"A Schoolmaster's Diary: Being_extracts from the Journal of Patrick Traherne, M.A., Sometime Assistant Master at Radchester and Marlton. Selected and edited by S. P. B. Mais. Pp. 317. London: Grant Richards, Ltd., St. Martin Street. 1918. Price 6s. net.

"The closing years of the first quarter of the twentieth century (during and after the war which disintegrated the German Empire) witnessed that educational ferment which heralded the great advance of scientific pedagogy. Nor was England quite untouched by the prevailing ferment. Yet the student of English books on education of the period will be surprised to find amid all the mass of writing little evidence of perception of what was coming. The experts were either clinging to the old empiricism or attempting an impossible application of adult psychology. The growing perception among parents of the monstrous defects of the (then so-called) 'Public Schools, so soon to compel drastic changes, is scarcely reflected in serious treatises, though it formed the subject of short letters and paragraphs in ephemeral publications and of a few hasty productions by boys or very young men in the guise of fiction. Perhaps the most interesting of these was 'The Loom of Youth,' issued in 1916. A year later there was published a companion volume with the title, 'A Schoolmaster's Diary.' These may be considered as typical of the curious absence of the scientific spirit in the promoters of attacks upon existing educational methods in public schools for boys. The state of things disclosed by the young teacher in the latter volume, after experience in two famous schools, is sufficiently appalling; but readers of to-day will be amazed that there is no realization that science can put an unerring finger on the causes of the evil and its proper remedies. Even in 1916 the most elementary treatise for farmers on the education' of vegetables would speak scientifically of the danger of

transplanting at certain seasons, the importance of thinning out, the number of roots per acre, natural and unnatural growth, forcing and retarding, &c. But a treatise on potatoes, written as this twentieth century teacher writes his diary, would explain black-rot and wireworm and all the ills to which potatoes are subject by complaining that certain labourers talked scandal, others were sarcastic, and others again sadly conserIvative in their outlook. It is only fair to state that the Diarist Traherne does by an intuitive process foresee that in the ideal school girls will sit by their brothers (anticipating apparently by some twenty years the admission of girls to Rugby and by fifty years their conquest of Eton), but he shows no suspicion of any kind that the 'Public' Schools of his day offended against such easily ascertainable scientific facts as the necessity of (a) continuous observation under the same observer from the third year of age (the age of entry at Public Schools is usually stated as 13 or 14 years!); (b) the limitation of numbers (the law forbidding any school to have more than 200 pupils was passed in 1951); (c) the conservation of the characteristics of the 'family'; (d) full consideration of the differing needs of each individual; (e) development of the different faculties at the various appropriate ages; (f) avoidance of the faculty of inhibition exercising itself outside its proper limits (i.e., against anti-self or anti-social tendencies); (g) avoidance of the undue destruction of individuality by the hypnotic or moulding influence of strong personalities on the staff or sheer numbers amongst the pupils; (h) avoidance of confusing the certainty of certain things (e.g., mathematical truth and the Categorical Imperative) by the assertion of certainty about things within that vast area wherein judgment is fallible and knowledge unattainable. All these and many more (as everyone now recognizes) are scientifically demonstrable. All these

and many more were violated in principle or in practice or in both in the schools of that period. Yet the Schoolmaster Traherne, the Diarist, and his like however keenly alive to the dire consequences of their violation, made no appeal to Science in their efforts for educational reform."-Extract from the "Twenty-first Century Encyclopædia of Social Science," article on “English Education in the Twentieth Century."

(Rev.) CECIL GRANT.

"The School Nurse: a Survey of the Duties and Responsibilities of the Nurse in the Maintenance of Health and Physical Perfection and the Prevention of Disease

among Children." By Lina Rogers Struthers, R.N. Graduate of Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, &c. Pp. xiv + 293, with 24 full-page Illustrations. London and New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 24, Bedford Street, Strand, W.C. 2; 2, West 45th Street, New York City. 1917. Price $1.75 net.

