THE INFLUENCE OF THE UNIVERSITIES ON SCHOOL EDUCATION. 451 



lowered. In drawing attention to the consequences of these antiquated 

 university arrangements I desire to say that I am not raising theoretical 

 or hypothetical objections to them, but simply speaking of what I have 

 seen and known in one school and another ; indeed, I would claim that 

 throughout this paper I have been careful to bear in mind the old 

 Newtonian example which is, I imagine, sometimes disregarded even at 

 the British Association, ' Hypotheses non fingo.' 



Thus, as the result of my personal experience, the first reform I 

 would advocate is that Responsions without Greek should be made an 

 avenue to a university degree for all candidates who can reach a good 

 standard of attainment in certain equivalent subjects of study. 



So much for our first change in the direction of liberty of choice. 



We may now go on to consider whether or how far any other changes 

 would effect some improvement in the kind and quality of ordinary school 

 education. 



So far as the school curriculum is influenced by this examination, with 

 its rigid exclusion of everything but elementary mathematics and the 

 grammatical study of two dead languages, it must be obvious that it would 

 be improved by an infusion of subjects and methods, the greatest of all 

 needs in our English education being scientific methods, that would help 

 to develop such qualities as observation, taste, thought, and interest in 

 the world around us. 



With this view I venture to put the question whether the following 

 scheme of requirements on entering Oxford or Cambridge would not 

 constitute a reasonable substitute for the present Responsions or 

 Little Go : — 



1 . Latin.— The examination to include the translation into English of 

 easy unprepared passages, and also some questions on a selected period 

 of Roman history and literature. 



2. Elementary mathematics. — More attention to be given to scientific 

 arithmetic and to easy original work in geometry. 



3 . The elements of natural science and scientific method. 



4. An elementary knowledge of either French or German or Italian. 



5. English. — The examination to include — 



(a) English composition. 



(b) Questions on some period of English history and literature. 



6. Greek. — The examination to include translation into English of 

 easy unprepared passages and also some questions on a selected period of 

 Greek history and literature ; or 



6a. French, or German, or some branch of natural science. — The 

 standard required to be such as to show that the candidate is fitted to 

 enter on an Honour Course of university study. 



It would be reasonable that any student who had passed in three of 

 the six subjects here required should be allowed to commence his residence 

 in the university on condition that he pass in the remaining three before 

 admission to any other examination in the university course. As univer- 

 sity study tends to become more specialised it is all the more necessary 

 thus to secure at the outset a good preliminary liberal training. 



Such a scheme as is here indicated would do this, and it would exer- 

 cise a most wholesome influence on school education generallj^ On the 



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