Transcriber’s Notes:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_), and text
enclosed by equal signs is in bold (=bold=).
Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end.
* * * * *
The History Teacher’s Magazine
Volume I.
Number 4.
PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER, 1909.
$1.00 a year
15 cents a copy
CONTENTS.
PAGE
HISTORY SYLLABI, by Prof. Walter L. Fleming 71
TENTATIVE LIST OF SYLLABI 72
AN HISTORICAL LABORATORY, by Prof. William MacDonald 73
ORGANIZATION OF THE RECITATION, by Prof. N. M. Trenholme 74
THE STUDY OF LOCAL INDUSTRIES, by Alexander L. Pugh 76
FORMAN’S “ADVANCED CIVICS,” reviewed by H. W. Edwards 77
EDITORIAL 78
THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY MEETINGS 79
AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL,
by Arthur M. Wolfson, Ph.D. 80
STEPHENS’ “TRANSITIONAL PERIOD” 81
EUROPEAN HISTORY IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL,
by Daniel C. Knowlton, Ph.D. 82
ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL,
by William Fairley, Ph.D. 84
ENGLISH HISTORY IN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL,
by C. B. Newton 85
HISTORY IN THE GRADES, by Armand J. Gerson 86
REPORTS FROM THE HISTORICAL FIELD, Walter H. Cushing:
List of History Teachers’ Associations; News
of the Associations; Aids to Visualization;
Modifications of the Report of the Committee of
Seven; Directions for Written Work at Meredith
College 88
CORRESPONDENCE 91
Published monthly, except July and August, by McKinley Publishing Co.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Copyright, 1909, McKinley Publishing Co.
Entered as second-class matter, October 26, 1909, at the Post-office at
Philadelphia, Pa., under Act of March 8, 1879.
* * * * *
W. & A. K. Johnston’s Maps and Globes
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are noted the world over for their geographical accuracy. Lithographed,
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Examine, compare with others and return any or all at our expense if
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FIVE COMPLETE SERIES (135 different maps), also FIVE sizes of GLOBES in
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Send for fine 88-page Catalog
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Western History in Its Many Aspects
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND LOCAL HISTORY IN PARTICULAR
THE AMERICAN INDIANS
Books on the above subjects supplied promptly by
The Torch Press Book Shop, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
_Catalogs on Application_
* * * * *
Newton and Treat’s Outlines for Review in History
By CHARLES BERTRAM NEWTON, A.B., Head of the Department of History
in Lawrenceville School, and EDWARD BRYANT TREAT, A.M., Master in
Lawrenceville School.
AMERICAN HISTORY
ENGLISH HISTORY
GREEK HISTORY
ROMAN HISTORY
Price, each, 25 cents
These Outlines in History aid the teacher in bringing out the subject
as a whole, and in so focusing it as to make the picture clear-cut and
vivid in the pupil’s mind. By their use the prominent figures and the
smaller details, the multitude of memories and impressions, will be
fixed and established in their proper perspective. In each booklet are
given brief summaries in chronological order of the leading facts and
events, and throughout ease of reference has been considered of prime
importance in the presentation of the matter. In the index, battles,
laws and wars are grouped chronologically under those headings, and
also in regular alphabetical order. Near the end of each volume are
given fifty typical questions, selected from the recent examinations
set for admission to leading colleges, which are intended for practice
in the art of formulating answers.
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
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* * * * *
The Attention of Teachers
IS CALLED TO THE VALUE OF
Advertising in the History Teacher’s Magazine
The paper is one which is not merely subscribed for--it is read, and
read carefully. It is printed simply, but effectively, by one of the
best printers in the country. Its advertisements are well set up and
stand out clearly on the page.
_Teachers’ Wants_ are many. You can reach more history teachers through
the Magazine than in any other way.
_Do you want out-of-print books or maps?_
_Do you wish to procure second-hand volumes?_
_Do you wish to dispose of a library, or of duplicates?_
_Do you want a new position?_
_Do you need a new assistant in your school?_
_Do you want information on a given subject of history or genealogy?_
_Are you searching for manuscripts of a certain character or
authorship?_
THEN USE THE
Advertising Columns of the History Teacher’s Magazine
* * * * *
The History Teacher’s Magazine
Volume I.
Number 4.
PHILADELPHIA, DECEMBER, 1909.
$1.00 a year
15 cents a copy
History Syllabi
BY WALTER L. FLEMING, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, LOUISIANA STATE
UNIVERSITY.
A well-constructed syllabus is a useful aid to the instructor and to
the student of history in high school and sometimes in college classes.
