The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-04-24 00:00:00

SCIENCE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

A discourse was delivered in London, on Friday
evening, on the above subject by Professor Gladstone,
F.R.S., at the Royal Institution. The lecturer com-
menced by defining the scope of his remarks as the
"Rise and Progress of Natural Science in the Elemen-
tary Schools of the United Kingdom." He traced the
demand for such education to the great Exhibition of
1851, which drew attention to the deficiency of tech-
nical knowledge among our artisans, and gave rise to
the formation of the Science and Art Department. At
the present time nearly all the training colleges for
• elementary school masters or mistresses take advantage
of the assistance offered by the Department, so that in
1874 2,343 students in training attended classes in
physical geography, animal physiology, mainttism, and
electricity, acoustics, light and heat, chemistry, botany,
&c. The science classes for teachers at St Thomas
Charterhouse, with 550 studente, ancl the practical
classes for teachers in theuai2miner arSol4K-Kensing-
ton, were especially—ciescribed, --aita—tr; aim le but
effecausi—apiaaratussrnmedessmt—ttrtifse—llt er c asses was
exhibited. The London School Board gives an addi-
tional salary to its teachers if they hold science certi-
ficates, A similar encouragement is held out in the
Irish Model Schools. Thousands of pupil-teachers
and elder scholars avail themselves of the science
classes under Government, and the new code just
issued places certain sciences among the "specific
subjects "of elementary education. The School Board
has placed systematized object lessons among its
"essential subjects," and the Professor described some
of these lessons on natural history objects which he had
witnessed in infants' and girls' schools under the Board,
and a lesson on magnetism at the Boys' Practiairig School
of the British and Fai'eign School Society. He then pro-
ceeded to express his views of the importance of teach-
ing natural science on account of its immediate useful-
ness, its forming an introduction to-technical studies,
and its special value for training the
•He con- ,
sidered physical geography, physiology, and some
branch of physical or chemical science, as the most '
important in elementary schools, and dwelt much uponl
the value of experiments, which need not be costly, or
of museums, such as that of • the Home and Colonial
Society.

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A novel idea in building has been introduced;
. sniely, the placing ot water-pipes in the chimneys as a
elvieans to insure a supply ot warm water to rooms Coll
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4(11 L. a ,
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the information required by the House was not before it.
He had not assented to that motion as a punishment upon
the printers of the newspapers He disclaimed any such in-
tention at the time. Since then the House had recourse to
another method for obtaining the information, and he
thought that they could hardly regret what had taken place,
because in future, when necessary, the House could use
this means of obtaining information when the conduct of
any committee might be called into question. By the pre-
sentation of the special report the House possessed all the
knowledge upon that particular point that it desired; they
knew that the document was read at the meeting of the
committee, and that those representing the newspapers were
allowed to see the letter. He therefore had no intention of
making any motion on the report. (Hear, hear.) He might
state that if any hon. gentleman had any intention of making
such a motion as no question of privilege was involved in the
presentation of the report, the motion would go down on
the paper in the usual way.

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