and science. There can be no such con-
flict. If geology proves that the cosmogony of the
Pentateuch is wrong, he will not rave against the
geologist, but will examine afresh his own view of
the Pentateuch. He will be grateful to the geolo-
gist for pointing the way to a better understanding
of Hebrew literature. This is the spirit of Dr.
Perowne’s farewell address to his diocese. This
was unhappily not the spirit of Mr. Gladstone,
whose mind was on one subject hermetically
sealed. We can, we must, concede all the just
claims of a Lyell or a Huxley, but we must still
assert that there is a world beyond their ken. We
owe much to natural science, we wish to acknow-
ledge and increase the debt, but we will not become
the slaves of the retort and the test-tube. We
shall still look for higher learning to the groves of
Academus, to
Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath.
I return to my starting point that roAvpadin vdov où
8.3doxe. I am not concerned to deny the learning
even of some of those who imagine that Bacon
wrote Hamlet. “It is only to be added that he who
writes on this theme must be sadly aware how far
he falls short of his own ideal.
II.
KEEBLE, M.A.
University College, Reading.
By FREDERIC
HE fact that culture is more easily recognised
than described is a sure indication that it
connotes something more than amount of
intellectuality and that it is not determined solely
by extent or depth of learning. The encyclopædic
student may lack, the specialist may have this grace
of wisdom which is culture. Culture is not a fruit
borne on only one branch of the tree of knowledge,
but on all; so long as each branch is in organic
connection with the trunk.
The elements of time and place enter into a
definition of culture, the significance of the word
grows with the years. Of old, the force of circum-
stances determined that culture was a something
acquired only through the “classics.”
Men, bursting feudal bonds in material things,
still clung, in what appertained to intellectual
things, tothe knees of authority. Diffident of their
own knowledge of art and science, whole races of
mankind turned eagerly to the brilliant past, seek-
ing guidance in the genius of Greece and Rome.
Knowledge wasa sort of Grzeco-Roman revelation:
Greek and Latin were the “ open-sesames ” to cul-
ture. Centuries have lived on this intellectual
6 The
School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
plunder. Universities became the strong-rooms of
‘the booty. The brightest intellects were appointed
to guard and appraise it ; lesser, to tell the children
of its glories. In short, culture passed into the
possession of a cult of literary mandarins, and
education was fast becoming in England what it
had become long since and has remained till now
in China.
But freedom has come. Men have learned to
dare to ask authority for its credentials. Bacon,
Harvey, Descartes, Shakespeare, Goethe, Newton,
Kant, Darwin, Pasteur, have added new pro-
vinces to the world of learning, and, in doing so,
have shown that the Greco-Roman world is no
world, but a province. New grandeurs take place
beside the old, not in rivalry but in re-inforcement.
Thus the content of the word “ culture ” has been
enlarged.
There are still men who stand where their
ancestors of 300 years ago stood, and who still
guard the plunder. Let none speak evil of these
‘‘ persistent types.” It were as ill to speak evil of
Lingula or Equisetum. Nor need anger be ex-
pended on them when they claim to be the sole
repositories of culture. The tragic side lies not in
the claims of these ancestral forms to have reached
perfection, but that they should hold almost ex-
clusive power in higher education.
Yet even here is cause also for thankfulness if
we but regard the ‘classical ” people who rule in
public schools and universities as regents and not
as hereditary monarchs. For they give time for
the new learning to devise new methods. The old
classical methods are of necessity inadequate ;
suited for the perfection of imitativeness. The
new learning started with the old methods and
fortunately and inevitably was overtaken by
disaster. The new wine was put in the old
bottles. By their present regency, the pure
“ classics ” give the moderns time to learn new
methods and to prepare themselves for a place
in the oligarchy of learning. Culture includes,
then, the old and the new.
Again, in continuation of the statement of what
culture is not, it is necessary at the present time
to state the truism that “culture” is in no way
directly determined by usefulness or uselessness of
knowledge. In truth, the whole discussion of
utility is a quarrel about words, and depends for
its yea or nay answer on the meaning attached to
the word “ usefulness.” It is true we are a planet
of shopkeepers, but it is also true that we still
sometimes close our shutters as a sign that we
live.
Education is a training; but not, as our legis-
lators used to think—not unnaturally if we con-
sider the nature of their interests—a training of
winners of the big money-stakes. Nor should the
training be of such a nature that these may not be
won. The training should be such as enables men
to enjoy the race. Culture is the mark of training.
It betokens a mind well grown.
Therefore it isonly by investigating the training
process that a definite idea of the meaning of
“culture ” may be gained. When this is done it will
be possible to adjudge the value of this or that
department of learning as a culture medium.
To train the average mind, there must be pro-
vided, in the first place, an ample, but not over-
whelming, raw material of facts. These must be of
various natures; primarily, of observation; secon-
darily, of authority. The former are verifiable by ~
the senses, the latter only more vaguely verifiable
when criticism is awakened. The first supply of
this raw material must come direct from nature,
for the sense of realness of knowledge must not be
smothered. Book facts must be provided, but
most sparingly, especially at first. For books
must come to be the servants and not the masters
of the subjects of training. To learn to think, the
student must know what people have thought: he
' must also learn to appeal through observation, and
later through experiment to nature. Not only to
nature beautiful and smiling, but also to nature
hard and inexorable.
In the second place, to proceed along with the
first though commencing later, the training must
include fact-sifting and fact-packing. The mind
must be loaded in an orderly manner. The mind’s
eye must learn its perspective. For this, a con-
tinuous apprenticeship to the past is fatal. The
processes of nature must be shown. Continuity
of life and relation of facts must be experienced.
The relationship of past and present will thus
come to stand out with clearness, and it will be
impossible for the training to produce a wholly
“« past” man or a solely ‘“ present” man. Sym-
pathy, the bond which unites individuals into
aggregates, and links past and present, will be
developed. Another name for this arrangement
and appraisal of facts is ‘scientific method ;”
though unfortunately it is not realised sufficiently
that scientific method is the one and only inethod of
learning, and that its common-sense principles are
as true when applied to literature as to biology.
The scientific method stands for order and more
than order: it stands for the fertile union of
imagination and reason, the offspring of which is
originality.
From an early period, manual training must
help the mental training, for eye and hand are
the chief adjutants of the mind. There is a genius
of the finger tips something of which all should
acquire.
In these practices the student has incidentally
reached his goal. He has acquired, by the
habit of seeking and handling, sifting and placing
knowledge, that degree of mental dexterity of
which his brain is capable. He has exercised
his fancy, balancing it against his reason; so that,
waking at least, he is the master of both. He has
gained the priceless result of training, resolution :
that intellectual courage without which no brain
will go far. The facts which, when assimilated
and exhibited, are called knowledge may be
likened to the muscles. The proper ordering of
this knowledge, the due and purposeful co-ordi-
nation of the muscles; this is wisdom. The ease
and grace of the movement which makes endurance
possible and activity beautiful; this is culture.
JANUARY, 1903. |
Assuming that the foregoing contains a true
statement of the essentials of the training process,
it remains to ask what subjects offer the best
material for this training? Several admit of no
doubt. Such are Drawing and Mathematics,
Modern Languages, including History and Litera-
ture, and Natural Science. Drawing—esthetic
shorthand—is essential, as essential as writing,
as an introduction to both art and science. It
trains the hand and eye as nothing else does. It
enlarges and illuminates the field of vision. In
drawing, not only hidden beauty but hidden things
are revealed. Drawing isa tool not only of service
to the zsthetic sense but also to the brain as a
whole.
Mathematics is essential, not only because of its
every-day utility, but also because without it
certainty and generality, two abstracts of the highest
importance, cannot be grasped, nor the nature of
their limitations discovered. Modern Languages
and Literatures are essential. They are the only
asylums from provincialism. In them the past is
summarised and the present indicated. In many
departments of thought, at the present moment,
England’s imports exceed her exports. Only by
knowing the languages, may English amateurism
be enlightened by a sympathetic understanding of
French precision and German patience. Natural
Science is essential. By its light alone may we
peer into the illimitable unknown, not aghast but
with hope. By it alone may knowledge live. It
gives to beauty a wider realm and to truth a more
awful meaning. The best constructive thought of
modern times is to be found in the work of Natural
Science. To take one instance only. The work
of Pasteur is epoch-making not only in medicine
but in the history of mental progress. To be
ignorant of the thought-story of Pasteur is to be
ignorant of one of the most stupendous mental
efforts ever achieved. Admitting that these sub-
jects have substantiated their respective claims to
a part in training, it must be asked whether, if
training is confined to these subjects, the highest
form of culture may be produced? or, to put the
matter more directly, is a training in the classics
also an essential ?
The answer given to this question must depend
on that given to another, namely: how far is the
spirit, the genius, of Greece and Rome revealed in
modern literature and modern philosophy? If,
despite the centuries of opportunity for its repre-
sentation, it is still necessary to go to the original
sources, then Greek and Latin are still as essential
to culture as they were in the eighteenth century.
The writer thinks that the ancient spirit may be
appreciated by those ignorant of the ancient
languages. Indeed, he would go further, hazarding
the paradox that many of its aspects can be better
appreciated by a student of Natural Science
ignorant of Greek than by a student of Greek
ignorant of Natural Science.
But it is not enough to appreciate the general
worth of ancient thought. The trained man must
have acquired that sense of style which the “classic ”
has so exquisitely. Natural Science will not beget
The School World 7
this. It will give business-like orderliness to the
expression of ideas; it cannot impart the charm
which should invest them. This is one of the
special tasks of Literature. Side by side with the
other subjects, the literatures of at least two
countries must not so much be studied as devoured.
The modern literatures are competent to beget
a sense and power of style.
Thus the conclusion is reached that the subjects
mentioned are sufficient for thorough training and
may produce the finest form of culture and that, for
this, the study of Greek and Latin is no longer
essential. Nevertheless, he would be a rarely
foolish man who would advocate the utter banish-
ment of Greek and Latin from all training. For
he would be overlooking the diversity which exists
in the mental apparatusesof man. For the many,
that harmonious development of the faculties
which results in culture is best arrived at by train-
ing in the subjects already mentioned; but, for
others, Nature is mute, the literatures of England,
France and Germany are pale in glory beside
those of Greece and Rome. Gothic appeals to
some, classical architecture to others. Wagner
has still some worlds to conquer which at present
own other sway.
We would not pass from one narrowness to
another. For those whose bent is towards litera-
ture, training in Natural Science may be subor-
dinated, though in no manner of circumstance
omitted. These brighter minds must assume a
heavier burden. Their training must be more
catholic. In this training the Classics must play a
part and that part may well be a large one. For
the general, on the other hand, Classics must as
the world advances be ever of smaller value as
a mode of training. Modern languages have
established their, in some respects, superior claims.
Modern literatures have their glories, in some re-
spects more glorious than those of the ancient
literatures. But whether it is mainly modern or
mainly ancient literature which is chosen as one
mode of training, neither the one nor the other
can lead unaided to the goal of culture. Nor,
on the other hand, can Natural Science replace
the languages. The mountains terminate in fine
peaks, but they rise from broad foundations.
THAT man, I think, has had a liberal education who has been
so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will,
and does with ease and pleasure all the work that, as a
mechanism, it is capable of; whose intellect is a clear, cold,
logic engine, with all its parts of equal strength, and in smooth
working order ; ready, like a steam engine, to be turned to any
kind of work, and spin the gossamers as well as forge the
anchors of the mind; whose mind is stored with a knowledge of
the great and fundamental truths of Nature and of the laws of
her operations: one who, no stunted ascetic, is full of life and
fire, but whose passions are trained to come to heel by a
vigorous will, the servant of a tender conscience; who has
learned to love all beauty, whether of Nature or of art, to hate
all vileness, and to respect others as himself.— Huxley.
8 The
NATURAL SCIENCE IN GIRLS’
SCHOOLS.
By SARA A. BURSTALL, B.A.
Headmistress of the Manchester High School.
HE value of practical, scientific training, and
of some knowledge of natural science as part
of a liberal education has not been always
recognised. In many girls’ secondary schools, and
in the minds of many parents, classics, modern
languages, mathematics and English subjects have
received their meed of attention, but it is often
tacitly assumed that girls have no business with
physics or natural history, unless they are going to
specialise in science or take up medicine. There
are several reasons for this. Laboratory work and
the teaching required for it are expensive, owing
to the equipment and the necessarily small number
of pupils one teacher can safely manage. Boys
must learn physical science at school as a prepara-
tion for professional and industrial life; and so
parents demand it for them but not for the girls.
Indeed, it is not unusual to find even enlightened
parents requesting that their daughters be allowed
to give up physics and botany, ‘‘as it will never
be any use to them.”
This is, perhaps, the reason why, speaking
generally, private boarding-schools for girls have
so little science study in their curriculum. There
are also two more personal and less obvious
causes: first, that girls often dislike practical
work, and prefer subjects that can be learnt out of
books—a fact due, it may be, to their more recep-
tive and less original intellectual character as com-
pared with their brothers; and, second, that the
authorities of the schools sometimes distrust the
effect of scientific studies, positive and rationalistic
as these are, on the minds and hearts of young
women. ‘There is, doubtless, a real difficulty and
danger behind this latter objection: a curriculum
exclusively and narrowly scientific may starve and
atrophy some of the most important elements of a
woman’s nature. But this is true in other direc-
tions of other subjects also, and is also true for
boys, on intellectual grounds alone. It is now
being recognised that the ‘schools of science”
have not been altogether advantageous in their
effect on knowledge and capacity, owing to the
disproportionate amount of time given to one type
of studies; specialisation, above all premature
specialisation, is bad for most young people in any
subject. On the other hand, there are at least two
strong arguments for making some amount of
natural science compulsory in a girls’ education,
apart from the general reasons as stated in Herbert
Spencer’s well-known essay, which are, of course,
as true for one sex as for the other. If girls do
often dislike practical experimental study, as com-
pared with formal book-knowledge, it is all the
more desirable that they should be obliged to get
the training laboratory work gives—a peculiar and
unique training, such as can be imparted in no
other way.
School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
The value of scientific method, of verification
and accuracy in observation, is in itself a corrective
to the schoolgirl’s fatal facility in learning up facts
from a text-book, or mechanically reflecting the
phrases and ideas of the teacher. It is found,
however, that a certain number of girls have a real
passion for science, are devoted to it, and often
do very well later in college. Further, there is
a special value in some knowledge of physics as a
preparation for woman’s special work in the home;
it is a very short-sighted and incomplete view
which would consider general elementary science
as useless in her education. All the various
branches of domestic economy depend on the laws
of physics, mechanics and chemistry, trom the
frying of fish and the washing of flannels to sanita-
tion and the care of children. A girl who has had
a simple three-years’ course of practical physics,
even if only two lessons a week, has learnt how
things go in nature, can observe and draw deduc-
tions from her observation, can deal with emer-
gencies, scheme and contrive ways round a prac-
tical difficulty, has acquired by practical experience
some measure of accuracy and resource—no mean
possession for the mistress of a household. To
some such course of elementary physics may well
be added simple outlines of botany and natural
history, again largely experimental, and devoid as
far as possible of technicalities and elaborate ter-
minology, whether in classification or elsewhere.
This can be begun earlier than the physics, as
there is less mathematical work in it, and as the
experiments do not involve the use of gas jets, bal-
ances, mercury and heavy apparatus, all of which
mean difficulties for younger pupils. In the junior
classes, from the kindergarten upwards, nature-
study, in the form of object-lessons, is generally
recognised in all grades of schools. It may well
become, as it is in many American schools, the
central study, round which all the language work,
reading, writing, recitation, &c., is grouped. In
the American educational exhibit at the Paris
Exposition this method was clearly shown, and the
best normal-college courses in the States contain
for primary teachers a carefully-planned biological
syllabus, often arranged according to the seasons,
closely connected with common objects, and serving
as the foundation of all their ordinary teaching.
It will be noticed, too, in English schools how
much better is the composition work done on nature
subjects by younger children than is that on the
literary side. Germination of a seed, which they
have seen and watched for themselves, is a far
more real and interesting matter to them than the
life of an historical character, just as animals are
more interesting to the very young child than
human beings are. This simple nature-study
passes almost insensibly into botany and zoology,
which may be pursued in the second and third
forms (ages eleven to thirteen inclusive), provided
the teaching is practical. This means observation
of the living things, both animal and plants; easy
biological experiments on the latter, such as can
be carried on in a greenhouse or window garden,
if not in the open ground; drawing from museum
JANUARY, 1903.]
The School World 9
specimens; elementary classification; and some
knowledge of the habits and life history of more
important types. (See subjoined syllabus.) In
the fourth forms the work may be continued on
the concentric system, and at fifteen or sixteen,
when girls begin to specialise, they will be ready
for formal technical study.
Victoria University has lately introduced the
subject of natural history (taking animals and
plants together) as an optional group in the Pre-
liminary examination, developed somewhat on
these lines; and in so doing has given a marked
impulse to sound methods in the schools. For
girls especially, the kind of biological teaching
favoured by the followers of Huxley, including as
it did actual dissection, had become sometimes a
real stumbling-block in the way of those teachers
who wished to encourage the life sciences. The
newer scheme, with which the names of Prof.
Miall and Prof. Hickson are associated, is an
attempt to find a better way, f.e., one more fitted
for average school conditions, but equally sound
and scholarly.
The other group of natural sciences, physics and
chemistry, has been studied from the pedagogic
point of view by Dr. Armstrong, whose heuristic
method and syllabus of general elementary science
are already well known. Measurement, which is
its basis, may be begun in the junior school, in
connection with concrete arithmetic and handwork,
plans of the playground, &c. Some teachers find
it advantageous, however, in practice, to depart
from the strict heuristic method, and give demon-
Stration lessons in the form in which physics is
begun, an Upper II. or Middle IlI. (thirteen years
of age). In the Manchester High School we have
a compulsory three-years’ course in simple physics,
for the Upper III., Fourth, and Upper IV. forms,
of two lessons a week, one being demonstration
and one laboratory practice; some very elementary
chemistry is introduced in the third year. An at-
tempt is being now made to correlate the physics
work with the arithmetic and geometry teaching.
Whenever possible the connection of household
science is emphasised, and experiments with milk,
tea, the making of soap, heating of oil, and similar
illustrations from daily life are employed. The
form which specialises on housewifery (sixteen and
seventeen years of age) has a complete course of
domestic science and hygiene, closely related to
the cookery, &c., done in the technical part of their
time-table. One valuable and interesting result
of this compulsory physics course is that girls who
have a real taste for science are discovered in time
to develop their faculty, and such girls sometimes
have no inclinations or ability in other directions.
The case of Martin, in ‘Tom Brown,” has its
parallels in girls’ schools, and if a girl does care for
science she cares for it ardently and often excels.
The women’s movement is not very old, but
already there are cases of women doing research
work, and if there were adequate fellowships and
other opportunities for them they would do more.
Chemistry for girls should not be compulsory,
but should be taken up late in a school course
by those who are specialising ; this is the view
held by several college authorities, who find the
work done in earlier years at school often in-
adequate and superficial, because the pupils are
not developed enough mentally to understand what
they are doing, and in consequence work mechani-
cally. This error obtains with boys rather than
with girls, but it is noticed sometimes with girls
who have learnt chemistry in a higher-grade school
at too early a stage.
The insertion of natural history and general
elementary science into the curriculum, justifiable
on the ground of their value alike as training and
knowledge, means that the older physical geo-
graphy and hygiene lessons cannot be given all
through the school, as they were in the original
high schools a generation ago; there is not room
for both kinds of science study if the claims of
mathematics and the humanities be considered.
Scientific men on the whole discourage the school
study of these subjects, as they opine, very justly,
that scientifically these depend on physics and
chemistry, and should be taught only to students
who have some discipline in these basic sciences.
But both are valuable as knowledge, and hygiene
is obviously most important for girls. The present
writer is not prepared with any solution of the
problem in this case, except for girls who remain
to finish a school course; these can be taught
what is necessary in a short course of lessons
on laws of health, treated as an information
subject, and learnt up like Latin inflections or
the provisions of a charter. Physical geography
lends itself to demonstration courses, given, say,
for a year in the thirds, and then again in the
Upper V. Elementary geology can, of course, be
taken with those who specialise in science, just as
the mathematical girls in the upper part of the
school can do astronomy.
Speaking generally, it will be found possible for
those who believe in science to give about a third
of the school time to it, including, of course,
mathematics; with young children constructive
handwork, object lessons and elementary arith-
metic, will take such a proportion of time; later,
three nature-study and five arithmetic periods a
week may well be given. When physics is intro-
duced, five to seven periods may be given to this
and the correlated mathematical studies, and two
to botany or natural history. At fifteen or sixteen
years of age, the girl who is to specialise in science
must keep up her mathematics, English literature
and history, and at least one language, while she
should acquire or possess a reading knowledge both
of French and German. She may learn three
sciences, and at seventeen or eighteen four (physics,
chemistry, botany and zoology), though in this
case she will have but the minimum of other
studies. Some girls who incline to language,
history, or mathematics as their special work often
wish to keep up one science, and this should
be encouraged for the sake of the general broaden-
ing of their intelligence. Botany arouses the
enthusiasm of some, chemistry of others, while
the would-be wrangler should be always obliged
IO The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
to keep up her physics, an auxiliary subject in
applied mathematics.
In conclusion, it may be observed that the sug-
gestions and plans described above are the result
of experience and experiment, and that the views
put forward, it may be somewhat dogmatically, as
to the value of science training and knowledge
for girls, are not those of a science specialist, but
of one whose personal interests are humanistic and
literary. Even on the transcendental side, physical
science, like abstract mathematics, has its element
of imagination, poetry, beauty and reverence. To
know, like the wisest of kings, all the trees “ from
the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop
that springeth out of the wall,” to discern with the
Roman philosopher ‘‘the courses of the stars in
heaven and the tumid surging of the seas,” to
catch some whisper of the mighty harmonies force
and matter weave and interweave through the
universe of phenomena, is not without a message
to the soul within us, nay, is to some more eloquent
of all that is truest and best in the life of reason,
than even the glories of literature, or the vocal and
storied record of cities and empires and the deeds
of man.
ABBREVIATED SYLLABUS OF SCIENCE WORK IN
CERTAIN SUBJECTS TAKEN IN THE MANCHESTER
Hicu SCHOOL For GIRLS, 1900-1901.
Botany and Natural History.
Junior School._—Here science was correlated with geography.
form [1I.—The plant as a whole. Germination, Some
common fruits. How seeds are dispersed. Description of some
flower.
Distinction between plants and animals. Outside character-
istics and habits of mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes. Ex. : rabbit,
mole, weasel, cat, duck, pigeon, seagull, owl, parrot, lizard,
crocodile, snake, plaice, cod, herring.
form [V.—The same as the III’s., with more attention to
detail. Description of most flowers. More examples of
animals.
For Girls Specialising in Science.
Form V.—Botany.—Types of cryptogams, cells and cell
structure done microscopically. About twelve Natural Orders.
Natural History.—Same as Class IV. Also some inverte-
brates.
Form V1.—Botany.—Physiology of plant life as practically
as possible. Cryptogams in detail. The chief British Natural
Orders.
Physics and Chemistry.
Junior School._—Very elementary demonstration lessons on
air and its properties. Measurement of length. Area. Volume.
Planning. Curved lines. Relation of diameter to circumference
of acircle. Area of circle and cylinders.
form lIl., Upper.—Same as Junior school. Also use of
balance. Weighings. Comparison of weight and volume. Use
of pipettes.
form [V.—Weight of known volume of water at different
temperatures. Relative densities of liquids by sp. gr. bottles.
U-tubes. Hydrometers. Relative density of solids, heavier and
lighter than water. Lessons on common substances such as
salt, chalk. Chemical methods as decantation, filtration,
crystallisation. Solution and solubility. All done practically and
as simply as possible.
Form IV., Upper.—Heat. Experiments on expansion of
solids, liquids and gases. Thermometers; kinds; how to make
and test them. Freezing points and melting points. Specific
heat of water and other things determined and compared.
Latent heat of water and steam. Transmission of heat—radia-
tion, conduction, convection.
For Girls Specialising in Science.
Form V.—Physics.—General properties of matter. Heat and
its effects. Specific heat and latent heat. Light—reflection
from plane surfaces, refraction, shadows, prisms and decomposi-
tion of white light.
Form V.—Chemistry.—Study of air and water and their
constituents. The chief non-metals. Simple theory.
Form V/.—Metals in general. Alloys, &c. The chief metals
in detail, Equivalents determined. All done practically.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN
MATHEMATICAL EXAMINATIONS.
By C. ALMERIC RuMSEY, M.A.
Dulwich College.
HERE is an old complaint that govern-
ments are slow in their movements: that
reforms necessary to the well-being of
communities are not infrequently initiated by un-
official action from below before the powerful
machinery which alone can make them effective is
set in motion by the force of public opinion.
At first sight it would appear, from an inspection
of certain data, that in the process of the reformation
through which mathematical examinations have
passed during the last two decades a remarkable
series of exceptions to the usual course of events
has been exhibited, in that time after time changes
of the most radical character have been made
under the direct auspices of state departments,
while other bodies have lain dormant in the grip of
conservatism. It might perhaps be inferred that
high authorities have recently become imbued with
a loftier view of their responsibilities than hereto-
fore, and that an application of the same zealous
spirit of correction to other matters was about to
usher in the millennium. .
But this inference is not altogether legitimate ;
for in its application to the present instance the
word “ government ” must be held to denote not
the powers that dominate the British Empire, but
those which wield the paramount control over
things mathematical. It would, therefore, be well,
before deducing from these special considerations
any general theorem as to an improved morality
in rulers, to make an investigation into the con-
duct, not of the state departments whose attention
has been accidentally called to the matter, but of
the universities. Such an inspection, though it
reveals much backwardness in the past, yet yields
some hope for the future. Committees are now
actively at work, and new regulations have been
published for Responsions, and for the Oxford and
JANUARY, 1903. |
Cambridge Locals, which are perhaps the most
important elementary examinations which these
universities conduct. But the improvements which
have just been made here are in the Woolwich
and Sandhurst papers already a matter of history ;
and some of the papers on elementary subjects
which are set to undergraduates are still in need
of radical reform. But though, ideally no doubt,
everything should be conducted on the best
possible lines, the universities are perhaps not
greatly to blame for the lack of reforming spirit
which has hitherto existed in their dealings with
the examinations for poll degrees and Little Go.
The dons know very well that these examinations,
however well appointed, will never be taken
seriously by the candidates. We must, however,
hope to see them brought, in the near future, into
line with others of the same order of difficulty; if
this is not done, a very awkward situation will be
created in some of our largest public schools. °
The changes which have recently taken place
may, in regard to the causes which have pro-
duced them, be classified under two main heads.
The first, those which are ordained by regulations,
issued at the instance of controlling councils, are
by far the most important. They are the result
alike of careful consideration of a responsible and
constituted body, and of an explicit statement
which it is not easy to revoke: they alone can
cause radical alteration in the teaching of subjects,
and form a determining factor in educational pro-
gress. But if of materials furnished by the past
a basis for conjecture as to the future is to be
formed, it is frequently necessary to look behind
these indications of syllabi, and to draw conclu-
sions from the changes made by individual ex-
aminers. It is often found that a certain paper
progresses in difficulty from year to year, or in
some other way alters its character, and though
no new regulations may have been published, the
circumstances suggest that this will be the case in
the near future. The geometry papers in the
military Entrance examination form an interesting
case in point. These, during the late ‘nineties,
passed through a period of evident unrest. The
examiners were, to judge from the questions which
they set, dissatisfied with the syllabus, and did
their best, without overstepping its limits, to adapt
it to meet the modern improvements in educational
method. There was a frequent admixture of
drawing and mensuration questions with those in
formal geometry; and finally, in rgor, a regulation
dispensing with Euclid’s order of propositions was
issued by the board. This supersession of the old
text book in order to make way for more modern
methods is a change in comparison with which all
others sink into insignificance. The pioneers in
the movement were not the military authorities,
but the heads of the Science and Art Department,
who many years ago decided not to make a
knowledge of Euclid’s Elements a sine gud non for
securing a pass in geometry.
This example has now been followed in the
naval Entrance examinations, London Matricu-
lation, lower Civil Service, Oxford Responsions,
The School World
II
and many others. The Oxford Local regulations
for 1903 contain the following important notice :
Questions will be set so as to bring out as far as possible a
knowledge of the principles of geometry, a smaller proportion
than heretofore consisting of propositions as enunciated in
Euclid. Any solution which shows an accurate method of
geometrical reasoning will be accepted. Geometrical proofs of
theorems in Book II. will not be insisted upon.
The new syllabus issued on behalf of the ‘“ Canı-
bridge Locals” gives a very complete account of
the type of questions that will be set in 1903, the
whole being entirely on British Association lines.
Specimen papers in geometry (Preliminary and
ee are to be published with the book of papers
or December, 1902. In the meantime, we are
told that Euclid's order of propositions is to be
dispensed with, the papers are to consist of two
parts, one a practical section, for which compasses,
protractor, set squares, and an inch and centimetre
ruler will be required, the other theoretical, in
which proofs of propositions will be demanded.
Hypothetical constructions are admitted,—ad lib.
apparently,—there being no statement to the con-
trary. This is an omission which cannot but lead
to difficulties, but such must undoubtedly occur—
and in many forms—during a period of transition.
There are some, however, which can be avoided
by forethought, and it would be well if the ex-
ample set by the Science and Art Department
were followed in a certain particular, with a view
to preventing imposture: at the head of its
geometry papers occurred the following notice to
candidates :
Unless you expressly state the contrary, it will be assumed
that you have read GEOMETRY in Euclid, and you will be
expected to follow Euclid’s sequence, otherwise you must state
what text-books you have used in geometry.
It is scarcely possible to find words which will
sufficiently animadvert against the folly of those
examining bodies which have made the announce-
ment that they will not insist on Euclid’s sequence,
without accompanying it by this precautionary
clause. One or two instances illustrate the class
of difficulty that must inevitably arise if this
procedure is not adopted: Euclid I. 18 is set:
a demonstration similar to that of I. 19, mutatis
mutandis, is sent up, the result of I. 19 being
assumed ; or III. 26 is proved by means of III. 27.
Now, how is the examiner to know that the can-
didate has not been taught on a system in which
I. 19 and III. 27 are proved independently of their
converses, the latter being subsequently deduced
from them? He has no choice but to give full
marks, though in all probability both answers are
what schoolboys expressively call a “fudge.” A
similar predicament is liable to occur in the case
of any two consecutive converse propositions the
second of which is deduced from the first. There
is, as a rule, no intentional dishonesty on the part
of the candidate; he has simply forgotten. Such
instances are of frequent occurrence. Less fre-
quently, but sufficiently often to make the case
worthy of consideration, are first-book propositions
I2
The School World
(JANUARY, 1903.
made to depend upon the theory of proportionals—
and all these proofs might conceivably be placed
on a logical basis.
Again, the examiner will frequently find himself
on the horns of more subtle and philosophical
dilemmas than the above. Consider, for instance,
the following typical question and a possible
answer :
Give reasons to show that similar polygons are proportional to
the squares of corresponding sides.
Let ABCDE, abcde, be two similar polygons.
Describe squares on AB and aż. ;
Then the whole figures thus drawn are similar, and hence
corresponding parts of them are proportional: therefore the
polygons are as the squares on AB and aż.
Now this argument has probably no philo-
sophical basis in the mind of the candidate. Yet
it is absolutely convincing to anyone who has a
sense of proportion, not only as a proof of VI. 20,
but as a substitute for both VI. 19 and VI. 20. It
is, therefore, worth some, if not full, marks.
Moreover, it is conceivable that in the text-books
used by the candidate the following sequence of
propositions occurred: (1) Similar triangles are
proportional to the squares of corresponding sides.
(2) If similar rectilinear figures be divided by the
joins of corresponding points, their corresponding
parts are in proportion. (3) Similar polygons
are proportional to the squares on corresponding
sides.
This is a reasonable arrangement ; it differs from
Euclid’s only by the substitution of ratio of squares
for duplicate ratio, and the division of VI. 20 (with
the first part slightly altered in form) into two pro-
positions. On this supposition the answer deserves
full marks.
It would be easy to multiply instances to show
that the present generation of English mathe-
maticians have by no means discharged their duty
to posterity by abolishing the use of Euclid. A
new set of definitions and axioms, and a new order
of propositions, must be established, backed by
sufficient authority to ensure recognition through-
out the country. When it is remembered that the
whole science of geometry is based upon experience,
that to some minds the existence of a plane, as
defined by Euclid, is a matter of doubt, while to
others the above inclusive proof of VI., 19 and 20,
would appear perfectly rigid, the folly of leaving
each teacher to propound his own axioms must
become too palpable to be tolerated. A scheme
of propositions for a revised text-book on geometry
has been included in the pamphlet on “The
Teaching of Elementary Mathematics” by the
committee of the Mathematical Association. This
committee was composed of masters from nearly
all the great public schools, and representatives
from other prominent educational bodies. The
recommendations consist mainly of omissions of
useless propositions and of alterations in the order
of others; but Euclid’s ‘! logical order ” has been
retained: 1.2., no change has been made which
would render any of his proofs invalid. Also certain
hypothetical constructions are recommended, such,
for instance, as the bisection of a line or angle,
where the possibility is obvious.
The changes which have taken place in ALGEBRA
papersare far less noteworthy than those in geometry;
in fact, the only innovations which are of great
importance are really geometrical in character, and
arise from the feeling that the two subjects ought
to be interwoven with each other at a much earlier
stage than has been usual heretofore. The feeling
originally vented itself in the creation of ‘‘ mensu-
ration,” which has formed a section in a large
number of examinations; but questions which
were at first classified under this head are now
frequently set in the Euclid and algebra papers at
most Government examinations and in many others.
The plotting of curves for statistical purposes or
for the solution of equations forms a prominent
feature in training colleges, and has recently found
a place in the naval and military Entrance papers.
There are minor alterations which, though not so
easy to place upon formal record as the above,
indicate a trend of opinion among examiners, and
should, therefore, be not altogether overlooked.
Questions involving long analysis are less in evi-
dence than formerly, a larger proportion being
of the kind that require an understanding of
principles. It is, of course, not to be expected
that young boys will be able to discuss the ulti-
mate bases of the laws of algebra. But verifica-
tions by substitutions in formule and illustrations
are frequently a means of bringing home to the
learner the issues involved, and, if not formal
proofs, supply at any rate strong circumstantial
evidence. In this connection that hitherto un-
profitable servant, the second book of Euclid, is
much in evidence. An Army Cadet paper for
July, 1902, contains the question : ‘‘ Draw figures to
show that (1) (a £b} =a@° + 2ab +b’, (2) a&@—b?= (a+b)
(a—b).” The Cambridge Local examination for
December, 1903, will demand “illustration or
explanation by means of rectangular figures of the
identity”: R(a+b+c . . )zthkat+hb+he...
in addition to those just mentioned.
There is naturally little to record on the side of
ARITHMETIC. In the Naval, Military, and Lower
Civil Service examinations it has become custo-
mary to set two papers, one designed to test ac-
curacy, the other containing questions of mathe-
matical difficulty to test resource. A prominent
feature is the requirement of approximate calcula-
tions by which answers can be obtained to a given
degree of accuracy, recurring decimals having been
placed in the background as of less practical im-
portance.
In the region of higher mathematics, such as the
Cambridge Tripos, there is continual progress, as
might naturally be expected, since it is in this
quarter that the attention of prominent mathe-
maticians most naturally concentrates itself. But
there has been an extraordinary conservatism
shown in the matter of Entrance Scholarship
examinations at all colleges. Excepting for the
addition of differential calculus, no change in
syllabus has been made since time immemorial,
although there is abundant evidence, both internal,
JANUARY, 1903. ]
furnished by the papers themselves, and external,
furnishable by teachers outside the universities,
that such is eminently needed.
The internal evidence consists in the ever
increasing difficulty of these papers: modern im-
provements in teaching have rendered it impossible
to separate the candidates who present themselves
by means of questions demanding only a working
knowledge of the subjects below the integral
calculus; and examiners have in self-defence had
recourse to many of their less important ramifica-
tions. This will always supply a solution of the
dificulty, but one which is by no means satis-
factory. Any tolerable mathematician can, by
piling up successive wedges, create with a stroke
of the pen a dynamical system the accelerations
of whose parts no boy—or man—could discover
within the space of three hours, or with Hobson’s
“ Trigonometry” in front of him devise a dozen
questions which might serve to differentiate a
candidature composed of Senior Wranglers: but
the question whether a schoolboy’s time is well
employed in attacking problems of this character
is now being discussed on all hands: nor is there
much doubt but that the discussion will shortly
bear fruit.
As to the external evidence, it is well known that
many of the competitors, especially those who come
from university colleges, have actually read subjects
above the differential calculus. Moreover, a strong
feeling is growing up that a school course should
be such as to give a wide grasp of mathematical
principles rather than great skill in solving fanciful
problems of a highly specialised character. An
able boy would have no difficulty in acquiring by
the age of 19 a working knowledge of integral
calculus, particle and rigid dynamics, and three-
dimensional analysis, in addition to the subjects
now required of him. Such a course of work
would lend an intensified interest to school mathe-
matics, and obviate the tendency to “ staleness,”
which cannot but be engendered by the continual
plodding over the same ground which is necessary
to, success under the present system. Moreover,
it would form a preliminary not only to the
Mathematical but also to the Science Tripos. If
men are to become first-class physicists they must
acquire some knowledge of mathematics; and this
should mainly be done at school in conjunction
with elementary practical work, the higher
experiments being in most cases postponed:
because, though most schools are able to supply
good mathematical masters, few have at their
disposal sufficient funds to furnish laboratories
suited to advanced work.
A word as to the supersession of Euclid’s
Elements. This movement, which is a natural
consequence of the evolution of geometrical
thought, must not be confused with another, the
reasons for which are purely didactic, namely, the
separation for teaching purposes of the subject into
practical and theoretical courses.
The intense difficulty experienced in learning
Euclid under the old system has arisen from the
fact that the pupil has been required to call
The School World
13
simultaneously into great activity two totally un-
correlated faculties, the geometrical and linguistic.
This to an ordinary boy is almost impossible. The
two faculties must be trained separately before
they are used in combination. Some familiarity
with lines and circles must be gained before an
attempt is made to argue in concise language as to
their properties. If thisis not done, the same kind
of difficulty, though no doubt in less degree, will
always be felt in the teaching of formal geometry,
however excellent the system and arrangement of
propositions.
That a new system will shortly be adopted may
now be taken for granted. But if we are to
consign Euclid’s Elements to the silence of the
upper shelf, we must do so in no contemptuous
spirit but with feelings of the deepest reverence
and respect. Asa text-book it possesses a unique
history. A manual of science composed three
hundred years before the birth of Christianity, it is
to-day, after centuries of scientific discovery, a
volume of recognised utility and a model of logical
precision. It forms a colossal monument to the
intellect of a remote age, demonstrating that our
superiority to the Greeks is due only to accumu-
lated knowledge and in no way to an accession of
mental acuteness. "
The setting aside of this extraordinary work in
favour of more modern methods is but a part of a
revolution which is taking place in the education
of the country, and but one result of the great
truth which is being forced upon her schools.
These schools have set the noble ideal of Athenian
thought and culture before many generations of
Englishmen. If future generations would emulate
this ideal they must do so by discovering new
sciences and creating new, systems ; nor must they
think, as men have thought in the past, that by
gloating over the words of Plato they become the
successors of the Greek philosophers.
THE HEADMASTERS’ CONFERENCE.
T the first meeting of the Headmasters’ Con-
ference, held at Uppingham in 1869, Thring,
the founder of this important educational
association, said, ‘‘Our schools depend absolutely
and entirely on the vitality of progressive work ’’;
and it was this belief which inspired him to set
about the arduous work of securing a hearty
co-operation between the headmasters of the
public schools of England. Of the difficulty of
Thring's task there can be no doubt. As Mr.
G. R. Parkin says, in “ The Life and Letters of
Edward Thring” (Macmillan), the Conference
«has broken down a deadening isolation, induced
a healthy interchange of ideas between public
schools, given them a united voice in time of need,
exercised a powerful influence on educational
questions”; and to accomplish a task of this sort
is never easy.
The formation of the Conference is described in
14
one of the most interesting chapters in Mr.
Parkin’s book. The headmaster of Canterbury
School, Mr. Mitchinson, afterwards Bishop of
Barbados, invited, in 1869, a number of head-
masters to meet in London to discuss the Endowed
Schools Bill then before Parliament, and eventually
persuaded Thring to attend. At the close of the
meetings Thring rose and proposed that such a
gathering should become an annual institution,
and then and there invited the first Conference to
Uppingham the following December. The meet-
ing in London took place on March Ist, 1869, and
on October 23rd of the same year Thring sent out
to the headmasters of the public schools the letter
of invitation to attend the first Conference to be
held at the beginning of the next Christmas
From a photograph by Messrs. Elliot and Fry.)
Tue Hon. ann Rev. Canon E. LYTTELTON, M.A.
Master of Haileybury College; Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Headmasters’ Conference.
holidays. The following sentences from this letter
indicate clearly what Thring thought such meet-
ings could accomplish :—
‘« Government is dealing with school bye-laws
recently passed, other measures are contemplated,
and future Governments will most assuredly take
up the question.
‘‘ Nothing has been more remarkable than the
absence of any decided voice from the great body
whose work is being handled by external power.
“Yet a profession involving experience and
practice of the most varied and intricate kind
ought not to be without a common voice under
such circumstances.”
Between sixty and seventy invitations were sent
out, and twelve headmasters attended at the first
Conference. The numerous refusals showed clearly
that there were prejudices to be broken down.
The School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
But the conservatism of the great schools was soon
overcome. After the second meeting, which was
held at Sherborne, Thring writes in his diary,
‘‘ The seven school delusion broken up.” The
Headmasters of Winchester and Shrewsbury had
attended the second meeting, and the Headmaster
of Eton had joined the Conference soon after.
From this time the Conference steadily gained the
confidence of public-school headmasters, and in-
creased in public importance.
The annual meetings have since taken place
regularly, being held in succession at High-
gate, Birmingham, Winchester, Dulwich, Clifton,
Rugby, Marlborough, Harrow, Eton, Wellington,
University College School, Charterhouse, Oxford,
Merchant Taylors’ School, Shrewsbury, and Brad-
field College. Three meetings have been held at
the College of Preceptors, and two meetings each
at Eton, Winchester, Rugby, and Sherborne.
The meetings of 1901 took place in the Senate
House at Cambridge, and those of 1902 at
Tonbridge.
The executive of the Conference is its committee
of nine members, three of whom retire each year,
and can only be re-elected after the expiration of a
year. The committee for 1902 was as follows :—
Rev. Dr. Gray ... Bradfield... retires in 1902
Rev. Dr. Tancock Tonbridge ... s j
Rev. Dr. Warre ... Eton se - i$
Rev. G. C. Bell ... Marlborough retires in 1903
Rev. W. H. Keeling Bradford ... j i
Bedford... ™
Mr. J. S. Phillpotts
Rev. Dr. Gow ...
Rev. Dr. James ...
Rev. the Hon. E.
Lyttelton
(chairman)
Westminster retires in 1904
Rugby eve 9? 99
Haileybury... m j
In addition to this there are several standing
sub-committees charged with special duties.
These are as follows :—
Parliamentary: Revs. the Hon. E. Lyttelton
(chairman), G. C. Bell, Dr. Fry, W. H. Keeling,
R. D. Swallow.
Universities: Revs. Dr. Gray (chairman), H. M.
Burge, A. H. Cooke, Dr. Field, Dr. Rendall.
Public Examinations: Revs. Dr. Gow (chair-
man), M. G. Glazebrook, and S. R. James, and
Messrs. J. E. King and A. T. Pollard.
Professional Questions: Revs. G. C. Bell (chair-
man), Dr. Flecker, H. W. Moss, Mr. J. S.
Phillpotts, and Rev. Dr. Tancock.
With reference to the chief matters which have
engaged the attention of the Conference and its .
committee, we cannot do better than quote from
an article by the Master of Marlborough in the
current issue of the “ Public Schools’ Year Book ”
(Swan Sonnenschein): these have been :—
The examination of schools by the Universities ;
the higher and lower certificate examinations con-
ducted by the joint board of Oxford and Cambridge.
The conditions and arrangements for awarding
| entrance scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge.
The training and registration of teachers.
JANUARY, 1903. ]
The establishment of scholarships, in connection
with the University local examinations, for boys of
moderate means.
Examinations for the public services.
The teaching of the following subjects (discussed
at different meetings): natural science, geography,
Latin and Greek verse, history, music, geometry,
Greek, modern languages, Latin grammar.
Retiring pensions and other provisions for
assistant-masters.
The improvement of school books.
The requirements of Greek in university exa-
minations.
Higher religious education; the enjoyment of
scholarships by the sons of the wealthy; the
teaching of English grammar and literature; the
present means and methods of teaching the Old
Testament; an educational museum; qualifica-
tions for masterships.
Entrance and entrance scholarship examina-
tions at public schools.
The organisation of secondary education.
Such is a brief account of the history and work
of a very important educational association, which
has done excellent work in the past and is destined,
we hope, to extend its influence and to direct the
work of public-school education even more
definitely in the future.
GALVANOMETERS FOR SCHOOL
LABORATORIES.
By H. E. HapLey, B.Se.(Lond.) A.R.C.Sc. (Lond.)
Headmaster of Kidderminster School of Science.
T the present time there are many secondary
schools (especially in Ireland) which are
equipping physical laboratories. Since vol-
taic electricity enters into the more advanced parts
of a school physics course, galvanometers will
certainly be required; and the following suggestions
are offered in order that those teachers who have
not in recent years had access to a modern, well-
equipped laboratory may learn the types of instru-
ments which are most desirable, and so limit their
expenditure by avoiding the more expensive, widely-
advertised instruments.
In every laboratory there should be patterns of
three distinct types: (i.) Astatic, (ii.) Tangent, and
(iii.) Mirror Galvanometers, Each type has its
educational value in affording applications of
fundamental principles, and each type will also be
ound especially adapted for certain groups of
experiments.
An Astatic GALVANOMETER is suitable for
general qualitative work and for all experiments
with the simple Wheatstone Bridge. Its chief
fault lies in the fact that it is by no means “‘ dead-
ee
l Figs. 2 and 4 are used, with permission, from the catalogue of
Messrs, J. J- Gri n and Sons; Figs. Ep 5 from that of Messrs. W. and
J. George, Ltd., and Fig. 1 from that of Messrs. Philip Harris & Co.
The School World
15
beat,” ! and that much time may thus be lost in
obtaining a series of observations (though the
needle may, of course, be quickly brought to rest
by the judicious use of a bar magnet held in the
hand).
The upper end of the silk fibre supporting the
astatic pair of needles should be attached to a
vertical brass screw, enabling the fibre to be
relieved of the weight of the needles when the
instrument is not in use. The central portion of
the circular scale is frequently cut away, and
replaced by plane mirror, which enables readings
of deflection to be taken without errors due to
parallax. In many patterns a pointer is dispensed
with, and the readings are taken by observing the
deflection of the upper needle; in this case the
diameter of the circular scale must necessarily be
small. It is better to have a separate pointer
attached to the needles, thus enabling a wider
scale to be used; and it would be better still if the
pointer consisted of thin sheet metal, with flat
surfaces vertical, so as to serve as a damper. Two
ivory stops are often fixed into the plane of the
scale to limit the swing of the needle to an angle
of about 20° on either side of the zero. These
stops should be removable: in case they are not
included in the instrument, efficient substitutes
may be made from two pieces of gummed paper.
The instrument should be supported on three
levelling-screws: by this means it may always be
adjusted so that the fibres coincide with the centre
of the circular scale. The coil should be quite
open to view, so that students may see the con-
struction.
Instruments meeting these requirements may be
obtained at prices ranging from 12s. 6d. to £3 I0s.;
a convenient pattern has a coil in two parts, of
high and low resistance, which is sold at about
£1 16s.
Of course, the instrument cannot be used for the
comparison of current-strength unless it has been
previously calibrated; but a useful modification
(known as the “ Walmsley Mather,” Fig. 1) is
ae
Fic. 1.—Walmsley Mather Galvanometer.
arranged with a coil of special shape so that the
deflections are proportional to current-strength ;
it may be obtained with high and low resistance-
coils for £1 Ios.
a
1 The term “dead-beat” implies the rapid return of the needle to rest
after being deflected.
16 The
School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
A TANGENT GALVANOMETER is of great teach-
ing value in explaining the electromagnetic system
of current measurement, and is often of use in the
comparison of current strengths. Instruments
consisting of a single turn of thick copper rod are
practically useless in an elementary laboratory,
and the most satisfactory type possesses several
coils (wound on the same ring) of different resist-
ance, varying from o'r ohm to 50 ohms.
Makers seldom give data of the dimensions of
the coils, but it would be advantageous if the
following dimensions were given with each in-
strument :—
(i.) Inside circumference of each coil.
(ii.) Diameter of the covered wire used in each
coil,
(iit.) Number of turns in each coil.
(iv.) Resistance of each coil.
The inner part of the circular scale should
consist of plane mirror, and the instrument should
be supported on three levelling-screws. If the
needle is supported by a sik-fibre, this should
be capable of being raised or lowered, since the
fibre is often broken when the instrument is
carried about unless the fibre is free from tension.
The fibre is sometimes attached above to a small
brass wire and wound up or down by rotating the
wire : this may result in the needle not being over
the centre of the scale, and is therefore scarcely
the best arrangement. In any case, it should be
seen that the fibre’ may be easily replaced if
broken at any time. The instrument is also im-
proved if the needle can be moved horizontally to
either side of the vertical coil (Fig. 2); for this
Fic. 2.—Modified Tangent Galvanometer.
purpose several makers have introduced a type
which combines a Magnetometer with a Tangent
Galvanometer (catalogued at prices varying from
£1 5s. to £2 ios., according to finish). _
A MIRROR GALVANOMETER is esential for ac-
curate work, and the adjustment of the instru-
ment with its lamp and scale affords an excellent
lesson in patience and manipulation. For general
1U silk is readily handled if each end of a length of the fibre is
quake ta piece of Summed paper folded once; it may then be stretched
along a clean bench, and the attachment to the needle made by means of a
spot of melted shellac supported on the point of a hot knife-blade.
work a d’Arsonval? high-resistance galvanometer
(arranged as ‘‘dead-beat’’) is undoubtedly the
most suitable instrument (Fig. 3); a satisfactory
Fic. 3.—D’Arsonval Galvanometer.
pattern may be obtained for £3 15s. or £4, but the
cheaper instruments which are advertised fre-
quently lack the important feature of being dead-
beat. The Ayrton-Mather Moving Coil Galvano-
meter (patent) is a good modification of the
d’Arsonval, and is catalogued at about £4; it
is arranged for interchangeable coils of different
resistances (which can be purchased at extra cost),
thus increasing the range of experimental utility.
An improved type of d’Arsonval Galvanometer
has recently been issued (by Messrs. W. & J.
George, Ltd.) in which the magnetic field is stronger
and more permanent, and including two inter-
changeable coils (one ‘‘dead-beat,” the other
“ ballistic ”). The price of this instrument is ¢ 5.
If a “ dead-beat” instrument is not re-
garded as essential, the Stewart and Gee
pattern of mirror galvanometer hes
logued at 15s. to 18s. 6d.) will be found
sufficient. An important feature of the
d'Arsonval type is that it may be used with
the coil in any vertical plane, whereas the
ordinary mirror galvanometer must be
used with the plane of the coil
coinciding with the magnetic me-
ridian, unless a controlling-magnet
is used. In this latter sense the
ordinary type possesses the ad-
vantage that it enables students
to experiment upon the influence
which various strengths of mag-
netic field have on the readings
of the instrument. The mirror
attached to the needle (or coi!)
may be curved or plane; in the former case the
scale must be placed at a definite distance from
the galvanometer; if the mirror is plane this
distance may be varied, but a lens must be used to
focus the cross-wire on to the scale.
A galvanometer is frequently required in the
lecture-room, and it may not always be convenient
or desirable to fit up a mirror galvanometer for
1 In the d'Arsonval pattern the coil is suspended in a fixed magnetic field :
while, in the ordinary mirror galvanometer, the coil is fixed and surrounds
the suspended magnet.
JANUARY, 1903. ]
the purpose; in this case a vertical scale instru-
ment (Fig. 4) fitted with a needle six inches long
is recommended, and may be obtained from Messrs.
J. J. Griffin & Sons (price 8s.).
Fic. 4.—Lecture Table Galvanometer.
The incandescent electric lamp is the most
recent source of light for the lamp and scale used
with mirror galvanometers, but in practice it
scarcely gives the good results which might be
anticipated, for the narrow luminous filament is
not nearly so conspicuous as the “ full-moon ”
of light (with cross-fibre) obtained with a paraffin
lamp. The best recent improvement is found in a
pattern of oil-lamp which consists of a metal
reservoir surmounted by a metal chimney (carrying
a side-tube with focusing lens), the entire lamp
being supported on a vertical brass-rod, which
affords every possible requirement in making ad-
justments. Also, the scale is supported on two
rods, which readily allow the height of the scale to
be modified (Fig. 5). The writer has not yet
Wa J. GhOAGE LS
Fic. 5.—Lamp and Scale.
observed any introduction of acetylene as a source
of light, but it would seem that the compact and
serviceable forms of generators now used for
projection-lantern purposes might be found highly
useful for experiments with galvanometers.
Much uncertainty seems to exist regarding the
relative advantages of the silk-fibre and the cup-
and-pivot support for the needles of Tangent
Galvanometers and Magnetometers. Undoubtedly
the latter support is open to the theoretical ob-
jection of friction between the metal point and the
inverted cup, with consequent lack of sensibility.
On the other hand, the experienced teacher will
acknowledge how difficult it is, in the case of
No. 49, VoL. 5.]
The School World
V7
the fibre suspension, to get the fibre free from side-
swing, and how easy it is for the student to shake
the instrument (especially if on a smooth table)
and afterwards spend much time in coaxing the
fibre to become steady. Also, broken fibres fre-
quently cause waste of time. The cup-and-pivot
support is free from these objections, and its
liability to friction errors is readily overcome with
sufficient accuracy by gently tapping the instru-
ment before taking each reading.
Frequent waste of time is due to the absence of
“damping” in the needles of galvanometers.
This fault may be minimised by the use of an
auxiliary bar-magnet held in the hand; but it
is a matter for surprise that so many simple in-
struments are still made with pointers of thin wire,
which create but slight damping effect. A most
serviceable pointer may be constructed from a
narrow strip of thin aluminium foil, which, on
both sides of the needle, is bent round into a
vertical plane; in this manner the broad face of
the strip serves as an effective damper, and the
foil is thin enough to enable the scale readings
of its ends to be read with much accuracy.
THE CHARACTER OF KING JOHN.
BIOGRAPHY of King John, by the au-
A thoress of “England under the Angevin
Kings,” is sure of a welcome from students
of our history, and Miss Norgate has not dis-
appointed us. The story is told with the strict
accuracy and the minute knowledge of details,
even the least important, which we have learnt to
expect from the school of Green and Freeman.
Every -authority has been consulted and his
evidence weighed. Stories that used to be current
on the strength of some late chronicler are con-
trasted with the more sober statement of contem-
porary writers. Especially does this appear in the
narrative of the development of Magna Carta.
The footnotes give full references and supply
material for judgment in doubtful points. But
the very excellence of the work thus accomplished
leads us to express our feeling that something is
lacking. There is scarcely any commentary, any
explanation of the why and how of things. The
book is an execellent chronicle of events, but it is
written, as it were, for the men of John’s own
generation. We who are seven hundred years
away want certain explanations which we feel sure
Miss Norgate could give us. We seem to learn
why John was lawfully King of England, but we
ask in vain who was, on Richard’s death, lawful
heir of Normandy, of Anjou, of Brittany, or, in
the alternative, if there was no law in the matter.
Weare told (p. 120) that the Pope decided that
Grey’s election was ‘uncanonical” and that the
monks were the sole rightful electors, but we
should have liked to learn how far this “ canon ”
had been recognised in England and whether
1 “ John Lackland.”
8s. 6d. net.
By K. Norgate. vi. + 303 pp. (Macmillan,)
C
18
John’s opposition to the Pope’s decision was merely
personal or was based on “custom.”
We have understood that the ‘ northern
barons” of 1215 were the new “legal” nobility
raised by Henry II’s. reforms and that they were
thus, as it were, the old counsellors of the
father rebuking and chiding the extravagant
son. Miss Norgate thinks that the statesman-
ship of the Charter was due solely to Stephen
Langton, but she does not clear up our thoughts
on these ‘‘northerners.” And finally, we miss a
lengthy judicial decision on the character of John
with which the book might have ended. We know
that as a man he was bad, and in this book hints
are given of things unmentionable; but were his
difficulties and defects owing to his badness as
aking? Miss Norgate draws her evidence as to
his “ tyranny ” almost entirely from the ‘ Articles
of the Barons.” Is this source above suspicion for
this matter? We learn (p. 121) that John’s ‘‘ first
need was money, and the difficulties with which
the King had to contend in his efforts to raise money
were as much greater in John’s case than in that of
any of his predecessors, as his need was greater
than theirs had ever been,” and (p. 263) that ‘‘a
feature of John’s home policy” was “his interest
in the towns and the trading classes and his
constant endeavours to cultivate their friendship.”
The readers for whom Miss Norgate probably
intends her book do not know enough in detail to
do more than ask such questions as we have
suggested above, and whether it was not the failure
of his foreign policy as against Innocent II. and
Philip Augustus that led to the demand for Magna
Carta rather than purely gratuitous ‘‘ tyranny ” and
“ plunder.” These questions still await a solution.
A HARROW MASTER.
HE memoir of Edward Bowen by his nephew
differs in several respects from the best-
known biographies of schoolmasters, the
Lives of Arnold and of Thring. It is much
slighter. With all his wide sympathies, political
and theological, Bowen was not an actor in the
public controversies of his time as was Arnold, nor
is there in his case, as in the life of Thring, the
growth and fortunes of an institution to relate.
Furthermore, he was so much absorbed in his
work at Harrow, in organising and supervising the
modern side, in teaching his form and in the
government of his house, that after his early man-
hood he wrote comparatively little, even in the
shape of letters. The biographer cannot, therefore,
leave his subject to speak for himself and let him
reveal himself in the intimacies of correspondence.
On the other hand, since Bowen's acknowledged
literary “remains ” are too few to be published
separately, they can be added to the memoir with-
out unduly increasing the bulk of the book. All
the incomparable songs are given.
To a reader who never knew Edward Bowen,
1“ Edward Bowen.” A memoir by the Rev. the Hon. w. E. Bowen, M.A.
x. -+ 417 pp. (Lougmans.) 12s 6d. net.
The School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
the biographer appears to be unusually successful
not only in describing the interests and habits of
the man, but also in conveying something of the
subtle aroma of his personality. Nor will the
friends and pupils of Bowen alone rejoice in the
minuteness with which some portions of his life
are portrayed, but the ‘‘scientific educationist ”
too, for whom the memoir is also written. For
his power and influence among those who are con-
cerned with education was not due principally to
his advocacy of particular reforms or theories, but
to his own remarkable character, towards the
delineation of which even trivial details contribute.
Four of the nine papers which are placed in the
appendix are on subjects unconnected with educa-
tion. They are sufficient to show that, had he
chosen, Bowen might have had a career of
great brilliancy as a writer. Among the remain-
ing papers it happens oddly that there is one on
each of the three main aspects of education—intel-
lectual, physical and moral. Bowen’s views on the
first of these are expounded with admirable force
and humour in the essay on “ Teaching by means
of Grammar,” reprinted from “ Essays on a Liberal
Education.” Written in 1867 it is by no means
without point to-day. Though the main theme is
a protest against teaching languages through
grammar, the whole essay, which abounds in the
soundest precepts, is a compendious dissertation
on how to handle boys in a class. As a fine
athlete, as well as a fine scholar, Bowen was com-
petent to speak on the vexed question of athletics,
and in the essay on ‘‘Games”’ he champions them
whole-heartedly against the attacks both of those
who would subordinate physical to intellectual
training, and of those who would reduce physical
training to the formal and unsocial exercises of the
gymnasium. ‘*Arnoldides Chiffers’’ exhibits his
views on the Arnoldian theory of ‘‘ moral influ-
ence.” Besides the three set papers, glimpses of
Bowen’s attitude towards other scholastic pro-
blems are obtained incidentally in the narrative.
His remarks on punishments and on the use of
cribs are particularly suggestive. Other essays,
and some memoranda included in the body of the
memoir, deal with the public and administrative
side of education. Bowen makes no claim to be
heard on these topics beyond his experience of
public schools. He expressed to the Royal Com-
mission his disbelief in the training of teachers,
mainly because the teacher he had in mind is a
form and house master at a public school. Similarly
he objects to examination and inspection by the
universities because the public schools stand to
lose by the restrictions upon freedom that such
supervision might impose. In no place does he
pretend to generalise beyond the bounds of his
personal knowledge.
The book is to be warmly commended to school-
masters in search of a healthy stimulus, to the
student who is interested in educational theory and
practice, and to all those who would care to read
the story of what Dr. Wood calls “ that unique and
beautiful life.” To Bowen’s pupils and friends it
! will need no recommendation.
JANUARY, 1903. ]
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY.'!
SYCHOLOGY is making a strong bid for
P entry into the rank of experimental sciences.
Mr. Witmer’s book is well calculated to
help this object along. Text-books on this sub-
ject are often concerned with somewhat complex
and costly experiments. Mr. Witmer has hit on
the happy idea of dealing with experiments which
dispense with costly and complicated apparatus,
and can be carried through by students untrained
in elaborate, technical, psycho-physical knowledge.
For instance, Mr. Witmer aptly remarks, “ To be
asked and to answer a question may constitute
a psychological experiment.” If we only know
mind through its manifestations, every time we
consciously direct attention to consider mental
manifestations, to observe them, to alter their con-
ditions, or even to note accurately any of their
phases, we are conducting psychological experi-
ments. The experiments selected for treatment
in this book, therefore, are simple and easy. . The
attempt is further made to class representative
examples. Thus the chapters include: Appercep-
tion, Attention, Association, Perception of Space,
Psycho-physical Analysis, and the Sensation as the
mental element. There is an appendix with a list
of appliances, materials, and apparatus other than
the experimental charts.
prisingly produced, and makes the treatment of the
subject graphic and interesting. We have, for
instance, charts of the following topics: the stair-
case figure, Thiéry’s double prism, Sanford’s
separated pattern, interlacing rings, illusions of
contrasted larger and smaller circles, illusions of
filled and unfilled space, simple figures for binocular
combination. The simplicity of these experiments
is distinctly an attractive feature. The number of
charts and diagrams, it will be seen from the title, is
considerable. Charts 9-14 consist of six gray
strips placed on six differently coloured back-
grounds, and constitute a particularly effective
series of experiments which speak for themselves.
Mr. Witmer avowedly has endeavoured to pre-
sent a logical development of the subject by experi-
ments. At the same time, he has had the aim
in view of making psychology a mental discipline,
and has treated it, so as to say, pedagogically as
well as logically. In short, Mr. Witmer has
Written a manual of psychology illustrative through-
out of a special method, viz., the experimental
method. Some may think that this method is
competitive with the introspective method. But
there is a great deal to be said for the view
that the experimental method is just as much
Subjective as it is objective. Whatever light can
thrown upon mental processes, all psycho-
logists should be anxious to obtain.
It seems to us that Mr. Witmer’s book would be
1“ Analytical Psychology : a Practical Manual for Colleges and Normal
Schools,” Presenting the Facts and Principles of Mental Analysis in_the
Form of Simple Illustrationsand Experiments. With 42 Figures in the Text
ra 3 Experimental Charts, By Lightner Witmer. vi. + 252 pp. (London:
inn.) 78, .
The School World
The book is very enter-
19
of real interest to a student as yet unacquainted
with systematic psychology. We are quite clear
that it is attractive to those who have read some
psychology. It is calculated to stimulate thought
and inquiry in the student. We have no hesitation
in strongly recommending the book to teachers
of psychology who have as yet little knowledge
of the latest writings on elementary experimental
psychology.
THE EMPEROR CHARLES V.!
R. ARMSTRONG, whose work on Eliza-
beth Farnese, ‘the termagant of Spain,” `
has long been known, here gives us a
biography of the Emperor Charles V., which he
originally undertook for the ‘* Foreign Statesmen ”
series, but which unavoidably outgrew the limits
allowed to him by the general editor. It is, of
course, unnecessary to say that the work is well
done, and will be well worth perusal by our
readers. We should recommend them to make
for themselves what Mr. Armstrong might have
supplied, a chronological summary of each chapter
so arranged that each would throw light on the
other, and thus a clearer view be obtained of the
many-sided activity of the Habsburg. Beyond
our general commendation, we would add that
here and there, specially in the first volume, the
reader will find neat generalisations on the cha-
racter and behaviour of men. Much light is
incidentally thrown on Luther’s career, and the
reader will find many passages similar to the
parallel, on p. 121, between ‘‘ Barbarossa and
Dragut ” and ‘their Atlantic counterparts, Eng-
land’s pirate admirals,” or the apophthegm on
p. 220, that ‘‘ many a man writes a decided letter
when he will not take decisive action.” There is
an index, which, full and satisfactory for Charles
himself, leaves much to be desired in other re-
spects. The bibliography is treated in an intro-
duction.
The Emperor Charles V. is one of the most
interesting and yet most puzzling characters in
European history. He inherited vast possessions:
Austria, ‘“ Burgundy,” Spain, and the new world
of America, besides Netherlands, were his. But.
though so widely endowed, he was by no means
proportionately strong. Every part of his domi-
nions had its own difficulties, internal as well as ex-
ternal, and none was either able or willing to help
the others. He was necessarily an absentee from
all but one of his possessions, and though he
handed over his Austrian inheritance permanently
to his brother Ferdinand from the very beginning,
and governed the Netherlands through the
regencies of his aunt and sister, he regarded him-
self, to use Mr. Armstrong’s phrase, as “the
travelling member of the Habsburg syndicate,”
1 “ The Emperor Charles V.” By E. Armstrong. 2 vols., pp. xxxi. + 341
+ ix. + 413. (Macmillan.) ars. net.
20
and felt the burden of all. He was far from being
a despotic ruler in any of his possessions. Every
one of them had its local privileges which he was
obliged to respect. In Germany the Emperor
had long lost all practical power, and Luther's
movement, which began with Charles’ reign, only
made affairs more confused, and gave a further
opportunity to the princes to make themselves in-
dependent of their sovereign. Externally, too,
Charles inherited nothing but difficulties. To say
nothing of the permanent hostility of France, which
manifested itself in intermittent war, the Turk was
an aggressive enemy in the Mediterranean, in
Hungary, and even as far as Vienna. While
Charles was fighting in Germany at the same time
for unity in State and Church, and doing his
best to maintain the papal power, he was obliged
to oppose the Pope in Italy in his capacity as
King of Naples and Duke of Milan, because the
Pope was bent on attaining ‘temporal power.”
All these various duties Charles was too conscien-
tious to refuse and not great enough to solve.
After nearly forty years of ceaseless toil he gave
up the conflict, gradually stripped himself of all
his dignities and possessions, and retired to the
monastery of Juste, not to lose interest in the
world he had quitted, but to lay the burden on
younger shoulders. At the end of two years’
retirement he died, worn out, at the age of 58, and
the course of history departed far from his ideals.
THE MOST NOTABLE SCHOOL BOOKS
OF 1902.
So many school books are published during the course of a
year that it is difficult for most teachers to acquaint themselves
with even the most important of them. To assist teachers in
making a selection of books in the chief subjects of the school
curriculum published during 1902, we have obtained the help
of competent authorities in these subjects who have each had a
large experience of the needs of classes of all kinds and are at
present engaged in teaching. Teachers who examine the books
named below will at least have the satisfaction of knowing
they are familiar with the contents of most of the best school
books published during 1902. In making their lists the gentle-
men whose aid we have secured have not confined their attention
to those books which have been reviewed in our columns during
the last twelve months. In cases where the title of a book is
not a sufficient guide as to its contents, a few helpful remarks
by the teachers who have compiled the lists have been added.
Modern Languages.
« A History of German Literature. ”
(Blackwood.) Ios. 6d. net.
Well-balanced, trustworthy, and eminently readable.
‘t Grands Prosateurs du Dix-septieme Siecle.” Edited by
M. Louis Brandin. With illustrations. (Black.) 2s. 6d.
A judicious and useful selection.
“The Principles of Criticism.” By W. Basil Worsfold.
New cheap edition. (Allen.) 3s. 6d. net.
By John G. Robertson.
The School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
“ Vermischte Beiträge zur französischen Grammatik.” Von
Adolf Tobler. Erste Reihe. (Leipzig, Hirzel.) 8s.
The second edition, considerably enlarged. An invaluable
book.
‘Die deutsche Sprache.” Von Otto Behaghel.
Freytag and Tempsky.) 3s. 6d.
A much improved edition of this excellent little book.
t Lectures on the Study of Language.” By Hans Oertel.
Yale Bicentennial Publications. (Arnold.) 12s. 6d. net.
A lucid exposition of the principal problems of linguistics.
“ Die Methodik des neusprachlichen Unterrichts. Ein
geschichtlicher Überblick in vier Vorträgen.” Von Wilhelm
Viëtor. (Leipzig, Teubner.) Is.
A brief account of the reform movement, and of the older
methods of teaching foreign languages.
s Uber die Verbindung der sprachlichen mit der sachlichen
Belehrung. Betrachtungen zur Methodik des fremdsprachlichen
Unterrichts.” Von Dr. Jul. Ziehen. (Frankfurt, Kesselring.)
Is.
Hints for the teaching of Aea/zen.
“ Didaktik und Methodik des französischen Unterrichts.”
Von Wilhelm Münch. (München, Beck.) 4s.
The second edition, thoroughly revised and in part re-
written. l
“ A First Book of ‘Free Composition’ in French.” By J. E.
Mansion. (Blackwood.) Is.
An admirable manual; the only book of its kind.
(Wien,
Classics.
It is a melancholy fact that, amongst the host of school-books
in classics published during the year, very few indeed are worthy
of special mention. But there is one which may be said to mark
a new epoch in the teaching of Latin, and this must have the
place of honour.
“« A First Latin Course.” By E. H. Scott, B.A., and F.
Jones, B.A. (Blackie.) Is. 6d.
Its distinctive features are these: (1) It does not attempt
too much. Both vocabulary and grammar are limited, and every-
thing is driven home by constant reiteration in slightly differing
forms. (2) The matter of each exercise is used for retranslation.
(3) The method is oral, and the result is a quickness and readiness
which is unattainable under the usual methods. This is quite
the best book hitherto published for beginners, and we venture
to prophesy that this, or others written on the same principle,
will supersede all existing manuals.
“Ora Maritima: a Latin Story for Beginners.” By E. A.
Sonnenschein, Litt.D. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 2s. With Gram-
mar and Exercises.
This book, although written without reference to No. 1, suits
admirably for the next stage as being more of a Reader. Here,
also, the fact is kept in view that Latin was a spoken language ;
narrative and conversation are both used, vocabularies and exer-
cises being compiled on the same principle as in the ‘‘ new
method ” of teaching modern languages. The story is that of
the invasion of Britain. Like No. 1, this book aims at teaching
a little thoroughly, and it succeeds.
“ Puerorum Liber Aureus: a First Latin Translation book.”
By T. S. Foster, B.A. (Black.) Is. 6d.
The subject of this book is the invasion of Britain in the year
43 after Christ, together with sketches of a boy’s life, and
conversations. It is very good, if not quite so good as No. 2.
“ The Latin Period.” By C. A. Wells, M.A. (Blackie.) Is.
An admirable exercise book, which builds up the period from
its beginnings. We know of no other book which attempts this.
There is nothing for Greek anything like so good as these three
books. Fora much more advanced stage, we would recommend :
JANUARY, 1903. |
The School World
2I
‘ Greek Prose Composition.” By S. O. Andrew, M.A.
(Macmillan.) 3s. 6d.
This book combines a sketch of the principles of Greek
composition more complete and systematic than Sidgwick’s, and
it has the great advantage over Sidgwick’s that the pieces are
not ‘‘ doctored ” to imitate Greek idiom. Sidgwick’s book will
still hold its own for beginners, but this is excellent for a sixth
form. It contains also models of different kinds of style, and
specimen versions. The key is generally good, but some of the
Greek is questionable.
Of annotated editions, we would mention :—
“The Third Georgic of Virgil.” By S. E. Winbolt, M.A.
(Blackie.) 1s. 6d.
“M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes in Catilinam Quattuor.” By
J. C. Nicol, M.A. (Pitt Press Series.)
“ C. Sallusti Crispi Iugurtha.” By W. C. Summers, M.A.
Reviewed in the present number. (Pitt Press Series.)
For the highest forms or for teachers :—
“The Republic of Plato.” Edited, with critical notes,
commentary, and appendices, by James Adam, M.A. (Cam-
bridge University Press.) Two vols. 15s. and 18s.
“The Comedies of Aristophanes.” Edited, translated and
explained by B. B. Rogers. Zhe Frogs, Ecclestazneae. (Bell.)
15s.
An admirable verse translation, with a commentary sound in
scholarship and taste, and often original.
In History :—
‘‘A History of Rome, for the Middle and Upper Forms of
Schools.” By J. L. Myres, M.A. (Rivingtons.) şs.
In Fine Letters :—
“Demetrius on Style.” Edited, with translation, &c., by W.
Rhys Roberts, Litt.D. (Cambridge University Press.) 9s. net.
For literary purposes this is the book of the year. The Greek
is not classical, but all intelligent persons, whether teachers or
learners, will find it both useful and inspiring.
English Grammar and Composition.
“ Lessons in the Use of English.” Hyde. (Heath.) 2s.
Excellent book : illustrations, poetry, exercises.
“ Applied English Grammar.” Lewis. (Macmillan.) 2s.
Illustrations ; abundance of exercises, oral and written.
“ English Grammar.” Bryant. (Dent.) Is. 4d.
A large number of exercises.
“ A First Course in Analysis and Grammar.” Wilson.
nold.) Is.
“ Practical English Grammar.” Ritchie. (Longmans.) 2s. 6d.
One of the most satisfactory text-books published.
‘ Words and Sentences.” (Blackwood.) Part I., 6d. Part
II., 8d.
An excellent text-book for young children.
“ Essentials of English Composition.” Tarbell. (Ginn.) 3s.
“ Elements of English Composition.” Gardiner, Kittredge
and Arnold. (Ginn.) 4s. 6d.
‘** Composition and Khetoric.”
(Ginn.) 4s. 6d.
‘ College Manual of Rhetoric.”
4s. 6d.
All very good ; the last two for advanced students.
(Ar-
Lockwood and Emerson.
Baldwin. (Longmans.)
English Readers.
“ In Golden Realms, an English Reading book for junior
forms.” (Ed. Arnold.) Is. 3d.
“In the World of Books.
forms.” (Ed. Arnold.) Is. 6d.
Two good books of prose and poetry from early days to
modern times ; illustrations good and well chosen.
A Reading book for middle
>
‘The ‘Globe’ Poetry Reader for advanced classes.’
(Macmillan.) 1s. 4d.
Carefully selected : well edited with biographical notes.
‘ Junior School Poetry Book.” Dr. W. Peterson. (Long-
mans.) Is. 6d.
‘t Senior School Poetry Book.” Dr. W. Peterson. (Long-
mans.) 2s. 6d.
Two books for recitation : no notes.
History.
‘* General History for Colleges and High Schools.” Myers.
(Ginn.) 6s. 6d.
‘* Companion to English History.” Middle Ages. Barnard.
(Clarendon Press.) 8s. 6d.
“ First History of England.” (Three Parts.) Clara Thom-
son. (Horace Marshall.) Part II., 1s. 6d. ; Part III., 2s.
“ Wales.” Story of the Nations. Edwards. (Fisher Unwin.)
5s.
“ English History Illustrated from Original Sources.” 1399-
1485, Durham, 1600-1715, Figgis. (Black.) 2s. 6d. each.
For Use of Teachers.
‘Select Documents of English Constitutional History.”
Adams. (Macmillan.) 10s.
‘¢ The Emperor Charles V.” Armstrong. (Macmillan.) 21s.
“ John Lackland.” Norgate. (Macmillan.) 8s. 6d.
“ Life of Napoleon.” 2 vols. Rose. (Bell.)
Geography.
“ The World, with special reference to the British Isles and
Empire.” (Arnold.) Is.
“ Under Sunny Skies.” Youth’s Companion Series. (Ginn.)
Is.
“ Toward the Rising Sun.” Youth’s Companion Series.
(Ginn.) Is.
Numbers 2 and 3 may be described as American readers with
a geographical bias.
‘* Africa and Australasia.” Macmillan’s New Geography
Readers. Is. 6d.
“« World Pictures.” By J. B. Reynolds. Second Edition.
(Black.) 1s. 6d.
A collection of full-page illustrations with explanatory letter-
press.
‘ Man and his Work.” By A. J. and F. D. Herbertson.
Second Edition. (Black.) 1s. 6d.
« Central and South America with the West Indies.” Series
of ‘* Descriptive Geographies ” by A. J. and F. D. Herbertson.
` (Black.) 2s.
Stories and descriptions from original sources told in the
words of the original.
“ Geography of Egypt and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.” By
H. W. Mardon, of the Tewfikeh Training College, Cairo.
(Blackie.) 2s.
‘The Teacher’s Manual of Object Lessons in Geography.”
By V. T. Murché. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6d.
s‘ Meiklejohn’s Comparative Method.”
Edition. (Holden.) 4s. 6d.
“ Text-book of Commercial Geography.”
(Hirschfeld.) 5s.
‘ Introduction to Physical Geography.”
Brigham. (Hirschfeld.) 5s.
Numbers 11 and 12 are two American publications, both of
great merit.
‘*Grammar-school Geography.”
6s.
“ Britain and the British Seas.” By H. J. Mackinder.
(Heinemann.) 7s. 6d.
Twenty-seventh
By C. C. Adams.
By Gilbert and
By A. E. Frye. (Ginn.)
22
The School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
Mathematics.
‘“ An Arithmetic for Schools.” By J. P. Kirkman and
A. E. Field. (Edward Arnold.) 3s. 6d.
‘*The Tutorial Arithmetic.” By W. P. Workman.
University Tutorial Series. 3s. 6d.
‘ Examples in Algebra.” By C. O. Tuckey. (Bell). 3s.
This book carries out the recommendations of the committee
n the teaching of elementary mathematics, appointed by the
fathematical Association.
‘* Algebraical Examples.” By H. S. Hall. (Macmillan.) 2s.
‘“ Elementary Geometry.” By W. C. Fletcher. (Edward
Arnold.) 1s. 6d.
A very elementary book, but as it proceeds on the newly
adopted plan of emancipating geometrical teaching from the
order and formalism of Euclid, it may be found useful beyond
the limits of primary schools.
‘* Primer of Geometry.”
millan.) 2s.
Another protest against the order of Euclid.
‘Elementary Geometry.” By W. M. Baker and A. A.
Bourne. (Bell.) 2s. 6d.
This book follows strictly the lines laid down by the Com-
mittee of the Mathematical Association.
‘* Easy Mathematical Problem Papers.”
Davison. (Blackie.) 2s. 6d. —
This book contains a series of questions ig arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, and trigonometry, with answers in all cases.
“Spherical Trigonometry.” By the late I. Todhunter.
Revised by J. G. Leathem. (Macmillan). 7s. 6d.
Practically a new book, and a great improvement on the
original Todhunter.
The
By H. W. Croome Smith. (Mac-
By Charles
“ An Elementary Treatise on the Calculus, with illustra-
tions from Geometry, Mechanics, and Physics.” By George A.
Gibson. (Macmillan.) 7s. 6d.
A work most thoroughgoing in its logical method.
‘* Differential Calculus for Beginners.” By Alfred Lodge.
= (Bell.) 4s. 6d.
This is a work which a high-class schoolboy should find no
diffculty in mastering.
‘* Applied Mechanics
(Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
A most useful variation of the ordinary mathematical
treatises, and an excellent companion for them. The illustra-
for Beginners.” By J. Duncan.
tions are elaborate and good; the subject matter always
interesting.
Physics and Chemistry.
‘* Introduction to Chemistry and Physics.” 2 vols. By W. H.
Perkin and Bevan Lean. (Macmillan.) 2s. each vol.
“ Introduction to Chemistry.” By D. S. Macnair.
2s.
‘ Introductory Chemistry for
L. M. Jones. (Macmillan.) 2s.
‘¢ Practical Science.” By J. H. Leonard. (Murray.) Is. 6d.
Elementary practical exercises in Mechanics, Hydrostatics,
and Heat.
“ Practical Exercises in Electricity and Magnetism.” By
H. E. Hadley. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
“ Elementary Practical Hygiene.”
(Longmans.) 2s. 6d.
“Introduction to Study of Physics.” Vol. I.: Mechanics,
Hydrostatics and Pneumatics. By A. F. Walden and J. J.
Manley. (Black.) 3s. net.
‘* Practical Exercises in Heat.”
(Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
(Bell.)
Intermediate Schools.” By
By W. S. Furneaux.
By E. S. A. Robson.
Useful Jor Teachers.
“ The Elements of Inorganic Chemistry.”
stone. (Arnold.) 4s. 6d.
“ Text-Book of Physics for Secondary-Schools.”
Slate. (Macmillan.) 6s.
‘*Elementary Inorganic Chemistry.”
(Bell.) 3s. 6d.
“ Light for Students.” By Edwin Edser.
By W. A. Shen-
By F.
By James Walker.
(Macmillan). 6s.
Natural History.
Loology.
‘ Comparative Anatomy of Animals,” an Introduction to the
Study of. Vol. II. Gilbert C. Bourne. (Bell.) 4s. 6d.
“ Animal Forms: a Second Book of Zoology.” By David
S. Jordan and Prof. Harold Heath. (Hirshfeld.) 6s.
“ Spiderland.” By Rose Haig Thomas. (Grant Richards.)
5s. Suitable for small children.
“Injurious and Useful Insects”: an Introduction to the
Study of Economic Entomology. By Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S.
(Bell.) 3s. 6d.
Botany.
“Elementary Plant Physiology.”
(Longmans.) 3s. i
“ Practical Botany for Beginners.” By F. O. Bower, F.R.S.,
and T. Gwynne Vaughan. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6d.
“ Trees in Prose and Poetry.” Compiled by Gertrude L.
Stone and M. Grace Fickett. (Ginn.) 2s.
By D. T. Macdougal.
Geology.
‘ Class Book of Geology.” By Sir Archibald Geikie. 4th
edition. (Macmillan.) 5s.
“ The Scenery of England and the Causes to which it is due.”
By Lord Avebury. (Macmillan.) 15s.
“ Britain and the British Isles.”
(Heinemann.) 7s. 6d.
By H. J. Mackinder.
Nature Study.
“ Nature Study and Life.” By C. F. Hodge.
“ Round the Year.” Short Nature-studies.
Miall, F.R.S. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6d.
A cheaper edition of a deservedly well-known book.
(Ginn.) 7s.
By Prof. L. C.
CAMBRIDGE LOCAL EXAMINATIONS.
SET SUBJECTS FOR 1903.
Preliminary.
Religious Knowledge.—(a) St. Luke i.-xiv., (4) II. Samuel,
V.-XX.
English Author.—Scott, ‘* Lord of the Isles,” Cantos ii. and
vi. ; Kingsley, “ The Heroes.”
English History. —Outlines, 1215-1509. A.D.
Geography.—Great Britain.
Elementary Latin,—Cwsar, De Bello Gallico, II. ; or, Nepos,
‘Lives of Lysander, Alcibiades, Thrasybulus, Conon,
Iphicrates, Chabrias.”’
Elementary French. — Perrault, “ Fairy Tales.”
Elementary German.—Grmm, “Der Wolf und die sieben
jungen Geisslein, Die drei Männlein im Walde, Hansel
und Gretel, Die weisse Schlange, Das tapfere Schnei-
derlein.”
JANUARY, 1903. ]
Junior.
Religious Knowleage.-—(a) II. Samuel; (b) St.
Acts of the Apostles i. xvi.
English.—Shakespeare, ‘‘ Julius Cæsar ”; Scott, ‘ Lord of
the Isles.”
English History. — 1215-1509 A.D.
History of British Empire.—1763-1878 A.D.
Roman History. —133 B.C.-27 B.C.
Geography.—Great Britain and Ireland, North America and
West Indies.
Lattn.—One of— Cæsar, De Bello Gallico, II., III. ; or,
Virgil, Æneid X.
Greek.— Xenophon, Anabasis,
theus Vinctus.
french.— About, ‘Le Roi des’ Montagnes,” chaps. 1-5; or,
Sandeau, ‘‘ Mademoiselle de la Seigli¢re’’ (Comédie).
German.—‘* Twenty Stories from Grimm,” omitting ‘ Aschen-
puttel” and “Der goldene Vogel”; or, Schiller, ‘* Wil-
helm Tell.”
II.; or, Aeschylus, Prome-
Senior.
Religious Knowledge.—(a) II.
(c) II. Corinthians.
English History.—121§-1§09 A.D.
Greek History.—510 B.C.-429 B.C.
History of the British Empire.—1763-1878 A.D.
Geography.—Great Britain and Ireland, North America and
West Indies.
Shakespeare.—‘* Julius Caesar.”
Pope.—‘* Essay on Criticism.”
Milton.—‘* Paradise Lost,” v., vi.
Latin.—Virgil, Aineid, X.; Horace, Odes, III.; Livy, V.,
1-40; Cicero, Pro Sulla.
Greek.— Homer, Odyssey, IX.; Aeschylus, Prometheus Vinctus ;
Herodotus, VIII., 1-90; Thucydides, VII., 50-end.
(Students must select one verse and one prose subject in
Latin and Greek.)
French.—About, “ Le Roi des Montagnes,” chaps. i.-v., and
Sandeau, ‘‘ Mademoiselle de la Seigliere ” (Comédie).
German.—Schiller, ‘“ Wilhelm Tell” and ‘‘ Goethe’s Boyhood.”
Samuel; (6) St. Luke;
NATURE NOTES FOR JANUARY.
By the Rev. CANON STEWARD, M.A.(Oxon.)
Principal of Salisbury Training College.
Indoor Work.—The winter months afford opportunity for
preparing and setting up the skeletons—and especially the skulls
—of animals, as of the smaller carnivora, graminivora, and
rodents, and of birds.
Geologists can replenish their cabinets, cut down so as best to
display the fossil in its matrix of chalk or other soft formation,
and work at mineralogy.
The long evenings may be employed in re-arranging the
school museum—rejecting worthless specimens—naming, label-
ling, and classifying. Place fresh camphor in cabinets. Look
over herbarium ; mount specimens; and complete the naming
aod full classification. Microscopists may make and mount
sections, botanical and biological objects, in sufficient quantity
for the use of their classes. Enlarged diagrams for the illustra-
tion of lectures may now be drawn, and slides for lantern illus-
trations may be prepared.
The School World
me a e o a a e a e a e a
Luke; (o)
23
Animal Life.—At this time of the year the different kinds of
wild fowl hanging up in the poulterers’ shops should be observed,
and their names learnt.
Many species of bird congregate, as Finches, Larks and
Woodpigeons. The Chaffinch: sexes keep in separate flocks,
whence its name Coelebs. Brambling, or Mountain Finch, seen
in flocks in hard weather. Missel Thrush frequents gardens for
berries ; Stone-chat, a resident, seen on heaths and commons ;
Nuthatches may be seen, the only bird that can run down a
bough head downwards. The Hawfinch often visits shrubberies
in small flocks. The Great Grey Shrike may occasionally be
seen. Bats re-appear at end of month. Feed wild birds in hard
weather, hanging up a large bone for the Titmice.
The birds that commence to sing are the Redbreast, Wren,
Thrush, Missel Thrush, ledge Sparrow, Greater Titmouse, and
at the end of the month, the Lark and Chafhnch. Identify and
distinguish them by their song.
The Peacock Butterfly and Small Tortoiseshell have been
found, as well as the Winter Moth and the Herald.
THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR BOYS!
By the Rev. Canon BELL, M.A.
Master of Marlborough College.
A PLEA FOR A PARTITION OF THE YEAR OF ‘TRAINING
BETWEEN (1) STUDENT-TEACHERSHIP AT A RECOGNISED
SCHOOL, AND (2) A COURSE OF TRAINING AT A UNIVERSITY
OR A NON-UNIVERSITY TRAINING COLLEGE.
THE Board of Education by its ‘‘ Order in Council,” dated
March 6th, 1902, has, in Appendix A, ordered that in future
persons desiring to be teachers in secondary schools must
(among other conditions) either :—
(a) Undergo a course of training for one year at a university
or training college, or
(4) Spend at least one year as a student-teacher.
The object of this paper is to urge that the Board of Educa-
tion should be asked so to modify its order that candidates may
be allowed to divide the year between these two methods of
training. l
It is commonly said that at the present time men of ability
are less disposed than heretofore to enter the teaching profession,
which seems to offer to them fewer attractions than ọther
careers. The stipulation that intending teachers shall devote a
year to training will not add to its attractiveness, and it is
most desirable to make the conditions as little uninviting as is
possible.
Moreover, some headmasters and many assistant-masters
regard schemes for the training of teachers with lukewarmness,
scepticism, or even hostility : if such conditions are laid down
as will seem to them helpful and practical, such critics or
Opponents may be conciliated. Otherwise they may stand aloof
from a register which imposes training on future teachers. By
thus throwing contempt on it, they might wreck the whole
scheme, or force the central authority to make registration com-
pulsory instead of voluntary.
Accordingly I shall endeavour to show that the proposed
partition of the year is likely to commend itself to existing
1 A paper read at the Conference on the Training of Teachers in Secondary
Schools for Boys at the University of Cambridge, November, 1902.
24
schoolmasters as being a practical and helpful arrangement.
I believe also that candidates would find it more attractive and
less burdensome.
(1) The volumes of the Report of the Secondary Education
Commission show that many capable experts agree that some
preliminary experience of actual school work would be the bes
way of preparing a man to accept and profit by the teaching and
system of a training college or course.
(2) Such experience coming after the long strain of work for
a degree would be more attractive and stimulating than the
immediate entrance on a new spell of lectures, reading, &c., at
a training college.
(3) Without such experience a solid year in a training college
might tend to develop the priggishness and pedantry which are
sometimes imputed to trained teachers, or it might fail to reveal
some of the chief difficulties of actual school-work. These may
be smoothed away by the artificial ease of prepared lessons
delivered in presence of a training master and fellow-students.
But a man who has satisfactorily passed the tests of criticism
lessons may find himself quite unable to maintain discipline
when confronted by twenty or twenty-five lively boys in his
isolated class-room. While they are ingeniously driving him to
despair, the headinaster may pay a surprise visit. The hubbub
subsides. The return of conditions similar to those of the
training class restores the novice’s confidence, and he may
impress his chief for the moment by the method and form of his
teaching ; but chaos returns when he is again left to himself.
Thus technical training has not unfrequently proved abortive
because the candidate has not previously been forced to recog-
nise his own needs and deficiencies.
(4) Again, it may be supposed that each candidate is preparing
for work in some particular type of secondary school. There is
a wide variety of such types, both in boarding schools and day
schools. If aman without any previous experience enters on a
training course and continues it for a solid year, it is more than
Frobable that when he begins school .work he will find himself
amid circumstances with which he has not prepared himself to
deal. Whereas a short experience of these circumstances would
prompt him to discover in his training course by elective affinity
such helps, aids, expedients and suggestions as would hereafter
be suitable for his particular work.
So far reasons have been given for a period of student-
teachership as a preliminary to a training-course. On the other
hand, if the whole year were spent in student-teachership such
arrangements as are feasible for technical instruction, supervision,
&c., amid the turmoil of school work, would fall far short of the
requisite definite teaching of the essential subjects of a training
college.
Again, unless adequate safeguards are provided, student-
teachers may be exposed to risks similar to those which have
beset apprenticeship in nearly every kind of training for crafts
and professions. They may be exploited by employers who
desire cheap labour, and yet are not willing or not competent to
ensure its efficiency. And the profession may suffer by intro-
ducing into it men who have been encouraged to cram or prac-
tise other faulty devices.
Moreover, even the better sort of headmasters and assistant-
masters are rarely competent to give effective training, nor can
they spare sufficient time from their manifold duties; while
if help is given to the student-teacher by a master of method, it
must be somewhat casual and intermittent.
Again, there is much ground for desiring reform in the preva-
lent methods of teaching some important subjects, e.g., modern
languages, including the mother tongue, mathematics, and
natural science. A student-teacher who spent his whole year in
a school might simply be inured to defective methods and pre-
judiced in favour of them; whereas the transfer to a training
The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
college might open his eyes to the need and the means of im-
_ provement.
Such risks and shortcomings of practical work at a school
might be avoided or compensated if the larger part of the year
were devoted to a course of systematic training. Assuming,
then, that there is advantage in such a partition of the year
between the two systems, I pass on to consider some details. If
the year is divided, there are strong reasons for assigning the
first term of it, and no more, to student-teachership.
(1) Its inherent limitations and imperfections. The analogy
of apprenticeship in other professions, and in crafts, has been
much insisted on; but it is very misleading. The medical
practitioner who takes a pupil has been through a long course of
training in the theory and practice of his profession on well-
established lines ; something similar may be said of the crafts-
man who takes an apprentice.
But, with few exceptions, even the more experienced teachers
in our secondary schools, however successful in their individual
class-rooms, have not so far formulated their own theory and
practice as to be able to impart it clearly and expeditiously ;
while a novice who heard their teaching, and watched tke
management of their forms, would of course pick up useful
hints ; but his own lack of experience might make him incapable
of so analysing many elements of their efticiency as to appro-
priate them for his own use. And perhaps, in passing from one
class-room to another, his untraired judgment might be bewil-
dered by a diversity of methods and devices born sometimes of
originality, sometimes of eccentricity or routine.
(2) A single term for the training course would manifestly be
inadequate.
(3) The preliminary year is to be followed (according to the
provisions of the Order) by a solid year of probation in a
recognised school. This is the time when the young probationer,
while still under some supervision and guidance, will be best
able to make a fruitful combination of theory and practice in
work more independent than has hitherto been entrusted to
him.
(4) Not all schouls would be capable of giving effective help
and instruction to student-teachers; it would therefore be an
advantage to reduce the number of student-teachers who would
apply for admission in any given term, and this would be the
effect of this proposal.
(5) Though the conditions of their work have been dis-
cussed at the former session of the Conference, a further word
about them may be allowed.
The headmaster will doubtless undertake to give such super-
vision as in his power: but his attention will be demanded for
many other duties: it is desirable that he should select a
member of his staff to act as adviser and tutor of the student-
teacher under fixed conditions.
If the student-teachers come only for one term, any recognised
school with over 100 boys might be able to receive more than
one during the year—in a large gchool four or five might be
admitted each year if distributed among the several depart-
ments. In each case a member of the staff would be appointed
to give guidance and supervision for classical, or mathematical,
or modern, or scientific work.
But for reasons given before and confirmed by experience, it
must be recognised that such internal supervision by the local
staff has not been, and cannot be, adequate. The supposed
tutors lack both the technical knowledge and the leisure
necessary for efiective training.
It would be a great advantage if external systematic help
could be given by a master of method, or an inspector, who
should prescribe and test a course of reading: he should look
over and criticise the candidate’s notes for lessons, and reports
of progress, which notes and reports should be sent to him at
JANUARY, 1903. ]
frequent intervals: he should visit the school occasionally to
confer with the headmaster and the tutors, to hear the candidate
teach, to give lectures and specimen lessons, perhaps in presence
of other members of the staff; and to provide that the candidate’s
course of reading, teaching, and technical instruction shall be
duly correlated to that of the training course which is to follow.
For these services the master of method must of course receive
fees: but, further, a fee should also be paid to the advising
member of the staff in return for his help: otherwise help is
likely to be casual and perfunctory. In the report of the joint
committee it 1s estimated that the cost of a training course to
the student exclusive of residence would be £30 a year. One-
third of this would supply but a meagre amount for fees both to
the master of method and the tutor-colleague: but if the
student-teacher were receiving his maintenance free, or at a low
rate of cost, as might often be the case in a school, he might
afford to pay more than £10 for advice and instruction during
the single term of school-residence.
It may be hoped that in many cases the new local authority
will be able and willing to give scholarships and allowances to
aid student-teachers: the central authority might help to
persuade them that this would be a most profitable application
of the funds disposable for education. In schools that preferred
to be independent of the aid and control of the local authority,
the governing body would probably think itself justified in
subsidising a student-teacher.
The proposed partition of the year might be objected to on
the ground that two terms are not sufficient for the many
subjects that have to be dealt with in a training course: experts
have said that not less than thirty weeks are required for this
purpose.
If that is so, an obvious solution of the difficulty would be the
following. The scheme of the Board of Education demands
two years, one of student-teachership or training, one of ‘* pro-
bation.” Let these two years be otherwise divided thus: one
term of student-teachership followed by a year at a training
course : the two terms that remain would be quite sufficient to
test the work of a ‘‘ probationer,” and ascertain whether he was
fit to receive the final diploma.
A proposal has been made, and influentially supported, that
not only may the whole of the first year of training be spent as
student-teacher at a recognised school simply under the super-
vision of the headmaster and his staff, but also that graduates
may be allowed to reckon the second year (or year of probation)
as running concurrently with the first. There is no doubt some-
thing to be said for this proposal on economical grounds ; but
its adoption will be deprecated by those who feel that such a
system would not be adequate for the purpose of training.
GEOMETRY IN RESPONSIONS AT
OXFORD.
WE have again this month to record another addition to the
list of examinations in which geometry studied on modern
lines may be substituted for the text of Euclid’s Elements.
The following notice, signed by Mr. II. T. Gerrans, the
Chairman of the Board of Studies, bas been circulated :—
Responsions.
The Board of Studies for Responsions gives notice of the
following change in the Regulations for the Examination in
Stated Subjects in Responsions, viz. :
The School World | 25
In the Regulations as to the Elements of Geometry (Ex-
amination Statutes, 1902, p. 18) the words
“ Euclid’s Elements, Books I., II. Euclid’s axioms will be
required, and no proof of any proposition will be admitted
which assumes the proof of anything not proved in preceding
propositions of Euclid.”
have been struck out, and the following words substituted :
“Elementary questions, including propositions enunciated by
Euclid and easy deductions therefrom, will be set on the
subject-matter contained in the following portions of Euclid's
Elements, viz. :
Book I., the whole, excluding propositions 7, 16, 17, 21;
Book II., the whole, excluding proposition & ;
Book III., the whole, excluding propositions 2, 4-10, 13, 23,
24, 26-29.
Any method of proof will be accepted which shows clearness
and accuracy in geometrical reasoning.
So far as possible Candidates should aim at making the proof
of any proposition complete in itself.
In the case of propositions 1-7, 9, 10, of Book II., algebraical
proofs will be allowed.”
This change will come into force at the Examination of
Michaelmas term, 1904. But Candidates who, having entered
their names for the Examination in Stated Subjects before
the beginning of that term, shall not have satisfied the masters
of the schools, will be allowed to offer as one of their subjects,
in either of the Examinations held in Michaelmas term, 1904,
and Hilary term, 1905, the Elements of Geometry under the
existing Regulations.
SOUTH AFRICAN EDUCATION:
SIR THEOPHILUS SHEPSTONE was the first Secretary of
Education in Cape Colony, and he tried to unite the existing
schemes of Huguenots, Dutch Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, and
English Church teachers into a general Government scheme.
Then came Dr. Muir, who found the education on §* farm ” schools
of a very defective and elementary kind. He started classes for
teachers in the subjects of the various examinations. The
classes were held twice a year during the vacations at central
towns, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and Grahamstown.
They were free to any ‘‘farm” teacher, and the fare was
paid by Government from the ‘‘farm”’ school to the town
where the lectures were held. The teacher only had to provide
board for herself. After the lectures there was an examination,
and if the teacher passed she received a teacher’s certificate.
This system was well carried out for some years, and at the end
of that time no teacher without a teacher’s certificate could teach
in any Government school in Cape Colony. The elementary
examinations have gradually been dropped and the easy teachers’
examinations discontinued.
The schools at Ronderbosch, Wynberg, Cape Town, are just
like first-rate English or Scottish high schools. The Wellington,
Worcester and Stellenbosch schools are taught by Americans.
The system under Dr. Brebner in the Orange River Colony was a
good deal hampered by a Dutch Raad, many members of which
were themselves very untaught, but some of the schools were
good, notably those at Bloemfontein and Harrismith. Dr.
Mansveldt in the Transvaal was a political agent as well as a
superintendent of education, and his duty was to keep out
‘* Etlander” teachers and pupils by enforcing the teaching of
1 Abstract of a lecture by Miss P. M. Darton delivered at the Mary
Datchelor Training College.
we me
26
all subjects in Dutch. The ‘‘ Ætlander” paid od. in taxes a
head for educating Dutch children. Transvaal schools were not
up to those of the Free State, unless as in Johannesburg they
were private efforts, like those of Miss Buckland and Miss Orr.
Now Mr. Sargeant has charge of the Transvaal and Orange
River Colony, his system is altering matters. He has secured
from home a number of well-trained teachers and specialists.
The Dutch schools are made into first-rate English ones. Dutch
is no longer the medium of all education, but taught as a
language like Latin, French and German. The concentration-
camp schools will remain as Government country schools, and
throughout both States and on all mines there will be ex-
cellent Government schools, with well-trained teachers, with no
distinction as to nationality. In towns the more advanced
schools for the better class will take boarders and day scholars.
All schools will be under Government inspection, and sewing,
cooking, wood carving and athletics, will be part of the new
scheme.
The English and Dutch who have become very wealthy wish
to educate their children well, and a journey to Europe is a very
easy matter to them. As a rule, their daughters learn French,
German, music, and drawing, in Europe. They travel much, and
at fifteen are far more accomplished than girls of the same class in
England. The average colonial girl is quick and receptive, she
is also often superficial, but she is pleasant to teach. She na-
turally dances well, plays, and paints. She is clever with her
fingers, and quick in picking up the manners of those about her.
Many girls come to school with very elementary knowledge of
most subjects and no knowledge of Latin, and yet have to pass
examinations. The teacher’s work is often difficult and wearying
in consequence. A good teacher in a good school in a South
African town often has to “cram.” This difficulty will have
passed away in a few years, as the younger girls will have had
the advantage of a thorough grounding.
The large schools are fine buildings, with the latest modern
appliances, first-rate teachers, and many good pianos. The
‘*farm”’ schools are also provided with suitable books, naps,
desks, &c.
Salaries are not better than in England, and expenses are very
much higher. In Natal they are lower than in Cape Colony,
and are highest in the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal.
Journeys and hotels are very costly. There are lady inspectors
for needlework, cooking, &c. At Cape Town there are Exten-
sion Lectures; in Grahamstown and Johannesburg, excellent
Literary Societies with first-rate intellectual men as members.
Mr. Sargeant’s schemes are elastic, and he proposes to adapt
the teaching to the needs of different pupils and States.
Salaries are still low compared with the cost of living, but life
is worth living, in sunshine and health. At present competition
is less than in Europe, but also posts are fewer. A teacher who
is engaged by wealthy parents for girls of fifteen or sixteen will,
in Johannesburg, probably lose them in six months, as the girls
may go to Europe for the hunting season, or for the London
season, or a tour to European picture galleries.
Then there are no other pupils to take their place, and the
teacher may have to journey to another State at a cost of £10 or
£20 to find fresh work.
Hitherto the examinations have been quite different from ours
at home. Now doubtless the Oxford and Cambridge Locals will
be used as in Natal, and the examinations of the Royal Academy
of Music and Trinity College have long been used for schools in
all South African States. .
The future Colonial girls and boys will have superior chances
to the English child—for the teaching and school appliances will
all be first-rate—and the climate will give the rising generation
advantages in health which England can never afford.
The one drawback seems to be that schools must, for a genera-
The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
tion at least, contain pupils of very varied parentage and de- `
velopment, but—as in railways—there will be no old *‘ rolling-
stock ” to wear out; buildings, desks, books, and teachers, will
all be ‘‘ up to date.”
OFFICIAL HINTS TO TEACHERS.
Two recent Blue Books contain numerous hints to teachers
from experienced inspectors and deserve careful attention.
These reports supply further evidence of the want of foundation
for the common belief that nothing of any value to the practical
teacher is to be obtained from Blue Books. Whatever the
reason may be, it is unfortunately true that the cases in which
reports of the kind under consideration find their way into
the hands of acting schoolmasters and schoolmistresses are quite
exceptional. The plan adopted by the United States Bureau of
Education, by which the reports of the Commissioners of Edu-
calion are circulated among American teachers free of charge,
might with advantage be copied by the Board of Education
here. Compared with the good effect on methods of instruction
throughout the country such a course of action might be expected
to have, the cost would be trifling.
The limits of a short article prevent more than a selection to
be made from the multitude of good things to be found, and the
following results of some hours’ browsing are offered in the hope
of persuading teachers to obtain the reports themselves. The
first selections are from the general report of Mr. T. King,
Senior Chief Inspector of schools in the metropolitan division,
in compiling which he has made full use of reports sent to him
by the inspectors of the various districts included in his division.
The Teaching of Arithmetic.
Speaking of the teaching of arithmetic in the public ele-
mentary schools of Chelsea, Mr. Helps, the Inspector, says:
‘* experience shows that the four simple rules can best be taught
by dealing with small numbers, first in the concrete, and then in
the abstract, gradually increasing these numbers, and that what
are called * problems’ should be simply the application of these
rules to such questions and matters as occur in daily life.”
In the Hackney district, Mr. Stevelly finds that : ‘f sometimes
practice lessons in arithmetic savour too much of examination,
the teacher merely putting a number of questions on the board,
then attending to registers or other business until the class has
had time to work the answers, and finally marking these right or
wrong. The quick children will have been idle during most of
the time allotted to such a lesson, while the weaker ones, though
busy, will have learned nothing. It is surely better to put up
one question at a time, and let all the class or section work it
under the eye of the teacher, who, if the question present
general difficulties, may then work it with the help of the class
on the board or otherwise, quickly test the correctness of the
answers and pass on to another example. In examples on new
rules, large numbers should be avoided, as they tend to bewilder
or discourage the children.”
Mr. Newton, reporting on the Greenwich schools, says : °** it
has become generally recognised that arithmetic means some-
thing more than the working of sums, and there are now few
schools in which the scholars cannot give more or less valid ex-
planations of the commoner arithmetical operations. Unfortu-
1 “t General Reports of H.M. Inspectors on Elementary Schools and
Training Colleges for the year 1901.” 234 pp (Eyre & Spottiswoode.) 15.
“General Reports of H.M. Inspectors on Science and Art Schools and
Classes and Evening Schools, and of Examiners in Science and Art for the
year 1901." 97 pp. (Eyre & Spottiswoode). 53d.
JANUARY, 1903. ]
The School World 27
nately, a strange misuse of the arithmetical symbols is still too
common. This fault can be traced to its source, for a similar
misuse of the same symbols disfigures many of the papers
worked at the Certificate Examination. The college lecturers
on arithmetic might surely impress on their students the 9%b-
jections to pieces of work such as—
(1) 65+7=9+2.
QR.. _8xI5
(2) 12:8 :: 15 = =
+t 3 7
(3) : 2 ;
History and Geography.
Referring to the instruction given in history in the schools of
his area, Mr. Newton says: ‘‘the writers of the historical
readers often fail to remember that books intended for children
should leave out many things which find a proper place in
reference books intended for adults. It is not to be supposed
that historical details are always out of place in children’s books.
On the contrary, judiciously chosen details aid the memory
rather than burden it, and serve to give life to topics which
seem lifeless when the details are wanting. Thus, one view of
Queen Elizabeth’s character is gathered from the specific state-
ment that she owned 400 costumes much more than trom the
general statement that at times she was frivolous and extravagant.
The writer of a school history ought, however, most carefully to
avoid descriptions of isolated incidents which, so far as children
can see, arise out of nothing and lead up to nothing. Matters
such as the Porteous riots, the murder of Mr. Percival, and the
like, should find no mention in books written for children.
Good historical reading-books are in the market, some of them
bear the name of a much-honoured living historian, but unfor-
tunately, the best advertised books rather than the best written
ones are apt to be chosen. However good the historical reading-
book may be, the teaching of history must be difficult, but the
difficulties arise not from the want of time, but from the nature
of the subject. It is obviously hard to give the young children
of the twentieth century an adequate idea of the great men who
lived in the thirteenth or sixteenth.”
Mr. Helps reports that ‘‘ large numbers of children now leave
our schools annually totally ignorant of much geography and
history—a knowledge of which would add to their pleasure, and
interest, and profit in life—because it is the practice (a practice
which has been encouraged in the past) to teach these subjects
piece-ineal in parts and periods. Following this practice, a child
who leaves school . . . . may have got no further than the
Stuarts in history, and may never have heard of the American
War of Independence, and events of like importance, or, of say,
Egypt or Japan. This method of teaching a subject, bit by bit,
instead of broadly, and in correlation with other subjects,
pervades our whole system of elementary education. It is a
legacy of past ‘Codes’ when little parcels of information were
made up during the year, labelled, and paid for at the end of the
year. What we need is more breadth, continuity, and asso-
ciation in the teaching, and, above all, the training of the child
to use its own powers of acquisition and research. It is now a
common practice to divide the year’s work into periods ; thus, if
Europe has to be studied, instead of first taking a general survey
of Europe, each country will be taken in detail. It is obvious
that at the end of the year the child will have forgotten a great
deal of what he learnt in detail at the beginning, whilst if a
general survey were made in the first period, and the ground
were covered again, revising and supplementing more fully in
each succeeding period, the teacher would be feeling his way,
and making sure of his ground all the time. So long as learned
Boards of Examiners make fetiches of river basins, treaties, and
such like, it is hopeless to expect a very keen sense of proportion
of relative values in the teaching of geography and history in the
elementary schools, but more common sense might be exercised
in choosing the history for young children. I too often find
such subjects as ‘The Georges,’ ‘The Reformation,’ suggested
for children seven and eight years of age. There is also a
tendency to dwell upon wars and battles rather than upon social
progress. It seems desirable that the teaching should follow
certain broad lines, ¢.g., expansion of Empire, social progress,
inventions, discoveries, great persons of history, changes in
constitution, &c.”
Disappearance of the Slate.
Mr. Graves, the Inspector in the Southwark district, finds that
“the use of lead pencils in writing from the lowest classes in the
infant schools upwards is leading to the exclusion of the slate
from our schools. And a good thing too. There is no more
fruitful source of infection than the cleaning of the slate by the
old vulgar method or even by breathing upon it. Children’s
eyes suffer from writing upon slates, the lines upon which need
frequent renewal. Time is wasted by the sharpening of pencils,
and unless these are kept of uniform length the handwriting
suffers. Children get into a hesitating way of writing and
drawing upon slates, constantly rubbing out what they have
put down. Finally, the slate contains no lasting record of
school work. It is well, therefore, that the slate is being driven
from the schools in favour of pencil and pen-and-ink work upon
paper.”
The Objects of Science Teaching.
Reporting on the West Lambeth district, Dr. Eichholz, says :
‘t there are signs in the laboratory lessons that the boys exercise
their individual powers of thought too little, and that their
reflective powers are exhausted when they have brought the
experiment to a close. The one way to remedy this is to limit
the number of experiments. There is no point, especially at
the commencement, in getting through a large number of
experiments, but it is highly important that the whole bearing of
each operation should be fully apparent to the performer. The
experiment should be abundantly discussed from every point of
view, and a full record kept for future reference. The laboratory
course in the elementary school is one more avenue to the
development of general intelligence, and the lessons should be
given not so much as part of an isolated speciality, but rather as
part of the whole school training. The teaching of science is
undertaken not with the intention of turning out scientists any
more than woodwork is expected to develop carpenters; but
what is to be desired is that the processes witnessed in the
laboratory will lead to exactness of idea and expression, and to
a logical and sequential habit of thought.”’
. Country Schools.
In his estimate of the rural schools in the East Central
Division of England, the Rev. C. D. Du Port, one of H.M.
Chief Inspectors, quotes from Mr. Holmes, the Inspector of the
Oxford district :—*‘ The best of them are truly excellent. The
reasons for their success are not far to seek. If isolation is a
drawback to the country teacher, it is also a distinct advantage.
Relieved from the pressure to which ‘ birds of a feather’ are apt
to subject one another when they ‘ flock together,’ the country
teacher is free to go his own way, to follow the bent of his
‘genius,’ to run his favourite hobby as far as it will carry him.
One result of this is that, if he happens to be a man of character
and ability,he has generally more originality and initiation than the
successful urban teacher, whose energies are confined for the most
part withinconventional channels. His pupils, if less sharp and less
28
lively than his urban confrères, are more amenable to discipline,
and more patient and persevering. Also, as the number of his
pupils is small, and the number of his subordinate teachers very
small, he is able to make his personal influence felt in every nook
and corner of the school. . . . Even the hobbies which
isolation tends to foster are valuable instruments of education.
One teacher is specially strong at natural history, a second at
practical mechanics, a third at gardening, a fourth at book-
keeping, a fifth at needlework, a sixth at drawing, a seventh at
literature, an eighth at outdoor games; and each of these
teachers can, if he pleases, make his pet pursuit an effective
means of stimulating the interest and developing the intelligence
of his pupils. Other teachers, again, being untroubled by atten-
dance officers, throw themselves with extraordinary energy into
the work of improving the attendance at their schools. It is
worthy of note that there are seven or eight village schools in
this district in which the attendance is absolutely perfect, the
ratio of actual to possible attendances being nearly 99 per cent.,
and no child being ever absent except on account of really serious
illness ; it may be doubted if any town school can show results
quite equal to these. . . . . Though educational work in
the country is carried on under serious difficulties, it has con-
siderable compensating advantages.”
The Yalue of Examinations.
Mr. Rooper’s remarks upon Examinations, also included in
the Rev. C. D. Du Port’s general report, show that if often
abused examinations have an important use in school work.
“ Examinations are an indispensable part of the teacher’s craft,
and studies which are not properly tested from time to time are
seldom thorough. Examinations should be conducted with the
strictest formality. Copying and assisting should be serious
offences, and the scholars should learn the strictest code of
honour in these matters and always to ‘play the game.’ Exami-
nations should also be periodic, and the children should look
forward to them as an agreeable change in the routine, and as an
incentive to study. The results should be made clear to the
scholars. In the case of the older children the
written examination should extend to all the subjects which are
studied, instead of being confined to ‘ four sums and a piece of
dictation,’ and the marking may well be expressed through
figures and the results tabulated, so that the work of the children
can be arranged either in classes or in exact order of merit, the
former plan being the better plan. Part of the examination
should be oral. Oral answering makes children ready, and
practice in it enables children to collect their thoughts promptly
and rapidly. Success in oral answering depends upon the care-
ful teaching of the mother tongue, and the habit of answering
when required in complete sentences. Good oral answering de-
pends upon good oral questicning ; and although every examiner
flatters himself he is a good questioner, comparatively few
question a class really well ; because, besides having the subject
matter stored and arranged in his mind, the examiner must know
how to get in touch with the class, a natural gift which may, how-
ever, be cultivated by those who are not endowed withit by nature.
It is comparatively rare to find among the scholars in the English
schools many who can give a clear and connected reply, in good
English, to an oral question ; whereas abroad, owing to the high
value attached to the proper use of the mother tongue, and to
much practice in the art of putting questions orally, the capacity
to do this is quite usual among the older children. . . . No
teacher should trust to himself exclusively to set hisown papers.
Each class should be examined by some one who has not taught
it. On the other hand, the examiner should be well informed of
the exact lines of teaching, and should follow them with atten-
tion, for there should be sympathy and not conflict between the
examiner and the teacher.”
The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
THE announcement of the death of Prof. H. L. Withers, on
December 12th, at the comparatively early age of thirty-eight,
will be received with deep regret in the educational world. He
possessed an exceptionally wide knowledge of educational work,
and by his death the country has been deprived of the inspiring
influence of a man familiar both with theoretical principles and
practical possibilities. Educated at King’s College School,
London, and at Balliol College, Oxford, he afterwards served
for a time as assistant-master in the Wesleyan Elementary Day
School, Oxford, in order to acquire experience in the work of
teaching. He was also successively a master at the City of
London School, Manchester Grammar School, and Clifton
College, and principal of the Isleworth Training College. In
1899 Prof. Withers accepted the chair of education at the Owens
College, Manchester, and occupied it until his death. He was
interested in all educational methods and experiments, and
contributed much valuable material to their discussion and
advancement. Attractive in personality, receptive in mind,
eloquent in speech and sound in opinion on the science and art
of education, Prof. Withers was esteemed by all who knew him,
and his death has diminished the factors of progress in no slight
degree.
BEFORE this issue is published the Education Bill will have
passed both Houses of Parliament. The second reading debate
on the Bill began in the House of Lords on December 4th, and
the Bill was read a second time on the following day, the
majority being very large. During the committee stage in the
upper house the Government accepted an addition to the section
providing that there should be no formulary distinctive of any
particular denomination taught at any provided school, by which,
at the request of parents, the local education authority may
allow such religious instruction, but not at the cost of the rates.
An amendment was carried that all damage in schools due
to wear and tear should be made good by the local authority.
What is known as the Kenyon-Slaney Clause was amplified so as
to embody the assurances given by the Government during the
passage of the Bill through the Commons. As we go to press
the changes made in the Bill by the Lords are being considered
in the House of Commons.
THE Delegates for the Oxford Local Examinations have
approved the following Regulations for geometry for 1904.
PRELIMINARY.—Gcomet(ry: including the subject-matter of
Euclid, Book I, propositions 4-6, 8, 13-16, 18, 19, 26-30,
32-41, 43, and the following or similar constructions: bisection
of angles and of straight lines ; construction of perpendiculars
to straight lines, of triangles and quadrilaterals from given
data, of parallels to a given straight line, of angles equal toa
given angle; division of straight lines into a given number of
equal parts. Higher Geometry : including, in addition to the
subjects prescribed for preliminary geometry, the subject-matter of
Euclid, Book I., propositions 47, 48, and Book III., propositions
3, 14-16, 18-22, 31, and the following or similar constructions :
construction of a triangle equal in area to a given polygon, of
tangents to a circle, of common tangents to two circles.
Questions may be set involving a knowledge of the forms of the
cube, prism, sphere and cylinder.
JUNIOR.— Pass Geometry: including, in addition to the
subjects prescribed in the Preliminary examination, the con-
struction of the circumscribed, inscribed, and escribed circles
of a triangle. A knowledge of the forms of the simpler solid
bodies will be assumed. dAavanced Geometry: Questions will
be set on the subjects included in the pass geometry paper, on
JANUARY, 1903. |
the subject-matter of Euclid, Book II., Book III., propositions
32, 35-37; Book VI., propositions 1-8, 19, 20, 33, A, D, and
on more difficult constructions of rectilinear and circular figures.
In dealing with proportion candidates may assume that all
magnitudes of the same kind may be treated as commensurable.
There will be no change in the examination for Seniors.
THE Delegates give notice that questions will be set so as
to bring out as far as possible a knowledge of the principles
of geometry. Any proof of a proposition will be accepted
which shows an accurate method of geometrical reasoning. In
the proof of theorems and deductions from them the use of
hypothetical constructions will be allowed. Geometrical proofs
of the theorems in Book II. will not be insisted upon. Every
Junior or Preliminary candidate offering geometry must be pro-
vided with a ruler graduated in centimetres and millimetres,
and in inches and in tenths of an inch, a small set square, a pro-
tractor, and compasses. Figures should be drawn accurately
with a hard pencil. Questions may be set on the use of squared
paper.
WE regret that Sir Michael Foster resigned his seat in
Parliament at the end of the Session which has just closed.
His intimate acquaintance with every detail of secondary edu-
cation and his wide knowledge of the needs of education in all
its grades fitted him in a peculiar degree to represent the
University of London in the House of Commons. There are at
present three candidates for the vacancy thus created. Sir
William Collins, Sir Philip Magnus, and Sir John Williams.
The last two are Unionists while Sir William Collins is the
Liberal candidate.
THE Board of Education has determined that the Matricula-
tion or Preliminary examination of Universities, which they
have hitherto recognised in the case of women students in
training colleges as equivalent to portions of the Certificate
examination required at the end of the second year of training,
shall not, after July, 1904, be so recognised. This decision
applies to the Matriculation examination of the Universities of
London, Wales and Birmingham, and to the Preliminary exami-
nation of the Victoria University. Previous arrangements will
remain undisturbed as regards women-students already preparing
to take any of these examinations at the end of their second year
of training in 1903 or 1904; but the decision will apply to all
women-students admitted after the present date.
THE Technical Education Board of the London County
Council has arranged to hold another conference of teachers at
the South-Western Polytechnic, Chelsea, on January gth and
ioth, 1903. The chairmen for the consecutive meetings are
Mr. Ward, chairman of the Education Board; Sir William
Anson, Prof. Farmer, F.R.S., and Prof. Callendar, F.R.S.
During the first day the addresses will be entirely mathematical,
and are to be given by Messrs. Andrews, Castle, Eggar,
Siddons and Usherwood. The third session will be given
to botanical subjects, when Miss Clarke and Mr. Lacey give
addresses. Mr. Newth, at the last meeting, takes up the
subject of experimental illustration in the teaching of chemistry,
and Mr. Busbridge the making of lantern-slides. Free ad-
mission to the meetings will be granted to as many teachers as
the conference room will accommodate, by ticket, which can be
obtained from Dr. Kimmins, Dame Armstrong House, Harrow,
or from Mr. C. A. Buckmaster, 16, Heathfield Road, Mill Hill
Park, W.
A PRELIMINARY notice of the first conference of science
teachers in the North of England was given in our issue of
August last, and a detailed programme has now been sent
tous. The conference will be divided into four sessions—two
The School World
29
meetings on consecutive days—presided over respectively by
Mr. M. E. Sadler, Prof. Armstrong, F.R.S., Prof. Smithells,
F.R.S., and Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S. A reception of members
of the conference by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, in the new
Technical School, Manchester, where the meetings are to
be held, will take place on the morning of January 2nd, and
the reading of papers will follow immediately. Miss Burstall
deals with curricula and Dr. Kimmins with the co-ordination of
the science teaching of various grades of schools. The early
teaching of science will be discussed in the morning of the
second day, the debate being opened by Messrs. W. French and
R. L. Taylor, who take up physics and chemistry respectively.
Mr. Wager explains the methods of nature study in the after-
noon. There will be an exhibition of apparatus, preparations
and diagrams, and visitors will be invited to visit Owens
College, the Municipal Art School, and to examine the new
Technical School. Admission to the conference will be free by
ticket, to be obtained from the honorary secretaries, Dr. Lloyd
Snape, and Mr. J. H. Reynolds, at the Technical School,
Manchester.
THE annnual meeting of the Geographical Association will be
held in London on Friday, January gth, at 3.30 p.m., in the
Hall of the College of Preceptors, the President, Mr. Douglas
Freshfield, in the chair. An address will be given by the Hon.
Sir John Cockburn, K.C.M.G. (formerly Minister of Education
and Prime Minister of South Australia, and now Chairman of the
Australian Chamber of Commerce, London), on the Australian
Commonwealth. There will also be an exhibition of examples
of all scales and styles of ordnance-survey maps, and Mr.
Andrews will give a lantern demonstration in connection with
the exhibition.
IN order further to promote the commercial education work
of the London Chamber of Commerce, the Commercial Edu-
cation Committee has, with a view to increasing the supply
of qualified teachers of commercial subjects in our schools,
offered to admit, at half-fees, head teachers and their assistants
to the regular courses of lectures in banking and currency, com-
mercial and industrial law, commercial geography and history,
and business machinery and methods.
THE Modern Languages holiday courses arranged by the
Teachers’ Guild last summer proved thoroughly successful both
from the point of view of the committee whose special duty it is
to organise them, and also from that of the students who were
present at the various centres. The full number of students
allowed for at Honfleur was reached, and at Tours there was an
attendance higher than on any previous occasion. The Spanish
course was a fresh experiment last year, and though the
attendance was small, the experience of those who took part in
it was so favourable that a repetition has been arranged for
1903. As many as thirty-six county-council students took part
in the French courses, viz. : from the West Riding of Yorkshire,
20; from Derbyshire, 5; from Surrey, 2; from Berkshire, 2;
from Cheshire, 1; from Wales, 3; from Bradford, 2; from
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1. Courses, lasting from three to four
weeks, will be held in August, 1903, at Tours and at Honfleur,
and also at Santander, if a sufficient number of entries is
received. The representative of the English committee for
Tours will be Mr. E. C. Fisher, M.A., Cranbrook School,
Kent, and, for Honfleur, Mr. E. W. Hensman, M.A., head-
master of the Rawlins School, Quorn. The representative for
Santander has not yet been chosen.
Mr. JAMES GRAHAM, inspector of schools to the West
Riding County Council, in the course of his recent tour around
the commercial schools of Europe, made a special study of
30 The
modern school furniture. On his advice the Technical Instruc-
tion Committee of the County Council thas purchased speci-
mens of a number of desks, seats, work-tables, &c., which
seemed to Mr. Graham worthy of introduction into English
schools. The interesting collection formed in this way has
recently been on view in the County Hall, Wakefield, and
it would be an excellent thing if the collection could be lent to
other counties for exhibition in a similar way.
AT a recent conference of teachers and school managers from
all parts of the East Riding of Yorkshire, held at Beverley, a
representative committee was elected to promote nature-study
in the district. Lord Herries presided, and Prof. Miall, F.R.S.,
delivered an address in which he described what the teaching of
nature-study in schools should be. Prof. Miall thinks it is
unfortunate that a regular industry has been organised for the
supply of ready-made object-lessons and lantern-slides, and he
advised his hearers not to use stuffed animals and dried plants in
the class-room, but wherever possible to study living animals
and plants. If only an hour a week can be spared for nature-
study work, it is better not to attempt the study, for, said Prof.
Miall, three hours is the minimum to be of any use.
A JOHANNESBURG correspondent of The Times points out
that, in reply to a memorandum from the Church Committee,
representing the general assembly of the Dutch Reformed
Church, the Government intimates unmistakably the lines on
which the educational policy of the new colonies will be con-
ducted. The Government aims at securing, by means of local
officers of the Education Department resident in important
centres, a sympathetic treatment of school questions until such
time as growing confidence between all sections of the inhabi-
tants of the Transvaal makes it reasonable to introduce popular
control of the schools. The teachers will be appointed by the
Government. All possible consideration, however, will be
given to former teachers in the service of the late Republic, and
instruction in the English language, where necessary, will be
provided free of charge so as to enable them to take appoint-
ments. Opportunity will be afforded for thorough instruction
in the Dutch language in the case of all children whose parents
make a request for such instruction.
WE have received from the Superintendent-General of Educa-
tion for the Cape of Good Hope his Report for the year 1900.
Considerations of space prevent us from dealing with the portly
volume in any detail; but the effect of the war upon the supply
of schools in the colony is so pronounced that special reference
to it is quite justified. Whereas in 1898 there was an increase
of 200 schools, and in 1899 a further increase of 132, there was
during the first year of the war a net loss of 61 schools. The
schools which suffered most were those which supply the wants
of the white people in the country districts, which, until the
outbreak of the war, had heen rapidly increasing in number.
On the other hand, the growth of aborigines schools has scarcely,
if at all, been interfered with.
Tue last annual report of the Minister of Education for New
Zealand is another piece of convincing evidence that educational
activity is one of the most pronounced characteristics of the
component countries of the British Empire. In New Zealand,
moreover, the efforts of educationists are not confined to white
people. In the report before us we read : ‘* There is now in
almost all Maori schools a good deal of manual and kinder-
garten work done; that the children like it, while the teachers
are becoming alive to its beneficial effects on the other work of
the school. . . . Such operations as paper-folding, paper-
weaving, work in plasticine, cane-weaving, and ‘ bricklaying ’
are now regularly taught in most of these schools.” There is
School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
reason to believe, too, that the methods now in use are likely to
give Maori children a power of speaking English fluently and
correctly in a reasonably short time.
A SYNDICATE has been appointed to consider what changes,
if any, are desirable in the regulations that affect the mathe-
matical portions of the pass examinations of the University, in
particular of the Previous examination. The members of the
syndicate are:—The Vice-Chancellor, Mr. C. Smith, Prof.
Forsyth, Dr. Hobson, Mr. W. L. Mollison, Mr. C. A. E.
Pollock, Mr. W. Welsh, Prof. G. B. Mathews, Mr. S. Barnard,
Mr. W. M. Coates, Mr. E. T. Whittaker, and Mr. A. W.
Siddons. It is probable that the syndicate will recommend
changes analogous to those which have been introduced in
connection with the University local examinations, especially as
regards the dominance of Euclid.
M. CAPMARTIN, a pharmacist at Blaye, has set an example
we should be glad to see followed by English druggists. He
has paid into a local bank the sum of £20 which he offers
as a prize for the best essay on practical hygiene in schools and
for the teaching of elementary hygiene. The winning essay
will be printed at M. Capmartin’s expense, and 30,000 copies
placed at the disposal of the Minister of Public Instruction for
distribution in schools.
Messrs. ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & Co., LTD., will shortly
publish ‘‘ The Nature Student’s Note Book.” The volume will
consist of two parts: the first, entitled ‘‘ Nature Notes and
Diary,” is by the Rev. Canon Steward, whose monthly Nature
Notes in our columns have made him well known to our readers ;
the second part consists of ‘‘ tables for classification of plants,
animals and, insects,” and has been drawn up by Miss Alice
Mitchell, the lecturer in natural science at the Salisbury Train-
ing College. Teachers and students of nature study should look
out for this volume.
THE lantern is largely used in the lecture-theatres of many
colleges, but its value as an aid in teaching does not appear
to be so fully recognised in secondary schools. Perhaps one
reason for this is to be found in the general impression that
a darkened room is indispensable for a lantern lesson. This isa
mistake ; all that is necessary is to avoid exposing the screen to
a strong outside light. We have known a blank wall, or evena
window-blind, to answer excellently for the purpuse. These
remarks are prompted by an examination of the excellent series
of lantern slides which Messrs. Sanders and Crowhurst, of
71, Shaftesbury Avenue, W., have prepared from Mr, Oliver G.
Pike’s photographs of British birds and their nests. Most of
these have already appeared in Mr. Pike’s popular books on
Natural History, and are remarkable not merely for their beauty
as pictures, tut for their sharpness of definition. It was Tyn-
dall, we believe, who said that to know what to look for is the
first essential to accurate observation. Lantern lessons with
such slides, given during the dark days of winter, will form the
very best preparation for the out-of-door nature-study of next
spring and summer, for they will show the pupil ‘‘ what to look
for.”
THE educational pessimist has been so persistent in recent
times that we have heard little of anything at conferences but
the shortcomings of our systems of education as compared with
those of France and Germany. Teachers should find the
admirable article in the Fortnightly Review, by Baron Pierre de
Coubertin, on ‘‘Are the Public Schools a Failure?” very
refreshing reading. This well-qualified judge has a high opinion of
English education, which he has arrived at after examining it by
The
JANUARY, 1903. |]
* the standards of an educational expert. In reviewing Arnold’s
influence on our public schools he attaches most importance to
the fact that ‘‘never had school life so accurately reproduced
the features of society.” Examining the question of what
sustained the British citizen during the recent war, he comes to
the conclusion: ‘‘ It was neither his pride of race, though that
is real enough, nor his invincible faith in his country ; it was the
habit learned during his education of continually knocking up
against obstacles and stopping quietly to consider whether it
would be best to get over them or to get round them; it was the
habit formed at school of forming an opinion of his own and
sticking to it; above all, it was the habit of voluntarily sacrificing
his individual interests to the general good.” We advise the
teacher who is troubled about the question of our educational
inferiority to study this article.
THE second number of King and Country, the new half-
crown monthly review, published by Messrs. Horace Marshall
and Son, the aims of which are essentially patriotic, contains
two articles which appeal particularly to schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses. One, entitled ‘f An Educational Suggestion,”
is by Mr. A. P. Green, who proposes that some portion of the
time now spent at work should be given over to school-work.
“ All workers up to the age of twenty should have the option
of leaving off work at five o'clock in the evening on at least
two days in each working week other than Saturday, on con-
dition that they spent two hours at least on each of these
evenings in the evening school.” The other article, ‘ British
Youth and the Empire,” is subdivided, the first part being by
the Earl of Meath and the second by Mr. J. Astley Cooper.
The question discussed is the idea of an Empire Day when the
pupils in schools should ‘ take part in patriotic demonstrations
and exercises calculated to remind them of their mighty heritage
and of the responsibilities attached to the privileges they
enjoy ’—— to quote the Earl of Meath. Mr. Cooper thinks
such a day is now unnecessary, when ‘‘ every day is an Empire
Day.”
To a recent number of the /ndian Review the Editor con-
tnbutes an article on ‘‘ Higher Education of India,” in which he
discusses the recommendations of the recent Universities Com-
mission, expressing the hope that Lord Curzon will not carry
them into effect. He fears that the Commissioners had exag-
gerated ideas of the defects of Indian higher education, and that
their recommendations may, if carried out, interfere with the
progress of education in India.
We learn from the Revue générale des Sciences that M.
Liard, vice-rector of the Academy of Paris, has arranged a series
of conferences of teachers in French secondary schools in which
certain of the chief inspectors will explain what should be the
methods of teaching adopted and what the objects in view in
teaching the subjects of the school curriculum. The first con-
ference dealt with the subject of modern-language teaching,
and the methods of the reformers were explained and approved.
The next conference will discuss the teaching of physical and
natural science.
SCOTTISH.
THE annual meeting of the Modern Languages Association of
Scotland was held in the Edinburgh Institution. Prof. Kirk-
patrick, Edinburgh University, was elected president for the
ensuing year, and Monsieur Charles Martin vice-president. Dr.
Schlapp, in his retiring address, said that the Carnegie Trust
had so far advanced their cause that in a few years the existing
university lectureships were likely to become professorships.
The movement appealing to patrons of bursaries to open them to
School World 31
modern-language candidates on equal terms with classical students
had already proved very successful, and should materially increase
the number of students of modern languages in the universities.
The popular movement in favour of placing modern languages
on a satisfactory footing in the schools had gathered strength,
and he was certain would soon be powerful enough to overcome
even the prejudices of the Scotch Education Department.
Ar a meeting of the Western Branch of the Secondary
Teachers’ Association the following resolutions were unani-
mously appproved in regard to the mathematical papers at the
Leaving Certificate Examinations: (1) That hypothetical con-
structions be allowed. (2) That any proof of a proposition be
accepted, even though axioms, definitions or postulates other
than Euclid’s be employed. (3) That proof of self-evident pro-
positions should not be demanded. (4) That in Euclid, Book VI.,
incommensurable quantities should not be employed. No re-
form in the methods of mathematical teaching can be expected
till these or somewhat similar concessions are granted by the
Scotch Education Department. The examinations under their
control determine in large measure the nature of the teaching in
all the secondary schools of Scotland, and reform in the character
of the examinations must precede reform in the methods of
instruction. As the Civil Service Commissioners and the
governing bodies of the Oxford and Cambridge Local Examina-
tions have already approved similar recommendations, it is
hoped the Scotch Education Department will speedily adopt them.
THE Higher Education Committee of the Glasgow School
Board has forwarded the following resolutions to the Scotch
Education Department in regard to the proposed Commercial
Certificate: (1) In view of the comparatively slight educational
value of book-keeping and shorthand, these subjects should be
regarded as optional. (2) Commercial papers in modern lan-
guages should not be insisted on. A knowledge of business
terms can only be acquired in actual business, and this can
speedily be done if a sound knowledge of the language on its
literary side has been acquired in school. (3) The Board regrets
that the Department makes no provision for leaving certificates
for the usual curriculum in secondary schools for girls or for the
modern side of boys’ schools. They regret also that the De-
partment has not taken the simplest means of remedying the
defect by withdrawing Latin as a requirement for the leaving
certificate when two modern languages are taken.
THERE are already ominous signs that Lord Balfour’s desire
to carry with him the whole nation in the next educational
advance is not likely to be realised. On one hand Mr. Thomas
Shaw, M.P., Mr. Bryce, M.P., and others, declare that, while
they have the utmost confidence in Lord Balfour and in his
ability to produce a measure making for the educational advance
of the nation, they have none whatever in the Cabinet who will
largely aid in shaping the new Bill. They promise also before-
hand the utmost hostility to any proposal to transfer the manage-
ment of educational affairs from the present popularly elected
bodies. On the other hand, a select body of Unionist members
appeal to Lord Balfour not to proceed with a comprehensive
measure dealing with all branches of education, They strongly
favour the introduction of a modest Bill dealing only with
secondary and technical education. There is grave danger that
after their trying experience with the English Bill the Govern-
ment may adopt the path of least resistance and introduce only
the smaller measure. Lord Balfour has already declared that it
is impossible to separate the spheres of elementary and
secondary education, and that the co-ordination of all teaching
is his aim. In spite of the hostility of one section and the apathy
of the other, it is hoped he will take his courage in both hands
and press forward the comprehensive measure.
E Se E i a a
32
The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
THE first general meeting of the Classical Association was
held in the Royal High School, Edinburgh. Prof. Ramsay,
Glasgow University, presided over a large and representative
audience. In his inaugural address the President said that he
did not share in any gloomy vaticinations as to the prospects of
classical education in this country, if only its advocates made up
their minds to accept the following positions: First, that, how-
ever firmly they were convinced that the highest kind of mental
training was to be obtained from the classics, there were multi-
tudes capable of a higher training to whom the long and severe
methods of classical study were not appropriate ; (2) that the
highest classical education appealed only to one side—though
the most universal and indispensable side—of human culture,
while science had opened up not only a new world of future
practical possibilities, but also a new mental discipline ; (3) that
the teachers of the classics themselves should be ready to revise
their methods in view of altered conditions ; (4) while freely
admitting the high educational value which could be obtained
from the study of modern subjects, it must be insisted that the
methods of any study were of far greater educational value than
the content of it. The methods of classical study were severe,
long and thorough, and this was what had given the classics
their supreme educational value. Prof. Baldwin Brown read a
paper on ‘‘Some Archaeological Aids to Classical Study,” and
Dr. Heard, of Fettes College, gave one on ‘ Classical Study in
the face of Modern Demands.” The meeting was a great suc-
cess, and the catholicity of the views expressed by the various
speakers was the best testimonial to the value of classical
studies.
THE Govan Parish School Board has taken a forward step
of great importance in regard to the training of teachers.
Within recent years they have built and equipped a Pupil
Teachers’ Centre with adequate class rooms, art rooms, and
chemical and physical laboratories. The education at this in-
stitution is specially directed to preparing for the University
Preliminary examination, and large numbers every year have
obtained entrance to the Training College on this qualification.
This year those of their pupil teachers who have passed
the University Preliminary examination, instead of entering a
training college are sent direct to the University, attending
classes there part of the day and teaching during the other
part. These students receive a salary of £25 per annum for
their work in the school and are technically described as
undergraduate-assistants. On the completion of their gradua-
tion course at the University they will be taken into the
Board’s service, ranking as certificated teachers, and will have
a first claim to appointments in secondary departments. The
development of this new movement will be followed with keen
interest by all interested in the better training of teachers.
THE Congress of the Educational Institute of Scotland will be
held this year in Glasgow. The University authorities have
kindly placed their buildings at the disposal of the Institute, and
the meetings will take place there. Mr. Sadler, Director of
Special Inquiries to the Education Board, is to give an address
on ‘* Some Impressions of Educational Work in America.”
IRISH.
THE Hermione lectures founded in memory of the late
Duchess of Leinster were delivered at the Alexandra College
this year by Sir Walter Armstrong, Director of the National
Gallery of Ireland, on the five afternoons from November 25th
to the 290th. He took as his subject Portrait Painting as a Fine
Art, divided under the following headings, to each of which one
lecture was devoted: (1) Antique Portraiture, (2) Italian Por-
trait Painting, (3) German, Dutch, and Flemish Portrait
Painting, (4) French and Spanish Portrait Painting, and
(5) British Portrait Painting.
THE Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for
Ireland announce that they offer for competition among students
in Irish schools of art and art classes, and students who at
present hold scholarships and exhibitions gained from such
schools and classes, four prizes of the value of £12 10s., £10,
£7 10s., and £5, for the four best designs for use in connection
with the Irish secondary teachers’ drawing certificates. The
designs are to be distinctly national in character and suitable for
reproduction in monochrome. Competitors are to send in their
designs to the Secretary of the Department not later than
January 31st, 1903.
REPLYING to a question in the House of Commons, Mr. Bal-
four expressed the hope that the report of the Royal Commission
on Irish University Education would be published before Easter.
The Commissioners will probably find it difficult to draw up their
report. It is one thing to take evidence, and another to sum it
up and give practical form to it on so thorny a subject. Mean-
time, there appears in the December number of Zhe Empire
Review what may be regarded as the official Presbyterian view
from the pen of the Rev. Dr. McCheyne Edgar. He objects to
the creation of any new university, and maintains that Ireland
cannot efficiently maintain more than one. This one, the Uni-
versity of Dublin, should become the national university, and
should be recognised as such by the whole country and by all
religions. The only difficulty is the religious one, and this
should be removed, not by abolishing the divinity school already
existing, but by allowing the establishment of other divinity
schools according to the views of Roman Catholics, Presby-
terians, and so on, if they desire it. The various colleges up
and down the country should be linked up to Dublin University,
and with the concession briefly adumbrated an atmosphere suit-
able to the various denominations would easily be created. The
whole article deserves study.
THE Intermediate Board have issued their revised pass-list for
the examinations held last June. In addition to the reduction of
marks on the pass papers to which we referred last month, the
Board has also reduced the standard of pass required on the
honour papers. It was immediately pointed out as soon as the
concession on the pass-papers was granted, that a similar con-
cession was necessary on the honour papers, and that for two
reasons: (1) if the standard of passing on the honour papers
is pitched too high, schools will avoid them, and thereby a low
standard of education will be encouraged in Intermediate
schools, and (2) those schools and pupils who aimed at a high
standard at the recent examinations would be penalised. At
various prize distributions held during the past month there
have been protests against any further important changes being
made in the Intermediate Rules. It is urged that the recent
revolution should be allowed a fair trial, but that the Board
should oil the wheels of the machine by getting into closer
touch in some way with the schools and teachers.
TRINITY COLLEGE has founded, under the presidency of the
Earl of Rosse, the Chancellor of the University, an Appoint-
ments Association on the lines of the similar association in Cam-
bridge. Its objects are twofold : it undertakes to collect infor-
mation from its correspondents as to the prospects of the
different professions in all parts of the world, especially in the
colonies, and it proposes to negotiate between graduates of the
University who are endeavouring to find employment and
employers who have appointments of one sort or another to
offer. There is no doubt that the new association will
discharge a very useful and important duty.
onder &
JANUARY, 1903. ]
WELSH.
THE following are the terms of an amendment affecting
Welsh schools to the Education Bill (Clause 12, sub-section 6) :
“ Any scheme for establishing an education committee of the
council of any county or county borough in Wales, or of the
county of Monmouth or county borough of Newport, shall pro-
vide that the county governing body constituted under the Welsh
Intermediate Education Act, 1889, for any such county or county
borough shall cease to exist, and shall make such provision as
appears necessary or expedient for the transfer of the powers,
duties, property, and liabilities of any such body to the local
education authority under this Act, and for making the pro-
visions of this section applicable to the exercise by the local
education authority of the powers and duties so transferred.”
THIS amendment, moved by Sir Alfred Thomas, the Chair-
man of the Welsh Liberal Party, came as a surprise to those
connected with the Central Welsh Board. The reason sug-
gested for the amendment was the desirability of avoiding a
divided authority and a dual control in elementary, secondary,
and technical education. The Welsh members of Parliament
have opposed the Education Bill so persistently throughout that
Welsh people naturally find it difficult suddenly to be asked
to confess that, after all, it would be better to adopt the system
proposed for England, when Mr. Balfour himself suggested
that the secondary-school system and organisation of Wales
might stand outside of the Bill. As has been said: ‘* For some
years past Welshmen have been congratulating themselves on
possessing the best organised system of secondary education
in the world, and now it is in the melting-pot on the motion
of the Welsh members.”
SUCH is the way in which the matter presents itself to many
of the Welsh educationists. Naturally, this view found strong
expression at the half-yearly meeting of the Central Welsh
Board at Shrewsbury. It was, of course, then pointed out that
the county governing bodies have for the last seven years been
gathering experience, have begun to find their feet, and are
getting into working order. These bodies are entirely unde-
nominational. The Chairman pointed out that it would be the
duty of the Board of Education to require that denominational
bodies should be represented on the county educational com-
mittees, and this would introduce an element which had not been
hitherto a feature in the Intermediate school organisation.
AT this meeting of the Central Welsh Board the following
resolution was carried with regard to the training of secondary
teachers: “ That in view of the changes brought about by the
Education Bill now before Parliament in respect of secondary
education, and the consequent greater need for trained teachers
in our Intermediate schools, and in view of the new responsi-
bilities of county councils as regards education as a whole, it is
highly desirable that greater inducements should be offered by
way of maintenance scholarships to enable students to under-
take this training.” This certainly seems an important question
when we remember that there are from 400 to 500 teachers
in the Intermediate schools of Wales.
THE Welsh County Schools Association submitted a resolution
passed by them to the Court of the University of Wales at their
last meeting with regard to the Teachers’ Register, stating that
in their opinion, before entry on Column B of the Register, a
course of training for secondary education and probation in
a recognised secondary school should be insisted upon. The
Association, therefore, approve of Clause III. of the Schedule
to the Order in Council, which ordered the formation of the
Teachers’ Register. This question was referred to a committee
No. 49, VoL. 5.]
The School World
33
of the Court for report at the May meeting. It is certainly
most interesting to find the Court of a university concerning
itself with the training of teachers and qualifications for a
Register.
CURRENT HISTORY.
IN the October number of THE SCHOOL WorLD we noted
the beginnings of our new Imperial Parliament. Like the
old English Parliament, it insists on secrecy, and reporters
are not admitted to its meetings. But now a Blue Book has
told us something of its doings. Among its conclusions
we note specially that it is advisable to adopt the metric system
of weights and measures for use within the Empire. This
should be good news for all teachers. What joy it would be
to get rid of our old enemies 54 and 30} yards, of the un-
rememberable ‘“‘ dry” measure and the various ‘‘ells” of
foreign origin! We should save at least two years in the school
life of every one of our pupils. It may be that one clause
at least of Magna Carta will at last become the law of the land,
and of a// our British dominions. ‘* Una mensura vini sit per
totum regnum nostrum, et una mensura cervisiae et una
mensura bladi . . . et una latitudo pannorum . .. ; de pon-
deribus autem sit ut de mensuris.” So ran our first Act of
Uniformity—a uniformity which, however, has never pre-
vailed in ‘‘ weights and measures” any more than in religion.
But a dawn of hope is rising. The colonial premiers are going
to do what they can for oppressed schoolmasters and children,
for merchants at home and abroad. May things mensural
be ordered and settled upon the best and surest foundations !
THE Imperial Parliament is also drawing attention to ‘the
present state of the navigation laws in the Empire . . . with a
view of seeing whether any steps should be taken to promote
Imperial trade in British vessels,” and to oust the foreigner
from our “coasting ” trade. Whither are we tending? We
have lately been congratulating ourselves on the completion of
an ‘‘all-British’’ cable across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
and the land that lies between them. Is the Empire to become
self-‘‘ suficing”’? Are we going back to the days of “ pro-
tection”? We read in our histories of times long past when
every borough regarded all others as foreigners and ‘ upland
men,” when burgesses gained charters with privileges exclusive
of other inhabitants of the same kingdom. As the unity of
England dawned on the men of Tudor times, these borough
privileges broke down, but only in favour of a ‘‘self-sufficing ”
England whose jealousies are recorded in the controversies over
the unions with Scotland and Ireland. And now that we are
realising the unity of the Empire, the new union displays
its convexity as well as its concavity. It is a larger circle than
of old, but it is still exclusive.
WE have long been familiar with the opinions ot that section
of Russian society which is at the same time discontented with
the present constitution of that country and able to voice
its complaints. And while sympathising, as most Englishmen
do, with some at least of their feelings, those who know most
about Russia have understood that the Czar’s autocracy,
though possibly bearing hardly in the political sense on the
more educated classes, is the necessary protection and main-
tenance of the mass of the peasantry. As it might well be ex-
pressed, Russia is now where England was in the sixteenth
century. Parliament might then complain of Tudor despotism
and arbitrary taxation, nobles might lose their heads for the
least suspicion of treason, but in the royal service there was
a “career open to talents” (witness the rise of Wolsey, Crom-
well or Cecil), and the poor were untaxed and protected by
Courts of Star Chamber, Requests, &c. But our latest news
D
— r E wees _
—— ee e ee
es
34
from Russia is of a different complexion. Local committees
have been asked to report on the condition of agriculture, and
they have been unable to avoid constitutional questions. As in
England, 1815-32, social misery is attributed to an evil constitu-
tion. Governmental machinery must be changed if the poor
are to live well. What will happen? Is there a beginning in
Russia of a popular share in government, beginning from the
bottom? If English precedents are a guide, that is the way to
begin. First the village, then the shire, then the Parliament,
in face of a continuously autocratic Prince.
“THE. three estates of the realm” is a phrase often on
our lips, but, like so many popular phrases, it has been re-
peated so frequently that we have lost the meaning thereof,
and many of us would be puzzled to define it. Certainly
there would be much variety in the answers if the Editors were
to offer a prize for the best definition of the expression. In the
fourteenth century we know what they meant by an *‘ estate.”
There was the estate of the clergy, that of the lay lords, those
of the burgesses, the lawyeis, the merchants and of many others
at least possible if not actual. Each class was, or might con-
ceivably be, represented in the national assemblies which were
meeting more and more frequently as the years went on, and
wars were waged, and consequently royal expenses increased.
But with the growtng equality of men before the law, and
the breakdown of local and personal privileges, the old meaning
passed away, and curious mis-meanings were given to the
phrase, till even the king came to be regarded as an estate.
Now, the universities are the only ‘‘ estate ” represented in our
House of Commons ; the other members represent districts, not
estates. However, a revival of the old idea seems probable in
Victoria, for the Civil Service there may soon be allowed
to have representatives of their own in Parliament, and it
is hoped that thus their influence may be defined and regularised.
Compare the outcry against Walpole’s excise scheme and the
influence of government employees in the U.S.A.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
Bechstein, Ausgewählte Märchen. Edited by P. Shaw
Jeffrey. x+ 83 pp. (Whitaker.) 18s. 6d.—This book starts
with an ‘Introduction about Folk and Fairy Tales,” which is
badly put together and does not sufficiently emphasise the
distinction between popular and literary fairy-tales. Then
comes the text of seven tales, printed in old-fashioned type.
At the end of Die verwandelte Maus we actually find pait
of another story, which is altogether unintelligible, as the
first part has not been included in this book; there is no
explanation of this fact in the Notes, which are altogether
inadequate. The vocabulary is incomplete.
German Irregular Nouns in Rhyme. By N. E. Toke,
B.A. 20 pp. (Gibbs, Canterbury.)—This production is cal-
culated (in its petty way) to bring modern-language teaching
into contempt. We are not referring to such obviously absurd
statements as this: ‘* Umiaut consists of giving an “e”
sound to the vowels a, 0, #, and the dipthong az”; or this:
“ The omission of the ¢ in the dative renders the inflections of
the singular of all masculine and neuter nouns practically
alike.” But we do object very strongly, for more than one
reason, to the foolish doggerel intended as a help to learning the
The School World
[ JANUARY, 1903.
‘irregular nouns.” The idea is intrinsically bad. It originated
of course in the Latin Primer rules for words with ‘exceptional ”
gender; but surely we have made some advance since the days
when this was regarded as a legitimate aid to the memory.
Further, the learning of these verses is fatal to the pronunciation ;
English and German are jumbled together; Herr and Bär,
Lump and * pump,” “Safar” and Narr, “calm” and Halm are
coupled as rimes! When we add that words are used ina
wrong sense, and that there are misprints (eg., Mench,
Schwulft, Gemut), we have probably said enough to warn our
readers against this book.
Heinrich Seidel, Leberecht Hühnchen. Edited by A. Werner-
Spanhoofd. iv. + 120 pp. (Heath.) 1s. 3¢.—Hiihnchen,
with his delightful opinions, never so extravagant as to become
ludicrous, will bring many a smile into the schoolroom ; he is
Seidel’s best creation. The style is good; the range of words
considerable. The book is equally suitable for private and for
class reading. The notes seem to have been written in a hurry,
but the vocabulary is complete.
Korner, Zriny. Edited by F. G. Holzwarth, Ph.D. viii.
+126 pp. (Heath.) 15. 6d.—The one great play which Theodor
Korner wrote is little known in England, and it is to be hoped
that this convenient edition will induce our teachers to read it -
with their boys. The spirit of Schiller pervades it, and the
patriotic fervour of the poet whose life was sacrificed in the
great struggle for freedom. The editor has supplied an indif-
ferently written introduction, and notes which are barely
adequate. Some of the English renderings are very poor. It
is an instance of gross carelessness to print the author’s name as
Kröner twice on the cover.
A Complete French Verb Drill. By J. Lazare and H.
Marshall. 68 pp. (Hachette). 9a@.—This is a very dull and
worthy booklet. There is nothing novel about it; it consists
of tables of the regular verbs, an alphabetical list of the
irregular verbs, and short sentences for translation into French,
the chief practical objection to which is that they are not
numbered.
A Skeleton French Grammar. By H. G. Atkins. 51 pp.
(Blackie.) 1s. 6d.—A neat and well-arranged little book,
printed in red and black. It is remarkable how much Mr.
Atkins has been able to condense into these fifty pages by a
judicious selection of what it is really important for the beginner
to know. It seems a pity that the book was not written in
French; at least, that is what the teacher on reform lines will
think. Others will welcome it unreservedly.
Classics.
A Latin Grammar for Schools. (Twentieth Century Text
Books.) By A. F. West. xi. + 262 pp. (Hirschfeld.) 4s. net.
—This is a simple grammar, clearly printed, and with quantities
marked; a distinct advantage is that internal long vowels in
position, as in mémsa, are marked as well as those which are
not in position. Nescið quis (p. 49), by the way, is wrongly
marked as nesct6 guis. The book is on the whole satisfactory,
but hardly stands out from the other grammars; it is not so
good, for example, as Postgate’s ‘‘ New Latin Primer.” Too
much is made of the Greek nouns, which are better relegated to
an appendix. The tables are useful, ¢.g., that of active and
passive forms side by side (p. §8). On p. 7, whey, in which the
vowel sound is a diphthong, ought not to be given to explain
the value of Latin é. ‘I may love,” &c. (p. 63), is the typical
translation of the Latin subjunctive ; we had hoped that this
most misleading error would not reappear in newer grammars.
JANUARY, 1903. ]
The School World
35
The introductory paragraphs on Zanguage are quite out of place
in such a book as this ; and the appendix (p. 240), explaining in
detail the futile ‘* English pronunciation of Latin,” which we
devoutly hope is doomed, is sheer waste of labour.
Latin Elegiacs and Prosody Rhymes for Beginners, by
C. H. St. L. Russell, vi. + 134 pp. (Macmillan), 1s. 6d., gives
120 copies of Latin lines for rearrangement in elegiacs. It will
be useful for those who believe that so long a drill in rearrange-
ment is necessary. For our own part, we do not believe it to be
necessary, unless verses are begun at an age which we think too
young. Mr. Russell’s knowledge is superficial, or he would not
say that ‘‘ an elegy included originally all lighter poems on love
or ordinary topics”; Solon’s elegiacs are haidly light, nor
is the lyric necessarily ‘‘ lighter still.” All this is trivial and
should have been omitted. It is equally incorrect to say that
the “vowel” in erro is long; &ppw disproves it. Mr. Russell
confuses the vowel with the syllable. His statement that a
short vowel at the end of a word cannot remain short before
“two consonants ” is also wrong ; the definition includes such
groups as ĉr in ¢rudo. lf definitions are given at all, let them be
accurate.
C. Sallusti Crispi Jugurtha. Edited, with introduction,
notes and index, by W. C. Summers, M.A. xxxvi. + 192 pp.
(Pitt Press Series.)—This belongs to the small company of
books which are wanted. If any authors may fairly be read
with the help of a commentary, Sallust is one of them ; and Mr.
Summers’s edition is really good. He knows his author and
the literature about his author ; and he has some ingenious sug-
gestions of his own for occasions, as when he proposes to read
picem sulphure mixtam et teia ardentta, in the curious sentence
of 575, saxa volvere, sudes, pila, praeterea picem sulphure et
taeda mixtam ardentia mittlere. We uses an independent judg-
ment, and is generally convincing (in 49.6, however, we do not
quite follow him in respect to /ransvorsis principiis) There
are very few notes of the baby’s bottle order, such as that
on the pluperfect subjunctive in obliqua (p. 90). We could
wish Mr. Summers were less fond of marks of exclamation ; we
are really not so dense as to miss every point. But apart from
this venial fault we can give hearty praise to the book. The
introduction is specially good. It contains an useful synopsis of
the author’s peculiarities of style.
Cicero Pro Milone. Edited, with introduction and notes, by
A. B. Poynton, M.A. xxiii. + 88 pp. + text unpaged.
Second edition. (Clarendon Press.)—Mr. Poynton’s edition
is, from the schoolmaster’s point of view, a good one. His
introduction is capital, especially in its clear presentation of
the issue, and of Cicero’s methods of advocacy. The notes
are short and judicious. The only fault we must find is that the
editor is too fond of referring to other editions (especially
Reid’s) for what readers would expect to find in his own.
The Messenian Wars. An Elementary Greek Reader, with
Exercises and a full Vocabulary. By H. W. Auden, M.A.
xii. + 105 pp. (Blackwood.) 15. 6¢.—We have often wondered
why the editors of school books did not try Pausanias ; and here
is Mr. Auden at last with a simplified version of his story of the
Messenian Wars. A few short extract from Homer are also
given. Each exercise has a vocabulary at the end, and there is
also a general vocabulary alphabetically arranged. The text is
perhaps not easy enough for quite the first stage, but it will suit
the next well, and Mr. Auden’s book should prove useful. We
doubt whether it would be possible, as Mr. Auden thinks,
absolutely to begin Greek with this book. His ‘f Suggestions
to the Teacher ” (pp. 67 ff.) are a collection of scrappy hints
for lectures, and are out of place here. They are, in fact, rather
stupid, and the excellent suggestion as to ‘‘ free composition ”
(p. 72) may be lost amidst the desert. What is the use of this?
“ (1) Use a fine pen. (2) Write your letters near together, your
words far apart,” and so forth, for halfa page. The editor does
not take to heart his own warning about accents and breathings ;
his portion of the book contains the most extraordinary blunders :
bAoxos, dvBpeios (a favourite accentuation of diphthongs), after
which to mention &eros is flat. Fortunately more care has been
taken with the text.
Xenophon's Anabasis, J. Edited by C. E. Brownrigg, M.A.
xxiii. + 139 pp. With Map, Illustrations, and Vocabulary.
(Blackie.)—This is a reprint. The notes are painfully elemen-
tary, and not always to be trusted. In xal øerparņnyòv &é,
kal and not 8¢ is intensive ; ueréwpos means literally ‘* balanced,
afloat,” and is not to be compared with ‘‘the high seas ;” the
explanation here given of 87: rvyxavor is, ‘Sin whatever he
happened to wish (he might wish),” and no more. Such notes
as these ought never to be written. There is an appendix on
Sentence Construction, which is too elaborate for boys and too
elementary for teachers. The introduction is well enough, but
for a fearsome split infinitive (p. xi.).
We have also before us a Aey lo Second Greek Exercises. By
W. G. Rutherford. 78 pp. (Macmillan.) 5s. net.
Edited Books.
Macbeth. By Geo. Smith. (Temple Shakespeare.) xliii. pp.
+ Text + xxxii. pp. + Glossary. (Dent.) 15. 4d.—We have
drawn attention to the divisions of this book in the above head-
lines because the unsatisfactory matter of unnumbered pages in
text and glossary is one to which we drew attention in the case of
a former volume in the series, and indeed the only thing to which
exception can be taken. ‘* Macbeth ” is as delightful an edition
as its predecessor, not perhaps quite so profusely illustrated, but
a singularly able and attractive piece of work. The introduction
is excellent, though too much is made of Shakespeare’s personal
history ; when the editor turns his attention to the text of the
play he is learned yet lucid. The sections on Shakespeare’s
Prosody are however, we think, too dificult. The notes are
capital, and the reproduction of many quaint illustrations of
antiquarian interest makes them well worthy of attention. The
coloured engraving of the dresses and military costumes of
Macheth’s epoch with which the book commences is also
beautifully done.
Shakespeare's Macbeth. By L. W. Lyde. xliv.+110 pp.
(Black.) 15. 4@.—Here is another handy volume of educational
matter dealing with a great play in a rudimentary, class-room
fashion. Really, the swiftly multiplied books of this class,
neither remarkable for scholarship, nor for style, nor for any-
thing save some particular editorial fads in arrangement, are
becoming so numerous as to make one wonder how they can all
find readers or students. In this particular volume Mr. Lyde
attempts to cover a great deal of ground in his introductory
matter, and he does it by strict attention to a method of con-
densation which certainly will enable young students to grasp
the idea of the play, but will not be greatly serviceable to older
ones. His account of the action, with every leading character-
istic put into italic type, simplifies matters exceedingly; the
question is whether it does not simplify them tou much. Never-
theless, it seems that Mr. Lyde would want almost as much
explanation as Shakespeare, when he italicises a sentence like
the following :—‘‘A man who so dissipates his strength in
turbulent emotions, and whose imagination makes him so sus-
ceptible to hallucinations, is destined to be an easy victim of
Nemesis.” Mr. Lyde’s analysis of the characters in Macbeth
is distinctly worth study: his account of Macbeth himself is
36 The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
capital. The section headed “Interpretation” is not at all
badly done. The notes are fairly good.
Scotts Lord of the Isles. By J. H. Flather. xxxi. + 245 pp.
(Cambridge University Press.)—This particular poem of Scott’s
has never appealed to the critical or to the general reader
in quite the same way as the ‘* Lay” or “ Marmion,” or ‘* The
Lady of the Lake.” Yet it has many excellences, though the
story can be accounted only second rate, and in the present
form as a school book it ought to do good service. Mr. Flather
has performed his task with great ability, and in giving a literary
estimate of the poem he has been both judicious and happy in
disinterring the criticism of Lord Jeffrey in the Edinburgh
Review. The introduction is brief.’ The great merit lies in
the notes, of which the one upon Bannockburn, illustrated by
a map, is certain to give rise to much curiosity, and probably
to some discussion.
Tennyson. By Sir Alfred Lyall. English Men of Letters.
200 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s.—Tennyson has already become the
subject of a considerable literature, critical, explanatory, and
more or less biographical ; and he could not fail to command a
place in this justly celebrated series. Sir Alfred Lyall has
written a very readable monograph upon him, which strikes one
as a sincere tribute to his memory without being by any means
one of the most remarkable volumes in this collection. The
critical force of Sir Alfred Lyall’s mind, from the purely literary
point of view, is too much concerned with the obvious in
Tennyson’s work, but for the teacher this account of a con-
summate literary artist will be found helpful. It follows his
career very closely, and is not in the least uninteresting because
that career was so unexciting and uneventful ; and it analyses
his work with great patience, although it seldom reaches any
genuine depth of insight. This, however, a teacher rarely
stands in need of; and, as Tennyson has a great vogue in-
schools, and has established an ascendency not lightly to be dis-
puted, this volume will excellently serve the purpose of enabling
teachers to grasp the commonplaces of criticism without losing
sight of the essential splendour of Tennyson’s achievement.
For, as a literary artist, he was unique; as a sketcher of land-
scapes and a seer of visions, as a verbal musician, and a
manipulator of rhythms, he was (and is) a joy to those who are
very little concerned with the value of his thought; and this
volume will enable teachers still further, and at great ease
to themselves, to give Tennyson the honour due unto his
name. f
Graduated Lessons on the°Old Testament. By Rev. U. Z.
Rule. Edited by Rev. LI. J. M. Webb. Vols. I., II., IIL,
186, 218, 236 pp. respectively. (Clarendon Press.) 1s. 6d.—
These ‘‘ Graduated Lessons” are evidently the result of a
considerable amount of time and care expended upon an
attempt to popularise a school subject which is rarely successfully
handled. The author's own desire is that these lessons may be
used in class-work by the pupils rather than by the teacher, and
to this end he has designed a way of teaching the whole Scripture
narrative in a connected series of readings. The sequence, which
in the ordinary version is often not preserved at all, is here
plainly set down; and almost too much trouble is saved to the
pupil by using them. The best advantage to be drawn from
these pages probably resides in the fact that the author is quite
pleasantly undogmatic. His suggested lessons to be drawn from
the narrative are very briefly expressed and very much to the
point. Whether passages of the Bible ‘‘to be learnt by heart ”
are an advisable addition, or even a profitable exercise, may be
doubted. There are some handy uncoloured maps in these
volumes, and the notes are excellently done.
Senior School Poetry Book. Edited by W. Peterson, C.M.G.
vi.+276 pp. (Longmans.) 2s. 6¢.—We dealt briefly some
time ago with the companion volume to this collection, namely,
that intended for junior scholars. This latter compilation follows
the arrangement of the former. It is wonderful to note the
comprehensiveness of Dr. Peterson’s selection; he has ranged
over a wide field of English verse, and has managed to cull
a great many flowers that have escaped notice in some more
pretentious volumes. A fair quantity of American verse is
included, and the English part of the collection is thoroughly
representative. There are no notes; the editor speaks of his
desire, instead of including these, to provide a book which will
do much to cultivate youthful imaginations. This book appears
to be quite one of the best attempts to serve this end.
Geography.
The British Colonies and their Industries. By Rev.
W. P. Greswell. 188 pp. (Philip.) 1s. 6¢.—A fifth edition
of this book has just appeared. The author very wisely advo-
cates the use of lantern slides as a means of illustrating the mat-
ter it contains, and a list of slides that may be obtained from the
publishers is given in the preface. The book consists of two
parts—the former dealing with the geographical and historical
data of each colony, the latter with a number of typical colonial
industries.
The British Empire. By L. W. Lyde. 216 pp. (Black.)
Is. 4a.—Some remarkably fine illustrations combine with
the scientific treatment of the subject to make this volume
of the Elementary Geography Reader Series exceptionally
valuable.
A Teacher's Manual of Geography. By Charles McMurry.
107 pp. (New York: the Macmillan Company.) 2s. 6d@.—
Teachers who use the excellent series of geographies written by
Messrs. Tarr and McMurry will find this manual of considerable
assistance. It is a concise explanation of what has proved to be
a highly successful method of studying the science of geography.
Geography of Africa. By W. Hughes. vi.-+100 pp. (Philip.)
1s.—Teachers will be able to use this book with confidence.
Especially useful are the sections on railways, the political parti-
tion of Africa, international Conventions, and the numerous
quotations from up-to-date publications. There are two coloured
maps.
Geography of Egypt and the Anglo-Egypltian Sudan. By
W. H. Mardon. viii. + 214 pp. + 8 coloured maps (appendix).
(Blackie.) 2s.—We have nothing but praise for this little reader.
Mr. Mardon writes with the intimate knowledge consequent
upon residence, and with the practical experience he has gained
as a teacher at Tewfikeh Training College. Numerous maps,
diagrams, and illustrations, combined with the local knowledge
we have referred to, render the book a very valuable one.
Though written primarily for Egyptian schools, it deserves a
large circulation in this country.
Science and Technology.
Practical Electricity. By J. H. Belcher, B.A., B.Sc. 148
pp. (Allman.) 2s. 6¢.—This book is intended as a laboratory
course suitable for technical, secondary and science schools. It
contains five preliminary exercises in general physical measure-
ments, nine in magnetism. and twenty-seven in voltaic electri-
city, a short chapter on Units of Measurements, and an appen-
dix containing physical and mathematical tables are also in-
cluded. All the exercises are of a quantitative nature, and are
sufficiently advanced to require considerable manipulative skill
JANUARY, 1903. ]
and experience in observation on the part of the student. The
omission of all exercises on electrostatic phenomena is noticeable,
and it might be possible for the course to be taken by a student
who, in the end, would not possess a very clear conception of
potential ; exercises on magnetic and electromagnetic induction
are also absent. On p. 33 the strength of a magnet pole is
expressed in dynes; surely the physical dimensions of pole
strength are not the same as those of force. Also, on p. 35,
the *‘ law of inverse squares” and the ‘‘law of distances” are
quoted as though they were distinct results. The text is illus-
trated by thirty-nine diagrams.
Practical Exercises in Heat. By E. S. A. Robson, M.Sc.
164 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6¢.—As a general rule the experi-
mental study of heat has hitherto only been included in
those text-books which cover the whole range of physics, but
the subject of heat is of sufficient importance, especially to
students of engineering, to justify the publication of a separate
laboratory text-book devoted entirely to it. The most expe-
rienced teacher of physics will enjoy a perusal of this volume,
for, though the stereotyped experiments are present, yet they are
discreetly surrounded by numerous experiments of a more ad-
vanced nature, which are clearly described, novel, and yet not
too elaborate. The book may certainly be recommended both
for elementary and advanced classes. The chapters on Proper-
ties of Vapours, Conduction of Heat, and Radiation, are par-
ticularly good. It would have been useful if information were
given as to making or the purchase of some of the apparatus.
An appendix includes sections on Plotting Curves, the use of
Logarithms, Tables of Logarithms aad Antilogarithms, Physical
Constants, &c. The illustrations (ninety-three in number) are
excellent. The approximate method of correcting for cooling in
calorimetric experiments, which is first mentioned on p. 159,
might advantageously have been mentioned in the earlier chapter
on Specific Heat.
Earth and Sky. A Second and Third-grade Nature Reader.
By J. H. Stickney. viii.+118 pp. (Ginn.) 1s. 6¢.—The short
reading-lessons contained in this little book are most of them in-
teresting from a child’s point of view, but they are not likely to
encourage habits of observation and reasoning. The young
pupil is told everything and is not taught to question nature for
himself. Nature-study of the right kind discourages an implicit
reliance upon didactic methods on the part of teachers.
The Mind of Man: a Text-Book of Psychology. By Gustav
Spiller. 550 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 75. 6¢.—Some notes
of distinction characterise this work. It shows not a little
independence of thought. There is neither subservience to
authority in matters of opinion nor reliance on tradition in
method of exposition. The headings of the chapters, ‘* Systems
as Distributed,” ‘‘Systems as Organised,” ‘“ Systems as Need-
Satisfying,” and so forth, suggest a freshness of treatment which
is in large degree realised in their contents. Constant reference
is made to the results of actual experience; the author has
worked assiduously in the introspective laboratory of his own
mind, and urges his readers to adopt the same course. Again
and again, in italics and within brackets, we find such directions
as: [Test this], [Repeat this experimentally, recording the results),
(Observe such instances]. ‘Vhe statements of leading writers,
with references, are collected in special paragraphs and printed
in small type. For example, on the subject of ‘‘ feeling-tone ”
there are four pages in which brief quotations giving the views
of more than five-and-twenty authors are recited with running
Comment. Psychology is treated as ‘‘a science of needs”: but
what this implies we have not space to indicate. If the reader
is led to turn to the book for elucidation, though he may find
The School World
37
much which he cannot accept, he will probably be stimulated to
think for himself on many psychological problems. There is a
good subject-index, one of authors quoted, and one of publi-
cations.
Wood: a Manual of the Natural History and Industrial
Applications of the Timbers of Commerce. By G. S. Boulger.
viii. + 369 pp. (Arnold.) 7s. 6a. net. —Considering the mani-
fold uses to which wood is put—and, in spite of the many
modern substitutes, its industrial application is increasing rather
than decreasing—the amount of scientitic literature upon the
subject has hitherto been surprisingly meagre. Professor
Boulger’s book thus supplies a real want. In the first chapter
the nature and development of wood and its ré/e in the life of
various trees are clearly described. The great structural
differences with which every practical worker in wood is familiar
are thus explained at the outset. Subsequent chapters deal
with the important subjects of the recognition and classification
of woods, selecting, seasoning, storing, defects, methods of
testing, &c. Part II., which comprises more than half of the
book, gives highly condensed accounts, with physical constants,
when these last are known, of the different woods of commerce,
and will prove most valuable for purposes of reference. The
eighty-two excellent illustrations supplement the text admirably.
Elementary Applied Mechanics. By T. Alexander, C.E., and
A. W. Thomson, D.Sc. xii. + 575 pp. (Macmillan.) 215.—
The two separate volumes of the first are combined in their
new edition, and the authors have taken the opportunity not
only to rearrange the whole, but also to introduce a considerable
amount of new and important matter. The result is a well-
written and able treatise on the applications of the principles of
mechanics to such important questions as the practical and
scientific design of earthworks, of linkwork, and of blockwork
structures. The work is obviously based on Rankine’s treatment
of the subject in his ‘‘Applied Mechanics and Civil Engineering.”
It is probably unnecessary to point out the clear and lucid
style of the writers or the simplicity of their explanations ; those
who are familiar with the two volumes referred to know these
characteristics already. One of the best features of the book is
the insertion in the various sections of systematic and graduated
sets of examples and also of graphical methods. Of the former
quite a large number are fully worked out, and to the remainder,
which may usefully serve as exercises, the answers are given.
These cannot fail to be of the greatest value to those using the
book. The diagrams are clearly drawn to scale and both the
data and the results are printed on them.
Agricultural Industryand Education in Hungary. Compiled
by T. S. Dymond. 177 pp. (Chelmsford: John Dutton.)
2s. 6d. net.—This well-illustrated little volume gives an account
of the visit of the Essex Farmers’ party to Hungary in May and
June, 1902. As was explained in our issue for May, 1902, the
tour was arranged in connection with the work of the Essex
Technical Instruction Committee and was conducted by Mr.
Dymond. The collection of papers in the book shows con-
clusively that such visits to other countries must have an
educative influence on English farmers in broadening their
outook and suggesting new methods to them. All the con-
tributors to the account speak in grateful terms of the hearty
welcome extended to the party by the statesmen and agri-
culturists of Hungary.
Mathematics.
Shades and Shadows and Persfective. By O. E. Randall,
Ph.D. 64 pp. (Ginn.) 75.—This is an attractive book based
on a definite and intelligible principle. The treatment is based
upon the theory of orthogonal projection, with which the reader
38
The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
is assumed to be familiar. One of the advantages of this
method is that the student is led by easy stages to learn how to
construct a perspective representation from an ordinary plan and
elevation. The book is the sequel of fifteen years’ teaching ex-
perience, and combines practical and theoretical merits to an
unusual degree.
A Short Introduction to Graphical Algebra. By H. S. Hall,
M.A. 24 pp. (Macmillan.) 6¢.—A supplementary chapter to
Hall and Knight's “ Elementary Algebra,” in future editions of
which it will appear. Technical terms such as function,
variable, abscissa, are somewhat prematurely introduced, and
there is an absence of examples derived from statistics, physical
formulz, and the like. The point of view is, in fact, exclusively
that of analytical geometry : with this limitation, the treatment
is clear and instructive, and the examples suitable.
A College Algebra. By G. A. Wentworth. Revised edition.
vi. +530 pp. (Ginn.) 75.—The appearance of a new edition
shows that this treatise has been favourably received. It is not
very sound on the theoretical side: for instance, there is only a
formal discussion of surds, and the existence, as numbers, of
arithmetical surds is merely assumed; the treatment of the
exponential theorem is incomplete; the professed proof that a
number can be resolved into prime factors in only one way is
quite worthless, and practically begs the whole question. And
we too often find the terms ‘‘indicated quotient,” ‘* indicated
square root,” and so on, which are now so often used in America
in connection with slipshod analysis. But as an ordinary text-
book for college students no doubt this work is useful: it is
well printed, and the exercises are sensible and very numerous.
Elementary Plane and Solid Mensuration. By R. W. K,
Edwards, M.A. xii. +304+xvili pp. (Arnold.) 3s. 6d.—A
useful and well-written treatise in which the rules are proved as
well as enunciated : for example, Simpson’s rule is discussed in
a way which every intelligent fifth-form boy ought to under-
stand. The only point that calls for criticism is that the results
are often worked out to excessive arithmetical ‘‘ accuracy :” thus
we are told that, supposing the earth to be perfectly spherical, the
area of its surface visible from the top of a tower 300 m. high is
11999°43 sq. km. The absurdity of this needs no comment.
Miscellancous.
Eyes Within. By Walter Earle, M.A. 156 pp. (George
Allen.) 5s. net. —Chaste and restrained, these poems are part of
“‘the harvest of a quiet eye.” ‘‘ The Secret,” ‘The Vale of
Bossiney,” and particularly “ The Freshet,” exhibit the author
at his best. In this last there is a melody which we could wish
more common to the whole. We quote the first stanza :—
Down to the sea, down to the sea,
And the old wheel runs so merrily,—
On the flowers a brighter hue,
On the stream a deeper blue,—
A whiter star on the dipper's breast,
And a golden sun on the fire-wren’s crest ;
Oh, the reshet of yesternicht
Is dancing in ripples of light
Merrily, merrily.
The poems are fragrant with devoutness and disclose a breezy
faith in the trend of things. The author’s point of view is ex-
pressed in his own pleasing line: ‘Suns never set except to
earthly eyes.”
The Nature-Study Drawing Cards. By Isaac J. Williams.
In 8 sets. (Merthyr Tydfil: the Welsh Publishing Co.) Sets
of 20 cards, all alike, 4s. net.— Drawing takes a prominent part
in every satisfactory scheme of nature-study, and Mr. Williams's
excellent idea will provide the teacher with a means of bringing
the drawing lesson into close relation with the nature-study
demonstration, even during the winter months when natural
material is difficult to obtain. The sets include studies of the
following plants: lilac, clover, wood sorrel, strawberry, ivy,
maple, oak and rhododendron. On each card is to be found
an excellently preserved leaf of thé plant, a short botanical
description, and a well-executed drawing. More particularly for’
the drawing lesson an analysis of the leaf is shown on the card,
its conventional form explained, and graduated exercises of the
application of this form in designs of all kinds are provided.
These cards will not only make the drawing lesson much
more interesting, but they will train the children to be accu-
rate in their nature-study observations and precise in their
descriptions of natural objects. The cards, which are beauti-
fully printed, should gain a wide popularity.
The Teacher and the Child. By H. Thiselton Mark. 165 pp.
(Fisher Unwin.) 1s. 6¢.—Mr. Mark tells us that much of his
material “ has been prepared in response to the demand, which
becomes more pronounced from day to day, for aids and sugges-
tions to Sunday-school teachers in their work ” ; and the whole
book has been written in a decidedly philanthropic strain. It is
very probable that many of the devoted amateurs who fail to in-
struct or keep order in Sunday-schools would profit considerably
by a reading of this little work, and to such folk the slightly
unctuous treatment of the various topics will not be too tiresome.
Having this main avowed purpose in view, the reader will not
quarrel with Mr. Mark’s constitutional inability to preserve a
proper proportion. He will not mind occasional pulpiteering,
in which much license of eloquence and expatiation is allowed ;
and it will not strike him that out of 165 pages it is inordinate
to devote three precious pages to the National Cash Register
Company’s Sunday-school Forms. Of course, Mr. Mark is in-
capable of writing a book in which there is not much good
sense ; but he cannot be greatly congratulated on this occasion
for putting frequently-cooked teaching into appetising forms, nor
for concinnity, nor for completeness. He will not add much to
his reputation, outside the Sunday-school, by such wordy
work.
The Students Handbook to the University and Colleges of
Cambridge. First edition corrected to June 30th, 1902. 468 pp.
(Cambridge University Press.) 3s. net.—This useful publication
contains everything a father proposing to send his son to
Cambridge wishes to know. Full particulars as to admission to
the different colleges, details of the cost of education and of
living—arranged for students of varying means, and regulations
as to available scholarships, are explained in the clearest
manner. The undergraduate, too, will find all the information
he needs as to the examinations and other preliminaries to
taking a degree set out in plain terms. In addition, chapters
are provided on fellowships, civil service and army examinations,
the training of teachers, the education of women, and other
matters. The book should be on the shelves of every head-
master and headmistress.
The Golden Rule for Boys and Girls. By the Rev. A.
Hampden Lee. 126 pp. (Walsall: T. Kirby.) Is. net.—
Since, as Matthew Arnold taught, conduct makes up three-
quarters of life, we cannot begin the work of character-building,
too early. Mr. Lee, in his simply-written yet interesting
addresses, supplies just the guidance in good behaviour which is
likely to have a beneficial effect on children. Some of the
stories are old, it is true, but they have not yet lost their influence
nor their interest for young people. We can recommend the
book to parents and teachers.
The
Bright Evening Thoughts for Little Children. Selected and
arranged for a month by Adelaide L. J. Gosset. With 32
illustrations by Emily J. Harding. (George Allen.) 25s.—We
have here, arranged in a form for hanging on the wall of the
nursery, an evening hymn for each day of the month, printed
boldly on a super-royal octavo sheet, with a nicely reproduced
picture on the top of the page. The selection of hymns has
been well made and the language in nearly every case is such
that a child can understand it.
JANUARY, 1903. ]
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. dsa
rule, a letter criticising any article or reugew printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
The Teaching of Botany.
In the hope that my experience may help other teachers of
Botany, and that my letter may induce others to suggest
methods which they have found of value, I should like to give
an account here of those plans for the teaching of Botany which
we are at present carrying out. I may add that our classes are
large (20-30 girls) and the work is tested by public examinations.
I. DIAGRAM BooKks.—These are large, blank books, like
map books, which contain drawings from nature done only by
the girls themselves. The drawings are arranged under the
foliowing headings, which are copied on the first page of the
book :—
A. Seeds. N. Conveyance of Pollen: by
B. Germination. wind.
C. Stems: above ground. O. Conveyance of Pollen: by
D. Stems: below ground. P. Fertilisation—Self. [insects.
E. Foliage leaves. Q. Ditto —Cross,
F. Bracts. R. Fruits—True.
G. Scale leaves. S. Ditto —False.
H. Stipules. T. Dispersal of Seeds.
I. Inflorescences. U. Climbing Plants.
J. The Flower—Calyx. V. Parasites.
K. Ditto —Corolla. W. Saprophytes.
L. Ditto —Stamens. | X. Carnivorous Plants.
M. Ditto —Pistil. Y. and Z.
Letters Y and Z are used by the elder girls for microscopical
work and drawings of the lower plants. We count out the
pages for each heading, giving the greatest number to the largest
subject, and then ‘‘letter” the books like ordinary address
books.
H. HOME-MADE APPARATUS.—Each year we add to our
store of dried specimens. One day strolling past a geranium,
the *‘ coccus ” is noticed in the act of sending off its fruits—the
springs are already coiled. It is the work of a moment toslip a
noose of cotton over the top of the ‘‘ beak,” and the fruit is
secured.
So that we may handle it and still preserve it, we put it in a
“case,” consisting of a cigar box fitted with a piece of glass at
the top. A piece of cardboard which exactly fits the bottom of
the box is cut, and to it the fruit is fastened with wire. The
card is put into the box as a false bottom, and a glass slip is kept
in place by strips of paper pasted over its edges and the sides of
the box.
Other specimens have to be kept in position by gum For
instance, the dandelion pappus may be preserved for years if a few
drops of gum are allowed to fall gently on to the disc ; the gum
gradually spreads and the fruits are kept firm.
School World
39
Lids of cigar boxes are also utilised. Foliage leaves may be
kept firm between such a lid and a piece of glass to fit it; the
edges of the two are bound together by paper.
In the same way the “‘ parts ” of flowers are preserved. It is
a most fascinating occupation, after dissecting your flower and
writing a description of it, to press the separate parts, and then
to arrange them in the form of a “floral diagram ” on the back
of a gummed luggage-label. This label may then be sand-
wiched between a lid and a piece of glass in the same way as
foliage leaves.
IHI. BOTANICAL GARDENS.—A long narrow strip of ground
is divided into about twenty gardens and each is kept for one par-
ticular natural order and clearly labelled with that order. The
orders are grouped in their respective series ; and, as we have
many roots which do not come into any of our twenty orders,
we keep one large garden labelled “Miscellaneous.” Each garden
is undertaken by a mistress or one of the elder girls, who has
several under-gardeners. As the girls have most time to get
roots on Saturday, we have a gardeners’ meeting on Monday
morning, and any girl in the school who has found a plant
which is new to our gardens brings it, and it is planted in its
proper place.
In the upper forms the girls keep catalogues in which they
enter each flower as it comes out in the gardens. Each Order
has its own page, and each flower is entered with the date of
flowering, its genus and species, and any special note of interest
about it. Occasionally for home work, questions are set, which
have to be answered by a study of the gardens, such as, general
descriptions of certain plants, methods of pollination, protection
of pollen from rain, kinds of fruits found in certain Order, &c.
We have now almost all the common local plants, and are
collecting those found only in special districts which we can
obtain from time to time in holidays. I may add that perso-
nally I have found these gardens a great convenience in getting
specimens for a class in Botany after a wet day when an ex-
pedition has been impossible.
IV. CLass-WORK.—First, as to the ‘‘cases.” Imagine the
subject of the lesson is the ‘‘ dispersal of seeds.” Each girl has
the fruit of a plant specially adapted for dispersal and she draws
it roughly in her diagram book under the proper heading. Then
each case is passed on to the next girl, and so on all round the
class until all the fruits are drawn. For home work a written
description of a few of the fruits may be done. In the next
lesson the teacher goes over the fruits, explaining and asking
questions, and the pupils name all the parts of their drawings.
For home work some general questions on dispersal are given
to be answered, and probably the greater number of pupils will
have painted all their drawings by this time, of their own
accord. After such a lesson, I have often been asked by as
many as a dozen girls if they may come back in the afternoon to
colour their drawings from the real specimens.
Then, too, these cases may be used as tests. The cases are
put round the room and each pupil is provided with a sheet of
paper on which she is to write ¢he point which the specimen is to
illustrate, and no more. Every minute, the word is given to
‘t move on” and each pupil moves to the next case. This plan
will remind any Natural Science student of “ spotting sections.”
The flat cases of leaves and parts of flowers may be used in
the same way.
To help pupils to learn and remember the classification of
plants I proceed thus :—Suppose the form has been for an ex-
pedition, and one or two specimens of every kind of flower found
have been kept and brought to school, say some forty species,
Each species separately is put in water in a beaker or flask and
placed round the room. Then each girl takes a specimen and
moves about with it, classifying it step by step until flowers of
like orders are together. Then each order is supplied witha
40
sheet of paper on which the common names of the flowers are
entered. We repeat the whole process until all the specimens
are classified. Then the girls move round and learn the name
of any flower with which they are not familiar.
V. OTHER PLANS AND Cost.—We also arrange botanical
expeditions, carry on physiological experiments, offer prizes
for the best collections of pressed flowers, and have a few
specimens in spirit.
It may be urged that all these plans are easy for a country
school, but that they are impossible in a town. I think that
almost all town schools have some arrangements for having
specimens sent to them from the country, and there are always
‘train girls” who are invaluable in such cases; so that, I
think, the ‘‘ gardens ” would be the only impossibility.
There is very little originality in these ideas. Three years
ago we had a number of dried specimens in cases lent to us, and
since then we have made our own on the same model but in a
cheaper style. We get our cigar boxes for 1d. each, and any
glazier will cut the glass to fit for rd. a piece.
The diagram books are only an adaptation of the morpho-
logical note-books of the Cambridge University. We have
used them for several years, starting with blank books and
gradually filling them in, but in a very short time we hope to
have them printed, leaving spaces for the drawings to be done.
As for the gardens, many schools have had them for years,
but I am quite sure that other schools would start them if the
science teachers realised the additional interest they gave to the
subject. If schools in different districts would co-operate in the
exchange of plants, the value of the gardens would be much
increased.
Ina H. JACKSON.
Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School for Girls,
Mansfield, Notts.
The Art of Reading.
WITH reference to the interesting letter from Miss Wrightson
in the December number of THE SCHOOL WORLD, may I point
out that the following books, attributed by her to the Norland
Press, are published by us: ‘‘The Junior Temple Reader,”
“ The Adventures of Ulysses,” and ‘‘ Stories from the Northern
Sagas.” The mistake is a natural] one, as Mr. E. E. Speight
and I have each published books through both firms.
C. L. THOMSON,
(For Messrs. H. Marshall & Son).
December 3rd, 1902.
The Graphic Mark Book.
Your Reviewer, in dealing with ‘* The Graphic Mark Book ”
in the November number of Tue SCHOOL WORLD, asserts that
the method of recording marks in it is objectionably slow.
Will you allow us to point out that when the tens and units are
recorded, as they should be usually, on separate lines, any two-
figure number can, with a little practice, be marked off in the
time required for reading out the next name. If, however, his
view is correct, he should, in justice, have laid equal stress on
the fact that the time occupied in adding and reducing marks,
and other necessary operations, is diminished by at least 90 per
cent.
THE INVENTORS.
‘Tur Inventors” find that it takes as long to read out a
name as to record lengths along two lines, probably at different
distances along the page.
Personal experience has shown that wethout reading out
The School World
[JANUARY, 1903.
names a class of twenty-five boys can give up their marks in
order in thirty to forty seconds on the old system.
Finally, “the time occupied in adding ” is in a sense, ‘‘ di-
minished ” by 100 per cent. (since the addition is performed in
teaching hours). The method of reduction was favourably men-
tioned in the review.
Your REVIEWER.
PRIZE COMPETITION.
No. 16.—Most Popular School-books in English Grammar
and Composition.
IN another part of the present issue (p. 20) experienced
teachers have drawn up lists of the best books in a number of
subjects of the school curriculum published during 1902. We
offer two prizes of books, one of the published value ofa guinea,
the other of half-a-guinea, to be chosen from the catalogue of
Messrs. Macmillan & Co., Ltd., for the two lists of six text-
books of English grammar and composition now in use in
schools, which are by those taking part in this competition con-
sidered to be the most popular.
For the purpose of this competition those books will be
judged the most popular which are most frequently named in
the lists received.
In naming a book, its title, author, publisher and price should
be given, and books named may deal with both English
grammar and composition or with only one of these subjects.
Each list of books sent in must be accompanied by a coupon
printed on p. vi., though a reader may send in more than one list.
Replies must reach the Editors of THE SCHOOL Wor LD, St.
Martin’s Street, London, W.C., on or before January 31st,
1903.
The result will be announced in the March number, when the
successful lists will be published.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent to
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements should be addressed to
the Publishers.
THE SCHOOL WORLD #5 published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy ts sixpence.
Annnal subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, if
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepaid.
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication.
The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
NO. 50.
THE PLACE OF DRAWING IN
EDUCATION.
By Epwarp R. TAYLOR.
Headmaster of the Municipal School of Art, Birmingham.
HE three questions submitted to me by the
Editors are :—
(1) The place of art in a rational system
of education.
(2) To what extent should instruction in draw-
ing form part of the education of every boy and
girl ?
(3) What advantages are likely to spring from
this instruction which cannot be obtained in any
other way ?
Tue PLACE or ART IN A RATIONAL SYSTEM
OF EDUCATION.
The three questions rightly imply that all real
teaching of drawing is art training. This training
is primarily the development of a power of seeing,
which is generally dormant under modern western
civilisation, and, speaking generally, is not only
outside school life but, also, is not possessed by
most headmasters, headmistresses, educationists,
and politicians, with whom rests the final decision
as to the place of art training in education.
Art is therefore at a disadvantage as compared
with other subjects claiming a place in education,
for the classical master has some knowledge of
mathematics —- mathematics lead naturally to
science, hand and eye training is an old subject
if only in the playing fields, and even music is
fairly general; but skill in, and love for, art is not
acommon possession. This difficulty is doubtless
the reason why some of the advocates of art train-
ing have shown it as a pretence of the charlatan,
or as a merely mechanical training.
Greek life developed and trained a sense of
beauty, and we have the expression of it in
literature and art. Modern civilisation has created,
for the first time in history, a life in which
ugliness and not beauty is the dominant
characteristic. To some scholars both Greek art
and literature are expressions of beauty; but
No, 50, VoL. 5.]
FEBRUARY, 1903.
SIXPENCE,
there are others who claim to have a love of
the beauty of Greek literature, and yet are
blind to Greek, and indeed to all other art, and
this often after humble and earnest efforts to
cultivate an appreciation of art. Is it possible that
in the latter instances their appreciation for
literature is like the admiration of an engineer for
any mechanism which accomplishes its purpose,
whether it be ugly or beautiful? Or that of the
surgeon who sees in some ugly disease “a
beautiful case?” and is not really a love of those
- qualities which constitute beauty.
Therefore, except perhaps to a few educationists,
we can do little more than plead that art teaching
may be placed as an essential side by side with
literature and science. A justification for this plea
may appear in the answer to the third question.
To WHAT EXTENT SHOULD INSTRUCTION IN
DRAWING FORM PART OF THE EDUCATION OF
EVERY Boy AND GIRL?
The time given to this subject in the infant
school or kindergarten should be as much as is
possible without wearying the child. This
amount will depend upon the teacher. Above
the infant schooi two hours a week at least,
with a short time weekly for home work, should
be allotted to this subject throughout the whole
school-course. Drawing cannot be considered as
an essential by the headmistresses and head-
masters of those High and Public Schools in
which it is merely a voluntary subject for the
higher forms, to be taken only out of school hours.
If once regarded as an essential subject it should
be possible to teach every boy and girl :—
(a) To see the beauty of a small spray of leaves,
of flowers, or of fruits; and to make line drawings
of them with pencil, pen, or brush—drawings which
shall be fairly accurate expressions of their beauty
of form ; also to emphasise these forms, as distinct
from lines, by a flat wash of colour of the general
hue of the leaves, flowers, or fruits.
(b) To develop the power to remember forms and
colour. The earliest exercises for this might be
rapidly-drawn forms, repeated in orderly arrange-
ments, which can serve as colour exercises by the
superimposition of colours.
E
4.2
(c) Solid geometry, to enable all to read plans,
elevations, and sections.
There is another very desirable subject which
should be taught if there is time, viz., the History
of Art, more especially of Architecture, but it is
unwise to begin this until fair progress has been
made in the subjects already named, and no alterna-
tive drawing subject should be accepted if these
are neglected. Fortunately, it is now generally
admitted by experienced teachers of the subject
that drawing can be taught as widely as any other
subject.
WHAT ADVANTAGES, WHICH CANNOT BE OBTAINED
IN ANY OTHER WAY, ARE LIKELY TO SPRING
FROM THIS INSTRUCTION ?
Art instruction develops faculties which cannot
be left dormant without loss, mental powers which
cannot be fully developed except by drawing, using
the word in its widest sense, as including every
kind of graphic expression. Without irreverence
one may say that a knowledge of art opens a new
heaven and a newearth. Drawing is, moreover,
the means of rousing interest in ordinary school-
studies where all else fails to do this; it is of use
in teaching most other subjects; and it takes
precedence—at least in order of time—of com-
mercial training in developing our industries.
What are some of the consequences of the ne-
glect of the study of art in our schools? The
carpet of flowers at our feet in an English meadow
in summer time is passed by unnoticed; carpet
bedding excites attention and wonder proportionate
to its ugliness and its success as an imitation ; our
cathedrals may excite a faint wonder by their size,
but this even is eclipsed by that of the Tower
Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, or the Great Wheel ; and
all the beauty of our cathedrals—their grandeur
and tenderness—are unfelt ; the National Gallery
and the objects of art in the British Museum are
as sealed books, even to educated people ; a love of
shams prevails and a belief seems spreading that
beauty or even comeliness is not worth an effort, for
a well-known Kyrle Society in its last appeal for
subscriptions is most anxious ‘‘ effectively to dispel
any idea which may still exist that it has any-
thing whatever to do with art or taste in any
form whatever,” “ or anything of that kind.” The
present ugly and sordid influences are accepted
as necessities of civilisation. Drawing properly
taught would open the eyes of the next generation
to the beauty in nature and in art, and would
thus help to cleanse our lives.
Educationists value the unconscious training by
a good teacher more than the amount of his teach-
ing. This training is only partially effectual be-
cause at present the teaching is almost entirely
introspective, and leaves faculties undeveloped
which are of the greatest use to every boy and girl,
but of which the school takes no account.
In every school there are also boys who seem little
influenced by its training, who seem to live a life
outside that of the school—the dreamer, the boy
with hobbies, he who keeps white mice, or the
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
like, and the boy who, on hearing a fairy tale, asks
“Is it true?” Drawing generally interests these
pupils, and if it is made an essential of their edu-
cation the influence of school training will reach
them.
Drawing not infrequently awakens a boy’s
powers of learning the ordinary school subjects,
where failure has resulted when the commence-
ment has been made with the usual and more
abstract subjects. This is partly caused by the
interest in drawing, but it is chiefly due to the fact
that the order of work in the teaching of drawing
is reversed; the pupil is first taught to do, this
induces thinking, and on these two activities the
learning is based. The faculties being once
aroused, it 1s not difficult to bring them to bear on
other subjects.
Recently I had the pleasure of hearing Sir
Oliver Lodge explain that two jets of water
rebound on coming in contact, that there is a
surrounding body which keeps them apart, but
that electricity destroys this power and the streams
become one. May I presume to suggest that art
is this third force, which can combine with litera-
ture and science in providing a rational educa-
tion?
The new view of nature opened to the student of
drawing, developing as it does both exactness and
imagination, cannot but be helpful in the study of
literature and science. It is an exploded notion
that a man of science does not need imagination,
and all recognise the use of drawing in the teach-
ing of such subjects as require pictorial or dia-
grammatic illustration. |
I will give but one example of the use of draw-
ing in school-lessons, and that of the lowest type.
Ordinary map-making is generally dry and un-
satisfactory work—untruthful wriggle and want-
ing in proportion. The boy who can draw,
in beginning a map of England, would note first
its general triangular shape, then draw the
straight line from Berwick to the Wash, next
the strong convex curve to the mouth of the
Thames, then the short, strong convex curve and
the long concave curve to the Lizard, and with
four or five similar lines for the west coast and a
slanting line for the Scottish border, he would
secure correct proportion impossible to obtain in
the old way, and, moreover, his memory of these
few lines, and of the subordinate details easily
added, will be quite another thing from that of the
boy who begins wriggling at the top and continues
his dreary, monotonous and impossible-to-be-re-
membered course.
I have left until the last a plea for the teaching
of drawing on the ground of its usefulness in after
life and especially its worth in our industries,
because there is a tendency to value subjects
mainly as preparing bread-winners, and not as
developing the powers of men and women who
have to live their own lives, and because this sub-
ject will not enrich our industries unless it is pur-
sued for the love of it. We are constantly being
reminded of German competition, but I do not
think that fear of this has brought us one worthy
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
student. Wearean industrious nation, and rejoice
in “ something attempted, something done,” and
are not merely money-makers. For this reason we
are good colonists. As a nation we also possess
strong art instincts, and the production of ugliness
is not natural to us. As early as the ninth century
our art had a strong influence on that of Europe,
and until the nineteenth century, when for the first
time in the world’s history ugliness became domi-
nant, the British race gave happy expression to
this instinct, not only in many glorious buildings,
but in the commonest articles of daily use.
This instinct is not destroyed but smothered, or
perverted, by modern conditions, including in-
trospective education. It is at least singular
that, side by side with wider education and
our modern system of manufacture, ugliness and
hooliganism have grown, and our lives have been
divorced from our work. We are said to be enter-
ing upon a war for commercial supremacy, which
largely means the cheapening of production and
distribution, and educationists are wisely asking
for better commercial education; but, if this is to
be our only weapon, it will increase, under present
conditions, the ugliness and other evils which make
so many lives sordid, and may, moreover, of itself
not prove effectual. Persistent and spasmodic
efforts, attended with a certain amount of success,
have been made to alter these conditions into right
seeing and right doing. Great men have here and
there turned to the light, but their work has often
been tinged with the great effort necessary to do
in modern days that which our forefathers ap-
parently did without effort—unconsciously, or by
tradition, doing right. And yet the question is
rarely, if ever, asked, What can the schools do
towards bringing about similar conditions to those
which not only made our cathedrals beautiful but
made beautiful and pleasant the articles of common-
est use? If headmasters recognise art training
as an essential of school work, and not as technical
teaching or as an accomplishment, the rising
generation of makers, merchants and users will
be started on the right road, and will know good
from evil, instead of being blind slaves to com-
mercialism.
The Students Herbart. By F. H. Hayward, D.Lit., &c.
103 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 1s. 6d¢.—This little book should
be widely read. A clear and short account of what people mean
when they speak of Herbartianism has long been wanted, and a
“brief educational monograph ” may clear up, even for some
Herbartians, many misty ideas. The work consists of a prefatory
note and three chapters: ‘*the Makers of Herbartianism,” ‘‘ the
Essentials of Herbartianism ” and “ the Supposed Weaknesses of
Herbartianism.” We may say at once that ifthe writer had begun
with the “ Essentials of Herbartianism,” the book would have
been even clearer than it is. The writer is an enthusiast for
"“ many-sided interest ” and ‘‘the activity which can only spring
ftom the circle of thought ;” and throughout the little volume
he speaks with the clerk of Oxenforde’s golden motto before
him. So fair is the book that it will scarcely make proselytes.
It will, however, confirm the wavering and strengthen the
strong, and the ordinary man who ‘‘ believes in common sense ”
will find that he can agree with nearly the whole.
_ The School World
43
GEOMETRICAL AND MECHANICAL
DRAWING FOR LONDON MATRICU-
LATION.
By ALFRED Lonce, M.A.
Professor of Pure Mathematics, Royal Indian Engineering
College, Coopers Hill, and
C. B. McELWEE,
Instructor in Geometrical and Freehand Drawing, Royal
Indian Engineering College, Coopers Hill.
HE regulations for Geometrical and Me-
T chanical Drawing in the Matriculation
Examination of the University of London
are as under :— - °
Plane Geometry.—Construction of scales, triangles, quadri-
laterals and polygons. Problems on circles and tangents and
on areas of plane figures. Simple problems on loci, including
paths of points in elementary linkwork. Construction of Archi-
medean spiral, ellipse, cycloid, and involute of circle, with their
tangents and normals.
Solid Geometry.—Elementary projections of points, lines,
planes, inclined surfaces, and solids, including the cylinder, cone
and sphere. Simple sections. Projection of additional plans
and elevations.
Isometric or oblique projection, without using ‘‘ isometric
scale,” of simple plane surfaces and solids.
Developments of the surfaces of simple solids; elementary
problems in interpenetration of prisms, cylinders and cones, and
developments of penetrated surfaces.
Projection of simple helix and square-threaded screw.
Machine Drawing.—Making scale drawings, two or more
views, with simple sections of elementary machine parts, from
rough partly-dimensioned sketches.
The subject is an optional one, but in its simple
parts the ordinary school-course of geometry should,
under the revised requirements of the majority of
examining bodies, be directed along lines similar
to those laid down above.
The new departure in geometry inaugurated by
the action of the British Association, and generally
accepted, separates the work into two parallel
courses: (1) theoretical; (2) practical; the ideal
scheme being somewhat as follows :—
In the earliest stages the pupil is familiarised
with the concepts of geometry, with the measure-
ment of straight lines and of angles, with simple
geometrical properties of parallel lines, triangles,
and other plane figures, and learns how to calcu-
late areas of plane figures and volumes of simple
solids. Then he commences his systematic deduc-
tive course of theorems, learning how to prove
crisply and neatly such properties as he already
knows, and to deduce otners, till the whole course
of theorems, at any rate as far as the end of Euclid,
Book VI., is assimilated, together with a number
of collateral theorems or riders. At the same time,
in a parallel but distinct course, he learns how to
perform, accurately and intelligently, in the best
possible way, various geometrical constructions,
rising by degrees from the simplest, such as bisect-
ing a straight line or an angle, to more and more
complex constructions, basing the reasons for such
constructions on the theorems he has been learning .
in the theoretical course. This is the kind of
teaching contemplated by those who have drawn
up the recent revised courses on geometry.
44 The
For the deductive course guidance has been
given in the syllabus issued by the Mathematical
Association (Bell and Sons, 6d. net), which has
been drawn up in consonance with the general
= principles laid down by the British Association,
and broadly in accordance with the new require-
ments of the Oxford and Cambridge Local Exami-
nations and the Board of Responsions at Oxford.
Books are being written embodying the principles
of these modifications, and among those already
issued may be mentioned W. C. Fletcher’s “ Ele-
mentary Geometry ” (Edward Arnold), and Baker
and Bourne's “ Elementary Geometry ” (Bell and
Sons). Of these, the former covers the whole of
the six books of Euclid, but rather aims at giving
outlines and suggestions of proofs than the full
proofs of the various propositions. It is intended
to encourage the pupils to fill out the complete
proofs for themselves, with of course such help as
the teacher finds necessary. The proofs given in
the second of these books aim at being more com-
plete, but the range extends only to the end of
Book IV., with a chapter on graphs. Book VI. is,
we believe, shortly to be published.
The best mode of conducting the early or pre-
liminary course has been discussed in these columns
at various times during the last year. The con-
currence of opinion seems to be that the young
pupils should work without text-books, and that
the teacher should lead them gradually to discover
facts for themselves, and to devise methods of con-
struction. Many books have been written for the
guidance of the teacher in this primary work, and
others are in course of preparation. It is not
within the scope of this article to endeavour to
enter into their respective merits.
For the practical course, which should be
worked concurrently with the systematic course
of theorems, the ideal book has probably yet to
be written. Perhaps the best available books are
Spooner’s ‘‘Geometrical Drawing’’ (Longmans),
and Morris’s ‘‘ Practical Plane and Solid Geo-
metry” (Longmans). Both are excellent text-
books, and perhaps of the two Spooner’s is
the best and most complete. Whatever book is
chosen, we feel strongly that the teacher should
in the first instance use it strictly as a text-book,
i.e, a book of texts, and should give out the
various problems to be worked by the pupils, if
possible, before either working them himself or
letting them read the book.
The teacher's object is, of course, to lead on the
pupils to solve the problems for themselves, with
only such assistance as he finds necessary, and
which should be less and less as they progress.
His motto should be “ festina lente.”
Revision, for examination purposes, can be ra-
pidly made by help of the text-book, but the
pioneer work of tackling fresh problems is more
happily undertaken if the pupil feels that he has to
depend on his own initiative and resources. No-
thing is more irritating to a keen pupil than to be
told something which he feels he could have found
out for himself, and perhaps this is more specially
the case in geometry than in any other subject.
School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
We all know the pleasure in obtaining a neat geo-
metrical solution ourselves, and what compara-
tively dull work it is to wade through some one
else’s proof unless you have obtained your own
first.
Problems in simple loci, which can be traced by
finding series of points on them, such as the ellipse,
hyperbola, equiangular spiral, and others, will be
a welcome occasional change from the rest of the
practical problem course.
To prevent the construction work from be-
coming too mechanical, and to cultivate manual
dexterity, the pupil should often be required to
execute it freehand as accurately as possible,
using his knowledge of theory to help him. It is
a mistake to depend too absolutely on instru-
ments: in fact, the pupil’s eyes and hands are his
primary instruments, and the others are merely
supplementary aids to more accurate finish. If he
cannot produce a fairly accurate drawing without
the use of instruments, his instrumental work is
almost certain to degenerate into mechanical
drudgery, and real and rapid lasting progress will
be impossible.
In Soltd Geometry probably the best book for the
theoretical course is Mr. R. B. Hayward’s “ Ele-
ments of Solid Geometry” (Macmillan). It is a
little book, but well and carefully written, and will
be easily assimilated, particularly if the pupils
occasionally make paper or cardboard illustrative
models to assist the imagination.
The corresponding practical course could not be
better than that laid down by the University of
London in their first paragraph dealing with this
part of the subject. Orthogonal, or orthographic,
projection is so important that no excuse is
needed for introducing it into secondary schools
as part of the ordinary curriculum. With the help
of models (models cut in paper are quite sufficient,
and can be made by the pupils themselves, quickly
and readily) the first principles of plan and ele-
vation are readily learnt, and then fairly rapid
progress may be expected. Probably the best
text-book for this work is Harrison and Baxandall’s
“ Practical Plane and Solid Geometry for Ele-
mentary Students” (Macmillan), though some
teachers may prefer to continue using Spooner’s
or Morris's books, which are both good, though
perhaps not so carefully graduated as Harrison and
Baxandall’s.
Isometric projection is not of much practical use.
It is applicable only to rectangular solids whose
faces are all equally inclined to the plane of pro-
jection. It is, moreover, only a particular simple
case of orthographic projection, and a very few
examples should suffice for its illustration.
The projection of a simple helix and square-
threaded screw can readily be undertaken by a
pupil who has been through the above course and
who has a model to work from.
Developments of the surfaces of simple solids
are also not difficult if the pupils cut out their own
developments and construct the solids with them.
It is, however, useful work and is worth the
expenditure of some time. A good example of
arest
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
such work is the construction of the three pyramids
into which a given triangular prism can be cut. If,
in the case of a skew prism, the pupil can success-
fully draw out the developments of the component
pyramids and construct them, showing that they
can be built into the prism, a good and interesting
piece of work will have been done. It requires a
considerable amount of careful thought. The cone
and its frustum, and oblique frusta of a cylinder,
probably complete the more important elementary
part of this work, with perhaps the developments
of the five regular solids; but more advanced
work could be undertaken with the best pupils in
connection with the surfaces formed by the inter-
penetration of solids.
Interpenetration of solids is the most difficult
part of the schedule, and probably only the simplest
cases could be undertaken at school, and then only
by the better pupils. Harrison and Baxandall’s
‘Practical Plane and Solid Geometry for Ad-
vanced Students” (Macmillan), or Angel's “ Ad-
vanced Plane Geometry and Projection” (Wm.
Collins), would be the best for the teacher to
consult if he works from a book, but probably the
better plan would be to work from a collection of
good models such as those supplied by G. Cussons,
the Technical Works, Lower Broughton, Man-
chester.
This brings us to the last part of the schedule,
viz., Machine Drawing. It is a question whether
it is wise to require such a subject in a school
curriculum, as it 1s entirely a technical subject.
Unless the intention of the University Board is
merely to suggest the use of the simplest machine
parts, as being practical illustrations of combina-
tions or interpenetrations of solids, the work will
be too special for the majority of secondary-
school boys. This would be a pity, as the previous
part of the work constitutes an excellent course
for boys who show mathematical aptitude. The
danger is that this early, foundation, part of the
course will be hurried unduly to find time for the
“machine ” course, and so the whole spoilt.
To teach machine drawing intelligently and
beneficially, models of the machine parts required
should be at hand, the pupil should know the use
of the part or detail illustrated, and he should
make careful sketches showing two or more views
or projections from the model prior to his drawing
the same to scale. (All attempts at “rough”
sketches should be rigidly discouraged, and
“rough ” sketches should, in our opinion, not be
exhibited to the pupil to copy. The rough sketch
is the cause of much unintelligent and careless
work.)
Now, the models are expensive, and the work
takes time, and requires unusual knowledge on the
part of the teacher: it would be much better to let
this work wait for the Technical School or Engi-
neering College. If the pupil has been well
grounded at school in the principles of projection,
he will be able easily to assimilate the further
1 The icosahedron and dodecahedron are not usually included in an
otmentary course, but they could be developed with the assistance of
els,
The School World 45
work required for machine drawing when he leaves
school. The danger is, to repeat what we have
already stated, that, if this later work is attempted
to be crowded into a school course, the foundation
work will be hurried and scamped, which would be
disastrous.
This part of the syllabus is vague, and it is to be
hoped that the University authorities will require
little or none of it in their Matriculation exami-
nation.
—— Sees = Save a sek, ————
INDUSTRIAL OPENINGS FOR ART
STUDENTS.
By HENRY CADNESS.
The Municipal School of Art, Manchester.
N the following article the writer makes no
I pretence to have solved the problem, ‘* What
to do with our boys and girls.” So much
depends on the ability, capacity, and inclination of
the individual concerned, that it is impossible to
lay down a course suitable for all. Yet it is pos-
sible to point out certain directions which may be
taken under present conditions by those who have
discovered a taste for drawing and designing, or
some special aptitude for a craft in which art plays
an important part. It will be taken for granted
that the student has received a sound general
education which will serve as a foundation for
later studies, one in which the drawing lessons
have been thorough, in which precise and accurate
observation in the rendering of nature has been
exercised, and the student’s aim has been to
understand as well as to reproduce faithfully,
and not to be satisfied with superficial treatment.
To some persons the pursuit of art in its broadest
sense is pleasant and full of delights. The power
to represent the beauties of nature is only gained
by careful observation and practice, and this train-
ing includes much that is looked upon by some as
dry, yet that is necessary in acquiring a knowledge
of the principles which underlie all forms. When
sufficient power is gained to enable a fair idea of
objects to be given the joy begins, and it increases
when such power is employed to create, or to em-
body original ideas, or thoughts, as in pictorial
work, book illustrations, or sculpture; or in deco-
rative work for the beautifying of an object. The
enthusiastic exercise of this power indicates genius.
Its possession, if not exercised fully, results in
mediocrity ; activity and energy, without care in
working, will also produce inferior results ; unfor-
tunately, the happy combination of these qualities
is not common.
In our connection these considerations are of the
deepest importance, and should be borne in mind
by those gesponsible for the guidance of the youth ;
for, of all subjects, that of art is one in which parents
and others are most easily deluded by the early
attempts of the young. Often the merest daubs
are looked upon as signs of genius, asalso are trick
effects produced sometimes under a teacher’s direc-
tion, and drawings in the nature of “ elementary
designs” which lack the most primary necessities.
pee ee a
46
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
Such displays in music would easily be estimated
at their true value. This early work may be use-
ful for many purposes, but it should not be allowed
to mislead. Such students have not always the
perseverance to carry it beyond a certain stage.
The pupil who plods, who delights in careful work,
who even requires restraining, is most likely to
throw enough soul into the work to make it suc-
cessful, and only such effort will raise the student
to the highest position.
In many trades drawing plays an important part.
The scheming and planning is done on paper pre-
vious to execution in the material, thus enabling
the craftsman to proceed directly with his work
without waste of time or material; so that a class
of artists known as designers is employed to
invent and originate. Now, this might give rise to
a happy state of things if all that was demanded |
from them had to be of the most refined kind.
Unfortunately, the majority are required to create
novelties and objects that will attract or “ take”
with a public desiring frequent change; or things
that will be saleable in certain markets. Under
such conditions the occupation often ceases to be
congenial. A man with ideals has frequently to
abandon them and to produce instead that which
precedent proves to be successful, viz., to adapt
previous patterns to ‘follow on” those that sold
well in the preceding season.
Again, a large body classed as designers do not
originate, they only finish, or work out, the ideas
of others, converting and adapting them to tech-
nical requirements, simplifying the colouring—as in
textile printing and weaving—in the latter draught-
ing on point paper, not at all an entertaining pro-
cess. In lithographic drawing, where tones and
mixtures of colour are produced by fine points cal-
culated by their size and closeness together to give
varied effects, the perfection of finish acquired
by many such workers is wonderful—stippling,
spotting, binding, &c., in a most practical and
often mechanical form suited for reproduction.
It will be seen from this that designing can be
_ separated into two groups, inventing and origi-
nating and practical application. These may be
and often are, combined in the same individual,
especially in the handicrafts, and in many cases the
designer is also the craftsman. In the first group
many artists work at home or in private studios,
either to commissions given, or on designs to be
submitted for sale. Manufacturers buy these ideas
and adapt them with the aid of their own finishers.
Frequently this originating takes the form of
scissors and paste, and portions cut from other
patterns are combined to get new effects.
It must not be inferred from this that there is an
unlimited demand for designers; that is not so, for
any one of the carefully-planned designs provides
opportunity for many variations in sampling the
colours and tones. This necessity brings into play
the services of an art adviser, or colourist, for the
best classes of work.
All this implies experience, and knowledge of
markets and other matters such as cannot be gained
without direct contact with the trade, and a charge
sometimes made against what are termed “ school-
of-art” patterns is that they are not “ practical.”
In most cases this means they are unlikely to sell
in sufficient quantities to make them profitable,
and not that they lack beauty and interest, or could
not be reproduced.
Some trades are distinctly local and others
universal. To the former belong the manufactures
such as weaving and cotton printing in Manchester,
Glasgow, Bradford, and Leeds ; pottery and metal,
as at Hanley and Birmingham. The designers
and workers in these materials are toa great extent
tied to these centres; away from them there is but
small demand, though merchants in towns far
away call for the services of an originator, whose
designs are forwarded to the manufacturers for
execution. Hence designs are sold in London for
this purpose.
The localising of the industries has naturally an
important bearing on the character of the designing
and the trend of art instruction in a district; and,
although these are grouped together for economical
reasons, it is very remarkable how varied the styles
are. The work is sub-divided in such a way that
the designer trained in one place of business has
often a difficulty to adapt himself to the style
of another. Thus, in cotton printing, there are
« Home Trades,” “ Fancies,” ‘‘ China,” “ Indian,”
« South American,” &c., markets, and so it will
be found with other manufactures.
Much of this work cannot be classed as
artistic; nevertheless, it forms a large part of the
trade, and any student engaged in it will do well
to supplement his work with practice of the most
refined kind.
I have dwelt on this, as it is calamitous for a
youth to find that his occupation is uncongenial; a
state of unrest sets in, and what he thought at first
would be a delightful art pursuit turns out to be
something more commonplace. This occurs often,
and it is the experience of many teachers,
especially in the evening classes of art schools, to
find students anxious to change their occupation—
the printer wanting to take up weaving, the weaver
printing, and so on; each thinking the other’s
calling offers a larger field.
In the handicrafts there is much greater scope
and opportunity. In the first place, they are not
so localised; some are carried on in almost every
town; for instance, decorative painting, sculpture,
wood-carving, stained glass, book-binding, and so
on, giving chances of more varied experience.
Further, the student can get into direct touch with
the material, either as designer, or craftsman, or
both; there is more encouragement to greater
effort and pride in the work, a greater chance for
the development of the better side of the in-
dividual, greater possibility for the craftsman to
work independently and for the individual
character to be asserted, whilst in most cases the
outlay for tools and materials is usually not great.
It is advisable to follow one of two courses:
(1) To devote a period of, say, three or four
years, to study broadly in a good art-school, and
afterwards a short service in some craft, the choice
FEBRUARY, 1903. |]
of which will be determined by the inclinations of
the individual. The provision of scholarships will
be found of service in many cases in assisting
worthy students to take this course. (2) To enter
the workshop of an employer after a suitable
course of training in the subjects of a general
education. This is suitable in some respects,
though it is generally believed that a student
might with advantage for any career prolong his
general education until the age of sixteen or seven-
teen, but under present conditions he is more likely
to obtain employment in some craft at fourteen.
In the evenings the pupil should then follow a sys-
tematic course of study in an art school in order
to acquire a broader knowledge than that required
immediately for his craft. Too much stress cannot
be laid on this fact. Every effort should be made
to gain instruction in all the branches of the work,
and generally this is best attained by employment
with a small firm, and although the class of work
may not be so high, opportunities for actual prac-
tice are more likely to present themselves than
in many large establishments.
I am not now thinking of great firms whose
apprentices pay large premiums, for which con-
sideration the employer undertakes to give them
full instruction in all the branches, but of the
ordinary places of business. The opportunities
for development in any craft are greater than they
ever were; for, although there are the dis-
advantages of the sub-divisions, the aspiring
youth can attend special classes, and the multitude
of books opens out a wide field, and further, many
employers offer to send their apprentices to the
schools in the evenings, some even giving time
during the day. This is not always taken
advantage of, with the result that many grow up
with a narrow training, and so give no encourage-
iar to the employer to entrust them with better
work.
It must be borne in mind that there are limita-
tions in all the crafts. Usually in this country
the supply of workers is greater than the demand.
Beside this, there are certain restrictions imposed
in some trades which must be considered in
arranging a course.
My remarks are inspired by much experience of
employers as well as employed. The former com-
plain that the modern youth is often too “clever ; ”
he has done too little of too many things; he some-
times comes to teach the employer what he should
do, and he has to be disillusioned. The employer
who keeps a large staff, and is dependent on
certain sales, says he cannot afford to risk them
for the sake of budding genius. On the other
hand, many of the employed complain of the want
of opportunity to exercise their individual taste ;
and the smallness, comparatively, of the demand
for the most refined things is to a certain extent
responsible for this. The reconciling of art and
commerce, it would seem, depends much on the
mculcation of artistic perception in every-day life,
and particularly in every-day schools.
In conclusion, as there will always be a large
class of workers who lack original ideas, or lack
The School World 47
courage to develop those they have, such should
strive to become excellent craftsmen, and so to
master their material that their work will com-
mand attention.
In the list below, crafts of a kindred nature are
grouped together, and those printed in italics are
the most likely to provide an outlet for skilled
girls. In some places there is a distinct prejudice
against their employment, although the work is
just suitable, so that it has given rise to many
working successfully on their own account, as the
numerous exhibitions of arts and crafts show.
Decorative Painting, both in designing schemes and details
and in their execution. ,
Statned Glass, Enamels, Mosaics, designing Cartoons, and
actual work in painting and colouring.
Potlery, Tiles—in designing and painting.
Textiles, Cotton, Silk, Wool, Carpets, Furnitures, Dress
goods—desrening and draughting.
Printing Wall-papers and Textiles—designing and colouring.
Metal Work: wrought iron, cast iron, bronze—designing and
modelling.
Repoussé Engraving, Jewellery—desiening and working.
Furniture—aesiening and decorating with stained wood.
Inlay and Gesso panels.
Wood Carving, Sculpture, for decoration, designing and
modelling and working in studio.
Embrotdery, designing and working, for banners, portières,
and dress decorations.
Lithography, Book Illustrations, Foster designing, Book
binding,
There are also branches of Architectural work, drawing,
details, perspective views, &c.
Teaching Art, afier passing through Certificate Courses and
specialising in certain subjects.
This list does not exhaust all, as so many branches are likely
to be developed in the near future.
THE VALUE OF DRAWING IN THE
SCIENCE AND MANUAL INSTRUC-
TION LESSONS”
By Wm. A. KNIGHT.
Headmaster of Sexey’s Trade School, Bruton.
T is difficult to realise how large a part is taken
by drawing in the curriculum of the modern
school. The lessons in art are usually under
the charge of an enthusiast who is not satisfied
until all his pupils can appreciate the beauty of
line, light and shade, form, and even colour. The
art lessons are correlated to the rest of the curri-
culum and are thus lifted from the inferior position
occupied by the old-fashioned “extra” subjects.
Experts gre dealing in the present issue with the
art teaching, and the purpose of this article is to
show the value and importance of drawing in other
subjects of the curriculum.
at
1 The illustrations in this article are specimens selected almost at random
from the actual work of boys at school. It is hoped that even with their
imperfections they will be more useful for the purpose than drawings
specially prepared.
48
NATURE - STUDY.— Practical experience shows
that the most useful arrangement of the instruc-
tion in this subject is to confine the lowest forms,
aged nine to twelve, to observational work! and
gradually to add written descriptions, working up
to reasoning and generalisation in the upper forms,
aged fifteen to seventeen or eighteen.
The Nature-study, then, of Forms I. and II.
will consist almost wholly of directed observation
of common plants and animals. A sketch of the
object under consideration is built up by each
pupil either in his note-book or preferably on
separate slips to be afterwards pasted in. At
first, the sketches are crude in the extreme, but
before long the best pupils will be able to produce
even an artistic representation of the object, and
the clumsy ones will be able to set down the
characteristic features, which are thus fixed more
surely and more rapidly than by pages of notes.
At the end of the school year, the pupil can look
Fig. 1.—Fruit of Dog-rose.
A, A Natural Sprig. B, Vertical Section of Fruit.
back through his book and survey the whole of his
lessons, with a maximum of pleasure and a mini-
mum of fatigue.
Another advantage of a drawing is that many
natural objects almost defy written description,
except that of a Richard Jefferies. Takea butter-
fly’s wing, for instance. The difficulty of describ-
ing accurately its shape and markings is enormous,
even for advanced pupils, yet the majority of the
1 “ The beginning of all true work is accurate observation, the end and
crown of all true work is an accuracy which observes everything, and lets
nothing escape, a power of observation animated by a true love for what it
undertakes to investigate, and able through love to discover subtler truth
than other people. Observation and accuracy comprise all that it is
possible for a teacher to do, whatever may be the subject with which he has
to deal." —TH kina.
The School World | |
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
form will be able rapidly to represent these in a
sketch, and the best pupils will be able to make
a crude attempt at the colour. The very difficulties
encountered serve to impress the true appearance
indelibly on the mind.
But perhaps the most powerful argument for
drawing is that ft forces the pupil to observe what
would otherwise be quite invisible. Try to form a
mental picture of, say, a twig of the ash in winter,
then draw from the object, and structures pre-
viously hidden come to view, and are reproduced.
oe ide? Ae if eyes were made for seeing,
Then beauty is its own excuse for being.
EMERSON.
A careful choice of subjects for lessons must
be made, for the field is wide. The old-fashioned
type of object-lessons on, ¢.g., ‘‘ Balloons,” or “ the
Manufacture of Glass,” must be replaced by a series
on an oak-leaf, a lilac shoot, or a bird's wing. The
life-histories of the bean, the frog, and the insect
will be worked out and the stages recorded by
drawings. Some teachers will wish to add the
study of inanimate nature, rocks, and stones, and
the simpler phenomena of mechanics and physics.
Labelling is a great help to the memory: it
should be done sparingly and neatly by means of
arrows drawn outward from the object to the name,
or, where more convenient, by capital letters re-
ferring to a key.
The mere copying of a drawing from the black-
board or a book is of small value. No objection,
however, can be taken to the pupils comparing
their own unaided drawings with finished drawings
made by the teacher or with those in trustworthy
text-books.
In the upper forms the nature-study will pro-
bably take the form of botany or zoology. Here
the need for constant drawing is already well re-
cognised. The note-books in morphology should
consist almost entirely of drawings, and the results
of many physiological experiments can be shown
best by a series of sketches. The difficulty often
found by students in microscopic work in correctly
drawing what they see will be greatly lessened
in the case of those who have had the advantage
of constant practice in drawing in their earlier years.
Puysics AND CHEMISTRY.—The value of drawing
in the teaching of Physics and Chemistry cannot
be over-estimated, but here artistic effect is not
aimed at, except so far as neatness of execution
constitutes art. This instruction will probably begin
in Form III. (age twelve to fourteen). Considerable
facility with the pencil will have been gained in the
nature-study work of Forms I. and II., but it will
be found economical to devote a little time to pre-
liminary practice in drawing such things as a flask,
a Wolff’s bottle, glass tubing, the surface of a
liquid in a glass vessel, a Bunsen burner, a cork
with glass tubing passing through it, the con-
ventional form of a battery and of an electroscope.
Most of the drawings will be merely combinations
of these. At this point a definite decision should
be made about the form of the drawing to be
adopted. Some teachers prefer to draw a per-
FEBRUARY, 1903. ]
spective view, the eye being supposed to be slightly
above the apparatus. In this case all circles
appear, of course, as elongated ellipses, corks are
not transparent, and tubes must first be drawn
continuously through the corks, and the hidden
parts afterwards rubbed out. Any rectangular
objects can be drawn in perspective or isometrically.
(Fig. 2.)
Fig. 2.—Apparatus for Preparation of Sulphuric Acid.
An alternative method is to draw a vertical
section of everything, showing tubes passing right
through the corks, and representing all circles by
horizontal straight lines.
It does not greatly matter which form is adopted,
and sometimes one is better fitted for a particular
piece of apparatus than the other, but a boy should
not be allowed to flounder for perhaps several
terms before he decides for himself which he
prefers.
Discourage the drawing of irrelevant sur-
roundings, such as the bench top or the master’s
hand. This takes much time and often distracts
attention from really important details. In burettes,
a curve drawn to represent the meniscus shows at
once whether mercury or water is being used. In
preparing gases, a large round glass-basin and a
“beehive” are preferable to the usual pneumatic
trough, both because the drawing is rendered easy
and because it is essential for beginners thoroughly
to understand the collection of the gas. The
average pupil is liable to think that some mystery
lurks inside the trough. In the case of a soluble
gas it is helpful to a pupil to see the water oscil-
lating up and down the delivery tube.
ManuaL InNstTRuCTION.—The drawing done in
connection with Manual Instruction is not an inci-
dental aid but should be considered as an important
part of the work. It is impossible for the hand to
fashion a more or less geometrical form “in the
solid,” until some conception is formed in the mind
of the nature, boundaries and relations of its sur-
faces. Plans and elevations are tests of the accuracy
of such a conception and serve also as an economical
record of the dimensions. The advantage to a boy
in after life of a familiarity with working drawings
IS very real.
The School World 49
Manual Instruction should be taken throughout
the school because of its educational value,
the material used varying according to the age
of the pupils. Cardboard work can be cheaply
and conveniently taught in the lowest forms with-
out a workshop, pads being used to cover
the desks, and it is not too laborious for boys
between nine and twelve. The drawing consists
almost entirely of geometrically-constructed plans
of the cardboard used previous to glueing. A boy
in his first year learns all the simpler geometrical
constructions, to use a ruler, set-square, protractor
and compasses, and gains familiarity with the
French and English units of length. Frankly,
this preliminary teaching must be mainly em-
pirical, and the discovery of the reasons for the
constructions must be made in the geometry
lessons, but the boy acquires a skill which is
of immense use to him all through his school
career and afterwards, and the time spent is
quite recouped by time thereby saved in the upper
forms. He has learnt not merely how to make
the geometrical constructions, but has used them
practically, and sees their importance in the
manipulation of his material. The necessity for
accuracy is rendered visible by the “fit” of the
complete model.
In Woodwork, which will probably be taken
in Forms III. and IV. in the workshop, a plan
and elevation of each piece of wood and an iso-
metric sketch of the complete joint, or model,
should appear on one page, with a correctly-
figured scale in every case at the head (Fig. 3).
A word about the isometric sketch, which is,
of course, not drawn from an isometric scale ; the
dimensions are taken from the plain scale, the
parallel edges of the object being all drawn at
an angle of 30° with the lower edge of the page,
any curved or oblique edges being inserted last.
Fig. 3.—Woodwork : Bridle Joint in Pine.
It is very useful to show a section through the
completed joint ; a boy who can do this correctly
obtains valuable exercise of his imagination, and
incidentally gains concrete practice in solid geo-
metry, in a way which he seldom gets in the
geometry lesson, where he is dealing with abstract
form.
50 The School World [ FEBRUARY, 1903.
The same plan should be followed in the metal- | instruction occurs in the order of the steps taken.
work drawings of the top forms. In many cases the boys work from a printed book
If sheet-metal is used, the ‘ developing ” of the | of drawings, in others they merely copy drawings
7,
a
H a
i
~ at
z A
g d hs
a |) l
=
n \
Te.. F 4
— Vr
= i - Oe
S inl PE 7
4
————— -
-mar
f
DTT =
ye
| i
ff i i
l
„ll
E i
P: "fi ' !
a i p
~
aj” P
Fig. 4.—Original Illustration to ‘‘ Adventures of Capt. Falconer of Bruton.”
model is a splendid help to the mensuration work. | from the blackboard into their own drawing-books,
The boy who has made an ordinary tin-plate | while in some cases there is no attempt to draw at
funnel from his own drawing can almost work out | all. The work should be done in the following
unaided the area of the surface of a cone. steps :—
One of the most frequent errors in manual (1) A lesson is given by the teacher upon the
. particular joint, or model, which
should often be made wholly,
or in part, before the boys.
(2) The boys make rough
sketches, correctly dimensioned.
(3) A finished drawing is made
from the sketch, showing plan,
elevation, section, and isometric
sketch.
(4) The drawing is translated
into a material form.
In MatnHematics the teacher
should insist on a drawing to
scale wherever possible. The
usual rough sketch is sometimes
misleading rather than helpful.
Algebraical problems involving
distances, rates of travelling,
and time taken, should have a
diagram ; every question in
mensuration involving area or
ee Ta Tofts the Great ane CR) EFA
pan £ AE E volume will be worked more
amu- potions. aii ad m . . G
Sah fin si Mee satisfactorily with a fairly ac-
Fig. 5.—Original Illustration to Macaulay's ‘‘ Lays of Ancient Rome.” curate diagram. This may
appear trite, but examiners
>
EEEN LLOC
Digitized by WI O (Q
he ~~
FEBRUARY, 1903.]
know how often incorrect results are arrived at
because of a faulty sketch or the absence of one
altogether. There is no need to touch on the
question of graphs and diagrams in algebra and
trigonometry, for the admirable paper by Mr. |
Godfrey in THe Scoot Wor tp for August, 1902,
contains just what a teacher requires to guide
him.
The School World
In a school the curriculum and other conditions |
of which allow of the prominent position here
advocated for drawing, and where it is insisted on
in all forms and not
merely in the art
lessons, there should
the elder boys an
unusual
expression by pen
or pencil, and the
all written
should be very
marked. The pages
of the school maga-
able for budding
artists with literary
tastes (Figs 4-6).
MEESE In any case, a
j = powerful instrument
Gas is placed at the dis-
posal of a youth who
leaves such a school
for a workshop, laboratory or drawing office, or
for higher instruction in a university or technical
college ; he will be ina better position to appreciate
or criticise the illustrations which take so large
Fig. 6.—Original Illustration to ‘‘ Twenty
Years After.” Dumas.
a place in nearly all modern books; and he will be |
the better man because of the firmer grip and
truer conception which he has gained of the truth
and beauty of the natural world around him.
Things rather than words will appeal to him, and
will not his reasoning power be clearer and
Stronger for the soid foundation of fact upon
which he is able to build ?
ONE result of the transference to the University of London of
the University Extension work in the metropolitan area has
been the arrangement for the current term of a central course of
lectures in the University building, South Kensington.
course will be given by Dr. Emil Reich on ‘‘ The Foundations
of Modern Europe, 1760-1871,” dealing with the principal events
and persons that have shaped the political and intellectual his-
tory of modern times since George III. The course will treat of
the War of American Independence, the French Revolution,
Napoleon, the Great Reaction of 1815-1848, the Revolutions of
1848-1849, and the Unity of Italy and Germany. Dr. Reich’s
reputation as an expert in modern history, and as a lucid and |
| thus build up forms.
attractive lecturer, should draw a large audience. The chair
will be taken at the first lecture, on Tuesday afternoon,
January 27th, by the Vice-Chancellor. It has been arranged
t, to meet the convenience of those able to attend only in the
evening, the same course will be delivered on Wednesday even-
ngs, at eight o’clock, beginning January 28th.
power of | | ) '
_architects, surveyors, artisans, and in a lesser
general neatness of |
work |
zine may be avail- |
be expected among |
51
EQUIPMENT OF THE ART SIDE OF
SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
By]. W. TopHAM VINALL, A.R.C.A. (Lond.)
Member of the Society of Art Masters, Author of “ Art and
How to Study it.”
RAWING is a subject which necessarily
finds a place in the curricula of both ele-
mentary and secondary schools, having
long since been recognised as a subject of the
greatest educational value: and this, be it under-
stood, from a strictly educational point of view.
The ability to draw, or even a bare knowledge
of drawing, has been found indispensable to
pupils preparing to become craftsmen, designers,
degree to those who in after days may become men
of science, physicians, surgeons, oculists, engineers,
and even lawyers, solicitors and men of commerce.
In fact, drawing is a medium of communication
at times more graphic and concise than any ver-
bal or written description can be. To impart this
power of communication should therefore be the
aim of the systems of drawing in vogue in our
schools. To teach the children to become
“artists” will, of course, be farthest from the
intention of the day schools, primary or secon-
dary ; the art schools proper will do that.
Assuming that children can begin to draw at
the age of six or seven, they are, nevertheless,
in our public elementary schools, taken in hand
before that age, and as soon as they enter school at
all, are led to express their ideas and illustrate their
lessons by manual expression in clay, sand or
chalk. Their efforts may be crude, but they are
valuable, so much so that in infant schools nearly
half the time is spent in depicting objects and
forms related to the object lessons. You may not
be able to call it “ drawing ” in the strictest sense,
but it is a useful preparation.
The work is carried out in this way. The
children are supplied with large brown or dark
mill-boards (impervious to water), which are
placed in, or on the desks, in an almost vertical
position. The children themselves may stand or
| sit as convenient, and a stooping posture of course
The |
crayons.
—
becomes impossible for them. On these mill-
boards, or on brown or white paper attached tọ
them, they sketch in boldly with coloured chalks or
These forms are reduced to the simplest
lines and masses, and are never allowed to
deteriorate to caricatures of elaborate and im-
possible shapes. The simpler the shapes the
better, but they have to be true.
As a preparation for pure “ outline,” the younger
children pass through a course of ‘‘ massing,” that
is, they learn to rub the chalk on in masses, and
To such simplicity does this
method lead that it is possible to commence in the
“ babies’ class.” These little mites start with a
| dot, and enlarge it to any given size, such as a
bead, a penny, an apple, and so on. The round or
elliptical form is taken first, because simplest, the
a wr ee ee ee ee ep epee o
52 The
School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
motion in producing it being similar to the child’s
natural action of scribbling, only brought within
control. ‘These round shapes of various sizes are
added to, and placed in juxtaposition, in such a
manner as to form strings of beads or patterns.
This is the commencement, and by careful grading,
“masses” are made to grow into many shapes
without any thought of outline. Later, outlines
are firmly added to these shapes, in order more
carefully to define them. Lastly, in Standard 1., the
preparatory ‘‘ massing” as an aid to “ outline ” is
dropped, and pure ‘‘outline’’ takes its place.
This brings the child to the real commencement
of drawing.
The results of this free-arm method are most
gratifying, and the children themselves thoroughly
enjoy the work. It does away at one sweep with all
minute eye-straining pencilling on squares, and sup-
plies a more truly Froebelian substitute, bringing
into play boldness and freedom. In the case of in-
fants, straight lines are only introduced by degrees.
Actual straight-lined work is done separately as
ruler-practice, worked from the beginning on plain
white paper. Young children should not be
expected to draw straight lines by hand very
perfectly. In Standards I., Il., and III., the
brown-paper free-arm practice is continued. As
many natural forms and common objects are
selected for examples as possible. Geometrical
shapes are reserved for ruler-work. In Standard
I., broadly, the year’s work is based on long
straight lines combined with arc curves to form
shapes and patterns. In Standard II., the O
or elliptical curve (done in one sweep) is intro-
duced, and is combined with straight lines to
form shapes and patterns. Standard III. deals
with the compound or double-curve applied to natural
and ornamental forms, and the children are
initiated into the laws of growth, exhaustion,
repetition, and radiation. In many schools the
free-arm practices are repeated to a smaller scale
on white paper as freehand practices. In others,
suitable mass forms are represented in clay or
with the brush, which are really only other ways of
“ massing.”
Above Standard III., free-arm, freehand, and
model are practised, and pen and brush work
introduced by degrees. All ordinary lessons, such as
geography, composition, and science subjects, are
whenever possible, illustrated by little pen or pencil
sketches in the margins of the paper or exercise.
Geometry and scalework, pattern designing, the
tinting of patterns and scale drawings, are also in-
cluded in all the complete elementary courses:
although in girls’ schools of all grades the draw-
ing course is necessarily less exacting, with a
minimum of mechanical work. In many schools
short blackboard practices are undertaken in
addition to all other drawing, even in the infants’
departments. Such practice is generally on the
lines suggested by Professor Liberty Tadd, and is
useful for gaining facility. As ‘‘gymnastics ”
may aid ‘dancing,’ so this big work imparts
certainty of touch, versatility, and leads to fertility
of invention, but does not on this account constitute
a “drawing scheme.” ‘Memory drawing” is
periodically practised in all classes. In the top
classes only, as a rule, are clay-work and painting
taken up, as time and opportunity will allow.
The same remark applies to the drawing and
shading of casts, designing, stencilling, and other
more advanced subjects. Never less than two
hours per week are given to these exercises,
and four are found to be ample. It must be
borne in mind, however, that above all things, the
pencil work of these classes has to be good (done
either by the free-arm or freehand method at
option), and it is advisable that pen-drawing as
encouraged in the new Government syllabus should
be taken up more generally than it is.
Several excellent sets of drawing charts are to be
had from well-known publishers at about 2s. or
3s. net per set for each class above Standard III.,
say for children of nine and ten upwards. Perhaps
the four that are most famous and useful just now
are:—Bacon’s ‘*Grey Line Series” (extremely
practical), Waddington and Jackman’s “ Grey Line
Series” (Wilkinson), Nelson’s ‘‘New Drawing
Course” by J. Vaughan (Director of Drawing,
Glasgow School Board), and the admirable
“ Leicester School Board Course” (C. R. Robins,
Leicester).
Is it surprising that, from amongst elementary
pupils so trained, art masters all over the country
are anxious to recruit their school-of-art students,
with the promise of full support from the Board of
Education in such efforts at co-ordination? ‘* But
where,” it may be asked, ‘do the secondary
schools come in, if this be the case ?”’
The secondary schools come in and occupy a most
important place in the training of pupils between
the ages of fourteen and eighteen The higher
elementary-schools are, after all, but tew in number,
and but touch the fringe of the work. The field,
and it is a broad one, is in possession of the
secondary schools.
Therefore, with proper previous training, pupils
in secondary schools should be able to produce very
passable advanced drawing, and be able to qualify
in the Society of Arts examinations, School of
Commerce examinations, Oxford and Cambridge
Locals, and South Kensington examinations. The
art schools and technical schools ought also to be
able to count on a large number of qualified
candidates from these schools.
Hence the subjects to be taught (according to
circumstances and requirements) might be enume-
rated as follows :—Advanced freehand with pencil,
pen, or brush; advanced model, lightly shaded ;
shading of casts and objects with chalks, stumps,
pen, or sepia; simple sketches of the human
features or figure, of trees and landscapes from
good examples; simple designing and colouring ;
a little still-life; modelling in clay or wax; pen-
and-ink drawing for illustration; a little wood-
carving; some stencilling; geometrical drawing
and perspective; mechanical drawing for machine
or building construction; blackboard drawing; a
slight knowledge of architecture and architectural
mouldings, and of the general history of art.
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
Technical, grammar, and high schools, generally
have art-class rooms (smaller or larger as the case
may be), where a part, at least, of the above
syllabus could be carried out. Smaller schools
might attempt the same subjects, but with smaller
classes according to space at disposal. The
services of specialists might be required.
Now for the equipment of a drawing class-room,
to accommodate say twenty-five secondary school
pupils, working on these lines. This is a maximum
number for one teacher. We will suppose the
syllabus is as varied and comprehensive as possible,
for the sake of detailing a full equipment.
ART CLASS-ROOM STOCK.
Furniture.
Cupboards, desks, racks, can be obtained from either :—The
London School Furniture Co., Messrs. Chapman and Hall, or
Messrs. Geo. Hammer and Co. Obtain estimates.
Blackboard (42 in. long), and Easel, about 17s. 6d. Chap-
man and Hall.
Chairs, 3s. 9d. to 6s. each. Chapman and Hall.
Desks, London School Furniture Co., or Chapman and Hall.
(Mr. Fisher’s Combination Art Table, 30s. each ; very good.)
An art room is far better without desks at all ; they encumber
the floor space and are heavy for moving about. The small
light “ Englefield Easel” (plain deal, §s. each) is to be recom-
mended instead. Twenty-five required with chairs, and drawing
boards.
Other Easels, say 3 deal, 6 ft. high, 9s. each, and 3 School of
Art easels, 10s. 6d. each. Reeves and Sons. Or: the ‘‘ Hatherly,”
8s., Messrs. Winsor and Newton, is very steady.
Two Stools for Models, with adjustable top and background,
about 18s. each. London School Furniture Co.
Picture Frames with movable backs, imperial, about §s. 6d. ;
half imperial, about 3s. 6d. Chapman and Hall, or from
C. Jacobs.
Twelve Stands for Casts (upright). H. Boneau.
Complete set of S.K. Models in box, £4. Chapman and
Hall. Additional various models can be obtained from same
frm, and from The Educational Supply Association, at from
3s. to §s. each.
Drawing Boards, 25 half imperial, at about 2s. each; 12
imperial, at about 4s. each. Reeves and Sons.
Materials for General Purposes.
Millboards, brown paper (several sizes), cartridge paper,
blotting paper, Canson paper, Michallet paper, Saunders and
Whatman’s paper. Apply to Strong and Hanbury, or Reeves
and Sons.
For Colour Work, &c.
Pencils, crayons, chalks, stumps, indiarubbers, &c., from
Messrs. Lechertier, Barbe & Co., Reeves and Sons, or Rowney’s.
Water-colour tin boxes (at 2s. 6d. each), refills, palettes,
bottles and wire trays for same, indian-ink, ebony-stain, &c.
Messrs, Reeves and Sons. Send for Reeves’ booklet on Brush,
Drawing.
Compasses and mathematical instruments. (Chapman and
Hall). T-squares and set squares. Reeves and Sons (for
geometry).
Teachers’ large T-squares, set squares and compasses. Set,
21s. 6d. Chapman and Hall (for geometry).
Teachers’ coloured chalks. Messrs. Rowney and Co.
For Clay Modelling (Class of 10).
_ Two Bins for Clay. From local builder or contractor. Can be
zinc-lined boxes or fixed slate-sided receptacles, having sloping
The School World
33
lid, sloping forward. Can be made for about £2 each (large
size).
Large Pails can be used instead, cost 7d. or 8d. each.
White Clay, about 5s. per cwt., from any local potters’, or
from Messrs. Doulton and Co., of London.
Plasticine. For 1s. 3d. per pound in bulk. Chapman and
Hall.
Adjustable Modelling Stands, 18s. to £1 15s. Messrs. Le-
chertier, Barbe and Co. (one or two only ever required).
Table with oak top, very strong, 2 ft. high, for beating clay.
About £1 Ios.
American Cloth, piece 12 yards for £1 2s.
53d. a yard.
Sponges at 4d. a dozen. Trowel, ts. 8d. Spade, about 2s. 6d.
From Reeves and Sons the following :—
A pair of hard-wood Calitpers, 10 in. long, at 1s. 6d.
Modelling Tools: best boxwood, 7 in., at 4s. per dozen.
Nos. 1, 21, and 3 most serviceable. Wire, 6} in., at 6s. per
dozen. Nos. 1, 2, and 3 most serviceable.
Thick flannel at
for Wood-Carving.
Patterns and Miss Rowe’s books on Wood and Chip-carving,
from the Manager, School of Art Wood-Carving, South
Kensington, S.W. -
Set of wood-carving plaster casts, Nos. 408-419, Chapman
and Hall’s catalogue, at £2 10s (set).
Tools from J. B. Addis, Tottenham Court Road; or R. Mel-
huish, 84, Fetter Lane, Holborn Circus.
Wood and Boards from Mr. Newson, 61, Pimlico Road,
London, or from local dealer.
Photographs for Drawing Purposes.
Fron NATURE (plants, &c.). Set at 2s. 6d. “ The Arts Co.,”
Derby. Or from the Welsh Educational Publishing Co.,
Merthyr-Tydvil, an excellent set of nature-study drawing cards,
at 4s. net (box of 20); these are actual pressed specimens.
From ORNAMENT. Selections from Kerry’s admirable sets, at
6d. each photograph. Also “ The Arts Co.” set at 2s. 6d.
Casts (not including human figure).
Elementartes. From Brucciani’s catalogue :—
Studies of ornament, 2315.—Set of 10 at 2s. 6d. each. Set
for £1: Nos. 1 and 9 good. Studies of ornament, 2584.—Set
of 15 at 2s. 6d. each. Set for 41 10s.: Nos. 3, 5, IO, 11,
15, good.
An egg, 2811, at 2s. Very useful. Group of eggs, 2813,
at 5s. Very useful, 5 balls, 2814, at 3s. Very useful.
Elementaries (from Chapman and Hall’s illustrated catalogue,
price 2s. net. (This catalogue is most useful) :—
New Century Casts, Nos. 12, 13, 17, 18 (5s. each). Could be
used instead of one of Brucciani’s elementary set quoted above.
For Advanced Shading. Nos. 448 (2s. 6d.), 449 (2s.), 451
(2s.), and from the New Century Casts, Nos. 1, 3 and § (12s. 6d.
each) ; and 333A (5s.).
For Acanthus Ornament. Steven’s spandril, 331 (4s. 6d.).
For Shading and Clay Modelling. Nos. 14 (5s. 6d.), 17 (4s.),
56-59 (3s. or 3s. 6d. each), 382 (3s. 6d.), 384 (3s. 6d.), 393, 394,
397 (4s. 6d.), 398 (4s. 6d.), 426 (9s.), 427 (2s. 6d.), 436, 437,
438, 439 (2s. 6d. each), 454 (4s. 6d.), 455 (2s.). These can all
be recommended, and selections can be made from them by
help of the illustrated catalogue.
Some Books of Reference.
Packet of Card-copies for Elementary Chalk Drawing.
(Charles and Dible.) 2s. net.
** Chalk Drawing on Brown Paper,” in book form. (Charles
and Dible.) 3s. net.
54 The
School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
‘©Free-Arm and Ambidextrous Drawing-Book,” by Frank
Steeley. (G. W. Bacon and Co.) Just out.
“ Brush- Work Drawing Copies,” by Frank Steeley. (G. W.
Bacon and Co.) Just out.
“ Elementary Art Teaching,” by E. R. Taylor. (Chapman
and Hall.) tos. 6d.
“ Plane Geometry,” by J. Carroll.
Is. 6d.
“New Art Geometry,” by Steeley and Trotman.
and Co.) 2s.
‘¢ Perspective,” by J. Carroll. (G. W. Bacon and Co.) 2s. 6d.
“ Perspective,” by Petty. (G. J. Arnold and Son.) 4s.
J. Humphrey Spanton’s ‘‘ Geometry and Perspective” are
very useful for advanced scholars. (Macmillan.)
“ Building Construction,” by Mitchell (Adv).
gs. 6d.
‘ Machine Construction,” by D. A. Low.
Green and Co.) 7s. 6d.
‘¢ History of Architecture,” by Banister Fletcher. (Batsford.)
£1 Is.
‘¢Manual of Historic Ornament,” by Richard Glazier. (Bats-
ford.) 5s. |
‘¢ Midgley and Lilley. Studies in Plant Form and Design.”
(Chapman and Hall.) 6s.
‘¢Wood-Carving and Chip-Carving,” by Eleanor Rowe.
(Batsford.) 1s. each.
(Burns and Oates.
(Bacon
(Batsford.)
(Longmans,
“ Landscape Painting,” by J. McWhirter, R.A. (Cassell
and Co.) 5s.
“Miarine Painting,” by W. L. Wyllie, A.R.A. (Cassell
and Co.) §s.
BLACKBOARD DRAWING FOR THE
ILLUSTRATION OF LESSONS.
By F. F. Lypon.
Art Master at Parmiter’s School, Victoria Park, and the People’s
Palace School of Art.
HERE has been a constantly increasing ten-
dency of late years to add to the interest
and consequent effectiveness of almost all
the lessons of the school course by the introduc-
tion, wherever possible, of some form of illustra-
tion, which, by appealing to the eye, makes it an
auxiliary of the ear in the reception of the facts
sought to be laid down or deduced by the teacher.
The illustration of lessons may be provided for in
any one of four different ways. The most effective
illustration is, of course, the production of the
actual object under discussion in the lesson, and,
where this is possible, it should in all cases be
resorted to. But a very good substitute for the
actual object is frequently supplied in the beauti-
fully-reproduced wall charts that are so much used
in kindergarten and lower - school departments.
These effectively illustrate objects that are not
accessible to the schoolroom, such as the larger
animals, forest trees, tropical plants, manufacturing
processes, and sections of coal mines, or of rock
strata.
A third kind of illustration is the carefully pre-
pared sketch on a blackboard, not reproduced in
the presence of the class, but drawn out by the
teacher before the lesson commences. There is
very little justification for this form of illustration,
as, though considerable pains may have been taken
with this sketch, it is not likely to be so effective as
the coloured wall-sheets, while it lacks the interest
of the fourth kind of illustration, the blackboard
sketch proper, executed during the course of the
lesson in the presence of the pupils. In this latter
case even a very crude sketch, if rapidly drawn,
will stimulate the interest of the children, who like
to see the drawing developed before their eyes.
There is little doubt that this last method of illus-
tration is not more resorted to because of the
distrust of the teacher in his own artistic capa-
bilities. This diffidence arises from a lack of
appreciation of what a blackboard sketch should
be, and of the standard of artistic judgment that
will be brought to bear on the sketch by the on-
looking class. :
To deal with this latter point first. An exami-
nation of the sketches made by children for their
own amusement reveals the fact that they give
first importance to an exaggerated expression of
the most obvious features of the object illustrated,
and though this becomes to a certain extent modi-
fied in the work of older pupils, its continued pre-
sence affords a clue to the best means of fixing
their attention to the point it is desirable to em-
phasise. Ina blackboard sketch, then, all unneces-
sary detail should be left out, a simplicity of outline
should be aimed at, and the important points
may be with advantage exaggerated. The main
object to be kept in view should be that, as the
sketch is to illustrate some point ina lesson, and is
to be drawn when this point arises, only a very
simple drawing, that will not delay the course of
the lesson, can possibly be allowed, and the sketch
becomes a mere note on the blackboard, taking its
place with the verbal notes, and forming a part of
the summary of the lesson that should appear on
the board when the lesson is concluded.
The first stage in a course of practice towards
becoming efficient in this subject should take the
form of “ free-arm” exercises. The student should
stand in front of the board, so that, when the arm is
extended straight from the shoulder, the chalk
just rests on the middle of the board opposite.
Now if the wrist and elbow be kept comparatively
rigid, by means of two sweeps, one from the top to
the left downwards, and the other from the same
starting point to the right downwards, an almost
perfect circle will be struck, even by a novice, the
arm acting almost as the arm of a compass, and
the shoulder joint being the pivot. By approach-
ing nearer, a larger circle will be struck, and by
receding the area of the circle will be diminished.
When the circle has been placed in as suggested,
even though it is not perfectly round at first, com-
mence from the top and let the hand rotate the
complete circumference several times in each di-
rection. The series of overlapping lines will ap:
proximate to a perfect circle, the defect of one
revolution rarely falling in the same place as
that of the second revolution, so that a thick line
will have finally covered in the several defects 10
the complete sketch.
The chalk to be used for this and subsequent
exercises should not exceed an inch-and-a-half 1n
ESNEA
CAP oy
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
length, as it will be found in practice that the
shorter the chalk the greater command one has
over it, and the firmer the line it will produce.
And here we may note the difference between
drawing on paper and on the blackboard. In
making a sketch on paper the difficulty of erasing
mistakes leads us at first to make our sketch very
lightly, but with the chalk and blackboard we shall
find it just as easy to clean out a firmly drawn line
as one that is lightly sketched in. And as firm
lines are necessary for sketches to be seen by all
the class, and no time is available for lining in,
it is as well at the beginning to draw everything in
with a firm line. The exceptions to this rule will
arise in the more advanced work, as, for instance,
in the drawing of a flower or leaf, where the
general shape being faintly indicated the petals or
leaflets may be firmly inserted, and then it is not
necessary torub out the construction lines. Justas
in ordinary drawing the constant reliance on the
indiarubber militates against accuracy in our first
attempts, so in blackboard drawing, if we wish to
get confidence, which is the essence of good work,
the duster must be almost entirely discarded.
This may be more readily done because a slight
thickening of the outline in various places will
generally obliterate slight inaccuracies without
detracting from the value of the sketch.
Having practised the circle both singly and in
combinations, such as several concentric circles,
three circles in a larger one, or an interlacing series
forming rope or guilloche ornament, next pro-
ceed to the ellipse. The difficulty is in this case
increased because the diameters are not equal, but
the same sweeping swing of the arm should be
retained, though at first it may be necessary to set
out lightly the two diameters at right angles. Re-
peat the exercise of running the chalk rapidly
round the complete circumference several times,
until the swing of the arm becomes quite easy and
automatic. |
The oval naturally succeeds the ellipse as an
exercise, and then such familiar objects as egg and
egg-cup, acorn, cherry, apple, and plum, which are
based on these forms, may be attempted. In all
¢ases stand in front of the board, not to one side,
as the latter position induces an irregularity in the
sketch, due to the difficulties of the perspective.
The enlargement of freehand copies from printed
examples will follow, but too much importance
should not be given to absolute symmetry, as this
latter quality is rarely present in objects other
than purely conventional forms.
Our next exercises should be devoted to practice
in proportion and the drawing of straight lines.
Draw a square without measuring, and when com-
pleted test its accuracy by measuring not only the
sides but also the diagonals. A square placed with
tts diagonals vertical and horizontal on the board
will be found more difficult; and then proceed to
an oblong with length twice breadth, to an equi-
lateral triangle, and to a regular pentagon. This
latter is important as the basis of many floral
forms.
Text-books dealing with this branch of the work
The School World
55
are ‘‘ New Methods in Education,” by Liberty
Tadd; and ‘ Ambidextrous and Free-arm Black-
board Drawing,” by F. F. Lydon; both published
by Sampson Low, Marston and Co.
So far our practice will have been mainly devoted
to the cultivation of confidence and freedom in the
use of the chalk. We now approach the second and
more interesting branch of our work, the illustra-
tion of plant and animal forms as required in the
teaching of nature-study. Here the chief feature of
our work will be the memorising of natural forms
and the observation of the construction. Let any
student who has not previously attempted it try to
draw from memory a butterfly, a cowslip, or even
a leaf, such as the horse chestnut. It will be found
in most cases that, though all these objects are per-
fectly familiar, an exact impression of their form
has not been noted with sufficient care to enable
one to make even a passable representation. But
a very little practice in sketching from the actual
object, especially if those of allied form be classi-
fied, will soon develop the power to seize on the
characteristics of the object it is desired to repre-
sent.
A start should be made with leaf-forms, the ivy,
the virginia creeper, and the horse chestnut being
grouped, as all falling in the general outline of a pen-
tagon with ribs radiating to the corners from above
the middle of one side. In this case first lightly
indicate the pentagon.
Next put in the ribs of the stalk, and mark the
eyelets between the leaflets or the deep serrations
between the lobes. A firmly drawn outline will
then obviate the necessity of rubbing out the con-
struction lines. The tiny serrations at the edges of
some leaves should be only slightly indicated here
and there, as a repetition of all that would appear
in the natural leaf will give a hard and mechanical
effect, besides necessitating too long a time in the
execution.
The shape of flowers is most generally a circle
with radiating petals, though we get a square form
in the wallflower and the clematis, and pentago-
nal in a number of cases.
The relative thickness of the stalk must be noted,
as the character of the stalk—delicate and twisted
as in the poppy, or lush and firm-growing as in the
Christmas rose—will affect the apparent texture of
the petals, in the one case making them appear to
be light and silky, and in the other firm and fleshy,
though the general outline may in both cases be
the same. In order to facilitate the memorising of
natural forms a note-book should be kept, and
details dotted down as opportunity arises, classifi-
cation of similar forms, and notifications of varia-
tions from type, being a great help to memory
drawing.
It may be noted in regard to natural forms that
in no case is a Strict regularity observed, the two
sides of a leaf, or the two leaves of a plant, never
being identically alike. Where this variation is
overlooked we get a conventional form which
always lacks some of the interest of nature, though
it is frequently preferable as an illustration of a
type.
o 50
There are a number of works dealing with this
branch of the subject, combining the nature lessons
with blackboard illustrations, and these are useful
to the student as showing how much may be left
out without destroying the value of the sketch.
The third section of this subject deals with the
representation of artificial forms based on the
geometric models—the cylinder, cone, pyramid and
prism. In depicting these forms a knowledge of
the principles of model drawing is necessary. Thus,
before we can correctly portray a bottle, a cup and
saucer, or a vase form, it is necessary to have mas-
tered the principles that in a cylinder the long
diameter of the ellipse will be at right angles to the
axis, and the more remote end will be represented
as smaller but rounder than the nearer end.
The most effective way to study this branch of
the subject, which will be applicable to all me-
chanical, architectural, and in fact all artificial
forms, is first to study carefully the geometric
models, and then to sketch out objects based on
them. Thus the cube should be set up and
sketched in various positions, the convergence of
the receding lines and the relative foreshortening
being noted, and then boxes, chairs, and other
cubical objects may be first drawn from the objects,
and afterwards from memory. Objects of simple
form, with their outline not obliterated by orna-
mental detail, should be chosen, and in making the
blackboard sketch the object should be to express
the model with the fewest possible number of lines.
The triangular prism will give us the basis for a
hen-coop, a tent, or a pair of steps, and so on
through all the geometric forms. This section is
more difficult than the preceding because a struc-
tural accuracy is necessary, or the representation
looks weak even to the untrained eye.
Another point in connection with this part of the
subject is that, if correct memory sketches of com-
mon objects are to be made, it is necessary to note
the material and function of the object depicted
Let us take, for example, the teapot. The spout
of a silver teapot will be much thinner than that of
one made of delft. The bore or pouring capacity
of both being the same, the comparative thinness
of the metal, as compared with the thickness of the
crockery, will give the difference in the outside
appearance of the two objects. Again, the spout
of a teapot, coffee- pot, or watering-can, made of tin,
will of necessity be straight because of the difh-
culty of bending tin in more than one direction at
once. The spout of each of these objects must
also come up to the level of the top of the vessel,
or it would be obviously impossible to fill the vessel
with water. Such considerations as these will go
to the representation of the object in such a man-
ner that it appears to be in proportion and fitted to
fulfil its functions.
From these remarks it will be seen that, in order
to depict even simple objects successfully from
memory, not only is it necessary to have obtained
a facility in the use of the chalk, which everyone
has who can write on the blackboard, but a quick-
ness of observation, a retentive memory, and above
all, an appreciation of construction and function
_ The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
must be cultivated and constantly practised.
Among books dealing with this branch of the sub-
ject are ‘‘ Model and Blackboard Drawing,” by F.
F. Lydon, and ‘“ How to Draw from Models,” by
W. E. Sparkes.
Artistic ability has throughout been ignored
because, although there will always be some who
can draw better than others, just as some can
write better than others, still it is possible for
everyone by practice and care to acquire the
small amount of facility necessary to make a suc-
cessful sketch in illustration of our lessons. Such
a power, thus obtained, adds a new interest to the
lesson, and a new bond of sympathy betwee
teacher and pupil.
SCHOOL FURNITURE AND
EQUIPMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
FOR GIRLS.
By CAROLINE TURNER.
Joint-Principal of S. Catherine’s School for Girls, Hove,
Brighton ; formerly Headmistress of Exeter High School.
L
N the three articles of which the present is the
first, it is proposed to deal with School
Furniture of secondary schools for girls of the
present day, and to write chiefly of furniture of
which I have had personal experience.
I assume that the class room is properly lighted,
warmed, and ventilated. The walls should be tinted
or papered with some pale colour, without pattern
ofany kind. The shade should be restful and such
as will give a satisfactory background for the few
good pictures which should be in every class-room.
I have found a shade of grey-green one of the
most decorative and serviceable. A dado of
polished wood is a distinct advantage, unless the
desks can be kept quite away from the walls, which
is not always possible. The floors of the class
rooms should be of close-grained, light, polished,
but not too highly polished, wood; or, where a
school is established, as is so often the case, in a
dwelling house adapted to school purposes, covered
with linoleum. The old-fashioned plan of scrubbed
boards is not satisfactory. This kind of flooring
involves considerable outlay for cleaning, as the
rooms should be washed at least once a week, and,
from a sanitary point of view, the risk of damp
floors is considerable. Polished floors are not
often kept in good order in England, but are ideal
when well laid and well kept. Linoleum is more
easily kept in order, and all dust can be quickly
removed with a damp flannel. The initial outlay
for this floor covering for a large building is heavy,
but this is soon saved by reduced cleaning
expenses.
Desks AND Seats are of the first importance.
The great increase of written work in preparation
for examinations, which unfortunately seem so
yy ae
Si
ne g
FEBRUARY, 1903.]
much on the increase in England, demands from
the teacher the exercise of the utmost care and
watchfulness about the seating arrangements in
the class rooms. Curvature of the spine and
defective eyesight are frequently the results of
inattention to these points. Very often, the
teachers who are the most conscientious and most
anxious about the intellectual progress of their
pupils are careless to a degree about the position
assumed by the pupils when listening, reading,
drawing, sewing, and—most important of all under
the present system of education in England—
writing.
Fig. 2.
I have found a Portable Examination Desk?
(Fig. 1.) most satisfactory. This desk is light,
and allows perfect freedom to the limbs of
growing children, without any of the cramping
sensation so often produced by the desks
made with fixed seats. These desks can be
stained to any shade, and look well in any
1 Made for me by the Educational Supply Association.
No. 50, VoL. 5.]
The School World
57
room. There is no mechanism to get out of order,
and yet they are perfectly firm when open for use.
Those made for us have been stained a dark
bronze-green, and we find them most satisfactory.
They can be obtained in any size. My experience
is that folding desks of this kind are much more
convenient, comfortable,
and hygienic, either for
school buildings or for
houses adapted to school
purposes, than desks with
seats attached.
With these portable desks,
Cuairs are of course needed.
In choosing chairs special
attention should be paid to
the height of the desk and
pupil, to the depth of the
seat, and to the slope of the
back. The chairs shown
in Fig. 2! are very com-
fortable. In ordering others
I should, however, ask for
seats with square corners, as
giving more depth, though
perhaps square corners are
` not so attractive in appear-
ance.
Whatever the floor covering, and whatever
desks are used, all pupils should be supplied with
FOOTRESTS. Those shown (Fig. 3.) were made
by a local carpenter.
They are inexpensive,
and can easily be
stacked in the corner
of even a small class-
room if it seems desir-
able to clear the room.
There are two great
advantages in the portable school-furniture just
described.
(a) A room can easily .be cleared in a few
minutes, and there are many occasions when it is
desirable to have a clear floor-space.
(b) The cleaning can be more thoroughly done
than is possible in a room fitted with heavy desks.
Anyone who has watched the ordinary cleaner
at work, or who has gone round a school building
after the cleaning is supposed to be finished, will
appreciate the thorough cleanliness that is made
possible by the use of light and portable furniture.
Assuming that the cleaner is a conscientious
worker, the saving of time and consequently of
expense is not to be despised. In most secondary
schools for girls the daily cleaning has to be done
before 9 a.m. and after 4.30 p.m. The heaviest
part of the weekly cleaning is usually done on
Saturday, when most of these schools have a
holiday. In. large buildings the difference in the
two methods of furnishing (portable furniture or
desks with fixed seats) would probably mean during
the winter months a saving of at least five hours’
Hitthiiee aU
oH al
Fig. 3.
1 These chairs belong to a set made by Messrs, Liberty & Co.,
Regent
Street, London.
F
58
The School | World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
gas per week. I do not think the practical diffi-
culties in connection with the cleaning of school |
buildings are sufficiently considered in the equip-
ment of schools, and yet these questions should be
one of the first considerations in choosing school
furniture, as the health and consequently the
working capacity of teachers and pupils depend
so largely on the arrangements made for thorough
and systematic daily and weekly cleaning.
The use of folding desks necessitates some
arrangement for the storage of the exercise books
and text books of the pupils. The Lockers shown
in Fig. 4. meet this difh-
culty, and are more con-
venient than ordinary cup-
boards.
These can be made’ in
any number of divisions,
and in any size. They
should be stained to match
the desks and chairs, and
fitted with brass flush-
catches. These lockers are
not unsightly, and, by
having them made in small
groups of three or six, they
occupy very little space.
An objection that has been
urged against the use of
lockers is that the pupils
are constantly moving
about to get what is needed
for the different lessons.
This may, I admit, lead to confusion and disorder
with a weak disciplinarian, but those who cannot
maintain order under these conditions in a class of
average size have, in my opinion, missed their
vocation in becoming teachers. With a mistress
who has her class well in hand, the movement from
desk to locker is distinctly good, and provides in
a natural way the frequent change of position
which is so necessary. for growing girls.
In a valuable little book, ‘‘ A Manual of School
Hygiene” (Cambridge University Press), by
G. W. Hope, M.D., and Edgar Browne, F.R.C.S.,
the use of portable furniture is strongly advocated :
Fig. 4.
All school furniture should be as light and portable as possible, |
so that it can be moved in order to allow the floors beneath to
be thoroughly and frequently scrubbed, and when practicable to
be moved completely out of the room.
As I have said, I see objections to the scrubbing
if it can be avoided, though it is probably a
necessity in elementary schools, but from personal
experience I can heartily endorse all that is said
in favour of portable school-furniture.
Its chief disadvantage is that, at present, the
average school-desk with locker and fixed seat.
The cost of locker, desk, chair, and foot-rest, as
described, works out to about two guineas per
pupil. With a cheaper chair than that shown, this
1 Those shown in the illustration were made by the Educational Supply
Association.
cost could be slightly lessened. The cost of the
ordinary school-desk, with locker, foot-rest, and
chair attached, varies from 20s. to 23s. per pupil.
From the hygienic point of view, the advantage is,
I think, all on the side of the portable furniture,
and aroom fitted with it has not the crowded and
heavy appearance so often noticed in the ordinary
class-room.
Assuming, however, that the cost of this furniture
is at present prohibitive for the average school,
what remains? There are many varieties of single
desks with chair seats, with foot-rests and lockers;
some have sliding desks, and seats that tilt auto-
matically. These cost, in pitch pine, 23s. or 22s.
each. Most of these require a floor space of from
27 to 31 inches, and they are not easily moved for
cleaning or for clearing a room. The hard,
straight seats of many of these are often very
uncomfortable. An attempt is, however, some-
times made to replace these by cane seats, but
these are expensive because they have to be con-
stantly renewed.
Enough attention is not paid to the comfort of
seating arrangements in secondary schools for
girls. In many cases, the fault lies with the form
mistress rather than with the school authorities.
I have often been told by elder girls, after they left
school, how tired they got of sitting during a long
morning in desks with fixed seats, and perhaps with
only one short interval in which free movement was
permitted. Things are better now, and much is
done to break up long hours by drilling and games,
but much still remains to be done in this direc-
tion. Every wise teacher recognises the signs of
physical fatigue in her class, and takes advantage
of the opportunity afforded by the needful illus-
trations of lessons in the snape of maps, pictures,
the use of the blackboard, by the children whenever
possible, to give the whole or part of her class an
entire change of position, but there are still many
teachers who treat restlessness as naughtiness and
inattention, instead of regarding it, as it so often
is, as a sign of physical discomfort.
The old private school of thirty years ago, with
its many disadvantages, allowed much more free-
dom of movement im the class rooms. Less written
work was required; a system of tables and chairs
necessitated constant change of position in order to
fetch books, &c., from lockers and cupboards.
Many lessons, such as those in geography, were
given with the pupils standing round a map, and I
am inclined to think that there were then fewer
round shoulders and less tendency to curvature of
the spine than now. Of course, defective school-
furniture is not the only cause of these evils.
Much might be said of the long hours in school,
and especially of home preparation, and of the
cost is considerably more than the cost of the | amount of written work required nowadays from
_ growing boys and girls.
But if these conditions
are to remain as part of the educational system of
the country, it is imperative that the equipment of
the class rooms should be such as to enable the
pupils to work with the least possible amount of
discomfort. .
For those who require a much cheaper desk than
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
The School World 59
the two described, there is the Charterhouse Dual
Desk (Fig. 5)'. A group of these desks to seat ten
children works out at a cost of ros. 6d. per pupil.
These desks do not take up much room, and are |
useful, especially in a large assembly hall, since they
can be placed round the sides of the hall when a
clear space is required. The support for the back
in these desks is specially comfortable, and where į
there were only a few in use, I always found there
was competition for these seats in preference to the
other desks used in the building. Their disad-
vantages are that they have. no foot-rest, and that
there is a kind of wooden pocket for books, which
is not convenient, and being difficult to clean,
serves too often as a dust trap. In ordering these
desks teachers should have them without this
receptacle ; this change, however, by necessitating
lockers or cupboards for books, would add to the
above estimate of cost. The iron standards used
as supports make these desks somewhat heavy to
move. Similar desks are made by many firms with
lighter standards, but the backs do not appear to
be so comfortable.
I would suggest that all school furniture should
be dark in colour and highly polished; because
(2) dust shows plainly on such furniture, and dust
is a deadly enemy to healthy school life; (b) the
appearance of the class room is greatly improved,
and surroundings play a more important part in
education than is generally admitted.
Ruskin’s teaching should be carried out in every
school :
All the lecturings and teachings, and prizes and principles of
art, in the world are of no use so long as you don’t surround
your men with happy influences and beautiful things. . ees
Keep them uncomfortable and in the midst of unbeautiful
things, and whatever they do will still be spurious, vulgar, and
valueless,
_ I would have no draperies, tawdry or beautiful,
in schoolrooms, but I would have restful and pretty
furniture, healthy growing plants, good colouring,
a few good pictures, and plenty of light and fresh
alr. (To be continued.)
1 Made by the Educational Supply Association.
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A HAA AWE
THE INCORPORATED ASSOCIATION
OF HEADMASTERS.
F there be any truth in the definition of genius
as the ‘transcendent capacity for taking
trouble,’’ Dr. R. P. Scott, the headmaster of
Parmiter’s School, Victoria Park, may certainly
claim possession of that divine gift. Due not only
to his conception, but also to his strenuous effort,
is the quite remarkable genesis and growth of the
Incorporated Association of Headmasters. There
is not one of those who were connected with him
in its first beginning who would not cordially assent
to this proposition.
In the summer of 1890, a conversation across a
tennis net between Dr. Scott and his neighbour,
Mr. Hinton, of Hoxton, led to a meeting of
headmasters, chiefly metropolitan, at the Holborn
Restaurant. Their motive was to establish an
Association of Headmasters “for the purpose of
taking combined action, or of making corporate
recommendation, in professional or public matters
affecting secondary education.” Dr. R. B. Poole,
of Bedford Modern School, presided over the
meeting, and over the committee of nine then
appointed to form a constitution and draw up
rules for the new society. The basis on which
it was formed was democratic. Its membership
was ‘‘open as a matter of right, and not of
courtesy, to headmasters of all secondary schools
whose governing bodies are of a public character
and undertake the financial responsibility of the
school.” In this particular is found the essential
difference between the Association and its olig-
archic elder brother, the Headmasters’ Conference,
which had attained its majority in the same year.
Then came a period of quiet persistency which
secured within twelve months 158 members for the
new body. Now the first forty members have
grown to 480, who represent every section of the
profession. The isolation of schools and school-
masters was gradually removed, for it is of interest
to note how few of the original members were
~ a
= =e
60
The School World
— ilM
personally acquainted with one another, and men
yielded themselves gladly to the idea of coöpera-
tion for the attainment of professional ideals. But
there were serious hindrances to be overcome. The
Conference Committee was unfriendly for a while,
or if it may claim to have held out the right hand
of fellowship, it smote the young débutante with the
left by its resolution that no headmaster, save such
as had joined the Association at its beginning,
should be eligible for membership in both bodies.
This aloofness, which arose out of a misconception
of the aims of the Association, continued for five
years, and then the offending resolution was re-
scinded: and not only did a considerable number of
members of the Conference join the Association,
but the committee of the former admitted into its
THe Rev. T. C. Fry, D.D.
Headmaster of Berkhamsted School; President of the Incorporated
Association of Headmasters.
fold several who had been prominent workers in
the latter: and it is interesting to notice to-day
that of the Committee of Conference more than half
have played a prominent part in the management
of the Association, while a similar and even more
striking proportion of the Council of the Associa-
tion are members of the Conference. We believe
this was due in part to the wisdom of the late Mr.
Vardy, of Birmingham, and the Master of Marl-
borough: but not less because of a growing con-
viction of the business methods adopted by Dr.
Scott and his colleagues, with confidence therein.
There was yet another obstacle, the outcome of
ignorance rather than of prejudice. The “man in
the street” looked askance at the. work of the
Association, because the word ‘‘secondary”’ was
misunderstood. It was taken by many to mean
little more than second-rate.
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
But the clouds rolled by, and when Dr. Poole,
who had occupied the chair for four years, and
had been succeeded, for two years’ service, by Dr.
Wormell, of the Central Foundation Schools in the
City of London and a member of the Royal Com-
mission on Secondary Education, the Association
had established for itself a foremost position in the
educational world. Then followed the year’s presi-
dency of Canon Fowler, of Lincoln; and in 1897
Mr. Vardy, of King Edward’s School, Birmingham,
and a prominent and popular member of the Con-
ference, took the chair for three years. About the
same time Dr. Scott sought relief in his secretarial
duties by the appointment of Mr. Swallow, of
Chigwell, as Joint Honorary Secretary, and of
Mr. Bendall, sometime Headmaster of Black-
heath Proprietary School, as Assistant Secretary ;
and before the close of Mr. Vardy’s chairmanship,
Mr. Hinton, of the Haberdashers’ School, had
given up the treasurership, which he had held
from the beginning, to Mr. Easterbrook, of Owens
School, Islington. In 1900, Dr. Gow, of Notting-
ham High School, who was subsequently elected
Headmaster of Westminster, succeeded; giving
place this year to Dr. Fry, of Berkhamstead.
The Council, which originally consisted of four-
teen, and then of eighteen members, elected by
the whole society, is now a larger body, and
consists of eighteen representatives of the pro-
vincial divisions (three of these being metro-
politan), with the treasurer, two secretaries, and
four members, co-opted by the twenty-one. The
Chairman, the above-named officers, and the
chairmen of three standing committees for par-
liamentary, examination, and general purposes,
form an executive, to deal with matters arising
in the interval between council meetings, and to
prepare agenda for the latter. By a rigidly enforced
rule, that after three years’ service on the Council a
member is ineligible for one year, the danger of an
oligarchy is avoided ; and to this end the method
of electoral divisions also tends. Another striking
mark of the rules of the Association is that mem-
bers who give up their headmasterships are not
expelled; but within certain limits may become
associates and take part in its government.
From the first the Association has met annually
in London, during the month of January—lately,
by the courtesy of the Court of Common Council, at
the Guildhall ; and at these meetings it has from
time to time accepted hospitality for luncheon or
dinner, from two Lord Mayors, and from the
Clothworkers’, Haberdashers’, Grocers’, Drapers’,
Goldsmiths’, and Fishmongers’ Companies ; being
in this way brought into touch with the leading
politicians in the educational world. For ten
years it had midsummer meetings at Bedford,
King’s College, Trinity, and St. John’s, Cam-
bridge; Magdalen and Christ Church, Oxford;
Brighton, Leicester, Birmingham, and Man-
chester; but these were found to interfere with
schoolwork at a particularly busy time of year, a
they have been superseded by the activities 0
divisional committees, through which some of the
most important work of the Association is done.
FEBRUARY, 1903.]
A sermon is a characteristic of the general meeting,
and it has been preached on different occasions by
Archbishop Temple, Bishops Browne and Creigh-
ton, by the present Bishops of Rochester, Hereford,
and Manchester, the Dean of Christchurch, the
Masters of Trinity and St. John’s, Canon Henson,
Mr. Laffan, some time Principal of Cheltenham
College, and Mr. Bernard Wilson, Vicar of Portsea.
It would be impossible to summarise the work
which the Association has done during the thirteen
years of its existence. There has been hardly a
question affecting the internal administration of
schools with which it has not dealt from time to
time. But it has been more remarkable for the
influence which it has exercised on external
administration. It has organised a Joint Scholar-
ships’ Board for examination of boys who desire to
pass into secondary schools from elementary, and
of such as are able to mount higher still on the
educational ladder; a Joint Committee on the
Training of Teachers, which, after several years’
laborious investigation, brought about a successful
Conference on Training held at Cambridge in
the autumn of 1902; an Advisory Committee
cenjointly with the Head Mistresses’ Association ;
a scheme for pensions, and an annual list of
“Public Secondary Schools.” In 1897 it met the
representatives of higher-grade schools in con-
ference, under the chairmanship of Sir G. W.
Kekewich, with Mr. Michael Sadler, and Mr. R. L.
Morant, of the Education Office, as assessors, and
arrived at a concordat as to the mutual relations
of such schools towards secondary education ;
and in the same year it promoted a Bill for the
organisation of secondary education, which was
introduced into the House of Commons by
Colonel Lockwood, with whose patient and un-
selfish help the Association has pressed its views
upon successive Administrations, and by means of
question and answer in the House elucidated
doubtful points of legislation. The tenure of
assistant-masters, assured in one particular by the
“Grantham case,” much-needed reforms in the
Naval system, and in Military education, the organi-
sation of the Education Office, and examinations of
almost every sort, have been strengthened by the
action of the Association: while the public have
been taught “what Secondary Education is” by
a series of short Essays, by writers of practical
experience on various aspects of the problem, by
occasional papers, as well as by the exhaustive
annual reports of the Council. For a short while
t Was associated with other bodies in the publica-
tion of a weekly journal called Education ; but this
Proved a financial failure, and it is now publishing
a quarterly Review of a less pretentious character,
under the editorship of one of the secretaries and
the control of a committee of the Council. Repre-
sentatives of the Association have played a
recognised and prominent part on such bodies as
Sir Richard Jebb’s Committee, which was
summoned by the College of Preceptors in 1897 to
Promote legislation, on the Consultative Committee
of the Board of Education, and the Registration
Council, as well as on several county education
The School World 61
authorities, and on every conference held to
encourage educational efficiency in any form.
Several county councils have already shown a dis-
position to elect upon their new education com-
mittees its nominees; and the Board of Education
has officially indicated the desirability of this.
Yet the unique and most effective energies of the
Association have been directed towards keeping in
touch with, and exercising influence upon, other
educational agencies. The personal attachment
of its officers to the officials of the old Charity
Commission, and the new Board of Education, as
well as to the Examiners of the Universities, in-
duced by a common devotion to the same cause,
have accomplished this; and it is everywhere
regarded as the advisor of the ignorant, and the
guide of the helpless in the field of Education.
NAVAL EDUCATION.
By Rev. J. C. P. Atpous, M.A.
Late Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge; Chief Instructor,
H.M.S. Britannia, 1875-1898.
HE headmasters had held their Conference
T and left, all unsuspecting, to celebrate the
feast of Peace and Good Will, when the
First Lord of the Admiralty handed them a Christ-
mas card of a startling character. Rumours of a
readjustment of the system of Naval Training
were in the air; but that he should say to them,
“Hands off!” and remove practically the whole
Wardroom from their sphere of influence, they
could never have anticipated.
Viscount Goschen, when First Lord, had thrown
himself upon the headmasters and begged them to
make the public school an avenue for entering the
executive branch of the Navy. He increased the
age of entry, which increase many interpreted as
an instalment of an advance to that of Sandhurst.
The public schools have taken such a strong hold
of Sandhurst and Woolwich, and have so well
made gcod their claim to provide officers for our
Army, that time alore appeared necessary for
them to become the nursery of the Navy.
Eton, Clifton, Radley and many others, had
thrown themselves heartily into the scheme; with
great self-sacrifice had established naval classes,
at the cost of dislocating work and staff; had
attained results in spite of obstacles; these were
not few—parents reluctant to trust the unknown
and risk a failure to pass their boys—preparatory
schoolmasters loth to part with their boys and
stretching their fourteen-years’ limit to pass them
direct—the ‘‘crammers”’ who seemed to have
acquired a stronger grip of the preparation with
the advance of age. Time was, indeed, necessary
to make the public schools the main avenue of
approach to the executive branch of the Navy.
To this chapter of history the recent memo-
randum adds Finis—a few kind words of appre-
ciation and of regret that they were no longer
possible, and it bows the public schools out of
the room. They may think themselves well rid of
a troublesome and expensive burden; still they
62
The
cannot help feeling that, had the result justified
the inconvenience, the country would have been
the gainer, and their patriotism makes them regret
its removal.
So far, perhaps, the headmasters had only
thought with chagrin of the failure of their efforts
to supply an ungrateful Admiralty with naval
cadets, but on further reflection they saw that the
memorandum deals them a harder blow. The
young Marine Officers and Naval Engineers who
have passed direct into the Service from public
schools add no inconsiderable lustre to the honour
lists, and the names of those who have fallen in
their country’s cause live in the memory of their
schools. These officers, too, are now removed
from public-school influence, and here, without a
word of sympathy, the First Lord ends a chapter
of school history. The changes are rightly de-
scribed as ‘far-reaching and in some respects
sweeping.”
The amour propre of public schools is hard hit by
the statement now plainly made that the State can
train its young naval officers between the ages of
thirteen and seventeen better than the general
schools of the country. From the broad aspect of
secondary education in the country, and the part
which public schools are taking in it, this claim
demands serious examination.
The old representatives of public schools in the
Navy are few and far between; the youngsters
who had been a year or perhaps only a term at
Eton, and then went straight on board a line-of-
battle ship, with an entry examination which con-
sisted in writing out the Lord's Prayer. These
were some of the young cubs “ who washed their
faces in salt water ” and grew into the lions of the
Navy, those grand seamen who hand down the
traditions of early entry. No wonder the First
Lord speaks with appreciation of its success.
But this is not the case for early entry. The
entry age of thirteen extends practically to the
middle of the Lieuts.’ List, with a rise of a year,
roughly speaking, in the Lieuts.’ and Sub-lieuts.’
List, and another still in the Mids.’ List. The
great fact stands out, among the many things
that the Admiralty have learned by experience,
that those who joined the Sritannia at fourteen or
fifteen were, so far as the Service is concerned,
then about in the same position as the early
entries, with the consequent loss to the young
officers of so many years of naval training.
To estimate the true bearing of the changes
made it 1s necessary to appreciate the principle,
now stated for the first time, that the Executives,
the Engineers, and the Marine Officers must all
be ranked alike as the combatant officers of the
ship. The beautifully worded historical introduc-
tion will serve to make shore-going people accept
this postulate. But it will take a long time to
make the Wardroom appreciate it. The Ward-
room Mess consists of these officers, together with
the medical and accountant officers, who have, of
course, separate duties, as separate and clearly
defined as that of the chaplain, if borne.
History and practice alike have led to the Execu-
School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
tive Officers being viewed as the combatant officers
of the ship; the Engineers as an intrusion—a late
introduction—and there is a tendency for the Marine
Officers to be looked on as the fifth wheel of the
coach. The position of affairs unquestionably does
not make for efficiency, and, in so delicate a piece
of machinery as the Wardroom of a fighting ship,
any failure in adjusting the bearings leads to fric-
tion. No outsider can have spent any time ina
Wardroom Mess without feeling that things are a
bit awry. It is a master hand which will touch
the weak point of an organism and operate with
skill to cut off the malignant growth. Lord
Seiborne’s memorandum shows a boldness which,
if it had not been framed after a close consultation
with naval men of all opinions, would savour of
temerity.
The first and absolute requirement for an Execu-
tive Officer is that he should be a seaman—one to
whom water is a congenial element on which he
can rely, and will never fear. It is the water-
manship of the old naval officer which gives
him his character. Picked up as a youngster
and sent straight to sea, he joined the cronies of
the old chief boatswain’s mate, and learned his
ways and his language, to be used with discretion,
to cling to a yard in a gale of wind, and keep his
head screwed on as they took down the last reef.
He knew the look of the sky, was not ashamed
to shorten sail on a fair and pleasant afternoon,
and had all snug before the snow squall was
upon him. All these things, you will say, were
the qualities of the past. Not at all! the same
is the result of all sea training; the only way to
learn to be a seaman is to keep the sea; and a
close acquaintance with its moods in early youth,
whether it be in sailing cutter, destroyer or sub-
marine, brings power and self-reliance.
It is hardly necessary to labour this point, that
the Executive must be a sailor; but it is a fresh
and breezy novelty to state the same of the Marine
and Engineer officer. It never seems to have
struck anyone in authority before that these, too,
should be seamen first and specialists afterwards,
yet this is clearly the case. These officers must
be sailors, and in the end of their course they
will be sailors, but it is obviously to everyone's
advantage that they should be so first rather than
last. ‘Technical training they must and ought to
have, and this “ will be very carefully determined,”
but they must be brought up to the sea.
And, what is more to the point, it will make the
Engineer himself more efficient. After reaching
the rank of sub-lheutenant, between the ages of
nineteen and twenty, he will go to Keyham and to
engineering shops knowing what he wants and
what he does not want. No public-school boy
going into an engineering establishment knows
what he is looking for; but the sub-lieutenant will
have received the preliminary instruction in marine
engineering, and will be in a position to profit by
everything met with in his special course. A youth
spent in contact with that ‘ huge box of engines,”
a modern man-of-war, will leave an appreciation of
what has to be learned, to make it go.
FEBRUARY, 1903. ]
The School World 63
If, however, it be much to the advantage of the
Executive and Engineer officers to ‘‘ wash their
faces in salt water ” at an early age, the gain is
greater in the case of the officer in the Royal
Marines. It is now at last appreciated that the
combatant naval officer, besides being a seaman,
must have a sound fundamental knowledge of
physics or natural philosophy, not in a lecture-
room form, but as applied to the details of ordinary
practice met with every day at sea. Each and
all must be familiar with the details and principles
of machinery, its construction and adjustment,
besides the ordinary problems of navigation.
The memorandum prescribes for the Marine
Officer also this naval training; it will fit him to
take his part in the general work of the ship; at
no time of his career will he be a landlubber,
he is to be a seaman first and a soldier afterwards.
The knowledge he has acquired of marine en-
gineering, gunnery and general organisation will
stand him in good stead in his special training at
the headquarters of divisions or the depot, enabling
him to seize on those points which will fit him
for his future career. The public-school boy join-
ing the Marine depôt at present begins by im-
bibing military notions, military tastes, and he
takes them to sea to his loss and to the detriment
of his usefulness.
Our public schools have had a great interest
in this branch of the Service in the past, and it
is with great regret that they part company with
these officers in the future. Still no public school
can train.them as seamen; and seamen they must
be. It must, in fine, be conceded that, if this sort
of education can be classed as ‘‘ secondary,” the
State alone possesses the machinery for carrying
out such education effectually: hence the scho-
lastic amour propre must reconcile itself to yield
gracefully.
The general preparatory schools of the country
have, however, an unequalled opportunity now of
taking the leading part in the provision of the
material. They have the boys, and it must not
be forgotten that when the system is fully at work
something like two thousand candidates will be
required annually. Having the boys, it is now their
wisdom at once to accept the new Admiralty
syllabus of examination as the staple commodity of
instruction.
For example, English taught on the précis method
has an educational value which is practically
neglected in preparatory schools: this might be
adopted with great advantage to the education of
English gentlemen and men of the world. Con-
versational French, the history and geography of
the Empire, should form part of the ordinary
curriculum: the gain to the community would be
great if our boys all learned these thoroughly. It
is by seeing that its ordinary teaching meets the
Admiralty ‘requirements that parents will be in-
duced to trust the ordinary school and refuse the
offers of the crammer. Also the public schools
can help towards this wholesome reform of pre-
paratory-school teaching, if they will include these
points in their scholarship tests. The trouble in-
volved in testing French reading and conversation
is no valid excuse for allowing the preparatory
departments to neglect the real teaching of French.
The scheme is launched: fifteen years hence, if-
all be well with it, its course and true bearing may
be effectively considered: certainly not before that
time.
There are no doubt rocks ahead: they can be
seen, little is gained by indicating them. When
the Admiralty instructions are “ full speed ahead,”
the foul anchor at the fore is always taken to ensure
safe pilotage.
THE NEW LEAVING CERTIFICATE
OF THE LONDON UNIVERSITY.
By J. Lewis PATON, M.A.
Headmaster of University College School.
HE old London Matriculation served a double
purpose: it was to the University a terminus
a quo, to the Schools a terminus ad quem. It
is possible that as a preliminary or entrance ex-
amination from the University’s point of view it
proved satisfactory. It has certainly not proved
satisfactory from the point of view of the Schools.
True, it provided a definite objective for the second-
rate order of intelligences, but to a boy of real
power in any special direction the time which he
spent in matriculation classes was as a rule a
period of marking time, if not of actual deteriora-
tion. The sense of scholarship, a somewhat timid
and delicate bloom, was nipped by its atmosphere.
Its boasted English never bred in anyone a love of
literature or fostered literary power. The General
Science paper should have been one of its best
features: it insisted on a certain modicum of
science as an essential part of liberal education.
It was a good idea marred in the execution. The
papers were ill-assorted and the syllabus took no
account of that form of science, recently dubbed
“« Nature-study,” which is the healthiest form
science study can take for junior boys. The ex-
amination as a whole, awarding its honours on an
aggregate of marks, obtained with a comparatively
low examinational standard, was fatal to excellence.
And yet, though designed as a terminus a quo, the
examination was more in demand as a terminus ad
quem. A comparison of the number of candidates
proceeding to degrees with the number entering
for matriculation proves that the London Matricu-
lation for many years past has been more an
examination for the Schools than for the Uni-
versity. The figures for 1901 are: candidates for
degrees, total g11; candidates for matriculation,
total 4,198. It is as a ha’porth of bread to an
intolerable deal of sack.
The new University has recognised this state of
things, and its new “ Regulations for the Inspection
of Schools and School-leaving Certificate Examina-
tion ” are well adapted to meet the new situation.
Instead of bringing candidates together by the
thousand into great examination centres, the exami-
04
nation is to be held in the schools themselves and to
be adapted, without lowering the standard, to the
school curriculum, while it still serves the purpose
of admitting the successful candidate as a matricu-
lated student of the University. The elasticity—as
some of us would be inclined to say, the excessive
elasticity—of the new Matriculation regulations
makes this adaptation an easy matter.
Let it be said at the outset that it isa good thing
in every way that this Leaving examination should
be in the hands of the University rather than the
Board of Education. It brings the school into
direct touch with the University, it frees the Uni-
versity from what is properly school teaching, and
it avoids the awkwardness which arises, for in-
stance, in Scotland, where the Leaving Certificates
awarded by the Education Department are only
partially accepted by the Universities in lieu of
their own preliminary examinations.
It may be well to note some of the special
features of the new scheme, as compared with
the Matriculation which it is intended to super-
sede in schools. In the first place, any school
desiring to present pupils for the School-leaving
Certificate will be required to submit a general
statement of the complete course of instruction
given in the school, as well as the curriculum of
study pursued by the candidates presented. The
Leaving Certificate, therefore, will mean in future
not merely that the candidate has been successful
in one isolated examination, but that he has reached
a certain stage in an approved course of educa-
tional training fitted to develop soundly the intel-
ligence of its pupils and prepare them for the work
of life. lt will ensure that proper attention has
been paid to those elements of curriculum that do
not admit of being fully tested by written papers.
For instance, the reading of classes preparing for
matriculation in French or German (the latter being
a sadly diminished number) has hitherto been
almost of necessity disconnected. To take some
one masterpiece and read it through would not
have given candidates a fair chance on the Unseen
paper. The ‘‘selection’’ book was inevitably the
book adopted for the matriculation class. Under
the new regulations its vogue should be a thing of
the past. It is also to be hoped that there will be
due insistence in language classes on the training
of the ear.
Secondly, the standard of the papers will be that
fixed by Matriculation, but provision is made for
(1) any additional papers of the same standard that
may be found necessary in relation to the school
curriculum ; (2) for an oral examination, and (3) for
special advanced papers, as required by any par-
ticular school or group of schools. These ad-
vanced papers will be most welcome to all schools
which have refused to recognise the London Ma-
triculation as the be-all and the end-all of school
education. It is not quite clear what relations
these papers will bear to the Intermediate ex-
aminations of the University. This point needs to
be defined.
Thirdly, a pupil will be able to take up more
than five subjects, and yet, if he succeeds in five,
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903
he will secure his matriculation. One is pleased to
note that the Board has not adopted the pernicious
Scottish system of taking the certificate piecemeal,
though a candidate who has already obtained his
School-leaving Certificate may stay on at school,
take the advanced papers in a subsequent exami
nation, and, if he obtains his distinction, have the
fact duly recorded in an appendix to his certificate.
Provision is made for schools which fail to reach
matriculation standard by what iscalled the ‘‘ school
record.” ‘ Any pupil who has not entered for all
of the subjects required, or has not passed the
examination in all of them, shall be entitled to
have his attainments set on a document to be
called a school record, which will state the sub-
jects in which the pupil has reached the approved
standard.” This is apparently not to be regarded
as a solatium to the unsuccessful, but as a regular
part of the system. A lower fee of £1 is charged
to pupils examined for the school record only.
And yet no papers are to be set below matricula-
tion standard. It is difficult to see how the school
record is to be what it professes to be, if the papers
are beyond the candidate’s reach. It will“ record”
his success in those subjects where he attains ma-
triculation standard, but of the bulk of his work
it can give no ‘‘record’’ whatsoever. I confess
I do not see how such an arrangement can be
satisfactory to the schools which it contemplates,
the schools, namely, whose pupils leave at the
age of fifteen. If provision is to be made for such
second-grade schools, it will have to be made
ultimately by a separate Lower Leaving-Certif-
cate with papers testing the education as a whole,
only on the lower plane required.
Another novel and experimental feature which
will probably provoke much ridicule, but which
seems to me to be of real value, is the proposal
contained in the eleventh section : ‘“ Any pupil who
distinguishes himself in (a) any form of manual,
artistic or technical skill, or (b) any form of
general or special capacity not tested by the
examination, may, if desired by the authorities of
the school, have a note to this effect added to his
Certificate or Record.” It is refreshing to find
that the Board recognises the educational value of
the hobby. The phrasing is delightfully vague,
probably it is intended to beso. The Certificate
will state that Tommy is an excellent carpenter,
can enlarge photographs successfully, or carve a
panel, that he has made an excellent model of a
twopenny-tube engine, has rifled over a hundred
birds’ nests, or collected some fifty species of
butterflies. Even games are not excluded.
The “special capacity” of the pupil in question
may be skill on the piano, at chess, spirit-
rapping, turning cartwheels, hitting sixes, or
dropping goals. Let the Board provide an ample
area of parchment: the ‘general and special
capacity” of the schoolboy is not infrequently in
inverse proportion to his scholastic attainment.
The age limit remains the same, viz., sixteen,
and this is good. It acts as a check to early
leaving. It removes also the temptations to
overpressure.
The
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
Such are some of the main features of the new
Regulations, which will, I have no doubt, be
welcomed by all those schools who hitherto have
suffered from the London Matriculation. They
leave plenty of freedom, I had almost said too
much, for they admit of a Leaving Certificate
without any other language than English. They
give the teacher a say in the examination, and yet
avoid the special danger of the Abiturienten Prüfung,
where the personal bias of a teacher may ruin
unjustly the whole future career of a pupil. And
they will be carried out, I do not doubt, with the
same first-rate administrative efficiency which has
always characterised the London Matriculation.
Personally, I welcome the new examination,
because I believe that it will eliminate the necessity
of other external examinations, thereby simplifying
the business of organisation and giving us what
Thring always stood for— liberty to teach.” Of
two points Dr. Roberts must assure himself for
the complete success of his new venture. In the
first place, he must adjust the date of this exami-
nation to the convenience of the schools. The
last week of July is clearly better than the
second week of June. Secondly, he must get the
School Leaving Certificate accepted not only by
all professions in lieu of their own preliminary
examinations, but also by the august Greek-
bound Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
PROF. H. L. WITHERS.
HE death of Prof. Withers, of Owens College,
in December last, in his 39th year, has left
a gap in the educational world which it will
not be easy to fill. That such is the conviction of
a wide circle of friends has been made abundantly
clear by the tributes paid to him since his death.
It is not sought to add to the number of those
tributes here, but rather, with the help of some of
his recorded utterances, to define the impression
which a life devoted to the advancement of
education in England and a personality of singular
ee and charm left upon one who knew him
well.
_ His contributions to educational literature are
interesting, but too slight and fragmentary to give
any adequate idea of his intellectual qualities or to
Justify the hopes which his friends were led to form
of the great career that might be in store for him.
They were confined to a small volume of English
ballads for schools which he edited for Messrs.
Rivington ; a school edition of the “ Merchant of
Venice,” in tbe Warwick Shakespeare; a paper on
“The Teaching of Ancient History” in Mr. P. A.
Barnett’s volume on “‘ Teaching and Organisation ;”’
a paper on the relations of the primary to the
secondary school in Dr. Scott’s “What is
Secondary Education?” ; and an article in the
Contemporary Review for June, 1goo, entitled “ New
Authorities on English Education.”
_The last-named essay is most valuable for the
light it throws on the convictions at which the
Writer had arrived after an educational experience
School World
65
more varied probably than any Englishman of the
same age had enjoyed. After taking his degree at
Oxford he had taught for a time in an Oxford
board-school; he had been an assistant-master
at the City of London School, at Manchester
Grammar School, and at Clifton College; he had
been Principal of the Isleworth Training College
for Elementary Teachers for six years; and then,
as Professor of Education at Owens College, he
was responsible not only for the training of teachers
for both primary and secondary schools, but also
for the inspection of such secondary schools as
voluntarily offered themselves for his criticism.
And the conviction which is deepest in his mind—
a remarkably open and observant mind—after all
this wide experience, is evidently the need of science
in English education.
Not, first and chiefly, the need of natural science.
In no spirit of antagonism to one important branch
of study he protested against such a limitation of
the use of the word. Science meant to him ‘the
whole body of systematic knowledge whether in
the humanities or in nature-studies.’’ All depart-
ments of knowledge and indeed of human life call
for the scientific habit of mind; and a man may
almost be said to be educated in proportion to the
degree in which he has acquired it. ‘One can
tell in five minutes whether a man has this habit of
mind or not by the way in which he will address
himself to a new book or a strange fact.” He had
an intense admiration for the type of character,
“ strong, serious and quiet,” as he expressed it in a
letter from Clifton, produced in the best boys by
English public-school life, but he held that the
public schools had ‘not succeeded in communi-
cating to the general body of their pupils a trained
intellectual habit, an idea of scientific method, a
power of severe and concentrated thinking, a many-
sided capability.” Nor would he have considered
that any other of our secondary schools, still less
that our technical schools, had succeeded where
our public schools had failed. ust because
scientific method varies he regarded it as essential
that a man of science should have ‘an all-round
liberal training ” before he devotes himself to his
specialist study. ‘‘ Otherwise he is likely to be
unscientific in every province but his own.”
Of the means by which he thought it would be
possible to secure the reform in English education
that seemed to him so urgent, only the merest hint
can be given here. He desired, first, “an ade-
quately manned and equipped Central Department
of Secondary Education,” and, secondly, the syste-
matic study of Education at the Universities by
men with sufficient leisure and opportunity to get
at the facts and reflect upon them. ‘‘ The country
has no one to collect the information and do the
thinking in matters of Education, as it has had in
matters of Law or Medicine.” His last official
act was to get the Victoria University to recognise
“ Education ” as one of the subjects in its degree-
examinations. From the first he attached immense
importance to the teaching of history in primary
schools as well as secondary. ‘ Without it,” he
says, in his ‘“ Ancient History” paper, ‘a mo-
66
mentous aspect of human life is blank to the
imagination, and dark to the reason.” He had,
personally, the same sort of vivid historical
imagination as Dr. Arnold: he could have told of
himself the story he prefers to tell of Dr. Arnold—
that historical sieges and battles entered into his
dreams. This essay contains some valuable hints,
and at least one characteristic saying: ‘‘ No time
iS more grievously and fruitlessly lost in teaching
than that which is bestowed upon elaborately
explaining to a boy at twelve what, without
explanation, will be to him at sixteen as plain as
way to parish church.” A favourite counsel in
his lectures on teaching was, ‘‘ Begin at the boy's
end.”
There is a melancholy pleasure in thus gathering
up some of the crumbs of wisdom, now that we
can no longer enjoy the feast as of old. But when
one tries to justify to oneself one’s strong con-
viction of his greatness and value to English
education, one feels more and more that both the
greatness and the value lay in his deep and strong
personality—in the life that was fed by inner
springs hidden from the eyes of the world.
A REGISTER OF TEACHERS?
HE appearance of this work is an indication
of the great strides which secondary school-
masters are making towards professional
recognition ; and the ignorant layman who on all
occasions, public and private, girds at our school-
masters as culpably effete may find plenty of food
for reflection if he peruses the particulars given in
this volume of the various bodies—organisations
within an organisation—all of which are living
Witnesses to the interest with which pedagogues
follow the various branches of their strenuous
calling. Indeed, the work itself will, we feel con-
vinced, contribute in no small degree towards that
federation and furtherance of the common interests
of secondary teachers which is so much to be
desired for the welfare of our national education.
To judge the first appearance of what promises
to be an annual book of reference requires a
certain amount of leniency. Before passing on,
however, to make one or two criticisms and sug-
gestions, we should like to congratulate the
editor of the work and its publisher on the hand-
some volume they have produced. It is at once
the ‘*Who’s Who,” the ‘‘Crockford,” and the
‘‘ Year-book ” of Pedagogy.
Turning to detail, we should in the first place
suggest a division into two and not three parts.
There seems no valid reason why Part III.,
“« Articles and Reviews,” should not follow Part I.,
dealing with ‘Societies, Universities, Training,
Events of the Year, &c., &c.” The articles and
reviews in Part III. are practically a criticism of
the educational work of the year, and might well
follow Part I. as a necessary corollary. The re-
l The Schoolmaster's Year-b00k and Directory for 1903. About
co pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 5s. net.
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
maining portion of the volume would then contain
a directory of individual teachers and schools.
The matter contained in Part I. is excellent; in
no other volume is it possible to obtain such
valuable information on so many important aspects
of organisation and higher education. We have
noticed only-one error of importance. On page
135, University College, Sheffield, is described as
belonging to Victoria University. Shefheld, we
know, had aspirations for promotion, but hitherto
they have not been gratified. We believe, further,
that the Principal of the Coilege is Dr. Hicks, not
« Hincks.”
In Part III. there is some good reading-matter,
but we detect one article at least which has been
entrusted to a gentleman who—to our certain
knowledge—has absolutely no first-hand grasp
of the subject upon which he discourses: we
forbear to mention his name. Again, Mr. Bridge’s
article on “ Tenure,” though good in the main,
contains a very stupid statement: ‘‘He (the
headmaster) can dismiss an old and tried master
with as little fear of criticism or inquiry as if he
were a boot-boy.” Such a sentence is a wanton
travesty of facts, and is calculated to perpetuate
a feeling of mistrust between headmasters and
assistants which we would fain see removed.
Part II. is necessarily at present incomplete,
and there are a good many omissions. If pro-
fessors are to be included, we could furnish a list
of half-a-dozen who have done far more work, from
the schoolmaster’s point of view, than some of
those who now receive their quarter-column.
Again, where are the names of the headmaster of
Highgate; of Mr. Kitchener, formerly of New-
castle; of Mr. Kennedy, formerly of Aldenham ;
of Mr. Marchant, formerly of St. Paul's, &c. ?
These are omissions which no doubt will be
rectified next year. We would also suggest a
more extensive use of abbreviations: e.g., G.A.
= Member Geographical Association; A.S.M. =
Member Association of Science Masters; M.L.aA.
= Member Modern Language Association; T.G.
= Member Teachers’ Guild. In a few years’ time
space will become a serious consideration, and it
would be well to make use of simple expedients
such as those we have indicated.
PEDAGOGICS AT RECENT
CONFERENCES.
So many Conferences are held each year during the Christmas
vacation that it is impossible, with the space at our disposal, to
attempt to report each of them in detail. Bearing in mind that
our chief object is to be of practical assistance to teachers in their
teaching, it is proposed only to refer briefly to the papers and
discussions concerning methods of teaching and kindred subjects
which have been given attention at the numerous meetings of
schoolmasters and schoolmistresses during the past month.
The Headmasters, neither at the Conference at Tonbridge nor
at the meeting of the Incorporated Association in London, gave
much attention to methodology. They were more particularly
concerned with administrative matters, the training of teachers,
the new scheme of naval education, and military education in
rarer
awt,
FEBRUARY, 1903. ]
The School World
67
general. The discussion at Tonbridge on compulsory Greek,
however, calls for a remark. After a lengthy debate and con-
siderable voting, the Headmasters resolved that the Vice-
chancellors of Oxford and Cambridge should be requested to
take representatives of the Conference and the Incorporated
Association of Headmasters into consultation as to the com-
pulsory subjects for entrance into the Universities. A general
approval was given by the Conference to the recent report of the
Mathematical Association on the teaching of mathematics.
At their meeting the Headmasters’ Association resolved that
in their opinion the establishment of Leaving Certificates by the
Universities is desirable and practicable, and that the Con-
sultative Committee should promote the inter-recognition of such
certificates by Universities and their acceptance by professional
bodies, and for obligatory subjects in Civil Service examinations.
The Association also agreed that the teaching of science in the
secondary school should aim not so much at imparting useful
knowledge as at developing an accurate and receptive mind.
At the meeting of the Modern Language Association, a refer-
ence to which is made in another part of this issue (p. 70), Miss
Brebner read a paper on the Training of the Modern-language
Teacher, and Mr. F. B. Kirkman dealt with the Use and Abuse
of Translation in Modern-language Teaching. A resolution was
adopted, that in the opinion of the Association, wherever in
a university entrance-examination two foreign languages are
required, a modern language should be allowed as one of
them.
The Winter Meeting for Teachers conducted by the College of
Preceptors extended over five days, and the programme in-
cluded lectures on the principles and practice of education
and on the methods of teaching various school subjects. Dr.
Findlay gave two lectures on the Teacher in his Class-room, and
Mr. Adamson one on the Criticism Lesson. Miss Burstall and
Mr. Malden dealt with the teaching of history in lower and
higher forms respectively. Prof. A. Lodge lectured on the
Teaching of Algebra and Euclid, and Mr. Langley on the
Teaching of Arithmetic. Prof. Rippmann discoursed on the
Teaching of Modern Languages, Dr. Moody on Physics, Mr
Lyde on Geography, and Mr. Hedger Wallace on Nature-
studies. On the whole, the meetings were well attended, and
proved of real assistance to teachers who have not had the
advantage of a course of training. —
But the teachers of science throughout the country seem to
have been most energetic. Three successful couferences have
been held. The largest was that held at Manchester for teachers
in the North of England, which was attended by more than
three thousand persons. The other two meetings were held in
London, one at the Chelsea Polytechnic, the other for science
masters in public schools, at the University of London. In
Manchester enthusiastic discussions followed each of the papers,
which were numerous and dealt with a great variety of subjects.
Papers were read by Miss Burstall on the Curriculum in different
Types of Schools; Mr. Hoyle on the Value of Natural History
Collections for Teaching Purposes; Dr. Kimmins on the Co-
- ordination and Delimitation of Science Teaching in various
grades of schcols; Canon Rawnsley on the National Import of
Co-education; Mr. French on the Teaching of Experimental
Physics in its earliest stages; Mr. R. L. Taylor on the Teaching
of Experimental Chemistry in its earliest stages ; Mr. Lomas on
the Fitting-up of School Laboratories; Mr. Wager on the
Methods of Nature-study; and Mr. W. C. Fletcher on the
Teaching of Geometry. In addition to the papers .and
discussions, a variety of exhibitions were arranged in different
ooms of the palatial School of Technology which was opened
in Manchester last year.
At the Chelsea Conference the whole of the first day was
devoted to the Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, more
especially that of geometry. The debates on this occasion
showed clearly that the recommendations of the British Asso-
ciation and the Mathematical Association have been received by
practical teachers with the greatest satisfaction, and that they have
already had inspiring influences upon mathematical teaching.
In the morning, addresses were given by Mr. Usherwood on
the Experimental Method in Geometry, and by Mr. Frank Castle
on the Teaching of Workshop Mathematics; in the afternoon,
Messrs. Andrews, Eggar, and Siddons took up the Teaching of
Geometry, and Mr. Eggar’s address in particular was greatly
appreciated. The Teaching of Botany was the subject of the
third session, when Miss Lilian Clarke and Mr.'H. B. Lacey read
papers. At the concluding meeting, Mr. Newth gave a splendid
series of experimental demonstrations in exemplification of his
subject, which was the Experimental Illustration in the Teaching
of Chemistry. Mr. Busbridge explained inexpensive methods of
making lantern slides, and clearly showed how scientific lectures
can be illustrated at a minimum of expenditure.
The Public-school Science Masters, at their meeting, under the
presidency of Sir Arthur Riicker, discussed three papers, viz.,
Mr. Talbot (Harrow), on the Tyranny of Greek for the Ordinary
Boy; Mr. Sherwood (Westminster), on How to make Practical
Work of any use to a big low form; and Dr. Baker (Birming-
ham), on the New Syllabus in the Matriculation of the University
of London.
The meeting of the Incorporated Association of Assistant-
masters was chiefly concerned with matters of administration,
but papers on subjects of use to the practical teacher in his work
were also read. Mr. Morshead, of Winchester College, ex-
plained some Parallelisms between the Greek Drama and
Shakespeare; Mr. P. J. Hartog described the System in
French Schools, and Dr. Wimberley, of Abingdon School, took
up the question of Preparatory Departments in Secondary
Schools.
THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF
CLASSICS.
WE are most of us workers in the teaching of Latin and of
Greek; we are all of us, I take it, believers in the supreme
value to the intellectual life of the nation of the preservation of
classical study, as a means of the highest mental discipline, for
all such as have the natural aptitude, and can afford the time
needed, to turn those studies to account. But we recognise the
fact that those studies, with their severe demands, are not, and
by their very nature cannot be made, available for all; we
recognise that, with the advance of knowledge in all depart-
ments, there are other subjects which must form part of any
general scheme of higher education, however high; and that
there are other directions in which, if only right methods be
employed, and right aims held in view, a liberal education of a
really high kind can be secured.
We do not appeal to classical men alone. We look for co-
operation to all who desire to see a high standard of education
maintained and sound methods of education followed, whether
in ancient or modern languages, in English, history, or litera-
ture; in mathematics, or in science. The danger of the moment
is that, under a sudden and ill-considered demand for various
new subjects, and a mistaken idea that it is possible to gather
the practical fruits of education without giving those fruits time
to mature, the true educational idea should be lost. We appeal
1 Extracted from the inaugural address delivered by Prof. G. G. Ramsay,
M.A., LL.D., Litt.D., at the first annual meeting o the Scotush Classical
Association, November 29th, 1902.
68
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
to our especial allies, the teachers of English, whose subject is
bound up with our own; to those who would have French and
German taught as thoroughly and thoughtfully as we desire to
teach the classics ; to all who regard it as the highest function
of education to develop the man, and to turn him out into the
world with an instructed, and yet an open mind.
Furthermore, although the teaching of classics—as of mathe-
matics—has this immense advantage, that its methods have
been developed and systematised by the experience of many
generations, it is also true that this subject, like all other sub-
jects, has made great strides in recent years, and that the old
methods of teaching it require to be reconsidered in view of
modern conditions. It is not merely that new subjects have
been introduced, for which a place must be found ; but also that
the demand for higher education of some sort, and of the best
sort available, is being made on behalf of a much wider and
larger class than formerly. It is no longer a select class, con-
sisting of those destined for professions and the higher walks of
life, whose needs demand attention: the nation has at last been
roused to the necessity, which many of us have been preaching
all our lives as a matter of national concern, of training to the
utmost the brain-power of the community, and of bringing
within the reach of every capable mind, in every class, the
benefits of a liberal education.
But there are questions which we have to ask ourselves as
educators. Is classical study essential for everyone who would
equip himself with a liberal education for the ordinary purposes
of life? No scholar would venture nowadays to answer that
question in the affirmative. That being so, for whom must it
be retained? and what is the precise point in the study short of
which it is not worth while to make our youth enter upon it at
all? We cannot but fee!—we hear it on every side-—that there
is a waste in beginning a dithcult study which is never to be
carried to any real end; and we cannot doubt that many a
mind has been sacrificed to the fetish of a classical education by
pursuing it after it has become evident that no real fruit was to
come of it. In the interesting debate that recently took place
in Oxford upon the question of compulsory Greek for pass
degrees at Oxford, two foremost authorities on classical educa-
tion, Mr. P. E. Matheson, of New College, and Professor
Pelham, President of Trinity College, agreed in the opinion
that, in view of the growth of other studies, and of their
proportion to each other, no great university, and no sane
man, would maintain that there could not be a liberal education
which did not include Greek.
In Scotland, we have been beforehand on this particular
question. Greek is now made an alternative subject with
Latin ; yet the study of Greek is not dead, and can be trusted
not to die. There has been a falling off in the number of
learners of Greek who would never have prosecuted the study
to any advantage ; but the number of those prosecuting it to
real purpose, with a view to an [{onours standard, has increased ;
the standard for Honours work, both in Greek and Latin, is
steadily rising ; and the figures in the universities fcr the present
session are hopeful in that respect for the future.
I do not, therefore, share in any gloomy vaticinations as to
the prospects of classical education in this country, if only its
advocates make up their minds to accept the following posi-
tions :—
(1) First, that however firmly they are convinced that the
highest kind of literary and mental training is to be obtained
through the classics, there are multitudes capable of a higher
training to whom the long and severe methods of classical study
are not appropriate, or can only be attempted at the loss of a
genuine mental discipline in subjects more within their reach.
(2) Secondly, that the highest literary and classical education
appeals only to one side— though that be the most universal and
indispensable side—of human culture; while science has opened
up to us not only a new world of future practical possibilities,
but also a new mental discipline, requiring powers of observa-
tion and methods of reasoning which are in the highest degree
stimulating to a certain order of minds, and on which a true
mental training can be based, fulfilling the great end we should
aim at in all liberal culture.
(3) Thirdly, that the teachers of the classics themselves
should be ready to revise their methods in view of the altered
condition of the times ; do more to bring out the great ideas
which are the educating and inspiring force of ancient life and
literature ; dwell less exclusively on the dry and dreary techni-
calities of the subject, and more on its larger human spirit ; care
less to enable scholars to answer examination questions than to
touch their imagination, and lead them gradually on to appre-
ciate the literary beauty, the logical power, the direct, simple
language of the great classical writers; above all, as the most
useful of all the lessons which the classics have to teach, so to
handle them as to lead their scholars to use their own tongue
with the purity and directness which they see exemplified in
every great classical work which is put before them. Con-
ducted in this fashion, the utility of classical teaching would
never be called in question by the most utilitarian of reformers :
it is thus that out of the so-called dead languages may be pro-
duced the most living of all forces to prepare the young mind to
grapple with the varied human problems which may be put
before it in future life.
(4) And fourthly, while frecly admitting the high educational
value which may be obtained from the study of modern sub-
jects — whether science or modern languages—it must be insisted
that the method of any study is of greater value for educational
purposes than the matter of it. The essential aim of education
is to develop and train the natural powers of the mind ; to make
it quick, observing, apprehensive, accurate, logical; able to
understand argument; able to search out facts for itself, and
draw from them the proper conclusions; to reason, and to
understand reasoning : in one word, to think.
It is for these ends that the classics have proved so potent an
intellectual instrument. It is not merely that their study gives
a knowledge of so much language, literature, and history : it is
that the processes by which that knowledge has to be acquired
are in the highest degree intellectual, formative, inspiring ; it is
that the methods of classical study are severe, long, and
thorough; that it demands patient work and scientific exact-
ness, and stimulates inventiveness and self-confidence by putting
difficulties before the learner, together with the means of over-
coming them for himself. It supplies also a sure test of honest
work, since nothing can be slurred over, or taken for granted,
or repeated parrot-like at second-hand without detection ; false
knowledge cannot pass muster for true knowledge ; it is dis-
covered almost as infallibly as a spurious method in mathe-
matics.
This is what has given to the classics their supreme educa-
tional value; and now that the field of education is being
enlarged, it is the business of educationists to insist that, what-
ever subjects be included in the curriculum of the future, they
shall be studied with the same thoroughness and completeness,
with the same rigid regard for accuracy, the same suggestive
vitality, the same continuity, which have been the strength of
the older subjects.
Keeping these points in view as indispensable for all real
discipline of the mind, we have to apply them to two of the
principal demands which are being pressed upon us at the
present moment.
In the first place, the demand continually being made for the
inclusion of additional subjects into the already over-crowded
curriculum of our schools must steadily be resisted. Not on the
FEBRUARY, 1903. ]
ground that the subjects to be added are necessarily inferior or
unsuitable for educational purposes, but that no time at all
should be allotted to any subject unless it can be taught with
thoroughness. Time and continuity of instruction are essential
to all real progress; and if new subjects are to be introduced, it
must be in substitution for others that are to be laid aside.
Nothing is so fatal to mental development as patched and
scamped instruction in a number of subjects not one of which is
to be carried to its legitimate conclusion. It is for this reason
that the Scotch Education Department has wisely withdrawn
what used to be known under the Code as Specific Subjects;
and has urgently called npon school managers, with a view to
the needs of their own districts, to make choice between
different courses of study, rather than try vainly to comprehend
them all.
And the second enemy which has to be faced is the demand
for an immediate and premature utility in the subjects to be
studied. The business of all education, of the highest or lowest
sort, is to prepare for the work of life: but nothing is more
contrary to all educational experience than the idea that the best
mode of preparing the young mind for its future work is to direct
it, at a too early age, before a basis of really sound knowledge
has been laid, towards the special studies which are to occupy it
in after life. The very converse is more near to the truth: the
more special the occupation of the man, the more large and
liberal should be the studies on which the boy is trained. For
wherein does true utility consist? Is it in introducing the boy
prematurely to the tricks of trade, to the application of know-
ledge to special walks of life, to the narrow grooves in which
necessity too often compels the professional or business man to
move: or is it in laying a solid foundation of sound general
knowledge, and in giving to the mind such a command of
principles as may enable it to apply the powers with grasp
and freedom to whatever problems the future calling or profession
may present to it?
The demand for mere utility, apart from solid mental training,
is one which should be resisted at all hazards. It is most
commonly heard in connection with the cry for Commercial
Education raised by many who have never studied the processes
by which young minds are developed. If commercial education
means an exact training in modern languages similar to that
given in classics, and not merely such a courier knowledge of
French or German as a child learns from its nurse; if it means
thorough arithmetic and elementary mathematics ; good English,
study of English authors, and intelligent physical geography, it
is excellent: but these should be given to all scholars in all
schools. But if it means that a scholar intended for commerce
is to learn these subjects by some short-cut, snipetty method,
learning just so much, and no more, as it is thought will be
needed in actual commerce—then the mind so trained will be of
little use either in commerce or in any other calling.
Take geography. What subject can be more interesting to
the young mind, more educative, if treated in a large and simple
scientific way, with reference to the great determining features
of our planet and its conditions? But what is commercial
geography? I found an admirable specimen of it not long ago.
I was shown an elaborate series of maps, the latest thing out for
leaching commercial geography. From one of these maps, a
class was being instructed in all the railway lines, main and
branch, which intersect the fens of Lincolnshire; while from
another, a class was to learn that cakes are made at Banbury,
rock at Forfar, bicycles at Coventry, pins and bobbins at places
otherwise unknown to fame. Could anything be more dull and
senseless? It would be more useful, and quite as educative, to
use Bradshaw’s Railway Guide as a text-book; or to instruct
children, by way of geography, where to find the sweetie-shops
in their own locality.
The School World
Methods equally poor and uneducative may be found used in
languages, when they are taught with the sole object of passing
examinations. I have examined a class in the fourth year of
French, preparing for the Higher Grade Leaving Certificate,
which had never read any complete part of any French author.
During all that time the class had never used but one text-book—
a collection of scraps from various authors.
No; such methods, such aims, are not those of true utility.
The only true utility in education is to turn out minds well
trained, well furnished, well balanced; minds that have been
made to understand what sound knowledge is, and what are the
only methods, in any class of subject, by which it can be
acquired.
And now to go back to another of our contested points ; up to
what point must the classical languages be studied with a view
to bring out their usefulness for the scholar’s future life? All
acknowledge their immense intellectual value if pursued far
enough to enable the student to read readily the ancient texts, to
appreciate the qualities of their style, and to gain a first-hand
knowledge of the literature, the history, the philosophy of the
ancient world. But many point to the fact that only a few can
go so far as this; and are apt to think that for those who stop
short of that point, and carry away from school no abiding
knowledge of the two languages, their time has been largely
wasted, and should have been spent on other subjects.
I do not share that opinion. I believe that a sound knowledge
of Latin grammar, the capacity to translate, with dictionary, an
easy passage of Latin or Greek, and still more, the power to
translate, with fair accuracy, simple sentences into Latin, implies
an amount of logical training, of mastery over language in
general, and over our own language in particular, which will
serve the scholar throughout his life. And if he can go further
than this: if he can turn a piece of idiomatic literary English
into a piece of idiomatically correct Latin prose, he can be sent
into any calling with the certainty that, if he have the will and
energy, he will be able to do well in it.
Varied evidence from other countries and our own seems to
me to lead to the conclusion that, in ordering its system of
higher education, the nation should aim at equipping and main-
taining two main types of school, and two only, each appropriate
to a particular class of mind and a special range of occupations.
In the one type, the backbone of the teaching and the training
should be on the linguistic, literary and classical side; in the
other, on the scientific side; modern languages being taught in
both.
The course in the science school should be mainly scientific
and mathematical; the principal hours of the day being reserved
for those subjects. The indispensable literary subjects would
hold a subordinate place, teing taught subject to the fundamental
condition that the minds of the pupils were to receive their
formative training through science and scientific methods.
Similarly, the training in the classical schools should essentially
be a training through language, history, and literature; such an
amount of elementary science and mathematics being added as
are indispensable for any man of education.
All secondary schools should be encouraged to differentiate
into one or other of these two types; the attempt to include
both sets of subjects in one school will fail to secure the results
of either. It results in shallow work, and will turn out minds
that have been truly instructed in nothing.
If it were once recognised that there were these two main
types of education, with two types of school to match, offering
different courses, but each equally thorough and systematic,
much of the confusion and inefficiency of our secondary education
would disappear. Each type is of equal importance to the nation
at large; and each ought equally tg be supported out of national
and local funds,
7O
NATURE NOTES FOR FEBRUARY.
By the Rev. CANON STEWARD, M.A.(Oxon.)
Principal of Salisbury Training College.
Animal Life.—The close season for pheasants and partridges
begins on the Ist.
Many birds commence pairing, and therefore begin to exercise
their vocal powers. Note difference in song of Missel Thrush,
Blackbird, and Song Thrush. As the month advances Blue Tit,
Yellow Hammer, and Golden Crested Wren may be heard.
The Woodlark commences song, and Woodpigeon coos. Stock
Doves reappear in flocks, Ring Ousels pass through, Rooks may
be seen making their nests, Partridges pair, and Ravens, who
mate for life, build in inaccessible parts of trees.
Snails, Houseflies, Toads, Frogs, and Vipers reappear. Moles
begin to work and Efts are seen in ponds.
During this month may be found Pale Brindled Beauty M.,
Winter M., Chestnut M., Dotted Border M., Dark Beauty M.,
and Hebrew Character M.
There are eight kinds of butterflies whose routine of existence
includes living through the winter: The Red Admiral, Tortoise-
shell, large and small, Peacock, Brimstone, Camberwell Beauty,
Painted Lady, and the Comma. Observe how their colouring
adapts itself to their different hiding-places.
Plant Life.—Look for the Barren Strawberry (Potentilla),
Wych Elm in flower, Spurge Laurel, Small Celandine, Box,
Daffodil, Anemone, Moschatel, Dog’s Mercury, Dogwood,
Violet, Butter Bur (Petasites), Cardamine hirsuta, Coltsfoot,
Scilla verna, Lesser Periwinkle, Hairy Violet, and Butcher’s
Broom.
Folk-lore.—
February fill dyke, be it black or be it white,
But if it be white it’s the better to like.
All the months of the year curse a fair Februeer.
A February Spring is not worth a pin.
If February brings no rain,
*Tis neither good for grass nor grain.
If Candlemas Day (Fed. 2) be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight ;
But if Candlemas Day be clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.
The Barometer.—Kain now with a west wind and rising
barometer turns to snow, snow with an east wind and a rising
barometer turns to rain.
When the wind veers against the sun,
Trust it not, for back ‘twill run.
The backing of wind against the sun indicates rain, or wind, or
both.
4 First Book of Forestry. By Filibert Roth. x.+ 291 pp.
(Ginn.) 35.6a.—This is another of the handy, non-technical, and
well-illustrated books which we have learnt to expect from
Messrs. Ginn. Mr. Roth is an authority upon his subject, and
his little volume should do much to popularise a science which
is not only of great economic importance, but also one which
incidentally lends itself to the soundest methods of Nature-Study.
The natural history of forest trees is dealt with in an interesting
manner, and afterwards applied to the principles underlying the
practice of forestry. The trees described are American, but the
subject matter of the book may easily be adapted by intelligent
teachers to the conditions of our own country.
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
Sır WILLIAM ABNEY, K.C.B., F.R.S., Adviser to the
Board of Education, has been elected president of the Edu-
cational Science Section of the British Association for the
meeting to be held at Southport next September.