A good syllabus usually contains not only an outline of the essential
topics in orderly sequence with numbered divisions and indentations to
indicate the value of the topics and their relation one to another, but
also definite and more or less complete references to the best reading
on each important subject. A complete syllabus should contain also
lists of additional topics for extra work or for advanced students,
with suitable references to the proper reading necessary to develop
this extra work. In syllabi designed for use in high schools and the
lower classes of college, references to good historical maps and
atlases are usually found, as well as suggestions for map work, lists
of historical pictures and other illustrative material, suggestions to
teachers and to students, and “thought questions” or “problems.”
Among the published syllabi designed for high school work are the
following: “A History Syllabus for Secondary Schools” (New England
History Teachers’ Association, published by D. C. Heath), arranged in
four divisions--ancient history, medieval and modern history, England,
and the United States--with full reference lists and estimates of the
percentage value of each section of the course; “The History and Social
Science Syllabus” of the New York State Education Department, a slight
modification of the New England syllabus that omits the bibliographies;
Leadbetter, “Outlines and Studies of Ancient, Medieval and Modern
History” (Ginn & Co.), based on the texts of Myers, with good outlines,
a few well-selected references, and very good “studies” or “thought
questions.” Several publishers of history texts have issued outlines
or manuals to accompany them. The best of these for school use are
the “Teaching of American History,” etc., published by Appleton to
accompany the Twentieth Century texts. The New York State Education
Department has prepared numbers of outlines on special fields of
history, all of which are helpful to teachers and some of which can be
used to advantage with high school and college classes. Nearly all the
history syllabi for schools follow the division of the subject into
periods recommended by the Committee of Seven.
Several published outlines for use in college classes are worthy of
note. Among them are: Shepherd’s “Syllabus of the Epochs of History,”
used in the first year work at Columbia University; the two outlines
used for the same purpose at Dartmouth College; Munro and Sellery’s
“Syllabus of Medieval History,” and Ames’s “American Colonial History”
(University of Pennsylvania); Sheldon’s “Teachers’ Manuals” (Heath);
the Columbia University (New York) Extension Syllabi, especially those
prepared by Professors Shepherd, Shotwell and Beard; and the University
of Chicago Extension Syllabi, which are very useful for short periods.
All of these outlines can be procured through the book dealers, while
many others privately printed can also be obtained. For nearly every
competent instructor in history in the colleges and universities has
found that in some part of his work there is no proper guide, and to
supply the lack has constructed a syllabus.
The general use in high schools of good syllabi such as the New York
or the New England outlines with their useful suggestions as to
essentials, proportions and methods tends to raise standards, to make
uniform the quantity and quality of history work, and to cause the
adoption of good methods of teaching.
The advocates of the syllabus have much more than this to say in favor
of its use. They claim that it is a guide to study, to the use of
a text, to the use of reference works, to the proper division of a
subject; that it is a good basis for class discussion, recitation, and
examination; and that it keeps topical work from producing confused
results, etc. Whether the syllabus will do all this is doubtful, but
that it is a valuable aid is certain. When no satisfactory text can
be had, the only thing that an instructor can do--formal lectures
to immature students being out of the question--is to construct a
syllabus or to procure a good one made by some one else. This outline
is necessary to give proportion, connection and organization to the
course. By making his own syllabus an instructor can secure proper
attention to the points that he thinks should be emphasized, and he has
in his outline a definite plan of the work to be done, something that
many of the texts do not offer.
With the syllabus constantly before him the student will see the
subject in its proper proportions; he will not get lost in the mass
of detail which must cumber even the best books, but with this guide
to the essentials he will be able to collect information from his
readings, from explanatory lectures, etc., and to organize it about
the framework of the syllabus. Knowing what he is looking for, having
a more definite aim than one working out an assignment of “the next
fifteen pages,” he can get more satisfactory results.
Not only is it worth while to a young student to have the main topics
logically arranged, and ordered in their proper relations, but the
practice in the collection and organization of information gained from
different authorities will tend to foster the habit of comparison,
will cultivate the judgment even though slightly, and will assist the
development of the critical faculty. The old system of using one text
with “by heart” recitations, though it gave accurate information, did
not do this.
With high school and elementary college classes the syllabus should be
used in close connection with a text or texts, reference being made
to other authorities for differing views, additional information, or
wholly new material. No ordinary manuals cover all the parts of a field
that a teacher believes should be treated; while the syllabus based on
several texts, outlines a more comprehensive plan than any one text has
ever done. The proportion observed in the syllabus may correct the text
that is too diffuse, too overloaded with details, or too condensed.
For classes pursuing the study of history by the topical method
a syllabus is a good thing to bind the work together, to give it
connection and definite form. The syllabus is something more than a
mere list of subjects; it aims to show relations, to bridge the space
between one large topic and another. Too many topics should not be
suggested by the syllabus; the fewer and larger the topics the freer
the student is to arrange his information about each topic; while
too minute analysis makes the work tedious and keeps a student from
exercising originality in the arrangement of his material.
