LC y^ The Curriculum <- OF THE Catholic Elementary School I UC-NRLF iilitilMliiiulliliilUiii, ^B 17 723 A DISCUSSION OF ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND t SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS GEOKGK ]in\\-)y^ )ii A nissEiri \'."i()v .'•' I III. A -.tin . ,y -'J i . ^ilJff/JJ OJ [/'■• ^ity of America w I^u.-fiil ludfiUment n he Requirements for the Degree of VVAsJUNr.TO EXCHANGE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/curriculumofcathOOjohnrich The Curriculum OF THE Catholic Elementary School A DISCUSSION OF ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL FOUNDATIONS BY GEORGE JOHNSON A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Philosophy of the Catholic University of America in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy *" < * i • i i l*y \ •*; WASHINGTON. D. C. 1919 XGHANQtt CONTENTS Introduction CHAPTER I The Development of the Elementaby School Cueeiculum IN THE United States The Growth of the Curriculum 1 The Curriculum prior to 1812". 2 After 1812 5 Geography 6 History 7 Music S Drawing 8 Physical Education 9 Manual Arts ^ Home Economics 10 Nature Study 10 Efforts at Reorganization 12 The National Educational Association 13 Local Systems, Curricula and Surveys 15 Reorganization in the Catholic School System 15 Need for definite principles to govern the making of curricula 16 CHAPTER II Subject-Mattee and Society — The Past The School and Society 18 Primitive Education 18 The Origin of the School Ift Oriental Education 20 The Greeks 21 The Romans 24 The Early Church 25 The Middle Ages 26 The Renaissance 27 The Protestant Revolt 29 The Catholic Counter-Reformation 29 The Realists 30 Education as Discipline 31 The Enlightenment 32 Rousseau 33 The Beginnings of Modem Education 34 The Present Situation — Education as Social Control 36 iii iv Contents CHAPTER III Subject-Matteb and Society — The Present The Industrial Character of Modern Society 39 The Development of Modern Industry 40 The Social and Economic Effects of the Industrial Revolution . . 44 The Need for Social Reform 46 The Secular Character of the Modern Age 48 The Social Program of Modern Education 51 The Mission of the Catholic School in an Industrial Democracy. . 53 The Need for Religion 53 Christian Social Reform 54 Industrial Education 54 True Meaning of Adjustment to the Environment 59 CHAPTER IV Subject-Matteb and the Individual The Individual and the Group 61 Culture as a Necessary Aim 62 The Doctrine of Formal Discipline 63 The Faculty Hypothesis 64 Experiments in the Transfer of Training 68 General Conclusions 72 The Nature of Culture 76 Culture and Methods 79 Cultural Elements in the Lower Schools 81 CHAPTER V The Cubbiculum of the Catholic Elementaby School — The Scope The Elementary School and American Democracy 83 The Canon of Equality 83 Moral Sanctions 84 Leadership 85 The Limitations of the Child Mind 86 The Formalist Objection 88 CHAPTER VI The Cubbiculum of the Catholic Elementaby School— The Sub J ECT-M atteb Contents 92 God 92 Man 93 Nature 9g Contents ▼ Form 97 The Child's Response or Conduct 98 Knowledge 100 Habits and Skills 101 Attitudes 104 Interests 105 Ideals 106 The Will 107 The Social Controls of Conduct 107 Religious 108 Moral 108 Physical 109 Social 110 Economic 112 Civic 112 Control of Leisure 113 Conclusion 114 Bibliography J INTRODUCTION The curriculum is the fundamental element in a school system. Upon it everything else, administration, supervision, methods of teaching, testing, depends. It is the concrete embodiment of the school's ideals; in it are implied the changes the school aims to effect in the mind and heart of the child in order that he may be led out of the Egyptian bondage of his native tendencies into the Promised Land of his social inheritance. To it the teacher turns for guidance and in it finds a means of avoiding the indefinite and haphazard; it serves the supervisor as a norm for judging the quality of the teaching; it is the basis of the choice of text- books. It is the pivot upon which the entire system turns. Hence the importance of discovering the principles that should underlie the curriculum of our Catholic elementary schools. "Without the light of these principles, practical administration is handicapped and must of necessity be content with half -measures. A sound theory is the most practical thing in the world, and the present discussion is undertaken with the hope of at least pointing the way to such a theory. The program of the modern elementary school embraces a great number of topics that were not found there a generation ago. This is not due entirely, as some charge, to the fads of educational theory, but largely to the operation of social forces. The history of education reveals how the schools change from age to age to meet the needs of society. Education is preparation for life and it is but natural to expect that the conditions of life at any given time should influence educational agencies. However, the school tends to lag behind in the march of progress. It becomes formal, canonizing subject-matter and methods that have proven valid in the past and according only tardy recognition to innovations. Modern educational philosophy, in the light of the development of social science, would overcome this inertia and adopt a more forward-looking policy. The school is to be regarded as a means of social control. It shall represent the ideal in social conditions and imbue the child with an intelligent discontent with anything short of this in actual life. This development of educational thought is of the deepest importance for the Catholic school. It means that Catholic education must work out a practical social philosophy of its own, and not be satisfied to follow where blind guides may lead. vii viii Introduction An analysis of the present condition of society reveals the existence of three major phenomena. First, the prime charac- teristic of present-day civilization is industrialism. The last cen- tury has witnessed developments in industrial processes that have completely revolutionized the conditions of living. The coming of the machine has changed the face of the earth. It has affected every phase of human life and has introduced problems of the deepest import. Since in the development of the mechanical processes there was a tendency to lose sight of the deeper human values, great evils have arisen in the social order, and these have fostered the second phenomenon, namely, the universal discontent with present conditions and the zeal for social reform. Because industrialism tends to beget materialism and because the philoso- phy of the last 400 years has tended to irreligion, this reform is being sought by measures that are purely secular and humanitarian. Religion as a force for human betterment receives but scant con- sideration from modern social science; it may be a contributory factor, but its importance is but secondary. The Catholic school must meet this condition by insisting always on the essential need of religion, by applying the force of religion to social problems and by taking cognizance of the great fact of industry. In other words it must adjust the child to the present environment and interpret unto him the Doctrine of Christ in such manner that he will understand its bearing on his everyday problems and realize that in it alone can be found the means of salvation, temporal as well as eternal. However, in striving to make the school meet present needs, there is danger of becoming too practical and utilitarian. Secular education is prone to despise cultural values. In its zeal to stamp out individualism, the modern school bids fair to destroy the individual. The doctrine of formal discipline is being generally scouted and the cry is for specific education. Yet, an examination of the psychological arguments that are alleged against the doctrine and of the experiments that have been made in relation to the transfer of training, seems to indicate that conclusions have been too hasty. Though the effects of formal discipline have been exaggerated in the past, the fact has yet to be conclusively dis- proven. Culture, or the building up of individual character, is best accomplished by means of general and not specific training, though the influence of practical, every-day forces should not be despised in the process. Introdicction ix There is no room in the present system of things for a program of elementary education that is narrowly conceived for the benefit of those who will receive a higher schooling. The elementary school has an independent mission of its own. Its aim should be to give all the children that enter its doors a real education. This does not mean that it should attempt to teach all that a higher school would teach, but, with due regard for the limitations of the child's mind, it should offer him such fundamental knowledge of God, of man and of nature, as will afford the basis of a character capable of the best religious, moral and social conduct. It is along these lines that the present study is conducted. Specific applications to the individual branches are beyond its scope, nor does it attempt to work out a system of correlation of studies. These are practical conclusions that can be deduced from the general principles set forth. The aim is to discover a working basis for the making of the curriculum for the Catholic elementary school, that it may be in a better position to accomplish its mission in the midst of modern conditions and be freed from the tyranny of objectives that are immediate and merely con- jectural. CHAPTER I THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN THE UNITED STATES One of the favorite criticisms directed against American ele- mentary education is that in attempting to do everything, it suc- ceeds in doing nothing. University professors, business men, law- yers, doctors and even some teachers vie with one another in lauding the good old days of the three R*s and in decrying the faddism that has loaded the curriculum of the elementary school with an astounding amount of material that does not belong there. They tell us that the modern child upon completing his schooling is scatter-brained and inexact; that he is poor in spelling and quite helpless in the face of the simplest problem in arithmetic. This they ascribe to the fact that instead of being trained in the school arts, he is forced to listen to a great number of superficial facts concerning nature, the care of his body, the history of Europe; that instead of being exercised in steady and sustained effort, he is entertained and amused by drawing, music, manual training and industrial arts. The schools, they tell us are defeating their pur- pose by attempting things that are beyond their scope. It might be interesting to make a study of the alleged basis of this criticism, namely, the inefficiency of the average graduate of the elementary school, and to discover whether it has any sub- stance or is just an easy generalization from isolated instances. Yet whatever might be the result, it would not argue in the direction pointed by the critics. We cannot return to the old formal curricu- lum, for the simple reason that such a curriculum would be utterly inadequate under present conditions. The mission of the ele- mentary school is not mere training in the use of the tools of learning. The elementary school period is the season of planting, of germination, of development. It is a season of gradual awaken- ing, during which the mind of the child becomes more and more cognizant of the life that surrounds it. It is a season of prepara- tion for life, and the more complex life is, the more detailed must be the preparation. The educational thought of the day goes even further and maintains that the school is more than a prepara- tion for life, that it is life itself, and must of a consequence in- clude all of life's elements, at least in germ. It must touch all of 1 2 ^^^^^^^urrieuidm.hj the Catholic Elementary School life's essential interests and must prepare for those eventualities that every individual must meet. If the modern curriculum is varied beyond the dreams of an older generation, if it refuses to confine itself to the three R's, it is not because arbitrary fad holds the rein, but because conditions of life have changed and in changing have placed a greater responsibility upon the lower schools. The history of education in the United States shows how one study after another has been admitted into the schools under an impulse that came, not from some pedagogue with a fad to nurse, but from the recognition of very evident social needs. The school prqig-ram of Colonial days was a very jejune affair. Only the rudiments of reading and writing were imparted in the Puritan schools of New England, and very little more elsewhere through the colonies. Those were pioneer days, days of hardship and danger when men labored hard and found little time for the refinements of life. There was a new country to be reclaimed, hostile savages to be warded off, an urgent need for food, clothing and shelter to be satisfied. Yet some learning was requisite even in those hard circumstances. First of all, religion played a promi- nent role in the lives of the colonists. In Europe, the religious con- troversy subsequent to the Protestant Revolt waxed ever warmer through the seventeenth century and reflected itself in colonial life. For the most part, the colonists were refugees from religious persecution or from circumstances that interfered with the free following of the dictates of conscience. They brought with them, whether they were the Catholics of Maryland, the Quakers of Pennsylvania or the Puritans of New England, strong religious pre- judices and preoccupations. 1 There were religious books, tracts and pamphlets to be read; hence the necessity of learning to read. As early as 1642, a Massachusetts enactment gave selectmen the power to investigate as to the education of children and to im- pose fines on parents who refused to provide schooling.^ Under this law, the duty of educating their children devolved upon the parents; teachers where they could be found, were more or less on a level with itinerant journeymen. In 1674, a law was passed requir- ing the towns to maintain schools. The preamble states ex- plicitly the reason of the law: — "it being one chief point of the old ^ Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, Boston, 1912, p. 67. » Ibid., p. 59. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 3 deluder Satan, to keep men from a knowledge of the Scriptures.**' Reading texts were of a religious character, as for example, the horn book and the primer; the catechism which concluded the primer was considered of prime importance. The chief aim was to give the children such training in reading as would enable them to read the Bible and follow the lines of religious controversy. The legal and commercial status of the colonies likewise necessi- tated ability to read, as well as some skill in writing. From the very beginning, some sort of legal code was demanded, to make for solidarity and protect the group from external encroachment and unscrupulousness within. Legal documents must be drawn up, must be scrutinized and understood. The transfer of property must be safe-guarded. Moreoever there was an increase in com- mercial activity, in barter between the colonies and trade with the mother country.'* These facts operated particularly in favor of WTiting, which lacked a universal religious sanction. In the beginning, these phases of instruction were separated.^ There were so many different styles of penmanship that the teaching of it called for considerable skill, and it was exceedingly diflBcult to find a good master.* Out of this condition developed the "double- headed system" of reading and writing schools.^ The Catholic schools of the period followed pretty well the course described above. The mission schools made more provi- sion for industrial education, as we see from the records of the missions of New Mexico, Texas and California.* But for the rest, outside of instruction in the catechism and bible history, the Catholic schools differed little from the others. It was only well into the eighteenth century that spelling, grammar and arithmetic came into their own as school subjects.' Parker sums up the situation in the following words; "The curricu- » Ibid., p. 60. * Carlton, Frank Tracy, Education and Industrial Evolution. New York, 1908, p. 21. ' Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 86. •Jessup, W. A., The Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision in the Public Schools of the United States. New York (Columbia University Publica- tion), 1911, p. 78. ' Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 86. ' Burns, J. A., The Principles, Origin and Establishment of the Catholic School System in the United States. New York, 1912, pp. 42, 47, 52, 58. • Bunker, Frank Forest, Reorganization of the Public School System. United United States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1916, No. 8, p. 3. 4 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School lum of the American elementary school down to the American Revolution included reading and writing as the fundamental sub- jects, with perhaps a little arithmetic for the more favored schools. Spelling was emphasized toward the end of the period. The subjects that had no place were composition, singing, drawing object study, physiology, nature study, geography, history, secular literature, manual training.*'^^ In 1789, arithmetic assumed an official place in the curriculum. European educational tradition of the seventeenth century did not consider arithmetic essential to a boy's education unless he was "less capable of learning and fittest to put to the trades." To the subject attached all the odium which in those days was suggested by practical training. The minds of the colonists were colored by this tradition. Of course, settlers like the Dutch of New York, who were come of a commercial nation, and who sought these shores in the interest of commercial enterprise, could not afford to neglect arithmetics^ Even here and there throughout New England, arithmetic was taught, though there is little specific mention of it in the records. It was sometimes part of the program in the writing schools. In 1635, a school was established at Plymouth, in which a Mr. Morton taught children to "read, write and cast accounts. "s^ Arithmetic was not required for college entrance before the middle of the eighteenth century. There is mention of it at times in teacher's contracts, coordinately with reading and writing. In 1789, the teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic was made compulsory in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It is not unreasonable to suppose that these laws represent the legalizing of a practice already more or less prevalent. The principal aim of the teaching of arithmetic in the colonial schools seems to have been the satisfying of the needs of trade and commerce. Authors of the texts used made this very explicit. James Hodder is induced to publish "this small treatise in Arith- metik for the compleating of youths as to clerkship and trades" (1661). The title page of Greenwood's arithmetic, published in 1729, reads "Arithmetik, Vulgar and Decimal, with the Appli- cation thereof to a Variety of Cases in Trade and Commerce." A ^° Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 84. ^^ Monroe, W. S., Development of Arithmetic as a School Subject, United States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1917, No. 10, p. 7. " Ibid., p. 9. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 5 ciphering book prepared in Boston in 1809, bears the title, "Prac- tical Arithmetic, comprising all the rules necessary for transacting business."^^ After the Revolution, when the colonies had been welded together into a nation and a national currency was esta- blished, the need for skill in arithmetic was everywhere recognized, and thenceforth the subject developed steadily. With the close of the War of 1812, there began a new era in the social, economic and industrial life of our country. The war had demonstrated that the new nation could not perdure unless it developed strong and vigorous institutions of its own. It had achieved complete independence of any foreign domination; it must now prove itself self-dependent. The result was a marvel- ous commercial and industrial evolution. Only shortly before, the machine had revolutionized European industry; it now made its appearance in America. Immediately there was a shift from an agrarian to an industrial basis. Large cities grew up and special- ized labor was introduced. Hand in hand with the benefits that attended this change, came the host of evils already prevalent in Europe — poverty and unemployment, poor housing and unsanitary living, insecurity of finance and exploitation of labor. The reflex of these conditions at once became evident in the schools. Everywhere it was the sense of thinking men that in education rested the hope of American institutions. There came a demand for free, centralized American schools. The authority of religious bodies in matters educational was gradually under- mined. Over in Europe, the churches had already lost their hold upon the schools and strong state systems were growing up. Edu- cation was assuming a secular aspect and at the same time coming to play a more comprehensive role in human life. A great body of educational doctrine appeared, based on the thought of men like Locke, Comenius and Rousseau. There was a reaction against the exclusiveness and formalism of the classical education and a demand for schooling that would be more according to nature and the exigencies of the age. After the hard times of 1819-1821, there was an insistent de- mand for schools supported by public tax. This demand was voiced by the labor unions and the great humanitarian movements of the time. Education must forever remain inadequate, unless it " Ibid., p. 15. 6 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School be transferred from a charity to a rate basis.^* When religious control went by the board, the teaching of religion went with it; not that schoolmen like Horace Mann did not consider religion a matter of vital importance to the life of the nation, but because they deemed it outside the scope of the school, which to their thinking was a secular enterprise. The teaching of religion could well be left to the churches. ^^ During this period great changes were made in the curriculum. The work of the Prussian schools was studied by Stowe, Barnard and Manu, and they inaugurated reforms in line with their observa- tions. The school must be brought closer to life. These leaders echoed the teaching of Rousseau and Pestalozzi, and in answer there came changes in administration, method and subject-matter. In 1826, geography became a required study. There had been little, if any, geography in the early schools, for the interests of the previous generation had been local and circumscribed. But the great territorial changes that took place from 1789-1826, the purchase of Florida and Louisiana, the opening up of the Rockies after the Lewis and Clarke expedition, and the settlement of the Great Northwest, stimulated interest in the geography of this continent. Moreover, after the War of 1812, our foreign com- merce began to develop, the Monroe Doctrine was formulated and as a consequence there was need for a more comprehensive knowledge of the lands beyond the seas, of South America and the Far East. The principal countries of the world, their character- istics and the condition of their inhabitants must become matters of common knowledge, not for reasons of mere curiosity, but because these things affected our own national life.^* Stimulus had been given to the study of geography by Comenius, who would have children in the vernacular schools learn "the important facts of cosmography, in particular the cities, moun- tains, rivers and other remarkable features of their own coun- try. *'^^ Rousseau advocated geography as a necessary part of science instruction.^^ To Pestalozzi belongs the credit of inaugu- rating the beginnings of modern geography. Prior to his time, geo- graphy had been of a dictionary-encyclopedic type. The geogra- " Carlton, Frank Tr&cy, Education and Industrial Evolution, p. 28. " Shields, Thomas Edward, Philosophy of Education. Washington, D. C, 1917, p. 405. " Boston Board of Supervisors. School Document, No. 3, 1900. " Comenius, John Amos, School of Infancy, Vol. VI, 6, p. 34. ^^ Rousseau, J. J. Entile. Applelon Edition, p. 142. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 7 phy of Morse, published in 1789, contained a great mass of infor- mation such as is generally found in encyclopedias; the Peter Parley books were the same in content, though they were so arranged as to be interesting to children. ^^ It was Carl Ritter (1779-1859) who revolutionized the teaching of geography. He learned geography from Pestalozzi and was imbued with Pestalozzian principles. He developed the principle that geography is the study of the earth in its relation to man and insisted upon home geography as the proper method of intro- ducing the child to his natural environment. This type of geogra- phy was fostered in the American schools by Col. Parker (1837- 1902) .20 History began to find favor as a branch of elementary educa- tion about 1815. Before that time it was taught incidentally to geography and literature. However when the generation of the Revolution began to disappear and the memory of olden days grew dim, there came an interest in the vanishing past of the country. Moreover great numbers of strangers were coming to these shores in search of a new home. If these immigrants were to take a real part in the life of the nation and contribute to the perpetuation of the ideals for which the fathers had so nobly striven, they must have a knowledge of the trying times that were gone and of the circumstances which had inspired American principles. In 1827, Massachusetts made history mandatory as a branch of the curricu- lum "in every city, town or district of 500 families or householders.** New York soon followed the example and it was particularly well received by the newer states.'^^ The history taught in the beginning was the history of the United States. In 1835, the Superintendent of Schools in New York said, "The history of foreign countries, however desirable it may be, cannot ordinarily enter into a system of common school education without opening too wide a field. It is safer in general to treat it as a superfluity and leave it to such as have leisure in after life." It is interesting to note the change in modern educa- tional thought, according to which it is impossible to give an ade- " Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 841. ^'^Ibid., pp. 343-349. " The influence of the doctrines of Spencer and Herbart had much to do with the fostering of historical instruction in the schools. The former advo- cated it as descriptive sociology and the latter regarded it as the source of social and sympathetic interest and as of primary moral value. 8 The Curriculum of the Catholw Elementary School quale idea of American History, without first treating in some fashion, its background in Europe.^ The anti-slavery agitation preceding the Civil War also provoked great interest in history, both sides of the controversy looking to the past for a substantiation of their claims. ^^ The introduction of music was due to influences other than peda- gogical. The Puritans had looked askance at music as being frivolous and worldly; there was none of it in the schools which they dominated. Around 1800, popular interest in music began to grow and singing societies were formed in different centers. In 1830, William C. Woodbridge delivered a lecture on "Vocal Education as a Branch of Common Instruction," and in 1836, Lowell Mason of the Boston Academy of Music succeeded in persuading the Select School Committee of Boston to adopt a memorial in favor of music. In 1837, the board resolved to try the experiment and in 1838, appointed Mason, supervisor of Music for the Boston schools. Other states followed this lead and music gradually became part of elementary education.^'* There were precedents from Europe to help the cause. Music was an integral part of German education and men like Barnard and Mann were indefatigable in its defense. German immigrants brought with them a love of song and the great singing societies were in vogue. The schools, at first loath to admit the branch, finally accepted it for its disciplinary value. ^^ Naturally, because of the circumstances of pioneer life, the colo- nists would have little interest in drawing. Franklin noted its economic importance and included it with writing and arithmetic. Over a century elapsed before popular interest was awakened. ^^ The First International Exposition in 1851, by demonstrating the inferior quality of English workmanship, when compared with con- tinental, convinced the manufacturing interests of the importance of drawing; for drawing was taught on the continent but not in England. Influence was brought to bear on the Massachusetts legislature in 1860, to make drawing a permissive study.^^ 22 Johnson, Henry, The Teaching of History. New York, 1916, pp. 127-130. 23 Boston Board of Supervisors. School Document No. 3, 1900. 2* Jessup, W. A., The Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision in the Public Schools of the United States, p. 38. 2^ Hagar, Daniel B. National Educational Association Proceedings, 1885, p. 17. 2* Jessup, W. A., The Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision in the Public Schools of the United States, p. 20. 27 Ibid., p. 21. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 9 The French Exposition of 1867 showed how English workman- ship had improved with the introduction of drawing into the EngHsh schools. The result was that in 1870, the Massachusetts legislature passed a law making drawing mandatory in the schools. Pennsylvania, Ohio and California made similar laws at the time and other states soon fell into line.^* Popular interest in Physical Education is of comparatively recent date. Men who worked the live long day in the clearings would scarcely see the need of any artificial exercise. But when the industrial changes of the early nineteenth century came and urban life developed, the necessity for some sort of physical training be- came more and more apparent. The example of the German, schools was noted. The German Turners came with their gym- nastics and the Fellenberg movement preached its doctrine of exercise. The appeal of the latter was broader and met with greater sympathy, for exercise does not require the same output of energy nor necessitate the same training as gymnastics. The movement received great impetus from the development of phy- siology and hygiene about 1850. There was a decline of interest with the Civil War, but in the 80's the popularity of the subject was revived, largely through the influence of such organizations as the North American Gymnastic Union, the Y. M. C. A. and the American Association for the Advancement of Physical Educa- tion." After the Civil War, there came a greater appreciation of the relations of the school with industry. The new industrial condi- tions afforded very little training for hand and eye. The special- ization that was so general, did little to develop manual skill. Business and industry became interested in the possibility of manual training in the schools. The Centennial of 1876, at Philadelphia, displayed the work of Sweden and Russia to such good advantage, that there was at once inspired a movement to incorporate their methods of manual training into the American schools. In 1879, the St. Louis Manual Training School was opened under the direction of C. N. Wood- ward. In 1884, Baltimore opened the first manual training school supported by public funds. Industrial institutions adopted the " Ibid., p. 23. " Ibid., p. 64. 10 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Pellenberg plan. All of these were secondary schools. In 1887, manual training was introduced into the public schools of New York. The schools opposed the movement on the ground that it was not fostered by the people, but by "a class of self -constituted philan- thropists who are intent on providing for the masses an education that will fit them for their sphere."^® However, the Froebelians favored the movement, for manual training offered a splendid means of expression. Gradually the philanthropic basis gave way to an intellectual one. Murray Butler said in 1888, "It is inter- esting to note that an organization founded as a philanthropic enterprise has become a great educational force and has changed its platform of humanitarianism to one of purely educational reform and advancement."^^ The changing economic and social conditions of the last cen- tury were accompanied by drastic changes in home life. Home industry disappeared and even the home arts suffered when women took their places in the ranks of the wage-earners. The school must supplement home training. Skilful agitation resulted in the introduction of sewing and cooking for girls, and though there was a great cry of "fad," there were so many unanswerable arguments from actual conditions, that the success of the movement was assured, and today, the place of the domestic arts in the curricu- lum is being gradually conceded.^^ It was the conviction of schoolmen rather than outside pressure, that made Nature Study a part of the curriculum. The Oswego schools, which represented the first considerable introduction of Pestalozzianism into the United States,^^ systematized object teaching and developed a course in elementary science. Superin- tendent Harris furthered the movement in the schools of St. Louis and arranged a very highly organized and logically planned course.^* In 1905, the Nature Study Review was founded. This publication, edited by trained scientists gave a new turn to the movement. 30 Clark, J. E., Art and Industry. United States Bureau of Education, 1885-89, Vol. II, p. 917. 3^ Jessup, W. A., The Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision in the Public Schools of the United States, p. 32. 32 Ibid., p. 35. 33 Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 330. 34 Ibid., pp. 333-334. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 11 Science may be defined as completely organized knowledge, but knowledge completely organized cannot be given to children. This was the fault with Dr. Harris' course. Children should learn a great number of intimate things about nature and their information should be based on nature and not simply conned by rote. Later on as students in higher schools they may make the detailed analysis and classification of their knowledge which is necessary for the discovery of underlying general laws. This is natural science in the real sense of the word, but it is unsuited to the elementary school, where not science but the study of nature is in order. Nature Study aims at giving **the first training in accurate observation as a means of gaining knowledge direct from nature and also in the simplest comparing, classifying and judging values of facts ; in other words to give the first training in the sim- plest processes of the scientific method. "^^ Of course there are practical reasons for teaching Nature Study in the schools. Pestalozzi advocated observation and object teaching for the purpose of sharpening perception. But over and above this, the knowledge of nature and the awakening of interest in natural science have a social value. No man who is ignorant of the rudiments of science can claim to be educated today. Her- bert Spencer's essay, '*What Knowledge Is Most Worth," had a tremendous influence in this country, though it was intended primarily as an attack on the strongly intrenched classicism of the English secondary schools, and it went far toward bringing about the introduction of science into the elementary schools.'® Reading and literature offer another argument in favor of Nature Study. The shift of the population from the country to the city and the universal preoccupation with the problems of urban life, has resulted in the appearance of a generation that is stranger to the charm of wood and field, to whose mind birds and flowers are objects of indifferent interest. Naturally, when these children meet with allusions to nature in literature, they miss the real meaning and only too often read empty words. Dr. G. Stan- ley Hall, in an investigation of the content of children's minds, found a surprising ignorance of some very commonplace objects " Quoted from the Nature Study Review. By Parker, Samuel Chester, "The History of Modern Elementary Education," p. 340. ^ Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 338. 12 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School among Boston children. ^^ These children would not have the necessary mental content to apperceive the meanings pervading literature and could never acquire good literary tastes. From this brief review, it can be seen that every new subject, with the possible exception of nature study, that has been intro- duced into the curriculum, has been fostered by definite social needs and not by the dreams of educational theorists. Even Nature Study answers real practical demands. Not a single subject can be dispensed with, if the elementary school is to perform its proper function in American life. The schools of other nations are essaying quite as much. Over and above the three R's, the English schools teach drawing, needlework, singing, physical training, geography, nature study, history and a surprisingly complete course in religious instruction. The French and German curricula are quite as crowded.