PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 697 
sider a class as made up of types tends to break up the class feeling, and make 
the master think of his pupils as a mere group of separate individuals. Un- 
doubtedly the master must in certain connections think of his pupils as indi- 
viduals, but in other connections he must deal with his class as a whole, as a 
psychological unit. 
This introduces one of the most striking developments of modern educational 
theory. The older psychologists treated their subject as limited to the study of 
the mature human individual. The introduction of the idea of development led 
to the founding of genetic psychology with its consideration of the individual 
at his various stages. A further advance is marked by the appearance of collec- 
tive psychology which carries the study of the individual into his relations with 
other individuals. Naturally both changes were of the greatest advantage to 
education, The first gave scientific guidance to the popular movement known as 
Child-Study, the second suggested the scientific study of the class as a collective 
organism. It is true that this collective psychology is at present in its infancy. 
But while we owe much to the French psychologists with their dazzling exposi- 
tion, we are glad to turn to our more solid McDougall for the best scientific basis 
available for a sound collective psychology. The material he has supplied is 
waiting to be worked up from the educational side. His statement of the relation 
between the instincts and the emotions and his manipulation of Mr. Shand’s 
theory of the sentiments provide tempting material for the establishment of an 
objective standard in connection with the training of the individual character 
and the interaction of individual characters in groups. Naturally the results 
must be expressed in averages, and equally naturally there will be a complaint 
from certain practical educators. What is the use, it will be asked, of informa- 
tion about how classes in general act? What we want to know is how this par- 
ticular class before which I stand is going to act. But this is to confound the 
practice of a science with the science itself. There must always be an intelligent 
intermediary between the principles of a science and their application to the 
affairs of life. In this respect the nascent science of Education differs in no way 
from those that are more fully developed. The educator who prides himself on 
being specially practical is frequently very unreasonable in his demands from 
educational theory. He is rather apt to complain that it does not supply him with 
sufficiently detailed instructions. What he wants is a series of recipes which, if 
scrupulously followed, will inevitably produce certain specified results. But 
such men take a very humiliating view of their profession. So far from seeking 
this spoon-feeding, they should rejoice that their work demands the exercise of 
intelligent initiative. Herein consists, in fact, the dignity of the educator’s 
office. He must be master of the organised knowledge that Education has 
acquired, and must have the power of making the appropriate application of that 
knowledge to every case as it arises. To assist him in avoiding error he is 
entitled to look for an objective standard at the hands of those who make Educa- 
tion their special study, but for the use of that standard he must himself accept 
the full responsibility. 
The following Report and Paper were then read :— 
1. Report on the Influence of School-books upon Eyesight. 
See Reports, p. 295. 
2. A Plea for supplementing Small Scholarships. 
By Professor Marcus Harroa, D.Sc. 
Scholarships have two functions—(1) providing a supply of qualified men for 
the professions that need a costly training ; (2) affording adequate training for men 
of exceptional promise to fit them for doing their best work in the world. The 
majority of scholarships are of value insutlicient for this purpose unless supple- 
mented by contributions from parents, relations, or friends in easy circumstances. 
Failing these, the scholar is cramped at every step by the lack of means to buy 
books and instruments, to profit by the social education of the university. If he 