In my work in school and college I have found the syllabus useful not
only with classes using texts, but with more advanced classes having
no prescribed texts. I prefer to make the outlines myself, but find
that the published syllabi give valuable hints. In assigning class
work, a certain number of topics are given to the class as a lesson.
Each individual is required to work out a single topic for extra work.
The students read the text and the recommended reference books on each
topic, gather the information in note-books, and then are ready for
recitation, discussion, or report in class. At least once a month I
give to my classes a list of “problems” or “studies” similar to those
found in Leadbetter’s “Outlines” and Botsford’s “Greece” and “Rome.”
The working out of these aids causes the student to assimilate the
information that he has gained and to see the subject in its different
aspects; and also tends to prevent indifferent work with the syllabus.
A Tentative List of History Syllabi
The following list of titles makes no pretense of being exhaustive.
It was put together from the notes of several of the editors of the
MAGAZINE in order to furnish a timely supplement to the article by
Prof. Fleming.
It is hoped to publish in the near future a more extended bibliography
of those syllabi now in print and on sale for general use. Additions
or corrections may be sent to the managing editor, or to Howard M.
Stuckert, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Primarily for College Classes.
ALVORD, C. W., and PAETOW, L. J.--“Syllabus of Mediæval European
History” (from the fourth to the sixteenth century). Champaign, Ill.,
D. H. Lloyd.
AMES, H. V.--“A Syllabus of American Political and Institutional
History During the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods.” Philadelphia,
Department of History, University of Pennsylvania, $1.
BURR, G. L.--“Outlines of Studies in the History of the Middle Ages,
with Suggestions as to the Sources of Knowledge.” Ithaca, N. Y.,
Department of History, Cornell University.
CHANNING, E., and HART, A. B.--“Guide to the Study of American
History,” Boston, Ginn & Co.
CUBBERLEY, E. P.--“Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Education,”
with many reproductions of contemporary prints. New York, Macmillan Co.
DOW, E. W.--“Outlines and References for an Introductory Study of
European History, from the Third to the Thirteenth Century.” Ann Arbor,
George Wahr.
FISH, CARL.--“Syllabus for United States History.” Madison, Wis.
FOSTER, H. D., and FAY, S. B.--“Syllabus of Continental European
History.” Hanover, N. H., Dartmouth College.
HART, A. B.--“Handbook of the History, Diplomacy, and Government of the
United States.” Cambridge, Mass.
HASKINS, C. H.--“Topics and References for History, I (Middle Ages).”
Cambridge, Harvard University.
LINGELBACH, W. E.--“A Syllabus of the History of Europe in the
Nineteenth Century.” Department of History, University of Pennsylvania,
60 cents.
MUNRO, D. C., and SELLERY, G.--“Syllabus of Medieval History.”
Department of History. University of Pennsylvania. $1.
RICHARDSON, O. H., FORD, G. S., and DURFEE, E. L.--“Syllabus of
Continental European History from the Fall of Rome to 1870.” Boston,
Ginn & Co.
SHEPHERD, W. R.--“Syllabus of the Epochs of History, with Reference to
the Forms of Government and Changes in Social Conditions.” Department
of History, Columbia University.
SMITH, DON E.--“Syllabus on Historical Geography.” Berkeley, University
of California.
STEPHENS, H. MORSE.--“Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Modern
European History, 1600-1890.” New York, Macmillan Co.
THOMPSON, J. W.--“Reference Studies in Mediæval History (from the
fourth to the sixteenth century).” Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Primarily for Secondary and Elementary Schools.
ALLEN, F. J.--“Topical Outline of English History.” Boston, D. C. Heath
& Co. 25 cents.
ALLEN, W. F.--“History Topics for High Schools and Colleges.” Boston,
D. C. Heath & Co. 25 cents.
BARNES, MARY S.--“Studies in American History: Teachers’ Manual.”
Boston, D. C. Heath & Co.
BARNES, MARY S.--“Teachers’ Manual to General History.” Boston, D. C.
Heath & Co. 85 cents.
COMMITTEE OF EIGHT, THE.--“The Study of History in the Elementary
Schools.” New York, Scribners’. 50 cents.
CORNMAN, O. P., and GERSON, O.--“Topical Survey of United States
History.” Boston, D. C. Heath & Co. 60 cents.
DODGE, S. S.--“Outlines of English History.” New York, A. S. Barnes &
Co. 25 cents.
ENSIGN, S. LAURA.--“Outlines of Ancient, Medieval and Modern History.”
New York, A. S. Barnes & Co. 75 cents.