Sır MICHAEL FOSTER, Member for the University of
London, has decided not to resign his seat in the House of
Commons.
AT the Headmasters’ Conference there was an amusing episode
in the debate on Canon Lyttelton’s motion in favour of a system
of student-teacherships in secondary schools. When such
doctors as Dr. Gow and Mr. Lyttelton disagree on such a
point, it is obvious that the working-out of some of the details
of the training of teachers demands more consideration. The
Master of Haileybury drew his picture of a student-teacher, and
imagined him an eligible young man with a degree whom he had
asked to come to his school. Here the tyro was provided with
light teaching work, pedagogically supervised by a master of
method at a university through the post, but looked in upon by
the headmaster to see that the discipline and general teaching
were sound. Dr. Gow’s student-teacher would be constructed
on very different lines. Having seen his promising young man,
Dr. Gow would induce him, by payment, to come to his school,
and spend time over his training and discuss matters with him in
the headmaster’s study. ‘‘ For,” said Dr. Gow, ‘fat my years
and after my experience of teaching, I claim to be a master of
method myself, and intend to be treated as such.” This little
contention goes to the root of the matter. Some think the
Board of Education is making an excessive demand when it asks
graduates to spend a whole year in preliminary professional
training, whether as student-teachers, or attendants at a training
college, or both in turn.
AT the recent annual general meeting or the Modern
Language Association Prof. Napier was unable through illaess
to deliver his presidential address ; but two papers were read
in the morning on the Training of Modern-language Teachers, by
Miss M. Brebner and Dr. W. J. Clark, which were followed by
an interesting discussion in which Dr. Breul, Prof. Herford,
Mr. Cloudesley Brereton and Prof. Fiedler took part. In the
afternoon Mr. F. B. Kirkman dealt with the Use and Abuse of
Translation in Modern-language Teaching, and advised that
translation should be used in all, except the most elementary,
stages of modern-language teaching. A resolution, that in the
opinion of this Association, wherever, in a university examina-
tion, two foreign languages are required, a modern language
should be allowed as one of them, was carried unanimously.
The Secretary, Mr. W. M. Poole, in his report, gave a valuable
epitome of the work of the Association during the previous year.
The Treasurer, Mr. de V. Payen-Payne, commented on the
first appearance in the balance sheet of the ominous item,
‘* outstanding accounts,” due to the great expense involved in
the production of the Modern Language Cuarterly, The Presi-
dent for 1903 is Sir Arthur Riicker, Principal of the University
of London.
THE eleventh annual general meeting of the Association of
Principals and Lecturers in Training Colleges was held at West-
minster at the end of December, when the Rev. E. Hammonds,
of Bishop Otter College, Chichester, was elected president for
the next year. Sir Henry Oakeley read a paper on ‘‘ Education
and the new Education Act.” A resolution was adopted that, in
the opinion of the conference, some recognised system or systems
of physical drill be set forth by the Board of Education, suitable
ot
ad
FEBRUARY, 1903. ]
for men and women teachers respectively, and that certified pro-
ficiency in this subject be a qualification for teaching drill in
schools.
THE annual meeting of the Private Schools’ Association was
held at University College, London, on January roth, under the
presidency of Sir George Bartley, M.P. The report of the
council of the Association read on that occasion showed that the
membership had increased from 700 to 800 during the past
year. After a discussion it was resolved that, in view of the
claims of private schools to a definite place in any scheme of
national education, the Association recommends all principals to
have their schools inspected in accordance with the Board of
Education Act, 1899. Sir George Bartley, in the course of his
inaugural address as president of the Association, said that the
keynote the country had sounded by the new Education Act was
that the schools must be efficient or they must go, and the public
would not regard a school as efficient if there was not an outside
and independent inspection. That was the spirit of the age, and
he did not quarrel with it. Efficiency would be looked for in
every direction—in teaching, curriculum, appliances, buildings,
and the adaptability of the conditions to the requirements of the
district. The Association should take care to secure efficiency in
every way, and so far as possible due representation on the
educational bodies that would be formed.
A LARGE audience assembled at the College of Preceptors, on
January gth, to hear Sir John Cockburn, formerly Prime
Minister of South Australia, deliver an address on ‘* The
Australian Commonwealth.” The occasion was the annual
meeting of the Geographical Association, under the presidency
of Mr. D. W. Freshfield. The greater part of Sir John
Cockburn’s address was devoted to an interesting description of
the life and customs of the Australian aboriginals—a race that
will soon have disappeared in presence of the bacteria of
civilisation. The limitations of time prevented the speaker's
dealing at all fully with his subject, but members of the
Geographical Association and others will look forward with
interest to the appearance of the next number of Zhe
Geographical Teacher, wherein Sir John has promised to give
more information about this ‘‘ oldest country and newest
nation.” At the conclusion of the address, Mr. A. W. Andrews
gave a lantern exhibition, dealing with Ordnance Survey Maps
and their lessons, taking as his chief illustration a small district
west of St. Ives. We are pleased to note that the Geographical
Association is in a prosperous condition, both numerically and
financially.
THE Board of Education has issued new regulations respecting
the science and drawing grants to training colleges; they are
intended to meet the difficulties of a transitional period and will
be in force for the current session only. Considerable changes
will probably be made next year with a view to place the organi-
sation for the training of elementary-school teachers and the
Exchequer contributions thereto upon a sound educational and
financial basis. Particulars of the provisional regulations are
contained in Circular 467, copies of which can be obtained from
the Board of Education.
THE Datchelor Training College for Teachers in Secondary
Schools has arranged courses of professional training for spe-
cialist teachers of needlework and class-singing. The courses in
needlework will include: (1) practical instruction in plain
needlework and cutting-out ; (2) lectures on class management
and discipline; and (3) practice in the teaching and control of
needlework classes. A candidate must, as a condition of
entrance to this course of training, give evidence of good general
education ; bring a testimonial from the head of the school at
The School World 71
which she has been educated as to her general capacity and
character, and her fitness for work in a secondary school ; and
give evidence that she is already a good needlewoman. The
course for students desiring to become teachers of class-singing
will include: practical instruction in singing ; lectures (as above)
on class management and discipline ; and practice in the instruc-
tion and control of singing classes. The conditions of entrance
to this course are similar to those for the needlework course, but
a candidate must be also able to prove that she has a sound
knowledge of music and natural capacity for singing.
THE London School Board, following the recommendations of
its school management committee, have modified their scheme of
entrance examination for higher-grade schools.
WITH reference to the recent correspondence in the daily
press with respect to the inefficiency of public-school teaching,
it is interesting to notice the unique success of Clifton College
in the last Sandhurst examination, when the first three places
on the list were taken by Clifton boys, while A. E. J. Collins
(of cricket fame) was fourth in the Woolwich list. This success
is the more remarkable in view of the fact that last summer the
first place in the Sandhurst list was also taken by a Clifton boy,
A. T. Wilson, son of the late headmaster. This is the fourth
time within five years that Clifton has secured the first place in
the Sandhurst examination.
REGISTRATION in the Teachers’ Register is, as many of our
readers already know, effected by the Teachers’ Registration
Council, and all communications on the subject should be
addressed to the Registrar, Teachers’ Registration Council,
49 and 50, Parliament Street, London, S.W. Information as
to Recognition of Schools by the Board of Education for the
purposes of the Teachers’ Registration Regulations is contained
in Circular No. 893, recently issued by the Board of Education.
A MEMORANDUM originally prepared for the purposes of the
Conference held at the Colonial Office in July last, to give such
information regarding the University of Oxford as would be of
service to Colonial and Indian students desiring admission to the
University, has now been published by the direction of the
Vice-Chancellor. )
THOsE of our readers who wish to form an idea of the imme-
diate results of the new Education Act will do well to study Dr.
Macnamara’s article in the Fortnivhtly Review for January on
‘ The New Education Act at Work.” This able essay sum-
marises what are likely to be some of the effects of the Act, and
written, as it is, by one who has a thorough knowledge of
English education, its conclusions deserve very careful attention.
AN interesting account of Alexandra College, Dublin, and
its Principal, Miss White, is given in Gosszp for January oth.
Ir has been pointed out to us that the date given for the
return of answers in the Prize Competition announced in the
January number was awkward because of the holidays. We
have extended the time until Monday, February gth, by the
first post on which day all answers must be received. (See
p. 80.)
SCOTTISH.
AT the annual general meeting of the Association of Secondary
Teachers, the following resolutions were passed regarding the
Leaving Certificate examination: (1) that no Honours papers
should be set in any subject, but that Honours passes should be
given for special excellence in the Higher Grade examination ;
(2) that a protest be made against the sudden raising of the
standard in the Honours examination for Leaving Certificates
72
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
in Modern Languages, whereby in 1902, out of 468 candidates
in French, only 9 passed as against 103 the previous year, and
in German only 16 out of 202 as compared with 56 out of 218
in 1901. If only 9 pupils in the whole of Scotland are able to
attain the Honours standard in French, and 16 in German, it
is surely absurd to set a special paper for so small a number.
These results are the strongest argument in favour of the first
resolution. The Senate of London University have agreed to
accept the Scotch Leaving Certificate in lieu of the Matriculation
examination, provided that the candidate has passed in the
Higher or Honours Grade in all the subjects required by the
regulations for the Matriculation examination on one and the
same occasion.
THE annual Congress under the auspices of the Educational
Institute of Scotland was held this year in Glasgow. The
opening sederunt was well attended. The president, Mr. A. T.
Watson, gave a thoughtful address on Modern Educationai
Problems, with special reference to Scotland. The central
thought of the address was the imperative necessity of extending
to secondary schools the methods and ideals which were having
such a vivifying influence in the primary schools. Mr. Shaw,
M.P., who followed, gave a speech full of dry humour, and not
altogether without educational insight. But his views on the
nature of the authority to administer education were essentially
parochial and narrow, and quite out of harmony with the
opinions of the audience. A resolution was unanimously passed
to the effect that, ‘‘ for the purposes of educational administra-
tion, the country should be divided into suitably large areas,
each under one local authority having control of all kinds of
education.” Professor Edgar gave an excellent address on
Modern Languages, emphasising the importance of the study of
phonetics as a preliminary to all language-study.
BuT the most memorable feature of the meeting was the
address of Mr. M. E. Sadler, on ‘‘ Impressions of Educational
Work in the United States.” The large and representative
audience which taxed even the capacity of the great Bute Hall
was in itself a notable tribute to the man, and a signal testimony
to the value of the Department over which he presides. Mr.
Sadler captivated his audience from the outset, and, though the
address lasted fully an hour, he retained the rapt attention of his
hearers to the close. From Mr. Sadler’s address it was very
easy to see that America was confronted with the same
problems and difficulties that were present with us. There,
however, they were more suspicious of old methods and more
accessible to new ideas. He showed that many of the American
schools were laboratories in which every variety of educational
experiment was being conducted, and that the teachers were in
many cases scientific experimenters. In reply toa criticism on
the absence of any notice of the educational system of Scotland
in his reports, Mr. Sadler expressed the hope that some day the
debt England owed to Scotland in educational matters would be
fully shown.
PROF. KNIGHT, who has just intimated his resignation of
the chair of Moral Philosophy in St. Andrews University, has
rendered eminent services to the University during his twenty-
seven years’ connection with it. Largely owing to his efforts,
the value of its bursaries and endowments has been greatly
increased. The inception and development of the L.L.A.
scheme for the higher education of women was carried through
by him in the face of considerable opposition. Indeed, it may
fairly be said that the high standard of the examination has
never received the official recognition to which it was entitled.
Neither the Education Department nor the Registration Board
have accepted the L.L.A. diploma as evidence of ability to
undertake work in an elementary or secondary school, although
the requirements for the examinations and the standard exacted
were far higher than in many examinations which have received
formal recognition.
IN a circular regarding the papers in English at the Leaving
Certificate examination, the Department states that the degree
to which the chronological study of English literature should be
recognised in the examination is one of great difficulty. It is
unquestionable that, as it is not infrequently pursued, this study
lends itself to superficial and demoralising cram-work, and my
Lords regret to find evidence in the examination that this
very largely prevails. They are unwilling either to ignore the
subject altogether or to adopt the only remaining course of
prescribing a special period or special authors for study. Might
it not be suggested that there is still a third course open to
“ my Lords,” if only they would follow it, and that is to make
the examination of such a nature that superficial cramming of
text-books will be of no use. Junior pupils last year were
asked to state what they knew of Hooker and Jeremy Taylor.
Now what first-hand knowledge could pupils possibly have of
these writers? Such a question is a direct encouragement to
text-book cramming and second-hand knowledge. Let the De-
partment conduct their examination on lines which discourage
mere parrot-like repetition of facts, and the teaching will soon
progress on sensible and healthy lines.
IRISH.
THE important question as to the discontinuance or otherwise
of the Technical Instruction Grants has been settled for the time
by a letter from Mr. Wyndham to the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Waterford. Basing his reply on the merits of the case rather
than on a disputed interpretation of the various Acts relevant to
the matter, the Chief Secretary has decided: (1) that the exist-
ing grants, standing at £3,500, shall go on; but (2) that a pro-
visional limit of £7,000 shall be laid down as a future point of
departure for the reconsideration of these grants in correlation
with other similar demands. It is obvious that the question wiil
come up again, certainly when the £7,000 limit is reached, and
perhaps earlier. .
For there are various signs that another reformation of Irish
education is not far off. Two or three years back an Interme-
diate Education Act was passed, the chief object of which was
to enable the Commissioners to appoint inspectors of Interme-
diate schools. The time has long since passed for appointing
permanent inspectors, and it appears that the Intermediate
Board have been anxious to do so, but have been prevented or
forbidden by higher authorities. Does this mean further changes
in Intermediate education? Certainly the present dual control
is not an ideal arrangement, and the recent reforms of the Inter-
mediate Board can hardly be deemed satisfactory. Taken in
connection with Dr. Starkie’s proposals, which have since been
published in pamphlet form, and other papers on Irish educa-
tion, such as Dr. McKeown’s, these things may point to a new
Bill with sweeping reforms and one central Board of Education
for Ireland.
THE second annual report of the Department of Agriculture
and Technical Instruction was laid upon the table of the House
of Commons towards the end of the autumn session. It is sup-
posed to deal only with the year ending March 31st last, but
really takes in some matters reaching much later. It contains a
record of multifarious and valuable work, including agricultural
and fishery schemes of every kind, grants to the Glasgow Exhi-
bition (£3,262), and to the Cork Exhibition (£4,566), a sum of
£10,404 spent on the Royal Veterinary College, and details of
the opening up of technical and scientific instruction throughout
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
The School World
73
Ireland. As regards science work in schools, it is sufficient
evidence of the Department’s energy to say that the number of
science laboratories in secondary schools rose during the year
from six to one hundred and fifty.
THE following are the official figures summarising the results
of the Intermediate Examinations of 1902 :—
: A ‘ Prepa-
oo Grade. | Grade. | Grade. | (2004 | Total
Number examined 329 | 794 2,744 2,220 | 6,087
Number who passed— |
With Honours 119 | 181) 288
Without Honours 158 | 358 | 1,372
Total | 277 539 , 1,660 | 1,219 , 3,698
Proportion per cent. of |
those examined who
passed 84'2 | 67°9 , Gors| 549 60°8
GIRLS.
Number examined 127 | 356 1,009] 800/| 2,292
Numbers who passed— |
With Honours den 55 56 ~=— 66
Without Honours ... 42 147 450
Total 97 | 203 | 516| 427 | 1,245
Proportion per cent. of
those examined who
passed ...
764 | 570 | 51] 53°4| 54°3
These are the results after the reduction of the standard and the
issuing of a new pass-list.
IT is hardly surprising that the rapid development of technical
Instruction has led to a Conference being held of the Principals
and Organising Secretaries of Irish Technical Schools. This took
place, at the end of December, at the Royal College of Science
in Dublin. It was resolved: “ That an Association of Principals
be formed, the Association to be open to secretaries who are
acting as directors of technical schools.” Such an association
should be helpful both to the schools and to the Department.
Papers were also read on ‘* The Best Form of Books to be
Kept,” “ Intermediate Classes,” ‘* Technical Schools,” “ Higher
Grade Schools for Ireland,” *‘ Art and Technical Instruction,”
and “‘ Technical Schools and their Pupils.”
WELSH.
THE annual Report of the Central Welsh Board has been
issued. This Board superintends, and so far as inspection and
examinations are concerned, controls (under reference to the
Board of Education) the whole of the schools under the Welsh
Intermediate Education Act. There are as many as ninety-five
schools in Wales in work under this Act. Of these, twenty-one
schools are for boys alone, twenty-one for girls alone, forty-five
are dual, and eight mixed. By dual is meant that ‘‘ there are
two departments under one responsible Head, one department
for boys and one for girls, with separate entrances, class-rooms,
and playground for boys and girls respectively ; but that the
school-managers may, if they think fit, make arrangements for
boys and girls being taught together in all or any of the classes.”
lt is worth noticing that under this arrangement, though a
mistress may be ‘‘ chief” mistress, with full responsibility as to
No. 50, VoL. 5.]
discipline over girls, she is in all cases of dual schools subor-
dinate to and under the direction of the headmaster in the class-
working of the school.
AS to pupils, it appears that in 1901-2 the total number in the
Welsh Intermediate Schools was 8,322, consisting of 4,308 boys
and 4,014 girls. The total number of pupils in 1gco-1 was
7,668; and in 1899-1900, 7,445. Glamorganshire and Mon-
mouthshire have in the county schools more girls than boys.
So, too, in the town of Cardiff there are rather more girls in the
girls’ school than boys in the boys’ school. One point in the
chief Inspector’s Report is very important: ‘‘ There are some
indications that the average stay of pupils at school is gradually
improving.”
For the 8,322 pupils, there are 74 headmasters, 21 head-
mistresses, 193 assistant-masters, and 200 assistant-mistresses,
making a total of 488 teachers. This, we take it, does not in-
clude the visiting teachers. The staffing shows an increase of
13 assistant-masters and § assistant-mistresses as compared with
last year. Such a staffing, though none too liberal for the
needs of the schools, must sooner or later attract public atten-
tion by the contrast of the staffing (after making all due allowances
for the differences of the work) to that in the elementary schools.
When the authorities for secondary and elementary education in
Wales become unified, we hope this will arouse attention and
lead to amendment in the elementary schools. Of the total
staff of teachers there are, of men-teachers, 60 without a degree,
as against 64 last year ; of women-teachers, 100 (last year 104)
are without a degree.
THIS year, for the first time, is included a return of the
training of the teachers in the Welsh County Schocls. It is as
follows: ‘* There are in the schools 27 trained certificated
teachers, 55 certificated teachers, 43 teachers who hold the
Diploma of the University of Cambridge (39 in theory and
practice, one in theory alone, and three in practice alone); eight
teachers who hold the Diploma of the University of London,
and 20 teachers who hold teachers’ diplomas or certificates
from various other sources.” Of course the local governing
bodies of the schools make the appointments. There are signs
in Wales that the importance of the training of teachers will be
still further recognised in the early future. A Course of
Secondary Training is recognised in the University of Wales,
as put forth by the University Colleges of Aberystwyth, Bangor,
and Cardiff, and it is understood that the headmasters of the
Intermediate schools are considering a system of student-teachers
also.
AT the Speech Day of the Blaenau Festiniog Intermediate
School it was stated that 37 certificates of the Central Welsh
Board had been won by the school. Out of 155 pupils on the
books, this is clearly very good. It was further stated that the
only respect in which the school had not advanced last year was
in the higher or scholarship work. There was not a single pupil
who remained in school after matriculating, except one or two
half-timers. No doubt this is typical of the tendency that every
boy and girl should get to college as early as possible, get over
the degree-work and to salary-earning as soon as possible. But,
on the other hand, such a tendency will eventually mean closer
attention to junior pupils. It is interesting to note that Blaenau
Festiniog, with its 155 pupils, has now half as many more pupils
as were contemplated by the scheme. This is a warning for the
pessimists as to the extent of the demand for secondary teaching.
CARNARVONSHIRE, we believe, was the first county in Wales
to draft a scheme under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act,
and there is already some searching of heart as to the resolution
passed last August to refuse to administer the new Education
G
74
The School World
[FEBRUARY, 1903.
Bill, if passed. It is said that in all probability a motion will be
brought forward and urgently pressed to rescind that resolution,
so that Carnarvonshire ‘‘may again be the first to adopt a
scheme under the present Act.”
CURRENT HISTORY.
WE ask our readers to define for themselves the words
“republic,” ‘‘ freedom,” ‘‘ despotism,” as they read the
two facts of history which follow, the one from last year’s
events, the other from those of over two hundred years ago.
‘ The Cabinet of the French Republic has resolved on sus-
pending the stipends of the Archbishop of Besancon and the
Bishop of Orleans and Séez, the supposed authors of the
collective petition in favour of the religious orders.” The
Archbishop of Canterbury and seven bishops presented a petition
to James II., of England, in 1688. For this they were prose-
cuted as having ‘‘ published a false, malicious and seditious
libel,” and were acquitted. The believer in the divine right
of kings could proceed against those who had unexpectedly
disappointed him in their ‘‘ passive obedience ” only by way of
a trial by jury according to the tommon law of a kingdom.
The Cabinet of a modern republic proceeds by way of droit
administratif, and the only remedy for the deprivation of
stipend is, as we learn from the papers, a voluntary contri-
bution from the friends of the petitioning bishops. There is no
thought of a ‘ revolution.”
Some of the opponents of the Education Bill of last autumn
put forward the argument that the present Parliament ‘* had no
mandate” to deal with the question, that the House of Com-
mons had been elected on other issues, and that therefore the
very introduction of the measure was ‘‘ unconstitutional.” This
is an instance of the controversy which has been fitfully discussed
among us, specially since the Reform Acts of 1832 began to
make the House of Commons “ representative ” in the modern
sense of the ‘‘ people” at large. Are the members of Parlia-
ment ‘‘ representatives,” or ‘‘ deputies” ? is the form which the
question has generally taken. Is an individual member so
entrusted with the affairs of the nation that he is free to vote
according to the best of his judgment, as each question arises,
or is he merely a deputy, bound to vote not according to his
individual judgment, but according to the wish of his con-
stituents? We must not discuss this question here, but take
the opportunity to refer our readers to many statements of lead-
ing politicians of the early years of the nineteenth century.
Some of these they will find in Jephson’s *‘ History of the
Platform,” published a few years ago, a book which, with much
bias and more wordiness, yet gives an interesting sketch of some
nineteenth-century movements.
Mr. BALFOUR thought last December that ‘‘it would be
unwise to make it impossible for the Upper House to introduce
modifications into financial measures, and that it was desirable
that there should be means of circumventing the obstacle of
privilege in order that the House of Commons might be given
the opportunity of reconsidering important points.” Certain
amendments ‘‘had been introduced in the Upper House to meet
the convenience of the Government and of members of the House
of Commons,” and therefore the House waived its privileges,
though the Speaker caused an entry of the fact to be made in
the Journals. This is a good sample of the method of the
development of our British constitution. We often hear the
word “unconstitutional,” but no one knows what it means. In
the sense in which the word is used in every European country but
Great Britain, we have no constitution. In our own sense of the
word, the constitution is simply the usage for the ume being.
Under the later Stuarts, Charles II., James II., Mary and Anne,
there were many conflicts and jealousies between the two Houses
of Parliament, then newly become a permanent factor of the
constitution. Hence much talk about ‘*money bills” and
quarrels between the two Houses. Now there is no such
jealousy, and “privilege” is an old technicality which is
“noted ” but not allowed to interfere with business.
VENEZUELA has been occupying our attention during the
Christmas vacation, and we have therefore been learning
geography and, perhaps, international law. We have been,
reminded, by the mention of La Guaira, of our ‘‘ Westward
Ho!” and the fight against Spain, and some of us may perhaps
have remembered that it was to secure the independence of
Venezuela and her fellow republics of South America that
Canning, of Great Britain, and Monroe, of the United States of
America, first put forward that claim of America for the
Americans which is now so popularly misunderstood under the
name of the Monroe doctrine. But how many Powers have
been actively proceeding against Venezuela? According to the
telegrams, there would appear to be three—England, Great
Britain, and Germany. At least, that is what an ignorant but
intelligent person might gather from his study of the newspapers.
He there has read of a King of England, of an English as well
as a British telephone office, of English as well as British
residents, warships, authorities, and soldiers. This is the result,
in popular language, of forgetting that the kingdom of England
came to an end in 1707, and of the English habit of ignoring the
partners who are not ‘' predominant” in these isles. Perhaps
the most curious form is that which speaks of an alliance
between Great Britain and Germany as Anglo-German.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
First Steps in German. 93 pp. A First German Grammar.
60 pp. By Scholle & Smith. (Blackie.) Is. 6ď. each.—These
two small volumes are an outcome of the ‘‘New Method.”
The ‘‘Grammar” is to be used as a book of reference, the
“ First Steps ” consist of oral teaching and lessons based on the
well-known pictures of Der Friihling and Der Winter in the
“« Hölzel” series. With regard to the subject matter in the “ First
Steps,” it does not appear to differ much from that contained in
Dent’s ‘‘ First German Book ”; though it may be that the
English directions, instructions, &c., &c., and the German songs
it contains, will make it more acceptable to certain teachers. It
strikes us on the whole as a good working book, to be followed
up, no doubt, by another volume on the same lines. Practically,
it is no use separating ‘‘ Grammar ” from “ First Steps.” The
two volumes should have been bound up in one, and if the
editors did not know this, any experienced schoolmaster could
have given them the hint.
Jules Sandeau, Mademotselle de la Seiglière. Edited by
A. R. Ropes. viii. + 174 pp. (Pitt Press Series.) 2s.—Mr.
Ropes introduces the play by a short account of Sandeau and of
the popular novel on which the play is based. The text is well
printed, and the notes contain all that is wanted. Indeed, they
would gain by compression ; the notes giving etymologies might
well be omitted (especially such statements as ‘autrui comes
from aller and Auic”), and such absurdly superfluous literal
renderings as “against whom the devil have you some of it?”
On the whole the book leaves a very favourable impression.
The
Victor Hugo, Lyrical Poems. Edited by P. C. Yorke. 40 pp.
(Blackie.) 4¢.—The greater number of these poems are epic,
and not lyrical; they give some idea of Victor Hugo’s poetic
activity. The editor supplies a short biography, a rather dis-
appointing ‘‘ critical note,” some very brief remarks on metre,
and a few notes. There is surely something ludicrous in forcing
Victor Hugo into such a booklet, in making him a “little
French classic.”
FEBRUARY, 1903. ]
Classics.
A History of Rome for Middle and Upper Forms of Schools.
By J. L. Myres, M.A. With maps and plans. xiv. + 627 pp.
(Rivingtons.) 5s.—This is really an admirable book, and it is
one which has been much needed. Mr. Myres is not a school-
master, but he has managed to write in a manner suitable
to schoolboys or undergraduates. He has several other advan-
tages over his competitors. He is a student of early culture,
and a competent geologist ; hence his physical geography is
better done than in other histories of Rome, and his maps are
very far superior, in substituting contours for ‘‘ caterpillars.”
Sketch maps variously marked are also used to show the
distribution of nationality, political distinctions, and so forth.
In the early history, Mr. Myres does what we have always
believed to be the only proper thing: he has given the legends
because the Romans believed them, and he has told them
in somewhat archaic language to suggest a distinction from
history proper. Here he follows the example of Arnold. We
wish some one would write a Scripture history on the same
principle. Perhaps there is more truth in the legends than Mr.
Myres admits (¢.g., Rape of Sabines, p. 41). Mr. Myres is
original in his arrangements and in the proportions of his work.
For instance, he tells the story of the Struggle of the Orders by
itself, in two chapters, and thus avoids cumbering the history
with disconnected phases, to be or not to be combined by the
reader. His style is simple and direct, his knowledge wide
and accurate. Altogether we are convinced that this is as truly
the school history of Rome as Oman’s is of Greece.
The Boys’ Iliad. By W. C. Perry, author of ‘The Boys’
Odyssey,” &c. With illustrations by Jacomb Hood. (Mac-
millan.) 6s.—We do not altogether like Mr. Perry’s style,
which is in parts stilted. Thus he tells us that Achilles fed on
lions’ hearts and bears’ marrow, adding, ‘‘ the effect of this diet
was remarkable.” He is all right, however, as soon as he gets
to Homer's story, which is effectively and simply told. His
book begins with the preliminaries to the war, the wooing
of Thetis and so forth, and ends with the Wooden Horse and
the taking of Troy ; so that the reader will get a fairly complete
idea of the stories which centre around the “ Iliad.” This makes
an admirable gift-book or prize, and we hope it may help to
make a self-complacent and ignorant generation a little less
ignorant.
The Aeneid of Vergil. Edited, with notes and vocabulary,
by A. Sidgwick, M.A. Book X., 117 pp. ; Book XI., 114 pp.
Cambridge Series for Schools and Training Colleges. (Cam-
bridge University Press.)—Mr. Sidgwick’s name is guarantee
for tact and sound scholarship, and these little books are
nicely edited on the whole. The introductions are admirably
clear and succinct, and the paragraphs on similes should
prove interesting. There is, however, too little appeal to
Principle, and the lack of this distinguishes cram from teach-
ing. Thus Mr. Sidgwick notes that Vergil uses manu where
a modern would omit it (x. p. 16), and suggests that this may
be due to a fondness for gesture. But so he used other instru-
mentals, oculis and pede for example, where the suggestion of
gesture calls up a smile. Something, too, might be said to
explain the “old forms,” divom, &c. (p. 45), and nam enclitic
School World 7 5
(p- 45); the historic infinitive, the genitive of definition
(xi. p. 51, 60). The general sense of improbus in usage is
rather ‘‘ persistent, insatiate,” whatever its etymological mean-
ing may be; and a few examples, such as improbus anser,
“greedy goose,” might have been given on xi. 512 instead of
the vague note which is to be found there. Finally, we protest
against the “scheme of the uses of the Latin subjunctive, with
references to this book.” |
Prof. Champ’s books, the Story of the Iliad and the Story of
the Odyssey, are too well known to need any commendation of
ours. We are glad to welcome them in a sixpenny edition
(Seeley, pp. 123, 12c). We hope they may be issued in cloth
at a slightly higher price, as they would make ideal readers for
schools of the modern and commercial type, to relieve the
monotony of bills, invoices, and shorthand.
Edited Books.
Select Translations from Old English Poetry. By A. S. Cook
and Chauncey B. Tinker. 195 + viii. pp. (Ginn.) 45. 6d.—
It is difficult to speak too highly of this little book. It is not
pretentious, nor even complete, but it is representative, handy,
discriminating, and forms a capital introduction to the study of
larger works. The preface makes some singularly good reading ;
the contents are of the most varied description. Especial
interest attaches to the Secular Lyrics; the Religious Lyrics
and the Biblical Poems are more customarily quoted ; but the
Saints’ Legends included here are much less known; and the
t Charms” are hardly known at all. Certainly they are not
among the usual subjects of Early English study. The intro-
ductions to each section are excellent, and the whole collection
iscalculated to convey a distinct and vivid idea of the scope and
force of early English poetic thought ; and no less serviceably,
perhaps, to clear away a great many imperfect conceptions
which have been sown broadcast by works of a popular rather
than a scholarly aim.
The Faery Queene. Book I. By W. K. Leask. 276 pp.
(Blackie.) 2s.—This is a modest yet serviceable edition. The
self-repression of the editor is vividly observable from the first
page to the last, and Mr. Leask has written an introductory
account of Spenser which is quite a model in its way. It would
be difficult to name any other recent sketch of the poet more
careful and complete which should nevertheless make from the
purely literary point of view better reading. The text retains
the Spenserian spelling, but the notes are little concerned with
either grammatical or philological questions. They are for the
most part historical, antiquarian, and explanatory, and good
throughout.
The Fortunes of Nigel. By E. S. Davies. 200 +xxiii. pp.
(Continuous Readers.) (Black.) 1s.—The Fortunes of Nigel.
By E. S. Davies. 528 +xxx. pp. (School Edition.) (Black.)
1s. 6d¢.—We are now quite accustomed to the successive volumes |
of this series. The present two volumes done by one editor
differ in no important respect from those that have gone before.
The notes to the larger volume are, if anything, somewhat
better than those we have been accustomed to look for. A map
of Tudor London and a view of Old Charing Cross are
excellent additions, and the introductions are very readable
without being anything more. If the great merits of any
educational series are monotony and uniformity of treatment,
a high place has been secured with this edition.
Macbeth. By A. W. Verity. 208 +xxxvi. pp. (Cambridge
University Press.) 15. 6¢.—Afacheth. (Students’ Edition.) By
A. W. Verity. 288 +xlviii. pp. (Cambridge University Press.)
2s, 6d.—Having some months ago reviewed an edition of
76
“ Macbeth ” in the Pitt Press series to which Mr. Verity’s well.
known name was attached, we were induced to believe that the
last word had been practically said in so far as the production
of model educational editions can go. But here are two more
volumes dealing with the same subject, the smaller being a
deleted version of the previous issue, and the other a consider-
able amplification of it. The smaller volume is intended to be
used exclusively for school purposes, and the larger carries the
subject up to the level of university examinations. The latter
is indeed a storehouse of learning, marvellously full and well
arranged, and appears destined to provide quite a standard
edition for the purposes of all higher examinations. We are
promised some more plays in this ‘‘ Students’ ” edition, which
we shall await with great interest.
Essays of Richard Steele. Selected by L. E. Steele. xv.
+ 350 pp. Golden Treasury Series. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.—
Having for some years now included a volume of selections from
Addison in this justly renowned series, it is only fair to Sir
Richard Steele, though perhaps a little late in the day, to make
a companion volume from his works. This has now been done
with great success. A more representative volume could hardly
have been compiled; and the reading of it is not merely a
delightful exercise; it is one of those things which perhaps
suggest themselves as a task and end by becoming a fascination.
The introduction is a careful though an inconsiderable piece of
work in bulk. It aims at giving a succinct account of Steele,
and it achieves this purpose admirably. The selections them-
selves range fairly over all the contents of Steele’s share in the
Tatler and the Spectator. They commence indeed with the
Spectator Club papers, and are then succeeded by those personal
and domestic essays wherein the genius of Steele was ever most
happy; and Mr. Bickerstaff and Jenny Distaff are once more
presented to the English public. The Humours of Town, and
of Fashion, and the Theatrical Essays which follow, are suc-
ceeded by a somewhat lengthy series of ‘‘ Various” Essays,
This, to the lover of the English Essay pure and simple, will be
found a singularly interesting collection. Steele deserves more
recognition than he usually gets. It is possible that this volume
may serve to secure that end.
Chaucers Prologue, Knights Tale, &c. 337 pp. (Mac-
millan.) | 15,—This is a handy pocket edition, edited, however,
not for the use of the trifler in literature, but for service in
secondary schools. The text is well printed, and when the one
hundred and fifty-five pages devoted to it are done with, the
‘introductory matter’’ comes in. A very useful division of the
explanatory matter is on Reading Aloud when the reading, that
is to say, is in Chaucer. Students will derive profit as well as
knowledge from its many useful hints. Three other short
sections deal with the text, the language, and the personality
of Chaucer, and then comes a capital summary of his work
as a poet. The notes are excellent, and the glossary is full.
Altogether something more than a handy edition.
English.
Cyrs Advanced First Reader. 104 pp. (Ginn.) 15. 6d.—
This book explains itself by a preface, though the main idea
would be clear to anyone after a glance at one or two illus-
trations. Stated briefly, this is an attempt to teach children to
talk and think about great and beautiful pictures. It is the
plea from the artist’s point of view that his work shall find
its place in the schoolroom, not merely as a wall decoration, or
as an illustration to an interesting story, but as a ground-work
for talk, reading, a story or a criticism. This the good teacher
has been accustomed to do from time immemorial—in the
nursery ; but has this good teaching reached the school? The
artists who are represented in this modest little book are
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
Bouguereau, Reynolds, Renouf, Roll, Waterlow, Landseer,
Millet. The book is a beautiful one.
The Dale Readers. Book I, With new pictures by Walter
Crane. i. + 93 pp. (Philip.) 1s.—The book is an application
of the principles set forth by the author in foregoing volumes.
It is of course excellently illustrated, and in capable, enthusi-
astic hands a great deal might be made of such a reader. The
doubt that will come across the reader, and even the enthusiastic
teacher, is this. Where am I to find time for the “ red men
and the blue and the yellow silent people”? Has Miss Dale
consulted an oculist on the wisdom of filling the reading lesson
with letters written in staring colours ?
An English Grammar on Historical Principles. x.+-299 pp.
By J. Lees, B.A. (Allman.) 3s.—This book is suitable for
boys who are being prepared for such examinations as the
London Matriculation and similar examinations. We have
little doubt that it is adequate for this purpose, and, so far as we
have been able to judge, it is, without being in any way original,
quite accurate and well arranged.
Junior English Examination Papers. By W. Williamson,
B.A. 72 pp. (Methuen.) 1I5.—A series of graduated test
papers of about the ‘‘ Junior Locals” standard.
History.
The Tweeddale History Readers.
(Oliver and Boyd.) 15.6d¢.—This book contains selections from
the history since the beginning to the present time. It is well
printed and illustrated, and has some poetry and a summary.
It has fewer small mistakes than the average of such produc-
tions, and, as we said about its predecessors, it gives more pro-
minence than usual to Scottish history.
Book II. viii. + 277 pp.
Adventures with the Connaught Rangers, 1809-14. By W.
Grattan. Edited by C. Oman. xxii. + 340 pp. (Edward
Arnold.) 7s. 6¢.—This is the second of the original authorities
for Napoleon’s period which Mr. Oman has edited. It lacks
the purely personal interest of the first, but still makes good
reading. It seems that it was from this work that ‘‘ Charles
Lever drew the greater part of the good stories which made the
fortune of ‘Charles O’Malley.’” There are short notes, and
half-a-dozen illustrations which are good, though the map of
Spain is not detailed enough to illustrate the military operations
herein described.
Nelson and hts Captains. By W. H. Fitchett. 322 pp.
(Smith, Elder.) 7s. 6¢.—This book contains sketches of Nelson
and of eleven of the captains of his ‘‘school.’’ It is interest-
ingly written, and contains portraits of most of its heroes. The
accounts of the captains are biographical, but written mainly
with a view to illustrate the spirit and methods of the navy of
Nelson’s time. lt will make a welcome addition to the school
library.
History in Biography. Vol. IV., James I. to James II. By
H. L. Powell. xiv. + 198 pp. (Black.) 2s.—We have here
fifteen biographies, useful summaries of the period as a whole,
and of the Parliaments and the Civil War in particular ; brief
accounts of other statesmen than the fifteen chosen for fuller
treatment, and an index. We have not yet seen a small book
on this period with which we are better pleased. It is really a
masterpiece of its kind in the thoroughly historical spirit in
which it is written. The utmost care has been taken to enter
sympathetically into the views of the various conflicting parties
of the time, and though there are minor matters with which we
should not agree, we can very highly commend the volume as
the best text-book on the period for our pupils in the middle and
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
upper forms. There are portraits and other pictorial illustra-
tions, and to each biography is appended a well-chosen example
of the words or writings of the subject thereof.
Local Examination Test Papers in English History. By
J. S. Lindsey. 143 pp. (Heffer, Cambridge.) ts. 6¢.—This is
a collection of all questions on this subject set for the Oxford
and Cambridge Local Examinations (Senior and Junior) for the
last twenty years. The pages are printed on one side of the
paper only, and the questions are arranged according to periods,
indexes giving cross references to topics and to years. We
should think this would be most useful to teachers preparing for
these or other examinations. Besides the edition described
above there are two others tor pupils’ use (8d. each) without the
indexes, and covering respectively the years 1066-1603, and
1603-1832. These are intended for distribution to the class.
Matriculation Modern History. By C.S. Fearenside. xx.
+ 376 pp. (Clive.) 3s. 6¢.—This contains English history
from 1485-1901 with some reference to the contemporary history
of Europe and colonial developments. It is an excellent
manual, provided with maps and tables and index. If the
matriculation students, for whom it is primarily designed, gaina
satisfactory knowledge of its contents, we can ensure them at
least a pass in this subject, and there is no reason why they
should not head the honours list. The international history,
specially in the eighteenth century, where most text-books fail,
is very carefully treated.
Complete History Readers. Book IV. 222 pp. (Blackie.)
Is. 4d.—This is a pleasantly-written sketch of some of the im-
portant events in English history from the beginning to the pre-
sent time, generally correct and illustrated with coloured and
other pictures. There are a summary, notes, and explanations.
Studies in United States History. By S. M. Riggs. xiii.
+173 pp. (Ginn.) 35.—This is a guide for the use of students
and teachers, apparently exhaustive for United States history.
Topics are indicated, either by chapter-headings or suggestive
headings, and detailed references are given to the bibliography
of each subject, ‘‘ sources,” text-books and maps. It is a most
thorough piece of work.
The Complete History Readers. Book V. 232 pp. (Blackie.)
1s. 6d.— This contains an outline of English history from the
beginning to the present day, with pictures coloured and other-
wise, ‘summary, notes and explanations.” It is fairly correct,
but John “ signs ” the Charter in the text, while sealing it in the
picture ; the Long Parliament ‘‘ sat for twenty years,” “ Strafford
was condemned,” ‘‘the English Parliament promised to help
the Dutch,” the seven bishops are accused of ‘‘ treason,” Wil-
liam III. is king of “Great Britain,” and the South Sea
“Bubble ” is not distinguished from the “ Company.”
We have received a copy of the second edition, ‘‘ revised,” of
Miss. Rolleston’s ‘‘ English History Note Book” (Davis and
Moughton, Birmingham). The minor defects and errors of the
carly edition have been corrected, and we can heartily recom-
mend it as useful for revision lessons, &c.
English History Illustrated from Original Sources. 1399-
1485. By F. H. Durham. xiii. + 141 pp- (Black.) 2s. 6d.
~This volume is divided into two parts. Each contains an
Introduction, selection from contemporary writers, followed by
a bibliography, date summary and genealogical tables. There
ate pictorial illustrations. The whole is very good and we
tartily commend the work to our readers.
f Lectures on the History of the Nineteenth Century. Edited
y F. A. Kirkpatrick. viii. + 384 pp. (Cambridge University
The School World
77
Press.) 4s. 6&/. net.—This book contains seventeen of the
lectures delivered at the Cambridge University Extension Sum-
mer Meeting last August. Those which deal specially with the
history of Prussia, Austria-lungary, France and Russia, were
delivered by distinguished natives of those countries respectively.
Besides these, there are two introductory lectures, and others
on British, Turkish, Chinese and Japanese history. The col-
lection thus made provides a mass of useful information not
otherwise easily accessible. But all the lectures imply at least
an elementary knowledge of the events with which they treat,
and the introductory lectures, specially that of Dr. Ward, will
be found very stiff reading. We imagine much of this must
have been hard to follow when delivered, but in this permanent
form we commend it to our readers as suggestive and thought-
inspiring. Unfortunately there is neither bibliography nor
index.
Science and Technology.
The Twentieth Century Atlas of Popular Astronomy.
By T. Heath. 126 pp.+xxii. plates. (W. & A. K. John-
ston.) 7s. 6¢.—This is both a text-book and an atlas of astro-
nomy, a guide to observations of the heavens as well as a
descriptive and pictorial representation of characteristic scenes
and objects. The early chapters deal, among other subjects,
with the earth and its movements ; time and seasons; and they
are followed by chapters on the planets, sun, moon, eclipses,
comets and meteors, while the last chapter is concerned with
the stars. On the whole, the text and the plates are worthy of
praise, but attention may usefully be directed to a few weak
points. No mention is made on p. 45 of helium as one of the
chief constituents of the sun’s chromosphere ; the list of elements
in the sun, on p. 48, is not up to date, only 460 Fraunhofer lines
being ascribed to iron, whereas, according to Rowland, nearly
2,000 lines can be referred to that element ; the non-appearance
of the Leonid meteor shower during the past two or three years
is not mentioned in the account of the thirty-three-year period ;
nebulæ are said to include clusters of stars which have not been
resolved into stellar points, whereas spectrum analysis provides
a clear means of distinguishing a nebula from a star cluster. The
plates are lithographs, and therefore do not in all cases give
faithful pictures of the objects represented upon them. For
instance, the solar prominences on Plate X. are badly coloured ;
the view of the Andromeda nebula on Plate XII. does not bring
out the ring structure surrounding the nucleus ; and the wrong
colour is given to the D lines of sodium on Plate XIV. The
star maps are good, and the large reproductions of photographs
of parts of the lunar surface, given in the chapter on the moon;
are decidedly superior to those found in small text-books.
Rightly used, the volume should be a useful guide to students
of astronomy, and should stimulate interest in the study of
celestial science.
Biological Laboratory Afethods. By P. H. Mell, Ph.D. xiv.
+ 321 pp. (The Macmillan Co.) 6s. 6d. net.—Advanced
students of biology have long felt the want of such a book as
the present, which, in moderate compass, gives trustworthy
guidance in modern methods of research. The style is clear,
and the instructions are, in general, just sufficiently detailed to
ensure success. The book has a wide range ; among the subjects
considered are the use of the microscope, microtome, and
bacteriological apparatus; the preparation, sectioning and
mounting of tissues ; photo-micrography, &c. The volume con-
tains a large number of useful illustrations. We notice one or
two slips, e.g., ‘‘chlorate of lime” for ‘‘calcium chloride ”
(p. 43), and ‘‘ individual bacteria” for ‘‘ colonies of bacteria ”
(p. 224).
78
The School World
[FEBRUARY, 1903.
Miscellaneous,
Aristotles Psycholegy: a Treatise on the Principle of
Life. (De Anima and Parva Naturalia.) Translated, with
Introduction and Notes, by William Alexander Hammond.
(Swan Sonnenschein). 10s. 6d. net.—English readers will
be grateful to Dr. Hammond for his careful translation of
Aristotle’s Parva Naturalia, hitherto only accessible to them
through Taylor’s paraphrase. To this he has added a transla-
tion of the De Anima in order that they may have in a single
volume as complete an account as is possible of the psycho-
logical theories of the philosopher of Stagira. And to both he
has prefixed a brief but adequate introduction in which the
leading features of these theories are summarised and contrasted
with those of Plato and other Greek thinkers. Perhaps this
contrast might with advantage have been carried into somewhat
further detail. At the present day, when the foundations of
psychology are sought in the biological conditions under which
mental states have their being, it is particularly instructive to
turn to the writings of one who included the phenomena of
mental life among the vital activities, and whose point of view
was in this respect one with that of modern science. The study
of the De Anima and the Parva Naturalia form a fitting
preparation for that of the better-known philosophical writings.
And Dr. Ilammond’s Introduction may profitably be read asa
propaidentic to the Essays prefixed by Sir Alexander Grant to
his masterly edition of the Nichomachean Ethics.
The Encyclopadia Britannica. The Fifth of the New Volumes.
Gla-Jut. xx + 763 pp. (Black and Zhe Times.) —It is not too
much to say that no working library can be regarded as com-
plete if it lack the new volumes of our great Encyclopadia.
Each volume is self-contained so far as it goes, and the new
volumes by themselves form an independent encyclopedia
in which a view is given of the men and matters that have made
history during the past quarter of acentury. The thread is taken
up in each case from the point where it ended in the ninth
edition, so that the possessor of that edition as well as the
supplementary volumes can turn to the old or the new fabric for
details to study. The old pattern may be preferred by some,
but the new is essential to the equipment of students who desire
to trace the trend of modern thought, and understand the direc-
tion of scientific and industrial progress. Mr. Benjamin Kidd’s
prefatory essay in the volume under notice, on the application
of the doctrine of evolution to sociological theory and problems, is
an instructive statement of the change of tendency. Among
the subjects of articles which must be mentioned here are the
Gospels, golf, theory of groups, heredity, hygiene, ichthyology,
illustration, insanity, insurance, iron and steel, and irrigation.
Fer school purposes, the geographical cotributions should be of
extreme value, for the articles on Holland, Hungary, Iceland,
India, Italy, Japan and other countries are remarkably rich in
detail. The volume provides so much material for inquiring
minds that school governors shuuld consider it a duty to add it
and its companions to the library of the master’s room.
Who's Who. 1903. An Annual Biographical Dictionary.
xviii. $1,532 pp. 55. net.—Zhe Enelishwoman’s Year. Book
and Directory. Edited by Emily Janes. xxxvi. + 340 pp.
(A. & C. Black.) 2s. 6d. net—There is no annual publica-
tion to compare with ‘‘Who’s Who.” It contains just those
particulars about the careers of persons prominent in every sort
of way that one wants to know. The information has in most
cases been supplied by the celebrities themselves, and is there-
fore authoritative. The volume increases in size annually, and
we notice that this year, in order to cope with the growing body
of notabilities, the editor has been obliged to omit the collection
of useful information which formerly preceded the biographies.
‘©Who’s Who” certainly deserves a place in the collection of
current reference books to be found in all well-equipped school
libraries. The ‘ Englishwoman’s Year-Book ” summarises, in a
correct and convenient manner, everything pertaining to the
professions and avocations followed by women. With the help
of a representative body of specialists, the editor has been able
to collect invaluable advice and guidance for women anxious
to do useful work in the world. Education, Employments and
Professions, Industrial, Medical Section, Science, Literature,
Philanthropy, and Religious Work, are the titles of some of the
sections and serve to indicate the wide scope of the bcok.
Altogether an exceptionally useful book for women.
The ** Daily Mail” Year-Book for 1903. Edited by Percy
L. Parker. 370 pp. (Amalgamated Press, Ltd.) 1s.—This
little publication contains a maximum of information in a mini-
mum of space. That 20,000 facts of the day, with biographies,
tables, diagrams and maps, are included in the restricted limits
indicated is evidence enough that no words are wasted.
Report of a Conference on the Training of Teachers in
Secondary Schools for Boys. vii. +140 pp. (Cambridge Univer-
sity Press.) Is. net.—An article describing the conference on
the training of teachers in secondary schools convened by the
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and held in
the Senate House in November, appeared in THE SCHOOL
WORLD for December last, so that it is unnecessary to state the
objects which the meetings were held to promote. The little
volume contains all the papers which were read on the occa-
sion as well as the speeches delivered by the representatives
assembled at Cambridge. A perusal of the arguments advanced
for various forms of training convinces us that there is still much
work to be done before the most suitable course of preparation
for schoolmasters is decided upon. Yet all acting school-
masters, and undergraduates who propose to enter the pro-
fession, will be well advised in studying these expressions of
opinion from our highest educational authorities. On one point,
at least, there seems to have been complete unanimity, viz., that
some form of training is imperative for all teachers in secondary
schools for boys.
The Education Act, 1902. Edited, with an introduction
and index and short notes, by E. A. Jelf. viii.++-106 pp.
(Horace Cox.) 25. 6d. net.— The Education Act, 1902, together
with copious notes and the principal explanatory remarks of
leading authorities. By M. Roberts-Jones. 80 pp. (Cardiff:
Western Mail, Ltd.) 4s.—These are two convenient editions of
the new Act. Mr. Jelf first gives a general description of the
provisions of the Act, and his remarks, which run to over forty
pages, are of a helpful character. The text of the Act with its
different schedules follows. Mr. Roberts-Jones provides a short
preface and at once proceeds to print the Act, and supplies a
running commentary in the way of notes on each section. These
notes include various explanations given during the debates in
Parliament by different Ministers and others. It is to be hoped
that the volunies may have a wide circulation among the mem-
bers of the local education authorities to be appointed, and also
among the teachers in schools. We can recommend both
editions.
School Hygiene: the Laws of Health in relation to School
Life. By Arthur Newsholme. New edition re-written by
Dr. Newsholme and W. C. C. Pakes. vill. +311 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) 3s.—A book which has now reached its ninth
edition, and the first edition of which only appeared in February,
1887, needs no commendation. It clearly meets a widespread
want. Mr. Pakes is more directly responsible for the contents
of Part II., which deals with schools. The earlier chapters are
more particularly the work of Dr. Newsholme, and consider the
needs of the scholars. The chapter on eyesight is by Dr. James
Kerr, the medical officer of the London School Board.
E
FEBRUARY, 1903. |
The School World
Feat Pees see ee ae aoe
” Mr. Boffin’s Secretary. A Comedy in four acts. Adapted .
pa by Isabelle M. Pagan from Dickens’s ‘‘ Our Mutual Friend.” CORRESPONDENCE.
a i. ° . . . T i b ; . . .
i a a a Leet ee Bes net ae play a EEn | The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
e specially adapted with a view to amateur acting. lt has, we expressed in letters which appear in these columns. As a
ag are told in the preface, stood the test of repeated performance. rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
ies Full particulars as to the idiosyncrasies of the characters are THE SCHOOL WORLD well be submitted to the contributor
gor
given, and teachers looking for a play to be acted by their before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
scholars will find it useful.
London University Guide and University Correspondence
College Calendar. 1902-3. Gratis.—The private student who
wishes to graduate at the University of London will find here
very useful assistance as to how to set to work. The University
Correspondence College has arranged courses of work for every
examination of the London University, and its successes in
previous years are quite enough to convince students willing to
follow instructions that they may reasonably hope to find their
names amongst the successful candidates in future examinations.
To Girls: a Budget of Letters. By Heloise Edwina Hersey.
xii. +247 pp. (Ginn.) qs. 6d. net.—It is long since we have seen a
book, especially one addressed to girls and dealing with the serious
side of life, which is so fresh, vigorous, and altogether healthy as
this volume. Miss Hersey is anew Englander, and her book is
primarily intended for New England girls, but there is practi-
cally nothing in it except the chapter on '‘ The Civic Opportu-
nity for Women,” and perhaps that on ‘Criticism of the
Theatre,” which does not apply equally well to the girl in the
older England on this side of the Atlantic. Briefly, the book is
characterised by a remarkably sane tone and by uncommon
“insight into the difficulties—-mental, moral, and social—which,
small as they may seem when we look back at them later on in
life, are very real to the girl of seventeen or eighteen ; and the
author manages to convey a good deal of sound moral and
religious help without in the least appearing to preach. Miss
Hersey disclaims any notion of writing for older people, but her
book should prove almost as helpful to all who are interested
in girls as to the audience to which she primarily addresses
herself.
Model Course of Physical Training. By Board of Education.
72 pp. (Eyre and Spottiswoode.) 3a¢.—This is a revision of
the pamphlet on Physical Training which was fully described in
the number of THE SCHOOL WoRLD for August last. This revised
edition contains a few woodcuts explanatory of the letterpress.
There are no alterations in the exercises worthy of note. A
few practical suggestions, chiefly for rural schools, appear at
the end, and there are other suggestions relating to the train-
ing of school teachers. This model course is not compulsory,
as was at first anticipated, but is issued by the Board of Edu-
cation ‘as a model course which will be found useful either for
adoption as it stands, or as giving suggestions to teachers and
managers who prefer to frame schemes for themselves.”
The Art of Speaking. By E. Ernest Pertwee. 122 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) 2s. 6d¢.—Of books on speaking there is no
end, and yet we do not speak well. This book dces not differ
from its comrades in arrangement of matter. There are chapters
on respiration, on the larynx, on articulation and on gesture.
There are the usual diagrams and exercises. We do not think
that any teacher working conscientiously through the book could
fail to improve himself and his class: but we fail to find any
principles referred to on which rules and suggestions may be
built. The most useful book for such work is a live teacher :
there seems to be scarcely any limit to his power of inspiration
in the matter of speaking and reading. All such books as this
are useful to the live teacher, though they are, after all, but dry
bones. As Mr. Pertwee says, we want more attention to the
subject and more teaching.
appear together.
The Study of Modern Languages.
VOULEZ-VOUS me permettre d’ajouter quelques remarques
à la lettre de M. Baumann ' concernant l'origine de l'expression
qua citée M. Payen-Payne. En poussant mes recherches un
peu plus loin que je ne lavais fait auparavant, j’ai trouvé
que Charles-Quint, à qui on attribue la paternité de la phrase,
n’a fait que répéter un mot des Turcs, et qu’au lieu d’un nombre
déterminé de langues (soit deux ou quatre) il est question
seulement de multiplier l'homme par un nombre quelconque
suivan le cas. Voici un extrait de Brantôme, ‘‘ Capitaines
étrangers ” :
“ Charles-Quint, qui parloit cinq ou six langues, disoit
souvent, quand il tomboit sur leurs différentes bcautés, que
selon l’opinion des Turcs, autant de langues que l'homme scait
parler, autant de fois est-il homme ; tellement que si un brave
homme parluit de neuf ou dix sortes de langage, il lestimoit
autant luy tout seul qu’il eust faict dix autres.”
La forme actuelle du dicton est:
Autant de langues on sait,
autant d'hommes l'on est.
C’est Mme. de Staël qui dit (‘f Corinne,” liv. 7, ch. 1) que
“ Charles-Quint disait qu’un homme qui sait quatre langues,” &c.
E. LATHAM.
Croydon.
Geometry at the Cambridge Local Examinations.
I AM surprised to see, among the new Geometry regulations
for the Cambridge Local Examinations, that the use of a hard
pencil is insisted on.
I have had some experience in marking examination papers
containing figures drawn with pencils so hard that the lines were
practically invisible, especially by artificial light, and I have on
several occasions complained of the indistinctness of the figures.
In many cases there is considerable risk of the candidates losing
marks through these faint-lined diagrams escaping the notice of
the examiners, who are usually compelled to mark many of the
papers by the light of the midnight oil.
Unless the proposed regulations are altered, it will be found
necessary to add an instruction to the examiners to the effect
that they are only to mark the papers in the daytime in sunny
weather, and the date for sending in the marks will have to be
extended to suit the meteorological conditions prevalent at the
time. If this is not done, I do not envy the Local examiners
their task. They will wish ‘‘ hard pencils” anywhere.
G. H. BRYAN.
Duplicators and Hektographs.
MR. JARVIS, in his interesting article on ‘School Furniture,”
in your December issue, advocates the advantages of duplicators
as opposed to hektographs. But there are mary occasions when
a few copies are wanted when the duplicator is not worth
setting up, and also fine-line work cannot be done on it.
Your readers might like to know that Mr. Gilson, now at
King Edward’s High School, Birmingham, so modified the
composition used in his hektograph as to make washing un-
1 THE ScHoor Wortv, December, 1902.
80
The School World
[ FEBRUARY, 1903.
necessary. Thus the process becomes a cleanly one, and we
find the instrument so made invaluable for daily use as opposed
to the more occasional use of the duplicator, The ‘curling
up” can of course be obviated by passing the hand over the
paper as it is taken from the jelly. Prints removed in this way
do not curl unless put in front of the fire.
Harrow. A. VASSALL.
History of Mathematics.
CAN any of the readers of THE SCHOOL WORLD guide me to
a book, periodical, or discourse that gives a full account of the
history of mathematics since their early period under the
Chaldeans and Egyptians up to the present ?
I should like also to know the publisher’s address of the
Mathematical Gazette.
I am a native of Syria and have a liking for mathematics,
and enjoy the reading of TH& SCHOOL WorLD very much.
G. HAMMAM.
Oriental College, Zahleh,
Mount Lebanon, Syria.
By far the best history of mathematics from the earliest times
is M. Kantor’s ‘*Geschichte der Mathematik” (Leipzig:
Teubner). This is a large and rather expensive work ; there is
no English translation.
Of works in English there are :—
W. W. Rouse Ball, “A Short Account of the History of
Mathematics.” (Macmillan.) tos. net.
F. Cajori, ‘* History of Mathematics.”
net. ‘* History of Elementary Mathematics.”
6s. 6d. net.
Gow, ‘‘ History of Greek Mathematics.” (Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.) os. 6d.
Heath, ‘‘ Apollonius”; ‘* Archimedes.”
versity Press.) 15s. each.
The last three are good, but only deal with part of the
subject.
(Macmillan.) 14s.
(Macmillan. )
(Cambridge Uni-
The Mathematical Gazette is published by Messrs. Geo. Bell
and Sons, York Street, Covent Garden, London.
Books for Science Study.
Do you know another hand-book on Practical Botany besides
that of Strasburger ?
Where can I find a book on Invertebrates which will aid me
in collecting specimens, and also a book on Microscopy ?
Will you recommend a post-graduate course in Comparative
Anatomy for one who has taken his M.A. for work in biology?
ROBERT CHAMBERS.
Bithynia High School,
Bardizag, Ismid,
Vid Constantinople.
(1) “A Course of Practical Instruction in Botany,” Prof.
F. O. Bower. (Macmillan.) 10s. 6d.
“ Structural Botany,” Prof. D. H. Scott. 2 vols. (Black.)
3s. 6d. each.
(2) ** Handbook of Instructions for Collectors.” (London:
printed for the Trustees of the British Museum.)
(3) “The Microscope and its Revelations.” By Dr. Dal-
linger, F.R.S. (Churchill.) 28s.
‘*A Popular Hand-book to the Microscope.” By Lewis
Wright. (Religious Tract Society.) 2s. 6d.
‘ Modern Microscopy.” M. J. Cross and Martin J. Cole.
(Baillhiere, Tindall & Cox.) 4s. net.
Monthly articles on ** Microscopy ” appear in Knowledge.
(4) There are such courses at Oxford. Write to Dr. G. C.
Bourne, New College, Oxford.
School Galvanometers.
THERE is a small galvanometer made by Messrs. W. G.
Pye & Co., of Cambridge, which has been used here for two
years, and has proved a very satisfactory substitute for ordinary
astatic galvanometers. The needles are not arranged astatically
and quickly come to rest.
A figure and a short description of it were given in THE
SCHOOL WorLD for December, 1899, but it is not so widely
known as it deserves to be.
P. HENDERSON.
High School, Dundee.
PRIZE COMPETITION.
No. 16.—Most Popular School-books in English Grammar
and Composition.
In the January number we offered two prizes of books, one of
the published value of a guinea, the other of half-a-guinea, to be
chosen from the catalogue of Messrs. Macmillan & Co., Ltd.,
for the two lists of six text-books of English grammar and com-
position now in use in schools, which are by those taking part
in this competition considered to be the most popular.
For the purpose of this competition those books will be
judged the most popular which are most frequently named in
the lists received.
In naming a book, its title, author, publisher and price should
be given, and books named may deal with both English
grammar and composition or with only one of these subjects.
Each list of books sent in must be accompanied by a coupon
printed on p. xiii., though a reader may send in more than one list.
Replies must reach the Editors of ‘THe ScHOOL WoRLD, St.
Martin’s Street, London, W.C., on or before Monday,
February 9th, 1903 (see p. 71).
The result will be published in the March nuinber, when the
successful lists will be published.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent to
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements should be addressed to
the Publishers.
THE SCHOOL WORLD #5 published a few days before the
beginning of each month, The price of a single copy is sixpence.
Annnal subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, if
not accepted, will be returned when the postage is prepaid.
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication.
‘The School Worl
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
A CHAPTER IN VERY ELEMENTARY
ARITHMETIC.
By Sır OLIVER LODGE, F.R.S.
Principal of the University of Birmingham.
SIMPLE PROPORTION.
NY number of sums are of the following
character :—
If 3 sheep cost £20, what will 100 cost ?
Now, the so-called “rule of three” method of
dealing with sums of this kind, though permissible,
is not really a good method, because it leads to
nothing beyond, and employs an antiquated system
of notation.
The answer is, one hundred thirds of twenty
pounds = 19° x £20 = £240 = £666°6 = £6662
= £666 13s. 4d. :
If the answer is not obvious, it can be arrived
at by the intermediate step of considering one
sheep, which will cost the third of £20, namely,
£6 13s. 4d.! And so a hundred sheep will cost
600 pounds, 1300 shillings, and 400 pence.
The 1300 shillings reduce to 65 pounds, since 100
shillings is five pounds; and the 400 pence make
£1 13s. 4d., since 240 pence is a pound, and so 400
pence is thirty shillings and 40 pence (or 3s. 4d.)
over,
This is not an orthodox way of doing the sum,
but it is just as good as any other, and it is one
that a boy might scheme for himself. There would
be no need to snub him for it. Everything which
is troublesome about such a sum results from the
miserable property of the number ten that it is not
divisible by 3.
If we had set the following very similar question:
If 3 sheep cost £24, what would 100 cost ?
an infant could answer, £800, doing it in its head.
But it would clearly do it by the same process,
vız., the process of considering the price per single
sheep, and that is therefore the natural and simplest
method.
To summarise: the childish method is the method
l
aad not come out even so well as this but for the fortunate
ok He vision of the shilling into pence ; so that one-third of a pound,
she ns two-thirds, viz., 138. 4d., can be exactly specified without
thirds a jese amounts are worth remembering us one-third and two-
Sovereign.
No, 51, VoL. 5.]
MARCH, 1903.
SIXPENCE.
by units, and may be written out at length; the
adult method is the method by ratio; what place
is there for the rule of three? The rule of three
with its symbols : : is reserved for antiquated
school-instruction.
Observe, there is no harm in writing a ratio as
2: 3 01a: b,and occasionally it may be convenient
to do so, though 2 — 3, or a + b, is precisely the
same thing, but usually the form : or ; is in every
way better. So also the symbol :: is needless,
because replaced by =. The fact is that : connotes
the theoretical idea of ratio, while -> indicates the
practical operation of division, which is the actual
: means of working a ratio out. The vulgar-fraction
form may be used instead of either of these signs,
and is usually best. The division then may or
may not be actually performed, as we please.
I feel inclined to illustrate good and bad methods
at this stage a little further, by taking a few more
very simple examples. For instance :—
If twenty dogs pulling equally at a sledge exert a
horizontal force of 1 cwt., what force do any three of
them exert ?
ADULT METHOD :—
_ 3X 112 ths.
| 20
GooD CHILDISH METHOD :—
20 dogs pull 112 Ibs.
10 dogs pull 56 ,,
1 dog pulls 5°6,,
3 dogs pull 3 x 5°6 = 16°8 lbs.
If it be asked, why not stop at ths of a cwt.
and give the answer as 0'15 cwt., I reply, no reason
against it at all; but children should be accustomed
to vealise forces and other things in actual homely
units that they can feel and appreciate, and a cwt.
yy Of I cwt. = 16°83 Ibs. wt.
is too big for them.
MECHANICAL METHOD :—
20: 3:2: 12: the answer.
Rule.—Multiply the means and divide by one extreme, and
you get the other extreme.
‘ the answer is &c.
BRITISH METHOD :—
There is indeed a barbarous way of complicating the sum,
which is typical of much that goes on in these islands at
inferior schools :—
Ibs. ozs. drachins.
20 / 336 o o
16 12 127
which is dune thus :—
H
8 2 The
School World
[Marcu, 1903.
Twenty into 336 goes 16 and 16 over, that is 16 lbs. over,
which equals 256 ounces. Twenty into this goes 12 times and
16 over, that is 16 ounces, or 256 drachms, into which twenty
again goes 12 times and }$ths over, which last equals 3ths, that
is ths of a drachm.
So the answer is 16 lbs., 12 ozs., 123 drachms.
On this one has to remark that since the unfor-
tunate 4 has to appear (as it happens) sooner or
later, why should it not appear at first? Why is
tths of a drachm easier to understand than ¢ths of
a pound? ‘The fact is that it is not easier to
understand, and by children is not understood ;
the “ 4 over ” which remains at the end is a con-
tinual puzzle tothem. They have been so accus-
tomed to getting rid of fractions by reducing to a
lower denomination, that at the end, when lower
denominations unaccountably fail them, they are
non-plussed. Quite rightly so: the fault is not
with the children. .
Whenever an attentive child finds a persistent
difficulty, teachers should be sure that there is
something wrong with their mode of presenting it,
probably with their own comprehension of it.
Nothing is difficult when properly put. The whole
art of teaching should be so to lead on that every-
thing arrives naturally and easily and happily, like
fruit and flowers out of seeds.
ANOTHER BRITISH METHOD :—
Usually, however, the sum is not recorded so briefly as this,
but is written out in what is known as the long-division plan ;
and it is perhaps the safest mode of getting the right answer, if
the answer is required to be thus barbarously specified, for it
certainly shirks nothing. This is the way of it:—
To divide 336 lbs. av. into 20 equal parts.
Ibs. ozs. drs.
20 ) 336 ( 16 I2 12$
20
256 dr.
240
16 remainder and 3 = $ drs.
1 If any mathematician glances through this paper, as I hope he may, he
will require at these stages to be reminded if British, to be informed if
foreign, that in these islands a drachim is defined to be the sixteenth of an
ounce, and that an ounce avoirdupois is one-siateenth of an avoirdupois
pound ; moreover, that a drachm is the lowest recognised denomination of
avoirdupois weight. After that fractions are permitted. Pennnyweights
and grains belong to a system of measures to which the name of ‘ Troy” is
(for some, to me, unknown reason) prefixed. ‘There is a © Troy pound ”
and a “ Troy ounce,” for “ metallurgical” use, but they differ from their
t grocery ` cousins, which are explicitly asserted “Sto have some weight.”
Then between grains and troy ounces there are other denominations used
by ‘S apothecaries,” called scruples and drams. ‘This dram is not the same
as the grocery drachn. ‘Vhere appears, however, to be only one kind of
* grain," and 7,c00 of them make one pound avoirdupois, while 5,760 of
them make one pound troy.
This may look like a parody, but it is soberly
the way in which innumerable children have been
taught in the past to do such a sum. And the
fact that they have been so taught can easily be
tested by setting it to people who were children a
few years ago.
ANOTHER METHOD.— If the factor plan of division
is adopted there is great danger of confusion and
error about the carrying figure. For instance, in
dividing 336 lbs. into 20 equal parts, a child as at
present taught will sometimes proceed thus :—
2 / 336 Ibs.
10 | 168
16 and 8 over.
8 what over? They are apt to take it as 8 Ibs.
over, and so interpret it as 128 ounces, and proceed
to divide these again by 20 by the same process :
2 j 128 oz.
10 / 64
~ 6 and 4 over,
apt to be called 4 ounces over, which are in-
terpreted as 64 drachms, and so on.
This is all wrong. The 8 over in the first little
sum was really 8 double-pounds, and so the second
little sum is all wrong. If it had been right, the
4 over could not have been 4 ounces, but 4 double-
ounces; but what needless trouble and risk of
error is introduced by having to perceive this !
Again, let many children be asked to divide
£336 by 25; few of them will have been taught
to proceed thus: |
336
25
I
£13'44,
£13 8°8s.,
£13 8s. 9°6d.,
or about 94d. ;
but they will proceed, either by long division on
much the same lines as in the last example, which
is long to write, or else by short division, dividing
by 5 twice over, which is not too long to write :
£ s d
5 / 336 0 oO
5/_67 4 ©
13 8 93.
Short to write, but rather hard to do. Such trivial
sums should not call for so much brain-power as
is involved in various and complicated carryings.
Money sums, however, are the best examples of
the kind. If it was 336 fons that had to be divided
into 25 equal parts, grown people would be satisfied
to say that each part must be 13°44 tons; but at some
schools it would have to be done thus, if not by a still
longer process equally liable to accidental error:
Tons. cwt. qrs. Ibs. ozs. dr.
5/336 0o o O O O
= 3°36 x 4
BREAKDOWN OF SIMPLE PROPORTION.
Simple proportion, or the rule of three, is by
some teachers regarded as a kind of fetish; its
extreme simplicity makes it a rather favourite rule
with children, and they will naturally do many
exercises in it: not always, it is to be hoped, by
AF yee
ioe:
MarcH, 1903. ]
the same mechanical method. But there is all the
more necessity for bringing home to them the fact
(strange if it is unknown to any teacher) that it
does not always work. For instance:
A stone dropped down an empty well 16 feet
deep reaches the bottom in one second. How deep
will a well be if the stone takes two seconds to
reach the bottom ?
The answer expected is, of course, 32 feet; but
it is not right. The correct answer is 64 feet.
If a stone drops 16 feet in one second, how far
will it drop in a quarter second? Answer, 12 inches.
Again, if a stone dropped over a cliff descends
64 feet in 2 seconds, how far will it drop in the
next second? Answer, 8o feet.
A steamer is propelled at the rate of 8 knots by its
engines exerting themselves at the rate of 1000 horse-
power. What power would drive it at 12 knots?
Probably no one would expect the answer 1500
to this; for on that principle 10,000 horse-power
would propel it at 80 knots.
An initial velocity of 1600 feet a second will
carry a rifle bullet 3 miles. What velocity would
carry it 6 miles ?
An ounce weight drops 4 feet in half a second,
how far will a pound weight drop in the same
time? Answer, by experiment, 4 feet likewise.
A most important fact, discovered by Galileo.
Let it not be dogmatised on, but illustrated by
dropping things together; and if it appears puzzling,
so much the better. Cotton wool and feathers and
bits of paper will drop more slowly, but the reason
is obvious. A bullet will drop more slowly in
treacle than in air. That is because the air
resistance is small. It is not zero, and if a bullet
and a pea were dropped from too great a height
air-friction would begin perceptibly to retard the
lighter body. So it is that big raindrops fall
quicker than little ones, and these small drops
quicker than mist and cloud globules. So also
does heavy fine powder, even gold powder, fall
slowly in water ; not because it is buoyed up, but
because it is resisted. Remove the air, and in a
vacuum a coin and a feather will fall at the same
rate. The statement does not explain the fact. The
full explanation of the fact is not even yet known.
A balloon 18 feet in diameter can carry a load
equal to one man. What load cana similar balloon
carry which is 36 feet in diameter ?
A rope stretches half an inch when loaded with
an extra hundredweight. How much would it
stretch if loaded with an extra ton ?
A half-crown is ten times the value of a three-
penny bit. How many threepenny bits can lie on
half a crown without overlapping the edge. (Ans.,
by experiment, one.)
A boy slides 20 yards with an initial run of 10
feet. What initial run would enable him to slide
half a mile?
If two peacocks can waken one man, how many
can waken six?
If a diamond is worth ten thousand pounds,
what would 950 similar diamonds be worth ?
If a camel can stand a load of 5 cwt. for six hours,
for how long could he stand a load of ten tons?
The School World
___ 83
These things cannot be done by simple propor-
tion. They require something more to be known
before they can be done at all; and accordingly it
would appear as if generations of teachers had
discreetly shied at them all indiscriminately, and
excluded them from arithmetical consideration
altogether. It is just as if, in geometry, finding
straight lines simpler than curves, they had agreed
to found all their examples upon straight lines.
Directly the elements of mechanics, and of heat,
and of chemistry have been begun, any number of
useful and fairly interesting examples can be con-
structed. They afford practice in arithmetic of
the best and most useful kind, quick and ingenious
computation being what is wanted, not laborious
dwelling upon long artificial sums. Long sums
are never done in adult practice; there are always
grown-up methods of avoiding them.
It is cruel to subject children to any such
disciplinary process as part of what might be
their happy and stimulating education. Before
they have been subjected to it, they are often
eager to have lessons; but experience of the
average lesson, as often administered, soon kills
off any enthusiasm, and instils the fatal habits
of listlessness and inattention which check the
sap of intellectual growth for a long tiñe.
If the teacher of arithmetic knows arithmetic
and nothing else, he is not fit to teach it. His
mind should be alive with concrete and living
examples, and it is well to- utilise actual
measurings, weighings, surveyings, laboratory
experiments, and the like, to furnish other
opportunities for arithmetical exercises.
Arithmetical exercise can be obtained un-
consciously, as bodily exercise is obtained by
playing an outdoor game. The mechanical-drill
or constitutional-walk form of exercise has its
place, doubtless, but its place among children
is limited.
There used to be too much of it, and too little
spontaneity of bodily exercise, in girls’ schools.
Now the spontaneity and freshness is permitted
to the body, but too often denied to the mind.
The same kind of reform is called for in both
cases. The object of the book in which this paper
will appear is to assist in hastening this vital reform.
LEVELS AND CONTOUR-LINES.
By A. Morley Davies, B.Sc.(Lond.), A.R.C.Sc.(Lond.)
I.
HEN we who are now teaching were learn-
\X/ ing geography at school, we carefully
copied maps of various countries, paying
particular attention to the political boundaries to
which we gave a delicate edging of colour. Rivers
we inserted with wriggling lines, gradually in-
creasing in thickness from source to mouth, and
then for mountains we laid down what have been
disrespectfully called “caterpillars.” At the present
time the best map-makers have not made any great
84
improvement on our old methods of delineating boun-
daries and rivers, but with mountains it is otherwise:
the contoured map has come, and come to stay.
The inadequacy of the “ caterpillar’’ to express
the real forms of the land isevident. Look at old-
style maps of S. America and S. Africa, for
instance: we see on the western side of the
former the Andes, and on the eastern side of the
latter the Drakensberg; but we see nothing to
suggest to us that the two ranges are altogether
different in character—that the former is a true
mountain-range, having a central culminating line
from which the ground falls at an equal rate on
either side, while the latter is the steep edge of a
great plateau. Or, to take a smaller example, who
would guess from the hill-shading of the Cotteswold
or Chiltern hills on a map of England what they
were really like? Who would imagine that when
he had climbed their steep north-western slope he
would find himself on a plateau, cut and scored, it
is true, by many a deep valley, but still with a
broad expanse of flat ground, on the roads of which
the cyclist can ride mile after mile with much less
exertion than he needs on the roads that follow
the main valleys, and that continually have to
surmount spurs of the hill-side? The truth is that
when we have said ‘‘hills”’ or ‘‘ mountains ” we
have used a very vague word, and that if we want
to know what a country is really like we must
learn to distinguish between different kinds of hills
and mountains. And towards this end our cater-
pillar will not carry us. We want some means of
distinguishing steep from gentle slopes; high-
lying flat ground from peaks and ridges; and the
best means that we have is contouring.
It is easy to define a contour-line: it is “a line
passing through all points of equal height on any
given sloping surface,” or “the line of intersection
of a horizontal plane of given altitude with the
surface of the ground.” But a definition without
examples is unsatisfying food. We must learn
what contour-lines and slopes really mean by
studying them on the ground. Let us go out with
our pupils into the country, armed only with the
local sheet of the six-inch Ordnance map, a re-
flecting level, and a note-book and pencil.
Fic.
Longitudinal vertical section, one-half the actual dimensions,
1.—\ REFLECTING LEVEL.
THE REFLECTING LEVEL? (Fig. 1) is a very simple
portable substitute for a theodolite, and enables any-
one to measure heights on sloping ground in terms
of the height of his own eye above the ground as
unit. It consists of a simple metal tube, a B C D,
l Made by Messrs. Troughton & Simms, 138, Fleet Street, E.C. Price
ras. Gd. and £1. A more claborate form is Abney’s level, in which the
spirit-level can be rotated in a vertical plane with reference to the tube, and
the angle between them measured on a graduated are with a vernier. Thus
the angular altitude of distant objects can be determined, as with a theodo-
lite; Lut this is not essential for our purpose.
i The School World
[ MARCH, 1903.
about four inches long and half-inch diameter,
without any lenses, but having one end closed
except for a minute peephole, £. Part of the upper
surface of this tube is cut away, and over this is
fixed a small spirit-level, F c. The upper half of
the tube contains a mirror, H, inclined at 45° to the
long axis of the tube and to the vertical. Looking
through the hole, £, one sees a circular field of
view, the lower half of which is occupied by a
small part of the landscape, the upper by the
mirror in which is reflected the spirit-level.
When the tube is held exactly horizontal, the air-
bubble, J, is seen reflected in the centre of the field,
its image being bisected by the lower edge of the
mirror. If then the observer is looking towards
rising ground, he sees, coincident with the lower
edge of the mirror, ground on the level with his
eye, and therefore at one unit or “ eye-height ”
above the ground on which he is standing. The
value of this unit in feet or other standard units is
of course variable, dependent not only on in-
dividual stature, but also on the pose of head and
body. The writer finds a difference of an inch-
and-a-half in his own ‘‘eye-height’”’ according to
whether he ‘stands at ease” or at ‘‘ attention.”
Each member of the class must determine his own
unit, and drill himself into always standing with
head erect while using the instrument. The
determination of the unit is made by standing on
the floor of a well-lighted room or level playground,
five or six yards away from a vertical post or wall,
on which heights from the ground are clearly
marked at intervals of aninch. It is then a simple
matter to sight one’s own eye-height at the level of
the lower edge of the mirror, H.
The height thus read off should in theory be identical with
the height of the eye as directly measured : there is a general
tendency for it to be actually a little less, partly owing to an
unavoidable tendency to bend forward when intently looking,
and partly owing to the fact that, as the mirror blocks out the
view above the exact eye-level, one is almost impelled to choose
a point a trifle below it, and fancy that is exactly level. This
latter source of error comes much more strongly into play in
field-work, and, while it must be guarded against as much as
possible, it cannot be entirely eliminated, and it may be found
that the unit for practical use will have to be taken a trifle
less than that determined as above.
Before explaining how to test the value of the
unit in the field, we must say a few words
about the six-inch map. As every school where
geography is properly taught must of necessity
possess copies of at least the 31-inch, 6-inch, and
25-inch Ordnance sheets of its district, it is, I hope,
unnecessary to mention that Fig. 2 is not a facsimile
of a 6-inch map, but a reduction to the scale of the
three-inches-to-the-mile of a simplified copy of a
portion of such a map. It will serve to illustrate
the four ways in which the altitude of points are
marked on the Ordnance maps.
(1) The numbers 319, 339, 402, 476, 514 and 539
(meaning so many feet above ‘“ Ordnance datum ”
—the mean water-level at Liverpool) are placed
each against a dot in the centre of a road or path.
These are the measurements of greatest value to
MARCH, 1903. |
us, as they are exact heights of points on the
actual ground.
(2) 498 and 543 stand against a dot enclosed in
a triangle. These are ‘triangulation points,” or
stations in the tri-
gonometrical sur-
vey on which the
map 1s_ based.
Though very ac-
curate heights,
they are not of
use to us, as the
stations are natu-
rally chosen for
convenience on
open ground suit-
able for viewing
distant objects,
and not in a series
along a definite
road or path.
(3) 357°8 and
547°9 are marked
with the letters
B.M. and a broad
arrowA, and de-
note the height of
“ bench - marks ”
made by the Sur-
vey officers on
buildings, gate-posts, &c. As these are invariably
above the ground level, it is necessary to find them
(and they are sometimes defaced or hidden by ivy,
&c.) and measure down from them if we want to
know the height of the ground.
(4) The dotted lines marked 400 and 500 are
contour-lines. On some sheets a distinction is
made between instrumental and sketched contour-
lines, the former being accurately determined at
intervals of 100 feet ; the latter, approximate only,
at intervals of 25 feet. There are no sketched
lines on the present map, and therefore the two
lines in question can be trusted absolutely on the
open ground. But it is not safe to trust a contour-
line where it crosses a road or even a path, since
the level of these is almost always not that of the
natural surface of the ground—paths are generally
a foot or two lower.
Now we are ready for actual field-work. We
will take the path which runs uphill from the S.W.
to the N.E. corner of Fig. 2. It has both good
and bad points for our purpose. The good are:
(1) it runs very straight uphill: a winding path
involves possible miscalculation of distances; (2) it
has a number of exact heights marked, including
its starting point. The bad points are: (1) it is a
path, not a road, and so has many local irregu-
larities of surface; (2) it crosses a railway embank-
ment by two sets of up-and-down wooden steps,
which interfere with the perfect continuity of our
measurements; and (3) the crest of the hill (which
comes between the 514 and 539 points) has no
mark of its exact altitude.
It is possible for a single person working alone
to obtain fairly accurate results, but it is far better
Fic. 2.—Simplified reduction of part of
six-inch sheet 43 N.W. (Bucks). Scale,
3 inches toa mile.
The School World
atten
for two to work together—one (Smith) to use the
reflecting level, the other (Brown) to act as a living
measuring-post, obeying Smith’s instructions and
keeping records in a note-book. Brown ma
indeed be relieved of the note-book by a third
member of the class, but any further members will
be spectators, pure and simple, unless additional
instruments are available. In arranging work with
a class it will be necessary to resist the natural
desire to take turns with the instrument: it is es-
sential that the whole of one piece of levelling, from
the bottom of the hill to the top, should be done
by one observer, or we shall have a varying unit.
Smith begins by planting himself in the centre
of the road running along the foot of the hill,
at the point marked 339. He faces the path, and
Brown walks forward until the soles of his feet .
are shown by the reflecting-level to be level with
Smith’s eye. Smith then calls to him to stop, and,
after any necessary adjustment in Brown’s position
has been made, Smith walks forward in a straight
line to him, counting his paces, which must be
natural, not forced. Brown makes the first entry
in the table already prepared in the note-book, and
then the whole process is repeated.
The note-book after a time shows the following
observations :—
Starling point—in Back Lane, Amersham, about 320 yards
W. of School. Height, 339 feet above O. D.
Eye-heights. Paces. ! Total Paces. Notes.
I 26 |! 26
2 44 ” 70
3 39 109
4 57 166 At 46 paces hedge on K.
5
46 212
This means that at first there is a rather abrupt
rise, so that only 26 paces suffice to raise Smith’s
feet to the level at which his eyes stoad at first.
Then follows a more gentle slope, the inclination
of which is locally greater or less as the numbers 1n
the second column are smaller or larger. This
variation in slope would be less marked on a
metalled road.
In spite of this very evident variation in slope,
we shall not err seriously if we assume the slope to
be constant for the interval between two successive
stations ; and infer that the height of the ground
at the point where the hedge is passed on our right
is 34$ (or say 3'8) “ eye-heights ” above the starting
point—the fraction being obtained from the propor-
tion between the number of paces from the fourth
station to the hedge and to the next station respec-
tively, as indicated in the fourth and second columns.
It is at the end of the hedge that the bench-mark
357°8 occurs, and if we can find the height above
the ground it will serve to check our results; but
it will be better to postpone the checking until the
observations are complete all the way up the hill.
As we near the crest of the hill, for our last
measurements we have to modify slightly our
method, for it is not likely that the top of the hill
will be an exact number of eye-heights above the
starting-point. Smith is standing at what is evi-
86 The
dently more than one eye-height, but less than two,
below the hill-top. Instead of pacing forward to
Brown as hitherto, he stops when his instrument
shows him the hill-top on a level with his eye.
Then he paces on tothe top. The last entries in
the note-book will therefore be after this kind :—
Eye-heights. Paces. Total Paces. Notes.
42 34 1205
43 > 38 1243 |
44 | 47 1290
45 53 1343 At 23 paces, one eye-
| height below top. Thence
| 104 to top.
| 1417
We therefore calculate the total height, in terms
of our unit, as 45 plus the fraction represented by
the 23 paces, which we may take as 23, or, say,
45°4. The reason for this modification of our
method is evident.
The slope is diminishing rapidly as we near the
top. If Smith simply paced the fifty-three paces
that answer to the last integral eye-height, he would
have 74 paces (104 + 23—53) left to bring him to
the top, and would have no means of equating
length with height ; for to assume it to be 74 eye-
heights is manifestly absurd.
If now the actual height of the top of the hill is
stated on the map, then this minus 339 should
equal 45°4 eye-heights. We can thus obtain the
value of our unit, and it ought to agree within
2 per cent. with the determination made by sighting
a point on the wall: .
Also by measuring on the map the horizontal
distance between the starting and finishing points
of our work, and dividing that by the total number
of paces (1417), we find the average length of a
pace. This we can check by measuring each sec-
tion of the path marked by ‘‘a hedge on the
right,” or “centre of railway,” &c., as marked
in the fourth column of our note-book. Similarly
we can check our determination of heights by
means of each intermediate point the exact height
of which is marked on the map. If there are any
serious discrepancies in the several results, our
conclusion must be that Smith is not a trustworthy
observer, and we must try Jones.
When we are satisfied, by thus working over
ground accurately surveyed already, that we can
measure heights with the reflecting level within a
small margin of error, we can proceed to measure
unknown heights in the same way.
If an open hill-side is available, we can use the re-
flecting level to mark out a contour-line in tangible
form. This might be done by sticking a series of
pointed sticks into the ground at intervals of three
or four yards, each one ona level with the same eye.
When they have been carried as far on either side
of the holder of the instrument as convenient, he
must shift his ground, using his instrument this
time to tell him that his eye is again on a level with
one of the stakes already planted ; and then we pro-
ceed as before. If the use of stakes is impracticable,
the members of the class might post themselves as
living stakes, all standing on the same level.
School World
[ Marcu, 1903.
HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE,
1763-1878.)
By C. S. FEARENSIDE, M.A.(Oxon.)
YEAR ago, when the Cambridge Local
Syndics announced the ‘History of the
British Empire” as a new alternative His-
tory subject, they actually prescribed only the first
half of that history (1492-1784) for the 1902 exami-
nation ; and some curiosity was felt as to how the
subject would be completed. They have hit upon
an ingenious and, on the whole, satisfactory way
out of the difficulty. The ‘‘ Empire Subject ” for
1903 is the period 1763-1878. This arrangement
involves certain overlapping, and does not quite
bring us down to our own day; but each of these
characteristics has as good claims to be considered
a merit as a defect. It is an almost unmixed
benefit to have to go twice through the American
Revolution, 1763-1783—one year as the end of
“ Britain’s First Empire,” and the following year
as the beginning of “ Britain’s Second Empire ”’ ;
for that period is, as regards both America and
India, the central and most dramatic portion of our
whole colonial history. And considering the diffi-
culty of studying quite recent events either calmly
or in due perspective, we may well be rather
thankful than not sorrowful to have the scramble for
Africa included within our school curriculum. The
year 1877, which witnessed the second annexation
of the Transvaal and the formal proclamation of
Queen Victoria as Empress of India, seems a more
significant date in our colonial history than the
year 1878; but the choice of the latter date as the
closing limit of our studies makes it pretty clear
that we are not expected to trace the course of the
complicated colonial renascence of the last quarter
century.
The period actually prescribed, however, ‘‘ will
furnish all we need to ask” in both dramatic
interest and quiet developments. It includes the
American Revolution, the Great War, and the
| Indian Mutiny on the one hand, and on the other
such topics as convict settlements, the abolition of
slavery, and diverse experiments in colonial govern-
ment in all parts of the Empire. It also includes
a great deal of exploring activity, chiefly in the
inland regions of Africa, Australia and North
America ; and this, though less well known, is no
less deserving of combined geographico-historical
study than the maritime explorations of Drake,
Dampier, Anson and Cook.
= (i.) Crass Booxs.—If we turn to consider the
questions where and how we are to study the
allotted 115 years, we are met at the outset by a
serious difficulty. The books recommended by
the Syndicate are José’s ‘“ Growth of the British
Empire ” (Murray, 6s.), and Woodward's “ The
Expansion of the British Empire ” (Camb, Press,
l Onc of the three alternative History subjects prescribed for the Cam-
bridge Local Examination (Senior and Junior), December, 1903. The cor-
responding subject for 1902 was treated in the February, 1902, issue of THE
SCHLOL WORLD.
me
ied e
cy
Se
rriv
aJt
Marcu, 1903.]
4s.). Now the papers set in December, 1902, were
evidently based almost entirely on the latter book ;
and, so far, that would seem to be the safest book to
adopt, especially as the new edition brings the story
down to the close of the Boer War. Neither book
attempts a comprehensive survey of colonial history
by periods ; but each follows exclusively the prac-
tice of treating each group of colonies separately.
Nor does either book pay much attention to his-
torical and descriptive geography. These defects
may be partly made good by the use of the excel-
lent selection of extracts which Miss Elizabeth
Lee has issued under the title of “ Britain over the
Seas ” (Murray, 2s. 6d.). This cheap and stimu-
lating “ reader '’- (more than half of which deals
with our prescribed period) ought assuredly to be
in the hands of all candidates, senior and junior.
In any case, however, whether either of the
recommended books or any other of the numerous
short books on the subject be adopted as class-
books, there will be a great deal left for the teacher
to supply from other sources; and it is to this
point that I propose to devote the rest of my
available space.
(ii.) REFERENCE Booxs.—Seeley’s ‘‘ Expansion
of England ” has little bearing on our later colonial
history; and, as we have now comparatively little
to do with the older English colonies in America,
we can almost ignore books on United States
history. The West Indies were steadily sinking in
importance, and in 1878 the South African colonies
had still to prove their value. Hence the following
“guinea parcel” of books provides for reading on
the Indian, Canadian and Australian groups only,
in addition to general works:
Payne, E. J., ‘ European Colonies” ... Macmillan ; 4 6
Lucas, C. P., ‘* Introduction to the Historical Geo-
graphy of the British Colonies” Frowde o 4 6
Rosinson, H. J., ‘ Colonial Chronology,” published
at 16s. but now on sale at about... site
LYALL, SIR A., “Rise of British Dominion in
Oo 4 0
India ” she Murray O 4 6
Jenks, E., “ The Australasian Colonies ” Clay o 6 o
BourtNot, Sir J. G., “ Canada” Unwin o 5 o
Gross cost... 1 8 6
Less discount O 7 O
Net cost ...f1 I 6
If further books on the British colonies in the
West Indies and in Africa be desired, recourse
should be had to the relevant volumes in Mr. C. P.
Lucas’s ‘‘ Historical Geography of the British
Colonies.” If these be too elaborate and expensive,
the cheapest effective substitute will be found in
the eighteen-penny volumes in Messrs. Marshall’s
“Story of the Empire” series. These should
certainly be found in every school library.
Many of these books, though constantly useful,
are too encylopadic in character to bear continuous
reading ; but there are one or two standard books
which combine readableness and utility to such a
degree as to deserve purchasing. Chief among these
are H. E. Egerton’s “Short History of British
Colonial Policy” (Methuen, 12s. 6d.)—this contains
87
a good select bibliography—and Sir G. C. Lewis’s
“Essay on the Government of Dependencies,”
originally published in 1841, and now obtainable
in the reprint issued in 1891 by the Oxford Press,
under the editorship of Mr. C. P. Lucas (Frowde,
14s.). Each of these books illustrates the very
different views regarding the colonies commonly
held during the early Victorian Era from those
which have recently come into fashion; and this
difference is one of the facts which must be con-
stantly borne in mind in studying the colonial
history of the period.
(iii.) REapaBLE Booxs.—Besides these books,
which are chiefly but not solely recommended
for their constant usefulness, and may therefore
claim a place on the teacher’s shelves, there are
many others which come nearer satisfying Prof.
Armstrong’s requirement of ‘‘readableness,” but
which may perhaps best be tasted first in a- copy
borrowed from a library. Partly on this account,
partly because many of these books are “classics ”'-
obtainable in several editions, I do not give the
prices and publishers, but arrange them in the
order of their composition. This list will be some
help towards mastering one of the most important
aspects of our present field of study—the growth
and development of ideas about the relations
between colonies and mother country. Some of
these twenty books will be found suitable for in-
clusion in the school library, for holiday tasks, or
for reward books.
BURKE, EDMUND, “ Speeches on American Taxation,”
&c. see aes sie os se R 1774-5
Best edition by E. J. Payne. (Frowde, 4s. 6d.)
SMITH, ADAM, “ The Wealth of Nations” : 1776
Book IV., ch. vii, viii, deals with the old Colonial System ;
cheap reprint edited by J. 5. Nicuontsox, (Nelson, 4s.)
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN (d. 1790), ‘“ Autobiography ” ...
DURHAM, Lorp, “ Report on British North America” 1839
This “ Magna Carta of the British Colonies ” has been recently
reprinted. (Methuen, 7s. od.)
MERIVALE, HERMAN, “ Lectures on Colonisation and
the Colonies”... ace bes sea ds we = « 1842
DARWIN, CHARLES, ‘* Naturalist’s Voyage Round the
World ” Sa pak iet ais Soa wee = «3845
KINGLAKE, A..W., “ Eothen”’ ... ia ie we 1845
WAKEFIELD, E. G., ‘' View of the Art of Colonisation” 1849
CARLYLE, Tuomas, ‘Latter-Day Pamphlets” (esp. >
“ Downing Street ”) ... sau ne we ee «B50
GREY, Lorn, ‘‘ Colonial Policy of Lord John Russell’s
Administration ” is en bic as we I853
DILKE, Sir CHARLES, “ Greater Britain” (a Tcur) 1808
FROUDE, J. A., “ England and her Colonies” and
‘* The Colonies Once More” sa Las ... 1870
In “Short Studies on Great Subjects,” second series.
Longmans, 3s. 6d.
KINGSLEY, CHARLES, “ At Last, or a Christmas in the
West Indies”... me ok nen =, .. 4S7I
Creasy, Sir Epwarp, ‘Imperial and Colonial Con-
stitutions of the Britannic Empire” a 1872
BUTLER, Sir W. F., ‘ The Great Lone Land” 1872
ay „o » » “The Wild North Land” 1873
Travels through Hudson's Bay Territory.
Topp, ALPHEUS, *“ Parliamentary Government in the
British Colonies ” : ae See ee 1880
SEELEY, Sir J. R., ‘ Expansion of England” ... 1883
FREEMAN, E. A., ‘*Greater Greece and Greater
Britain: George Washington, the Expander of
England ” sae ae on bes ae ... 1886
HÜRNER, Baron J. A., “ Through the British Empire” 1886
88
The books by Profs. Seeley and Freeman
represent respectively the ‘‘ Imperialist” and the
“ Old Liberal” views on the British colonies.
This list, extensive though it be, does not include
books of travels, except in one or two cases where
these have attained celebrity from a strictly literary
standpoint; but the exploration of the interior of
Africa and of Australia is closely connected with
our subject and can be studied in numerous inter-
esting books. Nor does it include historical
fiction, which is exceptionally helpful on this
period; but here sound advice in selecting books
is readily accessible in Mr. Jonathan Nield’s
“ Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales ”
(Mathews, 5s. net).
(iv.) BioGRAPHiES.—There is a further class of
books calling for mention—biographies. These
ought to be “ readable,” but, as they have in many
cases been written to order for inclusion in
“ series,” they need not necessarily be so. Naval
-and Anglo-Indian biography is more fully repre-
sented than lives dealing with the history of
Australian and Canadian colonies. Most of the
available lives dealing with our period will be
found in Messrs. Macmillan’s “ English Men of
Action ” (2s. 6d. each), in the Oxford University
Press “ Rulers of India ” series (2s. 6d. each), and
in Mr. Unwin’s “ Builders of Greater Britain” (5s.
each).
SCHOOL FURNITURE AND
EQUIPMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
FOR GIRLS.
By CAROLINE TURNER.
Joint-Principal of S. Catherine’s School for Girls, Hove,
Brighton ; formerly Headmistress of Exeter High School.
11.
N this article what are sometimes considered
minor fittings in the equipment of schools
are to be dealt with. They are not so directly
connected with the physical health of the pupils,
but are nevertheless of great importance.
All class-rooms should be fitted with one or
more BLackBoarbs, and these should, if possible,
be placed so that the children as well as the
mistresses can make free use of them. Much of
the work, now done by pupils in a cramped and
awkward position, could be done without injury if
more blackboards were available. Many advocate
the arrangement of fixed blackboards round the
walls of the class-room, and this arrangement is
carried out in many schools in America, on the
Continent, and occasionally in England. The
space thus gained for writing or drawing is very
valuable, but if there is a large class at work,
unless there is a top light, many children must be
working under unfavourable conditions with regard
to light. For the ordinary school and class-room
the choice seems to lie between: (1) the sliding
wall-blackboard or glass tablet; (2) the swinging
The School World
[ Marcu, 1903.
board or slate on a frame; (3) the sliding board on
a frame. A good selection of these is offered by
the Bennet Furnishing Co. They also offer a
revolving wall-blackboard at a moderate price.
For small rooms the old-fashioned loose board
on a folding easel, which can be put away against
the wall, is perhaps the most convenient. The
swing board gets out of order more easily than the
sliding board, and takes up more room; but it 1s
often an advantage to be able to tilt the board in
different positions. Blackboards mounted on
frames should always be fitted with castors, and
the extra charge for these is very slight. Folding
easels should be fitted with chains to prevent
slipping. A development of the blackboard which
I have found useful, suitable for small rooms,
and easily moved from room to room, is the
Viaduct Drawing Demonstration Frame.! (Fig. 1.)
This has no elabo-
rate mechanism to
get out of order,
and can be used
for drawing, solid
geometry,stand for
models, drawing to
scale, or as an ordi-
nary blackboard.
The wooden pock-
ets for chalk in the
frame of this black-
board are not an
advantage; they
are difficult to
clean, and chalk
is better kept in
the loose chalk-
boxes with hooks
for attaching to
the easel, or in
the shallow chalk-
groove to be found
in many easels.
Most of the
school - furnishing
firms will make
Fic. 1.—Viaduct Drawing Demonstration blackboards to
Frame .
any size. I had
a very useful one
made to my own measurements, and suitable for a
large room lighted on both sides. It'was a large
sliding-board on a frame; it could be used on
either side, and eight children could use it for
arithmetic, writing, or drawing, working at
different sides, four on each side; the frame ran
easily on castors, and the board also served as a
temporary partition in a large class-room, and was
used for experiments in bi-manual work. The
chief difficulty in the use of these large boards bya
number of children is the amount of chalk dust
distributed in the air when the board is being
cleaned. A damp sponge, or cloth, smears the
board for the next set of children, and time is
wasted while the board is drying ; the use of a dry
l The Educational Supply Association.
eM
sade
Marcu, 1903. ]
cloth raises clouds of chalk dust. Though the
question of cleaning these large boards rapidly and
effectively is a practical difficulty in the way of
their general use by large numbers of children in
succession, I am quite convinced of the advantage
of the use of blackboards by the children.
The change afforded by this work to a standing
position, and the free movement of the arms, are
excellent as natural physical exercises, and though
I have at present, after many experiments, an open
mind on the subject of bi-manual and ambidextrous
training, I think there is a good deal to be said in
favour of the physical advantage of the position
assumed by the child in doing this work.
One wall of a class-room can always be con-
verted into a large blackboard, and this, though
not decorative, is a useful arrangement for the
illustration of many lessons. For example, in a
single history-lesson it is often desirable to have as
illustrations genealogical tables, outline maps,
plans, or diagrams. The small blackboards give
no room for these. If several boards are used, the
room is overcrowded, and the teacher is often
driven to make her maps, &c., on large sheets of
paper which are difficult to handle, to dispense
with these illustrations altogether, or to dictate
illustrative matter to the class, thus weakening
the interest of the children, and adding to the
already heavy burden of written work for the
pupils, and of correction for the teacher.
One or more CUPBOARDS are an absolute necessity
for all class-rooms. Those built into the wall are
often made too high and too deep, but they take
up less room than the movable cupboards, though
the latter are perhaps more common. Many of
the mistresses’ desks are fitted with cupboards,
but these should, I think, be considered the
property of the form mistress, and not used, as is
often the case, where there are few cupboards, for
form stationery.
There are many varieties of school cupboards in
different sizes and qualities, costing from £3
upwards. For ordinary class-rooms where only
one cupboard is supplied, I prefer those with
wooden doors and made in two depths—upper
part, say, 12 inches deep; lower part, 19 inches
deep. The glass cupboards are suitable for school
libraries or museums, and, if kept neat, help to
decorate a room; but the glass is easily broken,
and school books vary so much in size and binding
that these cupboards are apt to look untidy. The
deeper, lower part of the cupboard can be used for
exercise books, class-room stationery, diagrams, or
Pictures for illustrating lessons. Some schools
provide a set of large pigeon-holes fastened to the
wall for exercise books. If possible, these should
be fitted with sliding doors.
All school cupboards should be provided with
strong locks and duplicate keys—one for the form
mistress and one to be kept in the head-mistress’s
office or private room. ‘This seems a minor point,
but it is an important one; a missing key often
Causes waste of time and great confusion.
INKWELL TRAYS are a necessity with portable
desks. The desks supplied to me by the Educational
The School World
89
Supply Association! have been fitted with inkwell
holes and sliding brass-tops, but it is safer to
remove the inkwells when the desks are folded.
The portable inkwell-trays with metal handles
should be kept on a special shelf in each class-room
cupboard. There are convenient inkwell cupboards
for general school use, and all Jarge schools should
be provided with one at least of these.
Maps and DiaGraMs are expensive items in
school apparatus, and should be carefully kept.
Some advocate hanging these on the walls of the
class-rooms, but this is not a suitable arrange-
ment, as they cannot be kept free from dust.
The closed cupboards with hooks for rolled maps
supplied by many firms are very convenient.
These can be made to hold thirty maps of different
sizes, and can be placed in corridors or landings if
a separate room cannot be spared.
An arrangement that is very convenient for
smaller diagrams or pictures which should be kept
flat is a frame with glass and a movable back.
These can be made by any picture framer, and can
be hung in the class-room and used for many
different illustrations, such as suggestions for
designs, historical pictures, newspaper cuttings,
charts, &c.
BoxES WITH GLASS LIDS are also very useful.
These can be used as temporary museum-cases
where space or funds do not admit of the ordinary
museum cases. Illustrated books, which might be
injured by careless handling and are too thick for
the movable frames, can be shown conveniently and
quickly to a class in this way, especially if a table
is provided in each class-room.
A convenient form of TABLE is one that folds into
small compass and is said to be strong and without
any complicated mechanism. Ihave not used this
table, but, judging by the convenience and strength
of folding desks, I should think it would be satis-
factory. The ordinary table requires more space
than can be allowed in an average class-room, and
yet a table is constantly needed if many lessons
are to be suitably illustrated.
Many convenient MUSEUM: CAsES are to be had,
from cases to stand on small tables to elaborate
fittings for a room set apart for a school museum.
If possible, each class-room should have its
museum case, however small, but this should not
be filled with dusty specimens that have no meaning
for the children. Some children, who have parents
and friends abroad, can often bring valuable and
interesting specimens as a loan or gift to the school,
and people are more willing to lend specimens if
they know that they will be kept in a locked glass-
case. I would suggest that the form: mistress
should in every case take a personal interest in the
contents of the museum case, and where possible,
see that it contains something that has a bearing
on her own special subjects.
I have found that all children, young and old,
take an intense interest in even a tiny AQUARIUM.
These can be procured very cheaply, if a small bell
glass is used, for from 3s. to 4s., and they are an
1See THe ScuooL Wor tp, February, 1903 (p. 57).
The
QO
endless source of pleasure and healthy interest.
Those who live near the sea can have one for salt
water and one for fresh water, and I have known
enthusiastic teachers who have kept a salt-water
aquarium in a healthy state for many months at a
time in a town some miles from the sea.
Teachers of science have, of course, the advan-
tage of superior knowledge and experience in
managing the class-room aquarium, but any mis-
tress who has an intelligent interest in what she
sees around her, and who is guided by some of the
many excellent nature-books now published, can
find more than enough animal and plant life to
interest herself and her class during the whole
school year.
GEOMETRICAL DRAWING IN
RELATION TO MATHEMATICAL
TEACHING.
By the Rev. Percy W. Unwin, M.A.
Assistant-master at Cheltenham College.
HERE is no subject, perhaps, in our school
curriculum which, quite apart from all con-
sideration of examination needs, furnishes
greater educational advantages than does the teach-
ing of Euclid and the exercises of geometrical
deduction. And yet we are told that as a school
subject Euclid is doomed, and various text-books
are already taking the place which he has occupied
for so many years in our school teaching.
Euclid is, indeed, becoming a name of the past,
so far as school work is concerned, and modern and
experimental geometry is taking its place. For
some time past the whole of geometrical teaching
has been enveloped in a state of unrest. It may
even be said to have passed through a period of
chaos from which it has emerged in a new and
unknown shape, a shape as unwelcome, as it is
unexpected to many a conservative adherent to
the programme of Euclidean geometry.
On almost all sides we learn that with the instruc-
tion devoted to geometry, be it called Euclid, or be
it known by any other name, must be given a
definite course of training in experimental work.
Whether these two systems of instruction should
be contemporaneous, or whether one should pre-
cede the other, and which should first be applied,
are points which are at present uncertain, and
upon which J do not now wish to dwell.
I write to give greater prominence to the all-
important suggestions already made, to the effect
that much of the time at present devoted to the
teaching of geometrical drawing ought to be
counted as given to this course of experimental
work. To attain this end the teaching of geome-
trical drawing must undergo a radical change. It
must become more mathematical. And this change
must be effected without sacrificing in the very
least the neatness, accuracy and finish hitherto so
School World
[MaRcH, 1903.
prominently set forth in the geometrical drawing-
lesson.
A change is being made in the teaching of
geometry. It is becoming more like geometrical
drawing. A complementary change is also needed
in the geometrical drawing-lesson—a change in the
direction of mathematics. To quote from the pre-
face of Prof. Henrici’s ‘‘ Elementary Geometry,
Congruent Figures ” :—
Geometrical drawing ought to be combined systematically
with the teaching of geometry. This is scarcely possible in
connexion with Euclid. Geometrical drawing belongs,
in fact, to a branch of geometry of which Euclid knew nothing,
and where Euclid’s propositions are of little use.
Let us briefly review the general lines upon
which instruction in geometrical drawing has been
given in the past, and the results which this system
has produced.
The subject may be roughly divided into four
heads :—(i.) Geometrical Drawing; (ii.) the Con-
struction of Scales; (iii.) Pattern Drawing and
Design; (iv.) Solid Geometry and Projection.
With section iii. we need not now concern our-
selves, for, while it is the ultimate goal at whicha
large number of the students of geometrical draw-
ing are aiming, it has little or nothing to do with
the mathematical side of the question.
Section i. has included as a start the more useful
of Euclid’s problems, though in the majority of cases
the constructions employed have been far simpler,
Euclid having laboured under two great disadvan-
tages unknown to the propounders of geometrical
drawing: namely, the necessity of proving his con-
struction by geometrical methods, and his inability
to make use of any proposition not already proved.
These elementary constructions have been followed
by others more advanced, and both classes have
been of the nature of material to be used in future
work. As instances of the first class we may
quote the bisection of an angle and the construc-
tion of lines at right angles. Examples of the
second class are the construction on a given line
of the segment of a circle containing a given angle,
and the finding of a mean proportional between
two given straight lines.
After these materials have been provided, the
student has been put to various groups of pro-
blems which can only be solved by the repeated
application of such elementary constructions as
those already learnt.
The order in which these groups have been
approached has been more or less immaterial.
While one group would deal with circles and
lines in many different combinations, another with
triangles, another with polygons, there would be
included in another such problems as deal with
the construction of areas of given magnitude,
and the division of figures into equal or propor-
tional parts. The number of such problems is
almost endless, and, while many of the more im-
portant have become almost as stereotyped as
the bookwork of Euclid, others are seldom met
with, and any one of such may be faced for the
first time in some important examination.
+e
Marcu, 1903. |
Sections 11. and iv., though very important,
are less variable in character. The construction
of scales involves the necessity of arithmetical cal-
culation, of peculiar neatness, and of absolute
accuracy, and it may be thought by some to form
a suitable basis for early instruction, since it re-
quires very little previous knowledge of geometry,
while it offers ample opportunity for acquiring
neatness and accuracy. To teach this important
branch of geometrical drawing, one must be pro-
vided with a good, clear, and simple method—the
simpler the better. And, while the minutiae of
finish play an important part in teaching accuracy,
neatness and uniformity of work, I do not think
they are of great value from an examination point
of view, though then, as always, the results ac-
quired by the continual practice of such details are
all-important.
Solid geometry has been reserved for more
advanced students, and seems likely to become
more and more so in those schools which work
mainly for the Army examinations, for the new
Army scheme proposes to make this branch of
geometrical drawing obligatory for the Woolwich
candidates only. A good text-book, with a large
number of well-drawn plates, is a necessity in
teaching solid geometry, for the figures are so
intricate that to draw many of them neatly on the
board requires more time, if not more skill, than
the master often has at his disposal.
Except in cases of special necessity, the teaching
of solid geometry will be postponed till the upper
forms are reached, though the consideration and
measurement of the regular solids will doubtless be
oe in some early scheme of experimental
work.
For the teaching of geometrical drawing, as
described in section i., I believe that a text-book
is practically unnecessary, save as a collection of
numerous and varied examples. Too much has
been left to the text-book in the past, and in many
cases the main instruction a student has received
has been that of the book, and not of the master.
He has been allowed to copy figure by figure from
the book. He has not always taken the trouble
to read the statement of construction, and thus the
steps of work have been taken in wrong order,
circles have becn described with wrong centres,
the brain has not been exercised, and the power of
reproducing the figure without help at any future
tme has not been acquired.
What seems most needed at the present time is
a good system of instruction, based upon a care-
fully drawn-up scheme of work, more especially
if the teaching of geometrical drawing is to con-
tinue side by side with the mathematical instruc-
tion in geometry.
In the past, geometrical drawing has been so
dealt with, that pupils have learnt the use of
instruments, have grasped the methods of scale
construction, and have become acquainted with the
working of a large number of geometrical
problems. They have acquired neatness, finish,
and accuracy of work, and have been able to
reproduce exactly any given problem so long as
_The School World
gt
the figure has been left before them. But how
small a percentage are able a week later to solve
a similar problem, or even the same one, without
some assistance from the master or from a book !
Why ts this? Because in many cases the teaching
has been unmathematical. Geometrical drawing
has been styled “ Euclid without any proofs,” and
this has often been considered sufficiently good
reason for ignoring the possible existence of a
proof. In most problems the reason why has
neither been sought nor given, and in many cases
the instructor, even if he would, could not have
given the class a reason for the method of solution
adopted.
Of course there are many constructions which
depend on theorems by no means geometrical, or
on mathematical knowledge far in advance of that
at which the class in question has arrived. There
are others which, while perfectly accurate, possess
practically no logical reason for their use. But I
maintain that, if a reason for any method of con-
struction can be given which will appeal to the
mathematical knowledge of the class, to leave this
problem for another without first revealing that
reason, without, if possible, making use of the
reason—as a means of discovering the solution to the
problem—is not only to teach badly, but in nine
cases out of ten to fail to teach at all.
There has been a tendency to allow pupils to
work with the hand only, and not with the head,
and, while it is gratifying to the master to know
that his pupils look, forward to the geometrical
drawing-lesson, they must on no account be
allowed to regard it wholly as a period of relaxation
as compared with other subjects. In the actual
drawing-lesson it is true that the mind is far less
busy than when dealing with an algebraical
problem, or with a rider in geometry. But the
actual drawing-lesson is only one part, and not the
most important part, of instruction in geometrical
drawing.
Now, if this subject is merely to lead to the
acquisition of neatness and accuracy, we spend too
much time upon it. In the school to which I
belong, all forms from the Remove to the Upper
VI. spend two hours each week on geometrical
drawing. Thus, a boy who passes through them
all, without failing to gain his promotion at the
end of every term, has given to this subject two
hours each week for seven terms by the time he
reaches the Upper VI. But, surely, the instruc-
tion in geometrical drawing can be so arranged
that none of the time devoted to it can be said to
be wasted, and the subject made, if not actually
a branch of mathematics, at least a very useful
handmaid to mathematical instruction? There is
a tendency at the present time to include it in the
mathematical programme of the future.
From the schedule lately published by the
Cambridge Locals authorities I gather that far
greater importance is to be attached to the ability
to make and to understand geometrical constructions.
Here is an opportunity for geometrical drawing,
which deals with problems only, the more important
part of that great subject hitherto called “ Euclid.”
92
Again, the new Army Scheme already referred
to proposes to do away with the actual paper on
geometrica] drawing, and to include the first two
sections I have spoken of in Mathematics 1., while
the solid geometry, for Woolwich candidates only,
will be covered by the papers on Higher Mathe-
matics. Geometrical papers, recently set in Naval
and other examinations, contain questions which
are nothing more than problems in geometrical
drawing, and for the construction of which a mere
statement without proof is all that is considered
necessary; while the geometrical drawing-papers
as set in the Army examination contain questions
which, if found elsewhere, would be called Euclid
riders. The present custom is to set such papers in
geometry for which the teaching of Euclid, as
carried out until quite recently, forms a very
inadequate preparation.
Much of the necessary instruction can, of course,
be provided by the mathematical lesson, and by
some such elementary course of experimental
work as has often been suggested of late. But
there is much more which the geometrical drawing-
lesson can far more readily supply.
The course I suggest, and on the lines of which
I have been working for some time, is doubtless
one which has been tried successfully by several
other teachers; but I believe the older methods
still prevail in many schools.
Beginners have, as a rule, had little or no
experience of a course of experimental work. Let
them first acquire a thorough knowledge of the
use of instruments for measurements and general
work, and of the varied applications possible in the
case of the Marquoise scales.
Let them next learn carefully the construction
of scales, plain and diagonal. The actual drawing
of the scales requires nothing beyond a knowledge
of the use of instruments, and of the geometrical
division of a line into a given number of equal
parts, and gives ample opportunity for neatness
and accuracy. Then the simple and advanced
constructions should be worked through with the
greatest care, each being explained as thoroughly
as possible.
These materials having been acquired during a
pupil’s progress through the two lowest forms, he
is now in a position to begin upon the more
advanced problems in geometrical drawing. A
paper of questiors on any group of problems
should be set, and one or two of a similar nature
should be worked on the board as examples—not
solved straight away but worked at by the method
of analysis and synthesis
As an example of this method let us take
the following problem, which, though too hard
for junior students, is an excellent illustration
of a problem which is almost impossible of
solution by anyone who has not seen it before,
unless he first approaches it by principles of
analysts.
Construct a triangle having given its perimeter, tts altitude,
and ils vertical angle.
Suppose the triangle ABC (Fig. 1.) to be the triangle required.
The School World
[MarcH, 1903.
Then the angle BAC is of known magnitude, and the per-
pendicular AD from A on to BC is of given length.
A
C
Fig. 1.
Produce BC (Fig. 2.) both ways, making BE=BA, and
CF=CA.
Then EF = AB+BC4-CA= given perimeter.
Also, since AD is of fixed length, A lies on a parallel to EF
at a distance from it equal to AD the given altitude.
Join EA and FA.
If we can show that the angle EAF is of fixed magnitude, it
follows that the point A will also lie on a fixed segment of
a circle, namely, the segment described on EF, and containing
an angle of this fixed magnitude.
Now BA=BE.
Z BAE = z BEA.
. £BAE=$2ZABC. Similarly ¿CAF=} 2 ACB.
ZEAF--$ZABC+4 2 BCA + Z2CAR,
-=4(sum of angles of a A4)+$ Z CAB,
=90°+ } Z CAB.
And as the angle CAB is fixed by Ayfothesis, the angle EAF
is also fixed.
Thus the solution required is as follows :—
Fig. 3.
Draw PO equal to the given perimeter. Draw RS parallel to
PO and at a distance from it equal to the given altitude.
On PO describe the segment of a circle containing an angle
Marcu, 1903. ]
The School World
equal to go’+half the given vertical Z, and cutting KS in
X and X'.
At the point X in XP make an angle PXY equal to the angle
OPX, and at the point X in XO make the angle OXZ equal to
the 4 POX.
Then XYZ is a solution of the problem.
The proof is obvious from the analysis given.
To take one more illustration of an easier nature.
Suppose the students have become thoroughly
well acquainted with the group of truths of which
the following are examples:
(i.) The locus of the centres of all circles which
touch two given straight lines is the bisector of the
angle contained by those lines.
(i.) The locus of the centres of all circles which
touch a given circle at a given point is the diameter
of the circle passing through that point and pro-
duced indefinitely. Let us consider the problem :—
Describe a circle to touch a given circle at a given point, and
fo louch a given strateht line.
The students should be taught to effect its solution in some
such way as this :—
Fig. 4-
Since the circle required has to touch the given ©) at the
given point P, its centre must lie in the line OP (Fig. 4).
Since the required circle has to touch the given circle at P, it
will also touch the tangent to the given circle at P.
It will therefore touch both the lines CP and CB.
Therefore the centre of the required circle will lie in CD, the
bisector of the angle PCB.
But the centre lies in OP, therefore it must be at the point E,
the only point common to OP and CD.
In making use of such methods of solution
as the two here suggested, students should be
taught to discover the cases of failure which exist
in nearly all problems, and also to note the number
of different solutions which are possible. In the
last example, for instance, a second solution is
possible, namely, that found by bisecting the angle
PCA. But there is no case in which the problem
i$ impossible. In the first example a second solu-
tion is obtained from the point X’, and two more
exactly similar to the first two, by drawing RS
and the segment of the circle on the other side
of PQ. The solution becomes impossible when
the segment of the circle does not intersect KS;
that is, when either the altitude or the vertical
angle is too great.
When these illustrations have been carefully
worked out by the master, on the lines here
Suggested, or others like them, the students should
e set to work on the problems before them, treat-
ing them exactly as geometrical riders. Their
solutions need not in the first place be drawn with
laborious care, and may be made on rough paper.
When sufficient time has been allowed for the best
boys to solve them all, or before if necessary,
as will often be the case, the whole should be
worked through on the board, and marks assigned
for the solutions obtained. An extra mark may
be given for any logical proof produced.
More than one solution of a problem will be
offered, as a rule, and their relative merits should
be discussed and explained. Finally, the whole
batch of problems should be neatly and accurately
reproduced either at the next lesson or in evening
work, and marks then assigned for the drawing only;
the solutions shown up being, of course, those
only which the master has finally pointed out
to the class as the best of several suggested for
the problems in question.
In this way pupils will gradually acquire the
power of working for themselves, a power which
it is well-nigh impossible to acquire by such
methods as have often been applied to the instruc-
tion of geometrical drawing in the past. These
methods have often degenerated into mere me-
chanical copying of figures and patterns given
in a book. And unless this ability to think out
a problem for himself has been acquired and
constantly exercised by the pupil, he is scarcely
likely to find that his mathematical work gains
much assistance from the geometrical drawing-
lesson.
I do not wish to suggest that the system I have
tried to describe here is the only one likely to
achieve successfully the end in view, but I do
believe that it lays stress on one point which
is most essential, and that is the necessity for
giving each pupil some opportunity to discover for
himself the solution of the problems he is set to
draw.
The exercises may be gradually made harder
and harder, and after a year of such work it will
be found that the standard of neatness and accuracy
has in no degree been lowered, while the sum total
of ability to work out geometrical riders will be
greater than ever before, and geometrical drawing
will have played no small part in achieving this
very desirable end.
How to Work Arithmetic. By L. Norman. Parts I. and
II. Each xvi. +78 pp. (G. E. Over: the Rugby Press.)
1s. 6d. each part.—Full solutions of 136 questions, given as they
would actually be sent up by an expert candidate at an exami-
nation. Mr. Norman has really done a useful work: for many
arithmetics, otherwise good, do not give the details of actual
computation in a proper form. Parts I. and II. contain the
same problems, but the methods of solution in Part II. are
often less elementary than those in Part I. Part II., in another
edition, might with advantage be enlarged by adding examples
of other types, such as calculation with logarithms, mensuration,
&c. Itis interesting to see that these books have been pub-
lished at Rugby. The typography is very good, especialiy the
figures.
94
THE ASSOCIATION OF HEAD-
MISTRESSES.
HE original name of this Society, at its
foundation in 1874, was ‘‘ The Association
of Headmistresses of Endowed and Pro-
prietary Schools.” The title was changed in 1896,
when, in order to include the new class of schools
created under the Welsh Intermediate Education
Act, and to justify the inclusion of certain “ class
schools,” it was found necessary to modify the
Miss Conno.ty.
Headmistress of the Haberdashers’ School, Hatcham, S.E. ; President of
the Incorporated Association of Headmistresses.
name, which then took its present form, “The
Association of Headmistresses, Incorporated by
the Board of Trade, 1896.”
The Association rejoices to honour Miss Buss as
its foundress and first President. She, however,
with characteristic modesty, would have wished
other names to be associated with hers in the work
of drawing together those on whom was laid the
burden of ruling, and to some extent creating,
public schools for girls.
In 1866 Miss Emily Davies founded ‘The
Association of London Schoolmistresses,” in which
Miss Buss took from the first a leading part. The
meetings of the London schoolmistresses were
frequently held at Miss Davies's house. Questions
as to school methods, curriculum, the relation of
The School World
[MaRrcH, 1903.
headmistresses to their colleagues, and many other
points, came under discussion, and opportunities
were thus given for helpful intercourse to many
otherwise isolated workers.
In 1866 public schools for girls were almost un-
known. Cheltenham Ladies’ College had for eight
years been under the wise, courageous rule of Miss
Beale. There were a few schools for clergymen’s
daughters which had a semi-public nature, and the
North London Collegiate School for Girls had
been at work about sixteen years, but as a private
venture. Between the foundation by Miss Davies
of the Association of London Schoolmistresses in
1866, and that of the Headmistresses’ Associa-
tion by Miss Buss in 1874, changes, amounting
almost to a revolution regarding the education of
girls, took place.
In 1870, Miss Buss transferred her school to
trustees, making it a public school on a permanent
footing. In the same year her friend, Miss Davies
(whose great services to the cause of education were
fittingly recognised, when in 1go1 the University
of Glasgow conferred on her a degree), founded
Girton College. In 1871 other honoured pioneers
were at work. In that year, mainly through the
efforts of Mrs. William Grey and her sister, Miss
Sheriff, the Women’s Education Union was founded,
the work of which led to the formation of the Girls’
Public Day Schools Company, which was begun
in the hope of providing sound liberal education
for girls, who, unlike their brothers, did not benefit
to any great extent from the educational endow-
ments of the country. It was at the same time
that the Endowed Schools Commissioners were
feeling their way and doing all in their power to
give a fair share of the trust money with which
they had to deal to the education of girls. The
first endowed school opened for girls under the
Commissioners was at Keighley, in Yorkshire.
The first headmistress of that school was Miss
Porter, who, in 1873, became the first headmistress
under the Girls’ Public Day Schools Company.
When once the work was begun it proceeded
rapidly. Miss Buss, knowing how much help the
London schoolmistresses had gained from inter-
course and co-operation, had a private meeting at
the end of 1873 with Miss Beale, Miss Jones (of
Notting Hill), and Miss Porter, at which she pro-
posed that she should invite certain mistresses to
form a new Society, at once broader and narrower
than that which Miss E. Davies had founded eight
years before. The new Society was not to be
limited to the headmistresses of London schools;
public schools throughout the country were to be
associated with those in London, but the mistresses
of private schools were to be excluded. This was
decided upon in no ungracious spirit, the good and
necessary work done in private schools was fully
recognised, but the new Association had to take a
definite line as to those eligible for membership,
and the line then laid down has never been over-
stepped.
The proposed meeting took place in December,
1874, at Miss Buss’s private house. Those pre-
sent were Miss Buss, Miss Beale, Miss Cheveley
2 t
beah a hi at we
avy tell
rea re
Marcu, 1903. |
(Huddersfield), Miss Day (Manchester), Miss Day
(Westminster), Miss Derrick (St. Martin’s-in-the
Fields), Miss Hadland (Milton Mount), Miss Jones,
Miss Leicester (Leicester), Miss Neligan (Croydon),
and Miss Porter. Of these first eleven members,
three were working under schemes of the Endowed
School Commissioners, three under the Girls’ Day
Schools Company, four under local companies, and
one in what may be called a “class school.” At
that first meeting, Miss Brough, who had been
actively associated with the Women's Education
Union, was present at Miss Buss’s request, to act
as Secretary, an office which she held until
December, 1901, when she retired, to the regret of
many old friends.
Miss Buss, notwithstanding many attempts at
resignation, which she made from time to time,
remained the President of the Association until,
on Christmas Eve, 1894, she, having served her
generation, by the will of God, fell on sleep. Dur-
ing the last few years of her life much of the work
of the President was done for her with never-fail-
ing courtesy and discretion by her friend, Miss
Jones, to whom the Association is greatly indebted.
Miss Beale was elected President in June, 1895.
When her term of office ended in June, 1897, and
a new President had to be chosen, Miss Beale
announced from the chair, ‘* Ladies, I have before
me a great number of nomination papers, but they
all bear one name, that of Miss Jones.” This was
sufficient evidence, were any needed, of her col-
leagues’ appreciation of her many services.
Miss Day, of Westminster, became President in
1899, and Miss Connolly, of Hatcham, succeeded
er in 190I.
The work of the Association, thus started in
1874, has been many sided. Parliamentary action
with regard to education has been closely
watched, schemes for the training and registra-
tion of teachers have from very early days been
favorably regarded, and the admission of women
to the universities has been eagerly advocated;
but, above all this public work, the chief con-
cern of the Association has been the wise
uprearing of a noble school-tradition for girls, a
desire to be satisfied with nothing less than the
best in education. The headmistresses were not
hampered with narrow precedents ; they sought to
develop the capacities of their girls in every direc-
ton. The noble motto of Prince Henry the Navi-
gator, ‘“ Le talent (desire) de bien faire,” fitly indi-
a the view they had taken regarding their
work.
In glancing through the old minute-books it is
extraordinary to see the variety of subjects in
which the Association concerned itself. For in-
stance, in 1879, the chief topics at the meetings
.were, early in the year, ‘“ What precautions should
be taken against infectious diseases.” Soon after
the members were busy over a memorial to the
Senate of London University, praying for the esta-
blishment of examinations in the theory and practice
of education. Another memorial followed, urging
the Charity Commissioners to make it possible to
pension assistant-mistresses.
The School World
95
In June, 1879, the members were full of Dr.
Lyon Playfair’s Registration Bill. In 1880 they
memorialised the authorities at Oxford and Cam-
bridge about the admission of women to degrees.
In the following year the physical training of girls
was a vital question. Dress reform, cookery, Latin,
the teaching of science, spelling reform, gymnastics,
organised games, music examinations, were all
talked over, and more or less action ‘resulted from
the discussions.
The annual conferences of the Association are
held alternately in London and in the country.
Meetings have taken place at Bedford, Birming-
ham, Bradford, Cheltenham, Clifton, Edgbaston,
Manchester, Milton Mount, Oxford, Plymouth,
Sheffield, and Worcester, as well asin many of the
London and suburban schools. The meeting for
1903 will take place at Cambridge.
Two conferences call for special mention, those
of 1887 and 1894. They were notable specially,
because by the kind invitation, first of Mr. Thring,
and secondly of Mr. Welldon (now Bishop Well-
don), the meetings were held at boys’ schools.
Mr. Thring, the founder of the Headmasters’ Con-
ference, watched with sympathetic interest the
movement in regard to the education of girls. The
Association felt deeply the honour shown to it by
his invitation. The exceeding kindness shown to the
seventy headmistresses who were fortunate enough
to be present at Uppingham in 1887 will not easily
be forgotten. It so happened that St. Barnabas
Day (the festival of the school) coincided with the
conference, and the headmistresses were welcomed
to the chapel service on that day. When, after the
death of this great headmaster, the Association was
allowed to show its appreciation of him, by putting
a memorial window in his honour in the school
chapel, it was decided that one of the saints de-
picted in the headmistresses’ window should be
‘‘ The Son of Consolation.”
At the Harrow meeting, which was held in June,
1894, Mr. Welldon gave an address of great interest
in the Vaughan Library, and he and his colleagues.
were most kind to their guests. ar a
It was felt by the members of the Association to.
be a great encouragement to them in their work,
thus to have the right hand of fellowship extended.
to them by such distinguished headmasters.
It is impossible in this brief notice to record all
that has been done or attempted by the Associa-
tion. Perhaps the following movements have
been those in which the interest of the head-
mistresses has been keenest and most persever-
ing :—
(a) The work of training teachers.
(b) The establishment of examinations in the
theory and practice of teaching.
(c) The promotion of pension
teachers.
(d) The registration of teachers.
(e) The admission of women to degrees at the
universities.
Since 1874 nearly all that was then hoped for
has been granted, and the Association may justly
claim a share in this satisfactory result.
schemes for
o 90.
Besides the Annual Conference of the Associa-
tion, much work is done by the Executive Com-
mittee, and by the various sub-committees; among
others may be mentioned the Parliamentary Com-
mittee, the Printing Committee, the Scholarship
Committee. Representatives of the Association are
sent by invitation to serve on the Councils of
various bodies, e.g., the Maria Grey Training Col-
lege, the Cambridge Training College, the Norland
Institute. Others represent the Association in the
Joint Advisory Committee, which serves as a com-
mon ground for the Headmasters’ Association and
that of the Headmistresses, on the Joint Scholar-
ship Board, the Joint Registry Committee, &c. In
1894 the Association was invited to send two
representatives to give evidence before the Royal
Commissioners on Secondary Education. Those
elected were Miss Jones and Miss Day, of Man-
chester; and in 1902 Mrs. Woodhouse, of Clap-
ham, was chosen to serve as representative of the
Association on the new Registration Council.
It only remains to say that the Association now
numbers nearly two hundred headmistresses.
Membership is no longer limited to England and
Wales. A few schools in Scotland are represented,
as well as one at Constantinople, and one in India.
The Association has been enabled in past years to
do much for the higher education of girls, and there
is reason to believe that there is a great future of
usefulness awaiting it, and that its characteristic
marks will be found to be a love of thorough-
ness, joined to a desire to move so steadily forward
that it may have few, or no, steps to retrace.
The pioneers in the Women’s Education Move-
ment were noted for their breadth of view, and
sobriety of judgment, combined with untiring zeal,
and those who follow them in their work will not
be content with any lower ideals.
A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF
SPEARE IN SCHOOLS.
SHAKE-
By EstHeR S. THORN, B.A.(Lond.)
Assistant-mistress, Camden School for Girls.
N this paper I wish to indicate briefly the lines
on which I think the study of Shakespeare in
our schools might be made more beneficial to
the pupils and certainly more interesting to the
teacher. At present most of the pupils, in our
upper forms even, come to the study of a play of
Shakespeare with a very inadequate equipment.
Necessarily, a rather large proportion of time must
be spent on the elucidation of the text and on
explanations which, in many cases, unduly tax the
memory of the pupils. This cannot but militate
against a cultivation of the spirit of pure literary
enjoyment, and the evil might be avoided by a
carefully graded syllabus of instruction. Further,
the syllabus should be drawn up to meet the
requirements of at least two-thirds of the number
Ae ee ee
[ MaRcH, 1903.
of forms in the school. Too often, nowadays, the
study of Shakespeare is confined to a few of the
upper forms only. This is a mistake, though one
which is usually realised too late. I have no
wish to dogmatise on the subject of Shakespeare
teaching, but shal! merely sketch a course of
instruction which will be found quite practicable
in an ordinary secondary-school. The question of
the time to be spent in such teaching will be dealt
with later.
In the lowest forms the teaching should be
given by means of stories from the plays, carefully
selected and simply told. Naturally, the language
used must be well within the comprehension of the
pupils, and with very young children it is better to
narrate an interesting story embracing only one
incident in a play. The greatest care must be
taken to avoid confusion by introducing too many
characters and endeavouring to epitomise a whoie
play. ‘Then, life and interest must be imparted to
the story by the use of illustrations wherever
possible. Pictures of places or incidents men-
tioned should be procured and freely used. In
order to give stability to the work done, the children
should be encouraged to reproduce the story last
told in their own words before the beginning of the
new lesson. If this plan is followed, care must be
taken that the work of orally reproducing should
not be confined to a few bright children. There
will not be time probably to listen to more than
one or two children before each lesson, but an
effort should be made to get through the whole
class during the term. Or, if the children are not
too young, the plan of asking them to write a com-
position occasionally may be adopted.
In the middle forms of the school a play will of
course be studied, and on the method of studying
the play I need say nothing. But there are some
points which call for an extended consideration at
this stage of a pupil’s progress. Part passe with
the study of a play should proceed the study of the
times of Shakespeare. The pupils should be made
to realise vividly the London of Elizabeth and the
ordinary every-day life of the people. A map of
Elizabethan London (which can easily be made by
the teacher) is a wonderful help in this connection.
In order to do this part of the work effectively the
teacher must be prepared to read widely and
imaginatively. And the teacher who does this
will be more than repaid—not merely by the
increased interest of the pupils—but by the actual
benefit derived. The mention of a few books,
leaving aside those definitely dealing with Shake-
speare and his work, may perhaps be useful. The
works of John Stow are invaluable, and his
“Annals” and ‘Survey of London” should
certainly be read. The latter is particularly fas-
cinating. The“ History of Elizabeth ” of William
Camden is a good one to read in conjunction with
Stow’s “ Annals.” For the teacher’s own benefit
a vivid picture of the more bohemian life of the
times may be obtained from Robert Greene's
‘“‘Groatsworth of Wit” and the ‘ Pierce Penniless”’
of Thomas Nash. More modern works, which,
however, help one to realise the age of Shakespeare
MARCH, 1903. ]
with a fair amount of fidelity, are Robert Hall's
“Society in the Elizabethan Age,’ Thomas
Wright’s “ Homes of other Days,' and Lucy
Aikin’s ‘‘ Memoirs of the Court of Queen Elizabeth.”
One work professedly on Shakespeare may perhaps
be noted, as it is somewhat off the beaten track.
I refer to the book entitled ‘‘The Folk-Lore of
Shakespeare,” by T. F. T. Dyer.
And then Stratford-on-Avon, the place so dear
to the heart of our great dramatist, must not be
forgotten. Its country freshness and undying
charm should, through the medium of the teacher,
make as permanent an impression on the pupil as
the London of Shakespeare. In fact, the two places
form contrasting backgrounds on which to picture
the life of the times. Perhaps the courtly side of
London's amusements can be read nowhere better
than in the large but interesting records of John
Nichols entitled “ The Progresses of Elizabeth ”
(1788 edition). On the dramatic side, the pupils
must be given clear ideas of the theatre in the days
of Shakespeare.
What I have said with regard to the middle
forms applies, naturally with modifications and
extensions, to the upper forms. Here, however,
some careful attention should be paid to studying
the grammar of Shakespeare, and the play chosen
for special study should receive careful attention
in this respect. Systematic lessons should be
given in the grammar, and half-an-hour a week
might well be devoted to it. I do not advocate
the use of any text-book by the pupils, for good
lessons on the part of the teacher are quite
sufficient. Here I should like to remark that the
work of studying a play of Shakespeare’s would be
much less hard for the pupils if the ordinary
lessons in English grammar throughout the school
took a more historical turn than is in general the
case. The outlines of Anglo-Saxon grammar, so
far as necessary for the proper understanding of
the present English tongue, may be made tolerably
familiar by a proper use of the usual grammar
lessons in every form but the lowest. Speaking
from a practical point of view, I find that pupils
are usually interested in tracing the changes
through which a word passes in its history. In
the upper forms, too, some little time should be
given to a study of the dramatists contemporary
with Shakespeare.
In every form there should be a certain amount
of essay writing, not too frequent, but sufficient to
prove an incentive to the pupils to think out things
for themselves. In the upper forms, where time
admits, a fortnightly discussion-class is very
stimulating, under good leadership, and forms an
excellent training ground for a college debating-
club. The scheme sketched is necessarily a rough
one, and needs to be carefully graded to the
requirements of each form separately, whereas I
have in this paper merely considered the matter
under three broad divisions. As to the all-im-
portant question of time, I believe it will be found
that, by a judicious arrangement, three-quarters of
an hour weekly will be found sufficient for the
lowest forms, whilst two lessons a week each of
No. 51, VoL. 5.]
The School World
97
half-an-hour will be enough for the middle forms.
Of the higher forms it is difficult to speak, as so
much depends on the individual circumstances of
the school. But, with careful arrangement, no
. other subject need suffer for the more systematic
study of Shakespeare which I advocate. I feel
sure that there is no need to dwell on the gain to
be derived from an attempt to form the literary
taste of our pupils and to cultivate it, for it will be
generally acknowledged that few things are more
detrimental than the notion some pupils seem to
obtain that a play of Shakespeare is something to
be dissected for a Local Examination.
VIVA-VOCE EXAMINATIONS IN FRENCH.
By DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE,
Principal of Kensington Coaching College.
O feature in the examination system of this
country has afforded such satisfaction to
modern -language teachers as the impetus
that has been given lately to viva-voce exami-
nations. Jf modern languages are to take a
place beside the other chief branches of learning,
they must be treated as living and not as dead
languages in the class-room; and this side of a
modern-language teacher's work deserves inspection
or examination as much as any other. For the
Army, 300 marks out of a total of 2,000 have been
given for dictation and conversation for some
years past. But we fear that this proportion has
not been sufficient to render it worth a candidate's
while to devote much time to them. Four years
ago, the University of London made it compulsory
for every Arts candidate presenting himself in
modern languages to read a portion of French
or German and to answer a few questions arising
out of the piece read. The College of Preceptors
has given a maximum of 100 marks (compared
with 200 for the written examination) for a volun-
tary oral test in French and German to first-
class candidates. We should like to see this made
compulsory for the first class, and. voluntary for the
other classes, who are at present debarred from an
oral test altogether. The Delegates of the Oxford
and Cambridge Local Examinations are this year
beginning a viva-voce test for their Senior can-
didates. We may hope, therefore, in the near
future to find that no one will be permitted to pass
an examination in modern languages without having
satisfied the examiners that he has a reasonable
acquaintance with the spoken tongue. It is not so
very long ago that at a well-known public school,
in a class taught by a Frenchman, the boys were
allowed to spell every French word they came to
instead of pronouncing it; so instead of saying
je suis they spelt j-e s-u-i-s.
As in most examinations, there are a few candi-
dates very good, a few very bad, while the main
body are of average attainments. The chief mis-
I
98
takes made by the latter can be grouped under
a few heads.
I.—The first lesson they have to learn is the
proper division of the syllables. They will not
begin each syllable with a consonant: this is espe-
cially noticeable after an unaccented e. Thus,
they pronounce se-ra, or ce-lui, as if spelt ser-a, or
cel-ut. Demi is more often than not pronounced
demnu, which is too like Mr. Mantilini to be
correct. In fact, the stress is usually placed, as in
English, at the beginning of a word, and the rest of
the word slurred over; whereas, in French, the
stress should be on the last syllable, or on the last
but one if the last is an e mute.
II.—The nasal sounds are sometimes fairly cor- -`
rect; but almost invariably a mistake is made in
words beginning with tm or in coming before a
vowel or another m or n. For example, immense,
innocent, and inouï, are given an incorrect nasal
sound.
I1].—The rules of liaison are perhaps those most
consistently broken, for it requires a great deal of
reading at sight to be able to bring in liaison cor-
rectly, yet without undue emphasis, while reading
at a fairly rapid rate.
IV.—Ch and th should not present the diff-
culties that they often do. Words like monarchique
and thésée ought to be pronounced correctly even
by students who have not had to pronounce them
before.
V.—Another mistake that is easily avoidable is
the wrong pronunciation of the feminine of words
ending in ain or ein, which are pronounced too
often like their masculine, e.g., pleine, contemporaine.
VI.—The vowel a in the middle of an unknown
word is rarely given its proper sound, and er is
almost invariably pronounced as in English, e.g.,
casuyne for caserne.
VII.—Qu is well known by most to be invariably
a “k” sound, but how often is this forgotten in
such a word as squelette and pronounced skwellet ?
VIII.—Au is another pit-fall in such a word as
Auguste, where the English “aw” sound is often
substituted for the French “o.” Fu in Eu-rope is
rarely right.
IX.—The u that is placed after g to keep it hard
is often pronounced; e.g., goo-ffes for guêpes, or
prodigoo-és for prodigués.
X.—Other miscellaneous words that are more
often than not pronounced wrongly are Jean (which
is not “ Jay-an”’ or * Gin °); gagner, campagne, and
such gn sounds; arle (which is not pronounced as
aille, the present subjunctive of aller, but like the
English ‘“ale’’); meurs (in which the s is often left
silent).
These errors have been so consistently made in
my hearing by candidates for some years past that
I trust the foregoing remarks may be of help to
them as danger signals.
Pror.e imagine that experiments in education are unneces-
sary, and that we can judge from our reason whether anything
This is a great mistake, and experience teaches
us that the results of an experiment are often entirely different
from what we expected.— Kant.
is good or not,
The School World
[MarcH, 1903.
A LONG-NEEDED BOOK.
amount of information which it contains
(and there is a great deal, for the print is
small), but because it is the first attempt to embody
the results of comparative philology in a book of
reasonable compass. There is nothing of the sort
in existence. Curtius’s ‘‘ Small Greek Grammar ”’
has been Jong out of date; and grammars on the
plan of Brugmann’s (in Miiller’s “ Handbücher ``)
would be quite useless inaschool. Teachers have
long felt the need of such a book for their own
use; and as for boys, whilst the less advanced
may ignore the specially philological parts, and
use the rest with advantage, the more advanced
will find in it everything they want. It will also
prove useful to Cambridge men reading for the
First Part of the Tripos as reconstituted under
the new conditions.
Mr. Thompson has had a difficult task before
him. The study of philology is so beset with
technicalities, and involves such a mass of detail,
that it must have been more than difficult so to
present the results as not wholly to mystify the tyro.
Yet we believe he has done this. Itis true that no
one familiar with philological problems and methods
can fully realise the effect of this statement upon
those who know nothing about them; but it does
seem to us that Mr. Thompson has made himself
clearly intelligible. In the body of the work he
must of course take the principles of sound-change
for granted; but any reader who is puzzled by
their application, or whose curiosity is excited to
learn more, will find them succinctly stated in
Appendix III. It is really delightful to examine
this appendix, and to see the facts so clearly
tabulated and explained, for those who having
been driven to acquire their knowledge from
German books have been repelled by the clumsy
methods of arrangement which tell nothing at all
to the eye. In this respect Brugmann himself is
a great sinner, and even Giles’s ‘“ Manual ” leaves
much to be desired; but here are the main facts
in a compass of fourteen pages. For the more
serious student it is to be regretted that Mr.
Thompson did not deal in the same way with the
syntax. He says enough to show that he knows a
good deal of comparative syntax, but he does not
treat it with anything like the same fulness as
he treats the morphology. It must be admitted,
however, that such a treatment would have largely
increased the bulk of the book.
We may now call attention to a few details.
Something should have been said of inscriptions
(which are hardly mentioned), and of the history
of the alphabet ; and it ought to have been made
clear that the iota subscript (p. 5) was never used
by the Greeks, who wrote it adscript. Clearly,
this sound was pronounced when it was written,
and it isa pity that Greek books, at least scholars’
— a a a
Ta is a considerable book, not oniy from the
1“ A Greek Grammar Accidence and Syntax for Schools and Colleges `
By John Thompson, M.A. , formerly Scholar of Christ's College, Cambridge;
Senior Classical Master, the High School, Dublin. xiii. + 494 pp
(Murray. )
MARCH, 1903. ]
books, are all (except Leaf’s ‘ Iliad”) enslaved
to the medizval convention of the subscript.
Similarly, it ought to have been said that the
breathings are not classical. Mr. Thompson’s
account of the smooth breathing (p. 7), as indicating
“only the raising of the voice which is necessary
for the pronunciation of a vowel when no conso-
nant precedes,” is at least debatable; it may re-
present a ‘‘catch’’ something like that which is heard
in some parts of Germany where -r precedes a vowel,
asin der dudere. A list of the numeral signs of Attic
Greek (not the late alphabetic system, but that in
which, c.g., H stands for HEKATON) would have
been useful. Other interesting points would have
been elucidated if Mr. Thompson had included the
Alphabet in his book. On p. 44 he implies that
xpue is the contraction of xpveća, whereas the 7 is
due to analogy. (A reference is omitted on this
page, line g from foot.) It is not quite scientific
to say that the augment in a compound verb is
sometimes placed before the preposition ‘‘ by over-
sight ” (p. 115); this happens when the compound
is felt by the popular consciousness as a single
verb (compare ~ıéfw, a prehistoric compound, with
èr). The author might have pointed out that
double augments increase in number in later Greek,
£g. in writers like ‘‘ Demetrius” and in the papyri;
and, as all literary vagaries should be included, we
expect to find such forms as Herodas’s dpwépyxa
mentioned (p. 127).- Inscriptions furnish useful
illustrations of the Schema Pindaricum (p. 229.3).
On the same page, the blundered use of dual for
plural things, found in Theocritus, might have been
mentioned. In the accounts of the Attic calendar,
(p. 468) Mr. Thompson omits to record the regular
type, Seurépa, &c. mer’elxddas, for the last decade of
the month, and that the regular word for the
fourth of each decade is rezpds, not terdprn. But it
is inevitable that in the first edition of such a work
there should be slips and omissions. Taking it as
a whole, we are impressed with its fulness and
accuracy, and we predict that it will soon win the
public confidence. 7
MODERN SCHOOL-BUILDINGS AND
THEIR EQUIPMENT:!
F every practical schoolmaster were free to plan
his ideal school, it is certain that the design
and equipment of each would differ in some
notable respects from those of all the others. For
not only will locality, numbers, age, sex, and the
social position of the pupils, impose special require-
ments on their own account, but the type and
range of education which has to be imparted—as
well as the racial characteristics of the people for
whom they are established—will also imply restric-
tions and demands which cannot be ignored when
considering the architectural arrangements of the
buildings in almost every detail. In other words,
the modern school-building, intended to meet the
needs of modern education, is an example of the
1 Modern School-buildings, Elementary and Secondary.”
i By Felix
Chay, B. A., Architect. (Batsford.) 25s. net.
a NG
99
particular application of certain general principles,
in which appropriate variation and combination of
details present a problem of extreme complexity
and interest.
How recent and how rapid has been the develop-
ment of the present forms of our systems of primary
and secondary education is perhaps seldom recog-
nised.
The ancient grammar-schools of this country
originated mainly in the Tudor period; but, in-
cluding Eton, Carlisle, and Winchester, they num-
bered but thirty-five prior to the accession of
Henry the Eighth. The dissolution of the monas-
teries gave a stimulus to the founding of similar
establishments, and also furnished in many cases
the means of their maintenance. Not a few were
founded and endowed by wealthy private indi-
viduals; and in all, down to the time of the Civil
War, nearly 800 ‘‘ Grammar School” foundations
were created. Their progress and ultimate fate
was curiously diverse. Expansion of the details of
the originally simple curriculum entailed increased
expenses which the diminishing revenues of the
original foundations failed in many cases to meet.
Increased facilities of communication materially
aided in developing the boarding-house system by
which famous and popular establishments attracted
pupils from increasing distances, with pecuniary
benefit to themselves and to the financial detriment
of less successful rivals. In their wake arose the
early ‘‘ Private Adventure ” and the “ Preparatory ”
schools—the latter so recent an innovation that
none is said to be traceable prior to the accession
of Queen Victoria.
The modern type of Elementary School may be
said to have had its beginning in the “ Lancas-
trian ” schools started on the pupil-teacher system
at the end of the eighteenth century. And the
modern Board School building is a development
of the Ben Johnson School, erected in 1872 after
designs by Mr. T. Roger Smith.
The modern Girls’ School did not exist at all
before 1850, at about which date both the North
London Collegiate School and the Cheltenham
Ladies’ College came into existence. And it was
not until after the publication, of the Schools En-
quiry Commission in 1867 that a real impetus was
given to the provision for girls of educational oppor-
tunities in any degree comparable to those open to
boys, both in quality and in amount.
Thus it is that, amongst the eighty-five illustra-
tions of various schools which appear in the in-
forming and sumptuous volume compiled by Mr.
Francis Clay, there is no example of an Englisi
public school—as that term is usually understood
—with the single exception of Christ’s Hospital on
its new site at Horsham. The dignity of age is
scarcely compatible with organic reconstruction ;
and, despite the most ingenious and well-meaning
intentions, no modifications of, or additions to, the
fabric of the older foundations could really place
them in structural plan and treatment on the same
utilitarian level as a school of equal size designed
and built ab initio in accordance with modern
educational ideas. As its title indicates, the book
IOO
The School World
[ Marcu, 1903.
was not written for the antiquary. But, for every-
one interested in the practical work of education, it
teems with information; to the architect and the
schoolmaster alike it will prove an invaluable work
of reference. Every type of secondary and elemen-
tary school is fully illustrated and adequately de-
scribed. The modern schools, and the more
important and characteristic details of their
management, of other countries—especially those
of Germany and America—are illustrated and de-
scribed, and their contrasting differences, as com-
pared with British methods, are clearly expounded.
Village schools, schools for crippled and for men-
tally defective children, Poor Law schools, Barrack
Schools and Cottage Homes, are also dealt with ;
their description being, as in the case of all the
other types of schools, rendered particularly clear
by the aid of plans and examples of the several
cases dealt with. And the volume is brought up
to date by the reprint, as an appendix, of the rules
for planning and fitting up Public Elementary
schools, issued by the Board of Education in
November of last year.
Within the limits of a single notice it is impos-
sible to do more than indicate some of the subjects
appertaining to school planning, construction and
fitting which are treated within the 430 pages of this
work. But it may be said that, with the help of its
excellent index, there is nodetail pertinent to its wide
range of subjects on which the reader may not gain
prompt and trustworthy information; while the bib-
liographical table of workson schoolsand their archi-
tecture affords the means of prosecuting enquiry
into practically every department of the subject.
Mr. Clay treats technical details without tech-
nical obscurity ; and discusses subjects which are
too often viewed controversially with a refreshing
and dignified impartiality, while at the same time
his conclusions are expressed tersely and with
clearness. The numerous illustrations, including
many explanatory diagrams, really deserve their
name; the type is large, and the printing excel-
lent. A short chapter dealing with the alteration
of existing buildings, and of private houses in-
tended to be used as schools, with the cost of
schools, and with the care of buildings, contains
some valuable information. The remarks as to
sites and playgrounds, and as to the details which
specially require attention in planning the indivi-
dual and relative arrangement and proportion of
the several parts of each kind of school, are likely
to prove extremely useful; and here and there the
reader comes across a pregnant sentence which
sums up the whole matter in one abiding phrase,
as— when dealing with staircases—* The test of a
well-planned staircase 1s the absence of any stair-
case rules in the school regulations.”
The hygienic aspect of school construction and
management 1s adequately and soundly dealt with;
and the section relating to ventilation and warm-
ing may be referred to as, within its limits, a
model essay on the subject— temperate, clear, and
eminently useful. ln this connection may be
mentioned the only serious omission which we
have been able to note; serious, indeed, mainly
because indicative of the undeserved indifference
with which a common difficulty is almost invariably
regarded. Every other department is written of
fully and in careful detail; but no word is said
of the School Chapel. Yet everyone knows
that, while the general principles which govern the
problems of properly ventilating and warming a
building are the same in all cases, their successful
application to the Chapel has yet to be exemplified.
The architect and the engineer must share the
blame for this between them. One is tempted to
ask whether this silence on a matter of so much
importance is but another example of the too often
and too painfully obvious fact that, in the designing,
building and management of places of worship, the
matter which appears to be considered last and
least of all is the bodily health of the congregation?
THE HOUSE OF SELEUCUS:!
E offer a hearty welcome to this book, a
courageous attempt to throw light on an
epoch which is no less obscure than im-
portant. The neglect which the subject has met
with in the past (the last monograph on the
Selenids bearing date 1744) is due partly to the
very natural feeling that with Alexander the
romance of Greek history comes to its zenith,
which detracts from the interest of what followed ;
and partly to the accident that the chief records of
the time have perished. And yet a perusal of this
book shows that even the romance of history did
not cease with the death of Alexander: the rise of
the first Seleucus, and the ups and downs of
Antiochus IIl., not to speak of others, are sufficient
to show it for all the scantiness of our material.
The material, too, has received not inconsiderable
additions of late years from the discovery of
inscriptions, and Mr. Bevan has the advantage of
the work of many scholars who have studied the
period as a whole or small portions of it : Ramsay
and P. Gardner in this country; Droysen, Niese,
Schirer and others, abroad. Not nearly so much
has been discovered or done in this field as in that
of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which makes our debt
to Mr. Bevan the greater.
To criticise the work fully would be to go into
minute detail. Mr. Bevan is not afraid to use his
own judgment, whether in combining scattered
allusions into one picture or in his view of the
accounts given by Polybius and Livy. Many of
those points are matters of opinion, many are open
todoubt. Thus Mr. Bevan follows ancient tradition
perhaps too closely when he regards the Mace-
donians as ‘‘ barbarians ” who understood Greek—
so at least, although he does not use the word, we
gather from his introductory chapter. But the
Greeks were exclusive in that matter, and the
correct view depends largely on the denunciations
of Demosthenes, himself by force of circumstances
a strong partisan. A suggestion, moreover, that
the conical stone may have been meant for the
l “The House of Seleucus.” By Edwyn Robert Bevan, M.A. With
plates and maps. 2 vols. xiL + 330, Vill. + 333 pp. (Arnald.) 30s. net.
Marcu, 1903. |
symbol of a mountain in miniature (i. 226?) will
hardly commend itself to students of primitive
culture; or another which connects the Zoroastrian
respect for the cow with a desire to support agri-
culture (i. 260). We may add that the map opposite
ii. 75 ought to face the other way for practical use.
We do not propose to discuss the various details
we have noted, which would be more appropriate
to a critical than to a scholastic journal; but we
would call attention to the broader lines of the
work, which give it a value quite independent of
minor criticisms.
One such matter is the relation of the Seleucids
to Syria. They are usually thought of as a Syrian
dynasty; yet Syria was rather one of several
districts which they always aspired to rule than
the seat of their empire. They did, in fact, hold it
only a brief space, and on Syrian soil suffered more
than one serious reverse. But in the person of
Antiochus IV. they come into special importance
in Jewish history, whilst a critical interpretation of
the Book of Daniel shows a large number of
references to the dynasty. Again, Mr. Bevan
shows much shrewdness in estimating the cha-
racters and aims of the personages, and shows how
a great kingdom was more than once gained, and
might have been consolidated, if the monarch had
only been content to gain no more. He is not
unsuccessful in his attempt to reconcile the strange
inconsistencies of Antiochus III., which were “a
puzzle even to his contemporaries.” He had
physical courage in abundance, like all his house;
but lacked political nerve, as shown by “ the con-
trast between the energy with which his earlier
political plans and campaigns were carried through
and the hesitation, rashness, and puerile trifling of
his war with Rome.” His energy was one ‘“ which
shows itself rather in bursts when confronted by an
obstacle than in the deliberate and resolute pro-
vision of the means towards the end in view, which
marks the true practical genius. It is displayed
Bs aus rather in the beginnings of an enterprise,
when the difficulties and dangers appear most
formidable, and languishes with success. It is the
energy of impulse, not of reason.” But Mr. Bevan
does not fail to point out that at that date no one
{except perhaps Hannibal) could have known the
latent power of Rome. Inthe earlier days of his
story, Mr. Bevan is often at a loss for material;
but where he has material to work on his descrip-
tions are lucid and forcible. We may mention as
examples the invasion of Palestine, checked by
Ptolemy’s defeat of Antiochus, and the capture of
Achaeus. The author deserves credit for firmly
refusing to fill up gaps out of his own imagination.
Nor is Mr. Bevan blind to the practical importance
of his work for modern politicians. The discerning
reader will see the modern problems of our Indian
empire foreshadowed in Asia Minor, and may grasp
the supreme importance of the sea.
The reader will see by this time that Mr. Bevan
has done a good piece of work, and one that needed
doing. It is pleasant to recognise another sign
amongst many that English scholars are doing
their share of the work of research.
= The School World
IOI
NATURE NOTES FOR MARCH.
By Rev. CANon Srewarp, M.A. Oxon.
Principal of Salisbury Training College.
Animal Life.—VN.B.— The Wild Birds Protection Acts pro-
vide a close time for shooting and taking wild birds from March
bo August ist.
Migration of birds increases ; nesting begins with Blackbird,
Thrush, Hedge-sparrow, Robin, Rook, Missel-Thrush, and
Longtailed Tit, Little Grebe, Owls, Pigeons and Lapwings.
The Wheat-ear arrives on Southern downs. In mid-month the
Chiffchaff comes, restless and vociferous. Sand Martins, earliest
of the Swallow tribe, appear about 28th. Woodcock, Field-
fares and Redwings leave us for the north: Snipe disperse,
some remaining to breed. Golden Plovers ‘pass through.
Occasionally a Kingfisher may be seen, and the song of the
Golden-crested Wren be heard. In spring and autumn some
birds, as Crows, Rooks, Herons, Magpies and Starlings, assem-
ble in large numbers and appear to deliberate in solemn council.
On warm days common Snakes and the Tortoises emerge from
their winter quarters, and Queen Wasps and Bumble Bees
appear. Frogs spawn and Tadpoles are hatched. Garden
Spiders are busy spinning.
Entomologists will this month do well to replenish their stock
of pins and boxes, killing bottles and breeding cages. The
following Lepidoptera may be seen: Brimstone B., green-
veined White B., Red Admiral, Small and Great Tortoiseshell,
Peacock, Painted Lady B., Clouded Drab M., Light O.,
Underwing M., Dotted Border M., Tissue M., March M., Early
Thorn M., Herald M., Quaker M., Oak Beauty M., and
Xylocampa.
Plant Life. —Germination and embryology with microscopic
study of tissues may advantageously be proceeded with now.
The following plants may be expected to be found in flower :
Buttercup, Daffodil, Whitlow Grass (walls), Ground Ivy, Wood
Sorrel, Wood Violet, Marsh Marigold, ‘ Palm ” Willows, Wood
Anemone, Moschatel, Greater Stitchwort, Cuckoo Flower, Ger-
mander Speedwell, Field Woodrush, Primrose, Cowslip,
Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Viola hirta (chalk pastures), Creeping
Crowsfoot, Wild Hyacinth, Luzula pilosa, Prunus, Fritillary,
and (near Swansea) Draba Aizoides.
The Willow tribe may now be studied, and the species dis-
tinguished. The flower may be found: Salix purpurea
(Norwich); S. helix, S. Lambertiana (Wilts); S. Forbyana
(E. Anglia); S. rubra, undulata, amydalina, stipularis and
oletfolea.
All who have access to a barometer should record its move-
ments on a chart, and note the coincidence of phenomena, both
before and at the time, in the condition of the atmosphere, and
among animal and plant life, especially, perhaps, among birds
and insects.
Observant eyes will discover the prevalent direction of the
strongest gales in any locality by the form and one-sided growths
of the trees, and may be able to determine the points of the
compass by the effect of a northern or a southern aspect on
plant life ; e.g., the colour and growths of moss or lichens on tree
trunks or the sides of rocks.
Folk-lore.
March hack ham,
Comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.
A peck of March dust is worth a king’s ransom.
March’ll search ye, April try ye,
May’ll tell whether live or die ye.
As many misties in March,
So many frosties in May,
IO2
HOW TO MAKE PRACTICAL WORK OF
USE TO BIG, LOW FORMS.!
By E. C. Sttkrwoop, M.A.
St. Peter's College, Westminster.
SCIENCE as sometimes taught consists of lectures without any
connection with the course of practical work which is carried on
at the same time. This plan of teaching is open to many serious
drawbacks. To begin with, the boys do not appreciate the
practical side of these lectures or the theoretical side of their
practical work. Before sending them into the laboratory it is
always necessary to give a short lecture on the work to be done,
and the time for this has to be taken out of the hour devoted to
laboratory work. Moreover, even though the actual experiment
is done before the eyes of the boys, and they are compelled to
take notes of why and how it is to be done, they do not take it
in because they are fidgety for the moment when they may go
and begin to work themselves. They have no time to think
over and learn their hasty instructions, and they work with one
finger, so to speak, on their notes. Question the average boy
while he is at an experiment, and he will disclose the most
astounding difficulties. After he has been convinced that a
particular investigation is desirable, he cannot always see what
the experiment has to do with the thing to be found out, or
how he has found it out by means of the experiment.
In such a simple experiment as the separation of sand and
salt, I have known the boy boil the mixture with water and
throw away the filtrate. A boy who had not done this, if
suddenly asked ‘‘ Where’s the salt now?” would frequently
require time and occasionally assistance to answer.
The weak spot in the method is generally lack of time to
make the boy appreciate the significance of the practical work,
and the only way to get the time is to contrive the two courses
of teaching by so choosing the laboratory experiments that they
illustrate the lectures. Since there is no chance on the lecture
day of going into the laboratory, the form has to make the best
of a bad job and listen to the lesson. My usual course of
proceeding on lecture days was as follows: slips of paper weie
served out, and about eight questions were asked on the prepared
work (which was the subject matter of the previous lecture,
learned from the notes, the practical work, and a text-book).
The slips were then exchanged, the answers corrected, and the
marks taken. Any boy who did not get half marks was sent to
detention school. It was very seldom necessary to punish a boy in
this way. Next the work of the last day in the laboratory was
criticised, mistakes were pointed out, and difficulties were
explained. Finally, a lesson was given on the new piece of
work.
It is here that most of my heuristic teaching is done. The
boys are frequently asked to jot down how they intended to
attack the particular problem under discussion ; more generally
my questions are answered orally, one answer often leading on
to another. ‘* Next boy! why is that a silly answer?” and so on.
The answers given are often very suggestive, though sometimes
disheartening. At first the prevalent idea of solving any problem
in chemistry was to ‘‘heat it very strongly,” but such drastic
methods gave place to more reasonable ones, under the influence
of time and ridicule. As the right way of doing the experiment
was arrived at the details of manipulation were written down in
pencil. If the experiment was quantitative the results were of
course not given, but if it was qualitative it was found necessary
to tell the boys what kind of phenomenon to look out for: for
l Being a Paper read before the Association of Public-schvol Science
Masters, January 17th, 1903.
ee OS
[MarcuH, 1903.
example, if asked to describe the effect of heat on sulphur, they
were told to record colour changes and changes in fluidity. If
the lesson was on the combustion of various elements in oxygen
gas, they were asked to record the vigour and duration of the
flame; the colour of the light emitted; the appearance of the
resulting product ; its smell; its solubility or otherwise in water ;
the action of the water solution on litmus. These preliminary
notes were taken away, copied out neatly into a book, and
learned for preparation ready for the next laboratory day.
When possible each boy does the whole experiment by
himself: if this is not possible the boys work in pairs. The
objection to their working always in pairs is that it generally ends
in one of each pair doing all the work. With a big low form I
find it impossible to have sets of boys doing different experi-
ments at the same time: the experiments are therefore limited
to those which can be done with the ordinary laboratory
apparatus, the disadvantage of this being more than compensated
for by the possibility of teaching the form as a whole. Besides
the principal experiment which all must make, I find it ex-
pedient to set a subsidiary one, so that the boys who work fast
may have something tu occupy their time, and the sharper boys
some practice in the simplest kind of problems. The boys
could not conveniently be provided with sets of apparatus each,
for their own use, as the required apparatus and materials were
set out beforehand on the benches by the bottlewasher. At the
end of the lesson it was the duty of each boy to leave the things
as far as possible in the state and position in which he found
them.
Discipline in a laboratory, where many of the boys are always
out of sight, must be very strict. A good punishment to apply
to any boy found idling, or prosecuting the kind of originat
research so dear to boys, and so expensive in materials, is
expulsion, for the rest of the lesson, to the duller regions of
the lecture-room. I owe it to the form to say that it was very
good, and gave me very little trouble in this respect. ,
The general manipulation of the form having been described,
it remains to discuss the aims and object of a first course in
science. A great deal has been written and said on the
heuristic method of teaching, which means, unless I am mis-
taken, that the pupil should be put in a position to discover for
himself the facts of science. One of the chief doctrines of the
method is that you should tell the boy as little as possible. I
hope to demonstrate that a truer principle of education is
contained in the doctrine that you should make him find out as
much as is expedient. The differences between the above two
ideals may be studied from the three points of view, the practical,
the utilitarian, and the moral. .
Firstly, the practical difficulties of the purely heuristic method
are enormous. Given unlimited time with a few children of
ordinary intelligence, and it may be applied with great success ;
but a big low form contains from twenty-five to forty boys,
whose average intelligence is usually below the normal, and
whose interest and industry is often even lower still. Each boy
has his own difficulties, and, do what you will, you cannot find
time to give him two minutes of undivided attention; therefore,
unless you tell him exactly what to do, you give an idle boy a
ready-made excuse for doing nothing at all. Send the form into
the laboratory to devise the simplest investigation and many of
the boys will do nothing, while the others do what they see their
immediate neighbours doing. If you doubt the truth of this
statement, examine the ordinary text-books written by heuristic
teachers for use with their own methods, and you wiil be
convinced that many of their own prophets have to confess
something very like failure. One constantly finds the following
style: “ Smell the gas. Of what does the smell remind you?
Does it remind you of rotten eggs?” Or this sort of heading
for an experiment, ‘‘To find out whether acid and chalk give
MARCH, 1903. ]
chalk-gas or not?” It has obviously been found necessary by
these teachers to tell the boys what to look for, or they expect
nothing, and find out nothing.
Again, in the case of variation in period, as the length of a
simple pendulum is altered; the boys are directed to find the
periods, square them, divide by the lengths, and notice what
they can. They do not discover the law. They have been told
what is expedient, and the reasou why it is expedient is because
the sharpest boy could scarcely be expected to discover the law
for himself, let alone the average boy. Really, to place the boys
in the position of discoverers ends in fiasco. To tell them
sufficient to enable them to draw the final conclusion, and call it
discovery, is to attempt to keep up an impossible illusion: the
boy sees through the humbug at once, and loses his respect for
you and his work. Again, owing to the system of promotion in
public schools, whereby other subjects often determine the
science promotions, your class will contain those who have
attended the course before; and almost all the boys are likely
to know the result of the supposed experiment before they go
into the laboratory ; so the investigation becomes a complete farce.
It is like hiding a ball for a dog under a chair and not letting it
tnd it till you give the signal Please remember that I am
speaking of a first course of science. I have the very greatest
belief in problems for older boys. A heuristic attitude towards
all the facts learned, that is, a very clear perception of the
connection between the experiment and its result, even though
that experiment is not performed, is the true spirit of scientific
study. If you limit your teaching to purely heuristic methods
in the case of a big low form, progress must of necessity be
very slow, and I venture to think an admixture of teaching the
work of others in the above spirit will be a real advantage, even
at the very beginning.
Secondly, a purely heuristic course is a mistake from the
utilitarian point of view, and by that I do not mean the narrow
point of view of those who teach a boy nothing but what will be
directly useful in his subsequent career. I mean in view of
mental qualification for the work he is likely to have to do. If
you confine his work in the early stages to rediscovering facts,
you are neglecting one side of his mental development altogether,
that of scientific reconstructive imagination and memory. On
the classical side the training of the imagination and memory has
been attempted by the use of verse-writing and repetition, and
depend upon it, if this side of a boy’s nature is neglected his
education will suffer. Make him read, think out, and remember
historical experiments, and experiments which it is impossible
or inexpedient to repeat, and you will give him in his plastic days
an extra power which purely heuristic teaching alone does not
necessarily give.
Thirdly, there is the moral point of view. Is there any moral
virtue in the old-fashioned task? Our forefathers were given
pages of the dullest facts to learn by heart, and if that process
did a boy any good it gave him perseverance and grit. If we
are to make the paths of learning thornless, and avoid anything,
however useful, which is a task in the old-fashioned sense of the
word, without other educational value, are we not in danger of
unfitting the future generations for the strenuous grind which
must await them if they are to do anything in the world? The
great complaint that many teachers make against the Kinder-
garten system is that it unfits the children for the serious
business of school. We must be careful that school training
does not unfit them for the serious business of life. Further-
more, shall we be able to train discoverers of new general laws,
which depend on the correlation of numerous and apparently
isolated facts, if we do not train them to make their minds
encyclopeedic as well as critical ?
Possibly, I have wandered from the subject to give a general
theory of scientific education: let me apply it to the particular
The School World
103
case of a big, low form. Boy is born with a hereditary acceptance
of the apparently inevitable, and this must be replaced as soon
as possible by a scientihc distrust of what others say. The first
“step towards this is the gaining of the power to observe carefully
and describe accurately. I have had no experience in teaching
Nature-study, the flora and fauna of Dean’s Yard, Westminster,
being so strictly limited as to make outdoor work impossible ;
but I should think it is admirably adapted to training both these
faculties. If the science taught is chemistry or physics, as it is
with many of us, don’t be in too great a hurry at first. Use the
first course primarily to teach observation and description,
incidentally to give familiarity with the nature and properties of
common substances, and the object and application of the easier
methods of manipulation. We need not be afraid of making a
boy learn a little easy theory, and it is well to take care that he
gets a certain amount of historical science which will tax his
memory.
Be specially careful to insist on the connection between
scientific cause and effect. Then the second course will have
the first for its definitions, postulates and axioms, so that
problems, real ones, however easy, may be set with some chance
of solution by the student, and much of your ordinary teaching
will naturally become really and truly heuristic.
PREPARATION OF LANTERN SLIDES.
By Harotp BUSBRIDGE, A.R.I. B.A.
My intention is to show how diagrams for the lantern may be
produced by methods which, being non-photographic, commend
themselves to the science teacher of limited means, because of
their cheapness, as well as by the ease and rapidity with which
such slides may be prepared. Photographs on glass may be
made from actual specimens, from book illustrations, or from
original drawings ; but many teachers have neither the time nor
do they possess the knowledge and apparatus necessary to do
this themselves, whilst if a skilled photographer be employed
the slides become very costly, to say nothing of the delay always
incurred in the process, caused by the time required for de-
veloping, fixing and printing the transparency.
Mr. Lineham, head of the engineering department of the
Goldsmiths’ Institute, has made extensive use of diagrams drawn
upon smoked glass for illustrating his class lectures, and at his
suggestion I tried the method, a good lime-light lantern being
provided. by the Institute. The process was found so easy of
manipulation that my first slides turned out remarkably well,
and since then I have made many scores of them with great
facility, illustrating a great variety of subjects. In so doing, a
few simple methods have occurred to me for obtaining different
effects which, although perhaps very trivial in themselves, have
nevertheless contributed greatly to the interest of the lessons,
and have helped to impress many important truths upon the
minds of my students in a pleasant and agreeable manner.
Before describing the method which to me has been the most
useful, perhaps it would be well to consider a simple and
beautiful means of making slides upon ground glass. For this
method we are indebted to Dr. W. H. Dallinger, F.R.S. ‘On
finely ground glass, drawing with a blacklead pencil is as easy
as drawing on London board. I get 4-inch squares of glass to
suit my lantern, carefully ground on one side like the focusing
1 From an Address to the Chelsea Conference of Science Teachers,
January 10th, 1903, arranged by the London Technical Education Board.
104
glass of a camera. Now, with the ground:side up, the camera
lucida may be used with this as well as with a drawing board, if
a piece of white paper be placed beneath it.” (N.B.—The
camera lucida is intended to be used in connection with a
microscope.) ‘‘ For outlining and delicate shading I employ
HHH and HHHH pencils; for deep shadows I use HB. By
a very delicate employment of the pencil, shadows softer than
can be secured by lithography may be made. The camera
lucida, of course, is not necessary ; we may draw with the hand
and eye alone. If it be necessary to put in colour it may be done
cleanly and carefully over the shading ; thus one layer of colour
suffices. Now, of course, although we have a perfect drawing
HOLDER FOR SMOKING
GLASS SLIDES
* the
DETAIL AT B
FORAMINIFERA Now EXISTING .
HIGHLY MAGNIFIED —_—
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1. NODOSARIA HISPIDA. S3CLOBICERINA Bu LODES
2 DISCORBIWA, 4 LACENA VULCARIS
No. 3. No.
Fic. 1:.—The Manufacture of Lantern Slides.
No. 1. Indian ink on gelatine. No. 2. Pencil on ground glas :(crystal varnish).
No. 3. Pencil on ground glass (crysta | varnish).
No. 4. Smoke on plain glass. (Cover glasses bound with paper lantern-binding.)
of the object, with all the detail accurately given, ¿ is not a
transparency. But we can easily make it one. Thin some
good pale Canada balsam with benzine to about the consistency of
cream, and simply float it over the ground surface of your glass ;
pour off till the drop comes very sluggishly, then reverse the
glass so that the corner from which the balsam was flowing off
be placed upwards. Let the return flow reach to about the
middle; then reverse it again and move it in several directions
to get the balsam level. This may be done with a very little
practice so that the surface shall be indistinguishable from glass.
We now have a perfect transparency. AMN that is required is
twenty-four hours for hardening (keeping the glass level), and
then another square of glass fastened on to it by strips of paper
at the edges, with small pieces of card at the corners to prevent
contact, and it makes an admirable lantern transparency.” In
a recent letter, Dr. Dallinger has kindly informed me that
instead of the Canada balsam he now uses mastic picture-varnish,
The School World E
BROWN PAPER
SCREEN
et a 5
DESK For SUPPORTIN
SMOKED CLASS SLIDES
any Jervils shang
ta vel Cernen4 sé j
G- aont Lemont (Pant)
[ Marcu, 1903.
until hard. Slides varnished with’ mastic require twenty-four
hours to dry, but they may be finished for use the same day by
employing celluloid or crystal varnish instead of the mastic.
Having tried both, I find the crystal varnish is preferable,
although still far inferior to mastic. The slides may be finished
complete in paper-binding at a cost of about 3d. each, or in
metal binders for 3łd. each.
It may now be worth while to describe other methods of
obtaining transparent lantern-slides with figures shown by black
or coloured lines. An ordinary photographer should be able,
for a small charge, to fix, wash, and dry a number of unexposed
photographic lantern-plates. Taking one of these, a black line-
drawing may now be made upon the clear
gelatine film by means of liquid indian-ink.
Coloured lines may also be easily obtained
by using ordinary red or green writing-ink,
or Prussian blue in water, either a drawing
pen or a fine steel writing-pén being em-
ployed as may be preferred. A blacklead
pencil will give very faint lines which are
sometimes useful for shading and other
effects. The diagram may be bound with
a cover-glass as soon as the ink is dry.
It is then ready for immediate use. A
dozen or two of the plates should be pre-
pared at once; they will then be available
for notes or sketches whenever required.
These slides should cost, when bound with
paper, about 24d. each, or, with metal
binder, about 33d. each.
Another useful method of obtaining
black lines upon a transparent slide may
be here described. Powder some com-
mon resin and dissolve in a little warm
spirits of turpentine until the solution
attains the consistency of thin varnish.
A clean piece of glass, 3} in. square, is
rubbed with a drop or two of this solution
until an even coating is obtained, free from
streaks. After drying for an hour or two
SECTION
oF MOLE
(ENLARGED )
ink or with a soft pencil, upon the pre-
pared side of the glass, which will be
ready for binding as soon as the ink has
dried. A clear glass cover is applied to
the face of the slide. It may then be
finished with either paper or metal bind-
ing. The cost of these slides is approxi-
mately 14d. each bound with paper, or
2d. each if bound with metal. '
Other methods of making slides which show dark lines upon
a clear ground are described by Rev. F. C. Lambert in his
handbook on ‘‘ Lantern-Slide Making” ; but some of these
being more troublesome than those here described, or less
adapted to the ordinary requirements of teachers, no further
reference need be made to them.
The following method has so many points to recommend it to
the science teacher, in spite of its drawbacks, that it has been
almost exclusively adopted both by Mr. Lineham and myself for
the purpose of illustrating our class teaching. All that is neces-
sary is to obtain an even deposit of soot upon the face of a piece
of clear glass 3} in. square, and to scratch upon this with a sharp
point any sketch or writing that may be desired. In order to
smoke the glass, a holder is made of mahogany about jin. thick,
and shaped with a handle like a hattledore, the wide part of the
holder being 6 in. or 8 in. long and 5 in. or 6 in. wide (Fig. 1,
painted on with a rather wide brush, the slide being kept flat | No.1). The edges are well rounded so as not to catch fire easily,
a sketch may be made, either with Indian.
Marcu, 1903. ]
and the glass to be smoked is held at the two outer corners
by U-shaped staples driven into the wood, the other corners
being held by buttons made of stout brass wire, so as to be
easily turned by the fingers when it is required to release the
plate after having been smoked. The holder, with the plate in
position, is held over the flame of an ordinary burner, the plate
being at first held some little distance above the flame so as to
warm it gradually, and then, after any condensed moisture that
may appear has completely evaporated, it is brought close down
over the flame so as to receive a thick deposit of soot. The plate
should be moved continuously in a horizontal direction so as to
receive an even deposit of soot up to the extreme edges. After
several seconds’ smoking it may be removed from the flame, and
when cool, held by the edges and examined by transmitted light. .
If sufficiently smoked it should appear ofa uniformly dark brown
tint, but not perfectly black. A brown-coloured film will be
much easier to write or draw upon than a perfectly opaque
deposit, although it will still be quite dark enough for use in the
lantern. If the coating of soot is considered too thin, the slide
may be returned to the holder and receive an additional smoking ;
but a sooty deposit which is too dense will cause the lines drawn
upon it to have ragged edges. The cover-glasses made for pho-
tographic lantern-slides answer very well for smoking, and these
may be obtained in three qualities, viz., thick, medium, and
thin, the thick being the cheapest. Now, I always use the thin
kind, which may be bought at 7s. per gross. In order to write
or draw upon the smoked glass, it must be supported in such a
way that it may be seen by transmitted light. A pho’ovrapher’s
retouching desk may be used for this purpose, with an opening
of quarter-plate size, viz., 44 in. by 34 in. The space between
the upper edge of the smoked cover-glass and the top edge of
the aperture may be blocked up temporarily by gumming a piece
of black paper across the opening. My own desk, being home-
made, is formed of a pair of small drawing-boards hinged
together by their long slides, an opening 3 in. square being cut
in the centre of the upper board, and a rebate 3} in. square and
3 in. deep made to receive the smoked glass. The smoked sur-
face thus falls below the surface of the drawing board (Fig. 1,
No. 2).
T and set squares may now be freely used in drawing the
diagram without fear of smudging the slide by contact with the
smoke-film. The upper board is held at any desired inclination
by means of a wood strut hinged to the back of the board at its
top end, its lower extremity fitting into a stepped rack on the
lower board ; or a stout wire stay may be fitted into holes bored
into the end of each board. A sheet of white paper placed
upon the lower board will reflect sufficient light through the
slide, if placed opposite to the window, and one works with
greater comfort if the eyes are screened from superfluous direct
light by a piece of brown paper pinned to uprights which are
fixed to the top of the upper board. The diagram or writing is
made by means of a sharp steel point fixed into a wood pen-
holder. A piece about 1 inch or 14 inches long, broken from
the end of a lady’s glass-headed hat-pin and stuck into a holder,
answers admirably, ordinary sewing-needles being too flexible.
The hand should rest upon a broad, ilat ruler, or upon a
T-square blade, whilst writing or drawing, since wherever the
glass is touched a white smudge appears which cannot be
obliterated. If a mistake occurs the sketch must be begun
afresh upon another piece of smoked glass, since there is no
means of erasing a false stroke. It is a very great advantage to
be able to use T and set squares freely in making these slides,
and for this reason I much prefer my drawing-board arrange-
ment to any of the ordinary retouching desks.
At a very early stage I felt the need of being able to get my
sketches, at any rate, approximately correct as regards their
scale. The solution of the difficulty soon presented itself in the
The School World
105
use of a transparent medium ruled into small squares like the
ordinary squared paper used in scientific laboratories. Thin
sheets of gelatine were obtained cut to 3ł-inch squares, and
these were ruled with coloured inks into squares of ṣẹ inch,
4 inch and 4 inch respectively, ordinary red and green writing-
inks and a drawing pen being employed. One of these trans-
parent ruled squares being selected as most appropriate to the
intended sketch, it is placed in the rebated aperture of the
desk, beneath the smoked slide, and then, by working over the
coloured lines, it is very easy to produce a sketch in tolerably
correct proportion.
The diagram having been finished, the film of soot must be
protected by a glass cover. In order to prevent this from
coming in contact with the diagram, I generally stick a strip of
gummed lantern-binding round the edges of the cover-glass,
which, when dry, is placed upon the inside of a Moore’s metal
binder, and then the smoked slide is placed face downwards
upon this. The edges of the metal binder having been turned
down and rubbed smooth, the slide is ready for immediate use..
Gummed strips from the edges of postage-stamp sheets, when
cut to a width of 3 inch and a length of 134 inches, answer just
as well as the binding strips which are sold ready made. The
metal binders cost 12s. per gross, and have the advantage of
requiring no time for drying after the slides have been bound.
They can also be re-used in the event of breakage or when
a slide is done with. A mask of stout paper or thin cardboard
may be cut and placed between the smoked glass and the cover,
instead of binding the edges of the latter with paper, but I have
always found the method first described to be perfectly efficient
many of my smoked-glass slides having been used over a dozen
times without the least sign of damage to the smoke-film.
_ Slides thus prepared give brilliant white lines of perfect sharp-
ness and even quality upon a dark ground (Fig. 1, No. 4). These
slides are so distinct that, if the illumination of the class-room is
so arranged as to throw a subdued light upon the students’
desks, whilst no direct light is allowed to reach the lantern
screen, it is quite easy for students to make careful sketches of
the slides when a lime-light or electric lantern is employed.
Coloured lines may be obtained by mixing ordinary Prussian
blue, red ink or green ink with gum-water and applying to the
outside of the smoked slide or its cover-glass by means of a
small brush or hand pen. The paint will dry in a few minutes,
and the striking results which may be obtained are an amp
justification for this rough-and-ready process.
A rather better method of imparting colour to Jis, and one
which has the merit of permanence and durability, is to employ
certaln artists’ colours ground in oil. None but transparent
pigments may be used, the following being the most suitable,
viz., crimson lake, Prussian blue, Italian pink, verdigris and
burnt sienna. They may be obtained in collapsible metal tubes
of most artists’ colourmen at about 4d. each. The colours
should be thinned with copal varnish and applied with a small
brush, either of camel’s hair or sable. If the colour works too
stiffly, it may be thinned with a little turpentine. The brushes
should be rinsed out in turpentine immediately after being used
and then wiped dry upon a piece of rag. The oil colours take
at least twenty-four hours to get hard, during which time the
slides must be kept away from dust. Ordinary photographic
slides may be coloured in this way, but a good deal of skill in
manipulation and some little esPencuce is required in order to
obtain satisfactory results.
Mr. F. W. Rudler, the Curator of the Jermyn-street
Museum, once kindly informed me that in colouring photo-
graphic slides of geological subjects to illustrate his lectures he
always employs the aniline dyes (such as Judson’s) dissolved in
warm water. They may be obtained either as powders or in
sixpenny bottles at most oil and colourmen’s.
106
In many branches of science it is often very desirable to
express certain laws, or to show the results of experiments, by
means of curve diagrams. For this purpose faintly-ruled
horizontal and perpendicular lines are necessary which should be
subordinate in their intensity to the curved line which expresses
the results. For showing such diagrams upon smoked glass, my
practice is to administer a slight preliminary smoking to a
square of glass, which is then ruled as required with horizontals
and perpendiculars. It next receives a second dose of smoke,
and when cool enough the slide is proceeded with and finished
in the usual way (Fig. 1, No. 4).
The approximate cost of smoked-glass slides is less than 14d.
if bound with paper, or under 2łd. each when metal bound.
One other method of obtaining white lines upon a dark
ground may be described. An ordinary photographic lantern-
plate is exposed to ligit, developed to maximum density, fixed,
washed and dried. A steel point is then applied to the gelatine
film with sufficient force to scratch completely through the film.
The slide may then be bound with a cover-glass, and will show
white lines upon a black ground. If the plates have to be
developed by a photographer, the method becomes rather
expensive, as he would probably charge at least 4s. 6d. per
dozen for them, bringing their cost up to §d. each bound in
paper, or 6d. each when metal bound.
From what has been said it will be seen that, in schools or
institutions where a small lantern is available, the teacher never
need allow his instruction to suffer for want of adequate illustra-
tion. By means of a few simple sketches on glass, which need
not take more than a few minutes each to prepare, he will be
enabled to impart a freshness and originality to his work which
will go very far towards enlisting the sympathetic attention of
his class.
GEOMETRY AT THE CAMBRIDGE
LOCAL EXAMINATIONS OF 1903.
SPECIMEN papers in Geometry (Preliminary and Junior), of
the same general character as those that will be set in December,
1903, at the Cambridge Local Examinations, have now been
published. They are to be found in the Book of Examination-
papers for 1902. These papers will be so useful to mathematical
teachers in secondary schools, in showing them how the new
schedules for Geometry (published in THE SCHOOL WoRLD
for December, 1902) are likely to be interpreted by the examiners,
that they are here reprinted. Arrangements have been made for
the publication, in an early number of this magazine, of an
article explaining how the new subjects may best be taught and
what books are available for the purpose.
Geometry.— Preliminary.
SPECIMEN PAPERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SCHEDULE
ISSUED FOR 1903.
Candidates can pass in Geometry by dowg sufficiently well in
Part T. Figures should be drawn accurately with a hard
pencil. In the constructions numbered 1, 2, 7, 8, all lines re-
quired in the constructions nust be clearly shown: but no
erfplanations are required, 2 hours.
Part I.
(1) Draw a straight line 3 inches long, and draw straight
lines making angles of go’ and 60° with it at its middle point.
(The set square and protractor are not to be used in answering
question 1.)
(2) Construct a parallelogram with sides 8 centimetres and 11
centimetres in length, whose area is equal to that of a square
‘The School World
[MakcH, 1903.
described on the shorter side; and measure the acute angle of
the parallelogram.
(3) Can a straight line be drawn (a) on the surface of a sphere,
(4) on the surface of a cylinder ?
(4) Prove that, if a triangle has two sides equal, the angles
opposite those sides are also equal.
A quadrilateral ABCD has the side AB equal to AD, and
CB equal to CD. Shew that two angles of the quadrilateral are
equal.
(s) Prove that, if a side of a triangle is produced, the ex-
terior angle is greater than either of the interior opposite angles.
The sides 44, AC ofa triangle ABC are equal. Shew that,
if D is any point in BC, then AV is less than either of the equal
sides.
(6) Prove that the straight lines joining the extremities of two
equal and parallel straight lines are either equal and parallel, or
else bisect each other.
PART II.
(7) Describe a circle of radius 1°7 inches, and draw a tangent
to it from a point distant 3°3 inches from the centre.
(8) Construct a triangle the lengths cf whose sides are 7, 10,
and 12 centimetres respectively, and find the centre of the
circumscribed circle. Measure the radius of this circle.
(9) Prove that, if the sum of the squares described on two sides
of a triangle is equal to the square described on the third side,
then the angle opposite the third side is a right angle.
Prove that a triangle whose sides are respectively 6, 8, and 10
inches in length is right angled.
If two of the three sides of a right-angled triangle are
respectively § and 7 inches in length, find the two possible
lengths of the third side.
(10) Prove that the straight line drawn at right angles to a
diameter of a circle, at an extremity of the diameter, falls
without the circle.
Show that all the circles which touch a given straight line at
a given point have their centres on a straight line.
Geometry.—Junior.
Candidates can pass in Geometry by doing suffictently well in
Part I. Figures should be drawn accurately with a hard
pencil. In the practical questions (1-2 of Part I. and 7-8 of
Part fl.) candidates are not required to furnish proofs of the
validity of the constructions, but all lines required in the con-
structions must be shown clearly. 2 hours.
Parr I.
(1) Draw an equilateral triangle, and from one vertex draw a
perpendicular to the opposite side. Determine by measure-
ment, and express as a decimal, the ratio of the length of
this perpendicular to that of a side of the triangle.
(2) Construct the inscribed circle of a triangle the lengths
of whose sides are 6, 9, and 12 centimetres.
(3) Prove that, if two triangles have two sides and the in-
cluded angle of the one equal respectively to two sides and
the included angle of the other, the triangles are equal in all
respects.
A quadrilateral made of paper is such that, when it is
folded along either diagonal, the two parts are exactly super-
posed. Shew that the quadrilateral has all its sides equal.
(4) Prove that an exterior angle of a triangle is greater
than either of the interior opposite angles.
Show that, if a straight line terminated by the sides of a
triangle is bisected, no other straight line terminated by the
same two sides will be bisected in the same point.
(5) Prove that the angle which an arc of a circle subtends
at the centre is double of the angle which the arc subtends
at the circumference.
MARCH, 1903. ]
(6) Prove that two of the straight lines joining the extremities
of two equal chords of a circle are parallel, and that the other
two are equal. When will the pair that are parallel be also
equal ?
Part II.
(7) Construct a square equal in area to a rectangle the lengths
of whose sides are 8 and § centimetres respectively.
(8) In a circle whose radius is 2} inches in length inscribe a
regular octagon. In this octagon inscribe a circle. Measure
the radius of this circle.
(9) Show how a rectangular figure can be used to illustrate the
identity
(a — 6)? =a" —2ab4+ 6°.
(10) Prove that, if two triangles are equiangular to one
another, they are similar.
The circumference of one circle passes through the centre Oof
another; and through 4, one of the points of intersection, a
diameter 4B is drawn to the first meeting the other in C.
Show that 48 . AC =20C.
(11) Prove that, if an angle of a triangle is bisected by a
straight line which cuts the opposite side or that side produced,
the ratio of the segments of that side is equal to the ratio of the
other sides of the triangle.
(12) Shew that, if ABC is a triangle, and D, Æ, F are the
feet of the perpendiculars from A, B, C, on the opposite sides,
then 4D, BE, CF, meet in a point.
Show also that, if O is this point, then the rectangles DO. DA
and DE. DF are equal.
SUPPLEMENTARY COURSES FOR
SCOTTISH SCHOOLS:.'
THEIR Lordships have had under consideration the question
of what is the most suitable curriculum of study to be followed
in the interval between obtaining the Merit Certificate and
leaving school, by those pupils who may be expected to be
withdrawn at the minimum age allowed in normal circum-
stances by the Education (Scotland) Act, 1901.
My Lords are of opinion, from a consideration of the facts, that
the tendency—not confined to any one class of school—to make
one and the same school with one and the same staff serve
many different functions is the weak point of educational organi-
sation in Scotland as compared with that of other countries, with
which, in other respects, Scotland might justly challenge com-
parison, and they are satisfied that increasing division of func-
tion, as between different types of schools, is an essential condi-
tion of further educational progress. This division of function
does not necessarily imply a distinction of higher and lower, but
simply a difference of aim and purpose with a corresponding
difference in the subjects of instruction. They would accord-
ingly urge, in the case under consideration, that the exceptional
pupils for whom instruction in secondary subjects (in languages
particularly) is desired, should, wherever possible, be transferred
at a sufficiently early age (say before twelve years of age) to
schools, whether schools under the Code or secondary schools,
in which these subjects form the staple of the curriculum. They
recognise that there are many cases, particularly in rural districts,
where such transference is difficult or impossible, and they have
no desire to limit the freedom of instruction in such cases pro-
1 Abridged from a circular (C. 374), ‘Suggestions for Supplementary
Courses in Day Schools,” issued by the Scotch Education Department on
February 16th, 1903.
The School World
Be a
vided always that the real interests of the majority of the pupils
are not sacrificed to the special requirements of one or two.
The following differentiated lines of work are suggested : —
Preparation for commercial pursuits. (Commercial Course.)
Preparation for manual occupations and trades. (Industrial
Course. )
Preparation for rural life.
For Gils—Preparation for domestic duties.
Management Course. )
School work has for its end and aim objects more important
than preparation in the narrow sense for any particular occupa-
tion. It should aim at producing the useful citizen, imbued
with a sense of responsibility and of obligation towards the
society in which he lives. It should render him—-so far as the
school can do so—fit in body and alert in mind, and should
prepare him for the rational enjoyment of his leisure time, as
well as fit him for earning his living. These are ideals, no
doubt; but they are ideals towards which the school should
constantly strive. It follows that instruction in certain matters
of general import should in all cases be combined with, and
should even take precedence of, the instruction special to each
of the courses of the preceding paragraph. An outline of the
subject-matter of this more general instruction is given under the
following heads :—-
A Study of English.—The main object of this study should
be, if possible, to create a taste for good literature. What is
wanted for this purpose is chiefly proper direction as to the
choice of books for home reading, and an efficient system of
reviewing, explaining and testing in school the work so done at
home. The committing to memory, after sufficient explanation,
of suitable pieces of verse and prose should be a regularly
recurring exercise. No time should be wasted on mere routine
reading aloud in class, nor should much labour be spent upon
the subtleties of grammatical analysis. The books for home
reading should zo? be chosen from the literature of the day, nor,
on the other hand, should they be too remote in language and
sentiment to be easily comprehended by the pupils.
This study should include the systematic teaching of English
composition. It is to be presumed that at this stage the pupils
have a fair acquaintance with the elementary principles of sen-
tence formation, and attention should now be directed to en-
abling them to express a given sequence of ideas clearly,
ogically, and with a due regard to the proportion of the several
parts of the composition. lor this purpose it is not sufhcient
merely to give a pupil a subject, and then leave him to his own
devices. The eflort of composition is considerable in itself, and
the pupil should not be distracted at the outset by the additional
difficulty of finding material. To begin with, therefore, the
subject to be written about should be discussed with the pupils,
the several heads of the composition should be selected, and the
question of the best order of treatment fully considered. Only
gradually should these various helps be withdrawn and the pupil
be left, first to make his own arrangement of given heads, and
finally to find his own material for composition. For this latter
purpose full use should be made of the books prescribed for
home reading.
Certain general studies bearing upon matters which it con-
cerns tne pupils to know in after life, whatever the occupation
followed may be. Under this head may be specified :—(a) The
proper care of the body, the value of exercise and of pure air,
the proper selection of food, the means of preventing the spread
of disease, and various other matters such as might be treated in
a slightly extended ambulance course. (b) Such information as
to the institutions of government under which we live, the con-
ditions of trade and employment, the history and growth of the
Empire, the colonies, and the openings for enterprise which they
afford, as will help to make intelligent and patriotic citizens.
(Course for Rural Schools.)
(Household
108 The School World
It is understood that the pupils at this stage will continue to
take part, as a rule, in certain exercises common to the school.
It may also be found possible to continue certain studies begun
at an earlier stage, such as nature-study and drawing.
But, whether in town or in country, whatever the opportuni-
ties for collective instruction may be, the distinguishing note of
the work of the pupils in the supplementary courses should be
individual study directed to practical ends. So far as the
acquisition of knowledge is concerned, the object should be, not
so much to impart information to the pupil, as to exercise him
in obtaining for himself from sources within his reach, and
setting out, in an orderly manner, all necessary facts relative to
a given topic.. Great use may be made of the daily newspaper
as a starting point of such investigations. For instance, having
made an analysis of the shipping returns for a given port, the
pupil may ascertain the general character of its trade ; look up
in an atlas the various places mentioned in the shipping list;
make note of their relative position and distance ; gather from
school geography, gazetteer, or encyclopedia certain informa-
tion as to the more important of them ; and finally set forth the
information obtained in a well digested and orderly form. He
may proceed to make a similar investigation for another port,
and institute a comparison ; or he may be referred to the sources
of accurate information as to the total exports and imports ‘of a
place and be asked to make an analysis of these over a series of
years. Similarly, historical allusions in the leading article, or
elsewhere, in the newspaper may be made the occasion for
reference to such sources of information as are to be found in the
school library, and for a certain amount of collateral reading of
authorities, the results of which should be embodied in précis
form. All this is not matter for formal and regularly recurring
lessons in geography or history, but for individual investigation
extending over, it may be, several days. The newspaper will
also be useful in other ways. Its various articles will afford
material for exercise in ørécis writing ; difficulties of vocabulary
will give occasion for frequent and useful reference to the
dictionary : above all, perhaps, the market reports will furnish
a body of material for exercises in calculation much superior to
the cut-and-dried examples designed to illustrate the rules of a
text-book, while their perusal may be made the occasion of
acquiring much incidental information of practical value. It is
by means such as these that a sense of actuality may be given to
the work and a spirit of initiative cultivated in the pupils. But
the examples given are not intended as directions to be implicitly
followed ; it is much more important that individual teachers
should exercise their ingenuity in devising for themselves the
best means they can for achieving the essential objects aimed
at.
The exercises in the preceding paragraph presuppose that
every school with a supplementary course will be equipped with
a proper set of reference books, e.g., a standard dictionary
{etymolopical), a reference atlas with index, various historical
books, including a handbook of European history,a biographical
dictionary, a dictionary of dates, and one or more of the com-
prehensive year-books now issued by various publishers.
It is also highly desirable that such schools should possess a
small lending library of carefully selected books of literature.
TEACHERS will be interested to hear that the following
additions have been made to the appendices of the Registration
Order in Council—viz. (1) To Appendix C has been added:
The certificate and diploma in education of the University of
Wales. (2) To Appendix D: The course of training for the
teaching associateship of the Royal College of Science. It has
further been decided that all teachers who begin work in April
or May, 1903, will he counted as having completed three years’
service for the purposes of the order by March 6th, 1906.
[ MARCH, 1903.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
THE Education Bill for London was referred to in the
King’s speech in the following words: ‘ Proposals will be
submitted to you for completing the scheme of educational
reform passed last Session by extending and adapting it to the
metropolitan area.” In all probability the present Technical
Education Board of the London County Council will form the
nucleus of the new educational authority for London.
THE Education Act, 1902, lays it down that in the appoint-
ment of education committees, councils shall provide for the
appointment, on the nomination or recommendation, where it
appears desirable, of other bodies (including associations of
voluntary schools), of persons of experience in education, and of
persons acquainted with the needs of the various kinds of schools
in the area. In a memorandum issued on February rath, the
Board of Education further interprets the expressions ‘‘ nomi-
nation or recommendation,” and ‘‘ persons of experience in
education.” This memorandum contains a model scheme for
the guidance of councils, and in it the only organisation accorded
the right of nomination is the University. It is also explained
that the interests which ‘‘ persons of experience in education ”
are always to represent include university education, secondary
education of boys and girls, technical instruction and com-
mercial and industrial education, and the training of teachers.
In view of this explanation by the Board of Education, there
seems little likelihood that councils will be allowed to forget the
needs of higher and secondary education in their districts. At
all events, if they are, it will be the fault of the members of the
committee appointed on the recommendation of outside bodies.
THE Council of the Central Guild, who represent the London
members of the Teachers’ Guild, have passed the following
resolution and note: ‘‘ That in the opinion of this Council no
Education Bill for London will be satisfactory which does not
provide for the inclusion by Statute on the Statutory Committee
or Committees of the Education Authority for London of
representatives (men and women) of the University of London
and of recognised bodies of teachers, both secondary and
elementary, within the area of the county.” [Note.—Such
representatives of educational opinion need not (in the view of
the Council of the Central Guild) be members of the associa-
tions which they represent, nor be actually engaged in teaching. }
The resolution and note have been sent to all members of the
Cabinet and to Sir William Anson, also to Sir William Abney,
Mr. Morant, and Mr. White, of the Board of Education.
Sır W. ABNEY has accepted the post of Adviser to the Board
of Education on matters connected with science. Mr. Grant
Ogilvie, Director of the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art,
has been appointed Principal Assistant Secretary of the Board
in charge of the division for matters connected with technology
and higher education in science and art, and Mr. W. N. Bruce,
Assistant Secretary of the Board, is to be promoted to be
Principal Assistant Secretary in charge of another division which
will be organized to deal with secondary schools.
DURING the past year the Incorporated Association of
Assistant-mistresses in Public Secondary Schools has, its report
shows, discussed the Registration Order in Council and the
Education Bill. Finding that no provision had been made for
the direct representation of assistant-mistresses on the Teachers’
Registration Council, the Duke of Devonshire was memorialised
on the subject. At the last annual meeting the Order was
again discussed and the following resolutions adopted: (r) That
na me cera i
Marcu, 1903. ]
this meeting is of opinion that the exclusion in the future, from
the Register, of women whose knowledge qualification is of the
standard of the Cambridge ordinary degree, such standard being
considered sufficient for men, is an anomaly which should be
removed. (2) That in the opinion of this meeting it is inad-
visable that the words ‘‘ next preceding ” in ‘‘ during the three
years next preceding ” in Clause 4 (2) (i.) should be rigidly
enforced to the exclusion of otherwise qualified teachers.
(3) That this meeting is of opinion that the year of training
mentioned in Clanse 3 (2) (i. and ii.) might if desired be spent
partly in a recognised school under supervision, and partly ina
training college. (4) That the salary of a teacher during the
probationary year should be that of a fully qualified teacher.
The Association sent two delegates to attend the meetings of
the Educational Science Section of the British Association.
One hundred new members have joined during the past year,
and the Association is now represented in about 150 of the
most important schools for girls in Great Britain, and it is
hoped that other schools will shortly be represented.
WE understand that head and assistant-masters in secondary
schools are acting together through their associations to secure
the appointment by county councils of persons of experience in
education on the new committees. The councils are being
approached by circular, and they are urged to remember that
knowledge of, and interest in, education are not equivalent to
experience in secondary education. Councils have been asked
to appoint members upon the joint recommendation of the
Incorporated Association of Headmasters and of the Incorpo-
rated Association of Assistant-masters.
IN our last issue (p. 71) we referred to the success of Clifton
College in the last Sandhurst examination as evidence of the
efficiency of at least some of our public schools. Mention might
also have been made of the Dover College results at the
examinations for the services last July. Nine candidates were
sent up, none of them having attempted any public examina-
tion previously, or received special tuition beyond that given
at the College. All candidates were successful. One obtained
first place for Indian Forests, one was fourteenth for Woolwich,
and a third forty-first for Sandhurst—which for a school of 150
boys is excellent.. The Dover College record of Army successes
shows a total of twenty-six candidates in the last five years, of
whom all but three passed at the first try direct from the
College.
IT seems rather a satire on our civilisation that Mr. Carnegie
should be presenting public libraries to London suburbs and
unimportant Scottish towns, while the University of the
Metropolis has not sufficient funds to house the books it
possesses. Those whose business takes them to the University
are well aware of the stacks of dust-covered books which litter
the floors of many of the rooms. Surely there ought to be a
huge library attached to the University, properly fitted, and
suited not only to undergraduate but to post-praduate work.
What a chance this would be for a man to become as famous as
Sir Thomas Bodley! If the right man were appointed as
librarian, what hours of useless toil he might save the poor
student who, after labouring through a long text-book, finds it
unsuited to the work he has in hand. Last month Con-
vocation held an indignation meeting on this subject at the
University, but the members were either convinced of the use-
lessness of protest, or are strangely blind to the real functions of
a University, for the necessary quorum of fifty could not be
maintained until the end of the debate.
AT a recent meeting of the Derbyshire Dairy Farmers’
Association at Derby, the Duke of Devorshire said he did not
The School World
109
know what our educational system, as it had too generally been
administered in the past, had done for the advantage of the
farmers. They had seen it mainly from this point of view—that
it had taken the best and brightest boys and girls from the
country districts away to employment in the towns, and that it
had done nothing to improve the character of the labour which
was still left to them in the country. The education which the
children received in rural districts might have been such as to
fit the children for occupations in towns, but it had not been
such as to make a boy or a girl a better member of the
agricultural community. What they wanted was, first, to form
the character of the children, to make them honest, industrious,
and stedfast; and next, to improve their intelligence so that
they might do whatever class of work might fall to their lot in a
better and more intelligent manner. The village school which
did not have this effect upon the children was not a school con-
ducted as it ought to be.
IN a recent address to the Rochdale Educational Society,
Archdeacon Wilson dealt with two important educational
problems which will confront teachers and local education
authorities under the new Act. The first, far more important
than any questions of administration, is the supply of teachers.
This problem divides itself, said Archdeacon Wilson, into two
parts: how to get the ablest young people to adopt the teaching
profession; and how to provide good training for pupil teachers,
and good training colleges for King’s scholars. As regards the
first requirement, we must have many probationers on trial, and
pay them enough to keep the ablest and best boys and girls
continuing their education, with their eyes on the position of a
teacher as a reward. The local educational authority might
offer such probationerships to be awarded by the managers after
conference with the principal teacher. The next stage is that of
pupil teachers, and it seems now to be demonstrated that there
is no other source, except the pupil-teacher system, to which to
look for a supply of good teachers. The pupil teachers ought to
be able to take part fully in some teaching and discipline. The
work of pupil teachers in school must be real, though they do
not count on the staff. The pupil-teacher centre in a town should
include the probationers, and become a large half-time secondary
school of the most important kind.
THE second problem with which Archdeacon Wilson dealt
was how to make the body of elementary-school teachers more
of a profession and less of a trades-union. The main distinc-
tion, in his opinion, between a profession and a trades union
is that a profession gives every facility for exceptional merit
and industry to show itself and win distinction and high
salaries; that it detests jealousy of superiority; and that
it permits the failures to fail. A profession gives no guarantee,
in general, for incompetence. On the other hand, the charac-
teristic aim of an English trade-union seems to be that
the number of apprentices must be limited ; that all employés
should be paid as far as possible alike; that the amount
of work should be fixed not too high for the weaker half;
and that no one should do more than his neighbour.
Elementary education is, on every ground, in its nature, a pro-
fession. Should any prevailing opinion among teachers, any
regulation proceeding from any source, impose limits on the
freedom of teachers to show merit and ability and enthusiasm,
such a tone or regulation is inconsistent with the interests of
education. The schools will never get the best from the
teachers, nor the teachers win the social status to which their
education and work entitles them, till they are placed in circum-
stances which facilitate the professional spirit.
AT the recent Conference arranged by the Froebel Society
and the British Child-Study Association, Mr. M. E. Sadler gave
IIO The School World
an address on individuality in education and the claims of the
State. He said, one of the deeper notes in recent educational
thought was the insistence on the social responsibility of the
schools, and a tendency to regard the service which schools
might render in the bettering of the tone and conditions of
a community as being prior in importance to—though, of
course, not inconsistent with—the intellectual advancement
which they might afford to individual scholars. Ought not
those who were likely to have to earn their living by manual
labour to be given at school a definite bent and aptitude for
skilled craftsmanship, which could be done without any sacrifice
of the deeper influence of a liberal training? Ought not
the majority of girls to be prepared at school to be home-
makers, and to be competent for the upbringing and early
education of children? On this point the claim of the State
seemed very strong, because it was the claim of the next genera-
tion of her citizens. And did we not need to imprint, without
teaching men ‘‘ drum and trumpet ” patriotism, a greater sense
of national unity on English education? Had the masses of
our people any vivid idea of the actual appearance of the
different parts of the Empire and of its social and economic
opportunities ?
SIR FREDERICK BRIDGE, King Edward Professor of Music
in the University of London, in his recent inaugural lecture on
the place of music in education, claimed for music a place in the
scheme of national education. Music is not, he said, merely a
thing to be studied for its own sake by specialists, but is worthy of
being put side by side with the other subjects included in a liberal
education. Music was originally a part of general educa‘ion as
far back as the days of Greek philosophy. The same idea was
seen running through the University schemes of the Middle
Ages. As late as 143f music was a compulsory subject for the
arts degrees at Oxford, and it was only after about 1500 that
special degrees were given in music. About 1650 a new era
opened leading to the divorce of professional and amateur music.
From that day until recently they found the best practical
music cultivated by professionals, whose education had, as a
rule, been of a poor description; while amateurs of better
general culture had been distinguished more by their love of
music than by their efficient knowledge of it.
THE memory of the late Mr. W. II. Austin, whose distin-
guished career will be familiar to some of our readers, has been
suitably perpetuated in his native city. Mr. Austin’s education
commenced at Jenkins Street Board School, Birmingham, was
continued at Five Ways’ Grammar School and Mason College
of the same city, and completed at Cambridge, where he
graduated as Senior Wrangler. A memorial tablet has been
erected in the lecture theatre of Birmingham University, where,
for the last year or two of his life, Mr. Austin lectured in mathe-
matics. A grave has been purchased, and a memorial stone
erected in Lodge Hill cemetery, where he is buried. An
Austin Memorial Prize has been founded to be given in per-
petuity at the University to the student who shows special
proficiency in mathematics ; and an annuity has been purchased
for the benefit of Mr. Austin’s mother.
THE Committee of the Geographical Association, in their
annual Report for 1902, record a large increase in the number of
members during the past twelve months. While 15 names
have been removed from the roll through resignation or neglect
to pay subscriptions, 103 new members have been added to jt,
and the present membership is 278. The members now include
teachers of every grade, school inspectors, technical education
committees, and others interested in geographical education.
The number of members in primary schools and pupil teachers’
centres, in Colonial schools and English schools abroad, is
steadily increasing.
[ Marcu, 1903.
Two years ago, Dr. Lunn arranged a Public Schools cruise
to the Isles of Greece, and the experiment, which was described
briefly in our issue for April, 1901, was a great success. This
cruise he is repeating next Easter, and with the exception of one
or two single cabins and odd berths the available accommodation
has been taken up. Dr. Lunn has also arranged to set apart
similarly, up to a certain time, a cruise he has arranged to the
North Cape in June, and to the northern capitals of Europe
during the summer vacation. This year, too, a series of tours
has been arranged to Spain. Mr. George Lunn has spent the
winter in Spain, and has made arrangements with the leading
hotels which will insure the comfort of those who decide to make
this journey.
THE Southampton School Board has sent to all their head-
teachers a copy of a recent letter of the Board’s medical officer,
in which attention is called to the danger of spreading infectious
diseases among school children by the indiscriminate use of
books and slates. It is recommended that children should be
retained as much as possible in the same seats, and that each
scholar’s place should have separate provision made for his or her
own books, slate, &c., which no other scholar should be allowed
to use. After the remarks of Mr. Rooper and other inspectors
on this subject in official reports, such precautions are very desir-
able, and it is to be hoped they may prove possible to carry out.
A DEPARTMENT of practical Chinese has been established at
the University of London with a branch at Birkbeck Bank
Chambers, Chancery Lane, W.C. The department is under the
directorship of Mr. George Brown, late H.M. Consul, Kew
Kiang, who is assisted by native assistants from Nanking
University.
THE Atheneum states that a selection from the educational
papers of the late Prof. H. L. Withers is to be published. A
short biographical sketch will be prefixed to the volume, and
perhaps a selection from his correspondence. Any friends who
possess letters from the professor on subjects of general interest
will confer a favour by sending them to Mr. J. H. Fowler, of
Clifton College, who will carefully return them to their owners.
WE have received a copy of the Afungret Annual for 1902.
The magazine maintains the high character of which we have
spoken in former years. It is one of the best school magazines
we know.
SCOTTISH.
THE question of the degree to which the chronological study
of English literature should be recognised at examinations is, as
was pointed out in one of last month’s Items, at present engaging
the attention of the Scotch Education Department.. In criti-
cising there the Department’s circular on this subject the state-
ment was made: ‘‘ Junior pupils last year were asked to state what
they knew of Hooker and Jeremy Taylor. Such a question is a
direct encouragement to text-book cramming and second-hand
knowledge.” It has been pointed out to us that the actual
terms of the question do not justify the above summary and that
the criticism based on it, therefore, falls to the ground. The
original question was: ‘‘ Name one famous work of each of the
following writers, indicating the kind to which it belongs and
the approximate date of its appearance: Keats, Pope, Hooker,
Dryden, Browning, Jeremy Taylor, Cowper. Give a fuller
description of any one of the above works.” The question as
thus stated is certainly not so objectionable as it was made to
appear in last month’s crude summary of it; and as one must he
just, even to examiners, the amende honorable is willingly made.
The gravamen of the criticism still holds true, however, that it
is only by cramming lists of authors, their works, and dates that
=x m a E
a
MARCH, 1903. |
the question could be answered. At the same time it may
frankly be admitted, as has frequently been done in these
columns, that the Scotch Leaving Certificate papers on the
whole are based on the soundest educational principles, and
of late years the examinations have had the entire confidence of
the teachers of Scotland.
AN important circular has just been issued by the Scotch
Education Department giving further details regarding the
proposed Commercial and Technical Leaving Certificates.
The Commercial Certificate is intended to mark the conclusion
of a curriculum specially suited for lads who propose to enter
on a business career. Very wisely, the Department does not
propose to lay down a rigidly uniform curriculum. Any scheme
considered suitable by a local authority will receive favourable
consideration, but the Department suggests that in the drawing
up of the schemes the educational bodies should consult the local
chambers of commerce, upon whose hearty co-operation the
success of the scheme will ultimately depend. The only con-
dition laid down by the Department is that the Certificate will
only be given in schools in possession of a regularly organised
commercial department, the staff, appliances, and curriculum of
which have been approved as satisfactory. The Department is
also prepared to consider, on parallel lines, proposals for a
technical curriculum and a corresponding Technical Leaving
Certificate. Here, also, there is no insistence upon a uniform
programme, and managers are invited to draw up curricula
suited to local needs.
THE latest circular shows the Department in a spirit of sweet
reasonableness. Their Lordships state that they have no desire
to check local initiative, and are ready to consider any special
curriculum which managers may lay before them. If this
curriculum serves a definite purpose, is well ordered in its
choice of subjects, and is followed as a distinct and separate
course by all the pupils of the school, or by a definite section of
them, it will receive the Department’s approval, and a special
Group Certificate will be issued to the successful candidates who
are not less than seventeen years of age. This concession will
be greatly valued by teachers and managers, and brings to a
successful close the long fight for the adequate recognition of
modern languages in the curricula of secondary schools.
FrRoM Lord Balfour’s address in Glasgow it is easy to gather
what will be the leading features of the coming Education Bill
for Scotland. It is to be an Education Bill, not a Higher
Education Bill, as the recent deputation of Unionist M.P.’s
desired. The present education areas are to be greatly
enlarged, and an ad hoc authority is to be set up to look after all
kinds of education. The Parish Council with strictly limited
powers may act as local managers under this education authority.
It will be seen that, save in the enlargement of the area of
administration, the Scottish Bill is to have no resemblance to
the English measure. It will probably be found that Lord
Balfour’s proposed solution of the educational problems in
Scotland may have some influence on the nature of the London
Education Bill.
A MEETING convened by the Association of County Councils
in Scotland was held in Edinburgh to consider the provisions of
the forthcoming Education Bill. After a long sederunt the
following resolutions were arrived at: (1) That the six large
cities, and in other cases the county, should be the area for
higher and technical education, and that the parish and group of
parishes should be the area for elementary education. (2) That
powers be given the higher education authority to levy a rate
not exceeding Id. in the £. (3) That not less than three-
fourths of the members of the higher education authority be
‘The School World
III
elected from their own members by the county councils,
borough councils, or school boards of the area represented.
(4) That the local higher education authorities be represented on
some central authority for the purpose of providing and con-
trolling training colleges for teachers. (5) That the control of
all existing secondary and technical schools should be in the
hands of the higher education authority, who might appoint as
managers the school board of the area within which the school
is situated.
AN interesting ceremony took place at the end of January at
Aberdeen, when Dr. Alexander Ogilvie, headmaster of Gordon's
College, 1872-1901, was presented with his portrait in oil by the
present and former pupils of the college. Dr. Ogilvie is one of
a remarkable family of brothers, all of whom attained distinction
in the teaching profession, and it is probably a unique circum-
stance that four of these brothers have had the honorary degree
of LL.D. conferred on them. For over a quarter of a century
the educational life of Aberdeen has been bound up with the
history of Gordon’s College. During that period the numbers in
attendance have risen from 180 to 3,c00. Of course it was only
a change in the constitution of the school which made such an
increase possible, but without the organising genius and remark-
able foresight of Dr. Ogilvie this extraordinary development
would have been impossible. Dr. Ogilvie was a pioneer in the
field of technical education long before its value was recognised
by the country generally. A systematic course of science,
drawing and handicraft was then so much of a novelty that many
doubted its utility. But Dr. Ogilvie has lived long enough to
see his scheme justified by the results in his own institution ard
adopted as a model by all the great schools in the country.
TRISH.
THE Schoolmasters’ Association, as a result of its annual
meeting at the end of December, has drawn up two memorials,
one of which is addressed to the Intermediate Board and to the
Deparment of Agriculture and Technical Instruction, and the
other to the Intermediate Board alone. The first asks that the
four stages of the Department’s programme may be made to
correspond to the four grades of the Intermediate system; in
other words, that the Department shall allow a student, if he so
wishes, to pass twice in each stage just as the Intermediate
Board allows a student to pass twice in each grade; it further
asks the Department for more information as to the eligibility of
students, the prompt issuing of the scheme for the third and
fourth stages in science, and the separation in all stages above
the first of science and drawing. ‘The second memorial, among
other things, asks for the publication of Pass Lists, with further
and complete information as to the number and value of the
exhibitions and prizes awarded, and puts forward a strong claim
for the rectification of injustice done or likely to be done under
present arrangements to Junior Grade exhibitioners of 1go1.
THE Intermediate Board, consequent upon the refusal of the
Treasury to allow the appointment, at present, of permanent
inspectors, have temporarily reappointed three of the six
inspectors who were engaged last year. The appointment is at
best but a makeshift. It was impossible for six men to do the
work satisfactorily last year, and it will be still more impossible
for three men to do it in any way except perfunctorily in less
than half the time. In the few schools in Dublin which have
been already inspected for the second time, the work has been
very hurriedly done, and very little more seems contemplated
than devoting some altention to the weak points discovered last
year. May we add that we think an inspector should come with
an open mind and prepared to accept as efficient methods which
have not perhaps been his own?
II2
e
THE Dublin and Central Irish Branch of the Teachers’ Guild
held a large and successful meeting in the Royal University on
the 3rd of February, when the Chairman for the year, Mr. W.
Haslett, Headmaster of St. Andrew’s College, delivered an
address on ‘“‘The Outlook of Intermediate Education.” He
insisted that never had there been greater need for discussion of
educational problems on broad and liberal lines. He proceeded
to point out many difficulties in the way of developing the
Intermediate system. While admitting the benefit of the general
introduction of science teaching, he observed that it might have
come before but for the aloofness of the Intermediate Board
from the secondary teachers of the country. The many blunders
of the Board were a conclusive proof of their amateurism, and
the great need of the country at present was the establishment of
a comprehensive Education Department to organise and co-
ordinate all hranches of education. At the same time, Irish
secondary education required thorough reform; teachers must
be registered and a minimum of requirements and salary insisted
upon. For this additional money was necessary, as counting all
contributions there was still required a sum of £3 per head to
provide the schools with money sufficient for an adequate
endowment. This granted, the staffs of the various schools
could be made far more competent.
THE Dublin Educational Society held its inaugural meeting
at the end of January in order to bring its rules before the
public and to elect its officers. It hopes to combine into one
large society primary and secondary teachers for the discussion
of educational subjects. Its next meeting was held on the 18th
of February, when a discussion took place on “ What constitutes
good school-discipline ? ”
THE Schovlmistresses’ Association have created some stir by
announcing that the Board of Trinity College has decided to
apply for a King’s letter to empower them to admit women. If
this be granted, all the advantages of Dublin University will be
open to women. There can be little doubt that the application
will be successful, but no official statement can naturally be
made until such time as His Majesty has replied to the request
of the Board.
REGISTRATION in England was bound to be followed by
renewed efforts in the same direction in Ireland. It is a pity
that the Intermediate Board with public funds at its disposal has
not long since effectively used registration as a lever to raise
the standard of teaching in Irish schools. At present the
Teaching Associations who have especially interested themselves
in this question, particularly the Teachers’ Guild and the School-
mistresses’ Association, are urging Irish teachers to insert the thin
end of the wedge by becoming registered under the English
Board of Education, and thereby showing in a practical manner
that there is a real demand in Ireland for registration. The
only difficulty lies in the question of recognising Irish schools,
and this, it is understood, will be solved by an agreement between
the Board of Education and the Department of Agriculture and
Technical Instruction. Once the principle is admitted, it is
hoped we may make rapid progress in raising the teaching
profession and bringing about training for all Intermediate
teachers.
WELSH.
Lorp RENDEL is an adviser to whom Welshmen have good
reason to pay attention. Speaking of the Education Act of
1902, he says: Its main effect is *‘ the surrender to the nation
of a share in the ownership of voluntary schools. The leaven of
public ownership must in time leaven the entire Act. Every
Welsh citizen is now a shareholder in every Welsh elementary
The School World
[MaARcH, 1903.
school. This share he should by all means take up, whatever
the limitations attached to it. Now that, in the part-
nership created by the Act, Wales finds half the plant and all
the working capital, do you suppose that Wales on its own
territory will be long or largely outvoted by Anglicanism? . .
I say, then, that it would be pustllanimous to run away from
this Act. I trust that Wales will grasp it firmly, and thus cap-
ture it. Dual ownership is half-way surrender, and surrender to
the rightful owner alone.”
THE letter from which the above extracts are taken has not,
of course, received the attention which Mr. Lloyd George’s
manifesto has obtained, but it is, nevertheless, well worthy con-
sideration. For whatever views may be taken of the Education
Act, 1902, it should be remembered that Wales is essentially
Nonconformist; and although the extreme form of resistance
which was threatened is likely now to break down, yet the
1eligious differences are hiding points of great educational
importance, which prohably Wales will even yet recognise before
England. For instance, Mr. Lloyd George suggests that there
should be delegated from each County Council to the Welsh
Central Board a portion at least of the powers given by the Act
‘Sas to making provision for the training of teachers, and as to
inspection and general supervision of elementary as well as
secondary schools and over all training colleges receiving grants
from the Councils.” Such a suggestion shows the great possi-
bilities of this measure, when once the religious difficulty is passed
over.
AT a meeting of Rhyl and Holywell Teachers’ Association,
attention was drawn to the scale of teachers’ salaries, and it was
urged that a stand should be made for unifying them. “At
present,” it was said, ‘salaries paid to teachers in Flintshire
and Denbighshire worked out at about £2 per child; in the
Flintshire board-schools the average worked out at £2 Is. 3d.
per child ; in the voluntary schools at £1 14s. 6d. per child. Com-
pared with this, the average for England and Wales worked out at
£2 Ios. per head, whilst in Scotland the average is £3 10s.”
It was urged that the remedy was a uniform scale for the whole
country. Certainly such a problem would be a searching one
for the Central Welsh Board, if Mr. Lloyd George’s suggestion
quoted above were carried into effect.
THE Flintshire County Governing Body has passed a resolu-
tion to make application for amendments in their scheme, so as
to enable the Governors to pay out of their general fund the
contributions required by the superannuation scheme of the
Central Welsh Board, and also have decided that payments to
the superannuation fund be, in the future, made a condition
in connection with appointments of teachers in their county
schools.
TEACHERS in Wales are quite alive to the importance of
representation on the new Education Authorities. Mr. Wm.
Lewis, headmaster of the Llanelly County School, has put the
matter ably in an article in the Western Mail. He concludes:
‘The general purpose and policy of an education must be
fashioned by the committee and must be the result of its collec-
tive wisdom. But wisdum can only come as the result of know-
ledge, and no one can supply the particular knowledge required,
at first hand, like the expert.
Mr. L. J. RoBerrs has drawn attention in the Spectator to
the successes of Welsh hoys trained in elementary schools at the
universities. Of contemporary instances of success, Mr. Roberts
gives one of a boy from a board school at Blaenau Festiniog—
afterwards at Llandovery School—who took First Class in the
Mathematical Final at Oxford, and eventually has won the Senior
University Mathematical Scholarship. A second boy was at a
MARCH, 1903. |
board school at Wrexham, afterwards at the County School,
Wrexham, and won a mathematical scholarship at Balliol and
was placed in First Class in Mathematical Moderations and
has still to take the final school. A third boy—also from a
Wrexham board-school and the Wrexham County School—won
an open classical scholarship at University College, Oxford.
Finally, Mr. Roberts says: ‘‘ The number of Welshmen edu-
cated at elementary schools who have obtained first classes at
Oxford or Cambridge is very large (I can think of between
thirty and forty), and of those similarly educated who have
obtained honours it would be easy to write a list far exceeding a
hundred.”
CURRENT HISTORY.
In the first week of January, King Edward was solemniy
proclaimed Emperor in India. For those who are more im-
pressed with outward show than with the inner meanings of
things, there was abundance, far more, indeed, than was dis-
played at Westminster last August. The East can easily out-
rival the West in glitter. To those of us at a distance, however,
there is much food for thought in the reports of the splendid
ceremony and of many of its accessories. How impressive, for
example, that review of the veterans of the Mutiny, an event
now so long ago, as events move nowadays, that it is almost part
of ancient history. If it had not been for these and their com-
panions, there might have been no Durbar at all, no pax
Britannica, no Emperorship. Perhaps Edward in India is
an Imperator in reality, according to the original, medieval
meaning of the word, a king of kings. Great Britain rules in
India as no other power has ever ruled there before. The
Great Mogul’s dominion was not so extensive even in its greatest
days. Yet some powers in India are all but independent of us.
We control their foreign policy and will not allow gross mis-
conduct on their part. But they are supreme within their limits.
We do not own India. Rather are we an Indian power.
Edward is Emperor in, not of, India. There is much difference
in these little words.
A RECENT too notorious criminal trial has set some of us
thinking about the disadvantages of our boasted “ trial by jury.”
The unanimous verdict of ‘‘twelve men in a box” has been
regarded by Englishmen in general as the very palladium of our
liberties. If we had been like ancient Greeks we should have
regarded it as the very gift of the gods, an ‘‘image of Diana”
fallen from the heavens for our special benefit. Not being so
“religious” in our way of thinking, we attribute it vaguely to
the wisdcm of our early forefathers, and some of us know so
little that we see no anachronism in the title of the famous
picture, ‘‘ Alfred Presiding over a British Jury.” But what are
the facts of the case in relation to the origin of this famous
procedure? Our Norman conquerors hrst accustomed us to the
use of ‘‘juries” as means of investigating facts such as the
evidence for Domesday. Their Angevin successors introduced the
‘jury ” into judicial processes, and the crude beginnings of our
modern jury were developed when, owing to our temporal as
well as spiritual subjection to the Pope, we were the first nation
in Europe to set aside the ordeal in obedience to a decree of a
Lateran Council (1216). It took nearly five hundred years to
complete the process by which the transformation was completed.
Not till the beginning of the eighteenth Century was the last
decision given which shaped the jury as we have it to-day.
PERSIA is in a state of decay. She has two neighbours who
are by no means in that condition, but, on the contrary, are
advancing. In Persia, therefore, they are rivals. One bounds
her territory to the north and is advancing, by means of com-
merce, loans, administration of customs, and the formation of
No. 51, VoL. 5.]
The School World
- continent :
' availed nothing for our continental trade if we had not been able
to smuggle, nor for our daily food if Napoleon had learnt a little
/ elementary political economy.
113
a a =
roads, towards a practical control of Persian administration which
may end some day in annexation, after passing through the
intermediate stage of a formal protectorate. The other bounds
her territory to the south, holding, as it does, the peninsula of
India, Beluchistan, and the control of the seas. The Indian
power has long policed the Persian Gulf. It has put an end
there to piracy, and controls, so far as that is possible from the
decks of men-of-war, the policy of the petty potentates on hoth
sides of the Gulf. Recent events, however, have reminded the
suzerains, Turkish and Persian, of these petty powers that they
have interests in this neighbourhood, and the sea power is be-
ginning to regret that it has confined its efforts to salt water.
What can a whale do to fight an elephant? Weare reminded of
the contest between Napoleon and Great Britain. He held the
we held the seas. But all our power would have
THE Austro-[[ungarian Empire is composed of many parts,
and it has been found possible to keep them united under the
Habsburgs only by means of allowing much local government.
Specially is this the case with the two parts into which the
Empire is divided, ‘‘ Austria” and Hungary. The first includes
all the parts which can by any possibility be called German.
The second consists of the territory of the Magyars, a people
neither German nor Slav, holding a peculiar geographical and
political position in Europe. On them fell the brunt of the
Turkish attack in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, just
when the Habsburg was making good his dynastic claim to their
kingship. They hated both. But their hatred was more for the
Turk than the Habsburg, and therefore, perforce, they submitted
to the Austrian, as the horse in the fable submitted to man. But
the alliance has never been a hearty one, and since the Turk
became feeble, quarrels have been chronic between the two
parts of the Empire. Suddenly, however, an enemy has arisen
on the other side. Not by janissaries, but, quite typical of the
twentieth century, by the new Tariff Bill of the German Empire,
are. the interests of Hungary attacked, and the consequence is,
as of old, that Habsburg and Magyar have forgotten their differ-
ences, settled the assg/eich and present a united fiscal front to
the new enemy.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
. APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
A. de Musset, Pierre et Cainille. Edited by W. J. Etheridge.
viii+ 103 pp. (Blackie.) 1s.—Though this short story may
prove interesting to the student of French literature, it is little
suited for use in schools. There is not enough movement, and
there is a prevailing note of sadness. The notes are good ;
many of those bearing on grammar seem superfluous, e.g., the
notes on son for sa (son âme), grand in compounds. Numerous
words which appear in the text are omitted in the vocabulary.
Most of them are similar to English words (¢.¢., beauté, onc/e).
Others (¢.g., velours, roman) should have been given.
French Words and Phrases. By J. G. Anderson and F.
Storr. viii+114 pp. (Rice.) Is.—We gladly draw the atten-
tion of our readers to the second edition of this useful classified
vocabulary, in which French and English words are given in
parallel columns, The principal additions are chapter xxiii.
(Indoor Games), and chapter xxiv. (Illnesses). In the next
K
114 The
edition it might be a useful innovation to mark the more common
words with an asterisk; it might then serve as a guide to
teachers, showing which words are of real importance to the
beginner.
French Commercial Correspondence. By C. Hauser and W.
Mansfield Poole. xiv. + 287 pp. (Murray.) 4s. 6¢.—This
volume forms the conclusion of the course of ‘‘ Commercial
French” by Poole and Becker, and is in every sense worthy of
its predecessor. It would be useless to praise at length these
admirable books; no teacher of commercial French will fail to
welcome them warmly. We wish we could be confident that
they would have a large sale ; it would mean another step for-
ward for the ‘‘ reformers,’’ and would enable our clerks to
compete more successfully with the foreigner.
A Primer of Old French. By G. H. Clarke and C. J.
Murray. viii. + 109 pp. (Blackie.) 25. 6d.—It may well be
doubted whether this primer was wanted. Ten pages for old
French literature and twelve for grammar is too scanty an allow-
ance; metric is touched on here and there, but inadequately.
The notes on the extracts are also insufficient. What, the
student will ask, is a rotrouenge? What isa chanson de geste?
Who was Boniface (p. 63)? That the lines are not numbered
is also a drawback. As a handbook of the Old French
language and literature the book is not to be compared to the
Chrestomathie of Paris and Langlois.
Naval and Military Episodes. By Aloys Weiss. viii. + 170
pp. (Bell.) 3s.—Dr. Weiss has made an excellent selection of
passages dealing with English warfare by land and sea from the
days of Marlborough to the Relief of Mafeking. He has com-
piled a very full and valuable English-German vocabulary, in
which the notes are incorporated. The book is printed in clear
type, but is not free from misprints (¢.¢., versiiglich, s.v. AT;
Wachfamkeit, s.v. alertness).
Classica,
Appian Civil Wars. Book I. Edited, with notes and map,
by J, L. Strachan-Davidson. vii. + 150 pp. (Clarendon
Press.) 35. 6¢.—This book, compiled to meet a temporary
want at Oxford, contains little that is new either in text or
commentary. The notes are printed at the foot of the page;
but, as they are mainly historical, the book could be used in
schools. There is an appendix on that perennial problem, the
crossing of the Alps.
Cornelius Nepos. Vol. II.: Greek Lives. By H. Wilkinson,
xiii. + 134 pp. (Macmillan’s Elementary Classics.) 1s. 6¢.—
Nepos is good reading for small boys, but the text ought to be
simplified. This is an unpretending but serviceable little book,
and contains all that is necessary,
Longman’s Latin Course: Part I., up to and including the
Regular Verb, Active and Passive. With copious exercises and
vocabularies. 156 pp. (Longmans.) 1s. 6d.—This is a clear
and simple book written on much the same plan as the older
exercise books; it has the advantage over many of them in the
fulness of its exercises. But, like all its tribe, this represents a
method which, we believe, will soon be quite superseded, in
favour of that which is embodied in Scott and Jones’s excellent
First Latin Book.
Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis P. Terenti
Afri Comediae. Recognovit brevique adnotatione critica
instruxit Robertus Yelverton Tyrrell. Not paged. Paper, 35.—
So much has been learnt of late years as to the Roman metric,
that a complete recension of the drawatic literature has been
necessary. Plautus has been admirably edited in the Teubner
series, but until quite recently the Terence of that series has
School World
[MarcH, 1903.
presented a very inferior text. Fleckeisen’s edition of 1898 is a
great advance upon the old stereotyped edition, but there is
room for the present volume, which is to be preferred to the
Teubner. The useful apparatus criticus is placed at the foot of
the page, and Prof. Tyrrell has included init only those readings
which are important. For Terence, the number is compara-
tively small, owing to the supreme excellence of one MS., the
Bembinus. Select readings are included from the inferior
MSS., and what is important from the commentary of Donatus.
The lines are numbered continuously, the old numbering by
act and scene finds a place at the top of the page. We can
recommend this book. a
A Persi Flacci et D. Juni Juvenalis Saturae. Cum addi
tamentis Bodleianis recognovit brevique adnotatione critica
instruxit S. G. Owen. Not paged. Paper, as. 6d., cloth, 3s.,
India paper, 4s.—We would also offer a welcome to the
edition of ‘the two Roman satirists in a handy volume.
Scholars, will find it advisable to purchase this because it in-
- cludes the new fragments of Juvenal, discovered lately at.
Oxford, which are here placed after vi. 365. The introduction
gives a succinct account of the MSS. and crticism of the
authors. The plan followed is the same as in others of: the
same series. Indices of. proper names are added. In Juv. vi.
132, the first letter of ése/#¢ has fallen out.
The Poems of Ovid: Selections. Edited by C. W. Bain.
xiv. + 461 pp. Illustrated: with Vocabulary. (New York:
the Macmillan Company.) 6s.—This is a useful book, and if it
were less cumbrous might be cordially recommended for school
use. But it weighs nearly 13 lbs. Why not print it on thinner
paper, and put the pictures on plates, ifneeds must? Why not
| omit the vocabulary, which seems to be a kind of fetish with
transatlantic editors? We could also happily dispense with
the marginal summary in ugly black type. The selection is
made from the Metamorphoses, as well as the Elegiacs.
Special features of the book are: (1) a series of passages for
sight reading, in which most of the unfamiliar words are
explained at the foot; and (2) lists of etymologically connected
words. The book is a good reader for beginners.
Homer, Odyssey XIX.-XX1V. With Introduction, Notes,
and Table of Homeric Forms. By W. W. Merry, D.D. 112
+ 100 pp. (Clarendon Press.) 3s.—Dr. Merry as an editor of
Homer needs no bush, and this little edition is admirable. It
follows fittingly on the editor’s larger work published two years
ago. We should have liked a plan of the Homeric house, but if
we lose that we are at least spared Reichel and his preposterous
armour.
A First Greek Reader. By R. A. A. Beresford and R. N.
Douglas. 134 pp. (Blackie.) 25.—Besides the pictures, this
book has little to recommend it. The sentences are too much
at haphazard. Moreover, the editors do not know the dif-
ference between aorist and imperfect; thus: aor. for impf.,
Part I., xi. I., xvi. 6, xix, I, 2, etc. ; impf, for aor., Part II.,
xii. 12, xxi. 4. They think the present tense represents perfected
action, xvii. 2, 3, 4. Other choice flowers from this parterre
are: où for u), pp. 32, 36 ; obx joooy for ‘* no fewer,” pp. 35, 42 ;
impf. in obl. representing present in recta, pp. 36, 69; évdusCor
avroy ws àrobavóvra, p. 38; el Surjcera: for day sSuyntrat,
p. 38 ; öre for éwel, p. 38; tay dvcruxay avOpwrwy, p. 52, where
there is no definition, but an implied statement.
Geography.
Stanfords Compendium of Geography and Travel. (New
Issue.) Europe, Vol. II., The North-West. By G. G. Chis-
holm, M. A., B.Sc.. 758 pp. Maps and Illustrations. (Stan-
ford.) 15s.—This. volume completes the new series of this
Marcu, 1903. |]
l The School World
115
well-known work, and comprises chapters on the Low Countries,
the British Isles, and Scandinavia. Needless to say, in the able
hands of Mr. Chisholm it is well up to the level of the preceding
volumes. To the teacher it is an indispensable book of refer-
ence ; to the geographer it is an invaluable monograph on the
|
European North-West; to the student who is preparing for, |
(G. W. Wilson, Photo,
Ben Nevis.
say, a scholarship at one of the universities, it is a perfect store-
house of material for up-to-date English essays or historical |
disquisitions. The aim of the book as avowed in the preface is |
‘to show to some extent- how geographical conditions have
effected the course of history,” and that this aim has been carried
out may be surmised from those portions of the book dealing with |
the population of England, its agriculture, mining and
smelting, ‘manufactures, foreign commerce and ship-
ping from Domesday to 1800. Andalthough much of
this is bound to be, and indeed is, history, it is history
strongly tinged, as it ought to be, with geography,
while the more geographical aspect is conspicuous
under such subjects as physical conformation and
features, climate, natural products, towns and indus-
tries. Accompanying the texts are 16 maps and 86
photo-illustrations. The maps are all good, and it is
difficult to single out any as of special excellence. We
would, however, refer the curious in matters carto-
graphical to the intricate geological map of Great
Britain on p. 74, with its accurate colour registers,
the tell-tale density study of South Scotland and
North England on p. 270, and the striking delineation
of Norwegian fjords and skerries on p. 676. On the
other hand, the illustrations—though in some cases
works of art — are of variable quality and poor selec-
tion, nor do they always z//ustrate. In the two
shown herewith, one, viz., the Needles, is è propos
to its text, which is treating of chalk and the thin band
that runs through the middle of the Isle of Wight ;
but the other, Ben Nevis, might be inserted just as appropriately
in a dozen places other than the page it undeniably adorns. We
feel that some direct reference in the text, or, better still, some
‘explanatory sub-title, is needed to show why it is where it is.
Moreover, the photographs are unequally reproduced. One
of Bristol is “foggy” in the extreme; this might stand—
we have known Bristol fogey—but there afe quite a number
of others rendered unpleasant to the eye by reason of curious
skies, ‘‘ faked” to look natural, but dismally failing therein.
There is a touch of such a monstrosity in the view of the
Needles, p. 100; there is much more than a touch on pages
21, 241, 447, 456, and 687. Altogether we do not think that
the illustrations are as good as they ought to be. They are
not bad on the whole, but they do not attain the level of the
text. And it is a high level that Mr. Chisholm sets in the text
Whether he is discoursing «f gaps in the chalk or the causes of
free trade, of Bielefeld ‘‘ Irish’ linen, or the abnormal
increase of population in England from 1811-1821, of
how the land question arose in Ireland, and how the
trouble might be alleviated if not entirely removed,
or of why England no longer makes wine when she
might if she wished, his facts are always accurately
and carefully set forth and his conclusions judicial in
their impartiality. For thése reasons, if for nothing
else —if the pictures were bad, which they are not,
and if there were no maps at all—we cordially
recommend the book alike to the general reader and
the professed geographer or historian.
Descriplive Geography from Original Sources.
Africa. By F. D. and A. J. Herbertson. xl.
+264 pp. (Black.) 2s.—This series of geogra-
phical anthologies is ufficiently well known and
appreciated to need no more than a passing com-
ment. We welcome the appearance of the present
volume, which is in no way inferior to its prede-
cessors.
Africa. By L. W. Lyde, M.A. 138pp. (Black.) 15. 4d.—
One of the ‘‘ Elementary Geography Reader” series. The
authorship is in itself a testimony to the value of this book
as a scientific exposition of the geography of the continent.
It is copiously illustrated, and most of the pictures are ex-
cellent. One more favourable word: topics such as diamond-
n- . ot Sa Fe ee ree — Se T T T
+ - A =
The Needles,
cutting, wine-growing, and the like are excluded. This is as
it should be: the sphere of geography needs restriction in this
respect.
| Science and Technology.
Light for Students. By Edwin Edser. 574 pp. (Mac-
| millan.) 6s.—It is impossible to speak too highly of this new
text-book on Light, which, as stated in the preface, has been
written to meet the requirements of students who wish to obtain
116
an accurate and comprehensive knowledge of geometrical and
physical optics. Although no knowledge of the calculus is
required, the subject is treated in a complete manner, and the
volume will fully meet the needs of students reading up to
the standard of the Final B.Sc. of London University. The
subject matter is well up to date ; in several chapters the results
of recent researches are described, and problems which have
appeared difficult in earlier text-books are, in several cases,
handled with novel simplicity. The first portion of the book is
devoted to geometrical optics, in which photometry and in-
trinsic luminosity, lenses, and the eye receive particularly able
treatment. This is followed by an extensive chapter on vibra-
tions and waves, which forms the introduction to a complete
development of the wave theory of light; in titis portion of the
book the treatment of polarisation is most attractive. The
illustrations, 306 in number, ate reproduced from diagrams and
photographs ; practically all of these are original and deserve
unstinted praise both for their clearness and their explanatory
power. About seventy experiments are described, most of
which can readily be carried out with the simplest apparatus.
We have no hesitation in predicting that this volume willat once
become a recognised text-book on Light for all university and
technical-school students. _ 2
Open-Air Studies in (Geology. By Grenville A. J. Cole.
xii. + 322 pp. (Griftin.) 8s. 6d. --We are glad to find that
this delightful book has reached a second edition. Prof. Cole is
widely known as an enthusiastic out-door geologist, and he pos-
sesses the secret of writing in a manner to impart his enthusiasm
tohis readers. The book throughout is convincing proof of the
delights of practical study in the fresh air, and serves admirably
to show how much more real is geological information gained by
a direct appeal to nature than that which comes from the mere
study of original memoirs. The fact is that Prof. Cole loves the
country and delights to learn his lessons from the rocks them-
selves; more than this, he knows how to create a healthy
craving in the student for similar opportunities to learn from
personal observation the geological characters of mountain crags,
seaside cliffs and other natural formations. The illustrations are
excellent, and this new edition should do a great deal to en-
courage a branch of nature-study which is too much neglected in
schools.
The Nature-Student’s Note Book. By the Rev. Canon
Steward, M.A., and Alice E. Mitchell. 152 pp. (Constable.)
2s. net.—Our readers will be glad to learn that the monthly
Nature Notes, contributed by Canon Steward to THE SCHOOL
WORLD, have now been reprinted in a compact little volume
which can be slipped into the pocket without inconvenience.
The value of such a vade-mecum on a country walk needs no
emphasising. In addition to the ‘* Notes” as they originally
appeared, Part I. of the volume contains sections on farm and
garden work, astronomical observations, lists of injurious insects,
a summary of the Wild Birds’ Protection Acts, and other
features; while Part II. consists of useful tables for the classifi-
cation of our native animals ard plants. Alternate pages of
Part I. are left blank for memoranda. The book may be cordi-
ally recommended to all nature students.
An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics. By F. R. Moulton,
Ph.D. xv.+384 pp. (New York: the Macmillan Company.)
14s. net.—The great gap which has hitherto existed between
mathematical works on celestial mechanics and the popular
books on astronomy has doubtless deterred many competent
students from pursuing this fascinating branch of science.
Happily, in this new work we have a text-book which gives the
best possible introduction to the higher departments of celestial
mechanics, and one, moreover, which is so comprehensive that
The School World
OE
[ Marcu, 1903.
if the student goes no further he will have obtained an excellent
grasp of the whole subject. Needless to say, the analytical
treatment can only be followed by those who have had the
necessary mathemetical training, but the author has spared no
effort to make the study as simple and interesting as possible.
Beginning with a general account of the laws of motion, the
student is led by easy stages to the consideration of central
forces, the potential and attraction of bodies, the problems of
two and three bodies, perturbations, and the theory of the
determination of parabolic and elliptic orbits. The sequence of
subjects is perfectly natural, and the reasoning is never wanting
in clearness. The book gains much in interest by the brief
historical notices, bibliographies, and exercises appended to
each section, and by the introduction of a few pages on the
maintenance of the sun’s heat and the temperature of meteors.
To those who may desire to get a sound knowledge of the
methods of investigation employed in celestial mechanics we
heartily recommend Dr. Moulton’s book.
Life and Health: a Text-book on Physiology for High Schools,
Academies and Normal Schools. By Albert F. Blaisdell, M.D.
vi. + 346 pp. (Ginn.) 4s. 6d.—A notable feature of this book
is the large number of simple experiments which are described.
Most of these may easily be performed by elementary students.
The structure and functions of the human body are clearly
explained, and the application of physiological principles to
personal health is well brought out. The volume is attractively
printed, and the 170 illustrations are uniformly excellent. The
book may be cordially recommended to the notice of teachers.
Electrical Problems for Engineering Students. By W. L.
Hooper and R. T. Wells. 170 pp. (Ginn.) 6s5.—This book
will be extremely useful to advanced students in electrical
engineering. The problems are of a highly practical character,
and brief paragraphs, in which the various formulae are ex-
plained, are frequently inserted in the text. The book is
divided into twenty-six chapters, of which the later are devoted
to the following subjects: Alternating Currents, Impedance,
Armatures, Winding of Armatures, Reactions, Transformers,
Testing of Dynamos, Transmission of Power, &c., &c. An
appendix contains a Wire Table and the answers (including a
complete set of the curves required in the problems involving
such diagrams). 5
Elementary Manual on Steam and the Steam Engine. By
Andrew Jamieson. xii. + 330 pp. (Griffin.) 3s. 6d.—As this
is a ninth edition it is obvious that the book has been favqurably
received both by teachers and students. It is impossible to deal
with such an important matter as steam boilers in the short
space of nine pages, and, therefore, only the merest outline is
given. With this exception, the opportunities afforded by
various editions have been utilised to bring the subject-matter up
to date. A large number of exercises is given, but the answers
to these are in some cases misleading. Thus, on p. 319 a result
given as 3,070,000, should be at least ten times greater.
Mathematics.
` Elementary Geometry. By J. Elliott. xii.+268 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) 45.—The author of this book deserves hearty
congratulations. It is no farrago hastiiy thrown together to
catch the prevailing boom, but a carefully composed course,
tested by five years’ actual trial in the Cardiff Intermediate
School, with the results repeatedly judged by independent
examiners. Every line of Mr. Elliott’s preface deserves to be
studied by all who are interested in mathematical teaching ; and
the mark of a practical and experienced schoolmaster is on every
page of the book. Its contents, which form a substitute for
Euclid I.-IV., are arranged in sections, each fairly complete
Marcu, 1903. |
The School World
117
in itself, so as to admit of a change of order, if desired. But
the order could hardly be improved upon. Thus, after an intro- |
duction, we have: II., angles and parallels; III., triangles and
parallelograms ; IV., inequalities ; V.-IX. circles ; X.-XII. areas ;
XIII. polygons, and XIV. miscellaneous ; followed by three
useful appendices. The text is, with very slight exceptions,
extremely clear and simple; and it may be specially noticed
that Mr. Elliott has been led by his own experience to adopt,
almost throughout, a detailed rhetorical style of demonstration,
without any abbreviations. Most teachers, we fancy, will agree
that, for schoolboys at any rate, this is the proper course.
What seems to the adult mind cumbrous and wearisome detail
is not so to the young beginner; thoroughness is the great thing
at the commencement, and a boy soon learns how to shorten
a proof, when once he has fully grasped it. Again, Mr. Elliott
has wisely refrained from introducing certain types of proof,
which, though brief and elegant, fail to appeal to the mind of
the schoolboy, who either learns them by heart, or else, on
trying to reproduce them, gives a vague and imperfect outline.
The price of the book is high, and the typography not frst-
class; an improvement in both respects would be a benefit,
for this is a true schoolbook, as the author intended it to be,
suitab.e for boys as well as for their masters. It should be
added that the exercises are numerous, and mostly quite easy.
Elementary Geometry. Books I.-IV. By W. M. Baker and
A. A. Bourne. xxviii.+272 pp. (Bell.) 3s.—This is written
on the lines recommended by the Mathematical Association Com-
mittee, and will be useful in the hands of a skilled teacher. But
considered as a class-book, or as a guide to an inexperienced
master, it is not free from deficiencies. For example, there is no
index ; the term ‘‘ secant” appears to be introduced without pre-
vicus definition, while ‘‘ reflex angle ” is not sufficiently explained.
Various unnecessary assumptions are tacitly made ; for instance,
that two circles, or a line and a circle, cannot meet in more than `
two points.. Again, the style in which the demonstrations are
expressed is more like that expected from university under-
graduates than what is natural or even intelligible to young
boys.
tended to form a practical course ; yet they hardly give a single
construction as it would appear on a practical draughtsman’s
paper. Finally, the chapter on graphs is meagre in the extreme; |
there is only one figure, and this merely illustrates the definitions
of ‘‘ordinate” and ‘‘abscissa.” On the other hand, the
exercises appear to have been carefully chosen, and the intro-
ductory chapter on experimental geometry is fairly satisfactory.
Geometrical Drawing and Design. Adapted to the require-
ments of the Board of Education. Py J. H. Spanton. x.
+244 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6¢@.—Pages 1-125 deal with pro-
blems of plane geometry ; 126-182 with the elements of ortho-
gonal projection; and the rest with design. The contents
appear to be very well selected, the figures are numerous, and
the explanations given are clear. On pages 33, 34, it should
have been stated that the constructions there given are only
approximate. Part II. is unusually good so far as it goes. It is
so important in a book of this kind to have nothing but good
examples of design that some of the weaker ones might be
omitted with advantage (¢.¢., Figs. 332, 363, 381, and others). -
But most of them are good ; and the plan of stating the origin
of those derived from actual buildings, &c., is very commend-
able. Mr. Spanton’s book thoroughly deserves a trial, and
will, we think, prove an unqualified success. l
Philips? New Unrivalled Table Book. 64 pp. (Philip.)
Id.—A cheap and useful compilation.
the metric system, practical electric units, and the mariner’s
compass.
The authors expressely say that the problems are in- |
It includes the tables of .
Dynamics of Rotation. By A. M. Worthington, C.B., F.R.S.
xvi. + 164 pp. Fourth Edition. (Longmans.) 4s. 6¢.—It is
almost superfluous to recommend a work which has reached its
fourth edition in eleven years, but it is fair to take this opportu-
nity of saying that Prof. Worthington’s little book deserves its
popularity. In an elementary way, and without unsoundness,
he gives as much of the theory of angular momentum as can
really be appreciated without advanced mathematical know-
ledge ; even the mystery of centrifugal couples is elucidated, and
the elementary theory of the gyroscope given in a form which is
not misleading. More real dynamics can be learnt from this
book than from many more pretentious treatises.
Miscellaneous.
The Encyclopedia Britannica. The Sixth of the New
Volumes, being Vol. xxx. of the complete work. xv. + 845 pp.
K-Mor. (Black and The 7imes.)—From the many important
articles in this volume, which is of the same valuable character
as previous volumes, we select for mention those on legal
education, libraries, light, liquefaction of gases, limnology, logic,
magic, magnetism, magneto-optics, malaria, mammalia, mathe-
matical instruments, measuring instruments (electric), metallo-
graphy, metal work (art), metaphysics, meteorology, and the
moon. The biographies range from Count Kainsky, Australian
statesman, to P. P. Morton, American politician, and among
those which teachers may find interesting are Louis Kossuth,
Lord Kelvin, Lord Leighton, M. de Lesseps, J. R. Lowell,
President McKinley, Dr. Martineau, Count von Moltke, and
William Morris. As we have remarked before, the geo-
graphical articles alone make the new volumes an essential
addition to the library of every school where teachers are
encouraged to consult standard works of reference rather than be
limited by the horizon of the text-book. In the present volume,
there are useful and trustworthy papers on Kafiristan, Kashmir,
Korea, Liverpool, London, Madagascar, Madras Presidency,
Malay Archipelago, Manchester, Mexico, and many other
places, each of them full of detail capable of being used
in the geography lesson. Mr. Augustus Birrell contributes an
introductory essay on modern conditions of literary production,
in which he takes an optimistic view of authors and readers as
regards the influence and emoluments of the former, and the
appreciation of thoughtful works by the latter. The large sale
of the new volumes of the Encyclopædia indicates at least an
interest in something better than ephemeral literature, and gives
reason for believing that intellectual progress, though slow, is
real. Teachers who can obtain the new volumes should do so,
and the complete set should be regarded as essential to the
equipment of a secondary school.
The Public Schools Year- Book, 1903. 526 pp. (Swan Son.
nenschein.) 2s. 6¢.—This well-known book of reference has
reached its fourteenth year of publication and is more useful than
ever. It contains, concisely expressed, all the information about
the public schools of the country likely to be of interest to
parents, schoolmasters, and boys. Having been again subjected
to a careful revision, it may confidently be recommended as an
indispensable book for those persons who are actively engaged
in education.
The Education Act, 1902, with Notes. By Montague Barlow
and H. Macan. viii. + 188 + (12) pp. (London : Butterworth.)
—This book is conveniently divided into three parts: the first of
these supplies a short summary of so much of the existing law as
remains in force ; the second explains briefly the provisions of
the new Education Act, and offers useful suggestions as to what
should be done during the transition period; the concluding
part contains the text of the Act itself, together with the
118
The School World
[ Marcu, 1903.
schedules. Mr. Barlow is mainly responsible for the legal por-
tion of the book, and Mr. Macan for the parts dealing with
financial considerations and the suggestions for local authorities
ns to what exactly to do while the new Act is being put into
working order. Mr. Macan’s wide experience of English
education will rightly inspire confidence, and we have no doubt
his suggestions will prove very helpful. ‘The book should have
a wide circulation. .
Local Education Manual for Borough and Urban Councils,
By Charles E. Baker. xv. 4-180 pp. (Black.) 5s. net.—The
idea of this book is, by offering practical suggestions, to assist _
borough and district councils in the discharge of their new
duties in connection with the new Act. Not only does the
volume contain the Education Act, 1902-—with notes on the ~
various sections—but also the text of the Board of Education
Act, 1899, and the various Education Acts from 1870 up to last
year. The author’s personal experience of educational admini-
stration should prove of assistance to school managers and others
who come to his book for help.
Avenues to Health, By Eustace H. Miles, M.A. xx.+432 pp.
(Sonnenschein.) 45. 6d.—‘‘ This book is intended to give
a popular education on the easiest avenues to health, both
physical and mental.” It consists mainly of the author’s views
of different health cures, and of his experiences in testing nearly
all the methods advocated. Numerous authorities are quoted,
and a vast amount of time and labour must have been expended
in obtaining the valuable information. There are sixty-four
chapters treating on every matter relating to health and exercise.
The chapters on drugs, apparatus, mental basis, will and con-
centration, general exercise, muscular relaxation, and over-work
and hurry, contain many points of greatimportance. Altogether
this book is worthy of careful perusal by all who wish to study
the physiology of health.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. dsa
rule, a letter criticisine any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD weld be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
The Use of Hard Pencils in Practical Geometry.
I OBSERVE in your February number a letter from Professor
Bryan protesting against the use of hard pencils in examinations.
May I be allowed to point out that there are many degrees of
hardness, and also many different qualities of lead. The lines
drawn with a hard pencil are not necessarily faint. I have by
me a Faber's HH, which makes a perfectly visible line -on
ordinary white paper. It might be possible for the Cambridge
Local Authorities to supply pencils of a suitable degree of hard-
ness for use in their examinations.
From the teacher’s point of view, the chief merit of the hard
pencil is that it remains sharp for a long time in the hands of
the average clumsy boy. Its chief defect is that its marks are
not easily rubbed out. In the hands of a neat draughtsman a
soft pencil may be preferable, particularly when the work has to
be inked in afterwards ; but for ordinary practical geometry, as
distinct from geometrical drawing, and for work which has to be
done entirely in pencil, I have no doubt as to the superiority of
the hard pencil.
Eton. W. D. EGGAR.
Current Criticisms of English Education.
As the recent criticism upon the educational equipment of our
officers has led to numerous articles in the papers and elsewhere
against English public-school education, I should like to call
attention to one or two points which seem to be little understood
by the ordinary parent. I believe quite nine out ten parents who
send their boys to public schools think that there will be no
serious attempt made to educate them. ‘‘ Of course,” they say,
“ we do not expect our boys at a public school to learn anything
that will be useful to them afterwards,” and these parents have
a vague idea that we in England stand quite alone in this matter,
that the monkish fossils who control public-school education
refuse to budge out of the groove that was ruled for them five
hundred years ago. Jf their boy lived in France or Germany
they think that it would be quite different, and that he would
learn at school ‘‘ something that would be useful to him after-
wards.” .
It is a thousand pities tbat journalists ever foster this notion ;
it dces an immense amount of harm. We cannot expect our
educational systems to move with the times unless the public
understand the mere A, B, C, of the matter. The principles that
underlie education are and must be always the same. The
subjects chosen as a means for training a boy’s faculties are not
chosen with a view to his mastering and retaining a knowledge
of those actual subjects; and thus, whether the teacher makes use
of scientific or classical instruments of education, the end aimed
at is precisely the same, the training of the faculties, not the
mastering of subjects, the power of acquiring and using know-
ledge, not the accumulation of data. It cannot be too often
driven into folks’ heads that men of science far more than
scholars are insistent on this principle. The worst form of
education in a scientific man’s eyes would be to let a boy loose
before his faculties were trained to do practical experiments in a
laboratory.
This is not a question of opinion, it is not a point on which
experts are divided ; but of course, when writers talk about *‘ the
uselessness of monkish Latin,” and so on, it is to this ‘f com-
mercial” idea of education that they are pandering. What
parents have in their minds when they talk of the advantages of a
modern over a classical education is that a boy should acquire
at school some knowledge—of a foreign language, for instance—
which of itself shall be of actual commercial value, which shall
command a price in the market, if need be, the moment the boy
leaves. French and German together, from this point of view,
are worth nineteen shillings a week without board and lodging.
Female labour competes nere. A knowledge of bricklaying or
carpentering is far more ‘‘ useful” than either of them from this
commercial standpoint.
“We may Zalk as we please, but we must not ¢4:# foolishly,”
as Dr. Johnson said when discussing this very question. If
we only think for a moment, we shall see how utterly ridi-
culous this ‘‘ commercial ” idea of education is. In modern life,
the different spheres in which money can be earned grow more
innumerable and complex, and the work to be done in each
of them grows more crystallised, specialised, and peculiar, every
day. How can boys be collected and educated in a mass in such a
manner as to fit each ons of them into one of these many million
pigeon-holes where money can be earned? It is obvious that
the only thing that can give our services a commercial value in
one of these pigeon-holes is experience in it, and the extent to
which we proht by that experience can never depend on our
special knowledge before we gc into it, but on our innate powers
and the way they have been developed.
T. PELLATT.
Dumford House, Langton-Matravers,
Wareham.
ee
Marcu, 1903.]
Go- Education.
COULD you oblige me with information as to books published
on Co-education of girls and boys ?
Our school will probably become a mixed one, and I am
anxious to see other views before the final step is taken. Per-
haps, if you cannot do this, some of your contributors could do
so. I should prefer English experience if possible.
A REGULAR SUBSCRIBER.
““Co-education.” A series of essays by various authors.
Edited by Alice Woods. With an introduction by Michael
E.. Sadler. (Longmans.) js. net. Several papers have
appeared in recent years; among them will be found useful :
The Rev. Cecil Grant, Headmaster of Keswick School, contri-
butes articles on the subject to the ‘* Special Reports,” edited by
Mr. M. E. Sadler, and to The Record of Technical and Secondary
Education, October, 1901. The Rev. Canon Rawnsley read a
paper on the ‘‘ National Import of Co-education,’ at the North
of England Conference of Teachers, in Manchester, in January
last. Dr. Cecil Reddie refers to the subject in his book,
“‘Abbotsholme” (George Allen). Our correspondent will
doubtless obtain useful guidance by communicating with the
headinasters of the following schools, which are conducted upon
co-education lines: Ashton-in-Makerfield Grammar School,
Lancs. ; Bakewell Grammar School; Bedales School, Peters-
field; Cartmel Grammar School, Grange-over-Sands : Hinckley
Grammar School ; King Alfred’s School, Hampstead ; Up-
Holland Grammar School, Wigan; The Friends’ Schools at
Wigton, Saffron Walden, Rawden, near Leeds, and Peénketh,
near Warrington; West Heath School, Hampstead; Ruskin
School, Elunstanton; Lady Barn School, Withington, Man-
chester ; Chippenham County School: Winscombe School,
Somerset ; Lymm School, Cheshire; and Leek High School.
The headmasters of the numerous higher-grade schools through-
out the country would be able to supply valuable assistance.
If any of our readers can be of further assistance to our corre-
spondent we should be glad.—EDITORS.
A Simple Extensometer and Thermal Diffusivity
IN common, I presume, with many other science teachers, I
have felt for a long time the want of a good, cheap apparatus for
measuring the coefficients of expansion of metals. I have at
length succeeded in having manufactured, from my own designs,
an instrument that I find to be in every respect satisfactory, and
to give consistent and trustworthy results, even in the hands of
first year’s students; and a brief description of it may be of
interest to the readers of THE SCHOOL WORLD.
The accompanying plate shaws the apparatus ready for use.
The metal tube A B is coanected, by means of a piece of rubber
tubing F, to a short length of glass tubing E, held in a clamp
attached to a retort stand. Another short length of rubber, at
the upper end of E, allows. the iaseztion of the funnel D, or of
the steam jet C, as may be. required. P is an ordinary glass
flask, with beat delivery tube, fos the steam supply. Metal pins
The School World
IEO
pass through the expansible tube at A and B; the pin at A is
rigidly held in the brass fork shown in the plate; and the pin at
B presses against the shorter arm of the lever ; so that any
change of length in A B will be accompanied by a proportionate
movement of the indicating needle along the scale.
In making an observation, the funnel D is inserted, and cold
water is passed through the tube from the tin L to M ; at the
same time the thermometer is inserted in the open end H, and
the temperature and scale reading are noted. D is then with-
drawn and C is inserted, allowing a current of steam to pass
through. After some time the steam will be seen issuing from
H ; the temperature and scale reading are then again recorded.
When this has been done, C is removed, D inserted, cold water
again passed through, and the temperature and scale reading
once more recorded, so as to obtain the contraction coefficient.
The arms of the lever being respectively ten inches and one
inch, and the length A B one metre, the calgulation is always
very simple.
EXAMPLE.
Observations with a brass tube :—
First scale reading a sie 3°74 cms.
Temperature of cold water at H 14°°4 C.
Temperature of steam at H 99°°6 C.
Second scale reading srs 5°34 cms.
Temperature of cold water at H 16°°8 C.
Third scale reading i 3°78 cms.
Calculation :
Expansion of 100 cms. for 85°-2 C. = 1; x 1°60 cms.
j3 » I cm. for 1? C = Sea = '0000187.
Contracting of roo cms. for 82° 8C. =1), x1 "56 cms.
j y3 I cm. for 1° C.= ge = ‘o000188
Comparison of Calorific Diffustvities.—In using the apparatus
as an extensometer, it will be observed that, with the same
supply of heat to the steam generator, tubes of different materials
require appreciably different times to elapse between inserting
the jet C, and obtaining a visible delivery of steam at H. These
differences are due to the different conducting powers and thermal
capacities of the substances. |
To examine the differences more minutely, pellets of wax are
affixed to the tube at intervals of about 10 cms., between A and
B, and the time of melting of the successive pellets is recorded ;
the times are then plotted as ordinates, the abscisse being any
convenient scale of equal parts. The tube A B is then replaced
by another of different material, and a second set of numbers is
obtained. As paraffin wax melts at about 50° C., these observa-
tions can be easily made while waiting for the steam to issue at
H in the expansion experiment. A series of curves is thus
obtained, and, when they are traced on a common sheet, the
differences between them can be due only to differences in the
thermal conductivities and capacities of the metals.
The apparatus is manufactured solely by Messrs. Philip
Ifarris and Co., Birmingham and Dublin, and is sold, with one
expansion tube, at £I 5s. ; additional tubes of various metals
can be supplied at market price.
JAMES COMERTON.
Christian Brothers’ College, Cork. ,
Galyanometers for School Laboratories.
THERE is a statement in the article on the above subject to
which it seems desirable to direct attention. The incandescent
electric lamp is the most perfect illuminant for galvanometer
work if one only knows how to use it, and no one who has had
practical experience with it would recommend paraffin oil.
When in. Taunton, I devised an inexpensive laboratory
arrangement, taking ordinary 16-C.P. lamps, which gave the
I20
‘full moon ” without the least trouble, and I have seen some-
thing very similar in many other laboratories.
I think that Mr. Hadley might also have dwelt more fully
on the advantages of translucent over opaque screens.
C. J. LEAPER.
City of Galway Technical Institute.
I HAVE often regretted that the application of the electric
incandescent lamp to galvanometer work has always appeared to
be disappointing—quite recently I formed the same opinion
in the case of the largest and most modern physical laboratory
in this country. The usual method of application is to focus
one of the filaments of the lamp on the screen, thus giving
a narrow bright line, which is not nearly so conspicuous as
a dark line across an illuminated circle. I have also seen an
arrangement in which the galvanometer is permanently fixed
below the bench, and the scale is translucent and fixed flush
with the bench top; such a method may be convenient for
senior students, but it has no teaching value in the case of junior
students.
If Mr. Leaper would give details of the method which has
proved satisfactory, the information would prove useful to many
of your readers.
Kidderminster. H. E. HADLEY.
PRIZE COMPETITION.
Result of No. 16.—Most Popular School-Books in English
Grammar and Composition.
In this competition we offered two prizes of books, one of the
published value of a guinea, the other of half-a-guinea, for the
two lists of six text-books of English grammar and composition
now in use in schools, which were by those taking part in the
competition considered to be the most popular. The following
six books have received most votes, and it is interesting to
remark that the seventh book on the list polled many fewer
votes than the sixth.
FINAL LIST.
(1) “ Manual of English Grammar and Composition.” By
J. C. Nesfield. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
(2) “A New Grammar of the English Tongue.”
D. Meiklejohn. (Holden.) 2s. 6d.
(3) ‘‘ The Elements of English Grammar.” By A. S. West.
(Cambridge University Press.) 2s. 6d.
(4) ‘‘ English Grammar, Past and Present.”
Nesfeld. (Macmillan.) 43. 6d.
(5) ‘The English Language: its Grammar, History, and
Literature.” By J M. D. Meiklejohn. (Iolden.) 4s. 6d.
(6) “English Grammar, including Grammatical Analysis.”
By C. P. Mason. (Bell.) 3s. 6d.
Two books tied for the seventh place, viz., ‘“ The English
Language: its History and Structure,” by W. H. Low
(Clive), 3s. 6d. ; and ‘* English Grammar Primer,” by Rev. R.
Morris (Macmillan), 1s. Two books also obtained the same
number of votes for the eighth place, viz., ‘ English Grammar
and Analysis,” by W. Davidson and J. C. Alcock (Allman), 2s. ;
and ** The Oxford and Cambridge Grammar,” by the Rev. C.
Brooke (Gill), ts. Forty books in all were named in the lists
sent in. .
The first prize is awarded to
W. H. Dann,
Kenilworth,
Ryde, I.W.,
for the following list containing four books occurring in the final
selection arranged in an order which more nearly approaches
that given above than any other list received.
© Manual of English Grammar and Composition.”
Nesfield. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
“ Elements of English Grammar.”
Univ. Press.) 2s. 6d.
By J. M.
By J. C.
By J. C.
By A. S. West. (Camb.
The School World
[ Marcu, 1903.
“ The English Language: tts Grammar, History, and Litera-
ture.” By J.M. D. Meiklejohn. (Holden.) 4s. 6d.
“Elementary Lessons in Historical English.” By Rev. R.
Morris, revised by Bradley. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
“ English Grammar, including Grammatical Analysts.” By
C. P. Mason. (Bell.) 3s. 6d.
“The English Language: its History and Structure.” By
W. H. Low. (Clive.) 3s. 6d.
The second prize goes to
Arthur Ruddlesden,
City Technical School,
Bath,
who also named four of the most popular books, but the order
in which they were named does not approximate so closely to the
result of the voting as Mr. Dann’s list.
Edith H. Haines, Priory of Our Lady of Good Counsel,
Hayward’s Heath; E. W. Hurst, Newbury House, Bishop’s
Stortford; Mary Shaw, Brixton Hill, S.W.; and J. Yates,
School of Science, Kidderminster, each named four of the win-
ning books, but their arrangement was not so near that of the
final list as in the case of the prize winners.
No. 17.—Most Popular School-Books in Arithmetic.
Which six text-books of Arithmetic are most widely used in
schools at the present time? Answers to this question are
required in the competition for this month. Each competitor
must send a list of the titles, &c., of six books on Arithmetic
that he considers are the most popular ones now in use in
schools.
For the purpose of this competition, those books will be
judged the most popular which are most frequently named in
the lists received.
We offer two prizes of books, one of the published value of a
guinea, the other of half-a-guinea, to be selected from the cata-
logue of Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Limited. The prizes will
be given for the two lists which most resemble that drawn up
| as a result of the voting of the competitors.
In naming a book, its title, author, publisher and price should
be given. Each list of books sent in must be accompanied by a
coupon printed on page v., though areader may send in more
than one list provided each has a coupon attached. Replies
must reach the Editors of THE SCHOOL WorLD, St. Martin’s
Street, London, W.C., on or before Monday, March 16th,
1908. The decision of the Editors in this, as in all competi-
tions, is final.
The result will be published in the April number, when the
successful list will be published.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent to
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements should be addressed to
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THE SCHOOL WORLD ?#s published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy ts sixpence.
Annnal subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, tf
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepaid.
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication.
‘The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
No. 52.
THE EDUCATION ACT, 1902,
In 1Ts RELATION TO SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
By R. P. Scorr, LL.D.
Headmaster of Parmiter’s School, Victoria Park, N.E.
Joint Hon. Sec. of the Incorporated Association of
Headmasters.
N discussing the question, ‘‘ How can public,
proprietary, and private schools make the
most of the new Act,” it is assumed through-
out the following remarks that, unless forbidden
by the context, the word “school ’’ denotes “ se-
condary school” in one or other of its types.
For elementary schools ample and definite pro-
vision is made in the Act. These have, moreover,
acquired during the past thirty years a known and
important relation to the State and to local authori-
ties. It is, therefore, with no idea of minimising
the importance of these schools that the above limi-
tation is adopted in the following considerations.
A further reason for such restriction may be found in
the fact that, while the Act is both definite and de-
tailed as to the elementary school system, as
regards secondary education a complete secondary
system is not even contemplated, and the provisions
bearing upon secondary schools are vague and cast
in general terms. In fact, as regards secondary
education, the Act is like an imperfectly inflated
balloon of which we can just make out the lines
indicating the divisions, and determine its dimen-
sions. To the Board of Education and to local
education committees conjointly has been com-
mitted by Parliament the task of inflating it,
of giving the machine buoyancy and directing
its course. Again, it 1s necessary for purposes
of definiteness to state what is meant by the terms
‘“ public,” ‘‘ proprietary,’ and ‘ private” respec-
tively, in connection with secondary schools, since
each of these divisions has many interests in
common and at certain points seems to shade off
into its neighbours.
By a “ public secondary school ” is meant a school
which is administered under a definite form of
public or corporate control, t.e., it must be ad-
ministered by a representative or other governing
body of a public character, under a scheme’ of
the Charity Commission, or under some other
No, 52, VoL. 5.]
APRIL, 1903.
SIXPENCE.
special instrument of like effect, or under such
conditions that the permanence of the school as
a secondary school is practically assured; the
Governing Body must, by its constitution, have
the power both to appoint and to dismiss the
headmaster, must have a substantial interest in
the school, and be in a position to control the
finances. Under this head fall in general the
public schools, the grammar schools, and the se-
condary day-schools attached to technical insti-
tutes. Moreover, it seems proper to include also
such proprietary schools as Marlborough, Clifton,
Blackheath, &c.,in which the proprietors receive no
dividend ; to these may be added the schools of the
City Companies, Mercers’, Grocers’, Brewers’, &c.
The schools have no legal obligation towards their
local education committees, their accounts cannot
be called for by such committees; nor can the
schools be compelled to submit to inspection, but
as the committees will in the future be able to accord
them either recognition or aid, it may be con-
jectured that this legal right to stand outside the
system will not in general be widely exercised.
With these preliminary assumptions we may pro-
ceed to consider :
(1) The powers and duties relating to secondary
education appertaining to local education com-
mittees under the Education Act.
(2) The means which secondary schools of the
various kinds named above must take if they are
to benefit by the new Act.
It must at the outset be noted that not only
are school boards superseded by the new local
authorities, but also the Technical Instruction
Acts, “ stock, lock, and barrel,” are swept away.
From an educational point of view, this means,
if the new Act be wisely administered, the aboli-
tion of the wasteful overlapping which has existed
in some county boroughs. A certain amount of
overlapping must always exist, and is even benefi-
cial; but when one local authority is responsible
for all the schools of an area it is less likely to
impoverish one type of school in order to encourage
another. The Act expressly contemplates this
abolition of unnecessary and wasteful rivalry, for
almost the first duty of the authority is to “ take
such steps as may seem to them desirable, after
consultation with the Board of Education, to pro-
mote the general co-ordination of all forms of
education.” [2, 111.|
L
122 _ The School World.
It is, no doubt, largely with this special end in
view that the Act prescribes in detail the com-
ponents of the local education committees, which
are to contain ‘“‘ persons of experience in educa-
tion, and persons acquainted with the needs of
the various kinds of schools in the area for which
the council acts.” [17 (3), b.]
Another duty cast upon the authority—and one
which has not yet received the attention which its
importance deserves—is, they ‘‘shall consider the
educational needs of their area”’ [2 (1)j, and the
object of this “ consideration ” is set out in the
following section, which enacts that ‘‘A council, in
exercising their powers under this Part of the Act
|t.e., Part II., Higher Education} , shall have regard
to any existing supply of effictent schools or colleges,
and to any steps already taken for the purposes of
higher education under the Technical Instruction
Acts, 1889 and 1891. [2 (2).]
It need hardly be said that the words in
italics, ‘‘ shall have regard,” constitute an obliga-
tion enforceable at law, and the term “efficient ”
as here used will need a legal as well as an
administrative interpretation. It is submitted that
each local authority, in order to define its duties
under the phrase, ‘‘ have due regard,” under this
section, should begin its work by a survey, or
general inspection, of all existing schools and col-
leges, whether public, proprietary, or private,
within its area, and it can hardly be doubted that
all schools and institutions which claim any sub-
stantial connection with the area would gladly
submit to the survey in such manner as the
authority might determine. Without such a
survey the authority would find itself unable to
devise any effective method of co-ordination of
schools and institutions, unable to stop wasteful
overlapping, and therefore unable to perform its
duties under the Act to which it owes its exist-
ence.
An instance of the effect of a survey may be
given. In 1892, the London County Council pre-
ceded the institution of a Technical Education
Board by a survey of the educational provision of
London for the purposes of the Technical Instruc-
tion Act. The matter was entrusted to Mr.
Llewellyn Smith, who systematically and tho-
roughly surveyed (with consent) the institutions
concerned. The good results far exceeded any-
thing that could have been expected: forgotten
trusts were brought to light, scholarship founda-
tions which had fallen almost into desuetude were
put once more into beneficent use; schools and
institutions which were decaying through neglect
and inadequate resources were, at no very great
expense, invigorated and linked together in an
intelligible system based upon a sense of unity.
Ina word, since Mr. Llewellyn Smith’s survey,
and largely as an outcome of it, the educational
parochialism of London, which was overwhelming
ten years ago, has disappeared almost entirely.
It should be added that this Report, drawn up, as
it was, by a master of the art of marshalling facts
and statistics, contained further a reasoned plan
upon which the higher education of London should
[ APRIL, 1903.
be developed. The document has served as a
guide to the singularly able secretary, Dr. Garnett,
and to its devoted one-time chairman, Mr. Sidney
Webb; and the result is a striking testimony to
the value of ascertaining the facts before taking
action. If other local authorities are wise, they
will follow this example ; and if teachers are wide-
awake, this is the first point which they will unite
to force upon the attention of education com-
mittees.
There is a further reason for concentrating pre-
liminary attention on a survey: none of the local
authorities have sufficient funds at their disposal
to launch out into lavish expenditure on secondary
or higher education. In county boroughs, it is
true, there is an unlimited power as to rating, but
at a time when taxes are so high, it is unlikely
that for such purposes there will be any heavy call
upon the ratepayers. The county rate is limited
to twopence in the pound, ‘‘ or such higher rate as
the county council, with the consent of the Local
Government Board, may fix.” [2, iii.) But as
regards both counties and county boroughs the
provision and maintenance of secondary and higher
education is permissive merely, and with the in-
creased rate necessitated by elementary education
under the Act, it may be surmised that secondary
education at first will not benefit greatly under
the Act.
Turning, then, to the manner in which existing
secondary schools of all kinds may make the most
of opportnnities which the wise working of the Act
undoubtedly affords, we find it clear that the first
step to be taken is for secondary teachers to en-
deavour, singiy and collectively, by approaching
the county or borough councils, to obtain a local
education committee so constituted as to contain
persons who know the conditions of the efficiency
of a school, ¢.g., persons who can interpret the
report of an inspector, and can distinguish in such
reports between matters which are of the greatest,
and those which are of minor importance.
When this committee is once constituted, the
next step for schools should be to place before its
members the necessity and the use of a survey
of the educational resources of the area. In this
matter private schools seem specially concerned.
The Act gives them a legal safeguard, but if the
safeguard be not made effective, they will be the
first to suffer in ill-considered action on the part of
the committee.
It is obvious, however, that no school is safe-
guarded by the Act unless it is, in the words of the
Act, “efficient,” and this is a term which fortu-
nately is easy of interpretation. Under the Board
of Education Act, 1899, the Board is given the
power to inspect such schools as may apply, and
to give them a certificate of efficiency: this like
privilege is extended by the same Act to such
other inspecting bodies as the Board may approve,
after taking the advice of its Consuitative Com-
mittee. Thus, the means of securing a declaration
as to efficiency 1s by way of inspection, and it would
be wise for every school which desires to be safe-
guarded to apply for some approved form of in-
APRIL, 1903. ]
spection. It may be added that the cost of this is
about 2s. per pupil, and application should be made
to the Secretary, Board of Education, South Ken-
sington; or to Dr. Keynes (Syndicate Buildings,
Cambridge); or to Mr. H. T. Gerrans (Merton
Street, Oxford); orto Dr. R. D. Roberts (University
of London, South Kensington). The College of
Preceptors (Bloomsbury Square) has also started a
scheme of inspection, but its inspections have not
yet the approval of the Board: the scheme is
quite as thorough as any of the foregoing: its
recognition is only a matter of time, and this
scheme serves the useful purpose of showing the
nature of an inspection conducted with less delay
and with equal thoroughness. Inspection of a less
thorough kind than the above 1s used by the Board
of Education to determine whether a school shall
be “recognised” for the purpose of the registra-
tion of teachers on Column B.
It will further become necessary for schools which
desire to have their interests safeguarded by local
authorities to employ ‘‘registered” teachers,
teachers, that is, who are on Column B of the
Register: for this purpose two qualifications
are necessary, viz., first, that the teacher has for
three years belonged to a recognised (t.¢., inspected)
school, and secondly, that he possesses a certificate
of sufficient attainment as set forth in the Order of
Council for the Registration of Teachers (par-
ticulars as to such qualifications can be obtained
from Mr. G. W. Rundall, Registrar, 49, Parliament
Street, Westminster). It cannot be doubted that
a local education committee will, as one of its first
duties, compile for its area two lists which will be
circulated throughout the area, and will soon begin
seriously to affect those whose names do not
appear thereon. The first list will be the list of
local efficient schools; the second, the list of
teachers registered on Column B.
The last thing, therefore, which remains to be
done by governing bodies and by principals is to
see that the school and as many of the teachers as
possible appear on the local lists, since absence
therefrom, whether in case of school or teacher,
will presently come to be regarded as a token of
inefficiency.
Holiday Courses in Modern Languages.—The Board of
Education have just issued a list of eighteen holiday courses
which will be held on the Continent at different times during
the present year, but mostly in the summer months. Four
of the courses are in Germany, viz., Greifswald, Jena, Kiel and
Marburg; three in Switzerland, viz., Geneva, Lausanne, and
Neuchatel; one is in Spain, viz., Santander; and the rest are
in France, viz., Tours, Honfleur, Paris, Grenoble, Nancy,
Villerville-sur-Mer, Caen, Lisieux and Douai. The paper
issued by the Board of Education gives the date of each course,
the fees, return fares from London, lowest cost of boarding,
Principal subjects of instruction, address of local secretary and
other details of importance to intending students. Copies of the
paper can be obtained free on application to the Board of Edu-
cation Library, St. Stephen’s House, Cannon Row, Whitehall,
S.W.,
The School World
123
GEOMETRY AT THE CAMBRIDGE
LOCAL EXAMINATIONS, 1903.
THE PREPARATION OF CANDIDATES IN THE SUB-
JECTS OF THE New SYLLABUS.
By RUPERT DEAKIN, M.A.
Headmaster of King Edward’s School, Stourbridge.
HE teaching of Euclid has for many years
been viewed with growing disfavour in
England. ‘Teachers have found it difficult
to get their pupils to understand Euclid’s methods
of reasoning. Pupils have shed bitter tears over
learning propositions that were not understood,
and practical men have grumbled because boys
who had learnt geometry from Euclid’s pages
knew so little that was really useful tothem. But
although there was this large body of discontented
people, schoolmasters were obliged to teach
Euclid’s Elements because their pupils were
required to pass examinations in which a certain
amount of geometry was prescribed and examined
by Euclid’s standards. According to Mr. Gerrans,
examiners did not alter their syllabuses because
they were afraid that teachers would not apprave
of the change. And thus Euclid remained in
English schools long after it had been superseded
in other countries.
The year 1902 will be remembered as that in
which there was a general movement in England
to reform the teaching: of elementary geometry.
Special committees of the Mathematical and
British Associations presented reports urging cer-
tain alterations. The Incorporated Associations
of Headmasters and of Assistant-masters both advo-
cated similar reforms, and a committee appointed
by the Cambridge University Syndicate for conduct-
ing examinations advised the alteration of the
syllabuses for geometry in the preliminary and
junior local examinations. The University of
Oxford made geometry an optional subject in its
junior local examinations, a student being able to
pass in mathematics if he passes in arithmetic and
algebra. Most teachers will think this a mistake,
and Cambridge seems to have adopted the better
plan. According to the regulations for the Cam-
bridge local examinations for junior students, a
candidate is still required to pass in both Euclid
and algebra to satisfy in mathematics. He may,
however, pass in either subject alone and count the
marks gained in it; but in that case he is not
considered to have passed in the mathematical
section.
A detailed schedule for geometry as required in
the Cambridge local preliminary and junior exami-
nations has been issued,'as well as specimen papers.?
This schedule divides each examination into two
parts, and each part is again divided into practical
geometry and theoretical geometry. Students can
pass by doing sufficiently well in Part I.; but it is
l See Tue Scoot Worn, December, 1902.
2 Sec Tue Scour Wortp, March, 1903.
124
to be noticed that they must take questions both in
practical and in theoretical geometry. In the speci-
men papers no distinction is made between the
questions ; but at the head of the paper the prac-
tical questions are said to be 1-2 of Part I. and
7-8 of Part II. It will, therefore, be advisable for
teachers to tell their pupils that they must attempt
at least one of these four questions, or they will
run a great risk of failing.
Turning to the practical geometry, it is to be
noticed that ‘‘candidates are not expected to
furnish proofs of the validity of the construction,
but all lines required in the constructions must be
shown clearly.” A note in the schedule says:
‘‘ For the practical geometry, teachers are recom-
mended to make use of some work on geometrical
drawing.” ‘There are many good books on geo-
metrical drawing, but they have mostly been
written with a view to the requirements of the
examinations held by the Board of Education, or
for Army and Navy candidates. The best text-
book for the Cambridge locals, so far as I know,
is ‘ Practical Geometry,” by J. Carroll (Burns &
Oates, 1s. 6d.). It is well arranged, can be used
with Euclid’s theorems, and has a series of papers
for home work. ‘‘ Geometrical Drawing,” by W.
H. Blythe (Cambridge University Press, 2s. 6d.),
is ‘a good book, and well printed. All teachers
who send in pupils for the Cambridge locals ought
to see it, for it defines exactly how much know-
ledge is expected from preliminary and junior
candidates in geometrical drawing.
Perhaps the most important change that will be
brought about by the new methods of teaching
geometry will be that the study of the subject will
be begun by boys at a much earlier age. So long
as Euclid remained the only acknowledged text-
book, it was found that young pupils could not
understand geometrical proofs, and most efforts to
write books for beginners resulted in simplified
editions of Euclid. Now that geometrical draw-
ing is to be taught, instead of Euclid’s problems,
students can begin the study of geometry at a
much earlier age. Several books written specially
for young beginners have already appeared.
Among these are the following:—A ‘Geometry
for Beginners,” by Prof. Minchin (Clarendon Press,
1s. 6d.). Prof. Minchin says he has used his
book with boys of eight years of age with great
success. The book is a good introduction for
students who wish to lay a solid foundation for a
sound mathematical study of geometry. The chief
defect is that the propositions are usually printed
in continuous paragraphs, little use being made of
varieties of type. A “ Geometry for Young Be-
ginners,” by F. W. Sanderson (Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1s. 4d.), is more modern in its treatment
of the subject, and makes much use of geometrical
drawing. Another good book is“ A First Geometry
Book,” by Hamilton and Kettle (Arnold, 1s.). This
contains a simple course of exercises based on ex-
periment and discovery. I have used it as a text-
book and find that it is easily understood by
beginners. Schools which get young pupils and
devote special attention to physics will find this
The School World
[ APRIL, 1903.
book very useful. On the other hand, “ Inductive
Geometry,” by H. A. Nesbitt (Swan Sonnenschein,
1s. 6d.), is too explanatory. The book is intended
for use in classes that are between the kindergarten
and the geometry class of the upper school, and
teachers of such classes will find many useful hints
in it, but too little is left to the pupil.
Much of the work in the mathematical and
drawing sections in geometrical drawing is the
same, and any candidate who passes in mathe-
matics may also easily pass in geometrical drawing
in Section 14 of the preliminary examination and
Section 15 of the junior examination. I have
found by experience that one lesson of half-an-hour
and one home-lesson of half-an-hour per week
for three terms is sufficient preparation for the
geometrical drawing of Section 15 in the junior
examination.
Coming now to the theoretical geometry, I think
that the idea that Euclid is no longer to be taught
or used as a text-book for the Cambridge locals is
quite erroneous. In the first place, the schedule
distinctly says that the substance of certain
theorems in Euclid must be known. Euclid’s
problems are replaced by geometrical drawing ;
but most of Euclid’s theorems are retained, and
more riders based on these theorems will probably
be set. As a proof that Euclid is not to be
abolished, the fact that the Pitt Press edition of
Euclid is recommended by the Cambridge
authorities as a text-book may be mentioned.
Teachers may rely on the Pitt Press Euclid,
together with a book on geometrical drawing, as
providing excellent preparation for the examina-
tions. Again, in the specimen papers recently
published, no less than five of Euclid’s theorems
are set both in the preliminary and in the junior
paper. With regard to the omission of Euclid’s
problems, it 1s noticeable that the junior paper of
Igor contained none of Euclid’s problems. The
intention seems to be not so much to abolish
Euclid as to ensure that Euclid shall be taught in
a more intelligent and practical way.
The specimen papers also do away with the
former division of the questions into two parts,
the latter part containing riders only. The riders
are now distributed throughout, and a rider
generally follows the proposition on which it is
based. There will in future be no collection of
the answers to the first part of the paper after an
hour and a half’s work. Students whose know-
ledge of geometry is limited to the subjects in
Part I. will be able to spend the whole time
on those questions. The examiners have for several
years said that the solution of riders can be easily
and satisfactorily taught by capable masters, and
the new syllabus will apparently attach more
importance than ever toriders. There is certainly
no intention on the part of the Cambridge
authorities to allow the candidates to shirk the
difficulty of understanding a strict geometrical
proof.
From the foregoing remarks it will be gathered
that I think an edition of Euclid containing only
Euclid’s theorems, with, in some cases, modern
APRIL, 1903. |
proofs and a larger number of riders, would be
the best to use with pupils. A book of this kind
is “ Elementary Geometry,” by Baker and Bourne
(George Bell, 1s. 6d., 2s. 6d., 3s. and 4s. 6d.).
This is written on the lines recommended by
the Committee of the Mathematical Association.
The theorems are separated from the problems,
but proofs are given of both kinds of proposi-
tions. Solutions of the specimen papers in
geometry have been published, worked from this
book, to show that pupils can be satisfactorily pre-
pared by using this text-book only. The authors
did not write this book specially for the Cambridge
examinations, and it contains much that is not
required for these examinations. Another good
book is “A New Geometry for Beginners,” by
Roberts (Blackie, 1s. 6d.). This is rather a
dificult book for a beginner, but it is stimulating
and encourages thought.
“ Elementary Geometry,” by J. Elliott (Swan
Sonnenschein, 4s.), is evidently the work of an
excellent teacher. It has been used instead of
Euclid I.-IV., and is not a book hastily written for
the Cambridge local examinations. The preface
and the appendices are full of practical hints for
teachers.
The ‘‘Elements of Geometry,” by Lachlan
and Fletcher (Arnold, 2s. 6d.), is rather hard for
beginners. It is not merely a new edition of
Lachlan’s “ Euclid’’; it contains 100 short pro-
positions, having often modern proofs and also
numerous exercises and riders. ‘* Elementary
Geometry,” by W. C. Fletcher (Arnold, 1s. 6d.),
is a capital summary of results with hints for
proofs.
Two new books on geometry have lately been
written by assistant - masters at Eton College.
“ Practical Exercises in Geometry,” by W. D.
Eggar (Macmillan, 2s. 6d.), provides a very good
experimental course which may be used with any
book on theoretical geometry. It includes a large
amount of geometrical drawing, with chapters on
the metric system, volume, surfaces, mensuration,
formule, and graphs. It is better suited for can-
didates preparing for Army and Navy examina-
tions than for the locals. ‘* Theoretical Geometry
for Beginners,” by C. H. Allcock (Macmillan,
1s. 6d.), contains the substance of the first book
of Euclid. It is the work of a good mathematical
teacher. The author has acted upon the sugges-
tions of the Mathematical Association in many
cases; but he is evidently in favour of retaining
Euclid so far as possible. Another new book is
“ Geometry,” by S. O. Andrew (Murray, 2s.). It
contains numerous exercises and a large amount of
geometrical information.
English teachers might derive much benefit by
consulting American books on geometry, many of
which have been issued during the last few years.
I may mention the books by Phillips and Fisher
(American Book Company), that by G. A.
Wentworth (Ginn, 5s. 6d.), and that by Professor
Holgate (Macmillan, 6s.). These should be in
every school library. After consulting all these
books I still think that there is room for a better
The School World
125
book. Many teachers in England have been
working out courses of geometry for their own
classes. To all such I would say, “ Do not change
your system for the Cambridge locals or any other
examinations. Modify and improve your teaching
by reading these new books in order to get new
ideas. Reformation, not revolution, 1s needed;
a good teacher can appreciate good methods, and
should be ready to adopt them even when he him-
self does not originate them.”
ANOTHER CHAPTER ON VERY
ELEMENTARY ARITHMETIC.
By Sirk OLIVER LopGE, F.R.S.
Principal of the University of Birmingham.
SIMPLIFICATION OF FRACTIONS.
ULGAR fractions are much harder to deal
with than decimals, but, as sometimes several
have to be added together, it is desirable to
know how to do it. Besides, the exercise so
afforded is of a right and wholesome kind.
Consider the following addition :—-
b+ h
Small children can see (by experiment on an
apple) that the result is ł, and they can also be
taught to regard it as 2 + 4 = #, which should be
-read in words—two quarters added to one quarter
make three quarters.
Thus it can be realised that, when the
denominators are all the same, addition of fractions
becomes simple addition of the numerators.
For just as 5 oranges + 6 oranges = II oranges,
so 75 + 3% = H, reading ‘‘seventeenths ” instead
of ‘‘ oranges.”
When denominations differ, therefore, the first
thing to do is to make them the same.
Thus, for instance, 3 apples + 4 oranges is an
addition which can only be performed by finding
some denomination which includes both, say
“ pieces of fruit.”
So, also, 7 horses + 3 pigs = 10 quadrupeds.
5 copies of Robinson Crusoe + 3 copies of
Ivanhoe = 8 prize-books, perhaps.
This cannot always be done when denominations
are anything whatever, except by using the vague
terms ‘‘objects” or “ things”; but with numerical
denominators it can always be done, and the
method of doing it has to be learnt.
3 + r = 11, and such like, are easy examples.
44 -4 = 4 is a slightly harder one. It is done by
saying z + wy = i = 3:
So, also, 4 + 4 equals 3, being equal to 4.
A harder example is 4 + 3, which can be written
2 31 1
aia ls a = Se
In the decimal oration this would appear thus :—
3°5 + 1°666 eer = 5:1600 ee ve
126
A still harder example can be worked out thus:—
945 _ 63 4 40 _ 108 _ 747
§ tf = 68 + 56 = s0 = 15%
though the final step is one that need not always
be made.
Now it is evident, or at least it will gradually be
found true, that ina mechanical process of this kind
there is always some simple rule by which the
result can be obtained without thought. What is
that rule? If the child can find it out for himself,
by experimenting on lots of pairs of fractions, so
much the better. A week is none too much to
give him to try, for if he finds it out himself he
will not forget it.
The rule is cross-multiply for the numerators,
and multiply the denominators.
Iı I 6+2 8 2
se m nR
1 I b+a
até ah”
344 27+28 _ 55,
7 9 63 63
a co ad -+- he
a w"
but it would be a great pity to spoil this by prema-
ture telling.
The fact that the sum of two reciprocals is the
sum of the numbers divided by their product is
worth illustrating fully and remembering—remem-
bering, that is, by growing thoroughly accustomed
to it, not exactly learning by heart. There is no
need to learn easy things like that by heart.
E E E T
34 «212 thatsme product
I I a-}-ò
até ~ ab
sen emacs
23°5 7 15
ae = 51! ES i = O° £2
2'49 98 roo ~ O 973
the symobl =>- meaning ‘‘approximately equals.” The ap-
proximation is seen to be true because adding 1 to 50 makes the
same proportional difference as adding 2 to too. If this is too
hard it can be postponed. It is unimportant, but represents a
kind of thing which is handy to do in practice].
But this rule of cross-multiplication hardly
serves for the addition of three or more fractions,
at least not without modification. Take an
example :—
12,7 _1,4,21 26,
6'3t2 “616 6 6 **
Ness co a a ee
CH Bans 8 S
where the three fractions, 4, 2, and 4, all having the
same denominator, are written all together, with
the addition of the numerators indicated, and
subsequently performed.
I I 1 3+44+1 _ 8} 17
3'29 9 9 18
This might hardly be considered a legitimate
procedure, but there is nothing the matter with it.
You might, instead, proceed thus :—
The School World
[ APRIL, 1903.
I I I 18 27 6 ŞI 17
and that is equally a correct method.
But neither of these plans is quite the grown-up
plan. Let a better plan be found; but first let
the above plans be formulated and expressed. Is
it not plain that the numerator of each particular
fraction is found by multiplying two of the
denominators together, while the common de-
nominator of all the fractions is found by multiply-
ing all the denominators together ?
Apply this rule :—
I I I
tst, i 120 120. 60
For instance, a sixth of an hour + a fifth of an
hour + a quarter of an hour = 37 minutes: a
minute being the sixtieth of an hour. Now a sixth
of an hour is 10 minutes, a fifth is 12 minutes, and
a quarter of an hour is 15 minutes, consequently
the neatest way of doing the above sum would be:
1, 1,1 _ toti241§ _ 37
6'54 60 ~ 60
: 1 1 _ 180+36+720 ,
Again, 127 60713 — + 720X 3 Sey
but here every term in numerator and denominator
can be divided by 3 and by 12, so that the above
may be written :—
60 “657307 °° O83
And it would have been neater to write it so at
first—-neater but not essential, and sometimes not
even the most rapid plan.
To illustrate the above example :—
Tath of a day is 2 hours.
goth of a day is 24 minutes.
ard of a day is 8 hours.
Consequently the sum of these fractions of a day is 10 hours
and 24 minutes, which is 1055 of an hour [= roy = 10°4 hours]
or 13+ ), of a day, which again may be written 35 +85 =%§ =
iaths, as before.
The form of the general rule, then, is given by
r I I b+ca+ab_ . _
a i ai but in practice it is
possible to abbreviate this in some cases, when
one of the denominators contains the others as
factors, or when some simple relation of the kind
exists between them.
This is what was made use of in the early simple
cases such as jy + 7y. We did not proceed to
24+ 60
288
once 2 + Æ = 94; that is to say, we perceived
that 24 would do for the new denominator, and
we adjusted the numerators accordingly.
Perhaps we had better display this algebraically,
Let each denominator contain a common factor,
say 1, so that the reciprocals to be added are
- -7 + = then, if we applied the mere
write and then simplify it, but we wrote at
-,. bc + n?ca +n?
general rule, we should write -— + : ae
n’abc
but the repetition of the powers of » is manifestly
APRIL, 1903. ]
The School World
127
needless, since they cancel out, and what we ought
to write for the new denominator would contain
bc + ca + ab
nabe `
nator so obtained is called the least common
multiple of the three denominators, and it is
frequently in examination papers denoted by the
letters L.C.M. It is not an important idea at all.
Sums can be done quite well without it, but its
introduction affords some scope for neatness and
ingenuity. Easy processes can be given for finding
it, but they are hardly worth while, as in real
practice they are never used.
the # only once, thus: The denomi-
I I Ç$ 3 7
oO 2 rae - ie! -æ
Add together P ties:
Here 32 is evidently the L.C.M. of the denominators ; that
is, it contains all the others as factors. So that will serve as
the simplest common or combined denominator. The first
numerator accordingly will be 16, the second 8, the third 4 but
taken 5 times and therefore 20, the next 2 taken 3 times, and
the last 1 taken 7 times.
Consequently the sum is written as follows :—
I I § 3 7 164+8+20+6+7 57
2t4t8ti6t32 = 3z = 32
Take another example of addition :—
IT I I 1 _72+9+56+8 145
775679763 = = 504.504
Here 7 is plainly a factor of both the larger denominators,
and 8 and 9g are the other factors, so the least common
denominator will only contain 7 and g once, and will equal
7x8xQ=504; and this being the smallest common multiple
possible, no further simplification can be effected, beyond, of
course, expressing it as a decimal if we so choose.
To express it as a decimal we must effect the
division indicated as well as we can, providing
the numerator 145°0000 with as many ciphers,
either written or understood, as we- may think
necessary to give the required amount of accuracy
in the quotient. It happens to equal 0°2877 almost
exactly.
It is worth noticing that the series of powers of 4,
viz,4 + 4 + 24+ 744+ 7 + ak +... add
up very nearly to 1; and the more nearly the more
terms of the series are taken.
It can be shown, not by trial indeed but by
simple reasoning, that if an infinite sequence of this
series are added together, the result is exactly 1.
Thus the first term constitutes haif of the whole
quantity, say a loaf, the second term added to it gives
us three-quarters, the third term gives us 4th more,
and we only need another eighth to get the whole.
The next term gives us half of the deficiency,
and now we need the other sixteenth to make the
whole. We do not get it, however; we get half of
it in the next term, and thus still fall short, but
this time only by „nd, and so at the end of the
above series, as far as written, our deficiency is
ayth. Each term, therefore, itself indicates the outstand-
ing deficiency ; and as the terms get rapidly smaller
and smaller, so does the deficiency below 1 get
rapidly diminished till it is imperceptible.
It is convenient to plot these fractions as lengths,
(setting them up at equal distances along a hori-
zontal line); say half a foot, then a quarter, then
an eighth, and soon. Then joining their tops we
get a curve which has the remarkable property of
always approaching a straight line, but never
actually meeting it, or at least not meeting it till
infinity; when, at length, it has become quite
straight.
There are many curves with such a property,
but this may be the first a child has met. It can,
of course, continue the curve in the other direction,
the direction of whole numbers, or powers of 2;
and observe how rapidly it tilts upward; but there
is no Straight line in this direction to which it tends
to approach; it proceeds to infinity in both
directions, not only in one, though far more rapidly
in the vertical direction: and this end of it never
becomes straight.
THE INCORPORATED ASSOCIATION OF
ASSISTANT-MASTERS.
DESCRIPTION of the constitution and aims
of the Association of Assistant-masters must
naturally first take account of the difficulties
with which its founder, Mr. Montgomery, and
those who worked with him, were confronted.
First came the necessity for including in the
Association assistant-masters from all types of
secondary schools, from the highest ‘“ conference ”
school to the lowest private school; and the
danger of want of continuity from the promotion of
the leading members of the Association to head-
masterships and other educational posts.
Then the very numbers constituted a difficulty
in the way of organisation, a difficulty that was
increased by the caste spirit, the low salaries, the
fact that comparatively few assistant-masters
could command rooms in which even committee
meetings could be held, and the circumstance
that time nominally private was so frequently
absorbed in the interests of school sports, &c. It,
in addition, it is remembered that too many
assistant-masters have few interests outside the
class room, or the playing field, some idea will be
obtained of the difficulty always experienced in
arranging for meetings to discuss educational
questions or to do the routine work of the associa-
tion. Without such meetings, organisation was
of course impossible. Still, many of these difficul-
ties have been overcome, and the Association can
now fairly claim that progress, which seemed
almost impossible in 18gt, has been made.
128
In that year a Select Committee of the House
of Commons was appointed to report on two
rival Bills for the registration of teachers, but the
views of assistant-masters could not be ascer-
tained because they had made no attempt to form
an association to represent their views. It would
have been strange if, after this, some attempt had
not been made to organise assistant-masters, and
in June two circulars were issued, each announc-
ing a preliminary meeting. The first of these
meetings took place on July 11th, in the dining
room at Parmiter’s School, Victoria Park, N.E.,
and was attended only by bona fide assistant-
masters, mostly from schools of the same type,
viz., London day-schools with a leaving age of 16.
This was the beginning of what is now the In-
Mr. T. E. Pace, M.A.
Assistant-master at Charterhouse ; Chairman of the Incorporated
Association of Assistant-masters,
corporated Association of Assistant-masters, and
it has always jealously maintained the essential
principle that it should consist solely of, and be
governed entirely by, bona fide assistant-masters in
_ secondary schools. |
The second circular, dated from Piccadilly,
summoned a meeting at St. James’s Hall to form
a “ National Association of Secondary Teachers.”
Its first officers included Sir John Lubbock, Mr.
Mundella, Dr. Napier, Mr. Oscar Browning anda
solicitor. Its offices were in Piccadilly, London,
and for a time at least it seemed as if the more
modest association, holding its meetings after
school hours in class rooms, and having no well-
known names to recommend it, must be crushed
out. Many men who received both circulars
refused to join either association for a time. But
it soon appeared, that no one however eminent,
The School World
ee ‘MM
[ APRIL, 1903.
could really represent assistant-masters if he was
not one himself. The ‘ National Association ”
had scattered its prospectus broadcast, yet it soon
ceased to exist; but it was years before the ill
effect of the double appeal and of the inevitable
dispute as to which body was really first in the
field was altogether eliminated. The existence of
the more ambitious society checked progress, but
it is the less pretentious one that still lives. At-
tempts at amalgamation were made, but these
were bound to be abortive because of the outside
element in the management of the “ National
Association.” While the A.M.A. has always
recognised that the heads of the profession must
be its mouthpiece, it has always refused to recog-
nise that there is so much difference between the
| successful candidate and the second at the election
a I RR
to a headmastership as to make the one man of
necessity more fit to speak for the profession than
the other, still less does it acknowledge that men
can adequately represent it who are not school-
masters. A similar attitude seems to be taken
just now by the Association with regard to the
Education Committees being formed under the
Education Act of 1902. While it is recognised
that the best men should speak for the profession,
it is difficult to understand how assistants can be
represented except by members of their own body.
As soon as the continued existence of the A.M.A.
was assured, efforts were made to secure members
from private schools, on the one hand, and from
the great public schools on the other. Private
schoolmasters soon came in; but it was not until
1896 that members joined from Eton, Rugby,
Winchester, Cheltenham, and even then only seven
in all. Progress, so far as membership was con-
cerned, was rapid from this time onwards, and
during 1900 and 1go1—when Mr. Rouse was
Honorary Secretary—there was a large incfease
also in the numbers from the great public schools.
The number of members at the present time is
just under 1,600.
The Association has, of necessity, repeatedly
altered its rules and constitution with its con-
tinuous growth. It has been said that too much
time is spent in debating questions of rules and
management; but no one who was present at
either the luncheon or the dinner during the
annual meeting in January last and noticed the
free and friendly intercourse of men from all types
of secondary schools would say that the time
spent on organisation was wasted, when such a
result has followed.
From its inception, the Association has worked
hard to improve the position of assistant-masters.
When only a month or two old, it made an
arrangement to circulate, without commission,
lists of vacant posts among its members. This
work before long developed into the present Joint
Agency.
At the same time the Headmasters’ Pension
Scheme was discussed. As the result of a joint
conference with one of the Charity Commissioners
on the subject of the powers of governors in con-
nection with pensions for assistant-masters, it was
APRIL, 1903. |
made clear that governors of endowed schools
would be permitted to pay money towards pension
premiums,
Tenure of office is another question that has
been a matter of care to the Association. Again
and again has the attention of the Charity Com-
missioners been drawn to the words used in 1872
by their predecessors, viz.: “ They propose hence-
forth in all schemes which give the headmaster
the power of dismissing assistant-masters to make
such dismissal subject to an appeal to the gover-
nors.” There has never been the slightest effort
apparently to carry out this proposal. In the
Grantham case, in 1899, the assistant-masters
were defended by counsel instructed by the A.M.A.
The enquiry practically turned on two points:
(1) Were assistants tfso facto dismissed on the
resignation of the headmaster who appointed
them; (2) what was the custom of the profes-
sion with regard to notice? The Commissioners
answered the first in the negative. Dr. Scott and
Dr. Gow gave, as answer to the second, ‘‘a term's
notice.”
But perhaps the Association’s most useful work
has been the legal advice and help it has given to
its members. Assistant-masters are frequently
unjustly treated, and among the cases that come
under the notice of the Legal Sub-committee the
following types occur: (1) When a man joins a
school, say in September, and leaves it at the end
of the summer term, frequently he is paid only
for eleven months instead of twelve; (2) diffi-
culties are placed in a master’s way when he tries
to get a new post, such, for example, as refusal to
give a testimonial until after he has actually left
the school; (3) loss of salary on the bankruptcy
of a private schoolmaster because the assistant
is not considered a preferred creditor; (4) dis-
missals on the ground of a re-arrangement of
work, which is not subsequently carried out. Of
course, these cases mostly occur in small schools
shielded by their seclusion in the country; but
similar cases of hardship have occurred even in
schools of high reputation, large numbers, and
controlled by influential boards of governors, The
mere fact that the assistant has been supported by
the Legal Sub-committee of the Association has
often been sufficient to prevent the proposed
wrong.
Evidence was given before the Royal Commis-
sion of 1896, especially on the following points : (1)
the average salaries of headmasters and assistants;
(2) the average cost per head for education in a
number of schools; (3) the need for public and
more explicit financial statements from all endowed
schools; (4) the qualifications needed for the
registration of teachers.
In addition, the Association has been repre-
sented on the Jebb Committec, on the Joint Com-
mittee on Training, and at various educational
conferences. One of its members was covpted
on the Registration Council of the Board of
Education.
The Association now consists of 22 branches
and a body of unattached members. A member
The School World
129
may belong to any branch. Each branch in pro-
portion to its numbers elects members to the
Council, and from the Council an Executive Com-
mittee is chosen. A branch with 50 members
may elect its own representative on the Executive
Committee and smaller branches may combine
for this purpose. For 150 members a second re-
presentative may be elected, but no branch may
have more than two. The representatives need
not be members of the branches electing them.
The policy of the Association is entirely con-
trolled by the Council. All members of the
Council, the Executive Committee, and all officers
except the Chairman may be re-elected year after
year. The Chairman holds office for one year only.
The work of the Association is subdivided by
reference to seven sub-committees elected at the
beginning of each year. A limited number of
members who cease to be assistant-masters may
be elected for a limited time as Associates, if they
do not become headmasters. Honorary members
may also be elected, but without any power of
voting.
The annual meetings are held in January, at
one of the large London schools. An autumn
meeting is held in September, and this may take
place either in London or in the provinces.
This article would be altogether incomplete
without a recognition of the kindly courtesies and
friendly assistance the I.A.A.M. has received from
headmasters both individually and as a corporate
body.
FOOD FOR SCHOOLBOYS.
By Josian OLDFIELD, M.R.C.S., D.C. L., &c.
SEAL has been set to the value of athletics
in schools. ‘The proud laurels of the athlete
rank side by side with academic honours in
the competition for good scholastic posts. And
this is what is in the mind of most men when they
hear that trite old proverb about mens sana în corpore
sano brought out at the annual prize-day.
The “ healthy body” has, during the last fifty
years, grown up in men’s minds to mean ‘the
athletic body ’’—and nothing more. Now, I am
not for a moment underrating the inestimable
advantage which accrues to a boy’s constitution
by getting him out for hours a day, exercising
freely in the open air, regardless ‘of cold or heat,
storm or sunshine. I am not for a moment under-
estimating the improvement which takes place in
nerve plasm and muscle tissue by teaching the boy
to judge time and force in kicking the football or
hitting out straight with the bat or racquet. All
these things in their right place and in due propor-
tion, and commensurately with the capacity of the
boy, are an immense improvement upon the old
scheme of developing the mental gymnast at the
sacrifice of everything else.
o I So
I am, however, anxious to point out that physical
health depends as much upon right physical food
as upon physical exercise.
It is not enough for a boy to have exercise for
his brain unless his master provides for him a
mental pabulum that he can assimilate. In the same
way, it is not enough for a boy’s physical develop-
ment to centre all the attention upon sports, gym-
nastics, and similar physical exercises. The vôle
of the caterer is as important as that of the gym-
mastic instructor. In a great many schools, I do
not hesitate to say that very little thought is
devoted to the science of the daily meal ; it fre-
quently indeed devolves upon the headmaster’s
wife in the smaller schools, and upon old tradition
in most schools, to determine what the daily diet-
ary shall be. In some cases, too, where profits
are calculated to be made from the housekeeping
in order to eke out the salaries obtained by teach-
ing, the question of cost of food forms a too obtru-
sive element in determining the dietary.
I am not, however, at all of opinion that an
expensive dietary is necessarily a good dietary, or
that foods that cost less money contain less nutri-
ment. In the suggestions, therefore, that I make
from my medical experience as to the needs of
growing boys and girls, I do not think that it will
be found that Iam suggesting increased expendi-
ture.
I will lay down as a primary axiom that, for
growing boys and girls who are adding daily to
their actual body weight of bone, muscle and nerve,
plenty of food and a fair range of variety are neces-
sary, so as to secure a full complement of all the
various elements that the body needs. While I
say this, I add to it an equally important corollary
—that plain food is better than rich or highly
spiced foods. I quite agree that, as a general rule,
those eminent authorities are right who point out
that milk and vegetables, and butter and eggs, and
farinaceous foods, are far better for growing boys
and girls than is flesh food, and that, while in some
exceptional cases a considerable amount of meat
may be necessary, in the majority of cases the less
that is found in the school dietary the better.
I was immensely struck in my inspection of
schools and colleges in India with the keenness of
intellect, the clearness of perception, and the
general alertness which was visible in classes that
were held shortly after meals which were purely
fruitarian in character; and I found but little of
that dulness and sleepiness which characterises the
afternoon lessons in England when these have been
preceded by a heavy, meaty meal.
For breakfast I do not think that the old Scotch
dish of porridge, or the Irish dish of stirabout, can
be beaten; it may be made of rolled oats, of crushed
wheat, of pearled wheat or barley, of fine maize
meal, or of buckwheat, or wheat meal; and either
skimmed milk, or syrup, or honey, or Demerara
sugar may be eaten with it. To prevent too rapid
bolting without due mastication it 1s always wise to
eat either bread (especially the outer crust), or
toast, or rusks with it. A dish of this sort may be
looked upon as a staple focd of the greater portion
l The School World
[ APRIL, 1903.
of the human race, and its value has been tested so
long and so extensively that it needs no words of
mine to remind those who are purveying for the
young that herein lies one of the best forms of food
which can be used.
I specially said skimmed milk because I want to
emphasise that the chief value of milk lies in its
proteid constituents, and of these skimmed milk
contains as much as new, while the price is less
than half. Porridge, bread-and-butter and cocoa
will form an ample breakfast in any school. If I
had to leave any of these out, I should prefer to
omit the bread-and-butter and cocoa, so long as
every boy got his bowl of porridge and milk.
For dinner I do not think that either enough
vegetables are provided, or that sufħcient care is
taken in their cooking. A standing dish of potatoes,
not always guiltless of being watery, or waxy, and
the slab of cabbage too often yellow and stringy,
make one smile when one hears masters say that
“ boys don’t like vegetables.” In cooking most
vegetables, care should be taken not to boil them in
water and to throw away the water, but rather to
steam them and to conserve the salines which con-
stitute their value as nerve foods.
Iam never tired of reminding my medical pupils of
the historical case of the English soldiers and Indian
soldiers, besieged together and short of provisions,
how the Indians begged to be allowed to give all
their rice to the English if only they might have
the water in which the whole was boiled, and how
when they were reduced to little else but this food,
the English soldiers rapidly lost strength while the
Indians retained their vigour. For the same
reason I consider that vegetable soups and stews
are not nearly enough used in school dietaries.
If fish were substituted for meat twice a week,
and a poached or fried egg given once a week, and
such a dish as macaroni au gratin, or Irish vege-
table stew, given once a week in place of meat, it
would be a distinct improvement to the usual
routine of roast, boiled and cold.
Where possible, some plain currant cake or
salads should be added to the tea meal, and whole-
meal bread should be always provided for those who
will eat it as an occasional alternative to white. For
supper, bread and cheese, or bread-and-butter, with
a glass of milk and occasional spring salads, is
ample.
Home hampers should in an ordinary way be
entirely forbidden. A present of a single cake ora
packet of fruit 1s good but when this degenerates
into large hampers of all sorts of meats and pastries,
which have to be eaten in excess to prevent them
going bad—to say nothing of other and many atten-
dant evils connected with the practice—it is much
wiser to have a strict rule that no foods at all should
be sent to boys, excepting perhaps in mid-term
week, or on birthdays, when a cake of a limited
weight, and a limited amount of dried fruits, as figs
or dates, might be permitted.
I know that in many places fruit is an expensive
commodity, but I none the less consider that every
day, a small quantity at least, should be provided,
either an apple or an orange or some stewed fruit
APRIL, 1903. |
The School World
131
at dinner, or fruit pie, or some figs, dates or raisins.
Lastly, I would remind teachers that fat is an
essential nerve-food, and a sufficient quantity should
always be provided; whereas boys generally dislike
fat meat, they usually do not dislike hot bacon-fat,
or the fat of meat that has been chopped into small
pieces and fried crisp, and better still is the Indian
method of providing a small jug of boiling oil, and
having a little poured over the vegetables. If high-
class oil like the ‘‘ Sunlight,” olive, or even the
cheap “ Sunlight” nut oil were used, it would be
found that generally speaking the flavour is not
objectionable, and the liking for it soon grows.
One word more. Every master should remember
that when a boy is ‘“ off his food” for more than a
day he needs some medical supervision.
SCHOOL FURNITURE AND EQUIP-
MENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
FOR GIRLS.
By CAROLINE TURNER.
Joint-Principal of S. Catherine’s School for Girls, Hove,
Brighton ; formerly Headmistress of Exeter High School.
II.
(o aeii ome of the most important
questions in connection with the equipment
of a secondary school for girls is the fitting
up of the cloak-rooms. In many schools these
rooms are in an awkward position with regard to
the main building. They should, of course, be
near the pupils’ entrance, and yet not be too pro-
minent. If they are some distance away from the
entrance, wet cloaks, dripping umbrellas, and
muddy boots leave their traces on the corridors.
At the same time, these rooms should not be placed,
as is sometimes the case, at the end of narrow
passages, or in corners surrounded by other build-
ings. The windows should have frosted glass, or
should be placed high. A heating apparatus, so
arranged that cloaks, boots, &c., can be dried
without removing them from the stands, is a
necessity in all large schools, and just as much care
should be exercised about the ventilation of the
cloak-rooms as about the class-rooms. The floors
should always be tiled, and should if possible be
washed every day.
Each pupil should have a numbered peg, place
for boots, and stand for umbrella. The most con-
venient arrangement is to have a place for boots
and umbrella under each pupil’s peg. Some firms
provide stands with open wooden lockers for boots,
but I consider those in which the boots stand on
Wire netting the most satisfactory ; they are more
easily kept clean, and damp boots are more easily
dried, as the air can pass freely underneath them.
If wooden lockers are used, these should be venti-
lated. A simple arrangement of narrow board
fastened to the stand for pegs, with a notch for
the umbrella, and a movable narrow zinc tray,
enables each pupil’s umbrella to be placed directly
under her peg.
The top of the boot lockers is often arranged so
as to provide seats for the pupils when changing
their boots. A convenient stand for a small cloak-
room (Fig. 1) is made by the Educational Supply
I have used it and find it most satis-
Association.
factory.
This form of stand does not, however, provide
for umbrellas, which have to be placed in a separate
stand. With small numbers, or where separate
cloak-rooms are provided for each form, as is the
case in some large schools, this is not a serious
difficulty, but in cloak-rooms arranged for large
numbers each pupil has a separate stand for her
umbrella. There is often confusion on wet days,
or umbrellas are damaged by being carelessly
placed in crowded stands. The proper arrange-
ment of a cloak-room is of considerable importance
in the discipline of a school. Inadequate or
crowded arrangements lead to disorder. If the
girls leave the cloak-rooms for the class-rooms or
for home, in confusion, the whole discipline of the
school is affected.
Small cloak-rooms, or cloak-rooms divided into
separate compartments, seem the most suitable.
Some that I have seen lately in a new building
have the walls lined with white glazed tiles. Tiled
walls and floors are the best from the point of
view of cleanliness, and in the event of infection
the most easily purified.
132
PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT.
The fittings in preparatory departments differ in
different schools, according to whether the rooms
are arranged for carrying out the kindergarten
system pure and simple, or for a preparatory
department on kindergarten lines. If the former,
the furniture and apparatus should be chosen to
suit the requirements of the system. The leading
firms manufacture a suitable selection of both. If,
as appears more general, this department 1s
arranged more on the lines of a preparatory divi-
sion worked on a modified kindergarten system,
and generally under the direction of a trained
kindergarten teacher, there is a wide choice of
furniture. I strongly recommend the use of
separate chairs, tables or desks, and foot-rests
where necessary, for each child, as in the class-
rooms for older pupils, care being taken that
these are graduated to suit the height and
length of limb of each child. The small chairs!
and tables are very suitable and convenient.
The tables could be made by any carpenter, but
the chairs should be carefully chosen. Where
economy is a consideration, tables to seat two or
four children can be used, but separate chairs are
desirable, and seats without backs, often shown
among kindergarten fittings, should always be
avoided.
The aspect of the rooms used for the younger
children should be chosen so as to give the largest
amount of sunshine. Plenty of healthy growing
plants, and a sea-water or fresh-water aquarium,
(both if possible) seem to me the best decoration
for these rooms, but these should all be kept in
good order, and the attention of the children
should be constantly directed to them. I have
watched with very great pleasure lately the interest
taken by some children, from five to eight years of
age, in rooms arranged on these lines, but in this
case the animals and plants have received constant
attention out of school: from the teacher, and have
been kept in a thoroughly healthy condition.
The preparatory department should be well sup-
plied with blackboards, placed so that they can be
freely used hy the children, and for this purpose
the sliding blackboards seem the best. They can
be easily brought down to the level of the children
and pushed up when not in use. In choosing
furniture for a preparatory department I would
again emphasise the importance of light and port-
able furniture. Indeed, this is even of greater
importance in this department than in higher
forms. The need for constant change of position
is imperative in the case of young children, and
the desks to seat four or six children, so often to be
seen in preparatory schoolrooms, are not as a rule
satisfactory. The best arrangements are separate
tables or desks, and separate chairs. If, as is
sometimes the case, the schoolroom has to be used
for free play or games, the tables are somewhat
awkward to clear. Folding desks are, in this case,
most satisfactory.? These can be made in small
1 See the illustration in Tre ScnooL Wortp for February, 1993, pe §7-
») x a 4 ge -= y n a
>See my article in Tue ScuooL Wortp, February, 1903.
The School World
[ APRIL, 1903.
sizes, or with flat tops, where tables are required
for kindergarten purposes. If, however, a separate
room is available for free play, light small tables
are on the whole the best. If a more economicai
arrangement is necessary, the Charterhouse desks,
which are made in two sizes for infants, are suit-
able. The only difference between these and those
used in higher forms is that the top is not hinged,
and this for use with young children is an advan-
tage, as they frequently trap their fingers, or hurt
their companions with a hinged desk. The cost of
these desks in pitch pine works out at 7s. 44d. per
child.
An experienced kindergarten teacher tells me
that she finds long, narrow, light deal tables very
useful in a preparatory school; the top is made to
open and form a locker for books ; this locker closes
with a lock and key and is intended for the teacher.
These tables can be used in different positions and
take up little space when placed round the sides
of the room. Placed together, they form one large
table, and are made quite firm by a system of
bolts. They are made by a local carpenter, and
are inexpensive and satisfactory. The cost per
child, including seats, is about 1os. 6d.
In most preparatory schools, modelling in clay
or plasticine forms a regular part of the school
course, and some receptacle must be provided for
the clay. Wooden troughs with zinc trays are sold
by some school furnishers, but the ordinary bread-
crock looks better in a room and answers very well.
Care should be takenin handling the covers ot these
crocks, as if these are broken the crock must be
covered with a cloth, andat once becomes unsightly.
For small quantities of clay or plasticine French
cooking-pots, now to be found in many china-shops,
are pretty and useful, but these are not cheap, and
should be carefully handled.
Cupboards are absolutely necessary in the pre-
paratory schoolroom. The children are not old
enough to take care of their own books and work,
and unless ample and suitable cupboards are pro-
vided, time is often wasted. ‘These cupboards need
not be expensive or elaborate, but they should be
somewhat different from those in ordinary class-
rooms. One should have glass doors if possible,
and is then suitable for illustrations of nature
lessons, &c. Another should be provided with
compartments for books belonging to different
divisions, and a third with a large number of mov-
able shelves for the many diagrams, &c., necessary
for lessons and for the children’s brushwork and
design. ‘These cupboards can be made by any
carpenter, and the simpler the arrangement of
sliding shelves the better.
A piece of apparatus which will be found most
useful is a large sand-tray for teaching geography.
The one here was made by a local carpenter trom
directions given to him, and is quite satisfactory.
It is made of deal, and measures 34 feet by 44 feet,
with a depth of 2 inches; to prevent warping it is
clamped at the back with three battens, and the
cornersareclamped with tin. The bottom of thistray
is covered inside with hght blue American cloth,
which makes a good background for the sand map
APRIL, 1903. ]
The School World
133
and enables the tray to be thoroughly and easily
cleaned with a damp sponge. This tray is large
enough to take a sand map on the scale of a large
wall map. ‘ The World” on Mercator’s projec-
tion (Stanford) has been modelled on it lately by a
class, and it admits of a number of children work-
ing on it at once. The sand-tray can be used on
the floor, on trestles, or on an ordinary table.
When not in use it can be kept on the floor, or
placed against a wall. It also forms a good back-
ground for objects used in drawing lessons. The
advantage of this large sand-tray, round which a
number of children can stand, over the small tray
used for demonstration by the teacher, which is the
kind most often seen, 1s very great. The tray can
also be used for history lessons, and indeed for any
lesson that can be illustrated by modelling in damp
sand.
I have not, except incidentally, mentioned the
furniture and equipment of the part of the school
building in which brushwork, design, and drawing
are taught—partly because I think every part of
the school should be adapted for the teaching of
these subjects, as being among the most educative
and far-reaching in their effects on character and
taste in the whole curriculum ; partly also because
the subject of art teaching has been specially dealt
with in the February number of THe ScHooL
WORLD.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.
With regard to the whole question of school
furniture and equipment, the following general con-
siderations should be borne in mind :—
(1) The best school furniture is that by which
the health, comfort, and best working conditions
for pupil and teacher are secured; at the same time,
it should be pleasant to the eye.
(2) The healthiest and most educative decora-
tions for schoolrooms are :—
(a) Good pictures, especially those which havea
bearing, direct or indirect, on world history and
literature.
(b) Those which illustrate intelligent nature-
study, viz., growing plants and living animals, kept
in healthy surroundings.
This last condition can only be secured by con-
stant care on the part of the teacher out of school ;
but the work is surely infinitely more refreshing
and stimulating, and therefore more educative and
altogether better, for teachers and pupils, than the
correction of exercises and examination papers
which has hitherto occupied so large a part of
their leisure time.
THE superintendent of the public schools of Kokomo,
Indiana, finds, as the result of an investigation, that cigarette-
smoking boys are two years behind the non-smokers of their
own age in their studies. The general conduct of the smokers
is also far below the average; some reports say of them,
** Self-control poor, inattentive, not trustworthy ; bad memory,
careless, excitable, and nervous; lazy, sleepy, and slow to
move ; heavy eyes and frequently sick; no energy, naturally
bright, but no power of concentration ; vacant stare, gloomy
and listless.”
LEVELS AND CONTOUR-LINES.
By A. Morey Davies, B.Sc.(Lond.), A.R.C.Sce.(Lond.)
II.
