What shall we teach?, or, Physiology in schools : being an attempt to advocate instruction in the laws of life as a branch of general education / by Edwin Lankester.

  • Lankester, Edwin, 1814-1874.
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: What shall we teach?, or, Physiology in schools : being an attempt to advocate instruction in the laws of life as a branch of general education / by Edwin Lankester. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    36. Having glanced at the subjects which I think should be brought before the minds of a class of pupils in a school, I would add a few words with regard to the method of teaching. Although physiology is usually taught by means of lectures, it is not neces- sary that it should be so. The teacher may use some of the elementary books on physiology,* and, getting a class to read a few sections, might explain each section if necessary, and before reading the sections at the next lesson make an examination on the last, taking care that each pupil understands what he or she has been reading. These lessons should be illustrated by experiment when the chemical part is brought before the class, and the elements spoken of should be demonstrated. A very few simple experiments will impress on the mind of the pupil the nature of the four organic elements, and their principal chemical compounds are always at hand to exhibit and demon- strate their properties. 37. In the same way, when the tissues of the body are referred to, it is not necessary to have recourse to, or even allude to, the dissection of the human body. The butcher’s shop will supply ample illustrations of the tissues of which the human body is composed. A mutton chop in the hands of a competent teacher * At the request of the Irish Board of Education I drew up a small volume entitled ‘ A School Manual of Health/ intended for Reading in Classes in Schools. Groombridge and Sons.