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diff --git a/29604-8.txt b/29604-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ce59287 --- /dev/null +++ b/29604-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,23353 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of College Teaching, by Paul Klapper + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: College Teaching + Studies in Methods of Teaching in the College + +Author: Paul Klapper + +Release Date: August 4, 2009 [EBook #29604] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLLEGE TEACHING *** + + + + +Produced by Bryan Ness, Stephanie Eason and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + + COLLEGE TEACHING + + STUDIES IN + METHODS OF TEACHING IN + THE COLLEGE + + Edited by + + PAUL KLAPPER, Ph.D. + + Associate Professor of Education + The College of the City of New York + + with an + Introduction by + NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, LL.D. + + President of Columbia University + + Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York + WORLD BOOK COMPANY + 1920 + + + + + WORLD BOOK COMPANY + THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE + Established, 1905, by Caspar W. Hodgson + + YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK + 2126, PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO + +A treasure of wisdom is stored in the colleges of the land. The +teachers are the custodians of knowledge that makes life free and +progressive. This book aims to make the college teacher effective in +handing down this heritage of knowledge, rich and vital, that will +develop in youth the power of right thinking and the courage of right +living. Thus _College Teaching_ carries out the ideal of service as +expressed in the motto of the World Book Company, "Books that Apply +the World's Knowledge to the World's Needs". + + + Copyright, 1920, by World Book Company + Copyright in Great Britain + _All rights reserved_ + + + + +PREFACE + + +The student of general problems of education or of elementary +education finds an extensive literature of varying worth. In the last +decade our secondary schools have undergone radical reorganization and +have assumed new functions. A rich literature on every phase of the +high school is rapidly developing to keep pace with the needs and the +progress of secondary education. The literature on college education +in general and college pedagogy in particular is surprisingly +undeveloped. This dearth is not caused by the absence of problem, for +indeed there is room for much improvement in the organization, the +administration, and the pedagogy of the college. Investigators of +these problems have been considerably discouraged by the facts they +have gathered. This volume is conceived in the hope of stimulating an +interest in the quality of college teaching and initiating a +scientific study of college pedagogy. The field is almost virgin, and +the need for constructive programs is acute. We therefore ask for our +effort the indulgence that is usually accorded a pioneer. + +In this age of specialization of study it is evident that no college +teacher, however wide his experience and extensive his education, can +speak with authority on the teaching of all the subjects in the +college curriculum, or even of all the major ones. For this reason +this volume is the product of a coöperating authorship. The editor +devotes himself to the study of general methods of teaching that apply +to almost all subjects and to most teaching situations. In addition, +he coördinates the work of the other contributors. He realizes that +there exists among college professors an active hostility to the study +of pedagogy. The professors feel that one who knows his subject can +teach it. The contributors have been purposely selected in order to +dispel this hostility. They are, one and all, men of undisputed +scholarship who have realized the need of a mode of presentation that +will make their knowledge alive. + +Books of multiple authorship often possess too wide a diversity of +viewpoints. The reader comes away with no underlying thought and no +controlling principles. To overcome this defect, so common in books of +this type, a tentative outline was formulated, setting forth a +desirable mode of treating, in the confines of one chapter, the +teaching of any subject in the college curriculum. This outline was +submitted to all contributors for critical analysis and constructive +criticism. The original plan was later modified in accordance with the +suggestions of the contributors. This final outline, which follows, +was then sent to the contributors with the full understanding that +each writer was free to make such modifications as his specialty +demanded and his judgment dictated. This outline is followed in most +of the chapters and gives the book that unifying element necessary in +any book and vital in a work of so large a coöperating authorship. + +The editor begs to acknowledge his indebtedness to the many +contributors who have given generously of their time and their labor +with no hope of compensation beyond the ultimate appreciation of those +college teachers who are eager to learn from the experience of others +so that they may the better serve their students. + + + TENTATIVE OUTLINE FOR THE TEACHING OF ---- IN THE COLLEGE + + I. Aim of Subject _X_ in the College Curriculum: + + Is it taught for disciplinary values? What are they? + + Is it taught for cultural reasons? + + Is it taught to give necessary information? + + Is it taught to prepare for professional studies? + + Is the aim single or eclectic? Do the aims vary for different + groups of students? Does this apply to all the courses in your + specialty? How does the aim govern the methods of teaching? + + + II. Place of the Subject in the College Curriculum: + + In what year or years should it be taught? + + What part of the college course--in terms of time or + credits--should be allotted to it? + + What is the practice in other colleges? + + What course or courses in this subject should be part of the + general curriculum or be prescribed for students in art, in + science, in modern languages, or in the preprofessional or + professional groups? + + + III. Organization of the Subject in the College Course: + + Desired sequence of courses in this subject. + + What is the basis of this sequence? Gradation of successive + difficulties or logical sequence of facts? + + Should these courses be elective or prescribed? All prescribed? + For all groups of students? + + In what years should the elective work be offered? + + + IV. Discussion of Methods of Teaching this Subject: + + Place and relative worth of lecture method, laboratory work, + recitations, research, case method, field work, assignment from a + single text or reference reading, etc. + + Discussion of such problems as the following: + + Shall the first course in chemistry be a general and extensive + course summing up the scope of chemistry, its function in organic + and inorganic nature, with no laboratory work other than the + experimentation by the instructor? + + Should students in the social sciences study the subject + deductively from a book or should the book be postponed and the + instructor present a series of problems from the social life of + the student so that the analysis of these may lead the student to + formulate many of the generalizations that are given early in a + textbook course? + + Should college mathematics be presented as a series of subjects, + e.g., algebra (advanced), solid geometry, trigonometry, + analytical geometry, calculus, etc.? Would it be better to + present the subject as a single and unified whole in two or three + semesters? + + Should a student study his mathematics as it is developed in his + book,--viz., as an intellectual product of a matured mind + familiar with the subject,--or should the subject grow gradually + in a more or less unorganized form from a series of mechanical, + engineering, building, nautical, surveying, and structural + problems that can be found in the life and environment of the + student? + + + V. Moot Questions in the Teaching of this Subject. + + VI. How judge whether the subject has been of worth to the student? + + How test whether the aims of this subject have been realized? + + How test how much the student has carried away? What means, + methods, and indices exist aside from the traditional + examination? + + + VII. Bibliography on the Pedagogy of this Subject as Far as It Applies + to College Teaching. The aim of the bibliography + should be to give worth-while contributions that present + elaborations of what is here presented or points of view and + modes of procedure that differ from those here set forth. + + PAUL KLAPPER + _The College of the City of New York_ + + + + +CONTENTS + PAGE + +INTRODUCTION xiii + +By NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, Ph.D., LL.D. President of Columbia +University. Author of _The Meaning of Education_, _True and False +Democracy_, etc. Editor of _Educational Review_ + + +PART ONE--THE INTRODUCTORY STUDIES + +CHAPTER + +I HISTORY AND PRESENT TENDENCIES OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE 3 + By STEPHEN PIERCE DUGGAN, Ph.D. Professor of Education, The + College of the City of New York. Author of _A Student's + History of Education_ + +II PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR COLLEGE TEACHING 31 + By SIDNEY E. MEZES, Ph.D., LL.D. President of The College of + the City of New York. Formerly President of University of + Texas. Author of _Ethics, Descriptive and Explanatory_ + +III GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE TEACHING 43 + By PAUL KLAPPER, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Education, The + College of the City of New York. Author of _Principles of + Educational Practice_, _The Teaching of English_, etc. + + +PART TWO--THE SCIENCES + +IV THE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY 85 + By T. W. GALLOWAY, Ph.D., Litt.D. Professor of Zoölogy, + Beloit College. Author of _Textbook of Zoölogy_, _Biology of + Sex for Parents and Teachers_, _Use of Motives in Moral + Education_, etc. + +V THE TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY 110 + By LOUIS KAHLENBERG, PH.D. Director of the Course in + Chemistry and Professor of Chemistry, University of + Wisconsin. Author of _Outlines of Chemistry_, _Laboratory + Exercises in Chemistry_, _Chemistry Analysis_, _Chemistry + and Its Relation to Daily Life_, etc. + +VI THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS 126 + By HARVEY B. LEMON, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Physics, + University of Chicago + +VII THE TEACHING OF GEOLOGY 142 + By T. C. CHAMBERLIN, Ph.D., LL.D., Sc.D. Professor and Head + of Department of Geology and Director of Walker Museum, + University of Chicago. Author of _Geology of Wisconsin_, + _The Origin of the Earth_. Editor of _The Journal of Geology_ + +VIII THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS 161 + By G. A. MILLER, Ph.D. Professor of Mathematics, University + of Illinois. Author of _Determinants_, _Mathematical + Monographs_ (co-author), _Theory and Applications of Groups + of Finite Order_ (co-author), _Historical Introduction to the + Mathematical Literature_, etc. Co-editor of _American Year + Book_ and _Encyclopédie des Sciences Mathématiques_ + +IX PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE COLLEGE 183 + By THOMAS A. STOREY, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Hygiene, The + College of the City of New York. State Inspector of Physical + Training, New York. Secretary-General, Fourth International + Congress of School Hygiene, Buffalo, 1913. Executive-Secretary, + United States Interdepartmental Social Hygiene Board. Author + of various contributions to standard works on physiology, + hygiene, and physical training + + +PART THREE--THE SOCIAL SCIENCES + +X THE TEACHING OF ECONOMICS 217 + By FRANK A. FETTER, Ph.D., LL.D. Professor of Political + Economy, Princeton University. Author of _Economic + Principles and Modern Economic Problems_ + +XI THE TEACHING OF SOCIOLOGY 241 + By ARTHUR J. TODD, Ph.D. Professor of Sociology and Director + of the Training Course for Social and Civic Work, University + of Minnesota. Author of _The Primitive Family as an + Educational Factor_, _Theories of Social Progress_ + +XII THE TEACHING OF HISTORY + A. American History 256 + By HENRY W. ELSON, A.M., Litt.D. President of Thiel College. + Formerly Professor of History, Ohio University. Author of + _History of the United States_, _The Story of the Old World_ + (with Cornelia E. MacMullan), etc. + + B. Modern European History 263 + By EDWARD KREHBIEL, Ph.D. Professor of Modern European + History, Leland Stanford University. Author of _The + Interdict_, _Nationalism_, _War and Society_ + +XIII THE TEACHING OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 279 + By CHARLES GROVE HAINES, Ph.D. Professor of Government, + University of Texas. Author of _Conflict over Judicial + Powers in the United States prior to 1870_, _The American + Doctrine of Judicial Supremacy_, _The Teaching of + Government_ (Report of Committee on Instruction, Political + Science Association) + +XIV THE TEACHING OF PHILOSOPHY 302 + By FRANK THILLY, Ph.D., LL.D. Professor of Philosophy, Dean + of the College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University. + Author of _Introduction to Ethics_, _History of Philosophy_ + +XV THE TEACHING OF ETHICS 320 + By HENRY NEUMANN, Ph.D. Leader of the Brooklyn Society for + Ethical Culture. Formerly of the Department of Education, + The College of the City of New York, Author of _Moral Values + in Secondary Education_ + +XVI THE TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY 334 + By ROBERT S. WOODWORTH, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, + Columbia University. Author of _Dynamic Psychology_, _Le + Mouvement_, _Care of the Body_, _Elements of Physiological + Psychology_ (with George Trumbull Ladd) + +XVII THE TEACHING OF EDUCATION + A. Teaching the History of Education 347 + By HERMAN H. HORNE, Ph.D. (Harvard). Professor of the + History of Education and the History of Philosophy, New + York University. Author of _The Philosophy of Education_, + _The Psychological Principles of Education_, _Free Will and + Human Responsibility_, etc. + + B. Teaching Educational Theory 359 + By FREDERICK E. BOLTON, Ph.D. Dean of the College of + Education, University of Washington. Author of _Principles + of Education_, _The Secondary School System of Germany_ + + +PART FOUR--THE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES + +XVIII THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 379 + By CALEB T. WINCHESTER, L.H.D. Professor of English + Literature, Wesleyan University. Author of _Some Principles + of Literary Criticism_, _A Group of English Essayists_, + _William Wordsworth: How to Know Him_, etc. + +XIX THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH COMPOSITION 389 + By HENRY SEIDEL CANBY, Ph.D. Adviser in Literary Composition, + Yale University. Author of _The Short Story in English_, + _College Sons and College Fathers_, etc. + +XX THE TEACHING OF THE CLASSICS 404 + By WILLIAM K. PRENTICE, Ph.D. Professor of Greek, Princeton + University, Author of _Greek and Latin inscriptions in Syria_ + +XXI THE TEACHING OF THE ROMANCE LANGUAGES 424 + By WILLIAM A. NITZE, Ph.D. Professor and Head of Department + of Romance Languages, University of Chicago. Author of _The + Grail Romance_, _Glastonbury and the Holy Grail_, _Handbook + of French Phonetics_, etc. Contributor to _New International + Encyclopedia_ + +XXII THE TEACHING OF GERMAN 440 + By E. PROKOSCH, Ph.D. Late Professor of Germanic Languages, + University of Texas. Author of _Teaching of German in + Secondary Schools_, _Phonetic Lessons in German_, _Sounds + and History of the German Language_, etc. + + +PART FIVE--THE ARTS + +XXIII THE TEACHING OF MUSIC 457 + By EDWARD DICKINISON, Litt.D. Professor of History and + Criticism of Music, Oberlin College. Author of _Music in the + History of the Western Church_, _The Study of the History of + Music_, _The Education of a Music Lover_, _Music and the + Higher Education_ + +XXIV THE TEACHING OF ART 475 + By HOLMES SMITH, A.M. Professor of Drawing and the History + of Art, Washington University. Author of various articles + in magazines on art topics + + +PART SIX--VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS + +XXV THE TEACHING OF ENGINEERING SUBJECTS 501 + By IRA O. BAKER, C.E., D. Eng'g. Professor of Civil + Engineering, University of Illinois. Author of _Treatise on + Masonry Construction_, _Treatise on Roads and Pavements_ + +XXVI THE TEACHING OF MECHANICAL DRAWING 525 + By JAMES D. PHILLIPS, B.S. Assistant Dean and Professor of + Drawing, College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin, + Author of _Elements of Descriptive Geometry_ (with A. V. + Millar), _Mechanical Drawing for Secondary Schools_ (with + F. O. Crawshaw), _Mechanical Drawing for Colleges and + Universities_ (with H. D. Orth) and HERBERT D. ORTH, B.S. + Assistant Professor of Mechanical Drawing and Descriptive + Geometry, University of Wisconsin. Author of _Mechanical + Drawing for Colleges and Universities_ (with J. D. Phillips) + +XXVII THE TEACHING OF JOURNALISM 533 + By TALCOTT WILLIAMS, A.M. LL.D., Litt.D. Director, School of + Journalism, Columbia University + +XXVIII BUSINESS EDUCATION 555 + By FREDERICK B. ROBINSON, Ph.D. Professor of Economics and + Dean of the School of Business and Civic Administration, + College of the City of New York + + +INDEX 577 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +It is characteristic of the American people to have profound faith in +the power of education. Since Colonial days the American college has +played a large part in American life and has trained an overwhelming +proportion of the leaders of American opinion. There was a time when +the American college was a relatively simple institution of a uniform +type, but that time has passed. The term "college" is now used in a +variety of significations, a number of which are very new and very +modern indeed. Some of these uses of the term are quite indefensible, +as when one speaks of a college of engineering, or of law, or of +medicine, or of journalism, or of architecture. Such use of the word +merely confuses and makes impossible clear thinking as to educational +institutions and educational aims. + +The term "college" can be properly used only of an institution which +offers training in the liberal arts and sciences to youth who have +completed a standard secondary school course of study. The purpose of +college teaching is to lay the foundation for intelligent and +effective specialization later on, to open the mind to new +interpretations and new understandings both of man and of nature, and +to give instruction in those standards of judgment and appreciation, +the possession and application of which are the marks of the truly +educated and cultivated man. The size of a college is a matter of +small importance, except that under modern conditions a large college +and one in immediate contact with the life of a university is almost +certain to command larger intellectual resources than is an +institution of a different type. The important thing about a college +is its spirit, its clearness of aim, its steadiness of purpose, and +the opportunity which it affords for direct personal contact between +teacher and student. Given these, the question of size is unimportant. + +There was a time when it was felt, probably correctly, that a +satisfactory college training could be had by requiring all students +to follow a single prescribed course of study. At that time, college +students were drawn almost exclusively from families and homes of a +single type or kind. Their purposes in after-life were similar, and +their range of intellectual sympathy, while intense, was rather +narrow. The last fifty years have changed all this. College students +are now drawn from families and homes of every conceivable type and +kind. Their purposes in after-life are very different, while new +subjects of study have been multiplied many fold. The old and useful +tradition of Latin, Greek, and mathematics, together with a little +history and literature, as the chief elements in a college course of +study, had to give way when first the natural sciences, and then the +social sciences, claimed attention and when even these older subjects +of study were themselves subdivided into many parts. + +These changes forced a change in the old-fashioned program of college +study, and led to the various substitutes for it that now exist. +Whether a college prefers the elective system of study, or the group +system, or some other method of combining instruction that is regarded +as fundamental with other instruction that is regarded as less so, the +fact is that all these are simply different kinds of attempt to meet a +new condition which is the natural result of intellectual and economic +changes. Just now the college is in a state of transition. It is not +at all clear precisely what its status will be a generation hence, or +how far present tendencies may continue to increase, or how far they +may be counteracted by a swing of the pendulum in the opposite +direction. Therefore this is a time to describe rather than to +dogmatize, and it is description which is the characteristic mark of +the important series of papers which constitute the several chapters +in the present volume. + +A careful reading of these papers is commended not only to the great +army of college teachers and college students, but to that still +greater army of those who, whether as alumni or as parents or as +citizens, are deeply concerned with the preservation of the influence +and character of the American college for its effect upon our +national standards of thought and action. + +American colleges are of two distinct types, and it may be that the +future has in store a different position for each type. The true +distinction between colleges is according as they are separate or are +incorporated in a university system, and not at all as to whether they +are large or small. A separate college, such as Amherst or Beloit or +Grinnell or Pomona, has its own peculiar problems of support and +administration. The university college, on the other hand, such as +Columbia or Harvard or Chicago or the college of any state university, +has quite different problems of support and of administration. It is +not unlikely that the distinction between these two types of college +will become more sharply marked as years go by, and that eventually +they will appear to be two distinct institutions rather than two types +of one and the same institution. + +Meanwhile, we have to deal with the college as it is, in all its +varied forms, but characteristically American whatever its form. The +American college has little or no resemblance to the English Public +School or to the French Lycée or to the German Gymnasium. It is +something more than any one of these, and at the same time something +less. It differs from them all very much as the conditions of American +life differ from those of English or of French or of German life. The +college may or may not involve residence, but when it does involve +residence, it is at its best. It is then that the largest amount of +carefully ordered and stimulating influence can be brought to bear +upon the daily life of growing and expanding youth, and it is then and +only then, that youth can get the inestimable benefits which follow +from daily and hourly contact with others of like age, like tastes, +like habits, and like purposes. Indeed, it has often been said that +the college gives more through its opportunities which attach to +residence, than through its opportunities which attach to instruction. + +Almost every conceivable problem that can arise in college life and +college work, is discussed in the following pages. It is now coming +to be understood that the health of the college student is as much a +matter of concern as his instruction, and that a college is not doing +its full duty by those who seek its doors, when it merely provides +libraries, laboratories, and skillful teachers. It must also provide +for such conditions of residence, of food, of exercise, and of +frequent medical examination and inspection, as shall protect and +preserve the health of those who come to take advantage of its +instruction. + +There is one other point which should not be overlooked, and that is +the literally immense influence exerted in America by that solidarity +of college sentiment and college opinion which is kept alive by +organizations of former college students scattered throughout the +land. This, again, is a peculiarly American development, and it serves +to unite the college and public sentiment much more closely than any +formal tie could possibly do. Indeed, it illustrates how completely +the American people claim the college as their own. The man or woman +who has once been a college student never ceases to be a member of +that particular college or to labor to extend its influence and to +increase its usefulness. + +Every reader of this volume should approach it in a spirit of +sympathetic understanding of American higher education, and of the +college as the oldest instrument of that higher education and still +one of the chief elements in it. + + NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER + _Columbia University_ + + + + +PART ONE + +THE INTRODUCTORY STUDIES + + + CHAPTER + + I HISTORY AND PRESENT TENDENCIES OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE + _Stephen P. Duggan_ + + II PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR COLLEGE TEACHING + _Sidney E. Mezes_ + + III GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE TEACHING + _Paul Klapper_ + + + + +I + +HISTORY AND PRESENT TENDENCIES OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE + + +1. THE COLONIAL PERIOD + +=The predominance of the religious motive= + +The American colonies were founded chiefly by Englishmen who came to +America for a variety of reasons. Some of these were economic and +political, but the most important of their reasons was the desire to +practice their religious convictions with greater freedom than was +permitted at home. Apart from the state religion, however, all the +colonists were animated by a love for English institutions which they +transplanted to the New World, and among these institutions were the +grammar school and the college. Wherever the Reformation had been +chiefly a religious rather than a political and ecclesiastical +movement, the interest in education and the effect upon it were direct +and immediate. This was true where Calvinism prevailed, as in the +Netherlands, Scotland, and among the Puritans in England. Hence it is +natural to find that the first effective movements in America toward +the establishment of educational institutions, both elementary and +higher, should have taken place in New England. + +A large proportion of university graduates were included among the +settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They were chiefly graduates +of Cambridge, which had always been religiously more tolerant than +Oxford, and especially of Emmanuel College, which was the stronghold +of Puritanism at Cambridge. It was natural that these men, leaders in +the affairs of the colony, should want to establish a New Cambridge +University, but it is astonishing that they were able to do so as +early as 1636, only six years after the founding of this colony. Two +years later the college was named after John Harvard, a clergyman and +a graduate of Emmanuel, who upon his death bequeathed half his estate +and all his fine library of three hundred volumes to the college. The +religious motive predominated in the founding of Harvard, for though +the colonists longed "to advance learning and perpetuate it to +posterity," they were actuated chiefly by dread "to leave an +illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present Ministers shall +lie in the Dust." + +Harvard remained the sole instrument in the colonies for that purpose +for more than half a century. In 1693 the College of William and Mary +was founded in Virginia, with the most generous endowment of any +pre-Revolutionary college, generous because of the help received from +the mother country. It was the child of the Church of England, and its +president and its professors had to subscribe to the Thirty-nine +Articles. Subscription to a religious creed was also demanded of the +president and tutors of the third American college, founded in 1701. +This Collegiate Institute, as it was called, moved from place to place +for more than a decade, but finally it settled permanently in New +Haven in 1717. It afterward received the name of Yale College in honor +of Elihu Yale, who had given it generous assistance. + +As a result of the founding of these three institutions, the New +England and the Southern colonies had their need for ministers fairly +well supplied, but this was not yet true of the Middle colonies. +However, the Presbyterians had become particularly strong in the +Middle colonies, and their religious zeal resulted in the +establishment of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, +in 1746. + +A few years later Benjamin Franklin advanced for the college a new +_raison d'être_. In 1749 he published a pamphlet entitled "Proposals +Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania," in which he +advocated the establishment of an academy whose purpose was not the +training of ministers but the secular one of developing the practical +virtue necessary in the opening up of a new country. The Academy was +opened in 1751, and the charter, granted in 1755, designated the +institution as "The College, Academy, and Charitable School of +Philadelphia." Though the extremely modern organization and curriculum +suggested by Franklin were not realized, the institution, which was +afterward called "The University of Pennsylvania," offered the most +liberal curriculum of any college in the colonies up to the +Revolution. + +The human motive was uppermost also in the establishment of King's +College in 1754. The colonial assembly desired its establishment to +enhance the welfare and reputation of the colony, and the only +connection between the college and the Church of England lay in the +requirement that the president should be a communicant of that church +and that the morning and evening service of the college should be +performed out of the liturgy of that church. But the religious motive +again comes to the fore in the establishment of Brown University at +Providence, Rhode Island, in 1764, primarily to train ministers for +the Baptist churches; of Queens, afterwards named Rutgers, in 1766, to +provide ministers for the Dutch Reformed churches; and of Dartmouth, +in 1769, from which it was hoped at first that the evangelization of +the Indians would proceed. + +=Character of the colonial college= + +These colonial colleges in their histories bear a great resemblance to +one another. They were almost all born in poverty and led a desperate +financial existence for many years. In some cases survival was +possible only as the result of the untiring self-sacrifice of some +great personality like Eleazar Wheelock, the first president of +Dartmouth; in all cases, of the devotion of teachers and officers. +Their beginnings were all small; in some cases the president was the +only member of the instructing staff and taught all the subjects of +the curriculum. The students were few in number, the equipment was +simple, the buildings usually consisting of a house for the president, +in which he often heard recitations, a dormitory for the students, and +a college hall. Libraries, laboratories, and recreational facilities +were usually conspicuous by their absence. In fact, as the curriculum +consisted almost exclusively of philosophy, Greek, Latin, rhetoric, +and a little mathematics, there was no great need of much equipment. +The classics were taught by the intensive grammatical method; in +philosophy there was a great deal of dialectical disputation; +rhetoric was studied as an aid to oratory; mathematics included only +arithmetic and geometry. The aim of instruction was, not to give a +wide acquaintance with many fields of knowledge for cultural and +appreciative purposes, but rather to develop power through intensive +exercise upon a restricted curriculum. But the value of the materials +utilized to produce power which would function in oratory, debate, and +diplomacy is splendidly illustrated in the decades before the +Revolution. The contest between the colonies and the mother country +was essentially a rational contest in which questions of +constitutional law and, indeed, of the fundamental principles of civil +and political existence were debated. Splendidly did the leaders of +public opinion in the colonies, almost every one of whom was a +graduate of a colonial college, defend the cause of the colonists in +pamphlet and debate. And when debate was followed by war, twenty-five +per cent of the twenty-five hundred graduates of the colonial colleges +were found in the military service of their country. At the close of +the struggle for independence, it was again upon the shoulders of the +men who had gained vision and character in the colonial colleges that +the burden fell of organizing the mutually suspicious and antagonistic +colonies into one nation. Space will not permit even of the +enumeration of the great leaders who graduated from all the colonial +colleges, but an idea of the service rendered by those institutions to +the new nation may be obtained by mentioning the names of a few +statesmen who received their instruction in one of the least of them, +William and Mary. In its classrooms were taught Thomas Jefferson, +Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Randolph, James Monroe, and John Marshall. + + +2. THE NATIONAL ERA + +=French influence= + +French influence upon American political and intellectual life had +become quite pronounced as the result of the contact between the +leaders of the two peoples during and after the Revolution. That +influence was reflected in the colleges. Instruction in the French +language was offered in several of the colleges before the close of +the eighteenth century, and a chair of French was established at +Columbia as early as 1779 and at William and Mary in 1793. The +secularizing influence of the French united also with the +democratizing influence of the Revolution in diminishing the influence +of the church upon the colleges and emphasizing the influence of the +State and especially the relations between college and people. Of the +fourteen colleges founded between 1776 and 1800, the majority were +established upon a non-sectarian basis. These included institutions of +a private nature like Washington and Lee, Bowdoin, and Union, as well +as institutions closely related to the state governments like the +Universities of North Carolina and of Vermont. There can hardly be any +doubt that the French system of centralized administration in civil +affairs influenced the establishment of the University of the State of +New York. The University of the State of New York is not a local +institution, but a body of nine regents elected by the legislature to +control the administration of education throughout the State of New +York. Though organized by Alexander Hamilton, it was in all +probability much influenced by John Jay, who returned from France in +1784. But the most potent factor in the spread of French influence in +the early history of our country was Thomas Jefferson. While Jefferson +was American minister to France, he studied the French system of +education and embodied ideas taken from it in the organization of the +University of Virginia. This occupied much of his attention during the +last two decades of his life. The University was to be entirely +non-sectarian and had for its purpose (1) to form statesmen, +legislators, and judges for the commonwealth; (2) to expand the +principles and structure of government, the laws which regulate the +intercourse of states, and a sound spirit of legislation; (3) to +harmonize and promote the interests of all forms of industry, chiefly +by well-informed views of political economy; (4) to develop the +reasoning faculties of youth and to broaden their minds and develop +their character; (5) to enlighten them with knowledge, especially of +the physical sciences which will advance the material welfare of the +people. These progressive views of what the college should aim to do +were associated with equally advanced views of college administration, +such as the elective system and the importation of professors from +abroad. The remarkable vision, constructive imagination, courage, and +faith of Jefferson in his break with what was traditional and +authoritative in education has been justified by the fine career of +the university which he founded. + +=The state universities system= + +All the colleges that were established before the Revolution, and most +of those between the Revolution and the year 1800, had received direct +assistance from the colonial or state government either in grants of +land, money, the proceeds of lotteries, or special taxes. Most of +them, however, were dependent upon private foundations and controlled +by denominational bodies. The secularizing influence from France, the +growing interest in civic and political affairs, and the democratic +spirit resulting from the Revolution combined to develop a distrust of +the colleges as they were organized and a desire to bring them under +the control of the state. This was apparent in 1779, when the +legislature of Pennsylvania withdrew the charter of the college of +Philadelphia and created a new corporation to be known as "The +Trustees of the University of the State of Pennsylvania"; it was shown +in 1787 when Columbia College was granted a new charter by the state +legislature, under which the board of trustees were all drawn from the +Board of Regents of the State; it was made most evident in 1816 when +the legislature of New Hampshire transformed Dartmouth College into a +university without the consent of the board of trustees and empowered +the governor and council to appoint a Board of Overseers. In the +celebrated Dartmouth College case, 1819, the old board of trustees, +when defeated before the Supreme Court of New Hampshire in their suit +for the recovery of property which had been seized, carried the case +to the Supreme Court of the United States and engaged Daniel Webster +as their counsel. The Court declared the act of the New Hampshire +legislature in violation of the provision of the Constitution of the +United States which reads that "No state shall pass any ... law +impairing the obligation of contracts." The decision drew a sharp +distinction between public and private corporations, and a necessary +inference was that most of the existing institutions for higher +education were in the latter class. The result was to strengthen the +rising demand for publicly controlled institutions. The Southern and +Western states across the Alleghanies that were on the point of +framing state constitutions made provision for state universities +under state control. + +The intention to provide higher education freely for the people had +already received its greatest impetus in an Act of Congress passed +shortly after the passage of the Ordinance of 1787, providing for the +organization of the Northwest Territory. By that act two entire +townships of public land were reserved to the states to be erected out +of the territory, the proceeds of the sale of which were to be devoted +to the establishment of a state university. These universities +followed swiftly upon the establishment of new states, and the +democratic ideal that prevailed is shown in the determination that the +state university was to be the crown of the public educational system +of the state. This is well illustrated in the provision of the +constitution of Indiana, adopted in the very year of the Dartmouth +College decision, 1819, which reads, "It shall be the duty of the +General Assembly, as soon as circumstances will permit, to provide by +law for a general system of education, ascending in regular gradation +from township schools to a state university, wherein tuition shall be +gratis and equally open to all." Circumstances did permit in the +following year, and the provisions of the bill materialized. The +national policy of granting public lands for educational purposes to +new states was continued, and one or two townships were devoted in +each case to the establishment of a state university. National +assistance to higher education was given on an immense scale in 1862, +when the Morrill Act was passed providing for the grant of 30,000 +acres of land for each representative and senator, to be devoted to +the support in each state of a higher institution of learning, in +which technical and agricultural branches should be taught. Within +twenty years every state in the Union had taken advantage of this +splendid endowment, either to found a new state university which would +comply with the requirements as regards courses of instruction or to +establish an agricultural college as an independent institution, or in +connection with some already existing institution. Not only do some of +the finest state universities like those of California, Illinois, and +Minnesota owe their origins to the Morrill Act, but others owe to it +their real beginnings as institutions of collegiate grade. Up to the +passage of the Morrill Act a dozen state universities struggled to +maintain themselves with meager revenues and few students. They were +trying to do broad academic work, but by no means reached the +standards of the strong colleges in the eastern part of the country. + +The establishment of state-supported and state-controlled universities +in the commonwealths organized after the close of the eighteenth +century by no means put an end to the establishment of colleges upon +religious foundations. Denominational zeal was very strong in the +decades preceding the Civil War, and the church was the center of +community life in the newly settled regions. The need to provide an +intelligent ministry and also a higher civilization led to the +establishment of many small sectarian colleges in the new states. +Despite the fact that practically all of them would today be +considered only of secondary grade, they accomplished a splendid work +and provided ideals and standards of intellectual life in a new +country whose population was engaged chiefly in supplying the physical +needs of life. The response made in the Civil War by the institutions +of higher education throughout the United States, whether privately or +publicly supported, was a magnificent return for the sacrifices +endured in their establishment and maintenance. Everywhere throughout +the North the colleges were depleted of instructors and students who +had entered the ranks, and in the South nearly all the colleges were +compelled to close their doors. Upon the shoulders of their graduates +fell the burden of directing civil and military affairs in state and +nation. + + +3. THE MODERN ERA + +Were a visitor to Harvard or Columbia in 1860 to revisit it today, the +changes he would observe would be startling. The elective system, +graduate studies, professional and technical schools, an allied +woman's college, and a summer session are a few of the most noticeable +activities incorporated since 1860. It would be impossible to set any +date for the beginning of this transformation, so gradual and subtle +has it been, but the accession of Dr. Charles W. Eliot to the +presidency of Harvard College in 1869 and the establishment of Johns +Hopkins University in 1876 are definite landmarks. + +This chapter is a history of the American college, and space will not +permit of a detailed description of these activities but simply of a +narration of the way they developed and of the forces which brought +them into being. + +=The curriculum and the elective system= + +It has already been mentioned that the curriculum of the average +American college at the beginning of the nineteenth century differed +but little from the curriculum followed in the middle of the +seventeenth. The reason is simple. The curriculum is based upon the +biological principle of adaptation to environment, and the environment +of the average American of 1800 differed but slightly from his +ancestor of a century and a half previous. The growth of the +curriculum follows, slowly it is often true, upon the growth of +knowledge. The growth of knowledge during the seventeenth and +eighteenth centuries was slow and insignificant compared to its +marvelous growth in the nineteenth century, particularly in the last +half of it. The great discoveries in science, first in chemistry, then +in physics and biology, resulted in their gradually displacing much of +the logic and philosophy which had maintained the prime place in the +old curriculum. The interest aroused in the French language and +literature by our Revolution; in the Spanish by the South American +wars of independence; and in the German by the distinguished scholars +who studied in the German universities during the middle decades of +the nineteenth century, caused a demand that those languages as well +as English have a place in the curriculum. This could be secured only +by making them partly alternatives to the classical languages. The +Industrial Revolution, based as it was upon the application of science +to industry, not only gave an impetus to the establishment of +technical schools, but by revolutionizing the production and +distribution of wealth pushed into the curriculum the science that +deals with wealth, political economy. The growth of cities that +followed in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, the conflicts +between the interests of classes,--viz., landowners, capitalists, and +laborers,--the rapid decay of feudalism and the spread of political +democracy following the French Revolution, the expansion of commerce +to all corners of the globe and the resulting development of +colonialism, all these human interests gave a new meaning to the study +of history and politics which caused them to secure a place of great +prominence in the curriculum during the last quarter of the nineteenth +century. + +It is perfectly obvious that as the time at the student's disposal +remained the same, if he were to pursue even a part of the new subject +matter that was gradually admitted into the curriculum, the course of +study could no longer remain wholly prescribed and he would have to be +granted some freedom of choice. The growth in number of students also +produced changes in administration favorable to the introduction of +the elective system. In the early history of the American college one +instructor taught a single class in all subjects, and it was not until +1776 that the transfer was made at Harvard from the teaching of +classes by one instructor to the teaching of each subject by one +instructor. With increase in numbers the students were unable to +receive in each year instruction by every member of the teaching +staff. In spite of the quite obvious advantages of the elective +system, it was obstinately resisted by the defenders of the classics +and also of orthodox religion and at first made but slow progress. +Thomas Jefferson gave it the first great impetus when he made it an +essential element in the organization of the University of Virginia in +1825. Francis Wayland, president of Brown University and one of the +few college presidents of his day who were educators in the modern +sense, made a splendid exposition and defense of it in 1850 in his +"Report to the Corporation of Brown University on Changes in the +System of Collegiate Education." But the elective system waited upon +the elevation of Charles W. Eliot to the presidency of Harvard in 1869 +for its general realization; in 1872 the senior year at Harvard became +wholly elective; in 1879, the junior year; in 1884, the sophomore +year; and in 1894 the single absolute requirement that remained in the +entire college course was English A. The action of Harvard was rapidly +imitated to a more or less thorough extent throughout the country. + +Probably no two colleges administer the elective system in the same +way. There has been a considerable revulsion of opinion against +unrestricted election of individual subjects. In many colleges the +subjects of the curriculum were arranged into groups which must be +elected _in toto_. This resulted in the multiplication of bachelor's +degrees, each indicating the special course--arts, science, +philosophy, or literature--which had been followed. At the present +time the tendency is to prescribe the subjects considered essential to +a liberal education chiefly in the first two years and to permit +election among groups of related courses in the last two. This has +maintained the unity that formerly prevailed and introduced greater +breadth into the curriculum. It has also brought the new bachelor's +degrees into disfavor, and today the majority of the best colleges +give only the A.B. degree for the regular academic course. Valuable +modifications in the elective system are constantly being adopted. One +such is the preceptorial system at Princeton and elsewhere, under +which the preceptors personally supervise the reading and study of a +small group of students and can therefore advise them from personal +knowledge of their capacity. Another is the system of honor courses +adopted at Columbia and elsewhere, whereby a distinction is made +between mere "passmen" and students desirous of attaining high rank in +courses that are carefully organized in sequence. + +=German Influence and graduate study= + +The introduction of new subjects into the curriculum of the college +and the adoption by it of the elective system owe much to German +influence upon American education. Though this influence was partly +exerted by the study of the German language and literature, it +resulted chiefly from the residence of American students at German +universities. The first American to be granted the degree of Doctor of +Philosophy from a German university was Edward Everett, who received +it at Göttingen in 1817. He was followed by George Ticknor, George +Bancroft, Henry W. Longfellow, John Lothrop Motley, Frederick Henry +Hedge, William Dwight Whitney, Theodore Dwight Woolsey, and a host of +scholars who shed luster upon American education and scholarship in +the mid-nineteenth century. Most of these men became associated with +American colleges in some capacity and had a profound influence upon +their ideals, organization, and methods of teaching. They came back +devoted advocates of wide and deep scholarship, of independent +research, and of the need of such scholastic tools as libraries and +laboratories. But especially did they give an impetus to the movement +in favor of freedom of choice (_Lernfreiheit_) in studies. Only by the +adoption of such a principle could the pronounced tastes or needs of +individual students be satisfied. + +Some slight effort had been made in the first four decades of the +nineteenth century by a few of the colleges to conform to the desire +of students for further study in some chosen field, but the results +were negligible. In 1847 Yale established a "department of philosophy +and the arts for scientific and graduate study leading to the degree +of bachelor of philosophy." The first degree of doctor of philosophy +was bestowed in 1861, but a distinct graduate school was not organized +until 1872. Harvard announced in the same year the establishment of a +graduate department to which only holders of the bachelor's degree +would be admitted and in which the degrees of doctor of philosophy and +doctor of science would be conferred. The graduate department was not +made a separate school, however, until 1890. + +The greatest impetus to the establishment of graduate schools in the +American universities was made by the establishment of Johns Hopkins +University in 1876. Upon its foundation the chief aim was announced to +be the development of instruction in the methods of scientific +research. The influence of this institution upon the development of +higher education in the United States has been incalculably great. +Johns Hopkins was not a transplanted German university. The unique +place of the college in American education was shown by the fact that +graduate schools have followed the lead of Johns Hopkins in building +upon the college. Even Clark University at Worcester, founded in 1889 +upon a purely graduate basis, established an undergraduate college in +1902. + +One of the most gratifying features of higher education in the United +States during the past quarter century has been the extension of +graduate schools to the strong state universities. Research work in +them usually began in the school of agriculture, where the intensive +study of the sciences, particularly chemistry and biology, had such +splendid results in improved farming and dairying that legislatures +were gradually persuaded to extend the support for research to purely +liberal studies. With the growth and development of graduate schools +in this country, the practice of going to Europe for advanced +specialized study has abated considerably. It will probably so +continue in the future, particularly with regard to Germany. On the +other hand, should the new ideal of international good will become a +living reality, education through a wide system of exchange professors +and students may be expected to make its contribution. + +=Technical and professional study= + +While the graduate school was built upon the college, the technical +school grew up by the side of it or upon an independent foundation. +The first technical school was established at Troy, New York, in 1824, +and was called Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, after its founder, +Stephen Van Rensselaer. For a score of years no other development of +consequence was made, but in 1847 the foundations were made of what +have since become the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard and the +Sheffield Scientific School at Yale. The passage of the Morrill Act in +1862 had a quickening effect on education in engineering and +agriculture. In the decade from 1860 to 1870 some twenty-two technical +institutions were founded, most of them by the aid of the land grants. +The most important of them is the Massachusetts Institute of +Technology, where instruction was first given in 1865 and which has +exerted by far the greatest influence upon the development of +scientific and technical education. The best technical schools require +a high school diploma for admission and have a four-year course of +study, but the only technical school on a graduate basis is the School +of Mines at Columbia University. + +Professional education in theology, law, and medicine in the United +States was conducted chiefly upon the apprenticeship system down into +the nineteenth century. Though chairs of divinity existed in the +colonial colleges in the eighteenth century, systematic preparation +for the ministry was not generally attempted and the prospective +minister usually came under the special care of a prominent clergyman +who prepared him for the profession. In 1819 Harvard established a +separate faculty of divinity, and three years later Yale founded a +theological department. Since then about fifty colleges and +universities have established theological faculties and about 125 +independent theological schools have been founded as the result of +denominational zeal. A majority of all these institutions require at +least a high school diploma for admission; half of them require a +college degree. Nearly all offer a three-year course of study and +confer the degree of bachelor of divinity. + +Previous to the Civil War the great majority of legal practitioners +obtained their preparation in a law office. Though the University of +Pennsylvania attempted to establish a law school in 1791, and Columbia +in 1797, both attempts were abortive, and it remained for Harvard to +establish the first permanent law school in 1817. Even this was but a +feeble affair until Justice Joseph Story became associated with it in +1830. Up to 1870 but three terms of study were required for a degree; +until 1877 students were admitted without examination, and special +students were admitted without examination as late as 1893. Since then +the advance in standards has been very rapid, and in 1899 Harvard +placed its law school upon a graduate basis. Though but few others +have emulated Harvard in this respect, the improvement in legal +education during the past two decades has been marked. Of the 120 law +schools today, the great majority are connected with colleges and +universities, demand a high school diploma for admission, maintain a +three-year course of study, and confer the degree of LL.B. Twenty-four +per cent of the twenty thousand students are college graduates. In +some of the best schools the inductive method of study--i.e., the +"case method"--has superseded the lecture, and in practically all the +moot court is a prominent feature. + +Entrance into the medical profession in colonial times was obtained by +apprenticeship in the office of a practicing physician. The first +permanent medical school was the medical college of Philadelphia, +which was established in 1765 and which became an integral part of the +University of Pennsylvania in 1791. Columbia, Harvard, and Dartmouth +also founded schools before the close of the eighteenth century, and +these were slowly followed by other colleges in the early decades of +the nineteenth century. During almost the entire nineteenth century +medical education in the United States was kept on a low plane by the +existence of large numbers of proprietary medical "colleges" organized +for profit, requiring only the most meager entrance qualifications, +giving poor instruction, and having very inadequate equipment in the +way of laboratories and clinics. In fact, medical education did not +obtain a high standard until the establishment of the Johns Hopkins +Medical School in 1893. Since then the efforts of the medical schools +connected with the strong universities and of the Rockefeller +Foundation to raise the minimum standard of medical education have +resulted in the elimination of the weakest medical schools. The total +number fell from 150 in 1900 to 100 in 1914. Not all of these demand a +high school diploma for admission, though the tendency is to stiffen +entrance requirements, but all have a four-year course of study. In +most institutions experience in laboratory, clinic, and hospital has +superseded the old lecture system as the method of instruction. +Closely associated with the progress in medicine and to a great extent +similar in history has been the progress in dentistry and pharmacy. +There are now fifty schools of dentistry, with nearly 9000 students, +and seventy-two schools of pharmacy, with nearly 6000 students. + +One of the most gratifying advances in professional education has been +that of the teacher. Practically all the state universities and many +of the universities and colleges upon private foundations have +established either departments or schools of education which require +at least the same entrance qualifications as does the college proper +and in many cases confine the work to the junior and senior years. +Teachers College of Columbia University is on a graduate basis. Though +many of the 250 training and normal schools throughout the country do +not require a high school diploma for admission, the tendency is +wholly in that direction. In no field of professional education has +the application of scientific principles to actual practice made such +progress as in that of the teacher. + +=College education for women--The independent college= + +Few movements in the history of American education had more important +results than the academy movement which prevailed during the period +between the Revolution and the Civil War. Possibly the principle upon +which the new nation was established, i.e., the privilege of every +individual to make the most of himself, influenced the founders of +the academies to make provision for the education of girls beyond the +mere rudiments. Certainly this aspect of the movement had a +far-reaching influence. Some of the earliest of the academies admitted +girls as well as boys from the beginning, and some soon became +exclusively female. When it became evident from the work of the +academies that sex differences were not of as great importance as had +been supposed, it was not a long step to higher education. Some of the +academies added a year or two to the curriculum and took on the more +dignified name of "seminary." In this transition period the influence +of a few great personalities was profound, and even a brief sketch of +the history of women's education cannot omit to mention the splendid +work of Emma Willard and Mary Lyon. Mrs. Willard was an exponent of +the belief that freedom of development for the individual was the +greatest desideratum for humanity. She not only diffused this idea in +her addresses and writings but tried to utilize it in the +establishment in 1814 of the Troy Female Seminary, which was the +forerunner of many others throughout the country. Mary Lyon was rather +the representative of the religious influence in education, the +embodiment of the belief that to do one's duty is the great purpose in +life. In 1837 she founded Mount Holyoke Seminary, which had an +influence of inestimable value in sending well-equipped women +throughout the country a teachers. The importance of this service was +particularly evident during the period of the Civil War. + +Although a number of excellent institutions for women bearing the name +of college were founded before the Civil War, the first one of really +highest rank was Vassar College, which opened its doors to students in +1865. Smith and Wellesley were founded in 1875, and Bryn Mawr in 1885. +These four colleges are in every respect the equal of the best +colleges for men. They are the most important of a dozen independent +colleges for women, almost all of which are situated in the East. To +establish the independent college was the chief method adopted in the +older parts of the country to solve the problem of women's higher +education, rather than to reorganize colleges for men where +conditions were already established. + +=The development of coeducation= + +The independent college is not the method that has prevailed in the +West. When the inspiration to higher education for women arrived west +of the Alleghanies, conditions, especially lack of resources, +practically necessitated coeducation. Oberlin, founded in 1834, was +the first fully coeducational institution of college grade in the +world. In 1841 three women received from it the bachelor's degree, the +first to get it. Oberlin's success had a pronounced influence on the +state universities, which, it was argued, should be open and free to +all citizens, since they were supported by public taxation. Almost all +the state universities and the great majority of the colleges and +universities on private foundations are today coeducational. The +results predicted by pessimists, viz., that the physical health of +women would suffer, that their intellectual capacity would depreciate +scholarship, and that the interests of the family would be menaced, +have not eventuated. + +=The affiliated college for women= + +The spread of coeducation in the state universities of the West and +the South and its presence in the newer private universities like +Cornell and Chicago had an influence upon the older universities of +the East. This influence has resulted in a third method of solving the +problem of women's education; viz., the establishment of the +affiliated college. Several universities have established women's +colleges, sometimes under the same and sometimes under a different +board of trustees, to provide the collegiate education for women which +is given to men by the undergraduate departments. Barnard College, +affiliated with Columbia University, Radcliffe College, affiliated +with Harvard University, Woman's College, affiliated with Brown +University, the College for Women, affiliated with the Western Reserve +University, and the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College for Women, +affiliated with Tulane University, have all been founded within the +past forty years. + +=Graduate and professional studies for women= + +All the universities for men except Princeton and Johns Hopkins and +all the fully coeducational institutions admit women upon the same +terms as men to graduate work. Graduate work is also undertaken with +excellent results in some of the independent women's colleges, as at +Bryn Mawr. Professional education for women has been coeducational +from the beginning, with the exception of medicine. The prejudice +against coeducation in that profession was so strong that five women's +medical schools were organized, but they provide instruction for +little more than a quarter of the women medical students. The increase +in the number of women in professional schools has not by any means +kept pace with the increase in the colleges. It appears that, with the +exception of teaching, woman is not to be a very important sector in +the learned professions in the near future. + +=Undergraduate life--Fraternities= + +Nothing differentiates more clearly the American college from European +institutions of higher education than the kind of non-scholastic +activities undertaken by the students. From the very beginning the +college became a place of residence as well as of study for students +from a distance, and the dormitory was an essential element in its +life. With increase in numbers, especially after the Revolution, when +all distinctions of birth or family were abolished, students naturally +divided into groups. The first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded +in 1776 at William and Mary, with a patriotic and literary purpose, +and membership in it has practically ever since been confined to +graduates who have attained high scholastic standing. When one speaks +of college fraternities, however, he does not refer to Phi B K, but to +one of the intercollegiate social organizations which have chapters in +several colleges organized somewhat upon the plan of a club and whose +members live in a chapter house. The first such fraternity was founded +at Yale in 1821, but it was limited to the senior class. The three +fraternities established at Union in 1825-1827 form the foundation of +the present system. The fraternities spread rapidly and are today very +numerous. There are about thirty of national importance, having about +a thousand chapters and a quarter of a million members. The fraternity +system is bitterly attacked as being undemocratic, expensive, emphasizing +social rather than scholastic attainments, and, generally speaking, a +divisive rather than a unifying factor in college life. Hence some +colleges have abolished it. Fraternities have been defended, however, +as promoting close fellowship and even helping to develop character. +So strongly are they entrenched, not only in undergraduate but also in +alumni affection, that they probably form a permanent element in +college life. + +=Religious life= + +The early American college was primarily a place to prepare for the +ministry, and personal piety was a matter of official enforcement. For +a number of reasons religious zeal declined in the eighteenth century. +After the Revolution, under the influence of the new political +theories and of French skepticism the percentage of students +professing to be active Christians fell very low. In the early +nineteenth century the interest of students in religion increased, and +religious organizations in a number of colleges were founded. +Practically all of these later gave way to the Young Men's Christian +Association, which has now over 50,000 members organized in almost all +the colleges of the country save the Roman Catholic. The religious +interests of Roman Catholic students are in many colleges served by +the Newman Clubs and similar organizations, and of Jewish students by +the Menorah Society. The religion of college students has become less +a matter of form and speech and more a matter of service--social +service of many kinds at home and missionary service abroad. + +=Physical education= + +The educational reformers of Europe in the late eighteenth and early +nineteenth centuries placed great emphasis upon a more complete +physical training. This interest was felt in the United States, and +simple gymnastic apparatus was set up at Harvard and Yale in 1826. The +movement spread very slowly, however, due probably to ignorance of its +real physiological import. Since the Civil War the development of the +gymnastic system has been rapid, and now practically every first-class +college has its gymnasium, attendance upon which is compulsory, and +some have their stadium and natatorium. Of independent origin but +hastened by the spread of the gymnasium is the vast athletic interest +of undergraduates. Its earliest form, conducted on a considerable +scale, was rowing. The first rowing club was formed at Yale in 1843, +and the first intercollegiate race was rowed on Lake Winnepesaukee in +1852, Harvard defeating Yale. Rowing is now a form of athletics at +every college where facilities permit. The first baseball nine was +formed at Princeton in 1859, and the game spread rapidly to all the +other colleges. Football in a desultory and unorganized way made its +appearance early in the nineteenth century. As early as 1840 an annual +game was played at Yale between the freshmen and the sophomores, but +the establishment of a regular football association dates from 1872, +also at Yale. In the following year an intercollegiate organization +was formed, and since then football has increased in popularity at the +colleges to such an extent that just as baseball has become the great +national game, so has football become the great American collegiate +game. Track athletics is the most recent form of athletic sports to be +introduced into the college, and most colleges now have their field +days. In addition to these four major forms of college sports, tennis, +lacrosse, basketball, and swimming also have a prominent place. The +four major sports are usually under the control of special athletic +associations, which spend large sums of money and have a great +influence with the students. In fact, so great has become the interest +of college students in athletics that much fear has been expressed +about its influence upon scholastic work, and voices are not lacking +demanding its curtailment.[1] Military training is a phase of physical +education which, though it had earlier found a place in the land-grant +institutions, came to the fore as a part of the colleges' contribution +to winning the world war. Students' Army Training Corps were +established at many of the higher institutions of the country, and the +academic studies were made to correlate with the military work as a +nucleus. At the present time, however, the colleges are putting their +work back on a pre-war basis, and it seems most unlikely that military +training will survive as a corporate part of their work. + +=Student literary activities--College journalism= + +Journalism, though its actual performance is limited to a small number +of students, has had an honored place as an undergraduate activity for +almost a hundred years. It served first as a means of developing +literary ability among the students, afterwards as a vehicle for +college news, and now there has been added to these purposes the +uniting of alumni and undergraduates. Hence we find among college +journals dailies, monthlies, and quarterlies, some of them humorous +and some with a serious literary purpose. Journalism is not the only +method of expressing undergraduate thought. There has been a great +revival of intracollegiate and of intercollegiate debating in recent +years. Literary societies for debating the great issues preceding the +Revolution was the first development of undergraduate life, and every +college before and after the Revolution had strong societies. As +undergraduate interests increased in number, and especially as the +fraternity system began to spread, debating societies assumed a +relatively less important place, but in the past two decades great +interest has been revived in them. The glee club, or choral society, +along with the college orchestra, minister to the specialized +interests of some students, and the dramatic association to those of +others. One significant result of such activities has been to +establish a nexus between the college and community life. + +=Student self-government= + +One other feature of undergraduate life cannot be overlooked; viz., +student self-government. The college student today is two or three +years older than was his predecessor of fifty or sixty years ago. +Moreover, with the great increase in the number of students has come a +parallel increase in complexity of administration and in the duties of +the college professor. Finally, a sounder psychology has taught the +wisdom of placing in the hands of the students the control of many +activities which they can supervise better than the faculty. As a +result of these and of other influences, in many colleges today all +extra-scholastic activities are either supervised by the student +council, the members of which are elected by the students, or by a +joint body of student and faculty members. The effect in almost every +instance has been the diminution of friction between the faculty and +students and the development of better relations between them. In some +colleges the honor system is found, under which even proctoring at +examinations does not exist, as all disciplinary matters, including +the decision in serious offenses like cheating, rest with the student +council. Student self-government is only one evidence of the +democratization that has taken place in the administration of the +college during the past two decades. Even more noticeable than student +self-government is the tendency recently manifested to transfer more +of the control of the government of the college from the board of +trustees to the faculty. + +=New opportunities in higher education= + +With the extension of commerce and the attempt to bring it under +efficient organization in the nineteenth century, the demand has been +made upon the colleges to train experts in this field. Germany was the +first to engage in it, and just before the war probably led the world. +France and England have remained relatively indifferent. In America, +the so-called "business college" proved entirely too narrow in scope, +and beginning with the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the +University of Pennsylvania (1881), the higher institutions have begun +to train for this important field. Some of the colleges of commerce, +like those of Dartmouth and Harvard, demand extensive liberal +preparation; others, like Wharton and the schools connected with the +state universities, coördinate their liberal and vocational work; a +few, like that of New York University, give almost exclusive attention +to the practical element. + +Two other movements might be mentioned as illustrating the attempt to +extend the opportunity for higher education to an ever increasing +number of people. One is the development of extension courses and the +other the offering of evening work to those who cannot attend the +regular sessions. These are both steps in the direction of equality +of opportunity which is the ultimate aim of education in a democratic +country. + +=The future of the college in American education--Relation to secondary +schools= + +The college preceded the high school in time, and when the high school +began its career in the middle of the nineteenth century it was made +tributary to the college in all essentials. By deciding requirements +for admission, the college practically prescribed the curriculum of +the high school; by conducting examinations itself it practically +determined methods of teaching in the high school. But a remarkable +change in these respects has taken place in the past two decades. The +high school, which is almost omnipresent in our country, has attained +independence and today organizes its curricula without much reference +to the college. If there be any domination in college entrance +requirements today, it is rather the high school that dominates. Over +a large part of the country, especially in states maintaining state +universities, there are now no examinations for entrance to college. +The college accepts all graduates of _accredited_ high schools--i.e., +high schools that the state university decides maintain proper +secondary standards. This growth in strength and independence has been +accompanied by a lengthening of the high school course from two years +in the middle of the last century to four years at the present time. + +=The junior college= + +With the introduction of the principle of promotion by subject instead +of by class, the strong high schools have been enabled to undertake to +teach subjects in their last years which were formerly taught in the +first years of the college. They have done this so well that the +practice has grown up in some parts of the country, especially on the +Pacific Coast, of extending the course of the high school to six years +and of completing in them the work of the first two years of college. +This enables more young men and women throughout the state to receive +collegiate education, and as the best-equipped teachers in the high +schools are usually in the last years and the worst-equipped teachers +in the college are usually in the first years, the system makes for +better education. Moreover, it relieves the state universities of the +crowds of students in the first two years and permits overworked +professors to concentrate upon the advanced work of the last two years +and upon research work in the graduate schools. A system which offers +so many advantages and is so popular both in the high school and the +university bids fair to spread. + +=The abbreviated and condensed college course= + +While the movement making for the elimination of the college from +below has been taking place in the West, another movement having the +same effect has been taking place in the East, only the pressure has +been from above. The tendency is spreading for the professional +schools of the strong universities to demand a college degree for +admission. If the full four years of the college are demanded in +addition to the four years of the secondary school and the eight years +of the elementary school, the great majority of students will begin +their professional education at twenty-two and their professional +careers at twenty-six, and they will hardly be self-supporting before +thirty. This seems an unreasonably long period of preparation compared +to that required in other progressive countries. The German student, +for example, begins his professional studies immediately upon +graduation from the gymnasium at eighteen. Hence the demand has arisen +for a shortening of the college course. This demand has been met in +several ways. In some colleges the courses have been arranged in such +a way that the bright and industrious student may complete the work +required for graduation in three years. In others, as at Harvard, the +student may elect in his senior year the studies of the first year of +the professional school. Another tendency in the same direction is to +permit students in the junior and even in the sophomore years to elect +subjects of a vocational nature. This has been bitterly contested by +those who hold that the minimum essentials of liberal culture should +be acquired before vocational specialization begins. Columbia +_permits_ a student to complete his college and professional studies +in six years, and at the end of that time he receives both the +bachelor's and the professional degrees. + +It is to be noted, however, that these solutions of the problem and, +in fact, most other solutions that have been suggested, apply only to +a college connected with a university; they could not be administered +in the independent college. But a movement has developed in the Middle +West which may result in another solution; i.e., the Junior College. +It can be best understood by reference to the policy of the University +of Chicago. That institution divides its undergraduate course into two +parts: a Junior College of two years, the completion of whose course +brings with it the title of Associate in Arts, and a Senior College of +two years, the completion of whose course is rewarded with the regular +bachelor's degree. There have become affiliated with the University of +Chicago a considerable number of colleges throughout the Mississippi +Valley which have frankly become Junior Colleges and confine their +work to the freshman and sophomore years. And this has become true of +other universities. It would seem inevitable that the bachelor's +degree will finally be granted at the end of the Junior College and +some other degree, perhaps the master's, which has an anomalous place +in American education in any case, at the end of the Senior College. +This has, in fact, been suggested by President Butler. The University +of Chicago has also struck out in another new direction. Provided a +certain amount of work is done in residence at the University, the +remainder may be completed _in absentia_, i.e., through +correspondence courses. + +The Junior College movement has had the excellent result of inducing +many weak colleges to confine their work to what they really can +afford to do. Many parts of our country have a surplus of colleges, +chiefly denominational. Ohio alone has more than fifty. The cost of +maintaining dormitories, laboratories, libraries, apparatus, and other +equipment and paying respectable salaries cannot be met by the tuition +fees in any college. The college must either have a large +income-producing endowment, which few have, or must receive gifts +sufficient to meet expenses. Gifts to colleges and universities form +one of the finest evidences of interest in higher education in the +United States, and reach really colossal proportions. In the past +fifty years, during which this form of generosity has prevailed, over +600 million dollars have been given, and in 1914 gifts from private +sources amounted to more than 30 million dollars. Most of this money +is given to the non-sectarian institutions and not to the small +denominational colleges scattered over the country. As they are in +addition unable to compete with the state universities, they are for +every reason justified in becoming Junior Colleges. But this does not +apply to the old independent colleges, such as Amherst, Williams, +Dartmouth, etc., which have loyal and wealthy alumni associations. +They have the support necessary to retain the four-year course and +seem determined to do so. + +Just what the outcome of the whole question of shortening the college +course may be is not now evident. That concessions in time must be +made to the demand for an earlier beginning of professional education +seems certain. That the saving should be made in the college course is +not so certain. A sounder pedagogy seems to indicate that one year, if +not two, can be saved in the period from the sixth to the eighteenth +year. It is probable that the arbitrary division of American education +into elementary, secondary, collegiate, and university, each with a +stated number of years, will give way to a real unification of the +educational process. Most Americans would regret to see the college, +the unique product of American education, which has had such an +honorable part in the development of our civilization, disappear in +the unifying process. + + STEPHEN PIERCE DUGGAN + _College of the City of New York_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +The bibliography on the American college is almost inexhaustible. The +list here given is confined to the best books that have appeared since +1900. + +ANGELL, J. B. _Selected Addresses._ New York, 1912. + +Association of American Universities. Proceedings of the Annual +Conference. + +BUTLER, N. M. _Education in the United States._ New York, 1900. + +CATTELL, J. M. _University Control._ New York, 1913. + +CRAWFORD, W. H. (editor). _The American College._ New York, 1915. +(Papers by Faunce, Shorey, Haskins, Rhees, Thwing, Finley, Few, +Slocum, Meiklejohn, Claxton.) + +Cyclopedia of Education, article on "American College." New York, +1911. + +DEXTER, E. G. _History of Education in the United States._ New York, +1904. + +DRAPER, A. S. _American Education._ Boston, 1909. + +FLEXNER, A. _The American College: A Criticism._ General Education +Board, New York, 1908. + +FOSTER, W. T. _Administration of the College Curriculum._ Boston, +1911. + +HARPER, W. R. _The Trend in Higher Education._ Chicago, 1905. + +KINGSLEY, C. D. _College Entrance Requirements._ United States Bureau +of Education, 1913. + +MACLEAN, G. E. _Present Standards of Higher Education in the United +States._ United States Bureau of Education, 1913. + +National Association of State Universities in the United States of +America. Annual Transactions and Proceedings. + +RISK, R. K. _America at College._ London, 1908. + +SNOW, L. F. _College Curriculum in the United States._ New York, 1907. + +THWING, C. F. _History of Higher Education in the United States._ New +York, 1906. + +---- _The American College; What It Is and What It May Become._ New +York, 1914. + +---- _College Administration._ New York, 1900. + +WEST, A. F. _Short Papers on American Liberal Education._ New York, +1907. + + +Footnotes: + +[1] W. T. Foster in N.E.A. Reports, 1915. + + + + +II + +PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FOR COLLEGE TEACHING + + +=Introduction= + +Were this chapter to be a discussion of schemes of training, now in +operation, that had been devised to prepare teachers for colleges, it +could not be written, for there are no such schemes. Many elementary +and secondary teachers have undergone training for their life work, as +investigators have, by a different regimen, of course, for theirs. But +if college and university teachers do their work well, it is because +they are born with competence for their calling, or were self-taught, +or happened to grow into competence accidentally, as a by-product of +training for other and partly alien ends, or learned to teach by +teaching. + +There are able college men, presidents and others, who view this +situation with equanimity, if not with satisfaction. Teachers are +born, not made, it is said. Can pedagogy furnish better teachers than +specialized scholarly training? it is asked. If we train definitely +for teaching, we shall diminish scholarship, cramp and warp native +teaching faculty, and mechanize our class procedure, it is objected. + +Had the subject of training for college teaching been discussed, no +doubt other objections would have been advanced. But it has not been +discussed, as will be seen from the very scant bibliography at the end +of the chapter. No plan of training for college teaching is in +operation, and no discussion of such a plan can be found. Each of a +half-dozen men has argued his individual views, and elicited no reply. + +This state of facts notwithstanding, the subject is well worth +discussing, and one may even venture to prophesy that in a decade, or +at latest two, the subject will have a respectable literature, and +enough training plans will be in operation to permit fruitful +comparisons. + +When specific training is first urged for specialized work, there +always is opposition. The outgoing generation remembers the opposition +to specialized training for law, medicine, and engineering, to say +nothing of farming, school teaching and business. But in spite of +obstructive and retarding objections, specialized types of training +for specialized types of work have grown in number and favor, and +today we are being shown convincingly that nations which have declined +to set up the fundamental types of special training find themselves +able to make effective only a fraction of their resources. The +majority of the personnel in every higher calling has about average +native aptitude for it, and it is just the average man who can be +improved in competence for any work by training directed to that end +rather than to another. This is, of course, true of college teaching. + +=How the college teacher has been and is trained= + +In early days in this country the great majority of college teachers +were clergymen, trained in most cases abroad. Later bookish graduates +came to be the chief source of supply, their appointment in their own +colleges, and infrequently in others, following close upon their +graduation. Well into the third quarter of last century college +faculties were selected almost exclusively from these two types, +representatives of the former decreasing and of the latter increasing +in relative number. Neither type was specifically trained for teaching +in colleges or elsewhere. + +With the founding and developing of Johns Hopkins University a new era +in higher education opened in this country. The paucity of exact +scholarship came to be known, and the country's need of scholarship to +be appreciated. In colleges grown from English seedlings we sought to +implant grafts from German universities. Independent colleges and +colleges within universities, while still called upon by American +traditions and needs to prepare their students for enlightened living +by means of a broadening and liberating training, came to be manned +preponderatingly by narrowly specialized investigators, withdrawn from +everyday life, with concentrated interests focused upon subjects or +parts of subjects, rather than upon students. Little thought was, or +is yet, given to the preparation of college teachers for their duties +as teachers, and that little rested, and still in large measure rests, +satisfied with the assumption that by some unexplained and it may be +inexplicable transfer of competence a man closeted and intensively +trained to search for truth in books and laboratories emerges after +three or more years well equipped for divining and developing the +mental processes and interests of freshmen. + +Once fairly examined, this assumption lacks plausibility. "We consider +the Ph.D. a scholar's degree and not a teacher's degree," says the +dean of one of our leading graduate schools, and yet preparation for +this scholar's degree has been and is practically the only formal +preparation open to college teachers in this country. + +=Equipment needed by college teachers= + +It goes without saying that scholarship is one of the basal needs of +college teachers, a scholarship that keeps alive, and is human and +contagious. But it should be remembered that there are several kinds +of scholarship, and it is pertinent to ask what kind college teachers +need. Should they, for instance, model themselves on the broad +shrewdness and alluring scholarly mellowness of James Russell Lowell +or on the untiring encyclopedic exactitude and minuteness of Von +Helmholz? Or is there an even better ideal or ideals _for them_? I +would suggest that the teacher's knowledge of his subject should, +essentially, be of a kind that would keep him in intellectual sympathy +with the undeveloped minds of his students, and this means chiefly two +things. The more points of contact of his knowledge with the past +experience and future plans of his students the teacher has at his +command, the better teacher he will be; for he can use them, not as +resting places, but as points of departure for the development of +phases of his subject outside the students' experience. And secondly, +the teacher should see his subject entire, with its parts, as rich in +number and detail as possible, each in its proper place within the +whole. For the students' knowledge of the subject is vague and +general; he is trying to place it, and many other new things, in some +kind of a coherent setting; in fact, he is in college largely for the +very purpose of working out some sort of rudimentary scheme of things. +The duty of the college teacher is to help him in this quite as much +as to teach him a particular subject. And, besides, each particular +subject can be best taught if advantage is taken of every opportunity +to attach it to the only knowledge of it the student has, vague and +general though it be. Highly specialized and dehumanized knowledge is +not as useful for the college teacher as broad and vital knowledge, +which is, of course, much harder to acquire. Even in the case of +"disciplinary" subjects, there is no gain in concealing the human +bearings. The teacher should be trained to seize opportunities in the +classroom and out to help the student, through his subject and his +maturer life experience, to see the bearing of what he is learning on +the life about him and on the life he is to lead. This is the college +teacher's richest opportunity and the opportunity that tries him most +shrewdly. If he is to rise to it, his entire equipment, native and +acquired, must come into play. + +What else does the teacher need? So that he may select the best and +continue to improve them, he needs a knowledge of the different +methods and aims in the teaching of his subject, and, so far as +possible, of the results attained by each. Too much of college +teaching is a blind groping, chartless and without compass. Instead of +expecting each inexperienced teacher to start afresh, he should set +out armed with the epitomized and digested teaching experience of +those that have gone before him. + +Finally, the teacher needs a sympathetic and expert understanding of +the thinking and feeling of college students. This should be his +controlling interest. The teacher, his interest in his subject, and in +all else except the student, should be instrumental, not final. Every +available strand of continuity between studenthood and teacherhood +should thereafter be preserved. + +This need suggests a capital weakness of the training for the +doctorate in philosophy as a preparation for teaching. As it proceeds +it shifts the interest from undergraduate student to scholarly +specialty, and steadily snaps the ties that bound the budding +investigator to his college days. It also explains the greatness of +some college teachers and personalities before the eighties. Their +degrees in arts were their licenses to teach. They suffered no drastic +loss of touch with undergraduate thought and life. In the early years +of their teaching this sympathetic and kindly understanding was fresh +and strong, and they used it in their classroom and wove it into the +tissue of their tutorial activities. A discerning observer of college +faculties can even today discover in them men and women who entered +them by the same door as these great ones of old, irregularly as we +would say now,--without the hallmark, and whose good teaching is a +surprise to their doctored colleagues. In one institution I know of, +the best five teachers some years ago were all of this type. The +training of college teachers might well, it therefore seems, include +an apprenticeship, beginning with, or in exceptional cases before, +graduation from college. + +=The college legislator and administrator= + +But the duties and opportunities of the college teacher do not stop at +the door leading from his classroom. In addition to dealing directly +with students, individually and in groups, and even, if possible, with +their families, as he grows in service he becomes, as faculty member +and committeeman, a college legislator and administrator. In +exercising these important functions he needs the equipment that would +aid him to take the central point of view, a background of scholarly +knowledge of what education in general and college education in +particular are in their methods and in their social functions and +purposes. There is too much departmental logrolling, as well as too +much beating of the air in faculty meetings, and too many excursions +into the blue in faculty legislation and administration arrangements. +The educational views of faculty members greatly need to be steadied, +ordered, and appreciably broadened and deepened by a developed and +trained habit of thinking educationally under the safeguards of +scientific method and on the basis of an adequate supply of facts. +That pedagogy has made but the smallest beginning of gathering and +ordering such facts and developing a scientific method in this field +is not a valid objection. These tasks are no more difficult than +others that have been compared, as _they_ will be, the sooner for +being imposed. + +It is significant that coincident with sharp and widespread criticism +of the American college (justified in part by what college teachers +have been made into by their training), appear demands on the part of +faculties for more power. In this connection it may be remembered that +autocracy is the simplest and easiest form of government, and that +history shows that it can at least be made to work with less brains +and training than are required for the working of democracy. As +American colleges and universities have grown in complexity and +responsibility, their faculties have lost power because they did not +acquire the larger competence that was the indispensable condition of +even reasonably successful democratic control. It is highly desirable +that the power of faculties should increase to the point of +preponderance. But the added power they will probably acquire will not +be retained unless faculty members learn their business much better +than they now know it in most institutions. Thomas Jefferson, when +asked which would come to dominate, the states or the federal +government, replied that in the long run each of the opposed pair +would prevail in the functions in which it proved the more competent. + +=A tentative scheme of training for college teachers= + +To outline a scheme of such importance without any experience to +examine as a basis is a very bold undertaking, and one that can hope +for but partial success. What I shall propose, however, is similar to +the proposals of Pitkin (5), Horne (11), and Wolfe (14), my only +predecessors in this rash enterprise. The general spirit and purpose +of our proposals are the same. But we disagree more or less in +details--which is fortunate, as it may encourage discussion of the +subject, which is the thing most needed. Indeed, a lively sense of +this need has led me to venture some unpopular assertions. It may also +be admitted that the desiderata for teachers mentioned above are not +likely to be all insured by any system of training. + +The proposal submitted for discussion is that a three-year graduate +course be established, its spirit and purpose being to train young men +to become _college_ teachers. This course should lead to a doctorate; +e.g., to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, or of Doctor of +Philosophy in Teaching, or of Docendi Doctor. What degree is selected +is, in the long run, relatively unimportant, provided the course is +soundly conducive to its end. + +The course might well be divided into three parts, having the +approximate relative value in time and effort of two fifths, two +fifths, and one fifth. These parts should proceed simultaneously +throughout the three years, the first being an apprenticeship--under +supervision, of course--in the functions of the college teacher, the +second a broad course of study and investigation of the subject to be +taught, and the third a course of pedagogical study and investigation. +Let me suggest a minimum of detail within these outlines. + +The apprentice teacher would, naturally, do the least classroom +teaching during his first year, and the most during his last. He would +also each year "advise" a group of freshman in studies and in life, or +coöperate with students in the conduct of athletics, dramatics, +publication work, or other "activities." On all this apprentice work +he would report, and in all he would be guided and supervised +appropriately by the department whose subject he was teaching, by the +department of education, and by other departments concerned. This and +other parts of the training would attract others in addition to +narrowly bookish graduates, something much to be desired (other parts +would eliminate those not bookish enough), and would tend to keep +alive in all apprentices an interest in students, especially in +student character, and to prevent them from thinking of students as +disembodied minds. + +The course of study and investigation in the subject to be taught +should be based on adequate undergraduate work in the same and allied +fields, and should be something like the honor course in Oxford or +Cambridge (or our _old_ M.A. course) in its conduct and purpose; it +should hark back to our collegiate origin in England. The work should +be in charge of a don, a widely and wisely read and a very human +guide, philosopher, and friend. Stated class meetings and precise +count of hours of attendance should receive little emphasis. But wide +reading of the subject, in a spirit that breeds contagion, running off +into a study, in books, laboratories, and meetings, of the human and +practical bearings of the subject, should be required, and enough +conference with the don should be had to enable him to judge and +criticize the student's plan and amount of work, to test his mettle in +handling the subject, and to aid him to grasp it as a whole and in its +chief subdivisions, and to get glimpses of its bearings on and place +in human life. This part of the training should lead up to and +culminate in a thesis dealing with some major phase of the subject +comprehendingly in its setting and connections. Naturally this program +could be carried out most successfully with the social subjects, which +lend themselves easily to culture, like history or philosophy, and +less completely with the exact subjects, which are better fitted for +precise discipline, like mathematics. But if treated, as far as +possible, after the manner indicated, even the latter could be made +better instruments for the training of college teachers than they are +now in narrow specialization for the Ph.D. degree. Among returning +Rhodes scholars some excellent material for dons could be found. + +The fifth of the course directed to pedagogy should include a very +brief study of the methods of teaching the chosen subject, with +glimpses into teaching methods in general; and courses in the history +and philosophy of education, with emphasis on, but by no means +exclusive dealing with, the educational and social functions of the +college. It might include an intensive investigation of some +relatively simple college problem in preparation for future faculty +membership. All this should, of course, be intimately articulated with +the student's apprenticeship work. Such a course of pedagogical study +should furnish a basis for better teaching methods and for helpful +self-criticism therein; should encourage the formation of a habit of +thinking and working out educational problems scientifically with eyes +open to the purpose of the college as a whole; and should discourage +departmental selfishness in legislation and administration. + +=Incidental advantage= + +The college would, under this plan, have some of its teaching done at +minimum cost by student teachers, who should receive only the graduate +scholarship or fellowship now customary for Ph. D. candidates. Care +would be necessary to prevent the assignment to them of mere routine +hackwork without training value. It is safe to say that, though +slightly less mature, their services, being supervised, would be more +valuable than those rendered during their first few years of teaching +by most better-paid winners of the doctorate of philosophy, who, if +they do so at all, grope their way to usefulness as teachers, with +little aid from others more experienced. + +With good teaching prepared for, required, and adequately rewarded (a +point to be developed later), somewhat longer schedules could properly +be assigned and further economy effected. Schedules would, of course, +have to be kept short enough to allow ample time for reading, for some +writing, and for faculty and committee work in later years. But time +would not be required by _college_ teachers for specialized research, +and the freedom from such tasks resulting for them would be a blessed +relief to many who are now compelled to assume a virtue they have not, +and to conceal the love of teaching they have. And when we bear in +mind the heavy mass of uninspired and unimportant hackwork that is now +dumped on the scholarly world, we shall welcome the prospect of a +lightened burden for ourselves. + +The need of students, especially of freshmen, for advisers is widely +recognized. They come into a new freedom exercised in a new +environment. This makes for bewilderment that involves loss of +precious time and opportunities, and presents perils which involve +possible injuries to many and certain injuries to some. Efforts, many +and various, to constitute a body of advisers chosen from among +faculty members have met with but little success. With few exceptions +the task is not congenial to those who now man our faculties, and for +that and other reasons they are ill fitted for it. But a greater +measure of success has been attained, even under present conditions, +when the coöperation of volunteers from among seniors and graduate +students has been had. This suggests that the problem might come +nearer solution when some dependence came to be placed upon the +services of apprentices. Such service would be a part of their regular +work having a bearing on their future career, and would therefore be +supervised and rest on sustained interest and the consciousness that +it was counting. + +Finally, young student teachers would, under proper encouragement and +arrangement, help materially to bridge the gulf, that is broader than +is wholesome, between a faculty of mature men and young students. The +mixing of these different generations, so far as possible, is much to +be desired, difficult as it is to accomplish. + +=Consequent change of plan in appointments and promotions= + +This is not the place to discuss the details of appointment and +promotion plans, interesting and important as they are. But it is +evident that the scheme of training outlined, if adopted, would call +for changes in present practices. + +The appointing authorities of colleges looking for young teachers +could ascertain their strong and weak points as they developed during +their apprenticeship in classrooms and in other educational +activities, as well as the quality and trend of their scholarship. +They would not rest satisfied with ascertaining the minute corner of +the field of philosophy, history, or physics in which a man +recommended had done research. Records could be kept throwing +much-needed light on the teaching ability, scholarship, and +personality of candidates for appointment. In selecting _college_ +teachers, appointing authorities would value this evidence and would +come to prefer teaching power to investigating ability. + +Moreover, the record keeping, and, no doubt, some of the supervision +begun during the apprentice years would continue during the early +instructorial years. This would render it possible to evaluate and to +value effectiveness in teaching in making promotions. Ambitious +teachers would no longer be practically forced, as their only resort, +to neglect their students and give their best energies to publication +in order to make a name and get a call, in the interest of promotion. +The expert teacher would have a chance and a dignity equal to that of +the skilled investigator. The individual could follow, and not be +penalized for so doing, his own bent and the line of his highest +capacity. + +=Training of investigators= + +The training now given in graduate schools here and elsewhere for the +doctorate in philosophy will, of course, continue, and increase rather +than diminish. Investigators will be preferred in research, in +universities, and in some colleges and college departments. They will +be increasingly prized in the government service and in important +branches of industry. The recent terrible experiences burn into our +minds the imperative need strong nations have of exact knowledge and +of skill that has a scientific edge. And the specific training for +these great tasks will be stronger when it is based on a college +course in which highly effective and whole-hearted teaching is valued +and rewarded. + + SIDNEY E. MEZES + _College of the City of New York_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +ANONYMOUS. Confessions of One Behind the Times. _Atlantic_, Vol. 3, +pages 353-356, March, 1913. + +CANBY, H. S. The Professor. _Harpers_, April, 1913. + +Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Bulletin No. 2, +May, 1908, pages 55-57. + +FLEXNER, ABRAHAM. Adjusting the College to American Life. _Science_, +Vol. 29, pages 361-372. + +HANDSCHIN, C. H. Inbreeding in the Instructional Corps of American +Colleges and Universities. _Science_, Vol. 32, pages 707-709. +November, 1910. + +HOLLIDAY, CARL. Our "Doctored" Colleges. _School and Society_, Vol. 2, +pages 782-784. November 27, 1915. + +HORNE, HERMAN H. The Study of Education by Prospective College +Instructors. _School Review_, Vol. 16, March, 1908, pages 162-170. + +PITKIN, W. B. Training College Teachers. _Popular Science_, Vol. 74, +pages 588-595. June, 1909. + +Report of the Committee on Standards of American Universities. +_Science_, Vol. 29, page 172. November 17, 1908. + +ROBINSON, MABEL L. Need of Supervision in College Teaching. _School +and Society_, Vol. 2, pages 514-519, October 9, 1915. + +SANDERSON, E. D. Definiteness of Appointment and Tenure. _Science_, +Vol. 39, pages 890-896, June, 1914. + +STEWART, Charles A. Appointment and Promotion of College Instructors. +_Educational Review_, Vol. 44, 1912, pages 249-256. + +WILCZYNSKI, E. J. Appointments in College and Universities. _Science_, +February 28, 1909; Vol. 29, pages 336ff. + +WOLFE, A. B. The Graduate School, Faculty Responsibility, and the +Training of University Teachers. _School and Society_, September 16, +1916. + + + + +III + +GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE TEACHING + +=Status of teaching in the colleges= + +The investigator of educational practices and methods of teaching is +impressed with an unmistakable educational anti-climax, for the +conviction grows on him that elementary school teaching is on a +relatively high plane, that secondary school teaching is not as +effective, and that collegiate teaching, with rare exceptions, is +ineffective and in urgent need of reform. A superficial survey of +educational literature of the last ten years shows that while the +problem of the high school is now receiving earnest attention, +elementary education continues to absorb the earnest efforts of an +army of vitally interested investigators. The field of college +pedagogics is still virgin soil, and no significant or extensive +program for improved methods of teaching has yet been advanced. + +Three earnest and intelligent students representing three colleges of +undisputed standing were asked informally about their instructors for +the current semester. Nothing was said to make these students aware +that their judgment would hold any significance beyond the friendly +conversation. The summary of opinions is offered, not because the +investigation is complete and affords a basis for scientific +conclusion, but because it reflects typical college teaching in three +recognized institutions of more than average standing. + + + STUDENT NO. I | STUDENT NO. II | STUDENT NO. III + | | + _Teacher A_: A popular | _Teacher A_: A good | _Teacher A_: A very + and interesting | teacher of mathematics.| popular teacher of + teacher. Talks | He assigns a new lesson| English. If the final + enthusiastically, but | for home study. The | examination is given + talks all the time. | next day he asks | by another teacher, I + Lessons assigned are | questions on the | may not have enough + not heard. Students | lesson. The answers are| specific facts to + seldom recite. Written | written out on the | pass. We began Chaucer + quizzes on themes of | blackboards. After | last week. He spent a + assigned reading are | fifteen minutes all | good part of each + rated by an assistant. | students take their | session reading to us. + The work comes back | seats and the work on | All of us were + with an A, a C, or a D,| the blackboard is taken| surprised to find how + but we do not know why | up for explanation. He | much more the text + the rating was given. | explains every | meant than after our + Frequently two students| difficulty very | own reading. In the + who worked together are| clearly. We rarely | last session we went + marked B and D | cover the lesson. Some | to our book on + respectively for the | topics go unexplained | literature and tried + same work. Sometimes a | because during the next| to justify the + a student who "cribbed"| hour the blackboard | characterization which + his outline from | problems are based on | the author gives of + another who actually | the lesson. If I | Chaucer. The class + "worked it up" receives| understood the second | agreed with all in the + a higher mark than was | half of each lesson as | book except in one + given for the original.| clearly as the first, | characterization. In + | I would feel hopeful | the composition work we + | of a good grade in the | took up the structure + | final examination. | of short narratives. + | | The assignment was to + | | find narratives in + | | current periodicals, + | | in the writings of + | | standard authors, in + | | newspapers, and then + | | attempt to find whether + | | the structure we + | | studied was followed. + | | In each case we had to + | | justify any departure + | | from the standard. + | | There was little time + | | for the footnotes in + | | Chaucer. I hope we are + | | not asked for these on + | | the final examination. + | | + | | + _Teacher B_: Rather an | _Teacher B_: A dry | _Teacher B_: A very + interesting teacher; | course in Art History | conscientious teacher + assigns lessons from a | and Appreciation. We | of chemistry. He gives + book. At the beginning | take up the history of | us a ten-minute written + of the hour he asks | architecture, painting,| quiz each hour on the + questions on the text | and sculpture. The | work in the book or on + but is soon carried | names of the best | the matter discussed in + away and rambles along | artists are mentioned, | the last lecture. The + for the period, | and their many works | rest of the hour is + touching on every | confuse us. We memorize| spent in explanation of + subject. We never | Praxiteles, Phidias, | difficult points and in + complete a chapter or | Myron, the ancient | the application of what + topic. The succeeding | cairns, the parts of an| we learned of industry + hour we take the next | Egyptian temple. | and physiology. It is + chapter, which meets | Pictures are shown on | surprising to see the + the same fate. Written | the screen. I elected | interest the class + tests determine the | this course in the hope| shows in the chemical + students' rank. The | that it would teach me | explanations of things + grade for the written | something about | we never noticed + test is announced, but | pictures, how to judge | before. + the papers are not | them and give me | + returned and one never | standards of beauty, | + knows why the papers | etc., but it has been | + were rated C or D. | history and not | + | appreciation so far. | + | We do not see any | + | beauty in the pictures | + | of old madonnas. Even | + | the religious ones | + | among us say this. | + | | + | | + _Teacher C_: | _Teacher C_: A good, | _Teacher C_: A scholarly + A conscientious teacher| clear, effective | instructor in history. + in physics. He assigns | lecturer in chemistry. | He assigns thirty to + a definite lesson for | Every lesson we learn a| forty pages in English + each recitation of the | definite principle and | History, and then he + term. At the beginning | its application. The | lectures to us about + of the hour students go| laboratory work of each| the topics discussed by + to the board to write | is related to the | the author. He points + out answers to | lecture and throws | out errors in dates and + questions on the | interesting side lights| places. Occasionally he + lesson. The hour is | on it. We have quiz | calls on a student. At + spent listening to the | sections once a week. | the end of each month + recitation of each | Here the work is oral | he gives a written test. + student and the | and written. | We remember little of + explanation of | | what we learned and + difficult points. We | | must "bone away" at + never cover more than | | about 200 to 300 pages. + one half of the lesson:| | His English is + sometimes only one | | delightful and we enjoy + third. The next hour | | listening at times, + the questions are on | | but I seem to retain + the new lesson, not on | | so little. "Yes, half + the incompleted portion| | the term is up. We are + of the former lesson. | | beginning the reign of + My knowledge of physics| | Henry VII." + is punctuated by areas | | + of ignorance. These | | + alternate with topics | | + that I think I | | + understand clearly. | | + | | + | | + _Teacher D_: A quiet, | _Teacher D_: A very | _Teacher D_: A very + modest man. Sits back | strict teacher of | enthusiastic lecturer + comfortably in his seat| English literature. He | in economics. He + and asks questions on | assigns text for study,| explains the important + assigned texts. The | and we must be prepared| principles in + questions review the | for detailed questions | economics. We follow + text, and he explains | on each of the great | in a printed syllabus, + in further detail the | writers. He is very | so that it is + facts in the book. The | strict and detailed. We| unnecessary to take + conscientious and | had to know all the | notes. He talks well + capable student finds | fifteen qualities of | and makes things clear. + him superfluous; the | Macaulay's style. "No, | We are given assignments + indifferent student | we did not read | in S----'s "Elements of + remains unmoved by his | Macaulay this term: we | Economics," on which we + phlegmatic | study from a history of| are questioned by + presentation; the poor | English literature that| another teacher. "Is + student finds him a | tells us all about the | the work in the quiz + help; the shirk who | master writers." | section related directly + listens and takes notes| | to the lectures? + is saved studying at | | Sometimes. No, we do + home. | | not take current + | | economic problems. These + | | are given in a later + | | elective course." + | | + | | + _Teacher E_: A good | _Teacher E_: A quiet, | _Teacher E_: An + teacher of Latin. He | dignified gentleman who| instructor in + explains the work, | teaches us psychology. | psychology. His hours + hears the lessons, | A chapter is assigned | are weary and dreary. + gives drills, calls on | in the book, and the | A chapter is assigned + almost everybody every | hour is spent hearing | in X's "Elements of + hour. The written work | students recite on the | Psychology." He asks a + is returned properly | text. He sticks closely| question or two and + corrected and rated. | to the book. He | then repeats what the + | explains clearly when | author tells us, even + | the book is not clear | using the illustrations + | or not specific enough.| and diagrams found in + | The hours drag, for the| the text. Sometimes a + | book is good and those | student reads a paper + | who studied the lessons| which he prepared. "No, + | weary at what seems to | we do not get very much + | us needless repetition.| out of these papers + | | read by students. But + | | then we get just as + | | little from the + | | instructor. No, we + | | never apply the + | | psychology to our own + | | thinking nor to + | | teaching nor to the + | | behavior of children + | | or adults." + | | + | | + _Teacher F_: One | _Teacher F_: A learned | _Teacher F_: A + cannot pass judgment on| Latin scholar who is | forbidding but very + this teacher of | very enthusiastic about| strict Latin teacher. + mechanical drawing. He | his specialty. The | His questions are fast + gives out a problem, | students exhibit | and numerous and the + works a type on the | cheerful tolerance. He | hesitating student is + board, and then | assigns a given number | lost. He assigns at + distributes the plates.| of lines per day. These| least twenty-five per + We draw. He helps us | we prepare at home. In | cent more per lesson + when we ask for aid, | class we give a | than any other + otherwise he walks | translation in English | instructor. The hour is + about the room. I | that has distorted | spent in translating, + suppose one cannot show| phrases and clauses | parsing, and quizzing + teaching ability in | lest we be accused of | on historical and + such a subject. | dishonesty in | mythological allusions. + | preparation. The rest | Every "pony" user is + | of the time is spent on| soon caught, because + | questions of syntax, | he is asked so many + | references, footnotes, | questions on each + | and the identification | sentence. There is a + | of the of the real and | distinct relief when + | mythological characters| the hour is over because + | in the text. The | he is constantly at you. + | teacher is animated and| "Will I take the next + | effective. | course in Latin? Not + | | unless I must. This is + | | prescribed work. It + | | can't end too soon for + | | me, nor for the others + | | in the class." + + +The student of scientific and statistical measurements in education +may object to attaching any importance to these informal +characterizations of college teachers by undergraduates. College +teachers interested in the pedagogical aspects of their subject, and +college administrators who spend time observing class instruction will +concede that these young men were not at all unfortunate in their +teachers. The significance of these characterizations is not that +college teachers vary in teaching efficiency, but rather that +inefficient college teaching is general, and that the causes of this +inefficiency are such as respond readily to simple remedial measures +very well known to elementary and high school teachers. + +=Causes of ineffective college teaching= + +It may be well to note the chief causes of ineffective college +teaching before directing attention to a remedial program: + +(a) Many college teachers hold to be true the time-honored fallacy +that the only equipment for successful teaching is a thorough +knowledge of the subject. They do not stop to square their belief with +actual facts. They overlook the examples of their colleagues possessed +of undisputed scholarship who are failures in the classroom. They fail +to realize that there are psychological and pedagogical aspects of the +teaching art which demand careful organization, skilful gradation and +a happy selection of illustrations intimately related to the lives of +the students. + +(_b_) Closely related to this first cause of ineffective teaching is a +lack of sympathetic understanding of the student's viewpoint. The +scholarly teacher, deep in the intricacies and speculations of his +specialty, is often impatient with the groping of the beginner. He may +not realize that the student before him, apparently indifferent to the +most vital aspects of his subject, has potentialities for development +in it. His interest in his researches and his vision of the +far-reaching human relations of his subject may blind him to the +difficulties that beset the path of the beginner. + +(_c_) The inferiority of college teaching in many institutions can +often be traced to the absence of constructive supervision. The +supervising officer in elementary and secondary schools makes +systematic visits to the classrooms of young or ineffective teachers, +observes their work, offers remedial suggestions, and tries to infuse +a professional interest in the technique of teaching. In the college +such supervision would usually stir deep resentment. The college +teacher is, in matters of teaching, a law unto himself. He sees little +of the actual teaching of his colleagues; they see as little of his. +His contact with the head of his department, and his departmental and +faculty meetings, are usually limited to discussions of college policy +and of the sequence and content of courses. Methods of teaching are +rarely, if ever, brought up for discussion. The results are +inevitable. Weaknesses in teaching are perpetuated, while the devices +and practices of an effective teacher remain unknown to his +colleagues. + +(_d_) A fourth factor which accounts for much of the inefficiency in +college pedagogics is made the thesis of Dr. Mezes' chapter on "The +Training of the College Teacher." The college teacher, unlike teachers +in other grades of an educational system, is expected to teach without +a knowledge of educational aims and ideals, and without a knowledge of +the psychological principles which should guide him in his work. The +prospective college teacher, having given evidence of scholarship +alone, has intrusted to him, the noisy, expressive, and rapidly +developing, youth. We set up no standards aside from character and +scholarship. We do not demand evidence of teaching ability, a +knowledge of applied psychology and of accepted teaching practices, +skill in presentation, power of organizing material in graded +sequence, or ability to frame a series of questions designed to +stimulate and sustain the self-activity of the pupils. The born +college teacher remains the successful teacher. The poor college +teacher finds no agent which tends to raise his teaching to a higher +level. The temperamentally unfit are not weeded out. But teaching is +an art, and like all arts it requires conscientious professional +preparation, the mastery of underlying scientific principles, and +practice under supervision scrupulous in its attention to technique. + +We have here outlined a few of the causes which keep college teaching +on a low plane. The remedial measures are in each case too obvious to +mention. It remains for college authorities to formulate a +well-conceived and adjustable program of means and methods of ridding +college teaching of those forces which keep it in a discouraging +state. It is our purpose in the remainder of this chapter not to +evolve a system of pedagogics, but rather to touch on the most vital +principles in teaching which must be borne in mind if college teaching +is to be rendered pedagogically comparable to elementary and secondary +teaching. We shall confine ourselves to teaching practices which are +applicable to all subjects in the college curriculum. + + +PRINCIPLES IN COLLEGE TEACHING + +=A clearly conceived aim must control all teaching= + +One of the very first elements in good teaching is the clear +recognition of a well-defined aim that gives purpose and direction to +all that is attempted in a lesson or in a period. The chief cause of +poor teaching is aimless teaching, in which the sole object seems to +be to fill the allotted time with talking about the facts of a given +subject. We sit patiently through a recitation in English literature. +Act I, Scene 1 of _Hamlet_ had been assigned for home study and is now +the text for the hour. Questions are asked on the dramatic structure +of this scene, on versification, on the meaning of words and +expressions now obsolete, on peculiarities of syntax, and finally a +question or two on a character portrayal. The bell brings these +questions to an abrupt end. Ask teacher and students the aim of all +these questions. To the former, they are means of testing the +students' knowledge of a variety of facts of language and literature; +to the latter they mean little, and serve only to repress a living +interest and appreciation of living literary text. How much more +effective the hour in English literature would have been if the entire +act had been assigned with a view to giving the students an insight +into the dramatic structure of each scene in this act and of the act +as a whole. All the questions would then bear on dramatic movement, on +the dramatist's technique, on his way of arousing interest in his +story, on devices for giving the cause and the development of the +action. In the opening scene we read: + + _Elsinore. A Platform before the Castle._ + _Francisco at his post. Enter to him Bernardo._ + + BER. Who's there? + + FRAN. Nay, answer me; stand, and unfold yourself. + + BER. Long live the King! + + FRAN. Bernardo? + + BER. He. + + FRAN. You come most carefully upon your hour. + + BER. 'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco. + + FRAN. For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold. And I am sick + at heart. + + BER. Have you had a quiet guard? + +Here we see the guard on duty challenged by his relief, a most unusual +procedure. Why does this experienced guard so far forget the customary +forms as to challenge the guard on duty? What possible reason can +there be for this? How would you read the second line? What words must +be emphasized to show the surprise of the challenged guard? If the +entire hour were given to the whole of Act I and all the questions +sought to reveal to the students Shakespeare's power of dramatic +structure, a definite and lasting impression would be carried away. +Act I should be assigned again, but with a different aim. The teacher +now seeks to make clear to the student the dramatist's method of +character portrayal. A third hour may be spent on certain portions of +this act in which attention is given to significant facts of language, +choice of words, or poetic form. When a guiding aim controls, all +questions, suggestions, explanations, and illustrations tend to create +in the mind of the pupil a rich and unified impression. Where no +distinct aim gives direction to the work, the student is confused by a +variety of facts--isolated facts--that are displaced by another group +of disjointed bits of information. Aimless teaching leads to mental +wandering on the part of the student; teaching governed by a definite +aim leads to mental development and to the acquisition of new +viewpoints and new power. + +=The educational aim vs. the instructional aim= + +We must distinguish clearly between the general or educational aim and +the specific or instructional aim. The former sums up the hope of an +entire course or an entire subject. In the teaching of literature we +hope to develop a vital interest in reading, a discriminating taste, +an enlivened imagination and a quickened perception which enable the +student to visualize the situations and to acquire the thought on the +printed page. The instructional aim, however, is much more specific; +it posits a task that can be accomplished in a very limited time; it +seeks to give an insight into Shakespeare's mastery of words, or into +his power of character portrayal, or into his methods of enhancing +dramatic interest. Each of these two types of aims has its +unmistakable influence on methods of teaching. + +=The variety of aims that may govern teaching= + +What aim should we select to guide us in formulating principles of +collegiate teaching? The question is almost basic, for the selection +of a proper aim gives color and direction to all our teaching. In +brief, the aim may be one of the following: + +(_a_) _The informational aim._ A given course in chemistry or physics +may be designed to sum up for the student the vital facts necessary +for an intelligent comprehension of common phenomena. With such an +aim, it is obvious that only so much laboratory work will be assigned +as will give the student a general knowledge of the tools and methods +of laboratory work; that the major portion of the work will be divided +into occasional lectures, regular book assignments, and extensive +applications of knowledge gained to surrounding chemical and physical +phenomena. A language course may seek to give pupils a stock of words +designed to develop power to read the language in a very short time. +Obviously, grammatical work and translations into the mother tongue +will now be minimized, and those devices which give the eye the power +to find thought in new symbols will be emphasized. There is no +standard for determining the relative importance of this informational +or utilitarian aim when compared to other aims. The significant thing +is, not so much to discover its relative importance, but, having +adopted it, to devise methods which clearly tend to bring the students +to an effective realization of it. + +(_b_) _The disciplinary aim._ On the other hand, the controlling aim +in any subject may be to develop the power to reason about natural +phenomena, the power to observe, and the power to discriminate between +vital and inconsequential details. If this be the aim, the assignment +of subject matter must be reduced, the phenomena studied must be +submitted in the forms of problems, first-hand observations must be +made, and students must be led to see the errors in their observations +and their reasoning. The course which is extensive in subject matter +and which relies on the lecture method sacrifices mental discipline +for information. From the teaching point of view, the result of the +time-honored quarrel between the disciplinists and the utilitarians is +not so important as the adoption of a definite aim, and the +formulation of consistent methods of teaching in order to attain that +aim. Ineffective teaching is not caused by the selection of the one +aim or of the other, but by systems of instruction devoid of any aim +at all. + +(_c_) _The appreciative or æsthetic aim._ It is obvious that a subject +may be taught for the power it develops for æsthetic appreciation of +the arts of life. We have here a legitimate aim of coördinate +importance with the two preceding ones; and if we adopt it, the vital +thing in teaching is to allow this appreciative aim to mold all +instructional effort. It is obvious that a college course in æsthetics +must be inspirational, must seek to develop a real appreciation of the +beauty of line, of color and of sound. Such a course must, therefore, +encourage contact with the products of art, rather than promote the +study of texts on the history of any of the arts. So, too, courses in +music or in literature which do not send the student away with an +intense desire to hear, to see, to feel the masterpieces of music or +literature must be judged dismal failures. The formalization of an art +course given to the general student, kills the live material and +leaves the student himself cold. + +(_d_) _The aim to teach technique._ An effective college course may +select for its aim the development of the technique of a given +subject. It is obvious that a science course governed by this aim will +emphasize the laboratory method at the expense of information; that a +course in the social sciences will seek to cover less ground but will +develop in the student the power to find facts and use them to +formulate an intelligent conclusion; that a course in biology will +minimize names, classifications and structures, but will emphasize +field and laboratory work and the modes of utilizing the data thus +discovered. We must repeat the statement made before, that no one can +set himself up as the final arbiter of the claims of these contending +aims. They are all vitally necessary for a thorough understanding of +life's problems. The significant conclusion for teaching is that one +or more of these aims must be consciously chosen and that content and +method must be determined by them absolutely. Teaching for the sake of +teaching consumes time and makes drafts on energy, but it leaves the +student no richer in power and with no truer understanding. + +=Should the aim be modified for varying groups of students?