266 



NATURE 



[June 6, 1918 



laboratories are fitted with every modern con- 

 venience, and are equal in elaboration to anything 

 which might be expected in a university. The idea 

 of providing labour-saving appliances may be 

 carried too far in the laboratories to be occupied 

 by junior students. When everything is "laid 

 on " and it is only necessary to turn a tap, oppor- 

 tunities for the exercise of ingenuity and dexterity, 

 as well as the acquisition of useful practical know- 

 ledge, are lost. The young student should be 

 encouraged to make many things for himself, 

 starting, with glass and rubber tubing, wire, 

 sealing wax, etc. 



The provision of school laboratories has gone 

 on very rapidly during the last twenty years, and 

 it is probably in girls' schools chiefly that it is 

 least satisfactory. The Committee very wisely 

 points out that in planning new schools it is much 

 more important to secure ample space than to 

 provide elaborate and costly fittings. There is a 

 large number of private schools, chiefly for 

 preparatory and cramming purposes, which have 

 no provision for practical work, and how to deal 

 with these people is not very clear while the 

 parents are so ignorant and display so much in- 

 difference. A proper inspection . system would 

 probably have the effect of squeezing some of 

 them to death, which would on the whole be an 

 advantage to the country. 



One other point may be mentioned relating, not 

 directly to the pupils, but to the teachers. While 

 it is certainly necessary to hold out to the teaching 

 profession more liberal inducements to take up 

 this kind of work, a higher standard of efficiency 

 will reasonably be demanded of teachers. The 

 Committee recommends that short courses of 

 training should be established for teachers, which 

 apparently they think should be taken concurrently 

 with other studies, and not at the end of their 

 course. This recommendation ought undoubtedly 

 to be adopted by all who propose to become 

 teachers in schools where the students are all 

 beginners. A young man or woman may be full 

 of knowledge without the least idea of the best 

 way to reach young minds, and a few months 

 devoted to the study of method will be found 

 advantageous to everyone. The prospective 

 teacher may have attended the systematic course 

 of a professor at the university, but he ought not 

 to proceed to imitate this in his dealings with 

 boys and girls. At the same time, he ought to 

 be cautioned against faddists and educational 

 quack doctors, but should be led to examine 

 his own stock of knowledge and experience, 

 and ask himself how best he can make it 

 attractive and useful to others. After one 

 or two experiments each one will find out 

 for himself how best to accomplish this, and to 

 awaken in others an interest in the subject taught. 

 Some freedom in this process ought to be allowed 

 .by headmasters and inspectors. Very valuable 

 work in the way of suggestions to teachers of 

 various subjects, both physical and biological, has 

 been accomplished by the Association of Public- 

 NO. 2536, VOL. lOl] 



School Science Masters and the corresponding 

 Association of Science Mistresses, and attendance 

 at the annual meetings of these bodies, which 

 would probably be open to non-members, would 

 be certain to be full of interest and instruction to 

 young teachers. W. A. T. 



SCIENCE AND ADMINISTRATION. 



THE growth in the magnitude and in the com- 

 plexity of modern industrial and com- 

 I mercial undertakings has in recent years caused 

 1 attention to be directed to the methods of manage- 

 ; ment in connection therewith, and a vast amount 

 ' of knowledge on the subject has been accumu- 

 lated, co-ordinated, and arranged. In conse- 

 quence, a great volume of literature, constituting 

 j the science of administration, has been. brought 

 j into existence. To this an interesting addition 

 ' has very recently been made by the publication in 

 I the number for the first quarter of 1918 of the 

 I Bulletin de la Socidte . d' Encouragement pour 

 I'Industrie Nationale of a paper read by M. Fayol 

 on November 24, 1917, in Paris on "L'importance 

 de la^Fonction Administrative dans le Gouverne- 

 , ment'des Affaires." We learn therein that the 

 Society des Ingenieurs civils de France has 

 recently made a strong recommendation that 

 {courses of instruction on "administration" shall 

 I be introduced forthwith into all the higher schools 

 j of. civil engineering in France. M. Fayol, on the 

 I occasion mentioned, expressed a hope that in- 

 struction in this subject might be made part of 

 the curriculum of every school in France, even a 

 i part of those of primary schools ; he is convinced 

 I that widespread instruction in "administration" 

 must result in immense benefit to the French 

 \ nation. 



A knowledge of scientific methods of adminis- 

 tration and the. application of the principles thereof 

 in the domain of private undertakings, as well as 

 in that of State enterprises, are matters which 

 possess the same .importance in these islands as 

 they do in any other part of the world. There is 

 reason to believe that this is fully, appreciated in 

 our business circles, and to this is it due that, at 

 centres where courses of instruction are given in 

 subjects connected with "administration," those 

 responsible for the conduct of important under- 

 takings encourage their employes to attend such 

 courses, and even give them facilities for the pur- 

 pose. But, unfortunately, a similar attitude does 

 not prevail in our Government circles. Not so 

 many years ago the head of one of the branches 

 1 of a Government Department put forward pro- 

 posals in connection with the institution of special 

 courses of instruction ,in administrative subjects 

 for the officers of his branch. The Minister^ in 

 charge of the Department received the. suggestion 

 sympathetically ; the officials of the London School 

 of Economics were accommodating and took great 

 pains-in preparing a scheme for the purpose; how- 

 ever, the permanent officials of the Department 

 were passively hostile. The subject remained 