E must now turn to account in the in-door
study of maps the knowledge gained in our
out-door work. Our first task will be to
draw a profile of the actual slope we have levelled
over, and the first step in this is to prepare a scale
of feet. Near the left-hand upper corner of a sheet
of drawing-paper we rule a vertical line, and
measure off on it distances of an inch and 14
inches from the same point at its lower end. Each
of these divisions is then divided into eleven equal
parts by the well-known parallel-line construction.
The larger divisions then stand for roo feet, the
smaller (of which only the lowest need be drawn)
for 8o feet. By means of spring-bow dividers
divide the latter into four equal parts, and we then
have a scale reading to 2o feet. ’
Rule a horizontal line two or three inches from
the top of the paper to represent the sea-level.
This we call our base-line (why we leave so much
room below it will presently appear). Taking a
convenient point on this as the starting point,
measure off from the map the distance from this
to each point on the traverse-line the height of
which is exactly known, and transfer these dis-
tances to the base-line. In doing this we assume
our traverse-line to be a straight one, as it very
nearly is in the chosen example. If it is not, we
must rule on the map a straight line following its
general direction, and measure along this.
From every datum-point on the base-line erect a
perpendicular, and measure off on it by the scale
its proper height above sea-level. From each point
so obtained then rule a straight line to the next
point, and thus obtain an approximately accurate
profile for the surface of the ground. It is true
that the ground does not slope uniformly from one
datum-point to the next and then suddenly change,
but the minimum risk of error is run in represent-
ing it so, at least to begin with.
We are soon struck by the insignificance of the
ups and downs of the ground in comparison with
its horizontal extent. On the scale of six inches to
a mile, the starting point is a trifle more than
3 inch above the base-line, the summit a trifle under
ê inch, while our ‘“eye-height ” unit is impercep-
tible, being about 33, inch. It will be a good
thing to measure the gradient from point to point,
as well as its average from start to summit, and
the following equation may be useful :—
=
x feet in a mile = 1 in So = tan —-.
x 5250
In our actual example the steepest gradient is
about r in 13, or an angle of between 4° and 5°.
When we see how small is the angle made with
the horizontal by the profile of what seemed to us
a moderately steep hill, and how difficult accurate
delineation of slight ditferences of height is, even
on so large a scale as that of the six-inch map, we
<r
shall realise the justification for exaggerated
vertical scales, especially when any smaller hori-
zontal scale is in use. It will be well, then, to
accustom ourselves at once to exaggerated slopes,
by drawing on the same sheet, below our first true
profile, two others, with the heights exaggerated,
in the one 5 times, in the other ro. |
We next turn to the one-inch
map of the district that in-
cludes our traverse-line, and
identify our positions there and
our contour-lines. For this
purpose the edition of the one-
inch map printed in black,
without hill shading, will be
the best, for although the con-
tour-lines are much more easily
seen on the colour- printed edi-
tion, they are slightly less ac-
curate. It will be a good plan
to set every student to work at
his own copy of the one-inch
sheet, tracing out the contour-
lines carefully from point to
point, and marking them in
with indelible red ink.’ Care-
ful tracing in this way will
be valuable in impressing the
characters of contour-lines on
the mind in a way which mere
inspection cannot. But if time
-does not allow of this, the
colour-printed edition may be
used. In any case, the particu-
lar contour-lines which came
under observation during field
work should be traced to a
The School World
[APRIL, 1903.
as we shall see very shortly. The following
formula serves to connect distance apart of con-
tour-lines at intervals of 100 feet, on a one-inch
map, with gradients :—
y inches distance = 100 feet in a mile = 1 in 52°8y.
|
w tty]
considerable distance, special
note being taken of their varia-
tions in curvature—sometimes
straight, more often curved,
now toward this direction,
now towards that, throwing
out loops around spurs of
higher ground and doubling
back in acute V’s where they Lt
cross a valley. Incidentally AE
we shall come across isolated
more or less circular contours,
which always mark hills, never
ABC
OD EFQ@ HT
| | | ; ni
} | |
- | E oon a | +—+ + 4—4 +—_—_—+ — |
| | |
|
S S peered +4 EEE peed + : B00
l 420
-O m ees OO ee G | ee Sh a 4
i
| | |
LM N OP QR S
Fic. 1.—Contoured map of the Hindhead district, Surrey.
Scale: 1 inch = 2 miles. Contour lines at intervals of 100 feet up to 400 feet, then at intervals
valleys. ; SE of 200 feet. Below are three profile-sections, taken along the line at which the contour-shading
No less important 1s ıt to SE The appr rion ee some of r mistakes commonly made in drawing sections It
‘ . and the next one have the heights exaggerated 5°28 times; the lowest one has an exaggerati f
note the varying distance only 2°64 times. The horizontal lines are h inch apart. j ee ciel
apart of the contour-lines. It
will be well to take two lines, and tracing them for
some distance measure every maximum and minimum
distance between them, and determine the gradient
in each case. In doing this it will quickly be
realised that at each maximum and minimum the
two lines are momentarily parallel, and that the
measurement must be made at right angles to
them, a fact which has an important application,
_ 2} Miagins’s Indelible Inks (Charing Cross Road, W.C.) are good for
this purpose, Ordinary red ink will be fatal to the subsequent use of
the map in the ficld in case of rain.
In this way the form and grouping of contour-lines
will gradually come to have a concrete meaning for
the student, and this result will be further helped
by the construction of profile sections.
If we make up our minds to work on an ex-
aggerated vertical scale, the making of sections will
be greatly simplified by the use of squared paper,
such as is now so generally employed in elementary
practical science. Taking paper ruled in inches
and tenths, we find the most convenient vertical
scale to be—1 inch -= 1000 feet—an exaggeration
er e a eee
or a i E.
—
ee ee
APRIL, 1903. |
of 5'28 times as compared with the horizontal scale.
For the sort of profiles met with in the south-east
of England this scale is very suitable; but for very
hilly districts, such as Wales or the Pennines, a
. less exaggeration may be better—say, 1 inch —
2000 feet.
The first section drawn should be along a line
continuing the original traverse line in both di-
rections. Others can be chosen to cross well-
known hills and valleys. A pencil-line being ruled
across the chosen part of the map, the distances at
which it crosses successive contour-lines should be
measured by dividers and transferred to a hori-
zontal line which shall stand for the sea-level on
the squared paper. Each of these points is then
projected up to the appropriate height, which will
always be that of one of the ruled lines, since they
are at a distance apart representing 100 feet. By
joining up the points so obtained the surface- profile
is drawn. In doing this the following facts will
soon be apparent to the intelligent student, and,
with a little stimulus from the teacher, to all the
class: | |
(1) Every contour-line must be crossed in its
proper order, ¢.g., you cannot cross 200 and 400
without 300.
(2) In passing from any hill-top to any valley-
bottom or vice versd, each contour-line must be
crossed an odd number of times.
(3) If a contour-line of the same altitude is
crossed twice in succession, the direction of the
slope of the ground must have altered between.
Thus, in Fig. 1, the 300-feet contour is crossed at
B and C, the 40o0-feet contour preceding and
following at A and D. Evidently, somewhere
between B and C there is a minimum-point, a point
of change of gradient-direction, or, in simpler
words, a valley-bottom. Similarly, between E and
F there must be a maximum-point or summit. The
contour-lines fail to indicate the height of any such
valley-bottom or ridge-top crossed by the section,
except in the rare cases where a contour-line is
touched tangentially by the line of section, as at
M. Asarule, we must make an estimate of the
probable height of such points, by noting how
far off they are from the contour-lines along a line
at right angles to the line of section, or, in the
case of a valley, along the valley-line. Thus, we
cannot suppose the ground to fall much below 300
feet between B and C, if we notice on the map
what a long way off the 200-feet contour is.
(4) The gradients shown on a profile-section are
almost always (after allowing for the exaggeration
of scale) /ess than the true gradients, because, as
we have already seen, these must be measured at
right angles to the contours, and the chances are
against a line of section cutting any particular
contour at right angles. In this respect the section
in the figure is more fortunate than most.
Some common mistakes in drawing profiles may
be noticed here. They are illustrated by the
uppermost of thé three sections in Fig. 1. The
‘step ” notion of contours is shown in the right-
hand part, from J to S. Although in this crude
form its absurdity is easily made manifest, it is a
ee SO
35.
subtle error difficult to eradicate wholly even when
one is most on guard against it: it will be found
present in a much milder form in the second of the
three sections, in the neighbourhood of S. An
error of the opposite kind is the rectilinear profile,
seen in the upper section from A to J. Of the
two this is the less serious error, and indeed rigidly
straight lines are far preferable to the horrible
wavy or shaky lines which introduce impossible
peaks and valleys everywhere. But best of all is
the steady curve from point to point which practice
enables one to draw, and with which the difficulty
of maximum and minimum heights seems to settle
itself.
Although it is well to spend a little time in this
way on the r-inch map, work of the kind described
is more quickly done on maps which show the
relief by means of colour. Of such the most suit-
able are Bartholomew’s cycling maps on the scale
of 2 inches to a mile. In these, the intervals
between successive contour-lines are coloured in a
series of tints ranging from dark green (sea level to
100 feet), through pale green and brown to dark
brown. The publishers have a limited stock of
copies from which all names and other black print-
ing are omitted, which they are willing to supply
to teachers, and this will be found the most con-
venient form to use in class-work. It should be
noted that up to 400 feet the contour-lines are at
100-foot intervals, but above that at 200-foot inter-
vals only.) This is quite justifiable, because the
higher we rise above sea-level the steeper does the
average gradient become, and the less frequently
need contour-lines be drawn to exhibit the forms of
the land. (On the one-inch Ordnance Map, above
1,000 feet, contour-lines are drawn at 250 feet
intervals only.) The only objection tothis method
is that it may in some cases make high-level
plateaux seem flatter than they really are. It must,
of course, always be borne in mind in dealing with
this map.
Several sheets of this map should be provided —
the local one, of course, and in addition others
illustrating different types of country. The Lon-
don sheets (25 and 30) illustrate well the “ escarp-
ment ” type of hill country (the Chilterns and
North Downs) as well as a great river valley with
its tributaries ; while the Pennine sheets are good
for a more mountainous type of country.
On these the following kinds of problems can be
worked :—
(1) Estimate gradients by relative crowding or
spacing out of contour-lines.
(2) Draw profile-sections on squared paper.
(3) Trace lines of watershed, and determine their
relation to contour-lines. Each is a locus of maxi-
mum height, but its actual height varies irregularly
from point to point, in marked contrast to valley-
lines (/oct of minimum height), which have a steady
slope in a constant direction. Thus hills are not
inverted valleys. If a mould of any land-surface
were taken and inverted, it would show a surface
1 This applies to the colours only ; on the ordinary edition of the map the
intermediate contour-lines are dotted in black.
136
The School World
[ APRIL, 1903.
unlike anything in nature: the hills would all be
unbroken ridges, branching out and sinking steadily
in one direction, while the low ground would be
full of hollows that would act as lake-basins, but
would have no regular drainage-system.
(4) Simple engineering problems, c.g., find the
best route for a railway between two given points
in different river-basins; which is, of course, the
problem of finding the lowest point on the inter-
vening watershed, and the easiest route up to it
from either side. Such problems will especially
appeal to boys, and will be an excellent test of their
ability to form a clear idea of the meaning of land-
forms. Reference to an ordinary map will show
how the actual railway lines run, and thus the
imaginary routes can be brought to the test.
From this it is an easy step to still smaller scale
maps coloured on the same principle, not only for
England but for Europe and the other continents,
such as the excellent little hand-maps published by
the Diagram Company, or those in Philip’s or
Arnold-Forster’s recent school atlases. Similar
problems to those just suggested, though of course
of a much more general kind, can be worked.
Such work, besides its immediate value in teach-
ing geography, has several indirect advantages.
The tracing of profiles, both true and exaggerated,
on squared paper should be a good introduction to
the general use of curves similarly traced, in
physics, in meteorology and in statistics. The
mental realisation of such relatively concrete things
as contour-lines makes it easier to understand their
more abstract analogues, such as isotherms and
isobars. The understanding-of geological maps is
greatly facilitated by an acquaintance with the
appearance of contour-lines. Lastly, the construc-
tion of profiles affords good practice in freehand
drawing of a useful kind. As in many other cases,
the complaint of an overcrowded curriculum, which
may be raised against the kind of work we have been
suggesting, js only formidable as long as we regard
each subject as ring-fenced, and until we see that
better methods of teaching in one part of the curri-
culum must almost certainly save time and trouble
somewhere else.
THERE are ten grammar-schools in Queensland--six for boys
and four for girls. Each school is governed by a board of seven
trustees appointed by the Government, and of these four are
nominated by the Governor-in-Council, and the others by a
majority of the subscribers to the funds. The trustees hold
office for three years, and are eligible for re-election. They are
empowered to make regulations for the filling up of all vacancies
that may occur in their number for the unexpired portion of the
term of office, for the determination of fees to be paid by the
scholars, for the salaries to be paid to the teachers, and generally
for the management, good government, and discipline of the
All such regulations are subject to the approval of the
Governor-in-Council. Endowment at the rate of £1,000 per
annum is paid by the State to each grammar school. On the
31st December, 1900, the aid granted by the State from the first
institution of grammar schools reached a total of £266,535 9s. 11d.
A short Act amending the Grammar Schools Amendment Act
was assented to during the year, which makes provision for the
State inspection of grammar schools.
school.
SCHOOL MUSEUMS.
By J. H. LEONARD, B.Sc.
the importance of science teaching in schools
—whether this be regarded as part of a
general education or be viewed as the preliminary
to more serious scientific or technical work in after
life. Yet, while there is general agreement that no
school curriculum is complete without its science
lessons, it still appears incumbent upon those who
have at heart the interests of science teaching to
reiterate that the practical and the experimental
constitute the only methods which result either
in an adequate scientific training or lead to any
true knowledge of nature. It is from this point of
view that the school museum is here regarded ;
for the writer feels that a properly kept museum
may be made a valuable factor in the heuristic
teaching of science in the school possessing it.
In the establishment and maintenance of a
school museum two fundamental principles would
appear to exist. (1) The exhibits should be in
a position to be readily and often inspected by the
pupils; and (2) these exhibits should, in their
nature and arrangement, have an educational value.
Let us consider the first point, viz., that the
exhibits should be so located as to be readily and
frequently seen. We most of us know that type
of school museum having its local habitation in a
carefully locked room, jealously guarded by the
curator, who—if not otherwise engaged—would
permit inspection of its sacred contents under his
personal supervision. ‘To have such a room at all
times open constitutes a considerable improvement ;
but even then, there is the fatal objection that
only a small proportion of the pupils become ac-
quainted with its contents with any lasting benefit
to themselves.
Why should not the cases of the schcol museum
be distributed all over the school? While ful-
filling the above principle, such an arrangement
would certainly economise space, and would present
no difficulty in being worked out practically on
some plan like the following.
The cases used could be about eighteen inches
long, twelve inches broad, and two or three inches
deep. Such cases with glass fronts are procurable
from any dealer in natural-history appliances, and
the cost would be about five or six shillings each.
The size indicated would be sufficiently large for
most objects. One or two larger cases could, of
course, be used, while many botanical specimens
could be mounted and admirably exhibited in
Ordinary oak picture-frames. The especial point
to be noticed with respect to any form of case is
that it should be as far as possible dust-tight.
Cases such as these could be fixed to the walls
of the class-rooms, and the pupils would thus get
thoroughly familharised with their contents. If
necessary, the cases might be shifted at intervals
from room to room—a point to be considered when
a given class does most of its work in one room.
| oe is now, happily, no need to insist on
APRIL, 1903. |
The School World
137
Should a still larger case be required, a cupboard
provided with glass doors above and drawers below
might be placed across a corner of the “ big school-
room.” It would cost comparatively little, and
would certainly be a great acquisition ; for the
bulkier specimens could be shown above, while the
drawers would be used for duplicates or for objects
of minor interest or importance.
The second point now claims attention, viz.,
the nature and arrangement of the objects ex-
hibited. As a general rule, only common objects
should be admitted to the school science-collec-
tions ; mere curiosities, as such, should be rigidly
excluded. It is of some importance to have as
many exhibits as possible contributed by the pupils
themselves. The latter condition will, of course,
not be possible under all circumstances ; but it
should be kept in view, as it leads all to take an
interest in the museum. Objects so contributed
should bear the name of the donor on the label.
Everything exhibited should, if possible, be of
such a size as to facilitate future recognition of
another specimen. Especially does this remark
refer to minerals and rocks; mere chips of these
are of no value. Moreover, every object should
be shown from the point of view of its scientific
interest or importance, and also—where possible—
from that of its use in arts or manufactures. The
exhibits will thus tend to assist the acquisition of
both scientific and technical knowledge.
Among the objects displayed in a school museum
should be the commoner varieties of minerals and
rocks ; and their utility for ornament or for building
purposes should be indicated. A most instructive
series would be one to show the effects of weather-
ing on a rock—the formation of angular pieces
through the action of frost, the wearing down of
these to form gravel, sand, or mud. A few of the
commonest fossils would, if well arranged, give a
glimpse of stratigraphy which would be certain to
interest. Specimens of the common metals—iron,
copper, tin, lead, and zinc—with a few of their
principal ores, would form another series; while
the different stages in the manufacture of a nail
or a pin would bring home to the young observers
the technical importance of such substances.
On the botanical side, wild flowers would claim a
share of attention; and examples of the foliage
and fruit of the most useful British trees, with
samples of their timber, &c., would prove an im-
portant series; as also would specimens of the
cotton-plant and cotton. On the animal side, the
commoner genera and species of shells might be
shown; and the commoner insects, with special
exhibits having reference to the honey bee and the
silkworm. A series of birds’ eggs would be certain
to meet with great favour.
It may be mentioned here that a most interesting
section of the museum may be kept working, at
least during the summer term, by having a rack
with a series of test-tubes or boiling-tubes con-
taining water in which fresh wild flowers are kept—
a new series being placed there each week or so.
A dried collection of the wild plants of the neigh-
bourhood, if the school happen to be situated in
No. 52, VoL. 5.]
the country, would form a valuable additional
feature.
The arrangement and labelling of the contents
of a school museum is a matter of the utmost im-
portance. A well-arranged and properly labelled
collection, even of the commonest objects, will be
of infinitely greater service than a costly series of
exhibits bearing only name labels with the speci-
mens having little relation to one another. In
short, a series of specimens should be definitely
connected with one another, while the labels should
constitute a condensed and simple account of the
subject, the exhibits taking the place, as far as may
be, of the illustrations in a book. An occasional
drawing may be here and there interposed with
advantage, although it is better, if possible, to
obviate this by exhibits bearing “ flag-labels ” or
‘* pointer-labels ” to the different parts.
If anyone desires an object-lesson as to how to
arrange the exhibits in a school museum, he can-
not do better than visit the Natural History
Museum in London. In the Mineral Gallery he
will find a series of specimens arranged so as to
form an introduction to the study of minerals.
Half-an-hour spent at these cases will indicate to
him more clearly than mere description how enter-
taining and instructive any collection can be made
even to a person who up to that moment may
know nothing of either subject or objects. And if
such a one will inspect the cases in the entrance-
hall of the Natural History Museum, he will see to
what a fine art the proper labelling of museum
specimens can be carried, so as to make them tell
their own story and be easily understood. If such
considerations hold good with respect to adult
visitors to our national collections, how much more
weighty must they appear when we consider the
tender intelligences of children and the educational
importance of their school museum!
Is it too much to hope that in the future no
school will be considered as properly equipped
which does not possess a museum of its own?
The more it is considered the more important and
varied does its scope appear. Its usefulness in the
teaching of science—chemistry, botany, geology—
is too patent to call for detailed notice. Its re-
sources, slender though they be, can be occasionally
drawn upon in the teaching of geography—and
even of history, if the collection be fortunate
enough to possess one or two flint flakes or im-
plements. And the thought cannot help occurring
to the mind that if, asindicated above, some techni-
cal objects were present, the information conveyed
would not only be valuable in itself, but that—
who knows ?—the school museum might come to
have a more serious import if it set young brains
a-thinking at a period of life when the world seems
still new.
A few words may be added respecting the cu-
ratorship of such school collections as we have
been considering. While a master or mistress is
naturally best qualified to hold such a position, the
dignity of the scheme is vastly enhanced by the
appointment of sub-curators, each interested in his
own special department. These would together
M
138 The
form the museum committee. The sub-curators
should be allowed to do their share of work in ar-
ranging, labelling, procuring fresh exhibits, &c., &c.,
and generally in furthering the interests of the
museum. That there will be no lack of helpers
is a matter of the writer’s personal experience
wherever any scientific work is going forward—
from bottle-washing upwards. Moreover, the re-
search entailed in museum work is good from every
point of view; no less because it encourages per-
severance in a quest for further information and in
hunting up authorities than because it fosters a
community of interests between teacher and taught
in out-of-school work.
THE HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL
OPINION.
ROFESSOR LAURIE occupies one of the
first chairs of Education established in the
United Kingdom. Under the provisions of
Dr. Andrew Bell’s will, his trustees in 1872 devoted
a portion of the funds arising from his estate to the
institution of two professorships of the Art, His-
tory, and Theory of Education, the one in Edin-
burgh, and the other in St. Andrews. Since that
time Professor Laurie has amply justified the
choice of the trustees by publishing in succes-
sion lectures and articles on the “Training of
Teachers,” on ‘Linguistic Method,’ on the
« Institutes of Education,” and on the “ Life and
Educational Writings of Comenius.” He has
succeeded not only in leavening the teacher’s profes-
sion and in raising the educational ideal in Scotland,
but also in establishing a precedent which has
since been followed at Oxford and Cambridge and
London, at the colleges of the Welsh University,
and in the great provincial institutions of univer-
sity rank which have lately been created in
Manchester, Birmingham, and other industrial
centres in England.
The present volume appears to us to be the
most important contribution Mr. Laurie has yet
made to educational science. It consists of a series
of historical and critical monographs descriptive of
the educational writings of da Feltre, Sturm,
Neander, the Jesuit Fathers, Montaigne, Rabelais,
Bacon, Ascham, Comenius, Milton, Locke, and
Herbert Spencer. It is no disparagement to the
excellent work which Mr. Quick and Mr. Oscar
Browning have already done in the same field
to say that Mr. Laurie’s survey of the history of
thought and speculation on educational subjects
takes a high rank in the same category, and in
many respects supplements in a fresh and strik-
ing way what those authors have said.
In particular the author furnishes copious and
1 “Studies in the History of Educational Opinion from the Renais-
sance.” By S. T. Laurie, A M., LL.D, Professor of the Institutes and
History of Education, University of Edinburgh. (Cambridge University
Press.) :
School World
[APRIL, 1903.
characteristic extracts from some little - known
books, such as Sir Thomas Elyot’s ‘‘ Governour,”’
and Rabelais’ “ Life of the Great Gargantua,”
and explains with fulness the vratio studiorum and
vatio docendi et discendi of the Jesuits. He also
gives a particularly thorough and judicious esti-
mate of Ascham’s teaching. His final judgment
on the tendency and outcome of the work of
various authors is generally just and careful, and
is often happily and epigrammatically expressed.
For example, he says of Montaigne: ‘ Few
writers say so many wise things, and no one
appears so little solicitous about convincing others
that his sayings are wise. His intellectual philo-
sophy is essentially sophistical and sceptical, his
morality conventional, and his moral philosophy
epicurean.”’
The largest space devoted to any one writer is
occupied with a detailed criticism of Locke, whom
Mr. Laurie regards as the ‘‘ greatest of all educa-
tional writers, in spite of his attitude to language
and literature and his encyclopedism.” Herbert
Spencer, whom he designates the modern sense
realist, is the subject of a polemical chapter, in
which Mr. Laurie argues with great clearness and
force to show the inadequacy of that writer's moral
ideal, and criticises his well-known dicta on the
relative values of different kinds of knowledge.
This chapter might be usefully compared with
Mr. Quick’s well-known analysis of Spencer in
“« Educational Reformers.”
We have not space to discuss the other contents
of this important and suggestive volume. It must
suffice to say that Mr. Laurie puts into every page
proofs of careful research, wide knowledge, and
keen insight into the heart of educational problems.
We may honestly commend the book to the
serious study of all teachers who wish to make
themselves acquainted with the history of their
profession, and with some of the best things which
have been said and thought about it.
SENECA’S SATIRE ON CLAUDIUS:.'
ONSIDERING the importance of Seneca
to the historian, the philosopher, and the
literary critic, it is surprising that so little
attention has been paid to the Satire on Claudius.
As a record of the aspect presented by the pedant
emperor to his contemporaries it has indeed been
used fully enough; but the wit and humour of the
piece, and its merciless satire, should give it a
place in the classical student’s library. And yet,
if we may judge from the fact that this appears
to be the first separate edition of the piece in
English, and that we have met with no transla-
tion of it published in this country, it must be
1 Columbia University: Studies in Classical Philology. “The Satire
of Seneca on the Apotheosis of Claudius, commonly called the
*"AnmokoAoKUyTwots.” A study by Allan Perley Ball. vii+256 pp. (Mac-
millan.) Os.
APRIL, 1903. ]
unknown to the majority of those who can read
Latin.
As a human document, too, it has a considerable
value. It is'so unlike the rest of Seneca’s works;
it is so far removed from the Stoic calm that there
is some excuse for the doubts which have been freely
cast on its authorship. Rightly regarded, how-
ever, it is not inconsistent with Seneca at all. It
may not suit this or that conception of Seneca, but
even a Stoic may have had human weaknesses ; and
it brings Seneca much nearer to us if we regard
him neither as a philosopher unmoved by good
fortune or ill, nor as a consummate hypocrite who
had no sincere feelings at all, but as a man capable
of just resentment and, even when sorely tried, of
vindictiveness in expressing it. We will not form
a theory about Seneca from his works excluding
the Satire, and then declare that the Satire is
impossible for the person we have created. Mr.
Ball states the evidence for and against quite
fairly, and comes to the conclusion that, while the
Satire cannot be proved to be his, the balance of
probability is in its favour; this we will accept,
as preferable to ascribing so clever a work to
an unknown author, or to some medizval forger.
The portraiture of Claudius is cruel, and has the
tone we might expect from a high-spirited man
who had been long compelled to swallow and hide
personal humiliations and to see without comment
the monstrous tragi-comedy of imperial Rome.
The wit is as undeniable as the bitterness. All
the unlovely peculiarities of the poor misbegotten
creature, his dulness and callousness, his clumsy
learning, are brought clearly before us with
unerring touch; if his better qualities are not
shown, that is natural in a satire. Equally
clever and more enjoyable, because less malicious,
are the numerous hits at contemporary Rome ;
the sham of imperial deification is exposed, the
solemn muddle of law business in such an age,
and there is a delightful parody of senatorial pro-
cedure in the heavenly debate, where, by the way,
the characters of the gods are distinguished with a
nicety which we seek in vain in Seneca’s tragedies.
The picture of the popular rejoicing at Claudius’s
death is vivid; pleaders whose occupation has
been so long gone creep out of their holes and
corners half dazed, and the procession of singers
and revellers chant the emperor’s dirge in terms
which delight Claudius himself, who takes their
Sarcasm in earnest. But we have no space to
indicate the literary merits of the piece; it must
speak for itself, and we hope this edition may make
many new friends for it.
Mr. Ball’s introduction is exhaustive, dealing
with all the aspects of the work; its historical and
literary importance, the authorship, the Menip-
pean satire, the manuscripts and editions, and the
bibliography. The notes are also good, and give
very full commentary and illustrations to the form
and matter of the text. Inthe text itself, Mr. Ball
follows Bicheler’s small edition, from which he
has rarely departed. There still remains much
to be done on the text, and we wish Mr. Ball
had given more attention to this side of his
E The School World
139
work. For example: in ch. ii. he reads, “ ‘nimis
rustice ’ inquies : ‘sunt omnes poetae non contenti
ortus et occasus describere, ut etiam medium
diem inquietent,’"™ which is just what they do
not. They are all asleep at midday, conse-
quently do not describe it, and Seneca fills
the gap. The MS. adquiescunt is much better,
and with a single transposition we get the required
sense with “omnes poetae, contenti ortus et
occasus describere, ut non etiam medium diem
inquietent.” Timueritin ch. v., the MS. reading,
is suspicious, and the sense Mr. Ball gets out
of the passage is forced if not impossible. He
has no convincing solution of the crux criticorum in
ch. x., “si sormea graece nescit ” ; and there are
many other passages still to solve. In his com-
mentary on ch. vii., when he says the proverb
mures ferrum rodunt does not occur elsewhere, he
overlooks Herondas iii. 76, 008 öxov xwpns oi pis
duolws tov aiSnpov tpwyovow, and it is perhaps the com-
plement of the equally mysterious mures molas
fingunt in ch. viii. The translation is close and
generally correct, but its style lacks the neatness of
the original. In offering these criticisms we do
not suggest a condemnation of the book, but we
would show how it may be improved. We hope
Mr. Ball will continue his researches upon it, and
give to scholars a fuller edition some day.
A MODERN TEXT-BOOK OF PHYSICS.'
TEXT - BOOK of physics, containing a
succinct account of the physical properties
of matter, brought up to date, and divested
of all unnecessary mathematical difficulties, would
be welcomed by teachers and students alike,
throughout the British Isles. The two volumes
before us constitute a first instalment of suck a
text-book, and being written by two physicists of
the highest standing, they are sure to be widely
circulated. The general get-up of the volumes
leaves little to be desired; the illustrations might
possibly have been rendered more interesting, and
suggestive exercises or questions appended to each
chapter would have proved useful to most students;
otherwise the requirements mentioned above are
amply fulfilled.
The first volume, on the Properties of Matter, is
particularly interesting. The methods of deter-
mining g, the acceleration due to the earth’s gravity,
and G, the Newtonian constant of gravitation, are
clearly and ably discussed, while the subject of
elasticity is treated in a fresh and interesting
manner. Problems on impact are commonly
relegated to books on mechanics, but the method
often employed is so exclusively mathematical in
character that the short chapter on the subject
in the present volume, where attention is directed
1“ A Text-book of Physics.” By J H. Poynting, F.R.S., and J. J.
Thomson, F.R.S. (Grifn.) Vol. I. Properties of Matter. vi. +228 pp.
tos. 6d. Vol. LI. Sound. Second edition. xili. X163 pp. 8s. 6d.
140
toward the physical aspect of the subject, will
prove valuable to the student. Other subjects
treated in the volume are the compressibility of
liquids, capillarity, diffusion, and viscosity. The
proof that, in a gas, the viscosity is independent
of the pressure, within wide limits, should be
welcome to students.
The science of Sound is largely composed of the
study of the mechanics of vibration and vibrating
systems. The second of the volumes before us
has already acquired considerable popularity as an
exposition of this branch of physics. In addition
to the investigations usually met with in text-books
on sound, accounts are given of musical sand,
singing flames, and sensitive water-jets. The
volume closes with a chapter on the theory of dis-
cord, in which an account of modern investigations
on combination tones is included.
A NEW SCHOOL SONG-BOOK:!
MONG recollections of school life in after
years probably few are more vivid and
moving than the memory of times spent in
the free and informal enjoyment of school singing
—singing in which art was a secondary considera-
tion or no consideration at all, but which aimed at
the promotion of enthusiastic fellow-feeling by the
employment of simple words and simple tunes,
expressing elementary ideas and emotions which
all the singers could feel in common and all could
enjoy. |
The apostle of this custom in England was the
late John Farmer, whose vigorous personality gave
it an impetus at Harrow and at Oxford which has
caused it to spread widely throughout the country.
The result has been a demand for suitable books
of gong, a demand which has been met by a liberal
supply.
The book now before us is another effort in the
direction of affording this needed supply, and, on
the whole, a decidedly useful effort. Mr. Sharp's
book includes no words or tunes which have not
received the imprimatur of time. He has ransacked
other collections for songs which have hitherto
been less accessible, and has included many admi-
rable specimens of national song which have al-
most been elbowed out of favour by the cheap
trivialities of the music-hall. The book is pub-
lished in two forms; a large edition with piano
accompaniments and historical and explanatory
notes, and a small cheap edition containing words
and melodies only.
It is unfortunate that the editor should have
undertaken to correct the universal taste of the
British race with regard to the words and tune of
the National Anthem. It is a pity also that he
should have missed the opportunity of printing the
1“ A Book of British Song for Home and School.” Edited by Cecil J.
Sharp, K.A. (Murray.) 78. 6d. net. Also small crown 38vo. edition with
words and airs only. Cloth, 25. ; paper, 1s. 6d.
The School World
[APRIL, 1903.
correct hexatonic-scale version of ‘* Loch Lomond.”’
But, in spite of these and several similar blunders,
he has compiled a useful book and one which
deserves to be considered seriously by school
music-masters.
SCIENCE WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOLS
AND COLLEGES.
By Prof. HENRY E. ARMSTRONG, LL.D., Ph.D., F.R.S.
THE importance of experimental studies carried on with the
object of affording training in scientifc method as a necessary
part of the ordinary course in schools generally, whatever their
grade, is already so widely recognised that ere long every school
will certainly need its workshops as well as its class-rooms. It is
therefore desirable that the general character of the require-
ments should be understood, in order that buildings may be
properly designed to accommodate all necessary fittings and
appurtenances—and more particularly to afford the necessary
working space.
In preparing such a statement, it is well to look ahead and to
foreshadow the policy of the future, as the whole question of
school design may assume a very different aspect in years tocome ;
indeed, the architect may play a by no means unimportant part
in helping on reforms which many think to be very necessary if
practical work is to take its proper place in the ordinary curri-
culum of every school.
I propose to illustrate my arguments largely by reference to
the new buildings at Horsham for Christ’s Hospital School,
whicb have been erected from the designs of your President and
Mr. Ingress Bell to accommodate 820 boys. The position and
size of the Science Block, with reference to the other school
buildings, shows obviously that extraordinary importance will be
attached to experimental studies in this school. The Science
Block occupies practically one side of the quadrangle; the
opposite side is occupied by the chapel, the class-rooms and
school-hall filling the third, the dining hall the fourth side. The
floor area of the ordinary class-rooms is 15,482 square feet, that
of the rooms in the Science Block is 10,326 square feet, the area
of the four large rooms—the science class-rooms proper—in
which the boys usually work being about 8,200 square feet.
But the provision which will be made at Horsham for work
such as I am contemplating will not be confined to the Science
Block. At no distant date, I trust, there will be distinct work-
shops for manual training in wood and metal ; and the engineering
appliances generally will afford opportunities for the instruc-
tion of the more advanced boys in the use of machinery. More-
over, surveying and map making will be practised in the country
round, and there will be abundant opportunity for other out-of-
door studies; besides school gardens, a set of experimental
plots are now being laid down on the lines of those at the
Rothamsted Agricultural Station which have so world-wide a
renown.
Christ’s Hospital School, in fact, ere many years are past,
should be a model school ; and it is because the buildings illus-
trate so many important points that I propose to refer particu-
larly to them. Iam the more inclined to do so as the Christ’s
Hospital buildings mark an extraordinary advance—far greater
than most of those who are connected with them have realised,
I think,
1 From a Paper read before the Royal Institute of British Architects.
January igth, 1903.
— FSU OE
hiad = = ww -
APRIL, 1903. ]
In the past it has been customary to teach some branch of
science—usually either chemistry or physics or both—and labo
ratories have been required for this purpose ; in fact, the word
Fig. 1.—Large sink, ventilation hood, and end of working bench, in Dalton workshop.
laboratory has a specific connotation in connection with the
teaching or practice of some branch of experimental or observa-
tional science. Unfortunately, in introducing experimental
science into schools, the mistake has been made of merely trans-
ferring red-hot embers from the university or college and then
proceeding to keep the fire burning on
the professional lines followed in the
technical school. We are being led
gradually to see that this mistake must
be rectified : that it is not the province
of schools to teach any branch of science
technically or even specifically. We
desire, in. fact, to get rid of formal science
and to give broad training in scientific
method—to subject the young scholars
to the practical discipline to be derived
from experimental studies; we do not
wish to make specialists of them. A
step is gained by substituting the word
“workshop” for ‘‘laboratory ” : by so
doing we not only make use of a word
which is familiar to English ears but gain
anenlarged and more definite conception
of the kind of work to be done. Every-
one thinks of work done in the class-room
as different from that done in the work-
shop. It is material to my argument
that in the workshop the onus is cast on
the worker rather than on the director:
one of the chief objects of introducing
experimental studies into schools is to
train boys and girls to be self-helpful.
The School World
I4I
character, it is obvious that the fittings must be planned and
arranged accordingly.
In the past, as a rule, subjects have been taught in watertight
compartments; but there is a growing
tendency to co-ordinate much of the
teaching, especially in the junior classes.
Thus, mathematics has been taught in
the class-room as a desk subject, whilst
elementary physical measurements which
have been neither more nor less than
practical mathematical exercises have
been carried on in the laboratory under
the science teacher. It is urged—and
with force—that the teacher of mathe-
matics must adopt practical methods and
relieve the teacher of science of much
that now falls to his share. Clearly,
one of two courses must be adopted—
either the necessary provision must be
made in the mathematics class-room for
the practical study of the subject or a
large part of the mathematical teaching
must be transferred to the science work-
shop. A good deal of drawing is now
done incidentally in the course of the
science lessons; and gradually we are
also recognising that the science work
has a literary side. Everything points,
in fact, to a time when class rooms such
as are now provided will be of subordi-
nate importance in our English educational system—to a time
when we shall justify our contention that we are a practical
people.
To summarise my recommendations, I would say that in
designing science workshops the architect and his technical
Fig. 2.— Two benches in Dalton workshop with gas-standard supports. Balance bench in background.
At Christ’s Hospital the four chief rooms in the Science Block ~ advisers should have three S’s in mind— Sense, Simplicity and
are called Science Workshops and are distinguished by the names | Space. There should be due knowledge and understanding of
of Cavendish, Dalton, Davy and Faraday—all classic names in | the requirements to be met; mere copying should be impos-
the history of English science. sible. The provision made should be of the simplest character
If the work done in the school workshops is to be of a general | possible—because simplicity of provision conduces to simplicity
142
of practice ; and the space should be ample—for almost anything
may be done, given sufficient space; and to grant proper space
is to show proper respect.
It is not my province to consider external design or general
architectural effect, but I will venture to urge that money spent
on judicious ornamentation is always well spent in the case of a
school. We give far too little heed to the influence which sur-
roundings exercise on young people; and if we are ever to
recover the sense of artistic feeling, we must do far more to
make our schools attractive. The disregard of property which
seems to be so characteristic of boys at the present day—which
leads them to kick open doors, to wipe their feet on the railway
carriage seats, &c.--is probably a consequeuce of the fact that
at school they are not placed under conditions which would lead
them to be mindful of their surroundings. It is astonishing that
the example set by Thring at Uppinghane has met with so few
followers hitherto: ‘* thinking in shape,” such as he advocated,
is one of the most powerful means of stimulating the imagination
and of developing zesthetic tastes ; and it is so easy to carry oul
his idea in these days, as magnificent photographic reproductions
of the masterpieces of Nature and of Art are to be had at com-
paratively small cost. The moral of these remarks is that
neither class-room nor corridor should be without its picture
rail. I would also plead for a more liberal use of colour and of
line decoration in our schools.
Before describing the science workshops at Christ’s Hospital,
I should say that the fittings were not thought of until long
after the building was designed. Of course, to secure the best
result, *‘the punishment should fit the crime ”—the building
should be designed to the fittings, not vice versa.
The workshops differ in an important manner from the
laboratories hitherto provided for schools. There are four main
rooms—about 30 feet by 60 feet—in which classes are held;
and to each of these are attached a number of subsidiary
rooms. (Plans accompany the paper. )
No lecture room is provided ; the omission has been made of
set purpose, as it was desired to discourage didactic teaching.
The object of introducing experimental science into schools is
to give boys and girls an opportunity of learning to do things
themselves ; the time devoted to such work is brief enough and
they cannot afford to waste any of it in listening to formal
lectures. Full provision is made in each room for such didactic
teaching as may be necessary by providing a demonstration
bench in front of which there is sufficient space left free for
seats in two of the rooms, whilst in the others uprights are fixed,
provided with small desk-tops, at which the class can stand and
take notes.
Moreover, no special balance-room is provided ; instead of
such a room, a novel fitting—a balance bench—has been intro-
duced. At first this was provided only in the two of the four
workshops which were intended for juniors, but it has been
found so useful that a third has been ordered, which is to be
placed in the Faraday workshop. The balance bench is merely
a long narrow table (2 feet by 12 feet by 3 feet 6 inches high)
covered by a glazed case for the protection of the balances. In
fact, instead of having a number of balances within separate
glazed cases, one large glazed case has been provided to contain
a number of separate uncased balances. The balance table is
approached on either side from the working benches and is
arranged at right angles to these. Four boyscan work at either
side and one at each end. The glazed fronts are hinged at the
bottom to the table top and drop down. Holes are made in
the table top wherever desirable underneath the balance pans,
so that objects may be suspended from the balance pan and
weighed, for example, in a pail of water underneath the table.
The arrangement has the great advantage that the teacher has
the scholars under complete control and is able to see whether
The School World
[APRIL, 1903.
they are weighing properly. The balances placed in such a case
are those required for all ordinary work. There is no difficulty
in dealing with the more delicate balances required for advanced
work : these are always provided with a case ; and as the sensi-
tive working parts are of agate, there is no need to keep them in
a separate room. They are conveniently placed on brackets
against the wall.
Store Room.—A third special feature of importance is the
store or stock room attached to each of the four workshops.
This is intended not only for the ordinary stores but also as a
room in which the apparatus for experiments left unfinished at
the end of a lesson may be set aside until the next attendance.
Working Benches.—These are of two kinds—those for ordi-
nary work and those at which work involving the use of water
may be done. The distinction is fundamental, I think. The
former have teak tops ; the latter are covered with lead. In
days gone by, when the only science taught was analytical
chemistry, there was much washing out of test tubes to be done :
consequently numerous sinks were provided. To the present
day, the regulations of the science branch of the Education
Department specify that there should be a water-tap and sink
for every two students, but fortunately the rule is qualified by an
‘Sif possible.”
If only to prevent the general but inexcusable habit of wasting
water from growing up, this regulation should be abolished. It
is the more necessary to get rid of such a regulation, as it has
done much in the past—and is still doing much—towards retard-
ing the proper teaching of science in schools, on account of the
expense involved in carrying it into execution ; and it has given
rise to numerous disputes, sensible people seeing that such pro-
vision is quite unnecessary. Besides the intolerable waste of
water, the presence of sinks on the benches involves the constant
wetting of the bench near the sink. Fortunately, the class of
work now advocated for schools requires the use of water but
seldom, so that there is no longer any excuse for providing sinks
except in special places. But I would warn architects that they
must harden their hearts on this point—as they will meet with
many unimaginative teachers who will hanker after what has
been, whilst others will think it so convenient to have sinks
here, there and everywhere, if they do not object to allow
scholars to move a few feet towards a convenience. There is
no more reason, however, why sinks should be everywhere in a
laboratory than there is to have one in every room in a dwelling
house so that all washing up may be done on the spot. I need
scarcely point out that the economy involved in localising the
water supply, sinks and drains is very great. At Horsham, in
the rooms on the upper floor, all sinks have been placed near
to the walls; the waste is carried down to the floor below in
pipes fixed in chases in the walls. On the basement floor, cross
channels have been avoided as muchas possible.
The conventional top hamper which is erected on the bench
in most laboratories has been got rid of; in three of the rooms
an arrangement has been substituted which provides both a gas
service and upright supports to which the rings, &c., required
to hold apparatus can be clamped. Uprights made of quarter-
inch iron gas-barrel have been bolted to the table top 1 foot
6 inches from the outer edge, at intervals of about 3 feet. A few
inches above the top these are fitted with crosses into each of
which two eighth-inch bore gas-taps (Baird and Tatlock’s) are
screwed. At the top, these uprights are connected together by
half-inch barrel. These cross-connections form a complete cir-
cuit, which in turn is connected with the gas main brought down
from the ceiling. By bridging the interval at the top by pieces
of board, shelves are formed on which, for example, a vessel to
be used as a reservoir may be placed ; or pulleys, &c., may be
hung from the cross-pipes, which form a gallows along the whole
length of the table. If bottles are needed these can be arranged
APRIL, 1903. |
inside the uprights along the middle of the bench. If it be
desired to produce a decorative effect and to protect the wood
against acids, white glazed tiles having pieces of indiarubber
glued to the underside by bicycle cement may be arranged within
the line of uprights. What is wanted on a school bench is
working space; shelves only serve to obstruct the view and to
carry bottles which are rarely used.
The arrangement which I am here advocating has been carried
out ina slightly different way at the Christ’s Hospital Girls’
School, Hertford, in the new science room designed by Mr.
Stenning. Four parallel benches about 20 feet long are arranged
along the length of the room. That at the windows is suitable
for senior work. The remaining three are so placed that girls
may work facing the light, standing against the inside edge of
the two outer benches, which have wooden tops and are pro-
vided with gas but not with water ; the middle bench is covered
with lead and there are three sinks in it and a larger sink at
either end. The girls can turn from the working bench to the
water bench whenever necessary, the one water-bench serving
for the common use of the two sets of girls. The sinks in this
bench are mainly for use as pneumatic troughs: two are I foot
6 inches and one is 2 feet 6 inches long. I venture to think
some such arrangement as this is about the simplest and most
common-sense plan that can well be adopted. The tops of the
working benches overlap the cupboards six inches, so that the
girls may sit and write at them. The gas standards are fixed
six inches from the outer edge and are tied by the overhead
mains which run along the benches and across the room.
( To be continued.)
THE TEACHING OF GEOMETRY.
By W. D. EGGar, M.A.
Eton College.
THERE is a difference of opinion amongst teachers as to the
need of a course of strictly demonstrative geometry for all
students. I do not intend to go into this question, but I will
confine my remarks to the practical geometry, which we are
unanimous in regarding as necessary, whether to precede and
accompany Euclid or to standalone. To quote from the preface
to Kitchener’s Geometrical Notebook : ‘‘ Beginners in geometry
are met with two main difficulties, the one of grasping geo-
metrical ideas, and the other of seeing the force of geometrical
reasoning. These two giant difficulties are usually attached
together, and many boys are so encumbered with the double
combat that they do not slay either of the giants. . . . It
is a safe guide in all teaching to make your pupils familiar with
things before you give your theories.” Now these words and
the Notebook which they preface were published in 1868, and,
if they had been properly attended to, there would be no
occasion for people like myself to get up and utter platitudes.
But our wonderful examination system has grown and spread till
its branches overshadow the nursery windows. A course of
practical geometry takes time. Children are often clumsy in
using ruler and compasses, but many ‘sharp children of ten can
learn Euclid so as to deceive the very elect ; and I suppose it
has been found profitable for examination purposes to set the
modern child to learn Euclid so soon as he should be able to
draw something that a sympathetic teacher may regard as a
triangle.
1 An Address given to the Conference of Science Teachers at Chelsea, on
January gth, 1903. .
gee A ey SOE
143
It was not ever thus. Newton did not read Euclid till he
went to Trinity, and Sir Henry Savile, then nearly seventy,
concluded his lectures to the University of Oxford with these
words: ‘“‘ Gentlemen, I have by Gud’s grace done what I
promised; I have redeemed my pledge; I have expounded to
the best of my power the definitions, postulates, axioms and the
first eight propositions of Euclid’s Elements. ‘Hic, annis
fessus, cyclos artemque repono.”
If teachers, or rather examiners (for teachers are and must be
bound by examinations), are going to insist on a considerable
amount of accurate drawing and measurement as a preliminary
to Euclid (and by Euclid I mean any course of demonstrative
geometry), then they must be content to postpone Euclid toa
much later stage in the child’s career. I should like to give
reasons for this statement. The experimental work to be of any
use must be accurate. It is no good to regard two straight
lines as practically equal if they differ by 7 inch. We must
insist on the utmost accuracy attainable with the ordinary
instruments used, and lengths ought to be correct to q}y inch,
angles at least to the nearest degree. Anything short of this is
not only unsatisfactory to the learner, but positively harmful.
It fails to impress him with the absolute truth of the law he is
discovering, and it tends to lower his own standard. One of
our difficulties in the elementary physics laboratory is to over-
come the tendency of pupil (and teacher too) to become content
with less than the utmost attainable accuracy.
Well, if you exact this, it can only be from children who have
at least learned to write decently. Again, if your course is to
be really experimental, each child must go his own pace. The
teacher must not go in front with a spade to smooth the way,
but rather come along behind to give a very occasional leg-up.
Anybody who has had to do this kind of work must know how
very helpless boys are at first, and what full instructions are
necessary. So we must give the child the fullest details of the
experiment he is to perform, and we must expect him to be able
to read and understand English. If he can do this and can
write a fair hand, and knows his arithmetic as far as decimals,
he is fit to begin a course of experimental geometry ; but he is
probably not much under eleven years of age.
One very important thing is to make pupils work from written
or printed instructions; to be able to use their books in-
telligently. However full or explicit they may be, it is probable
that several of the students will fear to launch away until the
guide comes round. In time, the feeling of helplessness dis-
appears, but it is very marked at first. We will suppose, then,
that each beginner is provided with complete written or printed
instructions. Next, for the experimentsthemselves. All things
are not expedient. Some experiments, such as finding the
volume of a solid by displacement of water, are inconvenient for
a class-room, though suitable enough for a laboratory ; so that
in the choice of experiments teachers must be guided by their
individual circumstances. But at least the first object to be
attained is to instil the notions of lines, points, angles, areas,
volumes. In my opinion, this is best accomplished by simple
measurement. Measurement of length, of course, comes first.
Give a boy plenty of practice in measuring lengths in inches,
tenths and hundredths, and in centimetres and millimetres,
making him estimate the second place of decimals. This at once
clears his ideas on the decimal system, and gives him a notion
of the degree of accuracy which is obtainable and ought
to be demanded. Similarly the difficulty that some people
have in realising what an angle is does not long survive a course
of measurement of various angles with the protractor. I have
been told of a prominent novelist who at school could not, and
for all I know cannot now, grasp the notion of an angle. I have
heard of a former Chancellor of the Exchequer who refused to
look at any figures in which occurred the decimal point, which
144 The
School World
[APRIL, 1903.
he stigmatised as “that dashed dot.” If these gentlemen had
begun their geometry by measurements of the kind I have
mentioned, I do not think their deficiencies would have become
notorious.
Measurement of area is, I believe, best begun by counting
the squares in an irregular figure drawn on squared paper. This
and the measurement of volume ought to follow the measure-
ment of angles and to precede the course of geometrical con-
structions. For volumes, inch and centimetre cubes are very
useful, and can be obtained quite cheaply. Blocks and models
of various solid figures should be handled, their surfaces and
edges and corners counted, so as to clear the ideas on the
subjects of points, lines, surfaces, and solids, before the course of
geometrical constructions is started.
When this begins, let the ordinary constructions be illustrated
by paper folding. It is a very simple matter to make the student
obtain, by paper folding—
A straight line,
The right bisector of a straight line,
The bisector of an angle,
The perpendicular to a straight line,
The incentre, circumcentre, and orthocentre of a paper triangle.
Tracing paper is most useful in the testing by superposition of
the equality of angles. In all these experiments the student
must be given full instructions what to do; but no help until he
has proved himself helpless.
There is a little pamphlet by Mrs. Boole, published by
Messrs. Benham, of Colchester, on the ‘ Cultivation of the
Mathematical Imagination.” This ought to be studied by
teachers engaged on this kind of work, and studied sympa-
thetically with a view to adapt its suggestions to their own
particular circumstances. One very important remark contained
in it is to the effect that ‘‘ no attempt should be made to quicken
the child’s perceptions by any magnetic stimulation from the
teacher, whose personality and influence should be kept as
much as possible in the background.” Now this is a counsel of
perfection, and in class-teaching it is impossible to carry it out
fully with all the members of the class; but, at any rate, it
should be followed in the case of the more able students, and
the more stupid ones should receive not more magnetic stimula-
tion than is necessary to keep them within measurable distance
of the others. Mrs. Boole’s remarks on the introduction of the
child to Euclid I. 47 are perhaps more suited to the kinder-
garten stage ; but they are worthy of attention, since so many of
our pupils have not had the advantages of a good early training
in mathematical notions.
One word as to instruments. First, as to dividers: the
ordinary cheap pair of dividers with stiff joints is useless for
accurate measurement of lengths. One either pulls the points
too far out or not far enough. If you want to measure to
hundredths of an inch you must have a screw adjustment in one
of the legs. This adds to the cost; but without it dividers are
not worth getting. Parallel rulers are also useless things.
Parallels and perpendiculars should be drawn with set squares,
which should be introduced at a very early stage. A ruler
divided in inches and tenths, and in centimetres and millimetres,
is necessary. A bevelled edge has advantages, but, on the other
hand, it is unsuitable for putting against a set square. The 60°
set square should have a mark on the longest edge, so that it can
be used after the manner of marquoise scales, the slope being,
of course, one in two instead of one in three. The protractor is
an important instrument, and I am inclined to prefer the rect-
angular shape, as easier to obtain accurate results with. The
beginner has no difficulty in understanding the way in which it is
obtained from the graduated semicircle, if this is once explained
to him. I have with me two specimen boxes, supplied by
Messrs. Aston and Mander, containing instruments suitable for
the kind of work. A hard pencil with a chisel edge and a pair
of pencil compasses are, of course, necessary. I would
recommend that the work be done in books, not on loose paper,
though this is wanted for the paper folding, and so, by the way,
are Scissors.
The students should be encouraged to make a list of the geo-
metrical facts which they encounter, and a separate collection of
geometrical constructions. Accuracy and neatness are of the
utmost importance. These are often conspicuously lacking in
boys of great mathematical ability, and for such boys a course of
this kind is chiefly valuable as a training in these virtues. I
have had much difficulty in convincing a clever pupil that a pic-
ture of an amceba is not satisfactory as representing a section
of the human eye. And in this connection I should like to say
that the freehand drawing of straight lines, perpendiculars, bisec-
tors, circles, and triangles of various kinds is worthy of being
practised.
I have been speaking thus far of the earlier stages of this
practical geometry, in which the substance of Euclid Book I.
and parts of Books II. and IV. are dealt with. I must now
touch briefly on the order in which we should take the remaining
parts of the work. And here I speak with more confidence, as
I have had for a good many years to teach geometrical drawing
as an Army subject to boys whose knowledge of Euclid did not
extend further than Book I.; so that I had always to explain
most of the constructions in a practical way. The subject of
proportionals, for instance, had to be attacked by means of the
boys’ arithmetical notions of proportion, and there was never
any difficulty in approaching it by this road. On the contrary,
it is a far easier route than by Euclid’s definition of proportion,
which very few boys are capable of grasping. I wish it to
be understood that I have the greatest reverence for Euclid, and
I think that his modern detractors do not realise sufficiently the
conditions for which he wrote. Imagine yourself writing a
practical treatise for the use of students whose knowledge of
arithmetic is limited to simple addition and subtraction—for, of
course, multiplication and division in Greek or Roman numerals
would be beyond all but the cleverest mathematicians. Imagine
also that the apparatus and instruments consist of the fluor,
a piece of chalk or charcoal, and a bit of string; and if you
improve on Euclid’s treatise without standing on his shoulders
you will be a wonderful man. But, once again, imagine Euclid
himself and his pupils all provided with paper, pencils, com-
passes, and set squares, and better still, with Arabic numerals
and the decimal point; and do you suppose that Euclid will
follow his old treatment of parallels, of areas, of proportion,
and of arithmetic, as dealt with in Books VII., VIII., and
IX.? If so, you will believe that Hannibal, in possession
of both ends of the St. Gothard tunnel and all the Italian
railways’ rolling stock, yet insists on ordering a consign-
ment of vinegar and taking his army and elephants over the
pass. I maintain that a course of practical geometry is bound
to adapt itself to modern conditions, and to follow the order
which agrees best with drawing-office methods; in fact, it
should be a course of geometrical drawing taught, not merely as
a collection of rules, but by a series of experiments following
one another in logical order. That order cannot be the same as
Euclid’s order. The nearest approach to Euclid’s order appears
to be to take the substance of Euclid Book I., then III. 1-34,
IV., VI. and Il., HI. 35-37.
Can such a course stand alone, or must it always be accom-
panied by a course of strictly demonstrative geometry? On
this, as I said, I am not prepared to dogmatise. But I
am certain that practical geometry must be taught in close
conjunction with arithmetic and the beginnings of algebra.
Algebra naturally begins in line with the substance of Book VI.
and Book II., which should be extended soas to bring in mensu-
APRIL, 1903. |
ration of solids as well as areas. Graphs, of course, have come
to stay, and the solution of quadratic equations ought to be
accompanied by a geometrical solution depending on Euc. III.
35» 36.
In conclusion, I must ask you to forgive me for saying over
again what has been said already many times. The forbearance
with which you have listened is one more proof that the present
time is one favourable to reform. All change is not reform ; but
we cannot be wrong in recognising this very old truth, wrapped
up in the disused books of Euclid’s Elements like the wheat
in the mummy, that geometry and arithmetic are one.
THE CARNEGIE TRUST AND THE
SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES.
THe Carnegie Trust, in conformity with powers conferred on
them by their charter, have issued a scheme of Research
Fellowships and Post-Graduate Scholarships at the Scottish
Universities or allied institutions. The Executive Committee
have decided that it was not desirable to allocate definite sums
or to offer separate endowments to individual universities. They
have, therefore, established a common scheme, the administra-
tion of which they have retained in their own hands. As they
had no means of determining the probable number of applicants
for the various scholaiships and fellowships, they have purposely
refrained from stating the precise number of each to be awarded
annually. Should, however, the funds at their disposal prove
inadequate to meet all deserving applications, they may here-
after delimit more precisely the amount of grants for each class.
The Committee very wisely insist that a Scholar or Fellow
should not be allowed during the tenure of his scholarship or
fellowship to engage in other work that would interfere with the
progress of his research. The value of these scholarships and
fellowships may not appear very tempting to English graduates
accustomed to the munificence of the Rhodes and other scholar-
ships. But in Scotland, where the tradition still lingers that
plain living and high thinking go together, they will suffice to
attract the very best class of men,—those who have a genuine
interest in and a special capacity for higher study and research.
The following are the main provisions of the scheme :—
Scholarships in Sctence and Medicine.—A Scholar must bea
graduate of a Scottish University who desires to devote himself to
higher study and research in some department of science or
medicine.
A scholarship shall be of the annual value of 4100, payable
by half-yearly instalments in advance, the second instalment
being payable on the receipt of a satisfactory report by the
scholar and certificate from the authority under whose super-
vision the scholar has been working.
_A Scholar shall ordinarily be expected to devote his whole
ume to the purpose for which the scholarship is awarded.
A scholarship shall ordinarily be tenable for one year ; but it
May be renewed for a second year if the executive committee
deem this expedient.
By accepting a scholarship a scholar comes under an
obligation to submit such reports on the progress of his work
as the executive committee may require.
Fellowships in Science and Medicine—A Fellow must be a
gtaduate of a Scottish University who has given evidence,
Preferably by work already published, of capability to advance
science or medicine by original research, and who desires to de-
vote himself further to this work.
A fellowship shall be of the annual value of £150, exclusive
of such special expenses in connection with his research as the
executive committee may allow.
A fellowship shall ordinarily be tenable for two years.
Scholarships in History, Economics, and Modern Languages
and Literature.—A Scholar must be a graduate of a Scottish
The School World
14.5
University, preferably with honours in at least one of the groups
—history, economic science, English, modern languages and
literature—who desires at home or abroad to devote himself to
higher study and investigation within the scope of these groups
of study.
A scholarship shall be of the annual value of £100.
Fellowships in History, Economics, and Modern Languages
and Literature.—A Fellow must be a graduate of a Scottish
University, preferably with honours in at least one of the
groups—history, economic science, English, modern languages,
and literature—who desires to investigate at first-hand, at
home or abroad, some historical, social, economic, or educa-
tional problem or factor of modern civilisation, and who can
give evidence by his previous career and general culture, and
also preferably by work already published, of capability to
advance knowledge by his proposed investigation.
A fellowship shall be of the annual value of £150.
Carnegie Grants in Aid of Research.—An applicant for a
research grant must be a professor, lecturer, or assistant in a
Scottish University, a teacher in Scotland recognised for the
purpose of graduation by a Scottish University, or a Scottish
University graduate resident in Scotland.
An applicant must furnish the executive committee with in-
formation regarding his experience in research, the nature of the
research in which he desires to engage, &c. The publication,
in some form, of an account of the results of the research will be
expected in all cases.
Instruments of permanent value purchased by means of the
grant shall be placed under the care and at the disposal of the
institution in which the research has been conducted.
Date of Apflication.—Nominations for scholarships and
applications for fellowships and grants must be lodged with the
secretary not later than rst May in any year. The final award
of the executive committee will be announced in due course,
and all scholarships, fellowships, and grants awarded inany year
shall date from October Ist, unless expressly stated otherwise.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
REPRESENTATIVES of the Incorporated Association of Head-
masters, the Association of Technical Institutes, the Head-
mistresses’ Association, the Assistant-masters’ Association, the
College of Preceptors, and the Teachers’ Guild, formed a
deputation to the President of the Board of Education on March
17th to make representations on the subject of the proposed
education authority for London. Dr. Scott urged the desir-
ability of following the analogy of the Act of last year, since it
made a single rating authority for each area, and enabled all
education to be properly co-ordinated. The deputation main-
tained that an ad hoc authority was not best fitted to organise
education in London, but that the County Council of London
was a body which had been tried and had been successful in its
work. Miss Connolly pointed out the importance of the
inclusion of women on the new education board. Lord Lon-
donderry promised that careful attention should be given to the
views expressed by the deputation, but regretted his inability to
give definite information as to the intentions of the Govern-
ment. He called the attention of the deputation to the fact
that if the course recommended by them were carried out the
borough councils would be completely ignored on the central
board for education.
THE action which the Government propose to take as a
result of the recommendations of the Committee on Military
Education was outlined in Mr. Brodrick’s speech in the House
of Commons on March gth. The Director-General of Military
Education is, for all purposes connected with the examination of
candidates before they enter the Army, and with their training
146
€
before they are commissioned, to have a board consisting of the
four heads of the military colleges—Woolwich, Sandhurst, the
Staff College, and the Ordnance College—and be assisted by
two representatives of the Universities, one selected by the
Headmasters’ Conference, one selected by the Incorporated
Association of Headmasters, and one by the Royal Society, so
that it may be ensured that scientific attainments are not forgotten.
Further, there are to be two members nominated by the
Secretary of State, as was recommended by the Committee. It
is proposed to leave in the hands of the new Board the settlement
of the syllabus of examination. The whole examination for
Woolwich and Sandhurst, for the Army and for the Militia, is
to be held if possible in one examination, and the higher the
candidate gets the wider is to be his choice of selection as to the
branch of the Army he wishes to join. Two years’ training at
Sandhurst will be required, as is at present the case at Woolwich.
IN order to secure for the Army men who have had a public
school and university career, and to enable them to enter the
Army on equal terms with the men who have not, it is proposed
that a boy shall complete his period at the public school, and
that before he is 20 he shall pass Moderations-at Oxford, or
some equivalent examination at another University. Before the
age of 20 the intending officer must have not only passed this test
examination, but must have done six weeks’ training with a Line
battalion or Regular unit. Having done this, the candidate will
be given a provisional commission at the age of 20; and,
although he may return to the University, he will rank in the
Army from the age of 20, instead of waiting till the end of his
University career. He will be required to take honours at the
University ; and the Universities are to be asked to include in
the honours examination two or three military subjects— tactics,
military topography, and military history—and to provide proper
lectures on those subjects. Any candidate who may pass with
honours, and who has done another six weeks of military training,
will be allowed to enter the Army, provided that he enters it
before the age of 22, as having been commissioned from the age
of 20. It is proposed within the next few weeks to hold a
conference between the War Office authorities and the
Universities as to the establishment of the new system.
THE new scheme for educating officers of the Navy will
involve the creation of a large Naval College at Osborne.
The boys will remain there for four years—-from thirteen to
seventeen ; and it is important that the tuition should be of the
best. A deputation from the Modern Language Association
was interviewed by the First Lord of the Admiralty and Mr.
Arnold-Forster last month. The deputation consisted of
Messrs. F. Storr, A. A. Somerville, E. R. Edwards, and de V.
Payen-Payne, and it was introduced by the President of the
Association for 1903—Sir Arthur Rücker. The chief points
laid before the First Lord were :—The importance of laying
stress on the teaching of the mother tongue, without which all
modern-language teaching is made very difhcult ; the nature of
the entrance examination, which should consist chiefly of dicta-
tion, reading, and test the power of understanding the language
when spoken; the importance of making the modern-language
teaching at the College colloquial and literary, and leaving
naval technicalities to a later stage ; and, lastly, that, in view of
the special requirements of the naval officer to be able to speak
foreign languages rather than to write them, that a great deal of
the teaching should be of an oral character. We trust that both
French and German will be made compulsory at the College,
and not alternative as in military colleges; for, seeing the
vigour with which the Germans are pushing their Navy, they
will no doubt create a huge literature on this subject as they
have on others, with which it will be necessary for the Naval
Officer to be acquainted.
The School World |
[ APRIL, 1903.
A MEMORANDUM has been circulated amongst members of
Parliament stating the views of the London headmasters
secondary schools as to the principles which should be embodied
in the Education Bill for London. It is submitted that the
London County Council should have sole control in all financial
matters, and that the new Education Board should be supreme
in all educational matters. In connection with the constitution
of the board, the headmasters suggest 65 members as a suitable
total, 33 to be members of the London County Council, and
32 non-members. Of the 33 members 29 should be chosen
by the Council so that one member would represent each of the
29 metropolitan borough areas, including the City, whilst the
other four would be selected without regard to the representa-
tion of borough areas. The remaining 32 members should be
selected by co-optation. nomination, or recommendation, under
a scheme to be drawn up by the Council and approved by the
Board of Education. It is also suggested that borough com-
mittees should consist of 15 members each, eight appointed by
the borough council from among its own members and seven in
pursuance of a scheme, variable according to local circumstances
(but in all cases providing for the appointment of at least one
member by the board), to be drawn up by the London
Education Board with the approval of the Board of Education.
THE Incorporated Association of Assistant-masters, too, has
circulated a memorandum stating its views in regard to the
forthcoming .London Education Bill. In its opinion, the
measure should provide for the establishment of a single
authority charged with the supervision of all educational institu-
tions not of university rank within the area, such authority to
exercise all powers concerning education other than elementary
which are secured to the local authorities set up by the Educa-
tion Act, 1902, and to control all expenditure of rates and taxes
on education within the area. The Association suggests that
the London County Council should be the education authorit yy
and should act through a statutory committee, provision being
made for the appointment on the committee of members of the
present School Board and of representatives of recognised
educational associations.
THE Association of Headmasters of Preparatory Schools
resolved, at a recent special meeting in connection with the
new proposals for entry into the Navy, an article on which
appeared in our issue for last February, ‘‘ that in the opinion
of this conference it would be in the interests of the boys, and
therefore of the Navy and of the nation, if the age for entry to
the Royal Navy were fixed at 13-14 instead of 12-13 as in the
new scheme.” Among the reasons given for the resolution
were the following: In the memorandum presented by the
Admiralty to Parliament in December, 1902, it is stated that
“the age of 12-13 corresponds to the age at which boys leave
private schools, and therefore to a natural period in the system
of education which obtains in this country.” This is an obvious
error. Comparatively few boys leave preparatory schools for
their public schools before 13, and the conference voted unani-
mously chat 134 is the best age for boys to enter public schools.
The last year of a boy’s life at a preparatory school is rightly
reyarded as of the utmost importance in his moral, mental, and
physical development. If the higher age—é.e., 13-14—is
adopted, preparatory-school masters will cordially co-operate
with the scheme; but if the lower age is adhered to the ten-
dency will be to discourage the best preparatory schools from
taking boys for the Navy. The early age now proposed for
the examination will involve a strain on boys from the age of
g-12 which is highly to be deprecated.
AT the general meeting of the Nature-Study Exhibition Asso-
ciation held on March 6th, the report of the Executive Committee
was adopted. The report was highly satisfactory and showed
APRIL, 1903. ]
a balance in hand of sixty pounds. Though the association
has been, for the present, dissolved, we are glad to learn that
numerous local associations of a similar character have been
formed and arrangements are being made to hold exhibitions in
different parts of the country. Towards the end of May, an
exhibition, on lines corresponding to thcse on which the exhibi-
tion at Regent’s Park was conducted last July, will be held at
Bristol in connection with the Bath and West and Southern
Counties Society, and a conference of teachers will take place at
University College, Bristol.
THE President of the Board of Education has appointed Mr.
H. M. Lindsell to be Principal Assistant-Secretary for elementary
education in succession to Mr. John White, who retires in April.
Mr. Cyril Jackson succeeds Mr. T. King as Senior Chief
Inspector of Elementary Schools.
A SMALL temporary committee of investigation into the
education and training of urban and rural pupil-teachers has been
appointed. It will consist of Messrs. Legard, Buckmaster, Airy,
R. F. Curry, and Mr. Grindrod as Secretary and Organising
‘Inspector. Miss Hale, Principal of the Edge Hill Training
College, Liverpool, will also insist in the investigation. The
duties of the Committee will be (a) to inspect the different
methods that have been adopted in recent years, especially since
the Report of the Departmental Committee in 1898, in certain
urban and rural districts for organising the training and in-
struction of pupil teachers; (4) to confer with the Inspectors
in each district, and to suggest to the new local authorities
means of initiating or improving such methods; and (c) to advise
the Board of Education as to the changes that may best be made
in the existing regulations of the Board, and possibly in the
arrangements of grants, in order to facilitate the improvement
and co-ordination of this part of our educational system.
THE annual report of the Teachers’ Training Syndicate of the
University of Cambridge shows that during 1902 two examina-
tions were held in the theory, history and practice of education.
The June examination was held at London, Cambridge,
Cheltenham, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Cardiff, when 76
candidates presented themselves, of whom two were placed
in the first class, 34 in the second, 29 in the third, and eleven
failed to satisfy the examiners. The December examination
was held at London, Cambridge and Cheltenham, when 69
candidates were examined, and of these seven were placed in
the first class, 45 in the second, eleven in the third, and six
failed to satisfy the examiners. This makes a total of 145
candidates examined this year as against 189 in 1901. For the
certificate of practical efficiency 126 candidates presented them-
selves, of whom 46 were placed in the first class, 66 in the
second and 14 in the third, none of them failing.
ST. KENTIGERN’S Hostel for women students of the University
of St. Andrews is moving at the end of this session from its old
quarters in North Street to a larger and more convenient house
near the Links, within five minutes’ walk of the University.
The chief object of St. Kentigern’s Hostel is to provide a place
of residence for those women students who desire a home life
and surroundings, together with assistance in preparation for the
University classes, and supplementary instruction for the pre-
liminary and degree examinations. The Hostel is conducted on
Church lines, but students of all denominations are received.
The inclusive fees for board, lodging, and tuition by the Hostel
teaching staff are £46 a year. There are several scholarships
connected with the Hostel, for information concerning which
application should be made to the Principal, Miss Tate,
St. Kentigern’s Hostel, St. Andrews, N.B.
The School World |
a er me
THE Westminster Review for March contains two articles
likely to interest those engaged in educational work. The first,
by Mr. P. S. Burrell, entitled “ Too much Education,” is a
little pessimistic in its tone, but contains one or two useful
suggestions. Reviewing the result of the educational efforts of
the last thirty years, Mr. Burrell is by no means satisfied ; he
says: ‘* When men are casting up the balance, they find, if
anything, less contentment; that the progress in virtue is
nothing to boast about; that advance in genuine refinement is,
at least, questionable ; and that foreign competition is more
menacing than ever.” Mr. Burrell comes to the conclusion that
the great present need is such a re-organisation of onr educa-
tion as will secure ‘‘the thorough teaching of a few well-
selected subjects, encourage the habit of doing and learning
things for oneself, and provide a reasonable amount of leisure
for both teacher and taught.”
THE second article is concerned rather with the physical
well-being of our children. Mr, J. H. Vines is concerned with
the physique of the public-school boy, and he comes to the
conclusion that there has been a distinct improvement therein,
notwithstanding the educational activity of the last quarter of
a century. For instance, the article shows that ‘‘a boy of
thirteen at Marlborough College to-day weighs, on an average,
five and a-half pounds more than a boy of the same age weighed
there in 1874, and he is also two inches taller. A boy of
eighteen at Marlborough to-day is four and a-half pounds
heavier, and nine-tenths of an inch taller than his father (now
aged forty-seven) was, supposing that the latter had been at
Marlborough twenty-nine years ago.” ‘* Boys of thirteen, four-
teen, fifteen, and sixteen, at Rugby School] to-day are . . . .
both taller and heavier than they were twenty-two years ago,
while boys of seventeen average nine-tenths of an inch taller,
but are one pound less in weight.”
A VERY interesting paper on “ Education in the Netherlands”
was read at the general meeting of the Society of Arts on
March 4th, by Mr. J. C. Medd, who recently visited Holland to
report on the education of that country for the Board of Educa-
tion. The paper is printed in full in the issue of March 6th
of the Journal of the Society.
Dr. KIMMINS contributes to the University Extension
Journal a short article showing how the new Education Act
may be utilised to extend and broaden university extension
work. With the repeal of the Technical Instruction Acts,
there is no longer any need to exclude lectures on history and
literature from aid from public funds. Local authorities in
attempting ‘‘the general co-ordination of all forms of educa-
tion ” need not now confine their support to lectures dealing
with branches of technical education. All such difficulties have
been removed by the new Act; and local authorities will
have, says Dr. Kimmins, great difficulty in evading the judicious
and persistent applications of local secretaries for the support of
university extension lectures.
REPEATING her plan of last year, Miss Edna Walter will this
year, if a sufficient number of names are received by an early
date, take a party of schoolgirls to the Bernese Oberland, where
Wengen has been chosen as a centre. The cost of a fortnight’s
holiday will be about ten guineas, and the tickets will be avail-
able for twenty-five days by those who care to prolong their
visit. The outward journey will be wa Dover, Calais, Laon,
and Interlaken; the homeward journey will be wa Interlaken,
Brunig, the Brunig Pass, Lucerne and Paris. Further
particulars can be obtained from Miss Walter, 38, Woodberry
Grove, Finsbury Park, N.
148
The School World
[APRIL, 1903.
THE current number of the Record of Technical and Secondary
Education contains an article on the administration of the
Education Act, 1902, which provides an explanatory and help-
ful review likely to be of great assistance to local authorities.
THE sixteenth issue of Zhe School Calendar—which is a
year-book of scholarships and examinations at public schools,
colleges, and universities for the current year—published by
Messrs. Whittaker and Co., is as complete as ever. It is an
indispensable reference book for schoolmasters.
THE Civil Service. Commissioners announce that an open
competition for not fewer than thirty situations as Assistant of
Excise in the Inland Revenue Department will be held in
London and various provincial centres, commencing on the
12th May, 1903. The limits of age for the situations are 19
and 22 on the Ist May, 1903. The examination will be in the
following subjects, viz. :—Handwriting ; English composition,
including orthography; arithmetic (to vulgar and = decimal
fractions) ; higher arithmetic, including mensuration, square and
cube root, &c.,and geography. Application forms must be sent
in so as to reach the Secretary, Civil Service Commission,
Burlington Gardens, W., not later than 23rd April. Assistants
of Excise receive salary commencing at 450 per annum, and
rising by annual increments of £5 to £80. They also receive an
officiating allowance of 2s. per diem when actively employed.
They are eligible for promotion to higher rank.
SCOTTISH.
LORD BALFOUR on a recent occasion invited discussion in
Scotland on the educational problems that he will seek to solve
in the forthcoming Education Bill. The response to his
invitation has been most gratifying, if also somewhat embarras-
sing. Ina multitude of councillors there must be wisdom, but
it is difficult to find it if they all speak with different voices, and
Lord Balfour has no easy task before him in seeking to crystal-
lise into a workable measure the heterogeneous mass of opinion
pouring in upon him. Probably owing to the imminence of
the school-board elections, the representatives of these bodies
have been the most voluminous, if not the most luminous,
contributors to the discussion. When members of school
boards ask that school boards be retained as the authority for
all kinds of education, it cannot be forgotten that through their
want of interest in higher education the provisions of the
admirable Technical Schools’ Act have never been enforced, and
that the higher-class schools which were under their control
were under-staffed and starved till the Education Department
came to their rescue within recent years by imperial grants.
Further, it is a fact that popular interest in School Boards,
as at present constituted, is on the wane, as is evidenced by
the fact that at last elections only about 20 per cent. of the
electors took the trouble to record their votes. Whatever
be the body finally chosen to administer local education, it
must be one which will awaken popular interest and command
respect.
THE following resolutions in regard to the proposed Educa-
tion Bill for Scotland have been drawn up by the committee of
the Association of Secondary Teachers :—(1) That the control
of education should be exercised through a single central
authority, namely, a Government department acting with the
advice of an independent council and in co-operation with the
local authorities. (2) That the local authority be the County
Council, acting through education committees ; or, alternatively,
that the local authority be school boards of enlarged areas.
(3) That this authority have control of all kinds of education,
and of the appointment and dismissal of teachers. (4) That the
local authority be empowered to grant pensions to aged or dis-
abled teachers. (5) That the Jocal authority should have
unrestricted power of rating for all educational purposes.
(6) That a standard of qualification for teachers in all schools,
public or private, should be fixed by the central authority.
CIRCULAR 374 of the Scotch Education Department (a large
part of which was reprinted in last month’s issue) cannot fail to
have far-reaching effects on the school system of Scotland. The
abolition of the Merit Certificate as the passport into a higher-
grade school, or advanced department, is universally approved.
It has all along been a fatal weakness of that certificate that it
had to serve the twofold functions of “ the leaving certificate of
the elementary school ” and “the passport into the secondary
school.” For the former object it was desirable that the stan-
dard set for it should be such as could be attained only by
scholars of average ability at the age of fourteen, while for the
latter purpose it should be attainable by pupils at about twelve
years of age, if they were to derive full benefit from a course
of secondary education. The special courses mapped out for
pupils of the elementary schvol who intend leaving school at
fourteen seem, on the whole, to be framed on most sensible
lines. These courses have been subjected to a great deal of
criticism on the ground that they encourage premature and
immature specialisation. But though the names attached to
the various courses give some ground for such criticism, a care-
ful study of the subject-matter will show that nothing more is
demanded of the pupil than is at present possessed by intelligent
and well trained pupils of about fourteen years of age. AH
that. the circular demands is that the teaching should be so
organised and systematised as to give all pupils the advantages
already possessed by those more fortunately situated as regards
schools and teachers.
THE Leaving Certificate written examinations will begin
this year on Wednesday, June 17th. Attention is directed to a
modification in the present form of the higher Greek paper.
In order to encourage the teaching of continuous prose com-
position, short sentences will no longer rank as an alternative
to the easy passage of English set for translation into Greek.
Continuous prose will thus be compulsory. As at the last
examination, the first Honours paper, which will consist mainly
of composition, will be entirely separate from that set for the
Higher Grade. The Department also state that they have under
consideration the advisability of introducing the same change
into the English papers, but do not propose to carry the
regulation into effect till June, 1904. In mathematics the only
modification worthy of note is that which requires candidates to
bring with them to the examination room simple mathematical
instruments.
AN interesting decision has just been given by a full bench of
the Court of Session as to whether a child in a public school is
bound to take part in the physical exercises prescribed by the
Code. The Court, by a majority of five to two, decided that
the managers of a school were entitled to regulate such matters
as physical exercises, especially as they were enjoined to do so
by the Public Department which had authority over them.
Parents who sent their children to public schools must conform
to the regulations of such schools unless satisfactory reasons
could be brought forward against them. It is well for the peace
and comfort of teachers that the decision has been in favour of
the school board, otherwise there was opened up an endless
prospect of parental interference in the work of the schools.
The wishes and inclinations of reasonable parents will be met
none the less because of this decision, but it keeps a rod io
pickle for the unreasonable one who now and then turns up.
APRIL, 1903. |
IRISH.
In addressing the fourth and last meeting of the first Council
of Agriculture created by the Act of 1899 the Vice-President,
Mr. Horace Plunkett, gave some figures relative to the progress
of science teaching in secondary schools during the academic
year 1902-3. This is only the second year during which the
Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction have had
their scheme in operation in intermediate schools, and the
progress cannot but be considered highly satisfactory. The
number of schools working under the scheme in the year 1901-2
was 155; in 1902-3 it rose to 192; the number of pupils
attending the courses of experimental science and drawing was
6,412 in 1901-2 and 8,706 in 1902-3, an increase of 37 in the
number of schools and 3,294 in the number of pupils. In
manual instruction and domestic economy the number of pupils
was respectively 461 and 8 in 1901-2, and 1,144 and 112 in
1902-3. In each of the 192 schools a laboratory has been pro-
vided, in many cases new buildings being specially erected,
and the estimated cost of the laboratories has been over £ 30,000.
Further, 276 teachers attended summer courses in 1901 with a
view to preparation fcr the work of the session 1901-2 ; and in
1902, 455 teachers attended similar courses to prepare for the
session of 1902-3. Mr. Plunkett also quoted equally striking
figures as to the progress of the educational work in purely
technical schools. The first Council may therefore congratulate
itself upon having very successfully initiated a forward educa-
tional movement for which there was ample room in Ireland.
It now gives way to a new Council, two-thirds of the members of
which will be appointed by the County Councils.
ANOTHER interesting departure has also been initiated by the
Department. On February t7th the first meeting took place,
at the offices of the Department, of the Committee of Heads of
Secondary Schools, recently appointed to confer with the
Department with reference to the extended programmes and
regulations for science and art instruction. The Committee con-
sisted of representatives appointed by various educational bodies,
including the Roman Catholic Headmasters’ Association, the
Protestant Schoolmasters’ Association, the community of
Christian Brothers, the Convent Schools Committee, the
Central Schoolmistresses’ Association, and the Teachers’ Guild.
The programmes related to the work of the third and fourth
years of the experimental science and drawing courses, which
will come into operation during the years 1903-4, 1904-5.
The Department was represented by the Vice-President (Mr.
Plunkett), the Secretary (Mr. T. P. Gill), the Assistant-Secre-
tary (Mr. R. Blair), and the Senior Inspector (Mr. G.
Fletcher).
In view of the inadequate endowment of Intermediate
education, the various associations representing Intermediate
teachers of all denominations were invited by the Central
Association of Irish Schoolmistresses to send delegates to a
Conference, which was held at Alexandra College on February
16th, to consider the question of petitioning the Chief Secretary
to allocate part of the equivalent grant of over £149,000 now
due to Irish education to secondary schools. It was unani-
mously resolved to ask the Chief Secretary to give the larger
part of the sum to secondary education, that part of Irish
education being the least adequately endowed. It was further
suggested that schemes for its distribution might be drawn up
by the Board of Intermediate Education after consultation with
the schools, and the Chief Secretary was asked to receive a
deputation to urge the claims of secondary education.
MEANWHILE the Intermediate Board has been making enquiries
of managers of schools as to the qualifications and salaries of the
The School World
149
teachers, and there is little doubt that it is in this direction that
most good can be done for Irish education. The Protestant
schools would naturally like to fall in line with the development
of English education, and to see the money spent in connection
with a scheme of registration and training, and there can be
little doubt that sooner or later such a scheme must come ; but
the Roman Catholic schools, in the absence of a University
which satisĥes their claims, have always been opposed to
registration as demanding qualifications which at present they
cannot possess or obtain. The existence, too, of a large number
of Catholic teaching-orders greatly differentiates Protestant and
Catholic education. l
THE Irish Association of Women Graduates and Candidate
Graduates has held its first annual meeting and adopted its
annual report, in which it is pointed out how large an amount
of work the Association has been able to do for women’s educa-
tion since its inauguration, drawing attention to the fact that in
the first Blue Book of the Royal University Commission
women’s interests had received little attention, but that in the
third a remarkable change was seen ; their case had been heard
and their views presented by two delegates of the Association
and by subsequent witnesses.
Two interesting papers have been read in Dublin; one on
March roth, in the Alexandra College, under the auspices of the
Schoolmistresses’ Association, by Prof. Mackinder, of Oxford,
on ‘* The Teaching of Geography,” and the other on March
12th, in the Royal University, in connection with the Teachers’
Guild, by Mr. J. Thompson, on “ The Pronunciation of Latin.”
THE Report of the Royal Commission on University Edu-
cation in Ireland has at last been published. We shall not
dwell upon it in this column, as it will be dealt with more fully
in our next issue.
. WELSH.
Mr. JENKYN THOMAS, the hon. secretary of the Welsh
County Schools Headmasters’ Association, has written to Mr.
Lloyd George a letter on the question of representation of
school teachers on the new education authorities. He pointed
out that, if the county councils refuse to allow outside bodies to
nominate members of the education committee unless” such
bodies have themselves been elected by the people, then this
policy would involve the exclusion of all primary and secondary
teachers from the education committees. Mr. Lloyd George in
reply considers that it would be a great misfortune so to exclude
teachers. County councils, in Mr. Lloyd George’s view, will
invite teachers, both primary and secondary, to become members
of the committee, ‘‘ but they will be men whom they choose
themselves.”
THE Holywell County School Governors have obtained from
the Board of Education the official interpretation of the words,
“reached the fifth standard.” This is stated to be that the
pupil must have passed the examinations in respect of that
standard. The County Governing Body, therefore, have now
decided that, before pupils are admitted from the elementary to
the county schools, they must produce certificates of having
passed the examinations of Standard V.
THE headmasters of the Intermediate schools in Flintshire
have passed the following resolution :—‘* That, considering the
great importance as well as the difficulty of English grammar,
as compared with the rest of the optional subjects in the
Entrance Scholarship examination, and that it is the foundation
of all progress in language study, this Association is unani-
mously of opinion that 50 per cent. more marks should be
attached to it than to the other optional subjects.”
150
Tue Llandrindod Conference of the Local Educational
Authorities of Wales to decide on a policy in view of the new
Education Act passed the following resolution :—“ That this
Conference, while conceding absolute freedom to any educa-
tional authority in regard to making local arrangements for
inspection, examination, and training of teachers, strongly urges
upon each local educational authority in Wales and Monmouth-
shire to make provision in its scheme for the constitution—under
the powers conferred by the Education Act, 1902, section 17,
sub-section 5; section 23, sub-section 2; and the Local Govern-
ment Act, 1888, section 81—of a joint education committee for
Wales and Monmouthshire. That in the opinion of this Con-
ference the functions of such committee should be restricted to
examination and inspection of all schools and the co-ordination
and the training of teachers of all grades. That such joint com-
mittee should in the opinion of this Conference be composed
exclusively of members of the constituent education authorities.”
A committee was appointed to draw up a scheme. This
involves eventually a request for a Government Education
Department for Wales, at least so the mover of the resolution
declared.
Most important of all the speeches, perhaps, at the Llan-
drindod Conference was that of Lord Kenyon, who boldly advo-
cated the desirability of an understanding between churchmen
and nonconformists, and undertook to call a meeting which
should be representative in North Wales of those who managed
the voluntary schools. A committee was appointed by the Con-
ference to meet the representatives of voluntary schools. There
is a sense of hopefulness arising in the Principality that such a
conference may settle the basis of a concordat and that thus, as
Lord Kenyon said, ‘‘ the blessings of education for the children
of Wales may be secured, and that once and for all the question
of education may be put outside the limits of party politics.”
In the report of the Scholarships Committee to the Denbigh-
shire County Council, reference is made to a suggestion which
had been before them as to the importance of modern languages
and the best mode of giving instruction in them by means of a
travelling teacher. The question, it was said, had been referred
to the head teachers of the county schools and it was unani-
mously decided that there would not be any educational advan-
tages by the employment of a travelling teacher for modern
languages. Professor Lloyd at this meeting drew attention to
the custom which has been established at Ruthin County School
for Girls whereby each pupil leaving school is asked to give a
book to the school library.
CURRENT HISTORY.
Tue authorities of British Guiana are preparing to celebrate
this year the centenary of their existence as a British colony.
In 18c3 the territory was taken from the Dutch. Who were
the Dutch from whom we captured their South American
colony, and how came it about that we were then at war with
a country which since the time of William III. has generally
been our good friend and ally, which indeed was in the
eighteenth century described by Frederick the Great as Britain’s
«cock-boat®? It is a curious story, our relations with the
“Dutch.” We helped them against Spain to gain their inde-
pendence in the sixteenth century. We fought with them in
the seventeenth for commercial supremacy. In the eighteenth we
maintained their independence against France, under the name
of the ‘Protestant Liberties of Europe.” But they were
conquered by France at last in 1795, and made into a ** Batavian
Republic,” which lasted ull, in 1805, Napoleon placed his
brother Louis on the throne of ‘ Holland.” It was, therefore,
Ime Se
World
[APRIL, 1903.
from the Batavian Republic, an ally, often an unwilling ally of
France, that we conquered Guiana. When the Treaty of
Amiens was broken over the ‘“‘ Malta” and other affairs,
Napoleon forced the Dutch to declare war with us in May, 1803,
and by the end of September Dutch Guiana had become British,
and though we gladly erected the Netherlands into a kingdom
in 1815, and guaranteed it against aggression, we did not restore
the colony.
‘‘THE first representative of independent Cuba to Spain pre-
sented his credentials to the King last January. Complimen-
tary speeches were exchanged.” In 1785, John Adams, the
first Minister of the United States of America to Great Britain,
presented his credentials to the King on June Ist. Complimen-
tary speeches were exchanged, which may be read in Stanhope’s
and other standard histories of the time. It was Spain that,
together with France, helped to secure the independence of the
formerly British colonies. But it was a policy to which Spain
committed herself with much fear of the ullimate results. The
Spanish ministers of the time hoped that the British would
conquer their colonies lest the Spanish colonies should catch
the dame, and feared that the colonies would, if successful, adopt
measures for conquests of their neighbours. But Spain was too
closely allied with France by the famous Family Compact of
1761 to hold back when France helped the colonies, to revenge
herself for the loss of Canada. The independence of the
British colonies was secured by the help of the Bourbons, and
the resultant United States of America, though ‘‘ the most
peaceful nation in the world,” have since gone “ conquering and
to conquer.” They have now left to Spain nothing of her
former colonial empire, and they control to a large extent the
international policy of the whole western continent.
Tue French bishops have been asking for the beatification of
Jeanne Darc, “in whom, in the fifteenth century, was incarnated
the soul of the French fatherland, and who passed across our
history as a radiant apparition of the love of Christ for the
Franks.” Jeanne Darc and George Washington are, perhaps,
the only two enemies of the English State whom Englishmen
admire. It is curious how anti-patriotic most of us become
when dealing with the career of those two soldiers. George
Washington has long been “ beatified,’ so far as Americans
require. Indeed, he reached that position before his death.
The French folk, belonging to theocratic Europe, want some-
thing more, and have therefore had to wait longer. The word
‘¢ Franks ” has had a curious history. We know in history
the Franks who under the lead of Hlodowig (Clovis) conquered
Latin-speaking Celts, and then abandoned their German
speech for that of their conquerors. We know, too, that the
Mohammedan enemies of the Crusaders called their western
foemen Franks. But when modern Frenchmen, whose blood
and language is mainly Latin-Celtic, identify themselves with
the followers of Hlodowig, and count ‘‘ Clovis ° as the first
“ King of France,” we are tempted to smile. Napoleon made a
clever use of this unhistoric practice when he spoke of himself
as the successor of ‘‘ Charlemagne,” and called himself ‘‘ Im-
perator Francorum.”
Casselľs ‘ Union Jack” Series. Book I. 110 pp. 8d.—
The form of this reading-book suggests that the first duty of the
young Imperialist is to learn to read. Or, at least, this seems
the interpretation to be placed upon the Union Jack on the
front cover, the music and words of ‘ God save the King” and
“ Rule Britannia” on the insides of the covers, and the portrait
of His Majesty with which the little volume commences. And
if this conjecture is correct, the illustrations and the lessons
themselves together combine to make the duty a simple and
delightful one.
The
APRIL, 1903.]
TEST EXAMINATION PAPERS IN
ENGLISH.
AT the request of a number of our readers, we are resuming
the publication of test papers suitable as revision exercises for
candidates in the principal public examinations of secondary
schools. We have decided to vary the form of publication, and
to deal with one subject only at a time, in the hope that
teachers will in this way secure a large selection of questions in
various subjects in a more convenient form.
London Matriculation.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
I.—Language. (Not more than SEVEN questions to be attempted.)
(1) Distinguish between the Teutonic and the Romance
elements of the English vocabulary, and write two short
sentences, one containing no words of Romance origin, the other
none of Teutonic. Which is the easier to write, and why ?
(2) What letters are called ‘‘ mutes”? Illustrate the changes
they have undergone in shifting from the ‘* Classical ” languages
to the Low German ones.
(3) Discuss these forms :—porringer, uttermost, wist, next,
potion, poison, vixen, or, could, its.
(4) We write Ae thinks; why do we not write Ae musts?
Illustrate your answer by reference to some other words.
(5) What is the history of the so-called gerund in English ?
(6) Distinguish between the uses of who and ¿hat as con-
junctive pronouns. Explain the phrase indzrect question.
(7) What is the difference in meaning between vocation
and avoca/ion, tmmanence and eminence, deduction and in-
duction, distinguish and discriminate, liberty and freedom?
Give examples of words the meanings of which have been
modified during the last three hundred years.
(8) Explain the terms:—idiom, verbiage,
paronym, simile, solecism.
(9) Point out any errors that are common in ordinary
colloquial speech. State exactly what you understand by
“good English.”
(10) Analyse :—
It is not to be thought of that the flood
Of British Freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world’s praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flow’d ‘* with pomp of waters unwithstood ”—
Roused though it be full often to a mood
Which spurns the check of salutary bands- ~
That this most famous stream in bogs and sands
Should perish, and to evil and to good
Be lost for ever.
homonym,
Ii.— Literature and Composition. (Not more than THREE
questions to be attempted.)
(1) “From the times of Elizabeth to our own there has
been no break in the line of great writers.” Justify this
Statement.
(2) What do you know about Jacques, Euphues, Sancho
Panza, Quentin Durward, Dr. Primrose, Isaac Bickerstaff,
Bottom, Captain Costigan, Mulvaney ?
(3) What is meant by Lyric Poetry? Write out any sonnet
you have learnt, and explain its structure.
(4) Enumerate and illustrate the chief peculiarities of poetic
diction.
(5) Write a few notes on the authors of the following :—
Comus, Hudibras, Gullivers Travels, Vanity Fair, Tale of Two
Cities, Hypatia, Crossing the Bar, Lucy Gray, The House of
Fame, The Spanish Armada.
School World
I51
Scotch Leaving Certificate.
ENGLISH. (Aitgher Grade.)
(1) Write an essay on one of the following subjects :—
(i) Alien Immigration. (ii) Conscription—its advantages
and disadvantages. (ili) Present-day developments in the
means of communication.
(2) Paraphrase :—
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
So do our minutes hasten to their end ;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crowned,
Crooked eclipses ’gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth,
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow ;
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands 4é for his scythe fo mow:
And yet, to times in hope, my verse shall stand
Praising Thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
(3) Parse the words in italics.
(4) Make a general analysis of the following sentence :—
In fact, up to twenty years ago, the word ‘‘ether” was a
familiar name, a great convenience in bridging a tremendous
void in science which nobody knew anything about, or ever
would know anything about, so far as could then be seen.
(5) In what respects is our orthographical system unsatis-
factory ?
(6) Give the derivation of each of the following words and
add comments where necessary :—-porringer, eclectic, kickshaws,
tawdry, gossip, treacle, chattels, lunatic, queen, bridegroom.
(7) Explain and illustrate :—doublet, elegy, metaphor,
assonance, onomatopocia, satire, epic, gerund, archaism.
(8) At what different periods has a French element been
introduced into our language? Give examples.
(9) Correct the following sentences, and add explanations :—
(a) Having perceived the weakness of his poems, they now
reappear to us under other titles.
(b) Whether we shall succeed or no depends on ourselves.
(c) More than one soldier met his death at that encounter.
(4) Before committing yourself to any speculation of this
kind you should first consult the authorities.
(c) I am not judging so much by his looks as by the
cultured ease of his demeanour.
(10) Narrate, as vividly as you can, one scene from any
famous drama or novel.
(11) Give some account of any elegiac poem you have read.
(Lower Grade.)
(1) Write a short essay of about two pages on :—
(i) Scenes at a Railway Station or (ii) a Soldier's Duties.
(2) Express the following passage in your own words :—
My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.
The shattering trumpet shrilleth high,
The hard brands shiver on the steel,
The splinter’d spear-shafts crack and fly,
The horse and rider reel ;
They reel, they roll in clanging lists,
And when the tide of combat stands,
Perfume and flowers fall in showers,
That lightly rain from /adies’ hands.
(3) Analyse the last four lines.
(4) Parse the words in italics.
ENGLISH.
152
———
(5) Correct the following sentences and give reasons for any
alterations you make :—
(2) Whom is it you saw ?
(4) The //rad is different than the Odyssey.
(c) Each of the boys had a pole in their hands.
(d) Of all other cities London is the biggest.
(6) Distinguish between the meanings of :—currants and
currents, practice and practise, dessert and desert, diseased and
deceased, faint and feint, and make sentences to illustrate these
differences.
(7) Explain what is meant by the comparison of adjectives.
What kinds of adjectives cannot be compared ?
(8) Mention, with their anthors, the names of any six poems
that deal with the sea. Quote a few lines from as many of the
poems as you can.
(9) About what time was each of the following authors
living ?--Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Chaucer, Defoe, Johnson.
State briefly what you know about the life and works of one of
them.
College of Preceptors.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (Second Class.)
(1) Analyse :—
There was a time when meadow, grove and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The g/ory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore—
Turn wheresoc’er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
(2) Parse the words in italics of Question I.
(3) Comment on the syntax of the following sentences :—
(a) He had a large fortune, and which was quite different
to his brothers’.
(6) A large collection of books, that nobody knew the value
of, were sold by auction.
(c) Not less than six questions are to be attempted, and
having done this, the papers must be given in.
(d) The jury were unanimous in their verdict, and the
prisoner was condemned for death.
(4) Define *‘ Transitive Verb,” and show how your definition
is applicable to the following sentences:—(a) Men eat;
(+) They were killed by the lions; (c) I am not to be
laughed at.
(5) Illustrate the various ways in which adverbs are formed
in English.
What can an adverb modify? Give examples.
(6) What are the distinctions of meaning between :—
(a) eldest and oldest ; (+) first and foremost; (c) nearest and
next; (@) later and latter? Give examples.
(7) Show how the subject of a sentence may be enlarged.
Make two sentences in one of which the subjoined clause is the
principal subject, in the other the object.
“ Who committed the murder.”
(8) Give examples of the employment of the suffix en in the
formation of nouns, adjective and verbs, and state the force of
the suffix in each case.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (Third Class.)
Study the following passage before answering Questions
I, 2, 3, 4-
“ Wellington, who saw them coming on, placed his own
guards four deep in a ditch behind the slope, and waited in
silence for the charge. When the French gained the ridge they
The School World
[ APRIL, 1903.
noticed only Wellington and his staff. But the next moment
they heard a voice—it was the Duke’s—like the shrill blast of a
trumpet, cry, ‘ Up, guards, and at them!’ From the ground
there started, as if by magic, a long line of redcoats, who poured
a deadly volley into the French and then rushed at them with
cold steel.”
(1) Say what parts of speech the following words are, and
give your reasons in each case :—who, deep, only, heard, blast,
up, French.
(2) Parse fully : ‘f and then rushed at them with cold steel.”
(3) Give the subjects and, where possible, the direct objects
of the following verbs :— saw, placed, gained, placed, started,
poured, rushed.
(4) Give the two participles of :—saw, waited, noticed, cry;
and write out the future tense of rushed.
(5) What isa phrase? Pick out three phrases in the above
passage and say to what word each belongs.
(6) What are the rules for forming the plurals of nouns ?
(7) Compare the following adjectives :—beautiful, pretty, big,
much, gay, tender, ill, noisy.
(8) Write, with capitals, stops, inverted commas, &c. :—in
the midst of the battle when every man was sure of victory a
bullet from a french ship struck nelson in the back and he fell with
face forwards on the deck captain hardy was soon at his side
hardy said nelson they have done for me at last i hope not said
hardy yes replied nelson my backbone is shot through.
Oxford Locals.
ENGLISH. (Sevzor.)
(1) Analyse :—
As long as we remain we must speak free,
Tho’ all the storm of Europe on us break ;
No little German state are we,
But the one voice in Europe ; we must speak ;
That if to-night our greatness were struck dead,
There might be left some record of the things we said.
(2) Parse fully the words in italics :—
(a) Theirs not to reason why.
(5) So we made women with their children go.
(c) Had’st thou buw lived !
(d) Old Time is still a-Zying.
(3) Discuss the syntax of these sentences :—
(a) Methinks nobody should be sad but I.
(4) They neither ill-treated him at play or work.
(c) I shall have great pleasure in accepting your invitation.
(7) I had rather not go.
(4) What principles do you apply in the classification of a verb
as Strong or Weak? Give examples.
(5) What are the chief rules for the comparison of adjectives ?
Explain the formation of eldest, nearer, furthest, former.
(6) Trace as exactly as you can the formation of the following
words :—érzdecroom, which, number, or, such, one, kine.
(7) Explain the following terms :—Transitive, Clause, Appo-
sition, Gerund, Doublet, Conjunctive Adverb.
(8) Explain the suffixes of the following words :—kingdom,
every, seemly, farthing, hardship, piecemeal, orchard, dullard,
hillock, balloon.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
(Juntor.)
(1) Parse:
For ever in this humble cell
Let thee and me, my fair one, dwell.
(2) Paraphrase :—
The small inheritance my father left me
Contenteth me and is worth a monarchy.
I seek not to wax great by others’ waning,
APRIL, 1903. ]
Or gather wealth I care not with what envy ;
Enough that what I have maintains my state
And sends the poor well pleased from my gate.
(3) Analyse :—
Nature, that hateth emptiness,
Allows of penetration less,
And therefore must make room
Where greater spirits come.
(4) Give in a table of three columns the past indefinite tense
(Ist person singular), and the imperfect and perfect participles
of :—éring, swim, lay, lose, run, drench, prefer, differ, light,
choose.
(5) State four different ways of forming the plurals of simple
nouns, with examples.
Give the plurals of :—looker-on, castaway, Lord Mayor,
groom-in-waiting, knight-errant, Miss Gray.
(6) What class of verbs may take an object ?
Rewrite the following sentence, changing the verbs into the
Active Voice :—‘ They were immediately followed by us, but
were not captured until two of them had been shot by our
soldiers. ”
(7) Write sentences containing examples of adverbial phrases,
adjective clauses, verbs of incomplete predication, nominatives
absolute, gerunds.
(8) What are the chief uses of the prefixes :—2n-, re-, sub- ;
and of the suffixes :— -dy, -ock, -th? Give examples.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (Preléminary.)
(1) Parse :—‘‘ Fifteen men were sitting in the hall when we
arrived.” _
(2) Put into your own words :—
Far Kentish hop-fields round him seem’d
Like dreams to come and go;
Bright leagues of cherry-blossom gleam’d,
One sheet of living snow ;
The smoke, above his father’s door,
In gray soft eddyings hung :
Must he then watch it rise no more,
Doom'd by himself, so young ?
(3) What parts of speech may the following be :—round, in,
that? Give instances.
(4) What is meant by the degree of an adjective? Compare:
— many, good, beautiful, sad, little.
(5) What are (a) Transitive, (4) Strong, verbs? Parse the
verbs in :—‘“ Many sailors left their homes and sought those
new lands of which glorious reports were spread by every
traveller that returned.”
(6) Mention some conjunctions that are used in pairs.
are they called? Write sentences containing them.
(7) How do you distinguish prepositions from adverbs ?
What
Cambridge Locals.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (Senior.)
(1) Analyse :— As predominant habits of warfare are totally
irreconcilable with those of industry, not merely by the im-
mediate works of destruction which render its efforts
unavailing, but through ¢hat contempt of peaceful occupations
which they produce, the feudal system must have been in-
trinsically adverse to the accumulation of wealth and the
improvement of those arts which mitigate the evi/s or abridge
the labours of mankind.
(2) Parse fully the words in italics in Question 1.
(3) What isa diphthong? From the following words make a
No. 52, VoL. 5.]
The School World
eee ee
list of those which contain true diphthongs:-—noble, note,
noise, noon, now, name, net, night, naught.
(4) What are the chief uses of the ‘‘ articles?”
a-dozen phrases in which the article is omitted.
(5) Distinguish carefully between (a) demonstrative adjectives
and demonstrative pronouns ; (4) conjunctions and conjunctive
adverbs ; (c) the simple infinitive and the gerundial infinitive.
(6) Give examples of (a) double plurals ; (6) plurals that have
become singular ; (c) singulars that have become plurals.
What traces remain in English of lost adjectival terminations ?
(7) Show clearly that English in its origin and basis is a
Teutonic language. By what other Teutonic languages has it
been influenced since its coming into this island ?
(8) Name and define the etymological changes of which the
following words are examples :—apron, tender, what, ask.
Give examples of the different uses of the suffix ez, Detine
hybrid, doublet.
Give half-
ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
(Junior.)
(1) Analyse :— Therefore I sat upright, with my little trident
still in one hand, and was much afraid to speak to her, being
conscious of my country brogue, lest she shou/d cease to like me.
But she clapped her hands, and made a ¢rifing dance round my
back, and came to me on the other side, as ¿f I were a great
plaything.
(2) Parse the words in italics in Question 1.
(3) How may prepositions be classified? Give examples of
off used as (a) a preposition, (4) an adverb, (c) an adjective.
(4) Explain the following words and phrases :—methinks, so
be it, I go a-fishing, a friend of mine, get you gone.
(5) Define Zense. Give all the tenses, indicative mood,
active and passive, of the verb /0 dear.
(6) Explain carefully what is meant by a relative pronoun.
By what other name is it known? Parse fully the relative pro-
nouns in this sentence :—‘‘ I know that the man whom you are
seeking is not such a genius as you think, and his is certainly an
acquaintance that I should not cultivate.”
(7) Explain, and illustrate the use of, the terms :—Complex
Object, Gerundial Infinitive, Prepositional Phrase, Subordinate
Clause, Indirect Question.
(8) Give instances of (a) diminutive suffixes, (6) negative
pretixes.
What is meant by a root ?
ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (Pre/iminary.)
(1) What is the function of each word in the following sen-
tence :—‘“‘ Twelve of the largest monkeys quickly ran across the
bridge.”
(2) What do you understand by (a) Tense, (4) Case ?
Parse fully :—
One of his own ancestry
Drove the monks out of Coventry.
(3) Give the plurals of : chimney, hero, dormouse, daisy; the
feminine of :—/fox, wizard, abbot, duke ; the objective case of :—
I, we, he, she, who.
(4) What is an auxiliary verb? What is the auxiliary verb
used in forming the passive voice of a verb? Parse the verbs in
the following sentences :—
(a) I am coming. (4) I am betrayed. (c) Are you glad
(5) Show that the same word may be used as different parts of
speech.
Make a sentence consisting of a verb, three nouns, two
adjectives, a pronoun, an adverb, and a preposition.
(6) Analyse the following sentences :—
(a) John saw two ponies in the field.
(b) Where are you going?
(c) Do not take the fish from the hook yet.
154
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Classics.
The Aeneid of Virgil. Literally rendered into English blank
verse. By T. H. Delabere May. 2 vols. ix. + 433 pp.
(Nutt.) 5s. net.—This is certainly a very literal rendering,
bald in fact, and it is not correct to describe it as blank verse.
The blank-verse rhythm, which depends so largely upon the
distribution of pauses, is not to be found in these lines: they are
stiff and monotonous. But the translation does not pretend to be
more than a ‘‘crib,” composed in metrical lengths because the
translator thinks it is more easily to be remembered in this
form: and it attains its modest object. It is generally careful
and correct. Cyclops, however, is not a plural (p. 95). There
is some originality in the spelling of proper names, such as
“ Sibyll” (p. 162) and ‘* Passiphae ” (p. 169).
M. Val. Martialis Epigrammata Selecta, secundum recogni-
tionem W. M. Lindsay. Oxonii: e Typographeo Clarendoniano.
Not paged. 3s. 6d.—This book undoubtedly meets a want, and
will be welcomed by school teachers. It includes all the decent
portions of Martial—a very large proportion of the whole—
reprinted from the edition in the Oxford Bibliotheca, with the
critical notes and the numbering of the original. Strange that
no one has thought of doing this before. It is just the book for
schools, to be kept at hand while reading Juvenal and read pari
passu with him.
Illustrations of School Classics. Arranged and described by
G. F. Hill. With 29 coloured plates. x. + 503 pp. (Mac-
millan.) 10s. 6¢.—This is an admirable little book. Messrs.
Macmillan have collected together the illustrations used in their
school classics, and Mr. Hill has edited and arranged them.
Thus the illustrations are such as have been found practically
useful for the chief authors used in schools. Mr. Hill’s com-
petence as an editor will not be doubted by any one, and we
need say no more than that the book is worthy of his reputation.
Fach picture is fully described, and moreover a bibliography of
references is added for each in case readers wish to pursue the
subject further. As the illustrations are now classified, anyone
who is interested, say, in Zeus, can glance his eye over the
successive pages and thus get some connected ideas of the myths
connected with him. We have only two general criticisms to
offer. First, the book is thick and unwieldy owing to the heavy
paper. Secondly, we regret that the pictures have been
bowdlerized, or mutilated of all sign of sex. This is not only
inartistic, but equally with the figleaf serves to attract attention
to what no one would otherwise notice. It is a piece of
prudishness which we might well leave to Italy or Germany.
Otherwise we cordially recommend the book.
The Cyclops of Euripides. By J. Henson. xv. + 63 pp.
(Blackie.) 15. 6¢.—This book appears to be well suited for a
boy’s first Greek play: it is easy and short. The notes are
short and to the point; the illustrations mostly good (but as
usual in this series without proper references). The title-page
mentions a vocabulary; but there is none in this book, we are
glad to see. The list of verbs will be useful.
A Lotular Hanitbook to the Greek and Roman Antiquities in
the British Aluseum. Compiled by Edward T. Cook. xxii. +
794 pp. (Macmillan.) 10s. 6¢. net.—-Mr. Cook's ** Handbook
to the National Gallery” is well known; it is really sufficient
praise to say that the present book is quite as good. It is so
__ The School
World
arranged that the visitor can carry it round with him, and find
his way; it is selective, only those objects which are specially
interesting being noted; and discursive, quotations being given
from the best authorities both on archaeology and on art, whilst
Mr. Cook’s own impressions are often quite fresh and instructive.
It is surprising how much the author has learnt, seeing that
his chief interests have been elsewhere ; but his references to the
literature of the subject show a quite competent knowledge.
In spite of the great quantity of detail, this book is interesting to
read, and there are very few scholars who will not learn a great
deal from it. One thing every one will learn from it, if he be
capable of learning it at all—an intelligent appreciation of the
beauties of ancient art. Mr. Cook has done a great service to
the public by compiling this book.
[APRIL, 1903.
Edited Books.
Macaulay's Lays. By W. J. Addis. 95 + xxiv. pp. (Allman.)
1s.—This volume, to judge by its table of contents as compared
with its pages, should be a wonderful example of the multum in
parvo principle. Examination discloses the fact that the editor
has conscientiously endeavoured to act upon that noble motto.
Everything in the book is good of its kind, only the method
throughout is mechanical. The ‘‘ Hints for Classes” are devised
to save some labour which otherwise would be unavoidable, for
the arrangement of the whole is complete enough in all con-
science. And when in these ‘‘Hints” Mr. Addis starts by
saying that ‘in every case a thorough knowledge of the topo-
graphy is advisable,” surely he is setting up a standard which
even an upper-form boy would not very easily attain. Four of
Macaulay’s Lays are included in this volume, but the “‘ Life ”” of
Macaulay is an ineffective performance.
Longfellow's Hiawatha. viii. + 84 pp. Longfellow’s Evan-
geline. By F. Gorse. 59 pp. (Holden.) 6d. each.—Two
very careful editions of poems which have not perhaps received
their due recognition as educational subjects. The notes
to “ Evangeline” are worthy of attention, because in some
cases the editor, instead of explaining a point, asks a question
upon it: €g., pP- 43, ‘ Mighty—in what sense?” ; p. 45, ‘Why
wavering?” ; p. 50, ‘¢ ‘ Farewell,’ said the Priest ’’—to whom 2”
This procedure is somewhat unusual, but it is by no means
inexpedient. The literary matter is trifling in this case, and not
less so in the edition of ‘‘ Hiawatha,” where, however, the notes
are excellent.
King Henry V. By R. F. Cholmeley. 167 pp. (Holden.)
1s. 6d.—The notes are excellent, though it is questionable,
considering the present state in which prosody exists in school-
work, whether the notes on metre suhserve any end worth
considering.
Marryat’s The Children of the New Forest. Abridged.
167 pp. (Bell.) 1s.—No introduction ; not even a preface ; no
notes; some illustrations which cannot fail to be attractive to
juveniles, and a fairly careful abridgment of the text of a well-
known story; such are the distinctive points of this reading
book, We can recommend it heartily. It will answer its
purpose.
Kingsley s Heroes. By A. E. Roberts. xix. + 167 pp.
(Bell.) 2s.—A capital edition, but one conceived on the same
general lines as two or three recently issued. Originality of
treatment is perhaps somewhat discounted by the story, but
uniformity only tends to remove any real raison détre among
competing editions. The book is attractively bound, printed,
and illustrated.
APRIL, 1903.]
The Acts of the Apostles. By A. E. Rubie. 209 pp.
(Methuen.) 25.—Like all the preceding volumes in the well-
known ‘junior school ” series, it is carefully done. The notes
are good, and so are the appendices, especially those numbered
three and four, but the introductory matter gets over a great deal
of ground at a too rapid pace. A little more space, and a little
greater fulness in treating this part of the book, would have
improved it. There are some excellent maps.
A Concise Bible Dictionary. (Based on the Cambridge Com-
panion to the Bible.) viii.+160 pp. (Pitt Press.) 1s. net.—
If it had been possible to have used type a little larger than that
which prevails throughout most pages of this edition, its perfect
adaptation to the need of securing a thoroughly handy, condensed,
cheap and trustworthy guide to ‘ Scripture knowledge ” would
have called for emphatic praise. As it is, there is no end of in-
formation compressed within its covers: some beautiful maps
are appended; every possible point dealing with the places and
history of Bible lands receives attention; and some articles
are included bearing upon the somewhat weightier matters which
lie at the bottom of all Scripture study, to say nothing of a few
attempts (highly successful attempts, too) to deal with some
doctrinal subjects in a non-controversial way. But the type is
too small.
A First Course in English Literature. By Richard Wilson.
144 pp. (Arnold.) 1s.—This is a simple and at the same
time useful book. It is adapted to the middle forms of schools,
and contains much information attractively presented. The book
is not a guide to literary criticism but a brief elementary history
of English literature. As such it will be found trustworthy
for examination purposes. Its chief fault is its lack of sug-
gestiveness. It tells a reader what for his immediate practical
purpose he wants to know; it may be questioned whether the
use of it will stimulate much independent inquiry.
English.
Literary Studies of Poems, New and Old. By Dr. Dorothea
Beale. ii. +170 pp. (Bell.) 4s.—-Miss Beale’s book consists
mainly of papers written for English literature classes at the
Ladies’ College, Cheltenham. They do not pretend to be
serious contributions to literary criticism, and no one of them is
a complete and reasoned study of all the aspects of a chosen
topic or a chosen poem. At the same time they are by no
means a hastily prepared dish of literary commonplaces. Each
essay bears the mark of personal thought and conveys personal
impressions and conclusions. Although the subjects are various,
selected to meet special occasions and not forming a systematic
series, a certain unity pervades them. For Miss Beale treats
literature as something to be understood and appreciated rather
than as matter to be dissected, paraphrased and annotated.
In interpreting the ‘‘ poems, new and old,” she expounds
especially their religious and ethical purpose and to a slighter
extent their aesthetic aim. The principal papers in the book
show how from these points of view a play of Shakespeare like
“ King Lear,” a difficult poem such as Browning’s ** Christmas
Eve,” a poet like Dante and his whole work, a poetical
personage like Spenser’s ‘‘ Britomart,” and a poetical theme
such as the religious teaching of Browning, can be handled by a
skilled and cultured teacher. The warmth of the method of
treatment will perhaps appeal more to women than to the
soberer enthusiasm of men.
History.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe. Part I.
(the Middle Ages). By J. H. Robinson. viii. + 273 pp.
(Ginn.) 4s. 6¢.—This is an excellent little book from the Pro-
fessor of History in Columbia University, U.S.A., well illus-
The School World
ee,
trated, and provided with bibliographies. More prominent,
because more necesssary than the recent story of events, is the
explanation given of ways of thought and life in the centuries
between the fifth and thirteenth. We cordially recommend the
book to all our readers.
The British Empire in the Nineteenth Century. 232 pp.
(Blackie.)—The title should read ‘‘ mainly in the Nineteenth
Century,” for there is much matter, almost necessarily and cer-
tainly well introduced, which relates to the eighteenth century.
It is a well-written ‘‘ reading-book fur schools ” which mini-
mises more than usually the military matters and devotes the
space thus saved to chapters on the industrial revolution at home
and to the peaceful growth of our colonies. There are illustra-
tions, coloured and other, a summary, ‘‘ notes and illustrations. ”
This book may be used with contidence.
English History Illustrated from Original Sources. 16000-
1715. By J. N. Figgis. xx. + 114 + iii. + 207 pp. (Black.)
2s.—Like the other books of the series which we have previously
noted, this consists of introduction, selections from authorities,
bibliography and date summary. It is, like them too, divided
into two parts, a device for which we fail to see the reason, and
in this case leads to some otherwise unnecessary repetition. Mr.
Figgis has, we think, performed well the task of selection,
ditticult as this comes to be in the later periods. We wish,
however, he had made some discrimination in his bibliography,
and had called Burnet’s book by its correct title, ‘ History
of my own Time.” The book will be very useful.
A First History of England. Part IV., 1485-1603. By C. L.
Thomson. xii. + 264 pp. (Horace Marshall.) 1s. 6d.---Miss
Thomson here tells the story of the Tudor Period in the delight-
ful way in which she has previously treated the earlier portions
of our story. We are glad to note that the constitutional
history, so far as it is touched upon, is correct. We heartily
commend this book to our readers, and look forward to its
continuation.
A Survey of English Ethics. By W. A. Hirst. li. +
180 pp. (Longmans.) 3s. 6d. -This is a reprint of the first
chapter of Lecky’s * History of European Morals,” edited with
introduction and notes. The notes are few and chiefly consist
in translations of the Latin and French passages in Lecky’s book.
There is also a short bibliography, and a biographical index of
philosophers. The whole makes a good introduction to the
subject of which it treats.
A New Student's Atlas of English History. By Emil Reich.
(Macmillan.) 1os.net.—-This Atlas contains hfty-five maps, an
introduction of two pages, and an index of fifteen. Thirty-five
of the maps have explanations, historical in character. About
half the maps illustrate military campaigns. The special feature
of these consists in coloured lines indicating the marches of the
armies. Of the others, those which are of a specially novel
character are a ‘‘ Part of Domesday,” ‘‘ Tudor Discoveries and
Voyages,” and the three last maps which aim ata ‘ geographical
distribution of British genius.” The work throughout is quite
scholarly and up to date with the latest information, It will be
found a useful addition to the teacher’s library.
English Grammar and Composition.
Essentials of English Composition. By H.S.and M. Tarbell.
xv. + 281 pp. (Ginn.) 3s.—This volume is a little less
academic in its aims than most American books on composition.
The second chapter of it, for instance, goes somewhat fully into
the different modes of letter-writing, and includes hints and
exercises on telegrams, advertisements, circulars and the like.
Another useful chapter is that on “A Study of Longfellow ”—
156
the chief idea being to provide the child with material for
practice in composition: at the same time a capable teacher
will make it the means of inculcating, at any rate, something
of the literary spirit.
A Primer of Historical English Grammar. By Bertha M.
Skeat. viii. + 119 pp. (Blackie.) 2s. 6¢.—A new text-book
that gives in a concise form information that will certainly be
of use to those for whom, amongst others, it is intended—
would-be matriculants of the University of London. The nine
chapters of the volume are as follows :—(1) Where the English
language came from; (2) the English tongue in England;
(3) growth of vocabulary, borrowings; (4) vowel changes ;
(5) consonantal changes; (6) spelling ; (7) accentuation; (8)
derivation ; (9) inflexion—the last containing 35 pages. So far
as we have been able to judge, the book is quite accurate ; it
has had the advantage of a revision in proof by Professor Skeat,
and a further point in its favour is its comparative conciseness.
Science and Technology.
Theoretical Organic Chemistry. By Julius B. Cohen. xv.
+578 pp. (Macmillan.) 6s.—One of the most important and
novel features of Dr. Cohen’s book is the attention paid to the
industrial applications of organic chemistry, and students other
than beginners will derive benefit from reading the sections on
the sugar industry, the petroleum industry, and the manufacture
and analysis of soap. In its main outlines the book follows the
course usually adopted in teaching organic chemistry, but the
descriptions given of Lansberger’s apparatus for determining the
elevation of the boiling point, of Young and Thomas’ still-head,
of Buchner’s researches on yeast extracts and of the synthetical
manufacture of indigo, show that the author is fully in touch
with recent developments in the subject with which he deals ;
the synthesis of cane-sugar, referred toon p. 4, must be regarded,
for the present, as an anticipation. Brief descriptions are
given of the most important dye-stuffs, of the ureides, and of
the vegetable alkaloids and terpenes. The author has not ven-
tured to introduce Bredt’s formula for camphor, and is perhaps
awaiting the long-sought synthesis. Tautomerism is dealt with
briefly under ethyl acetoacetate, and is again referred to in con-
nection with nitrosophenol and phloroglucinol, but no indication
is given that the nitroparafins belong to the same class of sub-
stances, or that their salts do not contain a nitro group. The
book is well illustrated and contains descriptions of a number of
experiments, many of which are suitable for use as lecture
experiments.
Elementary Lessons in Chemistry. By W. L. Sargant.
163 pp. (Blackwood.) Is. 6¢.—This volume is divided into
forty lessons, which are to some extent arranged in the historical
order of discovery. The first paragraph of each lesson is
generally devoted to a brief historical summary, and is followed
by one or more simple experiments which may be demon-
strated to a class; and, at the end of the lesson, several
exercises and problems are given for the student to work out
in a heuristic manner. Problems in physics are rigidly ex-
cluded. The volume is clearly illustrated with 98 diagrams
of the necessary apparatus (which is very simple in construction).
If the requirements of certain examining bodies have to be taken
into consideration (and, unfortunately, this is often the case), the
book would have been rendered more useful by the insertion of
lessons on neutralisation of acids and alkalis, and on the
identification of simple substances. In the lesson on Dalton’s
law, the weights of atoms are expressed in a/s—the hydrogen
atom weighing I af: the introduction of this new expression
is decidedly unfortunate. The author has succeeded in com-
piling an interesting and useful course of instruction for
beginners,
The School World |
[APRIL, 1903.
Qualitative Analysis. By L. M. Dennisand T. Whittelsey.
142 pp. (Ginn.) 45. 6¢.—The introduction to this volume con-
tains instructive sections on Reactions, Equations, Precipitation,
&c. Part II. is devoted to the study of the reactions of the
metallic elements ; each group is followed by a table giving
details of the method of separation and by a ‘‘ Discussion” of
the principles upon which the method is based. The reactions
of the acid radicles form Part IlI. of the book. Part IV. de-
scribes the systematic analysis of a solid substance. The authors
appear tu lay very little stress upon the “ dry tests,” for no table
of these tests is piven, and, even in the reactions of the metals,
the familiar beads of silver or lead, the coloured flames of the
barium group, and most of the borax-bead tests are unmentioned.
Marsh’s test for arsenic and antimony is not mentioned, but is
replaced by the ‘‘ Gutzeit ” test, which does not appear to offer
any great advantage. The methods of separation of groups
II.B. and III. differ widely from those which are in general
use in English laboratories. The volume contains many sug-
gestions which would be useful to teachers, but would only be
suited to junior students as a book’ of reference. The typing
and arrangement of the subject-matter are excellent.
Elementary Manual on Applied Mechanics. By Andrew
Jamieson. xvi. + 345 pp. (Griffin.) 35. 6¢.—This is a fifth
edition, arranged to meet the requirements of first-year Board of
Education, and other elementary students, and contains all the
subjects usually forming part of an elementary course. An
additional chapter deals with micrometer and limit-measuring
gauges. There is a good selection of exercises, but in the
answers given to these some curious mistakes occur.
Mathematics.
Practical Exercises in Geometry. By W. D. Eggar. xii. +
288 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.—This seems very well adapted
for use as an Introductory text-book. The use of instruments is
clearly explained, and illustrated by numerous diagrams: the
exercises are very numerous, and arranged so that by a sort of
heuristic process the pupil may proceed from the simplest
measurements to the construction of figures by which most of the
facts of elementary geometry (including proportion) may be
tested and illustrated. Whenever a book of this kind is used, it
is essential to make the pupil understand that his experimental
results are not roofs of theorems, but only approximate veri-
fications: with this proviso, Mr. Eggar’s book may be cordially
recommended. A theoretical course might very well accompany
work of this sort, after a few selected exercises have instilled the
elementary notions of the subject.
Geometry. By S. O. Andrew. xii. + 184 pp. (Murray.)
2s.—This is a new volume of Mr. Murray’s attractive ‘* Home
and School Library.” The work may be said to contain the
substance of the really important parts of Euclid I., III., and
VI. Proportion is only discussed for the commensurable case,
and instead of Book II. there is a chapter on areas, mainly
arithmetical in character. The last two chapters (viii., ix.)
deal with the elements of solid geometry, and mensuration of
prisms, &c. There are many easy and practical examples, a
table of trigonometrical ratios, and some examination papers
quite recently set for the London matriculation and the Board
of Education examinations. Mr. Andrew’s book may be
recommended as a good sample of a text-book on the lines
advocated by moderate reformers. -The only serious criticism
we feel inclined to make is that unless the teacher takes care his
pupils will probably be left with the erroneous impression that
any two quantities of the same kind are commensurable, or at
any rate that this is the usual case. |
Theoretical Geometry for Beginners.
+ 136 pp. (Macmillan.)
By C. H. Allcock. x.
1s. 67.—This contains the substance
APRIL, 1903. |
The School World
157
of Euclid I., with changes of order and proofs. The treatment
of parallels is made to depend on Playfair’s axiom. There are
not too many abbreviations: the language is simple: the print
and diagrams are good: and there are numerous easy exercises.
To those teachers who prefer a modified Euclid to text-books
which are frankly revolutionary, this book will be very
acceptable. Undoubtedly Mr. Allcock has succeeded in
retaining the good features of the “ Elements,” while removing
most of those which make Euclid’s work most distasteful to the
schoolboy.
A New Geometry for Beginners. By R. Roberts. 88 pp.
(Blackie.) 15. 6¢.—In this book the author deals in order with
rectilineal figures, similar figures, and the circle. His method
is certainly novel, and deserves to be tried. Together with
practical exercises, theoretical propositions are given, some with
complete, and some with outline proofs. Parallels are defined
as straight lines which have the same direction, and the difficulty
of incommensurables in proportion is ignored. Euclid I. 47 is
proved by proportion. At the end are a few pages on ele-
mentary graphs, with excellent figures to scale on squared
paper. It is to be hoped that this book will be practically
tested: it has many good features, and even those teachers who
are not prepared to agree with the author on every point will
find it useful and suggestive.
Miscellaneous.
The Encyclopedia Britannica. The seventh of the new
volumes, being volume xxxi. of the complete work. Mos-PRE,
xx. + 909 pp. (Black and Zhe 7imes.)—The comprehensive
character of the contributions to the supplementary issue of the
“ Encyclopædia Britannica” is now known to all who have
taken the trouble to consult the pages of the volumes already
noticed in these columns. Granting, then, that the present
volume contains something about everything and everything
about something within the alphabetical boundaries of ‘* Mosaic ”
and ‘‘ Prevesa,” let us select for mention a few articles which
teachers concerned with particular departments of school work
will find it worth while to consult. For the mathematical
master there is an article on number, by Prof. G. B. Mathews,
who gives some of the results of a critical analysis of the
subject. For the classical master there is a very instructive
article by Mr. D. G. Hogarth on Mycenzan civilisation, in
which the main results of the work from Schliemann to the
present time are described ; also an article on palivography, by
Sir E. Maunde Thompson. For the physical geography lesson
we have articles on oceanography, by Dr. H. R. Mill, and on
the polar regions by Sir Clements Markham, Dr. Nansen and
Dr. Mill. The student of phonetics will find some points of
interest in the article on the phonograph ; but there ought also
to be one on phonetics as well as the one on philology, in which
the subject is briefly mentioned. The article on photography
will appeal to many teachers who practise the art or en-
courage others to do so, and the music master will find
the pianola described with the piano, in addition to an article
on music. For the science master and medical student there
are valuable articles on power transmission, palæobotany,
plant physiology, animal physiology and pathology. Thearticle
on polytechnics will interest students of educational develop-
ments, and the introductory essay, by Mr. F. Greenwood, on
“The Influence of Commerce on International Conflict” will
appeal to students of history and economics. Among the
general articles that on newspapers is especially noteworthy, as
it contains the most informing treatment of the subject that has
come under our notice.
Handbook of Linear Perspective. Shadows and Reflections.
By Otto Fuchs, Director of the Maryland Institute. 34 pp.
(Ginn.) 5s. 6¢.—This strikes us as a thorough and compre-
hensive text-book of perspective which should prove useful to
students of mechanical and architectural drawing as well as
those who are studying with a less special end in view. The
matter is divided into ‘‘ Parallel Perspective,” “ Angular Per-
spective,” and ‘* Perspective as applied to Architectural and
Landscape Drawing,” and is illustrated by twelve loose plates
which are contained in a flap envelope in the cover and are
readily accessible. Both text and diagrams are on the whole
adequate, but we could wish that the last two diagrams had
been rather better drawn. They give, it is true, what is neces-
sary, but they might with advantage at that more advanced
stage have some pretensions, at least, to artistic merit.
Nelsows Blackboard Drawing. By Allen W. Seaby. 135 pp.
(Nelson.) 3s. 6d. net.—Mr. Seaby’s book, which is primarily
designed to meet the needs of teachers and student teachers,
gives a very concise and useful account of blackboard drawing
its scope and method, as well as hints on the use and abuse of
this type of drawing as a means of education, and practical
notes on how to arrange and organise a class in the subject.
We are glad to see that the author lays due stress on the
importance of cultivating the powers of observation, and insists
throughout that blackboard drawings, however slight and
diagrammatic they may be, should above all things convey
accurately the salient points of the objects they are intended to
represent. The volume contains 227 illustrations, many of which
are photographic reproductions of actual blackboard drawings
and serve both to give a good idea of what can be done by
the method they illustrate and to exemplify special points
brought out in the letterpress. The book is prefaced by a few
words of commendation from Mr. Walter Crane, and contains
in an appendix the syllabus of Blackboard Drawing of the
Board of Examination, South Kensington, and an examination
paper of the National Froebel Union.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. As a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
The Beginnings of Arithmetic.
THE very interesting article, ‘‘ A Chapter in very Elementary
Arithnietic,” by Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., in the March number
of your Magazine, seems to suggest one or two important
queries. May I be permitted to summarise them thus :—
(1) Am I right in inferring that it is of vital importance to
lead young pupils to ‘‘ discover ” the decimal, at the conclusion
of the initial stage in arithmetic, viz., the first four simple rules ?
(2) Before the young mind is confronted with endless varieties
of our British system of weights and measures, would it be
advisable to show the simple methods of decimalisation by
which these complex quantities may be made to appear less
formidable ?
(3) Is it possible to substitute the fractional and decimal
methods altogether for the cumbrous and lengthy process known
as ‘‘ long ” multiplication, ‘‘long ” division, &c. ?
WILL R. DUNSTAN.
Collegiate School, Bude.
158
IN answer to Mr. Dunstan’s queries :—(1) I should say that
what is ‘‘ of vital importance” is to give a rational and vividly
intelligible account of the system of Notation; treating the
different ‘* places ” as a series of boxes, any one of which might
be empty, but a single counter in one of the boxes being under-
stood to represent a dozen or ten, or some other arbitrarily
fixed number, while each counter in a box on the left signifies
a dozen dozen, or ten tens, and each counter in a box on the
right signifying itself alone; and so gradually, but with no
haste, to lead pupils to think what would happen, consistently
on this system, if a box were added on the right of the unit box.
If the ‘unii ” represented a dozen, or a linear foot, or a shil-
ling, or a regiment, or a century, or some other single group
which could be easily subdivided, the step can be more easily
taken, and the idea of abstract fractions deferred. The unfor-
tunate adoption of ten as the radix for the conventional scale
of notation makes these matters a little more troublesome than
they otherwise would have been.
(2) Now that there is so very much of value to learn, I should
hope that ‘‘ the British system of weightsand measures ” will be
relegated to its proper insignificance, only the most frequently
occurring things being dealt with, and those somewhat lightly.
The system is an extension of the ‘‘ notation” scheme, wherein
each box has an arbitrarily attached label-of-value, instead of
the value of each box rising or falling by the same factor from
that of the adjacent ones. The system thus affords good means
of practice, provided it is not made too mechanical and con-
fusing, and too hopelessly dull. It is fatally easy to employ it
as a mere treadmill.
Question 3 may be more intelligible to some of your readers
than it is to me.
OLIVER LODGE.
Simple Proportion and Graphs.
IN reference to Sir Oliver Lodge’s paper on the teaching of
simple proportion, it may be worth while suggesting that this
stage in arithmetic would be the most suitable for the intro-
duction of “graphs” into the teaching of the class room, the
graph of proportionals being the simplest kind of graph, viz.,
the straight line through the origin.
As a teacher of physics, I find that my youngest pupils
readily understand the use of graphs in all cases of change of
units, inches and centimetres, pounds and kilogrammes, or
centigrade and Fahrenheit degrees (not proportionals in this
case), and that they evince considerable interest in the novelty
and simplicity of the method. Similarly, I imagine, any simple
proportion sum, simple interest, or exchange values of money, if
graphed, will afford a pleasing and intelligible variety to the
arithmetic lesson.
A proportion sum set out on squared paper might also form
the introduction to the properties of similar triangles, and thus
establish a connecting link between arithmetic and geometry.
The “graph”? method might further be used to show what
Sir Oliver Lodge describes as the breakdown of simple pro-
portion, and some such instances as those quoted might be
graphed from data supplied by the teacher. The fact of
obtaining a curve instead of a straight line would render the
failure of the proportion method evident and give some inkling
of a means of dealing with these more recondite problems.
Some of the questions suggested would no doubt not be
amenable to the process, but the class would consider the
teacher lacking in humour if he were to offer any explanation
about the peacocks or the camel.
EDMUND G. HIGHFIELD.
Scarborough.’
E The School World
[APRIL, 1903.
Geographical Puzzles.
THE discrepancies to be found in modern geographical text-
books are very puzzling both to teacher and pupil. May I call
attention to three points and ask three questions ?
The Hoang-ho.—Does this flow into Yellow Sea, or into the
Gulf of Pe-chi-li? In ** Longman’s New Atlas,” it is marked as
flowing, until 1853, into Yellow Sea; from 1853 to 1887, into
Gulf of Pe-chi-li; and now again into Yellow Sea. On the other
hand, the ‘‘ 7zmes Atlas” makes it flow into Gulf of Pe-chi-li;
and so does Herbertson’s ‘‘Hlustrated School Geography.”
Gill’s ‘ Imperial Geography” in one map makes it flow into Gulf
of Pe-chi-li, and in another into Yellow Sea.
The Victoria Nyanza.—Mr. Herbertson gives its area as 40,000
sq. miles. Other authorities make it no more than 29,oco. Is
Mr. Herbertson correct? If he is, then Lake Superior is no
longer the largest fresh-water lake in the world.
The longest River in the World.—Is it the Nile, the Missouri-
Mississippi, or the Amazon? In Bartholomew’s pocket Atlas the
order is: Nile (4,000 miles), Missouri- Mississippi (3,656 miles)
and Amazon (3,060 miles). In Gill’s Geography the Amazon
leads with 4,700 miles--a difference of over 1,500 miles. The
Missouri- Mississippi is largest according to Mr. Herbertson, who
cuts down the Nile to 3,670 miles. Meiklejohn’s Geography
says the Missouri- Mississippi is the longest (4,200 miles) and yet
he gives the Nile as 4,300 miles.
I should be greatly obliged if some one would throw any light
on the subject.
E C-C.
(1) The Hwang-ho has emptied itself into the Gulf of Pechili
since 1853, but its mouth has moved steadily southwards until it
is now some 20-25 miles from the 1853 outlet. In my copy of
Longman’s ‘New Atlas” (1889) the river is correctly drawn
flowing to the Gulf of Pechili. It may be that in one edition
the river was shown to flow to the south-east, as in 1887 a preat
flood ruptured the banks, near Kaifeng, and, until they were
repaired, the river did flow again in that direction.
(2) The area of the Victoria Nyanza given in the tables of the
“Ilustrated School Geography” was retained from the American
book on which the work was based. This estimate is now
known to be much too great, but as the shores of the lake are
still not completely explored we cannot determine its exact area.
It probably is about 26,000 or 27,000 square miles. Has
E. C. C. never compared a map of Equatorial Africa a dozen
years old with one of to-day?
(3) It is expressly stated in the ‘‘Iiustrated School
Geography” that some of the rive lengths and other data are
merely approximate estimates. The Missouri-Mississippi is the
only one of the three rivers which we can measure with some
certainty, and the figures given are accurate, not toa mile, but
as around number. The ħgures for the Nile and Amazon were
taken from the most trustworthy reference book available at the
time of publication. Probably they are both too small, but I
think it may be asserted that neither river is so long as the
Missouri-Mississippi. Taking the longest stream of the Kagera
system in the case of the Nile, and in the case of the Amazon
the longest stream of the Ucayali system, the extreme eastern
limit of the estuary and allowing for all the windings, it is just
possible that in both cases the length may extend to nearly 4,000
miles.
From such letters as E. C. C.’s one learns how many con-
scientious teachers of geography are hampered by having had no
training in the subject and so not knowing where to turn to
settle such points as those which he has raised.
A. J. HERRERTSON.
Oxfert.
APRIL, 1903. |
Galyanometer Lamps for School Laboratories.
Most people will agree with Mr. Hadley that a “ full moon”
with dark line is preferable to a bright line. There is, of
course, no difficulty in obtaining this, if a convex lens of short
focus, placed behind the cross-wire, is used in addition to the
usual concave mirror of the galvanometer. A good result is
obtained if, while the cross-wire is near the centre of curvature
of the mirror, the lens is so placed as to focus an image of
the lamp filament in or near the plane of the mirror, so that
a part of the image completely covers the mirror.
If a straight line is desired, I have found nothing better than
the small straight filament 10 volt lamps of the Ediswan Co.
They may be run from batteries, or, a number in series, oft
mains. They have the disadvantage of taking rather large
current; but, particularly if judiciously over-run, can be relied
upon to give a very distinct image under any reasonable
conditions.
But there is now available a much better source of light than
either of these—-the Nernst lamp. In the small form we have
50 c. p. emitted from about an inch of filament. For ordinary
use the lamp may be supported horizontally, pointing towards
the galvanometer, and a small screen with circular hole and
cross-wire placed directly in front of it, focusing directly from
the mirror. The grcund-glass globe supplied need not be
removed. There is no need otherwise to screen the lamp
except to ensure that it does not illuminate the scale directly.
If a still brighter image is wanted the lamp can be used with a
lens, exactly like an ordinary incandescent lamp.
WILLIAM BENNETT.
Municipal Technical School,
Gravesend.
Preparation of Lantern Slides.
I sHOULD like to mention a method of preparing diagrams,
&c., as lantern slides, which I have found very useful. It is, I
think, an improvement on the smoked glass recommended by
Mr. Busbridge, in his article in THE Scitoor WoRLD for
March. White lines on a perfectly opaque ground are trying to
the eyes, and do not show up so well as white lines on a trans-
parent coloured ground. I have found glass coated with
printers’ blue ink, the colouring matter of which is Prussian
blue, to answer extremely well forsuch slides. The printer can
easily coat the glasses by rolling them with the inking roller. I
find it convenient to keep a racked box of them ready, and the
diagram is easily made with a sharp-pointed hard pencil. The
ink hardens somewhat after a time, and the plates can then be
handled without damage; whereas, as Mr. Busbridge remarks,
the smoked glasses wiil not bear touching, the slightest touch
produces ‘fa white smudge which cannot be obliterated.”
Finer drawings can be made on glass varnished with a coloured
varnish. I believe such glasses ready varnished can be
purchased.
W. MARSHALL WATTS.
Grammatical Analysis at the Oxford Locals.
To those of your readers who prepare pupils for the Oxford
Locals, the following letter may be of interest. The general
impression seems to be that candidates ust use the ‘ Detailed
Scheme" of analysis provided at the examination, and that
“tabular analysis” is barred. My excuse for trespassing on
your space is that this is the first time the Delegates have had
the matter laid before them.
H. WATSON.
159
= ee r a —liģiŇiŇi a
From Tuk SECRETARY,
Local Examination Offices,
Merton Street, Oxford.
DEAR SIR,--I have laid before the Delegates your enquiry
with regard to the forms for analysis which will be provided
in the examination room.
I am to say in reply, that a candidate may arrange his
analysis in any form which he prefers, and that, if his work is
correct, he will obtain full credit for it. He cannot, however,
be allowed extra time for the purpose of preparing the tabular
form which he prefers, nor can he bring copies of such a tabular
form into the examination room.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) H. GERRANS.
March 4th, 1903.
A Correction.
IN your valuable review of the Schoolmasters Yearbook and
Directory, appearing in the February number of THE SCHOOL
WORLD, you imply that the name of the Headmaster of High-
gate School does not appear in the Directory. Will you allow
me to point out that Mr. Allcock’s name will be found in its
proper place in the Directory?
THE EDITOR or ‘THE SCHOOLMASTERS’ YEARBOOK,”
[We much regret the mistake. Our reviewer looked up the
name of the Headmaster of Highgate under ‘* Alcock” ; had he
looked under “ Allcock’’ he would have found the entry.—
EDITORS. ]
The League of the Empire.
IN reference to suggestions in the newspapers for the starting
of a Correspondence Club for English and Colonial children,
may I ask you to let it be known that such an institution has
been in existence in our League (till now named Children of the
Empire League) for the last two years. Eight hundred of our
children in all parts of the einpire are already in correspondence
with each other. A further scheme for the linking of schools,
English and colonial, for friendly competition and exchange of
specimens for school museums, is in working order. The
Agents-General have already placed our papers before the heads
of the Education Departments of their different colonial
states and provinces. Promises of co-operation from the
colonies are already arriving. Schools, both primary and
secondary, are already linked under our schemes. For the last
two years we have been giving lantern and other lectures in all
grades of schools with much success.
All information as to the Comrade Correspondence work may
be obtained from Mrs. Ilaldane, 4, St. Margarets Road,
Oxford, and the Hon. Secretary, 67, Great Russell
Street, W.C.
from
(Mrs.) E. M. ORD MARSHALL,
llon. Sec. Central Committee.
The Heating and Yentilation of Schools.
WITH a view to secure the best conditions of atmosphere in a
school, the following trials were made, and the results noted.
A large schoolroom with canopy-formed roof, with centre
ventilators, and amply lighted from the front wall, and also
from the four sides of the roof, was selected. The inlet of fresh
air was through numerous floor gratings; the heating was done
by two large open tires, placed in the end walls.
This proved to be an excellently ventilated school in summer
weather, but the floor gratings proved very uncomfortable, and
kept a very low temperature in the room during cold weather,
even with the two fires burning brightly. The first step
towards improvement was the closing of the floor gratings and
160
substituting Tobin tubes placed all round the walls, and a stove
was substituted for one of the open fires.
As the limiting of the inlet of fresh air was thought to have
rendered the atmosphere of the school more impure, it was
thought advisable to test its purity. The result was that from a
sample taken towards the close of the school 25 volumes of
carbon dioxide per 10,000 was found; 3 volumes being the
normal state of the external air, Subsequently additional facility
for opening the roof lights was provided, which had the effect of
giving a purity of 15°5 volumes. A heating system was then
introduced by the method of hot-water pipes ; this improved the
purity to 11 volumes. The opening roof lights were then raised
to the apex of the roof, and made easier to manipulate, which
gave 8°37 volumes of purity. g
At this point a trial was made to ascertain the amount of
impurity which might be in the air before the assembling of the
school in the mornings, and it was not a little surprising to find
that this amounted to 7°25 volumes, instead of 3 volumes. It
was now seen that, to be able to deal with the matter properly,
steps must be taken to ensure at all times a pure air at the
opening of the school. It was found that from 15 to 30 minutes,
with doors, windows, and ventilators open after the dismissal of
the scholars, was necessary for complete renewal, which gives
the school a start with a purity of 3 volumes, which is equal to
the external atmosphere.
There should be no difficulty in ventilating in warm weather.
Sufficient openings for air admissions is all that is required, and
complete renewal at the termination of the classes. In winter,
provision for heating is indispensable, as cold air should not be
admitted without the means of warming it, and moreover the
greater the heating power the greater the means of obtaining
a pure atmosphere.
A sample of air taken from the middle of a class of scholars
at the close of the school should not be higher than 9 volumes
per 10,000, and means should be taken to ensure that at the
beginning of the day the air be as pure as the external atmo-
sphere, otherwise the impurity will become cumulative from day
to day. To secure this, apart from any mechanical means,
every door, window, and ventilator should be opened for a
period before the school is finally closed for the day.
P. M.
PRIZE COMPETITION.
Result of No. 17.—Most Popular School-Books on
Arithmetic.
IN this competition the following six books have by the com-
petitors been adjudged the most popular. They are arranged
in the order of their popularity.
FINAL List.
(1) “ Arithmetic.” By C. Pendlebury. (Bell.) 4s. 6d.
(2) * Arithmetic for Schools.” By Rev. J. B. Lock. (Mac-
millan.) 4s. 6d.
«A New Arithmetic.”
Collar. (Holden.) 4s. 6d.
(4) ‘Arithmetic for Schools.”
University Press.) 3s. 6d.
(5) ‘A Treatise on Arithmetic.”
(Longmans.) 3s. 6d.
(6) “Arithmetic for Schools.” By Rev. Barnard Smith.
Revised by Prof. W. H. Hudson. (Macmillan.) 4s. 6d.
The first book was named on fifty-two lists, and the second
on fifty. Messrs. Chrisuan and Collar’s book was given on
twenty-six lists, Mr. C. Smith’s on twenty-five, Mr. Hamblin
Smith’s on twenty-four, and that by Messrs. Barnard and
Hudson on twenty-one. ‘‘ The Tutorial Arithmetic,” by W. P.
Workman (Clive), 3s. 6d., was the seventh book.
By G. A. Christian and G.
By C. Smith. (Cambridge
By J. Hamblin Smith.
The School World |
[APRIL, 1903.
The first prize is awarded to
L. F. E. Johnson,
Kenilworth,
Vicarage Road,
Henley-on-Thames,
whose list was the only one sent in which named all the six
books given above.
The second prize goes to
H. Gray,
Wellington College,
Berks,
who named five of the winning books.
The following competitors also named five books mentioned
in the final list, but the order in which the books were arranged
was not so good as that of the second prize winner :—Miss
E. M. Morris, Holland House School, Beverley, Yorks;
Egerton Smith, Ackworth School, near Pontefract; E. L.
Gardner, Mayfair House, Grove Park, Kent; Miss B. M. Porter,
The College, Oswestry ; George A. Scarfe, Park Grove School,
York. š
No. 18.—Most Popular First-Year Books in French.
Which six books are most widely used in schools at the
present time for the first year’s work of pupils beginning the
study of French? Answers to this question are required in the
competition for this month. Each competitor must send a list
of the titles, &c., of six first-year books in French that he
considers are the most popular ones now in use in schools.
For the purpose of this competition, those books will be
judged the most popular which are most frequently named in
the lists received.
We offer two prizes of books, one of the published value of a
guinea, the other of half-a-guinea, to be selected from the cata-
logue of Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Limited. The prizes will
be given for the two lists which most resemble that drawn up
as a result of the voting of the competitors.
In naming a book, its title, author, publisher and price should
be given. Each list of books sent in must be accompanied by
a coupon printed on page vii., though a reader may send in more
than one list provided each has a coupon attached. Replies
must reach the Editors of THE SCHOOL Wor_Lp, St. Martin's
Street, London, W.C., on or before Monday, May 11th,
1903. The decision of the Editors in this, as in all competi-
tions, is final.
The result will be published in the June number, when the
successful list will be published.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, WC
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent to
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements should be addressed lo
the Publishers.
THE SCHOOL WorRLD ñs published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy ts sixpente.
Annnal subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, 1f
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepaid.
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication.
The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
NO. 53.
MAY, 1903.
SIXPENCE.
CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS FOR
ENGLISH READERS.
By FANNY JOHNSON.
Late Headmistress of Bolton High School.
ERTAIN difficulties in education are due to
( | what may be called machinery. But when
Government Bills and private efforts have
done their best—and worst—the real crux of the
situation remains. And this may be summed up in
the one word—curriculum. Every teacher is occu-
pied in the main with what, in old-fashioned phrase-
ology, was called ‘‘ imparting knowledge,” and the
instinct is natural to impart such portions of
knowledge as the teacher has most at heart,
or in which he feels most at home. A man
who has spent the better part of his own life in
digging for Greek roots finds a fascination in the
pursuit that he would fain share with another,
while the rarer teacher whose circumstances and
inclination have led him into out-door life thinks
« nature-study ” all important. These secret
desires on the part of teachers are, of course,
decently veiled under high-sounding expressions,
such as ‘training of the observation,” of the “ rea-
soning powers,” of the ‘‘ imagination” and the
like. But when we honestly consider the mental
condition of an average boy or girl at the school-
leaving age, whether, among the middle classes,
that age be sixteen, or lower down in the social
scale, twelve or thirteen, as the case may be, it
is clear that what counts is not the arithmetic, or
history, or French that the pupil may have
acquired, but the attitude of mind towards theses
or any other subject of instruction that he has
imbibed as a result of school training. In other
words, the How, rather than the What, is the
cardinal matter for educationists. Schoolmasters
are distracted by the multiplicity of subjects; they
honestly attempt for an all-round curriculum, the
more honest and conscientious falling between—
not two—but many stools in their efforts. So
that, especially among girls’ schools, the crowded
time-table frequently leads to a condition of chronic
indigestion. ‘There is much to be said in favour of
limitation to the three R’s, taking them in their
wider sense. For the man who can. read—in-
telligently—has the key to all book knowledge, and
No, 53, VOL. 5.]
the greater part of knowledge is, after all, contained
in books; while he who can write—in which we
ought to include the power of drawing—is able
to record his first-hand observations. And the
arithmetician, having once learnt to reason about
numbers, can apply his logical powers to any other
subject that presents itself. Teachers aré in too
much of a hurry, and the examiners, inspectors,
universities, and makers of the educational machines
are the most to blame for this.
The curriculum which vexes our souls need not
disturb us, if only we frankly acknowledge that
Life (of the schoolboy) is short, and education (in
its broader sense) is unendlich lang, and therefore the
digestibility rather than the quantity of mental
food given to the school child is the all-important
point. And this brings me to my main thesis,
that—at school—acquaintance with “the classics,”
or indeed with any literature outside our own, may
well be gained through the medium of translations.
Let me quote from the prospectus of a series of
translations, not unfavourably known in their day,
“The ‘Valpy’ Family Classical Library” [the
italics are mine]:
e . « So diversified are the objects to which general educa-
tion is at present (i.e., in 1830) directed, that sufficient time can-
not be allowed, in most instances, to lay the foundation of an
adequate acquaintance with the most popular authors in the
Greek and Latin languages. The facility of reference
to a serses of correct and elegant translations must afford pleasure
and occasional assistance even to the scholar. To him who, as
Dr. Knox observes, although engaged in other pursuits, is still
anxious to ‘retain a ¿inclure of that elegance and liberality of
sentiment which the mind acquires by a study of the Classics,
and which contributes more to form the true gentleman than all
the substituted ornaments of modern affectation,” such a collec.
tion will, it is confidently hoped, prove acceptable. As the
learned languages do not form part of the education of females,
the only access which they have to the valuable stores of antiquity
is through the medium of correct translation.
The series here referred to was followed at no
long interval by the immortal Bohn’'s libraries,
which, including a vast number of translations,
began in 1846 and have never ceased, under the
auspices of the original publishers, nor (since
1863) of their present guardians, Messrs. Geo.
Bell and Sons, to maintain the reputation designed
for them by their founder. Unequal in merit as
are the translations lurking under the shelter of the
O
162 The
name of Bohn, the scheme of bringing all the
literatures of the world within the view of the man,
poor in purse and education, who can only read in
his own language, isa magnificent one. Its success
can be estimated to some extent by the fact that
new volumes are constantly issued, and in most
instances compare favourably both for readable-
ness and accuracy with their forerunners. Thus
the publishers early recognised the ‘ felt want ”
which, by all the signs, will become more and more
felt, and is, in fact, being more and more recog-
nised.
Such names as Messrs. Macmillan and Messrs.
Bell, among publishers, and among scholars such
reputations as those of Messrs. Kennedy, Long,
Calverley (translators respectively of Demosthenes,
Plutarch, Theocritus, published by Messrs. Bell),
or Messrs. Leaf, Church and Brodribb (trans-
lators of Homer and Tacitus, published by Messrs.
Macmillan), &c., carry with them their own
guarantee. Messrs. Methuen have also a shorter
series of classical translations, including Lucian,
“Six Dialogues,” translated by S. T. Irwin, and
Tacitus, ‘‘ Agricola and Germania,” translated by
R. B. Townshend; both works well calculated to
appeal in their English form to the ordinary reader.
And Messrs. Nutt, whose unfailing efforts in the
direction of pure scholarship are well known, have
recently issued a translation of Aeschylus, “ Pro-
metheus Bound,” by E. R. Bevan, whose preface
is not only an interesting modern counterpart to
the puff preliminary of the Valpy series, quoted
above, but also expresses better than any words of
my own, the views I am upholding in this paper
[the italics are mine].
To hand down translations may seem too poor a mark for the
ambition of the age. And yet the Book which has been the
most powerful force in English literature is a translation. In
the case of the Greek poets, how much of our intellectual
heritage comes from them, even though all the while a strange
tongue has had to be mastered in order to know them, no one
needs to be reminded. Such mastery was possible to the few,
and literature was mainly the concern of the few. But this is so
less and less, and if democracy ts destined to lay hold of ltterature,
as of everything else, that generation will have made no mean
contribution which delivers to the people a standard rendering of
the great works upon which our own literature has been nourished
. If our age is to bring forth a translation of the Greek
poets of permanent and universal authority, it would probably
have, to be by the co-operation of many minds, in which the
idiosyncrasies of each would find correction. With so much
ability at large, directed to the production of excellent verse and
genuine poetry, which yet represents no new force in literature,
would it be impossible to consecrate some of it on such a work
as I have named ?
The democratising of learning is indeed a kind
of democracy with which all generous spirits have
constantly sympathised. And now that the tone
of the best public opinion is set towards the pro-
duction of an educated community, as against the
earlier ideal of the educated select ones, so much
Greek “ as may become a gentleman ” must be put
within the reach of all. That being so, it is evi-
dent that translation is the only way. I seem to
School World
“masters,
[May, 1903.
remember the time when, among one’s pastors and
the peep into a “crib” was held an
offence worthy of awful punishment. Nowadays,
I believe, the student is encouraged in the intelli-
gent use of translations while wrestling with the
difficulties of a foreign tongue. But the vast
majority will never, perhaps, reach even this pre-
liminary wrestle. Why, then, should the treasures
of the past be debarred from them, or offered in
such attenuated forms as Kingsley’s “ Heroes,” or
the “ Tanglewood Tales?” The worst translation
of Homer that was ever made brings one more in
touch with the spirit of the elder world than all the
“ Tales from Homer ” that were ever devised. We
must get as near as we can to the sources. In
literary matters, this corresponds to the investiga-
tion of origins in science. Though Homer may
speak to us in muffled tones through the voices
of Messrs. Lang, Leaf and Myers, it must be
recollected that the revelations of the gods are
always partial, and the Word, which was from the
beginning, is still only half understood. What I
have said would apply to some extent to modern
and living languages, but it is peculiarly fitting
that we should approach the ancients, at first,
robed in a modern dress. We cannot recite
Hamlet so that Shakespeare would follow what
we were saying, and still less can we speak as
Herodotus and ‘Tacitus pronounced their re-
spective dialects. After all, matter is more than
form, and thought is better than speech. We can
get at the minds of the ancients as well, or better,
when we are not carefully puzzling out their
sentences phrase by phrase. It is rarer than
would perhaps be admitted for even a scholar to
read a Greek or Latin classic without any sense of
effort, as he would read an English or French
novel,
Even for those who hereafter may be destined to
soak themselves fully in the originals, I believe the
best way would be to begin with translations. One
hears not infrequently of the schoolboy for whom
the name of Caesar carries a life-long sting,
because he has first made Caesar's acquaintance in
scraps and paragraphs, slowly puzzled out, of
Caesar De Bello Gallico, Book I. If Caesar, and
Xenophon, and Herodotus, all the ancient writers
of straightforward narrative, in fact, were first
presented to youthful minds in the guise of an
attractive English reading book, illustrated by
pictures, &c., and read in school as part of the
ordinary course in history and literature, how
different the effect would be! Pleasanter, no
doubt, says the pedagogue, but what about the
discipline of the mind? Well, as I began by
saying, the mind of the average schoolboy re-
mains to the end of his schooldays pretty much
undisciplined anyhow. Let him read, read, the
best you can get him to read, translated Homer, or
abbreviated Scott, the whole of the Iliad in English,
rather than half a book of it in Greek. Let him
learn to adore Alexander through Messrs. Stuart and
Long (translators of Plutarch’s “ Lives,” in Bohn
library) rather than detest Hannibal through Livy.
Greek, in the original, might be banished from all
May, 1903. ]
the schools in England, but yet the Greek spirit and
all that is best in the Greek ideal flourish. For
children nourished on such adequate translations
as Mr. Bevan generously forecasts for them would
long but the more for a draught from the fountain
head. A pious grocer’s assistant whom I knew,
for love of his English New Testament, spent the
evenings of a hardworking life in learning to read
it in the Greek; so these school pupils, I fancy,
would sometimes continue their education by
conning the Greek and Latin grammar in their
maturer years in order to get nearer to the heart
of those delightful raconteurs, Homer, Virgil,
Xenophon, Tacitus, and the rest. The best efforts
of every teacher are spent in providing solace for
his pupils in later life. It is indeed a tommon-
place and trite reflection, uttered in one form or
another on every school speech-day, that the things
of beauty we learn at school are joys for ever.
The habit of learning a language is soon acquired;
it really does not matter which language you
begin with. Grown persons have been known to
learn even Hebrew and Russian; many grown
women have learnt Greek or Latin having had no
previous acquaintance with these languages in their
childhood.
For school use, the work in its translated form
must look as little like a translation as possible.
There should be no reference to the original
language in the notes. Such words as “ lictor,”
“ parasang,” ** peltast,’”’ &c., should be explained in
note or glossary, as though they were unusual
English, not foreign words. Some of us were
brought up in the belief, or at any rate under the
impression, that Isaiah was divinely inspired to
utter the words, ‘‘Comfort ye, comfort ye, my
people,” exactly as they stand in the English
Bible, and neither our religious sense, nor our
literary taste, nor even our knowledge of Jewish or
universal history, has suffered from having been
led to abandon that half-truth only in later life. Of
course, the teachers should “know better.” They
should, and must, be as learned as can possibly
be managed. But a teacher who has first ap-
proached his Homer, his Sophocles, and his Virgil
as charming story-tellers will be able the better to
commend these authors to his pupils as the ‘ best
of good fellows.” There are certain foreign authors,
not to speak of the Hebrews, whom we think it no
shame to know only in borrowed plumes. We do
not blush to confess that “ Don Quixote,” or to
take later examples, the works of Tolstoi, or Ibsen,
are unknown to us in their original tongues. Fewer
still can read the “ Arabian Nights’ Tales” as they
were spoken at the first. I only plead to extend
this principle a little further, and to provide school
children from the first, not with snippets, or
arrangements, or derangements from the classics,
but to give them at least whole episodes, or care-
fully connected portions, in a form as attractive as
possible, f.e., in pleasant readable English, printed
in an easily handled book, and not overloaded with
extraneous learning. Something of this sort has
already been tried in French and German, and I
believe, in American schools. One great English
The School World
F 163 E
headmaster, at least, was much for ‘ Hellenising
without Greek.” And to the rabid Hellenists we
would say, that this method is bound in the long
run to prevail in the majority of schools, if any
tincture of that elegance and liberality of mind which
is inseparably bound up with a study of the two
classical languages is to be maintained.
—— ee Cite | a =
THE GEOMETRICAL TREATMENT OF
ANGLES AND PARALLELS.
By H. B. Wooba ct.
St. Asaph County School, Flintshire.
UCLID'S difficulty in treating parallels is due
to his failure to define angle, the essential
nature of which seems to have eluded his
grasp. His statement about parallels is a negation,
and not a definition, while his “inclination of one
line to another’”’ is merely an ingenious makeshift
for a definition. Every geometer since the days of
Proclus has been aware of the difficulty, but, until
quite modern times, none saw that it arose out of
the notion that angle is a function of line, or of line
and surface. Thus, Borelli (1608-1679), treating of
the difficulty in his “ Euclides restitutus,” says
that angle is neither line nor surface, but he never-
theless regards it as a function of these magnitudes,
and uses the analogy that the proportion of two
magnitudes is a quantity different from either of
them.
The doctrine that kinematical notions should not
be admitted into pure geometry is, no doubt,
largely responsible for the practice of keeping
beginners as long as possible in ignorance of the
modern definition of angle. If we look for this
definition in our text-books we find it relegated to
footnotes, and teachers who are not content to
leave it embedded there like a fossil are regarded
as innovators by the upholders of the said doctrine.
If it were a fact that, in every case, geometry is
concerned only with the statical result of motion,
it would by no means be an argument in favour of
this doctrine ; for, if the motion is necessary for the
production of the result, it may well be that the
conception of the motion is necessary, or at least
helpful, to the conception of the result. Even
when we speak of a line “ meeting ” another, or of
being “ produced,” or of one figure being ‘‘ applied ”
to another, kinematical notions are in the mind,
and it is practically impossible to treat geometry
without the constantly recurring use of words
which imply motion of some kind or other. Borelli
defines a circle as formed by the revolution of a
finite straight line in a plane about one extremity,
which is fixed, until the moving line reaches its
original position. The same kinematical notion
used differently gives us the modern definition of
angle. Indeed, we may almost say that the differ-
ence between the ancient and the modern view of
angle is the difference between associating it with
line and associating it with circle.
By defining angle as “ amount of turning ” we
164
have a definition independent of other geometrical
definitions, and one which greatly simplifies the
proofs of many fundamental theorems. A spinning
top is making a continuously increasing angle.
The natural unit of angle 1s one complete turn.
If, therefore, the top has made a hundred turns, a
hundred is the measure of the angle it has made.
When we have defined a right angle as a quarter
of a turn, the statement that all right angles are
equal becomes the statement that a quarter of a
turn is equal to a quarter of a turn, and is, there-
fore, axiomatic beyond dispute.
it may be advisable, after careful revision, to
retain some of the conventional phrases associated
with the line-and-space notion of angle, but many
of them must be condemned as misleading. Of
the former, ‘‘ angle between two lines ” is the most
important. Let a line turning in a plane be
pivoted at any point in itself, and let its initial
position be marked by a fixed line in the plane,
then, reckoning from this initial position the
amount of turning made by the pivoted Hne,
moving always the same way round, is called the
angle between the fixed line and the pivoted line.
Or, alternately, we may say that the angle between
two given crossing lines is the amount of turning
that the first-named of them must make in order
to lie along the other. ‘‘ Interior” and “exterior,”
as applied to the angles between adjacent sides of
a rectilineal figure, are useful conventions which
we shall notice presently; but ‘‘interior” and
“ exterior,” as applied to the angles between two
non-intersecting lines and a transversal, are to be
classed with ‘alternate ” and ‘vertically opposite”
as erroneous terms, inconsistent with clearness of
thinking.
The consideration that, if one line crosses an-
other, there are two ways in which one of them
may turn so as to lie along the other, introduces
the definitions of positive and negative ways of
turning. To avoid ambiguity we observe the con-
vention that the first position of conformity shall
determine the angle, and then the definition of
supplementary angles and a formal statement of
Ieuclid’s thirteenth proposition naturally follow;
but the theorem is clearly axiomatic. Next, let us
draw any triangle, and name its corneis A, B,C,
in negative order—the order in which they would
be passed by a line turning negatively about a pivot
inside the triangle. Let a straight edge, whose
ends are distinguishable, lie along A B. Let it be
pivoted at B, and turn positively, until it lies along
B C. Then, let it be pivoted at C, and turn posi-
tively, until it lies along C A. Lastly, let it be
pivoted at A, and turn positively, until it hes along
A B once more. Two things are evident. First,
that the straight edge moves across the area of the
triangle in each motion. This gives us the defini-
tion of “interior ” angle, while “ exterior ” angle
is that made by the straight edge in turning from
the direction of one side to the direction of another
without moving across the area of the triangle.
Second, that the straight edge has, by turning
through the three interior angles of the triangle,
made halfa turn. That is to say, fhe sum of the
[ May, 1903.
interior angles of any triangle is half a turn, or
180 degrees, if we define a degree as the 360th part
ofa turn. The important fundamental propositions
13 and 32 of Euclid’s first book are thus established
immediately from the definition of angle. Taken
together, they give us the fact that the exterior
angle whose pivot is any corner of a triangle is
equal to the sum of the interior angles whose pivots
are the other corners. Propositions 16 and 17 fol-
low as immediate corollaries, although the former
may be deduced directly from the definition of
angle, and the second case of proposition 26 is
brought under the first case, for, if two angles of a
triangle are known, so is the third angle. The
placing of the above and other important proposi-
tions on an independent basis is one of the distinct
advantages of this method of treating angles. The
Euclidean plan of making all succeeding theorems
depend on the first, and grow out of it, in the
fashion of a genealogical tree, is unnecessary toa
scientific treatment of geometry, and can be re-
garded only as an ingenious device, often laboured,
often producing an unnatural sequence, and found-
ing many simple and almost axiomatic theorems on
involved and otherwise useless lemmae.
If a line pivoted at a point in itself is turned
through any positive angle, and then through an
equal negative angle, it will obviously conform
with its original position. If, however, we choose
one point in the moving line as pivot for the posi-
tive angle, and another point in it as pivot for the
equal negative angle, the line will then be parallel
to its original position. Two co-planar lines are
thus defined to be parallel when one of them can
by equal amounts of positive and negative turning
be brought to lie along the other. The definition,
unlike Euclid’s statement, is positive. In place of
Euclid’s 29th proposition we have the immediate
and important deduction that the positive angle
between a transversal and one of two parallels is
equal to the positive angle between that transversal
and the other parallel. For, let a and b be the
parallels, and ¢ the transversal; then, from the
definition, the positive angle between a and # is
equal to the negative angle between # and b, but
this latter is the same scalar magnitude as the
positive angle between b and?¢. We may observe
that this definition of parallels is not equivalent to
Euclid’s 27th proposition, which refers to the
transversal; but that ifin place of this proposition
we put the statement that parallel lines, if pro-
duced, do not meet, we shall have a theorem
capable of a reductio ad absurdum proof; for, if they
do meet, then a positive angle of less than half a
turn alone suffices to bring about conformity.
Revisers of Euclid have frequently proposed to
interchange his definition of parallels and his 27th
proposition, and the complication of the latter due
to its dependence upon the transversal has been
the chief objection to so doing.
The definition of angle taken along with Borelli’s
definition of circle gives the principle of the usual
method of measuring angles less than one turn. Let
a line AL, of constant length, be pivoted at A and
revolve positively. Then, when AB has made one
May, 1903. |]
turn, B has traced the circumference of a circle.
Therefore, when AB has made any given fraction
of aturn, B has traced the same fraction of the
circumference. Hence, by determining the latter
fraction, we shall determine the angle in terms of
the natural unit of angle. The practical outcome
of this is, firstly, the method of copying the limits
of an angle, and, secondly, the circular protractor.
Lastly, we havea simple and readily proved method
of finding the bisector of an angle. Let A and Z
be the ends of the arc determined by the angle
whose pivot is the centre of the circle. In the
arc take points B and Y, sothat AB = ZY ; then the
mid-point of arc AZ is in arc BY. In the arc
BY take points C and X,sothat AC - ZX, then mid-
point of arc AZ is in arc CX. As the process is
continued the points thus found approach one
another till in the limit they coincide in the mid-
point of the arc AZ. If M is this mid-point, then
it is clear that the angle between the radius drawn
to A and the radius drawn to M is equal to the
angle between the radius drawn to M and the
radius drawn to Z. In practice, it is easy to find
the mid-point in the second, or, at most, the third
step of the process, and accuracy is as nearly
attainable as by any other method with the instru-
ments used. The principle of this method of
finding the mid-point of a line is obvious at once;
but its chief merit in our present point of view is
that the bisection of the angle is provable im-
mediately from the fundamental relationship
between angle and circle. It is worthy of passing
notice that those who wish to prove Euc. i. 5 by
bisecting the “ vertical ” angle, and using i. 4, may
do so without the logical somersault which comes
about by making the proof of the bisection of an
angle depend indirectly upon that very proposition.
APPARATUS FOR EXPERIMENTS IN
CALORIMETRY.
By E. S. A. Rosson, M.Sc.
Lecturer in Physics Royal Salford Technical Institute.
HE experiments and apparatus to be described
in this article are intended for students in
secondary schools, and the apparatus is
intended for use by the boys and girls themselves.
For the purpose of weighing, chemical balances
reading from 250 grams to 1 centigram (price
£1 10s. of any good maker) will be required; while,
for heavier weights, a flat-pan kilogram balance
(price £1 58.) is necessary.
In most calorimetric experiments the temperature
will require estimating to ;4° C., and a preliminary
test in noting time and temperature readings
when heating a tank of water may be per-
formed by the student. Chemical thermometers
o0°-100° C., etched on the stem, with enamelled
back and marked in single degrees, may be pur-
chased for 2s. each from any apparatus maker.
For more accurate work a 0o°—35° C. thermometer
The School World
graduated in ;1,° C. may be recommended. The
reading of the temperature is most important, and
it takes some time and patience on the part of the
teacher before the students understand that the
virtue of weighing to the nearest milligram will not
compensate for the vice of estimating the tem-
perature merely to the nearest degree. l
With regard to the important subject of calori-
meters, certain definite requirements are evolved
from long experience. In the first place, it 1s
essential that the calorimeter should be made of
“ spun” metal, copper or aluminium for preference.
If the vessel is slightly thickened round the upper
‘edge it is practically unbreakable and will last for
years. Soldered calorimeters should not be tole-
rated in any good laboratory ; the specific heat of
the metal is an unknown quantity, and, moreover,
such calorimeters have a habit of developing an
exasperating leak while the experiment is in pro-
gress. A convenient size of vessel for ordinary use
is 3 inches height x 1} inches diameter; these will
cost 1s. each, and may be obtained from Messrs.
. J. Griffin & Co., Sardinia Street, London, W.C.,
or from Mr. F. Jackson, Cross Street, Manchester.
Other makers stock them in slightly different sizes.
Fic. 1.—Simple calorimeter and enclosure.
*The calorimeters must be placed in an enclosure,
for which a double-walled cylindrical tin-vessel
may be recommended, the inner portion 3 inches
height x 23 inches diameter being soldered to the
outer portion, which is 4 inches height x 4 inches
diameter. The inner vessel is lined with 4-inch
sheet asbestos! which acts as a non-conducting
material, and the space between the inner and
outer vessel may be filled with cold water or left
empty. The calorimeter, enclosure, and lid (Fig. 1)
will cost 2s. 6d. each (Jackson). The substance,
the specific heat of which is to be determined, will
have to be heated in a steam heater, and after
trying most of the usual forms of apparatus, I
can recommend the following simple combined
boiler and heater (Fig. 2). It consists of two
drawn-brass tubes 7 inches height x 2} inches
diameter brazed inside a cylindrical copper vessel
g inches height x 5 inches diameter which contains
the water. The apparatus is fitted at the top with
an outlet for the steam and is heated by placing it
on a tripod. The price is 15s. (Mr. G. Cussons,
L Price 2s. per sheet 40 inches X 40 inches. United Asbestos Company,
Billiter Street, London, E.C.
166
Lower Broughton, Manchester). The substance
is lifted out of the heater instead of dropping it
through a circular trap-door, as in the case of
most heaters. The best example of the latter plan
is Glazebrook & Shaw’s steam heater and calori-
meter, which costs £4 (Mr. W.G. Pye, Cambridge).
Fic. 2.— Metal heater Fic.
for calorimetric experi-
ments.
3.—Apparatus to determine the specific
beat of liquids by the methoc of cooling.
Teachers should notice that a more satisfactory
result for the specific heat is obtained where a
fairly large mass—say, 100 grams—of the sub-
stance is used, and, moreover, should avoid the
use of tacks or pieces of wire, as the cooling
surface is excessive. Students may also determine
the temperature of a muffle furnace or blowpipe
by means of a calorimetric method, using a brass
disc 3 inches diameter x } inch thick, and a large
copper calorimeter ‘44 inches height x 34 inches
diameter (2s., Jackson).
For the determination of the specific heat of
liquids by the cooling method a special apparatus
will be required. The calorimeters AA (see Fig. 3)
are each 24 inches height x # inch diameter, and
are made of aluminium (price 1s. 3d., London
Aluminium Company, Knightrider Street, London,
E.C.). The cooling determination is performed in
an inner zinc vessel B (5 inches x 4 inches x 3
inches) supported on four metal rods inside a larger
zinc trough C (8 inches x 5 inches x 64 inches),
the space between the two vessels being filled with
ice or cold water. A wooden lid, lined inside with
felt, is fitted over the top, and two holes 2 inch in
diameter and 2} inches apart serve for the insertion
of thermometers into the calorimeters. The com-
plete apparatus costs 15s. (Cussons). The deter-
mination may also be performed in one of the
calorimeter enclosures for the specific heat of solids,
using one liquid at a time.
Of course it is necessary that all liquids in com-
mon use for calorimetric experiments—e.g., gly-
cerine, turpentine, castor oil, methylated spirits,
benzol, aniline—should have their specific heats
determined from time to time, since the specific
heat varies considerably with the amount of water
The School World g
[May, 1903.
or other impurities present. Asa general rule, the
commercial liquids will have a higher specific heat
than the pure liquids. Aniline is found to absorb
water slightly, and hence there will be a corre-
sponding rise in its specific heat. For testing pur-
poses we require an instrument analogous to the
hydrometer, which will give the value of the
specific heat for any liquid correct to the second
decimal place.
Andrews’ calorifer (Fig. 4), which will fulfil the
above requirements, consists of a large glass bulb
A (about 4°7 cms. in diameter) filled with mercury,
and connected with a stem 25 cms. long, on which
are the smaller bulbs B and C. The calorifer is
suspended in a dry metal can and heated until the
mercury appears above the upper mark a on the
stem. It is now immersed in a known quantity of
water contained in a calorimeter. The heat given
out by the mercury in falling from a to b can be
determined once for all. The calorifer is again
heated to the upper mark a, and immersed in the
same number of grams of the liquid under test.
With the instrument in use here 300 grams of the
given liquid are employed and the specific heat
calculated from the simple formula s = ;
where s == specific heat, ¢ -= rise in temperature
of liquid, as measured by a centigrade thermo-
meter. Further, when once the constants of the
instrument are determined a curve may be plotted
for definite values of ż (e.g., taking t =- 6°, 8°, 10°,
pi 18°, and obtaining the corresponding values
S --- 0'97, 0°83, 0'72, . 0'27). The curve is
a portion of a rectangular hyperbola, and from it
— 0'03
Fic. 5.— Apparatus to determine the latent heat
of steam.
Fic. 4.--An-
drew’'s calorifer.
the values of s are read off with ease. The price
of the calorifer is 15s. (Griffin).
Passing on to the determination of the latent
heat of steam, the simple apparatus in Fig. 5 may
be set up by the teacher himself. A metal can con-
taining water is connected to a steam trap C, and
to a copper condenser A, the dimensions of which
May, 1903. |]
are 2 in. X 2in. X $in., the height of each open-
ing being 1} in. The price of the condenser is 4s.
(Jackson), while a more elaborate form of appara-
tus fitted with a copper boiler costs £1 5s.
(Cussons). Berthelot’s well-known form of appa-
I! - ARRARAS 1” ARALDAAD” ” DADALDNG T" OARS: ”
Fic. 6.—Bunsen’s ice calorimeter.
ratus will be found to give trustworthy results (price
£2 15s., Max Kohl; agents, Messrs. Isenthal and
Co., Mortimer Street, London), the only objection
to the apparatus being that it is made entirely of
glass, and is therefore likely to suffer at the hands
of inexperienced students.
Considering the low price (3s.) of Bunsen’s ice
calorimeter, it is rather surprising to find it so
neglected in calorimetric work, since its accuracy
is unquestioned. In Fig. 6 is shown a simple
method of measuring the decrease in volume of
the melting ice by
means of the baro-
meter tubing F G and
the metric scale SS.
The great difficulty
lies in filling the outer
tube B with pure dis-
tilled water, but de-
tailed instructions are
given in most text-
books, and when once
filled the instrument
may be used for some
see atus 2 ne oor time.
as of aga he specific — Although strictly not
included in the subject
of calorimetry, the determination of the ratio (y) of
the specific heats of a gas may be introduced as
an advanced experiment. The apparatus (Fig. 7)
Consists of a carboy, the neck of which is fitted
With a metal tube and avalve D. A pneumatic
tyre valve B is soldered on the metal tube, and
_ The School World
167
serves to pump in the air, while a manometer E,
about 25in. in height, and filled with castor oil,
measures the pressure inside the carboy. . The
price of the apparatus is £1 1os. (Cussons).
Of other advanced pieces of apparatus dealing
with calorimetry the following deserve mention :—
Lewis Thompson’s Fuel Tester (price £5 10s.),
P. Harris, Birmingham ; Regnault’s apparatus for
the specific heat of a gas at constant pressure
(price £13), Max Kohl; and Favre & Silbermann’s
calorimeter for the heat of combination (price £4),
Max Kohl. The money would be well spent in
acquiring these latter instruments, provided that
the course in practical heat is used as a practical
course in elementary steam, thus extending the
utility of the subject to students of physics,
chemistry, and engineering.
With regard to duplication of apparatus, I
should recommend ten 100° C. thermometers, two
steam heaters, and six calorimeters and enclosures,
for a class of twenty students, the remaining pieces
of apparatus being bought singly as required.
THE ASSOCIATION OF ASSISTANT-
MISTRESSES IN PUBLIC SECON.
DARY SCHOOLS.
HE idea of an Association of Assistant-
mistresses was suggested in 1883, and was
at once welcomed by many ardent teachers
who had felt the need of greater opportunities for
the discussion of educational questions. The in-
augural meeting was held on January 15th, 1884,
under the presidency of Mrs. Fawcett, who in her
opening speech strongly advocated the formation
of such an association. The Association was in-
corporated under the Companies Acts in 1897, and
the first president after its incorporation was Mrs.
Withiel. Its objects, as stated in its “ Articles of
Association,” are: To promote the cause of edu-
cation generally; to protect and improve the status
and to further the legitimate professional interests
of teachers. Any assistant-mistress of a public
secondary school—that 1s, a secondary school ad-
ministered by a representative or other governing
body of a public character—is eligible for ordinary
membership of the Association. The business is
managed by an executive committee, consisting
of a president, honorary treasurer, and fifteen
members. The president and hon. treasurer hold
office for one year, the other members of the
committee for three. The president is chosen
alternately from London and the country. The
secretary is appointed at the first meeting of the
executive committee held after the annual meeting.
The president elected last January is Miss Laurie,
of Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
The Executive Committee entrusts much of the
work of the Association to a sub-committee, known
as the Emergency Committee, whose business it is
to take whatever action may appear desirable for
the furtherance of the objects of the Association,
168 The
School World
[May, 1903.
such as sending representatives to conferences,
joining deputations, memorialising the President
of the Board of Education on any educational
question that may arise on which the opinion of
the Association has been ascertained. Already
this year the Association through this committee
has sent representatives to the conference held at
Durham on the training of teachers, and to the
conference of the National Association for the
promotion of Technical and Secondary Education.
At the present time, there are 682 members, repre-
senting about 140 schools. A large proportion of
members naturally come from London, but there
is hardly a county in England unrepresented,
whilst the Welsh branch includes teachers from
over twenty schools, and Scotland furnishes over
Miss LAURIE,
Assistant-mistress of Cheltenham Ladies’ College; President of the
Association of Assistant-mistresses.
thirty members. The Association is gaining a
footing in Ireland, and has a member in Denmark,
and another in India. The representative character
of the Association, the fact that it draws from such
a large area, is of immense importance: it enables
the Association to get together a body of opinion
on educational questions, such as the training of
teachers, which is of the utmost value to the
profession—and to legislators.
The branches are free to organise any meetings
they like, but they may not take any action involv-
ing the Association as a body. Any group of
schools can form itself into a branch without refer-
ence to the committee, but naturally every member
has to apply for election (forms of application may
be obtained from the Secretary, Miss Fountain, 3,
Osberton Road, Lee, Kent), and the candidate’s
election is then considered by the Executive Com-
mittee. Branch meetings are held about once
a term, or oftener, when educational politics, or
some subject of practical interest, such as the
school curriculum, is discussed. Each branch has
its own secretary, and each school in the branch
its special correspondent. The branches send
delegates to the: general meeting held every year
in London. Extraordinary general meetings are
summoned, when necessary, by the Executive
Committee.
It may be asked, has the A.A.M. succeeded in
improving the status of teachers? . Undoubtedly
it has. It will be sufficient in support of this
statement to show the influence that the Associa-
tion has had on the registration of teachers. In
1891, Miss C. E. Collet, the president of that year,
gave evidence before the Select Committee of the
House of Commons formed for the consideration
of the Registration Bills. In 1894, when the
Bryce Commission on secondary education was
sitting, the A.A.M. was again invited to give
evidence, mainly on the subjects of registration
and training. Miss Lumby, the President, and
Mrs. Withiel, advocated, on behalf of the Associa-
tion, that training should not be taken as a substi-
tute for a knowledge qualification and that it need
not necessarily be at a training college, for it was
felt that it should be as varied as possible. The
alphabetical register, consisting of columns in
which the qualifications and training of teachers
should be entered, were suggestions which, among
others, have been adopted in the Registration
Order of Council issued last March. Mrs. Withiel
supplied special information on the financial
position of women teachers, which the Commis-
sioners regarded as very valuable. Lastly, in
connection with this subject of registration, the
fact that Miss Wallas, for two years president of
the A.A.M., should have been nominated by the
Board of Education a member of the Registration
Council speaks for itself.
It is evident from these and many other facts
which could be adduced that the A.A.M. has a
recognised official position as an Association
through which it is possible to get at the opinion
of assistant-mistresses in secondary schools. At
the present time, no joint committee is formed on
matters of any importance to secondary education
without representatives from the Association being
invited.
One is sometimes asked what are the benefits of
belonging to the A.A.M.? That there are advan-
tages it is easy to show, but it is somewhat
surprising that the undeniable devotion of assis-
tant-mistresses to their work does not more often
lead them to ask, for the sake of the profession
to which they belong, ‘‘ Can I help on in any way
the work of the Association by joining it?” Every
assistant-mistress who joins the A.A.M. and
attends meetings is helping to form that body of
professional opinion which it 1s so important to
have, especially in these days of educational
activity. Not only this, but intercourse amongst
teachers, the exchange of views, contact with
different schools and systems, are invaluable. The
experienced teacher gives of her experience and
May, 1903.]
receives in return from younger members a know-
ledge of newer methods and books, which might
otherwise not have been gained, and thus the
standard of the whole Association is raised and
the profession benefited. Owing to the able man-
agement of its finances by its hon. treasurers—
past and present—the A.A.M. appears to be one
of the few societies that always meets its expenses
and has a balance in hand, and this although the
annual subscription is only 2s. 6d. Last year two
members were sent, partly at the expense of the
A.A.M., to the meeting of the British Association,
to attend the debates of the Educational Science
Section. In this way, not only can the views of
the A.A.M. be stated as opportunity occurs, but
through the reports furnished by their represen-
tatives and circulated amongst members the
Association is kept in touch with the educational
thoughts of the day.
One of the first acts of the Association was to
start a free registry for its members. In January,
1898, at the invitation of the Teachers’ Guild, the
free registry of the A.A.M. was amalgamated with
the Joint Agency for Women Teachers, managed
by a committee of representatives from various
educational bodies.
Then there is a library, from which members
may obtain books by merely paying the postage;
they may be kept for months, if not wanted by
other members, so that country members who
have not access*to good libraries have found it
useful. And here the valuable reports which are
issued every year to members may be mentioned,
for they contain a mass of information on current
educational matters which it would be difficult to
get elsewhere.
These material advantages are, however, of
small moment compared with those that must
result to individuals from any action taken by the
A.A.M. in its corporate capacity. These it is not
so easy to define, but they are none the less real,
and perhaps the greatest is the inspiration that
comes through the consciousness of many working
together to advance the highest interests of the
profession they have chosen for their life-work.
Wordsworth. By Prof. Walter Raleigh. 232 pp. (Edward
Arnold.) 6s.—Prof. Raleigh has the art, when writing a
literary monograph, to make it almost as fascinating as a
novel. It is not that this book is to be called great or epoch
making. There is already such a voluminous Wordsworth
literature in print that to write anything absolutely new about
this particular poet is exceedingly difficult. But there is a way
of putting things, “and of that way Prof. Raleigh is a master.
Consequently he has written a charming and suggestive book
Upon a man whose genius still continues to puzzle many
quirers. Of course the vexed question of poetic diction could
not be left out of account, but the most fascinating chapters of
this work are those which deal with Wordsworth’s relation to
Nature and Humanity and his own powers of illuminative
insight. The most worn-out critic will hardly fail to read these
with enjoyment ; and the whole book breathes the spirit of lofty
teverence united to a singular charm of style.
The School World
169
SQUARED PAPER.
By W. H. SALMON, B.A. B.Sc.
INCE the introduction of the heuristic method
into our system of education the use of
squared paper has come to play a very im-
portant part in laboratory instruction, more espe-
cially in physical work; the student is now
encouraged to find out by his own experiments the
relations between connected physical quantities,
and to plot for himself curves to determine these
relations. There is a growing tendency, too, in
favour of concrete methods in science which ne-
cessitates a training in this and other methods of
graphical representation. A few words, therefore,
on the means of obtaining the different kinds of
squared paper, and their cost, may be useful to the
science teacher.
Many varieties may be obtained from the Edu-
cational Supply Association, Holborn Viaduct,
E.C. This firm supplies at £1 7s. per gross a
science exercise-book very useful for beginners,
consisting of fifty-six pages of ordinary manuscript
ruling and four squared pages ruled to tenths of an
inch with red and blue lines at alternate half-inches,
and containing a handy list of physical data. A
similar book may also be obtained from them at
£2 14S. per gross, consisting of sixty-four pages all
ruled square, either to 4 inch or 4 cm., or $ cm.
Other kinds kept in stock by this firm are the
13-inch by 16-inch sheet ruled at intervals of 4
inch, 4 inch, and 4 cm., price 7s. 6d. per ream; a
gt-inch by 144-inch sheet ruled with dark brown
lines on a yellow background at intervals of a
millimetre, the centimetres and 4 centimetres being
marked by thicker lines; and a 13-inch by 16-inch
sheet ruled to tenths of an inch with faint blue
lines, every 4 inch being marked by red and dark
blue lines alternately. This can be obtained at
15S. per ream.
This last is also supplied in rather better quality
in sheets of 11 inches by 17 inches, by Messrs.
Lamley and Co., Exhibition Road, S.W., at gd.
per quire or 12s. per ream. ‘This firm also keeps
squared paper notebooks in cloth covers, price
1s. 6d., ruled in tenths of an inch with thicker
lines at every inch and containing 120 pages,
8 inches by ro inches.
Other London firms may also be mentioned.
Messrs. Relfe Bros., 6, Charterhouse Buildings,
E.C., will rule squared paper to any size from one-
sixteenth of an inch upwards; while more expen-
sive kinds (from 3s. to 11S. a quire) may be ob-
tained from Messrs. Waterlow and Sons. An
extensive variety, too, including tracing paper and
tracing cloth, may be obtained trom Messrs. Tacey
and Co., 39, City Road, E.C. i
In addition the Midland Educational Co. have
an establishment in Corporation Street, Birming-
ham, and a branch in Market Street, Leicester.
Their “ Physical Exercise Book,” with cloth covers,
may be especially noticed as being very useful for
school laboratory work; it consists of sixty-four
170
leaves, ruled on one side with ordinary manuscript
lines, on the other in squares, at intervals of 4%-
inch ; the ruling is very distinct, and the book is sold
at £2 14s. per gross. Squared paper, ruled to tenths
of an inch in faint blue lines, can also be obtained
from them made up in “ Reporter’s”’ notebooks at
3s. per dozen. Square rulings, at intervals of $ inch,
may also be had at 4s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. per ream, or
made up in sixpenny notebooks. A very good
quality paper supplied by this firm is their } inch,
ruled with blue lines and a thicker blue line at
every inch, sold at 1s. 6d. per 100 sheets, or in
books at gs. per gross. Another Birmingham firm
which should be mentioned is Messrs. Philip
Harris and Co., who supply at 4s. per dozen a
notebook of 96 pages, with one side in ,},-inch
squares, the other being ruled straight, and who
keep in stock many varieties of the rulings brought
out by the German firm, Schleicher and Schill,
mentioned below. | ;
From the North of England School Furnishing
Company, Darlington, may be obtained a sheet,
74 inches by 92 inches, ruled in squares at intervals
of about one-eighth of an inch, and sold at 1s. 6d.
per 100 sheets.
Perhaps the best quality of squared paper on
the market is that published by Schleicher and
Schill. This can be obtained either in sheet or
roll from most of the firms mentioned above. It
is, of course, somewhat expensive, costing about
12s. 6d. per roll (11 yards by 30 inches) unmounted,
and 25s. mounted on cloth, or 5s. 6d. per quire of
sheets 18 inches by 23 inches.
A recent introduction, probably unknown to
most teachers, is Granville’s Plotting Paper
for polar co-ordinates. This only appeared in
England last year, and the sole agents here are
Messrs. Bemrose and Sons, 4, Snow Hill, E.C.
It consists of a series of concentric circles with
straight lines radiating from the centre at intervals
of five degrees, and is published in books of 40
sheets at 1s. per book. This has been quite
lately introduced in the first-year course in mathe-
matics at the Central Technical College, and has
been found useful in classes in elementary trigo-
nometry.
So far we have referred only to squared paper
for mathematical and scientific work, but a few
words might be said about square rulings for
drawing purposes. A varied assortment of these
is kept in stock by the Midland Educational Com-
pany, and can be obtained either in the sheet form
or made up in books, from 1d. upwards. The
sheets are ruled at intervals, varying from } inch
up to one inch, and are sold at 1s. 3d. per 100
sheets. A different quality paper with rougher
surface, marked with dots instead of lines, in
squares of } inch or 4 inch, may be obtained
here, made up into 1d. drawing books, having a
page of 5 inches by 63 inches. Most of these
varieties can, in fact, be obtained from almost
any school stationer.
Of the various kinds of squared paper enumerated
above, one of the most suitable for fairly advanced
scientific work is the ;4,-inch ruling with thicker red
The School World
[May, 1903.
and blue lines at every alternate half inch. This
is certainly to be preferred to the uniformly co-
loured faint-blue ruling, which is apt to be very
confusing, and to lead to mistakes in plotting ob-
servations on the paper. The ẹ-inch ruling has
also the advantage of being convenient for decimal
computations. If, however, a laboratory notebook
is desired square ruled on every page, then the
fainter colours must be used, that the book may be
suitable for ordinary writing. For more elementary
work wider rulings would do, such as the half-
centimetre or the centimetre, and the exercise
books, ruled partly for ordinary MS. work, partly
in squares, would be found very useful.
It will not be out of place to conclude witha
strong recommendation in favour of the introduc-
tion, and the early introduction, of lessons on
squared paper into purely mathematical classes.
The recent agitation for a reform of the accepted
methods of teaching mathematics in schools has
been entirely in favour of a less abstract line of
education. This alone is sufficient to show the
necessity of some change, and every mathematical
teacher will agree that the mind of the average boy
is unable to assimilate a course of mathematics
consisting wholly of abstract reasoning. A course
of lessons on the use of squared paper (assuming
practically no previous mathematical knowledge)
might very well be given to an elementary class,
and would afford an excellent introduction to the
study of co-ordinate geometry later on, should the
pupil ever reach that stage. Common illustrations
of the principles involved, as, for example, a tem-
perature chart, showing their application to every-
day life, would rouse a fresh interest in mathematics,
and, apart from the practical possibilities thus
opened out, the concrete aspect of the subject
would do much to relieve the mental strain which
for some minds seems always associated with the
study of abstract science.
' THE LONDON EDUCATION BILL.
HE Education Bill for London was intro-
duced in the House of Commons by Sir
William Anson on April 7th, and read a
first time. The object of the Bill is to extend and
adapt the provisions of the Education Act of last
year to London. Under the Bill, the School
Board is to be abolished, and education is to be
linked with municipal government. The London
County Council is to some extent placed in the
position of the county councils throughout the
country, under the Act of last session; as the
education authority for London, it will provide
the money and exert a general control over educa-
tional policy, and it will act through an Education
Committee which is to number ninety-seven, and
be constituted as follows :—
May, 1903. ]
London County Council ae oie ae se 36
Each Borough Council, one ... sas DA sis digger 27
Westminster and the City of London, two each a 4
London University and various public schools and technical
institutions, and the great contributories to London
education, such as the trustees of the City parochial
charities and City Guilds... ee T sie TE
92
For the first five years five members of the existing School
Board sei aie r she See he sa $
Total number of members ... 97
The council of each metropolitan borough is to
manage all ‘ council,” f.e., board schools, within
the borough. In other words, the appointment
and dismissal of teachers, the custody of school
buildings, the selection of sites for new schools
and the erection of new buildings, is to be left to
the metropolitan boroughs in their capacity of
“managers.” These borough councils may, if they
think fit, delegate their powers to a committee or
committees appointed by them, consisting either
wholly or partly of members of the council.
The relation of voluntary schools to the new
local authority is to be precisely the same as that
set up under the Act of 1902.
In the event of any dispute between the edu-
cation authority and a metropolitan borough
as to the distinction between ‘“‘ management” and
“control,” or in respect of negligence on the part
of a borough council to perform its duties, the
Board of Education is to arbitrate, and its decision
is to be acted upon.
Woolwich is treated in an exceptional manner.
It is regarded by the Bill as a separate borough
apart from London, and will have the rating
powers of a borough council under last year’s
Act.
Such are the main provisions of the Bill before
Parliament. The Bill has not received the ap-
proval of any responsible body of educational
opinion, and it seems more than likely that im-
portant modifications wiil be introduced. - There
is need for a re-adjustment in the composition
of the education committee. No good argument
for the inclusion of thirty-one representatives of
borough councils is forthcoming. The delegation
to local borough councils of such important duties
as the appointment and dismissal of teachers and
the selection of sites for new schools are defended
by no political party, and it is almost certain that
the London Education Act as finally passed will
differ in many important respects from the Bill
which has now been read a first time.
Triumphs of Science. Edited by M. A. L. Lane. v. +
154 pp. (Ginn.) 4s. 6d.—These interesting essays by well-
known authorities on some applications of science should prove
of use in upper classes as affording a change from the orthodox
form of reading-book. Telescopes, lighthouses, guns, warships,
lunnels, and railroads are some of the subjects dealt with, and
they are described in easily understood language. Many boys
will devour the contents of the book in their leisure time.
The School World
ROYAL COMMISSION ON UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION IN IRELAND.
FinaL REPORT.
HIS report is the outcome of much labour in
T the attempt to solve a problem the difficulty
of which arises from the two incompatible
ideals of higher education held by Protestants and
Roman Catholics. Ireland has been traversed,
thirty-six sittings have been held, and one hundred
and forty-seven witnesses examined. The result
is clearly a compromise, for while ten of the eleven
commissioners sign the report, six of the ten enter
important reservations by way of notes which are
appended.
Many persons have questioned the advisability
of excluding Trinity College from the scope of
the Commission’s inquiry, as they look for a solu-
tion in a plan alluded to by the report (p. 31), by
which the constitution of the University of Dublin
might be modifed to suit Roman Catholics. The
wish is father to the thought. There is no sign
that the Roman Catholic authorities would accept
any modifications that Protestants could suggest.
The recommendations actually made are in view
of the following defects in the present constitution
and working of the Royal University: (1) A merely
examining university, however high the standard
of its examinations, must have a ‘“ paralysing and
disheartening influence ” on teaching ; (2) Its pecu-
liar organisation is such ‘that every appointment
from that of senator to that of hall porter shall be
such as to maintain an even balance between the
churches ” ; (3) Since it came into existence, the
growth of the Queen’s Colleges has been arrested.
A “ coaching ” system has hit hard attendance on
lectures, andthe reduction in the number of students
has been remarkable. In Belfast it has gone down
from 567 in 1881-2 to 349 in IgoI-2, in Cork from
402 to 190, and in Galway from 201 to 93. It is
necessary to restore the academic principle and
to insist on residence as a qualification fora degree.
(4) Lastly, there is the religious difficulty. The
Roman Catholic Church has objected to the
Queen's Colleges, and there is no possibility of
the removal of the ban. This has led to a lack of
properly qualified Roman Catholics for responsible
appointments and to very serious economic and
social evils.
The proposals discussed ‘‘ have all a common
basis and a common characteristic. | Whether
college or university be the form of the new
institution, that institution, if it is to serve its
purpose at all, must be a Roman Catholic insti-
tution. Its teaching shall be effectively
guaranteed to be safe to the faith and morals of
Roman Catholics.” It is, however, noted with
regret that they run counter to the hope that the
Irish youth of all creeds might meet and mingle in
college life. Nor is it ‘* probable that more than
a small proportion of young men studying for the
priesthood would attend even such a Roman
Catholic College or University ” as is described.
172
It should, again, provide training for both primary
and secondary teachers.
The suggestion of a Roman Catholic University
is rejected on three grounds. (1) ‘ There arises
on the threshold the intrinsic objection to giving to
an institution intended for one religious denomina-
tion, and largely controlled by ecclesiastics, the
right to confer degrees.” And ‘it is obvious that
degrees conferred by such a body would not pass
current in the market of life as compared with
degrees conferred by institutions resting on a
broader basis.” (2) This proposal is always asso-
ciated with the establishment of another university
in Belfast, mainly Presbyterian, but “it is clear
that Belfast does not desire, and would not in
present conditions accept, a university.” (3) It
leaves Cork and Galway outside either university
and virtually derelict.
It is therefore recommended that the Royal Uni-
versity be reconstituted as a “ teaching university
with four constituent colleges, the three existing
Queen’s Colleges and a new Roman Catholic Col-
lege.” The new college would find its nucleus in
the present University College in Dublin, which at
present receives £6,000 indirectly from the State.
Each college would be amply endowed and prac-
tically autonomous, the Senate of the University
merely supervising and approving their graduation
courses, and taking care that the standard of the
examinations is properly maintained. The Senate
would be reformed, and each of the colleges would
have a governing body appropriate to its local
needs. A hope is expressed that, with the esta-
blishment of a purely Roman Catholic College in
Dublin, the present religious difficulty in Cork and
Galway may disappear.
The claims of women are fully recognised in the
report. “ All degrees and other privileges of the
University should be open without distinction of
sex. The existing women’s colleges might easily
be converted into residential halls in connection
with the University.”
There are also recommendations dealing with
higher technical education, the co-ordination of
primary, secondary, and technical education, anda
department of Irish studies.
The most important note appended to the report
is that by the Chairman, Lord Robertson, in which
he says that he cannot concur in the scheme be-
cause the “ most authoritative Roman Catholic
opinions have already declared against it,’’ and,
further, “the question whether such an institution
ought to be endowed by Parliament would at any
time be important ; and it arises after the system
of concurrent endowment has been finally ex-
tinguished by the disestablishment of the Church
of Ireland. But, further, that question must be
faced in all its bearings; and it will be for the
Government and for Parliament to judge how far
the added influence which would unquestionably
accrue to the Roman Catholic prelates would be
exercised to thé furtherance of national enlight-
enment and imperial strength.”
It may be added that nothing is yet known of
the intentions of the Government in reference to
The School World
[May, 1903.
the report, but it is officially stated that in any
case due regard will be had to the interests of
those who have already entered upon a career
in the Royal University, and that a considerable
time will be allowed them within which to com-
plete their courses under the present regulations.
THE REPORT OF THE
INDIAN UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION.
Irs RELATION TO SECONDARY EDUCATION IN INDIA.
(FROM A CALCUTTA CORRESPONDENT.)
WING to the prominence that has of late
been given to the questions of primary and
secondary education in England, the Indian
Universities Commission that was appointed and
issued its report last year has roused more interest
outside scholastic circles than in all probability it
ordinarily would have done. But the tendency for
an Englishman to interpret events that happen
abroad in terms of what he himself is personally
acquainted with appears to have been at work in
this case also, and one is glad of an opportunity of
pointing out the different circumstances that have
to be faced in our eastern empire from those that
have to be dealt with at home. |
A Universities Commission in England, if it
were instructed to enquire into the condition and
prospects of the Universities, and to recommend
measures for the promotion and advancement of
learning, would undoubtedly conceive it to be one
of the main divisions of its duty to study the
relation of the Universities to the schools from
which their students are drawn. And one would
naturally look for suggestions for improving the
curriculum of the schools, if that was in any
way deficient, and for bringing the school system
more in harmony with that of the Universities.
Not so in India. In the report with which we are
dealing, it is left to the one dissentient member,
Mr. Justice Banerjee, to draw attention in his note
to the almost complete omission of reference to the
condition of school and college life (as a matter of
fact, barely two pages in all out of the seventy-
two of the report are devoted to suggestions that
deal even remotely with this important subject),
and it is accordingly proposed, in the first place,
to try to explain the system under which such a
condition of things can be possible.
Extraordinary as it may seem to western minds,
the hub about which education turns in India is the-
entrance examination of the Universities. Govern-
ment, in an unwise moment, laid down that the
| smallest qualification for even minor clerkships in
its gift should be a university entrance examina-
tion, and as a Government appointment is tradi-
tionally in India the be-all and end-all of existence,
meaning as it does to the native a life of otium cum
dignitate, the aim of every village youth who desires
to improve his position is to pass the entrance
ago hni a. ae ee,
ee P
May, 1903. ]
examination at the earliest possible age, and the
schools inevitably are forced to cater for this
demand.
The various university entrance examinations
differ somewhat amongst themselves, but a fair
idea of the standard of these examinations, upon
which, in the circumstances mentioned above, so
much depends, can be obtained by quoting the
syllabus for the entrance examination of the Cal-
cutta University. A candidate must take up the
following subjects :—
I. (a) English.
(6) One other language from a list of seventeen.
Usually, in Bengal, either Bengali or Sanskrit is
taken, or if the candidate be a Mohamedan,
Persian.
II. Mathematics. (a) Arithmetic up to square root.
(6) Simple algebra.
(c) First four books of Euclid.
III. Outlines of the history of England and India, and the
elements of general and physical geography as taught in three or
four prescribed text-books.
Two papers are set in English. The first contains questions
set from a text-book of selections published for the University,
with questions on grammar arising therefrom. This text-book
contains a mixture of prose and verse, and its standard can be
gauged from the fact that the following pieces of poetry are
those chosen to be learnt by heart: ‘* Thou art, O God,” ‘* The
Journey Onwards,” ‘*The Soldier’s Dieam,” ‘The Village
Blacksmith.” The second paper contains passages for transla-
tion from the vernacular of the candidate, together with simple
questions on English composition.
This syllabus gives us the key to the whole
educational question. Practically speaking, in
Indian schools there exists nothing corresponding
to the secondary education of England. True;
high schools exist in name, but these are simply
devoted to training boys for the university entrance
examination. In reality, therefore, the educational
course is two-fold: (a) school or primary ; (b) col-
legiate; the former being governed by the require-
ments of the latter. wi hat, then, is the collegiate
education with which the Commen was asked
to deal? To answer this question, let us consider
the Calcutta syllabus for the B.A. degree, taking
for preference the scientific or B course (pass
degree), as we can then more easily compare the
work with that done by an English boy.
The requirements for this examination, which is
taken two years after the first Arts, or intermediate,
and four years after the entrance examination, are
as follows :—
I. English. For 1903 the questions are to be selected from
text-books dealing with two plays of Shakespeare, two poems
of Milton, Book IV. of Palgrave’s ‘“‘ Golden Treasury,” Burke's
Speeches (1 vol.), Trevelyan’s “ Selections from Macaulay.”
II. Mathematics, including statics, dynamics, hydrostatics,
and descriptive astronomy, the standard of work being similar
to that required in the advanced stage of South Kensington
examinations.
III. One of the following :—
(a) Physics and chemistry. Text-books:
numerous omissions) and Newth.
(6) Physiology and botany, or zoology.
Huxley, Reynolds Green, and Parker.
Ganot (with
Text-books:
_ The School World
173
(c) Geology and mineralogy, or physical geography. Text-
books: Geikie’s ‘“ Class Book,” Cole,and Rutley.
No practical work ts required.
This is, in fact, the course, or rather less than
the course, an English boy of seventeen at a gram-
mar school would have done, if he intended going
up for a scholarship at Oxford or Cambridge.
The honours course is naturally more extensive,
but, so far as science is concerned, the writer can
vouch for the fact that honours students seldom, if
ever, know as much as an English boy who has
just obtained a scholarship at one of the English
universities. In chemistry, for instance, an Indian
honours student has to read the elements of
organic chemistry, excluding benzine and its deriva-
tives, and be able to analyse qualitatively a mixture
containing not more than two acids and two bases,
but in the other honours scientific subjects no
practical work is required at all.
This similarity of English secondary with Indian
university education up to the B.A. degree has
not been fully grasped even in India, where the
authorities, although realising that something is
radically wrong with the whole system, cling tothe
belief that the Universities Commission ought to
be competent to set matters right. Undoubtedly,
the Comniission’s recommendations must improve
the standard of work in the colleges, if they are
carried out—although there is grave fear at present
that the Government is inclined to give way before
the clamour of the native Press, and make fatal
concessions—but it hardly needs a Commission to
introduce true reform and sound education. Go-
vernment itself, by a stroke of the pen, could abolish
the rule of entrance examinations being a qualifi-
cation for Government employ (in this they are
supported by the Commission), and following such
a simple though far-reaching step, the lately-
appointed Director-General of Education, Mr.
Orange, would be able, in consultation with the
provincial Directors of Public Instruction, to draft
a scheme for the introduction into high schools of
a satisfactory amount of true secondary education,
sufficient to supply the wants of those who now
read up to the standard of the entrance and inter-
mediate university examinations. A school final
examination, as the Commissioners also suggest,
would, it is hoped, satisfy the desire for a testi-
monial of simple education.
The colleges and universities would thus be re-
lieved from the business of looking after an
enormous number of unprofitable students (e.g. in
IgOl, 6,135 candidates appeared in the entrance
examination at Calcutta, of whom 3,307 passed),
and with fewer students at the colleges individual
attention could be paid to students, better work
could be attempted, and better results produced in
the end. At present, with unwieldy classes (in
many cases over 100), it is impossible for the pro-
fessor to come properly into contact with even a
small number of the students that attend his
lectures.
We will now briefly detail the recommendations
of the Commission, which, if carried out in con-
junction with the reforms just dealt with, are
174
calculated to bring Indian college teaching more
in line with that of colleges in England.
Age Limit.—As regards matriculation, it is
recommended that no student should appear at the
entrance examination until he has completed his
fifteenth year. At present there is no limit, except
at Allahabad, and although the average age 1s
higher, students fairly often manage to pass the
examination before they have reached the age
of 13.
Distinction between School and College.-—The Com-
mission suggest that universities should decline
to affiliate any new second-grade college, and those
second-grade colleges which cannot hope to rise to
the first grade ought to revert to the position of
high school. A second-grade college is generally
a high school that has added two college classes,
so as to teach up to the university intermediate
examination.
The Study of English.—The Commission points
out that, notwithstanding the prominent position
given to English throughout the university course,
the results are most discouraging, and it is notorious
that cases often occur of even M.A.s not being able
to carry on an ordinary conversation with an
Englishman without constantly requiring to have
remarks repeated. The Commission considers that
all teachers whose mother tongue is not English
should be passed through a training college where
they can be tested in expression and elocution by
an Englishman before they are given certificates to
teach, and recommend that no text-books in English
should be prescribed for the matriculation classes.
A list of descriptive and historical books, illustrating
the course desired, may be given, but this list
should be long enough to exclude the possibility of
all the books being committed to memory. This
latter clause is intended to check the almost uni-
versal custom, inconceivable though it may be
to an Englishman, of getting up the prescribed
book or books by heart. In the higher courses it
is recommended that books should be chosen as
examples of language and style, and should be
studied more or less minutely. Books which deal
with the history and criticism of literary works
which the student has no opportunity of reading
are not to be included.
Reorganisation of Courses for Degrees.—Lastly, the
Commission proposes a complete reorganisation of
courses of work at the university in accordance
with the following scheme :—
Entrance. e
L
t
Intermediate.
i
E Ba E 1
B.A. B.Sc.
| |
M.A. M.Sc.
The intermediate course is to include—
(1) English.
(2) A classical language, such as Sanskrit.
(3) Mathematics.
(4) One of the following: (a) Physics and chemistry, or
(4) Deductive logic and elementary psychology.
The School World
[May, 1903.
The student who desires subsequently to take up
science would take physics and chemistry for the
intermediate examination, while the future B.A.
student would take the alternative of logic and
psychology. It is strongly recommended that
practical work in physics and chemistry for this
course, as well as in all science subjects in sub-
sequent examinations, should be compulsory, and
if in the case of the intermediate examination no
actual practical examination be held, the written
examination should be devised to elicit the fact of
his proper practical training, while the university
should assure itself that adequate facilities for
giving practical instruction exist in all colleges
from which its students are drawn. For the B.Sc.,
in which chemistry and physics, with either
mathematics or another science, are to be taken,
practical examinations are to be passed indepen-
dently of the written examination, and are to be
assigned separate minima ofmarks. The M.Sc. is
to be awarded by examination after the candidate
has specialised for a fixed period in any one of the
subjects included in the B.Sc. course.
The proposed B.A. course differs very little from
the present honours Arts course except in making
the study of a classical language compulsory, while
for the M.A. the student has the choice between
languages, philosophy, history, and mathematics.
Henceforward the B.A. and B.Sc. are to be pass
examinations, and the M.A. and M.Sc. considered
the corresponding honours examinations. Post-
graduate research is to be encouraged by allowing
M.A.s and M.Sc.s to proceed to the degrees of
D.Litt. and D.Sc. on showing that they have
pursued successfully a course of original investiga-
tion for a period of, say, five years.
CAMBRIDGE LOCAL EXAMINATIONS,
1902.
HINTS FROM THE EXAMINERS’ REPORTS.
NE of the chief uses of the examinations
O conducted by public examining authorities
is to indicate for the benefit of teachers the
directions in which their teaching may be improved ;
and a well-recognised plan is for examiners to
point out the common failings of candidates
presented for examination, so that teachers may
appreciate fully what are the usual difficulties
experienced by boys and girls in their study of the
subjects comprised in the school curriculum. Judged
from this point of view, the ‘ Forty-fifth Annual
Report of the Syndicate of the University of Cam-
bridge,” dealing with the local examinations held
last December, is most helpful. Attention is di-
rected, in the following extracts, to those general
weaknesses which stand in need of immediate
attention, in the hope that teachers will take
special pains to fortify their pupils preparing for
the examinations of next December against what
have in the past proved to be vulnerable points.
ee o y g
May, 1903. ]
Computsory Supjects.—Speaking of arithmetic,
the examiners say that, so far as preliminary can-
didates were concerned, more attention to order,
and more care given to individual steps of the
work, would have saved the candidates much
time ; in several instances, duplicate sets of correct
workings were sent in, one in pencil and the other
in ink. The candidates did not appear to realise
that correct answers to a limited number of ques-
tions are worth more than fragmentary attempts
at all. With respect to decimals, there was much
evidence, in the case of the papers of junior candi-
dates, of bad teaching, especially in many of the
answers to a question on metres and francs, where
use was made of vulgar fractions instead of deci-
mals. In the answers by junior candidates to a
question on the cost of painting the walls of a room
there was often confusion between linear, square,
and cubic measures, and the method used was fre-
quently unnecessarily long.
ENGLISH SEcTIONS.—Comparatively few of the
preliminary candidates in English grammar men-
tioned two adverbs capable of inflexion, or gave a
complete list of the pronouns occurring ina selected
passage, the majority being apparently unable to
distinguish the different uses of the word that; in
the parsing of these candidates, too, the infinitive
mood proving a stumbling-block to very many.
A good many junior candidates failed to recognise
a phrase used absolutely, generally through want
of attention to the punctuation of the passage.
A minor fault of the composition exercises of
senior candidates was the frequent recurrence of
such vulgarisms as ‘‘different to,” and “their,”
“« them,” as the oblique cases of “ one,” ‘‘ person,”
« everybody.” On the whole there was a marked
decline in standard as compared with the preceding
year; it was evident that in many, if not most,
schools the subject was entirely neglected.
Referring to the answers of preliminary candi-
cates on Scott's ‘‘ Lady of the Lake,” the examiners
say that, where the meaning of words was correctly
given, the impression frequently left was that
notes had been remembered but not properly
understood, and in numerous cases the extraneous
information given by a generous editor had been
read into the text of the poem. Certain words—
notably “ knell” and ‘* presumptuously ’’—were
almost invariably wrongly explained.
In the case of Shakespeare's * A Midsummer Night's
Dream,’ the report states that the paraphrasing
was much the weakest part of the work of junior
candidates; a large number of them made absolute
nonsense of the passage, while of those who seemed
to have grasped its general sense comparatively
few gave a close and intelligent rendering.
Of junior candidates who offered Scott's “Lady
of the Lake,” the examiners say that the text of
the subject had not been studied with sufficient
care by many; and, as a consequence, the notes
were often misunderstood, and there were many
failures in the explanation of detached words and
phrases, and in naming the poetical equivalents
used by Scott for certain common words.
In the papers of senior candidates on the play of
The School World
175
Shakespeare, there was far too much reliance on
mere verbatim quotation without any attempt to
show the bearing of the passage on the particular
questions asked. Instead of defining imagination
briefly, and in Shakespeare’s words, as they were
asked to do, most of the candidates wrote out a
passage of ten to fifteen lines, only one line of
which was relevant. There was throughout a
great weakness in paraphrase; to many senior
candidates the passages set for that purpose ap-
peared to be altogether unintelligible. With senior
candidates, too, who offered the Selected Works of
Milton, the merits of the poetic diction and of the
verse were far from being understood, and more
attention should have been paid to the literary
influences apparent in the poems.
In the English history answers of preliminary
candidates, phrases from text-books or notes sup-
plied by teachers occurred again and again, and
the context often showed that they were imper-
fectly understood. The same unintelligent com-
mittal to memory of paragraphs from short text-
books and of notes, which was commented upon
in last year’s report, was as noticeable as ever in the
papers of junior candidates. Even where verbal
accuracy was attained, it was clear that a large
number of the candidates had very vague ideas
about the subject-matter to which the questions
related. Dates were given in the most haphazard
fashion. Questions connected with constitutional
history showed that there was considerable confu-
sion in the minds of most of the junior candidates,
and incidentally there were signs of great ignorance
of historical geography. As usual, the most no-
ticeable faults of senior candidates in English his-
tory were irrelevancy, diffuseness and heedlessness.
In many instances they had evidently not stopped
to consider the real meaning of the questions, but
had seized upon a hasty interpretation of them as
a pretext for displaying their knowledge, and
giving long accounts of events quite outside the
scope of what was asked. Another unsatisfactory
feature, at some centres where the work was other-
wise good, was that the teachers had evidently
encouraged their pupils to commit to memory care-
fully prepared answers of likely questions. Asa
result many answers were almost word for word
the same.
The two chief defects of the papers of junior
candidates on the Atstory of the British Empire were
(i.) ignorance of the outlines of general history,
which was shown by confusion between different
centuries, and (ii.) inattention to geography, which
in some cases lowered the value of every answer
attempted.
In the junior geography papers the answers to
questions on industries and products were not
satisfactory: often a long list was made—a com-
mon fault with girls—-in which the trivial and the
important were jumbled together regardless of
rank, the dominant trade being perhaps given last
of all; there was too much enumeration, too little
emphasis on salient features. In the answers to
the question on the leading industries of S.E.
Lancashire and Ulster, wooilen goods were often
176
described as made of flax or cotton, and linen
goods of cotton or wool, the transformation being
apparently effected by the skill of the operatives in
the respective districts. This confusion, common
amongst the girls, was possibly due to an intimate
knowledge of modern textile fabrics.
The least satisfactory answers of junior candi-
dates were those relating to physical phenomena.
Thus, many wrote as if climatic regions were con-
terminous with political boundaries. In explaining
why most of Brazil is well watered and why most
of Australia is dry, a large percentage were con-
tent if they quoted the profusion of rivers in the
former country, and their paucity in the latter,
though a great many were able to go beyond the
symptoms to the cause. Regarding the altitude
of the sun at different points on the surface of the
globe, the candidates showed great ignorance.
CuiassicaL SEcTION.—Many preliminary candi-
dates who offered Latin had committed to memory
the various forms of the verb, but were quite confused
as to their names and meanings. So far as the
Latin of junior candidates was concerned, the most
noticeable faults were inability to break up a long
Latin sentence into clear English sentences, and
confusion of Latin conjunctions, moods, and tenses.
In syntax, the candidates seemed rarely to have ad-
vanced beyond the ordinary rules for the noun, the
answers to the questions on the verb being in most
cases poor. The questions on the subject-matter
of the Cæsar produced a large number of weak
answers from junior candidates, and the maps on
the whole were disappointing, although some were
satisfactory, and a few were excellent. For the
last two years the poorness of the answers
of juniors on the declension of substantives
has been made the subject ofeunfavourable com-
ment, and this year showed no improvement.
The most unsatisfactory feature of the work of
senior candidates was the ignorance of grammar
displayed by a large number of the candidates.
Many answers on points of grammar, especially
from the girls, were worthless.
MoperN Lanocuaces Section.— The render-
ings of the detached sentences into French by pre-
liminary candidates were mostly marred by false
concords. Their parsing was very unsatisfactory ;
in almost every instance the answers were meagre
and inaccurate. The French composition of a
large majority of the junior candidates was prac-
tically worthless owing to the almost complete
absence of any agreement of the adjectives, &c.,
with their corresponding nouns, and verbs with
their subjects. The rendering of the idiomatic
phrases from the set books, too, was, for the most
part, poor. The French composition of senior
candidates was very weak; the great majority of
the candidates not only failed in vocabulary, but
were guilty of the worst mistakes in genders and
grammar generally. In the examination of senior
candidates in spoken French, the rules of lzazson
were more often neglected than observed. In con-
versation the best candidates were able to under-
stand perfectly and carry on a regular conversation
in idiomatic French; they were also able to give a
The School World
=- [May, 1903.
fairly connected narrative on a suggested topic.
There were, however, a large number of failures in
this part of the examination. The majority of
those who failed did so from either a lack of
vocabulary or inability to frame proper grammati-
cal sentences. In all cases teachers should train
their pupils to give a complete sentence by way of
answer.
The performances of preliminary candidates in
German, taken as a whole, were distinctly dis-
appointing; the candidates showed an entire
ignorance of the declension and comparison of
adjectives, as well as of the conjugation of the
commonest strong verbs. The spelling of the
German words was very careless indeed, and the
total disregard of the mark of modification seemed
to indicate that the candidates were unfamiliar
with the spoken forms. ‘The piece for unprepared
translation contained none but the simplest words;
nevertheless the drift of the whole was rarely
caught, whilst those who did make sense of the
passage stumbled over the easiest constructions.
The composition was naturally the weakest part
of the paper. The candidates showed themselves
quite incapable of building the simplest German
sentence, and the most elementary rules for the
order of words were entirely disregarded. . Here,
again, it seemed evident that the direct method has
not yet been applied in the teaching of elementary
German. The prepared translation was excep-
tionally weak.
The German composition of junior candidates
left much to be desired. Gross blunders in the
declensions and conjugations were far too frequent,
and with few exceptions the most elementary rules
for the position of words were neglected. These
were the principal causes of failure—seldom lack
of vocabulary. A great change was noticeable in
the proportion of senior candidates taking pre-
scribed books and those taking unprepared trans-
lation instead of them: in former years the large
majority of candidates preferred to take the pre-
scribed authors, this year three-fifths availed
themselves of the alternative of taking unprepared
passages. More than two-thirds of the failures
occurred among the candidates who did not take
the prescribed subjects, and the general quality of
their work was in many cases inferior. The trans-
lations from the German were often marred by
gross carelessness and senseless guesswork. Not
a few of the candidates were unable to translate
some af the most common words, and many
teachers had obviously neglected to put their
scholars in possession of an ordinary working
vocabulary. This is a very important point to
which frequently far too little attention is paid in
schools. The piece set for translation from English
into German was very badly done by most of the
candidates who attempted it. It is perhaps not
sufficiently realised by many teachers that German
composition can only be attempted successfully if
a sufficient amount of time has previously been
given to the teaching of German at school, if
the children have acquired a useful stock of
German words and phrases and, by means of much
May, 1903. ]
reading of German and constant oral practice, some
feeling for the idiomatic use of the foreign language.
Without ample preliminary training of such a kind
good results in German composition cannot pos-
sibly be hoped for. From many bad mistakes in
German spelling (froklich, gluhte, sechsehn, &c.) it
was evident that teachers had failed to insist ona
correct pronunciation of characteristic German
sounds.
MATHEMATICAL SgcTION.—Too many junior
candidates were presented in Euclid who showed
little or no hold of geometrical principles. The
easiest rider was solved correctly by about
half the junior candidates. The most frequent
mistake in this rider was assuming that lines
given in length are also given in position. The
answers of senior candidates to the question in
solid geometry seemed to show that the subject
had been taught with very little reference to actual
concrete bodies.
Many of the preliminary candidates in algebra
were unable to substitute numerical values ac-
curately in the simplest expressions, and still more
saw no difference between the square of a sum and
the sum of the several squares. In presenting the
sum of several fractions there was a general
tendency to throw aside the denominator, and of
the three simple equations set only one was solved
correctly by more than a few candidates. Many
of the weakest candidates seemed to have been
hurried along to the progressions without grasping
the simplest principles of algebra. Comparatively
few of the junior candidates succeeded in sim-
plifying correctly the sum of a number of fractions.
A very small proportion understood how to select
the coefficient of a specified power of x in a given
algebraical expression. Most junior candidates
made errors in simplifying the expression whose
square root was required. About half the senior
candidates who tried an example on arithmetical
progression wrongly took the common difference
as positive. The work of several candidates,
especially among the girls, showed that they had
hurried on to the more advanced parts of the
subject while their work on the quite elementary
parts was very unsound.
The examiners in trigonometry, speaking of junior
candidates, say that attention must again be drawn
to the fact that boys are too often hurried on tothe
solution of triangles before they have really grasped
the rudimentary definitions and formulae. The
most unsatisfactory feature in the results of this
year's examination is the large number of candi-
dates who made serious mistakes in their answers
to the first three questions, even though many of
them could write out the bookwork of the other
part of the paper.
NATURAL SCIENCES SECTION.—In the experimental
science papers of junior candidates there was a
certain amount of confusion bet ween the barometer
and the thermometer. In explaining the method
of obtaining the boiling-point of a liquid hardly any
reference was made to the necessity of observing
the pressure at the time of the experiment ; in fact,
in many cases the use of a closed flask was indi-
No. 53, VOL. 5.]
The School World _
£77
cated. The complete determination of the latent
heat of fusion was given, generally with a wrong
formula, when only experiments showing that heat
was absorbed on fusion were asked for. In fact,
the answers to the heat questions did not indicate
an experimental knowledge of the subject.
The answers of junior candidates to their second
paper in experimental science revealed a real
danger in the modern method of teaching science,
namely, that of inferring more from an experiment
than can legitimately be drawn from it. The
answers to a question on the nature of air furnished
good illustrations of this tendency. The old
didactic method of teaching is not more objection-
able than the habit of teaching students that they
have proved things when they have not really
done so.
In the botany papers of preliminary candidates
the evidence that such knowledge as was possessed
by very many of the candidates was derived
almost entirely from an elementary text-book or
from the words of the teacher was unmistak-
able. It is of the utmost importance that those
responsible for teaching the subject, especially
to young students, should recognise that botany is
essentially a science of observation. The un-
necessary technical terms introduced into many of
the answers are doubtless the outcome of a system
which teaches botany rather as an exercise of
memory than of observation. Several candidates
from widely separated centres used the word
‘“ spermoderm ” to denote the seed-coats of the
bean. It is doubtful whether such a term is ever
required ; it is certainly not in general use, and
there can be no justification for forcing it upon the
memories of young children. In the case of juniors,
candidate after candidate expressed the opinion
that a plant takes in some or all of its water-supply
through its leaves, and not a single answer con-
tained any suggestion that the erectness and
strength of a herbaceous stem are dependent upon
the turgidity of its soft tissues. Altogether the
physiological side of the subject had been seriously
neglected in the teaching, well adapted though
much of it is for elementary demonstration.
The practical part of the physical geography as
defined by the schedule issued by the Syndicate
had evidently been studied in a practical manner by
very few junior candidates. For instance, in the
majority of the papers in which a question referring
to a rainbow was attempted, the colours of the
rainbow were given in the order exactly opposite
to the correct one, and had obviously been learned
by rote. In the examiner’s opinion, unless more
attention is paid by teachers to the proper instruc-
tion of their pupils in the practical part of the
subject, its value as a means of education is
seriously diminished.
Many senior candidates had never seen a
contoured map, and had no idea of what is implied
by the scale of a map, the distance between two
points on a map of a few miles of country being
frequently estimated at from ten to twenty times
the circumference of the earth. Some ingenuity
was shown in answering a question on the de-
P
178
termination of one’s position by simple observa-
tions, but there seemed a wide-spread belief that
the sun always rises due east, and everywhere
reaches the zenith at mid-day. A question on the
features of a river was poorly done, the meaning of
the term estuary being rarely understood. Much
carelessness in reading the questions was dis-
played; where a description and explanation of
certain phenomena were asked for, only an explana-
tion was offered, and vague theories of the causes
of earthquakes were offered in place of an account
of their effects.
UNCONSIDERED LITERARY TRIFLES.!
MONG the neglected prophets of this age,
Prof. Arber is not least. His knowledge of
the byways of English literature is probably
unique, and no man living has done more to
recover quaint and curious pamphlets from oblivion.
[t is true his taste in poetry is not of the finest, but
this is of no importance in most of his collections,
which have been made for the purpose of illus-
trating history, life, and manners. The most fas-
cinating of all Prof. Arber’s books is the “ English
Garner,” an omnigatherum of unconsidered trifles,
each quainter than the rest, and the whole flashing
innumerable sidelights on our past.
We have often wished that selections from this
work could be served up for schools, in readers to
be used in the lessons on history or literature. For
practical purposes, a number of small and cheap
pamphlets would be most useful, the original
volumes being rather too expensive for school use.
The volumes now before us have the same fault.
They are cheap at the price, true, but a schoolbook
is so soon worn out that four shillings is a good
deal to give for one. Apart from that one criticism
—suggested only by the weakness of human
nature, which causes so many parents to regard
money spent on books as money wasted—we have
nothing but the highest praise for the new
“Garner.” It has the advantage over the old, that
the contents are to be arranged according to sub-
jects, instead of being, like Julia’s dress, in a sweet ,
disorder. Some new matter has been added, and
an error corrected here and there; otherwise there
has been no change in the texts.
And what will be found in these rare volumes ?
From the first, the curious may learn how the Field
of the Cloth of Gold looked to an eyewitness; they
may compare the coronation of Anne Boleyn with
that of Queen Elizabeth, or read of warlike expedi-
tions into Scotland, of the sack of Antwerp, of
the Spanish Armada itself, told in plain prose or
doggerel verse. Here we can learn what was
Princess Elizabeth’s life in the Tower, and of the
charming little boy who brought her flowers; of
Pe An English Garner.” ‘Tudor Tracts.” 1532-1588. With an Intro-
duction by A. F. Pollard, M.A. xxxvi. + 529 pp. "Critical Essays and
Literary Fragments. With an introduction by J. Churton Collins, Wath
Index. alx. + 344 pp- (Coustable.) 4> each net.
The School | World
[May, 1903.
ne ee n
Wyatt's rebellion, the loss of Calais, and Bloody
Mary’s death; of the burning of St. Paul’s in 1561,
and a false, fearful imagination of fire at Oxford
University, when one monk stuck fast in a window
and another got clear over the heads of the crowd
with a boy inside his cowl. It is quite impossible
to describe the impression of reality which these
pages give: we seem to be looking on at the
scenes of horror or pageantry, and our forefathers
rise up as if in life before the mind's eye.
The second volume is as interesting as the first,
but in a different way. Here are contained speci-
mens of the most important early works on literary
criticism, from Thomas Wilson’s “ Art of Rhetoric’’
(1554); from Francis Meres’s “ Palladis Tamia ’”
(1593), so important for its remarks on Shakespeare
and other contemporaries; Dryden's masterly
“Essay of Dramatic Poetry,” and other such. Here,
too, are Thomas Ellwood’s few precious reminis-
cences of Milton; Bishop Coplestone’s ‘‘ Advice to
a Young Reviewer,” with his burlesque review of
“ Lycidas ” (1807), contains a melancholy forebod-
ing of what has now come to pass in the modern
world. Tor real stinging satire, commend us to
Swift’s ‘‘Isaac Bickerstaff,” and his parody of
Partridge’s Almanack, his prophecy of the quack’s
death and description of its fulfilment, and Part-
ridge’s indignant protest that he was not only alive
then, but had been alive on the very day when
Bickerstaff described him as dead. Besides these,
there are the Bickerstaff papers of Steele, ‘‘ Poor
Richard's Proverbs,” and other pieces of note.
We must not forget to mention the excellent
introductions to both volumes, and the full indices.
This is an admirable venture of Messrs. Constable,
and we hope it will meet with the success it
deserves. Once more, the ‘‘ Garner” is delightful.
ANGEVIN ENGLAND!
IR JAMES RAMSAY has long been known as
S an independent student of the Middle Ages.
After devoting many years to preparing his
material, he is now publishing the result of his
researches. To the story of ‘‘ Lancaster and York ”
and the “ Foundations of England” he has now
added this volume on the reigns of Henry Il.,
Richard I., and John. We are thankful to him for
several things. For those who are interested in
military details, the whole of the fighting is de-
scribed, and specially the two great battles of the
.period—Arsuf and Bouvines—and the siege of
Les Andelys, all of which are illustrated with
plans. For the others, who find military details
wearying, these sentences (p. 219) come as great
consolation: “It would seem that Henry II.’s
sons did not necessarily go to war with any definite
end in view. They did not seek the fruits of
1'*The Angevin Empire.” By J. H. Ramsay. xxiv. +556 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) 12s.
Se pee
=m =
May, 1903. ]
: The School World
179
victory; they loved war for its own sake, they
revelled in the excitement of danger, the license of
pillage, and apart from sieges we hear of no direct
encounters, only of the sacking of homesteads and
robbing of monasteries. Having no compunctions,
they could sheath their swords and make friends
again at a moment's notice.” Again, there is much
comfort in the following frank confessions of inevi-
table ignorance (p. 251): “Of Henry lI.’s foreign
revenues we know nothing at all;” and (p. 371)
‘With respect to King Richard's ransom, we are
quite in the dark as to how far, or how, or by
whom it was met.” If only our historians would
more often tell us of these blanks in knowledge,
we might in time make a list of things which we
feel we ought to know but which will probably
never be discoverable. We found it interesting to
compare Sir J. H. Ramsay’s account of John’s
reign with that of Miss Norgate which we noticed
in the January number of THE ScHooL Wor _p.
We learnt thus how differently two capable his-
torians can interpret the same documents, how one
can believe a certain chronicler on a given event,
while the other dismisses the same evidence as
untrustworthy. We wonder how far the bias
which Sir James evidently displays against the
Papacy may account for some of these differ-
ences. There is, in this book, an excellent biblio-
graphy and an index, and the only complaint we
have to make is that the list of errata is not always
explicit enough. There are here and there a few
slight misprints, and “ from thence,” which occurs
several times, is at least not logical. ‘‘ Emperor and
Empress of Germany ” (p. 291) is an obvious slip.
The history of the Angevin Empire has two
leading features of interest. There is, first, the
story of that Empire, so curiously brought together
in the person of Henry lI. of England. It con-
sists of constant fighting, on the part of the Angevin
princes, lienry II. and his sons, and of their
suzerain, the King of the French, who, feeble at
first beyond all comparison, is yet able to hold his
own owing to the family disputes of his otherwise
too great vassals, and finally to acquire the northern
part of their Gallic possessions and make the king-
ship of the French a strong reality. It is a weary
story, full of details which no memory surely can
‘retain, and the usefulness of which we take leave
seriously to doubt. Then there is the story of the
way in which the Angevins governed their island
realm. They desired to use it as a means of
revenue, and for that purpose improved its admi-
nistration, and gave it good forms of government.
So were laid, by our foreign Kings, the foundations
of our national liberties. Henry II. may roughly
be said to have given us trial by jury, the Courts
at Westminster and theassizes. For hisown sake
he fought against ecclesiastical power and checked
the “ liberty of the Church.” For their own sakes
Richard I. and John abused the system which their
father inaugurated, and thus drove all classes to
demand the Great Charter, which, with all its
shortcomings, was the starting point of those limi-
tations of the crown which differentiated England
from all other European monarchies.
THE ATHENIAN DRAMA:
HESE two books belong to a series projected
by the late Prof. Warr, who wrote the first
volume; and for a series, the three volumes
are strangely unlike. Prof. Warr seemed to delight
in the crabbed and uncouth, a fault which sadly
marred his good scholarship. He used the blank
verse and eschewed rhyme even in the lyrics.
Prof. Phillimore affects the precious and the
flippant, and seems to think more of himself than
his author. Dr. Murray, on the other hand, writes
with the easy mastery of finished culture and
scholarship, and his verse is really good. It is a
pity that the series was not wholly carried out by
the last scholar, or at least subject to his editorial
criticism.
It is a pity that Sophocles, in particular, has
been entrusted to a temper so whimsical as Prof.
Phillimore’s. There is a lack of serenity and
control which strikes the reader on the first page,
and abides. It may be that the ‘‘/ wot and I ween
style of English ” is not a wholesome convention ;
but we prefer it to the jerks and antics which meet
us too often here, so strangely that we can doubt
whether misprinting is to blame for the phrase on
p. xxxii., “the dissolution is the formation beginning
of something else;’’ or that on p. xxxvi., ‘what is
the form into which this means to tends to deter-
mine.” And what on earth has happened to his
Greek accents? ‘There are ridiculous mistakes on
pp. xlvii., lvi., lviii., lix., and in many other places.
All these childish faults will tend to obscure the
author's knowledge and a criticism often acute.
He is at pains to show, not without success, how
fully Sophocles embodies Periclean Athens; this 1s
the substance of the introduction. And his remarks
on his author’s mastery of style are good, although
he is subject to a strange fallacy as to the relation
between colloquial and literary language. We
gladly admit that Mr. Phillimore’s translation is
better than his preface in point of style; but we
cannot say that it is a success. It lacks both
dignity and grace.
But Dr. Murray is fine. We have not met with
a more illuminating criticism of Euripides than his.
Euripides has himself to blame for the adverse
criticism which has been dealt out to him; he
would not do himself justice. There were also
faults of temper—a lack of balance, a bitterness
and pessimism, a certain weakness of intellect
where the emotions touched him deeply—which
deny him a place with the greatest. Yet at his
best, how noble he is, how tender: “ Euripides the
human, with his droppings of warm tears,” as a
later poet has said. It is not everyone who sees,
and we thank Dr. Murray for pointing it out, that
Phaedra's love is “ entirely fragrant and clear” ;
that “ Hippolytus,” in spite of flaws, is “a singu-
larly satisfactory and complete work of art, a thing
1 “The Athenian Drama.” II. “Sophocles,” translated and explained
by John Swinnerton Paillimore. With illustrations Ixxsvi, + 215 pp.
Lif. * Euripides,” translated into English rhyming verse by Gilbert Murray.
With illustrations. lxviii 4-355 pp. (Allen.) 75. 6d. net each.
180
m
of beauty, to contemplate and give thanks for,
surrounded with an atmosphere of haunting purity.”
Dr. Murray’s estimate of the “ Bacchae ” is also
excellent, and throws a clear light on that literary
puzzle. In a few pages he is able to give a rational
account of the development of the poet’s genius
and its relations to his times; and his ‘* Appendix ”
-on the last plays will add to the knowledge of
most scholars. Like Mr. Phillimore, he has also
chosen the rhymed couplet for his translation, but
his work is remarkably good. His manipulation
of the verse shows something of the skill of Keats,
although he has not (indeed, who has ?) Keats's
magic of phrase.
The plays chosen as the most characteristic of
Sophocles are naturally ‘Oedipus Tyrannus,”
‘© Oedipus Coloneus,” and “ Antigone”; from
Euripides, the “ Hippolytus,” and the ‘“ Bacchae.”
We could wish that another had been added, say
the ‘“ Medea,” rather than the “Frogs” of Aris-
tophanes, which completes this volume. Prof.
Murray is no humourist, and he fails to reproduce
the rollicking form of the original.
A word is due to the illustrations. Each voldme
contains a portrait of its poet, and a number of
vase-paintings, or other works of art. The
blocks are clear and adequate, and the photo-
gravures beautiful; especially Danae in the “ So-
phocles”” volume, and an exquisite Aphrodite in
the Euripides.
SUGGESTED EDUCATIONAL
IMPROVEMENTS!
COLLECTION of some two-dozen news-
paper articles on educational subjects—
designed by their Editor to present ‘‘a
comprehensive account of existing English educa-
tion from the primary school to the university and
the special colleges in which young men are trained
for the national services ’’—should contain much
useful guidance. The contributors number ten,
and they were chosen as ‘teachers and others
practically engaged in educational work;”’ they
should have much to say which will help the cause
of education. So they have, but a careful study
of the essays leads the reader to long for a simple
method of determining the highest common factor
of, say ten, opinions on educational matters by
persons who ought to know.
Here are ten experts attempting to instruct the
British voter as to his duty towards national
education, yet they seem neither to be agreed
among themselves nor to have recognised some at
least of what other high authorities regard as
fundamental needs in education. But the Editor
of the book tells us ** there is perhaps no healthier
sign of our condition as a nation than the general
“The Nations Need: Chapters on Education.” Edited by Spenser
Wiihinson. 511 ppe (Cunstable.) 6s.
The School World
[ May, 1903.
prevalence of the belief that our system of educa-
tion is defective,” so that, may be, if the book
merely accentuates this belief it will have done
some good. First, as to the want of agreement
among the doctors: take the question as to whether
boys and girls should be taught together or in
separate schools. One writer affirms, ‘it is
undesirable to mix boys and girls in school after
the age of twelve, and even from the age of ten the
conditions should be carefully considered, and
there should be constant supervision both in class-
room and playground.” A second writer says,
“there is no more danger likely to arise from
associating boys and girls in a good schoul than in
associating brothers and sisters and cousins in a
large family circle.” It is true that in the first case
the elementary school is referred to, and in the
other the secondary school; but since, as a third
contributor insists, human nature is much alike
in all classes, this makes little difference. Similarly,
if it were necessary, extracts might be given which
tend to show that we are still far from unanimity
as to the aim of the ideal elementary school, but
considerations of space suggest that it is better to
indicate those needs of education which seem to
have been neglected altogether in the volume.
More than one of the essayists refer to the
lessonsthe late war should have taught this country,
and all will agree to name as one of these the
need there is for this nation to develop in its
citizens individual initiative, a personal power to
regulate conduct by the circumstances in which
one is placed. At the beginning of the war at
least, the British soldier was neither remarkable
for his powers of observation nor for precision
in the execution of his duties. Similarly, in
that other war in which the nation is engaged—
the incessant competition for the markets of the
world—the same power of adapting himself to new
conditions and of estimating exactly the facts of a
case is the chief need of the manufacturer or
merchant. Which available instrument of educa-
tion is most likely to develop these necessary
mental faculties? Without holding a brief for
natural science, it may at least be affirmed that
many competent judges are of opinion that practical
instruction in the scientific method on rational
lines supplies just those mental qualities in which,
as a nation, we appear to be wanting. Yet, in this
book, which undertakes to diagnose the nation’s
need, no chapter is devoted to the part science
should take in education, though space has been
found for ‘‘ household economics” and for the pro-
fessional education of naval officers. So, too,
space might with advantage have been found to
insist on means being taken in our schools to
secure that nice adjustment of hand and eye which
always characterises the healthy body sheltering
the healthy mind—an endowment invaluable alike
to the soldier, the engineer, the man of science,
and any other person who has to deal more with
things than ideas. Yet there is no chapter on
manual instruction in wood or metal, though we
have two essays on the teaching of modern
languages.
SE A, , a a RT crea 5
May, 1903. | The
But we must not give a wrong idea of the book.
It contains a great deal of value mixed up with
some talking “at large.” There are numerous
suggestions likely to prove fruitful, and many of
these are due to Mr. Graham Wallas and to Dr.
Findlay. The book will make people think, and
that justifies its publication.
ANCIENT ATHENS:!
teacher or learner who wishes to gain a
knowledge of the chief existing remains
and aclue to the chief debated questions. Sucha
reader does not wish for overmuch discussion; he
needs to have the case stated clearly and fairly,
T interesting book will be a boon to the
De Laborde Head (Gardner's “ Ancient Athens. ”)
and, if possible, a decision suggested which will
be received as generally accepted, or at least
defensible. In the case of Athens, where there
has been so little excavation of the site of the
ancient city, each point bristles with controversy,
and the darkness has in some respects been thick-
1 “ Ancient Athens.” By E. A. Gardner, Yates Professor of Archæo-
logy at University College, London ; formerly Director of the British School
at Athens. Illustrated. xvi. + 579 pp. (Macmillan.) 21s. net.
School World
181
ened by the conjectures of Prof. Dörpfeld, whose
wide learning is marred by a lack of judgment. It
is most creditable to Prof. Gardner that he steers
his reader through the mazes of Athenian topo-
graphy without dazing his intellect, and generally
succeeds in leaving a definite impression behind.
His sketch of the early history of Athens will be
a useful companion to the history proper, filling
in some gaps, and always elucidating. The
account of early art, the Dipylon vases for
example, and other topics relating to painting and
sculpture, is not only interesting but gives in a
convenient form much information which cannot
easily be found elsewhere. The same may be said
of the criticism of the Parthenon sculptures, about
which most students have vague ideas, but very
little correct knowledge. A chapter is devoted to
the Parthenon alone, and this is one of the best in
the book. All the other important buildings—
Theseum so-called, Erechtheum, Athena Nike,
Asclepieum, Theatre—each is treated in detail.
The history of Athens is followed out into Roman
times, and a chapter is given following the route
of Pausanias in his visit to Athens, which is illus-
trated by a map.
The subjects dealt with are too many to admit
of detailed criticism here. In such a book novel
views are not looked for, and Prof. Gardner never
obtrudes his own. It happens, however, that his
views are so generally sound and sensible that they
coincide with those of the best authorities, and he
is himself an authority ; so the reader will be in
safe hands if he subscribes to Prof. Gardner’s
belief in a Greek stage, and the traditional position
of the Agora and the Enneacrounos. The most
novel part of the book to the general reader—
although even here nothing is said which has not
already stood the test of publication and discus-.
sion—is that on the Peiraeus, where the difficulties
as to the “three harbours” are convincingly
explained.
The chief illustrations are excellent, and most of
the smaller ones good, whilst all are proper to
their object, and do really illustrate the text. A
number of them appear for the first time.
THE AIM OF TEACHING.
By R. T. Bopry, M.A.
Liverpool College.
THE recent Education Act seeks to bring some kind of system
into the chaos of English secondary schools, and though there
may be differences of opinion as to details, there can be none on
the main point, that, for the first time, education has been
treated as a whole. Opportunity has been given by statute to
foster and to encourage the prosperity of the schools, and to
provide schoolmasters with adequate equipment and a better
average level of pupil. The use which will be made of this
opportunity depends on the constitution of the education com-
1 Abridged from a paper read to the Lancashire and Cheshire Branch of
the Assistant-masters’ Association.
182
mittees now starting into existence all over the land. It should
be the business of members of the Assistant-masters’ Association
to see that, so far as in them lies, the interests of the higher schools
are not sacrificed to those of the lower. For numbers tell
terribly in these democratic days, and in some localities the
secondary schools may be at first even less well off than for-
merly.
I wish to raise a few questions as to the attitude our minds
should have towards the work and aim of the individual teacher,
questions which are not even new, but only derive a fresh
interest from the sense that upon our answer to them will depend
largely how we fare under the new régime.
Do we, for example, sufficiently consider that the education of
a boy must be always with conscious reference to the future life
of the pupil? What the actual profession may be which he is
to adorn we know not perhaps ; but this we know—that in the
ordinary course of events he will grow up into a citizen and
elector, and that the future of England depends, in a very real
and literal sense, on the work which we do in our schools. I
cannot but think that, if we kept this point of view more con-
stantly before us, we should be saved some of the mistakes into
which the best of us are frequently falling. If the last war has
taught us anything at all, it is the vital necessity of a strong and
vigorous physique among all grades of our population, and of
individual resource, inventiveness, the ability to deal with new
problems and to act in unheard-of circumstances.
In secondary schools as a rule full encouragement is given
to all games and sports. Yet, even with us, there is much to
be done. Is the sight of our youngest children watched over as
carefully as it would be if the ill effects of reading and writing
at too short a range were fully realised? Avcchild’s head is much
heavier in proportion to his strength than that of the adult, and
so tends to droop over his work, often with disastrous effect.
A form master might easily test the sight of his form once a
term, between the rush of the first and the hurry of the last
weeks ; test-sheets are inexpensive, and discovery ofa weakness
in good time might often induce parents to send the boy to the
oculist. Is it not possible, too, to take into account in the time-
table of even a day-school that young brains cannot concentrate
‘themselves long on one subject; short lessons and frequent
intervals are physiologically more sound for them than the regu-
lation period of an hour or even forty-five minutes. And in
hard-working schools, is it not sometimes forgotten that when
we Set an hour’s extra-home-work, it by no means follows that
we are getting intellectual value to that extent out of the boy?
I have my doubts whether we get any; the boy’s play time is
not an idle time; it isa period of recuperation, and if we trench
upon it beyond very narrow limits we, as well as he, must pay
the penalty next morning. It is a great mistake to overset the
work to be done out of school, and for other reasons than
physical. If you fill up a boy’s time completely, how is he to
develop his own individuality, his taste for music, reading, col-
lecting, carpentry, natural history, or what not? And, if you
do not leave him free to do this, you thereby confess your belief
that the object of the school is to turn out its pupils impressed
with one intellectual stamp, and to that proposition I demur.
It is only by affording free play to a boy’s natural tastes and
aptitudes, that we can make the most of him. For, indeed, the
commonest mistake of the teacher is to estimate the pupil
according to the perfection with which he can reproduce the
information which he has received from his master or the text-
book.
I am not going to enter upon the vexed question of the
relative importance of classical, mathematical, or more modern
studies in a school. The really important question for any
master, classical or science, mathematical or modern, is xof how
much of Latin or trigonometry, or the other things, he can
_ The School World
[ May, 1903.
squeeze into the head of his boys, but how by the use of those
subjects he may aid them to grow into the best citizens. And
the best citizens will be those who are not guided, in dealing with
the problems of the future, by mere tradition, doing so because
other people have previously done the same. It lies with us
either to send them into the world with minds frozen in form
and cramped by every species of hard and fast rule the misplaced
zeal of their teacher can find to bind upon them, or with a keen
eye for principles, a mind accustomed to work for itself under
lessening guidance, and the resource and inventiveness which, on
finding one plan not entirely satisfactory, sets to work with
elastic freedom to devise another free from that particular fault.
If we are stiff and formal in our minds so will they be; if we
judge always by a reference to authority of some sort or other,
so will they ; if we are fresh and inventive, on them too the light
will fall. |
It is the fact that so much of our work is routine that brings
to men of our profession such ineffable weariness of mind after
fifteen years of teaching, for monotony is not the least among
the many curses of our highly specialised modern life. Well,
here is one cure for it. If we cease trying to force boys into the
mould of our own mind and encourage each to develop his own
character, then we shall directly profit by the more varied life
around us in our class-rooms. May we not profit a second time
by a renewed feeling of satisfaction in our work? Who has not
been struck by the painful contrast between the boy of six or
seven, just going to school, and the same boy ten years later ?
We knew him then full of quaint sayings, imaginative, thrilled
with joy, or pity, or terror, when we told him stories ; when
one toy would not suit his purpose he would readily adapt
another to serve the same end, and, subject to the limitations of
a child’s experience and vocabulary, he revealed himself as a
bright, alert little soul. And now he has been through the
mill, we have dealt with him for ten years, according to that which
was in us, and we look for signs of development. What has
become of that bright and vivid imagination which was once
our own envy? Does his conversation betray a fertility in ideas
and a flexibility of language in any degree proportioned to the
time we have given him? And if relatively he has gone back
in these important respects, as I think he has, what explanation
are we to give of this deplorable circumstance? We may con-
clude that it is a natural change, unfortunately coinciding with
the period of school life, yet not associated with it as result and
cause; but this view had better be left until we have tried all
others. The uncultured atmosphere of many homes, the too
luxurious life, may be assigned in explanation, and doubtless
with much truth. But, after all allowances, is there no residue
of responsibility assignable directly to school influences? And,
if there is, how far are we personally the culprits, and how
much of the blame must be apportioned to a vicious system
under which, though recognised as such, we as subordinates are
compelled to work? If our boys show in their various avoca-
tions not only honest industry, but resource, adaptive intelligence
and public spirit, that will bring us credit and confidence ; if
they are wooden and parrot-like, it will nothing avail us that
some one choice spirit has gained a Cambridge scholarship.
We shall have to adapt ourselves to a new environment, and
submit to be judged as trainers of good citizens, not by the
achievements of a few specialists at the top of the school. And
I cannot but believe that a closer, a more intimate relation with
the larger world outside the schuol doors will have a beneficent
effect upon the life within them.
“I believe, in brief,” says Ruskin, “that a man ought to
know three things: /zvst, where he is. Secondly, where he is
going, Thirdly, what he had best do under these circumstances.
First, where ke is: That is to say, what sort of a world he has
got into; how large it is; what kind of creatures live in it and
May, 1903. ]
how ; what it is made of and what may be made of it. Se-
condly, where he is going: That is to say, what chances or
reports there are of any other world besides this; what seems
to be the nature of that other world; and whether for informa-
tion respecting it he had better consult the Bible, Koran, or
Council of Trent. Thirdly, what he had best do under these
circumstances: That is to say, what kind of faculties he pos-
Sesses ; what are the present state and wants of mankind; what
is his place in society ; and what are the readicst means in his
power of atlaining happiness and diffusing it. The man who
knows these things, and who has had his will so subdued in the
learning them that he is ready to do what he knows he ought, I
should call educated ; and the man who knows them not, un-
educated, though he could talk all the tongues of Babel.”
SCIENCE WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOLS
AND COLLEGES.
By Prof. Henry E. ARMSTRONG, LL.D., Ph.D., F.R.S.
(Concluded from p. 143-)
Cupboards.—Both at Horsham and Hertford, the space below
the bench-topis fitted with two tiers of small cupboards ; inside
each cupboard there is a small drawer. Each working place
has four such cupboards, so that four scholars mhy occupy the
place in succession and each have a cupboard to dispose of.
In the case of school work, the amount of apparatus to be stored
by the individual scholar is usually small.
Sinks and Drains,—The ordinary earthenware sinks are not
only more or less fragile themselves, but when glass objects are
dropped into them these are invariably broken : moreover, the
connection with the drain is difficult to make and always a
source of weakness. Lead-lined sinks are in some respects
better but not altogether satisfactory. Thirty years’ experience
has convinced me that wooden sinks are far the best—provided
that they are built up solidly without dovetailed joints and that
they are always kept partly full of water by arranging the waste
so that it projects several inches (about 4) above the bottom of
the sink. American white wood seems to be one of the best
to use. Sides and bottom should be without joints. All
surfaces should be well painted with thin coal tar before they are
butted; and the whole surface inside and out should be
similarly coated. The waste-pipe should either be somewhat
expanded or should have a conical flange burnt on by means of
which it may be held in position by two blocks, one of which—
‘fixed by screws to the under side of the bottom—serves to carry
bolts by means of which a second block is caused to clamp the
pipe firmly. The space between the pipe and the side of the
hole through which the pipe passes is filled in with soft pitch.
The sink is wedged up against the bench top. Such sinks may
be made of any size that may be desired. No plumber is needed
to fix them. The best drain, in my experience, is a U-shaped
channel formed in a concrete floor, lined with the best Portland
cement and then well tarred when dry. It should be provided
with a wooden cover-plate. Such a drain can always be got at.
Each year during the long vacation it should be cleaned and
when dry recoated with tar.
l Care should be taken to arrange the drains so that they come outside
the benches, in order that they may be easily got at. If there be any
difficulty in so placing them, it is better to form a channel in the top of the
bench at the back or down the middle of a double bench ; this may be
arranged to drain into a sink at the end of the bench, if sinks are required.
Such channels are very easily provided when the bench top is covered with
lead. All pipes, whether for gas or water, shoul be of iron. They should
be fixed on the face of the walls and above the bench-top. It is all-
Important not to fix such fittings within the cupboards. Sinks such as 1
bave described have been made to my entire satisfaction by the Bennet
Furnishing Company.
_ The School World
Ventilation Hoods. —One or more of these have been provided
for each of the four large workshops, but they are not yet finally
arranged. Their position has been determined by that of the
flues, which are not always in ideal situations. Had the fact
been sufticiently taken into consideration that electricity is at
disposal, there can he little doubt that the use of electrically
driven fans would have been provided for from the outset and
that the attempt would not have been made to produce a
draught by meansof gas. The trials made thus far have proved
that it is desirable to use fans.
The conventional ventilation hood has many faults which are
perpetuated time after time ; ofall the fittings it isthe one which
most needs study and improvement. The hood is rarely
properly proportioned to the work for which it is to be used ;
and the mistake is almost invariably made of merely providing
an exit opening without reference to its position or shape. The
improvement, first introduced, I believe, at the Finsbury
Technical College and subsequently at the Central Technical
Colltege—which is described in Robins’s ‘‘ Technical Schoo] and
College Building ” (Whittaker & Co. : London, 1887), p. 123,
plate 50—appears to have passed unnoticed. It consists in
giving the flue exit-opening the form of a slot extending across
the hood, so that an even draught may be produced extending
from side to side of the cupboard. The squeegee fitted to the
upper bar, blocking the interval between the glass of the rising
sash and the bar in front of which the sash moves up and down,
is another feature of importance which has been overlooked.
The use of iron plates for the roof—and in many cases for the
ends—may be recommended. It is easy to construct a slot flue-
exit in the angle which the iron roof-plate forms with the wall
by fixing against the wall an iron plate inclined outwards at the
angle which will give a slot of the size necessary to secure an
even draught from end to end, the size of the opening being
determined by trial. The opening into the flue may be at any
point inside the V-shaped flue box which is thus formed. The
gas-burner should always be placed below the opening from the
closet into the upcast flue.
Much remains to be learnt as to the manner in which flues
should be constructed for draught hoods. It is the case of the
smoky chimney over again: some hoods work well, others
badly, no one knowing precisely why. The subject needs to be
taken in hand experimentally and it is important that it should
be studied. In any case, flues should be made wherever
possible in the walls: they are always useful.
One other point of special importance may be referred to.
Whatever may be the system of ventilation adopted, there
should be no competition between the exits; if provision be
made for the extraction of the air from a room by mechanical
means independently of the hoods, it cannot be expected that
the flues of draught hoods will work with full efficiency, ifat all ;
the air should be allowed to escape through open windows, if
not entirely through the draught hoods.
Of the two systems available—that in which the draught is
secured by means of a gas jet and that in which a fan is used—
it may be said that each has its advantages. If the latter be
adopted, it will, I think, be found advisable to localise the
draught closets, much as I have advocated should be done in
the case of water supply, &c., otherwise the cost of fans —
particularly the cost of working them if electricity be used —
becomes excessive. I may add that to connect up a series of
hoods in different parts of a room or building and to use one
large fan to produce a draught through all is not really satis-
factory in practice ; moreover, the construction of the necessary
flues introduces special difficulties and is costly.
The use of gas has the advantage that small hoods may be
worked economically—so that they are to be recommended in
cases in which only the occasional use of the draught hood is
184
contemplated. But I may here utter the caution that no acid
fumes, should be allowed to escape into the air and that draught
hoods are therefore essential wherever chemical work is to be
done. I am sure it will be found in cases where electric light-
ing is adopted that the witing will perish rapidly unless the
precaution is taken to soak the leads in molten paraffin-wax
before fixing.
Special Appliances. —At Horsham, a carpenter’s bench with
four vices is placed in two of the rooms (Cavendish and Dalton),
provision being made for storing tools and other general
requisites in drawers and cupboards in a somewhat specially
titted bench. The top of this bench, it may be mentioned,
which is covered with zinc, is intended for use in cutting out
cardboard, &c.
A small room on the extreme left of the ground floor is fitted
with two lathes (wood and metal), a drill and a circular saw,
which are driven by an electro-motor. As the man in charge of
the workshops is a skilled mechanic, it will be possible to have
a good deal of simple apparatus made on the spot by the boys,
so that the manual-training work will to some extent be co-
ordinated with the experimental work.
A dark room for optical experiments has been partitioned off
from the Faraday workshop. A dark room for photographic
work is provided on the upper floor. This latter, it may be
pointed out, is an all-important adjunct to the science workshops.
Arrangements for mufHe and other furnaces are being made in
several of the rooms.
The experience I have of school requirements, especially that
gained of late in arranging the fittings at Horsham and Hertford,
leads me to think that, by taking into account more carefully
than has hitherto been done the character of the fittings to be
introduced at the time of designing the building, it will in future
be possible to improve considerably upon the arrangements
which have been made in the Christ’s Hospital Schools, espe-
cially in the direction of simplification.
The ideal to be aimed at, I think, is to have the whole of the
room, both floor and wall space, available for the work which is
to be done in it.
Wall space is invaluable for a variety of purposes—for many
mechanical and physical experiments, for black boards, for
shelving, &c. I would, therefore, advocate that no benches
should be fixed permanently against the walls, but that all
benches should be placed out in the room ; also that projections
into the room should be avoided and that the windows should be
inserted at least six feet above the floor. There would then be
an uninterrupted wall space at disposal 6n all sides of the room.
Whenever possible, the steam or hot-water pipes for heating
the room should be carried under gratings in channels in the
floor. Radiators, &c., not only take up much space against the
wall, but interfere with and damage fittings in their neigh-
bourhood.
As to benches, I am much inclined to question the need of the
elaborate provision which we have hitherto made. It is
doubtful whether cupboards are required under the benches in
schools; apart from the fact that there is not much to be stored
by the individual scholar, cupboards tend to engender habits of
untidiness—everything gets put away into them and the teacher
cannot be perpetually looking after them. It is desirable to
encourage the common use of apparatus and the habit of keeping
things in set places and in good order. If sufficient shelving,
racks, &c., be provided and cupboards for general use where
necessary, there is little need for cupboards under the benches.
In cases where it is necessary to put certain tools, &c., in the
hands of each scholar, it would be easy to provide simple lockers
against the wall or even to give each scholar a box which could
be taken “out of store” at each attendance and put under the
working bench during the lesson.
E The School World
[May, 1903.
I should like to see steady heavy benches of the kitchen-table
type made use of in many, if not in most, cases. I have spoken
already of the concentration of water supply and sinks. As to
gas supply, of course it is convenient to have it at all benches ;
and if various grades of work are to be done in laboratory, it
is almost necessary to make such provision, but I am inclined
to advocate a less permanent arrangement than that usually
adopted. I should like to see an overhead system of supply
with provision for establishing connection with a simple main—
provided with the necessary taps—which could be taken down
from pegs on the wall whenever required and fixed temporarily
on the bench. To call on boys and even on girls to do a little
simple gas-fitting occasionally would be to give them most
useful training; some one or other would always be forthcoming
with genius for such work. I have previously spoken of the
importance of giving eye training in schools through surround-
ings—of the importance of ornament, colour, pictures, &c.
Elsewhere, I have urged that an atmosphere of research should
prevail in our college laboratories. From the same point of
view, I would here advocate that a workshop atmosphere
should pervade our school workshops ; they should be arranged
as and look like workshops—not like drawing-rooms. Teacher
and taught should be constantly called upon to meet con-
tingencies and difhculties—to become handy and self-helpful ;
and instead of being forced to stand or sit at one place during
the lesson, the scholar should be encouraged to move to what-
ever place in the workshop is best suited for the work in hand.
I am a teacher of over thirty years’ standing. I have taught
students of every grade. What astonishes, indeed appals
me, is the absolute inability of almost all the students I meet
with to help themselves. I therefore feel that our schools
must take the question of hand and eye training seriously into
consideration.
For such benches as I have advocated, it is unnecessary to
use hard wood. But whatever wood be used in the science
workshop for the tops of benches, it should invariably be
thoroughly coated with parafin wax by ironing this in with an
ordinary hot iron. Oil is useless as a protection against
chemicals.
Sooner or later a wooden bench-top always becomes much
stained and disfigured ; unless it be exceptionally well made,
cracks are sure to develop. All these difficulties are overcome
by the use of lead-covered benches ; a long experience leads me
personally to prefer these to all others. The lead should be
dressed carefully over the edge of the bench; a stout hardwood
bead, projecting about half an inch above the bench top, should
then be fixed against it, using cups and screws. A simpler
plan is to clamp the lead firmly at its edge by a hard-wood bead
screwed down upon the table top an inch or so in from the
outer edge of the table. Before fixing the bead the surface to
be hidden should be well painted, so as to make a water-tight
joint. Soldershould never be used in making joints in any lead
work ; joints should always be burnt with the blowpipe.
With regard to the treatment of wall space, as much as can
be spared here and there should be properly prepared so that it
may serve as a blackboard; or the special black canvas, so
much used in America, should be fixed against it by battens.
The old-fashioned small blackboards, like slates, are fast
disappearing, with advantage to teachers and taught. Wher-
ever there is spare space, stout battens should be fixed to the
wall a few feet apart: when these are provided brackets, &c.,
may be fixed up at any time.
Lastly, I may point out that, if it can be provided, a flat roof is
very valuable for many purposes—for experiments on the growth
of plants, for photographic work, &c. Also that it is desirable
that a number of beams be fixed firmly to the ceiling joists, from
which pulleys, &c., can be suspended.
May, 1903.] The
School World
185
TEACHERS AND TEACHING.
By W. EpwarpDs, M.A.
Middlesbrough High School.
THE present paper is not an attempt to perform the impossible
by giving a detailed account of Teachers and Teaching in two
columns of THE SCHOOL WorRLD. The writer’s aim is to indicate
certain aspects of the teacher’s work which either seem to be
often neglected or which are of such importance as to justify
frequent mention. These points may be regarded from the
point of view of qualifications, work, and authority.
The first qualification of the teacher is adequate knowledge,
for we teach that which we know. This explains the value of
degrees, which are a guarantee of knowledge, although they need
to be supplemented by that training and experience which alone
enable the teacher to make the best use of the knowledge he
possesses. But university distinctions are merely the starting
point ; the ultimate end of teaching is preparation for life, and
an object so wide can be attained adequately only by a man of
varied interests and extensive culture. Every effort must be
made to improve qualifications, to develop powers, and to en-
large interests. As the first means of attaining this end comes
reading. The necessity is obvious for wide reading in connec-
tion with subjects taught in order to ensure skilful treatment
and freshness of presentation. But if all schoolmasters practised
what they readily admit, our teaching of history, literature, and
above all geography, would not be a byword among the nations.
The need of reading books connected with education is not
appreciated as it should be. For the young secondary-school
teacher in particular, who rarely has had the advantage of a
course of training, such literature is invaluable. First come the
wells of pedagogy undefiled : Plato, Locke, Rousseau, Herbart
and Herbert Spencer. Then there are the lives of educational
giants, such as Stanley’s ‘‘ Life of Arnold ” and Parkin’s “ Life
of Thring,” with their lessons of hard struggles successfully
ended, of noble aims realised only with the greatest difficulty.
The ‘‘ Special Reports on Educational Subjects” edited by
Mr. M. E. Sadler are a mine of invaluable information about
schools at home and abroad. Much may be learned from Mr.
P. E. Barnett’s books on ‘‘ Teaching and Organisation,” and
‘+ Common Sense in Education,” and from ‘* Work and Play in
Girls’ Schools,” all published by Messrs. Longmans, and every
teacher should read Mr. Sidgwick’s Essay “On Stimulus,”
Dean Farrar’s ‘‘ General Aims of the Teacher,” and Mr. Poole’s
lecture on ‘‘ Form Management,” which may be obtained from
the Cambridge University Press. This very incomplete list
may be closed with the mention of Russel’s “ German Higher
Schools” (Longmans), Findlay’s ‘‘ Principles of Class Teach-
ing” (Macmillan), and Skrines’s ‘‘ Pastor Agnorum” (Long-
mans), the last of which is a noble attempt to show ‘“ How the
school is but a part of Christendom, and schoolcraft only a
chapter in the mystery which is the title deed of that realm.”
As a second means of strengthening teaching powers I would
mention foreign travel. The holiday courses arranged by the
Teachers’ Guild in France and Germany are admirable, and are
conducted on the most economical lines. It is easy to obtain
through the Foreign Office permission to visit French and
German schools, and much may be learned in this way.
Teachers who prefer to stay in England will derive great
benefit from the courses conducted at Oxford und Cambridge by
the University Extension authorities, and special provision is
made at these meetings for those interested in school work.
The work of the teacher often fails through lack of order and
1 snipe” from a paper read before the Darlington and North Yorkshire
Branch of the Teachers’ Guild.
arrangement. Lessons should proceed according to a definite
plan which should provide for the performance of the proper
amount in each week, month, or term, and should also allow of
a short recapitulation of previous work in the course of each
lesson. Connected with this is the question of neatness of
work. Every effort must be made to ensure good writing and
neatly kept notebooks and every lesson in which writing is done
must be regarded as a writing lesson. Good work is impossible
without good discipline, and this is best attained by the
concentration of attention on the lesson. Bad discipline is too
often caused by the indolence of a teacher who lacks that
‘funhasting, unresting diligence”? which was one of the most
marked features in Arnold’s character. Good discipline involves
little punishment, which is generally a confession of failure on
the part of the teacher. But discipline need not necessarily be
harsh. ‘‘ The pressure of gentleness”? may be most efficacious
as a means of ensuring order, and a word of judicious praise
‘* blesseth him that gives and him that takes.” We may borrow
from the House of Commons two excellent rules, which will
greatly improve the discipline of our forms—no one must speak
until he has caught the Speaker’s eye, and all remarks must be
addressed to the Chair.
The question of method is a very wide one, but one or two
suggestions may be made on this point. The scope of every
lesson should be made as wide as possible, provided the clear-
ness of presentation does not suffer. The information given in
the text-book must be supplemented by facts connected with it,
by associations of time and place, of similarity and contrast ;
and it should be correlated with the knowledge already possessed
by the scholar. A thorough comprehension of the Herbartian
theory of apperception is essential for every teacher.
We must carefully avoid the common mistake of talking over
the heads of our boys. It is fatal to assume that a form under-
stands what the teacher has said, and the only way of finding
out how much really has been understood is to adopt a Socratic
method of rigorous cross-examination. In the case of young
boys every answer should be a complete sentence, but the
answer must not be a mere repetition of the words of the teacher.
Written answers should be required from time to time, for
“ writing maketh an exact man.”
In conclusion, let us consider the source of the teacher’s
power—what it is that warrants him in assuming his position as
master of his form. The teacher owes his power to his repre-
sentative character, and he is, in the first place, the representative
of authority. His position is that of a benevolent despot giving
to his subjects blessings which they cannot yet appreciate, and
it is in virtue of this fact that the master has the right to punish,
to insist on the proper preparation of lessons, and to enforce the
observance of rules of form discipline. But he should be also
an example of courtesy and consideration, and his actions should
tend to make his boys honour ‘‘the grand old name of gentle-
man.” And here we get the cardinal rule, ‘‘ always treat your
boys as gentlemen,” and insist, in return, on courteous treat-
ment from them. Closely connected with this is the question of
dignity, the neglect of which impairs the work of many an
excellent teacher. Bad temper, for example, to put it on some-
what low grounds, is undignified, and a man who cannot keep
his temper is not fit to keep a school. The practice of calling
boys names is not only highly undignified but quite unnecessary,
for genial chaff is an infinitely better weapon. And in this con-
nection I venture to whisper a hint as to neatness of appearance
and dress. Everything the master does influences his boys, and
I read not long ago of a master who greatly weakened his
influence over his boys by wearing a waistcoat that was voted
“bad form” by his youthful critics.
But the teacher represents higher ideas than those of authority
and gentlemanly conduct. He has, to the boys under his
The
control, duties similar to those of a clergyman, for no man can
prepare his scholars for life unless he prepares them for the
higher life. The every-day events of the class-rooms and the
subject-matter of the schoolwork afford endless opportunities for
kindly lessons in honesty, truth, and morality, which may have
the most far-reaching consequences. In ‘‘ Pastor Agnorum ”
there is an admirable chapter on the schoolmaster as the ‘‘Soul’s
Friend,” and the expression seems so full of meaning as to need
no further comment. The author explains the ultimate
justification of the schoolmaster’s position in the words which
explain why the Knights of the Round Table followed Arthur.
186
The King will follow Christ and we the King,
In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
THE preliminary programme has been arranged for the meet.
ing of the Educational Science Section of the British Association,
to be opened at Southport on September roth. Following the
course adopted since the section was founded, specific subjects
for discussion have been decided, and it is hoped that many
practical teachers will be present to express their views upon
them. The chief subject to be discussed is the school curriculum,
which is to be considered in three aspects, namely, those of
gencral principles, the humanities, and practical instruction.
One or more papers on each of these sides of the dificult ques-
tion of the school time-table will be presented to open the dis-
cussions, so that there will be ample opportunity for advocates
of any branch of education to claim their share of the curriculum.
It is expected that the discussion of these matters will occupy
two days of the meeting. It is to be hoped that the result of
the discussion will be a pronouncement as to the subjects which
have least right to a place in the school time-table.
ANOTHER subject to be brought forward is the teaching of
geography, and on this the opinion of the British Association
should lead to improvements much to be desired in the direction
of developing intelligence. Reports will be presented and dis-
cussed on the teaching of botany, hygiene in schools, science
teaching in elementary schools, and the influence of universities
and examining bodies on school work. To prevent disappoint-
ment, it may be well to remark that, as the intention of the
organisers of the section is to create a platform for the discussion
of educational questions of practical importance, papers which
do not come within the range of the subjects mentioned should
not be submitted.
Tue thirty-fourth conference of the National Union of
Teachers was held this year at Buxton, when about 2,000 dele-
gates were present. Mr. Coward, of Biistol, the new president,
in his address referred at some length to the Education Act of
last year. He was compelled, he said, to part company from
all who failed to find anything good in it, and are urging com-
bination to prevent the successful carrying out of its provisions.
The Act contains much that is bound to make for the up-
lifting of education in the country as a whole, and should
ultimately prove a step towards a national system of education.
Under the Act there is almost a revolution in the mode of
financing and controlling public education. Hitherto more
than half of the primary schools have had to depend for their
support upon charity—a very weak prop in a large number
of cases. Now the whole of the schools are placed on the
School World
[ May, 1903.
rates, as well as on the taxes, for their maintenance. He
rejoiced that this step had been taken, and felt sure that the
corollary to this—complete public control—would in due course
inevitably follow. Mr. Coward also discussed the Education
Bill for London, and argued in favour of an ad hoc authority.
Ile urged the necessity for more training colleges for teachers,
and complained of the division instituted between the teachers
of secondary and elementary schools on the new register.
THE sixth annual conference of Manual Training Teachers
was held during Easter week. An exhibition of manual work
of all kinds was held at the Hugh Myddelton Higher Grade
Schools, Clerkenwell, and in opening it Dr. Kimmins said that,
with a view to hold a further exhibition early in May, the
London County Council were willing to allow all the exhibits to
be transferred to the Westminster Technical Institute, so as to
give a larger number of teachers an opportunity to study them.
Sir Philip Magnus, the president of the National Association
of Manual Training Teachers, delivered an address on the
second day on ‘‘ Handwork and Ifeadwork in Elementary
Schools: a Forecast.” He said the school workshop was an
emblem of the change in our methods of instruction, which
corresponded to the changed conditions of human existence.
Not ong since it would have been heresy to suppose that chil-
dren went to school with any other object than to acquire know-
ledge, but it was now realised that the acquisition of knowledge
was not the aim or purpose of a child’s school-training. It was
enough if, in our elementary schools, we could show how
knowledge might be sought. The knowledge itself might be
acquired later on. In future the main function of education
would be to train the hands and sense organs and intellectual
faculties so that children might be placed in a position of
advantage for seeking knowledge. Before long the central
feature in all schools would be the workroom, in which children
would work with their own hands and gain their knowledge by
ordinary experimental methods. Sir John Cockburn has been
elected president of the National Association of Manual Train-
ing Teachers for the ensuing year.
THE Executive Committee of the Friends’ Guild of Teachers
recently passed the following resolution and sent a copy of it to
the Board of Education: ‘* This committee is of opinion that
the introduction of military drill into the schools of the country
is entirely at variance both with the physical requirements of
the children and with the true ideals of character in which
they ought to be trained. It would therefore express the hope
that this system may be abandoned; and, if it is considered
necessary for a model course to be issued, that it may be one
more suitable on both educational and moral grounds.”
THE Kiel education authorities have cancelled for this year
the arrangements previously made for a Modern Languages
Holiday Course. It is hoped to renew the course in 1904.
ALTERNATIVE syllabuses in Euclid will be arranged for
candidates in the May examinations of the London Chamber of
Commerce. Practical geometry, on the lines of the Association
for Geometrical Teaching, covering the syllabus in Euclid, will
be given as an alternative.
Two schools of a new character have been established
recently in Rome. One is styled Diplomatico Coloniale, and
the other Scuala di Commercio. The Italian Government, in
order better to qualify young men for its Consular service, has
established the first of these schools so that its consuls may be
able to give expert advice not only to the Government, but also
to the public generally on all matters of a commercial character.
The second school was mainly established by the commercial
May, 1903.]
associations in Rome for the training of commercial men, and is
modelled on the Manchester Central Commercial Schools.
Mr. P. A. BARNETT, whose appointment as Superintendent
of Education in Natal we chronicled last December, has lost no
time in tackling the complex problems of South African educa-
tion. In conference with the Directors of Education of the
sister colonies he has helped to draft a Syllabus for Primary
Education which is intended to secure uniformity of method
throughout the continent, and he is now busily engaged upon
new schemes for secondary education. The respective Heads
of Departments are to meet again in Durban in July, when there
will be a convention of Natal teachers. This conference pro-
mises to be a most successful gathering. A strong local com-
mittee, under the chairmanship of Mr. Barnett and with Mr.
E. A. Belcher as secretary, has been formed, and an excellent
programme of papers and lectures has been arranged.
THE contribution for April to the series of articles, ‘* Prospects
in the Professions,” in the Cornhill Magazine deals with the
work of the schoolmaster. The writer is concerned almost
entirely with the public schoolmaster, though he glances at the
condition of things in preparatory schools. Small secondary
schools are almost, and public elementary schools quite, ignored.
A reader with no knowledge of the scholastic profession will
obtain too favourable an impression of the emoluments likely to
fall to the lot of the ordinary well-qualified schoolmaster. The
article states that “ many a preparatory schoolmaster must enjoy
an income of £1,000 per annum; not a few enjoy incomes
reaching £2,000 and £3,000, and two or three at least get even
more.” A schoolmaster begining life in a great public school
‘“ can live as a bachelor upon £200-£ 300 per annum, and it
` will not be long before he earns a larger income. Many masters
of boarding-houses make £1,000, such masters in the most
expensive schools make £1,500 or more per annum.” All
these facts may be true enough, but it would have been worth
while at the same time to point out that the average income of
assistant-masters in secondary schools is probably about £100
per annum without board and residence.
WE have received from Messrs. (seo. Philip and Son samples
of a set of 256 lantern slides which are especially prepared for
use in instilutions and colleges where the History of Archi-
tecture forms part of the course of study. The slides are taken
from the original drawings and photographs which were used by
Mr. Banister F. Fletcher in his well-known work on the
subject. The slides are all numbered and labelled to corre-
spond with the illustraticus in Mr. Fletcher’s book, and are
neatly and strongly finished in cloth lantern-binding. Some of
the line drawings are rather crowded upon the slide, but in other
respects they are very good, many of the photographic slides
coming out remarkably well. The latter give the actual
appearance of the buildings far better than any drawings
could do.
THE British Medical Journal rightly maintains that boys and
girls who work well should feed well—and most children work
hard though not always at lessons. The issue ofthe Journal
for April 4th contains an article on ‘* The Food Factor in Edu-
cation,” which expresses the opinion that in many English
schools the boys and girls are not given meat enough. School-
masters and schoolmistresses responsible for the boarding
arrangements of schools would do well to study the detailed
dietaries included in the article referred to, and to ask themselves
why French and German school-children should be better fed
than those at home. One grave fault in the arrangement of the
hours for meals in English boarding-schools is the long interval
The School World
187
between the mid-day meal and tea-time, and another the
unsubstantial nature of the food a boy or girl receives between
dinner at one o'clock and breakfast the next morning.
THE marked tendency towards a decrease in the available
number of suitably qualified schoolmasters is as characteristic of
Scotland as of England. The Aiucational News says that the
two main factors which have contributed to the scarcity of
teachers in Scotland, especially men, are the want of prospects and
consequent lack of promotion, and the inadequacy of the salary
paid to assistant schoolmasters and schoolmistresses. ‘‘ That we
are within the mark in saying that the majority of the men
teachers of Scotland will never become headmasters the following
statistics will prove. In 1894-95, there were 2,327 ‘principal
men teachers in Scotland in state-aided schools, while in 1901-02
the number was 2,330, or an increase of three headmasterships
in seven years. Now in the former years there were in average
attendance in the schools §78,455 children, and in the latter
years 636,374, or an increase of 57,919, yet for this large
increase we find an increase of three headships.”” This result
has been brought about by the rapid increase in the number of
large schools. Though there has been an increase in the
average salary of assistant-masters in the state-aided schools, the
present state of things is by no means satisfactory. In 1894-95
the average salary of these teachers was £97 16s. gd. ; in 1901-2
it was £113 7s. 6d.
THE London Chamber of Commerce has, as the Chamber of
Com:nerce Journal points out in its April number, from the
inauguration of its scheme of commercial education, both for
junior and senior candidates, insisted in its examinations on a
viva-voce test in modern foreign languages. As we have before
reported, the London University made it compulsory a few years
ago for every candidate in Arts presenting himself in modern
languages to read in French and German, and answer in these
languages a few questions arising out of the piece read. First-
class candidates in the College of Preceptors’ examination may
now take a voluntary test in oral French or German. The
Society of Arts also allows a voluntary wiva-voce test as a portion
of their modern languages examination, and this year the
Delegates of the Oxford and Cambridge local examinations are
beginning a wiva-voce test for their senior candidates. If
modern languages are to be of real practical use, students
must know equally how to read, write, and speak them, and
it is quite time that no one should be permitted to pass an
examination in a modern foreign language who is unable to
satisfy the examiner that he can both read, write, speak, and
understand the spoken tongue.
Mr. JOHN JACKSON, of ‘‘upright penmanship” fame, is
actively engaged in the formation of a committee for the
promotion of ambidextral culture and teaching in schools.
Already a great many well-known educationists have expressed
their willingness to co-operate with him, and there seems every
reason to believe that the movement will result in an improve-
ment in current methods of teaching writing and drawing.
MeEssrks. MACMILLAN & Co., Ltd., have added to their illus-
trated pocket classics ‘‘ Tom Brown’s School Days.” The
excellent illustrations are by Mr. Edmund J. Sullivan.
THE Civil Service Commissioners have announced that an open
competitive examination will be held in London, commencing
on the 3rd August next, for admission to the Civil Service of
India, for higher division clerkships in the Home Civil Service,
and for Eastern cadetships. The number of vacancies in the
Home and Indian Civil Services have not yet been announced,
188
but at present ten appointments to Eastern cadetships are
offered for competition. The twenty-six subjects from which a
choice may be made include classical and modern languages and
literature, mathematics and science, ancient and modern history,
philosophy, economics, politics and law. The same examination
and fee (46) cover competition for any or all of the three
services. The limits of age for candidates for the Indian Civil
Service are 21 and 23 onthe Ist January last, for the Home Civil,
22 and 24 on the 3rd August next, and for Eastern cadetships,
21 and 24 on the Ist August next. For examinations after the
one appointed to be held in August, 1903, the limits of age for
the Ilome Civil Service will be 22 and 24 on the Ist August in
the year in which the examination is held. Entry forms are
obtainable from the Secretary, Civil Service Commission, Bur-
lington Gardens, S. W., and should be returned to him not later
than Ist July next.
SCOTTISH.
A VALUABLE book of 100 pages, entitled ‘‘ Scottish Education
Reform,” by Dr. Douglas and Prof. Jones, of Glasgow University,
embodies the considered views of eminent politicians of both
parties, as well as of men who are directly interested in the
future of Scottish education. The suggested scheme of reform
bears no trace of bias, and seems a praiseworthy eftort to solve the
problem on purely national considerations. The authors insist
that whatever solution is finally adopted should embody two
main ideas: first, to secure that all education—primary, secon-
dary, and technical—shall be continuous, and therefore under
one authority ; second, to provide means whereby the Scottish
people shall have power to create and control their own system,
and take the whole responsibility for public education into their
own hands. They would create a special education authority,
elected directly by the people, and ruling over areas coterminous
with the ‘‘districts”’ into which counties are divided for local
government. They would remove the Education Department
from Whitehall to Edinburgh, and would create an Advisory
Council, representative of educational interests, for the guidance
of the Department on questions of general educational policy.
These latter proposals will doubtless arouse determined opposi-
tion, as they certainly demand most careful consideration. The
excellence of the administration by the Education Department
during the past decade will assuredly and rightly be the strongest
argument for maintaining the sfatus quo.
A MEETING of the Modern Languages Association was held
in Glasgow on April 15th, when Dr. Kirkpatrick, of Edinburgh
University, in his presidential address, referred to the conflict
between the advocates of the study of classics and of modern
languages, and contended that the University Commissioners by
assigning double marks to classical subjects as against modern
subjects ip the bursary competition had intensified the con-
troversy. It was maintained that the classical languages were
more efficient instruments of education than the modern, but
this contention was largely based on the fallacy that because
more time and attention were devoted in most countries to
classics than to modern languages, the former was, therefore,
more educative than the latter. He urged classical supporters
to study carefully the Frankfort system, under which it was
found more natural and rational to begin linguistic study with a
modern than with an ancient language.
THE following motions were afterwards agreed to:—(i.) That
absolute equality of status be accorded to ancient and to modern
languages, both in school and university; that, wherever
possible, the Frankfort principle of basing classical study on a
thorough training in one modern language be brought into
The School World
[May, 1903.
practice; and that that principle, so successful in Germany, and
so beneficial both to classical study and to general education, be
strongly recommended to the notice of the Scottish Education
Department and of the public generally. (ii.) That the com-
mittee .be instructed to investigate the cause of the sudden
reduction in the number of students of German in the training
colleges, and to communicate with the educational authorities
concerned, with a view to remedying this serious state of matters.
(iii.) That, while acknowledging the liberal attitude of the
Carnegie and Heriot Trusts in offering post-graduate scholar-
ships and fellowships in modern languages, this association
would strongly urge the desirability of founding also smaller
travelling scholarships for the benefit of students wishing to
spend a summer abroad in the interval between the ordinary
and honours courses in our Scottish universities.
THE half-yearly meeting of the Classical Association of
Scotland was held in the Grand Hotel, Aberdeen. Prof.
Ramsay, who presided, justified the existence of the Association
at this time when the question of higher education was so
prominently before the country, and when the claims of classics
to a place in that education were being considered and canvassed
by many who were not well qualified to give any opinion on so
important a subject. Papers were afterwards read by Mr.
Coutts, Secretary of the Association, on the examination system
of the secondary school, and by Prof. Harrower, Aberdeen, on
the teaching of Greek. An interesting discussion followed
which brought out general agreement on the following points :
(1) that the number of examinations should be diminished ;
(2) that the number of subjects demanded for the bursary com-
petition should be diminished ; (3) that a pass with distinction
should be substituted for the Honours Grade in the Leaving
Certificate Examinations; (4) that the questions on grammar
and accidence should be curtailed, and questions set regarding
the habits, customs, literature and history of the Greeks and
Romans. The marked success of the Scottish Association is
likely to lead, at an early date, to the formation of a Classical
Association in England.
AT a meeting of the Scottish Class Teachers’ Association, a
discussion took place on the steady diminution in the number of
male teachers entering the profession. In 1894, out of every
hundred certificated teachers, 46 were men, and 54 were women.
In 1902, out of every hundred certificated teachers, 39 were men
and 61 were women. If the decrease continues at the present
rate the extinction of the male teacher in elementary schools is
within measurable distance. In America, where this result has
already been achieved, the prospect of the whole youth of the
nation being entirely left at their most impressionable years to
the training of women is received in many quarters with serious
concern. The emotional and sentimental faculties may possibly
be developed at the expense of those more robust qualities
which go to the making of true manhood and even womanhood.
Whether this view be right or wrong, one would like to see the
question decided practically in America before accepting with
equanimity its introduction into this country. Dr. Douglas, M.P.,
who was present at the meeting, remarked that this was the
only meeting of professional men whom he had ever heard
lamenting the lack of professional competitors, and it showed
that they were looking at the matter not from the personal but
the national standpoint.
IRISH.
THE Report of the Royal Commission on University Educa-
tion, which we have summarised elsewhere, has already given
rise to a good deal of controversy. This is but natural, for if
May, 1903.]
the Commissioners could not agree, how can agreement be
expected from others? The most important pronouncement is
that which issued almost immediately after the publication of the
Report from the Board of Trinity College. The Provost and
Senior Fellows consider that it would be most injurious that
there should be incorporated in the University of Dublin any
denominational college where appointments would depend
either in theory or in practice not merely on literary and
scientific attainments, but also on religious denomination. The
Board stand by the Fawcett Act of 1873, but are so far willing
to make overtures to Roman Catholics that they are ready
to provide facilities for the catechetical and religious instruction
of Roman Catholic students by lectures, examinations, and
supervision of their religious observances by clergymen of their
own Church.
THE Higher Education Committee of the General Assembly,
meeting in Belfast, protested that scarcely any solution of the
university question could be so injurious to the educational
interests of the country at large as that set forth in the scheme
of the Royal Commission. It will tend, in the opinion of the
Committee, to perpetuate divisions and animosities among the
young of different creeds, and involves a State endowment of
religion in contravention of the Irish Church Act of 1869. The
Committee further protests against the proposed exclusion of
Magee College, Londonderry, from all university privileges.
Similar criticism has been made by Professor Leebody, the Presi-
dent of Magee College.
THE Council of the Royal University Graduates’ Association
express their pleasure that the Report condemns a Roman
Catholic university for Ireland and ignores completely the
creation of a northern university. They condemn, however, the
proposal to establish a Roman Catholic college, and object to
any college being controlled by the clergy or nominees of the
clergy, and to the appointment of Crown nominees on the
governing boards of the Queen’s Colleges as likely to lead to
the continuation of the Castle intrigues which have been so
ruinous in the past.
ANOTHER matter which has aroused intense interest has
been the question of the so-called Equivalent Grant. Mr,
Wyndham has succeeded in having its amount determined on
the score of population as shown by the last census. The sum,
therefore, amounts to £185,000 per annum. Prima facie, this
grant should be given to Irish education. But, says Mr.
Wyndham, Irish education is not yet ready for it, which means
that Mr. Wyndham’s scheme for the reform of Irish education is
not ready. It has been several times hinted in this column that
the Government are anxious to co-ordinate primary and
secondary education in Ireland, and to establish a single Board
of Education for the whole country. This may now be taken
as certain. For the present, the Land Purchase scheme is
to have a first charge of £50,000 and the Congested District
Board a charge of £20,000. Then come the claims of educa-
tion ; and lastly, part of the grant will be used for the promotion
of the economic development of transit facilities in Ireland. The
alienation of any of the money from education is sure to cause
strong protests, which will only be appeased if it is made clear
that eventually all of it will go to education, either primary or
secondary.
IT is a curious coincidence that on the very day that Mr.
Wyndham was reported to have said in the House of Commons
that ‘money has been lavished upon intermediate education in
Ireland,” a memorial was published, addressed to him hy the
joint committee of all the Irish secondary educational associa-
tions of all denominations, which showed clearly how very
inadequately endowed intermediate education really is, and
The School World
189
pointed out that, even if all the equivalent grant were given
to it, its endowment would fall short of the provision for
secondary education already made in Scotland. There is no
greater delusion in the minds of some of the responsible
authorities of this country than the belief that intermediate
education is well provided for. A parliamentary return of
the salaries of Irish secondary teachers would soon undeceive
them.
In the meantime the Castle authorities have brought over an
English inspector—not of a very large experience—to inquire
into and report on Irish education both primary and secondary.
As this has taken place without consulting those who are
responsible for the conduct of education, Dr. Bernard, the Dean
of St. Patrick’s, has resigned his sgat on the National Board as
a protest. The Government have treated the Board with scant
courtesy, but seem bent on taking an independent line of
their own.
THE Intermediate Examinations will this year begin on
Tuesday, June 16th, and conclude in the following week. The
only new feature is that separate papers of an hour in length
will be set in Greek and Latin verse for honour candidates in
Greek and Latin respectively.
IT was recently stated in the House of Commons that
technical difficulties have arisen on the construction of the
College Statutes, which have caused delay in issuing a King’s
letter giving power to the authorities of Trinity College to
confer degrees upon women. It is, however, expected that the
matter will soon be satisfactorily arranged.
THERE is this year an increase of £23,254 in the estimated
cost for the coming year of the Department of Agriculture and
Technical Instruction, the total estimates being £181,499.
The largest increase is in the grants to secondary schools, the
figure mounting from 47,000 to £18,000, a difference of
4,11, 000,
WELSH.
AT a mecting of the South Wales District Union of Ele-
mentary Teachers held last week ìt was stated that in Car-
marthenshire 42°8 per cent. of the teaching staff was totally
unqualified ; in Pembrokeshire, 46'5 per cent.; and in Cardi-
ganshire, §2°6 per cent. No wonder, therefore, that the meeting
adopted a motion for the better staffing of the schools. The
following were the terms: ‘‘ That the Board of Education be
requested to ulilise the opportunity afforded by the passing of
the Education Act, 1902, to improve the staffing arrangements
of schools by requiring that a qualified adult teacher be provided
for every forty scholars on the roll in town schools and thirty in
rural schools ; that this provision be exclusive of the principal
teacher, and after April 30th, 1905, teachers under Article 68
and pupil-teachers be no longer recognised for the purpose of
this article.”
AT the annual meeting of the Welsh County Schools Asso-
ciation of Ileadmasters and Headmistresses of the Intermediate
Schools of Wales, recently held, a motion was submitted asking
the Central Welsh Board to establish a sub-junior certificate on
similar lines to the preliminary Oxford and Cambridge local
certificates. It is true that the motion was eventually with-
drawn, but it is indeed extraordinary, in view of the recent
tendency of the Central Welsh Board to reduce the amount of
examination in the schools, to find any headmasters wishing to
make the reactionary movement towards increase of examina-
tions. On the other hand, it is pleasant to notice a forward
movement of the Association. The Executive Committee re-
| Kole
ported that ‘‘they cordially approved of arrangements being
made for the interchange of views between elementary and
secondary teachers in South Wales, and suggested a committee
to arrange a conference,” and “that it was desirable that a
similar conference should be arranged in North Wales.” It was
reported at this meeting that nine out of the sixteen counties
and county boroughs in Wales had accepted the pension
scheme.
THE headmaster of the Carnarvon County School has lately
explained to his governors his views of the teaching of Welsh in
county schools. We venture to quote from a report of his
remarks. He stated that on coming to the school he made
inquiries and ‘‘ found that Welsh was not taught in eight or
nine elementary schools in the district, and the boys came to
the intermediate schools with an indifferent knowledge of
English. English and Latin had to be taught together with one
other language. Should that be French or Welsh? Looking
at the failure of the boys under his charge who had no know-
ledge of their own language, he tried to discover which would
be of greater educational value to them— Welsh or I'rench—and
he decided that the right course, except in special cases, was
the study of a foreign language.”
On March 26th the University College of North Wales ar-
ranged for a lecture delivered in French by Dr. Friedel, lately
Professor of Romance Languages at the University College of
Liverpool, and now of the French Education Department, on
French dramatic and lyric poetry. The lecture was illustrated
in a very brilliant manner by M. Baillet, of the Comédie
Française, who read, in excellent style, selections from Cor-
neille, Racine, Molière, Coppée, and Rostand. The masterly
delivery of tne famous actor gave great pleasure. This is, we
believe, the first time that such a lecture has been arranged
in connection with a university college. No better means could
be adopted fcr rousing the enthusiasm of students and for giving
many—especially teachers—who have not the opportunity of
seeing the plays performed, or of hearing the masterpieces of
French literature expounded by those who have devoted their
lives to the stage, an idea of how they should be rendered.
THE following interesting account has been given of the
method of teaching law by the Professors of Law in the
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. In the lectures
great importance will be laid on law reports—a method of
proceeding from facts to principles, which, while it affords an
intellectual discipline of the highest order, at the same time
gives the student a grasp of the actual rules of law which is
unattainable by any other method. The value of work in the
class-room in common with other students and under the
guidance of a lecturer cannot be disputed. It is, in fact,
incalculable. This is especially the case where the work is
supplemented by conferences with a lecturer, and by such organi-
sations among the students themselves as law moots and law
debating-clubs. The course of instruction in law is rendered
still more effective by the adoption of historical and comparative
methods of study—methods which serve the double purpose of
broadening the student’s point of view, and of deepening his
insight into the meaning of those rules which he will be sub-
sequently called upon to apply in practice.
No county school probably has had to contend with greater
difficulties than that at Bethesda. The clerk has reported ata
meeting of the Local Governing Body that, notwithstanding the
adverse circumstances of the last two years (7.¢., with strike
after strike in the district), the number of scholars is well main-
tained (viz., 65 pupils in regular attendance), and on the present
financial year there is a balance in favour of the school at the
bank.
The School World
(May, 1903.
CURRENT HISTORY.
Sır H. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN fears that the inclusion of
the chiefs of the Army and Navy in the proposed Defence Com-
mittee ‘* may weaken the responsibility of the Cabinet, which is
the foundation of our system of government.” What exactly is
this ‘ responsibility of the Cabinet ” to which Sir Henry refers 7
Who are “responsible?” Are they so individually or only
collectively? To whom are they responsible? and what are
the penalties to which they are liable? Are these penalties
such as members. of the Cabinet really fear? We remember a
Funch cartoon of 1880 in which Beaconsfield’s *‘ failure ° was
pictured as lolling in a hammock with a cigar and a novel. Did
he not say that he ‘‘ would now be able to watch the primroses ? ”
The Tories who inserted the constitutional clauses in the Whig
Act of Settlement, 1701, disliked the then new Cabinet system
and wanted every member of the Privy Council to sign their
recommendations, so that, if it was desired, they could be im-
peached for ‘‘criminal” neglect of the country’s interests.
But impeachment is now as dead as Queen Anne. When some
one proposed to impeach Beaconsfield for bringing troops from
India in 1878, the House of Commons laughed.
Visirors to London are sometimes shown the Lancashire
window in the Guildhall. It is the memorial of the kindness
shown by Londoners to the cotton manufacturers during the
great famine that arose in the sixties of last century out of
the American Civil War--the war which established the
unity of the United States and brought about the abolition
of American slavery. It was even then remarked that as much
kindness and more wisdom would have been shown in finding
for the operatives of Lancashire an alternative industry than in
maintaining them in idleness, and certainly no such fund will be
raised now that, owing to permanent causes, the supply of cotton
from the United States is again more than threatening to cease.
Partly because the area of cotton growing is shrinking, partly
because the United States are beginning to manufacture their
own products, Lancashire is looking round for new sources of
her necessary supply. Raw cotton has long come from India,
and now West Africa, and even some of our West Indian islands
in despair about sugar, are thought of as likely fields for the
growth of the cotton plant. So the world changes, and our
geography text-books have to be constantly re-written so as to
be up to date.
THE question of the unemployed in London has given rise to
much discussion in the papers and elsewhere. The local
authorities have been recommending the Government ‘to
undertake immediately extensive works of public benefit, so as
to keep people employed for whom private industry could not
find work.” We cannot, of course, here discu-s the economics
of the question, nor enquire whence the capital is to come to
provide this public employment, much less indicate the disturb-
ance of business all this would cause. We would merely remind
our readers of two parallels. In India and Cyprus, among
comparatively primitive agricultural peoples to whoin we have
introduced an artificial civilisation beyond their understanding,
paternal government, even to the extent of providing food in
famine time, may be so great a good as to be regarded as
necessary. But in Paris, in 1848, such methods proved only
disastrous. It is true that our London authorities intend to
warn the provinces ; but if public work is provided in the capital
for out-of-works, what is to prevent further congestion? In
such cases, a knowledge of history, if full enough, will give
wisdom and power.
We wonder what Alexander the Great, if he is aware of what
goes on among us, is thinking of the condition of his country at
May, 1903. ]
the present time. The work which he effected by his union of
Hellas and his eastward expedition has been signally avenged
by Asia. Rival religions, each world-wide in aim, have com-
plicated the problem since his time. Greek Russia and Roman
Austria, after long years of jealousy, have united to demand
reforms for Christian Macedonia from Mohammedan Stamboul,
only to find that the Kaliph-Sultan cannot even promise to
submit to their will without incurring the wrath of Mohammedan
Albanians. What a welter of warring nationalities exists in the
Balkan Peninsula! The problems of the Near East are not to be
understood, even in an elementary way, without a knowledge of
the history of Bulgars, Serbs, &c., who inhabit the territory
south of the Danube. Such knowledge is to be gained from
Gibbon or Finlay, or at least from those chapters of manuals of
European history which deal with South-eastern Europe. Here
at least we must acknowledge the unity of history. Greek story,
for instance, is continuous from Troy to Navarino.
“THE priests, being Séa/e officials, can legitimately be
obliged to employ the French language in their religious instruc-
tion ”—(M. Combes, the French Prime Minister). ‘* The Séate
has the power of moulding the minds and aptitudes of its future
citizens, That power it derives from its control over the
national education. Nor can it reasonably be denied that the
State has every right to exercise that influence in any direction
that may be considered useful for the Commonwealth” —( Articles
in the Zimes on the Problem of the Army). The conditions
on which Boer emigrants will be permitted to settle in German
South-West Africa include the necessity of sending their children
for two years to a Government school. They may have other
schools of their own, but these two years are obligatory, as is
also military service. ‘‘ The right of judging what doctrines are
to be taught the subjects is in all commonwealths inseparably
annexed to the Sovereign power civil, whether it be in one man
or in one assembly of men”—Hobbes’ Leviathan (1650). We
know, too, from Plato’s “ Republic ” how the ancient Hellene
lived for the State, because in the woArs he saw the only full
development of the individual man. The nineteenth century,
at least in its middle period, was the great era of individualism.
Earl Russell, in his “ English Government and Constitution”
(1865), said, ‘‘ There was a time when it was supposed to be
the duty of Government to inculcate religious truths, but these
errors are fast passing away. It is now known that the sémost
liberty of thought and expression should be not hampered with
restriction, but protected .? In which direction are we
now tending? Towards /iderty, or a growth of State control,
even in matters of relipion and education ?
TEST EXAMINATION PAPERS IN
ENGLISH HISTORY.
London Matriculation.
1485-1900. (3 howrs.)
(1) What were the difficulties of Henry VH.? How did he
meet them ?
(2) What was the policy of Wolsey, (a) at home, (4) abroad ?
(3) Describe the Reformation as it was settled under
Elizabeth. What were its domestic opponents?
(4) What were the principal points in dispute between
James I. and his English subjects ?
(5) How did England come to be under military rule in
Cromwell’s time? What were the ideals of the Army ?
The School World
IQI
= ee eek) a a
(6) Sketch the relationships between England and the United
Netherlands during the latter half of the seventeenth cestury.
(7) What were the principles of the Whigs till 1745? Sketch
the fortunes of the party in that period.
(8) Describe the world-war between Great Britain and the
Bourbons. How far were we helped by Continental Powers?
(9) What gains and losses did the British Empire experience
in the latter half of the eighteenth century ?
(10) Why was Reform desirable in 1830? What considera-
tions were advanced against it ?
(t1) Mention some of the more important events in which
Englishmen were interested during the first half of Victoria’s
reign.
(12) Trace the growth of British Imperialism.
Scotch Leaving Certificate.
HIGHER AND LOWER GRADES. (40 minutes.)
(1) What did any ¢hree of the following do in history:
Augustine, Canute, Robert of Normandy, Thomas Becket,
Simon de Montfort, Robert Bruce, Wat Tiler, Henry Hotspur,
Joan of Arc, Caxton, Perkin Warbeck, Sir Thomas More,
Lord Burleigh, Earl of Strafford, Titus Oates, Marlborough,
Clive, Wilkes, Washington, George Stephenson, Canning,
Gladstone ?
(2) What do any /wo of the following phrases mean in British
history? Write a few lines about each of the ¢wo: Witan,
Feudalism, Jury, Constitutions of Clarendon, Knights of the
Shire, Crusade, Lords Ordainers, Model Parliament, Lollardry,
Benevolences, Star Chamber, Head of the Church, Prophesyings,
Hampton Court Conference, Impeachment, Solemn League and
Covenant, Cabal, Whig, Calendar Act, Economic Reform,
Extension of the Franchise, Imperialism.
(3) What wars has this country waged with the French
or Dutch? Mention the principal results of each.
College of Preceptors.
SECOND CLASs, 1066-1603 A.D. (I$ Aozrs.)
(1) What part did the following persons play in English
history: Robert of Normandy, Thomas of Canterbury, Siephen
Langton, Simon de Montfort, Piers Gaveston, John Duke of:
Bedford, Cardinal Wolsey, Cranmer, Sir Francis Drake?
(2) Write briefly what you know of: Domesday, Magna
Charta, the Black Death, the Peasants’ Revolt, the Star
Chamber, the Statute of Appeals.
(3) Give a short account of the Wars of the Roses.
(4) How or why did the following kings come to the throne
of England: Stephen, Henry II., Henry IV., Edward IV.,
Henry VH. ?
(5) What foreign possessions were held by (a) Henry II.,
(6) Edward IHI., (c) Henry V.?
THIRD CLASs, 1066-1603 A.D. (14 howrs.)
(1) Write not more than three or four lines about each of the
following: Henry I.’s daughter Matilda, Thomas Becket,
Llewellyn, Piers Gaveston, the Black Prince, the King Maker,
Perkin Warbeck, Thomas Cromwell, Lady Jane Grey, Sir
Francis Drake, Shakespeare.
(2) When and where were the following battles fought ? who
won and who lost them? Tenchebrai, Standard, Evesham,
Bannockburn, Sluys, Agincourt, Wakefield Green, Stoke,
Flodden.
102
The School World
[May, 1903.
I
(3) Write short accounts of Magna Charta, the Peasants’
Revolt, Mary Queen of Scots, and the defeat of the Armada.
Oxford Locals.
SENIOR. 1399-1603 A.D. (13 Aozrs.)
(1) Describe the powers and privileges of the House of
Commons under the Lancastrian kings. What was the effect
on them of the Wars of the Roses?
(2) What were the reasons of Henry V.’s success in France?
and of the subsequent failure of the English there?
(3) What persons is Richard of Gloucester believed, rightly
or wrongly, to have “removed”? Why were they in his way ?
(4) What part did England play till 1603 in the exploitation
of America and the Indies ?
(5) Summarise the work of the Reformation Parliament 1529-
15 36.
6 Give some account of social changes in England in the
latter half of the sixteenth century.
(7) What parties opposed Elizabeth’s government at home?
State shortly their respective principles.
JUNIOR. 1399-1603, A.D. wilh special reference to ‘* Elizabeth.”
(1$ kours.)
(1) State briefly the importance of the following in English
history: Sir John Oldcastle, John Duke of Bedford, Caxton,
Perkin Warbeck, Cardinal Wolsey, Cranmer, Burleigh, Drake,
Raleigh, Sir Philip Sidney, Shakespeare.
(2) Give a general account of the Wars of the Roses.
(3) What do you know of Elizabeth’s Acts of Uniformity and
Supremacy and of the High Commission Court ?
(4) Write a life of Mary Queen of Scots.
Cambridge Locals.
SENIOR. 1215-1509 A.D. (1ł hours.)
(1) From what evils did England suffer in the reign of Henry
III. ?
(2) Describe the composition of the Model Parliament of
1295. i
(3) Summarise the campaigns in Edward III.’s wars with
France.
(4) What were the relations between ‘‘ Burgundy” and
England in the fifteenth century? Illustrate by reference to
specific events.
(5) Give some account either of Wiclif or the Lollards or of
the causes of the Peasants’ Revolt.
(6) Show by genealogical tables and otherwise the claims of
Henry IV., Edward IV., and Henry VII. to the English
throne. What rivals had they respectively ?
JUNIOR. 1215-1509 A.D. (I$ hours.)
(1) Explain briefly the following phrases: Provisions of
Oxford, Lords Ordainers, Model Parliament, Lords Appellant,
Peasants’ Revolt, Benevolences, Star Chamber.
(2) Where and when were the following battles fought? who
won and who lost them? Lincoln, Lewes, Falkirk, Sluys,
Shrewsbury, Agincourt, Wakefield Green, Barnet, Stoke.
(3) Make a genealogical table, introducing all the Kings of
England from Edward III. to Henry VII.
(4) State briefly what the following did in English history:
Hubert de Burgh, Piers Gaveston, the Black Prince, Wiclif,
Caxton, Archbishop Morton, Perkin Warbeck.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Classics.
Clement of Alexandria. Miscellanies, Book VIL. The Greek
Text, with Introduction, Translation, Notes, Dissertations, and
Indices, by the late F. J. A. Hort, and Joseph B. Mayor. cxi.
+455 pp. (Macmillan.) 15s. net.—We offer a hearty welcome to
this able book, both on its own merits and because it may serve to
call attention to a much neglected writer. In this country, hardly
anything has been done for Clement since the time when Potter,
nearly two centuries ago, brought out what is still the standard
edition. We do not wish to disparage articles in cyclopzedias
and reviews, but we speak now of serious work, which should
always be an attempt to make the way easier for future students.
And since all study of Clement must be based upon the text,
until that is placed on a satisfactory basis no scholar can be sure
that his work will last. Mr. Barnard in 1897, with his text of
‘* Quis dives,” made a good beginning; and if Prof. Hort had
lived he might have done something substantial. But the upshot
of all is that Germany has taken the opportunity, and a writer
who seemed peculiarly an English possession will shortly pass
away from us. Future students of Clement, however, and of
patristic Greek generally, will find much help in Mr. Mayor's
excellent analysis of certain syntactical peculiarities of his
author, such as the use of čv, which is treated in an appendix,
and other topics less fully examined. An Introduction discusses
the relation of Clement to Greek philosophy ; and if Mr. Mayor
is not prepared to place Clement so high as some authorities (e.g,
De Faye, for whom Clement is 4 véritable créateur de la
théologie ecclésiastique), he recognises the wide philosophical and
religious interest of his author, and his influence on the Church.
He is hardly less important for the ecclesiastical archaeologist.
The student will find light in the notes on the Agape,
Presbyters, and Deacons, and other such matters ; but this is only
one of Clement’s many books, and the whole body of them is of
high importance. We hope this book will lead some young
scholars to make a serious study of Clement as a whole. There
are full indices of quotations, and of all the important Greek
words.
Livy. Book XXII, By G. G. Loane. xix. + 221 pp.
(Blackie.) 2s. 6¢.—The notes in this edition are commendably
brief, but many of them are unnecessary: e.g., ‘‘cus = ei a yuo,
a dat. incom.” (p. 110, cf. p. 98) ; ‘iugis isdem, ablative of way
by which ” (p. 117), and others. We do not like the author’s
style in the introduction, nor his allusions to Kruger (p. 104).
No references are given for the illustrations. The enquiring
schoolboy will probably gather from that opposite p. 76 that
there were fourteen Vestals.
Caesars Gallic War. Book VIT. Edited by John Brown.
xlvi. + 130 pp. (Blackie.) 2s. 6g7.—We have nothing to add
to our remarks on Mr. Brown’s editions of the earlier books.
This is of the same character, above the average of modern
schoolbooks. The Introduction is good, and so are the notes
generally ; there are some useful illustrations.
Quintus Curtius Rufus. VIII. chaps. ix.-xiv. Edited by
C. J. Phillips. xxiii. + 79 pp. (Macmillan.) 15s. 6a.—The
book is well chosen for its purpose, and the notes on the whole
good; but there are some of them which seem to be rather
meant for the teacher than for the taught. For schoolboys the
references to McCrindle’s excellent book on Alexander are not
suited. The teacher ought to have the book, and to read out of
May, 1903.]
The School World
193
it to his boys; but all the schoolboy needs in the way of notes
would be just sufficient help where the Latin is too hard for his
powers,
Thirteen Satires of Juvenal. Translated into English by
S. G. Owen. xix.+120 pp. (Methuen.) 2s. 6¢.—Many
scholars on reading Prof. Mayor's versions of Juvenal given in
his notes must have regretted that he has not published a version
of the whole in his vigorous English. But that apparently is
not to be; which is a pity, because just that command of the
vernacular which is necessary is very rare in these days of
journalese. The student has to be content with J. D. Lewis,
whose rendering is wonderfully accurate but generally bald
and without pretensions to literary style. Another translation
mentioned by Mr. Owen in his preface, by S. H. Jeyes, and
commended by him, is not known to us. But Mr. Owen’s is
undoubtedly an improvement on Lewis's; if not trenchant and
strong like Mayor’s work, it is at least pleasing to read, often
clever, and correct. Mr. Owen’s ear for rhythm = and
assonance seems to be defective, and this robs the style of dis-
tinction: take this, almost at random —‘‘ recalling forcibly the
lolling Maecenas, some signatory to a forgery;” or, “the
steward securing his pickings.” It is easy to see how these
might be improved. “t Lyonesse ” seems rather an affected
rendering of *‘ Lugudunum.” We noted one vulgarism, ‘ dite
one models ” for ‘fas’ {p. 46). But Mr. Owen’s scholarship is
beyond question, and his critical judgment sufficiently shown in
his edition of the text in the Oxford Bré/fotheca, There isa
short Introduction, where Mr. Owen estimates Juvenal’s place
in literature. The estimate is, we think, too high: he thinks
Juvenal the chief satirist of the world, and ‘fa poet in the
highest sense of the word.”
` T, Lucreti Cart. De Rerum Natura, TII. Edited, with
Introduction, Notes, and Index, by J. D. Duff. xxiv. +111 pp.
(Pitt Press Series.) 25.—This is a very good book. Mr. Duff
knows his Lucretius, and does not bow unreservedly even to
Munro. Ile has, moreover, used the labours of that capable
scholar, Giussani, and his notes are not a mere revhauffé of other
people’s. We are not sure, however, that he was well advised
to follow Giussani in transposing 526 f., which here come after
669. No doubt they are better fitted for that place ; but editors
have been too anxious to find perfect logic in a work which the
author left incomplete. Hear Mr. Duffs own words (p. xviii.) :
“Iam more inclined to believe that, if Lucretius had lived to
finish and revise his poem, we should not now find all these
arguments in their present shape and order.” But we are glad
to be able to commend a scholarly and interesting edition.
The Memorabilia of Xenophon. Book I. Edited by G. M.
Edwards. xliii. +80 pp. (Pitt Press Series.) 25. 6a.—If
Mr. Duff is original, Mr. Edwards is not ; and his book shows
the same fault which we noticed in his edition of Book II., an
over-great fondness for quotation in his notes, and too much
translation. He cannot resist a passage ‘‘ well rendered by
Dakyns.” Asa whole, the notes are too long. In the Merno-
rahilia, a work so important for the understanding of Socrates,
a full comparison with Plato is necessary; but the notes might
otherwise be confined to real difficulties, of which there are
a good many in the book. wpdrrovros (p. 41) is better regarded
as a genitive absolute than as governed by eldev. The interest-
ing introduction is repeated, with a few changes, from that of
Book II.
Edited Books.
Hamlet. The Picture Shakespeare. 210 pp. (Blackie.) ts.
—Somewhat more interesting from a pictorial point of view than
previous plays in this series, and very charmingly presented as a
No. 53, VOL. 5.]
whole. The notes are useful, especially for young people, and
the appendix is fairly serviceable, especially in the concluding
critical section, which is really carefully done. Altogether this
edition appears to have a distinct use as it proceeds, for the
appeal to the eye of young children cannot fail of having due
efiect, and the explanatory matter is never cumbersome.
Sto Matthew. The Revised Version.
the use of Schools. By Arthur Carr. xx. + 168 pp. (Cam-
bridge University Press.) 1s. 6d.--This is a useful educational
altempt to abridge the labour of teachers and pupils in divinity
where the Revised Version has already led the way. Mr. Carr's
previous work upon the Gospel of St. Matthew is well known,
and therefore this volume needs no exhaustive criticism. It is
beautifully printed and bound, and arranged in paragraphs,
which is a great improvement in the presentation of the text
followed in the larger ‘‘Cambridge Bible.” The most approved
results of recent biblical criticism are embodied in the splendid
notes; but independent of its intrinsic value, there are three
artistic maps incorporated in the text. An edition as remarkable
for its elegance as for its high utility.
Edited with Notes for
Macbeth. By M. J. C. Meiklejohn. 164+xxxi pp. (Holden.)
Is. 3¢.—The number of editions of Shakespeare is evidently on
the increase, This cne is quite up to the average. The intro-
ductory matter is very good, the ‘‘notes on old or unusual
grammar ” are worth attention, and the examination papers are
serviceable.
Scott's Lord of the Isles. By W. M. Mackenzie. xxxiii.
+161 pp. (Black.) 1s. 4a.—If we remember rightly, this is the
third edition of this poem which has passed through our hands
quite recently, and it must be said that this is a good one. The
introductory matter is really well done, and the notes are some-
what more numerous—-and somewhat better, too—than in pre-
vious volumes in this series. Eminently a compact, ‘ handy”
edition.
Macbeth. By Fanny Johnson. xliii. + 169 pp. (Blackwood.)
15. —The aim of this series generally involves an interesting and
attractive treatment of the story of Shakespeare’s plays ; and
in this case the end is achieved with remarkable success. A
more instructive edition of Macbeth has not come into our
hands for some time. The notes are numerous, and are adapted
to young children rather than to middle or upper forms, but
they are well done, though more might have been made of some
of them; ¢.g., ‘‘ Dollars ” on p. 80. The philological element,
generally so unnecessary in all but university preparation, is
happily not obtruded in these comments. The glossary deserves
praise.
Chaucer's Indebtedness to Guido delle Colonne. By G. L.
Hamilton. 159 pp. (Columbia Press.) §s.—This volume is
another fine example of the careful and comprehensive nature
of American literary scholarship. It is a study of one of the
important though little-known aspects of Romance literature.
It is but an extended essay or a smali monograph, yet it is of
great value to Chaucer students.
Thackeray's Esmond. With Introduction and Notes. xxviii.
+ 479 pp. (Black.) 2s. 6d. Thackeray's Esmond. With
Introduction and Notes. xxxi. -+ 444 pp. (Macmillan.)
2s, 6d.— Another novel turned into a reading book. It must be
admitted that the attempt to make Thackeray a school subject
is not so successful as is the case with Sir Walter Scott. The
novel of manners or of character by its very nature is somewhat
beyond the comprehension of schoolboys and schoolgirls. These
particular editions of “ Esmond,” which is, however, not primarily
a novel of manners, have been in both cases commendably well
Q
194
done. The volume issued by Messrs. Black has the same
characteristics as the numerous Scott volumes to which it bears
an outward resemblance. It has a map, some engraved plates,
and a well-written intrcductory section in which Thackeray
himself figures somewhat too tittle. The general matter upon
the novel as a literary form is rather pretentiously put. Two
appendices to this volume are well done. The notes are slight.
Messrs, Macmillan’s volume gives great attention to Thackeray
himself, and devotes a whole section to a sketch of his literary
history. The plot and characters of the novel are likewise well
done. The notes are numerous and excellent.
Scot's Lord of the Isles, Canto VI. 40 pp. Also, Canto 11.
32 pp. Cowper's Task, Book V. 40 pp. (Blackie.) 2đ,
each.—Three trifles presenting in a highly condensed form a
large amount of matter. The notes are chiefly simple explana-
tions of antiquated words and usages.
Kingsley’s Heroes. By E. I. Blakeney. 231 pp. (Blackie.)
2s. 6¢.—Yet another edition of this celebrated book! The
editorial additions are limited to some very simple notes.
Fairly good as a reading book.
King John. Picture Shakespeare. 156 pp. (Blackie.) 15. 6d.
— Excellently illustrated ; the notes good ; and for the rest, well
up to the standard of previous plays issued in this series.
History.
A First History of England. By Mrs. Cyril Ransome.
xxiv. + 408 pp. (Rivingtons.) 2s. 6¢.—Mrs. Ransome here
tells the story of our country from prehistoric times to the
present day in a pleasant and easy style, on the usual lines.
The constitutional aspects of the story are treated rather fitfully,
some points being taken in detail and others all but totally
omitted. Either because of, or in spite of, the many years the
book has been in preparation, some passages are not in accord-
ance with the latest information, while others show acquaintance
with recent research. Thcre are genealogical tables, an index
and some forty illustrations, either portraits of sovereigns and
others, or reproductions of historical paintings.
Days and Deeds. By S. W. Howson. xvi. + 182 pp.
(Rivingtons.) 3s. 6¢.—This is a ‘Calendar of Anniversaries
with shurt explanatory notes.” The events thus arranged
calendar-wise are mainly, though by no means entirely, from
English history, and besides the notes there is an index. It is
the embodiment of a quaint idea, and may interest many of our
readers.
Analysts of Engilish History. By W. C. Pearce, S. Hague,
and W. F. Baugust. vi. + 232 + 30 + 40 pp. (Murby.)
Is. 6a.—-We believe this book has already been through several
editions, and this, its latest, has been enlarged and revised. It
is, we should think, the best of its kind. Nearly all the
passages which we have examined are correct according to the
latest information. It is provided with tables, maps, bio-
graphies, and selected questions. And if teachers are content to
put such ‘§ Analyses ” into the hands of their pupils, or are able
to supplement their pages with teaching in history, they cannot
do better than provide their pupils with this little volume.
History for Graded aud District Shoots. By E. W. Kemp.
xiv. 2 537 pp. (Ginn.) 4s. 6¢.—This book is apparently in-
tended for the teacher only, not for the scholars. The subjects
treated are those events in world history which have aflected the
growth of American institutions. Thus, after speaking of early
Arvans, Greeks, Hebrews, &c., it gradually narrows down to the
settlement of the New World and the growth of the ‘f American
The School World
[May, 1903
e
eean
nation.” From the preface we gather that the children are to
act out the life of their ancestors, to understand why and how,
£.g., the Aryans progressed in the arts of civilisation. As the
course is intended for scholars ‘‘ from six to fifteen,” we take
leave to doubt if the averege six-year-old can live up to such
ideals. But, as the writer assures us it has been done, we can
only wonder at the precocity of his pupils.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe. By J. H.
Robinson. x.+ 714 pp. (Ginn.) 75. 6¢.—We noticed the first
part of this work in our April number. Prof. Robinson has
now continued the story to the present day. While it was not
possible to give much detail in the space afforded, this will prove
a useful ‘‘ introduction ” for beginners, and suggestive for all.
Mazarin. By A. Hassall. xv. + 187 pp. (Macmillan.)
2s.6d.—We do not think this biography maintains the high
level of the series of ‘‘ Foreign Statesmen ” of which it is a
part. Mazarin's early career is dismissed in less than two pages.
There is much strange repetition; sometimes the same informa-
tion or comment is given twice over in succeeding paragraphs.
The construction is often careless, and once, at least, a sentence
is hopelessly ungrammatical. It is true that it may be difficult
to tell in a clear way the internal and external policy of Mazarin,
with their constant interaction, but Mr. Hassall apparently
makes little attempt to do so, and the want of an index leaves
the reader in a hopeless state of confusion.
Report on the Teaching of History in the Schools of Ger-
many and Belgium. By M. E. Woods. (Macmillan.)—In its
seventy pages will be found an abundance of information,
specially as to the teaching in girls’ schools. It is interesting
to see the effect of the difficulties of continental countries, with
rival religious creeds, rival languages, &c., on the teaching of
history. While English teachers will not need to imitate their
methods, they will find here many useful hints and suggestions.
Macmillan’s New History Readers, Primary. viii. + 136 pp.
(Macmillan.) 1s.—Here we have twenty-eight stories told us
for children of eight or nine, with pictures. We do not look
in such books for exactness, and the stories range from Arthur
to the recent Coronation.
Messrs. Cassell send us ‘* Books” 3-7 of the Scholar's Com-
panion to “Things New and Old.” 24. each. They consist
of summaries of the lessons in the corresponding large books.
(32 pp. each.)
Geography.
Europe. By F. D. and A. J. Herbertson. xxiv.+ 299 pp.
(Black.) 2s. 6a.—Our readers are probably familiar by this
time with the characteristics of this series of geographical
anthologies ; if not, they ought to be. The present volume
contains 146 extracts from the works of well-known travellers
and writers dealing with Continental Europe—though, by the
way, we have found no reference to Denmark. The editors
have displayed considerable judgment in the selection of illustra-
tive passages and in the proportion of space devoted to the
several regions. Most of the pieces will be found suitable for
teaching purposes, but a few, descriptive mainly of bits of
natural scenery, wili not make a very strong appeal to the
average schoolboy. On the other hand, such descriptions as
those of Paris, Madrid, the Föhn Wind, Russia in Europe, some
characteristics of the North German Plain, and many others,
provide abundant material for the due recognition and appre-
ciation of causal sequences which is one of the chief values of
geography 4s a science.
The
Descripiive Geography from Original Sources. By F. D.
and A. J. Herbertson. xxxvi. + 298 pp. Illustrated. (Black.)
2s.—The latest volume of this well-known series commences,
like its predecessors, with an introduction, which is an accurate
and concise geographical description of the continent; it serves
as a key to what follows. The body of the book consists of
carefully selected extracts from the works of well-known,
trustworthy writers, Such names as Brehm, de Windt,
Freshfield, Sven Hedin, to mention a few, will give a good
idea as to the extent to which the anthology can be relied
upon. To the enthusiastic teacher of geography, probably one
of the most welcome features will be the exhaustive bibliography
at the end of the book. He is there shown the whole field upon
much of which the copyright laws have prevented the authors
from trespassing. The editors, in their modesty, prefer not to
indicate to teachers the best method of using the book; a
reviewer may be more daring, and we have no hesitation in
saying that most teachers will find it necessary to familiarise
themselves with the facts before deciding how best to present
them. They cannot have a greater inducement to do so than is
afforded by this capital book of extracts.
May, 1903.] .
«d Short Commercial Geography. By L. W. Lyde. viii.
+ 287 pp. (Black.) 3s.-—A commercial geography without
columns of statistics is something to be grateful for, but Prof.
Lyde deserves more than this commendation for the book he
has written. From the first page to the last it bears evidence of
being the work of a teacher, especially in its continuous demand
upon a boy’s powers of reasoning. The products of each
country are shown to be primarily dependent upon climate and
slope, and the connection between the location of towns and
harbours and the centres of activity is clearly exhibited. We
are inclined to think that Prof. Lyde enters into detail too much
occasionally, as, for instance, when, on p. 210, he says, ‘‘ Metal
work is a speciality in Tokyo (gold, silver, and bronze), and
Osaka (bronze); china in Nagoya (and its ‘suburb’ of Seto),
Kyoto, Osaka, Kagoshima (‘ Satsuma’ ware), and Arita (‘ Imari’
ware) ; cloisonne enamel in Kyoto and Nagoya, and tortoise-
shell in Nagasaki.”
Globe Geography Readers. Introductory. vi. + 119 pp. Is.
Junior. vi. + 194 pp. 15. 4d. By V. T. Murché. (Macmillan. )—
These two readers will interest very young children, for whom
they are intended. The smaller one deals with common out-of-
doors phenomena, the other with the various forms of land and
water. By the time they have finished the Junior Reader the
children are ready for an explanation of the meaning of
‘£ geography.” There are numerous illustrations, both plain
and coloured, some of the latter being very gorgeous.
Several ‘* Up-to-date” Annotated Commercial Maps. By
W. Ii. Breeze. (Leicester: Midland Educational Company.)
2s. per dozen.—Each is printed on a card, 8 x 9% ins., and
includes descriptive lettterpress. On the reverse side are tables
of the metric-system, foreign coinage, and post-office charges.
Science and Technology.
Practical Exercises in Light, By Dr. R. S. Clay. 183 pp.
(Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.—These exercises are suitable for
candidates working for the advanced stage examination in Light
of the Board of Education, and also, witha little supplementing,
for those taking the pass B.Sc. of London University. The
various chapters deal with pin experiments, mirrors and lenses,
the optical bench, optical instruments, deviation and dispersion,
photometry, the eye, interference and diffraction, Newton's
rings, and polarised light. Experimental work in optics has
hitherto been handicapped in many institutions by the elaborate
and expensive nature of the apparatus required. Dr. Clay is
School World
“9
to be congratulated on introducing so many important ex-
periments for which the apparatus is extremely simple and
yet efficient; for example, the demonstration of interference
bands with a bi-prism and a simple wooden optical bench would
have been regarded a few years ago as impossible. It is also
remarkable how many phenomena can be observed fully by
means of a few pins and simple glass appliances. An interesting
graphical method of solving the equations for the focal lengths of
lenses is given in chapter iii., and it would have been
advantageous if a mathematical proof of the method had been
inserted. The illustrations (155 in number) are excellent, and
have been drawn specially for this book. The volume is a
most successful piece of work, and fills a conspicuous gap in
our literature on experimental physics.
eS ee ee ee
Official Report of the Nature Study Exhibition and Con-
ferences. 307 pp. (Blackie.) 2s. 6d. net.—The work of the
Nature-Study Exhibition Association has already been described
at some length in these columns, so that it is unnecessary to
give the contents of this useful book in detail. The report of
the Executive Committee, which runs to 62 pages, will prove of
great assistance to teachers anxious to acquaint themselves with
the different ways in which the study of Nature has already been
taken up in schools of different grades in various parts of the
world. The addresses delivered at the five conferences held in
connection with the exhibition will serve admirably to explain
what directions should, in the opinion of some of our highest
authorities on the subject, be given to future efforts to make the
education given in schools less bookish and of more direct
practical value to children in after life. We recommend all
teachers of science in schools to procure a copy of the volume.
Agricultural Geology. By J. E. Marr, F.R.S. xi. + 318 pp.
(Methuen.) 6s.—A perusal of this Look convinces us that there
is little difference between agricultural and ordinary geology.
