British Film Institute.-The importance of the educational campaign, undertaken by the British Film Institute at the request of the Board of Education during the spring and summer to investigate the use which was being made of the film in the Reception and Neutral Areas, is stressed in its Seventh Annual Report. It is noted that one effect of the war on the work of the Institute has been to create a great demand for programmes of both instructional and entertainment films for evacuated children and adults, various units of the Services, schools and foreign refugees in this country. Each month some 600 films are dispatched.

The work of the National Film Library has developed very rapidly during the year and now has an added importance, since the film records of the present day will make interesting studies for future historians, sociologists, and for students of mass psychology in war-time. Thanks to a grant from the Privy Council, a property has been bought in the country and a set of model temperature-controlled vaults for the preservation of film has been erected. In two of these the Government have asked to be allowed to store some of the 1914-18 war films.

The most important discovery of the year is the only existing copy of the film record of Queen Victoria's Diamond

Jubilee. With the addition of thirteen more early Chaplin films the Library now claims to have the most complete collection in the world, for it contains forty-three of the first forty-eight produced. Other acquisitions were two early sound films, Dawn Patrol and "Hollywood Review", produced in 1929; "Pleasure Garden", made in 1926, the first film which Alfred Hitchcock directed; and Will Barker's spectacular production, "Jane Shore", the British film made in 1913, which some people say had such an effect on D. W. Griffiths and led him to make his " Birth of a Nation".

Seven new teaching films have been produced in the last twelve months. During 1941 the main direction of the Institute's policy must be to find ways and means to restart their production, for teaching by film has acquired an additional importance since the war and its attendant evacuation. Sir William Brass, Chairman of the Governing Body, suggested that Mr. Bevin should give consideration to using films for training labour for munitions work; that Captain Oliver Lyttelton should consider their use in connexion with the export drive; and that Mr. Ramsbotham, the President of the Board of Education, might consider their use in the Board's new campaign for physical training among adolescents.

ANNIE M. DAVIES

THE death took place, on October 27, of Miss Annie M. Davies, of Waterloo, near Liverpool, only sister of Sir Alfred T. Davies, first Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Department, Board of Education.

Miss Davies was a pioneer in the field of physical training for women and children. As early as 1886 she designed and had built for herself a gymnasium for women and girls at Waterloo, and for many years served as organizer of physical training for the Liverpool Pupil Teachers' College.

As the first specialist inspector in physical training to the Central Welsh Board she was responsible for the oversight of the teaching of that subject in over a hundred secondary schools, besides acting as occasional inspector for the Board of Education in a score or so of other secondary schools in the Principality.

ELLEN AUGUSTA CRAWLEY LLOYD-WILLIAMS

The death of Mrs. Lloyd-Williams, Principal of Moreton Hall, Weston Rhyn, Shropshire, on December 3, 1940, creates a real void in educational circles in Shropshire and in Wales, where her work was widely known and where she herself was greatly loved.

By no means the least distinguished member of a distinguished family, Mrs. Lloyd-Williams was the daughter of the Reverend James Crawley Vincent, M.A., Vicar of Caernarvon, and granddaughter of the Very Reverend James Vincent Vincent, M.A., Dean of Bangor. Her brothers, the late J. E. Vincent, Times Correspondent and Editor of Country Life, the late Sir Hugh Vincent and Sir William Vincent, G.C.I.E., K.C.S.I., took much interest in, and were intimately connected with, her educational I work at Moreton Hall.

Mrs. Lloyd-Williams learned much of the routine of school life as the wife of the late J. J. Lloyd-Williams, M.A., Headmaster of St. David's College, Lampeter, and of Carmarthen, Oswestry, and Ruthin Schools. On her husband's retirement in 1913, she turned her attention to girls' education, with the result that the school she founded now at Moreton Hall, is one of the best known in Wales and the Border counties. Mrs. Lloyd-Williams was the centre of a world for all lovers of the cultural side of life-music, art, literature and drama in that district and far beyond. She lives in the sunshine of her soul", said the late

Archbishop of Wales, one of her earliest friends, and, on another occasion "her wit and common-sense are worth a whole benchful of bishops"; and that was a fitting description of one whose understanding, courage, and infinite patience through recent years of suffering were a real inspiration to all who knew and loved her.