= + +It is obvious that no general law can be formulated for the adjustment +of aims to the needs of students. Teachers have usually found it +necessary to change the aim, the content, and the method of a course +according to the needs of different classes of students. In one of our +colleges science students are required to take two years of Latin. The +course offered these young men gives the ordinary drill in grammar, +translation, and analysis of Cæsar, Cicero, and Vergil, as well as +practice in prose composition in which nondescript and disjointed +English sentences, grammatically correct, are turned into incorrect +Latin. This description, without any changes whatever, applies also to +the course given in the introductory years in Latin to students +specializing in the arts. Even a superficial analysis reveals a +different set of needs in the two classes of students which can be +served only by a corresponding difference in content and mode of +teaching. A student who takes French or German because he wants enough +mastery of these languages to enable him to read in foreign journals +about the progress of his specialty must be given a course which +appeals to the eye and minimizes the grammatical and conversational +phases of these languages. + +There are courses that are foundational and that must therefore be +governed by an eclectic aim. In the first course in college physics it +is obvious that we must teach the necessary facts of the subject as +well as its method. These aspects of the work must be emphasized with +equal force for all students; no differentiation need be made for +future medical or engineering students or for prospective teachers of +the subject in secondary schools. Generally speaking, initial courses +in a department are governed by an eclectic aim, but in the advanced +courses there must be constant adjustment to the needs of various +groups. An eclectic aim can be as effective an instrument in enhancing +the quality of teaching as a single, clear-cut aim, provided there is +a clear recognition of the relative importance of the ends set up, and +provided a definite plan is evolved to attain them. + +The aim or aims of a subject or a lesson, once formulated, must always +be kept before the students as well as before the teacher. Every pupil +must know the ends to be attained in the course he is taking, and as +work progresses he must experience a growing realization that the +class is moving toward these ends. The subject matter of the course, +the method of instruction, the assigned task, now glow with interest +which springs from work clearly motivated. The average student plods +through his semester from a sense of duty or obedience rather than +from a conviction of the worth of both subject matter and method. + +=Value of clearly defined aims= + +Not only must the general aim be indicated to the student, but he must +also be made acquainted with the specific aim. Where students have +been acquainted with the specific task that must be accomplished in a +given period, concentration and coöperation with the instructor are +easier; the students can, at stages in the lesson, anticipate +succeeding steps; their answers have greater relevancy, their thought +is more sequential and flows more readily along the path planned by +the instructor. A specific aim for each lesson makes for economy, for +it is a standard of relevancy for both student and teacher. The +student whose answer or observation is irrelevant is asked to recall +the aim of the lesson and to judge the pertinence of his contribution. +The instructor given to wandering far afield finds that a clearly +fixed aim is an aid in keeping him in the prescribed path. Too many +college hours, especially in the social sciences, find the instructor +beginning with his subject but ending anywhere in the field of human +knowledge. These wanderings are entertaining enough, but they +dissipate the energies of the students and produce a mental flabbiness +already too well developed in the average college student. + +=Motivation in college teaching= + +A second factor which contributes much toward the effectiveness of +college teaching is the principle of motivation. So long as most of +the college course is prescribed, course by course, students will be +found pursuing certain studies without an intelligent understanding of +their social or mental worth. Ask the student "doing" prescribed logic +to explain the value of the course. In friendly or intimate discussion +with him, elicit his conception of the utilitarian or disciplinary +worth of the prescribed Latin or mathematics in the arts course. He +sees no relation between the problems of life and the daily lessons in +many of these subjects. He submits to the teacher's attempts to graft +this knowledge upon his intellectual stock merely because he has +learned that the easiest course is to bend to authority. Instruction +in too many college subjects is based, not on intelligent and +voluntary attention, but on the discipline maintained by the +institution or by the instructor. It is obvious that such instruction +is stultifying to the teacher and can never develop in the student a +liberal and cultured outlook upon life. + +The principle of motivation in teaching seeks to justify to the +student the experience that is presented as part of his college +course. It is obvious that this motivation need not always be +explained in terms of utilitarian values. A student of college age can +be made to realize the mental, the cultural, or the inspirational +values that justify the prescription of certain courses. The college +instructor who tries to motivate courses in the appreciation of music +or painting finds no great difficulty in leading his students to an +enthusiastic conviction of their inspirational value. It is well +worth taking the student into our confidence in these matters of aim +and value. We must become more tolerant of the thoughtful student who +makes honest inquiry as to the value of any of the presented courses. +We must learn to regard such questions as signs of growing seriousness +and increasing maturity and not as signs of impertinence. We +constantly ask ourselves questions about the round of our daily task; +we seek to know thoroughly their uses, their values, their meaning in +our lives. Clear conception of use or value in teaching is as vital as +it is in life--for what is teaching if not the process of repeating +life's experiences? + +In the principle of motivation lies the most successful solution of +the problem of interest in teaching. We have too long persisted in the +"sugarcoating" conception of interest. We have regarded it as a +process of "making agreeable." Interest has therefore been looked upon +as a fictitious element introduced into teaching merely to inveigle +the mind of the student into a consideration of what we are offering +it. Our modern psychology teaches a truer conception of interest: a +feeling accompanying self-expression. Interest has been defined as a +feeling of worth in experience. Where this feeling of worth is +aroused, the individual expresses his activity to attain the end that +he perceives. Every act, every effort, to attain this end is +accompanied by a distinctive feeling known as interest. When a class +is quiet and gives itself to the teacher, it is obedient and polite, +but not necessarily interested. The class that looks tolerantly at the +stereopticon views that the instructor presents, or listens to the +reading of the professor of English, is amused but not necessarily +interested. But when the students ask questions about the pictures or +ask the professor of English for further references, then have we +evidence of real interest. Interest is, therefore, an active attitude +toward life's experience. Rational motivation is almost a guarantee of +this active attitude of interest. + +Intelligent motivation in teaching has far-reaching values for both +student and teacher. It stirs interest and guarantees attention and +thus tends to keep aroused the activity of the students. It +establishes an end toward which all effort of teacher and student must +bend. It enables the student to follow a line of thought more +intelligently, and occasionally to anticipate conclusions. For the +teacher it serves as a standard, in terms of which he reorganizes his +subject matter, judges the value of each topic, and omits socially +useless matter which has too long been retained in the course in the +fond hope that it will in some way develop the mind. + +=Beginning at the point of contact= + +The instructor who strives to motivate the subject matter he teaches +usually begins with that phase of the subject which is most intimately +related to the student's life and environment. Every subject worth +teaching crosses the student's life at some point. The contacts +between pupil and subject afford the most natural and the most +effective starting points in the teaching of any subject. + +The subject matter in a college course is too frequently so organized +that it presents points of discrepancy between itself and the student. +To the college student life is not classified and systematized to a +nicety. Experiences occur in more or less accidental but natural +sequence. Scientific classification is the product of a mature mind +possessing mastery of a given portion of the field of knowledge. To +thrust the student, who is just finding his way in a new course, into +a thoroughly scientific classification of a subject, is to present in +the introduction what should come in the conclusion. + +Many a student taking his introductory course in psychology begins +with a definition of the subject, its relation to all social and +physical sciences, and its classification. All these are aspects of +the subject which the mind conversant with it sees clearly and +understands thoroughly, but which the inexperienced student accepts +merely because the facts are printed in his textbook. The youthful +mind is concerned with the present and with the immediate environment. +Too many of our college courses, in the initial stages, transport the +student into the realm of theory or into the distant past. The +student cannot orientate himself in this new environment and is soon +lost on the highways and byways of classification; to him the subject +becomes a study of words rather than of vital ideas. Why must the +introductory course in philosophy begin with the ancient philosophers, +and give the major part of the term to the study of dead philosophers +and their theories long since refuted and discarded, while vital +modern philosophic thought is crowded into the last few sessions of +the semester? + +=Illustrations of maxim. Begin at the point of contact= + +The pedagogical significance of beginning at the point of contact can +best be understood and appreciated by illustrations of actual teaching +conditions. Most initial courses in economics begin by positing that +economics is the science of the consumption, distribution, and +production of wealth. The student is told that in earlier systems of +economics production was studied as the initial economic process, but +that the more modern view makes consumption the starting process. All +this the student takes on faith. He does not really see its bearings +and its implications; he is as unconcerned with the new formulation as +he is with the old; he feels at once far removed from economics. The +succeeding lessons study economic laws with little reference to the +economic life that the student lives. In a later chapter he learns a +definition of wages, the forces that determine wage, and the mode of +computing the share of the total produce that must go to wages. + +Here we have a course that does not begin at the point of contact, +that presents the very discrepancies between itself and the student +that were noted before. How can we overcome them? By proceeding +psychologically. The instructor refers to two or three important wage +disputes in current industrial life; these conflicts are analyzed; the +contending demands are studied, and the forces controlling the +adoption of a new wage scale are noted. After this study of actual +economic conditions the students are led to formulate their own +definition of wages, and to discover the forces that determine wage. +Their conclusions are of course tentative. The textbook or textbooks +are consulted in order to verify the formulations and the conclusions +of the class. Thus the course is developed entirely through a series +of contacts with economic life. The final topic in the course is the +formulation of a definition of economics. Now the class sums up all +that it has seen and learned of economics during the year. The cold +and empty definition now glows with meaning. Such a course awakens an +intelligent interest in economic life; it develops a mode of thought +in social sciences and a sense of self-reliance; it teaches the +student that all conclusions are tentative and constantly subject to +verification; it fosters a critical attitude toward printed text. + +The college graduate who studied college mathematics, advanced +algebra, trigonometry, analytical geometry, and calculus, looks back +with satisfaction at work completed. Each of these subjects seemed to +have little or no relation to the other; each was kept in a +water-tight compartment. He remembers few, if any, of the formulæ, +equations, and symbols. He recalls vividly his admiration of the +author's ingenious method of deriving equations. Every succeeding +theorem, formula, or equation was another puzzle in a subject which +seemed to be composed of a series of difficult, unrelated, and +unapplied mathematical proofs. The course ended, the mass of data was +soon obliterated from the mind's active possessions. + +What is the meaning of it all? What is its relation to life? There is +no doubt that much of this mathematics has its application to life's +needs, and that these successive subjects of mathematics are +thoroughly interdependent. But nothing in the mode of instruction +leads the student to see either the application or the interrelation +of all this higher mathematics. Would it not be better to give a +single course called mathematics rather than these successive +subjects? Would it not be more enlightening if each new mathematical +principle were taught through a situation in building, engineering, or +mechanics so that the student would at all times see the intimate +relation between mathematical law and physical forces? Would not the +disciplinary values of mathematics be intensified for the student by +teaching it in a way that presents a quantitative interpretation of +the daily phenomena in his experience? + +Teachers of philosophy and psychology too often fall into a formalism +that robs their subject of all its vitalizing influences. Many a +student enters his course in logic with high hopes. At last he is to +learn the laws of thought which will render him keen in detection of +fallacies and potent in the presentation of argument. How bitter is +his disappointment when he finds his course dissipated in definitions +and classifications. His logic gives itself to the discussion of such +patent fallacies as, "A good teacher knows his subject; Williams knows +his subject, therefore he is a good teacher." Day after day he proves +the error in every form of stupidity or the truth of what is +axiomatic. He tires of "Gold is a metal" and "Socrates is mortal." Few +courses in logic have the courage to break away from the traditional +formalism and to begin each new principle or fundamental concept of +logic by analyzing editorials, arguments, contentions in newspapers, +magazines, campaign literature, or the actual textbooks. Few students +complete their course in logic with a keener insight into thought and +with a maturer or more aggressive mental attitude. + +=Beginning at the point of contact relates the subject to the life of +the student= + +It was pointed out in a previous illustration that the college student +"taking philosophy" is seldom made to feel that the subject he studies +is related to the problems that arise in his own life. Too frequently +introductory courses in philosophy are historical and extensive in +scope, striving to develop mastery of facts rather than to give new +viewpoints. The student learns names of philosophers, and attempts to +memorize the philosophic system developed by each thinker. Such a +course imposes a heavy burden on retentive power, for no little effort +is required to remember the distinctive philosophical systems +advocated by the respective writers. To the students these +philosophers represent a group of peculiar people differing one from +the other in their degrees of "queerness." One system is as far +removed as another from the life that the student experiences; no +system helps him to find himself. An introductory course in philosophy +should begin with the problems of philosophy; it should have its +origin in the reflective and speculative problems of the student +himself. As the course progresses, the student should feel a growing +sense of power, an increasing ability to formulate more clearly, to +himself at least, the questions of religion and ethics that arise in +the life of a normal thinking person. So, too, courses in ethics and +psychology lose the vital touch unless they begin in the life of the +student and apply their lessons to his social and intellectual +environment. + +It must be pointed out, however, that the social sciences lend +themselves more readily to this intimate treatment than do languages, +or the physical sciences, but at all points possible in the study of a +subject, the experience of the student must be introduced as a means +of giving the subject real meaning. In teaching composition and +rhetoric illustrations of the canons of good form need not be +restricted to the past. Current magazines and newspapers are not +devoid of effective illustrations. When the older literary forms are +used exclusively as models of language, the student ends his course +with the erroneous notion that contemporary writing is cheap and +sensational and devoid of artistic craftsmanship. + +Courses in physics and chemistry frequently devote themselves to a +development of principles rather than to the applications of the +studies to every sphere of life. Introductory college courses in +zoölogy spend the year in the minutiæ of the lowest animal forms and +rarely reach any animal higher in the scale than the crayfish. We +still find students in botany learning the various margins of leaves, +the system of venation, the scientific classifications, but at the end +of the course, unable to recognize ordinary leaves and just as blind +to nature as they were before. Zoölogy and botany do not always--as +they should--give a new view of life, a new attitude towards living +phenomena, a new contact with nature. + +Careful inquiry among college students will reveal an amazing +ignorance of common chemical and physical phenomena after full-year +courses in chemistry and physics. We find a student giving two +semesters to work in each of these subjects. He spends most of his +time learning the chemical elements, their characteristics and the +modes of testing for them. The major portion of the time is spent in +the laboratory, where he must discover for himself the elementary +practices of the subject and test the validity of well-established +truths. At the end of his second semester he has not developed +sufficient laboratory technique for significant work in chemistry; he +is ignorant of the chemical explanation of the most common phenomena +in life. + +=Pedagogical vs. logical organization= + +There is much to be said for the position taken by the "older +teachers," who may not possess the scholarship of the "younger +investigators" but who argue for a general course in which laboratory +work shall be reduced, technique minimized, and attention focused on +giving an extensive view of chemical forces. The simple chemical facts +in digestion, metabolism, industry, war, medicine, etc., would be +presented in such a way as to make life a more intelligent process and +to give an insight into the method of science. In the courses that +follow the introductory one, there would be a marked change in aim; +the student would be taught the laboratory technique and would be +given a more intensive study of the important aspects of chemistry. +Similar changes in the introductory courses in physics are urged by +these same teachers. + +Beginning at the point of contact may frequently interfere with the +logical arrangement of the course of study; it may wrench many a topic +out of its accustomed place in the textbook; it will demand that the +applications, which come last in most logically arranged courses, be +given first and that definitions and principles which come first be +given last. This logical arrangement, it was pointed out, is usually +the expression of the matured mind that is thoroughly conversant with +every aspect of a subject; it may mean little, however, to the +beginner--so little that he does not even slightly appreciate its +significance. The loss in logical sequence entailed by beginning at +the point of contact is often more than compensated for by the +advantages which are derived from a psychological presentation. + +=Proper organization as a factor in effective teaching= + +A well-organized lesson possesses teaching merits which may counteract +almost all the usual weaknesses found in poor teaching. Good +organization determines clearness of comprehension, ease of retention, +and ability of recall; it makes for economy of time and mental energy; +it simplifies the processes of mental assimilation; it teaches the +student, indirectly but effectively, to think sequentially. We have +all suffered too keenly, as auditors and readers, the inconveniences +of poor organization, not to realize the worth of proper organization +of knowledge in teaching. + +Organization of knowledge has become a pedagogical slogan, but its +increase in popularity has not been accompanied by increased clearness +of comprehension of its meaning. What, then, is meant by proper +organization? It must ever be borne in mind that proper organization +is a relative condition, the limits of which are determined by the +capacities of the students and the nature of the subject matter. What +is effective organization of facts in elementary history may be very +ineffective organization for students of high school or college grade. +Making due allowance for relative conditions, good organization may be +said to consist of five essential characteristics. + +_Logical sequence_ is the first of these. It is apparent that the more +rational the sequence of facts, the more effective is the organization +of knowledge. Data organized on a basis of cause and effect, +similarity, contrast or any other logical relationship will help to +secure the teaching advantages we have mentioned. A search for this +simple principle in most textbooks on American or English history or +literature reveals its complete absence. A detailed mass of historical +information grouped into administrations or reigns is merely a +mechanical organization in which time, the accidental element, and +not the development of social movements, the logic of human history, +is the determining factor. In too many courses in literature the +student learns names of writers, biographical data, and literary +characteristics of the masters, but fails to see the development of +the movement of which the writer was a part. Events of history placed +in their social movements, writers in literature placed in the school +in which they belong, give the student the logical ties which bind the +knowledge to him. So, too, one often analyzes the sequence of chapters +in an advanced algebra or a trigonometry and fails to discover the +governing rationale. It must be remembered, however, that the nature +of the subject will often reduce the logical element in its +organization. Instances in language teaching may be cited as +illustrations of teaching situations where a mechanical organization +is often the only one possible because of the arbitrary character of +the subject matter. + +=Meaning of organization of subject matter= + +_Relativity_ of importance is the second factor of good organization. +A cursory study of a well-organized chapter or merely passing +attention to a well-organized lecture reveals at once a distinct +difference in the emphasis on the various parts or elements of the +subject. The proportional allotment of time or space, the number of +illustrations, the number of questions asked on a given point, the +force of language--these are all means of bringing out the relative +importance of constituent topics or principles. In retrospect, a +well-organized lesson presents an appearance similar to a contour map; +each part stands out in distinctive color according to its +significance. + +It is frequently argued by teachers that students of college age +should be required to distinguish the relativity of importance of the +parts of a lesson or the topics in a subject; that the instructor who +points out the changing importance of each succeeding part of a lesson +is enervating the student by doing for him what he ought to do for +himself. This is true in part, but it must be realized that the +instructor who through questions and directed discussions leads +students to formulate for themselves the relative importance of data +is not only carrying out the suggestion made in the preceding +paragraph but is also developing in his students a power they too +frequently lack. Those who have studied the notes that students take +in their classes have seen how frequently facts are torn from their +moorings; how wrong principles are derived from illustrations; how a +catch-phrase becomes a basic principle; how simple truths and axioms +are distorted in the frenzy of note taking. Through questions if +possible, through emphasis on illustrations and explanations, where no +other means is available, students must be made to see that all facts +of a subject are not of the same hue, that some are faint of tint, +others in shadow, and still others in high colors. Without this +relativity of importance, facts are grouped; with it, they are +intelligently organized. + +_An underlying tendency_ can be discerned in well-organized knowledge. +Not only are facts arranged in logical sequence and emphasized +according to importance, but there is in addition a central principle +or an underlying purpose giving unifying force to them all. We can +illustrate the need of this third characteristic of good organization +by referring to a college course in American history which gives much +time to the period from 1815 to 1860. The events of these forty-five +years are not taught in administrations but are summed up in six +national tendencies; viz., the questions of state sovereignty, +slavery, territorial acquisition, tariff, industrial and +transportational progress, and foreign policy. Each of these movements +is treated as intensively as time permits. At the end of the study of +the entire period, the student is left with these six topics but +without a unifying principle; to him, these are six unrelated currents +of events. In each of these problems the North and the South displayed +distinctive attitudes, acted from distinctive motives, expressed +distinctive needs and preferences, but these were never brought out +either through well-formulated questions or through explanation. As a +result, the class never realize fully that those years, 1815-1860, +marked the period of growing sectional differences, misunderstandings, +and animosities. Had this underlying tendency been brought out clearly +at various points in the course, the students would have carried away +a permanent impression of what is most vital in this period of +American development. + +_Gradation_ of subject matter is another characteristic of good +organization. Careful gradation is not so vital in subjects of social +content as it is in mathematics, foreign languages, and exact +sciences. The most important single factor in removing difficulties +that beset a student is gradation. Teaching problems often arise +because the instructor or the textbook presents more than one +difficulty at a time. Teachers who lack intellectual sympathy or who +are so lost in the advanced stages of their specialty that they can no +longer image the successive steps of difficulty, one by one, that +present themselves to a mind inexperienced in their respective fields, +are frequently guilty of this pedagogical error. Malgradation of +subject matter is the direct cause of serious loss of time and energy +and of needless discouragement not only to students but to instructors +as well. + +_Ability of the student to summarize_ easily is a test of good +organization. At the end of a loosely organized chapter or lesson the +student experiences no little difficulty in setting forth the +underlying principles and their supporting data. It does not help much +to have the textbook or the instructor state the summary either at the +end of the lesson in question or at the beginning of the succeeding +one. The summary of a lesson, given by the class, is a test of the +effectiveness of instruction. Summaries given by teachers or textbooks +have little or no pedagogical justification. Only in cases where the +summary introduces a new point of view or unifying principles, or when +it sets forth basic principles in particularly forceful language--only +then is the statement by teacher or textbook justifiable. + +=Thoroughness= + +Teachers are advised to be thorough in their instruction. They in turn +urge their students to strive for thoroughness in study. We praise or +impugn the scholarship of our colleagues because it possesses or lacks +thoroughness. Here we have a quality of knowledge universally +extolled. But what is meant by thoroughness? How can teachers or +students know that they are attaining that degree of comprehension +known as thoroughness? We are told that thoroughness is a relative +condition, always changing with accompanying circumstances. Even an +unattainable ideal can be defined,--why not thoroughness? We must, +therefore, attempt to determine the meaning of thoroughness as used in +teaching and study. + +=Negative interpretation of thoroughness= + +It may be helpful to formulate the common or lay interpretation of +thoroughness. The term "thoroughness" is erroneously used in a +quantitative sense to describe scholastic attainment. We are told of a +colleague's thoroughness in history; he knows all names, dates, +places, facts in the development of mankind; his knowledge of his +specialty is encyclopedic; "there is no need of looking things up when +he is around." A professor of English literature boasted of the +thoroughness with which he teaches _Hamlet_: "Every word of value and +every change in the form of versification are marked; every allusion +is taken up, every peculiar grammatical construction is brought to the +attention of the class." Here we have illustrations of an erroneous +conception of thoroughness which gives it an extensive meaning and +regards it as the accumulation of a mass of data. + +=Positive interpretation of thoroughness= + +Yet the master of chronological detail in history may have no +historical imagination, no historical perspective, no historical +judgment. He may possess the facts, but a period in history still +remains for him a stretch of time limited by two dates, rather than a +succession of years in which all mankind seems to be moving in the +same direction, possessed of the same viewpoints, the same hopes and +aspirations. The professor of English literature does not see that in +teaching _Hamlet_ he forsook his specialty, literature, for philology +and mythology; that he turned his back on art and took up language +structure. Thoroughness is not completeness, because the possession of +the details of a subject does not necessarily bring with it a true +comprehension of it. Add all the details, and the sum total is nothing +more than the group of details. Thoroughness is a degree of +comprehension resulting from the acquisition of new points of view. +The teacher of history who sees underlying forces in the facts of the +past, who understands that true inwardness of any movement which shows +him its relation to all phases of life, but who nevertheless may not +have ready command of all the specific details, is more thorough in +his scholarship. He has the things that count; the facts that are +forgotten can easily be found. The class that studies the dramatic +structure of _Hamlet_, that sees Shakespeare's power of character +portrayal, that takes up only such grammatical and language points as +give clearer comprehension or lead to greater appreciation of diction, +is thorough although it does not possess all the facts. It is thorough +because what is significant and dynamic in _Hamlet_ is made focal. The +postgraduate student assiduously searching for data for his doctorate +thesis is often guided by the erroneous conception of thoroughness; he +wants facts that have never seen the light. The more he gets of these, +the nearer he approaches his goal. He avoids conclusions; he is +counseled by his professors against giving too much of his book to the +expression of his views. Analyze the chapters of a doctorate thesis +and note the number of pages given to facts and those to conclusions +and interpretations. The proportion is astonishing. The student's +power to find facts is clearly shown; his power to use facts is not +revealed by his thesis. The richer the thesis is in detail, in +references, in allusions to dusty tomes and original sources, the more +thorough is it frequently considered by the faculty. We have failed to +realize that this excessive zeal in gathering and collating a large +number of not commonly known facts may make the thesis more +cumbersome, more complete, but not necessarily more thorough. However, +the plea for a new standard in judging doctorate theses is meeting +with gratifying encouragement. + +What, then, are the teaching practices that make for greater +thoroughness, that increase the qualitative and intensive character of +knowledge? We shall discuss some of these in the succeeding +paragraphs. + +=How can thoroughness be produced?= + +The _acquisition of new points of view_ makes for increased +thoroughness of comprehension. The class that understands the causes +of the American Revolution from the American point of view knows of +the navigation laws, the quartering of soldiers in American homes, the +Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre,--the usual provocations that strained +patience to the breaking point. The college teacher of American +history who spends time on the riots in New York in which a greater +number of colonists was killed than in Boston, who teaches in detail +the various acts forbidding the manufacture of hats and of iron ware, +or the protests against English practices in the colonies made by +British merchants, etc., is adding more facts, but he may only be +intensifying the erroneous conclusion that the students have formed in +earlier and less complete courses. The topic, "Causes of the American +Revolution," grows in thoroughness, not through the addition of these +facts but through the presentation of new interpretations of the +practices of the English. When we explain that the English believed in +virtual and not actual representation, the students see a new meaning +in "taxation without representation." When the students learn that the +English government decided on a new economic and industrial policy +which planned to have the mother country specialize in manufacture and +transportation and the colonies in production of raw materials, the +students see reason, though not necessarily justice, in the acts +prohibiting Americans from various forms of manufacture and +transportational activities. These new facts modify in the minds of +students the point of view so often given in elementary courses, that +the War for Independence was caused by sheer British meanness and +injustice, by her policy of reckless repression. + +It is not always possible to give new points of view to all knowledge +in all subjects. There are cases in which there is only one point of +view or where students may not be ready for a new interpretation +because of their limited mastery of a new field of knowledge. Under +these conditions an added point of view is a source of confusion +rather than an aid to clearer comprehension. Some subjects, like the +social sciences, naturally allow for richer interpretations. Others, +like the languages and the physical sciences, present only very +limited opportunities; in the biological sciences the possibilities, +though not as rich as in the social sciences, are numerous and +productive of good results. + +_Comparison_ is a second means of producing thoroughness of +comprehension. Good teaching abounds in comparisons which are +introduced at the end of every important topic rather than reserved +for examination questions. Comparisons used liberally at every logical +pause in the development of a subject always give an added viewpoint, +review early subject matter incidentally, stir thought, and make for +better organization. How much more clearly are the causes of the War +of 1812 understood after they are compared with those that brought on +the Revolutionary War! How much more definite are the causes of the +American Revolution when compared with those that brought on the +French Revolution! A writer, a school, or a movement in English +literature may be understood when studied by itself; but how is +comprehension deepened when each is compared with another writer or +school or movement! Comparison of perception and conception or +appreciation and association in psychology, makes each activity stand +out clearer in the mind of the student. Compare the laws of rent, +wage, profit, and interest in economics, and not only each is better +understood but the basic laws of distribution are readily derived by +the student. Similarly, comparisons in mathematics, physics, +chemistry, and the entire range of collegiate subjects give increased +comprehension, useful though incidental reviews, and greater +unification of knowledge, as well as added points of view. + +_Correlation_ as a means of producing thoroughness is closely allied +to comparison. Correlation relates kindred topics of different +subjects, while comparison points out relations in the same subject. +The instructor who correlates the history of education with the +political and economic history that the student learned in another +course is unifying related experience, reducing the field of +knowledge, introducing logical organization, and adding new +interpretations to facts already acquired. Similarly, teaching must be +enriched by correlating physics and mathematics, chemistry and +physics, literature and music, history of literature and general +history, until instruction has taken advantage of every vital relation +among subjects. With the growth of specialized subjects there is an +unfortunate tendency toward isolation until the untrained mind looks +upon the curriculum as a series of unrelated experiences, each +rivaling the other in its claim to importance. + +The advantage of correlation will remain lost in college teaching as +long as each instructor regards himself as a specialized investigator +concerned with teaching his subject rather than his students. How many +college teachers know what subjects their students have already taken, +or knowing the names of these subjects, have a general knowledge of +their content? The college professor of the preceding generation was a +cultured gentleman whose general scholarship transcended the limits of +his specialty. He understood and knew the curriculum as a whole. +Because of changes in every phase of our civilization, his successor +has a deeper but a narrower knowledge. He knows little of the work of +his students outside of his own subject. He does not relate and +correlate the ever growing field of knowledge; he merely adds--by the +introduction of his own mass of facts--to the isolation which +characterizes the parts of college curricula. This tendency must be +counteracted, not by interfering with the scholastic interests of any +instructor, but by occasional conferences of instructors of allied +subjects in order to agree on common meeting grounds, on points of +correlation, on useful repetitions, and on the elimination of needless +duplications. Such pedagogical conferences are rare because college +teachers are not alive to the need of reform in methods of college +teaching. + +Thoroughness results from _increase in the number of applications_ of +knowledge. The introduction of the functional view into teaching +brings with it a realization of the vital needs of increased ways of +applying the experience we present to students. As the laws of +physics, mathematics, biology, composition, economics, etc., are +applied to a number of specific instances, the generalization grows in +meaning and in force. Specific cases vary, and, varying, give new +color and new meaning to the laws that are applied to explain them. +How much a law in chemistry means after it is applied to specific +instances in industry, human and animal physiology, plant life, or +engineering! The equation learned in descriptive geometry may be +understood, but it never means so much as when it is applied to +specific problems in engineering. Applications give added insight into +knowledge and therefore make for greater thoroughness of +comprehension. + +=Teaching as a process of arousing self-activity= + +Locke's Blank Paper Theory, enunciated centuries ago, has been +repeatedly and triumphantly refuted even by tyros in psychology, but +in educational practices it continues to hold sway. College teaching +too frequently proceeds on the assumption that the mind is an aching +void anxiously awaiting the generous contributions of knowledge to be +made by the teacher. College examinations usually test for +multiplicity of facts acquired, rather than for power developed. +College teaching usually does not perceive that the mind is a reacting +machine containing a vast amount of pent-up potential energy which is +ready to react upon any presentation; that development takes place +only as this self-activity expresses itself; that education is +evolutionary rather than involutionary. Teaching is, therefore, a +process of arousing, sustaining, and directing the self-activity of +pupils. The more persistently and successfully this activity is +aroused, the more systematically it is directed to intelligent ends, +the more skillful is the teaching. Teachers do not impart knowledge, +for that is impossible; they _occasion_ knowledge. Only as the teacher +succeeds through questions, directions, diagrams, and all known +devices, in arousing the self-activity of the student, is he producing +the conditions under which knowledge is acquired by the pupil. + +=Evaluation of common methods of teaching= + +The methods commonly used in college teaching are as follows: + + 1. Lecture method, with or without quiz sections. + + 2. Development method, with or without textbook. + + 3. Combination of lecture and development method. + + 4. Reference readings and the presentation of papers by students. + + 5. Laboratory work by students, together with lectures and quiz + sections. + +Teachers have long debated the relative merits of these methods or +combinations of them. They fail to realize that each method is +correct, depending upon the aim to be accomplished and the governing +circumstances. No method has a monopoly of pedagogical wisdom; no +method, used exclusively, is free from inherent weakness. A teaching +method must be judged by its ability to arouse and sustain +self-activity and to attain the aim set for a specific lesson. With +this standard for judging a method of teaching, we must stop to sum up +the relative worth of common methods of college teaching. + +=Lecture method evaluated= + +The _lecture method_ has been the target for much criticism for many +centuries. Socrates inveighed against its use by the sophists, and +educators since have repeated the attack. The reasons are legion: +(_a_) The lecture method tends to discourage the pupil's activity. The +student feels no responsibility during the lecture; he listens +leisurely, and makes notes of the instructor's contribution. The +student's judgment is not called into play; he learns to take +knowledge on the authority of the instructor. The sense of comfort and +security experienced in a lecture hour is fatal even to aggressive and +assertive minds. Sooner or later the students succumb to the inertia +developed by the lecture system. + +(_b_) A second limitation of an exclusive lecture method is its +inability to make permanent impressions. Many a student, entering the +lecture hall, has completely forgotten even the theme of the last +lecture. Knowledge is retained only when it is obtained by the +expression of self-activity. To offset this weakness notes must be +taken, but these prove to be the bane of the lecture method. Some +students, in their efforts to record a point just concluded, lose not +only the thought of what they are trying to write but also the new +thought which the instructor is now explaining; they drop both ideas +from their notes and wait for the next step in the development of the +lecture. This accounts for the many gaps in the notes kept by +students. Some instructors, dismayed by the amount of knowledge lost +by students, resort to dictation devices. Others, realizing the +pedagogical weakness of such teaching, distribute mimeographed +outlines of carefully prepared summaries of the lectures. Now the +student is relieved of the tedium of note taking, but the temptation +to let his mind wander afield is intensified. An outline, scanty of +detail, but so devised as to keep the organization and sequence of +subject matter clear in the minds of students, is, of course, helpful. +But detailed outlines distributed among the students discourage even +attentive listening. + +(_c_) In teaching by lectures only there is no contact between student +and teacher. The student does not recite; he does not reveal his type +of mind, his mode of study, his grasp of subject matter. He is merely +a passive recipient. To this third weakness of the lecture method we +may add a fourth: (_d_) it tends to emphasize quantity rather than +method. The student is confronted with a great mass of facts, but he +does not acquire a mode of thought nor does he see the method by which +a given subject is developed. (_e_) The lecture method, therefore, +inculcates in students an attitude of mental subservience which is +fatal for the development of courageous and vigorous thought. And +finally (_f_) it must be urged that in lecture teaching the instructor +is not testing the accuracy of the students' conceptions nor is he +able to judge the efficacy of his own methods. + +But, on the other hand, it must be admitted that with an effective +lecturer, possessed of commanding personality, the lecture gives a +point of view of a subject and an enthusiasm for it which other +devices fail to achieve. The lecture method makes for economy of time +and enables one to present his subject to his class with a +succinctness absent from many textbooks. Where much must be taught in +a limited time, where a comprehensive view of an extensive field must +be given, when certain types of responses or mental attitudes are +desired, the lecture serves well. + +=Final worth of lecture method= + +Experience teaches that an exclusive lecture system is not conducive +to efficient work; that lectures to regular classes ought to be +punctuated by questions whenever interest lags; that the occasional +and even the unannounced lecture is more effective; that supplementary +devices for checking up assignments and regular collateral study are +of vital importance. Where regular lectures are followed by detailed +analyses in quiz sections the best results are obtained when the +lecturer himself is the questioner. Where quiz sections are turned +over to assistants, wise procedure requires that quiz leaders attend +the lectures and decide, in conference with the lecturer, the specific +aims which must be achieved in the quiz work and the assigned readings +which must be given to students in preparation for each quiz hour. +Unless this is done, the student is frequently confused by the +divergent points of view presented by lecturer, quiz master, and +textbook. + +_The development method_ has much to commend it. It stimulates +activity by its repeated questions. Few or no notes are taken. There +is constant contact with the student. At every point the mental +content of the pupils is revealed. The teacher sees the result of his +teaching by the intelligence of successive responses. The pupil is +being trained in systematic thought and in concentration. But it must +be remembered that the development method is often costly in time +because answers may be wrong or irrelevant. It may encourage +wandering; a student's reply reveals ignorance of a basic principle, +and the aim of the lesson is often forgotten in the eagerness to +patch up this misconception. Then, too, in subject matter that is +arbitrary, as in descriptive and narrative history, no development is +possible. In such cases the questions are designed to test the +student's knowledge of the text, and the lesson becomes a quiz rather +than a development. + +It is plain, therefore, that a judicious combination of the lecture +and development methods will give better results than the exclusive +use of either one. The analysis of the pedagogical advantages of each +leads to the conclusion that the development method should predominate +and that the lecture method should be used sparingly and always with +some of the checking devices described. + +=Place of reference reading in college teaching= + +=Evaluation of development--Socratic or heuristic method= + +A common method employed in advanced courses in college subjects +emphasizes _reference study and research_. The entire course is +reduced to a series of problems, each of which deals with a vital +aspect of the subject. Each student is made responsible for a topic. +The initial hours are devoted to an examination of the common sources +of information in this specific subject, the modes of using these, the +standards to be attained in writing a paper on one of the topics, and +similar matters. The remainder of the term is given over to seminar +work: each student reads his paper and holds himself in readiness to +answer all questions his classmates may ask on his topic. The aims of +such a course are obviously to develop a knowledge of sources and an +ability to use intelligently the unorganized data found by the +student. The results of these pseudo-seminar courses are far from what +was anticipated. A thorough investigation of such a course will soon +convince the teacher that the seminar method, whatever its merits in +university training, must be refined and diluted before it is applied +to college teaching. Let us see why. + +Successful reference reading requires a knowledge of the field +studied, maturity of mind, discriminating judgment in the selection of +material, and ability in organization. The university student is not +only maturer and more serious but has a basis of broader knowledge +than most undergraduates. Without this equipment of mental powers and +knowledge, the student cannot judge the merits of contending views nor +harmonize seeming discrepancies. A student who has no ample foundation +of economics cannot study the subject by reference reading on the +problems of economics. To learn the meaning of value he would read the +psychological explanations of the Austrian schools and the +materialistic conceptions of the classical writers. He would then find +himself in a state of confusion, owing to what seemed to him to be a +superfluity of explanations of value. When one understands one point +of view, an added viewpoint is a source of greater clarity and a means +of deeper understanding. But when one is entirely ignorant of +fundamental concepts, two points of view presented simultaneously +become two sources of confusion. In the university only the student of +tried worth is permitted to take a seminar course. In the upper +classes in college, mediocre students are often welcomed into a +seminar course in order to help float an unpromising elective. + +=Limitations of seminar method in undergraduate teaching= + +The college seminar is usually unsuccessful because few students have +ability to hold the attention of their classmates for a period of +thirty minutes or more. Language limitations, lack of a knowledge of +subject matter, inability to illustrate effectively, and the skeptical +attitude of fellow students all militate against successful teaching +by a member of the class. Students presenting papers often select +unimportant details or give too many details. The rest of the class +listen languidly, take occasional notes, and ask a few perfunctory +questions to help bring the session to a close. A successful hour is +rare. The student who prepared the topic of the day undoubtedly is +benefited, but those who listen acquire little knowledge and less +power. The course ends without a comprehensive view of the entire +subject, without that knowledge which comes from the teacher's +leadership and instruction. This type of reference reading and +research has value when used as an occasional ten or fifteen minute +exercise to supplement certain aspects of class work. But as a steady +diet in a college course, the seminar usually leaves much to be +desired. + +The _laboratory method_ is growing in favor today in college teaching. +It is employed in the social sciences, in sociology, in economics, in +psychology, in education, as well as in the physical and the +biological sciences. Where it is followed the aim is clearly twofold; +viz., to teach the method by which the specific subject is growing and +to develop in the students mental power and a scientific attitude +towards knowledge. + +=Value of laboratory method= + +Let us illustrate these two aims of the laboratory method. A +laboratory course in chemistry or biology or sociology may be designed +to teach the student the use of apparatus and equipment necessary for +work in a respective field; the method of attacking a problem; a +standard for distinguishing significant from immaterial data; methods +of gathering facts; the modes of keeping scientific records,--in a +word, the essence of the experience of successive generations of +investigators and contributors. But no successful laboratory results +can be obtained without a proper mental attitude. The student must +learn how to prevent his mental prepossessions or his desires from +coloring his observations; to allow for controls and variables; to +give most exacting care to every detail that may influence his result; +to regard every conclusion as a tentative hypothesis subject to +verification or modification in the light of further test. Unless the +student acquires a knowledge of the method of science and has achieved +these necessary modes of thought, his laboratory course has failed to +make its most significant contribution. + +In courses where the aim is to teach socially necessary information or +to give a comprehensive view of the scope of a specific subject, it is +obvious that the laboratory method will lead far afield. It is for +this reason that introductory courses given in recitations, with +demonstrations by instructors, and occasional lecture and laboratory +hours, are more liberalizing in their influence upon the beginners +than courses that are primarily laboratory in character. + +=Cautions in the use of the laboratory method= + +Most laboratory courses would enhance their usefulness by observing a +few primary pedagogical maxims. The first of these counsels that we +establish most clearly the distinctive aim of the course. The +instructor must be sure that he has no quantitative aim to attain but +is occupied rather with the problems of teaching the method of his +specialty. Second, an earnest effort must be made to acquaint the +students with the general aim of the entire course as well as with the +specific aim of each laboratory exercise. The students must be made to +realize that they are not discovering new principles but that by +rediscovering old knowledge or testing the validity of well-established +truths they are developing not only the technique of investigational +work, but also a set of useful mental habits. Much in laboratory work +seems needless to the student who does not perceive the goal which +every task strives to attain. + +A third requisite for successful laboratory work requires so careful a +gradation that every type of problem peculiar to a subject is made to +arise in the succession of exercises. It is wise at times to set a +trap for students so that they may learn through the consequences of +error. For this reason students may be permitted to leap to a +conclusion, to generalize from insufficient data, to neglect controls, +to overlook disturbing factors, etc. An improperly planned and poorly +graded laboratory course repeats exercises that involve the same +problems and omits situations that give training in attacking and +solving new problems. + +Effective laboratory courses afford opportunity to students to repeat +those exercises in which they failed badly. If each exercise in the +course is designed to make a specific contribution to the development +of the student, it is obvious that merely marking the student zero for +a badly executed experiment is not meeting the situation. He must in +addition be given the opportunity to repeat the experiment in order +to derive the necessary variety of experiences from his laboratory +training. And, finally, the character of the test that concludes a +laboratory course must be considered. The test must be governed by the +same underlying aims that determine the entire course. It must seek to +reveal, not the mastery of facts, but growth in power. It must measure +what the student can do rather than what he knows. A properly +organized test serves to reinforce in the minds of students the aims +of the entire course. + +=The college teacher not the university professor= + +An analysis of effective teaching is necessarily incomplete that does +not give due consideration to the only human factor in the teaching +process--the teacher. We have too long repeated the old adages: "he +who knows can teach"; "a teacher is born, not made"; "experience is +the teacher of teachers." These dicta are all tried and true, but they +have the failings common to platitudes. It often happens that those +who know but lack in imagination and sympathy are by that very knowing +rendered unfit to teach. "Knowing" so well, they cannot see the +difficulties that beset the learner's path, and they have little +patience with the student's slow and measured steps in the very +beginnings of their specialty. It is true that some are born teachers, +but our educational institutions could not be maintained if classes +were turned over only to those to whom nature had given lavishly of +pedagogical power. Experience teaches even teachers, but the price +paid must be computed in terms of the welfare of the student. Teaching +is one of the arts in which the artist works only with living +material; yet college authorities still make no demand of professional +training and apprenticeship as prerequisites for admission to the +fraternity of teaching artists. + +Ineffective college teaching will not improve until professional +teaching standards are set up by respected institutions. The college +teacher must be possessed of ample scholarship of a general nature. He +must have expertness in his specialty, to give him a knowledge of his +field, its problems and its methods. He must be a constant student, +so that his scholarship in his specialty will win recognition and +respect. But part of his preparation must be given over to +professional training for teaching. Without this, the prospective +teacher may not know until it is too late that his deficiencies of +personality unfit him for teaching. With it, he shortens his term of +novitiate and acquires his experience under expert guidance. The plan +of college-teacher training, given by Dr. Mezes in Chapter II, so +complete in scope, so thoroughly sound and progressive in character, +is here suggested as a type of professional preparation now sorely +needed. + +=Testing the results of instruction= + +The usual test of teacher and student is still the traditional +examination, with its many questions and sub-questions. We still +measure the results of instruction by fathoming the fund of +information our students carry away. But these traditional +examinations test for what is temporary and accidental. Facts known +today are forgotten tomorrow. The professor himself often comes to +class armed with notes, but he persists in setting up, as a test of +the growth of his students, their retentivity of the facts he gave +from these very notes. In the final analysis, these examinations are +not tests. The writer does not urge the abolition of examinations, but +argues rather for a reorganized examination that embodies new +standards. A real examination must test for what is permanent and +vital; it must measure the degree to which students approximate the +aims that were set up to govern the entire course; it must gauge the +mental habits, the growth in power, rather than facts. Part of an +examination in mathematics should test students' ability to attack new +problems, to plan a line of work, to think mathematically, to avoid +typical fallacies of thought. For this part of the test, books may be +opened and references consulted. In literature we may question on text +not discussed in class to ascertain the students' power of +appreciation or of literary criticism. So, too, in examinations in +social sciences, physical sciences, foreign languages, and biological +sciences, the examination must consist, in great measure, of +questions which test the acquisition of the habits of thought, of +work, of laboratory procedure--in a word, the permanent contribution +of any study. This part of an examination should be differentiated +from the more mechanical and memory questions which seek to reveal the +student's mastery of those facts of a subject which may be regarded as +socially necessary. Reduce the socially necessary data of any subject +to an absolute minimum and frame questions on it demanding no such +slovenly standard--sixty per cent--as now prevails in college +examinations. If the facts called for on an examination are really the +most vital in the subject, the passing grade should be very high. If +the questions seek to elicit insignificant or minor information, any +passing mark is too high. It is obvious, therefore, that a student +should receive two marks in most subjects,--one that rates power and +another that rates mere acquisition of facts. The passing grade in the +one would necessarily be lower than in the other. An examination is +justified only when it is so devised that it reveals not only the +students' stock of socially useful knowledge but also their growth in +mental power. + + PAUL KLAPPER + _College of the City of New York_ + + + + +PART TWO + +THE SCIENCES + + CHAPTER + + IV THE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY + _T. W. Galloway_ + + V THE TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY + _Louis Kahlenberg_ + + VI THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS + _Harvey B. Lemon_ + + VII THE TEACHING OF GEOLOGY + _T. C. Chamberlin_ + + VIII THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS + _G. A. Miller_ + + IX PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE COLLEGE + _Thomas A. Storey_ + + + + +IV + +THE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY + + +BIOLOGY AND EDUCATION + +=Biology the science basal to all knowing= + +The life sciences, broadly conceived, are basal to all departments of +knowledge; and the study of biology illumines every field of human +interest. To the believer in evolution the human body, brain, senses, +intellect, sensations, impulses, habits, ideas, knowledges, ideals, +standards, attractions, sympathies, combinations, organizations, +institutions, and all other powers and possessions of every kind and +degree are merely crowning phenomena of life itself. The languages, +history, science, economic systems, philosophies, and literatures of +mankind are only special manifestations and expressions of life and a +part, therefore, of the studies by which we as living beings are +trying to appraise and appreciate the meaning of life and of the +universe of which life is the most significant product. Life is not +merely the most notable product of our universe; it is the most +persuasive key for solving the riddle of the universe, and is the only +universe product which aspires to interpret the processes by which it +has reached its own present level. + +All knowledge, then, is _biological_ in the very vital sense that the +living organism is the only _knowing_ thing. The knowing process is a +life process. Even when knowledge pertains to non-living objects, +therefore, it is one-half biological; our most worth-while +knowledge--that of ourselves and other organisms--is wholly so. +Because all our knowledge is colored by the life process, of which the +knowing process is derivative, the study of life underlies every +science and its applications, every art and its practice, every +philosophy and its interpretations. Biology must be taught in sympathy +with the whole joint enterprise of living and of learning. + +=Adaptation without losing adaptability the goal of life and of education= + +The most outstanding phenomenon of life is the _adaptation_ of living +things to the real and significant conditions of their existence. +Furthermore, as these conditions are not static, particularly in the +case of humans, organisms must not merely be adapted, but must +continue thereafter to be _adaptable_. Now learning is only a special +case under living, and education a special case under life. Its +purposes are the purposes of life. It is an artificial and rapid +recapitulation for the individual, in method and results, of past life +itself. The purpose of education is "adaptation,--with the retention +of adaptability." It is to bring the individual into attunement, +through his own responses and growth, with all the real factors, +external and internal, in his life,--material, intellectual, +emotional, social, and spiritual,--and at the same time leave him +plastic. + +Adaptation comes through the habit-forming experiences of stimulus and +response. The very process of adaptation, therefore, tends toward +fixity and to destroy adaptability. It is thus the task of education, +as it is of life, to replace the native, inexperienced and +physiological plasticity of youth with some product of experience +which shall be able to revise habits in the interest of new +situations. The adaptability of the experienced person must be +psychical and acquired. It must be in the realm of appreciation, +attitude, choice, self-direction--a realm superior to habit. + +In this human task of securing adaptation and retaining adaptiveness +the life sciences have high rank. In addition to furnishing the very +conception itself that we have been trying to phrase, they give +illustrations of all the historic occasions, kinds, and modes of +adaptation; in lacking the exactness of the mathematical and physical +sciences they furnish precisely the degree of uncertainty and openness +of opportunity and of mental state which the act of living itself +demands. In other words the science of life is, if properly presented, +the most normal possible introduction to the very practical art of +living. Because of the parallel meaning of education and life in +securing progressive adaptation to the essential influential forces of +the universe, an appreciative study of biology introduces directly to +the purposes and methods of human education. + + +CHIEF AIMS OF BIOLOGY AS A COLLEGE SUBJECT + +=Why study biology in college?= + +While students differ in the details of their purposes in life, all +must learn to make the broad adjustments to the physical conditions of +life; to the problems of food and nutrition; to other organisms, +helpful and hurtful; to the internal impulses, tendencies, and +appetites; to the various necessary human contacts and relations; to +the great body of knowledge important to life, which human beings have +got together; to the prevailing philosophical interpretations of the +universe and of life; and to the pragmatic organizations, conventions, +and controls which human society has instituted. In addition to these, +some students of biology are going into various careers, each +demanding special adjustments which biology may aid notably. Such are +medicine and its related specialties, professional agricultural +courses, and biological research of all kinds. + +An extended examination of college catalogs shows some consciousness +of these facts on the part of teachers of biology. The following needs +are formally recognized in the prospectuses: (1) The disciplinary and +cultural needs of the general student; (2) the needs of those +preparing for medicine or other professional courses; and (3) the +needs of the people proposing to specialize in botany and zoölogy. +These aims are usually mentioned in the order given here; but an +examination of the character of the courses often reveals the fact +that the actual organization of the department is determined by an +exact reversal of this order,--that most of the attention is given, +even in the beginning courses, to the task of preparing students to +take advanced work in the subject. The theory of the departments is +usually better than their practice. + +In what follows these are the underlying assumptions,--which seem +without need of argument: (1) The general human needs should have the +first place in organizing the courses in biology; (2) the +introductory courses should not be constructed primarily as the first +round in the ladder of biological or professional specialization, but +for the general purposes of human life; (3) the preparation needed by +teachers of biology for secondary schools is more nearly like that +needful for the general student than that suited to the specialist in +the subject; and (4) the later courses may more and more be concerned +with the special ends of professional and vocational preparation. + + +GENERAL AIMS OF BIOLOGY IN EDUCATION + +What are the general adaptive contributions of biology to human +nature? What are the results in the individual which biology should +aim to bring to every student? There are four classes of personal +possessions, important in human adaptation, to which biology ministers +in a conspicuous way: information and knowledge; ability and skills; +habits; and attitudes, appreciations, and ideals. These four universal +aims of education are doubtless closely related and actually +inseparable, but it is worth while to consider them apart for the sake +of clearness. + + +A. TYPES OF BIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE USEFUL IN THE ADAPTATION OF HUMAN + BEINGS TO THE MOST IMPORTANT CONDITIONS OF THEIR LIFE + +=(1) Study of biology furnishes knowledge of adaptive value= + +(1) Some knowledge of the processes by which individual plants and +animals grow and differentiate, through nutrition and activity; of the +process of development common to all organisms; and the bearing of +these facts on human life, health, and conduct. + +(2) An outline knowledge of reproduction in plants and animals; the +origin, nature, meaning, and results of sex; the contribution of sex +to human life, to social organization and ideals, and its importance +in determining behavior and controls. + +(3) A good knowledge of the external forces most important in +influencing life; of the nature of the influence; of the various ways +in which organisms respond and become adjusted individually and +racially to these conditions. A sense of the necessity of adaptation; +of the working of the laws of cause and effect among living things, as +everywhere else; of the fact that nature's laws cannot be safely +ignored by man any more than by the lower organisms; of the relation +between animal behavior and human behavior. + +(4) Equally a true conception of the known facts about the internal +tendencies in organisms including man, which we call hereditary. The +principles underlying plant, animal, and human breeding. Any progress +in behavior, in legislation, or in public opinion in the field of +eugenics, negative or positive, must come from the spread of such +knowledge. + +(5) A knowledge of the numerous ways in which plants and animals +contribute to or interfere with human welfare. This includes use for +food, clothing, and labor saving; their destruction of other plants or +animals useful or hurtful to us; their work in producing, spreading, +or aiding in the cure of disease; their æsthetic service and +inspiration; the aid they give us in learning of our own nature +through the experiments we conduct upon them; and many miscellaneous +services. + +(6) A conception of the evolutionary series of plants and animals, and +of man's place in the series; a reassurance that man's high place as +an intellectual and emotional being is in no way put in peril by his +being a part of the series. Some clear knowledge of the general manner +of the development of the plant and animal kingdoms to their present +complexity should be gained. The student should have some acquaintance +with the great generalizations that have meant so much to the science +and to all human thinking, should understand how they were reached and +the main classes of facts on which they are based. + +(7) The general student should be required to have such knowledge of +structure and classification as is needed to give foundation and body +to the evolutionary conceptions of plants and animals, and to the +various processes and powers mentioned above--and only so much. + +(8) Some knowledge of the development of the science itself; of its +relation to the other sciences; of the men who have most contributed +to it, and their contributions; of the manner of making these +discoveries, and of the bearing of the more important of these +discoveries upon human learning, progress, and well-being. + +(9) Something of the parallelism between animal psychology, behavior, +habits, instincts, and learning, and those of man,--in both the +individual and the social realm. + +(10) An elementary understanding of plant and animal and human +distribution over the earth, and of the factors that have brought it +about. + + +B. FORMS OF SKILL WHICH WORK IN BIOLOGY SHOULD BRING TO EVERY STUDENT + +=(2) Biological study gives desirable skills= + +Skill or ability may be developed in respect to the following +activities: seeking and securing information, recording it, +interpreting its significance, reaching general conclusions about it, +modifying one's conduct under the guidance of these conclusions, and, +finally, of appraising the soundness of this conduct in the light of +the results of it. All of these are of basic importance in the human +task of making conscious adjustments in actual life; and the ability +to get facts and to use them is more valuable than to possess the +knowledge of facts. Other sciences develop some of these forms of +skill better than biology does; nevertheless, we shall find that +biology furnishes a remarkably balanced opportunity to develop skills +of the various kinds. It presents a great range and variety of +opportunity to develop accuracy and skill in raising questions; in +observation and the use of precise descriptive terms in recording +results of observation; in experimentation; in comparison and +classification. It is peculiarly rich in opportunities to gain skill +in discriminating between important and unimportant data,--one of the +most vital of all the steps in the process of sound reasoning. In +practice, a datum may at first sight seem trivial, when in reality it +is very significant. _Skill_ in estimating values comes only with +_experience_ in estimating values, and in applying these estimates in +practice, and in observing and correcting the results of practice. + +Finally, skill in adjusting behavior to knowledge is one of the most +necessary abilities and most difficult to attain. The study of animal +behavior experimentally is at the foundation of much that we know of +human psychology and the grounds of human behavior. Even in an +elementary class it is quite possible so to study animal responses and +the results of response as to give guidance and facility to the +individual in interpreting the efficiency of his own responses, and in +adding to his own controls. As has been said, practice of some kind is +necessary to determine whether our estimate of values is good. Even +vicarious experience has educative value. + + +C. HABITS WHICH MAY BE STRENGTHENED BY THE WORK IN BIOLOGY + +=(3) Biology may supply adaptive habits= + +Habits are of course the normal outcome of repeated action. Indeed, +skills are in a sense habits from another point of view. Skill, +however, looks rather toward the output; habit, toward the mode of +functioning by the person by whom the result is attained. We may then +develop habits in respect to all the processes and activities +mentioned above under the term "skills." The teacher of biology should +have definitely in purpose the securing for the student of habits of +inquiry, of diligence, of concentration, of accuracy of observation, +of seeking and weighing evidence, of detecting the essentials in a +mass of facts, of refusing to rest satisfied until a conclusion, the +most tenable in the light of all known data, is reached, and of +reëxamining conclusions whenever new evidence is offered. + +Of course it is impossible to use biology to get habits of right +reasoning in students unless we _really allow them to reason_. If we +insist that their work is merely to observe, record, and hold in +memory,--as so many of us do in laboratory work,--they may form +habits of doing these things, but not necessarily any more than this. +Indeed, they may definitely form the habit of doing _only_ these +things, _failing to use the results in forming for themselves any of +the larger conclusions about organisms_. _Seeing_ and _knowing_--without +the ability and habit of _thinking_--is not an uncommon or surprising +result of our conventional laboratory work. There is only one way to +get the habit of right "following through" in reasoning; this is, +_always to do the thing_. When data are observed or are furnished it +is a pedagogical sin on the part of the teacher to allow the student +to stop at that point; and equally so to deduce the conclusion for the +student, or to allow the writer of the textbook to do so, or at any +time to induce the student to accept from another a conclusion which +he himself might reach from the data. We have depended too much on our +science as a mere observational science,--when as a matter of fact its +chief glory is really its opportunity and its incentives to coherent +thinking and careful testing of conclusions. + +It is inexact enough, if we are entirely honest, to force us to hold +our conclusions with an open mind ready to admit new evidence. It is +entirely the fault of the teacher if the pupil gets a dogmatic, +too-sure habit of mind as the result of his biological studies. And +yet, as has been said, it is exact enough to enable us to reach just +the same sort of approximations to truth which are possible in our own +lives. The study of biology presents a superb opportunity to prepare +for living by forming the habits of mind and of life that facilitate +right choices in the presence of highly debatable situations. In this +it much surpasses the more "exact" sciences. We may conclude, then, by +positing the belief that the most important mental habit which human +beings can form is that of using and applying consciously the +scientific method as outlined above, not merely to biology alone, but +to all the issues of personal life as well. + + +D. APPRECIATIONS, ATTITUDES, AND IDEALS AS AIDED BY BIOLOGY + +=(4) Attitudes of life perfected by study of the life sciences= + +This group of objectives is a bit less tangible, as some think, than +those that have been mentioned; but in my own opinion they are as +important and as educable for the good of the youth by means of +biology as are knowledge, skill, and habit. In a sense these states of +mind arise as by-products of the getting of information, skills, and +habits; in turn they heighten their value. We have spoken above of the +need of skill and habit in making use of the various steps in the +scientific method in reaching conclusions in life. These are +essential, but skill and habit alone are not enough to meet the +necessities in actual life. + +In the first place the habit of using the scientific method in the +scientific laboratory does not in itself give assurance that the +person will apply this method in getting at the truth in problems in +his own personal life; and yet this is the essential object of all +this scientific training. In order to get the individual to carry over +this method,--especially where feelings and prejudices are +involved,--we must inculcate in him the scientific ideal and the +scientific attitude until they become general in their influence. To +do this he ought to be induced as a regular part of his early courses +in biology to practice the scientific method upon certain practical +daily decisions exactly with the same rigor that is used in the +biological laboratory. The custom of using this method in animal study +should be transformed into an _attitude of dependence upon it_ as the +only sound method of solving one's life choices. Only by carrying the +method consciously into our life's problems, _as a part of the +exercise in the course in biology_, can we break up the disposition to +regard the method as good merely in the biological laboratory. We must +generate, by practice and precept, the _ideal_ of making universal our +dependence upon our best instrument of determining truth. A personal +habit in the laboratory must become a general ideal for life, if we +hope to substitute the scientific method for prejudice in human +living. There is no department of learning so well capable of doing +this thing as biology. + +In the second place, the scientific method standing alone, because of +its very excellence as a method, is liable to produce a kind of +over-sure dogmatism about conclusions, unless it be accompanied by the +scientific attitude or spirit of open-mindedness. The scientific +spirit does not necessarily flow from the scientific method at all, +unless the teacher is careful in his use of it in teaching. We make a +mistake if, in our just enthusiasm to impress the scientific method +upon the student, we fail to teach that it can give, at best, only an +approximation to truth. The scientific attitude which holds even our +best-supported conclusions subject to revision by new evidence is the +normal corrective of the possible dogmatism that comes from +over-confidence in the scientific method as our best means of +discovering truth. + +The student at the end of the first year of biology ought to have more +appreciation and enjoyment of plants and animals and their life than +at the beginning,--and increased appreciation of his own relation to +other animals; some attitude of dependence upon the scientific method +of procedure not merely in biology but in his own life; a desire, +however modest, for investigating things for himself; and an ideal of +open-minded, enthusiastic willingness to subject his own conclusions +to renewed testing at all times. All these gains should be reinforced +by later courses. + + +SPECIAL AIMS OF BIOLOGY IN EDUCATION + +=(5) Biology a valuable tool for certain technical pursuits= + +So far as I can see, the preparation of students for medicine, for +biological research, or for any advanced application of biology calls +only for the following,--in addition to the further intensification of +the emphasis suggested above: + +(_a_) An increased recognition of the subject matter in organizing the +course. In the early courses the subject ought to be subordinated to +the personal elements. If one is to relate himself to the science in a +professional way, the logic of the science comes to be the dominant +objective. + +(_b_) Growing out of the above there comes to be a change of emphasis +on the scientific method. The method itself is identical, but the +attitude toward it is different. In the early courses it was guided by +the _teaching_ purpose. We insist upon the method in order that the +student may appreciate how the subject has grown, may realize how all +truth must be reached, and may come habitually to apply the method to +his life problems. In the later courses it becomes the method of +research into the unknown. The student comes more and more to use it +as a tool, in whose use he himself is subordinated to his devotion to +a field of investigation. + +(_c_) A greater emphasis upon such special forms of biological +knowledge as will be necessary as tools in the succeeding steps, and +the selection of subject matter with this specifically in view. This +is chiefly a matter of information, making the next steps +intellectually possible. + +(_d_) More specific forms of skill, adapted to the work contemplated. +Technic becomes an object in such courses. Morphology, histology, +technic, exact experimentation, repetition, drill, extended +comparative studies, classifition, and the like become more essential +than in the elementary courses. Thoroughness and mastery are +desiderata for the sake both of subject matter and character; and in +very much greater degree than in the general course. + + +ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE IN BIOLOGY + +=Biology courses not to be standardized rigidly= + +The writer does not feel that standardized programs in biology in +colleges are either possible or desirable. What is set down here under +this heading is merely intended as carrying out the principles +outlined above, and not as the only way to provide a suitable program. +The writer assumes that the undergraduates are handled by men of +catholic interests; and that the undergraduate courses are not +distributed and manipulated primarily as feeders for specialized +departments of research in a graduate school. This latter attitude is, +in my opinion, fatal to creditable undergraduate instruction for the +general student or for the future high school teachers of the subject. + +=But they should follow a general principle:= + +There are three groups or cycles of courses which may properly be +developed by the college or by the undergraduate department of the +university. + +_First Group_ + +=(1) The _first_ group of courses should introduce to life rather than +to later biological courses= + +This group contains introductory courses for all students, but +organized particularly with the idea of bringing the rich material of +biology to the service of young people with the aim of making them +effective in life, and not as a first course for making them botanists +or zoölogists. + +Course--_Biology 1._ General Biology + +This course should introduce the student to the college method of work +in the life sciences; should give him the general knowledge and points +of view outlined above as the chief aims of Biology; should synthesize +what the student already knows about plants and animals under the +general conception of life. Ideally the botanical and zoölogical +portions should be fused and be given by one teacher, rather than +presented as one semester of botany and one of zoölogy. This, however, +is frequently impracticable. In any event the total result should +really be biology, and not a patchwork of botany and zoölogy. Hence +there should be a free crossing of the barriers in use of materials at +all times. + +A year of biology is recommended because each pupil ought to have some +work in both fields, and we cannot expect him to take a year in each. + +Course--_Biology 2._ History of Biology + +This course, dealing with the relation of the development of biology +to human interests and problems, may be given separately, or as a part +of Course 1,--which should otherwise be prerequisite to it. This may +be one of the most humanizing of all the possible courses in biology. + +_Second Group_ + +=(2) A _second_ group should be technical and introductory to +professional uses= + +This group furnishes a series of courses providing a thorough +introduction to the principles and methods of botany and zoölogy. They +provide discipline, drill, comparison, mastery of technic as well as +increased appreciation of biology and of the scientific method. They +should prepare for advanced work in biology, and for technical +applications of it to medicine, agriculture, stock breeding, forestry, +etc. + + Course--Botany 1: General + and Comparative Botany, + and the Evolution of + Plants. + + Course--Botany 2: Physiology + and Ecology of + Plants. + + Course--Botany 3: Plant + Cytology, Histology, and + Embryology. + + Course--Zoölogy 1: General + and Comparative Zoölogy. + + Course--Zoölogy 2: Animal, + including Human, + Physiology. + + Course--Zoölogy 3: Microtechnic, + Histology, + Histogenesis, Embryogeny. + + Course--Zoölogy 4: Animal + Ecology. + + +This outline for botany and zoölogy follows in the main the most +common arrangement found in the schools of the country. In the +personal judgment of the writer all undergraduate courses should +combine aspects of morphology, physiology, ecology, etc., rather than +be confined strictly to one particular phase; even histology and +embryology can be better taught when their physiological aspects are +emphasized. There is no fundamental reason, however, why there may not +be great latitude of treatment in this group. An alluring feature of +biological teaching is that a teacher who has a vital objective can +begin anywhere in our wonderful subject and get logically to any point +he wishes. These courses may be further subdivided, where facilities +allow. + +_Third Group_ + +=(3) A _third_ group of special, but cultural, courses= + +This group contains certain of the more elementary applications of +biology to human welfare. While having practical value in somewhat +specialized vocations, the courses in this group are not proposed as +professional or technical. They are definitely cultural. Every college +might well give one or more of them, in accordance with local +conditions. They ought to be eligible without the courses of the +second group. The order is not significant. + + Biology 3: Economic Entomology; + Biology 4: Bird Course; + Biology 5: Tree Course; + Biology 6: Bacteriology and Fermentation; + Biology 7: Biology of Sex; Heredity and Eugenics; + Biology 8: Biology and Education; + Biology 9: Evolution and Theoretical Problems. + + +PLACE OF BIOLOGY IN THE COLLEGE CURRICULUM + +=The first course ought to be given in such a way that it might fittingly +be required of all freshmen= + +The introductory course (Biology 1) can be given in such a way that it +ought to be required of all students during the freshman or sophomore +year, preferably the freshman. In addition to the life value suggested +above, and its introductory value in later biology courses, such a +course would aid the student in psychology, sociology, geology, +ethics, philosophy, education, domestic economy, and physical culture. +Effort should be made to correlate the biological work with these +departments of instruction. The course as now given in most of our +colleges and universities does not possess enough merit to become a +required study. Perhaps all we have a right at present to ask is that +biology shall be one of a group of sciences from which all students +must elect at least one. It is preposterous, in an age of science, +that any college should not require at least a year of science. + +Biology 1 should be prerequisite for botany 1 and zoölogy 1, and for +the special biology courses in group three. + +Botany 1 and zoölogy 1 should be made prerequisite for the higher +courses in their respective fields; but aside from this almost any +sequence would be allowable. + +A major in biology should provide at least for biology 1 and 2, botany +1, zoölogy 1, botany 2 and 3, or zoölogy, 2 and 3. Chemistry is +desirable as a preparation for the second group of courses. + + +METHODS OF TEACHING AS CONDITIONED BY THE AIMS OUTLINED ABOVE + +=Acceptance of biology retarded by poor pedagogy= + +Since the laboratory method came into use among biologists, there has +been a disposition, growing out of its very excellences, to make a +fetich of it, to refuse to recognize the necessity of other methods, +to be intolerant of any science courses not employing the laboratory, +and to affect a lofty disdain of any pedagogical discussion of the +question whatsoever. The tone in which all this is done suggests a +boast; but to the discriminating it amounts to a confession! The +result of it has been to retard the development of biology to its +rightful place as one of the most foundational and catholic of all +educational fields. The great variety of aim and of matter not merely +allow, but make imperative, the use of all possible methods; and there +is no method found fruitful in education which does not lend itself to +use in biology. The lecture method, the textbook, the recitation, the +quiz and the inverted quiz, the method of assigned readings and +reports, the method of conference and seminar, the laboratory method, +and the field method are all applicable and needed in every course, +even the most elementary. + +=Prostitution of the laboratory= + +Our method has thus crystallized about the laboratory as the one +essential thing; but worse, we have used the very shortcomings of the +laboratory as an excuse for extending its sway. The laboratory method +is the method of research in biology. It is our only way to discover +unknown facts. Is it, therefore, the best way to rediscover facts? +This does not necessarily follow, though we have assumed it. +Self-discovered facts are no better nor more true than communicated +facts, and it takes more time to get them. The laboratory is the +slowest possible way of getting facts. We have tried to correct this +quantitative difficulty by extending the laboratory time, by speeding +up, by confining ourselves to static types of facts like those of +structure, and by using detailed laboratory guides for matter and +method, all of which tends to make the laboratory exercise one of +routine and the mere observation and recording of facts or a +verification of the statements in manuals. The correction of these +well-known limitations of the laboratory must come, in my opinion, by +a frank recognition of, and breaking away from, certain of our +misapprehensions about the function of the laboratory. Some of these +are: + +=Real purpose and possibility of laboratory work= + +1. That the chief facts of a science should be rediscovered by the +student in the laboratory. This is not true. Life is too short. The +great mass of the student's facts must come from the instructor and +from books. The laboratory has as its function in respect to facts, +some very vital things: as, making clear certain classes of facts +which the student cannot visualize without concrete demonstration; +giving vividness to facts in general; gaining of enough facts at first +hand to enable him to hold in solution the great mass of facts which +he must take second hand; to give him skill and accuracy in +observation and in recording discoveries; to give appreciation of the +way in which all the second-hand facts have been reached; to give +taste and enthusiasm for asking questions and confidence and +persistence in finding answers for them. Anything more than this is +waste of time. These results are not gained by mere quantity of work, +but only through constant and intelligent guidance of the student's +attitude in the process of dealing with facts. + +2. A feeling that the laboratory or scientific method consists +primarily of observation of facts and their record. In reality these +are three great steps instead of one in this method, which the student +of biology should master: (1) the getting of facts, one device for +doing which is observation; (2) the appraisal and discrimination of +these facts to find which are important; and (3) the drawing of the +conclusions which these facts seem to warrant. There are two practical +corollaries of this truth. One is that the laboratory should be so +administered that the pupil shall appreciate the full scope of the +scientific method, its tremendous historic value to the race, and the +necessity of using _all_ the steps of it faithfully in all future +progress as well as in the sound solution of our individual problems +and the guidance of conduct. The second is that we may make errors in +our scientific conclusions and in life conclusions, through failure to +discriminate among our facts, quite as fatally as through lack of +facts. Indeed, my personal conviction is that more failures are due to +lack of discrimination than to lack of observation. The power to weigh +evidence is at least as important as the power to collect it. + +3. A disposition to deny the student the right to reach conclusions in +the laboratory,--or, as we flamboyantly say, to "generalize." Now in +reality the only earthly value of _facts_ is to get _truth_,--that is, +conclusions or generalizations. To deny this privilege is taxation +without representation in respect to personality. The purpose of the +laboratory is to enable students to think, to think accurately and +with purpose, to reach their own conclusions. The getting of facts by +observation is only a minor detail. In reality, the data the student +can get from books are much more reliable than his own observations +are likely to be. Our laboratory training should add gradually to the +accuracy of his observations, but particularly it should enable him to +use his own and other persons' facts conjointly, and with proper +discrimination, in reaching conclusions. To do other than this tends +to abort the reasoning attitude and power, and teaches the pupil to +stand passive in the presence of facts and to divorce facts and +conclusions. The fear is, of course, that the students will get wrong +conclusions and acquire the habit of jumping prematurely to +generalizations. But this situation, while critical, is the very glory +of the method. What we want to do is to ask them continually,--wherever +possible,--_where_ _their facts seem to lead them_. Their conclusions +are liable to be quite wrong, to be sure. But our province as teachers +is to see that the facts ignorance of which made this conclusion wrong +are brought to their attention,--and it is not absolutely material +whether they discover these facts themselves or some one else does. +What we want to compass is practice in reaching conclusions, and the +recognition of the necessity of getting and discriminating facts in +doing so, together with a realization that there are probably many +other facts which we have not discovered that would modify our +conclusions. This keeps the mind open. In other words, the student may +thus be brought to realize the meaning of the "working hypothesis" and +the method of approximation to truth. It makes no difference if one +"jumps to a conclusion," if he jumps in the light of all his known +facts and holds his conclusion _tentatively_. It is much better to +reach wrong conclusions through inadequate facts than to have the mind +come to a standstill in the presence of facts. Instead of being a +threat, reaching a wrong conclusion gives us the opportunity to train +students in holding their conclusions open-mindedly and subject to +revision through new facts. Reaching wrong or partial conclusions and +correcting them may be made even more educative than reaching right +ones at the outset. This would not be true if the conclusion were +being sought for the sake of the science. But it is being sought +solely for the sake of the student. The distinction is important. The +inability to make it is one of the reasons why research men so often +fail as teachers. + +All through life the student will be forced to draw conclusions from +two types of facts,--both of which will be incomplete: those he +himself has observed and those which came to him from other observers. +While he must always feel free to try out any and all facts for +himself, it is quite as important in practice that he be able to weigh +other persons' facts discriminatingly. We teach in the laboratory that +the pupil should not take his facts second hand, though we rather +insist that he do so with his conclusions. In reality it is often +much better to take our facts second hand; the stultifying thing is to +take our conclusions so. + +=A normal complete mental reaction for every laboratory exercise= + +4. The dependence upon outlines and manuals. This is one of the most +deadening devices that we have instituted to economize gray matter and +increase the quantity of laboratory records at the expense of real +initiative and thinking. It is easy for the reader to analyze for +himself the mental reaction, or lack of it, of the student in +following the usual detailed laboratory outline. _Every laboratory +exercise should be an educative situation calling for a complete +mental reaction from the pupil._ In the first place, no exercise +should be used which is not really vital and educative. This assured, +the full mental reaction of the student should be about as follows: + + (1) The cursory survey of the situation. + + (2) The raising by the student of such questions as seem to him + interesting or worthy of solution. (Here, of course, the teacher + can by skillful questioning lead the class to raise all necessary + problems, and increase the student's willingness to attack them.) + + (3) The determination through class conference of the order and + method of attacking the problems, and the reasons therefor. + + (4) The accumulation and record of discovered facts (sharply + eliminating all inferences). + + (5) The arrangement (classification) and appraisal + (discrimination) of the discovered facts. + + (6) Conclusions or inferences from the facts. (These should be + very sharply and critically examined by teacher and class, to see + to what extent they are really valid and supported by the facts.) + + (7) Retesting of conclusions by new facts submitted by class, by + teacher, or from books, with an effort to diminish prejudice as a + factor in conclusions, and to increase the willingness to + approach our own conclusions with an open mind. + + +When laboratory outlines are used at all they should consist merely of +directions, and suggestions, and stimulating questions which will +start the pupils on the main quest,--the raising and solving of their +own problems. + + +SOME MOOT PROBLEMS[2] + +=Ascending or descending order?= + +1. Shall we begin with the simple, little-known, lower forms and +follow the ascending order, which is analogous at least to the +evolutionary order? Or shall we begin with the more complex but +better-known forms and go downward? It seems to the writer that the +former method has the advantage in actual interest; in its +suggestiveness of evolution, which is the most important single +impression the student will get from his course; and in the mental +satisfactions that come to pupil and teacher alike from the sense of +progress. However, our material is so rich, so interesting, and so +plastic that it makes little difference where we begin if only we have +a clear idea of what we want to accomplish. + +=Morphology versus other interests= + +2. What proportion of time should be given to morphology in relation +to other interests? For several reasons morphology has been +overemphasized. It lends itself to the older conception of the +laboratory as a place to observe and record facts. It offers little +temptation to reach conclusions. It calls for little use of gray +matter. This makes it an easy laboratory enterprise. It is what the +grade teachers call "busy" work, and can be multiplied indefinitely. +It can be made to smack of exactness and thoroughness. + +Furthermore, morphology _is_ in reality a basal consideration. It is a +legitimate part of an introductory course,--but never for its own sake +nor to prepare for higher courses. But morphology is, however, only +the starting point for the higher mental processes by which different +forms of organisms are compared, for the correlating of structure with +activity, for appreciation of adaptations of structure both to +function and to environmental influence. It thus serves as a +foundation upon which to build conclusions about really vital matters. +Experience teaches that sensitiveness, behavior, and other activities +and powers and processes interest young people more than structure. +The student's views are essentially sound at this point. + +The introductory course should, therefore, be a cycle in which the +student passes quite freely back and forth between form, powers, +activities, conditions of life, and the conclusions as to the meanings +of these. It is important only that he shall know with which +consideration he is from time to time engaged. + +=Few types or many?= + +3. Shall a few forms be studied thoroughly, or many forms be studied +more superficially? There is something of value in each of these +practices. It is possible to over-emphasize the idea of thoroughness +in the introductory courses. Thoroughness is purely a relative +condition anyway, since we cannot really master any type. It seems +poor pedagogy, in an elementary class particularly, to emphasize small +and difficult forms or organs because they demand more painstaking and +skill on the part of the student. My own practice in the elementary +course is to have a very few specially favorable forms studied with a +good deal of care, and a much larger number studied partially, +emphasizing those points which they illustrate very effectively. + +=Distribution of time= + +4. What proportion of time should be given to the various methods of +work? Manifestly the answer to this question depends upon the local +equipment and upon the character of the course itself. The suggestion +here relates primarily to the general or introductory courses. It +seems to me that a sound division of time would be: two or three hours +per week of class exercises (lectures, recitations, reports, quiz, +etc.) demanding not less than four hours of preparation in text and +library work; and four to six hours a week of "practical" work with +organisms, about two hours of which should take the form of studies in +the field wherever this is possible. + +=Weakness of the research man as a teacher for the beginning course= + +5. Is the "research" man the best teacher for the introductory +courses? In spite of a good deal of prejudgment on the part of college +and university administrators and of the research biologists +themselves. I am convinced he is not. While there are notable +exceptions, my own observation is that the investigator, whether the +head professor or the "teaching fellow," usually does not have the +mental attitude that makes a successful teacher, at least of +elementary classes,--and for these reasons: he begrudges the time +spent in teaching elementary classes, presents the subject as +primarily preparatory to upper courses, subordinates the human +elements to the scientific elements, and actually exploits the class +in the interest of research. The real teacher's question about an +entering class is this: "How can I best use the materials of our +science to make real men and women out of these people?" The question +of the professional investigator is likely to be: "How many of these +people are fit to become investigators, and how can I most surely find +them and interest them in the science?" This is a perfectly fine and +legitimate question; but it is not an appropriate one until the first +one has been answered. It has been assumed that the answers to the two +questions are identical. This is one of the most vicious assumptions +in higher education today, in my opinion. Furthermore, the +investigator with his interests centering at the margins of the +unknown cannot use the scientific method as a teacher, whose interest +must center in the pupil. The points of view are not merely not +identical; they are incompatible. + +=Necessity of differentiation and recognition of the two functions= + +Experience indicates the wisdom of having all beginning courses in +biology in colleges and universities given by teachers and not by +investigators, mature or immature. All people who propose to teach +biology in the high schools should have their early courses given from +this human point of view, that they may be the better able to come +back to it after their graduate work, in their efforts to organize +courses for pupils the greater part of whom will never have any but a +life interest in the subject. The problem of presenting the advanced +and special courses is relatively an easy one. The investigator is the +best possible teacher for advanced students in his own special field +if he is endowed with any common sense at all. + + +TESTS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHING + +As yet we are notably lacking in regard to the measurement of progress +as the result of our teaching. Our usual tests--examination, +recitation, quiz, reports, laboratory notebooks--evaluate in a measure +work done, knowledge or general grasp acquired, and accuracy +developed. We need, however, measurements of skill, of habits, and of +the still more intangible attitudes and appreciations. These may be +gained in part by furnishing really educative situations and observing +the time and character of the student's reaction. Every true teacher +is in reality an experimental psychologist, and must apply directly +the methods of the psychologist. + +=More vital _tests_ of results of teaching must be found= + +The laboratory and field furnish opportunity for this sort of testing. +The student may be confronted with an unfamiliar organism or situation +and be given a limited time in which to obtain and record his results. +He may be asked to state and enumerate the problems that are suggested +by the situation; outline a method of solving them; discover as large +a body of facts as possible; arrange them in an order that seems to +him logical, with his reasons; and to make whatever inferences seem to +him sound in the light of facts,--supporting his conclusions at every +point. The ability to make such a total mental reaction promptly and +comprehendingly is the best test of any teaching whatsoever. The +important thing is that we shall not ourselves lose sight of the +essential parts of it in our enthusiasm for one portion of it. + +In judging attitude and appreciation I think it is possible for +discriminating teachers to obtain the testimony of the pupil himself +in appraisal of his own progress and attitude. This needs to be done +indirectly, to be sure. The student's self-judgment may not be +accurate; but it is not at all impossible to secure a disposition in +students to measure and estimate their own progress in these various +things with some accuracy and fairness of mind. Besides its incidental +value as a test, I know of no realm of biological observation, +discrimination, and conclusion more likely to prove profitable to the +student than this effort to estimate, without prejudice, his own +growth. + + +THE LITERATURE OF THE SUBJECT + +=Scarcity of authoritative pedagogical literature in biology= + +For various reasons very little attention has been given to the +pedagogy of college biology by those in the best position to throw +light upon this vital problem. More information as to the attitude of +teachers of the subject is to be derived from college and university +catalogs than elsewhere,--howbeit of a somewhat stereotyped and +standardized kind. Much more has been written relative to the teaching +of biology in the secondary schools. In my opinion the most effective +teaching of biology in America today is being done in the best high +schools by teachers who have been forced to acquire a pedagogical +background that would enable them to reconstruct completely their +presentation of the subject. Most of these people obtained very little +help in this task from their college courses in biology. For these +reasons every college teacher will greatly profit by studying what has +been written for the secondary teachers. _School Science and +Mathematics_ (Chicago) is the best source for current views in this +field. Its files will show no little of the best thought and +investigation that have been devoted to the principles underlying +instruction in biology. Lloyd and Bigelow, in _The Teaching of +Biology_ (Longmans, Green & Co.), have treated the problems of +secondary biology at length. Ganong's _Teaching Botanist_ (The +Macmillan Company) has high value. + +The authors of textbooks of biology, botany, and zoölogy issued during +the last ten years have ventured to develop, in their prefaces, +appendices, and elsewhere, their pedagogical points of view. The +writer has personal knowledge that teaching suggestions are still +resented by some college teachers of zoölogy. Illustrations of the +tendency to incorporate pedagogical material in textbooks on +biological subjects can be found in + +DODGE, C. W. _Practical Biology._ Harper and Brothers, 1894. + +GAGER, C. S. _Fundamentals of Botany._ P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1916. + +GALLOWAY, T. W. _Textbook of Zoölogy._ P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1915. + +KINGSLEY, J. S. _Textbook of Vertebrate Zoölogy._ H. Holt & Co. + +PETRUNKEVITCH, A. _Morphology of Invertebrate Types._ The Macmillan +Company, 1916. + + T. W. GALLOWAY + _Beloit College_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +CRAMER, F. Logical Method in Biology. _Popular Science Monthly_, Vol. +44, page 372. 1894. + +FARLOW, W. G. Biological Teaching in Colleges. _Popular Science +Monthly_, Vol. 28, page 581. 1886. + +HARVEY, N. A. Pedagogical Content of Zoölogy. _Proceedings National +Education Association_, 1899; page 1106. + +HODGE, C. F. Dynamic Biology. _Pedagogical Seminar_, Vols. 11-12. + +HUXLEY, J. H. Educational Value of Natural History Science. Essay II, +_Science and Education_. 1854. + +RUSK, R. R. _Introduction to Experimental Education._ Longmans, Green +& Co., 1912. + +SAUNDERS, S. J. Value of Research in Education. _School Science and +Mathematics_, Vol. II, March, 1902. + +SMALLWOOD, W. M. Biology as a Culture Study. _Journal of Pedagogy_, +Vol. 17, page 231. + +WELTON, J. _Psychology of Education_ (chapter on "Character"). The +Macmillan Company, 1911. + + +Footnotes: + +[2] These problems relate particularly to the introductory courses. + + + + +V + +THE TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY + + +=Preparation of entering students a determining factor= + +Some of the students entering classes in chemistry in college have +already had an elementary course in the subject in the high school or +academy, while others have not. Again, some study chemistry in college +merely for the sake of general information and culture, while many +others pursue the subject because the vocation they are planning to +make their life's work requires a more or less extensive knowledge of +chemistry. Thus, all students in the natural sciences and their +applications--as we have them in medicine, engineering, agriculture, +and home economics--as well as those who are training to become +professional chemists, either in the arts and industries or in +teaching, must devote a considerable amount of time and energy to the +study of chemistry. The teacher of college chemistry consequently must +take into consideration the preparation with which the student enters +his classes and also the end which is to be attained by the pursuit of +the subject in the case of the various groups of students mentioned. + +In the larger high schools courses in chemistry are now quite +generally offered, but this is not yet true of the smaller schools. In +some colleges those who have had high school chemistry are at once +placed into advanced work without taking the usual basal course in +general chemistry which is so arranged that students can enter it who +have had no previous knowledge of the subject. In other words, in some +cases the college builds directly upon the high school course in +chemistry. As a rule, however, this does not prove very successful, +for the high school course in chemistry is not primarily designed as a +course upon which advanced college chemistry can be founded. This is +as it should be, for after all, while the high school prepares +students for college, its chief purpose is to act as a finishing +school for those larger numbers of students who never go to college. +The high school course in chemistry is consequently properly designed +to give certain important chemical facts and point out their more +immediate applications in the ordinary walks of life, as far as this +can properly be done in the allotted time with a student of high +school age and maturity. The result is consequently that while such +work can very well be accepted toward satisfying college entrance +requirements, it is only rarely sufficient as a basis for advanced +college courses in the subject. As a rule it is best to ask all +students to take the basal course in general chemistry offered in +college, arranging somewhat more advanced experiments in the +laboratory wherever necessary for those who have had chemistry in +preparatory schools. This has become the writer's practice after +careful trial of other expedients. The scheme has on the whole worked +out fairly well, for it is sufficiently elastic to meet the needs of +the individual students, who naturally come with preparation that is +quite varied. Almost invariably students who, on account of their +course in high school chemistry, are excused from the general basal +course in college chemistry have been handicapped forever afterward in +their advanced work in the subject. + +=Organization of first-year course--General chemistry= + +The first year's work in college chemistry consists of general +chemistry. It is basal for all work that is to follow, and yet at the +same time it is a finished course, giving a well-rounded survey of the +subject to all who do not care to pursue it further. This basal course +is commonly given in the freshman year, though sometimes it is +deferred to the sophomore year. Its content is now fairly uniform in +different colleges, the first semester being commonly devoted to +general fundamental considerations and the chemistry of the +non-metals, while the metals receive attention in the second semester, +the elements of qualitative analysis being in some cases taught in +connection with the chemistry of the metals. + +The work is almost universally conducted by means of lectures, +laboratory work, and recitations. The lectures have the purpose to +unfold the subject, give general orientation as to the most important +fundamental topics and points of view, and furnish impetus, guidance, +and inspiration for laboratory study and reading. To this end the +lectures should be illustrated by means of carefully chosen and +well-prepared experiments. These serve not only to illustrate typical +chemical processes, and fundamental laws, but they also stimulate +interest and teach the student many valuable points of manipulation, +for it is well-nigh impossible to watch an expert manipulator without +absorbing valuable hints on the building up, arranging, and handling +of apparatus. In the lectures the material should be presented slowly, +carefully, and clearly, so that it may readily be followed by the +student. Facts should always be placed in the foreground, and they +should be made the basis of the generalization we call laws, and then +the latter naturally lead to theoretical conceptions. It is a great +mistake to begin with the atomic theory practically the first day and +try to bolster up that theory with facts later on as concrete cases of +chemical action are studied. On the other hand, it is also quite +unwise to defer the introduction of theoretical conceptions too long, +for the atomic theory is a great aid in making rapid progress in the +study of chemistry. At least two or three weeks are well spent in +studying fundamental chemical reactions as facts quite independent of +any theories whatsoever, in order that the student may thoroughly +appreciate the nature of chemical change and become familiar with +enough characteristic and typical cases of chemical action so that the +general laws of chemical combination by weight and by volume may be +logically deduced and the atomic and molecular theories presented as +based upon those laws. + +Up to this stage the reactions should be written out in words and all +formulation should be avoided, so that the student will not get the +idea that "chemistry is the science of signs and symbols," or that +"chemistry is a hypothetical science," but that he will feel that +chemistry deals with certain very definite, characteristic, and +fundamental changes of matter in which new substances are formed, and +that these processes always go on in accordance with fixed and +invariable laws, though they are influenced by conditions of +temperature, pressure, light, electricity, and the presence of other +substances in larger or smaller amounts. The theory and formulation +when properly introduced should be an aid to the student, leading him +to see that the expression of chemical facts is simplified thereby. +Thus he will never make the error of regarding the symbol as the +fundamental thing, but he will from the very outset look upon it +simply as a useful form of shorthand expression, as it were, which is +also a great aid in chemical thinking. Facts and theories should ever +be kept distinct and separate in the student's mind, if he is to make +real progress in the science. + +A thoroughgoing, logical presentation of the subject, leading the +student slowly and with a sense of perfect comprehension into the +deeper and more difficult phases, should constitute one of the prime +features of the work of the first year. Interest should constantly be +stimulated by references to the historical development of the subject, +to the practical applications in the arts and industries, to +sanitation and the treatment of disease, to the providing of proper +food, clothing, fuel, and shelter, to the problems of transportation +and communication, to the chemical changes that are constantly going +on in the atmosphere, the waters, and the crust of the earth as well +as in all living beings. Nevertheless, all the time the _science_ +should be taught as the backbone of the entire course. The allusions +to history and the manifold applications to daily life are indeed very +important, but they must never obscure the science itself, for only +thus can a thorough comprehension of chemistry be imparted and the +benefits of the mental drill and culture be vouchsafed to the student. + +=Methods of teaching--The Lecture method= + +For the freshman and sophomore, two lectures per week are sufficient +for this type of instruction. In these exercises the student should +give his undivided attention to what is presented by the lecturer. The +taking of notes is to be discouraged rather than encouraged, for it +results in dividing the attention between what is presented and the +mechanical work of writing. To take the place of the usual lecture +notes, students of this grade had better be provided with a suitable +text, definite chapters in which are assigned for reading in +connection with each lecture. The text thus serves for purposes of +review, and also as a means for inculcating additional details which +cannot to advantage be presented in a lecture, but are best studied at +home by perusing a book, the contents of which have been illuminated +by the experimental demonstrations, the explanations on the +blackboard, the charts, lantern slides, and above all the living +development and presentation of the subject by the lecturer. The +lectures should in no case be conducted primarily as an exercise in +dictation and note taking. If the lectures do not give general +orientation, illumination, and inspiration for further study in +laboratory and library, they are an absolute failure and had better be +omitted entirely. On the other hand, when properly conducted the +lectures are the very life of the course. + +=The laboratory work= + +The laboratory work should be well correlated with the lectures, +especially during the first year. The experiments to be performed by +the student should be carefully chosen and should not be a mere +repetition of the lecture demonstrations. The laboratory experiments +should be both qualitative and quantitative in character. They should +on the one hand illustrate the peculiar properties of the substances +studied and the typical concomitant changes of chemical action, but on +the other hand a sufficient number of quantitative exercises in the +laboratory should be introduced to bring home to the student the laws +of combining weights and volumes, thus giving him the idea that +chemistry is exact and that quantitative relations always obtain when +chemical action takes place. At the same time the quantitative +exercises lay the basis for the proper comprehension of the laws of +combining weights and volumes and the atomic and molecular theories. +At least three periods of two consecutive hours each should be spent +in the laboratory per week, and the laboratory exercises should be +made so interesting and instructive that the student will feel +inclined to work in the laboratory at odd times in addition if his +program of other studies permits. The laboratory should at all times +be, as its name implies, a place where work is done. Order and +neatness should always prevail. Apparatus should be kept neat and +clean, and in no case should slovenly habits of setting up apparatus +be tolerated. The early introduction of a certain amount of +quantitative experimentation in the course makes for habits of order +and neatness in experimentation and guards against bringing up +"sloppy" chemists. + +=The student's laboratory record= + +The laboratory notebook should be a neat and accurate record of the +work in the laboratory. To this end the entries in the notebook should +be made in the laboratory at the time when the experiment is actually +being performed. The writing of data on loose scratch paper and then +finally writing up the notebook later at home from such sheets is not +to be recommended, for while thus the final appearance of the notebook +may be improved, it is no longer a first-hand record such as every +scientist makes, but rather a transcribed one. The student, in making +up such a transcription, is only too apt to draw upon his inner +consciousness to make the book appear better; indeed, when he has +neglected to transcribe his notes for several days, he is bound to +produce anything but a true and accurate record, to say nothing about +being put to the temptation to "fake" results which he has either not +at all obtained in the laboratory, or has recorded so imperfectly on +the scratch paper that he can no longer interpret his record properly. +The only true way is to have the notes made directly in the +permanently bound notebook at the time when the experiment is actually +in progress. The student ought not to take the laboratory notebook +home at all without the instructor's knowledge and permission. Each +experiment should be entered in the notebook in a brief, businesslike +manner. Long-winded, superfluous discussions should be avoided. As a +rule, drawings of apparatus in the notes are unnecessary, it being +sufficient to indicate that the apparatus was set up according to +Figure so-and-so in the laboratory manual or according to the +directions given on page so-and-so. The student should be made to feel +that the laboratory is the place where careful, purposeful +experimentation is to be done, that this is the main object of the +laboratory work, and that the notebook is merely a reliable record of +what has been accomplished. To this end the data in the notebook +should be complete, yet brief and to the point, so that what has been +done can be looked up again and that the instructor may know that the +experiment has been performed properly, that its purpose was +understood by the student, and that he has made correct observations +and drawn logical conclusions therefrom. While in each case the notes +should indicate the purpose of the experiment, what has actually been +done and observed, and the final conclusions, it is on the whole best +not to have a general cut-and-dried formula according to which each +and every experiment is to be recorded. It is better to encourage a +certain degree of individuality in this matter on the part of each +student. Notebooks should be corrected by the teacher every week, and +the student should be asked to correct all errors which the teacher +has indicated. A businesslike atmosphere should prevail in the +laboratory at all times, and this should be reflected in the +notebooks. Anything that savors of the pedantic is to be strictly +avoided. Small blackboards should be conveniently placed in the +laboratory so that the instructor may use them in explaining any +points that may arise. Usually the same question arises with several +members of the class, and a few moments of explanation before the +blackboard enable the instructor to clear up the points raised. This +not only saves the instructor's time, but it also stimulates interest +in the laboratory when explanations are thus given to small groups +just when the question is hot. + +It is, of course, assumed that the necessary amount of apparatus, +chemicals, and other supplies is available, and that the laboratory +desks, proper ventilation of the rooms, and safeguards in the case of +all experiments fraught with danger have received the necessary +painstaking attention on the part of the instructor, who must never +for a moment relax in looking after these matters, which it is not the +purpose to discuss here. At all times the student should work +intelligently and be fully aware of any dangers that are inherent in +what he is doing. It need hardly be said that a beginner should not be +set at experiments that are specially dangerous. Having been given +proper directions, the student should be taught to go ahead with +confidence, for working in constant trepidation that an accident may +occur often creates a nervous state that brings about the accident. +Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon proper, definite laboratory +instructions, especially as to kinds and amounts of materials to be +used. Such directions as "take a _little_ phosphorus," for example, +should be strictly avoided, for the direction as to amount is +absolutely indefinite and may in the case where phosphorus or any +other dangerous substance is used lead to dire accidents. The student +should be given proper and very definite directions, and then he +should be taught to follow these absolutely and not use more of the +materials than is specified, as the beginner is so apt to do, thus +often wasting his time and the reagents as well. Economy and the +correct use of all laboratory supplies should be inculcated indirectly +all the time. A fixed set of printed rules for the laboratory is +generally neither necessary nor desirable when students are properly +directed to work intelligently as they go, and good directions are +given in the laboratory manual. Thus a spirit of doing intelligently +what is right and proper, guarding against accidents, economizing in +time and materials of all kinds will soon become dominant in the +laboratory and will greatly add to the efficiency of the workers. +Minor accidents are almost bound to occur at times in spite of all +precautions, and the instructor should be ready to cope with these +promptly by means of a properly supplied first-aid kit. + +=Recitations and quizzes= + +For students of the first year quizzes or recitations should be held +at least twice a week. In these exercises the ground covered in the +lectures and laboratory work should be carefully and systematically +reviewed. The quiz classes should not be too large. Twenty-five +students is the upper limit for a quiz section. The laboratory +sections too should not be larger than this, and it is highly +desirable that the same instructor conduct both the recitation and the +immediate laboratory supervision of the student. Lecture classes can, +of course, be very much larger in number. In most colleges the +attendance upon classes in chemistry is so large that it is not +possible for the professor to deliver the lectures and also personally +conduct all of the laboratory work and recitations. It is consequently +necessary to divide the class up into small sections for laboratory +and quiz purposes. It is highly desirable that the student become well +acquainted with his individual instructor in laboratory and quiz work, +and therefore it would be unfortunate to have one instructor in the +laboratory and still another instructor in the quiz. It might be +argued that it is a good thing to have the student become acquainted +with a number of instructors, but in the writer's experience such +practice results to the disadvantage of the student, and is +consequently not to be recommended. + +In the recitations the student is to be encouraged to do the talking. +He is to be given an opportunity to ask questions as well as to answer +the queries put by the teacher. Short written exercises of about ten +minutes' duration can be given to advantage in each of these +recitations. In this way the entire class writes upon a well-chosen +question or solves a numerical chemical problem and thus a great deal +of time is saved. The quiz room should be well provided with +blackboards which may be used to great advantage in the writing of +equations and the solution of chemical problems just as in a class in +mathematics. The textbook, from which readings are assigned to the +student in connection with the lectures, should contain questions +which recapitulate the contents of each chapter. When such questions +are not contained in the book, they ought to be provided by the +teacher on printed or mimeographed sheets. When properly conducted, +the recitation aids greatly in clarifying, arranging and fixing the +important points of the course in the mind of the student. Young +instructors are apt to make the mistake of doing too much talking in +the quiz, instead of encouraging the student to express his views. In +these days, when foreign languages and mathematics are more or less on +the wane in colleges, the proper study of chemistry, particularly in +the well-conducted quiz, will go far toward supplying the mental drill +which the older subjects have always afforded. + +=Summary of first-year course= + +If the work of the first year has been properly conducted, it will +have given the student a general view of the whole field of chemistry, +together with a sufficient amount of detail so securely anchored in +careful laboratory work and practical experience as to form a basis +for either more advanced work in chemical lines or in the pursuance of +the vocations already mentioned in which a knowledge of chemistry is +basal. It is hardly necessary to add that if well taught, the student +will at the end of such a course have a desire for more chemistry. + +=Organization of second-year course= + +The work of the second year of chemistry in college generally consists +of quantitative analysis, though the more intensive study of the +compounds of carbon, known as organic chemistry, is also frequently +taken up at this time, and there is much to be said in favor of such +practice. + +=Content of the course in quantitative analysis= + +In the quantitative analysis, habits of neatness and accuracy must be +insisted upon. It is well to give the general orientation and +directions by means of lectures. One or two such exercises per week +will suffice. There should also be recitations. When two lectures per +week are given, it will suffice to review the work with the student in +connection with such lectures, provided the class is not too large for +quiz purposes. Intelligent work should characterize a course in +quantitative analysis. To this end the student should be taught how to +take proper representative samples of the material to be analyzed. He +should then be taught how to weigh or measure out that sample with +proper care. The manipulations of the analytical process should be +carried out so that each step is properly understood and its relations +to the general laws of chemistry are constantly before the mind. In +carrying out the process, the various sources of error must be +thoroughly appreciated and guarded against. The final weighing or +measuring of the form in which the ingredient sought is estimated +should again be carried out with care, and in the calculation of the +percentage content due regard should be had for the limits of error of +experimentation throughout the entire analytical process. The student +feels that a large number of the exercises in quantitative analysis +are virtually cases of making chemical preparations of the highest +possible purity, thus connecting his previous chemical experience with +his quantitative work. The course in quantitative analysis should +cover the determination of the more important basic and acid radicals, +and should consist of both gravimetric and volumetric exercises. + +The choice of the exercises is of great importance. It may vary, and +should vary considerably in different cases. Thus a student in +agriculture is naturally interested in the methods of estimating lime, +phosphorus, nitrogen, potash, silica, sulphur, etc., whereas a student +in engineering would be more interested in work with the heavy metals +and the ingredients which the commercial samples of such metals are +apt to contain. Thus, analytical work on solder, bearing metal, iron +and steel, cement, etc., should be introduced as soon as the student +in engineering is ready for it. It is quite possible to inculcate the +principles of quantitative analysis by selecting exercises in which +the individual student is interested, though, to be sure, certain +fundamental things would naturally have to be taken by all students, +whatever be the line for which they are training. A few exercises in +gas analysis and also water analysis should be given in every good +course in quantitative analysis that occupies an entire year. Careful +attention should be given to the notebook in the quantitative work, +and the student should also be made to feel that in modern +quantitative analysis not only balances and burettes are to serve as +the measuring instruments, but that the polariscope and the +refractometer also are very important, and that at times still other +physical instruments like the spectroscope, the electrometer, and the +viscometer may prove very useful indeed. + +The quantitative analysis offers a splendid opportunity for bringing +home to the student what he has learned in the work of the first year, +showing him one phase of the application of that knowledge and making +him feel, as it were, the quantitative side of science. This latter +view can be imparted only to a limited degree in the first year's +work, but the quantitative course offers an unusual opportunity for +giving the student an application of the fundamental quantitative laws +which govern all chemical processes. It is not possible to analyze +very many substances during any college course in quantitative +analysis. The wise teacher will choose the substances to be analyzed +so as to keep up the interest of the student and yet at the same time +give him examples of all the fundamental cases that are commonly met +in the practice of analytical work. A careful, painstaking, +intelligent worker should be the result of the course in quantitative +analysis. Toward the end of the course, too, a certain amount of speed +should be insisted upon. The student should be taught to carry on +several processes at the same time, but care should be taken not to +overdo this. + +=The course in organic chemistry= + +In the course in organic chemistry, lectures, laboratory work, and +recitations, arranged very much as to time as in the first year, will +be found advantageous. If the intensive work in organic chemistry is +postponed to the third year in college, there are certain advantages. +For example, the student is more mature and has had drill and +experience in the somewhat simpler processes commonly taught in +general and analytical chemistry. On the other hand, the postponing of +organic chemistry to the third year has the disadvantage that the +student goes through his basal training in quantitative analysis +without the help of that larger horizon which can come to him only +through the study of the methods of organic chemistry. The general +work of the first year, to be sure, if well done compensates in part +for what is lost by postponing organic chemistry till the third year, +but it can never entirely remove the loss to the student. Teachers +will differ as to whether the time-honored division of organic +chemistry into the aliphatic and aromatic series should be maintained +pedagogically, but they will doubtless all agree that the methods of +working out the structure of the chemical compound are peculiarly +characteristic of the study of the compounds of carbon, and these +methods must consequently constitute an important point to be +inculcated in organic chemistry. The derivation of the various types +of organic compounds from the fundamental hydrocarbons as well as from +one another, and the characteristic reactions of each of these +fundamental forms which lead to their identification and also often +serve as a means of their purification, should naturally be taught in +a thoroughgoing manner. The numerous practical applications which the +teacher of organic chemistry has at his command will always serve to +make this subject one of the deepest interest, if not the most +fascinating portion of the entire subject of chemistry. No student +should leave the course in organic chemistry without feeling the +beautiful unity and logical relationship which obtains in the case of +the compounds of carbon, the experimental study of which has cast so +much light upon the chemical processes in living plants and animals, +processes upon which life itself depends. The analysis of organic +compounds is probably best taught in connection with the course in +organic chemistry. It is here that the student is introduced to the +use of the combustion furnace and the method of working out the +empirical formulæ of the compounds which he has carefully prepared and +purified. The laboratory practice in organic chemistry generally +requires the use of larger pieces of apparatus. Some of the +experiments also are connected with peculiar dangers of their own. +These facts require that the student should not approach the course +without sufficient preliminary training. Furthermore, the teacher +needs to exercise special care in supervising the laboratory work so +as to guard the student against serious accidents. + +The historical development of organic chemistry is especially +interesting, and allusions to the history of the important discoveries +and developments of ideas in organic chemistry should be used to +stimulate interest and so enhance the value of the work of the +student. The practical side of organic chemistry should never be lost +sight of for a moment, and under no condition should the course be +allowed to deteriorate into one of mere picturing of structural +formulæ on the blackboard. All chemical formulas are merely compact +forms of expression of what we know about chemical compounds. There +are, no doubt, many facts about chemical compounds which their +accepted formulas do not express at all, and the wise teacher should +lead the student to see this. There is peculiar danger in the course +in organic chemistry that the pupil become a mere formula worshiper, +and this must carefully be guarded against. + +The applications of organic chemistry to the arts and industries, but +especially to biochemistry, will no doubt interest many members of the +class of a course in organic chemistry if the subject is properly +taught. This will be particularly the case if the teacher always holds +before the mind of the pupil the actual realities in the laboratory +and in nature, using formulation merely as the expression of our +knowledge and not as an end in itself. + +=Place of physical chemistry in the college curriculum= + +Physical chemistry, commonly regarded as the youngest and by its +adherents the most important and all-pervading branch of chemistry, is +presented very early in the college course by some teachers, and +postponed to the junior and even the senior year by others. Just as a +certain amount of organic chemistry should be taught in the first +year, so a few of the most fundamental principles of physical +chemistry must also find a place in the basal work of the beginner. +However, in the first year's work in chemistry so many phases of the +subject must needs be presented in order to give a good general view, +that many details in either organic, analytical, or physical chemistry +must necessarily be omitted. What is to be taught in that important +basal year must, therefore, be selected with extreme care. Moreover, +so far as physical chemistry is concerned, it is in a way chemical +philosophy or general chemistry in the broadest sense of the word, and +consequently requires for its successful pursuit not only a basal +course, but also proper knowledge of analytical and organic chemistry, +as well as a grounding in physics, crystallography, and mathematics. +At the same time a certain amount of biological study is highly +desirable. A good course in physical chemistry postulates lectures, +laboratory work, and recitations. In general, these should be arranged +much like those in the basal course and the course in organic +chemistry. If anything, more time should be put upon the lectures and +recitations; certainly more time should be devoted to exercises of +this kind than in the course in quantitative analysis, which is best +taught in the laboratory. At the same time it would be a mistake to +teach physical chemistry without laboratory practice. Indeed, +laboratory practice is the very life of physical chemistry, and the +more of such work we can have, the better. However, since physical +chemistry, as already stated, delves into the philosophical field, +discussions in the lecture hall and classroom become of peculiar +importance. + +=Courses in applied chemistry= + +Many colleges now give additional courses in chemical technology. +These would naturally come after the student has had a sufficient +foundation in general chemistry, chemical analysis, and organic and +physical chemistry. As a rule such applied courses ought not to be +given until the junior or senior year. It is a great mistake to +introduce such courses earlier, for the student cannot do the work in +an intelligent manner. + +=Enthusiastic teaching a vital factor= + +In all the courses in chemistry, interest and enthusiasm are of vital +importance. These can be instilled only by the teacher himself, and no +amount of laying out courses on paper and giving directions, however +valuable they may be, can possibly take the place of an able, devoted, +enthusiastic teacher. Chemistry deals with things, and hence is always +best taught in the laboratory. The classroom and the library should +create interest and enthusiasm for further laboratory work, and in +turn the laboratory work should yield results that will finally +manifest themselves in the form of good written reports. + +=The teacher must continue his researches= + +Original work should always be carried on by the college teacher. If +he fails in this, his teaching will soon be dead. There will always be +some bright students who can help him in his research work. These +should be led on and developed along lines of original thought. From +this source there will always spring live workers in the arts and +industries as well as in academic lines. Lack of facilities and time +is often pleaded by the college teacher as an excuse for not doing +original work. There is no doubt that such facilities are often very +meager. Nevertheless, the enthusiastic teacher is bound to find the +time and also the means for doing some original work. A great deal +cannot be expected of him as a rule because of his pedagogical duties, +but a certain amount of productive work is absolutely essential to any +live college teacher. + +=Future of chemistry in the college curriculum= + +The importance of chemistry in daily life and in the industries has +been increasing and is bound to continue to increase. For this reason +the subject is destined to take a more important place in the college +curriculum. If well taught, college chemistry will not only widen the +horizon of the student, but it will also afford him both manual +training and mental drill and culture of the highest order. + + LOUIS KAHLENBERG + _University of Wisconsin_ + + + +VI + +THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS + + +The need of giving to physics a prominent place in the college +curriculum of the twentieth century is quite universally admitted. If, +as an eminent medical authority maintains, no man can be said to be +educated who has not the knowledge of trigonometry, how much more true +is this statement with reference to physics? The five human senses are +not more varied in scope than are the five great domains of this +science. In the study of heat, sound, and light we may strive merely +to understand the nature of the external stimuli that come to us +through touch, hearing and sight; but in mechanics, where we examine +critically the simplest ideas of motion and inertia, we acquire the +method of analysis which when applied to the mysteries of molecular +physics and electricity carries us along avenues that lead to the most +profound secrets of nature. Utilitarian aspects dwindle in our +perspective as we face the problem of the structure, origin, and +evolution of matter--as we question the independence of space and +time. Modern physics possesses philosophic stature of heroic size. + +=Utilitarian value of the study Of physics= + +But with regard to everyday occurrences a study of physics is +necessary. It is trite to mention the development in recent years of +those mechanical and electrical arts that have made modern +civilization. The submarine, vitalized by storage battery and Diesel +engine, the torpedo with its gyroscopic pilot and pneumatic motors, +the wireless transmission of speech over seas and continents--these +things no longer excite wonder nor claim attention as we scan the +morning paper; yet how many understand their mechanism or appreciate +the spirit which has given them to the world? + +=Disciplinary value of the study= + +If culture means the subjective transformation of information into a +philosophy of life, can culture be complete unless it has included in +its reflections the marvelously simple yet intricate interrelations +of natural phenomena? The value of this intricate simplicity as a +mental discipline is equaled perhaps only in the finely drawn +distinctions of philosophy and in the painstaking statements of +limitations and the rapid generalizations of pure mathematics; and let +us not forget the value of discipline, outgrown and unheeded though it +be in the acquisitive life of the present age. + +=Relation of physics to philosophy and the exact sciences= + +The professional student, continually increasing in numbers in our +colleges, either of science or in certain branches of law, finds a +broad familiarity with the latest points of view of the physicist not +only helpful but often indispensable. Chemistry can find with +difficulty any artificial basis for a boundary of its domain from that +of physics. Certainly no real one exists. The biologist is heard +asking about the latest idea in atomic evolution and the electrical +theories of matter, hoping to find in these illuminating points of +view, he tells us, some analogy to his almost hopelessly complex +problems of life and heredity. Even those medical men whose interest +is entirely commercial appreciate the convenience of the X-ray and the +importance of correctly interpreting the pathological effects of the +rays of radio-activity and ultra-violet light. One finds a great +geologist in collaboration with his distinguished colleague in +physics, and from the latter comes a contribution on the rigidity of +the earth. Astronomy answers nowadays to the name of astrophysics, and +progressive observatories recognize in the laboratory a tool as +essential as the telescope. In a word, the professional student of +science not only finds that the subject matter of physics has many +fundamental points of contact with his own chosen field, but also +recognizes that the less complex nature of its material allows the +method of study to stand out in bolder relief. Training in the method +and a passion for the method are vital to a successful and an ardent +career. + +=Should the teaching of college physics change its aim for different +classes of students?