,illustration3 ,a test with books open4 7,fairhope1 ,alabama47 ,frontispiece4 ,,schools ,,of ,,to-,,morrow ,,by ,,john ,,dewey ,,and ,,evelyn ,,dewey ,illustration ,,new ,,york ,e4 ,p4 ,,dutton ,,company #fha ,,fifth ,,avenue ,,copyright1 #aiae ,,by ,e4 ,p4 ,,dutton ,,company ,first ,printing1 ,may1 #aiae4 ,second ,printing1 ,august1 #aiae4 ,third ,printing1 ,march1 #aiaf4 ,fourth ,printing1 ,march1 #aiaf4 ,fifth ,printing1 ,july1 #aiaf4 ,sixth ,printing1 ,july1 #aiaf4 ,seventh ,printing1 ,jan'y1 #aiag4 ,eighth ,printing1 ,jan'y1 #aiag4 ,ninth ,printing1 ,april1 #aiai4 ,the ,knickerbocker ,press1 ,new ,york ,,preface ,there has been no attempt in this book to develop a complete theory of education nor yet review any 8systems0 or discuss the views of prominent educators4 ,this is not a text book of education1 nor yet an exposition of a new method of school teaching1 aimed to show the weary teacher or the discontented parent how education should be carried on4 ,we have tried to show what actually happens when schools start out to put into practice1 each in its own way1 some of the theories that have been pointed to as the soundest and best ever since ,plato1 to be then laid politely away as precious portions of our 8intellectual heritage40 ,certain views are well known to every teacher who has studied pedagogy1 and portions of them form an accepted part of every theory of education4 ,yet when they are applied in a classroom the public in general and other teachers in particular cry out against that classroom as a place of fads and caprices2 a place lacking in any far reaching aim or guiding principle4 ,we have hoped to suggest to the reader the practical meaning of some of the more widely recognized and accepted views of educational reformers by showing what happens when a teacher applies these views4 ,the schools we have used for purposes of illustration are all of them directed by sincere teachers trying earnestly to give their children the best they have by working out concretely what they consider the fundamental principles of education4 ,more and more schools are growing up all over the country that are trying to work out definite educational ideas4 ,it is the function of this book to point out how the applications arise from their theories and the direction that education in this country seems to be taking at the present time4 ,we hope that through the description of classroom work we may help to make some theories living realities to the reader4 ,on the other hand1 we have dwelt on theoretical aspects in order to point out some of the needs of modern education and the way in which they are being met4 ,the schools that are used for illustration were chosen more or less at random2 because we already knew of them or because they were conveniently located4 ,they do not begin to represent all that is being done to-day to vitalize the school life of children4 ,schools with like traits may be found in every part of the country4 ,space has forced us to omit a very important movement--the reorganization of the rural school and the utilization of agriculture in education4 ,but this movement shows the tendencies that mark the schools we have described2 tendencies towards greater freedom and an identification of the child's school life with his environment and outlook2 and1 even more important1 the recognition of the rle education must play in a democracy4 ,these tendencies seem truly symptoms of the times1 and with a single exception proved to be the most marked characteristics of all the schools visited4 ,without the very material help and interest of the teachers and principals of the schools visited this book would