Leaving on one side the introduction and an occasional para-
graph at the beginning of chapters, there is little difference
between Mr. Marr’s treatment of elementary geology and that
of many other writers. It is almost needless to say that the
information is always correct and conveyed in easily understood
language—Mr. Marr’s reputation is guarantee enough for this.
The illustrations are very unequal. Some are little more than
would serve as rough blackboard sketches, while others are
wcll-reproduced and helpful pictures. The two chapters on
geological maps and sections will prove of the greatest assis-
tance to students. The title may prove misleading to teachers.
Chemical Exercises for Class-room and Home Study. By
R. P. Williams. (Ginn.) ts. 6d.— This book takes the form of a
reporter’s notebook. At the top of alternate pages about half-
a-dozen questions are printed, and the rest of this page and the
whole of the next are blank for the insertion of the pupil's
answers. The pages can be easily detached, so that the teacher
may collect them and take away the answers for correction
The weird spelling common in many American books of
chemistry—e.g., “sulfur,” *‘ sulfid,” “iodid,” ‘* carbid,” ‘* sul-
fates,” &c.— will interfere with the use of the book in this
country. Moreover, it is doubtful whether the trouble of indi-
cating exercises in the text-book is great enough to warrant the
introduction of another special book into schools.
Quantitative Chemical Analysis, By Frank Clowes and J.
B. Coleman. xxiv. + 602 pp. (Churchill.) ros.—It is un-
necessary to praise this book, which has now reached its sixth
edition and is well known in most chemical laboratories. It is,
however, worth while to point out that the opportunity of a new
edition has been taken to revise the section on organic chemistry
and to add paragraphs on the processes for determining mole-
__196
cular weight by elevation of boiling-point and for the analysis of
aluminium alloys. Tables of four-figure logarithms have also
been introduced.
A Short Manual of Inorganic Chemistry. By A. Dupré,
F.R.S., and H. W. Hake. xv. + 391 pp. (Griftin.) 6s. net.
—This is a re-issue of the third edition of an already popular
manual of chemistry. In its less expensive form the number of
students to whom the treatise will serve as an introduction toan
important branch of science should be much increased.
Real Thines in Nature. A Reading Book of Science for
American Boys and Girls. By Dr. Edward S. Holden.
xxxvii. + 443 pp. (New York: The Macmillan Company.)
35. 6d.—It is true that science cannot be taught by reading
alone, and Dr. Holden fully recognises this fact, for by frequent
hints he seeks to encourage the reader to experiment for him-
self. After some preliminary study the young student of science
cannot make much progress without reading widely and wisely.
In this part of his work the pupil will find the book before us an
entertaining and helpful guide. It is profusely illustrated,
clearly printed on good paper, and altogether attractive.
A Course of Simple Experiments in Magnetism and Electri-
city. By A. E. Munby. 90 pp. (Macmillan.) 15. 6¢.—This
book is intended as a laboratory guide for junior boys preparing
for the Lower Certificate of the Oxford and Cambridge Board
or similar examinations. The author, while apologising for the
addition of a text-book to the legion of existing text-books on
practical physics, maintains that the possibilities of reducing the
cost of apparatus have not hitherto been exhausted. This idea
has evidently been borne in mind in all the experiments de-
scribed, but there is a danger of carrying it to excess. In any
case, the instruction given is on proper lines, and would afford a
sound knowledge of fundamental facts. The text describes
eighty-six experiments, and is illustrated by seventy-two repro-
ductions of diagrams and photographs: the latter are somewhat
small and not always distinct.
student to make use of the terminals of an electric-light supply
ir. order to observe the potential difference by means of a gold-
leaf electroscope (p. 48). Also, it is doubtful whether the mag-
netic field round a wire carrying a current from a single primary
cell can be satisicctorily detected by means of iron filings
(p. 76).
Mathematics.
Short Cuts and By-ways in Arithmetic. By C. Burch.
x. + 108 pp. (Blackie.) 2s.—Evidently written as a labour of
love by an amateur arithmetician. It is quite refreshing to read
a book of this kind, so rare nowadays. The author’s methods
are not so new as he thinks; but they are good, and well
explained, and the illustrations and digressions are humane and
entertaining. Thus the personal anecdote (p. 33) about the
conversion of Egyptian to English money shows the occasional
practical value of a simple arithmetical ‘‘dodge.” Again, we
have an account of Horners method, and a chapter on magic
squares. This is not a school-book, but would both amuse and
interest a school-boy fond of arithmetic, and even his mathe-
matical master, if he is not a supcrior person. The short chapter
on circulating decimals is very ingenivus, and probably the most
novel part of the book.
The Elements of Geometry. By R. Lachlan and W. C,
Fletcher. xii. + 208 pp. (Arnold.) 2s. 6¢.—The order of
treatment is as follows: angles and parallels, triangles, paral-
lelograms, proportion and similar figures, the circle, areas,
analysis of problems, maxima and minima. Parallel lines are
defined to be those which have the same direction. The
The School World
It is dangerous to instruct a.
[May, 1903.
difficulty of incommensurables is simply ignored by assuming
that any two quantities of the same kind have a common
measure. This, we think, is a serious mistake: in other respects
the book may be recommenced. Some of the text and some of
the examples are only suited for exceptional boys: but there are
numerous easy and practical exercises. The answers are some-
times given to a degree of accuracy which could not be obtained
by actual measurement (e¢.¢., II., 16, 18). In the proofs
abbreviations are used rather freely. The print and figures are
good. Altogether this is a book which represents the attitude
of the advanced reformers.
An Elementary Treatise on the Mechanics of Machinery, with
special reference lo the Mechanics of the Steam-engine. By J.
N. Le Conte. x. + 312 pp., and fifteen plates. (Macmillan.)
10s. 6¢.—Part I. is introductory and treats of instantaneous
centres and centrodes. Part II. deals with kinematical gearing
—links, friction wheels, belts, toothed gearing, bevel wheels,
cams, &c. This is all very interesting, especially the chapter
on toothed wheels. Part HI., in two chapters, is on the steam-
engine. Chapter I. is kinematical, and gives both graphical and
analytical discussions of the motion of the piston-crank chain
and of the valve-gear. Chapter II. discusses the stresses at the
principal connections, the theory of the fly-wheel and go-
vernor and (in outline, with simplifying assumptions) the pro-
blem of counterbalancing. The results of theory are illustrated
by tables and graphs constructed from data supplied by actual
engines. The author’s explanations are quite clear, if read with
attention, but he does not waste words; similarly the figures
are well-drawn and engraved, but the scale is rather small
sometimes. Undoubtedly this is a good book, which engineer-
ing students of the better class will find very helpful and sug-
gestive.
The Elements of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry. By
T. U. Taylor and C. Puryear. 160+ 68 pp. (Ginn.) 5s. 6d.
—A practical work of a very good type. The text and examples
seem admirably adapted for the technical student who is going
to be an engineer, astronomer, or surveyor. More attention
than usual is given to the details of computation: there is a
chapter on land-surveying ; and the five-figure tables at the end
(Wentworth & Hills, reprinted by permission) supply all data
necessary for most practical applications. It may be noticed
that the authors believe in the value of Napier’s rules of circular
parts.
A Short Introduction to Graphical Algebra. By H. S. Hall.
Second edition, revised and enlarged. 50 pp. (Macmillan.)
1s.—This is a great improvement on the first edition, which
was rather a poor thing. Figures and examples of the proper
type have now been inserted, and Mr. Hall’s tract may be
recommended without reservation in its present form.
Solution of the Examples in * The Elements of Hydrostatics.”
By S. L. Loney. 146 pp. (Cambridge University Press.)
—Will doubtless be welcome to the teachers and private stu-
dents for whom it is intended.
Miscellaneous.
Education Law, incorporating the Education Acts, 1870-1902,
and other Acts and Sections relating to Fublic Education, with
introductory Statement and Notes. By T. A. Organ and A. A.
Themas. x + 599 + 34 pp: (Butte:worth.) 12s. 6d. net.—This
is certainly one of the most complete of the numerous manuals
dealing with the new Education Act with which we have recently
made acquaintance. It contains, in addition to the full text of
the Education Acts, 1870-1902, all other Acts relevant to the
subject of education. Not only will it be of the greatest
May, 1903.]
The School World
197
assistance to officers of school authorities and members of local
education authorities, but to teachers themselves. Among other
matters of vital interest to acting teachers contained in the
volume are important rulings in courts of law respecting such
matters as the expulsion of pupils for grave offences, the in-
fiction of corporal punishment for out-of-school misdemeancurs,
similar punishment at the hands of prefects, and other questions
of domestic school policy.
The Local Authorities’ and Managers’ and Teachers’ Guide
fo the Education Acts. By H. C. Richards, M.P., and Henry
Lynn. viii. + 341 pp. (Jordan.) 7s. 6a. net.—In view of
the number of able and exhaustive treatises concerned with the
most recent Education Act and those preceding it which have
recently reached us, it is clear that any person called upon to
assist to administer the new Act who is not thoroughly acquainted
with its provisions has only himself to blame. The book before
us takes up every detail of each section of the Act of 1902, and
discusses them fully. This particular guide can be recom-
mended with confidence.
The §* Tick-Tack” Nursery Clock. (Philip.) 45. 6a.—All the
parts ofa simple pendulum-clock are provided, with instructions
for putting them together to forma timekeeper. The works are of
brass, and fit into a wooden case having a plain but attractive
face on which the hours are clearly marked. A weight hangs
from one end of a chain passing around the chain-wheel, and to
wind up the clock this weight is pulled-up once a day. The
clock can be put together in half an hour by an intelligent
child, and when so constructed it will be of permanent interest
to the maker. No better present could be given to a boy, and
information as well as pleasure will be derived from it. The
instructions for putting the parts together have been printed in
Germany and need revision, especially the paragraphs referring
to the fitting of the minute and hour wheels. It is a pity to let
such an interesting piece of work as the construction of a real
clock be under the disadvantage of a badly-composed set of
instructions.
J. O. Jones, and How He Earned his Living. By R. S.
Warren Bell. vi. + 344 pp. (Black.) 35. 6¢.—J. O. Jones is an
athletic young man—six feet, broad shoulders, fourteen stone—
who after an unsuccesful year as a medical student, and another
as a tea-planter, obtains a post as assistant-master in a proprietary
school where boys are received without any questions being asked.
He is appointed at a salary of £100 a year and at the end of the
first term is appointed headmaster at £3c0 a year, the proprietor
and former head having lost his reason as the result of nervous
collapse. J. O. wins the hearts of the boys by good play
in the semi-final for the local cup, and by being selected to play
against Scotland. He also wins the headmaster’s daughter
in the last chapter. The other assistant-masters are of mixed
characters and degrees of refinement, and there is a remarkable
parlour boarder who dves many improbable things. There is,
however, no lack of incident in the story, which is just the kind
approved by boys.
Teacher's Handbook of Manual Training. Metal Work. By
J. S. Miller. xii. + 147 pp. (Whittaker.) 3s. 6¢.—This
book contains thirty-eight model lessons suitable for instructing
boys in ordinary workshop-tools and processes. A collection of
drawings of examples to be executed is included. A pie-
liminary acquaintance with scale drawing is recommended, and
should be insisted on, as well as the proper methods of
dimensiouing drawings, a point in which some of the examples
given could be improved. On pp. 41 and 67 are illustrations of
machines which have dangerous parts unguarded. On p. 36, in
describing the action of a fly-press, a statement is made that
** the ball is simply a weight which gives additional power to the
lever.” Surely the function of the ball could be presented in
a less misleading way. Instructions for marking-out and for
drawing the exercises are promised in an additional volume.
Many teachers will find the hints contained in the book useful.
Macmillan’s Story Readers. By Evelyn Sharp. Book I.
vi. + 123 pp. rod. Book II. vi. + 151 pp. 1s.—Miss Evelyn
Sharp certainly knows how to secure the attention of young
children. These ‘* Story Readers” will transform the reading
lesson into a periodical treat to be anticipated eagerly. The
interest of the stories and the exquisite charm of the illustrations
will at once secure the enthusiastic attention of the pupils.
Macmillan’s Spelling for Promotion, Junior: Parts I. and II.
By R. F. Macdonald. 2d. each.—The child who learns to
spell with the assistance of these booklets of Mr. Macdonald
will accomplish the task with a minimum of trouble.
The Reform of Moral and Bible Education on the Lines of
Herbartianism, Critical Thought, and the Ethical Need of the
present day. By F. H. Hayward, D.Litt. i.+248 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) 4s. 6d.—This book, as we should have ex-
pected, is interesting from cover to cover; and the best way of
giving the reader a notion of its contents is to summarise them
and to keep our criticism for the last sentence. Dr. IHayward’s
motto (printed) is nec temere nec timide, and he acts up to part
of it. <A long preface sets forth the writers standpoint, which
seems to be this. Notwithstanding thirty years of board schools
and a hundred years of voluntary schools, the good manners of
children are non-existent, and their morals are no better than
they should be. This is due to three things: (1) Our total
neglect of the science of education (which to him means Her-
bartianism) ; (2) our unwillingness to try ethical teaching in the
schools ; (3) our ‘* monstrosities,” z.e., our Scripture syllabuses.
Believing that virtue can be taught and that a reformed teaching
of the Bible is the only way to save the Bible, the writer gives very
interesting suggestions on ethical and Biblical work. He would
not separate the two, but he would use only those parts of the
Bible which can safely be considered to be good both for the
moral and religious nature. He would go to Germany for
model Bible work, and to Birmingham for ethical syllabuses.
We hope Dr. Hayward will not consider us as belonging to the
enemy. There was, indeed, room for his book, and with the
main contentions we are wholly in agreemert. The book is
a thorough fighting book, and would, if read at a Church
congress or Wesleyan conference, produce a useful uproar. But
would not the book gain by being greatly condensed ; and
(here we come to an important point) is it wise to disgust fair-
minded opponents, as we fear this book will dc, by fighting
without the gloves ?
Dante and Beatrice. A Play. By Emily Underdown.
48 + xviii. pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 2s. 6d. net.—As
“ Norley Chester”? Miss Emily Underdown is well known
by two previous books to Dante lovers. The idea of this play,
as a means of still further stimulating interest in Dante, is by no
means ill-conceived. It is founded on incidents taken from the
‘* Vita Nuova” of the great poet, and these are clothed in
graceful English and then supplied with a great mass of stage-
manager’s information, whereby the acting of this little play
should be rendered somewhat easy. Full directions (with
diagrams) are given as to the stage, its lighting, the necessary
costumes and properties of every description, and (handiest of
ail) diagrams mark the positions in each tableau. At the end,
sume suggestions are given for incidental music, which probably
could be improved upon; though this is a question of personal
taste, and the number of persons gifted with literary percep-
“tiveness who are also sound judges of musical matters is rather
small. The whole is a complete and delicate tribute to Dante
198
The School World
[May, 1903.
done with scholarly skill and loving care. The figure-plates
are numerous and excellent; and altogether every possible
trouble is saved to those who would produce the play.
Philips’ Comprehensive Obyect-Lesson Cabinet. Arranged
under the direction of Prof. R. A. Gregory and J. A. Humphris.
Over 100 specimens in twelve separate sets, or complete in box
for £2 15s. Polished wooden cabinet, with drawers for same,
£1 5s. net.—It is impossible to attach too much importance to
the value of suitable material with which to illustrate object
teaching. In this collection the teacher has the advantage of
the help of experts in making his selections. In twelve well-
considered sets, each complete in itself, will be found what is
necessary for giving many good object-lessons. Various general
and specific properties, as well as the nature and uses of
common mineral, vegetable, and animal substances in a raw and
manufactured state, may be demonstrated. Judging from the
specimens before us, the whole collection may be confidently
recommended.
Interest and Education, By Charles DeGarmo. xi. + 226
pp. (Macmillan.) 4s. 6a. net.— Professor DeGarmo’s motto
is “ Interest is the greatest word in education,” and through-
out this very American book we never lose sight of enthusiasm.
The book might be called an antidote to educational dulness.
It is impossible, perhaps, for the writer on such a subject to say
anything new; but here we have the old truths put so con-
vincingly that a teacher might rise from a perusal of the book
and solemnly swear never to give another dull lesson. ‘* Don’t
teach so much,” ‘‘ Don't question foolishly,” “ Expound well.”
The most striking passage in the book is that relating to the
difference between drudgery and work; and the most revolu-
tionary is that in which this enthusiastic educator condemns the
town life for children. One is reminded again and again of the
‘eloquent and indignant words of M. Gustave Lanson: ‘ Ainsi
tout ce qui facilite l'instruction affaiblit l'éducation; et mieux
on s’instruit aujourd’hui, moins on s'élève.” The author falls
into a curious mistake in reference to the numbers that play in
each side at football in England; but Tom Brown has misled
him. The tone of the book does not seem to be very confident
in the matter of American education; but hope shines on every
page, and makes the whole volume “* interesting.”
Practical Book-keeping for Commercial Classes. By Walter
Grierson. viii. + 124 pp. (Blackie.) 1s. 6dďd.-—This is a well-
written little book, though it is hardly what its title asserts it
to be. It is too concise in the matter of examples. Forty-seven
examples and twelve examination papers are not nearly enough
practice on the subject-matter of the book.
Modern Book-heeping and Accounts. By W. Adgie. Part ITT.
Advanced. viii. + 136 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6a@.—This
volume completes the work on Accounts, which finds a place in
Messrs. Hooper and Graham’s excellent series of Modern
Manuals of Commerce. We can give the work no higher praise
than to say that it is worthy of a place in that series. The first
part of the volume is devoted to an explanation of, and the mode
of recording transactions with reference to, the various classesof
a company’s capital, ordinary, preference and loan, and the
dividends thereon. The distinction between capital and
revenue is very well drawn, and the important questions of pro-
vision for depreciation, redemption of debentures, &c., by
means of reserve and sinking funds, are ably dealt with.
Royal Frince Readers (Fifth Book). 288 pp. (Nelson.) 15s. 6d.
—A nicely printed, well-illustrated reader which will un-
doubtedly succeed in interesting boys in the higher standards.
The selections are judicious and varied.
Outlines of Metaphysics. By John S. Mackenzie, M.A.Glasg.,
Litt.D.Camb. x. + 172 pp. (Macmillan.) 4s. 6¢.—In
studies of philosophy, it is usual, in England and Wales at any
rate, to begin with logic and psychology, and to consider meta-
physics either last, or often enough, not at all. Hence the
name metaphysics gathers a mystery or obscurity which makes
the subject regarded as an obsolete investigation somewhat
similar to astrology or alchemy. Dr. Mackenzie does not
claim that his book will attract the general reader who may be
interested in philosophical enquiries. We rather hope that it
may. Nothing, it seems to us, is more desirable for the young
student than to catch a glimpse of the various problems and
fields of enquiry which belong to the philosophical domain.
The student who begins with logic and psychology might well
know what the province of metaphysics is, and it is to an
introduction to the subject precisely that his attention ought to
be called. However, Dr. Mackenzie’s aim seems rather to be to
state for the professed student of metaphysics, as simply as may
be, the nature of metaphysical problems in the light of recent
constructive work, particularly in England. The writer has, as
he states, endeavoured to avoid alluding to the various problems
as if they were ‘‘specimens in a museum,” and avoids any
suggestion that his book can be anything but an adumbration of
the works to which it is an introduction. His aim has been ‘‘ to
produce a book which is a living unity within itself, and yet
points continually outwards to the larger life of the speculative
thought of the world.” Perhaps no subject is more difficult to
deal with than metaphysics in such a spirit. For it is em-
phatically concerned with criticism, and yet what is wanted by
the student accustomed especially to scientific enquiry is a
definite body of systematised facts. He has to learn to be
contented with mental discipline as a result of his labours. Yet
here we have an introduction which attempts in a short space to
lay open the ground, which can only bring about the reward of
mental discipline by traversing that ‘‘larger world of the
speculative thought of the world.” The method of treatment
adopted is genetic, as to which Dr. Mackenzie says: ‘‘I am
more and more convinced that we cannot hope to understand
any living thing except by considering how it grows; and I am
also more and more convinced that nothing is more truly alive
than human thought.” The book is a compact, helpful, and,
we may add, that Dr. Mackenzie shows himself an earnest
guide for the student of metaphysics.
The Teaching of English. xxi+4tt pp. By Percival Chubb.
(The Macmillan Company.) 4s. 6d¢.—It is an indisputable fact
that the teaching of the mother-tongue is systematised far more
thoroughly in America than it is at home; hence we have read
with interest what Principal Chubb has to say on the subject.
It is, of course, impossible to do justice to any work of this
kind in a short review, but we may at once say that this book is
one that should be read and re-read by every teacher of English
in the country. The author’s main contention is the essentially
organic process involved in the teaching of the subject. For
instance, if we interpret him correctly, the fault lies with the
teacher or the system when Tommy, aged four, revelling in ‘‘ Ride
a cock-horse ” on his mother’s knee, develops into the Thomas of
fourteen who finds Shakespeare boresome and cannot hear the
funeral knell in Tennyson’s ‘* Ode on the death of the Duke of
Wellington.” In the light, then, of organic unity, the teaching
of Reading, Composition, and Literature in all grades—from
kindergarten to high school—is reviewed, and he will be a pocr
teacher who will not find Principal Chubb’s book a complete
storehouse of information, illustration, and suggestion. We
have found the chapters on Reacing, Writing, ard Composi-
tion in the lowest grades most interesting and suggestive.
is!
May, 1903.]
The School World
199
CORRESPONDENCE,
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns, As a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
French Pronunciation.
Mr. DE V., PayeNn-Payne is doing good service in calling
public attention, through the medium of THE SCHOOL WORLD,
to the shortcomings of examinees in the matter of their pro-
nunciation of French, and I do not think I can do better than
follow such a good example.
(1) To begin with the alphabet, a very important matter, and
scarcely receiving the attention it deserves. With my own
pupils I make a point of always giving the letters of the
alphabet their French names, insisting throughout on spelling
French words as a Frenchman would do. Of course the greater
number of letters offer no difficulty, y and « being the only
really foreign sounds, and even here the # sound is the same in
both letters.! Much practice is required before this sound is
correctly reproduced, but the time devoted to it is well spent
from the pronunciation point of view. Practice with the
1 mouillé and the nasal sound comes afterwards. It seems to
me self-evident that the more nearly the pronunciation of the
letters themselves assimilates to that of a Frenchman the pro-
nunciation of the words will be improved.
(2) A source of great difficulty to English students of French
is to be found in the /aisons. As everyone knows in English
the pronunciation of a word is fixed, whatever its position may
be in a sentence; but with many words in French it is not so
(with a few exceptions), and very often the pronunciation of a
given word varies according to whether the following word
begins with a vowel or 4 mute. Practice is the best teacher in
this respect, but I should like to quote here a few lines from that
useful annual, the “ Almanach Hachette” for 1903 (p. 308).
Students will do well to learn them by heart. They come with
none the less appositeness and authority because not specially
addressed to foreigners ; on the contrary, I think. Nor is it to
be expected that the whole subject can be condensed into half-a-
dozen lines, but many important points are dealt with, and
almost anyone—possibly even some natives—may benefit by
the advice given.
‘ Les liaisons des mots entre eux appartiennent a la science
de l’articulation. De nos jours les artistes dramatiques ont une
tendance à éviter les liaisons: ils prétendent, par là, donner du
naturel a leur diction. Il ne faut rien pousser à l'extrême. Le
juste milieu est la mesure qui convient en art, et le bon goût
prime tout.
‘Tl faut faire presque toutes les liaisons du D, de PN, du T,
de 1S, du Zetdel’R. On dit: Un grand enfant (grant-enfant) ;
—Il m en est pas question -—C’est à vous d’en sortir ;—Les
mm, — ~
beautés éternelles ;—Pensez à moi ;—Finir ainsi!
“ Lorsque IR est suivi d’une ou de plusieurs consonnes
finales, la liaison se fait avec I’R et non avec la ou les consonnes
finaies. Exemples : L’art est difficile, un remords indicible.
Deux ou trois exceptions : Par euphonie on dira sort heureux,
1 The letter v gives a little trouble. I tell pupils to sound the 7 in the
English word øir, and thus obtain the sound of the French 7,
la mort-aux-rats, et l’adverbe fort fait la liaison avec le ¢ toutes
les fois qu'il est suivi d'un mot commençant par une voyelle.
‘Tl y a des cas ou il faut éviter la liaison; ainsi lorsqu’ un
mot doit ètre mis en valeur, en relief, on le détache.”
E. LATHAM.
VYiva-Yoce Examinations in French.
I THINK teachers and students owe a debt to M. de Payen-
Payne for his useful article on v/va-voce French in your March
issue. With regard to his sidelight on the teaching of French in
“a well-known public-school,” one is tempted to ask whether
that also was where ahe battle of Waterloo was won (cf.
mythical remark of Duke of Wellington).
But it seems to me that M. Payne might have indicated a
principle in his list of common errors, and one might almost say
the principle is that the French which examinees speak is
English with occasional knobs stuck on at well-known places—
like metal tops on wooden railings.
May I suggest that the additional explanation subjoined
might be a further assistance to those who are already benefiting
by the article.
Head II. Apropos of Nasals. I never heard before coming
abroad that the x and # were not actually pronounced at all, but
only by means of a ring given to the vowel preceding. (Delille’s
French Grammar gives the actual vocal movement.)
Head IT. Liaison. 1 saw the other day a useful hint on
liaison, which I venture to reproduce :
‘Dans la lecture de la poesie, on fait toutes les liaisons £
la prose oratoire en exigent plus que la prose familiere et il yen
a plus dans la prose lue ou recitée que dans la conversation.
« M. Francisque Sarcey dit dans ses Chroniques théâtrales du
Temps :
‘¢¢ Toutes les fois qu’on peut décemment, entre un mot et un
autre, introduire un petit temps, mieux vaut, méme dans les vers,
supprimer les liaisons.
“t Toutes les fois qu'un mot se termine par deux consonnes dont
ia dernicre ne se prononce pas, il est absurde, il est hideux, il est
abominable, de faire sonner cette derni¢re lettre pour la lier la
voyelle qui la suit : ‘* mort Taffreuse, cours Zau trépas ” sont des
prononciations cruellement vicieuses.’
“ Une histoire. Dans une pièce de Mme. de Girardin, la jeune
actrice chargée du rôle de l’ingénue dit les mots ‘Nous les
avions plantées ensemble,’ en faisant sentir Is. Mme. Girardin
bondit sur sa chaise.
“< Pas d’s, Pas d’s, s’ecria-t-elle, ‘“ Planté ensemble.” Vous
n'avez pas le droit de faire de pareilles liaisons à votre âge.
Je me moque de la grammaire. Il n’y a qwun règle pour
les ingénues, c'est d’être ingénues. Cette affreuse s vous
vieillirait de dix ans. O, Vaffreuse s?”
I have taken the above from the wonderfully systematic and
thorough ‘‘ Treatise on French Pronunciation ” by Prof. André,
University of Lausanne. Published by Payot et Cie., Lausanne
(price 4 francs), which I believe many would be glad to know.
W. M. CONACHER.
Ouchy,
Lausanne.
International Correspondence.
THE ScHooL WorLD has always taken an interest in the
Scholars’ International Correspondence scheme, and I think its
readers will be interested ina proposed change in its organisation.
Many teachers both in France and England share the opinion
200
The School World
[May, 1903.
that the time is now ripe for the teacher to take a larger part in
arranging the correspondence than has hitherto been the case.
The reasons for suggesting a change are these:
(1) In the five or six countries chiefly concerned there are now
a large number of teachers who have adopted the plan of an ex-
change of letters between scholars, and find that the scheme
conduces to progress in the study of the foreign language.
(2) To a certain extent the simple scheme, by which from
London, French and English scholars were enabled to corre-
spond and their names printed in France, has done its work,
and it is time for individual teachers to arrange to do this work
without any intermediary, if a suitable plan can be devised.
The plan suggested is this : °
Let the Revue Universiiaire gather names of cier as
before. Iwill do the same. Twicea year, ia November and
May, a list of the names and addresses of those teachers who
are interested in the Scholars’ International Correspondence will
be published, classified as far as possible, and perhaps a small
sum would be charged for copies of the list to pay for printing.
Each teacher would then be able to communicate with any
other teacher. Supposing a teacher has ten pupils needing cor-
respondents. He should send out five reply postcards, one to
each of the schools which he chooses, asking the teacher of it
whether he, or she, has a boy (ora girl) willing to correspond with
one of his pupils, giving ages within prescribed limits, say, from
thirteen to sixteen, or fifteen to eighteen, for instance, and asking
about social position and ability in languages. On receipt of
replies, he will be able to make some suitable selections at least.
le can then send out other reply cards to other teachers, and fill
up the remaining vacancies. My experience of the difficulties
has suggested this plan. For example, it may happen that I
need a correspondent for a boy of thirteen, the son of a doctor ;
I have in a suitable school a suitable boy, but he is sixteen, and,
therefore, will not do. If the whole ten postcards were sent at
once a difficulty of this kind would of necessity arise. Two
correspondents would then be found suitable for two or three of
the ten, and for two or three no suitable ones would turn up.
If later on correspondents did not suit, a courteous intimation
could be given to the teacher that such and such a scholar pre-
ferred a change; but, as a rule, such changes should only be
made at the end of the year, or for downright unsuitability. In
this way the principle that the letters should be from a variety
of places to each school could be maintained.
This plan would not mean entire decentralisation, for it would
be better that each teacher should send in lists to the central
offices to be filed as before, and in various other matters the
Central Bureau would have full participation. For example,
supposing a teacher, not hitherto interested, desires to make
a trial of the plan, it would be better that he should send to the
Central Bureau ; or if a teacher goes to a new school and wishes
to start forty or more at once.
The reply card might be worded thus :
“ Dear Sir (or Madam),— Have you a boy (or girl) willing to
correspond with one of my pupils? Age from fourteen to six-
teen ; Form IV. ; modern side; fair ability.
“Tf you have such a pupil, will you kindly send on accom-
panying card the name, age, and school address ?”
This plan would also greatly facilitate an exchange of homes.
I earnestly ask all teachers kindly to answer this letter, telling
me, first, if they agree to this plan; secondly, if they can suggest
any improvement ; thirdly, whether they wish their names to be
placed on the list.
E. A. LAWRENCE,
Secretary for International Correspondence.
Mowbray House,
Norfolk Street, London, W.C.
An Addendum.
IN your March issue, the reviewer of my ‘‘ Elementary
Geometry ” complains of the excessive price of 4s. The price
was changed to 2s. last October, and has been advertised
regularly since then, though a few copies were sold previously at
4s. As the criticism referred to would, if unexplained, largely
detract from the value of an otherwise favourable opinion, I
should be glad if you would insert this correction in your next
number,
J. ELLIOTT.
PRIZE COMPETITION.
No. 18.—Most Popular First-Year Books in French.
WHICH six books are most widely used in schools at the
present lime for the first year’s work of pupils beginning the
study of French? Answers to this question are required in the
competition for this month. Each competitor must send a list
of the titles, &c., of six first-year beoks in French that he
considers are the most popular ones now in use in schools.
For the purpose of this competition, those books will be
judged the most popular which are most frequently named in
the lists received.
We offer two prizes of books, one of the published value of a
guinea, the other of half-a-guinea, to be selected from the cata-
logue of Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Limited. The prizes will
be given for the two lists which most resemble that drawn up
as a result of the voting of the competitors.
In naming a book, its title, author, publisher and price should
be given. Each list of books sent in must be accompanied by
a coupon printed on page vi., though a reader may send in more
than one list provided each has a coupon attached. Replies
must reach the Editors of THE SCHOOL Wor Lp, St. Martin's
Street, London, W.C., on or before Monday, May 11th,
1908. The decision of the Editors in this, as in all competi-
tions, is final.
The result will be published in the June number, when the
successful list will be published.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON W.C.
Contributions and General Corresfondence should be sent to
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements shou'd be addressed to
the Publishers.
THE Scoot WORLD i: published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy ts stxpenee.
dAnnnal subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitabie articles, which, if
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepaid.
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication,
‘The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
JUNE, 1903.
NO. 54.
A NATURE-STUDY LIBRARY.
By OswaLp H. Latter, M.A.
Charterhouse.
AM asked to discuss the question of how a
teacher with the sum of five guineas to spend
in equipping a library may get the best return
for his money. Nature-study is capable of so wide
a meaning that some sort of definition is necessary.
We shall probably be not far wide of the mark if
for our present purpose we limit its scope to
those branches of natural science which are, or
ought to be, to a large extent conducted out-of-
doors ; the subjects that usually claim the atten-
tion of school natural-history clubs. These are
geology (using the term as inclusive of physical
geography), botany, and zoology, or the natural
history of animals. Nevertheless, it must not be
forgotten that it is impossible to proceed more
than a very short distance with any one of these
three without at least an elementary knowledge of
physics and chemistry. They are, in fact, the
sciences which deal with the physical and chemical
phenomena of the earth and its living inhabitants.
There is a type of nature-study which appears to
have for its ultimate aim merely the training of
the eye to see, the awakening of a more or less
esthetic taste for the beauties of Nature. Far be
it from me to disparage the cultivation of these
faculties; they are the source of much innocent
pleasure and pureenjoyment. The possession of a
seeing eye is a prize not to be lightly esteemed. An
unsympathetic classical master was recently heard
to define nature-study thus: ‘Oh, they see a
beastly bird on a bough and call that nature-
study!” Well, it is something to see the bird;
many do not. It is more to see it and not throw
a stone at it; some do. But it should not be
enough to know its name. Its habits, nest, eggs,
food, song, enemies; all these and more fairly
come within the range of nature-study. Even
then how much more is the living thing appreciated
by one who has examined a feather, or endeavoured
to master its physical characters, and has grappled
with the problem of flight and the entire mecha-
nism of the bones, muscles, air sacs, and other
organs of the body.
The teacher in charge of nature-study must be
No. 54, VoL. 5.]
SIXPENCE,
rrr re,
a sort of Jack-of-all-trades, able to point out and
lead his pupils to simple problems that require
investigation, and to put them on the track of the
solution. His mastery over some one particular
subject will very properly induce him to make this
especially prominent, for in it he will undoubtedly
achieve most success. But the more he can link
the other subjects to his special favourite the
greater will be the number of young minds in
which he will touch a responsive chord.
The library must be of the same general charac-
ter. It, too, is a teacher, but with the advantage
that it can include the works of masters of all
trades. Geology or physical geography claims first
attention. The nature of the soils, the courses of
the streams and rivers, the lie of the hills, to a
great extent determine the biological features of
any district. It is necessary to understand the
general principles of geology, and to be able to
apply them to the particular set of phenomena
within easy distance of the school. For this pur-
pose both maps and text-books are required.
Excellent maps, coloured stratigraphically, are
published by the Geological Survey in separate
sheets at 8s. 6d. each, and Messrs. Bartholomew
and Co. have produced cheap (1s.) but most useful
maps, reduced from the ordnance survey on a scale
of two miles to the inch, coloured to show at a
glance the heights above sea level. The colours
employed denote altitudes only within certain
limits—1oo feet or 200 feet, but in addition to the
100-feet contour lines, actual benchmarks are so
freely introduced that, with a very little practice,
an accurate idea of the configuration of the land
is quickly obtained. These two maps may well
serve as guides for a series of excursions into the
surrounding country, and will give a new interest
and purpose to every walk. ‘Open Air Studies
in Geology,” by Prof. Grenville Cole, is a model of
what such work should be, while Geikie’s ‘Class
Book of Geology ” and Mackinder’s “ Britain and
the British Seas ” open out a wider horizon than
that which necessarily bounds the view from the
school.
In passing from one geological formation to
another there will be a more or less well-marked
change in scenery. This is due partly to the
lithological differences of the strata themselves,
partly to differences in their flora. This leads us on
to botany. The study of the distribution of species
R
202
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
of plants in accordance with geological outcrop is
almost sure to yield a few interesting results.
Hence it becomes necessary to be able to identify
plants—flowering plants, with the possible addi-
tion of ferns, will be a wise limitation. Bentham
and Hooker’s ‘“ Flora,” or its more recent equiva-
lent by the latter author, ‘‘ The Students’ Flora
of the British Isles,’’ is the book to use. The
student is compelled to examine his specimens and
learn all their structure before he arrives at the
identification. In books where coloured or plain
figures are given the name is often obtained from
the figure, and the beginner is satisfied. He is
apt to forget that he has learnt only a name, and
perhaps nothing of the nature of his specimen.
In dealing with flowering plants a host of
interesting questions arise relating to the means
by which pollination is effected, by wind or by
insects. Wiuind-fertilised flowers are often much
neglected: they are seldom conspicuous and have
no scent, yet there are many most attractive
features in their structure, and nearly all of these
can be observed with the unaided eye, or with an
ordinary hand-lens. Lord Avebury’s ‘ British
Wild Flowers in relation to Insects” contains
particulars of a number of common flowers and
might be made the foundation of a series of most
instructive garden experiments. In sowing the
seeds and growing the plants from cross- and self-
fertilised plants one ıs necessarily brought into
touch with the structure of the seed, its germi-
nation, the conditions of its growth, its manner of
feeding and breathing—in short, with the whole of
plant-physiology. Here we come to work much
of which can and must be done on the school
premises, perhaps even in boxes in the class-room
windows. Two small books, Farmer’s * Botany ”’
and Scott Elliott’s ‘‘ Nature-Study”’ (Plant Life),
will be sufficient to provide a very thorough course
in this part of the subject, and others germane to
it, and much enjoyment will be derived trom the
botanical chapters of Miall’s ‘‘ Round the Year.”
A very wide field is open to us when we come to
deal with animal life. The local fauna un-
doubtedly should have first attention. It is in-
fluenced both by the geological and botanical
character of the neighbourhood, so that there is a
real organic connection between all three out-door
studies. The selection of books presents great
difficulty on account of their numbers and varied
modes of treatment. For an intelligent study of
animals, some knowledge, at least, 1s necessary of
the working of the animal machine. It is, perhaps,
a misfortune that text-books deal chiefly with
human physiology and have a quasi - medical
atmosphere about them. Nevertheless, in the
absence of any book devoted to the physiology of
the lower animals, Huxley’s ‘ Lessons in Ele-
mentary Physiology” will give what is required.
The pitfall to be avoided is the encouragement of
mere collection. I do not say that collections are
to be tabooed. There is an instinct for collecting
in most children, and that instinct should be
guided into rational paths. The chief reason for
so many collections being abandoned lies in the
fact that they have been nothing more than unin-
telligent accumulations of possessions. By all
means let children collect whatever animals may
interest them, but let them study the living
creatures, their habits and life-histories. In the
subjoined list I have endeavoured to include those
books which will foster this habit. The mere identi-
fication of species is of minor importance, and
would by itself exhaust the whole of our funds
were we to provide books for enabling collectors to
name their butterflies and moths, their beetles,
bees, shells, birds’ egys, and all the rest. Specialists
and museum curators are always most ready to
name specimens, and, of course, names are neces-
sary. Kearton’s books are admirable examples of
bird study, and the camera provides a safety-valve
to the egg-hunting mania; while Headley’s ‘‘ Struc-
ture and Life of Birds,” which goes more deeply
into the structure and mechanics, is the work of a
successful leader of a school natural-history club,
and a book that is not so well known as it deserves.
Miall’s ‘* Aquatic Insects ” should be used by every
nature-student. I know no book that better points
the way to study living animals. The life-histories,
the difficulties of insect life, the contrivances for
breathing, and many more most fascinating pur-
suits are here indicated. It is on lines such as
these that all study of animals should run.
We have not mentioned by name all the books
given in our list, and have relied on obtaining
from the bookseller a reasonable discount which
would permit the purchase of the nearest geological
section published or (as might be necessary if
placed at the corner of one sheet) a second geo-
logical map. I may add that I by no means wish
to exclude or in any way condemn books not
named in this list. It is impossible for one man to
know all the books dealing merely with his own
subject. What is here given is based on my own
experience.
4 sd.
Geological Map. (Stanford) . Ss net o 8 6
Bartholomew’s Reduced Ordnance Map (Coloured for
Elevations) .. net O I O
“ Class Book of Geology.” Geikie. (Macmillan) sees O5 o
‘‘ Open-Air Studies in Geology.” Cole. (Griffin)... o 8 6
‘ The Scenery of England.” Lord Avebury. (Mac-
millan) bis she sist és Ses wv. O15 0
“ Britain and the British Seas.” Mackinder.
(Heinemann) eh hs sa i OPOE O 7 6
“ British Flora.” Bentham and Hooker. (L. Reeve)
or “ Students’ Flora.” Hooker. (Macmillan)... o 10 6
“ British Wild Flowers in relation to Insects.” Lord
Avebury. (Macmillan)... . © 4 6
“ Practical Introduction to the Study of Botany.”
Farmer. (Longmans)... O 2 6
“ Nature Study” (Plant Life). Scott Elliott. (Blackie) o 3 6
“ Round the Year.” Miall. (Macmillan): .. O 3 6
“ Lessons in aidan Physiology.” Hisis.
(Macmillan)... re ais as oOo 4 6
“Familiar Wild Birds.” Swaysland. (Illustrated
by Thorburn and others.) (Cassell) O IO O
“ Birds’ Nests, Eggs and Egg Collecting.” Kearton.
(Cassell) ... ; a .» O 5 O
“Wild Life at Home.” “Keaton: (Cassell) o
JUNE, 1903. ]
ee —
The School World
4s. d
4t Structure and Life of Birds.” Headley. (Mac- |
milllan) dak sue on oe sie! 0 7 6
4‘ Aquatic Insects.” Miall. (Macmillan) 3s. 6d. and o 6 o
‘* Life in Ponds and Streams.” Furneaux. Or ‘‘ The
Outdoor World.” Furneaux. (Longmans) o 60
*Geological Section. (Stanford) net O 5 6
Or
*2nd Geological Map. (Stanford) net o 8 6
(Inclusive of alternatives marked *) ... 6 9 0
Less 2d. in shilling discount on £5 5s. 6d. o 18 3
£5 10 9
THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF CLOUDS AND
LIGHTNING.
By A. W. CLAYDEN, M.A.
Principal of the Royal Albert Memorial College, Exeter.
EW branches of nature-study are so fascinating,
or of such constant and general interest, as
the study of clouds, and few bring the student
into touch with so much that is beautiful. Yet it
is rare to meet anyone who has a real knowledge of
their forms, or of their relations to each other and
to the weather. Reasons are not difficult to find.
In the first place, many of the most beautiful clouds
are so brilliant that they can only be observed with
comfort by looking at their images reflected in a
black mirror. Secondly, no code of cloud names
has yet been invented which will explain exactly
what is seen,so that two students cannot easily
discuss their observations.
The camera, however, has altered this. It is
now possible for each student to record what he
sees, and the pictures so obtained are not only of
scientific interest, but are beautiful in themselves.
Moreover, if the attendant and subsequent weather
is carefully noted, they form a firm foundation for
weather prognostics. Cloud photography has the
reputation of being difficult, but if set about in the
right way it is Just as easy as any other branch of
the art.
Anyone can photograph heavy clouds, or those
which stand out dark against the background of an
evening sky. All that is necessary is to give from
one quarter to one-half the exposure necessary for
the landscape beneath them, and then develop as
will presently be described.
For the brighter and more delicate clouds a
different method must be followed. The object is
so brilliant that it is hard to avoid over-exposure,
and, what is worse, the background of blue sky
has almost the same actinic value as the white
cloud. Exposure and development must therefore
be so adjusted as to exaggerate this difference, and
so reveal the delicate detail of cloud form as it
appears to the eye. If a small stop is used, say
f/32, and a plate of ordinary rapidity, the exposure
will be some very small fraction of a second, and a
203
very small error will spoil the picture. This difh-
culty is entirely avoided by using a slow plate.
The best for the purpose are those known as
photo-mechanical plates, but lantern or transpa-
rency plates make good substitutes. With such a
plate and the stop mentioned above the exposure
will, of course, vary according to position in the
sky, hour of the day, and season, from the shortest
the shutter will allow up to a second or more. If
the sun is actually included in the picture give the
shortest exposure, but if it is well outside the field
Fic. 1.—'* Thunder showers probable.”
of view, or is hidden behind a cloud, the best rul
to adopt is to give about one quarter the exposure
you would give for an ordinary plate and the same
stop to get a picture of the landscape. Be sure to
err, if you must err, on the side of giving enough
exposure. Unless it is very greatly overdone an
excess can easily be dealt with in development.
For this all-important process, one advantage of
the slow plates is that plenty of light may be en-
joyed, and for most plates of the kind a good
yellow is sufficiently safe.
Any of the ordinary developers may be used, pro-
vided only that it consists of two parts—the deve-
loper proper and theaccelerator. Pyro and ammonia,
or pyro and soda, prepared according to the usual
formule, are at least as good as any of the new
introductions. Whichever is selected the applica-
tion must be methodical and cautious. First, pour
on to the plate a sufficient quantity of the developer
proper (say pyro) without any accelerator (am-
monia or soda). Place one-quarter of the normal
quantity of accelerator in a glass, pour the deve-
loper from the dish into this, and return the mixed
liquid on to the plate. Rock the dish gently for
half-a-minute, and if the brightest lights begin to
appear leave the image to form. If the image
makes too slow progress, or fails to appear, add
another quarter of accelerator, and again wait for
thirty seconds. This should be repeated until the
lights appear within thirty seconds after the last
addition, and the negative is steadily forming.
Make each addition in the same way, and never
yield to the temptation to pour the accelerator into
204
the liquid on the plate. The great thing is to
remember that the initial difference between the
images of the cloud and the sky is very small, and
it is essential that the brighter parts of the cloud
should have gathered decided density before the
developer attacks the image of the sky. This
means a nice adjustment of the developing agents,
which can only be found by a step-by-step pro-
cedure. Any excess of accelerator will cause rapid
action all over the plate, and the image will be thin
ees flat, or the cloud will be hidden in a general
veil.
Anyone who studies clouds is sure to go on to
study lightning. Nothing is simpler or easier to
photograph, and the process is a complete contrast
to what has been advised for clouds. Use always
the largest stop the lens wiil bear (nothing greatly
under f/8 is much good) and the most rapid plates
you can get. Ordinary landscape plates will give
‘images of flashes, but fail to catch the fainter
Fig. 2.—A Lightning Flash.
Wait for a thunderstorm at night, and
when one comes, set up the camera on its stand,
or other rigid support (do not hold it in the hands),
focus as for a distant object, place it at an open
window or door, and point it to the part of the sky
branches.
in which flashes seem most frequent. Expose the
plate and leave the camera until a flash comes into
the field of view. If while waiting thus the sky
should be brightly lit up two or three times by
other discharges, the plate will be fogged and must
be changed. When a flash does come in the right
position cover the plate at once, for a strange
phenomenon is that if it is left to be acted on by
the glare of subsequent flashes the image will
probably be reversed, and may even be obliterated.
Develop as for an ordinary snap-shot, beginning
with the normal mixture, and, if necessary, adding
some extra accelerator.
Success with clouds is a matter of the right
method and care in its application. Success with
lightning is a question of getting up at night, and
good luck when you have done so.
OUR aim is to make school-life as interesting to the children
as possible, to cultivate their faculties, and to enable them to
take an intelligent interest in the world about them. I trust
that Iam not too sanguine in saying that this form of study is
to be a recreation for pupils and teachers. Primarily the object
we have in view is not the acquisition of facts, but to give the
children an opportunity for accurate observation..—Lord Balfour
of Burleigh.
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
CONSTRUCTION OF A HORIZONTAL
SUNDIAL.
By R. A. GreGory, F.R.A.S.
Professor of Astronomy, Queen’s College, London.
S nature-study probably commenced with
A observations of the sun, moon and stars,
these objects ought not to be neglected
when attention is being directed to the things
around us. The daily rising, southing and setting
of the sun, the varying direction of the shadow of
a fixed object during the day, the points on the
horizon at which the sun rises and sets at different
times of the year, and the noonday altitude of the
sun at various seasons, are examples of changes
which can be easily and accurately observed. The
relative positions of the sun and moon during a
lunar month and the corresponding phases can be
noticed, and the apparent movements of the sun
and moon among the stars can be followed. Many
other observations may be made without the aid of
instruments, and used to cultivate the highest
faculties of the mind. To know the names of
bright stars or planets is of little value, but to dis-
cover the motion of a planet amongst the stars is
an observation to be proud of; and to trace the
path of a planet upon a chart is an intelligent and
instructive exercise.
In schools having shops for metal work, the
construction of a sundial should be a favourite
task. The division of the dial provides a simple
exercise in geometry, and if the dial is made in
metal or marked upon a hard horizontal surface of
ground, it stands as a permanent record of work.
A horizontal sundial is the most useful- form,
because it can always be illuminated when the
sun is shining. Two methods of making the
drawings for such a sundial are here described.
GEOMETRICAL CONSTRUCTION FOR A HORIZONTAL
DiaL.— Draw a line AB (Fig. 1), passing through
the centre of the plate which is to form the dial.
Take two points CC' on each side of the centre,
separated from one another by the thickness of the
arm which is to form the style. If the style is to
be made of metal, 4 to } inch is a convenient
thickness. From CC’ draw the lines CD, C’D’
at right angles to AB. Take any point E on
AB and draw EF with the angle FEC equal to
the latitude of the place for which the sundial
is required. In the accompanying figure the angle
taken is 52°
With radius EF and centres CC’ draw the
semicircles shown in the figure. With radius
CF and centres CC’ draw the quadrants shown.
Divide each of the four quadrants above AB into
six equal parts, and number them as in figure (a
convenient way to do this is to use a protractor
and mark off every 15° from AB, with the centre
of the protractor at C and C' respectively). Draw
lines parallel to AB through each of the numbered
points on the outer quadrants. From correspond-
ing points on the inner quadrants drop perpen-
JUNE, 1903.]
diculars upon these lines, or what amounts to the
same thing, draw lines parallel to CD, C’D’.
Now from the centres CC’ draw a line through
the foot of each perpendicular to the edge of the
plate. These are the hour lines, and can be
numbered to represent the hour of the day from
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. For the three hours before six
a.m. draw three lines below AB corresponding to
the first three hour-lines above it. The hour-lines
after sıx p.m. can be constructed in the same way
by drawing lines below AB on the right-hand side
corresponding to lines above it.
If it is required to divide the hours into halves
Fig. 1.
or quarters, each of the six parts into which the
quadrants are divided should be sub-divided into
two or four parts, and the points through which to
draw the lines from CC’ obtained as before. For
a small dial, however, it is sufficiently accurate to
divide the angles between the hour lines into two
or four equal parts by lines from C and C’.
To make the drawing for the style, draw a right-
angled triangle ABC with the angle at B equal to
the latitude of the place for which the sundial is
intended, and BC equal in length to CD of the
dial. The style must be fixed at right angles to
the dial with the latitude angle at CC’, and the
right angle over DD’. The right angle of the
Style is usually cut away for decorative purposes,
but this is unimportant so long as the hy pothenuse
of the triangle is inclined to the dial at an angle
equal to the latitude. The sundial is now ready to
The School World
e ESV
C
205
be placed in position with the dial horizontal. The
meridian lines CD, C’D’ must lie in a true north
and south direction, with the hour XII. towards
the north and the point of the style at CC’ towards
the south.
Direct Mernop or Divipinc a HORIZONTAL
DiaL.—Another way to construct a horizontal dial
is to calculate the angle which each hour-line must
make with the meridian line, and then draw the
lines at these angles from the centre of the dial.
The formula connecting the latitude, hour-line (or
angle between the hour-line and the meridian line),
and hour-angle (or angle which the sun describes
between the given time and noon) is
tan. hour-line=tan. hour-angle x sin. lat.
The following table shows the angles calculated
in this way for each degree of latitude from 50°
to 57° :—
Angles between Hour-Lines and Meridian Line on a
Horizontal Sundial.
I. Il. III. IV. V. VI.
Latitude. XI. X. IX. VIII. VII. VI.
50° 119° 24° 374° 53° 70o4° 90°
51 12 24 38 53} 71 go
52 12 24$ 38 54 7! go
53 12 25 384 54 713 go
54 12 25 39 543 714 go
55 124 254 394% 55 72 go
56 124 254 394% 55 72 go
57 124 26 40 554 724 90
By means of this table it is easy to draw the
hour-lines for a horizontal sundial by proceeding
as follows: Draw a line AB (Fig. 2), as before and
Fig. 2.
meridian lines CD, C’D’ at right angles to it. The
distance between CD and C’D’ should be equal to
the thickness of the style to be used. From C
draw CE at an angle to CD equal to that given by
the first column of hour-lines for the latitude of
the place. From C’ draw C'E’, making the same
angle with C’D’. The two lines thus drawn are
the hour-lines for XI. and I. o’clock. The other
hour-lines can be drawn in the same way by using
a protractor to set off the angles given in the
accompanying table for various latitudes. As it is
not easy to set off an angle nearer than half a
206
degree with an ordinary protractor, the angles are
given to the nearest half degree, which is sufh-
ciently accurate for the present purpose.
Either of these constructions is independent of
the shape of the dial, so that a circular or a
rectangular plate can be used. If the dial is to
be a large one, such, for instance, as might be
drawn in an open court or playground, it is, of
course, necessary to determine the angles of the
hour-lines with the meridian more accurately than
with a small dial.
THE YOUNG NATURALIST’S OUTFIT.
By Hl1UuGH RICHARDSON, M.A.
Bootham School, York.
N the morning Z. had told his schoolfellows
that he intended to study botany in all its
branches. But the seven-and-sixpenny pocket
lens he bought in the city was returned to the
shop in the afternoon, and by nightfall his ivory-
handled dissecting knife had been tested on a slate
pencil! If Z.’s study of botany seemed to end
there, his schoolfellows have not forgotten the
eloquent object-lesson in the uselessness of appa-
ratus without persevering enthusiasm.
All would-be naturalists should keep a diary.
A sixpenny quarto note-book will do; a ruled
margin and interleaved drawing-paper are advan-
tages; further elaboration stifles originality. The
late John Hancock once showed me his beautiful
field notebooks full of outdoor sketches of birds.
To-day boys want to emulate the Keartons and
their wonderful photographs of birds and nests.
A simple two-guinea Lancaster’s camera for
quarter-plate and time exposure will do for a be-
ginner. By-and-bye he will want an instantaneous
shutter (18s. 6d., Thornton-Pickard, Altrincham)
and a telephoto Jens. But let the keen and penni-
less boy learn the art of taking cover and moving
quietly until he can sketch, at six yards’ range, the
wary sandpiper.
Those who have no cameras may still use sensi-
tive paper to obtain sun-printed records of the
shapes of leaves, or ferns, or seaweeds. The blue
ferro-prussiate printing paper is fixed by simply
soaking in water. It costs 6d. per packet, quarter-
plate size; it spoils on keeping, and is not always
in stock at the shops, but can be got to order. A
printing frame (6d.) would also be wanted.
Lantern plates 3} in. square (1s. per doz.) may
be used in the same way; and the plain glass
34-in. lantern-plate covers (gd. for 3 doz.) can be
used for mounting the real objects.
Butterflies, flowers, bird’s eggs, induce a wish
to paint. The existence of wishing books and
fairy godmothers bids us be heedful of the best as
well as the cheapest. Ifa boy makes good use
of a shilling box of colours, he will greatly esteem
The School World _
[JUNE, 1903.
a japanned tin case with a dozen half-pans of
moist colour and a good brush (Windsor and
Newton, 13s. 6d.).
On excursions a tin box is invaluable. For the
pocket I prefer a metal-polish box round and
seamless, for the post a rectangular box. A
kitchen cupboard contains both sorts. At school
it may be better to obtain a gross of suitable boxes
through some friendly manufacturer of their con-
tents. The Melyn Tin-plate Decorating Works,
Neath, offer round seamless boxes, 4 in. diam.
and 1 in. deep, at 7s. 6d. per gross, but not in
quantities less than ten gross. These tin boxes
will bring home all sorts of things. 1 have seen
an epidemic of natural history follow upon their
retail distribution.
A naturalist’s pocket should also contain the
I-inch ordnance-survey map ‘of his district (1s. ;
better mounted on linen, rs. 9d.; short catalogue
1d., from Stanford, Long Acre, London). A map
is a constant stimulus to the spirit of exploration.
Within the school grounds small boxes fixed to
trees or buildings will encourage the nesting of
Sparrows, tits and starlings, whilst giving our
scholars something to protect instead of to pillage.
The advertisements of dealers in naturalists’
specialities will be found in the Entomologist, Science
Gossip, Knowledge and Nature. Frequent reference
is made below (by initials W. D.) to the price list
of. Messrs, Watkins and Doncaster, 36, Strand,
London, W.C. Two other firms in similar busi-
ness are: Mr. Jas. Gardner, 29, Oxford Street,
London ; and Mr. W. Marsden, 40, Triangle W.,
Clifton, Bristol. For microscopes and accessories
reference is made to: Messrs. R. and J. Beck, 68,
Cornhill, London, E.C. ; Carl Zeiss, 29, Margaret
Street, Regent Street, W.; W. Watson and Sons,
313, High Holborn, London, W.C. (referred to as
W.W. Their catalogue contains at page 134 a
special list of apparatus for collecting and nature
teaching).
Provincially the general dealers in scientific
apparatus supply many of our wants; for instance,
Messrs. Brady and Martin, Northumberland
Road, Newcastle (referred to as B.M.); Messrs.
Reynolds and Branson, Commercial Street, Leeds;
and Messrs. Wooley, Market Street, Manchester.
Chip ointment-boxes and pink pill-boxes are too
frail for the pocket, but in great demand for collec-
tions indoors. From a whoijesale chemist, 2-oz.
chip boxes cost 1s. 6d. per gross, or less direct
from Messrs. Robinson, Wheat Bridge Mills,
Chesterfield.
Steel egg-drills cost 2d. to gd. (W.D.), glass
blowpipes 2d.; but from steel wire and glass
tubing I have made my own for half the price.
If eggs are taken let them be blown on the spot,
if only with a thorn from the hedge and a straw
from the bank. Lightened of their contents,
wrapped in tissue paper and packed in cotton
wool, they rarely break en route.
Field glasses mark the advance from collecting
eggs to studying birds. A telescope has more
magnifying power, but its narrow field of view
makes it hard to follow a bird on the wing. A
JUNE, 1903. |
good pair of glasses costs 15s. to 25s. They should
be chosen by the user to avoid double vision.
Improvements in definition, achromatism and
magnifying power can be found up to £3.
Some tadpoles absorb their tails and develop
into frogs, others remain newts all their lives.
Sometimes the boy collector is an embryo philo-
sopher; he is worth encouraging for what he
may become ; but his development may be arrested,
he may remain a stamp collector or a sportsman.
Be patient with the collector, but in spending
money try to lure him on. Himself a larva, let
him study larve. A breeding cage with glass
front and perforated zinc sides costs 2s. 6d. (W.D.)
But an effective substitute is made from a card-
board box, with overlapping lid and a scrap of
muslin. A window is cut in the lid, and the
remaining rim serves to hold the muslin in place.
An umbrella and a walking stick collect the cater-
pillars. The stick beats the bush whilst the
umbrella is held below it. The caterpillars come
home ina tin box, preferably with perforated lid.
In winter a garden trowel is used for pupa digging ;
and cotton wool should be ready for packing the
finds, if any. Living pupæ are sold by W.D.;
and a present of a few chrysalises of eyed hawk,
poplar-hawk or swallow-tail will greatly encourage
a keen boy. Advertisements of living eggs or
larve appear in the Entomologist (West, Newman,
and Co., 54, Hatton Garden, E.C.; 6d. monthly).
Two books, each a shilling, Green’s “ Insect
Hunter’s Companion,” and Knagg’s “ Lepidop-
terist’s Guide” (Gurney and Jackson), will be
found most helpful.
Collecting is more expensive than observing.
A butterfly net, ready made, costs 2s. to 3s.(W.D.),
or it may be laboriously put together from green
lino for the bag, a strip of calico round the rim, a
ring of rattan cane, a tin or brass Y-tube (W.D.,
2d. to 8d.) and a stick of stiff ash or bamboo cane.
The butterflies may be brought home alive, each
in a separate chip box; but generally they are
killed within the net by the sharp nip with the
finger nails across the thorax. Pinned forthwith,
they are put intoa corked zinc pocket box (W.D.,
Is. 6d.). In a wooden box the wings would dry
and stiffen. A pocket box may be cheaply made
from a flat tin box with hinged lid, on to the
bottom of which a sheet of cork (W.D., 2d.)
has been fixed with paper clips. If the cork is
kept damp the insects remain limp. W.D. sell
silvered pins in mixed sizes at 1s. per oz. They
are no cheaper direct from the manufacturer,
Messrs. D. F. Taylor & Co., New Halt Works,
Birmingham, whose sizes 11, 12, 13 and 16 are
best for beginners. The oval section cork setting
boards 3 in. wide and 14 in. long are satisfactory
(W.D., 1s. 2d.). But I made my own of soft yellow
Pine, cutting them intoshort cross-sections just large
enough for one insect, which was held in place by
a thread wound lightly round. Instead of sheet
cork, beginners may try scraps of linoleum or cork
carpet.
Chloroformed insects are rigid and difficult to
set. The poisoned stab with a fine glass blowpipe
The School World
207
charged with oxalic acid is not always easy to
administer. Potassium cyanide is only obtainable
by signature from a qualified chemist. But the
cyanide bottle is far the best. One oz. of the
deadly potassium cyanide (2d.) is placed in the
bottom of an 8-oz. wide-mouthed bottle (with cork,
3d.) and covered over with a paste of plaster of
Paris (3d. per lb.) and water. Let the chemist
cover it down out of harm’s way.
The badge of a botanist is his vasculum or plant-
tin. A ‘*sandwich-tin’’ is much the same, but
smaller. The real thing is sold by W.D. & W.W.;
price with strap, about 4s. Let the beginner take
a tin box, which once held biscuits or Mazawattee
chocolate, put a hole through each end above the
centre of gravity, pass a cord through and sling
this over his shoulder. But a piece of string and
a newspaper are enough. The flowers are placed
in the angle of the paper, which is wrapped round
spirally as the bundle grows. The stalk ends are
cut on reaching home, and plunged in warm water.
In the morning they are fresh enough.
I learnt the names of the commoner flowers
from a “plant stand” which stood in our school-
room. It was like a big test-tube stand, two or
three times as big each way; a row of a dozen
medicine bottles each carried a spray of flowers ;
and on tin tacks in front explanatory labels hung.
The designer, my old master, B. B. Le Tall, is far
away, but the plant stand still keeps his memory
green. It cost some shillings, and does more good
than all the rest of our botanical apparatus.
A mounted needle will dissect flowers almost
as well as a knife, and a needle may be easily
mounted by pushing it, eye first, into the pith of
an elm twig. But dissecting knives at 1s., and
mounted needles at 2d., are most useful, and the
knife can find a place afterwards in a proper box
of dissecting instruments (12s. to I58.).
Making flowers into hay is sorry work for a
naturalist, but our pupils should know how to
preserve flowers so that they may still look beau-
tiful. Great pressure and plenty of very dry
paper are essentials of success. Two stout, hard
wood boards (W.W., 2s. 6d.) are used. The pres-
sure may be obtained by strong screws, as in a
trouser press. For travelling the boards are girt
by double leather straps, strung tight by wedges.
A loaded coal-scuttle or a rockery of bricks and
boulders will greatly help. A wire frame covered
with cotton wool, or some other ventilating device,
may be inserted. Further hints are given in Pro-
fessor Oliver’s ‘* Lessons in Elementary Botany.”
Nothing is so important as frequent changing and
drying of paper.
White blotting-paper is said to contain slight
excess of bleaching agents; hence the use of a
special unbleached drying paper, sold by West,
Newman and Co., or through W.W. and W.D.,
Is. 1d. to 2s. 2d. per quire, according to size.
For collecting such forms of pond life as live on
water weed or need to be washed free from mud
we use a shell scoop (2s. 3d., made by Mr. Kilving-
ton, wire worker, Stonegate, York). But a per-
forated saucepan, or fzying basket, or kitchen
The
drainer fixed to the end of a long stick, would
make a substitute. The habits of the creatures
may be observed in glass jam-jars of 2 Ib. size,
or still better in gardener’s bell jars (2s. to 3s.
each) used as aquaria. A wide, squat jam-pot of
brown ware, or a gardener’s flower-pan filled with
sand, will make a stand for the inverted belljar.
A small glass bottle for the waistcoat pocket
will bring home minute water-creatures. Test
tubes are too fragile unless enclosed in a flat case
like homeeopathic medicine-bottles. Stronger
glass-tubes may be obtained from W.D. at tod.
per doz.
Geological hammers are made in Sheffield, but
may be obtained through B.M., W.D., W.W.,
Messrs. J. R. Gregory and Co., 1, Kelso Place,
Kensington, W., or Mr. W. J. Shaw, 78, New-
gate Street, London, E.C. good pattern has
square head at one end and edge at the other,
weight 14 lb., price 4s. 6d. But the shape may
depend on the rock to be attacked, the weight on
the user. Household-carpet hammers are of too
soft a metal. In mine or quarry the loan of a
workman's pick or sledge hammer will help with
heavy work. A strong satchel and a bountiful
supply of newspaper are wanted in the field. In-
doors the first demand should be for labels and
something very sticky to fix them on with—sec-
cotine or diamond cement ( == glue + acetic acid)
will do, gum is disappointing. The school might
provide a geological survey-map (3s. per sheet,
from Stanford).
Label lists are convenient for recording localities.
Several of these are catalogued by W.D. The most
celebrated is the ‘‘ London Catalogue of Plants ”
(7d., interleaved 1s. 2d.). It serves for the first
draft of a local flora, or an index to the School
Herbarium, and the co-efficients of rarity indicate
which flowers need not be collected. Messrs.
Gurney & Jackson, 1, Paternoster Row, publish
Saunder’s ‘“ List of British Birds,” 6d.; Messrs.
West, Newman & Co., lists of Lepidoptera; and
shell lists may be obtained from Mr. W. E. Hoyle,
Owens College, Manchester.
The school should, if possible, provide the
naturalists with some room where they can follow
their hobbies in peace. There should be tables
in a good light, lockers, water-tap and sink, and
a radial gas-burner permanently fixed to an iron
pipe.
Let me suggest, too, a small museum the con-
tents of which are frequently changed; a shop
show-case, plate glass, with lock and key, to stand
in a corridor window-sill; also a picture frame
with movable back, large enough to carry the
sheets of the ordnance survey. These, with the
plant stand described above, might all be obtained
for £ 2.
A magic lantern is invaluable at Natural
History Club meetings. Messrs. Newton & Co.,
3, Fleet Street, Temple Bar, E.C., would provide
evertyhing and really good for £20. Of accessories
we have made considerable use of the aphengo-
scope (15s.) for showing butterflies on the screen
in natural colours, and the lantern microscope
2 08
School World
[JUNE, 1903.
(£4 14s. 6d.) for pond life. This will carry the
ordinary objectives, and for most schools 1s pro-
bably a much more profitable investment than an
extra dozen microscopes. Small water-creatures
like cyclops are mounted in dished glass slips
(1s. 2d. a doz.), which are cheaper than the re-
gulation live box (4s.). For tadpoles and larger
creatures, we have used rectangular glass-tanks
made to order by the York Glass Company (about
Is. 6d. each). A little drop in price would make
the lantern live-trough (2s., B.M.) still more useful.
Boys often want to buy microscopes, but I per-
suade them to be content with a shilling lens until
they can command £8 to £10, for which sum a
strong stand with good lenses may be obtained
from Beck or Zeiss. Plenty of work is found for
a microscope belonging to the school, if a short
list is posted of boys found competent and allowed
to use it.
If boys and girls will take some pains when
young to acquire the habits of a naturalist, they
will when older find joys in the simplest country
lane denied to those who lack the best of all
equipment, eyes to see.
THE USE AND CARE OF AQUARIA
AND VIVARIA.
By R. B. J. LULHAM.
The Froebel Institute, West Kensington.
z ATURE study should be carried on out-of-
doors.” To this we all agree in theory,
but in practice how often it is found to be
impracticable. How can a teacher in London, for
example, with a class of twenty-five or thirty
children, arrange for many field expeditions ? there
is so little time and less money! Of course, there
are the school gardens; but these, when present,
are often small and their possibilities limited, and
in any case they are generally only suitable for the
observation of plant life. Yet living animals have
a special interest for children, and they offer valu-
able opportunities for training in observation and
reasoning. It is because we feel this that at the
Froebel Institute we have paid special attention
to the construction and management of aquaria
and vivaria in which the animals can be kept
indoors, and yet under, as far as possible, natural
conditions and in a healthy and vigorous state.
In starting an AQUARIUM, the first thing to
remember is not to be in a hurry, and not to over-
stock it with live creatures. The best time for
starting one is in April or May, but it can be begun
at any time of the year. A cheap and, on the
whole, satisfactory form of aquarium is the inverted
bell-jar. Rectangular tanks are better in some
ways, but cost three or four times as much, and
often give trouble by leakage. The bell jar should
be at least twelve or fourteen inches in diameter,
JUNE, 1903. ]
and the height may be the same or a little more;
(such a one complete, with a black wooden stand,
may be obtained from Whiteley, Bayswater, for
five to six shillings). It should be filled with
gravel or pebbles to a depth of two or three inches,
the water put in, and then the weeds should be
arranged. Itisof great importance to havea good
supply of healthily growing weeds, as they not
only supply food and shelter to the inmates, but
also keep the water fresh by means of the oxygen
they give off. Jn this respect Vallisneria, the
Italian water-weed, is quite the best plant to have,
but it needs to be rooted in a little patch of soil
below the stones, and should be left to take root
well before any animals are introduced; also, it
has to be bought, as it is not indigenous. Other
weeds which are very good and easily obtained
from our own ponds are the Canadian Water-weed
(Anacharis), the Hornwort (Ceratophyllum), the
Milfoil (Myriophyllum), Starwort (Callitriche), and
others; these grow well either floating freely or
just tied in a bunch and sunk by means of a stone.
The Water Soldier (Stratiotes), which is found
plentifully near Cambridge, and can always be
bought in London for a few pence, is very orna-
mental; it must also be tied down to a stone, and
flourishes better if provided with a little sand or
mould in which it can take root. The Water
Crowfoot should be treated in the same way, care
being taken that the undivided floating leaves
just reach the surface of the water; the broken
lower end of the stalk will soon throw out roots.
Having thus prepared the aquarium, it is now
ready for the inmates. These may be at first a
few water-snails, and as well some fish perhaps,
or water-beetles, or newts; but it is not well to
try to introduce more than one kind of these crea-
tures at a time, and there should not be more than
two or three of the kind chosen. If more are put
in they will be at such close quarters that they will
annoy each other, and a tragedy may speedily
result. Also they will use up the oxygen in the
water more rapidly than it can be produced by
the plants, and so constant artificial aération or
changing of the water will be needed, whilst if
only a few are put in they will quickly settle down,
and to some extent resume the natural habits of
their pond life, and the water will not need to be
changed more than once a term, if even as often
as that. :
The following are suggestions as to the animals
that might be kept in such an aquarium and their
treatment :—
Newts, or Tritons.—lIf obtained in April or
May, these will breed readily, and the hatching
of the eggs and gradual development and meta-
morphosis of the young are most interesting to
Watch, Plenty of Starwort or Canadian water-
weed should be introduced, and the eggs will be
ound laid singly, each wrapped in a leaf of the
Wwater-weed ; they should be at once removed to
a shallow dish of water. A broad flat piece of
cork Should always be floated on the top of the
Water in the aquarium, and another curved piece
rested on this, so as to make a little dark cell into
The School World
209
which the newts can creep when they come out of
the water. They must be fed either on blood-
worms or on threads of raw meat, which should be
held just in front of them until they snap at it.
A better home for newts is shown in Fig. 1, which
is so arranged that in the autumn, when they like
to leave the water, they can crawl up into the box
above and hibernate amongst the earth, grass, and
moss with which it is provided. This box is made
so that the bell jar fits easily into a hole in its
floor, consequently it can, without difficulty, be
lifted off when necessary. A detachable zinc cover
fits over the top.
SILVER WaTER BEET LES (Hydrophilus piceus).—
These beetles are fairly common in ponds, and
very handsome. They must be supplied with
plenty of some common weed such as Anacharis,
for they are vegetarians, and eat voraciously.
They will often breed in captivity if the aquarium
is well stocked with plants.
THE CARNIVOROUS WaATER-BEETLE (Dytiscus
marginalis) forms an interesting subject for com-
parison with Hydrophilus. It must be kept in a
tank by itself, as it speedily kills fish or larvæ of
any kind; it must be well fed on raw meat. The
larve of this beetle are amongst the commonest in
ponds; the eggs are laid by the female in the
stems of water-plants, but are not very easy to
rear to maturity.
WatTER BoatTMeEN are easily obtained, but as
they too are carnivorous they must be kept alone ;
they need plenty of room for exercise, as they are
very active. :
Fig. r.
WATER SPIDERS are common in ponds, and are
delightful to watch, as they make their little dome-
shaped web under the water and then fill it with
air and take up their abode in it. They can be
fed on raw meat or dead flies.
Froc anD Toap Tappo_es.—The spawn is
obtainable at the end of March; the tadpoles
should be given plenty of weed, and after two or
three weeks a piece of raw meat tied to the end of
a piece oi cotton should be hung in the water
every day. As soon as all four legs are developed,
the tadpoles should be removed to a shallow tank,
in one corner of which there is a mud bank or
large stone into which they can climb. A more
elaborate but convenient home for them now is
shown in Fig. 2. An ordinary pie-dish full of
water is sunk through a hole in the floor of the
vivarium, and all round it is fresh-growing grass
210
or moss. This home is also a suitable one for
adult frogs, toads, or salamanders.
FisH.—Minnows or gold fish live well, but per-
haps the most interesting fish to keep are stickle-
backs. If in April one male and several females
are taken and put into an aquarium very well
stocked with weeds there is every chance that
shortly the male will be seen making his curious
little nest, and we shall be able to watch how,
when once the eggs are laid, he assumes all further
care of them, and very well he performs his
nursery duties! The adult fish may be fed on
tiny pieces of raw meat, but the small fry will only
thrive on the almost microscopic animal life which
is always plentiful amongst the weeds in a pond,
so that the weed in the aquarium should be fre-
quently renewed for them with fresh weed straight
from a pond. Sticklebacks should be returned to
their native pond after keeping them for some
weeks, as they will not live very long in captivity.
Aquatic Insect Larvae are best kept in a
shallow tank; the water should not as a rule be
more than four to six inches deep; an ordinary pie-
dish serves the purpose, though glass dishes are
better ; for class purposes we have found it very
convenient to have a number of cheap glass finger-
bowls (3s. gd. a dozen in Tottenham Court Road),
in which the children can keep the special larvæ
they are watching. In each bowl there should be
a little sand or gravel, a few pieces of Anacharis
and perhaps a little duckweed. Under such con-
ditions the curious habits and wonderful metamor-
phoses of a number of larvae can be watched.
We have kept successfully all the following :—
Caddis worms, dragon-fly larvæ, the aquatic cater-
pillars of the China mark moths, blood-worms
(Chironomus), gnat larve, the chamaeleon-fly larva
(Stratiomys), the rat-tailed larva (Eristalis) and
many others.
A SEA-WAaTER AQUARIUM is not difficult to set
up and sea-water may easily and cheaply be
obtained from the Great Eastern Railway. How-
ever, without special means of aérating the water,
we have found it difficult to get any creatures
to live long except sea anemones and small crabs,
but these by themselves prove very interesting.
Lanp CATERPILLARS are easy to get and to keep
in any of the breeding cases sold by the dealers, or
in a simple one which can easily be constructed
out of a shallow wooden box, a few sticks and
two yards of coarse transparent net. The box must
be filled with earth and moss which must not be
allowed to get too dry; a fresh twig of the leaves
needed by the special caterpillars kept should be
put in every day ; as soon as the caterpillars begin
to cease feeding, it should be seen that the earth is
not too dry for those that wish to burrow in it;
and also, for the butterfly caterpillars, a few bare
twigs should be fixed up, on to which they can
bind their chrysalids, otherwise they will do this
on the roof of the case, where it is difficult to see
them. When the perfect insects begin to emerge
a little jar of flowers should be stood inside the
case, or a small sponge soaked in honey hung from
the roof. After the children have watched the
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
insects feeding on this, they should set them free
in the garden and watch them there.
To turn to Reptiles, Warer TorToises can be
well kept in a rectangular tank with water three or
four inches deep in which there are some flat
pieces of rock or a mud bank projecting above the
water, for tortoises should have plenty of room for
a swim and yet be able to get out of the water.
Like other reptiles, they will sometimes feed on
raw meat, but if they refuse this, they must be
fed on live meal-worms or small earth-worms.
LizaARDs AND SLow-worms must be kept in a dry
sunny place, with, however, plenty of earth, moss,
and also a piece of curved Virginian cork under
which they can hide. They should be fed when
they come out to bask in the sun, and a little dish
of water should always stand ready for them.
A Formicarium is easy to make out of a large
photographic printing-frame (size about 16 in. by
14 in.) and two sheets of glass fitting into it; these
should be kept apart by a narrow strip of felt all
round the edge of thickness about one-eighth of an
inch; a slit should be cut in the frame at one point,
reaching down to the space between the two
glasses, and so forming an outlet for the ants.
Then the whole frame should be stood on a little
wooden stand, the legs of which are under water
in a big baking dish; this prevents the ants escap-
ing into the room, as they cannot cross the water.
A good species of ant to keep is the little yellow
meadow ant; the specimens are best taken in the
early summer and should include some pupe,
larve and eggs, and, if possible, a queen and some
males as well as twenty or thirty of the ordinary
workers. The earth used should be fine earth
from the neighbourhood of the nest taken, and it
should be moistened occasionally. When put on
Fig. 2.
the lower sheet of glass and covered with the upper
sheet, covered with a dark cloth and left to them-
selves, the ants will soon set to work, some will
excavate passages, nurseries, &c., others will attend
the queen or care for the eggs and larve, others
hunt for food; in fact, they prove exceedingly
interesting to watch, specially if they can be
supplied with a “herd” of aphis from near their
original nest, when they will be seen stroking them
to obtain the drops of liquid which is known
popularly as ants’ “‘milk.”’ If the aphides cannot
be got, the ants can be fed on drops of honey,
which may be put outside the frame, where they
will soon find it and come regularly to fetch it.
An occasional dead fly seems also to be much
appreciated by them.
Suitable homes for all the animals mentioned
JUNE, 1903.]
The School World
2II
can be made very inexpensively by anyone with
a knowledge of carpentering, or can be bought at
various naturalist shops, such as Willson (37,
New Oxford Street), Green (Covent Garden), or
Pither (Aquarium stall, Crystal Palace). These
dealers will all supply aquaria and vivaria, and
also nearly all the animals named, except perhaps
the insect larvae. Caterpillars and pupae can
often be obtained from Messrs. Gardner (52, High
Holborn).
Those teachers who have scant time for country
expeditions, either with or without their classes,
need not therefore consider it impossible to intro-
duce the study of animal life into their schools.
As we have proved by experience, very valuable
and interesting work of this kind can be done even
indoors, though of course, wherever possible,
each course of study should include at least one
expedition in which the animals studied can be
seen in their natural habitat.
A valuable book of reference is Bateman’s
‘* Book of Aquaria,” in which are given some
practical directions as to the construction of
aquaria, as well as much information as to the
care of them. For more advanced work on
Insects and insect larvae, Professor Miall’s book
‘* Aquatic Insects” is very helpful and delightful
reading.
BOTANY AS A BRANCH OF NATURE-
STUDY.
By Linian J. CLARKE, B.Sc.
Member of the British Association Committee on
the Teaching of Botany in Schools.
HAVE been asked to write a short account of
the teaching of botany as a branch of nature-
study, and to describe the various methods
we have found most successful in our work at the
James Allen’s Girls’ School, Dulwich. In this
school the girls study botany by studying Nature,
and instead of using text-books, diagrams, &c.,
observe plants indoors and out of doors, draw
what they observe, experiment with living plants,
and write accounts of their own experiments.
Before describing the laboratory work I will say
that until lately we have had no special botanical
laboratory, but have used one laboratory for
chemistry, physics and botany. This room is
25 ft. by 20 ft., and is fitted with gas, water,
sinks, &c. There are benches 2 ft. wide round
two sides of the room, and two large tables in the
centre. Most of the time in the laboratory is
spent in studying the following subjects :—
STRUCTURE AND GERMINATION OF SEEDS.—
Numbers of seeds are sown in sawdust by the
girls at different times, and each girl draws to
scale the seed and several seedlings at different
stages of development. The following seeds are
useful: peas, beans, wheat, maize, barley, mus-
tard, cress, buckwheat. It is better to plant some
seeds (as peas and beans) in deep pie-dishes to
allow room for the roots, but many seedlings grow
well in shallow dishes, such as saucers, soup-
plates, &c. When the girls are studying seedlings
they make experiments in connection with respi-
ration, influence of gravity, influence of light, &c.
Very simple experiments can be arranged. For
example, in order to show the influence of gravity
on the direction of growth of roots and stems, some
mustard seeds are placed in a glass jar, and when
the seedlings are developing the jar is placed on its
side in the dark, and in a short time the alteration
in the direction of the stems and roots can be
seen. ?
STRUCTURE OF Bups.— Different buds are kept
in the laboratory, and each girl draws the same
bud week after week until all the chief stages are
represented. Great attention is paid here, as in
other cases, to drawing. Careful drawings are
made of the buds of horse-chestnut, sycamore,
lilac, beech, oak, ash. Very often it is possible
for the girls to see the nature of the bud scale
—a modified leaf base, as in the horse-chestnut,
or a stipule, as in the oak. Other points noticed
are the shape of the bud, the way in which the
leaves are protected, the folding of the leaves
in the bud, and so on. A few of the girls draw
different stages of the buds on the plants in food
solution, and a few have drawn them when grow-
ing on the trees. Next year we hope that all the
girls who study buds will do so in the garden,
and draw the different stages of development while
the buds are still on the trees. On some of our
excursions we devote the time to studying struc-
ture and position of buds, &c., and the girls soon
learn to identify trees in winter by means of the
buds, nature of branching, &c.
STRUCTURE OF FLOWERS AND USES OF THE
Parts.—Numbers of typical flowers are examined
by the girls and careful drawings made. We find
dissecting microscopes most useful in examining
flowers. A good kind is one made by Leitz. It
consists of a white enamelled stage (price 5s.) and
lens (price 3s.). The girls themselves often bring
Specimens, and many specimens are obtained
from the school botany gardens.
In trying to find out the use of each part of the
flower the girls are Jed to make experiments in
pollination. Some of these are made in the labo-
ratory, and in window boxes outside the laboratory,
but the majority are carried on in the garden.
STRUCTURE OF Fruits AND DISPERSAL OF
SEEDS.—This part of the work comes naturally
after studying the parts of the flower and their
functions. Attention is given to the structure of
fruits, and the different ways in which seeds and
fruits are fitted for dispersal. In the order-beds
many fruits are formed, and excellent examples are
seen of seeds fitted for dispersal by wind, by
animals, by mechanical contrivances, and so on.
The owners of the beds are often eager to find out
how it is that plants never planted by them are
found in their beds.
212
EXPERIMENTAL PLANT PuysioLocy.—This forms
the most important part of the course, and many
experiments are made by the younger as well as
the elder girls. Experiments are made in tran-
Spiration, respiration, assimilation, nutrition of
green plants, &c., and no special apparatus is re-
quired. The great thing is to devise simple
arrangements, and not allow the children to
be confused by elaborate apparatus. The test-
tubes, jars, glass tubing, corks, retort-stands, &c.,
used in chemical wcrk are quite sufficient. In
connection with the food of green plants we find
that to grow plants in different food solutions is of
the greatest use and interest. Seven years ago,
before our laboratory was fitted up, the girls
grew plants in jam jars filled with food solution,
but now.they use the ordinary gas-jars found in all
chemical laboratories. Of course balances are
necessary in order to weigh out the ingredients,
but most schools possess good balances, and even
if they do not it is still possible to make food
solutions. During one summer the chemicals for
food solutions were weighed in a hanging pair of
scales, the cost of which was 2s. 6d. The girls
are greatly interested in these experiments, and
are quite excited when flowers and fruits appear.
Plants grown from seeds produced on plants in
solutions are much prized, and many of our plants
have quite a pedigree, the laboratory history going
back for four generations.
So far the indoor work only has been described,
but much is done by means of school-gardens and
nature rambles.
Botany GARDENS.—Six years ago the gardens
were arranged to help the girls in studying
classification, and different girls had charge of the
order-beds. Each year something has been added,
and now there are more than one hundred girls
possessing gardens. Besides the order-beds there
are gardens in which pollination experiments are
being carried on, and gardens in which soil ex-
periments are made. No school time is allowed
for gardening, and the girls dig, weed, water in the
dinner hour and after school. No girl is obliged
to have a botany-garden, but many are eager to
own them and show great enthusiasm in looking
after them. In fine weather a class often spends
the lesson time in the garden. For example, the
girls may be studying pollination, and it is quite
easy to divide a class into detachments, so that
only a few girls at the same time watch a particular
clump of flowers.
THe Rambpiinc Crius.—About ninety-six girls
belong to this club, and excursions take place
throughout the year. A definite object is given to
each excursion, and every girl has some particular
work to do. Last December we went to a con-
venient place to study trees in winter; in March
we studied the same trees when the buds were
beginning to develop; and this summer we hope
to study the trees with fully opened leaves.
By means of the work carried on indoors and
out-of-doors we lead the girls to observe and
experiment, and the botany really becomes a
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
branch of nature-study. A great drawback
hitherto has been that in the winter months, when
we were dependent on our indoor work, many
plants died from the effects of cold, and it was
exceedingly difficult to carry on experiments in
germination, movements of plants, &c. It was
also found most inconvenient to move all the
experiments and growing plants whenever the
benches and tables were needed for chemical work.
These difficulties led to the building of a special
botanical laboratory—the first of its kind, I believe.
It is kept at a temperature of about 50° F. day and
night during the winter, and consists mainly of
glass. A more detailed account of this laboratory
and its fittings will be given in a later number.
MATERIAL FOR NATURE-STUDY
LESSONS.
By CLOTILDE VON Wyss.
The Training College, Cambridge.
HE power of looking at the world around
with seeing eyes, and of acquiring knowledge
independently and first-hand, is an immense
acquisition, and we would fain ensure it for our
children by way of an outfit for life’s journey. The
most direct way of attaining this end would be to
bring the child into contact with nature in earliest
childhood, to let him have scope for the keen
interest he naturally takes in his surroundings, and
to cultivate the genuine sympathy most children
have for animals and plants, which is generally
crushed out of them when lace pinafores have to
be kept spotless, and little creatures are said to be
unclean and flowers to make stains.
But all this is sooner said than done, and it is no
use ignoring difficulties. The goal may be safely
reached if the children are educated in the country.
Must we, therefore, give up all hope for the little
city-sparrows and street-urchins? Had we not
better make the best of a bad case and try to bring
some of nature’s treasures to our town-children,
biding the time when the latter shall be let loose
in the country ?
Let the materials for nature-lessons come from
the neighbourhood of the town, and let them be
studied in seasonal succession. At once we are
confronted with a very real difficulty. The over-
worked teacher exclaims that he cannot himself
provide specimens for his large classes, and funds
are not forthcoming to ensure their being sent
from the country.
Where there is a will there is a way. I believe
that every teacher could arrange to go to the out-
skirts of the town on three Saturday afternoons
every term. If this is done the problem is easy
to solve. Let him bring home from his excursions
material for the nature-lessons of the coming month.
To be able to do this naturally requires some care-
wet
Tea
JUNE, 1903.]
The School World
213
ful selection. From every summer expedition sufh-
cient specimens of some wild flower may be brought
home. Add to this a bunch of bluebells, of cow-
slips, and of oxeye-daisies, obtained for a few
pennies from a street-barrow, and your children
may gain some knowledge of no less than six
different flowers in one term; understanding not
only their structure and arrangement of their
parts, but also how the buds unfold and how the
floral parts fade and drop, leaving the seed-box to
ripen. But much more than this must be done.
Far be it from me to suggest that our little ones
should at once specialise in botany before broad
foundations have been laid and a bird’s-eye view
of the realm of nature-study has been taken.
Animals must be brought home and must be kept
in captivity, so that the children have opportunity
of watching them at play and at work, during meal
time and sleeping hours.
It is easy to bring home some snails from the
hedge-rows, a spider or two and a few beetles. All
these may be kept in suitable boxes, plentifully
supplied with green, which should be lightly
sprinkled with water. A piece of glass should
cover the box, and holes should be made into the
sides to supply air. Similar boxes form suitable
homes for caterpillars. Care must be taken, in
the case of caterpillars and many beetles, that they
are supplied with the leaves on which they naturally
feed.
I cannot emphasise too strongly that, of all the
animals which may be kept in captivity and form
satisfactory material for nature-study in town
schools, the creatures of the pond are by far the
best. My reasons for this statement are the fol-
lowing: (a) Most of these animals are compara-
tively small, so that confinement in a 3lb. jam-jar
does not mean complete loss of freedom. (6) The
problem of food supply for most of them is easy
to solve; a handful of weed contains food for the
Majority of them, either because they feed directly
on vegetable matter, or because they prey on
minute creatures hidden in the pond weed. Tiny
pieces of raw meat will feed some of the bugs and
beetles and the oider tadpoles. (c) Among pond
creatures there is an immense variety in form,
structure and habits, and these often change
during the span of life of any particular animal.
It is, therefore, evident that the study of pond-
animals implies keenest and most continuous exer-
cise of the powers of observation.
Space does not permit me to go into details of
keeping any one of the animals, but it may be of
some use to mention a few of the pond creatures
which have thriven in jam pots and have given
delightful lessons to large classes of town children.
They are: Silver beetle, large carnivorous beetle,
water boatman, silver spider, caddis fly and dragon-
fly larvæ. Besides these, newts, frogs and toads,
in the various stages of their life history, are of
never-ending interest, as they appear year by year.
Needless to say, it is only the tadpole stage of
these that can be kept in jam pots. For the adult
creatures larger basins or tanks should be provided
during the breeding season, and these should be
partly filled with water and should contain stones
whose surface comes above the water. During
the rest of the year deal boxes with moss and grass
plants, cosy corners and saucers of water, form
comfortable homes. Pieces of glass, cut the right
size for tanks and boxes, may be obtained for a few
pence. By way of a guide and reference-book for
the understanding of the ways and changes of pond
animals, I highly recommend Furneaux’s “ Life in
Ponds and Streams.”
Detailed information as to the keeping of all
these creatures may easily be obtained by anyone
interested in the subject; and interest it deserves,
considering the excellent influence it has on the
children. For, quite apart from training of the
powers of perception and of accumulating first-
hand knowledge, there is evident development of
sympathy. By faithfully caring for and watching
over one little animal, a greater love for all others
is awakened; and, on account of this love for one
creature, cruelty to many others is avoided. Of
this fact one obtains convincing proof in the course
of time. It is a matter of course that we reduce
the cruelty of imprisoning animals to a minimum
by (a) choosing animals which are not highly
sensitive, and which thrive in captivity ; (b) scru-
pulously attending to all their wants; (c) taking
them back to their natural haunts after a longer or
shorter period of time.
The argument is constantly brought forward
that we have no right to be cruel to animals by
inflicting upon them even only temporary imprison-
ment, and that the children would learn much
more if they were allowed to watch the wild things
in their free state. We are all agreed that the
plan of work suggested involves a certain amount
of cruelty, and that nature itself is a better teacher
than our jam pots containing pets and ourselves
behind them. But are we not in a transition state ?
Are we not trying to make the best of very bad
conditions? There are many who paint before
our eyes a picture in glowing colours of an ideal
state of things, when our little ones shall receive
the foundations of a naturalist’s education, during
their life in the country, guided by a wise, nature-
loving mother. They make clear before our eyes
the goal to make for. Would that they had a
little more patience, before condemning us, with
our struggles and strivings to reach that very
same end.
THE chief interest of nature-study is life ; and living objects,
especially living plants, are found to be more stimulating than
any others. We can observe them under all conditions, and
experiment on them without cruelty or appreciable cost; we
can vary their food, vary the stimulus of light, investigate the
conditions necessary for fertilisation, and so on. The plant does
the thing which is really hard: it grows. The many substitutes
for the direct study of living nature, such as learning by heart,
collecting, naming, drawing up lists, filling up schedules, are at
best accessories, and may be positively harmful. Live natural
history is what we want above all.—Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S.
214
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHICK.
A Practica, LEsson IN NATURE-STUDY.
By ERNEST STENHOUSE, B.Sc.(Lond.)
Associate of the Royal College of Science, London.
A.—The Egg before Incubation.
HE SHELL.—Tap the egg gently at the
middle of its broad end until the shell
cracks. Then carefully remove small pieces
of the shell and notice the shell-membrane, a tough
skin which is closely applied to the inside of the
shell. Snip through the membrane in the middle
of the broad end; notice the aty-chamber which lies
beneath it. Observe the inner membrane which
separates the air-chamber from the inside of the
egg. Hold a small piece of shell up to the light,
and notice the small, almost transparent dots.
The shell is perforated by very small pores,
through which the air can pass.
(2) THE WHITE OF THE Ecc.-—Tap the shell so
as to crack it all round at its widest part; raise
bits of shell carefully and see the membrane here.
Tear through the membrane and notice that in this
region there is no air-space, but the white lies just
beneath the shell-membrane. Separate the halves
of the shell, notice the position and shape of the
yolk, and then let the contents of the egg fall
gently into a basin. Observe the appearance,
colour, and transparency of the white, and try to
distinguish two tangled cords of firmer white—the
balanceys—arising close to the yellow yolk.
(3) THe Yorx.—What is the shape of the yolk
as it lies in the basin? How does it differ from
the shape of a yolk suspended naturally in the
white ? What is the cause of the change of shape?
Notice carefully a small paler patch—the germinal
disc—in the middle of the upper surface. This is
the lightest part of the yolk, so that the yolk always
settles with this part uppermost after any turning
of the egg, and therefore the germinal disc is
always more directly exposed to the heat of the
hen’s body (during incubation) than is any other
part of the yolk. Prick the yolk and notice that
the yellow fluid contents flow out. You have
evidently pierced the thin bag which formerly
preserved the shape..
B.—The Development of the Chick.
(1) A Simpte IncuBaTor.—Eggs are best in-
cubated in the natural manner, that is, by the
warmth of the hen’s body; but, if a sitting hen
cannot be obtained, an ordinary water-oven, such
as is used in chemical laboratories, may be made
to answer. It should be heated by a self-regu-
lating burner, and kept at a temperature of about
40° C. The eggs should be turned two or three
times a day, and the air of the oven should be kept
moist by sprinkling water upon pieces of cloth,
blotting paper, or hay, kept with the eggs. Spring
is the most favourable time of the year for making
the observations, as eggs laid at other seasons are
not always in a condition to produce chicks.
= The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
(2) How To Mark THE Eccs.—The most in.
structive changes take place during the first five
days of incubation. If all the stages of the first
five days are to form the subject of one lesson, an
egg should be marked “5” with pencil, and then
put into the incubator or under the hen five days
before the lesson; a day later, an egg numbered
«4” should be put in, and soon. The numbers
will then indicate the lengths of incubation at the
time of the lesson, and the eggs should be examined
in order, from 1 to 5. If one egg is to be examined
each day, five should be put in the incubator at
the same time; no numbering will then be
required.
(3) How to ExaMINE THE Eces. — Have
ready a basin of water, heated slightly above the
temperature of the hand (+.e., to about 40° C.), and
dissolve table-salt in it in the proportion of a level
tablespoonful of salt to a pint of water. The
young chicks will keep alive longer in this solution
than in ordinary water. Tap the shell in the
middle of its broad end, and open the air-chamber
(a, Fig. 1) completely. Then crack the shell in the
middle of the length and, keeping the length of the
egg horizontal, cut round the middle of the shell
with scissors in a vertical plane, until the halves
are on the point of coming apart. Then lower the
egg into the warm saline solution, pull the halves
of the shell apart, and float out the contents.
Examine the embryo carefully, making out as
much as possible, and then snip round it with a
pair of fine scissors to remove it from the yolk;
float it into a watch-glass and cover it with weak
alcohol (equal parts of spirits-of-wine and water).
Examine it with a lens. After it has remained
for a day in weak alcohol, put the embryo into
strong alcohol in a small bottle (writing the age on
a label), and preserve it. e
Notice the gradual absorption of the white ofthe
egg as development proceeds.
(4) CHICK AFTER One Day’s INCUBATION
(Fig. 1).—Notice that the embryo is now to be
_ — hd yk
>
fi. Fa
j
P
Fic. 1.—The hen's egg after twenty-four hours’ incubation. 4, air
chamber ; Ad, head of embryo; va, area in which blood-vessels will appear
later ; yk, yolk (natural size).
distinguished as a streak crossing the germinal
disc in a direction at right angles to the long axis
of the egg. Notice a rounded swelling at one end
of the embryo; this is the head. Place the egg
JUNE, 1903. ]
The School World
215
before you with the broad end to your left, and
observe that the head of the embryo points away
from you.
(5) Cuick AFTER Two Days’ INcuBATION
(Fig. 2).—Observe the increase in size of the
.Fic. 2.—The hen's egg after two days’ incubation. The amnion has
been removed. æ, air-chamber ; au, commencement of right ear: e, right
eye; Az, heart ; va, network of blood-vessels ; y+, yolk (natural size).
embryo; make a note of its length. The head
and neck of the embryo are now almost covered by
a very thin transparent bag which has grown over
it from the sides. This bag is called the amnion ; }
Fic. 3.— Dia The em-
to illustrate the formation of the amnion. The ¢
bryo and the rest of the yolk are supposed to be seen in median longitudinal
section; the head is to the right. am, amnion folds; am.c, amniotic
Balto embryo; yé, yolk; yk.st, yolk-stalk. (After Foster and
our
itis filled with fluid, and protects the embryo from
jars. Remove the amnion and notice the large
head; it is now twisted so that its left side lies
against the yolk, while the rest of the embryo still
lies *face-down.”” Observe the large eye on the
tight side of the head; the left eye cannot be seen
Without turning the head over. Notice the heart,
a small red dot which by help of a lens can be seen
to beat rapidly. Surrounding the embryo is a
Circular network of blood-vessels which bring food
from the yolk to the heart, to be distributed to the
a ee te
oleae amnion originates, early in the second day, as a double fold of the
yi ‘Surface in front of the embryo. Similar folds arise round the sides and
brye forming a low wall (Fig. 3, A); the folds gradually grow over the em-
S (Fig. 3, B) until, during the fourth day, they meet (Fig. 3, C) and
enclose it in a protective transparent bag containing a watery fluid.
various parts of the body. How large is the
circular area of blood-vessels ?
(6) CHICK AFTER THREE Days’ INCUBATION
(Fig. 4).—The white of the egg is distinctly
Fic. 4— The hen’s egg after three days’ incubation. The amnion has '
been removed. References as in Fig. 2.
shrunken, and the network of blood-vessels 1s
much larger than before. Remove the amnion
and notice the marked increase in size of the
embryo, especially of the head. The right side of
the head and neck are still turned towards the
shell. They are now quite free from the yolk,
but the body of the embryo communicates with the
yoke by a short, wide tube, the yolk stalk. Try to
see a small pit, a little above and behind the
large eye. This is the beginning of the right car.
Measure the embryo and the width of the surround-
ing network of blood-vessels. Watch, through a
lens, the beating of the heart.
(7) CHICK AFTER Four Days’ INcuBATION.-—
Carefully cut open the amnion to see the embryo
better. Observe that the young chick is still
more completely folded off from the yolk, and that
the yolk-stalk is consequently narrower than before.
The head is so strongly bent upon itself that the
snout almost touches the tail. The body also has
now turned over so as to lie with its left side on ,
the yolk. Observe the two pairs of small buds
which are the rudiments of the limbs.
CETTE
emb
Fic. 5.—The hen's egg after five days’ incubation. a, air-chamber ;
ald, allantois; am, amnion; ar vasc, network of blood-vessels; emô, em-
bryo; yA, yolk (natural size). (After Duval.)
(8) Cuick AFTER Five Days’ Incubation (Fig.
5.).—Cut open the amnion, and notice the great
increase in size of the embryo, and especially the
216
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
enormous development of the head. The limbs now
show signs of division into segments. Observe the
allantois, a thin, bladder-like structure, which has
grown out from the lower part of the body, behind
the yolk-stalk. Its mode of origin is well shown
in Fig. 6. It rapidly increases in size, and soon
Fic. 6.—Diagrams illustrating the method of development of the allan-
tois. ad, allantois; amt, amnion; am.c, amniotic cavity; em, embryo;
yk, yolk. (After Foster and Balfour.)
extends over the embryo (Fig. 5), and becomes
closely applied to the shell-membrane. Air passes
through the pores of the sheil, and its oxygen is
taken up by the blood which circulates in the
vessels of the allantois. At the same time, waste
carbon dioxide is able to escape from the blood to
the outer air. The allantois is therefore the
breathing organ of the developing chick.
(9) ErrecT oF VARNISHING AN Ecc.—Varnish
an egg, and leave it under the hen with unvar-
nished eggs for the whole period of incubation
(twenty-one days). The varnished egg does not
develop, because the varnish closes the pores of
the shell and prevents the embryo from breathing.
The chief organs of the bird are now established.
The later development is briefly as follows: by the
end of the ninth day the white of the egg is almost
used up; the yolk, however, is still large, and is
connected with the chick’s body by the narrow
yolk-stalk. It thus appears that the white is not
directly absorbed by the chick, but is first taken
up by the yolk and afterwards passed on by the
yolk blood-vessels which run to the heart. By
this time, too, the allantois has spread at least
halfway round the inside of the shell, that a supply
of oxygen adequate to the increased needs of the
animal may be obtained from the air. The chick
has now a characteristic bird-lke appearance;
the beak has appeared; feathers have begun to
sprout; the neck is long and slender; and the
segments of the limbs, including the fingers and
toes, are well defined.
About the fourteenth day the chick turns so as
to lie lengthwise in the shell, with its head near
the broad end. The yolk-sac dwindles in size,
and at last, about the twentieth day, it 1s drawn
into the interior of the body. Now the chick be-
comes restless, and, usually on the twenty-first
day, thrusts its beak through the inner shell-
membrane into the air-chamber (a) at the broad end
of the egg. For the first time it draws refreshing
air into its lungs, and is stimulated to break the
shell by a knob on the tip of its beak, and to creep
out into the world.
THE PRIVATE SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION,
INCORPORATED.
HE Private Schools Association is the only
educational society whose membership is
confined to past or present private teachers.
Those acquainted with its recent activities may
be surprised to learn that it originated a quarter
of a century ago, or to be more precise, eee
8th, 1878, when a dinner for headmasters of private
schools, convened by the Rev. John Stewart, of
the University School, Hastings, was held at the
Holborn Restaurant. No definite organisation
was then formed, but it was felt that such meet-
ings should be held annually, if not oftener.
On the occasion of the second annual dinner,
which was attended by about sixty schoolmasters,
papers were read on “The Prospects and Re-
sponsibilities of the Private Schoolmaster,” and
‘‘ A Comparative Estimate of Public and Private
Schools,” which, with the subsequent discussion
thereon, evoked a leading article in the Temes.
At this meeting it was resolved ‘“ That an Asso-
ciation be hereby formed, and that its name be
‘The Association of the Principals of Private
Schools.’ ”
Its objects were declared as “To unite the
members in a common bond, to protect the
interests of the profession, and to hold periodical
meetings in London and elsewhere for the dis-
cussion of educational topics, more especially
such as relate to the position and status of the
private schoolmaster.” A committee of twenty-
four was chosen to carry out this programme.
During the next twelve months, three gatherings
took place in London, and a summer meeting was
also held at Hastings.
The educational questions discussed at the
third meeting were published in pamphlet forr
as occasional papers. In 1880, the society esta-
blished a quarterly journal, The Private Schoolmaster,
which superseded the occasional papers.
Space does not permit more than a passing
reference to the next few years during which slow
but definite progress was made in promoting
professional comradeship, comparing notes on
educational topics of mutual interest to private
schoolmasters, and providing opportunities for
pleasant social intercouse. In 1882, the scope of
the Association was wisely enlarged by the admis-
sion of lady principals to membership.
The annual report of 1887 described some of the
extraordinary difficulties encountered in welding
together heads of private schools in professional
union. The total number of members was but
139. The want of public spirit among school-
masters was deplored and the committee made an
urgent appeal to their confréres outside to join
the Association, and give it that advantage of
numbers without which it could exercise but little
influence.
The desire for a Register of teachers, which the
best private schoolmasters have all along felt was
a sine qua non for the recognition of their profession,
7 ee
JUNE, 1903. ]
and the exclusion of incompetent persons from
it, was prominently referred to in this report.
Despite these and other strenuous efforts the
Association only numbered 177 members in 1891,
in which year the Easter meeting was held at
Cambridge, Oxford having been visited in 1890.
After this period the constant efforts of the
pioneers of private school union began to bear
fruit, and by 1895 the membership had increased
to about 600. Then it was that a charter of
incorporation was sought for and granted. On
and after October 16, 1895, the Society has borne
its present title, The Private Schools Association
Incorporated. The prosperity of the Society
represented by this step was largely due to the
energetic honorary services of the late Mr. William
Brown, who was president for 1895, and died
during his year of office. Though the Association
was unsuccessful in its attempt to obtain a direct
Mr. W. W. Kerlann, M.A.,
Oakfield School, Crouch End, N., Chairman of the Council of the Private
. Schools Association, Incorporated.
representative of private schools on the Royal
Commission on Secondary Education held at this
time, it was invited to appoint delegates. Mr.
Brown and Miss Allen Olney were chosen, and
full opportunity was given to them of presenting
their evidence in detail. |
During the next five years the membership was
stationary, internal dissensions and other causes
preventing the realisation of the hopes which had
been formed for more rapid progress. The usual
terminal meetings and Easter conferences continued
to be held, and branches were formed in many parts
of the provinces, including Manchester, Liverpool,
Bristol, Devizes, Harrogate and Southport. The
financial position was such, however, that during
most of 1901 the Society could not afford a paid
secretary, and all clerical duties were peformed by
honorary officers. In the autumn of this year
a renewed attempt which has met with consider-
able success was made to end this unsatisfactory
state of affairs, and make the Society a real power
in the educational and political world. An Or-
No. 54, VoL. 5.]
The School World
| carried out.
217
ganising Secretary was appointed, and a meeting.
held at the College of Preceptors to announce the.
re-organisation of affairs, at which the President.
(Sir G. C. T. Bartley, K.C.B., M.P.) defined the
policy of the Association towards the proposed:
Education Bill.
The key notes of this meeting, which marked
the commencement of a new epoch in the history
of the Society, were the pressing necessity of
adaptation to the spirit of association which dis-.
tinguishes all successful modern enterprises, and
the importance of justifying private-school educa-
tion at the bar of public opinion. The promotion
of conferences in various parts of the country to
demonstrate the efficiency of the majority of
private schools, the exercise of parliamentary
influence, and the securing of direct representa-
tion on the new education authorities, were some
of the means of impressing public and govern-
mental opinion which were advocated on this
occasion, and have since been most vigorously
Meetings were organised in London
and the provinces which resulted in the formation
of many new sections and branches, and the
adhesion of large numbers of heads of private
schools. A guarantee fund was raised to defray
extraordinary expenses. Questioris were asked in
Parliament by the President of the Association
which revealed to many for the first time the exist-
ence of the movement. Communications were
made to the Board of Education in the interests of
private teachers and their pupils, and slowly but
surely a greater spirit of comradeship and cohesion
than had ever been exhibited before was developed
among members of the profession. During the
passing of the Education Act large numbers of
M.P.’s were personally interviewed in the lobby
of the House of Commons, and over sixty expressed
themselves as favourable to the aims and objects
of the Association. The principal concession
secured by these exertions is that contained in
the sub-section to clause 2 of the Act, to the effect
that “ A Council in exercising their powers under
this part of the Act (Higher Education) shall have
regard to any existing supply of efficient schools
and colleges. X
The new organising activity was not allowed
to obscure the more academic aims of the Associa-
tion, which include the spreading of information
on the improvement of educational methods.
Apart from the work of local committees in this
direction the Council appointed an Educational
Committee, which convened a well-attended
national conference ọf private teachers at South
Kensington in October last year, which was
addressed by leading educaticnists. Leaflets
have also been published from time to time, from
the private school point of view, addressed to
parents, parliamentarians, and the general
public, besides the regular issue of Secondary
Education, the monthly journal of the Association.
These and other efforts have resulted in a great
increase in the numbers and influence of the Asso-
ciation, which now admits assistant secondary
teachers. Its proceedings are accorded consider-
S
The
able attention in the daily and educational press,
and it is invited to send delegates to every impor-
tant educational conference, such as the recent
meeting at Cambridge University on the training
of teachers and the Conference on ‘ Technical
and Secondary Education.” Direct representa-
tives on the Consultative Committee and the
Teachers’ Registration Council, though not yet
secured, can hardly be much longer deferred.
Since the passing of the Education Act, members
of the Association have been co-opted on several
Education Committees, including those of Horn-
sey, Hastings, Ealing and Blackpool.
The policy of the Association, far from being
retrograde, includes strong approval of the prin-
ciple of the Teachers’ Registration Order (subject
to certain modifications for the first three years in
the case of teachers of experience and capacity,
who may not possess the academic qualities
required) and advocacy of inspection for the recog-
nition of schools. It is opposed to all inefficient
schools whether public or private, but contends
that, when efficiency has been proved, private
schools have a right to demand absolute equality
and fair consideration at the hands of public
authorities.
It would be most inappropriate to conclude this
notice without referring to the Chairman of the
Council, Mr. W. W. Kelland, M.A., of Oak-
field School, Crouch End, whose portrait accom-
panies this article. It is impossible to exaggerate
the debt which the Association owes this gentle-
man for its present prosperous condition. His
public spirit and energy are mainly responsible for
the progress it has made in a short period froma
comparatively small and ineffective society to an
organisation with nearly fifty local branches and
fifteen hundred members. The detailed work has
principally devolved upon Mr. H. R. Beasley, the
General Secretary, and Mr. Henry C. Devine, the
Treasurer, and Manager of Secondary Education, of
which the Rev. J. B. Blomfield is Literary Editor.
218
LIFE IN POMPEII.’
RCHASOLOGISTS know that Prof. Mau is
one of the greatest living authorities on all
connected with Pompeii. He has spent a
large part of his life in studying it, and has written
a great deal on the subject. We are prepared,
then, to find this book accurate, full, and sound.
However, it is not every sound archzologist who
can write a good book, and a book of the present
type is apt to fall between two stools, to be
either too learned or too shallow. Prof. Mau has
to a remarkable degree avoided both these faults.
His book is not only learned, but it is interesting
1 “ Pompeii, its Life and Art.” By August Mau, German Archxological
Institute at Rome. Translated into English by F. W. Kelsey, University
of Michigan. With numerous illustraueans from original drawings and
photographs. xxv. + 559 pp. (Macmillan.) ros. 6d. net,
School World
[ JUNE, 1903.
and intelligible to the non-expert. Even the
ordinary ignorant traveller, if he reads the more
general portions of the book, will find them so
expressed that he is enabled to understand what
he will see at Pompeii. And there are very few
students who will be able to say that the book tells
them only what they know.
The book includes a short history of Pompeii up
to the time of the eruption, and a sketch of the
course of the excavations. Then the chief places
and buildings of the city are taken one by
one, each described and explained, and in some
cases restorations offered. After the fora, theatres,
temples, and houses have thus been passed in
review, chapters are added on such allied topics
as these: The Trades and Crafts of Pompeii, Inns
and Wineshops, the Tombs, Architecture, Painting,
Sculpture, the Inscriptions, and Graffiti. The last
chapters, those which deal with ancient life, will
be most interesting to the general reader. In par-
ticular, the inscriptions bring the old town very
close tous. Election cries, houses to let, runaway
slaves, curses, and love-messages, all sorts of
oddities, are chronicled upon the walls, and live,
now that Restitutus the Don Juan, or Vatia
the would-be ædile, have been dust these two
thousand years. A Greek bull, quoted by the
author from the Palatine Hill at Rome, is worth
recording: “ Everybody writes something here,
except myself.” The more serious student will
glean a great deal of information on various depart-
ments of antiquities. The account of the Roman
House is of value for other places than Pompeii,
although it is not a complete history. Religion
and superstition are touched on, and there is a
great deal of information about the less important
realicen, pots and pans, tables and utensils. There
is new light on the triclinium. ‘The schoolmaster
who is alive to the importance of a knowledge of
antiquities as illustrating his work should not fail
to procure this book. It is not only the best short -
account of Pompeii, but a great deal more.
>
EDUCATIONAL REFORM.
ROF. KARL PEARSON’S prefatory
P essay on “ The Function of Science in the
Modern State,” in the eighth of the new
volumes of the “Encyclopædia Britannica,” is so
full of matter of educational importance that this
notice of the volume must almost be limited toa
statement of some of the points presented by him.
The essay is an analysis of the factors which con-
stitute the modern State, with suggestions as to
how each should be strengthened, with the object
of promoting national progress. To some extent
the essay may be regarded as dealing briefly with
the same subjects as Prof. Pearson’s ‘‘ National
Life from the Standpoint of Science,” and the
‘1 The Encyclopædia Britannica.” The cighth of the new volumes, Vol.
XXXII. of the complete work. Pri.-Sto. xxxvii. + 856 pp. (Black and
Lhe Limes.)
JUNE, 1903. ]
outlook is one which merits contemplation by all
who are interested in the development of national
life and character.
It is necessary for all of us to be scientific even
if we are not professed teachers or students of any
of the positive sciences. In educational questions,
we ought to be able to rise above the claims of
advocates of this or that branch of knowledge for
a place in the school curriculum, and decide from
our point of view the courses which should be
followed by pupils whose school lives end at par-
ticular ages. There ought, in fact, to be sufficient
material to construct a curriculum on scientific
principles; that is to say, given a pupil and know-
ing the faculties it is desired to develop in him,
the course he should follow should be clearly
defined. At present we are far from realising this
condition of things. Tradition has decided what
subjects should be studied, and any attempt to
depart from them is viewed with disapproval. Ani-
mate as well as inanimate nature possesses an
inertia which offers resistance to any change, and
it is only by persistent and strenuous influence
that men are induced to deviate from the paths of
their fathers,
For some years advocates of progressive educa-
tion have urged that, for the good of the State,
sciences and modern languages should be given
greater importance in the curriculum. With few
exceptions they acknowledge the value of the
study of classical languages, but their friendly
feelings are scarcely reciprocated. Any approach
to the territory of ancient culture is resented by
the guardians thereof with the alacrity displayed
by Tibetan lamas towards foreigners. ‘As it
was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,”
is the article of faith, and he who would revise this
saying is regarded as a sacrilegious disturber of
the peace.
Well, much can be said for the value of the study
of Latin and Greek, and the reformer who thinks
they may be neglected shows thereby that the essen-
tial principle of educational science is not in him.
The primary object of education should not be to
impart information; but if a scientific method is
applied, it matters little whether classics or nature
is given the greater attention. As Prof. Pearson
remarks, ‘“ One man may iearn how to use his
reasoning powers from a teacher who adopts.
Greek grammar as a medium, another from a.
teacher whose material is provided by the hedge- |
row, and the powers gained in either way may be
turned from one to another subject.”
science, and the humanities.
Training in scientific, that is, accurate, habits of
observation and thought must be the criterion of '
good education in the future. Merit must be
gauged not by ability to pass examinations but by
the power to overcome difficulties; and teachers |
will then be relieved from the necessity of forcing :
unwilling minds to absorb undigested material in
order to make a creditable record for the school or .
The School World
Let us not, !
then, wrangle about subjects, but methods, and we |
shall be in a fair way to arrive at a place of mutual |
understanding between representatives of both `
219
their form. ‘ Not to know the capital of Servia,
the tributaries of the Don, or the constituents
of the atmosphere, is no sign of defective educa-
tion. ‘Facts’ change from generation; but skill
in manipulating facts is the fundamental sign of a
trained intelligence, of a true education, which
survives all modifications of its material.” Exami-
inations do not test the development of this faculty
of adaptation to circumstances. Every practical
teacher knows, or ought to know, that duffers at
school work often become men of intellectual
eminence, while pupils who win high places in
examinations sink into comparative obscurity in
later life. Examinations are useful in bringing
pupils up to the scratch, to use a vulgarism, but
as a capacity-catching machine they are certainly
a failure. Prof. Pearson’s experience upon this
matter is worth reproduction here:
During the last few years the writer has come largely in contact
with a large number of young men and women whom the county
councils up and down the country are educating at the national
expense. These county-council scholars are, on the average, not
up to the mean middle-class intelligence. It is very rarely that
one could not pick out for any given post better, often many
better, middle-class candidates. In this case the meshes of the
net are far too small; ten per cent. of the scholarships would have
sufficed to procure the really capable men and women whom it
was of social value to educate for intellectual pursuits. The rest
want either the originality, the power of self-assertion, or the
physique which would enable them to force their way forward in
a new sphere. The bitterness of failure is upon those who,
scholarships ended, sink to usherdom in small private schools,
or to second-rate draughtsmen in engineering works.
To change all this means an educational revo-
lution, which, though it would be welcomed by
many teachers, is beyond the range of practical
politics. Examinations provide a convenient
touchstone by which work can be tested, and
both governors and parents attaeh importance to
positions in honours and scholarships lists. If the
spirit and not the letter of the teaching is to count,
if school work is to be entirely conducted on heu-
ristic principles, then the number of subjects in the
curriculum must be reduced by about one-half, and
little progress can be shown in the others. It is
good for pupils to learn by experience, but advance
along all such roads to knowledge is necessarily
slow; and while teachers were cultivating intelli-
gence, parents would be impatient because their
children would have little to show for their work.
Book-keeping, shorthand and other showy subjects
have only been introduced into the curriculum as
a sop to parents who think schools should be
nurseries for office boys. We hesitate to suggest
what such parents will think when they are told
that the whole work of schools is to be designed
with the object of training intelligence and not to
impart information or develop any kind of manual
dexterity.
It will be necessary to educate parents to these
ideals, or to make the teacher independent of their
views, and of examinations, before any radical
change becomes possible. And, if we may add it
without offence, teachers themselves will have to
220
pay more attention to methods than has often been
the case hitherto. Itis to be hoped that the time is
not far distant when knowledge of the principles of
teaching, and experience in school work, will be-
judged of more importance than a high degree or
the possession of holy orders in making appoint-
ments of teachers, whether assistants or heads. A
man who appears as a high wrangler on the class
lists usually receives several offers of teaching
posts, though he may be supremely ignorant how
to keep a form in order, while many a man who
is an inspired teacher has to consider himself
passing rich on fifty pounds a year and residence.
Prof. Pearson’s statistical investigations of the
physical and mental characteristics of from 5,000
to 6,000 school children seem to show that it is
really safer to select a University blue than a man
from the Honours school. The athletic lad has
associated with this character in a very sensible’
degree: good health, quick temper and intelligence; |
and the first and last of these are the best of
attributes of a successful teacher.
Many more points are dealt with in the essay
which has provided the text for this notice. All
the prefatory essays in the new volumes have been
full of interest, but none have appealed to us quite.
so strongly as this by Prof. Pearson. Limitations
of space prevent us from describing any of the
articles in the volume, but we can confidently say
that every subject between the alphabetical limits
of the Pribiloff Islands and Stowmarket is dealt
with, and that the teacher or student who con-
stantly refers to the volumes for information will
be astonished at the response he obtains to his
inquiries.
THE CASE FOR CO-EDUCATION:!
is to advocate co-education in English
The book consists of
Ths object of this small but important volume |
secondary schools.
nine essays, contributed by writers who, with one:
exception, have had experience as teachers in
schools where boys and girls have been taught.
together. Without attempting a theoretical
justification of the plan of educating boys and girls `
under the same roof, they set down a record of.
actual experience—in some cases, in schools for
young children, in others, in schools like Keswick
and Bedales which have a more ambitious aim,
There is no desire to underrate the difficulties of |
the experiment, and the sceptical reader will find |
all the obvious questions he is ready to pose fairly
faced in the volume. The modesty and straight-
forwardness of the papers add considerably to their
value both as records and as arguments. More-
over, no attempt is made to defend co-education on
the ground of its success elsewhere than in
England. We have no feeling that some en-
1 **Co-education.” A series of essays by various authors. Edited by
Alice Woods. xiv. + 145 pp. (Longmans.) 3% net
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
thusiastic worshippers of American ideals and
methods are trying to introduce a foreign system
into English schools. The book is English
throughout.
Mr. M. E. Sadler, who writes an introduction,
confesses that he is impressed by the papers but
not fully convinced. We need not wonder at Mr.
Sadler’s cautious attitude, seeing that the scope of
the experiments in co-education has been so far
limited. Up to the present time no institution
of long standing has brought up together boys
and girls beyond their early teens. It is true that
the promoters of co-education schools, besides
claiming that their efforts with younger children
have been successful, firmly believe that no
insurmountable obstacle will prevent them from
carrying on co-education up to the university age.
This may very well be, and we may in future see
public schools in which elder boys and girls are
taught and trained together with a common life,
common discipline, and common games. But the
feasibility of the project has yet to be fully
established.
Co-education and co-instruction, which one of
the essayists confuses entirely, may be usefully
distinguished. Co-instruction, which means that
boys and girls are taught the same subjects in the
same class-rooms, is commoner than the editor
supposes both in elementary schools and higher
institutions. In some of the smaller technical
schools, in the intermediate schools of Wales, in
pupil-teacher classes, boys and girls are instructed
together until they are almost adults. But the
results—intellectual results mainly—are not so
notoriously beneficial that the system can be
defended by an appeal to them. It is mostly con-
venience which dictates whether pupils in such
schools shall be taught together or separately.
Moreover, these institutions do not satisfactorily
answer the two points which Mr. Sadler raises.
Is a curriculum which is suitable for boys in their
teens also suitable for girls at the same age?
Should a girl at the dangerous growing period
work as hard as she will and as hard as a boy
ought to do? Co-instruction implies a Spartan
equality between the sexes. Now the writers of
the book under review are defending co-education,
the true aim of which is moral not intellectual.
But their prime defect lies in this, that in order to
obtain the moral gains which co-education, the
common life of the sexes, is said to bring, they
accept too readily and unquestioningly the system
of co-instruction which is open to grave a priori
criticism, and which they do not attempt to
defend.
Tue Teachers’ Guild has again this year organised holiday
courses in modern languages. French courses will be held at
Tours and Honfleur, the preliminary meeting of students at
the former place taking place on July 31st, and at the latter
town on August Ist. A Spanish course has been arranged at
Santander, the preliminary meeting of which is fixed for
August Ist. Full particulars may be obtained from the office
of the Guild, 74, Gower Street, London, W.C.
JUNE, 1903.]
The School World |
221
THE PLACE OF NATURE-STUDY IN
EDUCATION.
By Joun C. MEnp, M.A.
BEFORE determining the sphere of nature-study in any well-
ordered scheme of education, we ought clearly to understand
what we mean by education. We are all agreed, I imagine,
that in its full sense it is a preparation for complete living ; that
it is not confined merely to school life, but that it is a process
which begins with our birth and ends only at the grave; and
that its true aim is to enable every individual to realise his or
her highest activities, and to find the chief happiness in the
pursuit of the good. Education so viewed demands the develop-
ment of every faculty, the power to discern and appreciate the
beautiful in all things, the ability to distinguish the true from
the false, the reverence which Goethe paints so finely in his
“ Wilhelm Meister,” and the humility which flows from the
confession of human limitations. To most of you in this room
that masterpiece of Goethe’s must be familiar, and you will
remember how he there, in describing a school conducted upon
novel principles, points out that there is one habit of mind
which no child brings with it into the world—one habit of mind
which only comes by training—namely, the spirit of reverence,
and he shows how by his new system he trains children into
reverence for God, reverence for man, and reverence for nature.
Of this education the study of nature forms a necessary
element, and we have every reason to be gratified that the fact
is now so widely recognised. At the same time the increasing
attention directed to the subject is not without its danger. We
must be careful not to exaggerate its importance. It is an
invaluable handmaid to supplement and illustrate literary
lessons, but it cannot supplant them. Reading, writing and
arithmetic remain the first essentials of primary instruction, and
we must not lose the sense of proportion. Much has been done
of late for the comparative study of educational systems: no less
important is the consideration of the relative value of different
subjects. '
Those identifed with the present movement have made no
attempt to define the scope of nature-study. The subject
should be as free and unfettered as Nature herself, depending
for its exact form upon local circumstances. To confine it
within prescribed limits or to stereotype particular methods
would destroy its vitality. It is really immaterial whether the
study be based upon the life of plants, insects or animals, upon
geology, or upon any kindred subject, provided the teacher
is an enthusiast—for an enthusiastic teacher makes an enthusi-
astic pupil—understands what he is talking about, and selects
that branch which is most appropriate to his environment and
resources. Nor can modes of instruction be determined in
advance. They must necessarily vary according to the grade
and aim of each school, and the facilities which each town or
rural district may furnish. These facts should not be overlooked
for there is a tendency in certain. quarters to engage in an
endless discussion over what does or does not constitute nature
study, and to exclude everything which does not conform to
some arbitrary standard. We must be careful lest the faddist
become master of the situation. The ultimate purpose is to
give an impetus to a definite reform in all education, and
without any thought of disparaging literary culture, to emphasise
the importance of other than purely literary studies for the full
development of the faculties of every child. Books alone leave
untouched the powers of observation, they do little to stimulate
the spirit of enquiry or to provoke an intelligent interest in the
1 Abstract of an Address to the West Ham Education Conference, April,
1903.
+
world about us; their influence at school lies mainly in the
region of memory. Accuracy of hand and eye, and correctness
of judgment, which depends upon accurate observation, are the
first conditions of a successful career in any industrial or com-
mercial pursuit. This applies equally to every class in the
community, and a system of education which neglects to pro-
mote these necessary qualities fails of its true object, and tends
to become a dull mechanical process, wearisome to all who
have to submit to it.
Nature-study, it must be remembered, has many functions to
fulfil. In primary and secondary schools its mission is educa-
tional, to train the mind, the eye, and the hand, and to serve
as an introduction to science as such. In continuation and
agricultural schools the aim is technical and utilitarian. It is
well to maintain these distinctions lest it should be imagined
` that some highly specialised form of instruction were advocated
‘ for the former schools, where it would be altogether mischievous
and out of place. The lessons should be directed as much as
possible towards /:ving objects to trace the life histories of
plant, animal or insect. As it has been feared that the scholars
may be led to do irreparable harm by the wanton destruction
of rare plants or birds for their school museums, it cannot be
too strongly insisted upon that collecting for the sake of collect-
ing is worthless, and one of the results to be looked for from
nature-study is a greater reverence for all living things. The
proper way in which to study a plant or an insect is in its living
state. This may easily be done by cultivating a few plants in
boxes or pots, or by watching the development of insects in
breeding cages. Simple experiments may also be performed,
the apparatus for which can be inexpensiveiy constructed out of
‘the most ordinary material without any special skill in handi-
' craft.
' through walks, and partly by the cultivation of flowers and
The instruction may be given partly in school, partly
vegetables in gardens attached to the school, where such are
available. Plants and flowers should be studied objectively,
and their structure explained. Their life and habits should be
illustrated from plants grown in bottles, pots and boxes, in
water, sand, sterile or fertile soil. The effects on growth of
light, air, warmth and moisture, should also be demonstrated.
Lessons should in every case be appropriate to the season of the
year, and neither teacher nor pupil ought to rely upon text
books. Again and again the late Professor Huxley stated that,
if instruction in the elements of natural and physical science
were to be mere bookwork, it would be wiser not to attempt it.
_‘*Unless what is taught,” he said, ‘‘is based on actual observa-
tion and familiarity with facts, it is better left alone.” Every-
one is aware how much the teaching of botany has suffered
hitherto from this defect. Children should be led to make their
own investigations ; they should be told as little as possible
and made to discover as much as possible. In other words,
the process of education should, as one of our profoundest
thinkers has said, be largely one of self-instruction. Any piece
of knowledge which the pupil has himself acquired, any problem
which he has himself solved, becomes by virtue of the conquest
much more thoroughly his than it could else be. ‘* Savoir par
ceur west pas savoir.”
That nature-study should occupy an honourable place in all
education, hardly admits of question. Instruction of every
kind has two values: its value as knowledge, and its value as
mental discipline. ‘We are all coming to be agreed,” as
Matthew Arnold said in 1878, ‘* that an entire ignorance of the
system of nature is as gross a defect in our children’s education
as not to know that there was such a person as Charles the
First.” And it is unnecessary to insist upon the importance of
even an elementary knowledge of the principles of natural and
physical science. Asa mental discipline, nature-study perhaps
more than any subject trains and strengthens common sense.
222
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
It stimulates the reflective faculties, for which books alone can
effect little but from which spring intelligence and judgment.
It utilises and guides aright that spontaneous education which
begins with our earliest years, when the desire to investigate
our surroundings is paramount. It has been truly said that
man has a great deal of curiosity, but very bad eyes. The first
business then of nature-study is to teach the child to open his
eyes and how to use them. Every teacher is familiar with the
child’s restless observation, which, instead of being checked or
ignored, should be diligently ministered to. Those powers of
observation should be systematically cultivated. We shall thus
be laying the foundations of that process of acquiring knowledge
on which all subsequent knowledge ought to be based, and
shall be whetting the appetite for information in proportion as
we encourage, and direct the natural tendencies of the mind.
This is to make the acquirement of knowledge pleasurable and
is the secret of all successful teaching. It is the surest means
of leading our scholars to continue through life that self-instruc-
tion in which we aided them as tiny children, and it will free
us from the reproach of worshipping the symbols of knowledge
rather than knowledge itself. ‘If there is a more worthy aim
for us than to be drudges,” Herbert Spencer tells us, ‘‘ if there
are other uses in the things around us than their power to bring
money—if there are higher faculties to be exercised than acquisi-
tive and sensual ones—if the pleasures which poetry, and art
and science, and philosophy can bring are of any moment—
then it is desirable that the instinctive inclination, which every
child shows to observe natural beauties, and investigates
natural phenomena should be encouraged.”
FIRST LESSONS IN SCIENCE.
By A. T. Simmons, B.Sc., A.R.C.Sc.(Lond.)
Tue late Prof. Clifford, in an address to the British Asso-
ciation in 1872, defined scientific thought as that which “ enables
a man to deal with different circumstances that he has never
met with before ;” so that, following this brilliant thinker, we
may say that the teacher who relies upon didactic teaching
alone is guilty of omitting to impart just that power of scientific
thinking which is the most valuable endowment with which
any person can start the battle of life. Now, bearing in mind
that the business of education is to prepare us for the work of
life, to train us that we may make the best use of all the
faculties with which we have been endowed, it must be evident
to everyone that, since success in life consists in successfully
tackling each new difficulty as it turns up, the only form of
science teaching which is justifiable in the school is just that
development of an attitude, the cultivation of a habit of
scientific thinking, which is the one thing that mere didactic
teaching of facts of science will not give.
It may be said that the scientific method of thinking may be
brought into existence by the study of subjects other than those
of science. For instance, that new difficulties and combinations
are met with in the solution of geometrical riders; that the
constant succession of new arrangements met with in con-
struing Latin and Greek, or in translating from one modern
language into another, gives a training of the same kind even if
different in degree. There is no doubt of the great value of
both these forms of mental exercise, but I believe science gives
JT Abridged from an address to the Ealing and District Branch of the
National Union of Teachers
has any command of language.
a form of mental gymnastic which can be replaced by no other
kind of human learning, and for the following reasons.
Science when properly taught differs as an instrument of
education from all other subjects because, first, at one and the
same time the observing faculties are in constant activity, with
a resulting progressive improvement in the pupil’s intelligence.
| The intimate contact with things instead of words leads uncon-
- sciously to the habit of reasoning only from ascertainable facts.
` Authority merely, be it never so respectable, is deemed insuff-
‘cient ground for accepting the truth of any statement, without
_ personal examination of the evidence for and against it.
' third place, the study of science cultivates habits of accuracy.
In the
It is impossible to follow a course of physical experiments of the
, kind which everyday becomes more common ın our schools—
a course, that is, in which measurement takes a prominent part,
‘and where the great majority of the exercises are quantitative—
' without forming the habit of expressing precisely a condition of
things without exaggeration on the one side, and without on the.
other discounting factors the absence of which is desired.
To secure these desirable results the science teaching must
be of the right kind. There must be an intelligent selection of
_ subjects; practical teaching arranged with the right object in
view ; teachers versed in the scientific method and able to
experiment and to devise, if necessary, new experimental
inquiries ; and, fourthly, time enough.
There must be an intelligent selection of subjects.—In face of
the fact that, as teachers, we have to deal with developing
` minds which at the outset are very immature, we must corre-
spondingly graduate our lessons, beginning with those subjects
_which appeal to the childish mind and proceed systematically
. to those branches of knowledge which are only suitable later,
and are indeed the only means of strengthening the maturer
minds of older children. We must enquire: About what
things does experience teach us, the ordinary, healthy child is
: first curious? Which of the multitude of new phenomena with
. which he comes into contact appear to interest him most?
` Even the casual observer is able to answer the questions with
_ assurance.
A child, if left to himself, proceeds first to observe
and study his surroundings. ‘The material objects making up
_his environment provide him ample opportunities for unlimited
original research. These investigations begin even before he
Bright or moving objects
appeal to very young infants, and, just so soon as they are able
to ask simple questions, they want to know about the colours,
_the shapes, and the general properties of a thousand and one
_ things.
A little later in life, when experience has widened,
out-of-door objects command most attention. Flowers soon
appeal to the youngster as being pretty. Familiar animals are,
following Adam's example, duly named. We are all familiar
with moo-cow,” ‘‘ gee-gee,” and so on. Very. soon more
distant objects and more difhcult subjects of inquiry engage the
growing child’s attention. Parents are familiar with such
questions as “ Why does the wind blow?” “ Where does the
- rain come from?” ‘What makes the moon shine?” ‘* Where
_ does the sun go at night?” and many similar inquiries.
And
though I may appear to have been a very long time arriving at
a specific reference to nature-study, we have now reached a
point where we may understand the value, from an educational
point of view, of the introduction of nature-study into school
work,
In my judgment, the nature-study in elementary schools will
consist of a carefully selected, nicely graduated, series of lessons,
which will, in an interesting way, deal with all those objects
and phenomena about which the natural child has a healthy,
spontaneous interest. Questions such as those I just enume-
rated will, in so far as they can, taking into account the state of
mental development of the children, be answered by a personal
JUNE, 1903.]
The School World
223
appeal to the objects themselves, and by a careful repetition of
observations of them by the children.
Here we come face to face with another important considera-
tion. Much of this nature-study will, it is clear, not be given
in lessons which figure on the time-table under the name of
nature-study. Some will be given in the geography lessons.
It is too often forgotten that a subject such as earth-sculpture is
as much nature-study as is the examination of a flower. Other
valuable nature-study work will be done in the drawing
periods. It is impossible to draw a plant or an animal from
nature without a very definite use of the observing faculties.
Nor need we stop here. So frequent are the appeals to Nature
in our literary masterpieces that the teacher who misses the
opportunity afforded by the reading lesson will miss one of the
most fruitful chances in school work of cultivating an intelligent
appreciation of the beauty and grandeur of animate and inani-
mate Nature. It is only necessary to mention the composition
exercise to remind you that it provides another excellent
occasion which the alert teacher will turn to useful account.
But over and above these lessons by the way, there will, in
addition, be other lessons occurring at stated times, and specifi-
cally devoted to the scientific study of natural things. They
will not, I hope, constitute the whole of the instruction in the
methods of science given during school life. They will largely
give place, during the last two years at school, to more formal
work in physics and chemistry, according to a plan I hope later
to sketch. But it will be more convenient to consider the
content of the lessons, and the way they should be given, under
the second necessary constituent of rational teaching of science.
I have now to insist :
We must have practical science-teaching arranged with the
right object in view.—Everything the child learns he must know
from his own personal, practical experience. Mere didactic
teaching is altogether inadequate. Our chief business in this
. work is to discourage a facile reliance upon the authority of
other persons. These three sentences provide tests by which
to gauge the suitability of the science instruction in schools.
Let us attempt to apply these criteria to working out, in view of
what has already been said, a course of work for elementary
schools, We already have the broad foundations of such a
course. It is threefold. In its early stages a suitable course of
work in science for the schools with which most of you are
connected will be made up of object studies. These give place
im the second stage to simple lessons in physics, which consist
almost entirely of easy measurement and simple physical
inquiries. The final stage, which follows quite naturally,
consists of an examination of simple chemical changes, in which
the: child is the investigator finding out things for himself.
Now, what about the object studies? I shall most quickly
get to the root of the matter by stating boldly at once that an
object study is not an object lesson of the old type with which
you are all familiar. It is an easy matter to give an orthodox
object lesson, but to organise a proper object study taxes the
ingenuity even of highly qualified men of science. I should say
that unless yon are prepared to take infinite pains and to give
yourselves a great deal of trouble it is better to leave it alone.
Books on object lessons will not help you much. I know
from my own experience that one is there provided with com-
plicated notes of lessons on such things as a ‘‘ post-office,”
‘*rail-roads,” ‘‘whales,’’ and other things which at least are
unsuitable, if we want to place a specimen in the hands of each
child. The selection of the subject should not be made by
reference to any book or ‘‘ code.”
Provided the teacher has been trained in the ways of science,
and without some such preparation he should not be entrusted
with the science teaching, it matters little what text he is
provided with, he will be quite able to develop the scientific
his senses.
attitude of mind, whatever his subject and whatever the
_ difficulties he has to overcome.
Nature-study must in a large measure give way, at about the
age of twelve, to lessons in practical physics. It is exceptional
for children to remain in the elementary school after fourteen
years of age, so that to utilise the last two years of school life
we must begin our physical measurements at about twelve. In
advocating this course, one is usually met with the answer that
the expense of equipment renders instruction in physics quite
unsuitable for elementary schools. But this idea is born of a
wrong conception as to what the teaching of physics in schools
should include. It is easily possible with a few simple things,
such as a ruler graduated into inches and centimetres, some
squared paper, a balance, glass tubes, a few simple solids, and
some amount of ingenuity in adapting the odds and ends of
everyday life to useful account, to teach all that a boy need
' know about length, area, volume, density, and simple mechanics,
and at the same time to train the child in habits of accuracy,
observant alertness, and proper reliance upon the evidences of
It cannot, however, be too often insisted that the
information gained in these lessons is of secondary importence ;
the vital thing is the habits we help the children to form.
Similarly, in the work of the last year at school, when simple
chemical inquiries make up the science lessons. Unless the
teacher has a right ideal before him, the lessons in chemistry
may become vain repetitions of the properties and preparations
of substances, about which the children really know nothing
worth knowing. That is, they know nothing of their own
observation and from their own experiments. If some of you
are still unacquainted with what Prof. Armstrong has said and
written about the teaching of chemistry, I would strongly urge
you, if you think of introducing science teaching into your
schools, to read, mark, and inwardly digest his lessons. He
has shown how that, beginning with some simple observation,
such as the one that iron rusts if left in a damp atmosphere, it is
possible to start the child on a succession of simple researches
connected by an easily followed chain of reasoning; and that
from such a training the child emerges a rational human being,
able to test statements for himself, and not in the least likely
to take any statement on trust. s
We now come to the third necessary characteristic of satis-
factory science-teaching.
The teachers must be versed tn the scientific method and be able
to expertment.—If science could really be learnt from books
| the whole matter would be simple enough, for I understand
that the teachers in elementary schools are experts in mastering
the contents of any volume. But science cannot be properly
studied without practical experimental work, partly in the
laboratory and partly out in the country with Nature herself as
the teacher. To understand the lessons which the objects of
the country have to teach, much help can be obtained from
competent guides, who have themselves learnt the way to solve
the riddles Nature seems to delight in. In this direction
teachers anxious to become scientific exponents of nature-study
must take advantage of any aid they can find. Among the
organisations from which teachers can obtain help are “ field
clubs,” and summer courses for teachers, like that arranged
last summer at Cambridge in connection with the University
Extension movement ; or, on a smaller scale, that arranged at
Shanklin, in the Isle of Wight, in connection with the Hartley
University College. But, of course, meetings such as the one
at Cambridge or Shanklin are special occasions ; and the
teacher will accomplish much of his own education privately,
and I know of no better way than honestly and painstakingly
to follow the pieces of work described by recognised authorities,
such as the delightful studies by Prof. Miall in his book
‘* Round the Year,” or those in Prof. Bailey’s ‘* Lessons with
224
The School’ World
[JuNE, 1903.
the Plants,” to name two examples I am acquainted with. I
know that in what I have recommended I am taking it for
granted that the teachers recognise the obligations of their high
calling. The man or woman who teaches merely with a view
to the monthly or quarterly cheque will never make a good
teacher of the scientific method, nor of nature-study which the
former includes. There are many other ways in which a man
can secure a substantial balance at his bank, but teaching is a
calling for the elect of the world. It isa life of self-sacrifice,
in which financial standards have no place. Fortunately, the
teachers of England are generally men and women who appre-
ciate the value of their profession and strive after ideals more
exalted than the acquisition of money.
To secure satisfactory science teaching in our schools, Zime
enough must be given to the work.
Speaking to the Liverpool Philomathic Society thirty-three
years ago, the late Prof. Huxley demanded a minimum of four
hours a week in each class of a school for this instruction in the
scientifc method. More recently, in his contribution ‘‘ The
Heuristic Method of Teaching,” in the second of Mr. Sadler’s
‘t Special Reports,” Prof. Armstrong has written “In all
schools open in the afternoon, after the mid-day meal, I would
only allow work to be done in the workshop or workroom—a
room in which scholars can move about freely and do all kinds
of practical work—and several mornings in the week should
also be spent there.” As many of you may know, by Prof.
Armstrong’s ‘* workshop ” is meant, in the language of everyday
life, the school laboratory.
However reasonable and desirable it may be that these large
amounts of time should be given to instruction in scientific
method, I am bound to say that I believe it is just now a
counsel of perfection. If, however, an attempt is made to give
the ordinary lessons of the school, the geography lesson, the
drawing lesson, the periods given to reading and composition,
the scientific complexion which I hope I have shown is possible,
we shall very nearly approach Huxley’s demand, and there will
be Prof. Armstrong’s ideal to work up to, if we find the good
results we anticipate follow from lessons of the kind we are
thinking about. .
What results may be expected from work of this kind? Both
our politicians and our philosophers agree that in the future, so
far as the competitions of the nations are concerned, ‘‘ the race
will not be to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.” The
efficient nations will do the work of the world. And the
efficient nation will be the one which, with a faith in the
methods of scientific education, has been content to forego
present gratification, in order to train itself effectively in the
methods of science, has become abreast of modern knowledge,
and able to utilise recent researches wherever made; but that
advantage may be taken of all advances in knowledge, we must
have among us observant men, trained to test statements of
every kind, and able themselves to extend the boundaries of
science into the regions of the unknown. And it is men of
this kind we sa// train, if having first obtained capable teachers,
we set them to work on the new lines and persuade them to
attach more importance to trained faculties than to any
amount of encyclopedic knowledge gained on hearsay.
We have received from the Educational Supply Association,
Ltd., Holborn Viaduct, specimens of an admirable series of
Nature Note Books. Three books are supplied of varying
numbers of pages consisting of alternate sheets of cream-laid
ruled exercise paper and of cartridge paper, while a larger book
contains only cartridge paper. The cartridge paper will serve
excellently for water-colour drawings and the ordinary alternate
sheets for the purpose of the student’s notes.
MATHEMATICAL REFORM AT
| : CAMBRIDGE.
THE Prorposep New Course IN GEOMETRY.
THE Syndicate appointed by the University of Cambridge
last December to consider what changes, if any, are desirable
in the regulations that affect the mathematical portions of the
Pass Examinations of the University, in particular. of the
Previous Examination, have sent to the Senate a report, which
was discussed on May 2ist and will almost certainly be ac-
cepted. The following extracts from the report will be read
with interest by all who are engaged in mathematical teaching.
The Syndicate are convinced that a modification of the re-
quirements of examinations is a necessary preliminary to any
substantial improvement in teaching. The subject in which the
influence of the examination schedule has been most felt is that
of geometry: in arithmetic and algebra no text-book has been
prescribed, but the examination in geometry has been dominated
by the sequence and text of Euclid. To this predominance may
be traced many of those features in the present state of geo-
metrical teaching to which attention has been called of late. In
the first place, the text of Euclid contains a considerable amount
of matter which is of slight importance in the development of
the subject; on this account much time has been spent in care-
fully learning propositions which are of small interest. In the
next place, the freedom of teachers has been much restricted
by the condition at present imposed of adherence to Euclid’s
sequence in the proofs of propositions. Another effect has been
to limit the study of geometry to formal demonstrative geometry,
whereas the opinion is strongly held by experienced teachers
that this study would be rendered more effective by some
preliminary and concurrent work in practical geometry.
Further, under the present system the study of geometry is
unduly isolated from the other branches of mathematics which
are generally studied at the same time. The Syndicate are of
opinion that it is no longer desirable to insist on the main-
tenance of Euclid’s Elements as a text-book. They consider
that the time has arrived for giving liberty to those teachers
who prefer other methods of treatment and who do not wish
to teach the whole number of Euclidean propositions or to
adhere to the Euclidean sequence. The Syndicate have
accordingly drawn up a schedule of propositions to indicate the
necessary book-work of the parts of demonstrative geometry
required for the Previous Examination. With few exceptions
these propositions are contained in Euclid’s Elements. . A
separate schedule of constructions in practical geometry has
been drawn up and includes those problems which seem best
adapted to accompany the course of demonstrative geometry.
The Syndicate propose some modifications in the require-
ments of arithmetic and algebra for the Previous Examination.
As regards the date at which the new regulations come into
force, the Syndicate recommend that during the year 1904
papers shall be set both under the present and the proposed
regulations,
Geometry.—The paper in geometry shall contain questions
on practical and on theoretical geometry. Every candidate
shall be expected to answer questions in both branches of the
subject. The questions on practical geometry shall be set on
the constructions contained in the annexed Schedule A, together
with easy extensions of them. In cases where the validity of a
construction is not obvious, the reasoning by which it is justified
may be required. Every candidate shall provide himself with a
ruler graduated in inches and tenths of an inch, and in centi-
metres and millimetres, a set square, a protractor, compasses,
and a hard pencil. All figures should be drawn accurately.
June, 1903. ]
The School World
225
Gusin: may be set in which the use of the set square or of thé
protractor is forbidden.
The questions on theoretical geometry shall consist of
theorems contained in the annexed Schedule B, together with
questions upon these theorems, easy deductions from them, and
arithmetical illustrations. Any proof of a proposition shall be
accepted which appears to the examiners to form part of a
systematic treatment of the subject; the order in which the
theorems are stated in Schedule B is not imposed as the sequence
of their treatment. In the proof of theorems and deductions
from them, the use of hypothetical constructions shall be per-
mitted. Proofs which are only applicable to commensurable
magnitudes shall be accepted.
SCHEDULE A.—Bisection of angles and of straight lines.
Construction of perpendiculars to straight lines.
Construction of an angle equal to a given angle.
Construction of parallels to a given straight line.
. Simple cases of the construction from sufficient data of
triangles and quadrilaterals.
Division of straight lines into a given number of equal parts
or into parts in any given proportions.
Constructions of a triangle equal in area to a given polygon.
Construction of tangents to a circle and of common tangents
to two circles.
Simple cases of the construction of circles from sufficient data.
Construction of a fourth proportional to three given straight
Fines and a mean proportional to two given straight lines.
Construction of regular figures of 3, 4, 6 or 8 sides in or about
a given circle.
Construction of a square equal in area to a given polygon.
SCHEDULE B.—Angks at a Point.—If a straight line stands
on another straight line, the sum of the two angles so formed is
equal to two right angles ; and the converse.
If two straight lines intersect, the vertically opposite angles
are equal.
Parallel Straight Lines. —When a straight line cuts two other
straight lines, if
(i.) a pair of alternate eres are equal,
or (ii.) a pair of corresponding angles are equal,
or (iii.) a pair of interior angles on the same side of the cutting
are together equal to two right angles,
then the two straight lines are parallel; and the converse.
Straight lines which are parallel to the same straight line
are parallel to one another,
Triangles and Rectitinear Figures.—The sum of the angles of
a triangle is equal to two right angles.
If the sides of a convex polygon are produced in order, the
sam of the angles so formed is equal to four right angles.
If two triangles have two sides of the one equal to two sides
of the other, each to each, and also the angles contained by
those sides equal, the triangles are congruent.
If two triangles have two angles of the one equal to two angles
of the other, each to each, and also one side of the one equal to
the corresponding side of the other, the triangles are congruent.
If two sides of a triangle are equal the angles opposite to
these sides are equal; and the converse.
If two triangles have the three sides of the one equal to the
three sides of the other, each to each, the triangles are con-
gruent.
If two right-angled triangles have their hypotenuses equal,
and one side of the one equal to one side of the other, the
triangles are congruent.
If two sides of a triangle are unequal, the greater side has the
greater angle opposite to it; and the converse.
Of all the straight lines that can be drawn to a given straight
line from a given point outside it, the perpendicular is the
shortest.
The opposite sides and angles of a parallelogram are equal,
each diagonal bisects the Paine and the diagonals bisect
one another.
If there are three or more parallel straight lines, and the
intercepts made by them on any straight line that cuts them are
equal, then the corresponding intercepts on any other straight
line that cuts them are also equal.
Areas.—Parallellograms on the same or equal bases and of the
same altitude are equal in area.
Triangles on the same or equal bases and of the same altitude
are equal in area.
Equal triangles on the same or equal bases are of the same
altitude.
Illustrations and éeplanatians of the geometrical theorems
` corresponding to the following algebraical identities :—
A(at+to4+et+...) = hat hb + ket...
(2 + 6)? = a + 2ab + 8,
(a — 5)? = æ — 2ab + 6,
(a? — 5)? = (a + b) (a — b).
The square on a side of a triangle is greater than, equal to, or
| less than the sum of the squares on the other two sides, accord-
ing as the angle contained by those sides is obtuse, right, or
acute. The difference in the cases of inequality is twice the
rectangle contained by one of the two sides and the projection
on it of the other.
Loct.—The locus of a point which is equidistant from two
fixed points is the perpendicular bisector of the straight line
joining the two fixed points.
The locus of a point which is equidistant from two intersect-
ing straight lines consists of the pair of straight lines which
bisect the angles between the two given lines.
The Circle.—The straight line, dtawn from the centre of a
circle to bisect a chord which is not a diameter, is at right
angles to the chord; conversely, the perpendicular to a chord
from the centre bisects the chord. |
There is one circle, and one only, which passes through three
given points not ina straight line.
In equal circles (or, in the same circle) (i.) if two arcs subtend
equal angles at the centres, they are equal; (ii.) conversely, if
two arcs are equal, they subtend equal angles at the centres.
In equal circles (or, in the same circle) (i.) if two chords are
equal, they cut off equal arcs ; (ii.) conversely, if two arcs are
equal, the chords of the arcs are equal.
Equal chords of a circle are equidistant from the centre ; and
the converse.
_ The tangent at any point of a circle and the radius through
the point are perpendicular to one another.
If two circles touch, the point of contact lies on the straight
line through the centres.
The angle which an arc of a circle subtends at the centre is
double that which it tends at any point on the remaining part of
the circumference.
Angles at the same segment of a circle are equal; and, if the
line joining two points subtends equal angles at two other
points on the same side of it, the four points lie on a circle.
The angle in a semicircle is a right angle; the angle in a
segment greater than a sernicircle is less than a right angle ;
and the angle in a segment less than a semicircle is greater than
a right angle.
The opposite angles of any quadrilateral inscribed in ‘a circle
are supplementary ; and the converse.
If a straight line touch a circle, and from the point of con-
tact a chord be drawn, the angles which this chord makes with
the tangent are equal to the angles in the alternate segments.
If two chords of a circle intersect either inside or outside
the circle the rectangle contained by the parts of the one is
equal to the rectangle contained by the parts of the other.
226
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
Proportion: Similar Triangles.—If a straight line is drawn
parallel to one side of a triangle, the other two sides are
divided proportionally ; and the converse.
If two triangles are equiangular their corresponding sides are
proportional ; and the converse.
If two triangles have one angle of the one equal to one angle
of the other and the sides about these equal angles proportional,
the triangles are similar.
The internal bisector of an angle of a triangle divides the
opposite side internally in the ratio of the sides containing the
angle, and likewise the external bisector externally.
The ratio of the areas of similar triangles is equal to the ratio
of the squares on corresponding sides.
Arithmetic.—A knowledge of recurring decimals and of the
process of extracting cube root shall not be required. The use
of algebraical symbols and processes shall be permitted.
Elementary Algebra, viz., addition, subtraction, multiplica-
tion and division ; simple equations ; fractions ; highest common
factor, lowest common multiple; quadratic equations ; solution
of two simultaneous equations, one at least being linear ; simple
graphs; problems requiring the classes of equations specified ;
simple questions on fractional indices ; the nature and simple
properties of logarithms to the base 10, with easy applications of
four-figure tables ; ratio and proportion ; arithmetic progression,
finite geometric progressions.
THE “MAGIC CARPET” IN THE
CLASS-ROOM.
By G. F. DANIELL, B.Sc.
Science Master at the Mercers’ School.
A DEMONSTRATION of the use of the stereoscope as an aid to
education, particularly in connection with class teaching, was
given by Messrs. Underwood and Underwood at the Mercers’
School, Holborn, on May 8th.
I was thoroughly convinced of the success of the triple
alliance of boy, master and instrument, in investigating the
scenes presented. The boy is put first intentionally, for it
was unquestionably the fact that the boys’ minds were imme-
diately set to work, and were made to discover and reason. I
wish to describe the method used on this occasion, and to sug-
gest other directions in which assistance is to be gained by
employing the stereoscope. It is hoped readers of THE SCHOOL
WORLD will, if they have not done so already, find out for them-
selves how great are the potentialities of this instrument, as it
would be impossible ,to describe a tithe of what is being done in
America alone within the limits of a single article.
The lecturer, Mr. F. O. Penberthy, began by telling the
class to adjust their ‘‘ scopes” by the aid of a test view. This
was accomplished in a few seconds. The effect of the instru-
ment was shown by a few well-chosen stereographs and ixter
alia the correction of the perversion of perspective in ordinary
photographs was strikingly demonstrated. (I should always
advise the use of some such introductory ‘‘ graphs” in a first
lesson.) The effect of reality is startling. No artist has
achieved such correct effects of chiaroscuro, ‘‘ atmosphere ” and
lighting. All through the demonstration it was evident that
the boys while looking through the ‘‘ scopes” were intently
interested in what seemed to them the real scene and not the
picture merely.
Under these conditions the boys were then transported to
Canada and California to witness stages in the work cf ‘lum.
bering.” Observation was followed by inference and inference
tested by re-observation. Thus a short heuristic lesson on four
scenes provided not merely a considerable amount of informa-
tion, but may fairly be judged to have stimulated enquiry and
reasoning, both deductive and inductive. The educational
value of such lessons is obvious.
The concentration of the attention of the pupils on the objects
viewed is, to my mind, one of the chief advantages of the
method. The interest awakened is permanent, and in America
there is a large accumulation of experience showing that people,
young and old, have their attention held as it would be by the
actual scene. Readers who have merely looked casually
through stereoscopes at a few isolated views will find that the
close study of selections from the libraries of stereographs now
available, which have been made especially for educational pur-
poses, produce a very different mental effect.
after the lapse of a few days the boys were asked to writea
short essay on ‘‘ Lumbering.” I have before me the results.
A correct and detailed description, based on what they had seen
and heard, was written by twenty-three out of a class of twenty-
four. We may conclude from this that such lessons afford
admirable subjects for essays ; stimulate private reading ; teach
boys to express in their own words both what they see and
what ideas they have formed ; strongly impress themselves on
the memory of all children; and supply data and experiences
that will become the foundation for correct thought and judg-
ment concerning the places or objects studied.
’ It is difficult to discover a subject in school curricula which
cannot be helped by judicious use of the stereoscope. Modern
history, commercial, physical and political geography, geology,
plant and animal life, will immediately suggest themselves as
fields where the stereograph will be a great acquisition. It is
not at first so obvious, but it is equally true, that the help ren-
dered to the study of languages is remarkable. We may put
the stereoscope to one of its best uses by calling in its aid to
teach boys English—not always a strong point at present in oar
secondary schools.
It is not my province to deal with the financial side, but I
may suggest that a good outfit for a school would be provided
by purchasing sufficient ‘‘scopes” and duplicates of a few
typical stereographs to supply ome class. When not in use by
the class the *‘ scopes” might be divided among the library
and class-rooms and supplementary stereographs (only one of
each would be required) inserted. If necessary, the number of
“scopes” and duplicates may be reduced to half the number
of the class, but this is not so good a plan. Gradually a care-
fully listed library of supplementary views should be available.
A considerable literature exists relating to the growing and
already very extensive organised series of ‘‘graphs.” In fact,
the stereograph supplies the very data which complete the
knowledge of the teacher and equip him with the resourceful-
ness of a travelled man.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
THE London Education Bill passed its second reading by a
majority of 137 on April 29th. For an amendment that the
Bill be read six months hence 163 voted, and against it 300.
That there is general agreement as to the need of modifying
the Bill in Committee was made clear by the speeches on both
sides of the House. The voting is to be taken as approving
the general principle of the Bill, which the Prime Minister
defined as being to set up a single central education authority
for London and to create a number of local education authori-
ties to which certain powers could be delegated. The central
authority is to be the County Council, and the local bodies with
JUNE, 1903. ]
delegated powers the borough councils. The debate fore-
shadowed the modification since made in Committee in the
direction of giving the County Council a definite working
majority on the central authority, and also indicated that some-
thing will be done to limit the powers of the borough councils.
THE committee stage of the London Education Bill com-
menced on May 18th, was continued on the two following
days, and is being proceeded with as we go to press. Clause I
has been adopted with a verbal change only, the word ‘‘ pro-
visions” having been substituted for ‘* modifications.” The
discussion on Clause 2 has resulted in a great change in the
constitution of the central education authority. Instead of
consisting of ninety-seven members as provided in the Bill,
the education authority for London is itself to decide the
number of members to be appointed. The number of re-
presentatives from borough councils on the central authority
was on May 2oth, reduced from thirty-one to twelve, but this
compromise satisfied neither party. An amendment to exclude
the twelve representatives of borough councils was rejected
by a narrow majority only, and as we write the whole clause
has been abandoned, so that the Central Education Committee
will be appointed by the County Council as in other places.
ALL who are interested in educational work will have heard
with profound regret that Mr. Michael E. Sadler has placed
in the hands of the President of the Board of Education his
resignation of the office of Director of Special Inquiries and
Reports to the Board. The reply of Sir Wiliam Anson to a
question in the House of Commons, and Mr. Sadler’s letter to
The Times, lead to the conclusion that the point at issue is the
precise relations which should subsist between the Heads
of the Board and Mr. Sadler. The latter rightly maintains
that the scientific investigations as to educational procedure
throughout the world is the work of paramount importance in
the department over which he has presided. Sir William
Anson, perhaps very naturally, takes the strictly official position
that Mr. Sadler’s services and those of his staff must at all times
be at the absolute disposal of the Board of Education. To
those who are chiefly concerned with educational progress the
vital matter seems to be how to retain the services of an able
investigator of educational problems. It should be possible so
to adjust official relations that Mr. Sadler’s services to British
education are continued, and the work and discipline of the
Board of Education are not impaired. In all branches of
mquiry the best results are obtained when the investigator is
allowed perfect freedom to carry out his researches. This
principle should be clearly recognised in connection with work
such as Mr. Sadler has done, for the science of education is
still young, and official rules and restrictions are likely to
discourage those who are working for its development.
By a majority of forty-two votes, ninety-one voting for the
resolution and fifty-one against, it was on May 12th decided to
establish an examination in modern European languages as an
Honour school of the second public examination in the Uni-
versity of Oxford. The President of Magdalen, who brought
forward the proposal in Congregation, premised that he took it
as generally admitted that the principal European languages
and literatures were suitable subjects of study and mental dis-
cipline. To the question why a school should be created, he
replied that the interests of education demanded a body of
trained teachers. It was a development of the modern side of
education which would advance rather than undermine the
study of Greek. He supported the propusal as fraught with
The School World
227
immediate advantage to the University and the country, and as
securing the placing of Oxford among the living educational
forces of the world. Prof. Owen said he was averse to an
increase of the financial burdens of the University by some
£1,500 or £2,000 a year, as he maintained would inevitably
be the case by creating a demand for new professors. The
President of Magdalen replied to the financial objection that
the expense would not be large, and would probably grow less
as the school prospered. He ended by quoting the words of
Prof. Karl Breul, of Cambridge, that, ‘‘apart from their undis-
puted practical importance, modern languages can be taught
and studied in a truly scientific spirit, and can, in the hands
of skilful and enthusiastic teachers, be made the instruments of
the highest liberal education.”
As has been reported in these columns, the Nature Study
Exhibition Association, which arranged the successful exhibition
in London last summer, has been dissolved. There seems every
likelihood, however, that the work it began will be continued
by local associations in different parts of the country. We have
received preliminary particulars of an exhibition designed to
represent nature-study in the schools of the home counties,
which it is hoped to hold in London during the coming summer.
An influential committee has been formed and active steps are
being taken. Full particulars can be obtained from Mr. W. M.
Webb, Hon. Secretary, 20, Hanover Square, London, W.
AMONG recent changes in the ranks of the headmasters of the
more important schools, a few are of prominent importance.
Mr. J. E. King, of Manchester Grammar School, succeeds Mr.
J. S. Phillpotts at Bedford Grammar School, while Mr. J. L.
Paton, of University College School, London, becomes head of
the Manchester school. Mr. Francis Collins, of the Central
Foundation School of London, Cowper Street, E.C., follows
Mr. H. B. Baker, F.R.S., at Alleyn’s School, Dulwich, Mr.
Baker having been elected Lee’s Reader in Chemistry at
Oxford. Mr. C. E. Ashford, for nine years science master at
Harrow, has been elected first headmaster of the Royal Naval
College at Osborne.
THE annual exhibition of the work of pupils in the schools of
the London School Board was opened at the Medical Examina-
tion Hall, Victoria Embankment, London, on May gth, by
Lord Reay. The exhibits included work in drawing, colouring,
and modelling; specimens of wood-work, metal-work, and
wood-carving ; exercises from the schools of cookery, laundry-
work, housewifery and needlework ; and good examples from
the schools for the blind, deaf, and other defective children.
Among many other interesting features of the exhibition may be
mentioned the classes at work in practical cookery, laundry-
work and housewifery held during the day of each of the dates
on which the exhibition was open, and the gymnastic displays,
the dramatic recitals, and first aid to the injured demonstra-
tions which took place during the evenings.
A SPECIAL section of the exhibition was devoted to the
science apparatus, and the exhibits on view included work done
by both teachers and pupils. We were glad to observe that
this year the work of teachers and pupils was for the first ime
separated, and the new arrangement added greatly to the con-
venience of visitors. There were numerous excellent pieces of
home-made apparatus suitable for use in the teaching of
chemistry, physics, botany and physiology ; and this part of the
exhibition was good evidence of the great extent to which the
cost of the equipment of the science side of schools can be
diminished when teachers become interested in manufacturing
228
The ‘School World
[ JUNE, 1903.
apparatus themselves. The relief maps shown by the boys of
Summerford Street School were especially good, and Mr.
Harrison’s case of lantern slides, made by mounting natural
objects to show fruit and seed dispersal, served to show that
good nature-study work is being done in many London evening
continuation schools. Dr. Stewart and Messrs. Hubble and
Todd, the organisers of the science instruction, have good
reason to be proud of the science teaching in the board schools
under their supervision.
THE University of Chicago has established the degree of
Bachelor of Education for two years’ professional work in the
School of Education. Students are to be admitted to the
school from the junior colleges of the university and from certain
approved high schools.
WE do not recollect having seen it noted yet that the new
Secretary of the Board of Education, Mr. R. L. Morant, is one
of the founders’ kin at Winchester, at which school he was,
naturally, educated. It will be an interesting coincidence if the
secondary education of this country is given a new lease of life
by a descendant of William of Wykeham, who established its
first Public School.
- Mr. W. H. WHITE, of the Church Middle-class School, Leeds,
writes to say that a form of pipette made for him by Messrs.
Reynolds and Branson, of Leeds, is much more convenient than
the old type. An auxiliary bulb is blown about half way be-
tween the graduation mark and the mouthpiece of the pipette.
By this expedient, inexperienced workers are prevented from
getting corrosive liquids into their mouths, and Mr. White finds
also that it enables the correct volume of a liquid to be deter-
mined more rapidly. Prof. Coleman, to whom we submitted
the new form of pipette, suggests that a still further safeguard
would be to constrict the end of the tube between the mouth
and the auxiliary bulb at the entrance of the tube into ue bulh.
THE English student or teacher who intends to speid some
time at work in Paris should certainly not fail to provide him-
self beforehand with a copy of a new work that has just been
issued by the Librairie Larousse, entitled, ‘‘ Guide de Étudiant
étranger à Paris.” In the preface it is remarked very justly
that the French Government makes special efforts to attract
students to Paris from all parts of the world, having created a
new degree—the Doctorat of the University—especially for
them. This ‘‘ Guide” wiil help both the student who intends
to stay several years in the French capital and him whose stay
will extend over a few weeks only. A special section is devoted
to the holiday courses and examinations of the Aliance
Frangatse, of which every foreign student ought to know. Its
address is 45, rue de Grenelle.
THE Council of Education in Canton Ziirich has arranged a
holiday course for teachers in primary and secondary ‘schools.
The course meets the desires of the Swiss Union of Teachers, la
Société pédagogique de la Suisse romande, and the Conference
cf Cantonal Directors of Education. It will be conducted by
Professors at the University of Zurich. The programme em-
braces a special course in botany, physics and chemistry, special
courses in foreign languages for teachers who speak German, and
courses in German for foreigners, as well as a general course on
experimental psychology, modern literature, and Swiss history.
The fees are 20 francs for a special course and to francs for the
general course or a single branch of a special course. An enrol-
ment fee of 5 francs is charged. The courses will last from the
3rd to the 15th of August. The Committee in charge of
arrangements is Dr. R. Keller, Rector of the Gymnasium in
Winterthur, Herr Fritschi, Erzichungsrat and President of the
Swiss Union of Teachers, and Herr Zollinger, Erziehungsekretiir
in Ziirich, who will be glad to give further information. The
Zurich schools open for the autumn term shortly after the close
of the holiday course and are well worth a visit. Admission
can be easily obtained by anyone who manifests a serious desire
to inspect them. The total travelling expenses would amount
to nearly £7. Board and lodging can be obtained in the town
at a maximum cost of 42 per week. Enrolment must be made
by 15th June.
IN a recent letter to Zhe Times, Mr. E. B. Sargant, the
Director of Education in the Transvaal and Orange River
Colonies, suggests a scheme for public school and college
extension throughout the Empire. In his travels through the
colonies in all parts of the world, Mr. Sargant has been struck
with the desire everywhere evinced by thoughtful and well-.
educated colonists for the establishment of the genuinely
English type of public-school and college. Most institutions
of higher education hitherto established in the colonies, what-
ever precautions were taken at their inauguration, have eventu-
ally suffered from insufficient revenues, sectarian jealousies, lack
of tradition, and steady control. In contrast with the compara-
tive failure of other agencies, there exists the wonderful success
of the Church of Rome in providing educational facilities of
every description, accomplished by means of colonising settle-
ments of men and women belonging to one or other of the
religious orders of the Church. The problem which presents
itself for solution is, says Mr. Sargant, to find an educational
instrument combining the supremely effective organisation of
the Roman Church with unwavering g loyalty to English ideals of
Empire.
Mr. SARGANT goes on to suggest that the example set by
Winchester College in the first half of the fifteenth century
should be emulated by modern public-schools, when William of
Wykeham, who had been Master at Winchester for about eleven
years, assumed the corresponding position in the new college
at Eton, and was accompanied thither by five Fellows and
thirty-five scholars. One public school for each group of self-
governing colonies would, it is said, be sufficient to begin with.
Mr. Sargant proposes that, besides the headmaster, assistant-
masters should be sent out from the home school. They
should be chosen from among those who have had considerable
experience of teaching there already, and, after a term of ser-
vice in the colony, they should return to the old conditions
some years before there was a chance of their becoming heads
of boarding-houses. A small number of scholars, whose parents
wished them to take up life in the new country, should also take
part in the migration; they Would naturally be chosen from
among boys in the upper part of the school whose character
and abilities were both marked. Scholarships should be offered
them for one or two years, during which they would remain
members of the new school, and every effort should be made to
find them suitable occupations when they left, or to provide the
opportunity for higher study at any college which was formed
upon the same lines as the ‘school itself. Mr. Sargant asks:
Will a second William of Wykeham arise to be the benefactor
of such a policy? If so, he might make his first experiment in
the Transvaal or Orange River Colony. That interesting results
would follow from such an experiment is quite certain.
A BOARD has just been appointed by the Italian Minister of
Public Instruction to see that the new law relative to physical
training in schools and universities is efficiently carried out.
The President of the Board is Commendatore Angelo Mosso,
Professor of Physiology in the University of Turin.
New science buildings for the Colston’s Girls’ School, Bristol,
were formally opened on May 15th by the Right Hon. Heng
Hobhouse, M.P.
JUNE, 1903. ]
THE wail of the assistant-master is still to be heard in the
land. ‘* One of them” repeats the now well-known lament in
the Zilot for May 16th. His salary never increases ; indeed, he
is expected to be grateful if it does not decrease. ‘* Dare tu
reach the age of sixty or even fifty, . . . . and.you are
dismissed ! The supply of young men with unforeseeing fathers
is unlimited; and the country has an excellent system of work-
houses for those who have helped others to grow rich and have
failed to do so themselves!” The end of the assistant-master’s
career is thus described : ‘* He goeth forth, after years of faithful
service, to live out his remaining years as best he can on the
scanty sum he may have been able to save. The thanks of a
grateful headmaster are ringing in his ears, and in his hand he
holds a Gladstone bag—a parting present from his affectionate
pupils. It is his life's reward.”
things must needs be until a course of training with subsequent
registration is the rule for all schoolmasters. It is useless to
compare the lot of the assistant-master with that of the doctor
or lawyer until schoolmasters, too, have organised themselves
and become a recognised profession.
THE two volumes of the report of the United States Com-
missioner of Education for 1900-1901 contain in their 1,216
+ 1,295 pages very much of interest and importance to students
of educational science everywhere. The first volume contains,
for instance, separate chapters on ‘‘ The First Comprehensive
Attempt at Child-Study,” ‘‘ Notices of Some Early English
Writers on Education,” ‘* Education in Great Britain and
Ireland,” as well as sections on many other important pedagogic
problems. Volume ii. contains in addition to an abundance of
statistical information a valuable symposium on co-education in
the United States and other useful essays. The only complaint
the fortunate possessor of the volumes is likely to make is about
the richness of the feast set before him. No acting teacher
could be expected to read through in a year two volumes of the
comprehensive nature of those before us, but as works of reference
these reports from the Bureau at Washington are invaluable.
THE issue of the Journal of the Department of Agriculture
and Technical Instruction for Ireland for March of this year,
which has reached us, shows that persistent efforts are being
made to improve the knowledge of those engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits in Ireland, and that the activity of the authorities
responsible for technical instruction in no way diminishes. The
Journal contains a monograph on ‘‘ shorthorns,” and details of
the shorthorn herds now in Ireland. The address of the Vice-
President of the Department to the Council of Agriculture is
reprinted, and other short articles on technical subjects are
included.
THe March number of the Educational Review of Madras
states that out of a total of 447 secondary schools for girls in
India in 1900-1901, Madras had 209, Bombay coming next
with 68. Of the 44,377 Indian girls in all studying in these
schools, Madras can claim 21,440, while Burma is second with
5,807.
A LITTLE pamphlet which may be obtained from the office of
the Leith Observer for threepence contains excellent advice from
Mr. J. T. Pearce to the apprentices of Leith in particular, and
those of other towns in general. We have read the thirty six
pages with interest, and can recommend the pamphlet as
suitable to give to a boy leaving school to take up engineering
work.
Our useful contemporary, School Science, published in
Chicago, has commenced the publication each quarter of a
mathematical supplement. The new departure began in the
first number of the third volume, that for April, 1903. The
The School World
And we are afraid these
220
connection between the work of mathematical and science
masters is so intimate that it should prove a convenience to these
teachers to have in the same magazine articles dealing with new
developments in the teaching of both science and mathematics.
The first number of the supplement contains an article discussing
the reforms suggested by Prof. Perry in his address to the Educa-
tional Science Section of the British Association in 1901, which,
it will be remembered, was printed in THE SCHOOL WorLD for
October and November of that year.
THe Civil Service Commissioners have intimated that open
competitive examinations for at least one appointment in the
Supply and Accounting Departments of the Admiralty, and for
at least three junior appointments in the Royal Ordnance
Factories of the War Office, will be held concurrently on the
30th June, 1903, in Lordon, Edinburgh and Dublin. Candidates
may compete for either or both classes of appointment on
payment of a fee of £6. The limits of age in each case are 18
and 20. The subjects of examination are the following, viz. :—
Class {,—Mathematics I. (elementary, including arithmetic,
algebra to binomial theorem, theory and use of logarithms,
Euclid Books I.—IV., VI., trigonometry to solution of triangles,
mensuration); Latin (unseens, prose, verse, or grammar and
Roman history); French or German (unseens and prose—ziva
voce including dictation); English composition (précis-writing
and essay); geography (descriptive and general). Class //.—
Mathematics H. (advanced, including elementary solid geometry,
Euclid Book XI, Props. 1-21, Book XII. Props. 1-and 2,
geometrical conics and dynamics and statics); German or
French; Greek; English history (from the Roman conquest) ;
chemistry and heat; physics; physiography and geology. Al
the subjects of Class I. may be taken up. Only two of the
subjects of Class II. may be taken up, and if one of these
subjects be a modern language it must be different from the
modern language selected in Class I. Successful candidates
are appointed for a probationary period of two years at a salary
of £100 a year. Afterwards the salary is £120—£ 10— £200—
415—4350. In the Ordnance Factories there is prospect of
promotion to higher posts with salaries ranging from 4500—
£1,000, and in the Admiralty the salaries of the higher posts
range from £500—£900. The last day for returning entry
forms to the Secretary of the Civil Service Commission, Bur-
lington Gardens, W., is the 11th June.
SCOTTISH.
THE Report of the Royal Commission on Physical Education
has just been issued. It completely falsifies the predictions of
those who declared that the object of the Commission was to
foster a spirit of militarism in the youth of the country and to
make the schools a recruiting ground for the army. Indeed, the
report recommends that cadet corps and boys’ brigades should
be assisted when necessary by grants from the Education
Department ratner than from the War Office, as such bodies
are to be regarded as educational agencies and not as military.
Generally speaking the report may be said to be much less
revolutionary than was anticipated, and the Commissioners
have most wisely confined themselves to proposals within the
range of practical politics.
THE chief recommendations are as follows: (1) That recrea-
tion should be given a more prominent place in the school time-
table; (2) that School Boards should have the command of
medical advice and assistance ; a systematic record of physical
and health statistics should be kept, and a small number of
medical and sanitary experts should be added to the inspecting
staff of the Education Department; (3) that where necessary
230
school managers should be empowered to provide meals at cost
price for the poorest pupils, or should co-operate with voluntary
agencies for this purpose; (4) that a skilled committee be
appointed to prepare a course for a national system of physical
training for Scotland ; (5) that the physical instruction should
be given by the ordinary school staff.
THE Higher Education Committees of the Educational In-
stitute have approved of the following resolutions in regard to
the forthcoming Education Bill for Scotland: (1) That the
education authority be directly elected by the ratepayers ; (2)
that a committee representative of the various educational
interests of the country should be appointed to act as an
Advisory Council to the Scotch Education Department; (3)
that the Education Department should be located in Edinburgh;
(4) that the training cf teachers should be directed by the
Education Department along with a Board in each university °
centre, consisting of representatives of the university, the local
authorities, and the teaching profession; (5) that a super-
annuation scheme applicable to all teachers should be esta-
blished.
PRINCIPAL STORY, speaking at the Graduation ceremony in
Glasgow University, again appeared in the vôle of Cassandra
in regard to the operations of the Carnegie Trust. He gave
figures showing that more than 50 per cent. of the students had
taken advantage of the provisions of the Trust for the payment
of fees. Judging by these figures, he said, one would conclude
that there must have been a great deal of ‘‘ unsuspected needi-
ness” among students in the past, or that many were taking
advantage of the provisions who had no title to do so. For his
own part, he feared that through the working of the Trust many
students would no longer have occasion to exercise those
characteristic Scottish virtues of ‘‘ courage,” ‘‘ hardihood,”
and ‘ self-denial,” during their university courses. But the
reverend Principal need have no fear on that score, as all
these qualities may still be required in the fullest measure in
the efforts to feed, clothe and house themselves during the long
winter months,
ON the occasion of his receiving the freedom of the city of
Edinburgh, Lord Balfour referred to the movement in favour of
the transference of the Scotch Education Department to Edin-
burgh. He was strongly of opinion that such a change would
be fraught with danger to the national interests. The Educa-
tion Department had to be in constant touch with the other
great departments of State, and its removal to Edinburgh
would seriously diminish its influence with them to the con-
sequent loss and prejudice of Scottish educational interests.
The Scotch Education Department, it should be remembered,
was a great spending department and it was absolutely essential
for it to be in close touch with the Treasury, the Auditor-
General, and the other officials who controlled the expenditures
they incurred. Finally, if the proposed removal was effected,
the Secretary for Scotland would either require to reside mainly
in Edinburgh, and thus be cut oft from effective parliamentary
control, or if he was retained in London, whilst his staff were
in Edinburgh, he would be placed in an impossible and
intolerable position.
IRISH.
A MEETING of the Catholic Headmasters’ Association was
held on April 14th, in Dublin, the Rev. W. Delany, S.J., in
the chair. The meeting was pessimistic as to the present
working of the Intermediate system and observed ‘* with appre-
hension its injurious effect upon our schools.” Attention was
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
called to the ‘‘ general feeling of uncertainty as to the stability
and reliability of the Rules, the character and consequences of
the examinations, the suitableness of the programme issued
from year to year, the position of inspection in the system, and
other matters of serious importance.” Some of the chief causes
of the uncertainty lie in the makeshift character of the present
system of inspection, with its temporary staff and its relation to
the school grant; in the breakdown of last year’s examinations
through the inability of some of the examiners to carry out the
definite and well-meant instructions they received from the
Board, leading to most inequitable results ; in the vacillation of
the Board with relation to their schemes for apportioning the
school grant; in the unfair advantage given to the science
course over the others; and in the peculiarities of the rules and
programme. The Association further passed resolutions asking
the Intermediate Education Board to furnish the head of each
school this year with a copy of the Inspector’s report on the
school, and reaffirming that, unless proper provision is made for
the higher education of Catholics in Ireland, it would be unfair
to Catholic Intermediate schools to demand from their teachers
specific evidence of qualification.
THE Convents’ School Committee has directed attention to
the fact that, owing to the failure of the Board to carry out its
undertaking that all the questions on the pass papers would be
within the capacity of an average pupil fairly well taught, it is
almost impossible to induce a very large proportion of ginl
pupils to enter the Intermediate classes. They press for a
Separate programme for girls’ schools, which should, in addition
to the ordinary subjects, include instrumental music and needle-
work, domestic economy with practical cookery, and drawing
as a separate subject in all grades.
In the general anxiety to pass the Land Bill, the country as
a whole is perfectly ready to allow Mr. Wyndham to divert the
equivalent grant from education to land; he has, however,
expressed a hope that he may be enabled therefrom to increase
the grant to the Board of Technical Instruction for the teaching
of science in Intermediate schools, while Mr. Balfour has
promised that it will not be used to establish or endow a
Roman Catholic University for Ireland, at least without proper
discussion in the House of Commons,
THE Departments of Agriculture and Technical Instruction
announce that short summer-courses of Instruction to Secon-
dary and Technical Teachers will be conducted again this year
during the month of July. Courses will be held in the following
subjects: experimental science, drawing, manual instruction
(woodwork), woodcarving and modelling, building construction,
metal work, lace and crochet-making and design, and domestic
economy. This will be the third year that similar short
summer-courses have been held.
THE Association of Irish Schoolmistresses has published its
report for last year. It contains a record of considerable work
accomplished, especially in connection with the Royal University
Commission, leading to the establishment of the Irish Asso-
ciation of Women Graduates which focused the opinion of the
women graduates of the Royal University and brought it to
bear with considerable effect on the Commission. A number of
queries were sent out to all women who had taken degrees in
the Royal, the result being as follows: women were in favour
of a reconstituted Royal University with constituent colleges,
one Protestant, one Catholic; these should have a common
curriculum ; at least two women’s colleges, one Protestant, one
Catholic, should be endowed as residential halls; external
students should be allowed; and Fellows should only be ao-
pointed by the test of examination or the production of
~~
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—- 2 SS ~~ BS DS BSB
JUNE, 1903. ]
original work. The Association has also strongly urged upon
its members to take advantage of the extension of the English
Register to Irish teachers and to apply for registration under
the English Act.
WELSH.
In connection with the University College of South Wales and
Monmouthshire at Cardiff, there has been a Training School of
Cookery and Domestic Arts, under the superintendence of Miss
Hester Davies, since 1891. At the recent distribution of cer-
tificates it was stated that, in addition to training teachers, the
school superintended the teaching of cookery to nearly 5,000
children in the Cardiff elementary schools. Principal Griffiths
pointed out that the disparagement which often was attached to
cooking and the domestic arts was largely due to the fact that
the teaching of these subjects had not had the idea of educational
discipline brought into them. They might reasonably be looked
upon as branches of experimental science. ‘* It was not at all
impossible for cookery to be yet more scientifically treated,
especially when in future they would be able to apply electric
heat to cookery in every degree of temperature.” It is a clear
gain to the subject that aschool of cookery should be established
in the University College, for it means that the domestic arts
may be really educational subjects when they are dealt with
in a truly educational manner.
Tur Headmaster of the Carnarvon County School did a very
bold thing when he stated his views on the teaching of Welsh,
noted in previous Welsh ‘* Items of Interest ” ina number of THE
ScHoor WORLD. He has of course been severely criticised. His
reply is as follows: ‘* If Welsh children have learned nothing of
their own language except a smattering of colloquial Welsh when
they come to the County School, it is not the duty of that school
to begin to teach them their.own language. A great distinc-
tion must be drawn between Carnarvon street-Welsh and the
Welsh language.” Mr. Trevor Owen, writing of his experience
as examiner during several years for Dr. Morris's charity, gives
ample proof of this. ‘‘ The answers, he says, ‘f were of the
most wretched type conceivable, the spelling absolutely in-
accurate, the composition wrong, and the whole thing practically
unintelligible. I do not recollect a single paper of merit during
my whole experience as examiner.” Again, of the children
who go to the county schools many stay an inadequate time.
And, of course, only a small proportion of the children who go
to the elementary schools proceed later to the county schools.
lt is clear, therefore, Mr. de Gruchy Gaudin argues, that ‘ if
Welsh is to remain the language of the Principality it must be
taught in a much more systematic and thorough manner. A
child must be taught Welsh in the elementary schools, and learn
itas his own language, just as an English boy learns English.
He must be taught to read and to write Welsh, and English
should only be begun when he has some grasp of the Welsh.
His English will in no wise suffer. . Should a child
receive such a training, it is then the duty of the county school
to continue the study of the language, its literature and history,
and I should with pleasure arrange for the best teaching to be
given.”
Mr. WILLIAM Jones, M.P., speaking at a meeting in
Anglesey on behalf of the new buildings for the University
College of North Wales, Bangor, recalled some interesting facts
with regard to past efforts in money-raising in Wales. He
reminded his hearers that the temporary construction fund of
the Aberystwyth College in 1875 was collected chiefly in the
Nonconformist chapels. In one month the sum of £3,138 17s. 6d.
was raised, and the contributors numbered 100,000 people. He
Supgested that such self-help in higher education should induce
The School World
231
- millionaires to contribute their share in thousands and tens of
thousands, and Government to give a substantial grant for
building funds in Wales. It was also stated that in 1884 £5,000
was collected in Anglesey in a fortnight’s time for the building
fund of the present Banyor College.
IT must always be remembered that the Sunday School is an
institution of very special importance in Wales. Mrs. Gee, of
Denbigh, who has recently died, is said to have been a teacher
in Sunday-school work for a period of over seventy-four years.
CURRENT HISTORY.
Mr. CHAMBERLAIN, in speaking of the respective advantages
and disadvantages of Crown colonies and self-governed colonies,
with special reference of course to the present situation in South
Africa, laid stress upon what is too often regarded as a truism
without important consequences, that self-government is es-
sentially the rule of a majority. When we speak of the British
people as a ‘‘self-governed ” people, we generally forget that a
large minority are sof represented by the policy of the reigning
government, even immediately after a general election. What
special application this may have in the various colonies of South
Africa is a matter of high politics with which we have no concern
in these columns. But Mr. Chamberlain’s remark set us thinking
of seventeenth-century politicians in England. Oliver Cromwell’s
rule was undoubtedly, and probably consciously, that of the
strong man maintaining the opinions of a minority who claimed
to know better than the majority of their fellow countrymen
what was good for them. And his great and almost immediate
predecessor in the government of England and Ireland, Thomas
Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, would have heartily endorsed the
moral of the speech of our present Colonial Secretary. Strafford
and Cromwell are in various ways now coming to their own.
KING EDWARD began his recent round of visits with going to
Portugal, and naturally pleasant things were said. Portugal 1s
not much more than half the area of England and Wales and its
population does not equal that of London, but it has colonies in
South Africa on both the east and west coasts more than twenty
times the size of the European motherland, besides isiands and
other scattered possessions in the Atlantic and the East. And
the Portuguese are proud of these relics of their once mighty
empire and interested in them. If we consider that a line
drawn across Africa anywhere in the neighbourhood of the
fifteenth degree of south latitude traverses exclusively Portuguese
and British territory, we can see how important it is that the
two countries should have friendly relationships. Like our-
selves, their ‘* back is turned to the Continent.” We are both,
each in our degree, ocean powers. This friendship, or at least
alliance, is of very old standing. To say nothing of mediaeval
relationships, every schoolboy knows the marriage of Charles II.
with Catherine of Braganza, and her dowry of Tangier and
Bombay, and a Macaulay schoolboy will also know of the
Methuen Treaty of 1703, and the drinking of port to the
exclusion of claret that followed till Pitt made a commercial
treaty with France in 1786. King Edward referred to the
exceptional rights and privileges that were granted to the
British factory of Oporto, but he naturally did not speak of the
period when Beresford and English generally were unpopular in
Portugal owing to those same privileges, or to the consequent
exploitation of Portugal by English merchants about 1820.
IN April the German Emperor paid a visit to Denmark, and
we are told that at Roskilde Cathedral he bowed before the
monument of King Christian IV., and said to his suite, ‘‘ He
was, indeed, a great hero.” What, among the wars and other
deeds of Christian IV. of Denmark (1588-1648), was in the
232
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
mind of William II. of Germany when he paid this homage to:
the seventeenth-century king? The Thirty Years’ War from
which Germany suffered so much began with a religious consti-
tutional question in Bohemia. It rapidly grew into a German
war between the Emperor and the Catholic princes on the one
side against the Protestant princes on the other. The other
powers of Europe intervened, Spain on the side of the Emperor,
and Denmark, Sweden, and finally France, on the Protestant
side, and the war at last ended in 1648 after eight years of |
diplomacy at Miinster and Osnaburg. It was probably to
Christian IV.’s intervention as a Lutheran prince in this war,
in which the Hohenzollerns, then Margraves of Brandenburg,
took a successful ‘part, that the Emperor referred in speaking
of him as a hero. Led into war by promises of money from
England which were not fulfilled, he was defeated at Lutter |
(1626), and was glad to save himself from actual loss by making
peace in 1629. But he afterwards gave assistance to the more
famous, and for a time more successful, ‘‘ Protestant ” hero,
‘Gustav Adolf of Sweden.
SOME interesting particulars of the defence ‘of Mafeking
were recently mentioned by Major-General Baden-Powell. It
seems that much was done by sheer bluff. Mines were laid, but
instead of dynamite they were filled with sand. Sham signals
and pretence at wire fences were also used, and orders were
shouted through megaphones to imaginary relief forces. Military
and naval history abounds with instances of small forces con-
cealing their weakness by confidence, and adopting means to
hide their real numbers. The ‘‘ Birnam wood” that marched
to Dunsinane against Macbeth is a well-known example in
literature. But perhaps the most famous illustration of this
method of fighting an enemy is that adopted by Admiral Duncan
during the great naval mutiny of 1797. He was watching the
Dutch fleet at Texel, then in alliance with France, when he was
abandoned by all of his fleet except two or three ships. But
by continuing to make signals to an imaginary fleet in the offing
he frightened the Dutch from venturing out of harbour till his
men had returned to their duty, and the subsequent victory off
Camperdown made England safe again for the time, and raised
its hero to the peerage.
See Ee MM
TEST EXAMINATION PAPERS IN
| GEOGRAPHY.
London Matriculation.
(Candidates are to answer EIGHT questions, but no more.)
(1) Explain briefly the geographical significance of the follow-
ing :—-The Pampean Sea of South America, The Rift Valleys of
East Africa, The Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America, the
Aral-Caspian Depression of Eurasia.
(2) In what parts of England and Wales are climatological
and physiographical conditions most favourable for the cultiva-
tion of (a) wheat, (4) hops ¢
(3) Enumerate the causes that have led to the localisation
of the industries of Sheffield, Middlesborough, Nottingham,
Stroud, Northampton, Belfast. l
(4) What is the nature of the climatic control of vegetation in
(a) the llanos of the Orinoco, (6) the tundra of Eurasia, (c) the
Gobi desert, (d) the basin of the Congo?
(5) Point out in what way, if any, the political importance of
the following towns is based on physical advantages of situa-
tion :—Herat, Madrid, Montreal, Philadelphia, Calcutta.
(6) How do you account for the fact that the monsoon lands
of Asia are amongst the most densely populated parts of the
earth ?
Explain the origin of the monsoon winds.
[i]
(7) Discuss the statement: “ When it is 12.0’clock, mid-day,
at Greenwich it is 12 o’clock at Plymouth, but 7 a.m. at New
York.”
(8) Write a short description of the Caledonian Canal, the
Peak District, Strathclyde, Vale of White Horse, Bog of Allen.
(9) Give an account of the Mediterranean Sea with special
reference to the successive phases of its commercial develop-
ment. :
(10) Enumerate and, where you can, account for the con-
ditions that prevent or retard the commercial development of
Argentina, Rhodesia, Australia, Mesopotamia.
(11) Name tbe trans-continental railroads of the New World,
and describe the regions served by ove of them.
(12) On the accompanying map of Africa, insert and name
the Atlas Mountains, Drakenberg Mountains, Mount Ruwenzori ;
trace the courses of the Congo, Niger and Nile, and delimit
their basins; insert the Tropic of Capricorn, locate the chief
deserts, and mark the position of Delagoa Bay, Kano, Berbera,
Port Elizabeth, Algiers, Suakin.
College of Preceptors.
SECOND CLASS. |
A. General. (Not more than THREE questions.)
(1) ‘In all the continents the’ line of greatest elevation is
placed out of the centre, on one of the sides, at unequal distances
from the shores of the seas.” Illustrate this statement, pre-
ferably by means of a sketch-map.
(2) Name some points (a) of resemblance, (4) of difference
between the configurations of the Atlantic and Pacific.
(3) Explain these terms :—4toll, lagoon, tsotherin, savanna,
artificial boundary, fiord, moraine.
(4) Give the names of the British possessions in Africa, with
their capitals, and write a short account of the climate and
productions of one of them.
B. United Kingdom. (Question § obligatory: answer not
more than THREE others.)
(5) On the outline map of the United Kingdom mark the
basins of the Thames, Clyde, Shannon. Indicate the districts
of densest population, with their leading industries. Locate
the four largest towns in each country. Name the largest
islands and openings into the land.
(6) Why are the following places important :—Bristol, Aber-
deen, Carlisle, Leith, Belfast, Dublin, Swansea ?
(7) Write an account of the distribution of rainfall in the
United Kingdom.
(8) Name districts (one in each case) from which large quanti-
ties of (a) tea, (4) rice, (c) gold, (4) coffee, (e) tobacco,
(f) currants, are sent to the United Kingdom.
(9) What parts of the United Kingdom are the chief centres
for making (a) cotton, (4) steamships; growing (c) flax,
(d) hops; mining (e) iron, (/) lead; and for (4) sugar-
refining.
(10) Draw a map of the Irish Sea, showing the chief steam-
ship routes.
C. Physiography. (Question '5 obligatory: answer not more
l than THREE others.)
(5) On an outline map of the world locate (a) the chief
deserts, (4) the course of one of the Tropics, (¢) the largest
forests, (d) the course of the Trade Winds.
(6) Explain some of the effects of rivers on the surface of the
land.
(7) What is the relation of mountains to rainfall ?
(8) What are the causes and effects of the monsoons ?
JUNE, 1903.]
(9) What are the chief conditions that determine the climate
of a place?
(10) What do you know about the distribution of volcanoes ?
THIRD CLASS.
(Gatin 1 obligatory: answer nol more than FIVE others.)
(1) On an outline-map of Great Britain, between the Humber
and the Firth of Forth, trace the courses of the chief rivers,
locate the seaports, and show the positions of :—Leeds, Lanark,
Hexham, Falkirk.
(2) Explain these terms: right bank, source, basin, estuary,
ed, used in connection with rivers.
(3) For what are the following places noted :—Plymouth,
Paris, Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool, St. Petersburg.
(4) Give the positicns of the chief highland districts in
Europe.
(5) Into what seas do the following rivers flow:— Rhone,
Volga, Shannon, Tiber, Elbe, Loire?
(6) Why is cotton made in Lancashire, wool in Yorkshire,
cutlery in Sheffield? In what parts of England is most wheat
grown? Why?
-© (7) Make a sketch-map showing the positions of the moun-
tain ranges in the United Kingdom.
(8) Why is it colder in winter than in summer ?
Oxford Locals.
SENIOR.
(1) On an outline map of India indicate the basins of the
Ganges and the Indus, and trace the courses of the chief rivers
in the two basins; mark the boundaries of the Deccan Plateau,
and place dots with initial letters showing the positions of the
following towns :—Madras, Haidarabad, Calicut, Agra, Patna,
Darjiling, Goa, Trincomali, Singapore.
(2) Explain the causes of the monsoon winds of the Indian
ocean, and give an account of their effect on the vegetation of
India.
(3) Illustrate, from instance in both Italy and India, the
climatological and physiographical conditions that determine
the possibility of rice cultivation.
(4) Give reasons for the following :—(a) The wheat exports of
Karachi; (4) the teak exports of Madras ; (c) the /oca/e of the
textile centres of Italy ; (4) the unhealthiness of the Campagna.
(5) Where are the following places? Account for their
importance :—Bombay, Bulawayo, Brindisi, Buenos Ayres,
Batum, Bushire, Bergen, Beira.
(6) Write a general description of the distribution of high-
lands and lowlands in North America.
(7) Whence do we derive our main supplies of :—rubber,
silk, silver, furs, wheat? Explain the suitability of the re-
spective sources of supply with regard to climate and soil.
(8) Enumerate the chief deserts of the earth and point out in
each case the controlling climatic furce.
(9) Explain, fully what is meant by /oca/ time.
JUNIOR.
(1) On an outline map of Ireland insert the rivers Shannon,
Boyne, Blackwater; Loughs Eme, Corrib, Neagh; show the
distribution of mountains, name the openings of the south-west
coast and indicate the positions of Dublin, Birr, Sligo, London-
derry, Cork.
(2) In Lancashire there are more than 1,000 people per
square mile; in Lanarkshire there are more than 1,200; in
Louth about 200. How do you account for these differences ?
No, 54, VOL. 5.]
_ The School World
233
(3) Name some places in the United Kingdom where the
following industries are carried on:—cotton, brewing, slate
quarrying. Account for the location in each case.
(4) Draw a sketch-map to illustrate the railway communica-
tion between :—(a) Cardiff and Leeds; (8) London and
Aberdeen ; (c) Dublin and Queenstown.
Indicate also the chief steamship routes Belwech
England and France; Great Britain and the Baltic; Great
Britain and Ireland.
(5) Explain and illustrate these terms stini, hinterland,
campos, glacier, volcano, delta,
(6) Write a short essay explaining your preference of one of
the Colonies as a field for emigrants.
(7) From what countries do we obtain our chief supplies of
gold, tea, bananas, tobacco, tin, teak, guano, sugar, silk,
cotton ?
(8) Give reasons for :—(a) The great rainfall in the Amazon
basin; (4) the desert condition of Central Australia ; (c) the
‘t extreme ” climate of Central Russia ; (d) the annual overflow
of the Nile.
(9) What countries, &c., are crossed by (a) the Equator,
(4) the meridian of Greenwich ?
(10) Draw a sketch-map of the Danube basin or the Rhine
basin ; indicate the course of the water-parting in either case,
and show the chief towns.
PRELIMINARY.
(1) On the outline map of Europe draw the following rivers
and . mountains :—Danube, Rhone, Rhine, Volga, Caucasus,
Carpathians, Alps, Appenines, Scandinavian Mountains. Name
the inland seas, and mark the position of Berlin, Constantinople,
Dresden, Genoa, Hamburg, Lisbon, Moscow, Stockholm,
Warsaw.
(2) Where in England and Wales are the following made: —
cannon, pens, boots and shoes, carpets, knives, paper ?
(3) Explain these terms and give examples :—sfrait, archi-
pelago, isthmus, promontory, volcano.
(4) Describe a bicycle nde from York to London, mentioning
the occupations of the people in the various counties, and the
character of the surface you would pass over.
(5) What is the principal trade of each of the following ports:
— Cardiff, Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Southampton ?
(6) Draw a sketch-map showing the towns on the railway
routes between London and Plymouth, and London and
Manchester.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
A Selection of German Idioms and Proverbs. Compiled by
Alfred Oswald. 127 pp. (Blackie.) 1s. 6¢—A convenient
and neatly printed book of (a) idiomatic uses of (1) prepositions
and adverbs, (2) other parts of speech, (3) particles, and (4) of
proverbs, (1) German-English, and—which is hardly wanted—
(2) English-German. For the purposes of extending the
vocabulary and for revision it will prove most acceptable; of
course it makes no claim to be exhaustive. We have noticed a
few slips: ‘* Speak out !” is not necessarily ‘* Zesem sie laut !”
It should be ‘* Gleich und gleich gesellt sich pern” (p. 95):
“ Lust und Liebe sind Fittige fiir grosse Thaten” (p. 57) is not
a proverb, but a misquotation from Goethe’s ‘‘ Iphigenie.” -
T
_ 2434
A Practical German Comfosition, By Alfred Oswald.
135 pp. (Blackie.) 2s.—Mr. Oswald first gives some thirty
pages of ‘* practical hints for translation,” which will be found
useful ; and then a number of well-chosen passages for transla-
tion, in six parts, graduated according to difficulty. Occasionally
the English reads a little awkwardly, e.g., ‘‘ I saw her on the
street.” ‘*I went with him to London till Thursday.” ‘* He
lives in No. 17, King Street.” ‘‘ He fell soon asleep.” “A few
slices of ham and biscuit.” There is a vocabulary to each
exercise, in which a good deal of valuable information is given.
The book is well printed, and the proof has been read with care.
On p. 25, l. 18, read dauert for bedauert.
A. Darmesteter, A Historical French-Grammar. English
Edition, by A. Hartog. Book II. Morphology. xviii. + 238 pp.
(Macmillan.) 3s. 6¢.—This is a reprint, with certain corrections
and additions, of part of the grammar published in 1899.
Probably the chief reason why the ‘‘ morphology ” is issued in
this form is the fact that the subject has been introduced into the
programme of the Leaving Certificate Examination in Scotland ;
but many teachers in England also will be glad to have this
section of the excellent handbook at a reasonable price.
Idiomatic Phrases (French-English). By Edward Latham.
With a Preface by Francis Storr. 80 pp. (Sonnenschein. )
The arrangement of this book is like that of Mr. Payen-
Payne’s excellent volume. It contains, however, idiomatic
rather than proverbial phrases, as Mr. Storr points out; a
distinction, some might say, with very little difference. It
certainly contains a large number of useful expressions. The
renderings are mostly satisfactory, sometimes very neat; some-
times a round-about phrase is used in place of a common expres-
sion. Thus instead of “‘ to try to do an impossible thing,” surely
it would have been better to render. rompre anguille au genou by
“to make a rope of sand.” For s/ en arrivera ce gwil pourra an
obvious rendering is ‘‘time will tell.” The proof has not been
read with sufficient care.
A. Daudet, La Belle-Nivernaise. Edited by Frank W.
Freeborn. 68 pp. (Ginn.) Is.—This carefully printed text
‘of Daudet’s popular tale is preceded by a short, but adequate
biographical account of the author, and followed by a few pages .
of notes which give all necessary information, but do not make
the text a peg for elementary grammar rules.
An Oulline pf French Literature.—By D. T. Holmes, B.A.
ix + 164 pp. (Holden.) 2s5.—This outline is ‘‘ founded on
the Littérature francaise of Professor Meunier,” a book which
we have not seen. We cannot tell, therefore, how much credit
is due to Mr. Holmes for this convenient hand-book ; but we
conclude that he has taken much of his matter straight from
Professor Meunier’s pages from the fact that his English often
suggests French modes of expression; e.g., ‘‘the durable
tradition of his able administration,” ‘‘ they lacked amplitude of
inspiration,” “‘ the disputatious and susceptible Sorbonne,” ‘‘ he
sallied forth in nomadic fashion,” ‘‘his verse is well minted,”
‘San epoch of trouble and brutality.” The criticisms are
eminently sensible, and as a rule the relative importance of
authors is well indicated. Montaigne, however, is badly treated,
and only a few lines are devoted to Lesage ; whereas Mme. de
Maintenon gets a whole page. It is a pity that dates are not
given more freely. We have noticed a few slips, ¢.9., Durandel
for Durendal (p. 13) 3 où% for on (p. 36); Jodelle is generally
included in the Pléiade (p. 46); Allile for Attila (p. 73). Can
jt be said that the Lettres Persanes are “so many pamphlets
directed against Christianity?” Is it fair to say no more of the
Nouvelle Heélotse than that it is ‘Sa story which could have
originated only in an unhealthy and paradoxical brain?” What
evidence is there for saying that printing was invented in 1436?
h
The School World
kJ
[JUNE, 1903.
Classics.
Clytemnestra: A Tragedy. By Arnold F. Graves. Witha
preface by R. Y. Tyrrell, Litt. D., D.C.L. ` xix. -+ 121 pp.
(Longmans.) 5s. net.—Mr. Graves’s conception of Clytem-
nestra breaks away from tradition altogether. She is a more
human, and we must add, a far weaker creature than the terrible
and merciless creation of Aeschylus. The whole standpoint of
the play is modern, and all its characters fall below the heroic
level. This does not imply that it is an untrue conception;
but we think, on the whole, that Aeschylus comes nearer to the
barbaric age than Mr. Graves. In spite of this fault, which
mars the play in our opinion, the play is written with simplicity
and some skill in construction. It is interesting to read, and
we are quite reacly to believe that it will act.
Cornelius Nefos. Twenty Lives. Edited by J. E. Barss.
xiv. +316 pp. (The Macmillan Company.) §s.—The plan of this
book is the same as that of Macmillan’s Ovid. Two-thirds of
the book is edited in the ordinary way ; the last seven ‘* Lives”
being annotated with footnotes which give translations of the
words which a boy at that stage would not be likely to know, or
other help. These seven are intended for reading at sight.
The Introduction contains references to standard ‘* books for
parallel reading”; and a very brief sketch of the history brings
in the personages whose Lives follow. In the text, long quan-
tities are marked ; a doubtful advantage after the earliest stage.
We think that this should be done only in the Grammar and the
first reading-book. A number of illustrations are inset in the
text; again a doubtful advantage, since it is difficult to keep the
words in one’s eye in reading. The notes are overloaded with
references to grammars: if one thing is certain, it is that no
boy will look them up. Some of them are too elementary ;
thus, ‘‘saltasse for saltavisse,” p. 137, and the frequent
explanations of ‘‘ ablative of cause,” “ dative of end or purpose,”
and so forth. As a whole, we do not think these notes judicious.
There are useful exercises for retranslation at the end.
Edited Books.
The Students Prayer Book, By W. H. Flecker. 167 pp.
(Methuen.) 2s. 6d.—This volume deals with the text of the
Order for Morning and Evening Prayer and the Litany in a
very careful way. The introduction is essentially good, and the
notes are splendid. Of course such a work does not go far, but
for school purposes it will be found very useful.
Chaucer's Prologue and Nun's Priests Tale. By A. J. Wyatt.
175 pp. (W. B. Clive.) 2s. 6¢.—This is another of the
Examination Manuals associated with the University Corre-
spondence College. As such it presents all the familiar features
of these books. It is concise to a marvel, and to a fault; the
introduction, for instance, aims at imparting information ia
thirty-two pages which an ordinary student would not absorb
from five times that number; nor would he probably know
much more about Chaucer if he could repeat Mr- Wyatt's pages
by heart than if he had never opened them. This volume will,
however, fulfil an educational need, and so merits praise for the
manner of its execution: much intelligence has been expended
on the art of so putting things that a student shall derive the
utmost possible benefit from the method employed. |
Scoll’s Legend of Montrose. By A. F. Flux. 247+ xvi. pp.
(Black.) 2s.—This is another volume in this * well-known
‘school ” edition. It is done in exactly the same style as the
prece ding novels of the series, and there is ngthing, in the in-
3
JUNE, 1903.]
troduction or the notes to call for special comment, or indeed
for special praise. To say that it is useful is to describe it most
fully.
The Laureate Poetry Books, X., XI., XII., XIIL, XIV.,
XV. (Arnold.) 2d. each.—These six booklets contain repre-
sentative selections from Wordsworth, Longfellow, Scott,
Milton, Keats, and Shelley, and the two Brownings. An
account of each respective poet is appended to each. At the
size and price could not, perhaps, be bettered. Serviceable, to
say the least of it.
Select Poems of Tennyson. By H. B. George and W. H.
Hadow. xxv. + 154 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.—These
selections avoid all the more abstruse portions of Tennyson's
work, and have been compiled with great discrimination.
The introduction is if anything a little out of line with the
selection ; while excellent of its kind it cannot be considered
as quite simple. It is a condensed but highly wrought estimate
of Tennyson which makes very good reading even for students
who have long passed the period of youth. The notes are as
scholarly and fine as this series always presents.
English Grammar and Composition.
Senior Course of English Composition, By J. C. Nesfeld.
iv.+358 pp. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6¢.—The course consists of
two parts. The first hundred pages deal with figures of speech,
perspicuity, simplicity, brevity, impressiveness, euphony, pic-
turesqueness, the qualities of composition. Each of these
sections is provided with a large: number of exercises, which
may be worked orally. They have the merit—as indeed have
all the exercises—of being actual extracts from journalism or
literature. Part II. consists of a few pages dealing with the
structure of sentences and paragraphs, followed by essays for
reproduction, subjects of essays with notes, and more than
thirty pages of “Subjects for Essays, without notes.” The
extracts are culled from various sources--we notice that one of
the essays for reproduction is an article on Stamp Collecting
(ScHooL WORLD, August, 1901), and some are presumably
original; all are admirably suitable for reproduction. The
notes are, we think, too full, even for a senior course, but there
can be no question as to the practical utility of the book in the
hands of students preparing for the Senior Locals and exami-
nations of a similar standard.
Principles of English Grammar. By Rev. A. Macrae.
vii. + 168 pp. (Relfe.) 1s. 4@.—According to the publishers’
announcement, this book has been written ‘‘to remedy the
deficiencies so often met with in the text-books on grammar now
in the market.” After careful study of it we have been unable
to discover any feature that is likely to excite trepidation in the
minds of the publishers of already well-known works. The
author has written an interesting preface ; for the rest, the book
is neither better nor worse than the majority of books on English
grammar.
A First English Grammar and Analysis.
nd J. C. Alcock. viii. + 69 pp. (Allman.) 6d.—An
elementary text-book of an old-fashioned type. [It is printed in
bold type, some of the characters being one-sixth of an inch
high. . It is fairly trustworthy, but we are not enamoured of the
plan of the book, by which eight pages only are devoted to
analysis, and those are quite at the end.
An English Grammar. By Rev. S. C. Tickell. 60 pp.
(Newmann.) 2s.—We have already commented on Mr.
Tickell’s method of teaching analysis and parsing (THE
SCHOOL WoRLD, July, 1899). l
By W. Davidson
The School World
AI
Science and Technology. |
Open-Air Studies in Bird Life: Sketches of British Birds
in their Haunts. By Charles Dixon. xii. + 280 pp. (Griffin.)
7s. 6¢.—Mr. Dixon is a well-known writer upon birds, and this
book will add to his reputation. Following the plan adopted
in the other volume of this popular series of ‘* Open-Air
Studies,” the author takes in turn various haunts, and describes
the ways of their feathered denizens. This method obviously
lends itself to a discursive style, but it is one of the merits of
the book that the importance of structural affinity, rather than of
similarity of habit, is unobtrusively kept before the mind of the
reader. A pleasantly personal note, and the frank heterodoxy
of the author upon certain debatable points, add much to the
interest of the narrative. The book is beautifully illustrated,
chiefly by plates drawn by Mr. Charles Whymper. The coloured
frontispiece is especially charming.
| Nature Studies (Plant Life). ByG. F. Scott Elliot. 352 pp.
(Blackie.) 3s. 6@.— This book must be welcomed as a decided
acquisition to the literature of plant natural history as distinct
from academic botany. It contains a store of interesting and,
in many cases, out-of-the-way information, treated in a manner
which the ordinary student will find no less novel than refresh-
ing and suggestive. It also contains a number of excellent
illustrations. It is to be regretted that the author did not more
consistently carry out his intention, stated in the preface, of as
far as possible doing without technical terms. Had he done so
the book would have appealed to a much wider circle of
readers. To those, however, who have even a slight know-
ledge of botany it may be unreservedly recommended.
The Sciences. A Reading Book for Children. By Edward S.
Holden. x. + 224 pp. (Ginn.) 2s. 6¢.—Mr. Holden has
created a big brother Jack, who is a student at college and
possessed of the pedagogic passion. He is at home for the
holidays and has with him his young brother and sister, Tom
and Agnes, and his young cousins, Fred and Mary. The four
young people play in the morning and spend the afternoon
acquiring useful information on scientific subjects from the
clever Jack, who knows the leading principles of all the sciences.
This book contains all the instructive conversations which
occupied these holiday afternoons, illustrated with 198 well
executed illustrations.
Mathematics.
A Treatise on Differential Equations. By A. R. Forsyth.
Third Edition. xvi. + 512 pp. (Macmillan.) 14s.—In this
edition some substantial additions have been made; thus there
is an outline of Frobenius’s method for solving ordinary linear
equations by series, and an introduction to Jacobi’s theory of
multipliers. Professor Forsyth’s excellent treatise has now been
translated into Italian as well as German.
Beginners Algebra. By M. S. David. viii. + 232 pp.
(Black.) 25. 6¢.—An excellent book, dealing with the right
things in the right way. It has the merits of Prof. Chrystal’s
‘Introduction to Algebra” (to which Mr. David refers with
grateful appreciation), while its limited scope and clear style
make it really suitable for beginners. This is certainly one of
the best of the elementary text-books which have appeared lately,
and contains all that should be learnt before going beyond quad-
ratic equations in one variable.
Solid Geometry, By Dr. Franz Horevar. Translated and
adapted by C. Godfrey and E. A. Price. viii. + 80 pp.
(Black.) 1s. 6¢.—Even a short course of solid geometry and
mensuration is of great educational value, and ought to form
236
lS SO
part of a school course more often than it does. This Itttle
book provides teachers with excellent material; beside the
proofs of the most indispensable propositions, there are direc-
tions for making cardboard models, and a very good and prac-
tical collection of examples.
Preliminary Tests in Geometry. Parts I. and II. By W.
Slade. 28 pp. (Relfe.) 6¢.—Twenty-four papers, each con-
taining two practical exercises, a proposition of Euclid, and two
or three deductions. This arrangement is convenient, and the
exercises appear to be easy enough. Directions like “ Write
out Proposition 47 ” are open to objection ; in other respects
this is a useful compilation.
Miscellaneous.
The Municipalisation of Secondary Education. A plea for
the proper Recognition of eficient Private Schools as part of
the Educational System of the Country.” By J. W. Richards.
vi. + 58 pp. (Simpkin.) 6d. net.—The question as to what
position should be assigned to efficient private schools in the
national system of secondary education . deserves careful con-
sideration.. Inefficient private schools cannot reasonably
expect . to survive the educational stack-taking which the
immediate future has in store; but it is earnestly to be hoped
that local education authorities in carrying out the second
clause of the Act of 1902, will, when considering the educational
needs of their areas, sympathetically inquire into the work,
equipment and staff of the private schools, with a view to
arrange for the continuance of good work where it is found to be
going on. Mr. Richards urges the claims of efficient private
schools, and though he often repeats himself and is sometimes
unfair to the masters in public secondary schools, he has many
good arguments which should be studied by all those whose
duty it will be to administer last year’s Act.
The Making of our Middle Schools. By Dr. Elmer Ells-
worth Brown. xii.+547 pp. (Longmans.) tos, 6d. net.—
Educational literature in the United States is abundant, but so
far it does not seem to have included a survey of the history of
American secondary schools. Such a survey Dr. E. E. Brown,
Professor of Education in the University of California, has made
in this important volume. Not only has he welded together
materials gathered from all sources—and the wealth of the
materials is indicated in a copious bibliography—into a more or
less continuous story, but he has also traced the connection
between the various types of American schools and their foreign,
mainly English and Scotch, prototypes. Although much of the
detail in the accounts of the establishment of local schools is
naturally deficient in interest to the English reader, he can follow
with. both interest and proht the main lines of development.
Historically speaking, there have been three species of ‘‘ middle
schools,” t.e., schools between the common or primary school
and the universities. The first were the old colonial grammar-
schools, copied in aim and curriculum as well as in name from
the English grammar-schools of the Renaissance. Their
principal function was to train the directing classes, and
especially the ministers of religion for ‘‘ college,” s.e., the
universities. When the stratified colonial society was broken up
in the eighteenth century, the ‘‘ academy” type of institution
found favour. It had neither the classical tradition nor the con-
nection with college that the grammar school possessed.
Finally, in the nineteenth century, when elementary education
rose into prominence, and when the: States began to frame State
systems of education, the public bigh school, which has closer
relations with the primary school than either.of its predecessors,
became the prevalent type. Professor Brown does not merely
trace-the history of the past. In four most suggestive chapters
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
at the end of the book he points out the tendencies which are
now at work amid ‘‘ the unrest in secondary education,” and
tries to estimate in a hopeful spirit the place and function of
middle schools in a democracy such as is that of the United
States. If it were only for the sake of the first and last chapters,
there is no doubt the book should find a place in every library of
education.
Arnolds Country-side Readers. Book I. 144 pp. tod.
Book II. 176 pp. 1s. Book III. 204 pp. 15. 2d. Book
IV. 236 pp. 1s. 4d. Arnolds Seaside Reader, 264 pp.
(Arnold.) 1s. 6¢.—This is a well-printed, nicely illustrated, and
strongly bound series of reading buoks. The titles may, however,
mislead some teachers. The first object of the bouks appears
to be to provide interesting material for young pupils fiom which
they may learn to read. The volumes are not devoted solely to
subjects explaining the objects of the country-side and the
seaside. Interspersed with the natural history lessons are fairy
tales, short poems, and in the last book pieces of history and
biography. The first four books should prove popular in rural
schools, and the last obtain many readers in schools by the sea.
Cafe of Good Hope Teachers’ Annual, 1903. By Geo.
Gilchrist, assisted by the General Secretary of the South African
Teachers’ Association. xii. + 227 pp. (Lancaster: Geo.
Gilchrist.)—All teachers who meditate taking up teaching either
in elementary or secondary schools in South Africa should study
this useful annual. It contains all the available official in-
formation respecting South African schools, syllabuses of the
different school examinations, and chapters on school law and
infectious diseases, as well as much other important professional
information.
The Calendar for the Year 1903 of the Royal University of
Ireland. 519 pp. Supplement to the University Calendar of
the Royal University of Ireland, 1903. 748 pp. (Dublin:
Ponsonby & Gibbs.)—Students will find in this issue of the
Calendar of the Royal University for Ireland all the changes in
the courses and in the regulations for the year 1904 duly set
forth, as well as any other information they may require about
the work of the university. The supplement contains all the
questions set in the numerous examinations held in connection
with the Royal University during the year 1902.
Memories Grave and Gay. Forty Years of School Inspection.
By John Kerr. xiii. + 371 pp. (Blackwood.) 2s. 6¢.--
Dr. Kerr's reminiscences: have now reached a third edition,
which is evidence enough that many persons have found them
interesting. We recommend inspectors who have not yet done
so to read the book; it will give them many hints as to how to
dispel the idea that the school inspector is of necessity an ogre.
Teachers will find much useful guidance pleasantly presented
and judiciously blended with high-class entertainment.
Reading Taught through Rhyme and Rhythm. By J. R.
Blakiston, formerly Chief Inspector of Schools. xvi. + 80 pp.
(Bell.) 8d¢.—Here is another ingenious attempt to lessen the
dithculties of the learner. It has sometimes come across us that
it would be a very good thing to find out how long children do
take in learning to read, and whether any of the devices now
plentifully put forth are used with success. Mr. Blakiston tells
us that his scheme of making great use of rhyme*has been
largely tried.and has been very successful. It is an extension of
the phonetic method, and naturally it disregards the spelling
difhculty. Ifit be possible to save ‘‘ nine to twelve months in
a child’s school life,” then teachers would be well advised to add
this musical use of rhyme to their ordinary methods, This
tule book will be found full of suggestion.
JUNE 3, 1903.)
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. As a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted lo the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
Levels and Contour Lines.
I NOTICE io your issues of THE SCHOOL WoRLD for March
and April articles by Mr. Morley Davies on ‘‘ Levels and Con-
tour Lines.” Could the writer of these articles tell me where
such diagrams could be obtained ?
The High School,
St. Annes-on-the-Sea, Lancs.
S. A. JOHNs.
THE enquiry of your correspondent calls my attention to the
fact that I did not specifically mention the publishers of the
maps I recommended for use. I really thought them matters of
common knowledge among teachers. The sheets of the Ord-
nance maps of all scales can most easily be obtained in the
country by ordering through a head post-office: a charge is
made for postage in addition to the price of the maps. I have
tried this method and have been very satisfied with the ease
and promptness with which I obtained the sheets. In London,
any map can be obtained immediately from Mr. Stanford, Long
Acre, London, W.C., who also publishes a very useful A’ésumdé
of the Ordnance Survey publications. It is well to note that
the maps on larger scales than six inches to the mile have no
contour lines.
Bartholomew’s cycling maps (2 miles to an inch) may be had
from the Edinburgh Geographical Institute. As far as the
limited stock allows, the copies without black printing should
be asked for, with an explanation that they are wanted for
teaching purposes. The ‘‘ Diagram” hand-maps, which are all
very small scale, may be ordered through Messrs. Philip and
Son, 32, Fleet Street, London.
I take this opportunity of repairing another omission from my
article. It is necessary to treat large paper-maps with great
care in class-work. As far as possible, they should be always
kept flat, not rolled or folded. Rolled sheets, when unrolled,
are very liable to tear. Folded sheets wear badly at the
creases : they can, of course, be cut into rectangles, and pasted
on holland or linenette with a slight margin between the pieces
to allow of folding, but this method, though excellent for out-
door use, is bad for practical indoor work, as it prevents the
drawing of straight lines of section across the map. After
trying several other methods, I have found the following answer
very well for large maps on thin paper, such as [Bartholomew’s
cycling maps. Obtain a sheet of millboard rather larger than
the map itself, and fasten the map to it by means of the gummed
tape which is sold in reels for mending music. Great care
must be taken to lay this tape straight, or the map will cockle
up. It is best first to ix down one of the longer edges of the
map, then the other long edge, and then the shorter edges. On
no. account work round the edges, finishing at the starting-
point, for cockling is inevitable that way.
A. MORLEY DAVIEs.
The Geometrical Treatment of Angles and Parallels.
THE suggested proof of Euclid I., 32, given in Mr. Woodall’s
paper under the above title in the May number of THE SCHOOL
WORLD, is-open to the gravest possible objection, and that is,
that it contains the assumption of a principle not contained in
the definition of angle on which the proof professes to rely,
aad that assumption is involved in such a way that it would be
absalutely impossible for a beginner to detect it.
fot Beet Wore,
237
Now whatever definition of an angle be taken, if the plane
and straight line be supposed infinite, it can readily be shown
without assuming Euclid’s parallel axiom, or Euclid I., 32, that
the limiting position AI (Fig. 1) of a line through a point A
to some point on a line BC is, when I is at infinity, the line
through A making zero angle with BC, that is, #0 turning is
required to move a line from BI to AI.
Fic. 1.
If now the angle B of the triangle BAC be transferred to the
position IAK, BC along AI, BA along AK, 5
BC has turned through zero angle from BI.
.’. BA rigidly attached to BC has turned through zero angle
from BI.
But, unless we assume Euclid’s parallel axiom (or its equiva-
lent), we do not know whether AK coincides with AE (AB
produced) or not. We must thercfore assume that EAK is an
angle, +a which may not be zero.
Therefore, in order to bring BA along its old direcion AE,
we shall have to turn it through an additional angle + a from
AI, ¿.e., from BI making zero angle with AI.
That is, as the line BA slides along itself to AE tt turns
through an angle + from BC.
Now let us apply to the triangle BAC the process of Mr.
Woodall’s paper. I have only modified it so as to bring B back
to its original position, and to pivot only about that point in the
line moved. This serves to simplify the issue.
(‘.) Pivot at B, turn BC into position BA, angle turned
through from BC = + B.
(#2.) Slide BC along BA to AE, angle turned through from
BC = KAE = +a. Total angle turned through from BC =
+B +a.
(#2.) Pivot at A, turn BC through angle A into position AF. .
Total angle turned through from BC = + A + B + a.
(¢v.) Slide BC along AC to CD, as in (c.) angle turned
through from BC = — LCH = —y,° where LCI = CAI. Total
angle turned through from BC = + A+ B+a—-y¥
(v.) Pivot at C, turn BC through C to lie along BC, and.
slide along CB to BC’. This last slide adds no angle.
*. Total angle turned through from BC = + A+ B+ea—
y¥+C.
Thus, A + B + C + a- y = two right angles. l
And without assuming the parallel axiom, or an equivalent,
we cannot show that a — yis zero, and therefore we do not
know that A + B + C is two right angles.
1EATis > EBI under the conditions chosen.
2 HCI is > HAI under the conditions. dhosen.
238
The corresponding proof that the exterior angles of a polygon
are four right angles is, of course, equally vicious.
Macclesfield. Grammar School. E. BUDDEN.
WITH regard to Mr. Budden’s criticisms, which. I have read
with some interest, I should like to make three remarks :—
(1) Mr. Budden’s objections seem to depend on the introduc-
tion of unusual sliding motions, which, being unnecessary, were
not mentioned in my article. He also seems to have overlooked
the fact that, for the benefit of our “ beginner,” I use a straight-
edge, and do not suppose the sides of the triangle to be moved
at all. The lines which form the sides of my triangle do not
necessafily terminate at the corners, and if the portions of them
which form the sides are, say, 8 inches, 9 inches, and 10 inches
long, then I use a straight-edge a yard long and no sliding is
required. It is an advantage to let some portion of the straight-
edge lie across the base while turning through the angle pivoted
at the oppbsite corner. At the same time sliding would intro-
duce no difficulty, for the straight edge, however short it may
be, will slide along the side on which it lies (obviously without
turning) until the corner towards which it began to slide lies
somewhere between its two ends, and then it can be turned
through the angle pivoted at that corner. I prefer not to have
an end of the straight-edge at the corner in question. These
details of actual demonstration were not necessary in the state-
ment of the general principle, but I think they will help Mr.
Budden to see that the straight-edge may, without sliding, turn
in succession through the three angles of the triangle, and that
in so doing it turns neither more nor less than two right angles.
(2) The ‘‘corresponding proof that the exterior angles of a
polygon are four right angles” was given by Playfair and Hamil-
ton (his quaternion proof), who, moreover, used it to prove that
the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles, and I fail
to see that Mr. Budden has proved it to be vicious. Of modern
books giving it I may mention Casey’s ‘‘ Elements of Euclid,”
and Minchin’s ‘** Geometry for Beginners.” The latter book
makes very full use of the ‘‘ turning ” definition of angle.
(3) In conclusion, I venture to think that not only would it
be “absolutely impossible for a beginner to detect in my
proof the assumption of the principle omitted from my
definition of angle, but that it would be equally impossible for
that same beginner to understand Mr. Budden’s explanation
of the deficiency. At all events, I will suggest that he should
try the experiment of explaining to some beginner, or class of
beginners, my proof as given by me, then explaining his objec-
tion to it, and letting the beginner say which he finds to be the
more convincing.
St. Asaph. H. B. WOODALL.
Junior Class-Book of European History.
I SHOULD be much obliged if you could give me the’ titles of
some simply-written books on Universal history and on Euro-
pean history for children of twelve to fourteen years.
E. M. WHITE.
“ Book IV.” of the ‘‘ Britannia History Readers,” published
recently by Edward Arnold (price 1s. 6d.) will supply your
correspondent’s needs. That is a very good book.
For the teacher E. W. Kemp’s ‘‘ History for Graded and
District Schools” (Ginn, 4s. 6d.) may be useful as the record
of attempts made (allegedly successful) in the U.S.A. But it is
quite adapted to schools for that country only. The Britannia
Reader is only a European history. Kemp's book treats of
Hebrews, Egyptians, &c. A. J. E.
(AN article by Mr. C. S. Fearenside in THE SCHOOL WORLD
for October, 1901, contains a list of pupils’ books of European
history. —EDITORS, }
The School World
[JUNE, 1903.
The Education of Pupil Teachers.
THE appointment by the Board of Education of a small Com-
mittee from the Inspectorate to enquire into and make suggestions
regarding the training of young teachers is an earnest of the
Board’s intention to remedy some of the defects of the pupil-
teacher system as at present worked.
The recommendations of the Committee of 1898 (Report,
vol. i.) have to some extent become operative, but not to any great
extent, and by no means generally through the country. This
Report is still a valuable mine of suggestions, although its recom-
mendations, largely based on the assumption that an improve-
ment in the material would be brought about, lose weight from
the very reason that things are, as regards the sources of supply,
very much as they were four years ago.
The pupil-teacher system being the only available source of
supply at all ample and regular, of primary teachers its improve-
ment, rather than its abolition in favour of some other plan, must
be looked for. I propose to examine a few of its defects, and
to suggest some form of solution.
The establishment of central classes is now pfactically uni-
versal, and considerable improvement in respect of staffing,
appliances, and curriculum is noticeable. The best of them,
having regard to the unpromising class of candidates admitted,
and the limited time at their disposal, are doing thoroughly
good work. It is perhaps unsound to pay much attention
to examination results; but if these are worth anything, the
record is satisfactory. Central classes pass annually about 350
boys and girls at London matriculation and higher examina-
tions, immediately, and mediately through the training colleges
a number about as large. At Wales, Victoria and Birmingham
the numbers are correspondingly ample. The pupil teachers
entered at Cambridge and Oxford are sound and trustworthy
students, and as a rule take an honours degree.
Now for the chief defects. There is often no entrance
examination conducted by the local authority, and the Govern-
ment test for candidates is often a mere farce. An entrance
examination is absolutely necessary, unless the entrant has spent
at least a year at a secondary school and can produce evidence
of fair ability and industry, such as a Junior Local Certificate.
With a rational entrance qualification, pupil teachers should
attend at least half time. The standard they are expected to
reach is as high for the average student as in the full-time
secondary schools; and it is obviously unjust to expect good
work from young people fagged out with a day’s work before a
class. Again, it is wrong to compel girls of pupil-teacher age
to be in the streets of large towns late in the evening, for the
heart of a large town is anything but a savoury place after night-
fall. This question demands an immediate solution, and possi-
bly furnishes a reason for careful parents declining to allow their
daughters to undertake the work of primary teaching.
The amount of recreation possible under present conditions
must be but small. In addition to Saturday afternoon, a
weekly half-holiday should be general ; and every pupil-teachers’
centre should have its sports clubs, and in addition, chess and
debating societies for both sexes.
To the practice of apprenticing pupil teachers to particular
schools the limited outlook of the elementary teacher is largely
due. I would have the pupil teacher articled to the Education
Authority, and during the middle years of his apprenticeship be
should visit all classes of schools in the area, and so broaden his
knowledge of teaching by observation of the less stereotyped
methods of secondary teachers.
When we come to the problem in rural districts we find that
a complete overhauling of the system is necessary. Though
there are still many teachers in rural schools whose scholarship
is adequate, the conditions of their work are such that their
energies are fully exercised in the conduct of their schools; and
Ga E
JUNE, 1903.] The
School ol World
the majority of these teachers would gladly be relieved from
instructing pupil teachers. The following plan has already been
submitted to some of those best fitted to judge, and has been
pronounced perfectly workable. In each of the lesser towns, a
small centre, staffed by two or three well-qualified instructors,
should be establshed. Each ‘‘year” of pupil teachers would
attend two whole consecutive days in each week and part or the
whole of Saturday. A half-holiday in the week would bring
their school work down to that of half-time teachers. Mainte-
nance scholarships would be provided by the county councils to
cover the cost of bed and board while away, and by means of
approved-lodging houses the difticulty of young people spending
a night in each week away from home would be met. Voluntary
supervision and occasional hospitality would be freely given
by clergymen, teachers and others with a view to safeguarding
the morals and extending the outlook of the village girl or boy.
In very few cases would the pupil teacher have to travel more |
than six miles, and if no bicycle were at hand the farmer’s or
carrier’s cart would be available. The rural pupil-teacher is a
source of supply well worth considering, especially as the number
of boys in towns willing to take up primary-school work is fast
diminishing.
If I were to summarise the wishes of those teachers engaged in-
the instruction of pupil teachers, the list would run somewhat as
follows :—
(1) A proper entrance examination for all candidates for pupil-
teachership, followed by small scholarships to enable those
selected to spend a year in a good secondary school.
(2) Increased Government grants to pupil-teachers’ centres.
(3) The abolition of all evening classes for pupil teachers.
(4) Oral collective instruction for all pupil teachers, particularly
those in the rural districts.
(5) A matriculation examination common to all universites.
(6) More thorough technical training in the schools, and more ©
direct responsibility attached to head teachers for this part of
the pupil-teacher’s preparation for his profession.
(7) Greater accuracy and resourcefulness in the work of can-
didates from primary schools, and more vigour in the work of
many of those from secondary schools.
(8) Sufficient training-college accommodation, unhampered
by religious tests, for all who are fit to profit by a normal
course.
ARTHUR J. ARNOLD.
Pupil-Teachers’ Centre, Sheffeld.
Graphs for Lower Forms.
THE general recognition of the value of graphs as a powerful
factor in arousing interest in the early stages of a boy’s
mathematical work ought to be sufficient to compel its inclusion
in a school curriculum. By the decision, however, of the
Universities of Cambridge and London to include questions in
graphs in the algebra papers of the Preliminary, Junior and
Senior Locals and the London Matriculation, no choice is
left to the teacher whose work lies in preparing pupils for these
examinations but to adopt the subject at once. The following
notes which I have made after a year’s work with three forms
may be of assistance to those who have not yet mapped out
a course for their own classes. .
First, as regards the mathematical attainments of the forms
in question. Form A consisted of boys who had only begun
algebra some little time previously, and therefore were not able
to do much more than the simple rules and the solution of
simple equations.
simultaneous equations and resolve expressions into factors.
The boys in form C had covered the ground up to progressions
and indices.
In form B the boys were able to solve |
= ae
Time-Table.—It was found impossible to obtain a separate
period in an already crowded time table, and I was, therefore,
compelled to take one-third of the time devoted to a lesson in
algebra or Euclid. The results more than justified themselves.
Note Books consisting of alternate leaves of squared and
ordinary ruled paper will be found most satisfactory.
Scheme of Work.—In form A we began by discussing positive
and negative quantities illustrated by numerous examples of the
type, ‘* Prove on squared paper that3 —5 +1 +2=1.” Then
followed the co-ordinates of a point with plenty of oral work
at the black-board. The areas of various geometrical figures
formed by the straight lines joining points whose co-ordinates
were given were next determined. The next step was the
drawing of simple graphs, and here the purely mathematical
part of the subject ended so far as form A was concerned. As
soon as they had had sufficient practice in drawing graphs, they
began to represent graphically various data in which they were
personally interested ; e.g., the scores made at cricket—
imaginary in many cases, I am afraid—the rise and fall of the
barometer and thermometer, the number of marbles, marks or
chestnuts gained fer diem, and so on. Gradually they were
able to tackle questions in which they had not only to plot
curves but to deduce the answers to questions arising from the
curve they had plotted. Questions of the following type were
worked with great interest: “Given the lighting-up time for
cyclists for various dates, find whether a cyclist could be sum-
moned for not having his lamp lit at such a time on such a
date.” The use of graphs to find the number of inches in
a given number of centimetres and vice-versa, and other practical
questions of the type afforded a considerable amount of interest-
ing and useful practise. , a
‘In form B the same ground was covered more daki and
the solution of simultaneous equations by graphs and the
verification of the results by algebra was the next step. More
difficult questions in plotting curves were given, and the limit
of the work was reached by their ability to find the equation of
a given straight line. l
The boys in form C required a considerably less amount
of time to reach the position attained by form B. They were
then able to proceed with the solution of quadratic equations by `
means of graphs, and this part of the subject occupied some
time, but the work proved interesting and suggestive. For
example, in solving two equations such as t? — 6x + 9 = O and
x? — 6x + 8 = 0, a boy is apt to give the answer to the first
equation as .r = 3 and to the second as + = 4 or 2 without
stopping to ask himself the question as to why one equation has
apparently only one root when as a quadratic equation it ought
to have two. A comparison of the graphs of the equations,
however, at once enables him to see the reason, and the liability
to future mistakes of this type is thus reduced to a minimum.
The solution of simultaneous quadratic equations by means of
graphs, and the introduction of the geometric figures of the
circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola and their respective:
equations, afford ample practice and practically mark the limit
of the purely mathematical work in the form. More advanced
questions arising from the plotting of curves should alternate
with the purely mathematical work, and in this respect
Whitaker’s ‘‘ Almanac” will be found a veritable El Dorado
of suggestive statistics,
es R. B. MORGAN. |
Newark Grammar School. E T
Viva-Yòce Examinations In French.
I must thank Mr. Conacher for his kind expression of
approval of my short article on this subject. ` I do not krow
whether I understand aright his remarks on nasals, but Í think
Prof. Passy will convince him that mg and ng are as different’
240
from m and n, as ais from z. The alphabet of the Association
Phonétique Internationale shows this very clearly. I agree
‘with Mr. Conacher that the tendency in French at the present
moment is towards lessening the number of /razsons in conver-
sation and reading of prose.
DE V. PAYEN- PAYNE.
Information wanted in Natal.
We are often asked here to provide information about schools
in England. I venture to ask the hospitality of your columns
for the purpose of inviting heads of English schools, both day
and boarding schools, to supply us with their prospectuses, and
any other information which they may think it worth while to
fil
e.
Education Office, P. A. BARNETT.
Pietermaritzburg, Natal.
A Holiday in Switzerland.
THE members of the party which I propose to take to
Switzerland this summer cannot be described as ‘‘ schoolgirls,”
under which title you referred to them in the notice which you
were kind enough to insert in your April number. On the con-
trary, most of them will be engaged in some professional work.
We shall leave London on August 4th, and I have arranged
with M. Dessoulavy that those who travel out with me and wish
to do so can take a course in French at Neuchatel (fee £1) for
about three weeks from August 6th. They can then spend
several days in the Oberland, and return vf Lucerne and
Paris. As this is not a commercial venture, I shall feel obliged
if enquirers will send a stamped addressed envelope.
L. Epxa WALTER.
38, Woodberry Grove,
Finsbury Park, London, N.
Physical Geography at the Cambridge Locals.
THOUGH rather late, I feel bound to draw attention to the
criticism on the Junior candidates of the examiner in physical
geography in the Cambridge Locals. He says : ‘‘ The practical
part of the subject as defined by the schedule issued by the
Syndicate had evidently been studied in a practical manner in
very few cases. For instance, in the majority of the papers in
which a question referring lo a rainbow was attempted the
colours of the rainbow were given in the order exactly opposite
to the correct one, and had obviously been learned by rote.”
This criticism seems unfortunate. (i.) The time sct apart for
teaching geography in schools is necessarily short, and, however
much excursions may be indulged in and lectures given on the
spot, it is not likely that a rainbow will present itself for exami-
nation at the proper time, and however much observation apart
from the teacher be insisted on, it is scarcely the fault of
the “instruction ” if the children do not notice the particular
order of the rainbow’s colours. (ii.) Even if the fact is observed,
it is detached from everything else in the subject of physical
geography and therefore useless educationally. iii.) The
‘© observation of rainbows” is stated in the printed schedule,
referred to by the examiner, to be ‘‘ for seniors only ; ” and with
the examiner I hold that, if the question is to be set at all, it
must be set as a question on observation and not as cram-work,
and consequently it ought not to have been set in an examina-
tion from which the observation is specially excluded.
Perhaps as an isolated question it may not do much harm,
but there is a distinct tendency to set questions on physical
geography which are not geography at all, much less physical
geography, and the tendency should be checked.
High School, J. FAIRGRIEVE.
New Southgate.»
The School World
[JUNE, 1903,
PRIZE COMPETITION.
Result of No. 18.—Most Popular First-Year Books
~ in French. |
THE voting in this competition selected the following six
books as the most popular :—
(3) “ First French Book.” By Henri Bué. (Hachette.) 10d.
(2) ‘“ Macmillan’s Progressive French Course.” First Year.
By G. E. Fasnacht. Is.
(3) “ Dent’s First French Book.” By S. Alge and W.
Rippmann. 1s. 6d.
i) “ First French Course?’ By C. A. Chardenal. (Hachette.)
Is. 6d.
(5) ‘Siepmann’s Primary French Course.” First Year. By
Otto Siepmann. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6d.
(6) “First French Book.” By F. E. A. Gasc.
Is, 6d.
The first prize is awarded to—
The Rev. Geo. Harris,
Christ’s Hospital, West Horsham,
who named the six books correctly.
The second prize is taken by
C. Newdigate,
| Stonyhurst, Blackburn,
who named five of the winning books.
Edith C. Stent’s list was the next in order of merit.
No. 19.—Most Popular School Class-Books of
General Geography.
WHICH six books of general geography are most widely used
in schools at the present time? Answers to this question are
required in the competition for this month. Each competitor
must send a list of the titles, &c., of six school-books of
general geography that he considers are the most popular
ones now in use in schools.
For the purpose of this competition, those books will be
judged the most popular which are most frequently named in
the lists received.
We offer two prizes of books, one of the published value of a
guinea, the other of half-a-guinea, to be selected from the cata-
logue of Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Limited. The prizes will
be given for the two lists which most resemble that drawn up
as a result of the voting of the competitors.
In naming a book, its title, author, publisher and price should
be given. Each list of books sent in must be accompanied by
a coupon printed on page V., though a reader may send in more
than one list provided each has a coupon attached. Replies
must reach the Editors of THR ScHOooI. WORLD, St. Martin's
Street, London, W.C., on or before Thursday, June 11th,
4908. The decision of the Editors in this, as in all competi-
tions, is final. :
The result will be published in the July number, when the
successful list will be published.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
(Bell. )
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent lo i
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements should be addressed te
the Publishers, .
THE ScHOOL WoRLD fs published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy ts Sixpence.
Annnal subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, if
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepaid.
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication,
The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
THE RELATIVE ADVANTAGES
ABSTRACT AND CONCRETE
THODS IN EDUCATION.
By Sir OLIVER LopcE, F.R.S.
Principal of the University of Birmingham.
ME-
PART I.—GENERAL CONTENTION.
ERHAPS the words “abstract” and “‘con-
crete”? do not accurately represent my
meaning; perhaps I should have used the
words “ synthetic” and “analytic.” But what I
mean is simple enough: the only uncertainty is
connected with the practical problem as to which
method of teaching is best. Is it best to begin
with abstract principles, and gradually build upa
concrete structure? Or is it best to begin with
the concrete facts of experience, and analyse or
dissect them down to their foundations? Or is it
best to begin at both ends at once, endeavouring
to interleave the principles and the facts? Or,
lastly, is it better to apply the two methods in
sequence? And if so, which is it best to begin
with?
I will ask no more questions, but will state what
I believe to be the best mode of dealing with
youth. (For adults it may be that other methods
are desirable—though I doubt it.)
I believe it best first to introduce the learner to
some concrete facts, to interest him in the com-
pleted structure, to accustom him to the clothed
and living organism for some time, before proceed-
ing to instruct him in its abstract principles. And
when we approach those abstract principles I do
not think that it can be, with young learners, by
dissection. It is too hard a way. It is the way
that scholars arrived at them no doubt; but it
took men of genius to dissect out and to display
the principles.
That work has now been done, and there is no
need to conduct the learner through that difficult
task; indeed it is impossible. When he 1s led to
approach the principles, they must be given to
him in their simplest and most abstract form.
They must not be confused and masked with any
concrete or technical details. They must be pre-
1 The substance of a discourse made to the Birmingham Teachers’ Asso-
ciation on March sth, 1901.
No. 55, VoL. 5.]
JULY, 1903.
-———
OF |
!
the organism to which he is being introduced ; but
|
SIXPENCE,
|
sented in as bare and simple a fashion as the
teacher has been able to arrange them in his own
mind.
But it should be recognised that the joy of having
them so arranged is liable to lead a teacher to
think that the learner can appreciate them as he
does, and that a learner can begin with them. It
is the attempt to begin with them that is the mis-
take. The concrete experience must be there first,
so that the principles shall not be perfectly isolated
and unsupported wraiths in an unknown world ;
but rather shall themselves be seen to be, or be
gradually felt to constitute, a substantial under-
lying framework able to sustain a great structure
of concrete fact.
The learner who is thus being led by two dis-
tinct paths, first by the path of experience, and
next by the independent path of reasoning, until
the two meet, will not have learnt, in the first
instance and by the first path alone, to understand
he will have acquired some fulness of experience,
some interest and feeling of reality, of practical
value, to which one can afterwards appeal; an
experience which, whether one appeals to it or not,
will colour and enliven all his subsequent more
abstract studies.
And when the two paths have met, and a frac-
tion of genuine science is thus begun, then I would
once more direct his attention to further details of
the finished structure, to a clearer and stronger
and more comprehensive grasp of the abstract
principles, until gradually the structure can be
realised as a whole and comprehended all together.
There are some subjects in which the necessary
initial experience is begun by life itself—subjects
in which simple experiments cannot be avoided.
There are some children’s minds which realise this
more readily than others, and those are they that
are able to learn rapidly and may even appear to be
able to begin with abstract principles. Not that
they are really able to begin with abstractions, but
because the concrete instances whence the abstrac-
tions are drawn are unconsciously and without
effort familiar.
Children who as infants have taken pleasure in
watching the working of a crane or of a clock or of
a steam engine; children who have had mechanical
toys, and have drawn with compasses, and cut
| paper patterns, and dealt with material bodies and
U
geometrical shapes familiarly ; these will find no
difficulty in beginning their conscious education
with the abstract principles ; rather they will de-
light in them and take a pleasure therein as a
simplification of what else were complex, as a
child likes to thread beads on to a string, or stitch
tangled skeins into a pattern, or form scrap calico
into clothes for dolls.
I repeat, then, that though we may begin with
the goal, and show what we are aiming at, or
rather not show it laboriously and insistently, but let
it show itself; then it is necessary to begin inde-
pendently at the bare and accurately-stated first-
principles, and lead up little by little to the goal
from which we started, but which the child now
arrives at by a long and laborious route, and is
able to regard now with quite other and compre-
hending eyes.
Nor is one such alternation sufficient. It is
necessary to dive down to first principles and
come up again to the living and complete reality
again and again, until gradually the descent and
the ascent cease to be alternate processes distri-
buted in time, but become one comprehensive and
simultaneous grasp.
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE TEACHING OF
LANGUAGES, OF HISTORY, AND OF GEOGRAPHY.
To illustrate I may take examples from any
subject :—
For instance, would I recommend beginning
with the grammar of a language, introducing the
learner first to the skeleton of the dissected and
museumed accidence? I would not.
He should first see and hear the language in
actual work, see it below pictures, over shops, in
newspapers, in general talk, or in as many of these
places as might be possible.
But then 1 would not expect him to be able to
do the work of scholars and dissect out the
abstract principles of grammar from the concrete
mass.
No; I would then begin again at the beginning,
and lead him up, through accidence and syntax and
all the other carefully elaborated schemes, to a
comprehension—not of how the language arose by
evolution; that belongs to a further stage of
scholarship—but at least of what sort of elements
and processes it is now in fact composed.
So, also, take history. I have an idea that a
-child cannot take a proper and healthy interest in
history till it becomes able to take some sort of
interest in contemporary politics, till it realises in
some dim fashion the motives which actuate public
men, and the passionate patriotism to which
humanity may be subject. If this idea be well
founded, then history is in reality an adult subject,
and only in a very limited and family fashion can a
child be taught it. Its ‘‘ history” can be largely
biographical, or it may follow the fortunes of a
reigning house, because these things are not
wholly beyond its concrete experience, but it can-
not grasp the rise and decay of nations as a whole,
nor can it enter into the mind of statesmen, nor
The School World _
[JuLY, 1903.
realise the fierce struggle for apparently insignifi-
cant objects which constitutes human lite. So its
history must be full of anecdote and of picturesque
adventure, not too far removed from fairy tales
and schoolboy scrimmages: must be, in fact, the
beggarly elements and trappings of history, and
not its soul.
Yet this adventurous treatment is by no means
to be despised. The parts of history which live in
our imagination are those parts which have been
seized and embodied by poet or novelist or drama-
tist, by men and women of genius who have known
how to clothe dead bones with living human sub-
stance, and have been able to recreate the dead
past and make it stir our feelings and quicken our
pulse. History of this kind is fit for human beings
at any age; and picturesque treatment should
precede as well as accompany more orderly and
systematic presentation.
Geography again, if well taught, is, I suppose,
an admirable subject ; but the best way to appre-
ciate it is to plan a route of travel, and then, if
possible, go the journey unconducted. Let a boy
see in the actual what has been studied in the
map, realise the distances, the mountains, and the
rivers, fill in the details which a book leaves
blank, get some living notion of what the surface
of the earth is like, and how poorly it has to be
represented, until gradually he learns to exercise
his imagination, and becomes able to picture some-
thing of a country and surroundings he has never
seen.
(To be continued.)
RECENT REFORMS OF SECONDARY
EDUCATION IN FRANCE.
By Dr. H. SCHOEN.
Professor at the University of Aix- Marseilles.
INCE the beginning of the nineteenth century
secondary education has perhaps made less
progress in France than in any other
European nation. Whilst England, Germany,
and even smaller countries such as Switzerland,
Holland, and Belgium, have done much to reform
their secondary as well as their primary education,
the French Lycées and Collèges! present but
slight changes from the time of Napoleon I. to the
Third Republic.
In the curriculum of French secondary schools,
the first place was assigned to Greek and Latin
studies, just as they have been handed down from
century to century since the middle ages. Such
modern studies as living languages and natural
sciences were held in small esteem. Physical train-
ing, which is in so high repute in England, was
practically neglected in France. As to moral
1 The French “Lycées” and “ Collèges” are both establishments of
secondary teaching, but the former are State schools and the latter are
town schools.
JULY, 1903. ]
education, it was hardly ever contemplated. As
modern society progressed under the threefold
influence of scientific thought, industrial dis-
coveries and social intercourse among nations, the
gulf became wider and wider between French
official teaching and the needs of modern life. A
young man, who came out of the French grammar-
schools at the age of seventeen, was like a soldier
provided with the arms of the middle ages, who
would have had to fight an enemy armed with
the most modern weapons. He had spent his
youth over Latin or Greek translations, but he
was generally quite ignorant of the most simple
applications of steam or electricity. He knew how
a Roman in the time of Augustus wrote a letter or
greeted a fellow countryman, but was unable to
ask his way or to order his breakfast in English or
German ; he was acquainted with the topography
of ancient Rome, but was sometimes ignorant of
the geography of modern Europe and often had
no notion of the American States. He could recite
all the list of French kings from Mérovée to Louis
Philip, but had no exact notion of the war of 1870
or the organisation of a modern government.
In a word, the young Frenchman entered upon
life almost unarmed for its struggles. He re-
sembled the adolescent in the year 1865, who is
described by the illustrious Academician Ernest
Lavisse, who designates him as follows :—
A young man who knows nothing about his own body, nor
animal and vegetable life ; a young man who knows hardly any-
thing of his own country and nothing at all of foreign lands,
condemned by his imperfect knowledge of the past to misunder-
stand the present and future ; a young man of insufficient parts,
of wavering fatth, whatever his faith may be, liable to remain
in ignorance of essential things, for his education has not left in
mind any of the great curiosities which are a stimulant to work ;
a young man nearly devoid of knowledge and who thinks him-
self perfect—a very nice but deficient youth.!
For some time this practical incapacity of the
pupils on leaving the French lycées and
colleges had attracted the attention of the govern-
ment, as well as that of the public in general.
For twenty-two years (1881) a first attempt was
made to establish, parallel with the Greek-Latin
education, a more practical one, which was called
enseignement spécial, particularly devoted to the
study of the exact sciences. In 18g1 this teaching
was already replaced by what is styled enseignement
moderne, the latter epithet being thought more
significant. In this new curriculum a more
important place was assigned to living languages,
as indispensable for any man of education.
This change, however, proved a failure. For
the children of the upper class naturally adhered
to the classical side, which is required for all
liberal careers; besides, this study is a deep-
rooted tradition ina Romanic country like France.
The boys who followed the modern side could only
be recruited among pupils from the elementary
schools in town and country, or among those who
l See Revue internationale de l Enseignement, No. 12, December 15th,
1902.
The School World
Es SO
were unable to pursue their classical studies.
Hence arose a tendency to despise the ‘* modern
teaching.”
The natural result of this tendency was that the
Faculties of Law and Medicine excluded this new
category of pupils, as well as the Faculties of
Letters and Theology, for which a knowledge of
Greek and Latin was more justified, so that in the
French Universities only the Faculties of Sciences
remained open to those who had gone through the
modern curriculum. As very few families were
willing to render four Faculties out of five in-
accessible to their boys, by far the greater number
of the sons of the upper class continued to pore
over Greek and Latin dictionaries; whilst in
all neighbouring countries the number of pupils
who studied sciences and foreign languages was
ever on the increase, the proportion of French
classical scholars was far higher than in England
and Germany. This was hardly compatible with
the aspirations of a modern democratic nation.
For this reason the State education seemed to
respond less and less to the wants and legitimate
requirements of modern society.
In order to reconcile higher education to the
ever-increasing requirements of every day, the
Minister of Public Instruction, seconded by the
two Chambers, has just brought about a radical
reform in secondary teaching. But this reform,
though rapidly carried out, has been, however,
long under consideration and prepared with care.
Far from being hastily conceived, no scholastic
reform was ever more seriously and methodically
elaborated in France. For two years a committee
appointed by Parliament interviewed the leading
educational authorities, and their labours have
been incorporated in seven large volumes, which
have been gratuitously distributed among the
Universities and lycées of France.
The Reform may be summarised as follows :—
Three fundamental ideas inspired the organisers.
The first was to give a larger scope to modern
studies, without unduly loading the programme,
without over-taxing boys’ delicate brains, and thus
render official education more compatible with the
needs wf modern life. ` Secondly, an attempt was
made to unify secondary teaching by imparting to
all scholars a common fund of general knowledge,
on which special branches of learning might be
engrafted, according to the future careers of the
pupils. Lastly, it was desired to facilitate the
entry of primary-school boys into the lycées
and colleges, and also intended that a pupil not
working for a liberal career might leave these
establishments without having passed through all
the forms, but with sufficient knowledge to carry
him through practical life. These diverse objects,
which were kept in view, will serve to illustrate
the principal lines of this reform. But how were
they to be practically realised ?
To begin with, the separation between classical
and modern education was abolished in order to
unify the teaching in secondary schools. Formerly,
the classical lasted a year longer than the modern
curriculum ; henceforth, secondary education will
244
occupy the same length of time for all pupils alike.
‘The modern schoolboy was excluded from most
liberal careers; in the future there will be equality
of sanction, that is to say, all careers will be open to
every pupil of secondary schools, whatever special
studies they have chosen. This is how the unity
of secondary teaching is to be realised.
But this unity could not be uniformity. During
the last half century the syllabuses had been over-
loaded, and gave rise to many complaints. At the
beginning of the nineteenth century the curriculum
had comprised Greek, Latin, French, philosophy
and elementary mathematics. By degrees were
added history, geography, modern languages,
chemistry, physics and natural history ; but these
additions had only overloaded the programmes or
overwhelmed the intelligences, without producing
any good result on the majority of pupils. It was
then decided that certain branches, such as Greek,
modern languages, mathematics, should not be
required from all pupils in equal proportion, and
‘that each scholar might study as many sciences,
modern or ancient languages, according to his
tastes, capacity, and also according to the career
he might choose. Thus the State wished to
avoid overwork and, at the same time, to give a
better place to modern studies than previously, but
only for a certain number of the scholars.
To permit the pupils of primary schools to enter
a lycée or college without difficulty, it was
decided that the teaching of the secondary school,
properly called, should commence only with the
sixth form inclusively. Therefore, the pupils of
the seventh and eighth classes, called the Elementary
Division, from the ninth and tenth, called the
Preparatory Division, should only study what is
taught in a good elementary school, and particu-
larly not begin any special study that should
afterwards be continued in the sixth class. Con-
sequently, Latin is excluded from these classes,
and modern languages are, but temporarily, main-
tained in them. That is to say, in these two
divisions the teaching will comprise only French,
writing, drawing, singing, arithmetic, elementary
morals, geography and history.
Experience has proved that it is useless to begin
Latin, as was formerly done in France, before nine
or ten years of age, that is to say in the seventh
or even in the eighth form; it is assuredly better
to begin by teaching the child to speak its native
language, to reflect and to reason. As for living
languages, many professors disapprove their im-
minent suppression in the lowest classes; but
these languages will be, by way of compensation,
more thoroughly taught in the higher forms, The
great advantage of this part of the recent reform
will be to permit many parents who live in the
country to keep their children longer at home;
and when we consider the drawbacks of the
great boarding-schools (tuternats*), which are so
numerous in France, it will be satisfactory to
1 In the French lycées and colleges the highest classes are the first and
se ond, while the lowest forms are the ninth and tenth.
“In France the State schools (lycées and colleges) include numerous
boarders (42eres)e
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
know that the number of boarders from six to
ten years old will be diminished.
With the sixth form begins thus so-called s-
condary education. It is divided into two great
cycles, the first of which lasts four years, from the
sixth to the third, and the other three years, from
the second to the head class.
The FIRST CYCLE is organised in such a way as
to form a whole, so that the pupil who has gone
through it, and who wishes to enter practical life
from fourteen or fifteen years of age, could leave
the lycée or college without being too uninformed,
provided with a store of knowledge, small no doubt,
but sufficient. It was thus wished to attract to the
lycées and colleges many children whose parents
would be discouraged by too prolonged studies.
This first cycle is separated into two divisions.
In one is studied French, modern languages (five
hours a week), history and geography (three hours),
arithmetic and science (three hours), drawing,
much Latin (six or seven hours), and a little Greek,
but the last as an optional subject.
In the other division, which does not include the
study of Latin and Greek, more French is studied,
more science (mathematics, physics, chemistry,
natural history), modern languages, history, geo-
graphy, and, from the fourth form, a little book-
keeping. At the end of this first cycle, a certificate
for secondary studies of first degree can be given to the
pupils according to the marks obtained during
these four years of study, and according to the
judgment of the professors whose lessons they
followed.
In the SECOND cycLE the variety is still greater.
Four principal groups are offered to the pupils,
viz., (1) the Latin-Greek Section, intended for
. scholars who previously have done not only Latin
but also Greek. Tothe latter subject is given five
hours a week, whilst modern languages and mathe-
matics are reduced to a minimum. So far as one
can judge, this section is at present the least in
favour among the pupils, and it seems that only
the future teachers of Greek and Latin will learn
the language of Homer and Sophocles. It was
indeed hoped to save this language in reserving it
for select pupils,’ but the number seems to be few.
(2) The Latin Section with a more developed study of
the living languages.—The time devoted to Greek in
the previous section will especially be given to the
study of two modern languages, and English or
German are required, whilst in the Greek-Latin
section the pupils have the choice between English,
German, Italian and Spanish. This section seems
to be suitable to the aristocracy, future lawyers,
political men and journalists.
(3) The Latin Section with a more complete study of
sciences.— Here mathematics, physics, and chemistry
will take the place of Greek. It will be suitable to
—
1 Cf what Prof. G. G. Ramsay, M.A., LL.D., Litt. D., at the first annual
meeting of the Scottish Classical Assocation (November zgth, r902) bas
said: “ We recognise the fact that those studies (classical studies), with their
severe demands, are not, and by their very nature cannot te made a satiatit
for all; we recognise that, with the advance of knowledge in all depar-
ments, there are other subjects which must form part of any general scheme
of higher education, however high: and that there are other directions in
which, if only right. methods be employed, and right aims held in view, 4
liberal education of a really high kini can be secured."
JULY, 1903: ]
careers requiring a thorough study of the exact
sciences combined with general culture. It is
probable that future doctors, future students of the
Faculties of sciences, will prefer it.
(4) Finally, the Section of Modern Languages com-
bined with the study of sciences. —T his section, the only
one in which there is no Latin, is intended for
pupils who have not studied Latin in the first cycle,
or who had no taste to continue it. It seems that it
will be preferred by future officers, engineers, manu-
facturers, merchants, post and station-masters.!
The two first sections prepare for a class of
Philosophy, in which the philological studies are
crowned, according to ancient French tradition,
by the teaching of psychology, logic, morals,
metaphysics and history of philosophy. The two
last sections end in a Mathematical class, in which
the exact and natural sciences are ranked first, and
leave but little space for the study of philosophy.
To each section will correspond, after the two
highest forms, a special examination, corresponding
to the teaching of each branch, and of which the
two parts will continue to be called in France,
from ancient tradition, Baccalaureates. But each of
these four Baccalaureates will confer the same pre-
rogatives and render all the Faculties accessible.
Such is the reform which has been introduced
into France since last October, at least in the
greatest number of classes. It seems that it will
give good results, for it is a powerful effort to bring
secondary education nearer to the most legitimate
needs of ouy time. It gives more importance to
real life and secures for modern languages, exact
sciences, history and geography, the place they
merit in our contemporary societies.
The ancient establishments of secondary teach-
ing, the legacy of the past, with its Greek- Latin
tradition, no longer corresponded to new scientific
methods. The French lycées and colleges—
renewed and transformed—are to be henceforth in
close communion with the noblest aspirations and
intellectual wants of our time. Such is the condi-
tion of their vitality, success and influence.
[The French Government issued the new pro-
grammes for all seccndary schools—classical and
modern—in France, in July, 1902, and the new
curricula, which give detailed courses of study, are
most important, as likely to be of great assistance
to teachers and local authorities concerned with
English secondary education. The Office of
Special Inquiries and Reports of our Board of
Education is at present engaged in preparing a
volume on the subject ; meanwhile Prof. Schoen’s
article will prove of general interest. The author
wishes it to be stated that the right of reproduction
or translation of this article is expressly reserved.
Requests for permission to reprint the article or
for further information should be addressed to the
author, Prof. H. Schoen, 25, rue du Quatre
Septembre, Aix-en-Provence, France.—Epitors.]
l| See Journal Officiel de ia République française, vol. xxxiv., No. 148,
June 2nd, 1902; ch Revue internationale de l liinseignement, June, 1902:
Marcel Bernis in the Revue de T Enseignement secondaire, xxiii., No. 13,
poy ist, 1902; La Acforme et Cinguietude dans CUniversité,” and,
astly, our article in the Ventsshe Rundschau, October, 1902.
The School World:
245
BOY ADMINISTRATORS.
By F. W. HeaDLEY, M.A.
Haileybury College.
ARON COUBERTIN’S recently published
estimate of English public schools,’ while
highly commendatory, cannot but lead us
to reflect upon the principles on which our public-
school system is based and, further, on the
question whether the system is not being gradually
modified, There can be no doubt, as Baron
Coubertin has said, that the life of them is the
management of school institutions by the boys
themselves. Are we true to this principle? or is
the tendency growing to manage for the boys
instead of letting them manage? Is the master
more and more invading domains that used to be
reserved for the boy ?
The temptation to desert what is really the
ground principle of the public school is never
absent. A boy manager, whether games or
house-discipline be entrusted to him, is frequently
inefficient. His term of office is short. He hasto
learn his work, and often, before he has learnt it
thoroughly, his school-time is over. If he is of
the ablest sort, he will learn by watching his
predecessors before he himself takes the reins, but
it is not given to all to learn in this easy way.
He may be casual and easy-going—very often is—
and to interfere immediately and perpetually may
mean the withdrawal of the freedom which it is
essential to give him. Again, it may happen,
though not very often, that failures of this kind
may come to the notice of the parents of other
boys who suffer through the inefficiency of prefects
or captains of games. And then there may follow
a demand from outside for greater smartness,
greater efficiency, even at the sacrifice of our
fundamental principles of school government. The
British public, in fact, demands that there should
be no failures. But occasional failures, sometimes
comic, sometimes tragic, are of the very essence
of the system. The management of some depart-
ments is very largely entrusted to boys. It is
their education or a large part of it. Rob them of
responsibility, supervise till failure is difficult, and
what becomes of their education ? It 1s postponed,
all this valuable part of it—the business training,
the management of other human beings—till they
have left school.
Many influences tend to narrow the boy ad-
ministrator’s sphere of activity. Such an institution
as a volunteer corps or a natural history society
cannot be entirely managed by boys. They can
only fill subordinate positions where not much
freedom is possible. And thus even such an
excellent institution as a volunteer corps leads to
some curtailment of self-government. Even in
school games there is not the same freedom as here-
tofore. The intense excitement aroused by inter-
school contests and the publicity given to them have
1! Fortnightly Review, December, 1902.
246
led to one regrettable consequence. If excellence
in games is to be attained, the management of
them cannot be entirely entrusted to the boys
themselves. There must be masters appointed to
coach and superintend. Their personal influence
is, no doubt, excellent, and they have often the
good sense to allow as much freedom as possible
to the boy-captains. But when experience and
inexperience meet, the latter, unless it is unusually
self-confident, is likely to seek advice and follow it.
And so a good thing is gained by the sacrifice of
another good thing.
In matters of discipline there is a movement in
the same direction. In this spic-and-span age
public opinion is exacting, and the tendency is to
entrust less to prefects for fear there should be
failure. Then follows the invariable result. The
boy-official is less strenuous, because his responsi-
bility is less. It happened—say, thirty years ago—
in not a few schools that a house would be left fora
number of years in the charge of a master whose
slackness was of a kind and of a degree that would
not be tolerated at the present day. It was in this
soil that the strongest prefects grew, just as among
the ancient Israelites the strongest judges arose
when things were at their worst. We cannot
revive this obsolete state of things, but we can see
its merits, or, to put it better, its redeeming
features.
The school of thirty years ago had one un-
doubted advantage. The greater leisure of those
times allowed boys to think, and develop ideas of
their own. The pressure of examinations discour-
ages thought and leaves little energy in those, over
whose heads the examinations hang like drawn
swords, for anything exceptional. Baron Coubertin
does not recognise the evil of this. He recom-
mends longer hours with a view to the attainment of
a higher intellectual level. But make the hours of
all boys as long as those of army candidates, and
school institutions would dwindle and pine. Ifthe
schoolboy is to be made more intellectual, it must
be by exciting greater interest in intellectual
subjects and by bringing more pressure to bear
upon idlers. The idea that the brain can be
stimulated by mere confinement in company with
books and an overworked master is a very strange
one. Excessively long hours have only a deadening
effect.
The moral of all this is plain. We must not
over-teach and, still less, must we over-govern.
Human nature at school is much the same as
human nature elsewhere. Release from re-
sponsibility produces everywhere the same result—
moral slackness and enfeeblement. The little
villaye communities still existing in India, and of
which we still find vestiges in Britain, are suffering,
or have suffered, from similar influences. So long
as the central government was either weak or bad,
the necessity of defending themselves against
marauders, rival villages, or unscrupulous tax-
collectors, bound the individuals together and
formed the cement of the community. But, when
the State became strong, the police ubiquitous and
moderately efhcient, then the little community
i The School | World
pe NP ee I ee GSES Oe ae ie eS eg SS ee
[JULY, 1903.
had no need to defend itself. The responsibility
was shifted on to the shoulders of the police, and
there followed a weakening of the ties that bound
together the associated families. There was less
self-government and more government from
without.
These facts are a warning against over-govern-
ing. Formerly a public school resembled a family
in which the father instilled sound principles into his
sons, and then left them very much to themselves.
Now we have reached a stage in which it may
be compared to one in which the father and the
elder sons who have passed the age of boyhood
organise the amusements of the younger sons and,
to a great extent, live with them. Both systems
have their advantages. But there is great danger
in extending the present system further. Probably
in many schools it has already gone further than
is desirable. But happily, as a rule, much of the
administration and management is still left to the
boys themselves, and it is highly important that
they should remain so, and that; wherever it is
possible, there should be a further extension in
this direction. No doubt where there is freedom
there will occasionally be evils, and serious ones.
If there has been any remissness on the part of
boy-authorities they must have their responsibility
forcibly brought home to them. But we must not
consider that, because of the existence of evil, the
system is condemned, as long as the evil in ques-
tion is confined to a small minority and is repro-
bated by the majority. Nor should itelead to any
narrowing of the spheres within which boys
exercise authority. After all, masters can, by
incessant activity, do nothing but cleanse the
outside of the platter. Their true policy is to
strive to influence the minds of those whom they
put in authority. If they can be induced to think
rightly on important questions, all will go well.
And with regard to school institutions, any en-
croachment by masters should be viewed as a
movement in the wrong direction. As examina-
tions enter more and more into the lives of boys,
and as their leisure hours are more and more cut
into, it will be easy enough to find excuses for
departing further from the sound principles which
have guided public schools in the past. Yet
nothing but harm can result from yielding to the
temptation. The tendency in the present day is
manifest, and the conditions under which we live
may ultimately act irresistibly, so that our own
efforts may be powerless to direct the course of
school development. But it is not for the
individual to decide that he is impotent to resist
the force of circumstances. Arnold's principles
are still those on which public schools must be
worked, though the trend of things is slowly
making it more difficult to be faithful to them.
SELF-GOVERNMENT is the object a great school proposes to
itself in its life and laws, and the praeposters are the machinery
for carrying out this self-government amongst the boys them-
selves. Without them the masters are despots, and despotic
laws must, as far as they can, do the work of sound internal
popular government, self-worked and within reach of all.—
Thring.
JuLy, 1903.]
MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR
SCHOOL USE.
By W. D. Eccar, M.A.
Eton College.
EOMETRICAL drawing has recently be-
G come a recognised part of mathematics.
It used to be a very humble retainer whose
services were frequently dispensed with. Then
some years ago it was promoted from 500 to 1,000
marks in Army examinations, and at once rose to
a position of importance in military circles. In
civilian society it was still treated as a person of
no importance; but recent action of the Universities
has raised it from obscurity, and many of us desire
its better acquaintance. The Cambridge Local
and other examinations require practical geometry
to accompany theoretical; and the combination
forces us all to recognise that Euclid’s order and
method do not fit in well with our practical work.
It is not proposed to alter our practical methods to
fitin with Euclid; though many irreverent attempts
have been made to cut Euclid up and piece it on
to the practical work. It may, therefore, be
assumed that drawing-office methods are to be
followed, and that the best modern instruments
are desirable.
In selecting instruments for beginners, certain
special features are to be looked for. Accuracy is
of course the main consideration in all instruments;
but for elementary work we need in addition
simplicity, durability and cheapness. The fol-
lowing remarks are made in the hope of helping
teachers to compass these ends.
Pencits.—The Cambridge Local authorities
demand a hard pencil, though the degree of hard-
ness is not specified. The writer finds that
Faber’s HH with a “chisel” point is well suited
to elementary work. It makes a fine clear line,
and the chisel edge lasts longer than an ordinary
point, though in delicate work a fine point is
preferable as making it easier to see the beginning
and end of the line. In skilful hands an F or an
HB gives good results; but for the average clumsy
boy HH is to be recommended.
ScaLes.—A boxwood scale, showing inches and
tenths on one edge and centimetres and millimetres
on the cther, is, of course, a necessity. For ruling
lines and measuring distances it is an advantage
to have the edges bevelled. If,on the other hand,
we wish to use the scale in combination with a set-
square, for ruling parallels at given distances, the
bevelled edge is a disadvantage, as the set-square
is liable to slip over or under it. Still both kinds
can be used accurately for both purposes, and the
matter may be left to individual taste.
Mr. Baker, 244, High Holborn, supplies a scale
of good quality, showing 12 inches and 30 centi-
metres, at 1s. 6d. Messrs. Aston and Mander, 61,
Old Compton Street, supply similar scales showing
6 inches at 8d. each. Messrs. Eyre and Spottis-
woode supply at 45s. per gross 6 inch scales, with
diagonal scale at the back. A cheaper form of
The School | World
247
very fair accuracy can be obtained from the
Educational Supply Association, 42, Holborn
Viaduct, 2s. per dozen.
Protractor.—The semicircular form is the
easier for beginners to understand. If made of
stout celluloid, with the graduations on the under-
side, it is fairly rigid and accurate (Aston and
Mander). Lilley and Son, 10, London Street, Fen-
church Street, make a celluloid protractor showing
half-degrees. The cheap horn-protractors are
liable to warp, and none of the semi-circular type
appear to me to give as accurate results as the rect-
angular form. This is, perhaps, more difficult to
explain toa beginner ; but if its method of construc-
tion from the semi-circular form is explained, or,
better still, if the student 1s encouraged to make
both kinds for himself on paper, the difficulty disap-
pears. It may, perhaps, be mentioned here that
the correct way of using a protractor in setting off
angles is xot to put the base of the protractor along
the line with which we wish to make our angle, as
this necessitates a double operation ; first, the mark-
ing of a point opposite the required graduation, and
then the joining of this mark to the angular point.
The correct way to set off an angle of, say, 70° is to
arrange the protractor so that both the middle
point of the base and the 70° graduation lie on the
first line. Then we have only to rule a line along
the base of the protractor.
A useful form of rectangular boxwood pro-
tractor has degrees and a scale of chords on one
side, and on the other a diagonal scale showing
hundredths of an inch. These can be obtained
anywhere.
Another form, combining scale and protractor,
has degrees and scale of chords on one side, inches
and centimetres on the other (Aston and Mander).
SET-SQUARES. — These should be made of
ebonite or celluloid, rather than of wood, which is
hable to warp. Celluloid is a pleasant material to
handle, and I have found it satisfactory (Aston and
Mander, Baker). Some very cheap and apparently
durable pearwood set-squares (Eyre and Spottis-
woode) have edges graduated in inches. Nickel
is another possible. material (E. S. A.). If one
alone is used, it should be the 60” set square, and
the longest edge of it should be marked with a
fleur-de-lys. It can then be used in conjunction
with the scale for ruling parallels at any required
distance apart, the fleur-de-lys sliding down the
slanting scale double of the required distance.
This is of course on the same principle as the
marquoise scales, in which the slope of the triangle
is one in three.
If possible, two set-squares should be in use,
both the 60° and the 45°. They slide better
against each other than against a bevelled straight
edge, and they are useful for making angles of 45”,
60° and 30°, as well as the ordinary parallels and
perpendiculars.
The so-called parallel rulers often supplied with
boxes of instruments are of no practical use.
DivipErs.—Dividers to be of any use must
have sharp points and be capable of accurate
adjustment. Ordinary cheap stiff-jointed dividers
Fr aM aM
-a
-r r q.q Oe ee ee r
” a
248
fail to satisfy the second condition, and very soon
cease to satisfy the first; for the student, having
no particular use for the instrument, judges that
the points must be intended for sticking in to
something, and inserts them in the desk. If,
however, one of the legs is provided with a screw
adjustment, we can measure and set off distances
accurately to hundredths of an inch by first pulling
the legs out as nearly as possible to the required
points, and then turning the screw until the
coincidence is perfect. In the dividers supplied
by Messrs. Aston and Mander, the screw is pro-
vided with a stop, which prevents it from coming
out altogether and so being lost. Such instru-
ments are expensive, and are not really needed
except for dividing arcs by trial, so they may
reasonably be dispensed with.
CompassEs.—For elementary work, a pair of
compasses that will take an ordinary cedar pencil
is desirable. Screw holders are suitable, provided
the screw- cannot be detached. Little fittings of
this sort are liable to be lost, and are difficult
to replace. A spring-socket avoids this difficulty
(Aston and Mander, Baker). A neat form of
screw-socket which will take a pencil of any
moderate size is supplied by the Educational
Supply Association (7s. 6d. per dozen). The
screw does not come off.
A teacher may find it advisable to keep the
instruments used by the class in a drawer, in which
case separate boxes for each student are un-
necessary. If, however, it is thought desirable for
the students to bring their instruments, boxes are
indispensable. Most of the instrument makers
make special terms for supplying large numbers,
and provide boxes of different quality and price.
(Aston and Mander, Eyre and Spottiswoode,
E. S. A., and Relfe Bros., may be mentioned as
supplying these elementary boxes.)
A HOLIDAY TRIP ON THE LOIRE.
By DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE.
Principal of Kensington Coaching College.
HEREAS most English people who have
travelled in France are familiar with Nor-
mandy and Brittany and the districts lying
between England and Paris, only a small proportion
are acquainted with the Loire country, which is no
less interesting architecturally and is much more
so historically, as it 1s so closely connected with
our own Angevin kings and with the entire history
of France up to the time of the Bourbons. Even
those teachers who have attended holiday courses
at Tours have been known to return to England
without having visited even the more famous
chateaux along the banks of this river.
We propose to sketch out a trip of three weeks
or more which may be undertaken either at Easter
orinthe summer. The first thing to do is to get
The School ` World
[JuLy, 1903:
to Paris. We have always considered the after-
noon train, leaving Charing Cross at 2.20, and
arriving at Paris at 9.30, the most convenient
one of the day. It is a wonder that it is not more
largely used, as there is now a restaurant car
from Boulogne to Paris both for first and second-
class passengers; so that one does not have to gulp
down a hasty meal for which an extravagant price
is demanded at the South-Eastern buffet. After a
night’s rest in Paris one can leave the next
morning for Chartres, whose cathedral equals
in interest those of Amiens, Reims, or Beauvais.
The chief points to be remarked in the cathedral
of Chartres are the two steeples—one of which
Huysmans compares to a huge pencil writing
the prayers of mankind on the sky—the stained
glass and the Byzantine figures in the porches.
An excellent déjeuner can be obtained at the
Hotel de France; but really more than one day
should be given to this town, during which time
one might read Mr. Cecil Headlam’s monograph
in the ‘“ Mediæval Towns Series” (Dent, 4s. 6d.) _
Mr. Masseé’s handbook on “Chartres” in Bell's
‘‘Cathedral Series,” and J. K. Huysmans’ “ La
Cathedrale”’ (Stock, 3f. 50). The next stopping
place should be Le Mans, where the east end of the
cathedral is one of the finest in France, and very
little known. Laval is not worth stopping at, and
the monastery at Solesmes is now, unfortunately,
closed by reason of the recent law on religious con-
gregations. Formerly the Benedictine monks were
delighted to show visitors round their domain and
allow them to share their frugal meal. The sculp-
tures in the church are particularly noteworthy.
Therefore, unless permission can be got to visit So-
lesmes, from Le Mans one may proceed straight to
Angers, the capital of Anjou. Here a stay of two
days should be made. Although the cathedral is
interesting rather than beautiful, the castle and the
old houses will afford plenty of sight-seeing, and an
excursion should be made to Les Ponts de Cé.
The tourist ought to carry with him, everywhere,
Baedeker’s ‘‘ Northern France ” (Dulau, 7s.) and
Joanne’s ‘‘ La Loire” (Hachette, 7f. 50). The es-
sential book for the Chateau country is ‘‘ Old Tou-
raine,” by T. A. Cook (Rivingtons, 12s., 2 vols.). It
is one of the most delightful books a traveller can
put in his bag; for the atmosphere of the French
Renaissance surrounds one while reading it, and
one is enabled to appreciate the things seen.
After Angers a détour may be made to Nantes;
but, although it 1s a busy industrial town, it can
hardly be called interesting, as both its castle and
its cathedral (with the exception of the tomb of
the last Duke of Brittany) are distinctly mediocre.
If the journey to Nantes is undertaken, it is almost
worth while to go on to St. Nazaire and visit
Gutrande, a walled town within whose gates one
may imagine the life of 500 years ago, as Alphonse
Daudet so charmingly describes it. The river
should then be followed either from Nantes or
Angers to Saumur, where an excursion can be
made to the largest dolmen in France. An ex-
cellent déjeuner can be obtained at the Hotel de
Londres, and the wine of the district should not be
JuLy, 1903. ]
left untasted. From Saumur the steam tramway
will take the tourist to Fontevrault. Theold abbey,
—wherein are buried our Henry II. and his wife
Eleanor, and all of our Richard I. except his heart,
which lies at Rouen,—has now been converted into
a reformatory for youthful criminals. The eastern
end of the old abbey church is now the present
chapel, and it is very incongruous to notice the
wooden forms for the prisoners and the high seats
from which the warders watch them even during
divine service. It is advisable to obtain per-
mission beforehand to visit the abbey, or one may
be disappointed at the end of the expedition. This
remark will apply to most of the castles, for it is
often difficult to arrange the trip so as to arrive at
them on the particular day set apart for receiving
visitors: but if written application be made to the
proprietors a short time previously, a courteous
permission will invariably be obtained to visit the
chateau at one’s convenience. One then has the
additional advantage of not going round with a
crowd, or of having to hurry through interesting
material.
Those who can walk have a great treat in store
for them in travelling from Fontevrault to Chinon, a
distance of under twenty miles. From Montsoreau
(readers of Dumas will remember the name), where
the Loire is joined, the side of the river should be
taken to Candes, where is a most interesting church
in which lies buried the soldier-saint, Martin of
Tours. Here, and all through the Loire country,
“good wine needs no bush” is not quite a true
proverb, for, althouvh the vin du pays is excellent,
every inn-door has its bush or wreath of ivy.
Chinon, which was the favourite residence of our
Henry II., will demand at least a day. The
castle, which is really three castles, is a most
interesting ruin, and was the spot where Jeanne
Darc had her first interview with the Dauphin,
whom she recognised, although he was disguised
as a courtier. There is a most spirited statue of
Jeanne in the town, and another of Rabelais, who
was born here. From Chinon travel to the Castle
of Azay-le-Rideau, which is quite unspoilt, and
contains (or did, until quite recently) some splendid
portraits by Clouet. The tourist had now better
make his way to Tours, the former capital of
Touraine, ‘the garden of France.” He will need
two or three days for the town itself, and as many
more for excursions. He will find the town
pleasant, and will not wonder at several English
people having made it their headquarters. If heis
a lover of Balzac, he will enjoy identifying many
of the spots immortalised in the works of that pro-
lific author, especially the sacristan’s house just to
the north of the Cathedral. The two remaining
towers of the Abbey of St. Martin will give him an
idea of the size of that gigantic structure. He will
be disappointed, however, in Plessis, the scene of
Louis XIs villanies. From Tours many ex-
cursions May be made, and two must be; those to
Loches and Chenonceaux. A third might be made
to Poitiers; and others to Langeais, Luynes,
and Cinq-Mars in the more immediate neighbour-
hood. Loches, which was another favourite prison
The School World
249
of Louis XI., will give the tourist a splendid
idea of the mediaval castle, which has hardly
been altered for modern requirements. There is a
gruesome tale of a new governor of the Chateau,
who, on his appointment, determined to investigate
every part of his new command. Having de-
scended to the lowest dungeon, far down in the
bowels of the earth, he happened to note that part
of the floor was boarded over; on asking why, he
found that the gaolers could give no reason. So
he had the boards pulled up and found that there
was a still lower dungeon beneath. On entering
this the corpse of a man, which crumbled to dust
at a touch, was found sitting in a corner. He
had been forgotten there, and left to die years
. previously. At Loches, the traveller will under-
stand the meaning of the word oubliette the holes
from which lead to the adjacent river Indre. The
curious castle chapel and the beautiful tomb of
Agnes Sorel will also interest him. After what
has been said, it will be seen that a day for Loches
is not too much. In fact, a good plan is to sand-
wich a day of sight-seeing in Tours with a day of
excursion in the neighbourhood. An idle afternoon
may be passed in visiting the Abbey of Marmoutier
on the north bank of the river, and continuing the
walk to Vouvray, where the sparkling wine of the
district should be sampled. Poitiers is some
distance off, but if a day can be spared for it, the
traveller will not regret his visit. The cathedral
and the old church of Nôtre Dame are sure to be
appreciated. But all associations of the battle will
be difficult to localise. If at any time difficulty is
found in obtaining a suitable place for lunch, it
should not be forgotten that at every station is
served a vepas at 1 fr. 50 c. all through the
middle of the day. It is not very extensive, but
will enable the traveller to stave off the more
alarming pangs of hunger.
The last excursion from Tours is, without
contradiction, the best—that to Chenonceaux.
The home of Diane de Poitiers has often been
described by pen and pencil. But every traveller
will find it one of the few things that exceed the
expectations he has formed of it. A beautiful
walk of under ten miles through the forest will
bring him back to the Loire at Amboise, where he
will be charmed by the splendid situation of the
castle and its little gem of a chapel, containing the
tomb of Leonardo and a splendid carving over the
door of St. Hubert’s conversion. Recollections of
Mary, Queen of Scots, or, as she then was, Mary,
Queen of France, and the slaughter of the
Huguenots, will render the castle more interesting
still. After a day at Amboise the tourist should
proceed to Blois. On the way, however, he
should not omit to stop at the Chateau de
Chaumont, which has a splendid view over the
Loire, and still retains much of the appearance of
the medizval stronghold. Blois itself will require
quite two days; the Castle, with its numberless
historical associations, especially those of Henri de
Guise and Henri III., and its marvel of architec-
ture, the open staircase (on which Mr. T. A.
Cook has written a most interesting book, ‘‘ Spirals
oie ee ee =r
De
in Nature and Art p will take almost all his time. A
splendid excursion from Blois, best undertaken on a
bicycle, which may be easily hired in the town, is to
the three châteaux of Chambord, Cheverny, and
Beauregard. The way is chiefly through splendid
forests, and can easily be accomplished in a day,
From Blois we may proceed to Orléans direct, or
make a détour through Vendôme and Châteaudun.
The former has a splendid Renaissance church with
some of the best tracery in France; and at the
latter one can see unaltered the room in the
château where the Revolutionary Tribunal sat to
judge the noblesse of the neighbourhood. At Orléans
remembrances of the ‘* Maid” will confront the
tourist at every step ; and he must not forget a visit
to the Museum of Antiquities, one of the few old
houses left in the town. A trip to the source of the
Loiret is very pleasant. Here we leave the tourist,
as we have come to the end of the real Loire
country. If his holiday has come to an end, two
hours will bring him back to Paris from Orléans.
and thence to England. If his ardour for sight-
seeing is still untamed, we can recommend him to
proceed through Bourges and Nevers, and then turn
northwards through Auxerre — especially under-
taking a detour to Vézelay, the hill monastery,
whence started the Third Crusade—Sens and
Fontainebleau, to Paris. A trip of three weeks
should not cost more than from £16 to £20,
everything included. For short railway journeys
it is quite possible to go third class in France, and
in the hot weather it may be recommended on
account of its coolness. Those unaccompanied by
ladies will often find it convenient to choose a
small hotel near the station to sleep at, and have
their main meals at the chief hotel or restaurant
in the town. The small hotel is almost invariably
clean, and money is saved on rooms and railway
omnibuses. It should be needless to add that a
minimum of luggage means a maximum of ease.
—_ ee ee
THE PHONOGRAPH AS AN AID TO THE
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES.
By Prof. WALTER RIPPMANN,
ANY of us can remember the excitement
caused by the appearance of the phono-
graph—or rather of that modification of it
which enabled us not only to record sound but also
to reproduce it. Since then this most ingenious
instrument has been gradually improved, until the
results to be obtained from a first-rate phonograph
are truly remarkable.
It was an obvious suggestion, made long ago,
that it should be utilised for modern-language
teaching. The inevitable wag suggested that in
future a penny in the slot would ensure a lesson
in French and German, by a recognised authority,
in the purest of accents. The absurd claims of
the phonograph to be regarded as a substitute for
The School World
[JuULy, 1903.
the living teacher prevented me for some time
from doing justice to what may indeed be regarded
as an aid to the student, even though its use in the
class-room is hardly to be recommended.
An interesting and valuable article by my friend
Mr. Dumville in a recent issue of the Modern
Language Quarterly, and an inspection, or I
should say, a hearing, of some of the records sold
by the “ Modern Language Press,” 13, Paternoster
Row, have induced me to make some experiments,
and to consider the question to what extent the
phonograph may be of service.
The distinctness of a phonograph record depends
mainly on the speed at which the recorder (a
sapphire point) travels over the wax, and, of
course, on the clearness of the' speaker’s delivery.
It is, therefore, obvious that a speed of 160 revo-
lutions a minute will produce better results than a
speed of 120, and that a large cylinder will be
better for this purpose than a small one; also, that
it is easier to record slow speech satisfactorily than
quick speech. Even under the most favourable
conditions (1.¢. 160 revolutions and a large
cylinder) a good deal of the sonority of the voice
is lost; and it 1s almost impossible to get good
records of the voice when it is “dropped.” It
follows that the sustained speech of declamation
is best suited for reproduction—the speech of the
elocutionist, rather than that which the phonetician
studies. . Even the trained public speaker will make
several experiments before he determines the pitch
at which the phonographic reproduction of his
voice is good. Interesting evidence of this will be
found in the records of Mr. Gladstone’s voice,
which are sold by the Edison Bell Company.
If we assume that a teacher is the forturfate
possessor of really good records made by French-
men and Germans—records which truly represent
the intonation of educated speakers—what use can
he make of them? He can have the same passage
“said” again and again, and the intonation will
remain unchanged. In this the machine is superior
to the human being: there is no variation, and it
does not lose its temper, however often he asks it
to say it again.
When he hears it, he can strive to imitate; and
in doing so he will be in just the same position as
the English pupils of the foreigner who depends
entirely on their imitation of his sounds. The
machine cannot tell him whether his imitation is
a good one; it does not tell him how individual
sounds are produced, how the organs of speech
behave ; it only gives the acoustic effect. It may
be suggested that he could obtain much help even
for individual sounds by letting the machine run
slower; but as soon as the number of revolutions
per minute is appreciably reduced, there is also a
great reduction of pitch, and speech hardly becomes
recognisable in consequence. It is only possible to
see how far his own pronunciation deviates from
the model record, if he will take a record of his
own speech, and compare it with the other; even
then he may lack sufficient ear-training to appre-
ciate the difference.
It will be recognised that the phonograph has
JuLy, 1903. |
The School World
|
great limitations. It will prove of real service only `
to one who has trained his ear and has acquired a |
good knowledge of phonetics. To such an one it
will indeed prove helpful, for it provides a means
of recording and studying intonation, which the |
ordinary phonetic symbols represent only in a
clumsy and very rough-and-ready way. It will
also enable him to realise what differences may
exist when two equally cultured readers declaim
the same passage.
A word in conclusion as to the value of the
records issued by the ‘“‘ Modern Language Press.”
They reproduce the lessons contained in M.
Barbier’s ‘ Pictorial French Course ” and Mr.
Baumann’s “ Pictorial German Course.” Reviews
of these books have already appeared in THE
ScHooL WorLD; we are here concerned only
with the quality of the records, which are made
on small cylinders. It may be said that, on the
whole, they are satisfactory. No doubt the results
would be better if large cylinders had been used;
certainly the records (at least of the more advanced
lessons) have been spoken much too fast, simply in
order to get as much of the text as possible into
the two minutes or so which an ordinary cylinder
will record. The consequence is that some of the
sounds (especially s and the German ich sound)
are indistinct. It is not stated who were the
speakers ; the French pronunciation is very
good, the German rather pedantic (this is notice-
able in the pronunciation of the unstressed e
and of the h in such words as sehen). As a
check, I have made records of the same lessons in
French and German on my own phonograph, both
on small cylinders and large, and the results were
distinctly better, mainly because I spoke more
slowly.
It would be interesting to have the views of
others on this subject. I am sure that many
teachers of modern languages beside myself would
be glad to receive further suggestions with regard
to the employment of the phonograph.
NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS.
HE National Union of Teachers is a union of
T teachers’ associations extending throughout
England and Wales. It embraces 432 local
associations, with a membership for last year of
47,326. Many of the associations are also grouped
for wider organisations, thus forming County
Associations or District Unions. Founded in 1870,
under the title of The National Union of Elemen-
tary Teachers, its operations have widened, ceasing
to be concerned with elementary education alone,
and becoming involved with the public aspects of
the whole question of education.
title into accord with the Union’s work the word
“elementary ” was removed in 1889, and the local
associations now admit members from every type
of public sehool. The Union is neither an educa-
tional association nor a trade union, but it combines
To bring the’
251
the best features of each with special functions
peculiarly its own. The local association is the
unit of the Union. Each association has its own
meetings, officers, and committees, and sends
representatives to the Annual Conference, which
is the supreme authority, deciding upon the rules,
and directing the policy of the organisation.
During the past thirty-three years annual confer-
ences have been held in nearly all the large centres
of population throughout England and Wales.
Invitations are constantly received from the
municipal authorities of the various towns. The
place of next conference is decided upon by ballot
at each annual conference, and the two thousand
representatives who attend are publicly received
and cordially welcomed by the local authorities.
The thirty-fourth annual conference held at
Mr. H. Cowarp,
President of the Nationa! Union of Teachers.
= Buxton last Easter was presided over by Mr. H.
Coward, of Bristol, whose portrait we publish.
During the preceding year he held the office oi
vice-president, to which he had been elected by
the votes of the individual members of the Union.
The Executive is elected by the votes of the
individual members in the electoral districts. The
country is divided into twelve such districts, each
of which sends three or four members, according
to the number of members in the district. The
present Executive, including the officers, consists
of forty-seven members who assemble in London
twice a month from all parts of the country. They
give effect to the decisions of Conference, and
carry on the work of the Union throughout the
year. Seven standing committees deal with
education, legal assistance to members, parlia-
mentary action and superannuation, teachers’
The School World
[JuLY, 1903.
ea a eee vO ee
tenure of office, internal organisation, finance, and
general purposes, and the work of the Examina-
tions Board. <A separate council of forty-five
members meets monthly to administer the Benevo-
lent and Orphan Fund of the Union, and a board
of twenty-seven members meets fortnightly to
transact the business of the Teachers’ Provident
Society, which has been established for members
of the Union.
One of the principal aims of the Union has
constantly been to improve the condition of educa-
tion. By uniting the teachers’ associations a
means has been provided for obtaining an expres-
sion of their collective opinion upon matters
affecting education and the profession. In this
manner the Union has afforded the advice and
experience of the associated teachers to the Board
of Education, the Local Authorities for Education,
and other organisations which have relation to
educational affairs.
The influence of the Union is widely exercised.
Three of its members advocate the cause of
education in the House of Commons, on2 is a
member of the Consultative Committee of the
Board of Education, another a member of the
Teachers’ Registration Council; it is represented
on the Technical Education Board of the London
County Council; the Central Board of Inter-
mediate Education in Wales and the Court of the
University of Wales include members of the
Union among their members; two of its mem-
bers have just been appointed on the Board of
Education Departmental Committee to consider
the question of physical training of children in
public elementary schools; the Secretary was a
member of the recent Royal Commission on
Secondary Education; members of the Union
have been members of many school boards
throughout the country, and have been connected
with nearly every organisation which had for its
aim the advancement of education or the promotion
of the welfare of the children. On the education
committees under the Education Act of last year
no less than 200 members of the Union have
been appointed.
The educational reforms great and small which
are due to the persistent advocacy of the Union
are far too numerous for separate notice, and can
only be partially enumerated. They include
amendments to the Education and Factory Acts,
the appointment of Royal Commissions and Select
Committees to consider questions of education,
the extension and liberalisation of curricula, the
abolition of rigid and unnatural classification of
scholars by mere age, and the establishment of
flexible, natural, and educational classification by
attainments and capacities; improvements in the
regulations concerning instruction in various sub-
jects; the reduction of over-pressure on younger
scholars; the establishment of healthier and more
reasonable conditions of study in school; improve-
ments in the enforcement of school attendance ;
extensions in the school life of children; reduc-
tions of the ‘‘ half-time” system ; the abolition of
universal annual examinations of schools; the
abolition of the examination of each scholar; a
more educational graduation in various branches
of the curriculum; the raising of the standards of
proficiency required for exemption of children
from attendance at school; the abolition of the
principle and the worst forms of payment accord-
ing to mechanical results; establishment of the
“ block grant ” and the Higher Elementary School
Minute; amendments in the organisation and
selection of the inspectorate; improvements in
methods of inspection and examination ; ameliora-
tion in the curriculum and training of pupil
teachers; improvements in the curriculum and
training of King’s scholars ; extensions of facilities
for the training of teachers; the raising of the
standard of proficiency required from candidates
for the Teacher’s Certificate; the new modelling
of “ Codes of Regulations for Day and Evening
Schools”; alterations in rules mistakenly laid
down by school boards and other bodies of school
managers ; the election or appointment of experts
in teaching on local governing bodies for education.
Moreover, the conterences and branch meetings
of the Union promote reforms in pedagogic plans
and ideals by affording opportunities for the pro-
fessional discussion of school method, and for
inspection of the best and newest books and
apparatus for schools. These gatherings also
enable officials of the Board of Education, mem-
bers of school boards, and other school managers
and private educationists to confer with teachers
on subjects of common interest and importance.
The National Union of Teachers has also aimed
at the advancement and protection of the teacher.
Among the many professional benefits secured for
teachers collectively by its influence may be men-
tioned the revivai of pensions for the older teachers
and the extensions of the amount and scope of the
fund for that purpose, whereby these teachers have
profited to the extent of over £521,000; the relief
afforded by the abolition of excessive and unneces:
sary Statistical returns; the reduction of require-
ments in needlework in rural and half-time schools;
the abolition of the Inspector’s power of endorsing
the teacher’s certificate; the right of withholding
or re-presenting scholars at examinations; liberty
of classification ; the safety of the teachers’ cer-
tificate as comprehensive of all obligatory subjects ;
the second-class drawing certificate, and the
special drawing certificate without examination;
security for reasonable corporal punishment by
head teachers, and the recovery of the same pre-
rogative for certificated assistants under many
school boards; the reduction in the ratio of pupil
teachers to adults: the right of appeal against
disastrous reports by Inspectors, and against the
suspension or cancellation of diplomas ; the regula-
tion and partial reform of the inspectorate; the
appointment of certificated teachers as Inspectors’
Assistants and Sub-Inspectors ; the appointment
of Sub-Inspectors and other certificated teachers
as Inspectors; the increase in salaries caused by
public representations of the case; the establish-
ment of a general scheme of superannuation for
certificated teachers in public elementary schools
Jury, 1903.) _
and institutions connected with such schools,
together with a system of insurances in connection
with that scheme.
Moreover, by frequent meetings of its local
associations, committees, and conferences, the
Union has afforded to its members opportunities
for professional counsel, social enjoyments, the
formation of friendships, and the acquisition of
experience in the conduct of public business and
affairs.
The Union has also endeavoured to secure the
compilation of a comprehensive register of teachers,
and to promote and extend the influence and
dignity of the profession of teaching. It regards
the present Order in Council regulating the regis-
tration of teachers as most unsatisfactory, as the
exclusion of primary teachers possessing those
academic and other educational distinctions
necessary to qualify for admission to Column B,
until they have worked for twelve months in a
school other than elementary, is unfair to the
teachers concerned, and likely to mislead the
public.
Advice and legal assistance is given to members
in any case arising in connection with their pro-
fessional duties. Cases of difficulty with managers
or inspectors are also inquired into, and if neces-
sary the members are defended locally, or at the
Board of Education. In the event of a teacher
being unjustly dismissed, the Union exposes the
matter, and often succeeds in maintaining him at
his post. Cases upon which legal action arise
include alleged assaults by teachers (corporal
punishment), assaults by parents and others upon
teachers, cases of illegal dismissal, generally in-
volving protracted and expensive proceedings in
the High Court of Justice, and libels on the repu-
tation of teachers, which have resulted in many
verdicts being obtained for teachers, with damages
of £150, £100, £50, and mary smaller amounts.
For the conduct of this department of the Union's
work three Standing Counsel, a General Solicitor,
and 300 local Solicitors are employed. The cost of
legal advice and the conduct of legal proceedings
on behalf of its members amounts to about £4,000
a year, and the total expenditure in connection
with securing better tenure of office for teachers
has amounted to over £13,000. |
An Examinations Board has been established,
which for a small fee conducts term examinations
for pupil teachers, examinations in commercial
subjects, examinations for County Council and
other public bodies, and examinations for Dip-
lomas. Although this department of the Union’s
work has only been established within the last six
years, the number examined last year exceeded
10,000.
A Provident Society established by the Union
is registered as a Friendly Society, and enables
members to secure annuities and endowments, to-
assure for sick and death payments, and to accu-
mulate small savings.
is optional, but the low rates, and the fact that the
profits belong to members themselves, have been
sufficient inducement to attract over 9,000 mem-
The School World
Membership of this branch .
253
bers. The annual income of this branch of the
work exceeds £40,000.
Provision has been made for aiding needy and
incapacitated teachers, and the widows and orphans
of teachers, through the Benevolent and Orphan
Fund. The amount received last year for this
Fund exceeded £22,000, and the total amount
raised for benévolent purposes is over £170,000.
A Circulating Library has also been established,
which enables members to obtain works of imagi-
nation, education, science, &c., on payment of a
small subscription.
The subscription to the Union is 7s. per annum,
with an admission fee of 5s., from which newly
certificated teachers are exempt. Members pay a
small additional subscription for their local asso-
ciations. They also subscribe to the Provident
Society according to their individual requirements,
and most of them annually subscribe, and procure
contributions to the Benevolent and Orphan Fund.
The total amount thus subscribed by members
for last year and collected for benevolent purposes
exceeded £72,000. The total funds of the various
branches, on December 31st last, amounted to over
£175,900. The income received as dividends and
interest on the invested funds last year reached
£6,281.
The work at the central office is conducted by a
Secretary, five heads of departments, and a staff of
senior and junior clerks, whose combined salaries
last year amounted to £4,786. In addition some
2,000 members conduct the local work of the
Union with zeal and ability, as honorary officers
of the local associations.
The life of the certificated teacher in England
and Wales is far brighter, happier, and more com-
fortable than it would have been but for the
Union. Few organisations have done so much for
their members at so little cost to them individually.
The Executive, in concluding their annual report
to the last Conference, stated that ‘the influence
and repute of the Union stand higher than ever ;
the signal success of its legislative efforts is now
manifest in many quarters where, until recently,
the Union was perhaps underrated or ignored... .
But members of it know very well that it is also an
institution of the utmost value not to themselves
alone, but to the children, the schools, and the
education of the commonwealth. To belong to
such an institution is not only a protection and an
aid, but an honour ard a duty.”
The Educational Systems of Great Britain and Ireland. By
Graham Balfour. xii. + 307 pp. (Clarendon Press.) 7s. 6d.
net.—This is a second edition of Mr. Balfour’s useful history of
educational effort in the United Kingdom which was reviewed in
our issue for October, 1899. So many events have taken place
in the sphere of education in England and Ireland since the first
appearance of the book that a great deal of new matter has
been added to the new edition. The Education Act of last
year is discussed and the work of the Board of Technical In-
struction in Ireland is described, and all other changes are duly
chronicled. The book is sure to continue to hold its high place
in the opinion of educationists.
254
READABLE BOOKS IN HISTORY.
By J. S. LINpDsEy.
ROF. ARMSTRONG, in his much-quoted
P address to the Educational Science Section
of the British Association last September,
spoke of ‘the comparative paucity of readable
books for young people,” and threw out some
warnings against expecting children to ‘ master
classics” or enjoy ‘‘text-books.” In particular,
he wanted ‘books written -in a bright, attractive,
and simple style, full of accurate information,
which . . . . would carry us back in time
and sketch the history of the peoples of the earth.”
The whole passage happened to fall in very much
with a line of thought that I have been following
a good deal for some years past; and on reading
it I promptly sat down and jotted down a little
list of books which struck me as likely to strike
young people as ‘‘readable.” But the excellent
list, based on the same text, supplied by ‘ Custos,”
in the December, 1902, issue of THE ScHooL
\WoRLD, caused me to lay mine aside for some
months; and now that I take it out again I do
so with one og two deliberate restrictions and
qualifications. These have been suggested or
forced upon me during an attempt to select a
‘Working Library” in British history for my
Historical Series.
In the first place, I propose to confine myself to
history, whereas “ Custos ” very properly included
the closely correlated subject of geography, and
more particularly to confine myself almost entirely
to British history, whereas Prof. Armstrong asked
for books which should “sketch the history of the
peoples of the earth.” [I may say that I am a
warm advocate of general history, but venture to
suggest that the broad treatment of British history,
with considerable attention to its international
aspects, furnishes a good working compromise
between the narrow provincialism of purely
English history and the shallow cosmopolitanism
of universal history.| Finally, I prefer to avoid
altogether books primarily written for the educa-
tional ‘* market,” and I start with a bias in favour
of “ classics.”
I had better add three general cautions as
regards the appended list and the hardihood with
which I put it forth. In the first place, I have
never been able to understand why a ‘history
book ” should be more ‘“‘ readable” than an arith-
metic or a Euclid, though, at the same time, I
have no admiration for the style of sum or ques-
tion at which Sir Oliver Lodge has been poking
fun in these columns. In the second place, I
fancy the reaction against ‘ ought-to-be-read”’
books in favour of “ readable books ” may go too
far. And in the third place, ‘‘readable”’ is a
relative term, depending for its meaning on the
age of the ‘young people” whom we are con-
sidering: this point has been admirably worked
out in an article on the “ Reading Tastes of High
School Pupils,” contributed by Mr. Allan Abbott
The School World
[Jury, 1903.
to the (Chicago) School Review, for October, 1902.
Mr. Abbott's article is based on an exhaustive
analysis of statistics, and I take it that, before any
really adequate list of ‘“ readable ” books for young
people can be compiled, someone must make a
laborious census of opinion among both teachers
and pupils. I wish THe ScHoot Wor_Lp would
undertake such an inquiry.
The appended list, therefore, is merely tentative,
not dogmatic: it does not contain books which
“ young people ” like, or, in my opinion, ought to
like, but books which I like now, which I think I
should have liked in my teens (when, in point of
fact, my principal books were the ‘ Arabian
Nights,” ‘“ Robinson Crusoe,” books about Afri-
can travel, and Lord Lytton). The first group
consists of “ backbone” books, written specially
for children by eminent writers. The second
group contains books which deal with special
periods and subjects, and are usually, both in
style and subject-matter, suitable for rather older
children than the first group. The third group
gives tastes of some historians who were men of
genius, who had some sense of literary style, and
whose works were neither pot-boilers nor written
to order. The fourth group contains a few inspir-
ing collections of essays, which will have somewhat
the same effect on the historical facts gathered in
the young person’s mind that a turn of the hand
has on the bits of coloured glass in a kaleido-
scope. The fifth or biographical group is dis-
cussed below.
I.—THREE “ BACK-BONE” BOOKS written specially for
Children.
s. d.
(1) Dickens’ ‘‘Child’s History of England.” Various
editions and prices.
(2) Scott’s “Tales of a Grandfather.” Various editions
and prices.
(3) P. W. ret ‘t Child’s History of Ireland.” (Long-
mans) .. i p s : wee wal 3535 6
II.—-SPECIAL PERIODS AND SUBJECTS.
(t.) Elementary.
(4) J. R. Green, ‘‘ Short History of the ce RS
(Macmillan) . S sa ; . 8 6
Better in Illustrated Edition win .. Met 40 o
(5) A. W. Jose, ‘‘ Growth of the Empire.” ~ (Murray) .. 6 o
(6) G. R. Parkin, ‘ Round the Empire.” (Cassell) .. 1 6
(7) E. A. Freeman, ‘f Old English History for Children.”
(Macmillan) . 6 o
(8) H. B. Crore: «t Battles of English History.”
(Methuen)... 6
o
(9) Sir W. Besant, “ History of London” inama 2 6
(ii.) Advanced.
(10) Macaulay, ‘ History of England.” oa I-III.
(Longmans) ... ma. 2 6
(11) J. R. Seeley, “ Expansion ‘of England. ” (Mac-
millan) J Sn net 4 O
(12) Lucy Dale, “ Principles of ‘English. Constitutional
History.” (Longmans) _... aes .. 6 o
13) W. Bagehot, ‘‘ English Constitution.” (Paul) -» 3 6
(14) H. J. Mackinder, *‘ Britain and the British Seas.”
(Heinemann)... “ss Pei os age ai 7 0
The
JuLy, 1903. |
III.—C.Lassic HISTORIANS.
(3.) Contemporary Writers. s. d.
(15) ‘‘Froissart’s Chronicles.” Translated by Lord
Berners. (Macmillan) tials 3 6
(16) E. J. Payne ved: ), ‘* Voyages of Elizabethan Saen
to America.” [Hakluyt.] Vol. II. (Frowde)...
(17) J. Boyle (Ed.), ‘‘Selections from Clarendon.’
(Frowde) 2s a wa a . 7 6
(ii.) Standard Authorities.
18) J. R. Green (Ed.) ‘* Readings in English pe,
3 Parts. (Macmillan) ats 4 6
19) P. S. Allen (Ed.), ‘‘ Selections kon Fronde”
(Longmans) . 3 6
(20) R. Southey, ‘‘ English Semmen” (Methuen) 6 o
IV.—Some SUGGESTIVE Essays.
(21) Sir E. Creasy, ‘Decisive Battles of the World.”
(Macmillan) . . 2 6
(22) Macaulay, «Critical aad Historical Peaje i “iLane
mans) .. 2 6
(23) Carlyle, ‘ ‘Heroes and Hero: Worship.” (Chapman,
&ce.) ... sie from I o
(24) Emerson, ‘‘ jhe preseniative “Men.” (Routledge,
&c.) from I O
(25) Emerson, “ English Traits.” : (Routledge: &c.) from 1 0
V.—BioGRaApHies.—Every one agrees that the
first or second stage of history study must be
biographical, but there is no sort of agreement
as to the kind of lives worth studying, or as to
the manner of biographising. There is a syste-
matic attempt to meet this difficulty (for both
elementary and secondary education) in Messrs.
Black's ‘‘ Historical Series for Schools;” and I
should strongly recommend all teachers to read
the pamphlet descriptive of the series. Miss
Charlotte Yonge, Mr. A. C. Benson, and Miss
Alice Gardner, have also issued collections of
biographies especially designed to stir rather than
stuff. The following list of subjects suitable for
biography in British history is based on the result
of a Prize Competition in THe ScHooL Wor-p,
for June, 1899; but in order to make up the round
number of a score I have added three names as
representative of certain phases of life altogether
ignored in the competition: Anselm, the medieval
saint-statesman; Henry V., the medizval cru-
sader; and Montrose, the semi-modern hero of
personal loyalty: Alfred, Anselm, Simon de Mont-
fort, Wallace, Bruce, Black Prince, Henry V.,
Sidney, Drake, Ralegh, Montrose, Cromwell,
Wolfe, Howard, Wilberforce, Nelson, Wellington,
Livingstone, Gordon, Gladstone.
WHEN historians have to relate great social or speculative
changes, the overthrow of a monarchy or the establishment of a
creed, they do but half their duty if they merely relate the
events. In an account, for instance, of the rise of Maho-
metanism, it is not enough to descr.be the character of the
Prophet, the ends which he set before him, the means which he
made use of, and the effect which he produced; the historian
must show what there was in the cond.tion of the Eastern races
which enabled Mahomet to act upon them so powerfully ; their
existing beliefs, their existing moral and political cundition. —
J. A. Froude.
School World
255
THE ABUSE OF THE TERM
« HEURISTIC.”!
By Prof. H. E. ARMSTRONG, LL.D., Ph.D., F.R.S.
HEN of old the Greek philosopher rushed
naked from his bath into the highway and
cried, Eureka! he was but giving vent to
the holy ecstasy of discovery by which he was
for the time being overmastered. He engaged in
no mere verification of statements made by others,
but, finding himself in the exquisitely rare position
to most mortals of having an idea of his own,
applied it in practice and found it of worth. That
was his method, his principle, his discovery. To
the present day, boys and girls are led to prate
meaninglessly of the Principle of Archimedes: no
expression is more dear to the syllabus maker ;
but the true lesson to be learnt from the example
set by the great engineer is never dwelt upon—those
who read Greek with their feet on the fender seem
to have no conception of it, for they neither teach
it nor practise it.
I have been called to account for introducing
the word “ heuristic,” although I have done nothing
more than resuscitate it—I confess with a certain
wicked intent. We were in want of a word which
would serve as the antithesis to *‘ didactic,’’as a war-
cry in leading a revolt. Eureka! And admirably
it has served its purpose. Of course, those who
love to be didactic, who must follow fashion and
worship authority, resent its introduction—but
what matters that? Impossible as the task may
seem, the Acuretes desire to gain freedom of action,
of thought and of opinion for the rising generation :
the very objections that are taken show that con-
sciences are being stung, that the potency of the
drug is being felt. But the true object and nature
of our crusade is only faintly apprehended as yet.
It is the usual fate of words to be misunder-
stood. One misconception is very strange—that
the “ heuristic method” is the historic method, a
method which involves the study of a subject in
the order of its development historically. This is
in no way necessary, though it is sometimes ad-
vantageous. In point of fact, all that we advocate
is that learners should be put in the position of
discoverers. that they should be allowed, even
taught, to help themselves; that they should be
encouraged to engage in some definite quest : we
desire simply to put an end to spoon feeding, to
the constant use of highly peptonised mental food.
I notice that, in the preface to his delightful
« Practical Exercises in Geometry,” Mr. W. D.
Eggar speaks of the experimental method as
«sometimes called heuristic.” If a restricted
meaning be given to the term ‘‘ experimental,” the
comparison is just—not otherwise. Nearly all the
so-called experiments carried out in schools are
mere demonstrations or verifications of statements
made in advance; they do not involve discoveries
and therefore strictly speaking are not experiments.
Moreover, it is possible to apply heuristic methods
1 “A First Course of Chemistry (Heuristic).” By J. H. Leonard.
134 pp (Murray.) 2s. 6d
256
in many cases in which experiments, as ordinarily
understood, are impossible.
An attack, characterised equally by its vigour
and by its want of discrimination, which I fear was ©
little short of being an absolute misrepresenta-
tion, was made on heuristic teaching by Mr.
Taylor at the recent Manchester Conference.!
Mr. Taylor was pleased to discriminate between
the heuristic method of teaching and a creation of
his own imagination which he called the heuristic
system—‘ which is the use of that method to the
exclusion of every other.” As no one has ever
proposed any such ‘‘system,” it 1s unnecessary to
argue the point. If he has ever seriously attempted
to sympathise with the work of those who are
endeavouring to recover the birthright of indi-
viduality for British youth, Mr. Taylor has
obviously been unable to place himself in their
‘position—but in this respect he is not singular.
Were it not that we are all aware how absolute
is the hold upon us of preconceived opinions, how
little we are open to conviction on most matters,
it might be thought that rational methods would
be self-recommendatory. The fact is, however,
we look at everything through strongly tinted
glasses—our judgments are nearly always presump-
tuous, to use Faraday’s expression.
Faraday, to whom Mr. Taylor refers as asking
Tyndall—who was about to repeat an experiment
before him—what he was to look for, did not wish
to be told what was to be the result: he knew that
he was there to witness that; but what the aim,
the motive of the experiment was. It is of the
essence of heuristic work that a problem be stated
at the outset ; and yet notin such a manner as to
assume in advance knowledge of what will happen
afterwards ; a subordinate problem, a clearly
defined motive, must underlie each successive
experiment of a series.
There is no difficulty in leading young children
to work from such a point of view; but in those
who have been at school for a few years the
worship of authority becomes so firm a habit that
they are unable to imagine why they should work
from any other motive than that of being told to
do this or that—and they will not think for
themselves.
The methods adopted in teaching Classics and
Euclid, learning lessons by rote, in fact, have
entirely demoralised the schools and have made
rational teaching of scientific method well nigh
impossible; shadow has taken the place of sub-
stance and it will be long ere we recover our
liberty and are able to put substance in the fore-
ground. It is, indeed, surprising how slow the
progress is towards emancipation. To those of us
who advocate an independent attitude and who
ask for nothing more than a commonplace, un-
biased, police-detective method of treatment, the
difficulties which almost all teachers seem to find
in making any simple, direct appeal to facts are
difficult to understand. And yet they are there;
— m- __. _—
? School Government Chronicle, January 10th, 1903.
The Sch
ool
i N
World
[JuLY, 1903.
those who come forward as our supporters prove
this in almost every attempt they make to carry out
our recommendations. It is hard to find fault—
but if we are ever to arrive at an understanding,
the extent to which there is a departure must be
pointed out.
Mr. Leonard’s ‘First Course” bears, within
brackets, under ‘Chemistry ” writ large, the mystic
and much-abused word heuristic. The father is
obliged to confess that he cannot recognise his
child; he is compelled, indeed, to disown such
progeny, to confess that they are not lovely in his
however charming they may be in the eyes of other
people. Chapter i. is on Chalk. At the outset
the student is asked, “ Is chalk a solid, a liquid or
a gas?” Why insult the common sense of the
young beginner by such a question? ‘ Should
you say that chalk is a hard or a soft substance?"
is another question the intent of which is obvious.
The answer, however, must depend on the origin
of the chalk. A student in the south-eastern
counties might say “ soft,” but a student in Dorset
or Yorkshire might say “ hard ’’—and both would be
right, the fact being that chalk is not a substance
in the chemical sense but a particular kind of lime-
stone mainly composed of what I (in Mr. Taylor's
opinion) wickedly call ‘chalk-stuff.” From a
heuristic point of view, all ta/k about the proper-
ties of chalk is out of place at the beginning. The
only true policy is to give a lump of chalk to the
student, to let him see chalk and handle it; then
let him write about it in a plain, crisp, straightfor-
ward way. In fact, give him an opportunity of
displaying some intelligence.
Mr. Leonard proceeds: ‘‘ The facts you have
just discovered tell you some of the physical pro-
perties of chalk. Let us now try to find out what
chalk is made of, 2.¢., discover some chemical facts
about it. To do this you will require to use the
blast furnace.”
All this is premature. At such a stage the stu-
dent may be supposed to have no idea that chalk
is made of anything in particular—the term
“chemical facts ” has no meaning to him. Some
motive, some obvious reason, should be adduced
for doing this or that with chalk. For example,
he should be led to consider what is commonly
known of chalk, what it is used for, what is done
with it—and then he should consider whether any
suggestion for its examination may not be derived
from this common knowledge. Limestone, all the
world over, is burnt to lime, which is used in
making mortar. What is mortar; how is it made?
The way to answer this question is not to talk but
to get a bushel of lime and make mortar in the
playground. The characteristic behaviour of lime
on slaking is then brought out and it is thereby
made clear that lime is very different from chalk,
whence it follows that the chalk is profoundly
altered by burning. A direction is thus given to
the enquiry. The student sets about heating the
chalk with a definite object in view—not merely
because he is told to do so—and learns at the
outset that an experiment should be based on
some previously observed fact; that its conception
. y ¢~e ee ð "I aoe ed E
JULY, 1903. ]
—the discovery of the form it is to take—involves
an argument.
Certainly some directions are given by Mr.
Leonard which border on the heuristic. For ex-
ample, that above quoted, to use the ‘blast
furnace’’—and there is another, which occurs
frequently, to write down weights on a piece of paper.
The student will need to put forth his wits to
discover what this mysterious “ blast furnace” is;
he will not find it in the average laboratory. And
of all abominable habits in a student, none is more
abominable than that of writing notes on bits of
paper. The erewhile owner of such notes can
seldom, if ever, cry ‘‘ Eureka! ” when these are
wanted.
What I have said of the manner in which chalk
is dealt with by Mr. Leonard applies equally to
the subjects of the other sections of his book.
Thus, chapter iii., on Water, begins: “ We will
now proceed to find out the answer to the question,
of what is water composed?” Later on we
read: “ We will now decompose distilled water.
To do this we do not employ heat, but electricity.”
This is didacticism pure and simple. Why should
the question be asked of what is water composed ?
No ordinary sane person thinks of it as a composite
substance. And why use electricity? No word is
said to justify the introduction of this new charac-
ter into the drama.
Noble efforts are being made at the present day
to be rational. Why not carry these a little further
to a logical conclusion? Among Mr. Eggar’s ques-
tions, I notice one in which the number of bricks
of a given volume required to build a wall of
stated dimensions is to be calculated out, neglect-
ing the space occupied by the mortar. But why
neglect the poor mortar? The wall can’t be built
without it. Are we always to leave out the mortar
from the buildings of education? Instead of giving
dimensions, why not heave bricks at the class ?
Let the class measure and weigh them and
go outside and see how brick walls are built;
even build a bit of brick wall. Having done all
this, let them report on the number of bricks used
in building certain walls, on the weight of the wall
carried by a given girder.
This would be to make the subject live in the
boys’ minds; such teaching would be truly
heuristic. But, oh! it would so offend disciplinary
instincts; it would be so unacademic—so horribly
practical, so unlike Oxford-and-Cambridge-Local
requirements ; and yet so like what the world really
wants.
MAKE your pupil attentive to natural phenomena, and you
will soon make him curious; but, in order to nourish his curi-
osity, never be in haste to satisfy it. Ask questions that are
within his comprehension, and leave him to resolve them. Let
him know nothing because you have told it to him, but because
he has comprehended it himself; he is not to learn science, but
to discover it. If you ever substitute in his mind authority for
reason, he will no longer reason; he will be but the sport of
others’ opinions.— Rousseau.
No. 55, VoL. 5.]
The > School World 7
THE ILIAD.
HE critics, in examining the first volume of
T this new edition, have estimated its merits,
and we may add its few defects, in such a
way that we need not treat the second with the
same fulness. The critical notes are selected with
sound judgment, although in some respects not so
full as those of the new Oxford text; in the present
volume, Dr. Leaf has had the advantage of using
Mr. Allen’s researches and discoveries amongst
Homeric manuscripts. With so great a mass of
documents, and a mass always increasing, thanks
to the discoveries of papyri, no editor can pretend
to have made a final text; but Dr. Leaf’s is a
sound and defensible one. We cannot help feeling,
however, that it 1s a pity he did not himself collate
those MSS. where Hoffman and Laroche differ so
widely as to shake our confidence (see p. 385
especially). The notes are particularly good when
they elucidate an obscure word or phrase, such as
àyarhvwp, xiv.756; Tpvuvós, XIV. 31; Tipdwoue, xiv. 142;
to take a few at random. A more detailed know-
ledge of comparative philology than Dr. Leaf shows
is often necessary in the study of Homer; his
note on xpupzvds, for example, is not complete without
reference to its etymology; as derived from zpo
or its root, the meaning ‘‘ furthest ” is natural, and
the vowel is one of those ‘‘ Aeolisms”’ which open
up so interesting a question in Homeric antiquities.
This question especially calls for an excursus,
since Prof. Ridgeway’s suggestive hints were made
public in the “ Early Age of Greece.”
We are surprised to find so intelligent an editor
as Dr. Leaf trying to arrange the ornaments of
the Shield of Achilles on an hour-glass form
(p. 603), or countenancing for a moment a shield of
Achilles which takes the shape of a British tomb-
stone (p. 605). His objection that in the circular
shield half the figures would be upside down is
shown to be futile by thousands of Greek vases,
not to mention the haphazard methods of early
inscriptions. The case for Mycenawan armour,
always weak, seems here at its last gasp; and the
section on dress will probably have to be recon-
sidered. But if Dr. Leaf is not free from faults
as an archaeologist, and lacks something as an
etymologist, as a literary critic he is at his best.
His analyses of the several books are masterly,
and should, we think, convince even the most
devoted unitarian that the //iad is composite. Dr.
Leaf is careful to point out that merit is no test
of date, and that some of the later parts of the
Iliad are amongst the noblest fruits of the human
intellect. We are truly grateful to Dr. Leaf for
his searching but sympathetic treatment of the
literary questions involved, which alone would
place this edition in the front rank.
1 “ The Diad.” Edited with Apparatus Criticus, Prolegomena, Notes
and Appendices, by Walter Leaf. Litt. D., sometime Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge. Vol IL, Books XITL-XNIV. Second Edition.
xxiv. + 663 pp. (Macmillan.) 18s.
X
258
THE ENGLISH GARNER:!
R. A. W. POLLARD—not to be confused
with his namesake, Mr. A. T. Pollard, as
the editor warns us in a pathetic preface—
has written a delightful introduction to his volume,
clever and humorous, and really useful as a help
to appreciate the contents of his volume. He
has added a number of new pieces not published
in the original “ Garner,” for which we are truly
grateful. It is not every scholar who knows the
interest of early prefaces, prohemes, and epilogues ;
yet an interesting volume might be made of these
alone. Mr. Pollard gives the reader a taste of
them in the person of William Caxton, whose
genial confidences seem to set the man clearly
before our eyes. Every nowand then, too, Caxton
adds a pithy anecdote, such as that of the Sheffield
mercer who asked for “ eggs ” (poor hungry man)
but got nothing until he said ‘‘eyren.” “So,”
says Caxton, ‘‘ what should a man in these days
now write, ‘eggs’ or ‘eyren’?”’ The preface to the
‘** Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers ” bubbles
with quiet humour. The reader will see how
Caxton banters ‘ the noble and puissant lord, Lord
Antony, Earl of Rivers, Lord of Scales, and of the
Isle of Wight, defender and director of the siege
apostolic for our holy father the Pope in this
royaume of England, and governor of my Lord
Prince of Wales,” who in translating the book had
apparently omitted all the sayings of Socrates
against women. The reasons suggested for the
omission are as charming as those which Caxton
alleges for putting them all in again on his own
account. “I wot well,” he says, ‘of whatsover
condition women be in Greece, the women of this
country be right good, wise, pleasant, humble,
discreet, sober, chaste, obedient to their husbands,
secret, steadfast, ever busy, and never idle, are
temperate in speaking, and virtuous in all their
works, or at least should be so.” However,
‘‘peradventure the wind had blown over the leaf
at the time of translation of his book,” and since
his lordship bade me oversee and correct it, I pro-
pose to put them in, ‘“ humbly requiring all them
that shall read this little rehearsal that, if they
find any fault, to arette it to Socrates, and not to
me, which writeth as hereafter followeth.” Amongst
the other additions are a Miracle Play (as we
expect from Mr. A. W. Pollard—or is it Mr. A.
T. Pollard?), the now familiar “ Everyman,” and
some pretty Christmas carols.
Mr. Lang's volume is more miscellaneous. Here
we read of that oddity, Kempe, and his “ Nine Days’
Wonder,” the morris dance from London to Nor-
wich. Kempe has a Shakespearian interest, and
his pamphlet is dedicated to that sportive tomboy,
1“ Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse,” with an introduction by Alfred
W. Pollard. xxix. + 324 pp. * Social England,” Illustrated : a Collection.
of Seventeenth Century Tracts. With an introduction by Andrew Lang.
xxxi + 452 pp. “Voyages and Travels,” mainly during the Sixteenth
and Seventeenth Centuries. With introduction by C. Raymond Beazley,
Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. 2 vols. xxviii. + 332 pp. xxiv. +
444 pp. (Constable.) 4s. net each volume.
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
Mistress Anne Fitton, one of the claimants for the
name of the Dark Lady. ‘English Dogs and
Wines,” ‘‘ Herring Fisheries and the Navy,’
‘¢ The Great Frost of 1608,” with high jinks on the
Thames, ‘‘ The Secrets of Angling,” ‘‘ His Ma-
jesty King James’s Declaration to his subjects
touching lawful Sports to be used on Sundays and
Holy Days after Service,” “ The Carrier's Cos-
mography,” “ The Worth of a Penny ’’—these are
some of the quaint treatises which meet the
curious eye. King James was a man of sense
indeed: we wish King Edward would follow his
example, and encourage wholesome games on a
day now in this pharisaical age dedicated to loung-
ing and drinking. But chief of all the pieces in this
volume is the terrible description of life in the
Galleys, a veritable horror. Mr. Lang contributes
a note on each piece and its author, which would
please us better if he could forget to be flippant.
This is the one mistake in the book. Mr. Lang
has no authority to speak on English literature,
and we wish the book had been edited by Mr. A.
T. Pollard (to avoid jealousy). But nothing can
spoil the text.. We have read both volumes with
renewed delight, and wish they may have the
success they so well deserve. We must not omit
to add a word of gratitude to the Early English
Text Society, which has published so many
treasures, the Caxton ‘ Dictes ” amongst them.
Of this we may have more to say on some other
occasion.
But of all the volumes of the ‘‘ Garner,” the last
two on our list will most appeal to the young: the
voyages and adventures of the Elizabethan sea-
dogs, told in their own words, or by eye-witnesses,
deeds of derring-do, heartrending experiences,
observations of mankind when all was fresh and
new, sidelights on history—what a feast for boys!
How Mr. Henty’s immortal works, even Captain
Maryatt’s, pale before those startling pictures!
A number of the pieces come from the precious
mine of Hakluyt, whose ‘‘ Voyages,” we are glad to
see, are to be published shortly in full. Amongst
these are: Sir John Hawkins’s three voyages to
the West Indies, so important for the beginnings of
the slave trade; the first Englishman who reached
India by an overland route; voyages to the
Levant, Tripoli, Mexico, round the world; and
sea-fights—the Dolphin of London, against five
Turkish men-of-war; Sir Francis Drake at Nombre
de Dios; the little Revenge against the Spaniards,
with the last words of Sir Richard Grenville, so
familiar to us from Tennyson. Then there 1s
Richard Hasleton’s account of the ‘ wonderful
things happened to him,” his capture and interro-
gation, escape, recapture, torture by the Inquisition,
and final escape (Englismen were made of stern
stuff in those days); and the remarkable account of
“ Nineteen Years’ Captivity in the Highlands of
Ceylon, sustained by Capt. Robert Knox, March,
1660—October, 1679,” with the earliest account
of the manners and customs of that country. Any
one of these pieces would be worth the price of the
book. Indeed, it is difficult to speak with modera-
tion of the pleasure and profit which are provided
JuLy, 1903.] The
by these books. We hope Messrs. Constable will
be able to make them available for schools in some
way, whether by a reduction of terms or as may
appear most convenient. The general reader may
thank his stars they are so cheap.
THE CLASSICAL REVIEW.
HE Classical Review is now more than sixteen
years old, and has won for itself an honourable
place amongst scholarly journals; but the
editors feel constrained to appeal for fresh support.
It seems difficult to understand how such a peri-
odical should lack support in a country where
the staple of higher secondary education is still
classical ; but such is the fact. Probably this is
due to the low intellectual standard of the public-
school master, who generally has a good degree,
but seldom shows any interest in questions of
literature, scholarship, or research. A number of
those who are interested in these things are in such
a position that they really cannot afford to buy
books except such as are absolutely necessary-
tools of the trade. In a wider view, such peri-
odicals as the Classical Review are indispensable.
One may spend a great deal of money on periodi-
cals, but it is money well spent. It is not by any
means the same thing to see them in a library.