ENSIGN, S. LAURA.--“Outline Tables and Sketches in United States
History.” New York, A. S. Barnes & Co. 25 cents.
FLEMING, WALTER L.--“Syllabus of High School Course in History,” in
“State Course of Study for High Schools of Louisiana.” Baton Rouge,
La., Department of Education.
HECKEL.--“Topics and References for Ancient History (based on Morey
and West).” Indiana, Pa., State Normal School.
GORDY, W. F., and TWITCHELL, W. I.--“A Pathfinder in American History.”
New York, Lee and Sheppard.
KEMP, E. W.--“An Outline of History for the Grades.” Boston, Ginn & Co.
KNOWLTON, D. C.--“Studies in English History Prepared for the Use of
High Schools and Academies.” New York State Teacher, Ithaca, N. Y. 35
cents.
LEADBETTER, FLORENCE E.--“Outlines and Studies to Accompany Myers’
Ancient History, and Medieval and Modern History,” 2 volumes. Boston,
Ginn & Co. 35 cents each.
LEWIS, L. B.--“Pupil’s Notebook and Study Outline in Oriental and Greek
History.” New York, American Book Co. 40 cents.
MCMURRAY, CHARLES A.--“Special Method In History.” New York, the
Macmillan Co.
NEW ENGLAND HISTORY TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION.--“Outlines for Ancient,
Medieval and Modern European, English and American History,” four
parts. Boston, D. C. Heath. 15 cents each.
NEW ENGLAND HISTORY TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION.--“Syllabus in Civil
Government.” Macmillan. (Ready late in 1909.)
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS.--“History Syllabus.” (In
press.)
NEWTON, C. B., and TREAT, E. B.--“Outlines for Review in History for
American, English, Greek, Roman History.” New York, American Book Co.
Each 25 cents.
NEW YORK, CITY OF--“Course of Study and Syllabuses In Ethics, English
History and Civics for the Elementary Schools of the City of New York.”
Department of Education, New York City.
NEW YORK, REGENTS OF THE STATE OF--“History Syllabus” (outline similar
to that of the New England History Teachers’ Association, with the
exception of English History).
RILEY, FRANKLIN L.--“Methods of Teaching History in Public Schools.”
University of Mississippi. Published by the author. 25 cents.
TRENHOLME, N. M.--“Syllabus for the History of Western Europe (Medieval
and Modern).” Boston, Ginn & Co. 60 cents.
WILSON.--“Compendium of United States and Contemporary History.” Boston,
D. C. Heath & Co. 40 cents.
An Historical Laboratory[1]
BY PROFESSOR WILLIAM MacDONALD, BROWN UNIVERSITY.
It would seem to be a truism that the facilities which are to be
regarded as indispensable to the proper study of a subject, and which
ought, therefore, to be provided as a matter of course, should, like
the methods of teaching, be determined by the nature of the subject,
or, in other words, by the kind of material with which it has to deal;
but the disparity in the equipment of the various departments of study
and research commonly to be observed in even the best and richest
American colleges and universities seems to indicate that, so far at
least as the so-called “humanities” are concerned, little provision of
appliances, save modest shelter from the weather and seats enough for
the class, is generally thought absolutely necessary.
No one who knows at close range the “plant” of a typical American
university will be at a loss for striking and even painful
illustrations of the unequal distribution of material equipment.
Broadly speaking, the departments of physical and natural science and
engineering do not seriously lack the primary facilities which the
nature of their work demands. Upon these departments, in the last
twenty years, the wealth of the State and of individuals has been
poured out like water, while more than one institution, spurred by a
demand for “practicality” and “efficiency,” has gone to the length of
drawing upon its capital to supply what was wanting. Our institutions
of learning abound in well-contrived laboratory buildings for physics,
chemistry, biology, and engineering, containing not only lecture rooms
for the various instructors and laboratories for students elementary
and advanced, but also private laboratories and offices for the
professors, exhibition and photographic rooms, libraries, lockers,
and other special apartments. The rooms themselves are commonly well
supplied with apparatus and material, distributed and apportioned
according to the number of students and investigators, and increased
by regular appropriation, and as a matter of course, as the number
of users grows. There is usually a special janitor or caretaker
for the building, and often one or more skilled persons regularly
employed in making or repairing apparatus, preparing or caring for
specimens or stock, and the like. It has long been a matter of common
observation that the cost of maintaining the scientific departments
of a university, or even of a small college, is out of all proportion
to the cost of the other departments of instruction, that it is met
by governing boards with comparative readiness, and that it is often
afforded, it must bluntly be said, at the cost of deplorable and
systematic niggardliness in other directions. Other things being
equal, no scientist to-day would consider for a moment a call to an
institution which could not afford him all of these things, nor would
the scientific world reckon the instruction of an institution not so
equipped as worth while.