^^ The changed conditions of modern living must be borne in mind by all who would criticize educational procedure. The evolution of industrial society forever precludes a return to the methods of the past. When society was less complex, much could be accomplished by the agencies of informal education, particularly by the home. Today these agencies are unequal to the task and the burden has been shifted to the school. If the school is to be a real educative agency, it must meet this growing responsibility. Yet the fact that new subjects were only too often introduced haphazardly and with little attempt at correlation while obsolete matter was not always eliminated has brought about an over- crowding of the curriculum. Lack of adequate arrangement of subject-matter affects the quality of the teaching and operates to bring the new subjects into disrepute with those who expect the schools to provide them with clerks and accountants who are capable of a certain amount of accuracy and speed in their work. Moreover there have been great changes in the content of the single subjects. Arithmetic has changed to meet modern require- ments, but very often continues to insist on applications and pro- cesses that have lost their practical value and are preserved merely '^ Pedagogical Seminary, Vol. I, pp. 139-173. Among other things, 72.5 per cent of these children had never seen a bluebird, 87.5 per cent had never seen growing oats, 87 per cent had no knowledge of an oak tree, 61 per cent had never seen growing peaches, etc. '8 Payne, Bruce R., Public Elementary School Curricula. New York, 1905, pp. 107-156. \ Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 13 for disciplinary purposes.'® Geography has been encumbered with a discouraging mass of astronomical, mathematical and physio- graphic detail that could not be properly included in the modern definition of the subject. History is no longer content to tell the story of our own country to seventh and eighth grade pupils, but seeks entrance into the program of every grade and would include the entire past. Reading and writing have branched out into formal grammar, composition, literature, language study and memory gems. Manual training has developed into industrial arts; with nature study has come elementary agriculture. The result is confusion, nerve-racking to the teacher, puzzling to the child and disastrous for the best interests of education. It was at the Washington meeting of the Department of Super- intendence of the National Educational Association, in 1888, that President Eliot in his address, "Can School Programs be Shortened and Enriched.'^" first brought to focus the question of reorganizing American education. Among other things he asserted the possi- bility of improving the school program. In 1892, at the suggestion of President Baker, of the University of Colorado, the National Council appointed a Committee of Ten, under the chairmanship of President Eliot, to examine into the subject matter of secondary education for the purpose of determining limits, methods, time allotments and testing. The report while dealing ex professo with secondary education, "covers in many significant respects, the entire range of the school system."^" The report provoked wide study and comment not only at home but abroad. In 1893, the Department of Superintendence appointed a Committee of Fifteen on elementary education. Its work was divided into three sec- tions — the training of teachers, the correlation of studies and the organization of city school systems. Each sub-committee pre- pared a questionnaire which was sent to representative schoolmen throughout the country and the results reported at the Cleveland meeting in 1895.^^ The sub-committee on the Correlation of Studies worked under the chairmanship of Dr. Harris, later Commissioner of Education. " Monroe, W. S., The Derelopment of Arithmetic as a School Subject, p. 148. *° Report of the Committee of Ten. Natural Educational Association Pro- ceedings, 1893. " Bunker, Frank Forest, Reorganization of the Public School System, p. 50. Report of the Committee of Fifteen. New York, 1895, published by the American Book Company. 14 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Dr. Harris* report has become one of the most important documents in American educational literature. Yet it failed to suggest any- thing immediately workable in the way of a solution of curricular difficulties. "Dr. Harris set himself the task of setting forth an educational doctrine — the task of formulating guiding principles that underlie educational endeavor. He therefore pushed the study of correlation beyond a mere inquiry into the relief of con- gested programs by means of a readjustment of the various bran- ches of study to each other, to a more fundamental inquiry, Viz., What is the educational significance of each study .^ What con- tribution ought each study to make to the education of the modern child .f^ What is the educational value of each study in correlating the individual to the civilization of his time.'^"'^^ In 1903, at the suggestion of President Baker, a committee was appointed to report on the desirability of an investigation into the Culture Element and Economy of Time in Education. The committee set out to determine the proper period for high school education and the devices already in use for shortening the college course. A preliminary report was made at Cleveland in 1908."^^ The Committee was increased to five members and presented a brief report at Denver in 1909.'" In 1911, President Baker pre- sented the conclusions he himself had reached.*^ Among other things, he stated his belief that the tools of education could be acquired at the age of twelve. Elimination of useless material will stimulate the interest of the pupil and result in better effort.*^ The Seventeenth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, 1918, carries the third report of the Committee on the Economy of Time.'*^ It contains studies of minimal essentials in elementary school subjects and a symposium on the purpose of historical instruction in the seventh and eighth grades. The studies are made in the light of social needs and conditions, and while no one of them could be considered absolutely final and 42 Hanus, Paul H.,^ Modern School. New York, 1904, p. 225. 4^ National Educational Association Proceedings, 1908, p. 466. ** National Educational Association Proceedings, 1909, p. 373. *^ National Educational Association Proceedings, 1911, p. 94. 4® Economy of Time in Education. United States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 8. Contains a complete account of the work of the Com- mittee on "The Culture Element and the Economy of Time in Education." 4^ The Seventeenth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Educa- tion, 1918, Part I, Third Report of the Committee on Economy of Time in Education. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 15 satisfactory, they indicate a tangible and objective method of approaching the vexed question. There have been a great number of other attempts to meet the difficulty, some of them quite notable and encouraging. Courses of studies have been worked out by individual systems, with an aim of meeting the growing function of the school on one hand and the congestion of the program on the other ."^^ Surveys of great school systems have one and all considered ways and means of reorganizing the curriculum.** A very valuable report was published in 1915 by the Iowa State Teachers Association, Com- mittee on the Elimination of Subject Matter. In its Sixtieth Annual Session at Des Moines, Nov. 5, 1914, a resolution carried to appoint '*a representative committee to study and make a report upon the elimination of obsolete and useless topics and materials from the common school branches, with a view that the efforts of childhood may be conserved and the essentials better taught."^® Only a few representative branches, arithmetic, language, grammar, writing, geography, physiology and hygiene, history and spelling, were chosen for study. The study was based on the needs of the child and his ability to comprehend. A positive program along these same lines, was published the fol- lowing year. Concerning the curriculum of our Catholic schools. Dr. Burns remarks, "Generally speaking, the curriculum of thfe Cathohc schools, outside the matter of religious instruction, does not differ very greatly from that of the corresponding public schools in the same place. There are two reasons for this. One is the desire of the pastor and the Catholic teachers to have the parish school recognized as fully abreast of the pubhc schools so that the parents may not have cause to complain. Another reason is found in the fact that the same general causes that have operated to bring about changes in the public school curriculum, have had influence also upon the course of studies in the Catholic schools — an influence not so great perhaps, but still direct and constant. "^^ *' Especially noteworthy are the courses worked out in Baltimore, Boston, and in the Speyer and Horace Mann Schools, conducted in conjunction with Teachers College, Columbia. *' cf. Cleveland, St. Paul, San Antonio, Portland Surveys. Also McMurry, Frank, Elementary School Standards, New York, 1914. '" loica State Teachers Anttociation. Report of Committee on the Elimination of Subject Matter, 1914, p. 3. " The Growth and Development of the Catholic School System in the United States. New York, 1912, p. 351. 16 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School The curriculum has come up for discussion in the meetings of the Catholic Educational Association, from time to time. A paper read by Dr. F. W. Howard, at the New Orleans meeting in 1913, dealt in detail with problems of the curriculum, not only as they affect elementary education but higher education as well. The paper was ably discussed by Brother John Waldron, S.M.^^ In 1917, a Committee on the curriculum was appointed, with the Rev. Patrick J. McCormick, Ph.D., Professor of Education at the Catholic University of America, as chairman. In a paper read at Buffalo meeting in 1917, Dr. McCormick outlined the principles of standardization.^ The first step toward standardiz- ing education, is the standardization of the curriculum. This will in turn standardize the organization of education, the grading, the text-book, methods and teacher training. The committee has been working along these lines and the results of their study are awaited with keenest interest. One who reads the record of the growth of the elementary curric- ulum and the efforts that have been made to reorganize it, cannot but feel that what is needed above all else is a definite set of principles for the guidance of elementary school procedure. What is the function of the elementary school? What is its rela- tion to society.'^ What shall it attempt to do for the individual? Is it simply a preparation for secondary education? Or is it something complete in itself, having its own peculiar nature and function, aiming to accomplish its own objectives and make certain differences in the lives of children, regardless of their future educational fate? In the light of experience and actual facts, this would seem to be true. The elementary school sums up the complete education of approximately 80 per cent of our American children. In the elementary school they must receive the neces- sary information and character formation for future life, if they are to receive them at all. This means that mere training in the school arts can no longer be emphasized at the expense of real education. In the present study, the question is dealt with in its foundational aspects. The ambition is to discover the philosophy of American " Howard, Francis W., The Problem of the Curriculum. Catholic Educa- tional Association, Report of the Proceedings and Addresses, Vol. X, No. 1, 1913. p. 132. " McCormick, Patrick J., Standards in Education. Catholic Educational Association, Report of Proceedings and Addresses, Vol. XIV, No. 1, 1917, p. 70. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 17 elementary school education. There must be some set of working principles which are recognizable. Armed with these, the Catholic school can more confidently go forth to accomplish its great task of raising up true followers of Jesus Christ, men and women who exale the sweet odor of His influence, not only when they are at their devotions, but in the council chamber, the market place, the workshop and the home as well. CHAPTER II SUBJECT-MATTER AND SOCIETY THE PAST Two elements are basic in any valid philosophy of education, the needs of society and the needs of the individual. The child enters upon life, his powers undeveloped, his mind shrouded in ignorance, his habits unfornied. By nature endowed with a set of instincts whereby he can effect certaiji elemental adjustments to his environment, he is utterly helpless in the face of that highly complex condition of human living that we call society. It is the function of education to raise the child above the level of his native reactions, to make him heir to the treasures civilization has amassed in its onward progress, and in the process of so doing, to develop his powers, to substitute for instinct rational habit, to impart to him the truth that shall make him free. In order to effect this, education must know the nature of the human mind and the conditions of its growth and development; but it must likewise be conscious of the character of the social environment for which it would fit the child. In other words its subject matter must be social as well as psychological, must prepare for life, the while it gives the power to live. Regarded in one light, education is society's means of self- preservation and self -perpetuation. In the march of progress, human society stores up an amount of intellectual and moral treasure, builds up out of experience certain institutions, develops approved modes of procedure. These must perdure, if progress is to have any continuity. Else each succeeding generation would have to relearn the lessons of life and living. Accordingly it has always been the principal, though for the most part implicit and unconscious aim of the human race, to educate its immature members, to impart to them the knowledge and train them in the skills that are necessary to maintain a given social footing. The child must be adjusted to the environment. Among primitive peoples, this process was and is, comparatively simple. The father trained the son in the arts of the chase and of war, for the tribe demands first of all, food and protection. The mother, upon whom devolved all that concerned shelter and the preparation of food and clothing, trained her daughter in these 18 Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 19 activities. This was education for the immediate demands of practical life.^* But over and above this was a training which we might call theoretical. It was not enough that the young should learn the arts of the present; race-preservation demanded a knowledge of the past. They listened while the elders of the tribe described in solemn cadence the adventures of the ancient heroes and in time themselves learned these epics by rote. The mysteries of nature came to be clothed in myth and natural phenomena to be ascribed to occult agencies. The conduct of the tribe, its mutual duties and obligations, as well as its religious life, consti- tute the matter of its theoretical education. ^^ Primitive education is interesting as being primarily social. It is carried on in the midst of the group and initiates the child im- mediately into group life and needs. It is not intellectual and remote from life, as education among highly developed peoples tends to become. It deals with situations that are present and with problems that are vital. It is not without moral value, for the individual must continually submit his will to the group. It has a religious value, elementary and distorted though it be, for even the lowest savages believe in some sort of animism, whilst more developed tribes have a considerable religious lore which affords them some insight into the world of the spirit and aids them to find a supernatural sanction for the law of nature.^® The discovery of the art of writing marks the beginning of educa- tion as a formal institution in human society. When men found that they could make permanent records and thus preserve and perpetuate their traditions, a new momentum was given to progress and civilization and culture were born. No longer were religion, history, morals and law left to the mercy of word of mouth. They were snatched from a precarious basis and made sure and lasting. Moreover, with the mastery of the art of writing, a wider and deeper kind of learning was made possible. The school became a necessary demand. If the social inheritance of the human race was to be transmitted by means of written record, men must learn Dot alone the art of making records, but of deciphering them as well. The art of writing called for its complement, the art of reading. These arts, being artificial, could not be acquired by " Monroe, Paul, Texl-book in the History of Education. New York, 1914, p. 6. " Ibid., p. 7. •• Hart, Joseph Kinmont, Democracy in Education. New York, 1918, p. 20. 20 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School mere unconscious imitation, as the practical arts had been acquired before, but called for formal, explicit education.^" The introduction of reading and writing made another tremen- dous difference in the process of education. Heretofore, education had been immediate and direct; the school had been life-experience. Henceforward, it is indirect, effected by means of a mediating instrument, the book. As a consequence education tends to become remote from life and to take on an artificial character. A new problem arises, the problem of keeping education close to life, of preventing its becoming formal and theoretical, of guarding lest it render men unfit for life instead of efficient in practical concerns. This problem must be met by every age, for as society changes and the conditions of life become different, education must change too. The school must be kept close to every-day experience; to be really effective, it must be colored by present life. Yet because of the nature of the media with which its deals, it finds this adjustment difficult.^^ Means easily come to be treated as ends, and the book, instead of being regarded as the key to life, is accepted as life itself. The function of education as adjustment to the environ- ment begins to demand particular emphasis. Inasmuch as the present study is concerned with elementary education solely, we will confine ourselves here to an examination of the influence of social needs upon the beginnings of education in the various epochs of the world's history. Among earlier peoples elementary education was received in the home. There were nations who considered ability to read and write a common necessity, and not an art to be cultivated by any special group or caste. The early Israelites looked upon the Word of God as contained in the Sacred Scriptures as the most important thing in life, and demanded a knowledge thereof of every individual. The family was responsible for the imparting of such knowledge.^^ Likewise the Chinese were inspired by religious reasons in their care for universal literacy. Though only the privileged were destined for higher learning, all the children of the realm might, if their parents desired, acquire the rudiments of reading and writing. The nature of the language rendered this learning exceedingly difficult and long hours must be spent in memorizing " Willmann, Otto, Didaktik, Braunschweig, 1894, Band I, p. 113. ^* Dewey, John, Democracy and Education. New York, 1916, p. 9. 69 Willmann, Otto, Didaktik, Band I, pp. 124-133. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 21 a great number of characters and in conning by rote the canonical books.^^' It remained for the Greeks to organize a real system of education, and though in the beginning it was rather indefinite in character, still it showed the same general arrangement as the schools of today. The first period extended from the sixth or eighth to approximately the fourteenth or sixteenth year; the second period lasted until the twenty-first year and the last from that time onward.*^ The first period was that of school education, the second, the college, which in Sparta lasted until the age of thirty ,®2 and the third, university education. Before the introduction of written language, the education of the Greek child, resembled very much that of youths of other early nations. The knowledge he acquired was gleaned incident- ally or by imitation, whether at home or abroad. The aim was preparation for the practical life of a citizen. From the earliest times of which we have record, there were two elements in Greek education, gymnastics for the body and music for the soul.^ The latter had nothing to do with the training of the intelligence but was intended to strengthen and harmonize the emotions. With the introduction of the book came the school. Under its aegis, education gradually changed its character and became diagogic, as Davidson puts it." The practical aim gave way to diagoge, or preparation for social enjoyment in the cultivation of the arts and philosophy. The Didaskaleon, or Music School, widened its scope and introduced literary and moral instruction. Reading, writing and arithmetic were taught, besides patriotic songs and the great epic poems. Sparta, whose civilization was primarily military in character, provided schools that gave little place to reading and writing, but •° Monroe, Paul, Text-book in the Ilistory of Education, p. 28. Despite the fact that the Oriental peoples were so largely engaged in trade and that the Egyptians in particular were such tremendous builders, it is curious to note that there are no records of the teaching of arithmetic and mathematics. Among the Egyptians, there were, however, institutions conducted in con- junction with those destined for higher learning, where architecture, sculpture and painting were taught. " Ibid., p. 83. « Ibid., p. 75. " Davidson, Thomas. The Education of the Greek People. New York, 1906, p. 61. •* Ibid., p. 58. 22 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School insisted on physical training, discipline and the recital of ancient deeds of valor for the purpose of fostering martial virtue.^^ With the close of the Persian Wars, a mighty change took place in the life and thought of the Greek people. The change had been foreshadowed, in a manner, by the intellectual readjustment that had been taking place in Athens prior to the war.^® Early Greek life had been dominated by the current mythology and the morals of the people looked to the gods for sanction. Gradually, however, the ancient polytheism had lost its hold, though the religious rites that had grown up around it continued to hold sway. The social order was strengthened by these rites as well as the ideal of com- munity life that had survived the religion which had sponsored its origin. The reflective thought that had undermined the worship of the gods, now turned itself to a criticism of the existing political and social ideals, and gradually gave rise to an individualism that was no longer content with yielding an unthinking allegiance to the group. The Persian Wars resulted in the hegemony of Athens, a leadership based not so much on the common choice of the other states, as upon Athenian assert iveness. But the individualism practised by Athens in foreign matters, reacted within her own walls. The Sophists rose, their critical philosophy questioning everything and blasting the very foundations of the state. Institu- tions long maintained on the basis of habit, trembled in the balance and opinion waged war on conviction born of an authority no longer recognized.®^ Naturally this change in thought had its effect upon society. The spirit of the environment became individualistic rather than social, and Man, rather than the State, came to be regarded as the measure of all things. There was a corresponding shifting in the ideals of education. The schools began to strive for the improve- ment of the individual in place of preparation for civic life. The old rigor of the gymnasium, intended to impart strength xmd vigor to the body in order that it might become a fit instrument for the performance of civic duties, was relaxed and the new ideal became the acquiring of grace and beauty for the purpose of enjoyment and cultured leisure. There was likewise a change in the Music School. Where the old aim had been the development of those mental ^ Monroe, Paul, Text-hook in the History of Education, p. 75. ^ Davidson, Thomas, The Education of the Greek People, p. 79. " Ibid., p. 83. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 23 qualities which would enable a man to play a worthy role at home and in the market place, the new aim became individual happiness. A new poetry supplemented, if it did not entirely supplant the traditional epic; the strong Doric airs gave way to the lighter Phrygian and Lydian. Discussion and intellectual fencing became the order of the day and eventually fostered the introduction of grammar, logic and dialectic. The program of the lower schools was almost modern in the variety of subjects it offered. Socrates sought to reduce the sophistic chaos to order by his doctrine of the idea and the dialectic method. He sought to reestablish the old social order, based as it was on habit, on a new principle derived from reflection. His influence was responsible for the introduction of dialectics in the schools. Physical training was forced to assume a role of lessening importance.®^ Plato's teaching concerning the nature of ideas and his theory of the State, while it did not effect any profound change, had its influence on educational thought. He regarded the school as a selective agency for determining the class in society to which a man shall belong. At the end of the primary period, it should at once be seen who is adapted by nature to become the craftsman, the soldier or the ruler. Plato would bridge the chasm between the practical and the diagogic, by demonstrating that only the select few are fitted for the latter. Davidson says, "The educa- tion which had aimed at making good citizens was spurned by men who sought only to be guided by the vision of divine things. Hence the old gymnastics and music fell into disrepute, their place being taken by dialectic and philosophy, which latter Plato makes even Socrates call the highest music. '*®^ Aristotle's educational ideas did not differ essentially from Plato's. Only the prospective citizen should be educated and citizenship is a boon to be conferred only on the most worthy. Merchants, artisans and slaves are to be excluded. Physical training should come first, followed by the moral and the intellec- tual. Intellectual nature is man's highest good and can be acquired by means of the traditional subject-matter of the schools, provided that something more than its utilitarian character be kept in view. " To seek after the useful does not become free and •» Davidson, Thomas, The Education of the Greek People, p. 113. •» Ihid., p. 139. 24 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School exalted souls. "^^ Music is important as a means of amusement and relaxation; dialectic and logic are fundamental. Thus did the changing ideals and conditions of the Greek people reflect themselves in education. In the beginning practical and civic in character, Greek education gradually assumes a theoretical complexion, and the farther it progresses in this direction, the less universal does it become. At first it included all classes, for every man is a citizen of the state. But when Plato drew up a plan of the state wherein some were destined to rule and others to obey, and when Aristotle closed the doors of citizenship upon such as worked at menial tasks, the school tended to become an esoteric institution. The effects of all this on subject matter are plainly discernible. Diagoge, more and more theoretically interpreted, becomes the ideal; Gymnastics and Music, so cherished in the beginning, fall into a neglect that borders on contempt. The history of Greek education affords an interesting example of the manner in which education is affected by the environment. The school is intended as a preparation for life; the quality of the life considered desirable at any given time, will always determine the quality of the preparation the school must give. The same phenomenon evinces itself in the history of Roman education. The elementary school of the early Romans was the home, where the boy learned the arts of war and agriculture. The Laws of the Twelve Tables must be learned by heart and once mastered were the index of culture. The father taught the arts of reading and writing. Later on we find an occasional school referred to, in particular when through the agency of commerce and diplomacy, Greece came to be a factor in Roman life. Then it was that the Odyssey was adopted as a text in the schools and the Greek language became an element in subject-matter (233 B.C.). The elementary school was entered by boys of six or seven. It was known as the "Indus" and in it were learned the arts of reading and writing with simple operations in arithmetic. The Odyssey, in Latin, was the first reading book and a great many maxims and bits of poetry were copied in Latin and conned by rote. The custom of learning the Laws of the Twelve Tables was continued until the first century before Christ. ^^ When the decline of Rome set in, we note once more that 70 Aristotle, PolUics, Vol. VIII, p. 3. 7^ McCormick, Patrick J., History of Education. Washington, 1915, p. 53ss. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 25 education is no longer fostered for the practical advantage of the whole people. It becomes a hollow, empty, formal process, making for affectation and dilettantism — a badge of distinction for a favored class. In other words, it gives preparation for a life that is neither worthy or universal. It produces weak and effeminate characters. The result in the case of Rome was the injustice and oppression in social life that sounded the knell of the Empire. ^^ The educational concerns of the early Church were two-fold. On the one hand there was the duty of training the young in the doctrines and practises of Christianity. The world must come to know Christ Who is its only salvation. Whose words offer the only valid solution to its problems. In the beginning faith had come by hearing, but with the death of the Apostles the written Word assumed a tremendous importance. It demanded ability to read. At first such learning was given in the home, for the schools of the age were so thoroughly pagan in character, so much opposed in spirit and practice to the teachings of Christ, that men and women who were ever ready to lay down their lives in defense of their faith, would with little likelihood risk the faith of their children by allowing them to attend the existing institutions of learning.'^ On the other hand, the Church was ever conscious that though her children were not of the world, they were none the less in the world and must be able to maintain themselves in the struggle of life. At times, it is true, we are at a loss to determine the exact attitude of the Church toward secular learning. Tertullian, Chrysostom, Jerome, all great scholars themselves, condemned it as dangerous to faith and morals. When we remember that secular learning was largely comprised in the literary story of the pagan gods and that it subsumed a philosophy that was pagan, we can readily appreciate the attitude of the Fathers. Christ had come to save the world from precisely this sort of error, and until the old order had disappeared and the triumph of the Church was assured, it were better to attempt no compromise with the world. ^^ There was provision for elementary instruction in the early monasteries. Every novice must learn to read; according to the Rule of St. Benedict, he is required to read through a whole book " Monroe, Paul, Text-book in the History of Education, p. 272. " Lalanne, J. A., Influence des Peres de UEglise sur L' Education Publique, Paris. 1850, p. 7. '♦ Ibid., p. 39. 26 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School during Lent. Moreover, in their great work of civilizing the barbarians, the Benedictines found that the interests of the Gospel could be best served if they fitted themselves to become teachers of agriculture, handwork, art, science and cultural activities of every sort.^^ Summing up, we may say that the early Christian schools cherished a religious ideal and responded to a religious need. Whenever they admitted subject matter that was secular, they did so with a view of serving a higher end. The environment to which they sought to adjust the child, was not the existing environment with its myriad evils, but an ideal environment to be effected through the transforming power of the Word of God. The schools that developed under this ideal came nearer to the notion of true education than any of the schools of antiquity. They sought not only information and external culture, but true education. Know- ing was supplemented with doing, the theoretical was combined with the practical, faith required act. All things met in religion and thus was brought about a unity and coherence of subject matter that had not been approximated in the past.^^ Throughout the Middle Ages, religion continued to dominate life and consequently education. The Christian ideal permeated all the lower schools of the time, the Cathedral and Chantry schools, the great monastic schools and the schools established by the various religious orders. It was the soul of Chivalry and formed a background for the training afforded by the Guilds. Not that there was not wide provision made for secular learning, but secular learning was sought as a means of coming to the fulness of Christian life. Charlemagne effected a great educational revival under the direction of Alcuin (735-804). The new nations must become heirs of the civilization that had preceded them, the while their own characteristics are developed. Education is the agency which can accomplish this end. The famous Capitularies gave minute directions as to the training of the young. The importance of religious training is emphasized and this in turn demands the ability to read and write, lest there will be ** lacking the power rightly to comprehend the Word of God."^^ Schools for boys are 76 Willmann, Otto. Didakiik, Band I. p. 239. '« Ibid., p. 240. 7' Migne, Patrologia Latina, Vol. cv, p. 196. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 27 to be established in every monastery and episcopal See, where they will be taught reading, writing, arithmetic and grammar. The development of the higher schools with the Trivium and Quadrivium and the rise of Scholasticism, brought the civilization of the Middle Ages to its zenith, and the conclusion is valid that the tremendous work done in the Universities and the consequent spread of knowledge, could not but stimulate the lower schools. They supplied the knowledge of letters necessary for admittance into the Temple of Learning and with them can be classed the grammar schools, which according to the analogy represent the first and second floors of the edifice.^* The Renaissance came and with it a new trend in education. Many causes operated to bring about the great rebirth of ancient learning, the return to the civilizations of Greece and Rome as to the fountain of wisdom. Scholasticism like all things human, saw the day of its decline. The later Scholastics lost sight of the end of their system, so eager were they for the mental game that its method afforded them. Formalism always breeds revolt and reaction, and when men like Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio came forth to illumine the past with the beacon light of their intelligence, they found a world prepared to follow where they led. Italy always proud of her lineal descent from the Romans, hailed their message with joy. The past became the absorbing interest of the day. History was enthusiastically cultivated. More than that, actual life and daily experience were accounted subjects worthy of study. Things, not books and formulae were to be studied. The physical universe was opened to investigation and modern science was born; the emotions, which had suffered at the hands of the late Scholastics, came into their own. Ancient literature was the key to all this varied knowledge, revealing as it did the old, classic civilization as a kind of mirror of the present, wherein things so seemingly sordid in the garish light of the present, were reflected in a nobler and more ideal vision. The elementary education of the time was concerned with prep- aration for the classical studies. The elements of Latin and Greek were taught as before, but now with a new end in view. It was no longer the Grammar, Rhetoric and Dialectic of the Trivium that the child anticipated, but the reading of the ancient masters. '* Cubberly, E. C, Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Education. New York, 1904, p. 85. 28 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Not that the schools of the early Renaissance were mere literary- academies. Vittorino da Feltre sought to prepare youths for life.^^ Literature was the basis, but this was because it was deemed best suited to give a liberal education, the education worthy of a free man. Erasmus was zealous for the knowledge of truth as well as the knowledge of words, though he held that in order of time, the latter must be acquired first. Object teaching, the learning of reading and writing "per lusum," arithmetic, music, astronomy — all were to be studied, but always in a subordinate way to, letters. Quite modern is Vives, in his treatment of geography, mathematics and history. ^'^ While all the humanists defended Latin as the language of the cultured man, they saw the necessity of training in the vernacular. True, it is to be learned in the home, but the teacher is to be ever on the alert to see that the native language is correctly written and spoken. The great humanist schools were intended for noble and influen- tial youths. But there was a ferment at work among the masses. Economic conditions were changing. The old feudalism was breaking down. Discoverers went forth to find new trade routes and free towns were springing up everywhere. A new impetus was given to commerce and a new tj^je of education was demanded for the future merchant. Town schools were established, Latin in character but practical in their aim. Elementary adventure schools and vernacular teachers came into vogue. In 1400, the city of Lubeck was given the right to maintain four vernacular schools where pupils could be trained in reading, writing and good manners. ^^ There were also writing schools and reckoning schools, Sometimes the Latin schools taught arithmetic for disciplinary reasons. But merchants needed clerks who could manipulate number in business transactions and hence the reckoning master must teach "Latin and German writing, reckoning, book-keeping and other useful arts and good manners. "^^ We note, then, that the needs of society affected elementary education during the period of the Renaissance, in a two-fold way. First, the humanistic character of the higher schools demanded linguistic training for those who were in a position to become '* McCormick, Patrick J., History of Education, p. 176. 