When the last number comes damp from the press,
and you cut it open, and lo and behold, a new Satire
of Juvenal (or a bit of one), the collation of a new
MS. of Cicero, or of Tacitus (such as the ‘“ hidden
treasure ” at Toledo, of which a collation is for the
first time given in the Classical Review for February,
1902). What pleasure can equal this for the
scholar, except discovering such things for himself ?
The Classical Review contains many such things,
and besides reviews, careful and nearly always
authoritative, of all recent works of importance
for scholarship. Sometimes these reviews are
racy reading, as Prof. Ridgeway's reply to Mr.
Myers, or Prof. Roberts’s to Dr. Rutherford, a
well-deserved lesson. Notes on archaeological
finds ought to interest those who do not take the
archaeological journals. Not least is the hospit-
able welcome offered to emendations and criti-
cisms, whereby they may be discussed from all
points of view before their author commits himself
to them finally. Some of our readers will recollect
the thousands of suggestions which were offered
on Herondas, Bacchylides, and the ‘‘ Constitution
of Athens,” many of which commended them-
selves to foreign editors, and but for the Classical
Review they would not have been published at all.
We should like to support most cordially the
editor's appeal for further support. There is no
reason why the bulk of the Review should not be
considerably enlarged if the number of subscribers
should increase; matter there is in plenty. Let |
1 The Classical Review, vol. xvi. (1902). 480 pp. xvii., Nos. 1—4- 236
Pp. 12s. a year, or 18. 6d. a single part. (Nutt.)
School World
259
all who care for classical scholarship rally round
Dr. Postgate, and let not our enemies, who would
make education a means to get money,
rem, quocumque modo rem,
be able to taunt us with lukewarmness in a vital
question, when courage and unanimity may win
the day.
ee ee
PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN
GEOGRAPHY.
By E. W. Hurst, B.A., F.R.G.S.
Bishops Stortford College.
I.
MONGST the numerous reforms that have
been mooted in the educational world during
the last two or three years none is worthy
of more serious consideration than that which
would render geography as valuable a training for
the mind as any other branch of science. It is not
necessary to point out the time-honoured methods
which have hitherto made the geography “ period ”
a kind of reading-lesson, plus more or less memory
work. As Sir Henry Craik remarks’, ‘‘ The object
should be not so much to impart information to
the pupil as to exercise him in obtaining it for
himself from sources within his reach, and setting
out in an orderly manner all necessary facts rela-
tive to a given topic. .”’ «© The exercises in
the preceding paragraph presuppose that every
school will be equipped with a proper set of
reference books, ¢.g., a reference atlas,
one or more of the comprehensive year-
books now issued by various publishers.” In other
words, given a good atlas, and such books as
‘© Whitaker’s Almanack,” ** The Statesman’s Year-
Book,” Hazell’s ‘‘ Annual,” it should be possible
to devise a series of graduated exercises in each
branch of geography of such a nature that not
only is the pupils self-activity continuously
exercised, but the geographical principles to be
learnt are discovered by the pupil from the results
of his exercises. The exercises which follow are
an attempt to show that elementary geography can
be treated on the lines indicated by Sir Henry
Craik. More advanced geography—that which
leads the pupil to an appreciation of the climatic
and physiographic control of man and his
activities, and calls for the exercise of more highly-
developed mental faculties than are possessed by
the average boy under twelve—is not touched
upon. Nor do the exercises constitute a systematic
course; they are intended merely to be indicative
of the lines that may with advantage be followed,
subject to modifications suggested by the teacher's
own experience. The general aim throughout is
to provide the pupil with material for discovering
facts and principles by his own effort.
For instance, instead of telling him that the right
l Circular to School Boards and School Managers, Scotch Education
Department, Feb., 1903.
260
bank of a river is that bank, &c., &c., let the
teacher draw a rough map on the blackboard, like
that in Fig. 1., and then put the two following
exercises before him :—
Fic. 1.
Ex. 1.—A river has two banks; one is called its righ/, the
other its Æ/t bank. In Fig. 1, A, B, C, E, F, L, are
situated on the right banks of the adjoining rivers, and D, G,
H, K, M, are on the left banks.
Do rivers flow into the sea, or away from it? Do they flow
up-hill or down-hill? Decide the direction in which the rivers
in Fig. 1 flow and define the term right bank.
Ex. 2.—Remembering that water always flows down-hill,
arrange the towns on the main stream in Fig. 1 in the order of
their heights above sea-level, beginning with the highest town.
Many exercises can be planned involving the
use of the globes—of which there should be a
sufficient supply in every school.
Ex. 3.—Tie a piece of cotton to the North Pole of your
globe. Pass it half round the globe and tie the other end to the
South Pole. Cut the cotton at its middle point. Move one of
the free ends of the cotton round the globe. Notice its course.
What is the name of the line along which it moves? If the
globe were cut through along this line, through what point of the
straight line joining the two poles would the section pass?
Draw the shape of such a section.
Ex. 4.—Stretch a thin strip of paper round the globe along
the Equator. Allow the ends of the strip to overlap. At any
point where there is a double thickness of paper push a pin
through. Take out the pin and measure the distance between
the two pinholes in the paper.
Then enter in your note-book :—
My globe measures . - inches along the Equator.
The earth s 25,000 miles “5 i
Therefore the scale of my globe is 1 inch =. . . miles.
Having in this way discovered the scale of your globe,
measure with a strip of paper the distances between the follow-
ing pairs of places, and convert the measured distances into
miles. Tabulate your results as follows :—
The Distance Measured on my globe, is,
Saint Helena Cape Town
from pa in miles,
London Peking
San Francisco | Sydney
North Pole | South Pole
Cape Horn Cape of Good Hope | ,
Iceland | Trinidad
Ex. §.—Locate on your globe the places named in column i.
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
of the following table. In each case imagine a vertical line
going downward from the place through the globe. Notice if
the place where such a line would leave the globe is land or
water, and fill in column ii. accordingly.
A line passing through centre of earth
nerga in the S. Hemisphere where there
is.
Places on the land in the
N. Hemisphere.
Delhi.
Dawson City.
London.
The spots where these lines emerge in the S. hemisphere
are known as the antipodes of the places in the N. hemisphere.
What conclusion would you come to from the results of the
above table? Fill in the following :—The antipodes of most of
the. . . .oftheearthare. .. .
Ex. 6.—The following table shows one of the many routes by
which it is possible to travel round the earth. First follow the
route on your globe and then mark it on an outline map of the
world.
Liverpool — Quebec — Vancouver — Yokohama—Shan¢ghai—
Hong-Kong—Colombo—Red Sea—Mediterranean Sea—home.
What is the approximate length in miles (a) of the land,
(6) of the sea, part of the journey ?
Ex. 7.—Find on your globe the positions of London and
Japan. Imagine you can travel round the world with equal
ease in any direction; find out the shortest distance between
the two places.
Write your answer in this way :
London and Japan is across .
The shortest distance between
. and through . .
Ex. 8.—Measure on the globe the distances between the
opposite shores of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans along
lat. 30°S, the Equator, and lat. 30°N. Tabulate your answer
thus :—
Width of Atlantic in miles. Width of Pacific in miles.
Parallel.
30° S.
o°
30° N.
A large relief globe may be utilised to permit the
discovery by the pupils that a series of plateaux
encircles the earth with important consequences in
respect of drainage, &c. They may then turn to
their globes or atlases and work out such exercises
as the following :
Ex. 9.—Fill in the following table :—
Ocean to which the short,
steeper slopes descend.
Ocean to which the long,
gentler slopes descend.
Continent.
S. America.
N. America.
Asia.
Europe.
Africa.
What is the direction of the two slopes in the Old World and
in the New? Try to draw up a general rule with respect to the
distribution of the two slopes.
JULY, 1903. ]
Æx. 10.—What is the most suitable place you can suggest
through which a canal might be cut so as to save time and coal
in passing from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean ?
Estimate the distance that would thereby be saved in sailing
fram New York to San Francisco.
Where might a canal be cut with advantage between the
Pacific and Indian Oceans?
TABLE I.
: Length of - | Population i
Continent. fe alee lite (miles). “Pillione. i
Europe 3,750,000 19,800 360
Asia 17,000,000 35,500 850
Africa 11,250,000 16,000 207
N. America 8,250,000 28,000 100
S. America 7 ,000,000 I $1700 40
Australia 3,000,000 ,800 3
Ex. 11.—From Table I. (a) Arrange the continents in order
of size. Remembering tbat the area of a square in square
measure is obtained by squaring the length of the side in long
measure, construct five squares, the areas of which are in pro-
portion to the size of the continents.
(6) Find, as shown on the following table, the proportion of
the length of the coast-line to the area of each continent.
Coast-line
arta
Area
| VN °
(square miles) Coast-line (miles).
Continent.
|
|
|
| |
(c) Find, in each case, the average number of people per
square mile. Arrange, as in the table, Ex. 11, 4. The last
column will be population divided by number of square miles.
(d) Draw six squares, each of one-inch side, and place the
correct number of dots in each to illustrate the density of
population.
(e) Do you notice any connection between the results of (4)
and (c)?
TABLE II.
a PR LE TES a
Number of such river basins in
Total area of river basins d d
Ocean. | each exceeding 100,000 = 2 | d
square mi ; = D =
SB! laJ E, Ë]|TF
MERT EE
a|/4i2lalul| 4
Arctic 3,765,000 sq. miles | 1t | 3 | O| I o | o
Atlantic | 11,280,000 ,,___,, 3lol4l4l|4'to
Indian 2,182,000 ,, » o | 4 2 ojo I
Pacific 2,908,000 ,, 5, o | 4loi3jolļo
Ex. 12.—(a) Draw up a table, naming the rivers included in
Table II. Opposite each write the name of the ocean into
which it flows.
(2) Arrange the oceans in the order of their drainage areas.
(c) Try to explain this order with reference to the results of
Exercise 10 as to the long and short slopes of the globe.
(d) On a map of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres
colour the drainage areas as follows :—Arctic, brown ; Atlantic,
red ; Indian, green; Pacific, yellow ; Inland, black.
The School World
261
Ex. 13.—Make a list of large islands lying near each of the
continents. Measure the length and breadth of each island.
Tabulate your measurements as follows :—
Island. Length. Breadth.
|
Study your list ia order to discover whether there is any
general rule bearing on the relative length and breadth of
continental islands.
a a ey ee
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL INQUIRIES.
THE publication of the ‘‘ Papers relating to the Resignation of
the Director of Special Inquiries and Reports”' has raised the
question as to what exactly should be the duties of an Office of
Special Inquiries and Reports ; what should be its relation to the
Board of Education; and what responsibility should rest with
the Director of the work of such an office. In view of the resig-
nation of Mr. Sadler, and the subsequent appointment of Dr.
Heath (see p. 265), it is important that the value to be attached
to educational research of the kind upon which Mr. Sadler was
engaged for eight years should be insisted upon, and that the
paramount necessity of accurate knowledge of educational expe-
rience in schools of all grades, in this and in other countries,
should be appreciated by the Heads of the Department entrusted
with the administration of English education. That the best re-
sults may be obtained by investigators in any branch of scientific
inquiry—and education is fortunately developing into a science
—it is necessary to secure for them as much freedom as possible,
and to hamper their work as little as may be by official restraints,
subject, of course, to the due observance of the necessary mini-
muin of departmental discipline. The revision of guiding prin-
ciples which will naturally accompany the re-organisation of the
Office of Special Inquiries will have great effect on the future
development of English educational effort, and it is earnestly to
be hoped that in defining the duties of Dr. Heath, the Board of
Education will be inspired by broad views, and take special care
that nothing is done to discourage the scientific study of educa-
tional questions, and the collection of data of the kind which
Mr. Sadler has placed on record. Similarly, in deciding what
particular inquiry should at any time engage the attention of the
Director and his staff, very great importance should be attached
to the opinion of the Director himself, who, from the nature of
his position, is more likely to form correct views of the relative
importance of various pieces of research than those engaged
directly in the work of administration.
Some of the principles which Mr. Sadler has laid down in
various Minutes contained in the Blue-book referred to are of
importance in this connection, and the following extracts will
prove of great interest to all who are concerned for the future of
education -—
The Need for Scientific Inquiry in Education.
In no case should the regular and systematic collection and
recording of educational work and experiments at home and
abroad be broken into or suspended by reason of the urgent
demand for the immediate supply of particular information
needed in current administration or debate. In addition to the
1 Cd. 1602. Price 7d.
262
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
direction of the scientific part of the work, the other duty of
being prepared to furnish particular items of information at the
shortest notice should be undertaken, if a sufficient staff of
helpers is supplied. But no proposal which would wreck the
regularity and systematic precision of the scientific inquiries by
subordinating all such work to the hurried and hand-to-mouth
collection of materials to meet administrative or parliamentary
needs should be assented to. But provision can be made for
meeting these needs without injuring or destroying the scientific
work on which depends, in the long run, the power of the
Special Inquiries Office to give sound, well-digested, and accurate
information to the Board, and also to supply, at very short
notice, trustworthy and sifted intelligence to meet unexpected
emergencies in administration or debate. The scientific work
of the Special Inquiries Section is the tap-root of its efficiency.
It would be as wasteful to suspend that scientific work in order
to meet administrative emergencies as it would be to interrupt
any other form of scientific investigation (the value of which
happened to depend on continuous and accurate record) in
order to satisfy practical demands which could be quite well met
without such interruption. But, if the necessary staff is pro-
vided, the Director of Special Inquiries can undertake the
double responsibility of carrying on the scientific work of the
branch (which, in the long run, is by far the most fruitful and
practically suggestive), and of meeting the demands for imme-
diate information over the wide range of educational controversy
and administration.
sacrifice the scientific work of the branch to the needs of the
immediately practical.
Aims.of an Educational Intelligence Office.
The Director must avail himself of the reports and stucies of
other persons in whose judgment he has confidence, and who
are prepared to undertake educational inquiries at home or
abroad, for which he and his staff have notime, but which are
likely to be fruitful and suggestive. Opportunities for obtaining
such information unexpectedly present themselves. Someone is
going abroad, and offers to prepare a report on some special
educational topic which he is well qualified to investigate. The
Director of the Special Inquiries Office ought to be in a position
to seize such opportunities, and tobe able to offer some small
pecuniary acknowledgment for the service. This has proved an
economical method of gathering information. A wide range of
possible inquiries should be constantly in the Director’s mind,
and he should be on the look-out for opportunities of gradually
completing that range of inquiries on economical terms and by
the temporary employment of capable investigators.
In an educational intelligence office the most difficult respon-
sibility lies not so much in the collection of dccuments, or even
in the establishment and maintenance of friendly relations with
persons at home and abroad who are able to give valuable infor-
mation, as in forming a fair estimate of the relative value and
real aims of different systems of education, and in finding out
how far they (or any part of them) are separable from the social
conditions of which they form a part. To arrive at this sort of
judgment, and to be able to deepen and revise it, it is necessary
to seize varied opportunities, which often come at inconvenient
times, of consulting people with special knowledge and repre-
senting different points of view. In order to seize such oppor-
tunities effectively the Director of the Oftice of Special Inquiries
must have at his disposal, as was originally planned by the
Treasury, an allowance for expenditure at his discretion, subject,
of course, to the requirements of vouchers for all expenditure
made. Thus equipped with the means for collecting the neces-
sary information, as unforeseen opportunities may present them-
selves, he should in turn be required to bear the responsibility
of furnishing correct information on educational subjects referred
to him.
The Yalue of such an Office.
The publication, at frequent intervals and under the auspices
of the Board of Education, of accurate and well-digested
information on educational progress abroad would further the
interests of national trade and industry. In the present ferment
of opinion as to national education, the work of a well-equipped
educational intelligence office might do much to promote unity
of educational effurt, understanding of the need of the different
types of schools, and clearness of educational aims. In the past,
much public money has been wasted through failure to make a
But it would be a ruinous mistake to
careful study of educational methods and problems before
embarking on schemes entailing large expenditure. It is
probable that great saving would be effected by the supply of
timely information on many educational subjects for the con-
sideration of those locally interested in the supply and manage-
ment of schools. The aim of the writers of such reports should
be to give practical help to educational workers, without being
narrowly statistical or doctrinaire. In their treatment of the
subject they should endeavour, not to introduce foreign ideas or
continental methods (at least without due modification) into
English schools, but to throw light on English educational
needs and opportunities by comparing work done here with
what is done elsewhere. It should be their aim to disentangle
what is valuable fiom what is obsolete or antiquated in our
English educational traditions, and to preserve all that is good
in our present educational arrangements. At the same time, it
may be noted that the work of the present Office of Special
Inquiries has been found useful by educational administrators
in different parts of the Empire as well as in England and
Wales. ,
AN EDUCATIONAL REVIEW.
By Dr. THoMAS Muir, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S.
Director of Education for Cape Colony.
IF we cast over in our minds the principal events of the
recent history of education in England, it is not difficult to
separate out three main streams of tendency ; and, as all such
streams are in no sense the products of chance or artificial
stimulation, but have to be viewed as the natural results of the
operation of forces acting in accordance with the laws of evolu-
tion, it would be a fatal mistake anywhere to neglect the study
of them. The mistake would, further, be all the greater if
made in lands which have not yet reached the same stage of
progress as England has, which, therefore, have still the same
thorny road to travel as she has toiled through.
Modernisation.—First of the three I place the tendency to
modernisation. The old curricula have been under a steadily
increasing fire of criticism; the old methods of teaching have
been held up to ridicule; and the old boards of management
have been treated with scant respect. What thus began in
fault-finding developed into the drafting of schemes of reform,
into the formation of associations for promoting these schemes,
and ultimately in numerous cases into modification of the
Statute-book. We have only to think of the altered attitude
towards such subjects as woodwork and cookery in elementary
schools, the change in the position of French, German, and
science in secondary schools, the initiation and development of
separate schools for technical education, and the extensive
widening of the curriculum in universities—we have only to do
this to be conscious of the character of the great movement
which has been and is in progress. The modernising stream
would seem to widen as the years advance. ‘* Nature-study ”
has quite recently been edged into the code of the elementary
schools, and ‘‘brewing” and ‘‘commerce” have been
honourably entered on the curriculum of a University which in
more points than this prides itself on being ‘* modern.”
Organtsation.—The next of the tendencies observable in
English educational history is towards organisation ; and it may
at once be remarked that no prominent country of the world
has stood more in need of a change in this direction. Up
almost to the middle of the nincteenth century there was chaos
1 Abridged from the presidential address to Section D of the South
African Association for the Advancement of Science at the Cape Town
meeting, April, 1903. .
Jury, 1903. ]
The School World
263
in every division of English education ; and even in 1846, when
the first step towards reform was taken, it was only elementary
education that was thought of. The idea of a country’s educa-
tion being an organic whole, and requiring treatment as such,
had crossed few men’s minds.
During the last decade of the century people and Govern-
ment both felt that an epoch-making step had to be taken
towards the unification of the various authorities concerned with
education. After the usual vexatious delays, an Act was passed
in 1899 creating a Board of Education to take the place of the
Education Department, the Science and Art Department, the
Charity Commission so far as its educational work was con-
cerned, and even the Board of Agriculture to the same extent.
Great as this measure must be viewed, it was only the prelude
to a greater, viz., the Education Act of 1902. While the
former unified the Government departments dealing with
education, the latter may be said to aim at ultimately bringing
about a like unification of the local authorities. In view of the
many diverse interests involved, a perfect unification was hardly
at first possible ; but much has been done by it towards placing
all education, save university education, under the local control
of the county and borough councils.
Nationalisation.—The third tendency which claims attention
is the tendency towards nationalisation. Fortunately, it is so
bound up with the second that a few additional words will
suffice for it. So late as the early part of the nineteenth century
the English State seemed unconscious of having any direct duty
in regard to the education of its people. The provision of
schools was apparently held to be the work of religious and
philanthropic bodies. or a matter to be left to private enterprise.
Wiser views must have been in circulation by the time (1839) a
separate Department of Education came to be created ; but the
fully-developed principle that the State must insist upon the
education of children, even in the teeth of opposing parents,
had no legislative hold until the year 1870. In 1880 the hold
was strengthened; and since then the principle has branched
out in several fresh directions.
Science and Education.—Now looking back upon these three
tendencies, and reflecting upon their character and history, it is
impossible to doubt the assertion that nothing has contributed
more to the development of them than the immense growth and
diffusion of science. On every side social and national life are
enveloped and affected by scientific discoveries, and the rapidity
with which a purely theoretical result is forced to yield a
practical application has become a matter of every-day ex-
perience. Our environment is daily changing because of
scientific advance ; we cannot live in the past even if we would.
Hence the modernisation which has already taken place in the
curriculum, and the persistent, not to say irritating, call for
further ‘‘ practicality.” Hence also the recognition of the
national duty in regard to education, as has just been pointed out.
Even the pressure for organisation is not unconnected with the
same cause, because it is mainly through scientific training that
we have come to see the need for sound method in all our
undertakings if high efficiency is to be attained. No true
educationist can thus afford to let his eye wander from science,
whether he is designing curricula, planning legislation, or seek-
ing to improve administration.
The teacher has also much food for reflection in this connec-
lion. The last decade of the century saw great changes of
opinion in regard to him and his work. With every additional
enhancement attached to the value set upon education, his status
has improved, and with every step towards the nationalisation of
his subject the more willing has the State been to view him as
an honoured and trusted servant. All credit to him that he has
come to recognise the justice of the State’s return demand that
be shall adopt his profession in the proper spirit, and shall
seriously set himself to be trained for his life-work. The old
delusion that he who has learned can teach has been an
unconscionable time in dying, but there is not much life in it
now. Even the most conservative bodies have during recent
years changed their front in regard to the matter, and surely the
last word on the subject has been said at the Conference which
assembled at Cambridge in December last. The Conference
was fully representative of the Universities, of the various
teachers’ associations, and even of unprofessional educationists,
and the first words of the chairman, Sir Oliver Lodge, in
summing up the points upon which all the members were agreed,
were: ‘* Training is necessary for teachers of all grades.” In
the last three words, ‘*‘ of all grades,” there is much virtue. No
stopping short at the elementary teacher, on whom for many
years training has been obligatory, nor at the secondary teachers,
whom even the English Headmasters’ Association would now
like to see moderately trained ; but embracing all, even those
who have to teach within the walls of a college.
Another point which has to be noticed in regard to teachers
has a closer bearing upon our present meeting. This is, ‘the
fast-growing conviction that the teacher who wishes to be
effective in his daily professional work must keep up a living
interest in his subject, and, according to his opportunities, must
be a contributor to its advancement. The latter obligation, of
course, increases in weight with the rise in grade of the teacher ;
in the case of a university professor, the will and the capability
to do research work should be considered indispensable, and
should be valued at least as highly as the power to interest and
to teach. With the removal of all school work from certain of
our colleges, and with the consequently increased aid available
for higher education and the increased interest taken by the
public in their endowment, we may surely hope with confidence
that an aim of this kind will be kept steadily in view in the
future. The plea of want of originality, which has sometimes
been set up in England as an excuse for no research output,
shows a complete misunderstanding of the nature of the demand
made.
VENTILATION OF SCHOOLROOMS BY
WINDOWS AND FIREPLACES.’
By W. T. Harris, LL.D.
UNDOURTEDLY the ideal plan for warming and ventilating
houses includes a fresh-air shaft, bringing down the air from the
top of the building, heating the same, and forcing it into the
schoolroom by a fan moved by steam or other power. The
feet should be kept warmer than the head, consequently the
foul-air flues should be placed near the floor. This ideal plan
is generally considered an expensive luxury, too expensive for
use in most places. I can remember that twenty years ago
many of the buildings in Chicago were heated and ventilated
on this plan. By simply turning a register the inflow of hot
air could be stopped at once, and the inflow of fresh, cool air
substituted. The steam engine which furnished the hot air
was placed in a small building just outside of the building used
for school purposes. I have never inspected schools elsewhere
that were heated and ventilated in so satisfactory a manner.
The brief remarks which I shall make in this paper are de-
voted to the question of interest in the great majority of school-
houses in the United States—houses that depend on windows
and doors and chimney flues for their ventilation, and for
1 Reprinted from the recently published Report of the U.S. Commissioner
of Education (Washington, 1902).
264
heating depend. upon stoves or hot-air furnaces, or steam coils.
The universal tendency when the air of the schoolroom becomes
too hot is to raise a window and let in the cold air from the
bottom. The consequence of this is a direct draught upon the
backs or shoulders of pupils sitting near the window. Pupils
at a distance from the window get some of the fresh air without
danger from the current of air caused. It seems to me that
very many cases of ill health in later life can be traced back to
carelessness in this matter of direct ventilation from the window
upon the pupil. The seeds of future rheumatism were then
planted. Rheumatism, it is well known, leads to heart disease.
In case the lungs are the weakest point, consumption may set
in first, especially where the effect of sitting in a draught of air
produces a bad cold instead of rheumatism.
Inasmuch as the cold stream of air falls to the floor on enter-
ing the room and diffuses itself around the floor, it tends to
produce cold feet. Hence the ventilation of the room from the
bottom of the window is sure to be inimical to the health of
the pupil.
But the child must have fresh air. Foul air deteriorates the
blood and lowers the tone of the whole system, thus inviting
disease. The child must have fresh air, but the fresh air must
be introduced through the top of the window, and not through
the bottom. This is the point that I wish to emphasise. If
the window is not constructed so as to be lowered from the
top, it can easily be changed. A portion of the supports of the
window can be cut out with a chisel, so as to allow the upper
sash to be lowered to the distance of 1 foot or more. Then
two buttons may be fixed, one of which supports the window
within 1 inch of the top and another that supports it when
lowered a foot or more. This change should be made in all
the windows and not merely in a few of them. Every school-
room should have at least four windows. Each of these four
windows should be so constructed that the upper sash may be
lowered.
In cold, sharp weather, or very windy weather, when the air
is mild, the upper sash of each of the four or more windows of
the schoolroom should be lowered 1 inch from the top. The
cold air from without enters the space above the window and
meets the hottest air in the room. It is heavier and descends
toward the floor, creeping down the side of the window and the
wall of the room and becoming heated in its passage. During
its descent it also diffuses itself more or less, and in no case
does it strike the backs or shoulders of the pupils, provided
that there is an aisle, as there ought to be, between the pupils’
desks and the wall of the room. Moreover, when it reaches
the floor it has become so much modified and warmed it does
not cause a cold chill to the feet of the children.
If the weather is warm or mild, and there is little breeze
stirring, the windows should all be lowered from 6 inches toa
foot. This will introduce a much larger inflow of fresh air, but
it will hold its course to the floor near the wall or down the
window without striking the shoulders of the pupils. In case,
however, of cold weather, or of windy, mild weather, the
volume of air pouring through an aperture a foot wide would be
projected forward into the room like a cataract, and would
reach the pupils and do them harm. Everyone knows that the
hot air rises toward the top of the room and remains as a sort
of reservoir of air above the point at which fresh air is intro-
duced. When the window is raised from the bottom and not
lowered from the top, the persons seated on the other side of
the room not affected by the inflow of air feel the oppressing
effect on the body of stagnant air in the top of the room. This
is instantly removed upon opening the ducts at the top of the
room, because all of the air in the top of the room is set in
motion by the process.
I have said thit all of the windows, and not some of them,
The School ‘World
[JuLY, .1903.
should be lowered from the top. It will not do to fix one
window alone and suppose that is sufficient for the purpose of
ventilating a whole schoolroom. -It will do something, but
what it does will not be wel} done. For, in order to affect the
air of the whole room, it will be necessary to lower the window
too much, and the consequence willbe the creation of a too
brisk current, the formation of a cataract. of air, as it were,
which will flow outward from the wall into the schoolroom so
far as to strike the pupils sitting nearest that window. All «f
the windows should be lowered, and no more than is necessary
to produce the change of air in the whole room by the descent
of a thin sheet of cold air down the windows and the wall to
the floor. .
This method of ventilating the rooms is not a matter of mere
theory, but has been tested by me during many years’ practice.
Any schoolroom that has four windows to it may be ventilated
by this process in a fairly serviceable way. But it is quite
important that there should be ventilating flues at the bottom
of the room opening into a large ventilating flue surrounding
the smokestacks which carry off the heat of the furnace. There
is a sort of sour schoolroom air which the school visitor re-
members vividly. This schoolroom smell cannot be removed
effectually except by ventilators at the bottom of the room.
The ventilation by means of the tops of the windows that I
have already described gives a fair supply of fresh air to all in
the room, but it is not quite adequate to remove this school-
room smell here spoken of. The ventilating flue at the bottom
of the room opening into the smokestack is supposed to draw the
air out of the bottom of the room by the draught of the heated
air ascending the smokestack. By the term ‘* smokestack,” I
refer to the iron pipes within the chimney through which the
smoke and gases from the fuel escape up the chimney. A
space left around this smokestack and open all the way to the
top of the chimney furnishes the ventilating flue which is founc
to do the service in schoolhouses. When the building is nx
heated by furnace and the volume of air in the ventilating flues
is not heated, there will not be a draught sufficient to suck out the
sour and fetid air from the bottom of the schoolroom. „An
open fireplace in some part of the schoolroom will answer this
purpose admirably if a small fire is kept in it constantly, even
in summer. A kerosene lamp of small size will do wonders
by causing an ascending current of air which draws out the bad
air at the bottom of the room.
In case the room is heated by a stove, the stove should bea
large one, so that the door may be left open after the coal is
ignited. The draught which carries the steafn and gases up the
chimney also draws out the bad air from the lower part of the
room. In case wood is used, and an open door occasions tov
rapid combustion of the fuel, some other plan must be adopted.
The old Franklin stove or fireplace makes the best ventilator,
though a poor heater. Its heating capacity may be increased
sufficiently by lengthening the pipe and carrying it around the
top of the room before connecting it with the chimney.
I should have said above that when the outdoor temperature
is 80° F., or above, the windows may be raised from the bottom
a foot or so, and lowered from the top as muth as possible.
There are devices of oblique boards placed at the bottom of
the window, or at the top of it, which are intended to detiect
the current of air upward, and thereby prevert its injurious
effects on the shoulders of the pupils. I do not doubt that
these deVices are of some use, but in my experience I have
never known them to be so good as the plan of lowering the
windows from the top simply—that is, 1 inch in cold weather
and a foot or more in mild weather. The reason I suppose to
be this: that the oblique board serves to prevent the intlow of
air when there is no breeze stirring outside of the schoolroom,
For air, when still, refuses to climb over the oblique board,
JULY, .1903.]
The School World
265
‘just as water, or any other fluid, refuses to climb over its bank.
The oblique arrangement will work only when the wind blows
towards the schoolroom.
Of all methods of heating the schoolroom by direct radiation,
-hot-water pipes extending around the room, connected with
means of admitting fresh air under the pipes, is the best that I
have seen, The steam coil is apt to overheat and injure the
quality of the air, although this may be rendered unnecessary
by a more liberal supply of coils. The stove and the fireplace
heat the schoolroom unevenly, but they furnish a natural means
of ventilation, while the steam coil or the hot-water pipes
demand some auxiliary process for ventilation, a process which
is sometimes neglected, however. If ventilation is not provided
for, the steam or hot-water heating apparatus may prove quite
injurious to the health of the pupils.
OXFORD LOCAL EXAMINATIONS.
SET SUBJECTS FOR 1904.
Preliminary.
Keligious Knowledge.—(a) The Reign of David, (b) St. Matthew
X.-xxvli., (c) Acts i.-xii., () Church Catechism.
English History.— Either the Outlines from 1066 to 1399, or the
Outlines from 1603 to 1715.
English Author.—Either Lamb's “ Tales from Shakespeare,”
or ‘* Select Poems of Tennyson,” by George and Hadow,
i.-xxi, (Macmillan).
Geography. —Full knowledge of Scotland and Ireland, and a
general knowledge of (1) elementary geographical terms,
(2) Europe.
Elementary Latin.—** Tales of Early Rome,” by J. B. Allen
(Clarendon Press).
Elementary Greek.—Sidgwick’s ** First Greek Reading Book,”
Exs. I-35, 51-60 (Rivington).
Elementary French.—Perrault’s ‘* Contes des Fées.”
Elenentary German.—* Der Schliisselbund” and “ Jagder-
folge” in E. S. Buckheim’s ‘‘Short German Plays”
(Clarendon Press).
Junior.
Religions Knowledce—(1.) Either (a) The Reigns of David and
Solomon; or (46) St. Matthew; or (c) Acts i.-xvi.; or
(d) Prayer Book.
English Literature.—¥Either Shakespeare’s ‘* Richard II.,” or
‘“ As You Like It,” or Scott’s ‘‘ Lord of the Isles,” or
“ Select Poems of Tennyson,” by George and Hadow
(Macmillan).
History.—Either (a) Outlines of Greek History from 510 B.C.
to 404 B.C.; or (4) Outlines of English History from
1603-1715, with special questions on the period 1640-
1658; or (c) Outlines of English History from 1066 to
1399, with special questions on the reign of Edward I. ; or
(a) Outlines of General European History from 987 to
1215.
Geograpny.—General: (1) Geographical Terms, (2) Physical
Geography, (3) Asia and the British Empire. Special:
United Kingdom.
Latin.—Cesar, De Bello Gallico III. ; Virgil, Aeneid I.;
Lucian, Vera Historia.
Greek,—Scenes from Sophocles, Antigone (Clarendon Press).
French.—* L'Abbé Constantin,” by Halévy.
German.— Seines Vaters Sohn ” and ‘* Der Gespensterkampf,”
by Riehl (Clarendon Press).
Senior.
Religious Knowledge.—(a) The Reigns of Saul, David and
Solomon ; (4) St. Matthew; (c) St. Matthew in Greek ;
(d) Acts; (e) English Church History, 1042-1353.
English Literature.—Shakespeare’s ‘* Richard II.” or ‘ Ham-
let,” together with either Dryden’s ‘‘ Essay of Dramatic
Poesy,” with Pope’s ‘*‘ Essay on Criticism”; or ‘‘ Select
Poems of Tennyson,” by George and Hadow (Macmillan).
History.—Either : (a) Outlines of Greek History from 510 B.C.
to 404 B.C., with special questions on the Ionic Revolt and
Persian Wars; or (4) Outlines of General European His-
tory from 987-1215; or (c) English History from 1066 to
1399; or (d ) English History from 1603 to 1715.
Geography.—In addition to general geography, a full knowledge
of British North America and France.
Latin.—One prose and one verse author from : Cicero, pro lege
Manilia, pro Archia; Cæsar, De Bello Gallico; Horace,
Odes, Book I. ; Virgil, Aeneid, I.
Greek. —One prose and one verse author from: Demosthenes,
In Meidiam; Plato, Crito; Aeschylus, Persae ; Euripides,
Alcestis.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
SCHOOLMASTERS and parents have been deeply moved by the
fire at Eton, in which Mr. Kindersley’s house was destroyed,
and two boys lost their lives. Perhaps the disaster is made less
distressing by the acknowledged blamelessness of all the
sufferers ; but the comments and correspondence in the daily
press have shown an excessive desire to fasten the blame on the
College authorities. A disinterested spectator, looking at the
house before the fire, would never have condemned it as unsafe.
As a matter of fact, the wistaria creeper which covered it made
descent particularly easy. A suggestion that the house should
be pulled down would have met with indignant opposition from
lovers of the picturesque as well as old Etonians. Some years
ago a protest signed by this conservative body saved another
beautiful old house. Eton has been remarkably free from hres,
and nobody in the place would have imagined it possible that a
fire could get complete possession of the ground floor of such a
house without somebody noticing it. It is easy to be wise after
the event, and schoolmasters may learn from this sad calamity to
take certain special precautions in addition to ordinary fire-drill
and life-saving apparatus. Three may be mentioned: (1) No
window should be completely barred. If it is desirable to pre-
vent its being used unwarrantably, it is easy to have part of it
made of fixed glass, which can be broken if necessity arises.
(2) Automatic fire-alarms can be easily attached to electric-bell
wires, and hung in places where a fire may break out. (3) A
night watchman is a useful institution.
Tue President of the Board of Education has appointed
Mr. H. F. Heath, B.A.(Lond.), Pb.D.(Strassburg), Fellow of
University College, London, and Academic Registrar of the
University of London, to the post of Director of Special Inquiries
and Reports rendered vacant by Mr. Sadler’s resignation.
Dr. Heath obtained first-class honours, with a University
exhibition, in English language, literature, and history, at the
University of London. He was Professor of English Language
and Literature at Bedford College, London, from 1890 to 1896,
and was engaged as a teacher and examiner until 1896, when he
entered the service of the University of London. Dr. Heath
occupied the post of Assistant- Registrar until the reconstitution
266 The School World [JuLy, 1903.
of the University, when he was appointed Academic Registrar
and acting treasurer. It has been his duty, among other things,
to investigate the educational facilities, technical, scientific, and
literary, existing in London, with a view to their co-ordination,
and to organise the University system to this end. His work in
both of these directions has been attended with marked success.
Mr. MICHAEL E. SADLER has accepted an engagement by
the Sheffield Education Committee to report independently
upon the provision of ‘‘ education other than elementary” in
Sheftield.
THE committee stage of the London Education Bill was pro-
ceeding as we went to press with our last issue. We were able
to chronicle the decision to exclude completely representatives
of borough councils from the Education Authority for London,
and consequently have little to add to the note of last month.
The clause dealing with the management of provided schools
was much modified ; at present it reads as follows, but is liable
to alteration at the Report stage :—(1) All public elementary
provided schools within the area of each metropolitan borough
shall have a body or bodies of managers, whose number shall be
determined by the council of each borough, subject to the
approval of the Board of Education :—Provided that three-
fourths of such body or bodies shall be appointed by the borough
council and one-fourth by the local education authority.
Provided also that due regard shall be had to the inclusion of
women on the said bodies of managers. (2) The site of any
new public elementary school to be provided by the local
education authority shall not be determined upon until after
consultation with the council of the metropolitan borough in
which the proposed site is situated, and in the case of com-
pulsory purchase, if the council of the metropolitan borough
does not concur in the proposed compulsory acquisition, the
Board of Education shall be empowered, as a condition of its
approval of the provisional order, to require, if it thinks fit, the
Substitution in the order of any other site proposed by the
council of the metropolitan borough for that inserted by the
local education authority.
NUMEROUS changes have been introduced in the regulations
for the Oxford Local Examinations of 1904. In each of the
examinations some of the sections—e.g., history, geography,
mathematics and natural science—have been divided, and the
number of sections necessary for passing has consequently been
increased. The regulations affecting arithmetic and mathematics
have been altered, and the conditions for passing in religious
knowledge for junior candidates, and in Enylish language and
literature for junior and senior candidates, have been modified.
Geometry will be an obligatory subject in mathematics in the
junior and senior examinations in 1905. Alternate papers, pass
and advanced, will be set in English history, geography, French
and German. Candidates offering any of these subjects must state
on their entry forms whether they desire to take the pass or
advanced paper. In introducing this system the delegates have
had two objects in view :—(1) That candidates able to do well
in the advanced papers shall have full credit for so doing;
(2) That the work of the weaker candidates shall be fully and
adequately tested by the pass papers. They intend that
candidates of average ability and attainments who enter for
an advanced paper shall have the prospect of gaining at least as
many marks as if they enter for tne corresponding pass paper.
THE School Management Committce of the London School
Board reported, at the meeting on May 28th, that the committee
have been informed by Mr. G. L. Bruce that he is allowed to
offer another travelling scholarship of the value of £120 in order
that one of the Board teachers may visit schools in some foreign
country to study the methods adopted, such teacher selected to
have some knowledge of the country to be visited, and also to
be qualified by character, experience, and ability to appreciate
what he sees. It is therefore suggested that he should have at
least eight years’ experience. Two scholarships have been
enjoyed in Germany, two in France, and one in America. The
new scholarship is to be held in Germany. The committee
proposed that the Board should accept the offer with thanks.
The report was adopted.
THE Eleventh Summer University Extension Meeting will be
held in Oxford from August Ist to 24th. The inaugural
lecture will be delivered in the Examination Schools by the
American Ambassador, Mr. Joseph II. Choate. There will be
five sections, viz., I.—History; A. Medieval England (1215-
1485) and B. Mediæval Europe. II.—Literature. III.—
Natural Science. Designed to illustrate the relations of science
to industry, with special reference to (a) bacteriology, (4) elec-
tricity, (c) chemistry. IV.— Social Economics. V.—Archi-
tecture and Fine Art. Certain special classes have also been
arranged, and we notice these include classes for the study of the
history, theory, and practice of education, with Mr. W. M.
Keatinge as the lecturer. Conferences have been arranged on :—
(i.) The Education Act of 1902 and University Extension.
Chairman, Sir William R. Anson. (ii.) Free Libraries and
Popular Education. Chairman, Viscount Goschen. (iii.) Science
in its relation to Industry. Chairman, Sir Philip Magnus. The
meeting is divided into two parts: the first extends from
August Ist to 13th, and the second from August 13th to 24th.
The total expense of attending either part of the meeting need
not exceed £3 10s. for each person, and may be less if several
people live together. The total expense of attending both parts
of the meeting need not exceed £6 Ios.
Tue Technical Education Board of the London County
Council announce that a course of training for young men and
young women who intend to become teachers in secondary
schools will be begun at the London Day Training College in
October. The course of training will extend over one year, and
will be confined to persons who are graduates, or who have
undergone a complete course of university study, and passed an
examination equivalent to that for a university degree in arts or
in science. The students will receive instruction in the theory,
history, and art of education, so as to prepare them for the
examination for the teacher’s diploma of the University of
London. They will go through a course of practical work in
approved schools under the general direction of the principal of
the college, and under the immediate supervision of one of the
masters of method or mistresses of method. All the principles
studied in the lecture-room will be exemplified in the schools,
and visits of observation will be made to schools of marked
excellence or of special educational interest. The covering
fee for the post-graduate course is 410. Special arrange-
ments may be made whereby students who are receiving their
practical instruction outside the college, but in accordance with
a scheme approved by the Board, may be admitted to the lectures
for graduates at the Training College at half the ordinary fee.
A MEETING was held on May 28th, at the Hartley University
College, to consider the desirability of perpetuating the memory
of the late Mr. T. G. Rooper, who, in addition to being his
Majesty’s Inspector ot Schools for Southampton and the Isle of
Wight and a governor of the Hartley College, was well known
and much respected in the educational world. It was agreed
that the memorial should take the form of a scholarship to
enable children trained in elementary schools to obtain facilities
for higher education. A representative committee was elected
to organise the movement, and Profs. Hudson and Hearnshaw,
JULY, 1903. ] The School World 267
of the Hartley University College, were appointed general
secretaries.
THE Discovery, with the members of the British Antarctic
Expedition on board, is spending a second winter locked in the
ice of south polar regions in lat. 77° 51' S., long. 166° 42’ E. News
of the expedition has been brought home by the relief ship
sVorning, and a short narrative of the voyage and sledge
journeys was given at a special meeting of the Royal
Geographical Society on June roth. Details of the scientific
results are reserved for the time when the expedition returns,
but a few points of geographical interest have already been
made known. From the information available, it appears that
MacMurdo Bay is not a ‘‘ bay,” but a strait, and that Mounts
Erebus and Terror form part of a comparatively small island ;
that the lowest temperature experienced was 92° of frost
Fahrenheit; and the nearest approach to the South Pole yet
reached has been made by a sledge journey from the Discovery,
wiz., to lat. 80° 17’ south. From this position, which beats all
previous records, an immense tract of new land was sighted,
with peaks and ranges of mountains as high as 14,000 feet.
The Morning reached a point about eight miles from the
Discovery, and was able to transfer by means of sledges a
large supply of provisions and other necessities to the ship, which
was left behind in a good position to bear the demands of a
second winter on the ice. The relief ship will be sent out again
at the end of this year, and if the ice breaks up the Discovery
may return with her.
SENOR Don J. FRESNEDO DE LA CALZADA, whose un-
wearying supervision and thoughtfulness did so much to make
the Spanish Course held last year at Santander a success, has
originated, in that city, a noteworthy educational experiment.
With the object of counteracting the ill effects of town life on
the young, and of interesting them, through a more intimate
knowledge of their province, in the general welfare of their
country, he has arranged, with the help of the local school-
masters, a series of lectures, during the wister and spring, on
the topography, history and industries of the province. The
dJectures are made the basis of special lessons in the schools, and
the more apt of the pupils receive free tickets for the excursions
during the summer months. The cost of these excursions is met
by the Centro Montanes, a non-political society of all citizens
interested in the progress of Santander. Excellent arrangements
have been made to ensure proper discipline during these visits
in the neighbourhood, and they are evidently to be something
more than mere pleasure trips. The authorities of the city are
giving their warmest personal support to the movement, the
success of which, however, must largely depend on the manager.
Those who enjoyed Sr. Fresnedo’s guidance last summer will be
sure that, given the loyal support of the teachers, nothing will
be lacking in this respect.
A REVISED edition of the Teachers’ Registration Regulations
has been issued by the Board of Education. Certain modifica-
tions have been made, and these are indicated in italics in the
new issue of the regulations. The second condition which must
be fulfilled by persons wishing to be registered under Column B
bas been amplified, and it is provided, *‘ in the case of a student
who bas taken honours in the Final Examination for a degree
after spending four academic years at some university in the
U nited Kingdom, [he must] have undergone a course of training
for two terms at least taken continuously.” Acting teachers in
secondary schools must, to be recognised under the conditions
set forth in the regulations, apply within four years of the
establishment of the registration authority. An addition has
been made to the diplomas enumerated in Appendix A,
recognised in the case of women seeking registration, viz.,
“that under the conditions prescribed by the Delegacy for
Local Examinations she has (1) passed the second public
examination of the University, or (2) has obtained honours in
the Oxford University Examination for Women in Modern
Languages.” The following recognised examinations are added
to Appendix B:—the Second Public Examination in Letters
and the Final Examination for the title of A.Sc. of Durham
University; a certificate of the University of St. Andrews,
granted under the conditions regulating the L.L.A. diploma
examinations, under certain conditions duly specified. In
Appendix C, the higher certificate of the National Froebel
Union and the diploma in education of the University of
Wales have been added. To the list of institutions for the
training of secondary school teachers, in Appendix D, have
been added Bristol University College, Royal College of
Science, London (Teaching Associateship), and St. Mary’s
College, Paddington. Copies of the new edition of the
regulations can be obtained (price 1d.) from Messrs. Eyre and
Spottiswoode.
Messrs. H. BATEMAN and P. E. Marrack, both of Trinity,
are bracketed equal as Senior Wranglers this year. Mr. Bate-
man was educated first at the Ducie Avenue Board School,
Manchester, and then at the Grammar School of that town,
where he held a Derby Scholarship, and gaining a Sizarship
entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in October, 1900. He has
taken prizes in both his first and second year, and is now a
Major Scholar of his College. Mr. Marrack was educated at
Blundell’s School, Tiverton. He is a Major Scholar of Trinity
College, where he matriculated three years ago. There were in
all forty-one wranglers. One lady, Miss H. P. Hudson, ranks
as a wrangler, equal to seven. Miss Hudson (Newnham) is a
daughter of Prof. W. H. Hudson, King’s College, London,
who was third wrangler in 1861. Her brother was Senior
Wrangler in 1898, and her sister, Miss W. M. Ifudson, was
equal to the eighth wrangler in 1900.
AS was expected, the changes in the regulations affecting the
pass examinations of the University of Cambridge proposed by
the syndicate appointed to consider the mathematical require-
ments, have been adopted by the Senate. The report of the
syndicate was published in our June number, and by accepting
it, the long reign of Euclid as the sole arbiter of geometry in
schools is brought to an end.
Mr. ALEXANDER DARROCH, lecturer on educational method
and psychology in the Church of Scotland Training College,
Edinburgh, is to succeed Prof. Laurie in the chair of the theory,
art, and history of education in the University of Edinburgh.
Mr. Alfred Ilughes, Registrar of Victoria University, and for-
merly headmaster of the Liverpool Institute, has been appointed
organising professor in education in the University of Birming-
ham. Mr. Hughes has had great experience in the relations
between the Victoria University and the secondary schools in its
district.
THE Council of Owens College has appointed Mr. J. J.
Findlay, Headmaster of the Intermediate School for Boys, Car-
diff, to the Sarah Fielden professorship of Education, vacant
through the death of Prof. Withers.
Mr. FRANK FLETCHER, assistant master in Rugby School,
and formerly scholar of Balliol College, Oxford, has been
appointed Master of Marlborough College, in succession to the
Rev. G. C. Bell, who retires at the end of the present term.
Tue Russian Ministry of Popular Education has resolved to
erect a new university for the north-western provinces of the
empire, and has finally decided upon Mohileff as its seat.
Mohileff has a population of about 50,000, two-thirds of whom
are said by Brockhaus to be Jews.
268 The
School World
[JuLy, 1903.
THE Report on Education in the province for 1900-01 shows
that in Assam there were 102,463 children in Government
schools ; of these 10,322 were being taught English and 100,063
were learning a vernacular language. There were but fifteen
Europeans or Eurasians receiving Government education, the
great majority of the pupils being Hindus.
IT is fairly generally admitted that the present method of
advertising vacant professorships and headmasterships is not so
satisfactory as it might be. Mr. Sidney Lee in a recent letter
to Zhe Times describes how the selection of professors is
managed in America, where advertisement is never adopted.
The president of the university in which a vacancy arises first
consults the members of the faculty concerned, and invites their
opinion as to the fittest person to fill the vacant chair. In
addition to this it is part of a president’s business to collect
information as to the reputations that men are acquiring in
academic work, and the presdent is in constant communication
with other universities. After thorough investigation he forms
his decision as to how the vacant post may be filled with greatest
advantage to the institution over which he presides, and forwards
an invitation to the chosen person. If managed in a thorough
manner by the governors of schools, some similar process would
probably be more likely to secure satisfactory headmasters than
the plan at present in vogue. l
THE Civil Service Commissioners have announced that an
open competitive examination for situations as assistant
examiner in the Patent Office, Department of the Board of
Trade, will be held in London, commencing on July 21st,
1903. Not fewer than twenty-four candidates are to be
appointed on the result of this examination, if so many should
be found to he duly qualified. The limits of age are 20 and 25.
The examination will be in the following subjects only :—
English composition (including spelling and handwriting) ;
geometry (plane and solid); mechanics and mechanism ;
chemistry (chiefly inorganic, including practical analysis) ;
electricity and magnetism (including practical examination) ;
general physics, hydrostatics, heat, light and sound (including
practical examination); French or German (translation from
the language into English). No subjects are obligatory. The
questions set in the physical and mathematical papers are such
as can be solved without the aid of the methods of the in-
finitesimal calculus. The salary of assistant examiners in the
Patent Office commences at £150 a year, and rises by annual
increments of £15 to £450. There is a prospect of promotion
to higher classes with salaries ranging from £500 to £700. The
fee for attending the examination is £5. Application forms can
be obtained from the Secretary, Civil Service Commission, W.,
and must be returned to him on or before July 2nd.
THE Civil Service Commissioners have announced that an
open competitive examination for three situations as Student
Interpreter in China, Japan, or Siam, will be held in London
commencing on July 20th. The limits of age are 18 and 24 on
the first day of the examination. The subjects of examination
are handwriting, arithmetic, and English composition. The
following subjects are optional—précis, geography, Euclid
(Books I.-I1V.), Latin, French, German, elements of criminal
law, and principles of British mercantile and commercial law.
The fee for attending the examination is £4, and the last day
for the receipt of application forms is July 2nd. The com-
mencing salary is £200 per annum. Oe
THERE is a vacancy for a Junior Clerkship in the Consolidated
Accounting Oftice of the Supreme Court in Ireland, carrying a
salary of £ 100— £ 10—¥ 300, and an open competitive examina-
tion is announced to commence on July 22nd for the selection of
candidates to fill this post and any other similar posts in the
High Court of Justice, Ireland, which may be vacant within
six months of the announcement of the result of the examinativo.
The limits of age are twenty and twenty-five on the first day of
the examination. The subjects include handwriting and spell-
ing (including copying MS.), English composition (inciuding
précis), mathematics, English history, literature, geography,
elementary principles of law, Latin, book-keeping, French.
German, and shorthand. The last three subjects are optional.
The entrance fee is £3, and the last day for the return of entry
forms to the Secretary, Civil Service Commission, S.W., is
July 2nd.
SCOTTISH.
Tue Scotch Education Department have just issued an ex-
planatory memorandum in regard to the Code of 1903. It ts
therein made clear that the ‘‘Supplementary Courses” are
typical only, and that proposals for their modification by a
different combination of the subjects, or by a substitution of
others which are thought more suitable to the circumstances 0!
the district, will be entertained provided the essential object of
these courses is kept in view, viz., the application to practical
ends of the knowledge of elementary subjects already acquired.
A concession that will be greatly appreciated has been granted
to rural schools in which instruction in the distinctive subjects of
secondary education is at present being carried on. These sub-
jects may, with the approval of the Inspector, still be taught,
and will be accepted in lieu of some of the other subjects of the
Supplementary Course.
AT an Educational Conference held in Edinburgh Prof. Laurie
gave an address on ‘* The Code in 1903 and Freedom in Educa-
tion.” Prof. Laurie, in an outspoken address, condemned rov:
and branch the proposed ‘‘ Supplementary Courses ”’ for pupils
between the ages of twelve and fourteen. The whole principle
upon which they were based illustrated, he contended, the
greatest of all educational heresies, the introduction of yourg
and unformed minds prematurely to the future occupations of
life—the vital mistake of supposing that you prepare the future
ploughman and artisan best for their daily tasks by anticipating
these tasks in the school. If the policy of the Code were carried
out in the spirit of its framers, the higher instruction in rural
schools would be at an end, and the school time occupied with
work which anticipated the occupations of life, but did not realiy
prepare for them, and the bridge, over which for generations
many a puor country boy in Scotland had passed to professions
which he had adorned, would be broken down. Prof. Laurie
closed his vigorous address by an attack upon what he called
the bureaucratic despotism which at present controlled elemen-
tary education in Scotland. Secondary teachers had been look-
ing on atall this with an amused smile which was beginning to
have a painful dubiety about it. But let them be under no delu-
sion; their day was coming. Only theirs was the privilege of
Ulysses—to be eaten last.
THE ‘‘Supplementary Courses” of the new Code seem, indeed,
to have few supporters. The Scottish School Board Association
at its last meeting passed a resolution protesting against the
institution of these courses on the ground that they encouraged
premature specialisation. Prof. Paterson, of Aberdeen, speaking
to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said that the
Code gave its imprimatur to the teaching of snippets of bread-
and-butter subjects to the neglect of those infinitely more valuabie
subjects which had a disciplinary value and were suited for all
occupations alike. Teachers and managers for once present a
united front against the new proposals, and the concessions
referred to above have not greatly lessened the outcry. In fair-
JuLy, 1903. ]
ness to the Department it should be pointed out that while the
high-sounding names—commercial, industrial, &c.—- attached to
the courses give some ground for the criticism of premature
specialisation, a careful study of the subject-matter shows that
nothing more is demanded of the pupils than is already possessed
by well-trained children of twelve to fourteen years of age.
The Department are determined to ensure that the additional
school time is not spent in marking time, or in acquiring a
smattering of subjects which will be of no use to them.
THe Report of the Committee of Council on Education in
Scotland, which has just been published, contains no distinctly
new features, but presents a mass of digested information that is
invaluable for all interested in the progress of education. The
report, as in previous years, emphasises the unsatisfactory nature
of the school attendance. According to the present estimated
population there should be 904,238 pupils on the registers and
753,532 im average attendance; but the returns show only
768,598 on the register, and 646,501 in average attendance.
That means that for every 100 children who might be on the
registers, there were only 85, and of these only 71 were in daily
altendance. Neither the Department nor local authorities can
rest satisfied so long as over 100,000 pupils are unaccounted for
on the school registers.
THE figures given in regard to the existing supply of teachers
show that, of 4,366 male teachers, 80°67 per cent. have been
students in training colleges or King’s students, while of 7,158
female teachers, 61°97 per cent. have received a similar training.
It should not be forgotten, however, that of the minority many
have obtained, otherwise than in the training colleges, a training
of a very valuable kind. It is satisfactory to find that of the
students at present in training no fewer than 1,864 are being
instructed either in whole or part at the Universities. There
can be no doubt that thfs source of supply will greatly help in
maintaining the high standard of attainment which has always
been a traditional feature in Scottish education.
Sir Henry Craik, K.C.B., Secretary of the Scottish Educa-
tion Department, addressed a meeting in Ayr, on June 6th, under
the auspices of the Educational Institute of Scotland. Sir
Henry replied at length to the criticisms that had been directed
against some of the provisions of the new Code. He showed
that the Education Act of 1901 had extended the school life of
the great mass of the scholars by about two years. For that Act
the Legislature and not the Department was responsible, but
once it was passed it became the bounden duty of the Depart-
ment to see that these all-important two years were spent to the
very best advantage. They must make the education during
this period of real value and of practical interest ; it should tell
more directly on the future life of the pupil, and it should help
to make him a better citizen, and to increase his contribution to
the general prosperity of the country. In the Code of 1903 the
Department had outlined various courses which they considered
were fitted to attain this end. But, as had been repeatedly
explained, these courses are laid down only as models, and
teachers and managers were encouraged to come forward with
alternative schemes which they considered more suited to the
needs of their district. In conclusion, he urged school managers
and teachers to aid the Department in trying to keep Scotland
not merely on the level of the past, but in the forefront of
educational reform.
THE principle of the distribution of the Equivalent Grant due
to Scotland in view of the increase in the English education
grant by the Act of last session is laid down in a special minute
just published by the Department. The larger part of the grant
will be distributed as a capitation grant on the same basis as the
The School World
269
fee grant. The rest of the grant is to be assigned for the pur-
pose of giving special aid to small schools which occur chiefly in
sparsely populated districts, with the object of affording improved
educational provision, otherwise possible in such schools only
at a very heavy cost to the localities.
IRISH.
THE new Intermediate Rules and Programme for 1904 contain
no startling innovation, but have some changes which are
worthy of notice. The main principles of grades and courses,
pass and honour, remain the same, with the introduction of a
new pass subject—music—in all the grades, and of one com-
pulsory language—Latir, French, or German, in the mathe-
matical courses in the three higher grades. In the preparatory
grade, algebra is allowed as an alternative to arithmetic. The
fiasco of last year’s examination has led to a lowering of the
percentage of pass marks to 30 on the pass papers, 20 on the
mathematical honour papers, and 25 on the other honour papers.
Composition prizes are offered in the junior grade as well as in
the middle and senior. For the special encouragement of Greek
and German, prizes are offered to those who obtain the highest
marks in these subjects; these prizes will not exceed the value
of £10 each in the senior, £7 in the middle, £5 in the junior,
and £3 in the preparatory grade. It may be pointed out that
this reintroduces the principle of competition in the preparatory
grade
WE notice further that the Intermediate Board kave in con-
templation rules for supervising the health, recreation, sanitation,
and physical exercise of schools.
TURNING to the Department’s side of the programme for
1904, we find that its subject is now called experimental and
practical science. In the first and second years this means
experimental science and drawing—is drawing now classed
as practical science ?—and for the third and fourth years any
one or more of the following courses:—(1) experimental
physics; (2) chemistry; (3) mechanics; (4) botany; (5) do-
mestic economy (for girls only); (6) drawing as a separate
subject ; all these will be two years’ courses; and (7) physiology
and hygiene; and (8) geology, both one-year courses. It is
further announced that in and after 1905 a two-years’ course of
experimental science and drawing will be compulsory on all
students except thuse who take the classical course. Students
may take the course of any year twice but only twice.
THE Intermediate Board still refuses to allow a student to
enter for more than one course, even though the subjects he
takes make him eligible. Why are not the Department’s
programme and the Intermediate programme published together,
and why is a pamphlet weighing 33 oz. marked as costing 14d.
extra by post? Is it so valuable?
IT is stated that the amount of result fees and school grant
paid last year was £57,573 as against 456,759 for 1901. This
may be taken as practically the whole of the Government
endowment for Irish Schools.
THE numbers of students entering for the Intermediate
examinations this year are 6,459 boys and 2,091 girls as against
6,545 boys and 2,509 girls last year. The figures, especially for
the girls, are instructive as to the effect of last year’s examina-
tions.
SEVERAL important educational reforms are announced from
Trinity College. The admission of women has been approved of
by the Council and was brought before the Senate on June oth,
when it was sanctioned by an overwhelming majority. The
Board and Council have both approved of the abolition of
io _
270
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
compulsory Greek, and a student will shortly be allowed to
substitute French or German. The course for history modera-
torship has been remodelled. Jurisprudence is abolished, being
now provided for in the new moderatorship of legal and political
science, and a knowledge of ancient history, constitutional,
political, and economic, becomes essential; the course of
reading prescribed is wider and more diversified than before.
The change will come into operation in the moderatorship
examination of 1904.
WELSH.
THE tercentenary of Beaumaris Grammar School has just been
celebrated in rather discouraging circumstances. The Chair-
man announced that the school was in such financial difficulties
that the Governors were by no means certain that they could hold
out another year. The Headmaster, however, showed that, in
spite of the unsatisfactory financial state, the number of pupils for
the last three years averaged seventy-three, within two of the
number provided for in the educational scheme for the county.
Criticism was offered by the Headmaster himself as to the small-
ness of the number of girls in the school. He considered that
many parents still thought that girls did not require the educa-
tion which was ungrudgingly given to their brothers. Yet the
Beaumaris School specially provided instruction in domestic
economy, laws of health, and cookery.
THE possibilities of the Eisteddfod as an institutional force in
directing national development were well exemplified in the
recent meeting at Blaenau Festiniog. What was called a
“sectional” meeting entirely concerned itself with literary
questions. The meeting has been pronounced an unqualitied
success. The significance is that it was a thoroughly popular
movement, joined in by all classes of the community. They
met together to be led on literary questions. Principal T. F.
Roberts, of Aberystwyth, presided. He struck the note from
the academic side when he said that he came not to give but to
receive renewal of vigour and enthusiasm from contact with the
young men of Festiniog, and especially the large body of those
who were earning their bread by the labour of their hands.
PROCEEDING, Principal Roberts said that he had come
‘*from amongst a large body of youths who were receiving the
advantages of a university training to another body of the same
blood and the same aspirations who were already in the school
of life and daily toil. Upon their cooperation depended the
future of Wales: separated for the moment they would soon be
intermingled and would stand side by side for progress and rich
and many-sided social life in the Wales that is to come.” The
Rev. Rhys J. Huws then addressed the meeting on present-day
Welsh poetry, and particularly dwelt first on the defects in the
excess of its qualities in: (1) a morbid tendency to sing of death
and depict the gloomy side of life; (2) on abuse of scriptural
diction and subjects; (3) on attachment to petty local themes ;
(4) a proneness to sing to order; (5) a tendency to sing of
abstract subjects.
Mr. T. DARLINGTON, H.M. Inspector of Schools, then spoke
on the racial relations between the English and the Welsh.
After submitting material to the audience for forming a judgment,
he offered his own opinion, that ‘‘ such differences as existed
between the English and the Welsh were less profound and
fundamental than those which divided, say, Southern and
Northern Germany.” This was followed by an estimate as to
the present system of competition meetings of Welsh choirs in
singing from Mr. David Jenkins, Mus. Bac. There is much for
the English mind to ponder over in the possibility of a thoroughly
popular meeting spending an evening in the consideration of
such vital questions concerning national educational progress.
OwING to the breakdown of the negotiations between the
followers of Mr. Lloyd George and the authorities in connection
with Voluntary Schools, the County Council Conference at
Swansea re-considered their attitude to the whole question.
Mr. Lloyd George declared for a ‘‘ fighting policy.” Resolu-
tions were passed, in effect, stating that since teachers will in
future be officials of the County Councils and will be paid out of
public funds, complete control must be placed in the hands of
the County Council as to their appointment. The final resolu-
tion ran: ‘* Until the Act is so amended as to give them (the
County Councils) full control over schools not provided by them,
the County Councils of Wales and Monmouthshire be recom-
mended to refrain from applying rates to the support of such
schools.” : |
THE Governors of the Machynlleth County Schools have
decided to write to the Central Welsh Board and the County
Governing Body to draw attention to the fees payable for the
pupils who sit for the Board’s examinations. These are stated
to be 10s. for honours, 7s. 6d. for the senior certificate, and
5s. Junior certificate, as compared with §s. honours and senior,
and 3s. 6d. junior formerly.
THE Committee of the Welsh Language Society have pro-
posed a scheme for a holiday course in Welsh, which they sug-
gest should be held at Aberystwyth, for teachers in elementary
and in secondary schools.
CURRENT HISTORY.
THERE has been some danger, and more fear, that King
Edward’s projected visit to Ireland might be used for party
purposes, and great care is being taken that this shall not
happen. There was a time in English history when the King
was certainly a party man. To say nothing of our Tudor
monarchs with their various ecclesiastical policies, or of cur
Stuart kings with their conflicts with Parliaments, and to con-
fine ourselves to those monarchs who have reigned since formal
parliamentary parties have existed, was not William III. a
Whig, as well as the first two Georges? Bolingbroke might
write his ‘‘ Idea of a Patriot (7.¢., a non-party) King,” but
George III., who attempted to carry out the principle into
practice, succeeded only in making a new Tory party. All this
was possible while the King of Great Britain not merely reigned
but governed, and that in the region of party politics. Boling-
broke’s ideal could not be reached till, by the Reform Acts of
1832, the Kingship was practically thrust out of home politics
Now, the King is, at least officially, of the opinion of his
ministers for the time being, and is neutral in party politics.
What field the British Kingship may find in Imperial politics is
a question of the future.
THE budget speech of the Canadian Minister of Finance is
interesting and instructive. It seems that the object of taxation
in our. North American colony is not primarily or mainly to
raise revenue. It does effect that object, it is true, and yields a
surplus. But to judge from Mr. Fielding’s speech as reported
in the papers, quite other interests than the raising of necessary
government expenses occupy his attention. ‘* Preference for
British goods,” ‘* reciprocal arrangements with the United
States,” “a surtax on German goods by way of retaliation,”
‘to encourage alluvial gold-mining in the Yukon,” these and
such like are the considerations which shape the Canadian
budget. All which, to those of us who remember or have read
of Cobden, Bright, and the principles of free trade, supplies
much food for thought. How far we have travelled from the
days of “ /aissez faire, laissez passer” ! Our orthodox text-books
Jury, 1903.] The School World | 271
of economics teach us that trade should be free, governed at
least mainly by considerations of easy production. Now, the
object of Government seems to be to make each country self-
sufficing, whatever the cost. What a burden such a budget lays
on the Minister! How thoroughly he must know every man’s
business, and what is good for him, and how far, if at all, others
may be injured while one class is benefited! How the good of
producers is studied, and that of consumers is neglected! Yet
we are all consumers.
AMONG the deputations which waited on King Edward at
Holyrood was one from the University of Edinburgh, whose
address drew attention to the coincidence that their founder and
their present monarch had both married Danish princesses. We
may add to this that the last Stuart sovereign of England, as
well as the first, had a consort from Denmark. A word or two
- about each of these Danish marriages. James VI. of Scotland,
afterwards James I. of England, was born in 1506, was crowned
King the next year after his mother’s flight into England, and
was sixteen years old when he founded “the College of King
James,” which has grown into the University of Edinburgh.
He did not marry Anne of Denmark till 1589, and she lived till
1619, thus becoming Queen-consort of England by Cecil’s
management of her husband’s hereditary claims. Anne, the
_ daughter of James Duke of York, married George of Denmark
in 1683, when there was little prospect of her succeeding to the
English throne. He was an unimportant person who received
the nickname of ‘* Est-il possible ? ” and who deserted his father-
in-law in 1688. He lived till 1708, and thus was the first con-
sort of a sovereign of Great Britain. The third consort from
Denmark had expectations at her marriage of succeeding to the
crown of these realms, for Albert Edward was heir-apparent
when in 1863 London welcomed the Princess Alexandra, and
quoted from ‘* Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” the words, “ The
expectancy and rose of the fair state ” in its illuminations.
THE railway strike in Victoria had a curious development.
The railways of that State belong to the Government, and legis-
lation has been rapidly made to make illegal the affiliation of
railway servants to an employees’ association which might con-
ceivably call them out on strike. The Premier, Mr. Irvine, is
reported as saying that “it was in the highest degree detri-
mental to the service if men who were employed by the
State . . . should render themselves liable to be called
upon to take part in labour troubles, go out on strike, and thus
cause disaster to public interests and public property.” It is
difficult, in these days of great industrial combinations, to distin-
guish between “‘ disasters ” arising from strikes of Government
employees and of those of private enterprises, but we are irresis-
tibly reminded of the parallel between such employees and the
Army which we maintain in Great Britain. It isa force attracted
to that employment, at least partly, by the pay offered. The
contract between the Government and the soldier is a free one.
Yet, since the Revolution of 1688, a Mutiny Act or an Army
Act has annually given to the Government extraordinary powers
over its soldiers, and what is merely a breach of contract in
ordinary citizens becomes ‘‘ mutiny” in the case of soldiers.
Does the Victoria incident point to the fact that similar measures
must be applied to the Civil Service?
———_—_——_
A MASTER of an elementary school recently sent a batch of
“* howlers ” to the G/ote for publication. Some were old, others
are at least new to us. On the nature of gases, “ An oxygen
has eight sides”, in natural history, “A cuckoo is a bird
which does not lay its own eggs”; “a mosquito is a child of
black and white parents”; and ‘‘a blizzard is the inside of a
fowl.”
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS,
Modern | Languages.
Mérimée, Colomba. (1) Edited by E. T. Schoedelin. viii. +
236 pp. (Blackie.) 1s. 6d. (2) Edited by A. Schinz. xviii. +
226 pp. (Ginn.) 2s.—There are already three English editions
of ‘‘ Colomba,” at least one of which is distinctly good. It
seems a pity to waste energy by preparing still further editions
which are not manifestly of greater value. Both Mr. Schoedelin
and Mr. Schinz have done their work conscientiously, the former
giving fuller notes, the latter a better account of Mérimée’s life
and works. In both cases words similar in form to English
words have been omitted from the vocabulary, but not consis-
tently. Editors should either compile absolutely full vocabu-
laries, or state clearly what Principle they have observed in
excluding words from them. The American (2) book has the
clearer type and more convenient size.
Poèmes choisis. Edited by R. L. A. du Pontet. xxxvi. +
137 pp. (Arnold.) 1s. 6¢.—We can warmly recommend this
selection of verse (chiefly lyrical), which represents French
poetry from the earliest time to the present. In his introduction
M. du Pontet gives a very brief and, on the whole, accurate
survey ; in dealing with Villon and Ronsard he appears too
ready to accept Boileau’s mistaken views. In the section
devoted to prosody, he gives perhaps as muchas is essential ; the
rule about alternation of masculine and feminine rimes should,
however, have been expressed more clearly, and it is a pity to
perpetuate the word Aexamètre for the French Alexandrine. In
the sonnet (p. xxix.) there should be only two rimes in the two
quatrains (not four). The sonnet by Baudelaire (No. 110) is
irregular. The editor has also given an alphabetical list of
authors, with concise biographies. The text occupies 124 pages,
the notes 12; but the latter are really quite sufficient. By a
curious and somewhat misleading omission, it is not stated that
Bertran de Born wrote Provençal, not Old French. The book
will prove a serviceable companion to the prose text read in a
class ; it may be given to older pupils for private reading; it
may be used in connection with lectures on the various phases
of French poetry.
About, Le Roi des Montagnes. Edited by F. B. Kirkman.
vi. + 122 + xxvii. + xv. pp. (Black.) 2s.—Another edition
of this over-rated book, and we hasten to add, the best. The
editor’s name is a sufficient guarantee that the work is well
done ; his method of annotation has been improving steadily,
with the result that anyone interested in good teaching will wel-
come this book and learn from it. We are referring particularly
to the exercises on the text, which are excellent. Doré’s queer
illustrations have been reproduced. Indeed, everything has
been done to galvanise into life this grotesque tale of what is no
more. |
H. A. Guerber, Contes et Légendes. Première Partie. vii
+ 178 pp. (Harrap.) 1s. 6@—An admirable collection of
twenty-five short fairy tales, very few of which are familiar. In-
deed, the editor has sought for them in quite unlikely places,
and has been amply rewarded. We quite agree with his sen-
sible remarks in the preface. There are no notes (except for
a few explanations of subject matter, at the foot of the pages) ;.
but a vocabulary is added, which does not seem to be complete.
The book is suitable for many purposes, and can be utilised
both by those who insist on much translation in the intermediate
stage, and by those who teach on reform lines ; the latter would
prefer an edition without the vocabulary.
272
Carnet de Notes dun Voyageur en France. Par A. C. Poiré.
viii. + 169 pp. (Macmillan.) 45. 62.—An excellent idea, very
well carried out. M. Poiré takes his reader through the various
départements of France, describing their industries, flora, fauna,
&c., in a bright, attractive way,, The most difficult words
(1898 in all) are translated at the foot of the page. With the
aid of this book and a good wall map, a teacher will be able to
give his class many an interesting and‘ profitable lesson ; and it
will prove equally acceptable to the private student. We know
of few books so well calculated to give a knowledge of French
geography, especially from the social and industrial point of
view ; and we therefore recommend it warmly.
Systematic Vocabulary of German and English. No. 1.
26 pp. (Relfe.) 3¢.—A booklet containing sixty short lists of
words and phrases, with the English in parallel columns. It is a
careful little piece of work, of which the anonymous author has
no reason to be ashamed. We have hardly noticed a slip; on
p. 16, December has for some reason been omitted from the list
of months, and on p. 19 Tunke might have been given as an
alternative to Sauce. We do not usually order ‘‘ fowl with
ham ” (p. 20).
Arnold's German Reading Books. General editor, Walter
Rippmann. (1) Andersen, Bilderbuch ohne Bilder. Edited by
Walter Rippmann. 67 pp. 15. 3d. (2) Marie Petersen;
Prinzessin Jise. Edited by C. F. Herdener. 72 pp. 15. 3d.
-—These little volumes are competently edited on reform lines
and are suitable for pupils who have had a year’s oral teaching.
They contain text, conversational exercises, lists of strong verbs
and a glossary. We are glad to see that the glossary contains
the equivalents of the German words in Ænglish: this is a con-
cession on the part of that thorough-going reformer, Prof. Walter
Rippmann, that we are pleased to note. Nothing spoils a good
cry so much as exaggeration ; and the faddists who wish at all
-costs to exclude the mother tongue from the modern-language
class-rooms are, we hope, on the decline. We commend the
volumes before us to the notice of modern-language teachers,
many of whom, we feel sure, might derive considerable profit
from the general editor’s introduction to the series.
Classics.
A History of Greece, for Beginners. By J. B. Bury. xv. +
472 pp. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6¢.—Prof. Bury’s larger history of
‘Greece has received a welcome from students, and with good
reason, in spite of the occasional rashness of the author in accept-
ing new views. No book is without faults, and that of Prof.
Bury is conspicuous for great merits; a mastery of his subject,
lucidity in exposition, insight and often brilliancy. But it does
not follow that an abridgment of such a work would be equally
suited to the young. This volume has been made from the other
by omissions, without other change except such as were made
necessary by the omissions. Young readers, however, need a
subject to be presented in a different proportion from that which
the older need ; what is elementary to the older, and may be
passed by with a hint, must often be elaborated and explained
for the younger. The style must be simpler for these, the words
shorter. We cannot feel that Prof. Bury has been wise in allow-
ing his book to be abbreviated. He should have re-written it,
as Prof. Gardiner did so successfully with his English history.
This ts quite an interesting history of Greece for middle forms,
but it will hardly do “ for beginners.”
Greek History for Young Readers. By Alice Zimmern. With
illustrations and maps, cight of which are printed in colours.
The: School World
`
[JULY, 1903.
xxiv. + 373 pp. (Longmans.) 4s. 6d.—Miss Zimmern’s book
is better adapted for the beginners whom Prof. Bury speaks of.
Miss Zimmern knows less of Greek history than Prof. Bury, but
she knows more of children, we should judge; and her book
will be useful for those who are ‘‘not quite unfamiliar” with
Greek legends and stories. Miss Zimmerm uses the word
** Aegeans ” for the early inhabitants of Greek lands. It is,
perhaps, not wise to use a term which will not be met with later,
although it does avoid the difficulty of committing oneself to a
theory. The illustrations are good, except that someone has
emasculated all the statues, a foolish thing, surely, to do. What
is the use of pretending that there is no sex? The best Greek
Statues are not prurient or harmful in any way, but we think
much harm is done by well-meant humbug in sexual matters.
Miss Zimmern is a practical story-teller, and we like her
book.
Plays for Amateur Performance: Sothocles, Antigone
Adapted and arranged for amateur performance in girls’ schools.
By Elsie Fogerty. With costume plates by Isabel Bonus.
xxxiii. + 63 pp. (Swan Sonenschein.) 2s. 6d. net.— We have
already had occasion to recommend Miss Fogerty’s adaptation of
the ‘* Alcestis ” for schools, and the present volume is quite as
good. It contains everything necessary for the practical staging
of the piece: pictures of the characters, directions for dress,
arrangement of the hair, &c., the grouping of the company at
important moments, and in the margin of the text the stage
‘*business ” is carefully indicated. The translation is one by
Mr. A. S. Way, hitherto unpublished. Even the classical
student may learn much from this book, in the way of intelligent
understanding of the drama in action. For its practical purpose
the book is quite admirable.
Xenophon’s Anabasis. Book 17]. Edited by E. C. Mar-
chant. With map and twenty-two illustrations. viii. + 96 +
xxxi. pp. (Bell.)—Mr. Marchant is a practised editor, but the
whole of this series goes on the principle that as much as
possible is to be done for the pupil, instead of done by him.
Hence the grammatical analysis, with examples taken from the
text ; hence such notes as ‘‘accusative of space travelled over”
(p. 86), ‘‘od ‘where’” (p. 82), also given in the vocabulary,
which are too common. On the other hand, the notes on
wAalowoy iodwAevpov and other military matters are quite legiti-
mate and to the point The pictures are interesting, but when
they are put in the text in so small a book they make it difficult
to attend to the text.
Edited Books.
Chaucer's Prologue. By A. W. Pollard. 161 + Ixxiv. pp.
(Macmillan.) 2s. 6¢.—Mr. Pollard’s name is a guarantee for
the sound, accurate, and comprehensive scholarship which is
displayed in this volume. He tells.us that it has taken four
years to complete instead of an anticipated four months, but the
time has been well spent. Nothing better has appeared on
Chaucer for years than the material found in the introduction to
this volume. An interest of quite an unusual kind will be
aroused by the seventh section of it, which deals with Chaucer's
Astrology. The notes are diversified by some woodcuts repre-
senting most of Chaucer’s principal personages as they were
adorned for the world-renowned pilgrimage to Canterbury.
Macaulay’s First Essay on William Pitl, Earl of Chatham.
By D. Salmon. xx. + 143 pp. (Longmans.) 15. 6¢.—This is
a very well-done volume. The introduction is clear and read-
JuLy, 1903. ]
able, though the remarks on Macaulay’s much-vaunted style are
not quite strong enough in adverse criticism. Perhaps for many
a long day to come schoolmasters will tell boys to write short
sentences and to study Macaulay. It is a fashion to do so; but
it spells ruin to any real mastery of the bewitching rhythms
which good English prose can be made to bear. The notes to
this volume are singularly good. The portrait of Macaulay is
not.
The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics. Book III. By
J. H. Fowler. xvii. + 161 pp. (Macmillan.) 2s 6¢.—Mr.
Fowler continues the useful labour of editing this magnificent
anthology in sections, and the selection included in this volume
consists of eighteenth-century poetry exclusively. Consequently
we have here some of the most absolute classics of the English
language. The notes are happy instances of condensed in-
formation and exact scholarship.
Adonais. Edited by Susan Cunnington. 125 pp. (The
Norland Press.) 15. 6¢.—This is another admirable example of
the excellent work Mr. Speight is publishing from the Norland
Press. Miss Cunnington’s present work is thoroughly good.
She calls it a class study in English poetry, and the volume
justifies its sub-title. There is an introduction of high educa-
tional value, because it opens such a wide field for reading out-
side this volume; but it is when the “outline study” is ex-
amined, and the ‘“‘study in detail” which follows it, that the
author’s thorough grasp of her subject becomes manifest, as well
as her originality in handling her material. We have looked
carefully into her method and can cordially recommend it.
Scotts Ivanhoe. Abridged for Schools. xv.+273 pp. (Mac-
millan.) 15. 6¢.—This abridgment has been skilfully done, and
the portions omitted are very briefly related in notes at the end
of the volume, so that nothing is really lost in the process. The
introduction is well adapted to the purpose of this edition, and
the illustrations are excellent. The notes are numerous, con-
densed, and useful.
History.
An Inaugural Lecture. By J. B. Bury. 42 pp. (Cambridge
University Press.) 1s. 6¢.—To the advantage not only of those
who were crowded out of the lecture-room at Cambridge, but of
those at a distance as well, the recently appointed Regius
Professor of Modern History here prints his inaugural lecture of
last January. The main points of the discourse are that history
is a science, ‘‘neither less nor more,” that it is continuous in
time, that we are probably only at the beginning of the world’s
life, and that scientific history includes ‘‘all the various mani-
festations of human brain-power and human emotion.” The
professor uses these thoughts to urge the usefulness of history
both as a training and for practical purposes.
The Tutorial History of England. By C. S. Fearenside.
xxiii. + 532 pp. (Clive.) 4s. 6¢.—This is a combination into
one volume of two previous works of the author, viz., the
‘« Matriculation History of England” and the ‘‘ Matriculation
Modern History,” both of which we have previously noted.
The combination is complete (the two indexes, e.g., have been
combined into one, not merely reprinted one after the other), so
that the result is a history of these islands from Roman times to
the present day. It is carefully written, with great precision
and method, and is all but perfectly up to date in its presentation
of facts. Indeed, the only statements which we feel disposed to
No. 55, VOL. 5.]
The School World 7
pa
call in doubt are the definition of the Domesday Hide (as to
which Mr. Round has quite revolutionised previous ideas) and the
apparent certainty as to the methods of raising John’s ransom
(which Sir James Ramsay says are absolutely unknown). The
book is abundantly provided with tables, maps, and plans, and
the only fault we have to find is an inevitable one—in so short a
book, it is impossible to be *‘ delightful.”
The Age of Shakespeare. By T. Seccombe and J. W. Allen.
(2 vols.) xxix. + 292 + xiii. + 232 pp. (Bell.) 35. 6d.—Two
years ago we welcomed a volume of Mr. Seccombe’s on the “ Age
of Johnson” in this series (Handbooks of English Literature).
This reminds us of his previous work. There is the same
familiarity with the subject, the same enthusiasm for it, which
inspires us with the desire to follow our authors through the
whole literature of the period. At the same time there is a
moderation in the appreciation of even the greatest of the
Elizabethans, and we are glad to see that even specialists in that
literature find some of the sonnets wearisome reading. The
criticism which Messrs. Seccombe and Allen pass on the
Elizabethan drama outside Shakespeare and Jonson goes far
towards justifying the Puritan objections to the stage. There is
an introduction by Prof. Hales, and the volumes (devoted
respectively to the Drama and to non-Dramatical works) are
provided with chronological tables and useful indexes.
The Tweeddale History Readers. Book HI. viii. + 310 pp.
(Oliver and Boyd.) 1s. 6d.—This volume maintains the excellent
character of its predecessors, noticed in previous numbers of
THE ScHOOL WORLD. It is provided with numerous good
illustrations and maps, a list of chief events and genealogical
tables, We may repeat here that, dating from Edinburgh, its
special feature is attention to the affairs of other parts of the
British Isles than England.
Extract from Outlines of English History. By Geo. Carter.
32 pp. (Relfe.) 9@.—Obviouslya reprint of part of a previously
published book, covering English history from 1216-1495, inter-
leaved for MS. notes, and intended to serve as a manual for
examination purposes.
Stories from English History. By A.J. Church. viii. +
679 pp. (Seeley.) 3s. 6d.—To praise Professor Church’s
‘* Stories ” is by this time impertinent and unnecessary. This is
a new edition of his English history stories brought up to the
date of King Edward VII.’s coronation. The book does not
profess to be a history, and therefore much is omitted. There
are many good illustrations.
Hero Stories from American History. By A. F. Blaisdel
and F. K. Ball. xii. + 259 pp. (Ginn.) 2s. 6¢.—These are
fourteen chapters, entirely military or naval, intended for pupils
between twelve and fifteen in elementary schools, and chosen
from the first fifty years of the history of the United States of
America. The chapters are illustrated, and are followed by
questions for review, pronunciation of proper names, a biblio-
graphy and an index. The whole makes a readable and useful
companion to a text-book on ‘* American ” history.
Questions on Professor Oman’s History of England. By
R. H. Bookey. 64pp. (Arnold.) 1s.--This consists of fifty-
six sets of questions corresponding to the several chapters
of Oman’s History, followed by eight test papers. For the most
part, they are just such questions on the book as any intelligent
teacher could ask for himself, and many sets end with the old-
fashioned, absurd question, *“‘ Assign events to the following
dates. The test papers are somewhat better, being topical,
Y
274
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
Geography.
Globe Geography Readers. Intermediate. By V. T. Murché.
vi.+288 pp. (Macmillan.) ts. 6ď.—A reading-book for
children ; subject, ‘‘Our Island Home.” An Uncle Tom
instructs two of his nephews, Dick and larry, in the geography
of the United Kingdom. The book has a large number of
illustrations, plain and coloured, and is, on the whole, trust-
worthy. We regret to find that Dick and Harry may claim
avuncular authority for the climatic effects of “a very wonder-
ful stream of warm water, which is named the Gulf Stream.”
Philips Atlas of Comparative Geography for Funior Classes.
Edited by George Philip. A Series of Forty Plates containing
over Ninety Maps and Diagrams, with Eight Pages of Introduc-
tory Letterpress and Index. (Philip.) 2s.—This excellent
atlas embodies the recommendations of a special advisory com-
mittee of the London School Board, and has besides received
the approval of the Geographical Association. . It should
greatly assist the rational teaching of geography. We feel cer-
tain that its many excellencies, combined with its reasonable
price, will together ensure a wide popularity for the atlas.
The Class-Room Atlas. Edited by E. F. Elton. 48 plates
+ index. 11 pp. (W.and A. K. Johnston.) 5s.—In many
respects this is the most useful atlas, at a moderate
price, for secondary schools that we have seen. The climate
charts are especially valuable, showing, as they do, the
temperature, winds and rainfall for January and July. The
vegetation chart is also very good. There are physical maps of
each continent and of the British Isles, France, the Alps,
India, and New Zealand. These are all very clearly printed,
but it seems a pity that there are not more of them. As it is,
for the relief of the other countries, the boy will have to turn to
the continental maps, which are, of course, on a smaller scale.
Clearness is the dominant feature of the political maps; and,
throughout, the same colouring is used for a country and its
foreign possessions. Another characteristic of these political
maps deserves commendation, their up-to-dateness, e.g., the
recent boundary settlements in Africa and South America. The
last five charts are devoted to classical maps. Teachers on the
look-out for an atlas, clearly printed, accurate and useful in
practical work, cannot do better than send for a copy of ‘‘ The
Class-room Atlas.”
The Web of Empire. By Sir D. M. Wallace. x. + 254 pp.
Illustrated. (Macmillan.) 1s. 6d.—An abridged edition for
the use of schools, embodying an account of the memorable
voyage of the Ofir, 1901. It will prove a welcome addition
to the numerous ‘‘ readers ” used in schools of all grades, and
will doubtless serve its object of ‘* drawing closer the strong ties
of affection which bind together the old motherland with her
numerous and thriving offspring.”
Science and Technology.
Practical Chemistry. By Walter Harris. (3 vols.); 91 +
172 + 146 pp. (Whittaker.) Vol. i., 15.3 vols. ii. and ii.,
1s. 6d. each.—These volumes are intended for students in day
secondary schools and evening schools. Vol. I. is restricted to
58 experiments on measurement of distances, areas, volumes,
density, and relative density. Vol. II. describes 149 experi-
ments on mixtures and compounds (2 experiments), fundamental
laws (6), the atmosphere (18), water (16), heat withcut chemical
change (8), heat causing chemical change (4), common substances,
(23), metals (14), oxides and bases (13), acids (18), and salts
(27). In Vol. IHI., Part I. describes the qualitative analysis of
simple salts and of mixtures, and Part II. describes the simpler |
determinations in gravimetric and volumetric analysis. The
author states, in the preface, ‘‘ that the student will not be able
to do every experiment, but the teacher will be able to choose
those that he wishes his students to perform,” but ‘‘ in the first
volume a list of requisites is given for each experiment, and the
student is told how to carry out each experiment.” ‘In the
second volume the student is expected to make out his own list
of requisites, and to devise and sketch the apparatus he pro-
poses to use.” “The omission of all illustrations is a new
departure. Such illustrations may be classed under two heads:
(i.) drawings of permanent apparatus; (ii.) apparatus con-
Structed by students themselves. The book being for laboratory
use, the former are unnecessary, while the latter should not be
depicted, but the student should devise his own apparatus, and
it may even be advisable to allow him to start his experiment
with an unsuitable piece of apparatus of his own devising ; he
will learn much from his own failures.” The individual teacher
must determine whcther these general principles are practicable,
though he may agree that they are desirable, since a small class of
keen and intelligent students is vastly different from a full class,
many members of which lack both these faculties. It is a bold
innovation to omit all illustrations from a practical text-book ;
even the attractiveness of the volumes from which a student
works is a quantity which has not yet been proved to be neglige-
able. The volumes afford a thoroughly sound course of instruc-
tion, and deserve the attention of teachers.
Electric and Magnetic Circuits. By Ellis H. Crapper.
379 pp. (Arnold.) 10s. 6¢@.—This forms the introductory
volume of a treatise on electrical engineering, subsequent
volumes of which will treat of generation, transmission, and
distribution of electrical energy. The present volume contains
chapters on practical electrical units, electric circuits, principles
of distribution, magnetism, magnetic circuits, coil-winding,
electro-magnetic induction, types of direct-current dynamos and
motors, efficiency, and systems of electrical units. An extensive
appendix contains many useful mathematical and physical
tables. A great feature of the volume is the large number of
actual calculations worked out for the student, and the ample
series of examples given at the end of each section. The
mathematical treatment is comparatively elementary, although
sufficient for a clear explanation. Students in electrical en-
gineering will find the volume to be of great use.
Elementary Botany. By J. Reynolds Green, F.R.S., and
F. L. Green. viii. + 191 pp. (Nelson.) — This smail
volume is full of matter, well arranged, clearly expressed, and
thoroughly up to date. It is mainly concerned with flowering
plants; but, we are glad to see, contains concise descriptions of
a few typical cryptogams—plants the existence of which the
beginner is too often allowed to ignore. Abundant instructions
for practical work, and several excellent photo-micrographs, are
among the features for which the book may be cordially recom-
mended, not only to the class worker, but to the solitary
student.
A Laboratory Guide jor Beginners in Zoology. By C. M.
Weed and R. W. Crossman. xxvi. + 105 pp. (Heath.) 25.62.
—Several excellent books on practical zoology are already in
existence, but there was distinct room for the present ‘ guide,”
which is of a much more elementary character than *‘ Huxley
and Martin,” “ Marshall and Hurst,” and the allied manuals.
A student who works through the course here laid down will
gain a sound, though not a detailed, knowledge of many types
of animal structure.
The Families of British Flowering Plants. By Mary Simpson.
With a preface by Prof. L. C. Miall, F.R.S. §1pp. (Leeds:
Richard Jackson.) Is. net.—Classification is the dé¢e noire of
most serious students of botany, and this little book, which
JULY, 1903. ]
shortly describes the principal natural orders in plain language
and in systematic order, supplies a real want. Interesting
remarks on special adaptations and mode of life add consider-
ably to its value. It ought to gain a wide circulation.
Mathematics.
Plane Geometry. Adapted to Heuristic Methods of Teaching.
By T. Petch. viii. + 112 pp. (Edward Arnold.) 1s. 6d.—
An unpretentious, but useful and well-arranged book. The
author explains his method of teaching in the preface: the text
gives enunciation and complete proofs of the propositions,
which include the most useful parts of Euclid I.-IV., VE, with
the mensuration of the circle. Attention may be drawn to the
remarkably simple proof of Pythagoras’ theorem on p. 77.
Proportion and mensuration are treated analytically : nothing is
said about incommensurables.
A Complete Short Course of Arithmetic: matnly practical.
By A. E. Layng. viii. + 220 pp., with answers. (Blackie.)
1s. 6a.—Like the author’s other works, this is clearly and simply
written: it contains everything that is practically important, if
not more, and may be recommended as a thoroughly good book
by an experienced teacher. The chapters on fractions, decimals,
and proportion are excellent.
Academic Algebra. By W. W. Beman and D. E. Smith.
x. + 384 pp. (Ginn.) 55. — Besides the usual course up to
the binomial theorem with an integral exponent, this treatise
contains chapters on complex numbers and on logarithms. The
examples are very numerous and well graduated: among the
problems are several of great historical interest, while others show
that even equations may have some bearing on practical atlairs.
The absence of a chapter on graphs is rather remarkable. The
aim of the work is ‘‘to cover the subject of elementary algebra
with sufficient thoroughness to prepare the student for college :”
for this purpose it seems very well suited, and it has the cardinal
merit of not suggesting to the student erroneous ideas which he
will have to correct afterwards.
Elementary Geometry. By W. M. Baker and A. A. Bourne.
xxx. + 474 pp. (Bell.) 45. 6dď.—In its complete form this
includes an introductory chapter on experimental geometry, and
seven books, the last two of which deal with solid geometry.
In dealing with proportion, the authors have adopted the
sensible plan of giving the arithmetical theory, valid for
commensurables, and aéso the Euclidean theory. Altogether,
this is an interesting contribution to the increasing number of
new text-books on geometry, and will probably be found very
serviceable. It is not always above criticism: thus (p. xix.),
‘« Fit these triangles together, and discover something. See if
this is true for all triangles” (an example in the “ experimental
geometly ”) isa model illustration of the dangers of the heuristic
method. o experiment can prove anything for al? triangles ;
to assert the contrary is a pernicious heresy.
Plane and Spherical Trigonometry. By G. A. Wentworth.
2nd revised edition. viii. + 208 + 26 pp. (Ginn.) 4s.—This
is a good and practical treatise, distinguished by its really
beautiful figures. In spherical trigonometry the right-angled
triangle is discussed first, and the formulae for oblique triangles
are deduced afterwards.
Miscellaneous.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica. The ninth of the new
volumes, Vol. XXXII. of the complete work. Str—Zwo.
xviii. + 945 pp. (Black and Zhe Zimes.)—Like its predecessors,
the concluding volume of the new series contains a number of
l The School World
articles which make a direct appeal to students of education.
Among such pedagogic contributions the papers on technical
education by Sir Philip Magnus and President Hadley, the
appreciation of Thring by Sir Joshua Fitch, Dr. Rashdall’s
essay on European Universities, and Dr. Gilman’s account of
the Universities of the United States, may be mentioned.
Teachers of geography will find the latest particulars about the
countries the names of which fall alphabetically between ‘ Sudan ”
and “Zululand.” The science master is especially well catered for,
and we can only name a few of the large number of scientific
articles. Telegraphy is discussed by the highest authorities in
the respective branches from the point of view of theory, land,
submarine, and wireless telegraphy. The telephone and
telescope, thermochemistry, the tides, vaporisation, ventilation,
electric welding and zoological distribution are other subjects of
science included in the volume. There can be little doubt that
a distinct improvement in the answers to the general knowledge
papers will be noticed in those schools where the ‘‘ Encyclo-
pedia” has been added to the school reference library, and the
boys have been taught and encouraged to consult the new
volumes. To learn to know what use to make of reference
books is an important part of education and a part which is too
often neglected.
Private Schools Association (Incorporated) Hand-hook, 1903.
Edited by Henry C. Devine. 72 pp. (Published by the
Association: 29, Old Queen Street, Westminster.) Is. net.—
The fresh issue of this useful hand-book contains a full accoun
of the general meeting of the association held last January, the
report of the council, the memorandum and articles of association,
together with lists of branches, sections, and members of the
association. It should be useful to all teachers in private
schools.
Cassell’s Union Jack Series Readers. Book II. 142 pp. Qd.
—This reader is on the same plan as the first book, noticed
in our April, 1003, issue. The national songs are repeated,
and a picture of Queen Alexandra is given as well as a short
account of a few of her Majesty’s many good deeds. The
lessons are interesting and the coloured pictures will delight
children.
Three Sermons preached in the Cathedral Church of Christ,
Canterbury, on March 29th, 1903, being the Sunday ajter the
Death of the Very Rev. Frederic William Farrar, D.D.,
F.R.S., Dean. 38 pp. (Longmans.) 2s. net.—These sermons,
preached by the Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge,
Archdeacon Spooner, and the Master of Trinity College, Cam-
bridge, respectively, will appeal to all who know anything
about Farrar’s life and work.
Recollections of a Town Boy at Westminster, 1849-1855. By
Captain F. Markham. xiv. + 232 pp. (Arnold.) 10s. 6d.
net. — Captain Markham’s recollections of his school-life
as a town boy at Westminster serve admirably to supple-
ment the ‘Annals of Westminster School” of Mr. Sargeaunt
published a few years ago. In the present book lessons seem
to be relegated to the background, and the prominence given to
athletics, scrapes, and out-of-school life generally, leads the
reader to the conclusion that boys fifty years ago were uncom-
monly like those of to-day. To past and present Westminsters
the book should prove welcome and interesting.
A Descriptive Guide to the Best Fiction, British and Amert-
can, including Translations from Foreign Languages. By
Ernest A. Baker. viii. + 610 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.)
8s. 6d. net.—-The greater part of this book consists of short
descriptions of best fiction, ingeniously and helpfully grouped
under natural headings. This is followed by a historical appen-
276 The
School World
[JULY, 1903.
dix, in which historical novels are grouped by countries, and
then arranged chronologically ; and the whole is concluded by
two very full indexes (120 pp.) dealing respectively with
“ Authors and Titles” and ‘‘ Subjects.” The books described
in the early part of the book are first arranged in natural groups
— English (nine sub-divisions), Scottish, Irish, Colonial (three
sub-divisions), America (two sub-divisions), Belgian, French,
German, Italian, &c.—and in each of these groups or their
chronological sui-divisions the books selected for description are
placed under the authors’ names arranged alphabetically.
The descriptions themselves are excellently done, considering
the immense range of the book: and besides being useful for
reference are entertaining in themselves. Altogether, Mr.
Bakers industry and enthusiasm deserve the warmest com-
mendation, especially in the first part, where he is a pioneer,
and really supplies a felt want. The historical appendix is less
meritorious in itself, and is rendered unnecessary by the guides
in this department of fiction supplied by Messrs. Bowen and
Nield—to both of whom, by the way, Mr. Baker is clearly
under very considerable obligations, which he has strangely
omitted to acknowledge. It is quaint to find that “the Bert
Fiction ” includes “ The Mystery of a Hansom Cab,” but not
‘‘The Picture of Dorian Gray.”
Philips’ Nature-Study Drawing Cards. Flowers, Insects,
Birds, Animals. By A. F. Lydon. (Philip.) 15. per set of
16 cards. —FEach card contains an outline drawing of a common
plant or animal, or groups of parts for comparison, and a short
note upon the chief characters of the object represented. The
drawings are apparently intended to be coloured by the pupils,
and if used, whenever possible, with the actual object on view
at the same time, so that the various parts can be identified, and
the colour imitated, the cards should be helpful. In similar
cards which have previously been published for kindergarten
teaching, hints are given as to the colours which should be used,
but it is certainly a better plan to make the pupils try to imitate
natural tints if they know how to use a box of paints cr crayons.
As the scientific name is given of each object, the word
‘ mammals” might have been used instead of ‘‘animals” in
describing one of the sets of cards. In the case of all the
animals, the scale ought to have been roughly indicated ; other-
wise a child may think an eagle is not much larger than a chick,
and that a water vole is nearly as large as an otter, as represented
upon the card on which they both appear.
Herbart and the Herbartian Theory of Education. A
Criticism. By A. Darroch. xii. + 1-148 pp. (Longmans.)
—It would be a pleasant task to recommend this book to
friend and foe by wholesale quotation and to fill three columns ;
and, indeed, we shall quote one or two sentences. The rank
and file of teachers are, and will be, for a long time, unaffected
by the writings of Herbartians or anti-Flerbartians, for the
simple reason that they belong to and set up their tabernacle in
one of the two camps without knowing it and without any
particular interest in the skirmishing. But the real men-at-arms
will continue to publish and to say among the trumpets ‘ A-ha,”
Dr. Hayward, whose little pro-Herbartian book we noticed a
short time ago, fighting with the weapons of primitive man and
Mr. Darroch preferring the rapier. The present series of
lectures, printed as delivered, is destructive and constructive.
It is destructive in so far as it denounces ‘‘the fundamental
fallacy of the emphasis laid on instruction, which, in its turn,
is based on the empirical psychology of Herbart ”—for which
neither our author, nor, we take it, any one else, has much
respect. ‘Instruction is only the initiatory stage,” ‘Self
application of principles is required,” “the Herbartian doctrine
of morality is simply the Socratic doctrine that virtue is
knowledge dressed up in a new garb,” ‘‘ Man is Reason,” are
a few of the dicta which go right to the heart of the question.
Indeed, Mr. Darroch’s motto might be “ you cannot make, you
must fake the character.” The book is constructive in that
it admits the use of much in Herbart’s work, the use of
concentration, the value of interest, the truth of apperception
to a degree; but in medio tutissimus this. All these valuable
hints, for hints they are, will be useless if separated from
the teleological aspect. ‘‘The unity of life consists in the
unity and subordination of the various minor purposes of life
to the one ethical purpose.” ‘‘Unless we can make an
effective appeal to the emotional side of the character, our
mere instruction will be ineffective.” Herbart, says the
writer, is popular; he walks the primrose path to—self
appreciation. ‘‘It is so easy to understand, it imbues the
teacher with the idea that his power in the work is almost
absolute, and in this way is pleasing to his self-conceit.” The
religious question, which in its less intelligent forms is so
repugnant, so they say, to real teachers who are climbing the
mountain, is thus only pushed further back, and when we have
done with and forgotten board and voluntary schools, denomi-
nationalism and undenominationalism, and a hundred other catch-
words of the hour, still on a higher peak in front will be found the
highly improved descendants of Mr. Thomas Gradgrind waving
defiance at the enemy. Would it be possible, or advisable,
frankly to face the question now and admit that there are two
kinds of education going on and likely to go on, based on
fundamentally different psychological schemes, and raised on
views of life, its meaning and “teleological aspect,” which are
absolutely irreconcilable. ‘* Under which king, Bezonian ?”
Heart of Oak Books. Fables and Nursery Tales. Edited by
C. E. Norton. 168 pp. (Heath.) 15. 6¢.—Our old friends
the Three Bears (by the way, why is not Southey’s name
attached to it?) Tom Thumb and others, are here along with
some well-chosen verses. The feature of the book is the Zeiling
of the stories by illustrations. When a child has read the text, an
excellent recapitulation may be obtained from a ‘‘ perusal ” of
these well-drawn pictures. Indeed, a capable teacher might
easily get oral composition from pictures. This, we think, is
new and worth thinking over.
The Comprehensive Method of Teaching Reading. By Emma
K. Gordon. Book I. 102 pp. (Heath.) 15. 6¢.—This
little book, with its letter squares, its suggestive sounds, and its
combination of work and play, ought to do well with teachers
who believe in phonic drill rather than in the old letter, or the
newer look-and-say method. How American the book looks.
What is an “individual recitation?” or a ‘‘chipmunk ?” or a
“rubber boot?” or a ‘‘sled?” and has any English child ever
seen a steamship, or a locomotive, or a chestnut, like those
depicted here? But we suppose it would be hard tu write a
book (Frank Stockton could and W. D. Howells can do it)
which would contain no single word or idiom strange to either
us or our cousins. The book is beautifully printed, as all this
firm’s books are.
Macmillan’s Brushwork Cards. Selected and arranged by
F. C. Proctor. Series A, Animals. Series B, Birds, &c. 2s.
each.—These are two decidedly good series of advanced brush-
work cards. The animals, with a few exceptions, are much
better than those generally given as brushwork copies, and the
birds are really, on the whole, excellent. Both sets of cards are
carefully graduated, and range from fairly simple animal forms
to quite advanced work. With examples such as these before
them, pupils would have no excuse for producing the slipshod
work which we so often see allowed to pass muster as ‘‘ brush-
work.”
JuLy, 1903. ]
TEST EXAMINATION PAPERS IN
GEOGRAPHY.
Cambridge Locals.
SENIOR.
(t) Draw an outline map of the West Indies. Name the
chief islands and indicate the country to which they respectively
belong. Draw the course of the Tropic of Cancer. Mark the
positions of the following :—Organos Highlands, Blue Moun-
tains, Nassau, Port au Prince, Port of Spain, Gulf of Paria, St.
Pierre, Kingston.
(2) If the earth were a homogeneous globe, what would be the
direction of an isotherm ?
How do vou account for the irregular course of an isotherm
in existing circumstances?
(3) Describe the river-systems of North America with special
reference to effects on human activities.
(4) Draw a sketch-map of the British Isles showing the dis-
tribution of minerals.
(5) Write a short comparative study of the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans.
(6) Explain the following terms:—Date Line, Divide,
Roaring Forties, Doldrums, Prime Meridian, Equinox, Great
Circle Sailing.
(7) State what you know about:—The Chaudiére Falls,
Sherwood Forest, The Bad Lands, Giant’s Causeway, Yellow-
stone Park.
(8) What vegetable productions have the United States and
the West Indies in common? Explain this fact. How do you
account for the existence of the Prairies of the United States?
(9) Describe the course of the ‘‘ All-Red ” Cable. The New
York Stock Exchange opens at 10 a.m. How is it that the
opening prices of American stocks are not known in London till
about 3 o’clock.
(10) Draw a political sketch-map of South Africa showing
the present position of colonies and ‘‘ spheres of influence.”
JUNIOR.
(1) On an outline map of North America indicate the dis-
tribution of highlands and lowlands; trace the courses of the
rivers Mackenzie, St. Lawrence, Mississippi-Missouri, and
Colorado; and locate Long Island, Queen Charlotte Island,
Great Salt Lake, Great Slave Lake, Montreal, Galveston,
Buston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco.
(2) Classify the West Indian islands according to the Powers
by whom they are governed.
Which group is the least fertile of the West Indies ?
Why?
(3) Where are the following and for what are they note-
worthy :—New Orleans, Port au Prince, Halifax, Key West,
Yellowstone Park, Los Angeles ?
(4) Describe clearly the courses of the following rivers and
mention two towns situated on each :—Qhio, Clyde, Severn,
Trent.
(5) Name some parts of the British Isles that are densely
populated, and give reasons for this fact in each case.
(6) Draw a sketch-map of the English Channel, showing the
chief harbours and islands: mark the usual steamship routes
across the Channel.
(7) What are the causes of monsoon winds?
(8) Which ports in the British Isles are engaged in ship-
building? What foreign countries buy their ships from us?
(9) Explain the terms zenith, overland-route, atoll, isotherm,
snow-line. i
(10) Many of the peninsulas of the world have islands at their
extremities. Illustrate this fact.
The School World
277
PRELIMINARY.
(1) On an outline map of Great Britain, between the Humber
and the Firth of Forth, trace the courses of the chief rivers,
locate the sea-ports, and show the positions of :—Leeds, Lanark,
Hexham, Falkirk, Darlington.
(2) Explain these terms, in connection with rivers :—right
bank, source, basin, estuary, bed.
(3) Make a sketch-map showing the positions of the chief
mountain ranges in Great Britain.
(4) Where and what are the following :—Himalayas, Titicaca,
Vesuvius, Hwang-ho, Constance, Black Forest, Golden Horn,
Mackenzie ?
(5) Name countries that produce large quantities of :—wheat,
rice, silk, sugar, silver, tin?
(6) Make a diagram showing the direction and, as accurately
as you can, the distance from London of :—New York, Calcutta,
Moscow, Madrid, Peking.
Name the countries of which these places are the respective
capitals.
(7) In the case of the following rivers, name (a) the sea into
which each flows ; (4) the highland in which it rises; (c) its
general direction :—-Rhine, Amazon, Ganges, Volga.
(8) Explain the importance of :—Glasgow, Manchester, Bir-
mingham, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Dover, Yarmouth.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. As a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
The New Examinations for the Army.
ONCE again the Army Examinations are to be altered, and
once again, in all probability, regulations will be issued without
consultation with ‘‘experts’’—with those who have devoted their
lives to practical teaching, or with those who have devoted
themselves to the theory of education. Were we, masters and
educationists, a professional body, like barristers, doctors, or
amalgamated engineers, we should long ere this have presented
to the War Office, through our governing council, a well-
considered scheme for the examination. Even now, some man
of light and learning in the modern side of education, some
head of an army class in one of our great public schools, might
well issue a circular to all engaged in the training of boys for the
army and send an epitome of the answers he received to the
War Office. Such a circular would naturally consist of a series
of questions to be answered, with a space for any suggestions
that might occur to the men to whom it was sent. Such an
expression of opinion might possibly have some weight with the
authorities.
Let us sketch a few of the suggestions that might be offered.
In the first place, there can be no doubt that the principle of a
distinction between knowledge or ‘‘cram” subjects and those
which test brain power should be clearly laid down. Again, in
the former set of subjects, there is a natural division between
those which are directly required for the officer’s work in after
life and those which are rather necessary as tests of a general
education. These three groups may be termed preliminary,
intermediate, and decisive.
In the first-named class would come history and geography,
reproduction of an easy piece of English prose which has been
read out, or the writing of a letter on facts which are given,
elementary arithmetic and algebra, with possibly such elements
278
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
of geometry, as are chiefly memory work. The test of spelling
should be rather from the boy’s own English than from a formal
dictation. In this class no marks should be given, since the
subjects lend themselves to ‘‘cram;” but a good standard of
knowledge should be required. The vld ‘‘ Preliminary Examina-
tion” was a failure because this condition was neglected.
The intermediate class might consist of (1) a modern
language ; (2) elementary science ; (3) drawing, geometrical and
freehand. In the moddern-language examination knowledge
should be tested by composition and unseens. Emphasis should
be laid on a good vocabulary of an ordinary type—technical
expressions being excluded, except possibly those which are
military and naval, and in this case notice should be given that
a knowledge of these expressions will be required. Within our
own knowledge pieces have been given to boys with words
which were unintelligible to them, and not unnaturally so, when
translated into English. The grammar should be tested by the
composition. In this class nothing under half marks should
count, but everything above half marks should be doubled, so
that a thorough knowledge would pay.
The decisive class is intended to test brain power, and should
consist of (1) Latin, unseen and composition only. The unseen
should be written for the occasion, since at present it is
extracted so exclusively from certain authors that there is a very
good chance of the boy having read it. The questions in lieu of
Latin verse should be abolished. They lend themselves to
‘cram °’ — experto crede: a second piece of prose in a different
style might be given as an alternative to verse. (2) Mathematics.
The style of the papers during the last three years has been
such an improvement on the old style that nothing need be said
about them. (3) Précis. This is a most excellent test of brains.
The late Mr. Almond was very strongly in favour of an English
essay. He did not seem to realise that, if the subject was within
the grasp of the ordinary army candidate, the number of such
subjects was so limited that it became a matter of ‘‘ cram.”
The reproduction of a kard piece of English prose—an argu-
mentalive piece of writing—if long enough to exclude simple
memory work, with the permission to make notes as the piece
was read out, would doubtless be an excellent test. (4) Further
questions on the science subject offered in the intermediate
class, if such subject could be made a test of brains.
The Report of the Commission on Physical Education of 1885
or 1886 might very well be reconsidered. The difference
intellectually, as tested by the examination between the last fifty
who are successful and the first hundred who are not is so small
that allowance might well be made for physical abilities. In
connection with this it would be interesting if some credit could
be given to the testimonials of headmasters to those who had
been heads of the school or house, prefects or monitors,
captains of cricket or football. Positions such as these are
tests of whether a boy is likely to manage men well, and the
natural enthusiasm of headmasters would be checked by the
knowledge that if their prophecies were ill-founded no credit
would be given to them afterward.
In conclusion, one may perhaps be allowed to air a fad which
has now reached its ‘‘ majority,” for it is of fully twenty-one
years’ standing. Let the age for the army be fixed from 18-19,
so as to give every boy two chances. Let those who have
passed provisionally then have six months’ leave to go to the
country, France, Germany, or Italy, whose language they have
offered in their examination, for six months, and at the end of
that time let them have a really stiff colloquial examination. If
they pass, let them be paid a fair sum for the necessary
expenses ; but in case of failure, let them go back for another
six months, without any payment, and if they fail then they
should be disqualified.
TWENTY YEARS AN ARMY-CLASS MASTER.
The Stereoscope in Education.
May I be permitted cordially to endorse all that Mr. Daniell
has said in favour of the stereoscope as a factor in education? I
do not think one can over-estimate the value of placing a stereo-
scopic view before a class, and asking its members to explain
what they see and to deduce facts therefrom.
The modern stereographs are so exceedingly well ‘* got up” that
the pupil’s interest is at once aroused, whilst some, too, are so
beautiful that they would appeal even to the latent artistic taste of
the average school-boy. The stereoscope may also be used to
correct erroneous impressions, and to convey perfectly accurate
ideas. For instance, most school-boys have a very vague idea of
the appearance of a desert, but once let them see a stereograph of
it, and they will retain a lasting impression of the vast billow-like
formation of the sand. One can imagine, too, that a class pre-
paring Kingsley’s ‘The Heroes ” would look forward to the
lesson with far keener interest if it were illustrated with a dozen
or so well chosen stereographs showing the glories of the Greece
of the Ancients.
Unfortunately, however, the stereoscope has to live down the
reputation of being merely a toy, and not always an enter-
taining one ; but if headmasters and managers of schools will
only forget this unhappy reputation, and give the ‘‘ magic
carpet ” its fair trial, one feels certain that they will be astounded
at the remarkable effects of the stereoscope when used for a
purely educational purpose.
In looking at a stereograph one seems to be present at the
scene depicted, and a vivid and accurate impression is conveyed
to the mind, so vivid and complete, indeed, that not the finest
verbal explanation, even aided by photographs, could give so
complete and correct an idea.
One cannot help feeling convinced, therefore, that, if jad:
masters will but introduce the stereoscope into their schools,
they will find it an invaluable factor in education, for in the
hands ofan enthusiastic teacher it can be put to almost limitless
uses.
GILBERT J. PASS.
Craufurd College,
Maidenhead.
French Pronunciation.
In two recent numbers of THE SCHOOL WORLD the question
of French pronunciation is discussed. With the exception of
two points, I am willing to subscribe to everything that has been
said. But it seems to me that more should be added, which
might be useful to many teachers who are anxious to teach
their pupils a really correct pronunciation. The great difficulty
of French pronunciation lies, for English people, chiefly in the
sounding of the vowels, very few of which are the same in the
two languages. The following seem to me the most common
mistakes :—
(1) a short in fatte, &c., is obstinately pronounced like the
English a in hat &c., which offends a French ear. There is no
English equivalent for this short a ; but we may say that it can
be sounded like the long a in påle shortened. Through this
shortening the sound becomes naturally clearer, and will closely
approximate to the correct pronunciation. This vowel scarcely
needs much special practice; constant attention is here, as in
other cases, the only thing that can lead to satisfactory results.
(2) With the different ¢ sounds the difficulties are greater.
English boys will keep on sounding e, both the open and short
sound, as the diphthong eż in mate. The French aile is by no
means pronounced like the English ale; there are two att
ences: first, az (eï, è, ĉ) is a broader sound than is a in ale;
corresponds to the az, a, in air, dare, &c. ; secondly, there is no
JULY, 1903. ]
The School World
279
intermediate ¢ sound between the a and the /, #.e., the sound is
a simple one, not a diphthong.
The pronunciation of e fermé is best shown by an English
sound which comes very near to it—besides, a little exaggera-
tion does no harm. I mean the short ž in zf 7s: été is sounded
like z¢ és minus the s. A proof of this may be seen in the fact
that shilling is spelt schelling in French—i=é. In words like
purité, however, care must be taken that the final ¢ is not made
too short.
(3) There is only one French # sound ; English people nave
a tendency to pronounce it like their short # in animal, purity,
&c. In the corresponding French words, animal, purité, &c.,
this pronunciation needs to be constantly corrected.
(4) o fermé must be absolutely free from the # sound, by
which it is followed in the English rose, known, no, &c. As to
the physiology and phonetics of this sound, it cannot be
discussed here ; full particulars must be sought in the books.
(5) Though the French oz has an equivalent in the English
oo, not a few boys have some difficulty in producing the proper
sound when ow stands in certain positions. Here, too, it will
suffice never to let the sound pass, unless it is perfectly clear of
all admixtures of o or ti, which it is apt to take.
(6) Young boys can easily acquire the ü sound. I explain to
them the position of the speaking organs, directing them to
press the tongue against the lower incisurs and to push the lips
forward as in the pronunciation of ou. But even after having
learnt to pronounce this sound aright, it frequently comes out
badly in the word. A little extra practice and much attention
will overcome the difficulty.
(7) cu offers some difficulties at the outset, for it must not be
sounded like the short English #. The shortest and surest way
to teach its pronunciation is to tell the learner the position of
the tongue and lips. ex ouvert derives from ¢ ouvert. Let this
sound be formed; then push the lips forward without altering
the position of the teeth and tongue, and the proper sound is
produced.
To pronounce ex fermé we start from e fermé, proceeding as
in the case of the open sound. I may add that children are
quick to follow these phonetical explanations.
(8) English people learn the pronunciation of nasal sounds
easily. I find, however, that our boys often do not open their
mouths sufficiently to give av its full sound. The teeth should
be the breadth of the two first fingers apart.
The consonants, taking them singly, are all pronounced well
(with many boys 7 gives some trouble). But it is difficult to
keep boys from careless articulation when they come to speak or
read a little faster. In words like: J‘ombe, ronde, rendent,
longue, méle, profane, rompent, &c., &c., the final consonants
get skipped over. It is, however, very important that the 4, d,
g, M, N, XC., and especially final 7, be articulated. A plus forte
yatson should double consonants be clearly sounded : ye nomme,
ïl sonne, la patte.
As to the question of the accent fonigue, the only really
important thing is to get pupils not to accentuate at all. Ina
word like alternative let each of the four syllables have the same
amount of breath: a/-ter-na-tive. It will be found useful to
practice this a little whenever a mistake occurs, in type- words
like: fraternité, résolution, intéressant, retourner, géographie,
&e., &c. Paragraph I. in Mr. de V. Payen-Payne’s article
deserves special attention.
Written explanations on matters of pronunciation are
necessarily inadequate ; but to those already conversant with
the difficulties these remarks may have some interest. I have
aimed at mentioning only those points which seem to be some-
times inadequately dealt with.
Clacton College E. DICK.
Clacton-on-Sea.
Simple Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism.
WILL you allow me to thank your reviewer for his kind
remarks about my little book, ‘ A course of Simple Experiments
in Electricity and Magnetism,” in your last issue. May I add,
with regard to his two criticisms, that the student is expected to
use the electric mains under supervision; a foot note on the
voltage is given, and the student directed particularly to
connect with only one terminal, which could do no harm.
If your reviewer will try the experiment for showing the
magnetic field round a wire, as J describe it, he will find it a
complete success. I have personally performed every experi-
ment described under the conditions named.
A. E. Munpy.
IN reply to Mr. Munby’s letter, I still think that young
students should not be allowed to experiment with electric-light
terminals. The experiment described is safe if done under
supervision, but it is the sort of observation which tempts an
inquisitive student to repeat it for himself (and perhaps with
variations in procedure). Mr. Munby does not mention the
variation in the experiment in cases where the three-wire system
is used.
With reference to the magnetic field round a wire by iron
flings, I have always considered that about fifteen ampères
is necessary, and it is worthy of special note that a single
voltaic cell will show the effect satisfactorily.
Your REVIEWER.
Geometrical Treatment of Angles and Parallels.
My criticism of Mr. Woodall’s proof of Euclid I. 32 does not
depend, as he suggests, on sliding motion; I used this modifica-
tion of his process only to make quite clear
(i.) What is the complete angle turned through, and
(ii.) What portion of this angle is the sum A + B + C.
The only assumption I made is fundamental, viz.:—that a
straight line sliding along itself turns through zero angle from
itself.
Taking, however, Mr. Woodall’s process as he gave it—(the
italics give my own conclusion at each stage) :
(i.) Turn a straight edge, pivoted at B in a triangle A E C
through the angle + B from BC to BA; l
Total angle turned through fron BC = + B.
(ii.) Pivot at A, turn through + A from A B to A C; angie
turned through from AB = + A; additional angle turned
through from B C = + C- B, where C’ is the exterior angle
at C.
(iii.) Pivot at C, turn through -+ C to CRB.
The total angle turned through from BC in the processes (i.),
(ii.), (iii.) is two right angles = B + (C’ - B) + C.
But without assuming an equivalent of the parallel axiom we
do not know that (C’ — B) is the same as A; for A was the
turning from A B, whereas (C’ — B) was the turning from BC.
To put the matter kinematically :
“ If the straight edge turns through A from AB at uniform
angular velocity, we do not know, from the turning dehnition of
angle alone, that it increases uniformly its angle from BC.”
In fact, all we know is that a comp/ete' turn about BC is effected
in the same time as a complete!’ turn about A B. We do not
know that a given fraction of a tura is eftected in the same time
about each line.
Thus we do of know that—
B+A+C =B + (C — B) + C = two right angles.
With regard to the theorem that the exterior angles of a poly-
1 Or half.
EIS EE a
280
The School World
[JuLy, 1903.
gon are four right angles, I said that the corresponding proof
(č.e. based on the turning definition of an angle alone) was
vicious. If the proof follows the results of Eucl. I. 27-29, it is
quite rigorous. This is probably the case in Casey’s and Prof.
Minchin’s books.
E. BUDDEN.
From Mr. Budden’s two letters I gather that he holds that,
if a straight edge slides along a straight line fixed in a plane, it
does not turn through any angle /rom itself, but it may turn
through an angle from some ather straight line fixed in the same
plane. This is surely contrary to common sense. Sliding and
turning, whether as operations or conceptions, are entirely
discrete. The moving about of the pivot (see p. 164) in no
way affects the amount of turning. This is self-evident, and
may be as abundantly illustrated from every-day experience as
any other axiom. Mr. Budden’s ‘‘additional angles” are
merely ultra-axiomatic abstractions which, if admitted, lead to
manifest absurdities. To the beginner who has been well
drilled in the relationship between angle and time the long
hand of a stop-watch is a natural substitute for my straight edge
(in proving this theorem of the triangle); it takes exactly half
an hour, by the watch, to turn negatively through the three
angles of the triangle; and, incidentally, its angle zscreases
uniformly.
Casey (El. of Euclid, 8th ed., p. 299) says: ‘ The discovery of
the proposition that ‘the sum of the three angles of a triangle
is equal to two right angles’ is attributed to Pythagoras. Until
modern times no proof of it, independent of the theory of
parallels, was known. We shall give here two demonstrations,
each independent of that theory. These are due to two of the
greatest mathematicians of modern times—one, the founder of
the Theory of Elliptic Functions; the other, the discoverer of
the Calculus of Quaternions.”
H. B. WOODALL.
St. Asaph.
A Nature Study Library.
WILL you allow me to make two comments on Mr.
Latter’s very useful article?
In the first place, the price stated for the geological map—
8s. 6d.—is unfortunately correct at present for the London
neighbourhood and some other parts of England, for which
only the old huge sheets are available ; but over a large part of
the country the published shcets cost only three shillings,
and lately a few have been issued, colour-printed at Is. 6d.
All new sheets, issued as the re-survey of the country proceeds,
are at one of these two latter prices. In these circumstances,
as an eight-and-sixpenny map is sometimes a distinctly
antiquated one, it seems doubtful whether it is ever worth while
for a nature-student to spend so much on one. There is an
excellent series of colour-printed ‘‘index maps” published by
the Geological Survey at half-a-crown (scale, four miles to an
inch), and for nature-study purposes these will often be as useful
as the eight-and-sixpenny ones.
In the second place, the nature-student who orders a
geological map should be careful to order the “drift”
edition, when there is one. If he does not get this edition he
may be puzzled to account for the relation of flora to soil. The
edition “ without drift? will show a certain hill as composed,
say, of chalk, but on it he may find no chalk flora, but quite
other plants: the “drift” edition will show him that at this
point the chalk is covered perhaps by gravel. Unfortunately,
the eight-and-sixpennv maps mostly are ‘‘ without drift,” which
is another objection to them.
without drift.
To all nature-students within about thirty miles of London |
trongly recommend ‘‘ Soils and Subsoils,”” a Geological Survey
memoir by H. B. Woodward, price 2s. 6d., including a coloured
“drift” map.
The Index maps also are
A. MORLEY DAVIES.
PRIZE COMPETITION.
Result of No. 19.—Most Popular School Class-Books of
General Geography.
THE competition announced last month was not a popular one,
for the number of competitors was much smaller than usual.
The following six books received the highest number of votes :—
Longman’s ‘‘School Geography.” By G. G. Chisholm.
3s. 6d.
Gill’s ‘ ‘Oxford and Cambridge’ Geography.” Is.
‘t School Geography.” By J. M. D. Meiklejohn.
4s. 6d.
‘t School Geography.” By J. M. D. Meiklejohn and M. J. C.
Meiklejohn. (Holden.) 2s. 6d.
“ General Geography.” By H. R. Mill. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6d.
‘t Modern Geography.” By W. Hughes. (Philip.) 3s. 6d.
The prizes for the lists which most resembled the final list
of books named above have been awarded as follows :—
The first prize to
( Holden.)
A. L. Randall,
The High School,
Alderley Edge,
Cheshire ;
and the second prize to
Mary Gray,
St. Winifred’s,
Seaford,
Sussex.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educationa Work and
Progress.
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The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
FIRE PREVENTION IN SCHOOL
BUILDINGS.
By FELIX Cay, B.A.
Part ].—ExistTinGc BUILDINGS.
HE recent terrible disaster at Eton has
brought home to everyone with renewed
force the danger to which every building is
exposed from fire—in particular, of course, those
used for school purposes, and on all sides school
authorities are no doubt making efforts to provide
against these risks. The chief danger from fire
lies in its comparatively rare occurrence, and
whenever a serious fire does occur there is at once
an outbreak of excitement, accusations of neglect
are freely bandied about, innumerable remedies
and precautions practicable or impossible are sug-
gested, the papers are full of advice, active steps
are taken, fire drills and practices are set on foot ;
but after a little time, in most cases, things slip
gradually back into the old routine, the lessons of
the calamity are forgotten, the new apparatus
deteriorates, the fire drill enthusiastically carried
out while an attractive novelty is abandoned, the
staff and the inmates change, and upon the out-
break of a fire the buckets are empty, the hose full
of holes, and no one knows where anything is kept
or what to do, the first few minutes when the fire
could have been easily coped with are lost, and
serious damage results.
The present article contains a few suggestions
as to the apparatus that ought to be found in every
school, and the precautions that must be taken in
order to reduce the danger of fire to at all events a
remote risk as far as actual loss of life is concerned,
but it cannot be too strongly stated that the pro-
vision of apparatus is in itself of little use unless
occasional practice with it forms part of the regular
school routine. These remarks are intended to
apply to existing buildings where no provision in
the way of hydrants, &c., has been made. It is
proposed in a subsequent article to discuss the
arrangement and fitting of a new building.
In time of peace prepare for war, and it must be
always borne in mind that fire is and as far as can
be seen always will be, a possible contingency,
No. 56, VOL. 5.]
AUGUST, 1903.
a a eet
LL a Tt eg PP ee
SIXPENCE,
— - — et
whatever form of construction is used or whatever
materials are employed. Nothing can be said to be
really fireproof, and, though a building may be
constructed of highly refractory materials, there
will still be enough combustible matter to suffocate
the inmates; and it is in the smoke and gas pro-
duced that the real danger to life lies. Prompt and
energetic treatment in the early stages of a fire,
provided that the few and simple requirements are
kept ready to hand, will in nearly all cases be
effectual, and, if the building has been properly
constructed of slow-burning materials, arranged so
that the fire can be confined to the immediate
neighbourhood of the outbreak, the damage caused
by fire can, in most cases, be reduced to a very
small quantity.
With regard to day schools, the problem, as far
as actual danger to life is concerned, is simple, and
a properly arranged fire-drill carried out at frequent
intervals, and tested by an occasional experimental
alarm, say once in three months, will practically
ensure the safety of those in the building. A few
simple rules should be observed: care should be
taken to have a clear arrangement as to which
classes are to go down each staircase, and the
order in which they are to go, the younger children
naturally going first; it would be as well that this
list should provide for clearing the school in case
one or other of the staircases were stopped. The
London School Board direct that this order of
going out in case of emergency should be hung up
in each classroom. Where there are roof play-
grounds a special drill should of course be
practised. The alarm should be given by the
school bell, supplemented if not loud enough by a
policeman’s whistle. It is as well that the school-
keeper should have orders to close at once the
gates in case of fire, except in the case of a very
small playground, to guard against an inrush of
excited parents and others.
It is essential that the alarm should be occasion-
ally rung without the knowledge of anyone in the
school, so that teachers and children may be
accustomed to a sudden alarm, as the accidents
due to panic are the real source of danger, and
safety lies in the knowledge and experience that
everyone can get out of the building in a few
moments.
There is probably no class of building, except
perhaps dangerous factories, which is so open tothe
Z
282
risk of fire as a boys’ boarding-school. Fire itself
has an extraordinary attraction for boys: games
are not unknown in which matches play a large
part, being flipped ingeniously off the box, so that. |
they fly across the room lighting as they go; waste-
paper baskets in studies are set alight, partly as an
amusement, partly as an easy means of getting rid
of the contents; making cocoa over spirit lamps,
illicit smoking, reading by means of concealed
candles after lights are supposed to be out, and so
on; all serve to emphasise the necessity of pro-
viding means for dealing promptly and effectually
with small outbreaks of fire.
In boarding-houses means should be taken not
only to provide means of escape, but some method
of arousing the inmates before their faculties are
deadened by smoke must be provided. This is of
especial importance in the case where boarders sleep
in separate rooms. Automatic fire-alarms are now
made in various forms that can be set to a great
degree of accuracy ; the initial cost of these is not
very high, and it does not seem too much to ask
that they should be provided. Perhaps the safest
precaution of all is a watchman, provided that
means are taken to ensure regularity in his rounds,
but this could hardly be expected except in large
institutions.
As a means of escape from a building when the
staircases are cut off there is probably nothing
better than the canvas-chute, as made by Messrs.
Merryweather; it can be used by anyone, young or
old, weak or strong; from ten to twenty can come
down it in a minute; it can be easily fitted to any
window, is not expensive, and is always ready for
use. It is, of course, essential that practice in the
use of the chute should take place occasionally ;
there is little danger in this if precautions are
taken to avoid any risk of cutting or slitting the
canvas; accidents have resulted from a cut made
by a projecting nail in a boot, and it is as well to
niake a rule that boots should be taken off before
using the escape. In use, if there is no one below,
the first person goes down checking his pace by
projecting his elbows and knees against the sides
of the chute. This is far easier to do than it sounds.
Fle then holds the end of the chute for the others,
pulling it to one side if fire is issuing from the
windows below. It is probably not necessary at
the present time to emphasise the danger of
having windows barred; every room must have a
second means of exit, by the window in case of
necessity.
In order to deal with small outbreaks of fire
every building should be provided with a sufficient
number of small, portable, hand fire-pumps. The
best pattern is that carried on the London Fire
LDrigade engines; these cost only £3 10s., can be
operated by one person, and throw a strong jet of
water some thirty feet, this gives sufficient force to
make the water effective, as the force with which
the water is thrown is of far more importance than
the amount ; it “ knocks ” the fire out. It is pro-
bably not too much to say that about half the
fires in London annually are extinguished with
these hand-pumps; every fire-engine carries two or
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
three; the firemen carry them into the house and
put out the fire. Each of these pumps, which
should be distributed about the house in con-
venient and accessible positions, should have three
or more buckets hung by it, so that while one
person operates the pump others keep filling it up
with the buckets. The pump should be worked
with short, sharp strokes, and kept about three
parts full; the water in it and the buckets should
be changed once a week.
These water hand-pumps are, on the whole,
much to be preferred to any of the many forms of
portable chemical pumps. The chemical engines
have undoubtedly been very successful in putting
out small fires, especially in trained hands, but it
is hardly safe to rely upon them; they cost some
shillings to charge, so that they are not likely to be
used for practice; servants are often afraid of
them; they are useless if they fail to put the fire
out straight off; the chemicals do a considerable
amount of unnecessary damage in the case of a
very small fire. If unused for any length of time
they are likely to corrode and get out of order;
and finally, the result is hardly more effective than
a jet of plain water thrown with force from a plain
water-pump, which can be filled as fast as it is
used. Their chief use is to throw a jet of liquid
without any manual power being required; but this
is more than counter-balanced by the difficulty of
bringing them into action and the necessity of a
supply of chemicals to recharge them, which
would be an awkward matter to do in the excite-
ment of a fire, even if the necessary ingredients
were ready at hand.
It is suggested that the following apparatus
should be kept ready in easily accessible positions
in every building :—One or more portable force-
pumps, according to the size of the house and the
number of inmates; còst £3 I0s.; extra length of
pipe to each, £1. Three or more buckets always
kept full of water by each pump. One canvas
chute for each dormitory, or, at all events, to each
floor; cost, from £7 to £10 according to height of
floor. In addition to these there should be kept
in a convenient spot a hatchet, to break open a
door, or to get at a fire under the floor; a long-
handled hook to pull down burning curtains, &c. ;
a thick blanket, and some lengths of rope. A light
ladder to get to the roof should be kept on the
upper floor if there is no other access.
The really important points are frequent prac-
tice, and regular trial and inspection of the appara-
tus. In the case of high buildings, where there
are large numbers of inmates and an insufficient
supply of staircases, it may be necessary to put
up outside iron-staircases, either leading directly to
the ground or, in some cases, to a neighbouring
roof whence the ground can be easily reached.
The arrangement of these naturally depends
entirely on the nature of the particular building.
It should be remembered that, when a fire does
break out, the doors and windows should be as far
as possible kept shut, in order to cut off the supply
of air. 7
As so many fires arise from causes that a little
t
AUGUST, 1903.]
care and foresight would prevent, it may be of
use to suggest a few of the more common ways in
which they are caused.
If the school is in a very old building there are
certain points that should be carefully looked to :-—
Defective flues: this is particularly the case if
wood has been used for fuel at any time, owing to
the corrosive action upon the mortar by the pyro-
ligneous acid formed; timber built into flues, or
used to support the hearth stones. Wood becomes
highly inflammable if allowed to remain in contact
with hot brick-work or pipes for any length of
time, owing to the facility with which it absorbs
oxygen as soon as it becomes a little charred.
Exposed timber on a roof is a great source of
danger; snow boards will often accumulate soot
and sooner or later a spark may fall upon it.
Fires are often caused by the sun’s ray focused
by means of some glass instrument, or a bottle of
water standing in the window. There are, of
course, all the dangers connected with carelessness
on the part of servants and others, with lamps,
candles, matches, drying linen, putting away
kitchen utensils with fire still adhering to them,
raking out fires at night, &c. Schools have, of
course, in addition to all the ordinary risks those
due to the character of their inmates as suggested
above, and no school can be considered properly
equipped or well managed that does not provide
the necessary apparatus for protection in case of
fire, and insist upon regular practice in its use.
LITERATURE FOR LEISURE HOURS.
By ERNEST A. BAKER, M.A.
«y HAVE learnt as much,” says one of George
Meredith’s noblest characters, ‘from light
literature as from heavy—as much, that 1s,
from the pictures of our human blood in motion as
from the clever assortment of our forefatherly
heaps of bones. Shun those who cry out against
fiction, and have no taste for elegant writing. Not
to have a sympathy with the playful mind is not
to have a mind.” Good fiction is a pleasure anda
recreation, and also something more excellent.
There are novels—we are inundated with them—
to read which is a kind of intellectual debauchery,
an indulgence in a species of hypnotism, a round
of nervous shocks. Intelligent people do, I believe,
read this sort with avidity, but it is bad for their
intelligence. On the other hand, there is the ‘‘noble
fiction ’’ which Meredith exalts, and of which he
has written so many admirable examples. Such
work as this deserves careful study, but it demands,
in the first place, careful selection from the mass of
contemporary writing. Since George Meredith
and Thomas Hardy left off writing prose, there
has not been much of this greatest fiction written,
but there has been a good deal of a like kind. The
object of this paper is to help those who have not
_ The School World
OOS
——— —— -—— ER
time to keep abreast of the reviews to find out
some of the finer examples of imaginative. litera-
ture that have been published during the last
twelve months or so. Historical fiction, being
dealt with elsewhere, is for the time. being left
almost entirely out of account, although some of
the best English and American novels of the last
year or two belong to that category.
One of the most characteristic and peculiar
literary forms of the latter part of the nineteenth
century was the country novel. Thomas Hardy
was the writer who gave it such immense vogue,
and it will be appropriate to lead off with three
novelists who are not only his successors in a
literary sense, but have also chosen to cultivate
the same part of England as he selected for
himself and re-named ‘“ Wessex.” Mr. Eden
Phillpotts is a singularly close imitator of Thomas
Hardy, and out of his ten or twelve volumes he
has produced three, ‘‘Children of the Mist,”
‘©The Striking Hours” (Methuen, 6s. each), and
a recent novel that comes within our purview,
‘© The River ’’(Methuen, 6s.), which may stand on
the same shelf as the works of his master. ‘The
River ” is a story of life in the presence of Nature,
the central character, Nicholas Edgecumbe the
keeper, living in the wilderness near the head-
waters of the Dart, a man whose “ books are run-
ning brooks,” save that he is a profound student
of the Bible. The story of his outraged love for
Hannah, and the events that lead him at last
to choose the worthier Mary, is very dramatic ;
but it is the man’s deep and strong character
that leaves an indelible impression on the mind.
« Zack” has within the last week or two published
three stories of the Wessex country, under the
title of “ The Roman Road ” (Constable, 6s.). Her
first book, ‘‘ Life is Life,” published in 1898,
had something of the intense life and passion of
the Elizabethans. Her stories have always been
dramas of the soul, representations of a moral crisis,
and the like. Such are the present three, in which
she has cultivated a parsimony of phrase, of de-
scription, of narrative, that demands of the reader
a certain measure of thought and imagination.
They have the abstract, riddling manner of the
apologue, and readers will differ, probably, as to
their final significance. In “The Balance,” for
example, there are three principal figures, a deca-
dent novelist, who is a mere wreck morally, his
loyal friend, and a girl whom both love. Attention
is focused on the soul of Richard East, the
novelist. What interests at first is the struggle
in his soul between the physical attraction of this
beautiful girl and loyalty to his friend. But the
deeper lesson is that in such a mind as his woman
may be the ruin both of the man and of the genius.
In the title-story, Roland, inheriting Groot—the
wherewithal to pay his debts—learns that he is
illegitimate; shall he keep silence, or deliver the
property over to the rightful heir? The foolish,
guilty soul of the mother is, however, the ab-
sorbing object to the connoisseur of character.
There are phrases in “ Zack's” stories that
seem to snatch away a bandage, to scorch the
284
sight with their sudden baring of truths that are
wont to lie hidden. ‘“ Orme Agnus,” another
cultivator of Wessex soil, is a much less strenuous
thinker. ‘‘ Zike Mouldom ” (Ward, Lock & Co.,
6s.), and “ Sarah Tuldon” (Ward, Lock & Co.,
6s.), are pleasant and entertaining pictures of the
rustic, though not without a definite moral intent.
Sarah is a shrewd and strong-willed village girl,
who subjugates her lazy and slatternly parents,
makes the whole family clean and industrious, and
marrying a rich farmer, becomes queen of the
village, and carries out a general crusade against
ignorance, filth and neglect. Her story is full of
broad comedy, and the rustic types are true to life.
Zike, according to the author, represents the angel
that is to be found, side by side with the demon,
in the nature of a Lancashire navvy. His is a
character prone to extremes, a powerful will that
riots in sheer devilry, or is capable of the utmost
self-sacrifice. The author’s optimism is perhaps
of a too comfortable sort, yet the difficulties are
met with manifest seriousness.
It is not difficult to discern the influence of
Thomas Hardy in the highly cultivated feeling
for nature that pervades “ Love with Honour”
(Lane, 6s.), Mr. Charles Marriott’s last book.
“The Column” (Lane, 6s.) was remarkable for
its exaggerations of Mr. Meredith's style. This
is not so far-fetched in subject or in manner. It is
a curious problem in the moral casuistry of love—
a girl having to choose between a splendid inheri-
tance, to which her claim is legally indisputable,
but morally invalid, and honour with the man who
loves her. The characters are of a more ordinary
stamp, yet with peculiar veins of interest to the
critic of life—the hero, a young man who has read
“ Lavengro,” Carlyle, and Whitman, and burns to
put their gospel into action ; the heroine, a girl of
lofty and delicate principles of conduct; a fine
old martinet; an esthetic villager; and so on—
characters that touch comedy and tragedy. The
scene is a beautiful village in Gloucestershire.
“The Squireen ” (Methuen, 6s.), by Shan F.
Bullock, author of ‘‘ Irish Pastorals,’”’ is an Irish
story. It records the brief wedded life of a loving,
sensitive, patient woman anda masterful, egotistic
man, a gentleman farmer in Donegal, where there
is a colony of Presbyterians, whose harsh, in-
flexible natures remind one of the stiff-necked
people in the New England novels of Miss
Wilkins. The subject is not alluring, but the book
is an honest and sympathetic portrayal of the
faults of character and the imperceptible steps
that lead irrevocably to happiness or unhappiness.
Mrs. Humphry Ward has forsaken the sociolo-
gical novel for the novel of manners. ‘ Lady
Kose’s Daughter’ (Smith, Elder, 6s.) is based on
the famous story of Madame du Deffand and
Mademoiselle de Lespinasse (see the recently pub-
lished memoirs of the latter, and Sainte Beuve’s
“ Causeries du Lundi”). The dénouement has been
altered, but the main lines of the novel correspond.
Among the portraits we are probably right in
recognising several soldiers, statesmen, and other
celebrities of recent times.
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
Frank Norris, author of that strong, Zolabesque
novel of San Francisco, ‘“ McTeague,” has been
cut off prematurely, leaving his great sociological
epic half finished. ‘The Octopus” (Richards,
6s.) dealt with the incessant conflict between the
Californian wheat-growers and the great Railway
Trust that has this food traffic in its grip. ‘* The
Pit” (Richards, 6s.) is a similar study of the
elemental maladies that threaten human organisa-
tion with ruin. Its subject is the Chicago Wheat
Pit. A quieter study of actual conditions, it is
just as tragic and prophetic in its denunciation of
greed. Mr. H. G. Wells, in his latest fiction,
touches upon actual life in a merrier spirit, reserv-
ing his weightier disquisitions for the pages of the
Fortnightly. Inthe “Sea Lady” (Methuen, 6s.),
the visitant from the *‘ Great Outside,” who turns
mundane things topsy-turvy, with absurd conse-
quences, is a mermaid who comes ashore promis-
cuously among a bathing party at a watering-
place. The comedy has its graver side in the
criticism of our common and ignoble ideals from
a far other point of view. George Gissing is
another serious critic of our times. In ‘Our
Friend the Charlatan ” (Chapman, 6s.), he studied
a decadent type of modern character, the clever,
but weak and conscienceless young man, product of
advanced education, whose defects come to light
in the stress of events. The analysis is searching ;
the comedy is of the kind that makes you think
how unpleasant everything is, every one in turn
being placed in the most embarrassing situation
imaginable.
Mr. Gissing’s “ Private Papers of Henry
Ryecroft ” (Constable, 6s.) belongs to the same
literary class as the ‘‘ Autocrat of the Breakfast
Table.” Ryecroft, one cannot doubt, is more or
less autobiographical, not as to the facts of his
life, but as to the interpretation of his mind. He is
a retired literary man, who keeps a journal of his
meditations. Authorship, the struggles of his past
life, old age and death, the hereafter, walking,
reading, favourite authors, the country, flowers,
birds, inns, the conduct of life, these are among
the multifarious subjects which are talked about
with an arresting frankness and a pleasant lack of
order. The author is more persistently grave than
Dr. Holmes, he has none of that ebullient humour,
and, on the other hand, little of that profound origi-
nality—it is a refined and thoughtful common-
sense.
Turn now to novels with a stronger tincture
of romance. Mr. A. E. W. Mason’s ‘ The Four
Feathers ” (Smith, Elder, 6s.) is curiously similar in
theme to Mr. Conrad's ‘‘ Lord Jim.” It is at once
a study of the stern, moral ordeals by which high
character is forged and tempered, and an exciting
narrative of action and adventure. The feathers
mean cowardice. Harry Feversham, son of a line
of warriors, though really brave in the highest
sense, has dreadful misgivings that he will fail at
the moment of trial. This error of his involves
himself, his betrothed, and his best friend, in a long
succession of troubles; but he atones for it nobly.
The unravelling of the mystery by Durrance,
woo
AUGUST, 1903. ]
whom blindness has made preternaturally acute,
has some of the intellectual zest of the detective
novel. In a grisly fashion, the scenes of captivity
and escape at Omdurman are most impressive.
“The Star Dreamer,” by Agnes and Egerton
Castle (Constable, 6s.), is not so serious a piece of
work as this, but it has much charm. The Star
Dreamer is a young baronet whose heart has been
turned to gall by a love crime. He shuts himself up
in his tower and studies the stars. Into this lonely
life comes the daughter of his kinsman, an old
alchemist and collector of simples. ‘They love, but
almost insuperable obstacles confront them. The
characters are quaint, their surroundings full of
glamour, and the style is quite in tune therewith.
The scene is a weird old manor-house in Wilts, a
century ago. A romance of our own time, with very
different claims to interest, is ‘* The Vultures,” by
Henry Seton Merriman (Smith, Elder, 6s.). A plot
of Russian Nihilists and insurgent Poles furnishes
the action, and Warsaw the principal scene. The
Russian Merejkowski planned a trilogy of his-
torical novels on a grandiose scale, and called it
“Christ and Anti-Christ,” the general theme being
the eternal struggle between Christian renuncia-
tion and pagan lust of life, or. as he puts it,
between the Man-God and the God-man. In I.
“The Death of the Gods” (Constable, 6s.), he
depicts, in a magnificent series of tableaux, the
wars and schisms and persecutions of Julian the
Apostate’s reign. In II. “The Forerunner `
(Constable, 6s.), he gives us the Renaissance and
the career of Benvenuto Cellini. This is the
Resurrection of the Gods, and the next and final
act will be “ Anti-Christ,” with Peter the Great as
protagonist.
Short stories are very abundant nowadays, but
how many of them are anything but indifferent ?
It is certain that, whatever Mr. Conrad’s final
place may be in the literary hierarchy, his short
stories will stand among his strongest claims to
rank. ** Youth ” (Blackwood, 6s.) and ‘* Typhoon ”
(Heinemann, 6s.) are both recent collections. In
“Youth,” an officer in the mercantile marine, a
man of imagination who looks at the real signifi-
cance of the things he recounts, regards them as
histories of men’s souls, relates three stories to
his friends. ‘‘ Youth” is from his own life, the
story of his voyage to the East in a coffin ship, a
long-sustained struggle with the sea, with accidents
in port, and with a burning cargo, a story steeped
in the glamour of youth and the glainour of the
sea. ‘‘ Heart of Darkness ” interprets in the same
imaginative fashion the unutterable gloom and
strangeness and isolation of a European’s life
among African savages. “Typhoon” would
sustain comparison with the masterly descriptions
of storms in the Indian Ocean by that exquisite
impressionist, Pierre Loti, in ‘‘ Mon Frère Yves.”
Mr. W. H. Hudson, who has recently published
a delightful account of wild nature in the New
Forest, under the title, ‘“ Hampshire Days,” a
book that deserves to be shelved alongside White’s
“Selborne,” is the author of “ El Ombu”
(Duckworth, paper ts. 6d., cloth 2s.), imaginative
_ The School World
285
stories of South America. El Ombu is a deserted
house on the Pampas, with which a terrible
history of crime and calamity is associated. Stern,
vengeful men, men with devil in them, who seem
to have grown akin to the aboriginal savages ;
fierce deeds never repented of; and a state of
society where might is right—these characteristics of
life there less than a hundred years ago are rendered
powerfully and convincingly in this and the three
other tales. The gloomy story of Marta Riquelme,
driven mad by the cruelties of the Indians and of a
heartless husband, persuades the Jesuit priest who
relates it that malignant spirits exist in that
unhappy region, warring against God and
righteousness.
Forsaking the realism that made him famous,
Mr. George Moore has thrown in his lot with the
new Irish movement. “The Untilled Field”
(Unwin, 6s.) has national importance as a deep-
sighted study of the present state of the Irish. In
every story there is a broad hint of the author’s
message to his people—his warnings against
emigration that depopulates the land, and against
ecclesiasticism killing the joy of life. ‘Julia
Cahill’s Curse,” ‘*A Play-house in the Waste,”
and “ The Wild Goose,” are forcible arguments
as well as dramatic stories. The last is a wise
and tender story of a marriage between two
patriots who differ about religion. The other long
stories, ‘Some Parishioners,” and ‘‘ The Wedding
Gown,” tap the deep vein of poetry and mysticism
that is in the humblest Gaelic peasant. ‘The
authors of “The Pride of Jennico,’ K. and
Hesketh Pritchard, mother and son, have in
“ Roving Hearts ” (Elder, 6s.) produced a number
of delicate and thoroughly artistic tales on all
manner of subjects, and with scenery from all
quarters of the globe. An admirable example of
their humour is “The Flying Squadron,” an
absurd story of that absurd island, Hayti. The
Black Republic commandeers a navy of one old
steamer, and declares war upon Europe. ‘ The
Undersong ” (Constable, 6s.), Australian bush-tales
by H. C. Macllwaine; Mr. R. Nisbet Bain’s
« Tales from Gorky” (Jarrold, 6s.), a sheaf of
masterpieces from that portentous Russian who
has for awhile eclipsed Tolstoy and Turgenef in
popularity; Mr. Israel Zangwill’s “The Grey
Wig” (Heinemann, 6s.), are all worthy of thought-
ful reading. And I would there were space enough
to call attention to the most admirable series of
translations from foreign writers, old and new, that
have been among the most encouraging literary
phenomena of the last few years.
IT would seem better that reading matter should be continuous
in scope and interest than that it should consist of short discon-
nected fragments of anecdote and description. Picturesque and
graphic readings from history, rather in the “ historical-novel ”
style than that of the conventional history-book, geographical
readings, narratives of discovery and adventure, of travel and
commerce, the fairy tales of science, systematised into a series,
might not only have the advantage of connectedness, but would
also go far to justify the giving up of more time than has been
usual to the threshold-stage of English teaching. —A. S. Way.
—_ ee ee ee F
=) a —.,
286
SOME HOLIDAY READING IN FICTION.
ILLUSTRATING THE HIstTory OF THE BRITISH
EMPIRE, 1763-1878.
By C. S. FEARENSIDE, M.A.
OME months ago I was permitted to give in
these pages a few hints on serious reading
on the history of the British Empire, 1763-
1878; and it has since occurred to me that a list
of some of the works of fiction illustrating the
same subject might be of use to teachers and
pupils who are thinking of books for the holidays.
My list will be neither select nor exhaustive, for if
I set down only such works as I know to be good,
I should doubtless omit many books combining
value with interest; anda complete list, even had I
the materials to compose one, would be rather
overwhelming than helpful. I merely jot down
books which I either know or know of, in the hope
that either the subject-matter or the author may
attract some readers who like to make their leisure-
hour reading illustrate their ‘studies. And it
happens just now that the Cambridge Local
Syllabus and political discussion alike are con-
cerned with the rise of the modern British Empire.
Though the headline contains the term “history,”
it will be better to adopt a geographical than a
chronological system of arrangement; and I hope
that this method of grouping may provide an
occasional hint for a geography lesson. Probably
common knowledge or a hasty inspection of the
books themselves will in most cases enable teachers
to distinguish between books for “juvenile ” read-
ing and those which are best reserved for adult
consumption.
(i.) THe OLDER BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH
AMeEricA.—Here we are practically limited to the
“American Revolution.” This is one of the
favourite fields of the worker in historical fiction ;
and I think it will be better to select a few books
of repute rather than give a string of sixty or
seventy titles. There are several such books,
ega R. W. Chambers, “Cardigan”; Winston
Churchill, ‘Richard Carvel”; P. L. Ford,
“ Janice Meredith ;” and R. N. Stephens, ‘* Philip
Winwood ”—which roam widely over time and
space; but some are practically restricted to one
or other of the very distinct phases or theatres
of the struggle.
(1) Beginning of the Struggles in the North:
Fenimore Cooper, ‘Lionel Lincoln, or the
Leaguer of Boston” (1775); in the South, J.
Esten Cooke, ‘“ Henry St. John” (Virginia,
1774-5).
(2) Hudson Valley and Burgoyne Campaign: Harold
Frederic, “ In the Valley” (often considered one
of the best historical novels ever written); D. P.
Thompson, “The Green Mountain Boys;” and
E. F. Pollard, “ Green Mountain Boys” (a familiar
name for the men of Vermont, who did so much to |
ensure Burgoyne’s surrender). |
(3) Paul Jones: Fenimore Cooper, “ The Pilot ;”’
The School World
[AuGUST, 1903.
Sarah O. Jewett, “ The Tory Lover.” (Paul Jones
also figures in “ Richard Carvel ” and many other
books.)
(4) The War tn the West (the campaigns of G. R.
Clarke, which practically cut off the region south
of the Great Lakes from Canada): D. P. Thomp-
son, “The Rangers;’’ Maurice Thompson,
“ Alice of Old Vincennes.”
(5) The André Episode, 1780: Fenimore Cooper,
‘The Spy;” Mary A. M. Hoppus, ‘“ A Great
Treason.”
(6) The Tories: Ogden, “A Loyal Little Red
Coat ; ” G. A. Henty, “ True to the Old Flag.” [I
do not know of any books that deal in detail with
the migration of “ United Empire Loyalists ° to
the St. Lawrence colonies.]
(7) The Warfare in the South: J. P. Kennedy,
“ Horseshoe Robinson;’’ W. G. Simms, ‘* The
Partisan,” “ Mellichampe,” ‘‘ Katherine Walton,”
‘The Scout,” ‘* Woodcraft,” ‘The Forayers,”’
‘‘Eutaw.” [These books were nearly all written
during the first half of the nineteenth century by
southern writers living amidst the living memories
of the bitterness of the southern conflict.]
(ii.) BRITISH NORTH AMERICA AFTER 1783 seems
to have been rather neglected by writers of fiction,
but at least three notable aspects of life can be
adequately illustrated from novels.
(1) The Relations between British and French, espe-
cially in Canada proper. Sir Gilbert Parker deals
with the early part of the nineteenth century in
“When Valmond came to Pontiac,” and ‘ The
Pomp of the Lavilettes,’ and with various un-
defined periods in the stories contained in ‘* The
Lane that had no Turning,” and “The Right
of Way.” T. C. Haliburton, “The Old Judge,”
introduces various episodes, mostly humorous, of
life in Nova Scotia during the Rebellion of 1837-8;
and the Fenian scare of 1866 forms the back-
ground of Robert Barr,“ In the Midst of Alarms.”
(2) Fur-Trading in North-West and North-East is
illustrated in Agnes C. Lant, ‘“ Lords of the
North” (c. 1800); in R. M. Ballantyne,“ Ungava”
and ‘‘ The Red Man’s Revenge” (Red River Ex-
pedition, 1870); and in many of the short stories
by which Sir Gilbert Parker made his reputation:
e.g., ‘* Pierre and his People ” and “ An Adven-
turer of the North.” [The colonisation of the
North-West, which was only just beginning at the
end of the period, is dealt with in various works
described in Mr. E. A. Baker’s “Guide to the
Best Fiction.’’]
(3) Cod-Fishing off the Great Banks of New-
foundland is admirably depicted in Rudyard
Kipling, ‘Captains Courageous” (though the
principal characters are citizens of the United
States, not British subjects).
(iii.) THE West INvieEs, during the Great War,
are the scene of numerous episodes in Captain
Marryat’s novels and of Michael Scott's classic
tales, “ Tom Cringle’s Log” and “ The Cruise of
the Midge.” The negro problem is illustrated in
Harriet Martineau, “ The Hour and the Man”
(Toussaint L’Ouverture in Haiti); in Noél de
Montagnac, ‘“ Negro Nobodies ” (Jamaica) ; and in
AUGUST, 1903.]
James Rodway, “In Guiana Wilds” (British
Guiana).
(iv.) THe East Inpies.—The old style of
sailing voyage home from India round the Cape is
wonderfully described in Joseph Conrad, “ The
Nigger of the Narcissus"’; and notable ‘ half-way
houses ” to India appear in James Grant, ‘ Frank
Hilton ” (Aden), and Sir Walter Besant, “ My
Little Girl ” (Mauritius). Works of fiction descrip-
tive of life in the East itself may be divided into
our main groups.
(1) The Establishment of British Paramountcy, 1780-
1820, is treated in Sir Walter Scott, “The Sur-
geon’s Daughter” (1780); in Meadows Taylor,
“ Tippoo Sultaun ”; and G. A. Henty, “ The Tiger
of Mysore ” (1789-99); in Herbert Compton, “ A
Free Lance in a Far Land”; in an anonymous
work entitled ‘“ Pandurang Hari,” and in G. A.
Henty, ‘‘At the Point of the Bayonet” (Mah-
rattas).
(2) Frontier Wars and Problems may be broken up
into the following divisions :—
(a) Burmese Wars: G. A. Henty, ‘On the
Irawaddy ” (1824-6); S. K. Levett-Yeats, “A
Galahad of the Creeks” (Mr. Kipling’s ballad,
“ Mandalay,” is memorable in this connexion).
Some of the stories of Hugh Clifford and Joseph
Conrad take us further east, into the Malay
Peninsula and Malaysia respectively.
(b) Afghan Wars: G. A. Henty, “To Herat
and Cabul” (1836-8) and “ For Name and Fame”
(1877-8); Sir H. M. Durand, “ Helen Trevelyan ”
is based on a first-hand knowledge of the War of
1878-9, which is also treated in James Grant,
“The Duke of Albany’s Highlanders.”
(c) Sikh Wars: John Lang, “The Wetherbys,”
and W. D. Arnold, ‘‘ Oakfield,” were both written
immediately after the wars; G. A. Henty,
“Through the Sikh War,” is a later compi-
lation.
(d) The Conditions of Frontier Defence are depicted
with marked insight in four connected books by
Sydney Grier, “ His Excellency’s English Gover-
ness,” ‘* Peace with Honour,” “The Warden of
the Marches,” and “The Advanced Guard.”
There are various frontier sketches in “On the
Edges of Empire,” by E. Jepson and D. Beames.
(3) The Indian Mutiny is treated in over a score
of novels, of which the best are reputed to be Sir
George Chesney, “ The Dilemma”’; R. E. Forrest,
“Eight Days,” and F. A. Steel, “ On the Face of
the Waters.” Mr. Baker gives the titles of
fifteen others.
(4) The Conditions of Modern Anglo-Indian Life
provide the subject-matter of numerous stories,
long and short, by Mr. Kipling, Mrs. Steel, and
Mrs. E. Cotes. One of the more typical and com-
prehensive of these books is F. A. Steel’s, ‘‘ The
Potter’s Thumb.” There are capital short sketches
in Phil Robinson, “In My Indian Garden,” and
Eha “ Tribes on my Frontier.” Somewhat earlier
phases of life are depicted in H. B. Rowney, “ The
Young Zemindar’’; Sir W. W. Hunter, “The
Old Missionary "; Meadows Taylor, ‘‘ The Con-
fessions of a Thug"; Sir H. S. Cunningham,
The. School World |
287
“The Chronicles of Dustypore,” and Alex. Allar-
dyce, ‘‘ The City of Sunshine.”
(v) SoutH ArFrica.—The Kaffir wars about
the time of the Great Trek are handled in Rider
Haggard, “Swallow;” in Anna Howarth, “Sword
and Assegai,” and Bertram Mitford, ‘‘ The Induna’s
Wife.” The relations between British, Boers, and
natives during the ’seventies are illustrated by
Mrs. Carey Hobson, ‘‘ The Farm in the Karoo;”
Olive Schreiner, ‘“ The Story of an African Farm ;”’
and Rider Haggard, “Jess.” The Zulu and
Transvaal wars beginning about 1878 (and there-
fore falling outside our period) form the subject of
many works by Bertram Mitford and others: of
these Mr. Baker gives an extensive list.
(vi) AUSTRALASIA AND Oceaxia.—Mr. Baker
(pp. 247-254) gives the titles of nearly one hundred
works of fiction, mostly written by Australians,
dealing with life in these regions. From these
and other books the following may be exhibited
as illustrative of different districts and phases of
life.
(1) Early Days in New South Wales: G. L.
Becke and Walter Jeffery, “A First Fleet
Family”; Herbert Compton, ‘‘ The Inimitable
Mrs. Massingham’”’; G. M. Fenn, “ This Man’s
Wife”; E. W. Hornung, “ The Rogue’s March.”
(2) Tasmanta: Marcus Clarke, ‘ For the Term
of His Natural Life.” (The classic novel of
convict life.)
(3) Victoria (Port Phillip District): James
Mouat, “The Rise of the Australian Wool
Kings”; Rolf Boldrewood, ‘‘ Nevermore”; B. L
Farjeon, “Grif”; W.T. Walker, “ Native Born”;
R. L. Outhwaite and C. H. Chomley, ‘ The
Burden of Erin.” The last four deal with the
gold rush to the Melbourne District in the ‘fifties.
(4) New Zealand: G. A. Henty, ‘“ Maori and
Settler”; H. B. Marriott-Watson, ‘‘ The Web of
the Spider”; and Rolf Boldrewood, ‘ Tanata
Maori ” (Maori wars in the’’sixties); A. A. Grace,
“Tales of a Dying Race.”
(5) Queensland: H.C. Macllwaine, ‘‘ Dinkinbar,”
«The White Stone” and ‘‘ Fate the Fiddler”;
Hume Nisbet, ‘Bail Up!” and ‘In Sheep’s
Clothing”; G. Firth Scott, ‘‘ Colonial Born.”
(6) Bush Life and Bushrangers in general form the
staple of many books by Rolf Boldrewood (e.g.,
‘‘ Robbery under Arms”), Mrs. Campbell Praed
(c.g., “The Head Station ”), and Henry Lawson
(e.g., ‘* When the Billy Boils”). The same subject
appears in such older works as Charles Reade, ‘ It
is Never Too Late to Mend,” and Henry Kingsley,
“ Geoffrey Hamlyn” and ‘ The Hillyars and the
Burtons.”
(7) The South Seas: Price Waring treats of
convict life on Norfolk Island in “ Tales of Aus-
tralian Early Days” and ‘Tales of the Isle of
Death.” G. L. Becke and Walter Jeffery colla-
borate in ‘‘ The Mutineer ” to tell the story of the
Mutiny of the Bounty; and the former writer has
used the relations of trader, missionary and native
for many dramatic little stories contained in ‘‘ By
Reef and Palm,” ‘The Ebbing of the Tide,” and
« Rodman the Boatsteerer.” The same subjects
288
appear in Herman Melville, ‘‘ Typee,” ‘“ Ornoo,”’
and “ Moby Dick” (all written in the ’forties) ; in
“Island Nights’ Entertainment,” by R. L. Steven-
son, and in “The Ebb Tide,” by Stevenson and
Lloyd Osborne. The charm of the Pacific and the
troubles of a “ Remittance Man ” in Sydney form
two of the varied ingredients in the same writers’
delectable farrago entitled ‘‘ The Wrecker.”
PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A PIN-HOLE
AND WITH A TELEPHOTO LENS.
By E. SENIOR,
Lecturer on Photography at the Battersea Polytechnic, &c,
ITH the advent of summer weather and
Vo the near approach of the holiday season,
enthusiastic amateur photographers will be
turning their attention to the question of fresh
subjects for the camera and methods more or less
novel in their application for obtaining the results.
It is in connection with the latter that the employ-
ment of a plain aperture—a so-called pin-hole—in
place of a lens might well claim attention, and
although the definition obtained by its use does not
compare with that given by a high-class lens, the
results are by no means blurred and fuzzy. As in
nature we do not find that uncompromising sharp-
ness which so many photographs exhibit, a good
photograph taken with a plain aperture would
probably give a more artistic representation of the
scene depicted, from possessing the qualities termed
by artists ‘‘ atmosphere,” ‘‘ breadth of effect,” &c.
One great drawback to the employment of a
plain aperture instead of a lens is that snap-shot
work and moving objects cannot be taken by its
means; in fact, only in still-life subjects is its
application possible. The advantages attending
the use of plain apertures are: the ready adap-
tability to the production of images of various sizes
by the simple shifting of the plate further from, or
nearer to, the aperture, the sharpness of the image
practically remaining the same, the only alteration
being in the size of image formed and the amount
of subject included ; whereas a lens will only form
a sharp image when at one particular distance from
the plate, depending upon the distance of the
objects away, and, consequently, the scale of size
of objects is fixed.
Moreover, in photographing buildings or objects
having straight lines, the image will be absolutely
rectilinear, straight lines in the subject coming out
straight in the negative. As much or little as
desired can thus be included in the photograph by
simply placing the plate nearer or further from the
aperture, the amount of subject, or “angle of view,”
depending upon the relation between the length of
plate and its distance from the aperture.
The principal disadvantages attending the use
of so-called pin-hole cameras are the length of
exposure required and the want of sufficient sharp-
ness for many purposes. From the foregoing
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
———mŘ——_—____— Mm M Ml
remarks it may be inferred that the image will be
equally sharp whatever be the distance between
aperture and screen or sensitive plate. Theoretically,
however, such is not the case. By reducing the
size of the aperture the definition may be increased
up to a certain point; but beyond this, ‘‘ depending
upon the distance of image and object respectively
from the aperture,” the sharpness of the image
would decrease, a result explainable on the wave
theory of light.
It thus appears that, in order to obtain the
sharpest possible result, the size of the aperture
must bear a fixed relationship to its distance from
the plate, and this is dependent upon the wave
length of the light employed ın taking the negative.
In its simplest form, Sir William Abney has given
it as the one-hundred-and-twentienth part of the
square root of the distance in inches of the aperture
from the plate, which is expressed thus— Ż-5“
where l is the distance in inches from the
aperture. Taking four inches as the distance,
the size of aperture best suited would be found :—
N4 = 2 = lin. so that an aperture of one-sixtieth
120 120 6o ”
of an inch should be employed to get the best
results when the plate is four inches distant from it.
The writer has obtained excellent results with
an aperture made with a No. 1o needle in the
centre of a piece of very thin aluminium, three-
quarters of an inch square, this being fitted bet ween
two pieces of card, the whole being blackened and
fixed in position in the centre of the front board of
a quarter-plate camera. Care must be taken in
piercing the hole and any slight burr on the edge
carefully rubbed down, so that there is no appre-
ciable edge to interfere with the passage of light
through the aperture.
In practice, as the image cannot be seen on the
ground-glass screen in the usual way, resort has to
be had to a method for ascertaining when the subject
is correctly in position on the plate. A very simple
device serves this purpose. Drawa line on a piece
of white card equal in length to that of the plate,
bisect this and erect a perpendicular, on this mark
off “from the base line” a distance equal to that
of the aperture from the plate, join the extremities
of base line to this point and we have at once the
angle of view or amount of subject included on the
plate. Placing this squarely on the top of camera
and glancing along these two lines, the position of
the subject is readily seen.
The same construction can be applied vertically;
only, in this case, the line that represented the
length of plate previously must now equal the
depth of the plate. That something of this nature
is really necessary will be readily understood, for
without it difficulty will be experienced in knowing
when the scene is well placed on the plate.
If careful attention be paid to these points no
difficulty should be experienced in obtaining the
objects well placed on the plate. We now come to
the most important part of all—the length of time
the plate shall be exposed in order that the light
reflected from the different parts of the subject
AUGUST, 1903. ]
The School World
289
shall properly impress the sensitive surface. The
rule, however, which governs exposures in the
general way equally applies here. Suppose we
have a lens of four inches focus and an aperture of
half an inch in diameter, which gives the value of
the stop as f/8; now let us substitute the plain
aperture of one-sixtieth of an inch in diameter,
then the exposures will have to be in the pro-
portion of 60° to 2?, or 3,600 to 4, so that the plain
aperture requires goo times longer exposure.
Thus, supposing the exposure required with the
lens was one-tenth of a second, the same subject
with the plain aperture would require ninety
seconds, or one and a-half minutes.
It 1s therefore evident that the required exposure
can be readily calculated from the intensity ratios
of the apertures. In arriving at the result in this
manner the distance of the plate from the source of
light (aperture) must be the same in both cases, as
the exposure required varies as the square of this
distance. Suppose we attempted to determine the
required exposure by comparison with a lens of six
inches focus and stop three-quarters of an inch in
diameter (f/8). By the rule, the exposures will be
as ;i;* and 3’, or the plain aperture will require
2,025 times longer, or in the case above assumed,
3°375 min. But this is just over double what has
been found, but then the plate is now at a greater
distance from the source of light than that which
has been taken as most suitable when the aper-
ture is one-sixtieth of an inch in diameter ; and the
square of this extra distance has to be taken into
consideration in making the necessary correction,
thus :—3°375 -+ 2} (square of extra distance) ==1°5
min., the exposure required when the plate ts four
inches from the aperture.
In order to avoid any calculations at the time of
taking the photographs, it is a good plan to draw
up a table giving the relative exposures required
with a lens and a plain aperture (derived from the
method already given), under various conditions,
such as speed of plate, distance of object, state of
light, time of day, time of year, &c. And now, in
concluding this part of the subject, I will add that
anyone taking it up will have wide scope for work,
as its application is not confined to landscapes and
architecture, for interiors and even portraits can be
taken by means of a plain aperture used in place of
a lens. With regard to the photographs them-
selves, they possess a character peculiarly their
own, and the method of production is of the
simplest and most inexpensive nature.
A TELEPHOTOGRAPHIC LENS—THE “ Apon.”
_ Every photographer has experienced, when work-
ing with only one lens, the great drawback he
labours under in photographing many objects,
which, from their distance, become only mere
specks on the negative. True, if he has a good
_ Symmetrical lens he may, by using half of it,
Practically double the focus, and so obtain a larger
image, but this, of course, involves the extra length
of camera extension, which is not always available.
With a telephotographic lens these difficulties to
a large extent vanish, as the instrument places at
the disposal of the operator a means of obtaining a
very considerable range of foci without a corre-
sponding increase of camera extension, so that
within certain limits he can make the subject as
large as he wishes. A power of this kind is of
immense value in photographing distant objects,
architectural details, &c., as it enables images of
different sizes to be obtained from the same point,
and greatly magnified as compared with those
obtained in the ordinary way.
In construction the telephoto lens consists of an
ordinary or positive-focus lens system, with a
negative focus-attachment screwed into the end of
a tube at the back, the distance between the com-
ponent systems being adjustable, and by the
alteration of this the focus may be lengthened and
the image magnified to an extent only limited by
the degree of the camera extension. In order to
meet more generally the requirements of the large
number of persons who use the folding-pattern
form of hand camera, Messrs. J. H. Dallmeyer
have introduced a form of telephotographic attach-
ment which can be fitted in front of an ordinary
positive lens, and to which they have given the
name of the “ Adon.” This accessory consists of
a positive lens at the front of four and a-halfinches
focal length, and at the back a negative lens of two
and a-quarter inches focus; these are mounted in
aluminium, and by means of a rack and pinion the
distance of separation between the lenses can be
varied, so that when the instrument is used on the
front of a lens, objects at different distances can be
readily focused without any variation in the ex-
tension of the camera. An adaptor is used to
screw on to the front of the camera lens, and when
using the “ Adon” in this position the black
lengthening tube must be removed.
Before attaching the ** Adon” to the camera
lens the latter should be set at its infinity focus, or,
if the ground-glass screen be used, a distant object
should be focused upon it; the ‘“ Adon” is then
screwed into position, and the focus again adjusted
by méans of the rack and pinion, when a well-
illuminated image of about twice the scale given
by the lens without the telephoto attachment will
be obtained. The whole of the plate, however, is
now no longer covered. If it is desired to cover a
larger circle the ‘‘ Adon” must be reduced to its
shortest length by means of the rack and pinion,
and the camera extended until the image is in
focus again; although to obtain the sharpest
definition in this case the iris diaphragm in the
« Adon ” must be reduced in size, and the camera
lens must at all times be used at full aperture, or
the field will be considerably reduced.
If greater magnification than from two to two
and a-half times be desired, the ‘* Adon” must be
used alone, and forms a telephotographic lens com-
plete in itself. With a camera extension of five
inches a quarter-plate would be covered, and the
equivalent focus fourteen and a half inches, the
size of the image obtained would be practically
three times that given with a five-inch lens, and
the intensity aperture f/13. With an extension
290
of ten inches the focal length would be twenty-four
and a-half inches, and the largest aperture f/24,
with a magnification of about five times.
Messrs. Dallmeyer have worked out a camera-
extension table giving particulars of focal lengths
and f/ values for extensions from five to twenty
inches, thereby reducing the practice toits simplest
form. It must, however, be remembered that for
each extension of camera the distance of separa-
tion between the positive and negative lens must
be altered, and this is accomplished by means of
the rack and pinion on the lens mount, and is to be
preferred to any alteration in the camera extension
to suit the separation of the lenses. The intro-
duction of the ‘“‘ Adon” should tend to increase
the number of telephotographic workers, as the
price is so moderate as practically to place it
within the reach of all.
SOME MODIFICATIONS OF THE
TEACHING OF LATIN PROSE.
By H. W. AUDEN, M.A.
Principal of Upper Canada College, Toronto ;
late Assistant-master in Fettes College, Edinburgh.
ii HE gaining of classical scholarships at
Oxford is the aim and object of all English
public-school education.” This was the
definition given by an intelligent foreigner after
a careful investigation of the subject. This may
be true or not: that is a question for headmasters
to decide; but this much is certain, it touches a
spot where reform is needed, a point of view which
calls for alteration. I mean the recognised fact
that in the classical curriculum of a school the
sixth form are the standard, and every item of
method, every book used, every suggestion made,
has to be submitted to the one test, ‘will it be
good for the VIth?” The average public-school
boy is still educated mainly on classical lines, but
of, say, ten boys who learn Latin and Greek for two
years, only about one ever reaches the VIth. Do
we pay enough attention to the wants of this large
majority ; are we careful enough about the prepara-
tion of their mental pabulum ? Classical teaching
may surely, without any sacrifice of efficiency, be
made more humane and more useful for those
victims who are destined for the most part never
to reach the higher paths of scholarship or
literary appreciation. The reform of the Classics
is “in the air ” just at present, but this is not the
place to discuss the question as a whole, but to
attempt to deal with one detail, though an impor-
tant one—Latin prose; and it will be enough
merely to summarise the general lines which
experts tell us classical reform must follow. With
regard to all attempts at improvement of classical
teaching, in view of the fact that nowadays boys
stay for a much shorter time at school than was
usual twenty years ago, and that parents demand
The School World
[ AuGusT,. 1903.
a far larger number of subjects taught and, in the
main, a higher standard of attainment—
(1) “ Modify and limit ” must be the watchword ;
time must be spared, methods must be simplified.
(2) We must get as soon as possible to the end
in view, #.¢., in our case, the knowledge of Latin
language and literature by,—
(3) Methods as truly educative as possible, ʻ.e.,
which develop logical thought, criticism, and
power of independent work, and give a sound basis
of general linguistic study,—
(4) By methods, too, which develop interest and
avoid unmeaning mechanical drill.
(5) Lastly, every boy’s requirements must be
considered, whether he is superannuated in the
lower second or gets a Balliol scholarship from
the VIth.
The ordinary educational apparatus for Latin
teaching in a public school consists of a grammar,
a text-book, a Latin prose-book, and a master
to “hear lessons” out of the books and to dis-
tribute due rewards and penalties. This article
proposes to deal with only one of these factors—
Latin prose—to consider its relative position in the
Latin curriculum and to deal with the problem.
Can we save time and temper in it and get more
out of Latin prose? In other words, can we bring
Latin prose into closer connection with the object
of Latin teaching, whichisthe knowledge of Latin
language and literature, making it a better mental
training and at the same time making it help
towards the appreciation of the subject-matter ?
The average teacher holds, reasonably enough,
that the object of Latin prose is to help towards
a knowledge of the Latin language (especially the
Ciceronian variety of it) and at the same time
teach method and exactitude. In the case, too,
of boys who attain to the higher stages it is an
excellent training in literary style and criticism, but
in the main it is the acquisition of a knowledge of
the idioms and syntax of the language which is
most emphasised in discussing the object of Latin
prose. The present system of Latin prose attains
this object fairly satisfactorily ; it helps towards
a mastery of Ciceronian prose and encourages
method and logical correctness. The question is,
cannot it be made to do more by a modification
which at the same time removes some of the
uninteresting, un-human features of present
methods ? The general principles of these methods
are too well known to need mention, I mean the
principles which are followed in the average
public-school. i
In this system two points are specially note-
worthy.
(1) Little encouragement is given to thought in
the proper sense; there. is no independent work
and criticism, but a great deal of mere mechanical
drill.
(2) There is almost no connection between the
Latin prose and the reading-book ; Latin prose is
not made to help in mastering the contents of the
subject matter of the authors.
It is, I think, pretty well recognised now that
the axiom, “all instruction must centre round and
AUGUST, 1903. ]
The School World
291I
be based on the reading-book,” holds good for
Latin, just as in the teaching of modern languages
“the spoken speech must be the centre of all
instruction ;” yet in England, at least, very little
has been done towards simplifying the com-
plicated system of text-book, grammar, Latin
prose-book. A plain text with short notes, a
painstaking teacher, and a note-book should in
reality suffice.
With regard to the first point—that thought is
not trained sufficiently under the present system—
educational reformers seem hardly to realise the
value of Latin teaching in this respect.
John Stuart Mill says somewhere in his essays,
“The nation which has its work always found for
it loses all power of initiative.” May we not, in
a way, apply this to the modern boy and his
training? It is a common complaint! nowadays
not only amongst teachers, but amongst all em-
ployers of brain-workers, that the modern? boy and
young man has not the power of initiative, the
capability of independent thought and work, which
his father had, or is thought to have had, at his
age. Many causes probably contribute to this, but
surely schoolmasters themselves are to a great
extent responsible. Our system now is that the
master should do everything, the boy nothing ;
where we were content to receive a suggestion
from a master, say, as to Some important point in
history to be followed up, and laboriously to work
it out for ourselves, the modern boy expects, and
gets, a careful résumé of the question dictated to
him by his master. In the same way, we give a
boy a Latin prose-book full of English sentences,
with all the necessary information for their trans-
lation in type before him. The boy’s part of the
business is made as mechanical as possible.
Reform, then, of Latin prose will concern itself
with two points: a fuller appreciation of the
subject matter of the reading-book, and such modi-
cation of methods as will give the maximum
amount of thought-training from Latin prose.
My contention is that, by substituting a system
of “ précis-prose” from the earliest stages, i.e.,
the writing of plain logical abstracts® of any
literary unit (¢.g., an event, a speech, a character),
in sound but simple Latin, adopting the vocabu-
lary of the original, not only is a method employed
which is easier, more interesting, more natural
than the present, but the pupil is helped really to
grasp and appreciate the subject matter of the
author he is reading, whilst the mental discipline
of a thoughtful, logical précis-work, training the
pupil to concentrate his thoughts and stimulating
him to independent activity and criticism, is added
to the ordinary curriculum of Latin teaching.
Thus Latin prose may be made to secure three
educational points, whereas it now usually attains
a Ci st
1 Cf. Prof. Armstrong’s speech at the British Association, vide THE
Schoo. WorLp for September, 1901.
* Perhaps rather “the modern English boy.” Since writing this I have
made the acquaintance of 300 Canadian school-boys, and, unless I am much
mistaken, these remarks about lack of initiative [du not apply to them;
they are more hardworking, self-reliant and more interested in things in
general than the average English public-school boy.
For details of methods wide infra.
only one—the acquisition of a knowledge of Latin
vocabulary and idioms.
The value of frécis-work in any language as
a means of education has only received a moderate
recognition. What is meant is not only précis-work
in the narrow, government-office sense, but also
the training of the faculties to make a logical
summary of anything, to work out the meaning
of a given passage, to seize on the salient points,
and then write down the result in concise, vigorous
sentences—this' surely is education in every sense
of the term.
“ But,” asks the sceptic, who is never absent
from the master’s common-room, “ will it work ?”
The answer to this is that it does work, and is
practicable; many masters employ a sort of
modified variety of the method and speak well of
it. It may also be mentioned that in Germany,
where the reduced number of hours given to
classics has led to greater efficiency of teaching,
the system is strictly adhered to with good results ;!
but that is an argument of only moderate value,
as English boys and German boys are not of the
same species, for, roughly speaking, the German
boy wants to learn, the English boy does not.
It remains to consider the practical details of
working in the various forms.
Lower Scuoot. (Forms I. to III.)\—As men-
tioned above, the object here will be to use Latin
prose in such a way as to make boys think, to
ensure a knowledge of the contents of the book
they are reading, and to acquire by thought-
compelling methods an acquaintance with the
structure and usages of the Latin language. This
enforcing and bringing home a knowledge of
accidence and elementary syntax lies outside the
compass of this sketch, the growing belief in
inductive methods having placed this part of
elementary Latin teaching on a satisfactory basis.
It is the first consideration with which we are
concerned, “ How can a boy be taught to grasp
the thought of what he reads? how far can a
system of précis-prose be applied to the lowest
forms of aschool?’’ If a boy is really to understand
what he reads, his work must be divided into units
of some sort, some central points must be found
on which he can concentrate his mind, in order
that he may get a well-defined picture in his head.
At first a-small boy, when asked to make anything
like a summary, or even to collect from what he
has read any words which apply to any one
central idea, will shew up a blank sheet simply
because he does not know how to tackle the
difficulty. The master must help him in the right
way, and map out blank schemes or headings,?
according to the subject with which he is dealing
and the capacity of the learner; he must divide
the work into units and frequently summarise their
contents.
Suppose, then, a simple narrative unit translated
and mastered, the class can be asked to write
1 Cf. “ Dettweiler, Lateinische Unterricht,” pp. 169-177.
2N.B.—A master should afvays make the exercises for a low form
himself.
ieee
answers, in Latin, to questions framed in some
such way as this :—
(1) What is the extract about in general?
(2) Who is the chief actor ?
(3) What did he do?
(4) Why did he do it? the real reason, the pretext.
(5) How did he do it? The occurrence, (a) beginning, (8)
middle, (y) end.
(6) What other people are mentioned ?
(7) What places?
agriculture).
Their character.
Their description (scenery, animals,
For larger summaries :—
(8) Any great personality ; (a) origin, (4) exploits, in (i) peace,
(ii) war, (c) characteristics and judgment of others on him.
(9) Nations, character in (i) peace, (ii) war, their weapons,
methods of fighting, &c.
As an example of (8) from Nepos.: (a) Themistocles,
Atheniensis, generosus, liberius vivebat, postremo summa
industria.
(¿) In war: classis centum navium, bellum Aegineticum ;
tolidem triremes, pugna Salaminia. In peace: triplex Piret
portus, muri, testularum suffragiis e civitale eiectus; Argos,
Corcyra, Molosst, Ephesus, Magnesia.
(c) Totum se dedidit rei publicae, callidissimus peritissimos
belli navalis fecit Athenienses, universae Graeciae saluti fuit,
Europe succubuit Asta.
Similar simple schemes or headings can be
easily drawn up based on any of these central
points, and boys be thus led on gradually to more
independent work. At first the grammatical con-
nection of sentences need not be insisted upon, the
words of the text being merely written down
under the various headings. For the development
of tbought the arrangement of anything in
categories is valuable, and even in the lowest
forms the power of criticism can be strengthened
by encouraging comparison, e.g, of the characters of
Miltiades and Themistocles, and discussion of
what is typical, e.g., Cæsar as type of a great
general, &c.
Mipp_e Forms.—Here the same principles can
be followed, but more allowance can be made for
individual activity, and more exactitude can be
demanded. Detailed schemes and headings can
gradually be dropped, though of course a certain
amount of guidance will be still necessary. What
is wanted at first is to teach boys how to make an
abstract, how really to grasp the sense whilst
reading their author; in this connection the
system adopted in some editions of printing in
spaced type the emphatic words and ‘ topic-
sentences ” is of very considerable value.
HicHerR Forms.—In these a much higher
standard of précis-prose can be reached, larger
units dealt with, eg., a whole speech of Cicero,
more attention paid to idiomatic phraseology, &c.
In fact, the old-fashioned Latin : essay can be
revived in a modified form, the subjects being
points of Roman history, antiquities and criticism,
and always chosen from the book that is being
1 C/. Dettweiler, of. cit., p. 166.
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
read. These subjects can easily be found: to
take some from authors commonly read :—
Cicero pro Lege AJanilia. Influence of Mithradatic wars on
Roman private life. The blood-suckers of the Roman pro-
vinces (fropratores, publicani, feneratores, negotiatores).
Political parties in Rome in Cicero’s day.
Zn Catilinam. Catiline’s life and character.
incident. Catiline’s party—how composed.
according to Cicero.
Livy.—Hanno’s speech. Causes of defeat at Trasimene.
Comparison of Scipio’s and Hannibal’s speeches before the
battle of Ticinus.
Cicero pro Archia.—Roman citizenship ; its value. Cicero’s
criticism of the Greek language. ~
The Allobroges
Catiline’s plans
These are only a few out of the many subjects
that will suggest themselves during the reading of
an author, and the list can of course be amplified
to almost any extent.
It is the manifest duty of those interested in
the Classics, whether from the bread-and-butter
point of view or otherwise, to take the various
units of classical teaching and by mutual discussion
and co-operation strive to set right what is amiss.
Is there anything amiss with our methods of
teaching one of the most important branches of
the Classics—Latin prose? If there is, discussion
may point out the way towards improvement ; if
there is not, discussion and the combined evidence
of experts may, at any rate, serve to help those who
doubt to a conviction that their misgivings on
that score are unfounded.
SOME TYPES OF PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT.
By Cecil Hawkins, M.A.
Haileybury College.
HE scheme of growth and type of develop-
ment of individual boys may be easily
studied by means of the system of grades
of height, weight and chest-girth mentioned in THE
ScHooL Wor tp of last November, p. 431. If we
take a sheet of paper ruled in squares, and number
the horizontal spaces to represent the various
grades, and the vertical spaces to represent the
quarter years of age, for the period under examina-
tion, it is quite easy to mark the position of a boy’s
grade of height upon the paper at each age at
which his height has been observed. By joining
the successive points obtained we get a graph
which indicates correctly his relative position at
each age, and records his general scheme of
growth and any fluctuations or marked changes
in his rate of development. The horizontal line
between the tenth and eleventh grade denotes the
scheme of growth of the average boy. Any graph
which runs parallel to this denotes that the boy
represented is making exactly the correct growth
AUGUST, 1903. ]
to maintain his relative position amongst his
fellows. It rarely happens, however, that this is
exactly maintained for many consecutive years.
Precisely similar graphs can be constructed for
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The figures on the left refer ta pide, 1 is the highest grade, 20 the lowest.
W weight graphs, CC chest-girth graphs.
weight and girth of chest. By drawing these on
the same form, preferably in different coloured
inks, we are enabled to see at a glance the boy's
type of development, and to note at once any
improvement or deterioration of type which may
accompany fluctuations in his scheme of growth.
In Fig. I. the dotted lines denote a marked
example of the tall weedy type, HH being the
graph for height, WW that for weight, CC that
The School World
_ 793
for chest-girth of the same boy. The deterioration
of type at the age of 17} is partly explained by
_ the entry on his record ‘‘three months absent
=
HH are height graphs,
—influenza;’’ but the graphs show that this
deterioration began a year and
a-half before this entry was made.
The continuous lines in Fig. 1
are the corresponding graphs for
a boy of the short sturdy type.
They record that as develop-
ment went on the type became
exaggerated.
As a rule, the type remains
fairly fixed throughout a boy’s
growth, the graphs rising or
falling together, as in the second
half of Fig. II. In the first half
the record shows that the boy
represented had a very badly
developed chest when he first
went to school, which improved
rapidly until the chest graph took
up its normal position in the
scheme of growth. Such cases
are not uncommon, but proper
attention to the physical train-
ing of young boys ought surely
to reduce their number very
considerably.
Fig. III.is an interesting record
showing considerable deteriora-
tion of type, which accompanies,
and to some extent precedes,
very rapid growth in height,
subsequent to a short period of
arrested development.
Marked fluctuations in the
height graph are generally ac-
companied by corresponding
fluctuations in the other graphs,
but the corresponding fluctua-
tions do not always synchronise
exactly. Fig. IV. is a good ex-
ample of this.
In this graph the lowest points
in the weight graph are deter-
mined by measurements made
in the month of March. Weakly
boys are very apt to show arrest
of development in that month,
due either to illness or to the fact
that the struggle for existence
is keenest during the wintry
months of the year. In order
to determine to what extent
this arrest of development is a general feature, I
examined more than 500 complete yearly records
in which measurements were noted every March,
June and October, or November. The result of
this examination is shown in the following table,
in which the figures denote the percentage, who
reached a higher grade, remained in the same
grade, or dropped to a lower grade in each of the
three intervals stated.
=
awe S
;
kal
294
IN HEIGHT.
March to oo to October to
June. ctober, March.
Improved ... 25°4 33°71 14°2
Made Normal ; ;
Increase ae 53 o 45 7 47°3
Deteriorated 21°6 21‘2 38°6
IN WEIGHT.
March to gins to October to
June. ctober. March.
Improved ... 33°5 35°9 24°4
Made Normal . : :
Increase hd 41'2 41°6 37°6
Deteriorated 25°4 22°7 38°0
These figures seem to indicate that the tendency
of the rate of growth to decrease during the winter
months, and increase during the summer, is well
marked, but that such variation is very far from
being the general rule.
From the records of individuals we can obtain
typical schemes of growth, and types of develop-
ment, for any class whose physical attributes
we wish to examine. To do this we need only
pick out the records of individuals belonging to
that class, and strike an average. Such typical
schemes will have the minor irregularities elimi-
nated; but the general physical features of the
class, and typical peculiarities of its scheme of
growth, will be faithfully reproduced.
The continuous graphs in Fig. V. give such a
typical scheme for the winners of the champion
cup at the athletic sports in a large English public
school, a class of athletes who must be possessed
of very great activity and endurance. We are
struck at once by the regularity and height of the
weight graph. This is probably about one grade
higher than it ought to be, owing to the method of
measurement adopted at the school in question,
but, after all, allowance is made for this, the fact
remains that our typical athlete is heavy for his
height, with well-developed chest. This pecu-
liarity of figure is less noticeable at the age of
fourteen; but the graphs of weight and chest-
girth keep up, while the height graph steadily
declines, until at the age of nineteen, when his
athletic successes are probably obtained, we find
him but one and three-quarter grades above the
mean in height, and more than five grades above
it in weight and chest-girth. This result was so
unexpected by me that I thought I must have
been led astray by an insufhcient number of
observations, the number of athletic champions
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
available being only seventeen. To test this I
combined with the athletic champions a number
of members of the cricket eleven and foot-ball
fifteen, bringing the numbers of athletes whose
schemes were examined up to fifty. The result,
appears; in the dotted graphs of the same figure
and is markedly similar, though the decline in the -
height graph is more gradual and continuous.
The number of cases examined is still small; but
the regularity of the curves, and the marked
resemblance of the two schemes, seem to point to
the type which they represent as being fairly
correct. For various reasons we are much less
likely to be led into error by taking the average
grade than we should be in taking the average
measurement of the same number of boys, and I
do not think that the inclusion of a larger number
of all-round athletes would lead to any great
change in this typical scheme. The scheme
teaches us that the highest physical type is not,
as some writers contend, the perfect symmetry
which the mean boy is assumed by them to
possess, but a type slightly above the mean in
height and considerably above it in weight and -
girth of chest.
The third set of graphs in Fig.V. (denoted-—-—.-)
is a typical scheme of development for gymnasts,
derived from the schemes of twenty-five members
of the Gymnasium VIII. The type shown is
what one would expect, below the mean in height, |
but a good deal above it in weight and chest-girth. `
The graphs in weight and chest-girth show a con-
siderable rise up to the age of sixteen, after which
they remain fairly steady. The height graph does
not show the same decided drop as it does in the
scheme of the earlier-developed, all-round athlete.
This fact is an additional argument against the
commonly accepted theory that gyninastics stunt
the growth, and the typical graph supports the
contention, which I have maintained elsewhere,
that good gymnasts are generally short because -
this enables them to be good at gymnastics, and _
not because gymnastics makes them so.
Fig. VI. is a typical scheme of development for
exhibitioners to the Universities from the same
schcol, a school which has a reputation for
industry second to none. The type is a good one,
height two grades to one and a-half above the
mean, good development in weight and chest-girth.
We look in vain for the narrow-chested, ill-
developed type popularly associated with the
name of scholar. Of the sixty individuals ex-
amined, practically all are junior or foundation
scholars of the school, and scholars of Oxford or
Cambridge colleges. I was quite prepared to find
evidence of arrested development at the various
ages at which special pressure of work would be
put on in order to secure junior or senior scholar-
ships, open scholarships at the University, and
exhibitions from the school. These ages would be
nearly the same for all, so that any general ten-
dency to suffer from over-pressure must make its
mark upon the graphs. In these circumstances,
the story told by the graphs is a very satisfactory
one.
The
AUGUST, 1903. ]
LONDON UNIVERSITY IN RELATION
.TO SCHOOLS.!
By T. Witppowson, M.A.
N its broad features, as outlined by Sir A.
Ricker in his * Report on the work of London
University for the year 1902-3,” the scheme
for Inspection of Schools and School-leaving
Certificates makes a great advance towards a
closer connection between the work of the uni-
versities and that of secondary schools, which
should act to the advantage of both. The School-
leaving Certificate is not a new idea, but the
combination of this with inspection and examina-
tion by the University is an attempt to bring
higher education into direct touch with secondary,
which should have very beneficial results.
How long shall we have to wait for the time
when the universities and schools will become
united in their aims? When the School-leaving
Certificate will stand in the place of the various
examinations which at present are recognised in-
stead of Matriculation, Little-Go, Responsions, or
the Preliminary Examinations of the various
Professional Bodies? When, in fact, the top of
the ladder in secondary education és (not may be)
the first rung in the ladder of higher education.
The incentive, which a sensible and thorough
examination for a Leaving Certificate (made com-
pulsory for all who wish to enter the universities or
the learned professions) would give to the pupils
in our secondary schools, would be an immense aid
not only to those engaged in teaching the upper
forms, but right through the school.
We gladly recognise in the scheme of the
London University a long step towards the realisa-
tion of this end. The examination for the Certif-
cate is to be taken as a whole; there will not bea
chance of cramming up one or two subjects, passing
in them and forgetting all about them, while the
others are treated in the same way.
The examiners as at present appointed are men
who have been engaged in teaching in secondary
schools, and the papers will be set so as to suit
the aims of the authorities of the schools examined.
All this is in the right direction, but a still further
step towards the compulsory Leaving Certificate
would be the recognition by London University of
the certificates of other universities as equivalent
for a pass in its Matriculation Examination.
In its desire to get into closer touch with
secondary schools, the university has not confined
itself to the Leaving Certificate, but has developed
a broad scheme of inspection and examination.
This inspection, to quote from the report, ‘ will
include an enquiry into the aims of the school, a
consideration of its curriculum as adapted to those
aims, an Inspection of the school buildings and
fittings, and of the teaching staff as tested by an
1 Portion of the Report of the Principal of London University dealing
with the Relation of the University to Schools.
Report of the Education Sub-Committee of the Incorporated Association
of Assistant-Masters on the Scheme of the London University for the
[Inspection of Schools and School-leaving Certificate Examinations.
School World
295
inspection of the classes at work.” It is not clear
whether such inspection of the school buildings
and fittings would include the arrangements made
for the convenience of the teaching staff, or the
review of school libraries, where such exist; but if
it did there is no doubt that it would have an
excellent result. The teaching power of a master
would not be diminished by proper accommoda-
tion, and the help which more advanced scholars
would derive from even a small reference library,
the expense of which is obviously beyond the
means of most parents, would certainly make it
worthy of being included among the other fittings
of a school.
After the inspection and examination would
naturally follow the report, and it is in this that
we consider the university has its great chance of
assisting the work of secondary education.
Obviously the report should be open for the in-
spection of all the school staff, so that each member
may see what in his methods of work calls for
improvement and what is considered satisfactory.
If the inspectors are really qualified to do their
work they ought to be able, from their knowledge
of different schools and different methods of teach-
ing, to give many valuable hints to those whose
work they inspect, and it would certainly tend to
help this end if inspectors and teachers were able
to exchange views on their aims and objects. The
stimulating effect which a careful report on their
work in school would have on all teachers who are
really proud of their calling, and desire to do their
best for those under their care, would certainly not
be diminished if they knew it to have been drawn
up by one who was nota mere doctrinaire, but who
was actuated by the same aims and objects as
themselves, and with whom they knew that they
could have an interchange of views.
As the university has been recognised by the
Government as an authority for the inspection of
schools, the qualifications of the inspectors are of
the greatest importance, because on them will
depend the success of the scheme. Should those
who have been, or will be appointed, be chosen
solely on their reputation for scholarship, or
because they have some particular educational
craze which makes their name celebrated, then
the value of their reports to most teachers will be
seriously diminished.
We are pleased to see that the university has
not appointed as examiners either professors or
faddists, but that ‘‘all those so far appointed have
themselves been schoolmasters.”
In adding to the list we trust that the university
will appoint those only who have had considerable
teaching experience in secondary schools; that a
certain proportion may be men of varied attain-
ments and not specialists in some particular branch
of knowledge; and some may be men who are
actually engaged in teaching in secondary schools.
It is possible that some teachers might object to
their forms being inspected by one who is an
assistant-master at another school. Surely they
should feel that one who is engaged in the same
work as themselves, whose difficulties resemble
296
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
theirs, whose objects, aims, and enthusiasms are
directed towards the same goal as their own, is at
least as well fitted to inspect their form work as
one whose experience is either of the past, or if of
the present, then it is no longer subject tothe same
conditions as regards the difficulties of discipline,
obedience, and teaching as their own.
THE TEACHERS’ GUILD.
HE Teachers’ Guild of Great Britain and
Ireland took its origin, in the year 1883, from
the strong conviction expressed in a small
gathering of headmistresses and others, who had
met together for a different object, that some
association was required which would enable
teachers to enter into corporate union as members
of the same profession, with special reference to the
making of some provision for old age. Among these
prime movers were the late Frances Mary Buss and
Miss Selina Hadland, then Headmistress of Milton
Mount College, Gravesend. The first members
were enrolled in the latter half of that year, and
Miss Hadland undertook the difficult task of the
earliest organisation with great energy and ability
as Hon. Secretary. In a very short while, the
original idea expanded, and, at the time of the
incorporation of the Guild, on May rsth, 1885, its
objects were expressed in the Articles of Associa-
tion under eleven heads, which have since been
officially summarised as follows :—
(1) To form a body which shall be thoroughly
representative of all grades of teachers, and shall
be able to speak with knowledge and authority on
all matters of education.
(2) To obtain for the whole body of teachers
the status and authority of a learned profession.
(3) To enable teachers, by union and co-opera-
tion, to make a better provision for sickness and
old age; and, by the same means, to do all such
other lawful things as may conduce to their own
welfare and the benefit of the public.
The constitution of the Guild provided for the
formation of an original or central body and of
local guilds or branches to be affliated to it. In
the year 1884 the first branch at Cheltenham was
formed, to be followed shortly by a branch at
Brighton. Branches have also been established
in several other important centres, as Dublin,
Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Norwich, Oxford,
Shrewsbury, and Aberystwyth, also in the colonies
of Natal and South Australia. The present number
of branches is twenty-eight, of which one, in North
Wales, has two centres, at Bangor and at Colwyn
Kay. Two independent bodies of teachers, the
Birmingham Teachers’ Association and the Friends’
Guild of Teachers, have also entered into definite
“alliances” with the Guild. . The present nu-
merical strength of the Guild is about 3,820, of
which 1,443 represents the Central Guild.
The minimum annual subscription in the Central
Guild is 6s. 6d. (for London members 7s. 6d.);
branches fix the amount of their members’ sub-
scription, but have to contribute 2s. 6d. per mem-
a ial in contribution-payment to the General
und.
The official organ of the Guild is The Teachers’
Guild Quarterly, but reports of its proceedings
appear also quarterly in The Journal of Education.
Under the revised constitution of 1892, rendered
necessary by the multiplication of the branches,
the Council of the Guild is composed of twenty
general members, elected by the whole Guild in
annual general meeting, and of representatives of
the Central Guild, and such branches as have a
membership of not less than fifty. The total
number of Members of Council is at present forty-
seven.
Though the constitution makes no provision for
a president, the Guild has appointed such an officer
annually from the year 1890. Many distinguished
persons have filled this office, including Prof. S. S.
Laurie; the Rev. T. W. Sharpe; Mr. Arthur
Sidgwick; the President of Magdalen College,
Oxford; Sir Joshua Fitch; Sir Richard Jebb;
Mr. James Stuart; Sir Isambard Owen; Mr.
James Bryce; the Master of Trinity, Cambridge ;
Dr. S. H. Butcher; Mr. Arthur Acland; and the
President for 1903-04, Sir Oliver Lodge, whose por-
trait is given on the next page. The Guild has had
only three Chairmen of Council in the twenty years
of its existence, viz., the present Bishop of
Hereford, till 1890; the late Rev. Dr. Thomas
Morse, 1890-92, after four years of vice-chairman-
ship; and Canon Edward Lyttelton, 1892-1903.
At present the chairmanship is vacant, as, after
eleven years of office, Canon Lyttelton’s other
public engagements have compelled him to retire.
The chief work with which the Guild has been
identified throughout the period of its existence has
been the effort to obtain a satisfactory Register of
Teachers, as the basis of a true teaching profession,
and the agitation for an intelligent organisation of
secondary education, with the consequent co-ordi-
nation of primary with secondary education. The
task of directing this, the more public part of its
work, has been entrusted to the Political Com-
mittee, though another equally important com-
mittee, the Education and Library Committee, has
had to deal with some of its aspects. Eight other
standing committees carry on the other activities
of the Guild.
As is implied in the official summary of objects,
the Guild admits to membership teachers, men
and women, in all types of schools in the United
Kingdom and in the Empire, and private teachers,
and this fact must always be remembered when its
policy under any head is examined. It will explain,
among other things, how it is that at one time it is
engaged in co-operation with the National Union
of Teachers and the Educational Institute of
Scotland drafting a Bill for the Registration of
Teachers, and, at another, it is making joint re-
presentations with the College of Preceptors and the
Private Schools Association on the subject of the
organisation of secondary education.
AUGUST, 1903. ]
On the registration question the Guild has, from
the first, stood out for (1) a single comprehensive
register for all school teachers, and (2) a profes-
sional qualification of some kind as a necessary
condition of registration, and not as an alternative
to a purely academic certificate of attainments. It
pressed both these points before the Select Com-
mittee of the House of Commons on Registration
in 1891, and there is no doubt that its efforts have
largely helped to secure the establishment of
these essential conditions of a real Profession of
Teachers. In two main respects the Guild still
hopes to improve the Register: (1) by the aboli-
tion of Columns A and B, emphasising, as it is
Photo.)
[Elliott and Fry.
Str OLIVER Looce, F.R.S.,
Principal of the University of Pirmin bam President of the Teachers’
ulld.
held, undesirably, the distinction between primary
and secondary school teachers, and making the
passage of the primary school teacher into the
secondary school difficult; (2) by enabling efficient
existing teachers who have no academic qualifica-
tions, of whom there are a large number, especially
among women teachers, to be entered on the Register
before the more rigorous conditions of registration
come into force, in the year 1906. The amend-
ment to the Registration Order, published in July,
which admits efficient teachers of not less than ten
years’ standing to the Register, does much to meet
the views of the Guild under this head.
The Guild took up the question of the organisa-
tion of secondary education as far back as the year
1888, when all members were consulted as to the
No. 56, VoL. 5.]
The School World
297
main points at issue, in view of a ‘ possible organi-
sation of secondary education by the State.” The
answers to the questions put showed a remarkable
consensus of opinion on the main issues, and
enabled the Council to take action with the con-
fidence that it was supported by members. Ever
since that date the aim of the Guild, under this
head, has been to decentralise control and to unify
authority, and the resolutions of the General Con-
ference at Brighton in 1go1, passed by delegates
instructed by the Central Guild and branches,
have been almost entirely incorporated in the
Education Act of 1902. The efficiency of this
branch of the work of the Guild has been very
largely due to the help rendered by its late Chair-
man, whose position on the Bryce Commission, on
the Consultative Committee of the Board of
Education, and on the Headmasters’ Conference,
enabled him to keep the Council at all points in
touch with practical possibilities, while sacrificing
little or nothing of its main ideals.
It is impossible within our present limits to give
even a sketch of the work done by the Guild in
pursuance of its main objects during the past
twenty years. It has been continuous and consis-
tent; much attention has been given to such ques-
tions as the training of teachers, examinations,
leaving certificates, and the right order and relation
of school subjects in connection with educational
values, and the claims of women to their full share
in the control of education have been persistently
advanced. A complete set of the Annual Reports
of the Guild was among the exhibits selected from
the Educational Exhibition at the Imperial Institute
for the Education Section of the last Paris Ex-
position, because it showed clearly what subjects
had been to the front in the minds of teachers for
some sixteen years, and how they had been re-
garded by a composite and representative body of
teachers.
To pass to the other developments of the Guild,
which render it of practical service to the indi-
vidual teacher. Foremost among these stands the
library. This is composed of some 8,000 volumes,
and its special value lies in its collection of works
on the History, Theory, and Practice of Educa-
tion, which includes the pedagogic library of the
late R. H. Quick. There is also a large number
of schoolbooks.
The Guild brings its members together for the
expression of its collective opinion on points of
national importance in general conferences and in
congresses of delegates, and for interchange of
views on educational questions in numerous
meetings in the Central Guild, and in the branches,
taking care that professional questions shall
always form the main portion of their annual
programmes. Of special value in all such meetings
is the mutual influence of the views of primary
and secondary, and of public and private school
teachers.
The Guild gives legal and professional advice,
free of charge, to its members on matters connected
with their professional position. The committee
which controls this branch of work contains two
AA
The
solicitors and two barristers in practice. A pam-
phiet of legal and professionai advice is in active
preparation.
{ The book of holiday resorts and recommended
addresses has reached its twentieth year of issue,
and is given annually to all members. Ample
guarantees of the quality of houses and house-
holders are supplied by the regulations under
which the editions are prepared. A limited num-
ber of copies of the book are sold at the price of Is.
to non-members.
Holiday courses for English teachers in France
and Spain are organised annually by the Guild,
and are largely attended. The centres in 1go2 and
this year are Tours, Honfleur, and Santander.
An endeavour is being made to organise similar
courses in England for foreigners in 1904, as there
is evidence of a considerable demand for them.
Members are advised on all matters con-
nected with insurance and investment, and receive
substantial rebates on the premiums paid on insur-
ances. A pamphlet, “ Helps to Self-Help for
Teachers by Insurance and Investment through
the Teachers’ Guild ” (price 3d.), has been recently
issued. It contains much information on these
subjects.
A Benevolent Fund has been started, and now
amounts to a little more than £400. Several
grants have been made from the fund to mem-
bers in cases of temporary need or break-down.
The Guild has a Bureau of Information which
supplies members, free of charge, with particulars
of all kinds that are proved to be required by
teachers, in connection with examinations, profes-
sional preparation, facilities for study, and so on.
It also takes part in the management of the
two professional joint agencies for assistant-masters,
and for women teachers.
The educational museum, though small, con-
tains much that is of value to teachers, in the sec-
tions of history, geography, and classified school-
books. It is a specimen museum, without dupli-
cates for lending, but an attempt is being made to
form a loan collection of geography and history
portfolios to circulate among schools
Standing out prominently above all activities of
the Guild is the feature which gives it its special
character—its catholicity. It is the only associa-
tion of teachers which to any extent represents
the teaching profession as a whole, apart from the
bias of any particular section or type of school.
This special character of the whole body is repeated
in all its component units, and it is the aim of the
Council to make each of such units a local force
within its own area, watching and impressing with
expert opinion such authorities as are locally
responsible for education of all kinds. The charge
of idealism has been brought against the Guild
from time to time. If there is any reproach in
such a charge, it is contained in the implication
that the Guild is not sufficiently in touch with the
vital problems of education. The recognition of the
practical usefulness of the Guild by the State is an
answer to any such charge, as was shown by the
appointment of the Chairman of the Council toa
School \ World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
——»
seat on the Bryce Commission, and of the present
Vice-Chairman, Mr. Storr, as one of the six repre-
sentatives of teachers’ associations on the first
Teachers’ Registration Council. Several members
of the Council were also put on the Consultative
Committee of the Board of Education. The Guild
is to this extent touched with idealism, that it was
started at a time when teachers had taken but few
steps to form or to formulate definite opinions on
educational questions, and was intended, partly, to
create rather than to meet a want. One of its main
initial objects was to lead teachers to qualify them-
selves to become members of a learned profession
(hence its constant insistence on training for ail
school teachers), and much of its early work con-
sisted in imbuing its members with the true pro-
fessional spirit. So soon as that spirit was roused,
the Guild became as practical as any of the other
associations of teachers which enjoyed the advan-
tage of the pioneer work of the Guild, in its
endeavours to shape legislation, and to bring expert
opinion to bear on all educational problems. But
in all its work it has always striven, and by its very
composition has been compelled to strive, to give
expression to the abstract professional voice of
the teacher gud teacher, apart from his special posi-
tion in the profession.
THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS FOR
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
T is characteristic of the energy of the new
Secretary for Primary Education that, amid
the stress of administrative and consultative
work consequent on the passing of the Education
Act of 1902, he has found time to appoint a Com-
mittee on the pupil-teacher question, to hold con-
ferences with those concerned in the training of
pupil-teachers, and to issue these Regulations.
The system was ripe for reform, and, among pre-
sent problems in English education, no question
is more urgent than that of the supply and train-
ing of primary teachers. As Mr. Morant writes
in the Prefatory Memorandum: ‘It cannot be
denied: that a considerable proportion of the many
millions of public money now spent annually in our
elementary schools fails to produce an adequate
return, owing partly to the insufficient training
received by many of the teachers, and partly to
the excessive employment of juvenile teachers,
who must of necessity be imperfectly educated.”
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRE SYSTEM.
Thirty years ago the boy or girl apprenticed to
the managers of an elementary school with a view
to become a certificated teacher was taught by
the master or mistress the rudimentary knowledge
needed for the annual examination. This instruc-
tion was given out of school hours—in the early
morning, in the midday recess, or after afternoon
school. The writer had to rise at 5.30 each morn-
1 “ Regulations for the Instruction and Training of Pupil-Teachers and
Students in Training Colleges.” (Eyre and Spottiswoode), 1903. 2}d.
AUGUST, 1903. |
ing, snatch an early breakfast, catch the 6.10
train, walk a mile to the headmaster’s house, and
receive instruction till 8. Then there was a second
breakfast in school, full charge of a large class
from g till 4.30, and a two-mile journey home.
The evening was consumed in preparation of work
for the next morning’s instruction and the next
day's teaching, in attendance at science and art
classes, and what was left in recreation.
As an improvement on this _ heart-breaking
system, central classes were formed, at which all
the pupil-teachers from a group of schools were
collectively instructed, either before or after
school, each master taking the subject most con-
genial to him. Finally, in the large towns,
schools were established for the whole of the
pupil teachers in the employ of the school board.
These schools, the ‘ pupil-teachers’ centres,”
gradually enlarged the scope of their work as the
school boards gradually improved the conditions
of the pupil-teachers’ service. At present all the
most able pupil-teachers matriculate, many pass
the intermediate examinations, and a few have
graduated directly from the pupil-teachers’ centres.
But in the rural schools the system of thirty
years ago is still in force, except that by Govern-
ment regulation not more than twenty hours
weekly are spent in teaching. Sporadic efforts
have been made to better the lot of the rural
pupil-teacher by holding Saturday classes, and in
some cases by part-time attendance at secondary
schools, but generally speaking nothing has been
done. It is in the rural areas, therefore, that
the new regulations will effect the most sweeping
reforms.
THE PREPARATION FOR PuPIL-TEACHERSHIP.
At present, the pupil-teachers’ centre provides a
four-years’ course of instruction, on a half-time
basis, as a rule: the chief change introduced by
the new Regulations is that the first two years
must be spent in full-time instruction in a secon-
dary or higher elementary school. Where no
centre existed, one must be established; and in
all, about 10,000 new pupils per annum will need
to be provided for. They will come mainly from
elementary schools; the girls, almost all over the
country, and the boys in the rural districts at
least, will be their most intelligent and capable
scholars. The chief defect of the pupil-teachers’
centres 1s said to be the gathering together of
young people who have come directly from the
elementary school and will return to the elementary
school, and whose experience is therefore narrow.
This defect should now be removed. The chief
merit of the pupil-teachers’ centres is that they
have always remembered that teachers are being
instructed, and have made the instruction take the
form of demonstrations of method. On the
teachers who have charge of the work in the
future a considerable responsibility will rest in this
respect.
Under the new Regulations, the boy or girl
who wishes to become an elementary teacher
must at the age of twelve, or not later than four-
_ The School World
299 _
teen, enter a secondary or higher elementary
school, remaining there until he is sixteen. It 1s
specially desired by the Board of Education that
he shall take the ordinary school course, shall take
part in the corporate life of the school, and bene-
fit by association with pupils who are to follow
callings other than that of teaching. He will, of
course, earn the ordinary grants as set out in the
South Kensington regulations, and it is intended
that his fees shall be paid, and a maintenance bur.
sary provided, if necessary, by the local authority
he is afterwards to serve. It is highly desirable
that he shall follow the curriculum of a “B”
school, since the ‘‘A”’ course would be altogether
too. scientific; and education authorities should
require a stamped agreement with his guardian to
prevent abuse of the free education provided.
In the absence of a suitable secondary or higher
elementary school, a preparatory class will be
formed at a pupil-teachers’ centre. Here the
entrance age will be fourteen, the class will attend
full time, and a grant of 40s. per head per year
will be paid. A declaration must be made that
the entrant intends to become a pupil teacher, and
the authority should have this stamped.
Before leaving the secondary school or prepara-
tory class, the future teacher must pass an exami-
nation, either (a) one of those specified in Sche-
dule Ia., or (b) the Collective Examination of
the Board of Education described in Schedule
Il., or (c) an examination conducted by the local
education authority.
THe Pupit TEACHERSHIP.
On reaching the age of 16, any boy or girl who
has passed one of these examinations may become
a pupil teacher and commence his technical train-
ing. An indenture signed (1) on behalf of the
local authority, (2) by the pupil teacher, and (3)
by his guardian, will bind him for two years in
the following particulars. He shall serve in school
under the head teacher not more than five hours
in any one day, nor more than twenty hours in any
one week, and he must attend not less than 100
nor more than 200 school meetings per year. He
shall receive instruction at a pupil-teachers’ centre
at least five hours weekly.
A pupil-teachers’ centre may be an independent
school, or attached to a secondary or higher ele-
mentary school. In the larger towns considerable.
sums have already been spent in founding and
equipping centres, which take rank with the other
secondary schools. ‘Their work has been, on the
whole, successful, and it is unlikely that local
authorities will change this arrangement. But
in the rural districts and small towns the County
Councils will have to look to the grammar and
technical schools to undertake this work. To
some extent a separate organisation will be neces-
sary, since the pupil teachers will spend but half
their time in the centres.
The curriculum must include reading and reci-
tation, voice production (an excellent innovation,
in view of the large classes of elementary schools),
physical exercises, music, drawing, natural science,
with needlework for girls. The elementary
teacher is probably the best plain needlewoman
in England, and much importance is attached by
the Board of Education to this subject. Where
the centre is in organic connection with a secon-
dary school, proper provision must be made for
correlating the instruction. Even where there is
no direct connection, a conference between the
heads of the secondary schools responsible for the
first two years’ training, and of the centre responsi-
ble for the last two, should be held to ensure
correlation.
An annual grant of £3 will be paid on behalf of
each pupil-teacher who has attended the centre at
least 150 times, and been concurrently trained at
an elementary school. In addition, any science
and art grants earned at the centre during next
session will be paid, but after August, 1904, it is
intended to pay an amalgamated grant for the
whole instruction of the pupil teacher. It is said
that the Board of Education will shortly issue a
special set of regulations for these half-time centres,
based upon those for secondary schools “ B.”
The final examination for pupil teachers will be
the King’s Scholarship Examination, or any one of
a list of twenty-seven examinations named in
Schedule I. B. Any of these examinations
qualifies for admission to a training college, but
the authorities of these institutions vary in their
practice, and most of the residential colleges
prefer a high place on the King’s Scholarship List.
The day-training departments of university colleges
prefer a matriculation examination, and some
residential colleges select students with the double
qualification. It must not be assumed, therefore,
that the passing of one of these examinations
necessarily carries the right to a King’s Scholar-
ship. Application should be made to the college
to which admission is desired, and its practice
ascertained.
The regulations concerning training colleges con-
tain but one important addition. In future uni-
versity colleges establishing hostels will receive
grants similar to those hitherto granted to resi-
dential colleges, of £100 for men and £70 for
women.
SUMMARY OF DATES.
January 1st, 1tyo4.—Last admission of pupil
teachers under old Regulations, f.e., at 15 years
of age (14 in rural districts).
August ist, 1904.—First admission under New
Regulations, f.e., at 16 years of age (15 in rural
districts).
(It will be noted that the Board of Education
consider the crop of babies born between August
ist, and December 31st, 1885, an exceptional
harvest, requiring it to furnish a double supply of
teachers.)
August 1st, 1905.—New Regulations universally
in force.
It will thus be necessary for education authori-
ties and secondary schools to make immediate
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
provision for the selection and admission of those
boys and girls who are to be apprenticed as pupil-
teachers from August Ist, 1905.
Considered generally, the new Regulations are
admirable, and if the local authorities interpret
them in the fine spirit in which they are conceived,
a great change should be wrought in the teaching
supply furnished from the small towns and rural
areas. On the financial side, there may be some
grumbling, and it looks as though the Act of
1902 will have to be amended in the direction of
enabling—enforcing if necessary—County Councils
to levy something more than a twopenny rate, if
these excellent Regulations are to be other than a
dead letter in the rural districts.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL
EUROPE.!
R. MACKINDER has been fortunate in
M securing the co-operation of the Professor
of Geography at Breslau for the Central
European volume of his series of the “ Regions of
the World.” Professor: Partsch knows well both
Central Europe and the literature relating to it,
and has written a work which is as readable as
it is trustworthy. |
The opening chapters deal with the position and
world relations of this central strip of Europe, some
600 miles wide, and extending from the North Sea
and Baltic for a thousand miles to a line between
the Gulf of Cattaro on the Adriatic to the Gulf of
Burgas on the Black Sea; an area five times that
of the British Isles. The chapter on physical
history is disappointingly short and scrappy, and
the least satisfactory in the book. This may be
due to the pruning which, the editor explains, was
necessary to reduce the German original to the size
of the other volumes of the series. If so, we think
a mistake has been made, for the general feature
lines of Central Europe are most profitably studied
in connection with their physical history. In the
next five chapters the physical framework of the
natural divisions of Central Europe is described in
a masterly manner. They contain no mere dissec-
tion into mountains, valleys, rivers, and plains
carefully labelled and arranged in spacial sequence,
but are descriptive of the salient features, which
are judiciously selected, and the significance of
which is explained. General chapters on climate,
peoples, states, and economic conditions follow,
and form the necessary introduction to a second
survey of the natural divisions of Central Europe,
wherein human geography is made the main object
of study. General accounts of the chief lines of
communication and of the geographical conditions
of natural defence complete the work.
In the descriptive chapters dealing with the
1 “ Central Europe.” By Joseph Partsch. xiv. + 358 pp. (Heinemann.)
78.
AUGUST. 1903.]
political and economic geography of the different
regions, the historical factor is emphasised on
every page. This adds greatly to the value and
the interest of the book, and makes it serviceable
to teachers of history, by pointing out geographical
explanations which may have escaped them, as
well as to geographers who are concerned to trace
the influence of man in controlling present distri-
butions of centres of activity and the limits of admi-
nistrative action.
A most commendable feature ‘s the absence of
names on the exquisite orographical maps by Mr.
Bartholomew. Only one ignorant of the veriest
elements of the reading of maps will cavil at this,
—~——Nevigehle Bivers, +++» Canals, ----- Canals Projected
The Waterways of Central Europe.
but it would not have interfered with the value of
the maps had names been printed on a sheet of
tracing paper the same size as and bound in with
each map so as to fit over it.
The black-and-white sketch maps are instruc-
tive, but might with advantage have been more
numerous. Through the courtesy of the pub-
lishers, we reproduce one of these, showing the
navigable waterways of Central Europe, actual
and projected. It is very clear, and just the sort
of sketch map a teacher wants. In this, however,
and in some other diagrams, we think it would
have been possible to have introduced a few
more lines—for, of course, this diagram does
not show all navigable inland waterways—and
also a few more names without diminishing their
utility. ""“2
This work should be in every school library,
and its contents should be mastered by every
teacher who has to deal with either the geography
or the history of Central Europe.
a The School World
301
READING AND ELOCUTION:'
7 HE excellent Gilchrist travelling scholar-
ships produce from time to time short
reports which by their very brevity and
first-handedness throw a brilliant light on sec-
tions of educational work. The report of Miss
Bardsley is no exception, and we shall praise it no
further, our object being to deal with the subject
from the home point of view.
If we may summarise these thirty pages in a
few words, we may say that the schools and col-
leges visited display to the intelligent traveller a
good deal of what may be described
as disgraceful, doubtful, and excellent
work. It is surely disgraceful that
“fifteen pages of a magazine” should
be ‘devoted to the pantomiming and
posing of Moore’s poem, ‘ The last Rose
of Summer’”’; that fifty young women
should be told to ‘think with the
palms and then with the tips of the
fingers” (“ the teacher seemed greatly
pleased with the pupils’ work, and said
the hands were most expressive, but
she refrained from saying what they
expressed’’); that violence should be
done to the most delicate flowers of
creative thought by the rude, rough
hands of the vulgar elocutionist.
Among doubtful expedients we may
class such questions as “ What does
the cross cat say?” the answer being
“F” (sounded as an explosive); the
“ original oratory ” of children, and the
over-study of and the total neglect of
reading with expression. Among the
excellent hints given us by America we
may class the enthusiastic lead set to
whole institutions by one good reader ;
the practice of intercollege debates,
and the constant acting of plays in
certain quarters; and, above all, the
school for the training of actors. The conclusion
of the pamphlet emphasises the need of good
teachers, and rightly lays stress on the incalculable
evil done by bad teachers.
Now in what way can we apply the lessons
learnt by this patient investigator to ourselves?
Surely we may be one with those who in America
loathe (no milder term will suffice) the ordinary
professor of elocution. We know him and her on
this side too; we ridicule them in Punch ; we laugh
at them in secret; but we go continually to see
them perform in drawing room and concert room,
and we allow them to teach children. The negro
preacher consigned them all to the infernal regions.
‘© Oh, all dem drunkards! Oh, all dem gamblers!!
Oh, all dem elocutionists!!! Hell am yawning for
all dem.” But we do not even send them to prison.
To put it less forcibly, it is only the few who know
1“ Reading and Elocution in the Schools and Colleges of the United
States of America.” By F. Beatrice Bardsley. 30 pp. (Printed by Hailing,
at Cheltenham.)
what good reading, good speaking, good “ reciting ”
is; and these few for very shame hold their
tongues. Thus the charlatan and the evil teacher
prosper, and a cultivated, quiet, literary rendering
on or off the stage of Hamlet’ s soliloquies, or “ The
Seven Ages of Man,” or the chorus in “ Henry V.”
is not attempted, and if it is attempted it is not
praised. Yet the best books on reading keep on
dinning into our ears that we cannot as a nation
read English well. Hullah, Clifford Harrison, Sir
Morell Mackenzie, Plumptre, Canon Fleming, all
plead for quiet, refined work, not too full of ges-
ture; realising the poet’s thought and trying to do
no more; and amongst foreign writers Palleske,
Ricquier, and Legouve have long fought the battle
against vulgarity. It is not that we have no
guides ; but it is that we insist on following, in the
interpretation of literature by the human voice,
not the poet and the thinker who first learns to
love and then interprets his passages, but the badly
trained actors of the second-rate stage. Children,
too, are all round us, the best instructors in natural
work that we can find. And what do we do with
them? We set to work to teach them when they
should be teaching us.
Surely the easiest, best, and most interesting
guide to the appreciation of literature is the human
voice; and surely it is the student of his own
voice who, already enthusiastic over his author,
can best interpret the possibilities of the voice and
the author. You shall hear six first-class readers
read Shelley’s ‘‘ Skylark” ; all will differ; all will
delight the audience; and every one of them will
be willing to admit the others’ excellences. But
in the school, Shelley’s ‘‘ Skylark ” is to be said in
one way and in one way alone.
If this pamphlet teaches us anything it is this :—
(1) We want more literature in our teachers—a
finer love of the written word.
(2) We want more freedom in our schools, anda
lighter hand upon the child.
(3) We want to encourage the fearless raconteur,
the ready speaker.
(4) We want to show by examples, multiplied’
all over the kingdom, what can be done in the way
of good reading.
(5) We want reading aloud to be recognised not
aS an important but as the important subject of
teacher-training.
The concluding paragraph in Miss Bardsley’s
report reads as follows :—
“In schools of every grade the children have
greater liberty to express their opinions than in
English schools; they receive far more encourage-
ment to give long answers and to discuss questions
in class, and consequently they speak more fluently
and they always speak out. In fact, I never heard
a child ‘mumble’ in school during the whole
three-and-a-half months I was in the United
States.”
We may wonder whether it would be possible to
say this of any college, any ten churches or chapels
taken at hazard, any school, secondary or primary,
any pupil-teacher centre, or any family party,
throughout the length and breadth of England.
The School World
maps in your atlas.
[Aug UST, 1903.
PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN
GEOGRAPHY.
By E. W. Hurst, B.A., F.R.G.S.
Bishops Stortford College.
II.
HIS article will be devoted to two series of
exercises arranged with the intention of
leading a boy to draw, from material pro-
vided, inferences as to the extent and character of
the influences exerted upon the human race by
climate and elevation. Neither of the two series
—density of population and the distribution of
wheat—is exhaustively treated, but it is hoped
that a supply of exercises has been provided
sufficient to familiarise the pupil with the methods
of investigation pursued, and, at the same time,
to demonstrate that geography lends itself to the
same methods of study that have made the various
branches of natural science so deservedly popu-
lar as means of mental discipline.
DENSITY OF POPULATION.
To find the density of population in a district, divide the num-
ber of inhabitants by the number of square miles of surface.
That is, population
area (square miles) `
Example :—
Area, 50,009 square miles.
= density of population.
Population 3,500,000
3.500,000
Population density 66.600. 70.
Ex. 1.—Fill in the following table. The particulars required
will be found on the climate maps and the density of population
For the last column consult the physical
maps of Asia and South America.!
nae | HE
E
e
|
|
ee eed
E ; j
v eo
a Z | = wh u z
a = ~ pan o]
T aw E on at & os Cra
ae ac — ‘es sy be
District. =F = ase od
= ‘ae \ mom: e ad
a G e = — = : Coi-
a ace Z = U
a = =
, t
|
Basin of— |
Ganges ......... |
Hloang-ho .....
Yang-tsi-kiang .
Amazon .........
Se ee
Having filled in the table, give as many reasons as you can
why the basins of the three rivers in Asia have much greater
population densities than the Amazon basin.
Ex. 2.—Find a river-basin in Africa in which the climate
features of the Amazon basin are reproduced, and find from your
map the population density.
Ex. 3.—Suygest two or three reasons to account for the pre-
ference shown by people for living in river valleys.
Ex. 4.—Fill in the following table :—
—_—
1 Two moderately priced atlases suitable for such exercises are :— The
Classroom Atlas, ss. (W. & A. K. Johnston); London School Board Atlas,
new edition, Ts. zd. (Philip & Son)—though neither has a population chart.
There is one in Herbertson’s * Hlustrateg’ School Geography,” 5%
(Arnold. )
AUGUST, 1903.]
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; SOME AREAS AND
POPULATIONS.
Area (i Populati Density of | A
State ais) ye Population. Eran.
Idaho _...... 84,800 161,772
Arkansas | 53,850 1,311,564
Oregon ...... 96,030 413,536
Missouri 69,415 3,106,665
Louisiana 48,720 1,381,625
Arizona 113,020 122,931
What conclusion do you form from the above as to the effect
of elevation on the density of population ?
Ex. §.—Fill in columns ii. and iii. of the following table :—
Country. Kind of Surface. Population Density.
Greece
Mexico
Ce ee oY
Ceo nena rsnereve
Chile l.enn
Why are mountainous countries, as a rule, thinly populated ?
Æx. 6.—Look at the map of Spain and Portugal. The
positions of towns are indicated by several kinds of small
circles and squares, which vary according to the populations.
Make a list of towns with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Notice
the distance from the coast in each case, and fill in the follow-
ing table :—
State whether near to or
Towns of more than 50,000
far from the coast.
inhabitants.
From the physical map, explain the facts set down in
column ii.
Ex. 7.—From the map describe the density of population
of the following districts as “high” or ‘‘low,” and from the
rainfall map describe them as regions of ‘‘ scanty” or
** abundant ” rainfall.
Rainfall.
. . . |
Region. Density of population.
Sahara Desert
Gobi Desert ......... |
Interior of Australia
Arabian Desert ...... |
Hence, explain why people do not live in deserts.
THe Errects or CLIMATE.
The teacher may easily draw up similar exercises
to illustrate the effect on the density of population
of mining or manufacturing activities, and of
additional climatic controls—climate, indeed, hav-
ing more to do with the distribution of population
than anything else. Particulars of climate, again,
The School World
_ 893
may be furnished in order to show how the distri-
bution of food plants is regulated. Let us take
wheat as an example.
TABLE I.—Showing acreage of wheat crops in certain English
counties, 1902.
Proportion of
|
Total acreage Acreage ae ee
County. under o j
ccops and grass. wheat. .. Wheat acreage
| IEC total acreage.
|
Bedford............ 256,607 | 37,119 |
Berks... 363,417 | 34286
Cambridge „.. ... 490,406 į 89,803 |
Chester ............ §36,206 13,614 |
Cumberland ...... 581,500 2:327 |
Essex.. ............ | 797,969 109,227 °
Hertford ......... 330,902 49,501 |
Lancaster ........ 821,250 21,636,
Lincoln ............ 1,519,556 167,843 '
Monmouth ...... 242,338 | 5,215 |
Norfolk ............ 1,068,521 112,719
Suffolk .......6... 756,791 96,125 :
Westmoreland ... 248,549 | 169 |
Æx. 8.—Fill in column iv. by dividing the numbers in
column iii. by those in column ii. (Answers correct to two
decimal places will suffice.)
Ex. 9.—Make two lists of wheat-growing counties (a) where
the wheat acreage is more than o'r of the total area cultivated ;
(6) where it is less than 0°03 of the total.
Ex. 10.—Opposite the name of each county in Ex. 9 write
the amount of mean annual rainfall as shown on the rainfall map
of England. Hence give one reason why the acreage devoted
to wheat varies.
TABLE II.—-Showing acreage of wheat crops in
United Kingdom, 1902.
|
Total A Rainfall
Seance, a | | tee | AF
and grass. wheat. ° inches.
England& Wales, 27,490,790 | 1,679,098 26°26
Scotland ......... 4,897,169 47,258 42°98
Ireland ......... 15,240,135 44,244 37°20
|
Æx. 11.—Fill in column iv. as in Ex. 8, by dividing the
wheat acreage by the total acreage. i
Ex. 12.—What relation do you notice between the result and
the numbers given in column v. ?
Ex. 13.—Look at the July isothermal map of England and
Wales. What difference do you notice between the summer
temperature of the two groups of counties? (Ex. 9). Which
has the higher summer temperature ?
Ex. 14.—Make a similar investigation in the case of the
winter temperatures.
Hence, draw up a statement to show the relation betweeu
wheat cultivation and the rainfall and range of temperature.
We may now proceed to other countries upon
which we depend to make up for the deficiency in
our home supplies of wheat and flour. Incidentally,
it may be as well to let the pupil discover for him-
self one very important aspect of the fiscal questions
which are occupying the Empire's attention just
now.
304
TABLE III. —Showing imports into the United Kingdom
of wheat and flour, 1902.
Country from which exported. Tons of wheat and flour.
RING ET EEPE vai ater T POETER 442,000
N ERPE EREA A NE 611,000
N AT EREA AE PAET A 211,000
Ne CA iinan | 8,000
TDG OMEN son aBianassaversuaves | 3,248,000
AROA iana | 227,000
AINE: OIRRE ODT E ONE ` 331,000
Austria-Hungary ..... ........00.. 48,000
Other Foreign Countries ...... | 270,000
Ex. 15.—Make a diagram to illustrate the relative proportion
of wheat and flour received from (a) British possessions, (b)
foreign countries, in 1902. This may be done by drawing
three parallel lines on the scale of 1 inch = 1,000,000 tons of
wheat and flour imported. Let the first line represent the total
quantity imported, the second the quantity imported from
British possessions, the third the quantity imported from foreign
countries.
Ex. 16.—Set down particulars as to climate and elevation of
each of the wheat-growing districts named in Table III., from
your physical and rainfall maps, and from the one given in
Fig. 1. Arrange your results in tabular form, thus :—
LINES OF
EQUAL ANNUAL RANGE
OF TEMPERATURE
Fic 1.
|
Average |
elevation.
Wheat growing |
Range of
district. |
Rainfall. temperature.
eS
|
or er ae |
Canada ere
Austria- Hungary | |
Ex. 17.—From the results now obtained enumerate the con-
ditions necessary for the extensive cultivation of wheat.
1 The teacher must, in several of these countries, delimit the wheat-
growing area more definitely.
The School World _
[ AUGUST, 1903.
As demonstrating the wide limits of wheat culti-
vation the following exercise will be found use-
ful :—
TABLE IV.—Showing chief wheat-growing countries,
with months of harvest.
Country. gsi | Country. Son th "
Africa, South | November June
Algeria .:.sssss: May August
Argentina ...... January February and
Asia Minor ... | May March
Australia ...... anuary June
A South | December | May
ANETA ortesi July April
Belgium ...... August January
California ...... June September
e T POA September April
CDIR anois January Portugal ...... June
COURS RETER May Russia, North | October
Denmark ...... August »» South | July
East Indies February and || Scotland...... September
March SPAM sscisvace June
Egypt. cisiciess April Sweden September
England ...... August VEER! ccssuntces April
BUGRCS: iiciin July United States | July
Germany ...... August
Æx. 18.—Indicate the re-
gions given in Table IV. on
an outline map.
£x. 19.—Arrange the va-
rious regions according to
their harvest times.
Ex. 20.—Explain how it
happens that the wheat
harvest is in January in New
Zealand, but in August in
England.
Ex. 21.—What connec-
tion does there appear to
be between the times of
wheat harvest and latitude?
How do you explain this
connection ?
EFFICIENCY IN THE PRIVATE
SCHOOL.
THERE is an idea abroad that, in teaching, the building is
everything—-that without the most modern form of classroom,
with a large central hall, both heated by the most modern
appliances, education cannot be carried on. What a mistake.
We all know how essential it is that rooms should be properly
ventilated and heated, and not over-crowded. But in educa-
tional work the essential is the individual. The success or
otherwise of a school’s work depends not upon the building but
upon the individuals who carry on the teaching.
l Abridged from a paper by Mr. E. W. Maples, on “The Private
School in its relation to the Local Education Authority,” read at a
Conference of the Private Schools’ Association on June roth.
AUGUST, 1903.]
The i School World R06
The first thing for us to do is to open our schools to inspection
—let us show that they are in every way fit for the object they
pretend to serve. That inspection will, I believe, be ofa friendly
nature. We may be called upon to make some slight altera-
tions, but I do not believe these will be of a serious nature. It
may be that the requirements of the neighbourhood demand
Some slight change in our curriculum. If this is so, by all
means let us fall in with the new demands and requirements. We
must give the authorities all the information they nfay require.
I would strongly urge this whatever be the attitude of the
authority, for if we fail to do so the authority may turn round
and say, ‘ How could we consider you when we were unable to
find out what you were really doing ?”
Efficiency must be our watchword. Every school in the
future must be efficient—some of those glowing prospectuses
which offer everything from a commercial to a university
education must cease to exist. I would advise all the principals
to see that in their prospectuses they do not offer more than
they can perform. Let our work, whatever it is, be thorough
and efficient.
I come, now, to a very delicate question, the staffing of our
schools. There is little doubt but that, as registration comes
more and more into vogue, the salaries of such registered
teachers will rise—there are too many men and women working
in our profession at the present day for a mere pittance. We
must in many cases be prepared not to increase in numbers our
staff, but to pay a greater salary.
And here may I say one word to the educational authorities
themselves. Why has your elementary education in the past
thirty years been so great a success? Why, because you have
trained your teachers: the men and women have not had to gain
their experience at the expense of their pupils, but they have
been taught how to teach. In secondary schools how few
teachers have received any training! Surely in the training of
the teachers lies the first work of these new authorities.
You may build schools; you may provide the best of books
and apparatus, but all to no use unless at the same time you
provide the individuals competent to make the best use of them.
Secondary schools cry out not for new buildings, but for trained
teachers.
We must make our work known. Few people are aware as
to the number of scholars in our schools. Many of our schools
are small; we are scattered over so great an area that even we
ourselves are not fully aware of our own Strength. I have the
best grounds for saying that probably 71 per cent. of the boys
and 87 per cent. of the girls attending the secondary schools of
this country are educated in private schools.
We must obtain representation on the local and county
education authorities. In the past most of us have been so
wrapped up in our work, compelled to spend our time out of
school in looking after our boarders, that we have as a rule
taken little, if any, active part in local and municipal life.
This must stop.
Our cry must be, organise and preach. I know it has been
the custom amongst many secondary teachers to cry down and
sneer at that organisation of elementary teachers, the N.U.T.,
but see what it has done for them. If those who had gone
before in this great work of secondary education had been as
wise in their generation as the elementary teachers of a past
decade were in theirs, there would have been no need of this
-conference to-day—we should have contemplated the passing of
any Education Act with equanimity, knowing full well that due
regard would have been paid to our interests.
I do not say, copy all the methods of that great Union, but I
do say, organise and unite as their members have done. Press
before your local authorities what are the real needs of educa-
tion. Compel them to train your teachers and obtain for your
schools freedom from rating if you can. See that in your
neighbourhood there are schools willing and ready to take to
scholars from the elementary schools. Surely the object of
Government is to raise, not lower the status of our profession—
to make it a real profession and not a mere means of existence
for those who cannot enter any other. If this be so, the
destruction of private schools will not attain their end.
In the interests of the children of another generation, it
is to be hoped that educational authorities and principals of
private schools may help one another, and that as a result there
may be built up a system of education in which public and
private secondary schools will each take their part.
POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF
PRIVATE SCHOOLS:!
WE are passing through a time of critical change in scholastic
matters. We live in a period of educational resettlement; many
are burdened with anxious thought for the future, and, while
heartily desiring educational improvements, cannot but fear lest
those improvements should, directly or indirectly, entail personal
loss and suffering to themselves. Do not those who labour
under such anxiety deserve our respectful sympathy, and is it
not right that whatever is now done to improve our educational
arrangements should be done after careful consideration of the
work and powers of those who are already labouring in the field?
In a national system of education private schools (a) may be
supplementary to the public schools, or (4) may be experimental
in their character, or (c) under certain conditions may be made
codrdinate with the public schools.
(a) Private schools may supplement the schools provided by
public authority, meeting special educational needs for which
the public authority is unable (or does not see its way) to make
provision. As an example of this in the sphere of primary
education, take the elementary schools carried on by the
Christian Brothers in Ireland. In England very great service has
been rendered to the country by the preparatory schools for boys.
These schools prepare for our higher secondary schools, and
their curriculum covers the years from nine or ten to thirteen and
a half or fouteen. Nearly all of them are private schools. A
further illustration of the value and vitality of private effort in
education is furnished by the remarkable development in
England during the recent year of a very high grade of
boarding-schools for girls. These are supplementing the work of
the girls’ secondary day-schools, some of which are endowed
and public, some company schools. The boarding schools to
which I refer are almost wholly private schools. We know how
great a service has been rendered to English life by the work
of the girls’ high schools during the last twenty years. And
now, in these first-grade boarding-schools for girls, we see a
fresh and remarkable development in girls’ education in England
—a rekindling of ideals, and a readjustment of educational
supply to our changing needs. In the third place, I would cite,
as an illustration of the value of private schools as supplementary
to public effort in education, the work which is being done in
many places by highly efficient private teachers in the provision
of teaching for little children of both sexes. Some of the schools
may be defined as pre-preparatory schools.
1 Abridged from an address on “The Value of Private Schools in a
National System of Education,” delivered by Dr. M. E. Sadler at a
conference of the Private Schools Association on June rgth. | The address
is printed in full in Secondary Education, the editor of which, with Dr.
Sadler's permission, favoured THE Scuoot Woro with an advance proof,
from which the extracts here given have been taken.
The
(2) Secondly, private schools may be, as it were, laboratories
of educational experiment. Schools which truly deserve such a
title will always, under the circumstances of the case, be com-
paratively few in number. But, when their work is good and
thorough, their influence is far-reaching. They affect, directly
and indirectly, the ideals of those who are responsible for the
aims and curricula of the public schools. At no time have
schools of this character had a greater opportunity of usefulness
in this country or in America or even in France and Germany.
We greatly need wisely planned and scientifically recorded
educational experiments, extending over a sufficient pericd of
years, carried through with good material, efficient teaching, and
adequate equipment.
(c) Thirdly, private schools may be, under certain conditions,
made codrdinate with public schools. By far the most striking
example of this method of procedure is that adopted in Denmark
and to some extent in the other Scandinavian countries. At the
present time educational administrators in England would do
well to have regard to what has been accomplished in Denmark,
where an effective system of modern secondary education has
been established at comparatively small expense by the recog-
nition and aiding of efficient private schools as part of the public
supply, the schools thus recognised and aided being under
stringent guarantees of efficiency, and the headmaster receiving
a recognised salary instead of residual profit.
May I venture on a few words touching some of the practical
needs of the present situation? First, should not all private
schools strain every nerve to make themselves really efficient?
- Should they not invite and welcome inspection? Should not all
private schoolmasters and mistresses earnestly apply themselves
to the study of methods of teaching, and to the investigation of
the curricula best fitted to promote the aims of each of the many
different types of school which we need? Ought not private
schoolmasters and mistresses to make it one of their chief objects
to provide themselves with highly-trained assistant teachers?
For inefficient private schools, a bad time is coming. For the
really efficient private school, able to adjust itself to new con-
ditions, to meet new needs, and to keep its staff, equipment, and
premises’ fully up to date, I believe that (in some grades of
education, though not in all) there is going to be a better opening
than ever.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
ON the vote in the House of Commons on July gth, for
salaries and expenses of the Board of Education and grants in
aid, which was eventually agreed to, Sir William Anson said
the number of councils called upon to formulate schemes under
the Act of last year was 3335—62 counties, 69 county boroughs,
139 boroughs, and 63 urban districts. Of these schemes the
Board of Education has approved of 238 in England and five
in Wales. The secondary inspectorate is not as yet fully
organised. More inspectors of literary and linguistic qualifica-
tions are wanted, and of such experience and position as will
command the confidence of the local authorities and the head-
masters of the great schools. Since October last, 1,325
secondary schools had been recognised, while 296 had been
refused recognition. Not more than half a million of money
is expended annually on secondary education, and Sir
William Anson said he feared that in some ways that expendi-
ture was destroying an education which had some elements of
good in it, without giving them anything substantial in its
School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
place. They wanted a good liberal education with such a
knowledge of science as to enable a man to understand the
world in which he lived; and also a good commercial educa-
tion to enable a youth to compete successfully in commercial
struggles, which would give him also a knowledge of languages,
literature, and history. In regard to elementary education, the
question as to whether they were getting full value for their
expenditure of considerably more than £11,000,000 became
more urg@nt. The money was ill-spent, and the children were
ill-taught. They had a limited supply of trained teachers, and
the cause was mainly due to the insufficient supply of training
colleges, and the early pressure and imperfect training of the
pupil-teacher.
THE House of Commons proceeded to consider the London
Education Bill, as amended by the Standing Committee, on
July 14th. The Speaker ruled many of the proposed new clauses
out of order. Numerous amendments were proposed and dis-
cussed, but most of them were negatived. An amendment to
sub-section I., introducing the words ‘‘ after consultation with
the local authority ’’ was accepted, and gives the local authority
power to express its opinion as to the grouping of schools, and
the number of managers on each board of management. Later,
“two-thirds” was substituted for ‘‘ three-fourths,” as the
proportion of managers to be nominated by the borough
councils, leaving one-third to be appointed by the London
County Council. The proportion of women on the managing
committees was arranged as ‘‘no less than one-third of the
whole body of managers.” The Board of Education is not to
make an order authorising the purchase of a site, unless satisfied
that the concurrence of the council cf the borough should be
dispensed with. A new sub-section was added to clause 2,
viz.: ‘Schools provided by the local education authority for
blind, deaf, epileptic, and defective children, and any other
schools which, in the opinion of the Board of Education, are
not of a lccal character, shall not be treated for the purposes
of this section as public elementary schools.” Clause 3 Was
omitted, and an addition made to schedule I as to the applica-
tion of endowments. An amendment was also agreed to that
the managers of all public elementary schools should not be
appointed for a longer period than three years, at the end of
which period they should be eligible for re-election. The
report stage of the Bill was passed on July 15th.
A SPECIAL chair of the History and Administration of Educa-
tion at the Victoria University of Manchester has been accepted
by Mr. M. E. Sadler, late Director of Special Inquiries and
Reports under the Board of Education. Mr. Sadler will
reside in Manchester for one term in each academic year, and
during his residence will take an active part in the work of the
Department of Education, which will be an important feature of
the work of the University. It will be remembered that Dr.
Findlay has recently been appointed to the chair of Education ;
among other members of the staff of the Department of Educa-
tion are Mr. Thiselton Mark, Miss Catherine Dodd, Mr. J. L.
Paton (High Master of the Grammar School), and Miss Burstall
(Headmistress of the Girls’ High School).
THE death of Sir Joshua Fitch deprives the nation of one of
its leading authorities on educational questions, and us of a
valued contributor. A few weeks ago Sir Joshua arranged to
write a short series of articles on great ideals which have
influenced the character of our educational development, and it
was with sorrowful surprise that we noticed the announcement
of his death on July 14th at the age of seventy-nine. To the
last he was keenly interested in all matters relating to the theory
and practice of education, and ready to take an active part in
AUGUST, 1903. |
the construction of our educational machinery. The article on
the Education Act of 1902 and the London Education Bill, in
the April number of the Quarterly Review, was the last of a
long series of contributions to leading magazines and other
periodicals in which he formed and guided public opinion. By
experience, knowledge and culture Sir Joshua Fitch was
exceptionally well qualified to speak with authority on edu-
cational questions, and all who are concerned in national
welfare will regret that his activities are at an end.
IN spite of the increased interest taken in modern languages
during the last few years, it is curious to note the persistency
with which errors are made in French sentences printed in many
newspapers. In connection with M. Loubet’s recent visit the
King was reported to have telegraphed the following words:
‘* Les bonnes paroles dans votre dépčche que je viens de recevoir
m'ont vivement fouchées.”’ This was not a mere misprint of one
paper, as it occurred in many, if not all, the London dailies.
We cannot believe that His Majesty is a less capable linguist
than he was as Prince of Wales. English journalists are by no
means behindhand in laughing at their French colleagues for
referring to ‘‘Sir Chamberlain” or ‘‘sportman,” but they
frequently provide readers on the other side of the Channel with
similar amusing mistakes.
REPRESENTATIVES of all the British and most of the Colonial
Universities met in London on July 9th to consider the questions
of co-ordination of University education throughout the Empire,
the development of post-graduate courses in applied science, and
the formation of an Imperial council to deal permanently with
these and other matters of special interest to Colonial and
British University students. The meeting was of an enthusiastic
character, and the two following resolutions were carried
unanimously: (1) ‘‘ That in the opinion of this conference it is
desirable that such relations should be established between the
principal teaching Universities of the Empire as will secure that
special or local advantages for study, and in particular for post-
graduate study and research, be made as accessible as possible
to students from all parts of the King’s dominions ” ; (2) ‘“ That
a Council, consisting in parc of representatives of British and
Colonial Universities, be appointed to promote the objects set
out in the previous resolution ; and that the following persons be
appointed a committee to arrange for the constitution of the
council: Lord Kelvin, Lord Strathcona, Mr. Bryce, M.P.,
Mr. Haldane, M.P., Sir William Huggins, Sir Michael Foster,
M.P., Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir A. Rücker, the Rev. Dr. Mahaffy,
the President of Magdalen College, Oxford, the President of
Queen’s College, Cambridge, the Hon. W. P. Reeves, and Sir
Gilbert Parker, M.P.” i
AT the recent annual Conference of the Association of
Iieadmistresses, held at the Perse School for Girls, Cambridge,
Miss Connolly delivered her presidential address, and in it she
dealt with the Order in Council for the Registration of Teachers
and with the Education Act, 1902. Speaking of the Order in
Council, Miss Connolly said certain modifications, affecting
present conditions but not touching the future, were still
desirable, such as the registration of teachers a year late in
training. and of those excellent existing teachers who ought not
to be asked to qualify for registration. Several resolutions, in-
cluding the following, were adopted after discussion. (i.) That
the Executive appoint a small committee to consider the relative
value of subjects in the Oxford and Cambridge higher certificate
and higher local examinations, with a view to the preparation
of a memorial to the Board of Education that the higher
ceitificate be accepted as an equivalent for some part of the
higher local examinations. (ii.) That this Conference welcomes
the London University scheme for a leaving certificate as a step
. The School World |
397
in the right direction, but regrets that a double standard of
leaving certificate has been instituted, as the existence of the
lower leaving certificate encourages pupils to leave school
while still immature. (iii.) That this Conference approves the
decision of the Executive (a) to approach the Senate of the
University of London, with a view to their establishing an
examination with the ultimate aim of obtaining registration for
junior and preparatory teachers in a supplemental register
annexed to the register of teachers ; (4) petition the Oxford and
Cambridge Schools Examination Board to add geography to the
list of subjects in Group III., higher certificate examination
syllabus. Mrs. Bryant, D.Sc., of the North London Collegiate
School, was elected president for the years 1903-5.
THE Marquis of Londonderry, in replying to a recent
deputation representing the Private Schools’ Association, who
urged the claims of that association to direct representation on
the Consultative Committee and a seat on the Teachers’ Regis-
tration Council, said that particular interests were not sought to
be represented, the idea of the Board of Education being to
collect a body of experts able to deal with education as a whole.
On the matter of registration he was inclined to agree with the
deputation that some provision should be made under proper
conditions for permitting teachers of long experience to register
in column B as secondary teachers, and a modification of the
Order in Council would be made shortly.
LorD ROSERERY, in a letter to the Chairman of the London
County Council, outlines a scheme for a great Institute of Applied
Science in London. Messrs. Wernher, Beit and Co. are willing
to provide a large sum of money towards the initial cost of such
an institution, and the Royal Commissioners of the 1851 Exhi-
bition are prepared to grant a site of four acres at South
Kensington. The institution will represent, when complete, a
sum of halfa million. There will remain an annual charge for
maintenance of £20,000. For this sum Lord Rosebery appeals
to the London County Council. The details of the organisation
of the proposed institute have not yet been settled, and they will
be considered in consultation with the Senate of the University
of London and other bodies concerned. It is proposed, Lord
Rosebery says in another part of his letter, that the institution,
whilst working in close co-operation with the Royal College of
Science, the Central Technical College, and other branches of
the University, should be organised as a distinct ‘‘ school” of the
University under the management of its own committee. Should
the active co-operation of the London County Council be
secured, there seems no reason why London should not, in a
few years’ time, possess an institution rivalling the great college
of applied science at Charlottenburg, from which proceed every
year some 1,200 young men of twenty-two or twenty-three
years of aye, equipped with the most perfect training that science
can give as experts in chemical technology, electrical engineering,
metallurgy, shipbuilding, and other branches of applied science.
If our manufacturers attached any regard to scientific education
they would make far better use of the men already available.
At present, for instance, our chemical manufacturers seem to
think they are doing their duty to the country if they pay a
chemist £80 a year, and keep him hard at work with routine
analyses. It is very doubtful, however, whether the manu-
facturers of Great Britain are sufficiently alive to the value of
science to industry, to provide posts for men trained in such
institutions as that proposed. There are already plenty of men
with practical knowledge and scientific training awaiting open-
ings for their energies, but they find that their qualifications
count for little in the British commercial market.
Dr. H. J. SPENSER, rector of the High School, Glasgow, since
January, 1901, has been appointed headmaster of University
308
The School World
(AUGUST, 1903.
Cziiege School, London, in succession to Mr. Lewis Paton.
Mr. H. J. J. Watson, assistant-master at Tonbridge School, has
teen elected headmaster of Merchant Taylors’ School, Great
Crosby, Liverpool, in succession to Canon Armour. The Rev.
Marcnant Pearson, second master and chaplain, Bridlington
Grammar School, and honorary curate of the Priory Church,
bas been appointed headmaster of King Alfred's School,
Wantage. Mr. Pearson was formerly an assistant science-
master at Bradford Grammar School. Mr. C. D. Chambers, of
st. John’s Training College, Battersea, and Miss Amy Bramwell,
of the Maria Grey Training College, have been appointed
additional normal master and mistress respectively at the
London Day Training College.
The University of London for the first time has conferred
honorary degrees. At the recent presentation day His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales received the honorary degree of
Doctor of Laws, Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales
that of Doctor of Music, and Lord Kelvin and Lord Lister that
cf Doctor of Science.
THE Senate of the University of Ottawa, Canada, has conferred
the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Mr. James Cusack,
founder and principal of the Day Training College, Moorfields,
London, E.C., in recognition of the services he has rendered to
the teaching profession and to the cause of education generally,
but more especially to the voluntary schools of this kingdom,
during the past twenty-five years.
THIS year’s list of birthday honours shows that the claims of
education have not been forgotten. A knighthood is conferred
upon Alderman H. F. Hibbert, chairman of the Education
Committee of the Lancashire County Council, and the late
Senior Inspector of the Board of Education, Mr. Thomas King,
becomes a C.B. Messrs. E. Harris and A. IJ. Reid (Board of
Education), Mr. G. L. Apperson (Scotch Education Depart-
ment), Mr. R. Calder, H.M. Inspector of Schools (Scotland),
and Mr. P. E. Lemass (Secretary, Board of National Education,
Ireland), are created Companions of the new Imperial Service
Order.
4 GENERAL meeting of the Association of Directors and
Secretaries for Secondary Education was held at Oxford on
June 26th. The rules of the Association were altered so as to
meet the new conditions which have arisen under last year’s
Education Act. Important discussions took place on the
financing and grouping of schools, and on school attendance.
On the previous day honorary M.A. degrees were conferred by
the University of Oxford on the chairman of the Association,
Mr. C. Courtenay Hodgson, and on the honorary secretary,
Mı. J. H. Nicholas.
THE Board of Education, having reason to believe that a
misunderstanding exists as to the effect of recognition by them
of schools in connection with the registration of teachers, wish it
to be known that such recognition does not qualify a school
to receive student-teachers, and that no school had, up to June
15th, been recognised for that purpose. The Board propose
to publish from time to time lists of schools to which they accord
this recognition. The Board have issued also “ regulations
modifying and altering the regulations for the formation and
keeping of a register of teachers.” Under this new scheme the
registration authority may place on column B of the register any
person who does not fulfil all the conditions of the registration,
but who has had ten years’ experience of teaching (other than
elementary) and has shown ability to teach.
ONE of the results of the conference of headmasters and
headinistresses of secondary schools in Surrey is that the
Surrey Education Committee has guaranteed for three years a
grant of £200 a year eachto the following schools: County
School, Richmond; Grammar School, Guildford ; Grammar
School, Reigate, on condition that they develop a Commercial
Department in connection with the courses of study and exami-
nations of the London Chamber of Commerce. This will no
doubt lead other county and borough education committees to
give a similar recognition and support to commercial education
by providing commercial departments in their secondary schools.
THE formal opening of Clayesmore School, Pangbourne, by
Lord Reay, took place on June 27th. The school is the
development of a smaller one at Enfeld which was a private
attempt to educate boys on more practical lines than is common
in English schools. The methods adopted at Clayesmore were
descnbed in THE SCHOOL WORLD for June, 1900, when the
objects the headmaster, Mr. Alex. Devine, has in view were
stated at some length. In his speech at the opening ceremony,
Lord Reay said he considered Clayesmore School would be of
vast importance in the fieid of English education. Though it
had been hitherto a private school, it would be very difficult to
give any definition of a real public school into which Clayesmore
could not be put. It seemed to realise all the best features of a
public school. One of its most important aims was that every
incividual boy should be carefully looked after. No English
boy, if he found his level at school and was well looked after,
was incapable of rising above the level of impotence. At
Clayesmore the object was to obtain out of every boy the
maximum work of which he was capable, and to proceed upon
lines which made the development of his faculties possible.
AN excellent attempt is being made to raise a fund to establish
free circulating libraries in each of the educational districts in
the Transvaal. A circular has been issued by the committee of
the Transvaal Education Department Libraries Fund, of Cannon
Sureet House, London, E.C., describing the scheme. An
account has been opened with the Standard Bank of South
Africa, and the bank has agreed to receive subscriptions. A
thousand pounds is required to establish the libraries, and it is
expected that an annual income of £250 would be enough to
keep the libraries ‘‘ refreshed with new supplies.” Mr. Fabian
Ware, of the Education Department, Pretoria, in writing of the
scheme, says: ‘‘ There is no way in which private effort would
help us so much at present as in supplying a number of English
books (good works of fiction and other interesiing literature)
suitable for circulation among the Boer children and young men
and women. One of the results of the camp schools has been
to create a desire for English books among the Boers, and
everything should be done to encourage this. Now that our
town and farm-schvol system is spreading all over the country,
the Education Department have an organisation by which these
books could be easily distributed.” The idea is a good one,
and we trust it will meet with the success its merits deserve.
MEssRS. BECKER AND Co. send us a descripticn of their
Electric Switch Board for use in School Laboratories supplied
with continuous current from the town mains, or their own
dynamos and secondary cells. The essential feature is that it is
impossible for the students to short-circuit the mains, as only
one wire is carried round the room. The switching arrange-
ment allows any one student to switch the current on or off for
his own experiments, quite independently of the other students.
All students must use the same current at the same time, though
it can be varied at will by the demonstrator. The board is
provided with instruments for reading current and pressure, and
a large variation in resistances by the use of lamps and wire
frame. It is an excellent thing for boys to learn the precautions
AUGUST, 1903.]
The School World 309
a a Be ee
to be taken and the arrangements necessary in using electric
currents from high-voltage mains.
THE current (June) number of Zhe Geographical Teacher con-
tains several useful articles, e.g., one by Dr. A. Morgan on the
scope and methods of geography teaching, and one by Miss
Reynolds giving a bibliography of official material available for
studying the colonies. Perhaps the most important announce-
ment is that contained in the letter from the Board of Agricul-
ture, referring to the facilities they are prepared to give for the
purchase of ordnance maps—200 copies of the 1-inch map for
41 Ss.
AN open competition is announced for a Clerkship on the
Geological Survey under the Board of Education. The limits
of age are 22 and 35 on the first day of the examination which is
to be held in London commencing on August 28th. The
subjects for examination are handwriting and orthography,
English composition, catalogue and index making, comparison
of copies with originals, arithmetic, geology and physical
geography, translation from French or German. There 1s an
entrance fee of 12s. 6d. and application forms must be returned
to the Secretary, Civil Service Commission, S.W., by August
13th. The salary of the situation is £ 120—£ 5— £200.
SCOTTISH.
ONE of the most interesting educational debates of recent
years took place in the House of Commons when the Scottish
estimates for national education came up for consideration. The
Lord Advocate in a prefatory speech marked by great lucidity
reviewed the outstanding features in the work of the year. He
referred with special satisfaction to the increase in the average
attendance of the pupils and in the number of certificated
teachers. The report of the Commission on Physical Training
received high praise, and the startling nature of some of the sta-
tistics in regard to the physical condition of town children
opened up, he said, new vistas of the duties and responsibilities
of both central and local authorities in regard to such pupils.
But possibly no part of an exceedingly interesting speech was
received with more general approval than that in which he
announced that the Museum in Edinburgh was to be the head-
quarters of the Department in Scotland and that the Secretary or
some of his assistants would be in frequent attendance there.
The Government have been well advised to make this concession
to the almost universal demand for a closer connection between
the Department and the country it is meant to control. It is
very questionable if this sop will satisfy Professor Laurie and
other ardent nationalists, but they may fairly contend that it
justifies their criticisms, and accept it as a better vantage ground
for renewing their attacks.
IN the discussion which followed the Lord Advocate’s speech,
the utmost satisfaction was expressed at the record of progress
in almost every direction which he had disclosed. Many mem-
bers, however, took occasion to protest emphatically against the
circulars which issued in ever-increasing volume from the
Education Department, and they expressed the hope that their
tireless energy in this direction might be diverted to some more
useful object. The regulations governing the issue of Leaving
Certificates also came in for general disappoval, and it is all
but certain that, if the Lord Advocate had not taken the
unusual course ot “talking out” the debate, the motion con-
demning the Government for their policy in this connection
would have been carried.
UNDER the auspices of the various Educational Associations
of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire, a public educational con-
ference was held in the Marischal College, Aberdeen. The
meeting was very largely attended, and representatives were
present from nearly all the northern counties. The Chairman,
Professor Davidson, Aberdeen University, explained that the
object of the conference was to focus the opinion of all inter-
ested in the cause of education, and thus seek to mould the
character of the forthcoming Education Bill for Scotland.
After an exceptionally interesting discussion, the following
resolutions were passed almost unanimously :—(1) That educa-
tion in Scotland shall be controlled by one central authority for
the whole country, and a single local authority for each educa-
tional district. (2) That this central authority shall be a
Government Department located in Edinburgh, responsible to
Parliament alone, and acting with the advice of representatives
from local authorities, universities and the teaching profession.
(3) That the area of the local authority be sufficiently large to
contain within itself provision for education of all grades—
primary, secondary, and technical. (4) That the local authority
shall be a Board consisting of members chosen by popular
election for educational purposes, to which shall be added
representatives of the various educational interests, the elected
members to form a majority.
A CONFERENCE on educational questions, in view of con-
templated legislation, was held in Glasgow on the 3rd inst.,
under the auspices of the Scottish School Boards’ Association.
Dr. Smith, Chairman of Govan School Board, presided, and
among others present were Mr. M. Shaw-Stewart, M. P., and
Dr. Douglas, M.P. After a long discussion the following
resolutions were carried by a large majority :—(1) That in.
Scotland the local education authority in each district should be
elected directly by the ratepayers, and solely for educational]
purposes. (2) That for the more efficient administration of
education the enlargement ‘of school board areas is desirable.
(3) That a Consultation Committee, or Board of Education,
should be appointed in Scotland for the purpose of considering
proposed departmental circulars and changes in the Code.
IRISH.
A COMMITTEE has been formed representing Trinity College,
Dublin, which has issued a public appeal for funds to erect
buildings and further to endow the teaching of the experi-
mental sciences. It is pointed out that the University of
Dublin has to meet demands made upon her resources never
contemplated by her past benefactors. Facilities must be pro-
vided for research available both to student and teacher, “‘ for in
no way is greater vitality imparted to the teaching, and the
teacher more truly initiated into the scientific methods, than by
the association of teacher and student in original investigation.”
Within recent years Trinity College has out of her own re-
sources built the Schools of Anatomy, Physiology, and Medicine,
the Zoological Museum, and the School of Pathology, and has
considerably enlarged and equipped the Chemical Laboratory of
Trinity College. Further, a Lectureship in Pathology has been
established, and a teacher in practical electrical engineering
has been appointed, as well as additional assistants in physics,
botany, chemistry, and pathology. The appeal is now made
for external aid to build and equip laboratories and lecture
rooms for physical science, electrical and mechanical en-
gineering, botany and zoology.
Ir is gratifying to state that this appeal has met with an imme-
diate and most generous response from Lord Iveagh, who has
offered to contribute the £34,000 necessary for the buildings, if
within three years a sufficient sum is contributed to produce the
annual outlay of £2,730 deemed necessary by the Committee
310
for the endowment of the teaching ; or, if within that time the
requisite amount is not contributed for all the departments, he
will give whatever capital expenditure is necessary for the equip-
ment of any one of the particular departments, as soon as a
sufficient annual income for it is assured. The Committee are
therefore appealing for £100,000, in order that they may be
able to take full advantage of Lord Iveagh’s offer.
AT last, owing to the kindly and harmonious spirit induced by
the Land Bill, the Nationalist members have allowed the money
to be voted by the House of Commons for the acquisition of
certain land in Dublin, and for the erection and equipment of a
new Royal College of Science. The sum to be provided out of
the Consolidated Fund is not to exceed £225,000, and it is to
be repayable within thirty years. The site has long since been
fixed upon in Merrion Road, near the museums.
AT the Maynooth College Union this year, much attention
was paid to the recent report on University Education. The
feeling was favourable to the report, and it was generally
accepted that the solution there proposed for relieving the
grievances of Roman Catholics in the matter of higher education
would afford a satisfactory basis for a settlement of the question.
One great difficulty was, however, brought forward, and that is
the position of Maynooth College in reference to the scheme.
The Archbishop of Tuam, Dr. Healy, one of the signatories of
the report, vigorously maintained that Maynooth should have
been included in the scheme on equal terms with the Queen's
Colleges, and that in no circumstances could the bishops
allow Maynooth to be broken up, even for the benefit of a
Roman Catholic University College in Dublin. Dr. Sheehan
said there were three alternatives before Maynooth in relation
to the proposed new college. The first was that there should be
University courses in classics and mathematics at Maynooth,
and that the majority should stay there, only a few honour
students being sent to a house of residence in Dublin, which,
however, would be intended chiefly for post-graduates needing a
higher grade in theology. This scheme would keep Maynooth
autonomous, but would be expensive as duplicating the new
institution in Dublin. ‘The second scheme was to transfer the
honour students to Dublin, and to keep the pass students at
Maynooth. This would be very hurtful to the pass men. The
third, and educationally the soundest scheme, was to transfer all
the Arts students from Maynooth to Dublin. But this would be
very expensive, and would practically ruin Maynooth. Dr.
Sheehan was, on the whole, in favour of the first alternative.
THE new Intermediate programme, while containing a few
improvements—such as the introduction of one foreign language
as compulsory into the mathematical courses, the introduction of
music asa subject, the awarding of composition prizes to candi-
dates in the Junior Grade, the publication of the results of the
examinations, and the permission granted to students to take the
science course of any year a second time—is essentially the same
as last year, and imposes a cast iron system on Irish schools, The
Teachers’ Guild has forwarded to the Intermediate Education
Board a series of criticisms upon it. The most important is the
suggestion, repeatedly made from all quarters, that a student
should be allowed to enter for more than one course. Most
students are eligible by the subjects they take for more than one,
and, in case of pass pupils especially, it is often very difficult to
know which course should be taken. If the Commissioners were
sympathetic with Intermediate schools they would see this point
at once. The Guild further suggests that a wider latitude
should be given to Honours students in experimental science,
that a student eligible by age should be allowed to compete a
second time for an exhibition in the same grade unless he has
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
previously won an exhibition of the highest value, that Greek
be allowed as an alternative to experimental science in the
Preparatory Grade, and that the courses for girls should not
be made easier than for boys. They also add some notes on the
subjects set in the programme. It should be added here that
the papers set at the recent examinations were easier and
fairer than last year.
WELSH.
THE interesting experiment of a Summer School of Welsh,
at the University College of Wales, bids fair to be a decided
success. The Welsh Language Society have secured the services
of Professors Anwyl and Morris Jones, and Mr. T. Hudson
Williams. It is intended to give three hours instruction in
Welsh grammar and literature, and what is, perhaps, quite as
significant, instruction will be offered as to the best methods of
teaching Welsh to beginners. Carnarvon School Board has
given £4 to enable two teachers to attend the course, and
efforts are being made to get other local authorities to follow
this example.
THE number of distinguished Welshmen who received their
early education in the elementary schools is increasing. In the
recent Ilonours Schools at Oxford, a first-class in natural
science was obtained by two Welshmen, one who had been
taught in an elementary school and a higher grade school at
Blaenau Festiniog, in North Wales, and another, to make the
balance even, from Carmarthenshire, in South Wales.
Mr. R. M. HucGH-JONEs recently gave an address to the
Colwyn Bay Branch of the Teachers’ Guild. He pointed out
the value of private schools, even in a country like Wales, with
its newly-organised system of county schools. At present only
the preparation of boys and girls for the county schools was
provided for by the elementary schools by the educational
authorities. But surely the close individual attention which
many children require cannot be given in the large classes of
the elementary schools. There is good reason, therefore, why
the more careful attention which is possible in the smaller
classes of preparatory schools should not be discouraged. The
question arises, how can such schools be brought into relation
with County authorities? Surely there is nothing in the new
Act to prevent scholarships from the County Council being
held in efficient private schools, if the holders prefer them.
THE following resolutions have been unanimously passed at a
conference of the Principals of the University Colleges of Wales
and the professors of education :—(1) That it is educationally
desirable that any proposals formulated by the County Councils
for the training of teachers to supply the needs of the schools in
their respective districts, should take into account not only the
provision for such training already existing in their districts, but
also the training institutions throughout the principality. (2)
That it should be regarded as a necessary qualification for
the entrance into the day training departments of the Univer-
sity Colleges that a candidate should have passed the matricula-
tion examination, or some equivalent examination. (3) That it
is desirable that all King’s scholars admitted to the day training
department of a University College should, in addition to any
primary school training they may have had, have received a
substantial part of their general education, in some recognised
secondary school (including under this term properly constituted
pupil teachers’ schools).
AUGUST, 1903. ]
THE above resolutions refer to the training of elementary
teachers. But attention has been given to the training of
secondary teachers. At Cardiff, meetings were held on Feb-
ruary 7th and June 6th. The Conference decided in favour of
a period of continuous practice in which the school to which
the student is attached would be responsible; that during the
period the control of the student should rest with the school
subject to a plan of study agreed upon beforehand between the
school and the college; but that during this period the college
lecturer should pay occasional visits to the school in order to
test the progress of the student at times, to be arranged with
the head of the school. The Conference was of opinion that the
total fee for the year’s course of training should be 4 30, and that
a substantial portion of this should be paid to the school where
the period of continuous practice is undertaken. How far this
scheme is practicable remains to be seen. It has thus far
been discussed by South Wales. But it is a step forward to
find a scheme approved by a college and the schoolmasters of
the district.
CURRENT HISTORY.
THE Stationers’ Company have been celebrating their five
hundredth anniversary by entertaining at dinner their patron,
the Archbishop of Canterbury. The occasion lent itself to much
historical reminiscence. The age of manuscript books, the
introduction of printing, and the various limitations on re-
production of books imposed by authority were naturally referred
to. We are reminded that the ‘censorship ” of books began
practically with printing, and lasted in England till nearly the
end of the seventeenth century. It was in the hands of the
ecclesiastical authorities, whether these were semi-independent,
as they were before the Reformation, or largely under the
control of the State, as they were after that event. We re-
member the stories of the early translations of the Bible, of the
ecclesiastical controversies under Elizabeth, when the Established
Church held her own by means partly of the “censorship”
against Roman and Puritan foes. We recall, too, Milton’s
‘t Areopagitica: a Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Print-
ing,” and the curious, illogical way in which that liberty was
gained in 1695. The iaw of libel and its history during the
last two hundred years forms an interesting appendix to the
earlier heroics.
OF Preferential Tarifs and of Zollvereins we have recently
heard much, and shall constantly hear more for some time
to come. The subject is too large for these columns,
but we note some side issues. Some months ago we drew
attention to the possible formation of a new Imperial Parlia-
ment, viz., the meeting of the Colonial Premiers. The new
power has made strides more rapidly than we then thought
probable. We are told now that preferential tariffs were
approved of at the last meeting of this body, and what will
happen if the British Isles do not adopt the policy of which the
Colonies have approved, or will approve, is hinted at in terms
the vagueness of which only increases their threatening nature.
The British Empire, consisting, as no other empire has consisted,
or does consist, of ‘self-governing ” parts, has evolved a fiscal
system (or shall we call it want of system) which, in connection
with international treaties, has caused a position which it would
tax the wit of any man clearly to explain, and the consequences
of which tend to be world-wide. Will the British Isles, if they
are in a minority in this ‘‘ federation,” yield to the others? and
if so, why ?
WE note also that the “‘ preferential tariffs” discussion has
made the question of Cabinet unanimity and responsibility quite
The School World
311
keen again. Are Mr. Chamberlain’s opinions those of the
*“Government ”? does the Prime Minister agree with them?
and to what extent? are questions as much discussed as the
merits of the new fiscal policy. This uncertainty illustrates the
nature of the British constitution, and the gradual, unconscious
way in which it has been shaped. The Cabinet itself and all its
characteristics are the result of many forces; it is a growth, not
an artificial or conscious creation. It has always been unknown
to the law; it detached itself from the Kingship suddenly and
accidentally in 1714; it evolved unanimity and a new head
during the eighteenth century ; it became more dependent on
the House of Commons than on the King in 1832. And even
so, its progress has not been uniform; we have had ‘ coalition ”
ministries to balance the “sole” ministry of Walpole. There
was a period of some years during which *‘ Catholic Emancipa-
tion”? was an open question, and now Mr. Balfour tells us that
“absolute uniformity of opinions cannot be expected among the
members of a Government; it is sufficient if there is common
action and common responsibility.”
S. PETERSBURG celebrates this year its two-hundredth
anniversary, and there are ceremonies connected therewith.
But illuminations were forbidden, and the police took measures
to prevent people from flocking too thickly into the centre of
the city. We have used the word ‘‘ but” as if there were a
contrast between the two sentences we have written. We
should certainly speak so if referring to similar celebrations in
an English town. But we think we should in the case of
Russia and its modern capital have more correctly used the
word ‘‘and.” It would accord more with the policy of Peter
the Great and almost all his successors since. The civilisation
of the Russians, so far as that process has progressed, and its
movement westward both geographically and morally, has
been a movement from above, in which the people have had but
little share, and have not been expected to appreciate. S.
Petersburg was the work of a man beyond his time, and the
breach between Tzar and people typified by that advance to the
Baltic has never been healed. In Russia it is ‘‘ everything for
the people, nothing by the people,” and the Government is not
far ahead of its people.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
Heine, Die Harzreise, with some of Heine's best-known short
poems. Edited by L. R. Gregor. xxx.+ 183 pp. (Ginn.) 2s.
—Among the numerous editions of the Harzrefse, Mr. Gregor’s
will occupy a respectable place. It is not only ‘well gotten up ”
(as they say in his country); the editorial work has also been
done very carefully. Very fall, indeed, are the notes on German
life and ways; they afford some insight into the quaint customs
of the German student. The introduction briefly states the main
facts of Heine’s life. The text is conveniently, but not exces-
sively, expurgated; and a few representative poems form a
welcome addition. Mr. Gregor rightly attaches considerable
importance to the intellectual exercise of translating Heine’s
prose into good English; and he gives his own renderings of
numerous difficult passages. As a rule he is successful, but we
must confess that we do not like ‘‘that look of hoary pre-
cociousness, as well as a complete outfit of ‘cops,’” nor “my
enravished eyes,” nor ‘* Banged up again, Johnny! all the
312
sawdust has leaked out of me,” nor “the whole blessed fore-
moon,” nor “it displeased me dreacfrlly too.”
Little German Folk. By Margaret Schramm. Revised by
A. L Mayhew. 106 pp. (The Norland Press.) 25.—We
acyrcached this book with pleasant anticipations: at a super-
ficial glance it seemed ail that couid be desired. A well-designed
binding, nice paper, a large and clear type, and pictures on
every page. Unfortunately we have been disappointed. To
eee Tacii and Sfarzierzang on the rage of contents showed that
the proof reading must have been inditierently done; and,
indeed, the book contains a very large number of slips. Sub-
stantives have small initials ard adjectives Lig ones; we find
Brot and Brod, Not and Noth, zu einen, mit einen, Schoosse,
Schäf chen, mir for nur, Kirsche for Kirche (three times), &c.
This is inexcusable in a book meant for children. The text is
fairly good, though by no means always ‘“‘ written in the everyday
speech of little German childrer,” as the title-page promises.
The illustrations are good as pictures; but it seems absurd to
give the men and women, and cften also the children, sixteenth-
century costumes.
A.E.C., Kinderfreuten. 80 pp. (Clarendon Press.) Is. 6d.
—A series of scenes of home life, written by a lady fond of
her three boys, whose pictures are certainly most attractive.
The eldest is supposed to be the speaker, and he tells us about
his father (a doctor), his rabbits, storks, parrots, the Zoo, the
sea-side, and many other things. He does so brightly and
simply; sometimes, however, the language is rather too
‘ grown-up.” At the end of the book there is a vocabulary,
in which the words appear in the order of the text. It is really
very charming; but it is not quite clear what use can be made
of it. The construction of sentences is often quite complicated ;
the vocabulary is large, and, unfortunately, the °* local colour ”
is quite English. If a German boy, living in Germany, had
told us about his interests and surroundings in the same bright
way, and had done it in language consistently simple, the book
would have been more generally useful. We quote a few sen-
tences in support of our contention that the language is often
unnatural: ‘* Wir kamen auch viel schneller wie sonst an die
Eisenbahnbriicke, so dass wir langer auf derselben bleiben
konnten, ohne an das wartende Mittagessen gemahnt zu
werden.” ‘So vergessen sie nie ihnen zugefiigtes Gutes oder
Böses.” The proof has not been read with sufficient care.
E. Souvestre, Un Philosophe sous les Toits. Edited by de
V. Payen-Payne. 40 pp. (Blackie.) 4¢.—This selection has
been carefully made and well edited by Mr. Payen-Payne, who
also contributes a short note on the author. It is commendably
free from misprints, and forms a welcome addition to the rapidly
growing series of “ Little French Classics.”
Kiirner, Select Poems. Edited by E. P. Ash, M.A. 46 pp.
(Blackie.) 6d.—This little volume is exceptionally well edited.
The text is carefully printed; the poems selected give a very
good idea of the youthful poet’s gifts and limitations (especially
his excessive admiration of Schiller), and the notes are quite
sufficient. The only slip we have noticed is Antoine for
Antonie on p. 3.
The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, Edited by L. A.
Barbé. viii. + 124 pp. (Blackie.) 1s.—-There is no need to
say much about these tales, which have delighted children for the
last two hundred years. They are neatly printed here, and
illustrated with seven pictures of varying merit and by various
hands. The notes give all that is required ; indeed, they err
in giving too much help. The vocabulary seems to be complete.
The School World
_ a =
[AvGrsT, 1903.
Heine, Die Harzreise. Adapted and edited by W. J. Etheridge-
56 pp. (Blackie.) 67.—This selection contains about half the
original; only two of the poems are retained. The notes are
good as far as they go. A map of the country traversed by
Heine would have added to the interest.
A Selection of German Inioms and Proverés. By Alfred
Oswald. 127 pp. (Blackie.) 1s. 6¢.— This convenient little
volume contains three chapters of German idioms (to which there
is an index) with English equivalents, an alphabetical list of
German proverbs with English renderings, and a similar list of
English proverbs. As far as we have tested the book, it is
tolerably accurate, and should prove useful.
H. Heine, Selections in Verse. Edited by D. Thiems, Ph. D.,
D.D. 48 pp. (Blackie.) 6¢.—A moderately good ‘‘ note on
Heinrich Heine” precedes a number of lyncs, mostly taken
from the Buch der Lieder, and disfigured by some annoying
misprints; ¢.7., Amechtenschar (p. 14), Rechten (pe 16), Fern
(p. 20), Dem Schiffer (p. 24), Dock ist die (p. 28), G/ufrote (p. 32),
Tanzer (p. 38). The notes are of no great value; the render-
ings are at times positively ludicrous; ¢.g., vielverschlunene
Zimmer, ** suite of apartments”; Offerstende, “ offering-gift ’” ;
sartdurchsichtiz, “ with a delicate and transparent complexion.”
Classics.
Xenophon, Cyropaedeia. Book IT. With Introduction and
Notes founded cn those of H. A. Holden, and a complete Vo-
cabulary. By E. S. Shuckburgh. viii. + 102 pp. (Pitt Press
Series.)—Dr. Holden's editions are a model of thorough
scholarship, and there is no need to do more than mention his
name inorder to gain confidence for this. But it may be doubted
whether the book is suited for beginners in Greek, as Dr. Shuck-
burgh thinks it is. The vocabulary is large, and the subject-
matter “has no story.” The editing has been well done. But
why is the Pitt Press so niggardly in margins? Their school
books are all a little painful to read for that reason.
Aeschylus, Septem Contra Thebas. xxvii. +75 pp. Aeschylus,
Persae. xx. +75 pp. With introduction and notes by A.
Sidewick, M.A. (Clarendon Press. )—Mr. Sidgwick’s merits
as an editor for schools are too well known to need com-
ment. The present volumes bear out his reputation. We do
not think he takes a high level as a textual critic, but for the
needs of the upper forms of schools and of undergraduates he is
a safe guide. His views are always defensible by good reasons,
his illustrations apt and to the point, and (most important of all
for examination candidates) he is admirable in stating divergent
or alternative views. Those who purchase these books may
depend on having a thing which will be useful to them, and will
help them to understand their author better perhaps than many
a more ambitious commentary.
Ancient History for Beginners. By G. W. Botsford, Ph.D.
With maps and numerous illustrations. xvi. + 494 pp. (Mac-
millan.) 75. 6d.—Tbere seems to be a great demand in the
United States for brief compendiums of ancient history. In
this country we do not think they are used or likely to be used ;
we should prefer to have classical history treated apart, and the
whole volume taken up with the rest of the ancient world—
surely enough for a volume. Here forty pages suthce for every-
thing but Greece and Rome, although it is true Rome includes
Europe down to Charlemagne. Mr. Botsford is fairly well up
to date. He knows that unity of language does not imply unity
of blood (p. 4), and his information is generally accurate ; but
he says that the Aryans worshipped the powers of nature, and
AUGUST, 1903. |
that their gods were nearly identical with those of early
Greece (36), a daring statement ; the temple at Aegina is given
as sacred to Athena (p. 119); and the cut of a warrior from
Marathon (p. 121) is inserted without comment in such a way
as to suggest that its original fought in 490. Mr. Botsford’s
style is not always pleasing; but the book is, on the whole,
satisfactory.
Xenophon, Memorabilia. Edited on the basis of the Breiten-
bach-Miicke edition by J. R. Smith, Professor of Greek in Ohio
State University. xix. + 270 pp. (Ginn.) 6s. 6d. Xenophon,
Memorabilia. Book 1. Edited by B. J. Hayes. 78 pp.
(Clive.) University Tutorial Series. 3s. 6¢.—The American
text-books seem to be best adapted for intelligent persons who
The School World a
begin Greek late ; for they combine elementary instruction with —
comments not suited for young boys. The notes are printed at
the foot of the page, which makes them inconvenient for school
use : but they are hardly up to university standard, except in case
of passmen. Prof. Smith has almost confined his attention to
the interpretations, and does not throw new light on the difficult
textual questions of the Afemorabi/ta. The commentary is most
full in the first book. This is a useful, practical edition, taking
it as a whole; but Prof. Smith has missed an opportunity. We
do want a scholars A/emorabilia, in which the questions of
wider interest which the book suggests may be fully dealt with.
A comparison of Socrates as here depicted, and the Socrates of
Plato, would be very interesting, especially if it were carried out
into the method and substance of the dialogues given in the
text.
Mr. Hayes’s volume has the same character as most of the
Tutorial Series. It aims at conveying information in the most
pithy form, and no more of it than is necessary for “ getting up ”
the book. There is the Life of Xenophon, Life of Socrates,
summary of the book, and sketch of early Greek philosophy, all
compressed into fifteen pages. We have no criticism to offer on
this, except to express some surprise at the patronising way in
which Greek religion is treated. Xenophon consulted the
Delphic oracle, and therefore “he was not above the supersti-
tions of his age.” Would Mr. Hayes say the same of Plato for
praising the Eleusinian Mysteries? The notes are elementary.
For its purpose the book is well suited.
Mr. C. S. Jerram publishes a key to his excellent Latins
Reddenda, under the title of ‘* Reddenda Reddita.” (Longmans.
35. 6d. net. 37 pp.)
Edited Books.
Selections prom Shakespeare's Henry V. 32 pp. School
Classics. (Blackie.) 2s.—We have referred to this series
favourably before. This addition to it is very well done, and
the selections represent certainly the best passages of the play.
The notes are numerous, but judiciously compressed ; if the
edition were not strictly for juveniles many of them could have
been also suppressed. Altogether very meritorious.
Scott's Legend of Montrose. By W. K. Leask. 239 pp.
(Blackie.) 1s. 6a.—This edition is commendable, though
presenting no unique features except some illustrations among
the notes, and no great evidence of exceptional editorial labours.
The notes certainly have been well done and are interesting ; so
too is a short list of ‘‘common” Scottish words used in the
text. Many of these are quite uncommon to the English
reader even when passably well instructed.
Shakespeare's Othello and the Crash o) Character.
William Miller. 108 pp.
No. 56, VoL. 5.]
By Dr.
(Natesan & Co., Madras.) 25.—
313
Dr. Miller always has a great deal to say, and he says it in right
good earnest, adorns it with sufficient graces of style to make it
pass muster among much more pretentious efforts, and always
succeeds in being interesting if not profound. This volume is
the distilled essence of a great deal of other critical work which
has passed through Dr. Miller’s rather original mind. A
portrait of the author of this series of ‘‘ Shakespeare Shockers ”
adds to the interest of it; and it is like his previous booklets,
largely devoted to the necessities of Indian youth.
The Bishop's English. By G. W. Moon. 164 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) 3s. 6d.—The author appears to think that the
niceties of grammarianship are the main things in life. Con-
sequently he has fallen foul of Bishop Thornton, of Blackburn,
for advising the use of the Revised Version of the Bible. But
this is only a preliminary onslaught. The revisers themselves
are declared to have produced an ‘‘ungrammatical, immoral
and blasphemous version.” This contention Mr. Moon expounds
upon many pages, with copious examples. The Revised Version
is practically a dead book, and it was scarcely worth while to
devote so much attention to its deficiencies.
Scott’s Lord of the Isles. By H. B. Cotterill. 228 pp.
(Macmillan.) 2s. 6¢.—Another volume of this excellent and
scholarly series. Its greatest interest lies in the notes, which
have been done with great care. A vocabulary supplies the
philological element in a separate form, and although this
portion of Mr. Cotterill’s labours seems, at times, like a work of
supererogation, because so many of the words he deals with are
fairly well known and accepted, even in the poetic sense in
which Scott employs them, it will be found useful to students.
The introduction strikes us as being the poorest part of an
otherwise excellent performance. The editor has gone too
much upon the easy plan of extracting other people’s statements
and opinions in his discussion of Scott’s poetry, and the
biographical portion is unwontedly scanty; but even that con-
tains an extract from Lockhart. The historical sketch of the
period, dealing with the Scottish War of Independence, is,
however, distinctly well written. Altogether this is a volume
to be recommended; but if Mr. Cotterill edits any more of
Scott’s poems let us have his own estimate of Scott rather than
slabs of musty prose disinterred from the mouldy magazines of
the pre- Victorian epoch.
History.
How our Grandfathers Lived. By A. B. Hart and A. B.
Chapman. xiv. + 371 pp. (The Macmillan Co.) 3s. 6dďd.—
This book consists of extracts from letters, books, &c., of the
years 1780-1820, illustrating the social life of Americans in
various parts of the United States, and, to a certain extent, in
England. A few necessary explanations of words are given in
the margin, and there are pictorial illustrations. It makes a
very interesting reader, and would be welcome in school libraries
both for girls and boys.
A History o} England for Catholic Schools. By E. Wyatt-
Davies. xv.+539 pp. (Longmans.) 3s. 6d.—Mr. Wyatt-
Davies here gives us a readable and very correct history on the
usual lines, except that ecclesiastical matters are treated from
the point of view commonly called Roman Catholic. We think
he has fulfilled his purpose excellently. With the exception of
one or two points, which are, after al], matters of controversy,
there is nothing with which we feel at all inclined to differ. His
treatment of Elizabeth and of Cromwell in especial is very fair,
and we can commend the book not only to those for whom it is
B B
314
The School World
[AvucustT, 1903.
intended, but to others who may like to know how certain
events appear to those who have not hitherto been represented
in historical text-books for schools.
A General History of Commerce. By W. C. Webster. ix.
+ 526 pp. (Ginn.) 6s. 6d.—This is not a book to be read.
It is rather an encyclopedia in small of the outward facts of
commercial history. The amount of information is enormous,
but much of it is surely quite indigestible. There are ten
illustrations of vessels and nineteen maps. Thirty-four pages
suffice for the Greek and Roman periods, seventy for the ‘middle
ages,” and we are half-way through the book before we reach
the ‘‘fall of Napoleon.” The method is to proceed by countries
in each period: thus in Part IV., which deals with ‘‘ The Age of
Steam,” four chapters are given to England and France, and
one each to central Europe, the ‘‘remainder of Europe,” and
the United States. The consequence is that commerce is judged
in too particularist a way, and prosperity is measured not from a
world point of view, but according to the relation between
exports and imports. The English reader will find, on reading
between the lines, that though the author, who is ‘‘lecturer in
Economic History in New York University,” condemns the
‘‘mercantilist theory ” and talks freely about the ‘‘ ignorance”
of previous generations, he yet seems to think ‘‘ protection ” a
good institution, at least in many circumstances, and that an
excess of exports over imports is the chief, if not the only index
of success.
Geography.
A New Geography of the World. vii. + 216 pp. (Oliver and
Boyd.) 1s.—Contains many maps and diagrams, and will be
found as useful as most other geographies of the world con-
taining as few pages.
The Practical Teaching of Geography in Schools and Colleges.
By A. Morgan. 18 pp. (Philip.) 6¢.—A pamphlet reprinted
from Zhe Geographical Teacher. It contains numerous sugges-
tions useful to the teacher of geography, many of them dealing
with out-of-door work capable of being undertaken by the older
pupils in schools, ¢.g. map-making by means of the plane-table,
the study of contours, observation of latitude &c.
Guide to Switzerland. cvi. + 235 pp. With 31 maps and
6 plans. (Macmillan).—Visitors to Switzerland will find this
Guide a very useful companion. The information is well-
arranged and the maps are exceptionally fine. There are no
less than thirty-one maps and six plans, and these alone will give
the tourist satisfaction in possessing the book. The introductory
matter includes an article on Switzerland by Mr. Joseph King,
hints to travellers, pedestrians and climbers, sections on glaciers,
avalanches, baths and springs, vocabulary, and a list of hotels,
those most frequented by American and English travellers being
distinguished by dark type. Routes are described in six groups,
namely, north-western Switzerland, Lucerne and district, the
Bernese Oberland, western Switzerland, the Engadine, and the
Italian Lakes. Some of the details might be corrected or
supplemented by anyone intimately acquainted with Switzer-
land ; but the book is intended to meet tne requirements of the
average traveller, and it does this in an adequate and serviceable
manner.
Grammar and Composition.
Précis Writing, By H. Latter, M.A. 304 pp. (Blackie.)
35. 6a¢.—A useful collection of extracts from official correspon-
dence, giving material for fifteen précis papers, the first of which
is annotated and presented in complete form.
Standard Shilling Dictionary. 444 pp. (Blackie.}—Very
good value for the money. The dictionary proper contains no
illustrations, but there is a useful illustrated appendix dealing
with mechanical powers. Other appendices that will be ser-
viceable in schools are included, ¢.g., principal monies, &c., of
the world, phrases, contractions.
English Composition. By Amy Kimpster. 301 pp. (The
Norland Press.) 35. 6¢.—Teachers, of lower forms especially,
will find much to interest them inthis manual. Great stress is laid
on the incidental teaching of ‘“‘ composition ”—that is, the training
in clearness and accuracy of expression. The book contains a
well-planned scheme, graduated for pupils from 3 to 14, and
model lessons, &c., based on this scheme, are given. The last
part of the book, containing about 180 pages, consists of exer-
cises in word and sentence building: these are very useful, and
are carefully graduated in six stages. They may be obtained
separately, price 2d. each.
Applied English Grammar. By E. H. Lewis, Ph.D. xiv. +
363 pp. (New York: The Macmillan Co.) 35. 6¢.—The first
seventy odd pages of this book consist of numerous exercises on
“ correct usage ” ; some of these will be unnecessary in English
middle-class schools, but the general principle is sound. Next,
we have about an equal number of pages dealing with the structure
of sentences. A valuable feature of this part is the number of
pictures (14) to be used as exercises in sentence-building and in
essay writing. The rest of the book is devoted to more formal
grammar and punctuation. The complete course is intended
for two years, and it is, on the whole, well planned; we can
recommend the book to teachers who are at liberty to wander
from the beaten tracks.
Science and Technology.
Elements of Physics. By A. T. Fisher, assisted by M. J.
Patterson. 180 pp. (Heath.) 2s. 6¢.—This book consists of
nine chapters, which explain, in a simple manner, the leading
facts concerning matter, motion and force, work and energy,
fluids, heat, light, magnetism, electro-dynamics, and sound.
Numerous illustrations are included, and one hundred and
nineteen experiments are described. A set of easy questions is
added at the end of each chapter. The treatment of numerous
subjects in so small a space is necessarily superficial, and
attempts are made, especially in the section on electricity, to
explain phenomena which ought only to be discussed in’ more
advanced text-books.
Elementary Physics, Practical and Theoretical. Second
Year’s Course. By John G. Kerr and John N. Brown. 169 pp.
(Blackie.) 2s.—Though we think it is better to include a
minimum of theory only in a laboratory book, and to reserve
formal explanations of mathematical physics for the lecture
room, we have pleasure in recommending the exercises in this
little volume as the work of experienced teachers. The experi-
ments deal with dynamics, heat, and light, and are numerous
enough to fill the time available in most schools in a year for
laboratory work in physics. It seems a pity, however, that a
student should have to wait until his third year in the physical
laboratory to do simple work in electricity, magnetism, and
sound. Like the First Year’s Course, the work is well printed
and excellently illustrated.
A Brief Course in Qualitative Chemical Analysts. By John
B. Garvin. 238 pp. (Heath.) 3s. 6¢.—A few years ago
‘* test-tubing °’ was the branch of experimental science usually
taught in secondary schools in this country, but now we are apt
to congratulate ourselves upon the adoption of a more educa-
tional method which postpones test-tubing to a later period of
AUGUST, 1903. ]
the student’s training. The author of this text-book is an
apostle of the old method, and maintains that the solution of
the numerous problems arising from qualitative analysis “ affords
the keenest delight and satisfaction,” and ‘‘ provides the
soundest kind of training in experimentation, observation, and
inductive reasoning.” The volume contains the more common
reactions for the metals and acids, also a detailed account of the
systematic examination of substances of unknown composition.
Throughout the greater portion of the book, alternate pages are
left blank, evidently for students’ notes. An appendix gives
information on preparation of reagents, solubilities, &c. No
analytical tables are given, but the student is aided to formulate
his own scheme of separation after studying the reactions of the
members of any group. The dry tests are not mentioned in the
reactions of the metals, but are tabulated in the section on
systematic examination. With the aid of this volume qualitative
analysis would be intelligently taught.
(1) Mechanics made Easy. An adaptable mechanical toy,
7s.6d. (2) Box of Accessories, §s. (Philip & Tacey.)- -For boys
who are interested in machinery and engineering—and what boys
are not ?—no better present could be given than these two boxes
of metal work for making models. The first box includes a
number of strips pierced with holes half-an-inch apart, angle
pieces, brass wheels, grooved steel-rods, nuts and screws, &c. ;
the second one contains pinion, gear, and centric wheels, pulley
wheels, and a few additional grooved rods and other accessories.
It is astonishing what can be made with these things: cranes,
bridges, elevators, railway lines, signals, machinery, shafting,
&c., can be constructed so effectively that the liveliest satisfac-
tion is derived from the handiwork. One of the models which
can be built up with the strips, screws, and wheels is shown in
Ao ù 0 O vie oe
The School World
|
315
be better employed than in constructing the various models to
which the parts lend themselves. The occupation gives scope
for ingenuity, demands the exercise of care, and combines
pleasure with instruction in a way which is not excelled by any
other means with which we are acquainted.
Mathematics.
Logarithms, Metric Measures, and Special Subjects in
Advanced Algebra. By G. A. Wentworth. 142 pp. (Ginn.)—
It is not quite clear why this little book should be
issued in its present form; it consists, with the exception of
seventeen pages on metric measures, of chapters on logarithms
(with a table of five-figure logarithms), compound interest,
continued fractions, permutations and combinations, and
general equations. The treatment of these subjects does not
differ from that usually followed. The chapter on equations is
illustrated by graphs and contains a clear statement of Horner's
method of solution.
The Junior Arithmetic. By R.H. Chope. viii. + 370 pp.
(Clive),—In adapting the ‘‘Tutorial Arithmetic” to the
needs of junior forms the author, who collaborated with
Mr. Workman in the preparation of that book, has retained the
order of the chapters and the method of treatment, omitting the
more difficult portions of the larger work. Large numbers of
additional examples are given; for school use the examples
seem almost too numerous. It is impossible to turn over the
pages of any book on arithmetic designed for schools without
being impressed with the enormous waste of energy involved in
' the English system of weights and measures. Can nothing be
done to save both teachers and pupils from the senseless
drudgery that system entails ?
Swing-bridge ; flooring made of cardboard.
the -accompanying illustration, and many more elaborate
machines can be made. The value of the work lies in the
exercise of the creative and constructive faculties involved in it.
Moreover, when a boy finds that he can construct a strong
working model from simple parts, he is given confidence in the
strength of materials rightly arranged, and is encouraged to
undertake works which he would have considered to be quite
beyond his powers. We have no hesitation in saying that the
two boxes should form part of the leisure-hour equipment of
every school.
Boys who find no delight in reading could not —
Inductive Plane Geometry. (Revised Edition.) By G. Irving
Hopkins. vi. + 208 pp. (Heath).—The author states
that in an experience of twenty years he has found that fully
three-fourths of his pupils can demonstrate unaided, or
at most with a suggestion or two, the majority of theorems,
the demonstrations of which are given in most text-
books for the pupils to read and memorise. In this book,
therefore, after stating the theorems, he offers aid in the
way of suggestions only where the pupil needs it. Within
limits the method is good, and in a course of demonstrative
316
geometry, preceded by a rational system of geometrical drawing,
the proofs might be much shorter than they are usually made ;
but in this book the method of allowing the pupil to find the
demonstrations for himself seems carried to excess. One result
of the method is that the leading theorems do not receive their
proper emphasis; the tendency in all books on geometry is to
give too many theorems, and this tendency is very noticeable
in the present case. The author has evidently spent much
labour in producing this work, and while it contains much
excellent material, and has many suggestions for the teacher, yet
it seems too condensed for the average pupil. On pp. 191-208
is a collection of examination papers set to entrants at several
American colleges ; these will be of interest to English teachers.
Principles of Arithmetic. By H. O. R. Siefert. v. +
163 pp. (Heath).—This book is stated to be the sub-
stance of a series of discourses given from time to time to the
teachers of the four upper grades of the Milwaukee Public
Schools, and is said to contain the minimum of what the teachers
in those grades ought to know and the maximum of what the
pupils ought to be taught of the principles of common and
decimal fractions, percentage, ratio and proportion, involution
and evolution, and mensuration. There is probably not much
in the book that is new, but there is certainly a good deal that
teachers do not, as a matter of fact, put into practice. Young
teachers would greatly profit by a study of the methods here
illustrated. Stress is laid, and justly laid, on the value of pro-
portion, though there may be a difference of opinion as to the
best method of presenting it. The style is simple and lively.
The author indicates in many cases the derivation of words;
perhaps he will consider whether ‘‘ parallelopiped ” (p. 149) is
correct orthography.
Essentials of Algebra for Secondary Schools. By Webster
Wells. viii. + 367 pp. (Heath).—The range of this book
is that usually understood by ‘* Algebra up to the Binomial
Theorem ;” but there is also a chapter on logarithms and one
on undetermined coefficients in which the convergency of
series is briefly discussed. The earlier chapters are particularly
good ; the introduction at the outset of simple problems to
illustrate the use of literal symbols is excellent, and the method
of establishing the rule for the multiplication of negative numbers
is simple and satisfactory. The order of developing the subject
is to a great extent a matter of opinion, but it is probably better
to take up quadratic equations in connection with factors than to
postpone them to so late a position as they occupy in this book.
Partial fractions too, instead of coming in at p. 324, might have
been considered as a method of simplifying a fraction. The
introduction of a short chapter on limits is to be commended,
but the demonstrations of theorems in which limits are or ought
to be used—e.g., theorem of undetermined coefficients—are not
very thorough. The chapter on graphs which appears as an
appendix is too meagre. Is it not time for the traditional
chapter on variation to disappear from text-books? Does it
serve any purpose except that of fostering inadequate concep-
tions of variability? In any case, variation should be treated
in connection with the graphical representation. The book,
taken as a whole, compares favourably with current text-books ;
the style is throughout simple and clear.
Miscellaneous.
Reading made Easy. fart II. By A. Snell. 79 pp.
(Philip). 8d.—This is a well-printed, clean, and attractive
little book. The pieces are well within the small child’s
power and many simple and original pieces of verse are included.
The Royal Alphabet School: a method of learning to read,
cc Lart I. By S. Croft. 24 pp. (Murray). 6d.—This is a
bold attempt to familiarise little children with all the sounds
The School World
[ AUGUST, 1903.
attached to the letter A. But the booklet does a good deal
more, and incidentally gives the learner easy lessons in Pitman’s
shorthand. Many teachers will welcome the introduction of
shorthand at an early age, and there is no doubt that shorthand
could be taught easily if taken at this stage of school life.
The True Theory of Voice Production. New edition. By J.
P. Sandlands. 32 pp. (Sonnenschein). 6¢,—Mr. Sandlands,
a clergyman living at Thrapstone, is well known as a curer of
voice ailments, and in this small book he sets out his ‘‘ theory.”
We must confess that, of all the books on voice production that
we have ever read, this is the hardest to understand. It seems
that Mr. Sandlands can cure, but from a couple of perusals of
this pamphlet it seems equally clear to us that he does not know
how he effects his cure. Flis remedy for voice ailments is very
simple, ‘f Come to me.”
The Songs ofa Child. By ‘‘ Darling” (Lady Florence Dixie).
579 pp. (Leadenhall Press.) 35. 6¢.—The authoress of these
pages is known as a versatile and gifted woman, and she shows
in them no little metrical facility for a girl between the ages of
ten and seventeen years. One must not look for depth of
thought, or even of genuine poetic promise in this volume, but
the trick of rhyme is there; and in the later productions
evidence of considerable budding mental power is displayed.
Wiid Oats. A Sermon in Rhyme. By M. G. Hime.
(Churchill.) 1s. net.—The theology of this composition is quite
unexceptionable, and so is the verse—as verse. That is to say,
the scansion is correct ; which may not be without influence in a
versified appeal to the religious instincts. Dr. Watts succeeded
in compounding much the same sort of mixture, though he, at
his worst, was rather less prosy than Dr. Hime at his best.
Regarded as literature, this ‘‘ Sermon” is a trifle; but its
reasoning is sound and its appeal forcible. It is another
instance of sanctified common-sense, which is calculated to have
a really good effect on the minds of boys if they can be induced
41 pp.
to read it. We hope that this well-meant effort will bear
very satisfactory fruit.
The Law of Education. By W. R. Willson. 732 pp. (Sweet
and Maxwell.) £1 1s.—This book has been compiled for the
use of members of Local Education Authorities and Committees
under the Act of 1902. Itis an attempt to bring within manage-
able compass the powers and duties of such bodies. It carefully
distinguishes between Authorities and Committees, and between
the powers which relate to elementary and to higher education
respectively, and devotes a whole section to finance. The
appendices are specially full—the Education Acts from 1870-
1902 are given än extenso, and the various rules, orders, forms
and regulations, issued by the Board of Education are also
similarly given. Pages 442-451 contain lists of the various local
education areas—counties, county and non-county boroughs,
urban districts—and the voluntary school associations. The
book also includes the regulations as to registration of teachers,
and rules for secondary schools which receive grants from the
Board of Education. The work appears to us to be compendious
and well arranged; and its information is well digested and
up to date; it ought to serve well the purpose for which it has
been compiled.
School Room Travel. Compiled by W. E. Long. 116 pp.
Gratis. Educational Stereographs. 8s. 6a. per dozen. Alu-
minum and Walnut Stereoscope. 4s. (Underwood and Under-
wood.)—The attractive book published by Messrs. Underwood
under the title of School Room Travel should do much to
encourage the introduction of the stereoscope into schools. It
is not merely a descriptive catalogue, but contains a large
amount of useful information relating to physical, political and
commercial geography, ancient and modern history, nature,
AUGUST, 1903. ]
study and other subjects. The introductory section on physio-
graphy is very well done and consists of notes on typical objects
and scenes selected form many parts of the world. The notes
constitute, in fact, a summary or syllabus in which no important
characteristics are overlooked, and references are given to
Stereoscopic pictures illustrating all of:-them. The stereographs
which have been submitted to us are of a most instructive
character ; and the relief and perspective are so striking that,
next to actual travel, there could not be a better means of giving
pupils permanent impressions than is afforded by these pictures.
Some of the pictures make excellent subjects for developing
powers of expression, and any pupil with a spark of imagination
could be encouraged to construct a story about scenes brought
before his eyes in such a vivid fashion. There can be no doubt
whatever that stereographs are far superior to ordinary flat
pictures in educational value, and we strongly recommend
teachers to take advantage of the inspiring means of instruction
now provided by the enterprise of Messrs. Underwood. The
stereoscope is specially designed for school use, and is not likely
to get out of order even with the rough handling to which it
would sometimes be subjected by boys.
The Place of Industries in Elementary Education. By
Katharine Elizabeth Dopp. i. + 208 pp. (P. S. King & Co.,
London and Chicago.)—The short preface to this remark-
able book disarms the critic by its statement that for
many years the author worked upon the lines suggested ; and, if
we may quarrel with one thing only, we must say that one meagre
reference to actual experience seems to be a very hard treatment
of the reader. Briefly, the book breaks new ground in England:
though it is only one more plea for common-sense in education
and intelligent interest in work. The whole volume, with the
exception of a few scattered sentences, tries to answer the
question, ‘f How can we use the intelligence and experience of
primitive man in our modern teaching?” Primitive man by
slow stages invented an arrow, and discovered the use of
elasticity. Then some genius invented the bow and put thè arrow
on the string. Now we should, says the author, introduce
children to the complexities of modern industrial life by letting
them, under guidance, follow, sympathise with, succeed with, and
fail with, primitive man in his long course of development. The
reasons for nomadic life, for co-operation, for subdivision of
labour; the slow development of the sailing ship from the
unpointed log ; the thousand-and-one nature problems ; all these
are to be set before the child, not as solved, but as solvable
questions. There is not a dull page in the book and every
chapter is suggestive. We seem to see, also, in the pages,
almost as deep a dissatisfaction with modern education as in the
denunciation of Mr. H. G. Wells.
A Memoir of Anne Jemima Clough. By B. A. Clough.
(Edward Arnold.) 6s.—There is no change in the text of this
new edition of Miss Clough’s life; it has been brought out
more cheaply, in response to the wish of old pupils and
admirers, that the work may be within the reach of everyone.
This is indeed desirable, for a whole generation has passed away
since the foundation of Newnham College and the develop-
ments of the early ’seventies. Our young people may well
learn from a book like this the history of the movement, which
is carefully explained here, not only as concerns Cambridge,
but as showing itself in the North of England Council, the
beginnings of University Extension, the establishment of the
Cambridge Higher Local Examination, and other schemes. But
this biography gives more than history; it paints from diaries a
vivid sketch of what life was to girls and women of the comfort-
able classes about 1850, in its account of the pathetic struggle
. Miss Clough made to find scope for her exceptional character
and energies—a life of scraps and futilities, studies undirected,
The School World
317
vain efforts, till she was past forty years of age, and at last,
about 1864, found her true field. What must life have been
for women of lower powers, less natural vigour? The book
paints, too, that character itself, in touch after touch, minute,
even trivial, recording the little human failings and peculiarities,
as well as the underlying greatness and simplicity. Yet some-
how it fails to give, to those who did not know Miss Clough
personally, the secret of her force, her influence, her sway ;
the style is dull, and lacking in poetry, feeling, beauty. The
Cambridge coldness freezes it; it is clear and accurate, but
dead. So far, indeed, none'of the books on this movement are
adequate; the vaes sacer of the story of women’s education
in the Victorian era has still to come.
Frauenbildung. (Leipzig and Berlin: Teubner.) One mark
(ts.) each number.—This monthly magazine, now in its second
year of existence, is devoted to the interests of all grades of
girls’ education—from the University courses down to the
elementary schools. It is well worth the attention of English
readers, as it deals with many subjects, and these in a thorough
fashion, which are seldom discussed in our educational journals.
Most of the articles are by experienced teachers, . though
now and again it is clear that the non-scholastic writer ts
allowed a few words; and it is pleasant to find that German
parents are interested in educational problems, and anxious
to unite with the teachers in anything that makes for the
welfare of their daughters. Among the many good articles
a few call for special attention, being of interest not only
to German teachers, but to English ones alike. ‘‘The
Domestic Education of Girls who have left the Elementary
Schools” is a strong plea on behalf of giving all girls a
knowledge of the various branches of domestic work, and this
may be obtained by a short and inexpensive course of training.
Herr Klumpp, in Was uns not tut, utters a sensible and timely
protest against cramming girls with names and dates in history,
geography, literature, &c. He also animadverts against the
absurd practice of setting young girls in examinations essays
which require mature judgment and an amount of knowledge
impossible for young persons. ‘‘Co-education’’ occupies a
considerable amount of attention, an interesting account being
given of the present feeling in America—the original home of
the movement—on the subject. It would appear as if in
Germany, as in England, opinion is divided. A list of books
on educational subjects given each month adds to the value of
the magazine, while English readers will be interested to hear
that English educational matters are not neglected. The key-
note throughout is one of progress; Frauendildung should
have a long life and prosperity before it.
CORRESPONDENCE,
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns, As a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD weld be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
Programme of the Education Section of the Briten
Association.
ON the eve of the departure of schoolmasters and school-
mistresses for their well-earned vacations, will you kindly
permit me to use your columns to remind them that the meet-
ings of Section L (Educational Science) of the British Associa-
tion will take place on September loth, rith, 14th and 15th,
at Southport, under the presidency of Sir William Abney,
K.C.B., F.R.S. ?
318
It is hoped that the success of the past two meetings will be
more than equalled on this occasion, and that there will be
a large muster of those actually concerned in the practical work
of education.
The Organising Committee has decided to continue the pro-
cedure adopted at previous meetings, namely, to contine the
discussions to a few broad subjects.
It is proposed to devote two days (September roth and 11th)
to an organised discussion of school curricula, based ona series
of short papers contributed in advance, so that there may be
time to print and distribute them. Separate questions will be
dealt with in separate numbered paragraphs, in order that it
may be possible to discuss together the corresponding para-
graphs in several introductory papers.
The Organising Committee suggest that the discussion should
follow lines laid down broadly in the following scheme :—
Character of curriculum (general) suitable for (a) primary
(preparatory) schools, (4) secondary schools, with reference to
such questions as :—
(1) What subjects, if any, all children should at first study in
common. |
(2) Whether the training should not in all cases necessarily
include (a) literary instruction, (¢) practical instruction (science,
drawing, manual and physical training, Xc.).
(3) How far up the schools both these should be carried.
(4) At what stage and to what extent divergence from the
general preparatory courses should take place, and what should
be (broadly) the curriculum of each type of school, the types to
be considered being schools preparing for commercial pro-
fessions, domestic professions, engineering and applied science
professions, literary professions.
(5) To consider what should be the treatment in the above
several types of school of the two branches of instruction,
(a) literary, (5) practical—z.e., what should be the subjects
included under these two heads in various types of schools, and
how (broadly) they should be dealt with.
Introductory papers have been promised by Miss Burstall and
Dr. M. E. Sadler, Mr. J. L. Paton, Mr. W. L. Fletcher (Liver-
pool Institute), Prof. John Adams, Mr. T. E. Page, and others.
A joint meeting with the Geographical Section will be held
to discuss the ‘* Teaching of Geography.” The :liscussion will
be opened by Mr. H. J. Mackinder, Reader in Geography,
University of Oxford, and he will be followed by several
gentlemen who have devoted special attention to this important
branch of school work.
In addition to the above subjects, there will also be dis-
cussions on the reports of committees on :—
(a) “ The conditions of health essential to the carrying on
of the work of instruction in schools.”
(ô) ** The teaching of Natural Science in elementary schools.”
(c) “The influence exercised by universities and examining
bodies on secundary-school curricula, and also of the schools on
university requirements.”
(d) “ The teaching of botany in schools.”
The Organising Committee is desirous that teachers should
take an active part in the work of the section. Important
results have already followed the work of the past two
meetings, and much practical result is hoped for from the
Southport meeting.
W. MayHowe HELLER,
Kecorder, Section L.
Heuristic Methods of Science Teaching.
IN the July issue of THE SCHOOL WORLD, Prof. Armstrong
pays me the compiiment of an extended nouce of my little book,
“A First Course of Chemistry (Heuristic).”” In view of the
attention now being given to the methods of science teaching in
schuols, some reply to his criticisms may not be devoid of interest.
The School World
|
[ AUGUST, 1903.
The keynote of Prof. Armstrong’s complaining appears to be
that the word ‘‘ heuristic” is misapplied by myself and others.
I leave the latter to speak for themselves, but a dictionary
(1903) gives me the meaning of the word as I understand it,
viz., ‘the method in education by which the pupil is set to find
out things for himself.” I consider that Prof. Armstrong’s
method as indicated by his remarks, and my own method as
worked out in my book, both come within the hmits of the
above definiiion. My treatment of the method, however, differs
from his in the following respects:—(1.) the learner has the
problems suggested to him in logical sequence; (ii.) he is not
permitted to work out the answers to these in any haphazard
manner due to his inexperience ; (iii.) he is led as far as possible
to form sound deductions from his observations and experiments.
Wherein lies the insult to the young beginner’s common sense
in drawing his attention to an observable fact? As a geologist
I demur to Prof. Armstrong’s statements about localities; but
putting this aside, what does it matter whether the chalk is hard
or soft, if only the student is led to exercise his judgment
properly respecting the specimen in his hand? Prof. Armstrong
proceeds: ‘‘ The only true policy is to give a lump of chalk to
the student, to let him see chalk and handle it; then let him
write about it in a plain, crisp, straightforward way. In fact,
give Aim an opportunity of displaying some intelligence.” That
is exactly the aim of the array of questions in Exercise 1. I
cordially agree with Prof. Armstrong that ‘‘all ¢a/e about the
properties of chalk is out of place 4t the beginning ;” that is why
I start the student's work by asking him questions.
I consider that the oft-repeated enquiry of a child, ‘$ what is
it made of?” does directly lead the enquirer to the threshold of
chemical knowledge; and that, therefore, the term ‘‘ chemical
facts’? cannot be meaningless to him. And judging from my
experience of pupils who have passed through my hands—a not
inconsiderable number in twenty-three years—I have no hesi-
tation in saying that an absurdly small proportion have known
such facts as that limestone is burnt to lime, or that lime is used
in making mortar. How can pupils be started in their work
“from this common knowledge” when they do not possess
that information? They would have to be told first of all in
Prof. Armstrong’s own words, ‘‘ Limestone all the world over is
burnt to lime, which is used in making mortar.” If this would
not be ‘‘didacticism pure and simple,” one is at a loss to know
what is.
I admit that the term ‘‘ blast-furnace” is open to objection,
but I do not know of a better. No pupil of mine, however, has
needed excessive mental efiort either to discover it or use it.
And as regards the use of the pieces of paper, it would probably
surprise Prof. Armstrong to know how often a boy of his own
accord has thus kept temporary memoranda of weight, &c., to
be incorporated later in a well-arranged record. Of course such
directions are only a means to an end, and do not apply to older
students. A young leamer usually requires much training in
orderliness ; and I find that he cannot keep a presentably neat
record-book if he makes it the receptacle of ‘‘jottings ”? and
“rough work.” He keeps the bit of paper in his note-book, and
has no need to cry ‘‘ Eureka ” over a thing which he has not lost !
Prof. Armstrong further objects to the introduction of elec-
tricity in the decomposition of water. His objection interests
me, as I remember having some unnecessary qualms on this very
point. I asked the advice of a mutual Iriend of Prof. Armstrong
and myself—no less an authority than the late Dr. J. H.
Gladstone — and his decisive reply was: “ Certainly—by all
means I shouid introduce it,’ and added, ‘‘ you wouldn't pre-
vent a boy using the Bunsen burner, would you, until he under-
stood the subject of combustion ?”
But, after all, these details only touch the fringe of the main
question. Prof. Armstrong and myself, I take it, are in com-
i!
AUGUST, 1903. ]
plete accord in that we both wish the children to work out their
own inquisitiveness with the single object of advancing their
future mental and moral welfare. Our aims are identical; the
question at issue between us is the how.
Strongly as I am in favour of the later menok of science
teaching, there are points in the older method which I for one
should be sorry to lose. Didacticism need not necessarily be
cram ; it has so often been so in times past that it has now got
a bad name, and forthwith the ‘ heuretes ” would hang it.
But is such action reasonable? The nature-loving child who
accompanies you on a country or sea-shore ramble, or on a
visit to the Natural History Museum, expects you to “tell it
things ”—and woe belide you if you cannot do so, or if you
draw on your imagination for facts. What about the science
lectures which many a child loves—e.g., those given at the
Royal Institution? Did anyone ever accompany an intelligent
child on any of the above occasions, and not wish that he
could tell more in reply to the insistent little questioner? Yet
all this is didacticism, and, as such, is hateful to the ** heurete.”
Is it all to go? And if it is not to go, why in the name of
common sense should it be completely banished from school life ?
Yet another point. Proposals respecting practical work
appear to me of little use if they are impracticable. The
mortar in the playground is a case in point, understanding what
I do of boy and girl nature. But even granting for the sake
of argument that the heuristic method, as enunciated by Prof.
Armstrong, is to be adopted in all its fulness, how is the school
time to be obtained to follow it out? Modern languages,
mathematics, writing, spelling, geography, history, drawing—
and Latin—all call for their due share of attention. Do the
‘Sheuretes” really grasp the fact—I ask them to pardon my
apparent didacticism—that headmasters are at their wits’ end to
know how to find time for the multiplicity of subjects in which
the parental community demands that its children shall be
educated ? Which subjects are to make room for the science
work if the latter be not mapped out, and the path of the young
discoverer made perfectly plain wherein he is to walk ? How
much additional time would be required for a child to
“discover” its way towards the application of electricity to
the decomposition of water? We may have our ideals, but we
have to adapt ourselves to our environment in educational as
in other matters.
s The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” One of my
former pupils who has done well at a technical college of high
repute told me not long ago that what attracted him to science
was that while I helped him (didacticism) I always made him
reason out a thing from his own knowledge (heuristicism).
Which seems to teach me that a middle course is here, as else-
where, the safest. J. H. LEONARD.
I AM glad that Mr. Leonard has taken notice of my criti-
cisms and that he recognises that they were made in no carping
spirit; as he says, our aims are identical. Only good can
come of any discussion which will tend to bring about an
understanding among teachers on questions of method; it
is very desirable that we should discuss such questions freely.
But I deplore his defence of the practice of taking notes on
pieces of paper. Let us hope that when the next edition of his
book is issued this most objectionable practice will no longer
be advocated by him. There is no evidence of sound and
successful training equal to that afforded by a note-book neatly
and systematically kept, containing a frank statement, in con-
cise terms, written while the work ts in progress, at the bench.
The keeping of such books involves moral, mental and literary
training of the greatest possible value to the student—and to
the teacher !
The argument underlying Mr. Leonard’s letter only confirms
the opinion I formed on reading his book. A meaning given to
The School World
319
a word in a dictionary may be understood in very different ways
by different persons: I can only say that Mr. Leonard’s con-
ception of the way in which the pupil should be set to fiod out
things for himself is not mine; I do not see how freedom of
will or judgment can come in if every step to be taken be
marked out in advance ; the path of the discoverer wherein he
is to walk is never made perfectly plain until the walk be done
—and not often then. And I must decline to accept Mr.
Leonard’s rendering as in any sense a justifiable statement of
the policy of which I am an advocate. Books on heuristic
teaching are necessarily but a travesty of the method : they have
no place in the laboratory. I trust Mr. Leonard will come to
recognise this and abolish his sub-title.
In my article only the abuse of the term ‘‘heuristic” was
dealt with, not the question of didactic versus heuristic teaching ;
nor can this now be discussed. Needless to say, both methods
have their place. But it is beating the air to raise this question
when that under discussion is: ‘‘ What constitutes heuristic
teaching”? Understanding on this point is of fundamental and
vital importance ; unfortunately, few see how vital. If dull Pistol
could say, ‘*the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword will
open,” surely we present-day teachers may recognise our oppor-
tunity and see that it is our duty to provide the swords with
which the infinite variety of problems the world affords may be
attacked—our duty to train eyes to see that there are problems,
on all sides. It is not for us to open and serve up the oysters :
we can only strive to teach the art of oyster opening ; that the
art is not to be learnt by eating oysters, we all know full well.
The term ‘‘ heuristic” is abused, misunderstood, by teachers
because so few have served at the oyster stall. I can only
counsel apprenticeship to the trade: skill is not to be acquired
by reading, writing or talking even; no ‘‘ master of method”
yet elected can give it; practice alone maketh perfect.
HENRY E. ARMSTRONG.
English Papers in the Scottish Leaving Certificate
Examination.
THE Scottish Leaving Certificate Examinations—the annual
“inquest of the nation” for secondary pupils—have come and
gone. From very modest beginings in 1885, these examinations
have gradually extended their bounds till now they practically
dominate the whole field of secondary education in Scotland.
As the character of the examinations must always toa large extent
determine the nature and scope of the teaching, it is well that the
annual tests should receive the most careful scrutiny, so that
they may make for thoroughly sound and liberal education.
As in other years, very many of the papers set this year might
well serve as models of what such examination tests should be.
Unfortunately the English paper of the Lower Grade is as bad
an example in the opposite direction as could well be found.
The passages for dictation and paraphrase were needlessly
long. One does not require to eat a whole cheese in order to
find out its quality, and the capacity of a pupil can be gauged
as readily from ten as from twenty lines of paraphrase or
dictation. In the passage for dictation appeared such unnerving
phrases as ‘‘ fastidiousness of hypercriticism,” ‘* exacerbation of
party,” ‘‘negotiating the fragrant dust or the tranquillising
QUID,” “scintillation of genius,” ‘‘insipidity of accidence and
syntax.” Such words and phrases are surely altogether outside
the vocabulary of the average or even the clever pupil of fourteen
or fifteen years of age. The literature questions to an even
greater degree than last year encourage text-book cramming in
its most unashamed form.
Here is the question in full :—
“ Give an account of the following works, and of their
authors :—‘ Faerie Queene,’ ‘ Essay on Man,’ ‘ Minstrelsy of the
Scottish Borders,’ ‘ The Seasons,’ ’ The Vicar of Wakeheld.’”’
The Department very rightly insist that a knowledge of liter-
320
ature is only of value when it has been acquired at first hand.
They shculd see to it, therefore, that their own examiners do not
directly encourage the very opposite.
The English paper of the Honours grade has been since the
institution of the examinations a wholly ideal paper. Every
year the questions set suggest to the teachers topics for treat-
ment of the highest value. Whoever is responsible for them has
literary knowledge and taste of the highest kind. Would that
he would infect his colleague of the Lower Grade!
Bellahouston Academy,
Glasgow. D. MACGILLIVRAY.
Army Examinations.
I was very astonished to read the letter of ‘‘ Twenty Years
an Army Class-master” in your July issue. It is true that the
Army examinations are again to be altered, but it is not true
to say that the regulations will be issued without consultation
with experts. Surely “ Twenty Years an Army Class-master ”
has seen the Report and minutes of evidence of the War Office
Committee on the education and training of officers, which was
issued in May, 1902. On this Committee were, among others,
Sir Michael Foster, Dr. Warre, and Mr. Walker ; and among
the witnesses were Mr. Baker, Mr. Compton, Captain James,
Dr. Macguire, Mr. Philpotts, Mr. Pollock, Mr. Roberts, and
Mr. Somerville. Surely these may be styled experts in educa-
tion! And it is on their evidence that the new regulations
were drawn up. The latter are all in favour of a simplification
of the examination, and a discountenance of cram. The only
point in the Report that is open to grave criticism is the
discouragement given to modern languages. After the startling
display of ignorance given by our officers during the Inter-
national Expedition to Pekin, one would have thought that the
War Office would have seen the necessity of encouraging
language study. | DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE.
Geology as a Branch of Nature-study.
FORTUNATELY the attempts made by some enthusiasts to
define and delimit nature-study, to say what subjects exactly it
shall include and what natural phenomena it must disregard,
have not as yet met with much success. The idea that nature-
study should be regarded rather as a means to develop an open-
eyed and intelligent interest in Nature in all her aspects seems,
however, to gain general acceptance. Personally I am glad of
this, for my work lies inan obscure corner of England, where no
one of intelligence can, it seems to me, live a single week
without wishing to understand the broad principles governing
the arrangement of the rocks building up the crust of the earth.
Our school is within a quarter of a mile of the sea, and
the cliffs there, as in many other parts of North Cornwall,
provide material enough for the object lessons of many terms.
Within the space of a short walk are to be found examples of
such geological structures as horizontal, inclined, and contorted
strata; synclinals and anticlinals ; faulting and metamorphism ;
to say nothing of the various stages in the formation of pebbles
by the action of tidal waters; the well-known phenomena of the
weathering of hard and soft rocks; and the formation of sand
dunes.
The exigencies of our school curriculum make it impossible to
find time enough for the inclusion of geology as a formal subject
in the school time-table, though we are able to give a certain
number of periods to what we call now by the name of nature-
study. At first, it seemed to me that the advocates of nature-
study wished the name to be confined to the study of plants and
animals and to have inanimate Nature ignored, and I was by
no means sympathetically disposed towards what seemed most
likely shortly to become merely a new school-subject. The
The School World
[AuGuST, 1903
official report of the exhibition held in London last year, con-
taining as it does an excellent address by Prof. Grenville Cole
on the subject of ‘ Geology as a branch of Nature-study,” has
reassured me, and I have not hesitated to allow geological
subjects to take their turn with plant and animal studies during
the hours assigned to nature-study. I hope other teachers will
follow my example. H. PETHERICK.
Memorial to the Late Mr. T. G. Rooper.
A DESIRE has been expressed in many quarters that steps
should be taken to perpetuate the memory of the late Mr. T. G.
Rooper, M.A., H.M.I., who passed away on May 20th, 1903,
occasioning a regretful loss to a large circle of friends, and de-
plored by all whose privilege it was to be associated with him in
varjous branches of educational work. All who knew him are
aware of the value of his inspiring influence, his far-sighted
enthusiasm, and his noble character.
Mr. Rooper held the office of H.M. Inspector of Schools in
the Isle of Wight, Southampton, and the vicinity during the last
seven years, and previously spent fifteen years as H.M. Inspector
in the Bradford district. His splendid work in the cause of
education is widely known throughout England, and his
influence extended to other countries. His powers and his
means were always generously placed at the disposal of the
many movements with which he was identified.