She leaves eleven children, two of whom are the Chief Constables of Worcestershire and Cardiganshire, seven of whom have been at the University and medical or other training colleges, and four of whom are still connected with scholastic work.

Calling-Up of Teachers.-The Board of Education and the Scottish Education Department, in circulars to local authorities, state that it has been decided that the Schedule of Reserved Occupations is to be suspended to the extent of allowing teachers above the age of reservation to take commissions in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. This follows a decision made in August to permit the enrolments of teachers with suitable qualifications in the Army Officers' Emergency Reserve. It has now been decided that the deferment of the calling-up of teachers above the age of 25, who were placed in medical Grade III because of their defective eyesight, will not be continued after January next. This new decision has been made because of the needs of the fighting services for more Grade III recruits. Those who are in Grade III on account of other defects will not be called up for the present. The Board and the Department recognize that the calling-up of numbers of Grade III teachers will add to the difficulties of staffing the schools. They hope, however, that the authorities and governing bodies will make the best arrangements possible in the circumstances.

Courses for Prospective Members of Aircraft Crews. -The Board of Education have been informed by the Air Ministry that the need for pilots, observers, and other members of aircraft crews is constantly increasing and this on a large scale. It is found that many candidates who present themselves to Selection Boards are quite suitable as regards physical qualities but lack the basic educational standard in mathematics and English which will fit them for entry to one of the Air Ministry's training schools. Administrative Memorandum No. 261 stresses the great importance of making such candidates fit for this service by giving them such instruction as is needed to bring them up to the required standard, particularly in mathematics, but also in English. It has therefore been arranged that those who are judged by the Selection Boards to be suitable apart from their educational standard will be attested at selection and sent home on "deferred service". During this period, when they will carry on their normal civil employment, the Ministry hope that they will have the opportunity, by means of part-time courses, of making good their educational deficiencies. The procedure for enrolment and instruction suggested by the Ministry is outlined in the Memorandum.

Secondary Schools Amending Regulations, 1940. -Amending Regulations, 1939, were intended to give automatic compensation to all direct-grant schools which had suffered an appreciable loss in the number of pupils in attendance. As most of these schools have now largely recovered their pupils, the Board of Education announce that they do not propose to continue the automatic increase in grant. Provision will be made, however, for dealing with exceptional cases of schools which, owing to evacuation, have incurred special expenditure or are unable to meet reasonable expenses of maintenance.

Meals in Grant-aided Secondary Schools.-Circular 1520 on the provision of meals for school children applied mainly to public elementary schools. Circular 1531 suggests that authorities should now consider the suggestions made in the earlier circular in relation to secondary, junior technical, and similar schools, and also to the need for removing certain differences between the charges made for meals to children at elementary and at secondary schools.

School Canteens.-Special allowances of foods for school canteens have been agreed to by the Ministry of Food in consultation with the Board of Education, and details are given in Administrative Memorandum No. 262. School canteens not yet registered as catering establishments, including those serving uncooked meals or snacks of the Oslo breakfast type, should apply for registration in order to obtain supplies of rationed foods.

Age of Admission to Training Colleges. The Board of Education propose to prescribe 18 years on December 31 in the year of admission as the minimum age of admission to training colleges in 1941, and until further notice, for both men and women students.

Compulsory Attendance and Evacuation. Mr. Ramsbotham has announced that steps are being taken to enforce attendance at school and to make a comprehensive survey of the educational situation in England and Wales. Local education authorities have been asked to make a return giving details of the effects of war conditions on the life and work of the schools, and showing the extent to which children are getting full-time education. The Government have rejected compulsory evacuation from London as "undesirable and impracticable". Powers are being taken, however, to order the medical examination of any child when there is reason to believe it is suffering in body or in mind from retention in London, and, if the examination proves this to be the case, compulsory evacuation will follow. Powers are also being taken to secure the medical

examination of children living in shelters, and their treatment for incipient diseases.

School Air Raid Shelters.-In our last issue we said: "It is indefensible that, while the A.R.P. authority for the area can provide public shelters without cost to itself, the same authority in its capacity of local education authority for the area must provide half the cost of any school shelters." This grievance is now removed. Mr. Ramsbotham, replying to a question by Mr. Ammon in the House of Commons on December 10, said, "The Board propose to pay grant at the rate of 100 per cent on expenditure incurred by local education authorities on the construction and equipment of school shelters under contracts entered into on or after October 19 last, on the understanding that shelters so aided shall, where required, be made available for the use of the general public after school hours."

