394 



NATURE 



[January i8, 1912 



vuunjj Ixiys as part o( the tyitem of too rapid driving of 

 iininatun- mind>. Mr. H. M. Neville had tried the plan 

 of takinti voltaic electricity early, and leadin(( the class to 

 1; •f clectrulysiK. The behaviour of electro- 



i the existence of discrete quantities or 

 |. "''•■\\\, whence the boys obtained the con- 



I |M it .1 : static charjje. Upon this concept the 



,iM!<iui. .■! liitirs could be built. Several »p«-akers 



idMk |i:iii in tliu di!>cussion, of which the outcome apix'ared 

 111 Us lo l>e as follews : — Current electricity is attractive to 

 ho\-.. ,iik1 it takes an unusually poor teacher to deprive 

 it il it', interest; electrostatics tan be made very interest- 

 inv; \)\ a V(;ry j{ood teacher. ,\s a rule, the current work 

 is far more successful than the other. \ weak spot in 

 p;i>t teaching* has been the link between current and static 

 etTects ; it was felt that Mr. Ashford's demonstration would 

 help members to strengthen that link. Supposinjj the first 

 -difVuulty of the transition to be mastered, several of the 

 subsequent tlifllrulties would be in the samtr position which- 

 •"ver approach had been adopted, e.xcept for the important 

 ' iinsjdiration that the boys, by previous current work, had 

 ^aint'd some familiarity with, and confidence in discussing, 

 th<- problims of potential difference, &c. If boys had to 

 l<av.' school before finishing the electrical course, it was 

 nior'> profitable to them to have had the current electricity 

 than the electrostatics, supposing time did not allow both 

 lo be taken. 



The important question of the possibility of " formal 

 training " — in the psychological sense of the term — was 

 introduced by .Mr. \. Vassall (Harrow) in a paper of re- 

 markable lucidity. lie advised science masters to study 

 the recent work of psychologists, and took as a particular 

 rxample the problem of formal training. He was led from 

 hi< own experience to doubt the " faculty psychology " by 

 \\liiili imirli of our present practice is usually justified, 

 .111(1 fdiiiid that general powers of observation are not 

 ntc.s>arily increased by special training. .\ boy highly 

 trained as an observer of chemical phenomena only develops 

 his observational powers for chemical phenomena ; there 

 is no " overflow " which will increase his general powers 

 of observation except where there is sonic identity. We 

 must cultivate wide knowledge and interests, and pay 

 more attention to the subject-matter of the curriculum and 

 less to mental gymnastics. It seemed little less than a 

 crime to use the lower or middle-school divisions simply 

 1- a training-ground for the later study of formal science 



li' 11 the majority of boys in the divisions are not proceed- 

 in-^ to such later study. There is a marked tendency so 

 to use them at present — e.g. there is too much weighing 

 and mensuration, glass-working, and other chemical 

 manipulation. These boys should work on broad lines — 

 in physics at such things as the electric installation of a 

 house ; in chemistry at real experiments in breathing, 

 liurning, and decay, and other topics of wide application. 

 Ihc ideal curriculum would give the boy (i) as much 

 l<no\vledge of certain subjects as is required for culture 

 and aesthetics ; (2) of other subjects only so much as will 

 not sap his intellectual self-reliance by their being 

 attempted beyond his capacity ; (3) a special knowledge, 

 when possible, of a subject or subjects which will be useful 

 til him in his after-life. 



Prof. Armstrong stated that he accepted neither the 

 f'xperiments of the psychologists nor their inferences. He 

 was convinced that types of mind differed more than was 

 commonly recognised. An engineering, constructive mind 

 could only be interested, for instance, in chemistry by 

 appealing to it through topics closely in agreement with its' 

 own bias, e.g. through problems concerning the corrosion 

 of metals. We must keep in mind man's experience 

 through the ages. Man had been accustomed only to fight, 

 to work, and to use his commercial instinct ; and almost 

 all modern education was alien to the experience of the 

 race. We must make our instruction practical enough and 

 simple enough for the majority of minds, and avoid the 

 common tendency to postpone introducing a subject to too 

 late in age. Dr. T. P. Nunn said that psychologists were 

 quite alive to the present imperfections of their science, 

 and all leaders in the subject advised caution in the appli- 

 cation of recent inferences. The idea that the mind was 

 like a photographic plate, the sensitiveness of which to all 

 subjects could be increased by attention to one. was quite 

 wro ig. None the less, there was a development bevond a 

 NO. 2203, VOL. 88] 