= + +In the teaching of physics, then, the aim might at first sight appear +to be quite varied, differing with different classes of students. A +careful analysis of the situation, however, will show, we think, that +this conclusion can with difficulty be justified: that it is necessary +to conduct college instruction in a fashion dictated almost not at all +by the subsequent aims of the students concerned. In the more +elementary work, certainly, adherence to this idea is of great +importance. The character, design, and purpose of an edifice do not +appear in the foundations except that they are massive if the +structure is to be great. + +Not infrequently this seems an unnecessary hardship to a professional +student anxious to get into the work of his chosen field. If such is +the case, let him question perhaps whether any study of physics should +be attempted, as this query may have different answers for different +individuals. But if he is to study it at all, there is but one place +where the analysis of physical phenomena can begin, and that is with +fundamentals--space, time, motion, and inertia. How can one who is +ignorant of the existence and characteristics of rotational inertia +understand a galvanometer? How can waves be discussed unless in terms +of period, amplitude, frequency, and the like, that find definition in +simple harmonic motion? How does one visualize the mechanism of a gas, +unless by means of such ideas as momentum interchange, energy +conservation, and forces of attraction? + +Let us emphasize here, lest we be misunderstood, that we are +considering collegiate courses. We do not doubt that descriptive +physics may be given after one fashion to farmers, quite differently +to engineers, and from still a third point of view to medical +students. Unfortunately some collegiate courses never get beyond the +high school method. Our aim is not to discuss descriptive courses, but +those that approach the subject with the spirit of critical analysis, +for these alone do we deem worthy of a place in the college +curriculum. + +=The course in college physics differentiated from the high school course= + +The problem of the descriptive course is the problem of the high +school. Because of failure there, too often we see at many a +university courses in subfreshman physics. These are made necessary +where entrance requirements do not demand this subject and where +subsequent interest along related lines develops among the students a +tardy necessity of getting it. From the point of view of the +collegiate course it often appears as if the subfreshman course could +be raised to academic rank. This is because familiarity with the +material must precede an analysis of it. Credit for high school +physics on the records of the entrance examiner, unless this credit is +based on entrance examination, is often found to stand for very +little. Consequently the almost continual demand for the high school +work under the direct supervision of a collegiate faculty. The number +of students who should go into this course instead of the college +course is increasing at the present time in the immediate locality of +the writer. + +As contributory testimony here, witness the number of colleges that do +not take cognizance at all of high school preparation and admit to the +same college classes those who have never had preparatory physics with +those who have had it. We are told the difference between the two +groups is insignificant. Perhaps it is. If so, this fact reflects as +much on the college as on the high school. If we are looking for a +solution of our problem in this direction, let us be undeceived; we +are looking backwards, not forward. + +=Need of adequate high school preparation in physics= + +No one will affirm that to a class of whose numbers some have never +had high school physics a course that is really analytical can be +given. Wherever a rigorous analytic course is given those who have +been well trained in descriptive physics do well in it in general. Let +us not beg the question by giving such physics in a college that does +not require high school preparation. The college curriculum is full +enough as it is without duplication of high school work, and any +college physics course that is a first course is essentially a high +school course. + +Let us rather put the responsibility squarely where it lies. The high +school will respond if the urgency is made clear. Witness some of them +in our cities already attempting the junior college idea, an idea that +has not been unsuccessful in some of our private schools. If it is +made clear that a thoroughgoing course in descriptive physics is a +paramount necessity in college work and that no effort will be spared +on the part of the university to insure this quality, the men will be +found and the proper courses given. + +=Preparatory work in mathematics essential for success in college physics= + +We favor a comprehensive examination plan in all cases where the +quality of the high school work is either unknown or open to question. + +Familiarity, likewise, with the most elementary uses of mathematics +should be insured. It would be highly desirable that a course of +collegiate grade in trigonometry should immediately precede the +physics. This is not because the details of trigonometry are all +needed in physics. In fact, a few who have never had trigonometry make +a conspicuous success in physics. These, however, are ones who have a +natural facility in analysis. To keep them out because of failure to +have had a prerequisite course in trigonometry often works an +unnecessary hardship. We would argue, therefore, for a formal +prerequisite on this subject, reserving for certain students +exemption, which should be determined in all cases, if not by the +instructor himself, at least by his coöperation with some advisory +administrative officer. + +=Need of testing each student's preparation= + +Nor is it sufficient with regard to the mathematical preparation or +the knowledge of high school physics in either case to go exclusively +by the official credit record of the student. It is our firm +conviction from several years' experience where widely different aims +in the student body are represented that above and beyond all formal +records attention to the individual case is of prime importance. The +opening week of the course should be so conducted that those who are +obviously unequipped can be located and directed elsewhere into the +proper work. How this may best be accomplished can be determined only +by the circumstances in the individual school, we imagine. Daily tests +covering the simplest descriptive information that should be retained +from high school physics and requiring the intelligent use of +arithmetic, elementary algebra, and geometry will reveal amazing +incapacity in these things. Tuttle, in his little book entitled _An +Introduction to Laboratory Physics_ (Jefferson Laboratory of Physics, +Philadelphia, 1915), gives on pages 15-16 an excellent list of +questions of this sort. Any one with teaching experience in the +subject whatever can make up an equally good one suited for his +special needs and temperament. It should not be assumed that all who +fail in such tests should be dropped. Some undoubtedly should be sent +back to high school work or its equivalent; others may need double the +required work in mathematics to overcome their unreadiness in its use. +Personal contacts will show that some are drifting into a scientific +course who have no aptitude for it and who will be doomed to +disappointment should they continue. In a word, then, we are convinced +that the more carefully one plans the work of the first week or so the +more smoothly does the work of the rest of the year follow. The number +of failures may be reduced to a few per cent without in any way +relaxing the standard of the course. + +=Methods of teaching college physics= + +With regard to the organization of the college courses in physics +there seems to us to be at least one method that leads to a +considerable degree of success. This is not the lecture method of +instruction; neither is it a wholly unmitigated laboratory method. + +=Lecture method vs. laboratory method= + +To kindle inspiration and enthusiasm nothing can equal the contact in +lectures with others, preferably leaders in their profession, but at +least men who possess one of these qualities. Such contacts need not +be frequent; indeed, they should not be. The speaker is apt to make +more effort, the student to be more responsive, if such occasions are +relatively rare. Even thus, although real information is imparted at +such a time, it is seldom acquired. However, perspective is furnished, +interest stimulated, and the occasion enjoyed. + +=Limitations of exclusive use of each method= + +For the real acquisition of scientific information, the great method +is the working out of a laboratory exercise and pertinent problems, +with informal guidance in the atmosphere of active study and +discussion engendered among a small group,--the laboratory method. +Taken alone, it is apt to become mechanical and uninteresting and the +outlook to be obscured by details. Lectures, especially demonstration +lectures, are needed to vitalize and inspire. Moreover, many of the +most vivid illustrations of physical principles that occur on every +hand to focus the popular attention are never met with in the college +course because they are unsuited for inexperienced hands or not +readily amenable to quantitative experimentation. The more informally +such demonstrations can be conducted, the more enthusiastically they +are received. + +=Aims of the laboratory method= + +With regard to laboratory work, accuracy in moderate degree is +important, but too great insistence upon it is apt to overshadow the +higher aim; namely, that of the analysis of the phenomena themselves. +A determination of the pressure coefficient of a gas to half a per +cent, accompanied by a clear visualization of the mechanism by which a +gas exerts a pressure and a usable identification of temperature with +kinetic agitation, would seem preferable to an experimental error of a +tenth per cent which may be exacted which is unaccompanied by these +inspiring and rather modern points of view. Especially in electricity +is a familiarity with the essentials of the modern theories important. +Here supplementary lectures are of great necessity, for no textbook +keeps pace with progress in this tremendously important field. Problem +solving with class discussion is absolutely essential, and should +occupy at least one third of the entire time. In no other way can one +be convinced that the student is doing anything more than committing +to memory, or blindly following directions with no reaction of his +own. + +=Value of the supplementary lecture= + +The incorporation recently of this idea into the courses at the +University of Chicago has been very successful. Five sections which +are under different instructors are combined one day a week at an hour +when there are no other university engagements, for a lecture +demonstration. This is given by a senior member of the staff whenever +possible. The other meetings during the week are conducted by the +individual instructors and consist of two two-hour laboratory periods +and two class periods that usually run into somewhat over one hour +each. These sections are limited to twenty-five, and a smaller number +than this would be desirable. The responsibility for the course rests +naturally upon the individual instructors of these small sections. +These men also share in the demonstration work, since each is usually +an enthusiast in some particular field and will make a great effort in +his own specialty to give a successful popular presentation of the +important ideas involved. The enthusiasm which this plan has +engendered is very great. Attendance is crowded and there is always a +row of visitors, teachers of the vicinity, advanced students in other +fields of work, or undergraduates brought in by members of the class. +These latter especially are encouraged, as this does much to offset +current ideas that physics is a subject of unmitigated severity. The +particular topics put into these demonstrations will be discussed in +paragraphs below, which take up in more detail the organization of the +special subdivisions of the material in a general physics course. + +=Mechanics a stumbling block--How to meet the difficulty= + +Mechanics is a stumbling block at the outset. As we have indicated +above, it must form the beginning of any course that is analytic in +aim. There is no question of sidestepping the difficulty: it must be +surmounted. A judicious weeding during the first week is the initial +part of the plan. Interest may be aroused at once in the demonstration +lectures by mechanical tricks that show apparent violations of +Newton's Laws. These group around the type of experiment which shows a +modification of the natural uniform rectilinear motion of any object +by some hidden force, most often a concealed magnetic field. The +instinctive adherence of every one to Newton's dynamic definition, +that acceleration defies the ratio of force to inertia, is made +obvious by the amusement with which a trick in apparent defiance of +this principle is greeted. Informality of discussion in such +experiments, questions on the part of the instructor that are more +than rhetorical, and volunteer answers and comment from the class +increase the vividness of the impressions. A mechanical adaptation of +the "monkey on the string" problem, using little electric hoists or +clockworks, introduces interesting discussion of the third law in +conjunction with the second. A toy cannon and target mounted on easily +rolling carriages bring in the similar ideas where impulses rather +than forces alone can be measured. + +There follow, then, the laboratory experiments of the Atwood machine +and the force table, where quantitative results are demanded. It is +desirable to have these experiments at least worked by the class in +unison. Whatever may be the exigencies of numbers and apparatus +equipment that prevent it later, these introductions should be given +to and discussed by all together. In the nature of things, +fortunately, this is possible. A single Atwood machine will give +traces for all in a short time under the guidance of the instructor. +The force table experiment is nine-tenths calculation, and +verifications may be made for a large number in a short time. +Searching problems and discussion are instigated at once, and the +notion of rotational equilibrium and force moments brought in. Because +of the very great difficulty seeming to attach to force resolutions, +demonstration experiments and problems using a bridge structure, such +as the Harvard experimental truss, will amply repay the time invested. +Another experiment here, which makes analysis of the practice of +weighing, is possible, although there will be divergence almost at +once due to the personality of the instructor and the equipment by +which he finds himself limited. The early introduction of moments is +important, however, because it seems as if a great amount of +unnecessary confusion on this topic is continually cropping out later. +At this point, if limitations of apparatus present a difficulty, a +group of more or less independent experiments may be started. Ideas of +energy may be illustrated in the determination of the efficiency and +the horse power of simple machines, such as water motors, pulleys, and +even small gas or steam engines. + +In discussion of power one should not forget that in practical +problems one meets power as force times velocity rather more +frequently than as rate of doing work, and this aspect should be +emphasized in the experiments. Conservation of energy is brought out +in these same experiments with reference to the efficiencies involved. +In sharp contrast here the principle of conservation of momentum may +be brought in by ballistic pendulum experiments involving elastic and +inelastic impacts. Most students are unfamiliar with the application +of these ideas to the determination of projectile velocities, and this +forms an interesting lecture demonstration. Elasticity likewise is a +topic that may be introduced with more or less emphasis according to +the predilection of the instructor. The moduli of Young and of simple +rigidity lend themselves readily to quantitative laboratory +experiments. Any amount of interesting material may be culled here +from recent investigations of Michelson, Bridgman, and others with +regard to elastic limits, departures from the simple relations, +variations with pressure, etc., for a lantern or demonstration talk in +these connections. + +By this time the student should have found himself sufficiently +prepared to take up problems of rotational motion. The application of +Newton's Laws to pure rotations and combinations of rotation and +translation, such as rolling motions, are very many. We would +emphasize here the dynamic definition of moment of inertia, I = Fh/_a_ +rather than the one so frequently given importance for computational +purposes, S_mr_^{2}. Quantitative experiments are furnished +by the rotational counterpart of the Atwood machine. Lecture +demonstrations for several talks abound: stability of spin about the +axis of greatest inertia, Kelvin's famous experiments with eggs and +tops containing liquids, which suggest the gyroscopic ideas, and +finally a discussion of gyroscopes and their multitudinous +applications. The book of Crabtree, _Spinning Tops and the +Gyroscope_, and the several papers by Gray in the _Proceedings of the +Physical Society of London_, summarize a wealth of material. If one +wishes to interject a parenthetical discussion of the Bernouilli +principle, and the simplest laws of pressure distributions on plane +surfaces moving through a resisting medium, a group of striking +demonstrations is possible involving this notion, and by simple +combination of it with the precession of a rotating body the boomerang +may be brought in and its action for the major part given explanation. + +Rotational motion leads naturally to a discussion of centripetal +force, and this in turn is simple harmonic motion. This latter finds +most important applications in the pendulum experiments, and no end of +material is here to be found in any of the textbooks. The greatest +refinement of experimentation for elementary purposes will be the +determination of "g" by the method of coincidences between a simple +pendulum and the standard clock. Elementary analysis without use of +calculus reaches its culmination in a discussion of forced vibrations +similar to that used by Magie in his general text. Many will not care +to go as far as this. Others will go farther and discuss Kater's +pendulum and the small corrections needed for precision, for here does +precision find bold expression. + +It is not our purpose to give a synopsis of the entire general physics +course. We have made an especially detailed study of mechanics, +because this topic is the one of greatest difficulty by far in the +pedagogy. It is too formally given in the average text, and seems to +have suffered most of all from lack of imagination on the part of +instructors. + +=Suggested content for the study of phenomena of heat and molecular +physics= + +In the field of heat and molecular physics in general there is much +better textbook material. Experiments here may legitimately be called +precise, for the gas laws, temperature coefficients, and densities of +gases and saturated vapor pressures will readily yield in +comparatively inexperienced hands an accuracy of about one in a +thousand. In the demonstrations emphasis should be given to the +visualization of the kinetic theory points of view. Such models as the +Northrup visible molecule apparatus are very helpful. However, in +absence of funds for such elaboration, slides from imaginative +drawings showing to scale conditions in solids, liquids, and vapors +with average free paths indicated and the history of single molecules +depicted will be found ideal in getting the visualization home to the +student. Where we have a theory so completely established as the +mechanical theory of heat it seems quite fair to have recourse to the +eye of the senses to aid the eye of the mind. Brownian movements have +already yielded up their dances to the motion picture camera. Need the +"movies" be the only ones to profit by the animated cartoon? + +Nor should the classical material be forgotten. Boys' experiments in +soap bubbles have been the inspiration of generations of students of +capillarity. And if the physicist will consult with the physiological +chemist he will find a mass of material of which he never dreamed +where these phenomena of surface tension enter in a most direct +fashion to leading questions in the life sciences. + +=The teacher of scholarship and understanding is the teacher who uses +sound methods= + +Enough has been said to indicate what we consider the methods of +successful teaching of college physics. It is quite obvious, we think, +that physics constitutes no exception to the rule that the teacher +must first of all know and understand his subject. Right here lies +probably nine tenths of the fault with our pedagogy. No amount of +study of method will yield such returns as the study of the subject +itself. The honest student, and every teacher should belong to this +class or he has no claim to the name, is well aware that most of his +deficiency in explaining a topic is in direct ratio to his own lack of +comprehension of it. In physics, as in every other walk of life, we +suffer from lack of thoroughness, from a kind of superficiality that +is characteristically human but especially American. We have yet to +know of any one who really ranks as a scholar in his subject from whom +students do not derive inspiration and enthusiasm. Such a one usually +pays little attention to the methods of others, for the divine fire of +knowledge itself does not need much of tinder to kindle the torches +of others. Our greatest plea is for our teachers to be men of +understanding, for then they will be found to be men of method. + +=The method of analysis dominant in physics= + +The sequence in which heat, electricity, sound, and light follow +mechanics seems quite immaterial. Several equally logical plans may be +organized. Preference is usually accorded one or the other on the +basis of local conditions of equipment, and needs little reference to +pedagogy. If one gives to mechanics its proper importance, the +difficulty in giving instruction in the other topics seems very much +less. The momentum acquired seems to serve for the balance of the +year. Always must analysis be insisted upon, if our college course is +going to differ from that of the high school. If we are to let +students be content to read current from an ammeter with a calibrated +scale and not have the interest to inquire and the ambition to insist +upon the knowledge of how that calibration was originally made, we +have no right to claim any collegiate rank for our courses. But if we +define electrical current in terms of mechanical force which exhibits +a balanced couple on a system in rotational equilibrium, there can be +no dodging of the issue, for in no other way than by the study of the +mechanics of the situation can the content and the limitations of our +definition be understood. Any college work, so called, that does less +than analyze thus is nothing more than a review and amplification of +the material that should be within the range of the high school +student and in that place presented to him. The first college course +reveals a different method, the method of analysis. Science at the +present time is so far developed that in no branch is progress made by +mere description and classification. The method of analysis is +dominant in the biological and the earth sciences as well as in the +physics and chemistry of today. + +=Teaching of advanced courses in physics= + +On the more advanced college courses which follow the general physics +course little comment is needed. Problems and questions here also +exist, but they have a strongly local color and are out of place in a +general discussion. The student body is no longer composed of the +rank and file, half of whom are driven, by some requirement or other, +into work in which they have but a passing interest at best. It is no +longer a problem of seeing how much can be made to adhere in spite of +indifference, of how firm a foundation can be prepared for needs as +yet unrecognized in the subject of the effort. A very limited number, +comparatively, enter further work of senior college courses, and these +have either enthusiasm or ability and often both. Of course, a cold +neglect or bored indifference in the attitude of the teacher will be +resented. It will kill enthusiasm and send ability seeking inspiration +elsewhere. But any one who is fond of his subject, and of moderate +ability and industry, should have no difficulty in developing senior +college work. If our instructor in the general course must be a +scholar to be successful, the man in more advanced work must be one _a +fortiori_. If he is not, few who come in contact with him have so +little discernment as to fail to recognize the fact. + +=Organization of advanced courses= + +Organization of senior college work may be in many ways. One method +where an institution follows the quarter system is the plan of having +eight or ten different and rather unrelated twelve-week major courses +which may be taken in almost any order. Half of these are lecture +courses, the other half exclusively laboratory courses. There should +be a correspondence of material to some extent between the two. +Lectures on the kinetic theory of gases should have a parallel course +in which the classical experiments of the senior heat laboratory are +performed,--such experiments, for example, as vapor density, +resistance and thermocouple pyrometry, bomb calorimetry viscosity, +molecular conductivity, freezing and boiling points, recalescence, +etc. A course of advanced electrical measurements should have a +parallel lecture course in which the theoretical aspects of +electromagnetism, the classical theories, and the equations that +represent transitory and equilibrium conditions in complex circuits +are discussed. In optics, likewise, there is ample material of great +importance: physical, geometrical optics, spectroscopy, photography, +X-ray crystallography, etc. The advanced student in these fields finds +more elasticity and opportunity for cultivating a special interest in +having a large number of limited interest courses from which to choose +than in having such material presented in a completely organized +course covering one or two years of complete work. Instructors who are +specialists have opportunity of working up courses in their own fields +which they do more efficiently under this plan. Research begins at +innumerable places along the way, and the senior college courses so +organized are the feeders of all graduate work. + +=Dangers of formalizing methods of instruction= + +In all of the above discussion it should be clearly remembered that no +single plan or no one particular method has the final word or ever +will have. As long as a science is growing and unfinished, points of +view will continually be shifting. We are largely orthodox in our +teaching. If brought up on the laboratory method of instruction it may +seem the best one for us, but others may prefer another way which they +have inherited. Let us appeal, then, for a constructive orthodoxy. Let +us be as teachers of a subject to which we are devoted, truly and +sincerely open-minded, quick to recognize and sincere in our efforts +to adopt what is better wherever we meet it: waiting not to meet it, +either, but going out to seek it. From the humblest college to the +greatest university we shall find it here and there. Not alone in +schools but in the legion of human activities about us on every hand +are people who are doing things more efficiently, more thoroughly, and +more skillfully than we do things. If we would be of the number that +lead, we must be among the first to recognize these facts and profit +by them. + +First, let our work be organized with respect to that of others--the +high schools; not discounting their labor but having them truly build +for us. + +Second, let us be open-minded enough to see that all methods of +instruction have their advantages and make such combinations of the +best elements in each as best suit our purpose. + +Above all things, let us know our subject. Here is a task before which +we quail in this generation of vast vistas. But there is no +alternative for us. No amount of method will remove the curse of the +superficially informed. Let us devote ourselves to smaller fields if +we must, but let us not tolerate ignorance among those who bear the +burden of passing on, with its flame ever more consuming, the torch of +knowledge. + + HARVEY B. LEMON + _University of Chicago_ + + + + +VII + +THE TEACHING OF GEOLOGY + + +=Values of the study of geology diverse= + +So wide is the scope of the science of the earth, so varied is its +subject matter, and so diverse are the mental activities called forth +in its pursuit, that its function in collegiate training cannot be +summed up in an introductory phrase or two. Geology is so composite +that it is better fitted to serve a related group of educational +purposes than a single one alone. Besides this, these possible +services have not yet become so familiar that they can be brought +vividly to mind by an apt word or phrase; they need elaboration and +exposition to be valued at what they are really worth. Geology is yet +a young science and still growing, and as in the case of a growing +boy, to know what it was a few years ago is not to know what it is +today. Its disciplines take on a realistic phase in the main, but yet +in some aspects appeal powerfully to the imagination. Its subject +matter forms a constitutional history of our planet and its +inhabitants, but yet largely wears a descriptive or a dynamic garb. + +=Geology a study of the process of evolution= + +Though basally historical, a large part of the literature of geology +is concerned with the description of rocks, structural features, +geologic terrains, surface configurations and their modes of formation +and means of identification. A notable part of the text prepared for +college students relates primarily to phenomena and processes, leaving +the history of the earth to follow later in a seemingly secondary way. +This has its defense in a desire first to make clear the modes of the +geologic processes, to the end that the parts played by these +processes in the complexities of actions that make up the historical +stages may be better realized. This has the effect, however, of giving +the impression that geology is primarily a study of rocks and +rock-forming processes, and this impression is confirmed by the great +mass of descriptive literature that has sprung almost necessarily +from the task of delineating such a multitude of formations before +trying to interpret their modes of origin or to assign them their +places in the history of the earth. The descriptive details are the +indispensable data of a sound history, and they have in addition +specific values independent of their service as historical data. But +into the multiplicity and complexity of the details of structure and +of process, the average college student can wisely enter to a limited +extent only, except as they form types, or appear in the local fields +which he studies, where they serve as concrete examples of +world-forming processes. + +=Disciplinary worth of study of geology= + +The study of these structures, formations, configurations, and +processes yields each its own special phase of discipline and its own +measure of information. The work takes on various chemical, +mechanical, and biological aspects. As a means of discipline it calls +for keenness and diligence in observation, circumspection in +inference, a judicial balancing of factors in interpretation. An +active use of the scientific imagination is called forth in following +formations to inaccessible depths or beneath areas where they are +concealed from view. + +While thus the study of structures, formations and configurations +constitutes the most obtrusive phase of geologic study and has given +trend to pedagogical opinion respecting its place in a college course, +such study is not, in the opinion of the writer, the foremost function +of the subject in a college curriculum that is designed to be really +broad, basal, and free, in contradistinction to one that is tied to a +specific vocational purpose. + +=This study concerned primarily with the typical college course, not +with vocational courses= + +While we recognize, with full sympathy, that the subject matter of +geology enters vitally into certain vocational and prevocational +courses, and, in such relations, calls for special selections of +material and an appropriate handling, if it is to fulfill these +purposes effectively, this seems to us aside from the purpose of this +discussion, which centers on typical college training--training which +is liberal in the cosmic sense, not merely from the homocentric point +of view. + +=Knowledge of geology contributes to a truly liberal education= + +To subserve these broader purposes, geology is to be studied +comprehensively as the evolution of the earth and its inhabitants. The +earth in itself is to be regarded as an organism and as the +foster-parent of a great series of organisms that sprang into being +and pursued their careers in the contact zones between its rigid body +and its fluidal envelopes. These contact zones are, in a special +sense, the province of geography in both its physical and its biotic +aspects. The evolution of the biotic and the psychic worlds in these +horizons is an essential part of the history of the whole, for each +factor has reacted powerfully on the others. An appreciative grasp of +these great evolutions, and of their relations to one another, is +essential to a really broad view of the world of which we are a part; +it is scarcely less than an essential factor in a modern liberal +education. + +=Geology embraces all the great evolutions= + +Let us agree, then, at the outset, that a true study of the career of +the earth is not adequately compassed by a mere tracing of its +inorganic history or an elucidation of its physical structure and +mineral content, but that it embraces as well all the great evolutions +fostered within the earth's mantles in the course of its career. + +Greatest among these fostered evolutions, from the homocentric point +of view, are the living, the sentient, and the thinking kingdoms that +have grown up with the later phases of the physical evolution. It does +not militate against this view that each of these kingdoms is, in +itself, the subject of special sciences, and that these, in turn, +envelop a multitude of sub-sciences, for that is true of every +comprehensive unit. Nor is it inconsistent with this larger view of +the scope of geology that it is, itself, often given a much narrower +definition, as already implied. In its broader sense, geology is an +enveloping science, surveying, in a broad historical way, many +subjects that call for intensive study under more special sciences, +just as human history sweeps comprehensively over a broad field +cultivated more intensively by special humanistic sciences. In a +comprehensive study of the earth as an organism, it is essential that +there be embraced a sufficient consideration of all the vital factors +that entered into its history to give these their due place and their +true value among the agencies that contributed to its evolution. A +true biography of the earth can no more be regarded as complete +without the biotic and psychic elements that sprang forth from it, or +were fostered within its mantles, than can the biography of a human +being be complete with a mere sketch of his physical frame and bodily +growth. The physical and biological evolutions are well recognized as +essential parts of earth history. Although the mental evolutions have +emerged gradually with the biological evolutions, and have run more or +less nearly parallel with them--have, indeed, been a working part of +them--they have been less fully and frankly recognized as elements of +geological history. They have been rather scantily treated in the +literature of the subject; but they are, none the less, a vital part +of the great history. They have found some recognition, though much +too meager, in the more comprehensive and philosophical treatises on +earth-science. It may be safely prophesied that the later and higher +evolutions that grace our planet will be more adequately emphasized as +the science grows into its full maturity and comes into its true place +among the sciences. It is important to emphasize this here, since it +is preëminently the function of a liberal college course to give +precedence to the comprehensive and the essential, both in its +selection of its subject matter and in its treatment of what it +selects. It is the function of a liberal course of study to bring that +which is broad and basal and vital into relief, and to set it over +against that which is limited, special, and technical, however +valuable the latter may be in vocational training and in economic +application. + +=Physical and dynamic boundaries of geology--Implications for teaching= + +In view of these considerations--and frankly recognizing the +inadequacies of current treatment--let us note, before we go further, +what are the physical and dynamic boundaries of the geologic field, +that we may the better see how that field merges into the domains of +other sciences. This will the better prepare us to realize the nature +of the disciplines for which earth-science forms a suitable basis, as +well as the types of intellectual furniture it yields to the mind. +Obviously these disciplines and this substance of thought should +determine the place of the science in the curriculum of any course +that assumes the task of giving a broad and liberal education. + +Earth-science is the domestic chapter of celestial science. Our planet +is but a modest unit among the great celestial assemblage of worlds; +but, modest as it is, it is that unit about which we have by far the +fullest and most reliable knowledge. The earth not only furnishes the +physical baseline of celestial observation, but supplies all the +appliances by which inquiry penetrates the depths of the heavens. Not +alone earth-science, as such, but several of the intensive sciences +brought into being through the intellectual evolutions that have +attended the later history of the earth, have been prerequisites to +the development of the broad science of the outer heavens. The science +of the lower heavens is a factor of earth-science in the definition we +are just about to give. At the same time, the whole earth, including +the lower heavens, is enveloped by the more comprehensive domain of +celestial science. + +If we seek the most logical limit that may be assigned the realm of +earth-science, as distinguished from that of celestial science, of +which it is the home unit, it may be found at that borderline _within +which_ any passive body obeys the call of the earth, as against the +call of the outer worlds, and _without which_ such a passive body +obeys the call of the outer worlds, the call of the sun in particular. +This limit is the _dynamic dividing line_ between the kingdom of the +earth and the kingdom of the outer heavens. This boundary, according +to Moulton, incloses a spheroid whose minimum radius is about 620,000 +miles, and whose maximum radius is about 930,000 miles. We may, then, +conveniently say that the earth's sphere of control stretches out a +million kilometers from its center and that this defines its true +realm. At the same time, this defines the logical limit of the earth's +ultra-atmosphere and appears to mark a zone of exchange between the +ultra-atmosphere of the earth and the ultra-atmosphere of the sun. It +thus appears to imply the place and the mode of an exchange of vital +elements upon which probably hangs the wonderful maintenance of the +earth's atmosphere for many millions of years and the equally +wonderful regulation of the essential qualities of the atmosphere so +that these have always remained within the narrow range subservient to +terrestrial life. It is needless to add that this regulation also +conditions the present intellectual status of the thinking factor +among the inhabitants of the earth out of which--may I be pardoned for +saying?--has grown the present educational discussion. + +If this last shall seem to squint toward special pleading, let it be +considered that, as we see things, it is precisely those views that +take hold of the issues upon which our very being and all its +activities depend, that serve best to train youth to broad views and +penetrating thought. Such thinking seems to me to form the very +essence of a really liberal education. + +Not only is this definition of the sphere of geology comprehensive, +but it has the special merit of being _dynamic_, rather than material. +Such a dynamic definition comports with the view that earth-study +should center on the forces and energies that actuated its evolution, +since these are the most vital feature of the evolution itself. It is +important to form adequate concepts of the energies that have +maintained the past ongoings of the earth not only, but that still +maintain its present activities and predetermine its future. It is the +study of the forces and the processes of past and of present +evolutions that constitute the soul of the science, rather than the +apparently fixed and passive aspects of the earth's formations and +configurations which are but the products of the processes that have +gone before. Even the apparent passiveness of the geologic products is +illusive, for they are in reality expressions of continued internal +activities of an intense, though occult, order. These escape notice +largely because they are balanced against one another in a system of +equilibrium which pervades them and gives them the appearance of +fixity. To serve their proper functions as sources of higher +education, the concepts of the constitution of the earth should +penetrate even to these refined aspects of physical organization and +should bring the whole into harmony with the most advanced views of +the real nature of physical organisms. This removes from the whole +terrestrial organism every similitude of inertness and gives it a +fundamental refinement, activity, and potency of the highest order. To +form a true and consistent concept, the enveloping earth-science must +be assumed to embrace, potentially at least, the essentials of all +that was evolved within it and from it, with, of course, due +recognition of what was added from without. + +_The history of the earth should therefore be taught in college +courses as a succession of complex dynamic events, great in the past +and great in future potentialities._ + +The formations and configurations left by the successive phases of +action are to be studied primarily as the vestiges of the processes +that gave them birth, and hence as their historic credentials. They +are to be looked upon less as the vital things in themselves, than as +the _record_ of the events of the time and as the forerunners of the +subsequent events that may be potential in them. And so, primarily, +the geologic records are to be scrutinized to find _the deeper +meanings which they embody_, whether such meanings lie in the +physical, the biological, or the psychological world. + +=Geology the means of developing scientific imagination of time and space= + +Turning to specific phases of the subject, it may first be noted that +geology is singularly suited to develop clear visions of vast +stretches of time; it opens broad visions of the panorama of world +events, a panorama still passing before us. While the celestial order +of things no doubt involves greater lapses of time, these are not so +easily realized, for they are not so well filled in with a succession +of records of the passing stages that make up the whole. But even the +lapses of geologic time are greater than immature minds can readily +grasp; however, their _powers of realization_ are greatly strengthened +by studying so protracted a record, built up stage upon stage. The +very slowness with which the geologic record was made, as well as the +evidences of slowness in each part of the record, help to draw out an +appreciation of the immensity of the whole. The round period covered +by the more legible range of the geologic record rises to the order of +a hundred million years, perhaps to several hundred million years. The +large view of history which this implies has already come to form the +ample background on which are projected the concepts of the broader +class of thinkers; such largeness of view will quite surely be held to +be an indispensable prerequisite to the still broader thinking of the +future for which the better order of students are now preparing. + +While this is preëminently true of the concept of time, the concept of +space is fairly well cultivated by geologic study, though far less +effectively than is done by astronomical study. Astronomy and geology +work happily together in contributing to largeness of thought. + +The study of the origin and early history of the earth brings the +student into touch with the most far-reaching problems that have thus +far called forth the intellectual efforts of man. If rightly handled, +these great themes may be made to teach the true method of inquiry +into past natural events whose vastness puts them quite beyond the +resources of the laboratory. This method finds its key in a search for +the history of such vast and remote events by a scrutiny of the +vestiges these events have left as their own automatic record. This +method stands in sharp contradistinction to simple speculation without +such search for talismanic vestiges, a discredited method which is too +often supposed to be the only way of dealing with such themes. To be +really competent in the field of larger and deeper thinking, every +courageous mind should be able to cross the threshold of any of the +profound problems of the universe with safe and circumspect steps, +however certain it may be that only a slight measure of penetration of +the problem may be attainable. A well-ordered mind will remain at once +complacent and wholesome when brought to the limit of its effort by +the limit of evidence. The problem of the origin of celestial worlds, +of which the genesis of the earth is the theme of largest human +interest, is admirably suited to give college students at once a +modest sense of their limitations and a wholesome attitude toward +problems of the vaster type. Without having acquired the power to make +prudent and duly controlled excursions into the vaster fields of +thought, the mind can scarcely be said to have been liberalized. + +=Geology a means of training in thinking in scientific experiences= + +From the very outset, the tracing of the earth history forces a +comprehensive study of the co-workings of the three dominant states of +matter massively embodied in the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the +lithosphere, the great terrestrial triumvirate. The strata of the +earth are the joint products of these three elements and constitute +their lithographic record. These three coöperating and contending +elements not only bring into view the three typical phases of physical +action, but they present this action in such titanic aspects as to +force the young mind to think along large lines, with the great +advantage that these actions are controlled by determinate laws, while +the causes and the results are both tangible and impressive. + +While there is a large class of tangible and determinate problems of +this kind, embracing shiftings of matter on the earth's surface, +distortions of strata, and changes of bodily form, there are also +problems of a more hidden nature such as internal mutations. These +give rise to mathematical, physical, and chemical inquiries while at +the same time they call into play the use of the scientific +imagination and are thus rich in the possibilities of training. Thus +in varied ways geological work joins hands with chemical, physical, +mechanical, and mathematical work. + +When life first appears in the record, there is occasion to raise the +profound question of its origin, and with this arises a closely +related question as to the nature of the conditions that invited life, +which leads on to the further question, what fostered the development +of life throughout its long history? While the obscurity of the +earliest record leaves the question of origin indeterminate for the +present, duly guarded thought upon the subject should foster a +wholesome spirit toward inquiry in this vital line as well as a +hospitable attitude toward whatever solution may finally await us. In +all such studies the student should be invited to look to _the +vestiges left automatically by the process itself_ for the answer, and +he should learn to accept the teachings of evidence precisely as it +presents itself. So also when a problem is, for the present, +indeterminate, it is peculiarly wholesome for the inquirer to learn to +rest the case where the light of evidence fails, and to be complacent +in such suspension of judgment and to wait further light patiently in +serene confidence that the vestiges left by the actuating agencies in +their constructive processes are the surest index of the ultimate +truth and are likely to be sooner or later detected and read truly. + +=Relation of geology to botany, zoölogy, psychology, and sociology= + +In the successive records of past life impressed on strata piled one +upon another until they form the great paleontologic register, there +is an ample and a solid basis for the study of the historic evolution +of life. With this also go evidences of the conditions that attended +this life progress and that gave trend to it. This record of the +relations of life to the environing physical conditions forms one of +the most stimulating fields of study that can engage the student who +seeks light on the great problems of biological progress. Here geology +joins hands with botany and zoölogy in a mutual helpfulness that is +scarcely less than indispensable to each. + +Following, or perhaps immediately attending, the introduction of +physiological life, there appeared signs of sentient life. The +preservation of certain of the sense organs, taken together with the +collateral evidences of sense action, as early as Cambrian times, +furnish the groundwork for a historical study of the progress of +sentient life, eventuating in the higher forms of mental life. Here +the problems of geology run hand in hand with the problems of +psychology. The limitations of the evidence bearing on psychological +phenomena, while regrettable, are not without some compensation in +that they center the attention on the simpler aspects of the +protracted deployment of the psychological functions. + +In addition to the clear evidences of psychic action, in at least its +elementary forms, there appeared early in the stratigraphic records +intimations of some of the relationships that sentient beings then +bore to one another; and this relationship gives occasion to study the +primitive aspects of sociological phenomena. If nothing more is +learned than the important lesson that sociology is not a thing of +today, not an untried realm inviting all kinds of ill-digested +projects, but on the contrary is a field of vast and instructive +history, the gain will not be inconsiderable. There are intimations of +the early existence and effective activity of those affections that +precede and that cluster about the parental relationship, the nucleus +of the most vital of all the sociological relationships. In contrast +to the affections, there are distinct evidences of antagonistic +relations, of pursuit and capture, of attack and defense; there were +tools of warfare and devices for protection. In time, a wide-ranging +series of experiments, so to speak, were tried to secure advantage, to +avoid suffering, to escape death, and to preserve the species. There +were even suggestions of the cruder forms of government. The many +stages in the evolution of the various devices, as well as the stages +of their abandonment, that followed one another in the course of the +ages recorded the results of a multitude of efforts at sociological +adjustment. They raise the question whether a common set of guiding +principles does not underlie all such relationships, earlier and +later, whatever their rank in our scale of valuation. And so this +great field of inquiry--too narrowly regarded as merely +humanistic--comes into view early in the history of the earth. The +geological and the sociological sciences find in it common working +ground. If the geologic and the humanistic sciences are given each +their widest interpretation and their freest application, the +advantage cannot be other than mutual. + +It is perhaps not too much to say that studies in the physiological, +the psychological, the sociological, and the allied fields necessarily +lack completeness if they do not bring into their purview the data of +their common historical record traced as far back as it is found to +contain intimations of their actual extension. + +It is customary to speak of the geologic ages as though they were +wholly past; they are, indeed, chiefly past as the record now stands, +but time runs on and earth history continues; the processes of the +past are still active, and they are likely to work on far into the +future. And so geologic study links itself fundamentally into all such +present terrestrial interests as take hold of the distant future. The +forecast of the earth's endurance, attended by conditions congenial to +life and to the mental and moral activities, hinges on a sound insight +into the great actuating forces inherent in the earth, together with +those likely to come into play from the celestial environment. All +human interests, in so far as they are dependent on a protracted +future, center in the prognosis of the earth based on its present and +its past. The latest phases of geologic doctrine prophesy a long +future habitability of the earth. They thus give meaning and emphasis +to the deeper purposes sought in all the higher endeavors, not the +least of which is education, particularly those phases of education +that lead to effects which may be handed down from age to age. + +=Standard for selecting subject matter for the general college course: +select fundamentals or that which bears on fundamentals= + +Out of all this vast physical, biological, and psychological history, +the things to be selected for substance of thought and for service in +mental training in a college course are, first of all, those that are +either fundamental in themselves, or that have vital bearings on what +is fundamental. These are chiefly the great dynamic factors, the +agencies that gave trend to the master events, the forces that +actuated the basal processes by which the vast results were attained. +The material formations and the surficial configurations that resulted +are to be duly considered, to be sure, for they form the basis of +interpretation and they are, besides, the repositories of economic +values of indispensable worth; but, as already urged, in a course of +intellectual training, these are to be regarded rather as the relics +of the great agencies and the proofs of their actions, than as the +most vital subjects of study, which are the agencies themselves. As +already remarked, the geologic formations are to be treated rather as +the credentials of the potencies that reside in the earth organism, +than as the vital things themselves. The vestiges of creation and the +footprints of historical progress embody the soul of the subject; they +constitute the chief source of inspiration to those who aspire to +think in large, deep ways of really great things. It is of little +value, from the viewpoint of liberal culture, to know that there is a +certain succession of sandstones, shales, and limestones; that +professional convention has given them certain names, more or less +infelicitous in derivation and in phonic quality; but it is of vital +consequence to learn how and why these relics of former processes came +to be left as they were left, and thus came to be witnesses to the +history of the far past. It was a wise thing, no doubt, that the +fathers of geology strongly insisted that there should be a rigorous +and rather literal adhesion to the terrestrial record in all earth +studies, because in those times of transition from the loose, more or +less fantastic thought that marked the adolescent stage of the human +race, it was imperative that students should stick close to the +immediate evidence of what had transpired, and should withhold +themselves from much enlargement of view based on the less tangible +evidences; but at the present stage, when the general nature of the +earth's history has been firmly established, it would be an error on +the part of those who seek for the most liberalizing and broadening +values of the science, to treat the record merely as a material +register of immediate import only, to the neglect of the less tangible +but more vital teachings immanent in its great forces and processes. +The seeker of liberal culture should direct his attention to the great +events, and, above all, to the larger and deeper meanings implied by +these events. + +And so--may I be pardoned for reëmphasizing?--the teacher of geology +whose essential purpose is liberal training, leading to broad and firm +knowledge and to sound processes of thought, will critically observe +the distinction between geology taught appropriately from the +collegiate point of view, and geology taught specifically from the +professional and technical points of view. In these latter, specific +details in specific lines are important, and may even be essential, +but it is the function of the college teacher of geology _to select_ +from the great mass of material of the science such factors as are +basal, vital, and talismanic. He will give these emphasis, while he +neglects the multitude of details that lack significance as working +elements or as landmarks of progress, whatever their value in other +relations. This selection is equally important, whether applied to the +great physical processes that have shaped the earth into its present +configuration, or to the great chemical and mineralogical processes +that have determined its texture and its structure, or to the great +biological and psychological processes that have given trend to the +development of its inhabitants. + +Even if the undergraduate course in geology is pursued less for the +purpose of liberal culture than as a means of preparing for a +professional career as an economic geologist, no essential departure +from an effort to master first the basal features and the broader +aspects of the science, especially the dynamic aspects, is to be +advised. The shortest road to _declared success_ in professional and +economic geology lies through the early mastery of its fundamentals. +No doubt immediate and apparent success may often be sooner reached by +a narrower and shallower study of such special phases of the subject +as happen just now to be most obviously related to the existing state +of the industries; but industrial demands are constantly +changing--indeed, at present, rather rapidly--and new aspects follow +one another in close succession. These new aspects almost inevitably +spring from the more basal factors as these rise into function with +the progress of experience or the stress of new demands. Those who +have sought only the immediate and the superficial, at the expense of +the basal, and especially those who have neglected to acquire _the +power and the disposition to search out the fundamentals_, are quite +sure to be left among the unfortunates who trail behind; they are +little likely to be found among those who lead at the times when +leadership counts. In the judgment of those master minds that lead in +affairs and that take large and penetrating views, the lines along +which the most vital contributions to economic interests are being +made connect closely with basal studies of the actuating agencies that +condition great enterprises. In the judgment of the writer, it is a +false view to suppose that any short, superficial study of so vast a +subject as the constitution and history of the earth can result in +economic competency. In so far as time for study is limited, it should +be concentrated on the great underlying factors that constitute the +essentials of the science. It is here assumed that men who care to +take a college course at all are seeking for a large success and are +ambitious for a high personal career. If they look ultimately to +professional work in economic lines, they may safely be advised that +the straight road to declared success lies in a search for the vital +forces, the critical agencies, and the profound principles that make +for great results, not along the by-paths whose winding, superficial +courses are turned hither and thither by adventitious conditions whose +very nature invites distrust rather than confidence. + +=Evaluations of methods of teaching= + +Turning to some of the more formal phases of treatment, three types of +work are presented: (1) the use of nature's laboratory, the world +itself, (2) the use of the college collections and laboratories, and +(3) the use of the literature of the subject. + +(1) Fortunately, there is no place on the face of the earth where +there is not some natural material for geologic study, for even in the +most artificialized locations geological processes are active. In +crowded cities these processes may be easily overlooked, but yet they +are susceptible of effective use. Within easy access from almost every +college site there are serviceable fields of study, and these, in any +live course, will be assiduously cultivated. They may be relatively +modest in their phenomena; they may seem to lack that impressiveness +which has played so large a part in the popular notion of the content +of geology, but they may nevertheless serve as most excellent training +grounds for young geologists. If students are so situated as to be +brought at the beginning of study under the influence of very +impressive displays of geologic phenomena--precipitous mountains, +rugged cliffs, deep cañons, and the like--there is danger that their +mental habits may become diffusive rather than close and keen; the +emotions may be called forth in wonder rather than turned into zest in +the search for evidence. If students are to be trained to diligence in +inquiry and to the highest virility in inference and interpretation, +it is perhaps fortunate for them if they are located where only modest +records of geological processes are presented for study. In such +regions they are more likely to be led to scrutinize the field keenly, +sharply, and diligently for data on which to build their +interpretations. The scientific use of their imaginations is all the +better trained if, in their endeavor to build up a consistent concept +of the whole structure that underlies their field, they are forced to +project their inferences from a few out-crops far beneath the cover of +the adjacent mantle that shuts off direct vision. Few teachers have, +therefore, any real occasion to long for richer fields than those +accessible to them, if they have the tact to render these fertile in +stimulus and suggestion. + +(2) Laboratory work upon the material collected in the field work, as +well as laboratory work upon the college collections, are essential +adjuncts. Ample provisions for this supplementary work, however modest +the appointments, are important and can usually be secured by +ingenuity and diligence in spite of financial limitations. + +Both field and laboratory work should be well correlated with one +another and with the systematic work on the text that guides the +study, so that each shall whet the edge of the other and all together +accomplish what neither could alone. + +(3) The text selected should be such as lends itself, in some notable +degree at least, to the general purposes set forth above. It should be +supplemented, so far as may be, by judicious assignments for reading +and for special study. Lectures may be made a valuable aid to the +discussions of the classroom, but with college classes they can rarely +be made an advantageous substitute for the discussions. Lecturing, so +far as used, is best woven informally into the classroom discussions. +Supplementary lecturettes may be advised if they are of such an +informal sort that they may almost unconsciously take their start from +any vital point encountered in the course of discussion, may run on as +far as the occasion invites, and may then give way again to the +discussion with the utmost informality. Such little participations in +the work of the classroom, on the part of the teacher, are likely to +be cordially welcomed. At the same time, if well done, they will set +an excellent example in the presentative art as also in an apt +organization of thought. + +=Organization of courses= + +If the stated course in earth-science is limited to the junior and +senior year by the existing requirements of the curriculum of the +institution or by the rulings of its officers--as is not uncommonly +the case at present--it is relatively immaterial whether the sections +of the course are marshaled under the single name "geology" or whether +they are given separate titles as sub-sciences, provided the special +subjects are arranged in logical sequence and in consecutive order. +If, on the other hand, the teacher's choice of time and relations is +freer, the more accessible phases of earth study, now well organized +under the name of "physiography," form an excellent course for either +freshmen or sophomores. It opens their minds to a world of interesting +activities about them which have probably been largely overlooked in +previous years. It gives them substance of thought that will be of +much service in the pursuit of other sciences. It has been found that +it is not without rather notable service to young students as the +basis of efforts in the art of literary presentation, a felicity to +which teachers of this important art frequently give emphatic +testimony. The secret seems to lie in the fact that physiography gives +varied and vivid material susceptible of literary presentation, while +the fixed qualities of the subject matter control the choice of terms +and the mode of expression. + +If geography and physiography are given in the earlier years, the +course in historical geology, as well as the study of the more +difficult phases of geological processes, of the principles of dynamic +geology, together with mineralogy, petrology, and paleontology, may +best fall into the later years, even if some interval separates them +from the geography and physiography. + +One hundred and twenty classroom hours, or their equivalent in +laboratory and field work, are perhaps to be regarded as the +irreducible minimum in a well-balanced undergraduate course, while +twice that time or more is required to give a notably strong college +course in earth-science. + +A consideration of the sequences among the geological sub-subjects, as +also among the subjects that are held to be preliminary to the +earth-sciences, is important, but it would lead us too far into +details which depend more or less on local conditions. In the +experience of American teachers it appears to have been found +advisable to put geological processes and typical phenomena to the +front and to take up geological history afterwards. The earlier method +of taking up the history first, beginning with recent stages and +working backward down the ages,--once in vogue abroad,--has been +abandoned in this country. It was the order in which the science was +developed and it had the advantage of starting with the living present +and with the most accessible formations, but this latter advantage is +secured by studying the living processes, as such, first, and turning +to the history later. This permits the study of the history in its +natural order, which seems better to call forth the relations of +cause and effect and to give emphasis to the influence of inherited +conditions. + +Respecting antecedents to the study, the more knowledge of physics, +chemistry, zoölogy, and botany, the better, but it is easy to +over-stress the necessity for such preparation, however logical it may +seem, for in reality all the natural sciences are so interwoven that, +in strict logic, a complete knowledge of all the others should be had +before any one is begun, a _reductio ad absurdum_. The sciences have +been developed more or less contemporaneously and progressively, each +helping on the others. They may be pursued much in the same way, or by +alternations in which each prior study favors the sequent one. They +may even be taken in a seemingly illogical order without serious +disadvantage, for the alternative advantages and other considerations +may outweigh the force of the logical order, which is at best only +partially logical. It is of prime importance to stimulate in students +a habit of observing natural phenomena at an early age. It may be wise +for a student to take up physiography, or its equivalent, early in the +college course, irrespective of an ideal preparation in the related +sciences. It is unfortunate to defer such study to a stage when the +student's natural aptitude for observation and inference has become +dulled by neglect or by confinement to subjects devoid of naturalistic +stimulus. To permit students to take up earth-science in the freshman +and sophomore years, even without the ideal preparation, is therefore +probably wiser than to defer the study beyond the age of +responsiveness to the touch of the natural environment. The geographic +and geologic environment conditioned the mental evolution of the race. +It left an inherited impress on the perceptive and emotional nature, +only to be awakened most felicitously, it would seem, at about the age +at which the naturalistic phases of the youth's mentality were +originally called into their most intense exercise. + + T. C. CHAMBERLIN + _The University of Chicago_ + + + + +VIII + +THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS + + +=Recent changes and some of their sources= + +In recent years the teaching of mathematics has undergone remarkable +changes in many countries, both as regards method and as regards +content. With respect to college mathematics these changes have been +evidenced by a growing emphasis on applications and on the historic +setting of the various questions. To understand one direct source of +these changes it is only necessary to recall the fact that in about +1880 there began a steady stream of American mathematical students to +Europe, especially to Germany. Most of these students entered the +faculties of our colleges and universities on their return to America +It is therefore of great importance to inquire what mathematical +situation served to inspire these students. + +The German mathematical developments of the greater part of the +nineteenth century exhibited a growing tendency to disregard +applications. It was not until about 1890 that a strong movement was +inaugurated to lay more stress on applied mathematics in Germany.[3] +Our early American students therefore brought with them from Germany a +decided tendency toward investigations in mathematical fields remote +from direct contact with applications to other scientific subjects, +such as physics and astronomy, which had so largely dominated +mathematical investigations in earlier years. + +This picture would, however, be very incomplete without exhibiting +another factor of a similar type working in our own midst. J. J. +Sylvester was selected as the first professor of mathematics at Johns +Hopkins University, which opened its doors in 1876 and began at once +to wield a powerful influence in starting young men in higher +research. Sylvester's own investigations related mainly to the formal +and abstract side of mathematics. Moreover, "he was a poor teacher +with an imperfect knowledge of mathematical literature. He possessed, +however, an extraordinary personality; and had in remarkable degree +the gift of imparting enthusiasm, a quality of no small value in +pioneer days such as these were with us."[4] + +=Influence of researches in mathematics on methods of teaching= + +Mathematical research was practically introduced into the American +colleges during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and the +wave of enthusiasm which attended this introduction was unfortunately +not sufficiently tempered by emphasis on good teaching and breadth of +knowledge, especially as regards applications. In fact, the leading +mathematician in America during the early part of this period was +glaringly weak along these lines. By means of his bountiful enthusiasm +he was able to do a large amount of good for the selected band of +gifted students who attended his lectures, but some of these were not +so fortunate in securing the type of students who are helped more by +the direct enthusiasm of their teacher than by the indirect enthusiasm +resulting from good teaching. + +The need of good mathematical teaching in our colleges and +universities began to become more pronounced at about the time that +the wave of research enthusiasm set in, as a result of the growing +emphasis on technical education which exhibited itself most +emphatically in the development of the schools of engineering. While +the student who is specially interested in mathematics may be willing +to get along with a teacher whose enthusiasm for the new and general +leads him to neglect to emphasize essential details in the +presentation, the average engineering student insists on clearness in +presentation and usability of the results. As the latter student does +not expect to become a mathematical specialist, he is naturally much +more interested in good teaching than in the mathematical reputation +of his teacher, even if his reputation is not an entirely +insignificant factor for him. + +During the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade +of the present century the mathematical departments of our colleges +and universities faced an unusually serious situation as a result of +the conditions just noted. The new wave of research enthusiasm was +still in its youthful vigor and in its youthful mood of +inconsiderateness as regards some of the most important factors. On +the other hand, many of the departments of engineering had become +strong and were therefore able to secure the type of teaching suited +to their needs. In a number of institutions this led to the breaking +up of the mathematical department into two or more separate +departments aiming to meet special needs. + +In view of the fact that the mathematical needs of these various +classes of students have so much in common, leading mathematicians +viewed with much concern this tendency to disrupt many of the stronger +departments. Hence the question of good teaching forced itself rapidly +to the front. It was commonly recognized that the students of pure +mathematics profit by a study of various applications of the theories +under consideration, and that the students who expect to work along +special technical lines gain by getting broad and comprehensive views +of the fundamental mathematical questions involved. Moreover, it was +also recognized that the investigational work of the instructors would +gain by the broader scholarship secured through greater emphasis on +applications and the historic setting of the various problems under +consideration. + +To these fundamental elements relating to the improvement of college +teaching there should perhaps be added one arising from the +recognition of the fact that the number of men possessing excellent +mathematical research ability was much smaller than the number of +positions in the mathematical departments of our colleges and +universities. The publication of inferior research results is of +questionable value. On the other hand, many who could have done +excellent work as teachers by devoting most of their energies to this +work became partial failures both as teachers and as investigators +through their ambition to excel in the latter direction. + +=Range of subjects and preparation of students= + +It should be emphasized that the college and university teachers of +mathematics have to deal with a wide range of subjects and conditions, +especially where graduate work is carried on. Advanced graduate +students have needs which differ widely from those of the freshmen who +aim to become engineers. This wide range of conditions calls for +unusual adaptability on the part of the college and university +teacher. This range is much wider than that which confronts the +teachers in the high school, and the lack of sufficient adaptability +on the part of some of the college teachers is probably responsible +for the common impression that some of the poorest mathematical +teaching is done in the colleges. It is doubtless equally true that +some of the very best mathematical teaching is to be found in these +institutions. + +In some of the colleges there has been a tendency to diminish the +individual range of mathematical teaching by explicitly separating the +undergraduate work and the more advanced work. For instance, in Johns +Hopkins University, L. S. Hulburt was appointed "Professor of +Collegiate Mathematics" in 1897, with the understanding that he should +devote himself to the interests of the undergraduates. In many of the +larger universities the younger members of the department usually +teach only undergraduate courses, while some of the older members +devote either all or most of their time to the advanced work; but +there is no uniformity in this direction, and the present conditions +are often unsatisfactory. + +The undergraduate courses in mathematics in the American colleges and +universities differ considerably. The normal beginning courses now +presuppose a year of geometry and a year and a half of algebra in +addition to the elementary courses in arithmetic, but much higher +requirements are sometimes imposed, especially for engineering +courses. In recent years several of the largest universities have +reduced the minimum admission requirement in algebra to one year's +work, but students entering with this minimum preparation are +sometimes not allowed to proceed with the regular mathematical classes +in the university. + +=Variety of college courses in mathematics= + +Freshmen courses in mathematics differ widely, but the most common +subjects are advanced algebra, plane trigonometry, and solid geometry. +The most common subjects of a somewhat more advanced type are plane +analytic geometry, differential and integral calculus, and spherical +trigonometry. Beyond these courses there is much less uniformity, +especially in those institutions which aim to complete a well-rounded +undergraduate mathematical course rather than to prepare for graduate +work. Among the most common subjects beyond those already named are +differential equations, theory of equations, solid analytic geometry, +and mechanics. + +A very important element affecting the mathematical courses in recent +years is the rapid improvement in the training of our teachers in the +secondary schools. This has led to the rapid introduction of courses +which aim to lead up to broad views in regard to the fundamental +subjects. In particular, courses relating to the historical +development of concepts involved therein are receiving more and more +attention. Indirect historical sources have become much more plentiful +in recent years through the publication of various translations of +ancient works and through the publication of extensive historical +notes in the _Encyclopédie des Sciences Mathématiques_ and in other +less extensive works of reference. + +The problem presented by those who are preparing to teach mathematics +may at first appear to differ widely from that presented by those who +expect to become engineers. The latter are mostly interested in +obtaining from their mathematical courses a powerful equipment for +doing things, while the former take more interest in those +developments which illumine and clarify the elements of their subject. +Hence the prospective teacher and the prospective engineer might +appear to have conflicting mathematical interests. As a matter of +fact, these interests are not conflicting. The prospective teacher is +greatly benefited by the emphasis on the serviceableness of +mathematics, and the prospective engineer finds that the generality +and clarity of view sought by the prospective teacher is equally +helpful to him in dealing with new applications. Hence these two +classes of students can well afford to pursue many of the early +mathematical courses together, while the finishing courses should +usually be different. + +The rapidly growing interest in statistical methods and in insurance, +pensions, and investments has naturally directed special attention to +the underlying mathematical theories, especially to the theory of +probability. Some institutions have organized special mathematical +courses relating to these subjects and have thus extended still +further the range of undergraduate subjects covered by the +mathematical departments. The rapidly growing emphasis on college +education specially adapted to the needs of the prospective business +man has recently led to a greater emphasis on some of these subjects +in several institutions. + +The range of mathematical subjects suited for graduate students is +unlimited, but it is commonly assumed to be desirable that the +graduate student should pursue at least one general course in each one +of broader subjects such as the theory of numbers, higher algebra, +theory of functions, and projective geometry, before he begins to +specialize along a particular line. It is usually taken for granted +that the undergraduate courses in mathematics should not presuppose a +knowledge of any language besides English, but graduate work in this +subject cannot be successfully pursued in many cases without a reading +knowledge of the three other great mathematical languages; viz., +French, German, and Italian. Hence the study of graduate mathematics +necessarily presupposes some linguistic training in addition to an +acquaintance with the elements of fundamental mathematical subjects. + +Historical studies make especially large linguistic demands in case +these studies are not largely restricted to predigested material. This +is particularly true as regards the older historical material. In the +study of contemporary mathematical history the linguistic +prerequisites are about the same as those relating to the study of +other modern mathematical subjects. With the rapid spread of +mathematical research activity during recent years there has come a +growing need of more extensive linguistic attainments on the part of +those mathematicians who strive to keep in touch with progress along +various lines. For instance, a thriving Spanish national mathematical +society was organized in 1911 at Madrid, Spain, and in March, 1916, a +new mathematical journal entitled _Revista de Matematicas_ was started +at Buenos Aires, Argentine Republic. Hence a knowledge of Spanish is +becoming more useful to the mathematical student. Similar activities +have recently been inaugurated in other countries. + +=History of college mathematics= + +Until about the beginning of the nineteenth century the courses in +college mathematics did not usually presuppose a mathematical +foundation carefully prepared for a superstructure. According to M. +Gebhardt, the function of teaching elementary mathematics in Germany +was assumed by the gymnasiums during the years from 1810 to 1830.[5] +Before this time the German universities usually gave instruction in +the most elementary mathematical subjects. In our own country, Yale +University instituted a mathematical entrance requirement under the +title of arithmetic as early as 1745, but at Harvard University no +mathematics was required for admission before 1803. + +On the other hand, _L'Ecole Polytechnique_ of Paris, which occupies a +prominent place in the history of college mathematics, had very high +admission requirements in mathematics from the start. According to a +law enacted in 1795, the candidates for admission were required to +pass an examination in arithmetic; in algebra, including the solution +of equations of the first four degrees and the theory of series; and +in geometry, including trigonometry, the applications of algebra to +geometry, and conic sections.[6] It should be noted that these +requirements are more extensive than the usual present mathematical +requirements of our leading universities and technical schools, but +_L'Ecole Polytechnique_ laid special emphasis on mathematics and +physics and became the world's prototype of strong technical +institutions. + +The influence of _L'Ecole Polytechnique_ was greatly augmented by the +publication of a regular periodical entitled _Journal de l'Ecole +Polytechnique_, which was started in 1795 and is still being +published. A number of the courses of lectures delivered at _L'Ecole +Polytechnique_ and at _L'Ecole Normale_ appeared in the early volumes +of this journal. The fact that some of these courses were given by +such eminent mathematicians as J. L. Lagrange, G. Monge, and P. S. +Laplace is sufficient guarantee of their great value and of their good +influence on the later textbooks along similar lines. In particular, +it may be noted that G. Monge gave the first course in descriptive +geometry at _L'Ecole Normale_ in 1795, and he was also for a number of +years one of the most influential teachers at _L'Ecole Polytechnique_. + +A most fundamental element in the history of college mathematics is +the broadening of the scope of the college work. As long as college +students were composed almost entirely of prospective preachers, +lawyers, and physicians, there was comparatively little interest taken +in mathematics. It is true that the mental disciplinary value of +mathematics was emphasized by many, but this supposed value did not +put any real life into mathematical work. The dead abstract reasonings +of Euclid's _Elements_, or even the number speculations of the ancient +Pythagoreans, were enough to satisfy most of those who were looking to +mathematics as a subject suitable for mental gymnastics. + +On the other hand, when the colleges began to train men for other +lines of work, when the applications of steam led to big enterprises, +like the building of railroads and large ocean steamers, mathematics +became a living subject whose great direct usefulness in practical +affairs began to be commonly recognized. Moreover, it became apparent +that there was great need of mathematical growth, since mathematics +was no longer to be used merely as mental Indian clubs or dumb-bells, +where a limited assortment would answer all practical needs, but as an +implement of mental penetration into the infinitude of barriers which +have checked progress along various lines and seem to require an +infinite variety of methods of penetration. + +The American colleges were naturally somewhat slower than some of +those of Europe in adapting themselves to the changed conditions, but +the rapidity of the changes in our country may be inferred from the +fact that in the first half of the nineteenth century Harvard placed +in comparatively short succession three mathematical subjects on its +list of entrance requirements; viz., arithmetic in 1802, algebra in +1820, and geometry in 1844. Although Harvard had not established any +mathematical admission requirements for more than a century and a half +after its opening, she initiated three such requirements within half a +century. It is interesting to note that for at least ninety years from +the opening of Harvard, arithmetic was taught during the senior year +as one of the finishing subjects of a college education.[7] + +The passage of some of the subjects of elementary mathematics from the +colleges to the secondary schools raised two very fundamental +questions. The first of these concerned mostly the secondary schools, +since it involved an adaptation to the needs of younger students of +the more or less crystallized textbook material which came to them +from the colleges. The second of these questions affected the colleges +only, since it involved the selection of proper material to base upon +the foundations laid by the secondary schools. It is natural that the +influence of the colleges should have been somewhat harmful with +respect to the secondary schools, since the interests of the former +seemed to be best met by restricting most of the energies of the +secondary teachers of mathematics to the thorough drilling of their +students in dexterous formal manipulations of algebraic symbols and +the demonstration of fundamental abstract theorems of geometry. + +=Relation of mathematics in secondary schools and college= + +Students who come to college with a solid and broad foundation but +without any knowledge of the superstructure can readily be inspired +and enthused by the erection of a beautiful superstructure on a +foundation laid mostly underground, with little direct evidence of its +value or importance. The injustice and shortsightedness of the +tendency to restrict the secondary schools to such foundation work +would not have been so apparent if the majority of the secondary +school students would have entered college. As a matter of fact it +tended to bring secondary mathematics into disrepute and thus to +threaten college mathematics at its very foundation. It is only in +recent years that strong efforts have been made to correct this very +serious mathematical situation. + +Much progress has been made toward the saner view of letting secondary +mathematics build its little structure into the air with some view to +harmony and proportion, and of requiring college mathematics to build +_on_ as well as _upon_ the work done by the secondary schools. The +fruitful and vivifying notions of function, derivative, and group are +slowly making their way into secondary mathematics, and the graphic +methods have introduced some of the charms of analytic geometry into +the same field. + +This transformation is naturally affecting college mathematics most +profoundly. The tedious work of building foundations in college +mathematics is becoming more imperative. The use of the rock drill is +forcing itself more and more on the college teacher accustomed to use +only hammer and saw. As we are just entering upon this situation, it +is too early to prophesy anything in regard to its permanency, but it +seems likely that the secondary teachers will no more assume a yoke +which some of the college teachers would so gladly have them bear and +which they bore a long time with a view to serving the interests of +the latter teachers. + +As many of the textbooks used by secondary teachers are written by +college men, and as the success of these teachers is often gauged by +the success of their students who happen to go to college, it is +easily seen that there is a serious temptation on the part of the +secondary teacher to look at his work through the eyes of the college +teacher. The recent organizations which bring together the college and +the secondary teachers have already exerted a very wholesome influence +and have tended to exhibit the fact that the success of the college +teacher of mathematics is very intimately connected with that of the +teachers of secondary mathematics. + +While it is difficult to determine the most important single event in +the history of college teaching in America, there are few events in +this history which seem to deserve such a distinction more than the +organization of the Mathematical Association of America which was +effected in December, 1915. This association aims especially to +promote the interests of mathematics in the collegiate field and it +publishes a journal entitled _The American Mathematical Monthly_, +containing many expository articles of special interest to teachers. +It also holds regular meetings and has organized various sections so +as to enable its members to attend meetings without incurring the +expense of long trips. Its first four presidents were E. R. Hedrick, +Florian Cajori, E. V. Huntington, and H. E. Slaught. + +An event which has perhaps affected the very vitals of mathematical +teaching in America still more is the founding of the American +Mathematical Society in 1888, called the New York Mathematical Society +until 1894. Through its _Bulletin_ and _Transactions_, as well as +through its meetings and colloquia lectures, this society has stood +for inspiration and deep mathematical interest without which college +teaching will degenerate into an art. During the first thirty years of +its history it has had as presidents the following: J. H. Van Amringe, +Emory McClintock, G. W. Hill, Simon Newcomb, R. S. Woodward, E. H. +Moore, T. S. Fiske, W. F. Osgood, H. S. White, Maxime Böcher, H. B. +Fine, E. B. Van Vleck, E. W. Brown, L. E. Dickson, and Frank Morley. + +=Aims of college mathematics: methods of teaching= + +The aims of college mathematics can perhaps be most clearly understood +by recalling the fact that mathematics constitutes a kind of +intellectual shorthand and that many of the newer developments in a +large number of the sciences tend toward pure mathematics. In +particular, "there is a constant tendency for mathematical physics to +be absorbed in pure mathematics."[8] As sciences grow, they tend to +require more and more the strong methods of intellectual penetration +provided by pure mathematics. + +The principal modern aim of college mathematics is not the training of +the mind, but the providing of information which is absolutely +necessary to those who seek to work most efficiently along various +scientific lines. Mathematical knowledge rather than mathematical +discipline is the main modern objective in the college courses in +mathematics. As this knowledge must be in a usable form, its +acquisition is naturally attended by mental discipline, but the +knowledge is absolutely needed and would have to be acquired even if +the process of acquisition were not attended by a development of +intellectual power. + +The fact that practically all of the college mathematics of the +eighteenth century has been gradually taken over by the secondary +schools of today might lead some to question the wisdom of replacing +this earlier mathematics by more advanced subjects. In particular, the +question might arise whether the college mathematics of today is not +superfluous. This question has been partially answered by the +preceding general observations. The rapid scientific advances of the +past century have increased the mathematical needs very rapidly. The +advances in college mathematics which have been made possible by the +improvements of the secondary schools have scarcely kept up with the +growth of these needs, so that the current mathematical needs cannot +be as fully provided for by the modern college as the recognized +mathematical needs of the eighteenth century were provided for by the +colleges of those days. + +There appears to be no upper limit to the amount of useful +mathematics, and hence the aim of the college must be to supply the +mathematical needs of the students to the greatest possible extent +under the circumstances. In order to supply these needs in the most +economical manner, it seems necessary that some of them should be +supplied before they are fully appreciated on the part of the student. +The first steps in many scientific subjects do not call for +mathematical considerations and the student frequently does not go +beyond these first steps in his college days, but he needs to go much +further later in life. College mathematics should prepare for life +rather than for college days only, and hence arises the desirability +of deeper mathematical penetration than appears directly necessary for +college work. + +=Advanced work in college mathematics= + +Another reason for more advanced mathematics than seems to be directly +needed by the student is that the more advanced subjects in +mathematics are a kind of applied mathematics relative to the more +elementary ones, and the former subjects serve to throw much light on +the latter. In other words, the student who desires to understand an +elementary subject completely should study more advanced subjects +which are connected therewith, since such a study is usually more +effective than the repeated review of the elementary subject. In +particular, many students secure a better understanding of algebra +during their course in calculus than during the course in algebra +itself, and a course in differential equations will throw new light on +the course in calculus. Hence college mathematics usually aims to +cover a rather wide range of subjects in a comparatively short time. + +Since mathematics is largely the language of advanced science, +especially of astronomy, physics, and engineering, one of the +prominent aims of college mathematics should be to keep in close touch +with the other sciences. That is, the idea of rendering direct and +efficient services to other departments should animate the +mathematical department more deeply than any other department of the +university. The tendency toward disintegration to which we referred +above has forcefully directed attention to the great need of +emphasizing this aspect of our subject, since such disintegration is +naturally accompanied by a weakening of mathematical vigor. It may be +noted that such a disintegration would mean a reverting to primitive +conditions, since some of the older works treated mathematics merely +as a chapter of astronomy. This was done, for instance, in some of the +ancient treatises of the Hindus. + +=Mathematics and technical education= + +The great increase in college students during recent years and the +growing emphasis on college activities outside of the work connected +with the classroom, especially on those relating to college athletics, +would doubtless have left college mathematics in a woefully neglected +state if there had not been a rapidly growing interest in technical +education, especially in engineering subjects, at the same time. Naval +engineering was one of the first scientific subjects to exert a strong +influence on popularizing mathematics. In particular, the teaching of +mathematics in the Russian schools supported by the government began +with the founding of the government school for mathematics and +navigation at Moscow in 1701. It is interesting to note that the +earlier Russian schools established by the clergy after the adoption +of Christianity in that country did not provide for the teaching of +any arithmetic whatever, notwithstanding the usefulness of arithmetic +for the computing of various dates in the church calendar, for land +surveying, and for the ordinary business transactions.[9] + +The direct aims in the teaching of college mathematics have naturally +been somewhat affected by the needs of the engineering students, who +constitute in many of our leading institutions a large majority in the +mathematical classes. These students are usually expected to receive +more drill in actual numerical work than is demanded by those who seek +mainly a deeper penetration into the various mathematical theories. +The most successful methods of teaching the former students have much +in common with those usually employed in the high schools and are +known as the recitation and problem-solving methods. They involve the +correction and direct supervision of a large number of graded +exercises worked out by the students on the blackboard or on paper, +and aim to overcome the peculiar difficulties of the individual +students. + +The lecture method, on the other hand, aims to exhibit the main facts +in a clear light and to leave to the student the task of supplying +further illustrative examples and of reconsidering the various steps. +The purely lecture method does not seem to be well adapted to American +conditions, and it is frequently combined with what is commonly known +as the "quiz." The quiz seems to be an American institution, although +it has much in common with a species of the French "conference." It is +intended to review the content of a set of lectures by means of +discussions in which the students and the teacher participate, and it +is most commonly employed in connection with the courses of an +advanced undergraduate or of a beginning graduate grade. + +A prominent aim in graduate courses is to lead the student as rapidly +as possible to the boundary of knowledge along the particular line +considered therein. While some of the developments in such courses are +apt to be somewhat special or to be too general to have much meaning, +their novelty frequently adds a sufficiently strong element of +interest to more than compensate losses in other directions. Moreover, +the student who aims to do research work will thus be enabled to +consider various fields as regards their attractiveness for prolonged +investigations of his own. + +=Preparation of the college teacher of mathematics.= + +The fact that the college teacher has need of much more mathematical +knowledge than he can possibly secure during the period of his +preparation, especially if he expects to take an active part in +research and in directing graduate work, has usually led to the +assumption that the future teacher of college mathematics should +devote all his energies to securing a deep mathematical insight and a +wide range of mathematical knowledge.[10] On the other hand, students +prepared in accord with this assumption have frequently found it very +difficult to adapt themselves to the needs of large freshman classes +of engineering students entering upon the duties for which they were +supposed to have been prepared. + +The breadth of view and the sweep of abstraction needed for effective +graduate work have little in common with accuracy in numerical work +and emphasis on details which are so essential to the young +engineering students. The difficulty of the situation is increased by +the fact that the young instructor is often led to believe that his +advancement and the appreciation of his services are directly +proportional to his achievements in investigations of a high order. +This belief naturally leads many to begrudge the time and thought +which their teaching duties should normally receive. + +The young college teacher of mathematics is thus confronted with a +much more complex situation than that which confronts the mathematics +teachers in secondary school work. Here the success in the classroom +is the one great goal, and the mathematical knowledge required is +comparatively very modest. Possibly the situation of the college +teacher could be materially improved if it were understood that his +first promotion would be mainly dependent upon his success as a +teacher, but that later promotions involved the element of productive +scholarship in an increasing ratio. + +The schools of education which have in recent years been established +in most of our leading universities have thus far had only a slight +influence on the preparation of the college teachers, but it seems +likely that this influence will increase as the needs of professional +training become better known. It is probably true that the ratio of +courses on methods to courses on knowledge of the subject will always +be largest for the elementary teacher, in view of the great difference +between the mental maturity of the student and the teacher, somewhat +less for the secondary teacher and least for the college teacher; but +this least should not be zero, as is so frequently the case at present, +since there usually is even here a considerable difference between the +mathematical maturity of the student and that of the teacher. + +It may be argued that the future college teacher will probably profit +more by noting the methods employed by his instructors than he would +by the theoretic discussions relating to methods. This is doubtless +true, but it does not prove that the latter discussions are without +value. On the other hand, these discussions will often serve to fix +more attention on the former methods and will lead the student to note +more accurately their import and probable adaptability to the needs of +the younger students. + +Among the useful features for the training of the future mathematics +teachers are the mathematical clubs which are connected with most of +the active mathematical departments. In many cases, at least, two such +clubs are maintained, the one being devoted largely to the +presentation of research work while the other aims to provide +opportunities for the presentation of papers of special interest to +the students. The latter papers are often presented by graduate +students or by advanced undergraduates, and they offer a splendid +opportunity for such students to acquire effective and clear methods +of presentation. The same desirable end is often promoted by reports +given by students in seminars or in advanced courses. + +Prominent factors in the training of the future college teachers are +the teaching scholarships or fellowships and the assistantships. Many +of the larger universities provide a number of positions of this +type. It sometimes happens that the teaching duties connected with +these positions are so heavy as to leave too little energy for +vigorous graduate work. On the other hand, these positions have made +it possible for many to continue their graduate studies longer than +they could otherwise have done and at the same time to acquire sound +habits of teaching while in close contact with men of proved ability +along this line. + +It should be emphasized that the ideal college teacher of mathematics +is not the one who acquires a respectable fund of mathematical +knowledge which he passes along to his students, but the one imbued +with an abiding interest in learning more and more about his subject +as long as life lasts. This interest naturally soon forces him to +conduct researches where progress usually is slow and uncertain. +Research work should be animated by the desire for more knowledge and +not by the desire for publication. In fact, only those new results +should be published which are likely to be helpful to others in +starting at a more favorable point in their efforts to secure +intellectual mastery over certain important problems. + +Half a century ago it was commonly assumed that graduation from a good +college implied enough training to enter upon the duties of a college +teacher, but this view has been practically abandoned, at least as +regards the college teacher of mathematics. The normal preparation is +now commonly placed three years later, and the Ph.D. degree is usually +regarded to be evidence of this normal preparation. This degree is +supposed by many to imply that its possessor has reached a stage where +he can do independent research work and direct students who seek +similar degrees. In view of the fact that in America as well as in +Germany the student often receives much direct assistance while +working on his Ph.D. thesis, this supposition is frequently not in +accord with the facts.[11] + +The emphasis on the Ph.D. degree for college teachers has in many +cases led to an improvement in ideals, but in some other cases it has +had the opposite effect. Too many possessors of this degree have been +able to count on it as accepted evidence of scientific attainments, +while they allowed themselves to become absorbed in non-scientific +matters, especially in administrative details. Professors of +mathematics in our colleges have been called on to shoulder an unusual +amount of the administrative work, and many men of fine ability and +scholarship have thus been hindered from entering actively into +research work. Conditions have, however, improved rapidly in recent +years, and it is becoming better known that the productive college +teacher needs all his energies for scientific work; and in no field is +this more emphatically true than in mathematics. Some departmental +administrative duties will doubtless always devolve upon the +mathematics teachers. By a careful division of these duties they need +not interfere seriously with the main work of the various teachers. + +=The mathematical textbook= + +The American teachers of mathematics follow the textbook more closely +than is customary in Germany, for instance. Among college teachers +there is a wide difference of view in regard to the suitable use of +the textbook. While some use it simply for the purpose of providing +illustrative examples and do not expect the student to begin any +subject by a study of the presentation found in the textbook, there +are others who expect the normal student to secure all the needed +assistance from the textbook and who employ the class periods mainly +for the purpose of teaching the students how to use the textbook most +effectively. The practice of most teachers falls between these two +extremes, and, as a rule, the textbook is followed less and less +closely as the student advances in his work. In fact, in many advanced +courses no particular textbook is followed. In such courses the +principal results and the exercises are often dictated by the teacher +or furnished by means of mimeographed notes. + +The close adherence to the textbook is apt to cultivate the habit on +the part of the student of trying to understand what the author meant +instead of confining his attention to trying to understand the +subject. In view of the fact that the American secondary mathematics +teachers usually follow textbooks so slavishly, the college teacher of +mathematics who believes in emphasizing the subject rather than the +textbook often meets with considerable difficulty with the beginning +classes. On the other hand, it is clear that as the student advances +he should be encouraged to seek information from all available sources +instead of from one particular book only. The rapid improvement in our +library facilities makes this attitude especially desirable. + +An advantage of the textbook is that it is limited in all directions, +while the subject itself is of indefinite extent. In the textbook the +subject has been pressed into a linear sequence, while its natural +form usually exhibits various dimensions. The textbook presents those +phases about which there is usually no doubt, while the subject itself +exhibits limitations of knowledge in many directions. From these few +characteristics it is evident that the study of textbooks is apt to +cultivate a different attitude and a different point of view from +those cultivated by the unhampered study of subjects. The latter are, +however, the ones which correspond to the actual world and which +therefore should receive more and more emphasis as the mental vision +of the student can be enlarged. + +The number of different available college mathematical textbooks on +the subjects usually studied by the large classes of engineering +students has increased rapidly in recent years. On the other hand, the +number of suitable textbooks for the more advanced classes is often +very limited. In fact, it is often found desirable to use textbooks +written in some foreign language, especially in French, German, or +Italian, for such courses. This procedure has the advantage that it +helps to cultivate a better reading knowledge of these languages, +which is in itself a very worthy end for the advanced student of +mathematics. This procedure has, however, become less necessary in +recent years in view of the publication of various excellent advanced +works in the English language. + +The greatest mathematical treasure is constituted by the periodic +literatures, and the larger colleges and universities aim to have +complete sets of the leading mathematical periodicals available for +their students. This literature has been made more accessible by the +publication of various catalogues, such as the _Subject Index_, Volume +I, published by the Royal Society of London in 1908, and the volumes +"A" of the annual publications entitled _International Catalogue of +Scientific Literature_. All students who have access to large +libraries should learn how to utilize this great store of mathematical +lore whenever mathematical questions present themselves to them in +their scientific work. This is especially true as regards those who +specialize along mathematical lines. + +In some of the colleges and universities general informational courses +along mathematical lines have been organized under different names, +such as history of mathematics, synoptic course, fundamental concepts, +cultural course, etc. Several books have recently been prepared with a +view to meeting the needs of textbooks for such courses. College +teachers of mathematics usually find it difficult to interest their +students sufficiently in the current periodic literature, and one of +the greatest problems of the college teacher is to instill such a +broad interest in mathematics that the student will seek mathematical +knowledge in all available sources instead of confining himself to the +study of a few textbooks or the work of a particular school. + + G. A. MILLER + _University of Illinois_ + + +REFERENCES + +For articles on the teaching of mathematics which appeared during the +nineteenth century, consult 0050 _Pedagogy_ in the _Royal Society +Index_, Vol. I, Pure Mathematics, 1908. For literature appearing +during the first twelve years of the present century the reader may +consult the _Bibliography of the Teaching of Mathematics_, 1900-1912, +by D. E. Smith and Charles Goldziher, published by the United States +Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1912, No. 29. More recent literature +may be found by consulting annual indexes, such as the _International +Catalogue of Scientific Literature_, A, Mathematics, under 0050, and +_Revue Semestrielle des Publications Mathématiques_, under V 1. The +volumes of the international review entitled _L'Enseignement +Mathématique_, founded in 1899, contain a large number of articles +relating to college teaching. This subject will be treated in the +closing volumes of the large French and German mathematical +encyclopedias in course of publication. + + +Footnotes: + +[3] P. Zühlke. _Zeitschrift für Mathematischen und +Naturwissenschuftlichen Unterricht_, Vol. 45 (1915), page 483. + +[4] Committee No. XII, American Report of the International Commission +on the Teaching of Mathematics, 1912, page 9. + +[5] _Internationale Mathematische Unterrichtskomission_, Vol. 3, No. 6 +(1912), page 2. + +[6] _Journal de l'Ecole Polytechnique_, Vol. 1 (1896), part 4, page lx. + +[7] F. Cajori, _Teaching and History of Mathematics in the United +States_, 1890, page 22. + +[8] A. E. H. Love, _Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society_, +Vol. 14 (1915), page 183. + +[9] V. V. Bobynin, _L'Enseignement Mathématique_, Vol. 1 (1899), page 78. + +[10] The Training of Teachers of Mathematics, 1917, by R. C. +Archibald. Bulletin No. 27, 1917, United States Bureau of Education. + +[11] Cf. M. Bôcher, _Science_, Vol. 38 (1913), page 546. + + + + +IX + +PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE COLLEGE + + +=Lessons for physical education from the world war= + +The events of the four years between the summer of 1914 and the winter +of 1918 have brought us to a full realization of the real significance +of physical education in the training of youth. America and her allies +have had very dramatic reasons for regretting their careless +indifference to the welfare of childhood and youth in former years. +Only yesterday, we were told that the great war would be won by the +country that could furnish the last man or fight for the last quarter +of an hour. America and her allies looked with a new and fearful +concern upon the army of young men who were found physically unfit for +military service. + +With the danger of war past, there is no lack of evidence that we and +our allies will make practical application of this particular lesson. +It will be fortunate indeed if the enlightened people of the earth are +really permanently awake to the importance of the physical education +of their citizens-in-the-making. + +Governmental agencies have already started the movement to guarantee +to the coming generation more extensive and more scientific physical +education. Public and private institutions are joining forces so that +the advantages of this extended program of physical education will be +enjoyed by the young men and young women in industry and commerce as +well as by those in schools and colleges. + +It is to be hoped that the American college will do its full share and +neglect no reasonable measure whereby the college graduate may be +developed into the vigorous and healthy human being that the mentally +trained ought to be. It must be admitted that our findings by the +military draft boards, as well as other evidences secured through +physical examinations, are not such as to make the American college +proud of the quality or the extent of physical education which it has +given in the past. We must express our keen disappointment at the +prevalence of under-development, remediable defects, and unachieved +physical and functional possibilities in our college graduates. + +=Aims of physical education= + +Physical training is concerned with the achievement and the +conservation of human health. It has to do with conditioning the human +being for the exigencies of life in peace or in war. Its standards are +not set by a degree of health which merely enables the individual to +keep out of bed, eat three meals a day, and run no abnormal +temperature. Physical training is concerned with developing vigorous, +enduring health that is based upon the perfect function, coördination, +and integration of every organ of the human body; health that is not +found wanting at the military draft; health that meets all its +community obligations; health that is not affected by diseases of +decay; and health that resists infection and postpones preventable +death. + +=Formulations of aims and scope of physical education in official +documents--By Regents of the State of New York= + +Official statements and information from reliable sources indicate +that physical education and hygiene and physical training are regarded +by authorities as covering about the same general field. The general +plan and syllabus for physical training adopted by the Regents of the +University of the State of New York in 1916 interprets physical +training as covering "(1) Individual health examinations and personal +health instruction (medical inspection); (2) instruction concerning +the care of the body and the important facts of hygiene (recitations +in hygiene); (3) physical examinations as a health habit, including +gymnastics, elementary marching, and organized, supervised play, +recreation, and athletics." + +=By national committee on physical education= + +In March of 1918 a National Committee on Physical Education, formed of +representatives from twenty or more national organizations, adopted +the following resolutions: + + I. That a comprehensive, thoroughgoing program of health + education and physical education is absolutely needed for all + boys and girls of elementary and secondary school age, both rural + and urban, in every state in the Union. + + II. That legislation, similar in purpose and scope to the + provisions and requirements in the laws recently enacted in + California, New York State, and New Jersey, is desirable in every + state, to provide authorization and support for state-wide + programs in the health and physical education field. + + III. That the United States Bureau of Education should be + empowered by law, and provided with sufficient appropriations, to + exert adequate influence and supervision in relation to a + nationwide program of instruction in health and physical + education. + + IV. That it seems most desirable that Congress should give + recognition to this vital and neglected phase of education, with + a bill and appropriation similar in purpose and scope to the + Smith-Hughes Law, to give sanction, leadership, and support to a + national program of health and physical education; and to + encourage, standardize, and, in part, finance the practical + program of constructive work that should be undertaken in every + state. + + V. That federal recognition, supervision, and support are + urgently needed, as the effective means, under the Constitution, + to secure that universal training of boys and girls in health and + physical fitness which are equally essential to efficiency of all + citizens both in peace and in war. + + +=By five national organizations= + +In December, 1918, five national organizations, assembled in regular +annual meeting, adopted resolutions which read in part as follows: + + First: That this Society shall make every reasonable effort to + influence the Congress of the United States and the legislatures + of our various states to enact laws providing for the effective + physical education of all children of all ages in our elementary + and secondary schools, public, institutional and private, a + physical education that will bring these children instruction in + hygiene, regular periodic health examinations and a training in + the practice of health habits with a full educational emphasis + upon play, games, recreation, athletics and physical exercise, + and shall further make every possible reasonable effort to + influence communities and municipalities to enact laws and pass + ordinances providing for community and industrial physical + training and recreative activities for all classes and ages of + society. + + Second: That this Association shall make persistent effort to + influence state boards of education, or their equivalent bodies, + in all the states of the United States, to make it their + effective rule that on or after June, 1922, or some other + reasonable date, no applicant may receive a license to teach any + subject in any school who does not first present convincing + evidence of having covered in creditable manner a satisfactory + course in physical education in a reputable training school for + teachers. + + Third: And that this Association hereby directs and authorizes + its president to appoint a committee of three to take such steps + as may be necessary to put the above resolutions into active and + effective operation, and to coöperate in every practical and + substantial way with the National Committee on Physical + Education, the division of physical education of the Playground + and Recreation Association of America, and any other useful + agency that may be in the field for the purpose of securing the + proper and sufficient physical education of the boys and girls of + to-day, so that they may to-morrow constitute a nation of men and + women of normal physical growth, normal physical development and + normal functional resource, practicing wise habits of health + conservation and possessed of greater consequent vitality, larger + endurance, longer lives and more complete happiness--the most + precious assets of a nation. + + +=By the United States Interdepartmental Social Hygiene Board= + +In January, 1919, the United States Interdepartmental Social Hygiene +Board suggested the following organization of a department of hygiene +for the purpose of establishing such a department in at least one +normal school, college, or university training school for teachers in +each state of the Union. + +SUGGESTED ORGANIZATION OF A DEPARTMENT OF HYGIENE + +I. _Division of Informational Hygiene._ (Stressing in each of its + several divisions with due proportion and with appropriate + emphasis, the venereal diseases, their causes, carriers, injuries, + and prevention): + + (_a_) The principles of hygiene. Required of all students at least + twice a week for at least four terms. + + (1) General hygiene. (The agents that injure health, the carriers + of disease, the contributory causes of poor health, the defenses + of health, and the sources of health.) + + (2) Individual hygiene. (Informational hygiene, the care of the + body and its organs, correction, and repair, preventive hygiene, + constructive hygiene.) + + (3) Group hygiene. (Hygiene of the home and the family, school + hygiene, occupational hygiene, community hygiene.) + + (4) Intergroup hygiene. (Interfamily, intercommunity, interstate, + and international hygiene.) + + (_b_) Principles of physical training. (Gymnastics, exercise, + athletics, recreation, and play.) Required of all students. To be + given at least twice a week for two terms in the Junior or Senior + Years. + + (_c_) Health examinations-- + + (1) Medical examination required each half year of every student. + (Making reasonable provisions for a private, personal, + confidential relationship between the examiner and the student.) + + (2) Sanitary surveys and hygienic inspections applied regularly to + all divisions of the institution, their curriculums, buildings, + dormitories, equipment, personal service, and surroundings. + +II. _Division of Applied Hygiene._ + + (_a_) Health conference and consultations. + + (1) Every student advised under "c" above (health examinations) + must report to his health examiner within a reasonable time, as + directed, with evidence that he has followed the advice given, or + with a satisfactory explanation for not having done so. + + (2) Must provide student with opportunities for safe, confidential + consultations with competent medical advisors concerning the + intimate problems of sex life as well as those of hygiene in + general. + + (_b_) Physical training. + + (1) Gymnastic exercises, recreation, games, athletics, and + competitive sports. Required of all students six hours a week + every term. + + (2) Reconstructional and special training and exercise for students + not qualified organically for the regular activities covered in + "1" above. It is assumed that every teacher-in-training + physically able to go to school is entitled to and should take + some form of physical exercise. + +III. _Division of Research._ + + (_a_) Investigations, tests, evaluating measurements, records, and + reports required each term covering progress made under each + division and subdivision of the department, for the purpose of + discovering and developing more effective educational methods in + hygiene. + + (_b_) Provide facilities for the sifting, selection, and + investigation of problems in hygiene that may be submitted to or + proposed by the department of hygiene. + + (_c_) Arrange for frequent lectures on public hygiene and public + health from competent members of municipal, state, and national + departments of health, and from other appropriate sources. + +IV. _Personnel requisite for such a department._--Men and women + should be chosen for service in the several divisions of the + Department, who have a sane, well-balanced, and experienced + appreciation of the importance of the whole field of hygiene as + well as of the place and relations of the venereal diseases. + + (1) One director or head of department. Must have satisfactory + scientific training and special experience, fitting him for + supervision, leadership, teaching, research, and administrative + responsibility. + + (2) One medical examiner for men and one medical examiner for + women. There should be one examiner for each 500 students. Must be + selected with special care because of the presence of + extraordinary opportunities to exercise a powerful intimate + influence upon the mental, moral, and physical health of the + students with whom such examiners come in contact. + + (3) One special teacher of physical training (a "Physical + Director") for each group of 500 students. There must be a man for + the men and a woman for the women students. The physical training + instructors employed in this department should be in charge of and + should cover satisfactorily all the directing, training, and + coaching carried on in the department and in the institution in + its relation to athletics and competitive sports. The men and + women who are placed in charge of individual students and groups + of students engaged in the various activities of physical training + (gymnastics, athletics, recreation and play) should be selected + with special reference to their wholesome influence on young men + and young women. + + (4) One coördinator (this function may be covered by one of the + personnel covered by "1," "2" or "3" above). Will serve to + influence every teacher in every department on the entire staff of + the institution to meet his obligations, in relation to the + individual hygiene of the students in his classes and to the + sanitation of the class rooms in which he meets his students. The + coördinator should bring information to all teachers and assist + them to meet more satisfactorily their opportunities to help + students in their individual problems in social hygiene. + + (5) Special lectures on the principles and progress of public + hygiene and public health. A close coördination should be secured + between this department and community agencies like the Department + of Health that are concerned with public hygiene. + + (6) Sufficient clerical, stenographic and filing service to meet + the needs of the department. + + +In February, 1919, the field service of the National Committee on +Physical Education issued a tentative outline for a state law for +physical education, suggested for use in planning future legislation. +The purposes of physical education as stated in the preamble of this +law read as follows: + + 1. In order that the children of the State of .... shall receive + a quality and an amount of physical education that will bring to + them the health, growth and a normal organic development that is + essential to their fullest present and future education, + happiness and usefulness; and in order that the future + citizenship of the State of .... may receive regularly from the + growing and developing youth of the Commonwealth a rapidly + increasing number of more vigorous, better educated, healthier, + happier, more prosperous and longer lived men and women, we, the + people of the State of .... represented in the Senate and + Assembly do enact as follows: + + +=By Legislative Committee of National Committee on Physical Education= + +In February, 1919, the legislative committee of the National Committee +on Physical Education prepared a bill for federal legislation for the +purpose of assisting the states in establishing physical education in +their schools. This proposed federal law stated the purpose and aim of +physical education as follows: + + The purpose and aim of physical education in the meaning of this + act shall be: more fully and thoroughly to prepare the boys and + girls of the nation for the duties and responsibilities of + citizenship through the development of bodily vigor and + endurance, muscular strength and skill, bodily and mental poise, + and such desirable moral and social qualities as courage, + self-control, self-subordination and obedience to authority, + coöperation under leadership, and disciplined initiative. The + processes and agencies for securing these ends shall be + understood to include: comprehensive courses of physical training + activities, periodical physical examination; correction of + postural and other remediable defects; health supervision of + schools and school children; practical instruction in the care of + the body and in the principles of health; hygienic school life, + sanitary school buildings, playgrounds, and athletic fields and + the equipment thereof; and such other means as may be conducive + to these purposes. + + +An analysis of these several authoritative and more or less official +documents indicates very clearly a unanimity as to scope and aims of +physical education, for they all seek to promote and conserve, in the +broadest sense of the term, the health of the nation. + +=Poor type of physical education in secondary schools intensifies problem +in the college= + +The problem of physical education in the college is intensified by the +fact that freshmen come to their chosen institutions with a variety of +experience in physical training, but unfortunately this experience is, +too often, either inadequate or ineffective. The natural physical +training of the earlier age periods produces whatever neuro-muscular +development, whatever neuro-muscular coördination, whatever +neuro-muscular control, and whatever other organic growth, +development, or functional perfection is achieved by the young human +concerned. A program of physical training wisely planned with +reference to infancy, childhood, and early youth would include types +of exercises, play, games, and sports, that would perfect the +neuro-muscular and other functions far more completely than is +commonly accomplished through the natural unsupervised and undirected +physical training of those early age periods either in city or in +rural communities. The force of modern habits of life has led to the +destruction of those natural habits of work, play, and recreation that +gave a proportion of our forebears a fairly complete natural program +of physical exercise during the plastic or formative periods of life. +As a result, many students reach college nowadays with stunted growths +and with poorly developed, poorly trained, or poorly controlled +neuro-muscular equipment. Some of these matriculates are physically +weak. They lack alertness; their response is slow. Others are awkward +and muscularly inefficient, though their physical growth is +objectively--height and weight--normal or even above normal. + +The College Department faces these problems through special provisions +made for the purpose of supplying a belated neuro-muscular training to +such cases. It often happens that successful training along these +lines is possible only through individual instruction of a most +elementary sort, taking the student through simple exercises that +ought to have been a part of his experience in early childhood. + +=Individual needs of students augment problem of department of physical +education= + +For the same reasons that are stated above, the College Department of +Physical Training finds it necessary to concern itself with individual +students who need special attention directed to specified organs or +groups of organs whose training or care could have been accomplished +ordinarily far better at an earlier period. These students present +problems of posture, lung capacity, and regional weakness. + +=Supervision of athletics and recreation adds further to its problem= + +The College Department of Physical Training finds also a significant +opportunity and an urgent duty in the fact that various types of +physical exercise are intimately associated with social, ethical, and +moral consequences. No other human activity gives the same opportunity +for the development of a social spirit and personal ethical standards +as do play, games, and sports of children and adolescents. +Unsupervised, these activities degenerate and bring unmoral practices +and an anti-social spirit in their wake. + +Because of these opportunities and obligations, College Departments of +Physical Training are including within their programs and +jurisdictions more and more supervision of college athletics, and +assume an ever increasing rôle in the direction of recreational +activities of college students. It remains true, however, that these +influences of supervised play and athletics should operate long before +the individual reaches college age. + +The intense interest of college students in athletic competitions, +united with the opportunity which athletics offer for social and +character training, has decided a number of colleges to turn athletic +training over to the Department of Physical Training. This preparation +for the supreme physical and physiological test must be built upon a +foundation of safe and sound health. There is no more fitting place +in the collegiate organization for these athletic and recreational +activities. + +=Organization of Department of Physical Education= + +The college departments that cover this field in whole or in part are +known by various names. We have departments of Physical Training; of +Physical Education; of Physical Culture; of Hygiene; of Physiology and +Physical Education; of Hygiene and Physical Education; of Physical +Training and Athletics, and so on. + +An analysis of these college departments shows that they all concern +themselves with much the same important objects, although they differ +in their lines of greater emphasis. We find, too, that in some +colleges the department includes activities that form separate, though +related departments in other institutions. + +The activities of such departments fall into three large divisions, +each one of which has its logical subdivisions. One of these large +divisions may be called the division of health examination. It has to +do with the health examination of the individual student and with the +health advice that is based on and consequent to such examination. The +second division has to do with health instruction covering the subject +matter of physical training. The third division covers directed +experiences in right living and the formation of health habits, and +includes the special activities noted above. + +We often refer to the first division noted above as the division of +medical inspection, physical examination, or health examination; to +the second as hygiene, physiology, biology, or bacteriology; and to +the third as gymnastics, physical exercise, organized play, +recreation, athletics, or narrowly as physical training. + +The prime purpose of collegiate physical training, then, is to furnish +the student such information and such habit-forming experiences as +will lead him to formulate and practice an intelligent policy of +personal health control and an intelligent policy of community health +control. The collateral and special objects of physical training vary +with the individual student under the influence of his previous +training and his present and future life plans. + +The Collegiate Department of Physical Training is primarily concerned, +therefore, with the acquisition and conservation of human +health--mental, moral, and physical health. Because of his physical +training, the college man should live longer; he should meet his +environments obligations more successfully; he should be better able +to protect himself from, and better able to avoid, injury; he should +lose less time on account of injury, poor health, and sickness; he +should get well more rapidly when he is sick; he should be better able +to recover his health and strength after injury or illness; and he +should therefore give to society a fuller, happier, and more useful +life. + +Such a department is concerned secondarily with (_a_) those special +defects of earlier physical training that bring to college, students +in need of neuro-muscular training and organic development, (_b_) with +social, ethical, and character training, and (_c_) with the +conditioning and special training of students for athletic competition +or for other extraordinary physical and physiological demands. + +In the light of the above statements, the objects of physical training +may be summarized as follows: + + I. The fundamental and ever present object of physical training + is the acquisition and conservation of vigorous, enduring health, + the summated effect of perfect functions in each and every organ + of the human body. + + II. The special objects of physical training vary in their needs + for emphasis at different age periods and under the changing + stresses of life. Among the more important of these special + objects are: + + (1) General, normal growth. An object in the early age periods. + + (2) Neuro-muscular development, coördination, and control. + Accomplished best in early age periods. + + (3) Special organic (anatomical and functional) development. + Optimum period in childhood and youth. + + (4) Social, ethical, and moral training. Character building. + Objects more easily secured in childhood and youth. + + (5) Preparation for some supreme physical and physiological test; + e.g., athletic competition, police or fire service, military + service. Most desirable training period in late youth and early + maturity. Must depend, however, on the effects of earlier + physical training. + + (6) The formation of health habits. Best accomplished in early + life but commonly an important function of the College + Department of Physical Training. + + (7) The conservation of health. Always an object, but more + particularly so in the middle and later life. + + +THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION + +In the American college of today, the student's first contact with the +Department of Physical Training is very likely to be in the examining +room. In the College of the City of New York[12] it has become the +established custom to require a satisfactory health examination before +admitting the applicant to registration as a student in the college. +Entering classes are enrolled in this institution at the beginning of +each term, and in each list of applicants there are always a few to +whom admission is denied because of unsatisfactory health conditions. + +In each case in which admission is denied because of unsatisfactory +health, the individual is given careful advice relative to his present +and probable future condition, and every effort is made to help the +applicant plan his life so that he may be able at a later time to +enter the college. Of course, it occasionally happens that applicants +are found with serious and incurable health defects which make it very +improbable that they will ever be in condition to attempt a college +education. + +=Scope of health examination= + +The health examination of the student should cover those facts in his +family and personal health history that are likely to have a bearing +upon his present or future health, and the examination should include +a very careful investigation of the important organs of his body. This +examination calls for expert medical and dental service. + +=How to conduct health examination= + +The most useful examiner is he who is at the same time a teacher. +Nowhere else is a better or even an equally good opportunity given to +drive home impressively, and sometimes dramatically, important lessons +in individual hygiene. Through a pair of experimental lenses placed by +his examiner before his hitherto undiscovered visual brain cells, the +young student who has had poor vision and has never known it, may +obtain, for the first time, a glimpse of the beauty in his +surroundings. + +The dental examiner who finds bad teeth and explains bad teeth to the +student whose health is being, or may be, destroyed by such teeth, has +before him all the elements necessary for very effective health +instruction. + +The health examination should be a personal and private affair. It is +often best not to have even a recorder present. The student should +understand that whatever passes between him and his examiner is +entirely confidential. + +All advice given a student at these examinations should be followed up +if it is the kind of advice that can be followed up. If the advice +involves the attention of a dentist or treatment by a physician, time +should be allowed for making arrangements and for securing the +treatment necessary. After that time has elapsed the student should be +called upon to report with information from his parent or guardian, or +from his family health adviser, indicating what has been done or will +be done for the betterment of the conditions for which the advice was +originally given. In the hands of a tactful examiner--one who is a +teacher as well as an examiner--the student and parent, particularly +the parent, will coöperate effectively in this plan for the +development of health habits of the student. Less than three tenths +of one per cent of the parents of City College students refuse to +secure special health attention for their boys when we do so advise. + +These examinations should be repeated at reasonable intervals +throughout the entire college course. We have found in the College of +the City of New York that a repetition every term is none too +frequent. Visual defects, dental defects, evidences of heart trouble +and signs of pulmonary tuberculosis, and other defects, not +infrequently arise in cases of individuals who have been seen several +times before without showing any evidence of poor health. It is hoped +that these repeated examinations may lead to the continuation of such +habits of bodily care in postgraduate years. + +A careful and concise record must be made covering the main facts of +each examination and of each conference with the student subsequent to +his examination. These memoranda enable the examiner at each later +examination to talk to the student with a knowledge of what has been +found and what has been said and what has been done on preceding +examinations, and on preceding follow-up conferences. As a result, the +examiner-teacher is in position to be very much more useful not only +because of significant facts before him concerning the student with +whom he is talking, but also because of the greater confidence which +the student will necessarily have in an examiner who is obviously +interested in him and who possesses such an accurate record of his +health history. + +These examinations should apply to every student in a college or a +university, regardless of the division to which he belongs. The need +for health instruction or for the establishment of health habits, in +order that one may be physically trained for the exigencies of life, +is not peculiar to any student age period or to any academic or +technicological group, or to a college for men or a college for women. + +One of the dangers present in these college examinations is the +tendency of the examiner to become more interested in the number of +students examined and the number of diagnoses made than in the good +influence he may have upon the health future of the student. + +Every "case" should be treated by the health examiner as if it were +the first and only case on hand for the day. The student certainly +classifies the examiner as the first and only one he has had that day. +The examiner should plan to make every contact he has with a student a +help to the student. + + +HEALTH INSTRUCTION + +A second large division of physical training deals with health +instruction. As has been pointed out above, the division of health +examination produces a very important and very useful opportunity for +individual health instruction. + +=Content of hygiene instruction= + +Hygiene, however, is presented commonly to groups of students in class +organization rather than individually. Anatomy, physiology, +psychology, bacteriology, pathology, general hygiene, individual +hygiene, group hygiene, and intergroup hygiene are sciences, or +combinations of sciences, from which physical training draws its +facts. These sciences and those phases of economics and sociology that +have to do with the economic and social influences of health and +disease, of physical efficiency and physical degeneracy, supply +physical training with its general subject matter. + +Health instruction, then, as a part of physical training, draws its +content from these sources. A logical plan of class instruction would, +therefore, include the elements of anatomy, physiology, psychology, +bacteriology (and general parasitology), pathology, economics, and +sociology, as a basis for a more complete presentation of the facts of +general hygiene, individual hygiene, group hygiene, and intergroup +hygiene. + +=Method of health instruction= + +The most satisfactory presentation of these subjects involves the +grouping of students into small classes, the employment of laboratory +methods, the use of reference libraries, and the assignment of +problems for investigation and study, with a general group discussion +of these problems. + +Unfortunately, college classes are large and the number of teachers +employed in the department of physical training, or in those +departments from which physical training draws its science and its +philosophy, is small, so that it is impractical to plan to give this +instruction to small groups of students covering this range of subject +matter. + +As a result, the lecture method with its obvious defects and +shortcomings is the common medium for the health instruction of +college students organized into classes. The more intimate and +detailed instruction in these subjects is secured in special courses +and in professional schools. + +In the College of the City of New York, we expect that students who +come to us from high schools and preparatory schools have had the +elements of anatomy and physiology either in courses on those subjects +or in courses in biology.[13] Our health instruction, therefore, has +been developed along the lines of lectures on general hygiene, +individual hygiene, group hygiene, and intergroup hygiene running +through the four terms of the freshman and sophomore years. + +These lectures are given in periods of from ten to fifteen minutes +each, preceding class work in various forms of physical exercise. They +are often called "floor talks." The shortness of the presentation +favors vigor of address; necessitates a concise organization of +material and a clarity and brevity of statement; and is more likely to +command student attention and concentration. It has, however, its +obvious defects. In these lectures persistent effort is made to +influence the daily habits of the student. The lecture content is +selected with reference to the practical problems of the daily life of +the individual and of the community of which he is a part. It is +obvious that the amount of time devoted to the presentation of the subject +matter is utterly inadequate. + +Short written tests are given once each month, and a longer written +test is given at the end of each term. These examinations stimulate +the student to organize his information and make it more completely +his own property. The classes are too large[14] and the instructional +force relatively too small to permit the assignment of references, +presentation of reports, and the conduct of investigations. + +Further instruction in physiology and bacteriology is secured in this +institution through elective courses open to students in their junior +and senior years. These elective courses, however, are not planned +primarily for the health education of the student, but rather for his +partial preparation as a teacher of physical training, a student of +medicine, a scientific specialist, or for public health work. + + +HEALTH-FORMING ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION + +The third division of activities contains the health-habit-forming +influences covered by the Department of Physical Training. These +influences are formed partly in connection with the follow-up +activities associated with the health examinations and advice noted +above; partly through impressions made by way of individual and class +instruction concerning the laws of health (also noted above); and +partly through systematic class work, group work, and individual work +in gymnastics, organized recreation, games, play, and athletics. + +The student who has been given a health examination each term +throughout his college career will be very likely to continue the +practice as a habit after graduation. This habit will follow more +surely if the examiner has been a real health teacher and not a +perfunctory recorder of observations made upon the student. A lack of +sympathy and tact may easily prejudice the student against the +examination. + +The student who has been led regularly to care for defects of one sort +or another; whose contact with his examiner-teacher in conferences +following up the advice that has been given at the time of examination +has been accompanied by the right sort of explanation and mutual +understanding, will be more likely to continue to exercise that sort +of care for the welfare of his body after he is no longer under the +influence of the college. + +The student who has seen the application of class health talks to his +everyday problems is likely to be influenced to the practice of +consequent health habits, particularly if those short lectures serve +to correlate his various habit-forming experiences while in college. + +And finally, the student who is brought into contact with regular +systematic exercise may, if the exercise is attractive and +interesting, achieve a health habit that will be carried out into his +postgraduate life. + +The existence of the Department of Physical Training would be amply +justified if its influence upon the health and vigor of the student +were limited to the period of his stay in college. The full success of +this department, however, like that of all other college departments, +must be measured by its influence upon the life of the student after +he has left college. The formation of lasting health habits is, +therefore, the most important object of this department. + +=Place of physical exercise in program for physical education= + +Regular appropriate physical exercise is one of our most important +health habits. It is perhaps safe to say that for the average +individual it is the most important health habit. This is true because +of its intimate and impressive influence upon all the fundamental +organic functions of the body. Physical exercise in the American +college is provided either as organized class work in the gymnasium, +or by means of voluntary recreational opportunities, or through +athletics. + +=Class work in physical exercise= + +Class work may include: marching, mass drills with or without light +apparatus, work on heavy apparatus, games, dancing, swimming, and +track and field work. This class work may be indoors or outdoors, +depending on the season or climate. + +=Additional facilities for physical exercise= + +Voluntary recreational opportunities are offered through free mass +drills open to all students who may desire to take them regularly or +irregularly; through open periods for apparatus work; and through +facilities and space for games, swimming, mass athletics, and so on. + +=Recreational activities and athletics= + +Competitive athletics are typical of the American college. +Theoretically, athletics are open to all students. Practically, in +many of our colleges athletics are made available only to the student +with leisure time and exceptional physique. Consistent effort is being +made today by college authorities to provide opportunities for +intramural (interclass, intergroup, and mass) athletics for the whole +student body; at the same time preserving the desirable features of +the more specialized intercollegiate competitions. + +=Inculcating habits of physical exercise= + +Physical exercise in these various forms has its immediate and +valuable influence upon the health condition of the individual +student, if taken in sufficient quantity. It has its lasting and very +much more important influence in those cases in which physical +exercise becomes a habit. It has, therefore, become the increasing +concern of the college teacher of physical training to develop +activities in physical exercise that the student may use after +graduation. Teachers of physical training have become more and more +impressed with the importance of interesting exercise, not only +because interesting exercise is more likely to become habitual +exercise, but also because exercise that is accompanied by the play +spirit, by happiness and joy, is physiologically and therefore +healthfully of very much more value to the individual. The +relationship between cheerfulness and good health has become very +firmly established through the scientific researches of the modern +physiologist. We know that health habits which are associated with +cheerfulness and happiness are bound to be more effective. + +=Opportunities for character building= + +The teacher of physical training finds opportunity for incidental and +yet very important instruction leading to the formation of fine +qualities of character and fine standards of personal conduct. These +opportunities arise constantly in the various general types of +physical exercise found in the curriculum of the department of +physical training. They are especially present in those activities in +which competition occurs, as in play, games, and athletics. These +activities do not in themselves produce excellent qualities of +character or high standards of conduct, but the teacher--whether he be +called a coach or a trainer or a professor of hygiene--who sets a good +example and who insists that every game played, and every contest, +whether it be in a handball court between college chums or on the +football field between college teams, shall be clean and fair, is +using in the right way one of the opportunities present in the entire +college life of the student, for the formation of fine character. + + +SPECIAL EXERCISES FOR SPECIAL GROUPS + +In any given group of college students one will find a number of +individuals in need of special or modified physical exercise. These +students may be grouped commonly under the following heads: (1) +undeveloped, (2) bad posture, (3) awkward, (4) originally weak, (5) +deformed. + +Some of these students suffer from defects that are remediable, Some +of these defects are due to poor physical training in earlier years. +Some are the results of disease. All of them call for modified +exercise and recreation. The fact that a student may fall into one of +these groups in no way justifies the assumption that he is therefore +no longer subject to the laws of health or to the need for rational +health habits. As a matter of fact, such cases generally call for +greater care and attention in the formulation and operation of a +rational policy of right living. + +Every student physically able to go to college is physically able to +exercise. No student in attendance on recitations anywhere can offer a +rational plea for exemption from exercise, The individual whose +physical condition contraindicates all forms of exercise needs +careful medical advice and probably needs hospital or sanitarium +treatment. + +College Departments of Physical Training are planning for cases in +need of special or modified exercise, through the organization of +special classes and through individual attention. In the College of +the City of New York we attempt to group the weak students in a given +class, into squads of four such students with a squad leader, a +student. The awkward students are grouped in the same manner. The +exercise of the cripple and the student with serious organic weakness +is individualized. These special individualized cases are under the +direct supervision of a physician on the staff. + + +ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDENTS FOR PRESCRIBED WORK IN THE COLLEGE +COURSES + +In this college, organized, directed physical exercise as outlined +above is covered in the division of physical training, the division of +recreation, and the division of athletics, all of which are +subdivisions of the Department of Hygiene. + +The enrollment in the required classes in the division of Physical +Training varies from thirty in the smaller classes to over two hundred +in the larger. The total enrollment has been approximately eleven +hundred each term for several years. These courses are required of all +students during the first four collegiate terms. Each of these four +courses requires three hours a week, distributed over two or into +three periods, and credits the student with one half point toward +graduation. This time allowance is, however, inadequate. + +The class organization in the division of the Department of Hygiene is +based on a unit composed of five students. Each of these units or +squads contains one student who is designated as the "leader" of that +unit. + +Persistent effort is made to assign students of like physical +development and needs to the same squads. In this manner a single +class of a hundred young men will have a graduation on the basis of +proficiency which makes it possible for the teacher to come very near +to the rational application of exercise for the individual student. + +These units or squads are organized into divisions, each division +being made up of four squads. Each division is under the supervision +and instruction of a member of the departmental staff. In any given +class, then, there is a regular instructor for each group of twenty +students, and a student leader for each group of four students. The +aim in this organization is to establish a relationship between the +instructor and his twenty students that will secure for him an +intimate knowledge of each young man, relating to his physical +training needs, general and special. + +=A class period in physical exercise= + +A typical class period is made up of a short health talk, 10 minutes; +a mass drill, 10 minutes; apparatus period, two changes, 20 minutes; +and a play period, 15 minutes. If the health talk is not given the +play period is lengthened. + +The mass drills referred to above are made up of drill in marching and +in gymnastics with and without hand apparatus. These drills are graded +within the term and from term to term so that a desirable variety is +secured. They are devised for disciplinary, postural, developmental, +and health purposes. During the progress of the drill the instructors +present inspect the posture and work of the students in their +divisions. + +The apparatus periods referred to include work on the conventional +pieces of gymnastic apparatus, with the addition of chest weights, an +indoor track, and a swimming pool. The squad organization for this +work gives opportunity for the development of student leadership which +is often of extraordinary educational value to the individual boy. +These periods, because of this squad organization, may be utilized for +such _special exercise_ emphasis as may be decided upon for any given +group of students. It is here that _special conditioning_ may be given +those young men who are planning for military training or who need +selected exercise for neuro-muscular development. + +The play period in the regular class program is devoted largely to +looser games that contain a predominating element of big muscle +activities. Competition is a fairly constant factor. Here, again, our +squad unit permits us to assign selected groups of students to special +types of games. It is feasible, in this organization, to satisfy a +need for the training that is furnished by highly organized games, +fighting games, and by games and out-of-door events that develop +special groups of muscles and special coördinations. + +A well-organized Collegiate Department of Physical Training could +coöperate very effectively with a Collegiate Department of Military +Training. The squad organization in apparatus periods and in play +periods offers the best possible avenue for a successful emphasis of +several of the very important phases of military physical training. + +=Recreational facilities in addition to prescribed work= + +The division of recreation in the Department of Hygiene in the College +of the City of New York, takes charge of all recreational and athletic +space and all recreational and intramural athletic activities in those +periods of the day in which regular class work does not take +precedence. Students of all classes are admitted freely throughout +their four collegiate years to these activities, and a studied effort +is made to increase their attractiveness as well as to secure from +them their full social and character-training values. Such values +depend to a very large degree upon the experienced supervision and +direction given these activities. It does not follow that the creation +of play opportunity is bound to produce good citizenship. The quality +of the product depends upon the quality of the man or men in charge of +the enterprise. + +The most important mission of the Recreational Division is its purpose +to furnish the student lasting habits of play and recreation based +upon the physical development he has secured in his earlier +experiences in physical training. After all, one's physical training +should begin at birth and continue throughout life. + +The Division of Athletic Instruction is concerned with all plans for +intercollegiate athletics, including organization, financing, +training, coaching, and scheduling. All these activities are under the +direction of members of the staff of the Department of Hygiene. There +is no one employed in this relationship who is not a member of the +staff. Constant attempts are made, in every reasonable way, to +accomplish the athletic ideals that have been set up by the National +Collegiate Athletic Association. Clean play, honorable methods, and +sportsmanly standards dominate the theory and practice of this +athletic instruction and supervision. + +The scope and content of physical training which I have attempted to +present in these pages is brought out more clearly by the following +announcement of the Department of Hygiene of the College of the City +of New York: + + HYGIENE (1916-17) + + The Department of Hygiene is made up of the divisions of Physical + Training, Physiology, Bacteriology, Health Examination, + Recreational Instruction, and Athletics. + + Through these divisions the Department attempts to train young + men for the exigencies of life through the establishment of + enduring habits of health examination and repair, health + information and individual and community protection against the + agents that injure health and cause disease, and through the + establishment of wise habits of daily life. + + This organization gives opportunity for the development of + neglected organic and neuromuscular growth, coördination and + control; for the social, ethical, and moral training (character + building influences) inherent in wisely supervised athletic and + recreational experiences; and for the special conditioning that + accompanies training for severe physical and physiological + competition and other tests. + + Finally, preparation may be secured for life work along certain + lines of research, certain medical sciences, various phases of + public health, physical training and social work. + + In addition, this Department is concerned with all those + influences within the College which affect the health of the + student. Every reasonable effort is made to keep the institution + safe and attractive to the clean, healthy individual. + + + DIVISION OF PHYSICAL TRAINING + + 1. _Course One._ + + (_a_) Lectures. "Some of the common causes of disease." + + (_b_) Physical Exercise. + + i. Graded mass drills. + + (_a_) Elementary drills are used in order to develop obedience, + alertness, and ready response to command, accurate execution, + good posture and carriage and facility of control. + + (_b_) More advanced drills are given in which movements are made + in response to commands. Strength, endurance, and coördination + are brought into play. + + ii. Apparatus work. Continuation of graded exercises for squads of + five students each. + + iii. Selected, graded, recreative indoor and outdoor games and play. + + iv. Swimming. Each student is required to learn to swim with more than + one variety of stroke. + + Prescribed. Freshman, first term; three hours a week; counts 1/2. + + + 2. _Course Two._ + + (_a_) Lectures. "The carriers of disease." + + (_b_) Physical Exercise. + + i. Graded mass drills. Two-count movements. These drills are + continuations of, but more advanced than those given in the + preceding term. + + ii. Apparatus work. Continuation of graded exercises for squads of five. + + iii. Selected, graded, recreative indoor and outdoor games and play. + + iv. Swimming. Each student is required to develop endurance in swimming. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 1. + + Prescribed. Freshman, second term; three hours a week; counts 1/2. + + + 3. _Course Three._ + + (_a_) Lectures. "The contributory causes and carriers of disease." + + (_b_) Physical Exercise. + + i. Graded mass drills. Four-count movements. More advanced work. + + ii. Apparatus work. Continuation of graded exercises for squads of five. + + iii. Selected, graded, recreative indoor and outdoor games and play. + + iv. Swimming. Diving, rescue and resuscitation of the drowning. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 2. + + Prescribed. Sophomore, first term; three hours a week; counts 1/2. + + + 4. _Course Four._ + + (_a_) Lectures. "Defenses against poor health and disease." + + (_b_) Physical Exercise. + + i. Advanced graded mass drills. Eight-count movements. + + ii. Advanced graded apparatus work. For squads of five. + + iii. Selected, graded, recreative indoor and outdoor games and play. + + iv. Swimming. Advanced continuation of requirements outlined for + Courses 2 and 3. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 3. + + Prescribed. Sophomore, second term; three hours a week; counts 1/2. + + + _Modified Course._ + + In each of the above required courses provision is made for those + students whose organic condition may permanently disqualify them for + the regular scheduled work. This special work is under the immediate + direction of a medical member of the Staff. + + + 5. _Intermediate Physical Training._ + + This course is planned to supply the student with such organic + development and efficiency as will enable him to demonstrate + successfully as a teacher various type exercises for classes in + elementary and intermediate indoor and outdoor gymnastics, aquatics, + games, play and athletics. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 4. Three hours a week; counts 1/2. + + + 6. _Advanced Physical Training._ + + This course is a continuation of Course 5, and is designed for the + physical equipment of teachers of more advanced physical work. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 5. Three hours a week; counts 1/2. + + + 7. _Class Management._ + + This course supplies the practical instruction and experience needed + for the training of special teachers in the management of elementary + and intermediate classes in various forms of physical exercise. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 6 and 32. Fall term, three hours a week; counts 1. + + + 8. _Class Management._ + + This course is a continuation of Course 7. It is planned to give a + training in the management of more advanced classes. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 7. Spring term, three hours a week; counts 1. + + + 9. _Control of Emergencies and First Aid to the Injured._ + + This course supplies instruction concerning the management and + protective care of common emergencies. The instruction is practical + and rational. It covers such emergencies as: sprains, fractures, + dislocations, wounds, bruises, sudden pain, fainting, epileptic + attacks, unconsciousness, drowning, electric shock, and so on. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 32. Fall term, two hours a week; counts 1. + + + 10. _Theory and Practice of Individual Instruction in Hygiene and + in Departmental Sanitation._ + + Students taking this subject will be given practical first hand + experience of special use to teachers; (a) in connection with health + examination, inspection, conference, consultation, and follow up + service carried on in the departmental examining room; and (b) in + connection with the sanitary supervision carried on by the department. + + Prerequisites or Co-requisites: Hygiene 32, 41 and 48. Spring term, + six hours a week in two periods of three hours each; counts 2. + + + DIVISION OF PHYSIOLOGY + + 32. _Elements of Physiology._ + + This subject deals with the general concepts of the science of + physiology, the chemical and physical conditions which underlie and + determine the action of the individual organs, and the integrative + relationship of the parts of the body. + + One lecture, one recitation and two laboratory hours a week; counts 3. + + 33. _Special Physiology._ + + A study of the fundamental facts of physiology and methods of + investigation. The aim is to give a complete study of certain topics: + the phenomena of contraction, conduction, sense perception and the + various mechanisms of general metabolism. Laboratory work is arranged + to show the methods of physiologic experimentation and to emphasize + the necessity of using care and accuracy in their application. + + Spring term, two lectures and three laboratory hours a week; counts 3. + + 34. _Physiology of Nutrition._ + + The aim of this subject is to study broadly the metabolism of the + human body. In the development of this plan the following topics will + be considered: the food requirements of man, the nutritive history of + the physiologic ingredients, the principles of dietetics and their + application to daily living. + + Fall term, two lectures and three laboratory hours a week; counts 3. + + + DIVISION OF BACTERIOLOGY + + 41. _General Bacteriology._ + + Lectures, recitations and laboratory work introducing the student to + the technique of bacteriology and to the more important facts about + the structure and function of bacteria. Special applications of + bacteriology to agriculture and the industries are discussed, and + brief references are made to the activities of allied microbes, the + yeasts and molds. The general relations of bacteria to disease and the + principles of immunity and its control are included. + + One lecture, one recitation and four laboratory hours a week; counts 3. + + 42. _Bacteriology of Foods._ + + This includes the bacteriologic examination of water, sewage, air, + milk, the various food products together with the methods used in the + standardization of disinfectants, a detailed study of yeast and + bacterial fermentation and their application to the industries. + Numerous trips to industrial plants will be made. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 41. + + Fall term, one lecture and six laboratory hours a week; counts 3. + + 43. _Bacteriology of Pathogenic Micro-organisms._ + + This subject is devoted to the laboratory methods of biology as + applied in the state and municipal boards of health. Practice will be + given in the methods used for the diagnosis of diphtheria, + tuberculosis, malaria, rabies, and other diseases caused by + micro-organisms, together with a detailed study of the groups to which + they belong. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 41. + + Spring term, one lecture and six laboratory hours a week; counts 3. + + 44. _Potable and Industrial Water._ + + Very few industries are independent of a water supply. No one is + independent of the source of his drinking water. Water varies in its + usefulness for definite purposes. + + This subject differentiates between various waters, takes them up from + industrial and hygienic standpoints, considers softening, filtering, + purifying and water analysis. + + Work is divided into three groups. + + A. Industrial Water ) + } given in the Chemistry Department. + B. Potable Water ) + + C. Water Bacteriology ) + } given in the Department of Hygiene. + (microscopy of water) ) + + Municipal students may elect any or all of the three groups. + + Prerequisite: Chemistry 4 and Hygiene 41. Chemistry 9 is desirable. + + Spring term, seven hours a week; counts 3. + + 48. _Municipal Sanitation._ + + Lectures, discussions and visits to public works of special + importance. The principles which underlie a pure water supply and the + means by which the wastes of the city, its sewage and garbage may be + successfully disposed of, and the problems of pure milk and pure food + supplies, the housing question with its special phase of ventilation + and plumbing, and the methods by which a municipal board of health is + organized to fight tuberculosis and other specific diseases will be + studied. + + Fall term, two lectures and one field trip a week; counts 3. + + 49. _Municipal Sanitary Inspection._ + + _Professor B---- and Bureau of Foods and Drugs, New York City + Department of Health._ + + The seminar work of this subject is done in the College and the field + work in company with and under the direct supervision of an Inspector + of the Department of Health of the City. The subject is limited to six + students each semester, and is intended for those planning to go into + this branch of the City's service. The qualifications will be based + upon individuality, personality playing an important part. + + Prerequisite: Hygiene 41 and 48 and Chemistry 19. + + Spring term, two seminar hours, one recitation and one inspection tour + a week; counts 3. + + 50. _Research._ + + Seniors who have completed satisfactorily a sufficient amount of work + in the Department may be assigned some topic to serve as a basis for a + thesis which will be submitted as credit for the work at its + completion. The student will receive the advice of the instructor in + the subject in which the research falls, but as much independent work + as possible will be insisted upon. The purpose is to introduce the + student into research methods, and also to foster independence. + + + DIVISION OF HEALTH EXAMINATION + + I. _Individual Instruction in Hygiene._ + + This instruction is of a personal confidential character, and + is given in the form of advice based upon medical history supplied + by the individual, and upon medical and hygienic examinations + and inspections of the individual. + + (_a_) Medical and hygienic history and examination. + + In this relationship with the student the Department attempts to secure + such information concerning environmental and habit influences in the + life of the student as may be used as a basis for supplying him with + helpful advice concerning the organization of his policy of personal + health control. The medical examinations are utilized for the purpose of + finding remediable physical defects whose proper treatment may be added + to the physiological efficiency and therefore to the health + possibilities of the student. + + Prescribed: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior and special students. + Once each term. No credits. + + (_b_) Hygiene inspections. + + These inspections are applied in the mutual interest of personal, + departmental and institutional hygiene. + + Prescribed: freshman and sophomore. + + (_c_) Conferences. + + All students who have been given personal hygienic or medical advice are + required to report in conference by appointment in order that the advice + may be followed up. + + All individuals found with communicable diseases are debarred from all + classes until it is shown in conference that they are receiving proper + medical treatment, and that they may return to class attendance with + safety to their comrades. + + All individuals found with remediable physical or hygienic defects are + required to report in conference with evidence that the abnormal + condition has been brought to the serious attention of the parent, + guardian or family medical or hygienic adviser. Students failing to + report as directed may be denied admission to all classes. + + II. _Medical and Sanitary Supervision._ + + (_a_) Sanitary supervision. + + An "Advisory Committee on Hygiene and Sanitation" with the Professor of + Hygiene as Chairman, has been appointed by the President. This committee + has been instructed to "inquire from time to time into all our + institutional influences which are likely to affect the health of the + student and instructor, and to make such reports with recommendations to + the President as may seem wise and expedient." + + (_b_) A medical examination is required of all applicants for admission + to the College. Approval of the Medical Examiner must be secured before + registration is permitted. + + (_c_) Medical consultation. + + Open to all students. (Optional.) + + (_d_) Medical examination of Athletes. + + Required of all students before admission to athletic training and + repeated at intervals during the training season. + + (_e_) Treatment. + + Emergency treatment is the only treatment attempted by the Department. + Such treatment will be applied only for the purpose of protecting the + individual until he can secure the services he selects for that purpose. + + (_f_) Conferences. + + (See "c" under I.) + + (_g_) Laboratory: The Department Laboratories are equipped for + bacteriological and other analyses. The water in the swimming pool is + examined daily. The laboratory service is utilized to identify disease + carriers, and in every other reasonable way to assist in the protection + of student health. + + + DIVISION OF RECREATIONAL INSTRUCTION + + Liberal provision is made by the College for voluntary recreational + activities indoors and outdoors during six days of the week and + throughout vacation periods. Emphasis is laid on recreation as a + health habit and a means of social training. + + + DIVISION OF ATHLETICS + + (1) _Athletic Supervision._ + + Three organizations are concerned: + + (_a_) The Faculty Athletic Committee, which has to do with all + athletic activities that involve academic relationships. + + (_b_) The Athletic Council, a committee of the Department of Hygiene, + charged with the supervision of all business activities connected with + student athletic enterprises. + + (_c_) The Athletic Association of the Student Body. + + + (2) _Athletic Instruction._ + + The Department utilizes various intramural and extramural athletic + activities for the purpose of securing a further influence on the + promotion of health habits, the development of physical power, and the + establishment and maintenance of high standards of sportsmanly conduct + on part of the individual and the group. + + At present the schedule includes the following sports: baseball, + basket ball, track and field, swimming and water polo, tennis, soccer + foot ball, and hand ball. + + THOMAS ANDREW STOREY, M.D. + _College of the City of New York_ + + +[It was hoped that it would be possible to include with Professor +Storey's chapter a number of forms and photographs calculated to serve +as aids in the organization and conduct of a College Department of +Hygiene. As Professor Storey's work is very distinctive, other +institutions which are striving to organize effective departments of +physical education would have found his experiences as graphically +depicted in these photographs and summed up in these charts extremely +helpful. Unfortunately it has proved impossible to print them here on +account of limitations of space, but all who are interested in +securing further information can obtain these valuable guides in the +introductory stages of the inauguration of a Department of Hygiene by +applying to the College of the City of New York. EDITOR.] + + +Footnotes: + +[12] The construction of this chapter on the teaching of physical +training is based very largely upon the experiences and organization +of the Department of Hygiene in the College of the City of New York. + +[13] This precollegiate instruction is, unfortunately, uniformly poor +in so far as it relates to health. + +[14] The present enrollment in these classes, February, 1919, is +approximately 1500. + + + + + PART THREE + + THE SOCIAL SCIENCES + + CHAPTER + + X THE TEACHING OF ECONOMICS + _Frank A. Fetter_ + + XI THE TEACHING OF SOCIOLOGY + _A. J. Todd_ + + XII THE TEACHING OF HISTORY + A. AMERICAN HISTORY + _H. W. Elson_ + + B. MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY + _Edward Krehbiel_ + + XIII THE TEACHING OF POLITICAL SCIENCE + _Charles Grove Haines_ + + XIV THE TEACHING OF PHILOSOPHY + _Frank Thilly_ + + XV THE TEACHING OF ETHICS + _Henry Neumann_ + + XVI THE TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY + _Robert S. Woodworth_ + + XVII THE TEACHING OF EDUCATION + A. TEACHING THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION + _Herman H. Horne_ + + B. TEACHING EDUCATIONAL THEORY + _Frederick E. Bolton_ + + + + +X + +THE TEACHING OF ECONOMICS + + +=Conception and aims of economics= + +Even though economics be so defined as to exclude a large part of the +field of the social sciences, its scope is still very broad. Economics +is less homogeneous in its content, is far less clearly defined, than +is any one of the natural sciences. A very general definition of +economics is: The study of men engaged in making a living. More fully +expressed, economics is a study of men exercising their own powers and +making use of their environment for the purposes of existence, of +welfare, and of enjoyment. Within such a broad definition of economics +is found room for various narrower conceptions. To mention only the +more important of these we may distinguish individual economics, +domestic economics, business economics, governmental economics (public +finance), and political (or national) economics. Any one of these +subjects may be approached and treated primarily either with regard to +its more immediate financial, material, acquisitive aspects, or to its +more far-reaching social, psychical, and welfare aspects. These +various ideas appear and reappear most confusingly in economic +literature. + +The aims that different students and teachers have in the pursuit of +economics are as varied as are the conceptions of its nature. The +teaching aims are, indeed, largely determined by those conceptions. +Moreover, the teaching aims are modified by still other conditions, +such as the environment of the college and its constituency, and such +as the temperament, business experience, and scholarly training of the +teacher. We may distinguish broadly three aims: the vocational, the +civic, and the cultural. + +_The vocational aim_ is the most elementary and most usual. Xenophon's +treatise on domestic "economy" was the nucleus from which have grown +all the systematic formulations of economic principles. Vocational +economics is the economics of the craftsman and of the shop. Every +practical craft and art has its economic aspect, which concerns the +right and best use of labor and valuable materials to attain a certain +artistic, mechanical, or other technical end in its particular field. +Economics is not mere technology, which has to do with the mastery of +materials and forces to attain any material end. Vocational economics, +however, modifies and determines technical practice, which, in the +last analysis, is subject to the economic rule. The economic engineer +should construct not the best bridge that is possible, mechanically +considered, but the best possible or advisable for the purpose and +with the means at hand. The economic agriculturist should not produce +the largest crop possible, but the crop that gives the largest +additional value. The rapidly growing recognition of the importance, +in all technical training, of cultivating the ability to take the +economic view has led to the development of household economics in +connection with the teaching of cooking, sewing, decorating, etc.; of +the economics of farm management to supplement the older technical +courses in natural science, crops, and animal husbandry; of the +economics of factory management in connection with mechanical +engineering; of the economics of railway location in connection with +certain phases of civil engineering; and many more such special +groupings and formulations of economic principles with reference to +particular vocations and industries. + +The ancient and the medieval crafts and mysteries undoubtedly had +embodied in their maxims, proverbs, traditional methods, and +teachings, many economic principles suitable to their comparatively +simple and unchanging conditions. The rapid changes that have +occurred, especially in the last half century, in the natural sciences +and in the practical arts have rendered useless much of this wisdom of +the fathers. Recently there has been a belated and sudden awakening to +the need of studying, consciously and systematically, the economic +aspects of the new dynamic forces and industrial conditions. Hence +the almost dramatic appearance of vocational, or technical, economics +under such names as "scientific management" and the "economics of +engineering." Viewed in this perspective such a development appears to +be commendable and valuable in its main purpose. Unfortunately, some, +if not all, of the adherents of this new cult of "economy" and +"efficiency" fail to appreciate how very restricted and special it is, +compared with the whole broad economic field. + +_The civic aim_ in teaching economics is to fit the student to perform +the duties of a citizen. We need not attempt to prove here that a +large proportion of public questions are economic in nature, and that +in a democracy a wise decision on these questions ultimately depends +on an intelligent public opinion and not merely on the knowledge +possessed by a small group of specialists. + +The civic conception of economics, seen from one point of view, shows +little in common with the vocational conception. Yet from another +point of view it may be looked upon as the vocational conception "writ +large" and is the art of training men to be citizens in a republic. +Good citizenship involves an attitude of interest, a capacity to form +judgments on public economic issues, and, if need be, to perform +efficiently public functions of a legislative, executive or judicial +nature. The state-supported colleges usually now recognize very +directly their obligation to provide economic training with the civic +aim, and, in some cases, even to require it as a part of the work for +a college degree. Often also is found the thought that it is the duty +of the student while obtaining an education at public expense, to take +a minimum of economics with the civic aim even if he regards it as in +no way to his individual advantage or if it has in his case no direct +vocational bearings. In the privately endowed institutions this policy +may be less clearly formulated, but it is hardly less actively +practiced. Indeed, the privately endowed institutions have been +recognizing more and more fully their fiduciary and public nature. +Their public character is involved in their charters, in their +endowments, in their exemption from taxation, and in their essential +educational functions. The proudest pages in their history are those +recording their services to the state.[15] + +=Evaluations of aims of teaching economics in college= + +_The cultural aim_ in economics is to enable the student to comprehend +the industrial world about him. It aims to liberate the mind from +ignorance and prejudice, giving him insight into, and appreciation of, +the industrial world in which he lives. In this aspect it is a liberal +study. Economics produces in some measure this cultural result, even +when it is studied primarily with the vocational or with the civic +aim. But in vocational economics the choice of materials and the mode +of treatment are deliberately restricted by the immediate utilitarian +purposes; and in economic teaching with a civic purpose there is the +continual temptation to arouse the sympathies for an immediate social +program and to take a view limited by the contemporary popular +interest in specific proposals for reform. Economics at its highest +level is the search for truth. It has its place in any system of +higher education as has pure natural science, apart from any immediate +or so far as we may know, any possible, utilitarian application. It is +a disinterested philosophy of the industrial world. Though it may not +demonstrably be a _means_ to other useful things, it is itself a +worthy _end_. It helps to enrich the community with the immaterial +goods of the spirit, and it yields the psychic income of dignity and +joy in the individual and national life. And as a final appeal to any +doubting Philistine it may be said that just as the cult of pure +science is necessary to the continual and most effective progress in +the practical arts, so the study of economics on the philosophical +plane surely is necessary to the highest and most lasting results in +the application of economics to the arts and to civic life. + +The differences in aims set forth in this paragraph result in much of +the futile discussion in recent years regarding methods of teaching. +Enthusiastic innovators have debated at cross purposes about teaching +methods as if they were to be measured by some absolute standard of +pedagogic values, not recognizing that the chief differences of views +as to teaching methods were rooted in the differing aims. This truth +will reappear at many points in the following discussion. "What will +you have," quoth the Gods, "pay the price and take it." + +=Place of economics in the college curriculum= + +The place assigned to economics in the college curriculum in respect +to the year in which the student is admitted to its study is very +different in various colleges. In the last investigation of the +subject it appeared that the first economics course might be taken +first + in the freshman year in 14 per cent of cases, + in the sophomore year in 31 per cent of cases, + in the junior year in 42 per cent of cases, + in the senior year in 13 per cent of cases.[16] +Among those institutions giving an economic course in the freshman +year are some small and some large institutions (some of the latter +being Stanford, New York University, Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr, and the +state universities of California, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, +Colorado, Utah). Frequently the elementary course given to freshmen is +in matter and method historical and descriptive, rather than +theoretical, and is planned to precede a more rigid course in the +principles.[17] + +The plan of beginning economics in the sophomore year is the mode +among the state universities and larger colleges, including nearly all +of the larger institutions that do not begin the subject in the +freshman year. This group includes Yale, Hopkins, Chicago, +Northwestern, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Vassar, and (after 1919) +Princeton. + +The group of institutions beginning economics in the junior year is +the largest, but consists mostly of small colleges having some +advanced economics courses, but no more than can be given in the +senior year. It contains, besides, a few colleges of arts which +maintain a more strictly prescribed curriculum for underclassmen +(freshmen and sophomores), such as Dartmouth, Columbia, Smith, and +Simmons. It should be observed also that in a great many institutions, +where economics may be taken by some students in the first two years, +it is in fact scheduled as late as junior or senior year in the +prescribed courses of students in special departments such as +agriculture, engineering, and law. This statement applies doubtless to +many thousands of technical students.[18] + +In view of these divergencies in practice we must hesitate to declare +that the subject should be begun at precisely this or that point in +the college course. These differences, to be sure, are in many cases +the result of accidental factors in the college curriculum, and often +have been determined by illogical departmental rivalries within the +faculty rather than by wise and disinterested educators studying the +merits of the case. But in large part these differences are the +expression of different purposes and practical needs in planning a +college curriculum, and are neither quite indefensible nor necessarily +contradictory in pedagogic theory. In the small college with a nearly +uniform curriculum and with limited means, a general course is perhaps +best planned for the senior year, or in the junior year if there is an +opportunity given to the student to do some more advanced work the +year following. At the other extreme are some larger institutions in +which the pressure of new subjects within the arts curriculum has +shattered the fixed curriculum into fragments. This has made possible +specialization along any one of a number of lines. Where this idea is +carried out to the full, every general group of subjects eventually +must make good its claim to a place in the freshman year for its +fundamental course. But inasmuch as, in most institutions, the +freshman year is still withheld from this free elective plan by the +requirement of a small group of general subjects, economics is first +open to students in the sophomore year. The license of the elective +system is of course much moderated by the requirement to elect a +department, usually at the beginning either of the sophomore or of the +junior year, and within each department both a more or less definite +sequence of courses and a group of collateral requirements are usually +enforced. Where resources are very limited it is probably best to give +the economics course in the last two years, but where several more +specialized courses in economics are given, it should be introduced as +early as the sophomore year. If a freshman course in the subject is +given it should be historical, descriptive, or methodical (e.g., +statistical methods, graphics, etc.) rather than theoretical. The +experience (or lack of experience) and knowledge of the industrial +world, past and present, possessed by the average American college +student is such that courses of that kind meet a great need.[19] + +=Time to be given to economics in a college curriculum= + +Teachers of economics today are doubtless attempting the impossible in +compressing the present "general course" into three hours for two +semesters. No other department of a university attempts to treat in +such a brief time so broad a subject, including both principles and +applications. Such a course was quite long enough in the days when all +economic instruction was given by gray-haired theologians, philosophers, +mathematicians, and linguists, dogmatically expounding the _pons asinorum_ +of economics, and quizzing from a dusty textbook of foreign authorship. +But now the growing and vigorous tribe of specialized economic teachers is +bursting with information and illustrations. Moreover, the range of +economic topics and of economic interests has expanded wonderfully. + +The resulting overcrowded condition of the general course is possibly +the main cause of the difficulties increasingly felt by teachers in +handling that course satisfactorily. As a part of a general college +curriculum "general economics" cannot be satisfactorily treated in +less than three hours a week for two years. The additional time should +not be spent in narrow specialization but rather in getting a broader +understanding of the subject through economic history and geography, +through observation and description of actual conditions, through a +greater use of problems and examples, and through more detailed, less +superficial study of the fundamental principles. As a part of sixteen +years of the whole educational scheme from primary grade to college +diploma such a course would claim but 2-1/2 per cent of the student's +whole time, while the subjects of English, mathematics, and foreign +linguistics each gets about 20 per cent, in the case even of students +who do not specialize in one of these branches. + +Of the replies[20] from nearly three hundred colleges to the question +whether economics was required for graduation, about 55 per cent were in +the affirmative. Unfortunately the question was ambiguous, and the +replies apparently were understood to mean generally that it was +required in one or more curricula, not of all graduates (though in some +cases the question was probably taken in the other sense). It is +noteworthy that more frequently economics is required in the smaller +colleges having but one curriculum, that of liberal studies. In the +larger institutions economics is usually not required of students in the +humanities, although of late it has increasingly been made a part of the +technical college curricula, especially in engineering and +agriculture.[21] So we are in a fair way to arrive at the situation +where no student except in those "liberal" arts courses can get a +college diploma without studying economics; only in a modern course in +the humanities may the study of human society be left out. + +The economists have not been active in urging their subject as a +requirement. The call for increasing requirements in economics has +come from the public and from the alumni. The steady increase in the +number of students electing economic courses without corresponding +additions to the teaching forces has made the overworked professors of +the subject thankful when nothing more was done to increase by faculty +requirements the burden of their class work. It is charged and it is +admitted in some institutions that the standards of marking are +purposely made more severe in the economics courses than in courses in +most other subjects. The purpose avowed is "to cut out the dead +timber," so that only the better students will be eligible for +enrollment in the advanced economics courses. An unfortunate result is +to discourage some excellent students, ambitious for high marks or +honors, from electing courses in economics because thereby their +average grades would be reduced. In many cases, for this reason, good +students take the subject optionally (without credit), though doing +full work in it. + +=Organization of the subject in the college curriculum= + +We have already, in discussing the place of economics, necessarily +touched upon the organization of the courses. In most colleges this +organization is very simple. The whole economic curriculum consists of +the "general" course, or at most of that plus one or more somewhat +specialized courses given the next year. The most usual year of +advanced work consists of one semester each of money and banking and +of public finance. A not unusual plan, well suited to the situation +in a small college where economics takes the full time of one teacher, +is to give the general course in the sophomore year, and to offer a +two-year cycle of advanced work, the two courses being given in +alternate years, the class consisting of juniors and seniors. In this +plan the additional courses may be in transportation, in labor +problems, in trusts and corporations, and frequently of late, in +accounting. Ordinarily the "general" course itself involves a logical +sequence, the first term dealing with fundamental concepts and +theories, and the second term covering in a rapid survey a pretty wide +range of special problems. The majority of the students take only the +general course. Those who go on to more advanced courses retrace the +next year some of the ground of the second semester's work, but this +is probably for few of them a loss of time. Indeed, in such a subject +as economics this opportunity to let first teachings "sink in," and +strange concepts become familiar, is for most students of great value. +Yet the plan was adopted and is followed as a compromise, using one +course as a ready-made fit for the differing needs of two groups of +students. We have seen above (page 221) that preceding the general, or +systematic, course, there is in a number of colleges a simpler one. In +some cases[22] the experiment has been undertaken of studying first +for a time certain broad institutional features of our existing +society, such as property, the wage system, competition, and the +amount and distribution of wealth. The need of such a course is said +to be especially great in the women's colleges. If so, it is truly +urgent, for most young men come to college with very meager experience +in economic lines. Few, if any, teachers would deny that such an +introductory course preceding the principles is distinctly of +advantage.[23] Some would favor it even at the price of shortening +materially the more general course. But most teachers would agree that +together the introductory course and the general course should take +two full years (three hours a week, twelve college credit hours, as +usually reckoned), an amount of time which cannot be given by the +"floater" electing economics. And to accommodate both those who have +had the introductory course and those who have not, the general course +would have to be given in two divisions and in two ways. Again we come +to the thought, suggested above, that probably we are attempting too +much in too brief a time in the general course today. A longer time +for the study would permit of a sequence that would be more logically +defensible. It would begin with historical and descriptive studies, +both because they are fundamentally necessary and because, being of +more concrete nature, they may be given in a form easier for the +beginner to get. In this period a good deal of the terminology can be +gradually familiarized. Then should come the more elementary +analytical studies and fundamental principles, followed by a +discussion of a number of practical problems. In conclusion should +come a more systematic survey of general principles, of which most +students now get but a superficial idea. The work in the specialized +elective courses would then be built upon much firmer foundation than +is the case at present. + +=Methods of teaching= + +The main methods that have been developed and tested in the teaching +of undergraduate classes in economics may be designated as the lecture +method, the textbook method, the problem method. Any one of these may +be used well-nigh exclusively, or, as is more usual, two or more may +be combined in varying proportions; e.g., lectures with +"supplementary" (or "collateral") readings, with or without an +occasional meeting in a quiz section. Along with these main methods +often are used such supplementary methods as topical reports requiring +individual library work; laboratory exercises, as in statistics, +accounting, etc.; individual field work to study some industrial +problem; and visits, as a class, and with guidance, to factories and +industrial enterprises. + +The choice of these particular methods of teaching is, however, +largely conditioned by the teacher's antecedent choice between the +deductive or the inductive forms of presentation. This is an old +controversy ever recurring. But it should be observed that the +question here is not whether induction or deduction is a greater aid +in arriving at new truth, but it is whether the inductive or the +deductive process is the better for the imparting of instruction to +beginners. In teaching mathematics, the most deductive of the +sciences, use may be made of such inductive aids as object lessons, +physical models, and practical problems; and _per contra_, in the +natural sciences, where induction is the chief instrument of research, +elementary instruction is largely given in a deductive manner by the +statement of general propositions, the workings of which are then +exemplified. The decision of the question which is the better of these +two pedagogic methods in a particular case, depends (_a_) partly on +the average maturity and experience of the class; (_b_) partly on the +mental quality of the students; and (_c_) partly on the interest and +qualifications of the teacher. + +(_a_) The choice of the best method of teaching is of course dependent +on the same factors that have been shown above to affect the nature +and sequence of the courses. The simpler method leading to more +limited results is more suitable for the less mature classes; but the +scientific stage in the treatment of any subject is not reached until +general principles are discussed. If one is content with a vocational +result in economic teaching, stopping short of the theoretical, +philosophic outlook, more can be accomplished in a short time by the +concrete method. But such teaching would seem to belong in a trade +school rather than in a college of higher studies, and in any case +should be given by a vocational teacher rather than by a specialist in +social, or political, economy. + +=Various methods evaluated= + +(_b_) Every college class presents a gradation of minds capable +(whether from nature or training) of attaining different states of +comprehension. Of students in the lower half of the classes in +American colleges, it may be said broadly that they never can or will +develop the capacity of thinking abstractly and that the concrete +method of teaching would give better results in their cases. Therefore +the teacher attempts to compromise, to adopt a method that fits the +"mode," the middle third of the class, wasting much of the time of the +brighter (or of the more earnest) students, and letting those in the +lowest third trail along as best they can. This difficulty may be met +with some success where there are several sections of a class by +grouping the men in accordance with their previous scholarship +records. This grouping is beneficial alike to those lower and to those +higher than the average in scholarship. + +(_c_) Quite as important in this connection as this subjective quality +of the students, is the characteristic quality of the teacher. A +particular teacher will succeed better or worse with any particular +method according as it fits his aim and is in accord with his +endowment and training. If he is himself of the "hard-headed" +unimaginative or unphilosophic type, he will of course deem effort +wasted that goes beyond concrete facts. He will give little place to +the larger aspects and principles of "political" economy, but will +deal exhaustively with the details of commercial economy. If the +teacher is civic-minded and sympathetic, he will be impelled to trace +economic forces, in their actions and interactions, far beyond the +particular enterprise, to show how the welfare of others is affected. +To do this rightly, knowledge of the conditions must be combined with +a deeper theoretical insight; but the civic aim operates selectively +to limit the choice of materials and analysis to those contemporary +issues that appeal at the time to the textbook writer, to the teacher, +or to the public. Still different is the case of the teacher who finds +his greatest joy in the theoretical aspects of economics, possesses a +clean-cut economic philosophy (even though it may not be ultimate +truth), and has faith in economics as a disciplinary subject. Such a +teacher will (other things being equal) have, relatively, his greatest +success with the students of greatest ability; he will get better +results in teaching the "principles" than in teaching historical and +descriptive facts. None will deny that this type of education has an +important place. Even in the more descriptive courses appeal should be +made to the higher intellectual qualities of the class, leaving a +lasting disciplinary result rather than a memory stored with merely +ephemeral and mostly insignificant information. + +The teacher with colorless personality and without interest in, and +knowledge of, the world of reality, will fail, whatever be the purpose +of his teaching. The higher the teacher's aim, the farther may he fall +below its attainment. A college teacher whose message is delivered on +the mental level of grammar school children should, of course, score a +pretty high percentage of success in giving a passing mark to +sophomores, juniors, and seniors in American colleges. But is this +really a success, or is it rather not evidence of a failure in the +whole school curriculum, and of woful waste in our system of so-called +"higher" education? Are colleges for the training of merely mediocre +minds? + +=Aim and attitude more fundamental than method of instruction= + +These questions of aim and of attitude are more fundamental than is +the question of the particular device of instruction to be used, as +lecture, textbook, etc. Yet the latter question is not without its +importance. In general it appears that practice has moved and still +moves in a cycle. In the American college world as a whole each +particular college repeats some or all of the typical phases with the +growth of its economic department. + +(1) First is the textbook, with recitations in small classes. (2) +Next, the lecture gradually takes a larger place as the classes grow, +until, supplemented by required readings, it becomes the main tool of +instruction, this being the cheapest and easiest way to take care of +the rapidly growing enrollment. (3) Then, when this proves +unsatisfactory, the lectures are perhaps cut down to two a week, and +the class is divided into quiz sections for one meeting a week under +assistants or instructors, the lecture still being the main center of +the scheme of teaching. (4) This still being unsatisfactory (partly +because it lacks oversight of the students' daily work, and partly +because the lecture is unsuited to the development of general +principles that require careful and repeated study for their mastery), +a textbook is made the basis of section meetings, held usually twice a +week, and the lectures are reduced to one a week, given to the +combined class, and so changed in character as to be merely +supplementary to the class work. The lectures are given either in +close connection week by week with the class work or bearing only a +general relation with the term's work as a whole. This may be deemed +the prevailing mode today in institutions where the introductory +course has a large enrollment.[24] (5) Another change completes the +cycle; the lecture is dropped and the class is divided, each section, +consisting of twenty to thirty students, meeting with the same teacher +regularly for class work. This change was made after mature +consideration in "the College" in Columbia University; is in operation +in Chicago University, where the meetings are held five times a week; +and has been adopted more recently still in New York University. There +have been for years evidences of the growing desire to abolish the +lecture from the introductory course and also to limit its use in some +of the special undergraduate courses. The preceptorial plan adopted in +1905 by Princeton University is the most notable instance of the +latter change.[25] Even in graduate teaching in economics there has +been a growing opinion and practice favorable to the "working" course +or "seminar" course to displace lecture courses.[26] Thus the lecture +seems likely to play a less prominent role, especially in the +introductory courses, but it is not likely to be displaced entirely in +the scheme of instruction. + +=Selection of a textbook= + +Numerous American textbooks on political economy (thirty, it is said) +have been published in the last quarter of a century, a fact which has +now and then been deplored by the pessimistic critic.[27] Few share +this opinion, however. The textbooks have, to be sure, often served, +not to unfold a consistent system of thought, but to reveal the lack +of one. But they have afforded to the teachers and students, in a +period of developing conceptions on the subjects, a wide choice of +treatment of the principles much more exactly worked out and carefully +expressed than is possible through the medium of lectures as recorded +in the students' hastily written notes. + +Questions, exercises, and test problems are widely used as supplementary +material for classroom discussion.[28] Separately printed collections of +such material date back at least to W. G. Sumner's _Problems in +Political Economy_ (1884), which in turn acknowledged indebtedness to +other personal sources and to Milnes' collection of two thousand +questions and problems from English examination papers. With somewhat +varying aims, further commented upon below, and in varying degrees, all +teachers of economics now make use of such questions in their teaching +of both general and special courses. Unquestionably there are, in the +use of the problem method, possibilities for good which few teachers +have fully realized.[29] + +The selection and arrangement of materials for supplementary readings +is guided by various motives, more or less intermingling. It may be +chiefly to parallel a systematic text by extracts taken largely from +the older "classics" of the subject (as in C. J. Bullock's _Selected +Readings in Economics_, 1907); or to provide additional concrete +material bearing mostly upon present economic problems (as in the +author's _Source Book in Economics_, 1912); or to supplement a set of +exercises and problems (as in F. M. Taylor's _Some Readings in +Economics_, 1907); or to constitute of itself an almost independent +textbook of extracts, carefully edited with original introductions to +chapters (as Marshall, Wright, and Field's _Materials for the Study of +Elementary Economics_, 1913, and W. H. Hamilton's _Readings in Current +Economic Problems_, 1914). + +Whatever be the particular tool of instruction, whether lecture, +textbook with classroom discussion, problem study, or collateral +readings, its use may be very different according as the teacher seeks +to develop the subject positively or negatively, to present a single +definite and (if he can) coherent body of doctrines, or a variety of +opinions that have been held, among which the student is encouraged to +choose. Evidently the conditions determining choice in the case of +advanced courses are different from those in the introductory course. +For the beginner time is required in order that economic principles +may sink in, and so he is bewildered if at first he is introduced to a +number of theories by different authors. Materials that supplement the +general course of principles should therefore be limited to subject +matter that is descriptive, concrete, and illustrative. The beginner, +somewhat dazed with the variety of new facts, ideas, terminology, and +problems in the field into which he has entered, needs guidance to +think clearly step by step about them.[30] Not until the pupil has +learned to see and apprehend the simpler economic phenomena near him +can he be expected to survey the broader fields and to form +independent judgments concerning complex situations. He must creep +before he can run. In fact, teachers are often self-deceived when they +imagine that they are leaving students to judge for themselves among +various opinions or to find their way inductively to their own +conclusions. The recitation, in truth, becomes the simple game of "hot +and cold." The teacher has in mind what he considers the right answer; +the groping student tries to guess it; and as he ventures this or that +inexpert or lucky opinion he is either gently chided or encouraged. +At length some bright pupil wins the game by agreeing with the +teacher's theretofore skilfully concealed opinion. This is called +teaching by the inductive method. + +Undoubtedly it is more desirable to develop in the student the ability +to think independently about economic questions than it is to drill +him into an acceptance of ready-made opinions on contemporary +practical issues. The more fundamental economic theory--the more +because its bearing on pecuniary and class interests is not close or +obvious--is an admirable organ for the development of the student's +power of reasoning. But to give the student this training it is not +necessary to keep him in the dark as to what he is to learn. The +Socratic method is still unexcelled in the discussion of a text and of +lectures in which propositions are clearly laid down and explained. +The theorem in geometry is first stated, and then the student is +conducted step by step through the reasoning leading to that +conclusion. Should not the student of economics have presented to him +in a similar way the idea or principle, and then be required to follow +the reasoning upon which it is based? Then, through questions and +problems,--the more the better, if time permits of their thorough +discussion and solution,--the student may be exercised in the +interpretation of the principles, and by illustrations drawn from +history and contemporary conditions may be shown the various +applications of the principle to practical problems. To get and hold +the student's _interest_, to fascinate him with the subject, is equal +in importance to the method, for without interest good results are +impossible.[31] + +=Tests or teaching results= + +It must be confessed that no exact objective measure of the efficiency +of teaching methods in economics has been found. At best we have +certain imperfect indices, among which are the formal examination, the +student's own opinion at the close of the course, and the student's +revised opinion after leaving college. + +The primary purpose of the traditional examination is not to test the +relative merits of the different methods of teaching, but to test the +relative merits of the various students in a class, whatever be the +method of teaching. Every teacher knows that high or low average marks +in an entire class are evidences rather of the standard that he is +setting than it is of the merits of his teaching methods,--though in +some cases he is able to compare the results obtained after using two +different methods of exposition for the same subject. But, as was +indicated above, such a difference may result from his own temperament +and may point only to the method that he can best use, not to the best +absolutely considered. Moreover, the teacher may make the average +marks high or low merely by varying the form and content of the +examination papers or the strictness of his markings. + +Each ideal and method of teaching has its corresponding type of +examination. Descriptive and concrete courses lend themselves +naturally to memory tests; theoretical courses lend themselves to +problems and reasoning. A high type of question is one whose proper +answer necessitates knowledge of the facts acquired in the course +together with an interpretation of the principles and their +application to new problems. Memory tests serve to mark off "the sheep +from the goats" as regards attention and faithful work; reasoning +tests serve to give a motive for disciplinary study and to measure its +results. It may perhaps seem easier to test the results of the +student's work in memory subjects; but even as to that we know that +there are various types of memory and how much less significant are +marks obtained by "the cramming process" than are equally good marks +obtained as a result of regular attention to daily tasks. + +The students' revised and matured judgment of the value of their +various college studies generally differ, often greatly, from their +judgments while taking or just after completing the courses. Yet even +years afterward can man judge rightly in his own case just what has +been the relative usefulness to him of the different elements of his +complex college training, or of the different methods employed?[32] +But the evidence that comes from the most successful alumni to the +college teacher in economics is increasingly to the effect that the +college work they have come to value most is that which "teaches the +student to think." Our judgments in this matter are influenced by the +larger educational philosophy that we hold. Each will have his +standard of spiritual values. + +=Moot questions in economics affecting the teaching of the subject= + +The moot questions in the teaching of the subject have, perhaps, been +sufficiently indicated, but we may here add a word as to the bearings +which certain moot questions in the theory of the subject may have on +the methods of teaching. The fundamental theory of economics has, +since the days of Adam Smith, been undergoing a process of continuous +transition, but the broader concepts never have been more in dispute +than in the last quarter century in America. The possibility of such +diversity of opinion in the fundamentals among the leading exponents +of the subject argues strongly that economics is still a philosophy--a +general attitude of mind and system of opinion--rather than a positive +science. At best it is a "becoming science" which never can cease +entirely to have a speculative, or philosophic character. This is not +the place to go into details of matters in controversy. Suffice it to +say that in rivalry to the older school--which is variously designated +Ricardian, Orthodox, English, or classical--newer ideas have been +developed, dating from the work of the Austrian economists, of Jevons, +and of J. B. Clark in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The +older school had sought the explanation of value and the theory of +distribution in objective factors,--partly in the chemical qualities +of the soil, partly in labor, partly in the costs (or outlays) of the +employing class. The psychological factor in value had been almost +eliminated from this older treatment of value and price, or at best +was imperfectly recognized under the name of "utility." The newer +school made the psychological element primary in the positive +treatment of economic principles, and launched a negative criticism +against the older terms and ideas that effectively exposed their +unsoundness considered separately and their inconsistency as a system +of economic thought. Both the negative criticisms and the proposed +amendments taken one by one gained wide acceptance among economists. +But when it came to embodying them in a general theory of economics, +many economists have balked.[33] Most of the American texts in +economics and much of our teaching show disastrous effects of this +confusion and irresolution. The newer concepts, guardedly admitted to +have some validity, appear again and again in the troubled discussions +of recent textbook writers, which usually end with a rejection, "on +the whole," of the logical implications of these newer concepts. Many +teachers thus have lost their grip on any coördinating theory of +distribution. They no longer have any general economic philosophy. The +old Ricardian cock-sureness had its pedagogic merits. Without faith, +teaching perishes. The complaints of growing difficulty in the +teaching of the introductory course seem to have come particularly +from teachers that are in this unhappy state of mind. They declare +that it is impossible longer to interest students successfully in a +general theoretical course, and they are experimenting with all kinds +of substitutes--de-nicotinized tobacco and Kaffee Hag--from which +poisonous theory has been extracted. At the same time, economics "with +a punch in it," economics "with a back bone," is being taught by +strong young teachers of the new faith more successfully, perhaps, +than economics has ever been taught in the past. This greater question +of the teacher's conception of economics dominates all the minor +questions of method. Economics cannot be taught as an integrated +course in principles by teachers without theoretical training and +conceptions; in such hands its treatment is best limited to the +descriptive phases of concrete special problems,--valuable, indeed, as +a background and basis, but never rising to the plane upon which alone +economics is fully worth the student's while as a college subject. + + FRANK ALBERT FETTER + _Princeton University_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +The literature on the teaching of economics in the secondary schools, +its need and its proper scope and method, is somewhat extensive. +Another goodly group of articles discusses the teaching of economic +history and of other social sciences related to economics, either in +high schools or colleges. A somewhat smaller group pertains to +graduate instruction in the universities. The following brief list of +titles, arranged chronologically, is most pertinent to our present +purpose: + +"The Relation of the Teaching of Economic History to the Teaching of +Political Economy" (pages 88-101), and "Methods of Teaching Economics" +(pages 105-111), _A. E. A. Economic Studies_, Vol. 3, 1898. + +Proceedings of a conference on the teaching of elementary economics, +_Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. 17, December, 1909. + +TAYLOR, F. M. "Methods of Teaching Elementary Economics," _Journal of +Political Economy_. Vol. 17, December, 1909, page 688. + +WOLFE, A. B. "Aim and Content of a College Course in Elementary +Economics," _Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. 17, December, 1909, +page 673. + +Symposium by Carver, Clark, Seager, Seligman, Nearing, _et al._, +_Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. 18, 1910. + +Report of the Committee on the Teaching of Economics, _Journal of +Political Economy_, Vol. 19, 1911, pages 760-789. + +ROBINSON, L. N. "The Seminar in the Colleges," _Journal of Political +Economy_, Vol. 21, 1913, page 643. + +WOLFE, A. B. "The Aim and Content of the Undergraduate Economics +Curriculum," _Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. 21, 1913, page 1. + +PERSONS, CHARLES E. "Teaching the Introductory Course in Economics," +_Quarterly Journal of Economics_, November, 1916. + + +Footnotes: + +[15] See article by Charles E. Persons, on Teaching the Introductory +Course in Economics, in _Quarterly Journal of Economics_ Vol. XXXI, +November, 1916, for a strong presentation of this civic ideal in +economic study. + +[16] Compiled by the writer from data in the report of the committee +appointed by the conference on the teaching of elementary economics, +1909; _Journal of Political Economy_, November, 1911, Vol. 19, pages +760-789. + +[17] See page 767 of the committee report cited above. + +[18] Evidently it is not possible to draw from these data any definite +conclusions as to the proportion of students beginning economics in +each of the four years respectively. But probably three-fourths of +all, possibly four-fifths, take the general course either in the +sophomore or the junior year. Most of the institutions giving +economics only in the senior year are small, with a very restricted +curriculum, often limited to one general course. But it is a widely +observed fact that many students in large institutions postpone the +election of the subject till their senior year. + +[19] Of this see further below, page 226. + +[20] Article cited, _Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. 19, page 768. + +[21] The society for the Promotion of Engineering Education has had a +standing committee on economics, since 1915. The first committee was +composed of three engineers (all of them consulting and in practice +and two of them also teachers) and the present writer. + +[22] In Amherst, as described in _Journal of Political Economy_ by +Professor W. H. Hamilton, on "The Amherst Program in Economics"; and +in Chicago University beginning in 1916. See also, by the same writer, +a paper on "The Institutional Approach to Economic Theory", in the +_American Economic Review_, Supplement, page 309, March, 1919. + +[23] At the meeting of the American Economic Association in 1897, at +which was discussed "The Relation of the Teaching of Economic History +to the Teaching of Political Economy," the opinion was expressed by +one teacher that economic history should follow the general course. +But all the others agreed that such a course should begin the +sequence, and this seems to be the almost invariable practice. See +_Economic Studies_, Volume III. pages 88-101, Publications of the +American Economic Association, 1898. + +[24] This plan has at various times been followed at Stanford, +Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton, to cite only a few of the numerous +examples. + +[25] In this plan the sections are small (three to seven students) and +the preceptor is expected to give much time to the personal +supervision of the student's reading, reports, and general +scholarship. The preceptorial work is rated at more than half of the +entire work of the term. The one great difficulty of the preceptorial +system is its cost. + +[26] A strong plea is made for the "retirement of the lectures" by C. +E. Persons, in the _Quarterly Journal of Economics_, Vol. XXXI, +"Teaching the Introductory Course in Economics," November, 1916, pages +96-98. + +[27] Professor J. H. Hollander, _American Economic Review_, Vol. VI, +No. 1, Supplement (March, 1916), page 135. See dissenting opinions in +the discussion that followed. + +[28] Professor C. E. Persons (art. cited page 86, November, 1916) +gives the titles of ten separate books or pamphlets of this kind; +since which date have appeared the author's "Manual of References and +Exercises," Parts I and II, to accompany _Economic Principles_, 1915, +and _Modern Economic Problems_, 1916, respectively. + +[29] Among those most elaborately developing this method has been +Professor F. M. Taylor of the University of Michigan. See his paper on +the subject and discussion in the _Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. +VII, pages 688-703 (December, 1909). Marshall, Wright, and Field +published the _Outline of Economics_, developed as a series of +problems in 1910, which they used for a time as the main tool of +instruction in the introductory course in Chicago University. + +[30] A thoughtful discussion of some phases of this problem is given +by Persons, art. cited, pages 98 ff., favoring the more positive +treatment with less distracting multiplicity of detail. + +[31] To a former student of mine and now a successful teacher, Dean J. +R. Turner of New York University, I am indebted for the suggestion of +the following practical rules, a few among many possible, which should +be helpful to younger teachers: + +(_a_) Keep the student expecting a surprise, afraid to relax attention +for fear of missing something. + +(_b_) By Socratic method lead him into error, then have him (under +cross fire and criticism of class) reason his way out. + +(_c_) Make fallacious argument, then call for criticism giving +distinction to him who renders best judgment. + +(_d_) Set tasks and have members of class compete in intellectual +contests. + +(_e_) Make sure that each principle learned is seen in its +relationship to practical affairs. + +(_f_) Enliven each dry principle with an anecdote or illustration to +elucidate it, for principles devoid of interesting features cannot +secure attention and so will not be remembered. + +(_g_) Accompany the discussion with charts and board work to visualize +facts and questions to stimulate thought. + +(_h_) Ask questions and so handle the class discussions that a few +will not do all the talking, that foreign subject matter is not +introduced, that a consistent and logical development of thought is +strictly adhered to. + +(_i_) The last few minutes of the period might well be devoted to the +assignment for the next meeting. The best manner of assignment must +depend upon the nature of task, the advancement of the student, the +purpose in view. + +[32] An interesting study made by the department of education of +Harvard University of the teaching methods and results in the +department of economics was referred to in President Lowell's report. +According to the answers of the alumni their work in economics is now +valued mainly for its civic and disciplinary results (these do not +seem to have been further distinguished). In the introductory course +reading was ranked first, class work next, and lectures least, in +value. In the advanced courses the lecture was ranked higher and class +work lower, but that may be because the lecture plays a more important +role there than in the lower classes. Answers regarding such matters +are at most significant as indicating the relative importance of the +various methods as they have actually been employed in the particular +institution, and have little validity in reference to the work and +methods of other teachers working under other conditions, and with +students having different life aims. + +[33] The typical attitude of many economists is expressed about as +follows: It is one thing to give assent to refinements when they are +used in the discussion of some single point of theory, and it is quite +another thing to accept them when one sees how, in their combined +effect, they would carry us away from "the old familiar moorings." + +Such a view, it need not be urged, reflects an unscientific state of +mind. The real cause of the rejection of the ideas probably is the +shrinking of over-busy men, in middle life, and absorbed in teaching +and in special problems, from the intellectual task of restudying the +fundamentals and revising many of their earlier formed opinions--to +say nothing of rewriting many of their old lectures and manuscripts. + + + + +XI + +THE TEACHING OF SOCIOLOGY + + +=Growth of sociology as a college subject= + +The teaching of sociology as a definite college subject in the United +States began at Yale nearly forty-five years ago. Since 1873 it has +been introduced into nearly 200 American colleges, universities, +normal schools, and seminaries. A study of this teaching in 1910 +revealed over 700 courses offered to over 8000 undergraduates and 1100 +graduate students. It is safe to assume a steady growth during the +last six years. Hence the problem of teaching is of no little concern +to sociologists. The American Sociological Society early recognized +this fact and in 1909 appointed a Committee of Ten to report on +certain aspects of the problem. But that all teachers of sociology +have not grasped the bearing of pedagogy upon their work is clear from +complaints still heard from students that sociology is vague, +indefinite, abstract, dull, or scattered. Not long ago some bright +members of a class were overheard declaring that their professor must +have been struck by a gust of wind which scattered his notes every day +before getting to his desk. + +=The pedagogy of sociology the pedagogy of all college subjects= + +Sociology is simply a way of looking at the same world of reality +which every other science looks at in its own way. It cannot therefore +depart far from the pedagogical principles tried out in teaching other +subjects. It must utilize the psychology of attention, interest, +drill, the problem method, procedure from the student's known to the +new, etc. The universal pitfalls have been charted for all teachers by +the educational psychologists. In addition, sociology may offer a few +on its own account, partly because it is new, partly because a general +agreement as to the content of fundamentals in sociology courses is +just beginning to make itself felt, partly because there is so far no +really good textbook available as a guide to the beginner. + +=Methods of teaching sociology determined by a complex of vital factors= + +Specific methods of teaching vary according to individual temperament, +the "set" of the teacher's mind; according to his bias of class, +birth, or training; according to whether he has been formed or +deformed by some strong personality whose disciple he has become; +according to whether he is a radical or a conservative; according to +whether he is the dreamy, idealistic type or whether he hankers after +concrete facts; according to whether sociology is a primary interest +or only an incidental, more or less unwelcome. + +Hence part of the difficulty, though by no means all, comes from the +fact that sociology is frequently expounded by men who have received +no specific training themselves in the subject, or who have had the +subject thrust upon them as a side issue. In this connection it is +interesting to note that in 1910 sociology was "given" in only 20 +cases by sociology departments, in 63 by combinations of economics, +history, and politics, in 11 by philosophy and psychology, in 2 by +economics and applied Christianity or theology, in 1 by practical +theology! + +=Guiding principles in the teaching of sociology--The teacher as keen +analyst, not revivalist= + +Whatever the path which led into the sociological field or whatever +the bias of temperament, experience justifies several preliminary +hints for successful teaching. First, avoid the voice, the yearning +manner, and the gesture of the preacher. Sociology needs the +cool-headed analyst rather than the social revivalist. Let the +sentimentalist and the muck-raker stay with their lecture circuits and +the newspapers. The student wants enthusiasm and inspiration rather +than sentimentality. + +=Avoiding the formal lecture= + +Second, renounce the lecture, particularly with young students. There +is no surer method of blighting the interest of students, of murdering +their minds, and of ossifying the instructor than to persist in the +pernicious habit of the formal lecture. Some men plead large classes +in excuse. If they were honest with themselves they would usually find +that they like large classes as a subtle sort of compliment to +themselves. Given the opportunity to break up a class of two hundred +into small discussion groups they would frequently refuse, on the +score that they would lose a fine opportunity to influence a large +group. Dodge it as you will, the lecture is and will continue to be an +unsatisfactory, even vicious, way of attempting to teach social +science. No reputable university tries to teach economics or politics +nowadays in huge lecture sections. Only an abnormal conceit or abysmal +poverty will prevent sociology departments from doing likewise. +Remember that education is always an exchange, never a free gift. + +=Adjusting instruction to the capacities of your students= + +Third, do not be afraid to utilize commonplace facts and +illustrations. A successful professor of sociology writes me that he +can remember that what are mere commonplaces now were revelations to +him at twenty-one. Two of the greatest teachers of the nineteenth +century, Faraday and Huxley, attributed their success to the simple +maxim, take nothing for granted. It is safe to assume that most +students come from homes where business and petty neighborhood doings +are the chief concern, and where a broad, well-informed outlook on +life is rare. Since so many of my colleagues insist that young Ph.D.'s +tend constantly to "shoot over the heads" of their students, the best +way of avoiding this particular pitfall seems to lie along the road of +simple, elementary, concrete fact. The discussion method in the +classroom will soon put the instructor right if he has gone to the +other extreme of depreciating his students through kindergarten +methods. Likewise he can guard against being oracular and pedantic by +letting out his superior stores of information through free discussion +in the Socratic fashion. Nothing is more important to good teaching +than the knack of apt illustration. While to a certain extent it can +be taught, just as the art of telling a humorous story or making a +presentation speech can be communicated by teachers of oral English, +yet in the long run it is rather a matter of spontaneous upwellings +from a well-stored mind. For example, suppose a class is studying the +factors of variation and selection in social evolution: the instructor +shows how Nature loves averages, not only by statistics and +experiments with the standard curve of distribution, but also, if he +is a really illuminated teacher, by reference, say, to the legend of +David and Goliath, the fairy tale of _Little One-Eye, Little Two-Eye, +Little Three-Eye_, and Lincoln's famous aphorism to the effect that +the Lord must love the common people because he made so many of them. +Sad experience advises that it is unsafe for an instructor any longer +to assume that college sophomores are familiar with the Old Testament, +classic myths, or Greek and Roman history. Hence he must beware of +using any recondite allusions or illustrations which themselves need +so much explanation that their bearing on the immediate problem in +hand is obscured. An illustration, like a funny story, loses its +pungency if it requires a scholium. + +=Pedagogical suggestions summarized= + +Fourth, adhere to what a friend calls the 16 to 1 basis--16 parts fact +and 1 part theory. Fifth, eschew the professor's chair. The blackboard +is the teacher's "next friend." Recent time-motion studies lead us to +believe that no man can use a blackboard efficiently unless he stands! +The most celebrated teaching in history was peripatetic. Sixth, +postpone the reconciling of discrepant social theorizings to the +tougher-hided seniors or graduate students, and stick to the +presentation of "accessible realities." Finally, an occasional +friendly meeting with students, say once or twice a semester at an +informal supper, will create an atmosphere of coöperative learning, +will break down the traditional barriers of hostility between master +and pupil, and may incidentally bring to the surface many useful hints +for the framing of discussion problems. + +=The course of study--(a) Determined by the maturity of the students= + +To a certain extent teaching methods are determined by the age of the +students. In 1910, of all the institutions reporting, 73 stated that +sociology instruction began in the junior year; 23 admitted +sophomores, 4 freshmen, 39 seniors. But the unmistakable drift is in +the direction of introducing sociology earlier in the college +curriculum, and even into secondary and elementary schools. Hence the +cautions voiced above tend to become all the more imperative. +Moreover, while in the past it has been possible to exact history, +economics, political science, philosophy, psychology, or education as +prerequisite to beginning work in sociology, in view of the downward +trend of sociology courses it becomes increasingly more difficult to +take things for granted in the student's preparation. Until the dream +of offering a semester or year of general social science to all +freshmen as the introduction to work in the specialized branches of +social science comes true, the sociologist must communicate to his +elementary classes a sense of the relations between his view of social +phenomena and the aspects of the same phenomena which the historian, +the economist, the political scientist, and the psychologist handle. + +=(b) Determined by its aims= + +Both the content and methods of sociological instruction are +determined also in part by what its purpose is conceived to be. A +study of the beginnings of teaching this subject in the United States +shows that it was prompted primarily by practical ends. For example, +the American Social Science Association proposal (1878), in so far as +it covered the field of sociology, included only courses on punishment +and reformation of criminals, public and private charities, and +prevention of vice. President White of Cornell in 1871 recommended a +course of practical instruction "calculated to fit young men to +discuss intelligently such important social questions as the best +methods of dealing practically with pauperism, intemperance, crime of +various degrees and among persons of different ages, insanity, idiocy, +and the like." Columbia University early announced that a university +situated in such a city, full of problems at a time when "industrial +and social progress is bringing the modern community face to face with +social questions of the greatest magnitude, the solution of which will +demand the best scientific study and the most honest practical +endeavor," must provide facilities for bringing university study into +connection with practical work. In 1901 definite practical courses +shared honors of first place with the elementary or general course in +college announcements. The situation was practically the same ten +years later. Still more recently Professor Blackmar, one of the +veterans in sociology teaching, worked out rather an elaborate program +of what he called a "reasonable department of sociology for colleges +and universities." In spite of the fact that theoretical, biological, +anthropological, and psychological aspects of the subject were +emphasized, his conclusion was that "the whole aim is to ground +sociology in general utility and social service. It is a preparation +for social efficiency." + +=(c) Determined by the social character of the community= + +The principle of adaptation to environment comes into play also in the +choice of teaching methods. An urban department can send its students +directly into the field for first-hand observation of industry, +housing, sanitation, congestion, playgrounds, immigration, etc., and +may encourage "supervised field work" as fulfilling course +requirements. But the country or small town department far removed +from large cities must emphasize rural social study, or get its urban +data second hand through print, charts, photographs, or lantern +slides. A semester excursion to the city or to some state charitable +institution adds such a touch of vividness to the routine class work. +But "slumming parties" are to be ruthlessly tabooed, particularly when +featured in the newspapers. Social science is not called upon to make +experimental guinea pigs of the poor simply because of their poverty +and inability to protect themselves. + +=The introductory course the vital point of contact between student and +the department= + +For many reasons the most serious problems of teaching sociology +center about the elementary or introductory course. Advanced +undergraduate and graduate courses usually stand or fall by the +inherent appeal of their content as organized by the peculiar genius +of the instructor. If the student has been able to weather the storms +of his "Introduction," he will usually have gained enough momentum to +carry him along even against the adverse winds of bad pedagogy in the +upper academic zones. Since the whole purpose of sociology is the very +practical one of giving the student mental tools with which to think +straight on societal problems (what Comte called the "social point of +view"), and since usually only a comparatively small number find it +possible to specialize in advanced courses, the introductory course +assumes what at first sight might seem a disproportionate importance. +Only one or two teachers of sociology, so far as I know, discount the +value of an elementary course. The rest are persuaded of its +fundamental importance, and many, therefore, consider it a breach of +trust to turn over this course to green, untried instructors. Partly +as a recruiting device for their advanced courses, partly from this +sense of duty, they undertake instruction of beginners. But it is +often impossible for the veteran to carry this elementary work: he +must commit it to younger men. For that reason the remainder of this +chapter will be given over to a discussion of teaching methods for +such an elementary course, with younger teachers in mind. + +=Teaching suggestions for the introductory course= + +First, two or three general hints. It is unwise, to say the least, to +attempt to cover the social universe in one course. Better a few +simple concepts, abundantly illustrated, organized clearly and +systematically. Perhaps it is dangerous to suggest a few recurrent +catch phrases to serve as guiding threads throughout the course, but +that was the secret of the old ballad and the folk tale. Homer and the +makers of fairy tales combined art and pedagogy in their use of +descriptive epithets. Such a phrase as Ward's "struggle for existence +is struggle for structure" might furnish the framework of a whole +course. "Like-mindedness," "interest-groups," "belief-groups," and +"folk-ways" are also convenient refrains. + +Nobody but a thoroughgoing pedant will drag his students through two +weeks' lectures and a hundred pages of text at the beginning of the +course in the effort to define sociology and chart all its affinities +and relations with every other science. Twenty minutes at the first +class meeting should suffice to develop an understanding of what the +scientific attitude is and a tentative definition of sociology. The +whole course is its real definition. At the end of the term the very +best way of indicating the relation of sociology to other sciences is +through suggestions about following up the leads obtained in the +course by work in biology, economics, psychology, and other fields. +This correlation of the student's program gives him an intimate sense +of the unity in diversity of the whole range of science. + +If the student is to avoid several weeks of floundering, he should be +led directly to observe societal relations in the making. This can +perhaps be accomplished best through assigning a series of four +problems at the first class meetings. + +Problem I: To show how each student spins a web of social +relationship. Let him take a sheet of paper, place a circle +representing himself in the middle of it, then add dots and connecting +lines for every individual or institution he forms a contact with +during the next two or three days. He will get a figure looking +something like this: + + [Illustration] + + +Problem II: To show how neighborhoods are socially bound up. Let the +student take a section, say two or three blocks square, in a district +he knows well, and map it,--showing all the contacts. Again he will +get a web somewhat like this: + + [Illustration] + +These diagrams are adapted from students' reports. If they seem +absurdly simple, it is well to remember that experience reveals the +student's amazing lack of ability to vizualize social relationships +without some such device. These diagrams, however, should serve merely +as the point of departure. Add to them charts showing the sources of +milk and other food supplies of a large city, and a sense of the +interdependence and reciprocity of city and country will develop. Take +a Mercator's projection map of the world and draw the trade routes and +immigration streams to indicate international solidarities. Such +diagrams as the famous health tract "A Day in the Life of a Fly" or +the story of Typhoid Mary are helpful in establishing how closely a +community is bound together. + +Problem III: To show the variety and kinds of social activities, i.e., +activities that bring two or more people into contact. Have the +student note down even the homeliest sorts of such activities, the +butcher, the postman, the messenger boy; insist that he go out and +look instead of guessing or reading; require him to group these +activities under headings which he may work out for himself. He will +usually arrive at three or four, such as getting a living, recreation, +political. It may be wise to ask him to grade these activities as +helpful, harmful, strengthening, or weakening, in order to accustom +him to the idea that sociology must treat of good, bad, and +indifferent objects. + +Problem IV: To determine what the preponderant social interests and +activities are as judged by the amount of time men devote to them. Let +the student try a "time budget" for a fortnight. For this purpose +Giddings suggests a large sheet of paper ruled for a wide left-hand +margin and 32 narrow columns: the first 24 columns for hours of the +day, the 25th for the word "daily," and the last seven for the seven +days of the week. In the margin the student writes the names of every +activity of whatever description during the waking hours. This will +furnish excellent training in exact habits of observation and +recording, and inductive generalization. When the summary is made at +the end of the fortnight, the student will have worked for himself the +habitual "planes of interest" along which social activities lie. + +At this point he ought to have convinced himself that the subject +matter of sociology is concrete reality, not moonshine. Moreover, he +should be able to lay down certain fundamental marks of a social +group, such as a common impulse to get together, common sentiments, +ideas, and beliefs, reciprocal service. From the discovery of habitual +planes of interest (self-maintenance, self-perpetuation, +self-assertion, self-subordination, etc.) it is a simple step to show +diagrammatically how each interest impels an activity, which tends to +precipitate itself into a social habit or institution. + + --------------------------------------------------------------------- + INNER URGE OR INTEREST | MOTOR EXPRESSION IN | RESULTANT GROUP HABIT + (INSTINCT OR | ACTIVITY | OR INSTITUTION + DISPOSITION) | | + -----------------------+----------------------+---------------------- + HUNGER; WILL-TO-LIVE | The food-quest | Economic technique + Self-Maintenance | | property, invention, + | | material arts of life + -----------------------+----------------------+---------------------- + SEX : | Procreation and | The family, ancestor + Self-Perpetuation | parenthood | worship, courts of + | | domestic relations, + | | patriarchal government, + | | etc. + --------------------------------------------------------------------- + + +=To make sociology real make it egocentric= + +The way is now clear for the two next steps, the concepts of causation +and development. Here again why not follow the egocentric plan of +starting with what the student knows? Ask him to write a brief but +careful autobiography answering the questions--How have I come to be +what I am? What influences personal or otherwise have played upon +me?[34] The student is almost certain to lay hold of the principle of +determining or controlling forces, and of evolution or change; he may +even be able to analyze rather clearly the different types of control +which have coöperated in his development. + +From this start it is easy to develop the genetic concept of social +life. The individual grows from simple to complex. Why not the race? +Here introduce a comparison between the social group known to the +student, a retarded group (such as MacClintock's or Vincent's study of +the Kentucky Mountaineers[35]) or a frontier community, and a +contemporary primitive tribe (say, the Hupa or Seri Indians, Negritos, +Bontoc Igorot, Bangala, Kafirs, Yakuts, Eskimo, or Andaman Islanders). +Require a detailed comparison arranged in parallel columns on such +points as size, variety of occupation, food supply, security of life, +institutions, family life, language, religion, superstitions, and +opportunities for culture. + +These two points of departure--the student's interest in his own +personality and the community influences that have molded it, and the +comparative study of a primitive group--should harmonize the two chief +rival views of teaching sociologists; namely, those who urge the +approach to sociology through anthropology and those who find the best +avenue through the concrete knowledge of the _socius_. Moreover, it lays +a foundation for a discussion of the antiquity of man, his kinship with +other living things, and his evolution; that is, the biological +presupposition of human society. Here let me testify to the great help +which Osborn's photographs[36] of reconstructions of the +Pithecanthropos, Piltdown, Neanderthal, and Crô-Magnon types have +rendered in clearing away prejudices and in vivifying the remote past. +Religious apprehensions in particular may be allayed also by referring +students to articles on race, man, evolution, anthropology, etc., in +such compilations as the _Catholic Encyclopedia_ and Hastings' +_Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics_. The opening chapters in Marett's +little book on _Anthropology_ are so sanely and admirably written that +they also clear away many prejudices and fears. + +With such a concrete body of facts contrasting primitive with modern +civilized social life the student will naturally inquire, How did +these changes come about? At this point should come normally the +answer in terms of what practically all sociologists agree upon; +namely, the three great sets of determining forces or phenomena, the +three "controls": (1) the physical environment (climate, topography, +natural resources, etc.); (2) man's own nature (psycho-physical +factors, the factors in biological evolution, the role of instinct, +race, and possibly the concrete problems of immigration and eugenics); +(3) social heredity (folk-ways, customs, institutions, the arts of +life, the methods of getting a living, significance of tools, +distribution of wealth, standards of living, etc.) A blackboard +diagram will show how these various factors converge upon any given +individual.[37] + +The amplification of these three points will ordinarily make up the +body of an introductory course so far as class work goes. Ethnography +should furnish rich illustrative material. But to make class +discussions really productive the student's knowledge of his own +community must be drawn upon. And the best way of getting this +correlation is through community surveys. The student should be +required as parallel laboratory work to prepare a series of chapters +on his ward or part of his ward or village, covering the three sets of +determining factors. The instructor may furnish an outline of the +topics to be investigated, or he may pass around copies of such brief +survey outlines as Aronovici's _Knowing One's Own Community_ or Miss +Byington's _What Social Workers Should Know about Their Own +Communities_; he may also refer them to any one of the rapidly growing +number of good urban and rural surveys as models. But he should not +give too much information as to where materials for student reports +may be obtained. The disciplinary value of having to hunt out facts +and uncover sources is second only to the value of accurate +observation and effective presentation. If the aim of a sociology +course is social efficiency, experience shows no better way of getting +a vivid, sober, first-hand knowledge of community conditions. And +there is likewise no surer way of compelling students to substitute +facts for vapid wordiness and snap judgments. + +Toward the end of the course many of us have found it profitable to +introduce a brief discussion of what may be called the highest term of +the series; namely, the evolution of two or three typical +institutions, say law and government, education, religion, and the +family. These topics will serve to clinch the earlier discussions and +to crystallize a few ideas on social control and perhaps even social +progress. + +Normally such a course will close with a fuller definition of the +meaning of sociology, its content, its value in the study of other +sciences, and, if time permits, a brief historical sketch of the +development of sociology as a separate science. + +=The use of a text for study= + +I have no certified advice to offer on the question of textbooks. But +the almost universal cry of sociology teachers is that so far no +really satisfactory text has been produced. Some men still use +Spencer, some write their own books, some try to adapt to their +particular needs such texts as are issued from time to time, some use +none at all but depend upon a more or less well-correlated syllabus or +set of readings. There is undoubtedly a profitable demand for a good +elementary source book comparable to Thomas's _Source Book on Social +Origins_ or Marshall, Wright, and Field's _Materials for the Study of +Elementary Economics_. Nearly any text will need freshening up by +collateral reading from such periodicals as _The Survey or The New +Republic_. In order to secure effective and correlated outside +reading, many teachers have found it helpful to require the students +to devote the first five or ten minutes of a class meeting once a week +or even daily to a written summary of their readings and of class +discussions. Such a device keeps readings fresh and enables the +teacher to emphasize the points of contact between readings and class +work. + +=The social museum= + +Every university should develop some sort of a social museum, to cover +primitive types of men, the evolution of tools, arts of life, manners +and customs, and contemporary social conditions. These can be +displayed in the form of plaster casts, ethnographic specimens, +photographs, lantern slides, models of housing, statistical charts, +printed monographs, etc. The massing of a series of these +illustrations sometimes produces a profound effect. For example, the +corridor leading to the sociology rooms at the University of Minnesota +has been lined with large photographs of tenement conditions, child +labor, immigrant types, etc. The student's interest and curiosity have +been heightened immensely. Once a semester, during the discussion of +the economic factor in social life, we stage what is facetiously +called "a display of society's dirty linen." The classroom is +decorated with a set of charts showing the distribution of wealth, +wages, cost of living, growth of labor unions and other organizations +of economic protest. The mass effect is a cumulative challenge. + +=Field work: values and limitations= + +Finally, a word about "field work" as a teaching device. Field work +usually means some sort of social service practice work under +direction of a charitable agency, juvenile court, settlement, or +playground. But beginning students are usually more of a liability +than an asset to such agencies; they lack the time to supervise +students' work, and field work without strict supervision is a +farcical waste of time. If such agencies will accept a few students +who have the learner's attitude rather than an inflated persuasion of +their social Messiahship, field work can become a very valuable +adjunct to class work. In default of such opportunities the very best +field work is an open-eyed study of one's own community, in the +attempt to find out what actually is rather than to reform a +hypothetical evil.[38] + + ARTHUR J. TODD + _University of Minnesota_ + + +Footnotes: + +[34] In order to secure frank statements, both these autobiographies +and the time budgets may be handed in anonymously. + +[35] _American Journal of Sociology_, 4:1-20; 7:1-28, 171-187. + +[36] In his _Men of the Old Stone Age_. + +[37] See such a diagram in Todd, _Theories of Social Progress_, page +240. + +[38] While accepting full responsibility for the opinions herein set +forth, I wish to express my appreciation of assistance rendered by a +large group of colleagues in the American Sociological Society. + + + + +XII + +THE TEACHING OF HISTORY + + +A. THE TEACHING OF AMERICAN HISTORY + +=Function of the teacher of history= + +History as a science attempts to explain the development of +civilization. The investigator of the sources of history must do his +part in a truly scientific spirit. He must examine with the utmost +scrutiny the many sources on which the history of the past has its +foundation. He reveals facts, and through them the truth is +established. + +But history is more than a science. It is an art. The investigator is +not necessarily a historian, any more than a lumberman is an +architect. The historian must use all available material, whether the +result of his own researches or that of others. He must weigh all +facts and deduct from them the truth. He must analyze, synthesize, +organize, and generalize. He must absorb the spirit of the people of +whom he writes and color the narrative as little as possible with his +own prejudices. But the historian must be more than a narrator; he +must be an interpreter. As an interpreter he should never lose sight +of the fact that all his deductions should be along scientific lines. +Even then he will not escape errors. In pure science error is +inadmissible. In history minor errors of fact are unavoidable, but +their presence need not seriously affect the general conclusions. In +spite of many misstatements of fact, a historical work may be +substantially correct in the main things--in presenting and +interpreting with true perspective the life and spirit of the people +of whom it treats. + +The historian must be more than a chronicler and an interpreter. He +must be master of a lucid, virile, attractive literary style. The +power of expression, indeed, must be one of his chief accomplishments. +The old notion, it is true, that history is merely a branch of +literature is quite as erroneous as the later theory that history is +a pure science and must be dissociated from all literary form. + +=The teacher of history as the teacher of the evolution of civilization= + +The pioneer investigator who patiently delves into sources and brings +to light new material deserves high praise, but far rarer is the gift +of the man who sees history in its true perspective, who can construct +the right relationships and can then reproduce the past in compelling +literary form. A historian without literary charm is like an architect +who cares only for the utility and nothing for the grace and beauty of +his building. + +=The chronological point of view= + +The history teacher who slavishly follows old chronological methods +has not kept pace with modern progress; but the teacher who has +discarded the chronological method has ventured without a compass on +an unknown sea. Chronology, the sequence of events, is as necessary in +history as distance and direction in geography. + +=The economic point of view= + +A modern school of history teachers would make economics the sole +background of history, would explain all historic events from the +economic standpoint--to which school this writer does not belong. +Economics has played a great part in the course of human events, but +it is only one of many causes that explain history. For example, the +Trojan War (if there was a Trojan War), the conquests of Alexander, +the Mohammedan invasions, were due chiefly to other causes. + +=The culture viewpoint= + +Nor would we agree with the school of modern educators who would +eliminate the culture studies from the curriculum, retaining only +those which make for present-day utilitarianism. A general education +imparts power and enlarges life, and such an education should precede +all technical and specialized training. If a young man with the solid +foundation of a liberal education fail in this or that walk of life, +the fault must be sought elsewhere than in his education. The late E. +H. Harriman made a wise observation when he said that though a high +school graduate may excel the college graduate in the same employment +for the first year, the latter would at length overtake and pass him +and henceforth remain in the lead. + +=Aims of history in the college curriculum= + +The uses of the study of history are many, the most important of which +perhaps is that it aids us in penetrating the present. Our +understanding of every phase of modern life is no doubt strengthened +by a knowledge of the past. It is trite but true to say that the study +of history is a study of human nature, that a knowledge of the origin +and growth of the institutions we enjoy makes for a good citizenship, +that the study of history is a cultural study and that it ranks with +other studies as a means of mental discipline. Finally, the reading of +history by one who has learned to love it is an abiding source of +entertainment and mental recreation. It is one of the two branches of +knowledge (the other being literature) which no intelligent person, +whatever his occupation, can afford to lay aside after quitting +school. + +=What can the study of American history give the college student?= + +The most important historical study is always that of one's own +country. In our American colleges, therefore, the study of American +history must take precedence over that of any other, though an +exception may be made in case a student is preparing to teach the +history of some other country or period. It must not be forgotten, +however, by the student of American history that a study of the +European background is an essential part of it. + +From its very newness the history of the United States may seem less +fascinating than that of the older countries, and, indeed, it is true +that the glamour of romance that gathers around the stories of royal +dynasties, orders of nobility, and ancient castles is wanting in +American history. But there is much to compensate for this. The coming +of the early settlers, often because of oppression in their native +land, their long struggle with the forest and with the wild men and +wild beasts of the forest, the gradual conquest of the soil, the +founding of cities, the transplanting of European institutions and +their development under new environment--the successful revolt against +political oppression and the fearless grappling with the problem of +self-government when nearly all governments in the world were +monarchical--these and many other phases of American history furnish +a most fascinating story as a mere story. + +=To the college student American history must be presented as evidence +of the success of democracy= + +But to the student of politics and history the most unique and +interesting thing, perhaps, in American history lies in the fact that +the United States is the first great country in the world's history in +which the federal system has been successful--if we assume that our +experimental period has passed. Perhaps the greatest of all +governmental problems is just this: How to strike the right balance +between these opposing tendencies--liberty and union, democracy and +nationality--so that the people may enjoy the benefits of both. The +United States has, no doubt, come nearer than any other country to +solving this problem, and the fact greatly enhances the interest in +our history. This is a question of political science rather than of +history, it is true, but the history of any country and its government +are inseparably bound together. + +=Utilitarian value= + +In the regular college curriculum there should be, in my opinion, two +courses in American history. + +=Organization of courses and methods of teaching= + +_Course I_--about 3 hours for one academic year (6 semester-hours) in +the freshman or sophomore year, covering the whole story of the United +States. About one third of the year's work should cover the Colonial +and Revolutionary periods. Of the remaining two thirds of the year I +should devote about half to the period since the Civil War. + +This course should be required of all students taking the A.B. degree +and in all other liberal arts courses; an exception may be made in the +case of those taking certain specialized scientific courses--for these +students, the history required in the high school may be deemed +sufficient. + +In this course a textbook is necessary, and if the class is large it +is desirable that the text be uniform. The text should be written by a +true historian with broad and comprehensive views, by one who knows +how to appraise historic values, and, if possible, by one who commands +an attractive literary style. If the textbook is written by Dr. +Dry-as-dust, however learned he may be, the whole burden of keeping +the class interested rests with the teacher; and, moreover, many of +the students will never become lovers of the subject to such a degree +as to make it a lifelong study. + +The exclusive lecture system is intolerable, and the same is true of +the quiz. A teacher will do his best work if untrammeled by rules. He +should conduct a class in his own way and according to his own +temperament. It is doubtful if the teacher who carefully plans and +maps out the work he intends to present to the class is the most +successful teacher. A teacher who is free, spontaneous, without a +fixed method, ready in passing from the lecture to the quiz and vice +versa at any moment, quick in asking unexpected questions, will +usually have little trouble in keeping a class alert. Above all, a +teacher of college history must explain the meaning of things with far +greater fullness than is possible in a condensed textbook, and it is a +most excellent practice to ask opinions of members of the class on +almost all debatable questions that may arise. The reason for this is +obvious. + +The usual method of the writer, in as far as he has a method, is to +spend the first fifteen or twenty minutes of the class hour in hearing +reports from two or three students on special topics that have been +assigned them a week or two before, topics that require library +reference work and that could not possibly be developed from the +textbook. These topics are not on the subject of the day's lesson, but +of some preceding lesson. After commenting on these reports and often +asking for opinions and comments of the class, we plunge into the +day's lesson. + +The use of a current periodical in class should be encouraged. It +brings the learner into direct contact with life and often illuminates +the past. + +Current events as presented in the daily papers should often be the +subject of comment, but the daily newspaper is not suitable for class +use. Even the weekly is, for several reasons, less desirable than the +monthly. It must not be forgotten that the basal, fundamental work of +the class is, not to keep posted on current affairs, but to study the +elements under the guidance of a textbook and an inspiring teacher to +interpret it. The weekly is less accurate than the monthly and less +literary in form, and, moreover, it comes too often. It is apt to take +too much time from the study of the fundamentals. The use of the +periodical in the history class has probably come to stay and it +should stay, but it should be only incidental and supplementary. + +_Course II_ should be given in the junior or senior year. It should be +elective, should cover at least two year-hours, and should be wholly +devoted to the national period of American history. Only those having +taken Course I should be eligible to this class. + +Every student who expects to read law, to enter journalism or +politics, or to teach history or political science should take this +course. The class will be smaller than in Course I. Uniform textbooks +need not be required, or the class may be conducted without a text. +Most of the work must be done from the library. + +It is assumed that the members of this class have a good knowledge of +the narrative, and it is needless to follow it closely again. A better +plan is to choose an important phase of the history here and there and +study intensively. Much use should be made of original sources such as +Presidents' messages, _Congressional Record_, speeches and writings of +the times, but the class must not ignore the fact that a vast amount +of good material may be had from the historians. It must also be +remembered that original research is for the graduate student and the +specialist rather than for the undergraduate. + +=Testing the results of instruction= + +In conclusion, I shall explain a method of examination that I have +frequently employed with apparently excellent results. Two or three +weeks before the time of the examination I give the class a series of +topics, perhaps fifty or more, carefully chosen from the entire +subject that has been studied during the semester. Instead of having +the usual review of the text, we talk over these subjects in class +during the remainder of the semester. The examination is oral, not +written. The time for examination is divided into three, four, or five +minute periods, according to the number in the class. When a student's +name is called, he comes forward and draws from a box one of the +topics and dilates on it before the class during his allotted time. If +he fails on the first topic he may have another draw, but his grade +will be reduced. A second failure would mean a "flunk," unless the +class marks are very high. + +There are three or four real advantages in this form of examination: +(1) It saves the teacher hours of labor in reading examination papers; +(2) the teacher, in selecting the topics, omits the unimportant and +chooses only the salient, leading subjects such as every student +should master and remember; (3) the student, knowing that no new +questions will be sprung for the examination, will be almost sure to +be prepared on every question. Failures under this system have been +much less frequent than under the old system of written examinations; +(4) it practically eliminates all chance of cheating in examination. + + HENRY W. ELSON + _Thiel College_ + + +B. MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY + +=History to be taught as an evolutionary process= + +Teaching European history in colleges is, in many ways, not different +from teaching any other history. In each instance it is to be +remembered that history includes all activities of man and not merely +his political life, that facts and data are not intrinsically valuable +but are merely a means to an end, that the end of history is to inform +us where man came from, what experiences he passed through, and +_chiefly_, what were the fundamental forces behind his experiences. +The emphasis should be put on the stimuli--economic, political, +religious, or social--that lead man to act, instead of narrating his +action. In a word, not _what_ happened or _when_ it happened, but +_why_ it happened, is of importance in college history. Stressing the +stimuli in history will almost inevitably lead to treating history as +a continuous or evolutionary process, which of itself greatly +increases the interest of the subject. + +=Because history is an evolution it must explain the present= + +It is highly desirable that in teaching modern history very much more +time be given to recent history than has generally been the case. +Frederick William I showed that he accepted this when he instructed +the tutors of Frederick (later the Great) to teach the history of the +last fifty years to the exactest pitch. So important is this that, +even when teaching early periods, constant contrasts or comparisons +with present conditions should be made, and the descent of ideas and +institutions to modern times should be sketched, as it shows the +student that remote events or institutions have a relationship to +current life. + +=Disciplinary values of history= + +Certain special aims of history have been advocated. It is held to be +of disciplinary value, especially in strengthening the memory. Though +this is true, it is hardly a good reason for studying history, as the +memory can be perfected on almost anything, on the dictionary, poetry, +formulæ, family records, gossip, or cans on grocery shelves, some of +which may indeed be of more practical value than dates. In college, at +least, history should aim to explain social tendencies and processes +in a rational way rather than to develop the memory. The latter method +tends to make the student passive and narrow, the former requires +cerebration and develops breadth and depth of vision. Understanding +history, rather than memorizing it, has cultural value. To be sure, +understanding presupposes information; but where there is a desire to +understand, the process of seeking and acquiring the information is +natural and tends to care for itself. + +History is not a prerequisite to professional careers in the way +mathematics is to engineering; still, special periods, chiefly the +modern, are highly useful to lawyers, journalists, publicists, +statesmen, and others, each of whom selects what he finds most useful +to his purposes. + +=Organization of courses in history--What to teach in the beginning course= + +The point of view in history teaching is more material than the +machinery or methods employed. These must and should vary with persons +and conditions. Ordinarily, however, it seems preferable to offer some +part of European history as the first-year college course, because +students have usually had considerable American history in high +school, and the change adds new interest. Whether this course be +general, medieval, or modern European history is of little importance, +though, of course, medieval should precede modern history. In any +case, the course should offer the student a good deal more than he may +have had in high school, if for no other reason than to justify the +profound respect with which he ordinarily comes to college. It should +come often enough a week to grip the student, especially the history +major. + +=Gradation of courses determined by content= + +Gradation of courses in history on the basis of subject matter is +largely arbitrary, and turns upon the method of presentation. General +courses naturally precede period courses. A sound principle is to +select courses adapted to the stages of the student's development. On +this principle it has already been suggested that the first college +course should be, not American but European history. English, ancient, +medieval, or modern history immediately suggest themselves, with +strong arguments in favor of the first if but one freshman course is +offered, as it forms a natural projection of American history into the +past. Beyond this, what subject matter is offered in the several years +is largely a matter of local convenience, as the college student +understands the general history of all nations or periods about +equally well. It is now clear, however, that the student should know +more modern and contemporary European history than he has been +getting, and the sound training of an American of the future should +include thorough training in modern European history. + +=Gradation of courses may be determined by method of teaching= + +Gradation based on the method of presentation is more nearly possible. +Graduate courses presuppose training in the auxiliary sciences, in the +necessary languages, in research methods, in the special field of +research, as well as a knowledge of general history. This establishes +a sort of sequence of the methods to be employed, irrespective of +subject matter. + +=Method of teaching introductory courses--Lecture method= + +The lecture method is convenient for the elementary courses, +especially if, as is so often the case, these have a large number of +students. It cannot, however, be gainsaid that convenience or, worse +still, economy is a weak argument in favor of the lecture course, +especially for the first-year student. To him the lecture method is +unknown, and he flounders about a good deal if he is left to work out +his own salvation; and then, too, just when he needs personal +direction and particularly when, as a youth away from home for the +first time, he needs some definite and unescapable task that shall +teach discipline and duty as well as give information, the lecture +system gives him the maximum of liberty with the minimum of aid or +direction. These considerations strongly advocate small classes for +freshmen, frequent recitations, discussions, tests, papers and maps, +library problems--in short, a laboratory system. Every student should +always have at least one course in which he is held to rigid and exact +performance. These courses should be required, no matter what the +special field or period of history, and should form a sequence leading +to a degree and providing training for a technical and professional +career. In addition to these courses, designed to assure personal work +and supervision, enough other, presumably lecture, courses should be +required to secure a general knowledge of history. Beyond that there +are always enough electives to satisfy any personal wish or whim of +the student. + +=Topical method in European history= + +There is much to be said, especially in modern history, for the +topical treatment of institutions. In a very specialized course a +single institution may be treated; but even in a general course, +treating the several human institutions as evolutionary organisms +seems preferable and is more interesting than a chronological +narrative, which grows more inane the more general the course. Courses +which come to modern times can trace existing institutions and their +immediate antecedents, thus giving an advantage that many instructors +neglect from the mere tradition that history does not come down to +living man. No primitive superstition needs to be dispelled more than +this, if history is to maintain its hold in the modern college. +Indeed, whenever possible--which is always with modern history--a +course should start from the present by dwelling on the existing +conditions the historical antecedents of which are to be traced. If +this is done, the student forthwith secures a vital interest and feels +that he is trying to understand his own rather than past times. After +this preliminary the past can be traced chronologically or topically +as preferred, the textbook serving as a quarry for data, the teacher +seeing to it that the change or progress toward the present condition +is perceived and understood, and furnishing corroborative and +analogous materials from the history of other nations and periods. + +=Assigned reading= + +It is the general practice of college courses in history to require +outside reading. Though this rests on the sound ground that the +student ought to get a large background and learn to know books and +writers, it is very doubtful whether this aim is, in fact, achieved. +The student often has too much work to permit of much outside reading, +and often the library is too limited to give him a good choice, or to +permit him to keep a desirable book until he has finished reading it. +Unguided reading is almost certainly a failure; reading guided only by +putting a selected list of books before the student is not sure to be +a success. The instructor ought from time to time to tell his class +something about the books he suggests, and about their authors and +their careers, viewpoints and merits, as a reader always profits by +knowing these things. As the reading of snatches from collateral books +is hardly profitable, so the perusal of longer histories is often +impossible, and generally confines the student for a long time to the +minutiæ of one period while the class is going forward. In view of +these difficulties there is much to be said in favor of putting a +large textbook into the hands of a class, and requiring a thorough +reading and understanding of it, and correspondingly reducing outside +readings. If collateral reading is demanded, it is a good plan to +require students to read a biography or a work on some special +institution falling within the scope of the course,--some selected +historical novel even,--for in that way the student reads, as he will +in later life, something he selects instead of a required number of +pages, a specific thing is covered, an author's acquaintance is made, +and therefore a significant test can be conducted. Furthermore, as +some students will buy special volumes of this kind, the pressure on +the library is reduced. Direct access to reference shelves is always +recommended. One of our universities has a system of renting preferred +books to students. + +=Tests on outside reading= + +Tests on outside reading are always difficult, but they must be +employed if the reading is not to become a farce. By having weekly +reading reports on uniform cards, one can often arrange groups of +students who have read the same thing and can therefore be tested by a +single question. By extending this over several weeks the majority of +students, even in a large class, can be tested with relatively few +questions. Some instructors require students to hand in their reading +notes, others check up the books the students use in the library, +still others have consultation periods in which they inquire into the +student's reading. Quiz sections, if there are any, offer a good +opportunity to test collateral reading. + +=Miscellaneous aids in teaching history= + +Map making, coördinated with the recitations and so designed as to +require more than mere tracing, is desirable in introductory courses. +The imaginative historical theme written by the student is +employed--and successfully, it is declared--in one college. A syllabus +is highly useful in the hands of students in lecture courses. It can +be mimeographed at comparatively slight expense for each lecture, thus +permitting changes in successive years--a distinct advantage over the +printed syllabus. + +=The problem of suitable examination= + +How to give a fair and telling examination is the college teacher's +perennial problem. The less he teaches and insists on facts and +details, the greater his quandary. A majority of students incline to +parrot what they have heard, to the dismay of the teacher who wants +them to make the subject their own. Hence tests calling the memory +only into play do not satisfy the true teacher or the thoughtful +student. At the least there should be some questions requiring +constructive or synthetic thinking by the student. Above all, the +instructor of introductory work should form a first-hand personal +opinion of the student by requiring him to come to the office for +consultation. Nothing can take the place of the personal touch. Quiz +masters are better than no touch; but they are a poor substitute for +the small class and direct contact, even if the instructor is not one +of the masters of the profession. + +=The worth of topical or institutional treatment= + +The topical or institutional treatment of history has been mentioned +above as being particularly applicable to modern history. If carefully +worked out beforehand it can be made to embrace virtually +everything--certainly everything significant--that is contained either +in the text or in a chronological narrative. To be sure, a topical +treatment of this kind places more emphasis on the common experiences +of mankind than does national history, and, as some nations or peoples +precede others in a given development, history becomes continuous +instead of fragmentary. Perhaps, too, the way certain matters are +introduced into "continuous" history may appear forced, unless it be +remembered that this impression is created merely by its dissimilarity +from the usual interpretation, which is just as arbitrary and forced +until one gets accustomed to it. + +=Classification in topical treatment= + +It will be serviceable in arranging a topical treatment of any period +of history, which shall show a sense of historical continuity and keep +in mind the fundamental stimuli and causes of human action, to note +that virtually all human interests can be classified under one of the +following six heads: physical, economic, social, religious, political, +and intellectual (or cultural). Though these are never wholly isolated +and are always interactive, one or the other may be specially +significant in a given era, and thus we speak of a religious age, an +age of rationalism, or the period of the industrial revolution. + + +SUGGESTED TOPICAL OUTLINE OF MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY + +To apply this more specifically to modern European history, there +follows an outline of topics. It is general to about 1789, and more +detailed for the period since that time (IV below), the endeavor being +to show how a topical treatment of the development of democracy can be +made to include practically everything of significance. There are +certain cautions necessary here: that the outline is suggestive only, +that it does not pretend or aim to be complete, that specific data +often found in the sub-heads are to serve as illustrations and not as +a complete statement of sub-topics; and that it is in fact merely a +skeleton which can be extended and amplified indefinitely by +insertions. + + I. Background of the modern period. + _A._ Economic and social conditions at the close of the Middle Age. + _B._ Political nature of feudalism. + The governments of the 15th century. + _C._ The medieval church. + + II. The development of religious liberty. + _A._ The Reformation. + _B._ Varieties of Protestant sects, from state churches to + individualistic sects. + _C._ The Religious Wars, and toleration. + + III. Absolute monarchy. + _A._ Dynastic states. + _B._ Dynastic wars and the balance of power. + + IV. The development of democracy. + _A._ The dynastic feudal state (_Ancien Régime_). + 1. Description of the _Ancien Régime_. + 2. Proponents of the _Ancien Régime_. + Dynasties (divine right monarchs). + Feudal landlords. + Higher clergy and state churches. + The army command (younger sons of the nobility). + The schools (education for privileged classes only). + _B._ The revolutionary elements. + 1. The dissatisfied feudal serf. + 2. The intellectuals, rationalists, political theorists. + The "social compact." ... Popular sovereignty. + 3. Religious dissenters. + 4. Industrial elements. + _a._ The Industrial Revolution. + Resulting in exportation, markets, and _laissez-faire_ + doctrines. + _b._ The bourgeoisie (employers) ... The Third Estate. + _c._ The proletariat ... Unorganized labor elements. + _C._ The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1800. + 1. Triumph of bourgeoisie over feudal aristocracy in France, + 1789-1791. + Limited monarchy. Mirabeau. + 2. Increasing influence and rise to control of France of the Parisian + proletariat. The Republic ... The Terror ... Robespierre. + 3. Radiation of revolutionary ideas to other nations. + 4. Wars between revolutionary France and monarchical Europe. + The rise of Napoleon. + _D._ The decline of the revolutionary elements, 1800-1815. + 1. France converted from a republic to an empire by Napoleon. + 2. The Napoleonic Wars. + _a._ Reveal Napoleon's dynastic ambition. + _b._ Lead Europe to combine against him and to blame democratic + ideas for the sorrows of the time. + _c._ Result in the defeat of Napoleon and the triumph of + anti-democratic or reactionary elements. + _E._ The fruits of the principle of popular sovereignty during the + 19th century (chronologically England and France lead the other + countries in most of these developments).[39] + 1. Constitutions, embodying ever-increasing popular rights and + powers. + 2. Extension of suffrage. Political parties and party politics. + 3. The spirit of nationality. + Independence of Greece and Belgium. + Unification of Italy and Germany. + National revivals in Poland, Bulgaria, Servia, Rumania, Bohemia, + Finland, Ireland, and elsewhere. + Pan-Germanism, Pan-Slavism, Imperial Federation. + 4. Class consciousness and strife. + Feudal aristocratic class--leans toward absolute monarchy. + Bourgeoisie (employing capitalists)--leans toward limited + monarchies or republics. + Labor--leans toward socialism. (The other elements in the society + are slow in developing a group consciousness.) + 5. Abolition of feudal forms and tenures. + Fight on great landlords. Encouragement of independent farmers. + Emancipation and protection of peasants: France, 1789; Prussia, + 1808; Austria, 1848; Russia, 1861. + 6. Social, socialistic, and humanitarian legislation. + Factory acts, minimum wage laws, industrial insurance, old age + insurance, labor exchanges, child labor laws, prison reform + acts, revision of penal codes, abolition of slavery and slave + trade, government control or ownership of railways, telephones, + telegraph, and mails. + 7. Opposition to state or national churches. + Disestablishment agitations ... Separation of church and state. + 8. Demand for free public schools to replace church or other private + schools. State lay schools in England ... Suppression of teaching + orders in France ... Kulturkampf in Germany ... Expulsion of + Jesuits ... Tendency toward compulsory non-sectarian education. + 9. Imperialism. + Industrial societies depend on imports, exports, and markets as + means of keeping labor employed and people prosperous. + This means export of capital, hence, plans for colonies, closed + doors, preferential markets, and demands for the protection of + citizens abroad and political stability in backward areas. + Partition of Africa, Asia, and Near East. + 10. Militarism. + Expansion and colonial acquisition by one country exclude + another, thus unsettling the balance of power. Therefore + rival nations depend on force and go in for military and + naval programs. + _F._ The conflict between reactionary and bourgeois + interests, 1815-1848. + 1. Reactionary elements in control--opposed to democracy and + revolutionary doctrines. + _a._ Restore Europe as nearly as possible on old lines at Vienna, + 1815. + Ignore liberal tendencies and national sentiments. + _b._ Seek to maintain _status quo_. + Metternich ... Holy Alliance. + Carlsbad Decrees ... Congresses of Troppau, Laibach, + Verona ... Intervention in Naples, Piedmont, and Spain. + Proposal to restore Latin America to Monarchy. + Opposed by Great Britain in compliance with bourgeois + interests. + Monroe Doctrine. + _c._ Failed to prevent: + Greek revolution and independence (national movement). + Separation of Belgium from the Netherlands (national). + Revival of liberal demands in various quarters, producing the + revolution of 1830 in France and elsewhere. + 2. The ascendancy of the bourgeoisie, 1830-1848. + _a._ Industrialism on the continent. + _b._ The bourgeois (capitalist employer) secures political power + to advance his interests. + Revolution of 1830. + Reform bill of 1832. + Legislation against labor organizations and for tariffs + favoring trade. + _c._ The development of organized labor and socialism. + Legislation hostile to labor. Chartism. + Labor in France, Germany, and Belgium. + Spread of socialist doctrines. + _d._ The Revolution of 1848. + Socialist republican state in France, 1848. + The winning of constitutions in Prussia, Austria, and + elsewhere--breach in the walls of reaction. + _G._ The broadening base of democracy, 1848-1914. + 1. The organization of labor. + 2. The spread of socialistic views and of class consciousness. + Karl Marx. + 3. The resistance of the old aristocratic class and the bourgeoisie, + who gradually fuse to form the conservative element in all + nations. + Napoleon III restores the Empire in France. + In Austria and Prussia, Bismarck and Francis Joseph II retrieve + losses of 1848. + Disraeli and Conservatives in England. + 4. The progress toward universal suffrage after 1865, strengthening + political position of lower classes. + Vindication of democratic government through triumph of the North + in the United States gave impetus to democracy abroad. + Electoral reform bills in Great Britain, 1867, 1884, 1885. + Franco-Prussian War and the Third French Republic. Universal + suffrage. + Unification of Germany and universal suffrage. + Russian Revolution, 1917. + Woman suffrage. + 5. Popular sovereignty and its consequences. + _a._ Triumph of republicans and radicals in France over + monarchists and clericals. + _b._ Liberal ministries in United Kingdom. + Lloyd George Budget ... Parliament Act. Social legislation. + _c._ Growth of Social Democratic party in Germany. + Bismarck and state socialism. + _d._ In recent times the many divergent political parties fall + rather instinctively into three groups which have opposing + views and policies on almost every question, and which may + be called: + Conservatives (Tories, aristocrats, monarchists, Junkers, + clericals, capitalists, imperialists, militarists); + peasants and farmers, being conservative, are usually + politically allied to this group. + Liberals (progressives, democrats, labor parties, + Socialists, social democrats, Dissenters, + anti-imperialists, anti-militarists). + Radicals, Bolsheviki or revolutionists seeking change of the + economic and social order. + 6. Effects of the war + _a._ Extensive nationalization and socialization of industry and + human rights in all belligerent countries. + _b._ Develops into a "war for democracy," and for moral as opposed + to materialistic aims. + _c._ Culminates in an attempt to secure a righteous and lasting + peace through the instrumentality of a league of nations. + + EDWARD KREHBIEL + + _Leland Stanford Junior University_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +TEXTS + +ANDREWS, C. M. _Historical Development of Modern Europe._ Two vols. G. +P. Putnam's Sons, 1900. + +HAYES, CARLTON J. H. _A Political and Social History of Modern +Europe._ Two vols. The Macmillan Company, 1916. + +ROBINSON, J. H., and BEARD, C. A. _The Development of Modern Europe._ +Two vols. Ginn and Co., 1907, 1908. + +SCHEVILL, FERDINAND. A_ Political History of Modern Europe._ Charles +Scribner's Sons, 1907. + +PERIOD HISTORIES + +BOURNE, HENRY ELDREDGE. _The Revolutionary Period in Europe._ The +Century Company, 1914. + +_Cambridge Modern History._ Thirteen vols. and maps. I. the +Renaissance; II. The Reformation; III. The Wars of Religion; IV. The +Thirty Years' War; V. The Age of Louis XIV; VI. The Eighteenth +Century; VII. The United States; VIII. The French Revolution; IX. +Napoleon; X. The Restoration; XI. The Growth of Nationalities; XII. +The Latest Age; XIII. Genealogical Tables and Lists and General Index; +also on atlas, in another volume. Cambridge, the University Press, +1902-1912. + +HAZEN, CHARLES DOWNER. _Europe since 1815._ Henry Holt & Co., 1910. + +LINDSAY, T. M. _A History of the Reformation._ Two vols. Charles +Scribner's Sons, 1906-1907. + +LOWELL, E. J. _The Eve of the French Revolution._ + +SCHAPIRO, JACOB SALWYN. _Modern and Contemporary European History._ +Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918. + +WAKEMAN, H. O. _The Ascendancy of France._ The Macmillan Company, +1894. + +SOURCE BOOKS + +ANDERSON, FRANK MALOY. _The Constitutions and Other Select Documents +Illustrative of the History of France, 1789-1901._ H. W. Wilson +Company, Minneapolis, 1904. + +FLING, FRED MORROW. _Source Problems of the French Revolution._ Harper +and Brothers, 1913. + +ROBINSON, J. H. _Readings in European History._ Two vols. Ginn and +Co., 1904. + +---- _Readings in European History._ Abridged Edition. Ginn and Co., +1906. + +ROBINSON, J. H., and BEARD, C. A. _Readings in Modern European +History._ Two vols. Ginn and Co., 1908. + +---- _Readings in Modern European History._ Abridged Edition. Ginn and +Co., 1909. + +ATLASES + +_Cambridge Modern History._ Volume of Maps. Cambridge, the University +Press, 1912. + +DOW, EARLE W. _Atlas of European History._ Henry Holt & Co., 1909. + +DROYSE, GUSTAV. _Allgemeiner historischer Kandatlas._ Velhagen und +Klasing, Leipzig, 1886. + +GARDINER, SAMUEL RAWSON. _A School Atlas of English History._ +Longmans, Green & Co., 1910. + +POOLE, REGINAL LANE. _Historical Atlas of Modern Europe from the +Decline of the Roman Empire._ H. Frowde, 1896-1902. + +PUTZGER, FRIEDRICH WILHELM. _Historischer Schul-atlas zur alten, +mittleren, und neunen Geschichte._ Velhagen und Klasing, Leipzig, +1910. + +SHEPHERD, WILLIAM ROBERT. _Historical Atlas._ Henry Holt & Co., 1911. + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL + +ADAMS, CHARLES KENDALL. _A Manual of Historical Literature._ Harper +and Brothers, 1888. + +ANDREWS, GAMBRILL, and TALL. _A Bibliography of History for Schools +and Libraries._ Longmans, Green & Co., 1911. + +PEDAGOGICAL + +Committee of Seven. American Historical Association. _The Study of +History in the Schools._ The Macmillan Company, 1899. + +Committee of Five. American Historical Association. _The Study of_ +_History in the Secondary Schools._ The Macmillan Company, 1911. + +DUNN, ARTHUR WILLIAM. _The Social Studies in Secondary Education._ +Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 28, +1916. + +JOHNSON, H. _The Teaching of History in Elementary and Secondary +Schools._ 1915. + +ROBINSON, JAMES HARVEY. _The New History; Essays Illustrating the +Modern History Outlook._ The Macmillan Company, 1912. + +HISTORICAL FICTION + +BAKER, E. A. _History in Fiction._ Two vols. E. P. Dutton & Co., 1907. + +NIELD, JONATHAN. _A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales._ G. +P. Putnam's Sons. + +PERIODICALS + +_The American Historical Review._ Published by the American Historical +Association, Washington, D. C. + +_The History Teacher's Magazine._ McKinley Publishing Company, +Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. + + +Footnotes: + +[39] This summary of the consequences of the doctrines of democracy is +allowed to break into the topical development of the outline, as it +gives a sort of general introduction to tendencies since 1815. It will +not escape the teacher that he could treat history since 1815 by +taking up in order the topics given under this heading. + + + + +XIII + +THE TEACHING OF POLITICAL SCIENCE + + +=Scope of political science= + +Certain phases of what is known as political science form to no small +degree the content of courses in other branches of study. The +engineering schools in their effort to set forth the regulation of +public utilities with respect to engineering problems have begun to +offer courses which deal extensively with politics and government. In +political and constitutional history, considerable attention is given +to the organization and administration of the various divisions of +government. To a greater degree, however, the allied departments of +economics and sociology have begun, in the development of their +respective fields, to analyze matters which are primarily of a +political nature. Especially in what is designated as applied +economics and applied sociology there is to be found material a large +part of which relates directly to the regulation and administration of +governmental affairs. Thus in portions of the courses designated as +labor problems, money and banking, public finance, trust problems, +public utility regulation, problems in social welfare, and +immigration, primary consideration is frequently given to government +activities and to the influences and conditions surrounding government +control. + +While these courses, then, deal in part with subject matter which +belongs primarily to the science of politics and while any +comprehensive survey of instruction in political science would include +an account of the phases of the subject presented in other +departments, for the present purpose it has been advisable to limit +the consideration of the teaching of political science to the subjects +usually offered under that designation.[40] Some attention, however, +will be given later to the relation of political science to allied +subjects. + +A difference of opinion exists as to the meaning of political science, +some institutions using the term in a broad sense to embody courses +offered in history, economics, politics, public law, and sociology, +and others giving the word a very narrow meaning to include a few +specialized courses in constitutional and administrative law. There +is, nevertheless, a strong tendency to have the term "political +science" comprise all of the subjects which deal primarily with the +organization and the administration of public affairs. + +=Courses usually offered in political science= + +Through an exhaustive survey made by the Committee on Instruction of +the American Political Science Association, covering instruction in +political science in colleges and universities, the subjects which are +usually offered may be indicated in two groups: + +LEADING COURSES FOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES[41] + +(Given in order of number of instruction hours, with highest ranked +first.) + + _A._ Major Courses. + + 1. American government--including national, state, and local. + 2. General political science--mainly political theory, with some + comparative government. + 3. Comparative government--devoted chiefly to a study of England, + France, Germany, and the United States. + 4. International law. + 5. Commercial law. + 6. Municipal government. + 7. Constitutional law. + + _B._ Minor Courses. + + 1. Jurisprudence, or elements of law. + 2. Political theories. + 3. Diplomacy. + 4. State government. + 5. Political parties. + 6. Government of England. + 7. Legislative methods of procedure. + 8. Roman law. + 9. Regulation of social and industrial affairs. + +While the purposes and objects of instruction in this rather extensive +group of subjects vary considerably, it seems desirable to analyze the +chief objects in accordance with which political science courses are +presented to students of collegiate grade. + +=Aims of instruction in government= + +The aims of instruction in government are (1) to train for +citizenship; (2) to prepare for professions such as law, teaching, +business, and journalism; (3) to train experts and prepare specialists +for government positions; (4) to provide facilities and lead students +into research material and research methods. Each of these aims +affects to a certain extent a different class of students and renders +the problem as to methods of instruction correspondingly difficult. + +=1. Training for citizenship= + +In a certain sense all instruction may be looked upon as giving +training for the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, and +undoubtedly a great deal of instruction in other subjects aids in the +process of citizenship training. Nevertheless, a heavy responsibility +rests upon departments of political science to lead students into the +extensive literature on government as well as to instruct them with +respect to the organizations and methods by which the political and +social affairs are being conducted. In short, one of the primary aims +of government instruction and one which is kept foremost in the +arrangement of courses is elementary training for the average student +in the principles, the practices, and the technique of governmental +affairs. For such citizenship training, which is usually given in +large elementary classes, a special method of instruction and system +of procedure are pursued. It is necessary to provide subject matter +which is informational in character, as the lack of knowledge of the +governments of home and foreign countries is ordinarily appalling, and +which will open up by way of discussion and comparison many of the +leading problems of modern politics. More necessary and indispensable +is a method of study which will aid in pursuing inquiries along the +many and varied lines which will devolve upon the citizen performing +his multifarious duties and discharging his many responsibilities. As +many of the students will take but a single course, the opening up to +them of the vast field of government literature is one of the aims to +be constantly kept in mind. Moreover, while all of the above are +essential matters in the elementary courses, the most important +consideration of all is that the teaching of politics and government +will have utterly failed unless there are created a desire and an +interest which will lead into many lines of investigation beyond those +offered in a single introductory course. The development of this +interest and appreciation is the all-important object. + +=2. Preparation for the professions= + +Many who enter the introductory courses in government select the +subject with the idea of continuing their preparation for professional +life in their chosen fields. Among the professions which particularly +seek instruction in government are chiefly law, teaching, business, +and journalism. For these groups of students, many of whom continue +the study of the subject for several years, often going on into the +advanced courses in graduate departments, it is recognized that +beginning work which is too general and discursive may be less useful +than a specialized course which may be rounded out by a series of +correlated courses. Consequently, there is a question whether the +professional student, interested in the study of government, should +begin his work under the same conditions and with the same methods as +the student who does not expect to continue the subject. The number of +those who are preparing for the professions is often so large as to +require separate consideration and to affect seriously the +determination of the method and content of the introductory course. +This difficulty is obviated where professional courses are provided, +giving instruction in government and citizenship, as is now the +practice in certain law schools, in some departments of journalism, +and in a few engineering schools. For each of the major professions in +which government instruction is particularly sought a different type +of course is desired. For the law student comparative public law, +jurisprudence, and specialized government courses in various fields +are usually demanded. For the journalist, general subjects dealing +with specific countries and with the political practices of all +governments are regarded of special benefit. For the teaching +profession the study of some one line and specialization in a +particular field seem to be a necessity. Which is the better, such +specialized government courses for professional students, or a general +course for all introductory students, is still an undetermined +problem. The fact that most of the conditions and problems of +citizenship are similar for all these groups and that there is great +difficulty in providing separate instruction for each group renders it +necessary to provide an elementary course which is adapted to the +needs and which will serve the purpose of the citizen seeking a +general introduction in one course and the professional student who +seeks entrance to advanced courses. + +=3. Training for public service and preparation of specialists for +government positions= + +Colleges and universities have recently begun to give special +instruction for the training of those who desire to enter the +government service. A few institutions are offering courses and a +considerable number are beginning to adapt instruction which will be +of service not only to those who anticipate entrance into some form of +public work, but also to those who are engaged in performing public +service in some department of government. As a matter of fact, the +training of specialists must in large measure be cared for by +professional and technical schools, such as the provision for +directors of public health by medical schools, the training of +sanitary engineers by the engineering schools, the training of +accountants, statisticians, and financial experts by the schools of +commerce and finance. Nevertheless, departments offering instruction +in general political subjects are expected to give some consideration +to and to make special arrangements for advanced courses in the way of +preparing those who seek to enter the various divisions of the +government service, such as the consular and diplomatic affairs, +charitable and social work, and the administrative regulation of +public utilities, industrial affairs, and the public welfare. Through +the introduction of specialized courses in municipal, state, and +national administration it is possible to prepare more adequately for +various branches of public administration. + +=4. Special courses in research and research methods= + +Although research methods and graduate courses of instruction in +political science developed rather slowly, a substantial beginning has +been made by the universities in the offering of advanced courses in +which a specialized study is made of some of the problems of +government and the methods of administration. Through these courses +valuable contributions have been made to the historical and +comparative phases of the subject and to some extent to the analytical +study of government in operation. The primary aim has been to provide +an avenue and an opportunity for those who look forward to teaching or +to entering the field of special research work in politics and +governmental affairs. The results of the research work have been +rendered available to government officials and departments through +bureaus of research and other agencies devised to aid in improving the +public service. Only a few universities separate the graduate from the +undergraduate students, and as a result the instruction cannot be of +strictly graduate character and quality. Much of the present research +is done with small groups of students in a seminar where personal +direction is given to investigations and where the methods of research +are developed under direct supervision. + +=Value of the subject= + +Any determination of the value of a subject in the school curriculum +is necessarily based upon the opinions of individuals whose judgment +will vary in large measure according to their respective training, +influences, and predilections. The value of the subject which is +usually placed first is its usefulness in imparting information. Much +instruction in government is descriptive and informational in +character and is offered primarily to increase the stock of knowledge +and to give information with respect to the present and the future +interests of the citizen. While this descriptive material has served a +useful purpose, it is doubtful whether, as in the formal civics of the +public schools, the method of imparting information has not been used +so extensively as to have a detrimental effect. Too much attention has +been given to the memorization of facts and the temporary accumulation +of information more or less useful, and correspondingly too little to +thinking on the great political and social issues of the day. + +When governments are engaging in endless activities which affect the +welfare of society in its social and æsthetic, as well as political +aspects, government instruction becomes increasingly necessary and +valuable as a cultural study. The recent development in European +political affairs has impressed upon the citizens of this country as +never before the results of a profound ignorance with respect to +conditions in foreign countries. While the knowledge of the affairs of +the great nations of the world has hitherto appeared advisable, it has +now come to be regarded as a necessity. From the standpoint of culture +a knowledge of the institutions of one's own country and of other +countries is one of the cardinal elements of education and provisions +for such instruction ought to be placed among the few primary topics +in the preparation of all educational programs. If culture involves an +understanding of the social and political conditions of the past and +present as well as some appreciation of the problems which confront +the individual in his activities of life, then the study of both +history and government must be given a foremost rank among the +subjects now classified as cultural. + +With respect to formal discipline government instruction has been +rated lower than that of the more exact subjects, the languages and +mathematics. While it is true that from the standpoint of formal +discipline and exact methods government instruction has not measured +up to that of some other subjects, it must be remembered that the +standardization of instruction, and the methods pursued in other +subjects, have developed through a long process of years to the +present effectiveness in mental discipline. As the study of government +becomes more specialized, the material in the field worked into more +concrete form for purposes of instruction, the methods better +developed with the formulation of standard plans and principles, the +disciplinary value of the subject will be increased. The development +now in process is bringing about changes which will greatly enhance +not only the usefulness but in a large measure the disciplinary value +of the subject. + +=Place in college curriculum= + +Instruction in government is usually offered only to students who have +acquired sophomore standing. A few institutions now give a course in +government in the freshman year, and the practice seems to be meeting +with success. Sentiment is growing in favor of this plan. The argument +presented for this change is that a large percentage of the freshman +class does not continue college work, and consequently many students +have no opportunity to become acquainted with the special problems of +politics and government. To meet the need of those who spend but one +year in college, it is claimed that an introduction should be given to +the study of government problems. While there are strong reasons in +support of this change, the prevailing sentiment for the present +favors the requirement of a year's work in college as a prerequisite. +The advocates of this arrangement contend that in view of the fact +that most of the high schools are now giving a half of a year or a +year to civic instruction on somewhat the same plan as would be +necessary in a first-year college course, it seems better from the +standpoint of the student as well as of the department to defer the +introductory course until better methods of study and greater maturity +of mind are acquired. + +Sophomore standing is the only prerequisite for the elementary course +except in a few institutions where the selection of a course in +history in the freshman year is required. A few colleges are offering +to freshmen an introductory course in the social sciences, comprising +mainly some elementary material from economics, sociology, and +political science. While there are some advantages in the effort to +give a general introduction to the social sciences, no practicable +content or method for such a course has yet been prepared. Moreover, +it seems likely now that such a general introduction will be +attempted either in the junior or in the senior high school. For +advanced work in the senior high school and for the introductory +college course reason and practice both favor a separation of these +subjects, with close correlation and constant consideration of the +interrelations. + +=The introductory course= + +It is customary to introduce students to the study of government +through a general course in American government, dealing briefly with +national, state, and local institutions. Other subjects, such as +comparative government,--including a consideration of some +representative foreign countries along with American government,--an +introductory course in political science, and international law, are +sometimes used as basic courses to introduce students to subsequent +work. The general practice in the introductory course seems to be +approaching a standard in which either American government is made the +basis of study, with comparisons from European practices and methods, +or European governments are studied, with attention by way of +comparison to the American system of government. The Committee of +Seven of the American Political Science Association offered the +following suggestions relative to the introductory course, which it +seems well to quote in full. The Committee recommended that: + + American government be taken as the basis for the introductory + course because it is convinced that there is an imperative need + for a more thorough study of American institutions, because the + opportunity for this study is not now offered in any but a few of + the best secondary schools, and because it is exceedingly + important that the attention of an undergraduate be directed + early in his course to a vital personal interest in his own + government, national, state, and local. Instruction in political + science is rarely given until the second or third year of the + college work, and thus unless American government is selected for + the first course only a small percentage of students receive + encouragement and direction in the study of political affairs + with which they will constantly be expected to deal in their + ordinary relations as citizens. But the committee believes that + this study of American government can be distinctly vitalized by + the introduction of such comparisons with European practices and + forms as will supply the student with a broader basis of + philosophical conclusions as to constitutional development and + administrative practices. + + The Committee is of the opinion that despite the very marked + increase of courses in American government within the past few + years, one of the immediate needs is the further extension and + enlargement of these courses. In only a few institutions is + enough time given to the subject to permit anything more than the + most cursory survey of the various features of the government, + and almost invariably state and local government suffer in the + cutting process which is necessary. About seventy institutions + only give courses in which state and local government are the + basis of special study. In order that state and local government + shall be given more consideration, and in order that judicial + procedure and administrative methods shall receive more than + passing notice, it is absolutely necessary that the time allotted + to American government be increased. Nothing short of a full year + of at least three hours a week gives the necessary time and + opportunity do anything like full justice to the national, state, + and local units.