Communication with Teachers in an Emergency. -Administrative Memorandum No. 266 asks local education authorities in the major urban centres to keep advised of the addresses and telephone numbers of teachers who propose to spend the week-end elsewhere, in case circumstances should arise which would make it necessary to decide upon a sudden evacuation of a particular school.

Education Now and To-morrow.-A week-end discussion on "Education Now and To-morrow" has been arranged by the New Education Fellowship. It will be held at Springfield St. Mary, 33 Banbury Road, Oxford, from January 3 to 5, and is open to non-members. Inquiries should be sent to Miss Clare Soper at 101 Wembdon Road, Bridgwater, Somerset, or to Mr. V. Ogilvie, N.E.F., 29 Tavistock Square, London, W.C. 1.

Lectures at Reading.-L.C.C. teachers who have been evacuated to Reading have taken advantage of the presence of a university in their new home-town to organize courses of lectures which have been given by members of the academic staff. They have been warmly supported and have proved most successful. The venture started in the Autumn Term, 1939, with six lectures dealing with the history and geography of Reading, including two given by the distinguished medievalist Professor F. M. Stenton. This was followed in the Spring Term of this year by six more lectures on various topics and by a course in the Summer Term on the geology, botany and agriculture of the Reading region. These latter lectures were given by the professors of the subjects concerned and were followed up by field excursions and by visits to the University Farm and Horticultural Station and to the National Institute for Research in Dairying. The enthusiasm shown by the evacuated teachers has justified the renewal of the scheme during the present Session. During the Autumn Term of 1940 two lectures each were given dealing with the development of keyboard and choral music (with illustrations) by Dr. Thornton Lofthouse, two by Mr. Robert Gibbings on his experiences as an artist, and two on social reconstruction after the war by Dr. E. S. Budden. Arrangements have been made for a course of six lectures on English Literature by Mr. H. V. Dyson to be given during the Lent Term of 1941. This informal association of the University and the L.C.C. Teachers in Reading is no doubt typical of what is being done in many places to maintain in some measure the cultivation of intellectual interests of which many teachers owing to evacuation would otherwise have been deprived.

Courses for Youth Leaders.-A course for youth leaders and youth organizers has been arranged by the Board of Trustees of Homerton College in collaboration with the Board of Education. It will be held at Homerton College, Cambridge, from January 4 to 18, and is open to both men and women.

THESE

H. A. L. FISHER

HESE memoirs* were cut short in April, 1940, by the tragic death of H. A. L. Fisher on his way to the tribunal of conscientious objectors. They begin with a charming account of the author's childhood and schooldays. He was never really happy " at his preparatory school, but "enjoyed every moment of his life at Winchester. Nevertheless, he recognizes that the intellectual training given there was too one-sided. We hardly touched the skirt of the sciences. The vast field of modern knowledge was a closed book to us." It was natural that he should go from Winchester to New College, though his family tradition pointed to Christ Church. The venerable Warden, Dr. Sewell, observed to him on the evening of his first Sunday, "The most important part of your education here, Mr. Fisher, will be the reading of the lessons in Chapel." He remarks on the changes which the prodigious rush of new knowledge has brought about in university examinations. The Greats man must now pass from specialist to specialist."

It was largely due to the influence of York Powell that Fisher turned his back upon philosophy and resolved to devote himself to modern history. From Oxford he went to Paris. There he met Le Sage. "I was filled with humiliation," he says, "to find that a Frenchman junior to myself should know so much that was of vital importance to my own country of which I, despite all my Oxford education, was profoundly ignorant." He found that the French standard of work was much more severe than that exacted at Oxford. He was impressed by the results obtained by the great psychiatrist, Charcot, and learned from him that, since the state of the body inevitably affects the action of the mind, the study of the human body is part of the historian's duty. "Physical causes," he says, "have been unduly neglected by historians." Lord Cromer attributed the British conquest of the Sudan to a sore throat which prevented him from impressing upon General Gordon with sufficient clarity the instructions of the London Cabinet. Fisher even contemplated taking a three years' course at the Salpêtrière, but decided that he could not afford the time. He records a remark by Renan. "You wish to reconcile the Catholic and Protestant Churches. Study St. Francis. He is what Catholics and Protestants have in common."

