$B 273 7fiM 
 
 EDUCATIONAL 
 QUESTIONS 
 
 W. C. DOUB 
 
^ 
 
 i^?W A?< LlA. 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 2 
 
Educational 
 
 Questions 
 
 W. C. DOUB, A. B. 
 
 (Stanford University) 
 COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 
 
 •»■>,» > 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR 
 BY 
 
 THE WHITAKER & RAY COMPANY 
 
 (incorporated) 
 
 San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 1900 
 
Copyright, 1900 
 
 BY 
 
 THE WHITAKER & RAY CO. 
 
 «*-r V.U- 
 
 ^^V- 
 
 '!•• • ' • • *a m • 
 
 • • • • • "«" • • ••« • • «• 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The public school system of California during the 
 next few years is destined to pass through a period 
 of change and transition. I recognize, at least to 
 some extent, the vital importance of this period of 
 transition, and I recognize further, that some of the 
 evils in the public school system, which we now see, 
 will not be remedied during this period, but must be 
 postponed for final correction to some future time. 
 With some knowledge of the limitations which the 
 present environment necessitates, I have, in the 
 pages which follow, discussed some of the evils of 
 the present school system and have pointed out the 
 remedy. Some of these remedies are based on 
 actual experience, some are not; but they are sub- 
 mitted with the one request that the public, the 
 educator and the legislator give them due considera- 
 tion. The discussions are short, sometimes even to 
 bluntness, the object being to call the attention of 
 the reader directly to the evil and to the remedy, 
 and to avoid bewildering the mind with details. 
 
 W. C. DOUB. 
 
 Bakersfleld, Cal., March 1, 1900. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/educationalquestOOdoubrich 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE. 
 
 1. Certification of Teachers 7 
 
 2. Relation of the University to the Courses of Study in the 
 
 Elementary and Secondary Schools - - - 25 
 
 3. Courses of Study in Elementary Schools - - - 35 
 
 4. Grammar by the Inductive Method - - - - 71 
 
 5. The State Text-book System • - - - -99 
 
CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS. 
 
 The position of the public school teacher is becom- 
 ing of more and more importance. There is an in- 
 creasing tendency in the United States to assign to 
 the teacher duties that have heretofore been as- 
 sumed by the parent. The mental, moral and physi- 
 cal training of the child is being left to the teacher. 
 This tendency may or may not be a wise one, but it 
 exists, and the indications are that it will continue 
 to exist. This being true, the parent and society at 
 large are vitally interested in the character and 
 ability of the men and women into whose hands has 
 been placed so large a share of this responsibility. 
 A republican state is vitally interested in the men- 
 tal, moral and physical training and education of its 
 young men and women. In the United States this 
 duty has been largely assigned to the public schools. 
 The efficiency of those schools depends more on the 
 teacher than on all other things combined. School 
 buildings and school apparatus are the necessary 
 adjuncts, but the teacher is the school. His charac- 
 ter and his qualifications should be of deeper con- 
 cern to the parent and to the state than the school 
 house in which the child studies and recites or the 
 apparatus with which he works. Those who are re- 
 sponsible for the laws which govern the issuing of 
 teachers' certificates ought thoroughly to under- 
 stand that they are dealing with one of the most im- 
 
8 "' '' ' EDUdA^TIO^^AL QUESTIONS, 
 
 portant questions of education. They should keep 
 the efficiency of the teacher constantly in view. 
 
 The present method of granting teachers' certifi- 
 cates in California is as follows : 
 
 1. The County Boards of Education and City 
 Boards of Examination may issue certificates of the 
 primary, the grammar and the high school grade, 
 and special certificates, to all those who successfully 
 pass examinations prepared and conducted by said 
 boards. County Boards of Education may also is- 
 sue certificates on certain credentials from other 
 states, or on certificates issued by other counties. 
 
 2. The State Board of Education may grant State 
 Educational diplomas of either the grammar or the 
 high school grade valid for six years, and State Life 
 diplomas of either the grammar or the high school 
 grade valid for life. These diplomas are granted on 
 experience in teaching, when the applicant is recom- 
 mended by the County Board of Education. 
 
 3. Certificates of the grammar grade must be is- 
 sued to those who hold California State Normal 
 School diplomas. 
 
 4. Certificates of the high school grade may be 
 issued to graduates of the University of California 
 and of other universities which the State Board of 
 Education may decide are of the same rank; pro- 
 vided, that said graduates have completed the re- 
 quired amount of work in the department of educa- 
 tion, and are recommended by the faculty of the 
 university of which they are graduates. 
 
 The method of granting certificates as outlined 
 above, would seem to have proven unsatisfactory to 
 a large number of the educators of the state, and 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 9 
 
 they have been casting about for a remedy. Some 
 are advocating a change, because the number of 
 school teachers in California is almost twice as large 
 as the number of school positions to be filled. But 
 this fact does not necessarily mean that the require- 
 ments for securing certificates should be made more 
 difficult. It does, however, remove the necessity of 
 considering the question of supply when a change 
 in the requirements for teachers' certificates is un- 
 der consideration, which has for its object the in- 
 creasing of the efliciency of the teaching force of the 
 state. If the tests are to be made more difficult for 
 those who are trying to obtain certificates entitling 
 them to teach in the public schools of the state, the 
 object should not be to decrease the number of 
 teachers — though that might be desirable — but to 
 better prepare teachers for the responsible duties 
 which they must assume. If it be desirable to make 
 the tests more difficult, an excessive number of 
 teachers removes an important obstacle, because the 
 requirements for teachers' certificates cannot be ad- 
 vanced if said action would result in giving an un- 
 der supply of teachers. 
 
 The object of this discussion is to point out some 
 of the defects in the present method of granting 
 teachers' certificates and to suggest a better method, 
 with the hope that the entire discussion may assist, 
 to some extent, in bringing about a much needed 
 reform in the certification of teachers. 
 
 The greatest evil of the present method of grant- 
 ing teachers' certificates is the power given to 
 county boards of education and city boards of ex- 
 amination to issue certificates of the primary, the 
 
10 EDUCATIOyAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 grammar and the high school grade on examinations 
 prepared and conducted by themselves. This has 
 resulted in creating almost as many standards of 
 requirements as there are counties in the state, and 
 in the certification of hundreds of teachers who are 
 unqualified for the duties of the profession to which 
 their certificates admit them. And this certification 
 of unqualified applicants by these examining boards 
 is a natural result, because the members of these 
 boards live in an environment tending toward a low 
 standard of requirement for the examinations. 
 Most of them owe their positions to politics, and 
 there is a constant and strong pressure brought to 
 bear on them in favor of the local applicant. This 
 means that the examinations must not be made 
 difficult and that the local applicant must be fa- 
 vored in every possible way. There are less than 
 half a dozen counties in this state in which the 
 county board of education has had the courage to re- 
 quire of applicants for grammar grade certificates 
 an education equal to that furnished by the average 
 high school, and through favoritism of various 
 kinds the examination of the local applicant is not 
 so difficult as the questions would indicate. It fre- 
 quently occurs that grammar school graduates after 
 studying one or two years secure certificates at one 
 of these examinations. 
 
 Many unacquainted with school affairs will natur- 
 ally conclude that unqualified teachers will be un- 
 able to secure positions. As a matter of fact, how- 
 ever, the opposite is true. A university or a normal 
 school graduate cannot secure a position as readily 
 as a local applicant who has succeeded in squeezing 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 11 
 
 through the local examination. Men and women of 
 wealth, influence and ability, who use good judg- 
 ment in most things, will go to members of city 
 boards of education, and to district trustees, and ask 
 them as a personal favor to elect some local teacher, 
 without considering whether or not he is well quali- 
 fied for the duties of the position. This local influ- 
 ence which is brought to bear in favor of the local 
 applicant because he needs the money, usually pre- 
 vails. In other words, men and women who ought 
 to know better act as though they believe that the 
 public school exists for the purpose of supplying po- 
 sitions for teachers simply because said teachers 
 may be in need of financial help. 
 
 The local teacher who is well qualified should 
 always be given the preference. It too often hap- 
 pens, however, that the local teacher, whether well 
 qualified or not, secures a position through local in- 
 fluence; and it is also true that county boards of 
 education are responsible for the existence of the 
 majority of these unqualified teachers. 
 
 Another evil of the present method of issuing cer- 
 tificates is the granting of educational and life di- 
 plomas of the grammar and high school grades by 
 the State Board of Education. As stated above, 
 these certificates are issued on experience in teach- 
 ing and are good in all parts of the State — the educa- 
 tional diploma for six years, and the life diploma for 
 life. 
 
 The objection to these state diplomas lies not in 
 that they are issued for six years or for life and are 
 good all over the State. In fact, these features are 
 points in their favor. The injury to the public school 
 
12 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 system results from county boards of education re- 
 newing the certificates, which they have granted to 
 unqualified teachers, until said teachers can secure 
 an educational or life diploma. The state diploma 
 enables unqualified teachers to injure the school 
 work of other counties. Before they received their 
 state diploma they could be restricted to the county 
 that had issued to them their certificate; after re- 
 ceiving it, they can teach in any county in the state. 
 From an educational standpoint, it is an excellent 
 plan to grant grammar grade certificates to normal 
 school graduates, provided the normal school courses 
 of study amount to a fairly liberal education in 
 addition to the necessary professional training. The 
 normal schools of California do not meet these re- 
 quirements, and the same is true of most normal 
 schools in the United States. At the present time 
 the normal schools are not professional schools in 
 the true sense of that term. Most of their work is 
 work that should be done and is done by the average 
 high school. When a normal school graduate enters 
 the university, he stands upon the same footing as a 
 high school graduate — both beginning the first 
 year's work. This condition of affairs is most unde- 
 sirable. No one should be allowed to enter a nor- 
 mal school devoted to the training of teachers, who 
 is not already a graduate of a good high school or its 
 equivalent, and the work in the normal school 
 should be at least a two years' course, amounting to 
 a fairly liberal education and involving special peda- 
 gogical training. Not until we change our present 
 policy of establishing small normal schools of com- 
 paratively low rank can we hope to raise materially 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 13 
 
 the standard of requirement for teachers' certifi- 
 cates. Better one or two large normal schools with"^ 
 first-class faculties, where thorough w^ork is done, 
 than half a dozen small and inefficient ones. The 
 normal school should not take the place of the high 
 school, no matter how anxious normal school teach- 
 ers may be to increase the attendance at the normal 
 school in which they are teaching, or however 
 anxious the people of the city, in which the said 
 school is located, may be to avoid the expense of 
 maintaining a local high school or to secure the com- 
 mercial advantage of a large normal school attend-/ 
 ance. 
 
 Another bad result of the present normal school 
 courses of study, is the graduating of students before 
 they are old enough to take charge of a school. With 
 rare exceptions, twenty-one years of age is young 
 enough for a teacher to take charge of school work, 
 and twenty-two or twenty-three years of age is bet- 
 ter. Under the present" arrangements, students can 
 easily graduate from the normal schools at the age 
 of nineteen or twenty. If a student were required to 
 devote eight or nine years to elemntary school work, 
 four years to secondary school work and two or three 
 years to normal school work, he would be about 
 twenty-one or twenty-two years of age when he se- 
 cured admission to the profession of teaching. In 
 other professions and in the business world gen- 
 erally, very few men and women under this age se- 
 cure positions as important as the teacher occupies 
 when in charge of a school. In addition to other 
 requirements, it requires considerable executive 
 
14 EDUCATIO^^AL QUESTIONS. 
 
 ability to manage properly a school, and boys and 
 girls as a rule do not possess this ability. 
 
 No better requirement should be demanded of an 
 applicant for a high school certificate, than a uni- 
 versity diploma of graduation, accompanied by a 
 recommendation of the faculty stating that the ap- 
 plicant has had the required professional training, 
 and is otherwise qualified for making a successful 
 teacher. It would be well, however, to restrict the 
 scope of high school certificates to those subjects in 
 which the applicant has specialized while attending 
 the university. A high school teacher should not be 
 permitted to attempt to teach subjects in the high 
 school in which he has not had a liberal university 
 training. 
 
 There can be no valid objections offered to issuing 
 certificates on credentials from other states, pro- 
 vided said credentials are equivalent to those re- 
 quired by the laws of this state. This matter of 
 accrediting the credentials of other states, however, 
 should receive careful attenton. It is better to err 
 in favor of California requirements, than in favor of 
 requirements of other states. 
 
 In order to avoid the injurious results of the pres- 
 ent method of certificating teachers, the method out- 
 lined below is suggested, and the attention of all 
 those who are interested in education is respectfully 
 called to the same. 
 
 1. The State Board of Education should consist 
 of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
 the President of the University of California, the 
 President of the Stanford University, the professor 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 15 
 
 at the head of the Department of Education of each 
 of the above named universities, and the Presidents 
 of the State Normal Schools. 
 
 2. The State Board of Education should pre- 
 scribe the minimum amount of work in university 
 departments of education that would be accepted 
 for high school certificates, and the minimum 
 amount of university work in any subject that 
 would be accepted for high school certificates. It 
 should select those universities in the United States 
 which are of equal rank with the University of Cali- 
 fornia in so far as the requirements for granting 
 high school certificates are concerned, and should 
 select those normal schools in the United States 
 which are of equal rank with the California state 
 normal schools. It should also select those creden- 
 tials upon which special certificates would be issued. 
 
 3. The State Board of Education should elect all 
 the California state normal school teachers; pro- 
 vided, that the presidents of the state normal schools 
 have no voice in the selection of the president of said 
 schools: the State Board of Education should pre- 
 scribe the courses of study for the state norma? 
 schools; provided, that no student should be per- 
 mitted to enter a state normal school who is not a 
 graduate of a good secondary school, or does not 
 possess an equivalent education; and provided fur- 
 ther, that the normal school courses of study be not 
 less than two year courses. 
 
 4. There should be but three grades of teachers' 
 certificates in California — high school grade, gram- 
 
16 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 mar grade, and special certificates, all of which 
 should be issued by the State Board of Education. 
 
 5. High school grade certificates should be issued 
 only on diplomas of graduation from the University 
 of California and from other universities in the 
 United States of equal rank; and then only when 
 the holders of said diplomas have successfully com- 
 pleted the required amount of work in the university 
 department of education, and are specifically recom- 
 mended for the profession of teaching by the faculty 
 of the university of which they are graduates; and 
 provided further, that high school grade certificates 
 authorize the holders to teach only those subjects in 
 which they have had a thorough university training, 
 and for the teaching of which they have been spe- 
 cifically recommended by the faculty of the uni- 
 versity of which they are graduates. 
 
 G. Grammar grade certificates should be issued 
 only on diplomas of graduation from California 
 state normal schools and from other normal schools 
 in the United States of equal rank. 
 
 7. Special certificates should be issued on creden- 
 tials selected by the State Board of Education. 
 These special certificates should authorize the hold- 
 ers to teach some one or more of the following 
 subjects : 
 
 Music, drawing, polytechnic work, commercial 
 work, or physical training. 
 
 8. All three grades of certificates should be valid 
 in all the counties of the state, and should be perma- 
 nent certificates unless revoked by the State Board 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 17 
 
 of Education for unprofessional conduct. When 
 teaching, the holder of a certificate should be re- 
 quired to have the same registered in the ofilce of 
 the school superintendent of the county in which he 
 is teaching. 
 
 9. A high school grade certificate should author- 
 ize the holder to teach the subjects named in his cer- 
 tificate in any of the secondary schools of the state, 
 and should be accepted in lieu of a grammar grade 
 certificate. 
 
 10. Grammar grade certificates should authorize 
 the holder to teach in any of the kindergartens, and 
 in any of the elementary schools of the state. 
 
 11. A special certificate should authorize the 
 holder to teach the subjects named in his certificate 
 in any of the elementary or primary schools of the 
 state. 
 
 I believe that the method of granting teachers' 
 certificates as outlined above, while it would be a 
 material advance over the present method, would 
 not place the profession of teaching in California on 
 a higher plane than it deserves. While it would re- 
 strict the number of those who would be able to 
 secure certificates each year, it seems reasonable to 
 presume that the supply would continue equal to the 
 demand. A great many who now secure certificates 
 at county and city examinations, would continue 
 their education through the high school and the 
 normal school, thus increasing the number of normal 
 school graduates, and at the same time securing 
 much better prepared teachers. True, those who 
 
18 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 wish to make the professon of teaching a temporary 
 business, those who look upon it as the stepping 
 stone to some other profession and upon children as 
 fit subjects for experimentation, will, perhaps, offer 
 vigorous objections to what they may be pleased to 
 term the proposed innovations in the certification of 
 teachers. I believe, however, that the proper educa- 
 tion of the children who are attending the public 
 schools is of more vital importance to the welfare of 
 society than the success of a few individuals. 
 Furthermore, the fact that an ambitious young man 
 or young woman were prevented for a few years 
 from teaching would be only a temporary check to 
 the possible realization of his or her ambitions. 
 
