SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— E. 351 



statistics collected from surviving journals and account books of the Company, 

 customs accounts, &c. will be given to illustrate the nature and value of : — 



( 1 ) the exports from England to West Africa over a number of consecutive years, 

 and 



(2) imports into England from West Africa both direct and via the West Indies. 

 An estimate will be made of the relative contributions of the Royal African 



Company and the interlopers to the trade of the period. 



Documentary evidence of the relations between the Company and the natives 

 will be given, together with details concerning the exchange values of slaves, the 

 extent of the liquor traflSc, &c. 



The particular climatic conditions under which the trans -Atlantic trade was 

 carried on will be illustrated by extracts from the logs of some of the ships engaged. 



Friday, August 2. 

 Joint Meeting (Sections B, L) on The Teaching of Geography. 



(a) Mr. L. Brooks. — Re-port on the Teaching of Geography in England. 



Fundamental changes have taken place in geographical teaching during the past 

 twenty years. These changes have been due to the gradual growth of a definiteness 

 of aim, an individuality of method and a coherence of content which to-day 

 characterise geographical study at its best. These characteristics are marks of the 

 older disciplines, and it is their achievement which guarantees the position of 

 geography as an important and indispensable element in education to-day. 



It follows that if school geographical teaching is to have its full educational value 

 the subject must be so taught in the classroom as to represent faithfully the spirit and 

 character of the corresponding movement in the wider intellectual world, for it is only 

 then that the items of knowledge communicated are given their true relation and signifi- 

 cance, so that the subject as a whole makes its special contribution to the pupil's 

 outlook and habits of thought. 



Many lessons must be directed to the acquisition of skill in the use of tools and 

 aids, e.g. map-reading and observations of the weather ; many must be devoted to 

 acquiring first-hand experiences, e.g. of river work, visits to places of geographical 

 interest ; but whether or not the teaching as a whole satisfies the conditions stated 

 above can be tested in the treatment of three essential and characteristic elements 

 which in geographical study are brought to one focus naturally and without forced 

 attempt at correlation.' These are : — 



1 . The personality and possibilities of the locality. 



2. The characteristics, needs and outlook of the people. 



3. The nature, requirements and effects of their work. 



Borrowing from Prof. Geddes, these may be expressed briefly as ' place,' ' folk,' 

 ' work.' Geographical teaching, at its best, is recognised in the way the teacher deals, 

 according to the age and attainments of his pupils, with the description of these three 

 elements, with their relationships and interactions, with the synthesis they compose, 

 and with their expression, in writing and in maps, in the geographer's characteristic 

 way. 



It is obvious that the work presented at different stages must be carefully graded. 

 Much current teaching tends to be too difficult in the earlier stages and too elementary 

 at the post school certificate stage. The desire to teach ' cause and effect relation- 

 ships ' and to be always finding explanations frequently utterly spoils the teaching 

 at the primary stage, e.g. 7 or 8 to 11+ . At this stage the teaching of ' place, folk, 

 work ' should be concerned mainly with the giving of accurate impressions and 

 pictures through descriptive teaching illustrated by lantern slides, pictures, &c. 

 The wise teacher will also make sure that his pupils acquire an adequate background 

 of facts. 



From 11+ to 16+ is the five years' course of the normal secondary school. 

 Descriptive teaching is stiU exceedingly important, but during these years the teaching 

 should be more definitely regional in character, and a definite and progressively 

 arranged attempt should be made to study the interactions and relationships of the 



' ' Geography and Citizenship.' P. M. Roxby. 