80 Ibid, p. 202. 81 Parker, S. C, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 30. 82 Record of appointment of a reckoning master at Rostock, 1627. Ibid., p. 30. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 29 gentlemen and scholars. Secondly, the development of commerce and business called for a more universal ability to read and WTite the vernacular and to use numbers in a practical manner. The study of the vernacular was given added impetus by the Protestant Revolt. The Bible became the basis of Protestant belief and must be made accessible to the masses. Hence the zeal to translate it into the vernacular and to teach the people to read. The Catholic Bible had long before been translated into the vernacular. The invention of printing stimulated the spread of vernacular literature of a secular kind and made ability to read an indispensable requisite for all who would take part in com- mercial affairs. Where the churches became nationalized, as in Protestant Germany, the State fostered education, though it is interesting to note that the rulers took care to provide Latin schools showing thus a preference for class education as against the educa- tion of the masses. In England elementary schools were not provided by the State or the Established Church. The "dame schools," private enter- prises, took care of this phase of education. Mulcaster said in 1581, "For the elementary, because good scholars will not abase themselves to it, it is left to the meanest and therefore to the worst."»3 The Catholic Counter-Reformation set great store by the spread of elementary education. The Council of Trent ordered parish schools reopened wherever they had declined and offered particular encouragement to those religious orders that had chosen the ele- mentary school as the field of their endeavor. A new spirit of zeal fired the orders in question and synods and councils sought to apply the Council's directions. The Jesuits did not enter the field of the lower schools, but other Orders, such as the Ursulines did. Later on the Brethren of the Christian Schools took the elementary field for their very own, gave instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic, and exemplified the simultaneous method, a great improvement over the school procedure of the time and the foundation of the modern methods of school management.^* These schools, it goes without saying, were religious in character; yet they did not fail on this account to provide the necessary preparation for practical life. They are a further example of the " Watson, F., English Grammar Schools to 1660. Cambridge, 1909, p. 156. " McCormick, Patrick J., The History of Education, p. 304. 30 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Church's educational method throughout the ages — to seek first of all that which is the "better part," but while so doing not to neglect the natural means that were intended as aids to salvation. She prepares her children for life in the world, though insisting ever that their welfare and the good of the world, consists in their striving not to be of the world. Meanwhile new currents of educational thought were beginning to run in men's minds. Humanism, at first so full of warm, human life, had become devitalized. Formalism enveloped it. The languages of the ancients, once cultivated for their own intrinsic beauty and the depths of human emotion they expressed, were now cultivated for mere verbal reasons. Elegant speech was sought, not as a vehicle for elegant thought, but simply as a social grace. Erasmus had foreseen this eventuality and had sought to prevent it. Prophets of his order were Rabelais, Mulcaster and Montaigne. They preached the real purpose of the study of the classics, the study of ideas. This is the move- ment known to the history of education as Realism. Bacon, Ratke and Comenius carried its implications to further conclu- sions. Education is more than a training of the memory. Its materials are not all enclosed within the covers of a book. Learn- ing is founded on sense perception; every-day experience has an educational value; the object should be known prior to the word. The vernacular is no longer simply tolerated, but comes into its own as a proper study in the schools. The social ills of the time direct men's attention to education as a means of amelioration. From this time forward the social character of education is em- phasized more and more. All the knowledge that the race has acquired throughout the ages concerning man and nature, is to become the common heritage of all, that through it mankind may be bettered. Plato's philosopher king is being forced to abdicate.®^ When the seventeenth century came, the new realism had met with such favor from society and taken such complete hold of the schools that the traditional literary and classical curriculum must needs find new grounds to justify its position. A new theory was formulated, which recognized the inadequacy of classical training as a direct preparation for practical life, but which maintained that direct preparation is not educative in the best sense of the word. The ideal procedure is to prepare for life by indirection. ^ Monroe, Text-hook in the History of Education, p. 462. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 31 This is accomplished by the development of the individual char- acter and the building up of general habits which will function in any situation. It is not the thing learned that matters, but the process of learning. The old languages offer certain difficulties in the encountering of which the mind receives the best kind of training. *' Studies are but, as it were, the exercise of his faculties and the employment of his time; to keep him from sauntering and idleness, to teach him application and to accustom him to take pains and to give him some little taste of what his own industry must perfect. "^^ John Locke, though his philosophy of education might as justly be classified with that of Montaigne or Bacon, or even in some points with that of Rousseau, is generally regarded as the father of the theory of formal discipline. Locke regarded the perfection of life as consisting in the love of truth, to attain which the mind must be properly educated. Education should aim at vigor of body, virtue and knowledge. The first is to be obtained by inuring the child to physical hardship, the second by the formation of good habits and the discipline of impulse, the third by training the mind in the process of learning, first of all by preparing it for learning and then by exercising it in the observation of the logical connec- tion and association of ideas. *^ The disciplinary ideal has influenced education even to the present day. The English public schools subscribe to it, it sug- gests the name of the German Gymnasia, and even here in America, where the elective system has largely replaced it in the higher schools, it still affects the elementary school. Only with the greatest reluctance, do the schools admit content studies. Even when new subjects are introduced through social pressure, school- men hasten to justify them on disciplinary grounds.^^ The eighteenth century was a period of ferment. On the one hand, society, as represented by the so-called privileged classes, was becoming more and more artificial and trivial in its interests. The architecture of the time, with its redundance of ornament, its weakness of design and its at times almost fantastic orientation, is a significant expression of the spirit of the generation. A life of '" Locke, John, Thoughts on Education. Quick Ed., pp. 75-76. *^ Ibid., passim. *' Jessup, W. A., The Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision in the Public Schools of the United States. Shows how disciplinary reasons have been alleged by the schools in justification of the newer subjects. 32 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School elegant leisure and diverting amusement was the ambition of the upper classes and education was regarded in the light of this ideal. Literature and art were cultivated as the embellishments of life and things practical were despised as beneath the level of the gentleman. On the other hand, the lower classes, poor, over- worked, with little or no opportunity of beholding life in its kindlier aspects, were becoming sullen and restless. The feeling that there was nothing in the essential order of things which doomed some to slave while others spent their days in magnificent idleness, was becoming more and more explicit. The towns established in the Middle Ages under the inspiration of commerce and improved methods of production, fostered the growth of a middle class, the Bourgeoisie. This class, active, resourceful, powerful in business, was steadily extending and deepening its influence. Out of its ranks were recruited the legal profession of a given realm, the lawyers and lesser officials. It became ambitious for political power, until that time vested in a decadent nobility, and stretched forth its hands to position and embellishment, so long the sacred heritage of birth and class. The Bourgeoisie were interested in science and learning. Science flourished during the period, and we behold the emergence of great lights like Newton, Leibnitz, Galvani, Volta, Lavoissier, Caven- dish, Haller, Jenner and Buff on. Encyclopedias were published and royal societies and academies of science were founded. ^^ The success which greeted the human mind in its attempts to solve the problems of the physical universe, stimulated it to in- quire into the secrets of social living. The power of Reason was exalted; no limits were admitted to the possibility of its accom- plishments. Divine Revelation and ecclesiastical direction were regarded with impatience. Rationalism became the order of the day and a new philosophic era, the era of the Enlightenment was proclaimed. Voltaire is the great name of the period, and he the product of the Bourgeoisie. He attacked the Church, scoffed at Revelation, exalted experimental science and became the prophet of Deism. His efforts were seconded by the Encyclopedists in France — the Encyclopedia being "more than a monument of learning; it was a manifesto of radicalism. Its contributors were the apostles of rationalism and deism and the criticism of current *' Hays, Carlton, J. H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe^ New York, 1916. Vol. I, pp. 413-418. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 33 ideas about religion, society and science, won many disciples to the new ideas. "^^ The immediate effect of the Enlightenment upon the minds that came under its spell, was a formalism even colder and more arti- ficial than that which aflBicted society before its advent. A new aristocracy developed, an aristocracy of learning, which, though it professed to hold the key to a better order of things, had really very little sympathy with the masses and awakened little enthusiasm in the heart of the common man. The cult of the reason degen- erated into mere cleverness and affectation, a mere outward seem- ing that cloaked the meanest selfishness and tolerated the worst injustice. On the other hand the Enlightenment planted a seed which in due time was destined to bear its fruit. The social correlate of the philosophy of the day was Individualism. Custom and tradition being ruled out of court, the appeal was made to the intelligence of the individual. Educationally this meant less insistence on religion, on history and social ethics, and zeal to build up virtues of a rather abstract quality. This ideal made itself felt in the lower schools in a contempt for the traditional catechism and primer, an insistence on the practical arts, and an over-emphasis on the instruction side of education. This latter was in line with the doctrines of rationalism. The reason being all-powerful, it followed that the reason should be cultivated in preference to the other powers. The feeling side of education was neglected. ^^ But the social ills of the day were too real to be thus reasoned away. The people were demanding relief. Like the Sophists of old, the philosophers of the Enlightenment blasted away the foundations of the existing order without offering anything con- structive in its stead. Historically the result was the French Revolution; philosophically and pedagogically, it was the thought of Jean Jaques Rousseau. Rousseau, the apostle of Romanticism, detested the coldness of the philosophers and proclaimed that right feeling is as essential as right thinking. "Rousseau had seen and felt the bitter suffering of the poor and he had perceived the cynical indifference with which educated men often regarded it. Science and learning seemed to have made men only more selfish. He denounced learning as the badge of selfishness and corruption, »o/feirf., p. 421. " Willmann, Otto, Didaktik, Band I, p. 349. 34 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School for it was used to gratify the pride and childish curiosity of the rich rather than to right the wrongs of the poor."^^ Rousseau raised the cry, "Back to nature." His educational ideas were not really new; they are implicit in all the great educa- tional thought of all times. But because the education of the day had become so formal and pedantic, it seemed a new doctrine, and enthusiasts can be excused when they hail Rousseau as the "discoverer of the child." Children should be allowed to follow their natural inclinations and not forced to study things for which they have no love. Practical and useful subjects are of greater import than Latin and Greek. "Let them learn what they must do when they are men, not what they must forget.*' The Emile was read everywhere and with enthusiasm. "Purely naturalistic and therefore unacceptable to Christians, it is defective in purpose, having only temporal existence in view; it is one-sided, accepting only the utilitarian and neglecting the aesthetic, cultural and moral. Among so much error there was nevertheless some truth. Rousseau, like Comenius, called attention to the study of the child, his natural abilities and tastes, and the necessity of accommodating instruction and training to him and of awaiting natural develop- ment. His criticism served many useful purposes and in spite of his chicanery and paradoxes many of his views were successfully applied by Basedow, Pestalozzi and other modern educators. "^^ The men who followed Rousseau may or may not have been aware of his influence. No doubt he was but the spokesman of a conviction that was general and which would have worked itself out even if he had never raised his voice. The tremendous social changes of the time and the new doctrine of human rights that had become prevalent, called for a reform in the world of the school. Again, it was but natural that science should discover that mental processes like other phenomena are subject to the reign of law. Henceforth we find education more concerned with its starting point than its completion. No longer is it the ideal of the gentle- man, his mind well stocked with approved knowledge, his manner perfect, that predominates; the child with his unfolding powers, holds the center of the stage. Pestalozzi, on the theory that education is growth from within stimulated by the study of objects rather than symbols, sought by object study to awaken in the 92 Hayes, Carlton, J. H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe, Vol. I, p. 423. 93 McCormick, Patrick J., History of Education, p. 318. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 35 child perception of his environment. Herbart goes further, and shows how Pestalozzi's precepts are not sufficient, that object study arrives nowhere unless ideas are elaborated. Pestalozzi's method is but the beginning; it presents to the child the world of sense. But the real end of education is virtue, and this is to be achieved by presenting to the child in addition to the world of sense, the world of morals. The presentations of sense must be worked over by the mind, assimilated and elaborated into ideas and judgments which finally produce action.^* Instruction must so proceed that idea leads to idea; this is accomplished by means of apperception. Interest must be aroused that will become part of the child's very being and which will consequently direct his conduct. Herbart made instruction the chief aim of education on the assumption that knowledge is virtue. Friedrich Froebel, with keener insight into child psychology, emphasized the importance of guiding the child in his own spontaneous activity. Learning is an active process. ^^ Expression must be stimulated. The mate- rials of education must be drawn from life as it now is, for we best prepare for life by living. Under this new inspiration, the school becomes a place for activity and not mere passive listening. The play of children is studied and its educational value noted. Handwork becomes an important instrument for exercising creative ability; nature study is cultivated as a source of natural interest and because it affords opportunity for activity. The nineteenth century was scientific in character; hence it was but natural that the scientific element should seek entrance into the schools. There was a long and bitter controversy between the advocates of science and the defenders of the old classical ideal of a liberal education. In the end a new ideal of liberal education developed, placing value on everything that could make a man a worthier member of society. Science could not be left out of such a scheme, and chiefly through the influence of Herbert Spencer and his doctrine of education for complete living,'^ the claims of the new discipline were finally recognized. •* Herbart, John Frederick, Outlines of Educational Doctrine. Translated by Alexis F. Lange. New York, 1901. Ch. III. •* Froebel, Friederich, The Education of Man. Translated by W. N. Hail- mann. New York, 1906, p. 8. •• Spencer, Herbert, Education — Intellectual, Moral and Physical. New York, 1895, p. 30. 36 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School From this cursory summary we see how educational ideals change from age to age to meet the change in social conditions. The prophets of the day generally turn to the school as a means of propagating their doctrine for they realize that their hope lies in the plastic mind of the child rather than in the formed and pre- judiced intellect of the adult. It is no easy matter to prepare the soil when deeply imbedded rocks of conviction and the stubborn, tangled under-brush of habit and custom must first be cleared away. The mind of the child is a virgin soil which welcomes the seed and nurtures it to fruitfulness. However it would be wrong to say that the schools of a particu- lar age always respond to contemporary social ideals and needs. The education of primitive groups is immediate and direct, but when education becomes formal it tends to become conservative. Education as an institution exhibits the same suspicion of change that is characteristic of other institutions. It guards jealously the heritage of the past and is slow to approve the culture of the pres- ent. Though the Sophists scoffed at the religious and social foun- dations of ancient Greece, the schools continued to extol them because they at least afforded some positive sanction for public morality. The ideal of the orator dominated Roman education long after the function of the orator had lapsed into desuetude- Scholasticism waned in influence because it failed to take proper cognizance of the social and intellectual changes that preceded the Renaissance. The later humanists saw in the classics only an exercise in verbal intricacies. It is interesting to note that when civilization reaches a certain degree of culture, formalism usually eventuates, for the reason that culture tends to become abstract and divorced from reality. The school accentuates this condition and heeds the claims of the symbol rather than the thing, of the book rather than life. The result is that the boon of education comes to be denied all but the favored few. Class distinction is born and the evils of priv- ilege and oppression make their appearance. When reaction sets in reformers demand a more real and universal education. Mon- taigne, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, and in our own day John Dewey, have regarded education as a means to social better- ment. The same was true in other days of the work of John Bap- tist de la Salle. But the doctrines of men of this type do not as a rule affect contemporary practice, except in the case where they Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 37 found schools of their own for the purpose of exemplyifying their ideas. Even then the results are merely local. The schools of tomorrow apply the doctrines of the schoolmen of today. Now it would be ideal if the schools of each succeeding age were to adjust the individual perfectly to his present environ- ment. But this would imply that society at any given time be self-conscious. It must know its own characteristics, its ideals, the function of its institutions and its means of control. It goes without saying that society in the past has not possessed such knowledge. It is only in comparatively recent times that experi- mental science has turned its attention toward social organiza- tion; scientific sociology is as yet in the infant stage. The study of the past, shows us how certain institutions and forces have operated for the maintenance of order and the building up of social organization. But at the time it was the method of trial and error rather than a conscious ideal of procedure that was followed. The point of departure was the individual rather than the group. Today, with the advance of the social sciences, the objective point of view is extolled over the subjective. Ways and means are being studied to control the group directly instead of indirectly by means of metaphysics and psychology. ^^ Education is listed among the means of control. The school is no longer to be con- sidered a philanthropic enterprise for rescuing the individual from the unfriendly forces that abound in his environment, but as a social instrument for fostering group ideals and insuring group progress. Education is made universal and compulsory because ignorance is a social danger that must be eliminated for the good of society.'*^ This new conception of education as social control has tremen- dous possibilities for good or evil. The norm of control must be true and valid; if it is nothing more than mere expediency, the results will be disastrous. Moreover there must be a deep insight into social forces and phenomena. His philosophy affords the "^ Bernard, Luther Lee, The Transition to an Objective Standard of Social Control. Chicago, 1911, p. 92. •* Ross, Edward Alsworth, Social Control, A Survey of the Foundations of Order. New York, 1901, p. 163. Ross charges that the Church was in the beginning too much interested in "soul-saving" to give much attention to the welfare of society. He fails to understand that the Church's zeal for the salva- tion of the individual soul resulted in a complete subversal of the old pagan ideals of life that had produced such corruption, oppression of the weak by the strong and caused the decay of society. The educational activities of the early Church afford a splendid instance of the power of the school to change the environment, to control the group. 38 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Catholic educator a knowledge of the necessary fundamental prin- ciples which he must follow. These are to be interpreted in the light of present conditions. The school must answer the needs of the time. A knowledge of present social conditions is absolutely imperative for the formulation of a curriculum; otherwise the school will fail of its mission. This aspect of the relation of subject-matter to society will be considered in the following chapter. CHAPTER III SUBJECT-MATTER AND SOCIETY THE PRESENT The first thing to be borne in mind concerning modern society is its industrial character. This fact differentiates it sharply from any civilization of the past. Industrialism is the cause of what is known as modern progress; it is the condition of modern social organization, the source of modern social ills. To leave it out of one's consideration, is to labor and strive in vain for the better- ment of society. It is the raw material of all social advancement. It cannot be waved aside and finally disposed of, by merely longing for the '*good, old days," when there were no machines, no factories, when cities were not squalid and enveloped in a pall of smoke, when laborers were not the begrimed slaves of steel and iron. The machine cannot be evicted from our midst and any plan of combating the evil conditions and tendencies of the hour must reckon with it. In the beginning the divine commission was given to man to "increase and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.""^ In pursuance of this command, man set forth to conquer his physical environment and all the activities and means which he has em- ployed in this process, we may call industrial, and the story of their development, industrial history. The term industrial covers all "those activities of mankind which aim at practical control and utilization of the materials and forces of non-human nature. "^'^'^ Such control and utilization is attempted by man for the supplying of his material, physical needs, his need for food, for shelter, for clothing, for means of putting himself on record, for utensils, tools, machines and weapons. Man had not greatly improved his industrial methods prior to the nineteenth century. Seed was sown as in the days when the "sower went forth to sow," upon ground that had been turned up with a wooden plow. Pack horses toiled over poorly constructed roads bearing commodities to market and ships at sea were at the mercy of uncertain winds. Shoes and clothing were made in the home. Books were fashioned laboriously, and being few in •» Genesis, Ch. I, v. 28. ^°'' Parker, Samuel Chester, Industrial Development and Social Progress. National Educational Association Proceedings, 1908, p. 758. S9 40 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School number, were the prized possession of the eHte. The introduction of gun-powder had changed the methods of warfare materially, though the sword and the lance continued to decide the fortunes of battle. Industry was still a domestic interest, even in the cities which had been developing and becoming the centers of trade and commerce.^^^ Then came the Industrial Revolution. Its advent was not for- tuitous, since preparation for it had been going on for some time. Back in the eleventh century, there had been a renewal of trade relations between the East and the West. This trade, so brisk and important in the days of the Romans, had been interrupted by the barbarian invasions and the Mohammedan wars. In the tenth century, a number of Italian towns began to interest them- selves in a revival of Eastern trades. Brindisi, Bari, Amalfi, Venice, Genoa and Pisa fitted out ships and sent them to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. 1^2 xhe Crusades (1095-1270) stimulated this commerce. They awakened an interest in the East and its products. Eastern spices were in great demand, as well as the precious stones, the delicately wrought wares and rich ornaments that characterized Eastern culture. Great trade routes were developed, one down the valley of the Tigris, another by the Red Sea, and a northern route from India and China to the Black Sea. Venice and the Hanseatic League controlled the major portion of this commerce. Under their hegemony, pirates were combated, treaties concluded with oriental potentates and internal trade in Western Europe facilitated. It was at this time that the Spaniards and Portuguese began to dream of direct trade with the East. The taste for things oriental which had developed in these countries could only be satisfied by paying the exorbitant prices demanded by the more conveniently located Italian cities. A direct trade route with India became the ambition of these nations and intrepid explorers went forth in search of an all-water way to the East. Prince Henry, the Navi- gator, Denis Diaz, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, are the great names of the time. Their discoveries inaugurated the Com- mercial Revolution of the sixteenth century. ^*^^ ^°^ Hayes, Carlton, J. H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe, Vol. II, p. 49. 102 Ibid., p. 44. iM Ibid., pp. 51-54. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 41 A national commercial consciousness took hold of the peoples of Em-ope. The wealth of his nation became the ruler's ambition. Colonial trade was developed because it was felt that gold would flow into the national coffers from a favorable exchange of costly manufactures for cheap raw material. The new conditions of trade called for new financial methods. Up to the time of the Crusades, a natural economy had persisted. In the Middle Ages, individuals and families supplied the sinews of business. But with the expansion of trade, the need of building great fleets of merchantmen and the establishment of military defenses, a money economy came into existence. Funds of money were in demand, rather than stores of supplies. A fluid credit was necessary, and with the opportunity for profitable investment in the newly dis- covered lands, capital was born.^^ It brought its evils as well as its benefits, but it did go far toward establishing a new order of things. It affected military organization by making mercenary armies possible; it changed the status of labor by breaking down the astriction of serf to soil and by freeing the laborer from the limitations set by the guilds; it paved the way for the introduction of machinery at the end of the eighteenth century. Industrial development characterized European history in the eighteenth century. In spite of the dynastic and colonial wars of the period, trade between the nations had thrived. The fairs and markets of the Middle Ages were losing their importance according as overseas trade became freer. Means of transportation were improved and there was great activity in the building of roads, canals and inland waterways. ^°^ Then came the great mechanical inventions. Their birth-place was England. Holland had been gradually losing her commercial supremacy, while over-centralization of authority in France was paralyzing the initiative of that people and emasculating their industry and business. England profited by both of these facts and found herself called upon to supply a world-wide trade. The East looked to her for cotton cloth whilst the Continent and North America were clamoring for woolen goods. An unrestricted market was open to her. Moreover, the mines of the New World and the trade with the East had built up a great supply of capital '** Cunningham, W., An Essay on Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects. (Medieval and Modern Times.) Cambridge, 1910, p. 162. i» The Cambridge Modern History. New York, 1911, Vol. X, p. 728. 42 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School in England so that London of the eighteenth century was the mone- tary center of the world. This fact is of importance, since with a plenteous supply of capital, inventors could obtain the where- withal to prosecute their experiments.^*^® The first inventions took place in the textile industries. John Kay's "flying shuttle" made it possible for weavers to work more rapidly and they required more thread than the old hand-operated spinning wheels could supply. In 1770 James Hargreaves patented a ''spinning jenny" by means of which one person could spin eight threads at the same time. In 1769 Richard Arkwright invented a water frame by which water power was utilized in spinning. Sam- uel Crompton, in 1779, combined features of the spinning jenny and the water frame and produced his spinning "mule" which made fine thread much more rapidly than had been possible before. The spinners were now supplying more thread than the weavers could take care of. To meet this exigency, Edmund Cartwright, in 1785, constructed the power loom, three of which could do the work of four hand weavers. In 1792, an American, Eli Whitney, invented his cotton gin for the purpose of picking the seeds out of raw cotton. All of these inventions underwent successive im- provements. It soon became apparent that water power would be inadequate to meet the new demands of industry. A new motive power must be discovered and the result was the steam engine. This invention in turn stimulated the iron industry. New methods of smelting iron ore were developed. Blast furnaces made their appearance, foundries were established and iron came into use in a wide range of industries. Since coal was used in connection with the new engines, there naturally came about a great improvement in mining methods.107 The awakening of industry affected the means of transportation. Great facilities were needed to care for the coal and iron used in the new industries. Though there had been numerous im- provements in road making, many of the roads were still poorly laid and new canals had not been completed. Under stress of this new necessity, the railroad and the steamship were born. In the ^^ Cunningham, W., An Essay on Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects (Medieval and Modern Times), p. 225. ^°^ The Cambridge Modern History, Vol. X, p. 735ss. Also Hayes, Carlton, J. H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe, Vol. II, pp. 70-75. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 43 beginning the cars were run on rails and pulled by horses, but the locomotive soon made its appearance. In 1785, George Stephen- son turned out a locomotive capable of drawing ninety tons at a speed of twelve miles an hour. The evolution of industry aifected agriculture in two ways. First, the breaking up of the domestic system divorced agriculture and industry. The weavers and cloth-makers who had always engaged in some agricultural work, now migrated to the great manufacturing centers and farmers came to be exclusively occu- pied with the soil.^^^ The development of the means of transpor- tation made distant markets accessible and with increased de- mands, methods were improved. The old system of common field husbandry declined and rotation of crops superseded the fallow field. A more intelligent use was made of natural manures and the advantages of artificial fertilizers was recognized. The use of the new modelled plow and farm machinery became general and the threshing machine replaced the flail. Scientific agriculture was entering the lists against the traditional methods which were the result largely of trial and error and which custom had sanctified. ^^® Moreover, the system of the enclosure of land, intended to make each farmer the owner of his own land which he might work to suit his own pleasure, resulted disastrously in many cases. Small farmers found difficulty in meeting their expenses and the need of consolidation became more and more apparent. As a consequence, we note the rise of the capitalistic farmer and the appearance of farm labor. ^^"^ A corresponding change took place in the professional world. Mechanical engineering became the basis of the new industry. Machines must be constructed to make machines. The field of applied science invites the ambition of young men. The adventure that is the life of the engineer, stimulates their imagination. A new profession arises. From these beginnings came all the tremendous developments of contemporary industry. Only one well versed in the science of engineering can adequately describe the changes that have been brought about in man's methods of subduing the earth. Invention ^'^^ Gibbins, Henry de Beltgens, Economic and Industrial Progress of the Century. London, 1903, p. 12. »»« The Cambridge Modern History, Vol. X., p. 741. "° Cunningham, W., An Essay on Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects (Medieval and Modern Times), p. 234. 44 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School suggested invention, steam opened the way for electricity and the end is not yet. New fields of science have been opened up. Chemi- cal engineering, metallurgical chemistry, structural and electrical engineering are new worlds that invite the human mind to conquest. The wildest dreams of yesterday are the commonplaces of today. Naturally, the Industrial Revolution wrought great changes in the conditions of human life. The ancient unit of economic organization, the home, was the first to feel them. Industry centered in the cities where it had ready access to transportation facilities; this meant an easy flow of raw materials and finished products. The worker was consequently under necessity of follow- ing its lead 5 he must migrate to the city and settle down in the shadow of the factory. Cities grew and expanded in marvelous fashion. Of course, the beginnings of city life antedated the Industrial Revolution by many centuries. In the tenth century, Henry I, of Germany, set up fortified places where one out of every four peasants was to dwell and store up a portion of the annual harvest for the common good. Throughout the Middle Ages, the cities were centers of intellectual and political activity as well as the homes of commerce and industry. They were likewise the refuge of the oppressed and the home of all laborers not im- mediately attached to the soil.