 One of the strong features of the proposed method 
 of certificating teachers is placing the control and 
 management of the educational side of the state 
 normal schools and the issuing of teachers' certifi- 
 cates in the hands of educators, where they right- 
 fully belong. Not only should politics be eradicated 
 from the control and management of the state nor- 
 mal schools, and the granting of teachers' certifi- 
 cates; but, if possible, it should be eradicated from 
 the selection of teachers in all public schools. Those 
 who are sincerely anxious to see the standard of 
 efficiency of our teaching force raised should re- 
 member that one of the greatest and most alarming 
 dangers threatening the ability and qualifications of 
 the teaching force to-day is politics. In innumer- 
 able instances in this state at the present time the 
 selection of a teacher depends upon his or her poli- 
 tics. Will, or will not his selection advance the 
 interests of this or that man for some school office? 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 1S» 
 
 If the voters of this and other states do not see to it 
 that a teacher's politics shall have nothing to do 
 with his or her selection as a teacher, then we are in 
 truth helpless, because men and women of ability 
 cannot be induced to enter the profession of teach- 
 ing if their employment is to depend upon the pre- 
 cariousness of party politics. Any man or woman, 
 whether republican, populist, or democrat; whether 
 protestant, catholic, infidel, or atheist, or what not, 
 who insists that an applicant for the position of 
 teacher shall be questioned as to his or her politics 
 or religion, is acting, whether he thinks so or not, in 
 direct opposition to the best interests of our public 
 school sj^stem. We are not agreed upon politics, we 
 are not agreed upon religion, but our public school 
 system is not the proper institution to advance the 
 political or religious ideas of any man or woman. 
 
 While the personality of the teacher is of para- 
 mount importance, it cannot be certificated. Ex- 
 perience must largely determine whether a person is 
 naturally adapted for teaching. The requirements 
 for teachers' certificates outlined above would, how- 
 ever, weed out those who are plainly unfit for the 
 prof esson of teaching. Few would be able to secure 
 diplomas of graduation from the normal schools who 
 did not possess qualities fairly indicative of a good 
 teacher. The character of a student as portrayed 
 by his daily outward life, as well as his mental 
 ability, should be taken into consideration in the 
 granting of diplomas on which teachers' certificates 
 must be issued. Those whose characters plainly 
 unfit them for teaching would very likely commit 
 some act that would come to the attention of the 
 
20 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 faculty of the institution which they were attending. 
 At least, fewer undesirable characters would secure 
 teachers' certificates under the proposed method of 
 certificating teachers than under the present one. 
 The moral atmosphere of the normal schools would 
 be beneficial. Good, thorough work under teachers 
 of ability, character and independence tends to 
 strengthen the character of students and to impress 
 on them the responsibility of the profession of teach- 
 ing. The members of the normal school faculties 
 would no longer owe their positions to politics, and 
 this would give an upward tendency to the tone of 
 normal school work in all its varied phases. The 
 supervision of the normal school work, and selection 
 of normal school teachers, would be in the hands of 
 educators and not in the hands of politicians. 
 
 While speaking of the personality of the teacher, 
 it might be well to remind those who are advocating 
 the extensive teaching in the elementary schools of 
 what they are pleased to term the humane studies 
 that the moral and humane character training which 
 a pupil receives from his school life depends but 
 very little on the nature of the studies which he pur- 
 sues, but does depend to a large extent upon the 
 character and individuality of the teacher. The 
 actual, active, outward life, much more than the be- 
 liefs or precepts of the teacher or the nature of the 
 studies, is what influences the growing mind. A 
 teacher with a strong and inspiring mental and 
 moral individuality will leave an impress for good 
 on the character of his pupils, no matter what sub- 
 jects he may teach; and a teacher without these 
 qualities will not leave an impress for good on the 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTION,"^. 21 
 
 character of his pupils, no matter what subjects he 
 Diay teach. It is the individuality and character of 
 the teacher, and not the nature of the studies, that 
 should be taken into account when the moral and 
 humane training of a child in the school room is 
 under consideration. 
 
 Hand in hand with the raising of the requirements 
 for teachers' certificates there should be a united 
 effort made, not only to check the present downward 
 tendency of teachers' salaries, but to secure an in- 
 crease in the teachers' compensation. The tendency 
 to low^er teachers' salaries must be checked or it wall 
 cripple the public schools because it strikes at the 
 very heart of the public school system. Men and 
 women of ability will not enter the profession of 
 teaching if they are required to devote six or seven 
 years of their lives after they graduate from the 
 grammar school, in preparation, and then receive 
 but a small compensation for their services. 
 
 The vast majority of teachers teach but eight 
 months in the year. It is almost impossible for 
 them to obtain other employment during the other 
 four months. Furthermore, they need several 
 months for recreation and for improvement in their 
 profession. Many teachers, in fact, attend a sum- 
 mer school for one or two months each year. It 
 makes no difference how economical a teacher may 
 be, he will find when he begins his year's school 
 work that he will have but little to lay aside for old 
 age from his previous year's salary, even if he has 
 received seventy-five dollars a month. 
 
 Trustees make a vital mistake when they advocate 
 the lowering of their teacher's salary. The children 
 
22 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 of a district will receive more benefit from their 
 school work if they attend school seven months in a 
 year under a good teacher who is receiving a fair 
 salary than if they attend for eight months under a 
 poor teacher who is receiving a smaller salary. 
 Better a seven month's school with an efficient 
 teacher than an eight month's school with an ineffi- 
 cient one. It is assumed, of course, that no teacher 
 would underbid another in order to secure a position. 
 Efficiency alone should invariably be the test in the 
 employment of teachers. 
 
 On the question of teachers' salaries, Henry Ward 
 Beecher made the following remark: "There is no 
 profession so exacting, none that breaks down so 
 early as that of faithful teaching; and there is no 
 economy so penurious, and no policy so intolerably 
 mean, as that by which the custodians of public 
 affairs screw down to the starvation point the small 
 wages of men and women who are willing to devote 
 their time and strength to teaching the young. In 
 political movements thousands of dollars can be 
 squandered, but for the teaching of the children of 
 the people the cheapest teachers must be had, and 
 their pay must be reduced whenever a reduction of 
 expenses is necessary. If salaries ever should be 
 ample, it is in the profession of school teaching. If 
 there is one place where we ought to induce people 
 to make their profession a life business, it is in the 
 teaching of schools." 
 
 Another condition that must be brought about in 
 order that more men and women of ability may be 
 induced to enter the profession of teaching is the 
 assurance that thev will be able to retain a school 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 23 
 
 position once secured, as long as they do good, effi- 
 cient work. So long as a teacher's position depends 
 on the whim of a new board of trustees or on a new 
 board of education that has some friend it wishes 
 to accommodate, or that feels it must give away to 
 the influential pressure brought to bear in favor of 
 some one's else friend, so long will men and women 
 of ability be deterred from deliberately choosing 
 teaching as a profession. The teacher must have 
 some assurance that he can retain a position as long 
 as he does good work, and that he will not be com- 
 pelled to hunt up a new position at the end of each 
 school year. 
 
 How this condition can be brought about at the 
 present time with safety to school interests, I do not 
 know. Greater care in the certification of teach- 
 ers is one long step toward making this condi- 
 tion possible. If all those who held certificates were 
 good teachers, it would be safe to pass a law pre- 
 venting the removal of teachers except for good 
 cause, which cause must be duly proven. Some have 
 suggested that the power of appointing teachers be 
 taken away from boards of school trustees and 
 boards of education, and given to school superin- 
 tendents who are better qualified to judge in such 
 matters. This would be a good and efficient plan 
 provided school superintendents are well qualified 
 for the duties of the position which they occupy, and 
 will conscientiously perform their duties. This 
 plan, however, must be pronounced unsafe until 
 there is a high qualification required for the posi- 
 tion of school superintendent, and the election of 
 superintendents is removed from the domain of poli- 
 
24 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 tics. To place the selection and removal of teachers 
 in the hands of an upright and able superintendent, 
 would be the best solution of the question; but the 
 selection of the superintendent would then become 
 a question of prime importance. 
 
 The solution of the question of securing to the 
 teacher the assurance of a permanent position as 
 long as he does good and efficient work belongs to 
 the future, but it must be solved before the efficiency 
 of the public school system is placed on a secure 
 foundation. 
 
RELATION OF THE UNIVERSITY TO 
 THE COURSES OF STUDY IN 
 ELEMENTARY AND SEC- 
 ONDARY SCHOOLS.* 
 
 There seems to be a growing tendency in this 
 state to accuse those who are responsible for the 
 present school system with having perfected a sys- 
 tem at the expense of the school children, instead of 
 having created a system which would assist the vast 
 majority of boys and girls to secure the best possible 
 preparation for their life's work, which they could 
 reasonably expect to secure in their present circum- 
 stances. An examination of the school system of 
 the state, which takes into consideration the rela- 
 tive value of many of the studies taught in the 
 elementary and secondary schools, would seem to 
 indicate that this accusation rests on a pretty secure 
 foundation. 
 
 The qualifications for admission to the universi- 
 ties of the United States vary, and are determined 
 by the authorities of each university. Formerly the 
 faculties of the universities, in laying dovv^n the 
 qualifications for admission, were governed, to a 
 greater or less extent, by the qualifications of high 
 
 * The discussion on this subject, with slight modification, 
 was first issued by the author in November, 1897, under the 
 head of • ' A Pedagogical Question. ' ' 
 
26 EDUCATIONAL QUESTtONS. 
 
 school graduates; but in recent years, the largely 
 endowed universities of the East and the state uni- 
 versities of the West are more and more inclined to 
 set a standard of admission and to compel the high 
 schools to conform to this standard. As a rule, 
 those who have authority over the high schools lay 
 out the high school courses with this object in view 
 — in fact, the California state law requires them to 
 do so. The grammar schools in turn are compelled 
 to prescribe, or at least they do prescribe, a course 
 of work which seems to have admission to the high 
 school for its ultimate object. 
 
 This graded system of education, extending as it 
 does from the kindergarten to the technical schools 
 beyond the university, is an admirable system, pro- 
 vided the prescribed course of grammar school work 
 which has for its main object entrance into the high 
 school, and the prescribed course of high school 
 work which has for its main object entrance into the 
 university are the best courses to make good citizens 
 of the 95 per cent, of the school children who never 
 go beyond the high school and of the 90 per cent, 
 who never go beyond the grammar school. But are 
 the conditions of this proviso true? In so far as 
 California is concerned it would seem not; and if 
 not, then in so far as the vast majority of the school 
 children are concerned, they exist for the public 
 school system and it does not exist for them. 
 
 The object of the public school system is to assist 
 in the creation of good citizens and in the creation of 
 higher and purer ideals of citizenship. It will, no 
 doubt, be generally conceded, that a good citizen is 
 one who, aside from the abstract knowledge which 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 27 
 
 he may obtain in the grammar school, the high 
 schools, and the university, or by his own efforts, 
 has, tirst, the power to make a comfortable living 
 for himself, and in time to raise and properly sup- 
 port a family; and second, one who is patriotic, not 
 merely in the sense of hurrahing for the flag (which 
 is all very good in its way), but patriotic in the 
 sense of having an intelligent love for our institu- 
 tions, based, as such patriotism must be, on the 
 knowledge of their cost to the human race; and 
 lastly, a good citizen is one who has the ability to 
 better the economic and social conditions of society. 
 In other words, three of the requisites of a good citi- 
 zen consist in the power to make himself self-sup- 
 porting, independent; in a willingness to foster our 
 institutions; and in the ability substantially to bet- 
 ter them when possible. In preparing a boy or a 
 girl for citizenship the public schools are, to a 
 greater or less extent, deficient in all of these 
 requsites. 
 
 While it will be willingly conceded that the para- 
 mount object of education is mind training, it does 
 not follow that so long as this is accomplished it 
 makes little or no difference whether a student re- 
 members much or little of what he has studied dur- 
 ing his school life. That the school life of a boy or 
 girl should be mostly devoted to pursuing those 
 studies which will be of little use in after life, is not 
 only manifestly unnecessary, but is wrong both 
 from the standpoint of the individual and of society. 
 Every student who completes the work in the high 
 school should have devoted a part of his time, while 
 in said school, to some line of work that will directly 
 
28 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 assist him in making a living, without regard to 
 whether or not his present circumstances indicate 
 the necessity for so doing. Our educational system 
 should keep this object constantly in view, and its 
 attainment should be made as important as the 
 logical training of the mind. 
 
 Every high school should contain a good business 
 course. The high school that does not provide 
 facilities which will enable its students to secure a 
 good commercial training, is not doing what it 
 ought to do. The following, taken from an address 
 delivered by James A. Garfield before the students 
 of the Spencerian Business College, Washington, 
 D. C, June 29, 1869, is directly to point: 
 
 ^^But there was a reason of public policy which 
 brought me here to-night; and it was to testify to 
 the importance of these business colleges, and to 
 give two or three reasons why they have been es- 
 tablished in the United States. I wish every col- 
 lege president in the United States could hear the 
 first reason I proi)Ose to give. Business colleges^ my 
 fellow-citizens, originated in this cauntry as a protest 
 against the insufficiency of our system of education, — as a 
 protest against the failure, the absolute failure, of our 
 American schools and colleges to fit young men and women 
 for the business of life. Take the great classes gradu- 
 ated from the leading colleges of the country during 
 this and the next month, and how many, or, rather, 
 how few, of their members are fitted to go into the 
 practical business of life, and transact it like sensi- 
 ble men! These business colleges furnish their 
 graduates with a better education for practical pur- 
 poses than Princeton, Harvard, or Yale." 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUE8TI02<S. 29 
 
 Polytechnic work should be introduced into the 
 high school courses of study, and pupils should be 
 required to take up some phase of this work. Such 
 a course would result in securing to the pupil some 
 ability and knowledge of practical use to him in 
 after years, and would teach him self-reliance and a 
 respect for honest labor. On this point Professor 
 Addicott says: 
 
 ''Any earnest student of the times must see the 
 necessity for wider knowledge, for a more varied 
 education, for a stronger self-reliance, and for a 
 greater power of self-help and determination than 
 have been given by old methods of education. The 
 inhabitants of the civilized world are increasing 
 rapidly; competition is becoming keener and closer. 
 There is a demand for an education that not only 
 gives scholarship but prepares for citizenship in rela- 
 tion to life work. We have had much trouble be- 
 cause of workers who will not think; we may have 
 more serious difficulty with the thinkers who will 
 not work." 
 
 In addition to the omission of manual training 
 and polytechnic work, the secondary schools, in or- 
 der to meet the university requirements in other sub- 
 jects, must neglect historical and economic science. 
 In most counties but two years are devoted to 
 American history, and those two years are in the 
 grammar grades and consist mainly in a mere pro- 
 cess of memory. Except in about half a dozen 
 secondary schools, economic science has no placo 
 whatever in the secondary school curriculum of the 
 state. The courses which give prominence to his- 
 torical and economical science are not chosen by the 
 
30 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 pupil, because other courses better meet the require- 
 ments for admisison to the university. 
 
 This defective work or rather lack of work in the 
 secondary schools in historical and economic science 
 is most lamentable. There is no better preparation 
 for citizenship than a good knowledge of our politi- 
 cal and historical institutions. A republic is safe as 
 long as its citizens comprehend the meaning of 
 liberty as embodied in its institutions; but to value 
 liberty they must understand the nature and history 
 of those institutions. The cheap politician and the 
 demagogue will not lose their occupations until vot- 
 ers know enough about our institutions to detect the 
 false in their statements, and to see that their con- 
 tentions are impractical, leading inevitably to disas- 
 ter and ruin. When the voter is well grounded in the 
 knowledge of the growth of our institutions, he will 
 bring to the ballot box and force into public life 
 generally a respect for honest labor and an intelli- 
 gent civic virtue — ideas which he will derive from 
 studying the lives of the men who have made our 
 institutions what they are. A boy or girl cannot 
 read and study the lives of such men as Jackson and 
 Lincoln and Garfield without having his respect for 
 labor, honesty and civic virtue increased. The boy 
 who has for his ideal one of the great men in our 
 history will be very apt, when he becomes a man, to 
 spurn as an insult to his manhood the attempt of a 
 corporation or a politician to control his vote. We 
 should constantly direct the young mind to the lives 
 of the men who have made this nation what it is ; to 
 keep alive the old spirit of true Americanism — the 
 spirit that respects honest labor and civic virtue. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 31 
 
 and detests snobbishness of all kinds. The great 
 men of our nation have risen from the lower ranEs 
 and they will continue to do so, because it takes 
 opposition and struggle to bring out the best there is 
 in a man. It will be a regretable and dangerous 
 condition for this nation if ever our boys and our 
 girls do not admire and honor the Lincoln who 
 studied by the light of the fireplace, the Garfield 
 who towed the canal boat, and the Jackson who 
 worked for a daily wage. 
 