The school exists for the child. The child requires the services of the trained teacher. But the work of the teacher must be supplemented by the watchful care and practical help of the experienced nurse. And the whole of school hygiene and all activities relating to the health of the child must be brought under the supervision of the expert doctor. For the sake of the child and the welfare of the community all agencies for the protection and betterment of the child must work together. And in all schemes for a school medical service the rôle of the school nurse is of foremost importance. We therefore welcome the admirable work on "The School Nurse" which has just reached us from America. The author is the wife of Dr. W. E. Struthers, formerly Chief Medical Officer to the Board of Education in Toronto. Mrs. Struthers is not only an exceptionally well-trained nurse, but has served as Superintendent of School Nurses both in New York City and in Toronto, Canada, and was Chairman of the School Nursing Committee of the National Organization of Public Health Nursing, 1913-1916. This book meets a real need, and should be appreciated on both sides of the Atlantic. It is intended primarily for women preparing for or engaged in the conduct of

a complete text-book on school nursing.. The work opens with a brief introduction, in which the aims and work of the school nurse are ably outlined. Then follows an interesting historical chapter in which descriptions are given of the evolution of the school nursing service in Britain, America and Canada. Special chapters are devoted to a discussion of organization, administration, State Regulations, and staff rules. There are interesting accounts of work in connection with "little mothers' classes," school baby clinics, and outdoor classes. Separate sections deal with the management of minor ailments, tuberculosis, debilitated children, common physical defects, and morbid dental conditions. A particularly valuable chapter is that which details the requirements essential for effectiveness in the school nurse. There is also a chapter on the card system of reports. The work is thoroughly practical, but is written with sympathy and understanding. Every nurse who is working in the public school or in an orphanage or home for children should make a point of reading this lucid,. interesting, suggestive, and informing manual. The numerous full-page illustrations add much to its attractiveness. There is what is termed a bibliography, but it contains the names of only three books; clearly Mrs. Struthers must see to it that in the next edition a satisfactory bibliography is provided.

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Handicaps of Childhood." By H. Addington Bruce. Pp. ix + 310. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, Fourth Avenue and 30th Street. 1917. Price, $1.50 net.

Dr. Addington Bruce has written several important works on psychological subjects, and this, his latest book, is intended to serve as a companion volume to his "Psychology and Parenthood." The aim of the work, as explained in the preface, is "that, in view of the discoveries of modern psychology with regard to individual development, the mental and moral training of children by their parentsought to be begun earlier, and be carried on more intensively than is the rule at present." The chief aim of the volume is to demonstrate and to emphasize the

importance of early training in regard to all matters relating to the moral sphere. "Everyone, of course, is more or less aware that lifelong character defects may result from parental neglect to develop in children such qualities as unselfishness, -self-confidence, and self-control. But few really appreciate that, by this neglect, children are burdened with handicaps which, persisting into adult life, may imperil not alone the winning of success and happiness, but health itself. And, among parents, comparatively few are sufficiently alert to the danger signals giving warning that such handicaps of perhaps catastrophic significance are being needlessly imposed on their children. Eccentricities of behaviour in children-such as jealousy and sulkiness-are too often ignored as being of no particular account, or are sadly misinterpreted by parents, with perhaps dire consequences to the children's whole careers. The essays composing the volumes have for the most part already appeared in well-known American magazines. Something of the scope of the work and the wide area covered will be indicated by an enumeration of the titles of the chief chapters: 66 Mental Backwardness," "The Only Child," "The Child who Sulks," "Jealousy," Selfishness," "Bashfulness and Indecision," ""Stammering," "Fairy-tales that Handicap," and "Night Terrors." The articles are attractively written and are of particular interest from the careful analyses provided; corrective measures are explained, and references to experiences with actual cases appear. The book will be of considerable service not only to parents, for whom the articles were primarily written, but also to all students of child psychology, and particularly to teachers of young boys and girls. We trust the author will now prepare a further volume dealing in simple language with some of the more important morbid manifestations in the psychology of adolescence.

66

"Education for Liberty." By Kenneth Richmond. Pp. 253. London: W. Collins, Sons and Company, Ltd. 1918. Price 6s. net.

