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 Problems of secondary education 
 
 3 1924 012 986 836 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
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 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924012986836 
 
RIVERSIDE TEXTBOOKS 
 IN EDUCATION 
 
 EDITED BY ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY 
 
 PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 
 LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY 
 
 DIVISION OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 UNDER THE EDITORIAL DIRECTION 
 
 OF ALEXANDER INGLIS 
 
 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 
 HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
 
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 PROBLEMS OF 
 SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID SNEDDEN 
 
 PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE 
 
 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. FORMERLY COMMISSIONER OF 
 
 EDUCATION OF MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 "PROBLEMS OF EDUCATIONAL READJUSTMENT" 
 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 
 
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copyright/ lbl7, BY DAVID SNEDDEN 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
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 CAMBRJUGE, MASSACHUSETTS 
 U . S . A 
 
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 The American high school was organized and at- 
 tained much of its development before our present 
 complex industrial and social civilization had evolved. 
 During its early development the curriculum of the 
 high school, its methods, ideals, and values were 
 worked out and its aims and purposes were in large 
 part determined with reference to social conditions 
 and educational conceptions which no longer hold 
 true. The aims and purposes came to be the offer- 
 ing of certain fixed courses of study, and the prepa- 
 ration of pupils to pass certain examinations de- 
 manded for admission by colleges to which the schools 
 were tributary. Certain traditional offerings in re- 
 quired subject matter were made, but the actual 
 value of the offerings was in no way guaranteed. 
 This condition persisted until a relatively recent date, 
 and has not as yet wholly passed away. 
 
 In the mean time we as a people have experienced 
 vast and far-reaching social and industrial changes, 
 which have profoundly modified almost all phases of 
 Hfe among us, and the end is not yet in sight. From a 
 small and an isolated nation, with simple social and 
 industrial and political problems, we have evolved 
 into a world-power with world-problems to be faced. 
 
vi EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 From a rural and an agricultural nation we have in 
 large part changed into an urban and a manufacturing 
 nation. New social and industrial classes, with new 
 social and industrial needs, have developed among 
 us. Many new trades and callings and professions 
 have been evolved, each in turn demanding special 
 and ofttimes extended training. 
 
 The burden of preparing the future citizenship to 
 meet these new social and industrial and political 
 problems has been thrown more and more upon the 
 schools by each successive generation. Since the 
 Spanish-American War the demand for new types of 
 school training to meet changing conditions has been 
 marked, and it seems almost certain that one result, 
 with us, of the Great War in Europe will be to in- 
 crease the number of directions in which modifications 
 of our educational systems will be found necessary 
 and to accelerate the former rate of change. The re- 
 sulting strain thrown upon our schools probably will 
 be heavier than we now anticipate, and the pressure in 
 the field of secondary education probably more marked 
 than in any other part of the school system. 
 
 That we shall need to evaluate anew our educational 
 processes, and in terms of new social and industrial and 
 civic demands, goes almost without saying. Though 
 the developments in secondary education during the 
 past quarter of a century have been remarkable, and 
 though the number of new courses and subjects of 
 study offered and the number of new types of high 
 
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 schools which have been evolved to meet new de- 
 mands exceed the development of any previous period, 
 we cannot feel that secondary education in the United 
 States has as yet in any way reached its final form. 
 We are still evidently in a period of transition, and in 
 the near future still more fundamental reorganiza- 
 tions will have to be made. 
 
 The old and indefinite intellectual aims of "cul- 
 ture," "mental discipline," and "citizenship/' which 
 were set up after the high school ceased to be pri- 
 marily a vocational school to prepare for the ministry, 
 and which have dominated instruction in our secondary 
 schools for the past half -century, are now in process 
 of being supplanted by new aims and purposes, — 
 aims and purposes inspired by a vigorous democratic 
 civilization, actuated by a scientific attitude toward 
 the problems of industrial, civic, and human welfare. 
 With the increasing tendency of our American States 
 to require some type of school training up to sixteen 
 years of age,' and the increasing tendency of many 
 forms of our national activity — agricultural, in- 
 dustrial, social, and poUtical — to turn to the school 
 for help and guidance, the demand that our secondary 
 schools shall reformulate their aims in terms of so- 
 cially useful ends is becoming more urgent each year. 
 That the critical methods of scientific inquiry are to 
 be applied to the work and problems of secondary 
 education seems now apparent, and that the present 
 smug complacency of many high-school principals and 
 
viii EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 teachers must soon be superseded by an experimental 
 attitude as to means and methods in the education of 
 adolescents for personal usefulness in a modern world, 
 is also coming to be an accepted principle in our 
 educational work. 
 
 The present volume in this series is largely a volume 
 of questions as to the need for and the directions along 
 which the coming reconstructions must be made. The 
 author does not attempt to settle much of anything as 
 to how this reconstruction shall be effected, but in- 
 stead points out the main lines along which future 
 progress probably must be made, and raises scores of 
 questions which college authorities, supervisory oflS- 
 cers responsible for courses in secondary schools, and 
 high-school principals and teachers must face and at- 
 tempt to solve. Nowhere have we heretofore had 
 presented so able and so comprehensive a statement of 
 the fundamental problems now before us, in the redi- 
 rection of secondary education, as is presented in the 
 twenty-five letters which follow, and it gives the 
 editor much pleasure to be able to present to students 
 of secondary education a volume of such critical in- 
 sight. It is also a pleasure to add to the series a new 
 number from the pen of a former and a deeply re- 
 spected colleague. 
 
 Ellwood p. Cubbeklet 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Most of the following papers were prepared during 
 the year 1914, in the midst of administrative duties. 
 Only two of them (Nos. xv and xvin) have heretofore 
 been pubHshed in the form here given, and in each 
 case for a local circle of readers only. No. xxi was 
 published originally in substantially its present form 
 in School and Society. 
 
 The papers have been cast in the form of letters 
 because this device seems to facilitate a slightly more 
 direct and personal approach to the problems under 
 consideration. 
 
 It will readily be seen that one central idea recurs in 
 all the papers, namely, that the time has arrived in 
 the evolution of secondary education when we must 
 study the objectives or purposes of that education as 
 they have never been studied heretofore. We must 
 substitute for the traditional objectives — both the 
 immediate, such as "passing the subject," and "get- 
 ting into college," and also the remote, such as "char- 
 acter-building," "mental training," and the hke — ■ 
 others of a more positive and scientific character, 
 based on demonstrably valuable ends probably to be 
 achieved for the individual and for society through 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 the processes of secondary education. Having de- 
 termined our aims, we must then ascertain the most 
 efiFective means and methods of reahzing them. 
 
 It is no easy task to endeavor to give concrete ex- 
 pression to the problems of educational objectives in 
 connection with each subject of secondary education. 
 The results presented in the following papers are far 
 from satisfying the writer. But he hopes that the 
 attempts here made will induce others, more familiar 
 with the specific problems involved, to analyze more 
 fully and adequately than he has done the problems 
 here suggested. In contemporary discussion of edu- 
 cational values we have had an excessive amount of 
 assumption and of dogmatic contention based upon 
 now antiquated psychological speculations. We now 
 need detailed consideration of the purposes actually 
 served by the studies which constitute our sec- 
 ondary-school programs or of the studies which might 
 replace those already established by right of custom. 
 
 The report of the United States Commissioner of 
 Education for 1914 records that there were in the pub- 
 lic and private secondary schools of the United States 
 for the school year 1913-14 a total of 1,370,000 pupils, 
 besides upwards of 170,000 in commercial schools. 
 Of the secondary-school pupils, almost ninety per 
 cent were in the public high schools. It is clear that 
 
PREFACE 3d 
 
 the very numbers of pupils now found in our second- 
 ary schools bring these schools into a position very 
 diflferent from that occupied for the first three quarters 
 of the nineteenth century, when public secondary edu- 
 cation in America was just beginning to make itself 
 felt. It is trite to restate the truth that the high school 
 is the people's college. The fact is, that in a very real 
 sense it represents the sole opportunity for systematic 
 general education, beyond the elementary school, for 
 at least forty or fifty per cent of the population. 
 
 Throughout these papers it is assumed that our sec- 
 ondary education has, as respects numbers of pupils 
 and public support, grown much faster than it has as 
 respects internal adaptation of its means and methods. 
 As a consequence pubhc authorities and the teachers 
 in charge of these schools have not yet adequately 
 defined, in terms of the new purposes to be served by 
 them, the purposes of these schools. 
 
 In so far as these papers imply criticism of present 
 practices, that criticism is not intended to be directed 
 in an unfavorable sense against teachers and others now 
 responsible for secondary education. The purpose 
 throughout is to provoke constructive suggestions as 
 to future developments, and to pave the way for ex- 
 perimental studies and trials that will give us a more 
 definitely functioning secondary education. 
 
xii PREFACE 
 
 The writer holds, of course, that the secondary school 
 in some form or other must include opportunities for 
 vocational education, but he does not for a moment 
 admit that the fostering of vocational schools should 
 in the shghtest degree be allowed to diminish the in- 
 terest in and efforts toward better liberal or general 
 education, as long as pupils are willing to devote them- 
 selves to it. 
 
 If the suggestions made in the following papers will 
 lead to further careful consideration of the problems 
 involved, the present writer will consider his purpose 
 achieved. 
 
 David Snedden 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 I. To A SuPERINTiaSrDENT OF SCHOOLS . . 1 
 
 II. To THE Pkesident OP A Univebsitt . . 12 
 
 m. To THE Chairman of a Coiimittee on 
 
 College Admissions 26 
 
 IV. To A College Professor of Education . 32 
 
 «/" V. To the Principal of A General High School 45 
 
 V VI. To AN Assistant Superintendent in charge 
 
 OF Vocational Education . . . .55 
 
 Vn. To the Principal of an Industrial School 74 
 
 Vin. To the Principal of an Agricultural 
 
 School 82 
 
 IX. To the Principal of a Commercial High 
 
 School 92 
 
 X. To the Principal of a Manual-Training 
 
 School 99 
 
 XI. To the Principal op a Small High School 109 
 
 Xn. To A Conference op Secondary-School 
 
 Teachers 124 
 
 XIII. To a Teacher of Latin 142 
 
 XIV. To A Teacher of Modern Languages . 150 
 XV. To a High-School Teacher of English . 169 
 
 XVI. To A Teacher of History . . . .193 
 XVn. To A Teacher of Socla.l Science . . .205 
 
xiv CONTENTS 
 
 XVin. To A Committee appointed " to investigate 
 and report on current criticisms of 
 High-School Mathematics " . . . . 220 
 
 XIX. To a Teacher of Physics and Chemistry . 231 
 
 XX. To a Teacher of Biological Science . 244 
 
 XXI. To A Teacher of General Science . . 251 
 
 XXII. To A High-School Principal interested in 
 
 promoting the Study of Music and Art 263 
 
 XXIII. To A Supervisor of the Teaching of Home 
 
 Economics 271 
 
 XXIV. To a Teacher m the Department of Physi- 
 
 cal Education 298 
 
 XXV. To a Superintendent of Schools as Chair- 
 man of a Committee to consider the 
 matter of developing the Intermediate 
 OR Junior High School 318 
 
 Index 331 
 
PEOBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
PKOBLEMS OF SECONDARY 
 EDUCATION 
 
 To a Superintendent of Schools : 
 
 In the present crisis in secondary education, the 
 superintendent of schools finds himself at the storm 
 center. To him come from various quarters the new 
 and varied demands that are being made upon second- 
 ary education. The superintendent realizes that the 
 extremely rapid growth of secondary education, which 
 has been so marked during the last quarter of a cen- 
 tury, is due in large part to demands very diflFerent 
 from those that were met by secondary schools in the 
 past. He knows that, to an increasing extent, parents 
 of all classes are seeking to obtain for their children 
 educational advantages beyond those offered by ele- 
 mentary schools. He realizes that the steady tendency 
 of legislation looking to a protected childhood is mak- 
 ing for a more or less obligatory attendance upon 
 schools up to sixteen or more years of age. He is aware 
 that modem industry is offering less and less oppor- 
 tunity for the young person already employed to fit 
 himself for promotion, and that consequently an ever 
 increasing number of boys and girls turn to the schools 
 for some sort of specific preparation for their life's 
 vocations. 
 
2 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 The superintendent of schools knows that among 
 his high-school principals and teachers only a few 
 sense the importance of these modern conditions of 
 secondary education. These few are readers and think- 
 ers, and are disposed to do in a quiet way a certain 
 amount of experimental work. Nevertheless, the large 
 majority of school principals and teachers are essen- 
 tially conservatives; that is, they are occupied in doing 
 the tasks that have been set them, have become thor- 
 oughly familiar with the established routine, and are 
 not disposed to look with favor upon proposed changes, 
 or to accept additional responsibilities. Many of them 
 have become quite habituated to the notion that the 
 secondary school, or at least the public high school, is 
 designed essentially for boys and girls of more than 
 usual ability, and that consequently one of its func- 
 tions is persistently to eliminate all pupils who cannot 
 meet prevailing standards. The common attitude of 
 principals and teachers of this class is that of looking 
 with suspicion upon proposed innovations in, or addi- 
 tions to, the work of the school, and of making the 
 introduction of these changes as diflBcult as possible, 
 while at the same time discouraging the establish- 
 ment of independent schools designed to meet the 
 new needs. 
 
 Because of the rapid expansion of secondary schools, 
 old standards do not accommodate themselves to the 
 new demands. It is probable that extensive changes 
 are pending in the whole field of secondary education. 
 
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 3 
 
 All current literature on the general subject indicates 
 a widespread state of profound unrest. Our college 
 departments of education, the oldest of which has been 
 in existence little more than a quarter of a century, 
 are now contributing the beginnings of scientific in- 
 quiry to the movement for the systematic study of all 
 forms of education. There are persistent demands that 
 high-school teachers become acquainted with the arts 
 of teaching, as well as with the subject-matter of 
 the studies or branches which they are employed to 
 teach. 
 
 It is hardly to be expected that the superintendent 
 of schools can, with his many other duties, enter in 
 detail into current matters of policy, with reference to 
 which, nevertheless, it seems to me he must, sooner or 
 later, take a decided stand and must place himself in a 
 position to voice the community's more persistent 
 demands. 
 
 But it is important that the superintendent of 
 schools should at the present time be hospitable to- 
 wards proposals for better defining the objectives and 
 for adding to the varieties of secondary education. He 
 should realize that, while the historic mission of the 
 high school was, perhaps, primarily to fit more ca- 
 pable boys and girls for college, now, for a very large 
 proportion of the community, this high school is in 
 itself the final agency of liberal education. Further- 
 more, he should appreciate that we have entered 
 upon an era when the public demand for vocational 
 
4 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 education in specialized schools can no longer be 
 ignored or resisted. 
 
 As I see it, we are now confronted, as regards the 
 education of young people from fourteen to eighteen 
 years of age, by two conspicuous demands which must 
 constantly affect the organization and conduct of 
 secondary schools. In these schools pupils not yet 
 ready to specialize along vocational lines must be en- 
 abled to find the means of an ample liberal education 
 in the best sense of that word. In the second place, 
 because of the comparative breakdown of effective 
 vocational education in and through the industries or 
 other non-school agencies, new types of schools must 
 be organized for the purpose of training for occupa- 
 tional life. A very large majority of our people enter 
 upon vocational activities some time during the years 
 from fourteen to eighteen. Consequently, it is in this 
 period that most effective preparation for the pursuit 
 of the majority of vocations can be made. 
 
 Ultimately we shall certainly have demands for still 
 more varied types of secondary education. The field 
 of physical education, for example, is by no means as 
 yet fully occupied for people of the adolescent age. 
 Similarly, we shall in the future develop more exten- 
 sively special agencies for a broader moral, social, and 
 civic education than we have as yet reaUzed. We shall 
 do this because of the pressing demands of our com- 
 plex and dehcately adjusted civilization. 
 
 But, for the present, within the fields above indi- 
 
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 5 
 
 cated, the superintendent of schools will find ample 
 opportunity to encourage many and varied develop- 
 ments suited to the demands of our own time. 
 
 An important question in this connection for the 
 superintendent of schools to decide is as to how far 
 different varieties of secondary education shall be 
 organized under one administrative and teaching 
 organization. It is obvious that we have here problems 
 arising from a conflict of principles. If separate schools 
 are organized to minister to different ends of education, 
 there is always danger of the development of social 
 castes among the different groups of pupils. Further- 
 more, there will arise difficulties in connection with 
 that large proportion of pupils who at the outset will 
 be incapable of making effective choices if these are 
 to be regarded as final. On the other hand, there can 
 be little doubt that the efficient realization of any par- 
 ticular end in education depends upon the development 
 of a more or less specialized machinery of administra- 
 tion and of educational practices looking to that end. 
 
 My present conviction is that the various forms of 
 cultural education, including preparation for college, 
 can well be organized in large school units. As regards 
 vocational secondary education, experience seems to 
 demonstrate that this should, as a condition of effec- 
 tiveness, be organized separately from general second- 
 ary education, partly because by the time a pupil is 
 ready to enter a vocational school he must necessarily 
 have made a more or less final choice of a calling, and 
 
6 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 as to the wisdom of which choice the vocational school, 
 itself, should enable him at an early date to reach a 
 decision. Not only should vocational schools be thus 
 organized separately and apart from general schools, 
 but, to a large extent, I am also convinced that indi- 
 vidual vocational departments organized for particu- 
 lar occupations should not necessarily be closely con- 
 nected with one another, but should, on the other 
 hand, be intimately identified with the industries or 
 other occupational fields for which they give prepara- 
 tion. In a city, for example, I believe that a school for 
 printing might well be organized as close as practicable 
 to existing printing establishments, and that a school 
 for machinists should similarly be located where con- 
 nections with the machine-shop industries could early 
 be formed. In the same way, vocational schools for 
 stenography, business, agriculture, and home-making 
 should, as far as practicable, be respectively so organ- 
 ized and located as to cause the environment to con- 
 tribute in the maximum degree to the development 
 of the ideals and effective practice of the vocations 
 taught. 
 
 You will understand, of course, that I do not advo- 
 cate that vocational schools shall not give a portion of 
 their programs to civic and cultural activities and 
 training. My conception of a well-organized voca- 
 tional school is one that has substantially the same 
 hours per day, days per week, and weeks per year as 
 the industry for which preparation is being given. But 
 
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 7 
 
 within this period a moderate amount — say from ten 
 to fifteen per cent — of the time might well be given 
 to distinctively cultural activities and those forms of 
 training for citizenship which have not already been 
 naturally correlated with the vocational work of the 
 schools. 
 
 Within the field of general or liberal education there 
 is one needed development which has not yet been 
 approached in any whole-hearted way in this country, 
 and yet which certainly demands serious attention. It 
 cannot have escaped your notice that a very large pro- 
 portion of the young people making up the increased 
 attendance upon our high schools are so situated that 
 they will enter upon their vocational school work or, 
 in lieu of that, on their practical life work, at or about 
 sixteen years of age. Not only is this the prevailing 
 practice, but on the whole it is a normal practice in 
 most cases, and should not be discouraged. Now the 
 existence of this growing class offers to the high school 
 large opportunities to develop special programs of 
 rounded liberal education suited to those young people 
 who will probably discontinue attendance on schools 
 of general education at or near sixteen years of.=age. 
 Almost nowhere in our American system of secondary 
 schools do we find well-organized courses, terminating 
 at approximately sixteen years of age, and having 
 some form of diploma or other honorable distinction, 
 available for those who can give only that amount of 
 time to their final education. This seems to me a 
 
8 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 decided deficiency, and one that should be speedily 
 remedied through the creation in our large high schools 
 of distinctively two-years' courses, each rich in Eng- 
 lish literature, English expression, hygiene, general 
 science, social science, practical arts, and similar 
 studies. In courses of this sort the study of foreign 
 languages is not needed, nor should time be taken for 
 the traditional algebra and geometry. 
 
 Many of our superintendents of schools feel that 
 college admission requirements, particularly as found 
 in Eastern colleges, still handicap unduly the develop- 
 ment of high schools. But changes are taking place 
 rather rapidly in this form of control of secondary 
 education, and it is highly probable that within a few 
 years the colleges themselves will have greatly revised 
 their admission requirements. It is right, of course, for 
 the colleges as now supported to insist that only stu- 
 dents of good native ability and of good preparation 
 shall be admitted to the study of the professions or 
 of the higher branches of liberal learning. College 
 education always imposes costs upon either the com- 
 munity or endowments considerably in excess of the 
 tuition fees usually charged. College authorities have, 
 obviously, the right as well as the obligation to re- 
 quire that this expenditure shall only be made upon 
 those well qualified to profit therefrom. 
 
 On the other hand, it is doubtful whether college 
 authorities have hitherto taken the wisest course to 
 insure that they should receive students of the most 
 
SUPEKINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 9 
 
 desirable quality and equipment. College entrance 
 committees still cherish the conviction that the study 
 of foreign languages and mathematics constitutes, on 
 the whole, the best preparation for college work. There 
 is no satisfactory evidence that this view is more than 
 a belief, notwithstanding the long persistence of the 
 tradition. It is probable that yoimg men and women 
 most ready for college work have been also most ca- 
 pable of passing prescribed examinations in these 
 abstract and formal studies, and that unjustifiable 
 inferences have been made as to the value of these 
 studies in college preparatory work. 
 
 My strong impression is that the high schools need 
 not long feel themselves handicapped by the demands 
 of the colleges. With a more intelligent attitude on the 
 part of high-school principals, and more scientific 
 studies of the conditions which make for efiFective col- 
 lege work (which are even now in prospect), college 
 preparatory programs can soon be so modified as to 
 constitute but a small handicap on the high school 
 that wishes to minister to a variety of the educational 
 needs of youths from fourteen to eighteen years of age. 
 
 The superintendent of schools can exert his most use- 
 ful influence on the development of secondary educa- 
 tion by insisting that each and every variety of instruc- 
 tion and training which is carried on with the aid of 
 public fimds shall be directed towards quite definitely 
 estabHshed and described goals, and that from time to 
 time the efficacy of the means used in the endeavor to 
 
10 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 reach these goals shall be carefully tested. For example, 
 both in the fields of liberal and of vocational education, 
 I am strongly of the opinion that our school principals 
 and teachers have not as yet formulated, in any satis- 
 factory measure, the purposes which they should have 
 in view. As a consequence, their adaptations of means 
 and methods probably are haphazard and accidental 
 to a large degree, if judged by genuine standards of 
 efficiency. My experience has convinced me that every 
 effort expended in the direction of inducing teachers 
 and principals to think more clearly of the aims which 
 should control in their work, and to preserve a ques- 
 tioning attitude towards so-called "faith" ends in 
 education, will be worth while. It is for this reason that 
 I should, for example, discourage discussion of so- 
 called " general vocational education." I should en- 
 deavor to induce teachers to think of their work, not 
 so much in terms of the mastery of subject-matter as 
 in terms of the genuine and demonstrable values to the 
 individual and to society, to be achieved through such 
 mastery. Even in such specific subjects as modern 
 languages and English, it is by no means clear that 
 the rank and file of high-school teachers have gener- 
 ally either practicable or profitable ends so defined as 
 effectively to guide them in the discovery and applica- 
 tion of the most effective methods of teaching. In all 
 these fields we have been accustomed heretofore to 
 accept piu-poses on the basis of faith and custom. You 
 may have noticed that in the literature relating to 
 
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 11 
 
 secondary education a very large amount of attention 
 is always given to the discussion of methods, and com- 
 paratively little to the discussion of purposes of the 
 various subjects taught. I believe, as stated elsewhere, 
 that ultimately we shall learn to state the purposes of 
 all forms of secondary education in terms of the socially 
 useful to be achieved, rather than in terms of the mas- 
 tery of so much subject-matter — in other words, that 
 we shall learn to indicate clearly wherein any given 
 mastery of subject-matter actually "functions" in 
 personal or social power. 
 
II 
 
 To the President of a University: 
 
 I NEED not remind you that, however striking has 
 been the development of higher education during the 
 last quarter of a century in the United States, the 
 revolution within the field of secondary education has 
 been much greater. Reference to the statistics pub- 
 lished by the Biu-eau of Education will show that in 
 the public high schools of the United States alone are 
 now to be found nearly a million and a half of 
 pupils, and that the burden of supporting these high 
 schools is a formidable one for the taxpayers. The 
 extended discussion now being carried on as to the 
 desirability of including in our system of secondary 
 schools special vocational schools to prepare youths 
 for occupations demanding skill or technical knowl- 
 edge, and for which existing industrial and commer- 
 cial establishments do not in themselves offer adequate 
 preparation, exhibits a new type of demand to which 
 our secondary schools must soon respond. In the field 
 of the pedagogy of the subjects which have tradition- 
 ally constituted programs of secondary education 
 there has also been a large amount of discussion, and 
 an increasing disposition to question all forms of purely 
 traditional practice. Doubtless the department of 
 education in your own institution has been a source 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 13 
 
 of disquiet to you and your faculty in this connection. 
 You have probably found that department to be very 
 ambitious, but also to be perhaps poorly equipped 
 with proper scientific standards and methods to solve 
 its own problems and to accomplish its own work. 
 
 The influence of the higher institutions of learning 
 on secondary education constitutes a unique feature 
 in American education. The nearest analogy to this 
 influence from without is to be found in the external 
 examinations of England, and of some Continental 
 countries. Not only the standards of achievement, 
 but also the means and methods of attaining these 
 standards, have in American secondary schools been 
 defined, to a large extent, by the higher institutions. 
 Over these neither the faculties of the secondary 
 schools nor the public authorities supervising them 
 have had any considerable direct infiuence. Here, then, 
 is a case of a group of institutions, often under private 
 control, which have been able from the beginning to 
 dominate the development of a type of public school 
 organized to minister to public needs, and attended by 
 a far greater number of pupils than can be found in all 
 the colleges and professional schools. 
 
 The history of this dominance is simple, and, as a 
 rule, reflects no discredit upon the higher institutions 
 of learning. In the first place, in almost every State in 
 the Union, one or more well-organized and definitely 
 established colleges were in existence before a well- 
 organized system of public secondary schools had been 
 
14 PKOBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 evolved. The higher institutions, therefore, had to 
 deal with a multiplicity of agencies preparing pupils 
 for their work. Some of the pupils came from undat 
 the hands of tutors, others from exceedingly small and 
 weak schools in which special attention had been 
 given to the one or two bright pupils preparing for 
 college. Again, in most of the Western States, the first 
 systems of public high schools established were simply 
 weak extensions of the elementary school, and if it 
 Hkd not been for the standards imposed by state insti- 
 tutions and by colleges elsewhere, many years must 
 necessarily have elapsed before these high schools 
 could have obtained public recognition adequate to 
 enable them to provide a satisfactory program of 
 instruction fovu* years in length. 
 
 Again, a large proportion of the teachers of second- 
 ary schools have always been graduates — commonly, 
 recent graduates — of the colleges. Because a consid- 
 erable proportion of teachers later enter upon other 
 callings, the large majority of these teachers have been 
 comparatively youthful, and have therefore been un- 
 duly influenced by the studies and methods of instruc- 
 tion which characterized their college courses. For 
 this reason, also, it has been inevitable that the courses 
 of instruction in the secondary schools should reflect 
 very directly the ideals and methods prevalent in the 
 colleges or other higher institutions of learning. 
 
 In the third place, within any given field of organ- 
 ized knowledge the abler minds have necessarily been 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 15 
 
 found in universities and other higher institutions. 
 Hence, when any dehberate and cooperative attempt 
 is made to revise or modify methods of instruction in 
 an existing field of teaching, as mathematics, Latin, 
 modern language, English, and the like, the represent- 
 atives from the colleges, because of their maturity, 
 confidence, and genuine ability, have almost inevitably 
 dominated the discussion. The public has been prone 
 to assume that because these men were experts in their 
 fields of knowledge, they were also experts in the 
 methods of teaching within those fields. 
 
 Great credit should, on the whole, be given to the 
 higher institutions of learning of the United States for 
 the contributions which they have made towards the 
 development of secondary education. Nevertheless, 
 it is clear that that assistance has not been an unmixed 
 blessing in connection with the full development of a 
 system of public secondary schools. Throughout the 
 entire period of the development of the public high 
 school (to say nothing of the academy and the Latin 
 grammar school), there has been constant complaint 
 as to the retarding and conservative influences exerted 
 by the higher institutions. Some of this complaint has, 
 of coiu-se, been due to the inability of the secondary 
 schools to propose constructive programs which would 
 satisfy public demand, and the ease with which they 
 could shift the blame for this situation upon the col- 
 leges. Nevertheless, in a very real and fundamental 
 sense, the higher institutions themselves have, through 
 
16 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the conditions imposed by them on entering students, 
 been responsible in large part for the failure of Ameri- 
 can secondary education to achieve a body of inde- 
 pendent pedagogical knowledge and to define its aims 
 in terms of the social needs which it should meet, 
 rather than in terms of the teaching of certain subjects 
 approved by colleges and higher institutions. We may 
 now grant that a period of tutelage or intellectual vas- 
 salage for the high schools was necessary, and more or 
 less inevitable. But the time has arrived when the 
 higher institutions of learning in America should dem- 
 onstrate their capacity for real leadership by taking 
 whatever steps may be necessary, in view of the stage 
 of development now reached by secondary education, 
 to promote independence of thought and action on 
 the part of all agencies contributing to the develop- 
 ment of higher and more effective types of secondary 
 schools. 
 
 The first step in this direction must, of course, be a 
 clear assertion on the part of higher institutions that 
 their responsibilities oblige them to impose reasonable 
 standards of selection as regards all pupils coming to 
 them. With reference to this fact there should be no 
 misapprehension. Both as regards institutions sup- 
 ported by the State and as regards those supported by 
 endowments there is a clear obligation that they shall 
 not expend their efforts except upon persons of suffi- 
 cient native ability to justify such expenditure, and 
 of sufficiently ample preparation to undertake higher 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 17 
 
 education promptly and properly. With regard to 
 these general principles there should be no debate. 
 
 But it is certain that the higher institutions of 
 learning in America have never yet given adequate 
 scientific consideration to all that is involved in thus 
 selecting individuals possessing the real ability with 
 which the institutions should deal. There is no evi- 
 dence, for example, that the existing forms of written 
 examinations now so much in vogue effectively accom- 
 plish this purpose. Neither is it evident, where insti- 
 tutions depend largely upon certification, that the 
 standards of preparation in the particular list of sub- 
 jects specified accomplish these purposes. It seems to 
 me that the entire assumption, that knowledge of a 
 particular group of subjects (leaving out of the ques- 
 tion a very few essential "tool" subjects, such as 
 English expression) constitutes a fair measure of fit- 
 ness for college work, is open to serious question. 
 There can be no debate, of course, as to the fact that a 
 pupil who, after prolonged instruction, cannot "pass" 
 in these subjects, thus gives evidence that he is not 
 qualified for college work. The other conclusion, how- 
 ever, that preparation in these subjects constitutes 
 the most profitable form of preparation for college 
 work, seems to me to be largely without warrant, not- 
 withstanding the antiquity of the belief. The higher 
 institutions of learning should, in the very near future, 
 give prolonged and scientific attention to the whole 
 matter of the kinds and quality of preparation which 
 
18 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 must effectively underlie the work for which they are 
 organized. Already departments of education, as well 
 as departments of psychology, are found in most uni- 
 versities; these should be set to work upon the prob- 
 lems here suggested. Departments of sociology, also, 
 should be able to contribute to the solution of these 
 problems. Scientific standards and methods of inquiry 
 for this purpose are even now in some measure avail- 
 able. Statistical investigations of value have already 
 been successfully inaugurated in the effort to compare 
 the attainments of students prepared under different 
 systems of instruction. 
 
 In the mean time, an analysis of the general problem 
 involved would be valuable. For example, the ques- 
 tion might be raised at the present time as to whether 
 a scheme of testing the fitness of secondary-school stu- 
 dents for college work could not be organized along the 
 following lines: 
 
 1. In the first place, wherever it can be demon- 
 strated that a subject of study which has long 
 been suited to the secondary school is also an 
 essential instrument of college study, then the 
 responsibihties of the secondary school for giving 
 the student definite preparation in this subject 
 should be clearly defined. 
 
 (a) It will, for example, be easily admitted that 
 in almost all fields of college work certain 
 definite abilities to speak, read, and write 
 English are essential. When once these quali- 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 19 
 
 fications are definitely ascertained and formu- 
 lated, it should be recognized as the duty of 
 the secondary school to give such mastery as 
 is required to meet these standards. 
 
 (6) Again, if any particular department or field 
 of college work imposes as an essential pre- 
 requisite, which the high school can readily 
 meet, a reading knowledge of French or Ger- 
 man, then preparation in this field, too, 
 should become the responsibihty of the sec- 
 ondary school. At the present time, I am 
 not clear that any department of college work 
 is so constituted. In many of them, of course, 
 the possession of a reading knowledge of 
 French or of German, or of both, is encour- 
 aged, but I do not understand that anywhere 
 is work so organized as to make such reading 
 knowledge a fixed prerequisite. 
 
 (c) Again, certain departments of college work 
 clearly require that the student shall be able 
 to use as tools elementary algebra and plane 
 geometry, as well, perhaps, as trigonometry 
 and solid geometly. Where such a require- 
 ment definitely exists, as in the case of cer- 
 tain technical institutions, it should be 
 clearly indicated and the type of facility 
 required defined, in order that the prepara- 
 tory school may definitely undertake this 
 work. 
 
20 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Are there other subjects which conform to the con- 
 ditions here indicated? Certainly few, if any. It does 
 not seem to me that any college work of which I have 
 knowledge is so organized as definitely to depend upon 
 Latin, Greek, history, or any branch of science as pre- 
 requisite. 
 2. In the second place, the higher institution of 
 learning surely has a right to demand certain 
 general qualities of mind in the student who seeks 
 to avail himself of its opportunities. Unfortu- 
 nately, these are nowhere defined at the present 
 time. But that they can be so defined and tested 
 as eventually clearly to indicate to the prepara- 
 tory school its function in this connection ought 
 not to be doubtful. To say that such qualities 
 of mind are satisfactorily produced through the 
 usual list of college preparatory subjects and 
 tested in examinations is unnecessarily to restrict 
 the field of activity of the secondary school. What 
 is wanted by the secondary school is the oppor- 
 tunity to develop these qualities of mind as by- 
 products of its work in fields otherwise profitable. 
 The fields of knowledge and experience suited to 
 this pxu-pose may be quite remote, indeed, from 
 any of the traditional subjects of the secondary 
 school. 
 3- In the third place, the college probably also has 
 an obligation to see to it that the student who 
 undertakes college work has already had, within 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 21 
 
 due limits, a broad general education, including 
 preparation for the exercise of civic duties, which 
 the secondary school can readily give and which 
 the college graduate, even though a specialist in 
 • some field, should be assumed to possess. Here 
 again is a territory which has not been adequately 
 explored, and for which the higher institutions of 
 learning have given us almost no standards. It is 
 still a region of education in which tradition rules. 
 This communication is addressed to you because I 
 believe that in the future developments of secondary 
 education in this country a more constructive and 
 cooperative attitude on the part of the higher institu- 
 tions of learning will be valuable, and mutually bene- 
 ficial. The time has passed when the secondary schools 
 of America should continue in a state of vassalage to 
 the higher institutions. The obligations of the public 
 high schools are even larger to that body of its pupils 
 who will never go to the higher institutions than to the 
 minority who do. The educational needs of this major- 
 ity are very far from being met by existing programs 
 of instruction. Just as the universities have developed, 
 parallel to their colleges of liberal arts, a variety of 
 vocational (professional) schools, so in the system of 
 secondary schools must be developed, parallel to their 
 programs of general or liberal education, vocational 
 schools in the agricultural, commercial, industrial, and 
 household arts fields. These must not be allowed mutu- 
 ally to interfere with one another, any more than do 
 
22 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 professional schools interfere with one another's de- 
 velopment, or with the development of departments 
 of hberal education. Probably we shall find that the 
 instruction and training which constitute most eflFec- 
 tive preparation for college will, in some measure, have 
 to be specialized within secondary schools. Secondary- 
 school authorities, however, should not be asked to 
 effect this specialization until such time as the college 
 itself can clearly define and demonstrate the need and 
 value of such specialization. For example, at the pres- 
 ent moment I am convinced, on the general grounds of 
 experience, that if in the typical high school the work 
 of the first two years was so organized as to minister 
 primarily to the demonstrated needs of those not fit- 
 ting for college, it would be possible at the beginning 
 of the third year to organize special courses for college 
 preparatory students, and that during the junior and 
 senior years, with a reasonable degree of specialized 
 effort, the most effective preparation for college could 
 be made, not only in small but also in the larger high 
 schools. In view of this conviction, therefore, the im- 
 mediate and direct influence of the college, now exerted 
 on the programs of the first and second high-school 
 years, seems to me not only superfluous, but a positive 
 detriment to the work of the high school as a whole. 
 For a variety of reasons, I am strongly convinced 
 that it would be to the interests, both of the higher 
 institutions and of public education in general, if 
 departments of education should be reorganized as 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 23 
 
 separate schools or colleges. The preparation of teach- 
 ers for the public high schools, which has become, in- 
 deed, one of the large functions of the college of liberal 
 education, as yet greatly lacks coherence of aim and 
 organization of effort. I beUeve that the time has come 
 when, in most of our States, a year of graduate work 
 should be definitely insisted upon as a part of the train- 
 ing of the prospective high-school teacher. If this is 
 required, it would be easily possible to arrange that at 
 the close of the sophomore year college students look- 
 ing forward to teaching should differentiate their 
 courses to this end, and in part at least have their work 
 come under the direction of the school or college of 
 education. It does not appear to me that this would 
 necessarily lessen the influence or responsibilities of the 
 various departments of the liberal arts college. On 
 the other hand, preparation for teaching as a career 
 should be looked upon as no less important than prep- 
 aration for the practice of medicine or law. And if 
 we are to give organized preparation to this end, the 
 reconstruction of departments of education, following 
 the lines now established in two or three of the largest 
 universities of this country, is clearly a necessity. It 
 is obvious that when this is done, a few of the members 
 of existing faculties will stand in a somewhat dual 
 relationship. For example, there should be in each 
 institution some one person who knows a great deal 
 about the pedagogy of Latin teaching, and who should 
 have connections with the department of Latin on the 
 
24 PROBLEMS OP SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 one hand, and the department of education on the 
 other, being, as I see it, primarily responsible to the 
 latter. This dual relationship, however, is not an un- 
 common one, and a position involving it is easily ca- 
 pable of being developed into one of the highest influ- 
 ence in all that pertains to general education. In many 
 of our universities there are now such connections 
 between mathematical departments and engineering 
 colleges, as well as between biological departments 
 and the medical colleges. 
 
 In Western and Southern States, the State Univer- 
 sity is rising into prominence, and the question as to 
 what shall be its relation to the system of secondary 
 schools is still an open one. From some points of view, 
 the argument can be favored that the State University 
 should be the directing agency of the system of sec- 
 ondary schools, through its inspection and through its 
 training of teachers for these institutions. I am, my- 
 self, convinced that this will eventually prove an un- 
 wholesome and dangerous relationship. It could easily 
 bring the State University into the position of shaping 
 all secondary schools so as to conform to its own image 
 and to minister to its own particular needs. I now in- 
 cline to the view that the system of secondary schools 
 should be primarily inspected and supervised by 
 authorities responsible to the State as a whole, under 
 the supervision of which the State University, itself, 
 might, if necessary, also occupy a position. A rela- 
 tively large degree of independence is, of course, essen- 
 
PRESIDENT OF A UNIVERSITY 25 
 
 tial to a university, and notwithstanding the fact that 
 it receives its support from the State, a large degree of 
 freedom should be allowed to it. Whether, therefore, 
 the system of supervising secondary schools and the 
 State University itself should be under some state 
 authority, I am not prepared to say, but in any event 
 the State University should not be placed in a position 
 of oversight or responsibility for the secondary schools. 
 
Ill 
 
 To the Chairman of a Committee on College Admissions: 
 EvEE since you were given your present responsible 
 position as chairman of the committee on admissions 
 you have realized, of course, with increasing anxiety, 
 the state of dissatisfaction that has existed with re- 
 gard to college admission programs, both as constituted 
 and as administered. In the pressure that has been 
 brought to bear upon you and your committee there 
 has been, at times, an element of unfairness, since your 
 position obliges you to conform to certain standards 
 that have been imposed upon you by the institution 
 as a whole, and also by traditions which you do not 
 feel yourselves able to change. 
 
 In another letter, addressed to the president of your 
 institution, I have discussed at some length certain 
 general matters of policy underlying the relationships 
 existing between the secondary schools of America and 
 the higher institutions of learning. There are a few 
 considerations which might well be called also to your 
 attention in your present position, because it is certain 
 that you can use your influence to effect changes 
 which, even now, would be of considerable help. 
 
 These suggestions are made with a full realization of 
 the marked developments and changes which have 
 recently taken place in the field of college admission 
 
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS 27 
 
 requirements. For example, it is recognized that 
 throughout the South and West, and to some extent in 
 the East, the system of admission on certificate has 
 tended to replace the system of admission upon the 
 passing of certain written examinations. Admission 
 on certificate certainly impresses the public as being 
 a more equitable method than admission by exami- 
 nation. Again, it is noteworthy that in institutions 
 willing as yet to admit only on examination, and in 
 cases where certification is not practicable, decided 
 improvements have been made in the direction of uni- 
 formity of examinations and of standards of marking. 
 The work of the College Entrance Examination Board 
 in this connection has been especially important. The 
 work of other agencies, such as the New England 
 Association of Teachers of EngUsh, has also been very 
 helpful. The change in the Regents' examination in 
 New York State, and in the College Entrance Exam- 
 ination Board, whereby representatives of secondary 
 schools have been "co-opted" (to use the English 
 word) both in the preparation of questions and in the 
 preliminary and to some extent in the final scrutiny of 
 papers, has been also an important step in the right 
 direction. 
 
 In making the suggestions given below it is recog- 
 nized that the paramoiuit responsibility of the college 
 as regards admissions is to see to it that students ad- 
 mitted to college shall be, in the first place, those most 
 qualified naturally to pursue college work with profit. 
 
28 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 and in the second place prepared as fully as practicable 
 for this work. In the discharge of this responsibility, 
 however, it is also incumbent upon the college to adopt 
 such means as will in the maximum degree promote 
 the efficiency of high and other secondary schools, and 
 particularly as regards the educational needs of thou- 
 sands of other pupils who are not going to college. It 
 seems to me, therefore, that both as regards institu- 
 tions admitting on certificate and those admitting 
 through examinations, it would be at the present time 
 possible to make a compromise between the so-called 
 "Subjects of study" prescribed, and those which are 
 left to the discretion of secondary institutions, so as 
 to insure a maximum of efficiency on both sides. 
 
 Let me assume an extreme case. Suppose that the 
 college should restrict its prescriptions to eight units, 
 on the condition that these eight units of work should 
 represent only study done during the last two years of 
 the preparatory school course, and that in addition 
 thereto satisfactory evidence should be presented by 
 the high school, in the record of any individual pupil, 
 that work done during the first two years was of a 
 generally profitable nature, and part of a well-defined 
 secondary-school program. I see no reason at the 
 present time why the institution of higher learning 
 shoidd not confine its tests entirely to work done 
 during those last two years, leaving the secondary 
 school free to determine what might be the most 
 profitable instruction for the first two years. The 
 
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS 29 
 
 two cases in which conflict would undoubtedly be 
 found would be in mathematics and foreign language. 
 In these cases, the examination of the college could 
 surely be confined to advanced stages, thus insuring 
 the performance of satisfactory work in the earlier 
 years of these subjects, without, however, having the 
 college assume the responsibility of defining the exact 
 character or the scope of this work. 
 
 It seems to me that it is administratively practi- 
 cable, at the present time, for the secondary schools 
 to accomplish substantially all that public opinion 
 demands in the way of improvements in their work 
 through being allowed to devote the first two years of 
 the ordinary high-school period to such work as the 
 high-school faculty shall determine to be of most value. 
 This will bring the majority of pupils to sixteen years 
 of age. By this time most pupils will have decided 
 upon their future careers, as far as attendance or non- 
 attendance upon higher institutions is concerned, al- 
 though of course some will, prior to this, and even as 
 early as the age of twelve in a well-developed school 
 system, have made elections which will in some meas- 
 ure affect the range of their future studies. 
 
 If now, at the close of two years of high-school work, 
 pupils are enabled to elect various courses, some of 
 a strictly vocational character, some continuing the 
 general education without reference to college, and 
 others preparing specifically for various types of college 
 work, I see no reason why the higher institutions of 
 
30 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 learning should not, by suitable examinations, devised 
 primarily to test the power of the student rather than 
 his definite knowledge, amply satisfy themselves as to 
 the pupil's ability to enter upon various college courses. 
 
 It would seem to me entirely possible, in almost any 
 field of preparatory study, to devise tests of such a 
 character that the effects of special or technical pre- 
 vious preparation would not operate as a handicap to 
 the student in demonstrating his qualifications to pur- 
 sue advanced studies. Why should not your commit- 
 tees give more extended study to the psychology of 
 examinations, with a view to devising tests which shall 
 really be tests of power, and not merely of memorized 
 knowledge or of skill obtained. through a system of 
 cramming-tests on previous examination papers? 
 Possibly in the framing of admission examinations you 
 might go farther, also, in the way of making sharp 
 distinctions between certain sets of questions which 
 should be answered, perhaps, purely out of accumu- 
 lated knowledge, and others with reference to which 
 no specific preparation could enable the student to 
 meet the tests imposed. I see no reason why some of 
 these tests should not be anticipatory of the work to 
 be done in subsequent courses, rather than merely 
 reminiscent of work previously taken. 
 
 One further suggestion: The custom is growing, I 
 believe, of bringing into examining bodies representa- 
 tives of the field of secondary education. Individual 
 institutions which still maintain entrance examina- 
 
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS 31 
 
 tions do not do this, I am informed, but I see no reason 
 why, within limits, it should not be done as a means 
 of bridging the gap as regards mutual understanding 
 which now exists between secondary schools and col- 
 leges. K this were done, I would suggest that such 
 representation be not confined to the largest and best 
 organized schools, but that smaller high schools as 
 well be brought into cooperation. I am inclined to 
 beUeve that some of the best work in this country is 
 done in comparatively small schools, but these must, 
 of course, be subject to the limitations of support and 
 opportunity under which they operate, and they may 
 be often compelled materially to vary their standards 
 on this account. These schools often have as pupils 
 young men and women of unusual capacity for self- 
 development, and of tmusual initiative. No higher 
 institution of learning seeking to render its best serv- 
 ice to society can aflFord to neglect material of this 
 character. The larger high schools, where each sub- 
 ject not only is taught by a separate teacher but is 
 frequently organized under a group of teachers, pos- 
 sess facilities for responding to college standards quite 
 impossible to small schools with Umited resources. 
 And yet it is a serious question whether the graduates 
 of these large high schools wiU, on the average, two 
 years after undertaking their college work, stand out 
 superior to the pupils coming from the smaller high 
 schools. A recognition of these necessary difiFerences 
 might prove of profit to the college. 
 
IV 
 
 To a College Professor of Education: 
 
 It seems to me that departments of education in 
 American colleges and universities have contributed 
 in a large measure to the revolution which now seems 
 to be in progress in secondary education in this coun- 
 try. Apart of this contribution has been of a negative 
 nature; that is, it has consisted of rather searching 
 criticisms of the traditions of education, no less than 
 the making of suggestions as to possible substitutes 
 for the traditional aims, studies, and methods of in- 
 struction in high schools. It is safe to say that almost 
 every instructor in departments of education in 
 American colleges and universities is regarded as an 
 educational radical. These men and women have 
 manifested considerable impatience toward educa- 
 tional traditions, and have been especially critical of 
 the psychological doctrines upon which the historic 
 programs of study are, or are supposed to be, based. 
 Then, too, there has been a steady tendency on the 
 part of these men to insist on the possible high values 
 of studies now rarely foimd in secondary-school cur- 
 ricula, such as social science, applied art, and voca- 
 tional subjects. In these departments we find, for 
 the first time, the beginnings of a scientific attitude 
 towards education as a special field of study. Every 
 
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 33 
 
 one, certainly, who is interested in the right reor- 
 ganization of secondary education must look hope- 
 fully to departments of education in American col- 
 leges and universities for guidance in the future. 
 
 The history of the development of these depart- 
 ments is hardly less interesting and suggestive than is 
 the history of the development of secondary education, 
 itself. The oldest of them dates back Httle more than 
 one third of a century. They were usually first organ- 
 ized as branches or departments of philosophy, and 
 have had, diu-ing their earlier years at least, a pre- 
 carious existence. It was perhaps inevitable that the 
 first subjects taught in these departments should have 
 consisted largely of material taken from the history 
 of education and the so-called " philosophy of educa- 
 tion," which subjects certainly possessed little enough 
 in themselves of a distinctively contributory nature 
 for our modern problems. But after all, the important 
 thing in these departments was usually the man in 
 charge of the work. It is noteworthy that, from the 
 beginning, our departments of education usually iden- 
 tified themselves much more intimately with the gen- 
 eral public-school administration than with the other 
 departments in their institutions. In fact, I am inclined 
 to believe that in a great many instances the initiation, 
 and later the expansion, of these departments has 
 been due more to pressure from without the institu- 
 tion than owing to any clear-cut conviction, developed 
 from within, that such a department was necessary. 
 
34 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 It has often been the case that departments of 
 education have been the first clearly to face the prob- 
 lems which should primarily claim the attention of 
 the college. I refer, in the first place, to the training 
 of secondary-school teachers, and in the second place 
 to the performance of constructive and research 
 work in the field of secondary education. I need not 
 remind you of the enormous development of Ameri- 
 can secondary education during the last quarter of a 
 century. Even more rapid, however, has been the 
 growth of the demand for college graduates as teach- 
 ers in these secondary schools. There are now in the 
 pubHc high schools of America alone nearly fifty 
 thousand men and women employed as teachers, a 
 very large majority of whom are college graduates. 
 These constitute a very respectable profession. The 
 colleges have been proud of the demand made upon 
 them for teachers, but only rarely have they been 
 willing to concede the importance of giving these pro- 
 spective teachers adequate special training for their 
 work. All have long labored under the old assump- 
 tion that knowledge of subject-matter sufficed to 
 make good teachers in any field. 
 
 Now, it seems to me that departments of education, 
 if they had been wise, would first of all have claimed 
 the field of secondary education as their special terri- 
 tory, and would have done a large amount of work in 
 mapping out its problems and in defining, not only 
 the particular contributions which they, themselves, 
 
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 35 
 
 should make to it, but also what should be expected 
 from the other departments of the liberal arts college 
 cooperating in the training of special teachers for high 
 schools. In looking over the catalogues of various col- 
 leges and universities, I find surprisingly little atten- 
 tion, even yet, given to this, as it seems to me, clearly 
 defined field of effort. Every year thousands of gradu- 
 ates of our colleges and universities enter the field of 
 secondary education. They have all the prepossessions 
 that their own special departments can give them. In 
 departments such as that over which you preside, they 
 have taken courses in the history of education, general 
 psychological problems, and so-called " principles of 
 education"; but it seems to me that in surprisingly 
 few instances even yet are they brought face to face 
 with what have surely been defined, during the last 
 decade, as the fundamental problems of secondary 
 education. 
 
 I am furthermore impressed with the surprising 
 scarcity of hterature of a fundamental nature dealing 
 with the problems of secondary education. True, we 
 have had a wealth of articles contributed to journals, 
 and a well-edited School Review and some other jour- 
 nals of similar nature have accumulated a very cyclo- 
 pedia of miscellaneous opinions, descriptions, and pro- 
 posals in this field. But, barring a very few exceptions, 
 we have no books dealing in a fundamental way with 
 what are now clearly perceived to be the real problems 
 of secondary education. 
 
86 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Let me instance the widespread movement for the 
 development of vocational schools. It is coming to be 
 seen that this new movement is a fundamental one, 
 arising in response to a genuine social need. I am of 
 the opinion that we shall have vocational secondary 
 schools widely developed throughout the country, and 
 for almost all types of occupations, within a very few 
 years. I regret to say, however, that departments of 
 education, while they have been acquiescent and hos- 
 pitable to the new developments in the main, have con- 
 tributed almost nothing of a positively constructive 
 nature, so far as I am able to learn. Business men, 
 superintendents of schools, teachers of manual train- 
 ing, and others outside the colleges have in the main 
 been responsible for the new developments. 
 