 One phase of the social question would seem to 
 demand for its intelligent solution some specific 
 knowledge of economic and social science. This 
 question in its narrowest form is the socialization of 
 public monopolies and the suppression of trusts. 
 That this question of socialism is a present political 
 issue, cannot be denied; that it will yearly become 
 of more importance, and press for a final solution, 
 is to be expected. Whatever our personal opinions 
 upon these social and economic questions may be, 
 we must all agree that one of the most important 
 duties of our public school system is to prepare the 
 citizen for their intelligent consideration, for upon 
 their rightful solution may depend the future of this 
 republic. This preparation for citizenship can be 
 accomplished, at least to some extent, by having the 
 student pursue a course in economic and social 
 science in the secondary schools. Good text books 
 have been especially prepared for this work in the 
 secondary schools, and there is no longer excuse for 
 its neglect. 
 
 If manual training, polytechnic work, and better 
 courses in historical and economic science were 
 
32 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 added to the curricula of secondary schools, and 
 foreign languages and some of the higher mathe- 
 matics, now taught, were omitted, the number of 
 pupils in these schools would soon be largely in- 
 creased. At the present time, when you ask the 
 father and mother to send their boy or girl to^ the 
 high school, you are often met by the remark that 
 they do not see that their child will receive much 
 benefit from the studies taught there. We cannot 
 but admit that we always feel ourselves at a dis- 
 advantage when called upon to answer this question. 
 We try to explain that the value lies in the mental 
 training that they receive. This is all very true, as 
 far as it goes, but the father and mother demand, 
 and justly, that the four years devoted to the high 
 school work should be of more practical benefit to 
 their child. Once convince parents that the high 
 school work tends directly to qualify their child for 
 the practical duties of life, and it is more than prob- 
 able that within a few years the high schools will be 
 thronged with students. 
 
 There are university professors, of course, who 
 will object to this proposed change in the high 
 school work as an innovation calculated to dis- 
 arrange the present connection between high schools 
 and the university. It might be well to remind 
 these professors that the elementary and secondary 
 schools are supported by the taxpayers for the pur- 
 pose of preparing the 95 per cent, of boys and girls 
 who never go beyond the high school for the actual 
 duties of life, and not for the purpose of preparing 
 less than 5 per cent, for admission to the university. 
 
 But there is no real conflict between practical 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 33 
 
 work in the high school, and preparation for uni- 
 versity work. It is an imaginary conflict, having its 
 birth in the false ideas of university authorities. 
 University authorities maintain that high school 
 graduates should have acquired a certain amount of 
 knowledge of certain subjects, whereas the prime 
 qualification that should be demanded of an appli- 
 cant for admission to the university is mental power 
 to do work required. In the Languages and 
 Sciences, university work should begin at the bot- 
 tom^ leaving the high school free to arrange a course 
 of study that would be complete within itself and 
 that would best prepare for their life's work the vast 
 majority of high school students who never enter a 
 university. Under the present system high school 
 students are required to take the beginning of a 
 number of subjects, which they cannot pursue far, 
 and the smattering knowledge of which they cannot 
 use. All grammar school courses and all high 
 school courses should lead to complete and definite 
 results. The vast majority of tax-payers whose y. 
 children never enter a university have a right to de-X 
 mand this, and the power of the university authori- 
 ties to deny it should be abolished. 
 
 To take from the university the power to dictate 
 courses of study for the high school means not to 
 abolish the present system of accrediting high 
 schools, but to shift the basis upon which high 
 schools are accredited. Instead of requiring a cer- 
 tain amount of work in certain subjects, the uni- 
 versities will send their professors into the high 
 schools of the state to examine the work being done, 
 and to decide whether said work is a sufficient 
 
34 EDUGATIOI^^AL QUESTIONS. 
 
 mental preparation for university work. If any- 
 thing, this method would be an added stimulus for 
 thorough work in the high school, though said work 
 would be directed along more practical lines. 
 
 There need be no lack of system between the 
 kindergarten and the technical schools beyond the 
 university, but that system should not sacrifice the 
 interests of at least 95 per cent, of the school chil- 
 dren of the state in order to prepare the few for ad- 
 mission to the university. The best possible prepa- 
 ration for life's work that the grammar school can 
 give ought to be good preparation for high school 
 work; and the best possible preparation for life's 
 work that the high school can give ought to be good 
 preparation for university work. If this be not true, 
 the conditions for admission to the high school, and 
 the conditions for admission to the university, ought 
 to be changed. As a matter of fact, the mental dis- 
 cipline derived from thorough work in the grammar 
 school and from thorough work in the high school is 
 the best preparation for university work. The 
 power to reason and think logically, and the ability 
 to express thoughts, orally or in writing, with force 
 and clearness are the requisites that the university 
 should require of all applicants for admission and 
 not a smattering knowledge of the beginnings of 
 some of the subjects taught in the university. 
 
COURSES OF STUDY IN THE ELEMEN 
 TARY SCHOOLS.* 
 
 Perhaps the most serious question which is 
 pressing for a solution in connection with element- 
 ary school work, is the congested course of study. 
 
 Those who are making a close study of the ques- 
 tion of grammar school ^'scattering" are being forced 
 to the conclusion that there has been in the past and 
 is at the present time a strong and unwise tendency 
 toward crowding too many subjects into the gram- 
 mar course of study. The result of this policy has 
 been hopelessly to cripple the efficiency of grammar 
 school work — it has made thoroughness in any sub- 
 ject impossible. 
 
 In treating this subject, it will, perhaps, add some- 
 thing of clearness to separate it into three general 
 divisions: First, Cause of Overcrowding; Second, 
 Injurious Results; Third, The Remedy. 
 
 I. CAUSE OF OVERCROWDING. 
 
 For the present, at least, we shall assume the 
 overcrowding, which is, indeed, self-evident, and 
 pass at once to the consideration of the cause. 
 
 *(Note: The course of study herein outlined was first 
 published by the author in February, 1898, under the head 
 of " Our Grammar School Curriculum." It was adopted by 
 the Kern County Board of Education July 27th, 1899; is now 
 In effect in this county, and is producing- most excellent re- 
 sults.) 
 
36 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 The overcrowding of our grammar school curri- 
 culum is largely due to university and academic pro- 
 fessors. They have devoted most of their time to 
 the study and teaching of some special subject. 
 They have specialized and therefore have become 
 specialists. When one becomes a specialist, he 
 usually unduly emphasizes his specialty, uncon- 
 sciously making other subjects, other lines of activ- 
 ity, assume a position subordinate. His special 
 subject becomes the central one around which the 
 others group themselves, and for which they exist. 
 The mathematician becomes thoroughly convinced 
 that mathematics is the best mental drill and that 
 therefore the study of mathematics is the best prep- 
 aration for life's work; the naturalist tells us that 
 the study of nature is one of the most essential fac- 
 tors in education, and therefore, that every boy and 
 girl should be compelled to devote more time to the 
 study of nature than at present; the professor of 
 English is certain that the one great defect in our 
 educational system is the failure to give to the study 
 of English the importance which it deserves; while 
 the professor of the dead languages would rather 
 have his student alive to Greek and Latin even 
 though dead to the sciences, whether economic, me- 
 chanical, political, social or natural. 
 
 If the specialist would restrict his efforts to mak- 
 ing the department over which he presides as strong 
 as possible, he would not directly afCect our gram- 
 mar school curriculum. But being a sincere and 
 withal a zealous man, and believing the best inter- 
 ests of education demand that his special subject be 
 given a more important place in the grammar and 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 37 
 
 high school curricula, he writes for the educational 
 journals, he goes to the state normals, the state 
 teachers' association, the county teachers' institutes, 
 and to the county and city boards of education, and 
 everywhere urges, in season and out of season, the 
 pressing need and manifold advantage of greater 
 devotion to his special subject. Being a man who 
 holds an important position in the educational 
 world, and one who thoroughly understands his 
 subject, and one who is therefore able to present it 
 in the best possible light, he makes converts not 
 only among teachers, but among members of the 
 county and city boards of education. The result is 
 our present inefficient and overcrowded grammar 
 grade course. 
 
 It is interesting to observe how far some of these 
 specialists will go when recommending changes in 
 our grammar grade courses which they deem neces- 
 sary and desirable from the standpoint of their spe- 
 cial subjects. 
 
 In July, 1892, at Saratoga, New York, the Na- 
 tional Educational Association appointed a commit- 
 tee consisting of ten members — afterwards known 
 as the "Committee of Ten" — to formulate some plan 
 that would bring about "uniformity in school pro 
 grams and requirements for admission to college.'' 
 This committee selected a sub-committee of ten for 
 each principal subject taught in our grammar and 
 high schools — as, for example, history, mathematics, 
 science, etc. Of course, each member of these sub- 
 committees was a specialist in the subject assigned 
 him. One of the duties of each of these committees 
 was to decide how much of the student's time in the 
 
38 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 grammar school, and the high school, should be de- 
 voted to the subject which that special committee 
 had under consideration. Some of the recommenda- 
 tions for the grammar grade work were as follows: 
 The committee on mathematics recommended that 
 concrete geometry and algebra be taught in the 
 grammar grades; the one on political science, that 
 one-eighth of the grammar school work should be 
 devoted to that subject; the one on natural history, 
 that one hour per week throughout the entire gram- 
 mar school course should be devoted to natural his- 
 tory; the one on physics and chemistry, that one 
 period per day should be devoted to those subjects; 
 the one on Latin, that the grammar school work 
 should be made one year shorter so as to have one 
 year more for Latin in the high school; and the 
 committee on French and German has the following 
 to say: "In the grammar grades we recommend 
 that during the first year five recitation periods per 
 week be given to the modern languages; during the 
 second, at least four; and during each of the other 
 two years, at least three." 
 
 Needless to say, no city or county board of educa- 
 tion has ever carried out all of the above recom- 
 mendations, but some have carried them out to such 
 an extent as to make the grammar school work a 
 burden both to the teacher and to the pupil. 
 
 Specialization is a good thing. No one will ques- 
 tion that it is better to do one thing well than to half 
 do a number of things. But when the specialist 
 asks the grammar grade pupil to specialize along a 
 number of lines at the same time — when it is ex- 
 pected that he be a "universal specialist*' — that is 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. ^ 39 
 
 simply asking the impossible. I, for one, think it is 
 time to turn a deaf ear to the advocates of further 
 extension, and to revert, at least to some extent, to 
 the sturdier though simpler ways of our forefathers. 
 
 II. INJURIOUS RESULTS. 
 
 At the present time in California, there are very 
 few grammar school graduates who have a definite 
 and thorough knowledge of any subject. This state- 
 ment is a very severe indictment to prefer against 
 our much lauded grammar school system and will, 
 no doubt, meet with a ready challenge. Recogniz- 
 ing the seriousness of the charge, I have hesitated to 
 make it, and have been constrained to do so only 
 after an extensive correspondence and consultation 
 with the leading educators of this state. With 
 scarcely an exception, these instructors declare that 
 the large majority of the grammar school graduates 
 have no clear, definite, or logical knowledge of the 
 subjects which they have studied, but are often 
 nothing more than mere machines. 
 
 If any one is disposed to question the correctness 
 of the above statement let him examine a class 
 which has just been graduated from the grammar 
 schools of this state. Any one that will take the 
 trouble to do this will not be long in discovering 
 that the average grammar school graduate is unable 
 to analyze and correctly interpret a simple piece of 
 English literature, to trace logically the growth of 
 a single one of our institutions, to give a clear state- 
 ment of the causes of any of the wars of the United 
 States, or to explain what the duties and responsi- 
 bilities of American citizenship mean. He will dis- 
 
40 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 cover, moreover, that the average grammar school 
 graduate's knowledge of his mother tongue consists 
 in his ability to name and parse the different parts 
 of speech and to rattle off rules, and that it does not 
 consist in the ability to talk correctly or to reduce 
 correctly his thoughts to writing — the tv/o sole ob- 
 jects for which grammar is supposed to be studied. 
 He will discover, also, that but very few of those 
 whom he examines will be able to demonstrate that 
 they understand the fundamental principles of mul- 
 tiplication, division, fractions, percentage, or any of 
 the most fundamental operations of mathematics. 
 Most of those examined may, and probably will, be 
 able to solve some problems similar to those which 
 they have been accustomed to solving. A recently 
 invented machine can do as much. But our gram- 
 mar schools should not be machine shops; they 
 should be imparting to the boys and girls the power 
 and strength of mind to reason and think for them- 
 selves, and the logical and penetrating knowledge of 
 those subjects, institutions and principles which 
 they must understand if they are to grapple success- 
 fully with the new and unsolved problems which the 
 future is sure to hold in store for them. 
 
 Another Dad result of the overcrowded grammar 
 school curriculum is its effect upon the teacher. In 
 all the primary and grammar schools where only one 
 or two teachers are employed, it is possible to give 
 only a few moments to a recitation, and hence there 
 is no time for proper explanation or elucidation of 
 the subject in hand. This is fatal to good work, be- 
 cause one of the most valuable functions of a teacher 
 lies in his ability to explain and reveal the funda- 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 41 
 
 mental principles underlying the subject which he is 
 seeking to teach. It is this thoroughness and ear- 
 nestness of explanation on the part of the teacher 
 that incites in the student a love for his work, makes 
 his school life a pleasure rather than a drudgery, 
 and implants in him an enthusiasm for study and in- 
 vestigation that often changes, for the better, the 
 whole current of his life. 
 
 '^Blessed is the man," says Emerson, "who has a 
 bias for some pursuit, which finds him in happiness 
 and employment." And, surely, we may add, blessed 
 is that school where enthusiasm holds sway. Per- 
 haps there is no more beautiful word in the English 
 language than the word enthusiasm, which, coming 
 to us from the Greeks, means literally, a God within ; 
 all reverence to the teacher or the system which 
 shall turn the devotions of the young and active 
 minds to the fostering worship of the "God Within." 
 Any teacher that has the time and ability to create 
 in his pupils an enthusiasm for their work will have 
 very little trouble with discipline. To deprive the 
 teacher of the proper time for this is one of the most 
 detrimental results of the overcrowded grammar 
 school curriculum, and means that the enthusiasm 
 which comes from a task well done is to be an un- 
 known experience among our students. 
 
 While unqualified teachers are, to some extent, 
 responsible for the defective results of the grammar 
 school work, the present character of the grammar 
 school curriculum itself is the major cause. The 
 average curriculum in this state prescribes from six 
 to eight subjects for all the grammar grades. The 
 pupil is requested, or at least expected, to prepare 
 
42 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 the requirements of a daily recitation in all of these 
 subjects. His work for a given day will, or may, be 
 somewhat as follows : In Arithmetic, explanation of 
 the principles of cube root; in geometry, prove the 
 following theorem : "Two triangles are equal, if two 
 sides and the included angle of one are equal, re- 
 spectively, to two sides and the included angle of 
 the other;" in reading, several pages from the "Lady 
 of the Lake;'- in grammar, conjugation of some verb 
 or the writing of an essay; in physiology, anatomy of 
 the eye; in civil government, qualification and elec- 
 tion of senators and representatives: in book-keep- 
 ing, copying of some exercise into the day-book. The 
 above is the average amount of work that a pupil is 
 supposed to accomplish in one day. That he does 
 not accomplish this work properly goes without say- 
 ing. If he has done any part of it well, he must have 
 neglected some other part; or, if he has attempted 
 to do it all, has done none well. In other words, he 
 is requested to do something that he cannot do. 
 
 The high school student is supposed to carry, on 
 an average, four subjects, and the university student 
 three; but the grammar school student, for some un- 
 known reason, is supposed to be able to study and 
 develop at the same time, eight separate and distinct 
 lines of work. There is not one mature man or 
 woman in ten who would be able to accomplish any- 
 thing definite or valuable if he or she attempted to 
 work along eight new and independent lines at the 
 same time. We ought not to expect more mental 
 work from boys and girls under fifteen than we do 
 from them after they have become men and women. 
 If we are determined to be so unreasonable as to do 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 43 
 
 SO, we must be satisfied with the inaccurate, super- 
 ficial and smattering knowledge which our gram- 
 mar school graduates possess of the subjects which 
 they deem they have studied. 
 
 III. THE REMEDY. 
 
 The natural and only way to remedy the evil re- 
 sults of our overcrowded elementary school course 
 of study is to omit altogether some of the subjects 
 taught, shorten some, and rearrange others. In con- 
 sidering the remedy, each subject will be taken up 
 separately, the changes which seem necessary in 
 order to make the elementary school course of study 
 a practical and useful one, will bft stated and some 
 of the reasons which would seem to justify said 
 change will be discussed. 
 
 LANQUAGE.* 
 
 The first thing for a child to do is to learn to read 
 and to read well. Reading well does not mean the 
 mere calling of words, but the power to analyze and 
 to understand what is read. The mere ability to 
 call off words, to raise at intervals the eyes from the 
 book, and to employ elocutionary or stage methods 
 of any kind, is not reading. In fact, in so far as the 
 reader or public speaker attracts the attention of 
 his audience to his manner of delivery, in so far he 
 fails as a reader or a speaker. We no longer try to 
 sway men by emotion, but by reason. The pupil 
 
 * (Language as here used includes all the reading, compo- 
 sition and grammar in the primary and grammer grades.) 
 