After Paris he went to Germany and was impressed by the cordial friendliness and open-hearted simplicity of the German students, as well as by their idleness which, he says,

would never have been tolerated even in one of our royal foundations at Oxford or Cambridge ". This general friendliness had so far been hardly affected by the stream of bitterness against Britain which poured from its fountainhead Treitschke. "The doctrine of the Punic wars was abroad through Germany. . . . Britain was Carthage. Germany was Rome."

Fisher's work as Modern History Tutor at Oxford was congenial to him, but he says, I had always a haunted feeling that learning and scholarship and the lettered life can bring content only if combined with some more practical form of active service to the community." In 1916 he accepted, after some hesitation, Lloyd George's invitation to become President of the Board of Education. The Prime Minister thought that " we had now reached a point in our history when the country would take more educational reform from an educationalist than from a politician". His first year of office was "one of the most anxious and terrible in history ", only redeemed by the entry of the United States into the war. He decided that the general framework of the educational system as designed by Morant

* An Unfinished Autobiography. By H. A. L. FISHER. (7s. 6d. net. Oxford University Press.)

and the Act of 1902 had better remain undisturbed. He coquetted with the idea of making teachers civil servants, but rejected it owing to the danger to educational freedom which it would involve. His maiden speech in the House of Commons was on the Education Estimates for 1917. He spoke for two hours and twelve minutes, and, when Bonar Law remarked that he had used no notes, he replied that he had learned the speech by heart. The reviewer was fortunate enough to hear this speech and can testify to the breathless attention with which it was listened to by the whole House, and to the tumultuous applause which greeted the speaker when he had finished.

At first he proposed to group local authorities in larger units, but the proposal was received with so much opposition that he decided to abandon it. History will almost certainly pronounce the verdict that Fisher was right, and his noisy opponents wrong. "Will it be possible," asked the Hadow Report, "for the country to acquiesce permanently in the division of part of the secondary grade of education between two separate authorities in the same area?"

Fisher was disappointed that the proposed abolition of half-time and the development of practical education did not win greater support from the Labour Party and its supporters. "I don't want my daughter to be taught cooking and practical things like that ", said an excellent working-class mother of a family in Sheffield. However, the Bill was successfully steered through all its stages, and, supplemented by the Teachers' Superannuation Act, became law in 1918. Young man," said Mr. John Burns, “I have been watching you in committee. You do not know how to get a Bill through. You try to make your speeches interesting. Send them to sleep, Mr. Fisher, send them to sleep."

The debt which educationists in general and teachers in particular owe to the Fisher Act is still only imperfectly realized. It cleared away much of the examination tangle in favour of a single School Certificate examination, and, as Fisher observes, "the many defects which have since been discovered in this established incubus on the young must not blind us to the evils and inconveniences which it was the means of removing ". The growth of secondary schools was greatly stimulated by half a million of new money, the development of central schools was foreshadowed, university education was for the first time aided from state funds, teachers had their salaries roughly doubled and were provided with pensions.

After the passing of the Act, only a fraction of Fisher's time was devoted to the calls of his own department. The Prime Minister was inclined to invite him to exchange Education for India, but at the last moment, partly owing to a petition from a Teachers' Conference protesting against his removal, India was given to Edwin Montagu.

One of the least enviable of Fisher's Cabinet tasks was to assist the Government in the settlement with Ireland, and the chapter headed "Ireland and Other Problems is one of absorbing interest. The chapters dealing with his visits to Canada and the United States in 1909 and 1924 are unfortunately unfinished.

The autobiography contains many vivid sketches of the various personalities with whom the author came into contact at Oxford, W. L. Courtney, Jowett, Walter Pater, A. L. Smith; in Paris, Renan, Sabatier, Rothenstein; at the Board of Education, Herbert Lewis, W. N. Bruce, Selby Bigge. There is too a notable tribute to Lloyd George's resource in council and skill in management. There are portraits of Fisher's mother and father, and of the author himself at various ages. There, is, too, a foreword by Mrs. Fisher, to whom we owe a deep debt of gratitude for the production of this brilliant, though unfortunately unfinished, autobiography.

"E. K. S."

