258 
A Voice from the Secondary Schools. 
feel strongly that in elementary classes the theory should be 
allowed to arise mainly from the observational and experimental 
work of the students themselves, the teacher’s function being to 
guide the practical work and discussion and call attention to related 
facts and phenomena as need arises, the centre of gravity of the 
teaching thus being shifted from the lecture room to the laboratory. 
The treatment of physiology, for example, as a series of problems 
which the class is to suggest means of investigating, and then to 
carry out the experiments suggested after discussion of the best 
means of doing them, without being told the results and conclusions 
beforehand, should do much towards giving the new spirit in 
elementary work which most of your contributors agree is necessary 
and also lead to a better understanding of the significance of 
scientific method. True, there are difficulties in the way—lack of 
time, rigid examination syllabuses, large size of classes, dependence 
on progress in related subjects such as chemistry, and the 
necessity of dovetailing different sections of the work according to 
the seasons (the scheme of “one term one subject” looks 
particularly awkward from this point of view)—but I am convinced 
that it would be well worth while, especially for prospective teachers, 
if even only a part of the elementary course, say the first year, 
could be reorganised on such lines. 
With regard to the various suggestions made during this 
discussion, 1 am entirely in favour of teaching function and 
conditions of life as far as possible in connection with morphology 
and structure, and the developing of points of contact with various 
branches of practical life (with schoolgirls, applications of botanical 
facts to cookery occasionally prove of interest), though I agree with 
“Witness” and others as to the impracticability of introducing a 
large amount of ecology into the elementary course. 1 should like 
to support the suggestion that “ The Five Wise Men ” be invited to 
publish a specimen syllabus of work, and also the proposal that 
examination schedules should not be rigidly detailed. 
The proposal to include practical garden work in the University 
botany course would be particularly useful to intending teachers, in 
view of the growing movement in favour of school gardening, 
provided that the connection between theory and practice were 
clearly insisted on, and the instruction given such as would fit the 
student to plan and work a garden unaided, hut the large amount 
of time required is one great difficulty of organising gardening in 
connection with the teaching of botany. 
Cyfarthfa Castle School, 
Merthyr Tydfil, 
Yours etc. 
F. BESSIE DAVIES. 