44 ED VGA TIONAL Q UES T/OA^Sf. 
 
 should be taught to make clear the meaning of what 
 he is reading, and this he cannot do unless he can 
 explain the meaning of each word and each sentence. 
 If he does understand what he is reading, he will 
 read it so that those who hear him will also get the 
 meaning. More attention should be directed to 
 thought reading, and less attention to form reading. 
 
 The teacher should not permit the pupil to take 
 up an advance lesson in reading until he can explain 
 the meaning of each word and each sentence in the 
 lesson under discussion. Better understand one 
 reading lesson per week, than to half understand a 
 dozen. From an educational standpoint the mental 
 discipline derived from a thorough mastery ol tne 
 reading lesson is almost invaluable. The number of 
 lessons which a pupil reads is of very little import- 
 ance to him, but the power to understand, to analyze 
 what he reads is of vital importance. Without the 
 pov/er to get from the written page the meaning of 
 the writer, a pupil cannot make any real advance- 
 ment along any line of study. This being true, it 
 follows that the first few years of a child's school 
 life should be devoted largely to learning how to 
 read, and reading should be made a more important 
 part of all the elementary school work. 
 
 To the pupil the ability to get from the written 
 page the meaning of the writer is the most valuable 
 result that he will obtain from the time devoted to 
 reading, because it represents the power he has 
 gained. The subject matter, however, can be made 
 of great value to him. During the last few years it 
 has become a fad to have the reading matter in our 
 grammar school consist of myths, fairy stories and 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 45 
 
 a description of the animal and plant world. This 
 is all very good and most of it is instructive; but is 
 there not something better? The history of man is 
 a record of what he has done in all his various lines 
 of activity, and, aside from the power to do, a knowl- 
 edge of that record is one of the most valuable 
 things that a man or woman can possess. The 
 study of history is a direct study of that record, and 
 why not have the major part of the subject matter 
 of the reading in the grammar school instructive in 
 itself? Nothing is more fascinating to the child- 
 mind than a simple story of what a great man has 
 done. And in such a story the outline of ten years 
 of a nation's history may often be skillfully inter- 
 woven. The reading matter of the fourth, fifth and 
 sixth years should be largely geographical and his- 
 torical, thus laying the foundation for the formal 
 study of history and geography in the seventh and 
 eighth years, and thus securing a common sense 
 unity of purpose to all the pupil's efforts. In the 
 seventh and eighth years the best literature should 
 be studied, and these two years of work should cre- 
 ate in the pupil a love of literature for literature's 
 sake. 
 
 The ability of the pupil to get from the written 
 page the meaning of the writer is, perhaps, the most 
 valuable result that he will obtain from all his ele- 
 mentary school work, because it secures to him the 
 power to study and investigate the best that has 
 been produced along any line of human activity. The 
 ability to express his thoughts orally and in writing 
 with force and clearness stands next in importance, 
 because it gives him the power to make a practical 
 
46 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 use of what he may have obtained from the written 
 page, from experience, and from independent inves- 
 tigation. 
 
 To enable the pupil thus to express his thoughts 
 orally and in writing with force and clearness is the 
 main object of the study of grammar, and the best 
 way to accomplish this is by practice in composition 
 work. That practice should go hand in hand with 
 the work in reading, because the ability of the pupil 
 to express his own thoughts correctly and his ability 
 to interpret another's are closely related and should 
 be acquired together. 
 
 The graduates of the elementary schools, however, 
 will not have learned to speak and write the English 
 language even moderately well until the present 
 method of teaching grammar is fundamentally 
 changed. In the public schools to-day there is a 
 large amount of time wasted on the study of tech- 
 nical grammar. The analytical part of grammar — 
 that part which deals with the mechanical dissec- 
 tion of phrases, clauses, and sentences — should be 
 entirely omitted. Under this head will come the de- 
 fining of phrases, clauses and sentences as to form 
 and meaning; the analysis and diagraming of sen- 
 tences; the parsing of the different parts of speech; 
 declension of pronouns, and the committing of the 
 various rules of grammar. 
 
 Particular attention should be devoted to the 
 synthetic or constructive part of grammar. Under 
 this head will come capitalization, punctuation, 
 verbs, pronouns, modifiers, possessives, plurals, and 
 paragraphing. This part of grammar should be 
 taught entirely in connection with the composition 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 47 
 
 work. When a pupil in his composition work makes 
 a mistake, the teacher should call his attention and 
 the attention of the class to that fact. If the mis- 
 take involves some general rule, carefully explain 
 that rule. Teachers who cordially carry out this 
 method of teaching grammar will soon find that 
 their pupils will be able to place their thoughts 
 clearly and distinctly on paper — something that 
 eight-ninths of the high school graduates to-day are 
 not able to do. The fact that the main object of the 
 study of grammar is to enable the pupil to express 
 his thoughts orally and in writing, with force and 
 clearness, should be kept constantly in mind. 
 
 The naming and the parsing of the different parts 
 of speech, the declension of pronouns, the conjuga- 
 tion of verbs and the committing of the various rules 
 of grammar do very little toward teaching the pupil 
 to speak and write the English language correctly. 
 As a matter of fact a man's or woman's ability to 
 use the English language correctly has been ac- 
 quired almost entirely by practice and not from the 
 study of technical grammar. If more time were de- 
 voted to composition and essay work and less to 
 technical grammar, perhaps the majority of those 
 who enter our universities would not fail in their 
 entrance examination in English. It is the ability 
 to do, that is of the greatest value to the pupil. 
 
 The time devoted to the allied subjects of read- 
 ing, composition and grammar should be much 
 greater than at present. They should receive two- 
 thirds of the pupil's time during the first and second 
 years, one-half during the third and fourth years, 
 and one-fourth during the fifth, sixth, seventh and 
 
48 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 eighth years. Experience is proving that the fol- 
 lowing arrangement of time and subject matter will 
 secure good results from the time devoted to the 
 study of Language: 
 
 First Year. 
 
 Pupils should read twice each day, and during the 
 last two months should recite each day on their 
 written work. The reading matter should be care- 
 fully selected. 
 
 Second Year. 
 
 Pupils should read twice each day, and recite once 
 each day on their written work. The reading mat- 
 ter should be carefully selected. 
 
 Third Year. 
 
 Pupils should read once each day, and should re- 
 cite once each day on their composition work. The 
 reading matter should be carefully selected. 
 
 Fourth Year. 
 
 Pupils should read once each day, and should re- 
 cite once each day on their composition work. The 
 reading matter should be carefully selected and 
 should contain one historical reader as, "Stories of 
 Colonial Children.'^ 
 
 Fifth Year. 
 
 Pupils should read three times each week and 
 should recite twice each w^eek on the composition 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 49 
 
 work. The reading matter should be carefully se- 
 lected and should contain one historical reader — one 
 dealing with Pacific Coast historj^ stories should, 
 perhaps, be preferred. 
 
 Sixth Year. 
 
 Pupils should read three times each week, and 
 should recite twice each week on the composition 
 work. The reading matter should be carefully se- 
 lected and should contain one historical reader — as 
 "A First Book in American History." 
 
 Seventh and Eighth Years. 
 
 Pupils should read three times each week, and 
 should recite twice each week on their composition 
 work. The reading matter should be carefully se- 
 lected. '^Evangeline," and one or two selections 
 from the "Sketch Book" would make good material 
 for the seventh year, and "The Ladv^f the Lake" 
 for the eighth year. Quality and^jquflitity of work 
 should be considered. * 
 
 AKITHMETIC. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no subject taught in the gram- 
 mar school from which so little is derived when 
 compared with its possibilities, as in the subject of 
 arithmetic. The value to the individual of a logical 
 and thorough knowledge of the principles underly- 
 ing the fundamental operations of arithmetic is al- 
 
 *Note: For a discussion on the teaching of composition 
 and grammar see " Grammar by the Inductive Method, "p; 71^ 
 
50 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 most invaluable. They form the basis of the mathe- 
 matical calculations which are used in every day 
 life, and they are the basis of all higher mathemat- 
 ics. But, notwithstanding the importance of a 
 thorough knowledge of these fundamental princi- 
 ples, they are sacrificed in the attempt to cover too 
 many arithmetical subjects. 
 
 If the grammar school pupil would omit those 
 subjects of arithmetic which are to him of compara- 
 tively little value, and thoroughly master addition, 
 subtraction, multiplication, division, common and 
 decimal fractions, the practical part of compound 
 numbers, percentage, with its practical applications, 
 and the practical part of mensuration, he would ac- 
 quire something really valuable and practical from 
 his study of arithmetic; and thoroughness in those 
 subjects would give him a far better mental drill 
 than the half-mastery of what he is compelled to 
 study at the present time. 
 
 There is an ancestral sacredness about arithmetic 
 that makes it very hard to eliminate any part of it 
 from the grammar school work. The average man 
 believes that all the subjects taught in arithmetic 
 are equally valuable and good. In the actual duties 
 of life, however, very few ever find it necessary to 
 extract the square or cube root of a number; to cal- 
 culate the latitude or longitude of a place; to use 
 continued fractions or circulating decimals; to use 
 half of the weights and measures they have learned 
 in school; to find out the relative value of stocks and 
 bonds; to use their knowledge of general average, 
 discount, domestic and foreign exchange, and equa- 
 tion of payments. This being true, it would seem to 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 51 
 
 follow that this ancestral sacredness has a rather 
 insecure foundation. However this may be, those 
 in authority who wish to eliminate the unnecessary 
 and impractical parts of arithmetic must do so in 
 the face of public opinion, and in this connection it 
 is encouraging to note that some of the county 
 boards of education in this state have the courage of 
 their convictions. 
 
 xlnother reason why the results derived from the 
 study of arithmetic are not what they should be is 
 lack of oral analysis at the blackboard. Teachers, 
 as a rule, are inclined to accept, as final, the written 
 solutions of problems which pupils hand in. The re- 
 sults from this method of teaching arithmetic will 
 prove unsatisfactory. When a new subject is taken 
 up by a class, the teacher should occupy the time of 
 the first recitation in explaining the new principles 
 involved, and usually it is best to do this by use of 
 the blackboard. After the principles have been ex- 
 plained to the class, then assign examples for a reci- 
 tation. A pupil should not be permitted to begin 
 the solution of examples in an ordinary recitation 
 until the teacher is convinced that said pupil can 
 pass to the board and solve all the problems in the 
 recitation under discussion, and give a clear and 
 logical explanation of every step in his solution. 
 Better solve and understand one example a week 
 than merely solve half a dozen. It is not enough for 
 a pupil to know that before fractions can be added 
 or subtracted, they must be reduced to a common de- 
 nominator; he should be able to explain why they 
 must be reduced to a common denominator; it is not 
 enough for him to know that in reducing fractions 
 
52 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 to a common denominator he must multiply each 
 term of a fraction by the same number; he should 
 understand why he must multiply each term by the 
 same number; it is not enough for a pupil to know 
 that the circumference of a circle multiplied by one 
 half the radius will give the area of the circle, he 
 should be able to begin with the square and develop 
 the rule and show why it is true. Instead of requir- 
 ing the pupil to memorize rules and apply the same 
 to the solution of certain problems, teach him to de- 
 velop and make those rules. This process may be 
 slow, but its value to the pupiT cannot be questioned. 
 In arithmetic, more than in any other subject, teach 
 the pupil to think and not merely to memorize. 
 
 The teaching of arithmetic should begin with the 
 third year and end with the eighth. Pupils in the 
 first and second years might be taught to count so 
 as to be able to give the number of the pages in their 
 books, but combination work of any kind should not 
 be attempted. The young mind is not phychologi- 
 cally adapted to mathematics and the time devoted 
 to arithmetic in the lower primary grades is practi- 
 cally wasted. Better devote this time to writing, 
 spelling and language work, — work for which the 
 young mind is naturally adapted. 
 
 The subject of fractions is one of the most diffi- 
 cult subjects in arithmetic, and its formal study 
 should not be attempted before the sixth year. 
 
 The teacher should have his pupils understand 
 each step, and the fundamental principle involved, 
 before he passes to another, and each pupil should 
 be able to make a fairly complex application of the 
 same. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 53 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 One of the most valuable preparations for citizen- 
 ship that a boy or girl can obtain from grammar 
 school work is an intelligent understanding of our 
 political and historical institutions. It is the foun- 
 dation of all true patriotism. Patriotism based 
 upon spasmodic hurrahing for the flag, and upon 
 Fourth of July orations, does not embody the ele- 
 ments of an enduring patriotism. The splendid 
 bravery and heroism of both the northern and the 
 southern soldier during the late civil war rest upon 
 the fact that he was battling for his convictions, and 
 only the enlightened have any real convictions. 
 Each knew, or at least he thought he knew, the 
 value to him of the institutions for which he was 
 fighting, and he believed that he was right. The 
 moral value of this kind of training is invaluable. 
 ^* I would rather," said Dr. Howard, '' from a moral 
 and patriotic standpoint, have a child of mine well 
 grounded in the knowledge of the growth of our 
 institutions, in the mechanism of political parties, 
 and the value of the ballot, than to have moral pre- 
 cepts preached to him all his life." 
 
 Notwithstanding the importance of this subject, 
 there is, perhaps, no other subject in our grammar 
 school so conspicuously neglected as the subject of 
 political science. One cause for this is — lack of a 
 good text book. It is an outrage that the grammar 
 school pupils of this state are compelled to use such 
 an abominable.text book as the State Series History. 
 County boards of education are justified in resorting 
 to any subterfuge that will result in its practical 
 abolition from the schools of their county. Any 
 
54 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 school is justified in using some good supplementary 
 book to the practical exclusion of the State Series 
 History. 
 
 Another cause that history is so poorly taught in 
 our grammar schools is lack of teachers who have 
 been adequately trained in historical science. The 
 average teacher, however well he may be prepared 
 to teach other subjects, is not well prepared to teach 
 history because he has never had a chance to become 
 well prepared. No teacher ought to teach history 
 who has not carefully studied " Epochs of American 
 History," by Hart, Thwaites and Wilson, in three 
 volumes, and ^' History of the United States." bv 
 Schouler, in five volumes, or some work equivalent 
 to these. History, as taught by most teachers, is a 
 mere process of memory, and consists in the stating 
 of dates, and the relating of the events of wars, ad- 
 ministrations, settlements — the mere skeleton of 
 history. The history of a nation or of an institution 
 is a growth and should be studied as such. The 
 study of cause and effect should be substituted for 
 the memorizing of dates and events. Until the 
 schools in which teachers are trained give to politi- 
 cal science the position which its importance de- 
 mands, the teaching of history and civil government 
 in the elementary schools must remain unsatisfac- 
 tory. 
 
 History, in conjunction with civil government, 
 should receive at least one-fourth of the pupil's time 
 in the seventh and eighth years. A foundation for 
 this work should have been laid in the reading of 
 historical sketches in the fourth, fifth and sixth 
 years as part of the reading course. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 55 
 
 The work in the seventh year should include the 
 history of the United States to Washington's first 
 administration. It should embrace a brief study of 
 the conditions favorable to the discovery of Amer- 
 ica; a study of the period of discovery, exploration 
 and permanent settlement in North America; a 
 study of the Colonial period, and a sketch of the 
 Revolution. At the close of the year's work pupils 
 should be able to write intelligently upon such ques- 
 tions as the following: 
 
 1. Discuss the conditions favorable to the discov- 
 ery of America. 
 
 2. Briefly outline the political history of the En- 
 glish, French, Dutch and Spanish colonies in North 
 America down to the time of the Revolution. 
 
 3. In an essay of not less than five hundred 
 words discuss the causes and results of the French 
 and Indian War. 
 
 4. Discuss the causes which changed the English 
 colonists from loyal subjects of the British Crown 
 to a state of open rebellion. 
 
 5. Briefly outline the campaigns of the Revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 6. Discuss the social, economic and intellectual 
 life of the New England, the Middle and the South- 
 ern Colonies at the close of the French and Indian 
 War. 
 
 7. Discuss the social, economic and intellectual 
 life of the New England, the Middle and the South- 
 ern colonies at the beginning of the Revolution. 
 
56 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 8. Discuss the events which made necessary the 
 calling of the Constitutional Convention. 
 
 9. Discuss the three great compromises of the 
 Convention. 
 
 10. In an essay of not less than five hundred 
 words discuss the executive, judicial and legislative 
 departments of the National Government. 
 
 11. Compare the three departments of the Na- 
 tional Government with the three departments of 
 the State Government. 
 
 The eighth year's work in history should include 
 the history of the United States from Washington's 
 first inauguration to the present time. At the end 
 of this year's work pupils should be able to write 
 intelligently on such subjects as the following: 
 
 1. Discuss the struggle for neutral rights. 
 
 2. In an essay of not less than five hundred 
 words discuss the causes and results of the war of 
 1812. 
 
 3. Discuss (a) Washington's idea of a republican 
 form of government, (b) Jefferson's idea of a re- 
 publican form of government. 
 
