624 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION L. 
qualifying examinations are either too little or too much. From the purely 
utilitarian standpoint, the standpoint which is now almost universal, it is only 
the man in a scientific profession who wants anything more than plain Arithmetic. 
From the esthetic standpoint every educated man wants something better than 
simultaneous quadratics, which mark the superior limit in Algebra. The modern 
classical Sixth Form boy misses the old logical training of Huclid, which after 
all did appeal to and influence the clever ones, and has now been replaced by a 
hotch-potch in which any proof of a theorem is accepted which is good enough 
for an engineer. 
The conditions in science teaching are somewhat similar. Here again every- 
thing has been sacrificed to the average stupid boy: the average clever boy is 
disregarded. The boy without imagination must have everything presented to 
him with an obvious utilitarian sauce. Hence Science which is not strictly useful 
but only beautiful is liable to be excluded. You will not find Astronomy and 
Sound included in many school curricula. 
Cannot we arrive at some agreement as to the number and position of the 
windows of the mind which should be opened by a liberal education? Does the 
syllabus of any School-leaving or Matriculation or Previous Hxamination open 
any? Greek opens a window to the mind which gets as far as being able to read 
Homer and Plato without a crib and with only occasional use of the dictionary. 
Physics opens a window when wave-motion in all its forms begins to be realised ; 
the construction of a thermometer or an electroscope leaves the window shut. 
Mathematics must open many windows for those who go far enough; but the 
tendency of the average non-mathematical boy is to regard itas a dark and dusty 
subway with no windows at all. How far must one go to come to a window? 
The question may be asked in connection with any study ; and it might be set as 
a problem for the Recorder of each Section of this Association to assess the 
minimum of attainment which will enable the average member to follow with 
intelligent appreciation the work of that Section. 
(A general discussion followed, in which Mr. J. Saxton, Mr. M. P. Hanson, 
Mr. G. Branca, and Mr. W. Jamieson took part.) 
3. On some New Motor Tests of Intelligence. By H. WALKER. 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18. 
The following Papers were read :— 
1. The London Trade Schools. By C. W. Kimuins, M.A., D.Sc. 
In order to place the subject of trade schools in its appropriate setting it is 
necessary to know something of the London County Council’s elaborate scholar- 
ship scheme, consisting of junior, intermediate, and senior scholarships, which 
makes ample provision for the very clever child from the elementary school to the 
secondary school and the University or higher technical school. 
After thus making provision for the clever child the problem of problems 
becomes: How can we prevent the boy and girl of normal intelligence from 
drifting into the ranks of unskilled labour on leaving the elementary school at 
the age of fourteen? In order to bridge over the serious gap between the ages 
of fourteen and seventeen the trade school has come into existence, and is 
destined in the future to play a very important part in London education. It has 
been found that for the poor type of child it is, under present conditions, quite 
impossible to ensure two or three years’ continuous instruction after the age of 
fourteen unless some grant for maintenance is made which will recoup the 
parents for the loss they sustain by not letting their children enter unskilled 
employment. The trade school scholarship for boys generally consists of free 
education and a maintenance grant of 6/. for the first year and 15/. for the second 
and third years. 