^^^ But with the advent of the machine, the city assumed a new role in economic organization. There business and industry concentrated and there the laborer must live and devote himself exclusively to the interests of his vocation, if he hoped to survive under the new order of things. There was likewise a change in the relations between employer and laborer. Under the old system, labor was a personal and individual matter. The cobbler worked in his own home and turned out a finished product for which he received return largely in kind. There was little intervention on the part of a middleman. Even before the Industrial Revolution, this arrangement was beginning to break up. Wealthy masterworkers hired numbers of journeymen to do the work, whilst they concerned themselves with matters of trade and in finding advantageous markets. A number of looms, for example, would be gathered under the master's roof, and men would be hired to work at them for wages. This was the beginning of the separation of capital and labor "^ Robinson, J. H., and Beard, C. A., Readings in Modem European History. New York, Vol. I. Chapter XVII. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 45 and the breaking up of the sense of mutual cooperation and dependence. ^^^ The introduction of the machine completed this separation. The center of industry became the factory, wherein men were employed by the hundreds to labor day after day for a stated return in money. As the capitalistic system grew, the relations between laborer and employer became more and more impersonal, for the demands of trade and finance made it impossible for the employer to pay attention to the detailed supervision of his work- men and called for a change in the methods of organization. The capitalist became the promoter, the general supervisor, the expert in the arts of business. He chose subordinates, fitted for the task because of their technical knowledge, to watch over the details of production. Gradually, the capitalist became content to invest his money and scrutinize the returns and not to concern himself more deeply in the business as long as his income increased and he had plenty of time and means for enjoyment and leisure. The wage-earner, on the other hand, tended to become more and more dependent — a mere cog in the machine. This was especially true, when specialization became the order in industry. Men labored all day long at uninteresting mechanical tasks, their imagi- nation stifled and their pittance meager. The adventure of pro- ductive labor was lost; the impulse to create, thwarted.^ ^' Em- "^ Hayes, Carlton, J. H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe, Vol. II, p. 77. "' Marot, Helen, Creative Impulse in Industry. New York, 1918, p. 7. Thorsten Veblen in his Theory of the Leisure Class (New York, 1902, p. 329), notes the tendency of modern industrial processes to render the workman skeptical and materialistic. Changes in industrial methods have operated to change the whole mode of thought and the intellectual outlook of the men engaged in them. His standards of thinking even on topics outside the range of his daily work are aflFected by the conditions under which he must labor. "Familiarity with the highly organized and highly impersonal industrial processes of the present acts to derange the animistic habits of thought. The workman's office is becoming more and more exclusively that of direction and supervision in a process of mechanical, dispassionate sequences. So long as the individual is the chief and typical prime mover in the process; so long as the unobtrusive feature of the industrial process is the dexterity and force of the individual handicraftsman; so long the habit of interpreting phenomena in terms of personal motive and propensity suffers no such considerable and consistent derangement through facts as to lead to its elimination. But under the later developed industrial processes, when the prime movers and the contrivances through which they work are of an impersonal, non-individual character, the grounds of generalization habitually present in the workman's mind and the point of view from which he habitually apprehends phenomena is an enforced cognizance of matter-of-fact sequence. The result, so far as affects the workman's life of faith, is a proclivity to undevout skepticism." 46 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School ployment became a precarious afiFair. Markets were unstable, over-production resulted in closing down of the factory and there was nowhere to turn for work. The laborer began to feel himself the creature of industrial circumstance. The family ceased to be the industrial unit. Every individual, whether man, woman or child, became a potential worker. Mother and daughter left the shelter of the home to toil shoulder to shoulder with father and son in the shops and factories. Thus the Industrial Revolution, while it served to enlarge the social environment and to increase the sum total of all those influ- ences which enrich the life of the individual, nevertheless, because of specialization in industry and dependency for employment, succeeded in confining the lives of the great majority of people within very narrow grooves. ^^^ Thus was reversed the old order, under which the worker lived in a circumscribed environment, with few needs and just as few means of satisfying them, yet, far from being the slave of a machine and a creature of circumstance, was the master of many crafts. It would be beside our purpose here to dilate on the social ills that have resulted from the Industrial Revolution. The change had come too rapidly for adjustment. Men were too much absorbed in the wonders they were working in the realm of the physical, to pay much heed to the harm that was being wrought in the social order. Yet, even from the beginning there were men with vision who saw the problem and addressed themselves to its solution. The first impulse was to make laws in restraint of industry. But such laws hampered trade and because of them the principle of *iaissez faire" was enunciated. Adam Smith was the apostle of this doctrine. In his "Wealth of Nations," published in 1776, he at- tempted to prove that restrictions are useless because they inter- fere with a man's freedom to become rich. Now, inasmuch as the true strength of a nation lies in the wealth of its citizens, such interference is disastrous. ^^^ The doctrine was seized upon with avidity by the capitalists and it suggested such other theories as that of **enlightened self-interest," according to which each man should look to himself and let others do likewise, for "private interest is the source of public good." Laws are bound to fail "* Carlton, Frank Tracy, The Industrial Situation. New York, 1914, p. 17» *^* Cambridge Modern History, Vol. X, p. 763. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 47 because misery, vice and suffering are due not to controllable agencies but to the inexorable laws of sound political economy. *^^ Meanwhile, labor had not been inactive. Its platform was diametrically opposed to the individualism of the exponents of **laissez faire," and looked to the group rather than to the indi- vidual for control. Utopian schemes were advanced to flourish for a day and then die.^^^ All were too radical to stand the searching test of reality; they seemed to strike at the roots of accepted morality and threaten the very basis of civilization. They did serve a purpose, however, in bringing society to a realization of existing ills. They threw the doctrine of "laissez faire" into disrepute and called the workingraen to unite. Trades unionism developed and has done its share toward defending the interests of labor in the perilous times of reconstruction. Marxian Socialism was proclaimed in 1848 and has been a signi- ficant factor in the political and social world ever since. It seemed admirably calculated to answer the needs and aspirations of the masses. The prevalent discontent was directed to political chan- nels. A solution was offered which seemed tangible and real in comparison with the Utopian schemes that had preceded. Social- ism has found its best exemplification as a political force in the Social Democrat Party of Germany. The most radical of all theories of social reform, is that advanced in the name of anarchy. It rejects government as inherently evil and looks to individual integrity as the foundation of society. "No more parties, no more authority, absolute liberty of man and citi- zen," is the cry of Proudhon, who longs for a time when "a regime of voluntary contracts, substituted for a regime of obligatory laws, will constitute the true government of man, the true sover- eignity of the people, the true Republic. Anarchy injecting itself into trades unionism, becomes syndicalism, or organization by industries rather than by trades and crafts. The latest word in this movement is spoken by the Industrial Workers of the World in this country and the Bolshevists in Europe. We in America have put our faith in political democracy as the best means of readjusting society. Although called into being before the reign of the machine had been definitely inaugurated, "• Hayes, Carlton J. H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe, Vol. II. p. 83. 1" Ibid., pp. 86-88. A brief account of the theories of Robert Owen, Saint- Simon, Fourier and Louis Blanc. 48 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School our institutions seem well fitted to reconcile the extreme individ- ualism of anarchy on one hand, and extreme socialism on the other. Democracy is our watch word. We realize that it is a new venture, that it looks in vain to the past for guiding precedent. There were democracies in the past, but they were city democracies, or more correctly, aristocracies, wherein a servile unfranchised class labored at grosser tasks, that the favored "free citizens" might enjoy the leisure necessary for the study of affairs. With us democracy has a wider significance. It includes all classes, rich or poor, regardless of station, fortune or sex. We have faith in democracy because we take it to mean a social order based on cooperation, rather than compulsion. We believe in the excel- lence of social and moral sanctions, rather than political measures. Taking our Constitution as a basis, we believe that it is possible to work out all the vexed problems of the day. The proper com- promise must be effected between law and liberty and the results applied to all the various departments of life."^ Another characteristic feature of modern life needs to be noted. The whole complexion of the present day is profoundly secular as against the religious character of the past. The roots of this Secularism can be traced back to the fourteenth century, when after the Western Schism, the Church began to lose control of civil- ization. During the Middle Ages, the influence of churchmen on the affairs of life had been deep and far-reaching. Medieval bishops protected cities from invasion and were active in pro- moting trade within the walls. They superintended the expendi- ture of moneys for public works, regulated the sale of necessities and sought to control profits. The clergy, as educated men, were the logical trustees of civil affairs, and because their very vocation held them to an ideal service of God, they were regarded as being particularly trustworthy. Secular business was administered by clerics, ecclesiastical tribunals reviewed legal matters, and ecclesiastics were high in diplomatic and court circles throughout Europe. ^^' This was in accord with the spirit of the times, accord- ing to which religion should be supreme and the influence of Christ should be felt in every part of the social organism. ^^* Bristol, L. M., Education and the National Ideal. Publications of the American Sociological Society, Vol. XIII, 1919, p. 165. ^^' Cunningham, W., An Essay on Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects (Medieval and Modern Times), p. 140. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 49 But when the Great Schism occurred and men were at a loss to determine who was the real head of the Church, when abuses and scandals began to destroy the confidence of the people in the clergy, when the Black Death came to depopulate Europe and leave society in a tottering condition and to decimate the ranks of the clergy, when poverty and want called in vain to an impover- ished Church, then it was that society began to turn to secular agencies for assistance. ^^'^ We note the rise of nationalities, rend- ing the unity of the Empire and the struggle between cities and feudal monarchies. Vernacular and national literatures were born and the Renaissance comes to consecrate secular learning. Then came the Protestant revolt, which by the principle of private judgment destroyed the authority of religion completely and left men no appeal save that to reason and the power of the world. From this time forward, the influence of religion on life, outside the Catholic Church, has steadily waned. Protestantism reached its logical conclusion in the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century and the deification of reason. Then came the revolt of Rousseau and Romanticism, which culminated in the French Revolution and sought to reconstitute society on a purely natural- istic basis. Meanwhile, critical philosophy casts off from theology and attempts to formulate a new definition of truth and to find a new solution for the problems of life. The Idealism of Immanuel Kant makes the mind the organizing principle of the world, and the world as a consequence, the creation of the mind. Space and time are subjective forms of intuition which are furnished by the mind itself. We do not find the world ready-made; our minds organize and shape it. '*The understanding does not derive its laws from nature, but rather imposes them upon nature." The subject does not respond to the object in the process of knowing, but the subject is the starting point to which the object conforms in the process of being known. ^^^ Ideas do not conform to things, but things conform to ideas, and we know them only in as far as they are given shape by the constitution of the mind. Out of this doctrine grew a very highly idealized doctrine of life. Human reason comes to be regarded as a manifestation of the Absolute Reason gradually unfolding and coming to consciousness of itself. Man becomes part and parcel of the divine. "o/Wrf., p. 1S8. »« Eucken, Rudolph, The Problem of Human Life. New York, 1910, p. 436 50 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Natural science, no longer content with being just a province of human thought, now enters the realm of philosophy. Taking as its starting point, the theory of evolution, it emphasizes the genetic view of human nature or the human mind in the process of becoming. It sets itself up against idealism, by centering its attention, not on the ideal perfection visioned by Kant and Hegel, but upon the perfectibility seen from brute beginnings. Ontogeny is studied that phylogeny may be understood. Man is regarded as a part of nature subject to the same laws as lower things in his growth, development and perfection. Progress is due to the clash of elemental forces and it is the action of natural selection and not the intervention of any external, transcendent power, that rules the destiny of the world. ^22 The advent of Industrialism presented the human mind with a new problem. On the one hand, it painted a glorious picture of the achievements of human intelligence in the physical world; on the other hand, the vision of the many ills engendered could not be shut out. Men became interested in the problem of social control. The laws of science are searched for a method of dealing with human relationships; just in how far are they subject to the reign of law. ^2^ A new philosophy is born, the spawn of all that had gone before. Based on evolution, showing earmarks of Ra- tionalism, tinged with Idealism, it goes under the name of Prag- matism. Truth is pragmatic; it is not the correspondence of an idea within the mind with objective reality, but rather it is the efficacy of the idea as a means to an end. Hence truth is not something inherent in the idea itself; rather it is the measure of the success of the idea as a useful instrument. The idea is a symbol, a "plan of action." The teleological is rejected, iSrst principles are scorned, thinking, not thought, is important. Con- duct has no moral meaning derived from the principles of right and wrong; it is evaluated according to its utility for producing results. ^'^'^ Pragmatism invades. the province of theology with an attempt to substitute a kind of mystic voluntarism for intellectual faith; it proposes a new psychology based on function and reaction rather than structure; it preaches the doctrine of Creative Evolu- 122 Ibid., p. 536. 123 Ibid., p. 542. 124 James, William, Pragmatism, New York, 1907; cf. also works of Dewey. Royce, Schiller and Bergson. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 51 tion, showing how man can create for himself a glorious destiny. All of which is a long cry from the doctrine of sacrifice, of humility and obedience, of faith and love of God as we find it in the Gospel. We may sum up Secularism by saying that it is the world come into its own. Its ideals are all mundane; it dreams of perfecting man's present estate and refuses to allow the possibility of a future life to distract its eflForts. Its hope is in science, in politics and in social reform. Its interests are here and now. **It is determined that all men shall know the truth — not the medieval truth that the afflictions of this world shall be recompensed in heaven, but the scientific truth that there is no reason save our own carelessness and unintelligence, why anyone should be deprived of the goods of life."i25 Such, sketched in broad lines, is the character of contemporary society. Industrialism, democracy, secularism are the distinctive notes of the present social environment. These have been taken into account by the schools of our country and a corresponding educational program has been formulated. The program is definitely sociological as against the psychological point of view which has long obtained. No longer is education regarded as a matter of formal discipline, whose objective is mental development and power effected through the medium of idealized subject, matter. The modern aim is more specific. It looks to the development of such powers as may be made effective for useful ends and the stimulation of tendencies to exercise these powers for such ends.^-^ Modern science and industry have completely changed the conditions of life and living and created new social needs. The concentration of the great bulk of the population in cities and the artificial character of city life has resulted in a loss of physical skill and ingenuity. The modern city child lacks the manual dexterity of his fathers. The school must make good the loss by providing for manual training, domestic science and gymnastics. It must coordinate itself with the home and supply those elements which the latter no longer provides. Again the kaleidoscopic character of city life with all its varying stimuli, plays havoc with mental continuity and concentration. The attention is being forever stimulated in some new direction 1" Hart, Joseph Kinmont, Democracy in Education, p. 223. '*• Harvey, Lorenzo, D. The Need, Scope and Character of Industrial Education. National Educational Association Proceedings, 1909, p. 49. 52 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School and the imagination tempted to run riot. The child finds external life so interesting that only with the greatest diflBculty can he center his mind on invisible, underlying laws, the knowledge of which is consecutive thought. The school must come to his rescue, aiding him to unify his experiences, demonstrating to him the correlation between the domestic, social and economic phases of his life, stimulating him to creative thought and rescuing him from the disaster of going through life, beholding all things, yet seeing nothing. Because modern life causes haphazard thinking, it follows that there will be lack of moral steadiness. A great amount of in- formation poured into the mind from many sources fails to develop character. The result is superficiality and failure to cleave to the principles of right in the face of difficulty. The school must find room for moral education, and though it is deeply conscious of this fact, it has not as yet discovered an adequate method. Finally, there is lack of vocational training. In the old indus- trial home, the sons learned their trade from the father, while the mother trained the daughters in the arts of home-making. Under present conditions, with specialized labor on one hand and the wide use of unskilled labor on the other, boys enter the lists of the wage-earners, without first acquiring a trade and are as a consequence, more or less at the mercy of circumstances. Girls, too, must go forth to earn a living and have little time to learn the art of home-making. The school would meet this ex- igency with an adequate system of vocational education. ^^7 Social Efficiency is the slogan of modern education. The individual must become an efficient member of society. Per- sonality is considered a social product, created by social contact. The only values are social values and the good of the group is the one thing worth considering. The school must be socialized, its aims, methods, materials, organization and administration made to conform to the needs of society. For social life can be purged of all its ills and brought to perfection if the social point of view supercedes the individual. Cooperation must become complete. The school being a preparation for life, should reflect the ideal conditions of life. It must be a social institution, where there is free interplay of individual minds, where learning is accomplished ^27 Smith, Walter Robinson, An Introduction to Educational Sociology. New York, 1917, passim. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 53 by groups of interested workers. The social project is proclaimed the best method and subject-matter is evaluated according to social standards. ^2* Now this plan of modern education is profoundly secular. Its prophets speak of religion, but the religion they know is social service. '29 It has nothing to do with the idea of a personal rela- tion between man and his God. *'The evangelical notion of religion as a purely personal relation between God and the soul, setting man apart from his fellows, is widely regarded as an exploded fic- tion. Religion is now seen to be a social growth, like speech. It roots itself in social relationships and expresses itself therein. If it is of worth it must make such relationships easier not harder, and must enrich, not impoverish them."'^° Precisely here it is that modern educational philosophy makes its fundamental error. Religious, social, moral are not synonymous terms; there is an essential difference that must be recognized. Social efficiency will not save the world; salvation, temporal as well as eternal, can only come through Him Who is the Way, the Truth and the Light. He speaks today through His divinely constituted Church and the Church whispers His Message to His little ones in her schools. The Catholic school possesses the secret of true social eJBSciency. It is faith in God and in Jesus Christ Whom He has sent and in love of Him above all things. This is the basis of every other duty and obligation. It assumes the sacredness of the individual based on the true notion of personality as a complete and incommunicable substance. ^^^ It insists on love of neighbor as a correlate and indispensable condition to the love of God. Christian charity includes all social virtues and affords them a valid sanction. There are those that charge that **religious schools are backward because they assume religion to be the fundamental fact of life, whereas it is only one of the elements which make up that indissoluble unity." ^^^ Backwardness of this kind is the truest progress for it is based on truth. Religion is not a mere department of life; it is the meaning and end of life. Modern "* Wilson, H. B., Socializing the School, Educational Administration and Superriinon, Vol. IV, No. 2, p. 88. "» Bobbitt, Franklin, The Curriculum. Boston, 1918. p. 166. "* McGiffert, Arthur Cushman, The Rise of Modern Religious Ideas. New- York, 1915, p. 273. "» St. Thomas, Summa Theologica. Paris Prima, Qu. 29. »« Todd. Arthur G., Theories of Progress. New York, 1918, p. 4S5. 54 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School society will avoid ruin and desolation only in proportion as it recognizes this fact and accepts it. But it will not be enough for the Catholic school to insist on the necessity of religion as fundamental to all education. The rela- tions between religion and social life, between the love of God and the love of neighbor, between divine service and social service, must be made explicit. The cult of democracy affords an oppor- tunity for this. True democracy was proclaimed when the Master taught His disciples to pray, "Our Father Who art in heaven."^^^ The Fatherhood of God implies the brotherhood of man. St. Paul is only developing the idea when he tells us that before God "there is neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Bar- barian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all in all."^^'* The first requisite for democracy is unselfishness. To act unsel- fishly at all times is no easy matter, for selfishness is native in human nature. There must be an adequate motive. The mere recognition that the common good demands this sacrifice will not be sufficient. But a realization that this is the law of Christ, that self-love is a sin against charity, that whatsoever is done to the least of His brethren is done unto Him, that the mark of member- ship in His Mystical Body is love, will lead a man gladly to sink his private interests in the common good. These are applications of our divine Faith, that the Catholic school must make for the children. They should not be left to chance, for we have no assurance that knowledge of our Religion will function automatically to produce a life in conformity with it. Religion must be interpreted in terms of social and political life. Thus the child will be prepared, when the time comes, to exert his influence and direct his support in the cause of truth, justice and right. There remains one more important consideration. Modern life is industrial; it is industry that fixes the conditions of living, working, playing, associating and resting. The Catholic school must assist the child to live according to the law of Christ, to grow up to His fulness, in an environment that resounds with the clanking of iron and steel, the whirr of machinery and the bustle of commerce. Economists distinguish four great phases of industrial life, pro- 133 Matthew, VI. v. 9, 134 Colossians, III. 11. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 55 duction, distribution, exchange and consumption. Though the major portion of his time and effort may be directed towards one of these phases in particular, every individual is vitally concerned with all of them. Consequently the school should give the child an ele- mentary knowledge of all four. All should know something about production, or for what Bobbitt calls "occupational efficiency,'*^^^* not only that the danger of aimless idleness may be obviated, but that there may be a more general appreciation of the function of labor in society. This will inspire those who work with a more ideal conception of their task, the while it serves to break down the barriers of class prejudice. Secondly, all should acquire an elemen- tary knowledge of the process of distribution and exchange. Sound knowledge of this kind would help toward putting a conscience into business and would give a basis for judging the reforms that are advocated in the name of a more equitable distribution of wealth. Lastly, all should be trained for the proper use of the fruits of industry. This is sometimes called education for leisure or enjoy- ment, though more is included than is generally connoted by these terms. All should learn to desire things that are good and worth while, to spurn the cheap and tawdry, and exhibit that thrift and economy in the use of things that is demanded by the virtues of prudence and temperance. ^^^ These types of training should be included in the right propor- tion in the education of every child. It will serve clearness to examine each one of them a bit more closely. We might define productional knowledge as that which fits one to make things that sell. It regards those arts and occupations whose purpose is the creation of wealth through the application of labor and intelligence to natural materials.^^^ Strictly speaking, production has to do with those occupations wherein manual skill is directly applied to raw materials, although other agencies, such as carriers, bankers, lawyers, clergymen, etc., contribute in a real though secondary way. General knowledge of production should include the manner of extracting raw materials from the earth; this comprises agriculture and mining. Then the transforming of raw materials by the so-called industrial vocations, manufacture and its correlate, machino-facture and the transportation of the pro- "« Bobbitt. Franklin, The Curriculum, p. 53. ^" Weeks, Arland D., The Education of Tomorrow; the Adaptation of School Curricula to Economic Democracy. New York, 1913, Ch. XI. »>• Ibid., p. 15. 56 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School duct. This knowledge concerns everyone, for everyone is de- pendent upon these agencies for keeping aHve and well. It opens up the vision of later life to the child and brings home to him a sense of his dependency upon society. Various studies contribute to productional knowledge; cer- tainly, the form studies, the three R's, for without them a man can prepare himself, neither to produce or to appreciate the value of production. There should be practical applications of arithmetic to the problems of production. Nature study con- tributes when its aim is to bring out the relation between nature and human needs. Geography shows how environment affects productional activities. History should include the story of production in the past. Civics, when treated from the community point of view, shows the influence of the state, of law, order, police and fire protection on the process of making things to supply human needs. Literature and art likewise play their part. The relation between the fine and practical arts should be insisted on and the artistic character of good workmanship should be pointed out. The interest in music might be stimulated if children knew something about the process of making musical instruments. "One may easily undervalue the contribution of the less evidently productional types of knowledge, and while properly laying stress on the factors that directly function for wealth, err in denying pro- ductional values to the more abstract mental products. "^^^ Of late, a new subject, industrial arts, has made its appearance in the elementary school curriculum. It is really not a new sub- ject but rather an evolution of manual training. We have seen how public pressure caused the introduction of the manual arts. In the beginning the training value of this new subject was em- phasized. The work was based largely on the Swedish sloyd system, whose spirit was disciplinary and whose aims were partly formative and partly utilitarian.^^^ Katherine Dopp, in her "Social and Industrial History Series," intended for the primary grades, introduced the evolutionary type of practical arts, built up on the basis of the Culture Epoch theory. The attempt is to acquaint the child with the evolution of industry through the ages and thus to give him an understanding of the present situation. "7 Ibid., p. 18. ^^^ Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Education, p. 464. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 57 Today, a new point of view has developed. It would study indus- try for the sake of a better perspective of man's control of eco- nomic f actors. ^^' It takes exception to the evolutionary ap- proach on the grounds that to "rediscover every step in the development of these arts is to miss the purpose of these arts; it may be good industrial history, but it is not good industrial training." The course may be organized on the basis of the raw materials used in industry — foods, textiles, woods, metals, earth, and would show how these are transformed into finished products. Inasmuch as there is an overlapping in the use of materials, another method of organization has been suggested, based on use. The course would answer the question. How does the race provide itself with food, clothing, machines, records, tools, weapons and utensils. The purpose is not so much to learn the processes of construction as to get an idea of how things are made.^*® The time element immediately comes to mind, but the sponsors of the movement claim that time will be saved, for there will be a reduction of subjects. Drawing, manual training, domestic science and domestic art will all be included in this one subject." This subject, representing a content of thought and experience rich and vital in human values, may take its place in the elementary school, as dignified and respectable as geography or history or arithmetic. "^*^ Morevoer, there are splendid opportunities for correlation with arithmetic, geography, nature study, etc. An added advantage of the course, is that it does not require any involved paraphernalia and can be taught by the regular grade teacher. A knowledge of the processes of distribution and exchange is necessary for everyone, for even though a man has no direct in- terest in production, he does share in the things that are produced. If distribution is unregulated, if business pursues its course unre- strained, society will suffer. Lack of adequate regulation in this regard is responsible for no end of our present evils, for swollen fortunes, for low wages and high prices, for watered stock and cornering of markets, for all the buccaneering tactics of high finance. "» Russell, James E., The School and Industrial Life. New York, 1914. (Columbia University Publication), p. 6. "° The Speyer School Curriculum. New York, 1913. (Columbia University Publication.) Gives complete organization of course in industrial arts based on use. "* Bonser, Frederick G., Fundamental Values in Industrial Education, Columbia University Publication, New York, 1914, p. 38. 58 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School If we are to have real democracy and a universal participation in the fruits of modern industrial progress, there must be a better knowledge of the process of distribution. The rudiments of this knowledge should be given to every child. There should be included a knowledge of commercial procedure, the conditions of barter and exchange, of transportation and trade. These impli- cations should enter into the history course and be taught in civics. Arithmetic should have plenty of this kind of application and should include practical problems in taxation, trade, banking, insurance, stocks and bonds. Religion should demonstrate that graft and corruption, unjust wage and poor working conditions, constitute an infringement of the Law of God. The social re- sponsibility of wealth should be emphasized, the Christian truth that ownership is stewardship and implies strict accountability to God. On the other hand the dependency of the factors of distribution on social stability should be emphasized at every turn. The tendency of the day is to seek the cure of social ills in the complete destruction of the present social order. The fallacy of this sort of radicalism should be made apparent to the child and he should be taught to see that the established machinery of government, if properly operated, is the best means for curing abuses and bringing about social justice. History and civics are rich in opportunities for this sort of teaching, as is religion with its insistence on patience and obedience. Training for the consumption of goods includes a wide range. There is primary consumption, including food, clothing and shelter. Over and above these there is the consumption of things necessary for physical well-being, the little luxuries of life. There are the materials required for family life and the proper care of children. There should be training in the right use of money, the cultivation of the proper appreciation of objects in the interests of economy and a distaste for the cheap and degrading. Training for recreation comes in with its implied cultivation of the proper social relation- ships. Here is included, in a word, all that knowledge which bears upon the use, economic, aesthetic or social, of any object whatsoever. ^"^^ Many elements in the curriculum can be made to yield this kind of knowledge. Religion, first of all, by insisting, in season and out, »— — ^— — — ^^ r *" Ryan, John A., Distributive Justice. New York, 1919, p. 861. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 59 that creatures are to be used as means not ends, that they are the ladder whereon we cHmb to God. Music, literature and art edu- cate the taste and instill a love for the noble and beautiful. Thrift can be inculcated in the arithmetic lesson. Use values can be pointed out by means of the industrial arts. Hygiene, school recreations, and organized play, all have their influence. Nature study has its aesthetic aspects; it also teaches many valuable lessons in hygiene. After all, to teach children the proper use of things, is to teach them to live, for the manner in which a man enjoys the fruits of his labor and that of others, is the measure of his integrity. We have reviewed the needs of modern society and indicated in broad lines the manner in which the Catholic school must meet them. We might call this, in a word, education for practical life. Bobbitt sums it up in the following words: *'The individual is educated who can perform efficiently the labors of his calling; who can effectively cooperate with his fellows in social and civic affairs; who can keep his bodily powers at a high level of efficiency; who is prepared to participate in a proper range of desirable leisure occu- pations; who can effectively bring his children to full-orbed man- hood and womanhood, and who can carry on all his social relations with his fellows in an agreeable and effective manner.""