IT

THE NATURAL APPROACH TO BIOLOGY

By T. H. HAWKINS, M.Sc., F.L.S.

has long been an accepted policy on the part of biology teachers that the early introduction of their subject to younger pupils should be based upon a natural approach. The innate interest of the child in the motion, feeding, play, and other habits of living animals should be advantageously utilized from the earliest moment in order to increase their appreciation and subsequently extend their range of inquiry. This approach has been consistently recommended in the publications of the Board of Education and received particular emphasis in the Spens Report. The Consultative Committee's suggestion might have received added support if it had gone even farther in advocating regular, periodic returns to the study, in their natural state, of those animals and plants which excited enthusiasm in our early lives and which, for many of us, give supreme joy and relaxation from the more harassing events of life in peace and war. Taken in the order suggested, the books here remarked upon would afford an introduction to the study of elementary biology, graded in stages from the junior school up to the first year in the university.

As the title indicates, What to Look for in the Country1 would serve rather as an appetizer than as a bill of country fare. Hints about how to proceed in order to obtain greatest satisfaction from the rich and colourful life of the country are set down with such admirable simplicity and such obvious relish that quite young children who have read the book will undertake their first investigations into natural lore with a feeling of exciting adventure.

Mr. Sandars' books2 may be used to provide more solid sustenance when the child's appetite had been whetted with the observations on what to look for in the countryside. A Book of Common Beasts is a delightful introduction to the study of familiar animals, wild and domesticated. If added to any school library, junior, senior, or secondary, its appointed place on the shelves would be consistently bare. Nevertheless, the dogmatism of the author would need exposition and clarification by the class teacher on some points, e.g. the author's categorical statement that the grey squirrel is ousting the red is, according to animal ecologists who have investigated this question, open to contradiction, while the true cause of the spouting of the whale is still being discussed. It is disconcerting, too, to find Mr. Sandars occasionally resorting to the use of those hardy annuals' which biology teachers are constantly trying to eradicate, e.g. vocal chords' and the use of the word 'animal' when he has mammal' in mind. In this book, and in A Common Book of Birds, a more serious criticism is that the anthropomorphic interpretations are often so obtrusive that they appear ludicrous. How much longer will it be before natural history writers appreciate that objective description need not be lacking in literary discrimination nor in aesthetic appeal; it is unfortunate that animals are so frequently credited with properties which have not yet been attributed to them by continuous experiment and observation. The books must be highly recommended, however, if only for the evolutionary, albeit astonishingly simple, approach to the problem of domestication. Mr. Sandars' artistic representations of birds and various animals are colourful if not exactly clear in outline.

A Second Book of Biology3 is intended to serve as a link between the authors' First Book of Biology which is used in senior schools and the lower forms of secondary schools, and their well-established Elementary Biology for Matriculation. It is difficult to believe that this book will fit into the educa

1 What to Look for in the Country. By R. BENNETT. (28. University of London Press.)

2 (a) A Book of Common Beasts. (b) A Book of Common Birds. Written and Illustrated by E. SANDARS. (Limp Cloth, Is. 6d. each. Cloth Boards, Is. 9d. each. Oxford University Press.) Jy 3 A Second Book of Biology. BY MARY E. PHILLIPS and LUCY E. Cox. (4s. 6d. University of London Press.)

tional niche for which it is intended, since it approximates more closely to the latter book than to the former, leaving the break from the elementary book too sharp and abrupt. A reading of Part I also leaves one with the doubt whether Miss Phillips and Miss Cox have succeeded in carrying out the suggestion contained in the Spens Report which they commend and have used as their guiding principle—namely, to help children in the middle school" to recognize quickly and to know the names of as many of the plant (and animal) inhabitants of their area as possible ".

The inclusion of Amoeba, Chlamydomonas, and other organisms, whose examination would involve careful use of micro-apparatus, is out of place for pupils of the age of 14 or 15 years. In the early stages of the book it is unfortunate that the resemblance to their matriculation text-book will leave the authors open to the charge of needless repetition. In the second part of the book, which contains an excellent objective study of the ecological inter-relationships between plants and animals, they are completely vindicated, both with regard to their original aim and its execution. Here one is keenly aware that the collated material has not been merely mugged up', but that the living organisms described are not only well known but also well loved by the authors. Part I is a boiled-down, potted version of the university courses in botany and zoology. This factual material may be of easy access to the teacher and may not be difficult to teach. Its inculcation may be useful as a preparation for the current examination syllabuses in biology, but it can in no wise be said to elucidate or foster that attitude which the Spens Committee had in mind when they wrote that the possibilities of biology teaching had not been fully apprehended in schools.