[42] + + +Because of the fact that only a small percentage of the student body +elects this course under present conditions, and because the majority +of those who do elect it never have an opportunity to continue the +study of government, it is thought that the selection of American +government for the beginning subject has the tendency to foster +provincialism. When but one course is taken this one, it is contended, +should deal with foreign governments, to supply a broader basis for +the comparison of political institutions. As the study of government +is introduced in the grades and thorough and effective instruction is +offered in the high school, it will become increasingly practicable to +introduce the comparative method in introductory courses. + +=Sequence of courses= + +One of the difficulties in the instruction in political science which +has received less consideration than it deserves is that of the sequence +of courses. In the determination of sequence it is customary to have an +introductory course, such as American government, European government, +or political theory, and to make this subject a prerequisite for all +advanced courses. As the introductory course requires sophomore +standing, it renders entrance into advanced courses open only to +students of junior rank or above. After passing the first course, there +are open for election a number of subjects, mainly along specialized +lines. This condition is to be found, particularly, in the large +universities, where a group of instructors offer specialized work, with +either little or no advice to students as to the proper arrangement or +sequence of courses. The ordinary classification is into three groups: +(1) an elementary course, prerequisite for advanced instruction; (2) +courses for graduate and undergraduate students, seldom arranged on a +basis of sequence or logical order;--the lack of sequence is due in part +to the fact that after taking elementary work the student in government +frequently wishes to specialize in the field of federal government, or +of state government, or of international law, or possibly of political +theory; (3) courses for graduate students, which are intended primarily +for investigation and research. Students who specialize in government +are generally advised by the head of the department or the professor +under whom their work is directed, as to the proper arrangement and +correlation of courses. It is, however, questionable whether some plan +of sequence more definitely outlined than that now to be found in most +catalogs ought not to be prepared in advance for the consideration of +those who look forward to specializing in political science. Such an +arrangement of sequence has been prepared by the department of political +science of the University of Chicago, which divides its work into (1) +elementary, (2) intermediate, (3) advanced--the advanced courses being +subdivided into (_a_) theory, (_b_) constitutional relations, (_c_) +public administration, and (_d_) law. Suggestions are offered as to the +principal and secondary sequences for various groups of students. + +The sequence of courses could be better arranged provided a freshman +course were offered. A freshman course in American government could be +given, with some attention by way of comparison to European methods +and practices, and followed by an intermediate course dealing with +some select foreign governments, again using the comparative method +and viewpoint. Two courses of this character would offer a greater +opportunity to give the instruction now desired from the standpoint of +the average student and citizen, and would serve as a better basis for +advanced instruction than the single course now customarily offered +either in American or comparative government. After taking the +elementary courses the student could then be allowed to select from a +group of subjects in one of the various lines, according to the +special field in which he is interested. In short, the arrangement of +the sequence of courses will necessarily be unsatisfactory as long as +the elementary course is offered only to those of at least sophomore +rank, a practice which unfortunately necessitates in many cases the +beginning of the work in the junior or senior year. It will be +necessary to introduce the subject earlier in the curriculum, in order +to arrange such a sequence as would seem desirable from the standpoint +of thorough and effective instruction. + +=Methods of instruction= + +Methods of instruction[43] vary according to the size of the +institution and the number in the classes. In the preliminary courses +the system of informal lectures is combined with recitations, +discussions, reports, and quizzes. The students in the advanced +courses are obliged to carry on independent work under the +supervision of the instructor. For seniors and graduate students the +seminar has been found most satisfactory in developing a keen interest +in the problems of politics. Unfortunately, where the classes are +small and the time is limited, it is customary to rely largely on +textbooks and recitations, with a moderate amount of special readings +and occasional class reports. But, on the other hand, courses in +government have been improved recently by the appearance of good +textbooks. American and European governments are now presented in +texts which have proved satisfactory and which have aided in the +development of standard courses for these elementary subjects. Then, +too, interest has been aroused and better results obtained through the +use of texts and manuals dealing with the actual work and the problems +of government. The neglected fields of state government and +administrative practices are just beginning to receive attention. + +One method of government instruction, and a very valuable one, is to +encourage the examination of evidence and to consider different +viewpoints on public questions, with the purpose of forming judgments +based on the facts. For this purpose extensive reading and frequent +reports are necessary to check up the work completed. It is possible +to keep in constant touch with the amount of work and the methods of +study or investigation by means of discussions in small sections for +one or two hours each week and by the use of the problem sheet. + +In the courses offered in departments of government in such subjects +as constitutional law, international law, commercial law, and to some +extent in courses in jurisprudence and government regulation of public +utilities and social welfare, the case method has been adopted quite +extensively. This method has been sufficiently tried and its +effectiveness has been demonstrated in the teaching of law, so that +nothing need be said in its defense. The introduction of the case +method in political science and public law has undoubtedly improved +the teaching of certain phases of these subjects. That the use of +cases and extracts may be carried to an extreme which is detrimental +is becoming apparent, for opinions and data change so rapidly that any +collection of cases and materials is out of date before it issues from +the press. Moreover, the use of such collections encourages the +reliance on secondary sources and secondary material, a tendency which +ought to be discouraged. Every encouragement and advantage should be +given to have students and investigators in government deal with +original rather than secondary sources. + +There is, in addition to the use of textbooks, lectures, extensive +reference reading, case books, and the writing of papers, a tendency +to introduce the problem method of instruction and to encourage field +work, observation, and, so far as practicable, a first-hand study of +government functions and activities. + +Another line in which the study of government is undergoing +considerable modification is the emphasis placed on administration and +administrative practices. While special attention heretofore has been +given either to the history of politics and political institutions or +to political theories and principles, the tendency is now to give +import to political practices and the methods pursued in carrying on +government divisions and departments. The introduction of courses in +the principles of administration, with the consideration of problems +in connection with public administration in national, state, and local +affairs, is tending to modify the content as well as the methods of +the teaching of government. New methods and a new content are changing +the emphasis from the formal, theoretical, and historical study of +government and turning attention to the practical phases and to the +technique of administration. As a result of this change and through +the work which is being undertaken by bureaus of reference and +research, instruction is brought much closer to public officers and +greater service is rendered in a practical way to government +administration. + +=Some unsolved problems= + +Among the difficulties and unsolved problems in the teaching of +political science are, first, the beginning course; second, the +relation of courses in government to economics, sociology, history, +and law; third, the extent to which field investigation and the +problem method can be used to advantage in offering instruction and +the development of new standards and of new tests which are applicable +to these methods; fourth, the introduction of the scientific method. + +=1. The introductory course= + +While the elementary course in government is now usually American +government and is, as a rule, offered to sophomores, both the content +and the present position of the course in the curriculum are matters +on which there is considerable difference of opinion. Where the +subject matter now offered to beginning students is comprised of +comparative material selected from a number of modern governments, it +is contended that this arrangement is preferable to confining +attention to American institutions with which there is at least +general but often vague familiarity. If provision is made in the high +school, by which the majority of those who enter the university have +had a good course in American government, there seems to be a strong +presumption that the beginners' course should be devoted to +comparative government. It is quite probable that the introductory +course will cease to be confined to a distinct and separate study of +either foreign governments or of American government and that the most +satisfactory course will be the development of one in which main +emphasis is given to one or the other of these fields and in which +constant and frequent comparisons will be made for purposes of +emphasis, discussion, and the consideration of government issues and +problems. In some cases it is undoubtedly true that emphasis should be +given to foreign governments, and as the high schools improve their +instruction in our local institutions, national and state, it will +become increasingly necessary in colleges to turn attention to the +study of foreign governments in the beginners' course. + +There appears to be a desire to introduce government into the freshman +year, and it is likely that provision will be made to begin the study +of the subject in the first college year, thereby rendering it +possible for those who enter college to profit by a year's work and to +give an earlier start to those who wish to specialize. + +Another difficulty in connection with the introductory course which is +still not clearly determined is the time and attention which may be +given to lectures, to discussions, to the writing of papers or theses, +to the investigation and report on problems, and the extent to which +use may be made of some of the practical devices such as field +investigation. There is a general belief that in the elementary +course only a slight use may be made of practical methods, but that it +is necessary to begin these methods in the elementary years and to +render instruction practical and concrete to a larger extent than is +now done, by means of problems and the discussion of matters of direct +interest to all citizens. No doubt as the problem method and field +study are more definitely systematized and the ways of supervision and +checking up the work developed, these devices will be used much more +extensively. The preparation of problem sheets and of guides to the +selection of concrete material gives promise of a more general and +effective use of the problem method. + +=2. Relation of instruction in government to other subjects= + +The proper relationship and correlation of instruction in government +with that of other subjects has not yet been determined +satisfactorily. The matter of correlation is slowly being worked out +along certain lines; for example, the relationship between courses in +history and in government is coming to be much better defined. Such +subjects as constitutional history and the development of modern +governments are being treated almost entirely in departments of +history, and less attention is being given to the historical +development of institutions in departments of political science. As +long as it is impossible to make certain history courses prerequisites +before beginning the study of government, it becomes necessary to give +some attention in political science to the historical development of +political institutions. By correlation and by proper arrangement of +courses, however, the necessity of introducing government courses with +historical introductions ought to be considerably reduced. + +The relation between work in government and in economics and sociology +is a more difficult problem and one which has not as yet been +satisfactorily adjusted. Some of the courses given in departments of +economics and sociology deal to a considerable extent with the +regulation of public affairs. In these courses, including public +finance, the regulation of public utilities, the regulation of trusts, +labor organizations, and the administration and regulation of social +and industrial affairs, a more definite correlation between political +science and so-called applied economics and applied sociology must be +made. While it is undoubtedly necessary for the economist and the +sociologist to deal with government regulation of economic and social +affairs, and while it is very desirable that these departments should +emphasize the practical and applied phases of their subjects, it is +nevertheless true that courses which are, to a large extent, comprised +of government instruction should be given under the direction of the +department of political science, or, at least, in an arrangement of +definite coöperation therewith. There is no reason why in such a +subject as the regulation of public utilities a portion of the course +might not be given in the department of economics and a portion in the +department of government. Or it may be better, perhaps, for a course +to be arranged in the regulation of public utilities, continuing +throughout the year, in which the professors of economics, government, +commerce, finance, and engineering participate in the presentation of +various phases of the same subject. At all events, the present +separation into different departments of the subject matter of +government regulation of such affairs as public utilities, taxation, +and social welfare regulation is, to say the least, not producing the +best results. + +The relation of government courses to instruction in law is likewise a +partially unsolved problem. A few years ago, when the curricula of law +schools dealt with matters of law and procedure in which only the +practitioner was interested, it became necessary to introduce the +study of public law in departments of government and political +science. Thus we find courses in international law, constitutional +law, Roman law, and elements of law and jurisprudence being offered in +large part in departments of political science. The recent changes in +law school curricula, however, by which many of these subjects are now +offered in the law school and in some cases are offered to qualified +undergraduate students, render the situation somewhat more difficult +to adjust. There is a tendency to introduce these courses into the +law school for law students and to offer a similar course in the +department of government for undergraduates and graduates. The problem +has been further complicated by the provision in some of the leading +law schools of a fourth year, in which the dominant courses relate to +public and international law, legal history and foreign law, +jurisprudence and legislative problems.[44] As these courses become +entirely legal in nature and content and require a background of three +years of law, it becomes practically impossible for any but law +students to be admitted to them. With the prospect of a permanent +arrangement for a fourth year of law devoted primarily to subjects +formerly given in departments of political science, it seems to be +necessary to provide instruction in constitutional law and +international law, at least, for those advanced students in political +science who seek this instruction but who do not expect to take the +private law instruction required to admit them to a fourth-year law +class. The preferable arrangement may prove to be one in which a +thorough course is offered which will be open to qualified seniors and +graduate students and to law students, thus avoiding the duplication +which is now characteristic of instruction in law and the public law +phases of government. In this matter, as in the relation of economics +and sociology, the most appropriate and effective adjustment for +coöperation remains to be formulated. + +=3. Problem method of instruction= + +As the criticism of eminent specialists in government and politics has +impressed upon instructors the idea that too large a portion of the +teaching of the subject is theoretical, treating of what ought to be +rather than of what actually occurs, dealing with facts only on a +limited scale and with superficial attention to actual conditions, +there has developed the necessity of revising the methods of +instruction. This revision is being made largely in the introduction +of field investigation, observation of government activities, and the +problem and research methods. The prevailing practice of the teaching +of politics, which involves lectures, recitations, and the reading and +writing of theses, with a considerable amount of supplementary work, +is being revised by means of a research and reference division, by the +constant use of field investigation and by the study of governmental +problems. The difficulty with all these devices lies in the indefinite +and vague way in which so much of this work must be done. For the +present, in only a few instances, such as the New York Bureau of +Municipal Research, has the technique for field investigation and the +research method been effectively developed. One of the chief lines for +the improvement of the teaching of government is in the +standardization and systematization of the problem method and its more +extensive use in the elementary and advanced government instruction. + +=4. Introduction of the scientific method= + +In the past and to a great extent at the present time that part of the +study of government which has to do with political theory and with a +descriptive and historical account of government has comprised the +greater portion of what is usually designated as political science. +The nature of these studies is such as to render inapplicable the use +of the scientific method. If the study of government is to be +developed as a science in the true sense, then the above subjects must +be supplemented by exhaustive inductive studies and research in the +actual operation of government. Such methods are now being employed in +the examination of government records and the comparison of +administrative practices. And there is being developed also a science +of government based on the practices and the technique of public +administration. + +This science now finds its exemplification in some of the exceptional +work of the graduate schools. Unfortunately, the connection between +these schools and the government departments has not been such as to +secure the best results. Moreover, departments of political science +are not now doing their part to place the results of scientific +investigations at the disposal of government officials. The +introduction of courses in extension departments and evening classes +has in part met this deficiency. But much remains to be done to render +through the department of political science effective service in the +practical operation of government. With the introduction of the +problem method and field investigation in the elementary instruction, +so far as seems feasible, with the development of standard methods and +the technique of research for advanced instruction, the teaching of +government will be rendered not only more valuable to the citizen, but +colleges and universities may render aid to government officials and +citizens interested in social and political affairs. + +A significant development as an aid for research and for rendering +more effective public service has come in the establishment of bureaus +of government research. The method of investigation and research which +has been applied to the problems of government by private +organizations has been found applicable to the handling of research +material in the universities. Through a bureau of this character +recent publications and ephemeral material may be collected for the +use of advanced students, digests may be prepared on topics of special +interest to legislators and administrators, and publications of +particular interest to the citizens may be issued. Such a bureau +serves as a government laboratory for the university and can be placed +at the service of public officials and others who desire to use a +reference department in securing reliable data on governmental +affairs. Thus it is coming to be realized that research in government +may be encouraged and the resources of higher institutions may be so +organized as to render a distinct and much appreciated public service. + + CHARLES GROVE HAINES + _University of Texas_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +ALLIX, E. H. NÉZARD, and MEUNIER, A. _Instruction Civique._ Paris, F. +Juven, 1910; pages 238. American Political Science Association. +Report of the Committee on Instruction in Political Science in +Colleges and Universities. _Proceedings_, 1913; pages 249-270. + +---- Report of Committee of Seven on Instruction in Colleges and +Universities. _Political Science Review_, Vol. IX, pages 353-374. + +---- The Teaching of Government. Report to the American Political +Science Association by the Committee on Instruction. The Macmillan +Company, 1916; pages 135-226. + +BALDWIN, SIMEON E. _The Relations of Education to Citizenship._ Yale +University Press, 1912; pages 178. + +BEACH, W. G. The College and Citizenship. _Proceedings of the +Washington Educational Association._ School Journal Publishing Co., +1908; pages 55-57. + +BEARD, C. A. _The Study and Teaching of Politics._ Columbia University +Press, June, 1912; Vol. XII, pages 268-274. + +---- _Politics_, Columbia University Press, 1912; pages 35. + +---- _Training for Efficient Public Service._ Annals of the American +Academy of Political and Social Science, March, 1916. + +BOITEL, J., and FOIGUET, R. _Notions elementaires d'instruction +civique de droit usuel et d'économie politique._ Paris, Delagrave, +1910; pages 307. + +BOURGUEIL, E. _Instruction civique._ Paris: F. Nathan, 1910; pages +223. + +BRYCE, JAMES. _The Hindrances to Good Citizenship._ Yale University +Press, 1910; pages 138. + +DROWN, THOMAS M. Instruction in Municipal Government in American +Educational Institutions. _National Municipal League: Proceedings_, +Boston, 1902; pages 268-271. + +FAIRLIE, JOHN A. Instruction in Municipal Government. _National +Municipal League: Proceedings_, Detroit, 1903; pages 222-230. + +FREUND, ERNST. Correlation of Work for Higher Degrees in Graduate +School and Law School. _Illinois Law Review_, Vol. XI, page 301. + +HALL, G. STANLEY. Civic Education. _Educational Problems_, New York, +1911, Vol. II, pages 667-682. + +HILL, DAVID J. _A Plan for a School of the Political Sciences._ 1907, +pages 34. + +HINMAN, GEORGE W. The New Duty of American colleges. 63d Congress, 1st +session. Senate Document No. 236, 1913. + +LOWELL, A. LAWRENCE. Administrative Experts in Municipal Governments. +_National Municipal Review_, Vol. IV, pages 26-32. + +---- The Physiology of Politics, _American Political Science Review_, +February, 1910. + +---- _Public Opinion and Popular Government_, Chapters 17-19. + +MOREY, WILLIAM C. _American Education and American Citizenship._ +Rochester, N. Y., pages 20. + +MUNRO, W. B. The Present Status of Instruction in Municipal Government +in the Universities and Colleges of the United States. _National +Municipal League: Proceedings._ Pittsburgh, 1908, pages 348-366. + +---- Instruction in Municipal Government in the Universities and +Colleges of the United States. _National Municipal Review_, Vol. II, +pages 427-438, and Vol. V, pages 565-574. + +National Municipal League. Report of the Committee on Instruction in +Municipal Government. _Proceedings_, Rochester, 1901; pages 218-225. + +Report of the Committee on Organized Coöperation between the +Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Commonwealth of +Massachusetts. _Bulletin of the Alumni Association_, 1914, No. 3. + +Report of the Committee on Training for Public Service. Columbia +University. Charles A. Beard, Chairman. _Bulletin_, March 27, 1915. + +ROBINSON, FREDERICK B. The Municipal Courses. _City College (N. Y.) +Quarterly_, Vol. XII, page 18. + +ROWE, J. S. University and Collegiate Research in Municipal +Government. _National Municipal League: Proceedings._ Chicago, 1904, +pages 242-248. + +SCHAPER, W. A. What Do Students Know about American government before +Taking College Courses in Political Science? _Journal of Pedagogy_, +June, 1906. Vol. XVIII, pages 265-288. + +Society for the Promotion of Training for the Public Service. E. A. +Fitzpatrick, Director. Madison, Wisconsin. _The Public Servant._ +Issued monthly. + +---- Universities and Public Service. _Proceedings of the First +National Conference._ Madison, 1914, pages 289. + +Training for Public Service. New York Bureau of Municipal Research, +Annual Reports. + +WHITE, A. D. The Provision for Higher Instruction Bearing Directly +upon Public Affairs. _House Executive Document No. 42_, part 2, 46th +Congress, 3d Session. + +---- Education in Political Science. Baltimore, pages 51. + +---- European Schools of History and Politics. _Johns Hopkins +University Studies_, Series 5, Vol. XII. + +WILSON, WOODROW. _The Study of Politics. An Old Master and Other +Essays._ Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893, pages 31-57. + +WOLFE, A. B. Shall We Have an Introductory Course in Social Sciences? +_Journal of Political Economy_, Vol. XXII, pages 253-267. + +YOUNG, JAMES T. University Instruction in Municipal Government. +_National Municipal League: Proceedings._ Rochester, 1901; pages +226-234. + + +Footnotes: + +[40] The courses usually given in departments of political science +are: + + 1. American government, (_a_) National, (_b_) State and local, + (_c_) Municipal. + 2. General political science. + 3. Comparative government. + 4. English government. + 5. International law. + 6. Diplomacy. + 7. Jurisprudence or elements of law. + 8. World politics. + 9. Commercial law. + 10. Roman law. + 11. Administrative law. + 12. Political theories (History of political thought). + 13. Party government. + 14. Colonial government. + 15. Legislative methods and legislative procedure. + 16. Current political problems. + 17. Municipal corporations. + 18. Law of officers and taxation. + 19. Seminar. + 20. Additional courses, such as the government of foreign countries, the + regulation of public utilities, and the political and legal status of + women. + +Cf. _The Teaching of Government_, page 137. Published by the Macmillan +Company, 1916. With the permission of the publishers some extracts +from the report of the committee on instruction have been used. The +report should be consulted for the presentation of data and for a +further consideration of some questions of instruction which cannot be +taken up fully within the compass of this chapter. + +[41] Cf. _The Teaching of Government_, page 182. + +[42] _The Teaching of Government_, pages 206-207. + +[43] The discussion of methods follows in part the Report of the +Committee on Instruction, pages 192-194. + +[44] See especially article by Ernst Freund on "Correlation of Work +for Higher Degrees in Graduate School and Law School," Vol. XI, +_Illinois Law Review_, page 301. + + + + +XIV + +THE TEACHING OF PHILOSOPHY + + +The study of philosophy covers such a wide range of subjects that it +is difficult to generalize in attempting to answer the basal questions +which call for consideration in a book like this. In the great +European universities it includes psychology, logic, ethics, +æsthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, the history of philosophy, and +sometimes even the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of history, +the philosophy of law, and the philosophy of the State. Although +special courses may not be offered in every one of these fields in our +American colleges, their philosophical territory is sufficiently +extensive and the separate provinces sufficiently unlike to baffle any +one seeking to describe the educational aims and methods of the domain +as a whole. In order, therefore, to do full justice to our task it +would be necessary to treat each one of the various philosophical +branches separately and to expand the space assigned to us into a +fair-sized volume. Since this is not to be thought of, we shall have +to confine ourselves to a consideration of the traits common to all +the subjects, without forgetting, however, such differences as may +call for different educational treatment. + +=The unified college course in philosophy= + +The difficulty of which we have spoken becomes less formidable when +the teacher of the traditional philosophical subjects regards them not +as so many independent and disconnected fields of study, but as parts +of a larger whole held together by some central idea. The great +systematic thinkers, from Plato down to Herbert Spencer, have aimed at +"completely unified knowledge" and have sought to bring order and +coherence into what may seem to the casual onlooker as a disunited +array of phenomena. Philosophical teaching will be the more fruitful, +the more it is inspired by the thought of unity of aim, and the more +consciously the teachers of the different disciplines keep this idea +in mind. That is the reason why philosophical instruction given in a +small college and by one man is, in some respects, often more +satisfactory than in the large university with its numberless +specialists, in which the beginning student frequently does not see +the forest for the trees. It is not essential that the teacher present +a thoroughly worked-out and definitive system of thought, but it is +important that he constantly keep in mind the interrelatedness of the +various parts of his subject and the notion of unity which binds them +together,--at least as an ideal. + +And perhaps this notion of the unity of knowledge ought to be made one +of the chief aims of philosophical instruction in the college. The +ideal of philosophy in the sense of metaphysics is to see things +whole, to understand the interrelations not only of the branches +taught in the department of philosophy but of all the diverse subjects +studied throughout the university. The student obtains glimpses of +various pictures presented by different departments and different men, +and from different points of view. Each teacher offers him fragments +of knowledge, the meaning of which, as parts of an all-inclusive +system, the pupil does not comprehend. Indeed, it frequently happens +that the different pieces do not fit into one another; and he is +mystified and bewildered by the seemingly disparate array of facts and +theories crowding his brain which he cannot correlate and generally +does not even suspect of being capable of correlation. To be sure, +every teacher ought to be philosophical, if not a philosopher, and +indicate the place of his specialty in the universe of knowledge; but +that is an ideal which has not yet been realized. In the meanwhile, +the study of philosophy ought to make plain that knowledge is not a +mere heap of broken fragments, that the inorganic, organic, and mental +realms are not detached and independent principalities but kingdoms in +a larger empire, and that the world in which we live is not a chaos +but a cosmos. An introductory course in philosophy, the type of course +given in many German universities under the title "Einleitung in die +Philosophie" and attended by students from all sections of the +university, will help the young student to find his bearings in the +multifarious thought-world unfolded before him and will, at the same +time, put him in the way of developing some sort of world-view later +on. + +Philosophical instruction that succeeds in the task outlined above +will have accomplished much. Nevertheless, it cannot attain its goal +unless the student is introduced to the study of the human-mental +world which constitutes a large portion of the field assigned to the +philosophical department: the study of psychology, logic, ethics, and +the history of philosophy. These branches deal with things in which +the human race has been interested from its early civilized beginnings +and with which the young persons entering college have had little or +no opportunity of becoming acquainted. And they deal with a world +which no man can ignore who seeks to understand himself and his +relation to the natural and social environment in which his lot is +cast. A knowledge of the processes of mind (psychology), of the laws +of thought (logic), of the principles of conduct (ethics), and of the +development of man's interpretation of reality (history of philosophy) +will supplement the knowledge acquired by the study of physical +nature, preventing a one-sided and narrow world-view, and will serve +as a preparation for intelligent reflection upon the meaning of +reality (philosophy in the sense of metaphysics). + +=Controlling aims in the teaching of philosophy= + +All these subjects, therefore, have as one of their aims the training +of the powers of thought (judgment and reasoning); and philosophical +teaching should never lose sight of this. Thinking is a difficult +business,--an art which is practiced, to be sure, in every field of +study, but one for which the philosophical branches provide unusual +opportunity and material. It has become a habit with many of recent +years to decry the study of logic as an antiquated discipline, but it +still remains, if properly taught, an excellent means of cultivating +clear thinking; there is no reason why a consciousness of correct +ways of thinking and of the methods employed in reaching reliable +judgments should not prove useful to every one. + +We should say, therefore, that the study of philosophy has a high +cultural value: it encourages the student to reflect upon himself and +his human and natural surroundings (society and nature) and to come to +grips with reality; it frees him from the incubus of transmitted +opinions and borrowed beliefs, and makes him earn his spiritual +possessions in the sweat of his face,--mindful of Goethe's warning +that "he alone deserves freedom and life who is compelled to battle +for them day by day";--it helps him to see things in their right +relations, to acquire the proper intellectual and volitional attitude +toward his world through an understanding of its meaning and an +appreciation of its values; in short, it strengthens him in his +struggle to win his soul, to become a person. This is its ideal; and +in seeking to realize it, philosophy coöperates with the other studies +in the task of developing human beings, in preparing men for complete +living, and is therefore practical in a noble sense of the term. It +has a high disciplinary value in that it trains the powers of analysis +and judgment, at least in the fields in which it operates. And the +habit acquired there of examining judgments, hypotheses, and beliefs +critically and impartially, of testing them in the light of experience +and of reason, cannot fail to prove helpful wherever clear thinking is +a requisite. + +The teacher should keep all these aims in view in organizing his +material and applying his methods. He should not forget that +philosophy is above all things a reflection upon life; he should +endeavor to train his pupils in the art of interpreting human +experience, of grasping its meaning. His chief concern should be to +make _thinkers_ of them, not to fasten upon them a final philosophic +creed,--not to give them a philosophy, but to teach them how to +philosophize. If he succeeds in arousing in them a keen intellectual +interest and a love of truth, and in developing in them the will and +the power to think a problem through to the bitter end, he will have +done more for them than would have been possible by furnishing them +with ready-made formulas. There is nothing so hopelessly dead as a +young man without the spirit of intellectual adventure, with his mind +made up, with the master's ideas so deeply driven into his head that +his intellectual career is finished. The Germans call such a person +_vernagelt_, a term that fitly describes the case. What should be +aimed at is the cultivation of the mind so that it will broaden with +enlarging experience, that it will be hospitable to new ideas and yet +not be overwhelmed by them, that it will preserve inviolate its +intellectual integrity and keep fresh the spirit of inquiry. Such a +mind may be safely left to work out its own salvation in the quest for +a _Weltanschauung_. + + "Young, all lay in dispute; I shall know, being old." + + +In emphasizing the need of such central aims in instruction we do not +wish to be understood as not appreciating the utilitarian value of the +philosophical branches and their importance as a preparation for +professional activity. Like all knowledge, these subjects have their +worth not merely as means of developing human personality but also as +means of equipping the student with such knowledge of facts, methods, +and theories as will prove useful to him in his other studies and in +the daily affairs of life. The teacher, the physician, the lawyer, the +clergyman, the artist, the engineer, the business man, will be +benefited by an understanding of the workings of the human mind, of +the laws of human thinking, and of the principles of human conduct. It +is not absolutely necessary, however, in our opinion, that separate +classes specially designed for the different professions be formed in +the colleges; after all, it is the same human mind that operates in +all the fields of human activity, and a knowledge of mental life in +general will serve the purposes of every vocation. Doubtless, courses +in psychology, logic, and ethics, for example, might be offered having +in view the particular needs of prospective members of the various +callings, but such courses would, in order to meet the situation, +presuppose an acquaintance with the respective professional fields in +question which only students well along in their professional studies +could be expected to possess. Courses of this character might +profitably be given for the benefit of professional students who have +already taken the introductory subjects necessary to their proper +understanding. + +=Introduction of philosophy in the college course= + +It is not easy to determine the most favorable period in a student's +college career at which philosophical subjects should be taught. The +more mature the student is, the more successful the instruction is apt +to be; but this may be said of many other studies. There is no reason +why an intelligent freshman may not begin the study of psychology and +logic and perhaps of some other introductory philosophical branches; +but as a rule better results may be obtained by admitting only such +persons to these classes as have familiarized themselves with +university methods. + +=Problems of philosophy and the development of thought to be emphasized, +rather than the historical sequence= + +We should recommend that every student in the college devote at least +three hours a week for four terms to the study of psychology, logic, +ethics, and the history of philosophy. In case not all these +fundamental courses can be taken, the student will most likely derive +the greatest benefit by giving a year to the study of the history of +philosophy, or one term to the introduction to philosophy, where he +has only that much time at his disposal. It seems easier, however, to +arouse a philosophical interest in the average student through a study +of the basal philosophical questions from the standpoint of +contemporaneous thinking than through the study of the history of +philosophy. He is generally lacking in the historic sense, and is apt +to be wearied and even confused by the endless procession of systems. +This is particularly the case when the teacher fails to emphasize +sufficiently the progressive nature of philosophical thinking in its +history, when he regards this as a mere succession of ideas rather +than as a more or less logical unfolding of problems and solutions--as +a continuous effort on the part of the universal mind, so to speak, +to understand itself and the world. A course in the introduction to +philosophy acquainting the student with the aims of philosophy and its +relation to other fields of study, and placing before him an account +of the most important problems of metaphysics and epistemology as well +as of the solutions which have been offered by the great thinkers, +together with such criticisms and suggestions as may stimulate his +thought, will awaken in him a proper appreciation of a deeper study of +the great systems and lead him to seek light from the history of +philosophy. + +=Methods of instruction= + +The place and relative worth of the various methods of instruction in +the province of philosophy will, of course, depend, among other +things, upon the character of the particular subject taught and the +size and quality of the class. In nearly all the introductory +philosophical branches in which the classes are large the lecture +method will prove a valuable auxiliary. In no case, however, should +this method be employed exclusively; and in formal logic, it should be +used rather sparingly. Ample opportunity should always be given in +smaller groups for raising questions and discussing important issues +with a view to clearing up obscure points, overcoming difficulties, +developing the student's powers of thought, and enabling him to +exercise his powers of expression. It is also essential that the +student be trained in the difficult art of reading philosophical +works. It is wise as a rule to refer him to a good textbook, which +should be carefully studied, to passages or chapters in other standard +manuals, and in historical study to the writings of the great masters. +And frequent opportunity to express himself in the written word must +be afforded him; to this end written reports giving the thought of an +author in the student's own language, occasional critical essays, and +written examinations appealing not only to his memory but to his +intelligence should be required during the term. Such exercises keep +the student's interest alive, increase his stock of knowledge, develop +maturity and independence of thought, and create a sense of growing +intellectual power. The written tests encourage members of the class +to review the work gone over and to discuss with one another important +phases of it; in the effort to organize their knowledge they obtain a +much better grasp of the subject than would have been possible without +such an intensive re-appraisal of the material. + +=Logic to be related to the intellectual life of the student= + +In the course on formal logic a large part of the time should be spent +in examining and criticizing examples of the processes of thought +studied (definitions, arguments, methods employed in reaching +knowledge) and in applying the principles of correct thinking in +written discourses. It is a pity that we have no comprehensive work +containing the illustrative material needed for the purpose. As it is, +the teacher will do well to select his examples from scientific works, +speeches, and the textbooks used in other classes. As every one knows, +nothing is so likely to deaden the interest and to make the study of +logic seem trivial as the use of the puerile examples found in many of +the older treatises. With the proper material this subject can be made +one of the most interesting and profitable courses in the +curriculum,--in spite of what its modern detractors may say. + +=Students to be familiarized with sources and original writings of the +leading philosophers= + +In the history of philosophy the lectures and textbook should be +supplemented by the reading of the writings of the great philosophers. +Wherever it is possible, the learner should be sent to the sources +themselves. It will do him good to finger the books and to find the +references; and by and by he may be tempted to read beyond the +required assignment--a thing greatly to be encouraged, and out of the +question so long as he limits himself to some one's selections from +the writings of the philosophers. + +In the advanced courses the research method may be introduced; special +problems may be assigned to the student who has acquired a knowledge +of the fundamentals, to be worked out under the guidance of the +instructor. + +=Lecture method should arouse dynamic interest and a desire to master +the problems of philosophy= + +In the lecture intended for beginners the teacher should seek to +arouse in his hearers an interest in the subject and the desire to +plunge more deeply into it. He should not bewilder the student with +too many details and digressions but present the broad outlines of the +field, placing before him the essentials and leaving him to fill in +the minutiæ by a study of the books of reference. Each lecture ought +to constitute an organic whole, as it were, in which the different +parts are held together by a central idea; and its connection with the +subject matter of the preceding lectures should be kept before the +hearer's mind. All this requires careful and conscientious preparation +on the part of the teacher, who must understand the intellectual +quality of his class and avoid "shooting over their heads" as well as +going to the other extreme of aiming below the level of their mental +capacities. Lecturing that is more than mere entertainment is an art +which young instructors sometimes look upon as an easy acquisition and +which older heads, after long years of experience, often despair of +ever mastering. The lecture aims to do what books seldom +accomplish--to infuse life and spirit into the subject; and this ideal +a living personality may hope to realize where a dead book fails. + +=How to secure active participation by students through lecture method= + +In order, however, that the philosophical lecture may not fail of its +purpose, the hearer must be more than a mere listener; he must bring +with him an alert mind that grasps meanings and can follow +thought-sequences. And he cannot keep his attention fixed upon the +discourse and understand the relations of its parts unless other +senses coöperate with the sense of hearing and unless the motor +centers are called into play also. He should carefully cultivate the +art of taking notes, an accomplishment in which the average student is +sadly lacking and to acquire which he needs the assistance of the +instructor, which he seldom receives. An examination of the student's +notebook frequently reveals such a woeful lack of discrimination on +the writer's part that one is led to doubt the wisdom of following +this method at all; wholly unimportant things are set down in faithful +detail and essential ones wholly ignored. The hour spent in the +lecture room, however, can and should be made a fruitful means of +instruction, one that will awaken processes of thought and leave its +mark. But in order to get the best result, the student should be urged +to study his notes and the books to which he has been referred while +the matters discussed in the lecture are still fresh in his mind; he +will be able to clear up points he did not fully grasp, see +connections that have escaped him, understand the force of arguments +which he missed; and he will assume a more independent and critical +attitude toward what he has heard than was possible on the spur of the +moment, when he was driven on and could not stop and reflect. At home, +in the quiet of his study, he can organize the material, see the parts +of the discourse in their relations to each other, and re-create the +whole as it lived and moved in the mind of the teacher. In doing this +work he is called on to exercise his thinking and takes an important +step forward. It is for this reason that I am somewhat skeptical of +the value of the syllabus prepared by the teacher for the use of +classes in philosophy,--it does for the student what he should do for +himself. Whatever value the syllabus may have in other fields of +study, its use in the philosophical branches ought to be discouraged. +The great weakness of the lecture method lies in its tendency to +relieve the hearer of the necessity of doing his own thinking, to +leave him passive, to feed him with predigested food; and this defect +is augmented by providing him with "helps" which rob him of the +benefit and pleasure of putting the pieces of the puzzle-picture +together himself. + +However, even at its best, the lecture method, unless supplemented in +the ways already indicated, runs the danger of making the student an +intellectual sponge, a mere absorber of knowledge, or a kind of +receptacle for professors to shoot ideas into. As was said before, the +student must cultivate the art of reading books and of expressing his +thoughts by means of the spoken and written word. At the early stages +and in some fields of philosophical study, however, the reading of +many books may confuse the beginner and leave his mind in a state of +bewilderment. It is indispensable that he acquire the working concepts +and the terminology of the subject, and to this end it is generally +wise to limit his reading until he has gained sufficient skill in +handling his tools, as it were. In the elementary courses many members +of the class will be unable to do more than follow the lectures and +study the textbook; the more gifted ones, however, should be +encouraged to extend the range of their reading under the guidance of +the instructor. + +=Organization of undergraduate courses in philosophy= + +An answer to the question concerning the desired sequence of courses +in philosophy will depend upon many considerations,--upon one's +conception of philosophy and of the various subjects generally +embraced under it, upon one's notion of the aims of philosophical +instruction, upon one's estimate of the difficulties encountered by +the student in the study of the different branches of it, and so on. +There is wide divergence of opinion among thinkers on all these +points. Philosophy is variously conceived as metaphysics, as theory of +knowledge, as the science of mind (_Geisteswissenschaft_), as the +science of values (_Werttheorie_), or as all of these together. Logic +is conceived by some thinkers as dependent upon psychology, by others +as the presupposition of _all_ the sciences, including psychology. +Ethics is regarded both as a branch of psychology, or as dependent +upon psychology, and as an independent study having nothing whatever +to do with psychology. Psychology itself is treated both as a natural +science, its connection with philosophy being explained as a +historical survival, and as the fundamental study upon which all the +other subjects of the philosophical department must rest. Where there +is such a lack of agreement, it will not be easy to map out a +sequential course of study that will satisfy everybody. Even when +philosophy is defined in the old historic sense as an attempt to reach +a theory of the world and of life, men may differ as to the exact +order in which the basal studies should be pursued. By many the +history of philosophy is considered the best introduction to the +entire field, while others would place it at the end of the series of +fundamentals (psychology, logic, ethics), holding that a student who +has studied these will be best equipped for a study that includes the +history of their development. As a matter of fact, given students of +mature mind and the necessary general preparation, either order may be +justified. The average underclassman is, however, too immature to +plunge at once into the study of the history of philosophy, and the +present writer would recommend that it be preceded by courses in +general psychology, logic and ethics. The average sophomore will have +little difficulty in following courses in psychology and logic; and it +is immaterial which of these he takes up first. The course in the +theory of ethics should come in the junior or senior year and after +the student has gained some knowledge of psychology (preferably from a +book like Stout's _Manual of Psychology_). And it would be an +advantage if the course in ethics could be preceded by a study of the +development of moral ideas, of the kind, let us say, presented in +Hobhouse's _Morals in Evolution_. For reasons already stated, the +entire course in philosophy should be inaugurated by the Introduction +to Philosophy. Advanced courses in metaphysics and the theory of +knowledge should come at the end and follow the history of philosophy. +The ideal sequence would, therefore, be in the view of the present +writer: Introduction to Philosophy, Psychology or Logic, the +Development of Moral Ideas, Theory of Ethics, History of Philosophy, +Metaphysics, and Theory of Knowledge. It must be admitted, however, +that a rigorous insistence upon this scheme in the American college, +in which freedom of election is the rule, would impair the usefulness +of the department of philosophy. Few students will be willing to take +all these subjects, and there is no reason why an intelligent junior +or senior should not be admitted to a course in ethics or the history +of philosophy without having first studied the other branches. A +person possessing sufficient maturity of mind to pursue these studies +will be greatly benefited by them even when he comes to them without +previous preparation; and it would be a pity to deprive him of the +opportunity to become acquainted with a field in which some of the +ablest thinkers have exercised their powers. At all events, he should +not leave college without having had a course in the history of +philosophy, which will open up a new world to him and may perhaps +stimulate him to read the best books in the other branches later on. + +It would not be possible, of course, to prescribe all the fundamental +philosophical courses, even if it were desirable,--few faculties would +go so far,--but it would be wise to require every candidate for the +bachelor's degree to give at least six hours of his time (three hours +a term, on the two-term basis) to one or two of the elementary +courses, preferably in the sophomore year. Ethics and the history of +philosophy could then be chosen as electives and be followed by the +more advanced and specialized courses. + +=Moot questions: controversy between philosopher and psychologist= + +We have already touched upon some of the debatable questions in the +sphere of philosophical education. The dispute concerning the place of +psychology in the scheme of philosophical instruction has its cause in +differences of view concerning the aims, nature, and methods of that +subject. Philosophers ask for an introductory course in psychology +which shall serve as a propaedeutic to the philosophical studies, +while teachers of education wish to have it treated in a way to throw +light upon educational methods and theory. "Some biologists treat +mental phenomena as mere correlates of physiological processes.... +Others, including a number of psychologists also, regard psychological +phenomena as fully explicable in terms of behavior, and as +constituting therefore a phase of biological science." The Committee +of the American Psychological Association on the Academic Status of +Psychology recommends "that the Association adopt the principle that +the undergraduate psychological curriculum in every college or +university, great or small, should be planned from the standpoint of +psychology and in accordance with psychological ideals, rather than to +fit the needs and meet the demands of some other branch of +learning."[45] This declaration of principle might lead to peace +between the philosophers and the psychologists if there were agreement +concerning the "psychological ideals" in accordance with which the +subject is to be studied. The desideratum of the philosophers is a +psychology which will give the student an understanding of the various +phases of mental life; but they do not believe that this can be +reached by an exclusive use of the natural-scientific method. The +objection of some psychologists, that the philosophers wish to inject +metaphysics into the study of mental processes, is met by the +rejoinder that the natural-scientific psychology is itself based upon +an unconscious metaphysics, and a false one at that. What the +philosophers desire is psychological courses which will do full +justice to the facts of the mental life and not falsify them to meet +the demands of a scientific theory or method--courses of the kind +given in European universities by men whose reputation as +psychologists is beyond suspicion. + +=Divergent views as to nature of introductory course in philosophy= + +We have likewise alluded, in this chapter, to the controversy over the +need and nature of an introductory course in philosophy. Of those who +favor such a philosophical propaedeutic some recommend the History of +Philosophy, others an Introduction to Philosophy of the type described +in the preceding pages. Some teachers regard as the ideal course a +study of the evolving attitudes of the individual toward the world, +after the manner of Hegel's Phenomenology of the Spirit; some the +Philosophy of History; some _Kulturgeschichte_, that is, the study of +"the evolution of science, morality, art, religion, and political +life,--in short, the history of institutions"; some the study of the +great literatures; and some would seek the approach to the subject +through the religious interest.[46] It is plain that the History of +Philosophy will receive help from all these sources; and a wise +teacher will make frequent use of them. Nor can the course in the +Introduction to Philosophy afford to ignore them; it will do well to +lay particular stress upon the philosophical attitudes, the embryonic +philosophies which are to be found in the great literatures, in the +great religions, in science, and in the common sense of mankind. +Wherever the human mind is at work, there philosophical +conceptions,--world-views, crude or developed,--play their part; and +they form the background of the lives of peoples as well as of +individuals. In the systems of the great thinkers they are formulated +and made more or less consistent; but everywhere they are the result +of the mind's yearning to understand the meaning of life in its +manifold expressions. When the student comes to see that philosophy is +simply an attempt to do what mankind has always been doing and will +always continue to do, in a rough way, that it is "only an unusually +obstinate attempt to think clearly and consistently,"--to continue the +process of thinking to the bitter end,--his attitude toward it will be +one of intelligent interest and respect. But not one of these subjects +taken by itself will serve the purpose of an introductory course. + +=The "case method" in the teaching of philosophy= + +Another moot question is concerned with the use of the "case method," +employed in law instruction, in ethics. The case method seeks to know +what the moral law is by studying the moral judgments of society; or, +more definitely, to quote the words of Professor Coxe,[47] one of its +champions: "to discover, if possible, a law running through the +judgments _which society has made through its duly appointed +officials_." "Historical cases, properly attested, alone give us the +means of objective judgment." There can be no doubt that this method +will prove serviceable, if judiciously applied; but its exclusive use +either as a method of study or as a method of instruction,--even in an +introductory course in ethics,--is not to be recommended.[48] The +student will not gain an adequate conception of morality from a study +of the varying and often contradictory "historical cases," much less +from a study of the judgments which society has made "through its duly +appointed officials." The legal "case" literature of our country does +indeed furnish valuable and interesting material for ethical study, +but it would require a riper mind than that of a beginner to discover +and to evaluate the moral principles which lie embodied in it. + +=Testing the results of instruction= + +The problem of testing the effectiveness of one's teaching presents +few difficulties in classes which are small and in which individual +instruction is possible. Wherever teacher and student come in close +personal contact and opportunity is afforded for full and frequent +discussions as well as for written exercises, it is a comparatively +easy matter to judge the mental caliber of the members of the class +and to determine the extent of their progress. In the case of the +large classes, however, which crowd into the lecture halls of the +modern university, the task is not so simple. Here every effort should +be made to divide such concourses of students into numerous sections, +small enough to enable the instructor to become acquainted with those +under his charge and to watch their development. The professor who +gives the lectures should take one or more of these sections himself +in order that he may understand the minds to which he is addressing +himself, and govern himself accordingly. The tests should consist of +discussions, essays, and written and oral examinations; by means of +these it is not impossible to determine whether the aims of the +subject have been realized in the instruction or not. But the tasks +set should be of such a character as to test the student's power of +thought, his ability to understand what he has read and heard with all +its implications, his ability to assume a critical attitude toward +what he has assimilated, and his ability to try his intellectual wings +in independent flights. A person who devotes himself faithfully to his +work during the entire term, who puts his mind upon it, takes an +active part in the discussions, and is encouraged to express himself +frequently by means of the written word, will surely give some +indication of the progress he has made, even in a written +examination--it being a fair assumption that one who knows will +somehow succeed in revealing his knowledge. Care must be taken, of +course, that the test is not a mere appeal to the memory; it is only +when the examination makes demands upon the student's intelligence +that it can be considered a fair measure of the value of philosophical +instruction. It must not be forgotten, however, that the examination +may reveal not only the weakness of the learner but the weakness of +the teacher. It is possible for a student, even in philosophy, to make +a fine showing in a written examination by repeating the words of the +master which he does not understand, without having derived any real +benefit from the course. The teacher may set an examination which will +hide the deficiencies of the instruction, and the temptation to do +this in large classes which he knows have not been properly taught is +great. + + FRANK THILLY + _Cornell University_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +COXE, G. C. The Case Method in the Study and Teaching of Ethics. +_Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods_, Vol. X, +13, page 337. + +DAVIES, A. E. Education and Philosophy, _Journal of Philosophy, +Psychology, and Scientific Methods_, Vol. VI, 14, page 365. + +HINMAN, E. L. The Aims of an Introductory Course in Philosophy. +_Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods_, Vol. VII, +21, page 561. + +HÖFLER, A. _Zur Propädeutik-Frage._ + +HÖFLER, A. Zur Reform der philosophischen Propädeutik. _Zeitschrift +für die Österreichischen Gymnasien_, Vol. L, 3, page 255. + +HUDSON, J. W. Hegel's Conception of an Introduction to Philosophy. +_Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods_, Vol. VI, +13, page 337. + +---- An Introduction to Philosophy through the Philosophy of History. +_Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods._ Vol. VII, +21, page 569. + +---- The Aims and Methods of Introduction Courses: A Questionnaire. +_Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods_, Vol. IX, +2, page 29. + +LEHMANN, R. _Der deutsche Unterricht_, pages 389-437. + +LEUCHTENBERGER, G. _Die philosophische Propädeutik auf den höheren +Schulen._ + +OVERSTREET, H. A. Professor Coxe's "Case Method" in Ethics. _Journal +of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods_, Vol. X, 17, page +464. + +PAULSEN, F. _German Universities and University Studies._ English +translation by Frank Thilly and W. W. Elwang, Book III and Book IV. + +---- _Ueber Vergangenheit und Zukunft der Philosophie im gelehrten +Unterricht, Central-Organ für die Interessen des Realschulwesens_, +Vol. XIV, 1, page 4. + +---- _Geschichte des gelehrten Unterrichts_, Conclusion. + +Report of the Committee on the Academic Status of Psychology, +published by the American Psychological Association, December, 1914. + +TUFTS, J. H. Garman as a Teacher. _Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, +and Scientific Methods_, Vol. IV, 10, page 263. + +WEISSENFELS, O. Die Philosophie auf dem Gymnasium. _Zeitschrift für +das Gymnasialwesen_, Vol. LIII, 1, page 1. + +WENDT, G. _Didaktik und Methodik des deutschen Unterrichts, Handbuch +der Erziehungs- und Unterrichtslehre für höhere Schulen._ + + +Footnotes: + +[45] The sentences quoted are taken from the Report of this committee, +which was published in December, 1914. + +[46] See the articles of J. W. Hudson and others in the Bibliography. + +[47] See Bibliography. + +[48] See Professor Overstreet's Discussion mentioned in the Bibliography. + + + + +XV + +THE TEACHING OF ETHICS + + +=Interest in the study of ethics determined by the aim of instruction= + +Nowhere does academic tediousness work a more dire mischief than in +the teaching of ethics. It is bad to have students forever shun the +best books because of poor instruction in literature; the damage is +worse when it is the subject of moral obligation which they associate +with only the duller hours of their college life. Not that the aim of +a course in ethics is to afford a number of entertaining periods. The +object rather is to help our students realize that here is a subject +which seeks to interpret for them the most important problems of their +own lives present and to come. Where this end is kept in view, the +question of interesting them is settled. A sincere interpretation of +life always takes the interest when once it is grasped that this is +what is really being interpreted. + +=Viewpoint in the past= + +The procedure in the past (and still quite common) was to introduce +the subject by way of its history. A book like Sidgwick's _History of +Ethics_ was studied, with supplements in the shape of the students' +own reading of the classics, or lectures, with quotations, by the +teacher. That this method was frequently of much service is +undeniable. Teachers there are with rare gifts of inspiration who can +put freshness into any course which ordinary teachers leave hopelessly +arid. But this should not blind us to the fact that certain modes of +procedure are in general more likely to be fruitful than others. + +=The business of right living the aim of ethics teaching= + +These methods depend upon the aim; and the aim, we venture to hold, +should be eminently practical. The content of ethics is not primarily +a matter of whether Kant's judgments are sounder than Mill's or +Spencer's. Its subject is human life and the business of right living: +how should people--real people, that is, not textbook illustrations--live +with one another? This is the essential concern of our subject matter, +and in it our student is intimately and practically involved. Charged +with the fact, he may deny the impeachment. He refuses to worry over +the merits of hedonism versus rigorism, the distinction between +hypothetical and categorical imperatives, or the claim of ethics to be +called a science. Ethics, that is, as an intellectual discipline +through the survey of historic disputations is indeed remote from the +concerns that touch his life. But all the time there is no subject of +greater interest when approached from the side of its bearing on +practical problems. Consider the earnestness with which the student +will discuss with his friends such questions as these: What sense is +there in a labor strike? Is a conscientious objector justified in +refusing military service? Why should any one oppose easy divorce +laws? May a lawyer defend a rogue whom he knows to be guilty? Can one +change the nature with which he was born? Is violence justified in the +name of social reform? If what is right in one age or place is wrong +in another, is it fair to object when moral laws are broken? If a +practice like prostitution is common, what makes it wrong? + +These do not sound like the questions likely to receive a welcome +hearing in the classroom; but it is precisely upon the interest in +such topics as these that the course in ethics should build; for its +subject is right living, a matter in which the student may indeed be +assumed to feel a genuine concern. If the questions that he wants +answered are not all as broad in their significance as the foregoing, +there are others of a more immediate personal kind which arise in his +life as a student, as a friend, as a son and brother, problems in +which standards of fair play and "decency" are involved, and upon +which it may be taken for granted that he has done some thinking, +howsoever crude. These interests are invaluable. Out of them the finer +product is to be created in the shape of better standards, higher +ideals, and habits of moral thoughtfulness, leading in turn to still +better standards and still worthier conduct. The course in ethics +should be practical in the sense that both its starting point and its +final object are found in the student's management of his life. + +=Illustrations of the problems of right living= + +Consider, for example, how his interest in problems of friendship may +be used as the point of departure for an extremely important survey +over general questions of right relationship. Just because friendship +is so vital a concern of adolescent years, he can be led to read what +Aristotle, Kant, Emerson, have to say upon this subject and be +introduced as well to that larger life of ideal relationships from +which these writers regard the dealings of friends. The topic of right +attitudes toward a friend broadens out readily into such +considerations as treating persons aright for their own sake or +regarding them as ends _per se_, a dead abstraction when approached as +it is by Kant, but a living reality when the students get Aristotle's +point about magnanimous treatment of friends. They can then proceed by +way of contrast to note, for example, how this magnanimity was limited +to friends in the upper levels of Athenian society, and went hand in +hand with approval of slave labor and other exploitations which a +modern conscience forbids. To give sharper edge to the conception of +man as deserving right treatment for his own sake, the class might go +on to examine other notable violations of personality in past and +present; e.g., slavery (read for instance Sparr's _History of the +African Slave Trade_) or the more recent cruelties toward the natives +in the rubber regions of the Congo and the Amazon. Reference may also +be made (without undue emphasis) to the white-slave traffic of today +and the fact be noted that a right sense of chivalry will keep a man +from partnership in the degradation which creates both the demand for +white slavery and ultimately its supply. We mention this to show how a +common practical interest can be employed to introduce the students to +so fundamental an ethical conception as the idea of inviolable human +worth. It may, no doubt, be highly unconventional for them to begin +with a discussion of friendship and after a few periods find +themselves absorbed in these other questions; but if care is exercised +to sum up and to emphasize the big conceptions underlying the topic, +we may be sure that their grasp of the subject will be no less firm +than under the older method. Their acquaintance with a study requiring +hard, abstract thinking will surely not be hurt, to say the least, by +an introduction which is concrete and practical. + +Or take another matter of real concern to the student at this period +of his life. He is certain to be giving some thought to the matter of +his future vocation; and here again is a topic which, properly +handled, broadens out into the most far-reaching inquiries. It is to +be regretted that as yet the vocational-guidance movement has been +occupied in the main with external features--comparing jobs, making +objective tests of efficiency, and so on. The central ethical +conceptions are usually slighted. That one's vocation is a prime +influence in the shaping of personality in oneself, in one's fellow +workers, in the public served (or disserved) by one's work, in the +world of nations in so far as war and peace are connected with +commerce and other interchange of vocational products--all this is +matter for the teacher who wishes the ethics course to work over into +better living.[49] Nor again, as will be noted later in the chapter, +need the claims of the subject as a scholarly discipline suffer from +such treatment. Questions of the nature of moral standards, of the +distinction between expedient and right, etc., can be taken up more +profitably when, instead of dealing with the academic questions +forming the stock in trade of most textbooks, the course examines a +few vocations, let us say, business, teaching, art, law, medicine,--in +the light of such standards as these: A history of the calling; e.g., +what has it contributed to the elevation of mankind, to the +development of the arts and sciences, and to specific kinds of human +betterment? What is the best service it can accomplish today? What +traits does it require in those who pursue it? What traits is it +likely to encourage in them for better and for worse? Report on great +leaders in the calling, with special reference to what their work made +of them. What are the darker sides of the picture? What efforts are +being made today to raise the moral code in this vocation? Sum up the +ideal rewards. + +We do not mean, of course, that the only problems are those which +center around the demands of today for a more just economic and social +order. On the contrary, we believe that the movement for social +justice is greatly in need of precisely that appreciation of the +claims of moral personality which it is the main business of ethical +study to promote. But we shall never get our students to profit from +their work in social ethics, or in ethical theory, or in any branch of +the subject whatever, unless we keep fresh and close the contact with +their own experiences and ambitions. + +Indeed, we venture to assert that unless this connection is kept +unbroken, the subject is not ethics at all but an abstraction which +ought to take some other name. Ethics deals with human volitions; but +the latter term is meaningless to the student save as he interprets it +by his own experiences in the preference of better ways to lower. He +knows the difficulties that arise in his own group-associations,--his +home or his class or his club, for example,--the conflicts of +ambitions, the readiness to shirk one's share of common +responsibility, the discordant prides and appetites of one sort and +another which lead to overt injustices. All these should be used to +throw light upon the living moral problems of group-life in the +vocations, in the civic world, in the international order. + +Temperamentally, to be sure, the teacher may be inclined to handle his +subject in what he prefers to regard as academic detachment. But where +the subject is ethics and not dead print, complete aloofness is out of +the question. There would be no textbooks in ethics if the men whose +convictions are there recorded had not grappled earnestly with +problems of vital moment to their day and generation. The crucial +questions raised by a changing Athenian democracy were no matters of +air-born speculation to Socrates and Plato and Aristotle. Nor is it an +accident that the philosopher who so sought to vindicate the worth of +man as an end _per se_ should have sent from his apparently isolated +study in Königsberg his glad acclaim of the French Revolution. The +abounding interest of the English Utilitarians in the economics, the +politics, the social reform, of the nineteenth century needs no +comment. There are texts for study today because the men who wrote +them were keenly concerned about a nobler mode of life for mankind. To +invite the student to share their reflections without expecting +worthier conduct is to ignore the essential purpose by which those +reflections were prompted. + +=Governing aim in ethics teaching= + +Hence our first recommendation--that the _content of the ethics +courses be determined by the principal aim of so interpreting the +experiences and interests of the student as to stimulate worthier +behavior through a better understanding of the general problem of +right human relationships_. + +Our second recommendation as to aims is suggested by certain extremes +in the practice of today. Reference to problems of immediate concern +does not mean that ultimate considerations are to be shelved. Indeed, +it must rather be stressed that such discussions miss their best +object, _if they fail to lead to searching reflection upon ultimate +standards_. The temptation to forego such inquiry today is strong. In +their desire to be practical and up-to-date, many teachers are +altogether too ready to rest the case for moral obligation upon a kind +of easy-going hedonism, the fallacy of provisionalism, as Professor +Felix Adler calls it. Tangible "goods" like happiness or "social +values" are held up as standards, as if these values were ends in +themselves and the problem of an ultimate human worth were irrelevant. + +It may very well be a modest attitude to say that we can no longer +busy ourselves with the nature of ultimate ends and that we can best +employ our energies in trying to define the various goods which +contribute now and here to human betterment. Let the effort be made, +by all means. But when the last of empirical goods have been examined +and appraised (assuming for the moment that we can indeed appraise +without possessing ultimate norms) the cardinal question still waits +for answer: To what are all these goods instrumental? What kind of +life is best? What is it that permits man, with all his faults, his +sordid appetites, his meannesses and gross dishonors, to hold his head +erect as one yet worthy of the tribute implied in the fact that we +have duties toward him? + +An answer satisfying to all may never be reached; but to evade these +questions is to abdicate the teacher's function. Many young people are +led by the biologic teachings of the day to regard man as the utterly +helpless product of his environment. Or they are so impressed with the +obvious and immediate needs of whole masses for better food, better +homes, greater opportunities for culture, that they do not stop to ask +whether these goods are worth while in themselves, or if not, what is +the deeper purpose to which they should minister. A conception of +personality is needed, sufficiently exalted to permit the various +immediate utilities to find their due place as tributes to the ideal +excellence latent in man; and on the other hand there is need for a +view of the spiritual life free from the misuse to which that term is +put by the various cults evoked by reaction against modern mechanism. +Painstaking inquiry into the grounds upon which the assurance of human +dignity can justify itself, has never been more urgently required.[50] + + +=Ideals and tendencies in ethics teaching= + +Let us beware of surrendering to the common but often pernicious +demand of our swift-moving America that in order to receive +consideration a new idea should prove itself capable of yielding +immediate dividends. There seems to be a certain hesitancy today among +some in our educated classes about speaking of "ideals." Ideals +connote a long look ahead. They imply a sense that there is something +perfect even though the steps toward embodying or approximating it +will be many and arduous, perhaps discouragingly hard. They betoken +the likelihood of appearing before men as the victims of ultimately +unworkable dreams. In refreshing contrast is the seeming +practicability of encouraging present tendencies. Your tendency is no +far-off projection of mere thought; it is something solid and "real," +here and now, respected at the bank, in the newspaper office, and +other meeting places of those whose heads are hard. Tendencies turn +elections; ideals carry no such palpable witness of their power. +"Hence let us study tendencies." + +This characterization is perhaps extreme, but the danger to which it +refers is all too frequent. A strike, for instance, sets most of us to +discussing ways by which this particular disturbance can be ended +quickly. It is only the few who are willing to hold in mind both terms +of the problem, namely the procedure for tomorrow morning and the +positive ideal toward which all our vocational life should set its +face even if the distant tomorrow is still so far ahead. So of our +conceptions of political life. A given election may indeed involve an +immediate moral issue; but even the issue of next month can be faced +properly only when it is related to an ideal of public life which may +have to wait long years for appreciation by the majority. Nothing is +more necessary in a democracy than a leadership trained in the long +forward look, trained in distinguishing morally right and morally +wrong from expedient, and best from merely better, trained in the +courage to champion a distant ideal in the face of clamor to accept +some inferior but belligerently present substitute. + +In short, the student should be offered every encouragement to +thinking out the ultimate obligations of his own life and of his +various groups and to reaching the conviction that there is such a +reality as a permanent human worth, a fundamentally right way for men +and women to seek, a rightness whose authority is undiminished by the +blunders of the human mind in trying to define it. An ever more +earnest attempt to find that way, and to find it by practice illumined +by all the knowledge that can be brought to bear, should be the +leading object. Not a series of definitions and quotations, nor yet a +little information about the social movements of our time, but a truer +understanding of life as the result of interpreting it in terms of the +obligation to create right human adjustments--such an aim saves +college ethics alike from dryness and from superficial attempts to +sprinkle interest over a subject of inherent and intense practical +importance. + +It is not essential that an introductory course in ethics should enter +into the philosophy of religion. This may be left to other agencies, +like the church, or to later courses, with every confidence that the +outcome will be sound if mind and soul and will (to use the old +formula) are first enlisted in behalf of noble conduct. Whatever +thinking the student may do along these lines will be the better if +its nurture is drawn first from moral thinking and moral practice.[51] + +=Course in ethics prescribed, and early in college course= + +From the foregoing it follows that the ethics course should be taken +by all the students. The earlier it can be given the better, inasmuch +as its demands upon their conduct apply to all the years of their +life, and because the whole career at college is more likely to +benefit from beginning early such reflections as this study +particularly invites. + +=Sequence determined by development of the student= + +The sequence of courses will perhaps be best determined by remembering +the need of following the natural growth of the student. Experiences +come first and then the interpretations. Hence the insistence upon the +practical content of the introductory courses. Theory and history +should follow, not precede. Nobody is interested in the history or the +theory of a thing unless he is interested in the thing itself. +Furthermore, we must bear in mind the needs of those students who are +not likely to care enough for the more theoretical aspects to continue +the subject. If the introductory course is to be all that they take, +obviously the more practical we can make it the better. + +=In teaching ethics follow the maxim from the concrete to the abstract= + +As to method, a variety of profitable ways abounds if only the contact +with life is kept close and the principles studied are tested by their +outcome in the life which the student knows best. In general, the best +procedure is to work back from concrete instances to the principles +underlying the problem, formulate the principles and test them in +other fields. Our illustrative strike, for instance, can be used to +throw light upon the actual and the ideal principles involved in human +relationship in some such manner as the following: + +=Method of procedure illustrated= + +What do the employers want? What do they mean by liberty? What were +the circumstances under which Mill formulated his principle of +"liberty within the limits of non-infringement?" What have been the +consequences in America of reliance upon this formula? Why does it +break down in practice? Compare it with the theory of the balance of +power in international relations. What is likely to be the effect of +the possession of power upon the possessor himself? + +Restate the ideal of liberty in terms of duty, not of privilege. What +are the obstacles to the fulfillment of such an ideal in industry? In +homes? What are the personal obstacles to clear understanding of the +meaning of right? + +What do the workers want? Examine each of their demands--shorter +hours, more pay, recognition of the union, etc. What should the +granting of these demands contribute to their lives? Give instances to +show whether "better off" means better persons or not. + +Compare the working man's use of the word "liberty" with that of the +employer. Why do workers often become oppressors when they themselves +become employers? What is the difference between demanding a redress +of your grievance and making a moral demand? What makes the cry of +fraternity as uttered by the workers repugnant to those who otherwise +would accept fraternity as an ideal? + +How would you formulate the ideal for the vocational life of the +factory worker? Apply it to other vocations--journalism, law, +teaching. Sum up the ideal rewards of work. + +Make tentative definitions of liberty, rights, duty, justice. + + * * * * * + +Each of the questions mentioned above--and many more will occur in the +course of the discussion--furnishes occasion for extended +considerations that call upon the student for scholarly gathering of +facts, for close thinking, and--not least--for reflection upon his own +experiences and volitions. Other problems will suggest themselves. It +is obvious how the interest of the student in prison reform, for +example, can be employed in like manner as a motive to searching +reflection upon questions of moral responsibility. The principle that +punishment should be a means of awaking in the offender the +consciousness of a self which can and should hold itself to account +despite the magnitude of its temptations is of special usefulness, in +the years when a broadening altruism (and we might add, a tendency to +self-pity) is likely to lead to loose notions of personal obligation. + +=Place of the textbook in ethics teaching= + +The use of a textbook is a minor matter. To prevent the courses from +running off into mere talk--and even ethics classes are not averse to +"spontaneous" recitation on their own part or to monologues by the +teacher--a textbook may be required, with, let us say, monthly reports +or examinations. So much depends, however, upon the enthusiasm of the +instructor that here particularly recommendations can be only of the +most general kind. Some of the most effective work in this subject is +being done by teachers who forget the textbook for weeks at a time in +order to push home a valuable inquiry suggested by an unforeseen +problem raised in the course of the discussion. Others use no +textbooks at all. Some outline the year's work in a series of cases or +problems with questions to be answered in writing after consulting +selected passages in the classics or in current literature or in +both.[52] This method has the advantage of laying out the whole year's +work beforehand and of guaranteeing that the student comes to the +classroom with something more than a facility in unpremeditated +utterance. It is generally found to be of greater interest because it +follows the lines of his own ordinary thinking--first the problem and +then the attempt to find the principles that will help to solve it. + +=Moral concepts deepened by participation in social or philanthropic +endeavors= + +More important than any of these details of technique is the need of +helping the student to clarify his thinking by engaging in some +practical moral endeavor. The broadening and deepening of the +altruistic interests is a familiar feature of adolescent life. The +instructor in ethics, in the very interest of his own subject, is the +one who should take the lead in encouraging these expressions, not +only because of the general obligation of the college to make the most +of aptitudes which, neglected in youth, may never again be so +vigorous, but also because of the truth in Aristotle's dictum that +insight is shaped by conduct. Hence the work in ethics should be +linked up wherever possible with student self-government and other +participation in the management of the college, and with +philanthropics like work in settlements or in social reform groups or +cosmopolitan societies. For the students of finer grain it is +eminently worth the trouble to form clubs to intensify the spirit of +the members by activities more pointedly directed to the refining of +human relationships. They might engage in activities in which the task +of elevating the personality is specially marked, that is, in problems +which have to do with mutual interpretation--e.g., black folk and +white, foreign and native stocks in America, delinquents and the +community, immigrant parents and unsympathetic children. They might +organize clubs for one or more of these purposes, for discussing +intimately the problems of personal life, for public meetings on the +ethics of the vocations and on the more distinctly ethical phases of +political and international progress. Such organizations can be made +to do vastly more good for their members then the average debating +society, with its usual premium on mere forensic skill, or the +fraternity, with its encouragement of snobbishness. The wholesome +thing about the spirit of fraternity should be set to work upon some +such creative activities as we have mentioned. Not only does the +comradeship strengthen faith in right doing, but these practical +endeavors offer a notable help to the deepening, extending, and +clarifying of that interest in moral progress without which there can +be none of the intelligent leadership for which our democracy looks to +its colleges. + +=Peculiar difficulty of applying usual test to courses in ethics= + +To test how far the subject has been of value to the student is +unusually difficult. His interest in the discussions is by no means an +unfailing index. There are those who may be both eager and skilled in +the intellectual combat incidental to the course but whose lives +remain untouched for the better. The worthier outcome is hard to +trace. It is quite possible for the teacher to take credit for the +instilling of an ideal whose generation was due to some agency wholly +unknown, perhaps even to the student himself. On the other hand, the +best results may take years for overt appearance. In the nature of the +case, their more intimate expressions can never be recorded. + +Moreover, students vary in the force of character which they bring +with them to the study. A lad whose home training has been deficient +may take more time than the best teacher can give in order to reach +the degree of excellence to which others among his classmates ascend +more quickly. Or a lad whom the course has moved with a desire to take +up some philanthropic endeavor may hesitate to pursue it through lack +of the necessary gift or failure in self-confidence. The forces which +enter into the making of character are so complex, including as they +do not only acquisitions of new moral standards, but temperamental +qualities, early training, potent example, physical stamina, dozens of +accidental circumstances, that it is unfair to use the tests +applicable, let us say, to a course in engineering. + +Hence we must be beware of testing the value of the work by immediate +results. Something may be gathered by having the students write +confidentially what they think the course has done for them and where +it could be improved. This they can do both at the end of the course +and years later when time has brought perspective. But tests are of +minor importance. The ethical shortcomings of our time, the constant +need of our students for ever finer standards, convey challenge +enough. Even though the obvious results fall short of our hopes, we +can make the most of our resources with every assurance that they are +amply needed. Are young men more likely to be the better for setting +time aside to obtain with the help of an earnest student of life a +clearer insight into the principles of the best living? If they are +the courses are justified, even though some who take them can show +little immediate profit. + + HENRY NEUMANN, Ph.D. + _Ethical Culture School, New York_ + + +Footnotes: + +[49] See Adler: _The Present World-Crisis and Its Meaning_, chapter on +"An Ethical Program of Social Reform": also _An Ethical Philosophy of +Life_, Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. + +[50] From this point of view the ethical justification for the war on +the slum becomes: (_a_) to make possible for the slum-dweller the +better performance of his various duties as parent, worker, citizen; +(_b_) to drive home to all concerned the meaning of interdependence; +(_c_) to clarify for all of us the ideals to which better living +conditions should minister. There is every need today to further the +conviction that the highest service we can perform for another is not +to make him happier, but to help him make himself a better person +through the better performance of his duties. + +[51] Note the emphasis placed by modern philosophy upon ethical value +as the point of approach to the problem of Godhead. + +[52] Professor Sharp of Wisconsin has found this method so serviceable +that he has interested many teachers in his state and elsewhere in +using it with high school students for purposes of moral instruction. +See "A Course in Moral Instruction for High Schools," by F. C. Sharp; +_Bulletin, University of Wisconsin_. + + + + +XVI + +THE TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY + + +=Place of psychology in the curriculum= + +Historically, as an offshoot, and rather a recent offshoot, from +philosophy, psychology has been under the care of the department of +philosophy in colleges and universities, foreign as well as American, +and has been taught by professors concerned in part with the courses +in philosophy. Though this state of affairs still obtains to a +considerable extent, the tendency is undoubtedly towards allowing +psychology an independent position in the organization and curriculum +of the college. In recent appointments, indeed, the affiliation of +psychology with education has frequently been emphasized instead of +its affiliation with philosophy, for the professional applications of +psychology lie more in the field of education than elsewhere. As a +required study, our science is more likely to find a place in the +college for teachers than in the college of arts. But, on the other +hand, the applications to medicine, business, and industry are +increasing so rapidly in importance as to make it logical to maintain +an independent position for the science. Only in an independent +position can the psychologist be free to cultivate the central body of +his subject, the "pure" as distinguished from the applied science; +and, with the multiplication of practical applications, it is more +than ever important to center psychological teaching in the person of +some one who is simply and distinctively a psychologist. + +=The introductory course to be general, not vocationally applied +psychology= + +For a similar reason, psychologists are wont to insist that the +introductory course in their subject, no matter for what class of +students, with general or with professional aims, should be definitely +a course in _psychology_ as distinguished from educational or medical +or business psychology. Illustrative material may very well be chosen +with an eye to the special interests of a class of students, but the +general principles should be the same for all classes, and should not +be too superficially treated in the rush for practical applications. +Some years ago, a Committee of the American Psychological Association +was appointed to make a survey of the teaching of psychology in +universities, colleges, and normal schools, and the Report of this +Committee (1), still the most important contribution to the pedagogy +of the subject, emphasizes the concurrent view of psychologists to the +effect just stated, that the study of psychology should begin with a +course in the central body of doctrine. The psychological point of +view must be acquired before intelligent application can be made, +whether to practical pursuits or to other branches of study such as +philosophy and the social sciences, to which psychology stands in the +relation of an ancillary science. + +During the war, the applications of psychology in the testing and +selection of men and training them for specified military and naval +work, in rating officers, in morale and intelligence work, and in +several other lines, became so important that it was decided to give +psychology a place as an "allied subject" in the curriculum of the +Students' Army Training Corps; and the report of the committee of +psychologists that prepared the outline of a course for this purpose +deserves attention as a contribution to the pedagogy of the subject. +They proposed a course on "Human Action," to be free from questions of +a speculative or theoretical nature and concentrated on matters +relevant to military practice and the military uses of psychology. The +aim was to enlist the student's practical concern at the very outset, +and to give him the psychological point of view as applied to his +problems as a member of the Army and a prospective officer. In method, +the course was to depend little on lectures, or even on extensive +readings, and much on the student's own solution of practical +psychological problems. Evidently the psychologists who prepared this +plan were driven by the emergency to abandon "academic" prepossessions +in favor of a course in pure psychology as the necessary prerequisite +to any study of applications; and it is quite possible that courses +in psychology for different groups of students could be prepared that +should follow this general plan and be intensely practical from the +start. It would still remain true that the thorough psychologist +should be the one to plan and conduct such courses. + +=The psychological point of view must be emphasized in the introductory +course= + +The psychological point of view means attentiveness to certain matters +that are neglected in the usual objective attitude toward things. It +is identified by many with introspection, but there is at present +considerable dissent from this doctrine, the dissenters holding that +an objective type of observation of human behavior is distinctively +psychological and probably more significant and fruitful than the +introspective attitude. However this may be, both introspection and +behavior study require attention to matters that are commonly +disregarded. Every one is of course interested in what people do, or +at least in the outcome of their activities; but psychology is +interested in the activities themselves, in how the outcome is reached +rather than in the outcome itself. Ordinarily, we are interested in +the fact that an inventor has solved a problem, but regard it as +rather irrelevant if he proceeds to tell us the mental process by +which he reached the solution. We are interested in the fact that a +child has learned to speak, but devote little thought to the question +as to how he has learned. It is to bring such psychological questions +to light and arouse intelligent interest in them, with some knowledge +of the answers that have been found, that the psychologist is chiefly +concerned when initiating beginners into his science. This primary aim +is accomplished in the case of those students who testify, as some do, +that the course in psychology has "opened their eyes" and made them +see life in a different light than hitherto. + +=Values of the study of psychology--cultural rather than disciplinary= + +Whether this primary value of psychology is to be counted among the +disciplinary or among the cultural values may be a matter of doubt. +Psychologists themselves have seldom made special claims in behalf of +their science as a means of formal discipline, many of them, in fact, +taking a very negative position with regard to the whole conception of +such discipline. What psychology can give of general value is a point +of view, and a habit of attentiveness to the mental factor. The need +of some systematic attention to these matters often comes to light in +the queer efforts at a psychology made by intelligent but uninstructed +persons in the presence of practical problems involving the mental +factor. + +=The practical value= + +Besides this "cultural" value, and besides the special uses of +psychology as a preparation for teaching and certain other +professions, there is a very real and practical value to be expected +from an understanding of the mental mechanism. Since every one works +with this mechanism, every one can make practical use of the science +of it. Most persons get on passably well, perhaps, without any expert +knowledge of the machinery which they are running; yet the machine is +not entirely "fool proof," by any means, but sometimes comes to grief +from what is in essence a lack of psychological wisdom either in the +person himself or in his close companions. Mental hygiene, in short, +depends on psychology. The college student, looking forward to a life +of mental activity, is specially in a position to utilize information +regarding the most economical working of the mental machine; and, as a +matter of experience, some students are considerably helped in their +methods of mental work by what they learn in the psychology class. +Among the results of recent investigation are many bearing on economy +and efficiency of mental work. This value of psychology, it will be +seen, is practical without being professional--except in so far as all +educated men can be said to adopt the profession of mental engineer. +Much more emphasis than has been customary might well be laid on this +side of the subject in elementary courses. + +=Content of the introductory course in psychology= + +The content of the first course in psychology is just now undergoing a +certain amount of revision. Traditionally the aim has been, not so +much, as in most other subjects, to initiate the student into a range +of facts lying outside his previous experience, as to bring definitely +to his attention facts lying within the experience of all, and to +cause him to classify these so as to refer any given mental process to +the class or classes where it belongs. This calls for definition, the +making of distinctions, the analysis of complex facts, the use of a +technical vocabulary, and in general for much more precision of +statement than the student has been used to employ in speaking of such +matters. Some laws of mental action, verifiable within ordinary +experience, are also brought to light in such a course, and some +account of the neural mechanisms of mental life is usually included; +but its chief accomplishment is in leading the student to attend to +mental processes and gain a point of view that may remain his future +possession. + +With the great expansion of psychological knowledge in recent decades, +due to research by experimental and other empirical methods, it has +become possible to give a course more informational in character and +going quite beyond the range of the student's previous experience; and +this new material is finding its way into elementary texts and +courses. Many of the results of research are not at all beyond the +comprehension of the beginner; indeed, they are often more tangible +than the distinctions and analyses that give the stamp to the +traditional course. These empirical results also have the advantage, +in many cases, of throwing light on the practical problems of mental +health and efficiency; and some inclusion of such material is +desirable if only to fit the needs of the considerable number of +students who cannot become interested in a course of the traditional +sort. Practice in this matter is at present quite variable, some +teachers basing the introductory course as far as possible on the +results of experiment, and others adhering closely to the older plan. + +=Methods of teaching psychology--Practical exercises= + +There is certainly some advantage in keeping the first course +untechnical. The student can then be set to observing for himself, +instead of depending on books. Many of the facts of psychology are so +accessible, at least in a rough form, as to make the subject a good +one for appealing to the spirit of independence in the student. Some +teachers are, in fact, accustomed to introduce each part of the +subject by exercises, introspective or other, designed to bring the +salient facts home to the student in a direct way, before he has +become inoculated with the doctrine of the authorities. "The essential +point is that the student be led to observe his own experience, to +record his observation accurately--in a word, to psychologize; and to +make the observation before, not after, discovering from book or from +lecture what answers are expected to these questions. Individual +experiments should so far as possible be performed in like manner +before the class discussion of typical results. In all cases the +results of these introspections should be recorded in writing; +representative records should be read and commented on in class; and +the discussion based on them should form the starting point for +textbook study and for lecture." The plan thus highly recommended by +Professor Calkins[53] she found not to be widely used at the time of +her inquiry; a commoner practice was the assignment of reading for the +student's first introduction to a given topic. This alternative plan +is a line of less resistance; and it is also true that exercises in +original observation by beginners in psychology are likely to be +instructive mostly as evidence of the ineptness of the beginner in +psychological observation. Moreover, when the content of the course is +informational and based on the results of research, preliminary +exercises by the student are of rather limited value, though they +still could serve a useful purpose in bringing forcibly to his +attention the problems to be studied. + +The use of "exercises," somewhat analogous to the examples of algebra +or the "originals" of geometry, is quite widespread in introductory +courses in psychology, and several much-used textbooks offer sets of +exercises with each chapter. Several types are in vogue: (1) some call +for introspections, as, for example, "Think of your breakfast table as +you sat down to it this morning--do you see it clearly as a scene +before your mind's eye?" (2) some call for a review and generalization +of facts presumably already known, as "Find instances of the +dependence of character upon habit;" (3) many consist of simple +experiments demanding no special apparatus and serving to give a +direct acquaintance with matters treated in the text, such as +after-images or fluctuations of attention; and (4) many call for the +application of the principles announced in the text to special cases, +the object being to "give the student some very definite thing to do" +(Thorndike), in doing which he will secure a firm hold of the +principles involved. In general, teachers of psychology aim to "keep +the student doing things, instead of merely listening, reading, or +seeing them done" (Seashore, 1, page 83). In a few colleges, +laboratory work of a simple character forms part of the introductory +course, and in one or two the laboratory part is developed to a degree +comparable with what is common in chemistry or biology. As a rule, +however, considerations of time and equipment have prevented the +introduction of real laboratory work into the first course in +psychology. + +=Classroom methods--The lecture= + +Of classroom methods, perhaps all that are employed in other subjects +find application also in psychology, some teachers preferring one and +some another. The lecture method is employed with great success by +some of the leaders, who devote much attention to the preparation of +discourse and demonstrations. One professor (anonymous) is quoted[54] +as follows: + +"I must here interject my ideas on the lecture system. The lecture has +a twofold advantage over the recitation. (1) It is economical, since +one man handles a large number of students; the method of recitation +is extravagant. This fact alone will mean the retention of the lecture +system, wherever it can possibly be employed with success. (2) It is +educationally the better method, for the average student and the +average teacher. For the reconstruction of a lecture from notes means +an essay in original work, in original thinking; while the recitation +lapses all too readily into textbook rote and verbal repetition. + +"It is, nevertheless, true that sophomore students are on the whole +inadequate to a lecture course. They cannot take notes; they cannot +tear the heart out of a lecture. (They are also, I may add, inadequate +to the reading of textbooks or general literature, in much the same +way.) Hence one has to supplement the lecture by syllabi, by lists of +questions (indexes, so to speak, to the lectures), and by personal +interviews.... + +"The sum and substance of my recommendations is that you provide a +competently trained instructor, and let him teach psychology as he +best can. What the student needs is the effect of an individuality, a +personality; and the lecture system provides admirably for such +effect." + +=The recitation= + +Though the lecture system is used with great success by a number of +professors, the general practice inclines more to the plan of oral +recitations on assigned readings in one or more texts, and large +classes are often handled in several divisions in order to make the +recitation method successful. Not infrequently a combination of +lectures by the professor and recitations conducted by his assistants +is the plan adopted, the lecturer to add impressiveness to the course, +and the recitations to hold the student up to his work. Written +exercises, such as those already mentioned, are often combined with +the oral recitation; and in some cases themes are to be written by the +students. Probably the seminar method, in which the subject is chiefly +presented in themes prepared by the students, is never attempted in +the introductory course. + +=Class discussion= + +On the other hand, a number of successful teachers reject both the +lecture and the recitation methods, and rely for the most part upon +class discussions, with outside readings in the textbooks, and +frequent written recitations as a check on the student's work. A +champion of the discussion method writes as follows:[55] + +"A teacher has not the right to spend any considerable part of the +time of a class in finding out by oral questions ... whether or not +the student has done the work assigned to him. The good student does +not need the questions and is bored by the stumbling replies which he +hears; and even the poor student does not get what he needs, which is +either instruction _a deux_, or else a corrected written +recitation.... Not in this futile way should the instructor squander +the short hours spent with his students. The purpose of these hours is +twofold: first, to give to the students such necessary information as +they cannot gain, or cannot so expediently gain, in some other way; +second, and most important, to incite them to 'psychologize' for +themselves. The first of these purposes is best gained by the lecture, +the second by guided discussion. 'Guided discussion' does not mean a +reversal of the recitation process--an hour in which students ask +questions in any order, and of any degree of relevancy and +seriousness, which the instructor answers. On the contrary, the +instructor initiates and leads the discussion; he chooses its subject, +maps out its field, pulls it back when it threatens to transgress its +bonds, and, from time to time, summarizes its results. This he does, +however, with the least possible show of his hand. He puts his +question and leaves it to the student interested to answer him; he +restates the bungling answer and the confused question; he leaves one +student to answer the difficulties of another.... The advantage of the +discussion over the lecture is, thus, that it fosters in the student +the active attitude of the thinker in place of the passive attitude of +the listener.... Obviously it is simplest to teach large classes by +lecturing to them. Yet a spirited and relevant discussion may be +conducted in a class of a hundred or so. Of course no more than eight +or twelve, or, at most, twenty of these will take even a small part on +a given day; perhaps a half or two thirds will never take part; and +some will remain uninterested. But there will be many intelligent +listeners as well as active participants; and these gain more, I +believe, by the give and take of a good discussion than by constant +lectures however effective." + +=Class experiments= + +Brief mention should be made of a form of class exercise peculiar to +psychology, the "class experiment." This is in some respects like a +demonstration, but differs from that in calling for a more active +participation on the part of the student. Any psychological experiment +is performed _on_ a human (or animal) subject, and many experiments +can be performed on a group of subjects together, each of them being +called on to perform a certain task or to make a certain observation. +Each of the class having made his individual record, the instructor +may gather them together into an average or summary statement, and the +individual variations as well as the general tendency may thus be +brought to light. Very satisfactory and even scientific experiments +can thus be performed, with genuine results instructive to the class. + +=Checking the work of the students= + +Of methods of holding the student to his work, mention has already +been made of the much-used written recitation. The usual plan is to +have frequent, very brief written examinations. Sometimes the practice +is to correct and return all the papers; sometimes to place them all +on file and correct samples chosen at random for determining the +student's "term mark." A plan that has some psychological merit is to +follow the examination immediately by a statement of the correct +answers, with brief discussion of difficulties that may arise, and to +ask each student to estimate the value of his own paper in the +standard marking system. The papers are then collected and examined, +and returned with the instructor's estimate. + +Since an examination is, in effect, a form of psychological test, it +is natural that psychologists should have attempted to introduce some +of the technique of psychological testing into the work of examining +students, in the interest of economy of the student's time as well as +that of the examiner. The teacher prepares blanks which the student +can quickly fill out if he knows the subject, not otherwise. To +discover how far the student has attained a psychological point of +view, written work or examination questions often demand some +independence in the application to new cases of what has been learned. +Far-reaching tests of the later value to the student of a course in +psychology have not as yet been attempted. + +=Place of psychology in the college course= + +No attempt has yet been made to obtain the consensus of opinion among +psychologists as to whether the introductory course should be required +of all arts students, and probably opinions would differ, without +anything definitive to be said on either side. In quite a number of +colleges psychology forms part of a required general course in +philosophy. Where a separation has occurred between philosophy and +psychology, the latter is seldom absolutely required. As a general +rule, however, the introductory course, even if not required, is taken +by a large share of the arts students. The traditional position for +the course in psychology is late in the college curriculum, originally +in the senior but more recently in the junior year. In many of the +larger colleges it is now open to sophomores or even to freshmen. One +motive for pushing the introductory course back into the earlier years +is naturally to provide for more advanced courses in the subject; and +another is the desire to make psychology prerequisite for courses in +philosophy, education, or sociology. Still another motive tending in +the same direction is the desire to make the practical benefits of +psychological study available for the student in the further conduct +of his work as a student in whatever field. If considerable attention +is devoted in the introductory course to questions of mental hygiene +and efficiency, the advantage of bringing these matters early to the +attention of the student outweighs the objection which is often raised +by teachers of psychology, as of other subjects, to admitting the +younger students, on the ground of immaturity. The teachers who get +the younger students may have to put up with immaturity in order that +the benefit of their teaching may be carried over by the students into +later parts of the curriculum. + +=Length of the introductory course= + +When the introductory course in psychology forms part of a course in +philosophy, it is usually restricted to one semester, with three hours +of class work per week. When psychology is an independent subject in +the curriculum, a two-semester course is usually provided, since it is +the feeling of psychologists that this amount of time is needed in +order to make the student really at home in the subject, and to +realize for him the values that are looked for from psychology. Often +there is a break between the two semesters of such a course, the +second being devoted to advanced or social or applied psychology. +Sometimes, on the other hand, the two-semester course is treated as a +unit, the various topics being distributed over the year; this latter +procedure is probably the one that finds most favor with +psychologists. Still, good results can be obtained with the semester +course supplemented by other courses. + +=Content of advanced courses in psychology= + +The most frequent advanced course is one in experimental psychology. +This is taken by only a small fraction of those who have taken the +introductory course, partly because the laboratory work attached to +the experimental course demands considerable time from the student, +partly because students are not encouraged to go into the laboratory +unless they have a pretty serious interest in the subject. For a +student who has it in him to become somewhat of an "insider" in +psychology, no course is the equal of the laboratory course, +supplemented by judicious readings in the original sources or in +advanced treatises. Next in frequency to the experimental course +stands that in applied psychology, since the recent applications of +psychology to business, industry, vocational guidance, law, and +medicine appeal to a considerable number of college students. Other +courses which appear not infrequently in college curricula are those +in social, abnormal, and animal psychology. No precise order is +necessary in the taking of these courses, and it is not customary to +make any beyond the introductory course prerequisite for the others. + + ROBERT S. WOODWORTH + _Columbia University_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +Many of the textbooks contain, in their prefaces, important +suggestions toward the teaching of the subject. There are also +frequent articles in the psychological journals on apparatus for +demonstrations and class or laboratory experiments. + +1. Report of the Committee of the American Psychological Association +on the Teaching of Psychology. _Psychological Monographs_, No. 51, +1910. + +2. American Psychological Association, Report of the Committee on the +Academic Status of Psychology, 1915: "The Academic Status of +Psychology in the Normal Schools." + +3. Same Committee, 1916: "A Survey of Psychological Investigations +with Reference to Differentiations between Psychological Experiments +and Mental Tests." Concerned with the availability of mental tests as +material for the experimental course. + +4. Courses in Psychology for the Students' Army Training Corps. +_Psychological Bulletin_, 1918, 15, 129-136. See also the Outlines of +parts of the course in the same journal, pages 137-167, 177-206; and a +note on the success of the courses by Edgar S. Brightman, in the +_Bulletin_ for 1919, pages 24-26. + + +Footnotes: + +[53] In Report, pages 50-51. + +[54] By Sanford, 1, page 66. + +[55] Calkins, 1, pages 47-48. + + + + +XVII + +THE TEACHING OF EDUCATION + + +A. TEACHING THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN COLLEGE + +=Kinds of educational values= + +There are three main kinds of educational value; viz., practical, +cultural, and disciplinary. These three types of educational value +probably originated in the order in which they are here mentioned. In +early educational periods, all values are practical, or utilitarian. +With the growth of social classes, some values become cultural; viz., +those pursued by the upper classes. The disciplinary values are +recognized when studies cease to have the practical and cultural +values. + +=Meaning of educational values= + +By the "educational value" of a subject we mean, of course, the +service which the pursuit of that subject renders. Any one subject +will naturally have all three values, but no two subjects will have +the same values mixed in the same proportion. The practical value of a +subject depends on the use in life to which it can be put, especially +its use in making a living. The cultural value of a subject depends +largely on the enjoyment it contributes to life. While culture does +not make a living, it makes it worth while that a living should be +made. The disciplinary value of a subject depends on the amount of +mental training that subject affords. Such mental training is +available in further pursuit of the same, or a similar, subject. It is +the fashion of educational thinking in our day to put greatest stress +on the practical values, less on the cultural, and least on the +disciplinary. There is no denying the reality of each type of value. + +=Value of the history of education= + +Now, what is the value of the history of education? There are no +experimental studies as yet, nor scientific measurements, upon which +to base an answer. The poor best we can do is to express an opinion. +This opinion is based on the views of others and on the writer's +experience in teaching the history of education ten years in a liberal +college (Dartmouth) and ten years in a professional graduate school +(New York University). On this basis I should say that the aim of the +history of education, at least as recorded in existing texts, is first +cultural, then practical, and last disciplinary. Texts yet to be +written for the use of teachers in training may shift the places of +the cultural and the practical. This new type of text will give the +history, not of educational epochs in chronological succession, but of +modern educational problems in their origin and development.[56] + +=Its cultural value= + +As cultural, the history of education is the record of the efforts of +society to project its own ideals into the future through shaping the +young and plastic generation. There comes into this purview the +successive social organizations, their ideals, and the methods +utilized in embodying these ideals in young lives. Interpretations of +the nature of social progress, the contribution of education to such +progress, and the goal of human progress, naturally arise for +discussion, and the history of education well taught as the effort of +man to improve himself is both informing and inspiring. This is the +cultural value of the history of education. The sense of the meaning +and value of human life is enhanced. As President Faunce says,[57] "A +college of arts and sciences which has no place for the study of +student life past and present, no serious consideration of the great +schools which have largely created civilization, is a curiously +one-sided and illiberal institution." + +=Its practical value= + +As practical, the history of education, even when taught from the +customary general texts, throws some light on such everyday school +matters as educational organization, the best methods of teaching, the +right principles of education for women, how to manage classes, and +the art of administering education. History cannot give the final +answer to such questions, but it makes a contribution to the final +answer in reporting the results of racial experience and in assisting +students to understand present problems in the light of their past. +The history of education has a practical value, but it is not alone +the source of guidance. + +=Its disciplinary value= + +As disciplinary, the history of education shows the value of all +historical study. The appeal is mainly to the memory and the judgment. +The teaching is inadequate, if the appeal is only to the memory. The +judgment must also be requisitioned in comparing, estimating, +generalizing, and applying. Memory is indispensable in retaining the +knowledge of the historical facts, and judgment is utilized in seeing +the meaning of these facts. With all studies in general, history +shares in training perceptive, associative, and effortful activities. +Training in history is commonly supposed also to make one +conservative, in contrast with training in science, which is supposed +to make one progressive. But this result is not necessary, being +dependent upon one's attitude toward the past. If past events are +viewed as a lapse from an ideal, the study of history makes one +conservative and skeptical about progress. If, on the other hand, the +past is viewed as progress toward an ideal, the study of history makes +one progressive, and expectant of the best that is yet to be. But, +even so, familiarity with the past breeds criticism of quick +expedients whereby humanity is at last to arrive. On the whole, the +disciplinary value of the history of education is attained as an +incident of its cultural and practical values. We are no longer trying +to discipline the mind by memorizing lists of names and dates, though +they be such euphonious names as those of the native American Indian +tribes, but we are striving to understand man's past and present +efforts at conscious self-improvement. + +=The various aims of students= + +College students will elect a course in the history of education with +many different motives. They may like the teacher, they may like +history in any form, they may like the hours at which the class is +scheduled, some person who had the course recommended it, or they have +an idea they may teach for a while after graduating. A few know they +are going into teaching as a vocation in life, and appreciate in a +measure the increasing exactitudes of professional training. Thus, +from the student standpoint, the aims are eclectic. The results with +them will be that as human beings they have a wider view of life; as +citizens, perhaps as members of school boards, they are more +intelligent in school matters; and as teachers they make a start in +their progressive equipment. The general course in the history of +education is pursued by a group of students with varying but +undifferentiated motives. + +=A student's reaction= + +Once I asked a group of college students to write a frank reaction on +a sixty-hour course they had just completed in the general history of +education. One wrote as follows: "The history of education makes me +feel that a number of what we call innovations today are a renaissance +of something as 'old as the hills.' We hear a lot about pupil +self-government, and we find it back in the seventeenth century. The +trade school also is not a modern tendency. + +"I also feel that maybe we are not giving our boys and girls a liberal +education; maybe we are too utilitarian (I was very much inclined that +way myself before I took this course). + +"That when we wish to try something new, let's go back and see if it +has not been tried before, study the circumstances, the mistakes made, +the results attained, and see whether we can't profit by the +experience given us by the past. + +"I was also very much surprised to learn the close connection that +there is between civilization and education. + +"I feel that we are laying too much stress on the thinking side of +training rather than on the volitional side: not doing in the sense +of utility alone, but as a means of expression." + +It is easy to see the parts of the course that particularly gripped +him. Another wrote as follows: + +=Another reaction= + +"The history of education makes me feel as follows about teaching: + +(1) It shows the knowledge of method to be obtained from the +experiences of others. + +(2) It makes me feel the importance of the teacher. + +(3) It shows a great field and encourages us to try to improve our own +methods. + +(4) It shows us the great responsibility of the profession in +connection with the nation, for the school teacher to a marked degree +determines the destiny of a nation. + +(5) It shows the importance of free-thinking. (Illustration omitted.) + +(6) It shows us the great importance of individuality along the line +of teaching, for, as soon as we begin to adopt the methods of others +exactly without examining them carefully, progress stops, and we are +like the teachers of the Middle Ages. + +(7) It shows that every teacher should have a heartfelt interest in +his pupil. + +(8) It makes us feel that discipline is unnecessary, if we utilize the +right methods. + +(9) It tells us and makes us feel above everything else that a good +education is worth as much as riches and that, since we are all +brothers, we ought to try to teach everybody." + +An analysis of these two answers would show a combination of the +cultural and practical values and, by implication at least, since they +were able to say these things, a disciplinary value. + +=History of education should be an elective course= + +Should the history of education be a required or an elective course in +the college curriculum? In a school of education offering a bachelor's +degree, it might well be required, for both cultural and professional +reasons, but in the usual department of education in a college it +will be offered as an elective course. Its cultural and disciplinary +values are not such as to make its pursuit a requisite for a liberal +education, and its practical value for prospective teachers, as it has +been commonly taught, is not such as to warrant its prescription. +Besides, the prospective teacher is animated by the vocational motive +and will elect the history of education anyway, unless there are more +practical courses to be had. Students in all the college courses +should have the privilege of electing the history of education in view +of their future citizenship. + +=A forty-five-hour course= + +A three-hour-per-week elective course for a half year, about +forty-five classroom hours, will meet the needs of the average +undergraduate in this subject. This amount of time is adequate for a +bird's eye view of the general field, affording a unit of +accomplishment in itself preparing the way for more specialized study +later, though it is only about half the time requisite for presenting +the details of the subject. + +=First term senior year= + +In my judgment the study of the history of education would best fall +between principles and methods. The study of the principles of +education should come first, as it is closely related to preceding +work in the natural and mental sciences, especially biology, +physiology, sociology, and psychology; it also gives a point of view +from which to continue the study of education, some standard of +judgment. The study of educational methods, such as general method in +teaching, special method for different subjects, the technique of +instruction, class management, organization and administration of +schools, should come last in the course, because it will be soonest +used. These practical matters should be fresh in the mind of any young +college graduate beginning to teach. The history of education is a +good transition in study from the theory of the first principles to +the practice of school matters, affording a panorama of facts to be +judged by principles and racial experiments in educational practice. +This means that the choice time for the course in the history of +education is the first semester of the senior year in college. There +is something to be said for making this course the introductory one +in the study of education, connecting with preceding courses in +history and being objective in character. There is also something to +be said for giving only a practical course dealing with the history of +educational problems to college undergraduates and reserving the +general history of education as a complex social study for the +graduate school. There is no unanimity of opinion or practice +concerning the history of education.[58] + +=Texts and contents= + +What should be the content of the one-semester general course? Three +modern available texts are Monroe, _A Brief Course in the History of +Education_ (The Macmillan Company); Graves, _A Student's History of +Education_ (The Macmillan Company); and Duggan, _A Student's Textbook +in the History of Education_ (D. Appleton & Co.). Of these Monroe's +book is the first (1907), and it has greatly influenced every later +text in the field. There is a general agreement in these three texts +as to the content of such a course; viz., a general survey of +education in the successive periods of history, including primitive, +oriental, Greek, Roman, Early Christian and medieval, renaissance, +reformation, realism, Locke and the disciplinary tendency, Rousseau, +the psychologists, and the scientific, sociological, and eclectic +tendencies. All are written from the standpoint of the conflict +between the interests of society and the individual. The pages of the +three books number respectively 409, 453, and 397. Graves pays most +attention to the development of American education. Duggan omits the +treatment of primitive and oriental education (except Jewish), "which +did not contribute _directly_ to Western culture and education." All +are illustrated. All have good summaries, which Graves and Duggan, +following S. C. Parker, who derived the suggestion from Herbart, place +at the beginning of the chapter. All have bibliographical references, +and Duggan adds lists of questions also. Perhaps in order of ease for +students the books would be Duggan, Graves, and Monroe, though +teachers would not all agree in this. Users of Monroe have a valuable +aid in his epoch-making _Textbook in the History of Education_ (The +Macmillan Company), 772 pages, 1905, and users of Graves likewise have +his three volumes as supplementary material (The Macmillan Company). + +The same general ground is covered by P. J. McCormick, _History of +Education_ (The Catholic Educational Press), 1915, 401 pages, with +especial attention given to the Middle Ages and the religious +organizations of the seventeenth century. This work contains +references and summaries also. + +Duggan is right in omitting the treatment of primitive and oriental +education on the principle of strict historical continuity, but for +purposes of comparison the chapters on primitive and oriental +education in the other texts serve a useful purpose. + +=Educational classics= + +A more intensive elective course in the history of education intended +especially for those expecting to teach might well be offered in a +college with sufficient instructors. These courses might be in +educational classics, the history of modern elementary education, or +the history of the high school. Texts are now available in these +fields. Monroe's _Source Book for the History of Education_ (The +Macmillan Company), 1901, is a most useful book in studying the +ancient educational classics, in which, however, the Anacharsis of +Lucian does not appear, though it can be found in the Report of the +United States Commissioner of Education, 1897-1898, Vol. I, pages +571-589. The renaissance classics may be studied in the works of +Woodward and Laurie. The realists may be studied in the various +editions of Comenius, Locke, Spencer, and Huxley. Likewise the modern +naturalistic movement may be followed in the writings of Rousseau, +Pestalozzi, Herbart, and Froebel. These four courses are available in +educational classics: the ancient, the renaissance or humanistic, the +realistic and the naturalistic. + +=History of elementary and high schools= + +_The History of Modern Elementary Education_ (Ginn and Co.) by S. C. +Parker and _The High School_ (The Macmillan Company) by F. W. Smith +may be profitably used as texts in the courses on these topics. +Parker's has but little on the organization of the elementary school, +is weak on the philosophical side of the theorists treated, has +nothing on Montessori, draws no lessons from history, is very brief on +the present tendencies, and is somewhat heavy, prosaic, and +unimaginative in style; but it is painstaking, covers all the main +points well and has uncovered some valuable new material, and on the +whole is the best history in English on its problem. Dr. Smith's book +is really a history of education written around the origin and +tendencies of the high school as central. It is a scholarly work, +based on access to original Latin and other sources, though diffuse. + +=American education= + +An elective course in the history of American education is highly +desirable. Chancellor E. E. Brown's scholarly book on _The Making of +Our Middle Schools_, or E. G. Dexter's encyclopedic book on _History +of Education in the United States_, may profitably serve as texts. +This course should show the European influences on American schools, +the development of the American system, and the rôle of education in a +democratic society. There is great opportunity for research in this +field. + +=History of educational problems= + +There is room for yet another course for college undergraduates +expecting to teach,--a history of educational problems. The idea is to +trace the intimate history of a dozen or more of the present most +urgent educational questions, with a view to understanding them better +and solving them more wisely, thus enabling the study of the history +of education to function more in the practice of teachers. Such a text +has not yet been written. The point of view is expressed by Professor +Joseph K. Hart as follows: "The large problem of education is the +making of new educational history. The real reason for studying the +history of education is that one may learn how to become a maker of +history. For this purpose, history must awaken the mind of the student +to the problems, forces, and conditions of the present; and its +outlook must be toward the future."