NA TURE 



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THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1917. 



THE TEACHING OF PHYSIOLOGY. 



(i) Human Physiology : a Text-hook for High 

 Schools and Colleges. By P. G. Stiles. 

 Pp. 405. (Philadelphia and London : W, B. 

 Saunders Co., igi6.) Price 6^. 6d. net. 



(2) The Problems of Physiological and Patho- 

 logical Chemistry of Metabolism for Students, 

 Physicians, Biologists, and Chemists. By Dr. 

 Otto von Fiirth. Authorised translation by 

 Prof. Allen J. Smith. Pp. xv + 667. (Phila- 

 delphia and London : J. B. Lippincott Co., 

 n.d.) Price 255. net. 



(i) AT the January- Conference of Headmasters 

 ^^ a resolution was passed recommending" 

 the teaching of the "natural laws underlying the 

 phenomena of daily life." A similar resolution 

 •was passed at a meeting- of the Association of 

 Science Teachers, in which the value of exciting 

 a " spirit of interest and inquiry with regard to 

 . the world around us and the universe at large " 

 was emphasised (see Nature of February' i, 

 p. 442). It was thought that the best way 

 of doingf this was by courses of g^eneralised 

 •science. It was doubtless not intended to 

 exclude knowledge of the activities of living 

 organisms, inclusive of man, and of our own 

 bodily functions. In other, words, physiology 

 should be part of the course. We may remember 

 Huxley's advocacy of physiology as of especial 

 value as a means of mental discipline, and it has 

 also an important practical side. The ignorance 

 of most people with regard to questions of vital 

 consequence is scarcely less than scandalous, and 

 it is unfortunate that there appears to be a wide- 

 spread belief that physiology is only of use to 

 the medical man. Of course, it is necessary to 

 him in order that he may understand the abnor- 

 malities of disease ; but a knowledge of the normal 

 working of our bodies is surely a matter that 

 concerns everyone. The pressing question of 

 food is one that presents itself at once, and there 

 are many others. 



The book before us is an excellent attempt to 

 provide a text-book for high schools. But, good 

 as it is as an elementary account of the present 

 state .of physiological science, it cannot be 

 regarded as altogether successful. It is apt 

 to be dull and didactic rather than ■ stimulating. 

 This is probably incidental to the practice, inten- 

 tionally adopted, of omitting reference to names 

 of discoverers and details of experimental pro- 

 cedure. In the hands of a good teacher such 

 details may be made to give a human interest to 

 dry description, and bring what is being taught 

 into relationship with other bodies of knowledge, 

 such as history and art, a valuable aspect of true 

 education. It would be an improvement if a 

 part of the wealth of the book in facts were 

 sacrificed for a more intensive treatment of 

 some of them. In certain cases further space 

 could be foiind by omitting reference to 



XO. 2475, VOL. 991 



views that are now disproved. Similarly, 

 a rather more dogmatic tone might be used 

 in many instances. A text-book should take 

 the responsibility of recommending a par- 

 ticular view as being most in accor^iance 

 with facts, although this view may be contrary 

 to the opinion of some isolated physiologists. 



It will be agreed that the mode of teaching of 

 science suggested in the resolutions given above 

 depends for its success almost entirely upon the 

 teacher. A very wide knowledge is required, not 

 only of science, but of other branches of learning, 

 and it may well be that a special training is 

 advisable. Indeed, the capacity necessary is 

 probably of a higher order than that of many a 

 University professor. It need scarcely be said that 

 the right kind of teacher must be able to demand 

 a high salary. 



We cannot help expressing the hope that pre- 

 paration for any particular examination will be 

 left entirely out of account. The conviction is 

 forced upon us more and more that the examina- 

 tion system has a very serious degrading effect 

 both upon the teacher and the student. It is 

 natural that the student, whose prospects depend 

 on passing some examination, has little induce- 

 ment to take account of questions or new advances 

 in science, however important they may be, if 

 they are not to be found in the recognised text- 

 books, while the teacher feels reluctant to refer 

 to them, however hampered he may be by his 

 inability to do so. Moreover, there is an ever- 

 present temptation to learn a number of facts 

 by heart, since most examinations are easily 

 passed in this way. If time is taken to under- 

 stand principles, although the student is hereby 

 caused to think for himself, he may well find that 

 some facts have to be neglected. L'nder the 

 present system facts count for more than laws. 

 It is to be feared that Prof. Stiles's book may 

 lend itself to the mere committal to memory. The 

 examination problem is undoubtedly one of great 

 difficulty, and at present no satisfactory solution is 

 in sight. It seems that, on the whole, a book 

 frankly written for the teacher rather than for the 

 student would be the more useful for schools. In 

 such a case more attention could be given to the 

 ■experimental side. This does not really require 

 elaborate and costly apparatus. It is astonish- 

 ing what a wealth of significance there is in such 

 a simple experiment as the burning of sugar in 

 air and comparing the products with those given 

 off in the breath. 



A word must be* said on the manner of dealing 

 with the question of sex — a difficult problem for 

 the teacher, but one that ought not to be shirked. 

 Prof. Stiles's treatment is good, so far as it 

 goes. But we are inclined to think that a refer- 

 ence to the physioloeical meaning and value of 

 the union of two individuals as the basis of the 

 discussion would go far to remove the mis- 

 chievous way of looking at such problems which 

 is almost universal. 



The book is remarkably free from errors. We 

 have detected onlv One serious mistake. On 