 Again, take the field of training for citizenship, or 
 the field of the broader moral education. Here, too, 
 I am convinced that we are in the presence of a wide- 
 spread social demand for new and additional types of 
 training and instruction for adolescents. Neverthe- 
 less, departments of education throughout the United 
 States seem to me as yet to be contributing in article 
 form very little, indeed, to this important field of 
 educational thought. 
 
 I suppose that the heads of many of the depart- 
 ments of education would contend that the whole of 
 education is their province, and that they are under 
 no special obligation to give exceptional attention to 
 the field of the secondary school. With this position 
 
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 37 
 
 I can hardly agree. I recognize that our departments 
 of education must not only do their share in the train- 
 ing of secondary-school teachers, but must also main- 
 tain courses for persons equipping themselves for 
 administrative fields. Nevertheless, the first territory 
 is very much larger than the second, and in some ways 
 much more important. I have no sympathy at all 
 with the disposition in some quarters, on the part of 
 colleges and universities, to invade the field of elemen- 
 tary education, except in so far as they can deal com- 
 petently with this in the case of those of their students 
 who are likely to be employed as administrators. The 
 normal schools of America constitute a well-defined 
 field of professional education which, at the present 
 time, at any rate, cannot profit from closer affiliation 
 with colleges and universities. On the other hand, in 
 view of what has been said above regarding the large 
 responsibilities of our colleges in training secondary- 
 school teachers, and in view of the fact that most of 
 the departments of liberal arts in the colleges are, 
 themselves, closely in contact with various phases of 
 secondary education, it seems to me that here is the 
 first and most important field with which departments 
 like yours should concern themselves. Your large 
 problem should be to enable prospective high-school 
 teachers to find the fields in which they can be of 
 most service, and to enable them to master the 
 methods by which such service can be most effec- 
 tively rendered. 
 
38 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 As I interpret them, the two fundamental problems 
 in secondary education to-day are these: 
 
 1. What are the most valuable kinds and quantities 
 of training and instruction which society should 
 give to various groups of young people of approxi- 
 mately fourteen to eighteen years of age? 
 
 2. How can these forms of training and instruction 
 be given with a maximum of efficiency and with 
 a minimum expenditure of time and energy? 
 
 A statement of the problems thus involves, as you 
 readily see, questions reaching back of all our formu- 
 lated and traditionally accepted subjects of secondary 
 instruction. It means that we must devise schemes of 
 educational values in which the mastery of a given 
 body of knowledge shall be merely a means, and not an 
 end. 
 
 It is certain that we shall be able to formulate and 
 attack the various problems differentiating from those 
 broadly stated above, only in the light of a well- 
 developed social economy. Our knowledge of the un- 
 derlying sociology is as yet, indeed, fragmentary and 
 imperfectly organized. Nevertheless, as our knowl- 
 edge of the principles of sociology is being applied to 
 the promotion of human well-being, we are, to a con- 
 stantly increasing extent, evolving what might be 
 called a fundamental social economy — that is, an 
 appreciation and knowledge of what are genuine social 
 values, as well as some conception of the most effective 
 methods of realizing them. 
 
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 39 
 
 Now, broadly speaking, all education is but a phase 
 of social economy. It is a means of increasing the 
 efficiency of peoples, and of lessening waste. All edu- 
 cational values must be true social values. All real 
 social utilities that can be achieved by educational 
 means should be the concern of our educational agen- 
 cies, even if these do not directly provide them. 
 
 But how far, would you contend, does all of the 
 available literature of secondary education carry us 
 into the field of a genuine social economy? To what 
 extent does that vast accumulation of guesses, notions, 
 and theories which to-day constitutes the literature of 
 secondary education, assist us in really understanding 
 the ends which an efPective system of education should 
 realize? Again I refer to the very recent movement for 
 vocational secondary education. This movement has 
 been hampered and confused by our failure to dis- 
 tinguish various forms of educational values and as a 
 consequence our utter failure clearly to differentiate 
 the administrative and educational means by which 
 they are to be realized. Even our college departments 
 of education, it seems to me, are still very much con- 
 fused as to the relation of so-called "cultural" to 
 vocational education. They still seem to assume that 
 some form of general training, some composite type of 
 appeal, or, as I sometimes think, some hocus-pocus or 
 panacea will accomplish all of the educational ends 
 that are worth while. They fail, it seems to me, to 
 realize that various specific educational ends, each no 
 
40 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 less worth while than others, may have to be attained 
 by very special exercises and educational devices. 
 
 In view of the history of our departments of educa- 
 tion and the tremendous contributions which they 
 have already made, you will readily understand that I 
 am not disposed to be critical as to past accomplish- 
 ments, but rather extremely solicitous as to present 
 and future developments. In some cases it seems to me 
 that I detect signs that departments of education are 
 becoming conventionalized and self-satisfied, quite 
 like other departments in colleges and universities. 
 If this is so, then we shall have little to expect from 
 them in the future, because the field of secondary 
 education particularly is so greatly in need of reorgani- 
 zation that almost all accepted traditions will have to 
 be approached critically and with a readiness to dis- 
 card them, if the new conditions are to be effectively 
 met. Because of this, I take the liberty of suggesting 
 some of the problems that it seems to me your depart- 
 ment should especially consider in the next few years. 
 — First, it is my belief that every department of edu- 
 cation in American colleges should maintain, con- 
 stantly, an inquiring and critical attitude as to the 
 educational values of the subjects which have become 
 traditionally identified with secondary education, or 
 which are now seeking recognition. This form of in- 
 quiry, while apparently destructive, is, on the whole, 
 permanently constructive, because, even where its 
 results are not immediately apparent, there will be a 
 
PROFESSOE OF EDUCATION 41 
 
 gradual effect in the reshaping of the work of the vari- 
 ous college departments of liberal education and in 
 developing in prospective teachers a more inquiring 
 attitude as to the ends which they wish to achieve. 
 In any course dealing with problems of secondary 
 education, the instructor can consistently maintain a 
 questioning attitude as to the actual educational values 
 of Latin, French, German, physics, history, English 
 literature, commercial law, manual training, agricul- 
 tural science, etc., as now taught. In every case he 
 may expect always to obtain a large assortment of 
 opinions as to the educational values of these various 
 subjects, based, of course, largely upon tradition and 
 hasty assumption. 
 
 Pursuing this form of inquiry, he can endeavor to 
 ascertain what is believed regarding the educational 
 values of these subjects for particular groups of stu- 
 dents. For example, assuming for the moment the 
 traditional view as to the value of Latin, should it be 
 recommended as a study to pupils who will necessarily 
 leave high school at sixteen years of age? This form of 
 inquiry is capable of almost indefinite expansion. 
 
 Again, it might be possible at least to suggest the 
 beginnings of inquiry as to the values of studies as 
 shown in the cases of those who have had any given 
 amount of training. For example, in our high schools 
 pupils study a certain amount of science. What is the 
 residuum of knowledge which they possess five years 
 after leaving school? They have studied mathematics. 
 
42 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 What effects of such study, if any, are traceable in the 
 adult? They have studied English literature, especially 
 of the classical varieties. Are enduring interests in 
 these fields to be found? 
 
 -^ In the second place, and more particularly in con- 
 nection with subjects whose probable educational value 
 may be readily accepted, as, for example, English 
 expression, algebra for prospective engineers, etc., 
 there might constantly be raised questions as to the 
 actual educational values of different methods of 
 instruction employed. This procedure, too, is capable 
 of almost indefinite extension, and inquiry in it should, 
 where practicable, involve the coSperation of at least 
 one instructor from the department concerned. 
 
 _ In the third place, one of the largest fields of oppor- 
 tunity for useful work which I foresee for your depart- 
 ment is that of analyzing, from a study of social 
 economy, the various types of useful ends which should 
 be achieved through the systematic education of ado- 
 lescents. For example, within the field of physical 
 education we have as yet made but beginnings in this 
 direction. Again, I am confident that in the broader 
 moral, civic, or social education our efforts at the pres- 
 ent time are fragmentary and ineffective to a degree 
 almost unrealized. Already in the field of vocational 
 education you have a valuable body of literature from 
 which to draw, but nevertheless, even here your de- 
 partment should be further scrutinizing the educa- 
 tional ends that are worth while, with a view to sag- 
 
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION 43 
 
 gesting the educational procedures by which they can 
 be realized. 
 
 Departments of education have had a somewhat 
 stormy development, but I think a part of your trouble 
 has been due to your failure to organize your work 
 definitely on a professional basis. In another letter, 
 addressed to a college president, I am urging the desir- 
 abihty of constituting a separate college of education, 
 the functions of which should be no less clearly defined 
 than those of an engineering college, or a medical col- 
 lege. The chief obstacle to such a development at the 
 present time, I am convinced, is the lack of confidence 
 on the part of the faculty of your institution in the 
 ability of your department properly to organize and 
 sustain such a college. There are other obstacles, of 
 course. Such a college as this would necessarily utilize, 
 in large measure, the work of the various departments 
 of the liberal arts college, and there is naturally reluc- 
 tance on the part of these departments to surrender any 
 of their prerogatives. From my point of view, the 
 development of colleges of education in all our larger 
 institutions is inevitable. In fact, I believe that within 
 a very few years no person will be acceptable as a 
 teacher in a high school who has not completed a course 
 in such a college, preferably including a year of gradu- 
 ate work. I shall do all in my power to promote the 
 development of such colleges; but in the mean time it 
 is still a large responsibility of your department to 
 define in clear-cut fashion what contributions you can 
 
44 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 make basal to the more effective training of secondary- 
 school teachers, and also to the work of research in the 
 field of secondary education. I believe you would gain 
 in public confidence if you would make these two 
 fields the center of your work. 
 
To the Principal of a General High School : 
 
 In writing this series of letters to teachers and others 
 connected with secondary education, I find myself con- 
 stantly returning to the thought that, in very large 
 measure, the principal of any secondary school is, after 
 all, the key to the situation as regards all needed 
 reorganizations of the aims and the methods of sec- 
 ondary education. We may expect important con- 
 tributions from many other quarters — from superin- 
 tendents of schools, college presidents, chairmen of 
 admission committees, college departments of educa- 
 tion, writers of textbooks, and teachers in our high 
 schools; but the carrying into effect of varying propo- 
 sals, either for modifications of existing courses or for 
 the development of new aims and methods, must be 
 effected largely through the principal in every case. 
 He is the man who can best receive suggestions from 
 outside sources as to aims, and who, in addition, can 
 best direct the work of teachers in the reorganization 
 of the means and methods which they employ. It is 
 my desire, therefore, to discuss in this letter to you a 
 few of the problems which will, I believe, have to be 
 solved during the next few years by every progressive 
 principal of a general high school. 
 There is no doubt in my mind that we must, hence- 
 
46 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 forth, interpret secondary education much more 
 broadly than has been the case hitherto. We shall have 
 to make it include practically every form of construc- 
 tive training and instruction to be given to young peo- 
 ple between the ages of fourteen and eighteen or nine- 
 teen — if not between the ages of twelve and nineteen 
 or twenty. For a large proportion of young people, 
 this education must at some time during this period 
 become quite distinctively vocational. For others, the 
 entire secondary-school period will be devoted mainly 
 to the obtaining of a broad general, or liberal, educa- 
 tion. For some, the period exclusively devoted to 
 liberal education should terminate at fourteen or six- 
 teen, to be replaced, either by systematic vocational 
 education, or entrance upon productive work. We 
 shall also, doubtless, soon make extensive provision 
 in our schools for the continuance, on a part-time basis 
 or in evening classes, of the vocational education/ of 
 those desiring it, just as, equally, we shall make pro- 
 vision for the further liberal education of those mani- 
 festing wants in this direction. In a great variety of 
 ways we shall be obliged to make our systems of train- 
 ing and instruction flexible and adapted to the needs 
 of groups of young people of widely varying interests, 
 capacities, and needs. 
 
 But I am convinced that we shall preserve, and 
 probably still further define and emphasize, present 
 distinctions between liberal education, on the one 
 hand, and vocational education, on the other. Every 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A HIGH SCHOOL 47 
 
 step in the direction of defining educational purposes 
 more clearly, and, as a consequence, devising effective 
 means and methods of realizing the aims thus defined, 
 makes clearer the fimdamental necessity, as I see it, 
 of a distinct administrative separation between the 
 agencies of vocational education and of liberal educa- 
 tion. This does not mean at all that during the period 
 devoted chiefly to vocational education the pupil will 
 receive none of the training and instruction which is 
 hereafter defined as making for the ends of "liberal" 
 education. It does mean, however, that in the voca- 
 tional school he will give the working day chiefly to 
 learning a vocation, very much as he would give the 
 working day to the pursuit of his vocation if he were 
 regularly employed. We do not expect a man, whether 
 at twenty-five or fifty years of age, to give all of his 
 time to his vocation. Neither do we expect, however, 
 his cultural and civic interests so to mix themselves 
 with his pursuit of his vocation as to distract him in 
 his calling or to impair the efficiency of his efforts 
 therein. We do not want him to take his shop into his 
 home, his club, or his holiday diversions. We do not 
 even wish him to bring his shop too greatly into his 
 politics. He is a man of family, of culture, and a citi- 
 zen, on the one hand, and a worker, on the other. 
 Distinctions of this sort, I am confident, will soon gen- 
 erally penetrate into all our plans of education. We 
 shall find that any attempt to bring within the hours 
 of the working day periods perhaps forty-five minutes 
 
48 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 in length now devoted to the ends of liberal education, 
 and again to the ends of so-called vocational education, 
 simply result in a hodge-podge that makes neither for 
 vocational efficiency nor for the power that we com- 
 prehend under the term " liberal education." 
 
 This letter, therefore, is addressed to you, as the 
 principal of a high school, the controlling purposes of 
 which are to be found in liberal education. The first 
 problem, even yet that here arises is as to what con- 
 stitutes liberal education. We have many traditional 
 definitions of this, but I find that none of them are so 
 definite, comprehensive, and " functional" as to enable 
 us, on the basis of the requirements of the liberal edu- 
 cation as thus defined, to choose among the various 
 means and methods by which it can be produced. It 
 will, therefore, be a large part of the work of members 
 of your profession, as well as of others, in the near 
 future to give to the world much more comprehensive 
 definitions of liberal education. We have allowed our- 
 selves to fall into many foolish and indefensible posi- 
 tions, even in recent years, in this respect. For ex- 
 ample, I suppose that many of those devoted to the 
 traditional view of education would still insist that the 
 study of Latin, as carried on in our ordinary high 
 schools, contributes to liberal education. They would 
 make similar claims for such subjects as algebra, an- 
 cient history, and physics. On the other hand, there 
 are those of us who associate liberal education much 
 more with the accumulation of ideas and the kindling 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A mOH SCHOOL 49 
 
 of ideals in connection with such fields of human 
 achievement as literature, art, science, and the eco- 
 nomic and social conquest of the forces of nature. 
 
 I beUeve that eventually we shall obtain our most 
 satisfactory theory of liberal education through mak- 
 ing a fairly comprehensive and sharp distinction be- 
 tween those activities which belong to men in^connec- 
 tion with their specialized and productive occupations, 
 on the one hand, and, on the other, those which belong 
 to men in their capacity of utilizing the resources 
 which the material and social environment ofifer. This 
 distinction, to my mind, is important at the present 
 time because of constantly increasing tendencies 
 toward specialization of occupational life, whereas, 
 from the standpoint of utilization, the whole tendency 
 of our education is to place at the disposal of even the 
 average man, as a consumer, so far as practicable all 
 the products of historic and contemporary achieve- 
 ment. For example, we expect a man, on the produc- 
 tive side, to be a machinist, or a physician, or a farmer, 
 or a bookkeeper, or a specialist in some form of polit- 
 ical service, — to enumerate only a few possible occu- 
 pations. On the other hand, we expect every man to 
 utilize, in greater or less degree, the products of poets, 
 artists, scientists, historians, physicians, political lead- 
 ers, etc., whether these be of the past or of the present. 
 
 From this point of view, therefore, the primary 
 function of each vocational school is to minister to the 
 requirements of that special group of individuals who 
 
50 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 desire to equip themselves efPectively to pursue a given 
 occupation. The functions of schools of general or 
 liberal education, on the other hand, whether these be 
 elementary schools, high schools, or colleges, as well as 
 of the various cultural agencies playing a part in later 
 life, are to enhance the capacity of men to utilize, 
 according to high and effective standards, the products 
 and services that for them are becoming more and 
 more universally available. To this end, the school of 
 liberal education must undertake two fairly distinct 
 types of work. It must first give command of those 
 instrumentalities and powers which are quite gener- 
 ally to be employed in an executive capacity as a 
 means of utilization. Our elementary school must 
 teach our children to read and to write, up to certain 
 standards of proficiency, in order that they may have 
 the opportunity to utilize the resources which the 
 social inheritance places at their disposal. In the sec- 
 ond place, a large additional function of the school of 
 liberal or general education is not so much to produce 
 ability to do in any given field as to produce capacity 
 to make wise choices and sound discriminations, these 
 to lead to wise utilization. Here, then, education which 
 results in appreciation, rather than the ability to exe- 
 cute, represents the goal. In the fields of literature, we 
 do not expect to make writers out of the vast majority 
 of our pupils. We wish, however, to make them all 
 appreciative of, and discriminative as to, good writing. 
 Similarly, in such specialized fields as medical service, 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A HIGH SCHOOL 61 
 
 various forms of political service, the manufacture of 
 economic goods, in the field of general education, we 
 have no intention of producing the ability to do; what 
 we chiefly desire is to give general capacity for wise 
 choice. 
 
 Coming now to the field of the so-called " liberal 
 high school," it is obvious that outside of the field of 
 physical education (which is a topic to be treated by 
 itself), the chief purposes to be attained may be 
 grouped under the two heads, of cultural and social 
 education. In the first case, it is the purpose of the 
 school to enhance the ability of the individual to uti- 
 lize, as an individual, the available cultural resources 
 of our age, incluxiing all of those which make for the 
 development of intellectual and aesthetic interests and 
 other capacities that seem to be genuinely worth while. 
 On the other hand, it is also the function of the school 
 to produce the habits, knowledge, appreciations, and 
 ideals which are identified with wise moral and civic 
 living. These involve, first of all, valuable habits and 
 ideals of social conformijy They involve, second, a 
 sound capacity to make choice of political service in 
 all of those fields wherein, under our modern system 
 of group living, we act cooperatively as employers of 
 the various forms of poHtical service needed in society. 
 
 It seems to me that it will be possible, under the 
 standards referred to above, progressively to recon- 
 struct our high-school programs to the ends of a more 
 genuine liberal education. I believe that at the pres- 
 
58 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 ent moment there is no educational agency that is so 
 much under the spell of tradition, taking account of 
 its prescribed as well as of its optional studies, as the 
 public secondary school. Almost all its aims and stand- 
 ards, as well as many of its methods, are purely the 
 products of selection in the past, conserved by adher- 
 ence to quite artificial psychological standards in more 
 recent years. 
 
 Broadly speaking, for example, we do not to-day 
 know why, in any definite way, we attach such im- 
 portance in the high school to the studies of algebra, 
 Latin, ancient history, and various other subjects, as 
 usually presented. About all that we can prove is that 
 at some time in the past some of these studies were of 
 actual value, or that more recently a considerable 
 group of people became convinced, whether reason- 
 ably or not, that they possessed value for some educa- 
 tional purposes. It is interesting, in reading the his- 
 tory of education, to find how positions as to these 
 questions have become transformed. At one time, for 
 example, the study of mathematics was largely in- 
 sisted upon for its utilitarian value. As, however, the 
 study was prescribed for an increasing number of stu- 
 dents, including girls, it became easier to defend it on 
 the grounds of its value in mental training. Similarly, 
 Latin was undoubtedly once a valuable tool of general 
 learning. To-day, when it can no longer be defended 
 as such, its advocates still insist that as an instrument 
 of mental discipline it is unequaled even by the study 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A fflGH SCHOOL S3 
 
 of modern languages, or by the study of English itself 
 — a contention which I believe must appear to many 
 sane students as more or less preposterous. 
 
 More recently we have seen introduced into general 
 high schools a variety of commercial and practical arts 
 studies, the introduction of which was undoubtedly 
 supported by taxpayers and others because of their 
 supposed utilitarian value. Now, however, in many 
 cases these studies are defended by teachers and school 
 principals on the groimd of their disciplinary or gen- 
 eral educational value, as distinguished from their 
 vocational value. 
 
 In general, therefore, I believe that, when ap- 
 proached from almost any point of view, the present 
 high-school curriculum, both as regards its aims and 
 its commonly followed methods, shows the effects of 
 tradition and unscientific thinking to a marked extent. 
 It is a field wherein custom and empirical knowledge 
 still play a very large part. I need not now go into a 
 nistory of the reasons why this condition is so. It is 
 developed in part in other letters of this series. The 
 College has played its part in three different ways, — 
 first, through its admission standards; second, through 
 its training of teachers; and third, through the fact 
 that textbooks and manuals have been largely influ- 
 enced by college men. Again, the inability of high- 
 school teachers and principals to develop concerted 
 action as to their work has been influential in retard- 
 ing the development of new and more helpful concep- 
 
54 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 tions of liberal education. This, however, is not a 
 profitable matter for discussion at the present moment. 
 The facts remain, and it is our business now to raise 
 the question as to how more profitable forms of devel- 
 opment may be achieved. 
 
VI 
 
 To an Assistant Superintendent in charge of Vocational 
 Education : 
 
 There is a growing practice in our large cities of 
 creating the office of assistant, or deputy, superintend- 
 ent, in charge of vocational education. This is directly 
 in the line of efficiency, and I believe that the time will 
 come when, systems of expert county supervision hav- 
 ing been established for our rural areas, there will also 
 be found in each county, or other similar area, an 
 assistant superintendent in charge of the agricultural, 
 home-making, and other forms of vocational education 
 which will be found in such communities. 
 
 The assistant superintendent in charge of vocational 
 education, whether in a city or a county, finds himself 
 confronted by almost innumerable problems, as to 
 many of which he has few, if any, precedents to guide 
 him. We now clearly recognize that vocational educa- 
 tion — meaning thereby education directed quite pur- 
 posefully and specifically towards equipping youths, 
 in whole or in part, for the pui-suit of a useful occupa- 
 tion — does not, and cannot, consist simply of modi- 
 fications of the historic types of education; it is in 
 reality a new and distinct type superadded to those 
 hitherto existing, and for the purpose of meeting defi- 
 nitely new social needs. Historically speaking, indeed, 
 
56 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the world has always had vocational education, carried 
 on through and by such institutions as the home, the 
 workshop, the farm, and the commercial establishment. 
 The new social demand is in reality not for vocational 
 education as such, but for new agencies through which 
 this indispensable form of education can be organized 
 and made effective. This demand arises because the 
 old agencies as now organized are either no longer ade- 
 .quate to do the work required, or because the current 
 demands for vocational education, as in the case of 
 agricultural education, are so essentially different from 
 the forms with which the historic agencies concerned 
 themselves as to require the creation of new agencies 
 for the purpose. 
 
 In some departments of vocational education, not- 
 ably the commercial and home-making, persistent 
 attempts have long been made to utilize substantially 
 all of the pedagogic forces and instruments of admin- 
 istration that have become traditionally associated 
 with general or liberal education. As a consequence, 
 it. is even yet a serious question whether commercial 
 and home-making education are at all efficient — that 
 is, in the sense of giving any considerable amount of 
 genuinely practical training in return for the money 
 expended upon them. It is difficult, if not impossible, 
 in many cases to distinguish, as regards results, be- 
 tween these forms of alleged vocational education and 
 the general education carried on through the same 
 subjects in these or other schools. 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 57 
 
 I think the conviction is steadily growing that any 
 form of vocational education, to be efiPective, must 
 develop its own teaching processes as well as means 
 of administration, and that, on the whole, both as to 
 methods of instruction and instruments of adminis- 
 tration, it must be quite independent of general or so- 
 called " liberal " education. This must be so because 
 of the fundamental imhkenesses between the ends or 
 purposes of liberal education and the ends or purposes 
 of vocational education. 
 
 It is now generally conceded that any form of voca- 
 tional education, as a condition of eflfectiveness, must 
 closely identify itself with the processes, standards, 
 and requirements of the occupations for which train- 
 ing is given, as these are organized and administered 
 for commercial purposes. No longer can schoolmasters, 
 simply as such, assume that they know what should 
 be offered as commercial education, or industrial edu- 
 cation, or home-making education, or agricultural 
 education. They can become helpful advisers in these 
 fields only by keeping themselves in close contact with 
 the practical aspects in the conduct of these various 
 occupations. In fact, it is now certain that the persons 
 immediately responsible for the development of teach- 
 ing devices, equipment, and organization of courses 
 of instruction, as well as the offering of instruction in 
 vocational education, must themselves be experts in 
 the occupations for which training is being given, at 
 least to the extent that their services would, if avail- 
 able, be readily sought by employers in these fields. 
 
58 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 In America the public has reached the point where 
 to-day it freely and willingly accepts the principle of 
 public support and control for any and all forms of 
 vocational education. From our state universities 
 with their professional schools, down through the 
 fields of secondary agricultural, commercial, industrial, 
 nautical, and home-making education, abundant pub- 
 lic money can be obtained for the conduct of voca- 
 tional schools, provided we can convince the taxpayers 
 that such money is being expended wisely and with 
 good effect. Society now looks upon vocational edu- 
 cation, not only as one of the best forms of social 
 insurance, but also as a very valuable form of social 
 investment from the standpoint of laying out funds 
 which will later bring to the community at large gen- 
 erous returns. The State is disposed to regard voca- 
 tional education, not only as a means of reducing to 
 the minimum the proportion of unemployed which it 
 has in its midst, but also as a means of promoting the 
 productive capacity of each individual to an extent 
 which will enable him to assist the State in the future 
 in more amply supporting all forms of education than 
 it can do at the present time. 
 
 The problems, therefore, which now most intimately 
 concern us are chiefly those involved in rendering 
 vocational education thoroughly effective. Here are 
 no easy tasks. Most of the pedagogical problems in- 
 volved are being approached for the first time. It is 
 true that we Americans have obtained many sugges- 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 59 
 
 tions from abroad, but practical devices and working 
 methods can be borrowed only to a comparatively 
 slight extent. For the future our American communi- 
 ties must work out the problems of vocational educa- 
 tion by themselves, with, of course, the largest possi- 
 ble cooperation between community and community. 
 
 The experience of the last dozen years has brought 
 about a fairly common acceptance of certain principles 
 of vocational education, it seems to me, notwithstand- 
 ing the fact that the actual application of these prin- 
 ciples in practice is as yet not very far-reaching. The 
 first of these principles is, in brief, that all effective 
 vocational education requires that the learner in any 
 particular department shall, from the outset, be largely 
 concerned with the working-out of practical problems 
 and the doing of productive work in the more elemen- 
 tary and simple stages of the calling or vocation for 
 which he is receiving training. 
 
 This principle involves the acceptance of a large 
 amouut of the method of training heretofore charac- 
 teristic of apprenticeship as a form of vocational edu- 
 cation. It means that the learner at first learns chiefiy 
 through doing, and that his doing is associated largely 
 with the practical problems characteristic of the occu- 
 pation for which he is being given training. It means, 
 among other things, either that the learner shall spend 
 part of his time working in actual establishments 
 where the world's productive work is being done and 
 that he shall come to the school for a part of his time. 
 
60 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 either in the day or the evening, to obtain such addi- 
 tional instruction, training, and practice with new 
 instruments as the stage of his development may 
 require. If practical experience is not obtainable in 
 this way, then the school itself is under obligation to 
 obtain control of the necessary instrumentalities 
 whereby it can set the learner at work on productive 
 projects appropriate to the calling and to the stage 
 of development reached by him. If, for example, an 
 industrial department cannot have its students work- 
 ing in corresponding industrial establishments, then 
 the school itself must build up and equip a productive 
 shop in which the learner can spend a large proportion 
 of his time on work the products of which will eventu- 
 ally find their way into the market, and for which work 
 he may receive, at any rate in part, some compensa- 
 tion. The difficulty of providing agencies of this sort 
 for some forms of vocational training is very great. 
 In other directions the difficulties are not large ones, 
 once the principle is sincerely and honestly accepted. 
 This principle is already exemplified in various forms 
 of agricultural education and industrial education, 
 both for boys and girls. Commercial education and 
 home-making education have so far realized but little 
 of the possibilities of this method of approach. 
 
 As a method of organizing practical work, it is now 
 accepted by most educators that the " project" or the 
 educational "job" (that is, a unit of productive work 
 which tor the learner involves not only the require- 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 61 
 
 ments of productive activity, but enables him to 
 acquire in connection therewith additional insight into 
 applications of science, art, mathematics, etc., looking 
 to roimded training for his occupation) is the most 
 satisfactory unit. Hardly any occupation of an agri- 
 cultural, commercial, industrial, or home-making 
 nature but presents elementary phases upon which 
 these imits or projects may be based. The problem of 
 the future in this coimection is to take each occupation 
 towards which boys and girls are to be trained, and to 
 analyze it carefully, always utilizing the experience of 
 practical men in the calling, in order to find the simple 
 jobs which can be utilized as " projects" of a definitely 
 educational nature. 
 
 The problem next in importance to be confronted by 
 those who are organizing our vocational education is 
 that of relating so-called technical instruction to the 
 practical work followed. It has proved comparatively 
 easy to give, even in technical schools, or so-called 
 "vocational schools," logically organized courses in 
 such technical subjects as drawing, mathematics, the 
 various sciences, appUed art, etc. Experience, however, 
 has demonstrated the comparative futility of teaching 
 these courses to a large proportion of those young peo- 
 ple who will become the rank and file of workers in the 
 trades and other wage-earning pursuits. For students 
 who have no unusual mental powers, logically organ- 
 ized courses on a more or less theoretical basis are com- 
 paratively useless. Technical instruction can be of 
 
62 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 service for such students only when closely correlated 
 from day to day with practical instruction, and where 
 the instructor is, himself, under obligation to carry 
 into practice each bit of theory as learned. More effec- 
 tive still is an educational policy whereby the student 
 first encounters in his practical work the necessity for 
 some specific training in a related technical subject, 
 and thereupon is offered the opportunity to take it up. 
 In this field lies, for the next few years, a very large 
 opportunity to organize in definite form the require- 
 ments of any particular calling with the object of show- 
 ing what is the related technical instruction required, 
 and how it shall be correlated with the practical work 
 or projects being followed in the shop or on the farm. 
 Only in this way shall we be able to get away from 
 certain ancient superstitions as to the value of such 
 subjects as algebra, mechanical drawing, and physics 
 in various occupations and trades which men and 
 women follow. 
 
 When we shall have organized vocational education 
 in our urban communities somewhat thoroughly, we 
 shall find, I believe, that such organization admits and 
 requires almost indefinite flexibility. We shall find 
 that many of our prepossessions regarding the amount 
 of time to be given to a course of instruction toward a 
 given vocation will be proved quite groundless. There 
 are, undoubtedly, some trades for which four years of 
 systematic training are none too much. There are 
 also very many occupations for which a few months, op 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 63 
 
 even a few weeks, of quite systematic training in a 
 good vocational school may prove ample as an intro- 
 duction to the profitable pursuit of the calling. 
 
 Furthermore, we shall not long hold to the notion 
 that vocational training can be accomplished once for 
 all, for any given student. I can imagine a system in 
 which a boy of fourteen would be offered a two-months 
 course fitting him for a specific juvenile occupation, 
 and that two or three years later such a boy would 
 return, even to an all-day school, to be systematically 
 trained for some adult trade or commercial pursuit. 
 I can readily imagine a fully equipped school system 
 having vocational schools into which the workers in 
 various callings might enter in dull seasons, just as I 
 can imagine such a school system offering to the indus- 
 try itself, for employment, its partly trained workers 
 in order that they may obtain, during a rush season, 
 valuable experience. From this point of view, for 
 example, how absurd it would be for a school of sales- 
 manship to remain in session throughout the month 
 of December, when in all our cities during that season 
 the demand for salesmen and saleswomen is so large, 
 and when a very valuable type of experience in sales- 
 manship could readily be obtained. By means of part- 
 time work, evening classes, short courses during dull 
 and other special seasons, and other similar means, 
 we shall, in all probability, eventually be providing 
 more or less systematic instruction for a very wide 
 range of occupations. 
 
64 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 For those trades and commercial callings in which a 
 considerable period of systematic training, involving 
 definite practice on the one hand, and a large amount 
 of correlated technical instruction on the other, is 
 required, my prediction is that our program will event- 
 ually assume something of the following shape: 
 
 Young people from fourteen to sixteen years of age 
 who cannot continue further their general education 
 will either give their entire time to a vocational school 
 equipped with shops and all facilities for productive 
 work, or else will have substantially half of their time 
 provided for in a vocational school and the remainder 
 in work directed by the school in industries, the school 
 undertaking to direct or at least advise as to the shift- 
 ing of the yoimg learners from job to job, with a view 
 to making such practical experience of maximum 
 educational value. 
 
 At about sisieen years of age, these young workers 
 will be introduced to their respective industrial call- 
 ings under the guidance of the school, by an arrange- 
 ment entered into between the school and the industry, 
 the school still retaining supervisory oversight, for two 
 years, of the learners, with a view to preventing their 
 being confined too exclusively to a limited field of 
 work, and to insure that their practical experience 
 shall give a large return in educational development. 
 During this period the wage of the learner will be 
 determined primarily on the basis of the requirements 
 of his educational program, and only secondarily in 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 65 
 
 view of what he might be making as a producer 
 through the employing establishment. 
 
 After eighteen years of age, and for several years, 
 doubtless, it may be assumed that the worker will 
 return to the school, either to evening classes or to day 
 classes during dull seasons, as a learner; but after the 
 age of eighteen he will be independent, so far as his 
 pursuit of his occupation is concerned. He, himself, 
 will thereafter be regarded as best judge of his educa- 
 tional needs. 
 
 The foregoing are offered as suggestions as to what 
 future developments may be. They are based, in large 
 part, upon a consideration of present tendencies in 
 vocational education. 
 
 There are, of course, many other problems with 
 reference to which we possess but imperfect light at 
 the present time. For example, it is still insisted in 
 some quarters that in our large manufacturing indus- 
 tries there are many occupations, some of which, in- 
 deed, pay good wages, but for which no specific train- 
 ing seems to be required. I do not, myself, believe that 
 careful examination will show this to be the case, but 
 it is readily understandable that for many occupations 
 a comparatively short period of training may prove 
 ample. On the other hand, in this connection are cer- 
 tain problems as to the development of the worker 
 that must not be ignored, and with reference to which 
 research will undoubtedly give us, in the near future, 
 increased light. I refer, among other things, to the 
 
66 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 problem of physical and mental efifects of highly spe- 
 cialized pursuits followed persistently by young people 
 still in the plastic stages of their development. It is 
 possible that experience will show that a specialized 
 occupation followed for several years by a young per- 
 son may prove irreparably harmful, both to physical 
 development and to that kind of mental develop- 
 ment which is closely related to moral character. On 
 the other hand, it is equally possible that such a spe- 
 cialized pursuit followed by a person who has attained 
 maturity may not prove greatly harmful, particu- 
 larly when carried on to the extent of only eight hours 
 per day. 
 
 If experience should show these surmises to be true, 
 then, it would doubtless be necessary for society, not 
 indeed to deprive a person between fourteen and 
 eighteen years of age of all opportunities to work pro- 
 ductively in specialized occupations, hut rather to 
 insure, on the one hand, a reasonable maximum num- 
 ber of hours during which he shall be so employed, and 
 on the other to insure a large degree of shifting from 
 one occupation to the other, so that experience may be 
 broadened, and many, or all, functions of the body 
 connected with work be permitted to have adequate 
 development. 
 
 In a number of other directions you will be con- 
 fronted by opportunities for constructive work such as 
 have been rarely met with by educators following the 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 67 
 
 historic lines. It is now clear, for example, that in con- 
 nection with each specific department of vocational 
 training we must constitute advisory committees 
 composed of persons serving in the capacities of em- 
 ployer and employed, as far as practicable, in the in- 
 dustries concerned. 
 
 The opportunity to combine, in this connection, the 
 experience and insight of practical men and of educa- 
 tors has rarely ever before been found in educational 
 administration. Many educators are even yet disposed 
 to look upon the advisory committee as something of 
 a fifth wheel, making more for obstruction and friction 
 than for efficiency. We should not so regard the advi- 
 sory committee. With heads of departments properly 
 instructed as to the relations which they should main- 
 tain with the advisory committees, we shall be able to 
 utilize this agency as one of the most valuable of the 
 efficiency factors in a "functioning" system of voca- 
 tional education. Each advisory committee should be 
 called together frequently, primarily by the head of 
 the department concerned, who should be selected 
 not only with reference to his knowledge of the trade 
 which he undertakes to teach, but also with reference 
 to his ability to present constructive suggestions to 
 his advisory committee, and to follow them up to the 
 point where he can either get a confirmation of his 
 point of view, or a quite distinct and intelligible dis- 
 sent therefrom. The director of the school and, where 
 practicable, the assistant superintendent, should also 
 
68 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 come in to these conferences between the head of 
 the department and the advisory committee. It may 
 sometimes require a great deal of patient endeavor 
 to bring about effective relations of the kind here 
 suggested, but I am convinced in my own mind that 
 effort expended in this direction will prove of inval- 
 uable service in developing sound vocational educa- 
 tion. 
 
 Vocational schools will, in large part, have to be 
 responsible for the training of their own teachers for 
 many years to come. Every assistant superintendent 
 should, therefore, regard this as an important aspect 
 of his work. It is now clear that heads of departments 
 and the teachers in our vocational schools must be 
 selected primarily from among persons who have al- 
 ready had successful experience in the calling for 
 which they are to give training, and who, in addition 
 thereto, have a desire and some innate capacity to 
 teach. Your first responsibility, therefore, is for the 
 selection of men of this character, and the next is for 
 the task of organizing some quite specific pedagogical 
 training for them in those departments in which their 
 experience has given them least experience and insight. 
 I believe that we shall be able to do much of this work 
 in evening classes, supplemented, probably, in some 
 cases by a year's service in the capacity of assistants 
 in vocational schools. In this way we should be able 
 to build up, eventually, a strong body of teachers who 
 are, first of all, masters of their art, and who have 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 69 
 
 added thereto a substantial amount of additional 
 training along pedagogical lines. 
 
 It has been stated above that the pubHc is now will- 
 ing to support vocational education. In the minds of 
 some, the exception to this statement is found in the 
 attitude of labor imions toward vocational education. 
 There is a widespread, although somewhat vague, 
 belief that labor unions are, or will eventually be, hos- 
 tile to vocational schools under public control. There 
 is now no satisfactory evidence that this is their atti- 
 tude, and we have enough faith and confidence in 
 American citizenship to believe that when the case for 
 vocational schools is fully and dispassionately pre- 
 sented to labor unions they, themselves, will prove the 
 most active supporters of these schools. 
 
 Naturally, exceptional situations will be found. 
 Even now we note that certain trades are in a process 
 of disorganization, owing to the perfecting of machin- 
 ery, the development of subdivided work, and the 
 effect of new inventions. In the printer's trade, in the 
 machine-shop trades, and in many others, this is mani- 
 festly the case. It would be but natural in these fields 
 that organized labor should seek to perpetuate the 
 trade standards, and should desire to resist the intro- 
 duction of short-imit courses which, however well 
 adapted to training for a part of the field of work, would 
 seem to have the effect of furthering the disorganiza- 
 tion of the trade. I see no reason myself why, for 
 example, in the printing trades, linotype operating 
 
70 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 should not come to be a clearly defined vocation in 
 itself. If this results, however, it will have a serious 
 efiPect upon the standards of education for printing as 
 formerly conceived. 
 
 Again, organized labor will be very sensitive, and 
 with reason, as to the possible overcrowding of certain 
 callings by vocational schools. It is quite conceivable 
 that vocational schools might, in some fields, prove to 
 be so successful that their numbers might be multi- 
 plied and their graduates disproportionately increase 
 the labor supply. Organized labor could quite natu- 
 rally insist that such overcrowding is not only inimi- 
 cal to their interests, but, eventually, also to the inter- 
 ests of all entering the occupation. On this point it is 
 clear, however, that society at large must have oppor- 
 tunity to offer judgments, as well as those particularly 
 affected. Broadly speaking all occupations may, from 
 one point of view, be said to be overcrowded; but from 
 another point of view it can be contended that they 
 are undersupplied. Almost all occupations are over- 
 crowded, if we take account of all workers, skilled and 
 unskilled, competent and incompetent, seeking oppor- 
 tunity therein. This is certainly true of all the profes- 
 sions, the trades, and even the fields of unskilled labor. 
 On the other hand, taking account of the type of skill 
 and power that are commonly in demand, and espe- 
 cially at wage-rates which employers are willing to 
 pay, many occupations may be said to be undersup- 
 plied with competent service. This is certainly true in 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 71 
 
 such fields as medicine, engineering, the trades, and 
 the commercial callings. We sometimes think of agri- 
 culture as being one of the fields that is never over- 
 crowded, and in which there is perennial opportunity. 
 Practically, this is no more true than in other callings, 
 even including the professions. It is true that agricul- 
 ture as a field of labor is undersupplied with properly 
 trained farmers possessed of adequate capital. On the 
 other hand, agriculture is very much overcrowded 
 with persons who are only partially competent, who 
 monopoUze land, and who disorganize markets by 
 their sporadic and ineffective efforts at productive 
 work. 
 
 Consequently, in passing upon the question as to 
 what represents an adequate supply of labor for any 
 given field of service, taking account not only of the 
 situation at the moment, but of future developments, 
 society itself, with the aid of expert knowledge, must 
 eventually insist upon passing judgment. 
 
 Vocational education, as organized in all our urban 
 communities, will almost invariably represent at least 
 three great divisions; namely, the commercial, the 
 home-making, and the industrial. At the present time 
 I am convinced that schools belonging to each of these 
 divisions should be completely independent of each 
 other, just as each should be independent of schools 
 of liberal education as regards organization, staflSng, 
 N^quipment, etc. It is quite possible, also, that many of 
 our urban communities will yet find it desirable and 
 
72 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 expedient to establish agricultural schools at first, per- 
 haps, for such fields as marketing and greenhouse 
 gardening, and later for more extended service. We 
 are still in the experimental stages of the training of 
 city-bred boys for farming as a pursuit. There are 
 those who believe that such education is practicable, 
 and will prove very profitable. There is certainly room 
 for doubt on this question, however. 
 
 I am now of the opinion that each industrial school, 
 as well as each school of home-making and of commer- 
 cial occupations, in our city communities, should be 
 under the general charge of a director or principal, 
 who, whether or not he be a skilled worker in some one 
 of the occupations represented by the school, shall, at 
 all events, be an expert educator in the sense of having 
 a large amount of pedagogical insight and knowledge 
 of the purposes of vocational education. Under the 
 director or principal should be a head of a department, 
 each department being, of course, organized with 
 reference to the requirements of some particular call- 
 ing. The head of the department must certainly be an 
 expert workman in the occupation for which training 
 is being given. He should be the primary point of con- 
 tact between the department and the advisory com- 
 mittee, the director coming in wherever practicable. 
 The advisory committees of various departments might 
 well be gathered together as a joint committee for 
 certain purposes where the well-being of the school as 
 a whole is to be considered, this meeting, of course, to 
 
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 73 
 
 be primaxily organized and directed by the principal 
 or director of the school. 
 
 Vocational education as thus organized will prove 
 necessarily expensive, whether we think of the all- 
 day school, the part-time school, or the evening school. 
 The question of expense, however, must always be 
 secondary to the question of efficiency, and the prob- 
 lem of every administrator is to get the maximum 
 return for the money expended. I have no doubt, 
 myself, that society ^will more and more willingly 
 contribute to the support of these schools, if we can 
 demonstrate that every hour of work done in them 
 for each student is amply worth while. 
 
VII 
 
 To the Principal of an Industrial School : 
 
 Lsr the field of industrial education, I think, we have 
 reached the time in America where we can say that 
 the industrial school is now being conceived of as a 
 strictly vocational school, that its primary and con- 
 trolling purpose is to fit properly selected groups of 
 young people for definite proficiency in clearly defined 
 industrial occupations. It has taken us a long time to 
 reach this conclusion, however. We have called all 
 sorts of makeshifts and pretensions "industrial edu- 
 cation" in the past. We have called that an " indus- 
 trial school " which gave no practice, and which simply 
 attempted to teach certain abstract subjects, such as 
 shop mathematics or drawing, to students, in the hope 
 that they would eventually use the results of this 
 teaching in their occupations. In many cases our so- 
 called "industrial schools" have only been modified 
 forms of manual-training schools. I am almost dis- 
 posed to think that, apart from a few private founda- 
 tions, the most complete industrial training found in 
 this country was first given in certain schools training 
 girls for the trades of millinery, dressmaking, and so- 
 called " power machine operating." 
 
 We have, however, in the last few years made very 
 rapid progress, at least in our thinking, if not in our 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 75 
 
 practice. Fortunately, the public now gives us ample 
 support. Whereas a few years ago it was a seriously 
 debated question whether public funds could or should 
 legitimately be expended for public industrial educa- 
 tion, now the prevailing attitude which gave rise to 
 that question has almost wholly disappeared. We can 
 say broadly that the public is to-day willing to support 
 any form of industrial education if it can be shown 
 that, in its administration and results, such industrial 
 education is effective and economical. We recognize, 
 of course, a fundamental distinction in the field of 
 vocational education, according as to whether the 
 practice which must constitute a large, and perhaps 
 major, portion of such education is obtained in an 
 industry itself, quite independent of the supervision 
 of the school, or in an industry operating for this pur- 
 pose in close cooperation with the school, or in shops 
 directly managed by the school. In any event, we 
 recognize the necessity of making such practical experi- 
 ence the paramount factor in our work. In our evening 
 industrial classes we adjust our instruction to the 
 practical experience obtained by the learner in his 
 day's work. In our part-time classes we also seek close 
 cooperation with the employing establishment, in 
 order that the practical experience obtainable therein 
 may be made to correlate as directly and effectively 
 as possible with the practical experience and the tech- 
 nical instruction which the school, itself, offers. If, 
 as must necessarily be generally the case with our 
 
76 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 younger pupils, the school, itself, organizes and con- 
 trols shops and other facilities wherein practical ex- 
 perience can be obtained, then this shop work is placed 
 on a productive basis, its output is expected to find its 
 way into the markets, and the larger part of the tech- 
 nical instruction is organically related to the practical 
 experience thus obtained. 
 
 Ideally, we should have a separate vocational school 
 for each separate occupation which is being taught. 
 In that case, the head of each vocational school would 
 presumably be an expert in the occupation which is 
 being taught, and would be capable of carrying out 
 whatever activities might be required in connection 
 with the framing of a course of study, cooperating 
 with the advisory committee, and otherwise adminis- 
 tering his particular vocational school. I am of the 
 opinion, personally, that in our larger centers of popu- 
 lation it would be much more effective to organize 
 vocational schools on this separate basis, in order that 
 each one might clearly realize its ends, unhampered 
 by the conditions attaching to the administration of 
 the other. 
 
 For the present, however, this desirable goal does 
 not seem to be feasible. We are building up, in our 
 American cities, a series of vocational schools, each 
 one of which has several departments — I regret to 
 say, in some cases, not even yet clearly differentiated 
 with respect to the different operations for which they 
 give preparation. At the head of this school is placed a 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 77 
 
 principal, or director, who is usually chosen because of 
 his demonstrated interest in vocational education, his 
 grasp of the pedagogical principle involved, and his 
 general vocational efficiency. As long as we have this 
 type of school, I look to the principals or directors to 
 be very interested factors in the development of the 
 work and practice of industrial education. It is be- 
 cause of this, therefore, that I am addressing to you 
 this communication, in which are discussed some of 
 the problems which seem to me still to lie ahead for 
 solution in the field of industrial education. 
 
 In the organization of the industrial school (using 
 that term to cover a school containing two or more 
 departments), I think chief importance should at- 
 tach, hereafter, to a clear-cut differentiation of the 
 purposes, and therefore of the administrative means 
 and methods, of each department. While we may 
 easily assume a close relation between some trades, I 
 think we are far more in danger, to-day, of overlooking 
 the fundamental differences among occupations than 
 of overlooking their points of resemblance. Therefore, 
 a clear-cut differentiation of departments, except as 
 regards the cultural or general work which shall be 
 given in conxmon, seems to me of fundamental impor- 
 tance. To this end, I believe we should exalt the im- 
 portance of the head of a department. He should be 
 an expert in the occupation for which training is given 
 by that department. He should be the primary source 
 of suggestion as to its courses of study, equipment, and 
 
78 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the means and methods employed. He should be re- 
 quired to keep himself in close touch with the industry 
 for which he is giving preparation. He should be the 
 primary point of contact between his department and 
 the advisory committee, which should be composed 
 primarily of people in this occupation serving as em- 
 ployers and employees. He should also make first 
 recommendations as to the choice of assistants and 
 instructors in his department. 
 
 You may obtain the impression that I would, there- 
 fore, advocate a relative lowering of the importance of 
 the work of the principal or director. I suspect that 
 the principal or director will not always, or perhaps 
 often, be an expert in one of the occupations for which 
 training is given in the school. He wiU rather, at least 
 for the next few years, be a man of pedagogical experi- 
 ence and of general administrative ability, capable 
 especially of coordinating, in the interests of efficient 
 administration, the work of various departments. He 
 wiU have to pass upon all proposals made by the heads 
 of departments, in order to judge of their educational 
 validity, as distinguished from their closeness and 
 directness of response to industrial needs. I do not 
 foresee any lessening of the importance of the work of 
 the director or principal of the industrial school cor- 
 responding to an enhancement of the responsibilities 
 of the head of a department. I do feel very keenly, 
 however, that any attempt on the part of the director 
 to pass upon the industrial aspects of the work of vari- 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 79 
 
 ous departments will prove impracticable and unfruit- 
 ful. He must recognize his limitations. It is impossible 
 that he should be an expert in such unrelated lines as 
 house-painting, machine-shop practice, printing, brick- 
 laying, etc. It is practicable to require that the head 
 of each department in these various fields should him- 
 self be an expert. 
 
 The problem second in importance, which will still 
 claim our attention for many years in the future, I am 
 convinced, is that of organizing our practical work on 
 the basis of definite units, each of which shall be ca- 
 pable of giving a maximum return in the shape of edu- 
 cational development. For the present, we are describ- 
 ing the most satisfactory unit as the " project," or 
 " educational job," whereby is meant a practical piece 
 of work, well within the range of the learner, and in 
 executing which he obtains valuable experience and 
 practice, as well as opportunity, on the one hand, to 
 give renewed application to whatever he already pos- 
 sesses of technical knowledge, and on the other to 
 obtain a basis for the acquisition of new technical 
 knowledge and application thereof. 
 
 I think that in some of our industrial schools there 
 already obtains a fairly clear-cut conception as to the 
 educational validity and possibilities of the "project" 
 method of practical instruction. Many teachers, I am 
 convinced, even in these schools, still feel that the 
 problem of guiding, in connection with a project, the 
 so-called " related technical instruction," is as yet al- 
 
80 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 most insuperable. I suppose that every teacher, owing 
 to preconceptions, thinks that a large part of technical 
 knowledge must be given separately and on a logical 
 basis of instruction, more or less independent of the 
 practical work followed. For the present, I am dis- 
 posed, however, to insist that the larger part of the 
 technical instruction shall be in close relation with the 
 " educational job." I see no other way, on the one 
 hand, to determine what technical knowledge is, or 
 will be, suitable and valuable to the learner, and on the 
 other hand, to give the learner the habit of resorting 
 to reference material and other sources when encoun- 
 tering problems of a technical nature in connection 
 with the working out of practical jobs. I believe that 
 fully nine tenths, and in many cases ninety-nine per 
 cent, of all that we teach the average person along 
 such lines as mathematics, mechanical drawing, sci- 
 ence, etc., remains in cold storage, and " non-function- 
 ing,'' if while the learner is in the school he does not, 
 himself, carry into application the knowledge so 
 learned. The wastefulness of this is something that 
 can hardly be conceived. 
 
