May 4, 191 1] 



NATURE 



327 



ts, the range of the work, and the possible standard of 

 tainment will necessarily depend. A course which is 

 itable in one school may be quite unsuitable in another. 

 , those schools from which a certain number of the pupils 

 |)ass on to university work in science, and in which a fair 

 proportion remain until seventeen and over, or in which 

 the course is definitely specialised (e.g. schools with a 

 " rural bias "), the problem of the science syllabus tends 

 indeed to solve itself ; but in the large number of schools 

 1 which school life ends not later than sixteen, this is 

 it so. If in these schools the best possible use is to be 

 made of the time available, it is plainly desirable that the 

 syllabus should represent something more than the initial 

 stages of a study which the pupils will never continue — 

 that it should have, in fact, a purpose and completeness of 

 its own. .Again, on the general principle that the curri- 

 culum of a school should be narrowed at the top, it should 

 follow that in a certain proportion of schools the allow- 

 ance of time would be such as to enable boys of sixteen 

 or seventeen to attain a standard in more than one science 

 ■subject over and above the limited standard required for 

 -L-hool leaving " or " matriculation " examinations. In 

 ■lools of this type it may well be the function of the 

 ■nee teachers to save the curriculum from the dangers 

 an all-round mediocrity. This will apply more par- 

 ticularly to urban schools from which a considerable 

 number of pupils pass on to scientific or quasi-scientific 

 fircupations. 



/') But whatever the circumstances of the school, no 

 itment of the science work can ever be satisfactory 

 sich leaves wholly out of consideration the relations of 

 once to other subjects in the curriculum. Mathematics 

 an obvious case in point. The adoption of the same 

 lassification of the pupils for both mathematics and 

 •nee is a plan for which there is very much to be said ; 

 in the smaller schools there are practical difliculties 

 the way, which account for the fact that this expedient 

 ;- rarely adopted. On the other hand, it is much to be 

 wished that a certain proportion of teachers should be 

 ouraged to qualify themselves to take both these sub- 

 's, and, questions of organisation apart, that teachers 

 physics and mathematics should always work in close 

 i h with one another. In this connection a special 

 :it (which has received frequent notice in inspection re- 

 ts for several years past) may be mentioned. It is 

 :y desirable that mensuration, which in a considerable 

 number of schools is still included in the science course, 

 [should be transferred to its proper place in connection with 

 the teaching of arithmetic to boys and girls in the junior 

 [departments. If this were done it would be possible, and 

 often advantageous, to amplify the course in practical 

 physics by the introduction, at some stage in the course, 

 of experimental work in elementary mechanics, a subject 

 which at the present time is too often neglected in schools. 

 In addition to mathematics, geography, advanced manual 

 instruction, and domestic economy may all contribute 

 elements of value to the teaching of science, and be in 

 turn assisted by it. It is necessary, however, to add the 

 warning that the teacher who endeavours to teach two 

 subjects in one may .succeed admirably in teaching neither, 

 (r) The detailed syllabuses in particular subjects show 

 in many casps curious, if not inexplicable, limitations. 

 There is. for example, a tendency to rofrain from all men- 

 tion of scientific matters of common interest, because they 

 do not admit in school work of complete and exhaustive 

 itment. Electricity and magnetism (including mag- 

 ic measurements) form part of the work in mnnv boys' 

 x>ls, but the motor and the dynamo are not even 

 itioned, because time does not permit of the study of 

 tromagnetism. Every child is interested in soap 

 'Mes, but the majority of bovs and girls are not intro- 

 •d to thf simplest consideration of the phenomena con- 

 ('^d with surface tension. There is no subject more 

 1 rally studied than heat, but if a boy leaves school 

 ii any knowledge of how a locomotive works it will 

 illy be the result of his own unaided researches. It is 

 linly unfortunate that pupils who learn science should 

 ~f>nt out into the world whollv ignorant of matters in 

 : h they are naturally disposed to be interested. .Svlla- 

 ■s of work, admirable for the purpose of instilling 



N'o. 2t66, vol. 86] 



scientific method, may and sometimes do err in the direc- 

 tion of being inhuman. 



(<i) In the same way, it is important that in the actual 

 teaching every opportunity should be taken of Illustrating 

 facts and principles learnt in the laboratory by frequent 

 reference to everyday phenomena. This is a matter which 

 requires the most careful attention in boys' schools no 

 less than in girls' schools, in physics no less than in 

 chemistry. Appropriate illustrations give a reality to the 

 work which it sometimes lacks. They should, of course, 

 be introduced as illustrations, that is to say, when, and 

 only when, they may happen to be wanted to give point 

 to the teaching. They are useful just in so far as they 

 serve this purpose, and just in so far as it is remembered 

 that the teaching is concerned with science and scientific 

 method, and only in a secondary sense with its application 

 to industry and the arts. 



(e) Again, it is probably neither possible nor desirable 

 to add to the number of science subjects which the pupils 

 will systematically study in the laboratory and the class- 

 room. There is the more reason why they should be 

 encouraged to interest themselves in some aspects of 

 nature other than those to which attention is given in 

 school hours. For this the " school scientific society " 

 may offer the needed opportunity by providing for the 

 older pupils the occasion of taking up subjects for them- 

 selves and sharing their interests with their fellows. 



Equipment. 



In the matter of laboratory accommodation and equip- 

 ment it is satisfactory to note that local authorities and 

 governing bodies of endowed schools have commonly 

 shown a generous appreciation of the requirements of 

 science teaching. It is comparatively rare to find, except 

 perhaps in connection with the teaching of botany, that 

 the work is seriously handicapped by deficiencies in equip- 

 ment, and the occasional suggestions of inspectors under 

 this heading are directed, as a rule, to securing a suitable 

 adaptation of the arrangements of the older laboratories 

 to modern requirements. These will naturally vary in 

 different schools with the character and e.xtent of the 

 course of work attempted, and it is for this reason 

 desirable that the authorities concerned in the planning of 

 new or the alteration of existing laboratories should take 

 every opportunity of effectively consulting the responsible 

 teachers. It is sometimes forgotten that space is more 

 valuable than elaborate fittings, and that suitable pro- 

 vision for upkeep and apparatus is essential to the proper 

 conduct of a laboratory. Economy and efficiency alike 

 demand that a laboratory should not be regarded as some- 

 thing ready-made which can be ordered once for all from 

 a manufacturer. On the contrary, when the essentials 

 have been provided, a laboratory, like a library, should be 

 allowed to grow. 



Influence of E.Kawinations. 



Any consideration of the present state of science teach- 

 ing would be obviously incomplete if it avoided all refer- 

 ence to the effects of examinations. In this connection, 

 then, it is satisfactory to observe that the work of the 

 schools, at any rate in the lower and middle forms, is far 

 less determined by examination requirements than was 

 the case even a few years ago, and that there is an 

 increasing tendency among teachers to be guided in their 

 teaching by strictly educational aims. .'\t the same time 

 there has Ix-en a marked improvement in the character of 

 the syllabuses of certain examinations commonly taken, 

 and a consequent improvement in the character of the 

 work attempted in many of the schools. Notwithstanding 

 this, it has to be recognised that a detailed syllabus put 

 forward by an examining body, however unexceptional 

 the syllabus may be, has its inevitable disadvantages ; for 

 it is only too likely that when a teacher has such a syllabus 

 before him, his teaching will follow a predetermined line, 

 whereas in connection with the teaching of science it is 

 especially desirable, not only that the teacher should, 

 within limits, make his own syllabus, but that he should 

 {o,'\ free at any moment to depart from it. .\n examina- 