An influential Committee has been formed to give effect to the
feelings referred to by establishing some permanent memorial in
honour of Mr. Rooper, so that there may be carried down to
future generations the record of a name and a life which will
always be held in peculiar affection and esteem. In order that
the memorial may be associated with the work to which he
devoted almost the whole of his life, the Committee suggest that
it should take the form of a scholarship, to be called the
“Thomas Godolphin Rooper Scholarship,” tenable at a place
of higher education by students who have at some time been
scholars of a public elementary school, but that all conditions
should be finally decided at a meeting of subscribers. To raise
a memorial worthy of the occasion, a sum of from 41,500 to
£2,000 should be obtained—sufficient to found a scholarship of
the annual value of not less than £50. The Committee beg to
call your attention to this memorial scheme, and to appeal to
the sympathy and support of your readers.
The contributions of your readers are earnestly requested.
Cheques may be sent to Mr. A. Key, 31, Belmont Road,
Southampton. Further information concerning the memorial
will be gladly supplied by .
F. J. C. HEARNSHAW,
Hartley University College, J. F. HUDSON.
Southampton.
ann a i
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent to
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THE SCHOOL WorLD ts published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy ts sixpence.
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The Editors will be glad to consider suttable articles, which, if
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All contributions must be accompanied by the mame and
address of the author, though not necessa? tly for publication,
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
COPY BOOKS AND PENMANSHIP IN
THE SCHOOLS.
By J. W. Jarvis.
St. Mark’s Training College, Chelsea.
Advice a century ago.—The Modern Upright Style and
sts present modification.—The Civil Service Hand .—
A new and beautiful Handwriting.—Some Copy-books
with spectalties.—Blank paper.
“ HE Accomplished Tutor,” or complete
system of liberal education, published in
1806, gives the following instructions to
young gentlemen and ladies “for the attainment
of the art of writing : ”—*‘ It is necessary that the
learner be provided with the implements requisite
for writing: a good pen, and good free ink, with-
_ out which it is impossible to write a fair copy; a
round or flat ruler (the round one is used for dis-
patch, and the flat one for sureness); a leaden
plummet or black-lead pencil to rule the lines,
without which the learner will never write
straight; and some pounce or gum sandrack-
powder to rub the paper with, if it be too thin
to bear the ink, and when bold hands are to be
written, as large text, German text, or the like;
also when a word or sentence is scratched out
with the penknife, in which case the place must
first be rubbed smooth with the haft of the knife,
or a piece of clean paper, and then rubbed with
the pounce to enable it to bear the ink. A quarto-
sized copy-book is the most proper, as each page
will contain a copy of ten or a dozen lines, which
will be sufficient to write at one time.” Then
follow instructions about ruling lines parallel to
each other, and after a page of warning about the
tops and tails, and the very hygienic one of not
allowing the abdomen to press more than very
gently against the desk, the learner is told that it
‘is requisite that he should know how to make and
mend his pen before he proceeds to copy in round-
hand text twenty-six apothegms each of which
begins with a new capital letter, Xerxes weeping
at mortality, and Zeal being sometimes proper,
concluding a most suggestive series. The chapter
ends by a receipt for making black ink, to which,
if the green peelings of walnuts be added, a stronger
SEPTEMBER, 1903.
= m m Á ee
and more beautiful colour is given. Chapter II. is |
No. 57, VoL. 5.]
SIXPENCE.
aw = eer ra Je Se i a re ad ek ee! ——_— =
a remarkable one on secret writing, and small
wonder the agony column flourished, for the in-
structions are worthy of the inner ring of a diplo-
matic service. .
But we have changed all that. The modern boy
has never heard of pounce,! never uses a round
ruler if he can get a flat one, dare not scratch out
in his copy-book, and could not make a quill pen
to save his life. All things are done for him, and.
the art of penmanship is passing away before the
art of typewriting
The problem before the master now is the choice
of style in which his pupil shall write. The old-
fashioned hand was distinct and clear, but weak in
the up-strokes. It was occasionally disfigured by
flourishes, and was a somewhat difficult thing to
acquire, and few copy-books in this method can
now be obtained. The slope to the right has
grown more vertical, until we have the “ Upright ”
copy-books. The publishers claim for this new
style of penmanship that it produces a maximum
of legibility, and that it makes the ordinary for-
ward scrawl and the ungraceful backhand equally
impossible.
Fic. 1.—McDougall’s ** Upright” Copy-buoks.
To Mr. John Jackson must be credited the
establishment of vertical writing as a system in
1886, and since then he has had many imitators.
It is certainly an aid to the practice of writing
shorthand, and it is claimed that it is allied to the
position taken in drawing.
Varta Uw pial, houi. and, amuruk af Ausma
Fic. 2.—Jackson’s New Style Vertical Writing (reduced in size).
This is probably claiming tgo much, for the
difficulty of preventing the ungraceful backward
slope is almost insuperable, and the same pub-
lishers have issued a series of semi-vertical copies.
l Pounce, a fine powder, such us pulverised cuttle-fish bone, used to pre-
vent ink from spreading on paper, now superseded by blotting paper.
cc
322 The School World [ SEPTEMBER, 1903.
In these there is a slight slope to the right in order Messrs. Chambers, in their ‘“ Government Hand
to obviate the tendency to backhand writing. Copy-book ” have introduced the older forms of
the capitals. These are better in design, and the
exercise of writing is an esthetic occupation.
3
oar a a j E A
Fic. 3.—McDougall’s * Upright” Series (reduced in size).
Messrs. Macmillan have issued a series of copy-
books in which, while maintaining the upright
stroke, they avoid the pointed curve which is seen
in Figure 1. The writing is bold, legible, and grace-
ful, and extraordinarily easy to acquire. It is free
from flourishes and tails of any description, but
its long letters are shorter, and unless the pen 1s
held correctly, there is a tendency towards the
backward stroke.
Fic. 6.—Blackie’s Civil Service Copy-book.
Teachers should not sacrifice too much to the
utilitarian principle, nor feel that there is not
ample time in the schoolboy’s life to acquire at
least a graceful way of doing things.
The practical difficulty in the adoption of a
universal Civil Service Hand is the attitude of the
merchants, who do not like a change of style in
their ledgers. City book-keepers nearly all write
alike, with finely-pointed long pens, and it is a
source of pride with them that page after page of
their books is written in precisely the same formal
hand. This slopes rather more than the Civil
Service, and the spacing, that is the distance
between the letters, is not such a prominent
feature. Many publishers successfully combine
the two, as is shown in the copy below.
IZL PAE
Fic. 7.—Cassell's Modern School Copy-book.
The Day Boch cortaumno entreo of all
goods potd on credit during the dary
FIG. 4.—Macmillan’s “ Oficial ” Copy-books (reduced in size),
To avoid this a semi-vertical slope, also called
Civil Service Hand, from the style of writing
which obtains in the English Civil Service, has
been introduced. It is very legible, and when
spaced properly is probably the clearest form of
handwriting to be obtained. It receives medical
sanction because the relation of the forearm, wrist,
and fingers are such that a slight forward slope is
natural, and so this system is conducive to greater
ease and speed of production. Mr. Vere Foster
was the great exponent of this style, the essential
principle of which is that from the beginning of
their training pupils are taught to write words
continuously. From end to end the pen is not
lifted, and the characters are formed and the
junctions effected so as to render the writing
‘natural and easy. Greater distance is observed
between letters than between the parts of a letter,
and so one letter is never confused with another,
and a severe simplicity 1s aimed at in order to
secure a maximum of legibility. It is very easily
learnt, and does not rapidly degenerate, but it
shows none of the characteristics of the writer, it
reveals nothing of that individuality which makes
the receipt of a pen-written letter such a charm,
This is practically the style which holds at
and as a work of art it is monotonous.
present, which our pupils are taught in the junior
forms of our schools. Apart from its clearness,
its advantage is that it does not prevent the boy
developing his own style when a man, and it
gives to that style a roundness and a freedom
which does not belong to the untaught hand.
Before leaving the general question of hand-
writing, reference must be made to a very de-
lightful book entitled “ A new Handwriting for
Teachers,” by Mrs. M. M. Bridges, and published
by the University Press, Oxford, 3s. 6d. In form
and general character it is like the Italianised
Gothic of the sixteenth century. The authoress
Aull the “Ways of lite art pleasant;
Fic. 8.—Specimen of Mrs. Bridges’ Writing.
Allou mot nature
Fic. 5.—Vere Foster's Bold Writing Serics, No. 17. (Blackie.)
Mr. J. Logan, in “ Blackie’s Civil Service Copy-
book,” has a modification in favour of clearness of
style. ‘The strokes are finer, the loops more open,
and the flatness of the connections at the top and
the bottom are avoided. Like all this series, the
capital letters are not things of beauty, and some
are distinctly forms of debased curves (Fig. 6).
complains that the common ugliness of the old
copy-book writing comes from the mean type our
pupils have seen, and urges that more good models
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
for slow writing should be provided. It is not an
attempt to resuscitate an ancient art, but to pro-
vide modern scripts which are based on beautiful
models, in the hope that children will realise how
lovely a thing handwriting can be. It belongs to
the craft of the engraver and artist, and it is
refreshing and hopeful to find an appeal for leisure
and beauty in these days of haste and utility.
In this alphabet a few of the letters have
two or three variant forms; in some cases these
are merely alternatives and can be used according
to taste, others are for distinct use as initials or
finals.
T he School World
From this attempt to restore or to introduce '
sixteenth-century forms we teachers can at least
safely learn two things, viz., that handwriting may
be in itself beautiful, and that we may show our
pupils various ways of making the same capital
and small letters without increasing their burden
of knowledge.
One of the best series of copy-books issued is the
« Public School Writing Book.” No expense has
been spared in producing the headlines, which are
not only beautiful specimens of the art of the
engraver, but they are models of correct writing.
The paper is good and the passage from formal to
current hand is cleverly devised.
a er ee ot ee ee ee ee ee eee cee eee eee eee. ee ee ee ee re re |
Fic. g.—Allman's ‘' Public School Writing-book.”
Messrs. Blackwood, in their “ Universal Writing-
books,” have attempted to solve the problem of
securing uniformity of style by printing a series of
books with dotted oblique lines which slope in the
direction taken by the letters. Pupils are asked
to go with the grain, t.e., to follow these dotted
caval
if r
Fig. 10.—Blackwood’s “ Universal Writing-books.”
lines entirely, and a good style of handwriting will
result. It represents a form of hand-training very
much in vogue forty years ago, when the master
wrote several lines faintly with blacklead and made
the pupils pass their pens over them. The rulings
`
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7 z ~ ~ — q `
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a ~ Vere tees
en = eS
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- . Su
“o TA a
: k x, ~~
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L-A =
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suit all words, and so there are no headlines to be
copied. Just as the railway train must keep on
the rails to perform its journey, so the pen must
keep on the lines in order that a finished copy may
result. For beginners this is an admirable system,
and Mr. J. T. Pearce, of the Technical College,
Leith, may be congratulated on his device.
Inspection of the annexed diagram shows how
to use the “ Universal Writing-books” effectively
during any lesson which involves writing. It is
not necessary to keep exactly on the lines; in
order to obtain uniformly good writing, pupils
require only to be taught to ‘‘ go with the grain ”
as indicated above.
For those teachers who favour simultaneous
work in class, Messrs. Nelson have prepared copy-
books in which the copy is detached from the page
by cutting it after the book is printed. A pupil who
is absent when page one is written can, by turning
the copy over, write the proper headline on the first
page. The plan is very suitable where there is
much exposition on the blackboard during the
lesson, and as the book is particularly well stitched
there is little or no danger of the headlines being
torn off.
The same publishers, in their No. 8, “ Royal Star
Copy-books,” have adopted in the latter part of the
book the very bold policy of omitting the lines and
leaving a blank page with a headline at the top.
At first sight this would fill a pupil with despair,
and teachers who do not care to try experiments
will avoid them, but, unfortunately, in the world
of work much writing, including all correspondence,
is done on blank paper, and so pupils should be
regularly practised in this. As letter-writing is
very carefully taught in these schools, the older
boys do not use lined foolscap, and this strange
result follows: the boys acquire a running hand
in a free and legible style before they leave, so
without making a special point of teaching hand-
writing the pupils turn out very good penmen, able
to space and to set out the work on a blank page to
the best advantage.
(To be continued.)
THE fourteenth report, that for 1901-3, of the National
Association for the Promotion of Technical and Secondary
Education is now available, and contains an excellent summary
of the present state of secondary and higher education in the
different parts of the United Kingdom. The report is divided
into seven sections, of which the first is of an introductory
character, the second fs concerned with the Education Act,
1902, the third contains a brief account of the Conference on
Higher Education held last March, the fourth deals with a variety
of important subjects including the allocation of the Local
Taxation Fund, the fifth provides information regarding Scottish
education, the sixth summarises recent educational developments
in Ireland, and the seventh is made up of miscellaneous subjects,
among which may be mentioned the chief facts as to the
registration of teachers. The same association has also pub-
lished, separately, a full account of the proceedings at the Con-
ference on Higher Education.
324
AVAILABLE SCHOOL WALL-MAPS.
By E. R. Wetney, M.A, F.R.G.S.
Bradford Grammar School.
HE purpose of this article is to examine the
state of the wall-map market from the point
of view of the teacher of geography. We
shall therefore indulge in no fine writing on the
theory and use of wall maps in general; we shall
hurl no fulminations against men who never use
wall maps in geography lessons; we shall simply
pry into what we consider the relative merits of
the publications now on the market, in the hope
that our comments, invidious perhaps sometimes
but honest always, may be of assistance to intend-
ing investors in this branch of geographical appa-
ratus. And here we must enter a disclaimer: we
have no pecuniary interest in any of the maps we
appraise. Much of what we may say will perforce
appear as ‘‘advertisement”’ literature. We can-
not help that. We have nothing to gain one way
or another. Our remarks are based upon an abso-
lutely impartial enquiry into merits—* merits,”
that is to say, according to our own unaided judg-
ment—and our thanks are due to the kind way in
which the various publishers to whom we have
applied for catalogues, specimens, &c., have re-
sponded to our blandishments. |
Presuming then, in the first place, that the mai
object of the wall map is to act as a means to an
end and instruct its students in the right use of the
school, or other, atlas, and, in the second, that all
the maps mentioned or alluded to in this article pos-
sess the obvious but necessary qualities of trust-
worthiness, reasonable accuracy, and fair up-to-
dateness, or down-to-dateness—as they express it
with greater directness in America—the questions
teachers should ask themselves before choosing a
new wall-map are: (1) Is it adapted to fulfil this
“main object?” and (2) How does it present
these ‘‘ necessary qualities °” to the eyes of the
class? In plain English, maps to be acceptable
must be large enough to “ visualise ” their main
features, bright enough to attract the attention
of, and clear enough to prevent confusion amongst
the occupants of the hindermost benches of the
class-room. Moreover, they must be cheap enough
to suit the pocket of the schoolmaster. Working,
then, upon these lines, let us see how the market
stands.
Physical geography is the base of all good
geography teaching. Where are the best physical
geography maps to be obtained here in the British
Isles? For we may say at once that we have no
intention of discussing the output of the famous
German or Austrian firms, except where Britishers
have become their publishing agents. Three series
or sets stand out prominent :—
Philips’ Sydow-lHabenicht Series, Stanford's Oro- |
graphical Maps} and Nelson's Royal Wall Maps.’
l Philips’ Sydow-Hanenicht series, 73 in. x 68 in., Li 3s.
= Stanford's Orographical Maps, soin. x< s8in., Lr ros.
© Nebson’s Royal Wall Maps, 6 in. < 59. in., 155.
The School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
For ourselves we should vote for the first-named, but
let that pass. All three sets portray their physical
geography on the orthodox lines of international
colouring—greens for lowlands, browns for high-
lands, and varying shades of blue for ocean depths.
But the Philips’ set stands out best, though he
would be an inveterate grumbler who would find
much fault on this ground with the other two. An
objection might be made to the exaggeration of
highlands and of rivers in all maps of this type.
We take it that such objection would be ill-founded.
A good ‘‘ teaching ” “ wall ”-map must be diagram-
matic ; boldness rather than fineness of execution
should be its chief feature. Whoever uses the
Sydow-Habenicht set may be certain, at all events,
that his most stupid listener will know where the
chief highland regions are to be found and where
the great rivers flow.
For the rest, this series shows few names, paints
boundary lines in red, and dots towns (graded
according to size) in the same colour. Recent
editions have introduced improvements, to wit, a
few limit-lines of certain typical flora, and insets
of the British Isles or parts of the British Isles, on
maps of the continents. We venture to think that
this last improvement is one which should be
grafted on all maps. In choosing a map ourselves,
it is almost the first thing we look for. A map of
North America without an inset to show the insig-
nificant size of the United Kingdom is, diagram-
matically, incomplete.
It should be noted that Philip has several other
series well worth attention and much cheaper than
the Sydows. The new ‘Comparative’ series,'
based on the maps of the excellent school atlas of
‘‘ Comparative ” Geography, and the smaller Xe-
lsevo Lest Maps? are examples to the point. The
map of Africa in the first-named series can be
thoroughly recommended. In addition to the
physical features of the continent it includes all
Southern Europe and much of Western Asia, and
shows as insets a bright political map of Africa, a
diagrammatic section from the Congo mouth
across to Zanzibar, and by way of comparison a
map of England on the same scale as the general
map.
The Stanford Maps are of course good, and equally
of course absolutely trustworthy. For teaching
purposes, however, we do not consider them quite
up to the first of the three we have selected. The
latest departure, JJackinder’s Europe* notwith-
standing its contour lines at 500, 1,000, 5,000, and
15,000 feet in varying shades of brown, and its
grey, almost transparent lettering, which allows
the insertion of plenty of names for the teacher's
benefit, appears almost insignificant by contrast.
The Nelson Royal Wall Maps claim each to be a
combination of a physical, political, and test map.
The names are delightfully unobtrusive, the
physical features are quite bold enough, and each
map is divided into squares of English miles. We
Philips’ Comparative series, 74 in. X 59 in., 16%
2 Philips’ Relevo Test Maps, 30 in. X 23.1n., 5s.
3 Stanford's ‘‘Orographical Map of Europe.” Edited by Mackinder.
6o in. X $4in., £i.
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
specially commend the map of the British Isles in
yelation to the Continent.
Mention of these Nelson Maps leads directly to
the subject of “ Test Maps” pure and simple.
Whether they be used as “ tests ” or not, we con-
sider that they embody the best principles of class
teaching. Anyone who teaches much geography,
and who knows his subject well enough to discard
the aid of the wall-map names, comes to regard
all names on the wall map as nuisances, for just
when he wants to find out how much of his work
is bearing fruit in the class he cannot use his map!
Most publishers advertise “test maps” as such,
though we should include in this category all maps
whose names are illegible to students at a short
distance. In addition to Nelson's, Philip intends to
issue test maps of the Comparative series, Bacon’ has
some excellent work in this line, and Moffatt’s* (now,
we believe, in the possession of E. J. Arnoid and
Son, Leeds) are of strikingly bold appearance.
So much for the great physical wall-maps.
Though they are distinctly preferable, in our
Opinion, even for teaching political geography—
given good atlases in the hands of the class—all
teachers like to have ready to hand a choice of
some good political maps. The difficulty is to
keep them up to date. A ten-year-old physical
map is usually as useful as the day it was bought ;
a two-year-old political map is often more than
useless; it is actually harmful. Bearing this in
mind, the following may be relied upon in this
present year :—Philips’ Large Series,” Bacon's
Excelsior Series’ Gill's Cartographic Series? and
W. and A. K. Johnston's Imperial Series The
Philips’ set are all very clear, bright and unobtrusive
in the matter of names. Those published by
Bacon are as good as any “ politicals” : rivers
blue, hills brown, names black, town spots red—
they are familiar objects on schoolroom walls, as
they deserve to be. They are intensely diagram-
matic, though for ourselves we prefer the Test
Series, uniform with the Excelsior, and defective
only in the fact that the physical features are a
trifle too subdued. For the juniors we like the
set known as the Bold Features’ which have the
great recommendation of inordinate cheapness.
Special mention should be made of this firm's new
British Empire which has several distinctive and
notable features: it is drawn on the indispensable
Mercator’s projection, but, as correctives to this
form of error in dimensions, comparative areas
are drawn in diagram at the foot of the map;
Sandford Fleming’s 24-hour zone notation (for
a standard uniform time) is shown on the upper
margin; Australia is depicted twice over so as to
show how it can be approached from East or
West; the coaling stations are marked, and dis-
1 Bacon’s Excelsior Test Maps, about 54 in. X 60 in., 13S lo 155.
2 Moffatt’s Test Maps, 58 in. X 50 1n., gs.
3 Philips’ large series of Political Maps, 68 in. x 54 in., 145.
mentary series of about 80 in. x 60 in., at about £r 15.).
4 Bacon's Excelsior series, about 54 in. x 60 in., 13S. to 15>
5 Gill's Cartographic series, 80 in. x 60 in., 16s.
6 W. and A. K. Johnston's Imperial series, 72 in. X 63 in., 215.
7 Bacon’s Bold Feature series, 30 in. X 40 in., 6s.
8 Bacon's British Empire, by Parkin and Bartholomew, 72 in. x 48 in.,
15s.
(Supple-
T he School World E
325
tinction is drawn between British and foreign ; the
chief commercia] routes are given; the colouring
adopted is naturally red for British possessions, a
light red for British spheres of influence, and a
neutral tint for the rest of the world. It is right, of
course, that so patriotic a map should display a
Union Jack and Royal Arms prominently in
its forefront, but it is, to say the least, odd that the
“ jack” should be utterly and totally wrong in its
drawing! Gill's Cartographic Maps are unique in
one respect—the bold white lettering of coastal
names on the deep blue of the coastal waters. . The
only objection is that there are too many names,
though the publishers consider there is no
grievance on this head. The series began some
four or five years ago; it is printed in seven
colours, and boasts that it is ‘‘ produced entirely
in the British Isles.” The latest addition—a fine
map—is that of the British Isles in relation to Conti-
nental’ Commerce and Trade Routes. To the critical
eye the maps are crude and highly inartistic ; but
they are diagrammatic enough in all conscience,
and so ought to work out their own salvation.
W. and A. K. Johnston's Imperial Series is a good
example of bold map-making. The publishers
issue a handbook of explanatory matter with each
map —a commendable idea. The maps themselves
we are inclined to think a little overcrowded. The
same firm issues a large number of other series of
varying qualities—all more or less good—but space
prevents our entering into details anent them,
and a publisher’s catalogue can usually be obtained
gratis !
So far we have devoted our attention almost
entirely to the large wall-maps, say of some 5 ft. or
6 ft. by 4 ft. or 5 ft. In many private schools the
very size of these maps is against their utility.
There are, however, in the market several smaller
types of map to meet their wants. Here js a
choice: the chooser will not go far wrong with any
of them:—WNelson’s Wall Atlas,' Bacon's Wall
Atlas? the well-known Ruddiman Johnston Series,’
and the new MacDougall Sett The wall atlases, as
their name implies, are a series of eight to twelve
maps bound together on one roller. Their technical
advantage is their handiness; they can be slung
over a blackboard and turned over to the desired
map like pictures in a portfolio, Both Nelson’s
and Bacon’s are beautifully clear and distinct.
Those of Ruddiman Johnston have proved their
worth by the safest of criteria, time. We have
only seen one of the MacDougalls, /udia, a photo
relief map in maroon, and very good we thought
it. To teachers who have to teach geography in
rooms too small for the larger wall maps we
recommend a device we have seen practised
with great success. Cut out the maps of any
good atlas, say Longman’s (edited by Chisholm),
frame them cheaply and hang them in continuous
—_—
1 Nelson's Royal Wall Atlases, 30 in. X go in., 8 to 12 maps, 12s. Od.
to 17s. od.
2 Bacons Wall Atlases, 30 in. x 40 in.
number of maps. About 3s. 6d. a sheet. ;
3 Ruddiman Johnston's World series of Class Room Maps, 34 in. xX
Different prices according to
24 in., 2s. 6d. , ,
4+ MacDougall's Educational Co.'s Photo Relief Maps, 3310. X 26 in.
320
line and systematic order round the room. They
are bright and attractive; they give an air of dis-
tinction—not to say refinement—to their habita-
tion, and they are handy for all purposes of
exposition,
As to map-mounting and map-showing, all sorts
of apparatus are on the market, varying in degrces
from the expensive, but effective, map “cases ” cf
Stanford, W. and A. K. Johnston, &c., through
spring rollers at 15s. a foot, ratchet rollers,
portfolios, book volumes, cabinets, screens, single-
string winders, revolving stands, elevators, et hoc
genus omne, down to the ordinary roller of the
ordinary teacher with his length of picture cord
and a couple of screws, For these and sundry we
must refer the reader once more to the catalogues.
But before we close we must say something on
what one may term wall-map substitutes, or better,
perhaps, wall-map complements. We mean Relief
Models and Blackboard Maps. The best models we
have seen are those published by Arnold of Leeds,
and known as the 4. L. sertes. For teaching
youngsters the rudiments of geography any one of
them is invaluable. There is a large choice (some
thirty all toid), and—this again for the juniors—
the publishers claim that they are unbreakable.
The relief work is very good though much
exaggerated. In Europe, for example, the hori-
zontal scale works out at 66 miles to 1 inch,
and the vertical at 24 miles to r inch. There
are but few names, and for the colouring—
the sea is sea-green, the rivers white (cut into the
plastic material) and very plain, the towns red dots
and the railways red lines. In some, Nature
becomes realistic; in one the Red Tarn on
Helvellyn can be filled with water, and all the
operations of a spring observed; in another,
Vesuvius—at a slight extra charge—can be made
to produce eruptions of startling severity at will!
Excellent samples are the models of Yorkshire, the
Aletsch Glacier, Africa, Lancashive, Victona, and
North Wales.
Of blackboard maps we call special attention to
Philips’ Map-building Sheets* and W. and A. K.
Johnston's Slate-cloth Maps.* The map-building
sheets are on “ blackboard paper,” with red outlines
only. We have used coloured chalks on these
with great satisfaction to the young folk and much
amusement to ourselves. The slate-cloth maps
are printed in black; by the aid of this device the
teacher can electrify his geographical charges with
the ease and rapidity with which he can sketch out
this or that portion, or, indeed, all the map, say,
of Europe. And there we will leave him for the
present. At some other time, when he is older
and richer, we may point out that no class-room
is complete without one or two Reference maps,
such as Stanford‘ and W. and A. K. Johnston's ‘
1 Arnold and Son's A-L. Relief. Models. Edited by Alonzo Gardiner.
From erin. X27 in. to stin. & ge in. From 18s. 6d. to 425.
2 Philips’ Map-building sheets, 42 in. X 32in. Single maps at rs. 6d. ;
sets from Ós. to 125. .
WwW RA. K. Johnston's Slate Cloth Maps. 50 in X 42 in., 148.
+ Stanford's Library Maps, 6¢ in. to 70 In. X 50 in. to 6o in., 255. to 555.
W.A A. K. Johnstons Library Maps. 52 in. to 7210. X 4310n. to 561n.,
2s. to GIS
_ The School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
Library series and Philips’ County maps.! One
thing there is which he ought todo: piece together
and paste up the Ordnance map? of his district —
not so much for teaching purposes as for the
sake of the finest reference map in the British
Isles.
FIRE PREVENTION IN
BUILDINGS. |
SCHOOL
By FELIX Cray, B.A.
II.—New BUILDINGS.
AVING briefly considered in last month's
issue the apparatus that should be found
in every school in order to provide against
the risk of fire, in the case of old or existing build-
ings, it is intended in the present article to give
notes upon some points to be borne in mind when
considering the scheme of a new building. They
may conveniently be taken under six heads‘:—
(1) Site or position, (2) Plan, (3) Construction,
(4) Equipment, (5) Management, (6) Periodical
inspection.
Site.—Under this héad comes the consideration
of the position of the school with regard to
neighbouring buildings. It is of course so desirable,
for reasons of light and air, that a school should
stand well away from other buildings, that there
ought not to be any danger of fire from adjacent
houses. But in cases where any danger is to be
apprehended from an adjacent building fireproof
shutters may be with advantage supplied to the
windows on that side. If these are windows where
wired glass could be conveniently used, this will be
found an effective barrier in case of fire.
Pran.— The building should be so schemed that
no part of it can be cut off from a staircase in case
of fire, that is to say, the staircases should be at
each end of the building, in addition to any that
may be required in the middle, as in the case
of a large school, so that wherever an outbreak
occurs none of the occupants can find themselves
with the fire between themselves and the staircase.
Direct and easy access should of course be
arranged to the stairs and exits, taking care that
there should be plenty of room at the foot of the
stairs; if these discharge at right angles into a
corridor unless of considerable width, or close to
the door of a class-room, there is a likelihood of
dangerous crushing in case of panic. The stair-
cases should continue right up the building, and
are safer if constructed in the form known as
‘ boxed,” that is, with a wall up the centre; this
is, however, sometimes objected to on the ground
1 Philips’ Large Scale County Maps, 40 in. to 70 in, x 30 in. to 50 in.,
7s. 6d. to 61r 15.
2 Ordnance Survey Maps. three scales (25 in., 6in., 1 in. to r mile)
Agents in all large towns, 6 in. map, 2s. 6d. per sheet.
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
of appearance, and also that it renders supervision
more difficult. In America it iscommon to find an
emergency staircase leading from the upper floors
directly in to the playground; this is not required
or used in ordinary circumstances. A square stair-
case leading right up the building and lit by a
skylight or lantern at the top is a great danger in
case of fire; it acts as a gigantic flue to supply
the air.
An important consideration to be borne in
mind during the planning of a building is that of
providing against the rapid spread of a fire when
once started. Jn a school which has to be
arranged with the view of allowing for the rapid
and easy movement of large numbers, the difficulty
of cutting off the different parts is of course
considerable, and it would be hardly possible to
provide fire-proof screens and curtains for con-
fining a fire as far as possible to the immediate
neighbourhood of the outbreak; a brick wall,
however, is one of the most effective barriers
against the spread of fire, and, as far as can be
managed, internal partitions should be of brick and
continued right up the building from the basement
to the roof. The ease with which upper walls can
be carried on iron girders, and so not necessarily
placed over a wall below, tends very much to give
fires a chance of spreading.
CoNSTRUCTION.—Recent experience in regard to
fires taking place in so-called fire-proof buildings
points to the fact that such buildings have in case
of fire an element of danger that has to be added to
that belonging to a building of the ordinary con-
struction, for, though built to a large extent of
materials that are themselves practically incom-
bustible, and in this way of course tending to make
an outbreak of fire less likely, yet behave very
treacherously when once a fire has got a footing.
The stone staircases crack and break off, the iron
expands and twists, pushing out the walls, the
concrete floors collapse, and falling on to the floors
below not only do great damage but render the
work of the firemen more difficult and dangerous.
The materials to be selected are those that are as
little as possible subject to expansion and con-
traction under rapid changes of temperature, such
as timber, bricks and mortar, and good plaster. At
the recent Fire Prevention Congress, held in
London in July, great stress was laid upon the
value of sound timber construction, especially in
the case of floors. A well-made floor with the
ends of the joists well bedded in the walls, flooring
boards not less than one inch thick well tongued
together, the spaces between the joists filled with
pugging, and the underside coated with plaster one
inch thick on wire laths, will resist the action of fire
either from above or below for a very considerable
time, only giving way when burnt right through.
Although the use of timber in the floors may to
some extent increase the smoke, this does not
amount to anything of great importance, since
everything else in the room, the hangings, &c.,
must be well alight before the floor begins to burn.
Stud partitions covered with lath and plaster
and hollow in the middle are extremely dangerous,
The School World
327
acting as a ready channel for the fire from one
point to another; nor is there any necessity for
their use now that so many different kinds of solid
and fireproof partitions are to be obtained.
Staircases of stone, although generally recom-
mended as a fireproof construction, should not be
used unless they can be placed in a well apart from
the main building. As pointed out above, stone
stairs are very untrustworthy when exposed to heat;
being for part of their length built into the wall,
the expansion is bound to be unequal, and they are
apt to snap off at the point of junction when
exposed to heat. A staircase made of hard wood,
such as oak or teak, with its underside coated with
plaster, will remain in position and serviceable long
after it has been impossible for any human beiny
to go up or down it, and even if it does catch alight
the first jet of water will make it passable again ;
heat sufficient to set alight such a staircase would
either break off stone steps or render them im-
passable. In a large preparatory school built not
long ago the staircases in the boarding house were
made of oak after consultation with the fire-brigade
authorities as the safest method of construction.
A Safe and satisfactory form of stair can be con-
structed out of concrete, with solid two-inch treads
of teak or oak. .
When using timber in buildings as a form of
fireproof construction it must of course be only in
substantial form well protected, and care taken to
avoid any exposed edges.
The arrangement of the fireplaces and flues is of
course a matter of extreme importance, particu-
larly in the case of wooden floors; care should be
taken to see that the wooden centring 1s removed
from the small arches that carry the hearth stones.
A better plan is to carry these on concrete, carried
the full depth of the floor with the plaster applied
directly to the underside of the concrete. Flues,
unless surrounded with a full nine inches of brick-
work, should have fireclay linings. A danger in
the case of buildings warmed by means of air
brought in over hot pipes may be mentioned here.
It often happens that on a mild day in winter all
the registers are closed, in which case the tempera-
ture inside round the pipes rises dangerously high ;
some of the registers should be made so that they
cannot be closed, in order to ensure a movement
of air.
EquipMENT.—In providing the apparatus for
a building it is of importance that it should be
selected and made to suit the particular building,
water supply, &c.; competent advice from a fire
engineer should be obtained while the scheme of
the building is still under consideration; much
additional expense and loss of efficiency is caused
by leaving, as is often the case, the question of
fire protection until the building is nearing com-
pletion. The usual appliances consist of fire
mains supplied with their water either from a
water company’s main or from a tank in the roof,
having hydrants or firecocks on each floor with
the necessary hose and nozzles attached to each
hydrant.
The water supply is of course of the first import-
328
The School World
ance, and until this has been satisfactorily arranged ©
for, it is of little use providing the other apparatus.
It is not possible to enter upon the question here,
but it may be pointed out that the water to be of
any real use must be under considerable pressure.
A tank in the roof will give but a small head of
water to the hydrants on the upper floors, and
unless the jet is thrown with. force, it is not of
much effect as a fire extinguishing agency. In
order to meet this difficulty, Messrs. Merryweather
have brought out an ingenious piece of apparatus
called a ‘‘ pressure augmentor,” which occupies
but little room and is easily worked by hand or
driven by an electric motor or other power. By
means of this a very powerful jet of water can
be obtained where the pressure in the mains is
too small to be of any real.use. In a large build-
ing there should be one or more large supply-
pipes or mains running right up the building with
an ample supply of plain hose on each floor so
arranged that any point of the building can be
easily reached.
In addition to this supply of hydrants for a
severe outbreak, there should be on each floor
a small hand fire-pump, as described in the article
of last month, for use in case of a small fire dis-
covered in an early stage, and so to avoid the
damage of a large stream of water.
The fire mains are best made of cast iron and
the internal diameter should not be less than
three inches; they should be properly coated
with composition to prevent rust. The choice of
the hydrant requires care, as it must be so made
as not to be liable to freeze or to stick; the thread
_of the screw should not be too fine, or it will be
very liable to damage from a chance blow. With
regard to hose, the only form that is at all durable
is leather; this has the drawback for use inside
a building that it is not quite waterproof, but any
form of canvas hose treated with indiarubber to
make it impervious is very short lived, the rubber
deteriorating very rapidly ; plain canvas hose is
less waterproof than leather and liable to mildew
and rot.
MANAGEMENT.— Under the head of management
would come the various forms of drill and practice
in the use of the apparatus supplied. The proper
method of using the hydrants and hose requires
instruction and practice, and the staff of the build-
ing ought to be taught their use. Many of our
larger schools have a fire-engine and a fire brigade
composed of boys in the school, the members of
which might well be instructed in the use of the
fixed apparatus as well as in the use of the engine.
The question of fire fighting lies outside the scope
of these articles, which only aim at giving some —
suggestions as to the precautions to be taken and
the apparatus to be kept, so that if an outbreak
should occur the means for dealing with it
effectually and promptly may be at hand, and
to ensure at least, if the building itself cannot be
saved, that at all events there shall be no loss of
lite.
Finally, the greatest danger to which all fire
apparatus is exposed is that of disuse and its
| SEPTEMBER, 1903.
consequent deterioration. The only way to guard
effectually against this is to insist upon a
periodical inspection and trial of apparatus. The
manufacturers of fire apparatus. have recognised
this fully, and make arrangements to test and
inspect the apparatus they supply at stated
intervals, and also to carry out drills and give
instruction to the members of the staff of the
building.
SCHOOL-ROOM TRAVEL.
By Prof. GRENVILLE A. J. COLE.
Royal College of Science, Dublin.
HE title of this article is taken from that of
a “ Descriptive Catalogue of Stereographs
designed for use in classes and libraries of
public and private schools,” compiled by Mr.
W. E. Long, and issued by Messrs. Underwood
and Underwood, of New York and London. The
stereographs, which are of excellent quality and
variety, are to be used in conjunction with a
cheap stereoscope in schools. It is highly desir-
able that each child. should be supplied with one
of these instruments, which need cost only four
shillings, and becomes part of the permanent
apparatus of the school. The photographs are
sold at 8s. 6d. per dozen; and here, again, it would
be well to purchase multiple copies of subjects
used in general instruction.
Thus, as the catalogue itself explains, several
copies of a landscape showing a typical valley or a
typical mountain can be given out to the class,
and the teacher can indicate the salient features.
This avoids the darkening of the room, and the
formal lecturing, that occur in the case of lantern-
slides ; while there is no doubt that the impression
produced by the stereograph is one of amazing
vividness. When asked to prepare this article,
I confess that I had no conception of the pleasure
that lay in store for me, or of the grasp obtainable
of the scale and the component parts of a land-
scape when regarded stereoscopically instead of
in the flat. Í
Messrs. Underwood, and the authors chosen by
them, deal with the pictures from a traveller’s
point of view. Despite pages 7 to 37 of the cata-
logue, where something more systematic is sug-
gested, geographical teaching is not kept much in
sight. Yet it is the teacher of elementary classes,
and not the person who likes to take his evan-
gelical or literary hobbies with him into the high
places of the earth, who will be the serious gainer
by the present enterprise. Both in choice of
subject and method of description, we are reminded
too forcibly of the ‘‘organised tour” and the
«summer conference,” which have done so much
to fill their participants with a sense of repletion,
af not of satisfaction.
Probably English teachers can select what will
suit their special courses, for series of pictures can
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
be broken into and recompounded in any order.
Here and there, a complete set will be advisable,
where it forms a detailed study of a limited district.
Such a set is provided in the Yosemite series now
before me. The whole twenty-four stereographs
are arranged to illustrate a definite tour through-
out the valley; and we can conceive the effect
produced on British classes by a similar introduc-
tion, say, to the Snowdon massif, with its cirques
and ridges, or to the Western Isles of Scotland, as
one steams in and out along the sounds. Special
emphasis is very properly laid on the maps accom-
panying the local series. Each view is there
represented by two red lines, radiating from the
point where the observer is supposed to be stand-
ing. He thus knows exactly what lies within the
picture; and the combination of map and land-
scape is in itself an admirable lesson. While the
teacher should make a copy of the main features
of the map on the blackboard, so as to direct the
class while the views are circulating, it would be
desirable that one of the detailed maps should be
available for each pair of pupils, so that the roads,
rivers, and changes of slope, may be observed
upon it, and identified, with culminating pleasure,
in the landscape.
This is, in fact, one of the many joys of prac-
tical geography, of travel by road in a new country.
We note the map mile by mile, and delight in the
unfolding of the features already promised by it.
To the geographer, the ‘cyclists’ route map ” is
an abomination, for it omits all but the immediate
surroundings of the road. Messrs. Underwood's
detailed system should inspire the pupil with a far
finer perception of what goes to form a landscape.
Anyone who examines the Yosemite series of
stereographs systematically will feel that he has
acquired new conceptions. I should prefer to
overlook the description of the district in the
Catalogue (p. 35) as a “ sample of Nature’s eccen-
tricity”; and the statement on p. 7 of the Guide-
book, by Mr. C. Q. Turner, that ‘‘ the origin of
this great Sierra range was fire”; and a few
loosely popular or sensational expressions which
have no function in geography. The phrase
(p. 23 of the Guide), “all is guess and scientific
speculation,” shows that the writer does not claim
to be a man of science. He dwells, indeed, on
superficial details, without becoming truly syn-
thetic, or connecting these details with the steady ©
carving out of the district on the western flank of
a great continent. Yet the map and the pictures
supplement one another so excellently that any
sound teacher can draw up a lesson for himself
with the aid of ordinary works of reference. Let
him accept the topographical guidance of Mr.
Turner at the outset, and then utilise his apprecia-
tion of the country for the special ends of his own
pupils.
. The Yosemite series opens with perhaps the
finest view of all, where a sharp foreground of
rocks is obtained on Inspiration Point, and the eye
is led into the valley through successive levels of
the forest. Then, above the wooded floor, rise the
cliffs of the wide cañon, a great waterfall pouring -
The School World
329
over one of them on the right; far up beyond are
the peaks that stand about the valley on the east.
It is certain that no ordinary lantern-projection
could give the same effect of successive distances.
A more audacious and equally beautiful picture is
that from the crags of Glacier Point (No. 14), the
interval between the happily poised figure on the
rocks and the far cliff on which the eye next rests
being two-and-a-quarter miles. The high country,
of which the Yosemite valley is an incident, is well
seen stretching northward beyond the great leap of
the river.
It isin these vast aérial distances that the stereo-
graph is at its best. The views of Rome look
tame in comparison ; and yet here and there some
small detail in a particular picture is brought out
as if tochallenge our assertion. Take, for instance,
the flooded vegetation in No. 7 of the Yosemite
series; or the water in the Devil’s Punch Bowl of
the Yellowstone, which literally boils before our
eyes. In another view, the roofless houses of St.
Pierre stand out below us with a terrible reality,
while the gloom of Mont Pelée still darkens all
the air. If 1 quarrel with so suggestive a system
of instruction, it is only in the matter of choice of
subject and exposition.
The book styled ‘Italy through the Stereo-
scope,” by D. J. Ellison, D.D., contains 602 pages,
and is, I imagine, a fair sample. Is the teacher to
read these wordy descriptions, these drawn-out
anecdotes, toaclass? Is it history, or geography,
or just “travel,” the gossip of the conducted tour,
that is to be imbibed by such a method ? Whata
child wants to know is that lava is hot, not that
Dr. Ellison had to ‘‘ keep on a hop in order to
stand on it.” The ridiculous story about the
exorbitant charges of photograph “ venders,” with
its shrewd reference to the advantages of stereo-
scopic views, occupies three-and-a-half pages of
small type. What with classical narratives that
are better learnt from the ‘“ Student’s Rome,” and
the hackneyed descriptions of works of art, which
the teacher cannot transmit unless he feels
personally moved by them, there is no geography
of any kind in the volume. Merely ‘travel,’ the
thinnest kind of travel, where the tourist is always
ready to gaze on new things, and to conjure up
correct emotions from the writers of a previous age.
Where is the real Italy in this book—Italy which
all but bridges the Mediterranean; Italy, the
youngest child of Europe, still heaving in the
throes of birth? Where is the vision of her
empire, stretching east and west, wherever the sea
could bear her armies, but checked at last in the
vain attempt to draw a cordon through the
German plains? Where is the struggle for
supremacy between Genoa and Venice, or a
mention of that larger Italy which once kept
Dalmatia from the Turk? Messrs. Underwood
have not yet made their true appeal to the
geographers.
Perhaps a simple way of doing so for British
classes would be to illustrate some composite
treatise, such as Mr. Mackinder’s handsome
series, or Dr. Mill's ‘“ International Geography.”
330
Here we have the work of men who know the
countries about which they write. The teacher
can select such subjects as he requires, and frame
his lessons from large books of reference to suit the
aptitude of his class. Any personal experiences of
his own will of course appeal most keenly to his
pupils; but they will probably be spared the
phrases “ majestically grand,” “ Nature multiplies
her charms,” ‘* wonderful witness to Aztec en-
lightenment,’’ ‘‘ prowess of American arms,” and
similar expressions which abound in transatlantic
newspapers, and find their way into the present
catalogue of views.
I have no claim to be regarded as a teacher of
geography; but long travel on the roads and by-
ways has made the comprehensive survey of a
country a thing dear to my own mind. To know
what lies beyond the horizon, to see landscape
fitting into landscape in one harmonious whole, is
_to provide every scrap of history with its back-
ground, and the arts and manners of a people with
a setting that may prove an explanation. To
realise the aspect of a country—and here is the
opportunity of the stereographer—adds a surprising
warmth and colour to the “ Latest Intelligence” of
the daily press, and may go far towards educating a
future politician.
To take a near example, what should we wish to
know, in a broad survey, about France? Should
we not seek illustrations of the fundamental
structure of the country? On these bones the
living flesh of history has been moulded. Let us
view Azincourt and Crécy-en-Ponthieu lying in an
open landscape so like our own home-counties
that we feel the pertinence of the Anglo-Norman
claims. Let us see Paris growing from its island,
and needing a strong northern race to hold it as
the heart of France. I think I should show the
gates of Moret-sur-Loing, one for Paris and one
for Burgundy, and then seek the stronghold of
Semur upon the plateau, and the sources of the
Seine and Marne. Here we reach the rim of the
great northern basin, the counterpart of our own
Cotteswold Hills; and we realise the struggle
between France and Burgundy in this wide un-
defended country, a region without structural
lines. Safely down below lies Dijon, in the valley
of the Saône, with its monuments of an almost
regal rule; and eastward rise the Juras, a land of
scarps and deep ravines, where the strange race
that held the valley for a thousand years was
finally broken, and forced back into solidarity with
France. The story of all these comings and goings,
these thunderings at the gates of Paris, where
Swiss hirelings met the men of antique Brittany,
is wrapt up in matters of geography. And out of
it all rises the purest voice in Christendom, that
of the Maid whose dream was unity, who swept
the English from Orleans, much as she would
drive sheep from the gateway of her upland farm.
When we have passed Orleans, we reach the
rim of northern France again at Bourges, whose
merchants looked, indeed, southward and traded
as far as the Levant. And here we meet the
central plateau, a high mass of granite and ancient
The School World
[ SEPTEMBER, 1903.
rocks, cleft by the Loire and the Allier, which
manage to get out northwards, and bounded on the
east by the mightier waterway which still forms
the main route to the Mediterranean. On the
west we have Limoges, depending on the granite
for its industry; in the centre a line of volcanoes,
marvellously fresh at the north end, and dissected
on the south, where the earlier masses have been
carved out into somewhat forbidding crests and
valleys. These form the upland pastures of
Auvergne, cut off from the modern life of the
lowlands, a country of cattle and cheeses, the
scattered burrons being often the only features on a
mountain-side. We have to cross the Cevennes to
get out of this region, which is still primitive and
sauvage in the French sense; and then we plunge
suddenly into the Mediterranean south. Here is
quite a country by itself, tinged with the dust
blown fiercely from the valley of the Rhéne, where
every town has its temples, baths, or amphitheatre,
recalling the long years of Roman rule. This
warm and accessible region must have seemed to
the colonists an extension of the plain of Italy.
Dry Cretaceous marls and limestones rise from it
on the east and west; and in the centre the Rhône
brings down the powder of the central plateau and
the Alps, and spreads the great delta seawards,
blotting out the ports of the Crusades. Here one
can pick out picture after picture rich in human
interest, but wrapped together in one geographical
province, the common ground of France and Italy;
Avignon built about its rock, Arles and Orange on
the Roman highway, Aigues-Mortes lost amid the
sea-banks and lagoons, and, by contrast, finally,
the forest of masts in the open and prosperous
harbour of Marseilles.
l cannot do more than mention the Alpine
heights of Dauphiné and Savoie, where the curve
of the Mont Blanc chain brings down the noblest
frontier in Europe between modern France and
Italy ; or the superb fan-delta of Gascony, where
the whole country is controlled by the rivers
streaming from the Pyrenees, and the towns sit
isolated, high upon the banks, each one crowned
with its yellow fortress or bastide. Enough has
been said to indicate the sort of picture that would
convey to a Class the essential qualities of France.
If we exhibit a cathedral, let it be because the
plain-dwellers were great builders of cathedrals,
by which their cities are marked out ten or fifteen
miles away. The delicacy of workmanship, and
Ruskin’s commentary, are beyond the scope of the
general class whom we seek to interest in the
earth. If we exhibit Paris, let it be l'Ile de la
Cité, the Corps Législatif, expressing modern
nationality, and the Place de la Bastille, expressing
the vital insurrection. The Vendôme column,
moreover, Carries us across all Europe, and should
be compared with the statue of Vercingetorix on
the hill of Alise-Sainte-Reine, where the untutored
and generous Gaul withstood the Napoleon of his
day. These empire-builders and empire-witb-
standers count for much in political geography:
but the tomb of Napoleon, or the ruins of the
Tuileries, may be left for ordinary travellers. In
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
conclusion, school is not a place where the every-
day tourist should be manufactured wholesale.
If we open the door—and we cannot do better—
to Messrs. Underwood’s method of pictorial
geography, let us see that the essentials are set
before us, and that our vision is stimulated along
certain lines, rather than jaded with variety. The
pupil will then know that a host of details will
attract him when he is fortunate enough to travel
for himself, but that these details will fit into
their places on the foundation laid out in his school
days.
ON THE CORRELATION OF STUDIES.
By A. SONNENSCHEIN.
T is as difficult to over-estimate the value of the
correlation of studies as it is easy to mis-
understand and misapply it. The kinship
which subsists between some branches of study is
so natural and obvious that even indifferent teachers
have observed and more or less utilised it. Who, for
instance, fails to perceive that pure mathematics
gain in vividness of apprehension if their theorems
and conclusions are applied to practical work ? If
an arithmetical progression is brought to bear on
the phenomena of gravitation, then the student
sees that the problems connected with an A.P., so
far from being a baseless fabric of the brain, re-
present natural forces universally active. The
series
1, 3) 5 7 9 &c.
L lI. III. IV. V
1=1x1, 143=2%, 14345=3%, 143-5 t7=4%, 1+3+5+7+9=5",
and so on, reveal to the young student an unex.
pected property of numbers, which cause him to
wonder and to think, and if he can be induced to
discover the demonstration for himself he will
derive more than a merely intellectual benefit from
the effort. Similar and still greater advantage is
secured by connecting trigonometry with survey-
ing and astronomy.
Again, history and geography aid and illustrate
each other. It has been said that geography is
the body and history the soul of a country, but
this is an overstatement of the case, for the study
of geography is quivering with an independent life
of its own. Nevertheless, there is a valuable truth
in this dictum, for many historic events are in-
telligible only if their theatre is known and under-
stood. |
The survival of Keltic speech in Wales and in
Scotland, the successful resistance of Styrian and
Tyrolese peasants to the Napoleonic power, the
formation and continuance of small communities
in the Alps, and per contra the creation and growth
of the vast despotic domain of Russia in the great
plain of Eastern Europe, all find their explanation
in the geographical features of their respective
countries.
B The School World
331
Again, Britain’s industrial and commercial pre-
eminence is due to the fact that by their intelligence
and energy her inhabitants have known how to
utilise her mineral wealth, her insular position,
which makes her accessible to friends and inac-
cessible to foes, and London's central place in the
land-hemisphere. Dr. A. Kirchhoff, the eminent
Professor of Geography at the University of
Halle a/S, has lately published a little work en-
titled * Mensch and Erde,” which shows, in a
masterly manner, the action and reaction on each
other of a country and its inhabitants by what he
calls ‘‘ telluric selection,” and he would be a poor
teacher of geography who would neglect to draw
profit from its lessons.
So, too, the study of the mother-tongue and of
foreign languages mutually aid and support each
other, if the teacher is skilful enough to exhibit
similarities and contrasts with telling force, for, as
in the case of anatomy and many other studies, it
is only by comparison with other kindred pursuits
that the subject of study can be best understood.
Goethe says, with his usual acumen: ‘‘ Wer fremde
Sprachen nicht kennt, weiss nichts von seiner
eigenen.”
But if correlation of studies is of such high value
in secondary schools, it is still more so, nay, it is
all but indispensable, in elementary education.
Lessons in speaking, t.e., in clear and distinct
utterance and in due accentuation of every syllable,
in word- building and spelling, in reading and
writing, are all intimately connected with each
other, and by their mutual support the little learner
is enabled to overcome difficulties which appear at
first sight to be unsurmountable at so tender an
age.
It has lately been the good fortune of the present
writer to witness a reading lesson given in a board-
school in the south of London. The mistress,
painstaking and conscientious, built up on the
black-board all the new words of the lesson with
such skill and accuracy that she riveted the atten-
tion of her large class of seventy (!) children, who
watched with eager interest the growth of the
words and their transmutations by the successive
changes of single elements. This reading-lesson
was followed by a writing lesson, which reproduced
the new words learnt, and fixed them in the mind
by means of the analytical and associative, and
not merely repetitive or carrying memory.
So much for the natural and obvious correla-
tion of studies; but there are teachers and men
entrusted with authority who endeavour to create
arbitrary relationships, which are not only value-
less but distinctly harmful. Some, for instance,
use the shape of the letters of the alphabet for
lessonson form. Thisis in every way reprehensible,
for, at that early stage, children should be led to
deal with things and not with their symbols; nor
are the shapes of many of the letters sufficiently
simple for the children to describe them from
memory as they ought to do; and finally, a know-
ledge of the names of the letters, before their
functions are known, is a positive hindrance to the
early reading-lessons. Lessons on form should be
__ 337.
given on the sphere, the cube, the oval, the
cylinder, the oblong, the cone, the pyramid, the
prism, the disc, the circle, &c., &c., thus systema-
tising and giving precision to the child’s earliest
notions on space.
Some men in authority urge that Nature-studies
and early reading-lessons should be made to
support each other. They suggest that the
examination and oral description of some natural
object, say a bird or a flower, should be followed
by a reading-lesson on the same subject. This
advice, though very alluring and plausible, is
impossible of execution, because the classification
and graduation of the difficulties of the two
branches of study cannot be made to run on
parallel lines. How, for example, can a robin be
described with its fwo legs and eyes, its feathers and
beak, its red breast and throat, without abandoning
all classification and combination of the elements
of English reading and spelling? This method
would necessitate the adoption of the baleful
“Look and Say” method of teaching reading.
What the advocates of this plan really seem to
desire is that, when the children once are able to
read with fair fluency, they should, before reading
a description of some natural object, themselves
look at and orally describe it, and then compare
their own observation with the account of the
object given in the book ; a most desirable practice.
Numerous other instances of spurious correlation
of studies can be adduced, and will naturally
suggest themselves to the reader. It now only
remains to point out the tests for recognition of a
real connection between different branches of
study. These are: first, the studies must mutually
support each other. It will then be found that
subjects are often related to each other, not in
pairs but in groups, and they should, after the
several initiatory steps had been taken in-
dependently, be made to advance simultaneously
as muchas possible. Secondly, if subjects, though
apparently helpful to each other, present difficulties
which cannot be surmounted simultaneously, then
advancing fari passu should not be attempted.
THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
SCOTLAND.
f T a general meeting of the teachers of
Scotland of various Christian denomina-
tions, held within the High School of
Edinburgh on Saturday, September 18th, 1847,
it was agreed that for the accomplishment of
certain specified objects an Association, composed
of the teachers of Scotland, to be called the
‘Educational Institute of Scotland,’ should be
then formed.”
So runs the official account of the inception of
the Educational Institute, and a ‘ preliminary
statement’’ informs us that the objects of the
Association were ‘‘to increase the efficiency of the
teachers, to improve their condition, and to raise
The School World
[ SEPTEMBER, 1903.
the standard of education in general.” No bad
aim, we may well agree, in these latter days. It
has taken the country a long time to arrive at the
truth—if it has yet really done so—that the well-
being of the teacher is inextricably bound up with
“the raising of the standard of education in
general.” °
The Institute is thus nearing the completion of
its fifty-sixth year of useful existence. This, we
suppose, makes it the oldest professional teachers’
association of national dimensions now to be found
in any part of the world. Of this claim Scotland
may reasonably be proud, and other associations
of greater size and more powerful resources may
well agree to yield to the Institute the palm in the
matter of antiquity. It js not a claim that sisters
are usually anxious to dispute.
Formally constituted in 1847, the Institute soon
embraced within its fold a membership of eighteen
hundred. Teachers of all grades joined—univer-
sity professors, principals of high schools (called
rectors north of the Borders) and parochial teachers.
A comparison of the list of members then with that
for the present year shows that the democrati-
sation of education during the past thirty years is
reflected in the predominant character of the class
of teachers who form the Institute. The Institute
was really founded by secondary-school teachers
with a smaller number of ordinary parish-school
teachers. While there are still university pro-
fessors and numerous secondary-school teachers
among the members, still by far the greater pro-
portion is now drawn from the primary-school
system. This mixture is quite in keeping with
the traditions of Scottish education. It must be
remembered that there was no hard and fast line
separating primary from secondary education. A
parish school did, or did not, do secondary work
just as the teacher was, or was not, able for it.
Even in these days of delimitation the attempts
of those in authority to define and separate the
respective spheres of primary and secondary edu-
cation and to segregate pupils and schools into
corresponding groups have so far had but little
support from Scottish public opinion.
An important step forward in the history of the
Institute was taken in 1851, when a Royal Charter
of Incorporation was granted by the Privy Council.
It is both interesting and instructive to read that
the prime movers in this matter were ‘ William
Hunter, LL.D., Rector of the Ayr Academy and
present President of the Educational Institute of
Scotland; Fletcher Read Low, LL.D., of the
High School, Glasgow, and Daniel Macintosh, of
the Meadowside Academy, Dundee, two of the
present Vice-Presidents of the Institute, and
George Ferguson, A.M., Professor of Humanity,
King’s College, Aberdeen, the present Secretary
of the Institute.” Among other privileges granted
under the charter was one that is becoming more
and more valuable as the years pass—the power
of granting degrees. The Fellowship of the
Institute (F.E.1.S.) is eagerly sought after by
teachers in Scotland, and every year sees a greater
number of applicants from other countries who,
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
The . School World
although of high professional standing at home,
have considerable difficulty in satisfying the re-
quirements of the Board of Examiners, the
statutory body presided over by Dr. Hugh Dickie,
Rector of Kilmarnock Academy. Tradition has it
that the granting of the fellowship was not always
so strictly guarded as now; but such laxity, if it
ever existed, is now happily a matter of ancient
history.
It may conveniently be noted here that under
the charter certain powers of examining and certi-
fying as to the attainments and professional skill .
of teachers and as to the scholarship of others
were conferred on the Institute. The examination
and certification of teachers soon fell into abey-
ance, and became practically a dead letter when
theeCommittee of Council on Education formally
undertook that duty, and began to issue “ parch-
ment certificates.” This may be looked upon as
a distinct professional misfortune to teachers,
inasmuch as it took away from them the privilege
so carefully guarded and so much prized by other
professional bodies—viz., the right to determine
who shall and who shall not be admitted to the
register of qualified practitioners, whether it be
law or medicine.
But the other examining powers of the Institute
still remain and are to-day in active use. The
examinations conducted quarterly by the Institute
in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Dublin, are
held by the respective authorities—the British
Medical Council, the Royal Veterinary Council,
the Phamaceutical Society and the Dental Asso-
ciation—as satisfying the requirements for their
preliminary examinations. The registrar for these
examinations is Mr. S. M. Murray, 40, Princes
Street, Edinburgh (the headquarters of the Insti-
tute). It is gratifying to observe that, in keeping
with the traditions of the country, the Institute
manages to make quite a tidy income from its
preliminary examinations.
Leaving history and coming down to actual
present-day facts, it will be interesting to give
some account of the constitution of the Institute
and its method of working. As befitting a society
of fifty-six years’ standing, the constitution of the
Institute is a somewhat complicated affair not to |
be rashly attacked, and certainly not quite easily
understood. Safeguards are so numerous and so
carefully balanced, to secure that no undue hurry
shall ever mar its action, or that no hasty hand
shall pull down what was built up with so much
loving care and on the whole with so much com-
mendable foresight, that there are not wanting
certain people of somewhat fervent and go-ahead
temperament who affirm that the safeguards are
in reality strangling the life of the Institute.
They hint that a dynamite cartridge, judiciously
placed in the works, would be a most useful con-
tribution to progress. But all that these icono-
clasts have hitherto managed to do is to produce |
some fine schemes—on paper. Up till now,
they have not done much effective reformation.
Few apparently can withstand that final argu- |
ment, viz., the flaunting of the charter in their
333
On this point your contributor can speak
faces.
feelingly, as he has dared greatly and done little.
The executive of the Institute consists of a
President (Mr. A. T. Watson), Vice-President
(Mr. George Fenton), Ex-president (Mr. George
Rae), Secretary (Mr. John Laurence), Treasurer
(Mr. S. M. Murray), Secretary to the Board of
Examiners (Dr. Dickie), and a General Committee
of Management, at present numbering fifty-three
—in all, fifty-nine individuals. Such an unwieldy
body can meet but seldom (four times a year),
and is not fitted for the speedy transaction of
business. Consequently, there is wholesale dele-
gation of administrative powers to numerous
Mr. A. T. Watson, M.A.
Rector of Dumbarton Academy and President of the Educational Institute
of Scotland.
committees, of which the chief is the special com-
mittee which in recent years has done much execu-
tive work—‘ usurped,’ some say. But whatever
the shortcomings of the General Committee of
Management as an administrative body, it has
one advantage which, in the estimation of some, out-
weighs all its disadvantages. From the fact that
it is popularly elected and that it draws its mem-
bership from every part of Scotland, from Caithness
to Wigtownshire, it is truly a representative body,
and by this means it is able to focus educational
opinion in a way a smaller and otherwise more
efficient committee could not do.
While executive powers are thus vested in
the General Committee of Management and its
numerous delegated committees, in theory and in
334
actual fact all powers are centred in the Annual
General Meeting, which is held on the “ Saturday
immediately following the third Friday of
September ’’—a most effective Shibboleth, that
date, with its numerous 7’s, to distinguish between
the true-born Scot and his southron neighbour.
This gathering of the clans takes place according
to rules and in keeping with unbroken tradition in
the precincts of the Royal High School of Edin-
burgh. The delegates from the local associations
assemble to the number of about a thousand for
the transaction of business, but thousands more
make this annnal pilgrimage to the Mecca of
Scottish education, drawn there by educational
zeal, by custom, by the hope of meeting old friends,
and by the expectation of being able to fill certain
black bags with the numerous specimen publica-
tions scattered broadcast by generous publishers.
There are certain libellers on the country brother
who affirm that by judicious gathering of the said
specimens sufficient materials are collected to run
a small school for the ensuing winter. At any rate,
the black bag is much in evidence, and book cata-
logues—the badge of all our tribe—overflow into
Princes Street, where the lady teachers may easily
-be identified in the promenading crowds by the
‘tellstale bundle carried in their hands.
An important part of the proceedings of the
annual meeting is the delivery of the Presidential
Address. Custom has prescribed that the greater
part of the morning sederunt (anglicé, session) shall
be given up to the swan-song of the out-going presi-
dent. But here, again, the innovator is anxious to
make a change. He says that, as all the business
of a year has to be crowded into one short bustling
day, the President’s Address should either be
delivered on the evening of the previous Friday,
-or should be held as read. Some one may in
ignorance suggest that the annual meeting should
- begin an hour sooner in the morning, only to be
‘told that the charter says specifically and definitely
: that business must begin at eleven o'clock. The
ignorant one may well think that what is needed
regarding the charter is another Cromwell to say,
“ Take away that bauble.”
But, as a matter of fact, the business part of the
annual meeting does not reflect credit on the
Institute. There is too much to do to permit of
proper deliberation of the items on the agenda,
and sometimes important points have to be
scamped in the necessity of the time. Then
Scottish teachers are not so practised in the rules
of debate as to permit them to follow orderly pro-
cedure. It is no uncommon incident to see two
or three delegates attempting to address the Chair
simultaneously, and most of the speakers would
think it an infringement of their natural rights
were they not to have as many opportunities of
speaking to a “ motion ” as they pleased. Still
the business is done somehow in a sufficiently
satisfactory manner to permit the work of the next
year to be carried on, and that, after all, is the
vreat thing.
3ut the Institute has another public function.
About the time of the New Year holidays the
The School World
(SEPTEMBER, 1903.
Annual Educational Congress is held at one or
other of the prominent centres of population.
This “ movable feast” is arranged largely by the
local association of the chosen place aided by the
officials from headquarters. Glasgow was the
scene of the last Congress, Dumfries of the
previous one. As the name implies, this is purely
an educational congress. In reality, it is a public
meeting which anyone may attend, and in the
proceedings of which anyone may take part. In
addition to the President and other teachers who
may be said to represent the professional element,
prominent outsiders are invited to use the congress
platform to enunciate their views on educational
topics. Thus at Dumfries, Mr. Haldane, K.C.,
M.P., gave an address on “ University Extension
and Reform,” which has had permanent effect in
moulding public opinion in Scotland on this
subject. This year Dr. Michael Sadler and Mr.
Thomas Shaw, K.C., M.P., appeared on the
platform of the Glasgow Congress. The freedom
of the meeting was admirably exemplified in the
case of Mr. Shaw’s address, in which he took
occasion to argue for the continuance of the exist-
ing School Board system on practically its present
footing, and the Congress unanimously resolved
there and then directly the contrary to the dis-
tinguished special pleader.
This separation of function between the
business Annual Meeting in September and the
Educational Congress in January has much to
commend it and might well be imitated by other
associations. Two useful purposes it serves may
be noted here. It serves to identify in the public
mind the close connection between the Educa-
tional Institute and the progress of education, by
making the Congress of this body the occasion on
which important contributions to the discussion
of prominent educational topics are made. It
serves to keep teachers in touch with the opinions
of the outside world, and takes them away from
viewing every question through narrow pro-
fessional spectacles.
The fifty-seventh Annual General Meeting of the
Institute is at hand. The officials will be able to
report on the continued prosperity of all branches
of the Institute work. The financial report will be
gratifying as showing evidence of vigorous life, and
the results of the educational propaganda carried
on in the country will also give satisfaction. The
Benevolent Fund is flourishing. It is worth
noting, by the way, that this is maintained ex-
clusively by a special annual contribution from
each member of the Institute of one shilling.
Certain domestic questions are ahead of the
Institute, and these will come up for discussion,
the most important being the arrangements for
the future made necessary by the lamented death
of Dr. Mackay, late Treasurer of the Institute, and
for many years its most prominent personality.
We give a protrait of Mr. A. T. Watson, rector
of Dumbarton Academy, the President for the
current year. Elected by a unanimous vote in
1902, Mr. Watson has proved himself a splendid
chairman of the General Committee of Manage-
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
ment, and in his numerous public appearances has
done honour to his high office. The great tradi-
tions of the past have been safe in his hands.
How great they are is sometimes not properly
appreciated, but a glance at the roll of past
presidents is of itself a convincing proof of the
great part the Institute has played in the history
of Scottish education. The oldest surviving ex-
president is Principal Donaldson, the distinguished
head of St. Andrews University. The President
for 1892, Prof. John Young, of Glasgow Univer-
sity, died during the past year. One ex-president
more we may mention, although he is very much
alive indeed. Professor John Adams, of London
University, President of the Institute in 1896, is
a man whom the Scottish teachers delighted to
honour, for reasons which educational London is
now finding out for itself. It is therefore, we
repeat, high praise indeed to say that Mr. Watson
has fulfilled splendidly the great tradition of the
chair.
But no body can live on mere traditions of the
past, however glorious. The present work must
be carried on, and the future must be kept in view.
Important developments are before us in Scottish
education. Changes are in contemplation which
cannot fail profoundly to affect both the educa-
tional future of Scotland and the personal position
of the teacher. The Institute must be up and
stirring, ready to take that share in shaping the
necessary legislation which its undoubted influence
warrants us in expecting. Wisely guided and
effectively applied, that influence could do much.
It has been alleged, possibly with some truth, that
the Institute has in the past been somewhat slow
to move. There lies before it an excellent oppor-
tunity of proving that its honourable antiquity
does not cause the blood to run sluggishly in its
veins, but that its lengthened experience serves
only to guide aright and not to delay the necessary
action.
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION IN
GEOGRAPHY.
WO suggestive syllabuses of instruction in
geography for elementary and secondary
schools respectively have just been issued by
the Royal Geographical Society. The elementary
syllabus, drawn up by the late Mr. T. G. Rooper,
was completed by Mr. G. G. Chisholm, and that
for higher schools is due to Mr. H. J. Mackinder.
Both syllabuses have been discussed by a special
committee appointed by the Council of the Society
at the request of the London School Board and
the Oxford and Cambridge School Examinations
Board, and they should be of real value in indi-
cating what competent authorities consider to be
the functions and scope of geographical teaching.
The fundamental idea of the courses proposed is
personal observation of local conditions, and the
| The School | World
335
relationship of the material for study thus provided
to cause and consequence in the geography of the
world as a whole.
All who are interested in the improvement of
geographical teaching will find themselves in
general agreement with the views of the committee
of the Royal Geographical Society. Whether the
syllabuses will have any influence upon the work
of schools is, however, another matter. So
long as any master is considered competent to
teach geography, and so long as examiners set
questions which can be answered by learning
topographical tags, the subject must remain in
its present unsatisfactory position. We are all
agreed that improvement is desirable, but little
advance will be made until a practical teacher pro-
duces a course of work which can be carried out
under the ordinary conditions of school work by
men who have not been specially trained to teach
geography, and in the one or two periods a week
devoted to the subject. It must be recognised that
field work in school hours is impracticable in most
cases, and that the only workable course which
can be accepted under existing conditions must
be of the nature of a compromise.
Three or four years ago the Cambridge Local
Examinations Syndicate issued an admirable
course of instruction in physical geography for
junior and senior candidates, with notes on prac-
tical work, but less than two thousand pupils were
presented for examination in the subject last year,
while more than ten thousand took geography of
the ordinary type. It should be evident from this
that teaching follows the line of least resistance,
and that littleimprovement is effected by a syllabus
when the work prescribed cannot be insisted upon,
or requires special knowledge and equipment to
be performed successfully.
What is wanted at the present time is a course
of general geography for schools which will cul-
tivate the mental activities of the pupils and can
be carried out almost entirely in the class-room.
A good atlas, and a work of reference such as
‘SWhitaker’s Almanac,” or the ‘‘ Statesman’s Year
Book,” provide material for study, and practical
exercises based upon them, or upon results of
observations made in leisure hours, should be
worked by students in their note-books. When
someone shows how this can be done, a real
commencement will have been made in the
application of scientific methods to the study of
geography in schools.
The ideals set forth in the syllabuses of the
Royal Geographical Society ought to inspire
better methods of instruction. Indeed, if suit-
able teachers could be found and sufficient time
placed at their disposal to develop the courses
in the manner advocated, it would not be long
before the fact was demonstrated clearly that
geographical work of the right kind is one of the
best instruments available for the proper develop-
ment of the pupil’s intellectual faculties. In the
absence of specially trained teachers and in view
of the already crowded curriculum of both our
primary and secondary schools, however, it is a
_ 3360
counsel of perfection to advocate field work in
school hours. All educational improvements take
a long time to become general, and, though much
in the new syllabuses may be familiar to the better
teachers of geography, the underlying conceptions
of the need for more practical work are by no
means generally accepted. We trust this publica-
tion of the Royal Geographical Society will be
widely distributed and carefully studied by head-
masters and headmistresses as well as by teachers
of geography.
ATHLETICS AND OUT-DOOR SPORTS
FOR WOMEN.
to us from the United States, Miss Eaton
Hill being the Director of Physical Training
in Wellesley College.
The students at Wellesley have splendid oppor-
tunities for exercise in the use of their five hundred
acres of grounds and their very large and beautiful
lake, but it is evident that the American woman,
as a rule, before she becomes a student in sucha
college as Wellesley, has very little opportunity of
learning the value of play, many of the directions
given in this book being so elementary that they
appear to us to be unnecessary.
At first sight it is disappointing to find so little
mention made of organised games, those treated of
being only hockey and basket ball, but the evident
cause of this is that the book is primarily intended
as a guide for the training of the individual up to
the highest perfection possible of health of body
and mind, the training of character being, in this
connection, a minor issue. Upon this assumption
we can give almost unqualified praise to the book.
The directions are clear and are copiously illus-
trated, so that anyone by careful study can give
herself a very satisfactory physical training. As
might be expected from the circumstances, the
articles on rowing, Swimming, skating, riding, and
basket ball, are particularly well done. Exception
must be taken to the statement that hockey is the
“king of games,” as it encourages one-sided and
stooping positions, which are in strong contrast
with the nobler positions necessary for either
basket ball or lacrosse.
Swedish gymnasts would also take exception to
the commencing position advocated in the chapter
on home exercises, and also in some cases to the
form of execution. Also in the gymnasium work
the principles of systematic physical development
do not appear to be fully understood. Hence
there is danger of over-exertion, especially as the
students are urged to go on “until they are tired,”
it being essential for true development that over-
fatigue of any particular muscle should be avoided.
In spite of these small drawbacks, we may con-
To interesting and useful publication comes
1“ Athletics and Out door Sports for Women." Edited by Lucille E. Hill.
239 pp. (Macmillan.) 6s. net.
The School World
(SEPTEMBER, 1903.
a Sa re et a a ee ae ee a,
gratulate Miss Hill upon having produced a book
so careful in its instructions and so high in its
aims as the one before us. Women have in these
days of luxurious self-indulgence to learn, not only
for their own sakes but for the sake of succeeding
generations, the absolute duty of moderation—
something of the old Greek ideal of self-restraint
in all things for the good of the community; so
only is “ physical beauty to be found in abounding
health, grace of motion and dignity of bearing.”
It may save trouble if we point out a printer's
error, namely, that Figures 226 and 227 are
apparently reversed.
MORAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE GREEKS!
HIS book is not quite what its title suggests.
One would expect to find in it a calm and
dispassionate examination, divided into two
parts—for there was little connexion between
philosophy and religion in ancient Greece. What
we do find is difficult to describe. If it were less
ably written we might call it a religious pamphlet
on a large scale. There is a good deal of feeling in
it, and the mode of address to the reader savours
at times of the pulpit or platform. Yet its tone is
so high, its aim so generous, and its actual value
so considerable, that we should hesitate to brand it
with any title which might hinder a reader from
approaching it. If we value it for reasons not
quite the same as promptea the unknown author
to write, we do nevertheless value it. Yet it is our
duty to point out its faults, which we shall do
gently, since the author has now gone where he
cannot defend himself, to those islands of the blest
whose description in Pindar has excited his admi-
ration.
And first, to get the fault-finding over. The
introductory section, describing the land and the
people, the early antiquities of the Greek tribes,
and tracing the influences which moulded their
history, is much too long, and contains so many
errors that it must be used with discretion. The
author relies too often on authorities which are
either unsound or out of date, and much of it—his
suggestions as to the early Greek worship, for
instance—would have to be re-written in the light
of recent discoveries. He gives too much weight
to accepted etymologies, and too little to anthro-
pology ; he interprets early custom by symbolism,
late and often fanciful, as when he suggests that
the oak of Zeus was a symbol of beneficence.
The relation of nature worship to Greek religion is
not adequately grasped. It is unfortunate that this
part, the least satisfactory in the book, comes at
the beginning. When the author approaches his
serious task, he almost ignores the fruitful specu-
1“ The Makers of Hellas: a critical Enquiry into the Philos phy and
Religion of Ancient Greece.” By E E. G. With an introduction, note,
and conclusion by Frank Byron Jevons, M.A., Litt.D., Principal of Hattield
Hall, University of Durham. xxix. + 711 pp. (Charles Grithn.) 10s. 6d
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
lations of the earlier philosophy, and assumes,
without ground, the predominance of Zeus in the
Greek pantheon at an early date. Modern research
is putting quite a new aspect on the relations of the
gods, and ancestor-worship in particular (the exis-
tence of which is denied in this book) is becoming
an important problem.
What then, it will be asked, is the value of the
book at all? It lies in the analysis of the works of
several great writers, from Homer to the drama-
tists, Plato, and Aristotle, from the religious point
of view ; or rather, more properly, from the point
of view of moral ideas, with which (face our
author) Greek religion had little to do. He brings
out clearly how large a part in the poet’s mind was
played by the véuo: &ypago:, the unwritten laws of
right and wrong, which are most strikingly treated
perhaps in the Antigone of Sophocles. His
analysis of moral ideals, and the views taken of
virtue and vice, bring out the characteristic points
of the writers, and their differences, in clear relief.
By the way, it also elucidates the characters of
dramatic poetry. Thus, although literary criticism
was probably far from the mind of the author, few
readers but will be enlightened in this respect by
the careful exdmination of the Antigone or the
Oedipus. Jt follows also that the aims and merits of
the several writers are made clear. We think the
author’s estimate of Euripides is particularly good,
as standing between the extremes of Dr. Verrall’s
“ Rationalist,” and the “literary bungler” of
other critics. The author seems to us to have a
strong dramatic power, which not only discloses to
him the secrets of plot and character, but enables
him to present his poets and philosophers to us
as living men.
One word may be added on Prof. Jevons’ addi-
tions, which were made necessary by the untimely
death of the author, who left his MS. incomplete,
for the editor to publish without revealing his
mame. Prof. Jevons points out well the strong
and weak points of the book, and gives a lucid
summary of the contributions of Greece to the
history of religion. He does not overlook, as the
author is apt to do, the popular side of Greek
religion, and he points out that here too, as well as
among the great thinkers, there was a sincere
faith quickening a ritual often childish or unreason-
able.
Weare glad to conclude by saying that the book
is both interesting and stimulating, and, for those
who are capable of using it with discretion, full of
instruction.
You cannot get a child to learn merely from prudential
considerations; a child is much more idealistic than a grown-up
person, and readily responds to an ideal impulse. You cannot
attract him by the hope of making money in the future. He
wants to learn what the world really is, to make his surround-
ings intelligible. Upon your capacity for putting to the child
the appeal to learn on a basis which attracts his attention, his
response will inevitably depend. —Bishop Creighton.
No. 57, VOL. 5.]
en ae.
337
A NEW SCIENTIFIC THEORY.
By Epwin EDSER, A.R.C.Sc.
Fellow of the Physical Society.
N 1885 Prof. Osborne Reynolds drew attention
to a remarkable property of granular media
which had previously evaded scientific recog-
nition, although it was familiar enough, in one of
its aspects, to dealers in grain. Speaking generally,
we may state that a granular medium possesses the
property of expanding, or becoming less dense,
when subjected to compression: to this property
Prof. Reynolds gave the name of dilatancy.
To explain this property, let us refer to Fig. 1,
which represents 64 cannon balls piled in the
closest possible order. Any one of the balls near
the middle of the pile will be in contact with its
twelve neighbours, the space between the balls
being the smallest possible. Consequently, if any
alteration from this arrangement is made in piling
the balls, the spaces between them will be enlarged,
and the overall dimensions of the pile will increase.
Fig. 2 represents the same 64 balls piled in the
most open order possible. To form an idea of the
|
Fig. 2.
Fig. 1.
difference produced in the density of the pile, let us
take the density of a single sphere as equal to
unity, then the density of the pile in Fig. 2 will be
equal to «/6, while that of the pile in Fig. 1 will be
equal to x/3,/2, Or ,/2 times as great as that in
ig. 2.
This property was well recognised by grain
dealers in times when corn was sold by measure,
instead of by weight as at present. It was then
customary to pile up the measure with corn, and
finally give the surface a blow with a wooden pin,
termed a strake or strickle. This left the measure
apparently filled up to the brim; if, however, it
were shaken, it would be found that the measure
was only about nine-tenths full.
Let us now suppose that an india-rubber bag is
filled with shot, the interstices of the latter being
occupied by water.from which air has been removed
by previous boiling. Let a glass tube be fixed in
the mouth of the bag, so that the water stands
some few inches up it. On shaking the bag, the
shot will arrange themselves in the closest possible
order, the interstices then having the smallest
SoS Bre
1 “Onan Inversion of Ideas as to the Structure of the Universe.” (The
Rede Lecture, June roth, 1992.) By Osborne Reynolds, M.A., F.R.S., &c.
44 pp. (Cambridge University Press.)
D D
_338
possible volume, and, therefore, the smallest pos-
sible volume of water being within the bag. From
what has been said previously, it is easily seen that
if we now compress the bag we cannot avoid
displacing the shot, and thus increasing the spaces
between them, so that water will be sucked into the
bag, instead of being expelled, as might at first
sight have been expected.
A sack containing grain can be deformed into
any shape we please, so long as its mouth remains
open. While the grain possesses a free surface, its
properties are not unlike those of a liquid: many a
ship has been capsized through shifting of a loose
cargo of grain. Directly, however, the mouth of
the bag is closed tightly on the grain, the sack and
its contents acquire properties nearly akin to those
of a solid: no deformation can be produced without
rupturing the sack.
The following experiment comes about as near
to magic as any commonly met with, although its
explanation will be obvious to those who have fol-
lowed the above argument. A child’s india-rubber
balloon is filled with a mixture of sand and water,
which has previously been boiled to expel air. When
the sand is shaken down there should be a slight
excess of water above it. The mouth of the bal-
loon is then closed, all air being excluded, when the
balloon may cautiously be flattened out into a shape
similar to that of a tea-cake. So long as the pres-
sure of the hands remains on the flat upper surface
of the balloon, the contents will remain quite fluid,
since the sand has a free surface beneath the water.
On relaxing the pressure of the hands, the elastic
balloon contracts, and displaces the sand grains from
their previous close packing, thus sucking water into
their interstices. But directly the excess of water
has been sucked into the interior, the sand no
longer possesses a free surface and its apparent
fluidity vanishes. Any further displacement of the
sand grains could only be effected by a pressure
great enough to produce one or more vacuous
spaces, f.e., greater than 15lbs. per sq. in. The
balloon and its contents is now quite rigid, and
when stood on edge it can sustain a weight of two
hundredweight without any appreciable deformation
being produced.
Enough has perhaps been said to explain why
the sand on the sea shore, which has been left wet
by the receding tide, is firm to walk on, while the
dry sand allows the foot to sink into it quite
readily.
The foregoing will give some idea of the property
of dilatancy, discovered and explained by Prof.
Reynolds. This is, however, by no means the end of
the story. Prof. Reynolds has worked out a theory
of the structure of the universe, in terms of the dila-
tancy of a granular medium. The ether is assumed
to consist of excessively small, hard spherical par-
ticles, the diameter of each being about one seven
hundred thousand millionth part of the wave-length of
light. In free space these particles are packed prac-
tically as closely as possible. In places, however,
some particles have been displaced so that a
spherical surface of misfit exists between the
interior particles and those surrounding. Each
The School World ON
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
such surface constitutes an atom, which is thus,
so to speak, a crack in the ether. When an atom:
moves, the ether does not move with it; in advance
of the atom, the ether particles pass into the-
interior of the atom, across the surface of misfit,
and others leave the interior in the rear. Simi-
larly if a row of six billiard balls are placed in a
straight line on a table, and a seventh ball,
travelling in the straight line which the others
occupy, strikes one end of the line, that ball comes
to rest, while another starts off from the opposite
end of the line of balls. There are still six stationary
balls, but the line has shifted through a distance
equal to the diameter of a ball.
It is impossible, at present, to go much further
into detail over this most interesting theory: in
the first place, on account of the space an adequate
treatment would occupy ; and, in the second place,
because the full results obtained by Prof. Reynolds
are not now before us. Suffice it, then, to say
that Prof. Reynolds claims to have obtained an
explanation of universal gravitation, cohesion
chemical affinity, electricity and magnetism, all
in terms of the granular ether of his invention.
If Prof. Reynolds’ theory can stand the criticism
it is sure to evoke from mathematical physicists,
it will unquestionably constitute the greatest ad-
vance in science which has been made since the
time of Newton.
I = ctr ce a
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS AT
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.'
R. LLOYD has compiled a book which will
be absolutely necessary to the headmaster
of every preparatory school in the country.
It contains from one to five complete sets of papers,
set at scholarship examinations of the chief schools
of England, and the questions serve clearly to
define the knowledge expected from pupils hoping
to enter a public school. Unfortunately the editor
has considerably impaired the utility of this other-
wise excellent book by not including any papers
later than igor. His preface is dated May, 1903;
therefore, by waiting another two months, he might
have included most of the 1903 papers, as the
examinations usually occur in July; and his book
would yet have been ready by the beginning of the
Michaelmas term. This omission is all the more
to be regretted as it 1s to be hoped that we are on
the eve of a great change in the compulsory sub-
jects of these examinations. Charterhouse is, for
example, for the first time this year, giving two
scholarships independent of Greek.
Now, to take a general view of the knowledge
expected, as these papers show, from boys of about
fourteen: the two most pronounced defects that
strike an unprejudiced inquirer are the enormous
- — eT
ee — — ae u ae —_ — ee a — — —— — = —
1“ Entrance Scholarship Questions for the chief Public Schools and
H.M.S. Britannia.” By E. J. Lloyd, Headmaster of Harrow House
School, Bognor. 568 pp.. (Sounenschein.) 5s. net.
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
credit given to Greek and Latin, and the most
perfect ignorance of the mother tongue which is
allowed. Little boys are expected to be able to
turn Macaulay and other writers into Latin and
Greek prose, and fragments of English poets into
Latin elegiacs and Greek hexameters; but, in the
few cases where any questions at all on English
work are asked them, the examination takes the
form of a general paper, which includes Scripture,
English and European history, geography, litera-
ture, and often one or more sciences, It is well
known that this paper has little influence on the
result of the examination except when two boys
are almost equal. What is the consequence of
this? It has very often been pointed out before
that masters in preparatory schools give no time
at all to English subjects. No doubt the talented
boy manages to pick up some English grammar
through the medium of Latin and Greek, just as
he would through Hebrew or Sanskrit. But what
of the average boy ? All his life he is in doubt
as to whether he should say ‘‘ who” or “ whom,”
and “between you and I” or “ between you and
me.” An honourable exception must, however,
be made in the case of Haileybury, which for its
modern-side scholarships has an efficient English
paper. Eton considers the character of Pericles
or Cicero a proper question for a general paper ;
and asks for an explanation of the term ‘“ dico-
tyledon.” Another school asks for the definition
of “isotherm,” and a list of British colonies in
their order of date of acquisition.
All the mathematical papers in this book are set
along the old lines, although at Winchester the
recommendations of the Mathematical Association
have already been followed. It would be a great
help to preparatory schoolmasters if they knew
the lines on which the papers were to be set, as at
present they are in danger of trying to teach both
and succeeding in neither.
If we might be so bold as to map out an ideal
set of papers for an entrance scholarship, we should
suggest that English, elementary mathematics,
Latin grammar and unseen translation should be
compulsory, and either Greek, a modern language,
or a science might be offered as an additional sub-
ject. The English paper might be along the lines
of that set at the new London University Matricu-
lation, omitting the paraphrasing and précis writing.
Stiff continuous Latin prose possibly, and Latin
verse certainly, should only be expected from those
seeking classical scholarships. The marks for these
subjects even then should not exceed half the total
number offered for competition.
Some of the French papers in the book have
absurdly tricky sentences to be translated into
French; instead of this we would have an easy
continuous tale or anecdote, or, perhaps preferably,
a tale or anecdote to be read out in English for
the candidates to write down the substance in
French. At Uppingham, we happen to know, it is
not customary to set any French papers for the
ordinary entrance examination, although candi-
dates are asked what German books they have
used, and what science they have done.
The School World
339
The book is clearly printed, and is remarkably
free from misprints; but we have noted “ cover ”
for “ over ” on p. 351, and “ courtesan,” for ‘‘ courti-
san ” on p. gg. We presume the phrase ‘ tout est
perdu sauf l'honneur” instead of “ fors,’ was so
printed in the original paper (p. 76). The answers
and hints to all the mathematical questions greatly
enhance the value of the book.
THE INDUSTRIAL PLANTS OF
FORMOSA.
OME interesting information has recently been
published regarding the industrial plants of
the island of Formosa, the resources of which,
in Japanese hands, are likely for the first time to
be fully turned to account. The commodity
naturally associated with Formosa is camphor, for
though some camphor is obtained from China and
Japan, it is from Formosa that the bulk of the
world’s supply is drawn. The mountains of the
interior are clothed with an almost impenetrable
jungle, among which the camphor laurel grows
freely, frequently attaining a girth of twenty-five,
and occasionally even of forty feet. The task of
obtaining camphor, however, annually involves a
vast sacrifice of human life. The tree must be
felled, and thus the camphor trade has led to the
destruction of wide areas of forest, the abode of
fierce aboriginal tribes, who view with alarm the
contraction of their forest homes, and who are ever
lurking in the jungle, waiting a chance to attack
the solitary camphor gatherer and carry away his
head as atrophy. Even ivory, perhaps, is scarcely
bought at a greater cost of human life, and this
circumstance contributes greatly to enhance the
price of the drug. After the tree is felled and cut
up the camphor is obtained by distilling, by means
of stoves set up in the forest, and so simple is the
process that a single man is able to look after one
stove and to make journeys backwards and forwards
to the tree on which he is at work for fresh supplies
of chips. Trees of ordinary size, about twenty feet
in circumference, would supply a stove for two
years, but many trees are considerably smaller.
An exceptionally large tree might keep a stove
busy for several years and yield camphor worth
several hundreds of pounds.
Next to camphor, at the present time, ranks tea,
of a high grade and expensive quality, which,
though little known in this country, is highly
esteemed in America. The amount annually
exported at present is about 20,000,000 lbs., or
about one-tenth of the quantity annually imported
into this country from India and Ceylon. Four
crops are obtained annually, the picking being
done by Chinese girls and children. Several
thousand Chinese families leave their homes in
1 “The Island of Formosa, Past and Present.” By James W. Davidson.
vi. -+ 646 + xxviii. + 46 pp. (Macmillan.) 25s. net.
_ 349 | The School World __[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
China every spring to work in the tea establish-
ments of North Formosa. Dressed in her best
and most gaily coloured garments, with a coiffure
elaborately arranged, and decorated with magnolia
and other fragrant blossoms, the tea picker is a
picturesque figure. Of other cultured plants sugar
is the most important, and the industry will
undoubtedly develop very rapidly. Local con-
ditions are so favourable that cane, which requires
eighteen months to ripen in Hawaii, reaches
maturity in Formosa in twelve months, while the
Chinese population supplies abundance of cheap
labour, and Japan, where sugar cannot be grown,
provides a market. The present output is between
90,000,000 and 100,000,000 Ibs.
Among theother economic plants of Formosa fibre
plants are exceedingly important. Chief among
them, China grass, often incorrectly called ‘‘ramie,”’
isa plant of the nettle family. Its value is so great
that it is not only grown for the market, but even
by the savages, who make it into a coarse cloth,
roughly woven but extremely durable, and not
without a beauty of its own. China grass is one
of the finest and strongest of vegetable fibres, and
though no satisfactory mechanical method of pre-
paration has yet been devised, it is increasingly in
demand. It is perhaps more used in France than
in any other European country.
“French hotels and railway companies are re-
ported to have abolished ordinary linen in favour
of the new product, owing to the latter’s splendid
wearing and washing qualities. The Minister of
War has adopted it for the cordage of balloons,
ammunition bags, &c., and the army and navy use
it for the dressing of wounds. It is in use as linen
in some twenty city departments at Paris, and the
Bank of France has adopted it exclusively in the
manufacture of notes.”
Jute ranks next in importance to China grass,
and other fibre plants are the fan palm, from the
sheath of which are made large ropes for junks,
sun hats, mats and other articles; the sisal hemp,
the pineapple, which yields excellent fibre as well
as luscious fruit, the paper mulberry and many
others. There is also a rush, believed to be pecu-
liar to Formosa, used to plait mats, which are only
equalled by those of the famous Panama straw,
and, like these, can be folded without injury. In
central Formosa the industry which is carried on
by children and young girls is a very busy one.
Hats are now being made, and may not impro-
bably soon rival those of Panama.
The paper plants include the so-called rice-paper
plant, or pith-plant, the pith of which, finely pared,
is largely used as paper by the Chinese, and the
paper mulberry, the bark of which supplies a paper
which is used in the manufacture of paper um-
brellas, Chinese lanterns and rain coats. In addi-
tion there are dye plants, such as indigo, extensively
used for dyeing the universally worn blue garments
of the Chinese, and turmeric; oil plants, including
the ground nut, the castor-oil plant, and the tallow
tree, soap plants, and other useful varieties too
numerous to mention.
F. D. H.
BRITISH SONGS FOR BRITISH BOYS.
OME exception may be taken to the title of
this book as being not quite accurate,
inasmuch as the collection includes several
American songs of quite inferior value. But the
work deserves commendation on the whole as
another help in the direction of restoring to the
British people their lawful heritage of national
song, a heritage from which the sentimentality of
the drawing-room ballad and the vulgarity of the
musical comedy have well-nigh excluded them.
Mr. Nicholson claims to have avoided over-
elaboration in his accompaniments — a very
common blemish in modern versions of old
melodies—and, on the whole, his claim can be
admitted, though we doubt his wisdom in intro-
ducing a contrapuntal device in the accompaniment
to the ‘‘Ash Grove.” Moreover, it is quite
possible for an accompaniment, without being
over-elaborate, to be quite out of keeping with its
melody. An instance of this is to be found in the
case of the ‘* Minstrel Boy.” ‘The accompaniment
to that heroic tune should surely be as straight-
forward and bold as possible. But Mr. Nicholson
has introduced harmonies which invest the song
with an atmosphere of sentimentality verging
upon mawkishness, and this is not the only instance
of the kind. We are bound also to observe that
the pitch of a great many of the songs is too high
for unison singing, too high, in fact, for any boys’
voices which have not received a good deal of
training.
However, with a few exceptions, the hundred
songs in the collection are admirably selected, and
some of them occur in only a very few other
collections. The editor has shown a praiseworthy
instinct for “ spotting’’ the kind of song which is
not only good from the musical and literary points
of view, but also attractive to the boy of average
musical and literary appreciation. Early familiarity
with songs of which the melody is good and the
general tone and sentiment sound and healthy
cannot fail to influence favourably the taste, and to
some extent the character, of young people.
Whether the prevailing bad taste in songs is to be
placed among the causes or the symptoms of
national vulgarity is dificult to decide. But the
cure of a disease is often furthered by combating
its symptoms, and so in any case Mr. Nicholson
may claim to have dealt a stout blow on the right
side in the battle which all school musicians are
fighting against the Philistines, and his book should
take a high place among the many works of a
similar character which have lately come into
being.
The book is issued in two forms: a large volume
containing critical and historical notes and
pianoforte accompaniments, and a small one con-
taining melodies only, both in staff notation and
tonic sol-fa.
1“ British Songs for British Boys.” A collection of 100 national songs
designed for the use of boys. Edited by Sydney H. Nicholson, M.A.,
Mus. Bac., Oxon. (Macmillan.) Edition A, for Teachers, 6s. ; Edition B,
for Pupils, rs. 6d.
SEPTEMBER, 1903.]
NATAL TEACHERS IN CONFERENCE.
By ERNEST A. BELCHER, B.A.(Oxon.)
Secretary of the Natal Teachers’ Convention.
AMONGST the varied problems with which the statesmen of
South Africa are being brought face to face there is no question
which will influence the course of history more than the educa-
tional one, and, it must be added, there are few questions which
present more complex difficulties. If we hope to hasten the
federation of South Africa by securing a unity in our educa-
tional methods, we have to bring into line the widely differing
systems of Cape Colony and Natal and then make these accord
with the later development of the new colonies. When one
reflects that each of these coionies not only has its own educa-
tional ideals but is affected by its own local conditions, the
magnitude of the task will become more apparent.
For many years past the teachers of Cape Colony have been
accustomed to meet in annual conference: last year, in circum-.
stances of peculiar difficulty, Mr. E. B. Sargant, Director of
Education fur the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies,
arranged for a conference of his own teachers at Johannesburg,
and this year the first official gathering of Natal teachers touk
place in July at Durban. It has been suggested now that the
fitting corollary to these colonial gatherings would be a great
South African Conference, and there seems some likelihood of
such a conference taking place in the latter part of next year.
Meanwhile there are two or three aspects of the Natal Conven-
tion of more than local interest, and to these I should like to
refer. |
It was a happy circumstance that the Conference of the
heads of South African Education Departments was arranged
immediately to follow the Convention, as it enabled the Natal
teachers to benefit from the presence of Mr. E. B. Sargant and
of Mr. George Duthie, from Rhodesia. The former has already
gained a reputation for daring originality which his remarkable
paper to the Convention fully upheld; while the latter, as the
foster-father of the newest educational infant in this continent,
was a figure of more than passing interest. Unfortunately,
Dr. Muir, of Cape Colony, was prevented at the last moment
from attending ; but to balance his absence there was Dr. G. R.
Parkin, the Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, and his
very striking personality and eloquence produced a deep im-
pression on all those who were fortunate enough to meet him.
The high level which was attained by Sir Ilenry Bale—the
Administrator of the Colony and a former Minister of Education
—in his opening speech and preserved throughout Mr. Barnett’s
presidential address marked the whole of the proceedings; and,
whatever the practical outcome of the convention may bs, there
is no doubt that from an academic and polemic point of view it
was an unqualified success. It is impossible in a short article
to refer to the bulk of the papers and discussions. An abridg-
ment of Mr. Barnett’s address is given elsewhere (p. 343,) and
the list of subjects which I have added at the end of this article
is at all events an eloquent tribute to the catholic tastes of the
president and committee. Two of the papers, however, possess
so wide an educational interest that they deserve fuller notice.
The first of these was on ‘‘ The Training of Natal Youths in
special relation to their duty towards the Natives,” and the
author—Mr. H. V. Ellis, Headmaster of Hilton College—
pointed out very truly that, after half a century of British rule,
the finest of native races have become a source of great anxiety
to every thinking man. It is unfortunate, perhaps, that public
opinion at home on the native question should be divided so
clearly into two opposite camps—those whose earnest belief in
missionary enterprise makes them carry the doctrine of the
brotherhood of man to impossible conclusions ; and those who
The School World
341
say, in effect: ‘‘ Give me the raw Kaffir; he is a fine fellow by
nature, but let us keep clear of the Christian Kaffir.” The fact
is that the Christianity of the Kaffirs is too often judged by the
‘‘ Brummagem ” ware, and it cannot be insisted upon too often
that possession of a pair of boots is not prima facie evidence of
Christianity. The problem of the black race must be settled in
the schools, and until we can educate public opinion to see this
we shall get no nearer the solution of the difficulty. Mr. Plant,
the Inspector of Native Education, in a particularly able speech,
instanced the common practice of the colonial boy who will
lounge on to the verandah of the house with his hat, boots and
stick within a few feet of him and order the Kaffir to reach his
hat, put on his boots, carry his stick and call a ricksha. And
then we talk about the dignity of labour! The native is above
all things an imitative creature; teach him by the force of
example, sobriety, thrift, courtesy and moral strength of charac-
ter, and he will prove an apt pupil; but show him the worst
side of the white man and he will say, ‘ If this is what a
superior race can do, I will do better.” Mr. Ellis pleaded very
earnestly for the technical training of the native. Excellent
work in this direction is being accomplished at many up-country
mission stations, and notably by the Trappist Brothers. It has
been urged that the effect of developing the intelligence of the
native will be to bring him into competition with the white man,
and the objection is a serious one, but surely it would be
possible to restrict the exercise of any craft he might follow to
the service of his own race.
The concluding paper by Mr. Sargant was in some respects
the most remarkable contribution of the Convention. Mr.
Sargant took as his subject ‘‘ The Career of Teachers in British
Colonies ” and gave a very interesting sketch of the Normal
Schools in the Transvaal. The chief distinction between these
schools and those of similar name in other parts of the world
lies in the fact that the training of the teacher is continued with
intervals of practical work for a much longer period. Mr.
Sargant urged the advisability of founding federal training
colleges for Canada, Australia, and South Africa, where the
best of the colonial teachers could complete their course of
study. Finally, these training colleges should be united to one
Imperial institution in connection with, say, the University of
London. By means of bursaries and scholarships the colonial
of marked ability would proceed from the elementary school,
through the successive stages of his training, until he received
his first-class certificate which would carry with it a travelling
allowance for post-graduate study. No doubt it is true that the
average colonial teacher—especially if colonial born—tends to
become provincial, and the main advantage of the scheme is
that not only will the career of teachers be broadened and
ennobled, but a unity of educational aim will be produced
throughout the whole British Empire.
The main c::culty Mr. Sargant has to face is one of finance,
but a man of his ori,inality will not be daunted by this. Might
it not be possible to realise Mr. Sargant’s object in the imme-
diate future so far that picked teachers who are taking long
leave might receive full pay for that period on condition that
they spent some portion of their leave in studying educational
methods in some other colony, or at home? For example,
I cannot think of anything that would be more valuable to
Natal teachers than a period of study in Canada or Germany,
and it ought not to be outside the region of practical philan-
thropy for some of the greater steamship companies to help
forward so noble an educational ideal. It is probable that the
whole subject will receive the careful attention of an Inter-
Colonial Conference next year.
The following subjects were discussed at the Convention :—
The Teaching of Latin, Mr. H. W. Atkinson, Headmaster of
Pretoria High School. Drawing and Design for Children,
34.2 The
Miss Ellen Firks, Principal of the Normal School, Bloemfontein.
School Discipline, Miss A. L. Beeston, [feadmistress of Durban
Girls’ Model School, and Mr. James Forbes, Headmaster of
Berea Academy. The Eyesight of Children: its relation to
Health and Work, Dr. Arch. McKenzie. Nature Study in
Natal, Miss Mary Ritchie, Bellair. The Training of Natal
Youths in special relation to their duties towards the Natives,
Mr. H. V. Ellis, Headmaster of Hilton College. Secondary
Education for Girls, Miss E. J. Moore-Smith, Headmistress of
Durban Ladies’ College. School Hygiene, Dr. Mary Hannan.
The Lantern as an aid to Teaching, Mr. E. A. Belcher, Durban
High School. The Teaching of Natural History and Agricul-
ture, Dr. H. Lyster Jameson. The Cadet Corps Regulations,
Mr. J. A. McLaren, Headmaster of Newcastle Government
School. Museum and Art Collections for Schools, Mr. H.
Stubbs, Maritzburg College. Physical Culture, Mr. S. Trouncer
Downes, Headmaster of Bellair Government School. The
Career of Teachers in British Colonies, Mr. E. B. Sargant,
Director of Education for the Transvaal and Orange River
Colonies.
A MODERN VIEW OF CULTURE:
IT is the object of this paper to show that the idea of cultiva-
tion in the highly trained human being has undergone substantial
changes during the nineteenth century. I propose to use the
term cultivated man in only its good sense—in Emerson’s
sense. In this paper he is not to be a weak, critical, fastidious
creature, vain of a little exclusive information or of an un-
common knack in Latin verse or mathematical logic; he is to
be a man of quick perceptions, broad sympathies and wide
afhnities, responsive but independent, self-reliant but deferential,
loving truth and candour but also moderation and proportion,
courageous but gentle, not finished but perfecting.
There are two principal differences between the present ideal
and that which prevailed at the beginning of the nineteenth
century. The horizon of the human intellect has widened
wonderfully during the past one hundred years, and the
scientific method of inquiry has been the means of that
widening. The most convinced exponents and advocates of
humanism now recognise that science is the ‘* paramount force
of the modern as distinguished from the antique and the
medieval spirit,” ? and that ‘‘an interpenetration of humanism
is the condition of the highest culture.”
Emerson taught that the acquisition of some form of manual
skill and the practice of some form of manual labour were
essential elements of culture, and this idea has more and more
become accepted in the systematic education of youth. The
idea of some sort of bodily excellence was, to be sure, not absent
in the old conception of the cultivated man. The gentleman
could ride well, daace gracefully and fence with skill, but the
modern conception of bodily skill as an element in cultivation
is more comprehensive, and includes that habitual contact with
the external world which Emerson deemed essential to real
culture.
We have become convinced that some intimate, sympathetic
acquaintance with the natural objects of the earth and sky adds
greatly to the happiness of life, and that this acquaintance
should be begun in childhood and be developed all through
1 Abridged from the presidential address of Dr. Charles W. Eliot, before
the National Educational Association. Reprinted from Science for July
17th, 1993.
-John Addington Symonds—“ Culture.”
School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
adolescence and maturity. A brook, a hedgerow or a garden is
an inexhaustible teacher of wonder, reverence and love.
Men of science insist to-day on nature study for children, but
we teachers ought long ago to have learnt from the poets
the value of this element in education. The idea of culture has
always included a quick and wide sympathy with men; it
should hereafter include sympathy with nature, and particularly
with its living forms, a sympathy based on some accurate obser-
vation of nature. We proceed to examine four elements of
culture :
Character. The moral sense of the modern world makes
character a more important element than it used to be in the
ideal of a cultivated man. Now character is formed, as Goethe
said, in the ‘‘stream of the world,” not in stillness, or isolation,
but in the quick moving tides of the busy world, the world of
nature and the world of mankind. To the old idea of culture
some knowledge of history was indispensable. Now, history is
a representation of the stream of the world, or of some little
portion of that stream, 100, 500, 2,000 years ago. Acquaint-
ance with some part of the present stream ought to be more
formative of character, and more instructive as regards external
nature and the nature of man, than any partial survey of the
stream that was flowing centuries ago.
The rising generation should think hard and feel keenly
just where the men and women who constitute the actual
human world are thinking and feeling most to-day. The
panorama of to-day’s events is an invaluable and a new means
of developing good judgment, good feeling, and the passion for
social service, or, in other words, of securing cultivation. But
some one will say the stream of the world is foul. True in part.
The stream is what it has been, a mixture of foulness and purity,
of meanness and majesty ; but it has nourished individual virtue
and race civilisation. Literature and history are a similar
mixture, and yet are the traditional means of culture. Are not
the Greek tragedies means of culture. Yet they are full of
incest, murder and buman sacrifices to lustful and revengeful
gods.
Language. A cultivated man should express himself by
tongue or pen with some accuracy and elegance; therefore
linguistic training has had great importance in the idea of
cultivation. The conditions of the educated world have,
however, changed so profoundly since the revival of learning in
Italy that our inherived ideas concerning training in language
and literature have required large modifications.
It is impossible to maintain that a knowledge of any particular
literature is indispensable to culture. When we ask ourselves
why a knowledge of literature seems indispensable to the
ordinary idea of cultivation, we find no answer except this—
that in literature are portrayed all human passions, desires and
aspirations, and that acquaintance with these human feelings
and with the means of portraying them seems to us essential to
culture. The linguistic and literary element in cultivation
therefore abides, but has become vastly broader than formerly,
so broad, indeed, that selection among its various fields is forced
upon every educated youth.
The store of knowledge. The next great element in cultiva-
tion is acquaintance with some parts of the store of knowledge
which humanity in its progress from barbarism has acquired and
laid up. This is the prodigious store of recorded, rationalised
and systematised discoveries, experiences and ideas—the store
which we teachers try to pass on to the rising generation.
The capacity to assimilate this store and improve it in each
successive generation is the distinction of the human race over
other animals. It is too vast for any man to master, though he
had a hundred lives instead of one; and its growth in the nine-
teenth century was greater than in all the thirty preceding
centuries put together. In the eighteenth century a diligent
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
student with strong memory and quick powers of apprehension
` need not have despaired of mastering a large fraction of this
store of knowledge. Long before the end of the nineteenth
century such a task had become impossible.
Culture, therefore, can no longer imply a knowledge of
everything—not even a little knowledge of everything. It must
be content with general knowledge of some things, and a real
‘mastery of some Small portion of the human store. Here isa
profound modification of the idea of cultivation which the nine-
teenth century has brought about. What portion or portions
ofthe infinite human store are most proper to the cultivated
man? The answer must be—those which enable him, with his
individual personal qualities, to deal best and sympathise best
with nature and with other human beings.
It is here that the passion for service must fuse with the
passion for knowledge. We have learned from nineteenth
century experience that there is no field of real knowledge
which may not suddenly prove contributory in a high degree to
human happiness and the progress of civilisation, and therefore
acceptable as a worthy element in the truest culture.
Imagination. The only other element in cultivation which
time will permit me to treat is the training of the constructive
imagination. The imagination is the greatest of human powers,
no matter in what field it works—in art or literature, in
mechanical invention, in science, government, commerce or
religion, and the training of the imagination is, therefore, far
the most important part of education.
I use the term constructive imagination, because that implies
the creation or building of a new thing. The sculptor, for
example, imagines or conceives the perfect form of a child ten
years of age; he has never seen such a thing, for a child perfect
in form is never produced ; he has seen in different children the
elements of perfection, here one and there another. In his
imagination, he combines these elements of the perfect form,
which he has only seen separated, and from this picture in his
mind he carves the stone and in the execution invariably loses
his ideal—that is, falls short of it or fails to express it.
Constructive imagination is the great power of the poet, as
well as of the artist, and the nineteenth century has convinced
us that it is also the great power of the man of science, the in-
vestigator and the natural philosopher. The educated world
needs to recognise the new varieties of constructive imagination.
It is one lesson of the nineteenth century that in every field
of human knowledge the constructive imagination finds play—in
literature, in history, in theology, in anthropology, and in the
whole field of physical and biological research. That great
century has taught us that, on the whole, the scientific imagina-
tion is quite as productive for human service as the literary or
poetic imagination. The imagination of Darwin or Pasteur, for
example, is as high and productive a form of imagination as that
of Dante, of Goethe, or even Shakespeare, if we regard the
human uses which result from the exercise of imaginative
powers, and mean by human uses not meat and drink, clothes
and shelter, but the satisfaction of mental and spiritual needs.
It results from this brief survey that the elements and means
of cultivation are much more numerous than they used to be;
so that it is not wise to say of any one acquisition or faculty—
with it cultivation becomes possible, without it impossible.
The one acquisition may be immense, and yet cultivation may
not have been attained. We have met artists who were rude
and uncouth, yet possessed a high degree of technical skill and
strong powers of imagination. We have seen philanthropists
and statesmen whose minds have played on great causes and
great affairs, and yet who lacked an accurate use of their mother
tongue, and had no historical perspective or background of
historical knowledge. We must not expect systematic education
to produce multitudes of highly cultivated and symmetrically
The School World
343
developed persons; the multitudinous product will always be
imperfect, just as there are no perfect trees, animals, flowers or
crystals.
Let us as teachers accept no single element or variety of
culture as the one essential; let us remember that the best fruits
of real culture are an open mind, broad sympathies and respect
for all the diverse achievements of the human intellect at what-
ever stage of development they may be to-day—the stage of
fresh discovery, or bold exploration, or complete conquest.
The moral elements of the new education are so strong that the
new forms of culture are likely to prove themselves quite as pro-
ductive of morality, high-mindedness and idealism as the old.
THE TRUE AIM OF EDUCATION!
By P. A. BARNETT, M.A.
Superintendent of Education, Natal.
THE very essence of success in education is movement in new
ways and to novel enterprises. We must needs be perpetually
pushing our horizon further away, putting our children into
sympathetic and intelligent relations with every considerable
acquisition made by the world in the region of knowledge. If
we do not we shall remain as unprogressive as the Chinese, or
asa community of ants. Mere growth in bulk or numbers is
not progress ; an ant-hill is only an ant-hill, even ìf it is six feet
high. We shall always be asking the community to do more
and better things than it heretofore has done for our children,
and our work. There are certain principles in which the
interest of teachers is more definite and more poignant than the
interest usually taken by people outside our profession, and if
these principles affect our daily tasks as we stand before our
pupils, then we must do our best to apply them, in so far as we
loyally can, and to stimulate public opinicn to adopt them by
whatever legitimate means lie to our hands. I desire parti-
cularly to commend to your consideration the extraordinary
difference between the true proofs of a good education and the
tests which we are content to apply ; the difference between the
ultimate and substantive results, and the sort of early or super-
ficial sampling that satisfies us. First of all, it is not difficult to
show that we tend to pursue ends that are largely conventional ;
we keep one another in countenance by tacitly consenting to
regard certain things as desirable without being at all clear as to
their object; nay, in some cases, having abandoned the solid
fruit for the shrivelled skin.
Teaching of Modern Languages.
Has it ever, for instance, occurred to you how purely conven-
tional is our orthodox procedure in the teaching of modern
languages? One would think—we do think—that the impor-
tant achievement in this subject is the accidence, the very
skeleton of grammar. Thousands of us have thus been laboriously
taught French or German for years, only to find that, after all,
we cannot speak half-a-dozen consecutive sentences without an
appalling mental and even physical strain. Fortunately, this
scandalous waste of time is getting less common because saner
views and the reforming spirit help us to realise that the primary
purpose of learning a modern spoken tongue is that it should be
spoken. In effect, the school understands by “ French” or
“& German ”—ask any schoolboy--mostly certain grammatical
schemes discovered by analysis, and concatenated in an order
1 Abridged from the Presidential Address to the Teachers’ Convention
held at Durban, June 30th to July 2nd, 1903-
__ 344
unknown to nature. Thus: it is difficult to imagine any sane
conversation or narrative requiring such a barbarous piece of
inconsequence as Je suis, fu es, il est, nous sommes, vous eles, ils
sont. Yet that is what we have agreed should be taught our
children as French. french! It is not even sense. But we
can examine this, and get it set out on paper, and ‘‘ mark ” it—
testing speech without speaking, and labelling as good French
scholars people who could not bargain in recognisable French
for a pound of candles. Evenin teaching our own language, we
are victims of the conventional fallacy. Why should English
children put their thoughts together with so much more difficulty,
be so much less articulate, than French or German or American
children? It is largely because we waste such an inordinate
amount of time and labour on analytical grammar, parsing,
analysing, classifying, learning lists and paradigms, instead of
copiously exercising the constructive or composing faculty. In-
deed, it has been noted by one of the finest masters and critics
of English now living that this kind of procedure is in
England almost a badge of the primary school, a caste-mark,
from which the secondary schools have been in a great measure
preserved by the salutary operation of classical studies.
Mathematical Instruction.
It is convention, again, that prematurely splits up the school
teaching of mathematics into arithmetic, algebra, geometry,
trigonometry, and so forth; for mathematics should be taught
to young people as much as possible graphically, concretely,
compendiously, if it is ever to be real to them. I have never
been able to ynderstand why it is criminal to teach that
(a + 6)? =a* + 2ab + 6? by geometry; and I am proud to
think that the professors and specialists of to-day are preaching
the application of concrete and graphic methods which at least
one ignorant layman has always advocated. The truth is that
this excessive formalising, conventionalising, abstracting of school
subjects paralyses the youthful mind just when it should be
stimulated by a sense of making and putting things together.
Literature in the School.
I must give you a final illustratiom of my point by citing the
method usually followed in ‘‘ teaching ” English literature. We
have been doing this now systematically for at least a genera-
tion, and the world is flooded with admirably annotated plays
and poems, and such-like. Yet note what the young people,
brought up on these industrious and able works, read when they
choose for themselves—the hideous and odious ‘* comic” or
maudlin literature that cumbers and disfhgures our railway book-
stalls, the inane rubbish that young men and maidens get from
the libraries in the rare cases in which they read a book between
covers ; and, above all, their blank ignorance of the greatest
books in the world, the Bible included. The truth is that, while
the stuff of English literature is the finest material of education
we have, we sicken our children of the little that we use of it by
converting that little into a mere gymnastic; getting them to
know all about the minutest parts of the book and its origin
and authorship before we have infected them with a knowledge
of and a liking for the book itself.
Useful and Useless Subjects.
It is possible to regard all studies that are not immediately
marketable as purely conventional or useless, to think all higher
science studies, for instance, mere waste of time; advanced
mathematics, futilities; Latin and Greek, mere learned
trifling ; to appraise book-keeping and shorthand at a higher
value than the humaner linguistic and literary studies, more
“useful” than natural philosophy, as it used to be called.
This error is a very common phenomencn. Well, we have to
The School World
[SErTEMBER, 1903-
make all just allowance for the proper views of the examiner and
the ‘* business man,” and to convert them to a humane view of
education, showing them that even for their particular purposes
they stand to gain and not to lose on its adoption. Such ques-
tions, however, cannot be settled satisfactorily by any summary
process, by any magisterial statement on the part of any person,
however eminent, of what is and what is not ‘t wanted.” In
order to arrive at any real solution, we have to come to some
understanding as to the things that matter most in life.
The End in View.
We may assume that we all desire, above everything, that our
children should be sensitive to wholesome and noble influences,
and should be moulded by them; should be clean and good
men and women, and should prefer holy and beautiful and
gracious things to corrupt and ugly and mean things. Since it
is in youth that the predominant tastes are implanted, the school
must make this its first business. All good discipline conduces
to it, but no discipline is so powerful as the use and habit of
good literature, ‘‘sacred,” and ‘‘ profane.” The enjoyment of
good literature cannot, indeed, make a godly man or virtuous
woman, but great literature is, after all, the greatest work that
man has achieved. M is an inexhaustible store of wisdom and
pleasure, covering all life and all time, applicable to all states of
feeling, and eternally so applicable. The school must depend,
then, for its success first and foremost on literature, not merely
on its apparatus, but on literature itself, One of the chief
reasons why literature is so valuable is that, as the school is
concerned in it, it is not marketable. A man or woman, a boy
or girl, cannot get money for their sensitiveness to fine literary
feeling and knowledge of belles lettres, or acute historical
perception. Yet these things put us into closest relation with
other human beings; they treat of and touch emotions that are
universal and most characteristic of mankind.
After the ‘‘humanities” technically so called, our children
should be familiar with the world which is ‘‘the garment by
which we know God.” They should know, by personal contact
and continuous observation, the earth, the wind, the rain, the
sunlight, and the animals, flowers, and trees about them.
Truly, a man ignorant of such things cannot be said to be
educated, for he goes through life with one eye shut, and one
ear closed. Most of us live many removes away from the
primitive realities on which our lives depend, and, as we develop
a more complex and abstract civilisation, living more in towns
and in books, our organised education should do more and more
to re-establish the broken connections. And, be it noted, we
are only imperfectly alive if we lose touch with the primitive
manly and womanly activities that keep us up and doing. It is
true that our strenuous pursuit of outdoor amusements, our love
of fresh air, and, I must add, our wars, protect us from physical
decadence ; but no race can prosper—nay, it cannot live—unless
it can dig and delve for itself, and couk for itself, and clean its
own boots.
To these—to literature and history, nature-knowledge and
handiness—we must add, of course, mathematics, as a very
essential school subject. The mathematical sciences do not
only serve for immediate use in our dealings with one another,
they are also an incomparable gymnastic in close and continuous
reasoning. And, most important of all, they are both the
framework and finish of scientific, that is, perfectly ordered,
knowledge; for the strongest element of proof and determination
of fact is its reduction to a mathematical formula. Therefore,
even if mathematics are not, as Plato and Comte taught, the
whole foundation of science and of education, they are prime
and indispensable parts of it. Now, although it is likely enough
that we are all agreed in a general way that this, or something
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
like it, is the way in which we should look at our school
curriculum, the tests that we actually apply are at least
inadequate. The greatest thing of all, the finest product of all
that preparation which we call education, the good life, can be
tested by no instrument or procedure which we can manipulate.
The proof of a holy life is holiness of living, and even when a
man dies he does not leave the real evidence in our hands, As
in life, so in a school, we can measure morality and worth only
very roughly. The most we can do is to recognise cheerfulness,
the physical basis of all virtue, truthfulness, obedience, respect
for property and rights, and a sound public opinion. None of
these things can be recognised, much less can they be cultivated,
unless there is a large measure of personal liberty allowed, and
unless government is urbane, not robustious, menacing, bullying.
To test the conduct of a school by a machine-like order, by
silence, by effectiveness of punishment, by any spick-and-span
primness, 1s to apply a purely conventional test, to look through
darkened glasses. For certain purposes, and within certain
limits, these things are valuable indications of conditions of
discipline, but we must not suppose that when they are achieved
our work is done—that we have what is chiefly needed. To
speak truly, the more significant and important a subject of
school solicitude is the less easily we can test it. Studies
derive their chief worth from their effect on character, and
character is, of all things, the hardest to estimate with justice.
Yet, just because we cannot test certain important things by any
accurate instrument, we tend either to neglect them or else to
conventionalise them, to distort them just for the purpose of
measuring (or ‘‘ examining ”) them; to try to squeeze circles
into squares, because we can measure squares but not circles.
From life, character, conduct, pass to literature. Do our tests
touch this, or do we not rather test the possession of accessories
to it?
From all this follow two conclusions of great importance to
teachers. The first is this: That the school has to maintain a
running fight against its own inherent tendency to conventionalise
its studies and solicitudes. The second is this: That we need a
very varied curriculum for the express purpose of providing for
those incalculable persons who fit so ill into the orthodox school
mould, the minor Darwins, Newtons, Scotts, Swifts; for “dull”
boys, as we call them, like the Duke of Wellington, Wordsworth,
Humboldt, Banks the botanist, John Hunter the surgeon,
Goldsmith and Sheridan. And there is a third reflection of less
direct moment to teachers as such, but of serious importance to
all citizens: that these things cannot be done cheaply. I do
not mean that we want particularly expensive apparatus and
gorgeous buildings, for an intelligent teacher in a quiet room
with half-a-dozen test tubes and a few corks, can give a good
many valuable lessons. I mean that to provide plain schools
enough, and qualified teachers in sufficient numbers, and proper
variety in curriculum ; to supply institutions complementary of
the school proper, ‘‘ continuation” schools, ‘‘ technical ” schools,
high schools, colleges, libraries, and so forth, the community
must make up its mind to invest heavily.
ONE principle of education which those men, especially who
form educational schemes, should keep before their eyes is this :
children ought to be educated, not for the present, but for a
possibly improved condition of man in the future; that is, ina
manner which is adapted to the idea of humanity and the whole
destiny of man. This principle is of great importance. Parents
usually educate their children merely in such a manner that,
however bad the world may be, they may adapt themselves to
its present conditions. But they ought to give them an educa-
tion so much better than this, that a better condition of things
may thereby be brought about in the future.—Kant.
The School World
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
THE parent anxious to learn how his boy has acquitted
himself at school during any particular term examines the school
terminal report, which reaches him a day or two after his boy’s
return from school, with much attention—-but in many cases
with no comprehension. There is often too little expla-
nation, and in some cases a needless complexity, about the
report, with the result that the parent can form but a poor idea
of how his son compares with other boys in his class. An
examination of a number of school reports has led us to the
conclusion that there is room for an inquiry into the best form
of report to give the parent at a glance the means of telling how
his boy is working at school. We should be glad to receive
from headmasters and from headmistresses—for what is true of
the boy’s report applies equal to that of his sister’s—copies of
the form of school report in use by them. We hope it may
prove possible, with varied expert assistance, to suggest some
directions in which school reports may be simplified and other-
wise improved. l
SINCE the publication of our note of last month dealing with
the London Education Bill, the Bill has become an Act. There
is little of educational interest to add to what has already been
said. During last month the Bill passed its third reading in the
House of Commons and through its successive stages in the
House of Lords. The discussions by the Lords have served
only to accentuate the arguments advanced in the lower House.
So far as alterations in the Bill are concerned, we have only to
record the addition of a clause and the acceptance of amend-
ments proposed by the Marquis of Londonderry. The new
clause provides that :—‘‘(1) As from the passing of this Act,
any public elementary school provided by the London School
Board before the passing of this Act, which is wholly or partly
situated outside the County of London, shall, for the purposes
of this Act, be treated as, and for the purposes of the principal
Act be deemed to have been, wholly situated within the County
of London and within the nearest metropolitan borough. (2)
Any public elementary school provided by the local education
authority which is situated partly in one metropolitan borough
and partly in another shall, for the purpose of this Act, be
deemed to be situated in such one of those boroughs as the
local education authority determine.” The amendments are as
follows :—‘'‘ Where governors, or managers, are appointed by
the local education authority on the governing body of any
institution aided by grant from the local education authority,
the qualifications required by the scheme or trust deed of the
institution shall not apply to such governors or managers,”
which was the original form of subsection 9 of Schedule 1, now
reads, ‘‘ the provisions of the scheme or trust deed of the institu-
tion imposing any limit on the number of the members of the
governing body, or requiring any qualification for those mem-
bers, shall not apply as respects such governors or managers ; ”
and an amendment limiting the operation of subsection If to
the managers of public elementary schools provided by the local
education authority.
THE eleventh summer meeting of university extension and
other students has been held during the past month at Oxford.
Upwards of eleven hundred visitors were present and great
interest was shown in the varied programme provided. The
inaugural address was delivered by Mr. Choate, the United
States Ambassador, and he discussed American universily edu-
cation. After sketching the growth of the great universities in
the United States and describing the rapid spread of universities
34.6 The
School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
and colleges in the nineteenth century, Mr. Choate paid a fitting
tribute to American munificence towards education and to the
broad-minded policy of the State in assisting by grants and
legislation the provision of schools of every grade. He then
went on to explain that this enlarged system of universities,
colleges, and professional and technical schools rested on the
broad and firm foundation of the common schools, which from
the beginning had been the peculiar care of the people. The
gereral policy is that each State owes to each of its children
of both sexes an education at the public expense up to the point
at which they are able to sustain themselves in the struggle of
life. According as the condition in life of its parents permits,
every child may, without expense to them, pass through the
successive grades of primary, grammar, and high schools, and is
prepared not merely for its narrow vocation in life, but also for
the discharge of that public duty which the possession of the
suffrage involves. Upon this broad and deep foundation
American universities rest ; out of it they have grown, and with
it they form one entire and codrdinated system upon which a
Government depending wholly on the sum of public opinion
of all its citizens may safely abide. We have already (p. 266)
given particulars of the sections into which the meeting was
divided and of the conferences and special classes provided, so
that it is unnecessary to add more details. It must suffice to say
that like its predecessors this meeting proved an excellent
opportunity for teachers to exchange views with colleagues from
different countries and at the same time to enjoy the beauties of
a delightful university city.
THE summer vacation school opened at the Passmore Edwards
Settlement, Tavistock Place, by Mrs. Humphrey Ward last
August and conducted with great success under the direction of
Mr. E. G. Holland, of Highgate School, has been continued
this year. Applications for admission were received from 1,208
children but accommodation was forthcoming only for 700 of
them. In referring to this work last year we expressed the hope
that the experiment would be copied not only in many parts of
London but in the large provincial towns. So far as we have been
able to learn, the only such schools yet in working order are the
one in the metropolis and a second in Hereford. It is not
sufficiently recognised by middle-class parents, who, as a matter of
course, arrange an annual summer holiday for their own children,
that the elementary school child in large towns is apt to find the
August holiday a sad experience. The choice between a close
living-room and a hot, dusty thoroughfare is not exhilarating,
and it is easy to understand that a vacation school with half the
time in a pleasant garden is hailed with delight. Such hoiiday
schools are conimon in America and might with advantage be
established in this country by the local education authorities.
THE London County Council has had under consideration
the scheme fur a great Institute of Applied Science in London
outlined in Lord Rosebery’s letter to which reference was made
in our last issue. Briefly put, the offer conveyed by Lord
Rosebery amounted to this—that the land, buildings and equip-
ment required for advanced technological teaching and research,
to the value of £500,000 will be at once provided, and steps
will be taken to secure other funds for both capital outlay and
maintenance, provided that the Council express, in general
terms, its willingness to contribute, when the buildings are
equipped and ready to be opened, a sum of £20,000 a year
towards the maintenance of the educational work. It is
satisfactory to be able to record that at the meeting when
the scheme was discussed the following resolutions were
adopted by the London County Council : (a) That the Council
expresses its high appreciation of the important proposal con-
tained in Lord Rosebery’s letter, and would cordially welcome
the establishment of further provisions in London for advanced
technological teaching and research ; (4) that the Council, in
response to the request contained in Lord Rosebery’s letter,
places on record its opinion that, when the land, buildings and
equipment for the proposed additional technological teaching
and research are provided to a value of not less than £500,000,
the Council will be well advised to contribute . . . . £20,000
per annum, towards such part of the work as falls within the
statutory definition of technical education, subject to the
following conditions :—(1) That a scheme be prepared to the
satisfaction of the Council, for the constitution of the governing
body, and the adequate representation of the Council thereon ;
(2) that financial arrangements, adequate to the whole main-
tenance of the proposed work, are made to the satisfaction of
the Council ; (3) that, in view of the national scope and utility
of the proposed work, substantial contributions towards main-
tenance be made from funds of a national character; (4) that
due provision be made in the scheme to prevent overlapping
and secure codrdination of the work already carried on by the
university colleges, polytechnics, and other science and techno-
logical institutions; and the proper connection of the whole
with the University ; (5) that a sufficient number of scholar-
ships, including free places, be placed at the disposal of the
Council ; (6) that it be considered whether other counties and
boroughs should not be invited to contribute towards the main-
tenance, receiving in return the right to send their picked
scholars for instruction under the proposed scheme.
SEVERAL sets of regulations, for the Session 1903-4, for
schools of different grades, have been published by the Board
of Education during the past month. The volume dealing
with secondary day schools does not appear to differ in any
important essential from previous issues. A second volume
contains regulations for evening schools, technical institutions,
and schools of art and art classes, and with it was issued a
circular Jetter to managers of schools explaining the regulations.
The rule under which the rate of grant payable for science in-
struction given in the day-time was half the rate payable for
such teaching during the evening is abolished, and grants for
advanced instruction in day technical institutions will be
specially assessed. The explanatory circular also urges the
advantage of fixed salaries for science and art teachers, and
explains with commendable fairness how such salaries should
be estimated. A third publication contains the syllabuses and
lists of apparatus applicable to schools and classes other than
elementary. The method of arrangement in the volume is
different from that of previous years. Much of the information
which used to be contained in a special code for evening con-
tinuation schools is now issued as a part of the new publication
under the heading “ Syllabuses in Subjects on. which the Board
do not hold Examinations.”
Tue official report of the Allied Colonial Universities Con-
ference and Dinner is published in the August number of the
Empire Review. One of the most important points brought
out by the Conference, and referred to by Mr. Balfour in a
speech at the subsequent dinner, is that the end of university
education should be research. Each university should be a
centre for the advancement of learning, and facilities should be
provided by which post-graduate students from all parts of the
Empire may proceed to laboratories or schools where the in-
vestigations which they desire to undertake can be carried on
under the guidance of men of distinguished eminence in the
particular field of study selected. Mr. Balfour also remarked in
his speech that he was not satistied with the system of education
which consists chiefly in the study of the classical languages.
“ But,” he remarked, ‘‘ when he asked what the substitute was,
he was less happy than when he considered the classical ideal,
for they would never find science a good medium for conveying
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
-education to classes of forty or fifty boys, who did not care a
farthing about the world they lived in except in so far as it was
concerned with the cricket ground, or the football field, or the
river.” If science is to be taught by discourses to classes of
forty or fifty pupils, then we agree that it is no better than
classical study for developing intelligence. Only a small pro-
portion of such a class would do justice to any subject brought
before them. What men of science urge is that, in all scientific
instruction, the pupils should be working with things instead of
manipulating words, for by this means they are brought in touch
with the realities of life, and gain experience which will enable
them better to face the strenuous conditions of modern times.
THE increasing importance attached to the adequate training
of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses in secondary schools can
be appreciated by an examination of the arrangements being
made for the coming session in the depar‘ments of education at
the university colleges in different parts of the country. At the
Owens College, Manchester, complete courses of training both
for primary and secondary school teachers have been mapped
out and published in a helpful prospectus. The course of
training for secondary schoolmasters and schoolmistresses is
adapted to meet the demands of persons who have graduated
at a university and are about to enter the teaching profession
and to qualify for registration under column B of the Teacher’s
Register. Prof. Findlay will lecture on the theory of education
and on school organisation and methods. Prof. Sadler will
take up the history of education from the Renascence to the end
-of the eighteenth century with special reference to the sixteenth
century, and will also deliver lectures on problems of American
education in their bearing on corresponding questions on
English education. Prof. Alexander will be occupied with
psychology, ethics, and logic. In addition to these courses,
lectures of a special kind have been arranged for schoolmasters
.and schoolmistresses actually engaged in teaching. There are
„also to be lectures open to the public without fee.
Our attention has been directed by the Rev. Canon Barnett
to an open prize competition which has just been held for an
original design for a poster to advertise an exhibition at the
Whitechapel Art Gallery. School children were specially
invited to compete in the competion and the prize was five
‘pounds.
THE result of the L.L.A. examination of 1903 in connection
with the University of St. Andrews has been published and
shows that 902 candidates entered as against 929 last year; 231
entered for the first time, 667 passed in one or more subjects and
115 received the diploma of L. L.A.
WE have received a copy of Part X. of the ‘Statistical
Register ” of Western Australia for the year 1901 and previous
years dealing with education, science, and art.
THE list of students rewarded by the Board of Education in
the National Competition, 1903, a copy of which has been
received, shows that gold medals were awarded to Sarah C. V.
Jarvis, of the Battersea Polytechnic, for designs for printed
muslins; to Edith M. Linnell, of Birmingham, for designs for
silver brooch, buttons, cloak clasp, hat and lace pins; to Fred.
Halnon, of New Cross, for a model of a figure from the nude;
and to Edith Mason, of Taunton, for a design for a lace zouave.
Edith Mason and Sarah Jarvis have also been awarded Princess
of Wales’ scholarships.
SIR JOHN T. BRUNNER, M.P., and Dr. Ludwig Mond,
have offered to present to Northwich and the county of Cheshire
a secondary school equipped for the teaching of 200 scholars,
The School World
S47
which will be worked in conjunction with the Verdin Technical
School, Northwich.
Mr. JAMES WAUGH, headmaster of the Cardiff Higher Grade
School, has been appointed to succeed Dr. J. J. Findlay as
headmaster of the Cardiff County Intermediate School. Mr.
W. H. Richards, head of the Building Trades department at
the Northern Polytechnic, Holloway, has been appointed
principal of the new Brixton Technical Institute of the London
County Council. Mr. W. Gannon, principal of the Norwich
Technical Institute, succeeds Dr. Ryan as principal of Woolwich
Polytechnic.
Mk. MOSELY, who last year organised the Industrial Com-
mission to the United States, has completed his arrangements
for a Commission to make an educational inquiry in the same
country. The Education Commission will start on October 3rd,
and will visit educational institutions of every grade in the
United States, following an itinerary which has been drawn up
by President N. M. Butler, of Columbia University. The Com-
mission includes gentlemen familiar with the administration of
education, university professors, and also acting schoolmasters.
Among the last class we observe the names of Mr. H. Coward,
the President of the National Union of Teachers; Mr. W. C.
Fletcher, Headmaster of the Liverpool Institute; and the Rev.
Dr. Gray, Warden of Bradfield College. At the conclusion of
the tour, each commissioner will be invited to submit a report,
which will be included in a subsequent volume to be published
with a preface by Mr. Mosely.
THE Home Counties Nature-Study Exhibition will be held,
by permission, at the offices of the Civil Service Commission
(formerly the buildings of the University of London), Burlington
Gardens, London, W., from October 30th to November 3rd.
Prospectuses, regulations, and prize lists, may be obtained from
Mr. Wilfred Mark Webb, Hon. Secretary, 20, Hanover
Square, W.
THE success list of the Society of Arts Examinations, held
in March last, was issued at the end of July. The examiners
are among the most leisurely in England. The Scotch Educa-
tion Department with over §0,000 candidates for its Leaving
Certificate manages to complete the work in somewhat over a
month. In the French examinations of the Society of Arts,
the papers have improved somewhat of late. But again this
year the prizes and medals are awarded to candidates from
Guernsey. We think it would be better if the Society followed
the practice of the Société Nationale des Professeurs de
Francais, and classed candidates from the Channel Islards
separately from those whose native tongue is not French.
IN May last the teachers of modern languages in France
founded a Societé des Professeurs de langues vivantes de lEn-
seignement public on the lines of our own Modern Language
Association which was founded in 1893. They held their first
meeting on May 28th, the conveners including MM. Maurice
Potel, Georges Jamin and Guiraud. They number already nearly
200 members and have issued three numbers of their Bulletin
mensuel, The chief reason for the existence of the new Society
is the necessity of conferring as to the best means of teaching
foreign languages after the ‘‘ direct method.” This method
was rendered compulsory in France by a ministerial decree last
year. While modern-language teachers in England are still
discussing methods and schemes of study, the Gordian knot is
cut for those in France, and they can at once approach the
main question. There are, therefore, advantages in ministerial
despotism.
348 The
School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
Mr. SANDLANDS, author of a pamphlet ‘“ The True Theory of
Voice Production,” writes that he cannot admit the justice of the
notice in the August number of THE SCHOOL WORLD. We have
submitted his letter to the writer of the paragraph, with whose
review we are in complete agreement, and he remarks in his
reply :—‘‘A reviewer may surely say that he does not under-
stand Mr. Sandland’s ‘true theory,’ and if Mr. Sandlands will
read the notice again. he will see that it does even recommend
him and the Briystock treatment. ‘Mr. Sandlands is well
known as a curer of voice ailments "—these are my words; and
I should not hesitate to send a patient to Brigstock. Surely an
author may be content with this. It is one thing to be a
successful curer of voice ailments, and quite another thing to
write a clear account of a ‘true theory of voice production’ and
to show to all and sundry how the cure is effected. This, I
maintain, Mr. Sandlands has not done.”
THE Civil Service Commissioners have announced that an
open competitive examination will be held in London and
various provincial centres on October 13th, 1903, for not fewer
than 150 vacancies in the Second Division of the Civil Service.
Application for permission to enter must be made on or before
September 24th, on forms obtainable from the Secretary, Civil
Service Commission, Burlington Gardens, W. The limits of
age are 17 and 20. The subjects of examination will be as
follows :—Handwriting and orthography, including copying
manuscript ; arithmetic; English composition; and not more
than four of the following subjects, viz., précis, including in-
dexing and digest of returns; book-keeping and shorthand
writing ; geography and English history; Latin; French; Ger-
man; elementary mathematics, viz., Euclid, books I.-IV., and
algebra up to and including the binomial theorem; and in-
organic chemistry, with elements of physics. Only two of the
three languages may be taken up. The salaries of second division
clerks are £70—£5—{f100, £100—f£7 10s.—£190, £190—
£1lo—£250; higher grade, £250—£10—£350. The entrance
fee is £2.
SCOTTISH.
Mk. JOHN MORLEY, in proposing the toast of the “ Merchant
Company Schools” at the annual dinner of the company in
Edinburgh, made reference to the work in commercial and
scientific education undertaken by the company, which he
cordially supported. At the same time, he thought these would
only be of value if based upon a liberal general education from
which Latin and Greek should not necessarily be excluded.
Ife commended to the consideration of the company the
example of Germany, where specialised commercial and tech-
nical education was provided on a scale far in advance of
anything in this country. There they insist that students must
have seven or eight years of a thoroughly liberal education
before they approach the threshold of specialised and tech-
nical education. Mr. John Cowan, Master of the Merchant
Company Schools, in thanking Mr. Morley for his address, said
that they had been considering the necessity of enlarging their
schools to relieve over-crowding. They had determined to incur
an expenditure of £50,000 in extending their accommodation,
and he was pleased to announce to the meeting that Dr. Andrew
Carnegie had promised to give the last £10,000 of that sum.
A Locar Committee for the training of teachers, under the
Scotch Code, has just been formed in connection with the
University of Glasgow. The course of training is open both
to graduates and to under-graduates. Every under-graduate
must be not less than 18 years of age, and have passed the
university preliminary examination in arts or science, or its
equivalent. A moderate fee will be charged for the course of
training, and candidates who pay this fee will be free from any
obligation to serve in a particular class of school. Any quali-
fied student may obtain the training without payment of the fee ;
but every such student must come under an obligation to enter,
within a reasonable time, upon recorded service in public or
state-aided schools under the code. The committee is also
prepared to consider applications for a limited number of
scholarships of varying amount from students who may require
aid in the prosecution of their studies.
AT a meeting of the local committee for King’s students at
St. Andrews University, Principal Stewart called attention to
Article gt of the new Education Code, which made considerable
changes in the firancial arrangements of the scheme. Under
former codes any surpluses that might accrue in the administra-
tion of the scheme were placed to a guarantee fund, out of which
were paid any claims for repayment to the Education Depart-
ment of maintenance allowances of studenis who failed to
follow out the teaching profession. Under the new code the
Government would only allow to the local committee such sums
as they had actually expended, so that it would not be possible
in the future to keep up a guarantee fund from surplus grants.
The responsibility for the repayment of maintenance allowances
would thus fall upon the individual members of the committee,
and Principal Stewart thought that such a provision would
make the working of the scheme for King’s students impos-
sible. It was agreed to appoint a committee to confer with
the Education Department upon the matter.
Ar a meeting of the Secondary Education Committee for
Morayshire correspondence was submitted from the Department
anent the Committee’s proposal to send teachers to Paris for
a course in French. Their Lordships, while sympathising with
the suggestion, regretted they were not empowered to give
pecuniary assistance to such a project, but they trusted the
Education Committee would be prepared to incur the expenses
themselves, which they had full power to do under the constitu-
tion of their Committee. After some discussion it was agreed to
allow asum of £10 to each of six teachers towards expenses
and class fees in Paris on production of a certificate that their
attendance and progress had been satisfactory.
Sir HENRY CRAIK has repeatedly directed attention in his
reports on secondary education to the difficulty of retaining
pupils in secondary schools beyond the age of 15 or 16, and he
very rightly puts the blame for this unsatisfactory state of
affairs upon the employers of labour, who offer no encourage-
ment to those who remain longer at school than their fellows.
The extra year or years will be amply justified in the long run,
but of immediate tangible value they can show nothing. But
it is not only that this extra time of hard study carries with it
no privileges; it entails a real tangible penalty. The youth
who enters commerce after an extra year’s study finds himself
the fag of his companion who left a year younger. In indus-
trial pursuits it is the same. A year or two longer at school
means a year or two longer in finishing an apprenticeship.
Principal Laurie, of the Heriot-Watt College, like the heads
of other secondary schools, has found the work of the institu-
tion handicapped and crippled by this consideration, and has
addressed himself successfully to find a remedy. He has just
come to an arrangement with several large engineering firms in
Edinburgh whereby they have promised to take a limited
number of students annually from the Heriot-Watt College into
their works, in many cases at a reduced premium, allowing
them to begin their apprenticeship at the end of their second
winter session and reducing their whole apprenticeship by one
year. The success of this experiment will be keenly followed
in other industrial centres, and Principal Laurie and the
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
employers concerned were alike to be congratulated on the
settlement which has been found.
WELSH.
THE educational problem, from the point of view of organisa-
tion in Wales no less than elsewhere, is that of centralisation or
de-centralisation. Complete centralisation at Whitehall has
proved too great a strain on England, and a fortiori on Wales.
We shall now have local education authorities. The constitu-
tion of a Central Welsh Board for secondary education has
suggested the desirability of continuing this scheme of centra-
lised organisation for Wales, and, though the old Central Welsh
Board would not be under the new conditions an adequately
representative Board, the principle embodied in it will be con-
tinued under the new Act.
In the draft schemes submitted to the Board of Education
there have been proposals for a new constitution. Sir William
Anson has now put forward an alternative scheme for such a
Welsh Joint Board, to consist of a commiitee appointed by
members elected by the combining Welsh County Council and
County borough authorities. On the Joint Board there must
be not less than one-half of the constituent members chosen
from members of the combinirg councils. There must, how-
ever, be provision for persons of experience in connection with
the training of teachers and of the examination and inspection
of the various kinds of schools in the combined area, of which
a number (to be fixed) shall be women.
THE matters to stand referred to the Joint Committee shall
be such matters relating to the exercise by the combining
councils of their powers under the Act as relate to the training
of teachers, and the examination and inspection of schools,
together with such other matters relating to the exercise of the
said powers as the combining councils may, with the sanction
of the Board of Education, from time to time determine, and
any difference as to any matter of administration by the Joint
Committee may be referred by any combining County Council
to the Board of Education, whose decision shall be final.
PROVISION is made for entry of any Welsh County Council,
or for withdrawal, under certain conditions, though the number
of such combining councils is not to fall lower than six. In
the appointment of any executive committee by the Joint Com-
mittee, due regard shall be had to the inclusion of persons
specially experienced in respect of the training of teachers, and
of the examination and inspection of the various kinds of schools
in the combined area. Mr. Lloyd George is reported to have
said: ‘* The scheme is very well drafted, and, as far as I am
concerned, I think it will suit us. The Board has accepted the
principle for which we were contending. It is the
greatest step taken towards the administrative unity of Wales
within living memory. . . . The Beard of Education seem
to have made u sincere effort to meet the desires of the Welsh
people for educational autonomy.” But Sir William Anson’s
scheme is more. It is a model scheme which will probably
have a regulative effect on other schemes for parts of England,
and perhaps will be kept in view when a new Scottish Education
Bill is brought before the country.
ANOTHER question involving the principle of centralisation
is a National Museum for Wales. The difficulty is to settle
the location of such a museum, for all will admit its desirability.
At the recent National Eisteddfod at Llanelly, Sir John
Williams pointed out there are three possibilities for a settle-
ment: (1) a museum situated in one place; (2) a corporate
institution dividing its contents between the three constituent
The School World
a or = fa a ed
colleges of the Welsh University ; (3) a corporate institute in
a building in one place, with local branches at the sites of the
three Welsh colleges or some other convenient places, the
former to lend exhibits. Sir John Williams also pointed out
that the solution of the location of the Welsh library and a
Welsh museum need not, and indeed might advantageously
not be the same. A resolution was passed calling on the
Welsh members and County Council representatives to summon
another conference for further discussion of the whole question.
HIOWELL’s School for Girls at Denbigh has stood out from
the Welsh Intermediate County School system. It is hoped,
as the Bishop of St. Asaph has explained, that it may occupy
in the education of girls a position like that occupied by
Liandovery and Christ College, Brecon, in the education of
boys. It is interesting, however, to notice that the head
mistress announced that the school had sent in six candidates
for the Matriculation examination of the University of Wales.
We are glad to note that independence of the school does not
mean detachment from the Welsh University system.
CURRENT HISTORY.
THE Swiss have taught us that there is almost nothing im-
possible in mountain engineering, and we are, therefore, not at
all surprised at the development of railways in the Scottish
Highlands. Every now and then we hear, and regard as a
matter of course, that some new line has been opened to places
of romantic or historical interest. Such, for example, is the
opening this summer of a line along the course of the Cale-
donian Canal, one of whose stations is at Fort Augustus.
Would the 745 have been possible if such a railway had then
existed? It may sound a difficult, if not absurd, question. But
there may be materials for answering it in the story of the late
Boer war. The Highland glens in the olden days were prac-
tically impenetrable but by the leave of the clans who inhabited
them. ‘‘ It is a far cry to Loch Awe,’ was an old saying, but
locomotives have long traversed its valleys, and the Highlands
of Scotland are now the playground of the English tourist.
The whole story tempts one to regard it as a fulfilment, in a
way undreamt of by the prophet, of Isaiah xl. 4-5.
THE story of the Trinidad riots of last March, or rather of
the report of the Commission on that matter, which has just been
published in a Parliamentary paper and a Blue-book, are worth
consideration in any attempt to describe our unwritten British
constitution. It supplies a striking example of the publicity
under the glare of which our officials live, and of that almost
complete lack of a droit administratif which distinguishes Great
Britain from her Continental neighbours in general. The whole
circumstances of the riot were fit for delicate handling, and
might have justified much reticence, yet the whole story is laid
bare in the official documents, and further investigation is de-
manded. ‘Till Charles I. was executed in 1649, things of
this kind were impossible. Elizabeth did not reveal adminis-
trative secrets to her Parliaments, and Buckingham was more
blamed than he need have .been because he would not tell
James’ and Charles’ Parliaments the whole story of the war with
Spain and France. Charles II. began to solve the problem of
a modus vivendi between King and Parliament, and the solution
was not reached till after 1832.
Ir seems probable that the capital of the Australian Common-
wealth will be situated at Tumut, natural mutual jealousies
between the component States making such well-known places
as Melbourne, Sydney, &c., ineligible. But where is Tumut ?
and how is the name pronounced? The former question is
350
answered by the papers that announced the decision. The
latter may not need an answer if some new name could be given
to this small town. For such a course we could find precedents
in previous instances of such a choice. Our American cousins
of the United States were easily provided with a name for the
site of their capital. The ‘‘ Father of his country” was so
manifestly the one man of 1789 that “ Washington ” was almost
inevitable. When Epaminondas of Bcoeotia made a capital for
Arcadia, he called it Megalopolis, the “ great city.” And the
question of names for consciously founded cities reminds us of
Alexandria of Egypt, founded and named by the Macedonian
conqueror, and of Alexandria in North Italy, named for Pope
Alexander III.
In July, after a reign of twenty-five years, and a life which
dated from 1810, Leo XIII. passed quietly away. Fifteen days
later the Romans were told in the traditional manner, and the
rest of the world by the modern telegraph, that Pius X. reigned
in his stead. The papers have been full of the careers of both
these ecclesiastics. But here we remark not on these modern
events, but on the antiquity of the throne thus vacant and thus
again filled. Even if, with the most sceptical of historians, we
go back no further than Gregory the Great, who sent S. Augus-
tine to these then heathen shores, the throne of the Roman
bishop is the oldest in Europe. The Roman Emperorship,
after being no more than a title for a century and a half,
perished finally in 1806. How modern seem all the tem-
poral powers beside this venerable yet still powerful monarchy.
And it is elective, open, at least legally, to every member
of the Catholic Church who acknowledges the authority of
the Pope. It is subject, therefore, to no perils of minority or
of inheritance, and, if only the Cardinals, the Senate of the
powerful spiritual State, are true to their trust, the method of
succession must secure wisdom in the occupant of the See. All
the world, therefore, is bound to have good wishes for Pius X.
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
| APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
John Bull in France. By Léon Delbos. xvi. + 196 pp.
(Clarendon Press.) 2s.—Many teachers are of opinion that the
learning by heart of artificial conversations is beneficial to their
pupils. We are not of that opinion, after having spent many
years in proving its futility. Conversations based on pictures or
on the natural objects of the class room have always proved
more efficacious. Not but what this book is a great improve-
ment on the old Chardenal, and Richard and Quétin manuals.
Here M. Delbos shows us John Bull landing at St. Malo,
visiting Brittany, making his way to Paris, where he meets his
niece who is at school there, and then returning to England
by way of Calais. This occupies 200 pages, with the French
and English opposite each other, ‘‘ Arts and crafis” is an
excellent translation of ‘Arts et métiers,” but does it convey
the same idea to an Englishman’s mind as the French does to
a Frenchman ?
Contes et Nouvelles des meilleurs auteurs contemporains.
Edited by Jules Lazare. 132 pp. (Hachette.) 1s. 3¢.—M.
Lazare has followed up his well-known ‘t Half-hours with
Modern French Authors ” with thts work, in which the extracts
are longer and complete, and the authors still more modern.
The School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
— -o o [Ml U l aaae a
François Coppée, and others. There are notes in French to
each piece, and a vocabulary of the more unusual words. We
cannot help thinking that the latter would have been more useful
if they had not been printed in a solid block, but in parallei
columns. The type of the extracts is unusually clear.
Exercises in French Prose. With Vocabularies for the use
of Middle Forms. By E. G. H. North and L. G. d’A.
Huntington. ix. + 168 pp. (Rivingtons.) 2s. 6d.—This is
a book written on the same lines as North and Hillard’s
deservedly popular ‘‘ Latin Prose Composition.” There are
three preliminary pages of general hints, the rules are commen-
dably brief, and there are 160 exercises of about half a page
each. The authors have desired to combine the advantages of
oral teaching, exercise in grammatical rules by means of sen-
tences and continuous prose writing. The only criticism we
would make is that there aie too many exerci-es of mere
detached sentences; it would have been better to introduce
continuous pieces earlier. The vocabularies are sufficient.
Hossfeld’s Italian Prose Reader. By Carlo Scotti. 352 pp.
(Hirschfeld.) 2s.—This new edition should prove very useful
to students of Italian, almost from their first lesson. Dr. Scotti
has first given 26 pages of short anecdotes, and afterwards longer
extracts, first from living writers, and then going backwards in
chronological order to the classics of the fourteenth century—
Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio. At the bottom of each page
are footnotes explaining the harder words and phrases, with
which the beginner is likely to be unacquainted.
Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon par Labiche. Edited by
G. H. Clarke. xiii. + 84 pp. (Blackie.) 8é/.— This is
another volume of the supplementary series of French plays
which Messrs. Blackie have added to their Little French
Classics. Mr. Clarke prefixes a very interesting sketch of the
rise of the drama in France from the twelfth century. The
notes are short, but quite sufficient in the hands of a good
teacher.
Amis et Amiles and Atol. Adapted from the ‘* Chansons de
Geste,” by Mrs. J. G. Frazer, with notes by F. B. Kirkman.
xvi. + 27 pp. (Black.) 6a.—A reader for elementary forms
forms in the series edited by Mr. Kirkman, of which we have
spoken favourably on previous occasions. The notes are of
two kinds; those on textual dithculties are given in English,
those on historical and literary allusions are given in French as
footnotes. There is a vocabulary in which we have found no
omission, while the printing of the book is very much in its
favour.
History.
The History of France. By A. Hassall. vi. + 246 pp.
(Dent: Temple Primers.) 1s. net.—This is a short history
of France from Roman times to the present day. Its com-
pass forbids more than a dry compilation of events, which are
correctly given. There is an index as well as short biblio-
graphies, but no maps.
Little Notes on Shakespeares England. By A. Andrewes.
124 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 1s.—This book consists of
short chapters on the social life of England in Shakespeare's
time, intended for those who are just beginning to read some of
his plays. It is a simple but useful little compilation from
Green, Drake, and other writers.
History in Biography. Vol. III.
By F. M. West. xvi. + 216 pp.
Henry VII. to Elizabeth.
(Black.) 2s.—This book
They include Alphonse Daudet, Paul Margueritte, Paul Arène, | follows on the lines of previous volumes of the series which
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
we have already noticed. It contains fifteen biographies of
Tudor statesmen and other heroes, a list of chief authorities,
two maps, chronological summaries, a sketch of social condi-
tions, genealogical tables, a two-page index, and many illus-
trations, both pictorial and poetical. The biographies tend, we
think inevitably, to be history of the ordinary kind, because the
history of Tudor statesmen is so largely the history of the
period, but the work is well done, the information correct and
clearly told.
The English as a Coionising Nation. By J. Hight. 307 pp.
(Whitcombe and Tombs.) 2s. 6d.—The author of this book is
lecturer on Political Economy and Constitutional History at
Canterbury University College in New Zealand. We are not,
therefore, surprised that more than a third is given to “the
South Seas,” and of this third, half is devoted to the story of
New Zealand. It is intensely patriotic, and Rudyard Kipling’s
‘t Song of the English ” is printed in sections at the end of each
part. But, with this exception, the story is generally correct.
There are many illustrations and a fair index.
On the Shores of the Great Sea. By M. B. Synge. vi. + 202 pp.
(Blackwood.) 1s. 4d. The Discovery of New Worlds. By
M. B. Synge. vi. + 216 pp. (Blackwood.) 15. 6d. The
Awakening of Europe. By M. B. Synge. vi. + 229 pp.
(Blackwood.) 15. 6¢.—These are the first three of five “books”
collected under the title of ‘‘The Story of the World.” The
first is occupied with the years B.C., the second with the middle
ages in the broadest sense of that term, the third with the
years 1520-1745. The other two are to treat of the struggle for
sea power and the growth of the British Empire. There are
a few illustrations, not particularly good, and a ‘‘ Teacher’s
Appendix,” consisting of a list of books of various
merit. Of course such little books do of contain the
“*story of the world,” but rather stories, such as may
interest children, from the various periods of history,
Hebrew, Persian, &c., before Christ, and exclusively
European after that date. Here and there we have
come across some extraordinary statements, but, on
the whole, the stories are correct, whether mythical
or historical, so far as is perhaps needed for the young
folk for whom they are evidently written.
Geography.
Highways and Byways in South Wales. By A. G.
Bradley, with illustrations by Frederick L. Griggs.
xii. +418 pp. (Macmillan.) 6s.—Together author
and artist have produced a book which is in every
way charming, and the form of publication is quite
in keeping with the delightful contents. Mr. Bradley
will secure the interest not only of the visitor to the
romantic places le describes, but also of the reader
who wishes to acquaint himself with this picturesque
country, and yet not to leave his arm-chair. The
book should appeal in a particular manner to teachers
of geography and history, for its chapters abound in
quaint and absorbing incidents concerning some of the
counties of South Wales and their former and present
inhabitants, stories of just the kind to add an air of
reality to the lessons of the class-room. Boys and
girls learning history and geography would with
pleasure supplement their lesson work with private reading if
they were given access to such delightful books as this. The
volume might with advantage find a place in every school
library, and it would meet with much appreciation as a prize-
book. We reproduce one of the eighty-eight illustrations,
which are of uniform excellence.
‘The School’ World
o 35I
Name Lists for Repetition Maps. By G. T. Warner. viii. +
48 pp. (Blackie.) 15. 6¢.—The study of geography necessi-
tates, at first, more or less memoriter work in order to gain a
knowledge of location. These ‘‘ name lists” are in use at
Harrow in connection with a weekly repetition lesson; the
method consisting in inserting on outline maps the names and:
positions of places which the pupil prepares out of school. Full
directions for its use are given in the preface to the book. The
fact that it is employed with success at Harrow will commend it
to teachers generally. We have no fault to find either with the
selection of names or the method indicated. Specimens of the
work to be done, on outline maps, are given at the beginning of
the book.
Geographical Readers. Home and Neighbourhood. Stage I.
132 pp. Stage II. 151 pp. (Newmann.) — The inevitable
uncle appears in these reading books. This time it is
“ dear ‘ Uncle John,’ ”’ who, with the assistance of Mr. Brown,
imparts most of the geographical information the books contain
to two ‘* wide-awake” children, Alice and Frank. On the
whole the lessons are interesting, but the facts are not always
above suspicion. The children are told that the sun goes round
the world, and that there is a fire inside a volcano, which is de-
scribed asa burning mountain. Original verse is introduced from
time to time, and is intended, the preface says, ‘‘ to aid the sub-
ject discussed.” The way in which this is managed can be
gathered from the following sample verse from a poem: “ At the
Port:
(5) Here tea and coffee come in chests,
Cotton and wool in bales,
Here flax is made a welcome guest,
And hemp to make our sails.
Cardigan Bridge. (From “ Highways and Byways in South Wales.”)
|
|
Science and Technology.
Steel and Iron for Advanced Students. By Arthur H. Hiorns.
xvi. +514 pp. with 131 illustrations. (Macmillan.) 10s. 6¢.—
The more advanced students in the classes of colleges and
| schools in which this subject is studied, will find this a
The
352
most useful book. The descriptions of the more important
processes, and of the materials and fuel employed in iron and
steel works are brief but to the point. The book contains many
typical analyses of the raw materials, the products and the
bye-products. It deals with the methods now practised in
smelting and working the metal in some of the best works here
and abroad. It describes some of those alloys of iron, possess-
ing remarkable properties, which have recently been dis-
covered and are now manufactured for special uses in the arts ;
such as: special tool steels, highly magnetic alloys, non-
magnetic alloys, &c. - The illustrations are clear and there are
many references to original papers, especially to the more
recent ones, which will be useful to those desiring detailed
information. There are chapters on the theories held regard-
ing the structure of steel; on hardening, tempering and
annealing; on the microscopic structure of iron and steel;
and on conductivity and magnetic properties. The book is
therefore fully up to date. The theories on the structure of
steel are fairly stated. In some parts, owing principally to
conciseness of description, the meaning is obscure; this is to
be regretted, especially so when for various reasons fuller
descriptions might have been expected. The chapter on the
microscopic structure of iron and steel is the last but one in
the book, yet it must be read in conjunction with the
chapters in the middle part on the theories of the structure
of steel and on hardening.
Sun, Moon, and Stars. Astronomy for Beginners. By
Agnes Giberne. xvi.+ 329 pp. (Seeley.) 5s.— This is a new
edition of a book which is now in its twenty-sixth thousand.
A new chapter has been added dealing with recent results and
views on various celestial bodies, and this will help to give the
book a new lease of life. The text is very simply written, but
the sentimental side of astronomy is, perhaps, a little too
prominent for the present generation. Such expressions as
«countless millions,” ‘‘ innumerable stars,” ‘‘the stars of the
universe are uncountable,” may be impressive but they are none
the less misleading ; for many lines of reasoning lead to the
conclusion that the number of stars of all magnitudes does not
exceed one hundred millions.
A Class Book of Botany. By G. P. Mudge, and Arthur J.
Maslen. xvi.+51!12 pp. (Arnold.) 7s. 6¢.—The authors state
that their object was to meet, in one volume, the requirements
in Botany of the Intermediate Scientific Examination of the
London University, and of the Advanced Stage Examination of
the Board of Education. This task they have performed in a
most creditable manner, and teachers and students whose work
is regulated by the syllabuses of the examinations in question,
will be grateful for a work containing information which in the
past had to be gleaned from several different books. Great
care has obviously been taken to incorporate the results of
recent work, and as a consequence the book is very full; in-
deed we fear that the average student may find it somewhat
embarrassingly so. One could perhaps scarcely expect much
originality of treatment in such a book, but the result is
nevertheless one to be highly commended. The illustrations,
upwards of twe hundred in number, have all been specially
drawn for the book and will be found useful.
An Intreduction to Botany. By William Chase Stevens.
x.+436+127 pp. (Heath.) 6s.—This book approaches the
ideal introduction to botany more nearly than any other we
have seen. Each chapter commences with clear instructions—
on heuristic principles—for laboratory or field work, and con-
cludes with a discussion of the facts observed. The method is
in itself an excellent one; the manner in which it is carried out
is almost beyond praise, for the experience of the practical
School World
[ SEPTEMBER, 1903.
teacher and the lucid style of the expert are apparent through-
out. The chapters on flowers, with their delightful quotations
from Sprengel, are in themselves sufficient to dispel for ever
the strange notion—still commonly held—that botany is a dry
subject. The illustrations are numerous, and worthy of the
text, which is saying much. The book is not ‘‘ written up ”’
to any of our familiar syllabuses: a fact which will perhaps
render it all the more useful to the teacher, though it may
detract somewhat from the wide circulation it so thoroughly
deserves. An appendix on the herbarium, laboratory equip-
ment and processes, together with a glossary and a “key and
fiora,” add greatly to the value of the book.
The Nature-Forms Object Lesson Books for Scholars. Book Z.
By F. H. Shoosmith. (Charles and Dible.)—This book contains
fifteen plates of outline drawings of various objects of natural
history, suitable for use as drawing copies or as sketches to be
coloured. Each plate is faced by a simple description, and
instructions for colouring are also given, The book will be
found useful in the lower classes of schools.
Mathematics.
A School Geometry. Part JII. Circles. By H. S. Hall and
F. H. Stevens. ix. + 137 to 210 + ii. pp. (Macmillan.)
Is.—This third part contains the substance of Euclid’s Book
III. 1-34 and part of Book IV. Evuclid’s logical sequence is in
the main retained, but the propositions are grouped differently
and their number is reduced. We cordially sympathise with the
“attempt to curtail the excessive body of text which
the demands of examinations have hitherto forced as ‘ book work ’
on a beginner’s memory.” It is possible, we think, that com-
pression might with advantage have been carried further, though
it may perhaps be better meanwhile, as experience is being
gained, not to be too rash in making innovations. Euclid’s
third book is probably the least satisfactory of all his books, and
the rearrangement here given is certainly an improvement.
The exercises are easy and are well within the competency of
the average pupil. In the treatment of tangency the method of
limits, of course, appears. We think that on p. 170, par. 3
should precede 2 and that 2 (i.) should be used instead of 2 (ii.)
in proving theorem 46, p. 173. The proof given on p. 173 is
much better than that now becoming current, though it could be
improved by a more careful statement of the fundamental
element of a limit. The angles OQR, OPT, are equal so long
as OPQ is a triangle, but when Q coincides with P the proof
that they are equal is no longer valid. Rather, if PS is
perpendicular to OP, PS is the tangent, because Q can be
taken so near to P that the angle RPS shall be as small as
we please; the fixed straight line PS is therefore the limiting
position of PQ.
A Course of Pure Geometry. By Dr. E. H. Askwith. xii.
+ 208 pp. (Cambridge University Press.)—It is to be hoped
that the reform of geometrical teaching will increase and
not diminish interest in geometry. Though the time that may
be gained by a rearrangement of the fundamental propositions
of geometry will probably be claimed, in part at least, for
laboratory and general science work, yet some should be allotted
to the study of geometry beyond the elements in the case of
pupils who have any mathematical aptitudes. For such pupils
this ‘“‘ Course ” is an excellent guide. The text is simple, clear
and accurate, and the selection from the vast range of material
in modern geometry is most judicious. The book would not be
at all difficult for a senior pupil, and the time he spent upon it
would be well repaid by the intellectual stimulus he would
certainly gain not less than by the new knowledge acquired.
As an introduction to the more complete treatises, this ** Course
of Pure Geometry” can be unreservedly recommended.
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
Elementary Graphs. By R. B. Morgan. viii. + 76 pp.
(with 16 plates.) (Blackie.) 1s. 6a¢.—This little book is an
easy and interesting introduction to the methods of drawing and
interpreting a graph. The functions plotted are chiefly linear
and quadratic, but the curves also include the circle and the
rectangular hyperbola. The applications are mainly to statistics
and prices. In the plates the lines are much too thick if accuracy
in reading off coordinates is desired. The points through which
a curve is to pass should be represented in some other way than
by a dot if the record of the point is not to be lost.
Algebra. Part IZ. Adapted to the requirements of the
Second Stage of the Directory of the Board of Education. By
E. M. Langley and S. R. N. Bradly. 216 pp. (Murray.)
2s.—The parts taken up are involution and evolution, surds
and indices, quadratic equations in one and two variables, ratio,
proportion and variation, and graphs; there is also a chapter
containing proofs of certain theorems in Part I. The style is
simple and the difficulties of beginners are usually noted and
considered. Too much space seems to be given to surds in
comparison with that allotted to such an important subject as
graphs, and there is just a tendency to refer too much to
other sources of information instead of giving the information
needed. For instance, Horners method, referred to more
than once, is important enough to find a place; room might
have been given for it by excising some of the exercises
for revision. Possibly examination requirements have dictated
to a certain extent the inclusion and exclusion of particular
subjects. The book seems well adapted for the examinations in
view, but, even for these,' the ‘awkward numbers ” referred to
on p. 73 should be faced in the text, especially as methods of
approximation cre at times discussed (e.g., pp. 24, 25) in an
interesting way.
Exercises in Arithmetic (Oral and Written.) Part I. By
C. M. Taylor. iv. + 124 + 16 pp. (Edward Arnold.) 15. 62.
— For teachers who wish additional examples this collection will
be serviceable; the exercises are in addition, multiplication,
subtraction and division, problems involving money being
included as soon as possible in each stage. The specimen
examples on pp. 122-124 are hardly distinctive enough to be
worth giving.
Drawing.
Philips Brushwork Concrete Arithmetic. By F. F. Lydon
(Philip.) Books 1-4, 3đd. each net.—This is a most amusing
and interesting set of little books which aims at bringing simple
and attractive exercises in brushwork to the aid of the teacher
in impressing upon young students the most elementary notions
of number in a concrete form. The copies consist of flowers,
trees, birds, soldiers, and other objects likely to attract young
children, and the simple arithmetical rules are clearly and
ingeniously illustrated. In the first two books, which deal
with addition and subtraction and are intended for quite young
children, complete outlines are very wisely given to be tilled in
by the pupils.
Memory Drawing of Plant Form and Design.
Bullmore (Kings Lynn: The Arts and Crafts Co. London:
Chapman & Hall.) Parts 1 and 2. Is. each net.—Mr. Bull-
more has taken a step in the right direction in providing us in
these small issues with careful and tasteful Hower drawings
followed by designs based upon the same plant showing how
it can be conventionalised. Each part contains six plates three
of which are devoted to the natural forms and three to designs
founded upon them. The flower studies are excellent, cleanly
and straightforwardly put in, judiciously chosen, and arranged
su as to show thuse characteristics of growth which the de-
No. 57, Vol. 5.]
By W. R.
The School World
353
The designs which follow them are less
signer must know.
satisfactory.
Art in the Nineteenth Century. By Charles Waldstein.
vii.4-91 pp. (Cambridge University Press.) 2s. net.— This
little volume contains a lecture which was delivered by Dr.
Waldstein at the University Extension Summer Meeting held
at Cambridge in 1902. Serving as it did as an introduction to
a series of lectures on art, literature and music, the book neces-
sarily covers a rather wider field than can be treated very satis-
factorily in a small volume appearing by itself, but there are
doubtless many students who heard the address delivered who
will be glad to possess it in more permanent form.
atures Laws and the Making of Pictures. By W. L.
Wylie, A.R.A. 74 pp. Ilustrated. (Edward Arnold.)
15s. net.—Mr. Wyllie is addressing himself in this book
primarily to artists or would-be artists, but his instructions are
so plain and practical that they should be of use to all students
of drawing who want some knowledge of perspective. The
truth is that the artist in general has not by any means a
mathematical brain, and many a young student who is fairly
puzzled by perspective as it is usually taught would, if given
such simple directions as those which are here provided by Mr.
Wyllie, learn gradually by actual practice that knowledge of the
subject which he probably could not acquire by any other
method bearing a more scientific dress. The book is admirably
illustrated both by the author’s own work and reproductions
from old masters, and should certainly give teachers, especially
those who have to take sketching classes, a great deal of help.
Miscellaneous.
King Solomon’s Alines. By H. Rider Haggard. 256 pp.
Is. 3d. Robinson Crusoe. By Daniel Defoe. 255 pp. 1s. 3d.
(Cassell’s Continuous Keaders.)—These abridged editions are
sure to secure a wide popularity in schools. The abbreviations
in ‘ King Solomon's Mines ” have been made with Mr. Rider
Haggard’s approval, and the boys who are given this volume as
a class-book will, we are sure, consider themselves very fortu-
nate. “ Robinson Crusoe ” requires no recommendation : he is
a welcome guest wherever British boys are to be found.
Cassel’s Union Jack Series Readers. Book III. 174 pp.
10@.—This book maintains the high order of excellence of its
predecessors, which have already been noticed in these columns.
The illustrations are, as usual, particularly good.
The School Manager. 1903. By Joseph King. vi. + 88 pp.
(Arnold.) 1s.—The scope of this booklet is well defined by its
sub-title: ‘fA handy guide for the management of public elemen-
tary schools, with the Education Act, 1902 (full text), and other
appendices, including rules for planning and fitting up schools.”
Managers will find in its pages, concisely expressed, just the
information they require on frequently recurring questions.
The Schoolboy’s Pocket Book. A little book of helps and hints
for boys. Bya Public Schoolman. 31 pp. (London: Smith’s
Publishing Company, Ltd.) 6«.—This little book for the waist-
coat pocket can do no schoolboy any harm, but is well calculated
to do a great many of them much good.
win Index to the complete Encyciopwdia Britannica. The
eleventh cf the new volumes. Vol. xxxv. of the complete work.
1992 pp. (Black and The Zi:mes.)—This elaborate and carefully
compiled index makes the task of consulting the thirty-four
volumes of the completed Encyclopædia both easy and pleasur-
able. There is no need to say more about the volume, since no
one who has the volumes already noticed in these columns will
rest content until they possess the index, which is certainly one
of the most useful and elaburate we have seen.
EE
354
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear tn these columns. dsa
rule, a letter criticisine any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will Ge submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
Correspondence Club for the Study of Pedagogics.
THE qualifications shortly to be required of all teachers in
secondary schools who desire registration in accordance with the
recent Order in Council have again brought into prominence the
value to the schoolmaster of an acquaintance with the contents of
the educational classics written by those great educators on whose
practice and experience most of our educational systems are
built. In comparatively few years there will be in all proba-
bility in the secondary schools of the country two classes of
teachers: first, the practised veterans whose skill and success
depends almost entirely upon principles evolved from per-
sonal experience, and scarcely at all upon their knowledge of
the results arrived at by their scholastic ancestors; and,
secondly, the young men and women, the products of some
system of training, from whom a theoretical knowledge of no
educational secret is hid, who know as familiar friends Quin-
tilian, Ascham, Mulcaster, Rousseau, Herbart, and the other
educational giants, but who as yet scarcely know the ‘‘smell
of powder,” to whom the familiar contest of the class-room—
where the educator’s desire is pitted against the schoolboy’s
inertia—is merely an ill-defined presentiment. How will it be
possible for the Jews to have dealings with the Samaritans?
Somehow to establish in advance a bond of sympathy, to com-
plete a means of intellectual communication, seems to be well
worth a considerable effort.
To adopt the line of least resistance is, as a rule, a plan of
campaign which saves much irritation and reduces friction to a
minimum. Now, personal experience is gained only after much
prayer and fasting, whereas a theoretical acquaintance with the
conclusions at which others have arrived is much more easily
obtained, and the expenditure of nerve-energy is much less.
The workable plan scems to be, therefore, for the veterans to
supplement the valuable results of their own educational prac-
tice by acquainting themselves with the conclusions at which
the masters in education have arrived, and having done this
they may fairly expect to be regarded as scholastic Gamaliels—
and the theoretically well-equipped tyros will sit at their feet
with a becoming humility.
The question is: How to gain this familiar knowledge of the
great books in education most easily. Attendance at lectures is
inconvenient and perhaps a little ¢#/ra dig. The man who has
borne the heat and burden of the day regards educational diff-
culties from a different point of view from the inexperienced
beginner, and the same lecture is not likely to be equally useful
to both. My suggestion is that acting teachers in secondary
schools shall co-operate in a friendly way, and set about a joint-
study of a few typical educational classics. The plan I propose
is that six or eight acting schoolmasters or schoolmistresses in
secondary schools form a correspondence club and conduct it in
some such way as this: One teacher will become the honorary
secretary, and the first thing he will do is to request each
member to name some book he wishes to form the subject
of study for a particular term. When, by voting or otherwise,
the book has been selected—say, Rousseau’s ‘‘ Emile ’’—the
secretary will divide the book into as many parts as there
are weeks in the term, and each of these divisions will
represent the subject for each member's private reading and
study for one week. Each week every member will forward
to the secretary any remarks criticising or amplifying the
The School World
[SEPTEMBER, 1903-
author’s opinion in the light of his own experience, or, should
any such arise, stating his difficulties, and each subject will
be dealt with on a separate sheet. The secretary will add to
any shect by any member such remarks as his experience sug-
gests. The whole set of sheets will be fastened together by
the secretary and posted to a second member of the circle,
who adds his comments and posts the sheets to the third
member. This course is repeated until the budget of opinions
again reaches the secretary, who then sends to each member
his original difficulties or conclusions annotated with the ad-
ditions made by every member of the club.
This method of study would result not only in a thorough
knowledge of the contents of the chosen book, but, what is
much more valuable, in the formation of a rational idea as to
how the conclusions of a previous epoch in educational history
should be modified in the light of modern experience.
The plan seems to me feasible and worth a trial. If six or
eight schoolmasters or schoolmistresses among readers of THE
ScHooL WoRID think the same, and would like to try it, I
shall be pleased, if it is their desire and they will write to me,
to act as secretary for one such correspondence club, and to
assist in the formation of other clubs.
22, Elmstone Road, S.W. A. T. SIMMONS.
I HAVE read the suggestions of Mr. Simmons for the formation
of Correspondence Clubs for the study of the Science of
Education. I cordially agree with all that he says, and
think that he deserves well of the profession for the
trouble he has taken, and proposes to take, in the interests of
the scientific study of the principles of education.
JOHN ADAMS.
I IMAGINE there will be many who will wish to avail them-
selves of the offer made by Mr. Simmons in the above letter.
In the past, teachers of every grade, of every subject, have
too often been possessed of the parochial spirit: satished in
doing their own work in their own way, they have rarely cared
to take into account and study the body of doctrine bearing on
the practice of their profession to be found in books or to con-
sider other peoples’ methods. The conception of a theory of
education is only now beginning to take root among us. Any
course of action which will contribute to the formation of the
habit of reading and to reflection on such a subject, which will
give rise to an inquiring and critical habit of mind in the teacher,
is to be warmly commended and should be heartily supported.
It is to be hoped that even some of the senior, more experienced
members of the profession will be prepared to take part in an
experiment of so helpful a character. Finally, I would urge that
whatever be the course of reading chosen, it should be a wide
one; that the fact deserves to be kept in mind that, in some
respects, modern conditions are very different from those prevail-
ing in the past. 2
HENRY E. ARMSTRONG.
THE suggestion of Mr. Simmons to form a ‘‘ Correspondence
Club for the Study of Pedagogics ’’ seems to me an excellent one.
Judging from the scorn with which many trained teachers meet
the proposals of untrained secondary school masters, the transition
period during which we of the old system must work in union
with those of a newer generation who will join us full of the
theory of education, but with not much practical experience, will
require some bridging over. Under the old conditions a new
colleague was always glad to receive hints from those who had
been for some years engaged in teaching, and we must all of us
remember much valuable assistance given ungrudgingly by our
older colleagues. How can we in our turn do the same for the
younger generation? From my own experience I can only
recall two or three men new to the teaching profession who had
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
studied the theory of education before entering on their work,
They were, I remember, by no means ready to take, or ask for,
any advice until they had discovered by very bitter experience
that, though we knew very little of the theory, yet, as regards the
practical side of teaching, we were able to carry on our work
with an amount of efficiency which their knowledge of theory
was quite unable to give them. I gathered from these unfor-
tunates (for really while under the spell of their theory they
were great sufferers at the hands of their pupils) that it was
because of our ignorance of the doctrines they had learnt that
our opinions for the first term or two were not worth listening
to. In the future it will not be a few isolated individuals, but
every new colleague who will be instructed in the Theory of
Education, and it behoves us to make ourselves in some degree
capable of exchanging views, during the earlier stages of their
career, with the products of the New Regulations. Owing to my
small personal experience of the effects of theory undiluted by
practice, I am at present sceptical as to the good to be obtained
by a prolonged study of the theory of education, but, as my
experience may have been an unfortunate one, I am glad to have
such an opportunity as the scheme which Mr. Simmens suggests
to get a better insight myself into the subject. Of course I am
aware that the new regulations demand a study of the practice as
well as the theory, but what no amount of preparation can pro-
vide for, is that kind of Form (most of us have come across it
some time in our careers) which doesn’t play the game, which
never acts under treatment as the books say it should, and which
we find behaves itself perfectly normally with some old hand who
is able to subdue it solely through his experience. If now, by
some such scheme as that of Mr. Simmons, we can get a know.
ledge of the doctrines which have been taught to our new
colleagues, they will probably be ready to ask and take advice
from just such old experienced hands as I have mentioned, and
we can pass on to them the benefits which we in our apprentice-
ship received. Sitting in the shade in an old country garden,
Mr. Simmons’s scheme appeals strongly to me; whether to-
wards the end of a long term’s work it will appear so agreeable
remains to be seen. If I might offer a suggestion, it would be
that the book to be discussed should not be divided into parts to
fit the term, but into suitable weekly lengths, and carried on from
term to term if required, and that during the last fortnight of
each term the scheme should be dropped, because in many cases
this period has to be devoted to examination work, and very
little time can be spared for other subjects. As Mr. Simmons
has so kindly volunteered for the secretarial work, which will
probably be no small amount, I shall be glad to be enrolled as a
member, and also to do what I can to get others to join. The
idea is such an excellent one that I trust it will have great
SUCCESS.
City of London School.
School Societies.
THE increased demand for specialised study at an early stage
in the school course brings with it two dangers serious enough
to force the schoolmaster to consider means by which they may
be met. These dangers have to do with the attitude of the
pupil to the formative and literary subjects which precede,
and form the basis for the acquisition of specialised information,
while he is still at school. In the first place, there is the
tendency for the pupil to take a utilitarian view of his school
work. Having in view the prospect of ultimate specialisation,
and the necessity of passing external examinations qualifying
him to embark upon his life’s work, he is apt to focus his
attention on all that he imagines will be profitable for such
examinations, and to pursue with less energy subjects which he
will shortly discontinue. Secondly, after leaving school, finding
himself less advanced in these special subjects than he had
hoped, his feeling for his school work may become one of regret.
T. WIDDOWSON.
The School World
355
The progress, he supposes, might have been more rapid had
specialisation come earlier, and had less time been devoted to
subjects the practical utility of which is not to him obvious.
The fear, then, is that a boy while at school may not exert
himself sufficiently to gain an adequate culture-basis to fit him
for specialised study, and that when he has left school the
disappointment consequent on finding himself so far from a
working knowledge of the subjects, on which his prospects in
life now largely depend, may rob him of some of the respect
for his school course, and affection for his school, which should
be one of the most valuable inheritances from school life.
One means for meeting these dangers may be found in school
societies. Few schools, happily, are without a school paper or
a school debating society, and these become at once valuable in
this connection if the procedure of the latter conforms to the
ordinary procedure of a business meeting, and the speakers
feel bound to acquaint themselves with the subject matter of
each discussion, and if the school paper aims at a literary standard.
But with a little ingenuity other forms of societies can readily be
devised, notably play reading and essay societies, one effect of
which should be to enable boys about to leave school to feel
that they have a use for their earlier humanistic studies which
is not utilitarian, but that these studies have reached a certain
definite standard to which they can look back with respect, and
from which they can proceed to extend their powers fur
themselves.
The reading aloud of plays, not confined to Shakespeare, has
certain advantages over other forms of readings. It is a method
of studying a branch of literature peculiarly definite in itself, but
remarkably varied by the genius of different writers. It is for
boys a breaking of new ground, where all start fair, and while
it appeals to .wsthetic appreciation and stimulates the ethical
judgment, it leads also to a right understanding of what is good
in dramatic representation. Further, the reading aloud of parts
is a valuable exercise in itself, and excites rivalry making for
progress.
In the case of the essay society there is a danger. The com-
position of the essays must not be allowed to interfere with the
ordinary preparation of school work. Fortunately the «ifh-
culty is easily solved. It can be arranged that all essays shall
be written in the preceding holidays, and the order of reading
be balloted for at the beginning of the term. It increases the
general interest of the meetings if the reading of the essay be
followed by a short discussion in the form of an impromptu
debate. The subjects should be as various as possible, but a
good basis for some will be found in subjects which have
recently been set for school prizes, since in this case the writer
will know what authorities dealing with his subject matter arc
available and have some acquaintance with what that subject
matter entails.
I have found such meetings, in which a master can meet boys
engaged in various specialised forms of work on terms of strict
equality, and in his own rooms, very pleasant social occasions ;
and I believe that they in some degree achieve their purpose,
arousing a genuine interest in literature for its own sake, and
enabling those, who are about to leave, to feel that their school
training, even where of no detinite utilitarian value, has reached
a certain standard from which they can advance by their own
efforts. I append a list of work of this kind, which we have
recently covered at Epsom.
(1) Play Heading Society.—The following have been read
within the last three years. The meetings occurred once a week
during the two winter terms.
Shakespeare, ‘ King Lear,” ‘‘ The Merry Wives of Windsor,”
“Twelfth Night.”
Marlowe, ‘‘ Edward II,” ‘* Arden of Faversham ” (Temple
Dramatists series).
Goldsmith, ‘* Good Natured Man,” ‘‘ She stoops to Conquer.”
350
Sheridan, ‘‘ The Rivals,” ** The School for Scandal.”
Tennyson, ‘* Queen Mary,” “Harold.”
Browning, “ Strafford.”
Pinero, ‘‘ The Times,” The Cabinet Minister.”
Ibsen, ‘“ The Lady from the Sea,” ‘* Rosmerholm,” t‘ Hedda
Gabler,” ‘* One of the People.”
(2) Essay Soctety.—Midsummer Term, 1903. The subjects
chosen by the readers, two of whom were masters, were :—
Ossian, Historical Poems, Local Character, Goldsmith,
Venice, South Devon Scenery, The Bases of Democracy,
Calvin, Masques, Holland’s Struggle for Independence, Tales
in Verse, Two Dictators of Literature.
The College, Epsom. T. S. FOSTER.
Changes in Pronunciation.
We are all told in our youth that language is a living thing
and constantly changing. But this is rarely brought home to
us, except when we read eighteenth-century verse, and note
that “tea” rhymes with ‘‘say.” I have recently had staying
with me a French teacher of English in Paris who had not
visited England for some years. He assured me that our pro-
nunciation of 7 sounds had much altered in ten years: that
whereas it had been the custom to say ‘‘ civilization” and
“ tribunal,” we now say ‘‘ civilization ” and ‘‘ tribunal.” The
same change is occurring in France, where the a sounds
are broadening, especially in Paris. |For instance, passer
and tasse have an “ah” sound, much as in the southern
English pass; but this has not yet reached words like ‘‘ pissif,”’
which are not used by the people.
DE V. PAYEN-PAYNE.
The Measurement of Mental Fatigue.
THE simple experiments recorded below were made in con-
nection with discussions on the question of Mental Fatigue,
arranged by the Manchester Froebel and Child-study Associa-
tion. The three questions on which I attempted to obtain
information were : (1) At what parts of our school day is fatigue
most marked ? (2) What is the effect of the gymnasium hour ?
(£) What is the effect of the workshop hour? The class
selected was one of twenty-five boys in the Lower Modern
School, whose ages averaged 12$, and as they had just made
a beginning with German the following test was applied. The
boys having been directed to have paper ruled and prepared,
ten nouns were given to them in English from the vocabulary
they had already acquired, and they were told to arrange in
columns the gender, declension, genitive singular and nomina-
tive plural of these nouns, adding the definite article. In each
case five minutes were allowed for the exercise.
Without giving here all the figures obtained, the following
seem worth recording. .\s each of the twenty-five boys could
score forty points, it will be seen that the possible maximum in
every case was 1,000.
November 10th.
Total possible: 1,000.
Middle of last morning hour 872
Beginning of afternoon school S95
End of afternoon school 840
Here there was evidently a considerable rise after the rest
afforded by the luncheon interval, but a falling off two hours
later when afternoon school closed. About a month later the
test was applied at nearly the same times, with the following
result :
December 1st.
End of morning school 933
Beginning of afternoon school 954
End of afternoon school 930
It will be seen at once that practice has made the test an
casier one, and higher marks are obtained. The curve is the
The School World
[ SEPTEMBER,
1903.
same, but the differences are less marked. Turning next to the
effect upon the same class of an hour in the gymnasium, the
following result was obtained :
November 20th.
Before gymnasium ...
After gymnasium
goo
sc sae 840
Between these tests the boys would have spent fifty minutes
at physical drill, the elastic Jadder, parallel bars, and similar
exercises. The fall is very marked, and fully bears out what
has been urged elsewhere as to the fatiguing effect of gymnastic
exercises. A week later, a similar test was applied with the
following result :
November 27th.
Before gymnasium ...
After gymnasium
895
; sé 894
On inquiry I found that on this particular occasion, owing to
an interruption, no violent gymnastic work had been done
during the hour. The result, therefore, rather confirms the
accuracy of the test than otherwise. In order to have some
record of the subjective test, questions were put to each member
of the form on several occasions as to the effect of the gymnasium
hour upon him. The result turned in the same direction, and
enquiries from much older boys in the school elicited no un-
certain replies to the effect that the gymnasium hour was
fatiguing, and that they were always glad when the time table
was so arranged thai this hour came at the end of the morning.
The period for manual training comes last in the day for the
particular form, and the results of tests designed to answer
Question 3 were as follows :
November 25th.
End of morning school ... 898
End of afternoon school-—after workshop 908
This seems to show that the workshop hour is not a fatiguing
one. In order, however, to obtain a more satisfactory trial, the
test was applied a week later in the workshop itself, at the
commencement and at the close of the carpentry hour. The
result seems to point in the same direction :
December 2nd.
Beginning of workshop hour 920
End of workshop hour 912
The general conclusions which i seems fail to deduce from
these simple experiments are: (1) Fatigue is marked at the
end of morning or afternoon school, but there is a decided
recuperation due to the interval between the two. (2) Itisa
fallacy to suppose that a gymnasium hour affords opportunity
for recuperation. Both subjective and objective tests are against
this idea. (3) The workshop hour is not so fatiguing as those
devoted to some other subjects. ©
The Grammar School,
Manchester.
F. A. BRUTON.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
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Supplement to ‘‘ The School World,” Sept., 1903.
PAPERS ON SCHOOL CURRICULA
Discusston in Section L, Educational Science,
OF
SSOCIATION,
ON
BRITISH A
THE
SEPTEMBER 10TH AND 11TH, 19008.
Proposed Scheme of Discussion.
(From the Offictal Circular.)
THE Organising Committee has decided to continue the
procedure adopted at previous meetings—namely, to contine the
discussions to a few broad subjects.
It is proposed to devote two days (September roth and 11th)
to an organised discussion on ‘‘ School Curricula,” based on a
series of short papers contributed in advance, so that there may
be time to print and distribute them; separate questions will be
dealt with in separate numbered paragraphs, so that it will be
possible to discuss together the corresponding paragraphs in the
several introductory papers.
The Organising Committee suggest that the discussion should
follow lines laid down broadly in the following scheme :—
Character of curriculum (general) suitable for :—
(a) Primary (preparatory) schools,
(4) Secondary schools,
with reference to such questions as :—
(1) What subjects, if any, all children should first study in
common.
(2) Whether the training should not in all cases necessarily
include :
(a) Literary instruction ;
(4) Practical instruction (science, drawing, manual, and
physical training, &c.).
(3) How far up the schools both these should be carried.
(4) At what stage and to what extent divergence from the
general preparatory course should take place, and what should
be, broadly, the curriculum of each type of school, the types to
be considered being schools preparing for :--
Commercial professions ;
Domestic professions ;
Engineering and applied science professions ;
Literary professions.
(5) To consider what should be the treatment in the above
several types of school of the two branches of instruction :—
(a) Literary ;
(b) Practical ;
7.¢., what should be the subjects included under these two heads
in various types of schools, and how, broadly, they should be
dealt with,
[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. |
“By J. ADAMS, M.A., B.Sc.
Professor of Education, University of London.
I.—GROUPS OF ESSENTIAL SUBJECTS.
THE subjects that all children should study in common fall
naturally into four groups. (a) The three R's, as the necessary
preliminary to all formal study; (4) English composition and
drawing as means of expression; (c) Drill, some form of manual
work, singing and the rudimentary laws of health; {d) Nature-
study, geography, and picturesque history and biography.
The relation of these subjects to those of the later curriculum
will be discussed under (3).
2.—LITERARY AND PRACTICAL SuBnjects.
It is now generally admitted that training must in all cases
necessarily include both literary and practical instruction.
Hitherto the struggle has been to find a recognition for practical
work in a curriculum that is mainly literary. It is just possible
that we may have now to fight for a literary element in a course
that is essentially practical. In our reaction against bookishness,
we must not fall into the opposite error of neglecting the
training that books alone can give.
3-—CO-ORDINATION OF ELEMENTARY AND HIGHER
STUDIES.
While all training should include both theoretical and
practical instruction, the nature of the subjects to be taught and
the amount of time to be devoted to each must vary with the
stage of advancement of the pupil. The categorical answer to
the question, ‘‘ How far up the schools should both practical and
literary instruction be carried?” is ‘Up to the very end.”
With regard to individual subjects, it is very difficult, and
perhaps not quite necessary, to determine the precise point in
the curriculum at which they should be dropped. In point of
fact, there are many subjects that are never really given up,
though they become gradually content with but small special
attention. Often a subject disappears from the time-table
altogether as a separate subject, and yet deserves, and actually
receives, a great deal of attention from the teacher. The three
R’s find no place in the time-table of our higher classes, vet to
the end of their school course the pupils are, or ought to be,
acquiring increased skill in their application of these three k’s.
Lord Avebury hag suggested a useful name for the class of
studies that are merely ancillary. He calls them ‘‘ knife-and-
fork ” studies, the implication being that there are other studies
that take the place of the dinner upon which the knife and fork
operate. In using the figure, Lord Avebury had in mind mainly
the three R’s, but the distinction is a relative, not an absolute
one. What is a dinner study at one stage becomes a knife-and-
fork study at another. In fact, education might be not inaptly
described as the process of reducing dinner studies to the level
of knife-and-fork studies. To the student who has merely
mastered the three R’s shorthand is a dinner study, but at a
later stage shorthand takes its place as knife and fork. To the
schoolboy botany is a dinner study, to the senior medical student
it is a knife-and-fork study. Thus each subject that the pupil
masters is not thrown out of the curriculum in reality, though
its name no longer appears on the time-table: it becomes a
means of mastering other subjects. Reading, writing, dictation,
and even arithmetic, disappear from the time-table long before
they are fully mastered. But they are perfected by their use as
auxiliaries to other subjects. Ina really good secondary course,
these elementary subjects are being perfected by being applied to
the ordinary work of the higher subjects. The secondary-school
teacher who is above attending to details of spelling, punc-
tuation, handwriting, and clearness of reading and speaking, is
neglecting his legitimate work. In a well-equipped school, with
a good staff and small classes, the greater part of the formal
teaching of the three R’s could cease at the age of ten, though
occasional formal lessons, particularly in arithmetic, should be
provided up to the age of twelve. With regard to all the other
subjects suggested under (1) for common study there is no need
that they should ever be dropped, though the form in which
they are carried on and the material upon which the mind is cast
may he changed. Geography and history, for example, may
altogether change their character as school subjects, and yet the
lessons of the earlier stage may retain their value. They are
indeed incorporated in the minds of the pupils. To use the
Spencerian figure, ‘‘ facts have become faculty.” The subjects
thus do not merely change, they develop. Nature-study may be
given up entirely in favour of systematic botany or physiology,
or chemistry, but it leaves behind it its mass of knowledge with
the corresponding bias towards scientific method.
4.—COURSES FOR PUPILS OF DIFFERENT LEAVING AGES.
Before dealing with the curriculum for the various classes of
schools suggested, a preliminary general distinction must be
made between those schools in which the pupils do not remain
beyond the fourteenth year and those in which the lowest
leaving age is sixteen. In the former class of school the greatest
care must be taken that the ancillary subjects are thoroughly
mastered, as there is not here the same chance for revision that
is found in the later school-life of the others. This need not,
however, prevent such schools from adopting a one-year or a
two-years’ course, after the completion of the preparatory course.
Excellent examples of such supplementary courses are to be
found in the Code of Regulations for Day Schools issued by the
Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council on Education in
Scotland. There we find four courses mapped out :—
(a) A commercial course, including : Arithmetic, book-keeping,
common commercial documents, handwriting, shorthand.
(4) An zndustrial course, including : Geometry and mensura-
tion, applied arithmetic, woodwork or ironwork, mechanics.
(c) A course for rural schools, including : Nature-study of a
special kind, geometry, study of newspaper market-reports, the
keeping of accounts, woodwork or ironwork.
(d) A Household Management (girls) course, including :
Housckeeping, laws of health, arithmetic, scale drawing, dress-
making.
2 The School World—Supplement
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
This scheme has been severely criticised for beginning
specialisation at too early a stage, and the objections carry some
weight, but we must remember that by the conditions of the
case the children are bound to specialise at fourteen, tbat is, they
begin work at that age. The special training for one or two
years at school has at least the effect of making this premature
specialisation more intelligent than it would otherwise be. It
has to be noted further that the scheme is one which is com-
pulsory (if certain grants are to be obtained), and therefore
includes only the minimum that will satisfy the Committee.
There is really nothing to hinder each such pupil beginning one
modern language at the age of ten, and leaving school at
fourteen with a real working knowledge of that language. This
could be worked in as an extra to each of the above courses,
without any undue pressure, if the antiquated methods of lan-
guage teaching are abandoned. Though the framers of the
Scotch Code have omitted all foreign languages, they have
drawn up an admirable scheme for the teaching of English in
schools of the class with which we are now dealing. I am not
aware of a better scheme of teaching English than that to be
found in the Fifth Schedule of the Scotch Code.
In schools in which the leaving age is sixteen and over, the
divergence between the common curriculum and the more or
less specialised should in no case take place before the age of
twelve. In the cass of pupils going forward to a literary course,
a certain amount of time might be given between the ages of
ten and twelve to the memorising of those parts of Latin
grammar that are usually maintained to be better prepared at
this stage than at any other. The time necessary for this work
could be deducted from that given to nature-study and history.
Between the ages of ten and twelve the subjects would be
the same as those already mentioned under (I), except that the
three R’s are now largely suppressed as formal subjects, their
place being taken by elementary geometry and algebra and the
rudiments of two modern languages. It has to be remembered
that the drawing lessons have already prepared the way for
geometry, so the increase is not so great as it seems.
Even when specialisation begins at twelve it ought never to
affect more than one-half of the work. That is, there ought
to be always a solid half of the school curriculum devoted to
the training of the pupils as human beings irrespective of the
particular line of life they propose to follow. The whole trend
of a pupil’s course may be towards one or other of the four
groups of professions suggested, and yet a large body of his
studies may be common to all four groups of pupils.
§-—CURRICULA FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHOOLS.
(a) Commercial Professions.—Here the curriculum should
include those special forms of calculation that are essential to
business: book-keeping, shorthand, précrs-writing, two modern
languages, economics, and commercial geography. I am aware
how unsatisfactory hook-keeping as a school subject is, but it
need not be taught in the way to which objection is so frequently
taken. Asa rule it gets too much time on the time-table. So
far as possible the two languages should be confined to French
and German. In certain businesses Spanish is no doubt of
prime importance, but for general training the ordinary two
languages are excellent, and we are not here considering a
mere cram commercial college.
(6) Domestic Professtons.—In dealing with students looking
forward to work of this kind there is a specially strong tendency
to run to excess in practical work. Cookery, laundry-work,
needlework, cutting-out, appear to make up a sufficiently varied
course, and indeed the amount of time the practical part of each
of these subjects demands is so great that there is a difficulty
in findirg room for the more general studies that enable a
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
student to approach the practical work with the proper equip-
ment. The special subjects that underlie the practical parts
of this course are : calculation, including specially mensuration
and the metric system ; drawing (freehand, and with instruments),
particularly on squared paper; chemistry; physiology (with
special reference to health) ; elementary economics.
(c) Engineering and Applied Science Professions. —Uere there
are two main lines of development according as the pupils are
to follow professions that deal mainly with organic or inorganic
matter. In both there must be training in scientific method,
but the relative importance of the different sciences will be
different in the two cases. In engineering and other sciences
that deal with dead matter the special subjects should be-
mathematics, physics, mechanics, drawing, chemistry. In those
professions that have to do with life in any form, the special
subjects should be, biology chemistry, physics.
(d) Literary Professions..—Here we are dealing with those
who require that special form of training that was formerly
regarded as necessary for all. The special subjects here are Latin
and Greek, and a special treatment of French and German, the
mother tongue, and general history.
6.—CONSIDERATIONS OF CULTURE IN THE CURRICULUM.
In schemes like those suggested above, we are apt to forget
that we are, after all, training men and women as well as business
men, cooks, engineers, and editors. Accordingly it is well to
lay stress on the universal side of many subjects that in special
forms are restricted to specific professions. In this way the
literary part of the curriculum should be made as general as
possible, that is, as free as may be from specific applications to
professional purposes. English composition need not by any
means become tainted in school with the peculiar turns of the
counting-house. The vocabulary and idiom of the different
professions can be very readily picked up-by an intelligent pupil
who knows good English. The reading of what is known as
literature is the best possible preparation for all sorts of pro-
fessions that require the power of expression. It is not that
the study of pure literature gives the power of expression in
general, but it gives the pupil power over the language, and
thus enables him to apply it to any purpose, whether xsthetic
or practical. There is at present a very strong and a very
healthy tendency to favour the reading of great books them-
selves, rather than books about books. Every encouragement
should be given to those who are advocating the reading of
several first-rate books, rather than the reading of a series of
lectures on a wide range of literary history.
French and German should be treated on the same principle.
It is easy to make fun of the boy preparing for the counting-
house by puzzling his way through a German passage dealing
with goslings and golden hair. But there is, after all, only one
German language, and it is better that it should be approached
on the human side rather than the commercial. The young
merchant, or the young chemist, is all the better of knowing a
little about German as a language before he begins to use it as a
mere tool. Granted that the modern languages are treated in
a broad human way, and not as mere drill-grounds for grammar,
it must be admitted that students of all kinds may be taught
together irrespective of the use to be made of the language at
a later stage. If treated as culture subjects till the close of the
school period, those foreign languages will be easily turned into
mere tools as soon as the need arises. The first essential is that
the pupil should leave school with the power of reading easily
and intelligently the foreign languages he has studied. To
attain this end he must have read widely during his course.
Nothing can make up for the lack of wide reading. Composi-
ion in the foreign language is an admirable culture training,
The School World—Supplement 3
leading to the corresponding practical advantage of facility in
writing. The commercial pupil must acquire the power of
composing in the foreign language, but this is less essential in
the case of the scientific pupil, though of course highly desir-
able.
The same thing is true about mathematics. In order that
each class of student should be able to make the proper applica-
tions to his own subject, all the pupils must study mathematics
in general. This does not mean that we must study mathe-
matics in the abstract merely to sharpen our wits. It means
that we must study mathematics in order that we may deal with
mathematical formule in an intelligent way. The domestic,
scientific and commercial professions all demand a knowledge
of mathematics in some form or other. In the case of the
literary professions it is not essential that mathematics should
be studied in any great detail. Some geometry and algebra
treated in the broadest way is enough to give the literary pupil
the mathematica] point of view, but beyond this it is not neces-
sary to urge him to study unless he has a bent that way.
Of the practical subjects, probably drawing is of the most
general application. As a means of expression it ought to be
studied by all classes of pupils. Custom is largely responsible
for the present prevalent belief that drawing is a matter of
genius, One reason for the misunderstanding is to be found,
without doubt, in the word Art,as used in the ‘‘ Science and Art
Department.” All men are not called upon to be artists, but all
men can be trained to use a pencil to express their ideas in more
or less diagrammatic form. Hf some can add artistic skill, theirs
is the gain: but the lower advantage should be secured to all.
Laboratory work of all kinds, after the merely preliminary
stages, is essentially technical, though, as we have seen,
various professions may have a large common share in the
same science. The general way of treating laboratory work is
now so well known that it calls for no treatment here.
By Prof. H. E. ARMSTRONG, Ph.D., LL.D., F.R.8.
“ Man ts a tool-using animal, Weak in himself and of small
stature, he stands on a basis, at most, for the flattest-soled, of some
half square foot, tnsecurely enough ; has to straddle out his lees
lest the very wind supplant him. Feeblest of bipeds. Three
quintals are a crushing load for him: the steer of the meadows
tosses him aloft like a waste rag. Nevertheless, he can use tools,
can devise tools; with these the granite mountain melts into light
dust before him. He kneads glowing tron as tf tt were soft paste ;
seas are his smooth highway, wind and fire his unwearying steeds.
Nowhere do we find him without tools: without tools he is nothing,
with tools he ts all,” —Teufelsdrock.
1.—NEED FOR REFORM.
THE time may not be ripe for an immediate revolution in
the curriculum of our schools, because teachers are not prepared,
indeed are not competent, to carry out the changes which a
revolution will entail; nevertheless, it is clear to many of us
that great changes must be made {o fit modern education to
modern requirements : and we shall fail in our duty if we do not
formulate a constructive policy which will determine action.
It is all important also to form public opinion—to lead the
public to consider how relatively worthless the present system
is and how much more effective education could be made if
those who are concerned in it would really take stock of the
position and avail themselves of the opportunities and the rich
stores of knowledge and experience at their disposal ; if they
would but act scientifically and without prejudice.
4
2.—THE BASIS OF A RATIONAL CURRICULUM.
The education of the future must be practical and individual,
such as will directly fit boys and girls for their work in the
world, such as will appeal to their sense of intelligence, such
that they will value it instead of shirking it whenever possible.
Literary methods must give place to practical methods ; work-
shop methods must take the place of didactic desk methods.
The schools of the future must be in charge of broad-minded,
practical men and women, trained scientifically and in the world
as well as in academic groves. Consequently, the training of
teachers, examiners and inspectors must be conducted on more
rational and practical principles than heretofore, in order that
a race may arise capable of coping with a rational, practical
curriculum. !
At present there is a tendency to put teaching on a psycho-
logical basis : we need to put it on a practical basis. I do not
mean that psychology should be excluded but merely that it
should take its proper subordinate place. Unless we are very
careful we shall turn out pedants more pedantic than any of
those who have heretofore engaged in teaching. Teachers
must be taught both to think and to use tools, to abhor formul.
Every teacher should be more or less imbued with the spirit of
inquiry.
3-—CURRICULUM FOR PREPARATORY SCHOOLS.
The establishment of a proper curriculum is of vital and
fundamental importance, more particularly in the case of
primary or preparatory schools.
The foundations of character are laid in the very earliest
youth. It is only by teaching young children to work properly
that we shall be able to overcome the difficulties which meet us
later on.
The School World—Supplement
|
Teaching young children to work properly involves —
teaching them to work as individuals, honestly—not as sheep in |
herds. The curriculum must be chosen so as to admit of this.
It will be necessary to consider very carefully, from this point
of view, what is being done in kindergarten schools. There is
undoubtedly too great a tendency to be playful and trivial in
some of these—a want of elasticity of method due to lack of
originality. The intervention of a few competent male teachers
in this field would be of value.
4.— ESSENTIAL SUBJECTS FOR ALL PUPILS.
The subjects which all ‘children should at first study in
common must be such as to develop a// their faculties.
Every child should be taught to read well and to like and use
books—a very large amount of time should be devoted to
reading—the habit of reading out loud should be carefully culti-
vated. At whatever age children leave school, they should be
well read for that age and know how to turn to books for
information. Although education is carried out mainly with the
aid of books, the real use of books is in nowise taught.
(Carlyle’s opinion on the value of books is worth noting in this
connection—see “ The Hero as Man of Letters”). A boy or girl
seldom, if ever, leaves school knowing how to read effectively.
The teaching of our own language, of history and to some
extent of geography, should be largely incidental to reading.
Mere lesson-learning should be abolished, both in and out of
school. Children should be encouraged, indeed peek to talk
1 The only chance of our securing competent teachers lies in the establish-
ment at the Universities of distinct Schools of Teaching, corresponding to the
existing Schools of Engineering and of Medicine, in which professional re-
quirements are most carefully considered in teaching all subiects There
need be no fear that such a system would induce undue limitations—the
human mind is sufficiently expansive to take care of itself unless deprived
by a false system of education of all power of initiative. ‘There is great
danger that the system which is coming into existence may discourage the
development of individuality and favour the development of unpractical
habits—of an arm-chair attitude.
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
rationally and much about their work and of things around
them.
It is open to question whether, in preparatory schools, there
should be any attempt made to teach languages other than
English specifically—whether all that is desirable, all that is
necessary, might not be done by gradually dissecting out from
our own language the French, the Teutonic and the Classic
elements, thus laying the foundation of foreign vocabularies
and creating an interest in other languages. Under no circum-
stances should Latin or Greek be taught until the secondary
course is entered upon; even then the study of these languages
should be confined to those who had shown distinct literary
ability during their study of English. When this policy is
pursued the classical languages will again become of educational
value.
At most half the school time should be devoted to literary
studies—to studies conducted by literary methods. 4t east
half should be given to practical studies—to experimental and
manual work.
The prime object in view in experimental work should be the
formation of character—the cultivation of some measure of
thought-power and of a seeing eye, not the acquisition of
knowledge.
Literary training might be given largely in connection with
such work to supplement that given through reading; there
would be something real to write about, something seen, felt or
discovered, so that the habit of writing about real things would
gradually be acquired.
The teaching of mathematics and of drawing should also be
made incidental to the experimental work.
With regard to manual training, something far more real than
what is now done must be introduced into schools. This class
of work should be made as attractive as any game; in fact, it
should be organised on a similar footing, directly in co-operation
with the scholars. It is of the utmost consequence that various
branches of manual training should receive adequate and serious
treatment in all schools : it should be the pride of every British
boy to excel in some kind of handiwork. No conception of the
educational value of such work has yet entered into the minds
of most heads of schools. It is to be hoped that in all schools
ere long there will be more codperation between teachers of
different subjects—more coordination of studies; this will render
possible a less rigid time table, so that at times, if necessary,
boys and girls—like men and women—may engage in tasks
requiring hours or even days for their completion.
§-—THE CULTIVATION OF INTEREST AND INDIVIDUALITY.
In the boarding school of the future there should be little or no
evening lesson-learning of the conventional type : the time will be
far more usefully spent and in a more healthy manner in experi-
mental and manual work. And set lessons will not be imposed
as home work for day scholats: grown-up men and women
expect to have their evenings free—why should not children
be treated with equal fairness and consideration? The school
will cooperate with the parent in securing that some good use be
made of leisure time: training will be given in the art of utilis-
ing leisure hours, an art which we entirely neglect to develop at
present. In fact, the school must be so ordered that the child
will slide naturally from it into the world: there will be no
break, no sense of escape from slavery into freedom; the world
will appear but as a continuation school and the habits of study
acquired at school will but be confirmed as years go on. As
long as the present stupid practice of eternal lesson-learning goes
on and so little is done to create interest and cultivate breadth
of understanding, so long as children are asked to do the work
of grown-up people and are denied the opportunity of working
SEPTEMBER, 1903.]
in ways suitable to their age, which they can understand, we
shall make no progress : school will not be a true preparation for
life.
Lastly, in the future, besides manual training, general physical
training must receive a due share of attention. When the
formalities of classics no longer fill the mind, the example set in
classic times may meet with some recognition : some effort will
be made to embody Greek ideals in oyr scholastic practice.
The worship of the enchiridion being terminated and the
examination virus so much attenuated that its lethal effects are
inappreciable, in education preferential treatment will give way
to free trade ; some sense of proportion will prevail.
6.—THE HIGHER SCHOOL CURRICULUM.
The higher should differ from the preparatory school mainly
in the extent to which proclivities which become manifest during
the preparatory course are given scope for development, in the
increasing difficulty of the tasks set and in the increasing demand
for results.
We need to get rid, as far as possible, of all differences based
on social distinctions. A differentiation is brought about naturally
because different social conditions necessarily beget their own
differences, the education received at school being, after all, but
a minor part of the general education of the individual.
Moreover, we need to revert to the common-sense practice of
not so long ago : boys and girls should leave school at latest at
seventeen years of age; and if they desire to specialise, should
then avail themselves of the opportunities for special study pro-
vided at the universities and technical schools. No protest
can be too strong against the prevailing practice of depriving
our youth of independence and individuality by keeping them so
long in leading strings : few appreciate how serious is the check
we impose on their development, how great the tax on parents.
It is done partly because of the preposterously high standard
set in the scholarships examinations at the universities ; partly
in the interest of the schools—to retain senior boys to act as
junior instructors in manners and games and as advertising
media.’
Bearing in mind that education is a preparation for life, not
merely for professional work, the bias in favour of preparation
for a professional career should be as limited as possible.
Literary and practical studies should therefore be continued
throughout the school career. It is often urged that scholars
having this or that bent are unable to master certain subjects ;
no doubt this is true but, as far as possible, the teacher
should strive to overcome such inertia. It is undoubtedly
the fact that scholars having literary tastes find a dift-
culty in mathematics, for example: probably, it may almost
be said certainly, the difficulty would in great part disappear if
the subject were taught practically, in an interesting manner
not in the form of abstract propositions. This argument is of
general application.
7.—GENERAL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION.
Undue specialisation may have an effect the very opposite to
that which it is argued makes specialisation desirable. Thus, to
take the case of literary specialisation: it is perhaps not unsafe
to predict that the success of the literary man of the future will
depend quite as much on his general knowledge and scientific
SSS
1 It may be argued that if boys and girls leave school at 16 or 17 years
old their literary training cannot be carried sufficiently far; the argument
will certainly not be put forward on behalf of ‘‘ practical” subjects. The
answer is that those who engage in ‘ practical” studies must on leaving
school also pay some attention to letters. It would be no hardship to
engineering students, for example, to require them to devote some time to
literary study. But the literary side must recollect that the argument
applies equally to them—that some amount of “ practical” study must be
required of them.
The School World--Supplement _ 5
eee ee ee.
training as on his special literary ability. It cannot be denied
that the literary class are in serious want of subject matter: this
can only be supplied from sources which are at present closed to
them through their ignorance of the laws and phenomena of
Nature and their inability to appreciate the labours of scientific
workers. In all careers the preliminary qualification of most
worth is general intelligence.
Arguments such as these favour the conclusion that in schools
generally both literary and practical studies should at all times
receive adequate treatment and that specialisation should as far
as possible be avoided. The differences that should be allowed
to arise between different types of school should be differences
in the character of the work done within either of the two main
branches—in the character of the reading or in the choice of sub-
ject matter for the experimental studies.
It is clear that, in the case of those preparing for commercial
professions, modern languages will be relatively far more im-
portant than classical ; whilst the study of classical languages
will be of special value to those preparing for literary profes-
sions. Neither of these classes of scholar will derive special
advantage from the study of mathematics : this subject, however,
is one to which special attention should be paid by all who con-
template adopting a profession of which physical science is the
basis, such as engineering. It is of the utmost importance, on
the other hand, that those who are to adopt a medical or scien-
tific career should have had thorough training in experimenting
and observing from the earliest years onwards. Failure to
cultivate these habits in early years can never be fully repaired
even in the case of the genius; in ordinary cases the neglect is
fatal.
8.—THE DOMESTIC PROFESSION.
If there be one profession on behalf of which it is desirable to
plead that special attention should be given to the requirements
of later life in organising the school curriculum, it is the domestic
profession. Surely, women are not as men. Let us face this
question, in this section, without prejudice but without hesita-
tion. When I consider what my own children have done at
school, what girls generally are doing, I am in despair—the
training is so hopelessly unpractical, so academic, so narrow in
its outlook. There is so little insight and originality displayed
by women in diagnosing and providing for women’s require-
ments ; female educators are so obstinate and difficult to per-
suade, so limited in their conceptions. It is a very serious
outlook for the country that the higher education of women is
almost entirely in the hands of those who have been trained in
schools where academic views prevail almost exclusively. The
very fact that women have only asked that they should be
allowed to do as men do, to have what men have, is proof that
they have failed to understand the position they hold. We
cannot all do alike, we must share the work of the world
between us. I was horrified, a few years ago, when in San
Francisco, to find that, whilst the women had displaced the
men from ofhce employment, the household work was in the
hands of Chinese men. This process is going on everywhere
at present: in this country we shall be forced soon to train our
boys to domestic service. Surely, if this be the result of the
higher education of women, we must have got hold of the wrong
end of the stick somewhere.
9.—-AIMS OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTION.
As to the treatment to be accorded in the several types of
school, to the several branches of instruction, confining my
remarks to the practical work, I will refer only to one point—to
the character of the work done in order to give training in
scientific method.
In the first place, it is essential that whatever be done should
6 The School World—Supplement
—_—
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
be done thoroughly: the object in view is to teach method ; it
is not primarily a question of results. The requirements of
examining bodies of the present irrational type must be reso-
lutely set aside.
The various branches of science are not of equivalent value
as educational instruments. Physics and chemistry are the
foundations, as it were, of scientific belief; they underlie all
natural phenomena, all vital changes. But although it is neces-
sary, before attempting in any way to consider the nature of the
processes which attend life. to understand the fundamental prin-
ciples of physics and chemistry, there is no reason why the
biological sciences should not receive attention at a very early
stage. In physics and chemistry experiments can be made in
a way and with a degree of completeness which is impossible in
the case of the biological sciences; the latter, however, afford
unrivalled opportunity of cultivating observational power. But
in future the object of schools will be to give their scholars a
broad outlook over Nature ; to create interest in all that goes on
around them.
Education has too long been cabined and cribbed in every
direction ; while advocating culture its high priests have pursued
a narrow if not a selfish policy. Let it be our privilege to take
our pupils out into the world, there to seek counsellors that may
feelingly persuade them what they are; that like the exiled
Duke in the forest of Arden they may find :—
“ Tongues in trees, books in the babbling brooks, ;
Sermons in stones, and "—above all—‘ good in everything.”
Then shall they find a true religion.
By Miss 8. A. BURSTALL, B.A.
Headmistress of the Manchester High School for Girls.
(4 dbstract.)
1.—INTRODUCTION.
BROAD curriculum advocated rather than a narrow specialised
curriculum. Reasons :
(a) Actual acquisition of knowledge.
(4) Training of the mind; different subjects train different
faculties.
(c) Development of the child ; subjects should be suited to
the child’s age.
2.— GENERAL CHARACTER.
(a) Primary schools (ï and 2).'—Practical instruction more
important than literary; things, not words, interest the child,
and nature rather than man.
(24) Manual and physical training should occupy half the
school hours during early years. Nature-study should be the
central subject of curriculum, reading correlated with it.
(26 and 5) Modelling, drawing, and brushwork should come
early; writing later, Arithmetic must be concrete; easy
examples of all rules. |
(2a and 5) Literary instruction—poetry and history stories,
literature. Geography, meeting-place of a and 4, is essentially a
study of the primary school, and should be studied thoroughly
from the earliest stages. Grammar- -the least possible.
Question of a foreign language; this brings up types of
primary schools.
3.--TYPES OF SCHOOLS.
(4) For those leaving school at fourteen, the public ele-
mentary school (E.)
For those leaving school at sixteen, seventeen or eighteen,
the preparatory, or junior school section, of a secondary
school (P.)
Schools of type (E), no foreign language. Much English ;
1 References in brackets are to the questions suggested in the Official
I
Circular (see p. 1 Supplement).
literature and history. Suitable history book needed. Existing
curriculum of English public elementary schools bad, and needs
reform; work for new education authorities. Excellence of
curriculum in American and German schools of the people.
Should a foreign language be taught in these schools during the
last year? Yes, in the higher primary school. American
custom of a year’s Latin. Foreign language in England should
be French.
In schools of type (P.) a foreign language should be taught.
Important to note change at ten years of age.
(1 and 4) Opinion of the late Prof. Withers that junior-
school method and curriculum should not remain the same
throughout. What should change be?
Suggested answer, after ten years of age. Differences.
(3 and 4) A.— Less manual work and nature-study.
B.—More formal abstract instruction, arithmetic, grammar,
spelling, lists of names, dates, &c., in geography and history.
C.—Carpentry or sewing proper begin.
Problem, should the foreign language begin here? Some say
the second modern language should, some say Latin. Man-
chester High School plan, French at six, Latin at twelve for
clever children,
(4. 4) True secondary education begins at twelve to thirteen.
(3) Its characteristics :—
(a) Literary education now predominates.
(8) Science proper and mathematics begin.
(y) Smaller proportion of time to manual and physical train-
ing ; afternoon subjects.
Suggested division of time; one third science and mathe-
matics, one third languages, one third humanities in English
(see table p. 7).
(4) Divergence of different types of schools and pupils.
I.— Boys and girls; marked difference in years twelve to
sixteen; girls need care during this period, and cannot work
hard and continuously without injury to present or future well-
being.
Il.—- Leaving age, sixteen or seventeen, eighteen, nineteen.
The middle or second-grade school, or section of a school ;
importance of recognising this.
4.-—COMMERCIAL PROFESSIONS.
(4 and §) Boys leaving about sixteen can learn two modern
languages well, some Latin, good arithmetic, geography ;
general literary and scientific training; and possibly some
technical subject like shorthand in the last two years.
Girls can do this by seventeen or eighteen. Zurich Girls’
High School.
§-— ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE PROFESSIONS.
(4 and 5) Should a boy entering these leave at fifteen or
sixteen? Not if he is to bea ‘‘captain of industry ”; but many
must do so. They can learn mathematics, drawing, science ;
acquire a reading knowledge of French and German, but no
Latin. General English literary training essential.
6.— DOMESTIC PROFESSIONS.
(4 and 5) In some schools the girl who is going home to be
with her mother is not enough considered. She must have a
literary education, with history ana modern languages, practical
science, and a housewifery course in the last year. Housewifery
course may mean half {ime to technical subjects, cookery,
needlework, domestic economy and laundry. Can the manage-
ment of children be taught ?
Such a girl cannot learn Latin and mathematics if she leaves
at sixteen. Zurich curriculum.
Existing higher grade and science schools hitherto unsuitable
to girls ; too much physical science and mathematics.
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
7-—LITERARY PROFESSIONS.
(4 and 5) Pupils leave at eighteen. Curriculum for boys and
girls similar. Importance of classical studies ; some one science
should be kept up if possible. The future primary school
teacher ; Swiss and American plan.
Specialisation allowed at fifteen or sixteen, e.g., girls begin
Greek, or trigonometry, or German, or chemistry, or secretarial
work.
8.—SuUBJECTS FOR SCHOOLS OF DIFFERENT TYPES.
(5) Subjects in different types of schools stated above.
broad principles.
The School World—Supplement ey,
Sonie |
An outline course, with typical examples accurately known
and properly understood, does not mean superficiality.
Organisation.—Ditlerent courses.—Classical, scientific, com-
mercial, &c., overlapping in some subjects of general education,
may be given in different parts of the same school. This plan
works very well in large schools, cf America. Or a particular
school may give one or two courses only; ¢.g., a small school
may refuse to specialise in classics or in science, or any school
may fix a rigid curriculum and appeal to one type of pupil only,
like the American manual training high school.
Local differences and local conditions and needs make variety
essential. Freedom vital in education.
I. | II. IV. V. VI.
Age 12-13. 13-14 14- Is 15-16. 16-17. 17-18.
HUMANITIES. p |
History ses Ancient arene | General Eur opean and ee gs -4
Geography ... Same as I English Histor English History, Geo- Mathematics, Algebra
Literature Geceaphy x p graphy, Literatüre; | and Geometry 4
English, &c. al &c. i (4 seit Tn < One foreign language 4
pulsory, 4 optional.) (All compulsory.)
|
oa 7) a a ar a aaa
LANGUAGES. | pE | Latin roe
| German 4 lication 3
French, German 8 Same as I. Same as I. ... 8 French 3 Sp lan a i
or Latin | Greek . 6 guages-
| (Only one compulsory. )
SS i a a a PEO PLEET amm | | aae a a e e
SCIENCE. |
: . : . Mathematics = 5
Biementary “") | Arithmetic panerad o g A (Compnisom)" > i| gpeciatiiation in
Geometr g | Geometry and -8 Nature Study (alter- Roysicss Obemisity, Science and Mathe-
Elementary ~ Algebra nate with ne En- Botany, ec. l matics
Physics Nature Study lish Study) 2 | (One compulsory, rest `
y 6 ) ie optional.)
The figures denote minimum number of lessons per week.
Physical training and one branch of hand-work compulsory throughout.
English
composition included in the Humanities section.
(a) English should be a compulsory study throughout in every
type of school ; this should centre round 4zs¢ory in the later years.
(8) Correlation of subjects must be arranged, e.g., history,
geography, literature ; or physics, mathematics, manual training ;
natural history, geography, brushwork. Again foreign text-
books may be used, ¢.g., a French universal history, a German
geometry, &c.
(y) Good teachers ; modern methods ; unity and coordination
of different types of schools, must be assumed.
(3) Few subjects should be learnt at one time.
(a) In regard to Literary subjects. —
History.—Some universal history should be taught in
schools where pupils remain to eighteen.
Languages.— French and Latin; or French and German. All
three for pupils on the literary side remaining till eighteen.
Greek for a few only; study the life of the foreign nation, not
mere linguistic machinery.
(6) Practical subjects,—Science not to be the centre of secon-
dary school curriculum; too much often taught, especially to
girls. Biological science valuable. Manual training should
be continued throughout ; one branch should be compulsory in
university matriculation examinations, Just as mathematics is.
9.—CONCLUSION.
Limitation of material to be learnt essential; masses of
<letail not necessary for thoroughness, e.g., anomalous forms in
Latin grammar, the less important metals in chemistry, details
of battles and campaigns in history.
By G. F. DANIELL, B.8c.
Chairman of the Education Committee of the
Teachers’ Guild.
1.—CURRICULUM INQUIRY BY THE TEACHERS’ GUILD.
WHEN I received the honour of an invitation to read a paper
on Curricula to this Section, I felt that the most useful response
would be the submission to you of a summary of the conclusions
to which the numerous meetings of the London Sections and
Provincial and Colonial Branches of the Teachers’ Guild have
arrived.
In the spring of 1902, Ciba Lyttelton suggested that it would
be both interesting and valuable to obtain and collate the views
of teachers on the subjects essential to an ideal curriculum, and on
the order in which they should be taken (e.g., should Latin be
begun before French, or vice versa?). The idea developed, and
during the autumn of 1902 and the spring of 1903 a series of
meetings was held, altogether about thirty in number, and reports
have been received at the Guild headquarters. So faras I am
aware, the summary which it is my privilege to present to you
as a representative of the Guild is without parallel in this
country as an expression of the carefully debated, collective
opinion on purely educational problems of a large body of prac-
tical teachers.
SCOPE OF THE INQUIRY.
Referring to the scheme wisely devised by your organising
Committee for this discussion, I must draw a distinction between
8 The School World—Supplement [SEPTEMBER, 1903.
primary education of those who will usually leave school at age
13 or 14 (elementary schools) and the work of the preparatory
schools, whose pupils enter secondary schools, where they will
remain until 17 or even 19. The Teachers’ Guild, alike by con-
stitution and membership, aims at coirdinating all branches of
education, and is as deeply concerned with curricula for elemen-
tary as for secondary schools. We deliberately confined our-
selves in the first instance to the problems presented by secondary
school curricula, and propose to deal with the simpler but quite
as important question of primary—or rather elementary—school
curricula within the next twelve months. Next January, we
hope to hold a Conference in London to discuss, ixter alia, to
what extent should the education in one type of school be a pre-
paration for the school above it. Further, one of our Branches in
the North of England, where elementary teachers are strongly
represented, is under invitation to draft questions on Curricula
for Elementary Schools, and to lead a discussion thereon.
2.—CLASSIFICATION OF RESULTS,
I have classified the returns with reference to secondary (in-
cluding preparatory) schools as follows :—
Fart f. contains the conclusions with regard to which there is
practical agreement. To this part I attach very great weight,
as it contains an unexampled statement of opinions expressed
with remarkable unanimity by experienced teachers of both
sexes in various districts of the British Isles and in South Aus-
tralia. May I not reasonably hope that this return will prove
of value to this meeting, and that it will worthily receive the
attention of the Education Committees responsible for higher
education throughout England ?
Part IT. will suggest topics especially suited for debate.
Part ITT, contains suggestions, some of which may prove to
be of considerable value, but the Guild as a body is not respon-
sible for the opinions therein expressed.
3.— ESSENTIAL SUBJECTS.
Part [.—I gather from reports kindly furnished by officers of
eleven Branches and six London Sections that there is practical
unanimity as to the following :—
The curriculum should include—
(1) Religious instruction.
(2) English (attention being given to oral as well as to
written composition).
(3) French.
(4) Latin (two London Sections and the Guernsey Branch
made this optional).
(5) History.
(6) Geography.
(7) Arithmetic.
(8) Algebra, begun informally as generalised arithmetic.
(9) Geometry, formal study should be preceded by lessons in
form and measurement.
(10) Science, which should begin with object lessons or
nature study, and become formal at about the age of thirteen.
(11) Handwork, including sewing for girls.
(12) Drawing.
(13) Physical exercises (some include swimming).
(14) Class singing.
It was further agreed (1) That French should be begun before
Latin.
(2) The ordinary curriculum for boys and girls leaving school
at sixteen and seventeen should not include Greek.
(3) Specialisation should not be allowed until the general
development of the pupil is secured, usually not before sixteen.
4.—UNDECIDED QUESTIONS.
Part I7.—There was a conflict of opinion as to the
following :—
(1) Whether German should be compulsory; the majority
made this optional.
(2) Whether English grammar should be treated as a separate
subject ; majority affirmative.
(3) Whether language and literature should be taught
separately (z.e., separated on the time-table); majority affirma-
tive.
(4) Whether separate lessons on civics should be given or
whether this should be taught through history ; majority for the
latter.
(5) What should be the age for beginning laboratory work ;
thirteen was the favourite age.
(6) Whether the use of Euclid’s Elements should be retained ;
majority for retention.
(7) Whether instrumental music and shorthand should form
part of the ordinary curriculum.
5-—-SUGGESTIVE OPINIONS.
Part 1I/.--The following opinions were expressed by one or
more Branches or Sections :—
(1) That no subject should be included in the curriculum to
which a definite minimum of time could not be allotted.
(2) That each subject included should be carried through to
the fullest extent possible in the school.
(3) That dancing and hygiene should be taught in schools.
(4) That domestic science should be taught in girls’ schools,
including household book-keeping.
(5) That handwork should not take the form of Sloyd.
(6) That boys should be taught shooting.
(7) That scholars leaving at sixteen or seventeen years of age
for a scientific career may substitute extra practical science
for Latin.
(8) That history should be correlated with literature and
geography with elementary archeology.
(9) That the history and appreciation of art should be taught,
to include styles of architecture, sculpture, painting, and the
lives of great artists.
(10) That botany is the most convenient subject for the
study of natural history ; objects should be compared, drawn,
and described.
(11) That laboratory work should be begun whenever science
work is begun.
6. — EARLY SPECIALISATION UNDESIRABLE.
It will be seen that questions 1, 2, and the first part of 5
propounded by your Organising Committee are answered in
a straightforward manner. With reference to questions 3 and
4 of your Committee’s scheme, it can hardly have escaped
notice that we are emphatically against too early specialisation.
We do not, and will not, encourage the formation of different
types of schools in which young boys or girls are to be prema-
turcly directed into a groove leading to commercial, domestic,
applied science or literary ‘‘ professions.” In our opinion it is
undesirable that our boys and girls, or even our young men and
maidens, should associate only with those who are to follow
similar callings to those to which they are themselves destined.
We consider it essential, not only for higher reasons, but for
commercial efficiency viewed from the national standpoint, that
a proper all-round training and discipline, a broad basis of
general knowledge, habits of inquiry and discrimination, and
a cultivated intelligence, should be a possible attainment for
every earnest boy or girl. The requirements of specialisation
will best be met by allowing talented pupils to devote the
SEPTEMBER, 1903. ]
The School World—Supplement 9
greater part of their time during the last year—or at most two
years—of school-life to their particular subject of study. Those
specialising in literary subjects should continue to work for a
few hours each week at, say, one practical subject, and vice
versd. The latter part of question §, as it deals with method,
opens so vast a field that I have not space to deal adequately
with the important issues raised. I: ought, however, to say
this at least, that the carefully prepared returns received from
Branches of the Guild afford the clearest evidence that teachers
of quite young children attach, and rightly, the greatest
importance to method.
7.—PRACTICAL IMPORTANCE OF EXCHANGE OF VIEWS ON
CURRICULA.
I wish to state my conviction that curriculum discussions are
of much utility. They help the teacher in the practice of his
craft without detriment to his individuality. In this connection
I venture to quote the first recommendation contained in the
Report of the Education Committee to the Council of the
Guild.
That any attempt to formulate a rigid Code is undesirable,
and that consequently discussions on curricula should be
periodically promoted in order that :—
(1) Interest in such problems may be maintained, and indi-
vidual experiences and methods be made common property.
(2) Teachers isolated by distance or otherwise may be kept
in touch with recent improvements.
(3) Teachers, particularly specialists, may acquire knowledge
of, and sympathy with, the work of colleagues in subjects other
than those in which they are specially occupied.
(4) Specialists may receive useful criticisms from colleagues
who may be regarded with reference to their special subject as
‘intelligent outsiders.”
(5) The claims of new subjects to admission to the curriculum
may be demonstrated to the non-specialist.
(6) Suggestions may be afforded as to what subjects can be
omitted from an overcrowded time-table in order to avert the
peril of ‘‘ shallowness.” |
In conclusion, may I presume to assert that the British
Association can bring to bear on curricula problems an extra-
pedagogic influence of a freshening character, and of a width
transcending the limits of any existing organisation in England ?
I hope this section will, by its action in this matter, encourage
Teachers’ Associations in the pursuit of educational science.
By W. C. FLETCHER, M.A.
Headmaster of Liverpool Institute.
1.—DIFFICULTY OF DEFINING GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
THE whole question of curricula is emphatically one as to
which it js not safe to be dogmatic, or even severely logical.
Logic is excellent when premisses are secure; but in this sub-
ject little is secure. Especially is this the case in England
where we are only entering on a period of fresh life and
development, and where experiments have been neither
organised nor well considered ; where also their results are
still incomplete, and often unknown even to those who have
been making them. Nor does foreign experience help very
much. Conditions are widely different. It is not easy to
allow for differences of aim and of national ideals. What is
success from one point of view is failure from another. A
method that has a measure of success under one set of condi-
tions may prove worthless under others. It is not denied that
there may be—to some degree already is—a science of educa-
tion. But as in all sciences in which human nature is con-
cerned, its data are often doubtful, its occupation of the field
incomplete, hence its doctrines disputable, and to be enforced
only with great caution and self-restraint. It should not then
be forgotten that in discussion of curricula—still more, of course,
in their enforcement—conclusions must not be sharply defined,
and that behind any curriculum lies a much more important
matter—the personality of the teacher.
2.—KNOWLEDGE FOR ITS OWN SAKE.
A further statement of principle —or rather negation of
principle—should be made. Utility is no guide. Not that
utility is objectionable as extremists have urged, but that it is
unattainable. Of no conceivable subject in a school curriculum
other than reading, writing, and the bare elements of arithmetic,
can it truly be asserted that it will be ‘‘ useful” to all, or even to
any considerable fraction of the whole number of children. To
nine boys out of ten, French or German will probably be as
useless as Latin. Geography should be immensely interesting to
a boy, but whether it will ever prove of any financial value to
him is much a matter of chance. Knowledge is of infinite
value to the race—and the more widely distributed knowledge
is, the more certain is it to prove its value. But of 100 men
possessing a certain body of knowledge, only one may get an
opportunity of turning it to account-—just as of 100 research
chemists only one may make a discovery which repays the cost
of his training and maintenance.
Where much is uncertain, utility if obtainable would be a
serviceable guide, but in fact it cannot be had, and whether we
will or no, we are thrown back on to training for training’s
sake, and subject matter has to be judged in the main by its
suitability in this respect.
3-—-FACULTIES TO BE DEVELOPED.
After the bare elements, the absence of which distinguishes
the legal ‘‘illiterate” from the rest of the community, the
essentials to be secured, if possible, are:—(1) the power of
accurately following thought properly expressed ; (2) the power
of thinking accurately oneself; and (3)—-which can perhaps
hardly be separated from (2)—the power of accurately express-
ing one’s own thought. This is what we mean by mind training.
Education does—or should—include also the discipline and
development of the emotions and judgments, æsthetic and
moral, as well as merely intellectual.
These two sides of education —disciplinary and cesthetic they
may perhaps be called for shortness—constantly overlap, but
they must both be kept in mind if a curriculum at all tolerable
is to be secured.
4.—CONTINUOUS AND ** FINISHING” COURSES.
To come to the specific questions suggested for consideration.
Here I speak chiefly of secondary schools, particularly of second
grade schools—those, that is, where boys mostly leave at 16 or
17. Such a school has probably to deal with two different
sets of boys—(1) those entering the school itself quite young,
straight from home, a kindergarten or a school for little
children; (2) those coming at 12, 13 and 14 from Primary
Schools, these again consisting of two widely different classes
of boys: (a) picked boys coming with scholarships ; (8) boys
whose parents consider that a year’s finishing at a higher school
will be of service, or who have found out—often too late—that
the work the boy is doing is meagre and unsatisfactory. So
long as these three classes exist curricula must be adapted to
local conditions, and will varv - ording as one or other of the
three classes predominan the other hand, the nature of
Tg
IO
the curriculum laid down as the ideal, or enforced in a particu-
lar case, will react either directly or indirectly through adminis-
trative arrangements, on the entries.
5.—UNIFORMITY OF CURRICULUM DESIRABLE IN
LOWER AND MIDDLE FORMS.
Whatever differences exist between school and school, it is, in
my opinion, desirable that (in the lower and middle classes at
least) all should follow the saine curriculum. Here, I believe,
the advantages of uniformity outweigh those of variety. Certainly
the burden of proof lies on those who desire variety. The prac-
tical convenience and economy of uniformity are considerable.
It checks any tendency towards undue parental interference, and
trains the spirit which says “ I don’t like this subject—Ill do
something else.” If it be urged that one boy does better at one
subject, another at another, it is to be answered—(1) no one
knows what he can do till he tries, and the chance of escape
often means that he won’t try ; (2) the curriculum can be wide
enough to embrace every boy’s best subjects, and it is not good
for him (at an early stage) to confine himself to those and neglect
things he does not take to so readily. While as to the boy who
is said to be a hopeless duffer at one subject and good at others,
I don’t believe in his existence. Boys differ in relative capacity
for certain subjects of course, but a boy who can make anything
out of one can do so out of another, unless he is mis-handled.
A common curriculum is a powerful factor in that community
of interest and feeling which should be maintained as far as
possible, and whose maintenance is especially difficult under
the conditions of city school life. No considerations of utility,
which at best are uncertain and probably delusive, seem to
me sufficient to outweigh this vital consideration, and I con-
clude that provided a curriculum is wide enough to include
most boys’ special interests, and the general obvious practical
needs, it should not be altered to suit the idiosyncrasies of indi-
vidual boys, nor the wishes of their parents. This does not,
of course, apply to the top form of a school, where a con-
siderable amount of varicty and specialisation can, and should,
be permitted.
6.—PI.ACE OF MANUAL. WORK.
Manual work, #.e., work in clay, wood, metal, &c., does
sometimes give the needed chance of interest and success to a
boy who in ordinary school subjects is a “ hopeless duffer.”” This
alone would justify its inclusion in one form or another in all
curricula, but it does not need this justification. I can conceive
no boy who is not better for it in itself; it gives valuable assist-
ance in making arithmetic and drawing more real and intelli-
gible; some forms of it demonstrate as nothing else does the
difference between accurate and inaccurate work, hence have a
considerable moral value; it interests most boys, so making
them more favourably disposed to school work as a whole, no
small advantage ; if in even a few cases a boy “finds himself”
and becomes a skilled mechanic instead of a clerk, it has a prac-
tical utility which few subjects can claim. The only objection
which can be urged with any reason is that it is an additional
burden upon a time table already overcrowded. To this it may
be answered that the change of work and fresh interest aroused
give boys a stimulus which at least in part compensates for
apparent loss of time in some other subject. Further, that its
value is so high that it is properly a ‘‘ first change ” on a time
table, and that we must revise if necessary our estimate of the
relative importance of other things. I would add, however,
that its importance is greatest in the lower and middle classes,
where boys’ stock of experience of concrete fact is small, their
interest in speculative and abstract thought weak, and where,
‘whether for professional or purely scientific purposes.
The School World—Supplement — [Sevremser, 1903.
therefore, time may with advantage be spared for ‘‘ outside
things.” In the top classes, where boys’ minds, their reasoning
powers, and intellectual interests are developed and where they
have a sufficient body of practical experience to prevent words
being empty symbols, manual work, except as a relaxation, is
unimportant, unless it is to be carried on to a high development,
and this becomes craft work, not school work.
7-—THE DISCIPLINE OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES.
Natural science does not seem to come under the head of
practical instruction in at all the same sense as manual work.
It is true that actual handling and examination of things,
actual construction and measurement is an essential part of it,
but it is not the whole, nor, as every teacher knows, the most
difficult part. Exact statement of what is observed, coördina-
tion of new experience with old, the disentanglement of the
essential from the accidental, the building up by reflection and
discussion of a coherent body of truth, demand clearness of
thought and, what can seldom if ever be divorced from that,
clearness of expression. These requirements make natural
science properly handled an admirable discipline, but it is a
discipline which has quite as much in common with the
discipline of mathematics and literary subjects as with that of
manual work. But further it should be added that the influence
of natural science teaching has reacted most favourably on the
older subjects. Anyone with the scientific habit of mind will
approach the teaching of, say, Latin in a way very different from
the traditional method. He will lay much more stress on
observation and reason and enquiry than on dogma.
8.—THE GENERAL CURRICULUM.
Manual instruction then in one form or other should be
carried on in the lower and middle classes, natural science in
the middle and upper, not excluding, of course, simple observa-
tional science, even among the youngest boys if conditions
permit, and literary subjects throughout.
As to the latter, they will include, beside mathematics, history,
geography and literature with languages. In my opinion, if
adequate attention is to be given to other essentials, not more
than two languages should be attempted except by boys in the
upper forms specialising in this direction. Unless nursery
methods are used there is, I think, no advantage in beginning
even one language earlier than 10 or 11 (for the average boy)
and he should have at least a year at this before he begins the
second. The fact that deferring languages makes it easier to
incorporate boys coming from the upper standards of primary
schools is an important additional advantage. This general
curriculum should be carried right through the school except
into the highest form. That is to say, up to about 16 boys.
should be kept together ; if by this time they have a competent
elementary knowledge of the subjects indicated, they may with
advantage if they stay longer at school be allowed to con-
centrate on subjects which more especially interest them,
Earlier
specialisation has, I believe, no advantages. One last point
though one of detail I should like to urge: nearly all our
subjects are disciplinary. There is the less need to make
those subjects which have an obvious wsthetic and emotional
value disciplinary also. Great freedom of treatment should,
therefore, be allowed to teachers in literature—scripture
especially if it is taken--and, in the lower classes, history.
Provision shoulda, of course, be made for the inclusion of these
subjects, but they should not, by being made compulsory
subjects of external examination, be put in danger of being
robbed of their highest value.
SEPTEMBER, 1903.]
The School World—Supplement
II
By T. E. PAGE, M.A.,
Assistant-master at Charterhouse.
1.—THE MEANING OF ‘* EDUCATION.”
‘“ EDUCATION ” is a word of such large scope and ambiguous
meaning that it seems idle to discuss any question with regard
to it until its true sense is, at least partially, determined.
It may describe either the training and development of human
faculty or the imparting of positive information in various
departments of human knowledge. Often, doubtless, the two
processes appear absolutely one, for they constantly go on side
by side (all mental training bringing with it some acquisition of
knowledge, and all acquisition of knowledge helping to form the
mind), but they also need to be sharply distinguished. The
whole character of education will vary according as it aims at
storing the mind with a certain amount of useful facts or at
shaping and strengthening its powers. ‘The object of the one
method is the attainment of definite results in the present; the
object of the other larger but more indefinite possibilities
in the future. The one asks of every study, “ What is it
good for?” The other, ‘* What will it make the future
man good for?” A boy educated on the one system may
leave school possessed of certain acquirements which have an
immediate market value, while a boy educated on the other may
know almost nothing that is practically useful and yet possess
a capacity so trained as to be fitted for the hardest and highest
work. No doubt, the struggie for existence forces upon most a
large surrender of higher aims to lower and immediate needs,
but the ideal remains none the less the true standard of endea-
vour. Not stunted attainment, but fitness for continued progress
is the proper product of education. It must indeed often stoop
below the dignity of its high mission to become the servant of
commerce and a provider of daily bread, but it is only by keep-
ing its loftier aim steadily in view, even under the lowliest con-
ditions, that it will ever win the best, or even the most proftable,
results. The study of ready reckoners or books on ‘* Commercial
German ” in which there is not a single word worth reading can
never make men, while to speak of such study as ‘‘ education”
is to prostitute an honourable word.
2.—THE Score OF EDUCATION.
Education may deal with (1) moral and religious, (2) intellec-
tual, (3) physical, and (4) technical training.
The first of these divisions may here be put aside. The spirit
of morality and religion is, like a pure and invigorating atmo-
sphere, essential to healthy educational life, but it evades
inclusion in a curricuium. In so far as it can become a part
of schoolwork, moral and religious teaching passes into division
(2), being closely connected with *‘ Literary Instruction,” so
that, when it is asked [Question 2a] ‘‘ whether training should
in all cases necessarily include” such instruction, one strong
proof that it must do so is that the historical and intellectual
side of morals and religion cannot otherwise be dealt with.
And, assuredly, there is no fairer or fuller field for either literary
or historical study than is to be found in the Bible. The old
question, Putasne, intelligis guz legis? sull demands but too
often does not receive an answer. To learn, with regard to that
goodly company of writers who have left to us the rich library
of Scripture, what manner of men they were, how and in what
surroundings they wrote, and exactly what they had to teach—
this study ought to have a first place in any plan of school work.
Only there should be no misunderstanding. Time devoted to
this subject must be devoted to a real examination of what the
Bible is and says, not to the eccentricities of Hellenistic Greek
or trivial lists of obscure Israelite kings. As for summaries of
Old Testament history, manuals of doctrine and the like, they
for the most part stand in no connection with either education
or religion.
As to division (3) it may safely be said that ‘‘ physical train-
ing ” is not a necessary part of a school curriculum. Whatever
its importance in primary schools, in secondary schools, and
especially the higher ones, such training is fully, perhaps too
fully, secured by a great variety of games which, in addition to
their physical effect, help to develop nerve, readiness, resource
and other qualities in a way which no formal course of drill or
gymnastics can equal. The Roman writers frequently dwell on
the value of active outdoor sports in producing a robust hard-
ness, capable of standing rough wear and tear, while they speak
with contempt of the merely muscular strength developed in the
gymnasium, and on such a point the Romans were good judges.
With regard to “ manual training,” doubtless the payment of
manual skill is steadily increasing, while that of the lower forms
of ‘‘headwork” is steadily decreasing; a good mechanic is
more secure of good pay than an average clerk or a moderate
schoolmaster ; and the old saying of the Rabbis, ‘he that
teacheth not his son a trade teacheth him to be a thief,” has
nowadays real point. It must be remembered, however, that
on the whole pupils in secondary schools are not meant to earn
their living with their hands, so that it is unwise to encourage
them to take up that manual work which is in youth usually
more attractive than mental effort. To use their hands well is
to most boys an easy task, and to wrestle with any mental
difficulty a very hard one. To lead them, therefore, into a belief
that deft handling of compasses, drawing-pencil or turning-latne
is a real part of education is to lure them into the easy path
they are too ready to follow, which keeps closely to the lower
levels of life.
Technical training (4) has nothing to do with education
proper. In special cases it may be advisable to admit it, but it
has no place in any general curriculum.
3-—THE THREE NECESSARY ELEMENTS OF EDUCATION.
If the right meaning has been now given to ‘‘ education,”
and the field of its exercise been rightly limited, it follows that
it consists in such znfel/ectual training as will produce the best
general capacity, and such training falls into certain necessary
divisions. Man possesses in an eminent and unique degree the
two gifts of speech and reason, both these powers being closely
linked together; while, as he lives in a material environment, a
knowledge of which is essential to his well-being, and which
continually affects the mind through the impressions of sense,
he is ceaselessly urged to that study of nature which is called
“science.” Possibly the cultivation of memory deserves to be
treated as a separate division of education—and the subject
certainly deserves special study—but, as its use and exercise is
developed by all teaching, we may, perhaps, eliminate it in
tracing the necessary divisions of any course of study, and say
that there are three, and three only :—(1) Literature ; (2) Mathe-
matics ; and (3) Science.
4.-— ALL THREE ELEMENTS MUST BE COMBINED.
It is on the proper combination of these three that the success
of any curriculum must depend. But there must be combina-
lion, for assuredly education at its best is the equal and har-
monious development of all the faculties, not an effort to force
abnormal growth in any one, just as physical training is a
training of the whole body, and not of any part, though, of
course it often ‘ pays” to develop extraordinary excellence in
a single direction. Specialisation—the concentration of all
power ona single object—is forced on men, when their educa-
tion is over, by the ever-increasing competition of modern life
I2
and the enormous growth of knowledge and technical skill
which drives those who would succeed into a single groove ;
but the very fact that specialisation and an elaborate division of
labour is becoming more necessary in the actual work of life
renders it the more imperative that in the period of prepara-
tion for that work, in the period of growth, there should be the
utmost possible breadth and freedom. [Question 3.) There
arc no doubt many boys who have considerable incapacity for
most lines of study, combined with marked capacity for some
single pursuit, and such cases need tender handling, but in the
vast majority of cases premature specialisation should be dis-
tinctly discouraged as fatally checking mental growth, and
above all, as fostering that weakness of mind and character
which must result from always ‘‘taking the line of least
resistance,” from always pursuing what is easy and pleasant,
while shirking all that is hard or uncongenial. That a lad with
some literary tastes should refuse to do sums or shut his eyes to
the results of science is irrational, and will in the end only
produce literary feebleness, while the scientific boy who ignores
literature may well remember how many masters of his own
pursuit have set him a very different example, and that, in spite
of Darwin’s famous confession, ‘‘atrophy ” of any portion of
the brain is not a disease from which they have commonly
suffered. Speaking for myself, with thirty years’ experience in
a public school, I can only deplore the policy of the great
Universities, which by refusing all reward to general excellence
in several pursuits forces most boys of promise, often two or
three years before they leave school, into one single and often
very narrow path of study. Nor is it a less deplorable result of
this policy that the men they send out to become teachers are
almost always men of one pursuit. Itis not a good thing that
the classical and mathematical, the foreign language and science
masters in a school should be mutually incapable of under-
standing each others’ merits, and should secretly cherish or
openly avow the maxim omne ignotum pro inutili. What is
the use of a good curriculum in such circumstances? The
best plan of operations will fail if the officers who have to put
it into execution are out of touch with one another.
5-—THE POSITION OF SCIENCE.
The curriculum in most secondary schools was until recently
(1) Literary and (2) Mathematical, such subjects as history and
geography (the latter with far too large an addition of mere map-
making) being somehow tacked on to the literary part of the work.
Lately, however, science, long treated in schools as a sort of Cin-
derella, has shown a tendency to play the part of an imperious
queen. ‘In the smaller grammar schools,” says Sir W. Anson,'
“Iam told they have practically abandoned Greek, that they have
almost abandoned Latin, and that geography, history and litera-
ture are either neglected or untaught,” while ‘‘everything has
trended in the direction of a scientific education,” and a more
disquieting statement could not be made. For whatever marvels
science has achieved, it has not yet shown that it is the best in-
strument of mental training, so that on this subject even Mr.
Balfour’ passes from philosophic doubt to almost positive dis-
belief. Indeed, ‘‘science”’ is a most delusive word, the potency
of which largely depends on the vagueness with which it is used.
** Science shook the thrones of heaven and earth,” cries Shelley,
and ‘* Let science grow from more to more” is the prayer of
Tennyson, while such phrases as ‘‘ the marvels of science,”’ ‘‘ the
achievements of science,” ‘‘a scientific age,” are on every lip.
But as a thing which can be taught ‘* science”? does not exist.
You can teach physics, physiology, biology, botany, or chemistry,
and each of these subjects has a different educational value, but
1 The Times, Tualy roth, 1903.
2 Lhe Times, July 11th, 1903.
The School World—Supplement
[ SEPTEMBER, 1903.
perhaps none of them can be called essential to education. Their
material importance, their marvels, their fascination—these are
neither questionable nor questioned, but their value as instru-
ments of education may be disputed. About the value, on the
other hand, of mathematics there can be no doubt: experience
has demonstrated their power to strengthen and invigorate the
mind ; undels àyewuérpnrTos eiciry is still written large over the
door of knowledge. For others, too, less capable of abstract
thought, study of the laws of language and the effort fully to
understand and appreciate the great thoughts of great men is a
discipline that has stood the test of time. But thc value of the
study, say, of botany, of electricity, or of geology, as a means of
training is, as yet, to say the least, ‘not proven.” Primarily,
most of the sciences rest on the basis of an enormous accumula-
tion of observed facts, and it is a//ex the facts have been accu-
mulated that reason, intelligence and imagination begin to find
in them a field for exercise. But the young learner begins with
no facts and at best only amasses a few, so that a science which
becomes highly stimulating to the mind when pursued far may
be exactly the reverse at its commencement. Where scientific
studies have an educational value is in the power of accurate
observation which they encourage, and in the continual demand
they make that every statement should be promptly tested by
experiment. There is no better complement and corrective to
linguistic and mathematical study than to bring the student from
words and ideas into close contact with facts by actual experi-
mental work (mere book study seems of little value) in some
branch or branches of science, while, if such a thing be feasible,
it is certainly desirable that no one should leave school without
having acquired some knowledge of the large outlines and
broad principles of the chief sciences. What is to be depre-
cated is that the teaching of science should assume too large
a place in education, owing to a vague opinion that, because
science is of the highest practical value, it therefore affords the
best training for practical life.
6.—PROFESSIONAL TRAINING UNDESIRABLE IN SCHOOLS.
If the remarks already made have any truth, the ‘‘ broad ”
character of the curriculum in secondary schools has been
sufficiently indicated, nor does it seem that it should suffer
material alteration so as to be accommodated to the various
“ types ” of schools suggested for consideration. [Question 4].
Indeed, these ‘‘ types ” of schools seem to be unreal. How can a
school be set apart for ‘f commercial professions ” so as to ex-
clude boys preparing for ‘‘domestic professions” or for some
branch of ‘' engineering”? And what is common to all ‘* com-
mercial professions ” so that a ‘‘ type of school ” can be adapted
to them? Or what is a ‘‘ literary prcfession”’? Does it prepare
lawyers, or writers, or journalists, or clergymen? Or, if it pre-
pares them all, what is the ‘‘ type” of education that exactly
suits them all? Is it not a fact that this assumption of ‘‘ types ”
of education springs from a belief that it is advantageous (1) to
narrow education to a special end, and (2) to eliminate all that
is ‘‘useless” or ‘‘unpractical?” Yet, assuredly, (1) education
implies not limitation, but free, large, many-sided development.
Its object is not to swathe, bandage, and manipulate the mind
until, like an infant among the Indian Flatheads, it assumes
some “‘ typical ” form, but to give it at least some chance of natural
growth. And (2) the “useful” and the ‘‘ practical”? may be
the end of education (though this is to exclude art, beauty, and
poetry from its purview), but they do not even so become the
best means to Secure that end. The study, for instance, of
Greek is ‘‘ useless,” and it would be idle to seek anything prac-
tically ‘‘ useful” in Plato and St. Paul, but those who have
learned even partially to understand such writers are better
trained even for the merchant’s offce than those wha have
The
ne eee ee ee
SEPTEMBER, 1903.]
studied such *‘ useful ” things as commercial German! and col-
loquial French.? Similarly theoretical geometry is more really
serviceable in education than drawing figures to scale,? and
shewing by measurement that the angles at the base of an
isosceles triangle are equal, while proficiency in algebra is better
than skill in book-keeping.
7-—CURRICULUM AFFECTED BY LEAVING AGES OF
PuPILs.
What the exact arrangenient of literary, mathematical, and
scientific training in a curriculum should be it is impossible to
state precisely, for it 1s absurd to suppose that one curriculum
will suit all varieties of schools, from small local grammar-schools
to the large public ones. Obviously the training suitable for
boys who stay at school until 18 or 19 and then proceed to some
University to spend three or four years more in preparation for
some learned profession must differ from that of boys who have
to begin actual work at 16, and each school must modify its
curriculum to meet its own special needs.
In a grammar school, for instance, in a manufacturing town,
it may be just as right to include practical teaching of mechanics
as it would be to exclude it from some of the great boarding
schools. So, too, it is better for a boy to Jearn Greek than Latin,
better to learn Latin than French or German, while any of these
affords a better means of training than his own tongue, but what
language or languages shall be actually taught must depend on
circumstances, provided always that when only one foreign lan-
guage, and that a modern one, can be included in the curricu-
lum (and this is the lowest standard for a secondary school), it
shall be taught thoroughly, with no shirking of difficulties, and
so as only to introduce the learner to what is best and highest
in its literature. But in every curriculum what is vital is that
its main plan and purpose be sound, that it help to form a com-
plete man capable of using all his faculties of speech, reason,
and observation to best advantage, and, above all, that it impress
on his mind a deep conviction that what he has learned is as
nothing to what he has yet to learn and must go on learning
through life. ‘The lad who has been taught to regard the pass-
ing of some paltry examination, the securing some small post,
or the acquisition of some little technical skill as the goal of
education will never go far or be worth much. “I count not
myself to have attained,” says St. Paul, “but . . . reaching
forth (éwexremwduevos) unto those things which are before I
press forward to the mark.” And what he says of the spiritual
life ıs equally true of intellectual and practical life.
§8.—INFLUENCE OF EXAMINATIONS AND TEACHERS.
One word remains to be added to these vague, discursive, but
I believe, honest notes. Examinations many and manifold,
complex and confusing, are at present the real masters of educa-
tion. They control the whole course of study, and it is absolutely
idle to establish any systematic curriculum until sense, system,
and simplicity are in some measure introduced into examina-
tions. Further, the best curriculum is worthless without good
teachers. Huxley could turn a piece of chalk into food for the
mind, and Darwin draw wisdom from a worm, but it remains
t Books of this type degrade education. ‘*‘ The second class is more com-
fortable and better upholstered than the third.” ‘* Yes, and how delightful
that each of us has a corner-place.” * Also we have saved 25 per cent. by
taking a return ticket ”—this is the type of conversation provided in them
to refresh the student after he has made ont several invoices, and learned
how to describe ‘' shoddy " in euphemistic German.
< Are such books as * Tartarin sur les Alpes” or “ Le Père Goriot,” nse-
ful as they are for colloquial French, really a means of mental discipline ?
What too of a French schoolbook which gives an Illustration of an English-
man asking in a restaurant for ‘wae dane frite”?
3 I lately sawa hundred of the top boys in a school doing a paper in Euclid
in which the frst three questions required little but mechanical skill in the
construction of figures.
School World—Supplement
13
written for all time that “ the instruction of fools is folly.” And
yet what is there nowadays to tempt those who are wise—at
least as the world counts wisdom—into the calling of a teacher?
Teaching, the highest of arts, is universally held the meanest.
In our great schools, which should set a great example, ortho-
doxy, housekeeping, social gifts and athletic skill for the most
part rank above it. In an age of cheap distinctions none has
ever been bestowed upon a simple schoolmaster. Pay is generally
meagre and security of tenure often conspicuously wanting,
while for the vast majority of the profession that independence
and liberty which is essential to progress is sternly repressed.
Under such conditions education cannot flourish, and until
much is done to raise the general status of the teaching pro-
fession abstract discussion of theoretical questions can produce
little real result.
By J. L. PATON, M.A.,
High Master of Manchester Grammar School.
I.—COMMERCE AS A PROFESSION.
I WELCOME the term “ Commercial professions.” To get
the word ‘‘ profession ” means winning half the battle. There
has been hitherto a line drawn between business and the pro-
fessions, a line which necessarily involves a presumption of
inferiority as against business life. A profession is supposed to
call forth the higher faculties of intelligence and character ; it is
an end in itself, and evokes that pleasure which comes from the
exercise of higher faculty. But business, it has been hitherto
supposed, is not an end in itself, nor is it a pleasure; a man
engages in it in order to gain money, the qualities of mind and
soul which it calls into play are not the highest or the best;
once eliminate the ulterior motive and no one will ever dream
of doing business for its own sake. Directly on the other hand
we call business ‘‘a profession,” that line of demarcation is
removed; the position of the business man gains prestige.
We recognise that for business life careful and scientific training
is required.
This, as I say, is half the battle. It is what Cobden and
many great men have told us for generations: ‘‘ Ich wiiszte
nicht,” says Goethe, ‘‘wessen Geist ausgebreiteter wäre,
ausgebreiteter sein müszte, als der Geist eines echten Handels-
mannes.”! But it is a lesson we are very slow to learn. It
is still supposed that, if a boy is no good for anything else, he
is good enough for business, just as in Wellington’s boyish
days any fool was thought good enough to be food for
powder. And it is still assumed that it is only waste of
time, if a boy is destined for business, to keep him at school
after he is fifteen years of age. But directly we speak of
commerce as a profession, we have put away both these false
ideas and open up a new field of possibility and hope.
2.— SPECIAL COMMERCIAL SCHOOLS UNDESIRABLE.
So far, then, I approve my title. But I cannot approve the
idea of a special school preparing for commerce. I should
never think of sending any son of mine to a school preparing for
any one definite profession. Whether it be medicine, law, the
church, or commerce, or even school mastering, it is hardly fair to
earmark a boy at the age of ten, or perhaps younger, for this or
that particular walk in life. Up till the age of fifteen, every
school ought to be what Ruskin calls a “ discovering school,”
finding out for what a boy is best titted. And even supposing
we were able to discern that our little hopeful of ten was
destined to be a bagman and could be nothing else, it is inflict-
1 “ Wilhelm Meister.”
14
The School World—Supplement
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
ing irreparable wrong on the young life to pen it up during all
its school years with no boys but those of the same tastes
temperament and purpose in life. Specialised classes I admit
there must be, every secondary school must bifurcate towards the
top, but such classes should be put as late as possible, not as
early. Also, I have personally a strong disbelief in the German
differentiated schools. I much prefer the English type with its
modern and classical sides, or its special departments in the top
classes, I believe the classical boys lose some of their academic
aloofness by rubbing shoulders on the cricket field, at the de-
bating society, and in all the agencies of school association with
other boys who are at closer grips with the actualities of life, I
believe that modern side or science boys ¢atch something of the
liberalising influence of Plato and AZschylus, and all sorts of
boys gain by the mutual rivalry and the harmonised variety of
the microcosm.
Some two years since, at the Headmasters’ Conference,' Mr.
Glazebrook, of Clifton, suggested that if business-men believed
seriously in commercial education, they ought to found and
endow to the tune of £200,000 or £ 300,000 special school, with
all the equipment of a public school, but ‘arriving at this one
thing only.” One is relieved to find that neither the Conference
itself nor the business-men made any sort of response to this
suggestion. If they had done so, the native good sense of the
British parent would have saved the situation. ‘‘ No,” he would
have said, ‘I do not wish to cut off my boy from all the old
traditions and finer ef/os of the best English schools, by sending
him to a school specially peopled by predestinate bagmen.”
3.—Not MANUAL DEXTERITY BUT MENTAL DISCIPLINE.
It will be seen that by ‘‘education for commercial pro-
fessions”” is meant an education not only unmistakably
secondary, but, if I may coin the term, super-secondary ; that is,
based on a sound general education of a secondary grade. Up
to the age of fifteen or sixteen, that is, up to the standard which
is represented, at the very lowest, by Honours in the Junior
Oxford and Cambridge Locals, the thing “commercial edu-
cation” should not be so much as named among us. The term
has heen soiled by all ignoble use. It has been used to connote
a sort of manual dexterity, consisting in a special kind of
caligraphy, shorthand, typewriting, and other finger business,
with a sprinkling of book-keeping and long tots to give an
intellectual flavour to the whole. The product of such com-
mercial education is a piece of human mechanism which we
may hope shortly to supersede with a newly-developed phono-
graph-typewriter, as it has been already to some extent
superseded by Babbage’s Calculating Machine.
Not that I underrate manual dexterity and that formal
neatness which such training fosters. On the other hand, I
should say that in our best secondary schools, speaking
generally, not sufficient attention is given to this matter.
Every boy, whatever he is going to be, ought to be taught to
be business-like in these matters, and you can’t begin too early.
The genus boy is by nature casual, he lives in the present, like
the private of the Buffs, he ‘‘ never looks before”: he is mar-
vellously given to untidiness both in his own person and within
the whole circumference of things within his reach; he stains
himself with ink like an ancient Briton delighting in a new and
unlimited supply of woad: he has no sense of order, he leaves
things about, and expects them to put themselves back in their
places, or presumes that a sister will come along presently, and
put these little odds and ends right for him: he has a genius for
forgetting and for putting off anything the least bit irksome till
he is forced to do it; and he is withal sublimely unconscicus
“ Report of Headmasters’ Conference,” Cambridge, Dec., 1901, pp. 28-¢
of his own delinquencies and painfully surprised that anyone
should attach any serious importance to them. All this has to
be eradicated. It cannot be removed like an appendix vermi-
JSormis ; it has to be counteracted by long, painful and unflagging
discipline. The young colt has to be broken in to habits of
neatness and precision and method. Sisters can do much in the
matter, as a matter of fact they do most; but masters must
codperate with sisters; the unregenerate boy needs the double
pull. He must be punctual at school, he must keep his engage-
ments, he must bring with him what he is told he will require,
his books, his pen, paper, blotter and mathematical instruments ;
he must be made systematic; he cannot be allowed to write
one day in pencil and another day in ink, one day in an exercise
book and another day on a loose bit of paper, as though “anything
will do.” He must be taught, as Thring said, ‘‘to honour his
work.” So far as may be, by rigid routine these things must be
made habitual. The master himself must have a good deal of
the drill sergeant about him. Too many of us are just overgrown
boys, our own desks are scenes of most admired disorder, our
own methods of correcting exercises are not as neat as might be,
nor are we prompt enough in giving back exercise work, we put
it off till a more convenient season and our faulty example
cancels the effect of many excellent admonitions.
These are the things which are most essential in the earlier
years for commercial training, or indeed for any other, and in
these matters, so far as my experience goes, the German School
has a great pull over our own ordinary Secondary School.
A4.—CHARACTER AND SCOPE OF FOUNDATION STUDIES.
On the subjects and the standard of the teaching I do not dilate,
because I have already indicated the Junior Oxford and Cam-
bridge Local Examinations as the minimum requirement before
specific preparation for commerce should begin. Two things only
I would like to indicate. We English schoolmasters think in the
terms of different examinations, we can’t help it, but the examina-
tion indicates after all merely the terminus, and not the mode by
which we arrive at it. The mode or the method is, however,
the most important thing in these earlier stages. The mother-
tongue is not taught as well as it should be. Two things need
to be insisted on: (1) Clear articulation, with some differen-
tiation of the various vowel sounds, too apt to be lost in an
indiscriminate er-sound. (2) The proper formation and manage-
ment of sentences. I hold myself that the best way to teach
English composition is to make boys answer your questions
always with one or more complete sentences; to give them as
much speaking to do as possible on their legs, and to begin the
practice before they attain to years of self-consciousness. We
must give up our short, jerky questions, unless it be exceptionally
for the purpose of livening up a class which is semi-dormant.
We think they save time, and the English system of place-
taking encourages them ; but the price we pay tor them is this,
that no other European nation so much abuses its native tongue
as we abuse the tongue that Milton and Shakespeare spoke.
Again, in modern languages we must discard the heavy clas-
sical method of grammar and exercise. Sound must come first.
Speech cannot be articulated till the vocal organs have learned
to form the component sounds. All this work at present falls on
the modern language master. If 1 had my way in reforming
the teaching of English, we should find a good deal of the
work already done before the boys came to the modern lan-
guage master. With the phonetic drill will be combined, at a
very early stage, a course of object and picture or action lessons
in French or German, as the case might be, the object being to
establish from the first the direct association of the foreign word
or sound with the object instead of with its English name, and
to make the boy feel his legs at once in the new language by
using it from the first for purposes of conversation.
The School
SEPTEMBER, 1903.]
ee = MMM o
We will suppose now that our boy has passed through this
stage, that he has a fair equipment in English, in one modern
language at any rate, in arithmetic, geometry and algebra, in the
history of his country, and the geography of the chief countries
of the world ; also some elementary and practical knowledge of
drawing, mensuration, physics, and, perhaps, chemistry; if
Latin too, so much the better. We pass now to the commercial
department, the specific preparation for commerce. We assume
that, “in whatever matters it is our duty to act, those matters it
is also our duty to study.” How do we set about it ?
5+— SPECIFIC PREPARATION FOR COMMERCE.
The first subject in which specialisation is possible is
Arithmetic. This must begin, if it has not begun already, with
thorough drill in the metric system and the monetary systems,
the weights and measures of other countries with which England
trades. ‘‘ The art of capturing the customer,” as Mr. Oldkam
says,' ‘“ is very often the art of saving him trouble.” The
English firms, if they want to open up new markets must quote
prices in the weights and measures and coinage of the country.
The next thing is to learn the decimalisation of English money,
and therewith all manner of rapid and abridged processes of
calculation. Closely in touch with arithmetic, and taught by
the same master, must go commercial knowledge—questions of
freight and navigation, insurance and tariffs, companies, shares,
computation of annuities, mortgage loans, the elements of bank-
ing and bills of exchange ; how debts incurred in London may be
extinguished in Hamburg, the rate of exchange, and difference
between gold and silver standards of currency. Systematic
instruction in these things will involve the working out of prac-
tical problems by arithmetic at every step, and care must be
taken that there is plenty of mental computation. The terms
used must be made real as much as possible by reference to
actual reports of commerce and current newspapers, also by
visits to the Docks, to the Clearing House, to the Mint, to large
commercial and industrial houses. Clearly this is not a matter
of text-book mefely ; no text-book, however good, will suffice in
itself. The teacher must have actual experience of business.
The French and German must also begin to take a special
bias. The commercial condition of foreign countries (what Mr.
Hewins calls ‘ Descriptive Economics "')* should be taught in
the foreign language. The language itself must be used as
the vehicle of teaching ; a complete series of letters should from
time to time be written completing a transaction between an
English and a foreign firm; and the composition should
be what is called ‘‘ free composition ” rather than literary
translation.
In History I give the first year to the history of the world (a
subject usually left to shift for itself in our insular schools), and
then .in the second year work over the same ground again,
studying it from the special economic point of view.
Geography must also now become a world-subject, and no
longer an affair of separate countries. It will begin with
examining the world-distributions of temperature, pressure,
wind and rainfall, with the causes that produce them ; the sea
currents as they affect climate. This opens up the question
of economic vegetation and the distribution of animals. Next
come minerals and coal. And then as the resultant of all
these circumstances comes the population. For all this work
special maps are required; the Geographical Teaching Asso-
ciation provides some excellent slides. After this comes
a, —_- ee eaaa e aa Bo aii,
By C. H. Oldham. Dublin,
1 “ Technical Education for Commerce.”
(1902.) | B
“Useful books are: Emile de Laveleye’s “ Economie Politique”; G.
François, “Le Commerce” and other books. (Flammarion, Paris.)
tt Deutsches Lesebuch fur Handelsschule.” KRaydt u. Roszger. (Yoight-
lander, 1902.)
World—Supplement
—— ee ee ee a o
15
regional geography of the gecgraphical areas.! The region
is first defined by emphasising the relief of the area under
treatment with rough accounts of structure, climate and
vegetation, and population as before, with the Special reasons
which have caused the growth of certain towns. Then comes
the question of routes within the area, as based on relief and
water system, and last of all trade routes and trade relation-
ships with other countries, transit, cable routes, and all
communications.
This leads at once to the question of commercial products,
vegetable and animal (German Waarenkunde). Prof. Ashley
condemns this, and many others I find are suspicious of it. It
needs careful handling. I find it is necessary to have an intro-
ductory course of botany, and to have a school museum ready
at hand to illustrate the main products and processes to which
they are subjected. If these are supplemented with frequent
visits to such museums such as the Imperial Institute or Bethnal
Green Museum, and also to various large commercial warehouses
and societies, I do not find there is any unreality about it, and,
I believe, it does as much to widen the outlook and Stimulate
interest as any subject on the programme.
Economics should not come till the second year, and they
should be commonsense and practical thinking about the most
obvious phenomena of our social life. The object of them is to
produce not so much a moneymaking merchant as a good citizen.
What are Capital and Labour? What are supply and demand,
and what do prices mean? How division of labour aids
efficiency ; the question of exports and imports, and the banking
system—these are all things which a boy can think about, and
thinking about them will open his eyes, and lead him to read on
his account, and read more fruitfully. All over the country
to-day Chambers of Commerce are being asked to vote on the
question of Protection, A boy’s school work ought, at any rate,
to put him in the way of forming an intelligent opinion.
I have said nothing about Mathematics and Science. 1 would
insist on a high mathematical standard for entry to the depart-
ment. The arithmetic cannot be done without it. What
Proportion of time these subjects should occupy afterwards it is
difficult to say. In London commerce means finance and
exchange of goods; the manufactures we have are few. The
Stress, therefore, in a London school falls on mathematics and
modern languages. In a great manufacturing centre like
Bradford or Manchester, far more attention should be paid to
science. In any case, a boy should have, before going into
business, some knowledge of the chemistry of common life and
merchantable objects, of the mechanics and the main motor
powers used in manufacture. In this respect I think it would be
hard to improve on the new syllabus for London Matriculation.
The Æng/ish should be as little as possible formal or philo-
logical. The great aim should be to enlist a boy’s taste on the.
side of good literature. If it includes some essays of Bacon, or
Arthur Helps, it will be none the worse for the future business
man. The composition-should arise out of the teaching, but it
will not be by any means confined to the English class. The
history, gcography and economics will all involve essay writing.
The composition should not be all written, every commercial
course should include practice in speaking, but this can hardly
be a class subject, it should find its free and spontaneous Scope
in the school debating society, where such topics as the
Imperial Zollverein, the Bounty System, the Merchandise Marks
Act, the Half-timers Bill, or, perhaps, some great current strike
would find naturally a place among the subjects discussed.
Such is the curriculum which for the last three years we have
been endeavouring to carry out at University College School.
What the Greeks feared in connexion with trade was that it
was illiberal; they dreaded the crabbed and narrow “ retail-
1 E.g., the monsoonal area of Asia. Prof. Mackinder’s series,
16
The School World—Supplement [SEPTEMBER, 1903.
dealer” type of mind. This curriculum at any rate aims at
being liberal, it aims at training the reason and strengthening
it, at widening the outlook and sympathies, and fostering that
finer tact which comes from knowing what is in man. A com-
mercial education worthy of the name should not only be liberal
in programme, but liberal in tone. There are passages in the
recent history of commerce which show how necessary it is to
raise the tone on our English markets and exchanges. The
highest standard of honour that we have in our English Public
Schools is the standard our boys should carry with them uncom-
promised and unstained into their commercial life, for without it
there is no sure confidence, and ‘‘ confidence,” as Chalmers said,
‘tis the sou: of commerce.” Apart from this higher motive, all
curricula are built on rottenness, the helpmeets of villany, and
a danger to the State.
By Prof. MICHAEL E. SADLER, M.A., LL.D.
1.—SOME PRINCIPLES TO BE CONSIDERED.
~ BEFORE entering upon the details of the subject, I will briefly
touch, by way of preface, on some of the wider aspects of the
question which specially deserve consideration at the present
time.
(a) Study of Curricula.—The importance of the study and
comparison of school curricula has been somewhat overlooked in
this country. I remember that, when the Royal Commission on
Secondary Education began its sittings in 1894, it was decided
at the beginning of the proceedings that a systematic investi-
gation of secondary school curricula would lie outside the scope
of the Commission’s enquiry. Yet may it not be said that the
study of curricula is as important in the science of education as
the study of diet is in the science of medicine? As soon as we
definitely ask ourselves what is the social or intellectual aim of
a particular school, we find ourselves compelled to ascertain
what the school in question professes to teach or ought to teach.
But too many of our schools have drifted on with no definite
aim. Yet a school without an aim is like a ship without a chart.
The study of curricula is therefore an indispensable part of the
educational revival now taking place in this country, and the
decision of the Organising Committee to devote two days to the
discussion of this subject is a cause for much satisfaction.
(4) Methods of Teaching.—The study of curricula and of the
balance of subjects in school programmes is necessarily con-
nected with the study of methods of teaching. We need to
ascertain how long it takes a competent teacher to impart an
accurate and well-set knowledge of each stage of every subject
which we propose to introduce into the curriculum. This in
turn raises a still more difficult and fundamental question, viz.,
how far the intellectual results of some skilfully devised modern
systems of teaching are sufficiently permanent in the mind of the
pupil. There seems to underlie some modern theories about
school curricula an assumption that what a pupil has once
learnt he does not subsequently forget. But is there not more
need for hammering-in knowledge by persistent repetition, and by
much more strenuous labour and individual work on the part of
the pupil himself, than it has recently been fashionable to admit ?
It is possible to get a high and attractive finish, so to speak, upon
a pupil’s knowledge without its being really fixed in his mind
for permanent use. Ought we not to guard against methods of
teaching which result in this evanescent kind of knowledge,
and to prefer those which teach much less but teach it more
` thoroughly ?
(c) Intellectual Interest and Accuracy of Work.—Closely con-
nected with this point is the difficult question how far it is
expedient to make pupils dependent on the oral instruction of
a teacher. Our old grammar-school methods, relics of an ancient
tradition, fell sadly short in their power of stimulating the
general interest of the scholars. They missed great opportu-
nities of widening the pupil’s outlook, and of preparing him to
take an intelligent interest in the wider bearings of his life’s
work. At the same time, they had the great advantage of
teaching the boy how to work for himself, and how to dig out
knowledge by his own labour, and then to bring the results of
that labour to be tested and appraised by a competent critic.
But I fear that in some schools for little children there is a
danger at the present time lest the teaching should be too full
of interest and lest there should be too little steady drill of the
mind in habits of accuracy, and in the power of doing that
drudgery which is a necessary part of all human work.
(d) Effective Teaching, — Skilfully devised curricula are as
needful to the economy of school work as good organisation of
correspondence and business is to the economy of an office. But
it will be admitted that the best curricula in the world are of
small intellectual value unless they are applied by teachers who
are themselves keenly interested in the work of teaching and
gifted with the mental and moral power which impresses the
mind and character of the pupil. Curricula matter very little as
compared with the teachers behind the curricula, A school
with an ill-arranged curriculum but with strong teachers may be
educationally far more effective than a school with weak teachers
and a pattern curriculum.
(e) The Desire to Learn more.—One aim of school education
is to produce people who want to go on learning more. May we
not rightly measure the value and success of an educational system
by the keenness and persistence of the intellectual and other
interests which it has kindled in the minds of its pupils, and
which they continue to manifest through their later life?
Pestalozzi used to say, ‘‘ Let us leave our children a great deal
to discover for themselves.” Would it not be a blunder
to try to compress within the limits of a school curriculum a
general survey of knowledge, as if the pupil’s period of Icarning
had to cease at the end of his school career? Was not this the
fallacy, though in a more ambitious and philosophical form,
which underlay the German notion, that a secondary school
should provide each and every pupil with “allgemeine Bildung,”
and, as it were, send them away from school with acompleted
halo of finished culture? ssi
_ (f) Encouragement of Distinctive Currtcula.—The attempt
to teach too many subjects leads to smattering and to intellectual
indigestion. Pupils who have suffered from the process seem to
have very little real appetite for continuing their studies. Their
interests are deadened instead of being quickened. Does it not
follow from this that we should be very careful not to crowd
into any one curriculum the various subjects which have a valid
claim for recognition as possessing educational value ? Ought
we not tohave many different curricula, even for schools of the
same grade and type? And, as teaching is an artistic work, will it
not be expedient to let each school have some marked speciality
in its instruction? It would be much better if a school had
a strong living tradition of mathematical excellence or of classical
scholarship than that it should water down this special interest
by the introduction of little bits of a number of other subjects,
with the result of there being no opportunity for really thorough
work in any one of them. Of course, I am not arguing for
premature specialisation. It is all a question of balance and
of degree, but I would urge that full scope should be given to
the special aptitude of the teacher, and that the tradition of the
school should be given free play.
(g) Mental Attention. — The fault of some of the continental
curricula is that they concentrate attention upon that part of the
school work which consists in the imparting of knowledge, and
lay too much stress on the oral communication of knowledge in
SEPTEMBER, 1903. |
the classroom. This is an evil to be guarded against. Doing and
making should be held in as high honour in our schools as writing
or talking about things. One danger of much of our modern
organised secondary education is that it produces a literary pro-
letariat. Itis apt to divert clever boys from craft work, and to
attract them to literary occupations. Moreover, by patiently
absorbing great masses of skilfully administered information,
children are apt to lose their power of intellectual independence
and of criticism.
(4) Importance of Practical Work in Schools.—1 would urge
that in planning curricula for English schools very great stress
be laid on practical work of all kinds and also on out-of-door
kinds of school activities (#.¢., on organised games in moderation,
and various leisure-hour pursuits) by means of which boys and
girls learn the power of working with other people and of
subordinating selfish aims to collective interests. If we intend
to make effective use of leisure in our English education, we
must be extremely careful not to demand too much in the way
of book learning and of classroom work. And as it is much
more difficult to assess the value of a pupils individual
practical work than to measure the accuracy of the knowledge
which he can produce on paper in examination, I feel somewhat
alarmed less the development of an elaborate system of school-
leaving examinations should injure an important side of our
secondary education under the appearance of a salutary reform.
2.—CURRICULUM OF PRIMARY AND PREPARATORY SCHOOLS.
Under this head I propose to refer (a) to those public
elementary schools the curriculum of which ends about fourteen,
(4) to schools which are preparatory to secondary schools (these
sgain in turn are preceded by instruction given either in schools
for little children or by governesses), and (c) to kindergarten
and preparatory schools attached to secondary schools.
(a) Nature and Scope of Early Studies.—In this grade of
education there is great advantage in educating boys and girls
together. In many ways these early years are educationally the
most critical years of a child’s life. Great importance should be
attached to the aptitude of the teachers, and to their sympathy
with young children. Care should be taken to avoid (1) rigid
separation of the subjects, and (2) on the other hand namby-
pambiness. Children are not strengthened for the tasks of later
years by being kept back too long from facing real difficulties.
May we not, while revering the work of Froebel and while
grateful for the devoted labours and refining influences of those
who have carried on his work, feel at the same time some dis-
trust of the narrow and, as it were, denominational atmosphere
in which some kindergarten teachers seem to have learnt their
art? Have we not some reason to feel distrust of the narrower
traditions of the Froebelian faith? Again, the point of junction
between the kindergarten and the lower school needs more
attention educationally than it has generally received.
During the earlier years of the primary-school course the
different subjects in the curriculum ought to run into one
another at their edges, as different colours run into one another
when put on paper side by side with a wet brush. I would urge
that, in this stage of education, special importance be attached
to training the powers of expression alike in the mother
tongue, with the brush, with the fingers, and (through dancing
and physical drill) with the body and limbs. The ideal course
of education for little children is one which carefully combines
mousiké and gumnastiké. At this stage, much can be done
to lay a good foundation for the study of geometry, and I have
heard of some boys who, in their later school-life, found in their
mathematical studies the benefit of their kindergarten training.
Stress may also be laid on the importance of the intelligent
teaching of arithmetic. In the curriculum, at this stage, history-
teaching best takes a biographical form, but different chil-
The School World_Supplement
I7
dren show remarkably different aptitudes for historical studies.
Ilowever, it will be agreed that highly compressed summaries of
political or constitutional development seem out of place at this
stage of education. I would lay special stress on the need for
good teaching of geography, and for the intelligent study of
living things (particularly of plant life); on singing and physical
exercises, and on well-organised and carefully supervised school-
games. Many children need to learn the lesson of unselfishness
through joint effort in games. So far as it can be arranged,
group-work is to be recommended, e.g., in connection with the
teaching of history and literature, rough models can be made by
a small class of children. But it seems to me a mistake not to
stimulate individual effort as well. And I would venture to urge
the importance of securing perfect accuracy in some parts of the
work. Modelling, drawing, simple carpentering, painting, and
other forms of expression through the hand are particularly
valuable at this stage. Care should be taken to encourage
children to ask questions instead of discouraging anything
which interrupts a preconceived plan of lesson. If we encourage
little children to become passive recipients of what they are told,
we are doing much to prevent the growth of independence of
mind and character. A good school combines discipline with
the encouragement of individuality. But this involves a culti-
vated type of teacher who is not afraid of being asked questions,
and who can, as need arises, follow the children’s thought into
fields which may lie far away from the track originally projected
for the lesson. We need, in fact, some of our very best teachers
in the classes for little children. Such teachers should not con-
fine themselves to preparing themselves out of mere text-books,
but should make a practice of reading as widely as possible
standard works outside the subject. The benefit of this will
show itself not in the amount of information which they give the
children, but in the effects of a certain freshness. and increased
richness of mind upon the intelligence of the pupils. The sub-
conscious influence of a well-stored and keenly interested mind
upon the intelligence of little children isa matter which deserves
close attention.
Those who sympathise with the drift of these remarks will
probably share with me a strong feeling that, for the teaching of
little children, large classes of forty, fifty, or sixty are educa-
tionally mischievous and not unlikely to deaden much of the
intellectual activity of the children. The Herbartians, and not
least the universally beloved Professor Rein of Jena, have
performed a useful service in suggesting a cycle of culture-
studies as an appropriate curriculum for the eight years of
elementary school-life. For my own part, however, I feel mis-
givings as to the wisdom of treating this theory as anything
more than a fruitful suggestion. While it is doubtless true that
every human mind passes rapidly through a number of stages of
development, much of this process is necessarily unconscious,
and we are by no means right in attempting to give it too
conscious an application in our school studies. Still less
expedient is it to assume that the unfolding of the panorama of
human development must necessarily coincide with the some-
what arbitrary period of eight years fixed by study for German
elementary education.
(6) Effect of Scholarship Examinations on the Curricula of
Preparatory Schools.—¥From the point of view suggested in this
paper, the education of this primary or preparatory grade should
include both literary and practical instruction, but the subjects
should be intermixed, and the practical instruction should be
kept closely connected with the literary.
The powers of different children vary so greatly in degree
and in rapidity of development that it is very difficult to mention
a point up to which a common course of instruction should be
carried. To some extent the course of instruction should
depend on the probable life-work of the children concerned ;
18
e.g., it is expedient tp transfer a boy or girl to a secondary
school never later than twelve years of age, while in some cases
it is expedient to make the transference at ten. Again, teachers
are compelled by the social and administrative arrangements of
the country in which they live to differentiate between the
course of instruction given to different pupils at a comparatively
early age. The effect of this is sometimes to be deplored. For
example, have we not reason to regret the numbing effect of
our public-school scholarship and entrance examinations on the
education of little boys? Thousands of boys from cultivated
families in England are at the present time being shut out from
the education which would be most appropriate to their tender
years, because their teachers are forced prematurely to specialise
them in one or more classical languages. The grip of the
classical tradition is nowhere more mischievous than in the
control of the education of little boys up to the age of twelve.
In our preparatory schools (admirable as they are in tone and
in their individual care of the character of the boys), we fail
properly to teach them the use of their mother tongue; we fail
as regards the teaching of history and the creation of a love for
literature; we fail to make proper use of geography as a
school subject; we have far too little manual training and
drawing ; and there is little leisure for the intelligent study of
nature. And the root of all the trouble is the artificially high
standard of attainment in Latin and Greek which is required at
the public schools at their entrance examinations. How long
will it be before public opinion insists on making an end of this
crippling of the intellectual interests of so many English boys ?
Yet I say this with reverence for our great teachers of classics,
and with hearty recognition of their success in training boys in
a certain kind of accuracy of work.
(c) Improvement desirable in Classical Teaching.—In order
to facilitate the transference of promising pupils from the
elementary schools to the secondary schools at twelve vears of
age, much is to be said for the ‘‘ reformed curricula” which are
now being adopted in an increasing number of German classical
schools. I subjoin two illustrative types of curricula as show-
ing what is being skilfully attempted in this regard. It will
be noticed that the key of the situation lies in the large number
of lessons given per week to a new foreign language when it is
reached in the curricula. Some of the best teaching in the school
ought to be concentrated on this first year of a new language.
It is to be hoped that more attention will be given to the possi-
bility of improving our methods of classical teaching in its early
stages. (See Tables, p. 19.)
—_——— o MM
3.—CURRICULUM OF VARIOUS TYPES OF SECONDARY
SCHOOLS.
At the risk of seeming rather reactionary, I would protest
against the assumption being made that boys and girls of
secondary school age ought to go through the same course of
studies. I doubt whether it is at all wise to give, in ordinary
cases, to girls between the age of thirteen and sixteen as heavy
a burden of work as can be borne by many boys of the same
age, though even among boys there are great differences of
strength and in the rate of physical and mental development.
At the same time, I would strongly urge the importance of
thoroughness and accuracy and searching discipline in girls’
education. But it is possible to provide this while at the same
time giving much larger scope than is at present usual to
mathematical training and to that kind of study of history and
literature which aims at implanting an interest in these subjects
and not at examination results. Again, might not much more
be done to make a thorough study of home arts and science
a more characteristic feature of many girls’ schools ?
Turning to the case of boys (and of those girls who for one
reason or another have to assimilate their course of education tq
that planned for boys), there are three types of secondary edu-
The School World—Supplement
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
cation which seem to call for separate treatment. By separate
treatment I mean the assignment of a special curriculum.
Whether or not it is desirable to have two-barrelled or three-
barrelled schools, each comprising two or three different types
of curricula, is a matter of administration about which much can
be said on both sides. I would, however, take this opportunity
of suggesting for consideration the question whether we have
not already gone too far in the direction of making our head-
masters organisers, and whether in some cases great advantage
might not be derived from having a smaller school with a single
curriculum, inspired by a headmaster who should take a leading
part in the feaching of the school, and have at the same time
sufficient leisure for carrying forward his own private studies to
a high point.
The three types of curricula referred to above would be as
follows :—
(a) Engineering and other professions depending on Applied
Sceence.—A secondary school leading up to the engineering pro-
fessions (mechanical, electrical, civil and mining) and to other
callings connected with applied science. The aim of such a
curriculum should be to equip a boy at sixteen with the following
attainments ; command over his mother tongue, interest in history
and good literature, sound knowledge of geography, thorough
grounding in mathematics, skill in speaking and writing one
modern foreign language, fair acquaintance with the requirements
of physical science, and skill in using the pencil and brush.
(6) Commercial Professions.—For commercial professions, the
time assigned to mathematics and to laboratory work in science
might be somewhat reduced in order to make room for a second
modern language. As another form of this curriculum, many
experienced men of business would recommend a combination
of Latin and one modern language.
(c) Literary Professtons.—For the more literary professions, a
curriculum providing for instruction in French, Latin, and then
Greek or German, (in the order stated) would naturally follow to
some extent the lines of the Frankfort curriculum, quoted
above.
4.— DESIRABLE REFORMS.
In conclusion, I would briefly touch on a few points in regard
to which early action seems to be needed.
(a) We ought to have in our English schools far better teach-
ing of the mother tongue and more skilful training in expression
and composition in English. In this regard we have much to
learn from the French schools, and a good deal from the
German. But of the two the French methods seem to me much
the most artistic. The German methods are rather prosy for
English children.
(6) In the early years’ secondary education for boys we are
suffering from premature Latin and Greek. The scholarship
system at the public schools is fast becoming an educationa
curse.
(c) Far more prominence should be given throughout our
primary and secondary education to manual and practical work
of all kinds.
(d) Much of our education is sterilised by cramming up for
examinations.
(e) Though history (except in its biographical forms) is by no
means an appropriate subject for immature minds, much more
can be done to stimulate historical interest by means of the
better teaching of history in our schools and by giving the pupils
a wider outlook over the development of nations upon the earth.
(f) Much more should be done to introduce improved
methods of geographical teaching into schools.
($) We are sadly behindhand in our standards and methods
of modern-language teaching. There is likely to be a shortage
of well-educated young English teachers competent, by residence
and training abroad, to teach French and German on the best
eT
SEPTEMBER, 1903. | The School World—Supplement 19
A. THE FRANKFORT CURRICULA.
Weekly number of lessons in each class in each subject.
Common Alternatives.
Foundation of
Non-Classical = 7
Fanecat:
bye geene The Classical School, The Semi-Classical School
of age. (Gymnasium. ) (Real Gymnasium.)
VI| Vi IV IIIBIITIA| Ife) ITA! Ip | Ia [IIB IIA Ue} Ifa} IB | IA
|
Religion 3 2 2 2 2 21.2 2 2 2| 2 2 2 2
Mother Tongue and Historical ‘Narration of , 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3| 3 3 3
Latin a sie oe veh | e - -į 10 | 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 G: 6 6| 6
Greek ia sah | gi me en 8 8 8 8 — | — | —
French ... asi So $ sie 6 6| 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 3 3 3 3
English ... 7 Fr i aa — | — - 6 4 4 1
History and Geography- 2 2 5 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Geo. Geo
Mathematics bi + abe sia : we 5 Sol) Sn a) ek ee eked) Sed) Ss 4| 4 2 eo Pee
Natural History ... $ si j P i 2| 2| 2{ 2| 2|;—|— - -A R — —
Physics... oa zi P TF a we i — | — | =| — 2 2 2 2 | — | — 3 2 | 2 2
Chemistry +: + was ii sà ve —|—- — | = — z 2 2 2
Writing... ji #7 si ; si = 21" 2 — | — | - — |j- = =
Drawing ... ove rei és T h ae -| 2 2 2 2| — |— | — 2 2:1 4 2 2\| 2
Total number of lessons per week... | 25 | 25 | 26} 28 | 28 | 30 3t 31 31 | 28 | 28 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32
Physical Training, three lessons weekly in all classes. | Optional instruction in Hebrew (Gymnasium) in ITA and Ilg
Singing, various. : (two lessons a week)
Optional instruction in Drawing (Gymnasium) in II and I | The Arabic figures in the above table show the number of
(two lessons a week). _ weekly lessons in school in each subject. Each lesson lasts
Optional instruction in English (Gymnasium) in IIA and IIR | fifty minutes. The classes rise from VI to IA.
(two lessons a week). | The table does not include home work.
B.—TIME TABLE OF THE OBERREALSCHULE WITH REFORM-REAL-
GYMNASIUM AT KIEL (1901).
( Weekly number of lessons in each subject in each class.)
Common Alternatives.
Foundation of
N on-Classical
Rea Tae The Non-Classical School The Semi-Classical Schoo!
of age.) (Oberrealschule), (Reform Realgymnasium).
VI v | tv fureltttal 18) tal IB | ta [IIe IA] te tal In | Ia
Religion = rr ‘i TT 4 . an ee oe Ce aA ket 2 ee eee ft ie fe 2 he ed ie
Mother Tongue ... it $ Py y e oR a) A E D E E. 4 2) Fi Ppp Pies
Latin sia — | — 8 8 6; 6| 6.) 6
French 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3
English sp _ | 5 4 4 4 4 4 — 6| 4 4| 4
History and Geography 2 2 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
Mathematics Soe Gh hs AA ed E. - tlo4| 4 oc) 445
Natural History 2 2 2 2 2 -A - 3 2|- — | oe
Physics 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2
Chemistry and Mineralogy i i 2 | 3 3 2 2 2
Writing... ; +r . + 2 2 2 ~— |<
Drawing (F reehand) e ze l - 2 2 2 2 2 | 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Total... . | 25 25 | 29 | 30] 30| 30] 3! | 31 | 31 J 30. 30) 38 | 32) 32] 32
Physical DDE 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 } 3 3 3 3 3
Singing $ 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
| j |
Optional :— Linear Drawing (two lessons weekly) in IIIa : The Arabic figures show the number of weekly lessons in
upwards, both in Oberrealschule and Realgymnasium. school in each subject.
The classes rise from VI to IA. In III} and IIIa scholars whose handwriting is bad have
The table does not include home work. writing lessons.
new methods, while at the same time able to link those subjects
to the other parts of the school curricula. 1t would pay us as a
nation if we were to offer £100 a year for two years to 200 well-
educated young men and women who would undertake to go to
France and Germany for a two years’ course of training at the
close of their own university course, with the purpose of return-
ing as class teachers in secondary schools. In order to introduce
effectively the new methods of modem-language teaching, the
change of method should be throughout out of school. When
the advantages of the new method are fully recognised, the
supply of teachers will fail to satisfy the demand. We ought to
look ahead two years and now set to work to train the staff of
teachers who will be so soon wanted. This seems to me as
much a matter of national concern as training officers for the
army and navy. The time has gone by when we could safely
leave our educational organisation to haphazard. It is well
worth our while as a nation to spend £20,000 a year for two
years now on furnishing ourselves with the needed staff of
highly trained English modern-language teachers.
(4) Let us avoid over-teaching English pupils. We do not
want to produce a passive generation. It is far better that our
boys and girls should learn a little thoroughly than get a
smattering of a number of subjects. When we leave school,
we ought only to be beginning to learn.
(7) It is to be desired that every school should state its
intellectual aim ; publish (according to some approved form) a
statistical summary of the hours and work given weekly in each
form to each subject in the curriculum ; and issue an outline of its
course (or courses) of study, showing the standard which it pro-
poses to reach at each stage in each class. If every school issued
such a statement together with other particulars of its work,
parents would havea better knowledge of the schools. I would
also suggest that in each city there should be published, under
the authority of the Education Committee, an Educational Direc-
tory containing these particulars about every school, public or
private, which is annually inspected and found to be efficient.
(7) Behind all our consideration of curricula, there must lie
an ideal of character and of the kind of intellectual power which
we desire the rising generation of English men and English
women to reach. The worst muddle comes from being un-
certain in our minds as to the social and moral ideal towards
which we are working. That is the point about which we need
to clear up our thoughts. Is it not expedient that, as far as
possible, we should aim at producing among the pupils per-
ceptiveness, exactitude, pleasure in thoroughness of work, good-
humour, and above all, truthfulness of mind? Cannot our
schools do much to preserve, and to adjust to the new needs
of modern life, what Burke called ‘‘the ancient and inbred
integrity, piety, good-nature, and good-humour of the English
people ?”
SUMMARY OF CHIEF CONTENTS AND
SOME QUESTIONS SUGGESTED BY
THE PAPERS.
I.- GENERAL PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS,
(i.) What general
(Fletcher, 1.)
(ii.) Meaning and scope of education. (Page, 1 and 2.)
(iii.) The basis of a rational curriculum. (Armstrong, 2.)
(iv.) Cultivation of the individuality of the pupil and of the
school. (Armstrong, 3 and 5, Sadler, Ic. and J.)
(v.) Faculties to be developed. (Fletcher, 3.)
(vi.) Considerations of culture. (Adams, 6, and Sadler, 1.)
(vii.) Acquirement of knowledge for its own sake. (Fletcher,
2, and Sadler, Ie.)'
(vili.) Tradition as a factor of the curriculum.
(ix.) Practical value of an exchange of views.
principles must be borne in mind?
(Sadler, 24.)
(Daniell, 9.)
[SEPTEMBER, 1903.
me M IņMŇiMŇ
II.—ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. (Primary Schools, Prepara-
tory Schools and Preparatory Departments.)
(i.) At what age should the course begin and end?
(ii.) What are the essential subjects for all children during
this course. (Adams, 1; Armstrong, 3 and 4; Burstall, 2;
Daniell, 3; Fletcher, 8; Page, 3 and 4; Paton, 4; Sadler, 2.)
(iii.) Should this course be modihed in any way for children
who will later prepare for particular professions? (See ‘‘ School
Preparation for Professions. ”)
(iv.) Hours per week to be devoted to study and how these
should be divided among the essential subjects.
(v.) The relative importance, at this stage, of “literary ”
and ‘‘practical” subjects. (Adams, 2; Fletcher, 6; and
Paton, 3.)
III.—GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION.
(i.) At what age should this course begin and end? (Page, 7.
(ii.) Should it be the same for all, or should it be varied for
boys intended for different professions? (Adams, 5; Armstrong,
6 and 7; Burstall, 3 and 8; Daniell, 6; Page, 6; Paton, 2;
Sadler, 3.)
(iii) What number of hours per week should be given to
study, and what number of subjects can properly be studied in
this time ?
(a) What proportion of the time should be given to “ practical”
instruction—science, drawing, manual and physical training ?
(Fletcher, 6 and 7; Page, 5; Paton, 3; Sadler, 14.)
(6) Should any subject be included in the curriculum to which
only one lesson per week can be devoted ?
(c) What should be the influence of the head teacher’s training
on the curriculum of the school ?
(iv.) If different parallel courses of secondary education are
desirable, should these be provided in special schools, or should
they be ‘‘ sides” of one large school? (Paton, 2.)
(v.) How should the leaving-age modify the secondary-school
course? (Page, 7; Adams, 4.)
(vi.) Should the curriculum be imposed by an outside
authority or left to the headmaster or headmistress to decide ?
(vii.) At what age is it desirable that children should pass
from the primary school to the secondary school under the
present scholarship system? (Adams, 3, and Fletcher, 10.)
IV.—ScHOOL PREPARATION FOR THE PROFESSIONS.
(1.) Is all professional training undesirable in schools?
(Daniell, 6; Page, 2; Paton, 2.)
(ii.) School preparation for commercial professions. (Adams,
5a. ; Burstall, 4; Paton, 1, 2 and §; Sadler, 34.)
(iii.) School preparation for domestic professions.
54.; Armstrong, 8; Burstall, 6.)
(iv.) School preparation for engineering and applied science
professions, (Adams, §¢.; Armstrong, 7; Burstall, 5; Sadler,
3a.)
(v.) School preparation for literary professions.
Burstall, 7; Sadler, 3c.)
(Adams,
(Adams, 5a;
V.—METHODS OF TEACHING AND DESIRABLE REFORMS.
(i.) Methods of effective teaching. (Sadler, 16 and «.)
(ii.) Need for reform. (Armstrong, 1.)
(iti.) Desirable reforms. (Daniell, 5.)
(iv.) Improvement desirable in classical teaching.
2c.)
(v.) Aims of scientific instruction. (Armstrong, 1.)
(vi.) The discipline of scientific studies, (Fletcher, 7; Page,
5.)
(vil.) Influence of examinations and teaching. (Page, 8.)
(viii.) Suggestive opinions and undecided questions. (Daniell,
4 and 5.)
(Sadler,
“The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
No. 58.
OCTOBER, 1903.
SIXPENCE.
RECENT CHANGES IN THE ORDER FOR
THE REGISTRATION OF TEACHERS.
HE latest changes in the Order for the Regis-
tration of Teachers have without doubt gone
very far towards removing most of the ob-
jections to the Order which have been made by
teachers in secondary schools. The main objects
of Column B of the Schedule being to determine
what schools may appropriately be regarded as
secondary schools, and what teachers may fitly
be considered as secondary school teachers, we
propose to point out in what manner the changes
promulgated by the Board of Education in July
help to accomplish these objects.
From the Report of the Teachers’ Registration
Council for 1902, presented to the Board of Educa-
tion in January last, we learn that the Council found
itself considerably hampered by the terms of the
original Order. Although responsible for the
registration of individual teachers, it possessed no
discretionary power to modify regulations which
in many cases produced hardship, and in effect
defeated the very object for which the Order was
made. On the Board of Education being satis-
fied with the Council’s statement of the case, a
Conference was arranged and held in October
between the Council and the Consultative Com-
mittee. The outcome of the Conference is seen
in the changes referred to, which at once temper
the rigidity of the original Order and concede to
the Council very considerable discretionary power.
It should be borne in mind that as regards
secondary school teachers the Order both contem-
plates and arranges for two distinct sets of-qualifi-
cations, differentiated in the main by the inclusion
or non-inclusion of training. Up to March, 1906,
Clause 4 is to remain in force, under which,
training not being obligatory, applicants are ad-
mitted who possess certain specified academic
qualifications and have had experience in teaching
‘other than teaching in an elementary school or
teaching cf a purely elementary character ” for
a specified period of three years.
Clause 3 makes training in some form or other
compulsory ; it requires a higher academic qualifi-
cation, viz., a degree or its recognised equivalent,
together with the pass certificate of some approved
examination in the theory of teaching, and at least
No. 58, VOL. 5.]
one year's probation at a recognised school. These
ideal conditions become compulsory, unless some
further modification of the Order takes place, after
March, 1906. We need, however, for the present
only concern ourselves with Clause 4, which deals
with existing teachers.
As regards such teachers, there were up to July
two requirements, viz., an approved examination
equivalent in general to the Intermediate Arts or
Intermediate Science standard of the University
of London, and an experience of three years in a
recognised, 7.¢., secondary, school. Although about
3,000 teachers are already registered under these
conditions, abundant evidence has been forth-
coming to show that many excellent teachers, and
indeed sections of teachers, would be excluded if
both these conditions were insisted upon. For
instance, the academic qualification bears with
special hardship on experienced women teachers,
inasmuch as the universities have not provided
equal facilities for women as for men. After 1906
this diffculty can be reasonably provided for by
scheduling the certificates approved for this pur-
pose. The second condition presses with hardship
upon teachers in private schools, since these schools
having been hitherto exempt, both in theory and
practice, from inspection, find it difficult all at once
to fulfil the conditions for recognition. By 1906
these conditions will be sufficiently well known,
and this difficulty also will have been reduced to
very small proportions.
Of another class of teachers to whom registra-
tion will be specially valuable, viz., governesses
and teachers of private students, it is not too much
to say that the original regulations ignored their
existence. The Order had too exclusive a regard
to the qualifications held desirable for boys’
schools of a public type, aided or aidable by grants
from local authorities.
The latest amendments change all this, and it is
hardly too much to say that the modifications
revolutionise the regulations in a sense favourable
to existing teachers, and it cannot be doubted
that full advantage. will be taken of the two
main concessions before, having served their
purpose, they are withdrawn in 1905 and 1906
respectively.
It will be convenient to deal with the modifica-
tions in the Order of the two clauses most con-
cerned. In Clause 4 the requirement of three
F F
358 The
School World
[OcToBER, 1903.
years’ continuous experience of a recognised, t.e.,
secondary, school remains, with this alternative—
‘tor for periods amounting altogether to not less than three years
under circumstances which, in the opinion of the registration
authority, render the periods equivalent to a period of three
years next preceding application.”
Here the Registration Council, referred to above
as the registration authority, has discretion to
sanction breaks in continuity of teaching, owing to
such circumstances as illness, absence for study,
change of school, &c. Thus each case as regards
the three years’ experience will be taken on its
merits. The flexibility of this regulation is thus
greatly increased by a change which at first sight
seems almost unimportant, but which in practice
proved an absolute bar to many applicants.
The principal concession, however, is to be
found in sub-section (b) to Clause 5, a section
originally framed to admit to the register men and
women of rare and exceptional merit as teachers
who had for some reason omitted to acquire the
necessary qualifications. This power remains, but
a new sub-section empowers the registration au-
thority, until March, 1905, to admit any person
to the register who does not fulfil all the conditions
of registration, but
“has had experience, extending over a period of not less than
ten years, of teaching (other than teaching in an elementary
school or teaching of a purely elementary character), and has in
their opinion shown ability to teach.”
This sub-section gives the Registration Council
a very free hand indeed, but it is to be noted that
their discretion is limited in two important par-
ticulars: inthe first place, it has a very short time
limit, viz., to March 31st, 1905, not 1906 as might
have been expected; and secondly, the applicant
must be able to prove not less than ten years
of secondary experience, that is, either in a
secondary school or in secondary teaching. It
will be obvious enough that the determination
of what in individual cases is to be considered
secondary, as distinct from elementary, experience
will not be an easy matter, and if the Registration
Council had preferred their own ease to pro-
fessional and other considerations, they have been
badly advised to seek the wide discretion conferred
by this change.
It may be hoped, however, that the means
which the Council is taking to discharge faith-
fully its new obligation will commend themselves
to those for whose benefit the new sub-section
has been framed. The Council has drawn up a
special Application Form for Registration under the
new sub-section. Following its previous practice,
the Form is numbered as in the Order itself.
It is therefore called Form 5 (2) (b), and teachers
who are qualified under this clause and not under
one of the previous Clauses 3 or 4 are recom-
mended to apply for this Form without delay to the
a Statutory Declaration for use in certain cases.
If the ten years’ service has been held at a school
recognised for the purpose of registration of teachers by
the Board of Education (and, in cases of doubt
whether a certain school has or has not been
recognised, enquiry should be made of Secretary,
Board of Education, South Kensington) there will
be no need to use the Declaration. But in cases
where certificates of service are not forthcoming
by reason of death of the principal, of closing of
the school, &c., the applicant himself is required
to state on oath before a Justice of the Peace or
a Commissioner for Oaths that the statements
made by the applicant are correct. It may be
noted that if the Declaration be made before a
J.P. no charge is made, if before a Commissioner
the charge is 1s. 6d.; in addition the stamp costs
2s. 6d. Some teachers may perhaps feel objection
to the Statutory Declaration, but it is not easy to
work out any simpler plan by which a body like
the Registration Council, with this duty to perform,
can satisfy the profession. and the public that the
function has been discharged adequately and
impartially. It is possible that the difficulty in
some cases caused by the requirement to produce
evidence satisfactory to the Council ‘‘ of ability to
teach ” may lead to the appointment of Inspectors
for the purpose. In such cases, however, a special
additional fee would probably have to be charged,
for the present fees are by no means adequate
to meet the current expenses for salaries, rent,
publication of the register, and ordinary printing.
With regard to Column A, it may be noted that
no question about the registration on this Column
comes before the Council, all such questions being
determined solely by the Board of Education,
which sends to the Council the names. There are
many teachers who, though teaching in public
elementary schools, claim to be admitted to Column
B. Hitherto non-recognition by the Board of the
school has proved an effective bar to admission.
The Board itself, however, accords its recognition
to each School of Science, as, for instance, that
contained in the Leeds Higher Grade School, and
every teacher in all such schools is qualified to go
on Column B. It is certain that under the re-
organisation which the Education Acts, 1902 and
1903, render necessary, many schools lately under
School Boards will become recognised as secondary
schools. We have before us a Report made to the
Education Committee on the Secondary and
Higher Education of the City of Shefheld, by Prof.
M. E. Sadler (Eyre and Spottiswoode, tfs.), in
which occurs the following sentence :—
“ By reason of its convenient situation and close connection
with the public elementary schools of the city, the present
Central School should, in my opinion, be converted into a
secondary school of the kind described in the foregoing para-
graphs. As part of their general scheme for the improvement of
secondary education in Shetheld, I think that the City Educa-
tion Committee should approach the Board of Education for
Wants 2 1z Y sa : ‘ ; í
Registrar, 49 and 50, Parliament Street, London, | recognition of the Central School, which is at present carried
S.W. When they receive it they will find that this
Form differs from the other Forms in its providing
on under the Higher Elementary School Minute as a secondary
school” (p. 30). .
OcTOBER, 1903.]
If this be done, and if this policy be in general
adopted, the Register by its Columns A and B
wili find itself in complete adininistrative accor-
dance with the new Education Act, which diffe-
rentiates the form of administration of elementary
from that of higher education.
One word in conclusion is necessary with regard
to the “ supplemental registers for teachers of
music, drawing, physical training, manual instruc-
tion, cookery, needlework ” [Clause 6,. For these
the regulations are not completed, but it cannot be
doubted that the Consultative Committee, which
in the first instance has the matter in hand, will
endeavour to apply to these subjects the main
principles which have commended themselves to
them in the formation of Columns A and B.
These principles are two: first, that the applicant
for registration in each subject must possess
adequate knowledge, training and experience in
teaching ; and secondly, that for a limited period
the requirement of training will not be compulsory
and the minimum attainments test will probably
be of an easier standard than that for admission
after the expiration of the allotted term of grace.
PASS GEOMETRY AT OXFORD AND
CAMBRIDGE.
Ky Epwarkp M. LANGLEY, M.A.
Bedford Modern School.
O long as the changes sanctioned by the
universities affected only their non-gremial
examinations, the success of reformers,
though considerable, was still partial, in its range.
It was considerable, for the many secondary
schools whose curriculum is based on the regula-
tions for ‘“ the Locals” have’come under the new
influence at once, but it was partial, because those
trained in the great Public Schools who did not
look forward to enter the services, might still
be taught to regard the reproduction of L:uclid’s
text as the ultimate aim of geometrical teaching.
The adoption of the report of the Syndicate
appointed at Cambridge to consider ‘what changes,
if any, are desirable in the regulations that affect
the mathematical portions of the Pass Examina-
tions” (see THE ScHooL Worp for June, 1903),
following the announcement of the corresponding
changes in the examination for Kesponsions, so
nearly completes the success of the movement for
reform, so far as alterations in regulations are con-
cerned, as to afford a favourable opportunity for
taking a general view of the position created by
the changes made, and for considering the way in
which teachers should carry on their work, if the
full possible advantage is to be gained from the
concessions made by the authorities. —
It is important that they should be guided, not
merely by the letter, but by the spirit of these
regulations. The mere fact that certain useless
or mischievous propositions of Book I. may now
be omitted, while certain others not in the
The School World ©
359
“ Elements” have to be looked upon as part of
the ordinary book-work, is of small importance
compared with the recognition by the highest
authority of the opinon ‘strongly held by ex-
perienced teachers, that this study (t.e , of formal
demonstrative geometry) would be rendered more
effective by some preliminary and concurrent work
in practical geometry.” Personally, I hold the
preliminary to be of even greater importance than
the concurrent. The preliminary work will be to a
great extent work by the teachers of the lower forms
with their pupils ; it will consist very little of work
set by them to their pupils; and cannot be done by
putting a text-book in the hands of the pupils
and telling them to do this or that exercise. It
cannot even be done by getting up a lesson from
a text-book for reproduction to a class, though
some admirable text-books exist, which should be
carefully studied.
It will be convenient here to notice the two-
fold nature of this preliminary work. It 1s some-
times spoken of as experimental, sometimes as
practical, These are not two different names for
the same thing, but the names of two different
things, both of which should precede courses of
formal demonstration. The “ experimental” is
that begun in the kindergarten. At this stage
the child is made to handle the simpler solids,
and to observe some of their more obvious pro-
perties: to notice the simpler plane geometrical
figures, not only of specially shaped cards and
papers, but also of the common objects of the
class room and the street; to see that il y a de
géométrie partout, to get some ideas of measure-
ment, to use technical terms correctly. The term
practical seems to imply the actual use of instru-
ments for definite geometrical constructions by
the pupil himself. Using the terms thus, we see
that the erpertmental should precede and accom-
pany the practical, just as both should precede
and accompany formal demonstrative geometry.
They are to be regarded as intended to lead up to
the demonstrative course, and should be arranged
with that object in view. Hence a great deal of
informal demonstration should accompany both ;
the teacher should lose no opportunity of getting
his pupils to deduce consequences from principles
already known. ‘The course should be looked
upon as preliminary not merely to mathematical
training, but to any scientific training worthy of the
name. |
It is true that the regulations can only enforce
the concurrent study of practical geometry, but I
believe they will be found to lead, in many cases
directly, in more indirectly, to the systematic
institution of preliminary work. Those responsible
for the preparation of classes for examination will
not be slow to perceive that a great deal may and
should be done to prepare their pupils for profiting
by the demonstrative course, and they will use
their influence (if they are wise they will try also
to use that of their science colleagues) in trying to
get much of the experimental and practical work
done beforehand. They will desire this preparation,
not to save themselves work, but to render their
360
The School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
work more effective; it should be their task only to
revise and complete it, and to join it on to the
deductive work. But while we may fairly expect
that in a not very distant future it will be the rule
rather than the exception, that the lower forms
should be taken through courses of practical and
experimental geometry before they are allowed to
attempt any formal course of deduction, it is,
unfortunately, certain, that for some time to come
many will be found whose training in this respect
has been very faulty, or completely neglected.
Hence the teacher must lose no opportunity of
illustrating his theoretical work by practice and
experiment.
Coming to the demonstrative course, I would
urge the importance of not delaying long over the
earlier theorems. Much harm is done to begin-
ners by keeping them too long over these, under
an entirely erroneous notion of the importance of
thoroughness. Sound ideas of the nature of geo-
metrical deduction, and ability to perform it, are
much more likely to arise from a rapid course
through the essential theorems of Book 1., followed
by a closer and more careful one, than by tedious
and deadening iteration of propositions 4 and 5.
The best plan, I believe, is to get on as quickly as
possible to the propositions on equality of areas,
for the reasoning in these seems more readily appre-
ciated than that in the earlier ones. If the subject
matter of Book I. is to be taken as a year’s work,
at least one half of it should be traversed in the
first term, the other half, with repetition of the
first, Should be taken the second term; the third
term should be occupied by revision of the whole.
In the first term there should be very little writing
out but much questioning, short trains of unpre-
pared deduction should be started and followed,
both directly and inversely. The time devoted to
writing out must be greater in the second term,
and must be used for riders as well as for book
work ; in the third term writing out will play a
still more important part.
I suggest the following scheme of work as one
that may be more or less closely adopted under
present conditions. It will be seen that, though it
goes beyond the limits of Responsions and the
Previous, it 1s about that for the highest papers in
the Locals. The Books of the “ Elements” are
named for convenience: it is to be understood
that those propositions are to be omitted which
the authorities no longer require.
The following table will probably appear ambi-
tious tosome, and too narrowly conceived to others.
That with a staff of zealous and enlightened
teachers for all the forms it is now possible, I am
convinced. But its possibility depends on good
work in the very lowest forms, and on each master
doing what he can to meet new requirements, in
spite of all discouragements. Too much must not
be expected at first. The teachers of the lower
forms have to deal with a great variety of subjects;
in many cases they have only received a faulty
geometrical training themselves, and have had
neither time, opportunity, inclination, nor induce-
ment to fit themselves for the work now required
of them, if the scientific and mathematical work
in the upper forms is to be as efficient as it ought
to be. Those schools will succeed best whose
headmasters and governors are enlightened enough
to offer such salaries as will enable them to engage
trained teachers for the very lowest work.
Age. Demonstrative Course. | Concurrent Practical Course.
| Repetition of preliminary work.
12 Book I.
to ' Numerical work on angles,
13. _Jengths, and areas. Applications
of I. 47 to solutions of numerical
problems on triangles and circles.
13 Book II. treated Problems on similarity and its
to algebraically. connection with equality of area.
14 Books III. and IV.
I4 Proportion of
to ` commensurable
15 magnitudes.
Easy graphs.
Sines, cosines and tangents, with
their application to heights and
distances. Graphs.
15 Trigonometry and , Construction of conics, especially
to elementary so-| by methods of transformation
16 lids. from circle, e.g., Boscovich's.
16 Spherical geome-\ |
to try and mensv- | '
ration. Easy
17
analytical geo-
_ metry and co-
; : urve tracing ; exercises in projec-
| nic sections. Curve tracing ; cises in projec
tive and descriptive geometry.
17 ' Further develop- | |
to . ments of thej.
18 above. Easy |
calculus.
—_— i - —— ee ee Sas,
As to text-books, my own opinion is that up to
the time of beginning his formal demonstrative
course the pupil need have no text-book, though
the teacher will probably find it best to use the
course of some particular book in order to make
his work systematic. But he ‘should not be a
man of one book ; he should be ready to seize upon
and fit into his class work any good idea which
he comes across in his reading. Among current
text-books that can be recommeded for the ex-
perimental and practical course are Sundara
Row’'s “ Exercises in Paper Folding ;” Spencer’s
‘‘Inventional Geometry;” Mault’s ‘ Natural
Geometry ; ” Paul Bert’s “ Experimental Geo-
metry ;” Eggar’s “ Practical Exercises in Geo-
metry ;” Warren’s ‘‘ Experimental and Theoretical
Course of Geometry;” Barnard and Child’s
“New Geometry for Schools;’’ Godfrey and
Siddons’ *“ Elementary Geometry;” Pickel’s
“« Geometrie der Volksschule ; ” Pressland’s ‘* Geo-
metrical Drawing ;” Harrison’s ‘ Practical Plane
and Solid Geometry.” Some older works, now
out of print, and to be picked up occasionally for
a few pence, are worth having, e.g., Dupin’s
“ Geometry of the Arts ” and Pasley’s ‘“ Complete
Course of Practical Geometry.”
As soon, however, as a boy is fit to begin a
course of formal demonstration, he is fit to begin to
use a text-book, or at any rate to begin to learn how
OCTOBER, 1903.]
to use it. However excellent oral instruction may
be, there can, for older pupils, easily be too much
of it. As they grow older they should be learning
more and more how to find out their own way ;
otherwise they will be helpless when they have no
longer the teacher to rely on. To make his pupils
able to use a text-book intelligently is an aim always
to be kept in view by a good teacher. The text-book
Should not only contain the course of book work
necessary for the particular examination in view,
but also suggestive notes and searching questions.
Above all, it should point the way to the higher
developments of its subject. Any good edition of
the “ Elements” may, with judicious excisions
and additions, be used as a text-book for the
courses laid down by the universities, and it is
probable that many teachers will prefer a book
to which they have been accustomed, and in which
they know whereabouts to go for special exercises
and important addenda. Even those who are
anxious to change will in many cases wait uill the
copious issue of text-books adapted to the new
conditions has somewhat slackened, and will only
make their choice after careful comparison of the
many proposed substitutes for Euclid. Of these it
is not intended to speak here otherwise than gene-
rally. Several of them seem excellent. Most of
them, with a good teacher, would be found service-
able. Which is the best for any given teacher
for his classes to use must be determined, to a
great extent, by the aim he has in view. The
time has, perhaps, hardly come for a final decision ;
but it seems fairly obvious that the disappearance
of the “ Elements,” though likely to be gradual and
delayed for some years, is now only a matter of
time.
So far, only the more immediate and direct
effects on class work of the changes in examina-
tion have been considered; and those for Pass
Geometry at the Universities have been treated
as merely extending an influence already in opera-
tion. But it should be noted that they are certain
to have effects on mathematical education more re-
mote than those hitherto considered, but ultimately
very far-reaching. For the pass men of Oxford and
Cambridge supply to a great extent the teaching
staff of the secondary schools. That examina-
tions in geometry have been so limited in range,
and so inadequate in treatment, was to be deplored,
on account of their direct effect on the candidates
for degrees. It was, however, still more to be
deplored, on account of their indirect effects on the
classes unfortunate enough to be under the charge
of men whose range of vision had been limited
by such a despicable modicum of requirements.
As these had learnt, so it was only natural they
should teach, without interest in the subject and
therefore without the power of inspiring it in their
pupils. We may now feel assured that this cause
of geometrical stagnation has been removed. We
may even hope that the scheme of work which I
have ventured to sketch out may, in a not very
distant future, seem as antiquated and cramped
as it now too probably seems to many teachers
revolutionary and ambitious.
The School World
361
COPY-BOOKS AND PENMANSHIP IN
THE SCHOOL.
By J. W. JARVIS.
St. Mark’s College, Chelsea, S.W.
Ambidextrous Writing —Should boys and girls be taught
different styles ?—Mulhauscr and Jacotot's Methods
—The connection between Drawing and Writing—
Writing in the Modern Secondary School.
R. JOHN JACKSON, who established the
M system of vertical writing in 1886, has
devised a remarkable method of writing
in which arrangements are made for practice with
the left hand as well as the right. As facility
is acquired both hands are expected to write at the
same time. The next most natural step is that
the matter written by each hand shall be different,
and thus we may have the right hand copying out
phrases in English while the left is writing a series
of notes in history. This is probably the most
startling development of penmanship yet pro-
posed, but though it is very desirable—highly
desirable, in fact—that the power of using the left
hand should be more cultivated, yet the value toa
learner of doing two things at once has to be most
carefully assessed. That never-ceasing activity
which we are told is the soul of business is
possibly not the best motto for the temple of
learning, and it is still a true maxim for the
schoolroom that “ La gradation et la répétition,
sagement entendues, sont l'âme de l'enseignement.”
Questions have been asked as to whether boys
and girls should be taught separate styles of
writing. In the past they have been, and the
old-fashioned ladies’ hands and angular hands,
products of the finishing school, used to be very
familiar to those who had the privilege of corre-
sponding with their grandmothers. This was not
originally the case. Boys and girls were taught
alike in 1800, and we are reverting to this again.
There is no physiological reason for any difference,
and, as far as can be seen, there is only one series of
copy-books, “ Lennox’s Newnham Copy-books,”’
published by Allman and Son, which is designed
for this purpose, and a pen specially made for this
style of writing is also sold. In schools where
both sexes are taught together no distinction 1s
made, and the boys and girls use the same copy-
book or follow the same copy from the blackboard.
Some very clear writing is sent up by the female
candidates for Civil Service appointments, and the
modern young woman rather prides herself on
writing a masculine hand. Careless women sprawl
and spread out their words, but this is probably
due to the fact that they write. what they think
without thinking of what they write, and no amount
of early training in penmanship will cure this.
Many methods of teaching writing have been
proposed, but two stand out prominently under
the names of their authors, Mulhauser and Jacotot.
362
In 1829 M. Mulhauser' was appointed Inspector of
Writing by the Primary Schools Commission of
Geneva. He found the writing very bad and the
teaching unmethodical, and he at once determined
to place the teaching of writing in the schools
under his control upon a rational basis. He
reduced the written letters into four elementary
parts: (1) the straight line made by upward or
downward motion; (2) the curve line either single
as in the letter c, or double, as in the letter o;
(3) the loop turned upwards, as in the letters e, f,
and downwards as in g, J; (4) the crotchet, as in the
last part of the letters 7, b, «,v. Two other terms
were also used: the link, a fine curve descending
from the right line and continued upwards to the
half height, as in the curved portions of the letter
u, and the hook, another fine curve, commencing at
the half height and curving round into a descending
right line, as in the commencement of the letters n
and m. The letters were then arranged according
Fic. 1.—Mulhauser’s Rhomboids.
to their construction, beginning with the simplest
and proceeding in regular series to the most
complex, thus :—
Right line and link letters—z, u, t, l.
Hook, right line and link letters—x, m, h, p.
Curve letters—c, o, e.
Double curve and right line letters—a, d, q.
Loop letters—y, g, y.
Crotchet Jetters—d, f, v, r, w.
Complex letters—A, s, x, z.
In order to secure uniformity, Mulhauser devised
a series of rhomboids by which the exact shape of
each letter could be determined and the slightest
error discovered and corrected.
In these rhomboids the horizontal lines determine
the heignt, and the oblique lines the slope of each
letter, whilst the middle horizontal lines fix the
position of most of the joinings. The slope is
about 60° from the horizontal, but it may be
1 M. Mulhauser must not be confused with Richard Mulcaster (1530 %-
1611), the first Headmaster of Merchant Taylors’ School and High Master of
St. Paul's School, 1566. In his * Elementaire or First Steps in Education,’
he sketched an excellent all-round education for body and mind and
anticipated many of th cnewest ideas of our own day.
| The School World
— ee p
SS a
—
[OcTOBER, 1903.
made more upright, according to the wish of the
writer. .
Each lesson consisted of two parts, theoretical
and practical. In the former, or ‘‘study at the
circles,” the pupils learnt the terms used in
describing the letters and the instructions re-
specting heights, spaces, &c. These were explained
and illustrated on a blackboard. In the practical,
or “study at the desks,” the children were called
upon to write according to a dictation of the
elements of the letters, thus: double curve, straight
line two heights, link (d) straight line, link (f)
curve, link (c) straight line height and a half, link,
bar (t), double curve, straight line, link (a), straight
line height and a half, link, bar (¢t) loop, curve,
link (e), the whole forming the word dictate. After-
wards words were written from the models.
Mulhauser’s mode is an excellent one so far as
an analysis of form and as a definite style of
making, spacing and joining letters. It should be
thoroughly known by every teacher, but it is not
necessarily the scheme every teacher should adopt.
For a further description of this method, Mr.
Cowham’s manual on this subject, published by
the Westminster School Book Depét, Horseferry
Road, S.W., 1s., is strongly recommended.
At the opposite pole stands Jacotot’s! method.
He placed immediately before the beginner a com-
plete sentence either written by the master or
engraved in small hand, and required him to copy
this Such a sentence was generally selected from
the pupil’s reading lesson, the two exercises being
made to assist each other. When a word was
finished the pupil was instructed to compare in
detail his performance with the copy, and the
principle insisted upon was that the pupil always
corrects himself. The whole word is then written
over again, and subjected to the same rigid in-
vestigation until the pupil learns to correct in a
greater or less degree every fault as previously
noticed by himself. He then goes on to the
second word, and so on with regard to the rest of
the sentence. When a sentence or two has been
transcribed tolerably well he is required to write
from memory, and afterwards note his faults by
comparison with the original copy. After some
considerable practice in writing small-hand he is
carried on to exercises in the bolder styles of
writing, and the further principle is impressed
upon him that he can never perform anything so
well but that with more pains he may perform it
better.
This method demands too much from young
children, and it fails to cultivate that particular
kind of intelligence which a good writing method
should cultivate, viz., the intelligence of form. It
is now very rarely used by teachers, but children if
left to themselves will occasionally adopt it because
of the interest they naturally take in the endeavour
to write down their own thoughts, or at least
something which they understand. It has for
many children the same charm as drawing, and
1 Jacotot, 1770-1840, was Professor of the Method of Sciences at Dijon,
and afterwards Professor of the French Language and Literature at the
University of Louvain, Belgium.
OcTOBER, 1903. ]
The School World
363
practically for the same mental reasons. This
connection, however, between drawing and writing,
though pointed out by Mulcaster as ‘cousins
germain ” and by modern teachers, is not quite so
close, and too much is probably made of the value
of drawing as an assistance to writing. Asa train-
ing of the eye, drawing is an aid, but not in the
training of the hand. In drawing the touch is
tirm, the pressure uniform, and the movements
comparatively slow. In writing the touch is
elastic, the pressure variable, and the movements
rapid. Boys, and even men, who draw well some-
times find it a difficulty to write well.