 The industrial school with which you are connected 
 now gives its attention to training for the so-called 
 skilled trades. Printing, plumbing, house-carpentry, 
 machine-shop practice, house-painting, electrical work, 
 pattern-making, and the like are some of the historic 
 occupations which are now successfully taught in 
 schools. But the highly subdivided manufacturing 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 81 
 
 occupations, such as textile manufacturing, shoe man- 
 ufacturing, food-packing, furniture-making, mining, 
 and hundreds of others we do not teach as yet. I think 
 our authorities in charge of industrial education are 
 bUnd to their opportunities here. They are training 
 for the aristocratic callings, as their forbears trained 
 only for law, medicine, and other " respectable " lines 
 of employment. Again, we dislike to think of short- 
 course training. Even where demonstrably practi- 
 cable, we feel vaguely that it is somehow unethical or 
 non-educational to give short course training, except 
 in evening schools. But I think our feelings in this 
 matter are unwarranted prejudices, and that eventu- 
 ally we should offer in our industrial schools a wide 
 variety of definite and highly practical intensive 
 "short-imit" courses in the nimiberless specialties 
 found in modern industrial life. Only so can we remove 
 the reproach now attaching to the so-called unskilled 
 occupations. Only so can we prove what, in my esti- 
 mation, is a fundamental fact, namely, that there are 
 no imskilled occupations in reality; that is, occupations 
 in which the results of purposive vocational training 
 woiJd be of no substantial advantage to worker or to 
 the society using the results of his work. We have here 
 a large field for experimental, exploratory, and con- 
 structive work in bringing industrial education into 
 the twentieth century. 
 
VIII 
 
 To the Principal of an Agricultural School : 
 
 In no other department of education are there 
 clearer evidences of the transitions which are now tak- 
 ing place in educational thinking than in the field 
 which your school represents. For nearly a century 
 advanced thinkers have favored the idea of systematic 
 j agricultural education for young people who are event- 
 ually to follow the career of farming. The agricultural 
 colleges of the United States, established under the 
 stimulus of national grants were, themselves, in part 
 an outgrowth of this idea, although only to a relatively 
 slight extent have their activities ministered to the 
 actual training of young men to be farmers. From 
 time to time in academies, secondary schools, reform 
 schools, and various so-caUed " institutes," agriculture 
 and, more particularly, the sciences supposed to under- 
 lie it, have been taught. Public appreciation of agri- 
 cultural instruction has greatly increased, notwith- 
 standing the probably futile efiPects of much that has 
 hitherto been done in this direction. At the present 
 time, in many States of the Union, widespread efforts 
 are being made to introduce agriculture, or agricul- 
 tural science, as studies in public high schools. In 
 these and other States, also, separate schools of agri- 
 culture have been established. 
 
PEINCIPAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 83 
 
 It is now becoming clear, I think, to all careful stu- 
 dents of agricultural education that there are two very 
 distinct purposes to be subserved by this instruction, 
 and that unless these are clearly differentiated, money 
 and effort expended on them is likely to be wasted. 
 The first of these purposes to be considered is the voca- 
 tional one. I suppose it is safe to say that nearly all 
 persons, in thinking of agricultural education, value it 
 chiefly as a means of training young people to be thor- 
 oughly efficient farmers. Such persons realize that; 
 modern agriculture is something very different from' 
 the arts of tillage of crops and the breeding and care 
 of live stock which were practiced by our forefathers. 
 Modern agriculture tends, everywhere, more and more 
 to rest upon a scientific basis. The first thought of an 
 interested student naturally is that if a learner can 
 master this science, then his practice will be immedi- 
 ately and correspondingly affected by such knowledge. 
 It is undoubtedly with this purpose in view that 
 agricultural courses have been introduced into so many 
 public high schools and academies, and that so many 
 separate schools and institutions of agricultural 
 teaching have been established. 
 
 Experience with vocational education, however, in 
 agricultural as well as in other fields, is more and more 
 proving the futility of an approach based mainly upon 
 intellectual processes of learning abstractly as distin- 
 guished from processes of learning through practice. 
 Even in such professions as medicine, law, and engi- 
 
84 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 neering, in which formerly the studies were chiefly of 
 an abstract or intellectual character, there is every- 
 where a steady tendency to increase the amount of 
 practical contact with the problems of the profession 
 which the student may obtain. In some professional 
 Unes of study it is exceedingly difficult to obtain this 
 contact. Nevertheless, the key-note of the newer edu- 
 cation in these fields is to be found in the development 
 of facilities for obtaining the practical experience under 
 conditions as nearly approximating those of the actual 
 profession as can be obtained. 
 
 Similarly, in the fields of industrial education, experi- 
 ence is demonstrating that courses of training must be 
 based primarily and fundamentally, first of all, upon 
 practical experience, and that the mere learning of 
 such subjects as mathematics, mechanical drawing, 
 and the others that underlie, and in some ways are 
 related to, practical efficiency, by no means suffices 
 as vocational training except for the person who has 
 served a thorough apprenticeship in practice. In the 
 field of agricultural education, similar conclusions are 
 now being reached, although most of our educational 
 institutions are experimenting with various forms of 
 "imitation" practice because of the administrative 
 difficulties connected with the organization of definite 
 units of practice corresponding to the work to be done 
 by the students in future. Our agricultural schools, in 
 many cases, now have attached to them demonstra- 
 tion farms. A considerable amount of laboratory work. 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 85 
 
 and sometimes experimental gardening and other forms 
 of cultivation, are carried on. Attention is given to the 
 visitation of successful farms. Sometimes it is assumed 
 that the work done by the student during his summer 
 employment is a valuable substitute for actual experi- 
 ences obtained imder the direction of the school. It is 
 my beUef , however, that all of these forms of practice 
 are exceedingly deceptive and probably yield, for the 
 majority of students, little or no substantial return, if 
 judged by the requirements of an effective program for 
 the training of farmers. I am more and more con- 
 vinced that the only practice that will prove to be 
 worth while educationally is that which requires the 
 student to organize, on an economic basis, certain 
 agricultural activities which he will carry through to 
 their final fruition. I feel very strongly that even in 
 the agricultural colleges, excepting in the case of a 
 relatively small number of students who go to the 
 institution with a satisfactory basis of experience, it 
 would be highly desirable if early in his course each 
 student were required to undertake the raising, on not 
 too large a scale, of some crop. He should be held to 
 this work until he is able to demonstrate an obvious 
 economic outcome from it. 
 
 But this is peculiarly necessary in the secondary 
 school of agriculture. The agricultural college will of 
 necessity deal with a limited number of persons of 
 much more than average ability. It is the secondary 
 school of agriculture, including thereunder the short 
 
86 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 course for experienced farmers, to which the public 
 must look for the training of the large majority of its 
 farmers in the science of agricultijre. The students 
 will, in the main, be of only average ability. Their 
 capacities for learning will be far stronger on the con- 
 crete than on the abstract side. They will have rela- 
 tively little capacity for the mastery of such pure 
 sciences as botany, chemistry, bacteriology, etc. They 
 will have even less capacity to carry over the results of 
 abstract teaching in these sciences to actual practice. 
 
 Evidence is accumulating that the most effective 
 approach for these students will be through actual 
 practice under economic conditions, the school being 
 in position to aid the students at every point, to find a 
 more scientific explanation of the facts with which 
 they deal, and a profitable interpretation of the prob- 
 lems by which they are confronted. From my point 
 of view, therefore, the vocational agricultural school of 
 the future will be one in which all the work will center 
 about actual practice. This will necessitate two types 
 of schools. 
 
 The first will be designed for mature persons who 
 have had a large amount of practical experience in a 
 given field of agriculture, and who have reached the 
 stage where they reflect carefully and extensively upon 
 the problems involved. Successful work for this class 
 of students is now being given by many agricultural 
 colleges through their short courses. A number of 
 so-called " secondary" schools of agriculture in reality. 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 87 
 
 also, do their most effective work by reaching these 
 students who are, or who should be, over twenty 
 years of age, and who should be able to demonstrate, 
 as a condition of taking a given course, that they 
 bring a satisfactory basis of experience and that they 
 have, to some extent, defined their problems and have 
 come to feel the necessity of further aid in solving 
 them. For these students, short courses in poultry 
 raising, in various methods of preserving fodder, in 
 spraying, in bee culture, etc., are invaluable. These 
 courses will necessarily be of a technical character, 
 using correct illustrations of actual practice where 
 necessary. They will be successful largely in propor- 
 tion as the instructor himself is a master in practice 
 in the particular field under consideration, and in pro- 
 portion, also, as he is able to confine his efforts largely 
 to meeting the particular problems which the farmers 
 themselves have in mind. Pedagogically, the success 
 of a course of this kind depends upon the instructor 
 starting with his students where he finds them, speak- 
 ing in their language, dealing with their problems, and 
 employing means which they can easily comprehend 
 and utilize. 
 
 The second type of agricultural school, designed 
 chiefly for persons from fourteen to twenty years of 
 age, does not presuppose the possession of a body of 
 successful experience obtained prior to entrance upon 
 school work, nor does it place undue reliance upon the 
 results of work carried out under the conditions of 
 
88 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 drudgery or gang labor at home, or during summer 
 periods. This vocational school, like the other, will 
 build chiefly around practice, but in this case the prac- 
 tice shall be controlled and directed by it. For boys 
 coming from farms, of course, the most valuable place 
 and means for such practice will be the home farm and 
 its equipment, but in so far as this is utilized by the 
 student, it will be utilized on a " separate-unit" basis, 
 the conducting of the work under this separate unit to 
 be under the control and direction of the school. This 
 means, practically, that a certain amount of land shall 
 be set apart for the use of the learner, and that provi- 
 sion shall be made to enable him to hire apparatus 
 and, if necessary, additional service to carry out suc- 
 cessfully the operations connected with the unit of 
 work set apart, whether this be land or live stock. In 
 the event that the boy does not have a home farm pro- 
 viding facilities of this character, then a properly con- 
 ducted school must enable him to find such facilities 
 elsewhere. In every case, the theory must be that the 
 boy, as learner, will carry, throughout the year, a proj- 
 ect of an economically profitable character, for which 
 he shall be, under the direction of his instructors, pri- 
 marily responsible, and every problem in connection 
 with which he shall, with the assistance of his instruc- 
 tors, solve for himself. 
 
 The larger part of all technical instruction must be 
 related to the practical work thus being carried out. 
 Obviously, for this purpose most of the available text- 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 89 
 
 books can be used as reference books only, since, as a 
 rule, they deal with agriculture throughout a wide 
 area, and involve a large amount of material for which 
 the learner under these conditions has little or no 
 immediate use. A student under these conditions will 
 not study any science as a pure science. He will study 
 it only as it applies in particular fields of agriculture 
 with which he is famiUar and in which, in greater or 
 less degree, he is obtaining concrete experience. 
 
 I am becoming convinced that the more nearly the 
 so-called "vocational school of agriculture" can ap- 
 proximate the conditions here suggested, the more 
 effective it will be in doing that which is its alleged 
 work; namely, the preparation of youths to be farmers 
 who are not only capable of meeting some of the prob- 
 lems of agriculture with skill and effect immediately, 
 but who, furthermore, are equipped to take advantage 
 of all sorts of aids to the study of future problems as 
 these may arise in connection with crops or live stock 
 with which they have had experience, or with which 
 in the future they may be expected to deal. I see no 
 other means than that of the home project method, as 
 described above, of training farmers in the method of 
 intelligently using bulletins, results of recent experi- 
 ment-station tests, results of home experience, etc. 
 The whole purpose of teaching agriculture must be 
 to enable the learner to define his own problems, and 
 then to form the habit of going to the most profitable 
 sources for information in solving them. It is not to be 
 
90 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 expected, in agriculture or in any other of our com- 
 plicated fields of applied science, that the individual 
 worker will solve his own problems. His capacity must 
 be chiefly that of knowing where to find aid as soon as 
 he has defined the problem which confronts him. 
 
 The foregoing deals with the vocational school of 
 agriculture. I am personally of the opinion that com- 
 paratively few so-called " schools " or " departments " 
 of agriculture are, as yet, in any genuine sense efficient 
 from this point of view. In most of them, agriculture 
 is still approached as an abstract subject, and many 
 of the pupils are in reality only toying with it. I am 
 convinced, however, that there is a place in secondary 
 education for the study of agriculture purely as a sub- 
 ject of liberal study. In many schools now offering 
 agriculture, comparatively slight readjustments will 
 be necessary to make this study "function" in this 
 way quite effectively. I think we should clearly indi- 
 cate to all concerned that study of this character is not 
 vocational, and ought not to be expected to be voca- 
 tional. I do not believe that any program of vocational 
 education can be effective on the basis of only five or 
 ten hours per week allotted to it. To be really effective, 
 it must claim the undivided attention of the learner for 
 the greater part of each working day. 
 
 But, as a part of general education, a course in agri- 
 culture revealing to the learner the place which this 
 occupation bears in the work of the world, the charac- 
 teristic facts associated with its development in vari- 
 
PRINCIPAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 91 
 
 ous parts of the world, and the extent to which modern 
 scientific discovery has contributed to its development, 
 would be abundantly worth while. In many of the 
 available textbooks I see most promising means of 
 approaching the subject. These books, well illustrated, 
 well written, and presenting a broad and generous out- 
 look on agriculture as that is carried on from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific and in various other parts of 
 the worid, and suggesting the enormous extent to 
 which modem mechanism and modern scientific dis- 
 covery have promoted its development, must surely 
 be an illuminating study. As a means of liberal educa- 
 tion, agriculture might even more profitably be given 
 to pupils in cities, although there is not the slightest 
 reason why students in a country high school should 
 not be encouraged to read widely and generously as 
 to the scope and possibilities of agriculture in various 
 parts of the worid. 
 
 My only regret is that in so many cases the public 
 is still deluded into thinking that three or four hours 
 of instruction per week in agrictilture, with a small 
 amount of laboratory illustration, such instruction 
 being based mainly upon textbooks written to serve 
 equally well all parts of the country, should have any 
 particular or noticeable educational value as prepara- 
 tion for a vocation. I think this is only one of the 
 innumerable cases in which we permit the public to 
 deceive itself. 
 
IX 
 
 To the Principal of a Commercial High School : 
 
 Along with the development of public high schools 
 in the United States during the last quarter of a cen- 
 tury has gone the development of commercial depart- 
 ments in these schools, or of independent commercial 
 high schools. The number of pupils now studying 
 commercial subjects is astonishingly large, and many 
 of our communities are investing very substantial 
 sums of money in commercial education. Education 
 for business life whether under public or private aus- 
 pices, has always seemed to possess a fascination for 
 boys and girls, and for their parents, in rural as well 
 as urban commimities. It is still believed by many to 
 be a short cut to a successful career. There can be 
 little doubt that a great many of the boys and girls 
 who now study in our commercial high schools are not 
 destined to succeed in commercial occupations; but, 
 nevertheless, the army of those seeking such oppor- 
 tunity continues to increase. 
 
 At the present time, as you are well aware, there is 
 a large amount of criticism of commercial, as well as 
 of general, high-school education, and an increasing 
 disposition on the part of the public to inquire as to 
 the efficiency of practices now followed. My own 
 experience has convinced me that a relatively large 
 
COMMERCIAL HIGH-SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 93 
 
 amount of so-called "commercial education" is still 
 very far from being even moderately efficient as vo- 
 cational training. Commercial high schools and com- 
 mercial departments in regular high schools, hardly 
 less than other forms of secondary education, are in 
 much confusion and doubt as regards the desirable 
 and feeisible aims of the courses they ofiFer. As a con- 
 sequence, a great deal of the discussion regarding 
 methods of instruction is necessarily futile, actual 
 objectives being so ill-defined. 
 
 To my mind, the large problem immediately con- 
 fronting schools hke yours is that of more adequately 
 defining the purposes for which they exist. Histori- 
 cally, we have been content to teach in these schools 
 certain subjects which have, or seemed to have, a 
 relationship to occupations that might later be fol- 
 lowed. Everywhere now there is an increasing dis- 
 position to insist that we shall give preparation for 
 vocations, not merely as segments of a circumference, 
 but that we shall round out the circumference as fully 
 as practicable. In other words, it becomes the busi- 
 ness of the school to give, in greater or less degree, 
 training for an occupation, and not merely instruc- 
 tion in some of the studies or practices believed to be 
 of value in that occupation. 
 
 Private commercial schools have long been domi- 
 nated by the vocational aim, — perhaps too narrowly 
 conceived. They have sought to prepare pupils who 
 would be acceptable to employers, and have largely 
 
94 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 confined their efforts to the specific training required 
 to procure opportunities for work. 
 
 On the other hand, the public conunercial school 
 has rarely defined for itself an exclusively vocational 
 aim. It has been dominated, and to some extent, I 
 believe, hampered, by the necessity of giving cultural 
 courses along with vocational courses, in the belief, 
 perhaps — which certainly was once quite widely ac- 
 cepted — that it was not the business of any public 
 school to prepare its pupils exclusively for a vocation. 
 As a consequence, the vocational studies in public 
 schools have often come in through the back door, 
 and have been developed, to some extent, in a spirit 
 of half evasion. Even yet I find that a great many 
 commercial-school teachers and principals feel that 
 there is something sordid and unworthy in having a 
 commercial school pursue definitely vocational aims. 
 
 I do not contend that the commercial high school 
 should not offer cultural courses to pupils desiring 
 them, but I do beheve very firmly that in the course of 
 the next few years the commercial school will be com- 
 pelled, by the force of public opinion as well as by 
 the conditions of its support, clearly to differentiate 
 between its vocational aims and the cultural studies 
 which it offers either as elective or on a compulsory 
 basis to its pupils. This will facilitate the testing of the 
 work of the school along vocational lines, so that the 
 degree to which it accomplishes the aims which it sets 
 for itself will be capable of analysis and measurement. 
 
COMMERCIAL mOH-SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 95 
 
 The next important step, as I see it, in the develop- 
 ment of commercial education, will consist in dis- 
 criminating among the various occupations for which 
 a commercial high school can legitimately give prep- 
 aration. At the present time, the situation in this 
 regard is, I should imagine, hopelessly confused. 
 There are really many quite distinct types of commer- 
 cial occupations for which any well-equipped school 
 can to-day give preparation. There are some upon 
 which the trained candidate can profitably enter at 
 the age of sixteen. There are some others, probably, 
 for which even the four years of the high-school period 
 are all too few to give adequate preparation. There 
 are some requiring a large degree of technical skiU 
 and a comparatively small amount of general knowl- 
 edge. There are others, probably, for which the 
 needed technical preparation can be given only in 
 small part, but for which the school can lay broad 
 foundations of insight, appreciation, and instrumental 
 knowledge. 
 
 It is a prime necessity that tliese various commer- 
 cial occupations should be discriminated and de- 
 scribed, and that each one should be made the goal 
 of vocational school effort in commercial schools. 
 
 Another problem requiring early consideration is 
 that of defining t}ie actual purposes served by certain 
 studies which as named, and sometimes as to content, 
 seem to have an important bearing on commercial 
 efficiency, but which bearing, I beheve, must be re- 
 
96 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 garded as largely illusory so far as the majority of 
 students is concerned. I refer to such studies as 
 commercial law, industrial or commercial history, 
 commercial geography, a foreign language, and indus- 
 trial or commercial science. I find in many commer- 
 cial schools strong emphasis laid upon these subjects, 
 which emphasis, I think, is due more largely to the 
 ease with which they can be taught from textbooks 
 than to any demonstrated connection of such subjects 
 with success in any particular line of occupation. If, 
 now, it be contended that these subjects are not 
 taught with a view to vocational training, but rather 
 as a valuable means of cultural development, utilizing 
 a vocational motive, I should be disposed to approve. 
 In that case, however, I am convinced that the 
 methods of teaching and the organization of subject- 
 matter would differ greatly from those now employed. 
 If such subjects are to be taken primarily from the 
 standpoint of an appreciation of the activities and 
 accomplishments of the world of commerce, I should 
 have no complaint, but I still raise the question as to 
 whether, as now taught, such subjects actually "func- 
 tion " in this direction. I should be disposed, at the 
 moment, to substitute a systematic reading of such 
 journals as the World's Work for systematic training 
 in studies of the kind described above. 
 
 Again, I would suggest that careful attention be 
 given in commercial schools to the "functioning" of 
 certain general studies which are traditionally identi- 
 
COMMERCIAL fflGH-SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 97 
 
 fied with secondary education, but which the commer- 
 cial school is imder no obligation to oflFer. I refer 
 more particiilarly to algebra, geometry, and some of 
 the sciences, which are now often made compulsory. 
 
 I strongly believe in the possibility of ofifering courses 
 of different length in commercial schools, accom- 
 modated to the needs of students of different economic 
 situation. For example, courses in indoor salesman- 
 ship of two years in length might well be given, it 
 seems to me, to persons who might be expected to 
 seek employment at sixteen years of age. Courses in 
 stenography and typewriting might also be offered, 
 with profit, to students who would be expected to 
 complete such work at sixteen or seventeen years of 
 age; but it should be clearly indicated, through voca- 
 tional guidance, that a longer course, with broader 
 foundations, might ultimately be of much greater 
 profit to the individual. 
 
 I presume you will reply that any school which 
 offers short courses is in danger of short-circuiting 
 the educational careers of a large number of pupils. 
 To my mind, this is an utter misconception of the 
 capacities and ambitions of the pupils in our schools. 
 In so far as short courses in the past have actually 
 short-circuited the work of pupils, this has been due, 
 in the main, to our failure to demonstrate the value 
 of the longer course. We have assumed that far too 
 much of the work of the pupils should be taken on 
 faith; and because the longer courses offered such 
 
98 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 uninspiring and probably profitless work as algebra 
 and ancient history, the pupils, themselves, have nat- 
 urally chosen the shorter courses. 
 
 The high schools of commerce now correspond, in 
 many respects, to higher technical schools in some 
 other fields — in other words, they do not train for 
 vocations as such, but give training in certain tech- 
 nical knowledge which will probably be used by the 
 student after he enters on a commercial vocation. 
 Probably these schools will eventually differentiate 
 certain occupational fields, for which they will give 
 training no less direct, specific, and practical than 
 that now given in schools of dentistry, pharmacy, 
 electrical engineering, and stenography. 
 
 For many of its pupils, the present commercial high 
 school offers an excellent " general education," with- 
 out perhaps intending it; but as I see it, the second- 
 ary school cannot afford to allow to persist such con- 
 fusion of purposes as hampers the public and students 
 in distinguishing between those courses of instruction 
 and training which are for Uberal education and those 
 others which are intended to lead directly towards 
 vocational competency. 
 
X 
 
 To the Prineipal of a Manual-Training School : 
 
 The manual-training high school (the term will be 
 used in this letter to include so-called "technical 
 high schools," "mechanics arts high schools," and 
 the yet undifferentiated type of industrial high school 
 in which the work is designed for boys who have sub- 
 stantially completed the elementary-school course) 
 has come to occupy a rather formidable place in 
 American secondary education. The number of these 
 schools is not great, but inasmuch as they are found 
 usually in large centers of population, and have been 
 organized on a generously supported foundation, they 
 necessarily figure prominently in any account of sec- 
 ondary education. The actual aims or purposes of the 
 manual-training high school (as distinguished from its 
 alleged purposes) are nowhere as yet clearly defined. 
 In fact, it seems to me that, to a larger extent than 
 usual, the public has been misled or has been permitted 
 to deceive itself regarding the possible functions and 
 the real service of this type of institution. 
 
 There can be little doubt but that the pubHc, itself, 
 has been induced to support the manual-training high 
 school in large part in the belief that it would serve as 
 a high-grade institution of vocational, or at least of 
 technical, training for certain of the more important 
 
100 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 industries. The equipment of the school, the very 
 practical experience, in particular, which the boys 
 obtain therein, and the superior character of the stu- 
 dents taking the work, have all served to impress the 
 citizen and casual visitor with the great purposefulness 
 of all of the work done. It is certainly true that these 
 schools have been popular. Rarely have they lacked 
 students of good ability and working energy. It is an 
 impressive sight to see the hundreds of well-developed 
 boys in a large manual-training high school taking 
 shopwork in relays and doing this work with a great 
 deal of spirit. 
 
 As a rule, however, the school men in charge of these 
 schools have never wavered in their devotion to the 
 historic ideals of academic education. Only rarely 
 have they forced themselves into thinking that they 
 were administering vocational schools, except as they 
 would interpret any good form of all-around or general 
 education as being an efiFectiveand economical prepara- 
 tion for a vocation. As a rule, the men in charge have 
 believed that all of the academic studies (excepting, 
 possibly, the classical languages) should be represented, 
 and that the ideal course was that in which the student 
 would take substantially as many of the usual aca- 
 demic studies as a pupil in any other high school, to 
 which would be added from four to ten hours per week 
 of work in drawing and shop practice. The result has 
 been that the manual training high school has un- 
 doubtedly served the community as an excellent high 
 
MANUAL-TRAINING SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 101 
 
 school. I doubt if there is any evidence that in actual 
 educational results this school has been, in the least 
 inferior as a general high school to the so-called " clas- 
 sical," or English high schools of the community. It 
 is, therefore, no discredit to the manual-training high 
 school to say that even yet its aims are not clearly 
 defined in any sense making for more efficient work. 
 These high schools, like other high schools, have sent 
 a large quota of students to the higher institutions of 
 learning. These pupils, on the whole, have probably 
 done about as well in most of the lines of work as stu- 
 dents from the regular high school. It is doubtful if 
 they have conspicuously distinguished themselves in 
 the fields of engineering and other higher technical 
 instruction. 
 
 I am aware that within the last few years certain 
 important developments are taking place in a few of 
 the technical high schools of the country, mainly in 
 the direction of permitting, during the last two years of 
 the course, a considerable amount of specialization, 
 thus enabling pupils in greater or less degree to qualify 
 themselves for the successful pursuit of such trades as 
 printing, machine-shop practice, draftsmanship, elec- 
 trical work, and cabinet-making. I do not, however, 
 find any satisfactory evidence that the proportion of 
 the graduates of these courses entering upon the occu- 
 pations for which training was supposed to be given, is 
 so considerable as to justify one in regarding these 
 departments as vocational departments. I imagine 
 
102 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 that the proportion of graduates of these technical 
 high schools entering, for example, upon salesmanship 
 or the professions is as great as that from the regular 
 high school. 
 
 There is, I know, a theory held with some favor 
 among the faculties of manual-training high schools 
 that these schools give general preparation for indus- 
 trial work, through teaching the principles of tool ma- 
 nipulation and of work with materials, as well as giv- 
 ing a knowledge of related technical processes. I have 
 never been able to satisfy myself that this theory or 
 tradition was anything more than a modified survival 
 of the ancient notion that any good general education 
 constituted, through its effects in mental training and 
 increase in general knowledge, a satisfactory founda- 
 tion for almost any vocation. It is noteworthy that 
 the manual-training high schools have drawn upon 
 only a comparatively limited number of the occupa- 
 tions which men follow for practical work. The trades 
 of cabinet-making, pattern-making, wood-turning, 
 machine-shop practice, electrical work, and printing 
 have constituted the chief sources of shop practice as 
 now carried on. In a few schools, we find the begin- 
 nings of foundry work, house carpentry, forging and 
 wood-carving introduced, but in a very fragmentary 
 fashion and chiefly for purposes of illustration. The 
 great industries for the manufacture of textiles, the pro- 
 duction of leather and leather goods, food preparation 
 and packing (such as butchering, baking, canning, etc.). 
 
MANUAL-TRAINING SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 103 
 
 pottery and glass-making, stone and brickwork, house- 
 painting, and mining are not, so far as I know, repre- 
 sented in the work of our manual-training high schools. 
 I have no confidence in the notion that a more or less 
 complete line of practical experience in one of the 
 trades referred to above constitutes a satisfactory 
 basis for entrance upon another. This seems to me to 
 savor altogether too much of the ancient, and now, I 
 trust, generally discarded notion of mental discipline 
 (with its modern analogue in "hand" or manual 
 training of a universal character). 
 
 The time has come when the manual-training high 
 school, like every other high school, should more 
 clearly define its aims, analyze the means and methods 
 by which these aims are to be realized, and test the 
 eflScacy with which, under given conditions, its means 
 and methods are employed. To this end it is, first of 
 all, essential that we should decide to what extent the 
 manual-training high school is to be interpreted as a 
 school of general education, similar in spirit and pur- 
 pose to any other general high school, and how far it is 
 to be interpreted as a vocational school giving an 
 efficient and purposeful training for a recognized call- 
 ing, or group of closely related callings. 
 
 It would be entirely possible, of course, to have a 
 part of the work (for example, the first two years) de- 
 voted to the achievement of one purpose, and another 
 part (say, the last two years) devoted to the achieve- 
 ment of the other purpose. I believe that if this view 
 
104 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 is to obtain, there should be an essential break or dif- 
 ferentiation in the administrative organization of the 
 two divisions of the schools. I am not sure but that 
 they should be dififerently located in the community. 
 I am clear that the various vocational schools should 
 have each its own independent organization, and that 
 every condition should be provided which will make 
 its contacts with the industry for which it is giving 
 preparation abundant and effective. 
 
 I favor strongly the idea of a general course of in- 
 struction, rich in manual training, for boys from four- 
 teen to sixteen years of age. I see no reason why in our 
 American cities and other more densely populated 
 communities we should not find a large demand for 
 general high-school courses two years in length, omit- 
 ting the foreign-language studies, but abounding in 
 profitable and interesting work in English expression, 
 English literature, mathematics, science, history and 
 civics, drawing, and a variety of practical work based 
 upon the trades and other occupations which men fol- 
 low. I do not at present believe that it is profitable to 
 continue the type of manual work that we have in 
 mind, however, beyond the age of sixteen. If manual 
 work is to be done thereafter, it should be on a more 
 definitely practical, that is, vocational basis. 
 
 In the high school of the type which I have in mind, 
 I should change the spirit of the manual training very 
 materially from that which now prevails. It seems to 
 me that this manual or practical work should be re- 
 
MANUAI^TBAINING SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 105 
 
 garded primarily as contributing to the general devel- 
 opment of the pupil. It should enable him greatly to 
 widen his experience, both with materials of industry 
 and with the instrumental processes applied to them. 
 This work should be characterized by very great vari- 
 ety, no two students necessarily taking exactly the 
 same courses, or jobs. All of the work should be on a 
 distinctly "job" or "project" basis; that is, the pupil 
 as a mature worker should set out to accomplish some 
 task which, on the basis of mature standards, is within 
 the range of his accomplishment. He should pursue it 
 long enough to have a sense of achievement. His work 
 should not consist merely of exercises. The standards 
 should be those characteristic of amateur work every- 
 where at its best (as we find in amateur photography, 
 amateur wood-carving, amateur baseball, amateur 
 cabinet-making, etc.). To a large extent, the pupil 
 should consult his own personal interests in the work 
 which he would choose, being held, however, to a fairly 
 responsible expenditure of his time and energy after 
 having once elected a given job. 
 
 Practical work carried on under these conditions 
 would obviously not be vocational in its results. On 
 the other hand, it might make important contributions 
 to vocational ideals, and would certainly have value in 
 laying the foundations for vocational choice. So far as 
 I now see, the range of human occupations that might 
 be drawn upon for work of this character is almost 
 endless. Limitations would be found only in the capac- 
 
106 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 ity of the institution to provide equipment for this 
 work and properly to supervise it. I see no reason, for 
 example, why, if facilities offered, the various occupa- 
 tions connected with mining should not be included, 
 just as definitely as those connected with machine- 
 shop practice, although obviously the latter is a sub- 
 ject more adapted to schools as now found. For any 
 given type of job or work, not too extensive, a line of 
 typical apparatus should be provided, but pupils 
 should elect their jobs and execute them, as far as the 
 facilities of the school render practicable. 
 
 E, now, at the end of two years' work of this char- 
 acter, it were the desire of the student to continue to 
 the end of a four-years regular high-school coiu-se, or to 
 fit for college, I should greatly diminish the amount of 
 practical work, and give much more attention to the 
 more abstract studies. On the other hand, for pupils 
 who had "found themselves," and desired to enter 
 upon a specific vocational pursuit, I trust that the com- 
 munity would provide specialized vocational schools, 
 under separate management from the manual-train- 
 ing high school, into which the pupils might go. These 
 special schools for graduates of the manual-training 
 high school might well include schools of salesman- 
 ship as well as schools of practical production. 
 
 You will see, then, that the chief specific suggestion 
 thus far presented is a lessening of the time given to 
 the general manual-training work. I have no satis- 
 factory evidence that in the case of the large majority 
 
MANUAL-TRAINING SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 107 
 
 of boys we should continue this to eighteen years of 
 age. I believe that the most satisfactory time for an 
 apprenticeship in the regular industries is at the age of 
 sixteen, and that, on the other hand, a boy getting 
 ready for college or for the pursuit of other higher 
 studies, should devote his years from sixteen to eighteen 
 to quite specific preparation, in this field. 
 
 One reason why I feel that the manual-training high 
 school should not undertake the supervision and direc- 
 tion of the work for vocational education is that I am 
 convinced that the very spirit of this work should be 
 that characteristic of the trade or calling in itself, and 
 not the amateur spirit — the amateur spirit being ap- 
 propriate for the high school still bent upon giving 
 general education. 
 
 When it is suggested that the technical high school 
 as now constituted does not give training for definite 
 vocations, perhaps an exception should be made in 
 favor of draughtsmanship. A considerable number of 
 graduates of the best technical high schools do, I 
 understand, find ready employment as draughtsmen. 
 This occupation seems to require just the combination 
 of practice and technical training which the technical 
 school can give. I think these schools can do more 
 than has yet been done to make draughtsmanship 
 stand out a clearly defined field of vocational training. 
 
 There are still those who believe in the possibilities 
 of " general " or " all-roimd " vocational education, and 
 I doubt not but that they see in the curriculum of the 
 
108 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 technical high school a shining example of a program 
 of such general training. I find that these believers in 
 educational Utopias or Fountains of Youth are con- 
 fused when faced with the problem as to what contri- 
 butions they suppose the technical high schools make 
 to proficiency in tailoring, sailoring, mining, farm- 
 ing, house-painting, locomotive engineering, street- 
 paving, etc. 
 
 It is not to be denied that technical high-school 
 graduates are welcomed as beginners in these fields 
 (when they offer themselves) and that they are good 
 learners. But this is probably attributable largely to 
 the fact that they are a highly selected lot of healthy, 
 intellectually keen, mechanically inclined young per- 
 sons. They are of the fiber, natural ability, and keen 
 zest for achievement that are likely to command suc- 
 cess anywhere. 
 
XI 
 
 To the Principal of a Small High School : * 
 
 The tendency of all current discussion of questions 
 of secondary education is naturally to presuppose con- 
 ditions surrounding only larger high schools. It is 
 probably right that, in general, discussion of educa- 
 tional questions should first start with the most favor- 
 able conditions, in order that clear-cut standards may 
 be defined. It is not right that discussion should stop 
 with that. It is essential, if all phases of educational 
 need are to be considered, that adaptations and ad- 
 justments should be made to situations where less 
 than ideal surroundings exist. While, therefore, I agree 
 that it is suitable and proper first to discuss educa- 
 tional administration as concerns secondary education 
 (the qualifications of teachers, the requirements under 
 the various subjects, college-entrance requirements, 
 etc.), from the standpoint of the high school with a 
 faculty of considerable size and enabled by its numbers 
 to specialize in teaching, nevertheless, I feel that it 
 is important that, subsequent to this discussion, the 
 needs of institutions operating under different con- 
 ditions should receive equal consideration. 
 
 The high school having from two to four teachers 
 occupies an important place in American secondary 
 * Of two, or at most three, teachers. 
 
110 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 education. Substantially one third of the high-school 
 pupils of the country are found in these smaller high 
 schools. These schools are located, usually, in coun- 
 try or mining communities, and the large proportion 
 of their pupils come from the families of farmers or 
 wage-workers. In its own community, the smaller 
 high school is commonly the most important cultural 
 agency. The best pupils from the elementary schools 
 enter it. Here is made the closest contact with the 
 higher institutions of learning throughout the state. 
 From the small high school go out each year one or 
 more pupils, destined, in college, and later in profes- 
 sional or other career, to occupy prominent places. 
 The teachers in the small high school are frequently 
 almost the only college graduates to be found in the 
 community. They do not always live up to the pos- 
 sibilities of this position, but in proportion as American 
 colleges recognize secondary-school teaching as a dis- 
 stinctive profession, we may expect that they will do 
 so. Under the conditions of reorganizing secondary 
 education, it will doubtless happen that the small high 
 school and the Intermediate or Junior High School 
 win be drawn more closely together. It is to be hoped 
 that in time each community able to maintain a small 
 high school will be able to provide, in charge of this, a 
 principal who will, himself, be permanently a resident 
 of the community and identified with its larger cul- 
 tural and civic life. 
 But the small high school as now constituted has 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 111 
 
 before it a very hard task. Its standards of accomplish- 
 ment, set by tradition and custom prevalent in more 
 populous centers, are those of the larger high schools 
 and the colleges. The small high school has practically 
 had no voice in determining either the standards or 
 the scope of the work which it should undertake. It 
 bows in peculiar measure under the weight of the tradi- 
 tion of college entrance requirements. It is urged to 
 relate its education to the community, but at the same 
 time, in order to teach Latin, French, German, alge- 
 bra, ancient history, and physics, among other sub- 
 jects, it has a task, already, which it can only half per- 
 form. The high school is usually staflFed by very yoimg 
 teachers, who represent little or no training for teach- 
 ing, as a result of the college courses which they have 
 taken, and who, on the pedagogical side, have almost 
 everything to learn through the hard knocks of ex- 
 perience. Frequently the small high school is poorly 
 housed, and almost invariably it has but meager 
 equipment, either of books or of apparatus. Under 
 these circumstances, therefore, it is not to be wondered 
 at that the problem of the small school is of such mag- 
 nitude and complexity as, indeed, rarely to be talked 
 about. We discuss the problems of the rural elemen- 
 tary school, but few persons rise to discuss the prob- 
 lems of the small high school. 
 
 The question is sometimes gravely raised, in aca- 
 demic and administrative circles, as to whether a high 
 school ought really to be approved if it has only two 
 
112 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 teachers, and sometimes it is asserted that a high 
 school cannot do valuable work if it has as few as three 
 teachers. From one point of view, these questions are 
 fimdamentally absurd. They do not approach the 
 subject from the right direction. They presuppose that 
 the standards of what constitutes a high school have 
 already been settled — as, indeed, too frequently they 
 have by purely external authority. 
 , The question should rather be faced from the point 
 of view of the opportunity possessed by this school in 
 the community which it serves. What can be done 
 by two teachers (or three teachers), presumably fairly 
 well educated and equipped men and women, to- 
 wards the further education of from twenty-five to 
 fifty boys and girls coming to them at substantially 
 the age of fourteen, after having completed an ele- 
 mentary-school education, and prepared to stay 
 from two to four years? Looked at independently 
 of tradition, college entrance requirements, and the 
 standards imposed by outside authorities, the edu- 
 cational opportunities of this sort of school should 
 properly be regarded as very great, indeed. These op- 
 portunities naturally will have to be found largely in 
 the field of liberal, as contrasted with vocational, edu- 
 cation. As discussed elsewhere, vocational education 
 involves a large degree of specialization, and even if 
 in a rural community the chief calling for which 
 equipment is to be given to boys is that of farming 
 and to girls that of home-making, nevertheless, even 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 113 
 
 here we have requirements on the side of efficient 
 equipment and facilities that cannot be met by the 
 small high school. 
 
 It is, therefore, from the standpoint of its oppor- 
 timities for Uberal education — that is, education, on 
 the one hand, for bro ader ci tizenship, and, on the 
 other hand, for personal culture — that small high 
 schools should be approached. What it can do in this 
 direction has, so far as I know, never yet received 
 adequate or scientific consideration. Certainly we 
 know that it cannot effectively teach Greek and Latin, 
 and French and German, and algebra and geometry, 
 and physics and chemistry, and ancient history and 
 United States history, and various other subjects, as 
 these are now organized, to advantage. We have to 
 raise the question, however, continually, as to whether 
 the teaching of these subjects as now organized and 
 taught is necessary to a liberal education, adapted to 
 the requirements of an American community in the 
 first quarter of the twentieth century. I believe there 
 is only one way of facing this problem. High-school 
 principals and teachers, and others interested in the 
 more effective reconstruction of secondary education, 
 must persistently face the question as to what con- 
 stitutes a Uberal education for the youth of our day, 
 and, having decided this, then approach the question 
 as to the ways and means of meeting it. Certainly 
 there is extant, so far as I know, no adequate dis- 
 cussion of what the small high school can do in this 
 
114 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 direction. It will be said that the small high school has 
 never been able to consider this question because it has 
 been constantly engrossed in meeting the requirements 
 of the colleges. This is doubtless true; but it is also a 
 fact that if at any given time college entrance require- 
 ments were completely related, and high schools were 
 told to make effective programs independently of 
 these, our high-school teachers and principals would 
 not know what to do. They would, I imagine, present 
 about the same extent, if not the same quality, of for- 
 eign language, history, mathematics, and science as 
 before. In some quarters, in recent years, if given the 
 freedom here suggested, they would have introduced 
 a measure of textbook study of agriculture, with, per- 
 haps, some manual training and household arts, if the 
 community could be persuaded to give the necessary 
 equipment. 
 
 But, in the sense that school teachers and other 
 educators are to-day prepared to substitute for the 
 program which has been largely imposed by the col- 
 leges, another making for a more fundamental and 
 vital liberal education, I think there is little or nothing 
 to be said. High-school people have not been dis- 
 posed to consider this problem; they have accepted 
 the leadership of the higher institutions in an atti- 
 tude of unquestioning submission. 
 
 This will not always be so. Even now, we recognize 
 the beginnings in American secondary education of 
 the habit of independent thought. High-school men. 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 115 
 
 especially those who have been some years out of col- 
 lege, are more and more disposed to respond to a 
 vague, but none the less real, public demand that they 
 study the whole question of educational values, in- 
 dependently of what external agencies may suggest 
 or require. I believe that within a very few years we 
 shan have a fairly well developed scheme of liberal 
 education adapted to the small high school, and which 
 will have been worked out independently of outside 
 agencies. 
 
 It is one of the purposes of this paper, however, to 
 suggest steps that may at once be taken by high- 
 school principals, particularly if these are disposed 
 to act collectively, in the direction of opening the way 
 for independent action. The first proposal given be- 
 low is made in the conviction that, for the present, the 
 small high school cannot aflford to disregard the needs 
 of that small proportion of its pupils who are prepar- 
 ing for college, partly because these pupils represent 
 some of the best ability which the high school pos- 
 sesses, and partly because a vital contact of the 
 school with the higher institution of learning consti- 
 tutes, under present conditions, a valuable resource, 
 both for the school and its community. 
 
 In recent years, the tendency has gained ground for 
 the coUeges of the coimtry to define their admission 
 requirements in terms of units, and within each unit 
 to define the content of study which is expected to 
 measure up to the unit. Furthermore, it has been the 
 
116 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 custom of the colleges to impose, in terms of the num- 
 ber of units required, a sufficient number of studies 
 practically to fill the time of the student preparing 
 for college for four years. 
 
 Now, it is not practicable for the college to relax 
 its requirements in this direction wholly and at once. 
 It can, however, I believe, be induced, whether in the 
 East or the West, to relax its requirements in a degree, 
 if the high school can offer something of a guarantee 
 that the time thus released will be used to good ad- 
 vantage. The proposal which is being made in Massa- 
 chusetts, therefore, and which might well be made in 
 other States, is, that the colleges, acting in concert, 
 reduce the number of imits with reference to which 
 they make specific requirements as to subject matter 
 and standards, so that these need occupy but a por- 
 tion of the preparatory period of the pupil. More 
 specifically, it is proposed that where 15 or 16 units 
 represent the total amount of college preparation, 
 the college shall hereafter test the pupil, or pass upon 
 his work in an accredited school, only to the extent of 
 12 units, taking the word of the high school that, as 
 to the remaining time, the pupil has made a good rec- 
 ord in studies which the high school, itself, deemed 
 important in his education, but with reference to the 
 content, scope, and methods of teaching which the 
 college, itself, does not presume to prescribe. 
 
 It is my conviction that if, throughout the country, 
 the small high schools will, as regards their students 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL fflGH SCHOOL 117 
 
 who are preparing for college, collectively prevail 
 upon the colleges to pass upon only twelve units 
 (which would be three-fourths, or at most four-fifths, 
 of their preparation), then in time we can go farther. 
 The colleges may then be expected to reduce to ten, or 
 even eight, the number of units upon which they will 
 pass in detail. This pre-supposes that at each step 
 the high school, itself, will utilize to good advantage 
 the time thus set free. 
 
 Now, as a further step in the development of this^ 
 plan, it is proposed that the course of s1;udy for the 
 first two years of the high school shall be governed 
 primarily by the requirements of those who are not 
 preparing for college, with the understanding that 
 during the last two years of the course the studies pre- 
 sented by the school, the methods of teaching involved, 
 and the standards of scholarship maintained, shall be 
 determined primarily by the needs of the pupils who 
 are going to college. This plan has many advantages. 
 In the first place, it is well known that of all the pupils 
 entering the high school, substantially one-half will 
 have dropped out by the end of the second year. 
 This plan enables the school to give these pupils large 
 consideration during the time that they are in school. 
 I strongly favor, personally, the plan of recognizing 
 a distinctive two-years course, terminating for the 
 average pupil at sixteen years of age, and I should 
 also have the successful accomplishment of this course 
 testified to by some suitable certificate or diploma. 
 
118 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Again, it permits the high school to exercise its free- 
 dom and ingenuity during the first two years, quite 
 independently of the requirements of the college or of 
 secondary education, itself. I see no reason, for ex- 
 ample, why during these first two years the school 
 that is capable of doing this should not develop 
 courses in English literature, general science, social 
 science, and one or more phases of the practical arts, 
 quite completely in accordance with the ascertained 
 needs of the pupil and of the community, and quite 
 independently of anything that tradition suggests in 
 these subjects. 
 
 On the other hand, by giving the last two years of 
 the course chiefly to college preparatory students, 
 we shall be considering the needs of those who, in 
 the main, anticipate going to college, and for whom, 
 probably, a certain amount of quite specific prepara- 
 tion for the successful execution of college work will 
 be required. For my own part, I should be glad to 
 see a program so arranged that during these last two 
 years the pupils would have obtained very specific 
 and rigorous drill in those tools which, such as Eng- 
 lish expression, modern language, algebra, etc., may 
 have demonstrable value as needed instrumentalities 
 in the pursuit of higher studies. Furthermore, I 
 should be glad to reserve to these two years the more 
 exacting study of one or more of the sciences, a period 
 in history, and perhaps Latin, which, while not strictly 
 instrumental to subsequent college work, neverthe- 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 119 
 
 less furnish satisfactory examples of fields of intellec- 
 tual effort wherein more or less rigorous pedagogical 
 methods are desirable. 
 
 For the present, if the college is to control as regards 
 twelve units of the admission requirements, then it 
 will be necessary that during the first two years at 
 least twa subjects — probably a modern language and 
 algebra — shall be carried on. If, however, the time 
 should come when the college will impose its exactions 
 as regards eight admission units only, it might be 
 advisable to arrange a program whereby practically 
 all of the college preparatory work should be met 
 during the last two years of the com-se, leaving the 
 first two years entirely free to give whatever educa- 
 tion seemed desirable, including, of course, if neces- 
 sary, one or two electives in foreign language and, 
 perhaps, mathematics. 
 
 Such a program should not, however, be under- 
 taken by any given school until in its teaching force 
 and in its course of study it possesses the capacity to 
 give an education during these two years that is really 
 worth while. In order to achieve this end, I believe 
 it will, sooner or later, prove fundamentally necessary 
 to divide the studies offered, or even portions of given 
 studies, into two distinct groups, with reference to 
 one of which quite exacting standards of scholarship 
 shall be maintained as regards the ability of the pupil 
 to stand tests, to explain, and interpret what he has 
 learned, and to retain it as a permanent possession; 
 
120 PROBLEMS OF SECONDABY EDUCATION 
 
 and with reference to the second category, that the 
 standards of approach shall be those characteristic of 
 learning primarily for appreciation. This distinction, 
 made between studies on the one hand, or between 
 definite portions of such studies as natural science, 
 social science, practical arts, etc., ought to be of con- 
 siderable value in reducing the amount of time neces- 
 sary for the actual teaching required. Personally, I 
 believe that we shall yet work out a very extensive, 
 scheme of liberal education, based upon what is here 
 called the standards and methods of appreciation. I 
 believe that by the use of libraries, home reading, and 
 amateur constructive work in the practical arts, we 
 shall be able to achieve valuable ends with a very 
 great reduction of the teaching force now required. 
 We sometimes discuss, for example, naively as to 
 what should be the standard size of a high-school class, 
 and we usually arrive at the conviction that such a 
 class should not be very much larger or smaller than 
 twenty-five pupils. Now, if we could once disassociate 
 ourselves from our traditions in this respect, we ought 
 to recognize the fact that for some lines of teaching, a 
 class of twenty-five is much too large, while for others 
 it is much smaller than is necessary. There is a great 
 deal that high-school pupils can learn through lectures, 
 for example, delivered to large as well as to small 
 groups. There is a great deal that can be accom- 
 plished in the field of liberal education through litera- 
 ture, social science, art, and other subjects through 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 121 
 
 wisely directed home reading, with the teacher acting 
 the part of conference counselor from time to time. 
 On the other hand, in those studies in which the out- 
 come is expected to be certain, definitely organized 
 knowledge and quite specific forms of "ability to do" 
 or to execute, it may frequently well happen that a 
 group of twenty-five is far too large to obtain efficient 
 results, as, for example, learning to speak a foreign 
 language under the so-called "oral methods" of 
 teaching. 
 
 The ultimate outcome of the plan of cooperation 
 with the colleges here proposed would be, in my esti- 
 mation, a complete reorganization of college-entrance 
 requirements, similar to that discussed at length in 
 Letter III. Briefly, the proposal there set forth is to 
 the efiFect that the college shall maintain three kinds 
 of tests, as regards the qualifications of those seeking 
 admission. In the first place, the college shall test the 
 ability of the student to use eflfectively those tools 
 which are indispensable in college work. The only 
 one of these that is of universal appUcation is English 
 expression. For some college courses, mathematics 
 also will be required, and for some others, it is alleged, 
 a knowledge of French or of German. Beyond these, 
 I know of no subjects which now stand in a strictly 
 instrumental relationship to college courses. 
 
 In the second place, the college will test the ability 
 of the pupil in certain fields of mental activity, but 
 without reference, at all, to the exercise of these men- 
 
122 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 tal powers in preindicated fields of material. In other 
 words, ability of the students to use specific forms of 
 memory power or specific forms of reasoning power, 
 or his possession of certain other specific ability to 
 use reference material or to organize his thought, 
 should be tested, but always in fields of knowledge 
 indicated by the secondary school itself. The object 
 of the college in its inquiries has no reference to the 
 content with which the pupil works, but rather refers 
 to his more or less specific habits of working, estab- 
 lished in these fields. 
 
 Ultimately, our experience and research in this 
 field will doubtless give us much more adequate in- 
 formation as to so-called "mental training" and the 
 means by which it is to be realized. When that is done, 
 the high schools can, perhaps, move more directly 
 towards these goals than they are now capable of do- 
 ing. Until, however, we have more hght, we must 
 assume that the mental powers which the colleges 
 have a right to ask in their entering students shall be 
 capable of application in fields of matter with which 
 the students have already become familiar. 
 
 In the third place, the college will also have the 
 right to test the pupils as to their possession of some 
 of that general knowledge and appreciation which 
 characterizes a person possessing, up to this point, a 
 liberal education. Here again, however, the content 
 with reference to which the college exercises this 
 requirement should be indicated by the secondary 
 
PRINCIPAL OF A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL 123 
 
 school, itself, since it may be assumed that no two 
 individuals will possess personal culture in exactly 
 the same fields; and, indeed, it is highly desirable that 
 individual interests should largely be consulted in this 
 connection. 
 
