January 21, 1887 ] 



SCIElsrCE. 



75 



a science of pedagogics ? the author grapples at 

 the outset ; and while he reaches an affirmative 

 answer, which we believe to be the proper one, he 

 does so in a ponderous and not very direct man- 

 ner. The following chapters, some of the titles 

 of which are ' The science of education, its na- 

 ture, its method, and some of its problems,' ' Con- 

 tribution to the science of education values,' 

 * The mode of educational progress,' ' The potency 

 of ideas and ideals,' ' Lessons from the history of 

 education,' ' The secularization of the school,' 

 ' Teaching as a trade and as a profession,' ' Edu- 

 cation as a university study,' ' The institute and 

 the reading-cu'cle,' offer us excellent samples of 

 what the scope of pedagogics is ; for its points of 

 tangency with psychology, ethics, and history, as 

 well as the fact that it includes both theory and 

 practice, are all indicated. Professor Payne 

 says so much and on so many subjects, that we 

 can best give an idea of his thought and method 

 of treatment by letting him speak for himself. 

 For example : in protesting against the erection 

 of infant psychology, and therefore infant educa- 

 tion, into a science apart, he says : — 



"I am very far from denying that there are 

 differences between a child's mind and a man's 

 mind ; but I insist that these are differences in 

 degree or poiver, and not in constitution. It is 

 freely admitted that these differences in power 

 should be observed and heeded, and that mothers 

 and nurses may do some real service by their reg- 

 istration of the phenomena of infant life. What 

 I protest against is the present tendency to exag- 

 gerate these differences, and to assume that the 

 child's education must be considered quite apart, 

 as though he were a being sui generis. I venture 

 to express the belief that one of the most serious 

 errors in primary teaching arises from an exagger- 

 ated notion of the differences between child mind 

 and mature mind. Some observed difference fur- 

 nishes the devoted enthusiast with a clew ; and 

 then this clew is followed up so persistently, and 

 so far, that one section of the child's mind is 

 aroused to preternatural activity, while another 

 section lies unused and torpid. It is observed, for 

 example, that the sense activities predominate in 

 childhood. The teacher lays bold of this clew, 

 and there is such a persistent and copious feeding 

 of the senses, that the physical section of the 

 child's mind becomes abnormally active, and the 

 intellectual section as abnormally inactive. It 

 would seem to me a great gain if there were to 

 be a return towards the older conception that the 

 child and the man are essentially one, and that 

 for infancy, childhood, and youth, there should 

 be considerable sameness in instruction " (p. 19). 



" The accompliihed teacher should be a man of 



science in the sense that the accomplished physi- 

 cian is a man of science. I am persuaded that 

 the motive which most attracts minds of the 

 higher order into certain vocations is the oppor- 

 tunity for the free exercise of tact, talent, inge- 

 nuity, invention, discovery, and all the resources 

 of a well-stored and well-disciplined mind. Minds 

 of the better order love to take chances, to run 

 risks, to anticipate the new, and to compass by 

 sagacity some victory over danger and difficulty. 

 To all such minds, the possibility of achievement 

 is an inspiring motive of the highest order " 

 (p. 291). 



" The manifest tendency of the times is towards 

 the secularization of the school. The modern 

 state has become an educator, and relegates reli- 

 gious instruction to the family and the church" 

 (p. 316). 



Lack of space forbids our quoting further, but 

 we recommend Professor Payne's book to all who 

 can appreciate earnest thought on educational 

 subjects. 



DAS VOLKSSCHULWESEN IM PREU8S- 

 I8CHEN 8TAATE. 



If the three large volumes of the compilation 

 of Schneider and von Bremen, of which the first 

 is before us, are provided with a good index, they 

 will be invaluable for the student of the Prussian 

 educational system and its development. If the 

 index should be wanting, or not thoroughly made, 

 the immense amount of material contained in the 

 volumes will be effectually buried. The first vol- 

 ume is a large octavo of nearly a thousand pages, 

 and contains the official regulations regarding " die 

 Stellung der Behorden und Beamten, die Ausbil- 

 dung und die Stellung des Lehrers ; " and it is safe 

 to say, basing the assertion on such an examina- 

 tion as we have made of the book, that not a sin- 

 gle point is left untouched. The second volume 

 will treat of " die Organisation und Verwaltung 

 der Schulgemeinde;" and the third, of " die Schul- 

 pflicht, der Privatunterricht, die Schulzucht, der 

 Unterricht in den verschiedenen Volksschulen." 

 Our information about the secondary schools and 

 universities of Germany is usually more full and 

 explicit than that concerning the popular schools ; 

 but, with this work of reference at hand, we need 

 no longer be in ignorance of the minutest detail 

 concerning the latter. It must be borne in mind, 

 too, that the official organ of the ministry of pub- 

 lic instruction in Prussia, the Centralblatt fur die 

 gesammte Unterrichtsverwaltung im Preussen, is in 



Das Volksschulwesen im preussischen Staate, in Systema- 

 tischer Zusammenstellung der Gesetze und Verordnungen, 

 etc. Compiled by Dr. K. Schneider und C. ton Bremen. 

 Berlin, Hertz, 1886. 8°. 