^ Now there are those who claim that having stated this, you have stated the whole end and aim of education. These people look upon economic life as an end, rather than a means. They can conceive of no aim higher than present living, and education, in their thinking, is but an instrument for social bettermenj:. They represent an extreme reaction from the formal and humanistic ideal of education that has widely prevailed; because the schools hesitated to have anything to do with the work-a-day, they will have nothing but the work-a-day. But economic life is not an end in itself. It is but a preparation and condition for a higher type of activity. Man needs bread, but man does not live by bread alone. We may not teach trades at the expense of academic knowledge, which is, after all, society's priceless heirloom. The body is worth more than the raiment and man is worth more than his occupation. Education is essentially a human process, and while it is absolutely necessary that the indi- vidual be brought into vital contact with his environment, it must i*« Bobbitt, Franklin, The Curriculum, p. 3. 60 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School always be borne in mind that the individual should be the master, not the creature of his environment. He must be released from the bondage of the machine, and not made more completely a cog of the same. Society has its claims on the school; if the school refuses to heed them, it is doomed to failure and ineffectiveness. But the school does not exist for society alone; it must never forget its duties to the individual. Education absolves its obligation of adjustment, not when it succeeds merely in fitting the individual into his environment, but when it lends the individual the power of utilizing his environment for higher ends and of elevating it in turn to a higher level. This is the secret of progress. CHAPTER IV SUBJECT MATTER AND THE INDIVIDUAL In the last chapter we have noted the modern tendency to regard education as exclusively a means of social control and to make the good of society its principal aim. This is in line with the current social philosophy, which regards the group as of paramount impor- tance and considers the individual only in relation to the group. Individual rights and duties are measured by social norms on the assumption that the individual exists for society. A further inference identifies society with the State and makes the State the all-powerful arbiter of individual destiny. The trend of modern legislation, even in spite of the fact that the late war has demon- strated the peril of allowing governments to become too strong, shows how practical this philosophy has become. Catholic philosophy has ever maintained that Society exists for the individual. The economy of salvation dictates this view: that the individual may save his soul and come to his appointed destiny, union with God, the world was created and the Redemption effected. Society, and its organized sovereign will, the State, are means of salvation. They are the temporal concomitants of Divine Grace and are intended to so dispose temporal things that the individual may the better devote himself to things spiritual. Man has other interests, other allegiances, than the merely civil, because he has a higher destiny than the merely natural. He must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but there are more important things in his life over which Caesar has no control. St. Thomas points out that "man is not subservient to the civil community to the extent of his whole self, all that he is and all that he has.""^ The Pagans deified the State and worshipped the em- peror as a god. The blood of the martyrs was poured out in protest against this system and the Church has ever jealously guarded the rights of the individual against undue encroachments on the part of the State. We recall the glorious work of Gregory VII, in this connection. The philosophy of the Church is very simple. Tem- poral things exist for the sake of the eternal. The temporal ele- ^** St. Thomas, " Summa Theologica." Prima- Secundae, Qu. XXI, a. 4, ad 3. 61 62 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School merits of man's life are regulated by society through the State. They represent a lower order and are of a consequence bound to serve that which is higher. They exist as a means, not an end. The end of the group is to provide the best conditions for the individual to work out his eternal destiny, to save his immortal soul. 1^5 This does not imply that the individual has no reciprocal rela- tions to the group. Whilst it is true that the group exists for the individual, it is quite as true that the individual cannot attain his destiny without the group. Society exists because it answers man's primal instinct to associate. ^"^^ The child needs the family, the family needs the community, the community needs the State." The need for the existence of the State with its array of soldiers, constables and tax-gatherers, rests on three grounds: first, the natural sociability of men, or their desire of living together; secondly, their endowment by their Creator with various rights; thirdly, their moral and intellectual imperfections. "^^^ The in- dividual requires the cooperation of the group in all that he desires to accomplish. In return for such cooperation he must make surrenders of his own will and impulse. This is all in- cluded under the law of Christian charity, which postulates that he love his neighbor as himself. Now social reform and social betterment is a Christian duty, for the diflSculty of saving one's soul increases according as the evils of temporal life rise up to impede and discourage us. Moreover, it is inconsonant with the ideal of Christian justice, that oppression and exploitation of the weak by the strong should pursue their way un- hindered and unrebuked. But social reform must begin with the individual. There are certain improvements which can be effected by legislating from above, but they will be but empty and transi- tory if corresponding reforms are not attempted from below. The quality of a group depends upon what the individuals com- posing it think and feel and do. Consequently the best ultimate way of improving society and bringing it up to the level of high ideals is to improve the individual. The educational corollary of all this is that the real function of "^ Sertillanges, A. D., La Politique Chretienne. Paris, 1904, p. 39. "® Leo XIII, Encyclical, Immortale Dei. "The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII." New York, 1903, p. 108. "' Devas, Charles Stanton, Political Economy. New York, 1901, p. 571. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 63 education is the improvement of the individual. Practical educa- tion is necessary, but it is not the sole essential. ** There is danger that in swinging from the extreme that produced men with an education without a vocation, we will swing to the other extreme that will produce men with a vocation without an education.**^** We need workers, but we need men more. The prime function of education is to make those diflFerences in the thought and action of the individual that, summed up, spell character. Thus, on the one hand, will be saved the principle of individual integrity, while, on the other, the needs of society will be consulted and true social reform effected. Education which has for its aim the improvement of the indi- vidual, sometimes goes under the name of education for culture, though the term may have an invidious meaning for some because of a narrow interpretation of the word, culture. This aspect of the question will be taken up later; for the present we will confine ourselves to a discussion of the means of achieving individual culture. Here we are face to face with one of the greatest problems of education. All great educators in all times have implicitly, if not explicitly, maintained that real education is impossible without so disciplining the mind as to make it a fit instrument for the uses of life. This concept is found in Greek education,^*® and persists throughout the ages. But the question is, how shall this discipline be secured.'* How shall the mind be developed and strengthened so as to attain that power in which discipline consists? How shall the objective elements of learning be ordered and used so as to make the desired subjective differences? What is the function of sub- ject matter? Is it to be of value in itself, or shall it be chosen solely with a view to discipline? Here we uncover the whole controversy concerning formal dis- cipline. Its history has already been sufficiently indicated for an understanding of its present status. Today, we are in the throes of a reaction against the theory. The needs of society, as outlined in the last chapter, are demanding a new type of subject-matter, prac- tical in character and having a direct bearing on the needs of life. The schools have been loth to accept this material, because it is supposed to lack cultural value. Both parties have gone to wide "' Joyner, James W., National Educational Association Proceedings, 1916, p. 81. 1" Graves, F. P., History of Education. New York, 1909, Vol. I, p. 189. 64 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School extremes. The advocates of culture and discipline maintain that the chief value of subject-matter is psychological and that its function is to develop and train the mind. This it can accom- plish better if it is not practical in character, for it should deal with values that are transcendent and laws which are general and demand a certain kind of effort which alone can educate. The prophets of the practical claim that it is a waste of time to force children to learn things whose practical advantage they cannot appreciate and in which they are not interested except for external reasons. Disciplinary education, they maintain, is merely a matter of mental gymnastics and is advanced as an excuse for its own manifest failures. For experience shows that most of the knowledge that is acquired in the name of discipline is soon lost and fails to leave tangible trace. In explanation of this fact, a mystical kind of general competency is claimed, some sort of power of soul that will function in any exigency. The opponents of the theory of formal discipline appeal to psychology in confirmation of their position. They maintain that the theory is based on a misconception of the nature of the mind, the doctrine of mental faculties, according to which the soul is made up of certain definite powers or faculties, the most important of which are cognition, feeling and conation. These constitute the principal sources of mental activity and in them are included such subordinate faculties as memory, imagination, reason, perception, attention, etc.^^^ Modern psychology no longer seriously entertains this opinion, for "it is false and would be useless to human welfare if true."^^^ Now the division of the mind into faculties is as old as psychology itself. The moment that men began to study the mind, there was a necessity for classification. Even a rude classification has its use, for it is the beginning of science. The study of consciousness at once reveals the existence of some elements that very greatly resemble one another, and others that differ completely. These resemblances and differences are the basis of classification. One of the earliest divisions was that into reason, will and desire. ^^'^ With Plato each of these divisions constitutes something very much "° Ackermann, Edward, Die Formate Bildung, eine Psychologisch-Pdda- gogische Betrachtung. Langensalza, 1898, p. 2. ^" Thorndyke, Edward L., Educational Psychology^ Briefer Course. New York, 1914, p. 72. "' Klemm, Otto, The History of Psychology, Wilm and Pintner Translation. New York, 1914, p. 48. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 65 like a special soul. Aristotle maintained that there is one vital principle {^pvxv) endowed with five genera of faculties, the division being based on the five stages of biological development. There is the vegetative faculty which is concerned with the needs of organic life; the locomotive faculty which presides over movement; the faculty of sense perception, including sensation and imagina- tion; the appetite, or tendency to good; and finally, reason. ^^ The Scholastics followed Aristotle's division. According to Scholastic doctrine, body and soul are united in one complete substance; the soul, the substantial form, being the principle and source of all activities, biological and physiological as well as psychological. St. Thomas makes a greater distinction than did Aristotle, between sensuous appetite and rational appetite, or will.^^ The soul is the substance, the faculties accidents. There are cognitive capabilities of the sensuous order, the intellect, or faculty of rational knowledge, and two kinds of appetite. The feelings or emotions are complex products, made up of cognitive and appetitive elements, or mere aspects of such energies.^^ John Locke substituted the notion of power for faculty and was the first to urge against the concept of faculty, the objections which are current today. Leibniz advanced the theory of actual ten- dencies and his lead was followed by Christian Wolff (1679-1754). Wolff held that the *'vis representativa " is the fundamental power of the soul. This it is that transforms the powers or pos- sibilities of the soul, the faculties, into actualities. The faculties, at first mere possibilities, become attributes of the soul and bear the same relation to the mind as the bodily organs to the body. He distinguishes four faculties, cognition, desire, sense and reason. Each of these faculties has enough of intelligence about it to co- operate with the others. ^^ This notion is no doubt responsible for much of the misunderstanding prevalent today and for the ex- tremes taken by the opponents of faculty psychology. The faculty of feeling was added by Tetens, (1736-1805) who proposed a new pair of fundamental faculties, receptivity and activity. The first included feeling, the second, the various activities of the will, inner as well as outer. '^^ Thus was originated ^" Klemm, Otto, The History of Psychology, p. 48. Also Maher, Michael, Psychology, Empirical and Rational. New York, 1915 (Eighth Edition), p. 88. *" St. Thomas, Summa Theologica. Pars Prima, Qu. 80, a. 2. *" Maher, Michael, Psychology — Empirical and Rational, p. 34. ^*« Klemm, Otto, The History of Psychology, p. 60. »7 Ibid,, p. 62. 66 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School the tripartite division into feeling, cognition and will, a division adopted by Kant and most psychologists since his time. The turning point in the history of faculty psychology came with Herbart who proposed two objections to Kant's notion. (1) Mental faculties are mere class concepts derived by process of abstraction. (2) They are nothing more than possibilities and are not found among the facts of inner experience. In the content of actual experience, we distinguish ideas, but not a faculty of ideation, particular feelings, not a faculty of feeling, remem- brances, not a faculty of memory. Herbart substituted the notion of power which differs from faculty in the respect that it arises as a necessary result of appropriate conditions.^^^ As a result of Herbart's criticism modern psychologists do not recognize the faculty. The mind is no longer regarded as a unity operating by means of certain capabilities and powers, but rather as a bundle of tendencies to react in a definite way to definite situations. Man comes into the world with a fairly well organ- ized system of tendencies to feel and act. These tendencies respond to the physiological organization of the neurones. A neurone, apart from education, will transmit a stimulus to the neurone with which it is by nature most closely connected. This is the basis of the reflexes and instincts, or what are known as unlearned tendencies. The mind is by nature sensitive to a certain situation; it responds to this situation naturally and unconsciously, because a bond exists between the situation and the response. Now in the course of experience, some of these bonds are strengthened through the operation of the Law of Use. That is to say, if a man responds originally to a situation, the connection between the situation, S, and the response, R, will be strengthened. If on the other hand, the connection is not made for any length of time between S and R, the bond will be weakened. This is the Law of Disuse. These laws are sometimes combined under the name of Law of Exercise. Furthermore, if satisfaction results from the making of a response, the S-R bond will be strengthened ; if annoyance results, it will be weakened. This is the Law of Effect. ^^^ It is the function of education to supply the proper expe- riences or situations and to observe the Laws of Exercise and Effect in calling forth the right responses. Education then be- comes a matter of modifying native S-R bonds and building up 158 Ibid., p. 66. 159 Thorndyke, Edward L., Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 70. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 67 new ones. This is the educational psychology of Edward L. Thorndyke, of Columbia University. It is accepted by a great number of writers on modern pedagogy and is the basis of most of the work done at Teachers College, Columbia University. Of course, there is no room in this psychology for the doctrine of formal discipline. Education is a matter of forming appropriate S-R bonds and these bonds are always more or less specific. They demand a definite response to a definite situation. There is no such thing as training the judgment, though there is training of specific judgments. The memory is not cultivated, but children are trained to remember certain things. "And so with all the other mental and moral virtues. They are not general, but obsti- nately particular. What, then, is the net result of all this? What but that we must abandon all talk and claim of general mind- forming, and gladly accept the more humble task of mind-inform- ing. The several studies provide not opportunities for general training, but each of them its own peculiar opportunities for special training. "^^° Yet the discrediting of the faculty psychology has not served to down effectually the doctrine of formal discipline. Conces- sions may be made as to its extreme form. Practical ex- perience and daily observation prove that training in mathe- matical reasoning does not necessarily make for power to reason well in other lines. Men of strong will and dogged determination in affairs of business and state, only too often show a sorry lack of will power in ruling their own passions. Yet to say that train- ing in one direction has absolutely no influence in any other direc- tion contradicts the most obvious results of education. Schooling, in whatever line, does seem to make some difference in the way a man conducts himself in other lines. General education cannot be a myth entirely. Modern experimental psychology, weary of a 'priori attempts to settle the problem, has turned to experiment with the result that we have an illuminating and rather con- siderable literature on the subject of transfer of training.**^ "« Moore, Ernest Carroll, What is Education? Boston, 1915, p. 102. ^" Good general accounts of these experiments are found in Colvin, Stephen S., The Learning Process. New York, 1915. Bagley, William Chandler, Educational Values. New York, 1915. Freeman, Frank N., How Children Learn. Boston, 1917. A more detailed and classified description is contained in Hewins, Nellie P., The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of Experimental Investigation. Baltimore, 1916; Educational Psychology Monograph, No. 16. 68 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School The experiments made to date may be divided according to the aims of the investigators into those which are primarily psycholo- gical and those which are primarily pedagogical. ^^^ Among the psychological experiments, there are: 1. Those which attempt to determine the effect of one kind of sensitiveness on other kinds of sensitiveness. Best known are the tests of Thorndyke and Wood- worth and those of Coover and Angell. The former attempted to determine the influence of training in estimating magnitudes of the same general sort on ability to estimate similar magni- tudes, such as lines of various lengths, areas of different sizes, and weights of different degree. They also tested the "influ- ence of training in observing words containing certain combina- tions of letters or some other characteristic, on the general ability to observe words. "^^^ They concluded that it is misleading to speak of sense discrimination, attention, memory, observation, etc., since these words refer to multitudinous individual functions; that improvement in any single mental function rarely brings about equal improvement in any other function; that where such improvement seems to occur, it is due to the fact that there were identical elements in the practice series and the final test series. Two kinds of identity are always involved, identity of substance and identity of procedure. The former constitutes the objective element in transfer, the latter, the subjective element. The subjective element is personal and is dependent upon the quality of the individual mind and its interests; it includes methods of learning, attitudes and dispositions. ^^^ Coover and Angell attempted experiments in discrimination, for the purpose of determining the effect of special exercises on general practice.^®^ Subjects were practiced in discriminating intensities of sound and then tested for ability to discriminate shades of grey. In a second experiment, the effects of training in sorting cards was noted on '* typewriter reactions," or ability to react properly on the typewriter when certain letters were exposed. 1® Hewins, Nellie P., The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of Experimental Investigation, p. 4. 1** Thorndyke, E. L. and Woodworth, R. S., "Improvement in Mental Functions." Psychological Review, Vol. VIII, pp. 247-261; 384-395; 553- 564. ^" Thorndyke, Edward L., Educational Psychology. New York, 1913, Vol. II.; The Psychology of Learning, Ch. XII. ^^ Coover, J. E. and Angell, Frank, " General Practice Effect of Special Exercise." American Journal of Psychology, Vol. XVIII, 1907, pp. 328-340. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 69 Transfer was noted and the authors conckided from test and intro- spection that this was not due to identical elements, but to the fact that the subjects formed a habit of divesting the process of all unessential features and attending only to the essential. Thus Coover and Angell subscribe to the doctrine of transfer. They are supported by the experiments of Wallin, Seashore and Jenner, and Urbantschitsch. Thorndyke and Woodworth disagree. 2. Experiments on the accuracy of voluntary effort and the effect of special training on the general rapidity and accuracy of motor adjustments. These experiments have not produced a great amount of evidence either for or against transfer. The subjects were too few in number and the practice too much like the tests to warrant any trustworthy conclusions.^*^ 3. Experiments of the effect of special training on the general rapidity and accuracy of memorizing. The pioneer test of this kind was that made by James, who tested the capacity of five subjects to memorize poetry after training and compared it with their capacity before training. He concluded against improve- ment and claimed that memory could not be improved but that "all improvement of memory consists in the improvement of one's habitual method of recording facts.'* The experiments lacked the technique and scientific character that would be necessary to give them validity, yet because of the prestige of their author they were quite widely accepted at the time.^®^ A more scientific experiment was that conducted by Ebert and Meumann. Training tests in memorizing series of letters, non- sense syllables, words, Italian words, strophes of poetry and selec- tions of prose produced improvement in memory. They concluded that there must be **a sympathetic interaction of allied memory functions based on assumed psycho-physical activity."^** Although critics of the experiment hold that the sole cause of the improve- ment was the increased power of attention, improvement of tech- nique, etc., which the authors list as auxiliary causes, the opinion of the investigators, because of the manner in which the tests were conducted, is worthy of respectful attention. The findings of Bennett and Fracker likewise argue in favor of spread. ^'^ '«* Hewins, Nellie P., The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of Experimental Investigation, pp. 15-25. 1" James, William, Principles of Psychology. New York, 1890, Vol. I, p. 666. "« Meumann, E., The Psychology of Learning, Ch. III. New York, 1913. "' Hewins, Nellie P., The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of Experimental Investigation, pp. 25-28. 70 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School 4. Experiments to test the training of one organ upon the bilaterally symmetrical one, or upon a closely related member. Eight investigations have been made along this line by Davis, Scripture, Raif, Wallin, Volkmann, Swift, Starch and Woodworth. Tests were made with the hands, fingers, arms, toes and eyes; no experiment was made upon the ears. In every case transfer was found, although a variety of explanations was advanced. ^^*^ The pedagogical experiments have been conducted in the fields of mathematics, spelling, English grammar and in the examination of the effects of training on mental traits, like: memory, habits, concentration of attention, observation, quickness, accuracy, etc., ideas of method and ideals. Rietz and Shade studied the correlation between the grades of children in the various branches of the curriculum. ^'^ They hoped to discover the existence of reciprocal relations that would have an effect upon transfer. Using the methods of Galton and Pearson, they found a high correlation between mathematics and foreign languages. No transfer was indicated, but inasmuch as there is a high correlation between these branches, there is at least some probability of transfer. Winch prosecuted a study of the accuracy of school children,^^^ and after finding a high positive correlation between accuracy in working simple sums and ability in solving arithmetical problems, felt that there Was not enough evidence in the practice tests which he conducted simultaneously to argue for transfer of training. Accuracy in working sums does not necessarily make for accuracy in reasoning. He concludes : "It seems to be possible to find highly correlated functions which appear to have very little relationship of a pedagogical value. We cannot conclude without further inquiry in other lines, that two highly correlated mental powers are causally related." Bagley supervised an experiment at the Montana State Normal College for the purpose of discovering whether the habit of pro- ducing neat papers in arithmetic would produce habits of neatness in other branches. He failed to find the slightest improvement in "o/6ti., pp. 28-31. "^ Rietz and Shade, Correlation of Efficiency in Mathematics and Efficiency in other Subjects. University of Illinois, University Studies, Vol. Ill, No. 1. November, 1908. "2 Winch, W. H., "Does Improvement in Numerical Accuracy Transfer"? Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. I, 1910, pp. 557-589; Vol. II, 1911, pp. 262-271. Discussion of Psychological arid Social Foundations 71 language and spelling papers, though there was marked improve- ment in the arithmetic papers. ^^^ He suggested that the failure to secure transfer was due to the fact that the habit of neatness had not been made a conscious ideal in the minds of the children. This was followed out by Ruediger, who found that when the ideal was made conscious, transfer was achieved. "In general, the value of specific habits under a change of condition, depends directly on the presence of a general idea, which would serve for their control."^'* This conclusion was further emphasized by Judd in his experi- ment on the effect of practice as determined by the knowledge of results. ^^^ A number of children were required to attempt to hit with a small dart, a target which was placed under 12 inches of water. It was found that when one group was instructed as to the deflection of light through refraction, they were more successful when the depth of the target was increased to 4 feet than were another and uninstructed group. The knowledge of conditions gave an idea of method which resulted in transfer. Dallenbach experimented on the concentration of attention. His problem was to find the effect of a daily drill of fifteen minutes on charts of numbers, letters, words, geometrical figures, etc., conducted during a period of seventeen weeks. A striking rise in the school grades of the children resulted during the following school term. He concluded that the evidence justified a restricted belief in formal discipline.^^^ It remains to note the experiment made by Dr. Hewins, in her capacity as Instructor in Biology at Newlon High School, New York City. Dr. Hewins felt that more enlightening results might be obtained if investigators would work with children in their formative years, rather than with adults in psychological labora- tories. For the ordinary conditions of transfer are present before habits are formed and the mind has lost much of its plasticity. She chose as her field the study of the effects of training on the powers of observation, largely because she could thus pursue the "' Bagley, William Chandler, The Educative Process. New York, 1917, p. 208. *^* Ruediger, W, C, "The Indirect Improvement of Mental Functions through Ideals." Educational Review, Vol. XXXVI, 1908, pp. 364-371. '^' Anpell, Pillsbury and Judd, "The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of the Principles of General Psychology." Educational Review, Vol. XXXVI, June, 1908, pp. 1-42. "•Dallenbach, K. M., "The Effect of Practice upon Visual Apprehension in School Children." Educational Psychology, Vol. VI, pp. 321-334; Vol. VII, pp. 387-404. 72 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School experiment in her own class-room. The subjects of the experi- ment were pupils, boys and girls, in the first term of their Freshman year at High School. Their ages varied from twelve to seventeen. Three series of tests were given, the first daily from April 22 to April 30; the second, from June 3 to June 11; the third, from November 4 to November 11. The practice series was given on ten school days from May 15-28. The practice series consisted of observation of biological material, which was exposed to the children, who were then allowed ten minutes to write a description. In every case the material consisted of a flower — the lilac, the dogwood, the buttercup, etc. The test series included some biological and some non-biological material. The latter consisted of pictures, syllables, nonsense figures, geometrical figures and figures in the air. These w^ere exposed to the children and they were given a certain time to write a description. The aim was to discover if the practice in observing the biological material of the practice series would improve the observation of the biological material of the test series, and particularly of the non-biological. The experiment was carried out carefully, due allowance being made for all contributory causes. One- half of the class were practiced. The results show an improvement of the practiced half over the unpracticed in the test series, both in the biological and non-biological material. "It is evident from these general summaries and comparisons that the practiced pupils have done better in the second and third series than the unpracticed. The question difiicult to solve is: *What is the cause .f^' No doubt growth, familiarity with procedure, benefits of class-work and study, and desire to excel, have all contributed their share toward the gain, but these factors may have aided both sides equally. We have no means of telling. Then why the difference.'^" "Feeling that the balance of arguments and scientific proofs were against formal discipline when this investigation was begun, I am forced by the results obtained to admit that in this experiment, the proof seems to be on the affirmative side."^^^ The significant fact about all these experiments, and many others which we might mention, is that all without exception show that some transfer is possible. Of course, the fact of transfer "' Hewins, Nellie, P., The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of Experimental Evidence, p. 112. Part II, pp. 49-144, contains a complete account of the experiment with tabulated results. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 73 is ascribed to other causes, such as method in recording facts (James), the functioning of identical elements (Thorndyke), etc. But even granting that these factors contribute, it remains un- deniable that there is such a thing as transfer. The explanations advanced might well serve as the basis of further discussion; meanwhile they serve to throw light on educational method. The findings of James and Thorndyke, which by the way bear some evidence of having been fitted into preconceived notions, were too readily accepted by some schoolmen. The result has been the specific-training idea, which threatens to involve us in a situation where real culture will be sacrificed to narrow specialized efficiency. The argument against the dogma of formal discipline which is based on the discrediting of the faculty psychology is an empty one and lacks anything like conclusiveness. First of all, if the faculty theory is rightly understood it is not as absurd as is gen- erally impHed. Every science classifies the phenomena with which it has to work, and psychology in its study of consciousness will arrive nowhere should it fail to note the likenesses and differences in conscious phenomena. Again, mental states are complex and they cannot be properly understood unless they are analyzed. Such analysis is bound to discover certain primary modes and activities that cannot be further reduced and which for want of a better word, we may call faculties. The mistake comes when psychology advances too ready an opinion as to the nature of these faculties. The question is profoundly metaphysical; it touches on the question of the nature of the soul and its relations as a sub- stance. Crude attempts at expression have resulted in a too- material concept of a highly spiritual fact. A faculty is nothing more than the mind's capability for performing a particular kind of activity. There are real differences in psychical activity; this is evident from a consideration of the diversity of the objects toward which the such activity is directed. The mind's reaction to color differs profoundly from its reaction to reasoned argument. This difference of reaction to different stimuli is an index of a difference of mode in activity. A faculty is a mode of mental activity which is different from any other mode of mental activity.^^^ ^'' Maher, Michael, Psychology, Empirical and Rational, pp. 23-40. Also Catholic Encyclopedia, "Faculties of the Soul," Vol. V, p. 740, and St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, Pars Prima, Qu. 77, art. 3. 74 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School If it be borne in mind, with the scholastics, that a faculty is not a part of the soul, or an independent separate agent, or a group of conscious states of a particular kind, but that it is simply a special mode through which the mind acts — that it is the soul itself operat- ing in a certain, peculiar way — there is little room for quibble. The denial of the faculty theory is largely based on a metaphysical assumption, namely the denial of the existence of the soul a^ a unitary agent working in and through the whole psychic mechanism and related thereto as form is related to matter, and the substitu- tion of a notion of the mind as an aggregate or succession of conscious processes. The new psychology which studies mental functions and has no room for mental structures, would naturally deny the existence of faculties, no matter how they might be understood. But whether we hold the faculty theory or not, we cannot disre- gard the facts concerning the transfer of training. Long before the relation between psychology and education had been worked out, the common opinion of mankind subscribed to the notion of formal discipline. Locke, for example, is hailed as the father of the theory, yet Locke was among the first to question the faculty hypothesis. The traditional arguments in favor of the doctrine were based not on psychological grounds, but on experience. Later on when the doctrine was attacked its proponents invoked the faculty argument. Colvin insists that the faculty hypothesis is not basal to belief in transfer. "Naturally when the doctrine was first formulated it was stated in terms of the psychology then current. It could be stated in terms of the up-to-date functional psychology almost as well. This seems to be the common mis- take that the opponents of transfer generally make, namely, the assumption that because the doctrine of formal discipline first appeared in the setting of the faculty psychology, it must of necessity be invalidated with the passing of that psychology. With equal justification from logic, one might argue that because the belief in heaven was originally coupled with the old Ptolemaic conception of the universe, this belief was destroyed when the Copernican system superseded the old cosmological ideas. '*^^^ What then is the present status of the doctrine of formal disci- pline? First, the arguments alleged against it from the stand- point of the faculty hypothesis are invalid. Secondly, experi- "3 Colvin, Stephen S., The Learning Process, p. 236. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 75 mental evidence, far from discrediting it, seems to confirm it. The question then is still an open one, and in the absence of more con- clusive data, it would be foolhardy to rule it out of court. All great thinkers of the past have assumed it without question, and though their assumption may have lacked scientific finality, it was based on observation of the evident facts of life. Culture is a phenomenon that cannot be overlooked, and the relation between culture and certain kinds of mental activity is evident. There is a narrowness of mind that is consequent upon failure to receive a broad training. Practical efficiency only too often goes hand in hand with purblind intelligence. Familiarity with things that transcend daily experience, with pure science, history, literature and the fine arts, puts its stamp upon the mind. Unless we are willing to admit that the culture we find in life is entirely due to inherited dispositions, we must agree that there can be such a thing as general education, which is another name for formal discipline. Of course, no man would deny that great educational crimes have been and are committed in the name of discipline and culture. If the emphasis today is upon content as against form, upon object as against subject, upon things learned as against the learn- ing, it is because of the ill effects of over-emphasis in the other direction. School programs have been cluttered with no end of formal material to the exclusion of practical elements that are absolutely in demand. If the classics are attacked today, if pure science is in bad repute and pure mathematics deemed a waste of time, it is largely because of the formalism that has dominated the teaching of these subjects and the failure to work out their practical implications. For if a subject is properly taught, be it ever so abstract and cultural, it will yield practical advantage. By the same token, no matter how utilitarian a branch may be, it may be made to serve the ends of culture. The maxim should not be, ** Teach so that the subject may be learned and turned to practical advantage;" nor "Teach so that spiritual power may be increased, developed and enlarged." Rather it should be, "Teach so that while the matter is learned and turned to practical advantage, the powers of the mind are de- veloped, refined and brought to the highest possible degree of culture." i8« "° Willmann, Otto, Didaktik, Vol. II, p. 59. 76 The Curriculmn of the Catholic Elementary School This brings us face to face with the necessity of defining culture. Culture is not mere grace, a superficial manner that comes of acquaintance with the finer things of life and fa- miliarity with art and literature. It is more than ease in conversa- tion and poise in absolving social obligations. It is not the exclu- sive heritage of those who command the resources to enjoy an undisturbed leisure. It does not disdain toil and labor and may be as much at home in the heart of the artisan as in the soul of the debutante. It is not solely intellectual, consisting of a wide range of information; it is not merely emotional, a matter of savoir faire. In a word, culture is not a mere embellishment of life. Culture is power born of the symmetrical development of all the faculties of the individual. It is the habitual tendency to do not the nice thing, but the right thing. It is the expression of Christian charity. Though its primary function is the improve- ment of self, it is of necessity altruistic; for true culture is only possible where there is the readiness to subordinate selfish impulse to the common good. It does not need the setting of the drawing room to display its glory; it is as beautiful in the workshop. Dewey defines it as "the capacity for constantly expanding in range and accuracy, one's perception of meanings. "^^^ If we understand this definition rightly, we see how culture implies on the one hand, an openness and plasticity of mind that preclude narrowness and prejudice, and on the other a growing and deepening knowledge of men and things, of facts and relations, both of which operate to produce a fulness of life, spent not in the interests of self, of ambi- tion, of wealth, but for the glory of God and the good of fellow- man. Culture includes a two-fold element, the one receptive, the other conative. First of all there must be a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the general and basic facts of human experience. It should include the present as well as the past. It must not be superficial or confined to just certain lines of thought. The cul- tured man may be a specialist, but he must have enough general knowledge to emancipate him from the thraldom of his specialty. He must be able to view life broadly and not have his vision dis- torted by narrow, specific interests.^^^ Nor dare this knowledge be superficial, of a chatty, informational ^*^ Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 145. *^ Cooley, Chas. H., "A Primary Culture for Democracy." Publications of the American Sociological Society, Vol. XIII, p. 1. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 77 character. Mere information makes for conceit. It is carried along in the memory and does not function in Hfe; it becomes a means of vain display. True knowledge, on the other hand, is knowledge that has been assimilated, that has become part and parcel of one's very being. Newman says, *'A man may hear a thousand lectures and read a thousand volumes and be at the end very much as he was as regards knowledge. Something more than admitting it in a negative way into the mind is necessary, if it is to remain there. It must not be passively received, but actively entered into, embraced, mastered. The mind must go half way to meet what comes from without. "^^^ The power over information and experience that we call knowl- edge demands coordination. Meanings can only be "expanded in range and accuracy" if they are seen in their proper perspective. The quality of unrelated knowledge is always evident. It stamps the bore and the prig, the man whose memory is overloaded with facts over which he seems to have no control and who as a conse- quence has no judgment of the fitness of things. Says Dr. Shields: *'The mind must be able to turn instantly from subject to subject as the necessity of the social situation demands. The cultured man is keenly sensitive to the play of thought and feeling in the social group in which he moves and he responds to it without apparent effort. However indispensable concentrated attention may be in order to reach the solution of any problem of present interest, culture demands the added power of shifting the attention with ease and grace from topic to topic so as to meet the social situation and yield pleasure and profit to the group. "^'^^ The proper control of knowledge calls for the cultivation of the imagination. Practical people sometimes regard the imagination a bit askance because they feel that it is the source of idleness and empty dreaming. This may be true in some cases; even the reason may be abused. The fact that the imagination may be open to abuse only proves the necessity of educating it properly. For the imagination plays a very important role in human life. It is the basis of love, because it is the basis of sympathy. It enables us to enter into the thoughts and feelings of others, of enjoying vicarious experience. It shows us the possible effect upon others of the things we say or do and makes us cautious of the *" Newman, John Henry, The Idea of a University, p. 489. '" Shields, Thomas E., Philosophy of Education, p. 249. 78 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School manner in which we advance our opinions. It helps us to place the best interpretation on the actions of our neighbor. Many a good thought has proven unfruitful because there was lacking enough imagination to foresee that unless skilfully advanced, it would provoke antagonism rather than sympathy. Many an un- just condemnation has been passed, because there was lack of vision broad and deep enough to discover hidden motives. So much for the cognitive side of culture. Were culture this and nothing more it might well result in pride and hardness of heart, for knowledge has a way of puffing up. The cultured main must not only know, he must feel. His knowledge must be shot through with right emotion. True sympathy requires imagina- tion; but it likewise demands reaction to imagination. Feeling is the great motive power of human life, the source of all energy. Without it knowledge is barren and culture impossible. Emotion may easily become an enemy of the mind. It may result in sentimentalism, an appreciation of values without any concern for the price of their acquisition. Hence emotion must be controlled. This control is effected partly by knowledge and partly by the building up of the proper habits, attitudes and appre- ciations. Moral philosophy lists the passions among the possible impediments to the free action of the will. They are the well- springs of human action and unless they are effectually subordi- nated to reason and controlled by habit, they become a source of disaster to the individual and the group. ^ The virtue of obedience is fundamental to true culture. It in ^^urn implies humility, and Christian asceticism, the best system of character formation ever devised, postulates humility as the first requisite to growth in holiness. The first thing that a cul- tured man must realize is his own place in the essential order of things and the duties of service that are incumbent on him. He must be disposed to accept the guidance of authority and bring his soul captive to higher powers. This implies discipline, self- control, self -direction and often self-sacrifice. Humility, docility ,^ obedience are functions of the will; they are the evidences of pur- posive action. ^^^ The effect of culture on the individual is the development of 185 Bagley, William C, "Duty and Discipline in Education." Teachers College Record, Vol. XIX, No. 5, p. 419. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 79 true character, which implies knowledge raised to the dignity of the ideal by reason of proper emotional reaction and of habits built up in conformity with these ideals. The result is power, the ability to so control the desires, impulses and feelings, that the will may enjoy the largest measure of freedom. True culture is not an affair of higher education. Its seed must be planted deep down in the heart of the developing child at the very time that his conscious powers are awakening. Culture is as much a concern of the elementary school as of the high school. Hence all the elements which enter into the constitution of true culture should be fostered from the primary grades up. This is impossible where the function of the elementary school is inter- preted narrowly, where it is regarded as an institution for training in the school arts and in the rules of conventional politeness.^®® The "capacity to expand in range and accuracy one's perception of meanings," must be developed from the beginning if it is to be developed at all. In this discussion of the relation between subject-matter and the individual, we have attempted to show that the choice of subject-matter should be dictated by individual as well as social needs, that discipline or general education is possible, that culture consists of certain definite elements. But it would be a mistake to think that there is some automatic and mysterious process whereby subject-matter effects the desired differences in the mind of the child. Educational science has proven that there are laws underlying the process of learning and these laws must be sought out and obeyed. They form the foundation of method, and subject-matter without method is bound to be an ineffective instrument. Now the studies of transfer of training have demon- strated that there are certain conditions which, when placed, will facilitate ** spread." One of these is that the elements to be transferred should be made conscious. ^^^ The child may acquire habits of close observation from nature study, for example, only if the teacher takes care to point out and insist upon the general advantages of such observation. There must be an ideal which transcends the task at hand and which aids the child to see the work he is doing in its broad perspective. Motivation will thus be given to an effort which otherwise might well be distasteful and ^w Shields, Thomas E., Philosophy of Education, p. 254. ^" Vide supra, experiments of Bagley, Ruediger, Judd, etc. 80 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School unproductive of any lasting results. This ideal will then function in other situations, even though the subject-matter be quite differ- ent and the specific aim of an entirely different nature.^^^ Secondly, the method and technique of learning should be made explicit and conscious. Better habits of attention, improved methods of memorizing, divesting the work of non-essential ele- ments, were some of the factors that the investigators mentioned as aiding in transfer.^^^ There is no reason why children should not be instructed in the technique of learning. They would thus acquire correct habits of study that would enable them to work independently and solve their own problems, whether in school or in later life. Much is being written and attempted nowadays by way of teaching children to study.^^^ The importance of this phase of education cannot be over-emphasized. It is one of the best ways of securing lasting results. Thirdly, Thorndyke and Woodworth have insisted that transfer is only possible where there are identical elements. ^^^ Now whether we agree with them or not, when they account for all transfer on this basis, we must admit that where there are identical elements, the odds in favor of transfer are greatly improved. By identical elements, we may mean identity of procedure. This was sufficiently indicated in the foregoing paragraph. Or we may mean objective identity, or identity of matter. Thus, for example, there are common elements in arithmetic and nature study, in drawing and manual training, in history and geography. Again grammar and arithmetic are alike in that they require abstraction and reasoning; there are common elements in the various phases of arithmetic, as in addition and multiplication, fractions and divisions, etc. All of these should be brought out, and they can be brought out if the work is properly correlated. Correlation of subject-matter is absolutely necessary for thorough and economical learning. It makes for that coordination of knowledge which was mentioned as one of the essentials of culture. But what of the effort which we have always been told is the only royal road to education.^ It is still required, but it has become intelligent. The mere fact that a task is hard does not 188 Bagley, William C, Educational Values, p. 190. 189 Vide supra, the experiments of Coover and Angell, Ebert and Meumann, etc. "OEarhart, Lida B., Types of Teaching. Boston, 1915, p. 192. 1" Vide supra, the experiments of Thorndyke and Woodworth. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 81 mean that it is educative. Effort is necessary for the building up of character, but it should have some relation to reality. Motiva- tion is indispensable in any true scheme of education. Merely to tell children that they must do this thing which is difficult and distasteful, because thereby they are to become strong-willed men of character, is not a rational method of procedure. It discourages and dissipates attention as often as it inspires and makes for con- centration. On the other hand, school work that is rightly moti- vated is not necessarily easy. It demands real effort and this is as it should be. All things worth having in life are hedged round with difficulty, and no victory is possible without a struggle. Initiative we need, and originality, power of independent thought and resourcefulness, but these should grow out of obedience and docility. Thoroughness is a prime requisite; race experience needs to be mastered, not desultorily consulted. But the while w^e seek for thoroughness, for the ability to apply oneself to set tasks, we must not forget that there is a place for interest and motive and that things are best done and virtues best acquired when they are done and acquired rationally. We may add that no subject should be retained in the elementary curriculum for purely disciplinary reasons. Although discipline is possible and the culture of the individual is the first great aim of education, the period of elementary education is so short and there are so many specific ends to be consulted, that any direct attempts at general training are out of place. Let it be remem- bered that any subject, no matter how practical, may be so taught that it will yield discipline. Transfer is largely a matter of method, and even such cultural subjects as pure science or the ancient languages will fail utterly of their purpose if they are not properly presented. Ziller remarks: "The proper kind of practical knowledge, presented in the proper way, will also yield the right kind of formal discipline."^^ Other things being equal, the practical reasons should prevail over the cultural in the choice of elementary subject-matter. Finally, it is obvious that no matter how well chosen and organized a course of study may be, it can never take the place of a good teacher. It is the teacher who must interpret it, apply it and make it productive of results. Hence the universal cry for I *" Ackermann, Edward, Die Formtde Bildung, p. 89. 82 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School good teachers, men and women of real culture, who understand the possibilities and limitations of subject-matter, who know the psychology of the branches they teach, who can effect that com- promise between the child and the curriculum which will never sacrifice the former in the interests of the latter, but who will use the curriculum as it is intended to be used, as an epitome of the Truth that shall make men free. CHAPTER V THE CURRICULUM OF THE CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — THE SCOPE In the preceding chapters we have considered the school as society's means of self-preservation. We have shown how educa- tion in every age should reflect the social ideals of the time. The chief characteristics of the modern age were examined with a view of discovering the fundamental facts which must influence con- temporary educational procedure. We have indicated the broad lines which Catholic Education must follow if it would keep abreast of the times, and at the same time fulfill its mission of bringing the modern world captive to Christ. We have criticized the current interpretation of the principle that education is adjust- ment to the environment, and postulated that adjustment, to be adequate and effective, must be an active, not a passive process. The individual is not to be fitted into society as a cog into a machine, but is to be given the power of self -adjustment, the power of individual choice based on character, which will enable him to fulfill the requirements of society and at the same time cooperate in the raising of society to higher planes of truth and justice. This power is the cultural effect of education and can only be realized when education is dominated by broad and general, and not merely narrow, utilitarian ideals. W^e shall now attempt to reduce all of this to a working basis by showing how it is to be applied in the formulation of a curriculum for the elementary school. The first thing to be determined is the scope of elementary education in the United States. This nation has made its act of faith in democracy as the best type of social order for the protec- tion of individual rights on one hand, and the maintenance of a duly constituted authority on the other. Now the cornerstone of democracy is the notion of equality. The passion for liberty, while logically a development of the insistence upon the inherent value of the individual, is historically a negative development, born of a struggle for the equalization of fundamental rights. The principle that "all men are created free and equal" lies at the foundation of our national institutions. Our Constitution, which is built upon it, is our guarantee of individual liberty. Of course 88 84 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School the canon of equality does not deny an aristocracy of natural talent due to native individual differences. But it does condemn any special political or social privilege being accorded such aris- tocracy or to any other aristocracy based on less worthy considera- tions, such as wealth or social caste. Leadership there must always be, but such leadership should be the reward of real achievement. No artificial barrier raised by caste, wealth or learning should obstruct the masses in the enjoyment of those things which are fundamental to decent living. Every man, woman and child must possess the right to " life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." For elementary education this means that every child that comes into the schools, no matter what his antecedents may have been, no matter likewise what his future social and economic destiny may be, must receive the same general, fundamental education. There is no room in American life for an educational practice such as prevails in the countries of Europe, where the schools are orientated according to the present and future social standing of the children in such manner that higher education is the heritage of birth and money, and the children of the lower class are predestined to the same level of life as their fathers. Such a system is well calculated to perpetuate a society that is founded on stratification, but it is utterly at variance with American ideals. Every American child is the potential heir to all that is best in our national life. If our fathers have labored and fought and died that liberty may thrive among us, that liberty shall be his and he shall be protected from all that might dispossess him. No dis- crimination, no differentiation may obtain in our "common schools;" there must be the same competence for all. This competence must include all the fundamental and necessary elements of American living. On the practical side, all the experiences, forms of knowledge, types of behavior, mental atti- tudes and dispositions that are basic to the majority of the voca- tions upon which the children will enter in later life, must be fostered. On the cultural side, there must be provision for all the qualities of mind which are requisite, if the individual is to lead a rich and sanely balanced life, a life valuable to society and at the same time in accord with his own eternal destiny. This conclusion is further strengthened by the fact that democ- racy depends upon sanctions that are moral and social, rather than political. Autocratic governments use force to maintain order Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 85 and keep refractory elements in line by means of physical threat. Democracy makes its appeal to common-sense. The citizen is to be guided by his own sense of fairness and justice to the realization of the necessity of subordinating selfish interest to the common good. Only when individuals show themselves unwilling to co- operate, to respect the rights of the group, or perhaps pathologic- ally unable to do so, is appeal made to force. But moral sanction presupposes moral character, and if this is not developed in the group, anti-social elements are bound to prevail. Russia today is an example of what happens when there is not sufficient moral character in a people to sustain liberty. Democracy is a perilous venture when there is lacking a citizen- ship incapable of living up to its ideals. Opinion in a democracy is not a drawing-room affair; it must be the atmosphere of the market-place. It is the function of the plain man as well as the scholar. Ability to think is a universal requisite. The demagogue is always at hand and he is successful only because his appeal is made to ignorance, which, not having the knowledge or the grasp of ideals necessary to form a critical judgment of his doctrine, follows him blindly. Likewise abuses creep in and sap the vitality of public life, because the people have not been made sensitive to their existence. The moral sanctions of democracy are dependent upon two elements, intelligent leadership and intelligent following. There are born leaders, men of great mentality and tremendous energy, who direct the course of events and make the history of a whole generation. Yet within certain bounds and in a certain way, every man is at some time or other a leader. It may be only his own family that he dominates, or his social group, but he is none the less a leader and others look to him for guidance. Here again judgment, ideals, character come into play. The leader must know whither he is bound; others must know whether or not to follow him and how far. The two functions are mutually protec- tive. The follower must be unto the leader a directive force, not hampering him or neutralizing his ability, but preserving him from the perils of leadership, from pride, self-interest and irresponsi- bility. For human genius like a torrent needs to be guided con- stantly, lest it destroy where it was destined to create. The leader must be unto his followers a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead them safely on and help them to avoid the perils and 86 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School quagmires that beset their path. In a democracy, the people as well as their leaders should be masters of the fundamental ideas that rule their common social and political destiny.^^^ It is these facts and considerations that inspire the current philosophy of elementary education. The function of elementary education in America is to prepare children for life in a democratic society, to make them conscious of their mutual interests, for such consciousness is the basis of social control. In the second place, this sense of solidarity must express itself in cooperation for the common good. In order to achieve these ends the school must represent, in epitomized form, the environment in which the child is to live. It should not be content with constituting a mere segment of life where certain mechanical formulae are mastered, but it should reflect the whole of life. In it the child prepares for life by active participation in the process of living. But the school, in developing its curriculum according to the above principle, must not forget the child's point of view. The curriculum must respect the mind of the child. The world of the child is narrow and its contacts personal. "Things hardly come within his experience unless they touch intimately and obviously his own well-being or that of his family and friends. His world is a world of persons with their personal interests, rather than a realm of facts and laws."^^^ The course of study is intended to enlarge this world, to push its frontiers further and further back, to break down the barriers of time and space and introduce the child step by step into the fulness of human experience. Again the child's life is characterized by its unity. All things are viewed in relation to his present personal interests. He does not analyze and classify and divide life up into categories. "Whatever is uppermost in his mind constitutes to him, for the time being, his whole universe." In the school, on the other hand, experience is analyzed and classified. It is reduced to logical form for the sake of economy and because experience can never rightly function unless it is organized. Now there is danger that the adult point of view dominate the curriculum, with the result that the nature and needs of the child mind will be lost sight of. The adult possesses powers of abstrac- ^53 Aronovici, Carol, " Organized Leisure as a Factor in Conservation. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. XXIV, No. 4, p. 382. 1" Dewey, John, The Child and the Curriculum, Chicago, 1902, p. 8. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 87 tion that are outside the range of the child mind. He deHghts in scientific classification that is the fruit of knowledge already mas- tered. He has reduced life to a series of formulae. Now the at- tempt to transmit knowledge to children in this final form is futile. Because it does not appeal to present needs it fails to awaken in- terest; there is no motivation save outside pressure and no stimula- tion to spontaneous activity. The result is waste of time and un- economical learning. Thought is not stimulated, because not problems but adult solutions of problems are presented. Prodig- ious demands are made on the memory, and mere symbols, whose meaning is not understood, are carried along in an unassimilated state. Time and effort are wasted drilling on matter that should be developed, and, as a consequence, thorough drill on form subjects is neglected. It is a mistake to try to impose ready-made knowledge upon children. Organization is necessary, but it should be functional. That is to say, it should come at the end of the process as a kind of summing up, and not be imposed before- hand. In a word this means that the curriculum must respect the laws of child psychology and adapt its material to the mind of the child. The truths of life should be presented in germinal form, to develop as time goes on, gathering more and more detail and taking on exact formulation. In this manner they will become functional, creating permanent interests that will perdure even when school days are over.^^^ Whatever administration may finally decree as to the length of the period of elementary education, whether it shall be six or eight years, it is emphatically not the time for specialization. Early spe- cialization turns the mind aside in the direction of one particular set of interests and blinds it as a consequence to other interests. It de- stroys mental perspective. It is the basis of class distinction and brings about the condition fostered by the German Volkschule. It predestines certain individuals to a definite vocation, long before they are so far developed as to be able to make their own intelligent choice. It makes the child a victim of circumstance, for i*", in the course of time, the occupation for which he has been trained ceases to exist, he has not whereunto to turn his hand. The time for special- ization is the advent of adolescence, when the things of childhood are being put away, when interest begins to shift from phenomena to general truths and relations seem more important than facts. It is ^^ Shields, Thomas E., Teachers* Manual of Primary Methods, Washington, 1912. p. 87. 88 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School then that individual differences, perhaps more or less clearly fore- shadowed in the past, become pronounced. But before this time, the objective should be general growth and development and the imparting of that fundamental information concerning God and man and the world which will later form the basis of mature judg- ment and reasoning, and which must be the heritage of every citizen of the United States, whether he be laborer or statesman, merchant or savant, soldier or man of peace. ^^® The above-outlined theory of elementary education meets with the condemnation of a surprisingly large number of thinking men. They maintain that the function of the elementary school is to train children in the use of the tools of education. The mind of the child is incapable of the thought required in the modern scheme, though it is particularly well fitted, because of its plasticity, for the habit formation required by training in the three R's. If the school renders them skilful in the manipula- tion of these, it has done its utmost. The following opinion sums up this point of view. "I would say to elementary teachers: Give me a boy at the age of eleven or twelve who writes a good legible hand, who spells correctly, reads with expression, has an accurate knowledge of the Baltimore Catechism and of Bible History, who can do rapid and accurate work in the funda- mental operations of arithmetic, who knows fractions and per- centage, who can write a short letter in simple and plain English, whose habits of speech are correct and not slangy, whose manners, if not gentle, show at least some thought of others beside himself, and whose life is virtuous, and I will say that this boy has received a good elementary education. With these results we need not care how much or how little information he has acquired, nor need we inquire about methods, nor ask how much the teacher knows about psychology. "^^^ But schooling of this sort does not constitute preparation for life, unless we are willing to admit that a child is adequately prepared for life, once he has mastered the school elements. Nor can it be argued that, given skill in the use of the tools of education, the rest, the development and further knowledge, can be acquired in the high school. We need only refer to the studies in school elimination made by Thorndyke, Ayres and Strayer, the findings ^** National Educational Association, Report of Committee of Fifteen, p. 73. ^^' Howard, Francis W., "The Problem of the Curriculum." Catholic Educational Association, Report of the Proceedings and Addresses of the Tenth Annual Meeting, 1913, p. 144. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 89 of which are commonplaces in educational circles today, and which bear out a condition that had been universally noted long before. Professor Thorndyke, of Columbia University, was the first to make a study of this question according to modern statistical methods. ^^® This was in 1907. The discussion evoked by this study resulted in a number of other contributions, the most important of which is that published in 1909 by Dr. Leonard P. Ayres,^^^ and that published in 1911 by Professor Strayer of Columbia University. ^^'^ These investigations, though they differed in method of computation, reached approximately the same con- clusion. Of 100 children who enter the first grade of the public schools, practically all reach the end of the fifth grade. But from the end of the fifth grade to the beginning of the first year of high school, from 60 to 67 per cent drop by the wayside, and only from 17 to :25 per cent of the original 100 reach the second year of the high school. Even if we allow for all possible inaccuracies in the computation, we are forced to admit that the percentage of mortality is appalling. No study of this condition has been made in the Catholic system, but if it were, we w^ould expect the average to be even higher, for the reason that our Catholic pupils are largely drawn from the poorer classes and their parents are not always as appreciative of the needs of higher education as we would care to have them. Moreover, we have yet to develop a complete and universal high school system and, pending its advent, we have only our private academies, which are generally conducted on a tuition basis, and the public high schools, attendance at which we do not always encourage. Consequently, all of the education that the great majority of our Catholic children receive is received in the elementary school. ^*^^ It may be argued that for those children who leave school early, life is the great university wherein, with the aid of the tools they have acquired, they may complete their own education. »" Thorndyke, Edward L., "The Elimination of Pupils from SchGoL** United States Bureau of Education Publication, 1907, No. 4. *'' Ayres, Leonard P.. Laggards in our Schools. New York, 1909. 2°" Strayer, George Drayton, "Age and Grade Census of Schools and Colleges." United States Bureau of Education Publication, 1911, No. 5. ^"^ McCormick, Patrick J., "Retardation and Elimination of Pupils in our Schools." Catholic Educational .Association, Report of the Proceedings and Addresses of the Eighth Annual Meeting, 1911, Vol. V'lII, No. 1, p. 326. Dr. McCormick shows how in one diocesan system where the total enrollment is 62,000, there are 92 per cent more children in the first than in the eighth grade. In another system, the number of children in the eighth grade is 8 per cent of the number in the first grade. 90 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School There is the daily contact with life, to be supplemented by books and newspapers. Great public libraries in every city are open to all; lectures are given everywhere and the pulpit is always a force in Catholic life. Yet as a matter of fact do these agencies benefit the masses of of the people? Interest, if it is to thrive, must first be created. The avidity with which the vulgar and salacious in literature is siezed upon, the wide vogue of the yellow press, the empty seats at lectures that are worth while, give us a clue to the interests of the people. Vulgarity is close to the physical inheritance of man; it appeals to instinctive interests, and will operate infallibly unless the lower man has been transformed by the educative process and higher interests have been built up. Moreover, suggestion plays a strong roll in the lives of those who lack the necessary knowledge and habits to withstand it. We see this in the political world where people accept unquestioningly the word of the politician or the demagogue and become now dumb, driven cattle, now the angry mob. Our Catholic people are not going to be made strong against all the evil influences that are rampant today merely by being taught how to read and write and become expert in the manipulation of fractions. We subjoin the opinion of three prominent and authoritative educators on this question. Paul H. Hanus, of Harvard University, says: "Eight or nine years spent on the school arts, together with book geography and a little United States history, have left the pupil at fourteen years of age without permanent interest in nature or human institutions and human achievements, whether in the field of literature, science and art, or in the industrial, political and commercial life of his time, and, what is worse, without much inclination to acquire such interest by further study. "202 John Dewey, of Columbia University, says: "The notion that the * essentials' of elementary education are the three R's, me- chanically treated, is based upon ignorance of the essentials needed for realization of democratic ideals. Unconsciously it assumes that these ideals are unrealizable; it assumes that in the future as in the past, getting a livelihood, * making a living,' must signify for most men and women doing things which are not significant, freely chosen, and ennobling to those who do them; doing things which serve ends unrecognized by those engaged in them, carried on under the direction of others for the sake of pecuniary reward. 