 Finally, whatever program of action is indicated 
 for the small high schools of the future, it ought to be 
 entirely clear that few, if any, results will be achieved 
 without clear thinking, clear definition of plans, and 
 concert of action. I have even maintained that the 
 colleges of America would do anything which the 
 secondary schools in a concerted way would ask of 
 them. I still believe that this is fimdamentally true. 
 In fact, I would go farther and say that whenever 
 the authorities in charge of the small high schools of 
 this country have Worked out, in cooperation, what 
 they regard as a reasonable program to be met by 
 them, on the one hand for those who are going to col- 
 lege, as well as for those who, on the other hand, are 
 not going to college, then the colleges will find one 
 way or another of meeting the standards thus indi- 
 cated. 
 
XII 
 
 To a Conference of Secondary-School Teachers : 
 
 It is certain that the largest single problem to be 
 solved on behalf of the high school of to-day is that 
 of a clearer definition of the vaUd aims of secondary 
 education. But it is, nevertheless, true that many 
 teachers of secondary-school studies still believe that 
 the high school has already clearly defined aims, and 
 that the great problems which confront them consist 
 of the development of better methods of realizing 
 these aims. It is, therefore, only fair that the differ- 
 ences between the aims which now control, and those 
 which should control, be described and defined. 
 
 When it is said that the aims of secondary education 
 as held to-day are defective, reference is made to one 
 or the other of two weaknesses which characterize 
 such aims as are now held. Either the purposes them- 
 selves are lacking in social validity — that is, there 
 is no demonstrable evidence that they are actually 
 worth while in society; or else they are so vague and 
 intangible that they exercise no real influence upon 
 choice and development of the means and methods by 
 which they are supposed to be realized. A few illus- 
 trations may make this clear. 
 
 Every secondary-school teacher "is, of course, con- 
 scious of certain quite definite aims in his or her work. 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 125 
 
 A teacher of Latin, first of all, is endeavoring to have 
 his pupils learn Latin in accordance with long-estab- 
 lished standards as to the proper mastery of that sub- 
 ject. The conscious purposes include specific degrees 
 of ability to write or compose Latin prose, to trans- 
 late specified classics, to analyze and parse Latin sen- 
 tences, and to comprehend and describe the geographi- 
 cal, historical, and anthropological facts which are 
 associated with, or suggested by, the study of a given 
 Latin classic. The teacher may have in mind certain 
 types of written examinations given by the school it- 
 self, or by some outside agency, such as the College 
 Entrance Examination Board, as indicating standards 
 of proficiency which it is his obligation and ambition 
 to meet. Now, throughout the entire field of second- 
 ary education, as well as in the study of Latin, 
 teachers and other school authorities are, as a rule, 
 clearly conscious of these immediate or proximate 
 aims of their work; and a large amount of readjust- 
 ment of method is constantly going on in the endeavor 
 to find more effective means of realizing these imme- 
 diate aims. 
 
 But the fundamental difficulty at this point is that 
 these aims do not in themselves give satisfactory evi- 
 dence as to their social validity. Granted that the 
 immediate aim of a teacher is to teach Latin, or mathe- 
 matics, or history, towards certain quite clearly de- 
 fined ends of power, and in certain quite specific ways, 
 nevertheless, a constantly increasing number of peo- 
 
126 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 pie concerned with a more valid realization of the 
 values inherent in a sound social economy are to-day 
 asking, in all seriousness: " Of what value is it to mas- 
 ter so much Latin, or so much mathematics, or so 
 much history? Wherein in a scheme of sound educa- 
 tion does such particular mastery figure? For whom 
 have these subjects value? Toward what cultural, or 
 social, or vocational ends do they actually contribute? " 
 
 A careful examination will show, I believe, that we 
 have in secondary education, as now organized, a 
 wide range of immediate aims which are not, in them- 
 selves, necessarily valid, as judged by the needs and 
 possibilities of a sound social economy adapted to 
 the needs of the twentieth century. From my point 
 of view, this is the necessary basis of the reexamina- 
 tion to which all secondary education is being and 
 should be to-day subjected. 
 
 " But," you will say, " educators have not been un- 
 aware of these defects of aim. They have, indeed, 
 been engaged in setting up more ultimate aims for 
 secondary education, the social validity of which 
 none can successfully dispute. Much effort has, in 
 recent years, particularly, been expended in the en- 
 deavor to define and state the ultimate purposes of 
 secondary, as well as other forms of education." But, 
 while admitting that such efforts have been made, it 
 is necessary to show that the resulting formulations 
 of aim are not, in themselves, sufficiently clear-cut or 
 definite in many cases to exert the slightest effect 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 127 
 
 upon the character of the studies which we offer, the 
 means and methods adopted in teaching them, or in 
 ascertaining the classes of students on behalf of whom 
 they are recommended or prescribed. In the litera- 
 ture of contemporary secondary education much use 
 is made of certain vague phrases, as designed to ex- 
 press the ultimate educational ends to be achieved 
 by secondary education, for example. Writers of one 
 group speak often of "character" as being the chief 
 end of education. Others use the phrase" " social effi- 
 ciency." Still others contend that training for good 
 citizenship should be our chief goal. There are those 
 who argue that if secondary education results in pro- 
 ducing the trained mind, or in giving mental discipline, 
 all other values will be easily realized through the 
 achievement of this fundamental one. More recent 
 writers suggest that the best formulation of the end 
 of education may be expressed as "capacity for self- 
 direction," while others use a somewhat similar phrase, 
 " self-realization." 
 
 Now, no one can dispute that these general phrases 
 (called, quite justly, "omnibus" phrases) are all ex- 
 pressive of purposes of the highest worth. But the 
 difficulties which they present, as regards the organ- 
 ization and administration of secondary education for 
 the present situation, are that they do not, in the 
 slightest degree, enable us to choose among possible 
 subjects of study, to adopt methods of instruction, 
 or to test the actual accomplishments of particular 
 
128 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 methods of teaching. Has any one ever known of any 
 modification taking place in the methods of teaching 
 algebra as a result of the attempts to make education 
 result in greater social efficiency? Do we modify our 
 methods of teaching Latin as the outcome of any 
 clear-cut notion of what we mean by "mental dis- 
 cipline"? As I see it now, all of the above phrases are 
 quite interchangeable. That is, the content of each 
 one could be put under the other, under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, without any observable loss. 
 
 In reahty, these vague phrases do not express aims 
 or purposes. They may express aspirations, but it 
 seems to me that they are more nearly comparable 
 to "castles in Spain," which many of us are prone 
 to build, but in building which we utilize, usually, our 
 most lazy hours, and with little attention to the work- 
 ing out of structural and other difficult details. It 
 sounds well, in public discussion, to insist that the 
 purpose of the " Uberal education," which is now of- 
 fered in many high schools, is " social efficiency." It 
 is only when we are asked definite questions as to how 
 our studies of ancient history, of physics, and of chem- 
 istry, as now carried on, actually contribute to social 
 efficiency, that, in a somewhat irritated way, we fall 
 back upon ancient dogmas, finding ourselves quite 
 incapable of advancing any conclusive evidence as 
 to how our studies "function" in the way claimed. 
 
 Secondary education to-day is, therefore, deter- 
 mined by two distinct sets of aims — the one concrete. 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 129 
 
 immediate, and proximate, but without demonstrable 
 validity in the large majority of cases; and the other 
 remote, vague, and intangible, for most purposes un- 
 real, and in the last analysis unserviceable as indicat- 
 ing choices of ways and means towards their eflFective 
 reaUzation. 
 
 Now, it is my firm belief, that within the next gen- 
 eration we shall work out a fairly extended scheme of 
 social values for secondary education, which will oc- 
 cupy a position perhaps midway between the two sets 
 of purposes suggested above. These social values will 
 have, on the one hand, demonstrated social vahdity, 
 and on the other they will be sufficiently definite to 
 enable us to work back and adapt the means and 
 methods requisite for their proper realization. 
 
 A few illustrations of what I have in mind may make 
 this clear. In all our high schools to-day, for example, 
 we are teaching English composition. Perhaps there 
 is less dispute as to the value of this study than as to 
 that of any other in the secondary school curriculum. 
 It is generally accepted that a fairly high degree of 
 ability to communicate ideas in writing is a social 
 asset that is almost universally worth while. Now, it 
 seems to me, that with comparatively little further 
 analysis in this field, we shall be able to work out a 
 rather clear-cut scheme as to the specific forms and 
 degrees of power in written (and also in oral) expres- 
 sion which it is worth while should constitute a part 
 of the attainment of at least the large majority of 
 
130 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 young people who have received a general secondary- 
 school education. In this field, at any rate, we should 
 be able to define quite clearly our goals, in terms of 
 valuable ends which no one can dispute. Having done 
 this, we shall then be in a position to work back to a 
 study of the means and methods by which these ends 
 can best be realized. Doubtless we are at the present 
 time expending an undue amount of effort in high 
 schools in teaching young people to write English. It 
 Is equally certain that we are spending far too little 
 effort in teaching them to speak English fluently and 
 with effect. 
 
 But neither in the field of written nor of oral Eng- 
 lish expression have we yet analyzed the specific 
 powers and capacities which it should be our pur- 
 pose to produce; and until we shall have carried this 
 analysis much farther than has yet been done, it seems 
 to me that our efforts to find suitable ways and means 
 must be largely futile, and of a " hit-or-miss " character. 
 
 Let us take another illustration from the field of 
 physical education. It would certainly appear that 
 there is a certain body of organized knowledge, hav- 
 ing an intimate bearing upon the maintenance of per- 
 sonal health, which might well be the possession of 
 every person. When we shall have defined what this 
 knowledge is, and the extent to which, when acquired 
 by the average individual, it will probably "function" 
 in hygienic and sanitary action, then we should have 
 before us some fairly clear-cut goals of effort in physi- 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 131 
 
 cal education. Our quest for efiPective means and 
 methods in such education should then be somewhat 
 more purposeful and intelligent than is the case at 
 present. 
 
 Here attention should be called to the fact that in 
 the field of vocational education, which is now devel- 
 oping so rapidly, the problem of defining valid edu- 
 cational ends will be much simpler than in the fields 
 of cultural and social education. Capacity in an occu- 
 pation is a fairly definite thing. The technical knowl- 
 edge needed by the engineer, or the machinist, or the 
 teamster, can be somewhat readily ascertained. In 
 the course of the next few years, we should be able to 
 describe very adequately, indeed, the specific ends 
 of knowledge, skill, and ideal which should enter into, 
 the more common vocations, to a degree which will 
 enable us to adapt serviceable means and methods 
 for their attainment. This will not come wholly with- 
 out a struggle, however, because even here one can 
 detect much evidence of the long persistence of aca- 
 demic traditions. In the earlier stages, for example, 
 of the training of craftsman, great stress was laid 
 upon the study of mathematics, while more recently 
 mechanical drawing has been regarded as contributing 
 the supreme gift in all forms of trade training. Both 
 of these ideas are probably, in large part, supersti- 
 tions, based on ignorance of real needs and possibiU- 
 ties of education for vocations. 
 
 Many other illustrations of the possibilities of de- 
 
132 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 fining specific educational ends can easily be cited. 
 It ought not to prove difficult, for example, for sin- 
 cere and competent students to demonstrate the values 
 to the average man of certain specified kinds and 
 degrees of knowledge of French and German. When 
 these values shaU have been more clearly defined, the 
 working-out of the means and methods of their reali- 
 zation should not prove difficult. 
 
 An interesting stage in the evolution of education 
 is to be found in connection with the two decades of 
 discussion of educational values resulting from the 
 development of the so-called "elective system." 
 Until recently it was the practice of the college, as 
 well as of the secondary school, to prescribe in con- 
 siderable detail the subjects of study which should 
 be taken by all students alike, or by students seeking 
 a particular degree or diploma. There was then no 
 disposition in any quarter to question the wisdom of 
 those who had established these prescribed lists of 
 studies. It was a case of "Take the entire program 
 offered, or leave it." 
 
 But even more than half a century ago, a few per- 
 sons, like President Wayland of Brown University, 
 and later President Eliot of Harvard, began to favor a 
 "system" whereby, in large measure, each pupil 
 would make up his own program of studies by selec- 
 tion from all of those offered in a given institution. 
 This throwing the responsibility upon the pupil, for 
 making choices among the subjects offered, brought 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 133 
 
 confusion and sometimes great dismay into both 
 college and secondary school. It involved the assump- 
 tion that the pupil, in spite of all his immaturity and 
 inexperience, had some capacity to make choices 
 adapted to his needs. The advocates of the elective 
 system were, indeed, not always enthusiastic as to the 
 capacity of the pupil and of his parents to make wise 
 selections among studies oflFered, but they believed 
 that, in view of the superior interest that might be 
 elicited by work thus taken, better results would fol- 
 low. President Eliot and some others took what was 
 then the advanced position, that it did not matter so 
 much what subjects were studied, as how they were 
 studied. This idea, of course, involves a complete 
 acceptance of the so-called "theory of mental disci- 
 pline," in which the content learned is of relatively 
 little importance compared with the habits and powers 
 of mind developed in such learning. 
 
 AH educators will remember the extensive debate 
 and discussion of the elective system which took place 
 between 1880 and 1910, and which is not yet entirely 
 stilled. Harvard University, in the administration 
 following that of President Eliot, modified the elec- 
 tive system through introduction of the theory of 
 "compulsory concentration and dispersion" which, 
 on the whole, tended again to exalt the place of the- 
 instructor or advisor in mapping out work for the 
 learner. 
 
 Now, it is an interesting fact that while the pro- 
 
134 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 longed discussion of the elective system represents an 
 inevitable and necessary stage in the general exami- 
 nation of educational values, nevertheless, very sel- 
 dom, indeed, during its continuance was the question 
 fairly stated from the standpoint of the college, school, 
 or instructor therein who prescribes subjects of study 
 for the students. Rarely is to be found, in the litera- 
 ture of this debate, discussion of the question as to 
 what standards guide the instructor in mapping out 
 a given line of work for a student. The time had not 
 yet arrived when the educational values of subjects 
 were to be questioned as seriously as later. The strong- 
 est defense of those favoring the elective system would 
 have been, of course, the inquiry as to how the in- 
 structor knew that a prescribed list of studies, con- 
 sisting, let us say, of Latin, mathematics, and ancient 
 history, represented the most valuable program for the 
 student. It would have been possible to grant every 
 contention relative to the incapacity of the pupil to 
 make a satisfactory selection of subjects, without in 
 the least yielding to the claim that the instructor was, 
 in any single whit, in a superior position to make such 
 selection. He, himself, was dominated entirely by 
 tradition and custom. Never had he made any ade- 
 quate examination of the actual values achieved 
 through the programs of studies which he favored. 
 
 At the present time, we hear less of the discussion 
 of the elective system. A large degree of election now 
 prevails, in. theory, in the typical high school, but 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 135 
 
 we find that a great variety of impediments to its free 
 exercise necessarily exist in the scope of options that 
 can be taken by a pupil at a given time, by the re- 
 quirements imposed by colleges for admission, etc. 
 
 From the standpoint of the development of a sci- 
 ence of values of secondary education, the next step, 
 I am confident, will be a careful working out, on the 
 part of educators and students of social economy in 
 conjimction, of a detailed analysis of the social values 
 which it is feasible to attain by educational means. 
 In the first place, the powers and capacities of the 
 roimded socialized individual at maturity will sug- 
 gest the final goal of educational and other construc- 
 tive effort. Then, as far as practicable, an analysis 
 will be made of the contributions to this rounded in- 
 dividual which are made, respectively, by (a) heredity, 
 (b) environmental influences not primarily controlled 
 for educational or developmental purposes, and (c) 
 environmental influences, including education, con- 
 trolled purposefully and directly toward the develop- 
 ment of the individual. The third step will be an 
 analysis of the last set of influences, in order to dis- 
 cover which are those that can legitimately be effected 
 by each of the several social institutions which have 
 education as a primary or at least important second- 
 ary aim, including (a) the home, (&) the church, (c) 
 the school, (d) the shop, (e) the press, (/) the stage, 
 (g) the club, {h) the street and playground, {i) the 
 library, and (J) the police-power. Evidently, no com- 
 
136 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 plete scheme of school education can be evolved which 
 does not take account of the contributions of these and 
 possibly other more or less coordinate educational 
 agencies. 
 
 Taking, now, the school in the broadest sense of 
 that word, we shall find that its educational influences 
 can be subdivided under at least four major heads; 
 namely, those contributing (a) to physical education, 
 (6) to vocational education, (c) to social education, 
 and (d) to cultural education. These forms of educa- 
 tion are presented in this order because, apparently, 
 that is the order of their importance in society, and the 
 order in which they developed historically as system- 
 atic forms of education, in schools or through other 
 agencies. 
 
 Under each one of these heads it will prove pos- 
 sible to analyze a series of purposes or values to which, 
 by proper means, the school, itself, can contribute, 
 and this process may be carried back until finally 
 we shall have defined quite specifically the educa- 
 tional means and methods by which these ends are to 
 be realized. This process is in most respects a com- 
 plete inversion of that which has been historically 
 influential in developing secondary education. The 
 secondary school arose in order to meet certain quite 
 definite ends in the teaching of traditional knowledge 
 or forms of skill for which there was a public demand. 
 The social value of these demands it was seldom con- 
 sidered the function of the school to establish. The 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 137 
 
 school occupied, rather, the position of the pharma- 
 cist offering to consumers any drugs or chemicals 
 which they desire to purchase, without being con- 
 cerned as to the helpful or harmful character, to the 
 individuals interested, of that which they purchase. 
 The modern conception of the school, especially when 
 it is under public support and control, and when, with 
 reference to its offerings, the large majority of stu- 
 dents have small capacity of making intelligent choices, 
 is that the school, itself, must clearly know the value 
 of that which it offers. Pursuing our illustration, the 
 modem school is much more in the position of the in- 
 telligent physician, who does not give the patient 
 what he may want, but prescribes for him what he 
 needs and in the light, let us hope, of a clearly defined 
 knowledge of the functioning value of that which he 
 prescribes. 
 
 The program herein set forth is one which the edu- 
 cator alone cannot work out unless he has made a very 
 careful study of genuine values, or worths, as defined 
 in social economy. Modern social economy is an out- 
 growth of sociology and of numerous other sciences 
 which are bringing an increasing amount of scientific 
 knowledge to bear upon the ends that are worth while 
 in society, and the means by which these can be at- 
 tained. There is no phase of human life which, sooner 
 or later, will not be touched by a sound scheme of 
 social economy. In its earlier stages, it has concerned 
 itself largely with pathological features, just exactly 
 
138 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 as in the earlier stages of hygiene the chief concern is 
 the cure of disease. Modern social economy, however, 
 looks far more to the prevention of pathological fea- 
 tures than to their cure, and it tends to include still 
 more comprehensively all programs of social construc- 
 tion, that is, the achieving of results, that are perma- 
 nently worth while. In the fields of the conservation 
 and improvement of health and strength, the pro- 
 motion of suitable vocational capacity on the part of 
 all persons, the development of habits, appreciations 
 and ideals that make for good moral and civic behav- 
 ior, and in the enhancement of various positive forms 
 of personal culture, modem social economy finds 
 its tremendous tasks. In its larger developments it 
 includes the field of so-called "eugenics," which, in 
 a way, is more fundamental than the others hitherto 
 named, because it includes and affects the original 
 sources of human life, and suggests possible construc- 
 tive action towards the elimination of unsound strains 
 and stocks, and the fostering of the more wholesome. 
 
 In the last analysis, therefore, the new scheme of 
 values which are to govern in secondary education 
 will have to be worked out largely by the social econo- 
 mist, who may, indeed, on rare occasions be an edu- 
 cator also. 
 
 In the mean time, what is to be the attitude of the 
 rank and file of secondary-school teachers? The mem- 
 bers of your conference, and the members of every 
 other conference of secondary-school teachers, can in 
 
SECONDARY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 139 
 
 this period of transition adopt any one of several atti- 
 tudes. You may stand firmly by your ancient customs 
 and traditions, trying to keep the public to your point 
 of view, and criticizing, by means fair and unfair, all 
 new proposals and developments. This is the so-called 
 "stand-pat" attitude, the attitude of an unintelli- 
 gent and anti-social conservatism. 
 
 Again, you may assume an hospitable attitude to- 
 ward the newer proposals and developments, but with- 
 out allowing them to afifect your immediate practice 
 until their vaUdity has been demonstrated. You may 
 wait passively for the results of experimental and con- 
 structive work to be done by others, in the mean time 
 following, with a certain degree of sympathetic in- 
 terest, the efforts of specialists in these fields. This 
 is not an unintelligent attitude, and is probably the 
 position which should be taken by the large majority 
 of teachers and school principals who feel that their 
 present responsibilities are heavy and that they have, 
 in themselves, little or no capacity for constructive 
 work. 
 
 I should hope, however, that a considerable pro- 
 portion would assume a third attitude; namely, that 
 of constructive cooperation. It may be that this is 
 especially important at the present crisis, when we 
 have so small an amount of actual scientific knowl- 
 edge upon which to base proposals for reconstruction. 
 I cannot but believe that the advancement of knowl- 
 edge on the so-called "empirical" basis is of exceed- 
 
140 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 ing importance in certain stages of development. I 
 do not believe that, in the present stage of the science 
 of medicine, for example, empirical methods are much 
 worth while; but they were of very great value, in- 
 deed, a century ago, when medicine lacked, to so large 
 an extent, satisfactory clues and scientific standards. 
 I am of the opinion that education is now in a position 
 somewhat analogous to that of medicine and agricul- 
 ture one hundred years ago. I therefore attach great 
 importance to systematic discussion, and discussion 
 carried on in scientific spirit and under the influence 
 of scientific method, as far as this is available. 
 
 For example, I believe greatly in the importance of 
 definitions at the present time as a means of economi- 
 cal communication. We educators have been singu- 
 larly lax, even intellectually negligent, in this matter 
 of definitions. We seem to have been indifferent to 
 clear-cut thinking. Substantial progress can be made, 
 even now, by taking up the various questions that 
 are before us, and, using sound methods of discussion 
 with constant emphasis on clear-cut thinking, the re- 
 sults being formulated in writing, by moving towards 
 improvement in our present practices, being even 
 guided by such educational aims as are now available. 
 
 This third attitude may be, in a large measure, the 
 constructive one for the present time, because intelli- 
 gent cooperative discussion of the many problems of 
 secondary education would gradually reveal ques- 
 tions which need scientific analysis. For example, 
 
SECONDAHY-SCHOOL CONFERENCE 141 
 
 the question as to what kind of foreign language teach- 
 ing is desirable may be pushed to the point of examin- 
 ing the value to persons in certain professional careers 
 of a reading knowledge of, let us say, French or Ger- 
 man. When once this position is clearly indicated, it 
 might be entirely practicable by statistical and other 
 studies to answer the question as to what proportion 
 of leaders in our present society actually make use of 
 such knowledge, or feel the need of it for any particu- 
 lar type of work or stage of cultural interest. Simi- 
 larly, the contention sometimes made, that a knowl- 
 edge of algebra is essential to the further pursuit of 
 such studies as physics and economics in college, 
 should be examined. As soon as such a question is 
 clearly defined, a scientific examination may be made 
 with a view to finding out how far any particular 
 contention is true. 
 
XIII 
 
 To a Teacher of Latin : 
 
 In the present transition period in secondary edu- 
 cation, the teacher of Latin occupies a somewhat diffi- 
 cult position. More, perhaps, than the teacher of any 
 other subject, he is placed on the defensive. He recog- 
 nizes that his subject still occupies a somewhat monop- 
 olistic position. Many of the largest colleges of the 
 country still prescribe Latin for entrance, or, at any 
 rate, they make its presentation a pre-requisite for 
 students seeking certain degrees. In many of the 
 largest high schools, Latin is made a requirement in 
 certain courses that are attractive to the more able 
 pupils and those of better social position. Many of us 
 believe that if Latin were placed on exactly the same 
 footing as that on which Greek has been placed during 
 the last few years, it would tend to drop out of the 
 schools, very much as Greek itself has done. 
 
 It should be said to the credit of the Latin teachers 
 of America that in this crisis they have manifested 
 unusual energy. They have given a large amount of 
 attention to improvement in the methods of teaching, 
 and have made some interesting studies as to the 
 alleged objectives of the subject they teach. Never- 
 theless, I believe they have realized that the tide of 
 public opinion has been mounting steadily, not so 
 
TEACHER OF LATIN 143 
 
 much against the study of Latin as against its pre- 
 scription, direct or indirect, in any form of secondary 
 education. I think the time is not far distant when 
 Latin will have to stand strictly on its own merits, 
 I doutt if any except a few very conservative en- 
 dowed colleges, catering to quite select classes of 
 young persons, will in a few years find it desirable to 
 make Latin either a pre-requisite for admission or a 
 required subject in regular courses. 
 
 In view of this possible outcome of developments 
 now taking place, it seems to me to be of the utmost 
 importance that Latin teachers everywhere should 
 endeavor, in the fullest possible measure, to justify, 
 according to sound scientific standards, the teaching 
 of this subject, either in accordance with present aims 
 and methods, or in accordance with others later to be 
 developed. 
 
 To this end, it will be necessary for teachers of 
 Latin to give still more attention to the educational 
 purposes to be subserved by this study. It must be 
 clearly evident to you now that we cannot any longer 
 rest on the old catch phrase "mental discipline," as 
 justifying any study whatever. We do not yet know 
 all that we shall eventually know about mental disci- 
 phne. I, for one, beheve that ultimately a very large 
 function of our schools will consist in disciplining the 
 various powers of the mind, but I do not believe that 
 such training or discipline will be in accordance with 
 methods heretofore followed consciously or uncon- 
 
144 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 sciously. I think it is coming to be the conviction of 
 almost all students that to claim for a very specific 
 subject of study, such as Latin or algebra, the pos- 
 session of pecuUar qualities as an agency of mental 
 training is imjustifiable and without demonstrable 
 foundations. In so far as students of the classics in 
 the past have surpassed other persons, either in cul- 
 ture or in the practical activities of life, it is very prob- 
 able that this superiority can be ascribed to the eflFects 
 of selection, and not of any particular form of training. 
 My belief is that the supporters of Latin as a sec- 
 ondary-school study must carry much farther certain 
 inquiries which they have abeady started. They must 
 be able to demonstrate, for example, if it can be dem- 
 onstrated, that the study of Latin has an important 
 bearing upon the mastery of English, more particu- 
 larly, I take it, on English expression. This, I know, 
 is to-day a favorite claim. I am not persuaded, how- 
 ever, that even if there be vaHdity in this claim, we 
 have yet so defined our purposes in employing Latin 
 as a means of English teaching as to have produced 
 any perceptible effect upon the means and methods 
 employed in teaching that Latin. We must go much 
 farther. We must, for example, demonstrate whether 
 the specific values thus realized are to be found in the 
 greater comprehension of the grammatical instruc- 
 tion, greater freedom in rendering abstract ideas into 
 EngUsh, or greater comprehension of English because 
 of a knowledge of derivations of English words. A 
 
TEACHER OF LATIN 145 
 
 large variety of specific aims is possible, each one of 
 which, doubtless, could, in some measure, be realized 
 by the adoption of appropriate means and methods. 
 
 Surely it is a rather sweeping claim to assert that 
 Latin as now taught, in many cases with hardly any 
 conscious reference to sound standards of English 
 expression, nevertheless contributes important re- 
 sults to EngUsh. I should almost be willing to con- 
 tend, on the basis of my general experience, that many 
 of our pupils studying Latin have their Enghsh greatly 
 impaired by the poor Enghsh employed in oral trans- 
 lation. I have sometimes thought that we should al- 
 ways recognize two very distinct forms of translation, 
 — the first being so-called "literal translation," in 
 which the object is to exhibit the degree of mastery 
 of the ideas possessed by the pupil, and the second a 
 form of translation as true as practicable to the origi- 
 nal text, but in any case involving clear-cut and effec- 
 tive EngUsh expression. 
 
 There are other claims as to the value of the study 
 of Latin that surely need to be further examined. For 
 example, it is often asserted that Latin (and the argu- 
 ment applies equally or in greater degree to Greek) 
 should be studied because so many phases of the con- 
 temporary social inheritance are derived from Roman 
 sources. This contention is doubtless true; but what 
 does not follow is the value of studying these sources, 
 on the part of the average person seeking a secondary 
 or collegiate education. The derivative effects of 
 
146 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Latin and Greek thought have incorporated th«n- 
 selves in a thousand ways into our contemporary 
 life, as also into our English speech. Why do we as- 
 sume that it is worth while to study these things in 
 their origins or sources? If this contention holds, 
 would there not be much greater reason for study- 
 ing the Teutonic origins of our speech and customs, 
 since these are so much more directly related to our 
 folk ways? 
 
 Again, the question might be asked as to why the 
 rank and file of our young people should not endeavor 
 to study these origins as described in their own tongue. 
 Perhaps more irritating to many students than any- 
 thing else, is the assumption that the few years now 
 given to the study of Latin by the majority of pupils 
 really does introduce them in any way to the spirit of 
 the thought and action of the classical ages. Even the 
 layman recognizes that not one out of a hundred of the 
 boys and girls who study Latin is able to read an 
 original Latin text with ease and pleasure, and that he 
 speedily forgets what he has learned, after he leaves 
 school. Are we to assume that a most imperfect knowl- 
 edge of the mechanics of a foreign language possesses 
 some secret virtue in giving the student insight into 
 the life and customs of another nation, when such 
 mastery is not nearly equal to the mastery of his 
 own mother tongue by a pupil in the fifth grade of 
 the elementary schools? 
 
 Again, many educators are aroused to opposition 
 
TEACHER OF LATIN 147 
 
 by the claims of Latinists that a study of that lan- 
 guage is essential as an instrument in the study of 
 modem medicine, law, and various forms of natural 
 science, largely because terminologies in these fields 
 are directly based upon Latin roots. This contention 
 appeals to many of us as being one of the last survivals 
 of the ancient notion that, in any field of concrete en- 
 deavor, learning could proceed largely through mas- 
 tery of words, — a contention which has now been 
 given up in almost all modern lines of thought. Far 
 better in medicine, law, and botany, for example, 
 that the student should learn his terms in immediate 
 association with the objects referred to, rather than 
 through a study of their root elements. The direct 
 association thus produced, of the object with its des- 
 ignating term, will be far more useful to him in future 
 life than the approach through the composition of the 
 word. Involved in this position, also, is the thought 
 as to the small amount of Latin that is requisite for 
 this purpose, even granting its validity and the very 
 roundabout approach that must be made through a 
 study of Latin grammar, Latin composition, and 
 classical texts. 
 
 Some persons who give most attention to pedagogi- 
 cal devices have been greatly interested in the atti- 
 tude of Latin teachers towards the use of so-called 
 "ponies," or any other linear translations. These are 
 certainly very extensively used in many high schools 
 and a large proportion of private preparatory schools. 
 
148 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Their employment seems to be blinked at. What is 
 the actual pedagogical value of these aids? There is a 
 widespread tradition that their use is immoral and 
 wrong, but, nevertheless, the whole question has not, 
 as I see it, been adequately studied. 
 
 You will understand, of course, that I am not, in 
 the slightest degree, opposed to the continuance in 
 our larger secondary schools, as in colleges also, of the 
 study of Latin, where that subject stands strictly on 
 its own merits without an artificial tariff wall pro- 
 tecting it, and where pupils inclined by virtue of their 
 native tendencies and their home associations to this 
 pursuit, find ample opportunity for the study of Latin. 
 I should hold the same position with reference to 
 Greek. I believe, in fact, that the good results of these 
 studies to a country like ours will come largely through 
 their being possessed by a relatively small number of 
 selected and enthusiastic natures, capable of trans- 
 lating contributions from past ages into our own tongue 
 and our own life. What I am opposed to, at the pres- 
 ent time, is the monopolistic position held by Latin, 
 and the indirect result of such position in a stratifi- 
 cation of high-school pupils on the basis of this and 
 other studies. I also object strongly to the dogmatic 
 positions taken by the supporters of Latin, in their 
 arguments as to its educational value. 
 
 I freely concede that if all protective props were 
 taken away from Latin, many teachers of this sub- 
 ject would have to turn to other lines of work. This 
 
TEACHER OF LATIN 149 
 
 is, of course, to be regretted; but it constitutes no 
 justification for the long continuance of a special tax 
 upon education. 
 
 It must be remembered that the teaching of Latin 
 now costs the American public, in the public high 
 schools alone, probably not less than from eight to ten 
 million dollars per year. This is an enormous educa- 
 tional tax, and surely a form of study which on the 
 surface appears to be so little related to the require- 
 ments of modem life should find ample justification 
 for itself before it is insisted that such a tax should be 
 paid to support it. 
 
XIV 
 
 To a Teacher of Modern Languages: 
 
 Probably, both in Europe and in America, the dis- 
 cussions, during recent years, as to improving the 
 methods of teaching secondary-school subjects have 
 been more fruitful in the case of the teaching of mod- 
 ern languages than in that of any other group of 
 studies. A large amount of quite purposeful analysis 
 of definite methods of teaching has resulted. In an 
 endeavor to discover the relative efficacy of different 
 methods of approach, some valuable experimental 
 work has also been done. We have also had some, 
 but not enough, fairly dispassionate criticism, on a 
 comparative basis, of the means and instruments 
 commonly employed. 
 
 Under conditions as they prevail in America, how- 
 ever, all discussion of improved methods of teaching 
 the foreign languages is more or less frustrated by our 
 inability, as yet, clearly to define the aims or pur- 
 poses which should control in offering and teaching 
 these subjects. Broadly speaking, we have as yet no 
 satisfactory agreement as to what classes of our high- 
 school pupils should be encouraged or required to 
 study either French or German, nor have we any con- 
 census of opinion as to how far or in what direction, 
 in the case of any group studying either of these Ian- 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 151 
 
 guages, the teaching should be carried. Personally, 
 I favor the offering of a modern language as an elec- 
 tive about two years earlier than is now the case in 
 American education — that is, substantially at the 
 beginning of the seventh grade instead of at the be- 
 ginning of the high-school period. With this sugges- 
 tion, however, I would couple the other, that only a 
 comparatively small number of our pupils be encour- 
 aged to take up the study of a foreign language. My 
 conviction on this point grows partly out of what I 
 understand to be the social needs of a people situated 
 like our own, and also partly out of my observation of 
 the comparative inutility of teaching one or more 
 modern languages to the large majority of young peo- 
 ple of only average ability, and in a country so remote 
 from intimate and daily contact with peoples speaking 
 other languages. 
 
 Furthermore, I raise the question as to whether, in 
 the case of those taking a modern language in our 
 schools and colleges, we should not aim, first of all, 
 to produce high-grade abilities in silent reading. 
 Most Americans, as regards their own vernacular, 
 are fairly well trained along only two hues — namely: 
 the ability to speak, and the ability silently to read. 
 In the latter field of practice, many of our people are 
 becoming more adept all the time. I see no reason 
 why we should not make silent reading the goal in 
 the teaching of a modern language, in which case 
 questions of pronunciation, of grammar, and of the 
 
152 PROBLEMS OF SECONDABY EDUCATION 
 
 ability to write and to speak, diminish in importance, 
 or even disappear. Here, again, I base my conviction 
 upon my observation, on the one hand, of what con- 
 stitutes the usual social need of individuals in this 
 case, and, on the other, my conviction as to what con- 
 stitutes the comparative uselessness of our efforts in 
 the direction of the ability to speak or the ability to 
 write either French or German. 
 
 These suggestions are merely thrown out at pres- 
 ent as a basis of discussion, because I am firmly 
 persuaded that the next important step taken by the 
 supporters of language teaching in our American edu- 
 cation will be in the direction of defining much more 
 adequately than has hitherto been done the aims and 
 purposes of demonstrable validity which should con- 
 trol in such teaching. Once we shall have agreed upon 
 these, I am convinced that the whole discussion of 
 such teaching can be conducted on a much higher and 
 more profitable plane. 
 
 It is a satisfaction to note that in many respects the 
 study of modern languages has been gaining in dignity 
 in our schools in recent years. After a long campaign, 
 most of our colleges have placed French and German 
 on a parity with Latin in their entrance requirements. 
 It is true that some colleges insist on preparatory 
 work in Latin for all of those who are looking forward 
 to a bachelor of art's degree, but the number of these 
 is even now small, and I think that it is yearly growing 
 smaller. 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 153 
 
 In most places, steps are being taken to make pos- 
 sible the study of a modern language by pupils as 
 young as twelve — and on the question as to whether, 
 if only one foreign language is to be studied at all, 
 it should not be studied during years earlier than is 
 now the case, there can surely be no debate. 
 
 There are some questions, however, which the advo- 
 cates of modem language study will, I believe, be 
 called upon seriously to considei* within the next few 
 years. One of these is as to whether a small high 
 school should ever be encouraged to undertake the 
 teaching of more than one modern language. Un- 
 doubtedly, we have over-done the study of foreign lan- 
 guages, including Latin, in our high schools generally. 
 This has been largely in response to the demands of 
 the colleges for preparatory work. My conviction is 
 very strong that it is undesirable, and not in the inter- 
 ests of economy, that any high school should imder- 
 take to teach more than one modern language. 
 
 Again, I seriously question whether any average 
 pupil should ever be encouraged, at any rate during 
 his secondary school period, to undertake the study 
 of more than one modern language. In the interests 
 of efficiency and soimd education, I believe that a 
 pupil embarking upon the study of either French or 
 German should be helped to understand that such a 
 study can be profitable for him only if pursued for 
 several years, to the end that, whatever kind of equip- 
 ment he obtains, he will have received knowledge 
 
154 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 which can be put to profitable use. From this point of 
 view, I should urge that the study of a modern -lan- 
 guage be given as early as the age of twelve, and that, 
 except for grave reasons, a pupil be not permitted to 
 drop it at all during the high-school period, and fur- 
 thermore, that he be given every incentive to continue 
 it during the period of his college education. If this 
 were done, I believe we should have in our midst a 
 considerable number of persons who would be real 
 masters, at least of a reading knowledge, of one for- 
 eign tongue, which would be a not inconsiderable social 
 asset. At the present time it is a severe reflection 
 upon our educational methods that hundreds of thou- 
 sands, now reaching into milHons, of our American 
 people have been permitted or induced to study two 
 or three foreign tongues, but without having attained 
 to any recognizable proficiency in any one of them. 
 This surely indicates a deplorable waste of energy, 
 money, and time. It is the constant experience of 
 travelers abroad that very few, indeed, of American 
 visitors to foreign countries are able to exhibit even a 
 simple reading knowledge of French, German, or 
 Spanish. It is, of course, frankly to be admitted that 
 ability to speak a foreign tongue with fluency can 
 only be acquired by residence in the foreign country, 
 a fact which suggests that in our American schools we 
 should probably not make proficiency in speaking 
 more than an incidental purpose, even if it were to 
 receive that degree of consideration. 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 155 
 
 I raise the question again as to what are our aims in 
 teaching the language. These questions can be pre- 
 sented in various forms. Following the example of 
 teachers of Latin, it has become customary on the part 
 of some teachers of modem languages to express the 
 general conviction that the study of the modern lan- 
 guage constitutes a valuable avenue to culture, that it 
 reinforces the abiHty to use English, that it furnishes 
 valuable mental discipline, and that it leads to a com- 
 prehension of the modem life of other nations, either 
 from the standpoint of its contributions to culture or 
 to vocational need. Now, all of these objects, as com- 
 monly expressed, are vague and more or less intangible, 
 and probably have httle effect either upon the teach- 
 ing methods employed or upon the purposes for which 
 the language is studied. It ought to be recognized 
 that, as conditions now are, these objects either are 
 not attainable at all, or are attainable only to a de- 
 gree that makes their pursuit of very questionable 
 value, indeed. We have no reason to beheve that 
 the study of modem language is an agency of men- 
 tal discipline more than any other study properly 
 followed. I think there is almost no evidence that a 
 given amount of time spent in the study of a modern 
 language reinforces abiUty either to comprehend or 
 to express English, in anything like the degree to 
 which an equal or less amount of time given to the 
 proper study of English would contribute. Further- 
 more, it should be recognized that only a very small 
 
156 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 percentage of those of our pupils who study French 
 or German, or both, ever reach the point of an ade- 
 quate understanding of the hterature of their own 
 tongue, to say nothing of their very futile dabblings 
 with that of the other language. Finally, either in cul- 
 tural or vocational fields, it is a question whether, with 
 modern facihties in the way of translations available, 
 English translations do not, for the large majority of 
 persons, place at their disposal almost all of the ma- 
 terial which they can profitably employ. There are 
 some fields of scientific research, and a very few de- 
 partments of literature, in which, perhaps, this is not 
 true; but in these the materials are accessible to, and 
 will be studied only by, individuals of rare talent and 
 power, who will in any event equip themselves spe- 
 cially for this purpose when once they reaHze their own 
 capacities for profiting by such material. A practical 
 recommendation, therefore, to high-school authorities 
 would be somewhat hke the following: 
 
 Make available the opportunities to study a modern 
 language as early as the beginning of the seventh grade 
 of the elementary school. Open such work only to 
 pupils of considerable ability, allowing pupils, of 
 course, at any later age, to enter these special classes 
 on showing satisfactory evidence that they are able to 
 profit from such study. Encourage those pupils having 
 demonstrated ability to pursue effectively the study 
 of French or German to continue that throughout the 
 secondary-school period of six years, and into college. 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 157 
 
 making as their definite goal a very free, fluent, and 
 effective silent reading knowledge of the language 
 itself, particularly as it serves as an instrument of 
 contemporary communication in newspaper, maga- 
 zine, and book of popular use. 
 
 Open to pupils desiring it, in the beginning of the 
 third year of the high-school period, opportunity for 
 the study of Latin, so shaping this study that its effect 
 on a knowledge of the derivation of words, and on 
 comparative grammar, shall be conspicuous. 
 
 Finally, in college courses make available to students 
 who already are thoroughly proficient as to a reading 
 knowledge of one modern language, the opportunity 
 to study a second, if the peculiar requirements of their 
 calling seem to demand it, and if they are strongly 
 convinced that such study can become valuable to 
 them. It is recognized, of course, that there are two 
 essentially distinct methods of approaching the study 
 of a foreign language, one of which may be called the 
 imitative method, and the other the strictly logical 
 method. A pupil beginning at the age of twelve, with 
 the organs of speech and hearing still plastic, is sup- 
 posed to be able to approach largely on the imitative 
 basis, whereas a college student at the age of eighteen 
 or twenty approaching the study with a large equip- 
 ment of English and one foreign tongue, would fol- 
 low largely the logical basis. 
 
 There are several pedagogical questions that ob- 
 
158 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 viously deserve early consideration by you and your 
 colleagues. One of these relates to the attempt, so 
 often made, to teach a foreign language by itself, and 
 with little or no reference to the intellectual content 
 involved in the reading material employed. I raise the 
 question whether the material used in free reading 
 should not be such as will enable the learners freely to 
 converse about, and in terms of, the substance em- 
 ployed in the reading. This does not have anything to 
 do with literal translation. It corresponds, rather, to 
 the attempt made, in teaching English, to have the 
 pupils read silently in such a way as to obtain a defi- 
 nite grasp of a valuable content, and then in their own 
 language to give intelligent rendition and interpreta- 
 tion of this. As I see it, this is the only means which 
 enables us to combine clear thinking with clear ex- 
 pression. I have no confidence, whatever, in literal 
 translation as a means of improving the capacity to use 
 English. I have great confidence in any method which 
 requires a student, from whatever source he obtain a 
 given body of ideas, — whether reading English, read- 
 ing in a foreign language, observation, or other form 
 of personal experience, — to communicate to another, 
 in a clearly comprehensible and forceful way, the ideas 
 which possess him. 
 
 It will be contended, I know, that some persons will 
 find a reading knowledge of a foreign language, and 
 sometimes even a speaking knowledge, an important 
 and necessary asset in their particular careers, — per- 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 159 
 
 haps in the service of the Government, perhaps in 
 private employment. My belief is strong that this 
 contingency is so exceptional that when it comes we 
 should expect such a person at that time, as in special 
 preparation for that career, to be able to devote a cer- 
 tain amount of attention to acquiring such knowledge 
 as would be useful to him in his occupation. In the 
 long rim I am persuaded that this is the more economi- 
 cal method also. If, for example, one is about to under- 
 take a commission which involves a knowledge of 
 Spanish, it would be far more effective for such a per- 
 son to seek a Spanish-speaking community, where he 
 might, in the course of a few months, saturate himself 
 with Spanish, heard, read, and spoken. Because of his 
 active and definite motive, and the concentration in- 
 volved, I have little doubt that such a method of ap- 
 proach would be far more effectual than the more or 
 less random methods, with weak motives, that must 
 necessarily be employed in the usual secondary school 
 in these subjects. 
 
 The foregoing general observations lead to the fol- 
 lowing specific considerations, stated dogmatically for 
 the sake of brevity: 
 
 1. The desirable and practicable objectives or pur- 
 poses of modem language instruction will, in the near 
 future, be much more fully and scientifically studied, 
 defined, and given popular statement than has been 
 the case heretofore. These studies and statements of 
 purpose must be made no less with constant reference 
 
160 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 to the needs and possibilities of actual and, for the 
 moment, even hypothetical groups of school and col- 
 lege students, than with reference to the abstract pos- 
 sibiUties of various forms of language study itself. We 
 must determine how far it is desirable and practicable 
 to produce in, for example, an average secondary- 
 school four-year period, in which we are allowed one 
 fourth of the school time: (a) the ability to get the 
 meaning from (read silently) Spanish newspaper prose 
 at sight (to take this language as an example) ; or (b) 
 the ability to read Spanish literary selections fluently, 
 including fair powers of accurate pronunciation, gram- 
 matical analysis, etc.; or (c) the ability to speak Span- 
 ish colloquially and freely, even if with defective pro- 
 nunciation and disregard of grammatical niceties; or, 
 finally, (d) the ability, among other things, to write 
 Spanish with a reasonable degree of accuracy and 
 effectiveness. 
 
 But, equally at least, we must ascertain how far any 
 one of these objectives is desirable and practicable for 
 such potential groups as, for example, (a) commercial 
 students who will probably not receive a college educa- 
 tion, and whose need of Spanish will probably be 
 determined largely by the requirements of a seaport 
 commercial house for the reading of Spanish quota- 
 tions, invoices, and shipping directions, as incidental 
 to their usual work in English; or (b) a few experienced 
 students in advanced work desirous of learning to con- 
 duct correspondence in Spanish, and, perhaps, when 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 161 
 
 sufl5ciently mature, of taking charge of work in a 
 Spanish-speaking country; or (c) students who will ob- 
 tain at least a college education and who can be in- 
 terested in wide and generous reading of Spanish, even 
 if pronunciation and ability to write remain secondary 
 considerations. 
 
 2. Particular objectives having been defined, specific 
 short-unit courses for their reaUzation will be provided, 
 thus permitting of intensive and concentrated study 
 such as is not now practicable. That organization of 
 our work which in effect requires the correlated or 
 simultaneous study of vocabularies, literature, gram- 
 mar, pronunciation, and composition (and which seems 
 to prevail at present) will be reformed so as to permit 
 election of specific short courses, each for the time hav- 
 ing a single objective, for example, (a) sight reading; 
 (6) pronunciation; (c) colloquial conversation; (d) vo- 
 cabulary building; (e) grammar for reading; (J) gram- 
 mar for writing; (g) grammar for conversation; (h) 
 literatiu:e; and (i) correspondence. 
 
 3. Scientific study of the vahd needs and demands 
 of American youth for any particular form of mastery 
 of a foreign language in the light of the large and varied 
 requirements of our civilization will make clear that, 
 under our conditions, the best interests of society will 
 be served if : (a) a very much smaller proportion of our 
 young persons than at present give their time and 
 energy to foreign language study; (6) only the very ex- 
 ceptional student tries to learn more than one foreign 
 
162 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 language, and in that case the second being under- 
 taken only after substantial mastery has been obtained 
 in the first; and (c) every person finally electing study 
 of foreign language is encouraged in every possible 
 way until a thorough mastery, for his purposes, shall 
 have been obtained. 
 
 I think, for example, that it will prove wise and ex- 
 pedient to encourage or even permit only a small per- 
 centage of students in secondary school and college to 
 embark on the study of a foreign language for any par- 
 ticular purpose, although there might be a "trying 
 out" or finding period for many of those who have 
 shown real ability in the mother tongue. Furthermore, 
 no second language should be undertaken until some 
 definite objectives in the first have been realized. 
 Commonly the objectives in the second foreign lan- 
 guage will differ from those of the first. Rarely, if ever, 
 should a second language be undertaken in the sec- 
 ondary school. That should come in college or in bus- 
 iness' life. The thought that continuous study and 
 thoroughness should be induced in every legitimate 
 way requires constant emphasis in America, where so 
 much superficiality prevails and where in education 
 our people are so often content with the shadow rather 
 than the substance. 
 
 4. For several forms or degrees of mastery it is ob- 
 viously desirable that modern language training should 
 be commenced early — not later than twelve years of 
 age. These objectives include, for example, colloquial 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 163 
 
 speech, exact writing, easy general reading, and inter- 
 pretation. Possibly other ends can be equally well 
 achieved as a result of late beginnings — technical 
 reading, and some forms of technical or business 
 writing. 
 
 Where economically feasible, modern language study 
 should be available in the junior high school for pupils 
 of twelve years of age. 
 
 5. In teaching modern languages we must wholly 
 discard the doctrine of formal discipline. As found in 
 current defenses of modern language teaching, it is an 
 unfortunate heritage from the factitious pedagogy of 
 Latin. In view of current knowledge and uncertainties 
 regarding mental training, the one safe assumption is 
 this: "Teach only those things, and to those degrees, 
 and by those methods, that serve a demonstrably use- 
 ful purpose in individual economy — useful, that is, 
 as producing, in specific and tangible ways, the cul- 
 ture, the refinements, the sensibihties, the stored 
 knowledges, the moral habits, the ethical ideals, the 
 vocational powers that the world in its best judgment 
 wants and approves. So teach towards the realiza- 
 tion of these objects that the appropriate exercise of 
 mental quahties is always involved, and the results of 
 which will persist." 
 
 We know little or nothing to-day in favor of any 
 theory of pure mental gymnastics. What experience 
 everywhere teaches us, if we would but see it, is that 
 valuable, and probably always the most valuable, 
 
164 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 mental training invariably accompanies the vigorous 
 and systematic piu-suit of intellectual objects in them- 
 selves worth while. The cumulative massing of the 
 results of this by-product training in numerous and 
 varied fields is what gives us, on the whole, the best 
 mental training of which we have any knowledge, 
 
 6. It is of the utmost consequence that we look for- 
 ward to the teaching of other modern languages than 
 French, German, and Spanish. In centers of popula- 
 tion and in colleges certainly, offerings of Japanese, 
 Portuguese, and Russian should be available. 
 
 7. It is in the highest degree necessary that the pur- 
 poses or objectives of modern language teaching should 
 not be defined in the formal terms of college entrance 
 requirements, and especially as expressed in examina- 
 tion questions. 
 
 8. If the standards of modern language teaching 
 described above are to be realized, it is obvious that 
 the qualifications of the teachers must be of no mean 
 order. No one, I suppose, would seriously contend that 
 we in America are now giving our prospective French 
 and German teachers in secondary schools adequate 
 preparation for their work. No one who knows would 
 seriously contend that any considerable proportion of 
 them have a real mastery of the language (or more com- 
 monly, and more 's the pity, languages) they are ex- 
 pected to teach. But, so formal, factitious, imperfect, 
 and inadequate are the purposes we have set for our- 
 selves in these fields that it can hardly be said that we 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 165 
 
 are conscious of the actual superficiality and ineflPec- 
 tiveness of our teaching. 
 
 Now it seems to me that the first problem confront- 
 ing all persons concerned with the training of lan- 
 guage teachers is to agree upon minimum objectives 
 and standards of work which these teachers are to 
 be expected to accomphsh. In spite of the large num- 
 ber of articles, manuals, reports, textbooks, and ped- 
 agogical books now in existence, supposedly deal- 
 ing with these objectives and standards, I desire to 
 assert that very little material is yet in existence 
 which meets these three requirements, that is, (a) that 
 it represents in some detail the consensus of judgment 
 of specialists in the field concerned; (6) that it has 
 been approved by a reasonable number of those ad- 
 ministrators of education who are responsible for 
 harmonizing the claims and contentions of various 
 speciahsts, and who must determine educational pro- 
 grams in their totahty; and (c) that it has been ap- 
 proved by those men of culture or of practical eflS- 
 ciency who best know what the actual valid demands 
 of the world for special forms of education are. 
 
