The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-01-20
HE INTERESTS OF POPULAR EDUCATION
Science in the High School

~ Try President Brown Ayers, OF the uh
yetsity OF Tennessee. President Brown Ayers
III probably the greatest living authority IN
the South on tho subject OF physics. This
paper was rcnd by him before the Conference
Of Secondary Education in the South. held ut
the University OF Virginia, November a3d,
1915. He has Kindly consented TO allow us TO
present the paper.)
The Importance OF the introduction o.
good courses of study in the physician ant
natural sciences in the high school l.
nnw universally admitted, not only or
account of the high educational value OF
these subjects. dealing as they do WITT
real things and tending to give TO tht
earnest student of them definite, pre-
else ideas, but also on account OF the
direct bearing OF tho sciences on the
everyday life OF the larger proportion
Of the pupils in the schools, great edu-
cational value of these SUBJECTS car
hardly be overestimatcd. In order, how
eter, that any real educational result
may be obtained In the limited time
and under the conditions In which the
subjects must be taught, In the high
schools care should be exercised that only
those subjects be selected for study mat
have the most definite educational V;llue
and the most important applications TO
the ordinary affairs of life. ii an"tner
plan be adopted.--if temptation be Welded
10 to Introduce all OF the "ologies' that
are likely 10 be far from satisfactory,
the pupils getting only vague and in
definite knowledge of many things. ana
that knowledge being so 1umhled up ana
without form that little educational value
results. / would strongly advise that the
attention OF high school teachers be linz
tted to instruction in the elements of
physics, chemistry and biology, using
this latter term to indicate the more
elementary phenomena of life, both of
nIant and animal Each of tho sciences
named has field of its own that Is
not definitely covered or overlapped by
the others. But such subjects as astron-
omy, geology and like sciences that are
secondary In character, and the princi-
piles of which belong to one of the sci
ences first named, do not have educa-
tional value in the same sense as tho
primary sciences on which they rest.
True. they present a large number of
new and interesting facts, but these
facts uncorreated and unexplained as
dependent upon the fundamental laws of
the primary sciences, interesting as they
may be, are not OF as great Importance
as the fundamental laws from an edu-
cational point of view. Again, the pri-
mary sciences named. In the hands Of
the skilful teacher, can, with relatively
small outlay of apparatus and by tho
large use of the laboratory method. be
made most interesting to pupils. and
through this awakened interest, both in
structive and helpful in their intellectual
Development. Each OF the three primary
sciences has a special value. All are
needed for comprehensive understand
ing OF nature, will consider them
briefly in the order first named.
The educational value of the study of
physics is acknowledged by all who have
given the matter due thought The COM
prenhenstve character OF its laws and
the exact form in which they can be
stated, produce an outlook both broad
and accurate. Bacon calls physics the
mother OF Sciences and this naming is
exact. As dealing with the great fun
damental laws OF matter and energy
70 which all the operations of nature
are subject, 1t furnishes to the other
sciences the foundation on which any
stable structure IN their special domain
must be erected. While not strictly an
educational argument. the Widespread
application of the laws OF physics in in
dustrial operations. is another reason
Why as much of this science as practi-
cable should be taught in our schools,
Two general difficulties have been en-
countered in the attempt to introduce
widely physics into the SCHOOLS. These
are the inherent difficulties of the sub
ject, due 10 its broad congratulations and
its precision, ana the difficulty of pro-
curing the requisite apparatus for the
demonstrations by the teacher. and the
actual manipulations by the pupil
would suggest that the first difficulty be
met by avoiding the broader generali-
cations nj the outset, by stunning the
use of mathematical formula where pos
sible, and by taking as the subject mat
ter of the course those departments of
the science in which the pupils have
already considerable amount OF ac-
cumlated experience Many of the laws
of nature Gas the laws of falling bodies
and OF those to own by the hand, or
fired from 8 v, of gravitauon, of
elasticity, of. tho motion and pressure
of fluids, ofIsouna.e heat and light are
already m:itters of experience with the
pupil when he comes TO take up the
subject.
ENe child begins his work in the physi-
cal laboratory even before his birth ir
the world, and at no moment OF his
waking life is this laboratory work en-
tirely stopped. He has thus accumulated
n vast amount of experience, which car
be used by the intelligent teacher witt
telling effect. The motions and appear