202 Hanus, Paul H., The Modern School, p. 6. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 91 For preparation of large numbers for a life of this sort, and only for this purpose, are mechanical efficiency in reading, writing, spelling and figuring, together with the attainm^ent of a certain amount of muscular dexterity, * essentials.' Such conditions also infect the education called liberal with illiberality. They imply a somewhat parasitic cultivation bought at the expense of not having the enlightenment and discipline which come from concern with the deepest problems of common humanity. A curriculum which acknowledges the social responsibilities of educa- tion must present situations where problems are relevant to the problems of living together, and where observation and informa- tion are calculated to develop social insight and interest. "2<^'' In his recent work, "Catholic Education," Rev. Dr. J. A. Burns, C.S.C, has the following to say on the question: "Many Catholics believe that if more time were devoted in school to the old formal studies, our youth would have a better chance of secur- ing good positions in the business world after they leave school. Such arguments are plausible. They appeal to the practical instinct. Nevertheless, adjustment to one's environment in this narrow utilitarian sense can never wisely be made the dominating principle in any general scheme of education. The reason is simple. Education must aim to develop and train the whole child — all his faculties or powers, all his emotions, senses, capacities. If we accept this view of the function of education, it would seem that the new or * real studies ' are essentially required in the cur- riculum, inasmuch as they are calculated to develop powers that are practically left untouched by the older studies. In elementary education especially, the principle of direct utility must be applied with caution. Superficial results naturally show themselves quickly. A boy who can figure, write and spell better than another may not be nearly so well educated as the latter, and in the long run may fall far behind him in the race of life. The product of the modern educational process may be, as it is claimed, lacking in accuracy, definiteness and precision; but this, if it be true, must result rather from the method than from the subject-matter made use of. Surely, the study of the sciences and drawing must tend to beget habits of accuracy, definiteness and precision not less than does the study of reading, writing, spelling and arithmetic. "2<*^ 203 Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 236. '0* Burns, J. A., Catholic Education, A Study of Conditions, New York, 1917. p. 77. CHAPTER VI THE CURRICULUM OF THE CATHOLiC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SUBJECT- MATTER The aim of Catholic education has been clearly and comprehen- sively stated by Dr. Shields in the following diefinition. **The unchanging aim of Christian education is, and always has been, to put the pupil in possession of a body of truth derived from nature and from divine revelation, from the concrete work of man's hand, and from the content of human speech, in order to bring his conduct into conformity with Christian ideals and the standards of the civilization of his day."^^^ This definition sums up all that we have been discussing in the foregoing pages. It implies an education that will answer all the needs of the child, physical, intellectual, social, moral and religious. It heeds the right claims of society on one hand, and the claims of the individual on the other. It indicates the proper balance between the utilitarian and the cul- tural. Moreover, it gives a clue to the sources and proper division of the subject-matter that is necessary for the accomplishing of the end. First of all there must be knowledge of the truth; secondly there must be conduct in conformity with truth. Sound pedagogy requires that impression be completed by expression, that the mind react to the stimulus of information. The stimulus is such know- ledge as is essential to the right understanding of life and all its fundamental relations; the response is the activity that is necessary if the truth is to be assimilated, if it is to become part and parcel of the pupil's being and express itself in his daily life. First of all as to the truth which is to be acquired. We are to bear in mind that the child has been placed in this world that he may journey back to God. Therefore before and above all things else, he must learn to know God. Now the chief source of such knowledge is God's Revealed Word. In His loving Providence, God has come to the assistance of man's weakness and has enlight- ened his darkness by showing him the secret hidden from the ages. Human reason unaided may come to some shadowy and imperfect idea of God. But the instability and shadowy character of this idea is a commonplace of human experience. It proves the thesis of Catholic Theology on the necessity of Divine Revelation. ^^^ Shields, Thomas E., Philosophy of Education, p. 171. 92 Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 93 Moreover, without an adequate knowledge of God man can at best have a faulty and incomplete knowledge of all things besides. Revealed Truth serves to illuminate acquired truth, shows all things in their right perspective, solves problems that thwart the powers of reason, in a word, makes clear the whole meaning and aim of human life. Consequently any educational system that leaves out Revealed Religion defeats its own purposes. Christ is the Light of the world and it is only in His Light that we can see the Light. He is the manifestation of Eternal Wisdom. He comes from the Father to show men how to live; He reveals the only workable philosophy of life. The first duty of the school is to teach the child to know Jesus Christ and His Mission here upon earth. Says Cardinal Newman: '* Religious Truth is not only a portion but a condition of general knowledge. To blot it out is — according to the Greek proverb — to take the Spring from out of the year; it is to imitate the preposterous proceeding of those tragedians who repre- sented a drama with the omission of its principal part."^^® But Divine Revelation, while the principal, is not the sole source of the knowledge of God. It does not destroy reason nor render its functions superfluous. The supernatural does not dispense with the natural. Grace and nature go hand in hand, the former sanctifying the latter, raising it to higher levels, sup- plying it with nobler and more effective motives. The sanctifying grace which comes to us at baptism must function through our natural powers if it is to function at all, and it demands their development. Human intelligence must grasp the doctrines of faith, human emotions must express their lessons of love, the human will must accept their law. The knowledge that is gleaned from natural sources is always necessary, would we reduce the Doctrine of Jesus Christ to practice. The first source of created knowledge is human nature itself. We remember the phrase of St. Augustine, ''Noverim me, noverim ley By searching the heart of man and pondering his deeds, we discover his dependence upon God and his relations with God in his daily life. The knowledge of man is derived from two great sources, one external, comprising the story of man's activities, the other internal, revealing the secrets of his heart. The external knowledge of man is sometimes called his Institutional inheri- *"• Newman, John Henry, The Idea of a University, p. 70. 94 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School tance.^"^ It includes all that man has discovered concerning life and the various ways in which he has utilized his discoveries. Under this head is included history. According to the principles of the genetic method which is used in the study of science, the best way to come to an understanding of any complex product is to study that product in the making. This principle is very much apropos when the complex product we are studying is man. The present is only rightly understood in the light of the past; to see only what is before one's eyes is to be purblind indeed. Contemporary civilization is not something casual, a kind of Mendelian ** sport"; it is the logical effect of past causes. We owe the institutions, the laws, the ideals that characterize our life in the present, to what men have thought and desired and achieved in the past. Now the value of history is that it gives a real knowledge of mankind. It reveals the solidarity of the human race and the permanence of certain deep and fundamental traits. Moreover, it inspires and consoles by relating the triumphs of true greatness. It has a religious value in that it shows how the Providence of God presides over human destiny and directs all things mightily but sweetly. Its practical value comes from the light it throws on things civic and political. It reveals the evolution of forms of government that are better and better adapted to safeguard liberty and the welfare of the governed. ^^^ It demonstrates the peril that lurks in certain types of human perfidy or certain forms of human association. It teaches valuable lessons for industrial life by telling the story of man's struggles to make a living in the past. It fosters hope and vision for the future, because if it is valid history, it reveals the true secret of human progress. It has a direct bearing on morals, provided of course that its ethical implications are developed. In a word, it introduces man to an environment that transcends time and space and makes him heir to the experience of the race.^^^ Of course, history to accomplish all of this must include more than the story of the rise and fall of nations and the wars that they have waged. Political history has its place, but it must be supple- mented by social and industrial history. Bible history and the his- tory of the Church must likewise be included, for without them all 20^ Butler, Nicholas Murray, The Meaning of Education, p. 25. 208 National Educational Association, Report of Committee of Fifteen, p. 65. 209 Willmann, Otto, Didalctik Band ii p. 156. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 95 other history is meaningless, for these furnish the norm of inter- pretation. The knowledge of the past must be borne out by the knowledge of the present. The institutions that safeguard human society today, should be studied by all, the Church, the Home, the Com- munity, the State, the n'ature of industrial organization, the methods of modern industry and business. This should be supple- mented by a study of the social ideals that should dominate the life of a Catholic in the modern world that there may be some train- ing in the great task of applying Christian principles to the needs of daily life. The internal source of the knowledge of man is the record of the human heart. Man is a creature of emotions as well as of intellect and will, and the emotions play an eminent role in human life. History records the deeds of man, literature reveals his feel- ings. It discloses the inmost sanctum of his heart whither he has ever turned to escape the cruelty of the real and find the solace of the ideal. A knowledge of literature is of paramount importance. Without it there is no real understanding of either the past or the present, no matter how detailed one's information may be in other respects. Great deeds have been accomplished because great emotions have been the driving force. Literature gives us a vision of these emotions; it adds a personal touch to the scenes of history. Literature is essentially a matter of ideals. It gathers together the true, the beautiful and the good elements in human life and presents them in concentrated form to inspire and strengthen us when the press of hard reality bids fair to dishearten and defeat. It makes us heir to the best that is in human nature, affords us opportunity for vicarious experience and awakens that imaginative sympathy which is at the basis of genuine love. The fine arts likewise serve to reveal the heart of man. There is a thirst for beauty in every human soul, and the expression of beauty in human handiwork is always of deep and permanent interest. Music, painting and the plastic arts all have their place ii a true plan of education. Their value is unsurpassed for purifying the heart from all the dross of workaday life and making it hungry for the things that are above. Closely allied are the practical arts. Historically speaking, the fine arts developed out of the practical, and though the end of the latter is utility and of the former beauty, both have this in common that they are tools of 96 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School expression and call for the coordination of thought and muscular skill. One is man's reaction to the physical needs of life; the other is the out-pouring of his soul in answer to the needs of the spirit.210 The second source of created knowledge is physical nature. The world in which we live must always challenge the powers of the human mind and be a source of permanent interest. First of all it is a mirror of divine perfection and serves by its grandeur, its beauty and design to give us a fuller knowledge of Him Who created it. But it is likewise the physical condition of our daily living. It is the basis of most of our institutions and the source of most of our temporal problems. The knowledge of nature possessed by the ancients was meagre and enveloped in superstition. But in these latter days science has risen like a mighty sun to dispel this darkness. The knowledge of nature and the operation of her laws that mankind possesses today is of prodigious importance. By means of it the physical world has been explored and subdued to the call of human needs. To fail to give at least the beginnings of this knowledge to the growing child would be to deprive him of an essential portion of his inheritance. He should be made acquainted with the earth as the scene of his pilgrimage, the con- dition and source of the supplying of his physical needs. He should possess that more intimate knowledge of nature which is sometimes called elementary science, but which should be in reality an observation and study of certain fundamental things in nature that affect every human being, and not a verbal knowledge of fragments of nature lore that by process of abstraction and classifi- cation have been divorced from reality and are meaningless to the average child.^^^ But over and above a knowledge of nature, science should give the child some notion of scientific method and procedure. Science is knowledge that has been acquired by dint of certain methods of observation, reflection and verification. The child should know something of these methods and their function. The result will be a scientific attitude which, rather than logical classification of facts, is the starting-point of scientific knowledge. It will con- tribute largely toward that critical habit of mind which avoids hasty conclusions and withholds final judgment until all the evidence is at hand. 210 Dewey, John, Democracy and Education, p. 235. 2" Ibid p. 248. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 97 But in order to acquire an adequate knowledge of God, of man, and of nature, the child must be equipped with the so-called tools of learning. Knowledge comes to us in some part by word of mouth, as in the primitive days; but the chief mode of transmission is the written record. Ever since the day that man discovered the process of making permanent records, the necessity of learning to read and write has been the condition of learning. In the same manner, man's conquest of the physical universe has given rise to the science of number. Without skill in the three R's, knowledge is a sealed book. Now this skill is sometimes considered the principal objective of elementary education. We have already criticized this theory and it will not be necessary to repeat the argu- ments here. Suffice it to say that mere formal education of this type is barren and fails to fulfil the real mission of the school. But on the other hand sufficient training in the elements is absolutely indispensable. The question is how shall the school solve the problem of giving the required content and at the same time de- veloping skill in the formal subjects? The answer is that form can be best given in conjunction with content. 2^2 The modern context method of teaching reading demonstrates this, for it overcomes the old fault of word reading and failure to glean thought from the printed page and at the same time gives adequate training in the arts of spoken and written speech, 2^3 'p^g f^j-g^ ideas of number are best given concretely, for thus the thought element back of number processes is developed, the imagination comes into play and the whole process is not reduced to the condition of a memory load.^^^ But it must always be borne in mind that drill is necessary in the fundamental elements. Whatever is to function automatically in the child's life should be made automatic as soon as possible. Sins are committeed in the name of content when too much time is spent developing material the full meaning of which cannot be ''' Dorpfeld, F. \V., Grundlinien einer Theorie des Lehrplans, zundchst de* Volks-und Mitileschxde. p. Si. Gutersloh, 1873. 2'» Shields, Thomas E., Primary Heading, p. 231. See also Huey, Edmund Burke, The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. New York, 1913. Meu- mann, Ernst, Vorlesungungen zur Einfiihrung in die Experimentelle Pedagogik und ihre Psychologischen Grundlagen. Leipsig, 1914, Band III, Das Lesen. 2" McLellan, James A., and Dewey John, The Psychology of Number, p, 61. New York, 1895. Klapper, Paul, The Teaching of Arithmetic. New York, 1916, p. 136. Smith, David Eugene, The Teaching of Elementary Mafhe- matics, p. 99. New York, 1908. Meumann, Ernst, op cit , Band III, Daa Rechnen. 98 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School grasped by the child at his present mental stage, but which is nevertheless needed as a tool of further learning. But in the main, the right procedure is from content to form. The content side of elementary education should then include knowledge of God, of man and of nature, or as some prefer to put it, man's Religious, Humanistic, broadly interpreted, Scientific and Industrial Inheritance. The question arises, how much of this inheritance is to be transmitted in the elementary school.^ The answer is given in part by child psychology. The child mind is interested in facts and phenomenon ; fundamental laws and general causes, the fruit of abstraction, are as yet outside its province. Toward these it moves gradually as the educational process ad- vances. Subjects like algebra, geometry, physics, that are highly abstract, do not seem to belong to the elementary curriculum. The same is true of foreign languages; the demands of the mother tongue are sufficiently exacting to consume all the available time. The curriculum should not contain all the subjects worth knowing, but rather those things which must be known by all as a minimum equipment for Christian life in a democratic society, not every- thing which can be crammed into a child's memory, but those things which will develop necessary interests.^^^ Elementary education is not a fragmentary affair, but it is a vital, functional process whereby are planted the seeds of that knowledge and fostered the beginnings of those interests which are to be developed in later life, whether there be higher schooling or not. In this scheme of education, the high school, the college and the university will not offer anything that has not already been treated germi- nally in the lower schools.^^^ This problem can be solved with greater definiteness if we con- sider it from the standpoint of the child's reaction to subject- matter. It is not such a difficult matter to determine just what the school ought to do for the child by way of developing a certain efficiency for life. Once we have determined what differences in conduct are essential, we have a basis for selecting those elements 2^^ Shields, Thomas E., The Psychology of Education, Correspondence Course, p. 32. 216 Compayre, Jules Gabriel, Organisation Pedagogique et Legislation des Ecolcs Primaires, p. 9. Paris, 1892. In the Catholic Education Series of School Readers, published by Dr. Shields, Professor of Education at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C, the subject-matter is developed on a basis of the study of nature, of man and of God, and adapted to the instinctive inheritance of the child. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 99 in the Religious, Humanistic, Scientific and Industrial Inheritance which should be included in the elementary curriculum. According to Dr. Shields' definition, the child is to be put in possession of a body of truth which should tend to bring his con- duct in conformity with Christian ideals and the standards of the civilization of his day. This constitutes the reaction, or expres- sion side of subject-matter. The study of animal psychology in recent years has given rise to a new school of psychologists, the Behaviorists, who, discarding the traditional methods of intro- spection, claim that the mind can be studied scientifically only by observing its reactions.^^^ They refuse to admit any diflFerence save one of degree between human and animal intelligence and claim the right to use the same methods in studying both. Now while Behaviorism in its extreme form is obviously false, it has none the less borne some good fruit in directing the attention of psychologists to the reaction element in mental processes which serves as a good means of supplementing and checking up the findings of introspection. Of course, psychology has long ap- preciated the significance of the sensory-motor arc and the principle *'no impression without expression," is a commonplace. A stimu- lus always occasions a response and this is true in the higher pro- cesses as well as in the lower. In lower processes the response is motor, but there are inner responses as well, such as reflection and inner choice which are examples of the operation of the prin- ciple as well as the former.^^^ The study of responses is of the utmost importance for education since they condition learning. The theory that the learning mind is passive, a tabula rasa upon which knowledge is inscribed, has gone by the board with a more complete knowledge of the mental processes. Froebel insisted on the function of self-activity and expression in education, though his arguments were for the most part mystical rather than scientific. Later Froebelians, like John Dewey, with a fuller knowledge of psychology, have adopted the principle on scientific grounds. Today educators are agreed that learning is an active process, that information like any other stimulus must occasion certain responses, and that it only becomes real knowledge and has permanent value when the mind reacts to it in the proper way. Any theory of "^ Watson, John B., Behavior, an Introduction to Comparative Psychology, New York. 1914. Chap. I. "• Freeman, Frank N., How Children Learn, pp. 4. 5. 100 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School education, such as pansophism, which considers only the infor- mation side of subject-matter, is faulty. '*Mere accumulation of bulk information does not make a mind, just as mere piling up of grains of sand does not make a world. "^^^ Now the reactions of the mind to subject-matter may be summed up in the word conduct. The word has an ethical significance and is thereby differentiated from behavior, which is action of a deter- minate and unreasoned quality. Conduct implies reflection and free choice. It is at one time the means and the end of education. It is the aim of education to develop a character capable of noble conduct; on the other hand the educative process depends essen- tially upon conduct for its proper functioning. Conduct may be the manifestation of responses that are native or instinctive, or of responses that are the result of experience. Education must recognize native responses. They are the learner's capital and to neglect them is to sin against the first canon of good pedagogy, adaptation. Some native responses are not socially desirable. These must be inhibited, transformed, substituted, but they cannot be disregarded. ^^^ Acquired responses are the habits, skills, knowledge and appreciations built up in the course of experience. Once acquired they are with difficulty changed or rooted out. Hence the importance of proper selection at the beginning and of watchful care in development. Acquired responses may for convenience sake be classified under three heads: (a) Knowledge; (6) Habits and Skills; (c) Attitudes, Interests and Ideals. The first includes those elements in con- duct which are intellectual; the second, all those responses that are to be mechanized; the third, those which are predominantly emotional. Pervading them all is the influence of the will, which is conditioned in its power of choice by their strength and quality. First of all, knowledge is to be distinguished from mere informa- tion. Only too much education is of a purely informational type. We pick up a course of study and find page upon page of material that is supposed to be taught to children. We observe the work of the classroom and we discover the children '* listening" the while the teacher "tells" them the things that the course calls for. We look in vain for the motivation, the judgment of relative values, the ability to organize, the initiative and the application of the ^^' Hart, Joseph Kinmont, Democracy in Education, p. 253. ^2° Thorndyke, Edward L., Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 11. Discussion of Psychological and SocUtl FoUi1^idoM/.^X.\\ information, on the part of the children, which are evidences that learning is going on.221 Instead of interest, there is forced at- tention; memory takes the place of thought. The subject-matter lodges in the mind of the child like so much unassimilated food. But information, if it is to become knowledge, must be taken into the mind, worked over and made a real functioning element in mental content. Response, not of memory alone, but of judgment and reason is demanded. There must be consciousness on the part of the pupil that the matter under discussion concerns him vitally, that there is a real problem to be solved which demands thought and initiative on his part. The child's first real knowledge comes through activity, viz., play. Whatever may be the ultimate decision of child psychology concerning the nature of play, its educational significance needs no further demonstration. The child gets his first knowledge of his environment from his play; incidentally his powers are developed. Of course this knowledge is very elementary and immediate and consequently play has its limitations. Yet its function should not be lost sight of in the critical days when the child turns to books for a knowledge of things that are remote in space and time. Play is a necessary element in the curriculum of the early grades, though it can be made good use of all along the way. Dramatization may do as much for a history lesson in the seventh grade as it does for reading in the first. Because play and work are but two phases of the same activity, the play element enters largely into manual training and industrial arts. It fosters emulation and lends an unselfish color to competition. It affords motivation for drill work and stimulates group study and group spirit.^ There should be room for other forms of intellectual expression as well. Composition, oral description, observation, verification from extra text-book sources, discussion — all should be encouraged, for they all are means of securing that response to information, that play of judgment and reason, which alone are worthy to be called knowledge. Besides the response to subject-matter which we have called knowledge, the elementary curriculum should foster those responses which are known as habits and skills. The function of habit in "^ McMurry, Frank M., Elementary School Standards. New York, 1916, p. 5. ^^ Freeman, Frank N., How Children Learn, p. 56. I(^ T^ C^^triaulum of the Catholic Elementary School human life is one of economy. There are a great number of adjustments that the individual has to make continually, day in and day out, to stimuli that are ever recurring. He would be able to get nowhere at all with the ordinary business of living, if each time such stimuli recurred he would have to pause and con- sider how he might best react to them. As a consequence, he gets them out of the focus of consciousness and renders his response to them automatic by the process of habit-formation. Now habits may range all the way from purely sensor-motor reac- tion to reactions that include a large conceptual and emotional content. The ordinary school arts, implying as they do a large measure of sensori-motor activity, and over and above this very little more than a perceptual element, are better termed skills than habits. Here are included the language skills, correct speech, fluent oral reading, rapid, legible writing, accuracy and speed in the fundamental arithmetical processes, and the skills that are essential in music, drawing and the manual arts. These reactions are to be made thoroughly automatic and mechanical at the earliest possible moment. ^^^ What we have said above about teaching form through content, should not be construed to mean that skill in the school arts is to be acquired incidentally. The starting point should be content, and content should furnish the motivation for the mechanizing process, but this does not prevent the focalizing of form for purposes of drill. The context method in reading does not preclude drill in spelling and phonics; it only maintains that the process of learning to read should begin with the thought as expressed in the word or sentence. This beginning must be followed out by a study of the elements that constitute the word or sentence. Drill on these is necessary, but it is secon- dary and should not constitute the first step in the process. Habits are higher skills and include an intellectual element. They represent the mechanizing of an adjustment that is based on a judgment. Though complex and including elements of the higher thought process, they are none the less truly habits, for they represent a definite response to a definite stimulus which, by dint of repetition, has become unconscious. There are habits of right thinking, correct judgment, truth, honor and appreciation. There are habits of executive competence in adjusting means to ends. Social habits there are, regulating one's intercourse at home and 223 Bagley, William C, Educational Values, p. 137. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 103 abroad. The affections likewise need to be leashed to the good and noble by habit's bond. Habits of valuation should be built up to safeguard the individual against the appeal of the mean and sordid. Habits of methodical procedure in study will be of the greatest utiHty in the life of any individual. It is particularly at the present time that insistence on habit- formation is in order. We are living in a period of change, a period that is swayed by opinion much as was the age of the Sophists in ancient Greece. A new order is in process of becoming, and there is a tendency abroad to be impatient with things static and to crave for the dynamic. We are liable to forget that there must be something permanent in all motion. A recent writer is only voicing the spirit of the age when he says, '*The child should be taught not to conform, but to experiment. *'224 But our zeal to foster power of independent thought should not blind us to the fact that many a problem has been definitely settled in the past and that any solution we may hope to find will only serve to corroborate accepted conclusions. While it is important that children be taught to think, it is quite as im- portant that they be taught to obey. If the experience of the past has discovered that there are certain correct ways of doing things, it is idle waste of time to set children at work discovering these things anew. Credo ut intelligam, said St. Augiietine, and the maxim applies well in the present connection. After all, habits are not the absolute and irrefragable things that some modern thinkers would have us believe. They do not absolutely predestine us to one type of action. They may incline the indi- vidual toward one alternative rather than another, but they leave the will free. They simply make it easier for us to do a certain thing that we have to do frequently. A man need not necessarily become a slave of his habits. Strong and well-formed habits do not destroy initiative and originality; rather they save initiative from becoming vain wilfulness and originality from dwindling into mere queerness. To the habit reactions belongs memory. The function of memory in life is one of conservation; through its medium, expe- rience, racial as well as personal, is made to function in daily life. Important events in our own lives are recalled without great effort, "< Coe, George Albert, A Social Theory of Religious Education. New York, 1917, p. 32. 104 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School but to recall things that we have learned, that do not come into our own personal history, requires studied effort. Definite asso- ciations must be formed that will enable us to hold our knowledge in readiness for use. In other words these associations must be made automatic and habitual. Possibly no single mental power has met with greater abuse in the schools than memory. This abuse has come from two sources. There are those who regard the **training of the memory" as the main concern of education and insist upon storing the mind with all sorts of detail and demanding memorization in every branch. They underrate the higher thought processes and consider a thing known because it can be verbally reproduced. Over and against the devotees of this practice are aligned such as despise memory entirely and claim that if a subject is understood, it will be remembered. Manifestly, both are wrong. While crimes have been com- mitted in its name, memorizing is none the less necessary in the process of learning. Merely to understand something does not insure its retention. A thing must be forgotten a number of times before it will be remembered. But on the other hand, rote memory has its very obvious limitations; it is a low form of habit-formation and its function is always a ministering one. It lacks sureness and is subject to the uncertain conditions of the physiological concomi- tants of mental activity. Logical memory is more lasting and more educative. There should be an understanding of the matter before it is committed to memory for thus definite associations will be formed that will make for efficient recall. Subjects like religion, history, geography, etc., that are predominantly of a content nature, should not be blindly conned by rote, but should be so developed as to be adequately understood. After such development comes organization and then comes the role of mem- ory to fix the chief points of the organized knowledge. When memory is utilized in this manner it will fulfill its appointed task. If it is simply loaded down w^ith verbal knowledge it becomes a hindrance to effective thinking and fails to contribute to proper character-formation . The emotional responses may be listed as attitudes, interests and ideals. Attitudes are sometimes classed with habits, for they are habits of feeling, but for the sake of emphasis, we prefer to consider them from the point of view of their emotional content Discussion of Psychological and ^Social Foundations 105 rather than in their character of mechanized reactions Attitudes are personal; they are born of the pleasure or displeasure which an object, situation or event produces in the individual mind. This in turn is the result of past experience. If in the life of an individual a th^ng has always been associated with the unpleasant, his atti- tude toward it is bound to be unfavorable; if on the other hand, it has always been attended with happy results, he will come to look upon it with favor. The school must aid the child in developing proper attitudes. It is vain, for example, to teach the child many things about the duties of a citizen, unless the child is at the same time brought to feel the necessity of maintaining the ideals of good citizenship. A child may be able to pass a very creditable examination on the nature of Christian virtue, but unless he comes to feel in his own inmost soul the value of Christian virtue, his knowledge will prove empty indeed. In other words, the school must cultivate a sense of values. This it can do by making explicit the good that flows from nobility of conduct, the evil that results from wrong- doing, the bitterness that is the wages of sin. Attitudes should likewise be cultivated toward science, literature, art and industry. The child should be taught to appreciate the role of scientific achievement in daily life, the canons that govern things literary and artistic, the necessity of social cooperation, the dignity of labor and its social value. Above all he should come to feel most strongly, the importance of religion and the futility of life without its inspiring influence. Closely bound up with attitudes are interests. On the one hand interest is a necessary condition for real learning. It makes po sible the avoidance of that division of attention and energy which are the result of forced attention. ^^^ On the other hand, interest is the end of education, in the sense that the school must develop permanent interests, needs or desires that will last through life. A man's life is governed largely by ^* A task need not be easy because it is interesting. The effort put forth by the inventor is none the less strenuous because it is compelled by absorbing interest. In the school a task may be extremely difficult and may require the help of forced attention to be properly inaugurated. But once begun, real interest, intrinsic and not borrowed from external sources, should be aroused, and then no matter what the difficulty of the subject or the effort required, the child will find the task pleasant. The reason is that there is a personal motive; the child feels that the things he is doing answer bis own personal needs. 