SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 33 



German pedagogical associations, were next discussed and several 

 important points settled. Thus it was agreed that a reduction of 

 subject matter should be made, to two-thirds of that usually given, 

 those topics having the greatest bearing on the pupil's life to be re- 

 tained; and the problems least likely to occur to him spontaneously 

 to be omitted. Method of presentation should be of more import- 

 ance than amount of subject matter covered, and method of thought 

 than mastery of facts. No definition should be introduced until the 

 concepts with which it deals have been fully, developed in the pupil's 

 mind, and the statement of physical laws should follow the same pro- 

 cedure. The nature of laws, as generalizations from experiment, 

 should be insisted on. The pupil should also be taught to distinguish 

 between the hypotheses and the experimental facts of science. These 

 as will be noted deal almost entirely with general methods in the pre- 

 sentation of the subject. 



At this stage a change in organization took place. The twelve 

 sub-committees that up to this time had been co-operating in the 

 work now resolved to constitute themselves "A National Commis- 

 sion on the Teaching of Elementary Physics," to be an independent 

 body composed of representatives from the large Teachers' Associa- 

 tions, that should have no other business to distract them from this 

 special subject. The commission recognized at the outset that it was 

 confronted with two phases of the problem, namely, one dealing with 

 the administrative question involved in the defining of the physics 

 unit — that is, the time devoted to physics that would be accepted 

 from any school as an adequate first-year's work; and, second, the 

 more general subject of the aim and present needs of secondary 

 school science. With regard to the administrative part, the commis- 

 sion resolved on a reduction of subject matter, as above noted, and 

 to ensure that the new course should include the essentials and yet 

 leave to the teacher the maximum freedom in the order and treat- 

 ment of the topics, the following plan was adopted: (1) A short 

 list is to be issued to include only those topics that all agree are 

 necessary to a first year course. (2) As this will be insufficient for 

 a full year's work, a much larger but merely suggestive syllabus will 

 be formed from which teachers may select that additional work best 

 suited to their individual needs. And (3) it is advocated for the 

 purpose of examination that the papers be limited to the topics of 

 the shorter syllabus, and that for the remainder of the subject ex- 

 amining boards shall accept the certificate of the teacher both as to 

 ground covered and as to the standing of the candidate. The 