When, however, we turn to those other departments of study still
graciously referred to as the “humanities,” departments which older
graduates and commencement orators still tell us embrace the subjects
of the deepest human interest, the disparity in material equipment is
commonly so great as to be almost ludicrous. Who, of the thousands that
yearly are driven or besought to drink deep at the wells of literature,
or history, or philosophy, in our American colleges or universities,
can fail to recall the desolate class-rooms, their bare and dingy
walls, relieved at the most by a few old maps, or a faded photograph
or two in heavy wooden frames, the floors swept once a week and washed
once a term, the hand-carved chairs and benches, the chalk-dusted
platform and desk, and the foul air, which, in the majority of such
institutions, enshrine the daily life of academic culture? Where the
teacher of science is freely accorded a lecture room for his department
alone, the teacher of language, history, or economics must, as a rule,
share his quarters, poor as they are, with those of his colleagues
whose principal apparatus is books, and must vacate his room promptly
to make way for another class at the next hour. Many a high school
does better for its teachers than this; indeed, the best of our modern
high schools, bearing in mind the grade of their work, offer almost
infinitely superior facilities for work in these departments than does
the average college or university.
Widespread and depressing as this condition is, in general, in all of
the departments named, the particular illustration which I wish to use
at this time is that afforded by history and the related subjects of
political and social science and political economy. Applying the test
that the equipment of a department should be determined by the nature
of the material with which the department deals, it is obvious that
we have here a subject in which printed matter of a variety of forms,
manuscripts, maps and charts, pictures and casts, and actual historical
objects or reproductions, form the material basis for the student’s
work. Where the chemist uses books and apparatus, the historical
student uses books and other material as apparatus. For the modern
study of history, even of the elementary sort, one must be enabled
to examine not only single books, such as may be got from a library
and perused at leisure in one’s home, but also extended sets and
collections of books and papers, and this under conditions which will
admit of comparison and note-taking and the use of the volumes in the
actual work of the class-room. For the preparation of maps and charts,
facilities in the way of tables and instruments are required entirely
beyond what the student can fairly be expected to have in his own room;
while especially is there need of abundant space for the permanent
display of wall-maps, charts, pictures, and illustrative material,
like coins, casts, and models, if the active use of such aids is to be
secured.
Acquaintance with a considerable number of colleges and universities,
large and small, in this country fails to disclose any appreciable
number in which the material equipment of the historical department
has passed much beyond the stage of crude beginnings. With exceptions
so few as almost to be counted on the fingers, the most generous
provision, always excepting the general library of the institution,
goes no further than the use, prevailingly in conjunction with other
unrelated departments, of one or more lecture-rooms; a “seminary room,”
furnished with a table and some chairs, and housing such odds and
ends of books as the industry of the instructors or the intermittent
generosity of friends has got together, reënforced by loans from the
main library; and possibly an office frequently shared by all the
members of the department, where students may come for consultation.
If, as seems rarely to be the case, the department has any adequate
supply of maps, they have often to be kept in some out-of-the-way
place, and carried about from room to room as needed; and almost
never are there tables and instruments for the drawing of maps and
charts. Meagre as is such equipment, some of our leading institutions
do not have even this. If it be true, as it seems to be, that student
interest, particularly among men, in literature, history, and
philosophy, has declined markedly in recent years, may not something
of the cause be found, not in the inherently greater attractiveness of
mixing chemicals or dissecting cats and birds, but in the utter poverty
and bareness of the quarters in which students of the humanities are
commonly asked to do their work? If professors of history have fallen
too much into the habit of lecturing, instead of teaching, may it not
be due in part to the failure of the university to give even the ablest
of them facilities for doing anything else?
I venture to suggest the following as the minimum equipment of an
historical department in a university or large college. First, two or
more suitable lecture-rooms, with ample blackboard space, map racks
or cases, book shelves, and a lantern and screen. The rooms should
be contiguous to the other rooms of the department and reserved
exclusively for its uses. It is time that there were opportunity for
a professor to put up a map without having to take it down again at
the end of the hour. Second, a combined seminary room and library,
available for study when not in use as a class-room; equipped, like
the lecture-room, with adequate blackboard and map space, and housing
a permanent library of duplicates reënforced by such temporary loans
from the main library as are from time to time needed. Included in
the furnishings of the room should be a sufficient number of small
tables to accommodate each individual student, and file cases for
photographs, cards, newspaper clippings, and temporary notes. For the
supervision of this room, there should be provided a special attendant,
preferably a trained library assistant, responsible to the librarian
of the university as well as to the head of the department. Third, a
room for map drawing and chart-making, with tables and instruments for
draughting. Fourth, a typewriting room, supplied with machines for the
use of instructors and students. Fifth, private offices or studies for
the instructors.