The book contains some mis-statements and inaccuracies, while occasionally difficult terms are introduced with either no or an inadequate explanation.

(Continued on page 28)

University of St. Andrews

UNITED COLLEGE

EIGHT RESIDENTIAL ENTRANCE SCHOLARSHIPS OF £100 and ENTRANCE BURSARIES will be competed for at an Examination beginning June 2, 1941. Entries due May 2.

Four Harkness Residential Entrance Scholarships of £100 each, one Bruce Residential Entrance Scholarship of £100, one Patrick Hamilton Residential Entrance Scholarship of £100, one Ramsay Residential Entrance Scholarship of £100, and one City of Dundee Residential Entrance Scholarship of £100. Five Bursaries of £50 each for four years. Four Bursaries of £40 each for four or five years. Eight Bursaries of £30 each for three, four or five years, and fifteen Bursaries of smaller amounts (ranging from £27 to £9). Some of the Bursaries are open to Women. There are many_Bursaries in private patronage and several Scholarships for Research or Advanced Study. DEGREES AND DIPLOMAS.-M.A. (inclusive fee for curriculum: Ordinary Degree, £47 5s.; Honours Degree, £63); B.Sc. Pure Science (inclusive fee: Ordinary Degree, £80; Honours Degree, £94 10s.): Engineering (inclusive fee: Ordinary Degree or Honours Degree, £94 10s.); M.B., Ch.B. (inclusive fee: £182); B.D.S. (inclusive fee, £110 12s. 6d.); B.L. (inclusive fee £31 10s.); B.Phil., B.Litt., Ph.D., D.Sc., D.Litt., M.D., Ch.M., M.D.S., D.P.H., L.D.S.

RESIDENCE HALLS.-St. Salvator's Hall, Deans Court, The Swallowgate and Edgecliff West (for Men Students); Residence fee for three-term Session from £63. University Hall, Kinnessburn and McIntosh Hall (for Women Students); Residence fee for three-term Session, £66. William Low Residence for Medical Students (Dundee); Residence fee for threeterm session, £65.

Particulars of the Entrance qualifications, curricula for Degrees, conditions of competition for Bursaries (or Scholarships), prospectuses of Residence Halls, &c., on application to

THE SECRETARY,

The University St. Andrews, Scotland.

The most one can say of Mr. Dyball's book is that it adheres rigidly to matriculation examination syllabuses. The introduction of anthropomorphic statements frequently distorts objective truths. The errors arise from the fact that the author has attempted to include far too much detail in a book of this size. Information should be graded in such a way that simpler issues lead gradually to the more difficult concepts. In elementary biology, 'woolly' thinking and loose phrasing can so easily lead the student to the assumption of purposive reactions on the parts of plants and animals.

Prof. Hogben's book is a second edition of a work that was originally prepared as a supplementary reader to the more rigid lectures in animal biology taken by students of higher school certificate and first year university standard. Emphasis throughout is placed on function rather than on structure. The present edition follows the same design as the original, although the pattern has been improved by adequate revision of the whole book and the complete rewriting of certain chapters. An advantageous innovation is that the combination of author Hogben with artist Horrabin which was so successful in the preparation of Science for the Citizen and Mathematics for the Million has again been used. Mr. Horrabin has redrawn each illustration and has added many new ones, in which diagrammatic clarity is constantly emphasized, although never at the expense of artistic refinement.

A necessary comment on the book is that Prof. Hogben frequently over-estimates the sum total of practical information possessed by university students after a one-year course in zoology. This is evident in the chapter dealing with the principle of succession with special reference to the vertebrate skeleton. The new edition is a useful addition to the current stock of literature and should establish itself as speedily and successfully as its predecessor.

A Biology Course for Schools. By R. H. DYBALL. (4s. 6d. Blackie.)