The teacher in a modern secondary school is in
a most difficult position with regard to the art of
writing. The pupils who enter have learnt to
write by all sorts of methods, and there are as
many styles of writing in an average Form I. as
there are pupils. Probably the best thing to do is
DPE AL fy
PBR I Keo
AMV WN
COE O X
J
D I U UY Ù
Fic. 2.—Capital Letters (from Allman's Public School Writing-book.)
to have a course of writing lessons in text-hand
during the whole year. Text-hand is roughly
three-eighths of an inch in height, or about the
space between the lines on a sheet of foolscap.
This brings the class together, and is large enough
for the teacher to detect false joinings, irregular
and ragged strokes and badly formed curves.
Copies should be written on the blackboard
{writing charts are not recommended), and, fol-
lowing Jacotot’s plan, simple sentences are to be
preferred to uninteresting and unmeaning words.
[Note: The use of long and out-of-the-way words,
merely because they begin with a certain letter,
and will fill up a line, is absurd. “ Zumiologist,”
‘‘opinionist ” and ‘‘inodochium”’ are instances.]
Moral truisms and doubtful maxims are also much
best abandoned.
In Form II. the practice of small-hand may be
adopted, care being taken that it is not too small.
Between two and three-sixteenths of an inch isa
suitable size. Here attention should be paid to
the correct formation of all the capital letters in
large hand, and, following Mulcaster’s system, these
should be classified. Mr. J. Cowham has arranged
them for teaching purposes as in Fig. 2.
Transcription, that is, writing from printed
letters, should be taken regularly, and this may
occasionally be interrupted for lessons given in
copying from good models.
In Form III. the same plan may be adopted.
The number of lessons from copies should be
reduced, and writing from memory should be
substituted for transcription. And here may it be
pointed out that I trust no teacher will vex himself
or his pupils over the question of handwriting.
Insist upon a real effort being made each time the
pen is used, tolerate no scribble, mark the faults
carefully—those which are common explain by
exaggerated examples on the blackboard, and
encourage each pupil to do his best. <A few
complimentary words to those who are taking
pains will do more to raise the level of writing in
the whole form than any number of formal lessons
and theoretical instruction. It should always be
borne in mind that progress in writing is a personal
thing, and that some children require more atten-
tion than others. Above all, do not insist on
elaborate instructions about holding the pen. In
one of the most recent text-books on ‘ School
Management for Elementary Teachers” it 1s stated
that every lesson should begin with penholding
drill until the children have acquired the habit of
doing it automatically, and for this end no less
than fourteen commands are suggested. The first
directs the pen to be taken up by the left hand,
which is not removed until the sixth command,
and the last and final one is ‘‘ heads up.” These
excessively trivial orders are most fortunately
forgotten, and the late Sir Joshua Fitch has said
with truth that gaucherie and bad attitude may be
pointed out in special cases, but there is no harm
in allowing different modes of handling a pen or
pencil so long as the writing produced is good.
No formal writing -lessons are necessary in
Forms IV., V. or VI., and as a subject it may
very rightly disappear from the time table. But
it should not disappear from the cognisance of the
teacher. Carefully written exercises in every
subject should be demanded, and scribble should
never be accepted. Excessive note-taking and
written impositions should be prohibited, and the
master should take care not to dictate at a greater
speed than a fluent penman can acquire. Parents
complain that writing is not taught in our
secondarv schools. It is taught in the lower forms,
but the mischief is done in the higher part of the
school, where written examinations are much in
vogue. It should be our aim to turn our pupils
out writing a firm hand, easy to read, pleasant to
look at, and, if possible, betraying some of the
characteristics of the writer.
In my first article in the September issue, there
is an ambiguity which may lead readers to think
that Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston and Co.
contemplate publishing a series of semi-vertical
364 The
copy books. They have no intention whatever of
issuing a semi-vertical or other sloping-writing
copy books, and | regret that the error inadver-
tently crept in.
SCIENCE IN A LIBERAL EDUCATION.
By the Rev. A. H. Fısh, B.A., B.Sc.
Arnold [louse School, Chester.
N drawing up, or choosing, a scheme for science-
teaching, the teacher has to consider not only
what is best from a scientific, or educational,
point of view, but also what is best suited to the
conditions, under which, and to the object for
which, the teaching is given. The scheme briefly
described in this article has grown up to meet
conditions which have faced the writer for the last
fifteen years. It is possible that some of these may
be peculiar, but others must be fairly common in
good secondary schools.
Such are the following :—(1) The time given to
science—say physics—cannot be more for the
particular form than two hours per week. (2) The
pupils taught, boys or girls, are not wholly, or
even mainly, dependent upon their science lessons
for mental training or culture. (3) The teaching
in science is to harmonise as far as possible with
the teaching in other subjects. (4) The majority
of the class will cease their liberal education
at 17 years of age or less, and then pass to their
special training for professional or business life.
Now under these conditions we do not want,
even if we had the time to give it, the sort of train-
ing in science that is given in a South Kensington
“« school of science,” or on a modern side, in which
several hours a week can be devoted to the sub-
ject. On the other hand, we want our science
teaching to be, so far as it goes, as good as it
can be made. We want it to give a real insight
into the methods of science, as well as some
knowledge of its most important results. We do
not need a logical and text-book-like coherence, nor
a. Euclidean completeness.
pupils to fill up minor gaps for themselves. We
want a real bird’s-eye view, in which great results
and methods stand out clearly and boldly, and are
not blurred by a mass of detail. After all, the
balance and the burette, the finding of volumes
and densities, have played a very small part in the
history of physics, and much exercise in them
helps very little to a clear understanding of modern
discoveries 1n optics and electricity. The writer
has a very high opinion of what is called the
“heuristic” method-—it would be better to call it the
“natural” method—but it is at present too closely
associated with an instrument and processes of no
very great importance in physics. But in any case,
this method is out of court in the case supposed.
It takes too much time. In these circumstances it
School World
We can trust our
[OcToBER, 1903.
may be partly set aside in favour of another method
hardly less natural. For many years the writer
has been in the habit of giving to middle forms
lessons, which have followed fairly closely the
history of physical science, and have been accom-
panied by a good deal of biographical and descrip-
tive matter. He has found these very successful,
and out of them has gradually grown up a set, or
series of sets of lessons, of one of which a
syllabus is given below. The twelve lessons in
that set have been given (1) to pupils who have
done little or no systematic science, but have some
knowledge of mathematics, languages, and history;
(2) to others who have had about a year’s labora-
tory work, but no systematic descriptive lessons in
science. The lessons are illustrated by lantern
slides (places and portraits, as well as diagrams),
and by experiments. Great pains are taken with
the latter, that they may be clear, interesting atid
impressive. Each lesson is grouped round one or
two of these experiments, and they are sur-
rounded, so far as may be, with the historic
conditions under which they were originally per-
formed. If an instance—pehaps an extreme one
—may be given, it was not thought too much
trouble, or too pedantic, in explaining the prin-
ciple of Archimedes to make a crown of lead
alloyed with a little zinc or tin, and to balance
it in air and water against an ingot of lead
of the same mass. Each lesson occupies about
three-quarters of an hour, and is followed either at
once, or on the next day, by a laboratory exercise.
Each pair of students is supplied with an apparatus
complete in itself, with a printed card of directions.
A printed syilabus of each lesson is given out at
its commencement. These are intended to indicate
the order of thought followed in the lesson, and to
furnish the pupil with a skeleton, which in writing
out his notes and essays he may clothe with detail.
Description of experiments and titles of lantern-
slides are purposely omitted, as these should be
remembered. Both syllabuses of lessons and
practice involve rather more than can be done in
the time. But the pupils have access to Miss
Buckley's ‘‘ History of Natural Science,” Lodge’s
“Pioneers of Science,” and Cajori’s ‘* History of
Physics,” and it is generally found that pupils will
give up some of their own time to finish the
experiments. With a slow class one or more of
the lessons may be divided, and a revision lesson
is intercalated from time to time, in which proofs,
formulae, and problems are dealt with. For the
lessons on Galileo, slides may be obtained from
Messrs. Wilson, of Aberdeen, including a portrait,
and a photograph of the famous swinging chan-
delier.
For information in the case of these two lessons
the writer has used the article ‘‘Galileo” in the
“ Encyclopaedia Britannica,” Mach’s ‘ Principles
of Mechanics,” and above all the invaluable trans-
lation of Galileo’s ‘“ Dialogues,” Nos. 11, 24, 25,
in Ostwald’s ‘“ Klassiker der exakten Wissen-
schaften.” The illustration given is of a catheto-
meter-stand, made and used by these classes for
measuring and suspending pendulums, extension
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
The School World 365
eee KD
springs, barometers, Boyle’s Law tubes, &c. The
set-square slides along the
measure, and gives mea-
surements to tenth mm.
without parallax.
TWELVE Lessons IN
ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL
SCIENCE—HIsTORICAL AND
Descriptive.—(i.) Galileo
and the swinging lamp.
(ii.) Galileo and the Tower
of Pisa. (iii.) Sir Isaac
Newton and the apple.
(iv.) Archimedes and
Hiero’s crown. (v.) Galileo
and the well - sinkers —
Torricelli’s and Pascal’s ex-
periments. (vi.) Guericke
and the air pump. (vii.)
The spring of the air.
(vili.) Telescopes and
microscopes. (ix.) New-
ton’s prism, and what it
showed him. (x.) Black
and the melting of ice.
(x1.) The beginnings of
electricity—Gilbert, Frank-
lin, Galvani, Volta. (xii.)
The conservation of energy.
Lesson L.—GALILEO AND THRE SWINGING LAMP 1N THE
CATHEDRAL OF PISA.
Beginnings of Natural Science about 300 Years ago. —Reasons
why it was so late in the history of the world before men began
to study nature, and why progress since has been so rapid.
(i.) Men’s attention occupied with themselves, their own
minds and their own creations. Thus— Art, Literature, Philoso-
phy, Architecture, precede Science.
(ii.) The maze of Nature. Necessity for some clue or clues
before any progress could be made. First of the clues not dis-
covered ull about 17th century. Order of the sciences :—
astronomy, mechanics, physics, chemistry, biology.
Fundamental Ideas of Physics.—-Space, time, motion, mass,
force, energy. First clues found in correct understanding and
measurement of the simplest of these.
Hence Galileo the founder of Modern Physical Science.
Galileo Galiler—(1564-1042).—World in Galileo’s day. Italy,
England, Pisa, Florence. Galtleo’s youth. University of Pisa.
Cathedral of Pisa, the swinging lamp, 1583. The pendulum.
Law of equal periods. Experimental illustrations. Nature of
time. Ancient methods of measuring time. Modern methods.
Application of pendulum to clocks. Other bodies oscillating in
the same way. Relation between seconds pendulum and mean
solar day. Further study of laws of pendulum. Length pro-
portional to square of time. Period independent of mass if
length constant. |
Experimental Work on Simple Pendulum. Directions.
(i.) Level apparatus so that support is vertical and plumb-line
same distance from scale at top and bottom.
(ii.) Arrange pendulum to beat seconds—the point will just
not touch the card ; set it swinging in oscillations of about 2 in.
and following as nearly as possible a straight line ruled on the
card. Count with stop-watch number of oscillations in a minute
and time of 100 oscillations. Measure length with set-square
provided. ,
(iii.) Shorten pendulum to one-fourth previous length and
count in same way.
(iv.) Repeat observations for four lengths between these two.
(v.) Arrange the six results thus! :—
I.
No. of Swings a Length of Pen- ;
(2) per min. dulum (2) ga
TET Length
in suni.
(vi.) Plot results on curve-paper provided, taking number of
swings in 10”, or time of 10 swings.
IRISH EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS.
H E number of associations specially concerned
with intermediate and secondary education in
. Ireland at the present time is a good sign of
the growing interest in educational problems.
Ireland has much leeway to make up in the organi-
sation and development of her education, and the
more varied the minds brought to bear upon the
problems involved, and the more diverse the points
of view, the more likely the ultimate solution is to
be complete and satisfactory. Some of the associa-
tions are almost new, and some of the older ones
have found it proper to renew their youth by striking
out in fresh directions. The fact is, educational re-
form is in the air, and teachers and others specially
concerned feel it more and more incumbent def-
nitely to formulate their views. It is further of
some account to observe that the aims of the
various associations are not necessarily divergent,
aud that on more than one occasion they have
shown a decided tendency to work together. In
truth, although in the past there may have been an
inclination to look askance at one another, they are
beginning to see that teachers of all denominations
and classes have mére objects in common than at
variance, and that it is best, in the immediate
present and future at all events, to strive for what
is mutually beneficial.
The oldest of the bodies we are here concerned
with is the “ Schoolmasters’ Association,” which is
now carried on under the amended rules of 1553.
Its avowed objects are: (1) To advance the in-
terests of upper-class schools in Ireland, and (2)
Part I.
1 Gregory and Simmons’s, t Exercises in Practical Physics.
366
To afford its members the advantage of mutual
counsel and support. Whether or no it was ever
intended to include Roman Catholic schoolmasters,
it is now a distinctly Protestant association, and
consists almost entirely of Protestant headmasters.
Assistant-masters are admitted, but their member-
ship is fenced round with strange conditions: not
more than nine assistant-masters shall at any one
time be members; an assistant-rnaster shall have
been engaged in some one school at least one year
before his election, shall be proposed by his head-
master, shall be a member of some University, and
shall tpso facto cease to be a member on leaving the
post he holds at the time of his election. It has
been the custom of the Schoolmasters’ Association
to meet only once a year, in the last week of
December, in Dublin, and, after the reading of an
address by the president for the year and a discus-
The Very Rev. W. DeLranry, S.J., LL.D.
Chairman of the Catholic Headmasters’ Association.
sion thereupon and upon other matters that may
arise, to dine together in the evening. The rules
provide for special meetings if necessary, but these
have hardly ever been held, any necessary business
being transacted by correspondence between the
various members of the Committee.
past President, Mr. R. M. hares M.A., the
Headmaster of the Academical Institution, Belfast
(who read one of the most interesting papers in
Under the ©
the Educational section, last year, at the meeting `-
of the British Association, in Belfast), and the new
Secretary, elected last December, Mr. H. M'Intosh,
M.A., the Headmaster of the Methodist College,
Belfast, reforms have been introduced, intended to
make the Association more useful and_ better
adapted to impress its views upon public opinion.
It has been found that the last week in December
is not a convenient time for most of the members
The School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
to meet, and it is therefore proposed to add at least
one other meeting, in October, and to make a
special point of holding a well-advertised conference
at which various points of immediate educational
interest and importance will be discussed. In this
way public attention, it is hoped, will be focused
on the aims and policy of the Association and of
schoolmasters generally, and it is greatly to be
desired that this new movement, under the guidance
of the president and secretary, who are so intimate
with intermediate problems, will be a decided
SUCCESS.
The body corresponding to the Schoolmasters’
Association on the Roman Catholic side is the
‘‘ Catholic Headmasters’ Association; ” it is much
younger, but at the same time very energetic and
flourishing, and, outside the Christian Brothers, is
representative of all classes of Roman Catholic
intermediate schools. Its chairman is the presi-
dent of the University College, Stephen's Green,
Dublin, the Very Rev. W. Delany, S.J., LL.D.,
and it is fortunate in possessing an able secretary
in the Very Rev. A. Murphy, St. Munchin’s
College, Limerick. On the University question it
has taken up a very decided position in favour of
a college or university with a Roman Catholic
atmosphere in which it would expect many of the
teachers in Roman Catholic schools to be educated,
and it has gone so far as to maintain that no
system of registration of teachers in secondary
schools should be introduced into Ireland until
such a college or university is established, as in
the meantime there is no proper institution
where Roman Catholic teachers can obtain
degrees. The Association has naturally given a
great deal of attention to criticisms and sugges-
tions on the revised rules and programme of the
Intermediate Board, and has done good service in
pointing out the unsatisfactory relations between
the Commissioners and the schools; to it belongs
the credit of putting forward a suggestion which,
intended to meet the difficulty, was backed up by
other associations and has met with a partial
success; it was that the Intermediate Board
should establish a small consultative committee
representative of various classes of schools, Roman
Catholic and Protestant, to confer with the Com-
missioners as to the effect of suggested reforms.
This proposal was rejected by the Board, but
accepted by the Department of Agriculture and
Technical Instruction, which is responsible for the
rules and programme relating to practical science
and drawing. Representatives of the schools have
met the Department on two occasions, and the
results have been considered very satisfactory.
Working in connection with the Catholic Head-
masters’ Association is a small committee repre-
sentative of a large number of convent schools
throughout the country, so that the Association
speaks not only for the boys’, but also for girls’
schools.
The chief educational association of women in
Ireland is, however, the ‘* Association of Irish
Schoolmistresses, and other ladies interested in edu-
cation.” It was founded in the year 1880, and was
OCTOBER, 1903. |
The School World
formed with the object of promoting the higher
education of women in Ireland, of affording means
of communication and co-operation between school-
mistresses and other ladies interested in education,
and of watching over the interests of girls, espe-
cially with regard to intermediate education and
the Royal University. The work of the Association
has radiated mainly from the Alexandra College
and School in Dublin, the president being Mrs.
Jellett, the widow of the late Provost of ‘Trinity
College ; the Vice-President, Miss H. White, the
Lady Principal of Alexandra College; and the
Honorary Secretaries, Miss A. Oldham, B.A., of
the Alexandra College, and Miss M. Scarlett, M.A.,
of the Alexandra School. The Ulster Association
of Schoolmistresses is also affliated with it, the
Ulster correspondent being Mrs. Byers, of Victoria
College, Belfast. Although including a certain
number of Roman Catholics, the aims of this Asso-
ciation certainly correspond to the Protestant ideals
of higher education for women, as held not only in
Ireland, but in the United Kingdom generally, and
it is a matter of notoriety that the success which
has attended its efforts is very largely due to the
unremitting zeal and energy of Miss Oldham. It
is not possible in this short sketch to give its work
in any detail, but attention may be called to one or
two points. It is very plain to any intelligent
observer that a decided change came over the
recent University Commission in its relation to
the women’s point of view; at first more or less
ignored, in the end women came out triumphant,
and every one of the objects they set themselves to
obtain was, in the final report, completely achieved.
This result was due to the Committee of the Asso-
ciation of Irish Schoolmistresses, who appointed a
representative sub-committee of Royal University
lady graduates, the outcome of which was a well-
organised association of women graduates of the
Royal University, whose deliberately considered
views were too powerful to be ignored. At the
same time the Association has been knocking at the
gates of Trinity College, with a view to the admis-
sion of women to the degrees and other benefits of
Dublin University, and this long-desired object has
this year at last been gained; al] that remains
now is tc devise a feasible scheme for its working.
The Association has, besides, given much time to
intermediate work and to registration; it has bor-
rowed from the Teachers’ Guild a scheme for
medical assistance for its professional members ;
and early this year was successful in persuading
the various educational associations to send repre-
sentatives to a conference to consider the possibility
of obtaining part of the latest development grant
for intermediate schools. Although the conference
did not go so far as the Association might have
desired in the resolutions it adopted, and although
Mr. Wyndham has for the present refused any of
the money to education at all, yet the fact of the
conference was a decided gain; it helped to show
the different associations how far they might act
in unison, and that in many points they have a
common platform. The Association has, lastly,
from time to time organised lectures and courses
of lectures on educational subjects, the most suc-
cessful perhaps being the conference on science
teaching, held last autumn, at which Prof. Arm-
strong, F.R.S., presided over the opening meeting.
The Dublin and Central Irish Branch of the
Teachers’ Guild of Great Britain and Ireland is
the only branch of ‘the Guild in Ireland, and was
founded early in the year 1890. Like the parent
Guild in England, it is open to both sexes, to all
religions, and to teachers of all classes, as well as
to persons who are not teachers, but who are
anxious to promote the objects of the Guild. The
branch has always included some teachers con-
cerned with university work, like the late Prof.
Fitzgerald, and others connected with primary
education, like the Rev. H. Kingsmill Moore,
| D.D., the Principal of the Church of Ireland
Mr. R. M. Jones, M.A.
Past-president of the Schoolmasters’ Association,
Training College, who has in several years been
elected as its chairman. Yet its work has been
mainly to do with intermediate education, its mem-
bership, in spite of its name, being drawn from all
parts of Ireland. The chairman for the present
year is Mr. W. W. Haslett, M.A., Headmaster of
St. Andrew’s College, Dublin ; the vice-chairman,
Mr. J. Moore, B.A., Headmaster of the Masonic
School, Clonskeagh ; and the Secretaries, Mr.
Thompson, M.A., of the High School, and Miss E.
Webb, of the Alexandra School. It is managed
by a council of twenty members. Although only
a branch, it is in its nature almost an independent
body ; it derives, it is true, great advantages from
being in touch with the much larger and more
influential association in England, not only from
308
the distribution of the Guild literature, but by
association with the progress of educational re-
forms and reformers across the water; yet so many
of the problems of Irish teachers differ from those
in England that they must be looked at and treated
from different standpoints. The chief ambition of
the Guild—the creation of a true teaching profes-
sion, brought much nearer in England by the recent
Education Act—is apparently as far off as ever.
While in England, the Secondary Education
Commission took much evidence on the position
and training of teachers, the Intermediate Educa-
tion Commission in Ireland heard evidence on these
questions with reluctance, and dismissed them in
their report in a single sentence. The work, there-
fore, of the Irish branch of the Guild has been to
press the importance of the registration and
organisation of teachers in Ireland: it has at the
same time made many suggestions for reform to
the Intermediate Board; introduced a system of
medical assistance for members who are teachers;
distributed literature on educational probleins, as
well as the “ Guilds Holiday Guides” and
Quarterly, and by means of evening meetings —
endeavoured to spread information on the progress
of education, especially secondary education, in
other countries, to impress on the teacher the
necessity of studying his art as befits an expert,
and to promote discussions on all useful subjects
relating to education. It has been till quite
recently the only association where teachers of
both sexes have met together for these purposes.
Some years ago an association was started, the
headquarters of which were in Cork, to advance in
particular the interests of assistant teachers; it
was called the ‘Association of University and
Intermediate Teachers”; several branches were
formed and a congress was held in Dublin, but the
only branch of which anything has been heard
during the last year or two is that in Dublin, the
president of which is Mr. Condon, an assistant-
master at St. Vincent's College, Castleknock, and
the secretary, Mr. P. J. Dempsey, an assistant-
master at Belvidere College, Dublin. The Associa-
tion is open to all assistant teachers in schools
preparing for university and intermediate exami-
nations in Ireland, without distinction of religion.
Its immediate object is to improve the position,
tenure, salaries and prospects of assistants, and
it is naturally greatly in favour of registration.
Thereis no doubt that an improvement in the status
of the assistant teacher is the key to solve many
difficulties in Ireland, and if the Association can
effectually work public opinion up to this point it
will have conferred a lasting service upon Irish
secondary education.
The last association that calls for any notice is
the “Dublin Education Society,’ which was
inaugurated last winter. The organiser was Mr.
W. M. Heller, who is the Recorder of the Educa-
tional Science section of the British Association,
and helped to organise the conference on the
teaching of practical science which was held at
Alexandra College in September of last year.
Desiring to commemorate and render permanent,
The School World
—
[OcTOBER, 1903.
if possible, the work of that conference, he moved
a resolution on the last afternoon that it was desir-
able that a society should be formed including all
grades of teachers, primary and secondary, Pro-
testants and Roman Catholics, whose object would
be to discuss all kinds of educational problems
relative to the present day. The resolution was
carried and a committee appointed which subse-
quently developed into the Dublin Educational
Society. It held some meetings early in the spring
in the Royal University, and in the lecture theatre
of the Royal Dublin Society, which were fairly
successful, but as it is of so recent origin, it is too
early to speak of any definitely accomplished work.
It will be seen, from this short description of the
educational associations of Ireland, that Dublin is
plentifully, if not too plentifully, supplied with
opportunities for discussion and interchange of
ideas on current educational problems. What is
needed in Ireland is that there should be more
facilities of a similar kind in the provinical towns
whereby local teachers should be kept abreast of
the march of the times and of the important deve-
lopments in education not only in Ireland but in
England, on the Continent and in America. It is
to be desired that the existing associations should
devote themselves to this end, and should also
seize every opportunity that offers for working
together and discovering some common policy for
the good of intermediate education. For, in the
last resort, in matters educational the country must
depend on the teacher.
WOMEN GYMNASTS AT THE NURN-
BERG GYMNASTIC FESTIVAL, 1903.
By an ENGLISH DELEGATE.
NGLAND, for the first time, sent women
exponents of educational gymnastics to the
great Gymnastic Festival held this year in
July, at Nürnberg.
The thousands of gymnasts gathered together
in this beautiful old German town from all parts
of the world were very curious to see what
English women were capable of gymnastically,
and the little band of English representatives,
both when viewing the festival or quietly enjoy-
ing the beauties of Nürnberg, were regarded by
thousands of curious eyes, which no sooner read
the printed badge of ‘“ London ” than their owners
doffed their caps, and shouted, with great enthu-
siasm, ‘* Gut heil!” which, it is hardly necessary
to explain, is the German greeting between
gymnasts. The ‘Gut heil!” from the visiting
ladies was no less enthusiastic than that of
the Germans. The English women were equally
curious on their part, and were just as interested
in discovering what amount of skill the German
women could show in educational gymnastics.
When the command ‘ fall in!” was given to
the German women, to the surprise of the English
OCTOBER, 1903. |
visitors, they saw a squad of lady gymnasts in
floppy sailor-blouses drawn in at the waist by
elastic, and with skirts reaching to the ankles, the
costume, in fact, looking anything but neat. The
whole dress, in most cases made of cotton material,
was unfit for gymnastics, and the figures of the
women were anything but smart, their whole
appearance being somewhat like a bundle tied up
in the middle. The first surprise caused by the
German women’s appearance was quickly followed
by a second, which their gymnastic work provided.
The music started and the marching began; but
what marching it seemed to the English women,
who consider marching as a special form of exercise
never to be lightly regarded !
The representative German women gymnasts
were drawn up in ranks of fours, and leisurely,
arm-in-arm, the whole squad moved on, ambling
along regardless of the music, and beginning
“left-right” or ‘right-left’’ according to indi-
vidual caprice. After the squad had opened out
the exercises started, and a third surprise was in
store. Not one of the German women was
allowed to stretch her arms straight above her
head; the ‘‘arms-upward-stretch”” position was
with them a movement in which the elbows were
well bent, and the finger-tips touched just above
the head, the theory being, that it is too much
of an internal strain for women to stretch their
arms overhead. This, of course, astonished the
English women, who find ‘‘ arms upward stretch ”
such a splendid movement for bringing large
groups of muscles into play.
Now to contrast this with the work of the
English women. On the afternoon appointed,
crowds of curious spectators gathered round the
raised platform on which the English girls were
to perform, until, at last, not much else than a
sea of upturned faces could be seen, the number
of spectators being estimated at 100,000.
As the English women appeared, a great stir,
was seen in the crowd, and every eye was fixed
on the platform. Mounting the steps of the plat-
form, each performer looked very important in a
flowing navy-blue gown, which covered the
gymnastic costume itself. Another stir in the
crowd, and the people that flocked round the plat-
form made way right and left as a figure clad in
scarlet from head to foot ascended to the platform.
Cheers were then heard, as it needed no further
announcement that here was the head of the
English women’s college. At the order “ fall in,”
.the crowd was breathless as each navy-blue gown
was opened, and out stepped lithe well-made
women, in smart blue-serge costumes, with neatly
fitting bodices and white belts and ties; and the
skirts! what did the Germans think of them?
They reached just to the knees, showing well-
made knees and legs, the whole costume finishing
with white shoes. What did the Germans think ?
Why, they were too breathless to express in words
any thoughts, for the sight of twenty girls in such
costume, who had fallen into line as quick as
lightning, was a sight that a good many had never
seen before. The accurate marching was followed
The School World
369 _
by a set of free exercises, each of the four groups
bringing into play the muscles of all parts of the
body, and it was evident that the English women
were not afraid of stretching their arms above
their heads, for indeed they stretched from their
toes to their finger-tips. Each group finished
with a good, graceful, marching exercise, and the
thousands of onlookers watched with interest the
movements, which were all performed with exact
precision.
After a display of step-marching the squad, at
a command from their head, formed a flank line
at the back of the platform, and in perfect line
marched to the front, where “ halt” was sounded ;
and at another command the whole line saluted
and shouted in unison three lusty “Gut heils ”
to the people, who now broke out into a storm of
applause, and waved hats, sticks, and umbrellas,
to show how they appreciated the work doae by
the English women.
The English girls had taught them a lesson, as
hundreds were heard to confess, showing the
Germans what educational gymnastics for women
ought to be. It seems strange that gymnastics
as practised by the German men should have
reached so advanced a stage while their women- folk
have to be content with a far less perfect state of
development. The English women, by the way,
had the unusual honour shown them of being
asked to perform again in the evening, and the
crowd that then gathered showed how their fame
had spread.
The work of the German men was splendid, as
also was the work of the men from all over the
world. One very striking scene was that of
14,000 men from all parts of the world (England
included) who worked together some groups of
iron-wand exercises. It was simply marvellous!
A sight once seen not easily forgotten, for as each
exercise was performed it looked almost like a field
of white grass being blown by the wind, first one
way and then the other. The director on a high
platform gave the commands by means of a flag,
and an ingenious method was adopted for keeping
time—a band for 14,000 was of course out of the
question. All over the ground, at equal distances,
were placed poles with bells upon them, and these
bells were connected by electric wires to the plat-
form. An electrician, who sat immediately behind
the director, worked these bells, and, as the
director counted, so at the same second the
electrician rang the bells all over the ground, the
first of each exercise being especially marked by
a deeper sounding bell than the others.
Another very interesting spectacle was the
squad of 180 old men, ranging up to 84
years of age. They gave a good display of iron
dumb-bells, and finished up with some simple
apparatus work, which was exceedingly well done
for such aged gymnasts.
It is true that the English women taught the
Germans a lesson, but it is also true that the
German men set the English an example in their
keenness for gymnastics, for in Germany nearly
all the men and boys go to a gymnasium, no
379
matter what their station in life. Another thing ;
would 100,000 people collect in England to see a
gymnastic festival? However, gymnastics is
making rapid strides in England, and it is to be
hoped that in a few years England will be able
to hold a gymnastic festival equalling those held
in Germany. The English women who created
this favourable impression in Nürnberg were from
“ The Gymnastic Teachers’ Training College,”
held at the South-Western Polytechnic, London,
and the lady in scarlet was Frailein Wilke, who
is the able head of the college.
There is a great opening for girls who take up
gymnastics, the demand for competent teachers
being far greater than the supply. The two or
three years’ training which is necessary 1s enjoy-
able and not very expensive. The principal
studies of the neophyte are—gymnastics on Ger-
man, Swedish, and English systems, physiology,
hygiene, anatomy, massage and medical gymnas-
tics, fencing, dancing, singing, voice production,
elocution, hockey, tennis, cricket and swimming.
Any girl, whether she wishes to practise profes-
sionally or not afterwards, would do well to go
through the training, which will improve her
health, add to her happiness, and may perchance
result in the honour of representing England in
a future German gymnastic festival.
OXFORD LOCAL EXAMINATIONS, 1903.
Hints from the Examiners’ Reports.
reports of the examiners of the papers in
the Oxford locai examinations of July
last deserve careful consideration by teachers pre-
paring candidates for the examinations of next
year. The various divisions of the examination
are dealt with separately in the following selection
of extracts:
Senior CanpipaTEs.—Though the pass paper
in english grammar was on the whole very credit-
able, the examiners report that the advanced
papers frequently revealed the need of more
practice in the construction of sentences to illus-
trate points of syntax ; the examples sent in were
often incomplete and meaningless, or else so
ambiguous as to be of little value. The chief
weaknesses to be noted in the English essays were
lack of arrangement, lack of a sense of proportion,
and a tendency to repetition. It is of the utmost
importance, in teaching essay writing, to impress
upon the learner the necessity of thinking out
carefully the plan of his essay before he begins to
write it. .
The great majority of the senior candidates
had a competent knowledge of the facts of
ancient history, but for the most part failed to use
their knowledge to the best advantage. The
veographical aspect of the history appeared to be
nevlected. The papers in European history on this
M ver of the criticisms contained in the
The School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
subject were mostly poor. The candidates showed
very little knowledge of specific facts like dates,
terms of a treaty, locality of a campaign, though
many of them wrote fairly well on questions that
could be treated in general language without
much use of facts.
The prepared Latin books were, generally
speaking, translated very correctly, and into good
and appropriate English, but too little knowledge
was shown of their general contents; the com-
ments, though usually intelligent, often revealed
absurd misunderstandings of the book, owing to
the absence of such a general outline knowledge
of Roman history as is a necessary background
to the understanding of any Latin writer. Itis a
matter of surprise in the higher Latin paper, the
examiners report, that the allusions should not
have been better known. ,
The questions on syntax in the pass French
paper were not well answered as a rule. The
efforts made in the last few years to improve the
practice in sentence-analysis have not yet produced
the results which were expected. Most of the
candidates have simply learnt by heart rules
which they do not understand and cannot apply.
The composition was poor. Bad mistakes occurred
with a frequency which was evidence, the examiners
say, of inexcusable carelessness. Some candi-
dates taking the advanced papers conjugated the
French reflexive verb with avoir. The German
composition in the pass papers was done with
great inaccuracy, and ina large number of cases
fundamental syntactical notions seemed to be
unknown; and in the advanced papers great
inaccuracy as to tenses, moods, numbers, and
genders was shown. The answers to questions
of syntax in these papers, too, were unsatisfactory,
and more care ought to be given to the study of
idiomatic expressions and of word-formation.
The prevailing fault in the arithmetic papers
was inaccuracy. Very few showed any knowledge
of the contracted method of multiplication of
decimals. On the other hand, approximations
were frequently made in the middle of a question
when an exact answer was required. The mis-
take of interpreting ‘‘of"’ in the case of fractions
as “divided by” occurred with noticeable fre-
quency.
It should be remembered, says the examiner of
the heat papers, that in an account of an experiment
a mere description of the apparatus is not sufficient
—a satisfactory answer must state clearly what
is measured, how the measurements are made,
and how the value of the physical quantity is
deduced. In many cases time was lost over
details, whilst it was left quite doubtful whether
the theory of the experiment was understood.
Juntok Canpipares.—In the pass Shakespeare
papers the passage set from ‘* Macbeth” for
paraphrasing was not satisfactorily done; very
few indeed of the candidates appeared to grasp
the full meaning. The examiner of the papers
on “ Henry V.” reports that the one chief danger
before teachers and pupils would appear to be the
habit of putting before pupils ready-made para-
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
phrases of passages, or essays on subjects arising
out of the play, which the pupils learn by heart
and yet do not assimilate.
The punctuation of the English essay was in
many cases very faulty, when not absolutely
wanting. Pupils should be encouraged to write
a little more freely, to follow the train of their own
thoughts rather more, and not to sacrifice all the
life of their essay to the idea that it is necessary
to leave no point untouched, an idea which gene-
rally results in compilation and not composition.
The examiners of the pass papers in English
history report that candidates are evidently not
sufficiently taught to think. There is therefore a
tendency to rush at an answer without carefully
reading over the question first—for instance, a mere
catalogue of events is given where the results or
causes of those events are really asked for.
A very large number of candidates who took
the pass Latin papers, who had stated gram-
matical rules correctly, constructed sentences
in illustration which violated the very rules they
had just quoted. It would be a good thing to
make pupils habitually construct easy sentences
instead of learning stock examples by heart. The
unseen and prepared-books papers, as a test of
the candidates’ grasp of Latin construction, were
disappointing. The grammatical notes on the
shorter passages for translation were extremely
poor; the translation being often correct, while
the attempted explanation showed that the candi-
date had not the slightest idea of the case or
mood-usage which justified the translation.
In arithmetic the knowledge of square root proved
to be less general than might have been expected,
many candidates failing even to attempt an easy
example of this nature. Long reductions which
led to laborious work were frequently made when
the introduction of simple fractions would have
saved much trouble. There was an improvement
in the manner in which the answers were written
out, the statement of the units employed being in
general correctly made, and the working was, on
the whole, neat and well arranged.
Under the new regulations there has been a
greater display of intelligence in the answers
to the pass geometry paper. This was especially
noticeable in the proof of Euc. I. 32 and in the
working of a special case of uc. I. 45. Once
there was considerable confusion over the defini-
tion of a parallelogram and Euc. I. 34, the quality
of the opposite sides being frequently asserted in
the proof of the proposition. A simple question
involving the rotation of a triangle about its sides
was but little attempted. The work of candidates
taking the advanced paper as a whole was very
fair. Two dangers beset candidates in the present
transitional stage of geometrical teaching :—(1)
Many candidates in the course of proving a pro-
position A wrote the result of another proposition
B, which can only be proved by assuming the truth
_of proposition A ; (2) in the problem of construc-
tion, proof of the validity of the construction was
often omitted. It would be well if teachers would
endeavour to guard against both these dangers.
The School World
* PRELIMINARY CANDIDATES.—Commenting on the
answers to the questions on the second period of
English history the examiner says:—-There is a
marked tendency to repeat catch phrases from
notes or textbooks often in an almost meaningless
way, and as a whole the answers show an atten-
tion to irrelevant detail which is out of proportion.
The general work of the candidates was fairly
good in geography. The points to which attention
should be directed are: —(1) a greater accuracy of
language in geographical definitions ; (2) a greater
care in the spelling of the names which occur in
the countries studied. There is evidence that too
much of the teaching is purely oral, and similarity
of sound has led to many blunders in the papers.
In the geometry papers only a few candidates suc-
ceeded in stating in a short and really clear manner
the reasoning involved when a proof by actual
measurement or folding was attempted. In many
cases the clearness of the proof given might have
heen enhanced if the principle had been followed
of starting every fresh statement on a fresh line,
and if plain printed lettering of figures had been
more general. A word might be added on the
unfamiliarity shown by many candidates with the
spelling of the names of even the most common
geometrical terms and figures.
RICHARD MULCASTER—REDIVIVUS-
LIZABETHAN education is a subject which
deserves avery special study. Itis, however,
one that is likely to be overlooked, since
everyone thinks he knows enough about it. Have
we not all read the life of Sir Thomas More? and
the charming family life and education in his homeat
Chelsea ? Are we not familiar with Roger Ascham’s
description of the tutoring of Lady Jane Grey and
of Queen Elizabeth? We likely enough know
that Sir Philip Sidney was educated at Shrews-
bury, and we are content to suppose that the re-
formed schools of the foundation of Edward VI.,
and of Elizabeth herself made the country a busy
hive of education. Still, if we ask, what was the
state of university education in the Elizabethan
era, many even of our educationists would pause
and stumble in their answer. And if we ask, what
was the nature of the school education of the time
and how far did all classes participate in it, only
few would interest themselves in the inquiry, and
would there be any who could give a reasonably
authenticated reply ?
The number is probably very small of those who
have read any Elizabethan writer on education
other than Roger Ascham, and he, of course is
read for his interesting position in the develop-
ment of English style rather than for his views on
education. And, indeed, probably these educa-
1© Phe Educational Writings of Richard Muleaster (1532-1611). Abri’ ged
and arranged, with acritical estimate. By James Oliphant. vin. + 245 pp-
(Glasgow : Janes Mactehose.) as. od. net.
372
The School World
[OCTOBER, 1903.
tional views are more essentially those of John
Sturm, the Strassburg schoolmaster, rather than
his own. However, there is an idea abroad since
R. H. Quick wrote on Mulcaster, that Mulcaster
ought to count for far more in the history of
English education than Ascham or even John
Brinsley. This is probably correct. But, then,
most educationists are quite satisfied with the fact
that Mr. Quick held the view. A few, perhaps,
have looked at Dr. Theodor Klihr’s “ Leben und
Werke Richard Mulcaster’s,” and feel fortified
thereby to accept Mr. Quick's high opinion of Mul-
caster. But there must surely be a sense of amaze-
ment that a foreigner who edits the “ Pädagogische
Studien ” of present-day Germany should concern
himself with the spacious times of Elizabethan
England—at any rate, over a writer on education
—and that writer Richard Mulcaster. For he
might have been reading Shakespeare instead, or
even Edmund Spenser. By the way, Mulcaster
was Edmund Spenser's schoolmaster. Doubt-
less, Mr. Quick and Dr. Klihr would have been
interested in finding out the views on education of
Shakespeare’s schoolmaster, could they have been
found, and even in considering whether the school
education of Shakespeare affected his after life.
But such historical inquiries amaze the English
mind. And possibly Dr. Klihr’s learned investi-
gation on Mulcaster has not been read by as many
Englishmen as Germans. l l
So, too, probably most English people interested
in education think that Mr. Quick’s reverential
tribute to Mulcaster by reprinting the “ Positions ”
was a sad loss of time, trouble and expense. One
wonders how many, or rather how few, copies
were sold, and of these, whether more were not
sold in America than in Richard Mulcaster’s own
country of England. We in England are sup-
posed now to have such a keen interest in educa-
tion. Well, that being so, there are so many
things we have to do and to read as teachers we
have no time for old writers and out-worn thinkers,
however good in their own day. It is said, Mul-
caster must wait. So, too, must Plato, Aristotle,
and Quintilian. We have not time for thought.
We have to teach.
In the meantime, in our haste, we want to
know who this Mulcaster was; at any rate, those
who are going in for examinations ought to have
the means of knowing. And so, we ought to have
an abridged and paraphrased Mulcaster. This has
come in due course. And, if we ever make up
our minds we want a condensed Mulcaster, as
undoubtedly most would agree that we do, unless
indeed we decide that it is absurd to read old
writers on education, then the present book, edited
by Mr. Oliphant, as named in the footnote, may
at once be said to be excellent. There has been
great trouble taken in the selections. They have
been put into fairly intelligible garb for the reader,
with still some of the interest of Mulcaster’s old
phrasing left. There is a biographical sketch of
Mulcaster, and a critical estimate, and, though
there is no index, there is a table of contents, which
will enable a reader to pick out a section which
deals with any subject on which he thinks it worth
a glance to see what Mulcaster’s views may be.
No selection can be expected to suit all readers.
Mr. Oliphant has given the gist of Mulcaster’s
teachings, and largely in Mulcaster’s words. For
this we ought to rest and be thankful. We may
regret that he does not include a most incisive
passage in which Mulcaster argues that the Pro-
testant Church needed in his day to restrict
learning to a few. The passage is little known,
but it contains the interesting view of old pre-
Reformation England: ‘* While the Church was
an harbour for all men to ride in which knew
any letter, there needed no restraint [t.¢., limita-
tion of those who should be educated | din E
the better for that state, which encroached still on,
and by clasping all persons would have grasped
all livings. . Will ye let the fry increase,
where the feeding fails? Will ye have the multi-
tude wax [in learning] where the maintenance
wanes?” No one can doubt Mulcaster’s testi-
mony to the wider extension of education before than
after the Reformation. And the passage is, there-
fore, important. On the other hand, Mr. Oliphant
includes in brackets an important reference to
Schmidt's “ Geschichte der Erziehung,” where it
is noticed that Mulcaster’s treatment of physical
exercise closely follows the “ De Arte Gymnastica "
of Girolamo Mercuriale, an Italian physician.
This will not finally settle Mulcaster’s indebted-
ness, but it is a great gain to have the inquiry
started as to Mulcaster’s sources. And this ina
book published in England--or rather, let us be
accurate, in Scotland.
In a sentence, let us say, we welcome Mr.
Oliphant’s book and that we hope he will have a
full reward in strengthening an interest in Richard
Mulcaster.
PHYSICAL TRAINING IN SCOTLAND:
By Ceci Hawkins, M.A.
Haileybury College.
HE terms of reference of this important Com-
mission covered a very wide range, in-
cluding all state-aided schools and other
educational institutions of Scotland, and inviting
suggestions as to the possible extension of physical
education by means of continuation classes oF
otherwise.
Wide as is the scope of enquiry indicated, the
Commission have been most thorough in carrying
it out, and, though their report deals mainly with
the elementary schools, no class of school or
—
1 “ Report of the Royal Commission on Physical Training (Scotland)
Vol. 1. Report and Appendix. Presented to both Houses of Parliament
by Command of His Majesty., To be purchased from Oliver and Boyd,
Edinburgh ; or Eyre and Spottiswoode, East Harding St., Fleet Se, B.C:
and 32, Abingdon St., Westminster or E. Ponsonby, 11°, Grafton Me
Dublin. 119 pp. 1s. 1d.
OCTOBER, 1903.]
college appears to have escaped them. Perhaps
the most interesting passage in the report describes
the unhygienic mode of life of many students of
Glasgow University, who are so fully occupied in
preparing for some kind of examination that they
not only have no time for physical exercise, but
are unable to get their meals properly, or at
reasonable hours. We cannot feel surprised when
we are told that many, who have taken very high
places in the University, have left it worn out
physically and mentally, and fit for nothing
strenuous in the battle of life.
But it is not only in the universities that want
of time is advanced as an excuse for neglecting
physical culture. In all classes of schools and
colleges, except the best secondary schools, the in-
dustrial schools, and the reformatories, the same
oft-told tale is as a rule repeated. The Code re-
quires that an adequate amount of physical training
should be given in elementary schools, but the
general opinion of those who arrange the time-
table appears to be that half an hour a week is
adequate, considering the opportunities. It is not
stated whether this half-hour is taken all at once or
distributed. If the former, it is of little use, if any ;
but much may be done under a competent in-
structor if five minutes daily are devoted to
judiciously selected exercises.
The Commission are convinced that the time
given is as a rule inadequate. They consider
physical culture, including games, of so high a
value in producing good results, ‘‘ physical, mental,
and moral,” that they suggest that schools, which
are outgrowing the accommodation provided for
them, should build gymnasia and recreation halls
instead of additional class-rooms. By a system of
relays, one-third of the children may then be
employed in improving their physique while the
remainder are at work in the class-rooms, the
present overcrowded curriculum being suitably
modified. The drastic nature of the reform
suggested can be best realised by considering the
fact that, in eight typical elementary schools
selected for special examination, the area of play-
ground provided varies from 4'27 to 1°08 square
yards per pupil. The proposal requires strong
evidence to support it, and direct evidence of the
great educational value of games and properly
organised physical training is abundantly supplied
from industrial schools and reformatories. Evi-
dence to the same effect, of a less direct but highly
valuable character, was given by many head-
masters and other educational experts.
The high value of properly organised games 1s
insisted on, but it is felt that no system of games
is sufficient in itself. To produce the best results
these require supplementing by a course of
systematic physical training. The systems in
general use are shortly discussed, and it is recom-
mended that a committee should be appointed to
prepare a model course. The general principles
laid down for the guidance of this committee are
well worth studying in detail by all who are
interested in the subject of physical training, and
we are glad to see that the advantage of a more
No. 58, VOL. 5.|
The School World
___ 373
advanced course of gymnastics for the older pupils
is recognised.
The Appendix to the Report is devoted to
statistics. The most interesting of these were
prepared especially for the Commission by Prof.
Matthew Hay and Dr. W. Leslie Mackenzie. By
carefully selecting the schools to be inspected
they have been able to compare the physique of
the children of the very poor, and those of the
higher grade of working men, the children of the
slums and the children of the suburbs. The high
value of the schemes of classification adopted
cannot be overestimated; but the number of cases
examined—1,200 in all—is too small for any exact
reliance to be placed upon the figures given. When
we find the average weight, &c., of a group of
three children worked out to three significant
figures, it brings home to us how very far the
series of observations falls short of the data really
required to make sure of the ground which these
Statistics endeavour to cover. Nevertheless, the
story told by the statistics is coherent and full of
interest. At all points the better nurtured, better
clothed, and better housed children are the
superiors of those brought up under less favourable
conditions. The observations were taken in
November; had they been taken in March there
is little doubt that the differences observed would —
have been even more striking.
The medical reports of these children establish
clearly the supreme need of a regular medical
inspection of all school children, especially with a
view to the discovery of cases likely to prove a
source of danger to those with whom they are
associated, and of cases in which some modifica-
tion of the physical training given is desirable.
The valuable nature of the statistics shows how
much could be learnt by means of a properly
organised system of measurements, carried out on
the same lines, but extending over a longer period,
taking in a much larger number of observations,
and collated upon a more scientific system than
the rough and ready method of averages. It is
hard to understand why all our efforts in this
direction should be spasmodic. The value of such
statistics is sufficiently apparent to all; but the
absolute necessity for collecting them upon the
widest possible basis is habitually ignored. .
GEOLOGY IN SCHCOLS.- -There ts no science in which the
materials for elementary teaching are so common, so cheap, and
everywhere so accessible. Nor is there any science which
touches so quickly the earliest and most elementary interests.
Hills, plains, valleys, crags, quarries, cuttings, are attractive to
every boy and giil, and always rouse intelligent curiosity and
frequent inquiry ; and although the questions asked are difficult
to answer in full, a keen teacher can soon set his children to
hunt for fossils or structures which will give them part of the in-
formation they seek. Of course the teaching cannot go very far
without simple laboratory and museum accommodation, and
without a small expenditure on maps and sections; but the
former of these requirements can soon be supplied from the
chemical laboratory and by the collection of the students them-
selves, while the latter are every day becoming cheaper and
more accessible and useful.
Prof. W. W. WATTS.
G G
374
BRUSH DRAWING.
brought out Brush
Drawing, a Handbook for Teachers and
Students,” and who is certainly one of the best
exponents of brushwork as at present taught in
schools, has recently issued, through Messrs.
Blackie and Son, three sets of ‘ Brush-drawing
Sheets ” of a size (28 in. xX 20 in.) suitable for
class teaching. Mr. Nicol is no lover of the loose,
slovenly style which seems: so attractive to some
students and teachers, and his examples are clear,
clean and precise, and the earlier of them, at least,
are well within the capacity of the children for
whom they are intended. He has also avoided
the ugliness of form which is so characteristic
a feature of many brushwork copies, and his sheet
of lettering is unusually good, but his publication
is not free from defects. That the drawings are
so often not peculiarly suggestive of the brush is
probably due to their having been originally
executed on a small scale and then enlarged by
a lithographic draughtsman out of sympathy with
brush drawing, but even this supposition does not
seem entirely to account for the want.
This important publication impels us to pause
and consider the state of brushwork teaching
generally, its aims and its achievements. There
are few subjects which have sprung so rapidly
into prominence. Only a few years ago it was all
but unknown, to-day it is one of the studies which
nearly every child has to take up in some degree.
It is perhaps due to the rapid way in which the
subject has come to the front that there is a
certain want both of method and even of under-
standing in the way in which it 1s handled. This
is not to be wondered at, seeing that many of
those who have to teach it have not themselves
been thoroughly, if at all, trained in it, and more-
over utterly fail to appreciate what can and should
be done with the brush. But it has, none the less,
materially impaired the educational value of the
study. We have, it is true, during the last two
or three years been inundated with brushwork
copies, brushwork cards, and books about brush-
work. There can hardly be an educational pub-
lisher of standing who has not issued something of
the kind, but the books themselves—even when,
as is usually the case, they are addressed to
teachers—show a want of taste and knowledge,
and sometimes even a want of common care, which
is really lamentable.
There seems generally to be a lack of aim
in brushwork teaching as at present practised.
Those who write about it do not as a rule make
any distinction between the two very different
uses of the study: (1) the development of the
brush natural strokes as an exercise in ornament
and as a means of learning the use of the tool, and
(2) the use of the brush as a means of developing
the faculty of seeing “and putting in” things in
mass instead of in outline. When the subject first
came to the fore much was hoped from it. Both
R. J. W. NICOL, who some years ago
M a book entitled
The School World
[OcToBER, 1903.
teachers and pupils were tired of the ceasless free-
hand copies executed in fine pencil-lines which
formed the staple exercise in school drawing, and
brushwork was eagerly hailed as a means of
teaching children to appreciate the value of mass
and to put things in solid without an undue
expenditure of labour. So far, of course, it was
all to the good. But there is surely much more
real educational value in the study than is con-
veyed in these rather rudimentary ideas.
In the first place, the child should be taught,
gradually of course, and almost without being
aware of it, the kind of forms which naturally
grow out of the use of the brush; and this cannot
be done, as is sometimes attempted, by allowing it to
lay its brush on the paper and make a blot with it.
It cannot in that way learn to appreciate and use
the spring of the brush properly. Again, the draw-
ing lessons should be certainly taken as an oppor-
tunity for cultivating the child’s sense of beauty,
and there are no lack of beautiful brushwork forms,
as exemplified both by the simple, straightforward
work of the Greeks and the more graphic work of
the Japanese, but the examples put before the
student to-day are too often downright ugly, and
have not gained in adaptability to brush drawing
what they have lost in beauty of form. School
drawing, especially in the elementary stages in
which brushwork is more largely taught, is in
great measure a gymnastic exercise, useful in
training not merely the hand but also the eye and
the power of observation, and for this reason it is
imperative that a certain accuracy and precision
of execution should be insisted upon. If the
student is allowed to make loose and inaccurate
renderings of what is put before him, or if he is
encouraged, as judging from many of the copies
lately issued he too often ts, to paraphrase natural
form in such a way as entirely to lose its charac-
teristic features, the exercise not only ceases to be
of much use, but becomes positively harmful. In
going through the work of quite advanced students
one constantly comes across designs spoiled by
the recurrence of forms which resemble nothing
in heaven or earth but brushwork copies, and
resemble these so closely as to preclude the idea
that the student has some imagination of his
own, even though it be of a rather ugly sort.
In short, although the educational possibilities
of brushwork are great, they seem hardly until now
to have been taken advantage of. The desire to
teach the child rapidly to produce something which
looks pretty has caused to be rather left out of
account the necessity of teaching it to work in such
way as will in time give it complete control of the
brush; the ease with which a vague resemblance
to the object to be copied can be obtained has
encouraged too often a loose, inaccurate kind of
work which is very bad training for the child ;
and the adoption of copies which, while trying to
be original are ‘in truth” convention of by no
means the best type, has not tended to strengthen
the sense of beauty. On the other hand, the study
seems to have done good work in making teachers
realise that the most highly finished drawings are
—OcTor ER, 1903. ie
not necessarily the best, in encouraging a certain
freedom of style, and in awakening interest in a
part of school work which was too often looked
upon as dull and uninteresting.
THE ODYSSEY IN ENGLISH VERSE!
R. MACKAIL has attempted a difficult task
in turning the Odyssey into four-line
stanzas of the type of Fitzgerald’s ‘* Omar
Khayyam.” Any kind of stanza is very unsuit-
able for rendering the hexameter ; the hexameter
rhythm is continuous, and one of its beauties, as
Matthew Arnold long ago pointed out, is its speed,
while the recurrent breaks at the end of stanzas
completely change the effect. The same objec-
tion applies to the heroic couplet, used by
Chapman and Pope, and in a less degree to the
long-line ballad metre of Chapman’s “ Iliad.” It
would seem that blank verse, or some unrimed
metre, is necessary if we are to get as close to the
original as our language permits. But the choice
at best is difficult, the genius of Greek and English
being in respect of rhythm so diverse. Fitzgerald's
stanza seems an unfortunate choice from its short-
ness, which emphasises the recurrent breaks over-
much. It hardly helps matters to run on the
sense and construction from stanza to stanza.
From what we have said, it follows that Mr.
Mackail’s ‘“ Odyssey ” is a long way from Homer.
Still it is quite pleasing to read, if the pleasure is
of a different kind from that given by Homer.
The translation is elegant and scholarly, and
keeps very close to the original. It is a strange
‘« Odyssey ” that we have here, dreamy, deliberate,
rather suggesting a minuet than a galop, Homer
at sunset (to modify Longinus’s famous criticism),
full of years and peace, imbued with something
of the spirit of the speakers in the ‘ Earthly
Paradise.” The translation grows on our affec-
tions, and we are grateful to Mr. Mackail for his
boldness. We may perhaps add a few stanzas by
way of example. Ulysses is telling of Calypso :—
But when the eighth revolving year came on,
She sent me thence, and bade me to be gone
(Whether that Zeus a message sent to her,
Or her own mind at last was wrought upon),
And on a raft compact with bolt and band,
With bread and sweet wine laden, from her land
She sped me, in immortal raiment clad,
Forth of the isle, a gentle wind and bland
Sending behind me. Then across the sea
Seventeen days I voyaged ceaselessly,
And on the eighteenth morning through the mist,
The mountains of your land loomed up to me.
And glad was I, ill fated ! for not so
Might I part company from all the woe
Wherewith Poseidon, Shaker of the Earth,
Pursued me, letting loose a gale to blow
1 “The Odyssey.” Translated into English verse by J. W. Mackail.
Books I-VII. 223 pp. (Murray.) 5s. net.
The > School
| World 375
That stopt my way; and o’er the seas upleapt ;
And mea monstrous billow sobbing swept
From off the raft, and the squall shattered it.
But I, still swimming, through the great gulf crept,
Till to your coast with wind and tide I wore.
There had the billow as it swept ashore
Upon a joyless place of mighty rocks
Hurled me to land ; but turning back once more
I swam, till where the river meets the sea,
I chose what seemed the likeliest place to be,
Being smooth of rocks, and sheltered from the wind ;
And reeled ashore with no breath left in me.
The weakness of the style is shown in descrip-
tions of action and passion. The angry suitors
who pick and choose their words so caretully make
the impression of simulated feeling rather than
natural hate and wrath.
THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH!
HE volume is one of a series called ‘“ The
American Teachers Series,” the aim of which
is to ‘‘ review the principal subjects of the
secondary school curriculum.” It is a methodical
survey of the main problems that gather round the
teaching of the mother tongue, not only in secon-
dary, but also in elementary schools. The book is
not a manual of method. Although in places the
writers descend to details of class-management,
especially in the supplementary essays at the end of
the book, their main purpose is to offer ‘a succinct
statement of issues and a careful summary of the
most sound opinions” on the debatable points
they discuss. The book, in consequence, like most
books in which reasons are arrayed against and
in favour of a proposition, strikes one as being a
little laborious; and one wishes for the less com-
plete but more brilliant and suggestive occasional
papers that constitute a large proportion of English
contributions to the subject. It is also deficient,
though it is not totally lacking, in that kind of illus.
tration from practice which would brighten and
enliven the argument. On the other hand, it is
very thorough, and where the writers do decide
between the conflicting opinions they marshal so
well, they display discrimination and sound judg-
ment. Their whole attitude towards the thorny
question of teaching English literature in schools
is admirable ; they are tree alike from the pedantry
of the grammarian and from the cloudy theorising
of too many American writers on education. One
lapse from the habitually clear and practical treat-
ment of questions which lend themselves to vague
generalisation may be noted because it illustrates
what must be regarded as the writers’ comparative
unfamiliarity with English schools and teaching.
1 The Teaching of English in the Elementary and the Secondary School.”
By Geo. R. Carpenter, A.B., Franklin T. Baker, A.M., Professors in Co-
lumbia University; Fred. N. Scott, Ph.D., Professor in the University of
Michigan. American Teachers Series. vill.-,.380 pp. (Longmans.) 6s. net.
376 The
A harmless paper enough on “As You Like It” set in
an Oxford Junior Local Examination, taken as typi-
cal of English method, is held up to scorn because it
does not provide for ‘‘ real knowledge, training, or
cultivation of mind.” Though the questions are
not above criticism, we cannot detect in the paper
any vital inconsistency with the ideal of study held
up for pupils of the same age in a later passage of
the book. The authors, however, will not admit
that English ideas on teaching the vernacular are
worthy of consideration. Relying perhaps too
much on the jeremiads which almost alone find ex-
pression in print, they do not give us in England
credit for the genuine interest in the teaching of
our language and literature, or the thought that
is bestowed upon the subject in many English
schools.
The reference in the book under review is
naturally to the schools in the United States. But
most of what is said is directly applicable to English
conditions, and even such a strictly American
problem as that of ‘‘ Uniform College Entrance Re-
quirements ” has a distinct bearing upon the parallel
question of a Leaving Certificate in English schools.
In reading the chapters on the elementary schools,
one should remember that the leaving age contem-
plated is fourteen, and that for many of the children
a “high school” course follows. It must also be
borne in mind that the excessive amount of atten-
tion devoted to the “rhetorical” side of composi-
tion is foreign to English ideas and practice; and,
it may be added, the perusal of the pages upon
‘rhetoric ” will not induce the English teacher to
modify his present attitude towards composition.
As is usual in American books on education, a
very full bibliography is provided.
EDUCATION AT THE BRITISH
ASSOCIATION.
HOUGH the Education Section has not
swallowed up the rest of the British Asso-
ciation, as some predicted it would, yet its
influence has this year been more pervasive than
ever. Sir Norman Lockyer’s presidential address
was an eloquent plea for the creation of more
universities, — the “battleships of the modern
State,” and for the more generous endowment of
scientific research. In the Geological Section
Prof. Watts has been demanding a place in the
curriculum for Geology, on the ground that obser-
vational science is being ousted from the schools
in favour of the experimental sciences. Prof. Boys
has ridden a tilt against the teaching of Euclid in
the public schools ; an attack which most teachers
will consider a little belated. Finally, Sir Robert
Giffen, in his paper on the nation’s wealth, told us
that a hundred millions ought to be spent upon
education, instead of the paltry thirty millions now
allotted to it.
Sir William Abney’s address as President of
the Educational Science Section was a historical
School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
sketch of what the State has done to promote
science teaching in England since the formation
of the Science and Art Department in 1853. The
subject is one upon which Sir William speaks with
indisputable authority. Since 1876,in which year,
as he reminds us, he became one of the first
Inspectors under the Department, he has been
ever more and more responsible for its work. As
we read this, his “ apologia pro vita sua,” with its
splendid record of achievement, it is impossible
not to agree with Prof. Armstrong in deploring
“the action which has deprived us, at one of the
most critical periods in the history of Enghsh
education, of the services of a man of such unique
experience.”
In accordance with the practice of former years,
the work of the Section proper has been confined to
one or two broad subjects ; a prolonged debate upon
Curriculum occupied the morning and afternoon
sessions on Thursday and Friday, and was nomi-
nally based on the eight papers printed as a sup-
plement to last month’s ScHoot Wor.Lp. It would
have been better had the writers of papers each
been limited to a specific part of the subject; as it
was, with the exception of Mr. Paton, each writer
travelled over the whole field, in a manner which
would have baffled discussion if the papers had
been read to the meeting.
The first day was devoted to ‘‘ General Prin-
ciples,” and. speakers were asked to discuss the
following propositions, about which the writers of
papers seemed to be in agreement :—
(1) It is desirable that specialisation should be deferred to as
late a period as possible in the school career, and that the early
curriculum should be so arranged as to lay a good foundation in
English subjects, with, say, drawing and elementary science.
(2) It is to be regretted that the influence of public-school
entrance and scholarship examinations encourages the premature
devotion of too much time to classics; it would be desirable that
the study of Latin should not be taken before, say, twelve years
of age, and that the language teaching up to that time should be
confined to the mother tongue and one modern language.
(3) That a large measure of practical instruction should be
included in the school course, and that both literary and
practical instruction should be given throughout and made
interdependent.
The field, as thus defined, was wide, but appa-
rently not wide enough for some of the speakers.
Over and over again the limits were transgressed,
and, regarded as a debate, the discussion, in spite
of some brilliant speeches, was hardly a success.
For the teacher, however, it was well worth while
to hear the question treated from such differing
stand-points as those of the Professors of Educa-
tion—Mr. Adams and Mr. Sadler; the public
schoolmasters — Mr. Eve, Mr. Page, and Mr.
Swallow; the university women— Miss Cooper
and Miss Maitland; the secondary schoolmasters
—Mr. Daniell and Mr. W. L. Fletcher; the
elementary schoolmasters — Mr. Gray and Mr.
Yoxall.
Mr. Sadler opened the discussion with a plea for
a wider interest in education. ‘‘ We do not want
experts governing a tame nation.” What fs neces-
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
sary is that the people generally should come to
believe in the value of education. He was in
favour of deferring specialisation until after the
secondary school course is completed. Practical
manual work was certainly going to be more im-
portant in the future than in the past. Why
shouldn’t boys, for example, build and decorate
their cricket pavilion? After all, however, it is the
teacher that matters. The ideal which the teacher
must satisfy is not an ideal of erudition; some of
the best teachers don’t know much. What we
look for in a teacher are: “ (1) Sympathy, (2) a
hot temper, (3) a sunny disposition, (4) a sharp
tongue to be used when necessary, (5) a young
spirit under grey hairs.”
Prof. Adams, who followed, saw at the present
time that there was a distinct danger lest we
should produce a generation of teachers “ lop-
sided on the side of science.” Only nine per cent.
of his own students in the London Day Training
College were reading for an Arts degree, and yet
the ex-pupil teacher sorely needs the influence of
humanistic studies. The type of mind they were
producing was too scientific, and in London the
University was not a little to blame. It encourages
the study of Greek by examining Intermediate
Arts Students in Sophocles, though they have not
taken Greek for matriculation, and do not need it
in their final examination.
Mr. Page, of Charterhouse, challenged the sup-
porters of science to explain exactly what they
wanted taught. Scientific training was, no doubt,
the road to wealth; was it the best means of
forming the mind? He found one of the papers
headed with the quotation: ‘‘ Man is a tool-using
animal.” Let them beware of training their boys
to be tool-using animals and nothing more. It was
easy to teach a boy to use his fingers, it was hard
to teach him to use his mind. He was afraid that
modern educationists were taking the easier and
the lower way.
The fourth opener, Mr. Daniell, representing the
Teachers’ Guild, explained the views of that body
as set out in his paper which appeared last month.
The discussion was continued by Miss Maitland,
who considered the salaries now paid to teachers
were ‘‘degrading to the profession ; ” other speakers
were Mr. H. W. Eve, the Kev. R. D. Swallow,
Mr. W. L. Fletcher, and Prof. R. S. Conway. Mr.
Yoxall, M.P., the secretary of the National Union
of Teachers, was of opinion that we should soon
see specialised schools established, each with a
distinctive curriculum; the general trend of the
discussion, however, was certainly away from
specialisation of any sort in the secondary school.
Mr. Ernest Gray, M.P., pointed out the danger
there is that the business men, who are in the
majority on the new Education Committees, will
look for immediate practical results, and that this
will lead to premature preparation for particular
trades, unless teachers bestir themselves to pre-
vent it.
The subject of the second day’s discussion was
« The Teaching of Girls,” and was opened by Miss
Burstall. Haer first point was that, up to the age
The School World =
377
of ten, at least half the school time should be given
up to manual and physical training. Not until a girl
is twelve years of age should the literary training
predominate. From twelve to eighteen one-third
of the time should be spent on science, one-third
on languages, one-third on the humanities and Eng-
lish. Between the ages of twelve and sixteen there
is a marked difference between a boy and a girl, and
there must therefore be divergence in curricula.
A girl between her twelfth and her sixteenth year
cannot work hard and continuously without injury
to her present and future well-being. ‘‘ This is a
point,” said Miss Burstall, ‘‘ which I will stand
to to the last gasp.” It was also the most inte-
resting point which emerged during the debate.
Its bearing upon the question of co-education is evi-
dent, and when appeals for a direct pronouncement
which were made by Dr. Lloyd Snape, Mr. Ernest
Gray, and others, went unheeded, one could not
avoid the conviction that women teachers of high
position and wide experience, such as Miss
Maitland, Miss Cooper, and Miss Burstall, are not
prepared to advocate co-education for girls and
boys of secondary school age, save when financial
conditions and considerations of numbers render
the separate education of the sexes impossible.
Prof. Armstrong, in a speech which Mr. Yoxall
subsequently described as a reversion to the ideas of
a hundred years ago, attacked the modern attitude
towards women’s education. ‘“ Woman is not
female man,” he said; “she is a different animal.
That is not the ladies’ opinion, I know; but if you
look at the matter from the Darwinian point of
view, and consider what the position of women in
the world has been and is, it cannot be otherwise.
It was only within recent years that woman has
ceased to bea slave. It takes many generations
to get rid of the incubus laid on her by nature.”
Miss Maitland answered Prof. Armstrong’s
charge, that women’s education was too academic
and too literary, by saying that in her experience
college-bred girls became healthy, sensible women,
and were certainly good housewives and mothers.
It was only by beating man on his own ground that
woman had won her right to higher education at
all.
The outcome of a most animated discussion was
the following propositions, all of which were
assented to by the section :—
(i.) It is destrable that in organising the curriculum there
should be some differentiation, especially in science, between
courses of study for boys and those for girls, more particularly
between twelve to sixteen years of age.
(ii.) That for al? girls literary and artistic instruction is of the
highest importance ; at some period of their school life practical
instruction in the domestic arts should be provided, based on
and correlated with elementary science teaching.
(iii.) With a view to obviate over-pressure, injury to health
and superficiality, girls who intend to proceed to college, or
enter a literary profession, should in general remain at school
till eighteen years of age.
(iv.) It is desirable that County and Borough Councils and
other authorities offering scholarships for girls to enable them
to proceed to college should not expect them to take up their
scholarships before they reach the age of eighteen.
378
In the afternoon there was to have been a dis-
cussion upon Commercial Education. Mr. Paton,
of Manchester Grammar School, summarised his
paper in an admirable and convincing speech, but -
the rest of the session was occupied with echoes
of the previous day’s debate. Sir Oliver Lodge
expressed his surprise that, while teachers talked so
much common-sense in their meetings, the output
of the schools was so unsatisfactory. Mr. W. L.
Fletcher restated the principles upon which it
seemed to him we were in agreement; and Mr.
C. J. Hamilton, Secretary of the Moseley Educa-
tional Commission, asked for suggestions on the
work of the Commission from practical teachers.
On Sept. 14th the teaching of geography was
considered at a joint meeting with the Geographical
Section. Mr. Mackinder, who opened the discus-
sion, advocated a regional treatment of the subject
as opposed to a physical treatment under such
categories as ‘ volcanoes,” ‘‘climate,’ ‘ wind,”
and the like. Geography would never, he thought,
take its proper place as an educational discipline
until four conditions w2re simultaneously satisfied :
(1) the encouragement of university schools of
geography, (2) the appointment of specialists in
geography on the staffs of secondary schools, (3)
the general acceptance of a progressive method
in the subject, (4) the setting of examinations by
geographical teachers.
Of the dozen speakers who followed him, Mr.
Hugh Richardson was the most interesting with
his account of the way in which the boys of
Bootham Schoo] are taught to rewrite their note-
book records in the language of Ruskin.
Four valuable reports upon School Hygiene,
the Teaching of Botany, Elementary Science
Teaching, and the Influence of Examinations, have
been presented and considered, and a committee
has been appointed to consider ‘Courses of experi-
mental, observational and practical instruction
most desirable for elementary schools.” In the dis-
cussion on the Examinations Report Sir William
Abney said that there would be no difficulty in
obtaining competent officers for the Army if the
subalterns were paid a living wage. The Army
entrance examinations were not to blame. At the
same time the practice of assigning definite marks
to the different subjects set in those examinations
would shortly cease.
it will be seen from this brief account that
a great deal of solid work has been accom-
plished. Perhaps, however, the most useful
function that the Section performs is that of an
educational ‘‘ clearing house.” The associations
with which the educational world is honey-combed
are all of them sectional, and all of them, therefore,
narrow ; and because it supplies a common ground
upon which all classes of teachers may meet one
another and exchange ideas, and meet also
thoughtful people who are not teachers, the
Education Section deserves we!l of the pro-
fession.
H.
The School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
THE IRISH TECHNICAL CONGRESS.
THE second Irish Technical Congress was held in Belfast on
September 2nd and 3rd, under the presidency of Sir James Hen-
derson, chairman of the Belfast Library and Technical Instruc-
tion Committee. Upwards of fifty delegates were present from
various technical instruction committees in the four provinces of
Jreland. The Rev. P. J. Dowling, of Cork, acted as hon.
secretary. The agenda was a full one, consisting of twenty-eight
points, of which seventeen were energetically discussed. Most
of these subjects had direct bearing upon the efficient organisa-
tion and management of technical schools in Ireland, upon the
attitude of the Department of Technical Instruction in regard to
technical instruction committees, and upon the distribution of
funds at the disposal of the Department.
A lengthy discussion ensued upon the reading of a paper by
Mr. A. E. Easthope, of Dundalk, on the co-ordination of
secondary schools with technical schools. After instancing some
of the changes that had taken place in educational administra-
tion in Ireland consequent upon the report of the Vice-Regal
Commission of 1898, Mr. Easthope advocated a better under-
standing between the National Commissioners and the Department
of Technical Instruction, whereby manual training, science, and
domestic economy instruction, now being given in primary schools,
might be transferred to the technical school laboratory and work-
shop under properly trained teachers. There was at the present
time too much overlapping between the various systems in Ireland,
and a proper system of co-ordination of work was required.
Mr. Quick (Limerick) stated that both Belfast and Limerick had
decided upon the establishment of day technical schools as the
best means of bridging the gap referred to. Eventually the fol-
lowing resolution was adopted unanimously: ‘‘ That the De-
partment be requested to draw up a scheme of co-ordination
between the secondary schools and the technical schools, and
that the same be submitted to and discussed by a joint con-
ference of masters of secondary schools, the headmasters of
technical schools, the representatives of associated county
councils, and the representatives of the Department.”
Considerable discussion took place relative to the attitude of
some trades bodies in refusing to allow teachers of subjects con-
nected with various trades to follow their work during the day.
Mr. Quick, who introduced the subject, stated that his committee
were somewhat hampered in their scheme by this action on the
part of the local trades. The funds of the committee would
not permit of their appointing expert men for all the trades
subjects, but such men could be induced to come if work was
available for them during the day. The trades unions, how-
ever, refused to agree to this, although the masters were willing
totakethe men. The Rev. Father Dowling remarked they were
experiencing the same difficulty in Cork. This attitude was
severely deprecated by Messrs. Richardson and Symonds, the
president and secretary of the Dublin Trades Council, the
former stating that the Trades Congress had been agitating for
years past for the spread of technical education, and on no
account would the committee he represented sanction or sym-
pathise with such conditions as Father Dowling and Mr. Quick
had referred to. The following resolutions were adopted :
(i) “ That this Congress deprecates the attitude adopted by trades
bodies in some districts in Ireland in preventing teachers em-
ployed by technical committees following their trades during the
day.” (ii.) ‘That this Congress should ca!l upon the master
tradesmen to co-operate in extending technical education among
their employees, particularly the apprentices.”
On Wednesday, September 2nd, a meeting took place of the
delegates of Associated Technical Committees, when the council
of the association was elected, the name of the association
changed to “The Irish Technical Association,” and other
business transacted,
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
THE NATIONAL VALUE OF HIGIIER
EDUCATION.’
CHIEF among the causes which have brought us to the terrible
condition of inferiority as compared with other nations in which
we find ourselves are our carelessness in the matter of education
and our false notions of the limitations of State functions in
relation to the conditions of modern civilisation.
Time was when the Navy was largely a matter of private and
local effort. William the Conqueror gave privileges to the
Cinque Ports on the condition that they furnished fifty-two ships
when wanted. In the time of Edward III., of 730 sail en-
gaged in the siege of Calais, 705 were ‘‘ peoples ships.” Al
this has passed away ; for our first line of defence we no longer
depend on private and local effort.
Time was when not a penny was spent by the State on ele-
mentary education. Again, we no longer depend upon private
and local effort. The Navy and primary education are now
recognised as properly calling upon the public for the necessary
financial support. But when we pass from primary to university
education, instead of State endowment we find State neglect ;
we are in a region where it is nobody’s business to see that any-
thing is done.
We, in Great Britain, have thirteen universities competing
with 134 State and privately endowed in the United States and
twenty-two State-endowed in Germany. I leave other countries
out of consideration for lack of time, and I omit all reference to
higher institutions for technical training, of which Germany
alone possesses nine of university rank, because they are less
important ; they instruct rather than educate, and our want is
education. The German State gives to one university more
than the British Government allows to all the universities and
university colleges in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
put together. These are the conditions which regulate the pro-
duction of brain-power in the United States, Germany, and
Britain respectively, and the excuse of the Government is that
this a matter for private effort. Do not our Ministers of State
know that other civilised countries grant efficient State aid, and,
further, that private effort has provided in Great Britain less
than ten per cent. of the sum thus furnished in the United
States in addition to State aid? Are they content that we
should go under in the great struggle of the modern world be-
cause the Ministries of other States are wiser, and because the
individual citizens of another country are more generous than
our own?
If we grant that there was some excuse for the State’s neglect
so long as the higher teaching dealt only with words, and books
alone had to be provided (for the streets of London and Paris
have been used as class-roomis at a pinch), it must not be for-
gotten that during the last hundred years not only has knowledge
been enormously increased, but things have replaced words, and
fuily equipped laboratories must take the place of books and
class-rooms if university training worthy of the name is to be
provided. There is much more difference in size and kind
between an old and a new university than there is between the
old caravel and a modern battleship, and the endowments must
follow suit.
What are the facts relating to private endowment in this
country? In spite of the munificence displayed by a small
number of individuals in some localities, the truth must be
spoken. In depending in our country upon this form of endow-
1 From the Presidential Address to the British Association delivered at
Southport, on September gth, by Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., LL.D.,
F.R.S.
The School World
— 379
ment we are trusting to a broken reed. If we take the twelve
English University Colleges, the forerunners of universities,
unless we are to perish from lack of knowledge, we find that
private etfort during sixty years has found less than £4,000,000;
that is, £2,000,000 for buildings, and £40,000 a year income.
This gives us an average of £166,000 for buildings, and £3,300
for yearly income.
What is the scale of private effort we have to compete with in
regard to the American universities ? In the United States,
during the last few years, universities and colleges have received
more than £ 40,000,000 from this source alone; private effort
supplied nearly £7,000,000 in the years 1898-1900.
Next consider the amount of State aid to universities afforded
in Germany. The buildings of the new University of Strassburg
have already cost nearly a million ; that is, about as much as has
yet been found by private effort for buildings in Manchester,
Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, and Sheffield. The
Government annual endowment of the same German university
is more than £49,000. This is what private endowment does
for us in England, against State endowment in Germany. But
our State does concede the principle of endowment ; its present
contribution to vur universities and colleges amounts to £155,600
a year. No capital sum, however, is taken for buildings. The
State endowment of the University of Berlin alone in 1891-2
amounted to £168,777. |
When, then, we consider the large endowments of university
education both in the United States and Germany, it is obvious
that State aid only can make any valid competition possible
with either. The more we study the facts, the more statistics
are gone into, the more do we find that we, to a large extent,
lack both of the sources of endowment upon one or other or
both of which other nations depend. We are between two
stools, and the prospect is hopeless without some drastic changes.
And first among these, if we intend to get out of the present
Slough of Despond, must be the giving up of the idea of relying
upon private effort.
To compete on equal grounds with other nations we must have
more universities. But this is not all: we want a far better
endowment of all the existing ones, not forgetting better
opportunities for research on the part of both professors and
students. Another crying need is that of more professors and
better pay. Another is the reduction of fees; they should be
reduced to the level existing in those countries which are com-
peting with us—to, say, one-fifth of their présent rates—so as to
enable more students in the secondary and technical schools
to complete their education.
In all these ways facilities would be afforded for providing the
highest instruction to a much greater number of students. At
present there are almost as many Professors and instructors in
the universities and colleges of the United States as there are
day students in the universities and colleges of the United
Kingdom.
Men of science, our leaders of industry, and the chiefs of our
political parties all agree that our present want of higher educa-
tion—in other words, properly equipped universities—is heavily
handicapping us in the present race for commercial supremacy,
because it provides a relatively inferior brain-power, which is
leading to a relatively reduced national income.
The facts show that in this country we cannot depend upon
private eflort to put matters right. How about local effort ?
Anyone who studies the statistics of modern municipalities will
see that it is impossible for them to raise rates for the building
and upkeep of universities. The buildings of the most modern
University in Germany have cost a million. For upkeep the
yearly sums found, chiefly by the State, for German universities
of different grades, taking the incomes of seven out of the
twenty-two universities as examples, are :—
380 The
—— —
First Class Berlin I in
Second Class AE l 56,000
Third Class. a TaB L | 48,000
Fourth Class ! MaS ) ; - 37,000
Thus, if Leeds, which is to have a university, is content with
the fourth-class German standard, a rate must be levied of 7d.
in the pound for yearly expenses, independent of all buildings.
But the facts are that our towns are already at the breaking
strain. During the last fifty years, in spite of enormous in-
creases in ratable values, the rates have gone up from about 2s.
to about 7s. in the pound for real /oca/ purposes. But no
university can be a merely local institution.
THE GROWTH OF THE TEACHING OF
SCIENCE IN ENGLISH SCHOOLS:'
THE first science examinations conducted by the State took
place in May, 1861, and, the system of grants being made on the
results of examination having been authorised, the sum of
£1,300 was spent on this occasion on the instruction of 650
candidates, that number having been examined. Thus early
was the system of examination commenced, and the method of
payments on the results of these examinations stereotyped for
many years to come. There is reason to believe that the
educational experts of that day considered that both were
essential and of educational value, a value which has since been
seriously discounted. Employers of labour in this country were
not too quick in discerning the advantages that must ultimately
ensue from this class of education if properly carried out and
encouraged. Theoretically they gave encouragement, but
practically very little, and this survives to some extent even
to the present day.
No country but this, for very many years, considered that
instruction in science for the artisan was a large factor in
maintaining and developing industry. The educational interests
of the employer and the foremen were, in some countries, well
provided for, but the mechanic was merely a hand, and a
‘hand ” trained in merely practical work he was to remain.
He could not aspire to rise beyond. We may congratulate
ourselves that such a ‘*caste” system does not exist amongst
ourselves.
For the first twenty-five years of the Department of Science
and Art the grants given by Parliament for science instruction
were distributed almost entirely amongst those who were
officially supposed to belong to the industrial classes, and no
encouragement was offered to any higher class in the social
scale.
It would take me too long to show that at first the industrial
classes were very shy of seizing on the advantages offered them.
Suffice it to say that they had to be bribed by the offer of prizes
and certificates of success to attend instruction, and it was not
for several years that the evening classes got acclimatised and
became popular.
Much of the science that was taught in state-supported classes
was largely book work and cram, and the theoretical instruction,
asa rule, was unillustrated by experiment. This was undoubtedly
1 Abridged from the Address to the Educational Science Section of the
British Association delivered by Sir William de W. Abney. K.C.B., D.C. L.,
D. S6, RRS., President of the Section, on September roth.
School World
[OcToBER, 1903. |
due to the system of payments being based on success at the
examinations. I must here say that there were honourable
exceptions to this procedure. There were teachers, then as now,
who knew the subjects they taught, and who were inspired by a
genuine love of their calling.
I am not one of those who think, as some do, that cramming
is entirely pernicious. A good deal of what used to be taught
at public schools in my days was cram. It served its purpose at
the time in sharpening the memory, and was a useful exercise,
and it did not much matter if in after years much of it was
forgotten. If the cramming is in science, a few facts called back
to mind in after life are better than never having had the chance
at all. In fact, as the faded beauty replied to the born plain
friend, it is better to be one of the ‘‘ have beens ” than a “‘ never
wasn’t.”
The first grants for practical teaching were paid for chemistry.
The practical work had to be carried out in properly fitted
laboratories. There were not half-a-dozen at the time which
really answered our purpose, and one of the earliest pieces of
work on which I was engaged was in assisting to get out plans
for laboratory fittings. Thanks to the Education Act of 1870 (I
speak thankfully of the work that some of the important school
boards have done in the past in taking an enlightened view of
science instruction), there were some localities where the idea of
fitting up laboratories was received with favour, and it was not
long before several old ones were refitted, in which instruction
to adults was given, and new ones established in board schools
for the benefit of the sixth standard children. At that time an
inspector’s, like the policeman’s, lot was not a happy one. We
had to refuse to pass laboratories which did not fulfil conditions,
though we left very few ‘‘ hard cases.”
Till after the passirg of the Technical Instruction Act in 1857
the Department aided schools in the purchase of the fittings of
laboratories (both chemical and others), and year after year this
help, which stimulated local effort, caused large numbers of new
laboratories to be added to the recognised list.
The half-dozen chemical laboratories which existed in 1857
have now expanded to 349 physical and 774 chemical laboratories,
These are spread over all parts of England. I leave out Scotland
and Ireland, as the science teaching is no longer under the
English Board of Education. It is only fair to say that many of
this large number of laboratories are at present in secondary
schools, regarding which I shall have to speak more at length.
But the fact remains that in twenty-seven years there has been
such a growth of practical science-teaching that some 1,120
laboratories have come into being.
A reference must now be made to the removal of what anyone
will see was a great bar to the spread of sound instruction in
every class of school where science was taught. So long as the
student’s success in examination was the test which regulated the
amount of the grant paid by the State, so long was it impossible
to insist on all-round practical instruction. It was impracticable
to hold practical examinations for tens of thousands of students
in some twenty different subjects of science. The practical
examination in chemistry told its tale of difficulties. It was only
when the Duke of Devonshire and Sir John Gorst in 1898
substituted payment for attendance for the old scheme of
payments, and in a large measure substituted inspection for
examination, that the Department could still further press for
practical instruction. For all elementary instruction the test of
outside examination does more harm than good, and any
examination in the work done by elementary students should be
carried out by the teacher, and should be made on the absolute
course that has been given. It seems to be useless or worse that
an examination should cover more than this. Instruction in a
set sylabus which for an outside examination has to be covered
spoils the teaching and takes away the liberty of method which
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
a good teacher should enjoy. The literary work involved of
answering questions, for an outside examiner, is also against the
elementary student’s success, and cannot be equal to that which
may properly be expected from him a couple of years later.
Advanced instruction appears to be on a different footing.
The student in advanced science must have gradually obtained a
knowledge of the elementary portions of the subject, and it is not
too much to ask him beyond the inspection of his work to
express himself in decent English and submit to examination
from the outside ; but even here the payment for such instruction
should be by an attendance grant tempered in some degree by
the results of examination, since examiners are not always to be
trusted,
Instruction given in so-called organised science-schools was
Originally aided by the Department by means of a small
capitation grant. These schools were supposed to give an
organised course of science instruction, and the successes at
examination determined the payment. There was no doubt,
however, that the conditions under which they existed were
most unfavourable for a sound education, which ought not only
to include science but also literary instruction. The latter was,
in many schools, wholly neglected, owing to the fact that the
grants earned depended on the results of examination, and so all
the school time was devoted to grant earning.
Mr. Acland, at this time Minister for Education, was made
aware of this neglect to give a good general education, and as I
was at that time responsible for science instruction I was directed
to draw up a scheme for reorganising these schools and forcing a
general as well as scientific education to be carried out. Baldly
the scheme abolished almost entirely ? payments on results of
examination, and the rate of grant depended on inspection and
attendance. Further, a certain minimum number of hours had
to be given to literary subjects, and another minimum to science
instruction, a great deal of it being practical and having to be
carried out in the ‘‘workshop.” The payments for science
instruction were to be withheld unless the inspector was satisfied
that the literary part of the education was given satisfactorily.
Needless to say, the scheme was not received with favour on
all sides, more especially by those who thought that serious
damage would be done to secondary schools by the competition
from this new development of secondary education. At first it
was principally the higher-grade board schools that came under
the scheme, and in the first year there were twenty-four of them
at work. This type of school gradually increased until about
seventy of them, and chiefly of a most efficient character, were
recognised in 1900. Their further increase was only arrested by
the Cockerton judgment, now so well known that I need only
name it. But here we come to a most interesting development.
State aid, as already said, was at first limited to the instruction
of the industrial classes, but no limitation as to the status of the
pupil was made in this new scheme for the schools of science,
and logically this freedom was extended in 1897 to all instruc-
tion aided by the Department—the date when all limitation as
to the status of the pupil was abolished, the only limitation
being the status of the school itself. Thus, if a flourishing
public school, charging high fees for tuition, were to apply to
participate in the grant voted by Parliament, it may be
presumed, it would have to be refused. The abolition of the
restriction as to the status of the pupils left it open to poorly
endowed secondary grammar-schools to come under the new
scheme. To a good many the additional income to be derived
from the grant meant continuing their existence as efficient, and
for this reason, and often, I fear, for this reason alone, some
claimed recognition as eligible.
Such is an outline history of the invasion of science instruction
= Within the next four years they will entirely cease.
The School World
381
into certain secondary schools—an invasion which ought tu be
of great national service. In my view, no general education is
complete without a knowledge of those simple truths of science
which speak to everyone, but usually pass unheeded day by day.
The expansion of the reasoning and observational powers of
every child is as material to sound education as is the exercise
of the memory or the acquisition of some smattering of a
language. I am not going into the question of curricula in
schools, as I hope, regarding them, we shall have a full dis-
cussion. But of this I am sure, that no curriculum will be
adequate which does not include practical instruction in the
elementary truths of science. The President of the Royal
Society, in his last Annual Address, alluded to the mediæval
education that was being given in a vast number of secondary
schools. Those who planned the system of education of those
times deserve infinite credit for including all that it was possible
to include. Had there been a development of science in those
days, one must believe that with the far-seeing wisdom they
then displayed they would have included that which it is the
desire of all modern educationists to include. Observational and
experimental science would have assuredly found a place in the
system.
One, however, cannot help being struck by the broadening of
views in regard to modern education that has taken place in the
minds of many who were certainly not friendly to its develop-
ment. Perhaps in the Bishop of Hereford, when headmaster of
Clifton, we have the most remarkable early example of breadth
of view, which he carried out in a practical manner, surrounding
himself with many of the ablest teachers of science of the day.
There are other headmasters who, though trained on the
classical side, have had the prescience to follow in his footsteps,
and of free will; but others there are who have neither the
desire nor the intention, if not compelled to do so, to move in
the direction which modern necessities indicate is essential for
national progress. I am inclined to think that the movement in
favour of modernising education has been very largely quickened
by the establishment of schools of science in connection with
endowed schools and the desire for their foundation by the
Technical Instruction Committees, who had the whisky money
at their disposal, and who often more than supplemented the
parliamentary grants which these schools were able to earn. It
was the circumstance that the new scheme was issued when
many endowed schools were in low water that made it as
successful as it has been.
Though it is said that there is nothing in a name, I am a little
doubtful as to whether the earmarking of science education
as distinct from secondary education is not somewhat of a
mistake at the present day. For my own part, I should like to
think that the days have passed when such an earmarking was
necessary or advisable. The science to be tavght in secondary
schools should be part and parcel of the secondary education,
and it would be just as proper to talk of Latin and Greek
instruction apart from secondary education as it is to talk of
science instruction. At the same time, it would be most unwise
at the present time, when the new Education Committees are
learning their work and looking to the central authority for a
lead, for the State to alter the conditions on which it makes its
grants to these schools. It will require at least a generation to
pass before modernised education will be free from assault. If
science instruction is not safeguarded for some time to come, it
runs a good chance of disappearing or being neglected in a good
many schools. As to the schools which have no financial
ditticulties, it is hard to say what lines they may follow.
Tradition may be too strong in them to allow any material
change in their courses of study. If it be true that the modern
side of many a public school is made a refuge for the ‘*in-
capables,” and is considered inferior to the classical side, as
_ 382
some say is the case, such a side is practically useless in repre-
senting modern education in its proper light. Again, one at
least of the ancient universities has not shown much sympathy
with modern ideas, and, so long as she is content to receive her
students ignorant of all else but what has been called medieval
lore, so long will the schools which feed her have no great
inclination to change their educational schemes.
If we would only make the universities set the fashion the
public schools would be bound to follow. The universities say
that it is for the public schools to say what they want, and
vice versd, and so neither one nor the other change. It appears
to me that we must look to the modern universities to lead the
movement in favour of that kind of education which is best fitted
for the after life of the large majority of the people of this
country. If for no other reason, we must for this one hail the
creation of two more universities where the localities will be
able to impress on the authorities their needs. The large
majority of those whose views I share in this matter are not
opposed to or distrust the good effects of those parts of education
which date from ancient times. The great-men who have come
under their sway are living proofs that they can be effective now
as they have been in times past, but we look to the production
of greater men by the removal of the limitations which tradition
sets.
Before concluding, there is one subject that I must lightly
touch upon, and that is the supply of teachers other than
Science teachers. “The Education Act of 1870 gave the power
to elementary schools to train pupil-teachers, who in the
process of time would become teachers, either by entering into a
training college by means of a King’s scholarship or, less
satisfactorily, by examination. In large towns the need of a
proper training for pupil-teachers has been felt, and gradually
pupil-teacher centres were established, principally by school
boards, where the training could be carried out more or less
completely ; but in the rural districts and smaller towns the
pupil-teacher has had to be more or less self-taught, and except
in rare cases “‘ self-taught ” means badly taught. The Training
College authorities make no secret of the fact that one of the two
years during which the training of the teacher is carried out has
to be devoted more or less to instructing the pupils in subjects
they ought to have been taught before they entered the college.
Thus all the essential and special instruction which is given has
. to be practically shortened, and the teacher leaves the college
with less training than he should have.
The new Education Act has put it in the power of the
educational authorities to rectify the defects in the training of
pupil-teachers. It is much to be hoped that councils will
Separately or in combination either form special centres for the
training of all pupil-teachers, or else give scholarships (perhaps
aided by the State) to them, to be held at some secondary
school receiving the grant for science and recognised by the
Board of Education as efficient. The latter plan is one which
commends itself, as it ensures that the student shall associate
with others who are not preparing for the same calling in life,
and will prevent that narrowness of mind which is inevitable
where years are spent in the one atmosphere of pedagogy. The
non-residential training college, where the training of the teacher
is carried on at some university college, is an attempt to give
breadth of view to him, but if attempted in the earliest years of
a teacher’s career it will be even more successful. All teaching
requires to be improved, and the first step to take in this
direction is to educate the pupil-teacher from his earliest day’s
appointment, for his influence in after years will not only be
felt in that elementary, but will also penetrate into secondary
education. In regard to the additions required in elementary
education, which require the proper training of the pupil-teacher,
I must refer you to a report which will be presented to the
The School World
[OcToBER, 1903.
Section. The task of training pupil-teachers is one which
requires the earnest and undivided thought of the new Education
Committees.
We must be content to see advances made in the directions on
which the majority of men and women educational experts are
agreed, Great strides have already been made in educating the
public both in methods and subjects, but a good deal more
remains to be done.
It may be expected, for instance, that the registration of
teachers will lead to increased efficiency in secondary schools,
and that the would-be teacher, fresh from college, will not get
his training by practising on the unfortunate children he may be
told off to teach. It may also be expected that such increased
ethciency will have to be vouched for by the thorough inspection
which is now made, under the Board of Education Act, by the
Board, by a university, or by some such recognised body. It,
again, may be expected that parents will gradually waken up to
the meaning of the teacher’s register and the value of inspection,
and that those schools will flourish best which can show that
they, too, appreciate the advantages of each.
RECENT EDUCATIONAL REPORTS.
SCHOOLMASTERS are not, as a rule, great readers of Blue-
books; yet many of these official publications contain sugges-
tions and plans not only of interest to practical teachers, but
likely to prove very useful to them. The following extracts
from two recent reports,’ published by the Board of Education,
will perhaps lead some schoolmasters and schoolmistresses to
examine the Blue-books themselves.
HIGHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
Dr. H. H. Hoffert in his report on secondary schools and
science classes in the eastern division of England says: Schools
of the higher elementary type might very profitably be dis-
tributed at suitable intervals over London. They appear
destined to fill an important place in any future organised
scheme of elementary and secondary education, and to form
the natural completion of the elementary system. They should
not, and in my opinion do not, enter into rivalry with secondary
schools, but provide for the needs of pupils who will complete
their education at the age of fifteen and then go out into active
industrial or commercial occupations. The age at which the
choice of entering a higher elementary school has to be exercised
is also the age at which pupils should be transferred from the
elementary to the secondary schools, if the transfer is to be of
real and lasting benefit. The natural continuation of the higher
elementary schools is to be found in the evening schools and
polytechnics, to which it may be hoped they will in time bring
a very desirable and well-grounded class of students, better able
to profit by the advanced instruction there given than are,
unfortunately, so many of those who now attend the evening
schools. If this is to be accomplished, however, the special
character of these schools will need to be more fully recognised,
and they must meet with more sympathetic treatment from the
Local Education Authority. It is desirable that they should be
organised as central schools to which are drafted from the sur-
rounding elementary schools such pupils as show at the age of
ten or eleven years the ability to profit by the special instruction
given in them, and are able to stay at school three or four years
beyond this age, but are not suitable for transference to
secondary schools.
1 “ General Reports on Higher Education with Appendices for the year
1902." [Cd. 1735], 6d. ** General) Reports of H.M. Inspectors on Ele-
mentary Schools and Training Colleges for the year :go2.” (Cd. 1706], 15.
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
SCHOOL LIBRARIES.
In his report on the teaching of literary subjects in some
secondary schools for boys, Mr. J. W. Headlam points out the
value of school libraries in the following paragraph :—
In this connection it is necessary to draw attention to the
question of school libraries. To teach history, language, or
literature without books is as absurd as to teach science without
apparatus. The latter course is now forbidden ; the former is
almost universal. In a large number of schools there are no
libraries at all. Ina considerable number there is a collection
of story-books for the amusement of the boys. In scarcely a
single school has an attempt been made to form a collection of
books which the masters and boys can use in the illustration of
school work. There will be a finely-built and well-equipped
laboratory, an unlimited supply of expensive material for the
teaching of chemistry and physics, but there will not be found
a good atlas of modern times, much less an historical atlas.
There will be no standard dictionary of the English or any
-other language. The master who is giving a lesson on English
history will find no book to which he can refer for information
where the text-book is Ccefective, or for those illustrations and
details without which no narrative is more than words. There
are in the English language books of the greatest interest and
merit dealing with those scientific studies in which so much
time is passed ; there are books on natural history and travels
which would be of interest to many boys. Their existence is
in many places entirely unknown to them. How can it be
e\pected that they should acquire a love of reading or of study ?
The result is that it is no uncommon thing for a bright and
intelligent boy to leave school at the age of 16 or 17, without
ever having had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with
any book except the text-books, written purely for school
purposes.
e MISVALUED NEATNESS.
There is a tendency in our elementary education, says Mr.
Turnbull in his general report on the elementary schools of the
north-eastern division of England, to value neatness more than
tightness, as though the rule were, ‘‘ Be neat first, right after-
wards.” Among the causes of this tendency may be the fear
of the employer of labour, who likes to have his books kept
neatly. .\nother cause may be the over-practice in time past
of dictation, and the counting of corrections as errors (as now
is the case in the King’s Scholarship Examination). I would
suggest that an experiment like the following be tried in the
upper part of a few average schools. Write on the black-
board :-— p
The capital of England is York.
The capital of England is( York) London.
The capital of England ts eet London.
Say :—'* Suppose that these three sentences were written by
three children in answer to the question, ‘What city is the
capital of England?’ Of these three answers which is the
best?” I am afraid that, if the votes are counted, the third
answer, though it is the only nght one, will not win.
METHODS OF TEACHING.
Mr. Legard in reporting on the eleinentary schools of Wales
and Monmouthshire says: One of the great dangers that beset
the teaching of the present day, and a more insidious one than
any other, is to do too much for the children and to give them
little or nothing to do for themselves. Professor Armstrong has
incurred the displeasure of some experienced teachers by dis-
paraging what he terms the old mechanical methods, and by
insisting very strongly upon the advantages of the so-called
heuristic methods. I venture to think that the principle which
he advocates is perfectly sound though he has perhaps stated
clothes.
Ko
his views in tuo trenchant a manner. Again and again I hear
in schools lessons carefully prepared and admirably delivered,
which fail in their object, because the children do not take an
active part in the instruction. They are not required to make
any mental etfort and are told things which they ought to dis-
cover for themselves. Further, the precept is neglected that
everything learnt should lead on to sumething done, and it is
forgotten that unless knowledge is applied it is ugless. As
more enlightened views gain ground it is hoped that our elder
scholars will be left much more to themselves than is the case
at present, and that they will do work under the teacher's
supervision without more help than is necessary.
CORRECT POSTURE OF THE Purin.
Quoting Mr. Boyd Carpenter, Mr. W. E. Currey in reporting
on the elementary schools of the eastern division says: Correct
pesture in sitting and standing is much neglected. When
sitting, scholars are frequently allowed to lounge on the desks
with their folded arms thereon—a fitting preparation for a com-
foitable nap. In standing, their mission often seems to be to
prop up some wall or to transfer its colouring to their own
The general posture in writing is most injurious to the
health of the children; the evil practice of ‘ putting left arms
round slates and books” is not only unchecked, but in many
schools it is actually encouraged. Thus, twisted spines, high
shoulders, contracted chests, and eves of different focus are
systematically developed. The unsuitable desks in many cases
contribute to this injurious posture, but it cannot be an im-
possible task to devise plans by which the defects of desks may
be minimised or removed. Apart from the hygienic result,
correct posture tends to make the child’s mind more receptive
and the lessons consequently more effective.
EFFECT OF ABOLITION OF EXAMINATIONS.
Mr. J. G. Fitzmaurice in his report on the clementary schools
of the north central division of England deals with the question
of a possible falling off in accuracy since the yearly examination
was abolished. He says: The general verdict is that since the
abolition first of full and then of sample examinations there has
been a falling off in accuracy in writing, spelling, and arithmetic.
This. is but natural. When the energy of the teacher was
directed for a whole year to make the children as perfect as
possible in the three ‘* R’s,” accuracy might be expected. The
formal written yearly examination has gone; as a rule every
school has greatly added to its curriculum ; the school is now
tested twice a year at uncertain periods, the children are no
longer presented to the inspector like horses trained to the last
hair, ready for the race, but are more in the condition of horses
seen by glimpses at exercise. It is therefore not surprising that
there should be some falling off in accuracy, but many think
that this is fully compensated for by the brighter condition both
of teachers and scholars, the enlarged curriculum and corre-
sponding intelligence.
Nothing is more common in the weary monotonous dis-
cussions on platforms and in newspapers on the vexed subject
of education than the assertion that the elementary education of
the country is rotten. I cannot help thinking that such a state-
ment is a gross exaggeration and a most unfair charge against
a splendid body—the elementary school teachers of this country.
Of course the education now given is not perfect, yet, consider-
ing the difficulties that attend it —e.g., the tender age of children,
their susceptibility to illness, home influences, short time—I
maintain that the education now given in our schools is well
chosen, intelligently treated, conscientiously given. I often
wonder, when I read these sweeping condesirations, whether
the critics have ever been within the walls of a public elemen-
tary school !
334
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
IN our last issue we asked headmasters and headmistresses
kindly to send us copies of the form of school report in use by
them. We have received some replies, but not enough for our
purpose, sp that we repeat our request. There is room for much
improvement in the form of report sent to parents of the work
done and progress made by boysand girls during a term. Many
school reports in use at present are too elaborate and technical
for the parent to understand, and we hope, if we receive a
sufficient number of forms of report actually in use, that it may
be possible, with varied expert assistance, to suggest some
directions in which simplification and improvement is possible.
THE report of Prof. M. E. Sadler on secondary and higher
education in the city of Sheffield has now been published, and
should prove of value not only to the Education Committee of
Sheffield but to similar authorities in every part of the country.
Dr. Sadler, in stating the aims to be kept in view in framing a
plan for the improvement of secondary and higher education in
Sheffield, has provided an ideal towards which education com-
mittees in other centres may with advantage direct their efforts.
The report states that the weakest spot in the educational
arrangements of Shefheld is in the secondary education provided
for boys. A parent, living in Sheftield, who wishes to give his
son the best kind of higher seconaary education cannot find it
in the city, and, as Prof. Sadler says, it will pay Sheffield hand-
somely to bring its provision of secondary education for boys
thoroughly up to date, as it is, for instance, in the progressive
cities of Germany and the United States.
ANOTHER suggestion prominent among the many put forward
by Prof. Sadler in his report is that concerned with what was
originally known as the Higher Grade School, but which has
more recently been called the Higher Elementary School of
Sheftield. In addition to a higher secondary school there is
need in Sheffield, says Dr. Sadler, for another secondary school
with a different aim, and he goes on to propose that the cha-
racter of the Central Higher Elementary School shall be changed,
and that it should be converted into a secondary school specif-
cally intended ‘‘to feed the Technical School with a steady
stream of well-educated lads of sixteen years of age.” The’
new school, it is said, should be a thoroughly good school of a
purely modern type. It should be a school with low fees and
be well staffed with highly competent and well-trained teachers,
and no class should be allowed to contain more than thirty
pupils. Such a school would be mainly recruited from the
public elementary schools, and the pupils should be drafted to
it from the elementary schools at, or near, their twelfth birth-
day. Itis much to be hoped that this report of Prof. Sadler
will be widely circulated and carefully studied in all our large
towns, for the needs of most of our manufacturing centres are
very similar.
THE Oxford Delegates for Local Examinations are persisting
in their praiseworthy endeavour to encourage the study of
European History in schools, though they have not yet been
able to shake off the trammels of special periods. One of the
alternative historical subjects for 1904 (a full list of which was
given in our July issue) is ‘f Outlines of European History,
987-1215,” which is partly contemporary with one of the alter-
native periods in English History (1066-1399). Two years ago
the period was 1095-1254, and most of the advice concerning
text-books, &c., which was given in Mr. C. S. Fearenside’s
article dealing with that period (THE SCHOOL WoRLD, October,
1901) will be found relevant to the period now in hand. The
The School World
[OcToBER, 1903.
manuals by Profs. Emerton and Tout, which were there singled
out for special commendation, still remain the best text-books
for advanced students or for the teacher’s own use ; but two ad-
mirable books of a somewhat more elementary type have appeared
since the date of that article. These are both entitled ** The
Middle Ages,” and are written by Prof. P. V. N. Myers and
Prof. J. H. Robinson respectively. Both works contain excel-
lent maps and sound guidance in supplementary reading ; both
have been warmly commended in these columns, and both are
published by Messrs. Ginn and Co. (4s. 6d. each).
To encourage apprentices to gain a sound knowledge of the
branches of technology connected with their work, the Great
Western Railway Company offer facilities for a limited number
of selected students to attend day classes at the Swindon
Technical School. Candidates must be registered apprentices
between seventeen and eighteen years of age. They must have
spent at least one year in the factory, and must have regularly
attended for at least one session in the preparatory group of
evening classes at the Technical School. Candidates must
produce evidence of good conduct and attention to their work in
the factory, and only those who obtain a minimum qualification
at the examinations will be successful. The course of study for
each year will consist of : practical mathematics, practical
mechanics, geometrical and machine drawing and heat, electricity
and chemistry. The apprentices thus attending the classes will
have their wages paid as ifat work in the factory, and the Great
Western Railway Company will pay their school fees. The
students attending the day classes will be expected to give some
time each evening to private study. Students who distinguish
themselves will be allowed to spend part of their last year in
the drawing office and chemical laboratory. The whole of the
arrangements will at all times be under the direction of the
Chief Mechanical Engineer.
THE report of the Board of Education for the year 1902-1903
has now been issued, and it deals very completely with the
present condition of elementary and higher education in the
country. Speaking of the Education Act of last year, the report
states: ** The enactment of the Education Act, 1902, is pro-
bably the most important event in the history of education in
England since the full recognition of elementary education as a
national duty in 1870. Many of the provisions of the Act have
been and continue to be matter for controversy ; but the Board
are gratified to find that in the majority of localities there is
much willingness to accept it as a step towards bringing educa-
tion, co-ordinated in all its forms, into more intimate connection
with other branches of local life, and to unite in administering
it in a spirit of fairness and liberality. It will be the endeavour
of the Board to do all within their power to encourage and
assist such an attitude.” In another place we find mentioned,
as “a task which is occupying our most serious efforts,” ‘‘ the
co-ordination of the work of elementary with that of secondary
schools, and the correlation with both of the work of the
evening schools, the pupil-teacher centres, and the training col-
leges is a matter of the first importance towards the establish-
ment of a coherent system of national education.”
AMONG many other subjects of interest contained in the Report
of the Board of Education, the information as to the inspection
of secondary schools will appeal in a particular manner to our
readers. The number of schools inspected under the Board of
Education Act, 1899, in the year 1902, was 95, as compared with
51 in the previous year. Of these, §2 were inspected on the
application of the county authorities aiding them; 6 were
proprietary schools ; 8 were private schools ; 19 were schools for
girls; and 6 were mixed schools for boys and girls; 31 were
schools receiving grants under the regulations of the Board for
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
The School World
secondary day schools, and in the case of 16 of these the
inspection was required for compliance with the regulations.
During the year the Universities of Birmingham and London
were, on the advice of the Consultative Committee, added to
those of Oxford and Cambridge and the Victoria University as
Organisations which the Board are prepared to employ for
Inspection under the Board of Education Act. All these
Universities, however, concurred in the view that the adminis-
trative side of the inspection should be conducted by an ofticer
of the Buard. During the year one school was inspected under
this arrangement by the Victoria University in conjunction with
an otficer of the Board.
THE return for this year showing the extent to which, and
the manner in which, local authorities in England and Wales
have applied funds to the purposes of technical education during
the year 1901-2 has been received. The return shows that
the total amount thus expended in England and Wales, was
41,057,399. This amount is exclusive of the sums allocated
to intermediate and technical education under the Welsh
Intermediate Education Act, 1889. The amount raised by loan
on the security of the local rate under the Technical Instruction
Acts was £206,426, the amount of loans so raised out-
standing was £1,030,952, and the balance in hand of
moneys received and allocated to technical instruction was
£, 558, 319.
THE Oxford School of Geography has published its arrange-
ments for Michaelmas Term, 1903. The Reader in Geography
(Mr, Mackinder) will lecture weekly on the historical geography
of Europe. The Lecturer in Physical Geography (Mr Dickson)
will lecture weekly, (1) on topographical surveying, (2) on the
atmospheric circulation, and (3) on map projections. The
Lecturer in Regional Geography (Mr. Herbertson) will lecture,
(1) weekly on the British Isles, (2) twice weekly on Africa and
Australasia, and (3) weekly on types of land forms. The
Lecturer in Ancient Geography (Dr. Grundy) will lecture weekly
on the geography of Herodotus. The Lecturer in the History
of Geography (Mr. Beazley) will lecture weekly on the history
of discovery from Henry the Navigator to Columbus and Da
Gama. An examination for one scholarship of the value of
£,60 will be held on October 14th, 1903. Candidates, who must
have taken Honours in one of the Final Schools of the Uni-
versity, should send in their names to the Reader not later than
October 1. The Scholar elected will be required to attend the
full course of instruction at the School of Geography during the
academic year 1903-1904, and to enter for the University
Diploma in Geography in June, 1904.
ONE of the attractions of the Greater Cork International
Exhibition of this year is a Nature Study Section initiated by
Count Plunkett and organised by Mr. J. L. Copeman. The
plan of this section of the Exhibition seems to have been in-
spired by the larger Nature Study Exhibition held at the Botanic
Gardens in London last year, and many of the exhibits at Cork
were on view on that occasion. The increasing popularity of
the study of natural objects is well worthy of encouragement,
and it is to be hoped that Count Plunkett’s efforts will prove
successful in persuading Irish teachers to encourage nature-
study in their schools.
' THE Governors of the Mary Datchelor Girls’ School at
Camberwell are again adding to the equipment of the school
for science work by extending the school gardens for the study
of botany, and forming an additional chemical laboratory for
more advanced students. They have also appointed another
science mistress and an additional drawing-mistress. The same
Governors have just awarded the free studentship at their Train-
ing College, given annually to a graduate of some British
university, to Miss Hilda Savage, of the Victoria University.
For the guidance of the doctors who will give the lectures,
Dr. R. J. Collie, the medical superintendent of the hygiene,
first-aid, and home-nursing classes in the evening continuation
schools of the School Board for London, has drawn up a very
complete syllabus of fifteen lectures on health. Each lecture is
accompanied by notes of suitable practical work to illustrate the
principles explained in the lecture. The hints given to lecturers
are of a thoroughly practical kind, and if Dr. Collie’s instruc-
tions are carried out, and the course of work suggested by him
intelligently worked through, these classes should result in the
dissemination of saner ideas as to physical conduct and well-being.
Messrs. Lyppon ROBERTS and Denney, of the Normal Cor-
respondence College, call our attention to the fact that Si
William Anson recently promised Mr. Norman, in reply to a
question in the House of Commons, that allowances would be
made in marking the papers on the theory of teaching at the
recent Certificate Examination, since the questions set were not
strictly in accordance with the regulations previously published
as to the scope of the examination.
WE have received a copy of the report for 1902 of the
Teachers’ Registration Council. The subjects contained in the
report are dealt with in an article in another part of our present
issue (p. 357).
THE thirty-fourth ‘* Matriculation Guide ” published by the
University Correspondence College shows with what skill the
authorities of the college can adapt themselves to new condi-
tions. The new guide provides the student who wishes to
matriculate at the University of London under the new regula-
tions with just the information of which he stands in need.
Messrs. DurHams, Lrp., of Leeds, have published a
souvenir of the Leeds School Board, 1870-1903, which exhibits
in a striking manner by means of excellent photographs the
extent of the work accomplished by the successive School
Boards since the passing of the Act in 1870 for the Education of
Leeds.
A VERY full account of the summer meeting of the Oxford
University Extension Delegacy, to which we have already made
more than one reference, has been published from the office of
the Oxford Chronicle in the form of two well-illustrated
pamphlets. We have little doubt that all who attended the
meeting at Oxford and many others interested in University
Extension work will wish to possess copies of these interesting
publications.
SCOTTISH.
Sır JENRY CRAIK’s report on Secondary Education in
Scotland for the year 1903 is an extremely interesting and
encouraging record of progress. The managers and governors
of secondary schools are yearly taking a higher view of their
duties and responsibilities, and are putting forth every effort to
maintain the high traditions of Scottish education. School
board members, who are inclined to show a certain timidity
about the expenditure of the rates on secondary schools, are
reminded that adequate provision for higher education is by no
means a matter’ of interest to one class only, but is of the most
vital importance to every section of the community. It is
disappointing to learn from the report that fuller advantage is
not taken of the liberal provision that has been made for every
type of education. ‘It is matter for regret,” Sir H. Craik
says, ‘to find that, where ample educational provision has been
380
— = m
made, the inspectors have so often to lament that the pupils are
withdrawn at an ave too early to benefit fully by it. This is
one of the most serious disadvantages secondary education in
Scotland has to contend with.” A table of statistics which
is appended fully bears out this criticism, and the fact of the -
complete Leaving Certificate having been gained by only 417
pupils in the whole of Scotland is startling evidence in the same
direction.
THE report deals with the question of over-pressure in
higher schools which came so frequently and prominently before
the Physical Education Commission. The charge of over-
pressure in the upper classes of many of the secondary schools is
held to be clearly established, as enquiries in different parts of
the country show that it is no uncommon thing for boys, and
even for girls, to spend five or six hours pet night on home
lessons. The nervous strain thus entailed is bound to be
excessive, and cannot fail to react unfavourably on the
intellectual no Jess than on the physical development of the
pupils. Sir Henry Craik rightly seeks for the cause in the
etfort to attain a very high degree of excellence in too wide a
range of subjects. The conditions for the university bursary
competitions are held to be mainly responsible for the existing
tension, and the report urges the university authorities to
lessen their demands in regard to the number of subjects as
speedily as possible.
A JUDGMENT likely to become as famous as that of Mr.
Cockerton has just been given by a Scottish sheriff in an action
raised by the School Board of Callander against one of the
parish ratepayers for failure to pay his proportion of the school
rate. The detender justified his refusal on the ground that the
School Board had no warrrant to levy school rates for the
higher education of persons living outside the parish of
Callander. The Sheriff has not only upheld this contention
but holds that the Board has no powers to levy rates for higher
education for anyone in the McLaren Iligh School. Should
this judgment be upheld by the Court of Session, higher educa-
tion in many parts of Scotland will be seriously prejudiced.
Possibly this case may bring home to the Government the
necessity of bringing forward at the earliest possible moment the
long-looked-for Education Bill for Scotland.
THe Education Committee of the Educational Institute of
Scotland has issued the following report in regard to the
supplementary courses recently instituted by the Education
Department: (1) That, while the desire of the Department to
provide suitable instruction for pupils between twelve and fourteen
years of age is fully recognised, the institution of supplementary
courses for such pupils is contrary to the recognised educational
principle that specialised instruction to be really effective must
rest on the solid basis of general education. (2) That further,
parents cannot, as a rule, determine the future occupation of
children only twelve years of age, because (a) that is determined
in a large number of cases as much by opportunity as by choice,
and (b) the inclinations and aptitudes of children are at that
age not fully disclosed. (3) That in particular the adoption of
the Rural Course in country schools will seriously prejudice the
prospects in life of rural pupils by withholding from them the
advantages of a sound general education which at present they
possess in common with town children.
Mk. ANDREW CARNEGIE, on the occasion of his visit to Kil-
marnock for the purpose of laying the memorial stone of a new
public school, was presented with the freedom of the burgh.
Mr. Carnegie in the course of his address said that Scotland was
entitled to the credit of having first among modern nations
The School World
var ue =
[OCTOBER, 1903.
carefully planted and nursed that indispensable agency, education,
for the elevation of the masses of the people. The remarkable
progress of America and the surprisingly virile and energetic
character of its people was in large measure due to the im-
portance they altached to education. America in its education
system had paid Scotland the flattering tribute of imitation.
Along with the church which the Pilgrim Fathers erected there
always arose the village school. To-day there was no religious
difficulty in America as there was none in Scotland, because the
schools were under popular secular control. In England, where
the Church still remained a social and political power, education
was much retarded by its all-pervading influence, and the in-
struction given in England was consequently miserably ineihcient
compared with that of Scotland.
THE ceremony of laying the memorial stone of the Sutherland
Technical School, Golspie, was performed on Septemher 8th by
Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Secretary for Scotland, in the presence
of a distinguished company. The school is the result of a
movement by the Duchess of Sutherland to provide better
educational facilities for the children of crofters and others in the
northern counties. ‘The curriculum of the school is based on a
study of the needs of the district in which agriculture and fishing
were the chief industries. The fact that the school is a resi-
dential one gives it a unique place in Scottish education, where
the principle has only been applied in schools for the wealthier
classes. Provision has been made for a limited number of
bursaries which will carry with them free board and education.
Lord Balfour, after laying the stone, said that the new ven-
ture was not intended to be a copy, still less a rival, of ex-
isting educational agencies. It was a new attempt to solve an
old problem, namely, whether they could, in regard toany given
population living under conditions far from favourable, give an
education calculated to ameliorate these conditions. This was
essentially a matter for private enterprise, but his presence there
was an earnest of the sympathy with which his Department would
follow the experiment. He hoped their educational system
would never be remodelled on lines so rigid as to leave no scope
for private enterprise. Boards and departments were all very
well in their way, but they were apt to be critical rather than
constructive. Many advances in education had started outside
the established system, and he hoped private institutions would
always find a place in their midst to allow the freest play for
individual action.
CAPTAIN C. MITCHELL-INNES has been appointed by the
Scotch Education Department Inspector of Physical Instruction
in connection with the inspection of higher schools and depart-
ments in Scotland. He will also inspect the classes in this
subject in the training colleges, as well as these for the further
instruction of teachers conducted under Article 91 (d) of the
Code. `
FoR some time past considerable friction has existed between
the School Board of Glasgow and the members of the teaching
staff. With a view to remedy a state of matters which cannot
fait to have a prejudicial effect on the education of the pupils,
the Board have arranged to receive a deputation from any grade
of the teachers in their service on any matter of general
educational concern or relating to the teachers’ interests. This
is a forward step of some moment which might with advantage
be followed by other educational authorities. These bodies
have hitherto been too much given to arranging even the
minutest details of school organisation and of educational policy
without any regard to the opinions of those who have practical
knowledge and experience of the conditions of school work.
OCTOBER. 1903.]
—
IRISH.
Now that the study of Irish has been so largely taken up—
wisely or otherwise—in intermediate schools, it is well that steps
should be taken to put it upon a sound basis of scholarship: it
is therefore satisfactory to learn that a good start has been made
in this direction during the past summer. Prof. Kuno Meyer,
in an address in Dublin in the earlier part of the year, suggested
the founding of a school of Irish studies, including Old, Middle,
and Modern Irish, language and literature. A beginning has
been made by a course of lectures by Prof. Strachan, of Owens
College, Manchester, who in July lectured on Old Irish giam-
mar in University College and Trinity College. Two further-
courses were given in the University College in September, one
by Dr. Henry Sweet on phonetics, and the other by Dr. Kuno
Meyer on palwography. Dr. Sweet’s is the first serious attempt
in Ireland to lecture on the phonetics of Irish, while Dr. Meyer’s
lectures should be particularly helpful towards deciphering the
large number of ancient [rish manuscripts in existence in Dublin
and elsewhere. The movement will without doubt be a Success,
and this new school of Irish studies will, it is hoped, presently
have permanent rooms of its own.
THE Intermediate Board in reviving music as a school subject
are wisely attempting to make it much more practical than it was
under the old system. The examination in music will include
both theory and practice, and it is laid down as a frst principle
that no student who has not been certified by the examiners to
have passed the practical examination will be admitted to the
examination in theory. The scheme issued by the Board is drawn
up for piano, violin, violoncello, or harp, and in all cases includes
scales, arpeggios, studies, and pieces, together with sight reading,
an ear test, and some knowledge of theory. The Board are also
prepared to allow students to take up any other instrument in
place of those mentioned. ° They are further prepared to grant
a special bonus to any school which shall present for examination
a choir or orchestra which shall acquit itself to the satisfaction of
the examiner. They will also award special prizes tu school
choirs or orchestras to be awarded after a special examination to
be held in Dublin at a date which will be announced in due
course.
Mr. Davin G. BARKLEY, who had been a member of the
Intermediate Board for many years, having died in July, the
Lord-Lieutenant has appointed his Honour Judge Craig to be
one of the Commissioners,
THE report of the Queen’s College, Belfast, for the year
1902-3 is extremely satisfactory. Perhaps the University Com-
mission has in the North awakened renewed interest in the
College. The number of students in the faculty of arts has
exactly doubled, and, what is better, the quality of the freshmen
is of an unusually high order. So high was the standard of
work for the entrance scholarships both in mathematics and
classics that three extra scholarships were awarded. Another
interesting feature in the report is the increasing number of lady
students, which now reaches to 43, an increasing proportion of
whom have distinguished themselves in the open and equal
competitions with the male students. First prizes were won by
ladies in Greek, Latin, French, German, English, and experi-
mental physics.
THERE were this year 48 candidates as opposed to 31 last
year for the Science and Technological scholarships, tenable at
the Royal College of Science. Five scholarships were awarded
of the value of £50 per annum for three years in addition to
free instruction at the Royal College of Science, and five teacher-
ships in training of about the same value.
The § School World
387
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THE Corporation of Dublin has decided to erect a new
technical school on the north side of Dublin, the prominent
features of which will be the attention given to the building and
printing trades and their allied subjects, while the present school
in Kevin Street will be reserved mainly for mechanical and
electrical engineering. Mathematics, drawing and English
will be taught in both schools, and plumbing, French and
German, boot and shoemaking, bookkeeping and correspon-
dence in one or other.
WELSH.
Tue Cardiff Education Scheme Committee claims the right
to select all the members of the local education authority from
the County Council. They urge that the words in section 17
of the Act, “ when it appears desirable,” give them that option.
The Board of Education contest the interpretation put upon
those words by the Committee. The point in dispute is really
whether the Committee are prepared to include in their scheme for
the local Education Authority the explicit inclusion of ‘ persons
of experience in education.” As to the importance of inclusion
of such persons, surely there should not be two opinions. The
Cardiff Committee apparently do not challenge this principle,
and it is to be hoped that their action will not be interpreted in
Wales as embodying an objection to having cn their Education
Authority those who have special knowledge of education.
THE Llanelly School Board are extremely indignant that
the County Education Committee have adopted a scheme
whereby pupil teachers are to be educated at the County School
instead of at the Pupil Teacher Centre, as heretofore. Of
course, it is difficult to make a change where a pupil-teacher
centre has been working successfully. But it is going too far
for the chairman to say that the curriculum at a county school
is not a proper one for pupil teachers. A good sound seccndary
education is a proper education for a pupil teacher, of all
persons. It isa matter of expediency whether that secondary
education should be given in ae county school or a pupil-
teacher centre. But the School Board cannot but see that it
would bea pity to continue two institutions—if one can do the
work—if, indeed, it were only a question of rates.
THE Radnorshire County Governing Body has passed the
following resolution: ‘That under the circumstances of an
altered educational system this County Governing Body, whilst
acknowledging the great work of organisation effected by the
Central Welsh Board, is of opinion that it would be in the best
interests, economically and otherwise, of the intermediate schools
of Radnorshire and of Wales generally for the examination
and instruction to be undertaken by arrangement withand under
the superintendence of the Welsh University authorities, instead
of, as heretofore, by the Central Welsh Board.” Of course
such a resolution is ill-timed. The Central Welsh Board is no
longer to remain a separate body for intermediate education.
The new proposal is a Joint Education Board, representing all
the county education authorities for both intermediate and
elementary education. It will be an important duty of that new
body to determine the question of the method of examination
and inspection of the intermediate schools. But we venture to
say that it would at least be desirable to inquire whether the
University of Wales has not already quite enough to do with the
direction of under-graduate and post-graduate work, without
setting its hand to school work. The Radnorshire scheme
sounds plausible until we reflect that it does not necessarily
follow that those who are most absorbed in university teaching
have energy and insight to deal with the problems of school
teaching.
THE general report on the Elementary Schools of Wales and
Monmouthshire by Mr. A. G. Legard has been issued. [t is
388 : The
in many respects optimistic. Included in the general report
are separate reports from district inspectors. The following
extract from Mr. L. J. Roberts is very interesting: ‘‘It is
pleasing to notice in how many schools plants are now grown
for observation, and how the growth of plants is observed and
recorded from day to day, so that the children gain something
of the pleasures of original investigation, simple though it be
as yet. . à Nature diaries are kept by many scholars,
and on the walls of many a rural school will be found recorded
(this I have noticed now for many years at Pentrecelyn, near
Ruthin) the most striking natural events observed by the
scholars, the date, the name of the place, and the name of the
scholar being mentioned. Not long ago, on a fine
afternoon, I met a band of happy girls on a hill-side near
Llangollen collecting flowers, under the guidance of one of their
teachers, who taught them to observe the characteristics of the
flowers of which there was such a perfect wealth all around
them. On the same afternoon I could descry another band
from another school in the town climbing the heights of Dinas
Bran, Wordsworth’s ‘ Castle in Wales.’ ”
CURRENT HISTORY.
Mr. BARTON, the Premier of Federated Australia, has been
asked to repeal the recent legislation of ‘‘ the Commonwealth ”
concerning employment of *‘ black” labour on mail steamers.
He replied that ‘tit was useless to ask for repeal before the
effect of the clause had been tried.” Is there, then, a lack of
political imagination in the Antipodes? Can they not forecast
the result of legislation? If so, it is as “ useless ” to make
laws as to repeal them. And there are precedents in English
history for such wise confession of mistakes in legislation. We
are all familiar with the Act of Settlement of 1701 under the
authority of which King Edward reigns. That Whig settle-
ment was coupled with several Tory limitations of the future
sovereign’s power which are interesting in many ways. Of the
eight, three were repealed before they could come into effect,
two of them in Queen Anne’s time, and the other in George I.’s
first Parliament at his request. This last would have prevented
George from taking his holidays at home. The other two
combined would have made a Cabinet impossible.
Tite Imperial Tariff question is still being discussed. Among
other utterances we have noted ‘An Appeal from Labour
Representatives in the Imperial Parliament to Workmen in
Canada, Australia and New Zealand,” in which, inter alta,
they say, ‘t We lost half of our Colonial Empire in the eighteenth
century because we claimed and tried to enforce a right to
tax the Colonies for our benefit. . Our action in the
eighteenth century was not just to our Colonies, and it brought
to us its due penalty.” With the moral drawn from this we
do not concern ourselves, much less do we attempt to answer
the hazardous question, ‘* What would be the result if we
yielded now to what we are told is your demand?” But is
their history quite correct? It has long been the fashion for
English writers to sit in sackcloth over the colonial policy of
1760-80, but it is not quite clear that that policy was so un-
righteous or obviously unwise. The taxes imposed on the
Colonies were intended to pay for a recent war waged for their
benefit and to secure them against future dangers. If physical
conditions had been different, especially if steam and electricity
had been used then, what would have been the result of the
war? and what would have been our verdict on the possibly
different result ?
In August, the Marquis of Salisbury died after a brief period
of retirement from public life. llis personal career began so
long ago that much of it has become part of recorded history,
School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
and might fitly claim a place in this paragraph. But our news-
papers have sufficiently reminded us of his words and deeds,
and we will therefore add only a word by way of comparison
and contrast with the career of the only two of his ancestors
whose names have won a place in our ordinary text-books.
Every one knows of William Cecil, Baron Burleigh, who was
Queen Elizabeth’s minister for forty years of her reign, and
died in harness in August, 1598. He was followed in office by
his son Robert, of whom little more is known popularly than
his diplomatic introduction of James VI. of Scotland to his
English subjects. He is scarcely remembered by his title of
Earl of Salisbury, and though overshadowed by the greatness
-of his father, his death in 1612 is regarded by Dr. Gardiner as
an important event in the Stuart Drama. It was he, by the
hye, who exchanged Theobalds for Hatfield with his king.
These two served princes, our Salisbury served a Parliament
based on a voting democracy. Which had the easier task ?
i LORD LANSDOWNE will be prepared to entertain favourably
proposals for the establishment of a Jewish colony or settlemen
on conditions which will enable the members to observe their
national customs. . . . He would be prepared to discuss
. . the appointment of a Jewish official as the chief of
the local administration,” &c. ‘‘The Russian Government
naturally could not in any way tolerate that new departure, of
which the only result would be to create groups of individuals
entirely alien and even hostile to the patriotic sentiments which
form the strength of every State. . - The Russian Govern-
ment has never deviated from the great principles of morality
and humanity.” These two quotations are official statements
of the British and Russian Governments respectively with
reference to the same question, the existence of Jewish com-
munities within their respective territories. How wide the
contrast between their different points of view! Yet it is only
two hundred years since Jews were allowed to return to Eng-
land, and not a hundred since their citizenship was acknow-
ledged. Is Russia where we were in the seventeenth century?
Is she still a theocracy, where unity of race and religion is
necessary to the safe existence of the State? Perhaps each
Government is right, for the present.
6 ee a
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
° Modern Languages.
A Course of Commercial German. By E. E. Whitheld and
Carl Kaiser. xiv. + 274 pp. (Longmans.) 35. 6c.— The
authors, both teachers in an important school of commerce, have
succeeded in compiling a book containing a large amount of
useful matter concerned with all grades of commerce. It
contains a synopsis of the essential parts of the grammar which
will be useful for revision to students who have already gone
through the ordinary school course in German for a year or two.
The vocabularies are numerous and comprehensive, though a little
bewildering at first when used for reference with the help of the
alphabetical indices at end of book. The arrangement, however,
could not be otherwise without unduly extending the size of the
book. The reading lessons, business dialogues, and commercial
letters are all good, and those who conscientiously use the
volume, with the help of a competent teacher, will be well
equipped for whatever branch of commerce they may engage in.
The book should have a wide use and should serve a useful
purpose. |
OCTOBER, 1903. |
Das edle Blut. By Ernst von Wildenbruch, edited by Otto
Siepmann. xviii. + 135 pp. 2s. Word and Phrase Book, 6d.
Key to Appendices. (Macmillan.) 2s. 6¢.—A valuable addition
to a well-known series. It is a charming story, of a neat and
simple style and easy vocabulary. The annotations by the
general editor are admirable. Its study is highly to be recom-
mended in all classes, not alone for its literary value but also as
an interesting means of acquiring a useful vocabulary. The
‘ Word and Phrase Book” and also the ‘‘ Key to the Appen.
dices” will be found very helpful.
Selections from the Nibelungenlied. Part I. Edited by H. B.
Cotterill. 48 pp. (Blackie’s Little German Classics.) 6¢.—This
is an experiment of doubtful value. The 120 strophes selected
should at least have been given in a more satisfactory rendering ;
permission to use Kamp's could no doubt have been obtained.
As it is, we hardly know for whom this volume is meant. The
German is too archaic to make the book acceptable in schools;
and more advanced students would naturally prefer the original
text. The introduction deals with the discovery of the
** Nibelungenlied,” the age of its composition, and its subject,
its story, and the metre. The notes are adequate. We trust
that in the second edition a more modern rendering will be
adopted, and the proof more carefully read.
Elementary Conversational French Reader. By R. Bué.
87 pp. (RKivingtons.) | 1s.—Madame Bue’s book may prove
of service if wisely used; it contains less than 100 pages
of detached sentences, more especially suited for girls’ schools.
Daudet, La Mule du Pape, etc. Edited by H. W. Preston.
40 pp. (Blackie’s Little French Classics.) 4a. — A capital
edition of extracts from the charming ‘* Lettres de mon Moulin,”
first the ‘‘ Installation,” then “ La Chevre de M. Seguin,” and
lastly, the famous story that gives the title to the little volume.
The notes are very good indeed ; so is the biographical introduc-
tion.
Poems for Recitation. Edited by L. A. Barbé. 40 pp.
(Blackie’s Little French Classics.) 4d. — This convenient
selection contains a note on French prosody, and twenty-four
well-chosen poems, arranged according to their difficulty in four
sections. The notes consist of renderings of the more difficult
words and phrases. There is no information al-out the authors.
Classics.
The Helena of Euripides. Edited by A. C. Pearson. xxxii.
+ 239 pp. (Cambridge University Press.) 3s. 6¢.—This book
is well edited. The introduction, with a praiseworthy avoidance
of platitudes, gives just the information which the student
requires about the literary history of the play, the story of Heien
in literature, the relation of the play to others by the same
author, and to the 7esmophoriazusae of Aristophanes, and the
text. Critical notes are given at the fuot of the page. The
explanatory notes, although rather full for a book of this descrip-
tion, are good, and show evidence of independent study. We
may cite as especially valuable the notes on lines §0, 58, with
the Appendix (where the editor’s independent judgment is seen),
91, 356, and 381. We suggest a few criticisn.s. The long note
on 2-3 is obscure, and it is not easy to gather from it what is
the editor’s view as to the reading. On 91 a mere reference to
Goodwin is not enough ; it would have been to the point to
quote one of Homer’s numerous examples, and Herodotus’s
obra Sky efnoav Kpyres, which shows that the idiom is inde-
pendent of time. The note on ayadpua, 262, is not adequate ;
No. 58, VoL. 5.]
The School World
389
the word has nothing to do with an ‘‘artist’s handiwork,” but
means simply a ‘‘ thing of joy,” and is applied to objects offered
for the beautification of the sanctuary, later specially to the
statue of a god, not av3pids. Undoubtedly statues were regularly
painted in Greece, and this seems to be the most likely reference.
TÒ Seivby xpoomddou (500) surely owes its article to the fact that
bcivóv is an adjective. We do not believe in the view of où ph
+future suggested in Appendix II., p. 200; it is too philo-
sophical to be convincing, and we prefer to suppose that it is the
familiar wm with indicative turned as an indignant question.
This use of uh is only denied by the precisian: it is exemplified
in Homer, Sophocles, and (most important of all for our
purpose) Aristophanes. i
The University Tutorial Series, in view of the London Inter-
mediate Arts Examination, 1904, has produced an edition of
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris, by J. Thompson and Il. F.
Watt. 116 pp. 3s. 6¢.—The play is edited in the manner
usual in this series, with its summary treatment of difficulties
and its elementary notes. The editors provide for those who
know very little. Their introduction deals with the theatre,
production of a play, scansion of the iambic line, and of one or
two other kinds of verse, the peculiarities of the choral dialect,
the life of Euripides, and the story of the play, but there is not
a word about the text, and hardly anything about the strange
mythology which underlies the play. Itis impossible to criticise
the notes seriously, as they deal largely with such points as the
accentuation of čmo (3), antecedents to relatives (100), T'ap’ for
ta ‘amó (540), optative of wish (751). The editors should
know that riste: (23) is not the historic present, but, like vind
and one or two other verbs, states a permanent condition:
~
tixre: ‘‘is a mother,” like vixe ‘‘is a victor.”
The Iliad of Homer. XVI/1. By Arthur Platt. With vocabu-
lary and illustrations. xvi. + 101 pp. (Blackie.) 1s. 6¢.—Mr.
Platt has shown by his articles in the Journal of Philology an
insight and sympathy in dealing with the Homeric poems in
which no one has surpassed him; and this quality makes him
an ideal editor for schools in respect of appreciation and enjoy-
ment. There is something of it in these notes ; we should not
have grumbled if there had been more. The grammatical and
explanatory part of the notes is aimed at beginners, and is
for the most part clearly put, the grammar being given as the
book proceeds a bit at a time. Mr. Platt has the advantage
over most editors who work for schools, in a sound knowledge
of linguistics, and we do not find him tripping. We do not
think that this is the ideal school Homer yet, but it is good.
The pictures are capital, and unhackneyed.
Latin Hexameter Verse. An Aid to its Composition, By
S. E. Winbolt. xiv. + 259 pp. (Methuen.) 35. Od.-—-Teachers
have long been wanting a book like the present. Latin hexa-
meters, like Greek iambics, are tou generally taught in a hap-
hazard way. So long asthe learner had ample time at his dis-
posal, and could soak in the rules gradually, by a long process of
assimilation, imitation, and repetition, the disadvantages were
hardly felt. But now verse-writing is attacked on every hand; its
time is encroached upon by studies popularly believed to be better
fitted to bring in a return in cash, and it is condemned on its own
ground as involving too great a sacrifice for what it pretends to
give. We do not propose to argue the question of principle,
although we are quite ready to do so, because it is not proper to
this place ; but we believe that the second argument loses its force
if verses are systematically taught on a reasoned method. That
iambics and elegiacs can be so taught has been proved already,
and the time necessary for learning them has been greatly
reduced. Mr. Winbolt has the credit for making a first attempt
H H
399
to prove the same thing for Latin hexameters; a much more
difficult task, which he has accomplished with skill, and we
believe with success. He takes the only possible method,
analysis of rhythm, and practices his pupils not by setting them
to work on a whole piece, but on its members. He then
examines the laws of proportion amongst these rhythms, and
finally deals with the verse paragraph. Each chapter is pro-
vided with a number of exercises. More advanced students may
learn from his book almost as much as the beginner, for we
know of no book in English which treats of the structure of the
hexameter verse in such a way as to show what rhythms, elisions
and pauses are useful, what are common and what rare,
and when is the proper time to use each. Mr. Winbolt wisely
does not press too far the correspondence of rhythm with sense,
but his examples are enough to show that there often is a real
connection between the two. We recommend this book heartily
to all teachers and learners of the delightful art of verse-writing.
Selected Letters of the Younger Pliny. Edited by E. T.
Merrill. xlviii. +473 pp. (Macmillan.) 65.—A good selection
of Pliny’s Letters, carefully edited, should be welcome in schools
and universities. We know of no selection, except that by
Westcott, another American scholar, which is more elementary
and less ambitious than Prof. Merrill’s. The only criticism we
would offer in general upon the book is that it is too full, if any-
thing ; the notes are similar in character to Mayor on Juvenal,
but more concise ; they aim at giving all information which can
elucidate the text—explanatory, biographical, historical, legal,
antiquarian, now and then philological. Since Pliny touches
ancient life at so many points, the reader will learn a great deal
from him and his commentator together. In so full a work, we
might expect a reference to coins when the editor is discussing
the title Dominus (p. 405), and an account of the arithmetical
symbols of iuscriptions might help to decide how far such symbols
should be admitted into a text (p. 411). But it is seldom that an
addition can be suggested. We have noted a number of
excellent remarks on most of the topics mentioned above, ¢.g.,
the explanation of the Stoic method of suicide by starvation
(p. 194), methods of punishment (232 ef a/.), the gesture of
beckoning (361), and many relating to the Realrex of ancient life
—but was the umbilicus a rod or a knob ? (see p. 197). It is not
necessary, however, to say more than that the volume is admi-
rably done. We would suggest, by the way, that condicio is not
a ‘‘ marriage possibility,” but a ‘ match,” and that a man might
be called a good match. What does the editor mean (p. 187)
by ‘* personification of the party under consideration ?”
Af. Tulli Ciceronis Epistolae. II. Epistolae ad Atticum.,
Edited by L. C. Purser. Not paged. Part I., i.-viii. Part
II., ix.-xvi. (Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis.)
2 parts. 4s. each, paper, 4s. 6d. cloth.—Mr. Purser well keeps
up the standard of this admirable series, and he, or Prof. Tyrrell,
is the obvious person to edit Cicero’s Letters. The editor gives
in his preface a brief account of the literary history of the
Letters to Atticus, and a description of the chief MSS.,
together with Lehmann’s genealogical tree. He has struck out
no new path, he tells us, but in the main follows Lehmann; so
the reader who expects to find brilliant new conjectures will be
disappointed. Mr. Purser is certainly right, following the plan
of his series; we expect brilliancy from Dublin, but this is not
the proper place to show it. Aufidio is certainly right in i.,
I, 1; but conservatism is carried too far when an editor is content
to print the nonsensical ava@nua in i., 1,5; he would have done
better to reproduce the MS. reading and leave it. (Does M.
read eiut, by the way? We doubt it.) In i., 14, 4, he adopts
kaural for kaproi ; his own suggestion, xowol róror is more likely
from the ductus litterarum, but again this is a dark place where
the Ms. reading is best left alone. On the other hand, in i.,
The School World
[OCTOBER, 1903.
16, 12, logic and grammar forbid us to believe that the words from
in guae to ascendere are genuine; the preceding guibus is just
paraphrased by these words, which give the whole of Philip’s
speech without fitting it to Cicero’s. O, that sume divining
spirit would explain fabam mimum in the same letter! What-
ever it may mean, neither word isa gloss (for both occur again in
Seneca), and Mr. Purser is right to keep both. We have given
the results of our examination of the earliest letters to show the
editor’s methods ; to proceed with the rest on the same scale
would be too long a task, and we will but note one or two points.
The dithcult passage in viii., 11, 14, partly nonsense as given by
the MS., is left in its nakedness, with Madvig’s reconstruction at
the foot. Boot’s might have been added, as closer. In the
later books, more numerous passages are left doubtful, as x.,
18, 1, xi., 39-40. It is mostly, but not altogether, the Greek
words which have been so corrupted. An index of proper names
adds to the usefulness of the volume.
Horace: Odes, IIT., 1V. By John Sargeant. xxviii. + 153
pp. (Blackwood’s Illustrated Classical Texts.) 15. 6¢.—As we
have said before, we do not approve of the large amount of
help given in books like this to pupils, by running analysis and
elementary notes ; the whole classical reading becomes a matter
of acquiring other men’s knowledge and opinions, and loses
much of its educational value. On the other hand, the fullest
commentary is desirable on points of taste, for these are things
which the learner cannot be expected to see for himself at once,
often cannot see at all when he is young, unless they are shown
tohim. Mr. Sargeant’s translations are many of this character,
and very good indeed. That is his strong point, and we wish
he had made more of it. Such notes as that on twmazzs, iii.,
11, 15, are excellent, and we are bound to say there are very few
childish notes, if there are some unnecessary ones. It is pleasant
to find humour without marks of exclamation; the point of iii.,
24, 19, may be lost on a schoolboy, but some of his elders will
enjoy it. With some pruning, and an addition to the literary
side, this would be a capital book.
Edited Books.
The Poetical Works of John Milton. Edited by W. Aldis
Wright. 607 + xxii. pp. (Cambridge University Press.) 55. —
Probably many people will turn the pages of this book without
suspecting the amount of editorial labour involved in its prepara-
tion. Only a scholar can estimate that, because there is such a
complete absence of any parade of scholarship, and yet imme-
diately one takes a closer view the ability expended upon it at
once discloses itself. A brief preface deals exclusively with the
various editions of Milton’s works since the printing of the well-
known Epitaph on Shakespeare which was prefixed to the Second
Folio in 1632. There is no life of Milton included in the
volume. The poems are given in chronological order. The
Latin and Italian verses come at the end; and then follow the
notes. Altogether this is a volume to study with delight, not
only because it is based on Milton’s work, but because of its
continual suggestions of the past history of his publications,
The Gem Rectter. Edited by Walter Grafton. 508 pp.
(Andrew Melrose.) 2s.-—A great number of books of this kind
are already on the literary market, but this collection has many
things to recommend it. It is bulky. The selection has also
been made in out-of-the-way places, many things are omitted
which are frequently found in such books, and many new pieces
are included. A note of simplicity in feeling pervades the col-
lection. The humorous selections are numerous, though rarely
examples of the most dainty type, and names occur of poetasters
OCTOBER, 1903. ]
hardly known outside newspaper offices in provincial towns.
There is a rather preachy preface couched in this vein: ‘* The
reciter is in turn a preacher, a word painter, and a poet. He
voices the joys and sorrows of humanity.”
Representative English Comedies. Edited by C. M. Gayley.
686 pp. (The Macmillan Co.) 6s.—The idea of the editor is
one which ought to enlist the support of scholars, and no less of
lovers of literature and students of society everywhere. It is to
provide a kind of historical purview of English comedy (as
illustrating English life) in a number of volumes, of which this is
the first published. The plan is to take from amongst the mass
of productions existing in this form those which are most repre-
sentative of the period, and in the case of this volume we are
introduced to works lying between the beginnings of comedy and
the age of Shakespeare. Perhaps it is needless to remark that
the selection is happy and complete ; and the general editor
hints at further volumes by means of which the whole domain of
English comedy shall yield up its chief treasures, and another
volume, it is hoped, may be written to deal with those still earlier
experiments before comedy became an established dramatic
force, which possess at least a high antiquarian interest and no
small value to the lover of pure scholarship in English literature.
The general editor presents a learned, historical account of the
‘* Beginnings,” and Prof. Dowden winds up the volume with
his essay on Shakespeare as a Comic Dramatist. The selected
dramatic authors are Heywood, Nicholas Udall, Stevenson,
Lyly, Peele, Greene, and Porter. To every one of these con-
siderable space is devoted. Each obtains notice in a critical
essay, a version of his best comedy, and an appendix ‘*On
Various Matters.” We shall look for the future volumes with
keen interest.
Liitle English Poems. Arranged and illustrated by Lettice
Thomson. xvi. + 104 pp. (Horace Marshall.) 15. 6d.—A
very suitable collection of simple English poems for young
children in preparatory schools, which will save many teachers
much searching. The book is prettily produced, and will
highly delight young people.
An Edgbaston Book of Poetry. By Edith C. Colman. 388
+xil. pp. (Blackie.) 2s.—There are anthologies in any quantity
in existence already, but this one has been compiled with a
special view to the tastes of school girls, and as Miss Colman
remarks in this volume, a girl may find poems which she can
appreciate without help from a teacher. The volume is out-
wardly very attractive, and is calculated to please as much in the
matter of external ornament as by its carefully selected contents,
These are of a varied nature, ranging from Milton and Shake-
speare to F. E. Weatherley and Miss Ethel Nesbit. We are
glad to see that Mr. Henry Newbolt and the late Mr. W. E.
Henley have secured places also, and that the unaccustomed
name of Gabriel Setoun is included, in company with Suckling,
Lovelace, and George Wither. These names prevent any
charge of hackneyed or easily made selections. On the whole,
very praiseworthy.
Rob Roy. Edited by A. T. Flux. 440 pp. (Black.) 2s.—
This edition is reasonably good so far as the general lines on
which this series proceeds permit it to be. The editorial intro-
duction is unduly scanty, though it reads well. The notes are
better than in some previous volumes : the editor, however,
remarks that “the most interesting ” of Scotts own notes are
incorporated with his own ; but in this edition they are mostly
subjected to a process of boiling down into very small compass.
On the whole, this book may be commended for class purposes.
The School World
391
English.
A Handbook of Modern English Metre. By Prof. J. B.
Mayor. 156 pp. (Cambridge University Press.) 25.—Prof.
Mayor has made another valuable contribution to the study of
the technique of English poetry. It ought to be a matter of
congratulation for lovers of English verse that books of this
kind are engaging attention. English versification has been
too much neglected on this side of the Atlantic, although some
very good books upon it have been produced in America, and
no little attention has been devoted to it by Continental scholars.
Prof. Mayor’s newest work, we believe, will speedily find its way
into the hands of the teachers of English literature in our own
schools. It is mainly occupied in examining the form of English
verse in which irregularities of one kind or another appear. It
is not a guide to Prosody. Nobody will be able to make verse
any the better for it. Prof. Mayor tries to explain how it is that
the poets of England have come to use certain forms of verse-
writing, and why they have departed so far and so frequently
from the rules that seem natural and simple to the spirit of
poetry. The chapter on the “ Aesthetic use of Metrical Varia-
tion ” is excellent; so is that devoted to ‘‘ Rhyme, Stanza,
Refrain,’ which is in some respects the very best where all
the other chapters are good. Emphatically this is an important
and a valuable contribution to English metrical literature.
A Study of Metre. By T. S. Omond. 159 pp. (Grant
Richards.) 5s.—Teachers of literature not infrequently desire
that some manual of prosody could be put into their hands which
would enable them to attack this subject with more success than
they usually attain in it. Every educationist would do well to
read the present book, for many reasons. It is exceedingly well
written. Mr. Omond has stepped into the arena with a theory
of his own, or at least with one which has not been widely re-
cognised in this country as feasible at all, which he states with
extreme moderation and good sense. Briefly put, he follows the
lead given by Joshua Steele, taken up by Coventry Patmore in
a fashion, and then developed by Lanier, Dabney, and other
writers on the other side of the Atlantic. Mr. Omond is num-
bered among the musical scansionists. Complete periodicity,
perfect time measure, purely musical rhythms, he contends are
the great distinguishing marks of English verse. Whether he
proves all his points is another question ; but there can be no
doubt at all about it that he has written a singularly interesting
book. He speaks of it as elementary. But no teacher will
read it without feeling that some points of difficulty in scanning
verse are cleared out of the way. English prosody fortunately
is not an important factor in examination results, but this is an
admirable book for a teacher who wants to make his pupils dis-
cover some basis for verse making which will be fairly trust-
worthy.
First Book in Old English. By A. S. Cook. xiv. + 330 pp.
(Ginn.) 35.—The first section of this book is an Old English
Grammar, and students for whom the author’s translation of
Siever’s ‘‘Old English Grammar ” is much too full will find the
first 120 pages quite satisfactory and trustworthy. In the
Reader—the second part of the book—we have over 100 pages
of extracts from various writers, selected with a view to
present some idea of the Old English ways of life and thought.
Prof. Cook has done well in normalising the prose extracts to
an E.W.S. basis—it is folly to confront the beginner with
dialectic difficulties. We can thoroughly recommend the book
to teachers and private students alike. The six appendices will
be very useful, at any rate, to the former. Evidently they
embody the suggestions of well-wishers, who, perhaps, are
inclined to forget that the book is essentially for beginners.
The
They are very interesting, however; and, personally, we wish
the author could be persuaded to add a seventh, showing
Brugmann’s method of exhibiting gradation.
394
Errors in English Composition. By J. C. Nesfield.
viii. + 319 pp. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6¢.—There are more than
2,000 sentences given for correction, justification or improve-
ment in this book. The solutions are given at the end, just as
in mathematical books. In addition to the examples—culled
mainly from present-day journalism—there are many suggestive
discussions on controversial matters, which will be read with
interest. We notice, amongst others, critical remarks on the
split infinitive, tense and mood sequence, the use of prepositions,
the apostrophe ‘‘s,” and “than whom.” The book will be a
real help to students.
History.
Two Lectures on the Science of Language. By J. H. Moulton.
x. +69 pp. (Cambridge University Press.) 15. 6d. net.—
These lectures were delivered to the meeting of University Ex-
tension students at Cambridge last year, and though from
their necessary limitations they are no more than an introduc-
tion, they serve to show what a revolution has taken place in
this subject during the last generation. We commend the read-
ing of this booklet that our readers may realise how much most of
us are behindhand now.
First Lessons in United States History. By E. Channing.
vi. + 260 pp. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6¢@.—Prof. Channing here
tells the most popular parts of United States History for the
junior forms, from the earliest to the latest times. It is
plentifully illustrated with coloured and other pictures; each
chapter has a brief summary and questions and tnere is an
index. The constitutional history is naturally almost entirely
omitted, and the consequence is that the history of the ‘* most
peaceful nation of the world ” appears very warlike.
The Biblical History of the Hebrews. By F. J. Foakes-
Jackson. xxx. + 414 pp. (Cambridge: Heffer.) 6s.—Canon
Foakes-Jackson here gives a story of the Hebrews and their
literature, as told in the Old Testament, from the point of view
of one who has studied the “ higher criticism ” and approves of
it in the main, but who is conservative in thought and prefers to
believe the biblical record wherever it is not demonstrably false.
The consequence is a hesitation leading sometimes to ambiguity
as to what the author really believes about any given story.
The book will prove useful as showing what even the most
conservative among educated folk will allow in the way of
criticism of the Hebrew literature. As such we commend it to
our readers.
The New Zealand Colony. 140 pp. (Arnold.) 1s.—This is
a delightful little book on ‘* Maoriland,” telling in a pleasant
way the history and geography of the colony, and illustrated
with a map, several pictures and two poems by “ Arthur H.
Adams,” whom we take to be a New Zealander. There is no
index, but a six-page appendix summarises the contents.
Lingard’s History of England. Newly abridged and brought
down to the Accession of King Edward VII., by H. N. Birt.
x. + 645 pp. (Bell.) 5s.—The nature of this book is indi-
cated in its title. It is intended for use in Catholic schools.
It is provided with a four-page introduction by Dr. Gasquet,
seven maps and six genealogical tables. Lingard’s work came
down to the Revolution of 1688, and was published fifty years
ago. This abridgment shows signs of the old fashion both in
language and in treatment of the history. We think it scarcely
School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
worth while to have made this attempt to use a book now so
out of date, and the continuation through the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries does not appear to have been written from
a modern point of view. The international history specially
has several misstatements.
*
Science and Technology.
Electrical Engineering Measuring Instruments. By G. D.
Aspinall Parr. 322 pp. (Blackie.) gs. net.— Hitherto the
physicist and electrical engineer have possessed no single source
of information on the details of the numerous types of electrical
measuring instruments. All the more modern types of instru-
ments are fully described in this volume, which will, therefore, be
of the greatest value in the laboratory and testing-room. The
volume is admirably illustrated with 370 line-diagrams, photo-
reproductions and engravings: the diagrams are particularly
clear, and add much to the usefulness of the descriptions given.
Separate chapters are devoted to the following types of instru-
ments :—Moving needle electro-magnetic, moving coil electro-
magnetic, hot-wire and electro-static, electro-maynetic watt-
meters, recording instruments, miscellaneous standard instru-
ments, and electric supply meters.
Electrolytic Preparations. By Dr. Karl Elbs. Translated
by R. S. Hutton. roopp. (Edward Arnold.) 4s. 6a. net.—
This volume describes a typical series of electrolytic processes
exclusively chosen from those made use of in the electro-
chemical laboratory at Giessen. It is assumed that all who
make use of the exercises have already followed a course of
inorganic and organic preparations. Alter a brief description of
the apparatus required, details are given of thirteen inorganic
and twenty-five organic processes. Numerous references to
original papers are quoted in connection with each process.
The volume will be of much service to advanced students of
chemistry.
Elementary Ophthalmic Optics. By Dr. F. Fergus. 106 pp.
(Itlackie.) 3s. 6g. net.—The aim of this book is to set forth
those portions of physical and geometrical optics which are
essential to the medical student beginning his ophthalmic
studies. A brief introduction, explaining the trigonometrical
functions of angles, is followed by chapters on reflection,
refraction, and lenses. The spectrometer is briefly described in
an appendix. The subject of physiological optics is net dis-
cussed.
Texl-Book of Geology. By Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S.
xxi. +1,472 pp. (Macmillan.) 2 vols. 30s. net.— Every serious
student of gevlogy has long been familiar with Sir Archibald
Geikie’s “ Text-Book,” and the appearance of this fourth edition,
incorporating as it does the advances in geological science during
the ten years which have elapsed since the publication of the third
edition, will be hailed with the greatest satisfaction. So exten-
sive are the additions which have heen made that the new edition
runs to 300 pages more than the last, and there are nearly forty
new illustrations. The publishers have very wisely divided the
work into two volumes and those who have had often to use the
old book will be thankful for the change. It is unnecessary in
these columns to institute a detailed comparison between this
and the preceding edition; it will sufhce to point outa few
typical examples of the thorough manner in which the work has
been brought up to date. A useful table of abbreviations,
employed in the numerous references to original memoirs which
have proved so useful to students, has been added. The classi-
fication of the eruptive igneous rocks has been changed in accor-
dance with more modern ideas; the section dealing with vol-
OcTOBER, 1903. ]
canoes and volcanic action now includes an account of such
recent occurrences as the Martinique eruptions; the theories
pertaining to coral reefs have been modified and elaborated so as
to include the opinions of present-day schools of thought ; and
the table of geological record has been re-arranged and printed
in a more convenient form. We have no hesitation in saying
that every student who proposes to offer geology as a subject for
a science degree at onc of our universities will be compelled to
obtain these volumes, and we are sure that no geologist will be
quite content until he has placed the fourth edition of the “ Text-
Book ” on his shelves.
Following the Deer. By William J. Long. 193 pp. (Ginn.)
45. 6d. net.—These delightful papers of Mr. Long first appeared
as a series of animal studies in a little book called ‘‘ Secrets of
the Woods,” which was more especially intended for the use of
children in schools. In their new dress, charming in its dainti-
ness, the essays will secure the absorbed attention of readers of
all ages. The book breathes of the woods. As the reader
eagerly fullows Mr. Long’s reminiscences he develops a new
sympathy with the ways of wild folk and learns to regard the
beasts of the field as being as well worth careful study as his fellow
men and women. The volume is sure of a wide popularity.
Ways of the Six-fooled. By Anna Botsford Comstock. xii. +
152 pp. (Ginn.) 2s.—Mrs. Comstock is an active member of
the Cornell University Nature-Study Bureau, which is well-
- known for its pioneer work in the organisation of nature study
among the schools of America; and these stories of insects accord
well with the best traditions of that body of teachers. The treat-
ment is picturesque, and—by no means a universal feature of
school-readers upon natural history—the stories are at the same
time trustworthy and related in excellent literary English. In
the higher forms of schools it will be found of great value. The
chapter entitled ‘‘ The Perfect Socialism ” could, in the hands
of a capable teacher, be made to convey one of those ethical
lessons in which insect life is so rich. The book is attractively
printed and very beautifully illustrated.
The Insect Folk. By Margaret W. Morley. vi.+204 pp.
(Ginn.) 2s.—This book is obviously intended for young chil-
dren. It is written in simple language, and conveys a great
deal of sound information upon the commoner order of insects.
On the other hand, the style is unnecessarily disjointed and
colloquial, and contains Americanisms which are neither pictu-
resque nor elegant. For this reason we can scarcely recommend
the use of the book as a school reader in this country, although
teachers may glean from it many useful hints. It contains a
large number of useful illustrations by the author.
Lessons on Country Life. By H. B. M. Buchanan, and
R. R. C. Gregory. xii.+330 pp. (Macmillan.) 35. 6d.—
Teachers will find this book of the highest value in preparing
lessons on the animals of the country. An astonishingly large
mass of useful facts is provided, yet the information is so well
arranged and profusely illustrated that every page is attractive.
A little more than half of the book deais with the domestic
animals of the farm, their habits, uses and treatment, and con-
tains a useful section upon dairy work ; the remaining pages
are devoted to notes on the wild animals to be found in onr
woods and fields, and conclude with a table of classification.
Though the purpose of the book is ostensibly to provide material
for lessons in schools, it may be cordially recommended also
to farmers and to all others who are interested in the life of the
country.
Elementary Physiology and Hystene. By Buel P. Colton.
vill. +317 pp. (Heath.) 2s. 6¢.—This is a thoroughly good
little book, well planned, simply written, and illustrated by a
7 The School World
393
number of excellent diagrams. The dependence of health upon
physiological processes is clearly brought out, so that the reader
is made to understand the reasons for the precepts of hygiene.
A noteworthy feature is the prominence given to the effects
which alcohol and tobacco have upon the system; these ques-
tions are treated in a spirit of reasonableness that is refreshing.
The book may be confidently recommended, not only to students,
but to general readers.
Mathematics.
A New Geometry for Schools. By S. Barnard and J. M.
Child. xxvi. + 514 pp. (Macmillan.) 4s. 6¢.—We have
read this book with very great interest, and we think it deserves
the serious examination of all who are interested in attempts to
provide a satisfactory substitute for Euclid’s Elements in the
teaching of geometry. The book is divided into three parts.
The’hrst part, which is short (pp. 1-24), treats in a thoroughly
interesting manner the fundamental concepts; the explanations
and illustrations of technical terms will at once appeal to the
average boy. The second part (pp. 27-251) is, however, the
section that presents the greatest novelties of treatment. Per-
haps the most striking feature of it is the extensive use made of
the principle of symmetry; it is, we should imagine, all but im-
possible for a pupil to work through the text and exercises
without having his intellect quickened and his reasoning powers
strengthened, while at the same time acquiring a large stock of
geometrical ideas. Part III. (pp. 255-501) is entitled Zheo-
retical; though the general development is satisfactory there is,
as might be expected from the nature of the case, not quite the
same novelty of treatment. It may in general terms be said to
contain the substance of Euclid’s first six books together with
various additional theorems, but of course the logical sequence is
not that of Euclid. Though on some less important matters we
would venture to differ from the authors, we would most earnestly
recommend the book to the teaching public. It is no easy
matter to provide a satisfactory substitute for Euclid; at any
rate, it is long in making its appearance ; but we certainly believe
that this ‘‘ New Geometry ” is no unworthy rival on purely theo-
retical grounds, while in practical interest it is greatly superior.
Arithmetic for Schools and Colleges. By John Alison and
John B. Clark. viii. + 304 + xxxvi. pp. (Oliver and Boyd.)
2s. 6a.—The theoretical discussions in this book are unusually
good, The sixth chapter on the Laws of Operations is both clear
and thorough and leads up to a satisfactory treatment of
fractions. An excellent chapter on decimal approximations
precedes the discussion of periodic decimals and of evolution.
The discussion of approximations is rendered easier by the
method adopted throughout of beginning a multiplication by the
digit of highest order; it is very satisfactory to see this method
coming into use, for its advantages are obvious and it offers no
greater difficulty to. the young pupil than the usual one. It
seems a pity that Weights and Measures are postponed till after
decimals have been finished; the earlier exercises are thus a
little abstract, though concrete examples of an easy type occur
from the beginning. Great stress is laid on proportion, but dupli-
cate and triplicate ratios might well have been consigned to a
work on the history of arithmetic. There is a good chapter on
the metric system ; percentages and simple interest with the usual
applications are included amongst the subjects treated. The
exercises are numerous and contain many examples drawn from
physics as well as from the draper’s shop.
Vectors and Rotors, With Applications. By O. Henrici,
F.R.S., and G. C. Turner. xvi. + 204 pp. (Arnold.) 4s. 6d.
---For a considerable time there has been a demand in some
quarters that the elements of vector analysis should form part
__ 394
even of courses that do not profess to be advanced; Prof.
Henrici is of opinion that it isa subject which should be intro-
duced into schools, not merely for its usefulness in applications;
but for its educational value. In this book, based on lectures
to first year students at the City and Guilds Central Technical
College, the fundamental principles of vector analysis are
expounded with a fulness and clearness that leave no room for
misapprehensions in the mind of any competent reader, while the
numerous applications to graphical statics show the great power
and beauty of the method. To teachers who wish to gain some
knowledge of the problems that arise in engineering practice
and of the manner in which they are solved by a combination
of graphical and vector methods this book can be unreservedly
recommended ; to many who were trained in purely analytical
methods Chapter II. (Mass-Centres) and Chapter V. (Stresses
in Frames) will be especially interesting. The applications to
geometry do not seem to us to be of the same importance; we
do not think that, if the needs of geometry alone were con-
sidered, the case for vector analysis would be anything like so
strong as it undoubledly is when its usefulness in mechanics and
physics is made the basis of its claim for introduction into
elementary teaching. Whether it can be successfully used in
schools seems to us to be still an open question. It is hard to
see how the subject could be presented more simply or attrac-
tively than is done in this book and yet the discussion of formal
laws of operation, and specially of the vector product, presents
difficulties that actual experience has shown to be very real to
the beginner. It would be an undoubted gain to sound teaching
if the demand for the introduction of vector analysis into schools
were to lead to the laying of greater stress on the thorough com-
prehension of the formal laws of algebra; without such com-
prehension on the part of pupils the study of vector analysis
would have little educational value and would probably reduce
itself to the mechanical acquisition of rules. Yet the subject is
so important that some mathematical masters may be found
willing to give to vector analysis the time now spent, say, on
geometrical conics.
Key to Practical Mathematics for Beginners. By Frank
Castle. vi. + 226 pp. (Macmillan.) 5s. net.—Many teachers
who have little leisure to study the newer ways of presenting
old truths and who yet require to adapt their teaching to the
new demands will find this key of great service. It is to be
hoped no teacher will feel the need of the solutions in the
earlier pages of the book, but in all probability there are not a
few who will greatly profit by a careful study of the later pages.
The labour involved in drawing up the solutions must have been
very great, and, so far as a necessarily imperfect examination
shows, the result is good. Many of the questions are really
intricate in their arithmetic ; a beginner who has the patience to
tackle them must be a delightful pupil.
First Stage Practical Plane and Solid Geometry. By G. ¥F.
Burn. viii. + 240 pp. (Clive.) 2s.—The book is designed to
cover the requirements of the elementary stage of the Board of
Education in Practical Plane and Solid Geometry. The work
seems to have been written both with knowledge of the subject
and with appreciation of the difficulties of beginners. At times
there is an undesirable vagueness of statement; for example, the
first paragraph on the ellipse is equally applicable to many
curves besides the ellipse. The chapter on the ellipse might
indeed with advantage be rearranged ; it is perhaps the least
satisfactory in the book. The writer is at his best in the sections
on Solid Geometry ; these are very good and they contain fre-
quent directions for the construction of models —an element in
the training of the student that has been too much neglected.
The diagrams are numerous and clear, but they seem too small,
The School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
though the price of the book possibly accounts for this defect.
Numerous exercises are given for the practice of the student.
Practical Plane and Solid Geometry. By I. H. Morris and
Joseph Husband. 254 + ii. pp. (Longmans.) 2s. 6¢.—Like
the preceding book, this one also meets the demands of the new
syllabus in practical geometry. The treatment, while no
perhaps introducing much that is novel, is’ well suited to
the needs of beginners. The diagrams are very clear and the
descriptive text is both accurate and compact. The book
contains numerous exercises and seems to be well adapted to
the needs of the students whom the writers have in view. It
may be added that a publisher’s note states that the presen:
work takes the place of the book on Practical Plane and Solid
Geometry, by I. H. Morris, in Messrs. Longman’s Series of
Elementary Science Manuals.
Miscellaneous.
The First Year of Responsibility. Talks with a Boy. By
Maynard Butler. With an Introduction by the Master of
Trinity College, Cambridge. viii. + 119 pp. (Swan
Sonnenschein.) Is. 6d.—A careful reading of these symp-
thetically written words of advice for young boys has
convinced us that if boys could be persuaded to read the little
volume it would do them a great deal of good. But boys are
notoriously impatient of anything in the way of a sermon, and
perhaps the best plan will be for fathers and schoolmasters to
read the talks, and then, with the aid of the inspiration which
Mr. Butler’s words will give, to drop the word in season and so
provide their boys with right ideals for future conduct.
Accounts for Private Schools. By Laurence G. Oldfield.
40 pp. (Educational Supply Association, Ltd.)—This book gives
very clearly a business-like manner of keeping accounts. The
system can be thoroughly recommended to all headmasters who
employ a secretary, but it is much too elaborate for the ordinary
headmaster. He cannot possibly give the time necessary for
entering up all the books recommended. A day book, witb
school, pupils’ and private ledger and pupils’ account-boox
entered weekly, supplemented by a full income and expenditure
account under the various items drawn up at the end of eact
term—the whole submitted to an accountant at the end of the
year—- will serve every need. But the book is well worth
studying and gives many valuable hints.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinion:
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. As
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contribute
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
School Curricula.
You kindly ask me to write you a short letter with reference
to school curricula; I gladly embrace the opportunity of saying
a few words on the subject from the standpoint of a public-
school teacher of classics. I hold strong views on the question.
My belief is that for boys of ordinary, and less than ordinary,
capacity the classical education given by public schools, admirable
in theory, is largely nullified by its own complexity, and by the
multiplication of other subjects. I believe that we attempt to
teach far too many subjects, and that our methods in most of these
subjects are far too elaborate and inelastic.
Simplification seems to me the prime necessity. I believe
that an ordinary boy should try to master one, or at the most
two subjects, and that he should have a fair acquaintance wi th
two or three others. It is not possible, with the space at my
OCTOBER, 1903.]
disposal, to go into details; but I do not hesitate to say that I
think that, at present, linguistic teaching occupies a quite dis-
proportionate amount of a boy’s time, and that the teaching
boys of ordinary capacity two dead languages simultaneously,
when one consilers the method employed, and the results
attained, is unjustifiable.
I do not at all adopt the anti-classical position; but I have
no doubt that if simplification is attempted, and a curriculum
of subjects built up, with a view to due proportion and co-
ordination, the classical hours are bound to be diminished.
I take the boy of ordinary capacity as the unit; special
faculties should be carefully looked out for; and there should
be enough elasticity to allow special tastes to be encouraged and
developed.
So far as I can see, I do not think the details of such a
central core, so to speak, of education would be so difficult to
work out as the present complicated time-tables.
I quite admit that much must depend in any curriculum
upon the personal influence of the teacher; but I believe that
a curriculum could be devised which would depend less upon
this factor than our present classical curriculum, and enlist the
interest, if not the enthusiasm, of the boy from the first.
I have taught classics at Eton for nearly twenty years to boys
of every degree of capacity. I have found that as a basis for
teaching able boys they are excellent. But the effect of the
present crowded curriculum, with classics as the basis, upon
boys of ordinary or limited capacity is so absolutely negative,
from the educational point of view, that I should hold that it
would justify almost any experiment being tried. Possibly a
new curriculum might break down ; possibly there is not sutti-
cient intellectual curiosity in the ordinary boy to build upon.
But I can only say that I do not believe this to be the case;
and I have little doubt, personally, that a simplified curriculum
might produce remarkable intellectual results in our public
schools.
Eton College. ARTHUR C. BENSON.
MostT teachers feel that the curriculum—especially in girls’
schools—is overcrowded, with the disastrous result that the
mental energy of their pupils is being dissipated, and the habit
of concentration of thought is not being formed as it ought to be.
In planning a curriculum it should be borne in mind that one
main object of education is to develop a// the mental faculties.
For this reason early specialisation is to be avoided. The
question, then, is: What are the subjects that best develop the
powers of the mind, and how can the curriculum be arranged so
as to include those necessary for this purpose? At the present
time the cultivation of the memory is almost entirely neglected ;
yet the biographies of such men as Darwin, Westcott, Lord
Acton—to mention only a few—plainly show that they could
not have accomplished what they did in after life without the
aid of a good memory.
Would it not be possible to arrange subjects, more than is
done at present, in groups according to the faculties they tend to
develop and rigorously to exclude all but one or two of each
group? The secret of good teaching is the art of omission; is
not this, to a certain extent at any rate, true of a good curri-
culum? In the early stages of education, side by side with
reading, writing, and arithmetic, one modern language which
will train the memory, and one science that develops observation
rather than the reasoning power, should be taught. The cultiva-
tion of the imagination will at the same time be given through
biographical history, poetry, &c. At this early stage, that is, up
to the age of about twelve or thirteen, there should be few
subjects learnt and at least three or four hours a week given to
each subject, in order to lay a good foundation.
At the present time, owing to the multiplicity of subjects
poe See
World
395 _
taught, the foundations are often not securely laid, and that leads
to considerable waste of time in after years. So moderate a
number of subjects as that suggested would leave plenty of time
for drawing, music, or some handicraft.
About the age of twelve or thirteen, elementary mathematics
might take the place of observational science, and a second
language, modern or classical, might be added. Geography
and history treated scientifically, so as to develop the reasoning
powers as well as the imagination, could be continued at this
period. Later, the choice must be made between advanced
mathematics and inductive science, while hi: tory will gradually
give place to the more definite study of literature. Spe-
cialisation should not begin before the age of sixteen or
seventeen, and then only if the general development of the pupil
is satisfactory.
In order to have as ideal a curriculum as possible, it is im-
portant that a school should send in pupils for very few exam-
inations. A ‘‘ Leaving Certifcate ” such as that suggested by
the London University permits of more elasticity in the curri-
culum than is posssble in a school which sends in pupils for two
or three examinations below those of the Senior Locals.
Lastly, it is my firm conviction that the utilitarian view of
education, which in some quarters is being loudly advocated at
the present time, tends to develop experts rather than men and
women. If boys and girls leave school knowing kow to use
their minds, it matters very little zat subjects they have, or
have not, learnt at school; they will then quickly become
experts in whatever they feel called to undertake as their life-
work.
I am afraid I have responded to your kind invitation to take
part in this discussion by a letter of too great length, or I would
discuss the place of manual and physical training in education ;
but this is the less necessary, for our educationalists of to-day are
fully alive to its value: it is not physical, but intellectual
development, that stands a chance of neglect at the present
time.
CHARLOTTE L. LAURIE.
President of the Association of Assistant-mistresses in
Public Secondary Schools.
The Ladies’ College, Cheltenham.
THE papers and discussions at the British Association on
School Curricula and allied questions appear to me to indicate
clearly so wide an interest and so much agreement on certain
points that I cordially approve of your desire to continue the
discussion in your columns. Amid some diversity of view one
may note with reference to secondary education that it is
generally agreed (1) That not only can brain power be developed
and intellectual training be obtained by a study of classics
(Latin and Greek) and mathematics, but also by the study of
English, other modern languages and the sciences when properly
taught. (2) That, inasmuch as pupils cannot profitably be
taught in school all the subjects mentioned above, it is necessary
that the curriculum of a pupil should have some relation to his
future calling in life. As a consequence it follows that there
should be ditterent courses of studies or different types of
curricula. The three types of curricula as set forth by Prof.
Sadler appear to me to suit the requirements of different kinds
of boys admirably. A fourth type might be set down for the
ordinary High School for Girls. Now what I desire to see is a
more direct application of these genetal principles. Ask your
readers to select, for example, a certain type of secondary
school and a certain class in that school, then to state the
subjects that should be taught in that class, the hours per week
to be devoted to these subjects, and how this time is to be
divided among the subjects. As examples :—A school of type
(a) and a class whose average age is thirteen; a school of type
(a) and a class whose average age is fourteen ; a school of type
396
(4) and a class whose average age is thirteen or fifteen; a school
of type (c) and a class whose average age is sixteen; or any
others. A suigable preliminary education may be assumed.
Such a distinct curriculum from a number of your readers would
prove most interesting and instructive.
Central Higher Grade School,
Bolton.
J. THORNTON.
Correspondence Club for the Study of Pedagogics.
In the September number of THE SCHOOL WORLD I suggested
the formation of small correspondence clubs of schoolmasters
and schoolmistresses for the joint study of the theory and history
of education as contained in the works of our great educators.
I have had a few replies from acting teachers in secondary
schools expressing a desire to join some such club as I described,
but not so many as I expected. It has been suggested to me
that the reason of this is that my letter appeared during the
summer vacation. May I repeat my offer, and say that it is
desirable that all schoolmasters and schoolmistresses who
propose to take part in the scheme, for an account of which I
must refer to the last issue, should communicate with me as
soon as possible.
22, Elmstone Road, S.W. A. T. SIMMONS.
The Stereoscope as an aid to Teaching.
WE are indebted to Prof. Cole for his scholarly criticism of
our educational stereographs which appeared in THE SCHOOL
WoRLD for September. Apparently, however, Prof. Cole was
under some misapprehension concerning the purpose of our
book entitled, ‘‘ Italy through the Stereoscope.” He has
criticised it as a text-book for schools, and asks whether it is to
be read to the pupils, or how it is to be used, and proceeds
naturally to point out what certainly would be grave defects
were it meant to fill such a place. It is only due to us, therefore,
that we be permitted enough of your valuable space to explain
that this book was not written for class-teaching in schools, and
to point out that its purpose is to act only as an interesting
guide to accompany a popular stereographic tour through Italy.
It is to be regretted that this fact was not specifically stated
when, along with the series of school stereographs, this book
and a few of its accompanying views were sent to you. The
latter were included only to assist in realising the possibilities of
the stereograph in bringing some of the results of actual travel
into the home when used in conjunction with the specially
designed maps and guide books. In the book in question Dr.
Ellison made no attempt to follow distinctly historical or
geographical lines: the task which was set him was to write
interestingly around a certain series of stereographs for the
purpose of our popular stereographic tour department. Itis,
therefore, only natural that this book is unsuited for teaching.
Had Dr. Ellison written especially for school use the style of the
book would have been radically different.
As suggested later in the article, we intend our stereographs
to be used in illustration of the matter given in standard text-
books. Prof. Cole grasps our idea completely when he says :
“ Probably English teachers can select what will suit their
special courses, for series of pictures can be broken into and
re-compounded in any order.” That is the method followed by
teachers who have been using our system fur years on the
Continent, in America, and in some British schools.
We cannot conclude without thanking Prof. Cole warmly for
his very suggestive criticism, and assuring him that our system
is continually being improved and revised by practical educators.
We trust this explanation will remove any misconception
concerning the system from the minds of the readers of THe
SCHOOL WORLD.
UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD.
The School World
[OcTOBER, 1903.
A Method of Collecting pare Carbon Dioxide by Heating
IN the series of experiments on chalk, which now forms part ¿i
most school courses in chemistry, there is one link in the chais
of argument which is incomplete—there is no satisfactory dirr :
proof that the gas evolved on heating is the same that +
set free by the action of acids. The identity of the losses i
weight caused by heating and By treatment with an acid poir::
strongly to this conclusion, but it is desirable to show later on b
direct means that pure carbon dioxide can be got by heating
chalk. It is true that by heating chalk in an iron tube we cai
collect a small quantity of gas which turns lime water milky:
but on examination this gas is found to be chiefly nitrogen fror
the air originally contained in the tube’. I find that the expen
ment can be readily shown if the chalk be heated in a current ¢:
steam, which carries off the carbon dioxide as fast as it is forme.
and prevents the reverse reaction represented by the equatix
Ca0+CO,=CaCO,.
Fic. 1. (From “ An Introduction to Chemistry.” By D. S. Macxarr (BFi.-
The apparatus used is shown in the accompanying figure. Tbe
chalk is heated in a test tube of hard glass through which:
rather rapid current of steam is sent from the Erlenmeyer faż.
At a low red heat a slow but steady stream of gas is given c
which can be collected over water and is found to have all tx
properties of pure carbon dioxide.
‘(It is interesting to note, however, in this connection that th:
author of a recently published elementary textbook of chemist
directs his readers to weigh out one gram of chalk into a‘counter-
poised ron tube (!), heat it with a Bunsen burner, colle
over water several jars of the gas which is evolved, and finali,
to weigh the tube again and note that its weight has diminishes.
that the contents have been converted into lime, and that the F=:
in weight is approximately the same as that produced when 3
gram of chalk is heated in a porcelain crucible in a furnace.
If any reader of THE SCHOOL WORLD has taken the trouble to
attempt to carry out these instructions, I should be much inter-
ested to hear of his results. It would probably be quite safe to
assert that the author himself had never tried the experiment.
D. S. MACNAIR.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, WC
Contributions and General Corresțondence should be sent t
the Editors.
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The Editors will be glad to consider suttabie articles, which, if
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All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication.
e
‘The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
ee = —— i yp iaia, Sa z
NO. 59. NOVEMBER, 1903. SIXPENCE.
|
` are not permitted to use these student-teachers as
THE TWO METHODS OF TRAINING | a cheap reinforcement of their staff. The Board
TEACHERS. of Education seems determined to recognise none
_ but really satisfactory schools, and to exercise a
ECTION 3 of the Teachers’ Registration ' Certain amount of supervision over the working of
Regulations makes training compulsory, but — the plans submitted for the training of students.
subsection (2) offers the young teacher the At the beginning, at any rate, a great deal will
choice of two kinds of training. depend on the reputation of the school. A student
(2) He must either— | who has been trained at a good school will stand
an excellent chance of being generally accepted as
(i.) Have resided and undergone a course of training for at '! thoroughly accredited.
least one vear, or in the case of a student who has taken honours In contrasting the two methods of training, it is
fre the final Examination for a degree oor Spending four obvious that each has a special line of weakness.
academic years al some University in the United Kingdom have. The training college is inclined to be somewhat
undergone a course of training for two terms at least taken ` doctrinaire, given over to theories and ideal states
continuously, at one of the universities or training colleges | The Se on the other hand, are tempted to rest
mentioned in Appendix D to these regulation: tt wt 5
Poi Er še reguialons or some other | content with things as they are, to accept the
recognised institution for the training of secondary teachers, . .
Tean present standards and ideals and train the student-
and have passed the examination for one of the diplomas or ; es
teachers in the best way of attaining them.
certificates in theory and practice of teaching mentioned in we oe ae : ges i
\ppendix C to Tae a ui j | Further, it is likely that public opinion in England
(i1.) Have passed an approved examination in the theory of will favour the more practical attitude adopted by,
teaching, have spent at least one year as a student teacher under | the schools. In appointments tor elementary
supervision at a recognised school (not being an elementary | schools, at the present moment, there is always
school), and have produced evidence of ability to teach. _ a preference given to a candidate who has been a
pupil-teacher. The mechanical knack acquired
Accordingly, candidates have to consider which > during the pupil-teachership always stands the
of these alternatives is preferable. ` young teacher in good stead in mere class-handling,
With regard to cost, it is probable that there | which is about the only thing in teaching that an
will not be much difference. Between twenty and ' inexpert body of school-managers can appreciate.
thirty pounds is the usual fee for the year’s | There is a danger that student-teachers will
training in a non-residential college, and it is | acquire this mechanical dexterity at the expense
unlikely that any good school will undertake to | of a certain loss of breadth of view and intelligence
}
deal with student-teachers for less. in applying principles. <A year’s training confined
The name “student-teacher” is unfortunate, in- | to one school, however good that school may be,
asmuch as it suggests ‘‘ pupil-teacher” with all the | is necessarily narrower than a year which includes
obloquy commonly associated with that word. | several schools of different grades and types. The
Further, the term is actually in use at present to lesson of the Wanderjahve of the old craftsmen is
indicate a pupil who pays for her instruction in | not without point in these latter days. This
advanced subjects by giving instruction in junior ' danger is foreseen by the Board of Education;
classes. Sucha pupil differs from a pupil-teacher for its representatives are insisting upon the
merely from the fact that she teaches in a secondary visiting of a certain number of other schools, by
school, and usually gets no payment in money. , the student-teachers of a given recognised school.
It will take some little time before the new student- ' There is a danger that these visits of observation
teachers rid themselves of the unpleasant conno- | may degenerate into mere purposeless gaping, but
tation of the name thus thrust upon them. On | there is no need to assume that they will be care-
the one hand, parents must be taught that these | lessly supervised. Further, the requirements of “an
teachers are not raw pupils but highly educated , approved examination in the theory of teaching ”
men and women, seeking an insight into the | will ensure that the science of teaching is not
practical details of their profession; and on the | entirely sacrificed to the art. In the case of an
other, the public must be convinced that schools — isolated school it will probably be difficult to get
No. 5y, VOL. 5.] II
398
the necessary theoretical instruction; but it is
exceedingly unlikely that such a school will claim
recognition unless the headmaster is somewhat
enthusiastic in the matter of the science of his
profession, and, therefore, able and willing to
provide the necessary opportunities.
With regard to the practice in school, there
appears to be much less likelihood of friction in
the case of the student-teacher than in that of the
students of a training college. The student-
teachers are, after all, a part of the school; they
are introduced by the head; they are put into
definite relations with certain of the staff; they
have no connections of an external kind that wouid
naturally lead to friction. The training-college
student who is attached to a school for practice is
introduced by the head as before, and put into the
same relations with certain members of the staff.
In both cases we may assume the sympathy of the
head and the latent antipathy of the staff. But
the case of the training-college student is compli-
cated by the existence of the Master of Method.
He is the stormy petrel of training. It is with
him that the trouble begins. For reasons that are
apparent to all—and that are not entirely to the
discredit of the Master of Method—he is regarded
with suspicion and dislike by most of the staff.
He requires to use a great deal of tact in order
that he may get for his students the best that the
teachers of the school can give. But given this
tact, and given the payment of a fee to the class-
teacher who has most to do with the practice of
the student, and the chance of friction is remote.
The class-teacher feels himself in some sort a
Master of Method himself, and the resulting fellow-
feeling leads to a kindlier attitude towards the
protessional Master of Method.
In point of fact, the two methods of training—
when effectively carried out—are identical in
essence, though they start from different points.
Both must provide theory and practice. The
college starts from the theory side, the school from
the side of practice. If the training college has a
practising school attached, it has its work complete
within itself, though perhaps labouring under a
certain degree of artificiality. But in most cases
it will be impossible to have a secondary school
set apart for each training college. Accordingly,
outside schools must be sought for the necessary
practice, and it is then very difficult to see how
a student-teacher differs from a training-college
student attached to a particular school, especially
when both classes of students make a series of
visits to schools of various kinds. The real
difference comes to be the Master of Method. As
the school cannot afford a special Master of
Method, it must employ some member of the staff
who is unlikely to have the same special qualifica-
tions for this kind of work as are possessed by the
professional Master of Method ; though, no doubt,
the member of the staff will have the advantage of
closer touch with the daily life of the school. If it
is said that the professional Master of Method has
too high ideals and is altogether too theoretical,
it ought to be sufficient to point out that one year’s
The School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
tincture of theory is a scanty enough allowance to
counteract the tendency of a lifetime to frictionless
rule of thumb. |
The conditions are different in the country and
in the town. A good school in a small country
town may well claim recognition as a training
centre for student-teachers, and do capital work
with one or two of them. Further, any one of the
great public schools that cares to take up the
work has everything at hand within itself to
produce excellent results. With a large staff such
as one finds in a great public school there are sure
to be one or two who have given the science of their
profession a little attention, and are therefore abie
to give beginners useful guidance. For it cannot
be too strongly impressed on those interested in
the subject that to know how to teach a subject
excellently is not in itself any guarantee that the
teacher can show another how to teach that or
any other subject. The power of teaching is one
thing, the power of teaching how to teach is
another.
For schools in large centres it would be weil to
utilise whatever agencies are already at work.
This is actually being done in London, where
several of the schools under the Girls’ Public Day
School Company have adopted a system of student-
teacherships in conjunction with the London Day
Training College. Under this arrangement, thie
schools undertake the entire responsibility for the
practical training of the students, and rely upon
the training college for the theoretical part of the
course. The school is, therefore, the centre of
the training, and the students pay the fee to the
school. A portion of this fee is paid by the school
to the training college in respect of the instruction
in theory, and the rest of the fee goes to the school
that provides the necessary supervision in prac-
tical work. A Mistress of Method is appointed by
the schools concerned. She is responsible to the
schools on the one hand and to the training college
on the other. She acts in harmony with the
college staff so as to maintain a proper correlation
between the theory as given in the lectures and
the practice as carried on by the students in the
schools. Since she is an officer of the schools, and
is paid by the school authorities, there can be no
friction between her and the staff whose colleague
she 1s.
This co-operation between the college and the
schools may take various forms. One important
school, for example, sends its student-teachers to
the training college to be entirely under the direc-
tion of the college staff both in theory and practice.
Such students, therefore, differ from the regular
students of the training college only in the fact
that they are entered as student-teachers of the
school, and not as students of the college. All
such arrangements have the great merit of securing
a broad training in theory by specialists, while
leaving the teachers of the schools masters in
their own field, free from any interference from
without.
NOVEMBER, 1903. |
The School World
399
THE PLACE AND VALUE OF
IN SCHOOL WORK.
MUSIC
N spite of the strides which England has made
during recent years towards the general appre-
ciation of music and its earnest study, it must
be admitted that the Public Schools have not, for
the most part, taken an adequate share in the task
of effecting this improvement. Not for the first
time, we must sorrowfully note, is the phenomenon
to be observed of an important national movement
going forward in which the Public Schools are,
to say the least, taking no lead.
Since the majority of school music-masters are
earnest and capable musicians, as well as good
teachers, the cause of this comparative lack of
success must be sought in the system under which
they work. A very slight experience of the usual
conditions of school music will reveal the fact that
the most important influence which hampers
music-masters is the knowledge that, as a rule,
the educational world entirely refuses to take
school music seriously. The result is a lack of
stimulus and encouragement which makes their
task, in spite of much zeal and ability, a difficult,
sometimes an impossible one. And the matter
does not end here. A vicious circle is created from
which extrication is difficult. For, whilst the in-
difference of their colleagues discourages the efforts
of music-masters, the maimed success which results
therefrom makes most schoolmasters less inclined
than ever to take music seriously, and thus the
two unfavourable conditions tend to re-act on one
another, and to assist one another, ad infinitum.
It is unnecessary, and probably useless, to state
in any but the briefest terms the considerations
which might induce schoolmasters to regard
seriously the work of their musical colleagues.
But it may be worth while to suggest, first, that
one of the characteristics of vitality in a school is
the encouragement and maintenance of strenuous-
ness and seriousness in all the departments of
school life ; secondly, that if one of the admitted
faults of modern Public Schools is their tendency
to turn out numbers of highly respectable, efficient
and polite men—“ good fellows ” they are generally
styled—of somewhat limited individuality, then the
serious cultivation of subjects outside the ordinary
curriculum of games and school work might tend to
develop a touch of originality and distinction in
some of these; thirdly, that allowing boys to go
with a latent artistic faculty inadequately deve-
loped is doing those boys a serious wrong—a wrong
far more serious than can be dreamed of by a
worthy schoolmaster entirely without artistic sen-
sibility; finally, that if education is at all desirable
for its own sake, as distinguished from technical
training (an idea, however, which apparently seems
fantastic to many modern “ educationists ” ), then
music, intelligently taught, may be made a means
of education second in effectiveness to few, if any,
other subjects. Admitting these considerations to
be valid, we may perhaps be allowed very briefly
to inquire why, in spite of all, the educational
world continues to refuse to take school music
seriously.
The answer is simplicity itself. The educational
world refuses to take school music seriously because
it is for the most part unmusical, and has the very
natural and human frailty of finding it difficult to
see why a subject which seems to it unimportant
must needs be important to anyone else. Head-
masters are appointed to their posts on account of
qualities among which (quite properly, of course)
a knowledge of music need have no place. Con-
sequently, in spite of every desire to help and
encourage, they do not always find it easy to form
a just estimate of the quality of the work which
their music-masters are accomplishing. Assistant-
masters, on the other hand, are to a considerable
extent drawn from the ranks of the ‘* good
fellows ” mentioned above, who do not usually
add to their conspicuous qualities of efficiency and
zeal a serious regard for art in any form. English
boys do not, as a rule, at first feel naturally drawn
to artistic pursuits outside the regular round of
work and play, and so it happens in many schools,
though certainly not in all, that the music-master
finds himself enveloped in an atmosphere of sturdy
Philistinism which his most strenuous enthusiasm
will appear quite powerless to affect. Let us pro-
ceed to consider how Goliath’s stronghold, kindly
and vigorous in the main, may be impressed with
the notion that the study of an art may be worth
taking seriously.
We may take it as certain that the music-
master himself must take the first steps towards
extrication from the vicious circle of indifferent
musical success caused by, and causing, indif-
ferent encouragement. There are few signs that
improvement is likely to originate with the other
side, nor, perhaps, 1s it reasonable to expect that
it should. Clearly, then, if music-masters wish
to secure that their work shall be taken seriously,
they must begin by acting, in spite of frequent
absence of stimulus, as if they themselves believed
that the work is worthy of being taken with the
utmost seriousness by themselves. Disinterested
and strenuous work seldom fails to obtain respect-
ful recognition from some, at least, of those who
witness it. Music-masters must begin, then, by
treating every detail belonging to their department
as though the greatest issues hung upon it; by
acting as though the strongest possible stimulus
was at their backs. In giving more particular
suggestions as to how this intention can be mani-
fested, there are reasons to be considered why such
proposals should not be of too definite a character.
In the first place, conditions vary greatly in
different schools. It is only by thinking out de-
tailed schemes for himself that a man is likely to
hit upon methods which will suit his own particular
circumstances. Again, work which is to be vitally
effective must be spontaneous and original, not the
result of theories and dogmas imbibed from other
minds. Saul’s armour never fits David, and what
Saul would accomplish with brazen helmet and
coat of mail David may effect more easily with
five smooth stones out of the brook. Nothing,
400
then, will be given here more than hints as to
general lines and wide principles. Details must
be filled in with reference to special circumstances.
It would be worse than useless, and certainly pre-
sumptuous, to attempt to deprive others of the
honourable task, the peculiar advantage, of thinking
and acting on their own initiative. Perhaps, how-
ever, the following simple prescripts may be set
forth without indiscretion. They appear to be not
of universal recognition, and yet, probably, exami-
nation will prove them convincing. Their appli-
cation, moreover, will involve no surrender of
spontaneity or individuality :—
(1) Treat each pupil from the beginning as though he
had in him the latent capacities of an artist. In the first
place, it may be that he has those capacities,
only needing careful teaching to bring them to
light. Again, if he has not the latent capacities of
an artist, he may yet have those of a good amateur,
and many pupils who are really musical require
the closest watching and most careful handling on
the part of the teacher before the fact will become
apparent. Innumerable good musicians have been
lost to society because their teachers have assumed
from the beginning that they were incapable,
whilst all the time they possessed capacities which
might have been developed by dint of some watch-
ful persistence, combined with faith.
It may be taken as certain that pupils will not,
except in the rarest cases, be worried or harassed
by the adoption of this line. Experience shows
unmistakably that the attitude of the master is
generally accurately retlected in that of the pupil.
A zealous, discreet, and painstaking teacher will
almost always find zealous and painstaking
learners. A master who is in earnest with his
work makes an appcal to the self-respect of his
boys which seldom fails to meet with response.
On the other hand, young people are extraordi-
narily quick.to discover slackness or incapacity in
their teachers, and inwardly to despise it. A
master who is a bad disciplinarian or a lax teacher
is practically never popular with his pupils except
in the most superficial sense.
(2) Strive to make mustc-teaching educational in as
wide a sense as possible. In spite of popular opinions
to the contrary, it is wrong to suppose that the
practice of music is a purely mechanical operation
in which the brain has no share. By forcing
pupils to think out the complex details of time,
fingering, and part-playing, for themselves, with
confidence and accuracy; by rigidly abstaining
from giving direct help when thought or research
on their part can achieve the necessary result; by
systematically encouraging, even compelling them
to strike out their own line in the treatment of
classical compositions—by means such as these
sound musicianship can be made to oust super-
ficiality, and the best use will be made of the
extremely subtle operations of the brain demanded
by the practice of music, to train the mind to act
forcibly and promptly in all directions, and both
to educate taste and induce intellectual self-
reliance.
(3) Adopt every possible means of making music a part
The School - World _
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
of school life. It is undesirable that the work which
boys are doing in the music-school should be kept
apart from the life of the school, and turned
Into a sort of mystic cult from which all but the
initiated are excluded. On the contrary, it is well
that the whole school should be led to take an
interest in the musical work which is being done
by a part only, and should be encouraged to feel
some pride in it. The means of arousing this
feeling must of course vary with the conditions
existing in different schools. But it will generally
be possible, for instance, to confine the perfor-
mances at school concerts entirely, or chiefly, to
the boys themselves. Bringing in outside help is,
in a sense, humiliating and discouraging to those
who learn music, whilst one of their greatest
needs is encouragement. A modest artistic result
achieved by the boys themselves is better for
them, and more interesting to listeners, than a
brilliant performance given by outsiders. Not
that concerts given to the boys by professional
performers may not be valuable in the highest
degree ; but their function is totally different,
and the two classes of concert should be kept
separate. Examinations are sometimes suggested
as an effective means of inducing the world to
take school music seriously, but their tendency
is all in the direction of hampering and cramping
teaching. A successful concert given by the boys
to their fellows is a far better test of good work.
This idea of school concerts may be expanded
into the valuable practice of inciting violinists
and pianists to play together for their own amuse-
ment, into the encouragement of the boys to get
up small concerts and entertainments among them-
selves, and generally to use what they learn in the
music-school for the pleasure and enlightenment
of those about them. In this way the social
element in music becomes emphasized-—the value
of the art as a civilising and humanising agency—
in a society which can be specially benefited by
such means.
There is little doubt that a music-master who
courageously follows out these slight and perfectly
practicable suggestions will do something to force
the educational world to take his work seriously.
If ever that attitude becomes general, then the
schools will take their due share in a national
artistic enlightenment, and certainly not till then.
At a very early stage in his work Thring formed the opinion
that music might be used as a refining and elevating influence
on school training. So far as the traditions of the public
schools were concerned, he was venturing out into an entirely
unknown sea when he made the innovation of introducing
music into his regular system of education. But he believed
that, in addition to a generally refining influence, it could also
be made a means of interesting and stimulating boys not
specially open to intellectual ambitions ; so one of his earliest
school ventures was the engagement of a music master. ‘* Life
and Letters of Edward Thring,” G. R. Parkin (Macmillan).
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
SOME COMMON TENT-BOOK ERRORS
| IN DYNAMICS.
By G. H. Bryan, Sc.D., F.R.S.
Professor of Mathematics in the University College of
North Wales.
T will no doubt be within the recollection of
many teachers who have recently given proofs
of their “ thoughtfulness ” by the active part
they have taken in discussing the merits and
demerits of Euclid as an introduction to geometry
that not many years have elapsed since Dynamics
was the subject of controversies just as keen as
those which have lately arisen in connection with
geometry. The favourite bone of contention was
“ mass ” and “ weight,” and as great things might
come of such debates, it is surely a little disap-
pointing to find that, as the result of the dyna-
mical discussion, nothing at all happened, and the
same fallacies are still being copied from text-book
to text-book and from examination paper to exami-
nation paper, and are being to-day handed down
from teacher to student to be again handed down
by the student when he becomes a teacher. The
following remarks are written in the hope of
reviving interest in questions which have lately
been to a great extent forgotten, or shall I say,
«gone out of fashion.”
Commencing with some form or other of the laws
of motion as the starting point, and assuming
rectilinear motion to be taken before the difficulties
connected with the parallelogram law are treated,
we find that most text-books try to deduce every-
thing from the first and second laws, and that the
poor unfortunate third law is kept ignominiously
in the background. As long as this is done the
notion of mass must of necessity give rise to diffi-
culty. To define mass as “quantity of matter ” is
hardly satisfactory, for it leads to the question,
“ what ts quantity of mattter ? ” Accordingly we
find the second law saddled with the two incom-
patible duties of defining quantitatively equal forces
and equal masses somewhat as follows.
Two forces are said to be equal when if applied
to the same body they produce equal accelerations.
Two masses are said to be equal when the same
force produces equal accelerations in both.
But how is the same force to act on different
bodies? If the bodies are acted on simultaneously,
it cannot be the same force which acts on them.
If, on the other hand, they are acted on successively
we have no justification for assuming in any case
that ìt is the same force which acts on both. Ifa
body A is accelerated, some force is acting on it,
but the acceleration produced only affords a
measure of the force as long as it acts on A. As
soon as the acceleration of A ceases, the force
ceases to exist so far as A is concerned, and if a
second body B now receives an equal acceleration
we cannot say that the force acting on it is
‘the same force. On the other hand, if we sub-
stitute the words “ equal forces” for “the same
force ” in the above definition, we are confronted
The School World E
with the difficulty that the previous definition of
“ equal forces ” only applies to forces acting on the
same mass, not to forces acting on different masses.
The missing link in the argument is supplied by
the Third Law, which tells us that action and re-
action are equal and opposite, and mass is now
quantitatively definable by the property that the
masses of two bodies are inversely proportional to
the accelerations which they acquire in virtue of
their mutual action and reaction. Forces acting
on different bodies are now known to be equal if
the accelerations which they impart to the bodies
are proportional to the accelerations which these
bodies would acquire under their mutual action
and reaction.
The second law without the third being thus
seen to afford only a comparison of different forces
acting on the same body, it may be with advantage
applied to the solution of “train problems,” and
similar examples where the forces which accelerate
the motion of a body are expressible in gravitation
units. If, for example, it is required to find, in
tons weight, the pull of an engine when a train of
so many tons acquires a velocity of so many miles
an hour in so many minutes, the use of poundals,
involving multiplication and subsequent division
by 2,240 is bad workmanship, and if a new name,
tonal, is invented for working with tons, and similar
names are coined for every other case, one might
just as well, in solving the problem of three cats
killing three mice in three minutes, introduce the
name catal to define the amount of cat which will
kill one mouse in one minute. Such problems
should be done either by the unitary method or by
proportion employing the simple relation :
accel. of body due to force
accel. of body due to gravity
force on body
weight ot body
This relation is not used nearly as much as it ought
to be, for it furnishes an easy, intelligible and
practical method of dealing with the great bulk of
problems on motion under force, a method which,
moreover, is familiar to most beginners as the
result of thorough drilling in arithmetical problems
on mowing so many acres in so many days, or
other equally interesting matters.
So far, however, the learner has had to take in
nothing which is directly opposed to common ex-
perience. It is in connection with the parallelo-
gram of velocities that the conventional treatment
involves assumptions which common sense shows
to be absurd. A man cannot be in two places at
the same time, and velocity is rate of change of
position, ergo ‘he cannot have two different velo-
cities at the same time. Yet we find the beginner
confronted with the statement that if a moving
point possesses simultaneously two velocities represented
by two sides of a parallelogram, these are equiva-
lent to a single velocity represented by the
diagonal. Now, a man who wished to travel
from London to Oxford, and also wished at the
same time to travel from London to Cambridge,
might effect a compromise by going by London
and North-Western Railway to Bletchley, but he
The
would find that this journey was in no sense a
satisfactory substitute for travelling either by
Great Eastern Railway towards Cambridge or by
Great Western Railway towards Oxford, let alone
for the two journeys taken together.
When we come to the illustration of the paral-
lelogram law which does duty as a proof, we find
something very different. A particle moves down
a tube with one velocity while the tube moves with
another velocity, then the particle is shown to
describe the diagonal of the parallelogram defined
by these two velocities. Now, one of these velo-
cities is that of the tube, not of the particle, the
other is also not the actual velocity of the particle,
but its velocity relative to the tube, and what the illus-
tration really teaches us is that, if the velocity of A
relative to B is represented by one side of a paral-
lclogram, and the velocity of B relative to C is
represented by the other side, the velocity of A
relative to C is represented by the diagonal. The
books carefully avoid the use of the word “ relative”
in speaking of the motion of the particle along the
tube, with the result that what might be clear and
intelligible becomes obscure.
I have heard it said in defence of the conven-
tional misstatements that relative velocity is diffi-
cult for a beginner to usderstand, and that most
learners understand the parallelogram of velocities.
But, as I have just shown, the notion of relative
velocity does actually of necessity enter into the
conventional treatment, and I fail to see how a
beginner can be made the wiser by being kept in
ignorance of the fact that one of the velocities with
which he is dealing is a relative velocity. I never
could understand the usual text-book proofs of the
parallelogram of velocities myself, and I do not
believe many people really do understand them,
though some think they do. Most beginners
swallow the parallelogram of velocities (along
with a good many other things they ought to
understand, but do not) on faith; “faith ° in this
case being defined by the well-known ‘“ Brumma-
gem ” schoolboy’s answer as “ believing that which
we know not to be true.”
The average student brought up on orthodox
lines usually has no idea of how to set to work to
find the direction of the smoke of a steamer or
where a marksnian on an express train should aim
to hit a target. The chances are that the track of
smoke will be drawn in front of the steamer when
it should be behind, and that the marksman will
aim the wrong side of the target.
There are two other ways of approaching the
parallelogram law: (i.) by regarding the law purely
as a definition of component velocities and accelera-
tions, (11.) by defining component velocities by the
property that the actual change of position in any
time shall be the same as would be produced if the
two velocities in question had existed successively
for equal intervals.
The parallelogram of forces stands on a some-
what different footing. One particle A can by its
action alter the motions of a number of different
other particles, B, C, D, and it naturally follows
from the third law that B, C, D simultaneously
4.02
School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
exert reactions on A. Thus A may be regarded
as being acted on by any number of forces
simultaneously—a view confirmed by every-day
experience—and the fact that A cannot move
simultaneously with two or more accelerations
leads to the important property that any system
of forces acting on a particle is equivalent to a singie
resultant force.
The fact that this resultant is given by the
parallelogram law cannot be proved without
making some assumption. If the subject 1s ap-
proached from the point of view of relative motion,
a convenient assumption to start from is that the
relative motion of two bodies is unaltered by applying to
them parallel forces proportional to their masses. _
If, then, P and Q denote the two forces the joint
eftect of which on a particle m is required, take a
second equal particle m acted on by a force equal
and parallel to P alone. The velocity which the
first acquires relative to the second in any time
interval is that due to Q alone, and is the same as
if Q alone existed; the velocity which the second
acquires is that due to P alone. From the correct
statement of the parellelogram of velocities, the
velocity of the first particle is derived by the
parallelogram construction from its velocity relative
to the second and the velocity of the second,
whence the proposition follows at once. ae
Newton’s proof as originally given in his Principia,
and not as “brought up to date,” is also a good one.
The assumption involved in it is that a force im-
pressed on a particle in a direction parallel to a given line
will not affect the rate at which the particle approaches
that line.
There are the further alternatives of taking the
parallelogram of forces for granted, or basing it on
Duchayla’s proof or an experimental verification.
The chief points which we have discussed may
be summed up as follows:—
(1) The first and second laws of motion with.
out the third only enable us to compare different
forces acting on the same body. They do not afford
a quantitative definition of mass nor any infor-
mation about forces on different bodies. _
(2) Train problems and other examples in which
forces have to be expressed in gravitation units
should not be solved by the equation F=ma, but by
the proportion—
force on body __ accel. due to force
weight of body g
These problems may conveniently be taken as
exercises on the second law, if preceded by a little
explanatory discussion about gravity.
(3) The notion of mass should be first introduced
after the third law when it can be defined quanti-
tatively. The dynamical unit of force and the
equations, F_—kma, F—ma, will then follow.
(4) A particle cannot possess more than one
velocity at a time, relative toa given frame. The
velocities which it is usually sought to combine by
the parallelogram law do not really simultaneously
exist in the particle, but are merely its velocity
°
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
relative to a second body and the velocity of the
latter.
(5) In such cases, where relative velocities are
of necessity tacitly implied, the word “relative”
should not be omitted.
(6) The principles of dynamics teach us that any
number of forces on the same particle are equiva-
lent to a single resultant.
(7) But to prove that this resultant is given by
the parallelogram law, involves some further as-
sumption. Probably the best way is not to trouble
beginners with formal proofs of the parallelogram
of forces.
It is only fair to add that what I have said about
the parallelogram of velocities is very similar in
purport to an article contributed, some time since,
to the Mathematical Gazette, by Mr. R. F. Muirhead
(if I remember rightly).
But the more widely such matters are discussed
the better.
THE IDEAL READING-BOOK.
Ky ARTHUR BURRELL, M.A.
Principal of Korough Road Training College, Isleworth.
N the subject of the reading-book opinions
O seem to be as much divided as on every
other detail of school work. Some school-
masters frankly pay no attention to the matter:
any book will do, provided it be cheap. Others
follow a good selection of short pieces fora year
or two, and then on an inspector’s recommendation
or by some lucky accident pick up another and
begin afresh. Others use science readers, geo-
graphy readers, commercial readers, biographical
readers, literary readers filled with facts and
beautified or defaced with illustrations, spelling
lists, tables of derivations, and directions as to
word building. Once more, a few use an antho-
logy for verse and continuous work for prose, and
many take considerab‘e trouble over their selec-
tions. The publishers go on flooding the market,
and, for their price, the books produced are
excellent. For general geographical and histori-
cal information the ‘ Royal Prince’s Readers”
(Nelson's), the “4 World and its People” (Nelson’s),
the ‘Web of Empire” (Macmillan), are, in
capable hands, thoroughly. useful productions.
For literary work, graded carefully, Dent's
‘« Temple Literary Readers” may be recom-
mended as cheap and pretty to look at and con-
taining fine passages ad libitum, while the new
books of the Norland Press are a delight to literary
teachers. For natural history W. Warde Fowler’s
‘« Tales of the Birds” (Macmillan) and “A
Country Reader” (Macmillan) form an ideal pre-
paration ; while continuous prose is thoroughly
well represented by Macmillan’s abridgment of
some ot Scott’s novels, Black’s similar abridg-
ments and the Pitt Press edition of Kingsley’s
« Heroes.” Hawthorne’s ‘ Wonder Book,”
_ The School World
403
Dickens’ stories (abridged), almost any of Scott’s,
Longfellow’s, Hood’s and Coleridge’s poems may
be bought at a very low price ; and no teacher can
say that the market is not full of books to choose
from ; while some publishers are willing to try any
new abridgment and show great enterprise. Still,
the authorities either disregard the subject as
unimportant, or very properly consider that the
teacher is of more importance than the text.
There is little grading in many schools, and the
principles which should guide the choice of books
throughout a school are wanting. Would it not
be well for the authorities to agree first regarding
principles and then to leave the choice of reading
books to one hand? The present paper attempts
to lay down some guiding rules and to show how
they may be followed.
First, what is the object of the reading-book ?
If it be to impart information in geography, his-
tory, elementary science, nature-study, the plan
of the chooser is clear. He has only to get his
catalogues together (Macmillan, Nelson, Blackie,
Ginn’s, are among the most useful) and the choice
is easy. But if the object of the reading-book be
to train taste, to impart a love of literature and
good books, to discourage the taste for merely
dreadful, frivolous, sentimental, prurient work,
the choice of books is rather more puzzling. On
the answer to this first question depends the
whole of our procedure. The present paper takes
it for granted that science, geography, history,
and similar readers belong to the science, geo-
graphy and history lessons, and are in no other
sense reading books, ideal or non-ideal. Granted,
then, that the reading-book is from the first to
have a clear aim in view and that aim not in-
formational but ethical and esthetic, the next
question looms in view. l
Secondly, are we to read scraps or continuous
work? Now on the reply to this our whole con-
ception of training in literature is based. Every
child that has the advantage of careful maternal
or nurse training begins on continuous work. The
stories of Jack and the Beanstalk, of Cinderella,
of Blue Beard, are long romances. He takes them
up at certain chapters, requires enlargements of
certain developments ; and to his limited vision
each of them is a three-volumed novel with an
explanation of the scene, a mass of situations and
a final tragedy or rounding off. The child and
his mother do not believe in scraps. When the
tale teller is compelled to fall back on her own
invention, what long, rambling, continuous work
we find unrolling itself to the eyes of audience and
vaconteuse. The thorough appreciation of scraps
is one of the last things to be grasped by the culti-
vated mind. Books of elegant extracts, whether
prose or verse, lay no compelling hold upon the
association-loving mind of the child. So far as
possible, then, the book of selections should be
avoided.
If this be so, it follows that for little children
the reading-books should be full of long stories
complete in themselves; six of them would be
quite enough to fill a book. They should be
404
classical, j.e., stories with an imprimatur; they
should be cleared of the hardest idioms and very
cautiously freed from words that are absolutely
beyond the intelligence of the reader; but hard
words may be left in a greater abundance than
hard idioms. If the ideal book could be found,
this clearing of idiom may be done by the teacher
himself.
As we go higher in the schoo) the reading-book
becomes more classical, fuller of idiom, less docked
of hard words, but, as in every class, full of in-
terest. The verse book, which must be separate
from the prose, follows the same lines. As soon
as the class can appreciate a tale in verse—i.¢, as
soon as they can appreciate verse at all—there is
plenty of material at hand. Toa boy of ten the
“ Pied Piper of Hamelin ” is a continuous and big
work, while Ben Jonson’s “ It is not growing like
a tree” is an unintelligible and useless scrap.
Once the main contention is allowed, the book-
chooser will find the ground become less and less
rough as he proceeds.
Thirdly, if the reading-book is to be uot
informational, but ethical and æsthetic in pur-
pose, and if again it is to be continuous work
in prose or verse, the idea underlying the word
“ continuous ” expanding as we proceed, the next
question fronts us—how are such books to be
placed in the hands of the children? For it is
evident that long lists similar to those at the end
of this paper will have to be drawn up, and the
books will have to be purchased in such numbers
as to allow the children of ail the classes to have
during the reading lesson a copy each (this being
far preferable to one copy being shared between
two). There seems to be only one way in which
to answer this question. Schoolmasters may talk
of expense, of want of room, of unnecessary trouble
in providing and choosing books; but the whole of
the higher training of the child-mind is closely connected
with this matter of reading-books. We are compara-
tively reckless in the fitting up of laboratories ;
shelves, cupboards, taps, gas, balances, bottles
have to be bought because we cannot get on without
them. Exactly the same is it with our reading.
Shelves, cupboards, books, locks, keys must be
bought ; we cannot get on without them. It seems to
the writer of this paper that every class in every
school must possess its library (quite distinct, of
course, from the school library). Assuming that
the average number of children in a class is
thirty, and that at least three hours per week are
devoted to the reading book (and surely three are
a minimum from the first class to the lowest), the
probability is that about fifteen books, some being
quite short, will be required for the school year.
(Here, again, one must assume that the child
remains for a year in one class, though of course
exceptions may occur.) Every class, then, will
ask for a locked cupboard capable of containing
some 450 or 500 books. At this the schoolmaster
is aghast until he comes to work out the expenses
on paper. The present writer followed this system
for years, and would not go back to any other;
it is not all a counsel of perfection.
The School World
[ NovEMBER, 1903.
Our lines being laid down, our bookcases made,
and our classes being ready, it remains to choose
our books; and, before any lists are added, it may
be well to anticipate a few objections.
No one looks for originality in any papers on
school work, and the newest fad has been tried
long ago. We are in many instances (the teach-
ing of modern languages, for instance, of science,
of natural history) only reverting to the practices
of our ancestors, and it may be questioned whether,
even in the time-honoured misteaching of Latin
and Greek, we are not simply departing from the
freer, easier method of early days, a method which
the gods may send to us once more. Nor is the
plea which I am putting forward new at all: it is
only a plea for continuous and varied reading as
an introduction to literature. The pages of bio-
graphies are full of its praises; it is the school-
master with his notes, biographies, glosses,
snippets, word lists, analysis and spelling, who
kills the nascent love of literature.
Now the first objection to anything educational
is its expense. Onecan but make a rough calcu-
lation, but the lists will show that, allowing for
occasional change, wear and tear, loss of books,
making of bookcases and keeping in order, £1 per
child will provide all the reading-books necessary
for a school life of seven years. _Even this might
be considerably lowered, for the lists make allow-
ance for the purchase of expensive as well as in-
expensive books. And if, further, we take into
consideration that a large number of the books
are texts which will not wear out in seven years,
that bookcases once provided are provided prac-
tically for ever, the cost of reading-books to a
school account extending over twenty years of the
school’s existence will be found, in a school of 200
children, to be about 6s. per boy for the whole ot
his school course (seven years). Surely a grant of
Is. per year for reading-books is not extravagant.
The next objection to the scheme put forward is
that the reading aloud, the parsing, analysis, ety-
mology, spelling, all give way to the reading-book.
The answer is that this paper only deals with the
reading-book, and with one kind of reading-book,
and that all these other subjects may have due
consideration given to them in another paper and
by another writer. The third objection may be
that literature cannot be taught, and that only by
allowing those who have it in them to read for
themselves can the appreciation of great works
be gained. The objection opens up a large sub-
ject, but the scheme proposed is certainly one
which would dead rather than teach children to
love literature.
Those who favour the use of readers on science
history and geography will find that the expense
will be shghtly, but very slightly, more than the
shilling per year (in school accounts lasting over
twenty years). .
Before I add my tables and lists, it may be well
to recapitulate. An ideal reading-book should, in
every class and at every stage of school life, be
ethical and esthetic in aim rather than infor-
mational. It should, from the first, consist of
NOVEMBER, 1903.] The School World o 405
TABLE oF SUGGESTED READING Books.
|
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A. Ome
z “600
8-9 | Esop, John Gilpin, King Arthur, Grimm |
(Gardiner & Darton), Hans Andersen,
Arabian Nights, Ist series (Dent), Sever. |
Champions of Christendom, Little
Cousins, § vols. (Ward, Lock), Baring |
Goulds Fairy Tales, Shockheaded |
Peter arrien A aes £22
9-10 | Robinson Crusoe, La Fontaine (transla- |
tion), Alice in Wonderland, Æ. Nesbits |
Stories for Children, Kate Greenaway’s |
Pied Piper, Gulliver, Labours of |
Hercules, Arabian Nights, 2nd series
(Dent), Lays of Ancient Rome, Grimm,
Andersen (Newnes) 0.0.00... 0. cece cece ees £23
410-11 Water Babies, Wonder Book, Through |
the Looking Glass, Tom Brown, Pil-
grim’s Progress, Reynard the Fox, The
| Red Cross Knight (1st and 2nd series),
Glaucus, The Middle Temple Reader
(selections) (Norland Press), Kings/ey’s
Heroes, Stories from Herodotus
l (Church), Bible Stories (O.T.)............ £18
11-12 . Tales of the Birds (Macmillan), Tangle-
wood Tales, The Ancient Mariner
(Nelson), Jungle Book (two vols.),
Defoe's Plague and Fire of London,
Aytoun’s Ballads, Yacobs’ Celtic Fairy |
Tales, Sintram and his Companions, |
The Human Boy, Selections from
Campbells Poems, A good Boys
Paper, Bible Stories (O.T.) ...........0... £25
12-13 | Deserted Village, Marmion, Nicholas
_ Nickleby, Lavengro, Bracebridge Hall, |
' The Boys Froissart, ‘The Story
| of the Red Deer, Hiawatha, The
| Voyage of the Sunbeam, Dickens
| Christmas Carol, Natural History of |
Selborne, A good Boys’ Paper, Bible |
Parables (N.T.) a. £18
13-14 | Asgard and the Gods, Old Christmas,
Eothen, Kenilworth, Ivanhoe, Ro-
many Rye, Gray’s Elegy, Pickwick,
Wild Nature Won by Kindness, Zong-
fellow (selection), Tennyson (selection),
The Vale of the White Horse, Stories
of the Aeneid, Autobiographic Sketches
(de Quincey), David Copperfield, A
good Buys’ Paper, The Bible (abridged)
14-15 | Bowdler’s Shakspeare, The Golden
i | “Treasury, Wordsworth (Norland
_ Press), Malory, the Old Testatment
| Apocrypha, Macaulay's Clive, Tom
ffooad’s Miss Kilmansegg, Selections
N.B.-—Editors are not mentioned, because in most cases they
are legion. Booksellers can always give information on this |
point. The cost in the third column covers the purchase of
really well and profusely illustrated copies, wherever illustrations
-ære provided.
longer and continuous rather than of shorter
pieces, and as the children grow older it should
become more ‘ continuous.” The book should be
constantly varied, and fifteen books may easily be
read in a year. Revision of books read in lower
classes should take place regularly all through the
school. Is it too much to suggest that all teachers
in a school should know, by careful study, the
books read in the school? Quis custodiet custodes ?
THE WELSH COUNTY SCHOOLS
ASSOCIATION. `
HE Welsh County Schools Association was
founded in 1895. During the six years
which had elapsed since the passing of the
Welsh County Schools Act in 1889, the joint
education committees had prepared the schemes
for the intermediate and technical education of
the inhabitants of their counties, and several of
the schemes had received the Royal Assent.
Where the schemes had become law, the local and
county governing bodies had been constituted, and
these had taken over old foundations, acquired
some private schools of repute, and opened new
schools.. The other counties were taking active
steps to exercise their powers, and as many as
ninety-five schools in all were in process of
formation to work under the provisions of the
Act. Wales was face to face with a series of
entirely new problems in secondary education, of
which the new authorities had practically no
experience, and public opinion was somewhat
unformed as to the direction which the work of
the schools should take.
At this juncture it was felt by the headmasters
and headmistresses of such schools as were then
in existence that it would be well to form some
organisation to facilitate the discussion of the
many problems which were confronting the
authorities in the organisation of.an entirely new
system of secondary education, and to help to
mould public opinion as to the nature and aims
of secondary schools. A meeting was summoned
on May 24th and 25th, 1895, at Shrewsbury (for
no town is more convenient for meetings of North
and South Welshmen than the ancient capital of
Powys, though it is no longer in Wales), and it
was unanimously resolved to form an Association
of the Headmasters and Headmistresses of the
County Schools of Wales and Monmouthshire.
Its objects were declared to be (a) to facilitate the
interchange of ideas and information on all school
matters, ¢.g., teaching, examinations, scholarships,
| internal management and organisation generally,
and the relations of headmasters and headmiis-
| tresses, governing bodies, and assistant-masters
and mistresses; (b) to communicate, if considered
desirable, with public bodies connected with educa-
tion. Mr. W. Glynn Williams, M.A., a distin-
| guished alumnus of Shrewsbury, who was and is
_ 406
carrying on the traditions of his old school at the
ancient foundation of Friars School, Bangor, was
elected president; Mr. Trevor Owen, M.A., the
Headmaster of the Carnarvon County School, the
first school to be opened under the Act, and Mr.
A. B. Badger, M.A., Technical Adviser to the
counties of Carnarvon and Merioneth, were ap-
pointed honorary secretaries; Mr. William Lewis,
Headmaster of the Llanelly County School,
_ The School World
[NOVEMBER, 1903.
work, the Association has been able to have its
views carefully considered. The smooth working
of the Welsh system is largely due to the complete
understanding between administrators and teachers
which has been secured by this representation.
The Welsh County Schools Association can
claim that its efforts have been productive of
_ benefits to education not only in Wales but in
became honorary treasurer ; and a committee of |
four was elected (the number of the committee
has since been raised to six).
Mr. Glynn Williams filled the chair until 1897.
His successors have been Mr. R. W. Jones, B.A.,
Headmaster of the Lewis School, Pengam (1897- |
1899), Mr. W. J. Russell, B.A., Headmaster of
the Wrexham County School (1899-1901), and
Mr. William Lewis, B.A., Headmaster of the
Llanelly County School (1901-1903). The presi-
dent for the present year is Mr. Trevor Owen,
M.A., Headmaster of the Swansea Grammar
School and Principal of the Municipal Technical
College, whose portrait we publish. Mr. Badger
resigned his post as secretary on his departure
from Wales, and Mr. Trevor Owen carried out the
secretarial duties until 1902, when he found it
necessary to resign his post owing to the great
increase in his work consequent upon his appoint-
ment to Swansea. His resignation was accepted
with great regret, and Mr. W. Jenkyn Thomas,
M.A., Headmaster of the Aberdare County School,
was appointed to succeed him. Mr. William Lewis
managed the finances of the Association until his
elevation to the presidential chair, and Mr. T. R.
Dawes, M.A., Headmaster of the Pembroke Dock
County School, was elected in his place.
Since its establishment in 18y5, the Associa-
tion has increased in strength, usefulness and
influence. The membership was at first small,
but as new schools were opened it became larger
and larger, until, at the present time, the head-
masters and headmistresses of the ninety-five county
schools of Wales are, with very few exceptions,
active members. Meetings are usually held twice
annually. They are well attended, and the proceed-
ings are always brisk, aphasia being almost an un-
known disease among Welsh teachers. Much work
is entrusted to the executive committee, but the re-
solutions submitted by them are by no means ac-
cepted as a matter of course. AÀ great variety of
questions has been discussed—lively debates often
resulting. It is reported that Disraeli used to say
that he never thoroughly understood a question
until it had been threshed out by the House of Com-
mons; in the same way, those who are at the head
of the county schools of the Principality are bound
to acknowledge that they have at least a fuller know-
ledge of educational questions after they have
been discussed by the Association. Nor are the
discussions by any means confined to purely aca-
demic questions. All the many details of the
administration of secondary education in Wales
have been fully considered, and, having five repre-
sentatives on the Central Welsh Board, which has
been entrusted with the bulk of the administrative
— | e
- discussion.
England. It was at the request of the Association
that the Central Welsh Board approached the
Board of Education on the matter of science
grants, and, directly as the outcome of conferences
between representatives of the Board of Educa-
tion, the Welsh County Schools Association and
its own executive committee, the Central Welsh
Board obtained not only for Wales but also for
England the clauses entitling ‘‘ Division B”
Mr. Trevor Owen,’ M.A.
Headmaster of the Swansea Grammar School ; President of the Welsh
County Schools Association.
schools to earn science grants on easier terms
than were possible before. But the Pension
Scheme is the most notable benefit secured by the
Association, and it may be as well to relate the
history of the scheme and its present position.
The movement was started by Mr. W. J.
Russell, of Wrexham, to whoin belongs the chief
credit of bringing it to a successful issue. In
June, 1897, he read a paper on pensions before the
Welsh County Schools Association, and it was
ordered to be printed as a basis for further
At their next half-yearly meeting
the Association adopted a memorial inviting the
` Central Welsh Board to undertake the organisa-
tion of a pension scheme, at the same time offer-
ing suggestions as to the main lines on which a
scheme might be drawn up. When this memorial
was presented, Mr. Russell, who in the meantime
had been elected to the Central Welsh Board as
a representative of the headmasters and head-
mistresses of North Wales, moved on October
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
29th, 1898, that it be referred to a committee.
This motion was seconded by the late Mr. Thomas
Ellis, who emphasised the fact that such a scheme
was necessary for the good of the schools, and the
efficiency of education more than in the interests
of the teachers themselves. He also urged that
it was best to deal with the matter immediately,
while the majority of the teachers were still young,
and that the expense would be much less than at
a later period. Principal Reichel and the Hon.
W. N. Bruce warmly supported the motion, which
` was carried unanimously. This Committee met,
and, after agreeing on the general outline of a
scheme, determined to call in the advice of a
skilled actuary. Mr. Duncan C. Fraser, Actuary
of the Royal Insurance Company, was asked to
draw up a report. This report was carefully
considered by the Committee, and a scheme based
upon it was approved by the Central Welsh
Board at Llangollen without a division. It was
ordered that the scheme should be forwarded to
the several county and local governing bodies,
and to the Associations of Head and Assistant-
masters and Mistresses of Wales. The sugges-
tions and amendments proposed by these bodies
were considered by the Committee, and where
possible engrafted on the scheme.
A conference was next summoned at Shrews-
bury between the Central Welsh Board and
representatives of the county and focal governing
bodies of Wales at which the scheme was dis-
cussed. There was some little opposition, but
the scheme had the support of such prominent
and influential educationists as Mr. Humphreys
Owen, M.P., chairman of the Central Welsh
Board, Mr. T. Mansel Franklen, Mr. Richard
Martin, Professor Anwyl, Mrs. Morgan B. Williams,
&c. (to whom, by the way, the thanks of the teachers
of Wales are due for their powerful advocacy), and,
on the motion of Mr. Franklen, a resolution approv-
ing the scheme and recommending it to the support
of the county governing bodies was passed by
55 votesto13. Finally, at Merthyr, in November,
tgo1, the Central Welsh Board reappointed the
Pensions Committee, and empowered it to take
such steps as might be necessary to bring the
scheme into operation. Having received this
mandate, the Committee appointed deputations to
interview county governing bodies, explain the
scheme, and press its adoption upon them.
There are in Wales sixteen county governing
bodies, and nine of these, Brecon, Cardigan,
Denbigh, Flint, Glamorgan, Montgomery, Pem-
broke, Radnor and Swansea, have accepted the
scheme. As these counties are responsible for
nearly two-thirds of the total contributions to the
tund, their adherence is more important than might
be supposed from a mere consideration of their
number. Several other counties had the matter
under consideration, but the passing of the new
Education Act has caused delay, the county
governing bodies, shortly to pass out of existence,
preferring to throw the responsibility of accepting
or rejecting the scheme on their successors.
Finally, it should be stated that the consent of
The School World
407
the Board of Education was given to the intro-
duction of the scheme at any date after April ist,
1903. The rapid advance of the scheme in
public favour, only six years having elapsed since
its inception, should encourage the secondary
teachers of other parts of the kingdom in their
efforts to obtain similar benefits for their schools
and themselves.
GLASS-WARE FOR CHEMICAL
LABORATORIES.:
By J. B. CoLeManN, A.R.C.Sc., F.L.C., F.C.S.
Head of the Chemical Department, South Western Polytechnic,
Chelsea, S.W.
the most suitable glass apparatus for use
in an ordinary ‘science school”, chemical
laboratory. It is anticipated that the details given
below will be of use to teachers who wish either to
equip a chemical laboratory or to extend the scope
of one already in existence. Description of the
ordinary glass apparatus only is given, as it is in
ordering this class of glass-ware where mistakes
most frequently arise. Since some pieces of ap-
paratus are used more frequently than others, the
list is divided into two portions. The first portion,
which is headed ‘“ Bench Apparatus,” contains the
apparatus required for each student. The second
portion, with the heading ‘‘ General Apparatus,”
contains that required occasionally; hence the
latter set of apparatus will suthce for four or more
students.
| N the following article is given a description of
BENCH APPARATUS.
In the following list the quantity of apparatus
supplied to each student is placed first, then
follows a statement of suitable sizes and quality,
together with the approximate price of the articles.
Twelve test-tubes, 5 x 2 in., made of good
Bohemian glass, since if made of soft glass the
tubes are only suitable for heating liquids, as they
readily fuse when used for heating solids. (4s.
per gross.)
Two boiling-tubes, 6 x 1 in. (8s. per gross.)
Twelve ignition-tubes, 3 x $in., made of hard
Bohemian glass, best supplied from stock as
required, (2S. per gross.)
Three glass stirring-rods—3, 5 and 7 inches
long, and -$ in. diameter. (10d. per Ib.)
Four feet glass tube, 4 in. bore, soft for bending,
best supplied from stock as required. (10d. per lb.)
Two watch-glasses, 2 in. diameter. (7s. 6d.
per gross.)
Two circular glass plates, ground on one side,
3 in. diameter. (6d. per dozen.) B
Three plain glass funnels, 2 in., 24 in. and 3 in.
diameter respectively. The sides of the funnels
SS e a
1 We are indebted to several of the firms mentioned in this article for per-
mission to use illustrations from their catalogues. Figs. r, 6, 7 and 10-13
are from the list of Messrs. Townson and Mercer; Figs. 3, 5. 8 and ọ are
from that of Messrs. Baird and Tatlock ; Fig. 2 from that of Messrs. Gallen-
kamp and Co., and Fig. 4 from that of Messrs. Muller, Orme and Co. '
4.08
should slope at an angle of 60° exactly; the larger
end should be ground flat and the stem cut off at
an angle as shown in Fig. 1. (3s. 6d. to 5s.
per dozen.)
One 4-02. Erlenmeyer flask
of hard Bohemian glass, or
better, Jena glass (see below).
(Fig. 2.) The walls of the flask
should be thin, as thick-walled
inferior quality flasks usually
break when heated. (3s. per
dozen.)
One 8-oz. Erlenmeyer flask,
as above. (5s. per dozen.)
One 18-0z. Erlenmeyer flask,
with neck 1 inch diameter, to
be fitted up as a wash-bottle,
to contain distilled water. (7s.
per dozen.)
Three beakers— 3-0z., 5-02Z.,
and 7-0z. capacity respectively,
of hard Bohemian glass, or
better, Jena glass. The squat
form with lip (Fig. 3) is prefer-
able, and the walls must be thin.
(From 2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. per
dozen.)
Two Berlin-porcelain evapo-
rating dishes, glazed inside and
out, 3 inches diameter. (6s.
per dozen.)
Fic. 1.— Funnel.
Fic. 2. Erlenmeyer
Flask.
GENERAL APPARATUS.
The following apparatus is required less fre-
quently than that enumerated in the former list.
Several sets should be placed in an accessible
ZAN
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7 es ný
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Yr __.-
Se ae
FG. 3.-- Lipped Beaker.
4 |
a o a,
Fic. 4.- Gas jar.
position. About one set to six - students will
usually suffice.
Three glass cylinders, with ground edges at top
(Fig. 4), 8 in. x 1% in. internal diameter. (6s.
per dozen.)
Six cylinders, similar to above, 6 x 14 in.
diameter. (4s. per dozen.)
The School World p
| NOVEMBER, 1903.
Two two-necked Woulffe’s bottles
of X-oz. capacity. (Fig. 5.) (10s. per
dozen.)
Two two-necked Woulffe’s bottles
of 12-0z. capacity. (12s. per dozen.)
Two stoppered retorts of 3-oz.
capacity. (7s. 6d. per dozen.)
Four thistle-funnels, 6 to 8 inches
long. (1s. 6d.per dozen.)
Two stoppered bell-jars, 40-0z.
capacity. (Fig. 6.) .(1s. 6d. each.)
Two wide-necked round flasks, 6-0z. capacity,
known as carbon dioxide flasks. (3s. 6d. per doz.)
Two round flasks, flat bottoms, 24-0z. capacity,
of hard Bohemian glass, or better, Jena glass.
(Price 7s. 6d. per dozen.)
Three beakers, tall form, 18-0z. capacity. Hard
Bohemian glass, or better, Jena glass. (7s. 6d. per
dozen.)
Six feet combustion tubing, 4 in. internal
diameter, of hard Bohemian glass, or better, Jena
Fic. 5,—Woulffe's
Bottle.
Fic. 7.—Stoppered Battles.
Fic. 6.—Stoppered Fell-jar.
glass. To be used for making tubes for heating to
a high temperature. (18. gd. per lb.)
Selection of soda-glass tubing, ;8, to 4 in. internal
diameter, for glass working. (1s. per lb.)
Selection of flat, well-ground, stoppered bottles,
with both narrow and wide necks (Fig. 7), of 8, 10,
12, and 16-02. capacity. (From 4s. to. 6s. per
dozen.)
Two calcium chloride drying-tubes, 6 in. long.
(3s. 6d. per dozen.)
Three Berlin-porcelain crucibles with lids, 14 in.
diameter. (4s. 6d. per dozen.)
Graduated Vessels—Two qualities of graduated
vessels are usually supplied by the dealer. For
elementary students the ‘‘second”’ quality may be
used, but for exact analytical work the “first ”
quality is necessary. The prices quoted are for
“first” quality; the second quality is about 33
per cent. cheaper.
One graduated measuring cylinder, unstoppered,
100 c.c. capacity. See Fig. 8. (1s. 3d. each).
One graduated measuring-cylinder, unstoppered,
250 c.c. capacity. See Fig. 8. (2s. each.)
Two graduated measuring-cylinders, unstop-
pered, 500 c.c. capacity. See Fig. 8. (2s. 6d.
each.)
One graduated measuring-cylinder, stoppered,
1,000 c.c. capacity. See Fig. 9. (6s. each).
Nore.-- The above measuring cylinders are suitable for
elementary students.
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
One each measuring flasks of 50 c.c., 100 C.C.,
250 C.C., 500 ¢.c., and 1,000 c.c. Capacity re-
spectively, graduated with ¢w#o marks for measuring
a
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Fie. to.—Measuring
Fico. 9, — Stoppered
Flask (two marks).
Measuring Cylinder.
Fic. 8. — Measuring
Cylinder (open mouth).
The 50 c.c. measuring-
and pouring (Fig 10).
(From
flask makes an admirable density bottle.
od. to 2s. each.)
Nort. -—-These flasks are necessary for accurate work, and
adapted for use by senior students.
One each 10 c.c., 25 c.c., and 5ọ c.c. pipettes ;
(Fig. 11.) (From 5s. 6d. to 3s. per dozen.)
Three 20c.c. pipettes. (Fig. 11.) (6s. per dozen.)
L
Fic. 13. — Solid Glass Stem
Thermometer.
Fig. 11.— Pipettes. Fre. 12. — Burette
with Stopcock.
Six Mohr’s burettes with glass stopcocks, 50 c.c.
capacity, graduated in Į c.c. (Fig. 12.) (3s. 6d.
each.)
The School World
OERE Sk: A
One each thermometers, solid glass stems
(Fig. 13); one graduated from —5° C. to 105° C. in
half degrees, the other graduated from —10° C. to
200” C. in degrees. (2s. 6d. each).
EIEN z ae Se
Jesa Geass.
It is highly desirable that what is termed “ first
quality” glassware should be purchased for
laboratory use. The poorer qualities of glass are
usually more fragile, do not withstand changes of
temperature readily, and are attacked more or less
by all liquids.
In volumetric analysis, when working with some
of the cheaper forms of glass-ware, it will fre-
quently happen that the beakers and flasks will
give a distinct alkaline reaction to pure water, even
after the vessels have been used a number of times.
This property, of course, unfits such glass for use
in acidimetry and alkalimetry, and is undesirable
at any time. For all work, therefore, it is desirable
that a good quality of glass should be used. Good
Bohemian glass is fairly satisfactory, but not equal
in hardness, durability and freedom from alkalinity
to the now well-known Jena glass. The latter
withstands sudden changes of temperature without
fracture, and is especially suited for vessels, such
as beakers and flasks, which are used for heating
liquids. Liquids may be evaporated to dryness in
vessels made of this glass as readily as in porcelain
vessels, and will dissolve no perceptible quantity of
the material of the vessel. When heated to a high
temperature, as in combustions, the glass rarely
breaks, even if moisture condenses and comes in
contact with the heated portions. So that, although
the initial cost is roughly speaking 25 per cent.
more, the greater certainty of successfully finishing
an experiment, the greater accuracy of working,
and the smaller percentage of breakages, more than
repay the extra outlay.
PURCHASE OF GLASS-WARE.
It is difficult to select particular firms to supply
particular classes of goods, but the following
firms may be selected to supply good and trust-
worthy chemical apparatus. The selection is
made simply to help teachers in purchasing, and is.
by no means exhaustive.
In London, among others, are
Messrs. Townson and Mercer.
Messrs. J. J. Griffin and Sons.
Messrs. W. and J. George.
Messrs. Baird and Tatlock.
Messrs. Miiller, Orme and Co.
Messrs. Brewster, Smith and Co.
Messrs. Gallenkamp and Co.
In the provinces, Messrs. Philip Harris and Co.,
of Birmingham, and Messrs. Reynolds and Bran-
son, of Leeds, are able to meet all the require-
ments of a chemical laboratory.
4.10 The
THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMINATIONS
ON EDUCATION.
By C. H. Sampson, M.A.
Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.
T the recent meeting of the British Associa-
tion a very interesting fnterim report was
presented to the Educational Science Sec-
tion on behalf of the Committee on the Influence
of Examinations upon Education. The report
specifies nine points which have been laid before
persons of experience in school and university
teaching, and gives extracts from fifty-six replies.
No attempt is made to arrive at a general con-
clusion, and the difficulty of any such attempt is
obvious. But many interesting and suggestive
criticisms of examinations in general and certain
particular examinations are recorded, and deserve
our careful attention. After many years of ex-
perience in Oxford as a college tutor and also as
a Delegate of Local Examinations, I venture to
offer one more opinion on one aspect of the general
question and on sundry matters of a more detailed
character.
It is unfortunate, but apparently inevitable, that
in such a discussion as this the weakness rather
than the strength of examinations should be so
constantly emphasised. No one troubles to prove,
possibly because no one cares to dispute, the
general propositions that examinations have their
rightful sphere as discriminating and stimulating
influences in educational work, and that in some
form or other examinations are the accepted means
of testing individual fitness for professional and
other purposes in the work of ordinary life. And
yet hardly anyone expresses any real whole-
hearted satisfaction with the manner in which
existing examinations are worked. Can we suggest
any general explanation of the dissatisfaction so
commonly expressed both by teachers themselves
and by those who have to judge of the results that
follow from examinations ?
I cannot help feeling that teachers too often
lose confidence in themselves and in their teaching
work as the centre of all true education. There is
a tendency to exalt examinations into a position
unjustifiable in theory and unsatisfactory in prac-
tice to all concerned. In theory examinations are
made for education, and not education for exami-
nations. In practice the syllabus of examinations
is the only working ideal of education in the minds
of many teachers, with the inevitable result that
sooner or later they are angry with the exami-
nation for not being what their fancy painted.
I know quite well that much of this tendency
springs from the absolute practical necessity of
preparing a certain number of individual pupils for
some definite competition on which their future
careers may depend. But the absorbing interest
of these special efforts ought not to obscure the
sense that the general training of character and
intellect is the teacher’s real work. No examina-
tion can possibly cover all the ground that teaching
ought to cover. If teaching is concentrated solely
School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
on one special examination, failure ends either in
undue depression or in fitful criticism, and success
may be pleasant for the moment, and yet barren
of abiding results.
Those who have read the report will remember
a very comprehensive criticism quoted from
«S. 25.” I cannot help thinking that he has a too
exalted view of the possible functions of examina-
tions. He says, with perfect truth, that the training
of character is a most vital part of a master’s
work. He then complains that the reports of
examiners are practically useless, because ‘‘ they
do not deal with training of character.” To my
mind, training of character is one of those parts of
our work of teaching that we must be content to
leave to some more abiding test than any examiner
can devise. Inspection may bring with it in the
future the ‘‘ many days of close contact and the
advice and encouragement” which “S. 25”
cannot find in our examination system. Mean-
while, cannot the members of a teaching staff do
more in the way of taking counsel with and en-
couraging one another than they sometimes seem
able to do? |
The effect of this ultra-specialisation on the
pupils cannot be more clearly illustrated than in the
criticisms made in this report on entrance scholar-
ships at Oxford and Cambridge. We know at Ox-
ford too well the dangers indicated. I am quite
ready to admit that within the twenty-one years of
my experience there has been some advance in the
standard of scholarship examinations. But I am
also quite sure that the attitude of schoolmasters
towards these examinations has changed out of all
proportion to this advance. So far as classical
scholarships are concerned, the trouble is not
serious. The range of the examination is (in
general) wide enough to set a reasonable standard
of work for the last year, or even the last two
years, at school. If only modern languages were
more effectively represented (as they probably will
be when the proposed Final School of Modern Lan-
guages is in working order), there would not be
much ground of complaint. In the case of other
subjects, this quite uncalled-for specialisation is
to all true friends of education a source of grave
regret. This tendency is at its worst, in my
judgment, in schools where mathematics is kept
apart from natural science. I have lately been
talking to two scholars, one elected for mathe-
matics and one for natural science. They come
from quite different schools, in both of which there
is excellent teaching given in both subjects, but in
separate departments and to separate:sets of boys.
The mathematical scholar is utterly ignorant of
any form of natural science, and the science scholar
knows no mathematics beyond the merest rudi-
ments. We are endeavouring to counteract this
tendency by incorporating a fairly comprehensive
“general paper” in our examinations for mathe-
matical scholarships. The whole subject of science
scholarships is surrounded with difficulties as to
the scope of the examination. It is easier to
recognise our duty to encourage science than to
know how best to carry it into effect. Possibly it
NOVEMBER, 1903. |
———
may be wise to offer a scholarship for mathematics
and some branch of natural science taken together.
Many criticisms on examinations as directly
affecting schools arise in connection with the
work of such bodies as the Oxford and Cam-
bridge Joint Board or the Delegacy or Syndicate
of Local Examinations. It is inevitable that a
given school should, when examined by one of
these bodies, be subject to certain regulations
as to the form and subject matter of the ex-
aminations which hamper its freedom of choice.
No one is more conscious than those who are
engaged in such work of the great difficulty of
adapting the scheme of examination to the need
of all sorts and conditions of schools. So far as
the Oxford Local Examinations are concerned
(and of these alone I can speak from personal ex-
perience), the steady increase in the number of
those whom we examine is a constant source of
encouragement, in spite of what one critic in
this respect calls our flagrant ignorance of the
average schoolboy. We are constantly receiving,
often asking for, and constantly acting upon,
suggestions from schoolmasters and others who
are in touch with educational work. If we have
erred in the direction of too many new experi-
ments recently, at any rate we cannot be accused
of stagnation. And when we have made an ex-
periment we do not hesitate to modify it in
deference to a consensus of representative opi-
nions. It is so much easier for critics to criticise
than to offer really constructive suggestions. Some
two years ago we sent out to persons who had
recently entered candidates for our examination
about 500 circulars on a point where the experi-
ence of actual teachers would have been simply
invaluable. Of these circulars 400 were never
answered.
Few departments of the work of examining
bodies are more difficult than the selection of
examiners and the assignment of them to different
schools. It would be impracticable to carry out
the suggestion of “S. 25,” that examiners should
« only be selected from experienced and en-
lightened schoolmasters.” So far as my knowledge
yoes, examining agencies are only too ready,
wherever possible, to obtain the co-operation of
those who have or have had definite school-
teaching experience. But it could hardly be
expedient that only those who have retired from
school-work should examine, and it 1s impossible
that those at present engaged in it should, as a
rule, find time and opportunity to examine other
schools. Is it certain that the average school-
master would be always ready to accept with
equanimity the criticisms of a member of the
working staff of another school ?
The criticisms on Responsions at Oxford as at
present constituted are perfectly fair, but they
hardly do justice to the actual position. It is a
matter of common knowledge that an abstract
resolution in favour of accepting French or German
in lieu of one of the two classical languages for all
purposes of Responsions was rejected by a small
majority in Congregation last year. It is an open
The School World
411
secret that steps have been taken to draft a similar
scheme in favour of candidates in certain Honour
Schools. For all examinations in and after Michael-
mas Term, 1904, a course of elementary geometry
has recently been prescribed in lieu of the text of
the first two books of Euclid. For the past two
years set books in Latin and Greek have ceased
to be necessary. They may still be offered, but
the alternative of unprepared translation in either
Latin or Greek or both languages is freely open.
I notice that the views expressed in the report
are, as a rule, strongly in favour of unprepared
translation as against set books. I quite agree
with this view in all cases where a working know-
ledge of a language is being tested. On the other
hand, whenever candidates are capable of studying
and appreciating the literature of a language, it is
a grievous pity that the study of a work of litera-
ture as a whole should be abandoned, as is too
often the case, in favour of the study of isolated
passages which are regarded as likely to be set in
examinations.
THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF
SCIENCE:'
ROM the point of view of the schoolmaster
these collected papers may not inaptly be
styled ‘‘ the gospel according to Armstrong.”
For the last twenty years Prof. Armstrong has been
insisting that a radical change in English educa-
tional ideals is imperative, and in this book are to
be found the most important of his contributions to
educational science. The modern conditions of
human intercourse are profoundly different from
those in existence when current systems of public
school and university education were formulated
and stereotyped. The development of science
during the nineteenth century has resulted in a
complete transfiguration of our methods of thought
and action, but so rigid has pedagogic conservatism
been that, despite this growth, there has been little
educational evolution, and our scholastic system is
still, to all intents and purposes, medieval.
Those observers whose business it is periodically
to diagnose the state of our national education are,
however, of opinion that symptoms of improve-
ment are evident, that a quickening of our
educational forces has begun. It may be hoped
that the near future has in store much that will
gladden the educational reformer’s heart and result
in the production of intelligent and resourceful
young citizens, no longer dominated by the tyranny
of antiquated authority, but alive with the spirit
which demands personal experiment and individual
research. The future historian who traces the
history of the growth of English education will, it
may be predicted with confidence, attribute much
of the improvement during the twentieth century
to the patriotic and self-denying efforts of a small
1“ The Teaching of Scientific Method ane other Papers on Education.”
By Henry E. Armstrong, LL.D., Ph.D., FRS. sii + 476 pp.
(Macmillan.) 6s.
band of scientific pioneers, among whom Prof.
Armstrong will be given a prominent place.
The main contention of these essays may be
stated briefly in a few sentences. Hitherto
English education has been too bookish, too much
concerned with words instead of things. Boys and
girls have been taught as if the only faculty worth
serious cultivation was the verbal memory, and as
if the only standard of truth was an appeal to
precedent. The practical training of hands and
eyes has been neglected and learning by rote has
been glorified. Instead of being led to believe
because they themselves have personally proved
by experiment a given truth, they have been
taught to accept statements on the authority of the
teacher or the text-book. Prof. Armstrong urges
that learning should take place by doing if it is to
2 of real value. The class-room must for the
future become subsidiary to the workshop; and
there pupils are not to practise scientific tricks in
the way that poodles perform antics under the eyes
of their trainers, but are to answer questions by
experiments devised by themselves with that object
in view. The attitude of the scientific detective,
or of the keen scout, is to be developed at what-
ever cost. The facts of science are of second-rate
importance; the matter of vital consequence is
that scientific methods should become natural
habits of the learners, so that they may always
have trustworthy reasons for the faith that is in
them. Such training will, it is claimed, we think
rightly, endow boys and girls with initiative,
resource, and general intelligence, and enable them
to face new circumstances witli confidence, because
they have learnt dlready to trust their own natural
powers.
Like many reformers, Dr. Armstrong is so
dominated by his message that he is apt to lose
sight of the good points in the procedure of the
many who have not yet accepted the heuristic
method as the way of educational salvation. The
classical education given by our public schools and
universities has, after all, produced great states-
men, great divines, great lawyers, great soldiers—
many of them. As Huxley pointed out, the proper
teaching of classics is, up to a certain point, in-
struction in the scientific method, and the classical
instruction in our public schools is at least the best
teaching to be found in the country—a fact which
is not surprising in view of the years of experience
classical masters have to draw upon. Moreover,
public-school boys learn initiative, too, through
their games and their systems of self-government ;
in fact, the best products of our public schools are
youths of whom we can all, exponents of the
heuristic method included, well be proud. It is
conceivable that a more sympathetic disposition
towards the believers in classical education would
strengthen the advocacy, by Dr. Armstrong and
others, of the introduction of the teaching of
scientific method in all schools and colleges.
Some practical teachers who have acquainted
themselves with the reforms urged by Prof.
Armstrong, while admitting the truth of his
generalisations, are unable to see how they can
The School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
satisfy him, please the advocates of commercial
and other forms of education, and meet the
demands of parents, when they have only some-
thing under thirty hours per week at their disposal,
and yet must not—they are told—set their pupils
any home work. The fundamental questions which
have yet to be answered are: What subjects are
essential to the curriculum of each grade of school,
and how much of the available time should be
given to each such subject? Once these questions
are decided and entrance examinations to the
professions and universities modified accordingly,
and teachers will enter heartily enough on the
work of reform.
Many of the minor points raised by Prof. Arm-
strong will not meet with general acquiescence.
We think, for instance, that the good text-book
will long play an important and useful part in the
work of the school. Again, what is possible and
right in the education of an individual alone must of
necessity be modified when the education ofa class
is being dealt with, and to urge that boys and girls
are not sufficiently treated as individuals in schools
is much the same as saying the classes are too
large—in other words, that as a nation we are
unprepared to spend a sufficient amount on the
education of our children. Similarly, to abuse
examinations indiscriminately is to lose sight of
the fact that, while many schoolmasters and school-
mistresses are very ordinary human beings, with
very inadequate training and emoluments, the
abolition of every form of examination might lead
to a falling off in the present poor quality of our
education.
To conclude, it must be said that no teacher can
afford to neglect this book; it deserves careful
study. The vigorous style and the enthusiasm of
its author will probably convince every reader that
the book is worth reading more than once.
THE TEACHING OF ARITHMETIC.’
A REVIEW
By Sır Oviver Lopor, F.R.S.
Principal of the University of Birmingham.
HESE two volumes consist of hints and
instructions to teachers: they are not in-
tended to be put into the hands of the
pupils. They are quite elementary, but they
contain occasional information some of which
must be new to some teachers, and it would be a
pleasure if we could unreservedly commend them ;
but unfortunately there is a good deal in them
that we are constrained to consider pedantic,
fidgeting, and over-laborious, and a few things
that we think unsound.
These assertions we must make good by
quotation, but meanwhile the scope of the volumes
may be indicated.
1“ The Teaching of Arithmetic’ By W. P. Tumbull, M.A., formerly
Fellow and Assistant ‘Lutor of Trinity College, Cambridge, and sometime
Fellow of St. Catherine's College, Cambridge. Vol L, pp. vL t 2:25
Vol LL, pp. viii + 208. (London: O. Newmann & Co., 1903.)
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
Volume I. consists of first principles, the simple
rules, a chapter on mental arithmetic, on dealing
with concrete numbers, on G.C.M. and L.C.M.,
then a long treatment of fractions and decimals,
concluding with ‘Practice ;’’ then appendices on
the use of Tillich bricks, on series, on a perpetual
calendar, and on weights and measures.
The second volume consists of chapters on ratio
and proportion, roots, mensuration, a chapter on
negative numbers, and on some properties of
numbers ; with an appendix on remainder-tests.
That the author is well acquainted with his
subject and delights in it may be taken as manifest
throughout, and that a teacher may find some
useful hints in the book is also true; but there are
serious divergences—differences of opinion—be-
tween what the author thinks true and sound and
what the present reviewer 1s disposed to agree
with. Accordingly most space must be given to
criticism, because it is in some of these places
that the book is likely to do harm if followed by
too assimilative and docile a teacher.
Very early in the first volume (on page 3) the
author says :—
For a sighted child the means I would recommend for
showing number is /ength. Why length ?
Given a unit of length, a length which we agree to call
“one,” all other numbers, integral or fractional, can be repre-
sented by length.
Conscious exactness, of course, in representing even the
number 2, by correctly doubling a given unit, is im-
possible. For man it is impossible, &c.
Length, or Line, is continuous ; and, rightly understood, so
is Number.
The last sentence we hold to be false, as
exhibited in detail in Tue ScHoot Wor tp for
December, 1902. The former sentences are
objected to as needlessly complicating a simple
matter. Children, like savages, readily acquire
the ideas two and three, &c., and by dealing with
objects—say oranges—they get the idea exactly ;
there is no approximation about it. The idea of
approximation is out of place.
On page 5, dealing with bricks, it is said that
The teacher can begin arithmetic by placing on the table a
one and a ¢wo, naming each. The children will soon know
which is the one, which the wo. .And so on, up to the /en. At
a later stage they will learn that two is greater than one, three
greater than two, &c.
Why ata later stage? This sort of elaboration
of the simple only worries children. Every child
knows almost before he is out of the cradle that
two is greater than one. But the author seems to
think that the forming of the notion of abstract
number is hard :—
The child sees three dogs, three nuts, three fingers, and so
on; and from all these groups he extracts.—or abstracts—that
which is common to them all, the number three. The child, in
order to perform this abstraction, must get rid of the dog’s head
and tail, the shell of the nut, the joints and nail of the finger,
and so on; which does not seem a very easy task. ;
There must not be different kinds of objects fer ditterent
No. 59, VoL. 5.|
The School World
413
numbers—three dogs for the number three, four geese for four,
five cats for five, and so on. Better keep to dogs throughout
than vary the animal. Better have the balls of a ball frame
than such complex things as dogs. Better still are the simple
Tillich bricks (p. 6).
The idea of six, for instance, is to be developed
by showing him repeatedly the brick six. This is
said to be much better than talking of a motley
assemblage of things—six beans, six apples, six
nuts, &c.
Perhaps some teachers may agree with this, but
Ido not. I hold that to form simple number con-
ceptions, objects are right; and that later on, for
the clear perception of fractions and the like,
lengths and divided scales are right too, but that
they are more difficult and do not come first.
Moreover when they do come, they should come
experimentally not didactically.
On page 8, the author appears willing to confuse
the children by discussing whether to call the
digits “ figures,” ‘‘ marks,” or “digits.” He
emphasises the desirability of keeping children for
a long time to the lower range before proceeding
to numbers above ten; which is probably right in
moderation, but it is rather strong to say :—
Let the children become expert in dissection, addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and sharing, in the range I to IO,
before the word ‘‘ eleven ” is heard.
At the same time the following quotation from
Kehr, on page 9, is surely sensible :—
“ In no subject of instruction,” says Kehr, ‘‘ is the punishment
for haste and hurry so much felt and so lasting as in arithmetic.
Is it not a humiliating thing that, in spite of three and four
arithmetic lessons a week, many children, even in the upper
classes of higher elementary schools, are so slow and inaccurate
in the operations within the range I to 100 that they stick fast
if asked 37 + 39,91 — 46,4 x 18, or 76 + 4? And yet in
practical life most calculations are within that narrow range.
The fault lies in this, and in this alone—a rotten, yielding
foundation ; a foundation not deep and firm.”
The author rightly advocates also that children
should find out rules for themselves, and be
assisted to formulate rules instead of being told
them from the beginning; but he overpresses this
when he says (on page 17): “ Let them find out
for themselves that twelve inches make a foot.”’
This is hardly one of the laws of nature that can
be ascertained by experiment.
At the same time the following are sensible
remarks :—‘‘ Do not correct a child who says
‘two and three is five’ ” (p. 18).
‘‘Do not torture children by insisting on their
saying ‘twice three is six.’ ‘Two threes are
six’ is good enough ” (p. 19).
« The word ‘unit’ is not easily intelligible to
children ” (p. 19).
In chapter II. the author quotes several curious
methods for subtraction, and wisely advocates the
“shop” or complementary method as in every way
easier and more powerful than the old-fashioned
and still ordinary method, whereby the child
wastes time by saying or thinking, ‘six from
K K
i: ee
three you can’t,” and then proceeds to mysterious
operations of so-called borrowing and paying back,
which the author rightly points out is really a
method of equal additions :—
Thus in taking 269 from 310 we add 110 to each number,
and really take 379 from 420.
The author says that there is no logical fault in
this common method, but that the method is
somewhat unnatural.
It seems a strange thing, when we have to take 27 from 43,
to alter the sum and take, instead, 37 from 53, while, if we had
been asked to take 37 from 53 in the first instance, we should
have altered ¢47's sum and taken 47 from 63 (p. 26).
It is indeed an extraordinary method when thus
expressed; old-fashioned teachers may fail to
recognise their ordinary procedure in this guise,
and the author does not make it perfectly clear.
But if they will take the trouble to go through the
operation of taking 269 from 310 they will find
themselves saying 9 from ro (a ten which is not
really there) leaves one, then 7 from 11 (a seven
which is not there, from an eleven which is not
there) leaves 4, and then 3 from 3 (the first three
being not there) leaves o, so that the result is 41;
but the course of procedure has been virtually to
add a gratuitous digit 1 to every place except the
unit places; that is really to add 110 to both
numbers.
If any teacher does not believe this and upholds
the habitual procedure as the best possible, I would
ask him, or perhaps more especially her, to think
it possible that he, or she, may be mistaken.
On page 29 we are told that—
The sign x may be used asan abbreviation either for ‘‘ times ”
or for ‘‘ multiplied by.” In the early stages the teacher should
be very clear as to which meaning is intended.
As a reviewer I am bound to say that I do not
consider the distinction in the least important. I
believe, however, that many teachers will agree
with the author rather than with me.
On page 31 a good deal of time and attention
is given to this problem :—
How many nuts must I have in order to give § to each
boy in a class of 47?
We are told, after a page of discussion, that we
must be careful to multiply five by forty-seven and
not forty-seven by five, which appears to me an
instance of fidgeting pedantry; the reason given
being that the forty-seven refers to boys, and the
answer is wanted in nuts. I should have thought
a thing like that not worth discussing, because any
child could see that the answer was 5 X 47.
I wish to maintain parenthetically that the
complete statement is as follows :—
47 boys x 5 one == 235 nuts ;
where the fraction is to be read ‘nuts per
boy,” and “ boy” cancels out. At this complete
form of symbolism Mr. Turnbull and many of
your readers will be horrified, and may consider
The School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
the above form of statement essentially wrong. It
is positively right, however, though I do not assert
with any certainty that it is an appropriate mode
of treatment for children. I would not be under-
stood as denying even that, however; it is the
method which has to be employed, sooner or later,
when dealing with comparatively complicated
sums in physics and mechanics.
Again, in division, a great deal of attention is
paid to the difference between ‘‘ measuring ” and
‘‘ sharing,” and the children are to be able to say
which it is that we are doing in any given case.
The answer to the question ‘“ What is a third
part of twelve ? ” is “ sharing ” twelve by three.
The answer to the question ‘‘ How many three’s
make twelve? ” is said to be ‘“ measuring ” twelve
by three.
This distinction is emphasised by the bulk, and
even the title, of the chapter, and runs throughout
it; but surely it must be regarded as needless?
If not, I should welcome instruction on this point
from practical teachers. It appears to be a dis-
tinction made by German writers. I do not deny
the distinction, but I doubt both its emphatic and
helpful character. So also a careful distinction
is drawn between the factors of a multiplication.
The following quotation from page 44 illustrates
the author’s point of view :—
In every multiplication there is a multiplier and a multi-
plicand. The multiplier multiplies. The multiplicand is
multiplied. The very name ‘‘ multiplier ” indicates activity ; the
multiplier is the active factor. The very name ‘‘ multiplicasd,”
if we know a little Latin, indicates passivity ; the multiplicand
is the passive factor. When we measure 12 by 3 we are given
the product and the multiplicand and we find the multiplier.
We are given the product and the passive factor, and measuring
may be called ‘‘ passive ” division. When we share 12 by 3 we
are given the product and the multiplier and we find the
multiplicand. We are given the product and the active factor,
and sharing may be called ‘‘ active ” division.
All this is tedious and unnecessary, in my judg-
ment.
The teacher is well advised to illustrate sharing
and measuring in the sight of the children by such
a thing as ribbon, which can be folded and creased ;
but one of the examples is the following :—
Take a ribbon, say 3 feet 2 inches long . . . mark
the points 12 inches, 24 inches, and 36 inches on it, and show
how you could easily share this ribbon into three equal pieces
if it were not for the two inches over at the end.
An extraordinary notion to instil.
Of the two inches each can be cut into three equal pieces,
and you find that 4 of the ribbon is 12 inches plus } of
each of the two inches, or 125 inches. In giving this little
lesson the word ‘* measure ” should be avoided (p. 51).
On the other hand, the author rightly says that
sand and a tin cup are useful to exhibit a re-
mainder; and further on, that a sheet of postage
stamps is useful in dealing with area questions.
Concrete quantities the author calls ‘ named
numbers ” and he has a whole chapter on ‘‘ Ope-
rations with Named Numbers.” With several
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
The School World
415
points in his treatment of concrete quantities the
present reviewer fundamentally disagrees.
The impression must not be conveyed that the
whole book deals with these extremely rudimentary,
matters, but the same sort of objections must be
taken through the treatment of the slightly higher
parts—over - elaboration, unnecessary laborious-
ness, and pedantic attention to artificial details.
The same sort of arithmetic goes on through the
two volumes, with no outlook into anything bigger
or beyond. It isa matter of drill—tedious drill—
in acquiring tools which you are never shown how
to use, except for dealing in minute detail with a
similar type of subject matter.
The author delights in his arithmetic, and makes
it an end in itself. Toa few children it might be
the same ; but the majority of children, and teachers
too, would be utterly sick of a subject if they
acquired it, and it only, to this unnecessary degree
of perfection.
The extraordinary elaboration can be illustrated
4 the method by which rule of three is introduced.
p. 182) :—
We begin with a very simple sum :—
The price of 2 yards of ribbon is 10 pence. What is the
price of 20 yards ?
Here we are told three named numbers: 2 yards, 10
pence, and 20 yards. These three named numbers are called
“terms.” [Six lines omitted. ]
Next, lead the children to see that in this sum there are
two parts, a condition and a question. Work the sum with
the class. Then:
What is the price of 20 yards? Is the price of 20 yards
always 8s. 4d.? On what condition is it 8s. 4d. ?
‘ The condition is that the price of 2 yards is 10 pence.”
We will call this part of the sum—the part which says that
the price of 2 yards of ribbon is 10d.-—the ‘‘ condition. ”
The other part of the sum is :
‘* What is the price of 20 yards?”
the name ‘‘ question ” to this part.
our sum? What is the question ? .
A few very easy sums can now be worked by the teacher
with the help of the class. In each case, before the sum is
worked, the children will find the condition and the question.
Lead the children to give
What is the condition in
Then follows a long discussion about goods and
cost, and about money having to be paid for goods,
so that ‘‘ goods and cost go together; they are
connected; they belong to each other ” (p. 185).
Next, lead the class to draw certain general conclusions
about the two sorts of thing that belong to each other.
For 7 yards we pay 6s. 14d. How much do we pay for
30 yards?
What is the whole sum ? the condition ? the question ?
Condition: For 7 yards we pay 6s. 14d.
Question : For 30 yards we pay how much?
What two sorts of thing are together in the condition?
<t Yardsand money.” Tell me the first without saying ‘‘ yards ” ;
give a name that would do for anything we can buy. ‘* Goods.”
Now tell me the other sort of thing in the condition. ‘‘ Money.”
Tell me without saying ‘‘ money.” ‘‘ Cost.” So what two sorts
of thing are together inthe condition ? ‘Goods and cost.” And
in the question? ‘‘ Goods and cost.” How many yards are
in the condition? ‘‘Seven yards.” How many yards in
the question? ‘* Thirty yards.” Do 30 yards cost more or
less than 7 yards? “More.” Then for more yards we pay
more money. But suppose the 30 yards in the sum to be
altered to 3 yards. Do we pay for the 3 yards more or less
than for the 7 yards? ‘‘ Less.” Then for fewer yards we pay
less money. The sentences in italic can be written on the
blackboard.
As if this was a thing requiring instruction!
It is brain-addling work, but it goes on for several
pages, and even overflows into another volume.
When working out a rule-of-three sum the
children are instructed to say, “the more the
more, and the less the less,” in order, I suppose, to
get the order of terms right before applying a rule.
But in questions about the time men take to dig
a garden they are to say “the more the less, and
the less the more.” All this is most painful. It
crops up again in the treatment of proportion in
the second volume in the following form (vol. ii.,
P. 23) :—
In the butter sum (§ 21) what is the condition? (That the
value of 14 Ibs. is rod.) What is the question? (What is the
value of 2 Ibs.?) How many terms are given? (Three.)
How many terms are there in the sum? (Four.) Notice the
proportion. Does 14 lbs. increase or diminish in order to
become 2 lbs. ? (It increases.) In what ratio does it increase ?
(In the ratio 14: 2, or 3: 4.) Then does tod. increase or
diminish in order to become x pence? (It increases.) In what
ratio does it increase? (In the same ratio as 14lbs. increases to
become 2 lbs., that is, in the ratio 3: 4.) If for 2 lbs. we had
I lb., would x pence be more or less than rod. ? (Less.) Is the
sum as it stands at present a ‘‘more more less less” sum, or a
“more less less more”? sum? (A “more more less less ” sum.)
Which are the ‘‘two sorts of thing” in the sum? (Pounds of
butter and money.) Which are the terms that belong to each
other? (14 lbs. and rod. belong to each other; so do 2 Ibs.
and x pence.) Are the terms 14 lbs. and 2 Ibs. in the con-
dition or in the question? (14 Ibs. is in the condition and 2 Ibs.
is in the question.) Where are rod. and x pence? (10d.
is in the condition, and x pence is in the question. )
Arrive at something like the following :—
In every rule of three ‘‘more more less less ” sum there are
four terms, two in the condition and two in the question. Each
term in the condition has corresponding to it a term of the same
kind in the question ; and, in whatever ratio one term in the
condition would have to be increased or diminished in order to
become the corresponding term in the question, in the same
ratio would the other term in the condition have to be increased
or diminished in order to become the term corresponding to it
in the question.
After a time, for ‘‘ rule of three more more less less sum ”
the children can say ‘‘ direct proportion sum.”
By this sort of teaching the children will, if
docile, get immersed in the idiosyncrasies of a
particular teacher, and may get expert at dis-
covering what he wants. Itis a study, therefore, of
a very limited kind of human nature, but it is
dificult to imagine anything more futile as an
introduction to mathematics.
Once more, parenthetically, I should like to say
that “ the unitary method ” now so much employed
by teachers is in all respects vastly better than
any form of “rule of three ;” and that the best
416
mode of expression in the early stages is to make
a full fractional statement, e.g., thus :—
If 6yards cost 8s. 4d.
1 yard costs ith of 8s. 4d.
So 17 yards cost ths of 8s. qd.
which can be evaluated.
The author’s mode of dealing with roots illus-
trates the same peculiarities, as the following
extracts (II. p. 75) show :—
85 is not the square of any whole number, but lies between
the consecutive squares 81 and 100. 81 is the highest square
that does not exceed 85 and may be called the square ‘‘in” 85.
81 is the highest square that does not exceed 81 and may be
called the square in 81.
The square in a number is the highest square that does not
exceed the number. Thus 81 is the square in every number
from 81 te 99 inclusive.
The squares in 25 and 45 are 25 and 36. Their roots are
5 and 6. It is convenient to speak of 6, which is not the square
-root of 45, as the root “in” 45.
Again, on page 102 :—
We may say that
I is the integral root in 1°545049.
I°2 isthe I-place ,, ,, ”
1'24 isthe 2-place ,, ,, ”
1'243 is the 3-place ,, ,, ”
By the integral root in a number we mean the highest
integer with a square not exceeding the number. By the
1-place, 2-place, 3-place, &c., root in a number we mean the
highest I-place, 2-place, 3-place, &c., number with a square not
exceeding the number. We say ‘‘ integral” root in a number
because, as we see, there may be other roots in the number.
When we were dealing only with integers and integral roots,
we could say simply ‘‘root ina number;” and this we can
still say when there is no doubt as to our meaning.
In this part of the book one finds, scattered
about, abbreviations like the following :—D.N.,
T.D.N., S.F.
It appears that D.N. means decimal number,
and M.D.N. means mixed decimal number :—
.\ccording to the language used in this book, both °24 and
3°24 are decimal numbers, but *24 is, and 3°24 is not, a decimal.
3°24 is a mixed decimal number: it is the sum of a whole
number, 3, and a decimal, ‘24 (II., p. 92).
It is very disappointing thus to have to find fault
with a book written by a Cambridge mathe-
matician, but it appears to me to emphasise all the
faults to which mathematicians in the narrow
sense are liable in teaching; and even though it
were true that the thorough and pedantic train-
ing advocated in the book could result in produc-
ing scholarship winners, that is not the object of
education. If inspectors of schools anywhere
proceed on lines corresponding to those in this
book, the teachers and pupils subject to their
influence are to be commiserated.
The School World
[NovEMBER, 1903.
THUCYDIDES’ PELOPONNESIAN WAR:
HE “ Temple Classics ” seems to be departing
somewhat from its old principles in publish-
ing this book. The earlier translations in
the series were chosen for their value as literature,
not as giving a literal or necessarily a verbally
faithful reading of the ancient work. The reader
of Chapman, or North, or L’Estrange, had before
him a fine piece of English, sometimes one made
immortal by its association with still greater mas-
terpieces : the lover of letters, not the surreptitious
schoolboy, sought for them. But Mr. Crawley’'s
translation is worth nothing as a piece of English
beside the noble work of Hobbes which was passed
over for it; whilst as a translation the editor seems
to have done his best to make it accurate. Searchers
after information, therefore, will find what they
want here, but not those who love a fine style.
Mr. Crawley is commonplace and verbose, he has
no ear, and cannot point an epigram or antithesis,
but we have tested him in a number of places,
and find him a good “ crib,” with the exception of
a few passages, two of which we will mention.
Both come in the introduction, a section of well-
known difficulty. First, in i., 2, the word your, which
gives a piece of corroborative evidence, is trans-
lated ‘* accordingly,” and the passage is made to
run thus :—
The goodness of the land favoured the aggrandisement of
particular individuals, and thus created faction which proved a
fertile cause of ruin. It also invited invasion. Accordingly
Attica, from the poverty of its soil enjoying from a very remote
period freedom from faction, never changed its inhabitants.
And here is no inconsiderable exemplification of my assertion,
that the migrations were the cause of there being no correspon-
dent growth in other parts. The most powerful victims of war
or faction from the rest of Hellas took refuge with the Athenians
as a safe retreat ; and, at an early period becoming naturalised,
swelled the already large population of the city to such a height
that Attica became at last too small to hold them, and they had
to send out colonies to Ionia.
That is, the fact that exiles filled Attica ‘* proves
my assertion that Attica increased more than other
parts.” But that is not his assertion at all. He
says the rich parts changed their inhabitants, and
the poor did not; ‘at any rate (your, it is admitted),
Attica, a poor part, did not change its inhabitants ;
and it is a proof of my argument that Attica in-
creased more than other parts («h éuolws, not so
little) by migrations-into-other-parts (Hevomlas és ra
dada). Crawley translates as though the text read
Sia rò rà GAAA ph ópolws avinénva:; but no forcing can
give any subject for this infinitive ‘“‘ but Attica.”
Note “by the way” the infelicity of the three froms
in the third sentence; a trick which is repeated
elsewhere. The other passage is in chapter 21:
‘assuredly they (? the conclusions) will not be
1“ Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War.” Translated by Richard Crawley.
334 + 280 pp. 2 vols. (Dent.) ts. Gd. each. net. .
NOVEMBER, 1903. | The School World
disturbed ” by the lays of poets or the works of
chroniclers. The Greek says the reader should
believe me, and “ not trust the lays of the poets ”
or the chroniclers. We do not understand the
English. There isa plan of the battle of Plataea
in vol. i., but it is impossible to distinguish Greek
from Persian. We think something more has
ahaa learnt about Plataea since that plan was
made.
A HISTORY OF AMERICAN LITERA-
TURE.’
ROF. TRENT is quite alive to the advantage
he possesses over the other historians of
literature in the series of which his book
forms one volume. In striking contrast to many
nations, the literary achievements of the people
of the United States scarcely extend over a single
century. ‘Thus, the scale of the work can be
large. The reader has no cause for regret, for the
author is enabled to write with an ease and even
an amplitude of expression which would have been
impossible had his range been wider or his space
more restricted. The absence of cramping limi-
tations is further favourable to the writer because
it gives him room to emphasise one of the charac-
teristics of American literature, namely, the rela-
tively large number of fairly important
writers, inferior, of course, to the great '
men, but still of respectable merit. Not
that the pages are crowded with detail,
or that the critic’s standard of respec-
table merit is low. .In fact, this ad-
mirable book is steered with great skill
between the two dangers which beset
the histories of literature. It is not
over-burdened with names of authors
and books so that the reader cannot »
discern the general trend of literary de-
velopment. Nor, on the other hand, is
the writer one of the “ tendency ” school
which subtly analyses influences,
movements and reactions, to the ex-
clusion of pertinent information and of
valuable personal criticism.
The book is in two large divisions.
Up to 1830 the subject is arranged
under three periods, the Colonial, the
Revolutionary, and the Formative
periods, names which sufficiently ex-
plain themselves. A modern historian
is far enough from 1830 to be able to
treat the literature before that date in a
spirit of historical criticism, to trace the
growth of literary taste, and to pronounce more
or less decisive verdicts. But we are too near the
writers of the period subsequent to 1830 to
discuss their relation to the general course of
1 “A History of American Literature.” By Wm. P. Trent, M.A.,
L1.. D., Professor of English Literature in Columbia University. x. + 008 pp.
(Heinemann.) 6s.
“r
CLOSED l
ELEVATION OF BENCHES (TYPE B)
A
national progress, or to determine in anything but
a tentative fashion their ultimate position in uni-
versal literature. Accordingly, Prof. Trent makes
no attempt to philosophise on the later writers ; he
classifies them as novelists, historians, poets, and
so forth, and discusses each on his own merits.
In the later as in the earlier chapters of the
book, so far from displaying a desire unduly to
magnify the fruits of American literature, he is
almost too careful to point out the low literary
worth of many popular writers, and to lay stress
on the absence of creative originality of the highest
order in any American author. Theonlytwo who,
in his opinion, will take a permanent place in inter-
national literature are Poe and perhaps Whitman.
The book will make an excellent addition to the
school library. The older boy who has discovered
Hawthorne and Wendell Holmes may be sent to
it for information, and he will read on for pure
pleasure.
SCHOOL LABORATORIES.!
E welcome this attractive book as an attempt
Vo to put before the layman the peculiar con-
ditions which work in practical science
involves. The first eighty-seven pages are de-
GPLN '
AECUT 273”
AECE FLOOR
N
PLAN OF
BENCHES.
l TULOG
iY BRACKET. | eas N
i
gas! ee
MAK HAWLY NOX
TYPE A / 0 / 2 3 4
fedbebbottoe S E
SCALE OF FEET.
SECTIONS
voted to chemical laboratories, enumeration of the
necessary rooms being followed by a detailed
account of the fittings required, aided by plans of
laboratories and fittings drawn to scale. The
ap eS ees
1“ The Planning and Fitting up of Chemical and Physical Laboratories.”
Byr. H. Russell. xa.+178 pp. (Batsford. )
418
author’s remark, ‘the room should be planned
for the benches, not the benches for the room,” is
worth commending. Success in designing is only
to be obtained by arranging the fittings and then
surrounding them with walls, a fact which archi-
tects accustomed to ordinary domestic work are
apt to ignore.
Mr. Russell appears to be wedded to the old
style of chemical bench with its drawers, cup-
boards, and re-agent shelves. The benches at the
Manchester School of Technology figured in the
book are, in fact, a replica of Dr. Thorpe’s much
earlier designs for the Yorkshire College. The
decay of ‘‘test-tubing ” in recent years has made
this style of bench, in some circumstances, a
doubtful advantage and a needless expense. Some
useful suggestions for closing wall benches are,
however, given, as shown in the figure reproduced
on p. 417 with the permission of the publisher.
Lecture-room seating is carefully dealt with, but
the plan, occasionally possible, of putting the first
seat in a well, a boon to a lecturer in a large
room, is not mentioned. . We think that water-
cocks, filter-pumps and the carrying of drainage
through floors, deserve more treatment in this
section.
Pages 88-116 deal with physical laboratories.
The exclusion of iron and steel, insisted upon,
is, with rooms of large span, a serious matter,
and moreover involves the use of brass or copper
gas and water pipes, though this point is not
brought forward. A great deal of students’ work,
even in magnetism, can be done without this rigid
exclusion, especially if pendant gas-pipes which
can be doubled up out of the way are used, instead
of pipes fixed on the benches. In describing the
benches hardly enough stress is laid on the advan-
tage of each student having a free end as well as
a side to work at. The optical room seems to
deserve more than the few lines allotted to it, and
the subject of wiring, including the laboratory
switchboard, with its invaluable rheostat, finds
no mention at all.
Ventilation, warming and lighting (pp. 116-148)
are hardly included in the title of the book.
While commending the author’s treatment, to
attempt such a feat in thirty pages must be some-
what unsatisfactory, and we fear that the average
architect will fight shy of units of heat and even
the simple equations given. The book concludes
with appendices on the Board of Education regu-
lations which bear upon the subject, followed by
lists of apparatus required and an index.
It is a pity that no attempt has been made to
indicate the probable building requirements—as
judged by the style of work done in institutions
of different kinds—for such information would
have been a help to architects in advising lay
clients.
In conclusion, we would only ask that these
criticisms may be taken as showing apprecia-
tion of, and interest in the book, which stands
almost alone and is likely to be of considerable
value.
A. E. M.
The School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
TWO BOOKS ON METHOD.:
T is one of the most hopeful signs for the future
Í of the country that there is a real awakening
of interest in education. And this interest
isa twofold one. It manifests itself not only in the
public demand for greater educational opportunity
and efficiency, but also in the spread of a spirit
of earnest enquiry among teachers as to the true
end of education and the best methods of securing
the realisation of that end. Teachers are begin-
ning to take their profession seriously. They are
awakening to the truth that the process of educa-
tion is founded upon a scientific basis. The
schoolroom is being transformed, and transfigured
by the light of great aims and interests. The
teacher is beginning to feel that he may do a
great service for his country, and a great service
for science at the same time. He has an eager
welcome for such books as Stratton’s ‘* Experi-
mental Psychology and Culture,” which reveals
to him new possibilities in schoolroom observation,
and Royce’s “Outlines of Psychology” (The
Macmillan Company), which brings the most
scientific results of the study of mind into direct
relation with the practical work of teaching.
The two volumes before us, dealing with
General Method, and the Method of Class Teach-
ing, will be found both stimulating and practically
helpful.
The new edition of the “ Elements of General
Method” is considerably enlarged, especially in
the treatment of interest and correlation. It
carries the student a stage nearer his professional
work than the ‘Outlines of Psychology.” The
principles are here seen guiding and inspiring
practice, clothing themselves in the form and
organisation by which young minds are guided in
their growth, and the edifice of knowledge is
reared. The aim of education, the relative value
of studies, interest, correlation, induction, apper-
ception, the will, are the main subjects discussed.
The treatment of these subjects is full, fresh and
clear. The author has an intimate personal
acquaintance with the teacher’s difficulties, and is
able by his knowledge and experience to make
many suggestions which should add to the teacher’s
pleasure in his work, and his success in it.
The other volume has a title which may mis-
lead English readers, who are apt to think that
“The Method of the Recitation” confines itself
to reading and what is usually called reciting.
«The recitation” to the American teacher is
«the lesson” to the English teacher; so that
this book is really on the method of teaching class
subjects.
We have no hesitation in giving it a very high
place among books on practical method. The
authors must be congratulated on the clearness
1“ Flements of General Method.”
(T! he Macmillan Company.) 4s.
‘The Method of the Recitation.”
M. McMurry, Ph.D. 339 pp.
By Chas. A. McMurry. 331 pp.
By Chas. A. McMurry and Frank
(The Macmillan Company.) 4s.
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
with which they have shown how the teaching of
individual notions, the progress from individual to
general notions, and the application of general
concepts in new directions constitute the main
problems of instruction, and how these problems
may be logically solved in the various subjects
of school study. The illustrative lessons give
definiteness to the suggestions and hints, and
though some of them have an American setting,
they all have a value as concrete embodiments of
educational principles.
These two volumes can be recommended both
to students of education and to teachers who
desire to keep in touch with the developments of
method.
THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS IN
SCOTTISH SCHOOLS.
THe Scotch Education Department have just issued an
important circular on the teaching of mathematics, with special
reference to the requirements of the Leaving Certificate Exami-
nation. In this circular they have accepted the changes in
mathematical teaching suggested by the British and Mathe-
matical Associations, and recently adopted by the Board of
Education, and by the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and
London. It is not too much to say that this action of the
Department ensures the introduction of the “new method”
into every public school in Scotland, whether higher-grade or
higher-class. The Leaving Certificate Examinations dominate
the whole field of education in Scotland, and for good or ill
largely determine the nature and scope of the teaching in the
various subjects of examination. On abstract principles such a
position cannot very well be defended, but in practice it has
resulted in a general marked improvement in the methods of
instruction—a general improvement which would have been
impossible without the ‘‘ benevolent despotism” of a central
authority.
The main features in the circular may be summed up as
follows :—
(i.) In the study of arithmetic more attention should be paid
to the explanation of the ordinary rules and to the employment
of contracted methods.
(ii.) Systematic practice in the use of logarithms should
receive more attention.
(iii.) Pupils should be made to realise that the fundamental
laws of algebra and arithmetic are the same, and they should be
encouraged to employ algebraical formulz in arithmetical calcu-
lation. Similarly, the explanation and illustration of alge-
braical expressions by graphical methods might with advantage
be introduced at an earlier stage.
(iv.) With regard to geometry, it is advisable that certain
fundamental geometrical results should be established as far as
possible, in the first place by trial and experiment, involving
accurate drawing and calculation, before advance is made to a
deductive proof.
(v.) These changes are not to take effect till 1905. In the
course of 1904 a series of specimen examination papers will be
issued in order to give teachers a definite idea of the scope of
the examinations.
(vi.) No separate paper will be set in arithmetic after the
examination of 1900.
(vii.) No change has been made as regards the papers for
honours.
The School World
419
Regulations.
Examinations in mathematics are held in three grades, lower,
higher, and honours. Candidates may be presented for exami-
nation in any grade, but those who fail to pass in the grade in
which they are examined will not be credited with a pass in a
lower grade. In writing out the answers to the questions in
the mathematical papers it is essential that the full detailed
work should always be given in its proper sequence as part of
the answer. The work should be written out with such care
and neatness in the first instance that a second copy may not be
required. But if from any cause a second copy of any answer
is made, this copy must include all the detailed working, and
the first copy must be struck out with the pen. In geometry
all the figures should be careful and accurate. For this purpose
candidates must be provided with a fairly hard pencil, a flat
wooden ruler graduated on one edge in inches and tenths of
inches, and on another in centimetres and millimetres, two set
squares (45° and 60), a protractor graduated to degrees, and
compasses furnished with a pencil point. In all the mathe-
matical subjects marks are given for neatness, arrangement,
good style, and well-drawn figures. Candidates in the higher
grade and in honours must be provided with a table of four-
place logarithms of numbers and trigonometrical functions.
Lower GRADE.—-The examination in lower-grade mathe-
matics will consist of three papers (Mathematics I., II., and
III.), for each of two of which two hours will be allowed, while
one hour will be allowed for the third. It will embrace the
following subjects :--
Arithmetic.—The elementary rules; prime factors of num-
bers ; weights and measures in common use ; the metric system ;
vulyar and decimal fractions ; elementary methods of approxi-
mate calculations by decimals; practical problems. The in-
telligent use of algebraical symbols is permitted, and no question
will be set on recurring decimals.
Algebra.—Numerical interpretation of formulz ; simple alge-
braical transformations ; the graphical representation of simple
functions ; equations of the first degree in one and two vari-
ables ; easy quadratic equations ; problems leading to the above
equations.
Geomelry.—The main propositions given in Euclid, Books I.
and III., with deductions and constructions arising from them:
simple loci; application of arithmetic and algebra to geo-
metrical theorems and problems. Elementary drawing to scale.
Proofs will be accepted which appear to form part of a logical
treatment of the subject.
Candidates who take the lower-grade examination in mathe-
matics may not be presented in any of the additional subjects.
HIGHER GRADE.--The examination will consist of three
papers (Mathematics I., II., and IIJ.), for each of which two
hours will be allowed, and will embrace the following sub-
jects :—
Algebra.—The subjects of the lower grade; more difficult
transformation, equations and problems ; application of graphical
methods ; elementary theory of indices including logarithms ;
surds; the remainder theorem; ratio; proportion; progres-
sions. Arithmetical questions will also be set, including ques-
tions on theory and exercises involving the practical use of
logarithms.
Geometry. —The main propositions in Euclid I.-VI. and XI.
I-21, with deductions and constructions arising from them, but
excluding the theory of incommensurable quantities; the ele-
mentary properties of simple plane-faced solids ; mensuration of
plane and solid figures; approximate solutions by drawing to
scale. Proofs will be accepted which appear to form part of a
logical treatment of the subject.
Trigonometry —- Elementary including the
trigonometry,
4.20
solution of triangles, with the aid of four-place logarithms.
Graphical solutions of problems.
Candidates who take the higher-grade examination in mathe-
matics may be presented in one (but not in more than one) of
the following additional subjects:——Elements of dynamics;
geometrical conics ; analytical geometry.
AT THE CAPE OF GOOD
HOPE.
THIS year’s report of the Superintendent-General of Education
for the Cape of Good Hope, dealing with the work of the year
1901, has reached us. It is a bulky volume of over four hundred
foolscap pages and gives details of every branch of the work of
the Department of Public Education.
The features of the educational history of Cape Colony for
1901, that is for the second year of the war, are, the report
States, similar to those of the previous year, but more pro-
nounced. Dr. Thomas Muir, F.R.S., the Superintendent-
General, summarises his report as follows :—
The loss in schools which in the first year was 61, mounted
up to 13f in the second year of the war. The bare fact is
significant enough, but its full import is not grasped until the
progress of preceding years is recalled. During the seven years
immediately before the war there was an average increase of 166
schools a year. The events of the years 1900 and 1901 are thus
responsible not merely fur the loss of the 192 schools above
noted, but for the loss of all the schools which two years of
progress might have brought into existence. Another fact
which deepens the picture is that the loss fell entirely on the
white population, the schools which have disappeared being
third-class public schools, farm schools and poor schools. In all
probability the year 1904 will be near its close before we shall
have regained the ground lost.
When we come to look at the number of pupils enrolled the
figures are much less unpleasing, there being an actual increase
of 2,484 for the year. This is the more striking in view of the
fact that in the previous year, when there had also been an
increase, the number had been considerably less, viz., 425.
Here again, however, the real state of affairs is not understood
if we do not keep in mind the immense increases of the
preceding years of progress. Up till the war the increase
in the enrolment had been leaping upwards at the average rate
of 7,491 pupils a year; growths of 425 and 2,484 for the two
years of the war are thus only noteworthy because of being
growths and not shrinkages.
The records of inspection, though, of course, less favourable
than those of the preceding year, are astonishingly good in view
of the existence of martial law and all the hardships which it
entailed.
In the actual widening of the curriculum by the spread of
instruction in boys’ handiwork, girls’ handiwork, drill, vocal
music, and experimental science, there has been no check to
progress. This is a very satisfactory feature.
Equally satisfactory is the improvement in the qualifications
of teachers, the ratio of trained to untrained having increased in
spite of all the adverse circumstances.
The growth in the number of school l'braries was not main-
tained. In the provision of new school buildings little was
accomplished, notwithstanding the willingness of school
managers and the Department. As had been more than once
indicated, there is no point in the administration more in need
of reform than that which concerns the granting of Government
aid for new buildings.
The only fitting comment on the whole year’s record is that,
while gloomier than that of 19c0, it is still not unmixed with
spots of brightness.
EDUCATION
The School World
| NOVEMBER, 1903.
TWO IRISH EDUCATIONAL REPORTS.'
THE recent publication of these two reports is attended with
more than usual interest. In the year 1901-2 Irish education
plunged into a new system, part of which consisted in the non-
publication of the results of the examination, so that until
the Intermediate Board brought out its belated report the
answers to several interesting questions remained uncertain. In
the first place, the number of candidates who took the examina-
tions in 1902 showed a slight increase on the whole over 1901—
8,379 as against 8,117—but not so large an increase as 1901
over 1900, when the number was 7,608. There was a large
increase, viz., over a thousand in the preparatory grade, but a
decrease in all the other grades, and particularly in the senior,
both increase and decrease being shared proportionally by boys
and girls. It seems premature to draw any conclusion as to the
effect of the change of the age limits. The results of the
examination were not in accordance with the Board’s anticipa-
tions, for after sending the results to the schools they revised
the lists, issuing a new pamphlet. Even then the percentage
of passes was appreciably lower than for several previous years,
being for boys 60°7 as against 64°4 in 1901, for girls 54°2 as
against 69, and for both together 58°9 as against 65:7. The
preparatory grade suffered most, and the girls more than the
boys. Under the new system the Board obviously intend to
reduce the number of exhibitions, both in value and in number.
In the senior grade they are of two values, £50 and £40; in
the middle, of two, £30 and £25; and in the junior, of three,
£20, £1§ and £10. There are none in the preparatory. The
total number of exhibitions awarded was 249; 189 to boys and
60 to girls; in 1901 (omitting the preparatory grade in which
127 were awarded, 94 to boys and 33 to girls) the number was
338, 224 to boys and 114 to girls. It must also be remembered
that under the old system there was a large number of retained
exhibitions, which will disappear under the new. Similarly
there were 250 prizes, varying from £3 to £1, awarded in 1902,
190 to boys and 60 to girls; and in Igor (omitting the 134
prizes cf the preparatory grade), 540, 386 to boys and 154 to
girls. The exhibitions were awarded in three different groups,
the totals in the different groups being: classical group, 59 to
boys and 4 to girls; modern literary group, 84 to boys and 50
to girls ; science group, 46 to boys and 6 to girls. The amount
of the school grant paid to managers was practically the same as
in previous years, viz., £57,413 divided among 268 schools,
the highest amount paid to a single boys’ school being £1,941
to the Christian Schools, North Richmond Street, Dublin, and
to a single girls’ school £990 to Victoria High School, London-
derry. The most interesting pages in the report contain some
severe comments on the refusal of the Government to allow the
appointment of permanent inspectors for 1902-3, and an earnest
appeal for their early appointment in order to carry into effect
the Act of Parliament of 1900. The report contains the reports
of the examiners of 1902, published too late to be of any use for
the examinations of 1903. The examiners seem to think
that the abolition of set courses is already working a useful
effect, but they comment passim on the abundant evidences of
mere cram memory work ; one mathematical examiner goes so
far as to say that mere memory work should be penalised.
This fault extended to all the languages, including Irish, and
even to English composition. On page xvil. the examiner
writes: “In very many schools the teachers had tried to fore-
cast what subjects the examiners would select for the ccm-
position exercise, and had drilled their pupils to reproduce
1(1) “ Report of the Intermediate Education Board for Ireland for the
year 1992." (2) ‘‘ Intermediate Education Board for Ireland: Report of the
‘Temporary Inspectors, 1903.
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
prepared essays on those subjects. Though the forecast proved
to be at fault, the candidate, in nowise deterred, transcribed the
essay with which he had been crammed. Fully one-
third of the middle-grade candidates had been prepared accord-
ing to this simple method.”
The first question one is tempted to ask about the Report of
the Temporary Inspectors is, ‘‘ Is this the whole report?” One
of their instructions was to report on ‘the qualifications
of the staff generally,” but on this matter there is no word, nor
yet is there any statement that any part of the report has been
withheld. The temporary inspectors were four: Messrs.
M. A. Bayfield, Cloudesley Brereton, C. H. Jeafferson, and
T. M. Roberts; three of these had been inspectors the year
before, and were very pleased with the results of their previous
work, as they found very marked improvement all round. The
report, however, deals only with half of the ordinary school
work, viz., English, Latin, Greek, and modern languages. No
word of comment is offered on mathematics or science. Nor do
the inspectors explain how hurried and superficial their ‘‘ angel
visits” were. The book contains, however, some exceedingly
useful hints, especially on the teaching of French. There are
many severe remarks on the teachers and teaching. These are
no doubt fair from the inspectors’ point of view, but when will
an inspector or an Intermediate Commissioner fairly face the
question from the teachers’ point of view? or how long will
Irish schools be expected to “ make bricks without straw,” or
to have staffs of good teachers without providing them a
mechanic’s wage ?
SCHOOL HYGIENE:
Essentials of School Buildings.
IN drawing up the following remarks upon school buildings
in relation to health the Sub-Committee had before them the
regulations issued by the Board of Education both for elemen-
tary and secondary school buildings. As these are open to
anyone, and give a large amount of detailed instruction as to the
planning and fitting up of both classes of schools, it seems
better to the Sub-Committee to confine themselves to some
general observations applicable to all classes of school buildings,
avoiding as far as possible details applicable to parucular classes
of schools, which can be readily obtained from the regulations
mentioned above.
GENERALLY.—The plan or general scheme of the building
should be arranged with a view to provide for the particular
system of organisation and routine that is intended to be
adopted in the school.
The main points to be kept in view are simplicity and direct-
ness, that is to say, narrow corridors or passages are to be
avoided ; all parts of the building and playgrounds should be
easily overlooked, so that the duties of supervision may be re-
duced to a minimum. There should be no buttresses or
projecting parts of the building to form corners or places
screened from observation.
Every part of the inside should be thoroughly well lighted.
The staircases should be planned so that there is easy and
direct access from every part of the building to the open air,
and so distributed that no part of the building can be cut off by
fire; they should be arranged to discharge into open places of
a a O
1 From the Report of a Committee of the British Association on “ The
Conditions of Health essential to the Carrying on of the Work of instruc-
tion in Schools.” Presented to the Educational Science Section of the
Association at the Southport meeting.
The School World
sufficient size to prevent jostling or crowding in case of two or
more classes being dismissed at the same time. The general
scheme must provide for rapid and orderly movements of large
numbers and easy accessibility to every part of the building for
the principal.
In the case of large boarding-schools, the residential build-
ings should be kept separate from the educational block; in
this way each boarding house may be placed so as to have the
most favourable aspect, can be more easily isolated? in case of
sickness, and the air can be allowed free play all round.
The objection to arrange a school in the form of a quadrangle
is that there will necessarily be a certain amount of stagnant air,
and that only two sides can have a favourable aspect.
SITE.—A damp or low-lying ground should be avoided—if
possible, a position on the top or side of a hill facing south with
a gravel, sand, or chalk soil, sheltered to the north and east by
trees, preferably pines. Ground water should not come within
about 10 or 12 feet of the surface. The advantages of a
good soil, such as sand or gravel, may be entirely neutralised by
an impervious layer of clay a little below the surface.
The erection of a school building upon made ground is very
undesirable.
In towns, care should be taken to place the school away from
main or noisy thoroughfares, the neighbourhood of railways,
factories, or any industries causing dust and smell. A wide
street with the houses low on the opposite side should be
chosen, both for light and the avoidance of noise. Otherwise,
unless the building can be put at least 60 feet back from the
street, there will be disturbance to the work. In any case, the
room where noise is of less importance, such as studios, labora-
tories, cloak-room, staircases, corridors, and the assembly hall,
should be placed on the street side, aspect having been taken
into consideration. Double windows should only be allowed
where there is an effective and complete independent system of
ventilation. The places that the children may have to pass on
the way to school should also be considered when settling the
position of a school.
ASPECT.—The building must be placed so that the sun has
free access to every part that is in constant use. The best
aspect is probably south-east: this allows the morning sun to
shine into the room, while it is off it before the hot part of the
day. Rooms facing due west will be very hot in summer, and
should, if possible, be used only in schools where work is not
carried on in the afternoon. It is suggested that on a free site
the best plan will be to place the side of the hall in which the
windows are (in a school on the central hall plan) to the north-
west, placing the studio at the north end and grouping the class-
rooms on the south and east.
ENTRANCES.—In arranging the entrances regard should he
had to the prevailing wind, in order to provide shelter; there
should be covered space for early comers to wait in on wet
mornings. They should not open directly into the hall, nor be
used for cloak-rooms. A strong draught is produced when two
entrances open opposite to each other with a straight corridor
between. In mixed schools there must be a separate entrance
for boys and girls.
C1.OAK-KOOMS must be large, airy, and well lighted, and
placed so that they are under easy observation from outside.
They should be easily reached from the main entrances, and the
doors so arranged’ as to allow the various forms of cloak-room
drill that are customary in the elementary schools. The stands
should be some distance apart with 12 inches between the
pegs, of which there should be only one row, so arranged that
the clothes can hang clear away from the wall and allow of the
proper circulation of air. In the case of boys’ schools less
space will be required. The best umbrella holders are the
“turnstiles.” Cloak-rooms should be warmed, and special
The
Lavatory basins should
4.22
attention be paid to their ventilation.
not be placed in the cloak-rooms.
CLASS-ROOMS.--(a) Area. The area of the floor space to be
occupied by the pupils should be not less than 18 square feet
per child.
(6) Lighting. The main light to be from the left, other
windows being subsidiary and for the purpose of ventilation.
The transparent glass surface should be, if possible, one-
quarter of the floor space to allaw for dark days, and should
never, even on the south side, be less than one-sixth. The sill
of the window should not be more than 3 feet 6 inches from the
floor, but if higher should be bevelled off. The glass should be
carried as near the cciling as may be constructionally possible.
The piers between the windows should be as narrow as possible,
and splayed or bevelled off.
The back row of desks must not be placed behind the last
window. Transoms or heavy mullions should not be allowed
even if the requisite amount of glass area is provided, as they
cast shadows. The colour of the walls is important with regard
to lighting. The light yellows and buffs often found and
recommended are not satisfactory, yellow in particular producing
fatigue and nervousness in a marked degree as compared with
other colours. Some light shade of green or grey seems on the
whole the most satisfactory colour. Blackboards placed at a
height within easy reach of the children should run round the
walls.
SLEEPING-ROOMS.—-The most satisfactory arrangement is
probably that of open dormitories containing a moderate number
of beds. The cubicle system is less to be recommended, while
that of having rooms for two or three should be unhesitatingly
condemned. Not less than 65 square feet of floor area should
be provided for each occupant.
PLAYGROUND.— Every school should be provided with
sufficient open space immediately round the school building for
the purpose of a playground: this should in no case be less than
30 square feet per head. In the case of secondary schools this
should be in addition to the playing field for regular games.
Koarding schools require considerably more space than day
schools,
VENTILATION. —The Sub-Committee, while feeling to the full
the enormous importance of the subject of proper ventilation in
regard to the success of the school, both as to the mental and
physical development of the pupils, feels some difficulty in
offering any suggestions as to how a satisfactory result can be
secured. Many schemes are put forward, both ‘‘ mechanical”
and ‘‘ natural,” each of which claims to secure perfect ventila-
tion, but all of which in actual practice fall far short of their
promises. The Sub-Committee would, however, like to utter a
word of warning with regard to certain systems that rely on the
introduction of hot air both for the warming and ventilation of
the rooms. Such a system may work well enough in the case of
one or two large rooms, but in a school with its large number of
rooms with an always varying number of occupants the difficulty
of adjusting the pressure becomes very great. The continual
movement and opening of doors is also apt to interfere with the
proper working of the system; in addition to this there is the
breathing of the warmed air. In winter the incoming air must
be raised to a considerable temperature to allow for the cooling
effect of the windows, walls, &c. ; and, although somewhat cooled
down by the time it reaches the pupils, it must, it would seem,
lose most of its invigorating qualities, even though it has not
been heated sufficiently to burn the organic particles present.
Rooms heated by hot air are apt to have an enervating and
debilitating effect. In order to warm and ventilate a room by
hot air only it is, of course, necessary to introduce the fresh air
at the top, extracting the foul air at the bottom. This, again, is
vpen to several objections : those sitting near the outlets are in
School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
a continuous stream ofall the bad air in the room ; the breathed
air is brought down again past all the people in the room (as
are the products of combustion if artificial light is in use) ; the
windows can never be opened because if they were the whole
working of the system would be upset; finally, in summer, when
the incoming air is cooler than that in the room, there is a
tendency for the entering air to fall straight down to the outlet
below. This system has undoubtedly many strong supporters,
but the unsatisfactory state of things existing in many schools
where it has been installed has induced the Sub-Committee to
urge that a good deal more experiment and experience of it is
required before it can be safely recommended. On the whole,
it seems that the solution is likely to be found in some plan by
which the fresh air (warmed when the weather is cold so that it
can be freely introduced without discomfort and maintained at
a temperature of not less than §5°) is brought in at a low level,
the foul air being taken off at the highest point (mechanical
power being used to make sure of sufficient movement) and the
actual warming of the room being done by some form of direct
radiation.
SANITARY.—The sanitary conveniences in boys’ schools may
well be placed outside the main building ; but in girls’ schools,
and where there are very young children, they must be pro-
vided in the main building, but should be cut off by a properly
arranged ventilating lobby. This part of the school buildiny
should be thoroughly well lighted, so as to ensure its being
kept properly clean. Deodorants or disinfectants should not be
allowed, as they take away one certain and easy means of
detecting anything wrong. To prevent unpleasantness reliance
should be placed on perfect cleanliness. Frequent inspection
by the principal is of the greatest importance, as when these
matters are left entircly to the school-keeper it is not uncommon
to find in schools otherwise splendidly equipped and managed a
very undesirable state of things. In planning a school great
care should be exercised as to the position of lavatories, &c.
No windows in the main building should overlook the approach
to them.
Eyesight in School Children.
(a) The three principal preventable causes of defective sight
in schools are found to be--
(1) Defective and flickering lighting of school buildings and
rooms.
(2) Faulty positions of scholars with regard to light and with
regard to the work upon which they are occupied.
(3) Bad type of print and writing both in school-books and
upon black boards.
To these may be added causes less under the control of the
school, though definitely affecting the child in its relation to
school life, namely—
Defective nutrition.
Insufncient sleep and clothing, and home habits and con-
ditions injurious to general health.
IIlome lessons conducted under unfavourable conditions of
light position.
(b) The three conditions necessary for preserving the sight in
school life are found to be—
(1) That the schoolroom and classrooms should be sufficiently
and steadily lighted, whether by daylight or by artificial lighting.
(2) That scholars should maintain correct positions in school,
both in regard to the direction of the light falling upon their
work and correct posture, and with regard to the books or
objects upon which they are at work.
(3) That the paper and type of all books used in school
should be appropriate. Blackboards should be properly pre-
pared and placed, and the writing upon them clear and of a
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
suitable size. Slates of the ordinary description should be
abolished or replaced by others of a more modern kind.
LIGHTING OF Rooms.—A classroom is considered to be
sufficiently lighted by daylight! in all parts in which a portion
of the sky is visible by the scholar; by artificial light when
small type known as érz//zan¢ can be read in any part of the
room at the distance of 18 inches from the normal eyes. In
place of blinds a sliding screen covering only part of the window
should be arranged so that sunlight may be prevented from
falling directly on the scholars, and that with a minimum loss of
daylight. Windows should always be carried as near to the
ceiling as possible, so as to secure the largest amount of sky.
The height of the window-sill from the floor also requires careful
consideration. It should never be so low as to cause dazzling
of the scholars’ eyes.
The window-glass should be perfectly clear without any
mufiling or clouding, not only on account of securing the largest
amount of light, but to save the check to the eye-nerve of
thwarted vision. Windows ought not to be broken up by bars
where these can be avoided; and plate-glass is preferable,
where possible, as being a good non-conductor. It retains the
heat of the fire in the room, and also takes the heat out of the
sunlight entering the room. Careful attention should be paid
to the ratio between window area and floor space.
Reflected light from the ceiling becomes well dispersed and is
steady.
CORRECT POSITION OF SCHOLARS.—The correct position for
a child, when sitting at a desk to write, is such that his feet
may be firmly planted on the floor or foot-rest, the seat of his
chair reaching forward to his knee, the back of the seat sup-
porting both middle spine and shoulders. The front of the
desk should come well over the knees and be at such a height
that both arms can be laid on it easily without raising the
shoulders. The slope of the desk should be about 30°, and this
position will be found to bring the paper at about the distance
of from 18 to 20 inches from the eyes of the normally pro-
portioned child. f
In reading, the slope of the book should be 45°; and this
exercise should for the most part be taken sitting rather than
standing, in order not to dissipate nervous energy from intelli-
gence and eyesight; and great liberty of movement must be
allowed within these requirements, either when standing or
sitting, to avoid strain upon the delicate nervous organism.
Desks and seats must be so placed that light falls from above
(dispersed light causing no shadows) or from the left. Light
must be steady and not flickering, and must fall upon the work
and not upon the eyes of the worker.
THE Type oF BOOKS AND DEFECTIVE S1GHT.—School
books are considered to be appropriate and well printed when
the paper is thick enough to prevent the ink showing through ;
the colour of the paper slightly toned white, not glazed ; the ink
a good black ; the size of the type pica leaded ; and the length
of line about four inches.
A feeling is expressed by many that school books should be
‘* passed ” by some hygienic authority as appropriate to eyesight
before being received in schools from the publishers.
Blackboards should be slated black to receive the white
chalk. They should be at a maximum distance of 30 feet from
the observer, should be well illuminated, and the writing upon
them should be well spaced and not less than an inch depth.
As while hypermetropia (longsightedness) is generally con-
genital, myopia (shortsightedness) is generally acquired. The
simple methods adopted for discovering defective eyesight in its
early stages and maintaining an alertness in observing an
increased deficiency are as follows :—
1 Special instruments kave been devised to measure exactly the amount of
daylight in any part of the room.
The School World Ei
423
An examination of the eyes in any case where a child appears
to be stupid ; tends to hold the book or object at which he is
set to work too near his face; cannot see the blackboard so
easily as his comrades ; complains of headache, seeing ‘‘ colours,”
or has watering cr redness in the eye, or squints.
The examination of all children over the first standard
annually by means of Snellen’s letter test, or by tests of broken
circles or incomplete squares. Anything more complex has
been found to be misleading except when used by experts. In
the use of Snellen’s letter tests, daylight being variable, it is
desirable to arrange a couple of argand burners or electric
lights so that the type shall be thoroughly illuminated while the
lights are screened from the child under observation. -But it
should be remembered that the test so conducted only gives the
working power of those eyes under identical conditions in the
schoolroom, and it should not be supposed that a less illumi-
nated or less clearly written blackboard will be readable at a
similar distance.
Children need to be taught and trained to secure for them-
selves proper lighting at work, and to maintain proper habits of
posture, &c., with regard to light ; while remembering that the
habit may be the result of eye defects or defects of lighting,
teachers should make a point of correcting any tendency to
form a mere habit of getting objects close to the eyes, in order
to protect the children against loss of eyesight in school life.
Separate classes might be arranged in large schools for high
myopic cases. In all cases special attention has to be given to
the myopic under the guidance of the oculist.
It might be well to recommend the appointment of a medical
man skilled in eve disorders to each large school or group of
schools, when all cases of defective sight should be referred to
him for examination and report.
GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION!
By H. J. MACKINDER, M.A.
CLAassics and mathematics are effective educational disciplines
largely because, as the result of long experience, they can be taught
by methods which are progressive from the lower to the higher
forms of a school. If geography is to be generally utilised in
secondary education it must become similarly progressive rather
than merely cumulative of facts. In practice this implies the
fultilment of three conditions :—
(1) That the pupils be classed in special “sets” for geography,
lest they omit stages in the argument ;
(2) that the master know the subject thoroughly ; and
(3) that the public examinations be based on some generally
accepted sequence of exposition, as in the case of languages and
mathematics. |
It would probably be hopeless to expect a general fulfilment of
the first two conditions unless the third be practicable. It is
well, therefore, to concentrate attention upon this.
The phenomena of geography are capable of arrangement
upon alternative principles, either according to regions or
according to categories. In the one case the chapter-headings
of a text-book would be such as ‘ France,” ‘‘fndia,” &c. 3 in
the other they would be such as ‘‘ volcanoes,” ‘‘ climates,” &c.
The former is spoken of as regional geography, the latter as
general, or commonly, but unfortunately, as physical geography.
In the university the general classification may often be
advisable, but in the school it is submitted that the regional
basis should in the main be adhered to, for distribution is of the
l Abstract of an Address before a joint meeting of the Geographical and
Educational Science Sections of the British Association at Southport, 1903.
424
essence of geography and imparts to regional geography a unity
not possessed by physical geography. Indeed, the latter might
be described as a series of chapters treating of the geographical
aspects of other sciences—astronomy, geology, metereology,
botany, zoology, anthropology, strategy, economics, and history.
The separation of school geography into two subjects, topo-
graphy and physical geography, has probably done more than
anything else to arrest its development as a discipline.
It is suggested that it would be quite possible to weave into
the regional treatment so much as is needed of other sciences by
taking these in oxe at a time in the successive stages of the
strictly geographical argument. This idea will be most easily
conveyed by sketching a possible course of instruction. Let it
be divided into six stages, of which the first will be elementary,
the next four secondary, and the last higher.
STAGE I (elementary).—It is agreed on all hands that the
teaching of geography should commence with the home. This,
however, involves among other things the observation of the
apparent movements of the sun and stars, and hence their
explanation by means of the globe. The lie and names of the
continents and oceans would also be learnt upon the globe, and
some idea of their chief contrasts won from the reading of simple
Stories of discovery, adventure, and travel, the teacher every-
where asking the pupil to contrast with the home conditions.’
STAGE 2 (ages thirteen and fourteen).—This, which is usually
omitted, should have for subject such a wider ‘‘ home area ” as
would permit of the study of entire river basins, water partings,
coast and hill forms, &c. The real study of the use of maps as
opposed to mere plans and sketch maps would commence here,
and this would be the approximate stage for the introduction of
such ideas as the disposition, folding, faulting, and sculpture of
rock strata as explanatory of the surface forms.
STAGE 3 (ages fourteen and fifteen).—Here the ‘‘home
country,” the British Isles, would be considered as a whole.
The land-forms and essentials of structure would be quickly yet
accurately conveyed by the use of the ideas and terms learnt in
Stage 2, and time would thus be available for a thorough
explanation of the climatic contrasts; a subject unsuited to
Stage 2 by reason of the limitation of the area then studied.
Moreover, the teaching of elementary physics by the science
master would at about this stage render the fundamental ideas
involved more easily appreciable.
STAGE 4 (ages fifteen and sixteen).—Here we come to the
comparison of the home country with the great civilised countries
of Europe. The physical facts, both morphological and climatic,
would be conveyed quickly yet accurately by means of the ideas
and terms learnt in Stages 2 and 3, and special stress would now
be given to the political and economical facts. The pupils
would be ready for these both by reason of their progress in
history and of their increasing interest in the newspapers. Care
would be taken to correlate the political with the physical.
Problems and essays would be set.
STAGE 5 (ages sixteen and seventeen).—-This would be
devoted to the study of the whole globe, especially outside
Europe. It might include more accurate astronomical ideas
{f. Stage 1), for which the pupils would have become fitted by
reason of their mathematical studies; also the leading facts
conditioning plant-life. Both of these contributions would be
pertinent to the treatment of climates. The history of discovery
(of. Stage 1) would be utilised in explaining the chief place-
names. The pupils would by this time have accumulated a
considerable background of knowledge which would be appealed
to. The increasing wealth and variety of the data would
necessitate firm grip on principles and a logical method.
l In the case of children not proceeding to secondary schools selected
portions of Staves 2 and 3 must be taken in the latter part of the elementary
tranny.
The School World 7
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
ee — +
Therefore a specialist teacher would be advisable in order tu
obtain mental discipline, just as a classical sixth form requires a
composition master.
STAGE 6 (university and college).—Here we should naturally
find both deeper intension and wider extension. By the
aaoption in part of the general classification—s.e., by the study
of the distribution of particular types of phenomena—the student
would become critical and be prepared for original research.
On the other hand, by the complementary effort to construct a
harmonious regional geography out of a great series of varied
data he would be inspired with a broad and philosophical
outlook.
Nowhere is the contrast between the general and the regional
method more conspicuous than in the treatment of the wind
system. The temptation is great to commence deductively from
an imaginary landless globe. But this is essentially unsound
because it implants wrong and unscientific habits of thought-
The trade winds, for instance, should first be learnt and rcal.
ised as a great fact in the description of the North Atlantic,
the complementary wind being added in the description of the
South Auantic. The double system would then be found again
in the Pacific and a generalisation demanded by the pupil which
would presently be limited by the facts of the Indian Ocean.
The Sahara Desert would carry the generalisation a step further
and into apparently different phenomena. Only in the end
would deduction from ideal zones or belts of climate be per-
mitted by way of mental stocktaking.
The criticism of the practical teacher for such a scheme as is
here outlined would probably be grounded on limitations of time.
It is submitted that, with the pupils in geographical sets, specialist
teachers, and agreement as to examination bases, very much
might be accomplised even with the hours now usually available.
At the risk, however, of appearing visionary it is further
submitted that those hours should be extended on the ground
that geography is one of six elements needed in any liberal as
opposed to technical education. These elements are :—
(1) Language, with reading and writing as its implements,
and the mother, the foreign, and the dead tongues as its varieties.
(2) Mathematics, or training in abstract thought.
(3) Experimental science, or training in thought about concrete
things.
(4) History, or outlook through the time covered by human
records.
(5) Geography, or outlook through the space accessible to men.
(6) Religion and philosophy.
It is submitted that the inclusion of these six elements in a
general education is more essential than the study of several
varieties of any one, ¢.g., several languages or several sciences.
Apart, however, from any such theoretical argument, it is
claimed that geographical teaching, if it deals with real con-
ceptions and not merely names, trains in the mind a distinct
power, that of thinking in terms of the map, of visualising
intricate correlations, of ordering complex masses of fact—a
power of the utmost value in the practical affairs of after-life.
Geography rightly taught should tend to correct the academic
bias of linguistic and mathematical study, the specialist bias of
scientific study, and the archaic or sentimental bias of historical
study. Its danger lies obviously in superficial knowledge and
uncritical thought. Taught in the past too often by those who
knew little of it, geography has no doubt deserved its inferior
position among educational disciplines.
Finally, it is submitted that geography can be placed in its
rightful position only by the simultaneous application of a four-
fold policy :—
(1) The encouragement of university schools of geography
where geographers shall be made, of whom many will become
secondary teachers.
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
The School World
425
(2) The appointment of trained geographers as teachers in our
secondary schools, either for geography alone or for geography
and general help in other subjects.
(3) The general acceptance of a progression of method in the
subject, not expressed in detailed syllabuses issued by the State
or other dominant authority, which would tend to stereotype
teaching, but in a tradition similar to that which at difterent
times has governed the teaching of language and mathematics.
(4) The setting of examination papers by expert geographical
teachers.
It is obvious that these four measures must be applied
simultaneously, for schools will not appoint specialist teachers
unless there is a supply of them to select from ; and yet a supply
will not be forthcoming unless there be a promise of posts, nor
is the teacher independent of the examiner or yet of the general
esteem of his subject based on a belief in the value of its
methods.
An Ounce of Fact.—The adoption of a new syllabus for
geography in the London Matriculation and of geography as an
obligatory subject in the Intermediate Examination of the
Faculty of Economics and Commerce, coupled with the appoint-
ment of a holder of the diploma of the Oxford School of
Geography as teacher of the subject at University College
School, London, has contributed to results which are patent
in the Pass List issued last month by the London University.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
DURING the present Session Prof. John Adams, of the Uni-
versity of London, is giving two courses of lectures which are
open without fee to teachers. The lectures are delivered on
Saturday mornings. The first course is being given at King’s
College, Strand, London, on the ‘‘ Nature and Origin of
Knowledge, and its place in Education.” The second course
will be given during next term in the Botanical Theatre,
University College, London, on the following dates :— January
16th, 23rd, 301h; February 6'h, 13th, 20th, 27th ; March 5th,
12th, 19th. The subject is to be : ‘‘ Temperament, Type and
Character in Education.” Application for cards of admission
should be made to Prof. Adams, 5, Clement’s Inn, W.C., giving
full name and address, and also the name and address of the
school in which the applicant teaches.
LorD LONDONDERRY addressed a conference of divisional
inspectors at the Board of Education on October 13th. In the
course of his address Lord Londonderry said that he had sum-
moned the inspectors to explain some of the reasons for the
recent changes in the organisation of the inspectorate of the
Whitehall branch of the Board of Education. New authorities
were now taking up the work of education in the country, and
the present moment was one in which the official representatives
of the Board throughout the country had a great opportunity.
It was in their power to render invaluable assistance by co-
operating with the new authorities in an educational policy
which should be an increasingly fruitful source of benefit to the
community. It was natural that the Board of Education should
overhaul the organisation which existed before the recent legis-
lation, and should make such changes as the new conditions
required. The Board had appointed a chief inspector in the
full sense of the term. Those ottcers hitherto known as chief
inspectors, and now known as divisional inspectors, acquired
increased powers, and had a greater measure of responsibility
for the conduct of the aftairs of the Board in their respective
divisions.
These divisional inspectors would be required to’
visit the inspectors in charge of the several districts under their
supervision. By this means, and by occasional conferences
with the whole body of the staff in his division, each divisional
inspector would promote the appreciation by the whole body of
the inspectors of the policy with which the work of each in his
own district should be in harmony. The interviews and con-
ferences between the chief inspector and the divisional inspectors
would be the necessary links in the chains of communication
between the responsible heads of the Department and the
district inspectors.
Tine lectures and classes for the session 1903-4, conducted by
the London Chamber of Commerce under its scheme of higher
commercial education, commenced on October 7th. The success
which has attended the lectures and classes during the past two
sessions has induced the Chamber to extend its teaching. The
lectures now include :—commercial and industrial law, com-
mercial history and geography, banking and currency, political
economy, accountancy and the methods and machinery of
business. The classes are intended for advanced students only
and have been arranged to promote the study of modern foreign
languages from the commercial point of view. They include :—
Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch and Russian.
Classes in Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Hausa, Hindustani
and English will be formed provided sufficient applications are
received.
Ir will be of interest to many teachers of geography to know
that lantern slides illustrating Tasmania and its resources can
again this winter be borrowed from the office of the Agent-General
for Tasmania, 3, Victoria Street, London, S.W. The slides are
made up in complete sets of about fifty each, and with each set
a pamphlet will be sent to assist the lecturer in describing the
country. The only cost to the borrower will be the carriage on
returning the slides, about one shilling. As some difficulty has
been experienced in the past in allotting dates convenient to
applicants, as many dates as possible should be given in every
application.
THE National Home-reading Union is intended to guide
readers in the choice of books so that they may at once arrive at
a knowledge of those best suited to their needs. In order to
give this useful information, the Union draws up book-lists on a
large number of subjects, graduated in difficulty to suit all
capacities. It also publishes three magazines monthly, con-
taining articles on every subject chosen ; the lists and the articles
being prepared with great care by authorities on each subject.
Besides this, tutorial help is freely given; questions are answered
and papers corrected at the request of any member. Anybody
may join the Union on payment of the small subscription. For
the present session, the following are a few of the subjects which
have been adopted for the special courses section :-—(i.) The
History of England's Naval Power; (ii.) Celtic Literature and
Folk-lore of the British Isles; (iii.) Dante “ Paradiso,” \c. ;
(iv.) Mediwval Italy, especially Florence; (v.) Emerson and
the Concord School. Full particulars may be obtained from
Miss Mondy, Surrey House, Victoria Embankment, London,
W.C.
A COURSE of free lectures to teachers on ** Animal Life in a
Freshwater Aquarium” is being given by Dr. A C. Haddon,
F.R.S., University Lecturer in Ethnology, Cambridge, at the
Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, London, S.E., on Saturday
mornings. Admission is by ticket only, to be obtained from the
Clerk of the Council, County Hall, Spring Gardens, S.W.
The main object of this course is to help teachers who wish to
teach natural history in their schools. In order to save time,
a certain amount of general knowledge of structural and syste-
matic zoology is taken for granted. The living animal in its
4.26
natural habitat is the real subject for study, though the external
features and those characters that can be noted by handling
are constantly described; but anatomical facts, which can
be learnt only by dissection, will be employed occasionally.
The lectures are illuustrated by living and dead specimens in
the museum, supplemented by lantern slides. All students are
strongly recommended to keep alive as many as possible of the
animals referred to in the lectures, and to make notes of their
habits, and drawings from life of their appearance in character-
istic attitudes. All the books in the library bearing upon fresh-
water animals have been brought together, and they can be con-
sulted in the library whenever the museum is open. The course
is intended to interest teachers in freshwater animals, and to
point out to them the mode of life and the main features of the
anatomy and physiology of the characteristic creatures that live
in our streams, ponds, and ditches, especially those which can
be readily kept in aquaria.
THE annual conference of the National Federation of Assis-
tant Teachers in public elementary schools was held in New-
castle-on-Tyne on September 26th. Mr. T. T. Cullum in his
presidential address said that the time had arrived for drafting
a code of regulations dealing with dishonourable conduct and
any breach of professional etiquette which may arise out of a
teacher's ordinary duties. He proceeded to raise such questions
as: Is it unprofessional for a man to accept a salary which is
less than £80 per annum? Is there a surfeit of examinations ?
Should capricious wanderers be admitted to the federation ?
Should a false standard be set up by a systematic detention of
classes? and he referred also to an alleged espionage of col-
leagues, and abuse of colleagues with disparaging accounts of
their abilities for self-aggrandisement, and asked, would the
medical profession, for instance, tolerate any of the foregoing
or similar mischievous conduct. The conference, in a series of
resolutions, protested against the unwieldy size of classes and
schools, and against attempts to revive the examination system ;
and recorded the opinion that the appointment and dismissal of
teachers should be in the hands of local education authorities,
and that religious tests for teachers in publicly aided schools
should be made illegal.
AT the autumn general meeting of the Incorporated Associa-
tion of Assistant-masters it was agreed that, although the most
satisfactory method of bringing professional opinion to bear upon
local education committees was by the direct representation of
teachers upon such committees, the Association should press for
the inclusion of assistant-masters in advisory committees where
such were likely to be formed. A resolution was adopted
Stating that, inasmuch as the Association was fully representa-
tive of the assistant-masters in the secondary schools of London,
and was the only association so representative, it should, in the
opinion of the meeting, be allowed to recommend a member for
election to the education committee for London about to be
established. Another resolution was passed urging that meet-
ings of the education committee for London should be public.
Captain W. R. M. Leake, of Dulwich College, read a paper on
“ Cadet Corps.”
THE School of Art Wood-carving now occupies rooms on the
top floor of the new building of the Royal School of Art Needle-
work in Exhibition Road, South Kensington. We are requested
to state that some of the free studentships maintained by means
of funds granted to the school by the Technical Education Board
of the London County Council are vacant. The day classes of
the school are held on five days of the week, and on Saturday
mornings. The evening class meets on three evenings a week
and on Saturday afternoons. Forms of application for the free
studentships and any further particulars relating to the school
may be obtained from the manager.
The School V World
[ NOVEMBER, [903.
ACTING upon the recommendation of the Advisory Board of
Military Education, the Secretary of State for War has decided
that there shall be no change in the subjects of examination, or
in the mode of conducting the competition of candidates for
admission to the Royal Military Academy and Royal Military
College at the examinations to be held in June and November,
1904, and June, 1905. The subjects of those examinations will,
therefore, be as laid down in the regulations reprinted in
January, 1903, and separate lists for Woolwich and Sandhurst
will be maintained. The special history period for 1904 will
be from A.D. 1837 to A.D. 1870.
THE second international congress for the development of
the teaching of drawing is to be opened during the first week of
August, 1904, at Berne. Its aim will be to study the advantages
and defects of methods of drawing instruction, to render these
methods more helpful for the preparation of young students for
their future professional duties, and to show the moral and edu-
cational value of drawing. The congress will consist of a general
and an educational division, The general division will examine
the results in different countries of the resolutions adopted by
the preceding congress and study the ways and means of assur-
ing the existence of a permanent international committee.
The educational division of the congress is to be divided into
two sections : (1) General Instruction ; (2) Special Instruction.
The duty of the first section will be to study the methods of
drawing instruction and its social value, beginning at the
kindergarten and proceeding up to university education.
The second section will study everything concerning special
instruction in professional, technical and artistic drawing. `A
special committee has been appointed to take steps to make the
stay in Switzerland of visitors to the congress as pleasant and
inexpensive as possible. M. Leon Genoud is the president of
the organisation committee and M. C. Schloepfer the secretary,
to whom communications should be addressed at Fribourg,
Switzerland.
THE following resolutions were carried unaniinously at a
recent meeting held at Upton-on-Severn: That, in the opinion of
this meeting of the Upton and Malvern branch of the National
Union of Teachers, all teachers, both heads and assistants, in
secondary endowed schools regulated by schemes made by the
Charity Commissioners, should have a right of appeal in case
of dismissal.
WE have to record the birth of a new educational periodical.
The Student, a monthly journal for students and teachers, is
edited by Messrs. J. W. Knipe and S. H. Hooke and pub-
lished by the Omega Press, Fishponds, Bristol, at twopence a
number. The first number contains twenty pages of interesting
reading. Mr. Hooke contributes an article on a newly dis-
covered seventeenth-century poet, Thomas Traherne ; Mr. E. E.
Elt describes some of the recent experiments with radium ; and
“ Diogenes ” writes on attention as a cognitive process, and in
the course of his remarks includes the rather threadbare story
of the teacher opening a lesson on ‘‘trousers.””. Among other
features of the magazine are current educational topics, and
impressions of an idle student, which consist of a brightly
written commentary on the contents of the educational periodi-
cals of the month.
So much of interest and practical guidance to teachers was
contained in the numerous presidential addresses to different
sections at the recent meeting of the British Association that
there is some likelihood that many valuable expressions of
opinion may be quite neglected. Prof. S. J. Hickson, F.R.S.,
in addressing the Zoological section, referred to the extraordinary
current ignorance of the first principles of biological science.
The science of natural history is, he said, as a closed book to
NOVEMBER, 1903. |]
most of those who after a public school and university education
have attained to positions of trust and responsibility in the |
Moreover, and this |
government of our country and our cities.
is perhaps the most serious aspect of the question, there are
many who have gained a high position as men of science, and
whose opinion is frequently quoted as authoritative on questions
affecting science in general, who are ignorant of the first
principles of the science of biology. It is of importance for
zoologists to consider and report upon the necessity for the
extension and improvement of the teaching of natural history in
schools and colleges. The objections that there is not time for
natural history in the school curricula, and that it is not a suit-
able subject for the instruction of boys and girls, can be met,
Prof. Hickson thinks, and overcome. In many foreign countries
natural history is a compulsory school subject for all scholars.
In Holland, for example, all scholars of the gymnasia during the
first and second years devote two hours per week to the study,
and in the fifth and sixth years all students preparing for natural,
mathematical, and medical science courses devote two hours
per week to the science. If time can be found in the middle
and upper-class schools for the study of natural history in a
country like Holland, where the general education is so
excellent, surely time can be found for it here. The time is ripe
for a full discussion by biologists of the particular form of teach-
ing and study which is most suitable for schools and elementary
university examinations.
THE programme of the examinations to be held in 1904 by
the Society of Arts and the examination papers of 1903 have
been published together by Messrs. George Bell & Sons. A
certain number of copies of the pamphlet are supplied gratui-
tously to the secretaries of examination committees, other copies
can be purchased at threepence. Certain changes have been
made in the examinations in the practice of music; the subject
of Spanish has been added to Grade I. of the preliminary
examinations, and commercial geography (Grade II.) will in
future be commercial history and geography, and commercial
history will disappear apparently from Grade I.
