Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
voor den Arbeidenden Stand), for instance, used Stöckhardt's textbook in
its chemistry teaching (Stöckhardt 1848).
26
In addition, popularizing works on chemistry appeared that had to
serve as 'reading topics' for primary schools. These topics were part of
initiatives aimed at a radical reform of primary education. The reading
instruction on the basis of the Bible was meant to be replaced by instruc-
tion on the basis of topics on topics of which the children of workers and
farmers would have direct practical benefit in their later professional life.
Physics and, especially, chemistry were supposed to play a prominent
role in these new reading topics. Their content needed to be presented in
such way that the direct connection with the child's daily 'lifeworld' was
immediately clear. In England, the cradle of many of these ideas, the
“movement for teaching the science of common things” was very suc-
cessful after 1853 (Layton 1973, pp. 35-54, 95-117). There, within a few
years more than 200 different science schoolbooks for primary education
were published, including 28 on chemistry alone (Layton 1973, p. 111).
Given the large influence of church organizations on primary education
some caution was called for, though. At all cost it had to be prevented
that people would think that the Bible was replaced by godless, material-
ist readings. This also explains why precisely in this popular science
genre, in the period 1845-1865, books still regularly contained physico-
theological formulations, while education reformers argued that “the
teaching of science [is] essential for the moral and religious salvation of
the children of the poor” (Layton 1973, pp. 96-7, 112-3). Thus these
books were unmistakably in the tradition of the children editions of the
books by Martinet and Uilkens, but there was one major difference: if in
Martinet and Uilkens the divinely created surrounding world was center-
stage, now also the objects of the technical-industrial society were con-
sidered part and parcel of everyday life. Besides the sky, water, soil, and
flora, issues such as human food, housing, clothing, health care, and hy-
giene were extensively addressed. In much smaller editions than in Eng-
26
Later editions appeared in 1850 and 1855. See also
Verslag aangaande den toestand
der Inrigting van Onderwijs voor den Arbeidenden Stand te Utrecht over den cursus
van 1853-54
, Utrecht, n.d., p. 4; Van der Burg 1860. The topics by Girardin and Van
der Burg were quite expensive. The one by Van den Burg did cost 3.90 guilders (Van
der Meulen 1876, p. 23).