[59] + +=Methods Of teaching= + +What should be the method of teaching the history of education in +college? One of the texts will be used as a basis for assignments and +study. Not less than two hours of preparation on each assignment will +be expected. The general account in the text will be supplemented by +the reading of source and parallel material, concerning which very +definite directions will have to be given by the teacher. Each student +will keep a notebook as one of the requirements of the course, which +is examined by the instructor at the end. A profitable way to make a +notebook is for each student to select a different modern problem and +trace its origin and growth as he goes through the general history of +education and its source material. In this way each student becomes a +crude historian of a problem. The examination will test judgment and +reason as well as memory. In the classroom the instructor will at +times question the class, will at times be questioned by the class, +will lecture on supplementary material, will use some half-dozen +stereopticon lectures in close conjunction with the text, will have +debates between chosen students, seeking variety in method without +loss of unity in result. Some questions for debate might be, the +superiority of the Athenian to the modern school product, the +necessity of Latin and Greek for a liberal education, religious +instruction in the public schools, formal discipline, whether the aim +of education is cultural or vocational, whether private philanthropy +is a benefit to public education, etc. It is very important in +teaching so remote a subject as the history of education that the +teacher have imagination, be constantly pointing modern parallels, +communicate the sense that the past has made a difference in the +present, and be himself kindled and quickened by man's aspirations for +self-improvement. Unless our subject first inspires us, it cannot +inspire our pupils. Whoever teaches the history of education because +he has to instead of because he wants to must expect thin results. + +=Testing results= + +In addition to the formal indication of the results of the course in +the examination paper, teachers can test their results by asking for +frank unsigned statements as to what the course has meant to each +student, by securing suggestions from the class for the future conduct +of the course, by noting whether education as a means of social +evolution has been appreciated, by observing whether the attitude of +individual students toward education as a life-work or as a human +enterprise deserving adequate support from all intelligent citizens +has developed. As future citizens, has the motive to improve schools +been awakened? Particularly do more men want to teach, despite small +pay and slight male companionship? The history of education does not +really grip the class until its members want to rise up and do +something by educational means to help set the world right. + +The limits of this paper exclude the treatment of the subject in the +professional training of teachers in normal schools, high schools, and +graduate schools, as well as in extension courses for teachers or in +their private reading. + + HERMAN H. HORNE + _New York University_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +BUISSON, F. _Dictionnaire de la Pédagogie_, Histoire de l'Education. + +BURNHAM, W. H. Education as a University Subject. _Educational +Review_, Vol. 26, pages 236-245. + +BURNHAM and SUZZALO, _The History of Education as a Professional +Subject_, Teachers College, New York, 1908. + +COOK, H. M. _History of the History of Education as a Professional +Study in the United States._ Unpublished thesis. + +HINSDALE, B. A. The Study of Education in American Colleges and +Universities, _Educational Review_, Vol. 19, pages 105-120. + +HORNE, H. H. A New Method in the History of Education. _The School +Review Monographs_, No. 3, Chicago, 1913; pages 31-35. Discussion of +same in _School Review_, May, 1913. + +KIEHLE, D. L. The History of Education: What It Stands For. _School +Review_, Vol. 9, pages 310-315. + +MONROE, P., and Others. History of Education; in Monroe's _Cyclopedia +of Education_, Vol. 3, New York, 1912. + +MONROE, P. Opportunity and Need for Research Work in the History of +Education. _Pedagogical Seminary_, Vol. 17, pages 54-62. + +MOORE, E. C. The History of Education. _School Review_, Vol. XI, pages +350-360. + +NORTON, A. O. Scope and Aims of the History of Education. _Educational +Review_, Vol. 27. + +PAYNE, W. H. Practical Value of the History of Education. _Proceedings +National Education Association_, 1889, pages 218-223. + +REIN, W. Encyclopädisches Handbuch der Pädagogik. _Historische +Pädagogik._ + +ROBBINS, C. L. History of Education in State Normal Schools. +_Pedagogical Seminary_, Vol. 22, No. 3, pages 377-390. + +ROSS, D. _Education as a University Subject: Its History, Present +Position, and Prospects._ Glasgow, 1883. + +SUTTON, W. L., and BOLTON, F. E. The Relation of the Department of +Education to other Departments in Colleges and Universities. _Journal +of Pedagogy_, Vol. 19, Nos. 2-3. + +WILLIAMS, S. G. Value of the History of Education to Teachers. +_Proceedings National Education Association_, 1889, pages 223-231. + +WILSON, G. M. Titles of College Courses in Education. _Educational +Monographs_, No. 8, 1919, pages 12-30. + + +B. TEACHING EDUCATIONAL THEORY IN COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENTS OF + EDUCATION + +=Introductory= + +Courses in education in a college or university department may be +roughly classified into (_a_) the theoretical phases of education, +(_b_) the historical phases, and (_c_) the applied phases. Under the +historical phases may properly be included courses in the general +history of education as well as those in the history of education in +special countries. The applied courses may include general and special +method, organization, administration, observation, and practice. +Educational theory is discussed below. + +A couple of decades ago the terms "philosophy of education," "science +of education," and "general pedagogy," or just "pedagogy," were most +generally employed. At that time most of the work in education was +given in the departments of philosophy or psychology. Gradually +departments of education came to have an independent status. Among the +earliest were those at Michigan, under Dr. Joseph Payne, and the one +at Iowa, under Dr. Stephen Fellows. Previous to the vigorous +development of departments of education, the departments of psychology +and philosophy gave no special attention to the educational bearings +of psychology. But as soon as departments of education began to +introduce courses in educational psychology and child study, the +occupants of the departments of psychology rubbed their eyes, became +aware of unutilized opportunities, and then began to assert claims. + +=Place of educational theory in the curriculum= + +Ordinarily the courses in educational theory are given in the junior +year of college. In a few places, elementary or introductory courses +are open to freshmen. There is a distinct advantage in giving courses +to freshmen, if they can be made sufficiently concrete and grow out of +their previous experiences. The college of education in the University +of Washington, for example, is so organized that the student shall +begin to think of the profession of teaching immediately upon +entering the University. While the main work in education courses does +not come until the junior and senior years, the student receives +guidance and counsel from the outset in selecting his courses and is +helped to get in touch with the professional atmosphere that should +surround a teacher's college. The foundation work in zoölogy and +psychology is given as far as possible with the teaching profession in +mind. It is planned to give some work of a general nature in education +during the first two years, that will serve as vocational guidance and +will assist the student to arrange his work most advantageously and to +accomplish it most economically. By the more prolonged individual +acquaintance between students and faculty of the college of education, +it is hoped that the students will receive greater professional help +and the faculty will be better able to judge of the teaching abilities +of the students. The work in education and allied courses has been so +extended that adequate professional preparation may be secured. The +courses in zoölogy, psychology, and sociology are all directly +contributory to a knowledge of, and to an interpretation of, the +courses in education. + +The great majority of undergraduate students taking education are +preparing to teach, and more and more they plan to teach in the high +schools. However, not a few students of medicine, law, engineering, +and other technical subjects take courses in education as a means of +general information. It would be exceedingly desirable if all citizens +would take general courses in education, and would come to understand +the meaning of educational processes and past and present practices in +educational procedure. If all parents and members of school boards +could have a few modern courses in educational theory and +organization, the work of school teachers would be very much +simplified. + +So far as is known, no college or university makes education an +absolute requirement such as is made with respect to foreign +languages, science, mathematics, or philosophy. In a large majority of +states, some work in education is required for teacher's +certification. The number of states making such requirements is +rapidly increasing. Before long it will be impossible for persons to +engage in teaching without either attending a normal school or taking +professional courses in education in college. + +=The scope of college courses in educational theory= + +The theory of education as considered in this chapter will include all +those courses which have for their purpose the consideration of the +fundamental meaning of education and the underlying laws or principles +governing the education process. Educational theory is given in +different institutions under a great variety of titles. The following +are the most frequently offered: Principles of education, philosophy +of education, theory of education, educational psychology, genetic +psychology, experimental education, child study, adolescence, moral +education, educational sociology, social aspects of education. +Educational theory may be divided into courses which are elementary in +character, and those which are advanced. The purpose of the former is +to present to beginning students the fundamentals of reasonably +well-tested principles and laws, and to indicate to them something of +the various phases of education. + +The purpose of advanced courses, especially in experimental education, +is to reach out into new fields and by study and experiment to test +and develop new theories. The experimental phases of education seek to +blaze new trails and to discover new methods of reaching more +economically and efficiently the goals which education seeks. Both of +these phases should be given in a college course in the theory of +education. Enough of the experimental work should be given in the +elementary course to enable students to distinguish between mere +opinion and well-established theory, to understand how the theories +have been derived, to know how to subject them to crucial tests, and +to give them some knowledge of methods of experimentation. + +Education as a science is constantly confronted by the questions, +"What are the ends and aims of education?" and "What are the means of +accomplishing these ends?" These mean that there must be a study of +the ends of education as necessitated by the demands of society and +the needs of the individual himself. In determining the ends of +education, adult society, of which the individual is to be a part, +must be surveyed, as must also the social group of which the child is +now an integral part. In addition to these the laws of growth and +development must be studied, to understand what will contribute +effectively to the child's normal unfoldment. + +The interpretation of the ends and means of education will determine +the field of the theory of education. This interpretation has been so +splendidly stated by Dewey that I venture to quote him at length. He +says (_My Pedagogic Creed_): "I believe that this educational process +has two sides--one psychological and one sociological: and that +neither can be subordinated to the other or neglected without evil +results following. Of these two sides, the psychological is the basis. +The child's own instincts and powers furnish the material and give the +starting point for all education. Save as the efforts of the educator +connect with some activity which the child is carrying on of his own +initiative independent of the educator, education becomes reduced to a +pressure from without. It may, indeed, give certain external results, +but cannot truly be called educative. Without insight into the +psychological structure and activities of the individual, the +educative processes will, therefore, be haphazard and arbitrary. If it +chances to coincide with the child's activity, it will get a leverage; +if it does not, it will result in friction, or disintegration, or +arrest of the child nature. + +"I believe that knowledge of social conditions, of the present state +of civilization, is necessary in order properly to interpret the +child's powers. The child has his own instincts and tendencies, but we +do not know what these mean until we can translate them into their +social equivalents. We must be able to carry them back into a social +past and see them as the inheritance of previous race activities. We +must be able to project them into the future to see what their +outcome and end will be. In the illustration just used, it is the +ability to see in the child's babblings the promise and potency of the +future social intercourse and conversation which enables one to deal +in the proper way with that instinct. + +"I believe that the psychological and social sides are organically +related, and that education cannot be regarded as a compromise between +the two, or a superimposition of one upon the other. We are told that +the psychological definition of education is barren and formal--that +it gives us only the idea of a development of all the mental powers +without giving us an idea of the use to which these powers are put. On +the other hand, it is urged that the social definition of education, +as getting adjusted to civilization, makes a forced and external +process, and results in subordinating the freedom of the individual to +a preconceived social and political status. + +"I believe each of these objections is true when urged against one +side isolated from the other. In order to know what a power really is +we must know what its end, use, or function is; and this we cannot +know, save as we conceive of the individual as active in social +relationships. But, on the other hand, the only possible adjustment +which we can give to the child under existing conditions is that which +arises through putting him in complete possession of all of his +powers. With the advent of democracy and modern industrial conditions, +it is impossible to foretell definitely just what civilization will be +twenty years from now. Hence it is impossible to prepare the child for +any precise set of conditions. To prepare him for the future life +means to give him command of himself; it means so to train him that he +will have the full and ready use of all his capacities, that his eye +and ear and hand may be tools ready to command, that his judgment may +be capable of grasping the conditions under which it has to work, and +the executive forces be trained to act economically and efficiently. +It is impossible to reach this sort of adjustment save as constant +regard is had to the individual's own powers, tastes, and interests; +say, that is, as education is continually converted into psychological +terms. + +"In sum, I believe that the individual who is to be educated is a +social individual, and that society is an organic union of +individuals. If we eliminate the social factor from the child, we are +left only with an abstraction; if we eliminate the individual factor +from society, we are left only with an inert and lifeless mass. +Education, therefore, must begin with a psychological insight into the +child's capacities, interests, and habits. It must be controlled at +every point by reference to these same considerations. These powers, +interests, and habits must be continually interpreted--we must know +what they mean. They must be translated into terms of their social +equivalents--into terms of what they are capable of in the way of +social service." + +Therefore, the fundamental course in educational theory must include +(1) the biological principles of education, (2) the psychological +principles of education, and (3) the social principles of education. +This does not mean that the sequence must be as enumerated here. In +some places that is the sequence followed, in some other places the +social principles are studied first. As a matter of fact, all three +phases must be studied together to a considerable extent. Probably a +purely logical arrangement would place the social phases first, but it +is almost futile to attempt to present them effectively until +something of the biological and psychological laws are first +established. Again, the student in beginning the formal study of +education is already in possession of a vast body of facts concerning +society and the relation of education to it, so that reference can be +advantageously made in connection with the study of biological and +psychological laws of education. Then the social principles and +applications can be more thoroughly and scientifically considered in +the light of the other phases. + +In administering a college course in the theory of education the great +desideratum is to try to formulate a body of knowledge which will +give the undergraduate students an idea of the meaning of education +and its problems and processes. In so far as possible it is desirable +to present material which in a certain sense will be practical. +Inasmuch as the majority of undergraduates who study education in a +college department intend to go into the practical work of teaching, +it is important to fortify them, as well as possible in the brief time +which they devote to the subject, concerning the best means of +securing definite results in education. The majority are not so much +interested in the abstract science or the philosophy of education as +they are in its practical problems. All courses in education should +seek to deal with fundamental principles and not dole out dogmatic +statements of practical means and devices, but at the same time no +principles should be considered with which the student cannot see some +relation to the educative processes. They are not primarily concerned +with the place of education among the sciences or with ontological and +teleological meanings of education or of its laws. + +=Academic recognition of the introductory course= + +The course in elementary educational theory should be on a par with a +course in principles of physics, one in principles of biology, +principles of psychology, principles of political science, etc. A +course in the principles of any of these subjects attempts to set +forth the main problems with which the science deals. Elementary +courses attempt to select those principles which have frequent +application in everyday life. The course in the principles of physics +deals with the elementary notions of matter, motion, and force, and +everyday illustrations and problems are sought. It would seem that in +a similar manner the college course in the foundations of education +should seek elementary principles which will enable the student to +accomplish the purpose of education; namely, to produce modifications +in individuals and in society in harmony with the ideals and ends of +education. Education is a process of adjusting individuals to their +environment, natural and accidental, and the environment which is +created through ideals held by society and by individuals themselves. +All education has to do with the development of the individual in +accordance with his potentialities and the ideals of education which +are set up. It is a practical science, an applied science, in the same +way that engineering is an applied science. Engineering does not deal +with ultimate theories of matter, force, and motion, except as they +are important in considering practical ends to be secured through the +application of forces. An elementary course in educational theory +should seek to include the foundations rather than to encompass all +knowledge about education. It is rather an introduction than an +encyclopedia. + +Although a complete and logical treatise on the theory of education +might include a consideration of the course of study and the methods +of instruction, the making of a course of study, the problem of the +arrangement of the course of study, the various studies as instruments +of experience, the organization and administration of education, etc., +it is questionable from a practical point of view whether they should +be given consideration in the undergraduate course. Mere passing +notice would at any rate seem sufficient. Each topic of the scope of +the foregoing is sufficient to form a course in itself, and the +introductory course should do no more than define their relation to +the general problem. In the principles of psychology the fields of +abnormal psychology, comparative psychology, child psychology, +adolescent psychology, etc., are defined and drawn upon for +illustration, yet no separate chapters are devoted to them. In +departments of political economy there are usually elemental courses +designed as an introduction to the leading principles of economic +science, but there are special courses in currency and banking, public +finance, taxation, transportation, distribution of wealth, etc. + +Similarly in the college course in the theory of education, the work +should be concentrated upon fundamentals designed to introduce the +student to the many special problems. For example, the course of study +and the organization and administration of education should be +regarded as accessory rather than as fundamental. The laws underlying +processes of development and modification are what should occupy the +attention of the student in this elemental survey. A study of the +special means and agencies of education and forms of social +organization should be given in other courses by special names. +Secondary education, the kindergarten, administration and supervision, +methods in special subjects, etc., each deserve attention as a +distinct and separate course. + +As shown by two surveys made by the writer, one in 1909 and the last +in 1916, the theory of education is most frequently given under the +terms "Principles of Education," "Educational Psychology," "Social +Phases of Education," "Educational Sociology," and "Child Study." +Therefore, a brief special discussion of each of these fields may be +desirable. + +=Principles of education= + +Under various names courses in principles of education are given in +most departments of education. The term "Principles of Education" does +not appear in all, being replaced by "Principles of Teaching," +"Philosophy of Education," "Fundamentals of Teaching," "Introduction +to Education," "Science of Education," "Principles of Method," "Theory +of Education," etc. In some institutions the terms "Educational +Psychology" and "Child Study" stand for essentially the same thing as +the foregoing. In most institutions it is recognized that the teacher +must understand (_a_) the meaning and aim of education, (_b_) the +nature of the child considered biologically, psychologically, +socially, and morally, (_c_) the foundations of society and the +industries, (_d_) how to adapt and utilize educational means so as to +develop the potentialities of the child's nature and cause him to +achieve the aims of education. + +=Biological principles= + +In this section there should be an attempt first to enlarge the notion +of education, aiming to have it regarded as practically coincident +with life and experience. Of course there is the ideal side to which +individuals will strive, but the student should be impressed with the +fact that every experience leaves its ineffaceable effect upon all +organisms. In order to convey this idea we may begin with a +discussion of the effects of experience upon simple animal and plant +life and the general modifications produced in the adjustment of such +life to surroundings. Some familiar, non-technical facts in the +evolution of plant and animal life may be considered in their relation +to the question of adaptation and adjustment. Due notice should be +taken of the facts of adjustment as manifested in such illustrations +as the change of the eyes of cave animals, gradual modifications of +plant and animal life, the change of animals from sea life to land +life, some of the retrogressions, etc. A general study of the gradual +evolution of sense organs and the nervous system should be made, +because these illustrate in an excellent way the gradual modifications +produced by experience in the race. After this general survey, the +subject of innate tendencies may be considered through the discussion +of such chapters as Drummond's "The ascent of the body," "The +scaffolding left in the body," "The arrest of the body," "The dawn of +mind," "The evolution of language," etc. These discussions naturally +lead to a consideration of the lengthening period of human infancy, +and the importance of infancy in education. This in turn leads to a +brief consideration of the periods of childhood, adolescence, and +maturity, largely from a biological point of view. These should be +followed by a discussion of such topics as instinct, heredity, from +fundamental to accessory, the brain as an organ of mind, some of the +facts of psycho-physical correlation, and the reciprocal influence of +mind and body upon each other. Before leaving this general field, +thorough and designedly practical discussions of the importance of +physical development and culture for education in general and for +mental development, fatigue, habit, physical and mental hygiene, and +play should be considered. + +=Educational psychology= + +The next section should include what some authors term educational +psychology, and others call the psychological aspects of education. In +this section the first topic naturally considered is that of memory. +It grows out of the biological discussion of instinct, heredity, etc. +Included in the subject of memory is that of association. Following +this come imagination, imitation, training of the senses, +apperception, formal discipline, feeling, volition, motor training, +induction, etc. Periods of mental development and the specific topics +of childhood and adolescence should receive definite consideration, +though more exhaustive treatment should be reserved for a distinct +course in child study. The genetic point of view should be emphasized +throughout. + +While the number of students registered for educational psychology is +not large, the numbers that are in reality pursuing this branch are +increasing. Fortunately, the "psychology for teachers" and "applied +psychology" of a score of years ago are giving way to a kind of +educational psychology that is much more vital. Men like Judd and +Thorndike are formulating a psychology of the different branches of +study and of the teaching processes involved that will enable the +teacher to see the connection between the psychological laws and the +processes to be learned. This sort of work has been made possible by +the work of Hall and his followers in studying the child and the +adolescent from the standpoint of growth periods and the types of +activity suited to each period. Educational psychology is therefore +represented richly in principles of education, genetic psychology, +mental development, child study, and adolescence, as well as in the +courses labeled "Educational Psychology." + +=Social aspects of education= + +Twelve years ago courses on social phases of education were probably +not offered anywhere, as they are not listed in my tabulation at that +time. Today they appear in some form or other in almost every +department of education. In Columbia the work is given as "Educational +Sociology." The departments of sociology also emphasize various phases +of educational problems. Courses on vocational education, industrial +education, and vocational guidance all emphasize the same idea. The +introduction of these courses means that the merely disciplinary aim +of education is fast giving way to that of adjustment and utility. +Educational means are (1) to enable the child to live happily and to +develop normally, and (2) to furnish a kind of training which will +enable him to serve society to the utmost advantage. In the courses on +educational sociology, there should be an attempt to help the student +feel that the highest aim of education is not individualistic, but +social. The purpose is to fit the individual for coöperation, +developing agencies of life that shall be mutually advantageous, for +democratic society seeks the highest welfare of all its members +through the coöperation and contribution of each of its members. It +teaches us not only the rights and privileges of society but also its +duties and obligations. + +The best individual development also comes only through the social +interaction of minds, and consequently various phases of social +psychology must receive consideration. Various forms of coöperative +effort which enlist the interest of children at various stages of +development should be studied. Inasmuch as educators should link +school and home, typical illustrations of the manifold means of +relating the school and society should be studied, so that the teacher +will not be without knowledge of their possibilities. + +=The child the center= + +Throughout the country there is evidence that the curricula in +education departments have for their central object a scientific +knowledge of the child, and the better adaptation of educational means +to the development of the potentialities possessed by the child. This +idea is evidenced by the fact that the foundation courses are +psychology, principles of education, child study, educational +psychology. The fact that the history of education is still so largely +given as a relatively beginning course shows that the new idea has not +gained complete acceptance. Many specialized courses in child study +are offered, among them being such courses as the "Psychology of +Childhood," "Childhood and Adolescence," "Psychopathic, Retarded, and +Mentally Deficient Children," "Genetic Psychology," "The +Anthropological Study of Children," "The Physical Nature of the +Child." At the University of Pittsburgh a school of childhood has been +established which will combine in theory and practice the best ideals +in the kindergarten, the modern primary school, and the Montessori +system. Clark University has had for some years its Children's +Institute, which attempts to assemble the best literature on childhood +and the best materials of instruction in childhood. Many of the +courses in educational tests and measurements center around the study +of the child. + +=Methods of teaching the subject= + +Naturally, methods of teaching the subject vary exceedingly in the +different institutions. Each instructor to a large extent follows his +own individual inclinations. Probably the great majority pursue the +lecture method to a considerable extent. The lectures are generally +accompanied by readings either from some textbook or from collateral +readings. + +The writer has personally pursued the combination method. For years +before his own book on _Principles of Education_ was completed the +subject was presented in lecture form, and accompanied by library +readings. Even now, with a textbook at hand, each new topic is +outlined in an informal development lecture. Definite assignments are +made from the text, and from collateral readings, which include +additional texts, periodical literature, and selected chapters from +various educational books. After students have had an opportunity to +read copiously and to think out special problems, an attempt is made +to discuss the entire topic orally. That is possible and very fruitful +in classes of the right size,--not over thirty. In large classes +numbering from sixty to one hundred or more, the oral discussion is +not profitable unless the instructor is very skilled in conducting the +discussion. The questions should never be for the purpose of merely +securing answers perfectly obvious to all in the class. The questions +should seek to unfold new phases of the subject. Difficult points +should be considered, new contributions should be made by the students +and the instructor, and all should feel that it is really an +enlargement, a broadening, and a deepening of ideas gained through the +lectures and the assigned readings. Very frequently individual +students should be assigned special topics for report. A good deal of +care must be exercised in this connection, for unless the material is +a real contribution and is presented effectively, the rest of the +students become wearied. If possible, the instructor should know +exactly what points are to be brought out, and the approximate amount +of time to be occupied. + +Throughout, an attempt is made to make the work as concrete as +possible, and to show its relation to matters pertaining to the +schoolroom, the home, and the everyday conduct of the students +themselves. Each topic is treated with considerable thoroughness and +detail. No endeavor is made to secure an absolutely systematic and +ultra-logical system. The charge of being logically unsystematic and +incomplete would not be resented. There is no desire for a system. As +in the elementary stages of any subject, the first requisite is a body +of fundamental facts. There is time enough later to evolve an +all-inclusive and all-exclusive system. I am not aware that even the +"doctors" have yet fully settled this question. The psychological +order is the one sought. What is intelligible, full of living +interest, and of largest probable importance in the life and work of +the student teacher are the criteria applied in the selection of +materials. The student verdict is given much weight in deciding. + +A rather successful plan of providing an adequate number of duplicates +of books much used has been developed by the writer at the State +University of Iowa and at the University of Washington. In all courses +in which no single suitable text is found the students are asked to +contribute a small sum, from twenty-five to fifty cents, for the +purpose of purchasing duplicates. These books are placed on the +reserve shelf, and this makes it possible for large classes to be +accommodated with a relatively small number of books. Ordinarily there +should be one book for every four or five students, if all are +expected to read the same assignment. If options are allowed, the +proportion of books may be reduced. The books become the property of +the institution, and a fine library of duplicate sets rapidly +accumulates. In about five years about fifteen hundred volumes have +been secured in this way at the University of Washington. Valuable +pamphlet material and reprints of important articles also are +collected and kept in filing boxes. + + FREDERICK E. BOLTON + _University of Washington_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +1. ARTICLES ON TEACHING OF EDUCATIONAL THEORY + +BOLTON, FREDERICK E. The Relation of the Department of Education to +Other Departments in Colleges and Universities. _Journal of Pedagogy_, +Vol. XIX, Nos. 2, 3, December, 1906, March, 1907. + +---- Curricula in University Departments of Education. _School and +Society_, December 11, 1915, pages 829-841. + +JUDD, CHARLES H. The Department of Education in American Universities. +_School Review_, Vol. 17, November, 1909. + +HOLLISTER, HORACE A. Courses in Education Best Adapted to the Needs of +High School Teachers and High School Principals. _School and Home +Education_, April, 1917. + +2. BOOKS ON THE GENERAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PHASES OF +EDUCATION + +BAGLEY, WILLIAM C. _The Educative Process._ The Macmillan Company, +1907. 358 pages. + +---- _Educational Values._ The Macmillan Company, 1911. 267 pages. + +BOLTON, FREDERICK E. _Principles of Education._ Charles Scribner's +Sons, 1910. 790 pages. + +BUTLER, NICHOLAS MURRAY. _The Meaning of Education, and Other Essays._ +The Macmillan Company, 1915. 386 pages. Revised Edition. + +CUBBERLEY, ELLWOOD P. _Changing Conceptions of Education._ Houghton +Mifflin Company, 1909. 70 pages. + +DAVENPORT, EUGENE. _Education for Efficiency._ D. C. Heath & Company, +1909. 184 pages. + +DEWEY, JOHN. _Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the +Philosophy of Education._ Macmillan, 1916. 434 pages. + +FREEMAN, FRANK N. _Experimental Education._ Houghton Mifflin Company, +1916. 220 pages. + +---- _Psychology of the Common Branches._ Houghton Mifflin Company, +1916. 275 pages. + +---- _How Children Learn._ Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917. 322 pages. + +GORDON, KATE. _Educational Psychology._ Henry Holt & Co., 1917. 294 +pages. + +GROSZMANN, M. P. E. _Some Fundamental Verities in Education._ Richard +Badger, 1916. 118 pages. + +GUYER, MICHAEL. _Being Well-Born._ Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1916. 374 +pages. + +HALL, G. S. _Educational Problems._ D. Appleton & Co., 1911. 2 +volumes, 710 pages and 714 pages. + +HECK, W. H. _Mental Discipline and Educational Values._ John Lane & +Co., 1911. 208 pages. + +HENDERSON, CHARLES H. _Education and the Larger Life._ Houghton +Mifflin Company, 1912. 386 pages. + +---- _What Is It to be Educated?_ Houghton Mifflin Company, 1914. 462 +pages. + +HENDERSON, ERNEST N. _A Textbook on the Principles of Education._ The +Macmillan Company, 1910. 593 pages. + +HORNE, HERMAN H. _The Philosophy of Education._ The Macmillan Company, +1904. 295 pages. + +---- _The Psychological Principles of Education._ The Macmillan +Company, 1906. 435 pages. + +KLAPPER, PAUL. _Principles of Educational Practice._ D. Appleton & +Co., 1912. 485 pages. + +MOORE, ERNEST C. _What is Education?_ Ginn and Co., 1915. 357 pages. + +O'SHEA, M. VINCENT. _Dynamic Factors in Education._ The Macmillan +Company, 1906. 321 pages. + +---- _Education as Adjustment._ Longmans, Green & Co., 1903. 348 +pages. + +---- _Linguistic Development and Education._ The Macmillan Company, +1907. 247 pages. + +PYLE, WILLIAM H. _The Science of Human Nature._ Silver, Burdett & Co., +1917. 229 pages. + +---- _The Outlines of Educational Psychology._ Warwick & York, 1911. +276 pages. + +RUEDIGER, WILLIAM C. _Principles of Education._ Houghton Mifflin +Company, 1910. 305 pages. + +SPENCER, HERBERT. _Education, Intellectual, Moral, and Physical._ D. +Appleton & Co., 1900. 301 pages. + +THORNDIKE, EDWARD L. _Principles of Teaching._ A. G. Seiler, 1906. 293 +pages. + +---- _Education: A First Book._ The Macmillan Company, 1912. 292 +pages. + +---- _Individuality._ Houghton Mifflin Company, 1911. 56 pages. + +---- _Educational Psychology._ Teachers College, 1913. Vol. 1. The +Original Nature of Man. 327 pages. + +3. BOOKS ON THE SOCIAL PHASES OF EDUCATION + +BETTS, GEORGE H. _Social Principles of Education._ Charles Scribner's +Sons, 1912. 313 pages. + +CABOT, ELLA L. _Volunteer Help to the Schools._ Houghton Mifflin +Company, 1914. 141 pages. + +DEWEY, JOHN. _The School and Society._ University of Chicago Press, +1907. 129 pages. + +---- _The Schools of Tomorrow._ E. P. Dutton & Co., 1915. 316 pages. + +---- _Democracy and Education._ The Macmillan Company, 1916. 434 +pages. + +DEWEY, JOHN, and SMALL, ALBION W. _My Educational Creed._ E. L. +Kellogg & Co., 1897. 36 pages. + +DUTTON, SAMUEL T. _Social Phases of Education in the School and the +Home._ The Macmillan Company, 1900. 259 pages. + +GILLETTE, JOHN M. _Constructive Rural Sociology._ Sturgis & Walton, +1913. 301 pages. + +KING, IRVING. _Education for Social Efficiency._ D. Appleton & Co., +1913. 371 pages. + +---- _Social Aspects of Education. A Book of Sources and Original +Discussions, with Annotated Bibliographies._ The Macmillan Company, +1912. + +MCDOUGALL, WILLIAM. _An Introduction to Social Psychology._ John W. +Luce, 1914. 355 pages. + +O'SHEA, M. VINCENT. _Social Development and Education._ Houghton +Mifflin Company, 1909. 561 pages. + +SCOTT, COLIN A. _Social Education._ Ginn and Co., 1908. 300 pages. + +SMITH, WALTER R. _An Introduction to Educational Sociology._ Houghton +Mifflin Company, 1917. 412 pages. + +4. BOOKS ON CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE + +DRUMMOND, WILLIAM B. _An Introduction to Child Study._ Longmans, Green +& Co., 1907. 347 pages. + +GESELL, BEATRICE C. and ARNOLD. _The Normal Child and Primary +Education._ Ginn and Co., 1912. 342 pages. + +GROSZMANN, M. P. E. _The Career of the Child._ Richard Badger, 1911. +335 pages. + +HALL, G. STANLEY. _Youth, Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene._ D. +Appleton & Co., 1907. 379 pages. + +---- _Aspects of Child Life and Education._ Ginn and Co., 1907. 326 +pages. + +---- _Adolescence: Its Psychology and Its Relations to Physiology, +Anthropology, Sociology, Sex, Crime, Religion, and Education._ D. +Appleton & Co., 1904. 2 vols., 589 and 784 pages. + +KING, IRVING. _The High School Age._ Robbs-Merrill Company, 1914. 288 +pages. + +KIRKPATRICK, EDWIN A. _Fundamentals of Child Study._ The Macmillan +Company, 1903. 384 pages. + +---- _Genetic Psychology: An Introduction to an objective and genetic +view of intelligence._ The Macmillan Company, 1909. 373 pages. + +OPPENHEIM, NATHAN. _The Development of the Child._ The Macmillan +Company, 1898. 296 pages. + +SULLY, JAMES. _Studies of Childhood._ D. Appleton & Co., 1910. 527 +pages. + +SWIFT, EDGAR J. _Youth and the Race._ Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912. +342 pages. + +TANNER, AMY E. _The Child: His Thinking, Feeling, and Doing._ 1904. +430 pages. + +TERMAN, LEWIS M. _The Hygiene of the School Child._ Houghton Mifflin +Company, 1914. 417 pages. + +TRACY, FREDERICK, and STIMPEL, JAMES. _The Psychology of Childhood._ +D. C. Heath & Co., 1909. 231 pages. + +TYLER, JOHN MASON. _Growth and Education._ Houghton Mifflin Company, +1907. 294 pages. + +WADDLE, CHARLES W. _Introduction to Child Psychology._ Houghton +Mifflin Company, 1918. 307 pages. + + +Footnotes: + +[56] "A New Method in the History of Education," _School Review +Monographs_, No. 3. H. H. Horne. + +[57] Quoted in _School and Society_, Vol. 5, page 23, from President +Faunce's annual report. Recent articles on the cultural value of +courses in education are: + +J. M. Mecklin, "The Problem of the Training of the Secondary Teacher," +_School and Society_, Vol. 4, pages 64-67. + +H. E. Townsend, "The Cultural Value of Courses in Education," _School +and Society_, Vol. 4, pages 175-176. + +[58] Cf. Thomas M. Balliet, "Normal School Curricula," _School and +Society_, Vol. IV, page 340. + +[59] "Can a College Department of Education Become Scientific?" _The +Scientific Monthly_, Vol. 3, No. 4, page 381. + + + + + PART FOUR + + THE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES + + CHAPTER + + XVIII THE TEACHING OF English LITERATURE + _Caleb T. Winchester_ + + XIX THE TEACHING OF English COMPOSITION + _Henry Seidel Canby_ + + XX THE TEACHING OF THE CLASSICS + _William K. Prentice_ + + XXI THE TEACHING OF THE ROMANCE LANGUAGES + _William A. Nitze_ + + XXII THE TEACHING OF GERMAN + _E. Prokosch_ + + + + +XVIII + +THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH LITERATURE + + +=Scope of study of English literature in college= + +It should be understood at the outset that this paper is concerned +with the study of literature, not in the university or graduate +school, but in the college, by the undergraduate candidate for the +bachelor's degree; and, furthermore, that the object of study is not +the history, biography, bibliography, or criticism of literature, but +the literature itself. Perhaps also the term "literature" may need +definition. As commonly--and correctly--used, the word "literature" +denotes all writing which has sufficient emotional interest, whether +primary or incidental, to give it permanence. As thus defined, +literature would include, for example, history and much philosophical +writing, and would exclude only writing of purely scientific or +technical character. But in the following pages the word will be used +in a narrower sense, as indicating those books that are read for their +own sake, not solely or primarily for their intellectual content. This +definition is elastic enough to comprise not only poetry, drama, and +fiction, but the essay, oratory, and much political and satirical +prose. It should be further understood that for the purpose of this +paper, English literature may be considered to begin about the middle +of the fourteenth century. Earlier and Anglo-Saxon writings are by no +means without great literary value, and it may at once be granted that +no college teacher of English literature is thoroughly equipped for +his work who is ignorant of them; but they can be read appreciatively +only after considerable study of the language, the method and motives +of which are linguistic rather than literary. + +=Aims governing the teaching of English literature= + +Perhaps it may be asked just here whether English literature, as thus +defined, need be studied in college at all. Until quite recently that +question seems generally to have been answered in the negative. Fifty +years ago, few if any of our American colleges gave any study to texts +of English classics. There were, indeed, in most colleges professors +of rhetoric and _belles-lettres_, whose lectures upon the history and +criticism of our literature were often of great value as an +inspiration to literary study; but it was only in the decade from 1865 +to 1875 that in most of our colleges the literature itself, with +hesitating caution, began to be read and studied in the classroom. + +=Can literary appreciation be developed?= + +Nor was this hesitation without some reasons, at least plausible. The +chief object of college training, it was said, is to discipline and +strengthen the intellect, to give the student that grasp and power of +thought which he may apply to all the work of later life. The college +should not be expected to pay much attention to the cultivation of the +imagination and the emotions. These faculties, to which literature +makes appeal, are not, it was said, under the control of the will, and +you cannot cultivate or strengthen them by sheer resolve or strenuous +exertion. The first condition of any real appreciation of literature, +so ran the argument, is spontaneous enjoyment of it; and you cannot +command a right feeling for literature or for anything else. But a +normal development of the imagination and the emotions does usually +accompany the vigorous development of the intellect, so that the +advancing student will be found to turn spontaneously to art and +literature. And his appreciation of all the highest and deepest +meanings in literature will be quickened because he brings to his +reading a mind trained to accurate and vigorous thinking. Moreover, +all substantial advantages from the study of modern vernacular +literature can be better obtained from the Greek and Latin classics. +They afford the same richness of thought and charm of form as our +modern writing; but they demand for their appreciation that careful +attention and study which modern literature too often discourages. The +survivors of a former generation sometimes ask us today, with a touch +of sarcasm, "Do you think the average New England college student of +fifty to seventy-five years ago, when the Emersons and Longfellows and +Lowells were young men, the days of the old _North American Review_ +and the new _Atlantic Monthly_, had any less appreciation and +enjoyment of whatever is good in literature, or any less power to +produce it, than the young fellows who are coming out of college today +after more than a quarter century of literary instruction?" And they +occasionally suggest that, at all events, it is difficult to find any +evidences of the result of such instruction in the quality of the +literature produced or demanded today. + +=Conflict of utilitarian and cultural standards= + +On the other hand, the study of English literature often fares little +better with the advocates of the modern practical tendency in +education. They have but scanty allowance for a study assumed to be of +so little use in the actual work of life. An acquaintance with +well-known English books, especially if they be modern books, is, they +admit, a desirable accomplishment if it can be gained without too much +cost, but not to be allowed the place of more valuable knowledge. A +typical modern father, writing not long ago to a modern educator, +after giving with equal positiveness the subjects that his boy must +have and must not have included in his course of study, added by way +of concession, "The boy might, if he has time, take English +literature." + +=Cultural and utilitarian standards harmonized= + +Now in answer to this second class of objectors, it may be frankly +admitted that the study of English literature is primarily, if not +entirely, cultural. A boy may not make a better engineer or practical +chemist for having studied in college the plays of Shakespeare or the +prose of Ruskin. And to the older objectors, who urge that literary +study can ever give that severe intellectual discipline afforded by +the older, narrower college course, we reply that it is not merely the +intellectual powers that need culture and discipline. The ideal +college training will surely not neglect the imagination and emotions, +the faculties which so largely determine the conduct of life. And at +no period in the educational process is the need of wide moral +training so urgent as in those years when the young man is forming +independent judgments and his tastes are taking their final set. The +study of English literature finds its warrant for a place in the +college curriculum principally because, better than any other subject, +it is fitted to cultivate both the emotional and the intellectual +sides of our nature. For in all genuine literature those two elements, +the intellectual and the emotional, are united; you cannot get either +one fully without getting the other. In some forms of literature, as +in poetry, the emotional appeal is the main purpose of the writing; +but even here no really profound or sublime emotion is possible +without a solid basis of thought. + +=Appreciation the ultimate aim in the teaching of literature= + +This, then, let us understand, is the primary object of all college +teaching in this department. It affords the student opportunity and +incitement to read, during his four years, a considerable number of +our best classics, representative of different periods and different +forms of literature, and to read them with such intelligence and +appreciation as to receive from them that discipline of thought and +feeling which literature better than anything else is fitted to +impart. If the student would or could do this reading by himself, +without formal requirement or assistance, there might be little need +of undergraduate teaching of literature; but every one who knows much +of American college conditions knows that the average undergraduate +has neither time, inclination, nor ability for such voluntary reading. + +=Appreciative study of literary masterpieces involves vigorous mental +exercise= + +Just here lies a difficulty peculiar to the college teacher in this +department. All studies that appeal primarily to the intellect and +call only for careful attention and vigorous thinking can be +prescribed, and mastery of them rigidly enforced. Indeed, the +ambitious student is often stimulated to more vigorous effort by the +very difficulty of his subject. But the appreciative reading of any +work of literature cannot thus be prescribed. Of course the instructor +may do much to help the student to such appreciation--that, indeed, is +his chief duty; but he will not try to expound or enjoin emotional +effects. Recognizing these limitations upon his work, he often finds +it difficult to avoid one or the other of two dangers that beset all +efforts to teach a vernacular literature; the student must not think +his reading an idle pastime, nor, on the other hand, must he think it +a repellent task. In the first case, he is likely never to read +anything well; in the second case, the things best worth reading he +will probably never read at all. Of the two dangers, the first is the +more serious. The student ought early to learn that no really good +reading is "light reading." And it may be remarked that this lesson +was never more needed than today. There was never a time when people +of all classes read more and thought less. We have what might almost +be called a plague of reading, and an astonishing amount of what is +called "reading matter" rolling out of our presses every year; while, +significantly, we are producing very few books of permanent literary +value. If the college study of literature is to encourage this +indolent receptive temper, and relax the intellectual fiber of the +student, then we might better drop it from the curriculum. The student +must somehow learn that the book that is worth while will tax his +thought, his imagination, his sympathies. He cannot be content merely +to leave the door of his mind lazily open to it. Every teacher knows +the difficulty in any attempt to inspire or direct such a pupil. And +the simpler the subject assigned him, the greater the difficulty. Give +him, for example, a group of the best lyrics in the language, in which +the thought is simple and the sentiment homely or familiar. He will +glance over them in half an hour, and then wonder what more you want +of him. And you may not find it so easy to tell him. For he does not +perceive nice shades of feeling, he has little sense of poetic form, +he has not read the poems aloud to get the charm of their melody, and +he will not let them linger in his mind long enough to feel that the +simplest sentiments are often the most profound and moving. He simply +tries to conjecture what sort of questions he is likely to meet on +examination. Doubtless from this type of pupil better results can be +obtained by the reading of prose not too familiar, that suggests more +questions for reflection and discussion. + +=Suggestions for teaching of English literature--Emotional appreciation +to have an intellectual basis= + +It is perhaps impossible to lay down a detailed method for the +teaching of English literature. Much depends upon the nature of the +literature read, the temperament of the teacher, the aptitude of the +pupil. Every teacher will, in great measure, discover his own methods. +At all events, no attempts will be made here to give more than a few +suggestions. In the first place, the teacher will remember that every +work of literature--except purely "imagist" poetry, which it is hardly +worth while to teach--is based upon some thought or truth; in most +varieties of prose literature this forms the main purpose of the +writing. The first object of the student's reading, therefore, must be +to understand thoroughly the intellectual element in what he reads; +and here the instructor can often be of direct assistance. And after +such careful reading, the higher emotional values of what he has read +will often disclose themselves spontaneously, so that the reader will +need little further help. + +=Abundant oral reading by teacher an aid to appreciation= + +Just here it is worth while to note the great value of reading aloud, +both by the teacher as a means of instruction, and by the pupil as a +test of appreciation. All good writing gains vastly when read thus. +Mentally, at all events, we must image its sound if we are to get its +full value. As to poetry, that goes without saying; for the essential, +defining element in poetry is music. You may have truth, beauty, +imagination, emotion, but without music you have not yet got poetry. +But it is hardly less true that prose should be read aloud. "The best +test of good writing," said Hazlitt--and no man in his generation +wrote better prose than he--"is, does it read well aloud." The +sympathetic oral reading of a passage from any prose master, a reading +that naturally indicates points of emphasis, shades of thought, +nuances of feeling, is often better than any formal explanation, for +it reproduces the living voice of the writer. The wise teacher will +avoid the mannerisms of the professed elocutionist or dramatic reader, +but he will not neglect the value of truthful oral interpretation for +many passages of beautiful, or subtle, or powerful writing. And the +student will often give a better proof of intelligent appreciation by +reading aloud, "with good accent and discretion," than by any more +elaborate form of examination. + +=Knowledge of author's life and art and of ideals of the times necessary +for comprehension and appreciation= + +Some varieties of literature can best be approached indirectly, +through a study of the life of the author, or of the age in which he +lived. As any great work of pure literature must come out of the +author's deepest life, it is evident that any knowledge of that life +gained from other sources may be an important aid in the appreciation +of his work. It is true that in the case of a writer of supreme and +almost impartial dramatic genius, such knowledge may be of +comparatively little value; though few of us will admit that it is +merely an idle curiosity that would be gratified by a fuller knowledge +even of the man William Shakespeare. But all the more subjective forms +of literature, such as the lyric and the essay, can hardly be studied +intelligently without some biographical introduction. Still more +obvious is the need in many instances of some accurate knowledge of +the period in which a given work is produced. For all such writing as +grows directly out of political or social conditions, as oratory, or +political satire, or various forms of the essay, this is clearly +necessary. It would be folly to attempt to read the speeches of Edmund +Burke or the political writings of Swift without historical +introduction and comment. But the historical setting is hardly less +important in many other forms of literature. For the whole cast of an +author's mind, the habitual tone of his feeling on most important +matters, is often largely decided by his environment. It is only a +very inadequate appreciation, for example, of the work not only of +Carlyle and Ruskin but of Tennyson, Browning, and Matthew Arnold, that +is possible without some correct knowledge of the varying attitude of +these men toward important movements in English thought, social, +economic, religious, between 1830 and 1880. It must always be an +important part of the duty of the college teacher of literature to +provide such biographical and historical information. + +=Knowledge of an author's style to be result of appreciative study of +his works and not gathered from texts on literary criticism= + +All careful study of literature must involve some attention to manner +or style--not so much, however, for its own sake, as a means for the +fuller appreciation of what is read. In strictness, style has only one +virtue, clearness; only one vice, obscurity. A perfect style is a +transparent medium through which we plainly see the thought and +feeling of the writer. Such a style may, indeed, often have striking +peculiarities, but these are really the marks of the writer's +personality, which his style reveals without exaggerating. All +rhetorical study ought, therefore, to accompany or follow, not to +precede, the careful reading for appreciation. No good book ought ever +to be considered a mere _corpus vile_ for rhetorical praxis. + +=Careful attention to critical analysis= + +Of much greater value is that distinctively critical analysis which +endeavors to discover the different elements, intellectual, +imaginative, emotional, that enter into any work of literature, and to +determine their relative amount and importance. Such analysis may well +form the subject of classroom discussion, and advanced students should +often be required to put the conclusions they have drawn from such +discussion into the form of a finished critical essay. All exercises +of this kind presuppose, of course, that the work criticized has been +read with interest and intelligence; but no form of literary study is +more stimulating or tends more directly to the formation of original +and accurate critical judgments. It affords the best test of real +literary appreciation. + +=Content of college course in literature= + +Obviously it is impossible with this method of study to cover the +entire field of English literature in the four college years. It is +wiser to read a few great books well than to read many smaller ones +hurriedly. It becomes, therefore, an important question on what +principle these books should be selected and grouped in courses. In +the opinion of the present writer, it is well to begin with a brief +outline sketch of the history of the literature given either in a +textbook or by lectures, and illustrated by a few representative +works, read carefully but without much detailed or intensive study. +Such an introductory course may have little cultural value; but it +furnishes that knowledge of the chronological succession of English +writers, and the varieties of literature dominant in each period, that +is necessary for further intelligent study. This knowledge should, +indeed, be given in the preparatory schools, but unfortunately it +usually is not. When given in college, the course should, if possible, +be assigned to the freshman year. In the later years, the works +selected for study will best be grouped either by period or by +subject. Both plans have their advantages, but in most instances the +first will be found the better. The study of a group of contemporary +writers always gains in interest as we see how they all, with striking +individual differences in temper and subject, yet reflect the social +and moral life of their age. Sometimes the two plans may be united; a +particular form of literature may be studied as the best +representative of a period, as the political pamphlet for the age of +Queen Anne or the extended essay for the first quarter of the +nineteenth century. And in some rare instances a single writer is at +once the highest representative of the age in which he lived and the +supreme master of the form in which he wrote--as Shakespeare for the +drama and Milton for the epic. + +=Gradation of courses and adaptation of methods to growing capacities +of students= + +These courses should all--in the judgment of the present writer--be +elective, but should be arranged in some natural sequence, those +assigned to a lower year being preparatory to those of a higher. This +sequence need not always be historical; the simpler course may well +precede those which for any reason are more difficult. Methods of +instruction will also naturally change, becoming less narrowly +didactic with the advancement of the student. In the senior year the +teacher will usually prefer to meet his classes in small sections, on +the seminar plan, for informal discussion and the criticism of papers +written by his pupils on questions suggested by their reading. Of such +questions, students who for four years have been reading the +masterpieces of English literature will surely find no lack. + +The number of courses that can be offered in the department will +depend in some cases upon the relative size of the faculty and the +student body. For in no other subject is it more important, especially +in the later years, that the classes or sections should be small +enough to allow some intimate personal touch between professor and +student. It may be safely said that no college department of English +literature is well officered or equipped that does not furnish at +least four or five year-long courses of instruction. And certainly no +student can maintain for four years such an acquaintance with the best +specimens of a great literature without gaining something of that +broad intelligence, heightened imagination, and just appreciation of +whatever is best in nature and in human life, which combine in what we +call culture. + +=Undergraduate vs. graduate teaching of English literature= + +Throughout this paper it has been assumed that what has been termed +appreciation--that is, the ability to understand and enjoy the best +things in literature--is the one central purpose to which all efforts +must be subservient, in the teaching of English literature. But it +should be remembered, as stated at the outset, that this paper has to +do with the college undergraduate only, the candidate for the +bachelor's degree. In the university, and to some extent in the +graduate courses of the college leading to the master's degree, the +subjects and methods of teaching may well be very different. Studies +in comparative literature, studies of literary origins, the +investigation of perplexed or controverted questions in the life or +work of an author, the study and elucidation of the work of an unknown +or little-known writer--all these and many other similar matters may +very properly be the subjects of specialized graduate study. But they +will rarely be found of most profit to undergraduate classes. + + CALEB T. WINCHESTER + _Wesleyan University_ + + + + +XIX + +THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH COMPOSITION[60] + + +=Language an index of mental development= + +"Deeds, not words," is a platitude--a flat statement which reduces the +facts of the case to an average, and calls that truth. It is absurd to +imply, as does this old truism, that we may never judge a man by his +words. Words are often the most convenient indices of education, of +cultivation, and of intellectual power. And what is more, a man's +speech, a man's writing, when properly interpreted, may sometimes +measure the potentialities of the mind more thoroughly, more +accurately, than the deeds which environment, opportunity, or luck +permit. It is hard enough to take the intellectual measure even of the +makers of history by their acts, so rapidly does the apparent value of +their accomplishments vary with changing conceptions of what is and +what is not worth doing. It is infinitely more difficult to judge in +advance of youths just going out into the world by what they do. Their +words, which reveal what they are thinking and how they are thinking, +give almost the only vision of their minds; and "by their words ye +shall know them" becomes not a perversion, but an adaptation of the +old text. Would you judge of a boy just graduated entirely by the acts +he had performed in college? If you did, you would make some profound +and illuminating mistakes. + +This explains, I think, why parents, and teachers, and college +presidents, and even undergraduates, are exercised over the study of +writing English--which is, after all, just the study of the proper +putting together of words. They may believe, all of them, that their +concern is merely for the results of the power to write well--the +ability to compose a good letter, to speak forcibly on occasion, to +offer the amount of literacy required for most "jobs." But I wonder if +the quite surprising keenness of their interest is not due to another +cause. I wonder if they do not feel--perhaps unconsciously--that words +indicate the man, that the power to write well shows intellect, and +measures, if not its profundity, at least the stage of its development. +We fasten on the defects of the letters written by undergraduates, on +their faltering speeches, on their confused examination papers, as +something significant, ominous, worthy even of comment in the press. And +we are, I believe, perfectly right. Speech and writing, if you get them +in fair samples, indicate the extent and the value of a college +education far better than a degree. + +=Disappointing results from teaching of composition= + +It is this conviction which, pressing upon the schools and colleges, +has caused such a flood of courses and textbooks, such an expenditure +of time, energy, and money in the teaching of composition, so many +ardent hopes of accomplishment, so much bitter disappointment at +relative failure. I do not know how many are directly or indirectly +teaching the writing of English in America--perhaps some tens of +thousands; the imagination falters at the thought of how many are +trying to learn it. Thus the parent, conscious of this enormous +endeavor and the convictions which inspire it, is somewhat appalled to +hear the critics without the colleges maintaining that we are not +teaching good writing, and the critics within protesting that good +writing cannot be taught. + +=Fixing responsibility for alleged failure of composition teaching= + +It is with the teachers, the administrators, the theorists on +education, but most of all the teachers, that the responsibility for +the alleged failure of this great project--to endow the college +graduate with adequate powers of expression--must be sought. But these +guardians of expression are divided into many groups, of which four +are chief. + +There is first the great party of the Know-Nothings, who plan and +teach with no opinion whatsoever as to the ends of their teaching. +Under the conditions of human nature and current financial rewards for +the work, this party is inevitably large; but it counts for nothing +except inertia. There is next the respectable and efficient cohort of +the Do-Nothings, who believe that good writing and speaking are +natural emanations from culture, as health from exercise or clouds +from the sea. They would cultivate the mind of the undergraduate, and +let expression take care of itself. They do not believe in teaching +English composition. Next are the Formalists, who hold up a dictionary +in one hand, the rules of rhetoric in the other, and say, "Learn +these, and good writing and good speaking shall be added unto you." +The Formalists have weakened in late years. There have been desertions +to the Do-Nothings, for the work of grinding rules into unwilling +minds is hard, and it is far easier to adopt a policy of +_laissez-faire_. But there have been far more desertions into a party +which I shall call, for want of a better name, the Optimists. The +Optimists believe that in teaching to write and speak the American +college is accepting its most significant if not its greatest duty. +They believe that we must understand what causes good writing, in +order to teach it; and that for the average undergraduate writing must +be taught. + +=Divergent views on teaching of composition= + +The best way to approach this grand battleground of educational +policies is by the very practical fashion of pretending (if pretense +is necessary) that you have a son (or a daughter) ready for college. +What does he need, what must he have in a writing way, in a speaking +way, when he has passed through all the education you see fit to give +him? What should he possess of such ability in order to satisfy the +world and himself? Facts, ideas and imagination, to put it roughly, +make up the substance of expression. Facts he must be able to present +clearly and faithfully; ideas he must be able to present clearly and +comprehensively; his imagination he will need to express when his +nature demands it. And for all these needs he must be able to use +knowingly the words which study and experience will feed to him. He +must be able to combine these words effectively in order to express +the thoughts of which he is capable. And these thoughts he must work +out along lines of logical, reasonable developments, so that what he +says or writes will have an end and attain it. In addition, if he is +imaginative--and who is not?--he should know the color and fire of +words, the power of rhythm and harmony over the emotions, the +qualities of speech whose secret will enable him to mold language to +his personality and perhaps achieve a style. This he should know; the +other powers he must have, or stop short of his full efficiency. + +Alas, we all know that the undergraduate, in the mass, fails often to +attain even to the power of logical, accurate statement, whether of +facts or ideas. It is true that most of the charges against him are to +a greater or less degree irrelevant. Weighty indictments of his powers +of expression are based upon bad spelling: a sign, it is true, of +slovenliness, an indication of a lack of thoroughness which goes +deeper than the misplacing of letters, but not in itself a proof of +inability to express. Great writers have often misspelled; and the +letters which some of our capable business men write when the +stenographer fails to come back after lunch are by no means +impeccable. Other accusations refer to a childish vagueness of +expression--due to the fact that the American undergraduate is often a +child intellectually rather than to any defects in composition _per +se_. But it is a waste of time to deny that he writes, if not badly, +at least not so clearly, so correctly, so intelligently, as we expect. +The question is, why? + +It would be a comfort to place the blame upon the schools; and indeed +they must take some blame, not only because they deserve it, but also +to enlighten those critics of the college who never consider the kind +of grain which comes into our hoppers. The readers of college entrance +papers could tell a mournful story of how the candidates for our +freshman classes write. Here, for an instance, is a paragraph intended +to prove that the writer had a command of simple English, correct in +sentence structure, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. The +subject is "The Value of Organized Athletics in Schools"--not an +abstruse one, or too academic: + + If fellows are out in the open and take athletics say at a + certain time every-day; These fellows are in good health and + allert in their lessons, while those who take no exercise are + logy and soft. Organized athletics in a school bring the former, + while if a school has no athletics every-thing goes more or less + slipshod, and the fellows are more liable to get into trouble, + because they are nervious from having nothing to do. + + +This is a little below the average of the papers rejected for entrance +to college. It is not a fair sample of what the schools can do, but it +is a very fair sample of what they often do not do. It was not written +by a foreigner, nor, I judge, by a son of illiterate parents, since it +came from an expensive Eastern preparatory school. The reader, marking +with some heat a failure for the essay from which this paragraph is +extracted, would not complain of the writer's paucity of ideas. His +ideas are not below the average of his age. He would keep his wrath +for the broken, distorted sentences, the silly spelling, the lack +(which would appear in the whole composition) of even a rudimentary +construction to carry the thought. Spelling, the fundamentals of +punctuation, and the compacting of a sentence must be taught in the +schools, for it is too late to cure diseases of these members in +college. They can be abated; but again and again they will break out. +It is the school's business to teach them; and the weary reader sees +in this unhappy specimen but a dark and definite manifestation of a +widespread slovenliness in secondary education, a lack of thoroughness +which appears not only in the failures, but also, though in less +measure, among the better writers, whose work is too good in other +respects not to be reluctantly passed. + +Again, it would be easy to place much of the blame for the slipshod +writings of the undergraduate upon the standards set by his elders +outside the colleges. Editors can tell of the endless editing which +contributions, even from writers supposed to be professional, will +sometimes require. And when such a sentence as the following slips +through, and begins an article in a well-known, highly respectable +magazine, we can only say, "If gold rust, what will iron do?" + + Yes the Rot--and with a very big R--in sport: for that, thanks to + an overdone and too belauded a Professionalism by a large section + of the pandering press, is what it has got to. + + +Again, any business man could produce from his files a collection of +letters full of phrasing so vague and inconsequential that only his +business instincts and knowledge of the situation enable him to +interpret it. Any lawyer could give numberless instances where an +inability to write clear and simple English has caused litigation +without end. Indeed, the bar is largely supported by errors in English +composition! And as for conversation conducted--I will not say with +pedantical correctness, for that is not an ideal, but with accuracy +and transparency of thought--listen to the talk about you! + +However, it is the business of the colleges to improve all that; and +though it is not easy to develop in youth virtues which are more +admired than practiced by maturity, let us assume that they should +succeed in turning out writers of satisfactory ability, even with +these handicaps, and look deeper for the cause of their relative +failure. + +=Democratizing education and immigration the cause of poor quality +of expression= + +The chief cause of the prevalent inadequacy of expression among our +undergraduates is patent, and its effects are by no means limited to +America, as complaints from France and from England prove. The +mob--the many-headed, the many-mouthed, figured in the past by poets +as dumb, or, at best, an incoherent thing of brutish noises signifying +speech--is acquiring education and learning how to express it. +Hundreds of thousands whose ancestors never read, and seldom talked +except of the simpler needs of life, are doing the talking and the +writing which their large share in the transaction of the world's +business demands. Indeed, democracy requires not only that the +illiterate shall learn to read and write in the narrower sense of the +words, but also that the relatively literate must seek with their +growing intellectuality a more perfect power of expression. And it is +precisely from the classes only relatively literate--those for whom in +the past there has been no opportunity, and no need, to become highly +educated--that the bulk of our college students today are coming, the +bulk of the students in the endowed institutions of the East as well +as in the newer State universities of the West. The typical +undergraduate is no longer the son of a lawyer or a clergyman, with an +intellectual background behind him. + +There is plenty of grumbling among college faculties, and in certain +newspapers, over this state of affairs. In reality, of course, it is +the opportunity of the American colleges. Let the motives be what they +may, the simple fact that so many American parents wish to give their +children more education than they themselves were blessed with is a +condition so favorable for those who believe that in the long run only +intelligence can keep our civilization on the path of real progress, +that one expects to hear congratulations instead of wails from the +college campuses. + +Nevertheless, we pay for our opportunity, and we must expect to pay. +The thousands of intellectual immigrants, ill-supplied with means of +progress, indefinite of aim, unaware of their opportunities, who land +every September at the college gates, constitute a weighty burden, a +terrible responsibility. And the burden rests upon no one with more +crushing weight than upon the unfortunate teacher of composition. That +these entering immigrants cannot write well is a symptom of their +mental rawness. It is to be expected. But thanks to the methods of +slipshod, ambitious America, the schools have passed them on still +shaky in the first steps of accurate writing--spelling, punctuation, +sentence structure, and the use of words. Thanks to the failure of +America to demand thoroughness in anything but athletics and business, +they are blind to the need of thoroughness in expression. And thanks +to the inescapable difficulty of accurate writing, they resist the +attempt to make them thorough, with the youthful mind's instinctive +rebellion against work. Nevertheless, whatever the cost, they must +learn if they are to become educated in any practical and efficient +sense; the immigrants especially must learn, since they come from +environments where accurate expression has not been practiced--often +has not been needed--and go to a future where it will be required of +them. Not even the Do-Nothing school denies the necessity that the +undergraduate should learn to write well. But how? + +=Solutions proposed by four types of instructors= + +The Know-Nothing school proposes no ultimate solution and knows none, +unless faithfully teaching what they are told to teach, and accepting +the sweat and burden of the day, with few of its rewards, be not in +its blind way a better solution than to dodge the responsibility +altogether. + +The Formalists labor over precept and principle--disciplining, +commanding, threatening--feeling more grief over one letter lost, or +one comma mishandled, than joy over the most spirited of incorrect +effusions. They turn out sulky youths who nevertheless have learned +something. + +The Do-Nothings propose a solution which is engaging, logical--and +insufficient. They are the philosophers and the æsthetes among +teachers, who see, what the Formalists miss, that he who thinks well +will in the long run write as he should. Their special horror is of +the compulsory theme, extracted from unwilling and idealess minds. +Their remedy for all ills of speech and pen is: teach, not writing and +speaking, but thinking; give, not rules and principles, but materials +for thought. And above all, do not force college students to study +composition. The Do-Nothing school has almost enough truth on its side +to be right. It has more truth, in fact, than its principles permit it +to make use of. + +The umpire in this contest--who is the parent with a son ready for +college--should note, however, two pervading fallacies in this +_laissez-faire_ theory of writing English. The first belongs to the +party of the right among the Do-Nothings--the older teachers who come +from the generation which sent only picked men to college; the second, +to the party of the left--the younger men who are distressed by the +toil, the waste, the stupidity which accompany so much work in +composition. + +The older men attack the attempt to teach the making of literature. +Their hatred of the cheap, the banal, and the false in literature that +has been machine-made by men who have learned to express finely what +is not worth expressing at all, leads them to distrust the teaching of +English composition. They condemn, however, a method of teaching that +long since withered under their scorn. The aim of the college course +in composition today is not the making of literature, but writing; not +the production of imaginative masterpieces, but the orderly +arrangement of thought in words. Through no foresight of our own, but +thanks to the pressure of our immigrants upon us, we have ceased +teaching "eloquence" and "rhetoric," and have taken upon ourselves the +humbler task of helping the thinking mind to find words and a form of +expression as quickly and as easily as possible. The old teacher of +rhetoric aspired to make Burkes, Popes, or De Quinceys. We are content +if our students become the masters rather than the servants of their +prose. + +The party of the left presents a more frontal attack upon the teaching +of the writing of English. Show the undergraduate how to think, they +say; fill his mind with knowledge, and his pen will find the way. Ah, +but there is the fallacy! Why not help him to find the way--as in +Latin, or surveying, or English literature? The way in composition can +be taught, as in these other subjects. Writing, like skating, or +sailing a boat, has its special methods, its special technique, even +as it has its special medium, words, and the larger unities of +expression. The laws which govern it are simple. They are always in +intimate connection with the thought behind, and worthless without it; +but they can be taught. Ask any effective teacher of composition to +show you what he has done time and again for the freshman whose +sprawling thought he has helped to form into coherent and unified +expression. And do not be deceived by analogies drawn from our +colleges of the mid-nineteenth century, where composition was not +taught, and men wrote well; or from the English universities, where +the same conditions are said (with dissenting voices) to exist. In the +first place, they had no immigrant problem in the mid-century, nor +have they in Oxford and Cambridge. In the second, the rigorous +translation back and forward between the classics and the mother +tongue, now obsolete in America, but still a requisite for an English +university training, provides a drill in accuracy of language whose +efficiency is not to be despised. + +The student must express his intellectual gains even as he absorbs +them, or the crystallization of knowledge into personal thought will +be checked at the beginning. The boy must be able to say what he +knows, or write what he knows, or he does not know it. And it is as +important to help him express as to help him absorb. The teachers in +other departments must aid in this task or we fail; but where the +whole duty of making expression keep pace with thought and with life +is given to them, they will be forced either to overload, or to +neglect all but the little arcs that bound their subjects. And since +they are specialists in other fields, and so may neglect that +technique of writing which in itself is a special study, their task, +when they accept it, is hard, and their labor, when it is forced upon +them, too often ineffective. Composition must be taught where college +education proceeds--that is the truth of the matter; and if not taught +directly, then indirectly, with pain and with waste. + +The school of the Optimists approaches this question of writing +English with self-criticism and with a full realization of the +difficulties, and of the tentative nature of the methods now in use, +but with confidence as to the possibility of ultimate success. In +order to be an Optimist in composition you must have some stirrings of +democracy in your veins. You must be interested in the need of the +average man to shape his writing into a useful tool that will serve +his purposes, whether in the ministry or the soap business. This is +the utilitarian end of writing English. And you must be interested in +developing his powers of self-expression, even when convinced that no +great soul is longing for utterance, but only a commonplace human +mind--like your own--that will be eased by powers of writing and of +speech. It is here that composition is of service to the imagination, +and incidentally to culture; and I should speak more largely of this +service if there were space in this chapter to bring forward all the +aspects of college composition. It is the personal end of writing +English. If the average man turns out to be a superman with mighty +purposes ahead, or if he has a great soul seeking utterance, he will +have far less need of your assistance; but you can aid him, +nevertheless, and your aid will count as never before, and will be +your greatest personal reward, though no greater service to the +community than the countless hours spent upon the minds of the +multitude. + +In order to be an Optimist it is still more important to understand +that writing English well depends first upon intellectual grasp, and +second upon technical skill, and always upon both. As for the first, +your boy, if you are the parent of an undergraduate, is undergoing a +curious experience in college. Against his head a dozen teachers are +discharging round after round of information. Sometimes they miss; +sometimes the shots glance off; sometimes the charge sinks in. And his +brain is undergoing less obvious assaults. He is like the core of soft +iron in an electro-magnet upon which invisible influences are +constantly beating. His teachers are harassing his mind with methods +of thinking: the historical method; the experimental method of +science; the interpretative method of literature. Unfortunately, the +charges of information too often lodge higgledy-piggledy, like +bird-shot in a signboard; and the waves of influence make an +impression which is too often incoherent and confused. If the +historians really taught the youth to think historically from the +beginning, and the scientists really taught him to think +scientifically from the beginning, and he could apply his new methods +of thought to the expression of his own emotions, experiences, life, +then the teacher of composition might confine himself to the second +of his duties, and teach only that technique which makes writing to +uncoil itself as easily and as vividly as a necklace of matched and +harmonious stones. In the University of Utopia we shall leave the +organization of thought to the other departments, and have plenty left +to do; but we are not yet in Utopia. + +At present, the teacher of composition stands like a sentry at the +gates of knowledge, challenging all who come out speaking random words +and thoughts; asking, "Have you thought it out?" "Have you thought it +out clearly?" "Can you put your conclusions into adequate words?" And +if the answers are unsatisfactory, he must proceed to teach that +orderly, logical development of thought from cause to effect which +underlies all provinces of knowledge, and reaches well into the +unmapped territories of the imagination. But even in Utopia +composition must remain the testing ground of education, though we +shall hope for more satisfactory answers to our challenges. And even +in Utopia, where the undergraduate perfects his thinking while +acquiring his facts, it will be the duty of the teacher of writing to +help him to apply his intellectual powers to his experiences, his +emotions, his imagination, in short, to self-expression. And there +will still remain the technique of writing. + +=How to teach college students the art of self-expression?= + +Theoretically, when the undergraduate has assembled his thoughts he is +ready and competent to write them, but practically he is neither +entirely ready nor usually entirely competent. It is one thing to +assemble an automobile; it is another thing to run it. The technique +of writing is not nearly as interesting as the subject and the thought +of writing; just as the method of riding a horse is not nearly as +interesting as the ride itself. And yet when you consider it as a +means to an end, as a subtle, elastic, and infinitely useful craft, +the method of writing is not uninteresting even to those who have to +learn and not to teach it. The technique of composition has to do with +words. We are most of us inapt with words; even when ideas begin to +come plentifully they too often remain vague, shapeless, ineffective, +for want of words to name them. And words can be taught--not merely +the words themselves, but their power, their suggestiveness, their +rightness or wrongness for the meaning sought. The technique of +writing has to do with sentences. Good thinking makes good sentences, +but the sentence must be flexible if it is to ease the thought. We can +learn its elasticity, we can practice the flow of clauses, until the +wooden declaration which leaves half unexpressed gives place to a +fluent and accurate transcript of the mind, form fitting substance as +the vase the water within it. This technique has to do with +paragraphs. The critic knows how few even among our professional +writers master their paragraphs. It is not a dead, fixed form that is +to be sought. It is rather a flexible development, which grows beneath +the reader's eye until the thought is opened with vigor and with +truth. It is interesting to search in the paragraph of an ineffective +editorial, an article, or theme, for the sentence that embodies the +thought; to find it dropped like a turkey's egg where the first +opportunity offers, or hidden by the rank growth of comment and +reflection about it. Such research is illuminating for those who do +not believe in the teaching of composition; and if it begins at home, +so much the better. And finally, the technique of writing has to do +with the whole, whether sonnet, or business letter, or report to a +board of directors. How to lead one thought into another; how to +exclude the irrelevant; how to weigh upon that which is important; how +to hold together the whole structure so that the subject, all the +subject, and nothing but the subject shall be laid before the reader; +this requires good thinking, but good thinking without technical skill +is like a strong arm in tennis without facility in the strokes. + +The program I have outlined is simpler in theory than in practice. In +practice, it is easier to discover the disorder than the thought which +it confuses; in practice, technical skill must be forced upon +undergraduates unaccustomed to thoroughness, in a country that in no +department of life, except perhaps business, has hitherto been +compelled to value technique. Even the optimist grows pessimistic +sometimes in teaching composition. + +And yet in the teaching of English the results are perhaps more +evident than elsewhere in the whole range of college work. It is +wonderful to see what can be accomplished by an enthusiast in the +sport of transmuting brains into words. When the teacher seeks for his +material in the active interests of the student--whether athletics or +engineering or literature or catching trout--when he stirs up the +finer interests, drawing off, as it were, the cream into words, the +results are convincing. Writing is one of the most fascinating, most +engaging of pursuits for the man with a craving to grasp the reality +about him and name it in words. And even for the undergraduate, whose +imagination is just developing, and whose brain protests against +logical thought, it can be made as interesting as it is useful. + +The teaching of English composition in this country is a vast industry +in which thousands of workmen are employed and in which a million or +so of young minds are invested. I do not wish to take it too +seriously. There are many accomplishments more important for the +welfare of the race. And yet, if it be true that maturity of intellect +is never attained without that clearness and accuracy of thinking +which can be made to show itself in good writing, then the failure of +the undergraduate to write well is serious, and the struggle to make +him write better worthy of the attention of those who have children to +be educated. I do not think that success in this struggle will come +through the policy of _laissez-faire_. All undergraduates profit by +organized help in their writing; many require it. I do not think that +success will come by a pedantical insistence upon correctness in form +without regard to the sense. Squeezing unwilling words from +indifferent minds may be discipline; it certainly is not teaching. I +think that success will come only to the teacher who is a middleman +between thought and expression, valuing both. When we succeed in +making the bulk of the undergraduates really think; when we can +inspire them with a modicum of that passion for truth in words which +is the moving force of the good writer; when the schools help us and +the outside world demands and supports efficiency in diction; then we +shall carry through the program of the Optimists. + + HENRY SEIDEL CANBY + _Yale University_ + + +Footnotes: + +[60] Reprinted in revised form from _College Sons and College +Fathers_, Harper and Brothers. + + + + +XX + +THE TEACHING OF THE CLASSICS + + +=Significance of recent criticisms of the teaching of the classics= + +Methods of teaching are determined to a large extent by appreciation +of the objects to be attained. If teachers make clear to themselves +just what they wish to accomplish, they will more easily develop the +means. The storm of objection now rising against the study of the +Classics indicates clearly that there is a general dissatisfaction +with the result of this study. There is a striking unanimity on this +subject among persons of widely different talent and experience, of +whom some are still students, while others are looking back upon their +training in school and college after years of mature life. Their +adverse criticism is all the more significant because often expressed +with obvious regret. Some, who have had unusual opportunities for +observation, state their opinion in no uncertain language. For +example, Mr. Abraham Flexner, in his pamphlet "A Modern School," on +page 18 says: "Neither Latin nor Greek would be contained in the +curriculum of the Modern School--not, of course, because their +literatures are less wonderful than they are reputed to be, but +because their present position in the curriculum rests upon tradition +and assumption. A positive case can be made out for neither." The +president of Columbia University, in his Annual Report for 1915-1916, +page 15, speaking of the "teachers of the ancient classics," says: +"They have heretofore been all too successful in concealing from their +pupils the real significance and importance of Greek and Latin +studies." Such criticisms, however, do not prove that the study of the +Classics cannot accomplish all that its advocates claim for it, but +only that it is not now accomplishing satisfactory results. + +Undoubtedly there are various causes for a depreciation of classical +studies at the present time. Other subjects, such as mathematics, are +suffering from a similar disparagement. In recent years interest has +centered more and more in studies designed to develop powers of +observation, give knowledge of certain facts, or provide equipment for +some particular vocation, to the neglect of those which discipline the +mind or impart a general culture. It is certainly important, +therefore, to consider the relative values of these various studies. +To do so it is desirable to examine the aims of classical teaching and +the methods by which these aims may be realized; for it is at least +possible that the widespread dissatisfaction with this teaching is due +not so much to the subject itself as to defects and insufficiency in +the methods employed. + +=The present aims of classical teaching= + +Not all teachers of the Classics agree in all respects as to the aims +of their teaching. Certain aims, however, are common to all the +classical departments in American colleges. These are: + +1. To train students, through the acquisition and use of the ancient +languages, in memory, accuracy, analysis and logic, clearness and +fluency of expression, and style. + +2. To enable certain students to read with profit and enjoyment the +masterpieces of Greek and Latin literature. + +3. To impart to certain students a knowledge, as complete as possible, +of the classical civilization as a whole. To a complete knowledge of +this civilization belongs all that the ancients possessed or did, all +that they thought or wrote, whether or not any particular part of it +had an influence upon later times or is, in itself, interesting or +valuable now. All parts alike are phenomena of the life of these +ancient peoples and so of the life of the human race. + +4. To impart a knowledge and understanding of the thoughts and ideas, +the forms of expression, the institutions, and the experiences of the +ancients, in so far as these are either actually valuable in +themselves to the modern world or have influenced the development of +modern civilization. + +Besides these aims which are common to all, there are certain others +less generally pursued by classical teachers in this country. Among +these are: + +5. To make students familiar with "the Greek (and Latin) in English," +i.e. with the etymology and history of words in our own language which +had their origin in or through Greek or Latin.[61] + +6. To trace the influences of the classic literature upon modern +literature and thought.[62] + +7. To train those who expect to teach the Classics in pedagogical +methods, and to familiarize them with modern pedagogical +appliances.[63] + +8. To teach the language of the New Testament and of the Church +Fathers.[64] + +The classical departments of some colleges also give courses in Modern +Greek[65]: such courses, however, belong properly to the field of +Modern Languages. + +Now it is by no means certain that all of these aims properly concern +all classes of students. On the contrary, every one would doubtless +agree that those described under Nos. 7 and 8 do not concern the +average student of the Classics. It is also a debatable question +whether it should be the aim of classical teaching to give all +classical students some knowledge of the classic civilization as a +whole; whether, for example, Aristophanes and Plautus, however +important these authors may be for a complete understanding of the +ancient life and literature, are worth while for all classical +students alike. It is far more important, however, to determine +whether, in that which seems to many persons the chief business of a +classical department, all who study the masterpieces of the ancient +literatures should be taught to study them in the original language. + +=Teaching from the originals only= + +No one doubts that classical departments should provide courses on the +ancient literature in the original, or that the æsthetic qualities of +a literature can be _fully_ appreciated only in the original language. +Some people, however, maintain that every literary production is +primarily a work of art, and consequently that its æsthetic qualities +are its most essential qualities: that to teach the classical +literature through the medium of translations would be aiming at an +imperfect appreciation of its most essential qualities, and would also +divert students from the study of its original form. Yet in most +colleges courses on painting and sculpture are given through the +medium of photographs, casts and copies, and no one questions the +value and effectiveness of such courses, or doubts that they tend to +increase the desire of the students to know the originals themselves. +Similarly courses on Greek literature in translations are given at +many American colleges, for example at Bucknell, California, Colorado, +Harvard,[66] Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Lafayette, Leland Stanford, +Michigan, Missouri, New York University, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, +Syracuse, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington University, Wesleyan, and +Wisconsin: courses in Latin literature in translations at California, +Colorado, Kansas, Leland Stanford, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and +Washington University. Besides these there are courses at some +colleges on Greek or Roman Life and Thought,[67] or Life and +Letters,[68] or Civilization,[69] most of which do not involve the use +of the ancient languages on the part of the students. For example, at +Brown courses which require no knowledge of the ancient languages are +given in both Greek and Roman "Civilization as Illustrated by the +Literature, History and Monuments of Art."[70] Harvard also offers +courses entitled "A Survey of Greek Civilization" and "A Survey of +Roman Civilization, Illustrated from the Monuments and Literature," in +which a knowledge of the ancient languages is not required. + +In deciding the question here at issue it is essential to distinguish +between the different kinds of literature. The value of certain +literary productions undoubtedly consists chiefly in the æsthetic +qualities of their form; that is, the excellence and influence of +these productions depends upon the particular language actually used +by the author. Such works of literature lose very much in translation, +and it may be asserted with some reason that they lose their most +essential qualities. It may well be doubted, therefore, whether any +one can derive great pleasure or benefit from the study of the poems +of Sappho or the odes of Horace, for example, unless these are studied +in the original. The value of other literary productions, on the other +hand, lies partly in their form and partly in their content, or in +their content alone. It is quite a different question, therefore, +whether one may derive a satisfactory pleasure and benefit from a +translation of the _Agamemnon_ of Æschylus or Thucydides' _History of +the Peloponnesian War_, of Lucretius or Tacitus, to say nothing of +such books as Aristotle's _Constitution of Athens_. + +=Teaching only from classical texts= + +There is another and still more important question connected with the +theory of classical teaching, namely whether all classical courses +should be based upon or begin with the study of some classical text. +Some are of the opinion that it is the business of classical teachers +to teach the Greek and Latin languages, and the literatures in these +languages, and that anything which cannot be taught best through the +study of some portion of the classical literature in the original +should be taught by some other department of the college. Consequently +in some institutions courses on ancient literature in English +translations are given by the English Department,[71] courses on Greek +and Roman History, Archaeology, and Philosophy by the Departments of +History, Archaeology, and Philosophy, respectively, courses on the +Methods and Equipment of Teaching the Classics by the Department of +Pedagogy. + +Others, less extreme in their views, hold (_a_) that any study of the +Greek or Roman civilization apart from the original ancient literature +would be vague, discoursive, and unprofitable, and in particular that +a discussion of a literature or of literary forms without an +immediate, personal acquaintance with this literature or these +literary forms in the original would not be useful, and (_b_) that +such courses would have little permanent value for the students +because it would not be possible to compel the students to make much +effort for themselves. + +Quite the opposite opinion on this most important question is held by +those who believe (_a_) that the study of the Classics should not be +confined to those who are now able, or may in the future be expected, +to read the ancient literature in the original, (_b_) that there are +some things even about the ancient literature and civilization which +can be taught more effectively without the loss of time and the +division of attention involved in reading the ancient authors in the +original, and (_c_) that in courses such as those dealing with ancient +history ancient books on these subjects, either in the original or in +translations, cannot properly be used as textbooks for the reason +that, quite apart from their errors and misconceptions, these books do +not contain, except incidentally, those phases of the ancient life +which are the most interesting and valuable to the modern world. Such +persons consider that the attempt to convey an appreciation of the +ancient literature through those limited portions of it which can be +read by the students in the original is necessarily ineffective. They +hold that to appreciate any literature one must study it as +literature,--i.e., as English literature should be studied by English +students, French literature by French students,--and that literary +study of this sort properly begins where translation and exegesis +leave off. And finally, they maintain that the effort to give students +a lively knowledge of ancient life or ancient history through the +ancient texts is precisely like the effort to illustrate ancient life +by ancient works of art; e.g., to give a student an idea of an ancient +soldier by showing him an ancient picture of a soldier. Such +illustrations convey instead the impression that ancient life was both +unattractive and unreal, that the study of it is childish and +unpractical.[72] + +=Courses in the ancient languages= + +Many classical courses are designed primarily to teach the classical +languages themselves, or to give mental training through the study and +use of these languages. Until recently most American colleges required +for admission an elementary knowledge of these languages involving +commonly at least three years of preparatory training in Greek and +from three to five years of preparatory Latin. Now, however, many +colleges provide courses for beginners in Greek, some also for +beginners in Latin. For example, courses for beginners in Greek are +given at Bryn Mawr, University of California, Chicago, Colorado, +Columbia, University of North Dakota, Dartmouth, Harvard, Idaho, +Illinois, Johns Hopkins, Kansas, Lafayette, Leland Stanford, Michigan, +New York University, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, +University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Vermont, Washington University, +Wesleyan, Williams, Wisconsin, Yale, and elsewhere. Courses for +beginners in Latin are given, for example, at the Universities of +Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Ordinarily these courses resemble +in general plan and method the corresponding courses in secondary +schools; but inasmuch as the students are more mature, the progress is +much more rapid. + +=The "Natural Method"= + +In some institutions the attempt is made in teaching ancient Greek and +Latin to employ methods used by the teachers of modern languages. Some +classical teachers have even adopted to some extent the so-called +"natural" or "direct" method of language teaching[73]: commonly such +attempts have not been very successful, and where some degree of +success has been attained the success seems due to the personality and +enthusiasm of the individual teacher. Others have contented themselves +with devoting a part of certain courses to exercises designed to show +the students that the classical languages were at one time in daily +use among living people and were the media of ordinary conversation[74]. +Students in such courses commonly memorize certain colloquial phrases +and take part in simple conversations in which these phrases can be +used. Such methods, skillfully employed, undoubtedly relieve the +tedium of the familiar drill in grammar and "prose composition," and +may help materially in imparting both a knowledge of the ancient +languages and a facility in reading the ancient authors. + +An interesting experiment is now being tried at the University of +California in a course in Greek for beginners, given by Professor James +T. Allen. The description of the course in the university catalogue is +as follows: "An Introduction to the Greek Language based upon graded +selections from the works of Menander, Euclid, Aristophanes, Plato, +Herodotus, and the New Testament. The method of presentation emphasizes +the living phrase, and has as its chief object the acquiring of reading +power. Mastery of essential forms; memorizing of quotations; practice in +reading at sight." This course has had considerable success. More than +three hundred students have been enrolled thus far in a period of six or +seven years, and some of these have testified that it was one of the +most valuable courses they have had in any subject. One of the chief +advantages has been that the students, while learning forms and +vocabulary, are reading some real Greek, and that of first-rate +quality.[75] + +=Use of modern literature in ancient Greek or Latin= + +Various attempts have been made, especially in recent years, to +provide for classical students modern stories in ancient Latin, in the +belief that modern students will acquire a practical knowledge of the +language more readily from such textbooks than from any parts of the +ancient literature.[76] The story of Robinson Crusoe was translated +into Latin by G. F. Goffeaux, and this version has been edited and +republished by Dr. Arcadius Avellanus, Philadelphia, 1900 (173 pages). +An abridgement of the original edition was edited by P. A. Barnett, +under the title _The Story of Robinson Crusoe in Latin, adapted from +Defoe by Goffeaux_, Longmans, Green and Co., 1907. Among original +compositions in ancient Latin for students may be mentioned (1) +Ritchie's _Fabulae Faciles_, A First Latin Reader, edited by John +Copeland Kirtland, Jr., of Phillips Exeter Academy, Longmans, Green & +Co., 1903 (134 pages). (2) _The Fables of Orbilius_ by A. D. Godley, +London, Edward Arnold, two small pamphlets, illustrated, containing +short and witty stories for beginners. (3) _Ora Maritima_, A Latin +Story for Beginners, by E. A. Sonnenschein, seventh edition, 1908, +London, Kegan, Paul and Co.; New York, The Macmillan Company (157 +pages). This is the account of the experiences of some boys during a +summer in Kent. (4) _Pro Patria_, A Latin Story for Beginners by +Professor E. A. Sonnenschein, London, Swan, Sonnenschein and Co.; New +York, The Macmillan Company, 1910 (188 pages). (5) _Rex Aurei Rivi, +auctore Johanne Ruskin, Latine interpretatus est Arcadius Avellanus, +Neo-eboraci_, 1914 (Published by E. P. Prentice). (6) F. G. Moore: +_Porta Latina_, Fables of La Fontaine in a Latin Version, Ginn and +Co., 1915. + +A series of translations of modern fiction is now being produced under +the title of The Mount Hope Classics, published by Mr. E. P. Prentice, +37 Wall Street, New York City. The translator is Dr. Arcadius +Avellanus. The first of these appeared in 1914 under the title +_Pericla Navarci Magonis_, this being a translation of _The Adventures +of Captain Mago_, or _With a Phoenician Expedition, B. C. 1000_, by +Léon Cahun, Scribner's, 1889. The second volume, _Mons Spes et Fabulae +Aliae_, a collection of short stories, was published in 1918. The +third, _Mysterium Arcae Boule_, published in 1916, is the well-known +Mystery of the Boule Cabinet by Mr. Burton Egbert Stevenson. The +fourth, _Fabulae Divales_, published in 1918, is a collection of fairy +stories for young readers to which is added a version of Ovid's _Amor +et Psyche_. + +Over these books a lively controversy has arisen between Dr. Avellanus +and Mr. Charles H. Forbes, of Phillips Academy, Andover.[77] +Undoubtedly the translator's style and vocabulary are far from being +strictly in accord with the present canons of classical Latin. He +employs a multitude of words and idioms unfamiliar to those whose +reading has been confined to the masterpieces of the ancient +literature which are most commonly studied. On the other hand, the +ancient language is made in these books a medium of modern thought. +The stories presented hold the attention, the vividness of the +narrative captivates the reader and carries him through the +obscurities of diction and of style to a wholly unexpected realization +that Latin is a real language after all. + +It is a serious question whether students can ever acquire a mastery +of a language, or even a sufficient knowledge of it really to +appreciate its literature, unless they learn to use this language to +express their own thoughts. But it is evident that it is impossible +adequately to express modern ideas in the language of Cæsar and +Cicero. Those who would exclude the Latin of comparatively recent +authors such as Erasmus from the canon of the Latin which may be +taught, as well as those who confine their teaching to the translation +and parsing of certain texts, are raising the question whether the +Latin language should be taught at all in modern times. + +Naturally less effort has been made to provide for students modern +literature in ancient Greek. At least one such book, however, is +available, _The Greek War of Independence, 1821-27, told in classical +Greek for the use of beginners_ (with notes and exercises) by C. D. +Chambers: published by Swan, Sonnenschein and Co. + +=Courses in "Prose Composition"= + +In nearly all American colleges courses in Greek and Latin composition +are given, either as a means of mental training or in order to give a +more complete mastery of these languages and a greater facility in +reading the literature. In some places, for example at the University +of California, a series of courses is given in both Greek and Latin +composition culminating in original compositions, translations of +selections from modern literature, and conversation in the ancient +languages. Courses in Latin conversation[78] are given in other places +also, and courses in the pronunciation of ancient Greek and Latin.[79] + +All such courses belong to the general field of the study of the +classical languages as distinguished from the study of the literature, +history, or any other phase of the classical civilization. This branch +of language study, of course, includes such purely linguistic courses +as those in Comparative Philology, Comparative Grammar, the Morphology +of the Ancient Languages, Syntax, Dialects, etc. + +=Courses in literature= + +The bulk of classical teaching in American colleges is devoted to the +literature. The great majority of all college courses in Latin and +Greek have the same general characteristics.[80] A certain limited +portion of text is assigned for preparation. This text is then +translated by the students in class, and the translation corrected. +Grammatical and exegetical questions and the content of the passage +are discussed. Most of the time at each meeting of the class is +consumed in such exercises. Generally lectures or informal talks are +given by the instructor upon the life and personality of each author +whose work is read, upon the life and thought of his times, upon the +literary activity as a whole, and upon the value of those selections +from his works which are the subject of the course. Sometimes the +students are required to read more of the original literature than can +be translated in class. Generally some collateral reading in English +is assigned. Often the instructor reads to the class, usually from the +original, other portions of the ancient literature. + +The number and extent of such courses in the different institutions +vary according to the strength of the faculty, the plan of the +curriculum, and the number and demands of the students in each. In the +main, however, the list of selections from the ancient literature +presented in such courses in all the colleges is much the same. Many +of these courses deal with one particular author and his works, such +as Sophocles, Plato, Plautus, or Horace. Others deal with some +particular kind of literature, such as Greek tragedy or oratory, Latin +comedy, etc., or with a group of authors of different types combined +for the sake of variety.[81] + +=Methods commonly pursued= + +The methods as well as the aims of such courses are well exemplified +in the following passages contained in the _Circular of Information_ +for 1915-1916 of the University of Chicago, page 211: "Ability to read +Greek with accuracy and ease, and intelligent enjoyment of the +masterpieces of Greek literature are the indispensable prerequisites +of all higher Greek scholarship. All other interests that may attach +to the study are subordinate to these, and their pursuit is positively +harmful if it prematurely distracts the student's attention from his +main purpose." + +It is not immediately apparent what distinction is made here, if there +is any, between the "prerequisites" and the "main purpose" of +classical scholarship. What the chief aim of classical teaching is +according to this view, however, is made clear by the two paragraphs +which follow, as well as by the descriptions of the individual courses +offered by the Chicago faculty. + +"In the work of the Junior Colleges the Department will keep this +principle steadily in view, and will endeavor to teach a practical +knowledge of Greek vocabulary and idiom, and to impart literary and +historic culture by means of rapid viva voce translation and +interpretation of the simpler masterpieces of the literature.... In the +Senior Colleges the chief stress will be laid on reading and exegesis, +but the range of authors presented to the student's choice will be +enlarged." + +=Value of such courses= + +The advantage of such courses is that they make the students who take +them familiar with at least some limited portions of the best of the +ancient literature in its original form, and most people are agreed +that this is the only way in which students can be taught to +appreciate that part of this literature, the value of which lies +chiefly or wholly in its form. But people are not agreed upon two most +serious questions which arise in this connection. The first is whether +all students are capable of appreciating at all literature of this +sort, especially when it is conveyed in an ancient and difficult +language. The other question is how much of the classical literature +really depends for its values chiefly upon its form. To say that the +Psalms and the Gospels have no value or little value for the world +apart from the original form and language in which they were written +would, of course, be absurd. Is it any less absurd to say that the +study of the Homeric poems, the Attic tragedies, the works of +Thucydides and Plato would have little value for students unless this +literature were studied in the original language? These questions +cannot properly be ignored any longer by teachers of the Classics. + +=Defects of these courses= + +The defects of such courses are manifest to most persons. Students who +pursue these courses through most of the years of secondary school and +college fail to acquire either such a knowledge of the Greek and Latin +languages as would enable them to read with pleasure and profit a +Greek or Latin book, or such a knowledge of the Greek and Roman +literature and civilization as would enable them to appreciate the +value of classical studies. Many of them graduate from college without +even knowing that there is anything really worthy of their attention +in the classical literatures. The fact stares the teachers of the +Classics grimly in the face that they are not accomplishing the aims +which they profess. + +One explanation of this fact suggests itself. In the classical courses +commonly given in American colleges the attention paid to the content +of the literature, to the author and his times--the lectures and +readings by the instructor, the discussion of archaeological, +historical, literary, and philosophical matters introduced into the +course,--distract attention from the study of the language itself, and +check this study before a real mastery of the language has been +secured. On the other hand, the time and still more the attention +devoted in these courses to the mere process of translation detracts +from the appreciation of the literature and obstructs the study of +the life and thought. In attempting to accomplish both purposes in +these courses the teachers fail to accomplish either, and the result +is chiefly a certain mental training, the practical value of which +depends largely upon the mental capacity and skill of each individual +teacher, and is not readily appreciated. + +=Courses not requiring knowledge of the ancient languages= + +To obviate some of these defects, and also to provide courses on Greek +and Roman culture for those unfamiliar with the ancient languages, +courses which require no use of these languages are now given at +various colleges on Classical Literature or Civilization.[82] A course +on the "Greek Epic" at the University of California is described as +follows: "A study chiefly of the Iliad and the Odyssey; their form, +origin, and content; Homeric and pre-Homeric Aegean civilizations; +relative merits of modern translations; influence of the Homeric poems +on the later Greek, Roman, and modern literature. Lectures (partly +illustrated), assigned readings, discussions, and reports." The course +at Harvard entitled "Survey of Greek Civilization" is "A lecture +course, with written tests on a large body of private reading (mostly +in English). No knowledge of Greek is required beyond the terms which +must necessarily be learned to understand the subject." "The +prescribed reading includes translations of Greek authors as well as +modern books on Greek life and thought." The lecturer frequently reads +and comments upon selections from the ancient literature. At Brown +University a course is given on Greek Civilization, including the +following topics: I Topography of Greece, II Prehistoric Greece, III +The Language, IV Early Greece (The Makers of Homer, Expansion of +Greece, Tyrannies, The New Poetry, etc.), V The Transition Century, +600-500 B. C. ((_a_) Government and Political Life, (_b_) Literature, +(_c_) art), VI The Classical Epoch, 500-338 B. C. ((_a_) Political and +Military History, (_b_) Literature, (_c_) The Fine Arts), VII The +Hellenistic and Græco-Roman Periods, ((_a_) History, (_b_) Literature, +(_c_) Philosophy, (_d_) Learning and Science, (_e_) Art), VIII The +Sequel of Greek History (The Byzantine Empire, the Italian +Renaissance, Mediæval and Modern Greece). This is described as "Wholly +a lecture course, with frequent written tests, examination of the +notebooks, and a final examination on the whole. Definite selections +of the most conspicuous authors are required in English translations." +The Lecturer also reads selections from Homer, the Greek drama, +Pindar, etc. Similar courses on Roman civilization are given at both +Brown and Harvard. There is also a course of fifteen lectures on +"Greek Civilization" at Vermont; "The Culture History of Rome, +lectures with supplementary reading in English," at Washington +University; "Greek Civilization, lectures and collateral reading on +the political institutions, the art, religion, and scientific thought +of ancient Greece in relation to modern civilization," at Wesleyan; +"The Role of the Greeks in Civilization" at Wisconsin.[83] + +=Defects of the lecture system= + +Whatever success such courses may have, they are open to one +criticism. Most, if not all of them, appear to be primarily lecture +courses, with more or less collateral reading controlled by tests and +examinations. The experience of many, however, justifies to some +extent the belief that college students derive little benefit from +collateral reading controlled only in this way, because such reading +is commonly most superficial. Little mental training, therefore, is +involved in courses such as those just described, and the ideas which +the students acquire in them are chiefly those given to them by +others. And it may reasonably be doubted whether the value to the +students of ideas received in this way is comparable to the value of +those which they are led to discover for themselves. So far, then, as +such courses fail to accomplish the purposes for which they were +designed, their failure may be due wholly to this cause. + +=The study of literature apart from its original language= + +It is entirely possible to conceive of courses in which no use of the +ancient languages would be required, but in which the students would +acquire by their own efforts a knowledge of the classical literature +and civilization far more extensive and more satisfying than in +courses largely devoted to translating from Greek and Latin. Such +courses would not merely substitute English translations for the +originals, and treat these translations as the originals are treated +in courses of the traditional type; the ancient literature would be +studied in the same way as English literature is studied. For example, +in a course of this kind on Greek literature, in dealing with the +Odyssey the students would discuss in class, or present written +reports upon, the composition of the poem as a whole, and the relation +to the main plot of different episodes such as the quest of +Telemachus, his visit to Pylos and Lacedæmon, the scene in Calypso's +cave, the building of the raft, the arrival of Odysseus among the +Phæacians, his account of his own adventures, his return to Ithaca, +the slaying of the wooers, etc.; also the characters of the poem, +their individual experiences and behavior in various circumstances, +and the ideas which they express, comparing these characters and ideas +with those of modern times. In dealing with the drama, the students +would study the composition of each play, present its plot in +narrative form, and criticize it from the dramatic as well as from the +literary standpoint; they would discuss the characters and situations, +and the ideas embodied in each.[84] In dealing with Thucydides they +would discuss the plan of his book and the artistic elements in its +composition; also the critical standards of the author, his methods, +his objectivity, and his personal bias. They would study the debates +in which the arguments on both sides of great issues are presented, +expressing their own opinions on the questions involved. They would +study the great descriptions, such as the account of the siege of +Platæa, the plague at Athens, the last fight in the harbor of +Syracuse, making a summary in their own language of the most essential +or effective details. Lastly they would discuss such figures as +Pericles, Nicias and Alcibiades, Archidamus, Brasidas and Hermocrates, +their characters, principles, and motives. In dealing with Plato they +would study the character of Socrates and those ideas contained in the +Platonic dialogues which can be most readily comprehended by college +students. + +=Classical studies not confined to the ancient authors= + +The study of "The Classics" is not properly confined to the Greek and +Latin literatures: it includes the military, political, social, and +economic history of the ancient Greeks and Romans, their institutions, +their religion, morals, philosophy, science, art, and private life. +The geography and topography of ancient lands, anthropology and +ethnology, archaeology and epigraphy contribute to its material. It is +not necessary that all these subjects be taught by members of a +classical department. In particular it is the common practice in this +country to relegate the study of ancient philosophy to the Department +of Philosophy, whereas in England and on the Continent such +distinctions between departments are not recognized. But certainly +these branches of the study of the classical civilization should be +taught best by those most familiar with the classical civilization in +all its phases, and most thoroughly trained in the interpretation and +criticism of its literature. It is also obvious that the teaching of +the classical literature would be emasculated if it were separated +from these other subjects mentioned. Only, such subjects as history +should not be taught from the literary point of view. History should +be an account of what actually took place, derived from every +available source and not from a synthesis of a literary tradition. In +this respect the teachers of the Classics have from the earliest times +made the most serious mistakes. To some extent the same charges may be +brought against the methods and traditions of the teachers of modern +history. The teaching of Greek and Roman history, however, is affected +in a peculiar degree by the traditions of classical scholarship. The +historical courses given by most classical teachers are based upon the +translation and discussion of the works of certain ancient authors, +whose accounts are not only false and misleading in many respects, but +characteristically omit those factors in the ancient life which are +the most significant and interesting to the modern world. Such courses +begin by implanting false impressions which no amount of explanation +can eradicate. The ancient world, therefore, is made to appear to +modern students unreal and unworthy of serious attention: it is not +strange that they are dissatisfied with such teaching, and that it +seems to many practically worthless. A true picture of the life and +experience of the ancient Greeks and Romans would appear both +interesting and profitable to a normal college student. + +=Summary of objects to be sought in the teaching of the classics= + +The aims of the teaching of the Classics in American colleges should +be to give, in addition to a training of the mind: + +1. An appreciation of the best of the classical literature. For this +is, in many respects, the best literature which we have at all, even +when without any allowances it is compared with the best of modern +literatures. Much of it is universal in character. It is also the +foundation of the modern literatures. By learning to appreciate it, +students would learn to judge and appreciate all literature. + +2. A familiarity with the characters and narratives of the ancient +literature. The knowledge of these characters, their behavior under +various vicissitudes of fortune, and their experiences, would of +itself be a valuable possession and equipment for life. + +3. A knowledge of the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans, revealed +and developed in their literature, and tested in the realities of +their life. Many of these ideas are of the utmost value today, and are +in danger of being overlooked and forgotten in this materialistic age +of ours, unless they are constantly recalled to our minds by such +studies. + +4. A knowledge of the actual experiences of the ancients, as +individuals and as nations, their experiments in democracy and other +forms of government, in imperialism, arbitration, and the like, their +solutions of the moral, social, and economic problems which were as +prominent in their world as in ours. + +To realize these aims old methods should be revised and improved, new +methods developed. For there can hardly be a study more valuable and +practical than this. + + WILLIAM K. PRENTICE + _Princeton University_ + + +Footnotes: + +[61] For example, at the University of Kansas. + +[62] Leland Stanford, Michigan, Princeton. + +[63] California, North Dakota, Harvard, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, +Leland Stanford, Michigan, Oberlin, Otterbein, Pennsylvania, Vermont, +Wisconsin, Yale, etc. Some of these courses are offered only to +graduate students, and some are given by the Departments of +Pedagogics. + +[64] In New Testament or Patristic Greek at Austin, Bucknell, +California, Cornell, Harvard, Illinois, Lafayette, Michigan, Millsaps, +Trinity, Wesleyan. In Patristic Latin, Bucknell and elsewhere. + +[65] Brown, Cornell, Leland Stanford. + + [_N. B._ These lists are by no means complete.] + +[66] History of Greek Tragedy. Lectures with reading and study of the +plays of Æschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Requires no knowledge of +the Greek language. + +[67] E.g., Columbia, Lafayette. + +[68] California, Washington University. + +[69] Colorado, Idaho, Syracuse, Vermont, Washington University, +Wesleyan, Wisconsin. + +[70] It should be noted that at Brown the titles of the classical +departments are "The Department of Greek Literature and History" and +"The Department of Roman Literature and History." + +[71] At Cornell and Oberlin, for example. + +[72] See especially Clarence P. Bill. "The Business of a College Greek +Department," _Classical Journal_, IX (1913-14), pp. 111-121. + +[73] See the article by Mr. Theodosius S. Tyng in _Classical Weekly_, +VIII (1915), Nos. 24 and 25. Also M. J. Russell: "The Direct Method of +Teaching Latin," in the _Classical Journal_, XII (1916), pages +209-211, and other articles on this subject in the _Classical Journal_ +and the _Classical Weekly_ in recent years. + +[74] For example, "Latin Conversation," at Columbia; "Oral Latin," at +Leland Stanford; "Sight Reading and Latin Speaking," at New York +University. + +[75] See Professor Allen's article, "The First Year of Greek," in the +_Classical Journal_, X (1915), pages 262-266. + +[76] As early as the seventeenth century books were produced which may +be regarded as the forerunners of this sort of modern composition in +the ancient language. One of these was published in 1604 under the +title: "Iocorum atque seriorum tum novorum tum selectorum atque +memorabilium libri duo, recensente Othone Melandro." Another is the +"Terentius Christianus seu Comoediae Sacrae--Terentiano stylo a Corn. +Schonaeo Goudono conscriptae, editio nova Amstelodami 1646": this +includes dramas such as Naaman (princeps Syrus), Tobaeus (senex), +Saulus, Iuditha, Susanna, Ananias, etc. Still another is the "Poesis +Dramatica Nicolai Amancini S. J.," in two parts, published in 1674 and +1675. A century later there appeared a story which, judging from its +title, was designed primarily for students: "Joachimi Henrici Campe +Robinson Secundus Tironum causa latine vertit Philippus Julius +Lieberkühn," Zullich, 1785. + +[77] See the _Classical Journal_, XI (1914), pages 25-32; _Classical +Weekly_, IX (1915-16), pages 149-151; X (1916), pages 38 f.; +_Classical Weekly_, X (1916), pages 37 f. + +[78] See note 2, page 411. + +[79] Columbia. + +[80] This is true of the courses in secondary schools and graduate +courses in universities also; but in the secondary and graduate +schools the proportion of translation courses to the others is +smaller. + +[81] For example, at Harvard one course includes Plato, Lysias, Lyric +Poetry, and Euripides, with lectures on the history of Greek +literature; another Livy, Terence, Horace and other Latin Poets. + +[82] See above, page 407 f. + +[83] For a fuller list of institutions where classical courses not +requiring a knowledge of the ancient languages are given see above, +page 407. + +[84] "Die höchste Aufgabe bei der Lektüre des griechischen Dramas sei +das Stück Leben, das uns der Dichter vor Augen führt, in seinem vollen +Inhalt miterleben zu lassen." C. Wunderer, in _Blätter für das +Gymnasial-Schulwesen_, Vol. LII (1916), 1. + + + + +XXI + +THE TEACHING OF THE ROMANCE LANGUAGES + + +=The college course must emphasize power, not facts= + +IT is well at times to emphasize old truths, mainly because they are +old and are consecrated by experience. One of these, frequently +combated nowadays, is that any college course--worthy of the name--has +other than utilitarian ends. I therefore declare my belief that the +student does not go to college primarily to acquire facts. These he +can learn from books or from private instruction. _Me judice_--he goes +to college primarily to learn _how to interpret_ facts, and to arrive +through this experience at their practical as well as their theoretic +value: as respects himself, as respects others, and in an ever +widening circle as regards humanity in general. The first object, +thus, of a college course is to humanize the individual, to emancipate +him intellectually and emotionally from his prejudices and conventions +by giving him a wider horizon, a sounder judgment, a firmer and yet a +more tolerant point of view. "Our proclivity to details," said +Emerson, "cannot quite degrade our life and divest it of poetry." The +college seizes upon the liberating instinct of youth and utilizes it +for all it is worth. We summarize by saying that the college prepares +not merely for "life" but for "living"; so that the society whom the +individual serves will be served by him loyally, intelligently, and +broad-mindedly, with an increasing understanding of its aims and +purposes. + +=The college can attain its aim only when the student brings necessary +facts from secondary schools= + +This, let us assume, is the somewhat lofty ideal. What about its +concrete realization? Especially when the subject is a language, +which, considering that it consists of parts of speech, inflections, +phonetics, etc., is a very practical matter and apparently far removed +from the ideal in question. Every language teacher is familiar with +this stock objection. How often has he not been told that his +business is not to teach French culture or Spanish life, but French +and Spanish? And as everybody knows, French and Spanish are not +learned in a day, nor, indeed, if we judge by the average graduate of +our colleges, in four years of classroom work. It is not my purpose to +combat the contention that college French or Spanish or Italian could +be taught better, and that from a utilitarian point of view the +subject is capable of a great deal of improvement. As Professor +Grandgent has trenchantly said "I do not believe there is or ever was +a language more difficult to acquire than French; most of us can name +worthy persons who have been assiduously struggling with it from +childhood to mature age, and who do not know it now: yet it is treated +as something any one can pick up offhand.... French staggers under the +fearful burden of apparent easiness." I do not think these words +overstate the case. All the more reason, then, to bear in mind that +the burden of this accomplishment should not fall on the college +course alone, or, I should even say, on the college course at all. For +the fact is that a thorough knowledge of the Romance tongues cannot be +acquired in any college course, and to attack the problem from that +angle alone is to attempt the impossible. It is on the school, and not +on the college, that the obligation of the practical language problem +rests. If our students are to become proficient in French--in the +sense that they can not only read it but write and speak it with +passable success--the language must be begun early, in the grade +school (when memory and apperception are still fresh), and then +carried forward systematically over a period of from six to seven +years. But this will require on the part of our schools: (1) a longer +time allotment to the subject than it now generally has, (2) a closer +articulation between the grade-school, high-school, and college +courses, and (3) the appointment of better and higher-paid teachers of +the subject. An encouraging move is being made in many parts of the +country to carry out this plan, though of course we are still a long +way from its realization; and when it is realized we shall not yet +have reached the millennium. But at least we shall have given the +practical teaching of the subject a chance, comparable to the +opportunity it has in Europe; and the complaint against the French and +Spanish teacher--if there still be a chronic complaint--will have +other grounds than the one we so commonly hear at present. + +=Limitations of elementary and intermediate courses as college courses= + +In the meantime, let us remember that the college has other, and more +pressing, things to do than to attempt to supply the shortcomings of +the school. It is certainly essential that the college should continue +and develop the practical work of the school in various ways, such as +advanced exercises and lectures in the foreign idiom, special +conversation classes, and the like--if only for the simple reason that +a language that is not used soon falls into desuetude and is +forgotten. But assuredly the so-called elementary, intermediate, and +advanced courses in French and Spanish (as given in college) do not +fall under that head. They exist in the college by _tolerance_ rather +than by sound pedagogical theory, and the effort now being made to +force all such courses back into the school by reducing the college +"credits" they give is worthy of undivided support. Not only are they +out of place in the college program, but the burden of numerous and +often large "sections" in these courses has seriously impeded the +college in its proper language work. The college in its true function +is the clarifier of ideas, the correlator of facts, the molder of +personalities; and the student of modern languages should enter +college prepared to study his subject from the college point of view. +Much of the apparent "silliness" of the French class which our more +virile undergraduates object to would be obviated if a larger +percentage of them could at once enter upon the more advanced phases +of the subject. It is, then, to their interest, to the interest of the +subject, and to the advantage of the college concerned, that this +reform be brought about. + +=Aim of the teaching of Romance languages in the college= + +In any case, the function of a college subject can be stated, as +President Meiklejohn has stated it, in terms of two principles. He +says: "The first is shared by both liberal and technical teaching. +The second applies to liberal education alone. The principles are +these: (1) that activity guided by ideas is on the whole more +successful than the same activity without the control of ideas, and +(2) that in the activities common to all men the guidance of ideas is +quite as essential as in the case of those which different groups of +men carry on in differentiation from one another." As applied to the +Romance languages, this means that while the college must of course +give "technical" instruction in language, the emphasis of that +instruction should be upon the "ideas" which the language expresses, +in itself and in its literature. It is not enough that the college +student should gain fluency in French or Spanish, he must also and +primarily be made conscious of the processes of language, its logical +and æsthetic values, the civilization it expresses, and the thoughts +it has to convey. While it may be said that all thorough language +instruction accomplishes this incidentally, the college makes this +_the_ aim of its teaching. The college should furnish an objective +appraisal of the fundamental elements of the foreign idiom, not merely +a subjective (and often superficial) mastery of details. For the old +statement remains true that--when properly studied--"proverbs, words, +and grammar inflections convey the public sense with more purity and +precision than the wisest individual";[85] and what shall we say when +"literature" is added to this list? + +=Status of Romance languages in representative colleges--Early status= + +From these preliminary observations let us now turn to the present +status of Romance languages in some of our representative +colleges.[86] One gratifying fact may be noted at once. Whereas a +quarter of a century ago Greek and Latin were still considered the +_sine qua non_ of a liberal education, today French and German, and to +a lesser extent Spanish and Italian, have their legitimate share in +this distinction. Indeed, to judge merely by the number of students, +they would seem to have replaced Latin and Greek. To be sure, several +colleges, as for instance Amherst and Chicago, alarmed by this swing +of the pendulum, have reserved the B.A. degree for the traditional +classical discipline. But in the first case the entire curriculum +includes "two years of Greek or Latin," and in the second the B.A. +students comprise but a very small percentage of the college body; and +while in both cases Latin and Greek are required subjects, Romance is +admitted as an elective, in which--to mention only Amherst--six +consecutive semester courses, covering the main phases of modern +French literature, can be chosen. As noted, the recognition of modern +languages as cultural subjects is relatively recent. As late as 1884 a +commission, appointed by the Modern Language Association, found that +"few colleges have a modern language requirement for admission to the +course in arts; ... of the fifty reported, three require French, two +offer an election between French and German, and two require both +French and German." And of these same colleges, "eighteen require no +foreign language, twenty-nine require either French or German, and +eighteen require both French and German, for graduation in the arts." + +Obviously, few (at most seven) of the colleges examined admitted +students prepared to take advanced courses in French; and only +eighteen, or 36 per cent, allowed students to begin French in the +freshman year, over one half of the entire number postponing the +beginners' French until the sophomore, junior, or even senior year. It +is clear, therefore, that as late as 1864, and in spite of such +illustrious examples as that set by Harvard in the appointment of +Ticknor to the Smith professorship in 1816, the Romance languages +could hardly be classed as a recognized college subject. At best, they +were taught on the principles that "it is never too late to learn," +and although this teaching failed from the "practical" point of view, +it yet had little or no opportunity to concern itself with the +cultural aspects of the subject. No wonder the commission +reported[87] that in the circumstances "a mastery of language, as well +as a comprehensive study of the literature, is impossible." With the +part played by our Greek and Latin colleagues in keeping the modern +languages out of the curriculum we need not deal in detail here. It is +enough, in order to explain their attitude, to observe that previous +to 1884 the teaching of modern languages was generally poor: it was +intrusted for the most part to foreigners, who, being usually ignorant +of the finer shades of English and woefully ignorant of American +students, could not have been expected to succeed, or to native +Americans, who for various and often excellent reasons lacked the +proper training, and therefore succeeded--when in rare cases they did +succeed--in spite of their qualifications rather than because of them. +Add to all this the conviction natural to every classicist, that Latin +and Greek are the keys to all Western civilization and that without +them Romance literatures (not to say "languages") are incomprehensible, +and the situation up to the 90's is amply clear. + +=Contemporary status of Romance Languages in college curricula= + +Today, then, conditions are changed, and for better or worse the +Romance tongues are on a par with other collegiate subjects. A glance +at the latest statistics is instructive. In 1910, out of 340 colleges +and universities in the United States, 328 taught French; 112 (the +universities) offered more than four years' instruction, 50 offered +four years, 90 three years, 68 two years, and only 8 one year. The +present status can easily be divined: the interest in Spanish has +certainly not waned, while the interest in French has grown by leaps +and bounds. Some curtailment there has been, owing to the adoption of +the "group system" of studies on the part of most of the colleges, and +as the colleges are relieved of more and more of the elementary work +there doubtless will be more. But, in any case, it is safe to say that +French, Spanish, and Italian are now firmly installed as liberal +studies in the curricula of most of our colleges. Now, how do they +fulfill this function? What changes will be necessary in order that +they may fulfill it better? What particular advantages have they to +offer as a college subject? A brief consideration of each of these +points follows. + +In general, our colleges require fifteen units of entrance credit and +about twenty collegiate units for the college degree.[88] Of the +entrance units, a maximum of four in French and two in Spanish is +allowed; and of the college units, an average of five, or about one +fourth of the entire college work,[89] must be taken consecutively in +_one_ department of study or in not more than _two_ departments. This +last group of approximately five units thus constitutes, so to speak, +the backbone of the student's work. It is his so-called "principal +sequence" (Chicago) or his "two majors" (Amherst) or his "major +subject" (Wisconsin and Colorado); and while in the case of Amherst it +cannot be begun "until after the freshman year," in general it must be +begun by the junior year. Considerable variety prevails, of course, in +carrying out this idea; for example, Johns Hopkins requires "at least +two courses in the major and at least two in some cognate subject." +Harvard states that "every student shall take at least six of his +courses in some one department, or in one of the recognized fields of +distinction." Princeton demands of "every junior and senior ... at +least two 3-hour courses in some one department." But almost all +representative colleges now recognize four general groups of study: +Philosophy (including history), language, science, and mathematics; +and the student's work must be so arranged that while it is fairly +evenly distributed over three of the groups it is at the same time +definitely concentrated in one of them. + +=Normal prescription in a Romance Language= + +In answer to our first question, it follows that the student entering +with the maximum of French should be able, before graduation, to get +enough advanced courses to give him an intelligent grasp of the +literature as well as the language. In our better-equipped colleges +this is undoubtedly the case. Harvard, for instance, would admit him +to a course (French 2) in French Prose and Poetry, which includes some +"composition," to be followed by (6) a General View of French +Literature, (8) French Literature in the Eighteenth Century, (9) +French Literature in the Seventeenth Century, (16) Comedy of Manners +in France, (17) Literary Criticism in France; and in some of these +courses the linguistic aspects would be considered in the form of +"themes," "reports," etc., while the student could choose (5) Advanced +French Composition for that special purpose. Other colleges (e.g., +Johns Hopkins, Chicago, Stanford) offer the same or similar +opportunities. So that, although titles of courses are often +deceptive, the general plan of offering (1) an introductory course in +which both the language and the literature are treated, (2) a +survey-course in literature, leading to (3) various courses in +literature after 1600, and supported by (4) at least one specific +course in language, now constitutes the normal collegiate "major" in +French; and, on the whole, it would be difficult in the present +circumstances to devise a better plan. + +=Changes in current practice that will enhance effectiveness of teaching +of Romance Languages--Danger of minimizing the language phase= + +It is obvious that the success of any plan depends on the thoroughness +with which it is carried out, and this in turn depends on the +qualifications and energy of those who have the matter in hand. That +contingency does not concern us here. But what is worth noting is that +the fourth point mentioned above,--the specific language part of the +"major"--might be strengthened, especially since some excellent +institutions omit this consideration entirely. The danger of falling +between two stools is never greater, it seems, than in treating both +language and literature. An instructor who is bent on elucidating the +range of Anatole France's thought naturally has little time to deal +adequately with his rich vocabulary, his deft use of tense, the subtle +structure of his phrase--and yet who can be said really to "know" such +an author if he be ignorant of either side of his work? "Thought +expands but lames," said Goethe--unless it is constantly controlled by +fact. In order to give the undergraduate that control, it is essential +that he should be placed in the position everywhere to verify his +author's thought. How difficult it is to bring even the best of our +undergraduates to this point I need not discuss. But at least once in +the process of his work he might be held to a stricter account than +elsewhere. And if we ask ourselves by what method this can best be +accomplished, I believe the answer is by some _special_ course in +which the language of several representative writers is treated as +such.