 4. Discuss Hamilton's financial scheme. 
 
 5. Discuss the origin of the " Spoils System." 
 
 6. In an essay of not less than one thousand 
 words discuss the rise of the slave power in the 
 United States. 
 
 7. Discuss the social, economic and intellectual 
 conditions of the United States in 1840 and in 1860. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 57 
 
 8. Discuss the causes which brought about the 
 difference in the social and economic conditions of 
 the North and South before the Civil War. 
 
 The subjects and questions above indicate what 
 would constitute the work in history. Particular 
 stress should be laid on the social, economic and in- 
 tellectual life of a nation, and the growth of our in- 
 stitutions. A careful study of the Constitution of 
 the United States and a comparison of the depart- 
 ments of the national government with those of the 
 state governments should constitute the work in 
 Civil Government. The Constitution of the United 
 States should be studied at the close of the study on 
 the Constitutional Convention. 
 
 GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 Geography, as taught at present in our grammar 
 schools, is badly taught indeed. The teacher is not 
 so much to blame for this as the text-book writers, 
 who seem to think that the principal object for 
 studying geography is to memorize names. Great 
 stress should be placed upon the necessity of learn- 
 ing the names of the more important rivers, cities, 
 mountains, etc., because every person should be able 
 to locate the more important places referred to in 
 his reading. Entirely too much time, however, is 
 wasted in memorizing the names of unimportant 
 rivers, towns, bays, etc. Half of the names which a 
 student learns from his geography he never hears 
 of after he has left the grammar school. 
 
 The study of geography as a separate study should 
 be restricted entirely to the seventh and eighth 
 years. A text book on geography should not be 
 
58 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 placed in the hands of the pupil until the seventh 
 year, and a recitation period should not be provided 
 for this subject before that time. The study of 
 geography, however, in connection with the reading 
 course, and as a part of the busy work should begin 
 with the third year. Good plain maps should al- 
 ways be available and convenient, and every geo- 
 graphical reference in connection with the pupil's 
 work should be pointed out, and he should be re- 
 quired to note the same carefully. Fourth year pu- 
 pils, as part of their busy work, should be required 
 to draw maps of California, locating the principal 
 rivers, valleys, mountain ranges, bays and cities, and 
 to name the counties and indicate approximately in 
 what part of the State each is located. They should 
 practice drawing these maps, until they can draw 
 without reference to a book. Fifth year pupils, as 
 part of their busy work, should practice drawing 
 maps of the United States until they can draw with- 
 out reference to a book, and locate on the same the 
 principal rivers, valleys, mountain systems, and 
 cities, and name the states and territories and indi- 
 cate approximately in what part of the United 
 States each is located. Sixth year pupils, as part of 
 their busy work, should learn to draw, without refer- 
 ence to a book, a map of each continent, locating the 
 principal rivers, valleys, mountain systems, nations 
 and cities. 
 
 The pupil in the lower grades is usually compelled 
 to devote most of the time which he has given to 
 this subject, to a more or less detailed study of the 
 geography of California, and to some extent of the 
 United States. This is rather an unsatisfactory 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 59 
 
 preparation for the study of geography in the 
 seventh and eighth years. When a pupil begins his 
 seventh year's work he should have fixed in his mind 
 the name and location of all the continents and 
 oceans, and of all the larger valleys, rivers, moun- 
 tains, nations and cities. By the method outlined 
 above this knowledge may unconsciously be ac- 
 quired by the pupil without taking up much of his 
 time, or the time of the teacher. 
 
 The work of the two years devoted to a formal 
 study of this subject should consist mainly in the 
 study of the people, their occupations, the products 
 of the countries, their exports and imports, modes 
 of communication, climate and soil. 
 
 In other words, speaking broadly, the work in 
 geography should consist mainly in the study of the 
 habits and life of the people as they are affected by 
 the physical conditions of the country in which they 
 live, the object being not to fill the mind with a num- 
 ber of isolated facts soon to be forgotten, but to give 
 the pupil a philosophical understanding of the phy- 
 sical relations of a country to its people, and what 
 those conditions are in any given country, making 
 the learning of the names of the more important 
 rivers, cities, etc., incidental to this main object. 
 
 SPELLING. 
 
 For some reason the graduates of the public 
 schools to-day are not as good spellers as were the 
 graduates of the public schools thirty and forty 
 years ago. The cause of this is the discarding of the 
 text book and the combining of the spelling with 
 Ihe other work. The reasons which make the com- 
 
60 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 bination of reading and grammar desirable do not 
 obtain in spelling. Spelling is the multiplication 
 table of our written language, and must, aside from 
 a few helpful rules, be learned bj rote. In theory 
 the combination of spelling with the other work 
 may be all right, but in practice the average teacher 
 will obtain much better results if he will use some 
 good text book, and insist on thorough work and 
 drilling. In spelling, the old way is the shortest 
 after all. 
 
 It is customary in some of the counties of the state 
 for the teacher to write the spelling on the black- 
 board, and have the pupils copy it. This not only 
 takes up the time of the teacher, but the young pupil 
 will often make a mistake in copying, and the result 
 is unsatisfactory. Every person should be able to 
 spell correctly all the words which he may have oc- 
 casion to use in ordinary conversation and writing. 
 As a matter of fact a great many of the words used 
 in our exercises of to-day are technical, and seldom 
 used in every day life. The time which is devoted to 
 this work should be concentrated on common words. 
 
 In addition to thorough work in the speller, the 
 teacher should give the pupil to understand that he 
 will be held responsible for the correct spelling, 
 meaning the pronunciation of all words which he 
 finds in his text-books, and those used in his written 
 work. Especially should this be insisted upon in 
 the advanced grades. The pupil who acquires the 
 habit of learning the correct spelling and exact 
 meaning of all the words he uses will soon possess a 
 large and invaluable vocabulary. The pupil studies 
 word-analysis and spelling for the purpose of ac- 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTION 1^. 61 
 
 quiring a good vocabulary, and hence he should not 
 be asked to devote much of his time to technical 
 words that will contribute but little toward that 
 end. 
 
 Very little time should be devoted to word analy- 
 sis and diacritical marks, and no time should be 
 wasted in any subject by compelling pupils to take 
 certain words and use them in the construction of a 
 sentence. All the time that the pupil can devote to 
 this subject should be devoted to learning how to 
 spell words, and not wasted in attempting to fill out 
 blank spaces in sentences. Composition work will 
 teach the pupil the proper application and use of 
 words. 
 
 Spelling as a separate subject should end with the 
 sixth year, but during the seventh and eighth years 
 pupils should be required to spell correctly all the 
 words used in their wTitten work. 
 
 WRITING. 
 
 Writing with pen and ink should begin with the 
 first year and should receive careful attention 
 throughout the entire grammar school course. No 
 regular set exercises need be insisted upon after 
 the sixth year, but neatness in the written work 
 should always be made a prime condition. Let the 
 pupil once understand that all his written work 
 must be neat, and represent his best penmanship, 
 and he will soon develop a neat, legible hand and a 
 res})e(^t for order and system. 
 
€2 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 No more time should be devoted to the study of 
 physiology in the grammar school than will be nec- 
 essary to teach the pupils some of the more general 
 laws of health. The study of anatomy and physi- 
 ology proper belong to the university and medical 
 college, and not to the grammar and the high 
 school. Every grammar school graduate, however, 
 should understand the following: 
 
 1. Value of pure air. 
 
 2. Value of proper exercise. 
 
 3. Why bathing is conducive to health. 
 
 4. Proper care of the eye. 
 
 5. Selection and eating of food. 
 
 6. Intemperance. 
 
 Some knowledge of physiology is necessary to un- 
 derstand these general laws of health. This knowl- 
 edge should be obtained by the pupil not through 
 the use of text-books, but through lectures and talks 
 on the part of the teacher. One lecture period of 
 twenty or thirty minutes per week is sufficient for 
 this work, and Friday afternoon is suggested as the 
 best time. Unless the teacher has special reasons 
 for doing otherv/ise, he should give these talks be- 
 fore the entire school. The advanced pupils should 
 be required to keep note books for this subject, and, 
 when the teacher deems it necessary, should be re- 
 quired to recite on the work covered by past lec- 
 tures. When these lectures are given, some recita- 
 tion period of the regular work should be omitted. 
 The teacher should not devote any more time to this 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 63 
 
 work than is necessary to teach the pupil some of 
 the more important laws of health. 
 
 The teacher should take particular pains to im- 
 press upon all his pupils the bad results which fol- 
 low intemperance, but he should not forget that in- 
 temperance in alcoholic drinks and in the use of 
 narcotics is not the only kind of intemperance. In- 
 temperance in eating, in pleasure and in exercise, is 
 also injurious to the human system, though not to 
 such an extent as excess in the use of alcoholic 
 drinks and narcotics. In other words, the pupil has 
 derived the most benefit from this study when he 
 has learned that the violation of a natural law 
 brings its natural punishment, and has learned what 
 some of these most important laws are. 
 
 BOOKKEEPING. 
 
 The grammar school cannot hope to graduate pu- 
 pils who are qualified to enter an office and keep a 
 set of books. That training should be obtained in 
 the Commercial Course of the high school, or in a 
 business college. 
 
 The amount of work in the grammar school in this 
 subject should be restricted to teaching the pupils 
 how to keep a debit and credit account, which is all 
 that is necessary for the ordinary business of life. 
 The pupil must be taught how to keep a debit and 
 credit account in connection with his work in arith- 
 metic, when the subject of accounts is reached. 
 
 DRAWING. 
 
 To the average man and woman the value of 
 drawing as a permanent acquisition is not great. 
 
64 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 Drawing, however, trains the hand and the eye, and 
 is a source of great pleasure to the young child. 
 For this reason it should constitute part of the busy 
 work in the lower primary grades, but should not be 
 allowed to encroach in the least upon other work. 
 It should be used as a means to rest and divert the 
 little children. 
 
 The course of study for elementary schools, out- 
 lined above is as follows: 
 
 First Year. 
 
 Language (Reading twice each day; during the 
 last two months recitation on written work once 
 each day.) 
 
 Spelling. 
 
 Writing. 
 
 Busy work — pictorial drawing. 
 
 Second Year. 
 
 Language (Reading twice each day; recitation on 
 written work once each day.) 
 Spelling. 
 Writing. 
 Busy work — pictorial drawing. 
 
 Third Year. 
 
 Language (Reading once each day; recitation on 
 composition once each day.) 
 Spelling. 
 Writing. 
 Arithmetic. 
 Busy work — pictorial drawing. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 65 
 
 Fourth Year. 
 
 Language (Reading once each day; recitation on 
 composition once each day.) 
 Spelling. 
 Writing. 
 Arithmetic. 
 Busy work — map drawing. 
 
 Fifth Year. 
 
 Language (Reading three times each week; reci- 
 tation on composition twice each week.) 
 Spelling. 
 Writing. 
 Arithmetic. 
 Busy work — map drawing. 
 
 Sixth Year. 
 
 Language (Reading three times each week; reci- 
 tation on composition twice each week.) 
 Spelling. 
 Writing. 
 Arithmetic. 
 Busy work — map drawing. 
 
 Seventh Year. 
 
 English (Reading three times each week; recita- 
 tion on composition twice each week.) 
 Arithmetic. 
 History. 
 Geography. 
 
66 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 Eighth Year. 
 
 English (Reading three times each week; recita- 
 tion on composition twice each week.) 
 Arithmetic. 
 History. 
 Geography. 
 
 With the exception of the recitation on composi- 
 tion during the third and fourth years, this course 
 of study contains four subjects for each school year. 
 This result has been secured by omitting some of 
 the subjects taught at the present time, shortening 
 some and rearranging others. 
 
 The result of this course of study will not be to 
 give the pupil less work than he is able to accom- 
 plish, but to concentrate all his time on those sub- 
 jects which will best prepare him for his life's work. 
 The average grammar school course of study con- 
 tains so many subjects that the pupil cannot do thor- 
 ough work in any of them ; and, as a result, when he 
 graduates he has only a smattering knowledge of 
 those subjects whose fundamental principles he 
 should have thoroughly mastered. Thoroughness 
 demands concentration and not scattering of energy. 
 
 That some of the subjects omitted are good ones 
 cannot be questioned, but the grammar school 
 course cannot include everything that is good; it 
 must include only those subjects which are best — 
 those subjects which will best prepare the grammar 
 school graduate for citizenship. More than ninety 
 per cent, of the grammar school pupils never enter a 
 higher school, and therefore, the grammar school 
 should be a finishing school. The subjects studied 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 67 
 
 should be those that will best prepare this ninety 
 per cent, for the actual duties of life. The pupil 
 should devote all his time to these essential subjects 
 and not fritter away his time on non-essentials or in 
 trying to do more than he is able. 
 
 In many cases pupils are held back in order to 
 accommodate those who are not able to do the work 
 prescribed. This is detrimental to the pupil's high- 
 est welfare. The course of study herein prescribed 
 is broad enough and elastic enough to enable the 
 teacher to keep his brightest pupil busy with inde- 
 pendent work along lines closely allied to his regu- 
 lar work. In all such cases teachers should take 
 advantage of this, because independent work is the 
 very best mental drill. 
 
 This course of study is prescribed on the assump- 
 tion that grammar school pupils never enter a high 
 school, and on the further assumption that the pupil 
 that is the best prepared for his life's work is the 
 best prepared for high school work. If this latter 
 statement be not true, then the object of the high 
 school is not what is should be. As a matter of fact 
 the pupil who has, not half, but thoroughly mast- 
 ered reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, history 
 and geography, and can express his thoughts orally 
 and in writing, with force and clearness, has received 
 the best preparation for citizenship and the best 
 preparation for high school work that the grammar 
 school can give; more than this the grammar school 
 cannot accomplish. 
 
 It is interesting to note the opinion of James A. 
 Garfield on this same subject. In an address before 
 the department of superintendence of the National 
 
68 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 Educational Association, Washington, D. C, Feb- 
 ruary 5, 1879, he gave expression to these ideas : 
 
 "/n this connection I will refer to the tendency in our 
 primary schools to overcrowd the children hy givi7ig them 
 too many studies, and thus rendering them superficial in 
 all The professors at West Point tell us that for 
 more than forty years their course of examination of 
 cadets for admission has been substantially the 
 same, and that the questions now asked in the sev- 
 eral branches are the same as those propounded in 
 the same branches forty years ago. Now, these pro- 
 fessors say that the percentage of failures to pass 
 that preliminary examination has been increasing, 
 especially of late, with alarming rapidity, and is 
 very much greater than it was forty years ago. I 
 understand that Professor Church says this fact 
 does not arise from worse appointments, nor from 
 lack of general information. Indeed, the young men 
 who go there now have much more general culture 
 than their earlier predecessors. Many of them, who 
 have studied Latin, algebra, and physics, and other 
 higher branches, utterly break down in spelling, 
 penmanship, arithmetic, and grammar. In short, 
 they know a little of many branches, but are thor- 
 ough in none. 
 
 ^^There is a limit of effort in a child; and if his culture 
 is spread over too large a surface it will be thin every- 
 where. The ambition of our schools to do too mucli results 
 in doing nothing luell. Non multa sed multum is an old 
 and safe rule. I believe, therefore, that the two 
 great points which the educators of this country 
 should aim at if they would succeed are, first, 
 smaller schools and more teachers, remembering al- 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 69 
 
 ways that a teacher who is at all fit for his work is 
 one who has the power of inspiring, who can pour 
 his spirit into the darkness of the pupil's mind, and 
 fill it with ^sweetness and light'; secondly, they 
 should cut off a large number of new studies 
 which have been forced into the earlier course, and 
 concentrate their efforts upon the old primary 
 branches until these are thoroughly mastered. 
 
 "Now, gentlemen, you who are conducting the 
 educational affairs of this country cannot afford to 
 rest under this charge of failure at West Point. You 
 must answer by disproving the charge, or removing 
 the evil. Every conference among educators should 
 be directed to these questions; and when they are 
 settled, you will have rendered one of the highest 
 services that can be rendered to this country." 
 
GRAMMAR BY THE INDUCTIVE 
 METHOD. 
 
 The main object of the study of grammar is to en- 
 able the pupil to express his thoughts orally and in 
 writing with force and clearness. Unless the study 
 and teaching of grammar approach this result, there 
 must be something defective in the method of pre- 
 senting the subject in the elementary and in the 
 secondary schools. 
 