Elaborate as such a provision of apartments may well seem to the
teacher who to-day, like the wandering scholar of the Middle Ages,
lectures wherever he can find a vacant room, it nevertheless is smaller
than that generally allowed to the chemist or physicist. Of all the
evils which present-day criticism of the college has brought to light,
none is more serious than the evil of waste. The history teacher who,
under the conditions common to most American institutions of higher
learning, should teach his subject as he would like to teach it and
as he knows it ought to be taught, would spend in useless mechanical
drudgery more hours than he spent in lecturing. Most institutions
with endowment enough to entitle them to a place on the “Carnegie
list” have ceased to expect this waste from professors of science,
and there is no reason why the time of the professor of history,
political science, or political economy should not be regarded as
equally valuable. If under the influence of a general demand for at
least the minimum of what is due, the governing authorities of all
our universities could even be brought to realize that a ground plan
of the city of Rome and a Rand-McNally map of North America are not a
sufficient equipment for the teaching of modern history and diplomacy,
one might face the future with a new hope.
Of the many advantages to the teaching and study of history which might
be expected to accrue from the general provision of such facilities as
have here been indicated--economy of physical effort, more accurate
study of texts, improved note-taking and care of material, wider use
of books and illustrative helps, general compulsory map-drawing, and
many others--one in particular deserves more than passing mention. I
refer to the change which would thereby be furthered in the prevailing
conception of the nature and function of the university library.
With only the exceptions that prove the rule, our libraries are
supported and administered on the assumption that one copy of a book
is sufficient for the needs of the whole institution, and that every
one who has occasion to use the book must seek it at the main or
central repository. It would seem to be obvious, however, that wherever
books form the fundamental material for study, and, from the nature
of the case, cheap reprints of selected texts or a few duplicates of
inexpensive volumes will not suffice, the library has need of as many
copies of a book as there are departments to use it; and that if,
with but a single copy available, resort must be had by every one to
the central library, the conflicting and often irreconcilable demands
of different departments present one of the most serious barriers to
the development of proper methods of instruction in non-laboratory
subjects. No modern department of biology is asked to get along with
one microscope, and that, perhaps, of ancient pattern and in bad order.
Scientific apparatus in all lines is freely duplicated as a matter
of course, the adequacy of the supply being not seldom used as an
advertising argument to attract students; though, as a matter of fact,
there is but little greater need for duplicate apparatus than there is
for duplicate books. Practical considerations, of course, will preclude
extensive duplication of large or costly sets, but a multiplication of
copies far beyond what is now usual, and their distribution among the
various departments having constant need of them, are necessities to be
met if waste is to be stopped.
I hope that I do not make the mistake of supposing that, given such
historical laboratories as have here been briefly described, the
universities would forthwith produce historians. I make no plea for
the application of the specific methods of any science to the study
of history. But the student of history, like the scientist, has to
collect and classify his material, examine and criticise his sources,
compare and weigh his authorities, and study his _locale_. What a
proper equipment can give him is, not the intellectual power and
insight of the great historical writer, but the opportunity to do
a student’s indispensable work under the best conditions and with
effective guidance, instead of doing it, as is too often the case
to-day, under conditions of great disadvantage. That provision of such
equipment would also stir the teacher to a more telling presentation
of a subject to his class, and enable him to vitalize and dignify a
department which, in this country especially, is too often thought of
as but little related to current human interests, is not the least of
its advantages.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] This interesting article appeared in _The Nation_ (N. Y.) of
October 7, 1909, and is here reprinted with the permission of Prof.
MacDonald and of _The Nation_.
The Organization of the Recitation
BY NORMAN MACLAREN TRENHOLME, PROFESSOR OF THE TEACHING OF HISTORY,
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI.
The Importance of the Recitation.
The most vital thing in history teaching is the recitation, for no
matter how well the teacher has been prepared in the subject matter or
how admirably the field of study has been mapped out, poor work in the
class room will mean general failure. The reason for this is not hard
to discover; the recitation is that part of the work of the teacher in
which closest relations are established with the minds of the pupils,
and it is above all things important that teachers should realize
this and make the most of their opportunities to guide and direct the
pupils’ thought and study. Too often the recitation is made a mere
repetition of facts in the text-book, poorly organized and presented in
an uninteresting and unconvincing way. History that is taught without
understanding and enthusiasm and without proper organization of the
subject matter had better not have been taught at all, as it results in
dislike and contempt for the subject as being nought but a catalogue
of meaningless names, dates and events. Yet how few history teachers
seem to realize their opportunity to make history mean more than this.