 9. Having given concrete definition to desirable 
 objectives, it is next desirable that in some equally 
 definite way we define desirable qualifications and 
 attainments of teachers. These should be analyzed 
 and each dehmited, the essential minimum in any 
 specific case being stated. For example, a person 
 might be reasonably well qualified to impart a certain 
 
166 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 degree of reading knowledge of German, but wholly 
 unqualified to teach colloquial speech to children of 
 twelve. 
 
 The schools cannot always afford the fully equipped 
 teacher, but division of labor is easily possible here, 
 as elsewhere. There is no reason why a school should 
 not pay for a high grade part or division of an equip- 
 ment (absurd as it may for the moment seem) when 
 they cannot pay for the whole. I should even go so 
 far as to rate and certificate teachers of specialties, 
 as, for example, the following: (a) Able to teach simple 
 speech and reading to children of twelve to fifteen 
 (pronunciation excellent; reading ability for simple 
 prose, good; knowledge of technical grammar, in- 
 complete; ability to teach sustained writing, poor); 
 (6) able to teach classical hterature and grammar to 
 older youths (speaking abihty very poor; pronuncia- 
 tion, bad; general literary knowledge, good, etc.). 
 
 10. Next in order is the development of systems of 
 training to be offered by the colleges. Here also, I 
 think, the fraternity of college teachers of modern lan- 
 guages should come together and develop the ability 
 as well as the scientific knowledge wherewith they can 
 speak to the world in no uncertain tones. Let them 
 outline the proper courses for prospective teachers 
 of French, German, Spanish, and Japanese at least 
 as definitely as technical institutions have defined 
 courses for the training of various types of engineers. 
 Let them see to it that the training of the prospec- 
 
TEACHER OF MODERN LANGUAGES 167 
 
 live modern language teacher is begun in the first col- 
 lege year. Let them ascertain very early whether the 
 aspirant (who will hardly be less than eighteen years 
 old) has the previous equipment and natural aptitudes 
 probably essential to the successful prospective teacher 
 in this difficult field. Let them agree upon the specific 
 professional courses (each having definite and fairly 
 specific objectives, it is to be hoped) which will give 
 technical fitness; and let them be prepared to advise 
 as to the related or unrelated courses which will give 
 breadth, culture, and social insight to the person who 
 is eventually to teach so socially fertile a subject as a 
 modern language. 
 
 For my part, I think modern language teachers in 
 colleges, who must take responsibility for the train- 
 ing of teachers, would be justified in taking the posi- 
 tion that, except in rare instances, it should not be 
 assumed that professional competency to teach a 
 modern language, except perhaps in a limited spe- 
 cialty, can be developed in imdergraduate status 
 alone, at least in the present inchoate condition of 
 the professional training of teachers in colleges. A 
 graduate year devoted to this specialty should, in 
 general, be insisted on. I think the college authorities 
 of New England could easily enforce this requirement 
 if they wotild agree to act in concert. 
 
 11. Finally, those responsible for the training of 
 modern language teachers should early proceed to 
 cultivate public opinion regarding the desirability. 
 
168 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 almost the necessity, of study abroad as part of the 
 professional equipment of this type of teachers. This 
 requirement is now met, I think, by nearly every coun- 
 try in the world, except the United States, that seri- 
 ously undertakes the teaching of a foreign tongue. 
 We shall learn to do it whenever we take the teaching 
 of foreign language seriously, whenever we study with 
 some more serviceable objective than merely meeting 
 the arbitrary and unintelligent requirements imposed 
 by college admission committees. 
 
XV 
 
 To a High-School Teacher of English : 
 
 Of all the subjects of study constituting the curric- 
 ula of Uberal education in our contemporary sec- 
 ondary schools, first place must be given to English. 
 During recent years a constantly increasing share of the 
 time and resources of the high school has been given to 
 teaching it. Higher qualifications on the part of Eng- 
 lish teachers are in demand. Enghsh departments in 
 school and college have developed a large amount of 
 professional literature. Any well-considered request 
 from a body of English teachers, whether addressed 
 to authorities in charge of secondary schools, or to 
 college entrance committees, usually meets with ready 
 and favorable consideration. 
 
 Nevertheless, it cannot be contended, as yet, that 
 the teaching of Enghsh in our secondary schools, and 
 more particularly our public high schools, is in a satis- 
 factory condition. Although we may give to it sub- 
 stantially one quarter of all the pupil's time for four 
 years, complaints as to the results of our teaching are 
 constant and widespread. It is asserted on the one 
 hand that the graduates of our high schools are un- 
 able to spell, to write plain prose, or to express them- 
 selves orally with any degree of effectiveness. It is 
 furthermore contended that in spite of the amount of 
 
170 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 attention given to the study of English classics, the 
 graduates of our high schools are not interested in 
 good English literature, nor do they have adequate 
 standards to guide them in selecting and making use 
 of good contemporary Uterature. The demands which 
 the millions of our men and women who have been 
 trained in our secondary schools make on the pro- 
 ducers of books and magazines are of a low, rather 
 than high, order. Taste and critical judgment as to 
 things literary, it is asserted, are not yet products of 
 the teaching of English in secondary schools. 
 
 These complaints are not of course all justified by 
 the facts. But in view of the certainty that probably 
 twelve million to fifteen million dollars is now annually 
 expended in the United States in teaching English to 
 pupils of high-school age, there are abundant reasons 
 for desiring that better standards of teaching for this, 
 subject should be evolved, and that teachers of Eng- 
 lish should be able to demonstrate, to a greater extent 
 than seems now practicable, the effectiveness of the 
 means and methods which they employ.' 
 
 The first difficulty which I encounter in approaching 
 
 1 The writer is well aware that in a number of high schools of the 
 country there are courses, both in formal English and in English 
 literature, far superior to the average throughout the country. This 
 paper is written primarily with reference to the teaching of English 
 as generally found in America, and especially as exemplified in text- 
 books, college admission requirements, etc. There is, of course, no 
 intention of indicting all our English teachers, since a number 
 of them have already progressed very far in the pedagogy of this 
 subject. / 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 171 
 
 the subject as an educational administrator is that 
 under the head of English we seem now to include 
 two secondary-school subjects of essentially different 
 character and having unUke aims; namely, formal 
 English, and English literature. One result of this 
 merging of two different subjects is that the means 
 and methods of teaching one tend to deflect and neu- 
 tralize those appropriate to the other. So evident 
 has this become to me that, were I responsible for the 
 administration of a high school at the present time, 
 I beUeve that my first step would be to place the teach- 
 ing of hterature on the one hand, and on the other all 
 that pertains to English expression, under charge of 
 different teachers, who would probably be quite un- 
 like each other in temperament and interests. I should 
 take this action in the expectation that each of these 
 teachers would then develop methods appropriate 
 to his subject, and that the teaching of each subject 
 would as a result have a fairer opportunity for im- 
 provement than is now possible. I strongly believe 
 that as a rule the same person cannot teach English 
 expression on the one hand, and literature on the other, 
 with satisfactory results, because, from my point of 
 view, English expression and English literature for 
 their effective teaching require methods of treatment, 
 spirit of approach, and utihzation of means which 
 are fundamentally unlike, and even largely incom- 
 patible with each other. 
 
 Elsewhere I have endeavored to draw a distinction 
 
172 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 between that type of educational method which is 
 expected to result in ability to do, to execute, to con- 
 struct, and that other type of educational method the 
 chief object of which is to produce ability to discrimi- 
 nate, to choose, to appreciate, and, in the broad sense, 
 to utilize. As I now see it, the two types of ends here 
 indicated involve essentially unlike pedagogical meth- 
 ods of approach, — so unlike, indeed, that the teacher 
 habituated to one type or standard may thereby be 
 in a large degree disquaUfied to comprehend and apply 
 the other. 
 
 For example, it would seem to be quite feasible to 
 train a person to write or to render music on the one 
 band, and to be; equally feasible on the other to teach 
 a person to appreciate good music when thus rendered. 
 But the pedagogical methods employed in the two 
 cases probably should be essentially imlike. Simi- 
 larly, it is possible to train young people to appre- 
 ciate the results of good painting without teaching 
 them to paint; to appreciate poetry without teaching 
 them to write poetry; and, even in the world of mate- 
 rial aflFairs, to teach them to become properly appre- 
 ciative of the results of good cooking, dressmaking, 
 or house-building, without necessarily teaching them 
 to execute good work in cooking, dressmaking, or 
 house-building. 
 
 From this point of view, therefore, the essential pur- 
 pose in the teaching of English expression is to give 
 the pupil abiUty to use certain tools of communica- 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 173 
 
 tion effectively. On the other hand, the controlling 
 purpose in the teaching of literature is to develop wide 
 and generous powers of appreciation looking to the utili- 
 zation of whatever there is of value in such literature. 
 The present unsatisfactory situation as regards the 
 separation of these two phases of secondary-school 
 EngUsh is due, of course, to the fact that originally, 
 in our academies and high schools, the teaching of 
 "English" included only the teaching of composition, 
 grammar, rhetoric, elocution and, in some cases, in 
 addition, certain facts about literature, but not lit- 
 erature itself. Looking back over secondary-school 
 courses of study for the last fifty years, and noting 
 especially the textbooks employed, it is clearly evi- 
 dent that only within the last couple of decades have 
 our high schools begun seriously to undertake to teach 
 literature as such, at all. Prior to that time, there 
 were to be found, quite commonly, studies of certain 
 historical and biographical facts pertaining to litera- 
 ture, illustrated not infrequently by extracts from the 
 writings of the period or from the author at the mo- 
 ment under consideration. In the minds of the school 
 authorities of those days, these approaches may have 
 been deemed to constitute a satisfactory study of lit- 
 erature; but our more recent pedagogical thought 
 and experience have convinced us that such was not 
 the case, in any valid sense, and that on the whole 
 those studies of facts about literature had doubtful 
 educational value of any sort. 
 
174 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 During recent years there has been a marked tend- 
 ency in secondary-school programs everywhere to- 
 wards the introduction and study of complete lit- 
 erary selections. The practice is to study some of 
 these quite analytically, and to have others read some- 
 what less rigorously and with greater emphasis on 
 general appreciation. Formerly these selections were 
 often introduced merely as sources of material for 
 work in composition. The literary selection itself was 
 looked upon, indeed, as a "corpus vile" for dissection 
 and practice by the student who was primarily being 
 trained in composition or the mastery of rhetoric. 
 Even in the earlier stages of this process it was doubt- 
 less believed that an important by-product of such 
 study would be higher standards of literary taste and 
 appreciation. More and more, I believe, we have 
 come to doubt the validity of even this approach, and 
 to a larger extent we feel that literary selections stud- 
 ied in high schools should be studied for their own 
 sake, and should be used primarily as a means of en- 
 hancing interest in good literature, as such, rather 
 than as cadavers in the study of literary anatomy. 
 
 Unfortunately, this course of development has 
 brought us to a position to-day where, when the sub- 
 ject of "English" in the high school is mentioned, no 
 one of us is quite clear as to whether English composi- 
 tion or English literature is being discussed. Further- 
 more, the two subjects are still commonly taught by 
 the same teachers, many of whom still adhere reli- 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 175 
 
 giously to the notion that they must be taught in that 
 intimate correlation, which is possible only when they 
 are in the hands of one instructor. Then, too, college 
 entrance examinations in English are still shaped ap- 
 parently on the theory that literary appreciation is 
 something that can be tested by a series of written 
 replies to examination questions. But this fact is also 
 quite explicable when one reahzes that until very 
 recently these examination questions were designed 
 primarily to test the pupil's knowledge, either of cer- 
 tain historic facts about literature, or else his ability 
 to interpret in terms suitable to composition and rhet- 
 oric certain passages or constructions in literature. 
 
 In view, then, of the difficulties of discussing the 
 subject of "English" as a whole, I prefer to divide 
 this paper into two parts, the first dealing with what 
 I shall here call "formal English," and the second 
 dealing with "Enghsh literature." "Formal English" 
 will here include all of the studies that might properly 
 be grouped imder the head of EngUsh expression, to- 
 gether with one or two that do not quite come under 
 that title. "English literature" embraces all studies 
 of good English writing, whether classical or contem- 
 porary, when approached primarily from the stand- 
 point of appreciation, including only to a shght or 
 incidental extent studies of technique, formal analy- 
 sis, and the other aspects of form. The fundamental 
 distinction, in other words, is between English studied 
 as a tool and with reference to ability to apply this 
 
176 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 tool to eflfective communication and apprehension, 
 on the one hand, and on the other to study of Enghsh 
 literary products from the standpoint of intellectual 
 nurture, receptivity, apprehension, and utilization in 
 the broad sense, but always with the idea uppermost 
 of training in appreciation. 
 
 Some of the purposes for which formal English is 
 taught in our high schools are, of course, so clearly 
 obvious as to need little or no definition or discussion. 
 But I am convinced that in our programs of secondary 
 education as now organized we do not, by any means, 
 deal comprehensively with all of the phases of formal 
 English that properly belong under this head. We 
 have not yet made satisfactory analyses of all the 
 valid demands that are really involved. For we have, 
 certainly, under the head of "formal English," to deal 
 among other phases with the following: 
 
 1. The technique of effectively listening to, or hear- 
 ing, English as spoken or read (a phase conunonly 
 ignored, and having as yet little or no clearly de- 
 fined teaching technique) ; 
 
 2. Silent reading (a subject also frequently ignored 
 in our schools, and the teaching technique of 
 which remains largely undeveloped, notwith- 
 standing the fact that silent reading now plays 
 a many-fold greater part than oral reading in 
 the lives of most of us) ; 
 
 S. Oral reading (a subject receiving much atten- 
 tion in elementary schools, but disregarded or in- 
 
fflGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 177 
 
 adequately treated at present in our high schools, 
 its value being, perhaps, as yet open to question) ; 
 
 4. Oral communication, other than reading, some- 
 times called "speaking" (and embracing, as 
 shown later, three or more quite distinct phases, 
 none of which yet receives adequate considera- 
 ation in our high schools) ; and 
 
 5. Written expression (the subject which, at pres- 
 ent, receives the lion's share of attention in high 
 schools). 
 
 Now, it is clear that each one of these phases of nor- 
 mal English possesses, or should possess, a consider- 
 able teaching technique pecuUar to it alone, and that, 
 besides, there are some technical elements of teaching 
 method common to two or three phases. For example, 
 a knowledge of spelling is essential only for written 
 expression, while on the other hand right habits of 
 pronunciation apply mainly in oral reading and in 
 speaking. It may be thought that a knowledge of 
 grammar is essential to all phases, but in practice it 
 will be found, I believe, that whereas for purposes of 
 speaking a knowledge of certain forms of grammar is 
 essential, for purposes of effective silent reading the 
 grammatical knowledge required may be of a quite 
 different character. Similar considerations apply to 
 the studies commonly included under the term 
 "rhetoric." Except in the case of the man making 
 literature a profession, the amount of knowledge of 
 rhetoric required for purposes of oral reading and 
 
178 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 writing may be comparatively slight; but for the pur- 
 poses of silent reading there may be certain quite 
 special forms of rhetoric the mastery of which expe- 
 rience might show to be of great value. 
 
 Now, it is my firm conviction that we shall not have 
 in our secondary schools efiFective teaching of formal 
 English as defined above until, under each of the heads 
 suggested, besides, perhaps, others, we shall have 
 clearly differentiated and defined the ends, in terms of 
 skill and general power, which we wish to attain, and 
 shall in the hght of these have adapted our means and 
 methods of teaching specifically to the attainment of 
 these ends. It should soon be entirely possible to 
 apply quite scientific procedures to the study of the 
 purposes, and to the methods of attaining them, which 
 pertain to some, at least, of these special subjects. 
 Take, for example, such specialized phases of oral 
 expression as pronunciation and enimciation. At ap- 
 propriate stages in the course it should easily be 
 possible to devise drills and exercises which would, 
 in a comparatively short time, produce very large 
 development in the way of correcting existing defects, 
 and in producing new capacities in these fields. Simi- 
 larly, in a high school it should be possible to acquaint 
 each pupil, by more or less mechanical devices, with 
 his characteristic defects in spelling, penmanship, and 
 grammatical expression, to enable him by special 
 studies and in a very short time, to attain correct form 
 in these fields, much as in our gymnasiums we now 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 179 
 
 employ individual exercises and training for correc- 
 tive and departmental work. Our present practice 
 (or lack of it) in these fields now impresses the educa- 
 tional administrator as being clumsy, lacking in pur- 
 posiveness, and almost barren of results. The great 
 need in all these directions, as I see it, is greater 
 definiteness and standardization of specific aims, as 
 preliminary to the scientific study of the best ways of 
 realizing them. 
 
 But these aims aU lie in the field of formal English, 
 and their realization will produce certain clearly rec- 
 ognizable powers of "doing," of using the vernacular 
 effectively as a tool. I would not have it understood, 
 of course, that as materials to be used in the various 
 forms of studies of formal EngUsh we should not use 
 good hterature. On the contrary, where the situation 
 warrants we should employ good examples and mate- 
 rials for our purpose, no matter from what quarter 
 taken. But we should oppose all attempts to use the 
 same hterary selections as sources of materials in the 
 study of English expression and as a means of develop- 
 ing literary appreciation. The two purposes, I think, 
 are opposed, and are rarely attained through the same 
 methods of study. There may indeed be fundamental 
 conflict between the best methods of attaining these 
 unlike ends. 
 
 On the other hand, I think we must sharply distin- 
 guish, in all work on English expression, between the 
 pupil's use of materials which others have organized, 
 
180 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 and materials which grow out of his own experience 
 and which he, himself, must organize. Take as an 
 example of this the study of "speaking," so-called, or 
 oral expression (not including reading aloud). There 
 are at least four fundamental forms of oral expres- 
 sion, each, within limits, having its own technique, 
 and, because carried on under essentially unhke con- 
 ditions, each requiring systematic training adapted 
 to it. These forms are: (a) ordinary conversation of 
 the "give-and-take" type, where each speaker pre- 
 sents a ready "cue" or stimulus to the other; (b) the 
 sustained presentation of his own ideas by one person 
 to another; (c) sustained communication of his own 
 ideas by one person to an audience of others; and (d) 
 so-called "reciting" or "speaking" to an audience 
 where the person speaking is merely rendering the 
 thought of another, and is free, therefore, to confine his 
 efforts mainly to the matter of form of presentation. 
 The general subject of the differentiated aims in the 
 study of English expression, and of devising suitable 
 exercises and methods for realizing each, would admit, 
 if time permitted, of extended discussion. Many of 
 our teachers of English greatly overestimate the 
 effects of what is sometimes called the "carry over" 
 of training from one subject to another. The question, 
 for example, as to the value of oral reading, especially 
 in elementary schools, is still unsettled, but many 
 teachers insist that it has large value in teaching pu- 
 pils to speak effectively. I very much question this. 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 181 
 
 and believe that the whole subject should have care- 
 ful examination. Again, in such a study as grammar, 
 I question very much whether a considerable amount 
 of those phases which when learned may enable a 
 person more clearly to appreciate constructions in 
 that which he reads, will carry over into the field of 
 oral expression when he is endeavoring to convey his 
 own ideas. In fact, it is very possible that much of 
 our so-called "Enghsh" teaching in the high school 
 actually operates detrimentally in the field of oral 
 expression, when that involves the organization of 
 the individual's own experience and ideas. I am a 
 strong believer, for example, in the value of the so- 
 called "study of elocution"; but it seems to me that 
 this subject, when taught, must be very carefully de- 
 fined and restricted, and must not be regarded as more 
 than a partial substitute for systematic training in 
 the expression of one's own ideas, — a form of activ- 
 ity the demand for which is constantly growing in 
 modern Ufe. Most of our teachers are almost helpless 
 in the matter of training pupils in the expression of 
 their own ideas in a sustained form at present, be- 
 cause we have as yet developed no definite aims and 
 almost no teaching devices to this end. But here, as 
 in other fields, I contend that we shall not have a 
 proper development of needed devices, including 
 teachers' manuals, and textbooks, until a clear-cut 
 demand, based upon an analytical demonstration of 
 ends to be met, has been made for such material. 
 
182 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 I think it may generally be assumed, now, that it is 
 worth while to teach literature in the public high 
 school. The term "literature" in this connection is 
 variously interpreted, but unfortunately it is still re- 
 stricted in much educational discussion largely to those 
 classics which have, by general concensus of opinion, 
 come to be regarded as composing in part, the world's 
 best literature. Our formulations of the purposes for 
 which literature should be taught are still exceedingly 
 nebulous. We possess in reality faiths rather than 
 convictions based upon knowledge, as to the value 
 of this study, a situation which is characteristic 
 of almost all departments of secondary education. 
 Nevertheless, we are most of us prepared to accept 
 the validity of this faith in the value of the training 
 in appreciation to be derived from the study of Eng- 
 lish literature. 
 
 I do so strongly because of my conviction that the 
 public high school should be, first of all, an agency 
 of general culture and of preparation for citizenship, 
 the vocational secondary school being something 
 quite apart. In the vocational school, of course, lit- 
 erature might also be continued as a separate subject, 
 occupying very much the place that literature does 
 in the home of the cultivated worker who gives the 
 best hours of his day to his calling and uses literature 
 as a means of personal growth and recreation during 
 hours of leisure. 
 
 But in the general high school, the time should be 
 
mOH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 18S 
 
 given largely to growth in culture, and all that that 
 term implies. For this purpose, I firmly believe that 
 literature is the largest and most important single 
 agency available. It is by far the cheapest and most 
 widely diffused form of art. In its presentations it 
 conforms to the requirements of an age which is grow- 
 ing strong in capacity for abstract thinking, and which 
 requires progressively less of direct appeal to the mind 
 through the media of taste, smell, sound, sight, and 
 touch. Literature is, on the whole, the most varied 
 and flexible means of art expression. It gathers into 
 itself the widest range of interests and forms of under- 
 standing. A well-known writer has, indeed, expressed 
 the opinion that the development of the moving 
 picture M'ill be such in the future as to cause this in- 
 vention to outrank in importance the invention of 
 printing. But for the present, having regard to the 
 availabihty of printed matter, we must give first place 
 to Uterature as a means of art presentation. 
 
 But for what purposes should literature be taught 
 in our schools? These are not yet clearly defined. 
 Many teachers, for example, are prone to insist that 
 the so-called "moral," or direct socializing purpose 
 of literature should not receive positive consideration. 
 Opposed to this is the fact that a large proportion of 
 the really great writers of the present and of the past 
 have been dominated by a social or moral purpose, 
 and it has been their overwhelming desire to give this 
 purpose adequate expression as a means of affecting 
 
184 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the conduct of large numbers of people. A consider- 
 able proportion of the best contemporary writers of 
 short stories and of drama are similarly actuated by 
 lofty moral ideals which they are endeavoring to make 
 influential through the medium of their art. I ques- 
 tion very much whether it is legitimate for us to ignore 
 direct moral purposes in the teaching of literature. 
 I do not mean, of course, that we should use literature 
 as a means of preaching to children, nor as a means 
 of making them prematurely self-conscious as to moral 
 aims. But preaching, even, does not do this when it 
 is good preaching. In the fields of patriotism, fam- 
 ily life, business relations, and moral conduct gener- 
 ally, the translation of human experience through 
 literature towards distinct and demonstrably "worth 
 while " social ends becomes easily possible, and, when 
 rightly managed, should in no way tend to make the 
 pupils precociously conscious on the moral side. 
 
 Many teachers of literature believe, as do many 
 writers and reviewers of literature, that the aesthetic 
 or "fine art" appeal in literature should receive chief 
 consideration in the schools. I wonder if this is not a 
 doubtful end, which savors very much of the ancient 
 contention of " art for art's sake "? 
 
 It is not to the artists, but to those who are inter- 
 ested in constructive developments in society that we 
 must go for interpretations in this field. Broadly 
 speaking, it does not appear that the ideal of "art for 
 art's sake " has ever possessed much vitality. Tem- 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 185 
 
 porarily, it may have served to lift mediocre artists 
 above what, for them, were the dangers of responding 
 only to the more sordid aims of their profession. But, 
 after all, art is but an instrument. It is an instrument 
 of human culture, of expansion, and of development 
 towards higher plains of action. It is an instrument 
 that, used under certain conditions, produces types of 
 valuable social results, in the broadening of individual 
 character, in the enhancing of desirable activities, and 
 in the definition of means of achieving ends which the 
 world needs, appreciates, and values. 
 
 Literature is sometimes looked upon as a means of 
 recreation, of relief against the tedium of monotonous 
 employment and bodily fatigue. Undoubtedly this is 
 an end that is important, and one that surely, as a by- 
 product of the teaching of literature, can be made to 
 have much value. 
 
 As pointed out above, it was apparently not the in- 
 tention of the secondary school originally to teach lit- 
 erature, but, following the traditions that prevailed in 
 other branches of learning, to give the pupil mastery 
 of certain facts and methods which, after leaving 
 school, he might, himself, apply to the pursuit of lit- 
 erature as a study for appreciation, or as a field of pro- 
 ductive activity. Thus the attempt was made to teach 
 the history of Uterature, including its various stages 
 of development, the more important writers in each, 
 all involving a considerable emphasis on such details 
 as dates, titles of productions, etc. But gradually 
 
186 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 there has been a lessening of the importance attached 
 to these bare facts, and a constant tendency to sup- 
 plant brief textbooks on literature by complete selec- 
 tions. Furthermore, while originally these selections 
 were made almost wholly with reference to the impor- 
 tance of the writers and the part which they played 
 in any particular epoch, the tendency in recent years 
 has been to respond more to the dominant interests 
 and needs of learners, and hence to make relatively 
 larger use of selections from modern literature. This 
 tendency is important, and deserves careful consid- 
 eration by all teachers who are interested in fore- 
 casting the final outcome of present inclinations. 
 
 From my point of view, I believe that these tend- 
 encies have only begun to be effective, and that 
 their ultimate result will be the erection of a splendid 
 secondary-school subject, to be known as "English 
 literature," and which will be organized and adminis- 
 tered quite independently of the teaching of the vari- 
 ous phases of English expression. But in order ade- 
 quately to promote this development, we must set up 
 for ourselves ends which clearly express social utili- 
 ties, and the degree of achievement of each of which 
 through any given procedure is capable of demonstra- 
 tion. 
 
 Since this is a field wherein opinion must still play 
 a large part, I submit the following suggestions as 
 to desirable further developments: In the first place, 
 for secondary-school purposes, the word "literature" 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 187 
 
 must be broadly interpreted. It must cover all good 
 reading matter not specifically devoted to technical or 
 vocational ends. The exclusive standards of the " lit- 
 erary artists " must, to a considerable extent, therefore, 
 be disregarded. There must be included all that which 
 has, even for the moment, a large degree of vitality and 
 importance. Biography, stories of travel, vivid inter- 
 pretations of science, records of personal experience, 
 must all be included, as well as essays, dramas, lyric 
 and epic poetry, and fiction. Furthermore, I beheve 
 that experience will ultimately show that, having in 
 view the educational purposes to be achieved, rel- 
 atively a much larger use must be made of contem- 
 porary material than is the case at the present time. 
 This should be done, not only from the standpoint of 
 giving the learner adequate standards through actual 
 experience whereby to select and utilize contemporary 
 literature, but also because contemporary literature, 
 for a large variety of the activities and ideals of Hfe, is 
 more nearly interpretative for the adolescent learner 
 than the Uterature of past ages. To a large extent, lit- 
 erature interprets Hfe through reference to concrete ex- 
 amples as well as through appeals to the feelings. It has 
 often to deal with the activities which are dependent 
 upon modern developments in the field of invention 
 and human achievement generally. 
 
 It is a lamentable fact that a large proportion of the 
 graduates of our high schools at the present time 
 possess little or no acquaintance with the large variety 
 
188 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 of instrumentalities, such as the magazine, the news- 
 paper, the contemporary drama and contemporary 
 fiction, whereby the Uterature of our people and our 
 age is being established and refined. The consequence 
 is that too many of our high-school graduates are, soon 
 after graduation, found reading short stories, romances, 
 poetry, etc., quite without reference to any qualities 
 of worth which these may possess. Very frequently the 
 attitude of teachers (amounting sometimes to an affec- 
 tation or pose) is that contemporary literature pos- 
 sesses httle or nothing of value. They fail to realize that 
 the great bulk of literature is really shaped and finally 
 produced in response to well-defined social demands, 
 and that a large function of any educational agency 
 should be to refine and elevate these demands. If it 
 could be proven, for example, that the teaching of 
 English literature in the secondary schools of the 
 United States for the last quarter of a century has 
 produced httle or no perceptible effect upon the 
 quality of our literary output, the implied reproach 
 should apply to the schools themselves, no less than to 
 the producers of such literature. 
 
 Another important consideration affecting the teach- 
 ing of literature as an independent subject in sec- 
 ondary schools has to do with class organization and 
 methods of approach. There is no inherent reason 
 for believing that the present form of class organiza- 
 tion is essential, or even desirable, in the teaching of 
 literature. It is quite possible that the right kind of a 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 189 
 
 teacher could deal with many more pupils or very much 
 larger classes than those that have become tradition- 
 ally defined for the teaching of such subjects as for- 
 eign language, mathematics, and English composition, 
 where the necessities of producing certain types of 
 abihty "to do" govern. It is quite possible that a 
 "live" teacher of literature could procure results 
 chiefly by the lecture method, giving perhaps one lec- 
 ture a week, and giving the rest of her attention to the 
 supervision of the reading of separate groups of pupils. 
 Again, it should not be assumed that in the right teach- 
 ing of literature, all of the pupils at any one time should 
 be reading the same material. As a matter of fact, the 
 reading might be almost indefinitely varied ,the teacher 
 acting chiefly as an inspirational force and in the capac- 
 ity of seeing that a certain amount of time is given to 
 this phase of the work of the school. A large propor- 
 tion of the reading should, of coittse, be done at home, 
 and even the longer vacation periods might well be 
 used by the school for this purpose, since the high 
 school pupils, in any event, wUl do reading of some 
 kind during those periods. If the reply is made that 
 the pupils will object to vacation reading because of 
 lack of interest in it, then this objection, itself, may 
 have to be taken as a criticism against the hterature 
 selected, rather than against the pupils, themselves. 
 Love of good literature is not to be forced; it must be. 
 induced and huilt. I am convinced that an almost 
 wholly new methodology must be worked out for this 
 
190 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 form of teaching, and that all our mechanistic con- 
 ceptions of hours, units of credit, prescribed number of 
 pages, etc., must entirely give way in teaching litera- 
 ture. We shall eventually develop effective mechan- 
 isms for this teaching, of course, but they will not 
 resemble those which have become traditionally as- 
 sociated with our regular sqhool subjects. 
 
 It should also be obvious that the traditional forms 
 of testing the results of teaching will not apply in the 
 case of literature if properly taught. College entrance 
 examinations in literature ought to be regarded as 
 fundamentally absurd. Written examinations as we 
 now know them cannot in any way test the apprecia- 
 tion that will come from the right study of literature. 
 It may be that the work of the pupils themselves in 
 their more or less spontaneous forms of expression, 
 and especially as revealed through the choices which 
 they make for their reading will become a sufficient 
 means of testing results in this field. It is fundamen- 
 tally true that the profitable study of literature cannot 
 be pursued without an abiding interest in it. It may 
 also be assumed that only rarely has a pupil no form of 
 abiding interest in some kind of literature. And with 
 this should be placed the assumption that no two 
 pupils need be expected to have identically the same 
 interests. Consequently, the aim of the teaching 
 should be to promote the growth of individual in- 
 4^erests and, by suggestion, to expand these into new 
 ^elds, where practicable. 
 
mGH-SCHOOL TEACHER OF ENGLISH 191 
 
 Finally, it should be noted that very few teachers 
 of English as now trained in our colleges have genuine 
 capacity for the teaching of literature as here sug- 
 gested. Their interests inhterature are not based upon 
 a broad appreciation. This is evidenced by the very 
 small part which teachers of English in high schools 
 usually take in the reading of new books and magazines, 
 and particularly in the appreciative reviewing and 
 communication of their contents. Most of our Ameri- 
 can communities now possess small groups of people 
 who have genuine interest in contemporary literature, 
 and who make vital contacts with new developments 
 in the fields of drama, poetry, essay, and fiction. These 
 groups of people usually contain, so far as the experi- 
 ence of the writer goes, few high-school teachers of 
 English. But the right kind of teacher of English 
 literature should be a prominent figure in groups of 
 the sort here referred to. Such a teacher would, neces- 
 sarily, take an active interest, or even part, in con- 
 temporary activities having to do with English litera- 
 ture. He would be foremost in debates as to the 
 permanency and value of the innumerable variations 
 that appear from time to time. He would be "up" on 
 the magazines of the day. His influence would be felt 
 in the choice of fiction made by the public library. 
 Young people's reading clubs would seek his coopera- 
 tion. 
 
 Too many of our present so-called "teachers of 
 literature" are dry-as-dust scholars. They deal with 
 
192 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 the dead bones of literature; they are chiefly expert 
 dissectors of mummies. They lack inspiring power, 
 and quite fail to appreciate the dominant interests and 
 capacities of adolescent youth. They still teach litera- 
 ture by the methods which have become habitual to 
 them as teachers of composition — giving especial 
 attention to trifling details, remote connections, irrel- 
 evant facts. 
 
 English literature, rightly taught, can be made the 
 central element in a true liberal secondary education. 
 Let us produce teachers who can give effect to this 
 ideal. 
 
XVI 
 
 To a Teacher of History : 
 
 Many of us believe, indeed, that secondary educa- 
 tion has ateady entered upon a period of profound 
 transition. It is a vital question as to whether this 
 transition will prove to be of an evolutional, or of a 
 revolutionary, natiu"e. Certainly profound changes 
 will be necessary in order to accommodate secondary 
 education to the new social as well as pedagogical de- 
 mands that are being made upon it. 
 
 History as a subject of secondary education seems to 
 be hardly in a better position than the other subjects 
 in face of impending changes. As in the other subjects, 
 two classes of aims now control the choice of means 
 and methods in history teaching. The first may be 
 stated in terms of somewhat definite subject-matter 
 to be mastered in intellectual ways; the second, by 
 such vague and undefined terms as "culture," "civic 
 efliciency," "mental training," and the like. 
 
 During the last few years there have indeed been 
 many more or less significant changes in methods of 
 teaching history in high schools. In fact far more at- 
 tention has been given to modifications of method 
 than to clear formulations of aim. The situation has 
 therefore not materially improved, notwithstanding 
 the work of various disinterested committees. 
 
194 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 K future improvements in the teaching of history 
 are to be of an evolutional character, we could assume 
 the continued use of present terms, and of methods of 
 instruction substantially like those now employed. On 
 the other hand, it seems probable that the changes 
 which are to take place will be of a revolutionary na- 
 ture, — and will therefore involve a discarding of 
 existing terms and of generally accepted frameworks. 
 This will be followed by the effort to create new sec- 
 ondary-school subjects in which it is, of course, to be 
 hoped that the materials of history will finally assume 
 their rightful position. 
 
 It is the conviction of the writer that the changes 
 which will take place in history teaching in secondary 
 schools will be of a revolutionary, rather than of an 
 evolutionary, nature. It is his belief that we shall in the 
 future discard, to a large extent, the use of the chron- 
 ological order in teaching this subject; that our em- 
 phasis will center primarily in the contemporaneous, 
 and only incidentally in the past; and that the general 
 outcome will be the organization of a new secondary- 
 school subject which we may call, for lack of a better 
 term, "social science," the primary object of which 
 shall be to enable the pupil to interpret the present and 
 to construct the future, so far as that is practicable in 
 a scientific and reasonable manner. 
 
 The objects to be held in view in making such 
 changes would be essentially practical; that is, we 
 should be taught to look upon citizenship of a large 
 
and significant sort as essentially a part of the business 
 of men and women, and to expect that our teaching 
 of social science will be done primarily with the ob- 
 ject of preparing boys and girls to become men and 
 women capable of exercising the larger civic functions. 
 Good citizenship, so far as we can now interpret it, 
 consists in part of habits which are in the main derived 
 from other sources than a study of history, in part of 
 ideals, in the making of which literature and history 
 can contribute much, and in the possession of knowl- 
 edge of present problems of such a nature as wiU en- 
 able these citizens, in some degree, to forecast the 
 future, — because it is only with reference to the fu- 
 ture that, in the last analysis, the citizen can actually 
 act. The present moment cannot change, and the 
 past is irrevocable. The future, within limits, is in 
 his hands to modify as he understands and sees fit. 
 
 There are several reasons why it seems that the 
 present order of history teaching in secondary schools 
 should pass away. In the first place, most history 
 teaching at the present time is based upon what will 
 here be called the "cold storage theory" of educa- 
 tion, or, as it is sometimes otherwise called, the 
 "theory of deferred values." From this point of view, 
 that which a child learns is stored away, to become 
 valuable at some future time. If he learns it practi- 
 cally without assimilation, as one might learn ver- 
 bally a rule of grammar, or of arithmetic, the process 
 is well represented by the figure of cold storage. If 
 
196 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAKY EDUCATION 
 
 such learning is accompanied by partial assimilation, 
 there result what are sometimes called deferred edu- 
 cational values. 
 
 In the second place, history, as now studied in sec- 
 ondary schools, is based far too much upon the notion 
 that knowledge and training of a valuable sort can 
 result from verbal learning, such learning being based 
 upon little or no previous comparable experience. For 
 example, a youth who has never participated in any 
 form of political action reads and is told of very 
 complicated forms of political action such as have 
 transpired in Greece, or Rome, or in the middle ages. 
 Rehance upon verbal assimilation is diminishing in 
 almost all fields of education. It probably survives 
 longest in the field of secondary-school teaching. 
 
 In the third place, history as now taught seems un- 
 able to escape dependence upon a chronological order. 
 Only by reliance upon the chronological order is it 
 able to develop continuity and what, from the stand- 
 point of many teachers, constitutes the only logical 
 method of presenting history. But the chronological 
 order, even where it represents in society a definitive 
 progress from simple situations to complex situations, 
 constitutes a poor basis of learning for the secondary- 
 school student, because it compels him to go back to 
 beginnings that are remote from the fields of his con- 
 crete experience. In the study of biology the pupil 
 studies life in its evolutional order, by taking the sim- 
 ple forms first and complex forms later; but the doubt- 
 
TEACHER OF fflSTORY 197 
 
 ful success of this method at the best in biology fur- 
 nishes only a poor analogy for history teaching because 
 in biology it is always possible to bring the simple 
 forms in a very concrete and tangible way within the 
 field of experience of the pupil. Many instances of the 
 difficulty and futility of relying upon the chronological 
 order in history teaching are available. 
 
 Some years ago, the so-called "source method" 
 was much in vogue. Heroic efforts were made in all 
 quarters to obtain, from ancient documents and other 
 surviving relics, examples that could be used in sec- 
 ondary schools. Rarely indeed, however, were the 
 sources actually intelligible to the children, although 
 an imusually energetic and enthusiastic teacher could 
 often make the children believe that they were com- 
 prehending the significance of some of the materials 
 presented. Teachers who defend the source method, 
 on the ground that it enables pupils to have an objec- 
 tive presentation of the value, or lack of value, of 
 various forms of historic documents, often seem un- 
 aware that it is possible, every day and every week, 
 to bring to the children an endless quantity and vari- 
 ety of original source materials from the history which 
 is now daily in the making. K it is of value to teach 
 children the relative uncertainty of various forms of 
 testimony, that can surely be done better through 
 materials that are being brought out from day to day 
 in newspapers and magazines. 
 
 Again, any one who has ever witnessed the pathetic 
 
198 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 struggles of first-year high-school students to master 
 the material presented in textbooks of Greek and 
 Roman history, and who has caught the pathos of the 
 frequently made statements, that "they could get 
 the subject if they could only pronounce the names," 
 will realize at what cost we endeavor to give children 
 some grasp of history by going back to times and re- 
 gions that, of necessity, must be so little understood 
 as those of Greece and Rome, many of the features 
 of the civilizations of which even the best of our stu- 
 dents can as yet only partially interpret. 
 
 It is doubtful whether we have yet a vahd content 
 for the word "history," as ordinarily used in connec- 
 tion with secondary education. As seen in the text- 
 books, what we call history is really a history of certain 
 significant political events, with occasional reference 
 to unusual phenomena or events lying outside the 
 field of politics and dynastic struggle. It would be 
 more accurate for us to describe most of the history 
 available for secondary education as being the his- 
 tory of civic events, or military events, or of political 
 changes. It is entirely proper that we should have a 
 history of this sort, just as it is entirely expedient to 
 have a history of medicine, a history of commerce, 
 a history of philosophical thought, a history of the 
 struggles of the poor against adverse conditions, nat- 
 ural or social, a history of ornament, a history of art, 
 a history of machine manufacture, or a history of ex- 
 ploration. Any and all of these forms of history are 
 
TEACHER OF HISTORY 199 
 
 interesting at times, and to particular individuals. 
 When history is thus described, however, it is evi- 
 dent that its interest to a given individual is apt to 
 follow upon, rather than precede, his interest in con- 
 temporary aspects of the problems described. I 
 imagine that nowhere is the history of medicine taught 
 previous to the study of medicine. I have no doubt, 
 on the other hand, that an individual who has made 
 substantial progress in medicine turns, sooner or later, 
 to its history with keen interest. 
 
 It seems right that the history of education for 
 teachers and other educators should be taken up only 
 when the person has given many years to the study of 
 contemporary education, and should not, as is now the 
 case, sometimes precede such study. 
 
 The history of industry is something doubtless to 
 be studied with interest by the man who has made 
 some progress in the industrial world. I would hold, 
 similarly, that political history should follow serious 
 attempts on the part of students to acquaint them- 
 selves with contemporary problems of pohtics, — 
 which represent, of course, this phase of history in the 
 making. 
 
 What are the constructive suggestions to be con- 
 sidered at the present time? For the sake of discus- 
 sion, the writer wishes here to propose certain modi- 
 fications of om: secondary education as regards its 
 alleged objects of training for leadership. In order that 
 there may be a definite objective, you are asked to 
 
200 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 assume that only the secondary school is under discus- 
 sion, and that the secondary school has as its pupils 
 primarily boys and girls, or youths, from fourteen to 
 eighteen years of age. Furthermore, in order to ob- 
 tain a definite objective, it is assumed that this is the 
 last school which these pupils will attend; in other 
 words, that all of those finishing the work under con- 
 sideration will pass out into active life, or into pro- 
 fessional schools, without any further general, cultural, 
 or civic education. 
 
 It is proposed that in such a secondary school there 
 should be given each year a stated amount of time to 
 a subject which may be broadly described as "social 
 science." It would be the object of this study to inter- 
 pret contemporary social phenomena with a view, 
 as far as practicable, to giving the youth the ideals 
 and the insight that will enable him, for the present 
 and later, to take a due part in controlling social op- 
 erations making towards human well-being. 
 
 Just what complete studies should be included 
 under this head is not now apparent, but some phases 
 of them are fairly clear. For example, we now are 
 introducing into some secondary schools a topic 
 known as "community civics," the object of which is 
 to enable the youth to understand those phases of 
 civic activity which lie well within his field of ob- 
 servation, and with reference to which, later, he will 
 be expected to exercise some control. Local policing, 
 fire protection, road-making, sanitation, supervision 
 
TEACHER OF mSTORY 201 
 
 or control of public utilities which are under private 
 management, promotion of more effective economics 
 of the commimity, — all these are phases that might 
 be studied. It is now evident that this work can be 
 done effectively with youths from fourteen to sixteen 
 years of age. 
 
 A further series of topics might be taken up in con- 
 nection with contemporary national life, including 
 economic movements, labor problems, the "war on 
 poverty," exploration, conservation, simpUfication of 
 commercial intercourse, immigration, public promo- 
 tion of arts and science, and scores of other similar 
 topics. In each of these fields it is possible, somewhere 
 in the course of secondary education, to organize 
 materials which will enable youths to comprehend 
 somewhat of the problems under discussion. Other 
 questions, such as racial amalgamation, the exploita- 
 tion of the tropics, pubUc ownership of public utili- 
 ties, financial questions, and the like, are all capable 
 of being treated, including, too, questions of the party 
 system, and the hke. At a later stage, possibly, the 
 pupils might attempt to imravel some of the intrica- 
 cies of the activities of contemporary politics. In 
 every case, the attempt would be made to give the 
 pupil mastery of contemporary interpretations with 
 so much of suggestion towards the social action of 
 the future as seems practicable. 
 
 Obviously, a large number of partisan or sectarian 
 questions will be encountered in any such study as 
 
202 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 this. We can only guess as to what can be done in the 
 future, in connection with these partisan questions. It 
 is entirely possible that the satisfactory solution will 
 be found in bringing to the attention of the pupils the 
 best presentation of the debatable issues from both 
 sides. I have no concrete suggestions to ofiFer at the 
 present time with regard to the treatment of partisan 
 issues, except to say that any public system of educa- 
 tion in a democracy which permanently ignores vital 
 questions because of their sectarian or partisan char- 
 acter will hardly suffice for the future. The fact is 
 that we have little or no difficulty in treating partisan 
 questions where they emerge primarily from the do- 
 mains of science. The difficulty at the present time 
 in partisan questions is found in the fact that most of 
 them deal with what we call "faith issues," — that is, 
 issues that have grown out of past ages, where sci- 
 ence was not available, and where large emotional 
 elements have become involved in them. We have 
 true partisanship only where religious feeHng, ethical 
 feeling, racial sentiment, and the like, give rise to 
 issues which hold instincts of controversy and com- 
 bat. Teachers of scientific temper will more and more 
 find themselves able to treat these questions in such a 
 way as not to impose authoritative views on the minds 
 of their pupils. 
 
 It should, however, be clearly evident that no ex- 
 tended study of any of the topics suggested above is 
 practicable without excursions into the distant do- 
 
TEACHER OF HISTORY 203 
 
 mains of historical or geographical knowledge, conse- 
 quently, the teacher will necessarily be prepared to 
 take his pupils into remote regions or into the past 
 as soon as they shall have planted their feet some- 
 what solidly on the ground of reality at home. 
 
 For example, in the interests of good citizenship 
 and general inteUigence as well, it seems desirable that 
 second-year high schools should know something of 
 the facts, principles, and social consequences of the 
 commercial exchange of commodities. But the near 
 and obvious facts as to this exchange are to be ob- 
 served right around home; and many, at least, of the 
 principles and consequences of that exchange as com- 
 prehensible to youths of sixteen can best be studied 
 there also. 
 
 Now once a reasonable mastery of concrete local 
 phenomena is obtained, it is easy for the learner to 
 grasp the more abstract phenomena in the distance 
 — the contemporary trade of China, or the historic 
 trade of the colonies, or of Venice or Carthage. His- 
 torical facts and conclusions can be assembled along 
 this hne quite expeditiously and effectively. 
 
 In other words, it would be practicable, on the basis 
 of close contact and comprehension of local contem- 
 porary social phenomena, to enable the learners to 
 make a series of explorations along a variety of his- 
 toric roads, each followed with pleasure and effect 
 because leading from known territory. 
 
 But what will become of the "unity of history"? 
 
204 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 In the first place, of course, it would be easy to retort 
 that a conception of "history as a unity" is probably 
 not in any real sense a product of history as now 
 taught. In the second place, so large and full a con- 
 ception of the unity of history as is really possible 
 to youths under eighteen years of age can best be 
 produced probably by a chronological study of events 
 of great historical importance, to which a few hours 
 yearly can be given from the time when the child is 
 able to distinguish between "now," "the other day," 
 "long ago," and "once upon a time," to the age when 
 the building of the Pyramids, the founding of Rome, 
 the birth of Jesus, the Norman conquest of England, 
 the Discovery of America, and the Declaration of In- 
 dependence can be conceived with some adequacy 
 in their sequential relations. 
 
 We must have better education for democratic 
 citizenship; and in that education we should require 
 that the findings of history shall play an important 
 part, which is not the case now, I fear. 
 
XVII 
 
 To a Teacher of Social Science: 
 
 Among the subjects which will undoubtedly claim 
 first attention in any reorganization of high-school 
 work will be the social sciences. There is a widespread 
 conviction that, for contemporary purposes, a hberal 
 education should inevitably include a considerable 
 range of contact with the practical problems of social 
 life and, as far as practicable, a scientific interpreta- 
 tion of the phenomena observed. 
 
 The study of history has long held a prominent 
 place in programs of secondary education. In the 
 days when the curriculum of the secondary school 
 was composed primarily of certain so-called "studies," 
 the value of each of which was taken for granted with- 
 out careful analysis, it was natural that the study 
 of history should occupy a prominent place. History 
 represents one of the earliest developed fields of or- 
 ganized knowledge. It is one of the most effective 
 subjects of inquiry to give the student breadth of 
 vision and comprehension of how persons and socie- 
 ties in other ages have lived and acted. Many educa- 
 tors have looked to history as the most effective means 
 of training for citizenship, and perhaps no other sub- 
 ject in the curriculum of secondary education has been 
 
206 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 pursued with so little of the practical or vocational 
 motive in mind. 
 
 Nevertheless, there are now abundant reasons for 
 beHeving that a large part of history study as taught 
 in our high schools has no "functional" value in 
 liberal education. The content commonly presented, 
 as well as the methods of instruction, may be, and, I 
 am convinced, frequently are, such that there is no 
 certain outcome of the study in the shape of broader 
 appreciations, a more effective understanding, and 
 more sympathetic ideals that make, or should make, 
 for citizenship. 
 
 In the mean time, we have seen develop, in our 
 American colleges, a wide range of economic and so- 
 ciological studies which are frequently taken in the 
 same spirit in which the so-called "humanities" were 
 studied in former centuries, and which, I believe, for 
 the large majority of college students, now constitute 
 in reality the " humanity " studies to which they al- 
 most instinctively incUne. 
 
 This newer development has not yet appreciably 
 affected secondary education. That it will do so in 
 the near future, I have not, myself, the slightest 
 doubt. I believe the time is at hand when in our 
 secondary schools we shall give our adolescent youth 
 a wide and very concrete contact with social phe- 
 nomena, and that the controlling purpose will be, in 
 every case, to give a scientific explanation of these 
 phenomena so far as that is practicable in view of the 
 
character of the student, and so far as the materials 
 for such scientific explanation are available. 
 
 Ultimately, it is my conviction, the study of his- 
 tory, or perhaps more accurately, the study of his- 
 tories, will be absorbed under the general head of 
 social science, the materials of history being used pri- 
 marily as explanatory and interpretative of social 
 phenomena studied, and partly with a view to giving 
 the perspective which a study of local conditions alone 
 could not afford. For the present, however, I would 
 regard it as the part of wisdom in a high school to 
 organize at least one year's work in social science, this 
 to be followed in the third or fourth year, perhaps, by 
 systematic courses in history, modified as far as prac- 
 ticable to conform to modern pedagogical standards. 
 
 In view of the conditions of organizing a satisfac- 
 tory course in social science, I should prefer to have 
 this subject placed not later than the second year of 
 the high-school course, and for some time to come I 
 should hope that it would not come within the range 
 of the so-called "college preparatory studies" at all; 
 that is, studies in which college authorities set definite 
 standards which they test by means of examinations, 
 or otherwise. 
 
 For I beUeve that when social science is organized 
 as a satisfactory phase of liberal education in the high 
 school, it will have to possess characteristics and 
 standards not now found in connection with public 
 high-school standards as ordinarily conceived. The 
 
208 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 entire spirit of pedagogical approach will have to be 
 greatly modified. Comparatively little emphasis will 
 be placed upon the acquisition of the same body of 
 exact knowledge by all students alike. The control- 
 ling purpose of the course in this respect will be to 
 enable each individual, in as large a measure as pos- 
 sible, to "find himself" in his social environment, and 
 to interpret its principal features sympathetically and 
 inteUigently. 
 
