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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 775 



quantitative experiments, possibly some species 

 work and the microscope should be introduced. 



In the university academic and especially in 

 university sociologic courses the most intri- 

 cate problems of interrelations of bacteria to 

 each other as illustrating similar interrela- 

 tions in human life might be conducted. Of 

 course all this presupposes a bacteriological 

 training of the teachers of the public and 

 high schools. 



For the present, the education of the moth- 

 ers of the present might be attained, as sug- 

 gested by Dr. Norman MacL. Harris, through 

 lectures and simple " courses " given before 

 mothers, in connection with settlement work 

 or in the mothers' meetings sometimes held in 

 connection with the graded schools: women's 

 clubs might secure teachers ready to give 

 short courses in elementary laboratory work. 

 Perhaps " correspondence courses " in the 

 great journals devoted to women might, under 

 proper supervision, stimulate many mothers 

 to do a little elementary bacteriology at home. 

 However done, it is the writer's belief that 

 until such teaching is done — and done by 

 methods involving not merely lectures or 

 demonstrations but personal experiments by 

 the mothers (present and prospective) them- 

 selves, the methods of personal defense against 

 infection will never so take their proper place 

 as to be real factors in the suppression of 

 disease. Only when the " cleanliness " of 

 fresh collars and cuffs and nicely brushed 

 hair, etc., has added to it the real cleanliness 

 of hands free from the discharges of the toilet 

 room will personal cleanliness mean anything 

 in relation to infection. 



H. W. Hill 



Minnesota State Boabd of 

 Health Laboratories 



TEACHING BY THE LECTURE SYSTEM 

 At an open meeting held a short time ago 

 by the Case School chapter of the society of 

 Sigma Xi, for the discussion of subjects of 

 special interest to the members of the instruct- 

 ing staff at the Case School of Applied Sci- 

 ence the lecture system was discussed. The 

 different ideas presented seemed to suggest 



that a paper on this subject might be of some 

 interest and possible benefit. I shall not dis- 

 cuss the efficiency of the lecture system as 

 compared with other systems of teaching a 

 science, since there can be little doubt but that 

 under existing conditions this method if prop- 

 erly carried out is by far the best one for most 

 sciences ; but I shall treat of the various means 

 of carrying it out and try to indicate those 

 which seem best suited to attain the highest 

 efficiency. 



It is not the purpose of this paper to give 

 in detail a full treatment of the different 

 points to be considered in presenting a science 

 course by the lecture system, but rather to 

 collect a few facts and ideas which may, in 

 this way, come to some who possibly have not 

 been placed in an environment which would 

 demonstrate the importance of the matter, and 

 who have therefore not put as much thought 

 on this particular question as eflScient teaching 

 would demand. A science should be presented 

 in such a manner as will make its particular 

 group of natural phenomena understood with 

 the least possible expenditure of mental exer- 

 tion and time on the part of the student. The 

 presenting of a science in this manner should 

 be the aim of the science teacher. Further, 

 the teacher should strive so to correlate facts 

 and suggestion that the phenomena and their 

 explanation should be the most easily remem- 

 bered. 



In most of our schools, existing conditions 

 make the lecture system by far the best for 

 presenting a science to a class of students. 

 This fact is more especially true in a largely 

 experimental science, such as in chemistry or 

 in physics. As the teaching of chemistry has 

 been the vocation of the writer, what follows 

 will probably apply more to the teaching of 

 chemistry than to the teaching of any other 

 science. The question then resolves itself 

 into: what is the best method for conducting 

 a lecture course so that its qualities shall be 

 clearness, comprehensiveness, individual com- 

 pleteness and individual broadness? It is not 

 alone sufficient to give a man knowledge. The 

 subject must be presented to him in such a 

 manner as to interest him sufficiently to make 