How frequently one sees even well-meaning teachers plodding along
in the same old rut, painfully extracting unrelated facts from boys
and girls, emphasizing the external events and neglecting what lies
beneath, asking direct questions and getting “yes” and “no” answers,
and being generally satisfied that they are good history teachers
and fulfilling their mission in life. The recitation conducted by
such a teacher usually will begin abruptly with some question on the
assignment for that day and will probably end abruptly by the gong
sounding its warning and a hurried assignment for next day being made
as the class prepares to leave. All the important qualities of a good
recitation, relation to the previous day’s lesson, careful study by
teacher and class of the new lesson, and a well-considered assignment
of work for the next day are in whole or part absent. It is not as if
it were difficult to make the recitation a success, or meant more work
for the teacher, for, on the contrary a well-organized recitation is
easier to handle than one conducted without organization, and the work
of the teacher is made pleasanter through the interest of the pupils in
the work. History when properly taught is bound to hold the interest
and attention of the average boy or girl. If it does not do so, then
the presumption is that it is not being properly taught and that the
teacher needs to bring more understanding and method into the work.
The General Organization of the Recitation.
The fundamental idea in the organization and conduct of the history
recitation should be that of building a little more on foundations
already laid, of adding new knowledge and ideas of historical
importance to those already a part of the pupils’ background, and of
preparing the minds of the pupils for further additions in the near
future. The most discouraging thing that a history teacher has to
face is the seemingly evanescent character of the pupils’ background.
It slips away and there is nothing to build on or add to, and so the
relation of events to each other and the growth of important movements
are not understood or appreciated. This discouraging aspect of history
teaching can only be remedied by careful attention to the background
of the day’s lesson, and therefore the first ten or fifteen minutes
of the period should be devoted to a general discussion or recitation
on the lesson or lessons previously studied that are most closely
connected with the new lesson of the day. Then should follow a careful
study of the new lesson itself, occupying the main part of the period.
Towards the close, however, five or ten minutes should be allowed for
the assignment of the work for the next meeting of the class. Thus
the general organization of the recitation will consist of: (a) The
recitation or review on the previous lesson or lessons; (b) the study
of the new lesson; and (c) the assignment for next day’s work.
(a) The Recitation on the Previous Lesson.
In the main, this should be done by the pupils rather than by the
teacher, as a more lasting impression is made on their minds by leading
them to recall and associate past events and movements with what they
are then studying. The points in the previous work that should be
especially emphasized are those of general importance and significance
in historical development rather than the minor details and incidents.
The recitation can thus be made to serve as a summary of previous ones,
and particularly of the one just before. The teacher must be careful
not to give too much of the period to such a review, however, unless
a special general review has been planned for. There is always the
temptation to prolong the review beyond proper limits. It should be
rigidly confined to subject matter that has importance as a background
for the new lesson of the day. If the previous lesson does not stand
in close connection with the new lesson little or no time should be
spent in reviewing it, but attention should be given to other more
closely-related events that have been studied. The utility of this
part of the recitation in giving background for the new lesson is
easily seen. If the lesson is a part of a series of recitations on the
same general topic, then one introductory review will serve for the
series, and each separate lesson can be reviewed in connection with
the succeeding one. A broad and comprehensive attitude in reviewing is
always desirable, and no opportunity to establish ideas of continuity
with past and future should be neglected by the teacher.
(b) The Study of the New Lesson.
If the opening part of the recitation has been properly done, the
transition to the new lesson will be an easy and natural one, and the
connection with the past will be well established. The teacher now has
the opportunity to test the pupils’ understanding of the new topic
and to draw them out in discussion concerning the information in the
text-book, source book, and collateral reading assigned for the day.
The teacher’s questions should be carefully thought out, and should
call for answers in which the information is given in connection with
its historical importance and significance rather than as mere facts
that have been memorized for recitation. All direct questions, calling
for a “yes” or “no” answer should be avoided, for with such a question
before him the student has an equal chance to be right as well as to
be wrong. Almost equally bad are questions that call merely for a name
or a date. Instead of asking: “Was Rome able to defend herself from
the Visigoths?” time will be saved by asking: “Why did Rome find it
difficult to meet the Visigothic attack,” and, instead of asking “Who
was the leader of the Visigoths?”--a fact which every pupil should
know--a better question would be: “What caused the Visigoths to invade
Italy?” While it is important that the teacher’s questions should be
clear, yet it is not a bad thing pedagogically to ask a question that
requires some thought on the part of the pupil before it is answered.
Pupils frequently say: “I don’t understand your question,” and
sometimes this answer is justified, more frequently, however, it is the
pupil’s own inattention, and the majority of the class will understand
the question and be able to answer it correctly. The harder questions
a teacher asks in the way of calling for thoughtful interpretation the
better training students are getting.