 Social science as thus conceived must not consist 
 only of economics or civil government, or any other 
 special division of the social sciences, but must take 
 from each and all of these units of study and reading, 
 each unit of which has definite boundaries and lies 
 well within the range of the learner's capacity to ap- 
 preciate and master. 
 
 For the present, I should divide these units into 
 three classes, namely: 
 
 1. Those in which the learner cannot only make 
 concrete contacts with the social phenomena in- 
 volved, but can in some measure control and direct 
 these in his capacity as citizen. 
 
 2. Those in which he can make concrete contacts 
 through observation and inquiry, but wherein direct 
 control at his age is not practicable. 
 
 3. Those in which he will have to obtain most of his 
 information from reading and other secondary 
 sources. 
 
 It is probable that careful analysis of our social 
 
TEACHER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 209 
 
 environment will show that with reference to a con- 
 siderable range of social phenomena it is possible for 
 the student to place himself in a position of active 
 participation as critic and cooperator. In other papers 
 of this series, where liberal education is defined, it 
 is contended that education for citizenship consists 
 primarily in giving the citizen such an understand- 
 ing of social phenomena as will enable him to com- 
 mand adequate expert service for the discharge of the 
 special offices which have become a part of public 
 control and management. Consequently, intelligent 
 criticism of the discharge of pubUc functions must 
 play a part, and, from my point of view, a very large 
 part, in the education of the citizen. 
 
 We have, for example, in the community such 
 specialized functions, under complete pubhc control 
 and direction, as the administration of justice, the 
 direction of the police power, fire protection, dis- 
 posal of waste, maintenance of highways, adniinis- 
 tration of charity, the safeguarding of pubUc health 
 and education. We have also given over to private 
 corporations, under some form of licensing or charter, 
 the conduct of various other enterprises with refer- 
 ence to which the agencies conducting them have 
 very direct public responsibilities. These include the 
 supplying of water and light, gas for fuel, transpor- 
 tation of passengers, amusements, sale of alcoholic 
 liquors, etc. With the exercise of all these activities, 
 the student, even as a minor, is in more or less inti- 
 
210 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 mate contact, and therefore, under suitable instruc- 
 tion is able to exercise the part of intelligent critic. 
 This criticism, however, to be worth while, must be 
 intelligent criticism, and must involve some knowl- 
 edge, at least, of the right standards of service which 
 the community has a right to exact, either from 
 agencies created by it or agencies under its supervision. 
 Broadly speaking, this may be called the field of com- 
 munity civics; and within this territory a wide range 
 of units of study for social science may be made. At 
 the present time, there are some enthusiastic advo- 
 cates of community civics who perceive the oppor- 
 tunity for this field, but who, from my point of view, 
 do not yet appreciate the necessity of organizing the 
 work for the learner on a definite "unit" basis. In 
 the fields referred to above, the organization of these 
 units of study might be expected to result in syste- 
 matic expositions of the facts involved, together with 
 criticisms of the service as now rendered. 
 
 On the more active side, it is quite possible for the 
 learner intelligently to participate as cooperator in 
 some of these activities, as, for example, where in 
 municipal housekeeping he takes his share in contrib- 
 uting to community cleanliness, order, and high-grade 
 choice in the field of amusements. This intelligent 
 cooperation is doubtless something which is capable 
 of extension into the fields of organized charity, 
 whether pubUc or private, community hospitality as 
 manifested towards visitors attending conventions, 
 
TEACHER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 211 
 
 etc., and the raising of community standards in such 
 departments as pubHc library service, patronage of 
 the press, of the theater, and local clubs. 
 
 A more active form of learning through participa- 
 tion in social science is to be found in the organiza- 
 tion and conduct of a special form of government 
 within the school, which is in itself a society in need 
 of regulation and standards of conduct. 
 
 I am persuaded that within the field of social phe- 
 nomena in which the student may take direct contact 
 in part by participation, and in larger part by ob- 
 servation supplemented by readings, are to be found 
 large opportunities for education in social science. 
 Nevertheless, it must be recognized that many forms 
 of social phenomena lie entirely outside the range of 
 the pupils' observation, but with reference to which 
 it is highly desirable that they should have systematic 
 education. Local govermnent can be studied largely 
 by direct methods of observation and inquiry. The 
 forms and activities of central government can be 
 studied only very slightly in this way. Consequently, 
 units of social science study should be organized in 
 which contact through reading and other sources of 
 indirect information must be largely utiHzed. It is 
 quite possible, indeed, that in such fields as finance, 
 central govermnent, including legislation, war, tariflf, 
 dissemination of information, penology, and the like, 
 can be organized a long range of units, with definitely 
 indicated readings, on which it will be possible for 
 
212 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 students to build up a considerable range of informa- 
 tion of positive social value. 
 
 Ultimately, from my point of view, the study of 
 history will be largely correlated with this social sci- 
 ence study and with valuable results for both. As I 
 see it, at least in the earlier years of the high school, 
 we shall make no attempt to study history in a syste- 
 matic chronological order, and inclusive of all classes 
 of social phenomena alike. Only the mature student 
 is capable of this kind of attack; but the younger 
 student is fully able to take certain lines of social 
 phenomena with which he has become somewhat fa- 
 miliar in his local environment, and to pursue quite 
 extensively the study of these, as they occurred in 
 other places and in other times, by means of printed 
 material. In such a subject, for example, as ex- 
 change of commodities and the territorial speciaU- 
 zation of production and the transportation of com- 
 modities that are connected therewith, it would be 
 easy for the average fifteen-year-old boy to study 
 conditions as they existed in America one hundred 
 years ago, or in England three hundred years ago, 
 or in the Mediterranean nine hundred years ago, 
 or even two thousand years ago. Again, when the 
 pupil has been brought into some understanding of 
 family hfe and the influences which make for its soli- 
 darity, it would not be difficult for him to go back in 
 history and study family life as found in mediaeval 
 Germany, the Roman Empire, the Grecian city, the 
 
TEACHER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 213 
 
 Hebrew community, or even in tribal stages. It is 
 quite possible for the pupil who has made some little 
 study of the part which money plays as a medium of 
 exchange, to be taken back, in history, to a period 
 when there was no paper circulating medium, when 
 coinage consisted largely of copper, and to prior periods 
 when the state did not, itself, regulate coinage. A wide 
 range of topics of an historic nature can thus be ap- 
 proached, even by a second-year high-school student, 
 on the basis of his concrete contact with the modem 
 manifestations of these phenomena as found in his 
 community and in his own time. 
 
 Reference has been made above to the concrete 
 study mainly of social phenomena of a governmental 
 or quasi-public character. It must be recognized, 
 however, that the field of social phenomena is, by no 
 means, restricted to these, and there is no reason why, 
 as a part of social science work in the high school, we 
 should not have the student enter into other fields, 
 such as those connected with modem business, pro- 
 duction, and exchange; charity as administered by pri- 
 vate and philanthropic agencies; the organization of 
 family life; thrift, and the saving of capital; worship; 
 the patronage of amusements, etc. These are capable 
 of multipUcation almost indefinitely. In these fields, 
 again, a certain amount of concrete participation and 
 contact under the stimulus of the school, is possible. 
 We already have examples of this in school savings 
 banks, and the organization, imder the school from 
 
214 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 time to time, of groups for the administration of re- 
 lief, for the promotion of some form of public improve- 
 ment, and for the introduction of better standards 
 in amusements. Again, within these fields, observa- 
 tion and interpretation can be made to play a large 
 part. It must be admitted that difficulties will be at 
 times encountered in handling cases, but, as in the 
 fields of mental science and physiology and hygiene, 
 the tact of the teacher must ultimately prevail in 
 deciding what shall be included and what omitted. 
 
 We have as yet no satisfactory analysis of the units 
 which would make up a satisfactory scheme of social 
 science, for example, for the second year of the high 
 school. My beUef is that teachers in your position 
 can accomplish this most successfully by assuming a 
 definite amount of time, say an average of eight hours 
 per week throughout the second year of the high- 
 school period, to be devoted to social science, includ- 
 ing history, and then dividing this time roughly so as 
 to give a due share to each of the three heads men- 
 tioned below. These divisions are: (o) project prob- 
 lems, in which the learner will be expected to have 
 experience in active participation, which he can de- 
 scribe and interpret; (b) observation problems, where 
 the learner can have facilities for concrete observation, 
 and where, as a result of such observation coupled 
 with reading, he will describe and interpret to the 
 class; and (c) reading problems and studies, in which 
 the learner will have to obtain most of his informa- 
 
TEACHER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 215 
 
 tion from reading and analogous sources, interpreting 
 this as best he can for the class. 
 
 Under the head of project problems we must rec- 
 ognize these distinctions: 
 
 1. Those situations in which the student can act in 
 an executive or controlling capacity, as, for ex- 
 ample, in student self-government, in active 
 work done in cleaning up back yards, in making 
 deposits in savings banks, in organizing church 
 societies, etc. 
 
 2. Those in which his position is that of intelUgent 
 critic of services rendered by special agents in the 
 community, as where he studies and passes judg- 
 ment upon the water service, the exercise of 
 police authority, the juvenile court, the clean- 
 liness of the grocery store, the purity of the milk 
 supply, the regularity of street-car service, the 
 cleanliness of streets, etc. 
 
 3. Where the position of the learner is primarily 
 that of conscious conformity to established rules 
 and regulations, as where he turns to the right 
 in traflBc, where he comes to school on time, con- 
 forms to police requirements, etc. 
 
 Fiu^hermore, it may prove desirable to differentiate 
 each of these divisions according as the activity in- 
 volved is primarily (o) governmental; (&) quasi- public, 
 as in the services of public utility corporations, charity, 
 amusements, licensed institutions, etc.; and (c) private, 
 not subject to any control except that of public opin- 
 
216 PROBLEMS OF SECONDABY EDUCATION 
 
 ion. These last divisions it may prove desirable also 
 to continue into the second and third groups given be- 
 low: 
 
 I. Project Problems. Involving the actual par- 
 ticipation of the learner, either: 
 
 1. In an executive capacity, such as: (a) school 
 government; (6) cleaning of back yards; (c) sav- 
 ings bank participation; (d) hospitable actions 
 towards visitors (example: Boy Scout guiding); 
 (e) notifying health authorities of conditions 
 requiring attention; (/) notifying poHce authori- 
 ties of conditions requiring attention. 
 
 2. As an intelligent critic, such as: (a) examination 
 of local water supply, and criticism thereon; 
 (6) study of juvenile court, with criticism; (c) in- 
 spection of the cleanliness of streets, with criti- 
 cism; (d) description of moving picture exhibi- 
 tions, with criticism; (e) study of local library 
 service, with criticism; (/) examination of street- 
 car facilities, with criticism; (g) observation of 
 cleanliness of railway station, with criticism; 
 (h) study of mosquito-breeding agencies in parks, 
 with criticism; (i) study of provision of public 
 bathing facilities, with criticism, etc. 
 
 3. In intelligent conformity, such as: (a) problem 
 of intelligent conformity to regulations regarding 
 street traflSc ; (h) problem of intelligent conformity 
 to requirements as to disposal of crude waste, 
 
TEACHER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 217 
 
 such as ashes, paper, etc.; (c) conformity to regu- 
 lations regarding sanitary precautions against 
 disease; (d) conformity to regulations regarding 
 display of food products by grocers; (e) special 
 problems of conformity according to occupations 
 that may be pursued, such as selling papers, deliv- 
 ering groceries, working in factories, etc. 
 
 II. Observation Problems. Involving description 
 and interpretation: 
 
 1. The work of the State Legislature. 
 
 2. The organization of the local water service. 
 S-10. Various forms of local governmental service 
 
 interpreted and described. 
 
 11. Food production in the community and vicinity. 
 
 12. Food importation in community and vicinity. 
 
 13. Banking facilities in the community. 
 
 14. Fire protection in local community. 
 
 15. Work of the department of health. 
 
 16. Work of the school committee. 
 
 17-20. Various forms of quasi-public service de- 
 " scribed and interpreted. 
 
 21. Study of the essential features of family life. 
 
 22. Study of work of church societies. 
 
 23. Private charities of the community. 
 
 24. Boys' and girls' clubs and athletic associations, 
 etc. 
 
218 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 III. Problems of Reading and Study: 
 
 1. The work of the National Congress. 
 
 2. United States Government as a builder of canals. 
 
 3. The tariff, as a means of taxation and as a means 
 of protection. 
 
 4. The defensive organization of our government. 
 
 5. The National Government educating Indians. 
 
 6. American colonies. 
 
 7. English colonies. 
 
 8. Dutch colonies. 
 
 9. The war organization of England. 
 
 10. The educational organization of Germany. 
 
 11. The public railroads of Switzerland. 
 
 12. The lighthouse service of the United States. 
 
 13. The United States as a builder of irrigation sys- 
 tems. 
 
 14. The importations and exportations of Brazil. 
 
 15. The citizenship of the Roman Empire. 
 
 16. The State of Greece. 
 
 17. Grecian commerce on the Mediterranean. 
 
 18. The Portuguese and Spanish as explorers. 
 
 19. The importation of negroes into the United 
 States. 
 
 20. The control of currency and coinage in the 
 United States. 
 
 21. Coinage and currency in the first part of the 
 nineteenth century in the United States. 
 
 22. The coinage of Greece and Rome. 
 
TEACHER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 219 
 
 23. The domestic institutions of the North American 
 Indians. 
 
 24. The family life of the Chinese. 
 
 25. The Catholic Church as a charitable agency. 
 
 26. What tribal organization means. 
 
 27. The history of the theater. 
 
 28. The story of the public Ubrary. 
 
 29. The amusements of Americans one himdred years 
 ago. 
 
 30. Immigration into the United States. 
 
XVIII 
 
 To a Committee appointed "to investigate and report on 
 Current Criticisms of High-School Mathematics": 
 
 I NOTE with much interest that you have been ap- 
 pointed members of a committee to consider current 
 criticisms of high-school mathematics. Inasmuch as 
 I have several times raised questions as to the place 
 and purpose of algebra (and geometry) in the general 
 scheme of secondary-school studies, I gladly take ad- 
 vantage of your invitation to suggest to your com- 
 mittee some of these questions for consideration, and 
 also to set forth certain views which appeal to me as 
 deserving attention at this time. 
 
 It seems to me that the appointment of your 
 committee is most opportune. We are undoubtedly 
 entering upon an era in education when the whole 
 question of educational values is to be studied with 
 the aid of methods of a more or less scientific nature. 
 For many years we have been building up an extensive 
 literature as to methods of teaching high-school sub- 
 jects, but to a large extent we have thus far neglected 
 the much more fundamental question as to why these 
 rather than other subjects should be taught, and as to 
 what are the demonstrable values of any and all of 
 the traditional studies. We have left largely to the 
 public, itself, a criticism of educational values, both of 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 221 
 
 secondary and collegiate education in general, and of 
 particular subjects of study therein. 
 
 The questions which I think require first considera- 
 tion in a discussion of mathematics in secondary edu- 
 cation are the following: 
 
 1. What are, or what should be, the controlling 
 educational purposes to be served by the study of 
 algebra in secondary schools? (Algebra is taken 
 conveniently to represent the mathematics (usu- 
 ally) prescribed for high-school graduation, and 
 for admission to college.) 
 
 2. Is it yet practicable to demonstrate either that 
 these purposes are important for all pupils, or 
 that they are reaHzed in the case of many of the 
 pupils taking the study? 
 
 3. Are these purposes as yet so definitely formu- 
 lated that it is practicable to determine how far 
 given organizations of the materials of algebra, 
 or given methods of teaching, result in their 
 reahzation? 
 
 4. More specifically, why should girl students in 
 high schools be required to take algebra before 
 being allowed to graduate? 
 
 5. Why should women students seeking admission 
 to college be required to present algebra as an 
 entrance subject? 
 
 Those of us who must study the problems of sec- 
 ondary education from the administrative standpoint 
 are beginning to realize that there is urgent need of 
 
222 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 a general examination of the purposes which are 
 alleged to be served by all the academic secondary- 
 school studies. It seems to some of us that the support 
 given these studies by the public and by educators is 
 in many cases founded largely on faith and belief 
 rather than on definitely ascertained knowledge. 
 
 It is obvious to all, of course, that some knowledge of 
 algebra bears to certain professions a relationship an- 
 alogous to that of arithmetic in the work of the book- 
 keeper. It is an essential tool. No one disputes that 
 a young man expecting to study engineering should 
 equip himself, as preHminary thereto, with a good 
 knowledge of algebra. But what of the young men 
 who expect to follow medicine, or law, or journalism, 
 or theology as a career? It is not clear that these will 
 be able to apply in their vocations a knowledge of 
 algebra in an instrimiental way. Neither is it evident 
 that any demand for a knowledge of algebra is made 
 by the vocations into which the vast majority of 
 women enter after graduating from secondary schools 
 and colleges. 
 
 It is sometimes asserted that a knowledge of algebra 
 is essential to the pursuit of certain higher studies in 
 college, notably physics and economics. It is clear, of 
 course, that there are phases of the physical and bio- 
 logical sciences, as weU as of economics and sociology, 
 which can be profitably studied only by one having a 
 good equipment of mathematics. But do these lie 
 within the field of general or liberal education as 
 
mOH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 223 
 
 ordinarily conceived? Do they not belong rather in 
 those special fields into which only the student of ex- 
 ceptional ability and with exceptional interests will 
 enter? The mathematics required tot the science sub- 
 jects as usually presented in school and college courses 
 represents Uttle beyond what a good knowledge of 
 arithmetic and some special study of a few hteral 
 formulae should give. 
 
 In other words, I question whether a close and hon- 
 est examination will establish the vahdity of the oft 
 repeated claim that a knowledge of algebra is essential 
 to the pursuit of the advanced studies, vocational or 
 general, which high-school pupils are likely to under- 
 take. To take a specific case again, I doubt whether it 
 can be shown that the subsequent studies and practical 
 pursuits of our women can be shown to constitute good 
 grounds for requiring the study of algebra on the part 
 of all high-school girls. 
 
 I am convinced that the prominence of algebra in 
 secondary education rests not so much upon faith in 
 its usefulness as a tool of further learning as upon the 
 belief in its value as a means of "mental training" 
 and upon the faith that somehow a knowledge of al- 
 gebra is essential to general culture. It is the grounds 
 of these beliefs and faiths which I think greatly need 
 examination by your committee. 
 
 It is not to be understood, of course, that I would 
 disparage these beliefs and faiths. It seems to me that 
 nearly all enduring beliefs of this character have ele- 
 
224 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 ments of validity. But it is important, as a means of 
 economizing energy in our age, that we periodically 
 examine and test these beliefs. An important step 
 in this direction is the study, where practicable, of 
 the history of their appearance. 
 
 Now there are certain important historical facts 
 which can, I think, be readily established regarding 
 the place of algebra in secondary education. 
 
 (o) The subject attained its development at a 
 period when there was a scarcity of material or 
 knowledge (outside of the classic languages) suit- 
 ably organized for purposes of secondary educa- 
 tion. 
 
 (b) Coincident with the rise of the American acad- 
 emies there existed a great interest in land sur- 
 veying; and along with the rise of high schools, 
 there developed a demand for knowledge of civil 
 engineering, and later, of mechanical and elec- 
 trical engineering. These conditions caused a 
 constant premium to be placed on the study of 
 mathematics by brighter students. 
 
 (c) When, after a long campaign, the rights of 
 women and girls to equal educational oppor- 
 tunities with men and boys were established, 
 during the nineteenth century, it was very 
 natvu*al that the "going" programs of education 
 of boys (with their stressing of algebra) should 
 be taken over by girls' schools, and should be 
 continued for mixed classes. 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 225 
 
 (d) Algebra is one of the easiest of secondary school 
 subjects to teach with a certain degree of appar- 
 ent effectiveness. Lessons and hard tasks can 
 be assigned easily, and a very duffer of a teacher 
 can make pupils work slavishly in this subject. 
 In most small high schools to-day it will be found 
 that the teacher with least special preparation 
 for his work is usually teaching algebra. The 
 case here is somewhat analogous to the prac- 
 tice of "electric" and "magnetic" healing by 
 "near" physicians. 
 
 (e) To parents, algebra seems often to suggest 
 mystical values. They see in it a study which 
 makes their children "work hard." Success in 
 this study seems closely related to success in 
 other studies and to success in life. Post hoc, 
 ergo propter hoc. 
 
 (f) It is probable that algebra constitutes an ex- 
 cellent hurdle whereby to test the powers of 
 those desiring to enter college. It seems prob- 
 able that, on the whole, young people who do 
 not succeed in algebra, whether for lack of abil- 
 ity, or owing to lack of will-power or motive, will 
 not succeed in other studies or in college work 
 generally. Personally, I am inclined to attrib- 
 ute to this "hurdle" quality of algebra its im- 
 portant position as a college entrance subject. 
 In other words, it is entirely possible that, even 
 if it could be demonstrated that for the large 
 
226 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 majority of students the study of algebra was 
 of no positive educational value whatever, 
 nevertheless, as a ready and effective means of 
 "sorting out" young men and women who 
 would probably succeed in college work, it 
 might still have value in a scheme of college 
 entrance requirements. This, on the assump- 
 tion, of course, that ability to "do" algebra 
 indicates ability to "do" much that college 
 courses require, and that weakness in algebra 
 suggests probable weakness along other lines. 
 
 It should be remembered in this connection 
 that even college men frequently use as an argu- 
 ment to prove the value of the study of algebra 
 the apparently obvious fact that success in life 
 in certain lines is often (perhaps commonly) 
 associated with ability in mathematical studies. 
 Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. 
 (g) The final historical reason to be noted as ac- 
 counting for the ascendancy of mathematical 
 studies in general education is foimd in the long 
 dominance in educational theory of the so- 
 called "faculty psychology." It is not necessary 
 to discuss here the hypotheses of that system 
 of psychology. You are well aware how insidi- 
 ous and persistent are some of the reasonings 
 which it has made possible. Many practical 
 men still talk, thoughtlessly, of teaching "ob- 
 servation," "honesty," "precision," "thor- 
 
fflGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 227 
 
 oughness," etc. They desire the schools to 
 train "the memory," "attention," "judgment," 
 "the reason," "honor," etc. 
 
 Now, it has always been dear that a pupil 
 wrestling successfully with a problem in alge- 
 bra is forced to make use of certain mental 
 powers in a systematic and forceful way. The 
 conclusion that the "general powers," of which 
 these certain specific phases are called into exer- 
 dse by the problem, are being trained thereby 
 is easy and natural in the light of the "faculty 
 psydiology." Of coiu-se few really thoughtful 
 teachers of mathematics are now carried away 
 with this outworn psychology, but the extent 
 to which its derivative effects in education 
 still persist is discoiu-aging to those of us who 
 desire to have educational thinking advance 
 beyond its present mediaeval stages. 
 I need not enter here into a discussion of that de- 
 fense of the study of algebra as a secondary school 
 subject which is based upon the supposed relation of 
 that study to the general culture of our period. As 
 you perhaps know, my interest in the general high 
 school centers chiefly in the efficiency of that school 
 as a means of general or liberal education. Voca- 
 tional schools we shall have, eventually, in great num- 
 ber and variety. But the general high school ought to 
 remain chiefly a school giving personal culture and 
 training for citizenship, with opportunity to elect a 
 
228 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 few studies which promise to have an "instrumental" 
 or " pre vocational " value in vocational studies or in 
 careers subsequently to be entered upon. 
 
 From this point of view, I feel that the high school 
 should be greatly improved as an agency of general cul- 
 ture and of training for citizenship. It should give 
 the pupil widened vision, enhanced appreciation, and 
 varied understanding, as to the important things of the 
 world in which he lives. My chief complaint against 
 Latin and Algebra (both of which hold monopo- 
 listic positions in the secondary-school curricula of 
 to-day) is that they do not, as taught, effectively min- 
 ister to these ends. It is questionable whether, under 
 present conditions, they can be made to do so. If 
 algebra could be taught so as to give the average pupil 
 some vital insight into the extent to which quantita- 
 tive thinking enters into and determines modern Ufe, 
 it would be a great gain. 
 
 My general interest in the questions which you have 
 under consideration arises partly from the fact that 
 algebra now occupies so important a place in the studies 
 of the high-school pupil, both as a condition of gradua- 
 tion, and as a condition of getting into college. Either 
 the aims of so important a subject should be more 
 clearly defined and their value demonstrated, or else 
 it should be placed on a strictly elective basis, both in 
 school and in schemes of college admission require- 
 ments. Does not algebra now occupy something of the 
 place of the dog in the manger as regards the programs 
 
HIGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 229 
 
 of many students, especially girls? Understand, I 
 would deprive no girl of opportunity to study it if she 
 desired; my protest is only against the prescription, 
 with its possible resulting exclusion of more valuable 
 studies (for her). 
 
 If I had a free hand in administering a secondary 
 school, I should, in the Ught of my present lack of 
 knowledge and my unbeliefs: 
 
 (a) Make algebra (and other mathematical studies) 
 elective or optional, both for graduation and for 
 admission to college. 
 (6) Devise courses in mathematics for all students 
 preparing for engineering callings, or for other 
 vocations where such studies demonstrably 
 "fimction," these courses to be administered in 
 accordance with exacting standards of scholar- 
 ship, and to involve very many studies of the 
 application of mathematical principles to practice 
 (suggested by the "Perry Movement"); 
 (c) Seek to develop a "culture" course in mathe- 
 matics which should prove attractive to students 
 seeking to inform themselves about the world in 
 which they live; this to include some account of 
 the evolution of mathematics as a human tool 
 and means of interpretation, as well as a survey 
 of modern appUcations of mathematics to the 
 understanding of the universe and to the work of 
 the world. Just as many of us can enjoy and 
 respond to operas, epics, and great paintings 
 
230 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 without being artists in these fields, so I think 
 
 many could be led to appreciate the place of 
 
 mathematics without becoming mathematicians. 
 
 I trust you will appreciate that this is written in no 
 
 critical or destructive spirit. The questions suggested 
 
 here seem to me fundamentally applicable to almost all 
 
 the traditional subjects of secondary education as now 
 
 organized. I should greatly appreciate the criticisms of 
 
 yourself or of any member of your committee to what 
 
 is here set forth. 
 
XIX 
 
 To a Teacher of Phyaica and Chemistry: 
 
 Along with many other persons interested in the 
 physical sciences, you are doubtless disappointed at 
 the place that has finally been given to chemistry and 
 physics in modem secondary education. These sub- 
 jects are distinctly not popular in the modem high 
 school. They are taken in a perfunctory spirit, chiefly 
 by pupils anxious to meet college-entrance require- 
 ments in them. The work has become exceedingly 
 formal and imattractive. Many of us are convinced 
 that our high-school graduates who have had one or 
 both subjects have had their outlook upon the world 
 of physical phenomena modified only to a very slight 
 extent thereby. It is not apparent that such students 
 possess, as a consequence of their study, any extensive 
 appreciation of what we mean by the scientific method. 
 They are usually quite helpless in endeavoring to 
 interpret applications of physical science to the prac- 
 tical affairs of life. They have dealt so long with ap- 
 plications of a very abstract character, through formal 
 and technical work in the laboratory, that the whole 
 subject seems to have become more or less distasteful, 
 and to be associated with problems that are unsolved 
 and, to a large extent, incapable of solution. It may 
 be that this characterization is somewhat less true of 
 
233 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 chemistry than of physics, but I believe that it ap- 
 plies to both subjects in large measure, and that it is 
 becoming increasingly true of chemistry. 
 
 Now, this outcome of science teaching in our high 
 schools constitutes an interesting contrast to both the 
 hopes and the fears of educators of a few decades ago. 
 At that time, there was a royal contest in the field of 
 education between the advocates of the sciences and 
 the advocates of the so-called "humanities." Men 
 who believed that the classical education constituted, 
 by long odds, the most valuable phase of general, or 
 cultural education, were apprehensive lest the in- 
 creasingly popular scientific studies should gradually 
 bring about the disappearance of the humanities. They 
 looked upon the science studies as beirig taken chiefly 
 by people interested in the "bread-and-butter" as- 
 pects of education. They were frequently referred 
 to in terms closely resembling those now applied to 
 the so-called "vocational studies" in high school and 
 college. 
 
 Gradually, however, the science studies have be- 
 come more technical and abstract in character, and 
 because of the increasing difficulty of college-entrance 
 requirements there has been a tendency to place these 
 subjects in the last two years of the high-school course. 
 Both physics and chemistry are usually now electives, 
 although of course students preparing for technical in- 
 stitutions of higher learning must usually take physics. 
 
 I believe that educators generally who look broadly 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 233 
 
 into the field of secondary education must experience 
 a sense of disappointment as to the results now achieved 
 through science teaching, particularly in physics and 
 chemistry. I do not believe that the results can be 
 described adequately by the word "culture" or by the 
 words "mental discipline." The college, in endeavor- 
 ing to define and elaborate its entrance requirements 
 has, as I see it, steriUzed both subjects, and has de- 
 prived them largely of educational value, at least to 
 students not going to college. There are signs that 
 science teachers in some quarters are taking serious 
 note of this condition, and are considering possibili- 
 ties of reconstructive work. 
 
 Do not understand my view as implying that we are 
 at liberty to blame the colleges wholly for the condi- 
 tion of affairs which now exists. In fact, in this as in 
 other fields, I am disposed to blame the colleges far 
 less than I am the teaching body in any particular 
 field of instruction in our high schools. The colleges 
 have probably done the best that they could with the 
 knowledge which they possessed. They have in- 
 creased, as they were bound to do, the definiteness and 
 exacting character of their requirements, but they 
 have done so largely because the teachers in these fields 
 had not anticipated them in raising standards. If 
 to-day American colleges were to take hands off, and to 
 give the teachers of physics and chemistry in colleges 
 and high schools opportunity to teach what, and with 
 what degree of effectiveness they pleased, I can believe 
 
234 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 that results would not, in the near future, be substan- 
 tially different from those obtained at present, except 
 that possibly the work offered in upper classes would 
 become somewhat more superficial in character. 
 
 In other words, I doubt if we yet possess an ade- 
 quate pedagogy of science teaching with which to 
 guide our efforts in constructive work in these fields. 
 We still adhere to the notion that to teach physics 
 means teaching at the outset certain principles, laws, 
 and methods applicable to the whole range of the sub- 
 ject. Our teaching tends constantly to run to drilling 
 pupils in abstract principles, because these are the 
 features of the study which seem to the adult mind 
 basal and most universally applicable. It is entirely 
 possible that in the early stages of the development of 
 science teaching, this view was, in a measure, soundly 
 pedagogical. When available knowledge in any par- 
 ticular field was very limited, and when the absolutely 
 new things were the laws and principles which had just 
 been evolved, then such teaching had a popular value 
 and significance. 
 
 Nevertheless, I believe that any attempt to adhere 
 now to this general method of approach and organiza- 
 tion of subject-matter is destined to give us just the 
 kind of inadequate response which we now obtain, and 
 to lead to a perfunctory attitude on the part of the 
 large majority of pupils. 
 
 The fundamental difficulty, here as elsewhere in the 
 field of secondary education, is that we have not yet 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 235 
 
 clearly defined the purposes to be kept in view in our 
 teaching. Broadly speaking, it is not the function of 
 the high school to teach physics or chemistry, but to 
 train and instruct its pupils, among other things, 
 through and by means of physics and chemistry to- 
 wards useful ends. What are these? That is the ques- 
 tion that has not yet been satisfactorily answered; and 
 until it is answered, our attention given to subject- 
 matter alone will tend constantly to ignore the require- 
 ments of the pupils which our schools receive. I wish 
 it were practicable for your association, and others like 
 it, to devote a certain amount of attention to analyzing, 
 in the light of the best knowledge of the day, the prac- 
 ticable educational purposes which for given groups 
 of pupils it is possible for the high school to realize, 
 and then on the basis of this to take such material 
 from the fields of chemistry and physics as might be 
 worth while. 
 
 Occasionally, it is true, our schools do endeavor to 
 state their aims otherwise than in terms of the mastery 
 of so much subject-matter. For example, I suppose 
 most teachers of science believe that it is important 
 for their pupils to be trained in what is vaguely called 
 "the scientific method." The idea involved here, I 
 imagine, is that pupils shall be trained to appreciate 
 the value of dispassionate and exact approach to the 
 phenomena of nature, to apply instruments of precision, 
 and to deal with and in exact descriptions, including 
 the use of quantitative standards, wherever practicable. 
 
236 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Now, as generally stated, the desire to train a boy 
 or girl living in the twentieth century in scientific 
 method is certainly laudable. What we have not suf- 
 ficiently ascertained is both the means of applying 
 scientific method in any field of human activity, and 
 the methods by which a youth may be trained in it. 
 You will notice here the same mistake that is made 
 in the uncritical application of the traditions of so- 
 called " mental discipline." It has been assumed that a 
 pupil trained in one field in scientific method would 
 naturally and inevitably apply his knowledge and 
 intellectual standards in other fields; even those not 
 closely related. It is by no means certain that this is 
 the case. A pupil may be very elaborately trained in 
 the field of physical knowledge, and yet approach 
 problems of political economy, history, or of his daily 
 life, in almost any direction, in a very uncritical spirit 
 and quite without a keen sense of the meaning and 
 value of scientific method. 
 
 Again, it is sometimes stated that one of the chief 
 purposes in the teaching of both physics and chemistry 
 is to give the youth a grasp of the principles and laws 
 which may later find application in a variety of fields 
 of human knowledge. A student will eventually study, 
 for example, the field of electrical engineering. In a 
 high school he can obtain, in a comparatively brief 
 time and with a limited expenditure of energy, a 
 knowledge of fundamental laws of the application of 
 electricity. He has thus learned, as it were, the alpha- 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 237 
 
 bet of the technical knowledge which he is later to 
 acquire. This contention, too, seems to possess merit, 
 but it breaks down in its actual applications in a 
 variety of directions. For example, there is very little 
 evidence that a high-school girl trained in chemistry 
 and physics as now taught is capable of making any 
 conscious appUcation of these to the vast variety of 
 problems which confront her in the household. It may 
 be doubted, indeed, whether for the average mind, at 
 any rate, there is any such thing as an easy or natural 
 appUcation of scientific subjects, except as that ap- 
 plication is taught pari passu with the learning of the 
 principles themselves. 
 
 Assuming that you agree with me that teachers of 
 physics and chemistry now find themselves in a dif- 
 ficulty, in view of the conditions imposed upon them 
 by the colleges and in view of the condition of carry- 
 ing out experimental work in pedagogy in our high 
 schools, you will naturally inquire what constructive 
 suggestions I have to offer. 
 
 The first suggestion I would make is this: Almost 
 any high-school teacher, or group of high-school teach- 
 ers, in view of the knowledge which they possess, 
 could elaborate in detail a study along the following 
 lines: 
 
 Assuming that in high schools teachers were en- 
 tirely free of college entrance requirements and were 
 able to give to physics and chemistry the amount of 
 time now usually allotted to these subjects through 
 
238 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 two years, what manner of instruction should they 
 employ and what methods, if they desired to accom- 
 plish one or more of the following objects: — 
 
 1. To give to their pupils a broad and genuine ap- 
 preciation of what the developments of physics 
 and chemistry mean in modem life, using for this 
 purpose current magazine literature and con- 
 temporary books, with a view to showing the 
 accomplishments of engineering and other pro- 
 fessions wherein these sciences find appUcation. 
 
 2. To give to these pupils, also, a quite definite 
 appreciation of what is meant by the scientific 
 method as this finds exemplification in the exact 
 terminology, the testing of laws, the use of quan- 
 titative standards, and the researches in pure 
 sciences such as astronomy, physics, chemistry, 
 geology, mineralogy, and in such applied fields 
 of science as mechanical engineering, electrical 
 engineering, lens manufacture, the construction 
 of halls, mining, manufacture of food products, 
 manufacture of chemicals, etc. 
 
 3. To extend their experience in interpreting the 
 phenomena of environing nature, with more or 
 less recourse to scientific principles and laws as 
 these are found in books of reference, this work 
 to be done by taking any given phenomena and 
 carrying the interpretations and elucidations of 
 the book as far as practicable. Such common 
 phenomena as the tides, the use of steam as a 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 239 
 
 source of power, the applications of electricity, 
 
 the movements of the planets, photography, the 
 
 preparation of foods by cooking, such natural 
 
 manifestations as earthquakes, volcanoes, and 
 
 the like would all serve this purpose. 
 
 You will observe that under these three heads there 
 
 has been an attempt to formulate three purposes that 
 
 might be reaUzed through science instruction, and 
 
 which are assumed, tentatively, to have a social value. 
 
 These purposes are: 
 
 1. That the pupil should comprehend the world in 
 which he lives as this has been affected and modi- 
 fied by scientific knowledge in these fields. 
 
 2. That the pupil should come to some realization 
 of what is meant by scientific method as this is 
 applied variously. 
 
 3. That the pupil should have experience in and dis- 
 position towards the scientific interpretation (as 
 far as his available powers and knowledge per- 
 mit) of the phenomena which impress him in his 
 environment. 
 
 I strongly beheve that if, among our science teachers 
 to-day, questions like the above were defined in some 
 such fashion as that suggested here, a formulation of 
 materials and methods for their tentative realization 
 would produce a substantial advance upon present 
 methods of science instruction. I grant you that many 
 of the things suggested here are quite opposed to the 
 underlying traditions of the teaching of physics and 
 
240 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 chemistry as controlling to-day, but I make the sugges- 
 tions in the conviction that the teaching of physics and 
 chemistry is even now largely bankrupt, from the 
 standpoint of the high school. If it were not for the 
 requirements of the colleges, I do not believe that our 
 present physics and chemistry teaching would stand 
 the slightest show of surviving in the competition of 
 studies as these are now found in our high schools. 
 
 There is one step that might be taken in the very 
 near futiu-e, and through which I believe it would be 
 practicable to demonstrate some of the things that are 
 here suggested. I think high-school teachers could well 
 afford to stand together in proposing to the colleges 
 that the requirements of the latter should be so shaped 
 and reduced, as to number of units, as to enable high 
 schools to do almost all of their strictly preparatory 
 work during the last two years, thus leaving the first 
 two years of the hijgh-school period measurably free for 
 education without specific reference to the future goal 
 of the pupil, whether that is to be college or a specific 
 vocation. I am impressed with the belief that if this 
 proposal were made definitely to the colleges, they 
 would respond by reducing the number of units within 
 which they would find it desirable to make specific re- 
 quirements to eight or ten (twelve at most), which 
 would have the effect of freeing the first two years for 
 constructive and experimental work. 
 
 In these first two years, then, I would give at least 
 one year (two could be had for this purpose if an at- 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 241 
 
 tractive program were prepared) to what I should call 
 "general science." K one year only were available, I 
 should divide this about equally between physical 
 science and biological science. Within the field of phys- 
 ical science, and taking due account of the relative 
 immaturity of the pupils, I should oflfer material de- 
 signed to achieve the ends suggested above. I believe 
 the experiment, if approached in a proper spirit, would 
 produce results amply justifying itself. 
 
 Another method of approach which I believe pos- 
 sesses great merit is that now being followed by a con- 
 siderable number of high-school teachers of an ad- 
 venturous disposition, and especially in those States 
 where the higher institutions of learning are disposed 
 to be least exacting in specific ways as to entrance 
 requirements. I refer to several attempts being made 
 to teach both physics and chemistry more largely 
 through their applications rather than on the basis of 
 definitions and principles, illustrated by a few ^ery 
 artificial experiments and the briefest possible amount 
 of interpretation and descriptive material. You are, 
 of course, aware of the magazine articles and tentative 
 attempts at textbook writing in which this line of ap- 
 proach is set forth. I believe it is not impracticable to 
 make this work so interesting and attractive that pupils 
 trained in it will come to the higher institutions of 
 learning at least as well prepared as those from the 
 more conservative high schools, to meet the needs of 
 these institutions. 
 
242 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDIJCATION 
 
 The reason why I favor this approach, even though 
 it seems somewhat artificial, is that I am convinced 
 that pupils taught to approach physics and chemistry 
 largely through their applications are going to be 
 trained much more definitely in scientific method and 
 in interpreting natural phenomena than pupils trained 
 in the historic way, and I believe also that as a by- 
 product of such training, such pupils will come to have 
 a larger appreciation of the part played by scientific 
 knowledge in life generally than those trained in the 
 methods now generally in vogue. 
 
 I do not contend for a moment that the ends sug- 
 gested above are in any sense final. You will notice 
 that practically no reference is made to the use of 
 science as a means of later vocational attainment. 
 This conforms to my general belief that in the general, 
 or so-caUed "cultural" high school, it is primarily the 
 function of education to give breadth of view, and 
 especially a wide appreciation, rather than purely 
 technical equipment. In fact, outside of the fields of 
 language (and that largely English language) and pos- 
 sibly mathematics and drawing, I do not believe it is 
 the function of the general school to attempt to give a 
 technical equipment for vocational life at all. I am 
 very doubtful if mathematics and drawing should be 
 prescribed in any school, even where offered as tech- 
 nical tools, because, after all, they apply only to a very 
 limited number of actual callings. You can readily see 
 that physics and chemistry as instruments for voca- 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 243 
 
 tional application affect only a very limited number of 
 the occupations of life, and consequently we have no 
 justification for teaching them for vocational purposes 
 to any considerable number of pupils. Let technical 
 training in the use of these sciences as instruments 
 towards professional or other vocational power come 
 later. 
 
 On the other hand, from the standpoint of a liberal 
 education, I believe that all of our pupils should come to 
 appreciate the ends described above. All of our young 
 people should be led to inform themselves as to the 
 significance of the various developments of science in 
 modem life. They can readily be taught to appreciate 
 what scientific method is, although not necessarily to 
 apply it in these fields themselves. Furthermore, they 
 can be trained, within limits, to approach phenomena 
 in their environment in a more or less scientific spirit, 
 and be led to comprehend the larger possibilities of 
 scientific interpretation that lie behind, in case they 
 desire to follow up any phase of science. 
 
XX 
 
 To a Teacher of Biological Science: 
 
 The biological sciences (whether separately con- 
 sidered as natural history, botany, and biology, or in 
 a general elementary sense as biology) have had a 
 place in secondary education almost from the beginning 
 of the introduction of science. Unlike some of the other 
 subjects, however, the biological sciences seem to ex- 
 hibit less fixity as subjects of secondary education. 
 They change or are replaced by other phases. Botany 
 and zoology have from time to time appeared in various 
 forms, and have disappeared again from the curriculum. 
 Even biology as it was formerly taught, with its great 
 emphasis on microscopic forms and " the dissection of 
 the crayfish," has been replaced in our more progressive 
 schools by a much more modern biology which seems 
 to possess large pedagogic vitality. For some reason or 
 other, college authorities in shaping entrance require- 
 ments have had far less influence in determining in 
 detail the character of biological science teaching than 
 almost any other subject. 
 
 There are, I suppose, several reasons for this condi- 
 tion of affairs. In the first place, biological science has, 
 itself, during the last half-century undergone many 
 transformations. In the second place, the laboratory 
 technique has been necessarily more elaborate and 
 
TEACHER OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 245 
 
 less capable of fixation in "forty experiments" or 
 other limited sphere. Again, graduates of the biological 
 departments in our universities, even when they be- 
 come settled as teachers of this subject in our high 
 schools, seem to possess still a considerable quantity of 
 the spirit of scientific inquiry and research, a condition 
 not at all so characteristic of the science teachers in 
 other fields. Finally, the opportimities for teaching 
 biological science through its applications in contem- 
 porary economic life and activity seem to have been 
 more abimdant and available. 
 
 It must be said, however, that like other subjects 
 constituting the curriculum of secondary education, the 
 biological sciences are, even yet, by no means clearly 
 defined as to their aims. There seems to be at present 
 a widespread disposition to insist upon their value in 
 connection with the future economic activities of the 
 learners. This, however, is, as I see it, a broken reed 
 upon which to rely, because of the comparatively 
 limited appKcation of biological science in the large 
 variety of occupations which men and women are 
 destined to follow. Even in the field of agriculture, I 
 suspect that this is so, notwithstanding the common 
 .assumption to the contrary. 
 
 It is my belief that biological science, as an essential 
 constituent of the cxu-riculum of secondary education, 
 will find its final justification in two directions, first 
 in giving all boys and girls an outlook upon the world, 
 as interpreted through biological science, which as a 
 
246 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 part of general culture will be demonstrably worth 
 while, and second in giving to all persons who must 
 stand in a utilizing or consuming relationship to life a 
 varied and full appreciation of the applications of 
 biological knowledge to the enormous range of pro- 
 ductive activities as to the products of which each one 
 of us stands in an important relation as consumer. It 
 must be apparent to any one that we stand only, as 
 yet, on the threshold of the practical application of 
 biological science to such fields of human activity as 
 the breeding of useful animals, the eUmination or re- 
 duction of animal life injurious to human beings, and 
 in the conservation of human health. The future is 
 destined to see in these fields the development of 
 an enormous number of specialists, each well informed 
 in his own sphere of activity. The average man or 
 woman cannot attain to any great extent of special- 
 ized knowledge in these fields, but he can be trained 
 to have a very useful and valuable appreciative atti- 
 tude towards the work of specialists, and to be able 
 especially to put a premium upon that work which is 
 done by persons most completely equipped for their 
 work. 
 
 Personally, I am very doubtful as to the wisdom of 
 attempts, in general high-school courses, to introduce 
 vocational aims into biological teaching. I think that 
 in nine cases out of ten we shall be endeavoring to have 
 pupils develop in this direction for whom the subject 
 will have, finally, no useful application. Again, I ques- 
 
TEACHER OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 247 
 
 tion very much whether the vocational aim can be 
 realized through any teaching without a large degree 
 of concentration on very specific applications and the 
 working out of projects closely related to the vocation 
 itself. At present it seems to me almost absurd to un- 
 dertake to help in the preparation of future farmers 
 through a course in general biology. To me the im- 
 portant thing in this direction is that, at the proper 
 age, a boy should begin to study the actual problems of 
 farming, and in this connection he shoxdd be set a 
 large amount of work in actual farming in which he, 
 himself, shall achieve definite results. In achieving 
 these results, he will necessarily have occasion to 
 utilize the results of scientific research in biological 
 fields, and it is here that he must obtain his insight 
 into biological science as a tool of vocational activity. 
 I would separate quite completely the study of bio- 
 logical science with a vocational motive from such 
 study for general or cultural purposes. 
 
 To make biological science study "function" for the 
 latter purpose, it seems to me essential that we should 
 define a series of practicable goals, and adapt our ma- 
 terial and methods accordingly. For example, as in- 
 dicated above, I believe that a certain amount of bio- 
 logical science teaching should have as its distinctive 
 purpose the training of young people to be consumers, 
 in the scientific sense. To this end, the contributions of 
 our biological knowledge in making demands for pure 
 foods, genuinely remedial measures in medicine, and 
 
246 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the like, should have consideration. Again, I would 
 have biological science contribute to an enlargement 
 of the pupil's comprehension of modern life by an in- 
 tellectual consideration through all forms of popular 
 literature, of modern developments in agriculture, 
 medicine, forestry, fisheries, etc., based upon this 
 knowledge. Then, too, it would be entirely practicable 
 to give the pupil an appreciation of the meaning of 
 scientific method as applied in the world of pure sci- 
 ence as well as practical affairs, and more particularly 
 as such method applies in biological science, where such 
 instruments of precision as the microscope, means 
 for the breeding of bacteria, statistical determination 
 of evolutionary change, the destructive effects of anti- 
 septics, etc., can be considered. 
 
 The biological teacher in the present crisis in sec- 
 ondary education has a peculiar opportunity. Less 
 than the teacher of almost any other subject is he 
 hampered by the effects of tradition. His manuals, 
 textbooks, and apparatus have assumed no final 
 fixed forms. The colleges in their entrance require- 
 ments still allow a very large degree of latitude. Pub- 
 lic opinion, I think, favors quite generally, in our high 
 schools, at least one year of biological science if it can 
 demonstrably be taught so as to achieve positive re- 
 sults. In small high schools, I should distinctly favor 
 one half year of biological science as a part of a gen- 
 eral science course (the other half being given to phys- 
 ical science) ; and in large high schools I should favor 
 
TEACHER OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 249 
 
 the addition of an elective year of biological science as 
 that has developed in our most progressive schools. 
 
 It seems to me, however, that biological teachers 
 must not rest content with their achievements to date. 
 They must strive to keep their subjects flexible and in 
 a condition suitable for further growth. I believe it 
 would be well for them to endeavor to stand together 
 in their study of the vaUd aims which should control 
 in teaching, endeavoring as far as practicable to state 
 those aims otherwise than simply in terms of the mas- 
 tery of so much knowledge, either in pure fields of bio- 
 logical science or in fields where biological science is 
 largely applied. 
 
 Again, biological teachers can well afiPord to mani- 
 fest less of a disposition, apparent in some quarters, 
 excessively to undervalue the other subjects of high- 
 school instruction. I have been impressed, myself, 
 with the fact that outside of the classics we find no 
 teachers who tend to overvalue their own specialty so 
 much as teachers in your field. 
 
 Also, I would suggest to high-school teachers of 
 biology that they continue to do, in even greater meas- 
 ure, what many of them have so generously done in 
 the past, and that is, to take a constructive interest in 
 science teaching in the grades. Educational opinion 
 is now largely shaping to the end that the so-called 
 "nature study," or elementary science up to about the 
 sixth grade shall deal largely with life phenomena as 
 these are found in the environment of the children. 
 
250 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 The success of teaching in this field is determined very 
 largely by the pedagogical wisdom of the means and 
 methods adopted. It is a very mistaken policy for high- 
 school teachers of science to endeavor to have this work 
 so shaped as to constitute a foundation for later high- 
 school work. This is carrying the principle of control 
 from above to harmful extremes. Nature study in the 
 grades must have its own aims, which are to be found 
 largely, in connection with the development of chil- 
 dren of from six to twelve years of age, in their envi- 
 ronment as that exists. 
 
XXI 
 
 To a Teacher of General Science : ^ 
 
 Many of us educators, having regard to the ideals, 
 appreciations, tastes, insights, and usable knowledge 
 which should constitute the tangible outcome of sci- 
 ence teaching when this is given for purposes of "lib- 
 eral" education, are greatly dissatisfied with the re- 
 sults of science teaching as now conducted in our high 
 schools. We are, therefore, wondering whether a new 
 type of course, designed for younger students, might 
 not be devised which would give what we all vaguely 
 feel to be possible as the "Uberalizing" results of sci- 
 ence teaching. 
 
 In this letter, and, I think, in the discussion of this 
 question generally, we are thinking of the education 
 of boys and girls of from twelve to sixteen years of 
 age, and, on the whole, in grades seven to ten inclusive 
 of the public schools (the last two years of the elemen- 
 tary school and the first two years of the high school). 
 We are thinking of these children in large numbers. 
 They have the interests, curiosities, abilities, and needs 
 of average children of these ages. Some, dwelling 
 in cities, are, perhaps excessively, stimulated by the 
 artificial noises, sights, mechanisms, pictures, social 
 contacts, and pressures of civilized urban society. 
 1 This paper was first published in School and Society. 
 
252 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Some have their naive curiosities too early sated, and, 
 in an intellectual hothouse atmosphere, these grow 
 over-soon into the sophistications of prematurely ripe 
 little adults. Some, in village or in country, live 
 amidst a wealth of natural phenomena, but are as- 
 sociated with no interpreters. A few — and among 
 them some of the best minds — early acquire reading 
 habits, and find much satisfaction in verbal ap- 
 proaches to science — reading the descriptions and 
 interpretations made by others, but remaining incuri- 
 ous as to the objective realities themselves. Many can, 
 and, even with meager opportunities do, become per- 
 manently interested in the utilitarian aspects of sci- 
 ence — those discoveries and applications leading to 
 the harnessing of water, steam, and electricity; to the 
 navigation of water and air; to successful combat with 
 tigers, floods, and bacteria; to the exploitation of 
 underground minerals, forest, woods, and soil fe- 
 cundity; to breeding better plants, animals, and men; 
 and to promoting defense, security, and justice. 
 
