August 13, 1908] 



NA TURE 



355 



It appears that there is no class of the people in any 

 district without facilities for education, but it must be 

 admitted that the quality of these facilities is not every- 

 where such as to leave no scope for the reformer's zeal. 

 Perhaps Ireland illustrates most clearly the progress made 

 in the last decade. Prior to 1899 there was little technical 

 education in Ireland, and in 1900 there were not more 

 than half-a-dozen laboratories in the secondary schoofs. 

 Now there are 280 laboratories, and 15,000 students are 

 to-day being taught experimental science. There are but 

 few secondary schools where such teaching has not been 

 introduced. In addition, there are under the Department 

 of Agriculture and Technical Instruction 45,000 students, 

 and visitors will hardly fail to notice the specimens of 

 their work which are on view ; the Arts and Crafts Section 

 being of considerable intrinsic merit. 



Starting from the west and working towards the cast 

 end of the hall one passes from kindergarten to uni- 

 versity. In valuing the work, especially of the young 

 children and of the boys and girls of our elementary and 

 secondary as distinct from technical schools, we must not 

 lose sight of the true aim of the educator. Our Judg- 

 ment should be based, not on the intrinsic value or the 

 " finish " of the exhibits, but on the extent to which their 

 production is calculated to aid disciplined development of 

 character, mind, and physique. From our increased 

 expenditure on education we may look for more than 

 improved school-attendance. We ought to find in this 

 exhibition signs that a balanced and harmonious growth 

 of all faculties is being encouraged by normal school- 

 courses, apart from educational fads. 



Elementary Schools. — During the last few years the im- 

 provement in infants' schools has been very great. To 

 appreciate rightly the work of their highly competent 

 teachers, one ought not to be content with examining the 

 schemes of work, models, and drawings to be seen in 

 the exhibition hall, although these bear witness to enthu- 

 siastic work. One ought also to visit an infants' school, 

 see the conditions of work, and obtain personal experience 

 of the skill with which modern teachers deal with the 

 difficult task of setting drafts of babies to happy, intelli- 

 gence-forming work and play. The work of elementary, 

 higher elementary, and higher grade schools is very well 

 displayed. We select the exhibits of the London County 

 Council and the City of Manchester as furnishing an index 

 to such work. We find : — (i) AIbt4ms which contain 

 schemes of work, time-tables, photographs, and specimens 

 of work ; (2) mounted iUiislrations of syllabuses in draw- 

 ing, science, needlework, domestic economy, wood-work, 

 physical exercises, nature-study, geography ; (3) class- 

 worked exercises connected with the foregoing. The feature 

 which impressed us most was the large share of attention 

 given to drawing, nature-study, physical exercises, and 

 organised games. The development of motor-activities ap- 

 pears to be the guiding principle. Certain of our writers 

 and public speakers who constantly inform us that our 

 methods are too " bookish " are under the mistaken im- 

 pression that schools of to-day are still in the old grooves. 

 A visit to the British Education Section might make them 

 wiser and happier men. The science, domestic, and art 

 teaching is of the type which calls upon the pupil to 

 take an intelligent share in the work, and to employ his 

 or her inventive powers. Presumably less time is given 

 to reading and spelling in the first stages ; but we did not 

 observe any resulting defects in the later work. Rather 

 we think that there is a better power of expression in 

 the higher standards ; probably the result of improved 

 general intelligence, stimulated by modern methods. It 

 should be mentioned that the housewifery is quite prac- 

 tical and simple, not in niihihus. Moral teaching is given 

 with a straightforward dogmatism suited to the age of 

 the children. The extent to which individual ability and 

 self-reliance are being encouraged in the schools is most 

 creditable when the conditions of work are considered. 



In the higher elementary schools the study of physics 

 is encouraged. Geography makes a good show ; especially 

 worthy of notice is the geography scheme of Basnett School, 

 Battersea. Modern methods, based on regional survey, 

 have been successfully applied in a district which at first 

 sight appears to offer drawbacks rather than facilities. 



