NOVEMBEB 1, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



577 



carrying out educational experiments," 

 and experiments in many directions have 

 been made, mainly in private schools, 

 which receive, however, special subven- 

 tions from the state. We gather from the 

 same report that the state regards the 

 money as well earned "if the school occa- 

 sionally originates new methods from 

 which the schools can derive profit." I 

 venture to think that experimental schools 

 might with advantage be organized under 

 the direction of some of our larger local 

 authorities. The children would certainly 

 not suffer by being made the subjects of 

 such experiments. The intelligent teach- 

 ing which they would receive— for it is 

 only the most capable teachers who should 

 be trusted with such experiments— would 

 more than compensate for any diminution 

 in the amount of knowledge which the chil- 

 dren might acquire, and indeed such ex- 

 perimental schools might be conducted 

 under conditions which would ensure 

 sound instruction. Many improved meth- 

 ods of teaching are constantly advocated, 

 but fail to be adopted because there is no 

 opportunity of giving them a fair trial. 

 As a general rule it is only by the effort 

 of private individuals or associations that 

 changes in system are effected, and teach- 

 ers are enabled to escape from the old 

 grooves on to new lines of educational 

 thought and practise. It is not difficult to 

 refer to many successful experiments. 

 The general introduction into our schools 

 of manual training was the direct result of 

 experiments carefully arranged and con- 

 ducted by a joint committee of the city 

 guilds and the late London School Board. 

 Experiments in the methods of teaching 

 physical science, chemistry and geometry 

 have been tried, with results that have led 

 to changes which have revolutionized the 

 teaching of those subjects. The age at 

 which the study of Latin should be com- 

 menced with a view to the general educa- 



tion of the scholar has been the subject 

 of frequent trial. I would like to see such 

 experiments more systematically organ- 

 ized, and I am quite certain that the cur- 

 riculum of our rural and of our urban 

 schools would soon undergo very consider- 

 able changes, if the suggestions of com- 

 petent authorities could receive a fair trial 

 under conditions that would leave no man- 

 ner of doubt as to the character of the 

 results. 



It would seem, therefore, that if our 

 knowledge of the facts and principles of . 

 education is not yet sufficiently organized 

 to enable us to determine a priori the effect 

 on individual or national character of any 

 suggested changes, education is a subject 

 that may be studied and improved by the 

 application to it of scientific method, by 

 accurate observation of what is going on 

 around us, and by experiments thought- 

 fully conducted. This is the justification 

 of the inclusion of the subject among those 

 that occupy the attention of a separate 

 section of this association. Our aim here 

 should be to apply to educational problems 

 the well known canons of scientific in- 

 quiry; and, seeing that the conditions 

 under which alone any investigation can 

 be conducted are in themselves both 

 numerous and complicated, it is essential 

 that we should endeavor to liberate, as far 

 as possible, the discussion of the subject 

 from all political considerations. Such 

 investigations are necessarily difficult. 

 "We have to determine both statically and 

 dynamically the physical, mental and 

 moral condition of the child in relation to 

 his activities and surroundings, and we 

 have further to discover how he is in- 

 fluenced by them, how he can affect them, 

 and the character of the training which 

 will best enable him to utilize his experi- 

 ences, and to add something to the knowl- 

 edge of to-day for future service. 



Notwithstanding the undoubted progress 