 We are thinking, too, that these youths are to be 
 educated in and for an age and country in which we 
 have attained relatively complete, trustworthy, and 
 accessible explanations of the almost uncountable 
 phenomena which, to the natural senses, or to the 
 senses as reinforced and sensitized by instruments of 
 precision, appeal to us from the skies above, the soil 
 and rocks beneath, the air about, and from our sus- 
 taining bodies, our guiding minds, and the human 
 
TEACHER OF GENERAL SCIENCE 253 
 
 groups that make our society. They are to be educated 
 in and for a world in which man has made of his ana- 
 lyzed and tested knowledge and his scientific method, 
 means of controlling natural forces and material 
 resources towards his own multiplication, security, 
 health, comfort, and spiritual uplift. 
 
 In a somewhat vague and general way we are pur- 
 posing that, by means of education in general science, 
 we shall inspire and assist these youths that they may, 
 in appropriate degree, take satisfaction in compre- 
 hending in their scientific aspects those manifestations 
 of nature, on the one hand, and those works of man, 
 on the other, by which they are environed. Because of 
 this comprehension we have faith that they will lead 
 better and fuller lives themselves, and will be more 
 companionable and useful members of the larger so- 
 ciety in which they are to live as adults. Then, too, we 
 expect that each one will, in a measure, derive from 
 these studies some form of specific knowledge, power, 
 and interest that will guide and reinforce him when he 
 comes to. do his share of the world's needed work. 
 
 But vague aspiration and aims, useful as they are 
 in their way, will not make educational programs for 
 us, any more than philosophy will bake bread. It 
 seems to me that, notwithstanding the widespread in- 
 terest in general science instruction in recent years, an 
 interest which has expressed itself in the writing of 
 many articles and the compiUng of numerous books, 
 we are still not within sight of the promised land as 
 
254 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 regards a moderately complete, definite, consistent, 
 and concretely illustrated theory of the aims of such 
 instruction. And, for my part, it seems hopeless to 
 expect any effective organization of the subject, or any 
 considerable discovery of successful methods of teach- 
 ing it, until we shall have such a theory so stated and 
 exemplified that the average educator can understand 
 it, experiment with it, and test its results in operation. 
 Here and there we find very attractive fragments of 
 such a theory or hypothesis of aim, just as here and 
 there we find very suggestive instances of good sub- 
 ject-matter, organization, and method suited to gen- 
 eral science instruction. But all these are only sug- 
 gestive; they are not conclusive because they are so 
 fragmentary, so imrelated to a comprehensive theory 
 of education, and so lacking in definite orientation 
 towards a larger synthesis of the principles of educa- 
 tional aims. Hence my conviction that those who can 
 do constructive thinking must work towards an ample, 
 extensively analyzed, and concretely illustrated work- 
 ing hypothesis of aims for general science teaching, 
 while those of us who cannot do such constructive 
 work must set up and persistently maintain a de- 
 mand — an insistently shouted demand — that some- 
 body shall supply such working hypothesis. 
 
 May I, therefore, in addition to crying aloud this 
 demand, essay also some constructive suggestions as 
 to how I think work in the making of a comprehensive 
 hypothesis as to aim, and, thereafter, in formulating 
 
TEACHER OF GENERAL SCIENCE 255 
 
 courses of instruction and devising methods of instruc- 
 tion, must proceed? ■^ 
 
 It goes without saying that we must comprehend, 
 describe, and classify the wealth of natural phenomena 
 and of practical applications of science which are to 
 constitute the materials and means of this study. 
 
 It also goes without saying among modern educators 
 that we must study (in the profounder scientific sense) 
 the native capacities, the acquired interests and 
 powers, and the probable needs (cultural and civic, as 
 well as immediately practical) of the children whom 
 we are to teach. 
 
 But we must go farther. We must define and test 
 certain theses, negative as well as positive, as to educa- 
 tion in general science for youths from twelve to six- 
 teen years of age. As examples, I submit the following: 
 
 1. The primary purpose of general science instruc- 
 tion for youths from twelve to sixteen years of 
 age should be to elucidate, to explain, and to in- 
 terpret, in degree appropriate to the youth and 
 modest demands of these learners, and by means 
 of genuine and vivid experience, the important 
 facts and simple principles of accessible natural 
 phenomena and of significant and easily com- 
 prehended applications of science to human well- 
 being. 
 
 2. Secondary purposes, which are to be definitely 
 subordinated in teaching processes, and to be 
 realized, if at all, only as by-products, are: 
 
256 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 (a) The intellectual grasp of underlying principles 
 and laws; (6) the mastery, as working ideal and 
 specific habit (as opposed to appreciation and 
 intellectual comprehension) of any department of 
 scientific method; and (c) the mastery for use in 
 a practical or vocational sense (as distinguished 
 from development of appreciation) of scientific 
 knowledge or technique. 
 The controlling aim in general science instruction, 
 then, may be otherwise described as a phase of edu- 
 cation for intellectual nurture or feeding-in, and for the 
 satisfaction of natural or easily stimulated instincts 
 to know, to understand, to appreciate. The results of 
 this teaching are not to be measured in terms of capac- 
 ity to give out, to express, to do. 
 
 3. The scope or range of natural phenomena and 
 cases of applied science to be included in a pro- 
 gram of general science instruction should be great 
 — theoretically as great as all the available re- 
 sources of human knowledge, and limited only 
 by the capacity of the learner and the acces- 
 sibility of the materials. 
 But for practical purposes the subject is here re- 
 stricted to the phenomena and applications of natural 
 science as ordinarily understood, reserving the fields 
 of mental and social science for corresponding treat- 
 ment as separate studies. 
 
 But while general science will use phenomena and 
 applications from the fields described and delimited by 
 
TEACHER OF GENERAL SCIENCE 257 
 
 such terms as "physics," "mechanics," "optics," 
 "chemistry," "biology," "botany," "bacteriology." 
 "astronomy," "geology," "mineralogy," "meteorol- 
 ogy/' "physiology," "anthropology," "agriculture," 
 "photography," "dietetics," "hygiene," and "ani- 
 mal eugenics," — to name but a few, — it should pur- 
 posely and consistently ignore these historic classi- 
 fications made by mature and trained minds, and even 
 the terms describing such classifications. General 
 science must have its own working classifications and 
 categories, but these must be based upon other con- 
 siderations, such as native and acquired interests of 
 learners, accessibiUty of the phenomena and applica- 
 tions to be studied, and the local and contemporary 
 significance and appeal of these phenomena and ap- 
 plications. 
 
 Much study and experimentation will be required 
 to make these working classifications. For example, the 
 naive curiosity of the learner — the desire to know for 
 its own sake — will be a secure basis for some groupings ; 
 while the desire to control or to use will do for others. 
 The near and the concrete — if not so near and so con- 
 crete as to be commonplace — will often prove pref- 
 erable to the remote and the abstract, but not invari- 
 ably. Tigers in India, volcanoes in Alaska, comets, 
 and the origin of man may prove to be comparatively 
 vital and useful topics; the contemporary and novel 
 — aeroplanes, big howitzers, a new canal — may be 
 more available than the remote in point of time at 
 
258 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 certain stages of interest; while at others the North 
 American ice cap, the carboniferous age, the Roman 
 galley, and the prehistoric arts may be best to hold the 
 attention. 
 4. The whole program of general science instruction 
 must be very extensive, to the end that from the 
 standpoint of any one school or teiacher or grade 
 or pupil it may be almost indefinitely flexible. 
 It should be so administered that, while a quanti- 
 tative requirement may be imposed as to the 
 amount of time which shall be given to it or even 
 as to the general amount of ground that must be 
 covered for credit recognition, this quantitative 
 requirement must never be carried to a point in- 
 volving the assumption that any two schools or 
 grades, or even pupils, shall necessarily have 
 traversed the same ground, handled the same 
 topics or units, or even sampled the same larger 
 classifications. As in the cases of literature, songs, 
 and pictures, the available riches of science for 
 purposes of comprehension and appreciation are 
 far beyond the reach of any one pupil, teacher, 
 grade, or even school. Hence, while the whole 
 available wealth should be made as easily acces- 
 sible as leaflet, picture, mechanical device, and per- 
 sonal contact can render possible, nevertheless 
 each learning agency — school, grade, teacher, 
 pupil — should have wide option, subject to cer- 
 tain general requirements as to quantity of par- 
 
TEACHER OF GENERAL SCIENCE 259 
 
 ticipation and quality of learning, to be hereafter 
 determined. 
 
 5. The last thesis is conditioned on the further the- 
 sis, implicit in (1) and (2) above, that in the 
 present state of educational knowledge it is un- 
 wise, harmful, and even impertinent for educa- 
 tional theorists to delimit particular divisions of 
 general science, or principles or topics therein, 
 as being of relatively superior importance. The 
 criteria for such selection or delimitation, it is 
 here contended, do not yet exist. At any rate, 
 the burden of proof rests on the person propos- 
 ing such selection as preliminary to such delim- 
 itation, to establish the validity of the educa- 
 tional aims in the light of which he would make 
 such selection. 
 
 6. It is indispensable, once the aims of general sci- 
 ence teaching are acceptably formulated, that 
 the wealth of materials available should be or- 
 ganized into suitable teaching units, each unit pre- 
 supposing a fair assignment of time, method of 
 attack, and result to be mastered. The pedagog- 
 ical principles to guide in the organization of these 
 teaching units are yet to be discovered and stated. 
 Historic pedagogical units, for example, question 
 and answer (catechetical unit), lesson, chapters, 
 topics, are all unserviceable here. Some of the 
 desirable learning units — those involving con- 
 structive activity and practical achievement — 
 
260 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 may well be called "projects"; but certainly 
 
 not all of them can properly be so named. 
 Suitable teaching units should: 
 
 (a) Require enough time to provide effective 
 stages of approach, inquiry, organization, and 
 conclusion; but not so much time as to fa- 
 tigue and produce satiety. One lesson period 
 is usually too short a time; a half-year too 
 long. 
 
 (&) Have an integral character with fairly defi- 
 nite boundaries. 
 
 (c) Leave at the end of their study, a sense 
 of substantial achievement — satisfaction of 
 curiosity, discovery of cause, realization of 
 use, the rendering of a practical service. 
 
 (d) Lend themselves as to process and outcome 
 to acceptable means of communication — 
 verbal report, demonstration, or exhibition 
 of product whereby the learning stages can 
 be socialized. 
 
 (e) In some cases — but not in all — lead to 
 practicable achievement, in the course of 
 which science has been learned, discovered, 
 applied; for example, making of photographs, 
 making of explosives — in general, the proj- 
 ect. 
 
 (f) In many cases — but not in all — involve 
 practical or sense contact, first-hand inquiry, 
 using materials, visiting, taking machines 
 
TEACHER OF GENERAL SCIENCE 261 
 
 apart, conducting experiments, etc. But in 
 some cases purely second-hand and abstract 
 approach; for example, composition of sun's 
 chromosphere, production of crude rubber, 
 etc., may be quite acceptable. 
 (g) In many cases center around the answering, 
 to the degree which youthful capacity per- 
 mits, and as a result of concrete contact and 
 experience where practicable, a multitude of 
 thought-provoking questions; for example. 
 What makes the electric car go? How can I 
 make a pop-gun? How (or why) does freez- 
 ing water break a pitcher? How do birds 
 know whither to migrate? What is a comet? 
 What causes earthquakes? Do all bodies 
 float on water? Why does dynamite explode 
 downward (as reported) ? What processes are 
 involved in getting water under pressure into 
 the house? How can we prevent milk from 
 souring? 
 Qualitatively, instruction in general science must 
 not aim at exhaustiveness of knowledge, mas- 
 tery of abstract principle or formula, capacity for 
 detailed expression, or power to make definite 
 appUcation. Unfortunately, pedagogy has not 
 yet formulated and described qualitative stand- 
 ards of instruction, so analogical illustrations 
 are necessary. General science instruction should 
 not seek the kind of mastery now associated with 
 
262 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the study of Latin, algebra, physics, or drawing. 
 Rather, the learning standards should be more 
 comparable to those which we should set for 
 an appreciative reading of Uterature, or knowl- 
 edge of geography through travel. We hear good 
 music, see good plays, take up lines of good read- 
 ing in our homes, and take journeys. These, 
 rightly organized, give culture of the best sort. 
 Similar standards should apply in general sci- 
 ence. 
 It should be assumed that, for the pupils remaining 
 in school, the period of general science instruction 
 will probably be followed by another, in which one or 
 more of the organized sciences will be studied in rig- 
 orous fashion. Here mastery of principles, attainment 
 of specific scientific method, and development of ability 
 to express and apply the results of such learning, will 
 be made primary aims. For some this will constitute 
 a part of vocational study, and for a few the satisfac- 
 tion of natural interest in exact "pure knowledge." 
 This period may come earlier in life if the "nurture" 
 requirements suggested shall in the future be earlier 
 met through improved elementary education. 
 
XXII 
 
 To a High-School Principal interested in promoting 
 the Study of Music and Art: 
 
 Music and art (by which is here meant only graphic 
 and plastic art) still occupy a less prominent place in 
 secondary education than many persons who are in- 
 terested in secondary schools as agencies of culture be- 
 lieve that they should hold. In part this is doubtless 
 to be explained on the ground that the colleges have 
 not given prominence to these subjects in their schemes 
 of entrance requirements. It must be admitted that, 
 on the whole, the subjects of study which have re- 
 ceived the chief attention from our small high schools 
 and from our preparatory schools and, indeed, from 
 our large high schools as well, have been those in which 
 the higher institutions of learning have defined quite 
 specific standards.' 
 
 I suspect, however, that more fimdamental reasons 
 must be found, because, after all, whenever the author- 
 ities in charge of our high schools have been deter- 
 mined that a subject should occupy a prominent place, 
 they have eventually persuaded the college authori- 
 ties to give it recognition, as witness the various sci- 
 ence subjects, modern languages, civics, etc. It is 
 true that mechanical drawing is now frequently rec- 
 ognized as a college admission sub]<ict, and in a few 
 
264 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 instances music, also, but it cannot be urged that 
 mechanical drawing has more than an indirect rela- 
 tion to art study, and the rarity of the instances in 
 which music is thus far accepted is an eloquent testi- 
 monial of the failure of that subject to develop promi- 
 nently in high-school curricula. 
 
 From the standpoint of the high school as an agency 
 in the cultural education of large numbers of our young 
 people, it is diflBcult to make out a case against the 
 further development of both music and drawing as 
 instruments in this cultural education. If we are to 
 accept at their face value the contentions made by 
 the advocates of music and art as to the importance 
 of these studies in modern Hf e, then there is every rea- 
 son why the high-school curriculum, when conceived 
 chiefly as a means of liberal education, should give 
 generous place to these subjects. I believe the entire 
 question deserves careful examination, and the fol- 
 lowing suggestions are made with a view to evoking 
 discussion of certain of the problems involved. In 
 the first place, I think the supporters of the various 
 art subjects should give careful attention to what 
 might be called their "social utility" value, as re- 
 vealed by modern sociological studies. We too often 
 take for granted the importance of this or that sub- 
 ject, without inquiring as to what message modern 
 sociology may have in the premises. It is an impor- 
 tant question at the present time as to whether, in all 
 those phases of human activity in which the emo- 
 
STUDY OF MUSIC AND ART 265 
 
 tlonal or feeKng phases of life play a prominent part, 
 current tendencies may not be in the direction of giv- 
 ing them a secondary place, primary functions being 
 reserved for those activities which involve the so- 
 called "intellectual action," that is, reasoning, ab- 
 stract thinking, quantitative testing, etc. An illustra- 
 tion may serve to make clear this position. 
 
 It is obvious to every student of history and an- 
 thropology that in primitive life music, in its various 
 manifestations, played an extremely important part 
 as a stimulus and active agency in such activities as 
 those associated with cooperative toil, warfare, wor- 
 ship, mating, and playing. Each form of activity had 
 its well-defined type of chant, song, and instrumenta- 
 tion. 
 
 Now, it would appear that in several, if not in all of 
 these forms of activity, music, especially in its more 
 spontaneous manifestations, is an agency of diminish- 
 ing importance. Rarely only do we find any form of 
 music now associated with toiU and more particularly 
 cooperative forms of work. Modern industry appears 
 to have become too highly organized, and too greatly 
 associated with the use of machinery to make music 
 of any form a valuable agency in this connection. 
 Again, modern warfare has become so complicated, 
 and relies so largely upon exact methods and mechani- 
 cal devices, that music seems to play a part of con- 
 stantly lessening importance as against other means 
 of communication, incitement, and cooperation. Ex- 
 
266 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 cept as a means of giving expression at certain stages 
 of patriotic fervor, it is doubtful if music will figure 
 prominently in warfare of the future, any more than 
 will gaudily colored uniforms or fantastic headdresses. 
 
 Music still survives as an active agency in worship, 
 but here again certain changes are visible, which at 
 least raise serious questions as to its relative impor- 
 tance. There can be little doubt but that spontaneous 
 music as a means of worship is losing its hold, and 
 that in many directions there is a tendency to sub- 
 ordinate congregation singing to expression through 
 choirs or other selected bodies. Whether music is of 
 lessening importance under modern conditions in 
 courtship and mating is a question that requires fur- 
 ther examination. This is also true of music as a means 
 of play. In some directions there are reasons for be- 
 lieving that the use of music in connection with rec- 
 reation is greatly increasing, while the use of some 
 forms of music as a sedative for tired nerves and 
 fatigued bodies seems also to be finding a larger place. 
 In these cases, however, it is noteworthy that the 
 music itself is produced by specialized agencies, and 
 not by the individuals themselves; hence in these in- 
 stances music cannot be described as a means of ex- 
 pression. Under primitive conditions, music every- 
 where is characterized by spontaneity, and by its very 
 successful propagation through the imitative powers 
 of the mind. 
 
 Now there can be no doubt but that in all the direc- 
 
STUDY OF MUSIC AND ART 267 
 
 tions indicated above, modern life represents exten- 
 sive and superior developments to those found in 
 primitive stages. The only question is as to how far, 
 under these modem conditions, music becomes an 
 active agency. Until this fundamental question is 
 answered, it is obvious that we shall be dubious as to 
 how far in our schools we shall find it easy to promote 
 interest in things musical. 
 
 I suspect that the same fundamental questions 
 could be asked with reference to other forms of com- 
 munication and activity having in them a large appeal 
 to emotional nature, such as sculpture, painting, po- 
 etry, dancing, and drama. 
 
 It is not impossible that in some of these fields we 
 shaU find that tendencies analogous to those which 
 under civilized conditions have taken place with refer- 
 ence to one of the five senses. Primitive man undoubt- 
 edly made extensive use of the sense of smell as a 
 means of guiding him in the various contingencies 
 which confronted him. Under modern civilized con- 
 ditions, this sense is of little practical value, although 
 all of the bodily equipment and instincts connected 
 with its exercise doubtless survive. Modem man has 
 substituted other means of meeting the situations 
 confronting him and of obtaining the satisfactions for- 
 merly associated with this sense. 
 
 It is an important question to be taken up by sci- 
 entists, among others, as to whether with reference 
 to appeals to the senses of sight and hearing, where 
 
268 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 a large emotional element is involved, the same changes 
 may not be slowly taking place. 
 
 In any event, the whole question of the educational 
 values of music and art as educational subjects will, in 
 the final analysis, have to be approached in the same 
 way as we are now approaching the study of the edu- 
 cational values of other subjects. We shall have to 
 demonstrate that for large numbers of people these 
 studies can produce important results, which "func- 
 tion" in modern Ufe helpfully. It will not be sufficient 
 to point out that the instinctive equipment of the 
 human being presents not only many opportunities 
 for development along these lines, but that such ap- 
 peals or developments are accompanied by a large 
 amount of pleasure which may be thought of as satis- 
 faction. The question of fundamental importance is 
 as to whether, through the further development of 
 these capacities for pleasure or satisfaction, we can 
 attain to helpful and useful activities commensurate 
 with the demands of modem life. 
 
 The second consideration which seems to me of 
 fundamental importance in connection with the fu- 
 ture development of both music and art in our schools 
 has to do with the distinction made elsewhere in these 
 papers between education for appreciation, and edu- 
 cation towards powers of execution, or doing. In both 
 art education and music education this distinction, it 
 seems to me, is of fundamental importance. It is 
 highly probable, for example, that in the field of 
 
STUDY OF MUSIC AND ART 269 
 
 painting we are under no obligation or necessity to 
 teach more than a very few of our pupils how to draw 
 or paint. On the other hand, it may be well worth 
 while to expend effort in the direction of teaching all 
 of them to appreciate good painting and illustration, 
 in view of the large part that both painting and illus- 
 tration play, or may be made to play, in modern life. 
 Again, in the field of music, it may be the part of wis- 
 dom to teach only a relatively small number of tal- 
 ented pupils how to play or sing, but on the other hand 
 it may be of very great social importance that a large 
 proportion, and all if practicable, shall be taught to 
 appreciate and utilize good music and good singing. 
 
 If it be contended that the most effective way of 
 teaching people, on the one hand, to appreciate paint- 
 ing and pictures, and on the other hand, to appreciate 
 good music, is to xmdertake to make them, at least in 
 the early stages, performers in both of these fields, 
 then I insist that the burden of proof rests on those 
 who advocate this procedure to show that it is edu- 
 cationally vahd. I suspect that the contention re- 
 ferred to above is merely an assumption, not founded 
 at all upon facts of observation or experience. I be- 
 lieve, for example, that it is entirely possible to teach 
 appreciation of good poetry without taking any steps 
 whatever in the direction of teaching young people to 
 write poetry. We endeavor to teach appreciation of 
 the beauty of landscapes without, of course, under- 
 taking to have our pupils shape such landscapes. In the 
 
270 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 world of more homely a£Pairs, I am convinced that it is 
 worth while to train the taste and discrimination of 
 our young people, in order that they may appreciate 
 and value simple and good standa^rds in cooking, dress, 
 and the ordinary paraphernalia of life, but that these 
 ends can be achieved quite independently of any 
 eflPorts to make our pupils dress-makers, cooks, or 
 interior decorators. 
 
 At the present time, a careful study of the distinc- 
 tion here made might relieve us of much confusion in 
 the fields of teaching both art and music. It would 
 enable us at once to restrict our efforts in the teaching 
 of these subjects from the standpoint of execution to 
 persons manifesting genuine native talent. It would, 
 on the other hand, enable us to adopt the most effec- 
 tive methods of teaching appreciation quite independ- 
 ently of the more or less forced efforts of teaching execu- 
 tion which are now so commonly found. 
 
 I believe that if the two issues here discussed are 
 taken up adequately, not only by persons who are, 
 themselves, specialists in the fields referred to, but in 
 conjunction with others who are broader students of 
 the whole field of secondary education, we shall be able 
 to find wherein we can utilize both music and art as 
 agencies of the cultural education which the reorgan- 
 ized high school must afford. 
 
XXIII 
 
 To a Supervisor of the Teaching of Home Economics: 
 
 EvEET person who has studied the history of educa- 
 tion, and especially its recent history, must be keenly 
 aware of the very great advances which have been 
 made in recent years, both in promoting interest in the 
 teaching of home economics ' in schools, and also in 
 I the better organization of the means and methods of 
 'teaching it. It is now generally conceded among in- 
 telligent persons that the teaching of subjects having 
 to do with household knowledge, skill, and ideals is a 
 legitimate and desirable fimction of the public schools; 
 that in the upper grades of elementary schools and in 
 high schools these subjects should be taught by spe- 
 cially equipped departmental teachers; and that the 
 subject as a whole includes vastly more than cooking 
 and sewing. Many of our foremost educators also be- 
 lieve that women's colleges can with profit, and should, 
 make the subject, in its more advanced or technological 
 phases, an optional study for every woman student. 
 The great educational value of such studies, both in 
 their social and in their practical results and in their 
 effects on the mental powers of the student, is now 
 
 ' The term "home economics" will be used throughout this 
 letter to include household arts, domestic science, domestic arts, 
 domestic economy, home-making, etc. In the estimation of the 
 writer, the term is an inadequate one, however. 
 
272 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 generally conceded by all careful students, except a 
 few belated adherents of the so-called "faculty piSy- 
 chology" and the now discarded doctrine of formal 
 mental discipline. 
 
 Perhaps I can best present my suggestions by first 
 outlining the condition of affairs as regards the home 
 and the work of women which many of us would like 
 to see prevail a half century hence. All forms of educa- 
 tion are to be interpreted finally as regards both their 
 aims and their results in terms of a sound social econ- 
 omy — that is, an efficient, sound, and growing social 
 life. The scientific social economy which is now in 
 process of rapid development in America as regards 
 both its theory and its practice will progressively take 
 accoimt of, and endeavor to control, all the factors and 
 forces which make for individual and social well-being, 
 educational as well as others. This social economy 
 must be developed in the light of standards of human 
 well-being as these may be attained in the future. 
 
 We may well assume, I think, that if present tend- 
 encies continue, there will be within the boundaries of 
 the United States upwards of one hundred and fifty 
 million people in 1965. Probably there will be among 
 these relatively fewer very rich people, and also fewer 
 very poor people than at present. Families of middle 
 class or rank, in the economic sense, will have slightly 
 larger families, and people less well off will have 
 smaller families than at present. The great majority 
 of married women will give their entire working time 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 273 
 
 to home-making, with employed assistance as at pres- 
 ent orfly'at critical periods. Nearly all young women 
 will enter upon wage-earning careers of from five to ten 
 years in length prior to marriage, and after having 
 received a suitable general education and, perhaps, 
 short-course vocational education for their wage-earn- 
 ing careers. The State will insist that every girl or 
 young woman shall at some time learn, in a definite 
 and effective fashion, the more essential arts of sound 
 home-making as prelimiaary to her child-rearing mar- 
 ried life. 
 
 By that time we shall have learned much more than 
 we now know regarding the mogt effective methods of 
 education in home economics, as well as in other re- 
 lated fields. Parents and, when feasible, girls them- 
 selves will be carefully and authoritatively advised at 
 successive stages as to the most desirable educational 
 and vocational careers which daughters should follow, 
 in the light of the abihties of these girls, their eco- 
 nomic conditions, and their persistent interests. Young 
 women will be given definite preparation for wage-earn- 
 ing callings — many of which callings will probably be 
 in homes themselves, as we cease relying upon im- 
 migrants for domestic service. But the requirements 
 of preparation for wage-earning vocations will not be 
 allowed seriously to interfere with the far more impor- 
 tant social demand for systematic training for home- 
 making. It will be accepted as fundamental that in a 
 sound and enduring society a large majority, ap- 
 
274 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 proximating one hundred per cent, of all women must 
 be expected eventually to become wives and mothers. 
 It will be generally agreed that we cannot perma- 
 nently depend upon recently imported peoples either 
 to perform the so-called menial service of the home, or 
 in largest measure to recruit our population. It will be 
 widely recognized that a sound citizenship and a peo- 
 ple capable of establishing and sustaining wholesome 
 standards of living can only be developed under con- 
 ditions favoring the establishment of a maximum num- 
 ber of relatively small and well-kept families'.^ This 
 condition will also require that very few sound men 
 and women suited to become fathers and mothers shall 
 forego the fine responsibilities of parenthood. 
 
 The proper home in such a society will itself be a 
 work of art, and its suitable management will require 
 the skilled service of a well-trained woman, willingly 
 accepting such a work as a career reaching over many 
 years and to be entered upon with much forethought. 
 Obviously, the preparation of the young woman for 
 such a career as home-making will be no small task. 
 Her education to this end must itself be a purposeful 
 and scientific affair, and especially so in an age in which 
 custom and tradition as the foundations of practical 
 activities will be still in process of being replaced 
 largely by definitely scientific procedures. Certain 
 prominent features of that education can even now be 
 forecasted, I believe, in the light of current develop- 
 ments. 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 275 
 
 Above everything else, it will be an education based 
 upon practice, upon doinig, followed by comprehension 
 of the theory back of the action. The girl as learner 
 will first make beginnings in the practice of any par- 
 ticular household art, after which she will be led to 
 comprehend the technical — that is, the underlying 
 scientific or artistic — principles of the art, as well as 
 her educational development permits. The general 
 control and administration of all this education will 
 be vmder schools, because schools are specialized 
 agencies established to give education; but these 
 schools wiU utilize as a most valuable part of their 
 educational ways and means the homes in which girls 
 live, or work for hire. 
 
 It will then be clearly recognized that there are two 
 distinct forms of education in the home-making or 
 household callings, according as the controlling pur- 
 pose at any stage is to establish right standards of 
 utilization or consumption, on the one hand, or, on the 
 other hand, to estabUsh effective powers of working, 
 doing, executing, or performing productive functions in 
 the home. The pedagogical means and methods of 
 these two forms of education will differ as widely as 
 will the aims to be realized. We can, for example, 
 readily imagine that by 1965 very Uttle of the cloth- 
 ing to be worn by children will be made in the home; 
 and that under such a condition, each woman will 
 receive quite definite training, not in the art of mak- 
 ing, but in the art of selecting good and economical 
 
276 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 clothing. She may not be trained at all in making 
 clothing of any sort, any more than she is now trained 
 in spinning and weaving. She wiU be trained to make 
 what the economist calls an effective and intelligent 
 demand as consumer on those people who make a busi- 
 ness of repairing shoes. On the other hand, she may 
 possibly be trained to be an efficient repairer of cloth- 
 ing on her own account. She will, undoubtedly, be 
 trained in the arts of nursing a sick child, but in the 
 field of medicine proper she will be trained chiefly to 
 choose, and to use wisely, properly trained medical 
 service. As regards indeed all of the thousand forms 
 of usefulness which the home-maker of the future will 
 render, a fairly sharp distinction in preliminary educa- 
 tion will have to be made according as her function is 
 to be, in the first place a producer of utilities or skilled 
 technical service, or in the second place a buyer, 
 chooser, and utilizer. A system of home-making edu- 
 cation which does not make this fundamental distinc- 
 tion will flounder amidst perpetual confusions and 
 short-comings. 
 
 It is to be hoped and expected that, in the social 
 economy of the future, household service on a wage 
 basis will be not less attractive than other gainful call- 
 ings, but rather more so to young unmarried women. 
 The bulk of employed household service of 1965 will 
 probably be given by fairly well-trained young women 
 serving as wage-earners prior to the age of marriage. 
 Society will prize this form of service because it will 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 277 
 
 link up with a systematic training for home-making in 
 a way which will be more effective for all concerned 
 than wage-earning work in the industrial and com- 
 mercial callings. To help realize this end, obviously, 
 women wiU have to become better employers than they 
 are at present. Many women to-day are, as employers 
 of service, hardly more humane or intelligent than the 
 managers of our worst corporations so far as making 
 for the better development of their employees is con- 
 cerned. In this respect new ideas and ideals are even 
 now rapidly forming, and with the gradual cessation 
 of immigration, necessity will add pressure to present 
 tendencies to induce women to make wage-earning 
 household service an attractive and upbuilding force 
 in society. 
 
 Obviously, to carry into operation a general pro- 
 gram of education in home-making will require not 
 only the provision of a large amount and variety of 
 educational opportimities, but also a measure of com- 
 pulsion on heedless or unappreciative individuals to 
 take advantage of such opportunities. I believe that 
 part-time or continuation education will, in 1965, be 
 compulsory upon all to the age of eighteen; and that 
 following that age it wiU still be obhgatory for young 
 women, before marriage, to give a due measiu-e of time 
 to systematic training in the various forms of produc- 
 tive work needed in the home, unless they have al- 
 ready reached an approved minimum standard of pro- 
 ficiency in the practice of home-making. I am certain 
 
278 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 that society will, in the not distant future, insist on 
 every one's obtaining a suitable vocational education, 
 as resolutely as Germany and France now insist that 
 every young man shall be trained to serve his country 
 as a soldier. This vocational training may not always 
 be given prior to entrance upon wage-earning; it may, 
 indeed, for many vocations follow several years after 
 the first entrance upon wage-earning work. Experi- 
 ence may, for example, show that the best time for 
 education in some of the more technical phases of 
 home-making, such as care of children, marketing, 
 house furnishing and repair, etc. is at or near the age 
 of twenty or over, after the girl shall have been en- 
 gaged for several years in wage-earning pursuits. It 
 may even become customary to take such training 
 after betrothal or even after marriage. 
 
 The suggestions given above are submitted in the 
 hope that they may serve to indicate the ideal stand- 
 ards in the light of which the following statements 
 dealing with what seem to me to be some wrong tend- 
 encies, some deficiencies, and some of the unsolved 
 problems in the present teaching of home economics in 
 America may be understood. I am sure you will ap- 
 preciate that these statements, some of which may 
 appear to be critical, are made with full recognition of 
 the youthfulness of home economics as a systematic 
 study, and of the numerous exceptions which could be 
 cited as to sounder educational practices than those 
 illustrated here. 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 279 
 
 The first tendency which seems to me to be wrong 
 in much of the current teaching of home economics is 
 its tendency towards overrefinement or overekbora- 
 tion of standards of Uving regardless of the financial 
 abilities of the actual or prospective families of those 
 being taught. We focus our attention so largely upon 
 giaality of service, upon standards of taste, that we 
 fail to give sufficient attention to the cost of what we 
 produce in terms of money, time, and energy. Many 
 of us must believe that in middle-class society as it is 
 to-day, a disproportionate amoimt of energy is ex- 
 pended upon refinements of personal decoration, 
 household cleanliness, table service, and in other re- 
 lated directions — disproportionate, that is, as related 
 to personal culture of the mind, health of body, size 
 of family, etc. We beheve that our attainments in these 
 directions are often purchased at the very serious ex- 
 pense of more children in the family, the freedom of 
 development of the children already there, the health of 
 the mother, and the development of all the members of 
 the family along other more wholesome and enduring 
 lines. If it can be demonstrated that in these direc- 
 tions there are at present many harmful tendencies 
 in society, then surely schools of home-making must 
 set their standards in the direction of simpUfication, of 
 correct valuations of the relative advantages of differ- 
 ent things which painstaking labor and money can 
 procure, and of putting a premium upon what is gen- 
 uinely higher and more wholesome living. Now, with 
 
280 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 of course notable exceptions, I cannot feel that our 
 schools are yet doing this in any degree adequate to 
 the requirements of the age in which we live. 
 
 As an example of this let us take dress and personal 
 decoration. I suspect that, as viewed from the stand- 
 point of a genuine social economy, the devotion of 
 American women to personal decoration presents 
 many phases of close resemblance to man's yielding 
 to the temptations for alcoholic drink. Both forms of 
 consumption represent perhaps good, or at least harm- 
 less, incipient and original tendencies of taste and 
 sociability gone wrong, and carried quite generally to 
 that point of excess where health, property, and the 
 other more durable satisfactions of life are largely 
 sacrificed to them. In each field strong and often 
 unconquerable habits are formed, and vast commer- 
 cial interests come to thrive upon the resulting per- 
 versions and vices. In other directions, as well as in 
 these two, it is probable that, among both men and 
 women, prevailing standards of consumption are 
 often wrong from the standpoint of a sound social 
 economy. 
 
 Now the least that can be asked of the home eco- 
 nomics schools in this direction is that they do not 
 enhance demoralizing tendencies. Indeed, they ought 
 inteUigently and persistently to set higher standards 
 of living. This they can only do by always taking 
 full account of the cost in terms of time, money, and 
 energy requited to produce a given degree of service. 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 281 
 
 Immaculate cleanliness of rooms may be purchased 
 at the cost of health, and of excessive and needless 
 sacrifices in other directions. The time and labor ex- 
 pended in table service may be procured at the ex- 
 pense of open-air recreation, rest, or time for reading. 
 Shop girls ironing their shirtwaists during their eve- 
 ning hours in order to meet the exacting standards 
 of their associates may be as certainly the victims 
 of bad social tendencies as their brothers loitering 
 in bar-rooms. If our household-arts schools are con- 
 tributing to needless overelaboration and fussiness 
 in dress and other aspects of woman's life, it is of the 
 utmost importance that they reorganize their work and 
 study a really scientific social economy in order to find 
 the genuine values of life. 
 
 A second wrong tendency in much of the home 
 economics teaching of to-day, as I see it, is foimd in 
 the prevailing practice of introduciog the instruction 
 with J;h£ more abstract underlying principles, and in 
 emphasizing these at the expense of the study of 
 their practical application. This is, indeed, quite a 
 natural tendency, in view of the conceptions of peda- 
 gogy which formerly prevailed, and which still largely 
 prevail. Doubtless for a few rare and gifted indi- 
 viduals this general method of approach may be the 
 most effective; some exceptional minds can pass from 
 theory to practice, from the abstract to the concrete, 
 from principles of science and art to good practice, 
 with steady interest, large comprehension, and a maxi- 
 
282 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 mum of profit. But I am convinced that the great 
 majority of young people can do no such thing. For 
 them the teaching of the principles of food chemistry 
 as now carried on is largely wasted. The principles 
 of physics, even when it is called physics of the house- 
 hold, do not for them constitute a sure and certain 
 basis of practice. 
 
 For the greater number of the young people whom 
 we teach, the mastery of practice as actually demanded 
 in life must be the basis for the study, as far as the 
 mental capacity and time of the student will permit, 
 of the underlying principles. Many girls now study 
 in high schools the principles of pneumatics, but not 
 one in a thousand can carry these principles into 
 practice in starting a coal fire in a stove. Even when 
 this study is illustrated with drawings, laboratory ex- 
 periment, and perhaps the school stove, it wiU do but 
 little more. The pedagogical order must be practiced 
 on the actual stove under practical conditions, then, 
 after repeated successes and failures, should follow 
 a search for principles as far as these can be compre- 
 hended. 
 
 What is here suggested would doubtless involve al- 
 most a revolution in much of the educational prac- 
 tice of our household arts classes. Few teachers of 
 household arts will, perhaps, agree with this peda- 
 gogical view, but my experience, as well as my under- 
 standing of recent studies of psychology and peda- 
 gogy, convince me that it is in this direction we must 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 283 
 
 look for a genuinely functioning vocational education, 
 and not less in that form devoted to home-making 
 as an end. This proposal implies no necessary lessen- 
 ing as to the scope and amount of study which shall 
 ultimately be given to the principles of science and of 
 pure art as these apply in practice, but it suggests 
 many reversals in the order of approach, and proce- 
 dure now commonly used. In practice the actual 
 amount of science which will probably be taught un- 
 der the programs which I believe will ultimately pre- 
 vail may be considerably diminished, because, I am 
 convinced, much of the so-called science which we now 
 attempt to teach in pure and in applied forms does 
 not actively "function " in any way. I know of second- 
 ary schools in which cooking is taught as though the 
 intention were to lay the foundations for the making of 
 a research specialist. 
 
 A distinction may, of course, within Hmits be drawn 
 as regards this alleged wrong tendency in vocational 
 training between courses in colleges and technical in- 
 stitutions designed to prepare teachers, administra- 
 tors, and research specialists, and those other far more 
 numerous courses designed for prospective home- 
 makers and the rank and file of workers. The impor- 
 tance of thorough-going technical training for the 
 former class is freely admitted. I am inclined to be- 
 lieve that, because in the earlier institutions dealing 
 with home economics the pressure for trained teachers 
 and other leaders was so marked, almost all programs 
 
284 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 became more or less affected by the somewhat pecul- 
 iar nature of these demands. It seems to be charac- 
 teristic of almost all kinds of vocational training to 
 be unduly influenced by the standards appropriate 
 to the exceptional few who will take leading positions. 
 It is well known, for example, that most of the second- 
 ary schools of agriculture in America are more or 
 less weak imitations of agricultural colleges. Our first 
 trade schools tried again and again to imitate the 
 procedures of technological institutions. Similarly, I 
 feel that home economics, as found in the ordinary 
 secondary school and in upper grades, and, to some 
 extent, in endowed institutions, partakes in undue 
 measure of the technical and scientific standards which 
 were, perhaps, originally worked out for a few excep- 
 tional institutions. 
 
 I wish next to take up for discussion what seem to 
 me to be certain well-marked deficiencies in home 
 economics teaching, both as to the theory underlying 
 such teaching and as it is actually carried on in our 
 schools. In respect to these deficiencies it is not as- 
 serted, of course, that home economics as a study is 
 unique. It simply shares in some of the failings which 
 characterize a large variety of the subjects now taught 
 in our secondary schools and colleges. 
 
 The first of these is the failure adequately to define 
 the aims of the instruction and training offered. It 
 will be agreed that on the plane of conscious and sci- 
 entific effort it is essential that any enterprise should 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 285 
 
 now be undertaken, as far as practicable, in the light 
 of clearly defined objects to be accomplished, that 
 means and methods should be chosen and adapted 
 with reference to the econoinical and effective attain- 
 ment of the objects or ends thus set up, and that the 
 degree to which objects sought are reahzed through 
 any procedure should be capable of being definitely 
 tested and measured. 
 
 Now the one clear object that the layman can dis- 
 cern as guiding in the teaching of home economics is the 
 intellectual mastery of certain organized knowledge. 
 To a slight ejctent, also, it is evident that certain def- 
 inite forms of skill in execution are made to serve as ob- 
 jectives. But if one asks what more ultimate purpose 
 this knowledge or that particular form of skill is to 
 serve in the well-being of the individual or of the so- 
 ciety to which he belongs, the replies received will be 
 vague and inconclusive. Some of the larger ends al- 
 leged to be held in view are really faith ends, rather 
 than scientific ends — that is, they represent aspira- 
 tions rather than clearly defined goals, as to which 
 the stages in the process of realization are capable 
 of definition, attack, and gradual mastery. As I read 
 courses of instruction in home economics and ob- 
 serve classes at work, I seem always to miss a definite 
 and reasoned consciousness of final aim or purpose. 
 Let me repeat that in this respect home economics is 
 no worse off than many other subjects, especially in 
 the fields of secondary and collegiate education. Since, 
 
286 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 however, this is a new field, unhampered by traditions 
 and ancient customs, one is tempted to look for larger 
 manifestations of the scientific constructive spirit than 
 are to be found in the teaching of the older subjects. 
 
 Of this I am convinced — home economics will 
 never come into its full heritage until it is organized 
 with definite reference to the attainment of ends that 
 are demonstrably valid and so clearly formulated and 
 evaluated that the efficiency of our procedures — our 
 studies, practices, and methods — can be tested against 
 them. This will require, for one thing, that we 
 decide to what extent vocational aims shall control 
 in our work; that we decide for what vocations we 
 are preparing; that we demonstrate our knowledge 
 of the actual requirements of these vocations; and 
 that we unsparingly test the efficacy of the means 
 which we adopt. It means, for another thing, that we 
 decide how far and in what direction home economics 
 work is useful as means of general culture and civic 
 capacity — the development of powers for wise choice 
 and utilization as against powers of execution; what 
 are the specific forms of this culture and civism that 
 are most worth while, and how they shall be attained 
 in the cases of various groups of young people with 
 whom we may deal; and how, again, we shall test the 
 serviceableness of the means employed. 
 
 It is no reproach to us, probably, that in this, as in 
 so many other fields of education, we are still living 
 largely in an age when the standards and methods of 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 287 
 
 faith rather than those of science yet prevail. In many 
 matters pedagogical, it seems to me our position to- 
 day is quite comparable to that of medicine in the 
 eighteenth century. Then the sciences of physiology, 
 chemistry, and bacteriology had not been so developed 
 as to give aid to medicine; just as to-day the sciences 
 most needed in education, namely, sociology and psy- 
 chology, are yet in their infancy, — in the prescientific 
 stages, indeed, of their development. We have vague 
 terminologies, aims expressive of hope and belief rather 
 than of tangible goals, few standards, a wealth of loose 
 generalizations, and a combination of unwiUingness 
 and inabiUty actually to test the results of our work. 
 But some day the practice of education will be where 
 the practice of medicine is to-day; perhaps even now 
 there are at work, in obscure places, the Harveys, 
 Jenners, Pasteurs, and Listers of our profession. 
 
 What seems to me a second prominent defect in 
 current home economics education is its failure to 
 use the living home as a part of its opportunities for 
 cooperative effort and, indeed, as its chief working 
 laboratory. Why should not many phases of home 
 economics in secondary schools be so taught that the 
 practical phases of the work can be carried on in the 
 homes of the girls themselves? If students are living 
 under dormitory conditions, why should not these 
 serve as a basis for the practical study and applica- 
 tion of such arts as cooking, sewing, etc., by groups 
 of students limited in size? 
 
288 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Reference has already been made to the overtech- 
 nical and insufficiently practical character of much of 
 the education ofiFered. In part, this is due to the ease 
 with which so-called "technical subjects" — pure or 
 applied science, appHed art, etc. — can be taught in 
 accordance with the traditions of academic educa- 
 tion. The most difficult teaching is that which, pro- 
 ceeding through practice on projects based upon the 
 practical requirements of life, leads into a mastery 
 of the related and needed technical knowledge. But 
 there is abundant experience to show that for most 
 students such an approach, properly made, is the 
 most eflFective that can be devised. 
 
 It is probable that in so far as work in home eco- 
 nomics is to be regarded as vocational, programs 
 should be so adjusted as to insure a large amount of 
 concentration during the time that the vocational aim 
 is held in view. I believe, for example, that a day 
 school for home-making should give from six to eight 
 hours per day to that and closely related subjects; 
 that at least half of this time should be spent in the 
 home, working on definite projects which the school 
 has assigned; that this work should be supervised 
 by the regular home-making teacher, visiting the girls 
 at work as far as practicable; that the school instruc- 
 tion should be based largely upon the practical projects 
 being followed; and that general reading in related 
 fields should be a part of the course. A concentrated 
 program of this sort will give more effective results 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 289 
 
 in three months, I am convinced, than years spent 
 on the two or three hours per week plan now so widely 
 in vogue. Such a program would insure that each 
 teacher will learn the requirements, the standards, and 
 the potentialities of the homes of her pupils. She will 
 be compelled to make her teaching practical, because 
 to so large an extent the results will have to speak for 
 themselves. Her work should be organized on a def- 
 inite project basis. This is easy to secure in most 
 phases of the teaching of home-making. Let a girl be 
 responsible for the making of definite articles of cloth- 
 ing; or for the preparation of the family breakfasts for 
 two weeks; or for doing all the baking required for a 
 similar period; or for taking full charge of an infant 
 for a week; or for undertaking a definite assignment of 
 laundry work; or for doing the revarnishing of the 
 furniture of two rooms — these and scores of similar 
 assignments are possible. Of course the teacher should 
 have no more pupils than she can handle effectively. 
 Perhaps twenty is the maximum number under these 
 conditions. Most of the work will necessarily be in- 
 dividual; but on the basis of the practical experience 
 thus obtained the live teacher can weave a body of 
 common knowledge and useful principles of very large 
 value. 
 
 We shall have to learn that nearly all vocational 
 education — as, indeed, other forms of education also 
 — must be individualized. The teacher must be re- 
 garded as a supervisor of apprentices. We coddle 
 
290 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 too much in our practical classes at present. Each 
 pupil must have his job — a large job, fairly well 
 within his capacity. Much planning and prearrange- 
 ment will be required. Some directions, read or given, 
 may convey technical knowledge, but the bulk of the 
 technical knowledge should grow out of, and not 
 precede, experience. The pupil must early learn to 
 rely largely upon printed or written directions. 
 
 I think it is possible to apply these principles also 
 to evening and part-time instruction in home-making, 
 for working girls. Give one evening per week to 
 class-room instruction; and let the teachers give two 
 other evenings per week to visiting the girls in their 
 own homes, while they are at work on the projects 
 assigned. 
 
 If we ever come to the point where a considerable 
 number of girls are working as wage-earners in homes, 
 the problems of instruction for these should be sim- 
 pler stiD. 
 
 A third deficiency which seems to me to character- 
 ize much of the home economics teaching as found in 
 elementary and secondary schools at the present time 
 is failure adequately to take account of the standards 
 of living to which the average American home is 
 necessarily limited. Is it clearly realized that in the 
 large majority of American families in which the 
 husband and father is a wage-earner, the total income 
 is less than one thousand dollars a year? Do the pro- 
 grams of home economics instruction now found, es- 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 291 
 
 pecially in our secondary schools, seem to be based 
 upon a clear conception of the necessary limitations 
 as to expenditure existing under these conditions? To 
 what extent are the teachers of home economics them- 
 selves cognizant of the actual standards of Uving 
 which must be based upon incomes of this magnitude, 
 or, in inmiigrant centers, the national tastes and 
 habits regarding certain dishes? Can it not be charged 
 that our home economics teaching to-day is adjusted 
 too exclusively to standards of living of our middle- 
 class population, a level of population where, broadly 
 speaking, the need for this instruction should exist in 
 least degree? I have looked in vain in the programs 
 of most of our systematic home economics teaching 
 to find clear indications of a thorough-going realiza- 
 tion of the facts here suggested. 
 
 There are a few problems of home economics teach- 
 ing which seem to me as yet quite unsolved, but with 
 reference to which a considerable amount of definite 
 study ought to be possible in the near future. 
 
 The first of these relates to the age at which home 
 economics teaching for vocational purposes should be 
 begun. The present tendency is to make this a part of 
 the secondary-school course, largely because the tradi- 
 tions of our education now suggest that all system- 
 atic school education must be finished before the stu- 
 dent embarks upon wage-earning. Nevertheless, it 
 is by no means certain that an adolescent girl between 
 fourteen and eighteen years of age is at the time of 
 
292 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 life when she can study home economics for vocational 
 purposes to best advantage, at least under social tradi- 
 tions as they now prevail. It is entirely possible that 
 there will be found a lack of sufficient motive at this 
 age, which will give an artificial and forced character 
 to much of the work done. I believe, therefore, that 
 careful studies should be made of the age at which 
 home economics teaching for vocational purposes can 
 be most effectively given, and that means be taken 
 as far as practicable to modify customs, and even to 
 secure legislation which will result in making such 
 teaching available at the most appropriate season in 
 the life of a girl. In England and Germany, under 
 certain conditions surviving from the age when ap- 
 prenticeship generally prevailed, a considerable pro- 
 portion of persons learning skilled trades, and more 
 particularly those trades having important technical 
 phases, are required to spend several years in appren- 
 ticeship, after which they must return to special schools 
 for one or more years in order to complete their 
 training. 
 
 My present guess is that home economics teaching 
 for vocational purposes in the great majority of cases 
 will be most effective when given to young persons 
 from eighteen to twenty-four years of age. Prior to 
 this age, a large amount of teaching of home economics 
 may well be found in all elementary and secondary 
 grades, but the controlling purpose should be the 
 improvement of standards of utiUzation, rather than 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 293 
 
 the estabKshment of definite skill and powers of doing 
 work effectively. 
 
 A second problem, not strictly connected with the 
 teaching of home economics, but nevertheless having 
 ultimate and important bearings upon it, relates to 
 vocational training for girls in fields other than home- 
 making. It is well known that a large number of 
 American industries are able to utUize, in very large 
 measiu-e, the comparatively untrained services of 
 girl workers. In such industries as textiles, clothing 
 manufacture, candy manufacture, and many others, 
 there are now employed in America several million 
 young women workers for whom it seems questionable 
 whether systematic preliminary trade training is prac- 
 ticable. If we assume, as I think we must, that the 
 great majority of these factory workers will probably 
 marry between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, 
 the question as to how far systematic trade training 
 in their cases should be carried becomes an impor- 
 tant one. There are sentimental reasons for assuming 
 that extensive opportunities for special vocational 
 training should be provided, but it is a question 
 whether this position can be defended on the basis 
 of the principles of a sound social economy. At any 
 rate, the whole question as to where and to what extent 
 vocational training for other lines than home-making 
 should be given to girls, and what will be the relation 
 of such training to their ultimate home-making ca- 
 reers, is as yet an unsolved problem. 
 
294 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 Finally, I would suggest that, from my point of 
 view, there is still an unsolved problem in your field 
 as regards the comprehensive and suitable designa- 
 tion of the work in which you are engaged and in- 
 terested. To me, such terms as "domestic science," 
 "domestic arts," "domestic economy," "household 
 arts," and "home economics" all seem insufficient as 
 comprehensive terms to designate your field of work. 
 I suggest that this is a matter in itself worthy of care- 
 ful consideration. We cannot, of course, have termi- 
 nology before we have developed the facts and con- 
 ditions to which it should apply. Nevertheless, in 
 this field we surely have reached a stage where aims 
 and purposes are now so comprehensive that a more 
 adequate and detailed terminology is surely practi- 
 cable. Certainly we do not wish to embrace under 
 the term "home economics" the numerous fields of 
 education and research which are now rapidly develop- 
 ing as phases of the work in which you are engaged. 
 
