children the work is characterised by the quick, vigorous and massive movements which are suggested by their natural activity. The play element predominates, and appeal is made to their imitative and dramatic instincts. For the older children the use of these movements is maintained. At the same time, exercises which demand more sustained effort and stricter accuracy and attention to detail are gradually introduced.

The hygienic purpose and effects of the exercises, and the value of prompt, and, above all, accurate response to commands can be intimated to the class. Thus is established a connection with the theoretical instruction given in their "Health" lessons. It is

common complaint that under modern educational methods children are losing the power of application and of thorough and accurate work. Swedish Gymnastics properly taught should prove to be a valuable aid in re-establishing these basic features of sound training. The realisation of visible improvement as a result of intelligent and progressive effort towards definite aims and the feeling of comradeship which is engendered by the carrying out of movements jointly in response to an inspiring command contribute towards the training for right conduct which constitutes true education. The wide scope of the system which has been suggested above has, perhaps, made it an easy target for hostile criticism. by those who have had neither the opportunity nor the inclination to consider it in a broad way. In the minds of many of the lay public the idea seems to be prevalent that a complete presentation of the system is to be found in the Government Syllabus of Physical Exercises as used in the Elementary Schools. This syllabus has served a most useful purpose during

the preparatory stages, which will soon, it is hoped, lead to wider developments. The teachers who use the syllabus have, in many cases, produced most favourable results in spite of the obvious limitations imposed upon them: such as inadequate time, unsuitable dress, lack of apparatus and, above all, their own lack of expert training. The effects of the system as hitherto carried out by insufficiently trained teachers in the Elementary Schools can, therefore, form no basis. for an argument against the system as a whole.

Still, it must be admitted that in the past some of the teaching, even by trained experts, has been too academic and restricted in its methods and aims. The latitude allowed by the principles of the system, which indeed constitutes one of its main features, has not been sufficiently appreciated. The common criticism of the system as dull and limited has possibly found some justification on this account. The fact that the Swedish System has, during the last few years, been adopted by practically all the important public and private schools for girls, as well as by a large number of boys' schools, and the undoubted popularity which it enjoys amongst the pupils are, however, sufficient contradiction of this criticism. It is perhaps amongst those members of the profession who are concerned in the training of the expert teachers that the expansibility of the system in accordance with modern educational ideals is most strongly felt. This has been reflected in the recent decision by all Swedish Training Colleges to lengthen the period of training to three years. It has been found that the two years' training hitherto insisted upon by these Colleges has not been enough to enable the students to gain the necessary technical and scientific knowledge to make

full use of this expansibility. It is hoped that the extended curriculum will give the student a better grasp of the demands and responsibilities of her work and of its relation to other educational activities.

Teachers of Swedish Gymnastics are often accused of a fanatical adherence to their own doctrines and of an uncompromising hostility to other systems. The divergence between them and the exponents of most other systems is due to such fundamental differences in principles and aims, that they feel they would be false to their high ideals if they attempted any form of compromise.

CHAPTER XIII

DOMESTIC SUBJECTS

BY MISS M. E. MARSDEN

THE development of the teaching of Domestic Subjects may best be studied under the headings of Elementary, Secondary, and Technical Schools, Training Colleges for Teachers and University Courses.

In Elementary Schools various methods of introducing it into the curriculum are adopted by Local Education Authorities. A certain amount of latitude is allowed by the Board of Education, and encouragement is given to schemes suitable for the needs of different localities. In towns, special Domestic Subjects "centres" are built for Cookery, Laundry-work and Household Management. These are attached to certain Elementary Schools, and girls from neighbouring schools attend for periods varying from half a day to five days per week, between the ages of eleven and fourteen years. In country districts the problem of providing facilities for instruction is much more difficult. If Domestic Subjects "centres " were attached to all rural schools they would be unused for the greater part of the week. Therefore in some districts peripatetic teachers are employed. These spend from two to four weeks in one village where a convenient room has been prepared for the classes, and the girls receive instruction for part or the whole of every day

during the period in which the teacher is in residence. Another arrangement is for the teacher to spend one day a week in different villages, and yet another is the provision of travelling "vans," which are really movable rooms, equipped for the teaching of Cookery and Housewifery. They usually remain for four weeks at one school, and serve the purpose of " centres during that period.

The critic will, of course, see the disadvantages attached to each one of these plans, but each has its own advantages under the special conditions and difficulties which have to be faced. The encouraging feature of the whole is the ingenuity and practical interest which have been displayed in planning accommodation, ranging from an ordinary furnished house to a travelling "van," in order to bring instruction in Domestic Subjects within the reach of girls attending Elementary Schools. The courses are

In some, the girls

arranged in several different ways. attend for one half-day a week for two years. In others, they attend for two half-days a week for one year; while in others the instruction is more concentrated and the girls take Domestic Subjects every day for twelve weeks, or for two and a half days for twenty-four weeks. In the Cookery courses the girls are taught the principles and processes of Cookery. They begin by making simple dishes, and gradually proceed to those requiring a higher degree of manipulative skill. Then they go on to the planning, cooking and serving of meals. The girls, as far as possible, work independently. Great care is taken, in the selection of equipment and utensils, to choose things similar to those found in the homes of the pupils, so that they may be able to put their work into practice