[90] The point could be elaborated, particularly in view of the +present-day tendency to dwell unduly on so-called _realia_, French +daily life, and the like--all legitimate enough in their proper time +and place. But enough has been said to show that excellent as the +present plan is, it could without detriment enlarge the place given to +linguistics. In this bewildered age of ours we are forever hearing the +cry of "literature," more "literature": not only our students but our +teachers--and the connection is obvious--find language study dull and +uninspiring, oblivious to the fact that the fault is theirs and not +the subject's. Yet, as we observed above, French is "hard," and its +grammatical structure, apparently so simple, is in truth very +complicated. Manifestly, to understand a foreign literature we must +understand the language in which it is written. How few of our +students really do! Moreover, language and literature are ultimately +only parts of one indivisible entity: Philology--though the fact often +escapes us. "The most effective work," said Gildersleeve,[91] "is done +by those who see all in the one as well as one in the all." And +strange as it appears to the laity, a linguistic fact may convey a +universal lesson. I hesitate to generalize, but I believe most of our +colleges need to emphasize the language side of the French "major" +more. + +=Relative positions of French, Spanish, and Italian in a college course= + +As for Italian and Spanish, few of the colleges as yet grant these +subjects the importance given to French. For one reason, entrance +credit in Italian is extremely rare, and neither there nor in Spanish, +in which it is now rather common, owing to the teaching of Spanish in +the high schools, does it exceed two units. Some work of an elementary +nature must therefore be done in the college; indeed, at Amherst +neither language can be begun until the sophomore year--though +fortunately this is an isolated case. Further, even when the college +is prepared to teach these subjects adequately, it is still a +debatable question whether they are entitled to precisely the same +consideration as their more venerable sister. It is unnecessary to +point out that such great names as Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, +Alfieri, Leopardi, Carducci, Cervantes, Calderón, Lope de Vega, +Benavente, _e tutti quanti_, are abundant evidence of the value of +Italian and Spanish culture. They unquestionably are. Where the +emphasis is cultural, it would certainly be unwise to neglect Italian, +since the Renaissance is Italian and underlies modern European culture +in general. On the other hand, Spanish is, so to speak, at our very +doors because of our island possessions: it is the _one_ foreign +language which calls for no argument to make the undergraduate willing +to learn to speak, and Spanish literature, especially in the drama, +has the same romantic freedom as English literature and is thus +readily accessible to the American type of mind. Pedagogically, thus, +the question is far from simple. But while it is impossible to lay +down any fixed precept, it seems worth while to remember: that the +French genius is preëminently the vehicle of definite and clear ideas, +that in a very real sense France has been and is the intellectual +clearinghouse of the world, and that potentially, at least, her +civilization is of the greatest value to our intellectually dull and +undiscriminating youth. From French, better than from Italian and +Spanish, he can learn the discipline of accurate expression, of clear +articulation, and the enlightenment that springs from contact with +"general ideas." Moreover, we must not forget that the undergraduate's +time is limited and that under the "group system" some discrimination +must necessarily be made. Granted, then, that, all things considered, +the first place will doubtless be left to French, the question remains +whether the attention given to Spanish and Italian is at least +adequate. And do the colleges extract from them the values they +should? + +As a general proposition, we may take it for granted that the college +should offer at least _four_ units in each of these subjects. For +Spanish, certainly, the tendency will be to make the proportion +larger. But two units devoted to learning the language and two devoted +to the literature may be regarded as essential, and are as a matter of +fact the common practice. Several illustrations will make this clear. +_Johns Hopkins_ offers: in Italian, 1. Grammar, Short Stories, etc., +2. Grammar, Written Exercises, Selections from classic authors, +Lectures on Italian Literature; in Spanish, 1. Grammar, Oral and +written exercises, Reading from Alarcón, Valdés, etc., 2. Contemporary +Novel and Drama, Oral practice, Grammar and Composition, 3. The +Classic Drama and Cervantes, oral practice, etc., History of Spanish +Literature. _Illinois_: in Italian, 1a-1b Elementary Course, 2a-2b +Italian Literature, nineteenth century; in Spanish, 1a-1b Elementary +Course, 2a-2b Modern Spanish, 3a-3b Introduction to Spanish +Literature, 4a-4b Business Correspondence and Conversation, 5a-5b +Business Practice in Spanish, 11a-11b The Spanish Drama of the +Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, 17a-17b The Spanish Drama of the +Nineteenth Century. _Harvard_: in Italian, 1. Italian Grammar, reading +and composition, 4. General View of Italian Literature, 5. Modern +Italian Literature, 2. Italian Literature of the Fifteenth and +Sixteenth Centuries, 10. The Works of Dante; in Spanish, 1. Spanish +Grammar, reading and composition, 7. Spanish Composition, 8. Spanish +Composition and Conversation (advanced course), 4. General View of +Spanish Literature, 5. Spanish Prose and Poetry of the Eighteenth and +Nineteenth Centuries, 2. Spanish Literature of the Sixteenth and +Seventeenth Centuries.[92] + +Since Spanish and Italian fall into the department of Romance +languages, in order to make up his "major" the student is at present +compelled to combine them with French. On the whole, this arrangement +appears to me wise. To be sure, the deans of our colleges of commerce +and administration will say that, granting the greater cultural value +of French, the business interests of the country will force us +nevertheless to give Spanish the same place in the curriculum as +French. And the more radical educators will affirm with Mr. +Flexner:[93] "Languages have no value in themselves; they exist solely +for the purpose of communicating ideas and abbreviating our thought +and action processes. If studied, they are valuable only in so far as +they are practically mastered--not otherwise." I have taken a stand +against this matter-of-fact conception of education throughout this +chapter. I may now return to the charge by adding that the banality of +our college students' thinking stares us in the face; if we wish to +quicken it, to refine it, we should have them study other media of +expression _qua_ expression besides their own (that is what Europe did +in the Renaissance, and the example of the Renaissance is still +pertinent); that if Mr. Flexner's reasoning were valid the French +might without detriment convey their "ideas" in Volapük or Ido (I +suggest that Mr. Flexner subject Anatole France to this test); and +that instead of being valueless in themselves, on the contrary, +languages are the repositories of the ages: "We infer," said Emerson, +"the spirit of the nation in great measure from the language, which is +a sort of monument in which each forcible individual in the course of +many hundred years has contributed a stone." In other words, however +great the claim of Spanish as "a practical subject" may be and +whatever concessions our schools and colleges may make to this fact, I +still believe that Spanish should be subordinated as a college subject +to the study of French. In principle we may admit the Spanish "major," +as in fact we do at present with the Italian "major"; but some +knowledge of French on the part of the student should be presupposed, +or if not, it should be a required part of the Spanish sequence. This +may seem extreme, but in reality few students would wish to proceed +far in Spanish without some French, and, practically, the knowledge of +one Romance tongue is always a great aid in the study of another. + +=Training teachers of Romance Languages= + +Thus we see that, with the addition here and there of an extra course +(where the college is not up to the standard as we have outlined it), +and an added stress on the advanced linguistics, the present +curriculum in Romance apparently provides an excellent working basis. +If properly carried out--and the success of all teaching depends of +course ultimately on the teacher--it ought to fulfill all legitimate +needs, so far as the strictly collegiate aims are concerned. + +A word is now in order as to its fitness for those students who are +planning to take Romance as a profession. Normally these students +would coincide with those who are taking up "special honors" in +Romance languages; and for the latter group most of our colleges now +make special provision--in the form of "independent work done outside +the regular courses in the major subject and at least one other +department during the junior and senior year (Wisconsin)," or as +Amherst states it, "special work involving collateral reading or +investigation under special conditions." In general, this gives the +candidate certain professional options among the courses listed (in +cases where the college is part of the university) as "primarily for +graduates." In this way the student is able to add to his "major" such +subjects as Old French (Chicago), Introduction to Romance Philology +(Columbia), Practical Phonetics (Chicago), a Teachers' Course +(Wisconsin), etc. Personally I am of the opinion that the day has +passed when any of our graduates who has not at least a Master's +degree in Romance should be recommended to a teaching position. But +evidently any such hard and fast rule is bound to be unfair, +especially since a large percentage of our students is compelled to +earn a living immediately upon graduation. Thus here again--as in the +elementary courses as now given in the colleges--we are confronted +with a makeshift which only time and continued effort can correct. In +the meantime the value of such professional courses depends to a very +marked degree upon the success with which they can be carried out +where they are counted toward a higher degree (M.A. or Ph.D.) the +difficulty is not so great, since their introductory nature is +self-evident; but where they conclude, so to speak, the student's +formal training the difficulty of making them "fit in" is often sadly +apparent. At any rate, in this borderland between cultural and +professional studies, where the college is merging with the university +or professional school, the necessity for the able teacher is a +paramount issue. If the transition is to be successful, the obligation +rests upon the teacher so to develop his subject that the +specializing will not drown out the general interest but will inform +it with those values which only the specialist can impart. + +=Final contributions of Romance Languages to the American college student= + +And now as to our final consideration: What particular advantages have +the Romance tongues to offer as a college subject? An obvious +advantage is: an understanding of foreign peoples. The Romance +languages are modern. They are spoken today over a large part of the +habitable globe. We stand in direct relations with those who speak +them and write them. Above all, a large share of the world's best +thought is being expressed in them. The point requires no arguing, +that translations cannot take the place of originals: _traduttore +traditore_, says an excellent Italian proverb. If we are really to +know what other nations think,--whether we accept or reject their +thought makes little or no difference here,--we can do so only by +knowing their language. And the better we know it, the greater our +insight will be. To speak at least _one_ foreign language is not only +a parlor accomplishment: it is for whoever is to be a citizen-of-the-world +a necessity. There is a Turkish proverb that he who knows two +languages, his own and another, has two souls. Certainly there is no +better way to approach a nation's soul than through its language. But, +in the second place, the Romance tongues have certain artistic +qualities which English in a great measure lacks. The student who has +intelligently mastered one of them has a better sense of form, of +delicate shades of expression, and--if the language be French--of +clarity of phrase: what Pater termed _netteté d'expression_. He learns +to respect language (as few Americans now do), to study its +possibilities in a way which a mere knowledge of English might never +have suggested, and to appreciate its moral as well as its social +power: for French forces him to curb his thought, to weigh his +contention, to be simple and clear in the most abstruse matters. In a +famous essay on the Universality of French, Rivarol said: "Une +traduction française est toujours une _explication_." + +And lastly, in themselves and in the civilizations they stand for, +the Romance tongues are the bridge between ourselves and antiquity. +Since the decline in the study of Greek and Latin, this is a factor to +be seriously considered. It is the fashion today to berate the past, +to speak of the dead hand of tradition, and to flatter ourselves with +the delusion of self-sufficiency. To be sure, the aim of education is +never to pile up information but to "fit your mind for any sort of +exertion, to make it keen and flexible." But the best way to encompass +this is to feed the mind on ideas, and ideas are not produced every +day, nor for that matter every year, and luckily all ideas have not +the same value. There are the ideas of Taine, of Rousseau, of +Voltaire, of Descartes, of Montaigne, of Ficino, of Petrarch, of +Dante, of Cicero, of Aristotle, of Plato; and in a moment I have run +the gamut of all the centuries of our Western civilization. Who will +tell me which ideas we shall need most tomorrow? Evidently, we cannot +know them all. But we can at least make the attempt to know the best. +And incidentally let it be said that he who professes the Romance +tongues can no more dispense with the Classics than the Classics can +today afford to dispense with Romance: French, Italian, and Spanish +are the Latin--and one might add the Greek--of today. But to return to +our theme: to deny our interest in the past is to throw away our +heritage, to sell our mess of pottage to the lowest bidder. If the +Romance languages have one function in our American colleges, it is +this: To keep alive the old humanistic lesson: _nihil humani a me +alienum puto_; to the end that the modern college graduate may +continue to say with Montaigne: "All moral philosophy is applied as +well to a private life as to one of the greatest employment. Every man +carries the entire form of the human condition. Authors have thitherto +communicated themselves to the people by some particular and foreign +mark; I ... by my _universal_ being, not as a grammarian, a poet, or a +lawyer." The college course in the Romance languages should prepare +for a profession, but it must first help to prepare thinking men and +women. + + WILLIAM A. NITZE + _University of Chicago_ + + +Footnotes: + +[85] The quotation is from Emerson, _Nominalist and Realist_. + +[86] I make no attempt in this article, written before 1917, to treat +actual teaching conditions: the premises are too uncertain. + +[87] The above statistics are from C. H. Handschin, _The Teaching of +Modern Languages in the United States_, Washington, 1913, pages 40ff. + +[88] I cite the following figures: (_a_) Entrance: Harvard 16-1/2, +Amherst 14, Wisconsin 14, Columbia 14-1/2, Colorado 15, Illinois 15, +Chicago 15; (_b_) Collegiate Degree: Harvard 17-1/2 "courses," Amherst +20 "courses," Wisconsin 120 "credits," Columbia 124 "points," Colorado +120 "hours of scholastic work," Chicago 36 "trimester majors." It is +certainly desirable that our colleges adopt some uniform system for +the notation of their courses. Johns Hopkins, at least, is specific in +explaining the relationship of its "125 points" to its "courses"; see +page 262 of the _University Register_, 1916. + +[89] At Chicago exactly 1/4 or "at least 9 coherent and progressive +majors" must be taken in "one department or in a group of +departments." But Chicago also requires a secondary sequence of at +least 6 majors; Columbia requires three years of "sequential study--in +each of two departments." Illinois, "a major subject (20 hours)" and +"an allied minor subject (20 hours)." + +[90] An excellent manner of procedure is that outlined by Professor +Terracher in his interesting article in the _Compte rendu du Congrès +de Langue et de Littérature Française_, New York (Fédération de +l'Alliance Française), 1913. + +[91] From _Johns Hopkins University Circular_, No. 151. + +[92] It will be noted that throughout the amount offered in Spanish +exceeds that in Italian. This is to be expected in view of the boom in +Spanish studies. Moreover, most colleges now allow two units of +entrance credit in Spanish, and 7 and 8 above, under Harvard, are half +courses. Columbia is, I believe, the only college accepting 2 units of +entrance credit in Italian; but I have not examined the catalogues of +all our colleges. + +[93] Publications of the General Education Board, 3, 1916, page 13. + + + + +XXII + +THE TEACHING OF GERMAN + + +=Our aim= + +The mechanical achievements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries +have obliterated geographical distances. The contact between nations, +intermittent in former ages, has become a continuous one. It is no +longer possible to ignore great cultural forces in foreign nations +even temporarily--we may repudiate or appreciate them, as we see fit, +but we should do so in a spirit of fairness and understanding, and not +in ignorance. + +This, however, is not possible unless those who are to become leaders +of the people are intimately familiar with those treasure chests of +the nations that contain the true gems of racial spirit more +abundantly than even art or literature, history, law or religion, +stored up in the course of hundreds and thousands of years--the +nations' languages. It is the clear duty of the college to instill, +through the right way of teaching foreign languages, a cosmopolitan +spirit of this character into the growing minds of our young men and +women, after the secondary school has given them the first rudiments +of knowledge and cultural training. + +According to one's point of view, there is as much to be said in favor +of the classical as the modern languages. Without doubt, their growing +neglect in our institutions of learning is deeply to be regretted; +however, its causes do not concern us here directly. The study of +modern languages is, relatively speaking, so manifestly in the +ascendency, that a return to the emphasis that was formerly laid upon +Latin and Greek is hardly imaginable. The choice between several +modern languages must very largely be determined by personal +preferences and purposes. So much, however, can safely be said, that +an intelligent reading knowledge of German and French is the least +that should be expected of a college graduate. For, while in theory +the humanistic importance of modern language study is the same for all +languages, it rises, in practice, proportionately with the cultural +level of the foreign nation--German and French obviously taking the +lead in this regard. + +=Place of German in the college curriculum= + +I am optimistic enough to assume it to be generally granted that the +study of a foreign language ought to be started early in life--say, at +the age of twelve. While hardly challenged in theory, this desirable +condition is far from being carried out in practice. Probably the time +will never come when colleges will be able to dispense with elementary +courses in modern foreign languages--not only for those who enter +without any linguistic preparation, but also, and perhaps +preëminently, for students who are taking up a second foreign language +in addition to the one (or two) started in the preparatory school. +Thus, the starting point of the modern language course in college is +easily fixed: it must begin at the very rudiments of the language. Nor +is it difficult to state, in general terms, the purpose of the most +advanced work of the undergraduate curriculum: it must consist in +adequate linguistic skill, literary knowledge and feeling, and +cultural understanding to such an extent that the college graduate who +has specialized in German may safely be intrusted with the teaching of +German in secondary schools. At least, this holds good for the +majority of institutions; a small number of colleges devote their +whole effort to cultural training, and some of the larger +institutions, particularly in the East, find it possible to postpone +most of the professional preparation to a period of graduate work. But +on the whole the average well-equipped college includes the training +of teachers as one end of its foreign-language work. Ordinarily, such +mastery of the subject as would prepare for teaching cannot be gained +within the four years' college course. Rather, it might be said to +require the average equivalent of something like six college years, +with the understanding that not much more than one fourth of the +student's time be devoted to German. This implies that only under +uncommonly favorable conditions should students be encouraged to +specialize in a foreign language that they begin on entering college. + +=Organization of the German course= + +Thus, the peculiar conditions of modern language instruction bring it +about that a discussion of its organization in college must deal with +a six years' course: elementary instruction must be offered to those +entering without any knowledge of German; courses of a sufficiently +advanced character must be provided for those who enter with three or +four years of high-school German; and there must be advanced work for +students who intend to make the study and teaching of German their +life's work. + +In this six years' college course three divisions are clearly +distinguishable: an elementary division devoted to such linguistic +training as will enable a student to read with fair ease texts of +moderate difficulty; an intermediate group during which literary and +cultural appreciation should be developed, and an advanced group +intended for the professional preparation of prospective teachers of +German. These three divisions may be approximately equal, so that each +of them covers about two years, with four or five hours a week. For +graduation, all students should be required to present the equivalent +of the first period for two languages (either classical or modern), +one or both of which might with advantage be absolved in high school. +The second division should be required of all students for at least +one foreign language. Colleges of high standing may find it possible +to exceed these requirements; no college should remain below them. + +The first or elementary division should, at least for one foreign +language, be finished before the student is admitted to the college. +All that can reasonably be expected from this part of the work is a +study of the elements of grammar, the development of a good +pronunciation, a fair working vocabulary, and some ability to read, +speak, understand, and write German. + +The second group should include, in the main, reading courses to +introduce the student to what is best in German literature, but no +general theoretical study of the history of literature need be +contemplated. Besides, it must offer such work in speaking and writing +as will develop and establish more firmly the results gained in the +first two years, and an appropriate study of German history and +institutions. Each of the three aims might be given about one third of +the time available, but they may overlap to some extent. Thus, writing +and speaking can be connected with each of them, and historical +readings and reports may furnish a part of language practice. + +The third group, intended for the training of teachers, must contain a +course in the method of modern language teaching (connected with +observation and practice), an advanced grammar course, and courses in +the phonetics and historical development of the German language. These +courses are indispensable for teachers, but will also be of advantage +to students not intending to teach. + +=The elementary group= + +The first group is frankly of high school character. It is best to +admit this fully and freely, and to teach these courses accordingly. +Through greater intensity of study (more home work and longer class +periods), the work of three or even four high school years may be +concentrated into two college years, but the method cannot differ +essentially. The way of learning a new language is the same, in +principle, for a child of twelve years and a man of fifty years; in +the latter case, there is merely the difficulty to be overcome that +older persons are less easily inclined to submit to that drill which +is necessary for the establishment of those new habits that constitute +_Sprachgefühl_. It is a fallacy that the maturer mind of the college +student requires a more synthetic-deductive study of the language than +that of the high school student. + +It is sad but true that many college teachers are more reactionary in +questions of method than the better class of high school teachers. The +claim that elementary work in college requires a method different from +that used in the high school is one symptom of this, and another +symptom of the same tendency is the motto of so many college teachers +that there is no "best method," and that a good teacher will secure +good results with any method. At the bottom of such phrases there is +usually not much more than indifference and unwillingness to look for +information on the real character of the method at which they are +generally aimed: the _direct method_. The regrettable superficiality +appearing in the frequent confusion of the "direct" with the "natural" +method is characteristic of this. I am, of course, willing to admit +that what nowadays is termed the "direct method" is not the best way +possible, but that it may and will be improved upon. However, it is +not one of many methods that, according to circumstances, might be +equally good, but it represents the application of the present results +of psychological and linguistic research to the teaching of languages +and distinctly deserves the preference over older ways. + +The first demand of the direct method is the development not only of a +fair but of a perfect pronunciation--not so much as the independent +aim, but as an indispensable condition for the development of +_Sprachgefühl_. It is immeasurably easier to obtain good pronunciation +from the start than to improve bad pronunciation by later efforts. In +the teaching of pronunciation a slight difference in the treatment of +children of twelve years and of college students might be granted: +young children are generally able to learn the sounds of a foreign +language by imitation; students of college age can hardly ever do this +well, and careful phonetic instruction is absolutely necessary with +them. Whoever wishes to keep aloof from phonetic _terms_ may do so; +but not to know or not to apply phonetic _principles_ is bad teaching +pure and simple. The use of phonetic _transcription_, however, is a +moot question. Its advantages are obvious enough: it insures a clear +consciousness of correct pronunciation; it takes up the difficulties +one by one: first pronunciation, then spelling; it safeguards greater +care in matters of pronunciation in general. The objections are +chiefly two: economy of time, and the fear of confusion between the +two ways of spelling. The writer admits that until a few years ago he +was skeptical as to the value of phonetic transcription in the +teaching of German. But the nearly general recognition of its value by +the foremost educators of European countries and the good results +achieved with it by teachers of French in this country caused him to +give it a trial, under conditions that afforded not more than an +average chance of success. The result was greatly beyond his +expectations. Neither he nor, as far as he knows, any of his +colleagues would contemplate abandoning phonetic script again. Without +wishing to be dogmatic, I believe that this at least can be asserted +with safety: on purely theoretical grounds, no teacher has a right to +condemn phonetic transcription; those who doubt its value should try +it before they judge. + +In the writer's opinion it is best not to use any historical spelling +at all during the first six or eight weeks of college German. If the +confusing features of traditional orthography are eliminated during +this period, it will be found that there results not a loss, but an +actual _gain in time_ from the use of phonetic script. Nor does the +transition to common spelling cause any confusion. The less ado made +about it, the better. It is a fact of experience, that students who +have been trained in the use of phonetic script turn out to be better +spellers than those who have not--simply because this training has +made them more careful and has given them a clearer conception of the +discrepancy between sound and letter. + +That elementary grammar should be taught inductively is true to an +extent, but often overstated. It is true for the more abstract +principles, such as the formation of the compound tenses, the +formation and the use of the passive voice, and so on. But attempts at +inductive teaching of concrete elements of mechanical memory, such as +the gender and plural of nouns, or the principal parts of strong +verbs, are a misunderstanding of the principles of induction. It goes +without saying that thorough drill is much more valuable than the most +explicit explanation. It holds good for college as well as for high +schools that there is but very little to "explain" about the grammar +of any language. Unnecessary explanations rather increase than remove +difficulties. + +=The use of English= + +The use of English is another debated question. As far as the teaching +of grammar is concerned, it is unessential. If inductive drill takes +the place of explanations and abstract rules, the question is very +largely eliminated from practical consideration. In those very rare +cases when theoretical discussions might seem desirable, it does not +make much difference whether a few minutes a week are devoted to +English or not. The question assumes greater importance when the +development of the vocabulary is considered. In this, there are three +fairly well-defined elements to be distinguished. The first +vocabulary, say, of the first two or three months should be developed +by concrete associations with objects and actions in the classroom; +the use of the vernacular has no justification whatever during that +time--not on account of any objection to an occasional English word or +phrase, but simply because there is no need of it, and every minute +devoted to German is a clear gain. After this, the vocabulary should +be further developed through the thorough practice of connected texts. +If they are well constructed, the context will explain a considerable +portion of the words occurring; those that are not made clear through +the context form the third division of the vocabulary and can without +hesitation be explained by English equivalents. In general, the +principle will go rather far that the use of an occasional English +_word_ is entirely harmless, but that English _sentences_ should as +much as possible be avoided in elementary work. Connected translation, +both from and into English, must absolutely be excluded from the first +year's work, for the chief purpose of this year is not only the study +of grammar and the development of an elementary vocabulary, but, even +more than that, the cultivation of the right _attitude_ toward +language study. Reading should be our chief aim, and speaking a means +to that end, but the student must be trained, from the very beginning, +to understand what he is reading rather through an intelligent grasp +of the contents than by fingering the dictionary. In this way he will +become accustomed to associating the German sentences _directly_ with +the thought expressed in them, instead of _indirectly_ through the +medium of his native tongue. + +A great deal of misunderstanding is frequently involved in the +emphasis laid upon speaking. There can hardly be a more absurd +misinterpretation of the principles of the direct method than for +college teachers to try to "converse" with the students in German--to +have with them German chats about the weather, the games, the +political situation. This procedure is splendidly fit to develop in +the students a habit of guessing at random at what they hear and +read--a slovenly contentedness with an approximate understanding. Both +teacher and students should speak and hear German practically all the +time. But this should be distinctly in the service of reading and +grammar work, containing almost exclusively words and forms that the +student must _know_, not guess at. + +At the end of the first year a college student ought to have mastered +the elements of grammar and possess good pronunciation and an active +vocabulary of about six hundred or eight hundred words. If the second +year is devoted to further drill on grammatical elements and to +careful reading, its result ought to be the ability to read authors of +average difficulty at a fair speed. During the first year all reading +material should be practiced so intensively that an average of a +little more than a page a week is not exceeded materially; but toward +the end of the second year a limit of six or eight pages an hour may +well be reached. By this time, translation into good English begins to +be a valuable factor in the achievement of conscious accuracy; but it +must under no circumstances be resorted to until the students have +clearly obtained the habitual attitude of direct association between +thought and sentence. + +It is little short of a misfortune that there exists no adequate +German-German dictionary (such as La Rousse's French dictionary). It +would not be very difficult to write such a book, but until we +possess it the irritating use of German-English dictionaries and +vocabularies will be a necessary evil. + +The hardest problem of the second year--and this is progressively true +of more advanced work--is the uneven preparation of the students. In +large colleges it will often be feasible to have as many sections as +possible at the same hour, distributing the students in accordance +with their preparation. Where this is not possible, special help for +poorly prepared students is generally indispensable. + +=The literature group= + +The literature group is as distinctly of college character as the +elementary group is admittedly high school work. It is here, in fact, +that the best ideals of the American college find the fullest +opportunity. This is true both for the teacher and for the student. In +the elementary group, pedagogical skill and a fair mastery of the +language are the chief prerequisites of a successful teacher. In the +second group, other qualities are of greater importance. While a +certain degree of pedagogical skill is just as necessary here as +there, it is now no longer a question of the systematic development of +habits, but of the ability to create sympathetic understanding, +idealism, depth of knowledge, and literary taste--in short, to strive +for humanistic education in the fullest sense of the word. This is +true not only for colleges with a professedly humanistic tendency; the +broadening and deepening influence of foreign language study is +nowhere needed more urgently than in technical and other professional +colleges. + +Speaking and writing must no longer stand in the center of instruction +in the courses of the second group, but their importance should not be +underrated, as is done so frequently (it is a fact that students often +know less German at the end of the third year in college than at the +end of the second year). At least during the first year of this group, +a practice course in advanced grammar, connected with composition, is +absolutely necessary. The grammatical work should consist in review +and observation, supported by the study of a larger reference grammar +(e.g., chapters from Curme's grammar, to introduce the students to +the consistent use of this marvelous work). In composition, free +reproduction should still be the main thing, but independent themes +and translation from English into German--which would be distinctly +harmful in elementary work--are now valuable exercises in the study of +German style. It would be wholly wrong, however, to make linguistic +drill the Alpha and Omega of this part of the college course. The +preparatory years should have laid a sound basis, which during the +college work proper should not be allowed to disintegrate, but the +fact should not be lost sight of that the cultural aim must be +stressed most in the second group. + +To reach this aim, a familiarity with the best works of German +literature is the foremost means. German literature affords a scant +choice of good and easy reading for the elementary stage: Storm, +Ebner-Eschenbach, Seidel, and Wildenbruch are justly favorites, but +absurdities like Baumbach's _Schwiegersohn_ are, unfortunately, still +found in the curriculum of many colleges. In contrast with the small +number of good elementary texts, there exists an abundance of +excellent material for the second group. Aside from the classical +poets, the novelists Keller, Meyer, Fontane, Raabe; the dramatists +Hebbel, Grillparzer, Kleist, Hauptmann; poems collected in the +_Balladenbuch_ or the _Ernte_ present an inexhaustible wealth, without +our having to resort to the literary rubbish of Benedix or Moser or +the sneering pretentiousness of Heine's _Harzreise_. + +The details of organization will vary greatly for this group, +according to special conditions. But in general it may be said that +during the first year of this period about two hours a week should be +devoted to the continuation of systematic language practice as +outlined above, and three hours to the reading of German authors for +literary purposes. Nor should this consist in "reading" alone. Reading +as such should no longer present any difficulty, if the work of the +elementary group has been done well. Special courses should be devoted +to the study of the modern German novel, the drama, and the lyrics, +and to individual authors like those mentioned. In these detached +literature courses the principal endeavor must be to help the students +to understand and feel, not so much the linguistic side of the texts +read, as the soul of the author, and through him the soul of the +German nation. Reading must become more and more independent, the +major part of the time in class being devoted to the cultural and +æsthetic interpretation of what has been read at home. It is evident +that in this, the most important part of the German college work, all +depends upon the personality of the instructor: literary and human +understanding cannot be instilled into the student's mind by one who +does not possess them himself, together with a love for teaching and +the power to create enthusiasm. + +All other requirements must be subordinate to this--even the +instructor's mastery of the language. No doubt, in theory it would be +most desirable that German be the exclusive language of instruction +throughout; but in literary courses practical considerations will so +often speak against this, that no sweeping answer to this question +seems possible. For the chief aim must not be overshadowed by any +other. If poor preparation on the part of the students or a deficient +command of the language on the part of the instructor makes it +doubtful whether the cultural aim can be attained, if German is the +language of instruction, English should be used unhesitatingly. This +implies that for this part of the work an instructor with a strong +personality and an artistic understanding, although lacking in +speaking knowledge, is far preferable to one who speaks German +fluently but cannot introduce his students to the greatness of German +literature and the spirit of the German people. + +On the other hand, written reports in literary courses should always +be required to be in German; it is also a good plan to devote a few +minutes of each period to prepared oral reports, in German, on the +part of the individual students. Where systematic practice in the +colloquial use of the language is desirable for special reasons, a +conversation course may be established in addition to the main work, +but literary courses are not the place for starting conversational +practice with classes that have been neglected in this respect during +their preparatory work. + +The second year of the literary group should offer a choice between +two directions of further literary development: about three hours of +each week should be devoted either to a course on the general history +of German literature, or to the intensive study of one of the greatest +factors in German literature--such as Goethe's _Faust_. In large +institutions both courses can probably be given side by side, the +students taking their choice according to their preference, but in +most colleges an alternation of two courses of this kind will be +preferable. + +The method of instruction is determined by the students' preparation +and the teacher's personality, in literature courses more than +anything else. Obviously, lectures (in German, where circumstances +permit), extensive, systematic reading, written reports, and class +discussion are the dominating features of such courses. + +Some knowledge of German history and institutions is an indispensable +adjunct of any serious work in German literature. Probably in all +colleges such instruction will be incumbent upon the German +departments, and it is rarely possible to combine it with the course +on the general history of German literature. Therefore, a special +course in German history and institutions should be offered during the +second year of the literature group. + +=The professional group= + +The work of this group may overlap that of the second group to a +considerable extent, in the sense that courses in both groups may be +taken at the same time. The professional preparation of a teacher of +German should include: a thorough knowledge of the structure of the +German language, an appreciative familiarity with German literature, +and a fair amount of specialized pedagogical training. The study of +literature cannot be different for prospective teachers from that for +all other types of college students, and, therefore, belongs to the +second group. But their knowledge of language structure, though not +necessarily of a specialistic philological character, must include a +more detailed knowledge of German grammar, a familiarity with +technical German phonetics, and at least an elementary insight into +the historical development of the language. In addition to suitable +courses in these three subjects, a pedagogical course, dealing with +the methods of modern language teaching, and connected with +observation and practice teaching, must be provided for. Where the +previous training has been neglected, a course in German conversation +may be added; but, generally speaking, this should no longer be +necessary with students in their fifth or sixth year of German +instruction. Wherever this need exists, the system of instruction is +at fault. + +=Conclusion= + +Incomplete though this brief outline must necessarily be, the writer +has attempted to touch upon the most important phases of the students' +development of linguistic, cultural, and, where demanded, professional +command of German. Little has so far been said concerning the college +teacher. The strong emphasis placed upon the direct method in this +article should not be misinterpreted as meaning that a fluent command +of the spoken language is a _conditio sine qua non_. Nothing could be +farther from the truth. First of all, the necessity of the exclusive +use of the direct method exists obviously only in the elementary +group. In this group, however, "conversation" in the generally +accepted sense of the word should not be attempted--it will do more +harm than good. The constant practice in speaking and hearing should +be so rigidly subservient to the interpretation and practice of the +texts being read and to grammatical drill, that only a minimum of +"speaking knowledge" on the part of the teacher is unavoidably +necessary; his pronunciation, of course, must be perfect. However +desirable it may be that a teacher should know intimately well the +language he is teaching in college, there are other requirements even +higher than this; they are, in the first group, energy, thoroughness, +and pedagogical skill, coupled with an intelligent understanding of +the basic principles of the direct method; in the second group, +literary appreciation and a sympathetic understanding of German +thought, history, and civilization; and, for the third group, +elementary philological training, theoretical as well as practical +acquaintance with the needs of the classroom, and a long and varied +experience in teaching. Rarely will all three qualifications be +combined in one person, nor are such fortunate combinations necessary +in most colleges. A wise distribution of courses among the members of +the department can in most cases be effected in such a way that each +teacher's talents are utilized in their proper places. + + E. PROKOSCH + + + + + PART FIVE + + THE ARTS + + CHAPTER + + XXIII THE TEACHING OF MUSIC + _Edward Dickinson_ + + XXIV THE TEACHING OF ART + _Holmes Smith_ + + + + +XXIII + +THE TEACHING OF MUSIC + + +=Music a comparatively recent addition to the college curriculum= + +There is perhaps no more direct way of throwing a sort of flashlight +upon the musical activity in the colleges of America than the +statement that a volume of this kind, if prepared a dozen years ago, +would either have contained no chapter upon music, or, if music were +given a place at all, the argument would have been occupied with hopes +rather than achievements. Not that it would be literally true to say +that music was wholly a negligible quantity in the homes of higher +education until the twentieth century, but the seat assigned to it in +the few institutions where it was found was an obscure and lowly one, +and the influence radiating therefrom reached so small a fragment of +the academic community that no one who was not engaged in a careful, +sympathizing search could have been aware of its existence. It was +less than twenty years ago that a prominent musical journal printed +the very moderate statement that "the youth who is graduated at Yale, +Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Amherst, Cornell, +or Columbia has not even a smattering of music beyond the music of the +college glee and mandolin club; and of course to cultivate that is the +easiest road to musical perdition." One who looks at those +institutions now, and attempts to measure the power and reach of their +departments of music, will not deny the right to the satisfaction +which their directors--men of national influence--must feel, and would +almost expect them to echo the words of ancient Simeon. The contrast +is indeed extraordinary, and, I believe, unparalleled. The work of +these men, and of others who could be named with them, has not been +merely development, but might even be called creation. Any one who +attempts to keep track of the growth of musical education in our +colleges, universities, and also in the secondary schools of the +present day, will find that the bare statistics of this increase, to +say nothing of a study of the problems involved, will engage much more +than his hours of leisure. Music, which not long ago held tolerance +only as an outside interest, confined to the sphere of influence of +the glee club and the chapel choir, is now, in hundreds of educational +institutions, accorded the privileges due to those arts and sciences +whose function in historic civilization, and potency in scholarly +discipline and liberal culture, give them domicile by obvious and +inalienable right. + +=History of the subject of music in the American college curriculum= + +The first university professorships in music were founded at Harvard +in 1876, and at the University of Pennsylvania at about the same time. +Vassar College established musical courses in 1867, Oberlin in 1869. +Harvard took the lead in granting credit for certain courses in music +toward the degree of A.B. in 1870.[94] Progress thereafter for many +years was slow; but in 1907 investigation showed that "approximately +one half the colleges in the country recognize the value of instruction +in music sufficiently to grant credit in this subject."[95] Since this +date college after college and university after university have fallen +into line, only a few resisting the current that sets toward the +universal acceptance of music as a legitimate and necessary element in +higher education. The problem with the musical educators of the +country is no longer how to crowd their subject into the college +preserve, but how to organize its forces there, how to develop its +methods on a basis of scholarly efficiency, how to harmonize its +courses with the ideals of the old established departments, and now, +last of all, how to bring the universities and colleges into +coöperation with the rapid extension of musical practice, education, +and taste which has, in recent days, become a conspicuous factor in +our national progress. + +=Changing social ideals responsible for the new attitude toward the +study of music in colleges= + +An investigation into the causes of this great change would be fully +as interesting as a critical examination of its results. The limits of +this chapter require that consideration be given to the present and +future of this movement rather than to its past; but it is especially +instructive, I think, to those who are called upon to deal practically +with it, to observe that the welcome now accorded to music in our +higher institutions of learning is due to changes in both the college +and its environment. In view of the constitution and relationships of +our higher schools (unlike those of the universities of Europe), any +alteration in the ideals, the practical activities, and the living +conditions of the people of the democracy will sooner or later affect +those institutions whose aim is fundamentally to equip young men and +women for social leadership. It is unnecessary to remind the readers +of such a book as this of the marked enlargement of the interests of +the intelligent people of America in recent years, or of the prominent +place which æsthetic considerations hold among these interests. The +ancient thinker, to whom nothing of human concern was alien, would +find the type he represented enormously increased in these latter +days. The passion for the release of all the latent energies and the +acquisition of every material good, which characterizes the American +people to a degree hitherto unknown in the world since the outburst of +the Renaissance, issues, as in the Renaissance, in an enormous +multiplication of the machinery by which the enjoyment of life and its +outward embellishment are promoted. But more than this and far +better--the eager pursuit of the means for enhancing physical and +mental gratification has coincided with a growing desire for the +general welfare;--hence the æsthetic movement of recent years, and the +zeal for social betterment which excludes no section or class or +occupation, tend to unite, and at the same time to work inward and +develop a type of character which seeks joy not only in beauty but +also in the desire to give beauty a home in the low as well as in the +high places. Whatever may be one's view of the final value of the +recent American productions in literature and the fine arts, the +social, democratic tendency in them is unmistakable. The company of +enthusiastic men and women who are preaching the gospel of beauty as a +common human birthright is neither small nor feeble. The fine arts are +emerging from the studios, professional schools, and coteries; they +are no longer conceived as the special prerogative of privileged +classes; not even is the creation of masterpieces as objects of +national pride the pervading motive;--but they are seen to be +potential factors in national education, ministering to the happiness +and mental and moral health of the community at large. It was +impossible that the most enlightened directors of our colleges, +universities, and public schools should not perceive the nature and +possibilities of this movement, hasten to ally themselves with it, and +in many cases assume a leadership in it to which their position and +advantages entitled them. + +=The educative function of music= + +The commanding claims which the arts of design, music, and the drama +are asserting for an organized share in the higher education is also, +I think, a consequence of the change that has come about in recent +years in the constitution of the curriculum, the methods of +instruction, the personnel of the student body, the multiplication of +their sanctioned activities, and especially in the attitude of the +undergraduates toward the traditional idea of scholarship. The old +college was a place where strict, inherited conceptions of scholarship +and mental discipline were piously maintained. The curriculum rested +for its main support upon a basis of the classics and mathematics, +which imparted a classic and mathematical rigidity to the whole +structure. The professor was an oracle, backed by oracular textbooks; +the student's activity was restricted by a traditional association of +learning with self-restraint and outward severity of life. The +revolutionary change came with the marvelous development of the +natural sciences, compelling radical readjustments of thought both +within and without the college, the quickening of the social life +about the campus, and the sharp division of interest, together with a +multiplication of courses which made the elective system inevitable. +The consequence was, as President Wilson states it, that a +"disintegration was brought about which destroyed the old college with +its fixed disciplines and ordered life, and gave us our present +problem of reorganization and recovery. It centered in the break-up of +the old curriculum and the introduction of the principle that the +student was to select his own studies from a great variety of courses. +But the change could not, in the nature of things, stop with the plan +of study. It held in its heart a tremendous implication;--the +implication of full manhood on the part of the pupil, and all the +untrammeled choice of manhood. The pupil who was mature and +well-informed enough to study what he chose, was also by necessary +implication mature enough to be left free to _do_ what he pleased, to +choose his own associations and ways of life outside the curriculum +without restraint or suggestion; and the varied, absorbing life of our +day sprang up as the natural offspring of the free election of +studies."[96] + +=The development of emotions as well as the intellect a vital concern +of the college curriculum= + +Into an academic life so constituted, art, music, and the drama must +perforce make their way by virtue of their appeal to those instincts, +always latent, which were now set in action. Those agencies by which +the emotional life has always been expressed and stimulated found a +welcome prepared for them in the hearts of college youths, stirred +with new zests and a more lively self-consciousness. But for a time +they met resistance in the supremacy of the exact sciences, +erroneously set in opposition to the forces which move the emotions +and the imagination, and the stern grip, still jealously maintained, +of the old conception of "mental discipline" and the communication of +information as the prime purpose of college teaching. The relaxation +came with the recognition of æsthetic pursuits as "outside interests," +and organization and endowment soon followed. But a college art museum +logically involves lectures upon art, a theater an authoritative +regulation of the things offered therein, a concert hall and concert +courses instruction in the history and appreciation of music. And so, +with surprising celerity, the colleges began to readjust their schemes +to admit those agencies that act upon the emotion as well as the +understanding, and the problem how to bring æsthetic culture into a +working union with the traditional aims and the larger social +opportunities of the college faced the college educator, and disturbed +his repose with its peremptory insistence upon a practical solution. + +=Problems in teaching of music in the college= + +Although the question of purpose, method, and adaptation presents +general difficulties of similar character in respect to the college +administration of all the fine arts, music is undoubtedly the most +embarrassing item in the list. In this department of our colleges +there is no common conviction as to methods, no standardized system; +but rather a bewildering disagreement in regard to the subjects to be +taught, the extent and nature of their recognition, the character of +the response to be expected of the student mind, and the kind of gauge +by which that response shall be measured by teachers, deans, and +registrars. In the matter of literature and the arts of design, where +there is likewise an implicit intention of enriching æsthetic +appreciation, an agreement is more easily reached, by reason of their +closer relationship to outer life, to action, and the more familiar +processes of thought. Few would maintain that the purpose of college +courses in English literature is to train professional novelists and +poets; the college leaves to the special art schools and to private +studios the development of painters, sculptors, and architects. What +remains to the college is reasonably clear. But in music, on the +contrary, the function of the college is by no means so evident as to +induce anything like general agreement. Should the musical courses be +exclusively cultural, or should they be so shaped as to provide +training for professional work in composition or performance? Should +they be "practical" (that is, playing and singing), or simply +theoretical (harmony, counterpoint, etc.), or entirely confined to +musical history and appreciation? Should credits leading to the A.B. +degree be given for musical work, and if so, ought they to include +performance, or only theory and composition? Should musical degrees be +granted, and if so, for what measure of knowledge or proficiency? One +or two Western colleges give credit for work done under the direction +of private teachers in no way connected with the institution:--is this +procedure to be commended, and if so, under what safeguards? Should a +college maintain a musical "conservatory" working under a separate +administrative and financial system, many or all of whose teachers are +not college graduates; or should its musical department be necessarily +an organic part of the college of arts and sciences, exactly like the +department of Latin or chemistry? If the former, as is the case with +many Western institutions, to what extent should the work in the music +school be supervised by the college president and general faculty; +under what limitations may candidates for the A.B. degree be allowed +to take accredited work in the music school? What should be the +relation of the college to the university in respect to the musical +courses? Is it possible to establish a systematic progress from step +to step similar to that which exists in many of the old established +lines? What should be the relation between the college and the +secondary schools? Should the effort be to establish a continuity of +study and promotion, such as that which exists in such subjects as +Latin and mathematics? Should the college give entrance credits for +musical work? If so, should it be on examination or certificate, for +practical or theoretical work, or both? Should the courses in the +history and appreciation of music be thrown open to all students, or +only to those who have some preliminary technical knowledge? + +These are some of the questions that face a college governing board +when music is under discussion--questions that are dealt with on +widely divergent principles by colleges of equal rank. Some +institutions in the West permit to music a freedom and variety in +respect to grades, subjects, and methods which they allow to no other +subject. The University of Kansas undertakes musical extension work +throughout the state. Brown University restricts its musical +instruction to lecture courses on the history and appreciation of +music. Between these extremes there is every diversity of opinion and +procedure that can be conceived. The problem, as I have said, is +twofold, and so long as disagreement exists as to the object of +collegiate musical work, there can be no uniformity in administration. + +In a university the problem is or should be somewhat more simple, just +as there is a more general accord concerning the precise object of +university training. In place of the confusion of views in regard to +ideals and systems and methods which exist in the present-day college, +we find in the university a calmness of conviction touching essentials +that results from the comparative simplicity of its functions and +aims. A conspicuous tendency in our universities is toward +specialization; their spirit and methods are largely derived from the +professional and graduate schools which give them their tone and +prestige. They look toward research and the advancement of learning as +their particular _raison d'être_, and also toward the practical +application of knowledge to actual life and the disciplining of +special faculties for definite vocational ends.[97] Since our +universities, unlike those of Europe, consist of a union of graduate +and undergraduate departments, any single problem, like that of music, +is simplified by the opportunity afforded by the direct passage from +undergraduate to graduate work, and the greater encouragement to +specialization in the earlier courses. A graduate school which admits +music will naturally do so on a vocational basis, and the question is +not of the aim to be sought, but the much easier one of the means of +its attainment, since there is no more of a puzzle in teaching an +embryo composer or music teacher than there is in teaching an +incipient physician or engineer. + +It seems to me that the opportunity before the university has been +stated in a very clear and suggestive manner by Professor Albert A. +Stanley of the University of Michigan: "If in the future the line of +demarcation between the college and the university shall cease to be +as sinuous and shadowy as at present, the university will offer +well-defined courses in research, in creative work, possibly in +interpretation--by which I do not mean criticism, but rather that +which is criticized. [Professor Stanley evidently refers to musical +performance.] The college courses will then be so broadened that the +preparatory work will of necessity be relegated to the secondary +schools. This will impose on the colleges and universities still +another duty--the fitting of competent teachers. Logically music will +then be placed on the list of entrance studies, and the circle will be +complete. The fitting of teachers who can satisfy the conditions of +such work as will then be demanded will be by no means the least +function of the higher institutions. There will be more and more +demand for the broadly trained teacher, and there will be an even +greater demand for the specialist. By this I mean the specialist who +has been developed in a normal manner, and who appreciates the greater +relations of knowledge and life."[98] + +=Problems in teaching of music in secondary schools are intelligently +attacked= + +There is no question that the future of music in the colleges will +greatly depend upon the developments in the secondary schools. If the +time ever comes when the administrators of our public school system +accept and act upon the assertion of Dr. Claxton, United States +Commissioner of Education, that "after the beginnings of reading, +writing, and mathematics music has greater practical value than any +other subject taught in the schools," the college will find its +determination of musical courses an easier matter than it is now. +Students will in that event come prepared to take advantage of the +more advanced instruction offered by the college, as they do at +present in the standard subjects, and the musical pathway through the +college, and then through the university, will be direct and +unimpeded. Although such a prospect may seem to many only a roseate +dream, it is a safer prophecy than it would have appeared a half-dozen +years ago. The number of grammar and high schools is rapidly +increasing in which the pupils are given solid instruction in chorus +singing, ensemble playing, musical theory, and the history and +appreciation of music; and in many places pupils are also permitted to +carry on private study in vocal and instrumental music at the hands of +approved teachers, and school credit given therefor. So apparent is +the need of this latter privilege, and so full of fine possibilities, +that the question of licensing private teachers with a view to an +official recognition of the fittest has begun to receive the attention +of state associations and legislatures. It is impossible that the +colleges should remain indifferent to these tendencies in the +preparatory schools, for their duty and their advantage are found in +coöperating with them. The opportunity has been most clearly seen by +those colleges which have established departments for the training of +supervisors of public school music. Such service comes eminently +within the rôle of the college, for a disciplined understanding, a +liberal culture, an acquaintance with subjects once unrecognized as +related to music teaching, are coming to be demanded in the music +supervisor. The day of the old country-school singing master +transferred to the public school is past; the day of the trained +supervisor, who measures up to the intellectual stature of his +colleagues, is at hand. So clearly is this perceived that college +courses in public school music, which at first occupied one year at +the most, are being extended to two years and three years, and in at +least one or two instances occupying four years. And the benefit is +not confined to the schoolroom, for an educated man, conscious of his +peculiar powers, will see and use opportunities afforded him not +merely as a salaried preceptor but also as a citizen. + +=Vital function of music in college curriculum is emotional and æsthetic= + +To revert to the difficulties which the college faces in adjusting +musical courses to the general scheme of academic instruction: it is +clear that these difficulties lie partly in the very nature of musical +art. For music is not only an art but a science. It is the product of +constructive ingenuity as well as of "inspiration"; its technique is +of exquisite refinement and appalling difficulty; it appeals to the +intellect as well as to the emotion. And yet the intellectual element +is but tributary, and if the consciousness willfully shuts its gates +against the tide of rapture rushing to flood the sense and the +emotion, then in reality music is not, for its spirit is dead. What +shall be done with an agency so fierce and absorbing as this? Can it +be tamed and fettered by the old conceptions of mental discipline and +scholastic routine? Only by falsifying its nature and denying its +essential appeal. Some colleges attempt so to evade the difficulty, +and lend favor, so far at least as credit is concerned, only to the +theoretical studies in which the training is as severe, and almost as +unimaginative, as it is in mathematics. But to many this appears too +much like a reversion to the viewpoint of the mediæval convent schools +which classed music in the _quadrivium_ along with arithmetic, +geometry, and astronomy. Neither the creative power nor the æsthetic +receptivity is considered in such courses as these, and the spirit of +music revolts against this confinement and gives its pedantic jailers +no peace. + +=The practical course as disciplinary as the theoretical= + +Shall practical courses in playing and singing be accepted? Now the +objection arises that any proficiency with which a student--at least a +talented one--would be satisfied, entails hours each day of purely +technical practice, involving little of the kind of mental activity +that is presupposed in the tradition of college training. Those +institutions that have no practical courses are logical, at all +events, and seem to follow the line of least resistance. But the +opposition against the purely theoretical side of musical culture will +not down, and the "practical" element makes steady headway as the +truth shines more dearly upon the administrative mind that musical +performance is not a matter of mechanical technique alone, but of +scholarship, imaginative insight, keen emotional reaction, and +interpretation which involves a sympathetic understanding of the +creative mind. The objection to practical exercise dwindles as the +conception of its nature and goal enlarges. + +=Lack of college-trained teachers adds to difficulty of recognizing +music as a college subject= + +Another hindrance presents itself--not so inherent in the nature of +the case as those just mentioned--and that is the lack of teachers of +music whose educational equipment corresponds in all particulars to +the standard which the colleges have always maintained as a condition +of election to their corps of instructors. That one who is not a +college graduate should be appointed to a professorship or +instructorship in a college or university might seem to a college man +of the old school very near an absurdity. Yet as matters now stand it +would be impossible to fill the collegiate musical departments with +holders of the A.B. degree. The large and increasing number of college +graduates who are entering the musical profession, especially with a +view to finding a home in higher educational institutions, is an +encouraging phase of present tendencies, and seems to hold out an +assurance that this aspect of the college dilemma will eventually +disappear.[99] It is possible, however, that the colleges may be +willing to agree to a compromise, making a distinction between the +teachers of the history and criticism of music and those engaged in +the departments of musical theory and performance. Certainly no man +should be given a college position who is not in sympathy with the +largest purposes of the institution and able to contribute to their +realization; but it must be remembered that broad intelligence and +elevated character are to be found outside the ranks of college +alumni, and are not guaranteed by a college diploma. + +=Teaching of the history and appreciation of music= + +Amid the jangle of conflicting opinions in regard to courses and +methods and credits and degrees, etc., etc., one subject enjoys the +distinction of unanimous consent, and that is the history and +appreciation of music. This department may stand alone, as it does at +Brown University, or it may supplement theoretical and practical +courses; but there seems to be a universal conviction that if the +colleges accept music in any guise, they must use it as a means of +enlarging comprehension and taste on the part of their young people, +and of bringing them to sympathetic acceptance of its finest +manifestations. It seems incredible that a college should employ +literature and the fine arts except with the fixed intention of +bringing them to bear upon the mind of youth according to the purpose +of those who made them what they are in the spiritual development of +humanity. Even from the most rigid theoretical and technical drill the +cultural aim must not be excluded if the college would be true to +itself; how much more urgent is the duty of providing courses in which +the larger vision of art, with the resultant spiritual quickening, is +the prime intention! President Nicholas Murray Butler, in his address +of welcome to the Music Teachers' National Association at their +meeting in New York in 1907, struck a note that must find response in +the minds of all who are called upon to deal officially with this +question, when he recognized as a department of music worthy of the +college dignity "one which is not to deal merely with the technique of +musical expression or musical processes, but one which is to interpret +the underlying principles of musical art and the various sciences on +which it rests, and to set out and to illustrate to men and women who +are seeking education what those principles signify, how they may be +brought helpfully and inspiringly into intellectual life, and what +part they should play in the public consciousness of a cultivated and +civilized nation." + +=Emphasis on appreciation rather than technique= + +The first step in understanding the part which the principles of +music should play in the consciousness of a civilized nation is to +learn the part they have played in history. A survey of this history +shows that all the phenomena of musical development, even those +apparently transient and superficial, testify to a necessity of human +nature, an unappeasable thirst for self-expression. In view of the +relationship of musical art to the individual and the collective need, +it is plain that musical history and musical appreciation must be +taught together as a supplementary phase of one great theme. And, +furthermore, this phase is one that is not only necessary in a +complete scheme of musical culture, but is also one that is conveyed +in a language which all can understand. It is significant of the broad +democratic outlook of our American institutions of learning, in +contrast to the universities of Europe, that the needs of the +unprepared students are considered as well as the benefit of those who +have had musical preparation, and the mysteries of musical art are +submitted to all who desire initiation. Too much emphasis cannot be +laid upon this wise and generous attitude toward the fine arts which +is maturing in our American colleges; by which they demonstrate their +belief in the power of adaptation of all manifestations of beauty to +the condition of every one of intelligence, however slight the +experience or limited the talent. There are, unquestionably, certain +puzzling difficulties in imparting an understanding of musical +structure and principles to those who have not even a preliminary +smattering of the musical speech, but the experiment has gone far +enough to prove that music, with all its abstruseness, complexity, and +remoteness from the world of ordinary experience, has still a message +so direct, so penetrating, so human and humanizing, that no one can be +wholly indifferent to its eloquence when it comes through the ministry +of a qualified interpreter. + +=The properly trained college teacher of music= + +A qualified interpreter!--yes, there's the rub. Only a few years ago +men competent to teach the history and philosophy of music in a manner +which a college or university could consistently tolerate, were almost +non-existent, and even today many colleges are out of sheer necessity +giving over this department to men of very scanty qualifications. Few +men have faith enough to prepare for work that is not yet in sight. +Then with the sudden breaking out of musical history and appreciation +courses all over the country, the demand appeared instantly far in +excess of the supply. The few men who had prepared themselves for +scholarly critical work were, as a rule, in the employ of daily +newspapers, and the colleges were compelled to delegate the historical +and interpretative lectures to those whose training had been almost +wholly in other lines of musical interest. No reputable college would +think for a moment of offering chairs of political science, or general +history, or English literature to men with so meager an equipment. +There is no doubt that the disfavor with which the musical courses are +still regarded by professors of the old school is largely due to the +feeling that their musical colleagues as a rule have undergone an +education so narrow and special that it keeps them apart from the full +life of the institution. That this is the tendency of an education +that is exclusively special, no one can deny. It is equally undeniable +that such an education is quite inadequate in the case of one who +assumes to teach the history and appreciation of music. This subject, +by reason of the multifarious relations between music and individual +and social life, demands not only a complete technical knowledge, but +also a familiarity with languages, general history, literature, and +art not less than that required by any other subject that could be +mentioned. The suggestion by a French critic that a lecturer on art +must be an artist, a historian, a philosopher, and a poet, applies +with equal relevance to a lecturer on music. + +It is only fair to the musical profession to say that its members are +as eager to meet these requirements as the colleges are to make them. +If music still holds an inferior place in many colleges, both in fact +and in esteem, the fault lies in no small measure in the ignorance on +the part of trustees, presidents, and faculties of the nature of +music, its demands, its social values, and its mission in the +development of civilization. With the enlightenment of the powers +that control the college machinery, encouragement will be given to men +of liberal culture and scholarly habit to prepare themselves directly +for college work. The hundreds of college graduates now in the musical +profession will be followed by other hundreds still more amply +equipped as critics and expounders. The natural place for the majority +of them, I maintain, is not in the private studio or newspaper office, +but in the college and university classroom. + +There is no reason in the nature of things why our colleges and +universities should not also be the centers of a concentrated and +intensive activity, directed upon research and philosophic +generalization in the things of music as in other fields of inquiry. +For this they must provide libraries, endowments, and fellowships. +Such works as Mr. Elson's _History of American Music_, Mr. Krehbiel's +_Afro-American Folksongs_, and Mr. Kelly's _Chopin as a Composer_ +should properly emanate from the organized institutions of learning +which are able to give leisure and facility to men of scholarly +ambition. The French musical historian, Jules Combarieu, enumerates as +the domains constantly open to musical scholarship: acoustics, +physiology, mathematics, psychology, æsthetics, history, philology, +palæography, and sociology.[100] Every one of these topics has already +an indispensable place in the college and university system--it is for +trained scholarship to draw from them the contributions that will +relate music explicitly to the active life of the intellect. + +But not for the intellect only. Here the colleges are still in danger +of error, due to their long-confirmed emphasis upon concepts, +demonstrations, scientific methods, and "positive" results, to the +neglect of the imagination, the emotions, the intuitions, and the +things spiritually discerned. "The sovereign of the arts," says Edmund +Clarence Stedman, "is the imagination, by whose aid man makes every +leap forward; and emotion is its twin, through which come all fine +experiences, and all great deeds are achieved. Youth demands its share +in every study that can engender a power or a delight. Universities +must enhance the use, the joy, the worth of existence. They are +institutions both human and humane."[101] + +=The test of effective teaching of music in the college: Does it enrich +the life of the student through the inculcation of an æsthetic interest?= + +Institutions which exclude the agencies which act directly to enhance +"the joy and the worth of existence" are universities only in name. +Equally imperfect are they if, while nominally accepting these +agencies, they recognize only those elements in them which are +susceptible to scientific analysis, whose effects upon the student can +be tested by examinations and be marked and graded--elements which are +only means, and not final ends. The college forever needs the +humanizing, socializing power of music, the drama, the arts of design, +and it must use them not as confined to the classroom or to any single +section of the institution, but as the effluence of spiritual life, +permeating and invigorating the whole. In the mental life of the +college there have always ruled investigation, comparison, analysis, +and the temper fostered is that of reflection and didacticism. Into +this world of deliberation, routine, mechanical calculation, there has +come the warm breath of music, art, and poetry, stirring a new fire of +rapture amid the embers of speculation. The instincts of youth spring +to inhale it; youth feels affiliation with it, for art and poesy, like +nature, are ever self-renewing and never grow old. It works to unify +the life of the college whose tendency is to divide into sealed +compartments of special intellectual interests. It introduces a life +that all may share, because men divide when led by their intellects, +they unite when led by their emotions. Among the fine arts music is +perhaps supreme in its power to refine the sense of beauty, to soften +the heart at the touch of high thought and tender sentiment, to bring +the individual soul into sympathy with the over-soul of humanity. It +is this that gives music its supreme claim to an honored place in the +halls of learning, as it is its crowning glory. + +The whole argument, then, is reduced to this: that with all the +scientific aspects of the art with respect to material, structure, +psychological action, historical origins and developments and +relations, of which the college, as an institution of exact learning, +may take cognizance, music must be accepted and taught just because it +is beautiful and promotes the joy of life, and the development of the +higher sense of beauty and the spiritual quickening that issues +therefrom must be the final reason for its use. At the same time it +must be so cultivated and taught that it will unite its forces for a +common end with all those factors which, within the college and +without the college, are now working with an energy never known before +in American history for a social life animated by a zeal for ideal +rather than material ends, and inspired by nobler visions of the true +meaning of national progress. + +Among the worthy functions of our colleges there is none more needful +than that of inspiring ardent young crusaders who shall go forth to +contend against the hosts of mediocrity, ugliness, and vulgarity. One +encouragement to this warfare is in the fact that these hosts, +although legion, are dull as well as gross, and may easily be +bewildered and put to rout by the organized assaults of the children +of light. So may it be said of our institutions of culture, as Matthew +Arnold said of Oxford, that they "keep ever calling us nearer to the +true goal of all of us, to the ideal, to perfection--to beauty, in a +word, which is only truth seen from another side." + + EDWARD DICKINSON + _Oberlin College_ + + +Footnotes: + +[94] Arthur L. Manchester: "Music Education in the United States; +Schools and Departments of Music." United States Bureau of Education +Bulletin, 1908, No. 4. + +[95] Papers and Proceedings of the Music Teachers' National +Association, 1907; report by Leonard B. McWhood. + +[96] _The Spirit of Learning_, Woodrow Wilson: in _Representative Phi +Beta Kappa Orations_, edited by Northup, Lane and Schwab. Boston, +Houghton Mifflin Company, 1915. + +[97] I wish to safeguard this statement by saying that I have in mind +not the more conservative universities of the East, but the state +institutions of the Middle and Western commonwealths. In speaking of +universities as compared with colleges I am also considering the +graduate and professional departments. It is difficult to make general +assertions, on such a subject that do not meet with exceptions. + +[98] Papers and Proceedings of the Music Teachers' National +Association, 1906. + +[99] There is an interesting statistical article on the college +graduate in the musical profession by W. J. Baltzell in the _Musical +Quarterly_, October, 1915. + +[100] _Music; its Laws and Evolution_: Introduction. Translation in +Appleton's International Scientific Series. + +[101] _The Nature and Elements of Poetry_, page 5. + + + + +XXIV + +THE TEACHING OF ART + + +=Art instruction defined= + +In this chapter an attempt is made to set forth the aims, content, and +methods of art instruction in the college. In this discussion the word +"college" will be regarded in the usual sense of the College of +Liberal Arts, and art instruction as one of the courses which lead to +the degree of bachelor of arts. + +There is no term that is used more freely and with less precision than +the word "art." In some usages it is given a very broad and +comprehensive meaning, in others a very narrow and exclusive one. The +term is sometimes applied to a human activity, at other times to the +products of but a small part of that activity--for example, paintings +and statuary. + +In this chapter the term will be used in accordance with the +definition evolved by Tolstoi, who says: "Art is a human activity, +consisting in this, that one man consciously, by means of external +signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that +other people are affected by these feelings, and also experience +them."[102] The external signs by which the feelings are handed on are +movements, as in dancing and pantomime; lines, masses, colors, as in +architecture, painting and sculpture; sounds, as in music; or forms +expressed in words, as in poetry and other forms of literature. The +external signs with which art instruction in the college deals are +lines, masses, and colors. This discussion, therefore, treats of +instruction in the formative or visual arts, which include +architecture, painting, sculpture, decoration, and the various crafts, +in so far as they come within the meaning of the definition given +above. + +=Instruction in art should be an integral part of a liberal education= + +Concerning the nature of art and the purpose of art instruction in the +college, there is so much misunderstanding that it will be well to +make an attempt at clarification. Art is too commonly regarded as a +luxury--a superfluity that may serve to occupy the leisure of the +well-to-do--a kind of embroidery upon the edge of life that may be +affixed or discarded at will. Whereas, art is a factor that is +fundamental in human life and development, a factor that has entered +into the being of the race from the dawn of reason. Its products, +which antedate written history by thousands of years, form the most +reliable source of information we possess of the habits and thoughts +of prehistoric man. It has been the medium of expression of many of +the choicest products of human thought throughout the ages. These +products have been embodied in forms other than that of writing. Its +functions are limited neither to the citizen, the community, nor the +country; they extend beyond national bounds to the world at large. Art +belongs to the brotherhood of man. It is no respecter of +nationalities. It is obvious that in a general college course, a study +of the religious, social, and political factors in civilization that +does not include art among these factors is incomplete. + +The question under discussion concerns the teaching of art to the +candidate for the bachelor of arts degree, and this question will be +solely kept in view. Since, however, graduates in science, +engineering, law, medicine, etc., are not exempt from the needs of +artistic culture, they too should have at least an effective minimum +of art instruction. + +=Art a social activity= + +Art is recognized as a social activity. It enters largely into such +practical and utilitarian problems of the community as town planning +and other forms of civic improvement. As workers in such activities, +college graduates are frequently called to serve on boards of +directors and committees which have such work in charge. To most of +such persons, education in art comes as a post-collegiate activity. +Surely the interests of the community would be promoted if the men and +women into whose hands these interests are committed had had some +formal instruction in art during their college years. + +If by practical education we mean training which prepares the +individual for living, then the study of an activity that so pervades +human life should be included in the curriculum of even a so-called +practical college course. Art education has a more important function +than to promote the love of the beautiful, to purify and elevate +public taste, to awaken intellectual and spiritual desires, to create +a permanent means of investing leisure. Important as all these +purposes are, they are merely a part of a larger one--that of +revealing to the student the relationship of art to living. + +=Flexibility of art expression determines flexibility of art instruction= + +Art expression has the quality of utmost flexibility. This flexibility +appears also in art instruction, and it is for this reason that in no +two institutions of higher learning is the problem of art instruction +attacked in the same way. There is, consequently, a great diversity in +the types of art courses, even in the college. + +The flexibility of art instruction is both advantageous and +embarrassing. It is an advantage in that it can be adapted to almost +any requirement. It can be applied to the occupations of the +kindergarten, or it can be made an intensive study suitable for the +graduate school. But this very breadth is also a source of weakness in +that it tends to divert the attention from that precision of purpose +which all formal instruction should have, however elementary or +advanced. It is apt to be too scattering in its aims. It is not easy +to determine exact values either in the subject studied or in the +accomplishment of the student. Estimates in art are, and should be, +largely a matter of personal taste and opinion. They are not +infrequently colored by prejudice, especially where the judgment of +producing artists is invoked. This, again, is as it should be. An +artist who assumes toward all works of art a catholic attitude, +weakens that intensity of view and of purpose which animates his +enthusiasm. It can easily be understood that to a larger extent than +in other subjects the nature and scope of art instruction depends upon +the personality of the instructor. + +=Values of art instruction= + +The flexibility to which we have adverted adapts art instruction to +diverse educational aims. + +In that it can be made to conduce to accurate observation of artistic +manifestations, and to logical deduction therefrom, it may be given a +disciplinary purpose. In its highest development, to which only the +specially gifted can attain, the ability to observe accurately and to +deduce logically demands the most exacting training of the eye, of the +visual memory, and of the judgment. As an example of the exercise of +this sort of discipline we may cite Professor Waldstein's recognition +of a marble fragment in the form of a head in the Louvre as belonging +to a metope of the Parthenon. When, after Professor Waldstein's +suggestion of the probable connection, a plaster cast of the head was +taken to the British Museum and placed upon the headless figure of one +of the metopes, the surfaces of fracture were found to correspond.[103] +The most useful application of this ability lies in the correct +attribution of works of art to their proper schools and authorship. +Signor Morelli in his method of identification used a system that is +almost mechanical, yet the evidence supplied by concurrence or +discrepancy of form in the delineation of anatomical details was +supplemented by a highly cultivated sense for style, for +craftsmanship, and for color as well as by an extensive historical +knowledge. + +In that art instruction cultivates taste and the appreciation of works +of art, it has a cultural purpose. By many persons it is assumed that +this is its sole value. + +In that it serves to illuminate the study of the progress of +civilization, it has an informative purpose. + +In that it enables the technical student to correlate his work with +that of past and present workers, it aids in the preparation for +professional studies. + +=Difference between technical and lay courses in art one of emphasis= + +Art has been defined as "the harmonic expression of the emotions."[104] +Accepting this definition as a modified condensation of Tolstoi's +definition, it is clear that in a work of art two separate personalities +are involved--that which makes the expression, and the other to whom +the expression is addressed; thus, there are artists on the one hand, +and the public on the other. Since we shall have to speak of two +distinct classes of students,--namely, those who are in training as +future artists (as architects, painters, sculptors, designers, etc.), +and those who are taking courses in the understanding or appreciation +of art,--it will be convenient in this discussion to refer to the +former as art students and to the latter as lay students. + +Formal art instruction has been offered by colleges to both these +groups. It is evident that for the training of the art student +emphasis must be placed upon the technique of creative work, whereas +for the lay student emphasis must be placed upon the study of the +theory and the history of art. It would seem, however, that these two +methods are not mutually exclusive; nor should they be, for the art +student would surely gain by a study of the principles of art and its +history, while the lay student would profit by a certain amount of +practice directed by an observance of the principles. + +Mr. Duncan Phillips, in an article entitled "What Instruction in Art +Should the College A.B. Course Offer to the Future Writer on Art?" +proposes a hypothetical course in which "the ultimate intention would +be to awaken the æsthetic sensibilities of the youthful mind, to +encourage the emergence of the artists and art critics, and the +establishment of a residue of well-instructed appreciators."[105] + +This proposal assumes the desirability of the completion of a general +course designed for college students, before beginning the special +courses designed for those individuals whose aptitudes seem to fit +them for successful careers as artists on the one hand, or as +successful writers on art, or art instructors on the other. + +In this place the question of professional training will not be +discussed. The courses under consideration are designed to serve the +group of lay students from which specialists may, from time to time, +emerge. It is of the utmost importance that provision for the further +training of such specialists should be made in the college, in the +postgraduate school, or in an allied professional school of art. + +In view of the great diversity in the treatment of the subject in +different colleges, it will be impossible to present a series of +courses that might, under other conditions, be representative of a +general practice throughout the country. On the other hand, the +attempt to make an epitome of the various methods in use at the more +important colleges would result in the presentation of a succession of +unrelated statements drawn from catalogues which would be hardly less +exasperating to the reader than it would be for him to follow, +successively, the outlines as presented in the catalogues themselves. +Various summaries of these outlines have been made, and to these the +reader is referred.[106] + +=A general course of study--Must be adjusted to local conditions= + +An attempt is here made to set forth a programme which is offered as a +suggestion, upon which actual courses may be based, with such +modifications as are demanded by local conditions, the number and +personal training of the teaching staff, and the physical equipment +available. + +The task before the college art instructor is to cultivate the lay +student's understanding and appreciation of the works of art and to +develop an ardent enthusiasm for his subject, tempered by good taste. +This understanding will be based upon a workable body of principles +which the student can use in making his artistic estimates and +choices. Such a body of principles will constitute his theory of art. + +=Two methods of presenting art instruction to lay students= + +Art instruction for lay students may be presented in two ways: + +1. By the study of theory supplemented by the experimental application +of theory to practice, as by drawing, design, etc. + +2. By the study of theory supplemented by an application of theory to +the analysis and estimation of works of art as they are presented in a +systematic study of the history of art. + +Consider now the relation of practice and history to theory: + +First as to practice: Art instructors are divided into three camps on +the question of giving to the lay student instruction in practice: (1) +Those who believe that not only is practice unnecessary in the study +of theory, but actually harmful; (2) those who believe that practice +will aid in a study of the theory of art; (3) Those who believe that +practice is indispensable and who would, therefore, require that all +students supplement their study of the theory of art by practice. As +may be surmised, by far the largest number of advocates is found in +the middle division. + +One form of practice is Representation. In this form the student +begins by drawing in freehand very simple objects either in outline or +mass, and proceeds through more advanced exercises in drawing from +still life, to drawing and painting of landscape and the human figure. +With the addition of supplementary studies, such as anatomy, +perspective, modeling, composition, craft work, theory, history, etc., +this would be, broadly speaking, the method followed in schools of +art, where courses, occupying from two to four or five years, are +given, intended primarily for those who expect to make some sort of +creative art their vocation. + +It is this kind of work which opponents to practice for the lay +student have in mind. They claim that only by long and severe +training can he produce such works as will give satisfaction to him or +to others who examine his handiwork. They contend that the +understanding of works of art is not dependent upon ability to produce +a poor example. They offer many amusing analogies as arguments against +practice courses for lay students. They maintain that the proof of the +pudding is in the eating, rather than in the making; that to enjoy +music one need not practice five-finger exercises; that other +creatures than domestic fowls are capable of judging of the quality of +eggs; that to appreciate the beauty of a tapestry it is not necessary +to examine the reverse side. It will perhaps be sufficient, for the +present, to point out that in so far as such alleged analogies can be +submitted for arguments, they are equally applicable to laboratory +courses in any subject which is studied with a non-professional or +non-vocational purpose. + +It is true, however, that such a course as that outlined above demands +a large amount of time, compared with the results attained; and while +successful courses in Representation are offered in certain colleges, +the great mass of college students, who cannot hope to acquire a high +degree of skill, would hesitate to devote a large part of their +training to technical work, even if college faculties were willing to +grant considerable proportions of credit for it toward the bachelor of +arts degree. + +=Relative value of freehand drawing and design= + +It will be understood by the reader that the value of elementary +freehand drawing as a means of discipline or as an aid to the +technical student is not under discussion. The value of drawing as a +fundamental language for such purposes is universally admitted. The +questions are these: Can some form of practice in art be used to aid +in the understanding of the principles of art? Is representative +drawing the only form of practice available for the lay student who +undertakes the study of art? Fortunately, the advocates of practice +can offer an alternative; namely Design. Mr. Arthur Dow distinguishes +between the Drawing method (Representation) and the Design method by +calling the former _Analytical_ and the latter _Synthetical_. In an +article on "Archaism in Art Teaching"[107] he says: "I wish to show +that the traditional 'drawing method' of teaching art is too weak to +meet the new art criticism and new demands, or to connect with +vocational and industrial education in an effective way; but that the +'Design method' is broad and strong enough to do all of these things." + +"The drawing method," he continues, "is analytic, dealing with the +small, the details, the _application_ of art; the design method is +synthetic, dealing with wholes, unities, principles of art." + +Mr. Dow carries his exposition into the application of the Design +method to vocational work, but it can be used with equal effect in +supplementing the lay student's study of art. + +But the questions immediately arise: Is not a preparation as long and +arduous required to make a designer as to make a painter or a +sculptor? And is not the half-baked designer in as sorry a plight as +the half-baked artist of any kind? The answer to both is simple: The +lay student is not in any degree a painter or a sculptor or a +designer, neither is he in training for any of these professions. The +advantage of the Design method is, that with no skill whatsoever in +drawing, the beginner in the study of art can apply to his own efforts +the same principles of design which have from time immemorial entered +into the creation of great works of art. The college freshman planning +a surface design with the aid of "squared" paper is applying the same +principles that guided the hand of Michelangelo as it swept across the +ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. + +Such principles as symmetry, balance, rhythm, emphasis, harmony in +form, mass, value, and color can be inculcated by solving the simplest +as well as the most complicated problems. A graded series of exercises +can be undertaken by the student that will, with a comparatively small +amount of manual skill carry him a considerable distance in the +understanding of the principles of design upon which all creative art +rests. Another advantage is that, in the process, considerable skill +in freehand drawing also can be acquired. But this advantage is merely +incidental. + +The greatest value lies in the fact that the Design method offers to +the student an excellent means of self-expression. The student, +through no fault of his, is too prone to absorb and too little +inclined to yield of the fruits of his knowledge. Herein lies a +partial remedy for the tendency of college students to make +receptacles of their minds into which knowledge is poured through the +ear by listening to lectures, or through the eye by reading. Herein is +a means of overcoming mental inertia, for, certainly, the solution of +a problem in design calls for thought--the amount of mental exertion +being commensurate with the difficulty of the problem. In this, the +Design method is superior to the Representation method, though it +would be an error to assume that freehand drawing is chiefly a manual +operation. Such an error is entertained by those only who never have +learned to draw. Another considerable value lies in the fact that even +if the lay student of design should in later life never set hand to +paper,--as he probably will not, any more than he who has taken +courses in drawing and painting will ever attempt to paint a +picture,--yet he has come into practical contact with the leading +principles of art, and has gained a knowledge that can be applied not +merely to the discriminating understanding of the artistic qualities +of the exhibits in art museums or in private galleries, but to the art +of every day. It can be applied to the estimating of the artistic +value of a poster, a book cover, or a title page; to the choosing of +wall paper; to the arranging of the furniture in a room; to the laying +out of a garden; to intelligent coöperation in the designing of a +house or in replanning, on paper at least, the street system of a +city; or to the selecting of a design for a public memorial. It is not +to be assumed that in thus exercising a cultivated taste he would +always make conscious application of the principles of design in +making his estimates. These would have so entered into his habit of +thought that he would unconsciously make what Mr. Dow calls "fine +choices." + +The educational value of the Design method is almost universally +recognized in the art departments of our public schools and in our art +schools, and it is probable that when its aims and methods are better +understood by our college faculties, its disciplinary, cultural, and +informative value will be more widely recognized in the college of +liberal arts, and that it will take equal rank with theme and report +writing as a means of cultivating a taste for literature, with the +practice of harmony and counterpoint as a means of appreciating music, +and with laboratory work in acquiring knowledge of a science. + +=Art history as a means of inculcating principles of art= + +Next, consider art history as a means of inculcating the principles of +art. It is evident that the emotions or feelings of the artist and the +methods he employs to express them may be studied in such masterpieces +as the _Hermes_ of Praxiteles and the _Lincoln_ of St. Gaudens. In +either he may observe the application of the principles of balance, +mass, repose, harmony, and the analysis of character. In either he may +study the technique which involves the material of the statues, the +tools employed, and the manner of working. + +There is, however, great advantage in considering such examples in +their place in the evolution of art, and their significance in their +relation to the social and political development of the human race--in +other words, in studying systematically the history and development of +art. + +Instruction in history of art is not without its pitfalls. It is too +apt to lapse into a mere listing of names and dates of artists and +their work, with the introduction of interesting biographical details +and some discussion limited to the subjects treated in selected +examples. It is often too much concerned with _who_, _when_, and +_where_ and not sufficiently with _why_ and _how_. A person may +possess a large fund of the facts of art history and yet have but +little understanding or appreciation of the aims and underlying +principles of art production. It should never be forgotten that for +the college student the history of art is merely a convenient scheme +or system upon which to base discussions of the principles of art as +involved in the works themselves, an outline for the study of the +artistic affiliations of any artist with the great company of his +antecedents, his contemporaries, and his successors. The instructor +should never regard practice or history as ends in themselves, but as +means to the development of the understanding. + +=Years in which art courses should be offered= + +In some colleges only the more advanced students are permitted to take +art courses. It does not seem wise thus to limit the years in which +courses may be taken. An elementary course should be offered in the +freshman year, while other courses of increasing difficulty should be +offered in each of the succeeding years. The greatest variety is seen +in the colleges throughout the country in the amount of art taught, +and the amount of credit given toward the A.B. degree. When the +subject is elected as a "minor," it should be one-tenth to one-eighth +of all the work undertaken by a candidate for the bachelor's degree; +while a "major" elective usually should cover from one-fifth to +one-fourth of all the work of a candidate for the same degree. Some +zealous advocates maintain that a certain amount of art training +should be required for graduation. Valuable as art training would be +to every graduate, it does not seem wise to make art a required +subject in the curriculum. To compel men and women to study art +against their will would destroy much of the charm of the subject both +for the teacher and the student. Unless the subject is pursued with +enthusiasm by both, it loses its value. + +=Organization and content of courses in art= + +The courses suggested are as follows: + +_Course I_ (_Freshman year_). Introduction to the study of art. A +study of the various forms of artistic expression, together with the +principles which govern those forms. The study would be carried on (1) +by means of lectures, (2) by discussions led by the instructor and +carried on by members of the class, (3) by laboratory or studio +practice in the application of the principles of art expression to +graded problems in design, (4) by collateral reading, (5) by the +occasional writing of themes and reports, (6) by excursions to art +collections (public and private), artists' studios, and craft shops. + +Some of the topics for lectures and discussion would be: Primitive art +and the factors which control its rise and development; principles of +harmony; design in the various arts; an outline study of historic +ornament; composition in architecture, painting, and sculpture; +concept in art, with a study of examples drawn from the master works +of all ages; processes in the artistic crafts; application of the +principles of design to room decoration. + +The studio or laboratory work would include: Application of the +principles of design; spacing of lines and spots; borders and all-over +designs achieved by repetition of various units; studies in symmetry +and balance; color study, including hue, value, intensity; exercises +in color harmony; problems in form and proportions, decoration of +given geometrical areas; applications to practical uses; studies in +form and color from still life; use of charcoal, brush, pastel, water +color; simple exercises in pictorial composition; problems in +simplification necessitated by technique; application of principles of +design to room decoration. (This course would be prerequisite for all +subsequent courses in practice.) + +_Course II_ (_Sophomore year_). A general course in the history of +art. A consideration of the development of the arts of architecture, +sculpture, and painting from prehistoric periods to recent times. In +this course emphasis would be laid upon the periods of higher +attainments in artistic expression, and the discussions would be +directed toward the qualities of great masterpieces rather than toward +those of the multitude of lesser works. + +The work would be carried on (1) by means of lectures; (2) by +discussions led by the instructor and carried on by members of the +class; (3) by collateral reading; (4) by study of original works of +art, photographs, and other forms of reproduction; (5) by the writing +of themes and reports; (6) by visits to art galleries and artists' +studios. (This course would be prerequisite for subsequent courses in +history, etc.) + +Following these two general courses there should be two groups of +courses: _Group A, Practice courses_; _Group B, History courses_. +Candidates for the A.B. degree who expect to take postgraduate work in +creative art or in the teaching of creative art would elect chiefly +from Group A. Lay students who are candidates for the A.B. degree and +who expect to make writing or criticism in art, or teaching of art to +lay students, or art museum work their vocation, would elect chiefly +from Group B; as would, also, those composing the greater number, who +study art as one means of acquiring general culture. + +In the following lists of courses the grade of each course is +indicated by a roman numeral placed after the title of the course, the +indications being as follows: + + I. Elementary (primarily for freshmen and sophomores). + II. Intermediate (primarily for sophomores and juniors). + III. Advanced (primarily for juniors and seniors). + IV. Graduate (primarily for seniors and graduates). + + +Beyond these indications no attempt is here made to prescribe the +subdivisions of the courses, nor the number of hours per week, nor the +number of weeks per year in each course. + + +GROUP A: PRACTICE COURSES + +A1 _Freehand Drawing._ (I) Drawing in charcoal and pencil from simple +objects, plaster casts, still life, etc. Elements of perspective with +elementary problems. + +A2 _Freehand Drawing_ (_continued_). (II) Drawing in charcoal, pencil, +pen and ink, brush (monochrome in water color) from plaster casts, +still life and the costumed figure. Out-of-door sketching. + +A3 _Color_ (Water Color or Oil Color). (II) Drawing in color from +still life and the costumed figure. Out-of-door sketching. + +A4 _Modeling._ (III) Modeling in clay from casts of antique sculpture +and of architectural ornament as an aid to the study of form and +proportion. + +A5 _Advanced Design._ (III) Theory and practice. (Continuation of +Course I. Introduction to the study of art.) + +A6, A7, ... etc. _Advanced Courses in Drawing, Painting, Modeling, and +Applied Design_ (IV) selected from the following: Studies in various +media from life. Composition. Illustration. Portrait work. Practical +work in pottery, bookbinding, enameling, metal work, interior +decoration, wood carving, engraving, etching. These courses would be +supplemented by lectures on the theory and principles of art. Topics +of such lectures would be: Theory of Design, Composition, Technique of +the Various Arts, Artistic Anatomy, Perspective, Shades and Shadows, +etc. + + +GROUP B: HISTORY COURSES + +B1_ History of Ancient Art._ (II) + +B2 _History of Roman and Medieval Art._ (II) + +B3 _History of Renaissance Art in Italy._ (III) + +B4 _History of Modern Art._ (III) History of art in Western Europe +during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. + +B5, B6, ... etc. _History of Special Periods; Consideration of Special +Forms of Art, and of Great Masters in Art_ (IV) selected from the +following: Art of Primitive Greece, Greek Sculpture, Greek Vases, +Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, History of Mosaic; +Medieval Illumination; Sienese Painters of the Thirteenth and +Fourteenth Centuries; Florentine Painting; Domestic Architecture of +Various Countries; Leonardo da Vinci and His Works; Art of the +Netherlands; History of Mural Painting; History and Principles of +Engraving; Prints and Their Makers; Chinese and Japanese Art; Colonial +Architecture in America; Painting and Sculpture in America, etc., etc. + +=Teaching equipment for college courses in art= + +No attempt will here be made to comment upon the general furnishing +and equipment of lecture rooms, laboratories, and studios. +Nevertheless, some reference to the special teaching equipment is +necessary for the further consideration of the methods of teaching. + +Illustrations are of the greatest importance in the study of art. The +best illustrations are original works of art. For manifest reasons +these are not usually available in the classroom, and the teacher is +dependent upon facsimiles and other reproductions. These take the form +of copies, replicas, casts, models, photographs, stereopticon slides, +prints in black and white and in color, including the ubiquitous +picture postal card. + +The collections of public art museums and of private galleries are of +great value for illustrative purposes; but of still greater value to +the student is the departmental museum, with which, unfortunately, but +few colleges are equipped. Some colleges have been saddled by +well-meaning donors with collections of various kinds of works of art +which are but ill related to the instruction given in the department +of art. The collections of the college museum need not be large but +they should be selected especially with their instructional purpose in +view. The problems of expense debars most colleges from establishing +museums of art; but with a modest annual appropriation a working +collection can be gradually gathered together. A collection which is +the result of gradual growth and of careful consideration will usually +be of greater instructional value than one which is acquired at one +time. + +An institution which owns a few original works of painting, sculpture, +and the crafts of representative masters is indeed fortunate, but even +institutions whose expenditures for this purpose are slight may +possess at least a few original lithographs, engravings, etchings, +etc., in its collection of prints. + +Fortunately, there are means whereby some of the unobtainable +originals of the great public museums and private collections of the +world may be represented in the college museums by adequate +reproductions. The methods of casting in plaster of Paris, in bronze +and other materials; of producing squeezes in papier maché; and of +reproducing by the galvano-plastic process, are used for making +facsimiles of statues, vases, terra cottas, carved ivories, +inscriptions and other forms of incised work, gems, coins, etc., at a +cost which, when compared with that of originals, is trivial.[108] +Paintings, drawings, engravings, etc., are often admirably reproduced +by various photographic and printing processes in color or black and +white. + +Generally speaking, the most valuable adjunct of the college art +museum or of the college art library is the collection of photographs +properly classified and filed for ready reference by the instructor or +student. + +A specially designed museum building would present opportunities for +service that would extend beyond the walls of the art department, but +if such a building is not available, a single well-lighted room +furnished with suitable cabinets and wall cases, and with ample wall +space for the display of paintings, prints, charts, etc., would be of +great service. + +A departmental library of carefully chosen books on the theory, +history, and the practice of the various arts, together with current +and bound numbers of the best art periodicals of America and of +foreign countries, is indispensable. + +=Methods of teaching= + +Methods will naturally depend somewhat upon the size of the class. In +large classes--of, say, more than forty--the lecture method, +supplemented by section meetings and conferences, would usually be +followed. In the following discussion it is assumed that the classes +will not exceed forty. + +Under the head of Methods of Teaching are here included: Work in Class +and Work outside of Class. + +The work in class consists of lectures; discussions by the members of +the class; laboratory or studio work; excursions. There is no worse +method than that of exclusive lecturing by the instructor. If the +methods employed do not induce the student to do his own thinking, +they have but little value. Much of the instructor's time will be +occupied in devising methods by which the students themselves will +contribute to their own and their fellows' advancement. + +Discussions led by the instructor and carried on by the members of the +class should be frequent. From time to time a separate division of a +general topic should be assigned to each member of the class, who will +prepare himself to present his part of the topic before the class +either by reading a paper or otherwise. Discussions by the members of +the class, concluded by the instructor, should generally follow this +presentation. Topics for investigation, study, and discussion should +be so selected as to require the students to make application of their +study to their daily life and environment. In this way their critical +interest in the design of public and private buildings, of monuments, +and of the innumerable art productions which they see about them would +be stimulated. + +For the purpose of illustrating lectures and aiding in discussions, +prints and photographs may be shown either directly or through the +medium of the reflectoscope. Or, they may be transferred to lantern +slides and shown by means of the stereopticon. To a limited extent the +Lumière color process has been used in preparing slides. + +The methods of laboratory and studio work have already been briefly +treated under the head of Courses of Instruction, and hardly need to +be further amplified here. + +It has already been stated that original works of art are the best +illustrations, and that these are but rarely available within the +walls of the college. Instructors in institutions which are situated +within or near to large centers of population can usually supply this +deficiency by arranging visits to museums and other places where works +of art are preserved and exhibited; and to artists' studios and to +workshops where works of art are produced. Instructors in institutions +which are not so situated may supply the deficiency, in some measure, +by arranging for temporary exhibitions in the museum or other rooms of +the department. Rotary exhibitions of paintings, prints, craftwork, +sculpture, designs, examples of students' work, etc., may be arranged +whereby groups of institutions within convenient distances from each +other may share the benefits offered by such exhibitions, as well as +the expense of assemblage, transportation, and insurance. In arranging +for such temporary exhibitions it is essential that only works of the +highest quality, of their kind, should be selected. + +Selections can best be made personally by the instructor or by capable +and trustworthy agents who are thoroughly informed as to the purpose +of the exhibition and as to the needs of the institutions forming the +circuits. Such rotary exhibitions possess a wider usefulness than that +of serving as illustrative material for the college department of art: +they serve also as an artistic stimulus to the members of the college +at large, and to the community in which the college is situated.[109] + +The work of students outside of class has already been mentioned. It +consists of collateral reading, the study of prints and photographs, +and the preparation of written themes and reports. Notwithstanding the +lavish production of books relating to art, there are but very few +that are suitable for use as college textbooks. The instructor will +usually assign collateral reading from various authors. + +=Testing results of art instruction= + +In attempting to measure the success or failure of the work, the +teacher must ask himself, What do our college graduates who have taken +art courses possess that is lacking in those who have not taken such +courses? + +The immediate test of the results of the work is in the attitude of +mind of the students. Do they think differently about works of art +from what they did before entering the courses? Is there a change in +their habit of thought? Have they done no more than accept the lessons +they have been taught, or have they so absorbed them and made them +their own that they are capable of self-expression in making their +estimates of works of art? These questions may be answered by the +result of the written examination and by the oral quiz. + +It must be confessed that the chief purpose of art instruction in the +college is to supply a lack in our national and private life. Citizens +of the older communities of Europe pass their lives among the +accumulated art treasures of past ages. The mere daily contact with +such forms of beauty engenders a taste for them. Partly through our +Puritan origin, partly through our preoccupation with the development +of the material resources of our country, we, as a people, have failed +to cultivate some of the imponderable things of the spirit. So far as +we have had to do with its creation, our environment in town and +village is generally lacking in artistic charm. + +The study by lay students of the art of the past has one chief object; +namely, to train them to understand the works of the masters in order +that they may discriminate between what is beautiful and what is +meretricious in the art of the present day; to learn the lessons of +art from the monoliths of Egypt, the tawny marbles of ancient Greece, +the balanced thrusts of the Gothic cathedral, the gracious and +reverent harmonies of the primitives, the delicate handicrafts of the +Orient, the splendors of the Renaissance, the vibrant colors of the +latest phase of impressionism, and to apply these lessons in the +search for hidden elements of beauty in nature and art in their own +country and in their own lives and surroundings. + +Believing, as he does, in the value of artistic culture, it becomes +the duty of the college art instructor to teach with enthusiasm +unmarred by prejudice; to cultivate in the minds of his students a +catholic receptivity to all that is sincere in artistic expression; to +open up avenues of thought in the minds of those whose lives would +otherwise be barren of artistic sympathy; to cull the best from the +experience of the past, and, by its help, to impart to his hearers +some of his own enthusiasm; for their lives cannot fail to touch at +some point the borderlands of the magic realm of art. + + HOLMES SMITH + _Washington University_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +ANKENEY, J. S., LAKE, E. J., and WOODWARD, W. Final Report of the +Committee on the Condition of Art Work in Colleges and Universities. +_Western Drawing and Manual Training Association._ Oak Park, Illinois. +1910. + +ANKENEY, J. S. The Place and Scope of Art Education in the University. +_Western Drawing and Manual Training Association, 16th Annual Report._ +St. Louis, 1909. + +BEAUX, CELIA. What Instruction in Art Should the College A. B. Course +Offer to the Future Artists? _The American Magazine of Art._ +Washington. D. C., October, 1916. + +BLAYNEY, T. L. The History of Art in the College Curriculum. +_Proceedings of the American Federation of Arts._ Washington, D. C., +1910. + +BROOKS, ALFRED The Study of Art in Universities. _Education._ Boston, +February, 1901. + +CHURCHILL, A. V. Art in the College Course. _The Smith Alumnæ +Quarterly._ New York, February, 1915. + +CLOPATH, H. The Scope and Organization of Art Instruction in the A. B. +Course. _Western Drawing and Manual Training Association, 17th Annual +Report._ Oak Park, Illinois, 1910. + +CROSS, H. R. The College Degree in Fine Arts. _Western Drawing and +Manual Training Association, 17th Annual Report._ Oak Park, Illinois, +1910. + +DOW, A. W. Anarchism in Art Teaching. _Western Drawing and Manual +Training Association, 19th Annual Report._ Cincinnati, 1912. + +DOW, A. W. _Theory and Practice of Teaching Art._ Teachers College, +Columbia University. 2d edition. New York, 1912. + +DOW, A. W. Modernism in Art. _The American Magazine of Art._ New York, +January, 1917. + +FREDERICK, F. F. The Study of Fine Art in American Colleges and +Universities: Its Relation to the Study in Public Schools. _Addresses +and Proceedings of the National Education Association._ Detroit, 1901. + +HELLER, O. Art as a Liberal Study. _Western Drawing and Manual +Training Association, 17th Annual Report._ Oak Park. Illinois, 1910. + +JASTROW, J. The place of the Study of Art in a College Course. +_Western Drawing and Manual Training Association._ Oak Park, Illinois, +1910. + +KELLEY, C. F. Art in American Universities. _Nation_, 91: 74. New +York, July 28, 1910. + +KELLEY, C. F. Art Education. _Report of the Commissioner of +Education._ (Department of Interior, Bureau of Education). Washington, +D. C., 1915. + +LEONARD, WILLIAM J. The Place of Art in the American College. +_Education_, 32; 597-607. Boston, June, 1912. + +LOW, W. H. The Proposed Department of Art in Columbia University. +_Scribner's Magazine._ New York, December, 1902. + +MANN, F. M. Coöperation among Art Workers in Universities. _Western +Drawing and Manual Training Association, 16th Annual Report._ St. +Louis, 1909. + +MARSHALL, H. R. The Relation of the University to the Teaching of Art. +_Architectural Record._ New York, April, 1903. + +MONROE, PAUL (editor). Art in Education, etc. _Cyclopedia of +Education._ The Macmillan Company, New York, 1911. + +NORTON, C. E. The Educational Value of the History of Art. +_Educational Review_, New York, April, 1895. + +PHILLIPS, DUNCAN. What Instruction in Art Should the College A.B. +Course Offer to the Future Writer on Art? _The American Magazine of +Art._ New York, March, 1917. + +PICKARD, J. Message of Art for the Collegian. _The American Magazine +of Art._ Washington, D. C., February, 1916. + +ROBINSON, D. M. Reproductions of Classical Art. _Art and Archaelogy._ +Washington, D. C., April, 1917. + +SARGENT, W. Instruction in Art in the United States. _Biennial Survey +of Education in the United States 1916-18_ (Department of the +Interior, Bureau of Education). Washington, D. C. + +SEELYE, L. C. The Place of Art in the Smith College Curriculum. +_Educational Review._ New York, January, 1904. + +SMITH, E. B. _The History of Art in the Colleges and Universities of +the United States._ Princeton University Press. Princeton, 1912. + +SMITH, HOLMES. Art as an Integral Part of University Work. _Western +Drawing and Manual Training Association, 16th Annual Report._ St. +Louis, 1909. + +SMITH, HOLMES. The Future of the University Round Table. _Western +Drawing and Manual Training Association._ Oak Park, Illinois, 1910. + +SMITH, HOLMES, LAKE, E. J., and MARQUAND, A. The College Art +Association of America. Report of Committee Appointed to Investigate +the Condition of Art Instruction in the Colleges and Universities of +the United States. _School and Society._ Garrison, New York, August +26, 1916. + +STANLEY, H. M. Our Education and the Progress of Art. _Education._ +Boston, October, 1890. + +SWIFT, F. H. What Art Does for Life. _Western Drawing and Manual +Training Association, 18th Annual Report._ Springfield, Illinois, +1911. + +SYLVESTER, F. O. Esthetic and Practical Values in Art Courses. +_Western Drawing and Manual Training Association, 16th Annual Report._ +St. Louis, 1909. + +WALDSTEIN, C. _The Study of Art in Universities._ Harper & Brothers. +New York, 1896. + +WALKER, C. H. Art in Education. _Western Drawing and Manual Training +Association, 16th Annual Report._ St. Louis, 1909. + +WOODWARD, W. Art Education in the Colleges. Art Education in the +Public Schools of the United States. _American Art Annual._ New York, +1908. + +WUERPEL, E. H. The Relation of the Art School to the University. +_Western Drawing and Manual Training Association, 16th Annual Report._ +St. Louis, 1909. + +ZANTZINGER, C. C. Report of Committee on Education. _Proceedings of +the 47th Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects._ +Washington, D. C., December, 1913. + + +NOTE. For numerous discussions of problems of college art teaching, +the Bulletins of the College Art Association of America may be +consulted. + + +Footnotes: + +[102] Tolstoi, L. N., _What Is Art?_ Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1899. +Chapter V, page 43. + +[103] Waldstein: _Essays on the Art of Pheidias_, Cambridge University +Press. 1885, pages 95 et seq. + +[104] _New Princeton Review_, II, 29. + +[105] _The American Magazine of Art_, Vol. 8, No. 5, page 177. + +[106] Woodward, W. "Art Education in the Colleges," _Art Education in +the Public Schools of the United States_, edited by J. P. Haney; +American Art Annual, New York, 1908. + +Ankeney, J. S., Woodward, W., Lake, E. J., "Final Report of the +Committee on the Condition of Art Instruction in Colleges and +Universities." _Seventeenth Annual Report of the Western Drawing and +Manual Training Association._ Minneapolis, 1910. + +Kelley, C. F., "Art Education." _Report of the Commissioner of +Education_, Vol. I, Chap. XV. Washington, D. C., 1915. + +Smith, E. B., _The Study of the History of Art in the Colleges and +Universities of the United States._ University Press, Princeton, 1912. + +[107] _Nineteenth Annual Report, Western Drawing and Manual Training +Association_, Cincinnati, 1912, page 19. + +[108] Robinson, D. M., "Reproductions of Classical Art," _Art and +Archaeology_, Vol. V, No. 4, pages 221-234. + +[109] Rotary art exhibitions for educational purposes are +arranged by the American Federation of Arts, 1741, New York Avenue, +Washington, D. C. + + + + + PART SIX + + VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS + + CHAPTER + + XXV THE TEACHING OF ENGINEERING SUBJECTS + _Ira O. Baker_ + + XXVI THE TEACHING OF MECHANICAL DRAWING + _J. D. Phillips and H. D. Orth_ + + XXVII THE TEACHING OF JOURNALISM + _Talcott Williams_ + + XXVIII BUSINESS EDUCATION + _Frederick B. Robinson_ + + + + +XXV + +THE TEACHING OF ENGINEERING SUBJECTS + + +Each of the preceding chapters of this volume treats of a subject +which is substantially a unit in method and content; but the subjects +assigned to this chapter include a variety of topics which are quite +diverse in scope and character. For example, such subjects as German +and physics represent the work of single collegiate departments; while +engineering subjects represent substantially the entire work of an +engineering college, of which there are many in this country, each +having a thousand or more students. It is necessary, then, to inquire +as to the scope of this chapter. + + +I. SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER + +=Contents of engineering curricula= + +The contents of the representative four-year engineering curriculum of +the leading institutions may be classified about as in the table on +page 502. In addition to the subjects listed, most institutions +require freshmen to take gymnasium practice and lectures on hygiene, +and many colleges require freshmen, and some also sophomores, to take +military drill and tactics. Formerly many institutions required all +engineering freshmen to take elementary shop work; but at present in +most institutions this practice has been discontinued, owing to the +establishment of manual-training high schools and to the development +of other engineering subjects. + +The order of the subjects varies somewhat in the different +institutions. For example, instead of as in the table on page 502, +rhetoric may be given in the sophomore year and language in the first. +Again, in some institutions a little technical work is given in the +freshman year. Further, the total number of semester-hours varies +somewhat among the different institutions. However, the table is +believed to be fairly representative. + + +CONTENTS OF ENGINEERING CURRICULA + +The unit is a semester-hour; i.e., five class-periods a week for half +a year. + + --------------------------------------+-----------------------+-------- + | COLLEGIATE YEAR | + GENERAL SUBJECT +-----+-----+-----+-----+ TOTAL + | I | II | III | IV | + --------------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------- + Mechanical drawing and descriptive | | | | | + geometry | 10 | ... | ... | ... | 10 + | | | | | + Rhetoric | 6 | ... | ... | ... | 6 + | | | | | + Modern language | ... | 8 | ... | ... | 8 + | | | | | + Pure mathematics | 10 | 8 | ... | ... | 18 + | | | | | + Science--physical and social | 10 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 29 + | | | | | + Theoretical and applied mechanics | ... | 3 | 10 | ... | 13 + | | | | | + Technical engineering | ... | 8 | 20 | 32 | 60 + | ----| ----| ----| ----| ---- + Total | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 144 + --------------------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------- + + +=The different engineering curricula= + +Below is a list of the principal four-year curricula offered by the +engineering colleges of this country. The list contains forty +different engineering curricula. No one institution offers all of +these, but some of the larger and better equipped offer fifteen or +sixteen different curricula for which a degree is given. + +1. _Architecture_ (which is usually classified as an engineering +subject): general architecture; architectural design; architectural +construction. + +2. _Ceramics engineering:_ general ceramics and ceramics engineering; +ceramics; ceramics engineering. + +3. _Chemical engineering_: general chemical engineering; metallurgical +engineering; gas engineering; pulp and paper engineering; +electro-chemical engineering. + +4. _Civil engineering_: general civil engineering; railway civil +engineering; municipal engineering; structural engineering; +topographic or geodetic engineering; hydraulic engineering; irrigation +engineering; highway engineering. + +5. _Electrical engineering_: general electrical engineering; telephone +engineering; electrical design; power-plant design; electrical railway +engineering. + +6. _Marine engineering:_ general marine engineering; naval +architecture; marine engineering. + +7. _Mechanical engineering:_ general mechanical engineering; steam +engineering; railway mechanical engineering; hydro-mechanical +engineering; machine design and construction; heating, ventilating, +and refrigerating; industrial engineering; automobile engineering; +aëronautical engineering. + +8. _Mining engineering:_ general mining engineering; metallurgical +engineering; coal mining; ore mining. + +The first engineering curriculum established was civil engineering, +which was so called to distinguish it from military engineering. At +first the course contained only a little technical work, but in course +of time specialized work was increased; and later courses were +established in mining and mechanical engineering, and more recently +followed specialized courses in architecture, electrical engineering, +marine engineering, chemical engineering, and ceramic engineering--about +in the order named. The order of the various special courses in the +several groups above is roughly that of their establishment. + +=Number of engineering subjects= + +In the preceding list are eight groups of curricula, each of which +contains about 60 semester-hours peculiar to itself; and, considering +only a single curriculum in each of the eight groups, there are 480 +semester-hours of specialized work. In addition there are in the list +thirty-two subdivisions, each of which differs from the parent by at +least 10 semester-hours. Hence the total number of engineering +subjects offered is at least 800 semester-hours. It is safe to assume +that for administrative reasons, each 3 semester-hours on the average +represents a distinct title or topic, and that therefore the +engineering colleges of the country offer instruction in 267 different +engineering subjects. + +However, the diversity is not so great as the preceding statement +seems to imply, since for convenience in program making and in +bookkeeping many subjects are listed under two or more heads. For +example, a subject which runs through two semesters will for +administrative reasons appear under two different heads in the above +computations. Again, the lecture or textbook work in a subject will +usually appear under one head and the laboratory work under a separate +title. Finally, some subjects which differ but little in character may +for convenience be listed under two different titles. If the subjects +that are subdivided for the above reasons were listed under a single +head, the number of topics would be reduced something like 20 to 25 +per cent. + +Therefore, the topics of engineering instruction which differ +materially in character number about 200. This, then, is the field +assigned to this chapter. Obviously it is impossible to consider the +several subjects separately. + + +II. DIFFERENTIATION IN ENGINEERING CURRICULA + +For a considerable number of years there has been much discussion by +both college teachers and practicing engineers concerning +differentiation in engineering curricula; and the usual conclusion is +that undue differentiation is detrimental. But nevertheless +specialization has gone on comparatively rapidly and extensively--as +shown in the previous article. Since the degree of differentiation +determines in a large measure (1) the spirit with which a student does +his work, (2) the method of teaching that should be employed, and (3) +the results obtained, it will be wise briefly to consider the merits +of specialization. The arguments against specialization have been more +widely and more earnestly presented than those in favor of +specialization. The usual arguments pro and con may be summarized as +follows: + +1. It is frequently claimed that the undergraduate is incapable of +wisely choosing a specialty, and that hence specialization should come +after a four-year course,--i.e., in the graduate school or by +self-instruction after graduation. But the parents and friends of a +student usually help him in deciding upon a profession or on a +special line of study, and therefore it is not likely that a very +serious mistake will be made. Of necessity a decision must be made +whether or not to seek a college education; and a decision must also +be made between the great fields of knowledge,--liberal arts, +agriculture, engineering, etc. If the student decides to take any +branch of engineering, he usually has his whole freshman year in which +to make a further specialization. At the end of the sophomore year the +specialization has not gone very far; and therefore if the student +finds he has made a mistake, it is not difficult to change. + +2. "The undergraduate seldom knows the field of his future employment, +and hence does not have the data necessary for an intelligent +decision." The young man will never have all of the data for such a +decision until he has actually worked in that field for a time, and +there is no reason why he should not make a decision and try some +particular line of preparation. + +3. Some opponents of specialization claim that the more general the +engineering training, the easier to obtain employment after +graduation; but this is not in harmony with the facts. The opposite is +more nearly true. For example, who ever heard of a practicing engineer +preferring a liberal arts student to a civil engineering student as a +rodman? + +4. Specialized courses require that the college should have larger +equipment and a more versatile staff. The larger institutions can +prepare for specialized sections nearly as easily and cheaply as for +duplicate sections; and institutions having only a few students or +meager financial support should not offer highly specialized courses. + +5. The opponents of specialization claim that to be a successful +specialist one should have a broad training, and that therefore the +broader the curriculum the better. It is true that to be a successful +specialist requires a considerable breadth of knowledge, but that does +not prove that the student should be required to get all of his +general knowledge before he gives attention to matters peculiar to +his specialty. No engineer can be reasonably successful in any field +with only the knowledge obtained in college, whether that be general +or special. + +6. It is claimed that specialization should be postponed to a fifth +year. It seems to have been settled by experience that four years is +about the right length of the college course for the average +engineering student, and that in that time he should test his fitness +and liking for his future work by studying some of the subjects +relating to his proposed specialized field. + +7. The chief reason in favor of specialization is that the field of +knowledge is so vast that it is absolutely necessary for every college +student--engineering or otherwise--to specialize; and in engineering +this specialization is vitally important, since fundamental principles +can be taught most effectively in connection with their application to +specialized problems. In no other way is it possible to invest +theoretical principles with definite meaning to the student, and by +this process it is possible to transform abstract theory into glowing +realities which under a competent teacher arouse the student's +interest and even his enthusiasm. + +8. Specialization in engineering curricula is a natural outgrowth of +the evolution of engineering knowledge, and is in harmony with sound +principles of teaching. For example, all engineering students should +have a certain amount of mechanical drawing; but the best results will +be obtained if the civil engineer, after a study of the elementary +principles, continues his practice in drawing by making maps, while +the mechanical engineer continues his by making details of machinery. +Both will do their work with more zest and much more efficiency than +if both were compelled to make drawings which meant nothing to them +except practice in the art of drawing. Similar illustration can be +found throughout any well-arranged engineering curriculum. A vitally +essential element in any educational diet is that the subject shall +not pall upon the appetite of the student. He should go to every +intellectual meal with a hearty gusto. The specialized course appeals +more strongly to the ambition of the student than a general course. +The engineering student selects a specialized course because he has an +ambition to become an architect, a chemical engineer, a civil +engineer, or perhaps a bridge engineer, a highway engineer, a +mechanical engineer, or perhaps a heating engineer or an automobile +engineer; and having an opportunity to study subjects in which he is +specially interested, he works with zest and usually accomplishes much +more than a student who is pursuing a course of study only remotely, +if at all, related to the field of his proposed activities after +leaving college. Further, the more specialized the course, the greater +the energy with which the student will work. + +Many of those who have discussed specialization seem to assume that +the only, or at least the chief, purpose of an engineering education +is to give technical information, and that specialization is +synonymous with superficiality. From this point of view the aim of a +college education is to give a student information useful in his +future work, and the inevitable result is that the student has neither +the intellectual power nor the technical knowledge to enable him to +render efficient service in any position in which he will work +whole-heartedly. The weakness and superficiality of such a student, it +is usually said, is due to excessive specialization, while in reality +it is primarily due to wrong methods of teaching. Within reasonable +limits specialization has little or nothing to do with the result; and +under certain conditions, as previously stated, specialization helps +rather than hinders intellectual development. If a subject has real +educational value and is so taught as to train a student to see, to +analyze, to discriminate, to describe, the more the specialization the +better; but if a subject is taught chiefly to give unrelated +information about details of practice, the more the specialization the +less the educational value. + +10. Experience has conclusively shown that an engineering student is +very likely to slight a general subject in favor of a simultaneous +technical or specialized subject. This fact, together with the +necessity of a fixed sequence in technical engineering subjects, makes +it practically impossible to secure any reasonable work in most +general subjects when a student is at the same time carrying one or +more technical studies. For these reasons it is necessary to make the +later years of the curriculum nearly wholly technical, which makes +specialization possible, if it does not invite it. + + +III. AIM OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION + +=Disciplinary values of engineering subjects= + +The three elements of engineering education, as indeed of all +education, should be development, training, and information. The first +is the attainment of intellectual power, the capacity for abstract +conception and reasoning. The second includes the formation of correct +habits of thought and methods of work; the cultivation of the ability +to observe closely, to reason correctly, to write and speak clearly; +and the training of the hand to execute. The third includes the +acquisition of the thoughts and experiences of others, and of the +truths of nature. The development of the mental faculties is by far +the most important, since it alone confers that "power which masters +all it touches, which can adapt old forms to new uses, or create new +and better means of reaching old ends." Without this power the +engineer cannot hope to practice his profession with any chance of +success. The formation of correct habits of thinking and working, +habits of observing, of classifying, of investigating, of +discriminating, of proving instead of guessing, of weighing evidence, +of patient perseverance, and of doing thoroughly honest work, is a +method of using that power efficiently. The accumulation of facts is +the least important. The power to acquire information and the +knowledge of how to use it is of far greater value than any number of +the most useful facts. The value of an education does not consist in +the number of facts acquired, but in the ability to discover facts by +personal observation and investigation and in the power to use these +facts in deducing new conclusions and establishing fundamental +principles. There is no comparison between the value of a ton of +horseshoe nails and the ability to make a single nail. + +=Utilitarian aim of the engineering subjects: information and training= + +The engineering student usually desires to reverse the above order and +assumes that the acquisition of information, especially that directly +useful in his proposed profession, is the most valuable element of an +education; and unfortunately some instructors seem to make the same +mistake. The truth is that methods of construction, details of +practice, mechanical appliances, prices of materials and labor, change +so rapidly that it is useless to teach many such matters. However +important such items are to the practicing engineer, they are of +little or no use to the student; for later, when he does have need of +them, methods, machines, and prices have changed so much that the +information he acquired in college will probably be worse than +useless. Technical details are learned of necessity in practice, and +more easily then than in college; whereas in practice fundamental +principles are learned with difficulty, if at all. A man ignorant of +principles does not usually realize his own ignorance and limitations, +or rather he is unaware of the existence of unknown principles. The +engineering college should teach the principles upon which sound +engineering practice is based, but should not attempt to teach the +details of practice any further than is necessary to give zest and +reality to the instruction and to give an intelligent understanding of +the uses to be made of fundamental principles. + +As evidence that technical information is not essential for success in +an engineering profession, attention is called to the fact that a +considerable number of men who took a course in one of the major +divisions of engineering have practiced in another branch with +reasonable success. The only collegiate training one of the most +distinguished American engineers of the last generation had was a +general literary course followed by a law course. Further, a +considerable number have successfully practiced engineering, after +only a general college education, and this in recent years when +engineering curricula have become widely differentiated. Examples in +other lines of business could be cited to show that a knowledge of +technical details is not the most important element in a preparation +for a profession or for business. The all-important thing is that the +engineering student shall acquire the power to observe closely, to +reason correctly, to state clearly, that he shall be able to extract +information from books certainly and rapidly, and that he shall +cultivate his judgment, initiative, and self-reliance. A student may +have any amount of technical information, but if he seriously lacks +any of the qualities just enumerated, he cannot attain to any +considerable professional success. However, if he has these qualities +to a fair degree, he can speedily acquire sufficient technical details +to enable him to succeed fairly well. + +The chief aim of the engineering college should be to develop the +intellectual power that will enable the student not only to acquire +quickly the details of practice, but will also enable him ultimately +to establish precedents and determine the practice of his times. +Incidentally the engineering college should seek to expand the horizon +and widen the sympathy of its students. In college classes there will +be those who are either unable or unwilling to attain the highest +educational ideals, and who will become only the hewers of wood and +drawers of water of the engineering profession; but a setting before +them of the highest ideals and even an ineffective training in methods +of work will prepare them the better to fill mediocre positions. + +The nearly universal engineering college course requires four years. +The field properly belonging to even a specialized curriculum is so +wide and the importance of a proper preparation of the engineers of +the future is so great as appropriately to require more than four +years of time; but the consensus of opinion is that for various +reasons only four years are available for undergraduate work--the +only kind here under consideration. Hence it is of vital importance +that the highest ideals shall be set before the engineering students +and that the methods of instruction employed shall be the best +attainable. + + +IV. METHODS OF TEACHING + +Instruction in technical engineering subjects is given by lectures, +recitations from textbooks, assigned reading, laboratory work, +surveying, field-practice, problems in design, memoirs, and +examinations. Each of these will be briefly considered. + +=Lecture system= + +The term "lecture system" will be used to designate that method of +instruction in which knowledge is presented by the instructor without +immediate questioning of, or discussion by, the student. In the early +history of engineering education, when instruction in technical +engineering subjects was beginning to be differentiated from other +branches of education, the lecture was the only means of acquainting +the student with either the principles or details of engineering +practice, since textbooks were then few and unsatisfactory. But at +present, when there are so many fields of technical knowledge in which +there are excellent books, the lecture system is indefensible as a +means either of communicating knowledge or of developing intellectual +strength. + +It is a waste of the student's time to present orally that which can +be found in print. At best the lecturer can present only about one +third as much as a student could read in the same time; and, besides, +the student can understand what he reads better than what he hears, +since he can go more slowly over that which he does not understand. +The lecturer moves along approximately uniformly, while some students +fail to understand one part, and others would like to pause over some +other portion. A poor textbook is usually better than a good lecturer. + +It is a fundamental principle of pedagogy that there can be no +development without the activity of the learner's mind; and hence +with the lecture system it is customary to require the student to take +notes, and subsequently submit himself to a quiz or present his +lecture notes carefully written up. If the student is required to take +notes, either for future study or to be submitted, his whole time and +attention are engrossed in writing; and at the close of the lecture, +if it has covered any considerable ground, the student has only a +vague idea of what has been said. Further, the notes are probably so +incomplete as to afford inadequate material for future study. + +If the subject matter is really new and not found in print, the +lecture should be reproduced for the student's use. It is more +economical and more effective for the student to pay his share of the +cost of printing, than to spend his time in making imperfect notes and +perhaps ultimately writing them out more fully. + +The lecture system is less suitable for giving instruction in +engineering subjects than in general subjects, such for example as +history, sociology, and economics, since technical engineering +subjects usually include principles and more or less numerical data +that must be stated briefly and clearly. + +If a student has had an opportunity to study a subject from either a +textbook or a printed copy of the lecture notes, then comments by the +teacher explaining some difficult point, or describing some later +development, or showing some other application or consequence of the +principle, may be both instructive and inspiring; but the main work of +teaching engineering subjects should be from carefully prepared +textbooks. However, an occasional formal lecture by an instructor or a +practicing engineer upon some subject already studied from a textbook +can be a means of valuable instruction and real inspiration, provided +the lecture is well prepared and properly presented. + +In the preceding discussion the term "lecture" has been employed as +meaning a formal presentation of information; but there is another +form of lecture, a demonstration lecture, which consists of an +explanation and discussion by the instructor of an experiment +conducted before the class. The prime purpose of the experiment and +the demonstration lecture is to explain and fix in mind general +principles. This form of lecture is an excellent method of giving +information; and if the student is questioned as to the facts +disclosed and is required to discuss the principles established, it is +an effective means of training the student to observe, to analyze, and +to describe. + +=Recitation system= + +This system of instruction consists in assigning a lesson upon which +the student subsequently recites. In subjects involving mathematical +work, the recitation may consist of the presentation of the solution +of examples or problems; but in engineering subjects the recitation +usually consists either of answers to questions or of the discussion +of a topic. + +The question may be either a "fact" question or a "thought" question. +If the main purpose is to give information, the "fact" question is +used, the object being to determine whether the student has acquired a +particular item of information. Not infrequently, even in college +teaching, the question can be answered by a single word or a short +sentence; and usually such a question, even if it does not itself +suggest the answer, requires a minimum of mental effort on the part of +the student. This method determines only whether the student has +acquired a number of unrelated facts, and does not insure that he has +any knowledge of their relation to each other or to other facts he may +know, nor does it test his ability to use these facts in deducing +conclusions or establishing principles. Apparently this method of +conducting a recitation, or quiz as it is often called, is far too +common in teaching engineering subjects. It is the result chiefly of +the mistaken belief that the purpose of technical teaching is to give +information. + +The "thought" question is one which requires the student to reflect +upon the facts stated in the book and to draw his own conclusions. +This method is intermediate between the "fact" question and the +topical discussion; it is not so suitable to college students as to +younger ones, and is not so easily applied in engineering subjects as +in more general subjects such as history, economics, or social +science. It will not be considered further. + +The topical recitation consists in calling upon the student to state +what he knows upon a given topic. This method not only tests the +student's knowledge of facts, but also trains him in arranging his +facts in logical order and in presenting them in clear, correct, and +forceful language. (1) One advantage of this method of conducting the +recitation is that it stimulates the student to acquire a proper +method of attacking the assigned lesson. Many college students know +little or nothing concerning the art of studying. Apparently, they +simply read the lesson over without attempting to weigh the relative +importance of the several statements and without attempting to +skeletonize or summarize the text. The ability to acquire quickly and +easily the essential statements of a printed page is an accomplishment +which will be valuable in any walk of life. In other words, this +method of conducting a recitation forces the student to adopt the +better method of study. (2) A second advantage of the topical +recitation is that it trains the student in expressing his ideas. It +is generally conceded that the engineering-college graduate is +deficient in his ability to use good English, which is evidence that +either the topical recitation is not usually employed, or good English +is not insisted upon, or perhaps both. (3) A third advantage of the +topical recitation is that it trains the student in judgment and +discrimination--two elements essential in the practical work of all +engineers. + +Apparently many college teachers think it more creditable to deliver +lectures than to conduct recitations. The formal lecture is an +inefficient means of either conveying information or developing +intellectual power, and hence no one should take pride in it. The +textbook and quiz method of conducting a recitation is more effective +than the lecture system, but is by no means an ideal method of either +imparting information or giving intellectual training. Neither of +these methods is worthy of a conscientious teacher. The textbook and +topical recitation affords an excellent opportunity to teach the +student to analyze, to observe, to discriminate, to train him in the +use of clear and correct language, and in the presentation of his +thoughts in logical order--an object worthy of any teacher and an +opportunity to employ the highest ability of any person. In the +conduct of such a recitation in engineering subjects, there is +abundant opportunity to supplement the textbook by calling attention +to new discoveries and other applications, and to introduce +interesting historic references. It is often instructive to discuss +differences in construction which depend upon differences in physical +conditions or in preferences of the constructor, and such discussions +afford excellent opportunities to train the student in discovering the +causes of the differences and in weighing evidence, all of which helps +to develop his powers of observation and analysis and above all to +cultivate his judgment. If a teacher is truly interested in his work, +such a recitation gives opportunity for an interchange of thoughts +between the student and teacher that may be made of great value to the +former and of real interest to the latter. The conduct of such a +recitation should be much more inspiring to the teacher than the +repetition of a formal lecture which at best can have only little +instructional value. + +=Suggestions for increasing effectiveness of the recitation= + +The recitation is such an important method of instruction that it is +believed a few suggestions as to its conduct may be permissible, +although a discussion of methods of teaching does not properly belong +in this chapter. (1) The students should not be called upon in any +regular order. (2) If at all possible, each student should be called +upon during each recitation. (3) The question or topic should be +stated, and then after a brief pause a particular student should be +called upon to recite. (4) The question or topic should not be +repeated. (5) The student should not be helped. (6) The question +should be so definite as to admit of only one answer. (7) "Fact" +questions and topical discussions should be interspersed. (8) +Irrelevant discussion should be eliminated. (9) The thoughtful +attention of the entire class and an opportunity for all to +participate may be secured by interrupting a topical discussion and +asking another to continue it. (10) Clear, correct and concise answers +should be insisted upon. (11) In topical discussions the facts should +be stated in a logical order. (12) Commend any exceptionally good +answer. + +=Assigned reading= + +A student is sometimes required to read an assigned chapter in a book +or some particular article in a technical journal as a supplement to a +lecture or a textbook. Sometimes the whole class has the same +assignment, and sometimes different students have different +assignments. Each student should be quizzed on his reading, or should +be required to give a summary of it. The method of instruction by +assigned reading is most appropriate when the lecture presentation or +textbook is comparatively brief. This method is only sparingly +permissible with an adequate textbook. + +=Laboratory work= + +The chief purpose of laboratory work is to illustrate the principles +of the textbook and thereby fix them in the student's mind. The +manipulation of the apparatus and the making of the observations is +valuable training for the hand and the eye, and the computation of the +results familiarizes the student with the limitations of mathematical +processes. The interpretation of the meaning of the results cultivates +the student's judgment and power of discrimination, and the writing up +of the report should give valuable experience in orderly and concise +statement. Sometimes the student is not required to interpret the +meaning or to discuss the accuracy of his results, and sometimes he is +provided with a tabular form in which he inserts his observed data +without consideration of any other reason for securing the particular +information. He should not be provided with a sample report nor with a +tabular form, but should be required to plan his own method of +presentation, determine for himself what matter shall be in tabular +form and what in narrative form, and plan his own illustrations. Of +course, he should be required to keep neat, accurate, and reasonably +full notes of the laboratory work, and should be held to a high +standard of clearness, conciseness, and correctness in his final +report. Providing the student with tabular forms and sample reports +may lessen the teacher's labors and improve the appearance of the +report, but such practice greatly decreases the educational value to +the student. + +=Surveying field-practice.