Mr. Kenneth Richmond is a leader in what might be considered the Educational Life and Liberty Movement. He has

written several nctable works dealing with educational principles, methods and experiments, and in this, his latest book, he has brought to maturity many views which have long been in process of evolution. The work is a peculiarly stimulating one, and is written with much winsomeness and real literary power. We earnestly commend this study to all who are seeking liberty and advancement in our educational conceptions and conduct. Much of the book has already appeared as articles in the Educational Supplement of the Times and elsewhere. The volume is full of striking obiter dicta, and it would be easy to fill many columns with suggestive extracts. The purpose of the work is most praiseworthy. Something of the author's outlook may be indicated by quotations from the introduction: “This book might be described as a book of educational themes with variations. The book is about the unity of knowledge, and about methods for establishing that unity. . . . Liberty comes of the ordered relation of parts in a purposeful whole. . . . Education for liberty means education in fellowship. But for real fellowship of minds we need community of thoughts, and by community I do not mean uniformity, but interrelation. We need a unity of spirit in a diversity of minds." Mr. Richmond's ideals are elaborated with artistic grace, enforced with much charm of diction, and fixed with epigrammatic goads. The work is one which will appeal to all educationists whose mental and spiritual joints still remain unanchylosed. We venture to close this all too brief and inadequate notice by reproducing the concluding paragraph of the volume: "We experiment, systematically and patiently, if we are to find out how the faculty of inspiration can be developed, or rather, how the conscious self can be induced to give adequate interpretation to the super-self. The faculty of inspiration, I am convinced, is there already; we dream greater things than we know; but we forget our dreams, or suppress them, or sentimentalize them. The vision of a new order, coherent and complete, which we sometimes carry through from sleep, if only it would not fade, if only we were trained to seize it and translate it into the language of daylight, would

must

transform civilization. But it must be everybody's vision, or it may just as well be nobody's vision. We need a clairvoyant democracy. Is that a reductio ad absurdum of my thesis, or a suggestion that there is a cure for the disease of the world? I have an idea, sometimes, that young children know perfectly well what is the matter with the world, and could grow up to tell us what the trouble is, if only we could let them develop the right power of expression. But we must train ourselves, too, to co-operate with them, and to remember our dreams."

"A Study of the Behaviour of an Individual Child: Syllabus and Bibliography." By John T. McManis, Professor of Education, Chicago Normal College. Pp. 54. Baltimore, U.S.A.: Warwick and York, Inc. 10, East Centre Street, Baltimore, Md. 1916.

This little volume will be of real value to practical students of childhood. It is based on the author's own experience in directing prospective teachers in classes in education to understand child life in the city. As Professor McManis says in his preface: "Placed under the artificial environment of the city the child is handicapped in many respects, and it is the business of education to remove such handicaps as far as possible. In order to do this, it is necessary to understand the child's life in detail and to see the kind of conditions essential for his proper growth." This manual guides to manner and methods and points out the way to reliable sources of information. There

is an introduction and a general exposition on the methods of studying behaviour in a child. The subject matter is grouped in a series of short sections under the following headings: Physical Conditions, Home Conditions, Plays and Games, Instructive Activities, Outside Interests and Activities, School Life, Mental Characteristics and Disposition, Leaving Process, Language, Drawing, Movements and Motor Ability, and Moral Characteristics. The concluding chapter deals with the Exceptional Child. Each section provides a summary of essentials, a study outline, and a serviceable bibliography. The work is, as the title-page indicates,

essentially a "Syllabus and Bibliography," but such a condensation of guiding facts, governing principles, and sources of inspiration and data will be invaluable to all serious students preparing to undertake the responsible duties of a teacher of children, and determined to accord liberty, justice, guidance, and sympathy to the individual child. We trust Professor McManis will elaborate his syllabus into a systematic treatise.

"The Young Observer's Handbook : An Introduction to All-Round Nature

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Study for Boys and Girls." By W. Percival Westell, F.L.S., Author of My Life as a Naturalist," &c. Pp. 317. With frontispiece and 150 illustrations, diagrams, sketches and photographs. London: McBride, Nast and Co., Ltd., 2, Bream's Buildings, E.C. 4. 1918. Price 7s. 6d. net.