Mr. G. Cussons, of the Technical Works, 104, Great
Clowes Street, Broughton, Manchester, has just completed an
extension of his works and offices and provided a model labora-
tory and showroom where apparatus is exhibited, fixed and
1%.
Ee ESSE
.
ed
ready for use, and ‘where tests and experiments can be per-
formed. Types of benches are shown with specimens of
apparatus suitable for bench-work. Other apparatus is more
suitably fixed to a vertical wall, and as in some instances the
apparatus is heavy, it is necessary to have a very rigid attach-
ment. In most schools, both old and new, no structural
provision is made for this, and consequently wood plugs or
The School World
nn tts
427
other means are adopted which disfigure the wall, and are never
quite satisfactory. In building the new laboratory, Mr. Cussons
adopted a plan of introducing lengths of light H-girder iron
flatways into the wall, allowing the flange to project about
14 inches from the face of the wall into the interior of the room.
The girders are built in horizontally at heights of 3 ft., 5 ft.,
and 8 ft. from the floor level. It will be seen that, having once
secured a rigid attachment which lends itself to the use of
hook-bolts, clamps, &c., vertical boards or plates can now be
affixed to the girders, and other horizontal boards introduced
which will give a wide range of position for the apparatus.
Various convenient brackets are also designed for suspending
wires or for experiments—bending, elasticity, &c. The accom-
panying illustration shows a portion of the laboratory wall, with
some apparatus in position. One great advantage of the
arrangement is that apparatus can be easily moved from one
position to another.
SCOTTISH.
THe resignation of Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Secretary of
State for Scotland, has been received with regret by men of
every shade of political opinion. In all the departments of
public administration in Scotland, Lord Balfour has shown
himself a strong, self-reliant man. But it was in the Department
of Education that he found the greatest scope to play the ré/e of
the masterful man. It is no exaggeration to say that during his
eight years’ term of office the whole system of Scottish Edu-
cation has been remodelled and reformed to its infinite gain.
Payment -by results, with all its attendant evils, has been
abolished, and freedom of classification has given an elasticity
to the whole system of elementary education, in marked contrast
to the rigidity and cast-iron type of the old régime. But great
as is the indebtedness of the elementary schools to Lord Balfour,
that of the higher-class schools is still greater. When he
assumed office, higher schools were in a state of inanition
through lack of funds; they were ill-equipped and inadequately
staffed, and unable to contend with the higher elementary
schools with the resources of the public funds at their back.
Lord Balfour educated the nation to see that higher education
was a national question, and persuaded local authorities to
recognise that higher schools have a first claim upon all funds
allocated for secondary education. Throughout his whole period
of office Lord Balfour has striven, and not unsuccessfully, to
restore Scotland to the foremost place in the educational race.
For this he deserves the honour and gratitude of all Scots.
Mr. GRAHAM MURRAY, who has been appointed Secretary
for Scotland, to succeed Lord Balfour, will be remembered for
his brilliant exposition of the educational policy of the Depart-
ment in introducing the Scotch Education Estimates. This
appointment should secure the continuity of Lord Balfour’s
educational policy, which has already been fruitful of so much
good to the country. Mr. Graham Murray has already declared
himself opposed to introducing the principles of the English
Education Bill into the long-looked-for Scottish measure.
‘Lord Balfour’s great idea,” with which he said he was in
complete accord, ‘* was that the measure should be thoroughly
Scottish in its character, and should be adapted to the needs of
the Scottish people.”
THE annual] meeting of the Educational! Institute of Scotland
was held in Edinburgh last month. Mr. A. T. Watson, M.A.,
in his retiring address condemned the Education Department
for instituting for elementary pupils supplementary courses
which bore on their very face the impress of specialisation on a
too limited basis of general education. The Department had
justified this action by saying that it was necessary to make the
months or years added to a pupil’s compulsory attendance
The
practically useful to him. But surely the way to do so was not
to give him a smattering of new subjects, but to deepen and
broaden his knowledge of the old ones. By this precipitate
action the Department had foreclosed the discussion of a problem
upon which even the most utilitarian educationists had not yet
made up their mind. He recommended “My Lords” to
consider well the shrewd and wise remark of Mr. Page, in his
contribution to the British Association discussion on School
Curricula. ‘‘ The useful and practical,” he says, ‘‘ may be the
end of education, but even so they do not become the best means
to secure that end.”
4.28
DuRING the meeting the degree of Honorary Fellow of the
Institute was conferred on the Right Hon. R. B. Haldane, M.P.
Mr. Haldane, in thanking the members of the Institute for the
honour they had conferred on him, said that it was an unwonted
pleasure to find himself at a meeting where education was being
discussed for education’s sake. Usually when there was a
crowded gathering on the education question it was in order
that the interests of some church might be furthered, or the
grievance of some other church redressed. The nation suttered
from a lack of interest in education for its own sake. When
they got that the casuistries and jealousies of sectarian partisans
would have short shrift. The question of national education
was going to become a practical one in connection with the
industries of the country, and in the matter of inquiry he would
press the educational as well as the tariff inquiry. Both would
be found to lie at the very root of their commercial and industrial
prosperity.
THE Scotch Education Department, in a circular, state that
they are now prepared to consider applications for the Exami-
nation in Science of pupils in secondary schools, or in the
higher-grade departments of elementary schools. Only those
scholars who have received instruction in science in recognised
schools, according to a curriculum which extends over three
years, and provides throughout in every case for experimental
work, will be eligible for the examination. An accepted course
must embrace, as a rule, a minimum of 480 hours’ instruction in
science. The examination forms an integral part of the
Leaving Certificate examination, but differs from other subjects
in being chiefly oral and practical. In each school it will be
based on the profession of work of that school, provided it be
adequate in amount.
WELSH.
AT the last meeting of the Council of the University College
of South Wales and Monmouthshire the plan for the new college
was definitely selected. The college building fund was stated
to have reached £70,000, but the architect estimates the cost of
the whole scheme at over £224,000. Itis intended to proceed
with the erection of the Arts Department, the cost of which is
estimated at about £70,con, the sum already promised.
IN the case of a dismissal of a teacher at the Bagillt National
School, it is stated that the school received £420 from Imperial
funds and only £6 in voluntary subscriptions. Mr. A. A.
Thomas, in a meeting at Bagillt, said that the master was dis-
missed by “ irresponsible persons without any reasonable cause.
When the County Council took over the school such
injustice would be impossible and no teacher could be dismissed
without their consent. No wonder, therefore, the teachers were
anxious that the Act should be put into operation.”
Tue Corporation of Cardiff have proposed a scheme for an
Education Committee, according to which all members of that
Committee, except the women members, shall be members of
School World
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
—
the Town Council. The Town Council wish this scheme to
come into operation on November 1st. But meanwhile the
Board of Education insist that there shall be outsiders of special
knowledge of education co-opted on the Committee. The
Mayor is reported to have said that to those acquainted with
the Cardiff University College it was absurd to insist upon its
representation by the Principal who had already been co-opted
by the County. Perhaps so, but there are other persons of
special educational knowledge, both in the University College
and outside of it, in or near Cardiff.
Mr. EDWARD JENKS, Reader in Law in the University of
Oxford, and editor of the /udependent Review, gave the open-
ning lecture of the session to the Law Department in the Uni-
versity College of Wales, Aberystwyth. His subject was
“the Myth of Magna Carta.” This was a fearless inquiry into
the external and internal evidence as to the asserted position
that the most sacred rights of freedom and justice are definitely
for the first time maintained and settled for all Englishmen by
the Magna Carta. The case was strongly put, but, quite apart
from any conclusion arrived at by the lecturer, the whole spirit
and attitude of the specialist, who is at once an enquirer and a
scholar, and who cares more for truth than tradition, made the
lecture an object-lesson of investigation and stimulus to thought.
All who heard it look forward to this lecture, by being reprinted,
having a wider sphere of influence than the Law Department of
a Welsh college.
Tue discussion in the Conference of County Councils, called
at Swansea last month was devoted to a consideration of a
Scheme for a Joint Board for Wales which should have over-
sight of both elementary and secondary education. Such a
scheme, if adopted by the Board of Education, would naturally
involve the dissolution of the Central Welsh Board for Inter-
mediate Education. Apparently the chief point of controversy
was the burning question of the representation of the rural
counties. Mr. IIumphreys Owen pointed out that the proposed
Board of fifty-one elected members was too large for an execu-
tive body and too small for a deliberative one, and that there
was therefore room for the inclusion of representatives of
various interests. Mr. Lloyd (Gieorge urged that Glamorgan-
shire and Monmouthshire had already made ‘‘ considerable con-
cessions to the smaller counties.” This important point, as it
may likely enough turn out to be, was left unsettled by the
Conference.
THE Education Committee of Montgomeryshire has got to
work. Co-optative members have been appointed by the Coun-
cil, including eight ladies. The Committee itself has met. The
chairman has been appointed. The meetings are to be open
to the press. Meetings are to be held monthly and to alternate
between the two chief towns of the county.
CURRENT HISTORY.
On the īst of September, King Edward in Vienna stated
incidentally that he was on English soil, a statement which the
Emperor Francis Joseph immediately repeated with implied
assent. The apparent paradox is solved by remembering that
the words were spoken in the British Embassy. According to
the rules of international law, the dwelling place of an am-
bassador—a person sent to “ve abroad for the benefit of his
country~-is technically a part of the possessions of the country
he represents. The ambassador cam, within those limits, exclude
the jurisdiction of the surrounding territory. But in these
modern days many of the privileges thus held are waived, and
it is only in such towns as Pekin that the ewx-territoriality of
embassies is practically important. A hundred years ago it was
not so. Til! then, ambassadors’ houses were often the refuge of
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
criminals fleeing from the law of their country, and many
scandals arose out of the custom. Similar immunity could also
be obtained in such outlaw places in London as the ‘‘ Savoy,”
the ‘‘ Fleet,” &c. But the ‘‘law of the land” now rules every-
where and the privileges of ambassadors are but a survival of
such sanctuaries.
SOME ten-year-old correspondence of Cecil Rhodes has
recently been published. The letters were addressed to the
then Prime Ministers respectively of Canada and New South
Wales. It is interesting to note that he found it necessary to say
in postscripts that he was the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony,
as he thought his correspondents ‘‘ might not know who he was.”
The incident presents a curious picture of the British Empire four
years after the first Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The responsible
statesmen of the component parts of this great whole did not
know one another by name. What lesson can we learn from this
fact, a fact which will be interesting for the future historians of
our Empire to record, or at least bear in mind? Shall we say
that events move rapidly and that those who were so far apart as
to be mutually unknown ten years ago have now come together
in hearty union and are working out an even closer federation ?
Or shall we think’ rather that Imperial Federation is still,
spite of all the talk, a matter for the few, and that it is not yet
adopted heartily by the inhabitants of British dominions either
this side or beyond the seas? It was the few that brought
about Italian unity; it was not the whole even that brought
about the independence of ‘‘ America.” There were ‘‘ loyalists ”
who settled at Halifax.
New ZEALAND is still progressing in her socialistic and what
used to be called ‘‘grandmotherly”’ legislation. Mr. Seddon
has introduced a Bill ‘‘ providing penalties for unreasonable
trade competition or for unduly enhancing the prices of articles
of common consumption.” Till the end of the eighteenth
century, county justices in England fixed the ‘‘assize ” of breadand
ale, but we here have long considered such regulations futile and
believe (or are we now beginning to doubt?) that such matters
are best left to the laws of supply and demand, best even in the
interests of the poorest consumers. But quite apart from such
obvious contrasts, what is ‘‘ unreasonable,” what is ‘‘ undue” ?
Such terms are found in international law, as, for example,
in defining the duties of neutrals towards belligerents, because in
this department exact definition would be useless, not to say
impossible. But New Zealand purposes to appoint three judges
to decide the meaning of these indefinable terms in any case that
may arise. Will our readers try to imagine the amount of
wisdom required of these judges? Will they picture a New
Zealander asking, ‘‘ Please, may I open a shop?”
A PRIVATE letter from Chicago recently stated that ‘* men are
murdered every day by the labour unions, that these crimes go
unpunished and permitted by the police. You cannot dismiss
your cook nor your janitor without discussing the
matter with walking delegates.” The remark which would rise
to our lips on hearing, and believing, this statement would be a
comment on the growth of democracy and of wonder what a
republic is coming to in these days. But this thought is checked
when we read also that in Russia the Minister of the Interior
has *‘ notified the employers of labour that all concessions to the
working men which might be necessary to prevent strikes and
resultant disturbances must be granted. If the employers
proved obstinate they would be sent to Siberia.” It seems,
therefore, that autocratic Russia aims at the same objects as the
democrats of the United States of America, and endeavours to
attain them by similar means. What can be the explanation of
this similarity between two apparently opposite forms of govern.
ment? Is it that,.at bottcm, all governments are alike in being
No. 59, VOL. 5.!
The School World
FeO a
based on public opinion unless that opinion is overawed by
armed forces, and that the form of government is a matter of
comparative unimportance compared with the power that main-
tains it ?
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Modern Languages
Dents New First French Boot. By S. Alge and W.
Rippmann. 277 pp. (Dent.) 15. 6a. net.—This is a com-
pletely revised edition of one of the most popular First French
books published in England for many years. All teachers of
modern languages should be grateful to Prof. Rippmann for
introducing Herr Alge’s methods into England ; thereby the
- dreary grind of Ollendorff and Chardenal has been almost, if
not entirely, abol:shed. Whether the best results are attained
by exactly following the Swiss method, or by an intelligent com-
bination of what is best in the old and reform methods, can be
proved only by the experience of time. Mr. J. A. Symington
is to be complimented on the excellence of his four pictures of
the Seasons, which are far more Gallic than the former copies
of Hölzel.
Première Grammaire Française à Pusage des élèves étrangers.
Par Ii. E. Berthon. 167 pp. (Dent.) 15. 6a. net.—Hitherto,
teachers have had to use a French grammar in English, or one
in French, written for French-speaking pupils, wherein the
peculiar difficulties of foreigners were not explained. Now the
Taylorian Lecturer in French at Oxford has compiled a grammar
from the English pupil’s point of view, only it is all in French.
There are two introductory chapters on phonetics, and then the
author follows the usual order of parts of speech. In the chapter
on the verb, the reader will note that M. Berthon casts away
the traditional division of the four regular conjugations, and
divides verbs into two classes, the living conjugation and the
dead conjugation. To the former (about 4,000 in number)
belong the verbs ending in -er and -r increasing (as finir); to
the latter (about 120) the remainder of verbs in -fr and all those
in -oir and -re. Another change he makes is in rejecting the
old unscientific derivation of tenses, which a pupil has to un-
learn when he advances further into the knowledge of the
language and discovers that all French tenses have been derived
from the Latin and not from one another. Altogether this is a
book that every modern-language teacher ought to possess, even
if he prefers to let his pupils write their own grammar.
Récitations et Podstes. Edited by Violet Partington. 78 pp.
(Marshall.) 2s.—This is even a more delightful book for little
girls learning French than Miss Partington’s short plays that
we noticed some months ago. It contains twenty-seven short
French poems for recitation. On one side of the page the
pieces are printed in ordinary spelling, and on the other in
phonetic transcript. It was a particularly happy thought to
include that enchanting French song, ‘ Ma Normandie,” which
no one ever forgets who has learnt it in childhood. On every
page is an illustration by A. M. Appleton that adds much to
the attractiveness of this well-produced little book.
Les Français d Autrefois. By Jetta S. Wolff. 88 pp.
(Arnold). 1s. 3¢.—This book, by the authoress of ‘* Les
Francais en Menage,” contains short stories from French
history written in simple language for beginners. Many
modern-language reformers have pointed out the advantage
of the pupil’s reading being contined to French subjects instead
of dealing with, say, “A Massacre in China” or “ The Story
LL
430
of a Parrot.” The period covered in this book is from Clovis
down to Louis XIV. A companion work dealing with France
and the French of to-day would, in our opinion, interest boys
and girls even more than the present work. There are eight
pages of short notes and a sufficient vocabulary.
Lhe Nibelungenlied, Selections from. Part If. Edited by
H. B. Cotterill, M.A. 54 pp. (Blackie: Little German
Classics.) 6d.—The selections from the great German epic are
very apt and should be of much value to the student of German
literature and philology. The little book will also be interesting
to very many young readers. The notes and vocabulary are
ample and exhibit careful research in preparation on the part of
Mr. Cotterill.
Abstracts of Impromptu Oral German Lessons. By M.
HJermann. vii. + 63 pp. (Hodgson.) 1s. net.--Twenty
lessons in German are included in this little volume, each con-
sisting of leading remarks made by a teacher addressing a class..
The sentences are simple and their meaning is to be explained
to pupils by objects and actions. Fundamental grammatical
principles are introduced and many proverbs are used as sub-
jects of remark. There seems to be too much for the teacher to
do and too little for the pupil, but with adults the lessons
might lead to conversation. The demonstration or pantomime
method of teaching a foreign language facilitates the under-
standing of the spoken word, but it does little to encourage
pupils of average capacity to speak for themselves.
Classics.
Sallusti Jugurtha. By I. F. Smedley. xxxvii. + 172 pp.
(Blackwood’s Illustrated Classical Texts.) 1s. 6d.—With Mr.
Summers’s ‘ Jugurtha ” fresh from the press, it cannot be said
that a new edition of this book is needed. Nor can the present
editor, so far as we are able to judge from his book, claim a
hearing for first-hand study of the text, or any new light he has
to throw on his author. The book is a creditable perfor-
mance, and is not likely to lead readers astray ; but we prefer
Mr. Summers, who has all that Mr. Smedley has, and more.
To pass to the book itself: the only points to note in the
Introduction are the sections dealing with the Numidians, and
the political consequences of the Jugurthine war, which are clear
and useful. The account of Sallust’s style is too sketchy to be
of any great value. The proper names are collected in the
form of an index.
matters which are better left for the pupil to find out, or, at
least, for the teacher to attempt to elicit. Thus the reason for
the subjunctive in guod regatur (i., 1) might well be asked for ;
if it is correctly understood, there is a step taken by the pupil;
if not, at least his curiosity may be awakened, and he is no
worse off than he was. Placed in the notes, such a thing becomes
merely a fact to be got up, probably to be hated from the first,
since the curiosity has not been awakened before the answer was
given. Editors will never learn dc¢ wAéov uisu wavrós. When
the meanings of ingenium, facinus, Virtus (more than once), res,
and other such words are all given plain, what is left? On the
other hand, many of the notes are defective; thus, the pupil
ought to be warned against using a prepositional phrase for an
adjective (x., 1), and should not be left to imagine that oribus
implies degeneration, as he certainly will do after reading the
note on iv., 7. Many of the notes are good, however, and the
chief fault of the book as a school book is that it contains too
much. The illustrations are useful; they include pictures of
arms and armour, and a bust of Scipio.
The Story of Rome, as Greeks and Romans tell it. An
Elementary Source Book. By G. W. Botsford and L. S.
The School | World
As regards the notes, they contain too many |
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
Botsford. x. + 328 pp. (The Macmillan Co.) 45. 6d.--The
authors have with much skill pieced together a continuous
narrative consisting almost entirely of quotations from Livy,
Cicero, Dionysius, Plutarch, Polybius, and other authorities.
Only slight additions which are necessary here and there to
link the parts together are enclosed in brackets. The book
can be cordially recommended as a companion to the school
history.
Cicero ©: Tusculan Disputations. Book I. and The Dream of
Scipio. Edited by F. E. Rockwood. xliv. +109, xiii. +22 pp.
(Ginn.) 4s. 6d.—These two works are well suited to stand
together, as dealing with the ancient philosopher’s views
of a future life. The ‘‘Dream” has been edited before,
but we are not acquainted with an edition of the Tusculans
suited to the needs of those whom Professor Rockwood
has in view. The book will not be quite proper for
schools, because the notes are printed at the foot of ihe
nage, but their character is somewhat elementary. The book,
like others of American origin, seems to be aimed at minds
more mature than “ beginners in Latin” generally are in this
country, and the introduction is on a higher level than the notes
are, although some of the latter are distinctly good {e.g., on
ch. xiii.), and all are admirably pithy. Defensio (i. 1), as the
editor should know, is not confined to ‘‘ defence,” but like
defendo may be used of a lawyer maintaining any position.
There is no need surely to give short biographies of Hesiod
and Archilochus (p. 3); such information is best left to the
dictionaries. There is too much translation and the metrical
knowledge is faulty; thus the last foot of the line quoted
on p. 27 is a bacchius, by a common effect of accent, not a
molossus.
First Steps in Caesar. The Expeditions to Britain, De Bello
Gallico, TV. 20-36, V. 8-23. By Frank Ritchie. vii. + 95 pp.
(Longmans.) 1s. 6d.—The long and complex sentences of Caesar
are here broken up and the parts presented separately before
combination. The first part consists of selected sentences
treated in this way. Part II. contains the text of Caesar with
preparatory sentences of the same kind; and Part III., the text
without these aids. There is also a sketch of Latin syntax, a
few notes, and a vocabulary. The principle is good ; and if
Mr. Ritchie is not the first to apply it to Cæsar, it is fully a
generation since we have seen the prototype of his book used
in schools. Unlike most school editions, this is a real help to
learning and is educational.
Stories from the Latin Poets: The Romance Readers (3).
Edited by C. L. Thomson. x. + 176 pp. Illustrated. (Horace
Marshall.)—-This is an excellent reading-book for young children,
and has the same simplicity and grace as the other books which
Miss Thomson has edited. The stories, taken from Virgil and
Ovid, are well suited to interest children, and may help to
enlighten the general ignorance of literature in ‘‘ modern”
schools.
Latin Grammar Rules. By W. H. S. Jones. 43 pp. (The
Norland Press.) 6d. net.—Here is a useful little book compiled
by the author for use in the Perse School, Cambridge. It is
a concise digest of Latin syntax rules, such as might be put
into the hands of a boy after his first year of Latin. It contains
nearly all the matter that should be constantly kept before him
during his second and third years for the purposes of both
reading and composition. The rules are clearly and simply
stated with sensible examples; but the chief merit of the book
is the idea of liberally interleaving with blank pages so that
each scholar may make his own collection of examples. Herein
—the active cudperation of the taught—is the real educative
process to which, after all, the best of teaching is but com-
NOVEMBER, 1903. |
plementary. Such a neat note-book as this must needs prove
alluring—even to the clever boy. Of course the ordinary
grammar must be used along with this note book: but it is
much to have such a good selection of the essential points. If
this selection errs we think it is on the side of brevity: eg.,
more of the difficulties which inevitably accompany a boy's
early use of the ablative absolute, of the gerundive (especially
with curo docendum fiiium), and of cum with indicative, might
have been indicated. But, on the whole, it is a handy little
collection which might well be used otherwhere than at the
Perse School, and its price is only sixpence.
Horace: Vol. UW. Zhe Satires, Epistles, and De Arte
Foetica. With a Commentary by F. C. Wickham. Intro-
duction and Text not paged + 383 pp. (Clarendon Press.)
This volume is a revised edition, substantially the same
as that of 1891, as the editor tells us in his preface. In
the * Odes” Dr. Wickham found a subject congenial to his
delicate literary taste; and, if the subject matter of the
t Satires” and ‘ Epistles” does not give him equal scope for
his peculiar talent, his treatment is marked by sound judgment
and sufficient learning. His Introductions are especially good,
and they are a model of clearness and good sense. We note
that he places the “ Ars Poetica” near the end of the poet’s
career, which we feel to be the most reasonable view in spite of
what has been written against it. Dr. Wickham’s critical
principles need not detain us here, for the text and critical notes
are reprinted from the edition in the Oxford Bréliotheca Classica ;
his interest, moreover, lies in a different direction, and it is as
an interpreter that he shines. We are no friends to multiplying
illustrations, but we think that a commentator on Horace ought
to draw more largely on Plautus and the colloquial writers than
Dr. Wickham has done: take si me amas, Sat. 1. 9.38, and
uine ii, §.18 for examples, or the form surrexe, i. 9.73, and
several metrical licences. The case of studtorum (i. 10.21) also
needs a note, and the long final in S. ii. 1.82 condiderit, whilst
there are a number of other passages we have marked where
explanation and illustration would be useful. But these are
chiefly on points of grammar, in which Dr. Wickham does not
seem to be greatly interested. From the exegetical point of
view, although we do not agree with all Dr. Wickham says,
his edition is on the whole admirable.
Edited Books.
The Moral System of Shakespeare. By Prof. R. G. Moulton.
381 pp. (Macmillan.) 6s. net.—This is a book permeated
with the scientific spirit; whether it is more successful than
many of the volumes which endeavour to demonstrate scientific
principles underlying literature may be doubted. It is, perhaps,
inevitable that the scientific tendencies of the age should express
themselves in this fashion, and invade the various provinces of
art. But Prof. Moulton has managed to write an interesting
book, if not a convincing one; he has based his result `n a
careful study of Shakespeare’s plots, and by a process of ` erary
sifting he has managed to co-ordinate certain so-called principles
into a ‘“‘ moral system.” The volume stands to Shakespeare's
plays in much the same relation as a handbook of theology
bears to the Bible, only it is so much more interesting. It is
suggestive and stimulating, and, to those who love the methods
of literary analysis, shows how culture can grapple with literary
problems and disclose principles where the ordinary observer
only perceives pleasures. Some of the chapters in Prof.
Moulton’s book richly repay a reader, and attention should be
drawn to his frequent comparison of Shakespearean with ancient
classical drama ; to his discussion of comedy and his analysis
of humour: to the elaborate and careful examination of the
part played by the supernatural in Shakespeare ; and in particu-
The School World
431
lar to his analysis of the character of Macbeth, which is very
unlike Prof. Beeching’s contention, that Macbeth was conceived
by Shakespeare as a poetic figure.
Selected Essays of Bacon. Edited by A. E. Roberts. 76 pp.
(Bell.) 2s.--Only eight of these well-worn works are included
in the present collection, and most of these are familiar in our
mouths as household words, although we do not believe that
Bacon wrote Shakespeare also. The edition has been admirably
managed from the purely editorial point of view; and the two
portions of the introductory matter which deal with the essay
form in general, and Hacon’s essays in particular, and with the
characteristics of Bacon’s style, convey a great deal of terse
information aptly put. The notes are excellent, and the whole
performance is highly praiseworthy. Analyses are appended to
the notes; but Bacon’s thought is not the easiest thing in the
world to analyse.
The Greenwood Tree. A Book of Nature-Myths and Verses.
221 pp. (Edward Arnold.) 1s. 3¢.—This is the best of Mr.
Arnold’s literary readers that has come under our notice. The
title is taken from the well-known Shakespearean lyric in ‘‘ As
you Like It,” and in this case it cannot be objected that it is
rhetorical. It is really a charming collection of admirably edited
matter circling round natural objects and phenomena, with a
liberal sprinkling of old-world stories thrown in to illustrate to a
non-mythical age ancient conceptions of things which to moderns
are perfectly dull and familiar. It would be invidious to single
out special extracts where all is of all round excellence. It is,
however, worth while to note that the names of Landor, Robert
Buchanan, Drummond of Hawthornden, and Michael Drayton
are included ; and in the same liberal spirit so is Psalm cvii. of
David.
As You Like It. By Flora Masson. xxiv. + text +
xlvi. pp. (Dent.) 1s. 4a@.—An edition ‘to which high praise
must be given, not so much for the scholarship it exhibits as for
the artistic manner in which it is presented. As we have said
before concerning this series, it is the very thing to assist most
powerfully in creating an enthusiasm for Shakespeare in young
minds, because, while the learning displayed is not obtrusive,
the illustrations are calculated to fascinate attention; and
however much scholarship may go to the making of some
editions, this is unquestionably a most attractive one to the eye.
The illustrations by Miss Curtis are praiseworthy, and the
mainly linear reproductions from old sources which abound in
the notes, glossary, and introduction are splendid. The
notes and glossary are also worth a word of commendation.
Selections from Longfellow. By A. E. Layng. 32 pp.
(Blackie.) 2a.—The poems in this little booklet have been
selected from the American poet’s shorter works by a careful
editor, who supplies brief but happily expressed notes when
necessary. The collection is quite in line with others in this
useful series, which we have often praised before.
Handbook to the Book of Common Prayer. By the Rev.
Prebendary Reynolds. 502 pp. (Rivingtons.) 4s. 6a.—Un-
qualified praise must be given to this volume. Among many
excellent in this series, it is pre-eminently the best. The point of
view is of course that which is known as High Church; but
whatever is stated is convincing in its tone, as well as sober and
practical in its method. It is, indeed, the ‘‘ practicability”
of this volume which constitutes its main feature, and will un-
doubtedly contribute to its extensive use. To write at length
upon Prebendary Reynolds’ treatment of so large a subject as
the history, construction and devotional use of the English
Liturgy would be impossible here, and is quite unnecessary.
432
a en o a
Teachers will find in this rather bulky volume a mine of informa-
tion—all, indeed, that by any chance they can want; and the
happiest of illustrations, blackboard-lesson schemes, and expla-
nations also.
The New Testament in Modern Speech. An Idiomatic
Translation into everyday English from the text of ‘‘ The
Resultant Greek Testament.” By the late R. F. Weymouth.
Edited and partly revised by E. Hampden-Cook. xvi.+674 pp.
‘James Clarke.)--This is a reverent and scholarly attempt
to express the chapters of the New Testament in good modern
English. With great discrimination the transiators have on
one hand avoided any approach to slang, and on the other
made no use of stilted and unnatural expressions. Read side by
side with the authorised and revised editions the book should
prove of assistance in enabling the reader really to understand
the meaning of the original words. As in the Revised Testa-
ment, the division into verses is indicated only in the margin ;
quotations from the books of the Old Testament are printed in
capitals, and the reference follows the quotation in brackets.
Well-selected and helpful notes are printed at the bottom of the
pages, and the whole system of typing greatly enhances the
attractiveness of the volume. The publication of this trans-
lation of the New Testament is opportune, and we wish it a
wide and increasing success.
History.
The Life of the State. By Geraldine Hodgson. 239 pp.
(Horace Marshall.) 2s. 6a.—This little book professes to sup-
plement the ordinary school histories of England by giving an
account of the growth and present working of the English con-
stitution in all its departments—legislative, executive, judiciary,
Its aim is both educative and moral: educative in that it traces
the historic development of English institutions, moral in that it
attempts to suggest to its readers the ‘‘indispensable duty ”
which they owe to their State. It is impossible not to admire
the spirit and intention of the writer; but there, we fear,
admiration must end. The book lacks arrangement. No
division into paragraphs, no headlines guide the reader on his
meandering way. It lacks proportion. Main outlines are
obscured by illustrative examples and lengthy quotations. It
lacks style, and so makes heavy reading. Such a sentence as
“It is not so easy as it may seem to talk about Freedom or
Liberty, for the two words will be used interchangeably in this
chapter” is ambiguous. It suggests that the interchangeable use
of the two terms is the cause of the difficulty of talking about
that which they connote. Again, much in the book is be-
wilderingly irrelevant. The writer says to the reader, ‘‘ Our
ostensible business is the State in which we live,” and yet she
treats at length of the polities of Athens and Rome, she attempts
a summary of eight centuries of European history, she quotes
incessantly from Aristotle, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, and other
non-British heathens, and she adorns her pages with much
poetry. It is not marvellous that among so many incongruities
some errors bave crept in. It was in 323 A.D.,and not 306 A.D.
(p. 74), that Constantine accepted Christianity. Even then he
did not ‘‘establish it as ¢he religion of the Empire,” he merely
recognised it as @ lawful religion. Moreover, to talk meto-
nymously of Christianity at that date as ‘‘the Chair of Peter”
is seriously to antedate the dominance of Rome. The Bishop of
Rome was not even present at the Council of Nicæa. Again,
the Roman legions withdrew from Britain mot 401 A.D. (p. 85)
but 410 A.D. ; the struggles between the kingdoms of the Saxon
Heptarchy lasted sof six centuries (p. 85) but scarcely three ; the
ephemeral committee established by the Provisions of Oxfurd
was nol the germ of the modern Privy Council (p. 135); our
island has #of relied for its defence upon its sailors for 1200
_ The School World
T7 4
[NOVEMBER, 1903.
years (p. 197), its sailors did little for it from Alfred's day to the
day of Hubert de Burgh. Thus, in spite of its admirable
purpose, this book is scarcely one to recommend.
The New Cambridge Curriculum in Economics. By A.
Marshall. 34 pp. (Macmillan.) 1s. 6d.—Is an exposition by
the Professor of Political Economy at that University of the
reasons for the Tripos shortly to be established there, and of
the course of study to be pursued in connection therewith.
That Tripos is intended for those who will occupy leading
positions in the commercial and political world, and those of
our readers who have the opportunity should bring it to the
notice of parents.
Geography.
Philip’s Comparative Large Schootroom Series of Wall Maps.
8o in. by 63 in. Lurofe, and Europe Test Map. (Philip.)
18s. each.—These maps are excellent examples of what one
might term pedagogic cartography. Coloured in the orthodox
greens and browns to represent lowlands and highlands, with
dark-blue river-markings and light-blue sea-gradations. thev
appeal to the eye as effectively as the excellent Sydow-Habenicht
series of the same publishers, of which, indeed, they are
markedly reminiscent. Pre-eminently they are maps for the
schoolroom., Most practical teachers, however, would vote
that of the two the test map is the better adapted for the object
of the series. In the ordinary map the very boldness of the
red and blue lines (marking land and water routes) seems to
overreach itself, and cause confusion ; in the test map, on the
other hand, all is clearness itself, from the plateaux of Southern
Europe to the continental shelf upon which our own islands
stand. We suspect some printer’s oversight in the curious
sections of rivers given in Germany (only), and in the arrange-
ment which places hollow circles for towns in the lower quarter
of the map, and nowhere else. The result, however, does not
militate against the profitable use of the maps (the ‘‘ oversight”
only occurs in the test map), which we heartily commend to
all pedagogic geographers.
Handbook of Commercial Geography. By G. G. Chisholm.
4th Corrected Edition. 685 pp. (Longmans.) 155.—In this
new edition of a well-known and justly-esteemed work much
has been re-written and much has been added. Fourteen years
ago the book first appeared, and during that period has grown
into a volume more than 26 per cent. larger in bulk and price
than the original ‘‘ Handbook.’ To enumerate the new things
would require much more space than we can command.
Let the curious turn to the maps of India, the three excellent
sections on the Trans-Siberian railway, and the able chapter on
China, if he wish for typical examples. To our own mind, the
masterly account of the commercial geography of the United
States appeals as one of the best things in the book. It is a
subject which might easily run away with a less level-headed
author ; but Mr. Chisholm, while omitting nothing of the great
developments which in the last decade have put the States in
the very forefront of the world’s manufacturers and merchants,
keeps his subject absolutely under control. Ali his maps, again,
are improved ; their striking quality is that of c/earmess attained
by suppression of all unnecessary detail. The coal, cotton and
iron diagrams of the Introduction and the rainfall types of the
chapter on climate are also beyond criticism. Indeed, we
know of no other book on this subject that can for a moment
compare with Mr. Chisholm’s ‘‘ Handbook.” To teachers of
all kinds, classes, and branches of geography it is simply
invaluable.
The World and tts People. Asia. vi. + 359 pp. (Nelson.)
Is. 6d¢.—Messrs. Nelson are giving us a new, series of Geo-
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
graphy Readers, and, if the other members of the series are
as well done as *‘ Asia,” they will be well worth adopting. The
first four chapters give a bird’s-eye view of the continent and
broadly show the connection between its history and geography.
Dr. Hedin's journeys in Central Asia furnish material for a
*‘ trip ” across Asia, and the continent is next circumnavigated.
After a brief sketch of the climate, plants and animals, the
Political divisions are dealt with, special prominence being
given to the British Possessions. One notes, with pleasure,
that the best sources of information have been utilised in the
writing of the book, consequently it may be thoroughly relied
upon. Numerous illustrations, plain and coloured, add to the
value of the book; maps, likewise, are in abundance, but we
cannct commend the physical maps—they are, as a rule, far too
complicated for school use. However, this new Geography
Reader is a distinctly good one, and the writer (anonymous) is
to be congratulated on his efforts to give us an up-to-date
account of Asia.
Australasia. By L. W. Lyde. vi. + 72 pp. (Black.)
Is. 4¢.—Prof. Lyde’s books on geography are well known and
justly admired. The present volume is planned on the same
lines as the author’s other books dealing with the continents.
It includes the geography of .\ustralia, New Zealand, Oceania
and the East Indies.
Science and Technology.
Outlines of Psychology. By Prof. Josiah Royce. 392 pp.
(The Macmillan Co.) 45. 6d.—This new volume is well deserv-
ing of a place in the teachers’ professional library. It should
rank with Prof. James’s famous text-book as one of the most
lucid and illuminating treatises on the subject of psychology.
Students of the theory of education will find it of great
service. It bears on every page the stamp of a master thinker
who knows his subject in its practical bearings upon pedagogy
as well as in its relation to modern biology and physiology.
We have found its pages so full of freshness and interest, so
close in touch with the problems which science is raising and
earnest teachers are anxious to solve, so shrewd and wise in its
counsel, that it has been a real pleasure to read the book. We
shall return to it for guidance again and again, and keep it close
to our hand for frequent consultation. If there are any still
doubtful about the value of psychology to a teacher, we should
recommend them to read Prof. Royce’s chapters dealing with
the physical and nervous conditions of mind, and to study his
analysis of sensory experience and the general laws of docility.
Nowhere else is the intimate connection’ between perception
and action so clearly brought out, and the processes of differen-
tiation, assimilation and reasoning seem in these pages to
become living things. The conditions of mental initiative are
discussed with great insight, and the educational value of persis-
tency and restlessness is illustrated with remarkable clearness.
‘* The most successful of human beings are the men who are in
some respects prodigiously restless,” and at the same time con-
tinuously persistent. This is altogether a most original and
valuable handbook of psychology, which we can heartily recom-
mend to all interested in education.
Contemporary Psychology. By Prof. Villa. Translated by
Harold Manncorda. xvi. + 396 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.)
10s. 6d¢.—Prof. Muirhead, the general Editor of the Library of
Philosophy, has done well to include a translation of Prof. Villa’s
“ Contemporary Psychology” in this valuable series of works,
a series which includes Erdmann’s ‘‘ History of Philosophy,”
Bosanquet’s ‘‘ History of Æsthetic,” Bradley’s ‘* Appearance
The School World
433
and Reality,” and Stouts ‘‘ Analytic Psychology.” These
books are not easy reading and are not intended for beginners.
Nor is the perusal of Prof. Villa’s volume to be lightly under-
taken. Indeed its value can only be appreciated by those who
already possess some sound acquaintance with the subject of
which it treats. By them, however, it will be welcomed for
its well-weighed and well-balanced opinions, for its conspicuous
fairness and avoidance of doginatism, and for its admirable
presentation of the salient problems of psychology in clear
historical perspective. As he says in the prefaces ‘‘The
origin of the problems of contemporary psychology, their
genetic relation to general philosophy, natural science, and
the social and moral sciences, and the different aspects they
assume in the various scientific systems of the present day,
make up the subject matter of my work. In an age like the
present, in which the historico-genetic method is justly con-
sidered the best adapted to the solution of scientific problems,
it seems advisable to apply it also to psychological questions
which, owing to their great complexity and original diversity,
continue to present many points of extreme difficulty and un-
certainty.” That Prof. Villa has been successful in his efforts
will probably be the opinion of all who have, by careful training
and native breadth of mind, any right to pass judgment on a
work which itself shows that both these qualities are possessed
by the author.
An Introduction to Nature Study. By. Ernest Stenhouse.
(Macmillan.) 3s. 6a@.—This book is apparently intended as a
guide to teachers desirous of introducing simple lessons in
Nature Study into their schools. We imagine it is not meant
to be put into the hands of the pupils. The course is judiciously
selected and might well be employed with students of more
tender years than the “‘ intelligent youth of sixteen ”?” mentioned
in the preface. The first part consists of botanical, the second
of zoological subjects. In each chapter there is a series of
well-chosen questions to be answered by direct observation and
a summary containing a general account of the object under
examination. The method involves a good deal of repetition,
which appears to us rather cumbersome. There is a large num-
ber of illustrations, some of which appear hardly worth inser-
tion. Many of those of flowers and trees, reproduced from
photographs, might with advantage be removed to make room
for omissions which the exigencies of space have imposed upon
the author. The text is not entirely free from mistakes—there is
an obvious slip on p. 108 in the statement that ‘in pin-eyed
flowers the style is short,’ while the remarks on the cuckoo
and on the first sound of the heart are too dogmatic. Such
mistakes as do occur will be readily detected by any person
with a knowledge of biology, but might well be accepted as
fact by teachers without this training. The chapters on domes-
tic animals are capital and well worth reading by anyone. A
very complete index adds greatly to the usefulness of the book,
which is sure to be welcomed by a large number of teachers
throughout the country.
The Wonderful Century. The Age of New Ideas in Science
and Invention. New edition. By Alfred Russel Wallace.
xii + 527 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.) 7s. 6a. net.—Dr. Wal-
Jace has made many additions and alterations in the new edition
of his now well-known book. The chapters on locomotion,
photography, and chemistry have been greatly extended, and
chapters on electricity, the solar system, the sun, and the stars
have been added. The long essay on vaccination has been
omitted. These changes add greatly to the value of the work
as an interesting history of the development of science during
the last century.
__ 434
Elementary Practical Chemistry Part I. General Che-
mistry. By Frank Clowes and J. Bernard Coleman. Fourth
Edition. xv. + 198 pp. (Churchill.) 2s. 6a. net.—-The
publication of the General Chemistry in this popular ‘ Ele-
mentary Practical Chemistry,” apart from the chapters dealing
with qualitative analysis, provides science masters in secon-
dary schools with a course of practical chemistry which will suit
their particular requirements excellently. The book of which
this isa part is already so well known that an extended notice
is unnecessary.
The Arithmetic of Elementary Physics and Chemistry. By
H. M. Timpany. 74 pp. (Blackie.) 15.—Teachers will find
in this little book a good selection of numerical exercises on
specific gravities, moments, centres of gravity, specific and
latent heats, and the calculation of weights and volumes of
substances taking part in chemical reactions. But many parts
of elementary science which lend themselves to numerical
treatment are not included. Pupils have now to buy so many
books that we suspect few teachers will require the purchase of
this volume by their students.
Mathematics.
Elementary Geometry. Theoretical and Practical. By C.
Godfrey and A. W. Siddons. xi. + 355 pp. (Cambridge Univer-
sity Press.) 35. 6d¢.—The recent discussions on geometry are
now bearing fruit in the form of text books that neither are nor
profess to be editions of Euclid. Last month a short notice was
given of ‘“ A New Geometry” by Messrs. Barnard and Child ;
now we have another book which can be cordially recommended
to the consideration of teachers. Part I. (pp. 1-59) is entitled
“ Experimental Geometry ” and consists of an excellent course
fur beginners in geometrical drawing. The section has been
written with great care and contains much more matter than the
comparatively small number of pages it occupies would indicate.
The inclusion of a brief discussion of the simpler solids is much
to be commended ; the numerical examples seem to be varied
and weil chosen. The greater portion of the book (pp. 63-355),
forming Part II., is devoted to theoretical geometry, the
treatment following the lines of the new syllabus adopted by
the University of Cambridge. All the essential theorems of
Euclid’s first six books are included, but the exercises contain
problems of a practical kind that introduce ideas (for example,
the notion of an envelope) that lead to results outside the scope
of Euclid’s Elements. It is certain that the subject of geometry
is presented in this book in a more interesting way than in
Euclid and that the logical training the course here developed
provides is not less thorough than that of the ancient geometry.
Doubtless the test of time may reveal imperfections ; some
portions seem to us not so good as they might be made. But
teachers have now ready to hand two excellent works, and we
may reasonably hope that the newer methods will get a fair
trial. The real test of these methods is to be found in the
results obtained by applying them in the schools of the country.
Criticism of details is at present of less importance; if the
broad outlines are well planned, defects in details will soon be
put right.
Theoretical Geometry for Beginners. Part II. By C. H.
Allcock. ii, + 123 pp. (Macmillan.) 15. 6¢.—This Part
contains the substance of Euclid’s third Book, Props. 1-34, and
fourth Book, Props. 1-9; but several additional propositions, of
the type usually given in the more recent editions of Euclid, are
also included. Towards the end numerical applications are
given, but the treatment of the subject is essentially on
Euclidean lines, though Euclid’s order is departed from. The
arrangement is generally satisfactory, and the exercises, which
Pt ee ae
[ NOVEMBER, 1903.
are very numerous, and in many cases very easy and instruc-
tive, should help to develop the geometrical powers of the
beginner.
Junior Algebra. Examination Papers. By S. W. Finn.
vi. + 87 pp. (Methuen.) 15.—-The Papers are stated to be
designed especially for candidates for the Oxford and Cam-
bridge Local examinations, and for the College of Preceptors
examinations. There are seventy-two papers, each containing
ten questions, and for the purposes which they are intended to
serve they seem very well drawn up; they include questions
ranging from the first four rules to the binomial theorem, a few
even bearing on the convergency of series.
Elementary Algebra. Part I. By Chintamani Mukerjee.
ii. + 205 + 34 pp. (Allahabad: The Indian Press.)--The
first eleven chapters (1-102 pp.) treat in a clear and simple
manner the four fundamental rules and equations of the first
degree in one and two variables. The exercises are numerous
and well within the reach of beginners, Quite naturally, since
the book is meant for beginners, the laws of operation are
illustrated rather than discussed ; the introduction of fractional
indices on p. 44 and of negative indices on p. 58 can hardly,
however, be considered very suitable, at least in the scrappy
form actually adopted. The statement, ‘Thus a negative
index means just the reverse of what the corresponding positive
index means,” can hardly be accepted as satisfactory. The re-
maining chapters, NI]. to XX. (pp. 103-205), contain a good
deal of interesting and well arranged material on the transforma-
tion of algebraic expressions: factors, identitics, symmetry,
substitution. The book would be improved by the introduction
of graphical methods; applications to geometry and mensura-
tion would also lend variety, though the absence of such applica-
tions has the sanction of the home text-books.
Arithmetic for the Standards. Scheme B. Standards I.-V.
By C. Pendlebury. (Bell.)--When the books on a particular
subject have reached the circulation obtained by Mr. Pendle-
bury’s works on Arithmetic criticism is superfluous. We have
before us a set of text-books written to meet the requirements of
each of the Standards I., II., IIH., IV., V.; each book
extends to between fifty and sixty pages or thereby, and is issued
both in stiff paper covers and in cloth at the price of 2d. or 3d.,
or of 3d. or 4d., according to the cover. The books consist
mainly of collections of exercises, but explanations of rules and
hints to young teachers are also given. The printing is
admirably done. But what a burden our system of weights and
measures imposes on teachers and pupils alike; surely when
reform is in the air a determined effort might be made to relieve
the children of the load their fathers have had to bear. It is an
aggravation, not an alleviation, of the difficulty that the metric
system is taught in addition to our own barbarous aggregation
of weights and measurcs.
e
Commercial Arithmetic. A complete Manual of Applied
Arithmetic for Senior Classes. xii. + 211 pp. (Oliver and
Boyd.) 1s.—The application of arithmetical ‘methods to
business transactions is stated to be the specific aim of this
book. So far as we are able to judge, the pupils who master the
book are ready for the work of the counting house, so far as their
knowledge of arithmetic is concerned. The methods of actual
business, where these differ from the usual school practice, re-
ceive due attention. A large number of rules, adapted to
special types of calculation, is given; these are no doubt
valuable in the particular cases for which they are designed, but,
it is to be hoped, they will not to any great extent find their way
into ordinary school work, however suitable they may be in such
a book as this.
NOVEMBER, 1903. ]
Miscellaneous.
Aristotle on Education, being Extracts from the Ethics and
Politics. Translated and edited by John Burnet. 141 pp.
(Cambridge University Press.) — This is an excellent book.
Sull, we shouid hesitate to introduce it widespread among
‘* Schools and Training Colleges,” in the Pitt Press Series for
which it appears. Prof. Burnet himself supplies the reason.
He says: *‘The student who is to follow with intelligence
a course of lectures on what is right and true, and on
politics generally, must have been trained in good habits.”
It is rather for the more advanced who have thought much
and deeply on educational questions. The classical scholar
would find it highly attractive. We should urge the reader
of Plato and Aristotle to study this book. For him—it will
appear that the book is not only simple, but also highly
suggestive and stimulative. For the student in training who
has gone through a philosophical course intelligently this book
will be a delight. It is a scholarly production, with keen
insight into, and sympathy with the teaching of Aristotle for
the modern educational thinker and worker. It is to be hoped
that the relation of philosophy to education in the writings of
the greatest thinkers will receive increasing exposition. ‘The
work of a specialist, such as Prof. Burnet, on Aristotle will help
to drive home the conviction that for the satisfactory train-
ing of the teacher it is necessary, if the student’s mind is to be
given to such study, that he should not be an undergraduate
studying a number of other subjects concurrently with his pro-
fessional studies, but a post-graduate student. Such students
will come to their own in Prof. Burnet’s book, and great will
be their joy under such a Jeader. |
History of Philosophy. By William Turner, S.T.D.
(Ginn.)— This history has been written with the purpose
of setting forth the succession of schools and systems of
philosophy so as ‘‘to accord to scholasticism a presentation in
some degree adequate to its importance in the history of specu-
lative thought.” It states brietly and concisely the main ideas
of oriental philosophy, and discusses with great lucidity the
development of thought in the Greek and Roman world. The
early philosophy of the West was but a praeparatio Evanyeltca—
a preparation for the Gospel of Christ. Christianity, according
to the author, divides the history of philosophy as it divides the
history of the world. The philosophy of the Christian era is
considered under three sections, viz. : patristic philosophy, ex-
tending to the end of the fifth century, scholastic philosophy,
from the ninth to the fifteenth, and modern philosopby from the
fifteenth century to our own time. It is for the middle period
that the book will be found specially valuable, but throughout
its analyses and criticisms are eminently fair. The author has
presented in a comparatively brief space a clear compendium of
the thoughts of the world’s great thinkers which will be found
useful both by students of philosophy and by all who desire
a convenient book of reference on the philosophy of ancient
and modern times. The volume should prove particularly ac-
ceptable to Catholic readers.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. XXXIV. vi. pp + 124 maps
+ 498pp. (Black and 7he 7imes.)—This is the tenth of the new
volumes of the ‘* Encyclopaedia Britannica ” and completes the
supplementary issue of that work. About one-half the volume
consists of maps, and the other half is an index to them contain-
ing no less than a quarter of a million entries. For educational
purposes the maps are of little use ; they are too crowded with
names, and physiographical features are not represented. More-
over, fifty-two maps are devoted to the United States, and
North and South America have altogether sixty-seven maps
while ten less than this number are considered sufficient for the
__ The School World
435
rest of the world. This want of proper proportion suggests that
the atlas has come to us from the other side of the Atlantic, and
that an Encyciopaedia Americana would be a more appropriate
place than the Encyclopaedia Britannica for the collection of
maps. The index, however, appears to be new and carefully
compiled, and will be found valuable for reference.
Fratribus. Sermons preached mainly in Winchester College
Chapel. By John T. Bramston. xi. + 208 pp. (Arnold.) 55.
net.—*‘ It is not the professor or the lecturer or even the
schoolmaster who is needed in the school pulpit, but the man
who will speak to them (the boys) as brothers, who has tried to
enter into their view of the serious side of life,” says Mr.
Bramstom in a short preface to these sermons preached from
time to time by him to Winchester boys. Mr. Bramston, as
these sermons show, clearly has a good knowledye of the limi-
tations and peculiar difficulties of boy-life, and he knows how
to address youngsters so as not to talk down to them, nor yet to
express himself in Janguage too difficult to be understood.
Schoolmasters who wish to be guided as to how to give boys
useful hints in the matters of conduct along strictly orthodox
lines will do well to secure and study this volume.
Junior General Information Examination Paper. By W.S.
Beard. vii. + 72 pp. (Methuen.) 1s.—This is a useful col-
lection of seventy-two graduated papers, each consisting of ten
questions on a variety of subjects. Though the range of the
questions is fairly wide, some questions might with advantage
have been included on such things as common drugs, useful
minerals, railway journeys, and other similar every-day matters ;
many quotations in frequent use, often thought to occur in the
Bible, might have been included, and the introduction of more
of the common characters in English fiction would have in-
creased the interest of the papers. At the same time, it is
impossible to please everybody, and teachers will have no
dithculty in making good general-knowledge papers with the
help of Mr. Beard’s questions.
Crude Ditties. A Collection of Limericks. By S. C. Wood-
house. With 24 coloured illustrations by Augustine J. Mac-
gregor. 103 pp. Zhe Grump. A Story in Pictures. By
Gerald Sichel. With text by S. C. Woodhouse. 109 pp.
(Sonnenschein.) 1s. net each.—Two quaint little picture books
which will highly amuse young children.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. ds a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
Cheap Ordnance Survey Maps.
May I call the attention of teachers to an important con-
cession which has recently been made to schools by the Board of
Agriculture? Most teachers know how necessary Ordnance
Survey maps are for sound class-teaching in local geography, but
the price has hitherto been prohibitive. In response to
memorials from various sources, the Board of Agriculture has
now issued instructions that special editions of the one-inch
maps be supplied to educational authorities at the following
prices :—200 copies, £I 5s. 3; 500 copies, £2; 1,000 copies, £, 3 ;
5,000 copies, £12. For larger numbers the estimated price
would be £2 per 1,000 copies. The only stipulation made is
that on no account are the maps to be sold. It is universally
agreed that all sound geographical teaching must begin in a
study of the home region, and it is, therefore, to be honed that
4.36
most teachers will avail themselves of the facilities so generously
granted, either individually, or by making application through
the local education authority. Further information may be
obtained through the Geographical Association.
A. J. HERBERTSON,
Fon. Sec., Geographical Association.
School of Geography,
Oxford.
Available School Wall-Maps.
I HAVE read with interest Mr. Wethey’s paper on ‘‘ Avail-
able School Wall-Maps,” which appeared in your September
number. One could have wished that the writer had laid
greater stress on the desirability of having wall-maps absolutely
without names. For elementary classes this seems to be
almost a necessity. But for all class-teaching surely the map
to be aimed at is one which shows very boldly the physical
features (e.g., the “ Sydow-Habenicht ” or the ‘‘ Comparative ”
Series), the position of important towns and the political
boundaries.
Teachers may, if they like, supplement this by the same map
with all names inserted, but the pupils may, more satisfactorily,
get the names from a hand atlas.
A wall-map on which the names, or even the initial letters of
the names, are given leads to slack preparation on the part of
both teacher and pupils.
RICHARD PHILPOTT. °
I AGREE absolutely with Mr. Philpott’s remarks on wall-maps.
He makes two points: (1) The desirability of having wall-maps
without names. (2) The need of maps which show very boldly
the physical features, the important towns and political
boundaries.
Quite so. Both these points are emphasised in my article :
vide first paragraph, p. 325, and third and following paragraphs,
p. 324. That I did not lay greater stress on them followed
from the nature of my subject, which was not ‘‘ How to teach
Geography,” but “ What are the relative merits of the maps on
the market ?”
E. R. WETHEY.
A New Extensimeter.
I HAVE designed a cheap and accurate instrument for ascer-
taining the coefficients of linear expansion of metal rods. A
steam-jacket surrounds the rod, half a metre in length, and a
spherometer is used to measure the total expansion. The
jacket is held in position by two brass rings secured to a wooden
The School World
[NOVEMBER, 1903.
frame, the lower ring being provided with a screw to hold onc
end of the tube fixed. The temperatures are registered by
thermometers inserted in the jacket. A dry cell and small
electric bell may be used for greater accuracy to denote contact
with the end of the spherometer and the metal under examina-
tion. A brass disc having a hole in the centre supports the
spherometer. This disc is turned aside when the steam is
entering the jacket. The instrument gives very accurate results.
Messrs. Townson & Mercer, of 34, Camomile Street, London,
are the sole makers, who supply to purchasers full directions as
to how the instrument is used.
G. B. LAVELLE.
Christian Brothers College,
Waterford.
The Drying of Flasks.
HAVING found the drying of fasks internally extremely
difficult for young students, I devised a simple piece of
apparatus which works very well indeed, the flasks being dried
quickly and properly and many breakages avoided.
A piece of iron tubing is closed at both ends with corks.
Through one end a connection is made with a foot-bellows by
means of a piece of glass tubing and rubber. The other end
bas a connection of rubber and glass tubing also to allow free
entrance into the flask which is to be dried. The iron tube is
heated underneath with a Bunsen or, better still, a Ramsay
burner, and a current of air is driven through the tube. The air
is very warm when passing into the flask, and causes quick and
complete drying.
Wa. O'KEEFFE.
St. Flannan’s College,
Ennis, co. Clare.
Correspondence Club for the Study of Pedagogics.
In accordance with the scheme for the formation of small
clubs for the purpose of the study of educational problems, and
the interchange of opinions among members of the clubs by
correspondence, I am able to report that one club has been
completed and is now at work. The first book chosen for study
is Thring's ‘‘ Education and School.”
I have received, since the completion of the first club, the
names of two or three other teachers who would like to join a
similar circle. If I receive the names of a few others willing to
co-operate, it will then be possible to form a second club.
22, Elmstone Road, S.W. A. T. SIMMONs.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C
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THE SCHOOL WORLD ¢s published a few days before the
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Annual subscriplion, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, if
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepara,
All contributions must be accompanied by the mame and
address of the author, though not necessarily for publication,
‘The School World
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and Progress.
NO. 60.
THE INSPECTION OF SECONDARY
SCHOOLS.
By A HEADMASTER.
HE question of inspection is looming large
before us, and we are looking forward with
interest, not unmixed with amusement, to
its advent. We headmasters are an autocratic
race, and we are all prepared to greet the In-
spector with open arms, knowing that if he
approves our work—well; if not, he knows nothing
at all about it. This is rather a dangerous frame
of mind, by the way, for it sometimes turns out
that the one who “ knows nothing at all about it”
is found in the opposite direction.
“First catch your hare”; first get your in-
spector. How is the inspector to be appointed,
especially as he must be a compendium of the
virtues which Archibald Forbes ascribes to the
ideal war-correspondent. The inspector must
have had considerable school experience: this is
so self-evident that it would seem hardly necessary
to state it, only that we have known, and not un-
frequently, inspectors who had no such experience
whatever. Dare we even whisper that head-
masters have been appointed without previous
school experience ?
The first inspectors will probably be retired
headmasters, and in appointing them it will be
better to look out for headmasters who have
impressed some individuality upon their school,
and have not been content to follow the multitude,
or to measure their success by the number of
‘“ passes” or “ honours” gained in some “ Uni- |
versity Children’s Test.” The man who has tried
to discover and to correct in his own school the -
faults of the existing system will be more likely
to give valuable advice to other schools.
individuality in schools, however, can only be
discovered by inspection, so that we are brought
once again to the difficulty of the owl and the egg,
but it will probably work out all right in practice.
To recruit further the ranks of the inspectors,
every headmaster should be asked to mention
quite privately the names of two or three on his
staff whom he considers suitable for inspectors,
and the work of such men should be specially
watched by the Board of Education.
No. 60, VoL. 5.]
This '
DECEMBER, 1903.
SIXPENCE,
o
Turning to the work of the inspector, his first
enquiry will be into the financial position; and he
will have to report, not only that good value is
obtained for money spent, but that money has
been spent on the right objects. A word of
advice, possibly of warning, to a school which had
been erecting flagstaffs or fancy iron railings, while
leaving its assistant-masters with miserable
salaries, might be useful. We know a school
where a candidate for the headmastership was
asked if he would be able to supplement out of
his own pocket the very meagre allowance which
the Governing Body made for assistant-masters.
Yet another school of our acquaintance showed
the following appreciation of the value of public
money. The authorities of the school ascertained
that money could be obtained from the County
Council to build laboratories; what the school
wanted, however, was not a laboratory, but a
chapel, so all wits were set to work to devise a
very large hall with chemical benches round it,
sufficiently like a chapel to be used for that pur-
pose, and sufficiently like a laboratory to get the
money out of the County Council.
Another very important enquiry which the
inspector will have to make with reference to
a day-school—and the future of middle-class
education will be to the day-school—is the extent
to which it is studying the demands of the neigh-
bourhood. A school in a small provincial town,
supported by the retail tradespeople and the
farmers, would be failing in its duty if its chief
work were directed to University scholarships,
whatever the headmaster’s inclinations or the
ancient traditions of the school might be. A
school in a manufacturing district should not
neglect engineering and technical work, while a
school in a London suburb, with 95 per cent. of
its boys going into city offices, could not afford to
neglect commercial education. These matters
should be carefully considered in the report of the
Inspector.
A kindred matter is the extent to which speciali-
sation is permitted or encouraged, and here we
find room for very considerable differences of
opinion. It is not uncommon to hear headmasters
speak in praise of a general education as opposed
to any specialisation. Such a headmaster usually
means by a general education putting every boy
through a mill of classics and mathematics just as
MM
438
hundreds of pigs are put into one end of a machine
which turns them out at the other end in thousands
of identical sausages, and by specialisation he
means that study of solving mathematical conun-
drums which is required for a University scholar-
ship. It is quite possible to combine general
education with some degree of specialisation on
wider methods: in fact, that boys shall specialise
not in single subjects, but in groups of subjects.
Such a school would have a ‘literary side,” on
which languages, both ancient and modern, form
_the staple; a ‘‘ technical side,” on which applied
mathematics and all kinds of science predominate;
and a “commercial side,” on which modern
languages, geography, &c., are the principal
studies. Subjects other than those mentioned
on each ‘side’’ are not excluded, but are of
smaller importance. We should not consider a
school to be doing its duty unless some effort were
made to discover tastes and capacities of different
pupils, and to modify the curriculum accordingly.
The inspector will also have to enquire and
report upon the size of classes. It is too much to
hope that an inspector can at once inaugurate a
reform in this matter; that can only be done by
public opinion, but there can be no doubt that our
classes are too large. There is an idea among
educational authorities that one master can teach
thirty boys; he can’t, he can only drill them.
Even if thirty boys of the same standard of
knowledge are made into a class at the beginning
of the term they will progress at such very different
rates that after the first fortnight the master must
neglect either the top or the bottom of his form.
An inspector finding the classes limited to a dozen
or fifteen should certainly mention the fact with
commendation. _
It is, however, when he comes to the class-
teaching that the greatest tact on the part of the
inspector will be required. Human nature is so
constituted (we not having been consulted in its
construction) that it is more prone to see defects
than excellences. Every headmaster knows that
if he visits another school he is sure to see some-.
thing of which he would not approve in his own,
and yet possibly the very plans which he would
suggest have already been tried and rejected.
The inspector, therefore, will have to be present
at the class-teaching of most of the masters, but
he will have to be on his guard against attaching too
much importance towhat he hears in class. Not only
does the presence of a stranger produce an artificial
atmosphere in the class-room, but it is extremely
difficult to form a fair notion of a subject from a
single lesson taken at random in the middle of it.
The stranger visiting a class-room cannot tell how
the subject has been approached, how much of it
is new, and how much they have heard before,
how often the master has attempted to approach
the same point from other directions, whether the
boys have been through the lower part of the
school, or are mostly new. He is, in fact, criti-
cising the game without having seen the deal,
possibly without even knowing the trump card.
He will gain a much better idea of what the form
The School World
(DECEMBER, 1903.
can do by a careful study of the books used, of the
exercises, and especially of the notebooks written
by the form during the part of the term already
passed. Nothing is easier than for an inspector to
make a lengthy report filled with personal criti-
cisms of the masters, and to award any amount of
unceserved praise or blame. Personal criticism of
the masters should be communicated privately in
the first instance by the inspector to the head-
master and discussed with him, but should only
be introduced very sparingly in a report to the
governing body or to any board or department.
The point, however, from which we hope to
gain the greatest benefit from the visit of the
inspector is from his enquiry, his criticism, and
his advice upon the questions of method. Since
we came, perhaps reluctantly, to the conclusion
that the methods by which we were taught the
dead languages were not the best for teaching
the more extended subjects of a modern curricu-
lum, we have been seeking for better methods,
but have worked much in the dark, and frequently
independently of eachother. The visits of the in-
spector, like the use of the rope on Alpine crags,
will be to extend the experience and protection of
the stronger to the weaker members of the pro-
fession.
The following suggestions are not intended to be
exhaustive, but merely to indicate some of the
questions of method which must be discussed
between the headmaster and inspector.
In arithmetic, are decimals taught from the very
commencement ? Are practical and graphic
methods used in teaching every branch of mathe-
matics ?
In English literature, is any attempt made to
give the boys some general notion of the literature
of their own country, or do the lessons consist in
cramming up for an examination the history and
the archaisms of a play of Shakespeare or a poem
of Scott ?
In geography, is map construction and map-
reading made the basis of the teaching, or is it
learning proper names from books ? Does the old
divorce of physical and political geography con-
tinue ?
In modern languages, is conversation and reading
at sight encouraged ?
In science, is the ridiculous separation between
theoretical and practical science continued ? Is
science taught entirely by practical work without
the use of books for younger boys, and with books
used only as works of reference for elder boys ?
And, generally, is there a universal desire to
learn, to discover, and especially to invent new and
practical methods for teaching every subject ?
Should examination accompany inspectton ? It should
certainly not be excluded, and, as we believe that
headmasters and inspectors will work together har-
moniously, we suggest that it should be left to these
two functionaries to decide how much examination
is necessary ; but, for goodness’ sake, do not let us
permit inspection to degenerate into an additional
examination. Within the past decade or so we
have seen the county councils, the Universities
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
of Oxford, Cambridge, and London, and the
Chambers of Commerce, wake up to the idea
that they might do something for education.
They have said, ‘*Go to, let us make brick and
burn them thoroughly, and let us build an educa-
tional tower, whose top may reach unto heaven,
and let us make us a name,” and they have each
produced—an additional examination! Would
that the Board of Education armed with the
powers of the Elohim, might say, “ Behold,
they have all one language, it is the language of
those who set examination papers, let us go down
and confound their language, that they may think
of something else.” The introduction of inspec-
tion might pave the way for a complete reform
(and abolition of two-thirds) of our examination
system. Instead of boys being prepared for
examinations, the examinations might be pre-
pared for the boys, according to the work they
had been doing. This is one of the few points
in school work in which we might learn some-
thing from Germany, where the teaching staff
set questions which are submitted to the inspec-
tor before the examination papers are made up.
Lastly, the inspector should enquire into the
athletic and physical side of school-life, and espe-
cially into the provision made for providing the
youngest boys and the lazy boys with healthful
exercise. The success of athletics in a school is
not to be judged by the performances and the
matches of the first team, but by the numbers
taking part. It is not generally recognised that it
is much harder to get bays to play than to work,
and there are many day schools where the great
majority of boys do not know what it is tojoin ina
school game.
Besides playing fields, the inspector must insist
upon the provision of proper gymnastic appliances
(a specially built gymnasium is quite unnecessary),
and upon a properly graded course, first of cali-
sthenics, and secondly of gymnastics for every boy.
A school should not be permitted to confine its
gymnastic instruction to the visit of an instructor
once a week to teach ten or a dozen of the best
gymnasts. He should also see that heights and
weights are periodically taken, and eyesight tested,
so that short-sighted boys may be provided with
spectacles.
A few words may be said abcut the formal
report of the inspector. This should be commu-
nicated to the governing body, to the head-
master, and the Board of Education; but nothing
is to be gained by issuing it to the general public,
or attempting to make an advertisement of it.
The public will mistake helpful suggestions for
blame, and will not consider it a good report un-
less the word “excellent” occurs in it as often
as ‘“‘ sanguinary ” in the vocabulary of the
bargee. Any real fault pointed out with a view
to amendment will be stereotyped for many years
as characteristic of the school, and after all,
not even the youngest inspector is infallible. It
will, therefore, be better to leave the headmasters
to bring their own schools before the public in the
way they think best, whether they do so by sending
The School World
nena)
little Tommy in at eleven years of age for a public
examination, by putting him up on a platform to
act plays or recite Shakespeare, or by making him
in ~ and unassuming way stick steadily to his
work.
SCHOOL REPORTS.
WitH SpeciaL REFERENCE TO Boys' ScHooLs.
E have studied with considerable interest
the School Reports sent in answer to our
request, and we desire to express our
heartiest thanks to those schoolmasters and school-
mistresses who so kindly forwarded copies of their
forms. After a careful survey we gladly acknow-
ledge the great pains and skill which their
construction reveals, and the sincere desire which
is evident on the part of headmasters and head-
mistresses to communicate very fully to the
parents the particulars concerning the work and
conduct of the pupils entrusted to them. We
must confess also to a feeling of astonishment at
the considerable amount of work which falls upon
the form masters and mistresses at the end of each
term—work willingly undertaken and discharged
in ihe interests of the pupils and of the schools.
Three principles are involved in the construction
of the reports generally issued :—
(i) Information as to the place in form occupied
by the pupil during the term.
(ii) His place at an examination held at the end
of the term, and
(iii) His attendance, progress, and conduct.
The first and second are generally denoted by
numerical marks earned for work done, and the third
is expressed in general terms, such as ‘‘excellent,”’
“good,” ‘ fair,” “ moderate,” or ‘bad.’ In one
school an exactly opposite course is taken. For
conduct the best mark is r. Higher marks are
given for talking, inattention, and general unsatis-
factory conduct. For ‘‘order’’ the best mark is r.
Higher marks are given for books or work for-
gotten or left lying about, and for general disorder.
In mathematics, English, and languages, 1 and 2
are good marks, 3 and 4 fair marks, and 5 and 6 are
bad marks. So the problem the boy has to face
is not to earn marks, but to escape them, just as
the Rugby football player on entering a school
where Association rules prevail has to use all his
efforts to avoid handling the ball, no difficult task
at first for an enthusiastic sportsman. The
severity, however, of this scheme is modified bv
adding the marks earned during the week, and
only entering the average in the report form. Not
all teachers, however, report on the pupil’s position
during the term. All give a final report as the
result of an examination, but the terms in which
the report is given vary. It is probably inadvisable
to report on the position taken during the term.
There are so many factors which interfere with
the equation, and yet which do not represent the
4.4.0 | The School World [DECEMBER, 1903.
normal condition of the child, such as loss of marks | class, and the highest marks earned by the most
for temporary illnesses, varied home circumstances, | successful boy. That the average mark is neces-
and the fact that some children, though slow in | sary is shown by the following case :—
the “uptake” or at the beginning of the term’s ; mia:
: : Marks gained. Average mark of the class-
work, yet somehow increase their pace towards the E EET ae 20
end, and yield a very good average result. And, A Geoeraphy ne ee?
after all, it is a grand thing in a school to give the
repentant sinner a chance without allowing some In Case i. the pupil has done badly compared
delinquencies in the third or fourth week to be | with those who have received the same teaching ;
registered against him, and to appear like Banquo’s | in Case ii. the result is satisfactory, and the pupil
ghost in the first week of the holidays. On the | can be commended.
whole the framers of reports wili lose nothing by A column for full marks is not necessary, owing
omitting the position taken during the term. to the variety in the examination papers set. It
On the other hand, the position of a boy in his | is not a record of the progress or condition of the
class, as tested by a skilfully-conducted examina- | scholar in all cases. An outside examiner may set
tion in which the chance elements are nearly | a paper few can do, in which case all will get low
all eliminated, should be most carefully registered | marks, or the paper may suit the general intelli-
and communicated to the parents. This com- | gence of the class, and in this case a high mark
munication should be as clearly expressed as | will be earned. For the teacher this column is of
possible, and for this purpose we recommend that | value, but not for the parent.
the actual number of marks earned are quoted, Many of the school reports are arranged to show
together with the average number of marks gained, | a line for remarks in each subject. This, if filled
and also the number of marks given to the best | in generally, must be a serious task for the teacher,
paper. Percentages are not advised, and the | and if only filled in exceptional cases it need not
subjects should be grouped into classes, as in the | be arranged for. An excellent plan for drawing
following table :— | attention to weakness is a circle in red ink round
RESULTS OF LAST SCHOOL EXAMINATION.
Highest Highest
: Marks Avcrage aaen t Marks Average `
Subjects. gained. Mark. pies Subjects, gained. mark. Seine ah.
~~ (Grammar | pi
a | Literature Z { Chemistry
1 4 Composition ® | Physics, &c.
z | Geography ; E D -e—a auas
m ' History we Se | Order of Merit
Order of Merit lg
Z (Freehand <i sy ,
z ee ae ae
|| & (Geometry, &c. |
wn A i
= Arithmeti | Order of Merit
& ( Arithmetic ae
= Algebra = Pe | ee ee =
a ied - French
> i l German
= rea | Needlework
Order of Merit | and so on.
Religious Knowledge ..............06. seoneesseoessseree
Work in Chemical Laboratory.................eeeeee: | Us phrases for these, not marks.
Work in Physical Laboratory .............ccceeeeeee
Place in Form
eae eetesernersenenen
The subjects should be arranged to suit the school work.
By stating the order of merit in each group of _ the low mark, or a phrase in the space for general
subjects the parent is able to determine in some | remarks at the foot of the page. And here may
slight measure the bent of the child, and very often | a plea be urged for the unhappy boy. For
the report may act as a guide for his future | instance, an uncle, who was also a schoolmaster,
occupation. was called upon to interview an unfortunate
Three columns at least are necessary; the | nephew whose form-master had written somewhat
number of marks the boy actually gains in each | scanty praise against his performance. His parents
subject, the average mark obtained by the whole | were seriously-minded people, who generalised
DECEMBER,
1903.
7 The School World
441
[School Crest.]
NAME OF
SCHOOL.
[Senior Division. |
REPORT for Term ending Christmas, 1903.
: cave Highest
Subjects. SURES: Vi OTOGE: | incl
ga eu. aif gained.
ENGLISH | |
f
Order of Merit
Marmenanics] |
Order of Merit
Religious Knowledge scescuseii paw cena ante aes
Work in Laboratory
Any other form of Practical Work
Number of times absent. Home lessons.
ES | ES SS
Progress during Terticcsississcc ashintesetoniweiaens
BOG MIAER Screech hob sate oe etiale Set at ts hax
OCHRE EHO HHH HHH HEHEHE EH OS eRe HH EO ERE HEEL O EERO rE eEE
The Next Term begins on January 12th, 1904.
speedy ruin from his particular instance, and a
most unpleasant quarter of an hour the poor boy
had had. ‘The phrase meant little or nothing to
the teacher, but to the parents it seemed disaster.
A professional explanation was given, the silver
coin was not withheld, and joy once more reigned.
The fact is, great caution is necessary lest a slight
school breach is unduly magnified into a serious
and grave offence. Masters vary in their power
of expressing opinions, and so a vigorous censor-
ship of phrases is always necessary. In this
respect certain forms fail by having the head-
master’s name printed or lithographed on them.
As the report is an official communication between
the master and the parents, and as the latter
Cee se ree ee se nee reseei. ceesreessassen
SE eS ITE SIT)
y Highest
Subjects. T AURE marks
gained.
SCIENCE. i
Order of Merit
LANGU AGES. |
SS aT et a
Order of Merit
Other subject ... os |
99 39 eve eee
Place in Form ...............
Conduct.
"se eee OOO
See amar ere ewes se ere eseerseteeseaeeeeeeeerseoeeeseseeseneeteeeaeereRneee
eaeesete were eeree- #e8 eee eer ener ees oenseernaeseeeneeseBeeeeeeses Or seeoeete
eee ere reese stasereeer se seers eeeseeereseseeeee SHB eHErEH CEH eH e BEBE HOD
E aA matenmiates Form Master.
a ae e a i Head Master.
always think of their children as represented to
them by the headmaster, it is not only desirable
but courteous that the name be an autograph.
Part of a school report should refer to a pupil’s
attendance, conduct, and general progress during
the term, and it is in the space allotted for this
that much can be done to enlighten the parent by
a discreet master. Sometimes the abbreviations,
eX., V.Z., g., etc., are used, and sometimes phrases
or short sentences. The former are open to the
charge of vagueness, but very often they sum up
all that is felt about the boy, and if space is allowed
for both, and either used at option, a good work may
be done. Number of times late in a term is not
necessary. If lateness is persistent, a letter during
44% o The School World [ DECEMBER, 1903.
the term is the most satisfactory method of curing
it, but to total it after many weeks is an unneces-
sary reference and will do very little to prevent -it
recurring next term. The number of times absent
‘should be given, and the manner in which the home
lessons have been worked and the progress made
during the term generally are fit and proper sub-
school. There isa tendency to print many notices
and much advice to parents on the forms. Beyond
the announcement of the beginning of the next
term all notices should be given on a separate
Sheet of paper, which can be enclosed with the
report.
To sum up, we want to inform parents of the
{School Crest. ]
NAME OF SCHOOL.
[Junior Division.)
REPORT for Term ending Christmas, 1903.
RESULTS OF LAST SCHOOL EXAMINATION.
Subjects.
Reading ...
Grammar...
ENGLISH Writing
Composition
Spelling ...
Geography
History
Drawing ...
Arithmetic
MATHEMATICS Algebra ...
i Geometry
(a) Oral ...
FRENCH l (4) Written
Religious Knowledge......... A A NAS
Highest marks
Marks gained. Average mark. gained.
Place in Form........... ...
Number of times absent. Home lessons. Conduct.
Progress during Term ...........cc:000 ceesesseeneneeees
Remarks oeei what ania E O a E eas
CeO eo nese ree meeseeene eer EETEREREEESERTTTTEREEEEEET)
The Next Term begins on January 12th, 1904.
jects for remark. The word ‘ generally ” is ad-
visedly used, for details only bewilder parents, and
very often give them a handle for dissatisfaction
with the school if they desire it.
It is the practice in some schools to make the
report forms very complete by publishing the
physical measurements of the boys. This is to
be recommended to the headmasters of boarding ©
schools where the pupils are away from home for
lengthened periods, and where opportunities for
accurate measurement are readier than at a day
Cee ema mere meee eH ee HeaneeeneHees ee Hee weer eases eeveeeenenesee
Peeve ern awe eer erasers eee ers eee nns eee eet eet owmaesaneest arenes eeeeren
Ce er ee ee 2 ee a |
‘ecient S AATE EA E Form Master.
a EA E E Head Master.
condition of their children at the end of the term,
and, as much of this information must be from the
competitive point of view, it must be the result of
an examination. It should never be forgotten that
parents are most anxious to learn how their child
stands in the real world of children and not his
qualities as an isolated being. We also want to
inform the parents of the conduct and progress of
the child as an individual. We also want—and
this is most earnestly pressed upon headmasters
and headmistresses particularly — to reduce the
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
amount of writing and mark-keeping which must
fall upon the assistants at the end of the term, and
must make the reports an irksome drudgery in-
stead of a responsible duty. Just as in the world
of work we seek for labour-saving machines, so
in the world of school we ought to do our utmost
to diminish the number of wheels in our machinery,
and finally, we do not want in our reports to register
and to announce the petty offences and small
peccadilloes of our young friends, for whom, after
all, we have a tender corner in our heart when we
have dismissed them for the term.
The reports which we have examined suggest
the forms given on pp. 441 and 442 as containing
everything that is necessary for the full informa-
tion of parents.
NOTES ON THR SUGGESTED REPORT FORMS.
Fresh Report Forms should be printed for each term, so that
tt ending Christmas,” “next term begins,” and similar phrases,
are not written.
The order of the subjects and grouping are left to each
master’s judgment.
In the Junior School Form the order of merit in subjects is
omitted.
The Form should be printed on very good white paper,
(Turkey Mill is recommended, foolscap size), and they should be
posted in foolscap envelopes.
THE REFORMATION OF THE
OFFENDER.
By C. W. BAILEY, M.A,
Principal of the Sefton Park School, and Assistant in Method,
University of Liverpool.
NE of the supreme aims of the teacher is
O to help the child to learn to take his place
in the world as an individual doing right
and avoiding wrong; and it is by the child’s sub-
sequent individual and responsible acts that the
effectiveness of this part of the teacher’s work
must be judged. It is, therefore, necessary to
train the child’s will, and to give him the impetus
to do the right for its own sake. Yet it is pos-
sible for this all-important matter of motive to
be lost sight of in the many details of conduct
itself. We may be so much concerned with the
movements of the hand of the watch upon the
dial that the main-spring may be forgotten.
Teachers are so close to matters of conduct
that they may professionally ignore motive, and
thus make all their will-training ineffective.
School offences may, according to their deter-
minable motive, be more or less morally grave
or merely inconvenient. If we are to implant
right motive as the guide of conduct we must be
careful to make motive the important factor in
determining the amount of wrong-doing in any
offence coming within our jurisdiction.
It is, indeed, very easy for us as teachers by an
error of judgment to put the merely inconvenient
offences into quite a wrong position in a motive-
value scale of offences, and quite natural for us to
a ee
443
fail to place adequate stress on grave moral faults
which cause us less immediate inconvenience,
although the latter are so potential with regard to
the future of the child, and the former so unimpor-
tant. The unscientific conditions of some teachers’
work and the unwieldy size of the classes of many
primary schools are the most fruitful causes of many
existing devices which are not easy to defend from
an ethical standpoint, but without which much of
the work now done would be practically impossible.
It should never be forgotten by authorities and
parents that small classes make reasonable devices
possible and large classes produce bad methods.
A diminution in the size of the classes means an
immediate lessening in the number of the school
offences, especially those of the inconvenient kind,
the punishment for which is least likely rightly to
affect motive. When large numbers of children
are grouped together it is often necessary to single
out offenders and treat their comparatively light
offences with severity to coerce the others into that
restraint which will enable the teacher to go on
with his work.
Further, offences may, to some extent, he
created by the teacher. We all know that an
incompetent teacher or weak disciplinarian is the
fruitful cause of increases in school offences.
Sometimes even a capable teacher may make him-
self the cause of such an offence as lying being
committed by putting too great a strain on a
child’s moral courage. The teacher may conduct
enquiry in the presence of the class with regard to
a matter which involves the confession of some
serious offence. The offender may hesitate publicly
to confess and bear the extreme punishment of the
contempt of his fellows which would ensue; he,
therefore, adds to the original offence the further
offence of a le. The teacher may often with a
little tact and private enquiry render it easier
for the truth to be told.
With some teachers, also, failure of the pupil to
secure some definite school proficiency is regarded
as an offence, apart from the effort displayed or the
ability of the child. With completer knowledge of
our children we can more readily apportion the
individual responsibility for failure. It is further
true that insanitary conditions of work, badly
arranged time-tables and unscientific curricula are
largely responsible for a number of minor school-
offences.
What the exact responsibility of the offender is
in serious offences, how far these offences are the
result of hereditary predisposing tendencies, bad
environment, or mental weakness, is a far more
difficult problem. It is certainly the fact that
offences of this serious class are often found to run
through whole families—suggesting, strongly, pre-
disposition as the first factor in the creation of the
offence. It would bea great help to us teachers if in
difficult cases we could have the help of a doctor’s
advice and could in the worst cases have always
the right of refusing to accept for instruction, with
others, those children whom we have discovered
to have strongly-marked evil tendencies, and who
require special and separate treatment.
— eS ee
444
Every offence committed makes the commission
of another offence more easy by the law of habit.
Every offence omitted, therefore, is a distinct gain
to the individual pupil, the school and the com-
munity. The first practical step, therefore, in the
reformation of the offender is that every possible
care should be taken to reduce the number of
offences to a minimum. It is probable in this
connection that what the community would have
to pay for more effective teaching and smaller
classes it would gain afterwards in the diminished
cost of criminal law administration.
So far one anticipates we shall be agreed; like
the doctors with regard to disease, we shall all
unite in urging prevention if possible. Where
we are likely to disagree is, as they do, in the
practical treatment of cases of admitted specific
unsoundness.
Doubtless, it is agreed that we must make wrong-
doing unpleasant. ‘* The way of the transgressor
is hard,” and he must feel the stony path even
while at school. Unless we do this we may be
doing the child a great injury, teaching him that he
may do wrong and escape the just consequences.
Again, it will be admitted that we have the right
in school to inflict such punishment as shall
take the place of discipline of natural consequences,
and be a kind of accelerated natural consequence.
No doubt, the nearer the punishment we inflict is
in its nature to natural consequence the more
scientific it will be. Corporal punishment is found
in practice to be a convenient form of making
wrong-doing immediately disagreeable, and it uses
pain in nature’s way, viz., for purposes of in-
hibition.
There are, however, certain conditions under
which any punishment to be effective as a re-
formative agent must be given. It must be
established beyond doubt that the offence has
been committed by the pupil concerned. ‘The
guilt must be proved. To punish the innocent is
to cause all respect for your ‘‘ sanction” to vanish
and is to act in opposition to the whole moral force
of the universe. Insubordination is nearly always
produced by a sense of some injustice. The
schoolmaster may be a beast, but it is essential,
if he is to be respected, that he be a “just beast.”
This points to the advisability of making in each
instance an enquiry into the circumstances of any
reported offence and giving the accused the oppor-
tunity of stating his side. We must wait before
judging. The value of the necessity of “ stating
a case” is thus apparent, and it is principally in
this direction, as establishing a sort of court of
appeal, that the custom is valuable which almost
universally fixes the responsibility for awarding
severe punishment with the head teacher. It gives
opportunity for a serious case to be reviewed, for
the accused to be heard, for any extenuating cir-
cumstances in the school history of the accused
to be considered. With regard to the infliction of
the punishment, that is not, one holds, in the same
position, and it will be found that there are many
cases where the authorisation by the head teacher
of a definite punishment to be inflicted by the
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
teacher of the pupil concerned will, by increasing
the authority of the class teacher, tend to diminish
the number of school offences committed. The
first condition of reformative punishment is, there-
fore, due precaution in order that the accused be
justly condemned before the punishment is given.
The second condition is that in assessing the
amount of guilt the motive of the offence should be
taken into consideration. This constant regard to
the underlying motive will be found a most im-
portant factor in making the punishment really
reformative. The child will see that the teacher
habitually lays stress on the goodness or badness
of the underlying principles of action, and will
learn to ask himself, before doing a questionable
thing, whether or not it will receive the approval
of his own better nature. Children have quite
early this notion of right and wrong motive.
The next condition one would urge is that the
judgments should be consistent. Assuming that
our standard of right motive remains constant, we
should be consistent in our appeals to it. What is
an offence to-day must be an offence to-morrow
and always. We must not let our attitude towards
offences vary with our caprice or with our health,
or the child will have no abiding sense of the true
significance of wrong-doing. The operation of our
justice should be as regular and orderly as possible,
and the wrong-doer must, if possible, never escape.
One capricious act of letting off a batch of
offenders without proper investigation may ruin
the discipline of a class; and it is of this that
sometimes the class teacher has most bitter causes
of complaint against the head teacher. A child
will calculate to a nicety the chances of escape
from disagreeable consequences of ill-doing and will
act accordingly. ‘The teacher with an intermittent
conscience will never impart conscientiousness, and
weakness is never kindness in the long run.
Again, punishments must be suitable to the
offender. The aim is to make the offender reform.
It is only by tact and experience that a teacher
may determine the kind of punishment to be
employed to this end. Of two punishments
equally severe one may be quite unsuitable to the
individual concerned. Even of any one punish-
ment, its severity will vary with the individuals
to whom the same measurable amount is em-
ployed. To write lines may be a cruel torture
to one pupil, while to cane another may be to
cause him little bodily pain. It is probable that
on the whole, where punishment to children must
be given, there are less practical objections to
corporal punishment than to most others; but
it follows from the conditions urged that it should
never be given unless the teacher believes that
this is the form of punishment most suitable to
the particular offender. It is not a “ panacea,"
and it lends itself readily to careless, frequent,
and even cruel use.
But there was oil as well as wine in the ministry
of the Good Samaritan—“ wine to cleanse the
wounds and oil to assuage their smart and to bring
gently their sides together,” and the positive side to
the reformation of the offender is the tenderer and
baat i a LS
the nobler. To inhibit the bad is necessary, but
the good motive must take its place if the offender
is to ‘*save his soul alive.”
The worst feature of punishment is that it is a
deadening thing, destroying action, blocking the
way of construction because it causes the individual
to lose confidence in himself. It is a fall from a
bicycle while one ‘is still learning to ride.
Practically one would say that, having punished
the offender and made the wrong-doing disagreeable,
the next step is to forget. The doctrine of ‘the
clean slate” is invaluable here, it makes subsequent
good writing possible. If the offence is not for-
gotten the offender is labelled and may live up to
his label. ‘Teachers are prone to have well-marked
distinctions between the white and black sheep of
their flocks, and generally to regard the black
sheep as dyed in fast colours. Are we not all
somewhat streaky? There is some good in every
child if we can find it, and we must forget as soon
as we can any badness we may have heard of.
In school one hesitates to adopt any system
of continuous reports with observations on the
character of individual pupils to be handed on to
successive teachers, which would be very useful
from the scientific standpoint of treatment of cases,
because one feels that in the hands of some mem-
bers of a staff the knowledge of a pupil's guilty
past would bring with it present prejudice. Only
a teacher can realise what a full and generous
promise was the Hebrew prophet’s to the repentant
sinner, ‘All his transgressions that he had com-
mitted they shall not be mentioned unto him.”
Not only must the offence be forgiven and
forgotten, but we must show the erstwhile offender
that we believe in him and in his power to do the
right thing. Here a genial optimism seems the best
equipment a teacher may have, and, if there is a
“genius of first quotation,” there is surely an
inspiration in the first discernment of possibilities
of good.
Further, we must show the offender how he
may by good deeds make reparation for the past
and in this way restore his character. To do this
we must find the pupil's sound place, that particular
interest or talent or affection which rightly used may
be his veritable salvation. He must, however, do
something, not merely refrain from doing; there
must be a path as well as a notice board to ‘‘ keep
off the grass.” In this connection one would
welcome as valuable any means by which the
dominant interest of the individual may be dis-
covered.
And, lastly, can we not imagine that an offender
may reform because he feels that his teacher is a
warm-hearted friend who has stood by him in
trouble, believed in him in circumstances of
black suspicion, and whom he would be sorry to
grieve by his misconduct? Cannot children “ play
the game”’ of life and give good deeds for kindness
as we grown men and women do, and shall there
not be a traffic in kindness in the schoolroom as
well as in the world ?
The School World
445
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
IN FRANCE.
By Dr. H. SCHOEN.
Professor at the University of Aix-Marseilles.
TEACHING
T is only during the last few years that the
teaching of modern languages has taken the
place in France that such an important
branch ought to occupy in the schools of any
nation of the present age. In fact, for nearly
half a century this study, which is so essential to
a liberal education, was entirely neglected. The
teachers of foreign languages were recruited, for
the most part, from men who had failed in other
careers, or those thrown out of their sphere whom
chance had enabled to acquire a smattering of
English or German.
Better than a theoretical dissertation, the two
following anecdotes will give an idea of the
wretched position of the instruction in living
languages at the French colleges, about the
middle of the nineteenth century. |
In a pamphlet dated 1872, on the teaching of
modern languages, M. Chasles relates how difh-
cult it was, in his youth, to meet with a good
English or German teacher. During his educa-
tion in the ‘* Lycée” at Bordeaux, he says, the
old professor of foreign languages suddenly died.
The headmaster was in great straits. No other
master in the school knew English or German
enough to replace him. The Minister of Public
Instruction had none to send, although the teach-
ing of living languages was on the syllabus. For-
tunately, some soldiers of a foreign army corps
passed through Bordeaux, on their way from
Algeria. Amongst them was found a Swiss who
knew a few words of German and English. His
comrades suggested him as a teacher, and the
poor soldier was only too happy to change the
uniform of his corps for the gown of a professor
and an annual stipend of fr.goo (£ 36).
Still more characteristic and entertaining is the
second anecdote. It would seem almost incredible,
had not a man so trustworthy and distinguished
as Inspector Michel Bréal related it, in a lecture
at the Sorbonne. It was in 1832, when some
Polish refugees came to Paris to seek protection
and a means of support. They were well received
in the capital. The French were then full of
enthusiasm for the Polish cause, as there appeared
to be a chance to restore the kingdom of Poland.
One of these refugees had a letter of introduction
to the Minister of Public Instruction.
He was well received, and after giving his name,
he asked if some employment could be found for
him,
« Yes,” replied his Excellency, ‘“ we require a
teacher of foreign languages, especially German,
for a little college in the south of France.”
« Alas, your Excellency,” modestly replied the
candidate, “ I can only speak Polish and a little
French.”
“You are too modest,
Minister.
ve
sir,” answered the
44.6
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
‘¢ Pray excuse me, your Excellency, but I have
never learnt German.”
“That is no obstacle. You must try. We
shall‘arrange that; I shall appoint you.”
And this good Pole, in spite of his scruples and
hesitation, thanked him and retired.
Some days after, he received his appointment as
“teacher of modern languages and literature” in
the college in question. What was to be done?
In fact, he knew neither German nor English.
He was too old to learn a new language with his
pupils. Then he said to himself, ‘‘ Is it not better
to teach Polish, which I know, than German,
which I do not know”? He ordered some Polish
books. He taught his native language with the
utmost enthusiasm, and the pupils, catching the
master’s spirit, became interested in their tasks,
thinking they were learning German. No one
detected this dexterous trick, until one day an
inspector came to examine the school. He won-
dered, knowing himself a few words of German,
what German dialect he heard. He inspected the
copies, the books of the pupils, and was unable to
solve the problem. At last he took the teacher
aside and demanded an explanation.
“Do not betray me,” pleaded the trembling
Pole. He then related the manner in which he
had been appointed. ‘‘ I am old,” he added, ‘‘and
I shall soon gain my pension; I beg of you to have
patience with me until then.”
The inspector was not stonehearted. He
promised not to betray the old professor ; and
until the latter retired the children of the little
college learned Polish, thinking that they learnt
German,
If such was the position of the teaching of
foreign languages in France, about the middle of
the last century, it is obvious that the question of
method could only play a secondary part. All the
efforts of the teachers were often merely directed
towards maintaining order in their classrooms and
teaching a few words in common use, as well as the
most important grammatical rules.
After the Franco-German war of 1870 the study
of living languages received a new impetus.
English, and especially German, increased in
favour. Buta scientific method is not produced
in a few years. The German and English pro-
fessors, left to themselves, nearly all followed the
method they themselves had practised when study-
ing Greek and Latin. Their scholars wrote
exercises and translations and learnt numerous
grammatical rules. They were also forced to
translate continually, from one language into an-
other, certain words and sentences without ever
arriving ata true knowledge of a foreign language.
However, little by little, the deficiencies of this
system became manifest to the professors of
modern languages. They recognised the neces-
sity of learning a foreign language in order to be
able to converse in it. They sought to give to the
studies of English and German a more practical
character. They began to teach the most usual
locutions. They assigned to conversational
English and German a more important place.
The systems of MM. Gouin and Berlitz pointed
out the way. The first insisted on the fact that
the child should see with his mind's eye the objects
of which he was to learn the foreign names. This
system was for a long time almost unknown in
France, and the author, not finding a publisher
who would bear the expense, had the rare courage
to set up the types for the composition of a work
of 400 pages on the “ Art of Teaching and Study-
ing Languages.’”!
Curiously enough, this work was not appreciated
in France until the Review of Reviews commended
it in England and published an important article,
in which Mr. Stead testified to the remarkable
progress his five children had made owing to this
method.
The Berlitz system had a more rapid success,
partly due to its intrinsic advantages and also to
judicious advertisement. It wished to imitate the
“maternal method,” and taught a foreign lan-
guage in the same way as a mother would teach
her child to speak, that is to say, without having
recourse to another language. If the Gouin
method recommended the sight of the objects by
the mind’s eye, the Berlitz system sought to show
them as much as possible in a concrete manner.
Both systems combated the ancient custom of
always translating one language into another, and
their efforts were directed towards the direct
intuition of the objects. Such is the principal
cause of their success and influence.
Direct intuition of the objects is also the most
essential point of the new method that the recent
ministerial instructions introduced into the official
teaching in the French ‘‘lycées,” colleges and
other State schools. It was necessary to give
up the old methods of instruction in dead lan-
guages, to abandon the false custom of continually
translating words and phrases from one language to
another ; it was indispensable to free the scholar’s
mind from the restricting intermediary of the
maternal language being constantly interposed be-
tween the wordsand the object. In a word, it was
necessary to borrow from the Berlitz method the
direct view of the concrete object, and, where these
concrete objects are wanting, it was judged useful to
have recourse to the method of M. Gouin, that is to
say, tothe intuition of the mind’s eye. In these
two cases it was the direct view of the objects or
the ideas without the intermediary of the maternal
tongue which must be realised. That is the
reason why this way of teaching foreign languages
is called in the new programmes ‘the direct
method.”
And to-day it seems beyond dispute, and it is
now universally admitted in France, that all the
efforts of teachers of modern languages should tend
above all towards the following end: to see directly
the objects while thinking of the English or German words,
and to avoid the fastidious translating word by word from
1 The last edition appezred by Fischbacher with the following title:
“Essai sur une Réforme des Méthodes d'Enseignement, Exposé d'une
nouvelle méthode linguistique. L'Art d'enseigner et d'étudier les langues.”
Par François Gouin. Paris, 1893.
The
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
one language to another, which wearies and fatigues
the pupil. This great principle of direct intuition
is also directed to one great end, that is, to think
in a foreign language. Let us now see how it is
hoped to realise this very difficult task.
In the first lessons it is prohibited to translate
foreign words or expressions into the mother
tongue. One is obliged to show the objects while
pronouncing the English or German names. The
pupil should make the movements of which he is
learning the foreign designation. In the lower
classes coloured pictures are shown; they are
orally explained and become the objects of easy
conversations. As much as possible, the pupils
should be taught to sing easy songs in a foreign
tongue. I have noticed, among other songs in
one of the most widely circulated books in France,
some of the most popular English songs, as
Thomas Moore's “The Last Rose,” or Robert
Burns’ “ My heart is in the Highlands.” These
singing exercises have an excellent effect upon the
pronunciation of the pupils, and especially excite
the children to catch the English tonic accent,
which the French tind very difficult to acquire.
The rhythm, the rhyme are impressed upon the ear
so accurately that I have myself heard with real
pleasure charming English songs in classes where
English had only been taught for some months.
The young girls are especially apt in this exercise
and arrive at excellent results.
According to the new ministerial instructions,
this essential oral teaching ought to be employed
during the first two years. In the meantime,
every book is nearly useless, and the grammatical
teaching should be reduced to few elementary
rules, the essential point being to accustom the
ear of the pupil to the foreign language, and to
make him learn the usual vocabulary.
During the two following years the instruction
becomes more theoretical. The grammar takes a
more important place, but the rule must always
follow the examples given instead of preceding
them. The greatest portion of the time formerly
devoted to written translations is given to-day to
miuch reading of interesting and even amusing
works. [| have been much surprised to see in the
French syllabuses a great number of modern and
recreative works little known in English schools,
but which are easier to understand than the
greatest part of classic authors, and more suited to
the minds of young children.
After these two years of theory and reading, the
new ministerial instructions order two years of
deeper studies and literary compositions. The
scholars, being already familiar with ordinary
terms, and accustomed by the direct method to
think in a foreign language, will commence to
write English or German compositions and
study the best English or German styles. In the
exercises and translations, they do not write word
for word as heretofore, but deliver a suitable ver-
sion of the text in accordance with the spirit of
the languages.
The culmination of these studies will be the
Baccalauréat Examination, which will consist, in the
School World
= de a a a —_
alice
“ Sections of Foreign Languages,’”! of an essay in
the modern language. The subject will be chosen
among the topics of everyday life rather than
from the history of literature. A few lines giving
the scheme and supplying the fundamental ideas
of the subject will be dictated in French, and a
foreign dictionary, without French translation, will
be authorised, to make the pupils proficient in the
handling of English or German books.
Eight or nine years was the time allotted for
the attainment of a less high end in the old
syllabus, but now the pupil will be expected to
arrive at a better result after six years’ study with
five hours a week.
An English traveller visiting our renewed lycées
and colleges will be agreeably surprised in a few
years to see an English class transformed, accord-
ing to the new official instructions, into “a little
England.” Moreover, our teachers must en-
deavour to bring their pupils into touch with
English customs and manners, so that they may
be able to enter into the conceptions of life,
ideas, and feelings of the nation whose language
they learn. The French class-rooms will be
ornamented little by little with engravings of
English landscapes, towns and monuments. The
best new English school-books contain already
a few geographical maps of England, Scotland,
or Ireland, and many views of London, Edin-
burgh, Dublin, or other large towns.
People seem to have at last grasped the fact
that the principal object in teaching modern lar-
guages is not to acquire the art of indifferently
translating a few lines from one language into
another, but to instil into the pupils’ minds the
customs and ideas of foreign peoples.
Thus the new French method of teaching the
English language, whose most essential points we
have brietly characterised, will contribute to
strengthen the friendly feelings of two neighbour-
ing nations, enabling them to understand and to
appreciate each other more and more.
THE aim of the teacher of a living foreign language should be
to secure to his pupils, with regard to the new language, all the
utilitarian and educational advantages which are placed within
their reach by the command of their own. Where a due propor-
tion of school time is allotted to his subject, a thoroughly quali-
fied teacher may reasonably hope to set his pupils so far on their
way that they are able at the end of their school course,
(a) to understand readily the spoken foreign idiom,
(6) to express thought unhesitatingly and correctly therein,
(c) to read with ease and intelligence prose or verse of
ordinary difficulty written in the foreign language,
(d) to express themselves correctly, in writing, in the foreign
idiom.—Dr. F. Spencer in ‘‘ Aims and Practice of Teaching ”
(Cambridge University Press).
1 Itisthe “ Latin Section with a more developed study of the Living
Languages,” and the “ Section of Modern Lauguage combined with the
study of Sciences.” Cf our article in Tur ScHoot Worp on “ Recent
Reforms of Secondary F.ducation in France” (July number, 1903,
Pp. 242-245).
448
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
APPARATUS FOR THE MEASUREMENT
OF THERMAL EXPANSION.
By E. S. A. Ronson, M.Sc.
Royal Technical Institute, Salford.
EFORE proceeding to the description of
apparatus suitable for use by students of
practical physics, it will probably be well
to give a general idea of the principles involved in
its construction. By this means teachers who
intend making their own apparatus will observe
the essential parts which require careful and accu-
rate attention, while, on the other hand, those who
intend to purchase apparatus will be better able to
appraise its value from a working point of view.
In all cases of thermal expansion, where a
quantity of matter, Q, expands by an amount g for
a rise in temperature T°, the mean co-efficient of
expansion (c) between the limits of temperature is
given by the equation.
— 9
C= QT
In the case of liquids ¢ will represent the appa-
rent co-efficient of expansion. Now, suppose that
the errors due to the measurements of q, Q and T
are respectively a, 8, and y, fractions of the above
quantities. The co-efficient of expansion now be-
comes:
— q(t +a) a tee (1 ta+ p+y) approx.
~ QT(1£8) +7) QT
The value of the maximum error is + (a + 8+ 7),
and in constructing the apparatus this value should
not exceed a certain limit, to be determined upon
beforehand. For example, suppose that we wish
to construct an apparatus for the determination of
the linear expansion of solids, giving results correct
to I per cent.
In this case the quantity Q represents the original
length of the metal rod or tube; g will be the
increase of length, and T° the rise of temperature.
Suppose we decide to make the rod or tube 50 cm.
in length; it will be quite easy to measure this
length with a good metre scale to within 1 mm.,
1.¢., the value of the possible error (8) is one part in
500, or o'2 per cent. The temperature can be esti-
mated with the eye to œ1° C., so that, when using
cold water and steam as limits of temperature, the
value of T would be about 80° C., and the error (y)
would be one part in 800, or 0°13 per cent. As,
however, the thermometer may not be calibrated,
and the varying pressure of the steam makes the
upper temperature reading slightly inaccurate, it
would be safer to estimate the value of yas o-2
per cent.
We must now carefully ascertain the best
method of measuring the increase of length,
which might be roughly calculated, eg., in the
case of brass the expansion would be about
o'8 mm. for a length of 50 cms., and for a rise in
temperature of 80° C. Suppose we decide to use a
spherometer of 4 mm. pitch, with roo divisions on
the graduated head, thus giving 160 divisions for
the required expansion. If the spherometer reads
accurately to one division, the error (2) would be
I partin 160, or o'6 percent. The total maximum
error of the apparatus will be just + 1'0 per cent. ;
the total minimum error will be +o'2 per cent.
With a more accurate spherometer of 4 mm.
pitch, and 500 divisions on the graduated head,
reading to one division, the value of @ would be
o'2 per cent., thus giving a total maximum and
minimum error alike of +o°2 per cent. The
reader may apply these principles to the apparatus
to be described.
EXPANSION OF SOLIDS.
For comparative work some form of Ferguson's
pyrometey may be used (price £1 15s., from any
apparatus maker). In this apparatus one end of
the rod rests against a fixed screw, while the other
end is free to move and pushes against a movable
pointer. Avoid using methylated spirits as the
source of heat and substitute a gas burner consist-
ing of a brass tube closed at one end and with
holes drilled at intervals along its upper surface.
Bend the tube so as to lie parallel to the rod and
fix it with iron staples to the wooden base.
For accurate quantitative results we may
classify the apparatus according to the method
used in measuring the expansions.
(1) Using a graduated wedge faced with glass and
sliding along a vertical support. This apparatus,
designed by Mr. W. Kheam, B.Sc., of the Liver-
pool Institute, is sold by Messrs. J. J. Grifin and
Sons, London (price 17s. 6d.). The slope of the
wedge is I in 10, so that a difference of 8 or 9 mms.
is measured on the vertical scale.
(2) Using a sfherometer. In the apparatus sold
by Messrs. F. Jackson and Co., Manchester, the
tubes are about 60 cm. in length and supported
in a vertical wooden stand. A
glass plate fits over the top,
and through a central hole the
spherometer screw touches the
top of the tube. No steam
jacket 1s necessary, as the fall
in temperature along the tube
is negligible. The price is
£1 2s. 6d., with 5s. extra for
each tube. In Messrs. Town-
son and Mercer’s form of appa-
ratus (Fig. 1) the metal rod is
heated by means of a steam
jacket, and the stand adjusted
by three levelling screws. The
price is £1 3s.6d. The same
firm also lists a newer and im-
proved pattern known as La-
velle’s extensimetey at £1 7s. 6d.,
which is probably the best of
this class of apparatus.
(3) Microscope method. In this method the metal
tube, supported horizontally, 1s clamped at one
end, and steam is passed through at a tempera-
ture presumed to be the same as that inside the
steam heater. A scratch mark is made near
Wits @ NCSL
YIS
Fic. 1.—Spherometer
method for the deter-
mination of the linear
expansion of a solid
roc.
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
the free end of the tube and the expansion
measured either with a reading microscope or with
an ordinary microscope fitted with a graduated
eye-piece. The usual form of Vernier microscopes,
reading to 4, mm., are unsuitable for the experi-
ment, seeing that the total expansion of 50 cm.
of tube will only be about o'4—o'8 mm. Messrs.
Harvey and Peak, London, list a good and
accurate reading microscope, reading to ;35 mm.
(price £4 1os.), which would give a result accu-
rate to 0'5 per cent. When using an ordinary
microscope the graduated eye-piece may be cali-
brated with a stage micrometer of 1 mm. divided
into 100 parts. The glass micrometer for the eye-
piece costs 6s.; the stage micrometer 5s. (Max
Kohl).
(4) Using two miurvometer gauges.
In Weedon's
form of apparatus (Fig. 2) (price £6 6s., Messrs.
Fic. 2,— Determination of the linear expansion of a solid rod by means of
two micrometer gauges.
J. J. Griffin, London) the rod is heated in a water
tank, and is free to expand at both ends, the
expansion being measured by means of accurate
micrometer screws. The expansion can thus be
measured for small differences in temperatures,
and by substituting glycerine for water its use
might be further extended.
(5) Telescopic method. In this method, first used
by Dulong and Petit, the solid rod on being heated
actuates a lever having a small circular mirror
fixed to its upper end, the expansion being read by
a subjective or objective telescopic method (price
£7 10s., Max Kohl; agents, Messrs. Isenthal and
Company, London). The lever may also be ar-
ranged to move the observing telescope, which is
focused on a metre scale fixed to the ceiling of
the laboratory. The latter method is much used
in German laboratories, where one also notices a
vertical plane arrangement for a galvanometer
lamp and scale.
EXPANSION OF LIQUIDS.
For the determination of the apparent expansion,
use either a glass bulb tube of known volume and
fitted with graduated tube (price 3s., Jackson) or
as an alternative a specific gravity bottle may be
recommended. For advanced students the weight
thermometer and pyrometer will suffice. Weigh-
ings may be determined to the nearest centigram ;
the water in the heater should be kept well stirred
and the instrument should not be withdrawn until
the water has been boiling for at least five minutes,
otherwise the containing vessel will not have
attained its full expansion.
The School World
449
In the case of the absolute expansion of a liquid
the best method is a modification of Dulong and
Petit’s apparatus. A piece of łļ-in. glass tubing
is bent intoa U shape having a flat base. The two
limbs are then fitted with large rubber stoppers
and surrounded with 14-in. stout glass tubing,
the open ends of the U tube just appearing above
the upper stoppers. Four short lengths of glass
tubing are bent at right angles and fitted into the
four rubber stoppers, thus allowing for the inlet
and outlet of water in one tube and steam
in the other. The U tube is best filled with
some liquid, ¢g., aniline, having a large co-
efficient of expansion. The difference in level is
read off by means of a reading microscope, or
by means of a simple cathetometer reading to
ig Mm.
The temperatures are measured by means of
two thermometers placed in each tube. The price
of the apparatus is {1 1s. (Mr. G. Cussons,
Manchester). In the case of mercury the expan-
sion is rather small, and the neatest method of
measuring the expansion is to fix over each tube
a spherometer having a long screw to the instru-
ment, so that it comes into contact with the surface
of the liquid.
Another simple and accurate method for the
expansion of a liquid is the areometric or Mathiessen
method, in which a closed glass bulb weighted with
lead or mercury is suspended in a bath of the
liquid by means of a fine wire attached to one pan
of a balance.
The latter is placed on a wooden shelf about
18 in. above the desk and a hole drilled in the
shelf to allow the wire to pass through. Starting
with the two weights of the bulb in the air, the
tank of liquid is placed on a tripod underneath
and the apparent weight of the bulb is determined
when immersed in the liquid at two known
temperatures. The weighted bulb may be con-
structed from an old air-thermometer. The com-
plete apparatus, with shelf, balance and tank, costs
£2 5s. (Cussons); the weighted bulbs cost 7d.
each (Griffin).
For those who have a Reimann’s patent specific
gravity balance with an iron base (Messrs. F. E.
Becker and Co., Birmingham, £3), the bulb alone
will be required.
In order to illustrate the very important point
of the maximum density of water, Hofmann’s
arrangement (price ros. 6d., Jackson or Max Kohl)
will be found very suitable (see Fig. 3). ‘The
thermometer B is fixed to the centre of the bulb A
containing distilled water, while the rise or fall of
the water is easily distinguished by means of a
fine glass capillary tube C. A tank of water,
cooled by lumps of ice, serves to lower the tempera-
ture. A hard rubber stopper D having a piece of
thin glass rod pushed through the centre serves
to close the glass bulb, and the necessary amount
of water is forced up the capillary by pushing in
the glass rod more or less. A small quantity of
mercury should be placed at.the bottom of the
glass bulb in order to eliminate the contraction
of the glass itself.
450
anes -_—— —
EXPANSION OF GASES.
To illustrate Boyle’s law, the simplest form of
apparatus consists of a thistle funnel connected by
pressure tubing with a closed glass tube, mercury
being poured in to supply the pressure. By fixing
the two tubes on retort stands and raising or
lowering them, the law may be demonstrated both
above and below atmospheric pressure. A more
i
vel
j
Ppr j- A
r aain i Midia hiaiatl A idadi dadida] -1
AAEE ARNEE ARRIA B
. oy
Esini bbl Lad | abi ahb tibat baka sål
Fic. 3. — Hof-
mann’s apparatus
to illustrate the
peculiar expansion
of water.
Aahe A Bh Preem eree i
ayy saee ak Laars eye
is > St rare so
Eo
a Pe epee re epee pee 1 WET
; A e 2 Passe Lg ard EA aa an.nan annt
[9 » È a y
e ie i
l AY o l SOE E nee
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Dee eee
Fic. 4.—Apparatus designed to illustrate the chief
gaseous laws.
elaborate form costs £1 5s. (Messrs. W. G. Pye,
Cambridge). The ladder type of apparatus, in
which the two tubes work in steps cut in a wooden
upright, will stand rough usage well (price 18s.,
Cussons).
A neat form of forced pressure apparatus to
prove Boyle's law at high pressures consists of
a strong glass bottle fitted with a rubber stopper
and two pieces of barometer tubing, one, the
shorter, being closed and containing the air under
test ; the second and longer tube being open and
acting as a manometer. The bottle is half filled
with mercury, and air is pumped in through
The School World :
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
pneumatic tyre valve let into the rubber stopper.
The heights of the columns of air and mercury
are then read on a metre scale placed behind the
tubes. A strong form of this apparatus costs 15s.
(Cussons).
With regard to the proof of the Gay-Lussac
Charles’ law, most teachers are familiar with the
horizontal barometer tubing, closed at one end and
with a column of air inside, enclosed by means of
a plug of mercury. An alternative method con-
sists in using a two-stoppered gas sample-tube of
about 200 cc. capacity (price 2s.), and heating it
by immersion in boiling water, one stopper being
open and slightly above the level of the water.
Having allowed the air to expand, close the stop-
cock and transfer the sample tube to a vessel con-
taining cold water. Now open the lower stop-cock
and the water rushes in to fill the place produced
by contraction of the air. Again close the stop-
cock, dry the outside, and weigh the tube, with its
contents, thus obtaining the amount of expansion.
From the weight of the tube filled entirely with
water the amount of air which has expanded may
be obtained.
The relation between the pres-
sure and temperature of a gas at
constant volume is best proved
with Joly’s form of apparatus,
small size, price 15s. (Pye), large
size, price £1 15s. (Cussons). An
apparatus (Fig. 4) to prove all
three laws, and suitable for ex-
periments on vapour tension, will
cost £4 15s. (Messrs. Philip
Harris).
In describing Dulong and Petit’s
apparatus for the expansion of
liquids, mention was made of a
cheap cathetometer as a means
of measuring the difference in
height. The writer has recently
devised an instrument which will
serve to measure accurately small
distances either horizontally or
vertically. It is a modification of
a Vernier microscope designed by
Mr. A. Adamson of the Man-
chester ‘Institute of Technology.
On a wooden upright (Fig. 5) 1
metre in length are fixed two box-
wood scales divided into tenths of
inches and centimetres respec-
tively. Between the two scales
is a V-shaped longitudinal groove
in which a rod or tube may be
calibrated. The arrangement for
reading is similar to that of the
cursor on a slide rule. On the
thin piece of celluloid is marked
a fine straight line, so as to be
v2.2 À +
Ẹ
E:
|:
i
F
l
f t7
4
Dm Gt ARR N
i of simple vernier
exactly over the object under miei A
observation. The readings on meter.
the scales are taken by the aid
of two verniers (Fig. 6) attached to the under
surface of the plate, each vernier having ten
DECEMBER, 1903.] The School World 451
divisions corresponding to nine scale divisions.
The observations are made through a simple
reading microscope (Fig. 7) carried by the sliding
frame, the lens being supported at a suitable
height above the scale, and the eye is placed
in front of a metal disc
in which is cut a narrow
slot. The wooden up-
right is hinged on to a
square metal base and
fixed in position by a
stout tapered brass pin
running through from side
to side. When the pin is
withdrawn the apparatus
open lies flat and may be
used for comparative tests
of expansions of metal
tubes, the tube being
clamped at one end in
Eid the large binding screw.
Fic. 6.— Enlarged plan of ver- The upper part of the
nier arrangement. (Metal rod in upright is slotted for use
tbe groove.)
as a cathetometer, a lens
of longer focus being sub-
stituted. The writer has
also used the apparatus
for the determination of
Young's modulus and for
the calibration of thermo-
meter tubes.
Jn conclusion, a few
details may be mentioned.
Thermometers with paper
scales are preferable for
use inside steam tubes.
In accurate work it is
advisable to calibrate the
thermometer against a
standard Kew certifi-
cated thermometer (price
Et 17s. 6d.). Defective
Se LE metre scales will cause
errors in the results; a
good metre scale will cost
2s. (Messrs. Rabone, Bir-
eee ; mingham). With Bun-
Fic. 7.— Section of reading .
telescope and wooden stand. sen burners use flexible
bronze (not steel) Te
tubing; 2 ft. lengths, § ši
in diameter with india-rubber ‘‘ push-on aadli:
ments will cost 2s. 3d. (Messrs. David Baxter,
Todd Street, Manchester). To protect the ex-
posed part of a thermometer use a length of
asbestos tube having an inside diameter of about
4 in. and outside diameter ł in (price 6d. per foot,
United Asbestos Co., Billiter Street, London).
ABOCO HORu. |
cs
NEGLECT of discipline is a greater evil than neglect of culture,
for the last can be remedied later in life, but unruliness cannot
tee done away with, and a mistake in discipline can never
be repaired. — Kant.
ae Senle dione |
-”
THE ASSOCIATION OF TECHNICAL
INSTITUTIONS.
EN years ago educational associations were in
T existence which were entitled to speak for
first and second-grade secondary schools,
elementary schools, higher grade schools and many
other educational interests; but there was no body
which could voice the average opinion of those
institutions engaged in the work of technical
education. This arose probably mainly from two
reasons: first, the comparatively small number of
Prof. J. WERTHEIMER, B.Sc., B.A.,
las roe of the Merchant Venturers’ Technical College, Bristol ;
. Sec. of the Association of Technical Institutions.
technical institutions in existence at that time,
and, secondly, the variety of their character. For,
while some of the institutions were technical
colleges giving the highest kind of technical
education obtainable in this country, others were
mainly secondary schools of a modern type with
evening classes tor artisans; while a third variety
provided nothing but evening classes.
In 1893, however, it was felt that the time had
come when those engaged i in the work of technical
education ought to put themselves in‘a position to
speak collectively when necessary, and a circular
was therefore issued by Prof. Wertheimer, the Prin-
cipal of the Merchant Venturers’ Technical College,
| Bristol, making preliminary enquiries as to whether
or not it was desirable to form a society which
should be able to formulate the views of those en-
gaged in directing and organising technical educa-
tion in this country. Sufficient replies of a favour-
able character were received, and a preliminary
meeting was held at the Manchester Municipal
Technical School in November, 1893, at which there
were present the principals of the technical institu-
tions at Bolton, Bristol, Chester, Keighley, Man-
chester, Shefheld and Stockport, and the secretaries
of such institutions at Ashton-under-Lyne, Brad-
ford, Glasgow, Huddersfield, Leigh, Preston and
Rochdale. London was represented by delegates
from the East London Technical College and the
Borough Polytechnic. Besides those present at
the meeting others sent letters expressing a desire
to form an association, and among these were Mr.
F. G. Ogilvie, then principal of the Heriot-Watt
College, Edinburgh, and now Chief Assistant-
Secretary of the Board of Education for Tech-
nology ; the principals of the technical institutions
at Plymouth and Wigan, and the secretary of the
Goldsmiths’ Technical Institute.
The result of this meeting was that it was
resolved to form an Association of Technical
Institutions which should consist of representatives
of such institutions appointed by their governing
bodies. As a rule, each institution is represented
by two persons, one of whom is a member of the
governing body and the other the principal of
the institution. Jn this way the Association has
avoided becoming anything in the nature of a
trades’ union; indeed, no question affecting the
rights or remuneration of officials has ever been
brought before the Association.
In addition to the towns mentioned above there
were at the first annual meeting, which was held
at the room of the Society of Arts, London, repre-
sentatives of the following towns: Bath, Birming-
ham, Hull, Leeds, Lincoln, Portsmouth and
Wolverhampton. It was decided that the objects
of the Association should be: (a) To provide a
medium for the interchange of ideas among its
members: (b) to influence, by combined action
where desirable, parliament, county councils, and
other bodies concerned in promoting technical edu-
cation; (c) to promote the efficient organisation
and management of technical institutions, facilitate
concordant action among governing bodies, and aid
the development of technical education throughout
the United Kingdom.
Alderman Martineau, of Birmingham, was
appointed Treasurer of the Association, and Prof.
Wertheimer, of Bristol, Hon. Secretary, and among
the members of the first council were Sir Philip
Magnus, Principal Ogilvie, of Edinburgh, Prof.
Ripper, of Sheffield, Mr. Reynolds, of Manchester,
and Mr. Alderman Ward, of Portsmouth. The
Treasurer, the Hon. Secretary, Principal Reynolds
and Alderman Ward, are the only original mem-
bers of the Council who still hold office; the first
two after ten years’ service are retiring in January
next.
Mr. W. P. Sawyer, the clerk of the Drapers’
Company and a representative of the East London
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
E
Technical College, was the first chairman of the
council, and for several years was one of the most
active members ofthe Association. At the second
annual meeting it was decided to appoint a presi-
dent who need not necessarily be a member of
the Association, and thus the help of many dis-
tinguished men has been secured. The annual
addresses of the presidents have been published in
the “ Proceedings ” of the Association, and have
formed important contributions to the educational
literature of the country, as will readily be under-
stood from the names of the presidents which
follow in the order in which they have held office :
Sir William Mather, M.P., the late Right Hon.
A. J. Mundella, M.P., the Right Hon. Henry
Hobhouse, M.P., the Right Hon. Sir Bernhard
Samuelson, Bart., F.R.S., the Right Hon. Earl
Spencer, K.G., Sir Swire Smith, the Right Hon.
Sir William Hart Dyke, Bart., M.P., the Right
Hon. Lord Avebury, D.C.L., F.R.S., and Sir
John Wolfe Barry, K.C.B., F.R.S. The President-
Elect for 1904 is the Right Hon. Sir John E.
Gorst, K.C., M.P.
It would need more space than is available to
describe with any fulness the work which has been
done by the Association in the last decade, but
a few of the most important steps it has taken
may be enumerated.
Perhaps the greatest service it has hitherto ren-
dered has been the collection of statistics as to the
number of adult day-students in technical institu-
tionsin the United Kingdom and the comparison it
has made between these numbers and the numbers
of similar students in corresponding institutions in
Germany and the United States. The results of
this enquiry were widely circulated in the form
of a pamphlet entitled, “ Are our [Industrial
Leaders Efficiently Trained?” which had a very
large sale, and has been extensively used by nearly
every writer on the subject since its publication.
In this pamphlet it was shown that not only is
the number of day students of technology in this
country absurdly small when compared with the
numbers for the nations which are our two leading
industrial competitors, but our students pursue
shorter courses of study, commence their studies
at an earlier age and with less preparation, and are
taught in buildings the equipment of which is
inferior. Moreover, the teaching staff is much less
numerous, and each teacher has to cover such a
wide range of knowledge that he is not able to
specialise in the same way as the professors and
lecturers in the American and German technical
high schools.
Another important work undertaken by the
Association was its opposition to the Secondary
Education Bill introduced into the House of Com-
mons by Colonel Lockwood in 1898. The Associa-
tion from the first was anxious to do everything
in its power to secure the improvement of secondary
education in this country, not only for the sake of
secondary education itself, but also because higher
technical education of the best sort can only rest
on a basis of sound secondary education. But the
Association could not support Colonel Lockwood’s
DECEMBER, 1903.]
Bill because it proposed (a) to separate technical
from secondary education, instead of following the
opinion of the Royal Commission on Secondary
Education, which lays down the view that the two
forms of education ought to be regarded as neces-
sary parts of higher education generally; (b) to
create new local authorities dealing specially with
secondary education only; and (c) to provide for
the financial needs of secondary education, not by
further monetary grants, but by taking away from
technical education part of the money allotted
to ıt.
Another important work of the Association has
been an attempt to do something towards lessen-
ing the enormous number of examinations of
various sorts under the burden of which education
in this country groans. With this end in view it
approached the professional bodies which deal with
engineering, architecture, &c., and tried to secure
increased recognition for the teaching work done
in technical institutions. It was successful in
securing concessions from the Institutions of
Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and from
the Royal Institute of British Architects; the
latter body agreed to accept the certificates of the
Board of Education in certain subjects in lieu of
the examinations conducted by itself. There is
much more useful work of this kind to be done,
but it is doubtful whether any body less strong
than Parliament itself can deal effectively with the
numerous and powerful vested interests concerned
in the many examinations which now hamper
British education.
The Association was very successful in its
efforts to secure modifications in the original draft
of the Education Bill, 1902; for the Bill was
amended in accordance with suggestions of the
Association in the following directions :—(a) the
Government deleted the clause making it optional
for the county and borough councils to undertake
the supervision of elementary education; (b) it
made compulsory the application for the purposes
of higher education of the residue under the Local
Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890; (c) it
decided to provide from the national exchequer
larger sums for educational purposes than were
mentioned in the original draft of the Bill; and
(d) in the case of county boroughs, it removed the
statutory limit to the amount to be expended on
higher education.
Many concessions have been obtained from the
Board of Education by the Association: among
the most important may be mentioned (a) block
grants for secondary schools; (b) simplification of
the methods of registration for evening classes ;
(c) simplification of the rules in accordance with
which grants are made to evening classes ; (d) the
inclusion of technological subjects in the list of
those for which grants are given to evening classes ;
(e) special grants for day classes for adult students
in technical institutions.
The Association has naturally come in contact
repeatedly with the City and Guilds of London
Institute; through the medium of the Board of
Education it has obtained for technical institu-
No. 60, VoL. 5.]
The School World
453
tions representation on the Examinations Board of
that Institute, but it is still without representation
on the Examinations Committee. As matters of
importance appear to be frequently considered by
the Committee without reference to the Board, the
representation thus obtained is not as serviceable
as might otherwise be the case. The Association
has pressed the Institute to recognise advisory
committees in connection with the various
industries, so that the examinations which the
Institute holds for artisans engaged in these
industries may be of the greatest possible service to
the nation. The Institute has in certain cases
acceded to the request of the Association, the
latest instance being the establishment of an
advisory committee in connection with the leather
trades’ industries, which will probably become an
accomplished fact in the course of the next month
or so.
The number of institutions which now belong to
the Association is sixty-six, and practically every
town in the United Kingdom which possesses a
technical institution of any considerable size is
represented. On the Council for the current year
the different parts of the country are well repre-
sented, for the members include representatives
from the following towns :—Birmingham, Bristol,
Glasgow, Huddersfield, London, Liverpool,
Manchester, Northampton, Portsmouth, Rochdale
and Salford.
While the Association holds its meetings in
London only, the Council meets in the different
towns containing the institutions forming the
Association: members of the Council thus obtain
that intimate knowledge of the conditions prevail-
ing in the institutions in different parts of the
country which is necessary to enable them to form
opinions as to the policy most likely to be of
general service.
Quite apart from the work mentioned above, the
Association has been of inestimable value in other
directions. Before its existence those engaged in
the work of technical education were in many
cases more or less isolated from their fellow-
workers: the Association has provided oppor-
tunities for intercourse and exchange of ideas, and
there is probably no institution which belongs to
it that has not gained some valuable suggestions
from discussions by its representatives with those
of other institutions in regard to the many difficult
problems which must be solved, if technical
education in this country is to be raised to the
same or a higher level than prevails in Germany
and the United States.
Tue Local Examinations and Lectures Syndicate of the
University of Cambridge announce that, in the Higher Local
Examination to be held in June, 1904, arrangements will
be made so that students can be examined both in political
economy and in French history, although these two subjects
were placed at the same time in the time-table, as originally
published.
N N
454
SCHEME OF STUDY IN THE
HUMANITIES.
By T. E. Pace, M.A.
Charterhouse.
A NEW
HE tendency of education in recent years has
been to give a continually larger place to the
study of science. Nor is this fact to be
wondered at. The Victorian age was pre-eminently
a scientific age. Within the limits of a single
reign science by its giant growth changed almost
all the conditions of individual, social, and national
life. It has laid bare deep secrets of nature which
had been hidden from the foundation of the world;
there is hardly a department of human industry
which it has not revolutionised; it has altered the
very possibilities of thought, while along every
path of material progress it has established itself
as the sole and sure guide. Accordingly it is only
natural that in education scientific studies have
continually been advancing while what may be
called “the Humanities” have been continually
receiving less attention; and this change has been
welcomed with exultation, though, in fact, it affords
some ground for sober and serious concern. For
scientific study, even though it has become an
essential, perhaps the most essential, part of
education, is none the less only a part, and when
it is pursued too exclusively, so as to dwarf or
destroy other studies, education becomes stunted
and illiberal. Moreover, the teaching of science
has always a tendency to degenerate in character,
because the very fact that science has a high
commercial value involves a constant danger to its
use as an instrument of education. Itis constantly
exposed to the risk of being regarded as something
which it will ‘ pay’”’ to learn, as something the use
of which is not so much,to strengthen and enlarge
the mind or add to the interest of life as to secure
for its possessor larger wages. When thus de-
graded the study of science can hardly be called
“ education,” for the acquisition of merely technical
skill in some particular subject obviously does not
imply the possession of any of those higher qualities
which are the proper distinction of humanity.
Finally, too, even the commercial value of
“technical” instruction in science seems to be
extremely doubtful, for with the immense advance
of scientific knowledge clearly it is only a very few
exceptional men who can attain scientific results
which have an exchange value in the market.
Science, in fact, is in this respect becoming
curiously like poetry. An interest in it and a love
for it make a man mentally richer, but those who
wish to make money by it will find that there is no
demand for mediocrity.
3ut if what has been said be true, or if it be in
large measure true, then it would seem that the
outcry for more and more technical education
needs rather to be repressed than encouraged. In
some crafts, of course, individual skill must always
be necessary and highly valued, but the general
trend of industrial development is to make the
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
individual only a highly specialised part in an
extremely complex mechanism, and to require from
him in the performance of his task chiefly a certain
empirical dexterity. For the vast army of workers
their work must in the main be monotonous and
mechanical, and it would seem to be almost the
first business of education to bring to these dull,
drudging lives some possibility of becoming
brighter, more dignified, and, in fact, more human.
For, after all, in spite of economic or scientific
thinkers who prefer the phrase ‘a tocl-using
animal,” there is truth in the Hebrew dream that
man is “made in the image of God,” or even in
Hamlet’s mad description of him as ‘noble in
reason ” and ‘infinite in faculty.”
Accordingly it is impossible not to welcome with
the warmest approval a scheme which has recently
been put forward by the University of London—a
University in close touch with the pressing needs
of modern life—by which it hopes to encourage
“study in the Humanities.” The scheme is
arranged, in connection with University Extension
work, for the help of “ students engaged in various
Occupations during the day,” and, after referring to
the fact that “ large” opportunities for ‘‘ the study
of science in its technical aspects” are already
afforded, the preamble states, in words which
deserve close attention, that ‘it is desired in the
interests of a liberal education that some effort
should be made to encourage studies in the depart-
ment of history, literature, and art.” The general
plan is to provide (1) certain ‘‘ Central Lectures”
in which large periods of history will be handled
broadly so as to form a sort of setting or back-
ground to special work; (2) a large number of
“ Local Lectures ” dealing with particular literary,
artistic, and historical subjects; and (3) tutorial
Supervision of ‘‘paper-work’’ done in connection
with the lectures, and also with ‘‘some definite
course of reading ” approved by the lecturers. This
course will extend over three yearly sessions of 25
weeks each, but in the fourth year there will be a
course dealing with “the Fundamental Principles
of Evidence and Reasoning,” in which it is pro-
posed to examine, not by ‘formal logic ” but “ by
means of concrete examples,” how great scientific
generalisations or great principles of law are
established, while in a fifth session there wilb
be study of a more advanced type, the subjects
being either (1) General History and English
Literature “as a subsidiary subject,” or (2) the
British Constitution and Economic History. At
the end of each session the University will
officially award ‘sessional certificates” to suc-
cessful students; at the end of four sessions ‘‘ the
Vice-Chancellor’s certificate” may be obtained,
and, finally, “a new Advanced Certificate” with
regard to which it is stated that “its name and the
privileges it may confer are still under considera-
tion.” It is added that the course is intended to
suit not only “ general students” but also ‘‘teachers
in elementary and secondary schools, instructors in
science and technology, art teachers ” and the like,
nor can it be doubted that many teachers will find
these certificates practically valuable; but the
The
primary importance of the scheme consists in its
recognition of the fact that “the Humanities”
form a necessary part of all true education, and
that at the present time the study of them distinctly
needs encouragement. It is a pronouncement of
the greatest weight put forward at a critical period,
and, though the exact form of the proposed science
may be at present tentative and experience may
suggest many alterations, the principle and purpose
which underlies it 1s wholly sound. That man
“shall not live by bread alone” is a law not only
of revelation but of nature, but of late years educa-
tion has been largely directed towards that training
which only fits men to supply their material needs.
Such training is necessary, but it is not enough. It
leaves the higher side of human nature wholly neg-
lected, and unless supplemented by other studies
must be counted imperfect and even ignoble.
DECEMBER, 1903. |
EDUCATION IN THE NEW REPUBLIC:
By F. W. Heaney, M.A.
Haileybury College.
R. WELLS in his preface frankly confesses
M that he has no great knowledge of biology,
and claims that ‘irresponsibility and an
untrained interest may permit a freshness, a
freedom of mental gesture, that would be incon-
venient and compromising for the specialist.” As
his book is highly interesting I am not prepared to
resist his contention. To judge by his occasional
wildness, he is not a specialist in educational
matters any more than in biology. He has a
“down” on schoolmasters. ‘ Scolding the school-
master, gibing at
afflicting and exasperating the schoolmaster in
= every conceivable way, is an amusement so entirely
congenial to me in every way that I do not for one
moment propose to abandon it.” He owns it is
no good, but he cannot help it. How many men
there are who find this foolish practice delightful !
Mr. Wells, unlike most of these critics, has his
kindlier moments when he is all sympathy for all
schoolmasters except clerical headmasters. Maore-
over, again unlike most critics, he is full of ideas,
some of which are helpful, and in one passage he
traces the doubtless very annoying conservatism
of schoolmasters to excess of work and worry.
Here he seems to be getting nearer to facts than
most men who write on education. Certainly he
is going the right way to break down this brick-
wall of conservatism.
Some of his remarks on the education of children
are worth considering. The kindergarten system
is meant more for the home than forthe school. A
child should learn its own language well rather than
a foreign language. It will very soon forget a foreign
language in spite of the popular theory to the
1 “ Mankind in the Making.” By
(Chapman & Hall.) Price 7s. 6d.
H. G. Wells. vii + 429 pp.
School World
the schoolmaster, guying, -
455
contrary. The foreign governess for the mere
infant is a most undesirable institution. English
must somehow be taught to infant and boy and
girl, Not only is Mr. Wells wise in this, but he
sees the difficulty. How is English to be taught
at school ? The man who discovers this will have
solved one of the great problems of education.
There must, of course, be essay writing, and there
must be reading, a great deal of reading. Pro-
nunciation must be well taught. Grammar is not
counted for much. It is of high importance to
have a large vocabularly if only that Mr. Wells
may not be hampered in writing by the thought,
Will the long word that I am using be intelligible
to most of my readers? ‘‘ The pressing business
of the school is to widen the range of intercourse,”
and here he has got hold of something that should
be laid to heart. A boy’s vocabulary is miserably
small, and how are we to enlarge it ?
Modern languages, other than English, are to be
Jearnt, not for culture but because of their practical
utility. A great deal is expected of a school-
master. He must not be the petrefaction he is—
at any rate in Mr. Wells’ imagination—now. But
Mr. Wells would lighten his burden in some
important ways. Too much is expected of him.
« We treat the complex, difficult and honourable
task of intellectual development as if it were within
the capacity of any earnest but muddle-headed
young lady, or any half-educated gentleman in
orders. We take that for granted, and we demand
in addition the formation of character, moral and
ethical training, and supervision,” &c., &c. There
is much truth in this. Moreover, he does not
forget that if we are to improve the average man
of the coming years, “we must look first to the
possibility of improving the tone and quality of the
average home.” The school cannot do everything.
How true, too, is what he says of modern school
life—happily not equally true of all schools! ‘The
English schoolboy and schoolgirl are simply hunted
through their days. They do not play, using the
word to indicate a spontaneous employment into
which imagination enters; they have games, but
they are so regulated that the imagination is
eliminated; they have exercises of various stereo-
typed sorts.”
Teaching must not consist entirely of talking at
the pupils while they sit and listen. They must
have plenty of good books at their disposal, and for
some hours in the week the boys and girls should
sit quiet and read them. Here again is good
sense. He gives a curriculum of work. The
staple subjects are English (the most important of
all), mathematics, drawing and painting, ‘“ music ”
(perhaps). About university courses he has much
to say. Thereare the three alternatives (1) science,
in the shape of mathematics, physics and the
principles of chemistry; (2) biology with evolution
as its central idea; (3) history. He grudgingly
admits Latin and Greek as a possible fourth
alternative. Those who devote themselves to
Latin and Greek are “ fumbling with the keys at
the door of a room that was ransacked long ago.”
Mr. Wells is strong upon the value of the printed
—
456 The School World [DECEMBER, 1903. -
book. Why lecture when the whole subject is
explained in print far better than the lecturer can
explain it? The professor would be better
occupied in keeping text-books up to date. A good
library can do much which a university fancies
that it alone can do. Universities remind Mr.
Wells of “an absent-minded waterseller bearing
his precious jars and crying his wares knee-deep,
and going deeper into a rising stream.” Naturally
he makes much of books. N ature-study, counting
the petals of flowers, is a poor thing for town
boys. A town boy must observe all he sees about
him in the streets and shop windows. No doubt
Nature-study may be made a craze. Let us take
Mr. Wells’ remarks as meant for those who are
crazed on the subject.
I have been able barely to touch on the many
Suggestions in the book. Certainly it repays
reading. A schoolmaster will find much good
advice in it, accompanied with the mustard of gibe
and jeer with which he is familiar.
The vowel sound in they is a diphthong, and
ought not to be given as equivalent to Latin 2
(p. 3). The statement that a syllable is also
long, even where the vowel is short, provided it
ends in a consonant ” (p. 143), is misleading as it
stands, even with its following explanation: the
words might be taken to imply that dat is a long
syllable. We do not see what is gained by calling
the fourth principal part “ nom. sing. neut. of the
pf. part. pass. ” (p. 77), instead of the supine.
Admirandus and similar forms have not exactly
the meaning of a future participle passive (106),
although they approach it sometimes ; at other times
they approach the present (asin volvenda dies). How
Can nesctd-guis be said to have “iambic shortening ”
(151, note)? Both this and the iambic shorten-
ing are due to accentual influences, but nescio is a
cretic. The genitive after accuso, &c., is due to
ellipse, and needs explanation (182). The“ poeti-
cal and later prose uses of the infinitive ” (322) are
all older prose and colloquial uses ; many mistakes,
as a supposed Greek influence, have arisen from
neglecting this fact. So, too, the use of the
adverbial accusative id, &c. (205) is colloquial,
and found in Cicero’s Letters. In the remarks on
Style, whilst the treatment of emphasis and posi-
tion is good, the implication that Latin does not
‘“ complete the thought ” in each successive phrase
is untrue; the thought is always complete in a
word-group, the construction is incomplete. In
the lengthening of -que by Virgil the Greek influ-
ence must be taken into account (352); unlike
syntax, the Latin quantitative metre js wholly
Greek in origin. In the Syntax reasons might
often be given with advantage, as the ablative
with opus and usus is easily associated with the
instrumental (226).
A NEW LATIN GRAMMAR.
HIS book, taken as a whole, is admirable.
e are so used in this country to see
schoolbooks compiled by persons who have
no authority that it is a pleasant change to read
a grammar compiled by two well-known scholars ;
in particular, the co-operation of a philologist is to
be commended. The phonetics and morphology
of this book are especially well done; the classiĝ-
cation of the syntax is clear and practically helpful,
although in that part too little prominence is given
to the historical side. The basis of classification
is logical, and grammar is not logical ; logic helps”
the learner, but the student needs that it should
be supplemented by a careful historical treatment.
The reader will see in a moment what we mean
by examining the classification of the uses of the
moods (p. 240). It is useful to have meanings
like natural likelihood and tdeal certainty given to
the subjunctive; but the student wishes to know
how one shades into the other, and from what
source, or sources, they came; for which purposes
another table is necessary. What need is there,
by the way, to coin an ugly term like volitive sub-
junctive for the subjunctive of will? or to use
actuality instead of fact, which the authors are
constrained to put in as an explanation? Other
most praiseworthy points in the book are the
spelling, the marking of concealed quantity, the
insistence that language is a thing spoken, not a
thing written, and the importance given to agree-
ment by sense, not form, which is a category by
itself. i
We add a few criticisms, which perhaps the
authors may take into account in future editions.
eee
1 “A Latin Grammar.” By W. G. Hale, Professor of Latin, and C. D.
Buck, Professor of Comparative Philology, in the University of Chicago.
xi. + 322 pp. (Ginn.) 4s. 6d.
—_ an = Se ee HE en ems aM ŘŮŘĖĂeo
THE STUDY OF NATURE:
By Lorp AvEBURY.
THE establishment of such a School as this appears to imply
that Nature is worth Studying. It would indeed almost have
seemed as if this was a self-evident Proposition. We live in a
wonderful and beautiful world, full of interest, and one which it
is most important to understand, and dangerous, if not fatal, to
misunderstand. Yet until lately our elementary schools were
practically confined to reading, writing, and arithmetic ; our
grammar schools mainly, as the very name denotes, to grammar ;
while our great public schools even now omit the study of
Nature altogether, or devote to it only an hour or two in the
week, snatched from the insatiable demands of Latin and Greek.
The result is, in many cases, the most curious ignorance of
common things.
Most children are inspired by the divine gift of curiosity,
sometimes inconveniently so, They ask more questions than
the wisest man can answer, and want to know the why and the
wherefore of everything. Their minds are bright, eager, and
thirsting for knowledge. We send them to school, their intellect
is dulled, and their interest is crushed out ; they may have learnt
a
* From an address delivered at the opening of the Cambridge and County
School for Boys, October 24th, 1903.
DECEMBER, 1903. |
The School World
457
much, but they have too often lost what is far more important,
the wish to learn.
No doubt both Cambridge and Oxford have admirable science
schools. A man can study there with many advantages, and
under excellent teachers. But the prizes and fellowships are
still given mainly to classics and mathematics. Moreover,
natural science is not yet regarded as a necessary part of edu-
cation. A degree in Science is not given without evidence of
some study of classics, but a literary degree, the regular M.A.
for instance, may be obtained without the slightest knowledge
of even the most elementary science, yet the most profound
Classical scholar, if he knows nothing of science, is but a half-
educated man after all.
Educational authorities often seem to consider that the ele-
ments of science are in themselves useless. This view appears
to depend on a mistaken analoyy with language. It is no
use to know a little of a number of languages, however well
taught, unless indeed one is going into the countries where
they are spoken. But it és important to know the rudiments
of all sciences, and it is in reality impossible to go far in any
one without knowing something of several others. So far as
children are concerned, it is a mistake to think of astronomy
and physics, geology and bivlogy, as so many separate subjects.
For the child, nature is one subject, and the first thing is to lay
a broad foundation. We should teach our children something
of everything, and then, as far as possible, everything of some-
thing. Specialisation should not begin before seventeen, or at
any rate sixteen.
Everyone would admit that it is a poor thing to be a great
ichthyologist or botanist unless a man has some general know-
ledge of the world he lives in, and the same applies to a
mathematician or a classical scholar. Before a child is carried
far in any one subject, it should be explained to him that our
earth is one of several planets revolving round the sun ; that
the sun is a star; that the solar system is one of many millions
occupying the infinite depths of space; he should be taught the
general distribution of land and sea, the continents and oceans,
the position of England, and of his own parish; the elements of
physics, including the use and construction of the thermometer
and barometer ; the elements of chemistry, geology and biology.
Part passu with these should be taken arithmetic, some know-
ledge of language, drawing, which is almost, if not quite, as
important as writing, and perhaps music. When a child has
thus acquired some general conception of the world in which
we live, it will be time to begin specialising and concentrating
his attention on a few subjects.
I submit, then, that some study of Nature is an essential
part of a complete education; that just as any higher education
without mathematics and classics would be incomplete, so
without some knowledge of the world we live in, it is also one-
sided and unsatisfactory—a half education only.
In the study of natural history, again, we should proceed
from the general to the particular. Commence with the charac-
teristics in which animals and plants agree, their general
structure, and the necessities of existence. Animals, again,
agree together on some points, as regards which they differ
from plants. f
A general idea should then be given of the principal divisions
of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. In many respects,
though animals are perhaps more interesting, plants present
greater facilities for study. They are easier to find, to handle,
and to examine. Specimens of the principal divisions can be
more readily obtained and studied; the structure also can be
more pleasantly demonstrated. Almost all children are born
with a love of natural history and of collecting.
Far be it from me to underrate the pleasure and interest of
collecting. Indeed collections are in many branches of nature-
knowledge almost a necessary preliminary to study. For a
collection is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is like
a library, necessary for study, but useless unless studied—unless
the books are read. Moreover, we have all access to the great
National Museum. Still, private collections are in many ways
useful, but not of course unless they are used. Moreover, if I
confine my remarks to natural history, plaats lose half their
interest when they are gathered, animals whea they are killed.
In the streets and toyshops many ingenious puzzles are sold in
which children, and even grown-up people, seem to find great
interest and amusement. What are they to the puzzles and
problems which Nature offers us without charging even a penny?
These are innumerable.
Take geography and biology alone ;—
Why are there mountains in Wales and the Lake district ?
What determined the course of the Thames?
Why are the Cotswolds steep on the north-west and with a
gentle slope on the south-east ?
What are the relatigns between the North and South Downs?
How did the Thames cut the Goring Gap and the Medway
that through the Chalk ridge ?
What is the age of the English Channel ?
Why are so many of our Midland meadows thrown into ridges
and furrows !
Why is Scotland intersected by lines at right angles ?
Why are some Scotch lochs so deep?
Why have beeches triangular seeds and sycamores spherical
seeds ?
Why are beech leaves oval and pointed, and sycamore leaves
palmate ?
Why are beech leaves entire and oak leaves cut into rounded
bays?
Why has the Spanish chestnut long, sword-shaped leaves ?
Why have some willows broad leaves, and others narrow
leaves ?
Why do some flowers sleep by day and others by night ?
Why do flowers sleep at all ?
Why have roses five petals and veronicas four, and why are so
many flowers tubular ?
Why are white and light-yellow flowers so generally sweet
scented ?
Why are tigers striped, leopards spotted, lions brown, sheep
grey, and so many caterpillars green?
Why are some caterpillars so brightly coloured ?
Why are fish dark above and pale below ?
Why do soles have both eyes on one side?
Why are gulls’ eggs more or less pointed and owls’ eggs
round ?
It would be easy to ask any number of such questions; some
of them easy to answer, others less so.
Many people keep pets, but how few study them? Descartes
regarded all animals as unconscious automata; Huxley thought
the matter doubtful; my own experiments and observations
have led me to the conclusion that they have glimmerings of
reason, but the subject is still obscure. I have often been told
that dogs are as intelligent as human beings, but when I have
asked whether any dogs yet realised that 2 and 2 make 4, the
answer is doubtful. The whole question of the consciousness
and intelligence of animals requires careful study.
Take, again, the life-history of animals. There is scarcely one
which is fully known to us. Really, I might say not one, for
some of the most interesting discoveries of recent years have
been made in respect to the commonest animals, such as ants,
bees, and eels.
Coming now to plants. Any one who has given a thought to
the subject will admit how many problems are opened up by
flowers. But leaves and seeds are almost equally interesting.
458 The
There is a reason for everything in this world, and there must be
some cause for the different forms of leaves. In Ruskin’s vivid
words, ‘‘they take all kinds of strange shapes, as if to invite us to
examine them. Star-shaped, heart-shaped, spear-shaped, arrow-
shaped, fretted, fringed, cleft, furrowed, serrated, sinuated, in
whorls, in tufts, in spires, in wreaths, endlessly expressive,
deceptive, fantastic, never the same from foot-stalk to blossom,
they seem perpetually to tempt our watchfulness and take
delight in outstepping our wonder.”
Some of these indeed have been explained, but for the
differences in the leaves of ferns, for instance, of seaweeds, and
many others, no satisfactory suggestion, so far as I know, has
yet been offered.
Look, again, at fruits and seeds, what beauty both of form and
colour, and what infinite variety! Even in nearly allied species,
in our common wild geraniums, veronicas, forget-me-nots, &c.,
no two species have seeds which are identical in size, form, or
texture of surface. In fact, the problems which every field and
wood, every common and hedgerow, every pond and stream,
offer us are endless and most interesting.
But the scientific and intellectual interests are only a part of
the charm of Nature.
The æsthetic advantages are inestimable.
owes to the beauty of flowers!
“ Flowers,” says Ruskin, ‘‘seem intended for the solace of
ordinary humanity. Children love them; quiet, tender, con-
tented, ordinary people love them as they grow ; luxurious and
disorderly people rejoice in them gathered. They are the
cottager’s treasure, and in the crowded town mark, as with a little
` broken fragment of rainbow, the windows of the workers in whose
heart rests the covenant of peace.” But in the crowded streets,
or even in the formal garden, flowers always seem, to me at
least, as if they were pining for the freedom of the woods and
fields, where they can live and grow as they list.
The open air is not a cure for the body only, but for the mind
also. I wish there was more open-airiness in our educational
system !
Science appeals to some types of mind as no other subject
does.
A great deal of nonsense is, it seems to me, talked about the
necessity of knowing things ‘‘ thoroughly.” In the first place,
no one knows anything thoroughly. To confine the attention of
children to two or three subjects is to narrow their minds, to
cramp their intellect, to kill their interest, and in most cases
make them detest the very thing you wish thein to love.
Would you teach a child all you could about Europe, and
omit Africa, Asia, and America, to say nothing of Australasia ?
Would that be teaching geography ? Would you teach him one
century, and omit the rest? Would that be history ?
To teach one branch of science and ignore the rest is not
teaching science, and lastly to teach one or two subjects only,
however well, is not education. If you think I am drawing too
gloomy a picture, let me give you the opinion of a great
authority on education, the late Bishop of London, Dr. Creigh-
ton. In his ‘Thoughts on Education ” he says, speaking of
the new Birmingham Exhibition :—
‘In your own regulations for matriculation I em glad to see
that science is included. But I am rather sorry to see that
the expression is a science, the prescribed sciences being
mechanics, chemistry, and physiography. Suppose, then, that
chemistry is taken. A man may get a degree without knowing
the difference between a planet and a star, or why the moon
goes through phases. At this early stage of education should not
science be treated as one subject, and a general knowledge of the
rudiments be required?”
Again :—
“ Since 1870 we have talked about educational progress. I fear
How much our life
School | World |
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
that I am not able to believe that we have made any real
educational progress during that time. I, am not even sure
whether we have not gone back.” ?
And again :—
‘*The more subjects people can study at the same time, the
better they will get on with every one of them.” ?
Of course we cannot expect from everyone knuwledge of
scientific details, but everyone might have some idea of the
principles, and some general conceptions of the interest and
vastness of the problems involved. Yet there is no single
animal, or plant, which would not well repay—I do not merely
say the study of an hour, but even the devotion of a lifetime.
Kingsley used to speak with enthusiasm of the heaths and
moors round his home, ‘‘where I have so long enjoyed
the wonders of nature; never, I can, honestly say, alone ;
because when man was not with me, I had companions in every
bee, and flower and pebble; and fever idle, because I could not
pass a swamp, or a tuft of heather, without finding in it a fairy
tale of which I could but decipher here and there a line or two,
and yet found them more interesting than all the books, save
one, which were ever written upon earth.”
The love of Nature, again, helps us greatly to keep ourselves
free from those mean and petty cares which interfere so much
with calm and peace of mind. It turns ‘‘ every ordinary walk
into a morning or evening sacrifice ” and brightens life until it
becomes almost like a fairy tale.
May we not hope also that some of the students here will add
to the stores of human knowledge ?
The late Lord Derby used to say that, considering the
marvellous discoveries of the last hundred years, we could not
expect so much in the future. To me it seems, on the contrary,
that we may reasonably expect even more, and for three reasons.
In the first place, our instruments and apparatus are so much
more elaborate and ingenious. In the second place, the students
are more numerous. Even now the harvest is plenteous, and the
labourers are few, but yet they are more than they were.
Thirdly, as the circle of human knowledge widens, the oppor-
tunities for research become more numerous! Every discovery
opens the way to others—suggests new ideas and fresh re-
searches. We seem to be on the threshold of great discoveries.
There is no single substance in Nature the properties of which
are fully known to us. There is no animal or plant which
would not well repay, I do not say merely the attention of an
hour, but even the devotion of a lifetime. I often grieve to
think how much happiness our fellow-countrymen lose from
their ignorance of science. Some knowledge of the world we
live in would add immensely to the interest of life. Man, we
know, is born to sorrow and suffering, but he is not born to be
dull, and no one with any knowledge of science ever could be.
If anyone is ever dull it is his own fault. Every wood, every
field, every garden, every stream, every pond, is full of interest
for those who have eyes to see. No one would sit and drink in
a public-house if he knew how delightful it was to sit and think
in a field ; no one would seek excitement in gambling and betting
if he knew how much more interesting science is; science never
ruined anyone, but is a sort of fairy godmother ready to shower
on us all manner of good gifts if we will only let her. In medizval
fairy-tales the nature spirits occasionally fell in love with some
peculiarly attractive mortals, and endowed their favourites with
splendid presents. But Nature will do all this, and more, for
anyone who loves her.
If anyone, says Seneca, ‘‘gave you a few acres, you would
say that you had received a benefit; can you deny that the
1 Mandell Creighton, ‘‘ Thoughts on Education,” p. 21.
* Mandell Creighton, “ Thoughts on Education,” p. 4.
DECEMBER, 1903. |
————
boundless extent of the earth is a benefit ? If a house were given
you, bright with marble, its roof beautifully painted with colours
and gilding, you would call it no smali benefit. God has built
for you a mansion that fears no fire or ruin . . . covered
with a roof which glitters in one fashion by day, and in another
by night. Whence comes the breath which you draw ? the light
by which you perform the actions of your life? the blood by
which your life is maintained ? the meat by which your hunger
is appeased? . . The true God has planted not a few
oxen, but all the herds on their pastures through the world, and
furnished foods to all the flocks; He has ordained the alterna-
tion of summer and winter . . Ife has invented so many
arts and varieties of voice, so many notes to make music.
. . . We have implanted in us the seeds of all ages, of all
arts; and God our Master brings forth our intellects from
obscurity.”
Those who love Nature can never be dull. They may have
other temptations, but at least they will run no risk of being
beguiled by ennui, idleness, or want of occupation, ‘*to buy
the merry madness of an hour with the long penitence of after-
time.”
Lastly, in the troubles and sorrows of life science does
much to soothe, comfort, and console. If we contemplate the
immeasurable lapse of time indicated by geology, the almost
infinitely small and quite infinitely complex and beautiful struc-
tures rendered visible by the microscope, or the depths of space
aevealed by the telescope, we cannot but be carried out of
ourselves.
A man, said Seneca, ‘‘ can hardly lift up his eyes towards the
heavens without wonder and veneration to see so many millions
of radiant lights, and to observe their courses and revolutions.”
The stars, moreover, if we study them, will not only guide us
over the wide waters of the ocean, but, what is even more
important, light us through the dark hours which all must
expect. The study of Nature, indeed, is not only most impor-
tant from a practical and material point of view, and not only
most interesting, but will also do much to lift us above the
petty troubles and help us to bear the greater sorrows of life.
THE REFORM OF MATHEMATICAL
TEACHING IN THE UNITED STATES!
A SPECIAL committee was appointed in September, 1902, by
the American Mathematical Society to report upon the re-
quirements in mathematics at College entrance examinations.
This committee worked in co-operation with committees
already appointed by the Society for the Promotion of
Engineering Education and by the National Education
Association.
The committee appointed by the Mathematical Society
included Prof. H. W. Tyler, of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (Chairman), Profs. T. S. Fiske, Columbia
University, W. F. Osgood, Harvard University, J. W. A.
Young, University of Chicago, Alexander Ziwet, University of
Michigan. The committee duly considered previous recom-
mendations which had been made by various authorities,
carefully inquired into existing conditions in American schools
and colleges, and sought and obtained advice from teachers in
secondary schools and from other members of the Mathematical
Society. It is not implied that all the subjects enumerated in
the following report should be required by any one college, or
be taught in any one school.
1 Report of a Committee of the American. Mathematical Society on
Definitions of College Entrance Requirements in Mathematics. Abridged
from the New York Educational Review, October, 1903.
The School World
459
REPORT.
The committee understands its duties in the following sense :
First: To specify those mathematical subjects which are
generally recognised as appropriate requirements for admission
to colleges and scientific schools.
Second: To specify details under these subjects in such a
manner as to represent the standards of the best secondary
school instruction—the word ‘‘best” being interpreted in a
qualitative rather than a quantitative sense.
Third: The committee understands also that the considera-
tion of pedagogic questions is not primarily among its duties.
It has therefore made no attempt to deal with methods of
secondary school education in mathematics, or the order of
taking up the subjects and their correlation with each other and
with other sciences. The order in which the subjects and the
topics under them are presented below does not necessarily imply
preference of the committee as to the order of teaching either
the subjects or the topics. It is the opinion of the committee
that these are the subjects and the topics which, according to
the best present usage, should be offered for admission to
colleges and scientific schools.
The recommendations are not to be interpreted as exhaustive.
They represent rather the extent to which, in the opinion of the
committee, definite specification should be undertaken by it; it
is expected that further details will be determined in accord-
ance with the judgment of the particular college, school, or
teacher.
The subjects proposed are based on present usage and
standards. In case of divergence between standard text-books
and what seemed a more scientific presentation of the subject in
question, the committee has endeavoured to make a choice
which should not depart so far from current usage as to involve
hardship to schools or teachers. The committee is of opinion
that no formulation should be considered as having more than
temporary validity. No advantages attendant upon uniformity
could counterbalance any tendency of the recommendations to
retard progress of secondary education in mathematics. It is
therefore suggested that if the recommendations are approved,
they be revised at intervals, perhaps of ten years.
Subjects. —(1) Elementary Algebra. (2) Plane Geometry.
(3) Solid Geometry. (4) Trigonometry. (5) Advanced Algebra.
I. Elementary Alsebra.—The four fundamental operations
for rational algebraic expressions.
Factoring, determination of highest common factor and
lowest common multiple by factoring.
Fractions ; including complex fractions, ratio and proportion.
Linear equations, both numerical and literal, containing one
or more unknown quantities.
Problems depending on linear equations.
Radicals, including the extraction of the square root of
polynomials and of numbers.
Exponents, including the fractional and negative.
Quadratic equations, both numerical and literal.
Simple cases of equations with one or more unknown
quantities, that can be solved by the methods of linear or
quadratic equations.
Problems depending on quadratic equations.
The binomial theorem for positive integral exponents.
The formulae for the mth term and the sum of the terms of
arithmetic and geometric progressions, with applications.
It is assumed that pupils will be required throughout the
course to solve numerous problems which involve putting
questions into equations. Some of these problems should be
chosen from mensuration, from physics, and from commercial
life. The use of graphical methods and illustrations, particu-
larly in connection with the solution of equations, is also
expected.
460
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
2. Plane Geometry.—The usual theorems and constructions of
good text-books, including the general properties of plane
rectilinear figures; the circle and the measurement of angles ;
similar polygons; areas; regular polygons and the measure-
ment of the circle.
The solution of numerous original exercises, including loci
problems.
Applications to the mensuration of lines and plane surfaces.
3. Solid Geometry.—The usual theorems and constructions of
good text-books, including the relations of planes and lines in
space; the properties and measurement of prisms, pyramids,
cylinders, and cones ; the sphere and the spherical triangle.
The solution of numerous original exercises, including loci
problems,
Applications to the mensuration of surfaces and solids.
4. Trigonometry.—Definitions and relations of the six
trigonometric functions as ratios; circular measurement of
angles.
Proofs of principal formulae, in particular for the sine, cosine,
and tangent of the sum and the difference of two angles, of the
double angle and the half angle, the product expressions for the
sum or the difference of two sines or of two cosines, &c.; the
transformation of trigonometric expressions by means of these
formulae.
Solution of trigonometric equations of a simple character.
Theory and use of logarithms (without the introduction of
work involving infinite series).
The solution of right and oblique triangles, and practical
applications, including the solution of right spherical triangles.
5. Advanced Algebra.—Permutations and combinations,
limited to simple cases.
Complex numbers, with graphical representation of sums and
differences.
Determinants, chiefly of the second, third, and fourth orders,
including the use of minors and the solution of linear equations.
Numerical equations of higher degree, and so much of the
theory of equations, with graphical methods, as is necessary for
their treatment, including Descartes’ rule of signs and Horner’s
method, but not Sturm’s functions or multiple roots.
A CONVENIENT FORM OF SMALL
FURNACE FOR LABORATORY USE.
THE necessity for a compact and portable furnace, suitable
for heating small vessels to a comparatively high temperature,
has existed for a long time. The ‘‘ Midget” furnace supplied
‘by Messrs. Brewster, Smith
and Co. fulfils this want to
a very considerable extent.
The furnace consists es-
sentially of an arrangement
whereby the heat obtainable
from an ordinary laboratory
Bunsen-burner can be utilised to its fullest
extent.
The furnace proper consists of two trun-
cated cones of sheet iron, covered on the
inside with asbestos. The lower cone carries
three arms of sheet iron, on which may be
placed a small vessel, such as a crucible,
which is to be heated.
When required for use, the two portions
are placed base to base, as shown in the
figure, and so arranged that the bottom
orifice is supported immediately over the mouth of the burner.
c r À A
t Midget ” furnace
with burner.
By this arrangement the inner asbestos coating becomes red-hot,
so that, in addition to the direct heat from the burner, the vessel
is heated by radiation from the heated asbestos lining.
The furnace is made in two sizes and is supplied with special
burners, which are superior in heating power to the ordinary
Bunsen burner.
In comparing the efficiency of this furnace with other methods
of heating we observed the length of time required to convert
completely one gram of crushed marble into quicklime. With
gas pressure equal to 2} inches of water, the following results
were obtained :—
Large ‘‘ Midget ” furnace and special burner 20 minutes.
ordinary Bunsen
burner on CO as
as a j3 »» Teclu-burner ae WE hy
Fletcher's large gas muffle-furnace (working well) 7 ,,
Ordinary laboratory Bunsen burner (alone) ... 8 hours.
The small ‘‘ Midget” furnace occupied about double the
amount of time required by the larger size.
It will be seen that under the best conditions, z.e., with the
large-size ‘‘ Midget ” furnace and a Teclu-burner, one gram of
marble can be completely calcined in ten minutes. This com-
pares very favourably with the bulky and expensive gas muffle-
furnace.
THE ESSEX COUNTY TECHNICAL
LABORATORIES, CHELMSFORD.
On October 30th Lord Onslow, President of the Board of
Agriculture, opened the new County Technical Laboratories at
Chelmsford. During the past ten years the teaching of agri-
culture, horticulture, and dairying, and the sciences forming the
foundation of these industries, has been carried on in an old
grammar-school which was temporarily fitted up for the purpose.
Valuable experience has thus been obtained, and the arrange-
ment and equipment of these new buildings should merit the
attention of those who are connected with technical education in
rural districts.
The work of the laboratories is divided into three sections,
viz. :—(1) the chemical and agricultural, (2) the biological and
horticultural, and (3) the dairying. The new buildings are so
arranged that, while the students of each section can attend
classes in the others and can use the same common rooms, each
department is separate and distinct and under the control of a
different responsible head, so that a personal oversight of the
students can be better secured and discipline easily maintained.
At Chelmsford the practical study of science in the laboratory
forms the basis on which instruction in agriculture and horti-
culture rests. The principal feature, therefore, of the biologicah
and horticultural department, to deal with this first, is the two
large biological laboratories. Each of these accommodates
twenty students at a time; they are lighted on each side by
windows, under which are lockers for the students’ microscopes,
and they are provided with ten working-tables, so arranged that
all the students face the blackboard and demonstration table.
Opening out of the laboratories are bacteriological and seed-
testing rooms, while adjoining are the lecturer’s private room
and class-room, a museum lighted from above so as to secure
a maximum of wall space for the cabinets, and a store and dark
room. The school garden is within three-quarters of a mile.
It is three acres in extent, and is partly laid out in botanical
plots and partly in borders for practical instruction in fruit,
-axt Senet ee: me
DECEMBER 1903. ]
vegetable and flower culture. A large students’ potting-shed
and glasshouses provide for instruction in hothouse work.
In the chemical and agricultural department the principal
room is the chemical laboratory, which in dimensions, lighting,
ventilation and acoustic properties appears to be excellently
planned. The principal feature that distinguishes it from other
laboratories is that, as in the biological rooms, all the students’
benches face the demonstration-table. This arrangement, while
occupying rather more space, has the advantage that the teach-
ing can be carried on by demonstration, experimental work, or
revision without the students leaving their benches, a system
which inight well be adopted in all grammar schools or other
institutions where elementary chemistry is taught. There are
places for twenty students working at the same time, but each
bench is provided with drawers and cupboards for four sets of
Students, so that eighty students can be accommodated in a
term.
The agricultural room serves a variety of different purposes.
It contains the agricultural collection, illustrating the source,
composition or varieties of soils, manures, crops, foods, &c., and
an agricultural reference library, and it is kept supplied with the
agricultural journals. Round the walls are diagram frames on
which the latest results of the field experiments are exhibited.
All this is in addition to the lecture-table and tables in the
centre of the room for the students, who thus receive instruction
in agriculture while surrounded by the illustrations on which the
instruction is founded. The room also serves for the meetings
of farmers, which are held from time to time on market days to
discuss agricultural problems. The other rooms in this depart-
ment are a small physical laboratory with dark room adjoining,
a laboratory for agricultural analysis, a chemical balance and
book-room, a lecture theatre with store and preparation-room
adjoining, and the lecturer’s private room and office.
The dairying department occupies the basement of the build-
ing, an arrangement which secures an equable temperature. It
includes a milk receiving-room, a dairy with churns for twelve
Students, a cheese-making room and a cheese store. This
completes an institution on the possession of which the county
of Essex may well be congratulated, and it may perhaps
serve as an example to those counties which have not yet
made provision for technical instruction in agricultural in-
dustries.
CORRESPONDENCE CLUBS FOR THE
STUDY OF PEDAGOGICS.
By A. T. Stmmons, B.Sc.
Associate of the Royal College of Science, London.
THE plan which I outlined in a letter to THE SCHOOL
Wor.p for September, 1903, for the formation of corre-
spondence clubs for the study of the great works on education
by acting schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, has by ex-
perience been proved to be both feasible and practicable. Two
clubs are now at work, and members of the club write to me
from time to time that the plan is interesting and useful. Names
of teachers anxious to join a third club have also been received,
so that it appears to be desirable to explain in more detail the
plan which has been found to work satisfactorily.
When I had received the names of six schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses anxious to become members of a club such as
was described in my first letter to this paper, I forwarded to
each member the following sheet describing the lines upon
which it was proposed to work.
The School World
461
CORRESPONDENCE CLUB FOR THE STUDY OF PEDAGOGICS.
BooK FoR Stupy.—Thring’s “ Education and School.”
(Macmillan.) 6s.
List OF MEMBERS.
(Here was given the list of members, with addresses, the
name of the Hon. Sec. being printed first.)
PROCEDURE. j
(1) Week by week each member studies the portion of the
book selected (see below.)
(2) Any remarks, suggested by the member’s experience and
reading, on the chapters for the week to be written on sheets of
paper—a separate sheet, with the member’s name and address,
for each subject dealt with. One side only of the paper should
be used. Similarly, any difficulty or points requiring further
elucidation should be written down.
(3) All such sheets to be posted each Monday to the Hon.
Sec., who will add any helpful remarks to all or any of the sheets
and post the whole batch to member No. 2. Member No. 2
will keep the sheets not more than two days, add further com-
ments where possible, and post the batch to member No. 3.
Member No. 3 adds his remarks in the same manner, and after
the same interval posts the batch to member No. 4, and so on.
Member No. 6 will return the batch to the Hon. Sec.
(4) The Hon. Sec. will then send each member’s sheets to
him with the remarks of other members of the club, and for this
purpose members should, in sending to the Hon. Sec. on
Monday, enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
WEEKLY DIVISIONS OF THE SELECTED BOOK.
Week 1, Chaps. I.-III.; Week 2, Chaps. IV.-V. (to p. 76);
Week 3, Chap. V. to end; Week 4, Chaps. VI.-VII. ; Week
5, Chaps. VIII.-IX.; Week 6, Chaps. X.-XI.; Week 7,
Chaps. XII.-XIII.; Week 8, Chaps. XIV.-XV.; Week 9,
XVI.-XVII.
First batch of remarks to be sent to the Hon. Sec. on
Monday, October 12th.
In the case of the second club, Mr. G. W. Samson, M.A.,
of Birmingham, has kindly undertaken the duties of Hon. Sec.,
and the club is working on the same lines as that first formed.
It is now, of course, too late this term to forma third club, but
it is hoped that many schoolmasters and schoolmistresses will
like to join similar clubs, beginning work after the Christmas
vacation, and I shall be glad to receive names to add to those
I have already in hand for this purpose.
Some teachers may consider that the amount of reading
suggested in the above scheme for separate weeks is excessive,
and may see other directions in which improvement is possible
in the procedure given. If in sending their names to me they
‘ will make any suggestions which occur to them, I shall be very
grateful.
It is proposed during next term to have clubs, each consisting
of six members, studying the following books, and I should be
glad if those teachers who wish to join would send their names
to me, c/o The Editors of THE SCHOOL WORLD, as soon
as possible, and state which book they wish to read.
Books PROPOSED FOR STUDY.
By Prof. W. James.
Translated by
“ Talks to Teachers on Psychology.”
(Longmans.) 45. 6d. Rousseau’s *‘ Emile.”
W. H. Payne. (Arnold.) 6s. Herbarts ‘Letters and
Lectures on Education.” Felkin. (Sonnenschein.) 4s. 6d.
Thring’s ‘* Education and School.” Herbert Spencers
“ Education.” (Williams and Norgate.) Or any other book six
teachers wish to study together. è
462
The School World
[| DECEMBER, 1903.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
GENERAL.
Now that the reform of mathematical teaching is an accom-
plished fact, it is interesting to recall the history of the
beginnings of a movement which has resulted in the dethrone-
ment of Euclid afi a complete revision of the requirements in
mathematical examinations. Towards the end of 1870 a circular,
signed by four well-known mathematicians, My. Rawdon
Levett (honorary secretary), the Rev. E. F. M. MacCarthy,
Mr., now the Venerable Archdeacon, Wilson, and Mr.
Robert Tucker, was circulated among mathematical masters,
announcing that an Association for the Reform of Geometrical
Teaching was to be formed. The objects the Association was
to have in view were stated in the circular to be: (1) To collect
and distribute information as to the prevailing methods of
instruction in geometry practised in this and other countries,
and’ to ascertain whether the desire for change is general.
(2) To use its influence to induce examining bodies to frame
their questions in geometry without reference to any particular
text-book. (3) To stamp with its approval some text-book
already published, or to bring out a new one under its own
auspices. A preliminary meeting was arranged for January 17th,
1871; on that date, under the presidency of Dr. Hirst, F.R.S.,
the new Association was duly founded.
AT the first meeting, held at University College, of the
Association for the Improvement of Geometrical Teaching, as
the new society came to be called, several resolutions embodying
the intentions and hopes of its founders were adopted. These
were as follows: (1) That the main object of this Association
is to induce all conductors of examinations, at which pupils who
have been trained under different systems present themselves,
to frame their questions independently of any particular text-
book; and that, with a view to this object, the members
present at this meeting do pledge themselves to use every effort
to increase the numbers and extend the influence of the
Association. (2) That, with a further view of extending the
influence of the Association, local secretaries be appointed for
different parts of the kingdom, whose office it shall be to collect
information, to make the objects of the Association more
generally known in their immediate neighbourhood, and to com-
municate on all matters of interest with the Central Committee.
(3) That the local secretaries, fso facto, be members of the
committee of management. (4) That all members of the
Association shall collect information with regard to text-books
and methods of teaching geometry in England and other
countries, and that such information shall be forwarded to any
secretary or local secretary of the Association. (5) That the
committee of management shall, from time to time, print and
circulate among others such information as they may consider
valuable. (6) That this meeting is of opinion that in any new
text-book—(a) the following principles, only partially or not at
all recognised by Euclid, should be adopted :—(i) hypothetical
constructions, (ii) the arithmetical definition of proportion,
(111) superposition, (iv) the conception of a moving point, and of
a revolving line; (4) the following limitations should be removed :
—(i) the restriction of the number of axioms to those only which
admit of no proof, (ii) The restriction which excludes all angles
not less than two right angles; (c) modern terms, such as
“ locus,” ‘“ projection,” &c., should be introduced.
SINCE such examining bodies as the Board of Education
and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and London, have
adopted in their mathematical examinations the recommenda-
tions of the committees appointed by the British and by the
Mathematical Associations, it will form ar instructive task for
mathematical masters to compare the demands of thirty-three
years ago of the Association for the Improvement of Geometrical
Teaching with the requirements in mathematics in connection
with the examinations of the authorities mentioned. There is
some encouragement here, too, for those teachers who desire,
and are working for, reforms in the teaching of other subjects.
Though it has taken over thirty years to bring about the present
rational methods of mathematical teaching, the task has at last
been effected; it may be that the slowness of the reform will
obviate any revision of our practice in the immediate future.
THE Advisory Board on Military Education and Training
appointed by the Secretary of State for War in April last, has
stated some of the conclusions which have been arrived at, and
now carry the approval of the Secretary of State. With regard
to the selection of the candidates for commissions through
Sandhurst and Woolwich, it is proposed to subject them to a
twofold test, consisting of a preliminary qualification and a
competitive examination. The Advisory Board is of opinion
that the subjects covered by the qualifying certificate (which is
to be given not by a special examination, but some substitute in
the shape of a ‘‘ leaving certificate ’’) must include :—(1) Eng-
lish ; (2) history and geography ; (3) mathematics (elementary) ;
(4) French or German; (5) either (a) Latin or Greek, or (b)
science. By ‘‘science” in this scheme is meant such combination
of experimental or natural sciences as the Board may approve ;
provided always that the sciences recognised shall have been
taught in a sufficiently extended course, say three years, involv-
ing a sufficient amount of laboratory or field work. In the
competitive examination the Board consider that for Woolwich
candidates it should consist of three compulsory subjects, viz.,
English, either French or German, mathematics i., and of any
two out of the following :—mathematics ii., science, history,
French, German, Latin, Greek. For Sandhurst candidates,
they propose that there should be two compulsory subjects, viz.,
English, and French or German, with any two of the following:
—mathematics i., mathematics ii., science, history, French,
German, Greek, Latin.
THE Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge has
received a letter from the Duke of Devonshire, the Chancellor,
calling attention to certain questions concerning the University
and its studies, amongst others the expediency of modifying its
requirements with respect to the classical languages and of
enlarging the range of modern subjects. The need for such
changes in the University appears to many to have been increased
by the reorganisation of secondary education throughout the
country and by recent developments in other universities. In
view of these circumstances, the council of the Senate are of
opinion that the Senate should be invited to consider whether it
is*expedient to make any changes in the present system of
studies, teaching, and examinations in the University. They
accordingly have proposed the appointment of a syndicate with
extensive powers of inquiry and discussion, and they have
decided to offer the following grace to the Senate :—‘‘ That a
syndicate be appointed to consider what changes, if any, are
desirable in the studies, teaching, and examinations of the Uni-
versity, to confer with any persons or bodies, and to submit a
report or reports to the Senate before the end of the Easter
Term, 1904.”
THE General Board of Studies has made the following recom-
mendations to the Senate of the University of Cambridge :—
(i.) That a Board of Geographical Studies be constituted.
(ii.) That for five years from Michaelmas, 1903, a grant of
£200 be made annually by the University to a fund to be adminis-
DECEMBER, 1903.]
tered by that board, provided that an equal annual grant is
made to the same fund by the Council of the Royal Geographical
Society. (iii.) That the annual stipend of the Reader in Geo-
graphy be £200, to be paid from the same fund. (iv.) That the
appointment of the next Reader be for a period ending at
Michaelmas, 1908. A special examination in geography is to
be established in connection with the B.A. degree of the Uni-
versity and a diploma for advanced work in geography.
UNDER the auspices of the Association of Hleadmistresses a
conference on educational questions, attended by headmistresses
of public high schools and women members of education com-
mittees, was held on October 24th at the Haberdashers’ Hall,
London. The morning session was devoted to a discussion on
the administrative side of education opened by Mrs. Sidgwick,
of Newnham College. Papers were read in connection with
this debate by the president, Mrs. Bryant, D.Sc., on the rela-
ton of an education committee to secondary schools; by
Miss Connolly on scholarships for girls and women ; by Miss
Hunt-Cooke and Miss Creak on the true cost of secontlary
education for girls; and by Miss Mowbray and Miss Cleghorn
on the training of pupil teachers for primary schoois. In the
afternoon Miss Cooper opened a discussion on technical educa-
tion for girls and women, in connection with which papers on
artistic industries were read by Lady Verney and Miss Bayley ;
on open-air industries by Mrs. George Cadbury; and on
domestic arts by Miss Pyecroft. A discussion afterwards took
place on the principles of curricula in different types of girls’
schools, the speakers including Miss Alice Woods and Miss
Burstall.
AT its meeting on October 29th, the London School Board
adopted the following recommendations of its School Manage-
ment Committee with reference to the employment of secondary-
school teachers in London Board schools :—That, in the case of
teachers registered in column B of the Board of Education’s
present Teachers’ Kegistration Regulations, who are not also
qualified for recognition as certificated teachers under the Board of
Education's Code, the conditions attaching to their appointment
under the Isvuard be as follows :—(a) Such appointments shall
be on special probation for one year, after which, subject to
the receipt of satisfactory reports by the Board Inspector on the
ability of the teachers to do elementary school work, the appoint-
ments shall be made permanent. (4) That the salary paid to
a woman teacher while on special probation be that ordinarily
pail to a teacher with a degree qualifying for recognition, viz.,
£80 per annum. (c) That on permanent appointment the salary
be £80 plus allowance for satisfactory service in secondary
schools, assessed on the same scale as satisfactory service in
elementary schools.
THE seventh annual conference of the Parents’ National
Educational Union was held in London, at the end of October.
The union comprises a central office in London, and thirty-three
branches, with a membership of about 3,000. The twelfth
annual report for the present year records the fact that the
organisation continues to expand, and is increasing in numbers,
influence, and prestige. The conference lasted for four days,
during which a great variety of subjects was discussed. Among
the numerous papers presented to the conference the following
may be mentioned: parents and lessons, by Mrs. Clement Par-
sons; the habit of books, by Mr. C. F. G. Masterman ; how
best to study nature, by Mr. J. C. Medd; family life after
school age, by Mrs. Creighton; works of art and illustrations
as a means of education, by Prof. Gardner; handwork in school
life, by Sir Philip Magnus; and living books in the teaching
of history, by Mr. R. C. Lehmann. Such opportunities as that
The School World
463
offered by the conferences of the Parents’ National Educational
Union for the joint discussion of educational questions by
teachers and parents are of great value.
LORD LONDONDERRY ,opened on October 31st a new wing
erected in connection with the Edgehill Training College,
Liverpool, at a cost of £11,800. In the course of his address,
Lord Londonderry said the Board of Education was anxious to
offer every reasonable means in its power to encourage the
employment of thoroughly trained teachers. All the changes
being made in the training-colleges and also in the training of
pupil-teachers were for one end—to perfect the equipment of
those who taught in the primary schools or who would devote
their lives to that end. The hope for the future was that the
certificated teacher should attain a standard of education hitherto
only attained by the ambitious ones, and by attaining that end it
was hoped to see a general improvement in the teachers all along
the line. In future the full preparation for the teaching pro-
fession would fall into three parts. In the first place, the
aspirant must receive a sound general secondary education up to
the age of 16 years; then there must be an apprenticeship of
two years, during which the general education of the pupil-
teacher would be developed side by side with his or her initiation
into the art of teaching, and as the crown there must be college
training for two years, in the course of which the future teacher
would receive the higher education for which his or her early
training would have provided an adequate preparation. These
rules, Lord Londonderry thought, would conduce to the efficient
teaching of the rising generation.
THE Nottingham Education Committee has decided to apply
to the Board of Education for permission to convert the People’s
College, High Pavement, and Mundella Higher Elementary
Mixed Schools, and also the People’s College Girls’ School, into
secondary day-schools (Division B of the ‘‘ Directory” of the
Board of Education) subject to the following regulations :—
(1) That admission to the schools be by examination only—a
general examination of all scholars, between the ages of ten and
twelve, who have reached Standard 1V.—successful candidates
to be classified as follows: (i.) Honours—Candidates obtaining
over 80 per cent. of the possible marks—to be awarded honours
free scholarships, and book prizes of the net value of ros. each.
(ii.) Class I.—Scholars obtaining between §0 and 8o per cent.
of possible marks to be awarded ordinary free scholarships.
{iii.) Class II. —Scholars obtaining between 40 and §0 per cent.
of possible marks to be admitted upon payment of fee. (2) That
applications for admission during the school year be dealt with
upon their respective merits. (3) That the parents of all
scholars admitted be required to sign an undertaking to keep
their children at school to complete at least four years of the
secondary-school course, provided always that a scholarship
shall be terminated at the close of any school year, if the holder
tails to make satisfactory progress in studies ; and that a scholar-
ship may be forfeited at any time for gross insubordination or
continued neglect of lessons, including home work. (4) That
major (money) scholarships be awarded upon the result of
examinations to be held at the end of the second year of the
higher school course (when scholars will have reached the close
of their compulsory school period under the Education Acts).
(5) That the fees shall be as follows: school fees, §s. per
quarter; book fee (to cover cost of all ordinary school books
and stationery), §s. per quarter, payable in advance by all non-
scholarship scholars.
In his first inaugural address, Prof. Findlay, the newly-
appointed professor of education at the University of Man-
chester, said that three main principles must be kept in mind in
464 The
School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
the training of the teacher: the possession of the scientific habit
of mind and the capacity for careful observation ; the supremacy
of moral ends in the business of education ; and that the teacher
must be limited in his range by the needs of the young, and
must cultivate the attitude of sympathy which would enable him
to become as a little child. The effect of the Teachers’ Regis-
tration Order was, said Prof. Findlay, to close the controversy
as to the value of training. The ‘‘ born ” teacher must hence-
forth submit to give proof of his birthright before he was
recognised for public service.
AT the recent annual speech-day at the Harrogate New
College, Mr. Victor Cavendish, M.P., distributed the prizes,
and, in the course of his remarks, after congratulating the Rev.
Dr. Haslam on his report for the year, said he thought every-
one recognised the advantages that were given to education, when
they found private enterprise anxious and willing to take its part
and do its share in striving, on behalf of the Government, to
promote educational improvements, and they must express their
utmost gratitude to them for what they had done. The Govern-
ment gratefully recognised the work done by the private schools
of this country. He hoped that the principle would he encou-
raged, and at the same time that a higher efficiency would be
insisted upon. They must encourage such institutions as New
College by recognising them, that they might keep them as long
as it was necessary ; but, in future, they must recognise more
and more that we wanted increased efficiency, and that we must
go ahead. We could not afford to remain stationary.
THE Home Counties Nature-Study Exhibition was held at
the offices of the Civil Service Commission from October 30th
to November 3rd. It was organised by the Middlesex Field
Club and delegates from the Selborne Society. .Though not so
comprehensive in its scope as the exhibition held last year in the
Botanic Gardens, it comprised an interesting series of nearly a
hundred exhibits from schools in the home counties where the
study of the branches of science concerned with natural objects
is encouraged, and from individuals interested in the subject.
The objects on view showed that there is still no uniformity of
opinion as to what nature-study legitimately includes. Some of
the exhibits treated natural objects purely from an artistic point
of view, and others seemed to be instances of ‘‘ collecting ” and
nothing’ more. Many exhibits, however, were excellent as
evidencing serious attempts to develop scientific methods in
young people. The work of the Froebel Institute at West
Kensington, of the junior boys at Alleyn’s School, Dulwich, of
the Tiffins’ Boys’ School, Kingston-on-Thames, and of the
Bellenden Higher Grade School at Peckham—is in many
directions worthy of imitation. So long as it is not allowed to
interfere with the more serious parts of the work of the schools,
nature-study deserves encouragement, but there is in some
quarters a disposition to claim too much time and attention for
a study which must, after all, always be accessory in primary
and secondary schools. Lectures and conferences were
arranged in connection with the Exhibition, the success of which
was largely due to the honorary secretary, Mr. W. M. Webb.
THE Modern Language Association has arranged for a series
of lectures to be given during the present winter in different
parts of London. The first was given at the Regent Street
Polytechnic on November 7th. Dr. Emil Reich, the eminent
historian, took as his subject, ‘‘ The National Value of the Study
of the Humanities.” His address was most inspiriting: he
showed how nations had been brought to ruin in the past by
neglect of the humanities—the basis of all true knowledge.
Tue Cambridge and County School for Boys, which was
opened on October 24th by Lord Avebury, is intended by
the County Council for boys who have been educated in
elementary schools up to Standard VI. at about twelve years of
age. On joining the new school they are to go through a two
years’ elementary course leading up to one of three advanced
courses—which will each occupy two years—in agricultural
science, building construction and engineering, or commercial
subjects. Every provision has been made to ensure that all boys
shall secure a good general education in addition to this special
work which occupies a large portion of their time. Special
attention is to be given to practical work, for which ample
provision has been made; in fact, we understand that most boys
will give half their time to work in the laboratories and
workshops.
Pror. EIupson’s lectures to schoolmasters and school-
mistresses on Saturday mornings at King’s College, London, on
the teaching of mathematics, are postponed till next term,
beginning January 23rd, 1904.
THEIR Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales
have consented to visit the Battersea Polytechnic on the evening
of Wednesday, February 24th, for the furmal opening of a new
block of buildings in the Women’s Department. The occasion
will mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Poly-
technic by their Majesties the King and Queen.
Mr. JOHN Murray will, on January Ist, 1904, publish the
first number of a new sixpenny educational monthly magazine
which is to be called Schoo/: a monthly record of educational
thought and progress. The new periodical is to be edited by
Mr. Laurie Magnus. ‘‘It hopes to findsits readers not only
among the teachers themselves, but also in the public at large,
which is at last beginning to take an active interest in education,
and the members of which are connected with it more or less
directly and responsibly as parents, managers, or committeemen.”’
WE have received from the Director of Education for the
Transvaal, Mr. Fabian Ware, a copy of the Provisional Code of
Regulations for Elementary Schools, with Schedules, October,
1903, to June, 1904, which will govern elementary education in
the Transvaal during the present school year.
Dr. FREDERIC SPENCER, professor of French in the Uni-
versity College of North Wales, has been appointed Rector of
Glasgow High School.
A CONJOINT meeting of the metropolitan sections of the
Teachers’ Guild of Great Britain and Ireland was held on
November 2oth, for the purpose of discussing the question of
the establishment of a recognised school-leaving certificate.
Mr. R. F. Charles, who presided, said the question of leaving
certificates was a new one, and should be carefully discussed.
Miss Maitland moved :—‘‘ That this meeting advocates the
establishment of a recognised school-leaving certificate.” She
said that such a step as the establishment in England of a
recognised school-leaving certificate would be an advantage to
education all over the country. Mrs. Woodhouse seconded the
resolution, which was agreed to. Mr. G. F. Daniell proposed :
-—‘*That the certificate be awarded by a central authority
(preferably the Board of Education) upon examinations con-
ducted by bodies approved by that central authority.” He said
this resolution proposed an authority which would be able to
provide for a great variety of examinations and a corresponding
variety of curricula. Dr. S. H. Butcher, in the course of a
discussion on the motion, said the institution of a leaving
certificate was a complicated matter in England, because there
were so many bodies already giving certificates, bodies which
DECEMBER, 1903.]
had obtained a great hold on the schools of the country and
represented a considerable diversity of standards. He thought
that the Universities should take up the question of secondary
education far more than they had done, and suggested that if the
certificates were granted by a joint University board there would
be less likelihood of friction between the Universities and the
authority at Whitehall. Miss Lees moved, as an amendment:
—“' That the certificate be awarded by the several Universities
acting in conjunction, so as to secure uniformity of standard and
conditions.” The amendment was carried. A resolution
“ that it is desirable that the teachers should co-operate with the
examining body in granting the certificates ” was also adopted.
THERE are 352 centres of instruction under the London
School Board, scattered over the metropolis, at which children
from the surrounding schools attend to learn domestic economy.
In some cases the schools are grouped in sets of three, each
containing a different branch of instruction in some domestic
subject, in others they are quite isolated, but the instruction
given is practically the same throughout. There are 183 cook-
ing, 141 laundry, and 28 housewifery centres. The children in
attendance number upwards of 45,000, their ages varying from
II to 14, and in some cases 1§ years. In some districts parents
are permitting their girls to remain rather longer at school than
they otherwise would in order that they may attend a house-
wifery centre. The whole scheme of instruction covers a period
of three years. For two years the child attends cookery and
laundry centres, and for one year a housewifery centre. In
districts where there is no housewifery centre the girls attend
the cookery and laundry centre for another year, the third year’s
course being more in the nature of household management than
pure cookery or laundry work.
A SECOND edition of the “ Students’ Handbook to the Uni-
versity and Colleges of Cambridge” has been published by the
‘Cambridge University Press. This edition has been revised to
June 30, 1903, and lists of University Professors, Readers, and
Lecturers, of lectures on honours subjects given in the Univer-
sity, and of set subjects for special examinations, have been
added.
We have received a copy of the first number of the second
volume of L Enseignement dans la Famille, a weekly review
designed to assist private students of all ages in the study ofa
great number of subjects. It is published in Paris at 56 rue
Jacob.
a]
Tue Civil Service Commissioners have announced that an
open competitive examination for not fewer than seven situations
as Assistant-Surveyor of Taxes in the Inland Revenue Depart-
ment will be held in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, com-
mencing on January 12th, 1904. The limits of age are 19 and
22. Candidates must be of the prescribed age on the first day
of the examination, which will be in the following subjects :—
arithmetic; English composition, including orthography and
handwriting; geography; book-keeping by double entry;
translation from and into any one of the following languages,
viz., French, German, or Latin; Euclid, Books I. to IV., and
VI.; algebra; and political economy. A fee of £6 will be
required from each candidate attending the examination.
Applications must be received by the Secretary, Civil Service
Commission, 3.W., on or before the 17th December, on forms
obtainable from him. The scale of salaries of Assistant-
Surveyors of Taxes is £100—£10—/180, with prospect of
promotion to Surveyorships with salaries ranging from £200 to
£,700.
The School World
465
SCOTTISH.
LorD BALFOUR OF BURLEIGH, in opening a new wing of
George Watson’s Ladies’ College, Edinburgh, gave an elaborate
sketch of the educational progress that had marked his tenure of
the Scottish office. In view of the severance of his connection
with the Education Department, he humorously compared his
speech to a posthumous oration by the corpse itself. The ex-
Secretary spoke, however, on questions which are very much
alive, and in which, corpse officially as he is, he continues to
take a keen and practical interest. The educational policy of
the Scottish office, he said, had been assailed, not for its defects
per se, but because it was embodied in circulars, and minutes,
and codes, instead of in Acts of Parliament. But the critics
forgot that there was no sphere of national activity where legis-
lative action alone could accomplish so little as in education.
He did not underrate the value of legislation, and he thought
the time was fully ripe for a Scottish measure, but he warned
them that when, after vehement and possibly acrimorious
discussion, they had altered the whole system of educational
authorities, the work of the schools would go on just as before,
and any changes therein would be due to quite other causes than
legislative action. He claimed that the minutes of the Depart-
ment were the expression of a clearly conceived educational
policy working towards a definite end. That end was the
establishment of well-articulated organisation of national educa-
tion for Scotland, in which the functions of each class of school
would be clearly defined.
THE Report of the Committee of Council on Education in
Scotland for the year 1902-1903 has now been completed and
issued in a bulky volume of about 1,000 pages. Within the last
decade this Blue Book has almost doubled in size, and in this is
a fair reflex of the increase of the Education Department’s
activity during that period. Reference has been made in these
columns to the separate parts of the Report as they appeared,
yet there is still left an inexhaustible mine of interesting matter
from which we can only select one or two specimens. This
year’s report, even more than its predecessors, will well repay a
careful study in the original.
Dr. STEWART, H.M. Senior Chief Inspector of Schools,
thinks that too much has been expected of pupils regarding
complete attendance. For a considerable part of the year, he
thinks, children would possibly be better employed in running
about the fields or open spaces than in registering their tale of
bricks at school. The impression had been growing on him for
some time that much of the school time of the children was
wasted. Five or six hours a day of study, to say nothing of
home lessons, was too heavy a strain for a growing brain.
Therefore, except in the case of slum children who were
probably happier in school than at home, he would be disposed
to limit the attendance to ¢Aree hours in the case of the younger,
and four hours in the case of the older children. In this way
he believes that more real, intense, and thorough work would
be accomplished in the shortened period than is at present
overtaken in dreary tasks that fill up time uselessly.
IN regard to the training of teachers, Dr. Stewart reports that
the abolition of the examination for certificates has created a
revolution in the method of testing the attainments of the
students in the training colleges. ‘‘ With the discontinuance of
the examinations many evils have disappeared. Written tests
are too apt to condition and stereotype the lines of teaching.
The stress and strain, the unwholesome excitement and nervous-
ness, the previous cramming, the dread of collapse, and the
staking of one’s all on one throw, are all things of the past. A
much fairer and surer test than the writing of any paper or set
466 The
of papers is surely obtained by a review of the student’s whole
record of work, and by the opinion as to his diligence, intelli-
gence, capacity, and progress formed by those best able to judge,
namely, the tutors and lecturers under whom he has studied
from day to day.”
Dr. MORGAN, the newly elected principal of the Church of
Scotland Training College, Edinburgh, speaking at a public
dinner in his honour, said that the training colleges had made
phenomenal progress since gaining their charter of liberty two
years ago. Much still remained to be done in the way of
introducing greater flexibility into the system of training. It
was a very common complaint against the schools that by
their rigidity and uniformity of training they were tending to
destroy the individuality of the pupils. The only sure remedy
for this was to turn out teachers of the greatest diversity of
attainments, instead of as at present moulding them all on
one type. Ile would like the Education Department to give
teachers time to mature their work, and he hoped that in future
they would not launch any large scheme of reform on the
country without first introducing these reforms into the training
college for a number of years.
AT the annual meeting of the Scottish School Board Clerks’
Association Mr. Wm. Hutchison, president, dealt with the
question of the supply of male teachers. The steadily increas-
ing inadequacy of this supply was due to the inadequate salaries
and precarious prospects that the profession offered. While
salaries as a whole had gone up, prospects, owing to the larger
schools now being built, had diminished, and the goal of a
headmastership could be attained by only a few and after many
years of service. The superannuation allowance, instead of
being an inducement to enter the profession, was a positive
hindrance, as it made retiral compulsory without anything like
adequate compensation. A liberal pension scheme would do
much to encourage good men to enter the profession. The
sole value of the existing pension scheme lay in the fact that
the principle had been conceded; but until the pension bore a
fair ratio to the salary at the date of retiral it would continue to
be inadequate and unsatisfactory and a stumbling-block to
entrance to the profession.
IN order to encourage the French courses for foreigners at
the University or Grenoble, and to enable Scotsmen to avail
themselves of these courses, arrangements have been made with
the directors of the Paris-Lyons railway to grant a free ticket
for the return journey from Grenoble to Paris to students attend-
ing these courses during the scholastic year or during the vaca-
tion. This concession is one of the first-fruits of the recent
visit of the Franco-Scottish Association to France.
IRISA.
THE following is a summary of the results of this year’s
Intermediate Examinations. The standard of passing was
lowered to that proposed for next year, viz., 30 per cent. on the
pass papers, 20 per cent. on the mathematical honour papers,
and 25 per cent. on the other honour papers.
BOYS.
. 1 ar í
Grade, Grade, Grade “Grade > Total
Number examined ... 341 788 2,843 2,015 5,987
Number that passed
with Honours a ASI 220 424 — 775
Number that passed
without Honours ... 147 360 1,363 1,004 2,874
Total number that
passed 278 580 1,787 1,004 3,649
Percentage of Passes... 81°5 73°6 62°8 49'8 60°9
School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
GIRLS.
Number examined ... 100 242 900 680 1,922
Number that passed
with Honours . 36 51 III — 198
Number that passed
without Honours ... 46 118 442 348 954
Total number that
passed a .. 82 169 553 348 1,152
Percentage of Passes... 82° 69°38 61°4 512 59°9
AT a meeting of the Schoolmasters’ Association in October, a
series of resolutions was passed dealing with the Intermediate
programme. It was suggested that a pass student should not
be compelled to select a particular group, and that in marking
for exhibitions the two chief subjects of each group should count
twice as many marks as the other two subjects; that the higher
age limit in the preparatory grade should be abolished; that a
permanent system of inspection should be accompanied by a
diminution of examination; and that the standard in Greek
should be lowered. Several suggestions were put forward for
improving the science courses and the conduct of the Depart-
ment, and, last of all, the Intermediate Board were requested to
reconsider their refusal to recognise a consultative committee of
teachers.
ABOUT the same time the Catholic Headmasters’ Association
met and passed several resolutions dealing with Intermediate
education and one dealing with the University problem. The
chief of the former resolutions dealt with the group system, and
condemned it root and branch, and requested the Board to
accept a deputation to lay fully before them the reasons for such
condemnation. The meeting further urged that coGrdination of
the science courses with the grades should not, at present, be
insisted on for honour students, that three examiners should be
jointly responsible for drawing up the papers, or that the papers
should be submitted to an expert revising committee, and that
the programme in music should be made easier. In reference to
the University question a strongly worded resolution was carried,
dwelling on the urgency of the Government’s obligation to
provide an adequate remedy for the want of a proper university
for large numbers of students every year passing out of Irish
Roman Catholic schools.
THIs, and similar condemnations of the group system have led
the Intermediate Board to make a concession in the direction of
the Consultative Committee asked for. Two members of the
Catholic Headmasters’ Association, and two members of the
Protestant Schoolmasters’ Association, were invited to meet the
Intermediate Education Commissioners on November 12th, to
discuss with them two points: (1) the group system, and (2) the
question of set, books, about which also there has been much
complaining.
SHORTLY after the Catholic Headmasters’ meeting, the
Roman Catholic Hierarchy assembled at Maynooth, and
strongly supported the attitude of the former on the University
question. They also adopted unanimously two other resolutions,
one dealing with primary, and the other with primary and
secondary education. In the first they condemned the attitude
and language of the Resident Commissioner of National Edu-
cation towards the great body of clerical managers of national
schools, and requested some official steps to be taken to reassure
Catholics, and to restore the relations of managers with the
National Education Board to their normal friendly condition.
The other resolution was a protest against the rumoured scheme
of placing the organisation of primary and secondary education
on a footing similar to that of the Agricultural and Technical
DECEMBER, 1903. |
Department, t.e., more or less under the control of the County
Councils in Ireland.
THE greatest excitement has been aroused by the rumoured
intentions of the Government in regard to Catholic University
Education. The scheme, as outlined, is to create two new
autonomous colleges on equal footing with Trinity College,
under the present Dublin University, thus making the latter into
a great national university. One college would be Roman
Catholic in Dublin, and the other would be the Queen's College,
Belfast, which would be essentially Presbyterian. The Govern-
ment would guarantee Trinity an increase of revenue amounting
to £10,coo a year. ()ueen’s College would receive £15,000 a
year, and the Roman Catholic College, £45,000. The scheme
has already aroused great hostility in Ulster, and is not favour-
ably received in Trinity, where the Board has reaffirmed a
resolution passed some time since signifying its willingness to
grant to Roman Catholic students in Trinity religious privileges
commensurate with those enjoyed by members of the Church of
Ireland. This has been explained by Dr. Tarleton, a Senior
Fellow, to mean a willingness to allow of a Roman Catholic
chapel and the endowment of a chair of Medieval Philosophy.
At a meeting of Convocation of the Reyal University, a series of
resolutions was carried, as proposed by Mr. F. H. O’Donnell :
the hrst was a condemnation of the power by which the Jesuit
organisation is enabled to nominate to and dismiss from public-
endowed fellowships or examinerships in the Royal University ;
the others reasserted the ideas set forth in his now well-known
book as to the injury inflicted on Ireland by the exclusion of the
Roman Catholic laity, male and female, from all positions
worthy of educated men and women on the teaching staff of
secondary schools, and as to the absurdity of supposing that the
Queen’s Colleges are detrimental to the Catholic conscience.
Roman Catholic graduates of the Royal University have formed
an association to watch over their interests in connection with
the University question, which, meanwhile, Captain Shaw- Taylor
proposes to solve by a conference to be held in the Mansion
House, Dublin, early in December, on lines similar to those of
the celebrated Land Conference held a year ago.
WELSH.
THE Welsh County Schools Association is well in evidence.
They have agreed to join in conference with elementary teachers,
in which were to be discussed ‘‘ Assimilation of Curriculum,”
‘©The Teachers’ Register,” ‘* Entrance Scholarships,” and
s“ Consultative Committees.” The retiring President, Mr. Lewis,
of Llanelly County School, pointed out the falling off in the
supply of teachers for secondary schools.
THis was due, Mr. Lewis maintains, to the low salaries paid
in secondary schools. In Wales the average salary paid to an
assistant-master is £135. Seventy-five per cent. of the teachers
in Welsh County Schools are graduates of some University,
Twenty per cent. cannot hope to get a headmastership. How,
then, can it be hoped that the career of a secondary-school
teacher can be attractive, and without first-rate masters the
schools cannot be first-rate. Mr. Lewis expressed the fear lest
local authorities should institute a system of educational govern-
ment by bureaucracies. ‘* Organisation is an indefinite word,
but if it means the rigging up of an office and the creation
of officials all draining the county exchequer to the tune of
£2,000 or £3,000 a year . . . then the schools will be im-
poverished . . . and it will be a sad bargain for the children
of the people.”
Tue Llangollen School Board have received a letter of con-
gratulation from H.M. Inspector of the district on the highly
satisfactory condition of the schools as handed over to the new
The School World
467
authority. ‘‘ For completeness of equipment,” II.M. Inspector
says, ‘‘ they are certainly unsurpassed in my district.” Certainly
in other respects the schools are remarkable. Of 101 boys on
the register, it appears 17 boys have made the full 412
attendances, whilst 40 have attended over 400 times. The
average attendance of girls is 95, but 12 girls, have made the
maximum attendances, and over fifty per cent. have made ninety
per cent. of the possible attendances. Of infants 12 have made
the possible 412 attendances, and 22 have attended over 400
times. Two boys are reported to have attended over ten years
continuously without missing once or having been late once.
Llangollen is believed to hold the world’s record for school
attendances.
WHILST the highly satisfactory account is given of elementary
education at Llangollen, at the last monthly meeting of the
Governors of the County School it was stated that, though from
a scholastic point of view the last year had been very successful,
yet there had been a regrettable increase in the number of
students who had left the school after a short stay. It was
pointed out that children came to the school earlier than
formerly. It was suggested that, as Prof. Sadler and Prof.
Findlay, of Owens College are to address the parents on an
early date, their aid should be asked in bringing this important
matter forward.
APPLICATIONS have been made to the Merioneth Education
Committee by the managers of the non-provided schools for
money to pay their teachers. The chairman explained that as
an education committee they had nothing to give save the schoob
grants, as the County Council had decided not to levy a rate for
their maintenance, and it was found that the grants would not
le sufficient to pay the salaries. It was stated that the Finance
Committee had recommended a rate of rod., but the Council
reduced this to 8$d., so as to avoid providing for the main-
tenance of voluntary schools. It was finally resolved to send
the bills from the non-provided schools to the County Council,
to inform the school managers of the fact, and to ask the
Council for instruction in the matter.
Tuk Carnarvonshire Education Committee have recently
appointed attendance officers for the ten districts into which the
county is divided. There were 130 candidates, who were first
reduced to §0. Discussion arose as to whether candidates.
appearing before the committee should be asked if they were
or were not total abstainers. It appears that the candidates
were asked the question. Mr. Allanson Picton objected to the
question. He pointed out that, in his opinion, this was im-
posing a “‘new test on candidates not sanctioned by the
legislature, at the very time when the country is in arms against
the imposition of any test upon public servants.”
CURRENT HISTORY.
THE long story of the possibly at some time to be accom-
plished Panama Canal has recently developed in an interesting
manner. The Congress of Colombia having refused to ratify
the treaty which had been made with the United States of
America by the diplomatists of both countries, that part of the
Colombian community which resides in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the partly-made canal, and which, therefore, is
desirous of its completion, has revolted with a view to the
erection of a separate State of Panama, and at present seems to
be making good its claim. When optimist people say that wars
will cease, others not so sanguine point out constantly new
reasons for quarrelling, and we are tempted at first sight to
regard this as an example of a specially novel reason for conflict.
But on reflection, we remember another Darien scheme, now
more than two hundred years ago, which was at least one of
468
The School World
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
the greater causes of bitterness between Scotland and England,
and led to the contemplation of complete separation as an alter-
native to the closer union which was desired and in the end
achieved.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY is still affording us proofs that “ home
rule ” is not a panacea for the mutual dislike of peoples united
under the same dynasty. The aged Emperor has been com-
pelled to make an impassioned appeal to the Magyars to avoid
the ‘deplorable circumstances which for months have con-
demned to sterility political life in his beloved Hlungary.” But
we draw special attention to the following phrase in his mani-
festo: ‘In 1867 means were concerted for common defence on
the basis of the Pragmatic Sanction between the lands of my
Hungarian Crown on the one hand, and on the other the kingdom
and lands represented in the Reichsrath.” The ‘‘ Pragmatic
Sanction” is our old friend of the middle of the eighteenth
century. Note, too, that the Emperor has no name for his non-
Hungarian lands. His Empire is “ Austro-Hungarian,” but
what is “ Austria”? Is Bohemia part of it? or the Tyrol? or
Carinthia? There is no more interesting historico - geogra-
phical lesson than to comment on this curious nameless country
and to explain why it is thus nameless. Every name as well as
the no-name has a history deep in the past of German history
and full of meaning for the future.
AN interesting experiment has recently been tried and found
successful in Hong-Kong. The Chinese inhabitants objected
to European methods of combating plague, and offered a passive
resistance to sanitation. Whereupon the Governor handed over
a block of the city to the Chinese themselves, gave instructions
to acommittee and left them to work out their own salvation.
They have succeeded. It is a comparatively small matter, and
on a small scale. But it illustrates in a remarkable way the
eternal conflict between two systems of government. Every
thing for the people. All governments, in the long run agree on
this as the best and indeed the only possible aim. But ġy the
people? That is the great contest waged at all times and in all
places between what we call, for want of better names, the prin-
ciples respectively of monarchy or aristocracy and of democracy.
“« Men of light and leading,” or vox populi vox Det. Yet here
in Hong-Kong, Asiatics, left to their own devices, though, it is
true, instructed by Europeans, can, at least in a definite and
limited matter, show themselves capable of managing their own
affairs. There is yet hope of the world.
CERTAIN French papers have been showing themselves
somewhat ignorant of English constitutional methods. They
have been saying that King Edward has been intervening in the
recent Cabinet ‘‘crisis.” Of course, it is impossible at present
to prove them wrong. Revelation of state secrets 1s not for the
generation in which the events occur. It is only when bio-
graphies of dead statesmen are written that cabinet history
comes to be known. Eut it is interesting to notice the way in
which our neighbours mention the matter. According to them,
“í the intervention of the King in the present crisis is contrary
to all constitutional proceedings invariably observed sence the
accession of Queen Victoria.” Can we date the epoch more
exactly? We know that George III. appointed his own minis-
ters and was supported therein by the constituencies. We
know of the objection both he and his son, the Regent-King,
had to “Catholic emancipation’ and how they for long had
their way. We know the struggle over the Reform Bill and
the part that William IV. played therein, and finally we should
know that in 1834 William IV. dismissed a ministry but failed
to get the support of the constituencies. Is it the effect of that
same Reform Lill, or only of the sex of our late Queen, that
since ‘about 1837” our constitution is different from what it
was before?
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
Modern Languages.
Arnold s French Reading Books: (1) E. Souvestre, L'Apprenti.
vi. +55 pp. (2) Eugénie Foa, Richard Whittington; and
E. Souvestre, Un Conte de Abbé de Saint-pierre. Edited by
C. F. Herdener. vi.+ 55 pp. (Arnold.) 1s. each.—Mr. Her-
dener is favourably known as a modern-language teacher of
exceptional skill, and these slender volumes give evidence of it
on every page. The text of the interesting tales has been
divided into sections averaging a little over a page in length,
and at the end of the book there is an exercise on each section,
consisting of questions (in French) on the text, questions on
grammar and word-formation ; further, as a concession to many
teachers, a short English passage for re-translation. A vocabu-
lary is added, which does not pretend to give all words, and errs
(if at all) in giving too many. Pupils reading these texts may
well be expected to know the meaning of devenir, bas, la fin,
froid, aider, and others which are here given. The books are
nicely printed, and should be popular.
Blachie’s Little French Classics. (i.) Balzac, Un Episode sous
la Terreur. Edited by Alex. Wright. 36 pp. (ii.) 7%. Gautier,
Scenes of Travel, Edited by W. G. Hartog. 40 pp. (iii.) Za
Fontaine, Shorter Fables. Edited by Arthur H. Wall. 40 pp.
(iv.) Pascal, Pensées (Selections). Edited by Alice M. Ritson.
40 pp. (v.) André Chénier, Select Poems, Edited by Mary
Olivia Kennedy. 40 pp. (vi.) Racine, Scenes from Bérénice.
Edited by Alex. Cran. 38 pp. (Blackie.) 4d. each.—A
general commendation will suffice in the case of these recent
additions to Messrs. Blackie’s very convenient series of neat
booklets. These are well edited, and slips are rare in the
printing and the notes. The ‘“‘ post anterior” (i., p. 32) is new
tous. Was ¢roit ever pronounced treit (ili., p. 35)? There
are several slips in iv. (¢.g., manifeste (for er) on p. 36,
vieillese on p. 38, were for and were on p. 39). The notes to
vi. are in French ; the editor is fond of such terms as syllepse,
catachrése, mdtonymie, synecdogue, which are now rightly
banished. The proof has not been read with sufficient care
(Aérorgue on p. 3, une infinitif on p. 32, defier on p. 34, relatifs
on p. 38).
J. Lecoy, L'Enseignement vivant des langues vivants. 103 pp.
(Paris: Cornély.) 1 fr. §0.—Though Prof. Lecoq deals mainly
with the reform in France, this little book should be of interest
to English readers also; for they will see how thorough-
going this reform is. As with us, there will be some confusion
at first; many will teach in the new way without conviction,
still more without sufficient knowledge of English and German ;
but when the transition period is over there will be a fairly
general recognition of the great advantages gained.
W. H. Widgery, The Teaching of Languages in Schools.
xi. + 76 pp. (Nutt.) 15. net.---The older ‘‘ reformers ” are of
course familiar with this book, which appeared in 1888, and
has been out of print for some time; they will, be glad of this
re-issue, for it will help to spread the movement. It is a pity
that the bibliography was not brought up to date ; many impor-
tant contributions to the teaching of modern languages have
appeared in the last fifteen years. Reading these pages again,
we cannot but express our profound regret at Widyery’s un-
timely death ; but the cause he had at heart is flourishing, and
in a sense he may still be regarded as a leader.
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
Classics.
The Iliad of Homer. Book f, Edited by L. D. Wain-
wright. 107 + xl. pp., with Vocabulary. (Bell.)—The print
of this volmme is unpleasant to the eye, the page, too small to
begin with, being interrupted by summaries and illustrations,
the print poor, and the paper shining. We venture once
more to protest against the format of this series, and to plead
that publishers and editors will spare a thought to boys’ eyes.
The Introduction (Mr. Marchant’s) contains a short summary of
Homeric grammar. The notes are simple, and well suited to
the beginner in Homer. We have already expressed our opinion
that the ‘“ Grammatical Appendix ” in this series is a mistake.
Mr. Wainwright, like Dr. Leaf, still holds the exploded opinion
that Homeric armour was that of the Mycaeneans; and his
illustrations include two warriors, one from a gem perhaps tive
hundred years older than Homer, and one from the ‘* Warrior
Vase,” which shows quite a different state of things. The
Varvakeion copy of the Athena of Pheidias is actually called
“archaic” (p. 35), which implies want of knowledge.
Altogether the illustrations from ancient sources range over a
period of about fifteen hundred years. Here is a new example
for Prof. Gardner when he again writes on archaevlogy in
schools.
Xenophon’s Anabasis IV. Edited by G. H. Nall. With
map and illustrations. xxviii. + 110 pp. (Blackie.) 2s.
—Mr. Nall comes before us with a third instalment of
Xenophon’s “ Anabasis,” which is of the same character as the
others. The Introduction gives the life of Xenophon and a
sketch of the “ Anabasis,” with a few remarks on the author's
style ; the illustrations are chiefly of military antiquities. There
is a running analysis and a commentary, which seems to assume
that a boy begins his ‘“‘ Anabasis” with this book. Some of the
notes strike us as needless (¢.g., on éAéyero, p. 51; mply, etc.,
p. 52; mupà, p. 53; abrwy, p. 58; Tav awrwy, p. 86); while
a comment would be expected on červ čxov, p. §1. Kal yap
(p. 68) means ‘‘and in fact,” which editors always seem to
forget ; there is no need of an ellipse. The geographical notes
are gcod.
We may just mention Mr. T. C. Weatherhead’s Yunzor
Greek Examination Fapers, 72 pp., (Methuen), Is., a useful
little book of a familiar type; and Zalın Genders, a practical
method of learning them, \y B.A., Cantab., 32 pp., (Relfe Bros.),
6d., containing rules, followed by lists of words with meanings,
not classified by gender, but by subject, for practice.
Marcus Tullius Cicero. Ten Ovations, with the Letters to his
Wife. Edited by R. A. von Minckwitz, Instructor in Latin in
the De Witt Clinton High School, New York City. xi. +
518 pp. (The Macmillan Company.) 7s.—This is another of
the American ‘* Macmillan’s Latin Series,” of which we have
already reviewed two volumes in these columns. The series,
as we have before remarked, seems to be designed for persons
who begin Latin at a more mature age than is usual in England ;
and we cannot commend the practice of adding vocabularies to
books so advanced in difficulty as this is. We should say the
same of the fact that throughout the book all long vowels,
including internal quantity, are marked, but that the ignorance
of quantity is so scandalous and its neglect so studied in this
country that the marking at present forms a distinct recom-
mendation. Both introductions and notes are good, and there
are lists of cognate words which will be instructive in a good
teacher’s hands. There are also a large number of pertinent
illustrations mostly taken from ancient remains. The contents
of the book are: Zn Cafalinam, 1.-1V., De Imperio Pompei,
No. 60, VOL. 5.]
The School World
469
Pro Archia, Pro Milone, Pro AMlarcello, Fro Ligario, and the
Letters. The last three items are arranged for reading at sight,
a certain amount of help being given in footnotes. This is a
very useful book.
Rules for Latin Prose. By Rev. P. Morgan Watkins, M.A.
(Swan Sonnenschein.) 2d., or Is. 62. per dozen.—This is a
two-page pamphlet which presents the chief Latin constructions
in compendious form, and is likely to be useful as a minimum
for young students. It is of course very limited, and omits very
important matters. Thus the Direct (Juestion is said to be in
the indicative, although the deliberative subjunctive is also
direct ; and under Final clauses we find only u and se, not the
relative or the supine.
The Life of Fulius Agricola, Written by Cornelius Tacitus.
Translated by Sir Henry Savile, 1591. 60 pp. (The Norland
Press.) 8d. ne¢.—The new series is intended to be ‘a compre-
hensive selection of cheap texts of books which have hitherto been
out of reach, and thus to widen the field of study of literature
and history. It is intended to include books in various
languages, and where this is possible, to reproduce the actual
text of the original edition.” There are no notes, and the only
editorial addition is a brief paragraph on the translator. The
idea is excellent, and such a series is greatly needed. The
present book is of importance, not only as a fine piece of
English, but as a valuable source for the study of English
history. We have read it through with the greatest interest, and
feel sure that it will be welcome to teachers and scholars alike.
In one point only we question the publishers’ judgment: the
ancient spelling is reproduced exactly. For classical schools
this drawback may not be serious, but we fear it will make many
teachers, especially those whose pupils are young, shrink from
using the book. We wish all success to this adventure.
Edited Books.
Loci Critici. By Prof. Saintsbury. 439 pp. (Ginn.) 75. 6d.
—Prof. Saintsbury speaks modestly of his share in this volume
as “porter’s work.” The volume is, indeed, a compilation,
but, as the editor observes, ‘‘ the work was needed.” It consists
of passages illustrative of ertical theory and practice fiom
Ati tolle to Matthew Arnold. The great masters of ancient
Cridicism are included, as was necessary, and then Prof. Saints-
bury passes into fields which many English critics know little.
Boethius is drawn upon for a short extract, and then comes
Dante’s turn. From him, indeed, a good deal is extracted,
and parallel selections from the Italian critics of the sixteenth
century are followed by the earlier Elizabethans. Ben Jonson's
“ Discoveries ” is laid under contribution extensively, and then
the point of view changes to the unfamiliar ground of Spain.
The French critics of the seventeenth century give way to
Dryden, who supplies about thirty pages, and Addison, Pope
and Dr. Johnson follow ; but, to show the care with which the
work has been done, even Bysshe’s book, which “is not a
work of literature ” by editorial allowance, is drawn upon. So
are Shenstone, Gray and Hurd, and the German romanticists ;
so, too, later on is Hazlitt, whose every paragraph has a bracing
property even when dissent from his conclusions is pronounced
enough. Wordsworth and Coleridge are in these selections by
indefeasible right. This rough sketch of what a reader will
find in these pages is necessarily cursory, but the book may
be honestly enough commended to the delight and study of
all who are interested in the criticism of literature.
A First Book in English Literature.
Part II., 256 pp. By Clara L. Thomson.
Part I., 278 pp.
(Horace Marshall.)
090
470
2s. each.— Miss C. L. Thomson, whose former books we have
felt always constrained to praise unreservedly, has entered the
field again with a piece of work which we unhesitatingly pro-
nounce to be brilliant of its kind, and quite the best thing she
has done as yet. The idea is a fine one. It is to do away
with the current methods of teaching English literature as far as
possible by providing children with an historico-literary account
of the development of English prose and verse. These volumes
are the first stages in what promises to be a most significant
attempt. They are not large ; they are written with the utmost
clearness and simplicity; they are illustrated in an interesting
manner ; and they cover the whole story from the early Celtic
literature through the middle English romances down to
Wycliffe, Chaucer, Malony, and the later Scots poets, ending
with Lyndsay. Miss Thomson promises us another volume
dealing with the Renaissance, which we confess we are anxious
to see. If it proceeds on the lines of the two parts of this work
now before us, a literary history of English will be available for
children, who can therefrom gather a thoroughly clear and vivid
account of it from its earliest sources.
in loving service of this subject, the present writer fell upon
this new method and this brilliant treatment with a sense of
pleasure and surprise which was in no way lessened by the
admirable helps which Miss Thomson provides for further and
higher study, by means of lists of books more pretentious and
expensive, out of which she has, however, extracted the essence
and embodied it in this complete account of her own. A work
worthy of the highest praise and the widest circulation.
Persephone, or The Daffodil. A Play for Children. By
Bertha Skeat. 39 pp. (Norland Press.) 6d¢.—This is a little
literary venture which discloses its eclectic and refined nature
at the outset, and may be unreservedly praised. It is a play
wholly suitable for children, and well arranged in five scenes.
Minute directions are also given to ensure a satisfactory per-
formance. Certainly it demands a large number of characters
to be provided for; there are four classical personages, four
lilac maidens, four daffodil maidens, four winds, and eight
ghosts. There is a great deal of music included, and this part
of the production costs an additional eighteenpence. The
songs are well selected, and include several selections from
Tennyson, Shelley’s “ Arethusa Arose,” and Miss Jean Inge-
low’s * Persephone.” Might we point out that a barn-dance on
the field of Enna, which is directed at the start, involves an
anachronism of a really absurd kind.
Moffatt’s Edition of Bacon's Essays. By Thomas Page.
208 + 30 pp. (E. J. Arnold & Son, Leeds.) 2s.—This
edition has been specially revised and brought out for the use of
students preparing for ‘‘scholarship’? examinations. The
edition is marvellously complete, and devised upon a thorough-
going method. The amount of pains spent on the notes, the
language, the proper names, the etymology, and the analysis of
Bacon’s immortal little works, has been lavishly bestowed. The
Antitheta are well done, and some literary notes appended to a
short biography of Lord Bacon are evidence of wide reading
and sound judgment. Altogether a useful, helpful, and complete
edition.
Tennysons “In Memoriam” with Analysis and Notes.
By Charles Manford. xxv. + 228 pp. (Swan Sonnenschein.)
2s. net.—Hlere is a prettily produced edition of a great poem
supplied with an introduciion and notes by the late vice-
principal of Westminster Training College. The notes are of a
‘kind likely to be helpful to students, though some of them will
strike maturer minds as rather obvious.
The Song of Hiawatha.
English Classics.
By H. B. Cotterill.
(Macmillan. )
123 pp.
Is. 6d.—- Hiawatha gets in
The School World
Having spent many years’
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
this scholarly edition a considerable amount of distinguished
and critical attention. The volume is full of information
from one end to the other. The Biographical Note on
Longfellow is too rapid to be quite satisfactory, but the editorial
remarks on the poem are exceedingly good. The notes are
what notes ought to be, the ideal of scholarly research on
matters which too often are dismissed by superficial readers of
this poem with scanty attention. Every point worth elucida-
tion is dealt with fully and without clumsiness. The second
appendix is worth the attention of advanced students. An
edition which does full justice to a subject rarely handled with
anything like due consideration.
Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare. Edited by C. D. Punchard.
160 pp. (Macmillan.) 15. 6¢.—To have excluded this delightful
work of Lamb’s from this very representative educational series
would not have been possible. Mr. Punchard has done a real
service to educationists in the way he has executed his task. He
has kept his own personality rather in the background, as a
matter of fact. Only in the introductory matter is there very
much to be discerned of the editor; the notes, while always
scholarly, could not in the case of Charles Lamb probably
ever be evidences of abstruse study: in the present case they
are brief and quite to the point. The book is delightful in
every respect.
Old Testament History Analysed. By Rev. S. S. Stitt. 72
pp. Is. 6d.—An exceedingly useful handbook to a little volume
which, some time ago, we reviewed in these columns, viz.,
Ottley’s ‘* History of the Hebrews,” and through that to the
History of the Old Testament in general. It is an invaluable
manual for those who have read more or less discursively on the
subject, or who have ‘‘ got it up” for examination purposes and
want some handy plan of revising their knowledge ; and some
commencing the study would also find it a great help. It
presents a capital conspectus of the subject, and is, indeed, as
the author calls it, one of those Helps by the Way which are of
the greatest educational assistance without degenerating into
cram books. Its plan is simplicity itself. Some recent Senate
House and Cambridge Preliminary questions are appended.
History.
The Expansion of Russia, 1815-1900. By F. H. Skrine.
vii. + 386 pp. (Cambridge University Press.) 6s.—The
history of Russia has, for Englishmen at the present time, a
vivid fascination. Whether we regard that country as our rival
or our colleague in the civilisation of Asia, we must get to know
as thoroughly as possible its history, especially the modern
development of that extraordinary growth. It is the story of a
people and a government whose ideals are almost the antithesis
of our own, and whose success in Asia has equalled the civilising
of India. The history of Russia seems to convert students to
opinions still strange among us. They come to belicve in
autocracy and in the utmost rigidity of relations between
Church and State, apparently because these have helped Russia
not merely to avoid anarchy but to grow. And therefore it is
that we commend this latest product of the Cambridge Historical
Series to our readers. It is not written so clearly as we could
wish. If the author had made a chronological list of events and
used it as a guide in writing his story, or at least if he had
printed it at the end for the help of his readers, we think it
would have improved his book. But we have three very useful
maps, an index, and a bibliography, and if the reader will work
at the book, he will find much material for thought and reflection
as well as acomplete mine of information. If he gains nothing
else, it will do him good to read European history in the
nineteenth century as viewed from St. Petersburg, or rather from
Moscow.
DECEMBER, 1903.]
Special Method in History. By C. A. McMurry. vii. + 291
pp. (The Macmillan Co., New York.) 2s. 6d. net.—Dr.
McMurry writes for American teachers solely. His aim is to
teach them how to teach history in the schools of the United
States. But the general lessons of his book can be adapted to
our own schools. His general thesis is that the history of the
native country should have a preponderant share, and that other
history should be taught only when it illustrates by comparison
or explains origins. As contrary to the old system of epitomised
manuals, and specially to the concentric system, he would teach
first the history of primitive times, the settlement of the country
&c., and then go on to later, nore complicated periods, finally
reaching those periods necessary for explanation. Thus, for his
own public, he treats the settlement of, first, east, then centre, then
west, illustrating with early Greek, Roman, and English history.
Then he goes on to the years 1660-1760, coupled with the origin
of the Reformation, &c. Finally, he takes European history of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as explaining American
origin, and would tell the story of the American constitution.
Specially does he insist on the biographical method, with a
warning, however, that the teachers should be equipped with
the best and most correct biographies, and should choose the
most typical of these. Thoroughness of detail on the best
points, rather than epitomes of the whcle, is regarded by him as
essential. But we recommend the perusal of the book itself to
our readers.
Problems and Exercises in British History. Volume 1I.
Part If. England 1066-1216. By J. S. Lindsey. 128 pp.
(Heffer, Cambridge.) 2s.—We have in previous numbers of
THE SCHOOL WoRLD noticed the members of this series as they
appeared, and we, therefore, need no more than say that this
volume quite equals the excellence of those which have preceded
it. We can imagine no more stimulating, more helpful series for
use in schools. It teaches not merely information, but how to
collect, classify and produce the information. The outfit with
which it provides the earnest teacher is complete.
Geography.
Map and Description of Peru. By Consul Eduardo Higgin-
son. (Lima, 1903. London agent, Geo. Philip & Son.)—
This work has been compiled by Consul Higginson, hon.
member of the Chamber of Commerce, Southampton, under the
authority of Don Eugenio Larrabure of Unanue, President of
the Cabinet and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of
Peru. The map is drawn to ascale of 1: 3,000,000, and contains
an inset of England and Wales. It is published on the tourist-
folder principle, folding into some 37 pages, the backs of
which are utilised for a very succinct account of Peru, and
especially its advantages from the point of view of the would-be
settler. The contents of the short chapters which appeal to
the inquisitive immigrant may be judged from some of their
headings, to wit, ‘* Public Hygiene,” ‘Individual Guarantees
and Local Government,” ‘Law of Coastlands,” ** Guano,”
“The Indiarubber Industry,” “ Fishing, Shooting, and Hunt-
ing.” For his special benefit, extracts from the ‘ Constitution
of Peru, chapter iv.,” are given, and he will be interested to
learn that *‘ No one is obliged to do what is not ordered by the
Law, nor is he prevented from doing what the Law does not
prohibit” (Art. 14), and that all property is ‘*inviolable,
whether material, intellectual, or artistic ” (Art. 26). ‘That the
immigrant’s ‘‘intellectual property ” may not raise unworthy
suspicions when he reads of these legal guarantees is, we trust,
beyond the bounds of Peruvian probability. The map itself
abounds in information over and above that of the orthodox
type. The forest regions are distinguished, limits of navigation
are marked on rivers, falls and rapids are shown, railways actual
and potential are indicated, and ports are divided, like the
The School World
471
prophets, into major and minor. Altogether it is an interesting
study, notwithstanding the occasional obtrusiveness of a defec-
tive register. The letterpress all through is entertaining and
trustworthy, if the reader will always bear in mind that he is
reading the work of a special pleader. He will, at all events,
correct a possible notion that Peru is a mere coast strip after
the fashion of Chili, and he will undoubtedly be surprised to
note that of the twenty-one departments there are two—Cuzco
and Loreto—each of which is larger than the whole of the
United Kingdom. In the opinion of many experts, Peru has a
great future before it: Consul Higginson firmly believes this
and acts up to his belief.
The Geography of Commerce. By Spencer Trotter. xxiv. +
410 pp. (The Macmillan Co.) 5s. net.—No teacher of geo-
graphy can afford to disregard this book by Prof. Trotter of
Pennsylvania. Here are to be found many fruitful suggestions
as to how to teach geography in the only satisfactory way, which
is to secure the active co-operation of the exercise of the pupil’s
self-activity. In geography pre-eminently, continual use of
exercises to be worked by the student, the solution of which
will lay bare some great principle of the subject, is of far greater
value than any amount of the most skilfully arranged didactic
teaching. By curves and other forms of graphic representation,
Dr. Trotter succeeds in showing the learner how to demon-
strate for himself the distribution and growth of the world’s
commerce. By sketch maps with shadings of various kinds the
student is led to discover the reasons which account for the
localisation of industries in different parts of the world, and the
large part played by such factors as rainfall, temperature, con-
tour, and so on, in fitting certain parts of the world for the
successful production of various commodities. More than all
this, the teacher is shown geography in the making; original
sources of information are indicated, and the use which the
painstaking teacher can make of these is convincingly displayed.
The book is brimful of hints, and though the subject is
approached chiefly from the point of view of teachers in the
United States, teachers on this side would do well to study the
volume.
English Grammar and Composition.
Grammar Lessons. By the Principal of St. Mary’s Hall,
Liverpool. xi. + 107 pp. (Longmans.) 2s.—A collection of
lessons in elementary English grammar that will repay perusal
by teachers of the subject. The book is evidently the work of
one who loves, and is mistress of, her subject.
Special Method in the Reading of English Classics. By
C. McMurry. 254 pp. (Macmillan.) 3s. 6¢.—This is the
book of an enthusiast in the teaching of literature, and it has
the faculty of arousing thought, and also desire to take the line
Mr. McMurry indicates. It is rather a counsel of perfection,
as English schools go at present; but if this method could be
followed there would be an undoubted rise in the standard
of intelligence, which might be trusted to transform itself into
genuine culture after schooldays ; and a corresponding increase
in dignity would be attained by the subject of English litera-
ture. In English curricula it is hard to imagine sutticient time
devoted to this subject to bring forth such results as it is un-
doubtedly capable of. Nor are the average teachers of English
literature by any means on Mr. McMurry’s level of knowledge
and enthusiasm. To apply this method means that no less
should be given by the ordinary teacher than by the author of
this book. But it isa stimulating volume to read ; and even in
the conditions which beset literature teaching now it may be of
great service. If it gets into the hands of the right sort of man
it will bear fruit, no matter what his circumstances may be as to
time or opportunity.
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
Science and Technology.
Electricity and Magnetism, Theoretical and Practical. By
C. E. Ashford. 299 pp. (Arnold.) 3s. 6¢.—The preface
states that this book is intended to provide, in one volume, the
theoretical and practical work from the stage of the beginner up
to the standard required for university scholarships. The
subject-matter is well up to date, brief sections on electrons,
wireless telegraphy, and Röntgen rays being inserted. The
volume may be relied upon to give sound and accurate informa-
tion. It is dificult to find many novel features either in the
descriptive or experimental sections; in fact, the sequence in
which the subjects are taken is the chief point which attracts
attention. The author does not consider it necessary for a
student to read any electrostatics before proceeding to voltaic
electricity ; so the former is relegated to Part III. of the volume
for a reason which, though given in the preface, is not quite
clear. We therefore find that potential and E.M.F. in the
voltaic section are introduced in a somewhat casual manner. In
Part III., potential has been treated in two ways: an early
chapter gives information based upon the temperature analogy,
while a subsequent chapter again discusses it from the funda-
mental mechanical definition. The author acknowledges ‘that
the elementary theory of electrostatics affords results of great
importance and forms a most valuable object-lesson in the
application of mathematics to physics.” We are of opinion that
it also has the great merit of giving a sound scientific idea and
definition of potential without the aid of the antiquated thermal
and hydrostatic analogies, and that it is difficult to see how the
Student can derive clear notions of E.M.F. and the simple
phenomena of the electric current unless he has previously
mastered the principle of potential—the pons asinorum of
electricity—by means of a study of statical electricity. Mag-
netism is treated in less detail than is customary ; and terrestrial
magnetism, as being a branch of navigation, is treated very
briefly. The diagrams are numerous and intentionally rough,
so that the student may always see exactly to what his sketch
should appear similar. The author scorns ornate pictures, and
does not realise that a judicious insertion of high-class illus-
trations, in cases where the diagram is unsuitable, serves other
purposes than to increase the selling-price of the book.
Expertmental Psychology and Culture., By George M.
Stratton. 330 pp. (The Macmillan Co.) 8s. 6d.—--This is a
good book. Its author sets himself not only to give “an un-
technical account of certain groups of experiments in psy-
chology,” but also to show something of their significance. It
is, therefore, not a mere record of laboratory work, but a book
full of suggestions to the thoughtful teacher and the student of
mind. An honest attempt is made to show the character and
estimate the value of the ‘‘ new psychology ” as bearing upon
education and other moral and philosophical interests. After a
brief historical introduction and a discussion of the relation of
psychological experiments to physiological investigation, Dr.
Stratton kas some valuable chapters on Mental Measurements,
Unconscious Ideas, Illusions and their significance. From an
educational point of view, it will be found that the chapters
devoted to Memory, Imitation and Sugyestion, Colour and the
Fine Arts, the Connection of Mind and Body, and the closing
pages on Spiritual Implications, are well worthy of careful study.
A good teacher must, consciously or unconsciously, be working
on psychological lines. This book will throw fresh light on
many educational problems, and greatly increase the interest in
practical teaching. There is no better field for psychological
study than the school, but the work done there will be carried
through with greater zest and deeper insight if the teacher has
made himself familiar with the experiments of the laboratories
and their interpretation by such an able exponent as Dr.
Stratton.
Practical Physigs for Schools. By C. J. L. Wagstaff and
G. C. Bloomer. 1., Mensuration, Mechanics, and Hydrostatics.
72 pp. II., Light and Heat. 80 pp. (Cambridge: Heffer.)
Is. 6d. each.—In these books, which are the shape and size of
an exercise book, spaces are left after the different experiments
in which the student is directed to enter his results. This plan
introduces a serious difficulty. All results should be recorded
at the time the observations are made; if this is done at once
into books like the present the student will find he has no space
for all the experiments he must make before he can obtain good
results, and he will be continually thinking of neatness ; and if
only the best results are entered the teacher will have no idea of
the boy’s powers of accurate manipulation. On the whole, it is
better to have separate books for printed instructions and for
written results. The experiments are of the kind usually pre-
scribed for beginners, and the instructions are brief and clear,
but there are no illustrations. Hardly any use is made of the
tabular form for recording results, no squared paper is included,
and there is not a worked example of how to plot a curve. But,
since the book has been in use in much its present form for
three years, it is evidently a workable course.
Laboratory Physics. By D. C. Miller. 393 pp. (Ginn.)
8s. 6¢.—This manual is designed to be a student’s handbook for
the laboratory, and the grade of work is that of the course in
general physics in colleges and technical schools. It is pre-
sumed that the student has had a course in preparatory physics,
and that these exercises will be accompanied by a full course of
lectures : for this reason the text is chiefly restricted to a descrip-
tion of the apparatus and the method of conducting and
recording the experiments. The exercises, 128 in number, give
a general survey of the experimental work in mechanics, pro-
perties of matter, sound, heat, light, electricity, and magnetism.
An extensive appendix, consisting of tables of constants, is
inserted at the end of the volume. The subject-matter is treated
in a sound and accurate manner, and students may rely on the
guidance which the volume will afford. Nevertheless, it is well
to state that previous text-books cover practically the same
ground, and that the volume under review will best serve as a
source of information on special experiments. Several experi-
ments of a novel character are described: of these we may
particularly mention the determination of (1) specific heat by
heating, (2) surface tension by direct measurement, and (3) the
errors of an aneroid barometer. Very useful instructions for
cleaning and silvering glass surfaces are given. The Bnitish
reader may be surprised to read of an unfamiliar unit of pressure
—-the “‘ barye ”—which is defined as a pressure of one dyne per
square centimetre.
The Sea Shore. By W. S. Furneaux. xviii. + 436 pp.
(Longmans.) 6s. net.—It is, as the author remarks, a matter
of surprise that of the pleasure-seekers that swarm on various
parts of the coast so few take a real interest in the natural
history of the shore. In many cases the indifference is no doubt
to be explained by the scarcity of books which will show the
beginner where the most interesting objects are to be found, and
how he should set to work to obtain them. In this respect
Mr. Furneaux’s book supplies a want. Its first six chapters are
devoted to the general characteristics of the seashore and the
outdoor work of the seaside naturalist, and give instructions for
making and maintaining salt-water aquaria and preserving
various marine objects. The succeeding chapters deal with the
appearance and structure of the animals and plants likely to be
met with. These are interesting and, in the main, trustworthy.
DECEMBER, 1903.]
We notice a few minor slips in matters of anatomy and classi-
fication, but they occur, for the most part, in passages upon which
the young reader is not likely to dwell. The book is illus-
trated by eight coloured plates and upwards of 300 cuts, which
will be of great value for purposes of identification. To
naturalists who desire a guide to one of the happiest of hunting-
grounds the book may be confidently recommended.
A Country Reader, II. By H. B. M. Buchanan. viii. +
233 pp. (Macmillan.) 1s. 6¢.—Mr. Buchanan’s second reader
possesses all the virtues of its predecessor. Common farm-
animals and plants are described in clear and interesting
language, and the broad scientific principles upon which
agricultural processes depend are explained ina very happy
manner. The illustrations are numerous and exceptionally
good. The book is admirably planned and will prove of great
use in country schools.
Studies in Nature and Country Life. By Catherine D.
Whetham and W. C. D. Whetham. 125 pp. (Macmillan and
Bowes.) 2s. 6d. net.—The hfteen short essays in this book
direct attention to common objects, scenes and phenomena, and
they may serve to stimulate children to make friends with
Nature and to study her ways. But behind the book there
must be a teacher who will see that the young pupil makes
observations and experiments for himself, otherwise there will
be little development of the spirit of inquiry which should be
the aim of all scientific instruction. It may be doubted whether
any educational advantage is gained by reading about the
constitution of air and water, the nature of heat, light and
sound, and the characteristics of our climate, including the
Gulf Stream fallacy. Very few children can get clear ideas
from such accounts; for the only descriptions and explanations
which grip the mind are those which can be referred to personal
experience. Some of the essays in the second part of the book,
on such subjects as the country and its names, roads, fields and
hedgerows, and villages, are more uncommon than those on
physical science, and could be made the basis of interesting
lessons. There are no illustrations.
Model Answers on Biology for Teachers and Students.
Part I. (Illustrated.) By F. H. Shoosmith. 64 pp. (Charles
and Dible.) 7d. net.—Mr. Shoosmith presents important
botanical truths in a highly concentrated form as model answers
to forty questions proposed by himself. Though he shows that
the student who had ‘‘ read and re-read” the answers could
have satished the examiners in the subject in the King’s Scholar-
ship Examination, 1402, and the Certificate Examination, 1903,
we are convinced that Mr. Schoosmith would not describe his
method as educative in the modern sense.
Mathematics.
The School Arithmetic. By W. P. Workman. viii. +495 pp.
(Clive.) 3s. 6¢.—The following extract from the preface ex-
plains the nature of the book :—‘‘‘ The School Arithmetic’ is
an edition of ‘ The Tutorial Arithmetic’ amplified by a large
selection of miscellaneous.examples arranged in graduated exami-
nation papers, a fresh set of examples in approximate methods
and a further collection of miscellaneous problems. Two
sections have been re-written. Section I. because in an Arith-
metic specially intended for schoolboys elaborate explanations of
the four rules seemed unnecessary, and Section X. because it
included matter outside an ordinary school curriculum. Fur-
ther, the most difficult matter in both book-work and exer-
cises has been omitted, as also have all the harder pro-
blems.’ ” The book is of a very high order of merit and pro-
vides a thorough course in arithmetic. We should have liked,
however, to see a chapter in which the laws of operation were
The School World
473
discussed as a whole: such a chapter would furnish a good
logical discipline and would prepare the pupil for the intelligent
study of algebra.
Lectures on the Logic of Arithmetic. By M. E. Boole.
144 pp. (Clarendon Press.)—The object of these Lectures may
be said to be the ‘‘presentation of arithmetic treated as a
branch of the art of thinking, founded on the general science
of the laws of thought.” The method here expounded has
apparently been ‘‘long used for reviving the faculties of
children suffering from mathematical rickets and logical
paralysis,” diseases ‘‘induced by the practice of teaching
mathematical processes on a hypothesis about the nature of
mathematics directly opposed to that which underlies the
original invention and formulation of these processes.” That
the opportunities afforded by the study of arithmetic for the
development of logical thinking are frequently not used as they
should be is, we fear, only too true; but at the same time we
think there is much sound arithmetical teaching just as there are
several excellent text-books which present the subject in as
logical and instructive a manner as is done in these lectures.
With the desire that is manifest all through the book to get
children to think for themselves rather than to acquire mere
mechanical dexterity every good teacher will be in hearty
sympathy ; and, while there is much sound sense as well as good
logic in the general exposition, we think there are good grounds
for dissenting from several of the statements and conclusions
here put forward. But though we do not agree, in their entirety,
either with the diagnosis of the ‘‘ diseases ” or with the suggested
remedies, we think the book raises many questions that teachers
would do well to consider and to answer.
Arithmetical Types and Examples. By W. G. Borchardt. xi.
+ 367 pp. (Rivingtons.) 3s. 6¢.—A large and well-selected
collection of arithmetical examples, each set being preceded by
a fully worked-out model. Discussion of prigciples and proofs
of rules are usually left to be supplied by the teacher. Two
important matters receive great attention—namely, the use of
rough checks on accuracy and the employment of abbreviated
methods of working. Other good features are the early intro-
duction of examples on areas and volumes and excellent sets of
examples to be solved by graphical methods. The collection
should be found to be very serviceable.
Elementary Geometry. Section If. By Frank R. Barrell.
ii. + 169-284 pp. (Longmans.) 15. 6d¢.—This section is
stated to contain the subject matter of Euclid, Book III. 32,
35-37, some parts of Books IV. and II., and Book VI., with
explanation of ratio and proportion, trigonometric ratios and
measurement of circles. The treatment is simple, and, for a
first approach to the subject, fairly satisfactory, though occasion-
ally it is rather scrappy. The first page of chapter xiii. is
good, but the definition of ratio on page 179 should be over-
hauled in the light of the remarks on p. 182. The exercises
arc not sO numerous as we are accustomed to in school text-
books. The book has several good features, but we think the
arrangement of the matter might be considerably improved ;
when the rearrangement is made, the author would do well to
omit the parenthesis after incommensurable, p. 185.
Examples in Practical Geometry and Mensuration. By J. W.
Marshall and C. O. Tuckey. xii. + 70 pp. (Bell.) 1s. 6a.
—In the hands of a capable teacher these exercises should
prove both easy and instructive work for young pupils, though
we hope the remark in the preface on “the quantity or quality
of instruments” will not be misunderstood. The examples are
numerous, but teachers will need to be careful not to overdo the
merely mechanical processes; a diagram must not be merely
drawn and then laid aside. It is quite possible for a course of
a
practical geometry to be as little of a stimulus as one on
Euclid’s geometry ; the authors seem to recognise this in asking
every now and again for proofs of constructions. We think
very much would be gained by insisting that the pupil shall
state clearly what he has done and by encouraging him to
deduce conclusions from comparison of different cases of the
same construction made by himself and his fellow pupils. Fre-
quently the class should work at one problem, but not all the
pupils from the same data; comparison and discussion of the
different diagrams will often yield interesting results.
Miscellaneous.
The Critics of Herbartianism and other matter contributory to
the Study of the Herbartian Question. By F. H. Hayward,
assisted by M. E. Thomas. viii. + 217 pp. (Sonnen-
schein.) 45. 6¢.—To Dr. Hayward, as he himself says, ‘‘ the
system founded by Herbart is a moral gospel for men perishing
through stupidity and absence of ideas.’’ ‘‘ It is more impor-
tant that education should become a ‘gospel’ than that it
should become a ‘science,’ though when seen through an
Herbartian medium it begins to appear as both.” In fact, the
reader gradually comes to the conclusion that Dr. Hayward
would have him believe that a working knowledge of Herbart’s
system is the whole duty of the schoolmaster. In our opinion,
Dr. Hayward’s enthusiasm often causes him to speak at random,
and more than once we have wished to remind him of what he
has written on p. 60. ‘‘Now interest in a subject easily
degenerates into fanaticism, and when, as with the Herbartian
movement, a deep moral motive is present, this fanaticism may
take extreme forms.” But the author’s rather exaggerated
zeal notwithstanding, we can recommend the book: as one
likely to engender thought, promote controversy, and generally
to prevent educational stagnation.
The Rubbish Alphabet. By Gerald Sichel. (Sonnenschein.)
Is. net.—A child’s alphabet in rhyme is here illustrated by
amusing pictures drawn in strong lines, and with the bright
colours which appeal to youthful minds. A child who knows
his letters could find delight in the pictures and the rhymes
they illustrate.
The Education Act of 1902 (England and Wales) and 1903
(London), with Notes for the use of the Members of Councils
and Committees and others administering these Acts. With the
revised text of the Education Acts, 1870-1899. Edited by G.
R. S. Taylor. iv. + 161 pp. (Routledge.)—This volume
differs from recent books explaining the new English Education
Act noticed in these columns because the editor has been able to
include the Education Act (London) 1903. The explanatory
notes throughout the book show that Mr. Taylor not only has
wide legal knowledge but a thorough appreciation of the diffi-
culties likely to be experienced by members of local education
authorities. The edition may be highly recommended.
Dress-Cutting and Drafting. With Illustrations and
Diagrams. By M. P. Browne. 46 pp. (Constable.) 6d. net.—
This little book is a reprint of the first section of a larger book
by the author, to which has been added a preface by the Hon.
Mrs. Colborne. If carefully worked through by the students of
dress-cutling classes the little book will impart a good practical
knowledge of the subject.
The Post Card Collector's Bureau, The English Counties.
(The Photochrom Co., Ltd.) 15. 6¢.—The bureau consists of a
box divided into partitions on the index file system, separate
divisions being given to different counties. The stiff cards
separating spaces have printed on them interesting geographical
information. By a simple device these can be adjusted to alter
The School World
[DECEMBER, 1903.
the capacity of the separate spaces. The bureau is constructed
to hold 1,000 cards, and affords a methodical manner of keep-
ing a collection, whilst children who collect may be led uncon-
sciously to assimilate some geographical knowledge.
Three Merry Comedies for Schoolboys and such. By C. A.
Pellanus. I., Two Clever by Ha!f. 34 pp. II., A New Start.
38 pp. IIL, The First Day of the Holidays. 40 pP-
(Cambridge: Heffer.) 15. each.—These three plays will
interest young people; they are amusing and remarkably void
of offence. They can be recommended for acting during the
holidays, for the stage directions are simple and the properties
easily procurable.
Pocket-Book Classics. With leather pocket-book and diary.
(Bell.) 45. 6d. net and §s. 6d. net. The volumes separately
bound in limp leather, 2s. net.—This is an excellent idea
daintily carried out. A beautifully produced pocket-bock with
a sufficient diary and calendar and a means for catrying in a
small compass seme favourite piece of literature—at present
‘©The Odes of Horace,” “ Marcus Aurelius,” and Tennyson’s
“In Memoriam” are available, but other volumes are to be
added. The volumes, it should be said, are interchangeable.
The pocket-book classics would make an acceptable present to
any schoolmaster, schoolmistress, or literary person.
onha M
CORRESPONDENCE.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opinions
expressed in letters which appear in these columns. AS a
rule, a letter criticising any article or review printed in
THE SCHOOL WORLD will be submitted to the contributor
before publication, so that the criticism and reply may
appear together.
The Ideal Reading Book.
May I add a word or two to the aaticle on the above subject
which I contributed to your last issue? The“ Temple Readers,”
the ‘“ Romance Readers,” the ‘‘Stories from Chaucer,” men-
tioned in the article are published by Messrs. H. Marshall and
Son, and not by the Norland Press.
The large number of publishers who have for many years sent
well-illustrated ‘* Books for the Bairns ” into the market rendered
it impossible to give more than a few names; but readers who
are in any sympathy with the article will readily enough add
others: it is the style of book rather than any particular set of
books to which I desired to call attention. The opportunity may,
however, be taken to say that Messrs. Longmans have published
nymerous excellent Fairy Tale books.
ARTHUR BURRELL.
Isleworth.
Practical Work in Schools.
May I call the attention of your readers to the fact that a
committee of the Education Section of the British Associa-
tion was appointed, with Sir Philip Magnus as chairman, this
year, at Southport, ‘*To report upon the courses of experi-
mental, observational and practical studies most suitable for
elementary schools,” and to solicit their assistance in the
important work the committee has before it.
It is very desirable that the committee should be in possession
of all available information as to schemes of work that come
within the scope of its enquiry, and are at the present time in
operation. If teachers who are carrying out original schemes of
instruction, or who are acquainted with particularly good efforts
in teaching observational and practical subjects, will favour the
committee with full details of such courses of instruction, it will
be of the greatest possible assistance. The enquiry will cover
the following Sections, and will be particularly concerned with
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
The School World
475
the co-ordination of these with one another and with the
ordinary subjects of the curriculum of an elementary school :—
(1) Practical and experimental arithmetic and geometry.
(2) Elementary experimental science (fundamental principles
of chemistry and physics}.
(3) Nature-study and its relation to botany and geography.
(4) Domestic science and art, including cookery, laundry-
work, housewifery, hygiene and needlework.
(5) Manual instruction other than in the forms comprised by
preceding sections, ¢.g., kindergarten, * hand and eye” training,
drawing, and the use of tools.
Teachers willing to assist the committee will best do so by
sending as full details as possible of courses of instruction, con-
ditions of work, time devoted to the subject, methods and
organisation, and (if convenient) average samples of the work
accomplished or note books produced by the pupils. Such
samples will be carefully preserved, and when examined will be
returned to the source from which they came.
As there is little time in which to make such an extensive
enquiry, I wish, on behalf of the committee, to appeal to
teachers, inspectors, and others interested in these matters,
to send to me at the above address before Christmas, contri-
butions that may be of service to the committee.
W. MAYHOWE HELLER,
18, Belgrave Square, Secretary to the Committee.
Monkstown, co. Dublin.
Some Common Text-Book Errors in Dynamics.
Ir seems to me—I speak in all deference—that Dr. Bryan
has only just touched on the unsatisfactory nature of text-book
treatment of the parallelogram of velocities. The real point
seems to me that it is not so much a device for compounding
velocities (as he truly says, a body cannot have two velocities at
the same time) as a device for simplifying mathematical calcu-
lation by resolving velocities. The whole tendency of treating
it in the ordinary way is to foster the idea that a body can
have two motions at the same time ; and the confusion arising
from this is, I think, by no means confined to schoolboys.
There is a fundamental misconception arising from the idea
that the two compounded motions have each a physical exist-
ence. Let me give an example. I heard a University Extension
lecturer make the statement that the balls in a ball bearing had
a spinning as well as a rolling motion, and that, therefore, there
must of necessity be some sliding of the balls against the
bearing. In the class afterwards I suggested that theoretically
you might so shape the bearings as always to have the contact
between balls and bearings in such a position that the motion
was pure rolling. Of course the practical application at once
becomes extremely complicated and confusing, but the lecturer
could not begin to discuss the question, as he was unable to
realise that his spinning and rolling had not each a separate
physical existence.
It is the old difficulty of science teachers that scientific lan-
guage is so frequently metaphorical, and therefore, if taken
literally, misleading. When we say that Jones major has
sixteen marks, we do not expect to find them on his back or
the palms of his hands ; but when we say that the motion of a
ball in a ball-bearing is compounded of a rolling motion and
a spinning motion our language, though equally metaphorical,
is in nine cases out of ten taken literally.
Gran.mar School,
Atherstone.
ALEX. WICKSTEED,
i The Effective Teaching of Geography.
THERE is, perhaps, no subject the teaching of which is more
generally distasteful than geography and few subjects which are
so ineffectively taught, I say ‘‘ ineffectively ” advisedly, though I
am, of course, quite aware that it is possible in geography to
obtain nearly always fair results as far as examinations are
concerned. But this fact is anything but comforting when one
reflects that it is simply due to the getting up of the text-book
on the part of the pupils. And I am sure I shall not be alone in
maintaining that mere lists of names and isolated facts do not
constitute geographicai knowledge. True, they are indis-
pensable adjuncts of it, but that is all. Pupils need vivid and
accurate knowledge of each country they study, such a know-
ledge as will enable them in the future to talk intelligently of
other lands. The error in the teaching of geography hes mainly,
I think, in a wrong use of the text-book. The text-book, which
should be simply a correct outline of facts and a compendium of
data for reference, is a book for the pupil, not the teacher. The
teacher’s lesson must be given on independent lines, and
should be the result of careful reading. Naturally, a power of
graphic description on the part of the teacher is of the greatest
value. But a description which is merely a monotonous
reproduction of some book of travel will fail to a certainty.
Description, to succeed at all, and to make a real impression on
the pupils, must be as vivid and life-like as if the teacher had
personally visited the scenes described. Probably some will
object that this is a counsel of perfection and impossible to
attain generally. Perhaps so, but I am certain that the power
can be cultivated even by the most unimaginative teacher. And,
when geography is taught in the graphic manner I advocate, the
educative value to the pupil is great indeed. The pupil whose
interest has been once awakened will read up descriptions and
details out of school. To take a few examples at random.
There are few pupils who, having once formed a picture of the
Bad Lands in the lower valley of the Yellowstone River, or of
the great cafion river, the Colorado, or of the wonderful
asphalte lake in Trinidad, will ever wholly lose the impression.
Pictures, to be pinned on the notice-board, of the places
mentioned are of the greatest help to the teacher. Generally
speaking, the pupils are very glad to bring such pictures if they
happen to possess any. I quite foresee, however, that, in the
desire to be graphic and interesting, accurate detail may be
overlooked. Pupils must know how to use their maps, be
trained to observe always its scale, and to give when required
the distance from one place to another or an area, approximately
only, as I need scarcely add. Positions of towns, rivers, &c.,
must be known as exactly as possible, and pupils should be made
to feel that a slight misplacement, which means in reality some
hundreds of miles, is a serious error.
As to actual map-drawing, this has to do with facility in
drawing rather than anything else. There is one thing,
however, which is most helpful in the teaching of geography :
the pupil should be able to reproduce from memory a country
or part of a country with a fair degree of accuracy, and, above
all, be able to mark towns and rivers correctly. Perfect
accuracy of outline is unattainable except for the few, and should
most certainly not be insisted on. And, indeed, it is not really
of great importance.
Use may be made occasionally of lantern-slides, but this
should not become too frequent, or the geography lesson may
come to be regarded as amusement and nothing more.
I have not space in this letter to touch on the teaching of
physical geography at all, for that branch is important enough to
claim a separate consideration. And, indeed, there is so much
to say on the subject of the teaching of geography that I have
not attempted to write comprehensively. I have merely tried
to indicate briefly the practical lines on which my own teaching
of the subject is based.
ESTHER S. THORN.
Camden School for Girls,
London, N.W.
ce iaa | Sa ee - M
Women Gymnasts at the Niirnberg Festival.
No one could read the article in your October number, on
“Women Gymnasts at the Nürnberg Festival ” by an English
Delegate, without assuming that the only English women
gymnasts present were those specifically mentioned as being
from the single London institution which is named. The
article refers to ‘‘the little band of English repre-
sentatives,” whereas there were two bands of such representa-
tives present. The article describes the appearance of ‘‘ the
little band ” as though it was the first and only appearance pf
English girls, whereas two days previously the other band of
English women representatives had performed from the same
platform. And finally, after a somewhat dramatic and by no
means modest description of how the performance of the “ little
band” was appreciated, the article winds up by stating that
“the English women who created this favourable impression in
Niirnberg were from ‘The Gymnastic Teachers’ Training
College held at the South-western Polytechnic, London.’ ”
I have no wish to detract from the credit due to this excellent
training College, the able head of which was formerly a valued
member of our staff; but, in common justice to the other band
of English women representatives who were present, I think I
am bound to protest against the inaccuracy or unfairness of ‘‘ an
English Delegate,” who attributes the sole representation of
English women gymnasts at the festival to the students from one
particular college, and credits them with being the only
English women creating a favourable impression.
It happens that a band of eight gymnastic teachers in training
from this Polytechnic, together with our Instructress, were
present at the Niirnberg Festival, and took an official and
prominent part in the programme. They appeared on the
evening of the Monday, whereas the other band did not perform
until the Wednesday, and they certainly created a favourable
impression. As I write this, I have before me extracts from two
German and two English papers, in which the exercises
rendered by this band of students and the impressions they
created are referred to in the most eulogistic terms. I refrain
from quoting them, in deference to the belief that such a paper as
yours is not intended to advertise particular institutions,
although this would seem to have been forgotten by your
contributor.
I may also remark that whereas “ An English Delegate ”
states that “a sea of upturned faces 100,000 spec-
tators ” were present to see the ‘‘little band” perform ; I read
in an article on the Festival in Zhe HVorld’s Work that this
particular performance when “two and thirty thousand people
looked on,” and in no paper can I see reference to more than
40,000 as the total number attending the festival, In fairness
to “other English women,” I hope you will find space for this
letter, SIDNEY H. WELLS,
Battersea Polytechnic, Principal.
London, S.W.
IN answer to the above letter, I must sincerely apologise to the
Battersea contingent for not mentioning their performance, which
was in every respect admirable, and received the approbation
which it fully deserved. At the same time, I may point out
that the seeming want of courtesy was quite unintentional. I
was writing an article on educational gymnastics, of which the
display of the South-western team was intended to be, and
actually was, an expusition carefully thought out and carried
through by Fraiilein Wilke, whereas the display of the little
band of Battersea, excellent though it was, could hardly come
under this category. That a gratuitous advertisement was
sought for is a most unworthy suggestion, for, beyond the fact
of being an old student of the college, I have no other interest
in it. AN ENGLISH DELEGATE,
The School World
Sate cae sre eee | ae ee Se,
[ DECEMBER, 1903,
School Laboratories.
IT has been pointed out to me that my remark in the recent
review of Mr. T. H. Russell’s book on Laboratory Fittings,
“That the benches in the chemical laboratories at the
Manchester Municipal School were a replica of the earlier ones
designed by Dr. Thorpe at the Yorkshire College,” is incorrect.
‘Though they resemble one another in general arrangement,
there are many points of detail in which they differ. My
statement was based upon the verbal information of an official
of one of the institutions in question. As, however, such infor-
mation is incorrect, I hope you will allow me to correct the
mistake. I need hardly add that it was never my intention to
convey the impression that this type of bench, supposing it had
been the same, was adopted by the author except as the result
of the previous consideration of other types. As it turns out,
the illustration to which I referred is not intended to represent
an exact drawing of the Manchester benches, but is a generalised
drawing.
Your REVIEWER.
The Drying of Flasks.
THE method devised by Mr. O’Keefe has often been recom-
mended, and is sometimes used in large laboratories, but the
tube should be of copper and the air must be filtered, or the
flasks will be dirtier than ever for obvious reasons. It seems out
of place in the school laboratory. Twelve CO, flasks were dried
in my laboratory one morning in less than five minutes by the
simple plan of placing them on an iron plate kept hot by a large
burner. If the flasks have not very long or narrow necks, no
sucking out of air is needed, and very little in any case. This
has ‘‘ worked ” for years.
A. I. F.
Treyelyan’s Rocker.
CAN any reader who has used Trevelyan’s Rocker give any
hints as to the precautions necessary to ensure success with it?
My own rocker works well after trial, but I cannot depend upon
it. Sometimes I have to spend twenty minutes in trials before
it is satisfactory. Experiments to discover the cause of failure
have so far not resulted in success, and I thought some other
teachers might have had a similar difficulty, and be able to
suggest a cause.
W. P. WINTER.
The Salt Schools,
Shipley.
The School World.
A Monthly Magazine of Educational Work and
Progress.
EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES,
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON, W.C.
Contributions and General Correspondence should be sent to
the Editors.
Business Letters and Advertisements should be addressed to
the Publishers.
THE SCHOOL WORLD fs published a few days before the
beginning of each month. The price of a single copy is sixpence.
Annual subscription, including postage, eight shillings.
The Editors will be glad to consider suitable articles, which, if
not accepted, will be returned when the postage ts prepaid,
All contributions must be accompanied by the name and
adress of the author, though not necessarsly for publication,
ARTICLES.
Administrators, Boy, 245
African, South, education, 25
American Literature, a history of, 417
Angevin England, 178
Angles and Parallels, the geometrical
treatment of, 163
Apparatus for the measurement of ther-
mal expansion, 448
Aquaria and Vivaria, the use and care of,
208
Arithmetic, a chapter in very elementary,
81
5 Another chapter on very
elementary, 125
z the teaching of, 412
Art side of seconcary schools, equipment
of the, 51
„ Students, industrial openings for, 45
Assistant - masters, the = Incorporated
Association of, 127
‘3 mistresses in Public Secondary
Schools, the Association of, 167
Athenian Drama, the, 179
Athens, ancient, 181
Athletics and out-door sports for women,
336
Blackboard-drawing for the illustration of
lessons, 54
Book, a long-needed, 98
Botany as a branch of nature-study, 211
Boy Administrators, 245
British Association, education at the, 376
» Songs for British Boys, 340
Brush Drawing, 373
Calorimetry, Apparatus for Experiments
in, 165
Cambridge Local Examinations, 1902,
Hints from Examiners’ Reports, 174 ;
of 1903, geometry at the, 106, 123;
Set subjects for 1903, 22; Locals, test
examination papers in geography, 277 ;
Mathematical Keform at, 224
Cape of Good lope, Education at the,
420
Carnegie Trust, the, and the Scottish
Universities, 145
Charles V., the Emperor, 1g
Chelmsford, The Essex County Technical
Laboratories, 460
Chick, the development of a, 214
Classical Review, the, 259
re translations for English readers,
161
Classics, the educational value of, 67
Claudius, Seneca’s, satire on, 138
Clubs, Correspondence, for the study of
Pedagopics, 461
Co-Education, the case for, 220
Conference, the Headmasters’, 13
Contour- Lines, levels and, 83, 133
Copy books and penmanship in the
school, 321, 361
Correlation of Studies, on the, 331
Culture, a modern view of, 342
p two views of, 3, 5
Drawing, Blackboard, for the illustrations
of lessons, 54
T brush, 373
No 6o VoL. 5]
Drawing, geometrical and mechanical,
for London Matriculation, 43
„ the place of, in education, 4I
„ the value of, in the science and
manual instruction lessons, 47
Dynamics, some common text-book
errors in, 401
Education at the British Association, 376 ;
at the Cape of Good Hope,
420; Bill, the London, 170;
Co-, the case for, 220; geo-
graphical, 423; higher, the
national value of, 379 ; naval,
61; secondary, recent re-
forms of, in France, 242;
science in a liberal, 364; the
influence of examinations on,
410; the place of Nature-
study in, 221; the relative
advantages of abstract and
concrete methods in, 2413
the true aim of, 343; Uni-
versily, in Ireland, Royal
Commission on, 171
T in the new Republic, 455
s Act, 1902, the, in its relation
to secondary schools, 121
Educational improvements, suggested,
180
FA inquiries, special, 261
- opinion, the history of, 138
<a Reform, 218,
= Keview, an, 262
Elocution, reading and, 301
England, Angevin, 178
English Language, Teaching in France,
445
»» test examination papers in, 151
» the teaching of, 35
Entrance requirements at public schools,
338
Equipment, modern school buildings and
their, 99
is of the art side of secondary
schools, 51
s5 school furniture and, in
secondary schools for
girls, 56, 88, 131
Essex, The, County Technical Labora-
tories, Chelmsford, 460
Examination papers, test, in English, 151
i 0 j in English
history, 191
in geography,
232
Examinations, mathematical, recent de-
velopments in, 10
oe the influence of, on educa-
tion, 400
viva-voce, in French, 97
Fiction, some holiday reading in, 286
Fire prevention in school buildings, 281,
326
Food for schoolboys, 129
Formosa, the industrial plants of, 339
Forms, low, how to make practical work
of use to big, 102
France, English Language teaching in,
445
French, viva-voce examinations in, 97
?3 n 33
Furnace, A convenient form of small for
Laboratory use, 460
Furniture, school, and equipment in
secondary schools for girls, 56, 88, 131
Galvanometers for school laboratories, 15
Garner, the English, 258
Geographical education, 423
Geography of Central Europe, the, 300
- practical exercises in, 259,
302
J scientifc instruction in, 335
j test examination papers in,
232, 277
Geometrical drawing in relation to
mathematical teaching, 90
Geometry at the Cambridge Local Exami-
nations of 1903, 106, 123
s in Responsions at Oxford, 25
N pass, at Oxford and Cam-
bridge, 359
E the teaching of, 143
Girls’ schools, natural science in, 8
Glass ware for cheinical laboratories, 407
Grammar, A new Latin, 456
Greeks, moral philosophy of the, 336
Gymnasts, women, at the Niirnberg
Gymnastic Festival, 1903, 368
Harrow Master, a, 18 t
Headmasters’ Conference, the, 13
a's the Incorporated Associa-
tion of, 59
Headmistresses, the Association of, 94
** Heuristic,” the abuse of the term, 255
History of the British Empire, 1763-
1878, 86
», readable books in, 254
a test examination papers in Eng-
lish, 191
Holiday Trip, A, on the Loire, 248
Humanities, A new scheme of study in
the, 454 e
Hygiene, School, 421
Iliad, the, 257
Indian Universities Commission, the re-
port of the, 172
Inspection, The, of secondary schools,
437
Instruments, mathematical,
use, 247
Ireland, University Education in, Royal
Commission on, 171
Irish educatisnal associations, 365
j reports, two, 420
j Technical Congress, the, 378
John, King, the character of, 17 |
Laboratories, School, 417
Languages, Modern, the phonograph as
an aid to the teacher of, 250
Lantern Slides, preparation of, 103
Latin Grammar, A new, 456
», Prose, some modifications of the
teaching of, 290
Leaving Certificate, the new, of the
London University, 63
Levels and contour lines, 83, 133
Literary trifles, unconsidered, 178
Literature for leisure hours, 283
Loire, a holiday trip on the, 248
London Education bill, the, 170
PoP
for school
478
London Matriculation, geometrical and
mechanical drawing for, 43
», University in relation to schools,
295
7 the new Leaving Cer-
tificate of the, 63
‘ Magic Carpet,” the, in the class-room,
226
Maps, wall, available school, 324
Masters, Assistant-, the Incorporated As-
sociation of, 127
Mathematical examinations, recent deve-
lopments in, 10 |
és instruments for school use,
247; reform at Cambridge,
224; teaching, geometrical
drawing in relation to, 90
AS teaching, The reform of, in
the United States, 459
Mathematics, the teaching of, in Scot-
tish schuols, 419
Method, two books on, 418
Methods in education, the relative ad-
vantages of abstract and concrete, 241
Mistresses, Assistant-, in public secondary
schools, the Association of, 167
Mulcaster, Richard, Redivivus, 371
Museums, school, 136
Music, the place and value of, in school
work, 399
Natal Teachers in conference, 341
National Union of Teachers, the, 251
Natural Science in girls’ schools, 8
Naturalist’s outht, the young, 206
Nature, The study of, 456
» Notes fur January, 23
a R February, 70
is 35 March, 101
Nature-study, botany as a branch of, 211
i lessons, material for, 212
s library, a, 201
iš the place of, in education,
221
Naval education, 61
Odyssey, the, in English verse, 375
Offender, The Reformation of the, 443
Openings, industrial, for art students, 45
Oxford, geometry in Responsions at, 25
»» Local Examinations, 1903, Hints
from Ex-
aminer’s Re-
ports, 370
s js es set subjects
for 1904, 265
Paper, squared, 169
Parallels, angles and, the geometrical
treatment of, 163
Pedagogics at recent conferences, 66
Correspondence Clubs for the
study of, 461
Penmanship, copy books and, in the
schools, 321, 361
Phonograph, the, as an aid to the teacher
of modern languages, 250
Photography of c'ouds and lightning, the,
203
a with a pin-hole and with a
telephoto lens, 258
Physical development, some types of, 292
» training in Scotland, 372
Physics, a modern text-book of, 139
Pompeii, life in, 218
Practical work, how to make, of use to
big, low forms, 102
Private school, efficiency in the, 304
» Schools Association, Incorpo-
rated, Tne, 216
es position and prospects
39
of, 305
Psychologist and teacher, I
Psychology, experimental, 19
The School World—Index
Reading and elocution, 301
», book, the ideal, 403
Reformation, The, of the offender, 443
Registration of teachers, recent changes
in the order for the, 357
Register of teachers, a, 66
Reports, educational, recent, 382
Sag 7 two Irish, 420
n School, with special reference
to boys’ schools, 439
School books, the most notable, of 1902,
20
»» boys, food for, 129
», buildings, modern, and
equipment, 99
their
»» furniture and equipment in se- .
condary schools for girls, 56,
88, 133
» hygiene, 421
»» laboratories, 417
55 si galvanometers for, 15
»» Museums, 136
» reports, with special reference to
boys’ schools, 439
song-book, a new, 140
Science, first lessons’ in, 222
» ina liberal education, 364
» the educational value of, 411
» the growth of the teaching of,
in English schools, 380
» Workshops for schools and
colleges, 140, 183
Scotland, physical training in, 372
= The Educational Institute of,
332
Scottish schools, supplementary courses
fur, 107
» ji the teaching of mathe-
matics in, 419
re Universities, the Carnegie trust
and the, 145
Secondary education, recent reforms of,
in France, 242
re schools, The inspection of, 437
Seleucus, the Elouse of, 100
Seneca’s Satire on Claudius, 138
Shakespeare in schools, a systematic study
of, 96
Song-book, a new school, 140
Songs, British, for British boys, 340
South African education, 25
Squared paper, 169
Studies, on the correlation of, 331
Sundial, construction of a horizontal, 204
Teacher, Psychologist and, 1
Teachers and teaching, 185
a Register of, 66
i official hints to, 26; registra-
tion of, recent changes in the order for
the, 357; the National Union of, 251 ;
the training of, for elementary schools,
298 ; the training of, in secondary
schools for boys, 23; the two methods
of training, 397; Guild, The, 296
Teaching, teachers and, 185
the aim of, 181
Technical Institutions, The Association of,
451
a Laboratories, the
Chelmsf.-rd, 460
Theory, a new scieulihc, 337
Thermal Expansion, Apparatus for the
measure ment of, 448
Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, 416
Translations, classical, for English
readers, 161
Travel, schoolroom, 328
University Education in Ireland, Royal
Commission on, 171
Untted States, The reform ‘of mathemati-
cal teachiug in the, 459
County,
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
Ventilation of schoolrooms by windows
and fireplaces, 263
Vivaria, Aquaria and, the use and care
of, 208
Wall-maps, available school, 324
Welsh, The, County School Associa-
tion, 405
Withers, Prof. H. L., 65
Workshops, science, for schools and
' colleges, 140, 183
AUTHORS.
Aldous, Rev. J. C. P. (Naval Educa-
tion), 61
Armstrong, Prof. H. E. (The Abuse of
the term"* Heu-
ristic ”), 255
‘5 » (Science Work-
ener for Schools and Colleges), 140,
193
Auden, Principal H. W. (Some Modi-
fications of the Teaching of Latin
Prose), 290
Avebury, Lord (The Study of Nature),
6
45
Bailey, C. W. (The Reformation of the
Offender), 443
Baker, E. A. (Literature for Leisure
poe 283
Barnett, P. A. (The True Aim of Edu-
cation), 343
Belcher, E. A. (Natal Teachers in Con-
ference), 341
Bell, Rev. Canon (The Training of
Teachers in Secondary Schools for
Boys), 23
acrid R. T. (The Aim of Teaching),
181
Bryan, Prof. G. H. (Some Common
Text-Book Errors in Dynamics), 401
Burrell, Principal A. (The Ideal Read-
ing Book), 403
Burstall, Sara A. (Natural Science in
Girls’ Schools), 8
Busbridge, Hareld
Lantern Slides), 103
Cadness, Henry (Industrial Openings for
Art Students), 45
Clarke, Lilian J. (Botany as a Branch
of Nature-Study), 211
Clay, F. (Fire Prevention in School
Buildings), 281, 326
Clayden, A. W. (The Photography of
Clouds and Lightning), 203
Cole, Prof. G. A. J. (School-Room
Travel), 328
Coleman, Prof. J. B. (Glass-Ware for
Chemical Laboratories), 407
Daniell, G. F. (The ‘‘ Magic Carpet ” in
the Class-Room), 226
Davies, A. Morley (Levels and Contour
Lines), 83, 133
Deakin, Rupert (Geometry at the Cam-
bridge Local Examinations, 1963), 123
Edser, E. (A New Scientific Theory), 337
Edwards, W. (Teachers and Teaching),
18
sear W. D. (Mathematical Instruments
for School Use), 247
(The Teaching of Geo-
metry), 143
Fearenside, C. S. (History of the British
Empire, 1763-1878),
86
(Preparation of
99 29
” „ (Some Holiday Read-
ing in Fiction), 286
Fish, Rev. A. H. (Science in a Liberal
Education), 364
Gregory, Prof. R. A. (Construction of a
Honzontal Sundial), 204
DECEMBER, 1903. ]
Hadley, H. E. (Galvanometers for
School Laboratories), 15
Headley, F. W. (Boy Administrators), 245
or n (Education in the New
Republic). 455
Harris, Dr. W. T. (Ventilation of School-
rooms by Windows and Fireplaces),
263
Hawkins, C. (Physical Training in Scot-
land), 372
m » (Some Types of Physical
Development), 292
Hurst, E. W. (Practical Exercises in
Geography), 259, 302
Jarvis, J. W. (Copy Books and Penman-
ship in the School), 321, 361
Johnson, Fanny (Classical Translations
for English Keaders), 161
Keele, Frederic (Two Views of Cul-
ture), §
Knight, Wm. A. (The Value of Drawing
in the Science and Manual Instruction
Lessons). 47
Langley, E. M. (Pass Geometry at
Oxford and Cambridge), 359
Latter, Oswald H. (A Nature-Study
Library), 201
Leonard, J. H. (School Museums), 136
Lindsey, J]. S. (Readable Books in His-
tery), 254
Lodge, Prof. Alfred, and C. B. McElwee
(Geometrical and Mechanical
Drawing for London Matricula-
tion), 43
» Sir Oliver (A Chapter in very
Elementary Arith-
metic), 81
(Another Chapter on
very Elementary
Arithmetic), 125
(The Relative Ad-
vantages of Ab-
stractand Concrete
Methods in Edu-
cation), 241
(The Teaching of
’ 99 a”
99 9” ”
39? +B 99
Ao 412
Lulham, R. B. J. (The Use and Care of
Aquaria and Vivaria), 208
Lydon, F. F. (Blackboard Drawing for
the Illustration of Lessons), 54
Mackinder, H. J. (Geographical Educa-
tion), 423
McElwee, C. B., Prof. Alfred Lodge and
(Geometrical and Mechanical Drawing
for London Matriculation), 43
Medd, John C. (The Place of Nature-
Study in Education), 221
Morgan, Principal C. Lloyd (Psycholo-
gist and Teacher), 1
Muir, Dr. T. (An Educational Review),
262
nes Josiah (Food for Schoolboys),
129
Page, T. E. (A New Scheme of Study in
the Humanities), 454
Paton, J. Lewis (The new Leaving Cer-
tificate of the London University), 63
Payen-Payne, de V. (A Holiday Trip on
the Loire), 248
ve (Vi a -Voce Exami-
nations in French). 9
Richardson, Hugh (i he Young Natu-
ralist’s Outfit), 206
Rippmann, Prof. W. (The Phonograph
as an aid to the teacher of Modern
Languages), 250
Robson, E. 8. A. (Apparatus for Ex-
periments in Calorimetry), 164
j E. S. A. (Apparatus for the Mea-
surement of Thermal Expansion), 448
No. 6o, VoL. 5.]
The School
Rumsey, C. Almeric (Recent Develop-
a in Mathematical Examinations),
Ratios W. A. (Squared Paper), 169
Sampson, C. A. (The Influence of Ex-
aminations on Education), 410
Sargeaunt, John (Two Views of Culture), 3
Schoen, Dr. H. (Recent Reforms of
Secondary Education in France), 242
Schoen, Dr. H. (English Language
Teaching in France), 445
Scott, Dr. R. P. (The Education Act,
1992, in its relation to Secondary
Schools), 121
Senior, E. (Photography witha Pin Hole
and with a Telephoto Lens), 288
Sherwood, E. C. (How to make Prac-
tical Work of use to Big Low Forms},
102
Simmons, A. T. (First Lessons in
Science), 222
9, (Correspondence Clubs
for the Study of Pedagogics), 401
Sonnenschein, A. (On the Corvelation of
Studies), 331
Stenhouse, Ernest (The Development of
a Chick), 214
Steward, Kev. Canon (Nature Notes for
January), 23
(Nature Notes for
February), 70
»» (Nature Notes for
99 99 99
99 99
March), 101
Taylor, Edward R. (The Place of Draw-
ing in Education), 4I
Thorn, Esther S. (A Systematic Study of
Shakespeare in Schools), 96
Turner, Caroline (School Furniture and
Equipment in Secondary Schools for
Girls), §6, 88, 131
Unwin, Rev. Percy W. (Geometrical
Drawing in relauon to Mathematical
Teaching), 90
Vinall, J. W. Topham (Equipment of
the Art Side of Secondary Schools), 5t
Wethey, E. R. (Available School Wall-
Maps), 324
Widdowson, T. (London University in
relation to Schools), 295
Woodill, H. B. (The Geometrical treat-
ment of Angles and Parallels), 163
Wyss, von, Cl tilde (Materia: fur Nature-
Study Lessons), 212 °
CORRESPONDENCE.
Addendum, An (J. Elliott), 200
Angles and Parallels, The Geometrical
Treatment of
(E. Budden),
237, 279
pe The (seometrical
Treament of
(H. B. Wood-
all), 232, 279
Arithmetic, the beginnings of (W. Dun-
stan),
99 99
. 1S7
5 »» (Sir Oliver
V. Payen-
2% 99
Lodge), 157
Army Examinations (de
Payne), 320
j the new Examinations for the
(Twenty Years an Army-Class Master),
277
Botany, The Teaching of (Ida H. Jack-
son), 39
British Association, Programme of the
Education Section of the ae M.
Heller), 317
World—Index
= zae oe ee -
~~. Pemi, dag
EE Locals, | Physical oe
at the (J. Fairprieve), 240
Carbon Dioxide, A Metnod of Collecting,
bv heating chalk (D. S. Macnair), 396
Co-Education (A Regular Subseriber), 119
Correction, A (The Euitor of ‘* The
Schoolmaster’s Yearbook ”), 159
Correspondence Club for the Siudy of
Pedagogics (A. T. sim-
mons), 354, 396, 436;
(Prof. J. Adams), 3543
(Prof. H. E. Aim.
strong), 354; T. Wid-
dowsen), 354
International
I lawrence), 200
Duplicators and Hektographs (A. Vas-
sall), 80
Dynamics, some commen Tex'-Book
Errors in (A. Wickstees). 475
Educaiton, Engiish, current c.iticisms of
(T. Vetlatt), 118
Empire, The | eague of the (Mrs. S. M.
Ord Marshall), 159 l
European llistury, junior class-book of
(E. M. White), 238
» (A J.E.) 238
Experiments, Simple, in electricity and
magnetism (A.
E. Munby), 279
m » (Your Re-
(E. A.
viewer), 279
Extensimeter, a New (G. B. Lavelle),
436
i a Simple, and thermal
ia apparatus (James Comerton),
119
Flasks, the Drying of (W. O’Keefe), 436
9 99 9 » (A. H. F. ), 476
French Pronunciation (E. Dick), 278
y is (E. Latham), 199
»» Viva-voce Examinations in (W.
M. Conacher), 199
- a5 », (de V. Payen- Payne),
239
Galvanometer Lamps for School Labora-
tories (William Kennett), 159
Galvanometers, School (P. Tlenderson),
80; (C. J. Leaper), 119; (LI E.
Hadley) 120
Geographical Puzzles (E. C. C }, 158
js ‘4 (Dr. A. J. lles bert-
son). 158
Geography, Phy-ical, at the Cambridge
Locals (l. Fatrgrieve), 240
the bifective Teaching of
(E. S. Thorn), 475
Geology as a branch of Nature-study
(H. Petherick), 320
Geometry at the Cambridge Local Exami-
nations (Prof. G. H. Bryan), 79
Grammatical Analysis at the Oxford
Locals (H. Watson), 159
Graphic Mark Book, The, (The Inven-
ters; your Reviewer), 40
Graphs for Lower Furms (R. B. Morgan),
at the Niirnberg
Festival (S. H.
Wells), 476
» (An English Dele-
239
Gymnasts, Women,
gat:), 476
Heuristic Methods of Science Teaching
(J. IHL Leonard),
318
n a » (Prof. H. E. Arm-
strong), 319
Languages, Modern, the Study of (E.
Latham), 79
Lantern Shoes, Preparation of (Dr. W.
Marshall Watts), 159
QQ
480
The School World—Index
[DEcEMBER, 1903.
Levels and Contour Lines (S. A, Johns),
237
‘A. Morley
Davies), 237
Maps, available School Wall ve eee
si ER k. Werhey),
99 39 99
2 9?
» Cheap Ordnance Sine, A A. J.
Herbertson), 435
oe elect History of (G. Hammam),
Mental Fatigue, the Measurement of (F.
A. Bruton), 356
Natal, Information wanted in (P. A. Bar-
nett), 240
Nature-study Library, A (A. Morley
Davies), 280
Pencils, Hard, The use of, in practical
geometry (W. D. Eggar), 118
Practical Work in Schools (W. M.
Heller), 474
Pronunciation, Changes in (de V. Payen-
Payne), 356
Proportion, Simple, and Graphs (Edmund
G. Highfield), 158
Pupil Teachers, the Education of (Arthur
J. Arnold), 238
Reading Book, The Tdeal (Principal
Burrell), 474
F the Art of (C. L. Thomson, for
oe H. Marshall and Son),
eRT C Memorial to the late Mr. T. G.
C. Hearnshaw and J. F. Hud-
ae
School Curricula (A. C. Benson), 394
(Miss C. L. Lawrie), 395
9s ry) (J. Thornton), 395
»» Laboratories (Your Keviewer),
bz) 99
476
` „» Societies (T. S. Foster), 355
Schools, The o E and Ventilation of
(M. P.) 1
Science nae Books for (Robert Cham-
bers), 80
Scottish Leaving Certificate examination,
English papers in the (D. MacGilli-
vray), 319
Stereoscope, The, in education (Gilbert
J. Pass), 278
i ‘ as an aid to Teaching
(Underwood and
: Underwood), 396
Switzertand, A Holiday in (L. Edna
Walter), 240
Trevelyan’s Rocker (W. P. Winter), 476
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Current History, 33, 74, 113, 150, 190,
231, 270, 311, 349, 388, 428, 468
General, 28, 70, 108, 145, 186, 226, 265,
306, 345, 384, 425, 462
Irish, 32, 72, III, 149, 188, 230, 269,
309, 387, 466
Scottish, 31, 71, 110, un: 188, 229, 268,
309, 348, 385, 427, 465
Welsh, 33, 73. 112, 149, 189, 231, 270,
310, 349, 428, 467
PRIZE COMPETITIONS,
40, 80, 120, 160, 200, 240, 280
RECENT SCHOOL BOOKS AND
APPARATUS.
CLASSICS.
ry Septem Contra Thebas, with
introduction and notes, by
A. Sidgwick, 312°,
Aeschylus, Persæ, with introduction and
notes, by A. Sidgwick, 313
Appian Civil Wars, Book I., edited, &c.,
by J. L. Strachan-Davidson, 114
Athenian Drama, the, Sophocles, trans-
lated, &c., by J.
S. Phillimore,
179
Euripides, trans-
lated by Gil-
bert Murray,
939 +B 9
179
Athens, Ancient, by Prof. E. A. Gard-
ner, 181
Caesar, First Steps in. The Expeditions
to Britain, De Bello Gallico, iv. 20-36,
v. 8-23, by F. Ritchie, 430
Ceezar's Gallic War, Book VII., edited
by John Brown, 192
Cicero, Marcus Tullius, Ten Orations,
with the Letters to his Wife,
edited by R. A. von Minckwitz,
469
„ Pro Milone, edited, &c., by A. B.
Poynton, 35
„» Tusculan Disputations, Book I.,
and the Dream of Scipio, edited by
Prof. F. E. Rockwood, 430
Ciceronis, M. Tulli, Epistolæ, II. Epis-
tolae ad Atticum, edited by L. C.
Purser, two parts, 390
Classical Review, the, Vol. XVI. and
Vol. XVII. (Nos. 1 to 24), 259
Chssics, Illustrations of School, arranged
and described by G. F. Hill, 154
Clement of Alexandria. Miscellanies,
Book VII., the Greek Text, with
introduction, &c., by the late F. J. A.
Hort and Joseph B. Mayor, 192
Clytemnestra: a Tragedy, by Arnold F.
Graves, acc
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris, Edited
l. Thompson and H. F.
Watt, 339 i
p The Cyclops of, by J.
Henson, 154
5 The Helena of, Edited by
A. C. Pearson, 389
3 Translated by Gilbert Murray,
9
Placci, A Persi, et D. Juni Juvenalis
Saturae, S. G. Owen, 114
Greece, A llistory of, for Beginners, by
Prof. J. B. Bury, 272
Greek and Roman Antiquities in the
British Museum, a Popular
Handbook to the, Compiled by
Edward T. Cook, 154
» Examination Papers, Junior, by
T. C. Weatherhead, 469
» Exercises, Key to Second, by
W. G. Rutherford, 35
», Grammar, Accidence and Syntax,
A, for Schools and Colleges,
by John Thompson, 98
» History for Young Readers, by
A. Zimmern, 272
Reader, A First, by R. A. A.
Beresford and R. N. Douglas, 114
Hellas, The Makers of, a Critical. En-
quiry into the Philosophy and Religion
of Ancient Greece, by E. E. G., 336
History, Ancient, for Beginners, by Dr.
G. W. Botsford, 312
Homer, Odyssey xix.-xxiv., with Intro-
duction, &c., by Dr. W. W.
Merry, 114
» The Itiad of, xviii., Edited by
A. Platt, 389
Book I., Edited
by. L. D. Wainwright, 469
Horace: Odes iii.-iv., Edited by J.
Sargeant, 390
» Vol. ii, The Satires, Epistles,
and De Arte Poetica, with a Commen-
tary by Dr. F. C. Wickham, 431
Iliad, The. Edited, &c., by Dr. W. Leaf,
vol. ii., 257
» The Boys’, by W. C. Perry, 75
»» The Story of the, by Prof. Church,
75
Juvenal, Thirteen Satires of, Translated
into English by S. G. Owen, 193
Latin Elepgiacs and Prosody Rhymes for
Beginners, by C. H. St. L.
Russell, 35
» Genders, By B.A., Cantab, 469
» Grammar, A, for Schools, by A. F
West, 34
A, by Profs. W. G.
Hale and C. D. Buck,
456
Rules, by W. A. S.
Jones, 430
», Hexameter Verse, An Aid to its
Composition, by S. E. Win-
bolt, 389
», Poets, Stories from the,—The
Romance Readers (3), Edited
by C. L. Thomson, 430
» Prose, Rules for, by Rev. P. M.
Watkins, 469
99 39
ys 9?
= Livy, Book XXII., by G. G. Loane, 192
Longman’s Latin Course : Part I., 114
Lucreti Cari, T., De Rerum Natura, iii.
Edited, &c., by J. D. Duff, 193
Martialis, M. Val., Epigrammata Selecta,
W. M. Lindsay, 154
Messenian Wars, The, by H. W. Auden,
35
Nepos, Cornelius, Twenty Lives, Edited
by J. E. Barss, 234
Vol. ii. ; Greek Lives,
by H. Wilkinson, 114 '
Odyssey, The, Translated into English
Verse by J. W. Mackail,
Books I. to VIII., 375
» The Story of the, by Prof.
Church, 75
Ovid, The Poems of, Selections, Edited
by C. W. Bain, 114
Plays for Amateur Performance: So-
phocles, Antigone, Adapted, &c., by
E. Fogerty, 272
Pliny, the Younger, Selected Letters of,
Edited by Prof. E. T. Merrill, 390
Pompeii, its Life and Art, by August
te Translated by F. W. Kelsey,
21
Quintus Curtius Rufus, VIII., chape. ix.-
xiv., Edited by C. J. Phillips, 192
Reddenda Reddita, by C. S. Jersam, 313
Rome, A History of, for Middle and
Upper Forms of Schools, by
J. L. Myres, 75
„ The Story of, as Greeks and
Romans tell it, by G. W. Botsford and
L. S. Botsford, 430
Sallusti, C., Crispi Jugurtha, Edited, &c.,
by W. C. Summers, 35
o Jugurtha, by J. F. Smedley,
430
Scriptorum, Classicorum Bibliotheca Or-
oniensis, P. Terenti Afri Comediæ,
R. Y. Tyrrell, 114
Seleucus, The House of, by Edwyn
Robert Bevan, 100
Seneca, The Satire of, on the Apotheosis
of Claudius, a Study, by Allan Perley
Ball, 138
Sophocles, translated, &c., by J. S.
Phillimore, 179
DECEMBER, 1903.)
Tacitus, Cornelius, the Life of Julius
Agricola, translated by Sir H. Savile,
1591, 469
Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War, trans-
lated by R. Crawley, 416
Vergil, The sEncid of, edited, &c., by
A. Sidgwick, 75
Virgil, the Æneid of, literally rendered
into English blank verse, by A. H.
Delabere May, 2 vols, 154
Xenophon’s Anabasis, IV.,
Rev. G. H. Nall, 469
Xenophon, Cyropaedeia, Book II., b
E. S. Shuckburgh, 312
Xenophon, Memorabilia, edited by Prof.
J. R. Smith,
Edited by
313
‘5 y3 Book I., edited
by B. J. Hayes, 313
Xenophon, The Memorabilia of, Book I.,
edited by G. M. Edwards, 193
Xenophon’s Anabasis, I., edited by C.
E. Brownrigg, 35
Xenophon’s Anabasis, Book III., edited
E. C. Marchant, 272
DRAWING.
Art in the Nineteenth Century, by Dr. C.
Waldstein, 353
Blackboard Drawing, Nelson’s, by Allen
W. Seaby, 157
Brush-Drawing Sheets, by J. W. Nicol,
374
Brushwork Concrete Arithmetic, Philips’,
by F. F. Lydon, 353
Drawing, Memory, of Plant Form and
Design, by W. R. Bullmore, 353
Linear Perspective, Handbook of, Sha-
dows and Reflections, by Otto Fuchs,
157
Macmillan’s Brushwork Cards, selected
and arranged by F. C. Proctor, 276
Nature’s Laws and the Making of
Pictures, by W. L. Wyllie, 353
Nature-Study Drawing Cards, The, by
Isaac J. Williams, 38
Philips’ Nature-Study Drawing Cards,
Flowers, Insects, Birds, Animals, by
A. F. Lydon, 276
Shades and Shadows and Perspective, by
Dr. O. E. Randall, 37
EDITED BOOKS.
Acts of the Apostles, The, by A. E.
Rubie, 155
Adonais, edited by S. Cunnington, 273
As you Like it, by F. Masson, 431
Bacon, Selected Essays of, Edited by A.
E. Roberts, 43!
Bacon’s Essays, Moffatt’s Edition of, by
T. Page, 470
Bible Dictionary, A Concise, 155
Bishop’s English, The, by G. W. Moon,
313
Chaucer’s Indebtedness to Guido delle
Colonne, by G. L. Hamilton,
193
is Prologue, by A. W. Pollard,
272
Knight’s Tale, &c.,
76
and Nun’s Priest’s
Tale, by A. J. Wyatt, 234
Cowper’s Task, Buok V., 194
Edgbaston Book of Puetry, An, by E.
C. Colman, 391
English Comedies, Representative, edited
by Prof. C. M. Gayley, 391
The
ae eee ee —
A aa a e
English Garner, An, Tudor Tracts, 1532-
1588, with an In-
troduction by A.
F. Pollard, 178
Critical Essays
and Literary
Fragments,
with an Intro-
9 98
duction by J.
Churton Collins,
178
= xi (new volumes), 258
» Literature, A First Course in, by
Richard Wilson, 155
j » Book in, Parts I. and
II., by C. L. Thomson, 469
» Poems, Little, arranged, &c., by
L. Thomson, 391
Faerv Queene, The, Book I., by W. K.
Leask, 75 -
Gem Reciter, The, edited by W. Graften,
390
Golden Treasury, The, of Songs and
Lyrics, Book lII., by J. H. Fowler,
273
Greenwood Tree, The, 431
Hamlet, The Picture Shakespeare, 193
Hiawatha, The Song of, by HJ. B.
Cotterill, 470
Henry V., King, by R. F. Cholmeley,
154
John, King, Picture Shakespeare, 194
Kingsley’s Heroes, by A. E. Roberts,
154
"i j » E. H. Blakeney,
194
Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare, Edited
by C. D. Punchard, 470
Laureate Poetry Books, The, X., XL,
XIIL, XHEL, XIV., XV., 235
Loci Critica, by Prof. Saintsbury, 469
Longfellow, Selections from, by A. E
Layng, 431
Longfellow’s Hiawatha, by F. Gorse, 154
j Evangeline, by F. Gorse,
154
Macaulay’s First Essay on William Pitt,
Earl of Chatham, by D.
Salmon, 272
Lays, by W. J. Addis, 154
Macbeth, by Fanny Johnson, 193
- „» M. J. C. Meiklejohn, 193
5 », Geo. Smith (Temple Shake-
speare), 35
» è =» A. W. Verity, 75
1 ”” ” » (Student's
Edition), 75
Marryat’s, ‘lhe Children of the New
Forest, Abridged, 154
Matthew, H., The Revised Version,
edited, &c., by Arthur Carr, 193
Milton, Jonn, The Poetical Works of,
edited by Dr. W. Aldis Wright, 390
Nigel, The Fortunes of, by E. S. Davies,
75
i si és (School Edition),
75
Old Testament, Graduated Lessons on
the, by the Rev. U. Z.
Rule; edited by the
Rev. LI. J. M. Webb,
vols, i., ii., jii., 36
p History Analysed, by
Rev. S. S. Stitt, 470
Persephone, or the Datiudil, by B. Skeat,
470
Poetry Book, Senior School, edited by
W. Peterson, 36
», Select Translation from Old
English, by A. S. Cook and C. B.
Tinker, 75 Phe
School World—Index
ce ee
Prayer Book, The Student’s, by W. H.
Flecker, 234
»» Common, Handbook to the Book
of, by the Rev. Prebendary Reynolds,
43I ;
Rob Roy, edited by A F. Flux, 391
Scotts Ivanhoe, abridged for schools,
273
»» Legend of Montrose, by A. F. Flux
234
by W. K.
Leask, 313
5 Lord of the Isles, by li. B. Cot-
terill, 313
sä ae j5 by J. H. Fia-
ther, 36
re i is by W. M.Mac-
kenzie, 193
ji Canto II. and
Canto VI. , 194
Shakespeare, The Moral System of, by
Prof. R. G. Moulton, 43
Shakespeare’s Henry V., Selections from,
29 33 39
313
3 Macbeth, by L. W. Lyde,
35
i Othello and the Crash of
Character, by Dr. William Miller, 313
Steele, Essays of Richard, selected vy
L. E. Steele, 76
Tennyson, by Sir Alfred Lyall (E.M.L.)
6
3
= Select Poems of, by H. B.
George and W. H. Hadow, 235
Tennyson’s “ In Memoriam” with Ana-
lysis and Notes, by C. Mansford, 470
‘Testament, The New, in Modern Speech,
by the late R. F. Weymouth, edited,
&c., by E. Hampden-Cook, 432
Thackeray's Esmond, with introduction
and notes (two editions). 193
Wordsworth, by Prof. Walter Raleigh,
169
ENGLISH.
Composition, English, Errors in, by J.
C. Nes‘eld, 391
si a by A. Kimpster,
314
Dictionary, Standard Shilling, 314
English Classics, Special Method in the
Keading of, by C. McMurry, 471
English Compusition, esseniials of, by
H. S.and M.
Tarbell, 155
“a Senior Course of,
by J. C. Nesfield, 235
», Examination Papers, junior, by
W. Williamson, 76
» First book in Old, by Prof.
A. S. Cook, 391
N Grammar, An, by Rev. S. C.
Tickell, 235
‘3 js and Analy-is, A first,
by W. Davidson
and J. C. Alcock,
235
7 ” An, on Ilistorical
Principles, by J.
Lees, 76
TE gi Historical, A
Primer of, by
Bertha M. Skeat,
156
Principles of, by
Rev. A. Macrae,
235
» > The Teaching of, by Percival
Chubb, 198
— — m e =
482
English, The Teaching of, in the ele-
mentary and secondary school, by Profs.
G. R. Carpenter, F. T. Baker, and
F. N. Scott, 375
Grammar, Applied English, by Dr.
E. H. Lewis, 314
Lessons, by the Principal of
St. 'Mary’s Hall, Liverpool, 471
Metre, a Study of, by T. S. Omond,
391
j Modern English, a handbook of,
by Prof. J. B. Mayor, 391
Poems, Literary Studies of, New and Old,
by Dr. Dorothea Beale, 155
Précis Writing, by If. Lauer, 314
Reader, Cyr» Auvanced first, 76
Keaders, the Dale, Book I., 76
GEOGRAPHY.
Africa, by L. W. Lyde, 115
» Geography of, by W. Hughes,
6
3
Atl's, the class-room, edited by E. F.
Elton, 274
Australasia, by L. W. Lyde, 433
British Colonies, The, and their In-
dustiies, by Rev. W. P. Gres-
well, 36
3» Empire, The, by L. W. Lyde, 36
Commerce, The Geography of, by Prof.
Trouver, 471
Commercial Geography, A Short, by
L. W. Lyde, 195
Egypt, Geography of, and the Anglo-
Egyptian Soudan, by W. H. Mardon,
30
Empire, The Web of, by Sir D. M.
Wallace, 274
Europe, by F. D. and A. J. Herbertson,
194
» Central, by Prof. J. Partsch, 300
Formosa, The Island of, Past and Pre-
sent, by J. W. Davidson, 339
Geography, A Teacher’s Manual of, by
Charles MacMurry, 36
oF Commercial Handbook of,
by G. G. Chisholm, 432
i Descriptive, from Original
Sources. Africa, hy F. D.
and A. J. Herbertson, 115,
195
ji of the World, A new, 314
The Practical ‘Veaching of,
in Schools and Colleges, by A. Mor-
gan, 314
Globe Geography Readers, by V. T.
Murché, Introductory and Junior, 195
Maps, Commercial *' Up-to-Date,” An-
notated, by W. H. Breeze, 195
Name- Lists for Repetition Maps, by G. T.
Warner, 351
Peru, Map and Description of, by Consul
E. lligginson, 471
Philip’s Atias of Comparative Geography
for Junior Classes, edited by G.
Philip, 274
» Compararive Large Schoolroom
Series of Wall Maps, Europe and
Emope Test Map, 432
Readers, Gecoyraphical, Home and Neigh-
bourhood, Stages I. and II.,
351
ae Globe Geography, by V. T.
Murché, Intermediate, 274
School-room Travel, compiled by W.
E. Long, 316
Stanford’s Compendium of Geography
and Travel (new issue), Europe, Vol.
lI., The North-West, by G. G. Chis-
holm, 114
The School World—Index |
ee eee ee
Switzerland, Guide to, 314
Wales, South, Highways and Byeways
in, by A. G. Bradley, 351
World, The, and its People—Asia, 432
HISTORY.
American History, Hero Stories from,
by A. F. Blaisdel and F. K.
Ball, 273
Literature, A History of, by
Prof. W. P. Trent, 417
Angevin Empire, the, by J. H. Ramsay,
178
British Empire, The, in the Nineteenth
Century, 155
Chailcs V., The Emperor, by E. Arm-
Strong, 19
Commerce, A General History of, by
W. C. Webster, 314
Connaught Rangers, Adventures with
the, 1809-14, by W. Grattan, edited
by C. Oman, 76
Days and Deeds, by S. W. Howson, 194
Economics, the New Cambridge Curri-
culum in, by Prof. A. Marshall, 432
England, A First History of, by Mrs.
Cyril Ransome, 194
» A First History of, Part IV.,
1485-1603, by C. L. Thom-
son, 1§5§
» A History of, for Catholic
schools, by E. Wyatt-Davies,
313
»» Linyard’s History of, by H. N.
Birt, 392
» Prof. Oman’s History of, Ques-
tions on, 273
» Shakespeare’s, Little Notes on,
_ by A. Andrewes, 350
The Tutorial History of, by
cS. Fearenside, 273
English Ethics, A Survey of, by W. A.
Hirst, 185
5 EGT A New Student’s
Atlas of, by Dr. Emil
Reich, 155
Analysis of, by W. C.
Pearce, S. Hague,
and W. F. Baugust,
194
Extract from Outlines
of, by G. Carter, 273
Illustrated from Origi-
nal Sources, 1399-
1485, by F. H. Dur-
ham, 77
Illustrated from Origi-
nal Sources, 1660-
1715, by J. N. Fig-
gis, I
ji 7 Local Examination
Test Papers in, by J.
S. Lindsey, 77
Note Book,
Rolleston, 77
Stories from, by Prof.
A. J. Church, 273
»» The, as a Colonising Nation,
by J. Hight, 351
Europe, An Introduction to the History
. Of Western, by J. H. Robin-
99 39
93 LB
Miss
99 99
son, 194
»» The Awakening of, by M. B.
Synge, 351
» Western, An Introduction to
the History of, Part I. (The Middle
Ages), by J. H. Rebinson, 155
France, The History of, by A. Hassall,
350
Grandfathers, How our, lived, by A. B.
Hart and A. B. Chapman, 313
(DECEMBER, 1903.
Hebrews, The Biblical History of the, by
the Rev. Canon F. J. Foakes-Jackson,
392
History, British, Problems and Exercises
in, vol. ii., Part II., England,
1066-1216, by J. S. Lindscy,
47!
„ for Graded and District Schouls,
by E. W. Kemp, 194
» in Biography, by H. L. Powell,
vol. ive, James
I. to James II.,
76
vol iii., by F. M.
West, 350
» Modern, Matriculation, by C. S.
Fearenside, 77
»» Readers, complete, Book IVY., 77
the complete, Book V.,
9? 9? 99
29 99
7
Macmillan’s New, Pri-
mary, 194
The Tweeddale, Book
IL, 76; Book IIL,
273 l
»» Report on the Teaching of, in
the Schools of Germany and
Belgium, by M. E. Woods, 194
»» Special method in, by Dr. C. A
McMurry, 47!
John Lackland, by K. Norgate, 17
Language, the Science of, two Lectures
on, by J. H. Moulton, 392
Lecture, An Inaugural, by Prof. J. B.
Bury, 273
Mazarin, by A. Hassall, 194
Nelson and his Captains, by Rev. Dr.
W. H. Fitchett, 76
New Zealand Colony, The, 392
Nineteenth Century, Lectures on the
History of the, edited by F. A. Kirk-
patrick, 77
Russia, the Expansion of, 1815-19c0, by
F. H. Skrine, 470
Sea, the Great, on the Shores of, by M.
B. Synge, 351
Shakespeare, The Age of, by T. Seccombe
and J. W. Allen, 2 vols., 273
State, the Life of the, by G. Hodgson
39 39
432
Things New and Old, Scholars Com-
panion to, Books IH.-VII., 194
United States History, First ‘Lessons in,
by Prof. E.
l Channing, 392
re Studies in, by S.
M. Riggs, 77
Worlds, New, The Discovery of, by M.
B. Synge, 35!
MATHEMATICS.
Algebra, by E. M. Langley and S. R. N.
Bradley, Part II., 353
Academic, by W. W.
and D. E. Smith, 275
A College, by G. A. Wentworth,
revised edition, 38
Advanced, Loganthms, Metric
Measures and Special Subjects
in, by G. A. Wentworth, 315
Beginners’, by M. S. David, 235
Elementary, by C. Mukerjee,
Beman
Part I., 434
j Essentials of, for Secondary
Schools, by W. Wells, 316
Graphical, a Short Introd:ction
to, by H. S. Hall, 38 ; second
edition, 196
Junior, Examination
by S. W. Finn, 434 .
Papers,
DECEMBER, 1903. |
Algebraical Factors and Methods of using
them, with answers, by H. R. Birch,
474
Arithmetic, a Complete Short Course of,
mainly practical, by A. E.
Layny, 275
j Commercial, 434
+5 Exercises in (oral or written),
by C. M. Taylor, Part L,
353
= for Schools and Colleges, by
J. Alison and J. B. Clark,
393
y for the Standards, Scheme
B, Stds. L-V., by C. Pen-
dlebury, 434
na How to work, by L. Nor-
man, Parts I. and II., 93
s Logic of, Lectures on the, by
M. E. Boole, 473
= Principles of, by H. O. R.
Stetert, 316
5 Short Cuts and By-ways in,
by C. Burch, 196
ši The Junior, by R. H. Chope,
315
= The school, by W. P. Work-
man, 473
The Teaching of, by W. P.
Turnbull, 2 vols., 412
Arithmetical Types and Examples, by
W. G. Borchardt, 473
Dynamics of Rotation, by Prof. A. M.
Worthington, 117
Equations, Differential, a Treatise on, by
Prof. A. R. Forsyth, 235
Geometrical Drawing and Design, by
J. Hl. Spanton, 117
Geometry, by S. O. Andrew, 156
y A New, for Schools, by S.
Barnard and J. M. Child,
393
5s A School, by H. S. Hall and
F. H. Stevens, Part ILE,
Circles, 352
zi Elementary, by W. M. Baker
and A. A.
Bourne, 275
by J. Elliott, 116
ey i Books I.-IV., by
W. M. Baker
and A. A.
Bourne, 117
e ji Section II., by
F. R. Barrell,
473
RA a Theoretical and
Practical, by
C. Godfrey,
and A. W.
Siddons, 434
ue for Beginners, A New, by R.
Roberts, 157
o Inductive Plane, by G. I.
Hopkins, revised edition,
315 =
“sy Plane, Adapted to Heuristic
Methods of Teaching, by
T. Petch, 275
5 Practical Eximples in, and
Mensuration, by
T. W. Marshall
and C. O. Tuckey,
473
Exercises in, by W.
D. Eggar, 156
Plane and Solid,
First Stage, by
G. F. Burn, 394
a School
E Practical Plane and Solid,
by I. H. Morris and J. Husband, 394
ia Preliminary Tests in, by W.
Slade, Parts I. and Il., 236
sy Pure, A Course of, by Dr.
E. H. Askwith, 352
- Solid, by Dr. Franz Ifocevar,
translated, &c., by C.
Godfrey and E. A. Price,
235
i The Elements of, by R. Lach-
lan and W. C. Fletcher, 195
S Theoretical, for Beginners, by
C. H. Allcock, 156: Patt LHL, 434
Graphs, E lementary. by R. B. Morgan,
353
** Hydrostatics,” Solution of the Examples
in ‘* The Elements of,” by S. L. Loney,
196
Mathematics, Practical, for
Key to, by F. Castle, 394
Mechanics of Machinery, An E ee
Beginners,
Treatise on the, &c., by J. Le
Conte, 196
Mensuration, Elementary Plane and
Solid, by R. W. K. Edwards, 38
Table Book, Philips’ New Unrivalled,
117
Trigonometry, Plane and Spherical, by
G. A. Wentworth,
second revised edition,
275
The Elements of Piane
and Spherical, by T. U. Taylor, and
C. Puryear, 196
Vectors and Rotors, with applications, by
Prof. O. Henrici and G. C. Turner,
393
MISCELLANEOUS.
Accounts for Private Schools, by L. G.
Oldfield, 394
Alphabet, A Rubbish, by G. Sichel, 474
Aristotle on Education, being [Extracts
from the Ethics and Politics, translated
and edited by Prof. J. Burnet, 435
Aristotle's Psychology: A Treatise on
the Principle of Life (de Anima and
Parva Naturalia), translated, &c., by
Dr. W. A. Hammond, 78
Arnold’s Country Side Readers, Books
I. to IV., 236
a Seaside Reader, 236
Athletics and Outdoor Sports for Women
edited by L. E. Hill, 336
Botfin’s Secretary, Mr., adapted by Isa-
belle M. Pagan, 79
Book-keeping, Modern, and Accounts,
by W. Adgie, Part IIL,
Advanced, 198
Practical, for Commercial
Classes, by Walter Grierson, 198
owen, Edward, by the Rev. the Hon.
W. E Bowen; 18
British Song, A Book of, for Home and
School, edited by Cecil J. Sharp, 140
Cambridge, The Student’s Handbook to
the University and Colleges of, 38
Cape of Good Hope Teachers’ Annual,
1903, by Geo. Gilchrist, 236
Cassell’s Union Jack Series Readers,
Book II, 275; ditto, Book IIL, 353
Classics, Pocket Book, 474
Clock, The ‘‘ Tick-Tack”’ Nursery, 197
Clough, A Memoir of Anne Jemima, by
B. A. Clough, new edition, 317
Co-education, edited by Alice Woods, 220
World--Index
|
|
|
453 __
Comedies, Three Merry, for Schoolboys
and such, by C. A. Pellanus, 474
Crusoe, Robinson, by D. Defoe, 353
“ Daily Mail,” The, Year Book for 1903,
edited by Percy L. Parker, 78
Dante and Beatrice, by Emily Under-
down, 197
Ditties, Crude, A Collection of Limericks,
by 5. C. Woodhouse, 435
Dress-Cutting and Drafung, by M. P.
Browne, 474
Education Act, 1902, with Notes, The,
by Montague
Barlow and H.
Macan, 117
X es edited &c., by E.
A. Jelf, 78
” eA by M. Roberts-
Jones, 78
‘i Act of 1902, The (England
and Wales), and 1903
(London), edited by G.
R. S. Taylor, 474
be Acts, the Local Authorities’
and Managers’ and Teach-
ers’ Guide to the, by H. C.
Richards and Henry Lynn,
197
j3 Higher, General Reports on,
with Appendices for the
Year 1902, 382
ža Manual, Local, for Borough
and Urban Councils, by
Charles E. Baker, 118
a Secondary, The Municipalisa-
tion of, by J. W. Richards,
6
23
s3 The Law of, by W. A. Will-
son, 316
” The Reform of Moral and
Bible, on the Lines of Herbariianism,
Critical Thought, and the Ethical Need
of the Present Day, by Dr. F. H.
Hayward, 197
Educational Opinion, Studies in the His-
tory of, from the Renais-
sance, by Prof. S. T.
Lawrie, 138
Sy-tems ‘of Great Britain
and Ireland; The, by G. Balfour, 253
Encyclopædia Britannica, The, Volume
XXIX., 78; Vol XXX., 117; Vol
XXXI., 157; Vol. XXXIL, 218; Vol.
ANATIDT, 275; Vol. XXXIV., 435;
Vol. XXXV., 353
Englishwoman’s Year Book and Direc-
tory, The, edited by Emily Janes, 78
Eyes Within, by Walter Earle, 38
Fiction, A Descriptive Guide to the Best,
&c., by E. A. Baker, 275
Fratribus, by J. A. Bramston, 435
Frauenbildung, 317
General Information Examination Paper,
Junior, 435
» Reports of H.M. Inspectors on
Elementary Schools
and Training Col-
leges for the year
IQOI, 26
7 j on Science and Art
Schools and Classes and Evening
Schools, &c., 26
Girls, to, a Budget of Letters, by Ie-
loise Edwina Hersey, 79
Golden Rule, The, for Boys and Girls,
by Rev. A. Hampden Lee, 38
Grump, The, A Story in Pictures, by G.
Sichel, 435
Health, Avenues to, by Fustace H,
Miles, 118
484
Hearts of Oak Books, Tables and Nur-
sery Tales, edited by C. E. Norton, 276
Herbart and the Herbartian Theory of
Education, by A. Darroch, 276
» The Students, by Dr. F. I.
Hayward, 43
tlerbartianism, The Critics of, and other
matter contributory to the Study of
the Hlerbartian Question, by F. H.
Hayward, assisted by M. E. Thomas,
474
Industries, The Place of, in Elementary
Education, by K. E. Dopp, 317
Interest and Education, by Prof. C. de
Garmo, 198
Ireland, Intermediate Education Board
for, Report of the Temporary
Inspectors, 1903, 420
‘5 Intermediate Education Board
šj for, Report of the, for the
Year 1902, 420
3 Royal U niversity of, The Calen-
dar for
the Year
1903, 236
Supple-
3 9” 99
ment to ditto, 236
Jones, J. O., and How he Earned his
Living, by R. S. Warren Bell, 197
Law, Education, Incorporating the Edu-
cation Acts, 1870-1902, &c., by T. A.
Organ and A. A. Thomas, 196
London University Guide and University
Corres) ondence Calendar, 1902-3, 79
Macmillan’s Spelling for Promotion,
Junior, Parts I. and II.,
by R. F. Macdonald, 197
Story Serie by Evelyn
Sharp, Books I. and II., 197
Mankind in the Making, by H. G. Wells,
455
Manual Training, Teachers Handbook
of Metal Work, by J. S. Miller, 197
Memories Grave and Gay, Forty Years
of School Inspection, by Dr. John
Kerr, 236
Metaphysics, Outlines of, by Dr. J. S.
Mackenzie, 198
Method, General, Elements of, by C. A.
McMurry, 418
Mulcaster, Richard, The Educational
Writings of (1532-1611), abridged, &c.,
by J. Oliphant, 371
Nation’s Need, The, Chapters on Educa-
tion, edited by Spenser Wilkinson, 180
Philips Comprehensive Object Lesson
Cabinet, arranged under the direction
of Prof. R. A. Gregory and J. A.
Humphris, 198
Philosophy, Llistory of, by W. Turner, 435
Physical Training, Model Course of, by
the Board of Edu-
cation, 79
F (Scotland), Report of
the Royal Commission on, Vol. I., 372
Pocket Book, The School Boy’ S, 353
Post Card Collectors Bureau, The, 474
Private Schools’ Association (Incorpo-
rated) Hand-Book,
1603, edited by II.
C. Devine, 275
5 5 Year Book, 1903, The,
117
Pupil Teachers, Regulations for the
Instruction and Training of, and Stu-
dents in Training Colleges, 298
Readers, Royal Prince (Fifth Book), 198
Keading and Elocution in the Schools
and Colleges of the United
States of America, by F. B.
Baidsley, 301
ane
School
Reading Made Easy, by A. Snell, Part
-» 316
„ Taught through Rhyme and
Rhythm, by J. R. Blakiston,
236
»» The Comprehensive Method of
Teaching, by E. K. Gordon, 276
Recitation, The Method of the, by C. A.
McMurry and Dr. F. M. McMurry, 448
Responsitility, The First Year of, by M.
Butler, 394
Royal Alphabet School, The, a Method
of Learning to Read, &c., by S. Croft,
Part I., 316
Scholarship Questions, Entrance, for
the chief Public Schools and H.M.S.
Britannia, by E. J. Lloyd, 338
School Building, Modern, Elementary
and Secondary, by Felix Clay,
99
» Flygiene: the Laws of Health in
relation to School Life, by
Dr. A. Newsholme and W. C.
C. Pakes, 78
», Manager, The, 1903, by J. King,
353
Schoolmaster’s Year -Book and Di-
rectory for 1903, The, 66
Schools, Elementary, and Training Col-
leges, General Reports of H.M. In-
spectors on, for the year Iyo2, 382
»» The Making of our Middle, by
Dr. Elmer Ellsworth Brown, 236
Sermons, Three, preached in the Cathe-
dral Church of Christ, Canterbury, on
March 29th, 1903, 275
Solomon’s Mines, King, by H. Rider
Haggard, 353
Songs, British, for British Boys, edited
by S. H. Nicholson, 340
», of aChild, The, by Lady F. Dixie,
316
Speaking, The Art of, by E. Ernest
Pertwee, 79
Stereographs, Educational, 316
Stereoscope,* Aluminium and Walnut, 316
Teacher, The, and the Child, by A.
Thiselton Mark, 38
Thoughts, Bright Evening, for Little
Children, selected by Adelaide L. J.
Gosset, 39
Training ‘of Teachers, Report of a Con-
ference on the, in Secondary Schools
for Boys, 78
| Voice Production, The True Theory of,
by Rev. J. P. Sandlands, new edition,
16
Westninster, Recollections of a Town
Boy at, 1849-1855, by Capt. F. Mark-
ham, 27
Wild Oats, by Dr. M. G. Hime, 316
Who’s Who, 1903, 78
MODERN LANGUAGES.
About, Le Roi des Montagnes, edited by
F. B. Kirkman, 271
Amis et Amiles and Aiol, by Mrs. J. G.
Frazer, with Notes by F. B. Kirkman,
350
Andersen, Bilderbuch ohne Bilder, edited
by Prof. W. Rippmann, 272
Arnold’s French Reading Books, 2 vols.,
edited by C. F. Herdener, 468
Bechstein, Ausgewählte Märchen, edited
by P. Shaw Jeffrey, 34
Blackie’s Liule French Classics, 6 vols.,
408
Blut, Das edle, by E. von Wildenbruch,
edited by O. Siepmann, with Word
and Phrase Book, and Key to Appen-
dices, 389
World—Index
[ DECEMBER, 1903.
Bull, John, in France, by L. Delbos, 350
Carnet, de Notes d’un Voyageur en
France, by A. C. Poiré, 271
Contes et Nouvelles des meilleurs auteurs
contemporains, edited by J. Lazare,
350
Daudet, A., La Belle Nivernaise, edited
by Frank W. Freeborn, 234
a La Mule du Pape, &c., edited
by H. W. Preston, 389
Dent’s New First French Book, by S.
Alge and Prof. W. Rippmann, 429
Français d’Autrefois, Les, by J. S5.
Wolff, 429
i Première Grammaire, à
l'usage des élèves éirangers,
par A. E. Berthon, 429
French, A Primer of Old, by G. H.
Clarke and C. J. Murray, It4
Commercial Correspondence, by
C. Hauser and W. Mansfield
Poole, 114
= Grammar, A ITistorical, by A.
Darmesteter, English
Edition, by A. Har-
tog, Bk. 2—Moi pho-
l gy, 234
A Skeleton, by H. G.
Atkins, 34
os Literature, An Ouiline of, by
D. T. Holmes, 234
x Prose, Exercises in, by E. G.
H. North and L. G. @A.
Huntington, 350
»» Reader, Eleme: tary Conversa-
tional, by B. Bué, 389
» Werb Drill, A Complete, by J.
Lazare and H. Marshall, 34
i Words and Phrases, by J. G
Anderson and F. Storr, 117
German, Commercial, A Course of, by
E. E. Whitheld and C.
Kaiser, 388
», Composition, A Practical,
Alfred Oswald, 234
5 First Steps in, 74
Folk, Litle, by M. Schramm,
revised by A. J. Mayhew,
312
y; Grammar, A frst, by Scholle
and Smith, 74
Idioms and Proverbs, A Selec-
tion of, by A. Oswald, 233,
312
», Irregular Nouns in Rhyme, by
N. E. Toke, 34
j Lessons, Impromptu Oral,
Abstracts of, by M. Hermann, 430
Guerber, IJ. A., Contes et Légendes,
Première Partie, 271
Heine, Die Harzreise, adapted and edited
by W. J. Ethe-
ridge, 312
“A with some of
Heine’s best-
known short
poems, edited by
L. R. Gregor. 311
» H., Selections in Verse, edited
by Dr. D. Thiems, 312
Hossfeld’s Italian Prose Reader, by C.
Scotti, 350
Hugo, Victor, Lyrical Poems, edited by
P. C. Yorke, 75
Idiomatic Phrases (French and English),
by Edward Latham, 234
Kinderfreuden, A. E. C., 312
Korner, Select Poems, edited by E. P.
Ash, 312
», tiny, edited by Dr. F. G.
Holzwarth, 34
23 iB)
by
DECEMBER, 1903. |
Lecoq, J., L’Enseignement vivant des
langues vivants, 408
Mérimée, -Colomba, edited by E. T.
Schoedelin, 271
TON 7 edited by A. Schinz,
27I
de Musset, A., Pierre et Camille, edited
by W. J. Etheridge, 113
Naval and Military Episodes, by Aloys
Weiss, II4
Nibelungenlied, Selections from the,
Part I., edited by H. B. Cotterill, 389
Part II., edited by II. B. Cotterill,
430
Perrault, The Fairy Tales of Charles,
edited by L. A. Barbé, 312
Perrichon, Le Voyage de M., par Labiche,
edited by G. H. Clarke, 350
Petersen, Marie, Prinzessin Ilse, edited
by C. F. Herdener, 272
Poemes choisis, edited by R. L. A. du
Pontet, 271
Poems for Recitation, edited by L. A.
Barbé, 389
Récita!ions et Poésies, edited by V. Par-
lington, 429
Sandeau, Jules, Mademoiselle de la
Scighere, e lited by A. R. Ropes, 74
Seidel, Heinrich, Leberecht Hühnchen,
edited by A. Werner-Spanhoofd, 34
Souvestre, E., Un Philosophe sous les
Toits, edited by de V. Payen-Payne,
. 312
Vocabulary, Systematic, of German and
English, No. 1, 272
Widgery, W. H., The Teaching of
Languages in Schools, 468
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
Agricultural Industry and Education in
Hungary, compiled by T. S. Dymond,
37
Arithmetic, The, of Elementary Physics
and Chemistry, by H. M. Timpany,
434
Astronomy, The Twentieth Century Atlas
of Popular, by T. Heath, 77
Biological Laboratory Methods, by Dr.
P. H. Mell, 77
Biology, Model Answers on, for Teachers
and Students, Part L, by F. H. Snoo-
smith, 473
Bird Life, Open-Air Studies in, by
Charles Dixon, 235
Botany, A Class Book of, by G. P.
Mudge and A. J. Maslen, 352
55 An Introduction to, by W. C.
Stevens, 352
» Elementary, by Prof.
Green, and F. L. Green, 274
Celestial Mechanics, An Introduction to,
by Dr. F. R. Moulton, 116
Century, The Wonderful, by Dr. A. R.
Wallace, new edition, 433
Chemical Analysis, Qualitative, A Brief
Course in, by J. B.
Garvin, 314
Quantitative, by
Profs. Frank
Clowes and J. B.
Coleman, 195
Exercises for Class Room and
Home Study, by R. P. Williams, 195
Chemistry, Elementary Lessons in, by
W. L. Sargant, 156
Eleinentary Practical, by
Profs. F. Clowes and J. B. Coleman,
Part I., Fourth Edition, 434
J. R.
$9 3?
The School World—Index
Chemistry (ffeuristic), A First Course
of, by J. II. Leonard, 255
v Inorganic, A Short Manual
of, by A. Dupré, and H.
W. Hake, 196
s Practical, by W. Harris, 3
vols, 274
Theoretical Organic, by Dr.
Julius B. Cohen, 156
Circuits, Electric and Magnetic, by E.
H. Crapper, 274
Country Life, Lessons on, by H. B. M.
Buchanan and R. R. C.
Gregory, 393
Pa Reader, A, II, by H. B. M.
Buchanan, 473
Deer, Following the, by W. J. Long,
393
Earth and Sky, by J. H. Stickney, 37
Electrical Problems for Engineering
Students, by W. L. Hooper and R.
T. Wells, 116
Electricity and Magnetism, Theoretical
and Practical, by C. E.
“Ashford, 472
ji Practical, by J. H. Belcher, 36
E'ectrolytic Prepuations, by Dr. K.
Elbs, translued by R. 5. Hutton, 392
Forestry, A First Book of, by Filibert
Roth, 70
Geology, Agricultural, by J. E. Marr, 195
j Op:n-Air Studies in, by Prof.
G. A. J. Cole, new edition,
116
s Text-Book of, by Sir A. Geikie,
2 vols, 4th edition, 392
Heat, Practical Exercises in, by E. S. A,
Robson, 37
Insect Folk, The, by M. W. Morley, 393
Laboratories, The Planning and Fitting
up of Chemical and Physical, by T. H.
Russell, 417
Life and Health: a Text-Book on Physi-
ology for High Schools, Academies and
Normal Schools, by Dr. Albert F.
Blaisdell, 116.
Light for Students, by Edwin Edser, 115
»» Practical Exercises in, by Dr. R.
S. Clay, 195
Magnetism and Electricity, a Course of
Simple Experiments in, by A. E.
Muuby, 196
Man, The Mind of, a Text-Book of
Psychology, by Gustiv Spiller, 37
Measuring Instruments, Electrical En-
gineering, by G. D. A. Parr, 392
Mechanics, Applied, Elementary Manual
ži on, by Prof. Andrew Jamie-
son, new edition, 156
is Elementary Applied, by T.
Alexander and Dr. A. W.
Thomson, new edition, 37
5 made Easy, 315
5 j; » ox of Acces-
sories, 315
Nature, Keal Things in, by Dr. Edward
S. Ifolden, 196
» Student’s Note Book, The, by
the Rev. Canon Steward and
Alice E. Mitchell, 116
»» Studies in, and Country Life, by
C. D. and W. C. D.
Whetham, 473
3 „ (Plant Life), by G. F.
Scott Elliot, 235
» Study, An Introduction to, by E.
Stenhouse, 433
» Exhibition and Confer-
ences, Official Report of the, 195
485
Olject Lesson Books, The Nature
Forms,.for Scholars, by F. II. Shvo-
smith, Book I., 352
Optics. Ophthalmic, Elementary, Dr. F.
Fergus, 392
Physics, A Text-Book of, by Profs. J. H.
Poynting and J. J. Thomson,
Vol. 1., Properties of Matter;
Vol. IL, Sound, Second Edi-
tion, 139
»» Elementary, Practical and Theo-
reiical, by J. G. Kerr and J.
N. Brown, 2nd Year’s Course,
314
» Elements of, by A. T. Fisher
and M. J. Patterson, 314
»» Laboratory, by D. C. Miller,
472
Practical, for Schools, two
parts, by C. J. A Wagstaff and G. C.
Bioomer, 472
Physiology and Hygiene, Elementary,
by B. P. Colton, 393
Plants, British Flowering, The Families
of, by M. Simpson, 274
Psychology, Analytical, by Lightner
Witmer, 19
j Contemporary, by Prof.
Villa, translated by H.
Manncorda, 433
a Experimental and Culture, by
Dr. G. M. Stratton, 472
3 Outlines of, by Prof. J.
Royce, 433
Qualitative Analysis, by L. M. Dennis
and T. Whittelsey, 156
Science, Friumphs of, edited by M. A. L.
Lane, 171
Sciences, The, A Reading Book for
Children, by Edward S. Holden, 235
Scientific Method, The Teaching of, and
other Papers on Education, by Prof.
H. E. Armstrong, 411
Sea Shore, The, by W. S. Furneaux,
472
Six-footed, Ways of the, by A. B. Com-
stock, 393
Steam and the Steam Engine,
tary Manual on, by Prof.
Jamieson, new edition, 116
Steel and Iron, for al Students,
by A. H. Hiorns, 351
Sun, Moon and Stars, by A. Giberne,
new edition, 352
Universe, the S ructure of the, On an
Inversion of Ideas as to, by Prof. O.
Reynolds, 337
Wood, a Manual of the Natural History
and Industrial Applications of the
Timbers of Commerce, by Prof. G. S.
Boulger, 37
Zoology, a Laboratory Guide for Be-
ginners in, by C. M. Weed and R.
W. Crossman, 274
Elemen-
Andrew
Supplement to THE Scroor Worn,
September: Papers on School Curricula
by Prof. J. Adams, Prof. H. E. Arm-
strong, S. A. Burstall, G. F. Daniell,
W. C. Fletcher, T. E. Page, J. L.
Paton, Prof. M. E. Sadler.
5
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