130 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 813 



Educational Association for its considera- 

 tion any of these propositions which might 

 be approved. Objection was made on the 

 ground that many of those present were 

 not sufficiently familiar with- the propo- 

 sitions in question to vote upon them 

 at this meeting, and it was suggested as 

 an alternative that I should issue a cir- 

 cular giving opportunity for the expres- 

 sion of individual opinions on the ques- 

 tions raised in these propositions. I agreed 

 to do this, if names and addresses were left 

 with me at the close of the meeting. About 

 ninety names were left, and a postal-card 

 circular (the contents of which will be 

 given later) was sent out accordingly 

 about January 10. To this circular I have 

 received sixty replies, which are tab^^lated 

 below. 



In order to put the whole matter clearly 

 before the readers of Science it seems best 

 to reprint here the original nine proposi- 

 tions, which were made, substantially as 

 here given, at Clark Univei-sity in Sep- 

 tember, 1909, and were there approved, as 

 a basis for discussion, by a considerable 

 number of well-known teachers of phys- 

 ics. 



PROPOSITIONS 1-9 

 (From Science, October 29, 1909) 



1. That, while the amount of academic attain- 

 ment in physics which the prospective school 

 teacher of this subject should have can not be 

 definitely fixed, it may be usefully, if somewhat 

 vaguely, indicated as the state of advancement at 

 which, if the man were to be a candidate for the 

 doctorate, he would naturally begin the special 

 research intended for his thesis. 



2. That this preparation should include an ele- 

 mentary knowledge of the calculus and some ac- 

 quaintance with the general facts, principles and 

 laboratory methods of chemistry. 



3. That school authorities should not be content 

 with the appointment of a well-trained and com- 

 petent teacher. They should see to it that the 

 good teacher has good tools and good conditions 

 for his work, a well-appointed laboratory, an 



equally well-appointed lecture room and relief 

 from unnecessary manual labor. 



4. That this relief of the teacher from unneces- 

 sary manual labor will require, as a rule, the 

 services of a man of all work, sufficiently skilled 

 to use well the elementary tools of the mechanic, 

 sufficiently permanent in his place to know thor- 

 oughly the building in which he works and its 

 equipment, sufficiently teachable and willing to 

 make him a cheerful helper to the teachers of 

 physics and chemistry in whatever assistance they 

 may with reason ask of him. 



6. That the school teacher, so trained and so 

 equipped, should have all the liberty in the method 

 and scope of his teaching which is consistent with 

 the general consensus as to good practise, this 

 consensus to be reached, in the case of schools 

 which have close relations with the colleges, by 

 painstaking, sympathetic and persistent efforts 

 on the part of all concerned to come to an under- 

 standing with each other for the purpose of pro- 

 moting their common interest, the best attainable 

 instruction in science for the youth of our country. 



6. That the examination by means of which the 

 attainments of school pupils are estimated in their 

 candidacy for admission to college should include 

 a laboratory test. 



7. That colleges which accept but do not require 

 physics as a part of the preparation for admission 

 should so arrange their elementary teaching of 

 physics as to make an important distinction be- 

 tween those who have and those who have not 

 passed in physics at admission. 



8. That, accordingly, such colleges should main- 

 tain a physics course substantially equivalent to 

 the physics courses of good secondary schools. 



9. That colleges should require of the schools 

 no quantitative treatment of kinetics, or the be- 

 havior of matter undergoing acceleration. 



COMMENTS ON PROPOSITIONS 1-9 



(Made by the writer at the joint meeting of 

 Sections B and L of the American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, December 31, 1909.) 



1 and 2. The standard here suggested would 

 probably require the ordinary college student to 

 devote considerably more than half of a four-year 

 course to physics, mathematics and chemistry. 

 To get his special training without neglecting 

 other fields of study too much, he would do well 

 to take a graduate year, leading, perhaps, to the 

 A.M. degree. 



3 and 4. Teachers are now in danger of neglect- 

 ing the lecture table work rather than the labora- 



