The rmm umuim: 



A Penny Weekly Magazine of Natural History. 



No. 130. 



MAY 6th, 1882. 



Vol. 3. 



HOW TO TEACH 

 SCIENCE. 



I 



Scene.— DOTHEBOYS HALL. 



nPHIS is the first class in 

 J- English spelling and phi- 

 losophy, Nickleby/ said Squeers, beck- 

 oning Nicholas to stand beside him. 

 " We'll get up a Latin one, and hand 

 that over to you. Now, then, whereas 

 the first boy ? 



" Please, sir, he's cleaning the back 

 parlour window," said the temporary 

 head of the philosophical class. 



"So he is, to be sure,'' replied 

 Squeers; "we go upon the practical 

 oaode of teaching, Nickleby ; the regu- 

 lar education system. C-l-e-a-n, clean, 

 mh active, to make bright, to scour ; 

 N'i-n, win, d-e-r, der, winder, a case- 

 nent. When the boy knows this out 

 )f book, he goes and docs it. It's just 

 lie same principle as the use of tlie 

 j globes. "Where's the second boy.'* 

 " Please, sir, he's weeding the gar- 

 k'u," replied a small voice. 



" To be sure," said Squeers, by no 

 ncaus disconcerted, " so he is. B-o-t, 

 )ot, t-i-n, tin, bottin, n-c-y, ney, bot- 



tinney, noun substantive, a knowledge 

 of plants. When he has learned that 

 bottinney means a knowledge of plants, 

 he goes and knows 'em. That's our 

 system, Nickleby ; what do you think 

 of it ? " 



Without attempting to penetrate 

 further into the mysteries of the system 

 of tuition pursued at Dotheboys Hall, 

 we would submit that what Mr. Squeers 

 calls the "practical mode of teaching" 

 is not without its advantages, and 

 having learned that botany means a 

 knowledge of plants, you must, if you 

 want to acquire that knowledge, " go 

 and know 'em. We have seen it stated 

 that Oliver Goldsmith, who wrote a 

 Natural History for the Booksellers, 

 did not know a goose from a turkey 

 unless it was cooked for the table; 

 and though it could not be expected 

 that the knowledge of Goldsmith's day 

 could equal that of our own in any 

 respect, his book is full of the grossest 

 errors that anyone going through the 

 world with his eyes open would have 

 avoided. But the system of tuition 

 that is pursued in boaid autl middle 

 class schools is not likely to be very 