106 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School the things that he wants, and the school must bring him to want things that are healthy and worth while. By means of interest he should be brought to hunger for those things in life which will best contribute to his own happiness and the welfare of those with whom he must live.^^e The third type of emotional reaction we shall consider is the ideal. It is not a simple matter to define an ideal. It contains a cognitive element; it is the condensation or summing up of experience; it is a kind of generalization of what the race artd the individual have found to be noble, true and conducive to the best interests of humanity. An ideal once grasped and understood colors the entire mental outlook. It enters into every judgment and dictates every course of action. But an ideal is more than just a principle consciously held and adhered to. Its distinguishing characteristic is its emotional content. Ideals function powerfully in men's lives because they are felt. A man may assent to an intellectual proposition and at the same time disregard it in his active life. But when the pro- position gathers unto it a large element of feeling it becomes a source of power and motive. It becomes personal, permeates all thinking, judging and acting. Precisely on this account ideals are the dominant things in life. They rule the destinies of nations as well as individuals. Very much depends on their quality and effectiveness, for a man will be no better than the ideals he cherishes. Because ideals are predominantly emotional they are not the fruit of mere preaching. They must grow out of personal exper- ience. Paraphrasing Thomas a Kempis, it is far better to feel the urge of an ideal than to be able to define one. Vain effort is expended in having children write lofty themes on such subjects as honor, justice and patriotism, unless they have first come to feel within themselves the meaning and greatness of these concepts. *'Art, literature, (including poetry, the drama and fiction), music and religion, are the great media for the transmission of ideals and as such fulfill an educative function far more fundamental than our didactic pedagogy has ever reahzed."^^^ We would amend this statement by placing religion in the first place as the mightiest instrument for the creation of ideals, from which all other media derive their virtue. Nor may we forget the necessity of a strong 226 Dewey, John, Interest and Effort in Education. Boston, 1913. 227 Bagley, William C, The Educative Process, p. 224. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 107 ideal equipment on the part of the teacher, which will render her sensitive to the ideal implications of subject-matter on the one hand, and on the other serve to compel the children to recognize her as a model, a living lesson in ideals, and to be fired as a con- sequence, to imitate and emulate her. Behind all of the cognitive and emotional elements of conduct is the will, the power of choice, the great directive force of human life. It is the ultimate basis of character. But the will is a **blind faculty;'* while it directs the intellect by focusing attention now here, now there, it in turn depends upon the intellect for light and it is influenced by the emotions. There are those who would train the will directly by means of effort, hard work, forced attention. But they forget that it is possible to develop a certain obstinacy of will, or wilfulness, that is not conducive to ethical conduct. The doctrine of the freedom of the will does not deny that there are conditions prerequisite to a free act. Catholic ethics lists ignorance and passion among the obstacles to a free human act. The mind must be brought captive to the True and the heart to the Good, that the will may not be impeded in its choice, but may enjoy that liberty which is its birthright. In the light of adequate knowledge as a basis of choice, and with the emotions disciplined and brought to heel, the will may be more effectively inured to the difficulty of choosing the right rather than the expe- dient, the dutiful rather than the comfortable, which will always demand effort on the part of fallen man.^^^ Yet, granted that the aim of Christian education is to transmit to the child knowledge of God, of man and of nature, and to foster the proper intellectual, habitual and emotional reactions to this knowledge, we still lack a definite norm for determining the limits of the elementary curriculum. Accordingly we turn to the external or social factors that control conduct in daily life. For conduct is not something isolated; it does not function in a vacuum. Character must reveal itself in the midst of real, tangible circum- stances. It remains for us then to consider the social controls of conduct, the terra '^social*' being here used in a broad sense as 22S Even with all due insistence on the acquisition of knowledge, the building up of habits and the development of attitudes, interests and ideals, there will be plenty of opportunity in the course of an ordinary school day, for training in obedience, which is, as we have seen, the very root of culture. And this train- ing will be the more effective for the fact that reason and ideals can be appealed , o and the appeal appreciated. 108 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School signifying those things which affect society and which society must take cognizance of. Conduct from this point of view may be termed social efficiency. In the first place, the child must become efficient in his religious life. The end of man is union with God, and Catholic Education would surely prove a sorry failure if it fitted him to gain the whole world, yet suffered him to lose his soul. Consequently of primary importance is that knowledge, those habits, attitudes, interest and ideals which constitute a man a good Catholic. The child must be trained to all the ordinary duties of Catholic living, such as attendance at Sunday Mass, frequentation of the Sacraments, daily prayers, respect for the laws of the Church, appreciation of the major devotions, especially that to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessea Virgin. Over and above this, there should be loyalty to the Church, showing itself in loyalty to the parish, which is the child's point of contact with the Church. ^^^ There should be interest in all that concerns the Church whether at home or abroad, love of the Holy See, zeal for Catholic Missions, apprecia- tion of Catholic social and educational activities. In a word, the child must become an efficient Catholic, thinking, and feeling and judging with the Church and striving ever to approximate her ideals of living. But being an efficient Catholic calls for efficiency outside the hallowed sanctum of religion. The love of God demands love of neighbor and right-ordered love of self. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Religious training that has not been supple- mented by moral training, easily degenerates into cant and hypo- crisy. ^^^ The reason is that, true religion is not a thing by itself, a matter of sentiment or devotion, but it is as broad as life and enters into all of life's relations. First of all, the individual must be morally efficient. The tendency outside the Church is to con- found the moral with the social. That is moral which increases the sum total of group happiness; that is immoral which contributes to group woe. 2^^ The good of society is the ultimate norm of morality. This is Utilitarianism, and it is false because an act is 229 Shields, Thomas E., "Standardization of Catholic Colleges." The Catholic Educational Review, Vol. XII, No. 3, p. 200. 2*0 Herbart, John Frederick, Outlines of Educational Doctrine, Lange- DeGarmo Translation, p. 14. 231 Bobbitt, Franklin, The Curriculum, p. 165. Dewey says, "The Moral and Social quality of conduct are, in the last analysis identical with each other." Democracy and Education, p. 415. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 109 morally good when it is directed by Reason to the ultimate Good of man, and that ultimate Good is not the welfare of society, but the Infinite Good which alone can satisfy the cravings of man*s highest appetite, his will. 2^2 The happiness of society is a subsidi- ary end, though a necessary one, and each individual is bound to promote it to the best of his abilities. Moral efficiency means directing one's life in conformity with the will of God for the pur- pose of saving one's soul. "Christianity, while acting as the great socializing agency, has never lost sight of the individual or his claims. In her teaching each individual has an immortal soul which must be saved and which must discharge its duties toward God and fellow-man. In the discharge of these personal duties, the individual needs the help that education is designed to give, and while he is bound to love his neighbor, this love of neighbor does not blot out his personal claim to life, liberty and happiness here, and to eternal well-being hereafter."^^^ The individual should likewise be efficient in the care of his body. The promotion of physical well-being is today considered part of the school's function and rightly so. Mens sana in cor- pore sanoy is the old adage and its truth needs no demonstration. Service of God and neighbor will be the more effective, given health. Moral action depends on two elements, knowledge, habits and ideals, whence spring strong motives, and strong inhi- bitions that restrain evil tendencies. Now in any state of con- sciousness there is the focus and the margin. The focal idea is that to which attention is being paid at the time being; but at the same time there are ideas, sensations, emotions on the margin, of which the subject may be aware, but to which he is not giving his direct attention. The more ideas that a man may hold in marginal consciousness, the more capable he is of seeing a multitude of relations and as a consequence, the better able he is of forming an adequate judgment. Now when a man's vitality is low his mar- ginal life is narrowed and he is not able to hold as many things in mind at once. Concentrated attention becomes well-nigh impos- sible and judgment is difficult. As a consequence he will be prone to give himself over to the easy control of instinct and impulse and to shirk the effort of acting according to his ideals. At the same time, the inhibitions that he has built up in the course of his « Cronin, Michael, The Science of Ethics. New York, 1909. Vol. I, p. 308. »» Shields, Thomas E., Philosophy of Education, p. 242. 110 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School experience, will tend to break down. He does not see the conse- quences of his act in marginal consciousness and his soul becomes an easy prey to evil. The physical organism instead of an ally has become an obstacle to the mind.^^^ The school should reveal to the child the secret of keeping alive and well. It should impart to him information about such material things as food, clothing and shelter, and the means of producing, distributing and utilizing the same. Here are sug- gested correlations with industrial and domestic arts. Informa- tion should likewise be given concerning the care of the body, the avoidance of fatigue and the manner of keeping up the bodily tone. All of this goes under hygiene. But, says Bobbitt, " Good physical training can result but from one thing, namely, right living. . . Learning the facts from books will not accomplish it; nor good recitations; nor good marks on examinations. Nothing will serve but right living twenty-four hours in the day, seven days in the week and all the weeks of the year."^^^ There must be plenty of room in the curriculum for activities that will serve to put into practice things that have been learned from books and teachers. This means physical exercises in the classroom, but especially organized work in the play-ground. It means likewise watchfulness as to cleanly habits and care to detect evidences of malnutrition when they appear. There should also be respect for the findings of modern medical science and the inculcation of the proper attitude toward such things as vaccination and quarantine. Care in this will contribute to more efficient conduct in every department of human life. But conduct must also be controlled by man's social relations. The love of God implies love of Neighbor. "If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother; he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not.?^ And this is the commandment we have from God, that he, who loveth God, love also his brother. "^^^ Democracy demands cooperation." The individual must recognize the neces- sity of thinking, feeling and acting in harmony with the group, and of sacrificing his own personal interests when they run counter to the welfare of the group. Secular education would achieve this 234 Bobbitt, Franklin, The Curriculum, p. 174. 235 Ibid, p. 181. 236 I of St. John, IV, 20, 21. Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 111 ideal by appealing to natural, temporal motives, by impressing upon the individual the importance of society, and by attempting to convince him that the good of society is the end of his existence. But these motives are bound to prove futile in a crisis. Expe- rience shows the individual that it is quite possible for him to be happy and comfortable, even when all is not well with society, and on the other hand to be quite miserable in the midst of seemingly ideal social conditions. Hence, when there is question of his own selfish interest, which is always a tangible thing, as against the rather intangible welfare of the group, the former will in all likeli- hood prevail. Public opinion may serve to deter men from the grosser exhibitions of selfishness, but it does not reach down into the seclusion of private life. As a matter of fact, public opinion sometimes puts a premium on self-interest, as for example, when it pays homage to Success, which in only too many cases is ability to overreach and circumvent one's neighbor. Christian charity is the only genuine social efiiciency. It keeps the individual mindful of the fact that we are all children of a common Father. It teaches him to identify his brother, who may not always be very lovable, with Jesus Christ, Who is all-lovable. The poor man must see Christ in the wealthy capitalist who dazzles him with the magnificence of his living. The rich man must see Christ in the beggar who grovels at his door. The machine operative must see Christ in the foreman who is harsh and exacting. The foreman must see Christ in the operative who tends to shirk and be careless. The brother must see Christ in the sistei who is vain, frivolous and selfish. The sister must see Christ in the brother who is rude, sullen and unsympathetic. For "as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." But we cannot expect that Religion will work itself out in social life in some sort of automatic fashion. Its social equivalents must be made explicit. The child must be taught to apply the Truths of Holy Faith to the circumstances of his daily life. He should come to realize the social significance of the Ten Commandments. The chapter in the Catechism on the Virtues should be learned in such a way that it will function in daily social intercourse, and not amount to a mere series of verbal definitions. The so-called natural or acquired virtues should be insisted upon, not by mere preaching but by affording plenty of opportunity in the class- room for their cultivation; for virtues are habits and as such are subject to all the laws of habit-formation. Above all there should 112 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School be cultivated a personal devotion to Our Blessed Lord, a real Friendship with Him, for this is the foundation of true social efficiency. Social efficiency demands economic or occupational efficiency. This feature has been treated sufficiently above in Chapter III. The occupational element in the elementary curriculum should be broad and general; vocational education in the narrow sense of the word is a matter for the secondary school. The aim should be to imbue every child with ideals of self-support, to teach him the place and function of industry in modern life, to lead him to an appreciation of the dignity of labor and his own dependence thereon and to build up such manual skill and dexterity as will stand him in good stead regardless of his future position in life. The socially efficient man is likewise a good citizen of the State. Patriotism, or love of country, has always been a cardinal point in Catholic teaching, for it is directly implied in the love and service of God. The State is one of the means destined by God Himself, to aid man in working out his eternal destiny. It answers an inborn need of man, for man must associate if he would live. The true Christian sees in the laws of the State an evidence of the will of God and he obeys them accordingly. Hence it is the office of the Catholic School to foster civic effi- ciency. This calls for knowledge of the nature and constitution of the State and the duties of a good citizen. It also demands the development of civic virtue, that faith and trust and love of fellow- man which make for security and solidarity, that disinterestedness and readiness to serve the public good which make for coopera- tion, that obedience which lends power to the law. Training for citizenship is no longer considered merely a matter of studying the Constitution and the workings of the machinery of government. Its aim is to aid the child to understand the nature of his own community, whether it be the home, the Church, the school, the city, the state or the nation, for to all these groups he owes alle- giance. Likewise he must understand and appreciate the need and function of government as the organized sovereign will of the group. Finally, habits of civic action must be cultivated. These refer not only to the state but to the home, the neighborhood, the community, the school and the parish. Among the topics that might come under training for civic efficiency, are Health, Protec- tion of Life and Property, Recreation, Education, Civic Beauty, Wealth, Communication, Transportation, Migration, Charities, Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 113 Correction, Government Agencies, Voluntary Agencies. Of course, all of this will not be accomplished in the class in Civics, but the civic implications of the other branches must be brought out. Religion, Geography, History, Nature Study, Industrial Arts, even Arithmetic are rich in civic elements. ^^^ Finally, there must be adequate preparation for conduct in time of leisure. With the development of machinery and labor-saving devices, working hours are becoming shorter and the average man has more time to himself. It is this leisure time that is fraught with the greatest peril ; during it a man saves or loses his soul. Now the occupations of leisure are manifold; they are physical, intellectual, social and aesthetic. They include conversation, observation of men and things, hobbies, sport, games, reading, travel, music, painting, study — whatever is done with no other end in view save personal pleasure and delight. Leisure is the play of man. 2^^ Practically every element in the curriculum should contribute to the proper use of leisure. But those studies are of particular importance, which develop taste. Literature, music, draw- ing, play an important role in this connection. A child who has been taught to love the best in books, whose soul has been attuned to the noblest in music, who can appreciate the harmony of line, tone, color and massing and knows from experience the difficulty of technical execution, will hardly turn for enjoyment to the crude, the low and the salacious. But in teaching subjects like music, it must be remembered that the prime purpose for the majority of children is enjoyment. Too great an insistence on the mere technical elements will defeat the purpose of the instruction. Here again the process is from content to form. Knowledge about the art is likewise important. The children should derive an interest in the history of music; they should be taught something of the evolution of musical instruments; they should know some- thing of the lives of composers and of the greater forms of musical composition, such as the oratorio, the symphony and the o|)era. All of these things will carry over into later life and will afford sources of noble enjoyment in the hours when the day's toil is "' Dunn, Arthur W., "Civic Education in Elementary Schools as Illustrated in Indianapolis," United States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1915, No. 17. "« Bobbitt, Franklin, The Curriculum, p. 207. "• Aronovici, Carol, "Organized Leisure as a Factor in Conservation." The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. XXIV, No. 4, p. 373. CONCLUSION The foregoing discussion suggests certain working principles which should govern the making of a curriculum for the Catholic elementary school in the United States. I. The nature of democratic society demands that the elemen- tary school should provide the same general, fundamental edu- cation for all the children of all the people. Only thus can that sense of interdependence and need for cooperation which is essen- tial to a democracy be developed and fostered. II. The elementary curriculum should include all those things which are essential to democratic living. Its function is to pre- pare the child for effective participation in the affairs of life, whe- ther he goes on to a higher school or not. Hence it should present such information concerning God, man and nature, and cultivate such knowledge, build up such habits, foster such attitudes, interests and ideals, as will enable the child at the completion of his course to take his place in life, a thorough Catholic and an efficient member of society, truly Christian in his own indivudal character, able to maintain himself economically, realizing his duties as a good citizen, prepared to make the proper use of the goods of life. III. In order to effect this end, the elementary curriculum must make adequate provision for training in the use of the tools of education, the languages and mathematical arts. But these should not constitute the end of elementary education. Rather they should be made to subserve the higher interests of content and they will be best acquired through the interest and motivation that content affords. IV. That the various branches of the curriculum may best serve the ends for which they are destined, they should be effectively correlated. The unity of the mind and the nature of knowledge as well as the interests of economy of time and effort demand this.^'*" 2^° This last point opens up another great question that needs to be scien- tifically examined. In the secular schools, various attempts have been made at correlation, some of them more or less successful. The difficulty, however, has always been to discover a natural core, or center, around which the various branches could be grouped. That difficulty is largely obviated in the Catholic curriculum, for we possess the element of synthesis in religion. How well religion serves for the organizing of knowledge can be seen in the education of the Middle Ages, whose unity no other system has even approximated. Re- ligion is the basis of human life, and consequently of human knowledge. Just as its disappearance from social life results in lawlessness, so its rejection from the realm of knowledge means intellectual anarchy. 114 Discussion of Psychological and Social Foundations 115 In conclusion it is well to remind ourselves of the circumstances of the moment in which we are living. The old order is changing and what the ultimate result of this change may be, no man can say. Perhaps never has the world been in greater need of the guidance of Christian principles. Forces are abroad that know not Christ and they seek to overthrow all the institutions that civilization has built up, that they may thereby eradicate the evils that pervade our social structure. So keen are they for destruction that they forget entirely to provide anything constructive. But on the other hand, the social evils of the day are palpable and cry aloud for remedy. This remedy can only come from the up- rooting of the selfishness that has caused the ills, and the sub- stituting of Christian charity. Cooperation must take the place of unrestricted competition ; faith and trust must supplant mutual fear and jealousy. All parties in the struggle must learn to cherish the common good above their own selfish interests. The Catholic Church alone in all the world today possesses the secret of true social regeneration. It is the duty of her children to put it into practice. The starting-point is the school where a new generation is being prepared for the struggle ahead. The function of the Catholic school should be understood in the full light of the Church's mission. It is not merely a preparation for higher education, but a preparation for Christian living. It must prepare the pupil to further the cause of Christ in the work-shop, the council-chamber, the office, the store, as well as in the sanctu- ary. While we need good priests, we also need an intelligent laity who by their lives and deeds will carry the sacerdotal message into the mazes of every-day life. There are diversities of gifts and diversities of vocations. All must be fostered for all are intended "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ." BIBLIOGKAPHY HISTORICAL Bunker, Frank Forest, Reorganization of the Public School System, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin No, 8, 1916. Burns, J. A., The Principles, Origin and Establishment of the Catholic School System in the United States, New York, 1912, The Growth and Development of the Catholic School System in the United States, New York, 1912. Cambridge Modern History, Vol. X, New York, 1911. CuBBERLY, E. C, Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Education, New York, 1904. Cunningham, W., An Essay on Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects (Modern Times), Cambridge, 1902. Davidson, Thomas, The Education of the Greek People, New York, 1906. Graves, F. P., History of Education^ New York, 1909. GiBBiNS, Henry de Beltgeus, Economic and Industrial Progress of the Century^ London, 1903. Hart, Joseph Kinmont, Democracy in Education, a Social Interpre- tation of the History of Education, New York. 1918. Hayes Carlton, J, H., A Political and Social History of Modern Europe (1500-1914), New York, 1916. Jessup, W. a., The Social Factors Affecting Special Supervision in the Public Schools of the United States, New York, 1911. Klemm, Otto, The History of Psychology, New York, 1914. Lalanne, J. A., Influence des Peres de UEglisesur Veducation publique pendant les cinq premiers siecles de Vere chretienne, Paris, 1850. McCoRMiCK, Patrick J., History of Education, Washington, 1915. Monroe, Paul, Text-Book in the History of Education, New York, 1914. Monroe, Walter Scott, The Development of Arithmetic as a School Subject, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 10, 1917. Parker, Samuel Chester, The History of Modern Elementary Educa- tion, Boston, 1912. Robinson, J. H., and Beard, C. A., Readings in Modern European History, New York, 1908. Watson, F., English Grammar Schools to 1660, Cambridge, 1909. PEDAGOGICAL Ayres, Leonard, Laggards in Our Schools, New York, 1909. Bagley, William Chandler, "Duty and Discipline in Education." Teachers' College Record, Vol. XIX, No. 5. The Educative Process, New York, 1917. Educational Values, New York, 1915. 116 Bibliography 117 BoBBiTT, Franklin, The Curriculum, Boston, 1918. Burns, J. A., Catholic Education, a Study of Conditions, New York, 1917. Butlkr, Nicholas Murray, The Meaning of Education, New York, 1917. CoMPAYRE, Jules Gabriel, Organization Pedogogique et Legislative des Ecoles Primaires, Paris, 1904. Dewey, John, The Child and the Curriculum, Chicago, 1902. Democracy and Education, New York, 1916. Interest and Effort in Education, New York, 1909. DoRPFELD, F. W., Orundlinien einer Theorie der Lehrplaus Zundchst der Volksund Mittelschule, Gutersloh 1873. Earhart, Liua B., Types of Teaching, New York 1915. Teaching Children to Study, New York, 1914. Economy of Time in Education, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin, No. 8, 1913. The Seventeenth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part I, 1918. Froebel, Friederich, The Education of Man, translated by W. N. Hail- mann. New York, 1906. Hanus, Paul, A Modern School New York, 1904. Herbart, John Friederick, Outlines of Educational Doctrine, trans- lated by Alexis F. Lange, New York, 1901. Howard, Francis W., "The Problem of the Curriculum," The Catholic Educational Association, Report of the Proceedings and Ad- dresses of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting^ Vol. X, 1913. HuEY, Edmund Burke, The Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading, New York, 1913. Iowa State Teachers' Association, Report of Committee on the Elimi- nation of Subject Matter, Des Moines, 1914. Johnson, Henry, The Teaching of History in the Elementary and Secondary Schools, New York, 1915. Klappeb, Paul, The Teaching of Arithmetic, a Manual for Teachers, New York, 1916. Locke, John, Thoughts Concerning Education^ Quick Edition. McCoBMicK, Patrick J., '^Standards in Education," The Catholic Edu- cational Association, Report of the Proceedings and Addresses, Vol. XIV, 1917. "'Retardation and Elimination of Pupils in Our Schools," ibid.. Vol. VIII, 1911. McLellan, James A., and Dewey, John, The Psychology of Number, New York. 1895. McMuRRY. Frank M., Elementary School Standards, New York, 1917. Moore, Ernest Carroll, What is Education? Boston. 1915. Monroe, W. S., Comenius' School of Infancy, Boston, 1908. Newman. John Henry Cardinal, The Idea of a University, London, 1917. National Educational Association, Report of Committee of Ten, Jour- nal of Proceedings and Addresses^ 1893. Report of Committee of Fifteen, American Book Co., 1895. 118 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Payne, Bruce Rybubn, Pullic Elementary School Curricula, New York, 1905. Rousseau, J. J., Emile, Appleton Edition. Shields, Thomas E., Primary Methods^ Washington, 1912. Philosophy of Education, Washington, 1917. *' Standardization of Catholic Colleges." The Catholic Educa- tional Review, Vol. XII, No. 3. Smith, David, The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, New York, 1908. Spencee, Hebbert, Education, Intellectual, Moral and Physical, New York, 1895. Stbayer, George Drayton, Age and Grade Census of Schools and Col- leges, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 5, 1911. Thorndyke, Edward L., The Elimination of Pupils from School, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 4, 1907. WiLLMANN, Otto, Didaktik, Braunschweig, 1894. PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOCIAL Abonovici, Carol, "Organized Leisure as a Factor in Conservation," American Journal of Sociology, Vol. XXIV, No. 4, Bernard, Luther Lee, The Transition to an Objective Standard of Social Control, Chicago, 1911. Bristol, L. M., Education and the National Ideal, Publications of the National Sociological Society, Vol. XIII, 1919. Carlton, Frank Tracy, Education and Industrial Evolution, New York, 1908. The Industrial Situation, New York, 1914. Clark, J. E., Art and Industry, United States Bureau of Education Publications, 1885-1889. Coe, George Albert, A Social Theory of Religious Education, New York, 1917. Cooley, Charles H., "A Primary Culture for Democracy," Publications of the American Sociological Society, Vol. XIII, 1919. Cronin, Michael, The Science of Ethics, New York, 1909. Devas, Charles Stanton, Political Economy, New York, 1901. Driscoll, John T., Pragmatism and the Problem of the Idea, New York, 1914. Dunn, Arthur W., Civic Education in the Elementary Schools as Illus- trated in Indianapolis, United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 17, 1915. BucKEN, Rudolph, The Problem of Human Life, New York, 1910. Harvey, Lorenzo D., "The Need, Scope and Character of Industrial Education" National Education Association Proceedings, 1909. James, William, Pragmatism, New York, 1907. Leo, XIII, The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII, New York. McGiffert, Arthur Cushman, The Rise of Modern Religious Ideas, New York, 1915. Bibliography 119 Marot, Helen, Creative Impulse in Industry, New York, 1918. Parker, Samuel Chester, ''Industrial Development and Social Prog- ress,'' National Educational Association Proceedings, 1908. Ross, Edward Alsworth, Social Control, a Study of the Foundation of Order, New York, 1901. Russell, James E., and Bonser, Frederick, The School and Industrial Life, New York, 1914. Ryan, John A., Distributive Justice, the Right and Wrong of Our Present Distribution of Wealth, New York, 1919. Sertillanges, a. D., La Politique, Chretienne, Paris, 1904. Smith, Walter Robinson, An Introduction to Educational Sociology, New York, 1917. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica. Todd, Arthur G., Theories of Progress, New York, 1918. Veblen, Thorstein, Theory of the Leisure Class, New York, 1902. Weeks, Arland Deyett, The Education of Tomorrow, the Adaptation of School Curricula to Economic Democracy^ New York, 1913. Wilson, H. B., ''Socializing the School,'* Educational Administration and Supervision, Vol. IV, No. 5, 1918. PSYCHOLOGICAL Ackermann, Edward, Die Formale Bildung, eine Psychologisch-Pddor gogische Betrachtung, Langensalza, 1898. Angell. Pillsbury and Judd, "The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of the Principles of General Psychology" Educational Review, Vol. XXXVI, 1908. Colvin, Stephen, The Learning Process, New York, 1915. CoovER, J. E., and Angell, Frank, "General Practice Effect of Special Exercise," American Journal of Psychology, Vol. XVIII. Dallenbach, K. M., "The Effect of Practice upon Visual Apprehension in School Children," Educational Psychology, Vols. VI-VII. Freeman, Frank N., How Children Learn^ Boston, 1917. Hewnes, Nellie P., The Doctrine of Formal Discipline in the Light of Experimental Investigation, Baltimore, 1916. James, William, Principles of Psychology, New York, 1890. Maher, Michael, Psychology, Empirical and Rational, New York, 1915. Meumann, Ernst, Vorlesungen zur Einfuhrung in die Experimentelle Pddagogik und ihre Psychologischen Crundlagen, Leipsig, 1914. The Psychology of Learning, New York, 1913. Rietz and Shade. ''Correlation of Efficiency in Mathematics and Efficiency in other Subjects," University of Illinois Studies, Vol. IIL Ruedioer. W. C, "The Indirect Improvement of Mental Functions Through Ideals," Educational Review, Vol. XXXVI. Shields, Thomas E., The Psychology of Education, Correspondence Course, Washington. Thorndyke, Edward L., Educational Psychology. New York, 1913. 120 The Curriculum of the Catholic Elementary School Thorndyke, Edward L., and Woodwortii, R. S., ''Improvement in Mental Function,'' Psychological Review, Vol. VIII. Watson, John B., Behavior, an Introduction to Comparative Psychology, New York, 1914. Winch, W. H., "Does Improvement in Numerical Accuracy Transfer f Journal of Educational Psychology, Vols. I-II. COURSES OF STUDY AND SURVEYS Baltimore County Public Schools Course of Study. Boston Public Schools, Course of Study. The Curriculum of Horace Mann School^ Columbia University. The Speyer School Curriculum, Teachers* College, Columbia University. Butte, Montana, Report of a Survey of the School System of Butte, Montana, by George Drayton Strayer and others, Board of School Trustees, 1914. Cleveland, Ohio, The Cleveland Education Survey^ Leonard P. Ayres, Director, Russell Sage Foundation^ 1916. Leavenworth, Kansas, Report of a Survey of the Public Schools of Leavenworth, Kansas, Kansas State Normal School, E^nporia, Kansas, 1915. Portland, Oregon^ The Portland Survey, by E. P. Cubberly and others, 1913. San Antonio^ Texas, The San Antonio Public School System, by J. F. Bobbitt. The San Antonio School Board, 1915. VITA The writer of tliis dissertation, the Rev. George Johnson, was born in Toledo, Ohio, February 22, 1889. He attended the parochial schools of that city and made his high school and college courses at St. John's University, Toledo, Ohio, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1910, and Master of Arts, in 1912. In September, 1910, he entered St. Bernard's Seminary, Rochester, New York, and in 1912 entered the American College, Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood at Rome, June 5, 1914. From 1914 to 191G, while acting as secretary to the Rt. Rev. Joseph Schrembs, D.D., Bishop of Toledo, he taught classes in Religion and Church History at the Ursuline Academy and the Cathedral High School, Toledo, Ohio. From 1916 to 1919, he pursued studies at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. He followed courses in Education under Dr. Shields, Dr. McCormick and Father McVey; in Psycholog}% under Dr. Moore; in Sociology, under Dr. Kerby; in Biology, under Dr. Parker; in Philosophy, under Dr. Turner; in Social Psychol- ogy and Methods of Teaching Religion, under Dr. Pace. Dur- ing the summer of 1918, he made studies at Teachers' College, Columbia University. The writer welcomes this opportunity to express his deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Shields, whose inspiration and guid- ance made this work possible ; to Dr. McCormick for valuable aid and suggestions in correction and revision, and to the Rev. John F. Fenlon, S.S., D.D., for continual interest and frequent friendly counsel throughout three years of residence at Cald- well Hall. To the Rt. Rev. Joseph Schrembs, D.D., Bishop of Toledo, he is particularly indebted for the special opportuni- ties and advantages of which this work is the culmination. HI UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY ri. fil ! H"tiiyj ii i.,ii »» l ! | | pf 5 cents ^' first d^ overdue Vt^ - nts.bn 'f o. 1 r >h lay Q Y fi |?f*P^^ ' Hollai i)u ,u>cnth day overdue NOV 4 1947 20!Vpr'56RE i APR19195BL f^AY24 ii>4S le^ov 55:'C Ltt woi 1 1 ^oui 6May'56Pl REC'D LD MAR 13 ism 25WaV'63^<^ LD IMnj4lii)lH2,'46(A2012sl6)4xdMAT 1 7 1963 YC 04479 "C- BERKELEY LIBR/iBiEs / UNIVERSiry OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY