woodhcll] PHYSICAL NATURE-STUDY 5 



PHYSICAL NATURE-STUDY* 



By JOHN F, WOODHULL, Ph.D., Professor of Physical Science, Teachers College, 



Columbia University 

 In Christmas week of the year 1826, Faraday inaugurated 

 che course of lectures in Physical Science to children, which 

 has been repeated annually in the lecture room of the Royal 

 Institution, London, ever since. The eighty-fourth course of 

 lectures in this series has just been given this week. The most 

 famous course was Faraday's lecture on a candle given about 

 half a century ago. 



Fifty years ago much attention was paid to the teaching of 

 natural philosophy to boys and girls of 12 to 15 years of age in 

 this country. Boston was the leader in that movement and 

 even so long ago as 70 years she bought for each of her Gram- 

 mar Schools physical apparatus to the extent of about 100 

 pieces, costing $275 a set. Following her lead doubtless. New 

 York City has maintained, at least ever since 1855, a course in 

 elementary physical science in the upper grammar grades. 



In the annual report of the New York City Board of Edu- 

 cation for 1857 we find that one quarter of the time in the 

 schools was allotted to what was called descriptive science. 

 It included geography, astronomy, physiology and natural phil- 

 osophy. For something over 50 years natural philosophy or 

 physics has occupied the attention of the two upper grammar 

 grades. I The report of City Superintendent Kiddle for 1866 

 contained the following: "The discoveries in physics and the 

 applications which have been made of them to the conveniences 

 of social life, constitute the peculiar glory of this age and we 

 should most assuredly be guilty of strange neglect, should we 

 leave our children in total ignorance of the simple principles 

 and facts which explain the phenomena in nature and art, every- 

 where meeting their curious gaze. I am of the opinion that it 

 would be better to add to this part of the course, the outlines of 

 chemistry, even though it should be necessary to extend the 

 period of time assigned to it." 



This work during the past 25 years has had great vicissi- 

 tudes in various parts of the country. In some cases it has 

 been neglected by those best able to foster it, and in other cases, 

 it has been well nigh killed by having prescribed for it a sylla- 

 bus, which was merely an excerpt from the high school sylla- 



*Read at the third annual meeting of the A. N-S. S., in Boston, Mass. 

 Jan. 1, 1910. 



