History of Education: Conclusion

It seems to follow from this sketch of the history of education that, in spite of the great advances which have been made of late years, the science of education is still far in advance of the art. Schoolmasters are still spending their best energies in teaching subjects which have been universally condemned by educational reformers for the last two hundred years. The education of every public school is a farrago of rules, principles, and customs derived from every age of teaching, from the most modern to the most remote. It is plain that the science and art of teaching will never be established on a firm basis until it is organized on the model of the sister art of medicine. We must pursue the patient methods of induction by which other sciences have reached the stature of maturity ; we must discover some means of registering and tabulating results; we must invent a phraseology and nomenclature which will enable results to be accurately recorded; we must place education in its proper position among the sciences of observation. A philosopher who should succeed in doing this would be venerated by future ages as the creator of the art of teaching.





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