NTQ. 2024. vol.. 7SI 



Despite the fact that history receives more attention than 

 formerlv, the utility of charts, pictures, &c., seems under- 

 rated. 'There is little evidence in this exhibition of " the 

 appeal to the eye " in connection with history teaching in 

 elementary schools. 



Comity Organisation. — This is clearly exemplified in the 

 cases of Essex, Warwickshire, and Northamptonshire, 

 which afford good examples of decentralised administration, 

 with especial reference to local needs and industries. The 

 combination of counties to permit interchange of teachers 

 and scholars for the purpose of training or to form other 

 centres of higher education is still to a great extent an 

 unfulfilled aspiration. Perhaps the next great exhibition, 

 will be able to illustrate useful results from the working 

 of neighbouring authorities in association. The Essex 

 authorities have furnished much useful information as to 

 the cost of salaries, buildings, and school supplies generally. 



Ptihlic Schools and the older Universities. — The deepest 

 matters of education have to do with " things unseen," 

 and it does not follow that Oxford does less for the nation 

 than a domestic economy or engineering school because 

 the products of the latter institutions bulk more largely 

 at Shepherd's Bush. So far as Oxford and Cambridge are 

 concerned, we must thank those responsible for their in- 

 teresting display of portraits, relics, and models, and the 

 copious supply of photographs and official publications. 

 Perhaps this was all that could be done; one cannot " allot 

 space " to the spirit of a university. But something more 

 ought to have been done to furnish visitors with a concept 

 of that characteristic institution, an English Public School- 

 .At least, the committee ought to have acquired a model 

 of buildings, playing-fields, &c., such as are to be found 

 in the all-round equipment of our public schools, and are 

 not to be found in any other country in the world. (We 

 remember a model of Rossall School which created great 

 interest some seven or eight years ago.) A critical observer 

 will find much worth attention in the portfolios and exercise 

 books. They show the actual everyday work of the boys. 

 The pursuits of their leisure hours are copiously illustrated. 



London University and the neiver Universities. — Special 

 handbooks are issued by the London University and by the 

 deans of the metropolitan schools of medicine. We do 

 not think that so clear and concise a statement of the 

 multifarious activities of the University had been published 

 hitherto. The illustrated guide to the medical schools is 

 a good-sized volume, full of interest to all concerned in 

 medical education. It is important to observe how the 

 opportunities for clinical study and research are being 

 extended, and that these opportunities are appreciated by 

 large numbers of qualified men. The movement for pro- 

 modng social intercourse among undergraduates by athletic 

 clubs and halls of residence is gaining ground. Victoria 

 and Sheflfield Universities are strongly represented on the 

 technological side. We are interested by a photograph 

 taken at the Mason College, Birmingham, where the lec- 

 turer is seen addressing a theatre crowded with working 

 men. There is room for more of this kind of university- 

 extension. 



Girls' Education. — Nothing is more clearly shown than 

 the strides made in the education of girls, especially in 

 domestic subjects. Neither in the elementary nor in the 

 secondary and high schools is to be found unreasoned 

 imitation of boys' education. The work shown by the 

 Cheltenham Laciies' College and by the Manchester High 

 School is of a high standard, the humanities being well 

 cared for. 



Technical Instruction, Fine Arts, Arts and Crafts occupy 

 an important place. The difficult task of selecting really 

 typical work from the technical schools of the country was 

 performed mainly by the Association of Technical Institu- 

 tions. A display of real educational interest is the result. 

 The growth of organised instruction in the different branches 

 of industrial work is well evidenced by the exhibit of the 

 City and Guilds Institute. The students' work in the 

 fine arts and arts and crafts compares not unfavourably 

 with the corresponding trade exhibits in other halls of 

 the exhibition. 



Music—The weak spot in the exhibition is that the 

 claims of music have not been recognised. The Guild 

 of Church Musicians furnishes the only exhibit we dis- 