5 Principles of Animal Biology. By Prof. L. HOGBEN. Second Edition, Revised. (7s. 6d. net. Allen & Unwin.)

THE READING HABITS OF BOYS AND GIRLS By T. RAYMONT

IN article by Mr. Allenf Huntley which forms prectical

N the July number of this Journal there appeared an

comment upon the question of 'set books' in English, and also forms a suitable introduction to the remarks which follow upon Mr. A. J. Jenkinson's new book.* Last year, Mr. Huntley tells us, it was his business to work through a volume of " Tennyson and Browning" selections with his School Certificate forms. Such poems as The Grammarian's Funeral", Fra Lippo Lippi", Andrea del Sarto", "The Two Voices ", and a long extract from " In Memoriam were included. Great stuff," says Mr. Huntley-" yes, to me, and to perhaps 10 per cent of the boys, the few really literary souls, but, however simplified, beyond the genuine grasp of the vast majority." After giving other recent and equally striking instances, he declares that we must offer the boy what is not merely solid and nutritious, but also palatable. Enjoyment is all, or nearly all, in this matter of books and reading, and it is the average boy, the sturdy backbone of his school and his country, whom we must primarily consider."

It is forty years ago since the late Sir John Adams gave currency to the saying that to teach boys Latin should imply not only a knowledge of Latin, but also a knowledge of boys. He also used to say that such a truth needs to be hammered in for fifty years before it takes much practical effect. He was so far right that we still need to insist that the first duty of any one responsible for English teaching

* What do Boys and Girls Read? an Investigation into Reading Habits, with some Suggestions about the Teaching of Literature in Secondary and Senior Schools. By A. J. JENKINSON. (7s. 6d. net. Methuen.)

is to ascertain the relevant content of his pupils' minds. From the high professorial point of view, such content may be the most deplorable tripe. But it is tripe that has to be reckoned with. The professor who ignores it, and inflicts upon boys literary masterpieces which find no points of contact in their minds, adopts the surest method of defeating his own ends. Even his recollections of his own boyhood may seriously mislead him in dealing with boys whose tastes and interests and upbringing are different.

Mr. Jenkinson went to the root of the matter in choosing to investigate what children of ages 12 plus, 13 plus, 14 plus, and 15 plus do as a matter of cold fact read of their own accord in their own free time. He points out that the public and secondary schools, schools which have sixth forms, have not solved the problem of the "middle school", boys from 12 plus to 15 plus, but have often masked and distorted it by a too intensive pursuit of the School Certificate. The central and senior schools, which have no sixth form, are "brought up against the problem, naked and unadorned, of teaching the age group 11 plus to 14 plus ". The recent reorganization has in fact isolated, and directed undivided attention to, the age group which, above all, nobody knows how to teach ".

""

Mr. Jenkinson has drawn his investigation material from the middle-school section of secondary schools, and from senior schools. Here we can only summarize rapidly some of his findings as to what boys read (and they do read voraciously) when left to themselves. Stories of school life dwindle in popularity as the 15 plus limit is reached in the secondary school, but in the senior school their popularity is well maintained. Detective stories make a far stronger appeal to the secondary boys than to their coevals of the senior schools. Adventure stories are universal favourites, but definitely more so in senior than in secondary schools. Love stories are shunned by boys up to 14 plus. They are simply made uncomfortable by descriptions of love affairs, and cannot tolerate analyses of them. What does this mean for the literature syllabuses of the middle school and the senior school? It means, says the author, that 'the greater part of the world's literature is disqualified for entering there. The bulk of the best literature is not fit for boys of these ages "-not because it is indecent, but because Wit is, to them, incomprehensible, dull, and dulling". At 15 plus boys begin to be attracted by love stories. Girls begin a year or two earlier. The most marked differences between boys and girls are that girls give much less of their time to adventure stories, considerably less to detective stories, and a great deal more to stories of home and school life and to love stories.

The author's main position is that persons whose business it is to guide or to influence the reading of boys and girls of age group 12 plus to 14 plus or 15 plus must take careful note of what naturally appeals to them. If much of it is trash, the trash must be gradually improved upon. Teaching literature at these ages should give way to providing literature and influencing the choice of literature. Appreciation lessons are premature and useless. Private reading in school should become a regular practice. Less time should be given to poetry, and none to essays. Some of these recommendations may sound rather shocking to the academically minded. They will not shock any one who has come to close quarters with the practical problem which the author squarely faces in this excellent book.

Art and Handicraft

The Sculptures of Michelangelo

(Phaidon Edition.) (10s. 6d. net. Allen & Unwin.) In the June number of The Journal we welcomed the publication by the Phaidon Press of its admirable collection of the paintings of Michelangelo. The present volume contains 145 reproductions of the artist's sculptures. It is in every way worthy of the preceding volume. The reproductions, which are all from original photographs, reveal