SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS .—Kk%, L. 457 
Monday, September 9. 
Mr. R. Bourne.—Aerial surveys (Section K room) (10.0). 
Joint Discussion with Section K (Botany) and Section M (Agriculture) 
on The utilisation of light land, with special reference to Breckland 
(Section K room) (2.0). See under Section K, p. 450. 
Mr. A. C. Forpes.—Semi-popular lecture on Tree planting since the 
Roman occupation (Section K room) (5.0). 
SECTION L.—EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE. 
Thursday, September 5. 
DiscussIon on Teaching and learning of appreciation (10.0). 
LITERATURE :— 
Mr. P. H. B. Lyon (10.0). 
Love of literature, like religion, must be caught rather than taught. Poetry 
especially can be taught by no single known method. The communication 
of a love of poetry to boys and girls demands first of all sincerity and 
enthusiasm in the teacher: next, a removal of all those real or fancied 
obstacles to appreciation which the child absorbs from his environment 
or companions ; such as its alleged difficulty, or mawkishness, or unnatural- 
ness, or artificiality. Pupils must then be shown how to listen to poetry, 
how to see what the poet sees, and feel what he feels. Careful choice of 
material is needed to bridge the awkward gulf between the age of uncritical 
acceptance and the mature appreciation of the adult. The teacher must 
himself be converted before he seeks to convert others; he must never 
attempt to exact respect for that to which he is himself indifferent. Methods 
of spreading appreciation include the frequent reading of lyrics, without 
comment, the learning of good poetry, the general and individual criticism 
and discussion of poems, and the thorough absorption of an occasional 
masterpiece. Poetry speaks not only to the mind but to the spirit of man. 
Rev. M. R. RIDLEY (10.30). 
The appreciation of literature: (a) what it means; (b) how to help 
students to achieve it. 
(a) Not in itself the same thing as ‘ literary criticism ’—but cannot be 
achieved without some critical process. A vague reaction of liking or dis- 
liking is not ‘ appreciation ’, and soon palls. 
(6) (i) At school. Fatal to try to teach it directly, since this involves 
the imposition of the teacher’s appreciation on the pupil, leading probably 
to resentment, and certainly to distortion. Aim should be to secure that 
the pupil looks at the work long enough for it to produce its own effect on 
him. This most easily secured (especially with poetry) by concentrating 
on the technical elements. 