 From my point of view, the term " home economics " 
 stands, and must inevitably stand, in the minds of 
 most persons who approach the question from a back- 
 ground of scientific and sociological studies, for a 
 systematic study of art and science as applied in a 
 particular field, for an intellectual discipline, for the 
 mastery of theoretical knowledge. It does not suffi- 
 ciently connote ideas of practice, of execution, of pro- 
 ductive service efficiently rendered. It overempha- 
 sizes ideas of economy, of orderly expenditure, etc., 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 295 
 
 and nnderemphasizes the more fundamental ideas of 
 expert action, of constructive ability. The ultimate 
 aim of all vocational studies is efficient production, 
 and the ultimate aim of liberal studies in vocational 
 fields is efficient utihzation. In these studies economy, 
 order, and restraint are but factors, and hardly major 
 factors at that. 
 
 What I beheve to be needed in your field is a com- 
 prehensive term primarily suggestive of production, 
 of achievement, of execution. Agricultural education 
 always suggests the development of high-grade pro- 
 ductive abiUty in the fields of agricidture. Industrial 
 education calls to mind instantly a system of making 
 efficient industrial producers. Commercial education 
 signifies far less certain intellectual studies than it 
 does the development of power to act in commercial 
 fields. The goal of engineering education is the pro- 
 duction of a man who can render, in largest possible 
 measure, particular forms of engineering service. The 
 aim of medical education is to produce the successful 
 practitioner. Our normal schools at their best set 
 out to train teachers, not primarily to study either 
 the science or the art of teaching. 
 
 It seems to me, therefore, that the most comprehen- 
 sive term used to describe the work under discussion 
 should be the word "home-making," or a somewhat 
 similar term. This term conveys ideas of achieve- 
 ment, of learning for the sake of doing, of trained 
 power to act. Homes may be large or small, housing 
 
296 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 two individuals or a thousand, in which latter case 
 the home becomes an institution. Generically, a home 
 is a place for refuge, rest, recreation, restoration of the 
 tired or the ill, and the upbringing of children. Home- 
 making as a field of achievement is like agriculture, 
 industry, commerce, medicine, and other great generic 
 callings, in that it offers fields not only for the study 
 of certain very simple arts, but also for most exhaus- 
 tive research and the mastery of difficult fields of ap- 
 plied art and science. There is a technology of home- 
 making, just as certainly as there is a technology of 
 agriculture, of bridge building, of applied electricity, 
 and of sanitary engineering. There are also almost 
 endless technical studies which can be made of vari- 
 ous phases of home-making, both by immature stu- 
 dents and by those of ripened abilities. 
 
 Like agriculture and industry, home-making also 
 embraces many arts, such as cooking, various forms 
 of needlework, nursing, home education, laimdering, 
 houSe repair, home gardening, etc. Any one of these 
 may be made a study in itself. Some of them rest 
 largely on principles of science, others chiefly on prin- 
 ciples of art. Wherever practice begins, or the study 
 of practice, then is essentially the time to consider prin- 
 ciples of economy, just as certainly as principles of 
 economy must be considered in industry, in agricul- 
 ture, in government, and in medicine when practice 
 begins. 
 
 Home-making, like agriculture and industries, may 
 
TEACHING HOME ECONOMICS 297 
 
 be studied and practiced primarily from the point of 
 view of learning efficiency in execution, or from the 
 standpoint of acquiring profounder appreciation. The 
 first will be vocational education, the second a modi- 
 fied form of Uberal education;^ My own feeling is that 
 the comprehensive terms "home-making education" 
 as signifying always the vocational end, and "house- 
 hold arts education" as studied from the standpoint of 
 appreciation and insight, might render good service. 
 There is no reason why we should not use the phrase 
 "home-making" as basal to subsequent and differenti- 
 ated studies and researches in the more technological 
 and technical aspects, as we certainly do in agricul- 
 ture, industry, commerce, and the professions, in which 
 case the term "home economics" might well be re- 
 served for a particular phase of the technical study of 
 home-making. 
 
XXIV 
 
 To a Teacher in the Department of Physical Education : 
 In the reorganized high school of the future I pre- 
 dict that physical education is going to occupy a large 
 place. It will be regarded as coordinate in importance 
 with vocational education, social education, and cul- 
 tural education. The conduct of such physical educa- 
 tion will be under comprehensive direction. It will 
 have its special agencies and forms of control. The 
 means and methods which it will employ will certainly 
 be much more scientific and efifective than those now 
 available. 
 
 The importance of physical education as a part of a 
 secondary-school program grows, as do other forms of 
 secondary education, out of the needs and conditions 
 of the age in which we live. Originally, physical educa- 
 tion was the prerogative of the home, and incidentally 
 of the work-shop and the play-ground. In so far as it 
 was carried on by highly specialized agencies, it was 
 education towards some particular calling, such as 
 the military life. Systematic physical education in 
 schools is a comparatively modern development. It has 
 evolved out of a more or less vague perception, on the 
 one hand, of the almost Hmitless possibilities of sys- 
 tematic instruction in hygiene when this is given by 
 specialized agencies organized for this purpose, and, on 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 299 
 
 the other hand, of the very great need both of instruc- 
 tion in hygiene and systematic oversight of physical 
 development and training as a condition of hving and 
 working under modern conditions when the occupa- 
 tions themselves, as well as the urban conditions under 
 which large numbers of people must Uve, render it 
 necessary for the majority to make systematic provi- 
 sions for exercise, for adjustment to the hampering 
 conditions of their physical environment, and for a 
 conscious promotion of sanitation. 
 
 Because I am convinced that society will become 
 increasingly conscious of the possibilities of education 
 in these directionb, and because, also, in large measure 
 the conditions of the economic and social environment 
 which make systematic care of the health more and 
 more necessary will increase, it is my belief, as stated 
 above, that physical education will grow into the 
 magnitude of a coordinate department in our schools. 
 
 At the present time, however, it is manifest that we 
 fall very far short of anything like a reahzation of this 
 goal. We have, indeed, in most of our secondary schools, 
 a moderate amount of systematic instruction in hy- 
 giene. Originally this consisted rather more of in- 
 struction in the elementary sciences of physiology and 
 anatomy than in instruction in hygiene. Furthermore, 
 much of the instruction in hygiene offered, even to- 
 day, is of a more or less antiquated and non-function- 
 ing kind. It does not intimately relate itself to the 
 lives which the pupils are now living. If there is any 
 
300 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 department of systematic instruction in our schools 
 which should from day to day find application, it is 
 surely that relating to the conditions of hygienic living. 
 
 Besides instruction in hygiene, we have in many 
 high schools so-called "gymnastics." Rooms set apart 
 for gymnastic practice have often been well equipped, 
 and systematic exercises to the extent of two or three 
 hours per week are given here. Personally, I question 
 very much the value of this instruction in a systematic 
 scheme of physical education. My skepticism is based 
 largely upon what appear to me to be deficiencies in 
 the objects which are now held as justifying this work, 
 as well as on certain quite apparent defective and even 
 ridiculous developments that are exhibited in gym- 
 nastic projects provided for girls' classes. 
 
 Under the first head, I refer to a failure to distin- 
 guish between general developmental work and cor- 
 rective work in gymnasium practices. If it be urged 
 that a large amount of that which is now given in the 
 gymnastics is for the purpose of general development, 
 I raise the question as to why, for example, a large 
 portion of it should not be found in the systematic 
 stimulation of out-of-door exercise. If it be urged that 
 a large part of that which is now given is corrective, I 
 raise the question, also, as to how far the corrective 
 work has been preceded by systematic examination, 
 and how far the instruction as carried on is differenti- 
 ated according to the needs of correction as shown by 
 diagnosis. The fact is, of course, that we have intro- 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION SOI 
 
 duced into our gymnasiums a series of exercises, and 
 that the chief purpose of diagnosis as now employed 
 is to prevent pupils from being overstrained; that in 
 some vague way we beheve that the two hours per 
 week of systematic instruction with apparatus, now 
 usually offered, does conduce in important measure 
 to systematic development. All of these contentions 
 seem to lack demonstrable validity, and I suggest that 
 they should be much farther examined. A few of the 
 manifest inadequacies in our present plan are found, 
 for example, in the disposition, even in countries hav- 
 ing an equable out-of-door climate almost all the year 
 round, to put oiu* gymnastic apparatus in badly ven- 
 tilated buildings. It is certainly a serious question as 
 to whether neariy all provision for systematic exer- 
 cises and for practice indoors should not be regarded as 
 a necessary and temporary expedient, due to inclem- 
 ency of weather, and the hmited number of pupils who 
 are able to stand out-of-door exercise. 
 
 Another feature that is surely questionable is the 
 provision, in most high schools, of substantially the 
 same equipment for girls as for boys. One cannot help 
 wondering if this takes account of the inherent and 
 fundamental differences, not only in the physical 
 make-up and development of girls and boys, but also 
 of their probably unlike destinations so far as these 
 affect physical strength and agility. So far as I am 
 aware, no systematic attempt has been made to de- 
 velop a line of gymnastic apparatus suitable to the 
 
302 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 physical powers of girls as well as to the probable 
 necessities which their future occupations and condi- 
 tions of Uving will impose upon them. 
 
 Physical education has been forced upon our high 
 schools from still another quarter. I refer to the con- 
 trol of athletics which, in many large high schools, 
 has necessitated the introduction of a new officer, 
 sometimes called the "physical director." In some 
 ways, the developments in this direction seem to pos- 
 sess great vitality, although few high-school authori- 
 ties have gone wiUingly into this field of work. The 
 physical director has been looked upon as a hampering 
 necessity, growing out of the obligation of the school 
 to exercise oversight over the activities, and more 
 particularly the inter-school athletic activities, of its 
 pupils. It is interesting to note that this form of phys- 
 ical education has been forced upon the school from 
 without, and, in America, at any rate, has rarely ever 
 developed from within. A discussion of the limitations 
 of physical education through the athletic activities 
 of pupils is out of place in this paper. The defects of 
 the prevailing system are recognized clearly enough by 
 high-school authorities. We know that no system of 
 athletic training has yet been devised which does what 
 is required for the less physicaUy active and the less in- 
 herently strong high-school pupils. The constant tend- 
 ency is towards selection, and the emphasis of physical 
 training on the part of those who, in a sense, are 
 already most physically "fit." Then, again, it is clear 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 303 
 
 that physical education through our system of ath- 
 letics is, in reality, a by-product of the pursuit of cer- 
 tain goals of social or other ambitions which have 
 temporary value, but which have no permanency. It 
 is contended below that to a large extent exercise, and, 
 in a measure, physical development, should be a con- 
 trolled and conscious, by-product of our activities in 
 the pursuit of other goals which are in themselves 
 worth while. It may, indeed, be well that the physical 
 development inherent in a properly conducted system 
 of athletics should be the by-product of certain social 
 goals, such as temporary fame, winning from competi- 
 tors, etc. The fundamental and permanent danger in 
 this sort of thing, of course, is that of the arrest of 
 development in what is essentially a childhood stage 
 rather than a man- or womanhood stage. There surely 
 can be no objection to an introduction into a scheme of 
 education, of incentives and goals of a temporary na- 
 ture, provided all those concerned are completely 
 cognizant of the fact that these goals are temporary, 
 and feel themselves to be in full control of the agencies 
 and means necessary to make effective the desirable 
 transitions to more permanent forms. 
 
 In general, then, the criticism that, as I see it, can 
 be passed upon forms of physical education as they 
 now appear in secondary education, has to do with 
 their somewhat fragmentary and imrelated nature. 
 Not infrequently in a high school the teacher of hy- 
 giene, the teacher of gymnastics, and the director of 
 
304 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 athletics have no direct coordination of their activi- 
 ties. Each is more or less of a speciaUst in his own 
 field, and all of their work together covers only a very 
 small portion of the total field of physical education, as 
 this includes a study of the environment under which 
 the pupils live and work, the knowledge which they 
 should possess, the systematic bodily exercise and 
 training which they should receive, and the ideals of 
 physical worth which they should develop. Hence, 
 I believe that in the near future school authorities 
 should move towards a distinct formulation of the 
 purposes of physical education, and evaluation of the 
 contributions of school and non-school agencies now 
 existing, and finally the formulation of a larger scheme 
 of control, direction, and systematic teaching by the 
 school itself. So far as I am aware, no comprehensive 
 work in this direction has yet been done. For example, 
 it must still remain true that, in the broadest sense of 
 the word, the home will continue to be a more im- 
 portant agency of physical education than the school. 
 Oiu- pupils live most of their time in their homes, and 
 it is there that they obtain rest, nurture, and opportuni- 
 ties for study. The home directs their physical activi- 
 ties almost completely for two days each week, and for 
 three fuU months each year during vacation periods. 
 Fundamentally, it is the business of the school to make 
 such contributions towards a rounded scheme of phys- 
 ical education as the home, itself, cannot compass. 
 This means that the school shall teach hygiene where 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 305 
 
 the home cannot teach it; that it shall inspire and di- 
 rect forms of physical recreation where the home seems 
 to fall short ; that it shall, in gymnasiums and otherwise, 
 provide corrective physical training such as the home 
 cannot be expected to do; and, finally, that the school 
 shall enter into the work of diagnosis and prescription all 
 along the line, and in each individual case, to an extent 
 which only the exceptional home has ever achieved. 
 
 This means, of course, that the instructor in charge 
 of physical education in any high school should be a 
 person of very comprehensive education and wide 
 outlook, and that he should have various specialists 
 to assist him in executing particular portions of the 
 program which he may devise. It means that he will 
 be acquainted with modern contributions to such sub- 
 jects as the hygiene of work and study, the require- 
 ments of rest on the part of adolescents, the effect of 
 school-room surroundings, air and the Uke on bodily 
 development, the fundamentals of sex hygiene, and 
 the means of promoting the more enduring standards 
 of physical well-being. Such an instructor as this must 
 be in a position to utilize a very considerable portion 
 of the pupil's time as a means of physical education. 
 For example, walking to and from school in the case 
 of many of our pupils may amply suffice as a means 
 of what we call "exercise," and in some cases even of 
 recreation. The use of holidays and vacation periods 
 as a means of training towards certain standards of 
 physical development is far too greatly neglected at 
 
806 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 the present time, and is capable of further utihzation. 
 I see no reason, indeed, why in the whole field of physi- 
 cal education a fully equipped instructor might not, 
 at the beginning of every year, map out, as it were, a 
 sort of program for the pupil to follow, including, 
 where necessary, creative gymnastic training, parti- 
 cipation on competitive athletics, the use of walking 
 to and from his home, and the use of home work, all 
 as means of physical development. This general pro- 
 gram would then be supplemented by systematic in- 
 struction in hygiene and sanitation within the school, 
 such instruction, as far as possible, possessing a direct 
 "functional" value in the Hves being lived by the boys 
 and girls under instruction. 
 
 In this connection, the question should be seriously 
 considered as to how far exercise as such should ever 
 be made an end in physical education. Taking account 
 of the conditions under which men and women must 
 live and work, it may be a serious question as to 
 whether we ought not to drop the word "exercise" 
 as it is now being used, and substitute therefor the 
 conception of physical exercise as a concomitant or 
 by-product of the pursuit of vocational and recrea- 
 tional activities of life. Recreation is, of course, an 
 end broad enough to be conceived of by itself. In 
 recreation is found the offset to the monotony of vo- 
 cation, and especially it involves the notion of com- 
 plementary use and development of powers not called 
 for by the vocation itself. 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 307 
 
 I am inclined to believe that ultimately we shall 
 find that certain phases of the instruction in hygiene 
 which are demanded in a modern secondary school 
 can only be given by speciahsts. I see no reason why 
 such instruction should not be given by a lecture sys- 
 tem, to very large groups of pupils collectively. I 
 think we make a mistake when we assert that instruc- 
 tion in hygiene must be given on the same class basis 
 as instruction in French, physics, or mathematics. 
 Probably the most effective method of giving at least 
 a part of the instruction in sex hygiene that is called 
 for would be for a city system of schools to employ 
 very able speciahsts who combine, on the one hand, 
 medical training with, on the other, unusual powers 
 of exposition in lecture form. I see no reason why, for 
 example, a man properly equipped for this purpose 
 should not, in certain fields of this subject, lecture 
 to a thousand boys simultaneously. Similarly, a 
 woman adequately equipped could, two or three or 
 four times a year, lecture to girls in large numbers, 
 giving the specific information that is appropriate to 
 this stage of development. It must be recognized, of 
 cotu"se, that in so involved a subject as sex hygiene, 
 as in many other phases of physical education, only a 
 portion of the ends to be held in view can be accom- 
 pUshed by systematic instruction of any sort on the 
 class basis. Much will have to be reserved for indi- 
 vidual conference. Fimdamentally we must agree, 
 of course, that the function of the school in this, as in 
 
808 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 other fields of hygiene, is merely complementary to 
 the home, — the school reserving as its functions 
 those which under ordinary conditions the home is 
 incapable of accomplishing. 
 
 In such fields as dietetics and clothing, as these re- 
 late to hygiene and sanitation, there should be, of 
 course, close cooperation between departments of 
 practical arts and departments wherein these sub- 
 jects are taught. This cooperation should take the 
 same form as cooperation with the home — namely: 
 to see that in all practical ways there should be an 
 actual "functioning" of the instruction given in the 
 department of hygiene. Personally, I am of the opin- 
 ion that in the future the so-called "functioning" of 
 instruction in hygiene will be followed up very closely 
 indeed by the school, and that the pupils, themselves, 
 will be required, as a condition of this training, to keep 
 systematic records of their own activities and accom- 
 pUshments in such fields as the care of the eyes, with 
 reference to working in proper light, oral cleanli- 
 ness, proper disposition of time for rest, moderate in- 
 dulgence in such stimulating activities as dancing, 
 etc. 
 
 Having recently been invited to assist, in an ad- 
 visory capacity, the Massachusetts Commission on 
 Military Training and Reserve (appointed to report 
 to the Legislature of 1916), I submitted the follow- 
 ing outline of recommendations: 
 
 1. In its most comprehensive sense the phrase"phys- 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 309 
 
 ical education" may be held to include an almost in- 
 definite number of educational ideals, methods, and 
 practices looking to the conservation and promotion of 
 bodily health, including the related powers and quali- 
 ties of strength, skill, endurance, and physical adapta- 
 bility. But as a department of systematic education, 
 and especially in relation to schools, the following are 
 its principal divisions: (a) The provision and active 
 utihzation of sanitary conditions in educational sur- 
 roundings and activities (school sanitation, sometimes 
 called "school hygiene"); (b) the correction of physi- 
 cal defects through special efforts initiated in, and even 
 undertaken by, schools; (c) instruction of children in 
 those principles and practices conducive to conserva- 
 tion and promotion of health; and (d) the provision 
 of the means, incentives, and direction needed for the 
 plays, games, and training which conduce to physical 
 growth, strength, and skill along serviceable lines 
 (hereafter called "physical development"). 
 
 2. Physical development in the sense here used 
 derives in large part from the spontaneous or volun- 
 tary activities instinctive with children and youths 
 living tmder a favorable environment of opportimity 
 and stimulation — play, games, sports, reaching into 
 such semi-xiseful occupations as himting, fishing, gar- 
 dening, errand running, etc. It can also be made to 
 result in part from prescribed or directed activities — 
 gymnasium training, miUtary training, work, etc. 
 
 3. Under settled rural conditions many opportuni- 
 
310 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 ties and incentives for physical development are found 
 which are not available anaidst urban surroundings. 
 These include open spaces for play activities, the in- 
 citements oflfered by animals, woods, steeps, water, 
 home-helping occupations, visit exchanging, etc. Fa- 
 cilities for physical development imder direction are 
 less available and less practicable in rural than in 
 urban communities — and perhaps less needed. 
 
 4. It is probable that the relative need of conscious 
 and systematic provision of means, incitements, and 
 direction for physical development is much greater 
 under urban than under rural conditions; while the 
 conditions favoring such conscious and systematic 
 provision are also much better in tirban communities. 
 Hence, except where otherwise specifically stated, the 
 following considerations will be submitted as bearing 
 on urban conditions, and as therefore applying sub- 
 stantially to persons in all occupations except farming. 
 
 5. Physical development in urban communities has 
 heretofore been left largely to chance, as it always 
 has been in rural sections. Streets and vacant lots 
 make poor playgrounds; woods, water, animals, ac- 
 cessible distances, as incitements to wholesome phys- 
 ical activity, are wanting. Enclosed gymnasiums — 
 at best available only to a few — are artificial and un- 
 stimulating. Collective activities — athletics, games, 
 adventure — are carried on under hampering restric- 
 tions, which become provocative of defiance of consti- 
 tuted authority. 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION Sll 
 
 6. When philanthropy and public effort intervene 
 — private effort is effective only with the prosperous 
 who can go to mountains or seashore, or who can send 
 their sons to expensive camps — the means provided 
 tend to become elaborate and costly. Playgrounds, 
 swimming pools, gymnasiums, stadiums, trained in- 
 structors, all require large financial outlay as now 
 standardized. Furthermore, these agencies in prac- 
 tice reach only a few, and those already the best de- 
 veloped. Athletics are so speciahzed that youths most 
 in need of the development they could afford are not 
 reached. The specialization of talent in various phases 
 of physical prowess is a deplorable result of inter- 
 school or intercommunity athletics. Vicarious ex- 
 pression of instincts for physical expression is prob- 
 ably softening to more than muscular fiber. 
 
 7. It is probable, therefore, that from the stand- 
 point of all activities where well-developed bodies, 
 lasting health, and potential strength and endurance 
 are required, modern urban conditions are bad for our 
 youth. Business life, community defense, parent- 
 hood — for all these, at least, to say nothing of the 
 possibilities of personal character, and the happiness 
 of wholesome living, urban life is poor preparation 
 against hoiu-s and years of need. For the moment, we 
 are confronted by the thought of national defense 
 and our unreadiness for possible crises. We ask now 
 as to the possibilities of military training in public 
 schools. 
 
312 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 8. It is obvious that under conditions now existing 
 none of us are exactly clear as to what constitutes 
 effective military training. The maneuvers of the 
 parade ground and drill hall seem to have little posi- 
 tive value in modern warfare — in some important 
 respects, indeed, they may have a negative influence. 
 We greatly need more searching analysis of the so- 
 called ends of "teaching habits of obedience," "learn- 
 ing to obey orders," "taking care of oneself," and 
 other naXve and uncritical psychological generaliza- 
 tions. 
 
 9. MiUtary training is now found in many private, 
 and some public, secondary schools. Its scope and 
 methods are necessarily restricted by school condi- 
 tions, but examination of prevailing practices would 
 probably show certain definite results therefrom. 
 Habits of body posture of a well-known character, 
 some idealization of the soldier's career, and keen 
 interest in uniforms and other personal decorations 
 — these can be distinguished and described. Mili- 
 tary drill in schools is sometimes asserted to be a valu- 
 able means of school discipline, and it is also con- 
 tended that the youth thus trained has instilled a 
 special sense of honor. These are doubtful claims as 
 yet, and need examination. How far the results of 
 such training would carry over imder conditions of 
 modern warfare is also doubtful. Probably famihar- 
 ity with the rifle and some degree of skill in its use — 
 achieved at least in some private schools — is the 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 313 
 
 most certain asset. Ability to ride — certainly at 
 times a valuable asset — is also achieved in some cases. 
 
 10. We ought to know more, too, as to the positive 
 contributions of military training to physical develop- 
 ment, before reaching general conclusions. The larg- 
 est need of the urban youth, probably, on the side of 
 physical development, is a great deal of varied and 
 relatively spontaneous physical activity. It is prob- 
 ably very easy to have too minute drill and habitua- 
 tion in gymnasium or drill hall. A large part of the 
 military training now found in schools is always a 
 "getting ready" for extensive physical exertion and 
 expression, which, however, never comes. The activ- 
 ities of the Boy Scouts may be much better, as con- 
 tributions to needed physical development, at this 
 stage, than those of the Manual of Arms. 
 
 11. In view of the existing uncertainty as to the 
 scope and character of desirable military training, it 
 is suggested that special attention should be given 
 to the following possibilities: (a) The provision under 
 adequate direction of a broader program of physical 
 development, of a simpler and more rugged character 
 than is now found in our urban schools; (b) the wide- 
 spread fostering of small-caliber rifle practice as an 
 accomplishment among school boys from twelve to 
 sixteen years of age; (c) the promotion at state ex- 
 pense of summer camps with much physical, and some 
 miUtary training, which, taking boys at school age — 
 preferably sixteen to eighteen — might be continued 
 
314 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 into young manhood, at first on a voluntary, and, if 
 feasible, later on a compulsory basis for all. 
 
 12. A program of simple and robust physical devel- 
 opment, organized and carried out by trained leaders, 
 and designed especially to reach all city boys from 
 twelve to eighteen years of age, ought to be a possi- 
 bility. The elements of it are now available. The 
 longer school day — seven or eight hours, to include 
 at least two hours for physical development — is now 
 found in some private schools and several pubUc-school 
 systems. Athletics must be so adjusted as to give 
 scope to all who will participate, and obhgatory forms 
 should be devised for the minority who will not vol- 
 imteer. Gymnasimns should be limited to correc- 
 tive work and dancing, or be dispensed with. The 
 program of school studies should be made suflS- 
 ciently flexible to permit at times — perhaps twice 
 each week — of extensive excursions, meets, trips to 
 swimming places, etc. Swimming, like other activi- 
 ties, should be carried on out of doors. "Hikes" in 
 stormy weather should be arranged, care being taken 
 to insmre suitable clothing, and a rubdown and change 
 at the end. Parks, avenues, and country roads should 
 be used no less than playgrounds. Indoor quarters, 
 apparatus, and equipment should be reduced to the 
 minimum. The one indispensable provision should 
 be private space for changing clothes and rubbing 
 down. The shower is probably a needless luxury. 
 The indoor plunge should give way to the pond in the 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 315 
 
 outskirts of the community — a plan which is feasible 
 except in largest cities. Every effort should be made to 
 encourage exposure to all sorts of weather and adapt- 
 abihty to varied conditions — the ideals and powers of 
 endurance connected therewith certainly being assets 
 for war as now waged. It is necessary to repeat that 
 paraphernalia and trappings for this program must be 
 reduced to the minimum or the program cannot suc- 
 ceed. 
 
 13. But enlightened and skilled direction is indis- 
 pensable. In a city of medium size a man worthy of 
 a salary of five thousand dollars should be in charge 
 — a deputy superintendent of schools. But the pro- 
 gram, as a whole, does not contemplate large finan- 
 cial outlay for service, because the greater part of 
 the direction of groups should be under unpaid Ueu- 
 tenants from the schools themselves, detailed for 
 short periods of responsible leadership — the best 
 possible initial training for the officers of the future. 
 Nowhere have we begun to reaUze the possibilities of 
 this unpaid service. Out of a city on an afternoon or 
 evening — and abihty to travel in the dark is now 
 surely an asset for the soldier — it ought to be pos- 
 sible to send hundreds of hiking parties of yoimger 
 boys under charge of responsible high-school upper 
 classmen, detailed for this purpose and getting their 
 several kinds of training thereby. Games, contests, 
 swimming, rifle practice, etc., should all be thus con- 
 ducted. Under scientific directioij from the center, 
 
316 PROBLEMS OF SECONDAEY EDUCATION 
 
 such a program ought not to be costly as regards per- 
 sonal service. 
 
 14. Shall rifle shooting be developed as a school art? 
 The question deserves examination. It is surely en- 
 tirely practicable to have boys, city boys and in all 
 their numbers, learn the use of the rifle. Facilities for 
 practice with small-caliber ammunition can readily 
 be provided if the semi-weekly accompaniment of the 
 "hike" is provided. Rifle shooting appeals to the 
 "achieving" instincts of most boys. It probably 
 lays the foundations for most forms of successful war- 
 like defense, even under conditions of modern mili- 
 tary practice. It is suggested that if rifle practice 
 is provided in schools, it should be begun within 
 the period of compulsory school attendance — under 
 fourteen years of age. Otherwise, this most obvious 
 of the miUtary arts would not be democratized, would 
 become the prerogative of a select few, and would be 
 viewed with suspicion by entire classes of the popula- 
 tion. 
 
 15. If widespread miHtary training is now to be 
 promoted seriously, it can probably be most effec- 
 tively and economically achieved through the summer 
 camp, which is especially suitable for boys over six- 
 teen years of age. Such camp should not be restricted 
 to boys then in school — again, because the oppor- 
 tunity is afforded to a limited and relatively prosper- 
 ous class. On the other hand, compulsory attendance 
 would hardly be practicable as a condition for school 
 
TEACHER OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION 317 
 
 boys unless it were part of a general program of ob- 
 ligatory military training. If, however, attendance 
 could be had without too great expense to the individ- 
 ual — which necessarily involves public or private 
 subsidy — a very large attendance could even now 
 be procured. Here, again, the principle of well-paid 
 general direction, and unpaid assistance, is capable 
 of large development and application. 
 
 16. In any discussion of the proposals here sug- 
 gested innumerable obstacles can be imagined. But 
 it is essential that the subject be first examined in its 
 largest aspects, and then accommodations be made 
 for particular conditions. For example, some of the 
 suggestions are not practicable in our largest cities. 
 But most of our urban population is not foimd in the 
 largest cities — most of it is in cities in which a walk 
 of a mile will bring one to open spaces. One thing is 
 certain — the entire matter of the future physical 
 development of our urban youth needs comprehen- 
 sive and critical examination, even if that call into 
 question some of our ancient prepossessions. 
 
XXV 
 
 To a Superintendent of Schools as Chairman of a 
 Committee to consider the matter of developing the 
 Intermediate or Junior High School: 
 
 The efiforts now being made in various States to 
 reorganize curricula of training and instruction for 
 children from twelve to fourteen or fifteen years of age, 
 constitute undoubtedly one of the most significant 
 and important of contemporary movements in edu- 
 cation. We are justified in assuming, without argu- 
 ment, that the scope and character of that instruc- 
 tion and training will be materially modified in the 
 near future. Readjustments in administrative plans, 
 restatement of purposes, and new developments in 
 means and methods employed may all be expected. 
 For some years educators have discussed plans for a 
 "six and six" division of the years given to elementary 
 and secondary education; and we now hear much 
 about the intermediate school and the junior high 
 school as means of providing better education for 
 children from twelve to fourteen years of age. Al- 
 ready a large number of interesting experiments along 
 these lines are being tried. These experiments sug- 
 gest several quite distinct questions of an adminis- 
 trative nature. 
 
 For example: (a) Is it desirable that pupils in the 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE HIGH SCHOOL 319 
 
 seventh and eighth grades, or even all elementary 
 pupils over twelve years of age, shall be taken away 
 from schools containing the first six grades, to be 
 taught in large central schools in urban communities, 
 and in connection with high schools in rural communi- 
 ties? (6) Have studies suited to children of these ages, 
 and highly desirable for some of them, so multiplied 
 that a wide range of possible choices now exists or 
 would exist if school organization permitted? (c) Is 
 it desirable that different courses of instruction shall 
 be available for pupils of these ages — courses having 
 common studies perhaps, but varied by means of 
 optional or alternative studies so as more nearly to 
 meet the needs of varying powers, interests, and prob- 
 able future possibihties? (d) Is it desirable that courses 
 of instruction ^all be so flexible that individual pupils 
 will be enabled to elect studies so as to make individ- 
 ual programs of instruction? 
 
 The writer holds that the theses given below can 
 now be defended effectively, and in this paper it is 
 proposed to contribute towards their discussion: 
 1. The educational needs of pupils of twelve to four- 
 teen years of age are variable to such an extent 
 that, if conditions of educational administra- 
 tion permitted, a number of courses of training 
 and instruction, dissimilar as to many impor- 
 tant elements and also even as to quality of re- 
 sults expected in common studies, should be 
 provided. 
 
320 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 2. The number and variety of subjects of training 
 and instruction suited to, and desirable for, at 
 least some important groups of pupils of these 
 ages, are now far too large to be properly in- 
 cluded in the educational program of any one 
 learner; and the number and variety of these de- 
 sirable studies tend steadily to increase. 
 
 3. It is highly probable that, as regards flexibility 
 of courses of instruction and training, the school 
 suited to the needs of pupils from twelve to four- 
 teen years of age will in essential respects re- 
 peat the history of the liberal arts (general) col- 
 lege and the general secondary school, which, in 
 the early stages of their history, offered uniform 
 curricula composed in the main of prescribed 
 studies; but which, subsequently, and in ever- 
 increasing measure, found it desirable to increase 
 the range of their studies and to give pupils 
 wider latitude in making individual programs of 
 study. 
 
 4. While it may safely be assumed that for some 
 years to come at least the individual programs 
 of instruction and training for all pupils of from 
 twelve to fourteen years of age will be required 
 to contain studies or elements common to all, 
 nevertheless, it is even now expedient and de- 
 sirable in well-organized schools and, of course, 
 subject to administrative limitations as to ex- 
 pense, and also subject to certain general condi- 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE IHGH SCHOOL 321 
 
 tions hereafter to be described, to allow pupils 
 to elect individual programs in large measure 
 from among all the subject courses offered. 
 That our system of education for young persons 
 from twelve to f oiu-teen (or fifteen) years of age should 
 be extensively revised cannot, I think, be well con- 
 tested. The organization of instruction for these pupils 
 on the grade basis, with uniform courses, and little or 
 no departmental teaching, is utterly inadequate for 
 young people of these ages. 
 
 I have for some years been convinced, in a general 
 way, that whereas our American elementary schools 
 during the first foiu: or five years of the child's school 
 life offer a very good quality of education indeed, as 
 regards children from twelve to fourteen or fifteen 
 years of age, we fall far behind the best of European 
 practice. I am not convinced that much of the work 
 in our normal schools in the way of training teachers 
 is really effective, as the services of these apply to 
 older children. I am satisfied that much of the elab- 
 orate pedagogy which we have recently worked out 
 for such subjects as history and geography is over- 
 done, and reflects altogether too much the point of 
 view of people who do not consider all the needs of 
 pupils of these ages. Furthermore, I am convinced 
 that some of the pupils from twelve to fourteen years 
 of age ought to be taught some subjects which are 
 now practically not available for them. I am certain 
 that the opportunity to study modern language should 
 
322 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 be open to those who have talent in that direction, 
 and prospects of opportunities for extended study in 
 the future. I also feel that we should be capable of 
 developing a type of science instruction adapted to 
 youths from twelve to fourteen years of age that 
 would serve to enable them to interpret nature about 
 them in an adequate fashion. Again, I think we ought 
 to have for these pupils opportunities for some form 
 of broader civics or social-science instruction such as 
 now, I think, is hardly available at all. Again, I have 
 never been friendly to the idea that manual training 
 should be compulsory for all pupils, but have be- 
 lieved that various forms of so-called "practical arts;" 
 including manual training, commercial studies, agricul- 
 ture, and household arts, under circumstances where 
 these can feasibly be handled, should be available for 
 pupils, even to the extent of four hundred to six hun- 
 dred hours of instruction per year. I believe that elec- 
 tive teaching in schools for children over twelve years of 
 age will have to be on a departmental basis, and I have 
 long been an advocate of the idea that substantially 
 one half of the teachers employed in this field should be 
 men, at least so far as the instruction of boys is con- 
 cerned. In view of the disappearance of men from ele- 
 mentary-school teaching, I am almost inclined now to 
 advocate the separation of the sexes in schools above 
 the age of twelve, to see whether we might not be 
 able to induce communities to pay adequate salaries 
 to bring men back into this important field of service. 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE HIGH SCHOOL 32S 
 
 In general, I feel that the entire realm of pedagogy of 
 elementary education in these upper grades should 
 be gone at very carefully. As regards methods of in- 
 struction, and in view of the relative lack of compe- 
 tency of many teachers in these grades, the last years 
 of the elementary school constitute, indeed, a dreary 
 period for large numbers of children, and I do not 
 wonder that so many of the latter are eager to get out 
 of schools just as soon as the law allows. 
 
 In the work of reorganizing education in this £eld, 
 however, it seems to me to make a great deal of dif- 
 ference under what agencies, with what motives, and 
 towards what ends the reorganization is undertaken. 
 I have been for several years very much interested 
 in the discussion of the so-called "six-and-six" plan, 
 which has now been replaced by the discussion of the 
 so-called "junior high school." I recognize that in 
 California, Michigan, and a number of other States 
 very important experiments are being carried out, 
 which already begin to show results. 
 
 I also recognize that, historically speaking, our sys- 
 tem of education, consisting of an eight- or nine-grade 
 elementary school, and a four-year high school, is 
 largely the result of accident, the accident in this case 
 consisting in the fact that our regular public schools 
 were at first only elementary schools, designed to 
 offer a sufficiently long course to satisfy the supposed 
 educational needs of the vast majority. The public 
 high school came in, as it were, as an afterthought, 
 
324 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 and necessarily built upon the elementary school. 
 Nowhere else in the world, as I understand, do we 
 find a similar situation. In all European countries 
 and in Japan, certainly, secondary education begins 
 at about the age of twelve (or earlier), and consists of 
 courses at least six years in length, or longer, as in the 
 case of the German Gymnasium. In most of these 
 cases there are, of course, parallel courses of instruc- 
 tion, reaching up to fourteen or fifteen years of age, for 
 those who are not diverted into the regular secondary 
 schools. 
 
 There are, therefore, good grounds for arguing that 
 in America, in reorganizing the work for children 
 from twelve to fourteen years of age, we should frankly 
 follow the custom of other countries and extend the 
 secondary school downward, shortening the elemen- 
 tary-school course to six years. I have to admit the 
 theoretical force of arguments to this end, but at the 
 same time I think the obstacles in the way of a devel- 
 opment of this sort at the present time are very great, 
 and I believe, also, there are reasons of expediency 
 why all persons connected with a movement for the 
 reorganization of secondary education, as such, should 
 confine their efiPorts to the field of education for chil- 
 dren from fourteen to eighteen years of age, at least 
 until they have some substantial accomplishments to 
 show in this field. Among the reasons which I hold for 
 this opinion are the following: 
 
 In the first place, American secondary education 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE HIGH SCHOOL 325 
 
 is now largely associated with the American college. 
 The college trains almost all high-school teachers, 
 and certainly the standards of the secondary school 
 are defined more directly by the college than by any 
 other single agency. Under these circumstances, I 
 am unable to see how an extension of the high school 
 downward could take place without a further exten- 
 sion of the college control and college influence, which, 
 from my point of view, has already proven so great 
 a detriment to the development of a genuine and effec- 
 tive system of secondary education. Surely you do 
 not believe that, among the various departments 
 in our colleges and among our high-school principals 
 and teachers at the present time, are to be found any 
 considerable number of persons qualified to take an 
 intelligent view of the problems of educating young 
 people from twelve to fourteen years of age. What 
 American colleges at present are training teachers 
 adequately for this field.'' Where in our American 
 colleges do we find formulations of the purposes of the 
 regular high-school studies, or of the functions that 
 should belong to the high school, so defined as to give 
 us good grounds for believing that, in dealing with 
 still younger children, they could give us real help? 
 Do you know of many high-school teachers whom 
 you would like to see acting as departmental teachers 
 with children from twelve to fourteen years of age? 
 Do you feel that college departments of education 
 have now sufficient control of practice teaching, as 
 
326 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 well as being in possession of eflPective methods of 
 instruction, such as might enable them to serve the 
 new field adequately? 
 
 In the second place, it seems to me that all of us 
 who are in any way interested in a movement to re- 
 construct existing secondary education should, for 
 the present, at any rate, be unwilling to have the field 
 of that education pushed lower down. The age of 
 fourteen is now a fairly well-defined period of ending 
 and beginning education, under American conditions. 
 In most of our more progressive States, the period of 
 compvdsory attendance terminates at fourteen. Every- 
 where, by tradition and practice, the high school is 
 free to begin any division of its work de novo, as it 
 sees fit. It is not under obligations to connect with 
 anything that has gone before. It can start anew, if 
 it desires, the teaching of drawing, music, English 
 literature, any form of English expression, manual 
 training, and the hke. This gives the existing high 
 school an abundant opportunity to work within a 
 definite territory, and all those of you who are inter- 
 ested in the reconstruction of this work should wel- 
 come the opportunity to start with children fourteen 
 years of age, and define your aims and realize them. 
 We are already inaugurating a variety of forms of 
 vocational education, but both in law and practice 
 we are not desirous of extending this below the age of 
 fourteen. Indeed, fourteen is quite young enough 
 to start systematic vocational education. There is 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE HIGH SCHOOL 327 
 
 not the slightest reason why, in all forms of instruc- 
 tion in the practical arts, the high school should not 
 develop to the utmost the principle of vocational 
 guidance. People identified with the high schools 
 need not worry at all about vocational guidance as 
 this affects pupils who wiU leave the regular school at 
 fourteen years of age. 
 
 If, now, a Committee on Junior High Schools, con- 
 sisting almost wholly of secondary school teachers, 
 were to undertake to reconstruct the departments of 
 education from twelve to fourteen, they would have 
 to do so almost wholly in the light of their second- 
 ary-school prepossessions. Few members of such a 
 committee, I fancy, would have had actually served 
 as teachers in elementary schools. Few of them, I 
 think, would have any realization of the qualifications 
 and limitations of pupils of the ages involved. I be- 
 lieve a large part of the interests of the various com- 
 mittees at present working in this field is really identi- 
 fied with a desire to procure early attention to the 
 various departments in which the members are in- 
 terested. If a man is interested in social science, he 
 would like to have the beginnings of it made in the 
 elementary school, probably, just exactly as college 
 men interested in various departments wish begin- 
 nings in these studies made earlier than the college 
 period. 
 
 In the third place, I believe it is very much to the 
 interests of American education that a reconstruction 
 
328 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 of the work of children between twelve and fourteen 
 years of age should be arranged from the standpoint 
 of a richer and broader elementary education, and 
 not at all from the traditions of secondary education. 
 I believe that a few of our normal-school teachers and 
 principals are even now ready to give serious consid- 
 eration to this problem. In three of the Massachu- 
 setts normal schools there has been a differentiation 
 in the groups of prospective teachers, with a view to 
 'training one group definitely for upper grade work. So 
 far, comparatively little has been done, by the princi- 
 >pals and teachers responsible for this work, in formu- 
 lating its purposes and methods on a large scale, but I 
 have great hopes that very soon comprehensive pro- 
 grams will be provided. The Fitchburg Normal School 
 is already giving a large amount of attention to a 
 broader program of practical arts for pupils of this age. 
 At the Salem Normal School the possibilities of science 
 teaching have been quite carefully examined. All three 
 of the principals have given a great deal of attention 
 to the 'problem of working out programs of instruction 
 for normal-school teachers in a three-year course 
 that is !now under way. It is from these quarters that 
 I expect will be accumulated, for Massachusetts, a 
 variety of practical material looking to an enrichment 
 and reorganization of upper grade work. 
 
 For these reasons I think that superintendents of 
 schools, upper, grade principals and teachers, and nor- 
 mal school 'teachers should take an active part in all 
 
THE INTERMEDIATE HIGH SCHOOL 329 
 
 discussions of the proposed administrative forms and 
 pedagogical requirements of the junior high school. 
 
 However, I am of the opinion that we shall not see 
 a comprehensive reorganization of education for chil- 
 dren from twelve to fourteen years of age until cer- 
 tain administrative modifications are seen to be de- 
 sirable in our local communities. This I have already 
 discussed with you and others, and in general I have 
 found a disposition to approve the proposals made. 
 Briefly, my ideal is this: That in each thickly popu- 
 lated community, elementary schools for children up 
 to twelve years of age should be organized strictly as 
 local schools, quite small if necessary, staffed entirely 
 by women teachers, and under the pedagogic super- 
 vision of an expert elementary teacher, acting in the 
 capacity of assistant superintendent. Children be- 
 yond the age of twelve should be gathered into cen- 
 tral schools, which in many cases would probably be 
 quite large, and in which, instead of a single program 
 of instruction, there should be several programs, with 
 common elements and elective studies. To these cen- 
 tral schools should be brought all children over twelve 
 years of age, whether these had reached the seventh 
 grade or not. In these central schools, retarded chil- 
 dren would be adapted to the classes for which they 
 were fitted, in some cases taking such subjects as 
 practical arts with the more advanced pupils, and Eng- 
 lish in special classes organized for this purpose. In 
 these central schools, which for the present I should 
 
330 PROBLEMS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION 
 
 like to see called "intermediate schools," rather than 
 junior high schools, would be found large opportuni- 
 ties for practical arts and for the study of a foreign 
 language. The teaching should be largely on a de- 
 partmental basis. There should be large shops, and, 
 where practicable, gardens, or at any rate facilities 
 for cooperating with the home in home gardening. 
 Such a school should be under the general supervision 
 of a strong administrator, and I believe that at least 
 half of the teachers should be men. In smaller com- 
 munities, I should not be averse to seeing this school 
 linked up, in its building and supervision, with the 
 local high school, but in larger communities, at least 
 as conditions now exist, I believe that it will be far 
 more serviceable if it is organized independently. I 
 think that ultimately there will be a regular two-year 
 course for all pupils who are moving on towards the 
 regular high school, but that in addition there will be 
 a supplementary year for pupils from fourteen and 
 fifteen years of age, consisting largely of practical 
 arts and other subjects fitting into a program pf voca- 
 tional guidance, for pupils who have no intention of 
 going to the regular high school. 
 
 I believe it would be entirely possible for our nor- 
 mal schools to train most of the teachers for this type 
 of school. The only exception I would make at the 
 present time would be the modern language. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Admission requirements, college, 
 discussed, 17-24. 
 
 Admission to college, on certif- 
 icate, 27; proposed plan for, 
 28; special tests for, 31. 
 
 Agricultural education, two kinds 
 of, 83; necessity of practice 
 in, 84; project method in, 87; 
 specialized courses in, 87. 
 
 Agricultural school, letter to the 
 principal of an, 82-91. 
 
 Aims of secondary education, 
 discussed, 124. 
 
 Algebra, the teaching of, 220. 
 
 Appreciation vs. execution in edu- 
 cation, 50. 
 
 Art. See Music and art. 
 
 Assistant superintendent in 
 charge of vocational education, 
 letter to an, 65-73. 
 
 Biological science, letter to a 
 
 teacher of, 244-50. 
 Biology as vocational subject, 246. 
 Botany. See Biological science. 
 
 Chemistry. See Physics. 
 College admission requirements, 
 
 8; 17-24; as met by a small 
 
 high school, 117. 
 College admissions, letter to com- 
 mittee on, 26-31. 
 College graduates as high-school 
 
 teachers, 14. 
 Colleges, contributions of, to 
 
 secondary education, 15. 
 Commercial education, discussed, 
 
 92; specialized, 95; general 
 
 studies in, 97. 
 Commercial high school, letter to 
 
 the principal of a, 92-98. 
 Community civics, 200. | 
 
 Definitions of education, value 
 of, 140. 
 
 Departments of education in uni- 
 versities, functions of, 34. 
 
 Doctrine of mental discipline. 
 See Formal discipline. 
 
 Dual control in vocational educa- 
 tion, problem of, 5. 
 
 Education, departments of, in 
 
 universities, 32. 
 Education in secondary schools, 
 
 major types of, 136. 
 Educational objectives in second- 
 ary schools, 125. 
 Educational values, a study of, by 
 
 departments of education, 40. 
 Elective system, reference to, 132. 
 English, letter to a teacher of, 
 
 169-92; training of teachers of, 
 
 191. 
 English language studies, 169- 
 
 92; proposed objectives of, 176. 
 English literature, teaching of, 
 
 169-92; purposes of teaching, 
 
 183. 
 
 Formal discipline, doctrine of, 
 132; theory of, in modern laL- 
 guage teaching, 163. 
 
 French, problems of teaching, 
 150-68. 
 
 General education. See Liberal 
 education. 
 
 General science, letter to a teach- 
 er of, 251-62; purposes in teach- 
 ing, 255. 
 
 German, problems of teaching, 
 150-68. 
 
 Gymnasiums in physical educa- 
 tion, 314. 
 
332 
 
 INDEX 
 
 High school, general functions of, 
 discussed, 46; curriculum of, 
 52; in rural community, 109. 
 
 Kigh-school teachers, training of, 
 23. 
 
 Higher institutions of learning, 
 influence of, on secondary 
 schools, 13. 
 
 History, letter to a teacher of, 
 193-204. 
 
 History teaching, source method 
 in, 197; contemporary, 201; in 
 relation to social science, 205. 
 
 Home economics, letter to a super- 
 visor of, 271-97; current wrong 
 tendencies in teaching, 279. 
 
 Home-making, vocational educa- 
 tion for, 288. 
 
 "Home project" in agricultural 
 schools, 89. 
 
 Household arts. See Home eco- 
 
 Industrial education, discussed, 
 74. 
 
 Industrial schools, differentia- 
 tion of departments in, 77. 
 
 Intermediate school. See Junior 
 high school. 
 
 Junior high school, modern lan- 
 guage in, 151, 156; letter to a 
 superintendent interested in 
 the, 318-30. 
 
 Latin, letter to a teacher of, 142- 
 49; as basis of English, 144. 
 
 Latin teaching, problems of, 142. 
 
 Liberal education, reference to, 
 7; vs. vocational education, 47; 
 discussed, 48 ; separate from vo- 
 cational education, 57 ; through 
 manual arts, 105: science study 
 as a means of, 237. 
 
 Manual training in secondary 
 
 education, value of, 104. 
 •Manual training school, letter to 
 the principal of a, 99-108. 
 
 Mathematics, letter to a com- 
 mittee on, 220-30; purposes of 
 teaching, 221; on college ad- 
 mission requirements, 225. 
 
 Mechanics arts high school, 99. 
 
 Mental training, reference to, 
 236. 
 
 Military training in schools, 312. 
 
 Modern language teaching, 
 weaknesses of, 155; statement 
 of objectives in, 159. 
 
 Modern languages, letter to a 
 teacher of, 150-68. 
 
 Music, purposes of, in society, 265. 
 
 Music and art, letter to a princi- 
 pal interested in, 263-70. 
 
 Oral English, 180. 
 
 Physical education, reference to, 
 
 51 ; letter to a teacher of, 298- 
 
 318. 
 Physics and chemistry, letter to a 
 
 teacher of, 231-43. 
 President of a university, letter 
 
 to a, 12-25. 
 Principal of a general high school, 
 
 letter to a, 45-54; functions of 
 
 the, 45. 
 Principal of an industrial school, 
 
 letter to a, 74-81. 
 Professor of education, letter to 
 
 a, 32-44. 
 
 Secondary education, statement 
 of problems of, 38. 
 
 Secondary school teachers, letter 
 to a conference of, 124—41. 
 
 Science, general. See General 
 science. 
 
 Science studies, 231 . 
 
 Short-unit courses for specialized 
 vocations, 81. 
 
 Small high school, letter to the 
 principal of a, 109-23; possi- 
 ble functions of the, 113. 
 
 Social economy, as related to 
 education, 39; modern, as ba- 
 sis of education, 137. 
 
INDEX 
 
 333 
 
 Social science, in relation to his- 
 tory teaching, 194; letter to a 
 teacher of, 205-19; program 
 in high school, contents of, 
 216. 
 
 Spanish, problems of teaching, 
 150-68. 
 
 State university, influence of, on 
 secondary education, 24. 
 
 Superintendent of schools, letter 
 to a, 1-11. 
 
 Teachers for high schools, train- 
 ing of, 23. 
 
 Teachers for secondary schools, 
 training of, 37. 
 
 Teachers for vocational schools, 
 training of, 68. 
 
 Teachers of modern languages, 
 qualifications of, 165. 
 
 Technical high school, 99. 
 
 Trade unions, attitude of, to- 
 ward vocational education, 69. 
 Two years' high-school course, 7. 
 
 Vocational education, discussed, 
 55-73; 74-81; 92-98; stand- 
 ards of, 57, 131; practical ex- 
 perience as a factor in, 69; 
 technical instruction in, 61; 
 short courses in, 63; for spe- 
 cialized occupations, 65; sep- 
 aration of departments for, 
 71; project method in, 79; in 
 commercial schools, 94 ; in tech- 
 nical high schools, 102. 
 
 Vocational school, general char- 
 acter of the, 47; organization 
 of the, 77. 
 
 Vocations, young women in, 293. 
 
 Zoology. See Biological science. 
 
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