mer« record of the actual thing observed. A ctudent by 

 ubacrving gained self-reliance; he learned that he *<•;'«• 

 capable uf drawing a rational inference without depend ;:.; 

 on external authority ; he learned that he must not be m 

 a hurry if he wished to observe aright. Thene acquire- 

 ments did increase a boy's power to behave duly and per- 

 form correctly in various situations.' While listening to 

 the discukkion, which was well maintained, we could not 

 help feeling that science teachers of all grades woukl g^iii> 

 much by a study of the papers on formal training whi< li 

 Were read by Dr. Myers, Dr. .Sleight, and .Mr. C L. liurt 

 at the London County Council Conference of Tearli' :-. 

 during the preceding week. They would gain a clear-! 

 idea of the present position of psychology, especially <>f 

 the importance of the elements common to various merii.u 

 performances. 



We have brought together the above four subjects som. - 

 what out of their order in the programme of th' 

 masters' meeting, because they appear to m 



common tendency. They all deal with the problei:; ... . 



ing the subject-matter and the order of its presentation to 

 the growing intelligence and developing interests of the 

 boy. A few years ago the sequence of studies in the 

 science side of the curriculum was determined by considera- 

 tions of their logical order, and no one doubted that the 

 logical order was the right one to follow. The new move- 

 ment tends to make the logical order less dominant, and 

 to determine the sequence rather by the psychological or<li i 

 of the boy's mental growth. We venture to put forw.inJ 

 our personal impression of the direction in which, judi;- il 

 from the general attitude of the conferences, the sci( m • 

 -curriculum is evolving. Before doing so, we note with 

 pleasure the action of the Headmasters' Conference with 

 regard to Greek at entrance examinations, which was taken 

 at the December (191 1) meeting. 



The headmasters of the largest public schools have 

 definitely committed themselves to action which shall 

 relieve the preparatory schools from teaching Greek to 

 little boys. This makes it possible for a boy during his 

 school life to follow such a course as the following : — 

 (i) In the preparatory school a course of practical and 

 seasonal nature-study with gradually increasing thorough- 

 ness and method ; (2) in the lower school of the public 

 .school courses of, say, astronomy and plant physiology 

 (as suggested in the paper by E. 1. I-ewis) ; (3) in the 

 middle school a course of physics and chemistry, in which 

 the utilitarian interest of the boys is utilised and made 

 more and more scientific (c/. C. E. .Ashford and .\. 

 Vassall), the quantitative side being well-developed, but 

 not exclusively so. It is supposed that many boys will 

 carry school science no further than this. For those who 

 intend to pursue scientific study after school life there will 

 be (4) a course of systematic study in physics, chemistry, 

 and often biology. The work in this stage may best be 

 treated by the method of the seminar, and considerable 

 encouragement may well be given to the historical and 

 philosophical aspects. It may even be wise to encourage 

 theoretical speculation in order to inculcate habits of in- 

 dependent, self-reliant observation and reflection. Books of 

 reference should bo used, including French and German 

 texts, and such woi Ivs as Jevons's " Principles of Science " 

 and Pearson's " tirammar of Science " should find readers. 

 The suggestions for this stage appear to be in harmony 

 with Sir Joseph Thomson's address. 



The annual meeting of the Mathematical Association and 

 the remainder of the science masters' programme will 

 receive consideration in a subsequent article ; but it may 

 be stated at once that both meetings were well attended, 

 and showed a growth in the area of effectiveness of the 

 societies. G. F. Danieu.. 



T//E PROTFXTION OF ANCIENT 

 MONUMENTS. 

 'T'HE question of the protection of ancient monuments in 

 this country has reached a new phase by a paper 

 recently read by Sir Schomberg McDonell, secretary to 

 the Office of Works, before the Society of Antiquaries. 

 He referred to numerous cases, such as those of Stone- 

 henge. the camp at Penmaenmawr. Meavy Bridge. 

 Chichester Cross, the wall paintings of Tewkesbury Abbey, 

 the proposed restoration of Carnarvon Castle, as instances 



