864. REPORT—1896. 
3. The Teaching of Geography in Relation to History. 
By A. W. ANDREWS. 
The study of the physical geography of a country should proceed and be co- 
extensive with that of its history. 
The ideal of history teaching in English schools. 
A lack of perspective in the teaching of English history, owing to the neglect 
of physical geography. 
Teachers and writers of school histories may be themselves geographers, but 
usually fail to appreciate the standpoint of the student. 
As a consequence, physical geography, or the physical side of history is rele- 
gated to special text-books and special lessons, not taught in conjunction with 
history. 
ial asia? of physical geography would give the student a firm standpoint for the 
appreciation of the events ot history, and prevent much of the present confusion, 
At present the teaching of geography in connection with history is chiefly con- 
fined to the use of topographical maps. 
Teachers, however, forget that a topographical map is merely a diagrammatic 
method of learning statistics relating to the distribution of names. 
The danger of both history and geography being taught as a mere verbal record 
of statistics. 
The different branches that make up history, such as geography, social life, 
literature, parliament, &c., must not be studied in complete isolation. 
There must always in the study of history be comparison and contrast, and 
this would be gained in English history by a more detailed study of some half- 
dozen periods, ¢.9. 
(1) The present physical geography of Great Britain in connection with the 
main and essential ideas of the history of to-day. 
(2) Some few epochs of history studied in sufficient detail for a similarly com- 
prehensive view of the life of the time, as in (1) e.g. :— 
The Times of Chaucer, 1350-1400, 
A. Physical geography of British Isles at that date compared with— 
I. Causes which led population to centralise at different points; 
physical changes (Cinque Ports); [population in E. & S.J; 
coal and iron manufactures, «ce. 
II. Means of Communication—Ocean routes, sailing vessels, roads, 
railways, steam, canals, Xe. 
III. The widening of the horizon of thought coextensive with the 
exparsion of geographical knowledge. 
IV. Influence of geographical conditions on the ideas of the time. 
B, A knowledge of the main factors that made up life in England at that date 
grouped round some prominent figure like Chaucer, ¢.g.: literature, 
social life, trade, religion, &c., considered not merely as independent 
streams of knowledge, but as they affected the life of an average per- 
son at that date. 
Threefold advantages of studying geography and history together. 
(1) It provides a standard of comparison with the past. 
(2) It assists a student to visualise history, 7.c. to think of it not merely asa 
series of isolated branches of knowledge, but as the different manifestations of a 
living people at different epochs. 
(3) It is the one factor of history of which it is impossible to limit the influence. 
It is invaluable for teaching the student to think. 