 That the study and teaching of grammar in the 
 elementary and in the secondary schools do not give 
 the pupil the power to express his thoughts orally 
 and in writing with force and clearness will hardly 
 be questioned by any one who has investigated the 
 subject. If those who question the truthfulness of 
 this statement will ask the members of the classes 
 in the highest grades of the grammar school to write 
 a composition on some subject with which they are 
 familiar, or if they will examine the final examin- 
 ation papers of the graduates of the grammar 
 schools they will soon be convinced that they are 
 questioning the truthfulness of a self-evident fact. 
 Those compositions and papers will contain numer- 
 ous mistakes in paragraphing, diction, construction, 
 formation of possessives and plurals, and in the use 
 of verbs, pronouns and modifiers. An investigation 
 would seem to indicate that high school work re- 
 sults in a very little improvement along these lines. 
 The authorities of the University of California and 
 
72 ED UCA TIONAL Q UES TIONS. 
 
 of Stanford Universitv have found that pupils who 
 enter those institutions from the secondary schools 
 of this state are more deficient in the subject of com- 
 position than in any other subject. In other words 
 high school graduates cannot do, even fairly well, 
 what the study of grammar is supposed to give them 
 the ability to do, namely, to place their thoughts 
 clearly and distinctly on paper. Stanford University 
 requires an examination in composition and gram- 
 mar of the graduates of every high school in the 
 state, and the requirements in this subject by the 
 University of California are practically the same. 
 It is a lamentable fact that from TO per cent, to 90 
 per cent, of those who take these examinations fail. 
 
 Teachers themselves, as a rule, are poorly pre- 
 pared in the subject of composition and grammar. 
 Pei^haps not more than 25 per cent, of the teachers 
 in the elementary schools of this state or other 
 states have the ability to write for a newspaper an 
 ordinary communication that will approach correct- 
 ness in grammar and construction. The boy of fif- 
 teen in the printing office has the ability to take the 
 communication received from the average teacher 
 and ^'fix it up" so that its appearance in the columns 
 of the paper will not be a disgrace to that paper. 
 The grammar school graduate, the high school grad- 
 uate, and the teacher may be able to quote pages of 
 rules from the grammar; the boy in the printing 
 office may never have looked inside of a grammar, 
 but thousands of newspaper men in the United 
 States know from experience that the above is a 
 conservative statement of actual facts. 
 
 The object of this discussion is to point out the 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 73 
 
 more important defects in the present method of 
 teaching grammar and composition, and to state and 
 explain another method that will result in giving 
 grammar school graduates and high school gradu- 
 ates the ability to express their thoughts orally and 
 in writing with force and clearness. 
 
 The difference between the two methods referred 
 to above may be considered, in a loose sense, the dif- 
 ference between the deductive and the inductive 
 methods of teaching, which difference is well illus- 
 trated by the two methods of teaching arithmetic. 
 Most arithmetics contain the rules for extracting the 
 square and cube roots of numbers. Some teachers 
 require their pupils to memorize these rules and ap- 
 ply the same to the solution of problems. Other 
 teachers do not require their pupils to memorize the 
 rules for extracting the square and cube root of 
 numbers but do require them to read the explana- 
 tions of principles, and then, with the assistance of 
 blocks, develop the rules, step by step. Some teach- 
 ers require their pupils to memorize the rule, that 
 the percentage divided by the base equals the rate, 
 and then have them apply it to the solution of prob- 
 lems. Other teachers do not require their pupils to 
 memorize, but do teach them how to make it — teach 
 them why it is true. Those pupils who commit 
 rules and apply them to the solution of prob- 
 lems are studying arithmetic by the deductive 
 method. Those pupils who begin with a few mathe- 
 matical facts and construct rules, are studying 
 arithmetic by the inductive method. Those who have 
 studied arithmetic by the deductive methods will 
 soon forget the rules and will then be unable to find 
 
74 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 the square or cube roots of numbers or find tbe rate 
 when the percentage and the base are given. Those 
 who have studied arithmetic by the inductive 
 method will always be able to find the rate when the 
 percentage and the base are given, and will always 
 be able to extract the square and cube roots of num- 
 bers, because they understood the principles in- 
 volved and can make the rules, if necessary. 
 
 Most text-books on language and grammar con- 
 tain a large number of rules. With few exceptions 
 teachers require their pupils to memorize these 
 rules, and county boards of education require gram- 
 mar school graduates and applicants for teachers^ 
 certificates to be able to write them down. Very 
 few teachers, however, require their pupils to apply 
 in composition work the rules which they have mem- 
 orized, and very few county boards of education re- 
 quire the grammar school graduates and applicants 
 for teachers' certificates to be able to make a practi- 
 cal application of the rules which they have memor- 
 ized. This means, of course, that teachers do not 
 require of pupils, and examining boards do not re- 
 quire of applicants the ability to express their 
 thoughts clearly and correctly on paper — do not re- 
 quire them to apply the rules which they have mem- 
 orized. 
 
 The teaching of arithmetic by the deductive 
 method is almost universally condemned, though it 
 is practiced to some extent. The teaching of gram- 
 mar by the deductive method is not only almost uni- 
 versally practiced, but approved. Even the deduct- 
 ive method is not given a fair trial, because pupils 
 are not required to apply the rules which they have 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 75 
 
 learned, and are required to learn a large number of 
 rules of which a practical application cannot be 
 made. 
 
 Under these circumstances, we should not be sur- 
 prised that the teacher in the elementary schools 
 and the graduates of the public schools have derived 
 so little value from the time which they have de- 
 voted to the study of grammar. This condition of 
 affairs will not be changed until the inductive 
 method of teaching grammar has been substituted 
 for the deductive method. 
 
 The inductive method of teaching grammar con- 
 sists of omitting the analytical or impractical part 
 of grammar, and in teaching the constructive or 
 practical part in connection with composition work. 
 Composition is made the basis of all the work in 
 grammar. Rules are not memorized and the use of 
 the text-book is practically abolished. The con- 
 structive rules or principles are built step by step 
 in connection with the composition work. By the 
 inductive method pupils are taught to write by writ- 
 ing and not by memorizing the rules. They are 
 taught by the same method that has given the boy 
 in the printing office the ability to correct the manu- 
 script of teachers, with the additional advantage 
 over him of understanding the reason for many of 
 the rules that govern certain constructions. 
 
 Capitalization, punctuation, formation of posses- 
 sives and plurals, and the proper use of verbs, pro- 
 nouns, and modifiers, constitute the constructive 
 part of grammar. The remainder of this discussion 
 will be devoted to explaining how to teach these 
 
76 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 principles in connection with and bj means of com- 
 position work. 
 
 In teaching composition and grammar in the ele- 
 mentary schools an observance of the following 
 fundamental principles is necessary to success: 
 
 1. The subjects assigned for compositions should 
 deal largely with human experiences, and above all, 
 should be specific — so specific, in fact, that they will 
 require a concise and specific treatment. One of 
 the best results to be derived from composition work 
 is the trained mind that thinks concisely and logi- 
 cally. Broad, comprehensive, abstract, or indefinite 
 subjects will lead to loose thinking, and hence to 
 rambling statements and to a rambling style. 
 
 2. A pupil in any grade should never begin a 
 composition until he has thoroughly studied the sub- 
 ject matter about which he intends writing, and he 
 should be required to write all compositions or writ- 
 ten reproductions of any kind in his own language 
 and not make them a mere copy from books. 
 
 3. There must be regular periods set aside for 
 recitations on the composition work. There must 
 be a mutual discussion of the compositions by the 
 teacher and the class. These discussions should 
 begin during the latter part of the first year and 
 should continue without interruption throughout all 
 the primary and grammar grade work. The mark- 
 ing of each composition and talking with each pupil 
 individually will not take the place of regular class 
 discussions — they are good adjuncts to these discus- 
 sions but will not do as substitutes. Unless the 
 teacher understands the necessity for providing in 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 77 
 
 his program regular periods for recitations on the 
 composition work, he will, very likely, be only par- 
 tially successful as a teacher. 
 
 4. Except in a few of the lower primary grades, 
 there should not be a recitation on the composition 
 the same day on which it is written. The teacher 
 should have a day or two in which to examine the 
 compositions and should select those that will in- 
 sure a discussion of the more important points. 
 There will then be an opportunity to have selections 
 from some of the compositions placed on the board 
 before the recitation begins. This will often make 
 the discussion more interesting and valuable. 
 
 5. During eomjjosition recitations, the pupil 
 should be led to discover the mistakes, to suggest 
 a better construction, to suggest the use of a better 
 word, and to compliment a good construction or the 
 use of a good word. 
 
 6. The pupil should be required to give his rea- 
 sons for having used certain constructions or for 
 having made certain uses of the constructive prin« 
 ciples. He should obtain by the inductive method 
 the ability to give reasons for all constructive rules 
 and principles. 
 
 7. Oral language work must receive constant at- 
 tention. Beginning Vv^ilh the first grade's work, 
 pupils should be requested to stand and give in their 
 own language stories read or told by the teacher, 
 the pupil's language being carefully corrected. 
 With each succeeding grade the oral recitation 
 should receive increased attention, the object being 
 
78 EDUCATIONAL QUESTION^"^. 
 
 to teach the pupil to think quickly and connectedly, 
 and to express his thoughts orally with force and 
 clearness. This oral language work is an invalu- 
 able adjunct to the written language work. 
 
 First Year Work. 
 
 Toward the end of the school term, the pupil, after 
 he has told the story of the reading lesson, or the 
 story read or told by the teacher, should be asked to 
 write the same on paper without reference to the 
 book. He should be taught to begin the first word 
 of each sentence with a capital letter and to place a 
 period at the end of each sentence. The rules 
 should not be placed on the blackboard and memor- 
 ized by the pupil. Each day there should be a reci- 
 tation on the written reproductions of the reading 
 lesson, or the stories read or told by the teacher. A 
 sentence from one of these written reproductions 
 that is not begun with a capital letter or ended with 
 a period, should be copied on the blackboard. The 
 members of the class should then be asked to point 
 out the mistakes. If they are unable to do so — and 
 of course they will be unable to find the mistakes at 
 first — explain that each sentence must begin with a 
 capital and end with a period. This would natur- 
 ally lead to a talk about the sentence. 
 
 At the end of the school year, pupils of the first 
 year, who have had two months of this written 
 work, will have learned something about the sen- 
 tence, and will usually begin the sentence with a 
 capital letter and end it with a period. They will 
 have begun to learn how to place their thoughts 
 correctly on paper. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 79 
 
 77 
 
 Oral language vrork as indicated on page ^ 
 should receive careful attention. 
 
 Some will probably think that this is asking too 
 much of the first year pupils. As a matter of fact, 
 however, it is not so difficult as the amount of work 
 required by most counties in number work during 
 the first year. Number work is not psychologically 
 adapted to the young mind, and the time devoted to 
 it in the lower primary grades is practically wasted. 
 The written language work on the other hand is 
 naturally adapted to the young mind, and is the 
 necessary preparation to nearly all lines of advanced 
 school work. 
 
 Second Year Work. 
 
 During the second year work pupils should write 
 in their own language the story of the reading les- 
 son, and during this year the teacher should begin 
 the reading of stories and have the pupils immedi- 
 ately reproduce them orally and in writing. This 
 will gradually give to the young mind the power of 
 concentration. Toward the end of this year's work, 
 pupils should be asked to write short stories on sub- 
 jects assigned. Subjects with which the children 
 are familiar should be selected — as dogs, cats, chick- 
 ens, flowers, favorite pets. 
 
 There should be a recitation on the written work 
 each day during the second year, and it should em- 
 brace the discussion of capitals, paragraphing and 
 a few of the simpler marks of punctuation. Such 
 questions as pronouns, possessives and plurals, and 
 agreement of subject and predicate are almost sure 
 
80 ED UCA TIONAL Q UE8 TIONS. 
 
 to come up, and some pupils may be able to do some- 
 thing along these lines. 
 
 Third Year Work. 
 
 The subject matter for the written work during 
 the third year may be obtained from the following 
 sources : 
 
 1. Reproduction of the reading lesson without 
 reference to the book. 
 
 2. Reproduction of the stories read or told to the 
 class by the teacher. 
 
 3. Letter writing. Carry on an actual corres- 
 pondence with pupils at a distance so as to necessi- 
 tate the use of the mails. 
 
 4. Composition on subjects assigned. 
 
 5. Oral language w^ork should receive careful at- 
 tention. 
 
 Composition on subjects assigned should be made 
 a prominent part of this year's work. Select sub- 
 jects with which the children are familiar. Occa- 
 sionally ask each member of the class to have some 
 subject ready to suggest at the next recitation. 
 Pupils will often take greater interest in the sub- 
 jects which they have selected, and the effort itself 
 is good training. 
 
 The development of the principles of constructive 
 grammar should receive constant attention during 
 this year's work. A text-book of any kind on lan- 
 guage and grammar should not be placed in the 
 hands of pupils, but there should be a daily recita- 
 tion on the compositions written. If these princi- 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 81 
 
 pies are developed along with the composition work, 
 language will become alive and real to the pupil, 
 and not a dead mass of impractical rules. 
 
 The following suggestions will indicate the 
 method by which these principles should be devel- 
 oped in connection with the composition work: 
 
 CAPITALIZATION. 
 
 Explain to the pupil that a word is usually capi- 
 talized for the purpose of calling special attention 
 to it, either because of its nature or because of its 
 I^osition in the sentence. The first word in a sen- 
 tence is capitalized because it marks the beginning 
 of a sentence, and the name word of a particular 
 person, place or thing is capitalized to indicate that 
 it is of particular importance as compared with the 
 class to which it belongs. Custom has established 
 a few exceptions to this basic principle of capitali- 
 zation, but if the pupil once understands the real ob- 
 ject for the use of capitals, his permanent mastery 
 of their application will only be a question of a few 
 years of practice. This knowledge will also tend to 
 cause him to look upon language as a living organ- 
 ism. 
 
 The w^ork in capitalization as indicated above 
 should receive careful attention throughout all the 
 primary and grammar school work. 
 
 PUNCTUATION. 
 
 Explain to the pupil that the object for the use of 
 the marks of punctuation is to assist in making the 
 thought of the sentence clearer. Those who use the 
 marks of punctuation with the best effect do not 
 
82 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 punctuate according to rule, but according to 
 thought. In a short sentence the thought is often 
 made clear by separating certain parts of the sen- 
 tence with a comma, while in a long and involved 
 sentence similar parts of the sentence demand the 
 semicolon, and sometimes the colon. For this rea- 
 son pupils ought not to be required to memorize the 
 detailed rules of punctuation, but should be taught 
 to punctuate according to thought. Explain to the 
 pupil the value of the different marks of punctua- 
 tion and teach him to observe carefully where the 
 voice naturally falls in the sentence — where there 
 is a break in the thought — and that that should be 
 the basis of his first punctuation — in fact, the basis 
 of all his punctuation. 
 
 After a pupil once understands the object for the 
 use of the marks of punctuation and their relative 
 value, i)ractice in their application secured in con- 
 nection with the discussions on the compositions, 
 will be all that he requires. No two writers of note 
 use exactly the same system of punctuation, and 
 therefore the pupil may not punctuate according to 
 rules laid down in the text-book, but he will punctu- 
 ate so as to make clear the thought of his written 
 work, and by so doing will obey the general laws of 
 punctuation. Punctuation is one of the most diffi- 
 cult parts of mechanical construction, and efficiency 
 can be secured only by practice that has constant 
 regard for thought, and not for memorized rules. 
 By and bye the pupil will not only have thoroughly 
 mastered the more important rules of punctuation, 
 but he will have built them step by step, and there- 
 fore will be skilled in their use. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 83 
 
 The work in punctuation, as indicated above, 
 should receive careful attention throughout all the 
 primary and grammar grade work. 
 
 VERBS. 
 
 The teacher ought not to ask the pupil to memor- 
 ize the definitions of the different parts of speech, 
 but should be satisfied if he can recognize them in 
 sentences and understand something of the nature 
 of each. Third grade pupils will be able to do this 
 without any special effort on the part of themselves 
 or on the part of the teacher. Incidental discus- 
 sions of the parts of speech from sentences copied on 
 the board for other purposes will secure this result. 
 The inductive method of teaching grammar does not 
 require the formal parsing of the different parts of 
 speech, the diagraming of sentences, the declension 
 of pronouns, or the conjugations of verbs, and there- 
 fore the teacher in dealing with the parts of speech 
 need not take these subjects into consideration. 
 
 Pupils of the third grade cannot go deeply into 
 the subject of verbs, but they should make a good 
 beginning. In connection with the discussions on 
 the compositions, when a sentence has been copied 
 on the board, explain to the pupil that the word 
 talked about in the sentence is called the subject of 
 the sentence and the word which tells something 
 about the subject is called the predicate. During 
 the third year work, the pupil should learn enough 
 about the verb to understand the agreement of sub- 
 ject and predicate. Explain to him that a subject 
 which stands for or denotes more than one must 
 
84 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 have an action word that denotes more than one; 
 and a subject which stands for or denotes but one 
 must have an action word that denotes but one. 
 
 PRONOUNS. 
 
 Very few grammar school graduates can use pro- 
 nouns even fairly well. On questions directly to 
 point in the final examinations for graduation from 
 the elementary schools, from seventy to eighty per 
 cent, of those who take the examination fail almost 
 entirely. Neither do they show a much better 
 knowledge of the pronoun in their written work gen- 
 erally. Pupils who can decline the pronouns almost 
 faultlessly and who can distinguish between the ob- 
 ject and attribute complements, will often fail when 
 asked to correct some simple examples — as. It is 
 him who I saw yesterday; John divided the apple 
 between he and I. Pupils in the graduating classes 
 of the grammar school make numerous mistakes of 
 the same nature in both their oral and their written 
 work. 
 