In the matter of the relative contribution of teacher and class to
the discussion, it may be said that a teacher who talks too little is
as bad as a teacher who talks too much. As a general rule the college
graduate teaching history who is well informed in his subject matter
tends to talk too much in the class room, and his study of the new
lesson is more of a lecture than a recitation. As an observer of
such a teacher remarked, “The young man made a very good recitation
himself, while the class listened.” On the other hand, the teacher who
has less background of historical knowledge is inclined to make the
class do all the work while he or she acts as inquisitor and perpetual
question mark. Nothing is contributed in the way of information or
interpretation save what the pupils have acquired from the text-book,
and the result is an unscholarly and rather barren drill. The true
history teacher will mingle knowledge with method, and will add to
and amplify the subject matter by taking part sympathetically in the
recitation, without, however, monopolizing the discussion. In calling
on members of the class to take part in the discussion, attention
should be given to those who need it most, rather than to the bright
and well-informed pupils. The dull or inattentive pupil, who is
whispering to his neighbor or not paying proper attention, needs more
real teaching than the bright boy or girl. The interest of all members
of the class should be aroused, and voluntary questions, discussions
and debates encouraged rather than discouraged. If the pupils are
inattentive and uninterested, it is certainly a criticism of the
teacher and of his or her power of exposition and interrogation.
Much of the success of the recitation on the new lesson will depend on
the way the subject matter is handled. Some leading idea or problem
should form the center of the discussion, which should take the form
of saving or explaining the question in an historically true manner by
bringing out the main points of development. In the course of such a
discussion the application of the topic to present conditions and its
relation to the past should be kept in mind and questions asked from
both viewpoints. This applies particularly to topics in medieval and
modern, English and American history fields which are, on the whole,
more closely connected with modern civilization than the field of
ancient history can possibly be. If the problem studied is practically
completed in the lesson for the day, and a new topic to be taken up
next time, then a summary should be made at the end of this part of
the recitation. If, however, the same line of historical development
is to be studied next day, such a summary will form part of the
next recitation. Thus the question of a summary at the close of the
recitation on the new lesson depends on the nature of the next lesson
to be studied.
(c) The Assignment of the Next Day’s Work.
The assignment of the work of the class for its next meeting should
be very carefully and systematically attended to by the teacher. This
assignment is best made at the close of the period because it concerns
the review of the lesson just studied, as well as the new lesson. It
should be taken down in note books by the pupils so that they will
know definitely what is expected of them when they next meet. As far as
practicable the teacher should put the assignment for the preliminary
recitation on the previous lesson or lessons in the form of problem
questions calling for causes and results that explain historical
phenomena. Problem questions can also be given in connection with the
assignment on the new lesson, though here a topical assignment is not
so much out of place if the topic is well selected so as to suggest
the main problem. Questions of detail in an assignment are out of
place, and, of course, an assignment of so many pages, irrespective
of problems or topics, is absurd. If collateral reading is assigned
in source books or secondary works, it should be done understandingly
and carefully, and only in such amounts as can be effectively used by
the teacher and class to supplement the text-book. A question on the
collateral reading will also be desirable.
In following out such a plan of organizing the recitation as has been
just described, the teacher should, for some time at least, plan out
the recitation period and its various phases in advance.
Local Industries As a Basis for an Introductory Course in Economics
BY ALEXANDER L. PUGH, CHAIRMAN DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, HIGH SCHOOL
OF COMMERCE, NEW YORK CITY.
One of the things that makes the course of study of the High School
of Commerce unique is the emphasis laid upon the preparation of the
boy for the economic and civic environment in which he will live.
Two courses are given solely with this end in view. The first is the
course in city industries which has as its object the realization of
the economic environment; and the other is the course in municipal
activities, which in a similar way prepares the boy for his civic
environment. These are both two-hour courses given for one term or
one-half year. Like most New York City high schools, Commerce has
about one-half of its boys in the first year, so these courses are
given then, when both will be taken by nearly every boy. The course in
industries is given first, as it deals more with the boys’ immediate
surroundings than does the other.
Shortly after the school was organized, Dr. John L. Tildsley, at
that time chairman of the Economics Department, now the principal of
the De Witt Clinton High School, proposed to the principal, James J.
Sheppard, that a course of one hour a week be given to all boys in the
first year on local commercial geography and government. He contended
that there was much that was complex in the surroundings of the boy in
the greatest commercial city in America, yet the schools were doing
very little to make this understandable. The work would have also an
immediate value to the boys who would leave to take the minor positions
of the business world before completing the course. Mr. Sheppard
recognized the value of the course, and it was put into effect at once.
The importance of the work demanded more time, and when history was
taken out of the first year, two hours a week were allotted in the
first term to industries, and two hours in the second term to city
government.