OVERDUE REFORMS IN THE TEACHING 



OF ELECTRICITY 



By C. E. ASHFORD, M.A. 

 Head Master, Royal Naval College, Dartmouth 



It is well to turn occasionally from the work of the pioneers of 

 science and of those who adapt their discoveries to the improve- 

 ment of the material condition of mankind to the consideration 

 of problems that confront the men engaged in training the 

 coming generation, as on their success depends the supply 

 not only of future pioneers but also of a body of men intelli- 

 gent enough to appreciate the value of such pioneers and to 

 make profitable use of their discoveries. 



There has been of late a growing tendency, in discussing 

 educational problems, to consider the interests of the ordinary 

 boy and less exclusively those of the future specialist. A con- 

 siderable amount of pressure of public opinion has been needed 

 to produce this attitude of mind, for it is not a natural one to the 

 specialists who directly administer the several branches of 

 education ; they are inclined to treat an elementary course 

 as necessarily a foundation for more advanced study of the 

 subject and to regard those pupils, who through inaptitude 

 do not pursue it beyond the early stage, as being comparatively 

 unimportant. We are however now beginning to recognise 

 that even boys who are destined to carry on their school 

 studies up to a late age must specialise within a limited 

 range and that it is important that their work should be 

 profitable to them in those subjects which they will not con- 

 tinue to study after they are about sixteen years old. Hence 

 it follows that in a secondary school the earlier course in 

 every subject should be designed to be complete in itself and 

 at the same time to provide so far as possible a suitable training 

 for those comparatively few but important boys who will 

 specialise in that subject. 



This arrangement suits also the many boys who will not 



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