 This inability of the pupils to use and understand 
 pronouns is due directly to the method of presenting 
 the subject. The time which they have devoted to 
 this subject has been consumed in memorizing de- 
 clensions, defining complements and learning case 
 forms. The pupils become lost in a wilderness of 
 rules which often prove a positive hindrance to them 
 in the correct use of pronouns. In fact, most of 
 those who use pronouns readily have learned to do 
 so in spite of the hindering rules which they may 
 have learned. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 85 
 
 During their third year work pupils should first 
 learn to point out the pronouns in a sentence, and 
 should be required to tell why they are pronouns — 
 tell what word in the sentence each stands for. 
 This knowledge on their part should be followed by 
 a thorough explanation of the subject, object and 
 possessive forms of the pronouns. Explain to the 
 pupil that a subject form is one that can always be 
 used as a subject of a sentence, and show him how 
 the test can easily be made. The pupil will soon 
 apply this test with confidence, because he will see 
 that the possessive and object forms of the pro- 
 nouns do not sound at all natural when used as the 
 subject of a sentence. During the recitations on the 
 compositions a pupil might be asked to pass to the 
 board and write sentences using all three forms as 
 subjects. By this method the pupil will readily see 
 that certain forms only can be used as the subject of 
 a sentence. 
 
 After a pupil understands how to determine the 
 subject forms, then explain to him that the subject 
 form must never be used except as the subject of a 
 sentence, or when it stands for the subject and com- 
 pletes the predicate. The few exceptions to this 
 rule are unimportant and are seldom misused. 
 Pupils who understand this principle will not hand 
 in papers containing such expressions as, "It is me," 
 "Between you and I," "It was them of who I was 
 speaking." If a composition does contain an ex- 
 pression similar to those mentioned above, ask the 
 pupil to copy it on the board and ask him to use the 
 pronoun that stands for the subject and completes 
 the predicate, as the subject of another sentence. 
 
86 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 By this method pupils will soon master the use of 
 the subject forms of the pronoun. 
 
 Mistakes are seldom made in the use of pronouns 
 which denote possession, and if the pupil under- 
 stands the subject forms he will have very little 
 trouble with the object forms. Some special atten- 
 tion might be devoted to the object forms after the 
 subject forms have been mastered, but the constant 
 reference to the object forms during discussion on 
 the subject forms will, very likely, make this un- 
 necessary. After the pupil has mastered the use of 
 the subject, object and possessive forms of the per- 
 sonal pronouns he might be incidentally informed 
 that they are also called nominative, objective and 
 possessive forms. 
 
 It is useless to have a pupil define the different 
 kinds of pronouns. If he fully understand the na- 
 ture and use of the personal pronouns he will sel- 
 dom misuse the other pronouns. It might be well, 
 however, to have the members of the class discuss 
 who and what, as mistakes are sometimes made in 
 the use of these pronouns. 
 
 It is not expected that third year pupils will learn 
 all about pronouns, or that they will not make mis- 
 takes in their use. By the method outlined above 
 they will learn as much about the nature and use of 
 pronouns as eight year pupils usually know, and by 
 the time they have completed the sixth year they 
 will have mastered the subject of pronouns. 
 
 The work in pronouns, as indicated above, should 
 receive careful attention throughout all the primary 
 and grammar grade work. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUE;^TIONi^. 87 
 
 POSSESSIVES AND PLURALS. 
 
 The pupil should not be asked to memorize rules 
 for the use of possessives and plurals, but should 
 study the subject entirely in connection with the 
 recitations on his compositions. In addition to dis- 
 cussing all mistakes in the composition work, ask a 
 pupil to pass the board and write sentences that will 
 illustrate the general rules. As: "The girl's hat is 
 red;" "The girls' hats are red;" "The lady's hat is 
 brown;" "The ladies' hats are brown." 
 
 The subject of possessives and plurals is not a 
 difficult one and will be easily mastered, but until it 
 is mastered, the teacher should give it careful atten- 
 tion. 
 
 MODIFIERS. 
 
 Pupils will seldom make a mistake in the use of 
 modifiers unless there is some question as to what 
 word is modified. If a pupil were telling her school- 
 mate that a certain girl was looking sweetly at an- 
 other she would say: "Alice is looking sweetly at 
 Frances to-day." But if she were describing a qual- 
 ity of her face or expression, she would say: "Alice 
 is looking sweet to-day." 
 
 Mistakes on examples like these are often made 
 by the pupil and the best way to remedy this is to 
 explain to him that when a modifier limits or defines 
 the subject, or the name word, it should be used as 
 if it modified the word directly. In the sentence, 
 "Alice is looking sweet to-day," it means the same 
 as sweet girl. If the pupil understands and is able 
 to apply this principle, he will seldom make a mis- 
 take in the use of modifiers. 
 
88 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS, 
 
 PAEAGRAPHING. 
 
 Paragraphing should receive careful attention 
 during the third year. If the subject is properly 
 presented, third year pupils will make wonderful 
 progress in paragraphing. They will even make bet- 
 ter progress than eighth year pupils who have not 
 had good training in this subject. 
 
 Explain to the pupil that when he begins to say 
 something new about a subject he must begin a new 
 paragraph. If he has been describing the appear- 
 ance of his pet dog, and then begins to describe some 
 of the tricks that his dog can play, he must begin a 
 new paragraph. 
 
 DICTION AND CONSTRUCTION. 
 
 Pupils should be frequently asked to substitute a 
 better word for some word in the composition under 
 discussion. This is probably the best way to assist a 
 pupil in securing a practical vocabulary. 
 
 The construction of sentences and paragraphs 
 should begin to receive careful attention in connec- 
 tion with the composition work of the third year, 
 and should receive increased attention with each 
 succeeding year until the pupil has graduated from 
 the high school. The mental value of this kind of 
 work cannot be overestimated. In order to use good 
 diction, and to construct clearly and logically, a pu- 
 pil must reason clearly and logically. It is an easy 
 matter to write sentences and paragraphs that are 
 grammatically correct, but the diction and construc- 
 tion will demand constant attention. The major part 
 of the time devoted to the recitations on the compo- 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 89 
 
 sitions, should be devoted to diction and construc- 
 tion. Tlie teacher, at first, after a pupil has studied 
 a subject, should assist him to divide it into logical 
 sub-heads. The pupil, however, should soon acquire 
 the ability to do this without assistance. 
 
 The work outlined in the constructive principles 
 for the third year should be carefully followed 
 throughout all the primary and grammar grade 
 work, and the nature of the work should not be 
 changed and its scope should not be enlarged except 
 as regards verbs, which will be specified later. Third 
 grade pupils will not be able to accomplish all the 
 constructive work outlined above, but the progress 
 which they can make along these lines is surprising. 
 They will learn to write compositions several pages 
 in length, paragraph neatly, understand the agree- 
 ment of subject and predicate, and will make very 
 few mistakes in the use of pronouns. The pupil un- 
 derstands the "why" for all his work, begins to un- 
 derstand the nature of constructive grammar, and is 
 beginning to look on language as something full of 
 life and spirit, and not as a mass of dead rules. 
 
 Fourth Year. 
 
 The subject matter for the written work during 
 the fourth year may be obtained from the following 
 sources: 
 
 1. Compositions on subjects assigned from the 
 reading lessons. 
 
 2. Keproductions of stories told or read to the 
 class by the teacher. 
 
 3. Letter writing. 
 
 4. Compositions on subjects assigned. 
 
90 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 5. Oral language work should receive careful at- 
 tention. 
 
 Compositions on subjects assigned should be 
 made a prominent part of this year's work. Select 
 subjects with which the children are familiar, or 
 subjects that they have the facilities for learning 
 about. Have them write about things that make up 
 their daily experiences. Ask the pupils to suggest 
 subjects. As far as possible, however, the subjects 
 assigned should necessitate the study of the subject 
 matter along the other lines of the pupil's school 
 work, thus giving a concentration of effort and a 
 unity of purpose to all his work. 
 
 A text-book of any kind on language or grammar 
 should not be placed in the hands of pupils, but 
 there should be a daily recitation on the compo- 
 sitions written. In the recitations on the coraposi- 
 tion work, give careful attention* to capitalization, 
 punctuation, possessives, plurals, modifiers, para- 
 graphing, diction, and construction as outlined un- 
 der the third year's work. The pupil should not be 
 asked to commit rules, but the constructive princi- 
 ples should be developed as there indicated. As far 
 as possible induce the pupil to note errors in the use 
 of these principles when a composition is under dis- 
 cussion and to suggest improvement in diction and 
 construction. 
 
 In addition to the work outlined in verbs in the 
 third year, fourth year pupils should study verbs in 
 relation to the time expressed. Any study or dis- 
 cussion of the different modes should be omitted, 
 and pupils should not be required to commit conju- 
 gations. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS, 91 
 
 Perhaps the majority of men and women make 
 frequent mistakes in the use of verbs when express- 
 ing time of action, and in the use of such auxiliary 
 verbs as, will and shall, may and can. It is one of 
 the most difficult subjects that the pupil will be 
 called upon to master in connection with his compo- 
 sition work, and he should begin at the bottom and 
 develop the subject gradually. 
 
 In addition to discussing all mistakes in the com- 
 position work, a pupil should be asked during these 
 recitations to pass to the board and write sentences 
 expressing action which has taken place in the 
 past, action which is taking place at the pres- 
 ent time, action which will take place in the future, 
 action which was completed at or before a certain 
 past time, action which is completed at the present 
 time, and action which will be completed at or be- 
 fore a certain future time. The auxiliary verbs used 
 to express the different times of action should be 
 carefully noted and explained. Each pupil should 
 continue this kind of work until he can write sen- 
 tences expressing all the different times of action 
 without any hesitancy whatever. 
 
 By the end of the fourth year pupils will begin to 
 understand the nature of verbs and auxiliary verbs, 
 and to feel confident in the use of the same. After 
 the pupil has fully developed and understands the 
 principle of verbs, he might incidentally learn the 
 technical names applied to these principles — as 
 tense, mode, etc. This, however, would be in the 
 sixth year. 
 
92 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 Fifth and Sixth Years. 
 
 The subject matter for the written work during 
 the fifth and sixth years may be obtained from the 
 following sources: 
 
 1. Compositions on subjects assigned from the 
 reading lessons. 
 
 2. Reproduction of stories told or read by the 
 teacher. 
 
 3. Compositions on subjects assigned. 
 
 4. Oral language work should receive careful at- 
 tention. 
 
 The subjects assigned for compositions for these 
 two years should require more and more independ- 
 ent work on the part of the pupil. After the pupil 
 has finished gathering information concerning the 
 subject about which he intends writing, he should 
 be required to divide it logically into sub-heads be- 
 fore beginning his composition. Logical treatment 
 of subjects should be given increased attention as 
 the work in these two years progresses. 
 
 The subject matter should be largely historical 
 and geographical. Subjects should be selected that 
 will assist along other lines of work, secure to the 
 pupil valuable information, and lay the foundation 
 for the geographical and historical work of the sev- 
 enth and eighth years. Compositions on men and 
 women who are historically noted for the part they 
 have played in the development of this nation 
 should receive increased attention. They should not, 
 however, be stilted biographies of these men and wo- 
 men, but the story of their life's work — several com- 
 positions often being devoted to the incidents in the 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 93 
 
 life of one man, as, Boyhood of Franklin; Franklin 
 the Printer; The Great Doctor Franklin; Young 
 George Washington; Washington in the French 
 War; Washington in the Revolution; Washington as 
 President. Pupils are interested in what men do 
 more than in what others say about them. 
 
 Material for more than thirty excellent subjects 
 along these lines will be found in "A First Book in 
 American History" by Eggleston. 
 
 In the sixth year, some subjects might be assigned 
 dealing merely with civil government. Any good 
 civil government can be made the basis of this work. 
 The following may prove suggestive: 
 Duties of City Government. 
 Officers of Bakersfield and their Duties. 
 Duties of County Government. 
 Officers of Kern County and their Duties. 
 State Senators. 
 State Assemblymen. 
 Duties of the State Legislature. 
 Governor of California. 
 Courts of California. 
 Duties of State Courts. 
 Necessity of Government. 
 Pupils should be asked to write about the prod- 
 ucts of California. Assign such subjects as, The Ap- 
 ple, The Potato, Wheat, Gold, Silver, etc. It is best 
 not to restrict the pupil to descriptive work, but 
 have him learn all he can about a subject — how it 
 is produced, how it is prepared for consumption, for 
 what used. Better results will be secured during 
 these two years if the pupil is permitted to tell all 
 he knows about a subject than if he be restricted to 
 
94 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 one phase of composition, such as narrative, descrip- 
 tive, expositive, or argumentative. Some elemen- 
 tary work ought to be accomplished in narrative 
 and description in the primary grades, but syste- 
 matic work in these subjects should be postponed 
 until the seventh and eighth years. 
 
 During the fifth and sixth years' work there 
 should be a recitation on the composition work twice 
 each week. No text-book of any kind on language 
 or grammar should be placed in the hands of pupils. 
 The work outlined for the third and fourth years 
 should receive continued and careful consideration, 
 but its scope should not be enlarged. By the end of 
 the sixth year's work the pupil should have thor- 
 oughly mastered the constructive principles of gram- 
 mar; he should understand the nature of the con- 
 structive rules and their application should gi\e him 
 no trouble, practice having made their correct use 
 almost involuntary. 
 
 Seventh and Eighth Years. 
 
 The subject matter for the composition work of 
 the seventh and eighth years should consist almost 
 entirely of subjects assigned. These subjects should 
 deal largely with the work in English, Geography 
 and History. If many subjects are assigned that will 
 require the pupil to devote a considerable part of his 
 time to lines of work not connected with his regular 
 school work, he must, of necessity, slight such sub- 
 jects as Arithemetic, English, History and Geog- 
 raphy. Thoroughness demands that the pupil con- 
 centrate his efforts upon the essential studies, and 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 95 
 
 not attempt too many independent lines of work at 
 the same time. 
 
 The following subjects are suggestive of the kind 
 that should be assigned for these two years' work: 
 
 1. In Geography: 
 Causes of Winds. 
 Causes of Tides. 
 
 Causes of Ocean Currents. 
 
 Uses of Wool. 
 
 Uses of Cotton. 
 
 Rice Culture in the South. 
 
 Value of Railroads to Commerce. 
 
 Effects of Railroads upon the Social Life of a 
 
 Nation. 
 Effects of Railroads upon the Political Life of a 
 
 Nation. 
 Effect of Ocean Currents upon Climate. 
 Garden Products of the South. 
 Effect of Rivers on Land Forms. 
 Effect of Climate on the Products of a Country. 
 
 2. In History: 
 
 European Trade with the Eastern Countries 
 prior to 1492. 
 
 Why a Water Route to the Eastern Countries 
 was Desired about 1492. 
 
 United States Senate. 
 
 Hamilton's Financial Scheme. 
 
 Fashion of Dress for Men in 1790. 
 
 Mode of Travel in 1790. 
 
 Object for Two Branches in the Legislative De- 
 partment. 
 
 Spoils System. 
 
96 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 3. In English: 
 
 The selections studied will determine to a great 
 extent the subjects assigned. The following in the 
 "Lady of the Lake" may prove suggestive: 
 
 Customs of the Scottish Highlanders. 
 
 Customs of the Scottish Lowlanders. 
 
 History of the Douglas Family. 
 
 Relations of Scotland and England. 
 
 Government in the Scottish Clans. 
 
 Relations of the Highland Chiefs to the King of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Life at the Royal Court of Scotland. 
 
 Scottish Scenery. 
 
 Scott. 
 
 Roderick. 
 
 Fitz-James. 
 
 Ellen. 
 
 Malcolm Graeme. 
 
 Loch Katrine. 
 
 Rocky Isle and Ellen's Home. 
 
 The Chase. 
 In addition to the work indicated above, the pupil, 
 during the last years of his grammar school work, 
 should have systematic practice in narrative and de- 
 scriptive writing. 
 
 For subjects in the narrative work the pupil 
 fihould rely to a large extent upon his personal ex- 
 periences. An incident in the pupil's life that was 
 important enough to impress itself upon his mem- 
 ory is usually a worthy subject for a composition. 
 If it was of interest to him, it will, very likely, be of 
 interest to the members of his class. For the de- 
 scriptive work choose such subjects as, My Home, 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 97 
 
 My Bedroom, a Successful Eabbit Trap., How to Put 
 up a Swing, A Sunset, An Apple, A Flower, A 
 Plant, An Animal. In describing fruits, flowers, 
 plants and animals, the pupil should base his de- 
 scription upon the careful examination of an actual 
 specimen. 
 
