BELL, Andrew, Scottish educator, author of the mutual instruction or °Madras" system of education: b. Saint Andrews, 27 March 1753; d. Cheltenham, England, 27 Jan. 1832. He was educated at the university of his native town, resided for seven years in Virginia as tutor to a plasterer's family, and on returning took or ders in the Church of England. In 1787 he went to India, where he held eight army chap lainships simultaneously and became manager of the institution for the education of the or phan children of European soldiers at Madras established by the East India Company. The superintendence of this asylum was undertaken by Dr. Bell, who, though the love of money was his besetting weakness, refused the salary of 1,200 pagoda (f480) which was attached to it. Failing to retain the services of properly qualified ushers he resorted to the expedient of conducting his school through the medium of the scholars themselves. It was in the mode of conducting a school by means of mutual in struction that the new method of Dr. Bell con sisted; and its value as an abbreviation of the mechanical part of teaching, and where large numbers were to be taught economically, could not be easily overestimated at the time. His system, however, is now abandoned. From the commencement of his experiment he made the scholars, as far as possible, do everything for themselves; they ruled their own paper, made their own pens, etc., while the teacher only directed them. The maxim of the school was that no boy could do anything right the first time, but he must learn when he first set about it, by means of his teacher, so as to be able to do it himself ever aftenvard. After
superintending the school for seven years he found it necessary for his health to return to Europe. On his arrival he published in 1797 a pamphlet entitled (An Experiment in Edu cation made at the Male Asylum of Madras,' in which he gave an account of his system. He founded a national society for the education of poor children by means of his system, to be operated in accordance with Anglican teach ing. The first place in England where the sys tem was adopted was the charity school of Saint Bodolph's, Aldgate, and gradually, es pecially through the influence of Joseph Lan caster, who founded a rival society on non sectarian lines, it was widely carned out in England, and indeed in almost every other civilized country. Dr. Bell becatne in 1801 rector of Swanage, Dorset, and in 1819 ac quired the dignity of a prebendary of West minster and was master of Sherburn Hospital, Durham. Be etn.ployed himself during his later years in writing several works on educa tion, among which the most valuable were 'The Elements of Tuition,' (The English School' and (Brief Manual of Mutual Instruc tion and Discipline.' Before his death he gave over to trustees #120,000 3 per cent stock for education, half of it for the purpose of found ing an academy in his native city. His method xvas the forerunner of the pupil-teacher sys tem. Consult (Life by Southey' (1844) ; Meiklejohn, (An Old Educational Reformer) (1881 ).