The author of this charming volume is a naturalist of the class beloved by young people. He is an enthusiast of the old school, and has brought together a rare experience of Nature studies relating to observations with the microscope, the field-glass, and the camera. The volume opens with a sketch of Ancient Britain, and in particular a record of Verulam and the evolution of the author's own native city, St. Albans, in Hertfordshire. Youths will find much stimulus and suggestion in the chapter on "The Making of a Naturalist," to which is appended an interesting list of Rural Festivals and Country Life Events. There are also special chapters on "Rocks and Minerals," "Fossil Animals and Plants," "British Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians," "Fresh-water Fishes," "Land Snails, Slugs, Spiders and their Kin," "Marine Animals and Plants," 66 Insect Life," Plant Life," "Wild Life in the Garden," and "Pond Dwellers." There are also helpful sections on the Formation of an Aquarium and a Vivarium, Hints on Keeping Pets, and Ideas on the Development of a Young Observer's Museum. This enumeration of the chief contents of this delightful volume should be sufficient to indicate that it is an ideal gift-book for boys and girls, and it should certainly have a place in every school library. The work is attractively illustrated.

"The Wonder Book of the Navy for Boys and Girls." Edited by Harry Golding. Pp. 264, with 16 coloured plates and nearly 300 pictures. London: Ward, Lock and Co., Ltd., Warwick House, Salisbury Square, E.C. 4. 1917. Price 3s. 6d. net.

This is truly a wonderful book. It is just the volume to place in the hands of our children. Its numerous pictures and illuminating text tell a glorious story. As the British Articles of War put it: "It is upon the Navy that, under the good providence of God, the wealth, prosperity and peace of these islands and of the Empire do mainly depend." We know of no work which so completely enforces the truth of this simple statement as does Mr. Harry Golding's handsome book. It has been passed for publication by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and is in every way worthy of the great service it so effectively describes. The publishers have patriotically issued the volume at a price which should bring it within the reach of all sons and daughters of the Empire. Certainly no school library can be considered complete without this informing and interesting wonderbook. It is an ideal gift-book for children of all ages. Adult men and women will be fascinated by its pages. It is a mine of good things for all teachers. Every form and phase of naval service is dealt with. The work is remarkably complete and up-to-date, and many of the illustrations deal with scenes which portray events in the great doings of recent days. The present volume forms the latest addition to the valuable series of "Wonder Books" for children which only need to be known to be enthusiastically appreciated.

tical and knows the limitations of the average teacher and the ordinary child, and is not afraid to experiment and venture out of weary, hard-trodden paths. This book will be a revelation to many. As Professor Adams points out very truly, "A striking characteristic of the book is the appreciation of the child's point of view." Section I provides information and direction and designs and work for children under 12 years of age. Section II is for girls over 12, and deals mainly with problems and possibilities of millinery. There are also chapters on Children's Clothes, Doll Dressing, and the Formation of a Museum. Section III is for the training college student, and provides a valuable suggested scheme for a school needlecraft course. We earnestly commend the work to all those responsible for the organization and conduct of needlecraft in schools. It is a book which we advise all mothers to procure and study if they wish to be in a position to help their daughters to gain artistic skill and powers for practical service along sound lines.

"The American Girl." By Winifred Buck, author of " 'Boys' Self-governing Clubs." Pp. ix + 157. New York City: The Macmillan Company, 64-66, Fifth Avenue, 1917. Price $1.00.

This is primarily a work for American girls, and it is written by an American woman, but we trust it may be read by all English-speaking workers for girl betterment on both sides of the Atlantic. It certainly contains much that will be of service to mothers of girls in Britain's Overseas Dominions. The book is addressed to the modern girl, and provides much reliable information, sound advice, and scientific direction, all in clear, attractive, and sympathetically expressed language. The work is divided into three parts, dealing respectively with the Maintenance of a Healthy Body; Domestic, Social, and Vocational Relationships; and a Girl's Part in Work and Play. The book opens with very explicit chapters on the essentials of sex education, and in a series of chapters most of the problems touching the life of an adolescent girl and young woman are dealt with in a manner which will prove