L.— EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE 223 



well as in the laboratory it is important to develop an experimental 

 attitude of mind ; the fear of spoiling food should not be allowed to 

 prevent definite inquiries into the nature of the materials and processes 

 of the kitchen. 



Training in Science of the General Subjects Teacher. 



Years ago I inspected a country school in the South of Ireland ; the 

 teacher — an elderly man — assured me his pupils were ' mad on science ' ; 

 the school was full of devices for making instruction real and exciting ; 

 senior pupils had preserved the keenness often found only among 

 the juniors, and would argue with one about anything. On leaving, I 

 asked the teacher why he had succeeded when others failed. With a 

 twinkle in his eye, he replied : ' I dunno, sir, but perhaps it is I wasn't 

 trained.' 



On the whole the training colleges for elementary teachers have done 

 their work well : their product is reasonably well fitted to gain experience 

 from their teaching. That is all we can expect. 



The teacher of the primary or higher primary school is usually a 

 class-teacher, responsible for some or all subjects of the curriculum ; 

 he has to contend with difficulties not found in the secondary school, but, 

 on the other hand, his methods and his inclinations are free from the 

 constraints of examinations. 



The teacher, whether in elementary or secondary school, must have 

 grasped the method of science, and requires the same skill in the pre- 

 sentation of subject-matter to young pupils. A training college staff 

 in touch with the problems of real teaching can do this work more effec- 

 tively than university lecturers. 



The studies in general science followed in the training colleges should 

 be fundamental but of necessity more limited in scope and degree than 

 those attempted by the secondary teacher ; they should revise, from the 

 teacher's standpoint, the work done by the student when at school, but 

 must also fill up the many gaps that remain. 



With students of this age it is not desirable to divorce training in 

 teaching methods from instruction in subject-matter ; both can be 

 dealt with simultaneously and without loss of time ; constant reference 

 should be made to the difficulties and experiences of class teaching. 

 Every specialist in a training college should be his own professor of 

 method. Although this might lead to a conflict of pedagogical advice, 

 it would leave the student more inclined to form his own judgments and 

 would encourage his own critical powers : we do not want all our teachers 

 cast from the same mould. 



In the training colleges as in the schools instruction should be more 

 akin to discussion than lecturing. The final qualifying tests, theoretical, 

 practical and pedagogical, should be conducted by inspectors and teachers 

 who have been in close touch with the work. 



The laboratory training must be intensive and individual in order that 

 students may acquire the resource that their future work will demand of 

 them. In order to face the difficulties that poor equipment imposes they 