 During the seventh and eighth years there should 
 be two recitations each week on compositions. These 
 recitations should be devoted to a discussion of the 
 compositions, particular attention being directed to 
 thought, diction and construction. By the end of 
 the sixth year, the pupil should understand the na- 
 ture of, and should have acquired the ability to ap- 
 ply readily, the constructive principles of grammar. 
 The time which he devotes to composition work dur- 
 ing the last two years of his grammar school life 
 should be devoted, almost entirely, to the logical 
 treatment of the subject, and to clearness, smooth- 
 ness and conciseness of expression. The only way 
 for him to accomplish anything definite along these 
 lines is by practice in writing compositions and by 
 a mutual discussion of the same under the direction 
 of a teacher who understands composition and gram- 
 mar and can teach these subjects to pupils. 
 
 The vast majority of boys and girls must face the 
 world with its duties and responsibilities with no 
 other educational preparation than that provided by 
 the grammar school. Their grammar school work 
 should have cultivated their power to think logic- 
 ally, and should have given them the ability to ex- 
 press their thoughts orally and in writing in at least 
 moderately clear, smooth and concise English. Clear 
 thinking and a clear, smooth expression of thought 
 
98 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 may be considered prerequisites of a successful life 
 if said life must depend upon personal initiative. 
 Hence the value of composition work can hardly be 
 overestimated. 
 
 Some teachers complain of composition work be- 
 cause they are unable to achieve success in teaching 
 it. This usually means that they do not understand 
 composition and grammar, unless understanding 
 composition and grammar means having at the 
 "tongue's end hundreds of rules." It might be well 
 to remind all those who are unable to teach com- 
 position and grammar in the public schools so that 
 pupils will learn to express their thoughts orally 
 and in writing in at least moderately clear and 
 smooth English, that they owe it, as a duty to the 
 taxpayer and to the pupil, to stop teaching- until 
 they are better qualified for the work. The object 
 of the public school system is to prepare boys and 
 girls for their life's work, and not to supply po- 
 sitions for teachers. 
 
THE STATE TEXT-BOOK SYSTEM. 
 
 Uniformity, cheapness to the pupil, and quality of 
 subject matter are the three beneficent results that 
 the advocates of a state series of text-books claim 
 for the system. There is a uniform series of text- 
 books for the elementary schools of this state, thus 
 fulfilling the first advantage claimed; but that said 
 books are cheap to the pupil in dollars and cents is 
 plausibly questioned, and that the subject matter 
 of a majority of said books is of good quality is em* 
 phatically denied by the vast majority of the edu- 
 cators of the state. Uniformity in the text-books of 
 the state is good, cheapness of the text-book to the 
 pupil is good, but good quality of subject matter in 
 text-books is absolutely essential to good work. The 
 schools of the state can do good work without using 
 the same text-books. They can do good work with- 
 out using cheap text-books, but they cannot do good 
 work when compelled to use text-books which con- 
 tain poor subject matter. 
 
 The condemnation of the subject matter in the 
 State Series text-books by educators who are en- 
 gaged in elementary school work is so general and 
 emphatic, that a discussion of the same would seem 
 unnecessary. However, a restatement of some of 
 the general defects will be made without attempt- 
 ing a detailed analysis. 
 
100 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 THE STATE ARITHMETIC. 
 
 One of the main defects in the State Arithmetic is 
 a lack of explanation of mathematical principles. 
 The following is taken from the preface : "They [the 
 members of the State Board of Education] feel, 
 however, that arithmetics have been too much given 
 to talking and not enough to doing — that a student 
 seldom or never masters the thought in a long and 
 minute explanation. He cannot understand it be- 
 fore working the examples and does not need it af- 
 terwards." 
 
 In other words, the State Arithmetic has been 
 compiled on the supposition that a pupil who can 
 solve an example will understand the principles in- 
 volved. This, of course, is a fallacy, and a fallacy 
 that the teacher must constantly guard against. 
 Those who are engaged in the supervision of gram- 
 mar school work, know as a matter of fact, that 
 graduates of the grammar school can often solve a 
 problem if it is similar to those they have been ac- 
 customed to solving, but if they are asked to solve 
 a problem different in form from those they have 
 been accustomed to solving, though it does involve 
 the same principles, they are unable to proceed with 
 the solution. Not enough time is devoted to arith- 
 metical principles and too much is devoted to ma- 
 chine-like drill on solutions. The State Series Arith- 
 metic, by a woeful lack of explanation of principles 
 involved, places a premium on this kind of work. 
 It consists of a compilation of examples, and to the 
 pupil it is so much dead matter. 
 
 The teacher, of course, is supposed to supply the 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 101 
 
 explanation. If he has sufficient time he may be able 
 to do this. We should remember, however, that in 
 most of the counties of this state the majority of the 
 children attend school in the country districts, 
 where one teacher has charge of all the grades. Un- 
 der such conditions, the teacher is crowded for time 
 in all his work, and explanation must necessarily be 
 cut short. If each new principle were properly ex- 
 plained, the pupil would be able to study most of 
 them unaided and thus relieve the teacher of a great 
 deal of unnecessary work. Furthermore, the best 
 mental discipline that a pupil will receive during his 
 grammar school work will be derived from master- 
 ing the principles of arithmetic unaided, except by 
 the clear analysis of principles involved found in 
 good text-books under the head of "explanations." 
 
 Another defect in the State Series Arithmetic is 
 the offering for solution examples beyond the men- 
 tal capacity of the pupil. (See exercise 142). The 
 teacher will drill his pupils on these examples until 
 they can solve them, the pupils committing the solu- 
 tions as they would commit a selection of prose or 
 poetry. The arithmetical principles used in the so- 
 lution are not understood. It is needless for pupils 
 to attempt the solution of problems beyond their 
 mental capacity. It would be better for them to de- 
 vote their time to studying the principles and in 
 making fairly complex applications of the same. 
 
 When we compare the absurd methods in the 
 State Series Number Lessons, and the skeleton-like 
 construction of the State Series Arithmetic, with 
 other arithmetics many of which have been written 
 with regard to the psychological development of the 
 
1()2 WVOATWtAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 young mind, we can understand why teachers in the 
 elementary schools, and superintendents of element- 
 ary school work become discouraged, and why 
 county boards of education insist on the use of 
 supplementary arithmetics. 
 
 THE STATE HISTORY. 
 
 Of all the state text-books the history, perhaps, 
 possesses the least merit. It lacks, almost entirely, 
 the true historical spirit. The subject matter is 
 chopped up into sections resembling the lecture 
 notes of an academic professor. To the pupil it is 
 lifeless. Perhaps 80 per cent of the pupils in the 
 grammar school of this state detest the study of his- 
 tory — whereas it should be one of the most fascinat- 
 ing and entertaining of the grammar school sub- 
 jects. This, of course, is often partly due to the 
 teacher, but teacher and pupil cannot do good work 
 without good text-books. Few teachers or pupils 
 have anything but words of condemnation for the 
 State History. 
 
 The State History has been written on the suppo- 
 sition that the study of history consists in the stat- 
 ing of dates and relating the events of wars, ad- 
 ministrations, settlements — the mere skeleton of his- 
 tory. The history of a nation or of an institution 
 is a growth and should be studied as such. The 
 study of cause and effect should be substituted for 
 the memorizing of dates and events. Any text-book 
 on history that does not recognize this fact ought 
 not to be used in the school room as a text-book. It 
 is encouraging to note that in many counties of this 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 103 
 
 state, county boards of education have practically 
 abolished the State History by encouraging the use 
 of supplementary histories. This is, perhaps, a vio- 
 lation of the spirit of the law but the end would 
 seem to justify the means. 
 
 STATE READERS. 
 
 The State readers, extending from the first to the 
 sixth year inclusive, are not evenly graded, and most 
 of the subject matter in the fourth, fifth and sixth 
 years is entirely foreign to the other work. It con- 
 sists largely of myths and fairy stories, whereas it 
 should consist largely of history stories — thus lay- 
 ing a foundation for the study of history in the ad- 
 vanced grades. Nothing is more fascinating to the 
 child mind than the story of what a great man has 
 done, and in such a story the outline of ten years of 
 a nation's history can often be skilfully interwoven. 
 There are a number of text-books on reading in 
 which this object is kept constantly in view. 
 
 STATE LANGUAGE BOOK. 
 
 The little state language book called ^'Lessons in 
 Language" defeats the object which its authors 
 hoped it would secure; viz., freedom and fluency of 
 expression. 
 
 The constructive work consists mostly in complet- 
 ing sentences, filling in blanks, and answering ques- 
 tions. Those engaged in composition work know 
 from experience that nothing blunts free expression 
 more than following such methods. Fluency of ex- 
 pression and application of the practical part of 
 
104 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS, 
 
 grammar can be best secured by written work. The 
 subject matter for this written work may be repro- 
 duction of the reading lesson in the pupil's own lan- 
 guage without reference to the book, reproduction 
 of stories read or told to the class by the teacher 
 and compositions on subjects assigned. (For fuller 
 details on grammar and composition see page 71.) 
 
 STATE SPELLER. 
 
 The list of words in the state speller is as good as 
 will be found in most text-books on spelling. The 
 time devoted to the large number of written lessons, 
 however, is practically wasted. 
 
 STATE GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 The State Primary geography is the bugbear of 
 the teacher's life. A number of counties have en- 
 tirely abolished its use. The advanced geography is 
 a fairly good text-book of the old school, but devotes 
 entirely too much time to details, and not enough 
 space to the habits and life of the people as they are 
 effected by the physical conditions of the country in 
 which they live. (For a fuller discussion of the sub- 
 ject of geography see page i^.)\5~^ 
 
 STATE PHYSIOLOGY AND CIVIL GOVERN- 
 MENT. 
 
 The State Civil Government is an excellent little 
 book for grammar grade work, and so is the hy- 
 gienic part of the State Physiology. 
 
 In passing judgment on the subject matter of the 
 state text-books, it is well to remember that the best 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 106 
 
 proof of its poor quality is the almost universal con- 
 demnation which it receives from the teacher in the 
 elementary schools, and from the superintendents of 
 elementary school work. Those who work with the 
 material are the best judges of the same. It would, 
 perhaps, be difficult to find a disinterested educator 
 of importance who does not consider the majority of 
 the state text-books an imposition on the public 
 schools of the state. 
 
 It is only natural that the state text-books are of 
 an inferior quality; it would be surprising if they 
 were otherwise. Text-books in the United States 
 have been improving for more than a hundred years. 
 Each one must enter the field of competition and 
 live, if it lives at all, on its own merits. Most of 
 them have been written by men and women who 
 have made their life's work the study and teaching 
 of a certain subject. Such conditions naturally 
 would produce and have produced good text-books 
 on most subjects. 
 
 The text-books of the California States Series are 
 the offsprings of entirely different conditions. They 
 do not enter the field of competition. Most of them 
 have been written by men and women who have not 
 made their life's work the study and teaching of the 
 subject on which they have produced a text-book. 
 Many, perhaps, who assisted in compiling the state 
 text-books secured their positions through political 
 influence. Assuming, however, that they were se- 
 lected because of their peculiar qualifications, is it 
 reasonable to expect that text-books written by con- 
 tract in this young state of California, where the 
 opportunities for research and investigation are lim- 
 
106 EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 
 
 ited, will be as good as those written in the East, 
 where the facilities for investigation are unlimited, 
 and where the author knows his books must live on 
 their merits alone? What chance would the Cali- 
 fornia Series of text-books have in the markets of 
 the East? 
 
 It seems reasonable to presume that any investi- 
 gator of this subject must conclude that so long as 
 California writes her own text-books by contract she 
 will have text-books of an inferior quality. It is, 
 perhaps, best for her to have a uniform series of 
 text-books, and, it is claimed, cheaper to the pupil 
 for her to print those text-books, but it is not best 
 for her to write them. 
 
 For the solution of the text-book question in Cali- 
 fornia, the following plan is suggested: 
 
 1. There should be a uniform series of text-books 
 used in the elementary and secondary schools of the 
 state. 
 
 2. All text-books should be selected, not written 
 by contract, by the State Board of Education. 
 
 Two requisites necessary to bodies authorized to 
 choose text-books are the ability to choose the right 
 kind of books and the ability and inclination to re- 
 sist the monetary considerations offered by some 
 publishing houses. In many instances during recent 
 years, members of state and territorial boards of 
 
 During the last regular session of the State Legislature, I 
 urged Senator Smith, of Kern and San Luis Obispo Coun- 
 ties, to prepare a constitutional amendment embodying this 
 plan, but pressure of other business prevented him from pre- 
 pnriag said bill. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUESTIONS. 107 
 
 education have been known to accept bribes from 
 publishing houses, and because of such considera- 
 tions have adopted text books for use in the schools 
 of the state, or of the territory as the case may be. 
 
 The majority of the State Board of Education, as 
 provided for in the chapter on the "Certification of 
 Teachers," v^ill very likely consist of men who can- 
 not be swayed in their selections of text-books by 
 favoritism or by monetary consideration. 
 
 I believe the method outlined above would satis- 
 factorily settle the text-book question. The commit- 
 tee would be permanent and its character would in- 
 sure the selection of text-books on their merit alone. 
 The committee could secure reasonable rates on 
 books selected, or the state could buy the copyright 
 for California. But it would be best perhaps to se- 
 cure reasonable rates direct from the publishers be- 
 fore finally adopting a book. Text-books on all sub- 
 jects are constantly improving, and it might be un- 
 wise to bind the schools of the state to use a certain 
 text-book for a considerable length of time, and this 
 would be necessary in order to make the purchase of 
 a copyright a business proposition. 
 
THE Western Series of Readers 
 
 EDITED BY HARR WAGNER 
 
 DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR 
 SUPPLEMENTARY WORK IN 
 
 HISTORY AND NATURE STUDY 
 
 IN OUR WESTERN SCHOOLS 
 ALL FULLY AND BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED. EACH VOLUME CONTAINS 
 FROM EIGHTEEN TO TWENTY-SIX FULL-PAGE PICTURES. 
 
 EXTENSIVELY ADOPTED AND USED IN THE SCHOOLS OF THE PACIFIC COAST 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 PACIFIC HISTORY STORIES 
 
 Br HARR WAQNER 
 
 FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH GRADES 
 
 During the short time that this book has been on the market 
 its sale has been phenomenal. It is pronounced, by all of our 
 leading educators, to be excellently adapted to the work for 
 which it was intended — a supplementary reader in history 
 study in the Fourth and Fifth Grades. Fully two-thirds of 
 the counties in California have this book on their supplemen- 
 tary and library list. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 PACIFIC NATURE STORIES 
 
 Br HARR WAQNER AND DAVID S. JORDAN 
 AND OTHmRS 
 
 FOR FOURTH AND FIFTH QRADES 
 
 A companion volume to the above. It contains some eighteen 
 most interesting and instructive sketches of our westerr ani- 
 mal and vegetable life, all told in a delightfully flowing style 
 and written by the greatest educators of the West. As a 
 reading book in nature study it cannot be excelled. 
 
 VOL. II 
 
 NATURE STORIES OF THE NORTHWEST 
 
 Br HERBERT BASHFORD 
 
 STATE LIBRARIAN OF WASHINGTON 
 FOR SIXTH AND SSVSNTH QRADES 
 
 This book covers a more extended field than Volume II., and 
 is not strictly confined to the Northwest. Among the inter- 
 esting stories will be found those of The Black Bear, The 
 K-^nzJisher, The Clam, The Meadowlark, The Seals, etc., all 
 of which are of interest to any pupil in the West. The 
 illustrations are works of art and true to nature. 
 
VOL. IV. 
 
 TALES OF DISCOVERY ON THE PACIHC SLOPE 
 
 BY MARQARET QRAHAM HOOD 
 
 FOR THIRD AND FOURTH QRADBS 
 
 The Tale of History could not be more charmingly told than 
 it is in this volume, which is intended for the lower grades. 
 A Third or Fourth Grade pupil will read it easily, and with 
 interest. Its eight chapters are devoted to the early history of 
 our great western empire, and tell of characters and events but 
 little touched upon by the general school history. The child 
 here acquires a taste that leads him to furthe r research. 
 
 VOL. V. ^^ 
 
 TALES OF OUR NEW POSSESSIONS, THE PHILIPPINES 
 Written by R» VAN berqen 
 
 A Thirty-year Residentof the Orient 
 
 AUTHOR OF "STORY OF JAPAN," ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY P. N, BOERINQER 
 
 WAR ARTIST CORRESPONDENT AT MANILA 
 
 FOR San Francisco papers 
 FOR THE SIXTH, SEVENTH AND EIGHTH QRADBS 
 
 A timely book for the young. We employed to write this vol- 
 ume, a man v/hose thirty - ^ear residence in the Orient made 
 him thoroughly familiar with the people and their customs. 
 Its thirty-eight chapters, all richly illustrated by the best artist 
 we could secure, will give the pupil an excellent idea of our 
 new country — a knowledge which will prove of great finan- 
 cial value to him. 
 
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 knowledge but all reading like a story book. The chapters on 
 The Yosemite Valley, The San Francisco Bay and The Colo- 
 rado River in themselves alone warrant the purchase of the 
 book. c- 
 
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 Study of the Kindergai'ten Problem, By Fred'k I,. Burke 50 
 
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