580 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VIII., No. 203 



Since, even when we adnait the case of assassi- 

 nation, there is a large falling-off in the years of 

 life, the question presents itself, whether this is 

 due mainly or wholly to the arduous character of 

 the duty which the President is called upon to 

 perform. Of course it is impossible to answer this 

 question from statistics : in fact, it must be ad- 

 mitted that the above summary does not prove 

 the diminished viability of the class under con- 

 sideration to any greater extent than to render it 

 somewhat probable^ Statistics can at the present 

 stage do nothing more than disprove or substantiate 

 a priori conclusions from physiological considera- 

 tions. If we eliminate from the statistical results 

 the probable effect of the lack of out -door recrea- 

 tion, as well as the lack of incentive to adopt that 

 regimen best suited to a sedentary life, we shall 

 probably find no such discrepancy as would justify 

 the view that a President is liable to die from 

 the arduous character of his duties. S. N. 



THE SCHOOLMASTERS' CONVENTION AT 

 PHILADELPHIA. 



In answer to a call issued by the heads of 

 prominent preparatory schools in or near Phila- 

 delphia, more than one hundred teachers engaged 

 in preparing boys for college assembled on Nov. 

 26 in the building of the University of Pennsyl- 

 vania at Philadelphia. The address of welcome 

 was given by Dr. Pepper, provost of the univer- 

 sity, who laid great stress on the waste of time 

 and energy caused by the sudden break between 

 school and college. He said that to devise means 

 to fill up this gap, and make the preparatory 

 school an organic part of the education that ends 

 in the college or university, was the object of the 

 convention. 



Professor James of the University of Pennsyl- 

 vania made a strong plea for the technical educa- 

 tion of teachers. The teacher's position should 

 be considered as an end in itself, not as a stepping- 

 stone to more permanent employment. In Ger- 

 many this requirement was fully recognized. 

 There, with few exceptions, the teachers have 

 received a technical training, the result of which 

 was to give them not only some information which 

 they could impart to their pupils, but also some 

 knowledge of how to impart it. They are ac- 

 quainted with the history of education, know 

 something of the long line of thought of which 

 they form a link, are taught what their place in 

 the existing educational system is and how they 

 can best fill it. The one method and the best 

 method of elevating the teaching in this country 

 is to make teaching a real and an honorable pro- 

 fession. For this purpose the teachers must be 



trained to be teachers, and an essential part of this 

 training is the study of educational history and 

 systems. 



Mr. MacAlister, superintendent of public schools 

 of Philadelphia, warmly upheld Professor James's 

 position, and testified as a man of practical ex- 

 perience to the value and efficiency of the study 

 of pedagogy as a science. 



At the session on Nov. 27, Professor West of 

 Princeton college presented an admirable paper 

 on the question, ' How to improve our classical 

 training.' The classics have just survived a se- 

 vere attack, and for the time being there is peace ; 

 but a second attack is sure to come, and the 

 problem is to take such steps as will enable an 

 effective answer to be made to it. To do this, we 

 must improve the teaching of the classics. The 

 classics are attacked because they are poorly 

 taught. There is no method, or at least no 

 rational one. In order to get a rational and 

 elastic though definite method, it is necessary to 

 consider the nature of classical study, the con- 

 dition of the student, and the end to be gained. 

 The problem of teaching the classics is a unique 

 one : there is more in it than the language drill, 

 more than the compliance with the requisites of a 

 liberal education. It includes nothing less than 

 the opening up of a new world : it is an embodi- 

 ment not only of Greek and Roman history, but 

 of the national history of Greek and Roman 

 thought. The end of classical training is to en- 

 able the student to feel at home in this world, and 

 to appreciate it. To do this, no doubt a certain 

 amount of literature must be sacrificed and dis- 

 sected in acquiring the technique. But that is 

 simply preparatory : when it is over, then the 

 real study of the classics begins. The main diffi- 

 culty in realizing this method of teaching the 

 classics is the lack of teachers who really know 

 them. Teachers trained as teachers, and trained . 

 as classical scholars (not necessarily as philolo- 

 gians), would soon show the real educational value 

 of classical study, and give the best possible an- 

 swer to those who question its usefulness. 



The next session was held at Haverford college, 

 and was devoted to the discussion of the relation 

 of the fitting schools to the colleges. The dis- 

 cussion was quite a general one, and included the 

 questions of admitting to college on certificate 

 from the heads of schools ; the advisability of hav- 

 ing a preliminary examination a year before 

 entrance on elementary subjects ; the uselessness 

 of petty conditions, and the abuses of this method 

 of admittance ; and the necessity of recognizing 

 the various interests of candidates in the entrance 

 examinations. The discussion showed how gen- 

 erally the faults of our college system are felt by 



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