436 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No_ 1451 



So long ago as 1867 the distinction between 

 subject and method was clearly stated by a 

 Committee of the British Association, which 

 included among its members Professor Huxley, 

 Professor Tyndall and 'Canon Wilson. It was 

 pointed out that general literary acquaintance 

 with scientific things in actual life and knowl- 

 edge relating to common facts and phenomena 

 of nature were as desirable as the habits of 

 mind aimed at in scientific training through 

 "experimental physics, elementary chemistry 

 and botany." The subjects which the commit- 

 tee recommended for scientific information, as 

 distinguished from training, comprehended "a 

 general description of the solar system; of the 

 form and physical geography of the earth, and 

 such natural phenomena as tides, currents, 

 winds and the causes that influence climate; 

 of the broad facts of geology; of elementary 

 natural history with especial reference to the 

 useful plants and animals; and of the rudi- 

 ments of physiology." If we add to this out- 

 line a few suitable topics illustrating applica- 

 tions of science to everyday life, we have a 

 course of instruction much more suitable for 

 all pupils as a part of their general education 

 than what is now commonly followed in second- 

 ary schools. It will be a course which will 

 excite wonder and stimulate the imagination, 

 will promote active interest in the beauty and 

 order of nature, and the extension of the king- 

 dom of man, and provide guidance in the laws 

 of healthy life. 



The purpose of this kind of instruction is, of 

 course, altogether different from that of prac- 

 tical experiment in the laboratory. One of 

 the functions is to provide pupils with a knowl- 

 edge of the nature of everyday phenomena and 

 applications of science, and of the meaning of 

 scientific words in common use. Instead of 

 aiming at creating appreciation of scienttific 

 method by an intensive study of a narrow field, 

 a wide range of subjects should be presented 

 in order to give extensive views which can not 

 possibly be obtained through experimental 

 work alone. The objedt is indeed almost as 

 mueh literary as scientific, and the early lessons 

 necessary for its attainment ought to he within 

 the capacity of every qualified teacher of 

 Eno-lish. Without acquaintance with the com- 



mon vocabulary of natural science a large and 

 increasing body of current literature is un- 

 intelligible, and there are classical scientific 

 works which are just as worthy of study in 

 both style and substance as many of the 

 English texts prescribed for use in schools. 

 We all now accept the view that science stu- 

 dents should be taught to express themselves 

 in good English, but little is heard of the equal 

 necessity for students of the English language 

 to possess even an elementarj^ knowledge of the 

 ideas and terminology of everyday science, 

 which are vital elements in the modern world, 

 and which it is the business of literature to 

 present and interpret. 



So much has been, and can be, said in favor 

 of broad courses of general informative science 

 in addition to laboratory instruction, and les- 

 sons v;^hich follow closely upon it, that the 

 rarity of such courses in our secondary schools 

 is a little surprising at first sight. Their ab- 

 sence seems to be due to several reasons. In 

 the first place, the teachers themselves are 

 specialists in physics, chemistry, biology or 

 some other department of science, and they oc- 

 cupy their own territory in school as definitely 

 as Mr. Eliot Howard has shown to be the be- 

 havior-routine of birds in woods and fields. 

 Yoii may, therefore, have a teacher of physics 

 who has taken an honors degree and yet knows 

 less of plant or animal life than a child in an 

 elementary school where nature study is wisely 

 taught; and, on the other hand, there are 

 teachers of natural history altogether unac- 

 quainted with the influence of physical and 

 chemical conditions upon the observations they 

 describe or the conclusions they reach. Natural 

 science as a single subject no longer exists 

 either in school or university, and with its 

 division and sub-division has come a corres- 

 ponding limitation of interest. No man can 

 now be considered as having received a liberal 

 education if he knows nothing of the scientific 

 thought around him, but it is equally true that 

 no man of science is scientifically educated un- 

 less his range of intellectual vision embraces 

 the outsitanding facts and principles of all the 

 main branches of natural knowledge. It can- 

 not reasonably be suggested that this general 

 knowledge of science should be acquired by all 



