August 12, 1909J 



NA TURE 



193 



sent, twenty-four made no response, and one sent a 

 definite refusal. It is doubtless annoying- to be 

 asked twice in the course of a year to fill up forms 

 which require minute particulars, perhaps not ready 

 to hand, and it is possible — in fact a study of one of 

 the appendices makes it probable — that some of the 

 information has been supplied without meticulous veri- 

 fication of the details. 



If we put schools into three science classes, (o) those 

 born scientific, (b) those that achieve science, (cj those 

 that have science thrust upon them, it will be found 

 that only (h) and (c) are represented in Mr. Latter's 

 report. Class (b) supplies all the most valuable in- 

 formation, and it is to be hoped that it will be found 

 useful by the governors of the third class, now a very 

 small one. 



The opening pages of the pamphlet are- retrospective 

 and historical. Darwin's experiences at Shrewsbury 

 are given, including the public rebuke administered 

 by the headn-\aster for time wasted on chemistry. This 

 uncompro.nising attitude gave place later to faint en- 

 couragement. There are still to be found those whose 

 memory of Prof. Pepper's popular lectures supplies 

 their ideal of a school science course. The first public 

 school to achieve science w-as Rugby, and Canon 

 Wilson's ren-iiniscences are perhaps the most interest- 

 ing pages of the whole pamphlet. He was appointed 

 science master by Temple in 1859, and taught at first 

 in the cloakroom of the Town Hall. A small chem- 

 ical laboratory with six benches was built in i860, 

 and here he received a visit from Babbage, brought 

 by Temple to look at one of the first spectroscopes. 

 In due time the Rugby science master became head- 

 master of Clifton, and it w-as here that the next real 

 advance was made. Prof. Worthington's " Physical 

 Laboratory Practice, First Course," has been " the 

 model on -which nearly all the existing schemes of 

 elementary physical work have been based. "^ 



In addition to Rugby and Clifton, the scientific 

 histories of Cheltenham and Charterhouse are briefly 

 related, the experiences of these schools being taken 

 as typical of what has happened at other places. 

 Again, to quote the words of the report, " The mere 

 historical statement conveys very little idea of the 

 conditions under which much of the earlier teaching 

 was conducted. In most schools the idea underlying 

 t!ie new work was to impart a modicum of gentle- 

 manly information concerning natural phenomena and 

 such special branches of science as were attracting 

 public attention and receiving some notice in the daily 

 press." 



Among the external influences w-hich have helped 

 to establish the position of science, the increasing in-i- 

 portance attached to it in university examinations is 

 regarded as the chief factor. The recent changes in 

 the army examinations have led to an increase in the 

 accon-imodation and the teaching staff. A well- 

 deserved tribute is paid to the influence of Profs. Arm- 

 strong and Miall in the direction of reformed methods 

 of teaching. 



To turn from past history to present conditions, it 

 may be said briefly that the result of the inquiry is 

 in the main satisfactory. Governing bodies appear to 

 recognise the claims and in-iportance of science in the 

 n-iost practical manner, and in nearly every instance 

 where laboratories are inadequate new ones are being 

 built. No hint of insufficient funds appears to have 

 been given in any of the replies. The financial ques- 

 tion is fully dealt with. It is inevitable that science 

 should cost more than any other subject. Apparatus 

 and materials must be supplied and continually re- 

 newed. Gas, water, and electricity must be con. 

 sumed. In addition to masters' salaries, assistants, 

 trained or untrained, must be paid for. In the latter 

 NO. 2076, VOL. 81] 



respect there appears to be a deficiency. " A large 

 number of those responsible for school service have not 

 yet realised the value and importance of employing 

 at least one expert attendant." 



In a few cases it has been possible to estimate the 

 cost of the science teaching per boy per hour, including 

 e\-erything except masters' salaries, and the average 

 is just under 3(i. This may be regarded as a reason- 

 able standard in schools where the science buildings 

 form one block in which apparatus and attendance 

 can be shared by difl'erent class-rooms. The schools 

 which have put off the building of specially designed 

 laboratories until the eleventh hour are fortunate in 

 being able to make use of experience gained by those 

 who have borne the burden and heat of the day. We 

 are still feeling our way, but we understand much 

 better than we did ten years ago what is indispensable 

 and what is superfluous in a school science building. 

 The methods of meeting the expenses of the science 

 teaching are very various. Some schools charge an 

 extra fee. In others the entire cost is met by the 

 general funds of the school without any extra charge 

 except in cases of culpable negligence. This, no 

 doubt, is the ideal system, and ought to obtain 

 wherever science is compulsory. On the other hand, 

 when there has been no raising of the general fees 

 to meet special expenditure incurred on behalf of a 

 few, it is not unreasonable that those few should be 

 asked to contribute. The important points in this con- 

 nection appear to be, first, that no boy should be de- 

 barred fron-i taking- up science on grounds of expense, 

 and, secondly, that no cheapening of the science course 

 should be effected by lowering the salaries of the staff. 

 Economies of this kind have been kno-vvn, and have 

 been accompanied by a lowering of the standard. 



To turn now to the arrangement of classes and the 

 sequence of studies, it seems that dissatisfaction with 

 present circumstances appears to be infrequent. It 

 may be taken, therefore, that the average conditions 

 are not very far wrong. Mr. Latter finds that the 

 average ratio of n-iasters (in all subjects) to boys is 

 I to i4'5, that one out of every nine masters is engaged 

 solely in teaching science, and, allowing for help 

 given by mathematical masters and others, the ratio 

 of science masters to boys is about i to 70. These 

 are important facts, and should be carefully con- 

 sidered by school authorities who are in doubt as to 

 their curriculum. 



One of the questions asked was, " Are science 

 classes arranged in sets according to attainment in 

 science or according to aggregate in all subjects?" 

 Here is a practical problem of great difificulty. It is 

 complicated by the lack of uniformity among prepara- 

 tory schools and in public school scholarship examina- 

 tions in their recognTtion of science. Thus a clever 

 boy coming to a public school with a scholarship but 

 without any training in science may find himself 

 placed with boys who have already been at the school 

 for one or two years and have passed through its 

 elementary scientific course. The plan of rearranging 

 an entire school of 500 according to attainment in 

 science alone is, of course, impracticable, and in 

 schools where the forms are grouped in blocks, sub- 

 division of a block for science purposes can only be 

 possible when the proportion of masters to boys does 

 not fall below the average alreadv stated. In some 

 cases the classification for science is the same as that 

 for mathematics, and this plan is commended to the 

 consideration of preparatory schoolmasters as well as 

 to those who teach elementary physics at public 

 schools. 



The sequence of subjects has already been dealt 

 with in another report. Mr. Latter urges the claims 

 of botany and zoology with some force, and publishes 