= + +In its aims surveying field-practice is substantially the same as +engineering laboratory work, and all the preceding remarks concerning +laboratory work apply equally well also to surveying practice. +Ordinarily the latter has a higher educational value than the former +in that the method of attack, at least in minor details, is left to +the student's initiative, and also in that the difficulties or +obstacles encountered require the student to exercise his own +resourcefulness. The cultivation of initiative and self-reliance is of +the highest engineering as well as educational value. Further, in the +better institutions the instructor in surveying usually knows the +result the student should obtain, and consequently the latter has a +greater stimulus to secure accuracy than occurs in most laboratory +work. Finally, the students, at least the civil engineering ones, +always feel that surveying is highly practical, and hence are +unusually enthusiastic in their work. + +=Design.= + +When properly taught an exercise in design has the highest educational +value; and, besides, the student is usually easily interested, since +he is likely to regard such work as highly practical and therefore to +give it his best efforts. Instruction in design should accomplish two +purposes; viz., (1) familiarize the student with the application of +principles, and (2) train him in initiative. Different subjects +necessarily have these elements in different degrees, and any +particular subject may be so taught as specially to emphasize one or +the other of these objects. + +Sometimes a problem in design is little more than the following of an +outline or example in the textbook and substituting values in +formulas. The design of an ordinary short-span steel truss bridge, as +ordinarily taught, is an example of this method of instruction. +Another example is the design of a residence for which no +predetermined limiting conditions are laid down and which does not +differ materially from those found in the surrounding community or +illustrated in the textbook or the architectural magazine. Such work +illustrates and enforces theory, gives the student some knowledge of +the materials and processes of construction, and also trains him in +drafting; but it does not give him much intellectual exercise nor +develop his mental fiber, although it may prepare him to take a place +as a routine worker in his profession. Such instruction emphasizes +utilitarian training but neglects intellectual development, mental +vigor, and breadth of view. + +The exercise in design which has the highest educational value is one +in which the student must discover for himself the conditions to be +fulfilled, the method of treatment to be employed, the materials to be +used, and the details to be adopted. An example of this form of +problem is the design of a bridge for a particular river crossing, +without any limitations as to materials of construction, type of +structure, time of construction, etc., except such as are inherent in +the problem and which the student must determine for himself. A better +example is the architectural design of a building to be erected in a +given locality to serve some particular purpose, with no limitations +except perhaps cost or architectural style. + +Experience of several teachers with a considerable number of students +during each of several years conclusively shows that students who have +had only comparatively little of the design work mentioned in the +preceding paragraph greatly exceed other students having the same +preparation except this form of design work, in mental vigor, breadth +of view, intellectual power, and initiative. This difference in +capacity is certainly observable in subsequent college work, and is +apparently quite effective after graduation. + +=Examinations= + +The term "examination" will be used as including the comparatively +brief and informal quizzes held at intervals during the progress of +the work and also the longer and more formal examinations held at the +end of the work. Usually the examination is regarded as a test to +determine the accuracy and extent of the student's information, which +form may be called a question-and-answer examination or quiz. A more +desirable form of examination is one which requires the student to +survey his information on a particular topic, and to summarize the +same or to state his own conclusions concerning either the relative +importance of the different items or his interpretation of the meaning +or application of the facts. Such an examination could be called a +"topical examination." The remarks in the earlier part of this chapter +concerning the relative merits of the question-and-answer and the +topical recitation apply also with equal force to these two forms of +examinations. However, the topical examination can be made of greater +educational value than the topical recitation, since the student is +likely to be required to survey a wider field and organize a larger +mass of information, and also since the examination is usually written +and hence affords a better opportunity to secure accuracy and finish. + +It is much easier for the instructor to prepare and grade the papers +for the question-and-answer examination than for the topical +examination, and perhaps this is one reason why the former is nearly +universally employed. Of course, the topical examination should not be +used except in connection with the topical recitation. Some executives +of public school systems require that at least a third, and others at +least a half, of all formal examinations shall be topical; and as the +examination papers and the grades thereon are subject to the +inspection of the executive, this requirement indirectly insures that +the teacher shall not neglect the topical recitation. Apparently a +somewhat similar requirement would be beneficial in college work. + +=Memoir= + +The term "memoir" is here employed to designate either a comparatively +brief report upon some topic assigned in connection with the daily +recitation or the graduating thesis. + +The former is substantially a form of laboratory work in which the +library is the workroom and books the apparatus. This method of +instruction has several merits. It makes the student familiar with +books and periodicals and with the method of extracting information +from them. It stimulates his interest in a wider knowledge than that +obtained only from the textbook or the instructor's lectures. It is +valuable as an exercise in English composition, particularly if the +student is held to an orderly form of presentation and to good +English, and is not permitted simply to make extracts. The value to be +obtained from such literary report depends, of course, upon the time +devoted to it, and also upon whether the instructor tells the student +of the articles to be read or requires him to find the sources of +information for himself. + +=Thesis= + +The thesis may be a description of some original design, or a critical +review of some engineering construction, or an account of an +experimental investigation. The thesis differs from other subjects in +the college curriculum in that in the latter the student is expected +simply to follow the directions of the instructor, to study specified +lessons and recite thereon, to solve the problems assigned, and to +read the articles recommended; while the preparation of the thesis is +intended to develop the student's ability to do independent work. +There is comparatively little in the ordinary college curriculum to +stimulate the student's power of initiative, but in his thesis work he +is required to take the lead in devising ways and means. The power of +self-direction, the ability to invent methods of attack, the capacity +to foresee the probable results of experiments, and the ability to +interpret correctly the results of experiments is of vital importance +in the future of any engineering student. Within certain limits the +thesis is a test of the present attainments of the student and also a +prophecy of his future success. Therefore, the preparation of a thesis +is of the very highest educational possibility. Unfortunately many +students are too poorly prepared, or too lacking in ambition, or too +deficient in self-reliance and initiative to make it feasible for +them to undertake the independent work required in a thesis. Such +students should take instead work under direction. Further, it is +unfortunate that, for administrative reasons, the requirement of a +thesis for graduation is made less frequently now than formerly. The +increase in number of students has made it practically impossible to +require a thesis of all graduates, because of the difficulty of +providing adequate facilities and of supervising the work. Again, it +is difficult to administer a requirement that only part of the seniors +shall prepare a thesis. Consequently the result is that at present +only a very few undergraduate engineering students prepare theses. + +=Graduate work= + +All of the preceding discussion applies only to undergraduate work. +Only comparatively few engineering students take graduate work. A few +institutions have enough such students to justify, for administrative +reasons, the organization of classes in graduate work, but usually +such classes are conducted upon principles quite different from those +employed for undergraduates. No textbooks in the ordinary sense are +used. Often the student is assigned an experimental or other +investigation, and is expected to work almost independently of the +teacher, the chief function of the latter being to criticize the +methods proposed and to review the results obtained. Such work under +the guidance of a competent teacher is a most valuable means for +mental development, training, and inspiration. + + IRA O. BAKER + _University of Illinois_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +Below is a list of the principal articles relating to engineering +education, arranged approximately in chronological order. + +1. The annual _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of +Engineering Education_, from 1913 to date, contain many valuable +articles on various phases of engineering education. Each volume +consists of 200 to 300 8vo pages. The society has no permanent +address. All business is conducted by the secretary, whose address at +present is University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. + +The more important papers of the above _Proceedings_ which are closely +related to the subject of this chapter are included in the list below. +Many of the articles relate to the teaching of a particular branch of +engineering, and hence are not mentioned in the following list. + +2. "Methods of Teaching Engineering: By Textbook, by Lecturing, by +Design, by Laboratory, by Memoir." Professor C. F. Allen, +Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An excellent presentation, and +discussion by others. _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of +Engineering Education_, Vol. VII, pages 29-54. + +3. "Two Kinds of Education for Engineers." Dean J. B. Johnson, +University of Wisconsin. An address to the students of the College of +Engineering of the University of Wisconsin, 1901. Pamphlet published +by the author; 15 8vo pages. Reprinted in _Addresses of Engineering +Students_, edited by Waddell and Harrington, pages 25-35. + +4. "Potency of Engineering Schools and Their Imperfections." Professor +D. C. Jackson, University of Wisconsin. An address presented at the +Quarto-Centennial Celebration of the University of Colorado, 1902. +_Proceedings_ of that celebration, pages 53-65. + +5. "Technical and Pedagogic Value of Examinations." Professor Henry H. +Norris, Cornell University. A discussion of the general subject, +containing examples of questions in a topical examination in an +electrical engineering subject. Discussed at length by several others. +_Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering +Education._ Vol. XV, pages 605-618. + +6. "Limitations of Efficiency in Engineering Education." Professor +George F. Swain, Harvard University. An address at the opening of the +General Engineering Building of Union University, 1910. A discussion +of various limitations and defects in engineering education. Pamphlet +published by Union University; 28 small 8vo pages. Reprinted in +_Addresses of Engineering Students_, edited by Waddell and Harrington, +pages 231-252. + +7. "The Good Engineering Teacher: His Personality and Training." +Professor William T. Magruder, Ohio State University. An inspiring +and instructive presidential address. _Proceedings of the Society for +the Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. XXI, pages 27-38. + +8. "Hydraulic Engineering Education." D. W. Mead, University of +Wisconsin. An interesting discussion of the elements an engineer +should acquire in his education. The article is instructive, and is +broader than its title; but it contains nothing directly on methods of +teaching engineering subjects. _Bulletin of the Society for the +Promotion of Engineering Education_, Vol. IV, No. 5, 1914, pages +185-198. + +9. "Some Considerations Regarding Engineering Education in America." +Professor G. F. Swain, Harvard University. A paper presented at the +International Engineering Congress in 1915 in San Francisco, +California. A brief presentation of the early history of engineering +education in America, and an inquiry as to the effectiveness of +present methods. _Transactions of International Engineering Congress_, +Miscellany, San Francisco, 1915, pages 324-330; discussion, pages +340-348. + +10. "Technical Education for the Professions of Applied Science," +President Ira N. Hollis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. A discussion +of the methods and scope of engineering education, and of the contents +of a few representative engineering curricula. _Transactions +International Engineering Congress_, San Francisco, 1915, Miscellany, +pages 306-325. + +11. "What is Best in Engineering Education." Professor H. H. Higbie, +president Tau Beta Pi Association. An elaborate inquiry among graduate +members of that association as to the value and relative importance of +the different subjects pursued in college, of the time given to each, +and of the methods employed in presenting them. Pamphlet published by +the Association, 107 8vo pages. + +12. "Some Details in Engineering Education." Professor Henry S. +Jacoby, Cornell University. A president's address, containing many +interesting and instructive suggestions concerning various details of +teaching engineering subjects and the relations between students and +instructor. _Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of +Engineering Education_, Vol. XXIII, 15 pages. + +13. "Report of Progress in the Study of Engineering Education." +Professor C. R. Mann. Several of the National Engineering Societies +requested the Carnegie Foundation to conduct a thorough investigation +of engineering education, and the Foundation committed the +investigation to Professor C. R. Mann. First Report of Progress, +_Proceedings of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering +Education_, Vol. XXIII, pages 70-85; Second Report, Bulletin, same, +November, 1916, pages 125-144; Final Report: A Study of Engineering +Education by Charles Riborg Mann, _Bulletin Number 11, Carnegie +Foundation for Advancement of Teaching_, 1918. + +14. "Relation of Mathematical Training to the Engineering Profession." +H. D. Gaylord, Secretary of the Association of Teachers of +Mathematics in New England, and Professor Paul H. Hanus, Harvard +University. An elaborate inquiry as to the opinion of practicing +engineers concerning the importance of mathematics in the work of the +engineer. _Bulletin of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering +Education_, October, 1916, pages 54-72. + +15. "Does Present-Day Engineering College Education Produce Accuracy +and Thoroughness?" Professor D. W. Mead, University of Wisconsin, and +Professor G. F. Swain, Harvard University. An animated discussion as +to the effectiveness of a collegiate engineering education. +_Engineering Record_, Vol. 73 (May 6, 1916), pages 607-609. + +16. "Teach Engineering Students Fundamental Principles." Professor D. +S. Jacobus, Stevens Institute. Address of the retiring president of +the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. A clear and forceful +discussion of general methods of studying and teaching, and of the +choice of subjects to be taught. _Engineering Record_, December 16, +1916, pages 739-740. + +17. A considerable number of thoughtful articles on the general +subject of technical education appeared in the columns of _Mining and +Scientific Press_ (San Francisco, California) during the year 1916. In +the main these articles discuss general engineering education, and +give a little attention to mining engineering education. + +18. Since the preceding was written there has appeared a little book, +the reading of which would be of great value to all engineering +students, entitled _How to Study_, by George Fillmore Swain, LL.D., +Professor of Civil Engineering in Harvard University and in the +Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New +York City, 1917. 5 x 7-1/2 inches, paper, 63 pages, 25 cents. + + + + +XXVI + +THE TEACHING OF MECHANICAL DRAWING + + +=Mechanical drawing a mode of expression= + +Drawing is a mode of expression and is therefore a form of language. +As applied in the engineering field drawing is mechanical in character +and is used principally for the purpose of conveying information +relative to the construction of machines and structures. It seems +logical that the methods employed and the standards adopted in the +teaching of engineering drawing should be based on an analysis of +conditions found in the engineering world. In the best engineering +practice the technical standards of drawing are high, so high in fact +that they may be used as an ideal toward which to work in the +classroom. Examples of good draftsmanship selected from practice may +well serve to furnish standards for classroom work, both in technique +and methods of representation. + +=Mechanical drawing disciplinary as well as practical in value= + +Engineering drawing demands intellectual power quite as much as it +does skill of hand. The draftsman in conceiving and planning his +design visualizes his problem, makes calculations for it, and +graphically represents the results upon the drafting board. The +development of the details of his design makes it necessary that he be +a trained observer of forms. Since new designs frequently involve +modifications of old forms, in his efforts to recall old forms and +create new ones, he develops visual memory. If the requirements of a +successful draftsman or designer be taken as typical, it is evident +that the young engineer must develop, in addition to a technical +knowledge of the subject, and a certain degree of skill of hand, a +habit of quick and accurate observation and the ability to perceive +and retain mental images of forms. + +Modern methods of instruction recognize both the motor and mental +factors involved in the production of engineering drawings. It is the +aim of the drawing courses in engineering colleges to familiarize the +student with the standards of technique and methods of representation +found in the best commercial practice; likewise to develop in him the +powers to visualize and reason, which are possessed by the commercial +draftsman and designers. + +=Organization and content of courses in mechanical drawing= + +The drawing courses of engineering curricula may be divided into two +groups: (1) _General courses_, in which the principles and methods of +representation are taught, together with such practice in drawing as +will develop a satisfactory technique. (2) _Technical courses_, the +aim of which is to assist the student to acquire technical knowledge +or training, drawing being used primarily for the purpose of +developing or testing a student's knowledge of the subject matter. + +The general courses usually include an elementary course and a course +in descriptive geometry. These courses deal with the fundamental +principles and methods which have universal application in the +advanced and technical courses. While the courses of the two groups +may overlap, the general courses precede the courses of the technical +group. There is no general agreement as to the order in which the +subjects belonging to the general group should be given. Each of the +following orders is in use: + +1. A course in descriptive geometry followed by an elementary +technical course. + +2. An elementary course and a course in descriptive geometry given +simultaneously. + +3. An elementary course followed by a course in descriptive geometry. + +The _first plan_ is followed by a number of institutions which +conclude, because of the general practice of offering courses in +drawing in the secondary schools, that pupils entering college have a +knowledge of the fundamentals ordinarily included in an elementary +course. In other institutions it is held that the principles of +projection can be taught to students of college age in a course of +descriptive geometry without preliminary drill. + +Where the _second plan_ is used, the courses are so correlated that +the instruction in the use of instruments given in an elementary +course is applied in solving problems in descriptive geometry, while +the principles of projection taught in descriptive geometry are +applied in the making of working drawings. This plan is followed by +several of the larger engineering colleges. + +Under the _third plan_ the principles of projection are taught through +their applications in the form of working drawings. In this way the +principles may be taught in more elementary form than is possible in +any adequate treatment of descriptive geometry. The illustration of +the principles in a concrete way makes it possible for those who find +visualizing difficult, to develop that power before abstract +principles of projection are taken up in the descriptive geometry. The +skill of hand developed in the elementary course makes it possible to +give entire attention to a study of the principles in the course in +descriptive geometry. While excellent results are being obtained under +each of the three plans, this plan is the one most generally adopted. + +The order of courses in the technical drawing groups is determined by +other considerations than those relating to drawing, such as +prerequisites in mathematics, strength of materials, etc. + +=The elementary courses= + +The elementary courses have undergone a number of important changes +during recent years. In those of the present day more attention than +formerly is given to the making of complete working drawings. In the +earlier courses the elements were taught in the form of exercises. In +the latter part of the courses the elements were combined in working +drawings. In the modern courses, however, there is a very marked +tendency to eliminate the exercise and make the applications of +elements in the form of working drawings throughout the course. + +In the early type of course the theory of projection was taught by +using the synthetic method; i.e., by placing the emphasis first upon +the projection of points, then lines, surfaces, and finally +geometrical solids. In the modern type of course, however, this order +is reversed and the analytic method is used; i.e., solids in the +form of simple machine or structural parts are first represented, then +the principles of projection involved in the representation of their +surfaces, edges, and finally their corners are studied. In this type +of course the student works from the concrete to the abstract rather +than from the abstract to the concrete. + +=Fundamentals of the elementary course= + +_Geometrical constructions_, which were formerly given as exercises +and which served as a means of giving excellent practice in the use of +instruments, are now incorporated in working drawings and emphasized +in making views of objects. It is believed that in the applied form +these constructions offer the same opportunity for the training in +accuracy in the use of instruments that was had in the abstract +exercises, to which is added interest naturally secured by making +applications of elements in working drawings. + +_Conventions_ are also taught in an applied form and are introduced as +the skill for executing them and the theory involved in their +construction are developed in the progress of the course. + +The type of _freehand lettering_ most generally taught is that used in +practice; i.e., the single-stroke Gothic. The best commercial +drafting-room practice suggests the use of the vertical capitals for +titles and subtitles, and the inclined, lower case letters and +numerals for notes and dimensions. + +The plan generally found to produce satisfactory results is to divide +the letters and numerals of the alphabet into groups containing four +or five letters and numerals on the basis of form and to concentrate +the attention of the student on these, one group at a time. The simple +forms are considered first, and enough practice is given to enable the +student to proportion the letters and numerals and make the strokes in +the proper order. + +It is more natural to make inclined letters than vertical ones, and +they are therefore easier to execute. If both vertical and inclined +letters are taught, the instruction on the vertical should be given +first, as it is more difficult to make vertical strokes after becoming +accustomed to the inclined strokes. + +_Freehand perspective sketching_ affords the most natural method of +representing objects in outline. It is of particular value in +interpreting orthographic drawing. The student who first draws a +perspective sketch of an object becomes so familiar with every detail +of it that he cannot fail to have a clearer mental image of its form +when he attempts to draw its orthographic views. It gives a valuable +training in coördinating the hand and eye in drawing freehand lines +and estimating proportions. It also serves as an intermediate step +between observing an object and drawing it orthographically. + +_Freehand orthographic sketching_ is now quite commonly incorporated +in modern courses in mechanical drawing. Such sketches serve as a +preliminary step in the preparation of the mechanical drawing. They +correspond to the sketches made by the engineer or draftsman for +drafting-room or shop use. The experience of many instructors seems to +indicate that the early introduction of freehand perspective and +orthographic sketching in a course of mechanical drawing serves as a +means of developing that skill in freehand execution which is so +necessary in rendering the freehand features of a mechanical drawing. +When this type of skill is acquired before the mechanical work is +started, the mechanical and freehand technique may be simultaneously +developed. + +The organization of an elementary course composed largely of a +progressive series of working drawings necessitates the giving of +considerable attention to the selection of problems involving the use +of the above-named fundamentals to make the course increasingly +difficult for the student. The drawing of views involves geometrical +constructions and conventions, while the dimensions, notes, and title +invoke the making of arrowheads, letters, and numerals. In such an +elementary course the student receives not only the training in the +fundamentals, but also in their application in working drawings which +furnish complete and accurate information in the desired form. + +=Descriptive geometry= + +The modern methods of teaching descriptive geometry apply the theory +of the subject to applications in problems taken from engineering +practice. The introduction of practical applications adds interest to +the subject and makes the theory more easily understood. The number of +applications should be as great as possible without interfering with +the development of the theory. Such a treatment of descriptive +geometry, following a thorough course in elementary drawing, should +make it possible to deal with abstract principles of projection with a +few well-chosen applications. + +Descriptive geometry aids materially in developing the power of +visualization which is so essential to the training of the engineer. +The graphical applications of the subject in the solution of +engineering problems may be used as a means of testing the student's +ability to visualize. + +There is now very little discussion relative to the advantages and +disadvantages of the first and third angle projection. Since the third +angle is generally used in the elementary course as well as in +engineering practice, it seems logical that it should be emphasized in +descriptive geometry. Recent textbooks on this subject confirm the +tendency toward the use of the third angle. + +The use of the third angle presents new difficulties, such as that of +locating the positions of magnitudes in space in relation to their +projections. Magnitudes must be located behind or below the drawing +surface. To obviate such difficulties, some instructors demonstrate +principles by first angle constructions. Others invert surfaces which +in the first angle have their bases in the horizontal plane. This +undesirable device may be overcome by using a second horizontal plane +in the third angle. Such means of demonstration may be avoided +altogether by considering the space relations of magnitude to one +another instead of relating them to the planes of projection. This +method centers the attention of the student on the relation of +magnitudes represented and develops visualization. It has been found +to give excellent results in both elementary drawing and descriptive +geometry. + +To bring the teaching of descriptive geometry into closer harmony with +its application in practice, auxiliary views are frequently used +instead of the method of rotations. + +Briefly, then, it appears that the modern course in descriptive +geometry should contain enough applications to hold the interest of +the student and to test his power of visualization; that the third +angle should be emphasized, and some use should be made of auxiliary +views. Above all, the development of visualizing ability should be +considered one of the chief aims of the course. + +=Methods of instruction in general courses= + +In teaching drawing and descriptive geometry, lectures, +demonstrations, and individual instruction each have a place. +Principles can best be presented in the form of lectures. The manual +part of the work can be presented most effectively by means of +demonstrations. The instructor should illustrate the proper use of +instruments and materials by actually going through the process +himself, calling attention to important points and explaining each +step as he proceeds. Individual instruction given at the student's +desk is a vital factor in teaching drawing, as it offers the best +means of clearing up erroneous impressions and ministering to the +needs of the individual student. + +Frequent recitations and quizzes serve the purpose of keeping the +instructor informed as to the effectiveness of his instruction and as +a means by which the student can measure his own progress and grasp +upon the subject. + +=Methods of instruction in technical drawing courses= + +Those drawing courses which have for their primary object the teaching +of technical subject matter make use of the drawings as an instrument +to record facts and to test the student's knowledge of principles and +methods. + +In the technical courses it should be possible to assume a knowledge +of the material given in the general courses. Some effort is usually +necessary, however, to maintain the standards already established. The +effort thus expended should result in improving technique and +increased speed. + +=The four-year drawing course= + +In an institution where drawing courses are given throughout the four +years, much can be done by organization and coöperation to make the +time spent by the student productive of the best results. More time +than can usually be secured for the general courses is necessary to +develop skill that will be comparable with that found in practice. The +conditions in technical drawing courses approximate those in practice. +They apply methods taught in the general courses. The limited time, +frequently less than 300 clock hours, devoted to the general courses +makes it desirable that advantage be taken in the technical courses +for further development of technique and skill. In a number of +institutions all work in drawing is so organized as to form a single +drawing unit. This plan calls for coöperation on the part of all +drawing teachers in the institution. The results obtained by this +method seem amply to justify the effort put forth. + +=Conclusion= + +The final test in any course or group of drawing courses may be +measured by the student's ability to solve problems met with in +engineering practice. Measured upon this basis, the newer types of +courses discussed herein, those founded upon the analytic method and +developed largely as a progressive series of working drawings, seem to +be meeting with better results than did those of the older type in +which the synthetic method predominated and in which abstract problems +were principally used. + +While the college man is not fitting himself to become a draftsman, it +is quite true that many start their engineering careers in the +drafting office. Those who think well and are proficient in expressing +their thoughts through the medium of drawing are most apt to attract +attention which places them in line for higher positions. + +Those who do not enter the engineering field through the drafting +office will find the cultural and disciplinary training and the habits +of precision and neatness instilled by a good course in drawing of +great value. + + J. D. PHILLIPS and H. D. ORTH + _University of Wisconsin_ + + + + +XXVII + +THE TEACHING OF JOURNALISM + + +The education of the journalist or newspaper man has been brought into +being by the evolution of the newspaper during the last half century. +Addison's _Spectator_ two centuries ago counted almost wholly on the +original and individual expression of opinion. It had nothing beyond a +few advertisements. The news sheet of the day was as wholly personal, +a billboard of news and advertisements with contributed opinion in +signed articles. A century ago, nearly half the space in a daily went +to such communications. In the four-page and the eight-page newspaper +of sixty to eighty years ago, taking all forms of opinions,--leaders +contributed, political correspondence from capitals, state and +federal, and criticism,--about one fourth of the space went to +utterance editorial in character. The news filled as much more, +running to a larger or smaller share as advertisements varied. The +news was little edited. The telegraph down to 1880 was taken, not as +it came, but more nearly so than today. In an eight-page New York +paper between 1865 and 1875, a news editor with one assistant and a +city editor with one assistant easily handled city, telegraph, and +other copy. None of it had the intensive treatment of today. It was +not until 1875 that telegraph and news began to be sharply edited, the +New York Sun and the Springfield _Republican_ leading. Between 1875 +and 1895, the daily paper doubled in size, and the Sunday paper +quadrupled and quintupled. The relative share taken by editorial and +critical matter remained about the same in amount, grew more varied in +character, but dropped from 25 per cent of the total space in a +four-page newspaper to 3 to 5 per cent in the dailies with sixteen to +twenty pages, and the news required from three to five times as many +persons to handle it. The circulation of individual papers in our +large cities doubled and quadrupled, and the weekly expenditure of a +New York paper rose from $10,000 a week to thrice that. These rough, +general statements, varying with different newspapers as well as issue +by issue in the same newspaper, represent a still greater change in +the character of the subjects covered. + +When the newspaper was issued in communities, of a simple +organization, in production, transportation, and distribution, the +newspaper had some advertising, some news, and personal expression of +opinion--political-partisan for the most part, critical in small part. +This opinion was chiefly, though even then not wholly, expressed by a +single personality, sometimes dominant, able, unselfish, and in nature +a social prophet, but in most instances weak, time-serving, and +self-seeking, and partisan, with one eye on advertising, official +preferred, and the other on profits, public office, and other +contingent personal results. + +In the complex society today, classified, stratified, organized, and +differentiated, the newspaper is a complex representation of this +life. The railroad is a far more important social agency than the +stagecoach. It carries more people; it offers the community more; but +the individual passenger counted for more in the eye of the traveling +public in the stagecoach than today in the railroad train; but nobody +would pretend to say that the railroad president was less important +than the head of a stage line, Mr. A. J. Cassatt, President of the +Pennsylvania Railroad and builder of its terminal, than John E. +Reeside, the head of the express stage line from New York to +Philadelphia, who beat all previous records in speed and stages. + +The newspaper-complex, representing all society, still expressing the +opinion of society, not merely on politics but on all the range of +life, creating, developing, and modifying this opinion, publishes news +which has been standardized by coöperative news-gathering +associations, local, national, and international. In the daily of +today "politics" is but a part and a decreasing part, and a world of +new topics has come into pages which require technical skill, the +well-equipped mind, a wide information, and knowledge of the +condition of the newspaper. The early reporter who once gathered the +city news and turned it in to be put into type and made up by the +foreman,--often also, owner and publisher,--in a sheet as big as a +pocket-handkerchief, is as far removed from the men who share in the +big modern daily, as far as is the modern railroad man from the rough, +tough individual proprietor and driver of the stagecoach, though the +driver of the latter was often a most original character, and a +well-known figure on the highway as railroad men are not. + +=Evolution of the profession of journalism= + +As this change in the American newspaper came between 1860 and 1880, +the public demand came for the vocational training of the journalist +and experiments in obtaining it began. When Charles A. Dana bought the +New York _Sun_ in 1868, he made up his staff, managing editor, news +editor, city editor, Albany correspondent and political man, from +among the printers he had known on the New York _Tribune_. In ten +years these were succeeded by college graduates, and the _Sun_ became +a paper whose writing staff, as a whole, had college training, nearly +all men from the colleges. + +College men were in American journalism from its early beginnings; +but, speaking in a broad sense, the American newspaper drew most of +its staff in the eighteenth century and in the first half of the +nineteenth century from among men who had the rough but effective +training of the composing room, with the common school as a beginning. +When the high school developed from 1860 on, it began to furnish a +large number of journalists, particularly in Philadelphia, where the +Central High School manned many papers. By 1880, college men began to +appear in a steadily growing proportion, so far as the general writing +staff was concerned. If one counted the men at the top, they were in a +small proportion. In journalism, as in all arts of expression, a +special and supreme gift will probably always make up for lack of +special training. + +Between 1890 and 1900, the American newspaper as it is today was +fairly launched, and Joseph Pulitzer, the ablest man in dealing with +the journalism of and for the many, was the first conspicuous figure +in the newspaper world to see that the time had come for the +professional training of the journalist, the term he preferred to +"newspaper men." Neither the calling nor the public were ready when he +made his first proposal, and with singular nobility of soul and sad +disappointment of heart he determined to pledge his great gift of +$2,000,000, paying $1,000,000 of it to Columbia University before his +death and providing that the School of Journalism, to which he +furnished building and endowment, should be operated within a year +after his death. This came October 29, 1911, and the school opened the +following year. + +=Journalism today requires general and technical training= + +The discussion of the education of the journalist has been in progress +for twoscore years. In 1870 Whitelaw Reid published his address on the +"School of Journalism" and urged systematic training, for which in the +bitter personal newspaper of the day he was ridiculed as "the young +professor of journalism." In 1885, Mr. Charles E. Fitch, but just gone +after long newspaper service, delivered a course of lectures on the +training of the journalist, at Cornell University. Two years later Mr. +Brainerd Smith, before and after of the New York _Sun_, then professor +of elocution in the same university, began training in the work of the +newspaper in his class in composition, sending out his class on +assignments and outlining possible occurrences which the class wrote +out. This experiment was abruptly closed by Mr. Henry W. Sage, +Chairman of the Cornell Board of Trustees, because the newspapers of +Minneapolis inclined to treat the university as important, chiefly +because it taught "journalism." Mr. Fred Newton Scott, professor of +rhetoric in the University of Michigan in 1893, began, with less +newspaper notice, training in newspaper English, continuing to the +present time his happy success in teaching style to his students. + +In 1908, Mr. Walter Williams, for twenty-four years editor, first of +the Boonville _Advertiser_, and then of the Columbia, Missouri, +_Herald_, became dean of the first school of journalism opened in the +same year by the University of Missouri. This example was followed +under the direction of Willard G. Bleyer in the University of +Wisconsin. By 1911, nearly a score of colleges, universities, and +technical schools were giving courses in journalism. + +By 1916, the directory of teachers of journalism compiled by Mr. Carl +F. Getz, of the University of Ohio, showed 107 universities and +colleges which gave courses in journalism, 28 state universities, 17 +state colleges and schools of journalism, and 62 colleges, endowed, +denominational, or municipal. + +The teachers who offered courses in journalism numbered 127. Of these, +25 were in trade, industrial, and agricultural schools, their courses +dealing with aspects of writing demanded in the fields to which the +institution devoted its work. The number of students in all these +institutions numbered about 5000. This gave about 1200 students a +year, who had completed their studies and gone out with a degree +recording college or technical work in which training in journalism +played its part. With about 40,000 men and women who were +"journalists" in the country at this time, there are probably--the +estimate is little better than a guess--about 3000 posts becoming +vacant each year, in all branches of periodical work, monthly, weekly, +and daily. + +The various training in journalism now offered stands ready to furnish +a little less than half this demand. I judge it actually supplies +yearly somewhat less than a fourth of the new men and women entering +the calling, say about 750 in all. As in all professional schools, a +number never enter the practice of the calling for which they are +presumably prepared and still larger numbers leave it after a short +trial. In addition, training for the work of the journalist opens the +door to much publicity work, to some teaching, and to a wide range of +business posts where writing is needed. No account also has been made +here of the wide range of miscellaneous courses in advertising +provided by universities, colleges and schools of journalism by +advertising clubs, by private schools, and by teachers, local, +lecturing and peripatetic. It will take at least ten years more before +those who have systematic teaching in journalism will be numerous +enough to color the life of the office of the magazine or newspaper, +and a generation before they are in the majority. + +=Development of courses and schools of journalism= + +But numbers are not the only gauge of the influence of professional +study on the calling itself. The mere presence, the work, the +activities, and the influence of professional schools raise the +standards of a calling. Those in its work begin to see their daily +task from the standpoint which training implies. Since the +overwhelming majority of newspaper men believe in their calling, love +it, rejoice in it, regret its defects, and honor its achievements, +they begin consciously to try to show how good a newspaper can be made +with nothing but the tuition of the office. Inaccuracy, carelessness, +bad taste, and dubious ethics present themselves at a different angle +when judged in the light of a calling for which colleges and +universities furnish training. A corporate spirit and a corporate +standard are felt more strongly, and men who have learned all they +know in a newspaper office have a just, noble, and often successful +determination to advance these standards and endeavor to equal in +advance anything the school can accomplish. This affects both those +who have had college training and those who come to their work as +newspaper men with only the education of the public schools, high or +elementary. More than 1000 letters have been received by the School of +Journalism in Columbia University, since it was opened, asking advice +as to the reading and study which could aid a man or woman unable to +leave the newspaper office to study to improve their work. College +graduates, in particular on newspapers, begin systematic study on +their own account, aware of an approaching competition. Definite +standards in newspaper writing and in diction begin to be recognized +and practiced in the office, and slips in either meet a more severe +criticism. + +Newspaper associations of all orders play their part in this +spontaneous training. Advertising clubs and their great annual +gatherings have censored the periodic publicity of the advertising +column as no other agency whatever could possibly have done. How far +this educating influence has transformed this share of the American +periodical in all its fields only those can realize who have studied +past advertisements. Every state has its editorial association. These +draw together more men from the weeklies and the dailies in cities +under 50,000 of population than from cities of more than 500,000. +These associations thirty years ago were little more than social. They +have come to be educational agencies of the first importance. They +create and assert new norms of conduct and composition. The papers +read are normally didactic. All men try to be what they assert they +are. From the American Newspaper Publishers' Association, bringing +together nearly 1000 of our leading newspapers to meetings of the +weeklies of a county, a region in a state, a whole state, sections +like New England or the Southern States of particular classes of +periodicals, these various organizations are rapidly instituting a +machinery, and breathing a spirit whose work is a valid factor in the +education of the newspaper man. Not the least influence which the +schools of journalism exert on the active work of the calling is +through these associations, particularly in the states west of the +Mississippi where, at the present stage of journalism in this region, +state universities can through schools of journalism bring newspapers +together at a "newspaper week." + +=Journalism raised to dignity of a profession by schools of journalism= + +The rapid growth in students registered in "journalism" courses did +not gauge the demand for professional teaching in the craft of the +newspaper or the magazine. A large share of the "journalism" taught +consisted simply in teaching newspaper English. The college course has +been nowhere so vehemently and vigorously attacked as in the training +it gave in writing English. Few were satisfied with it, least of all +those who taught it. At least one college professor, whose method and +textbooks were launched thirty years ago, has recanted all his early +work in teaching composition and pronounced it valueless or worse. The +college graduate, after courses in English composition (at least one +in the freshman year and often two or three more), in many instances +found himself unable to write a business letter, describe a plan +projected in business affairs, compose advertisements, or narrate a +current event. This was not invariably the case, but it occurred often +enough to be noted. Books, pamphlets, and papers multiplied on this +lack of training for practical writing in college composition courses. +The world of education discovered, what the newspapers had found by +experience, that the style of expression successful in literature did +not bring results in man's daily task of reaching his fellow man on +the homely and direct issues of daily life. In literature, genius is +seeking to express itself. In the newspaper and in business, the +writer is trying--and only trying--to express and interpret his +subject so as to reach the other and contemporary man. If he does +this, he wins. If not, he fails. Genius can, should be, careless of +the immediate audience, and wait for the final and ultimate response. +No newspaper article and no advertisement can. For them, style is only +a means. In letters, form is final. The verdict of posterity and not +of the yearly subscriber or daily purchaser is decisive. + +=Journalistic writing demands a distinctive style and calls for immediate +response= + +In the high school and college, from 1910 on, there came courses in +English which turned to the newspaper for methods and means of +expression, and were called "courses in journalism." They were really +courses in the English of the newspaper, besprinkled with lectures on +the diction of the newspaper and the use of words--futile efforts, +through lists of words that must not be used, to give a sound rule of +the selection of language by the writer, and, above all, attempts to +secure simple, direct, incisive narrative and discussion. These are +all useful in their place and work. They prepare a man for some of the +first steps of the newspaper office, particularly in the swift, +mechanical routine and technique of "copy," indispensable where what +is copy now is on the street for sale within an hour. + +Where an instructor has himself the gift of style and the capacity to +impart it, where he is himself a man who sells his stuff and knows +what stuff will sell, where he has taste and inspiring, effective +teaching power, a course in newspaper English may carry a man far in +acquiring command of his powers of expression to their profitable use. +These "courses in journalism" sometimes run for only a single +semester. Many run for the normal span of three hours a week through a +year. Sometimes there are two in succession, the second assuming the +task of teaching work which a newspaper beginner usually reaches in +from three to five years: the special article, the supplement, study +of a subject, the "feature" story, criticism, and the editorial. When +these courses are based on assignments which lead a man to go out and +get the facts on which he writes, they furnish a certain share of +training in the art of reporting. Where this is done in a college town +and a college community, however, the work is a far remove from that +where the reporter must dive and wrestle in the seething tide of a +great city, to return with news wrested from its native bed. + +=Courses in "newspaper English"= + +Newspaper English has its great and widest value to the man who wishes +to learn how he can affect the other man. A course in it is certain, +if the instruction is effective, to leave a student better able to +express himself in the normal needs of life. This work is taken by +many students as part of the effective training of college life, with +no expectation of entering active newspaper work. The demand for +publicity work in all business fields, and its value to the social +worker, the teacher, and the clergyman, lead others to this +specialized training. In at least one of our state universities, half +those who take the courses in journalism do not look to the newspaper +in the future. The curriculum is often so arranged that in a four-year +college course it will be practicable to combine these courses in +newspaper English with the parts of work offered, required for, or +preparatory to the three learned professions, social service, +business, and the applied sciences. Such an arrangement of studies +frankly recognizes the value in general education and after life of +training in the direct expression the newspaper uses. In no long time +every college will have at least one such course in its English +department. + +But this course in direct writing stands alone, without any systematic +training in journalism; it should not be called a course in journalism +any more than a course in political science dealing with law, or a +course in physiology or hygiene, can be called courses in law or +medicine, because they cover material used in schools of law or +schools of medicine. It is an advantage for any educated man to learn +to write clearly, simply, to the point; to put the purpose, object, +and force of an article at the beginning, and to be as much like +Daniel Defoe and Franklin, and as little like Walter Pater or Samuel +Johnson, as possible; it is well for him to have a general view of the +newspaper and its needs; it is a mistake to leave him with the +impression that he has the training journalism demands. He is no +better off at this point than any college graduate who has picked up +for himself, by nature or through practice and imitation, the direct +newspaper method. + +=Functions of a school of journalism: To select as well as to train= + +President Eliot, when the organization of a school of journalism came +before him, cast his august and misleading influence for the view that +a college education was enough training for newspaper work. Many still +believe this. In more than one city-room today college men are +challenging the right of the graduates of a school of journalism to +look on themselves as better fitted for the newspaper office than +those who are graduates of a good college. If the training of the +school has done no more than graft some copy-writing and some +copy-editing on the usual curriculum, they are right. If the coming +journalist has got his training in classes, half of whose number had +no professional interest in the course offered, the claim for the +college course may be found to be well based. Men teach each other in +the classroom. A common professional purpose creates common +professional ideals and common professional aims as no training can, +given without this, though it deal with identically the same +subjects. + +The training of the journalist will at this point go through the same +course as the training of other callings. The palpable thing about +law, the objective fact it presents first to the layman, is procedure +and form. This began legal education. A man entered a law office. He +ran errands and served papers which taught him how suits were opened. +A bright New York office boy in a law firm will know how many days can +pass before some steps must be taken or be too late, better than the +graduate of a law school. The law students in an office once endlessly +copied forms and learned that phase of law. For generations men "eat +their dinners" at the Inns of Court and learned no more. The law +itself they learned through practice, at the expense of their clients. +Anatomy was the obvious thing about medicine when Vesalius, of the +strong head and weak heart, cleaned away the superstitions of part of +the medical art and discovered a new world at twenty-eight. The +medical training of even seventy years ago, twenty years after +cellular pathology had dawned, held wearisome hours of dissection now +known to be a waste. It is the functions of the body and its organs +which we now know to be the more important, and not the bones, +muscles, nerves, and organs considered as mere mechanism. + +The classroom is the patent thing about instruction. The normal +schools lavished time on the tricks of teaching until flocks of +instructors in the high schools and colleges could not inaccurately be +divided into those who could teach and knew nothing and those who knew +something and could not teach. Our colleges early thought they could +weave in Hebrew and theology, and send out clergymen, and later tried +to give the doctor a foundation on which eighteen subsequent months +could graft all he needed of medicine. + +Reporting is the obvious aspect of journalism which the ignorant +layman sees. Many hold the erroneous view that the end of a school of +journalism is to train reporters. Reporting is not journalism. It is +the open door to the newspaper office, partly because there are very +few reporters of many years' service. Some of them are, but able men +before long usually work out of a city-room, or gain charge of some +field of city news, doing thus what is in fact reporting, but combined +with editorial, critical, and correspondent work. Such is the Wall +Street man, the local politics man, the City Hall man, or the Police +Headquarters man, who gathers facts and counts acquaintance as one of +his professional assets. But these men are doing, in their work, far +more than reporting as it presents itself to those who see in the task +only an assignment. Such men know the actual working of the financial +mechanism, not as economists see it, but as Bagehot knew it. They +understand the actual working of municipal machinery besides having a +minute knowledge of character, decision, practice, and precedent in +administration. In our real politics, big and little, they and the +Washington and Albany correspondents are the only men who know both +sides, are trusted with the secrets of both parties, and read closed +pages of the book of the chronicles of the Republic. As for the Police +Headquarters man, he too alone knows both police and crime, and no +investigation surprises him by its revelations. If a man, for a +season, has had the work of one of these posts, he comes to feel that +he writes for an ignorant world, and if he have the precious gift of +youth, looks on himself as favored of mortals early, seeing the events +of which others hear, daily close to the center of affairs, knowing +men as they are and storing confidence against the day of revelation. + +Men like these are the very heart's core of a newspaper. Their posts +train them. So do the key posts of a newspaper, its guiding and +directing editors and those who do the thinking for thinking men by +the hundred thousand in editorial, criticism, and article. It is for +this order of work on a newspaper that a school of journalism trains. +It is to these posts that, if its men are properly trained, its +graduates rapidly ascend, after a brief apprenticeship in the +city-room and a round in the routine work of a paper. Dull men, +however educated, will never pass these grades, and not passing they +will drop out. A school should sift such out; but so far, in all our +professional training, it is only the best medical schools which are +inflexible in dealing with mediocrity. Most teachers know better, but +let the shifty and dull pass by. The newspaper itself has to be +inexorable, and no well-organized office helps twice the man who is +dull once; but he and his kind come often enough to mar the record. + +Journalism, like other professions, has its body of special tasks and +training, but, as in other callings, clear comprehension of this body +of needs will develop in instruction slowly. The case system in law +and the laboratory method in medicine came after some generations or +centuries of professional work and are only a generation old. Any one +who has sought to know the development of these two methods sees that +much in our schools of journalism is where law and medical schools +were sixty years ago. We are still floundering and have not yet solved +the problem of giving background, concision, accuracy, and interest to +the report, of really editing copy and not merely condensing and +heading it, of recognizing and developing the editorial and critical +mind, and most of all, of shutting out early the shallow, the +wrong-headed, the self-seeking, and the unballasted student. + +=The average college student lacks expressional power: Reasons= + +The very best law and medical schools get the better of this, and only +the best. They are greatly aided by a state examination which tests +and tries all their work, braces their teaching, stimulates their men, +and directs their studies. This will inevitably come in journalism, +though most practicing newspaper men do not believe this. Neither did +doctors before 1870 expect this. As the newspaper comes closer and +closer into daily life, inflicts wounds without healing and does +damage for which no remedy exists, the public will require of the +writer on a daily at least as much proof of competency as it does of a +plumber. This competency sharply divides between training in the +technical work of the newspaper and in those studies that knowledge +which newspaper work requires. Capacity to write with accuracy, with +effect, with interest, and with style is the first and most difficult +task among the technical requirements of the public journal. As has +already been said, a gift for expression is needed, but even this +cannot be exercised or developed unless a man has acquired diction and +come in contact with style, for all the arts rest on the imitation of +accepted models. Many students in all schools of journalism come from +immigrant families and are both inconceivably ignorant of English and +inconceivably satisfied with their acquirement of English, as we all +are with a strange tongue we have learned to speak. Even in families +with two or more generations of American life, the vocabulary is +limited, construction careless, and the daily contact with any +literature, now that family prayers and Bible reading are gone; almost +nil. Of the spoken English of teachers in our public schools, +considered as the basis of training for the writer, it is not seemly +to speak. Everybody knows college teachers who have never shaken off +the slovenly phrases and careless syntax of their homes. The thesis on +which advanced degrees are conferred is a fair and just measure of the +capacity to write conferred by eleven years of education above the +"grammar grades." The old drill in accurate and exact rendering of +Greek and Latin was once the best training for the writer; but +slovenly sight reading has reduced its value, and a large part of its +true effect was because the youth who studied the classics fifty years +ago came in a far larger share than today from families whose elders +had themselves had their expression and vocabulary trained and +developed by liberal studies. The capacity for good writing apparent +at Oxford and Cambridge rests in no small measure on the classical +family horizon in teacher and taught. + +=Kind of training in composition to be given students of journalism= + +Those who turn to journalism naturally care for writing, but in an art +to "care" is little and most have never had the personal environment, +the training, or the personal command of English to enable them to do +more than write a stiff prose with a narrow vocabulary and no sense +of style. Even those who have some such capacity are hampered by the +family heritage already outlined. College writing is in the same +condition; but the average college man is not expecting to earn his +living by his typewriter. In order to receive a minimum capacity in +writing enough to pass, every year of study for journalism must have a +writing course and the technical work must run to constant writing. +From start to finish there must be patient, individual correction. The +use of the typewriter must be made obligatory. Rigid discipline must +deal with errors in spelling, grammar, the choice of words and +phrases. Previous college training in composition must in general be +revised and made over to secure directness and simplicity. At the end, +the utmost that can be gained for nineteen out of twenty is some +facility, a little sense of style and diction, and copy that will be +above the average of the newspaper and not much above that. Examine +the writing in the newspapers issued by some schools and the work in +schools that do not, and a distressingly large portion is either dull +or "smart," the last, worst fault of the two. + +=Effective training in reporting must be given in large urban centers= + +Reporting is the first use to which writing is put and through which +the writer is trained. For this, abundant material is indispensable, +as much as clinical material for a medical school. As the medical +schools gravitate to cities, and the rural institutions flicker out +one by one, so in the end the effectively trained reporter will +gravitate to a large city. Towns of under 20,000 population furnish a +very tame sort of reporting, and those who get this training in them +find reporting is under new conditions in a great metropolis. In such +a place the peril is that routine news will take too much of the +precious time for training the reporter and the demands of academic +hours will interfere with sharing in the best of big stories. + +=Aims in teaching the art of reporting= + +Routine is the curse of the newspaper, and it is at its worst in +reporting. In its face the four hard things to get are the combination +of the vivid, the accurate, and the informed and the condensed story. +Equipped newspapers of high standards like the New York _World_ +require recourse to reference books, the "morgue," and the files in +every story where details can be added to the day's digging in that +particular news vein. Condensation comes next. The young cub reporter +generally shuns both. He hates to look up his subject. He spreads +himself like a sitting hen over one egg. Both must be required for +efficient training. Compression it is difficult to enforce in a school +where paper bills are small or do not exist and the space pressure of +the large daily is absent. A number of dailies of large circulation +are cultivating very close handling of news and space for feature and +woman stuff with very great profit, and the schools give too little +attention to this new phase of the newspaper. In all papers, the old +tendency to print anything that came by wire is gone and mere "news" +has not the place it once had. In particular, local news was cut down +one half in a majority of dailies in cities of 250,000 and over from +August, 1914, to the close of the war. The small daily in places of +less than 50,000 and weeklies did not do this, which is one reason why +great tracts of the United States were not ready for war when it came. +Woe to the land whose watchmen sleep! + +=The teaching of copy-editing= + +Copy-editing is the next task in the training of the coming newspaper +man. On the small daily and weekly, there is little of this, but it is +practiced on the metropolitan daily. There ten to twelve men are +needed, doing nothing else but editing copy. In the office, two or +three years are needed to bring a man to this work. No school can +teach this unless its men give at least a full day to editing a flood +of copy that will fill a 12 to 16 page newspaper. Where the work of +the students runs day by day on the copy of one of the lesser dailies, +editing for that purpose is secured, but not the intensive training +needed to handle the copy-desk requirements of newspapers in a city of +1,000,000 population or more in its urban ring. Success in this field +is proved when men go direct from the classroom to such a desk. This +carries with it tuition in heads for all needs, make-up, and the close +editing of special articles, features, and night Associated Press +copy. + +=A liberal curriculum must be part of training for journalism= + +Newspaper training will always deal also with subjects and needs a +course containing a larger proportion of the studies usually taught in +college or offered in its curriculum. Medicine requires the same +chemistry, organic and inorganic, the same physics, and the same +elementary biology as our college courses cover; these sciences are +more or less like a Mother Hubbard, no very close fit and concealing +more than is revealed. Johns Hopkins has been able at this point to +apply tests, personal and particular, gauging both teacher and taught, +more searching than are elsewhere required. The fruits abundantly +justify this course, and in time some school of journalism will apply +like tests to history,--ancient, medieval, and modern,--political +economy, political science, and the modern languages, which are the +basis of its work. The practical difficulty is that it is far easier +to test the three sciences just mentioned than history, politics, and +economics. No one will seriously assert that these are as rigorously +taught as chemistry, physics, and biology. The personal equation of +the teacher counts for more, it is both easier and more tempting to +inject social theories, not yet tested by current facts, than in +science. Sciolism is less easily detected in courses which deal with +the humanitarian held than in science, but it is not less perilous and +it is not less possible to apply the same experimental tests as in the +scientific laboratory. He is blind, however, who does not see that +much advance in the current teaching at any time of history, politics, +and economics has had its experimental tests as complete and as +convincing as in any laboratory, which certain teachers wholly refuse +to accept--sometimes because they are behind the times, sometimes +because they are before the times; sometimes they are in no time +whatever but the fool time of vain imaginings that somewhere, +somewhen, and somehow there is a place where human desires are +stronger than the inevitable laws which guide and guard the physics, +the chemistry, and the biology of social bodies. + +=Social sciences must be related to life= + +A notable difference exists between the views of law taught and +discussed in a law school and in a school of political science. The +medical lectures preserve a sobriety in discussing sundry biological +problems not always present in advanced courses of biology. Both +lecturers, in both instances, are scientific men, both are faithful to +the truths of science, but as a distinguished economist, who in his +early years had been accused of being an advanced socialist, said, +after he had won a comfortable fortune by judicious investments in +business, banking, and realty, to a friend of earlier and far-distant +years: "My principles remain exactly the same, but, I admit, my point +of view has changed." There is not one biology of the medical school, +another of the biological laboratory. Neither does the body of law +differ in a law school or in a school of political science. The +principles remain exactly the same. Of necessity, however, the point +of view has changed and treatment has changed with it. So has +responsibility. + +The subject offers some difficulties. The analogy is not at all points +exact. Medicine and law have a definite body of doctrine. Schools of +biology and political science have not, but granting all this, it +still remains true that exactly as the law student and the medical +student must have what is defined, established, and unmistakable in +the world of law and of life, so the student looking to journalism +needs and must have what is defined, established, and unmistakable in +economics and political science. Here, again, no one will pretend that +the usual college course in either of these branches is taught with +the same determination to keep within the same metes and bounds of +recorded, tested, and ascertained facts as is true of courses in +physics, chemistry, and biology. The boundary marked is less distinct. +The periodic law by which the atomic values of elements are +established is more definite than the periodic law under which wealth +is distributed through society, though in the end some Mendelléeff +will record the periodic law of social elements in their composition +and action. Research is needed and must be free. Theory and +speculation are as necessary to secure an experiment and observation. +The principle is clear, however, that the student who is to make +professional use of a topic needs to have a definite and established +instruction, not required in one to whom topic is incidental. The +medical student or law student who has a new view of economic results +or a new theory of the cause and purpose of our judicial and +constitutional system as organized to protect the few against the many +will work this off in the school of life, and is unaffected in his +professional work. The journalist within his first year's work must +apply his college economics and political science, and a wrong +starting point may have serious consequences to his own career in the +end, perhaps to society. Fortunately the work of the journalist so +brings him in contact with things as they are, that the body of +newspaper writers, taken as a whole, represents the stability of +society. The convictions and principles created by their daily work +tend this way. The labor union has few illusions to the reporter, and +it was the editorial writers of the land who carried the gold standard +in 1896, when many a publisher was hazy and scary. The causes of crime +grow pretty clear to a police reporter, and a few assignments in which +a newspaper man sees a riot convinces him of the value of public +order, rigidly enforced. None the less, the reporter should start +right on these sciences, basic in his calling; in the end, as the +medical school has steadied the college teaching of chemistry and +biology, so the school of journalism, the school of business, and the +school of railroad practice _et al_ will steady economics and +political science. But the duty of the college and university remains +clear, to be as watchful that the sciences of social action and +reaction shall be taught with the same adherence to the established +and the same responsibility to their professional use as the sciences +of physical, chemical, and biological action and reaction. + +=Especially adapted content in social sciences to meet professional needs= + +The college studies needed as preparation for journalism call for a +special proficiency and content as much as for a professional +viewpoint. The journalist makes precisely the same use of his +fundamental studies as does the medical student of his. If a future +lawyer neglects his chemistry and biology, it is of little moment. He +can get up what he needs of a case. A medical student who neglects +these studies will find that the best schools bar him. In time the +school of journalism will refuse the college passing mark for +admission. The newspaper man almost from the start has to use his +economics, his political science, and his history. Elementary +economics is in great measure given to theory, though a change has +begun. For the journalist, this course needs to be brought in close +contact with the actual economic working of society. The theory may be +useful to the man who expects in the end to teach economics. It is of +next to no value to the writer on public affairs. Of what possible use +is it to him to learn the various theoretic explanations of +Boehm-Bawerk's cost and value? The newspaper man needs to see these +things and be taught them as Bagehot wrote on them and Walker and +Sumner taught them. + +=General science course of inestimable worth to the journalist= + +In Columbia, this change is already recognized as necessary. So in +political science, the actual working of the body politic needs to be +taught, and this is too often neglected for explanatory theories and a +special interpretation. A single elementary course in chemistry, +physics, or biology presupposes two or three more courses which fill +out the special opening sketch. Newspaper works requires a general +account of science, derided by the scientist who is himself satisfied +in his own education with a similar sketch in history. These general +science courses are being smuggled in as "history of science," or +"scientific nomenclature." Much can be done in a year with such a +three-hour course, if the teaching be in exceptional hands; but +adequate treatment requires two years of three hours, one on organic +and one on inorganic science. The latter should give a view of +anthropology and the former dwell on the application of science in +modern industry. + +=In history attention must be focalized on modern movements= + +College history courses end thirty to fifty years ago. The journalist +needs to know closely the last thirty years, at home and abroad. Weeks +given to colonial charters in American history are as much waste as to +set a law student to a special study of the Year Books of Edward I +and II. College students have to put up with a good deal of this kind +of waste. If twelve hours can be assigned to history, three should be +on the classical period, three introductory to the modern world, three +to European history since 1870, and three hours for American history; +at least two of these three hours should go to American history since +Garfield. + +=Recent progress in all subjects must be summed up for the student of +journalism= + +The writing course should be used to supplement this by articles on +both these fields so that a student will learn the sources of history +for the last thirty years, its treaties, its elections, its movements, +its statutes, its reference works. He will need all this knowledge as +soon as he has to write as a correspondent, a feature writer, or an +editor, on the important topics of the day. Statistics need to +supplement economics and advanced courses, two, if possible, should +give knowledge and method in the approach to new problems in currency, +banking, trusts, and unions. At least one general course in philosophy +is needed, and Freud is as important for him here as Aristotle. The +contact of the newspaper man with book reviewing, book advertising, +and the selection of fiction and news in supplements and magazines +calls for the "survey course in English literature" and a knowledge of +the current movement in letters for thirty years back. In science, in +politics, in history, in economics, in philosophy, and in letters, it +is indispensable that the young newspaper man should be introduced by +lecture, and still more by reading, to the speaking figures of his own +day on affairs, political life, letters, the theatre, and art. + +=The journalist must ever be a student of human affairs= + +These things are indispensable. The man who knows them can learn to +write and edit, but the man who can only write and edit and does not +know them will speedily run dry in the newspaper, weekly and monthly. +News is today standardized. Each President, each decade, each great +war, the Associated Press and City Press Associations cover more +completely the current news. Presentation, comment, handling special +articles, grow each year more important and more in demand. The price +of supplement and magazine articles has trebled in the last twenty +years. The newspaper grows more and more to be a platform, +particularly the Sunday newspaper and popular magazine. If a man is to +be a figure in the day's conflict and on its wider issues, he needs +the special training just outlined, and when this outline is begun, he +will find the toil of the years in these fields has but begun. About +the safe harbors of journalism where men come and go, dealing with the +affairs of and ending the ready market of the day, are the reefs +strewn with the wrecks of ready and often "brilliant" writers whose +few brief years left them empty and adrift, telling all they meet that +no man can long earn a fair income and hold his own through the years +in journalism. + +A school can ameliorate all this by one course which requires much +reading of the Bible and Shakespeare, by furnishing in the school +library abundant access to the best current prose and verse of the day +which will directly appeal to the young reader, since each decade has +its new gods in letters, and by selecting teachers for the +professional courses who have shown that they can write at least well +enough to be paid by newspapers and magazines for their work. The +teacher in writing whose work is not salable is not as likely to teach +students how to write so that their work can sell as one who has +earned his living by selling his stuff. + + TALCOTT WILLIAMS + _School of Journalism, Columbia University_ + + + + +XXVIII + +BUSINESS EDUCATION + + +=Evolution of business education= + +Business education of collegiate grade is a very recent development. +The world's first commercial college was established at Antwerp in +1852, while the forerunner of American institutions of this sort, the +Wharton School, was founded in 1881. Others followed in the nineties, +but the general establishment of schools of commerce as parts of +colleges and universities, as well as the inclusion of business +subjects in the curricula of liberal colleges, took place after 1900. +This sudden flowering at the top was preceded by a long evolution +quite typical of the development of education in all the branches of +learning to which institutions devote time because of their cultural +or professional worth. + +Some practical end and not the desire for abstract knowledge prompted +early instruction and stimulated business education as well as +education in general through various stages of progress. Of course all +education is a process whereby technical operations and abstract truth +developed by many generations are systematized, compressed, and +imparted to individuals in a relatively short time. + +The first stage in the evolution in a given field may be called the +_apprentice stage_. Just as physicians, lawyers, and in fact +practitioners in all the professions and crafts trained their +assistants in their establishments for the purpose of making them +proficient in their daily work, so did merchants at this stage give +apprentice training in commercial branches to their employees. +Traditional ways of carrying out certain transactions, convenient +rules of thumb, and habits of neatness and reliability were passed on +in a given establishment. As industry grew and guilds were formed, the +training tended to become more standardized and merchants joined in +establishing guild schools for their employees. Many such schools +were conducted in the various crafts, and their modern counterparts +are the well-known vocational or trade schools. This _vocational +training_ stage was developed by business men for persons not employed +as productive craftsmen but rather as workers in business offices +which administered production and directly attended to selling and +exchange, and for others looking forward to such employment. At this +stage there grew up also private schools, usually conducted by +teachers especially proficient in particular lines of service. Thus +inventors of shorthand systems, devisers of systems of penmanship, and +authors of methods of bookkeeping and accounting set up schools in +these specialties. Here we have training outside the business house +itself to prepare for participation in business, and the enterprises +flourish because there is a demand for the people they train. At this +stage rules of thumb are supplanted by systems based on principles, +and the way is paved for the _technical school stage_. The training +here is practical, but it is broad and based on scientific knowledge. +This stage is not reached in all fields of endeavor, for some stop at +the first or the second, while on the other hand the existence of a +higher stage of education does not preclude the continuation at the +same time of agencies carrying on instruction after the mode of the +lower stages. With the rise of the factory system and the extension of +capitalistic production and industrial integration in the form of "big +business," there came a demand in the business world for men widely +informed and thoroughly trained. Not only did men to meet this demand +have to have good foundations of general education, but they needed +technical preparation in the specialized field of business itself. + +Business science is not only applied science, but it is secondary or +derived from a number of the fundamental sciences. It draws its +principles from the physical sciences of physics, chemistry, geology, +and biology; it utilizes the engineering applications of these +sciences; it derives valuable information from physiology and +psychology, and it makes use of the modern languages. Borrowing from +all the pure sciences and their applied counterparts, it formulates +its own regulations so that it may manage the work of the world +_economically_, so that it may bring about the production of goods +necessary to meet humanity's many, varied, and recurrent wants, and +make these commodities available in advantageous times and places with +individual title to them established according to existing standards +of personal justice and social expediency. + +The final stage, the _cultural stage_, is reached when the educator +determines that the field in question is so much a part of the general +civilization or intellectual wealth of the world that it ought to +receive some consideration, not only by specialists in the field but +also by the student pursuing a well-planned course of a general or +non-technical character designed to enable him to appreciate and play +some rôle in the world in which he lives. It is because new branches +of human endeavor constantly blossom forth into this stage, while more +ancient branches wither and no longer bear fruit of contemporary +significance, that the very humanities themselves change as well as +realities. + +Business as a field of human thought and activity has reached this +stage, and educators reckon with it in laying out courses of general +elementary, secondary, and collegiate study. + +No one would contend that educators should in any way cease to offer +general or cultural courses, but they should insist that these general +courses embrace all of humanity's wealth, including that which modern +society contributed, and that they should with each addition reshape +their general offerings so that appropriate proportions will be +preserved. + +=Definition of business education= + +Before the development of modern highly organized production, business +training would have been synonymous with commercial training; that is, +training to prepare men to play their parts in the _exchange_ of +goods. This would embrace correspondence with customers, the keeping +of records of stock, the cost of stock, making out bills, and +attending to all financial operations which were associated with +marketing and exchange. Successful training would imply, of course, +the broad foundational grasp of arithmetic, reading, and writing of +the mother tongue and of such foreign languages as the nature of the +market might require, a grasp of various money values, banking +procedure, and other information concerning financial affairs, the +means of transportation, freight charges, etc. Manual skill had to be +developed in penmanship, in the technique of bookkeeping, general +office organization, and filing. With the invention of mechanical and +labor-saving office devices, facility in operating them was required +to supplement skill in penmanship. + +Of course, with the development of the market the complexity of office +management increased. In modern times the business man concerns +himself not only with the duties of the merchant and exchanger, but +also with the organization of industry and economical procedure. The +modern business man, entrepreneur or manager, and all those assisting +him in the discharge of his duties, perform functions in two +directions: first, in the direction of the market in the establishment +of price, in the selling of his goods, and in attending to all matters +which flow therefrom, and secondly toward the production plant itself; +while he employs technicians who know how to perform operations +skillfully according to the laws of science, nevertheless he must know +how to buy labor and how to organize labor and materials and put them +in coördinate working relationship most economically. + +We can therefore define business _education as education which +directly prepares people to discharge the business function: namely, +the economical organization of men and materials in production and the +most advantageous distribution and exchange of the commodities or +service for consumption_. + +In the modern world it is hard sometimes to draw the line between the +field of technology in production and the field of business management +in production, but in general the two functions are fairly distinct. +The technician is interested in operations of production, while the +business manager is interested in their economical organization and in +their government with relation to market conditions. The very +engineers themselves must be selected, engineered, and paid by the +business man. The business manager is interested in keeping the total +price of his commodities above his total entrepreneur's cost. The +technician is interested in inventing and operating the machinery of +production, if and when the business man determines what operations +will be profitable. + +=Aims and curricula of business education= + +The aims of business education are, first and foremost, professional; +second, civic; and third, cultural. At no time can the three be +separated, but it is possible to devise a curriculum which stresses +one or two of the aims. It is also possible to treat a subject so as +to emphasize technical and practical skill or to promote philosophical +reflection. + +The professional aim prompted the establishment of the first schools +or colleges of commerce, and it is kept to the fore not only in +institutions giving courses of study which lead to distinctive degrees +in commerce, but also in places which give specialized instruction in +particular fields. We shall consider curricula of the following types: + +_Type I._ Curriculum designed to give the student training to meet a +definite professional requirement established by law. + +_Type II._ Curriculum designed to make a student proficient in a +particular narrow field. + +_Type III._ Curriculum leading to a baccalaureate degree in commerce +or business, vertical type. + +_Type IV._ Curriculum leading to a baccalaureate degree in commerce or +business, horizontal type. + + +TYPE I. TECHNICAL COURSE, DESIGNED TO PREPARE STUDENTS TO MEET THE +STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS + +_Entrance requirements_ for students matriculating for the whole +course as candidates for a Diploma of Graduate in Accountancy--high +school graduation, college entrance or a State Regents' C.P.A. +Qualifying Certificate. + +Non-matriculated students--mature persons wishing to pursue certain +subjects without academic credit. + + _Prescribed_ + + Accounting, Theory, Practice and Problems + 4 terms, 4 hours a week--256 hours + + This course covers general accounting for the single proprietor, + partnerships and corporations, embracing financing, + manufacturing, and selling operations, with agencies and + branches, the formation of mergers, syndicates, holding + companies, etc.; dissolutions and reorganizations. + + Cost accounting 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Auditing 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Public utilities accounting + 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Judicial (fiduciary) accounting + 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Advanced accounting, theory, and problems + 2 term, 2 hours a week--64 hours + + Commercial Law 3 terms, 3 hours a week 144 hours + + Covering general principles of law, contracts, and all forms of + special contracts of interest to the business man, especially + those related to personal property, risk insurance, credit and + real property, and forms of business associations. + + Economics + Economic principles + 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Economic development of the United States + 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Money and banking 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + English--Written, Business English + 2 terms, 2 hours a week--64 hours + + Oral English--Public Speaking + 4 terms, 1 hour a week--64 hours + + _Additional electives_--one course of at least 96 hours in Government + and enough other elective subjects in technical commercial work or + Political Science to accrue at least a total of 1000 hours. + + The available additional electives in accounting are advanced + courses in different special fields such as Advanced Cost + Accounting, Municipal Accounting--General and Departmental, + Systems for particular industries or forms of business, Public + Utilities Rate Making and Regulation, etc. + + In Government the available electives include such subjects as + American Government and Citizenship, American Constitutional Law, + International Law, Political Theory, Comparative Government, State + Legislation and Administration, Municipal Administration, etc. + + In Political Science, courses in Economics and Business, such as + Economic Problems, Business Organization and Management, Public + Finance, Foreign Trade, Foreign Exchange, Insurance, Advertising, + Salesmanship, etc., are available, while general and special + courses may be taken in Sociology and Statistics. + + +Courses of study of this sort in a specialized field are offered in +colleges usually at night for students who are in active business +during the day. With more or less extensive additions in scientific, +literary, and linguistic fields they become the curricula leading to +baccalaureate degrees as represented by Type III, to follow. Large +private institutes or schools conducted for profit and also +correspondence institutions offer similar courses. Other groups of +studies in particular fields are: in banking, in transportation or +traffic, in sales management, including advertising and salesmanship, +and in foreign trade. + +A group in Foreign Trade will typify this sort of course of study, +which differs from the one in Accountancy just given because the +make-up will be determined wholly by each institution quite +independent of legally established professional standards. + + +TYPE II. TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR WORK IN A SPECIAL FIELD, FOREIGN +TRADE + + Principles of economics + 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Economic resources of the U. S. + 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Commercial geography + 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Money and banking 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Foreign exchange 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Foreign credit 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + International law 1 term, 3 hours a week--48 hours + + Tariff history of the U. S. + 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + U. S. and foreign customs administrations + 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Export technique 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Practical steamship operation + 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Marketing and salesmanship + + General course 1 term, 2 hours a week--32 hours + + Special courses as desired on South American Markets, Mediterranean + Markets, Russian Markets, Northwest Empire Markets, etc. + + Foreign Languages: + + Practical courses in Conversation and correspondence in French, + Spanish, Portuguese, German, Russian, etc., according to market in + which trade is specialized, at least + 4 terms, 3 hours a week--192 hours + + Total (in 2 years, with weekly schedule of 10 or 12 hrs.) + 672 hours + +A special course of this sort usually leads to a certificate but not a +diploma or degree. Obviously the technical aim is very prominent, +though civic and cultural benefits of no mean character will of +necessity be derived. New groups will be found as new fields of +business become important and develop definite, recognizable +requirements of a scientific sort. Naturally each such specialty goes +through the usual evolution and contributes its philosophical +distillation or essence to the cultural college course. + +When we come to the construction of a curriculum leading to a +bachelor's degree in business, economics, or commerce, we have the +problems of the engineering schools. Just how far will specialization +be carried, in what sequence will the foundational subjects and the +specialties be taken up, and to what extent will other more general +subjects not directly contributing to a technical end be admitted? In +most institutions of good standards the degree is regarded as +representing not only technical proficiency in business but also some +acquaintance with science, politics, and letters in general. The +question (already an old one in schools of engineering) arises then +concerning the best way to arrange the special or distinctively +business subjects in relation to the more general. Although there are +a number of variations, two outstanding types are recognizable. We may +devise labels for them: the _vertical_ curriculum, which offers both +general and special courses side by side right up through the college +course, and the _horizontal_, which requires a completion of the whole +or nearly all of the general group during the first two years of +college before the special subjects are pursued in the last two. + + +TYPE III. VERTICAL TYPE OF UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM, LEADING TO THE +DEGREE OF B. S. IN ECONOMICS + +_Entrance_: College entrance requirements. + +_Requirement for graduation_: 74 units, of which 40 must be in general +business and in liberal subjects, with 34 in specialized fields of +business activity, to be taken after the freshman year. + + A unit here represents successful work for one hour a week for + two semesters. Therefore the total 74 is equivalent to 148 of the + usual collegiate units. + + _Freshman Required Work_ + + English composition 2 hours a week--2 terms + English, history of the language 1 hour a week--2 terms + English literature 1 hour a week--2 terms + Chemistry--general ) + or } 3 hours a week--2 terms + Business law ) + Physical education 2 hours a week--2 terms + Government--federal and state 3 hours a week--2 terms + Principles of economics 3 hours a week--2 terms + Economic resources 2 hours a week--2 terms + Accounting--general course 3 hours a week--2 terms + + + _Sophomore Required Work_ + + English literature and composition 3 hours a week--2 terms + Physical education 2 hours a week--2 terms + General history 2 hours a week--2 terms + + _Required before End of Junior Year_ + + Additional political science 2 hours a week--2 terms + Physical education 1 hour a week--2 terms + + _Required before Graduation_ + + Additional history 3 hours a week--2 terms + + Physical education 1 hour a week--2 terms + A modern language beyond the + first year in college 3 hours a week--4 terms + + Total required units 40 units + + +Elect after the Freshman year courses aggregating 34 additional units in + fields of + + I. Business law 4 courses, 10 units available + II. Commerce and transportation 9 courses, 19 units available + III. Economics 8 courses, 15 units available + IV. Finance and accounting 20 courses, 53 units available + V. Geography and industry 11 courses, 26 units available + VI. Insurance 7 courses, 16 units available + VII. Political science 22 courses, 43 units available + VIII. Sociology 6 courses, 12 units available + + Total required for the degree, 74 units + + +There is a school which grants a degree in Commerce for the equivalent +of 36 of these units or 72 of the usual college credits, if the +student has business experience, and for the equivalent of 48 of these +units or 96 of the usual college credits if he has not. The course is +essentially like Type I and includes no broad liberal requirements in +literature, foreign language, and history and on the other hand is not +so strictly prescribed as Type I. A strictly technical degree may be +desirable for such a short course, provided the prescription is severe +and includes languages. Generally it seems best to reserve degrees for +full college courses of four years or more which include a reasonable +general requirement in languages and science. This leads us to Type +IV, or the curriculum which requires the first regular two years of +the college course prescribed for one of the liberal degrees and +permits business specialization in the last two undergraduate years or +these with an additional postgraduate year. One institution requires +the first three years as a foundation for a two-year course in +business, and one conducts a postgraduate school of business +administration leading to the degree of Ph.D. in Business Economics. +No doubt postgraduate work will be continued mainly in the research +direction, but undergraduate day and continuation courses will be +devoted mainly to preparation for business. + +It is not necessary to illustrate Type IV, because the first two years +consist simply of the Freshman and Sophomore work of any sort of +liberal college course, Classical, Scientific, or Modern Language, +while the succeeding years are made up of special work in Economics +and Business of more or less concentrated character. + +The advantage of the type is obviously administrative. The whole +vexing problem of insuring fairly wide cultivation along with +opportunities for specialization is conveniently settled by giving +general training, most of it remote from business work, for two years, +after which the student is considered cultivated enough to withstand +the blighting effect of specialization. But there are serious +pedagogical objections to this arrangement which make the vertical +plan seem preferable. A student coming from one of our constantly +improving high schools of commerce is checked for two years and given +time to forget all the bookkeeping and other commercial work which he +has learned and on which advanced commercial instruction may be built, +while he pursues an academic course. It would be far better to +continue the modern languages, the mathematics, and natural sciences, +along with business courses. Furthermore there is much to be done by +educators in arranging such parallel sequences of subjects so that +advantage may be taken of vocational interest to stimulate broad and +deep study of related fundamentals. Considerable improvement could be +made over Type III, but that type seems better than the one we have +styled "horizontal." + +In all these courses of study we quite properly find both the +philosophical and analytical courses, those which are historical and +descriptive and those of detailed practical technique; we find +economic theory, industrial history, business management, and +practical accounting; we find theory of money and banking, history of +banking in the United States, and practical banking; we find theory of +international exchange, tariff history, and the technique of customs +administration. Concerning methods of teaching particular subjects we +shall speak later. + +Seldom do we find curricula drawn up with the purely civic end in +view, though many schools and associations throughout the country are +agitating the question of organized training of men for public +service. Strictly speaking, this kind of training is both professional +and civic because it is designed to make men proficient in carrying on +the business of the State. In New York City the municipal college +conducts courses of this sort for persons in the city service, while +private bureaus of municipal research conduct their own courses. So +far in America no courses are yet accepted officially for entrance +into public service or as the only qualification for advancement in +the service. Nevertheless, progress is being made in this direction. +The curricula offered include courses in Government and especially +Municipal Government, Public Finance and Taxation, the practical +organization and administration of various departments such as Police, +Charities, Public Works, the establishment and maintenance of special +systems of municipal accounts. + +But the great civic benefit comes from general courses in business, +for the business man who has a real grasp of his work and sees it in +the light of general social welfare becomes a good citizen. Business +education gives some sense of the interdependence of industry, +personal ethics, and government. The broadly trained business man +realizes that he is in a sense a servant of the community, that his +property is wrapped up with the welfare of his fellow men, and that +what he has is a trust which society grants to him to be conducted +after the manner of a good steward. Such training reveals to him the +_raison d'être_ of labor legislation, factory laws, the various +qualifications of the property right, the necessity for taxation, and +the importance of good government to all the citizens of the State +both as coöperative agents in production and as consumers. Continued +and improved business education will elevate the mind of the merchant +and the manager so that its horizon is no longer the profit balance +but the welfare of all society. + +The cultural aim of business courses is consciously kept in mind by +the makers of curricula for colleges of liberal arts and sciences +which permit a rather free choice of electives in the department of +Economics and Business or of Political Science, according to the +departmental organization of the institution. Here, of course, we find +Economics, which bears to practical business much the relation which +Philosophy bears to active life in general. We find also courses in +Money and Banking, usually offered from the historical and descriptive +rather than the technical point of view. Recently, however, colleges +have included in this field of election practical courses in +Accountancy and Commercial Law. The tendency is in the direction of +including more and more of the practical and technical courses, +although the historical and philosophical courses are retained. +Nevertheless the cultural value is undiminished, unless one were to +maintain that nothing which is exact can be cultural. + +=Methods of teaching= + +The field of business is so wide and embraces so many subjects that +the methods of teaching giving the best results will be varied and +used in different combinations with different subjects. Those subjects +which are practical and largely habit forming, such as stenography, +typewriting, bookkeeping, and the manipulation of mechanical and +labor-saving office devices, are of course taught by some method of +training which will insure quick reaction. In these courses the object +is to cultivate habits of manual dexterity and habits of orderliness +and neatness. Here we find that exposition is reduced to a minimum, +lectures are few, recitations do not exist to any great extent, but +that practice, + 1st, to secure proper form, and + 2d, to secure speed, +is the controlling aim of the method. The teachers show their +ingenuity in devising exercises which will give accuracy of form and +then develop speed without sacrifice of accuracy. + +In colleges these courses are reduced to a minimum because they are +usually cared for in lower schools, but for students who come directly +to the commercial college without them, preparatory courses of this +sort are often conducted. + +Among the technical subjects the one which calls for the most practice +is, of course, Accountancy, first for the single proprietor, next for +the partnership, and finally for the corporation. Various methods of +presenting Accountancy have been suggested. Very few teachers employ +extensive recitation work in this field. It is found most desirable to +have periods of at least two hours' duration, so that the teacher can +give such exposition and lecture work at the beginning of the period +as he may see fit, and the class may then take up practice. In some +schools it is customary to have one course in theory, another course +in practical accounting, and another course in problems of accounting. +However, the tendency seems to be in the direction of making these +three aspects of the work mutually helpful, and the course is offered +as a course in Accounting, Theory, Practice, and Problems. The theory +is set forth in a lecture, practice is given with typical situations +in mind, and then related problems are taken up for solution. Many +excellent texts are now appearing and can be used in the customary +manner. Assignments in these books tend to make unnecessary many long +or formal lectures, but there still remains the need for classroom +talks and quizzes. As the course progresses, the problems become more +and more difficult and complicated, and the final problem work is +exceedingly difficult and calls for a considerable power of analysis, +clarity of statement, and care in arrangement on the part of the +student. + +A complete course of this sort usually covers two and a half or three +years. At the end of the first year of general accountancy, special +subjects may be pursued parallel with the general course. The order in +which these specialties are introduced is usually Cost Accounting, +Auditing Systems, Judicial or Fiduciary Accounting, and then other +special branches such as Brokers' Accounts, Public Utilities +Accounting, Foreign Exchange Accounting, etc. + +General Accounting is very important both as an instrument for the +business man to use and as a training to insure the grasp of general +business organization. It is the opinion of the writer that whether a +business man expects to become an accountant or not, he should have a +thorough and technical grasp of this subject. In these specialties it +is necessary to depend upon lectures rather than textbooks, not only +because textbooks here are few and other works are not well adapted to +teaching use, but also because the subject matter must be kept up to +date and in keeping with changing practice. The lecturers should be +practical experts in each particular field as well as acceptable +teachers. + +Closely related to Accountancy is Commercial Law. Commercial Law +should, of course, be understood by every business man, not because he +expects to become a practitioner of law but because he wishes to avoid +unnecessary disputes and to shape his course wisely from a legal +standpoint in dealing with his employees, his business associates, and +his customers. + +There are various methods of teaching Commercial Law. The one which +has been in vogue thus far has been the textbook method, in which the +principles of law of interest to the business man are set forth. +Lessons are assigned in the book, and recitations are held. The +lecture method also is advocated. In some universities which have both +law schools and schools of commerce, the commercial students receive +lectures in the school of law in such subjects as contracts, agencies, +insurance, etc. It seems to the writer that neither of these practices +is desirable but that the proper way to teach Commercial Law to the +commercial students is the case method, in which the principles of law +of interest to the business man are developed from an examination of +actual cases of business litigation. We may very likely look forward +to the publication of case books which can be used either alone or in +conjunction with textbooks on legal principles. Lectures on law to +commercial students should be reduced to a minimum, and then they +should confine themselves to very broad principles which need no +lengthy exposition or to fields in which the students may be expected +to have a general grasp but no very detailed knowledge. But such +subjects as contracts, agency, bankruptcy, sales, insurance, +negotiable instruments, and forms of business association should be +taught thoroughly to the student in the classroom through the case +method, in which each case is fully discussed by the class and from +which discussion legal principles are evolved. It is interesting to +note that the states which stand highest in the matter of Certified +Public Accountancy licenses are requiring very thorough preparation in +law. To meet such requirements a course in law covering at least three +semesters, three hours a week, with a case method is certainly +necessary. + +The modern languages taught in schools of commerce should be by the +direct method, and always with the vocational end clearly before the +student. Actual business transactions, such as selling to a foreign +customer in the foreign language, correspondence, newspapers, +catalogues and other documents of business, should be the +supplementary reading and exercise material of the class. Facility in +conversation and writing should be developed as rapidly as possible, +and the grasp of the methodical rules should follow. It would probably +be presumptuous to take a strong position here on the question of +teaching modern languages, but experience with commercial students has +clearly indicated that greatest progress can be made if the language +is taught by a conversation or direct method from the very start, and +if paradigms and rules of syntax are evolved after some vocabulary has +been developed and some facility in speech has been acquired. We may +say here, incidentally, that it seems wise to teach the spoken +language for a while before taking up the problem of the written +language, especially where the foreign language assigns different +phonetic values to the printed symbols from those assigned in English. + +While the various technical subjects offer different problems because +of differences in their character, we may say in general that the aim +of the school should always be to keep in touch with the actual +practice in the business world; to have the lecturer use material +which is up to the minute, and, where possible, to give the students +the advantage of field work or at least to take them on tours of +inspection in the different houses engaged in this or that line of +business. + +The curriculum of any good commercial college or university department +of business includes courses in Economics, Commercial Geography, +Industrial History, Business Management, and similar subjects. No +doubt other chapters of this book discuss methods of teaching these +subjects. But it may not be out of place here to indicate that the +best approach to the study of Economics is through practical business +courses in Accountancy, Commercial Law, and Practical Management. +Economics is the Philosophy of Business, and it cannot be understood +by one who is unfamiliar with the facts of business. Certainly it +cannot be related to real business life by the academic student. It +would seem, therefore, best to reserve the course in Economic Theory +for the senior year of a business course and precede it with courses +in Accounting, Law, Industrial History, and Management. Then, when it +is taught, it should be presented through practical problems from +which the general principles may, by induction, be derived. + +=Relations with the business world= + +It is important that commercial education should not grow academic and +remote from the real world of affairs. Therefore schools of business +should keep in close contact with merchants' associations, chambers of +commerce, and such other bodies of business men as may be in the +neighborhood of the school. Committees from such associations should +have either a voice in the conduct of the school, or at least have +very strong advisory representation on committees. In France, Germany, +and in fact most European countries, colleges of commerce were +directly established by chambers of commerce and associations of +merchants, and the work is to a large extent conducted under their +direction. Whether the college of commerce in America be a private +institution or one supported by the public, it should form some +sympathetic contact with the leading business organizations. Of course +certain business associations have their own technical schools of +training. The American Bankers' Association conducts its own courses, +drawing upon various universities for lecturers in some subjects and +drawing upon experts in business for other kinds of technical work. So +also various corporations have their corporation schools which seek to +develop business executives by progressive courses of training for +those in the lower ranks. + +Nevertheless, the collegiate institutions offering organized courses +in commerce will do well to keep in touch with business men. Another +way in which such schools and colleges can keep abreast of the times +is to employ lecturers who do not make teaching their main business of +life but who are expert in certain particular fields. Indeed, it is +almost impossible to teach certain of the very advanced and +specialized courses without employing men of this sort. They are +attracted to teaching not by the pay but by the honor of being +connected with an institution of learning, and by sincere desire to +contribute something to the development of the work in which they are +interested. These men, of course, can be scheduled only for a +relatively few hours a week, and sometimes they can be had only for +evening lectures, but in any event they are very much worth while. +Obviously the director of studies in the college should give these men +all possible assistance of a pedagogical sort, so that their +advantages as experts in business will not be offset by deficiencies +as teachers. + +=Evening work in commercial courses= + +This brings us to another consideration which is very important. It +seems to the writer that the ideal training for a student who has +reached the stage of entrance to college and who wishes to go into +business is as follows: + +He should enroll in the college course which is preparatory for +business training and pursue his modern languages, Mathematics, +English, and the Social Sciences, and also take up such accounting and +technical work as he can have the first two years of his course. Then +he should enter the world of business itself, be in a business house +during the day, and continue his studies at night. It seems very +desirable that this parallel progress, in organized theory and +instruction, on the one hand, and in actual business with its +difficulties which arise almost haphazard, should be carried on. The +relationship is very helpful. Of course a substitute for this is the +coöperative plan, in which the student spends a part of his time in +college and a part of the time in a business house. Another +alternative in institutions which have the three-term year is to put +two terms in at college and one term in at business. The calendar +arrangement of any institution will suggest variations of this +suggested arrangement, the purpose of which will be to insure +progressive development in business practice and also in collegiate +instruction. + +=Recent developments= + +It is to be noticed that in the last few years business has become +more and more intense. The developments are in two directions. The +first direction is saving and efficiency through organization. This +tends to keep down cost. The other direction is in the stimulation of +the market and in perfecting advertising and selling methods. +Naturally there have been developments in the recording, accounting, +and clerical ends of the business, but scientific management in +production on the one hand, and scientific selling on the other, are +the two great developments. In both, engineering plays a prominent +part and dictates a close correlation of the business and the +engineering curricula of a college or university seeking to give most +effective training either to the student of business or the student of +engineering. On the selling side we are having the further +developments which come with the growth of foreign trade. + +In order to meet the demand for men competent to organize production +wisely and from a business viewpoint, more courses will be given in +what we may call production management or commercial engineering. +Furthermore, the sales engineer must be trained. The curriculum of the +course of collegiate grade should be made up somewhat as follows: + +A two years' prescribed course in the general sciences and in general +principles of business, followed by a two or three year curriculum in +technical business management, on the one hand, including especially +accounting, cost accounting, wage systems, employment management, and +some branch of engineering on the other hand. The engineering course +should be general but thorough. It should not go up into specialized +fields of design, but it should include all the fundamental courses of +engineering--of mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering. A +combination course in engineering and business management is needed +also to prepare men for places in banks as investment managers. The +banks must advance funds to industrial concerns, and such loans cannot +be made wisely save upon the advice of one who is thoroughly +acquainted with plant management, equipment, and mechanical operations +as well as costs of production and market possibilities. In addition, +such a man must be well acquainted with systems of accounting and +methods of preparing financial statements. In the field of +salesmanship, engineering training is growing in importance. In short, +the highly organized state of modern production and the tremendous +part played by engineering in modern industry indicate the need for a +close coördination of business and engineering education. + +In conclusion we may say that business education is now at the stage +where it has its own technology, is in close touch with other fields +of technology, and is making its contribution to the general fund of +modern culture. Texts and scientific treatises in the field of +business are increasing, the pedagogy of the various included subjects +is receiving satisfactory attention, and schools of collegiate and +university grade are keeping abreast of the demands of the business +world for adequate general and specific training in business. + + FREDERICK B. ROBINSON + _College of the City of New York_ + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +COOLEY, E. G. _Vocational Education in Europe._ Commercial Club of +Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1912. Chapters on Vocational Education in +General, Commercial Schools, and the Conclusion. + +FARRINGTON, F. E. _Commercial Education in Germany._ The Macmillan +Company, 1914. + +HERRICK, C. A. _Meaning and Practice of Commercial Education_, and +other works in the Macmillan Commercial Series, 1904. There is an +excellent bibliography on the whole subject of commercial education as +an appendix to Herrick's Commercial Education. + +HOOPER, FREDERICK, and GRAHAM, JAMES. _Commercial Education at Home +and Abroad._ The Macmillan Company, 1901. + +There are numerous contributions on particular aspects and general +methods and special methods in commercial subjects. The best printed +bibliography of these is in the back of Herrick's book. A typical work +on methods is Klein and Kahn's _Methods in Commercial Education_. + + + + +INDEX + + Accountancy. _See_ Business Education + + Adapting course of study, 95-97, 202, 244, 480, 572 + + Adler, Felix, 323, 325 + + Æsthetic aim, in teaching, 52, 92; + in music, 470 + + Aims, in teaching, 48-51; + modified for different students, 54; + in organization of knowledge, 65; + in teaching biology, 88-94; + in teaching mathematics, 172; + in physical education, 184-190; + in teaching economics, 217-220; + in teaching American history, 218; + in teaching political science, 282-287; + in teaching philosophy, 304; + in teaching ethics, 320-328; + in teaching psychology, 337; + in teaching English literature, 380-384, 422-423; + in teaching classics, 405; + in teaching Romance languages, 426-427; + in teaching music, 460-462, 467; + of art instruction, 478; + in teaching engineering subjects, 508-511; + in teaching mechanical drawing, 525-527; + in business education, 559. + _See_ Civic, Disciplinary, Utilitarian + + Allen, J. T., 411 + + Angell, J. B., 30 + + Application of knowledge, 72 + + Art, 475-497 + + Art instruction, 475 + + Athletics. _See_ Physical education + + Author's life, in literary study, 385 + + + Biological basis of education, 85-87, 94, 364 + + Biology, 85-109 + + Brown, E. E., 358 + + Brown University, 5 + + Business education, 555-577 + + Butler, N. M., 30, 404 + + + Calkins, Mary W., 339 + + Canby, H. S., 42 + + Case method, in political science, 292; + in philosophy, 316; + in ethics, 329; + in psychology, 338-340; + in commercial law, 572-573 + + Cattell, J. M., 30 + + Chemistry, 108-125 + + Chronological viewpoint in history, 257 + + Citizenship, training for, 282 + + Civic aim in economics, 219 + + Classics, 404-423; + in Colonial colleges, 5-6; + status in college teaching, 404; + through the vernacular, 418; + through ancient authors, 421 + + Coeducation, 18-21 + + College teaching, why ineffective, 46-48 + + Collegiate Institute, 4 + + Colonial period, 3 + + Columbia University, 5, 8 + + Commercial education. _See_ Business education + + Commercial law, 571-572 + + Committee on standards of American universities, 42 + + Comparisons in teaching, 70 + + Composition and journalism, 546 + + Composition teaching, status of, 390. + _See_ English + + Correlation, 70, 151, 156-157, 297, 295-297, 314 + + Course of study, 477, 481-485, 486-490; + in biology, 95-98; + logical and psychological, 103; + in chemistry, 111; + in physics, 134-137, 138-139; + in geology, 153-156, 158; + in hygiene and physical training, 206; + in economics, 225; + in sociology, 244-246; + determined by community, 246; + in American history, 259-262; + in European history, 269-276; + in political science, 280-281; + in philosophy, 312-314; + in education, 353; + in English literature, 386; + in classics, 410; + in Romance languages, 431-436; + in German, 442-453; + in engineering, 502-504; + in mechanical drawing, 526-530; + in business education, 559-567 + + Cultural aim, 220, 336, 348, 382-384 + + + Dartmouth College Case and college development, 8-9 + + Democracy, 259 + + Descriptive geometry, 530 + + Design in engineering, 517 + + Development method, 73, 75-76 + _See_ Recitation + + Dewey, J., 362-364 + + Dexter, E. G., 30, 355 + + Differentiated courses, 504-508 + + Direct method, 444 + + Disciplinary aim, 51-52; + in physics, 126-127; + in geology, 143-150; + in history, 264; + in psychology, 336; + in education, 349; + in literature, 382-384; + in Romance languages, 424; + in music, 467-468 + + Draper, A. S., 30 + + Duggan, S. P., 353 + + + Economic viewpoint in history, 257 + + Economics, 58, 217-240 + + Education as college subject, 347-376 + + Educational and instructional aim, 50-51 + + Elective system, 11-14 + + Elementary language courses as college courses, 426 + + Eliot, Charles W., 11 + + Emotional reaction in literature, 384 + + Engineering subjects, 501-524 + + English, teaching of, 49, 379-388, 389-403. + _See_ Composition, Literature + + Equipment for art instruction, 490 + + Ethics, 320-333 + + Evening session for business education, 573 + + Examination, 80. _See_ Tests + + Experimental work in psychology, 342. + _See_ Laboratory method + + Expressional limitations of college students, 545 + + + Field work, 254, 298, 517 + + Finance, teaching of. _See_ Business education + + Flexner, A., 30, 42 + + Foster, W. T., 30 + + Functional aspect in teaching, 292 + + + Geology, 142-160 + + German, 440-453 + + German influence on American college, 14 + + Gradation of subject matter, 56, 387 + + Graduate schools, 14-15 + + Graves, 353 + + + Habits, 91, 199. + _See_ Aims, Disciplinary aim + + Handschin, C. H., 42 + + Harper, W. R., 30 + + Hart, 355 + + Harvard, 3 + + Health instruction, 197. + _See_ Physical education + + Heuristic method. _See_ Development method, Recitation + + High school preparation, in physical education, 190; + in music, 469, 485 + + History, of American college, 3; + of college mathematics, 167; + of sociology, 241; + of music as college subject, 357; + of teaching of journalism, 533-539; + of business education in the college, 555-557 + + Holliday, C., 42 + + Horne, H. H., 36, 42 + + + Illustrations, 243 + + Immigration and status of English teaching, 394. + + Informal aim in teaching, 51 + + Informal examination, 308 + + Introductory course, in ethics, 328; + in political science, 288, 298; + in philosophy, 307, 315; + in psychology, 334; + in mechanical drawing, 527-528 + + + Jefferson and founding of American college, 7 + + Johns Hopkins University, 32 + + Journalism as college subject, 24, 533-554 + + Junior college, 26-27 + + + King's College, 5 + + Kingsley, C. D., 30 + + + Laboratory method, 73, 78; + in chemistry, 62, 114; + in biology, 99; + in physics, 132; + in geology, 157; + in psychology, 343; + in engineering, 516 + + Language as index of mentality, 388 + + Law, 17; + commercial, 571-572 + + Lecture method, 73; + in chemistry, 113-114; + in physics, 131, 133; + in mathematics, 175; + in economics, 227, 231-235; + in sociology, 242; + in history, 260, 265; + in philosophy, 308-310; + in psychology, 340-341; + in classics, 419-421; + in engineering, 511-513; + in commercial education, 568-572 + + Length of periods in accountancy, 569 + + Literary analysis, 386 + + Literary appreciation, 380. + _See_ Aims, Cultural, Æsthetic + + Literary style, 386 + + Literature and the classics, 407-408, 415. + _See_ English + + Logical association, 63-64 + + + MacLean, G. E., 30 + + Mathematics, 59, 161-182 + + Mechanical drawing, 525-532 + + Medicine, 17 + + Mental development and acquisition of language, 388 + + Methods of teaching conditioned by aims, 98. + _See_ Aims + + Mezes, S. F., 48 + + Modern languages, when introduced, 7; + in business education, 571 + + Modern literature and the classics, 412 + + Monroe, P., 353 + + Morrill Act, 10 + + Motivation in teaching, 55-56 + + Municipal research, 298. + _See_ Laboratory method, Sociology, Political science + + Music in secondary schools, 465 + + + Natural method in classics, 411, 416-417 + + Newspaper English, 541-542 + + Non-sectarianism in American colleges, 7 + + Notebook of students, 356 + + + Oberlin and coeducation, 20 + + Oral composition in German, 447 + + Oral reading and English literature, 384 + + Ordinance of 1787, 9 + + Organization of subject matter, 62-66 + + Outlines in biology, 102 + + + Parker, S. C., 355 + + Pennsylvania University, 4 + + Philosophy, 57, 70-71, 123, 127, 302-319 + + Physical education, 22, 183-314 + + Physics, 126-141 + + Pitkin, W. B., 46-50 + + Place in curriculum, of political science, 287; + of ethics, 328; + of psychology, 334, 344; + of history of education, 351; + of educational theory, 359; + of German, 440; + of art education, 475 + + Point of contact in teaching, 57-62 + + Political science, 279-301 + + Preparatory training, in chemistry, 109; + in physics, 129; + in mathematics, 164, 176-178; + in physical education, 190; + in German, 448; + for journalism, 549 + + Problem method, in economics, 228, 231-235; + in sociology, 248-251 + + Professional preparation, for women, 20; + through political science, 283 + + Prose composition and the classics, 414 + + Psychology, 57, 334-346, 364 + + Public service, training for, 284 + + + Quiz, how to conduct, 118 + + + Recitation, 118, 174, 513-516, 568-572 + + Reduction of college course, 27 + + Reference reading, 73, 76, 267, 514 + + Relating course to students, 128, 370; + in chemistry, 120; + in sociology, 245; + in philosophy, 309; + in ethics, 321-327, 331-332; + in psychology, 338; + in music, 459; + in business education, 572. + _See_ Adapting course of study + + Relative importance in organization of knowledge, 64 + + Religious character of American college, 5-7, 22 + + Reporting, teaching art of, 547 + + Research, 285. + _See_ Reference reading, Problem method, Seminar + + Research scholars as teachers, 105-106, 124, 137, 178 + + Robinson, M. L., 42 + + Romance languages, 424-428 + + + Scholarship as preparation for teaching, 38 + + Science, teaching of, 61-64; + place of, in journalism course, 552 + + Scientific methods, in political science, 298; + in psychology, 343 + + Scope of course in educational theory, 361 + + Self-activity, 72 + + Self-government, 24 + + Seminar, 76 + + Senior college, 26-28 + + Sequence of courses in political science, 289 + + Skill to be developed in biology, 90 + + Smith, F. W., 55 + + Snow, L. F., 30 + + Social museum, the, 254 + + Social sciences, place in journalism course, 550 + + Sociology, 241-255 + + Socratic method. _See_ Recitation, Development method + + Stanley, A. A., 465 + + Student Army Training Corps, 335 + + Summaries in teaching, 66 + + + Teacher, as scholar, 105. + _See_ Research, Teacher training + + Teacher training, 18, 31, 37-39, 256-257, 436, 468-470 + + Technical subjects in college curriculum, 16, 25-26, 479, 504-508 + + Technique, as aim in teaching, 52 + + Testing results of instruction, 136; + in economics, 244; + in history, 261, 268; + in psychology, 343; + in music, 473; + in art, 493-496; + in engineering subjects, 519-522 + + Textbook, in geology, 158; + in mathematics, 179; + in economics, 228, 231-235; + in sociology, 253; + in history, 259; + in ethics, 330 + + Theology, in separate school, 16 + + Thoroughness, 66-72, 104 + + Thwing, C. F., 30 + + Time to be given to subjects, 345, 486. + _See_ Place in curriculum + + Topical method in history, 266 + + Types of instruction, 396-398 + + + Undergraduate and graduate teaching, 388 + + Unified courses, 59, 302 + + Utilitarian aim, 217; + of physics, 126; + of geology, 142; + of political science, 286; + of psychology, 337; + of history of education, 348 + + + Values, 355. _See_ Aims + + Vernacular, in teaching German, 445 + + Viewpoint in teaching, a new, 69 + + Virginia, University of, 7 + + + West, A. F., 30 + + William and Mary, 4 + + Wolfe, A. B., 36, 42 + + Women, education of, 18-21. + _See_ Coeducation + + World War, effect on curriculum, 183 + + + Yale, 4 + + + + +_A review of the factors and problems connected with the learning and +teaching of modern languages with an analysis of the various methods +which may be adopted in order to obtain satisfactory results._ + + THE SCIENTIFIC + STUDY AND TEACHING + OF LANGUAGES + + By HAROLD D. 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Nothing could be more +practically helpful and suggestive than the example of a standard +course, which is worked out in detail for three years of French, or +the discussion of such topics as applications of the laws of memory, +the use of association and visualization, how to guard against what +the author classifies as "the six vicious tendencies of all students +of languages," when translation is and is not allowable. + +It is a book of particular importance in college classes in the +pedagogy of language teaching, and is helpful to all teachers of +languages, especially to teachers of French. + +_Cloth. Illustrated. Charts. 328 pages. Price $3.00_ + + WORLD BOOK COMPANY + YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK + 2126 PRAIRIE AVENUE, CHICAGO + + + + +NEW-WORLD SPANISH SERIES + + +LESSON BOOKS + +POCO A POCO, _by_ GUILLERMO HALL. An easy book, profusely illustrated, +especially well adapted to junior high schools. $1.28. + +ALL SPANISH METHOD, _by_ GUILLERMO HALL. 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The different forms of poetry and narrative, +and descriptions, sketches, essays, and letters are represented. + +Every piece is a complete unit or is at least easily detached from its +original setting, like an Uncle Remus or an Arabian-Nights story. The +selections are arranged as nearly as may be in the order of increasing +difficulty. The versions given are the definitive and authoritative +ones. The space devoted to each type of writing has been justly +apportioned. + +A bibliography, index to authors, titles, and first lines of poems and +helpful notes are included. It is attractive in appearance. Though +primarily designed for use in normal-school, college and library +classes, it will interest teachers and parents generally, and it +should be put into the hands of children. + +_xiii + 462 pages. 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($1.80) + + CITIZENSHIP: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL ETHICS + By _Milton Bennion_ + + The nature of society and social problems; social obligations of + the individual and the opportunities society offers for + development through service. ($1.20) + + FORM AND FUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT + By _Thomas Harrison Reed_ + + A high-school textbook in civics; notable for solid historical + basis, modern point of view, and clear treatment of difficult + phases of the subject. ($2.00) + + DEMOCRACY AND WORLD RELATIONS + By _David Starr Jordan_ + + A new book, suitable for high-school and college classes in + history or civics, and for the general reader. 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