368 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 



Simple economics and economic history are absolutely essential to a just 

 appreciation of historical development as a whole.' 



Again there is the suggestion that the information contained can only 

 be taken with a Sixth Form and that below that stage only very superficial 

 matters can be dealt with. 



Personal Sociology. 



The least satisfactory replies had reference to the section on Personal 

 Sociology. Three made no mention of it and with slight exceptions the 

 others were of the opinion that the various subjects should not be taken. 

 The exceptions were in the case of Streatham High School. There 

 ' Comparative Religion ' was said to be taken in Divinity ; ' General Ideas of 

 the Relation of Oneself to the Universe ' was said by Liverpool Collegiate 

 School to emerge from religious teaching and addresses at Prayers with the 

 whole school ; and ' General Study of Social Structure, etc' was given by 

 a Bradford head master as a part that might be taken. 



The Head Mistress of Manchester High School is of the opinion that 

 ' The material outlined under Personal Sociology is not suitable before the 

 last year in the Sixth Form (17-18) and can be approached only in the most 

 elementary way even then.' The Head Master of Bristol Grammar School 

 remarked that ' It is questionable whether the detailed consideration of much 

 of the matter under Personal Sociology is proper to the school stage at all.' 



General Observations . 



The replies received from secondary schools demonstrate the influence 

 of examinations upon the syllabuses of work. While the statement that 

 the First School Examination controls the work in secondary schools may 

 be an exaggeration, the fact that it does greatly influence both the scope 

 of the syllabus and the method of approach is obvious. The thorough and 

 sometimes detailed knowledge required to answer examination papers has a 

 limiting effect upon the scope of the work attempted. 



The practice of taking thoroughly what is attempted may also account 

 for the opinion that some sections should not be taught. On the other hand, 

 the opinion that some parts of what Mr. Wells would include should not 

 be taught to school pupils was definitely expressed by head teachers of 

 experience and of known progressive views. This was especially true of 

 two sections. Social Mechanism and Personal Sociology, and it is only 

 fair that the strong opposition to their inclusion should be noted. 



Summary of Replies. 



In summarising the results of the questionnaire, the two features which 

 call for comment are : 



1 . The consensus of opinion that the informative content of education 

 outlined by Mr. Wells is both too wide in scope to be covered during the 

 present school life of the great majority of children of this country, and 

 too advanced in its demands upon the capacity of the pupils for whom 

 the various sections of the subjects were suggested. 



2. The differences of opinion in relation to what can be included in 

 the curriculum ; what some correspondents believe cannot be taken with 

 pupils of a given age-group and cannot be included within the scope of 

 a reasonable curriculum, is actually taken in other schools with pupils 

 of the same age. 



