PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3475, 19 October 1920, Page 55

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

SOME EDUCATIONAL AIDS. I have received from the MacMillans some interesting educational aids—five parts of "The Progress to Eealing" under the editorship of Richard Wilson, 8.A., D.Litt. ; Books II and HI of the Pupils Class Book of English Composition, and the Edina Junior Histories Book IV, the Age of Strife (1603-1713), Book V, The Age of Empire Building (1714-1815), and Book VI, The Ago of Democracy (18151918). "The progress to Heading" is a new series altogether under, if I remember rightly, a new editor who introduces new elements /which can be measured by part V, the 'Teachers' Handbook" of some 70 pages. Personally, I cannot help thinking the editor wants to read into two series, a meaning beyond the comprehension of young folk, especially in teaching large classes not having the benefit of a wide selection of pictures. The editor is a refined teacher, who merits all encouragement possible, and I should like to know of his success. But are all his stories suitable? Many do not seem to be in touch with child life. The Edina Junior Histories are a very good series, confining most questions to a rendering in pure facts—as far as history is pure facts. They are very brief, but in the hands of a good teacher excellent work can be done with them; and if a teacher is unimaginative but wishing to show good results the books will help—in other words they are a good subject series, and will teach the usual teacher as much as. they will teach the pupils. The maps would be better for a little colouring.

The Class Book on English Composition —Books II and lll—for children from 10 to 12 years of age are on definite and conventional lines by E. J. S. Lay, and though they are constructed for British pupils they can well fit in to New Zealand schools, and give manv hints and suggestions to teachers. They are bv a man •who knows his work. Each book has a, little dictionary at the end. In one is "vik-ing." with the note: "Less correctly vi-king," and the next word is "wag-on,'' less usually "waggon," showing the American influence on our spelling. While we generally spell wagon with one "<?" it is just as well that we have it definitely given as such. "The Working of the World" i« another of the "How and Whv" stories This series with the ."How and Why," "Were and There" and "Then and Now" illustrated readers of an informative nature are capital hooks not "too teaching." This "too teaching" does not apply to the informative booklet "Pioneers of Science" and invention in the "Then and Now" stories. Here we read of Morse. Darwin, Simpson, Lister. Edison, Marconi, etc.,' for nineoence! Take following from the outline of Morse's Life: One dav the Tvrofessor came in and said. "Well, my boy, how are we off for jribnev?"

"Well, professor," I answered. "I am sr»rry, but I don't expect my remittance till next week."

"Next week!" he repeated sorrowfully "I "ha 1 ! be dead by. that time."

""Oead. sir?" "Yes, dead of starvation."

I was astonished and distressed. T said at once, "Would ten dollars be of anv use?"

"Ten dollars -would save mv life. That's all the we that would be." I paid all the monev I had. just ten dollars, and we dined together. It was the first meal he had had for twenty-four hours.

And the same with James Simpson and his experiments with drugs. One day a chemist sent Simpson and his friends some packet which did not look so promising, so it was set aside for a day or two. But one day he thought it might he worth something. "A hunt among a lot of waste paper revealed the bottle, and the inhalers commenced work. Then a strange thing happened. First of all they became very excited and happy, and then suddenlv there was dead silence. They had all fallen under the table—unconscious. Dr Simpson was the first to come to himself, and his instant thought was: "This is better than ether." The name of this drug was "chloroform." Joseoh Lister added to the blessings of chloroform. When he persevered in his efforts to prevent eerms or microbes or bacille from giving disease to wounds; and so preventing septic disease in the hospitals, he demonstrated the fact that cleanliness made chloroform safe as well as painless. How much suffering and septic poisoning and how many lives have Drs Simpson and Lister saved the world from losing. And so I could go on. But get the book and read it for yourself. Unfortunatelv a book which outlines 15 lives from Galileo to Marconi cannot indicate what it contains. But get your teachers to add these sets to the School Library. That they have stout paper covers need not matter, though thsy are also procurable in cloth binding at a penny or so more. Atlasses are coming to the front again, in new designs—not that they are any improvement yet in general design or ge>t up. The Pictorial Atlas of English History of 1920, begins with maps of Roman times, comes on to Saxon times, Norman and Plantagenet times, and the European War, or "The Great War," as it is known by, is responsible for 16 of the 48 pages. It, however, has one defect. The firm, in wishing to get up-to-date maps and matter in early, have not managed to use any colouring—a contrast with the pre-war cartography, and the woodents are not up to the Macmillan style. But the historical atlas is quite up-to-date in its information. tt will be educational as well as an atlas to compare with pre-war and war maps, and in the amount of pictorial matter will be very difficult to beat. And the same holds good for "The British Empire" (Macmillan's Graphic Geographies) 33 pp. for Is 6d, by B. C. Wallis, B.Sc, F.R.G.S.—the Pictorial

Atlas is by E. J. S. Lay. The British Empire is printed on better paper, and has three or four maps in colour. But while we want the British Empire, we do not want to adopt the American style of ignoring the rest of the world. It has over a map to a page, though it has 32 pp. Westralia, however, will not feel complimented, for it is not represented in any coloured map, and not satisfactorily in any other. The Atlas tries to do too much —a compliment to its defect. It shows, however, when one thinks of it, what a great part of the world it is for one empire to emerge from the war with, especially when 10 war gifts from other nations have made it what it is. Get this British Empire Atlas, too.