not have been possible4 ,we thank them most sincerely for the unfailing courtesy they have shown in placing their time and the material of their classrooms at our disposal4 ,our thanks are especially due to ,mrs4 ,johnson of ,fairhope and to ,miss ,georgia ,alexander of ,indianapolis for information and suggestions4 ,the visiting of the schools with one exception was done by ,miss ,dewey1 who is also responsible for the descriptive chapters of the book4 ,j4,d4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i ,,education ,,as ,,natural ,,development #a ,,ii ,,an ,,experiment ,,in ,,education ,,as ,,natural ,,development #ag ,,iii ,,four ,,factors ,,in ,,natural ,,growth #da ,,iv ,,the ,,reorganization ,,of ,,the ,,curriculum #fj ,v ,,play #ajc ,,vi ,,freedom ,,and ,,individuality #acb ,,vii ,,the ,,relation ,,of ,,the ,,school ,,to ,,the ,,community #afd ,,viii ,,the ,,school ,,as ,a ,,social ,,settlement #bje ,,ix ,,industry ,,and ,,educational ,,readjustment #bbi ,x ,,education ,,through ,,industry #bea ,,xi ,,democracy ,,and ,,education #bhg ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,facing ,,page ,a ,,test ,,with ,,books ,,open4 7,,fairhope1 ,,ala47 ,frontispiece 7#a7 ,,nature ,,would ,,have ,,children ,,be ,,children ,,before ,,they ,,are ,,men4 #h 7#b7 ,,teach ,,the ,,child ,,what ,,is ,,of ,,use ,,to ,,him ,,as ,a ,,child4 7,,teachers' ,,college1 ,n4 ,y4 ,,city7 #h ,,to ,,learn ,,to ,,think1 ,,we ,,must ,,exercise ,,our ,,limbs4 7,,francis ,,parker ,,school1 ,,chicago7 #ae 7#a7 ,,an ,,hour ,a ,,day ,,spent ,,in ,,the 8,,gym40 #cj 7#b7 ,,the ,,gully ,,is ,a ,,favorite ,,textbook4 7,,fairhope1 ,,ala47 #cj ,,games ,,often ,,require ,,muscular ,,skill1 ,,reading1 ,,writing1 ,,and ,,arithmetic4 7,,university ,,school1 ,,columbia1 ,,mo47 #de 7#a7 ,,the ,,basis ,,of ,,the ,,year',s ,,work4 7,,indianapolis7 #eh 7#b7 ,,printing ,,teaches ,,english4 7,,francis ,,parker ,,school1 ,,chicago7 #eh ,,songs ,,and ,,games ,,help ,,arithmetic4 7,,public ,,school #de1 ,,indianapolis7 #ge ,,the ,,pupils ,,build ,,the ,,school-,,houses4 7,,interlaken ,,school1 ,,ind47 #hg ,,real ,,gardens ,,for ,,city ,,nature ,,study4 7,,public ,,school #de1 ,,indianapolis7 #ig 7#a7 ,,making ,a ,,town1 ,,instead ,,of ,,doing ,,gymnastic ,,exercises4 7,,teachers' ,,college ,,playground1 ,n4 ,y4 ,,city7 #aji 7#b7 ,,gymnasium ,,dances ,,in ,,sewing-,,class ,,costumes4 7,,howland ,,school1 ,,chicago7 #aji ,,constructing ,,in ,,miniature ,,the ,,things ,,they ,,see ,,around ,,them4 7,,play ,,school1 ,,new ,,york ,,city7 #aah ,,using ,,the ,,child',s ,,dramatic ,,instinct ,,to ,,teach ,,history4 7,,cottage ,,school1 ,,riverside1 ,,ill47 #abi ,,learning ,,to ,,live ,,through ,,situations ,,that ,,are ,,typical ,,of ,,social ,,life4 7,,teachers' ,,college1 ,n4 ,y4 ,,city7 #adj ,,solving ,,problems ,,in ,,school ,,as ,,they ,,would ,,have ,,to ,,be ,,met ,,out ,,of ,,school4 7,,francis ,,parker ,,school1 ,,chicago7 #aei ,,the ,,pupil ,,stays ,,in ,,the ,,same ,,building ,,from ,,day ,,nursery ,,through ,,high ,,school4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #agg ,,special ,,teachers ,,for ,,special ,,subjects ,,from ,,the ,,very ,,beginning4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #aic 7#a7 ,,the ,,boys ,,like ,,cooking ,,more ,,than ,,the ,,girls ,,do4 #bah 7#b7 ,,mending ,,their ,,own ,,shoes1 ,,to ,,learn ,,cobbling4 7,,public ,,school #bf1 ,,indianapolis7 #bah ,,learning ,,moulding1 ,,and ,,manufacturing ,,school ,,equipment4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #bee ,,real ,,work ,,in ,a ,,real ,,shop ,,begins ,,in ,,the ,,fifth ,,grade4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #bfi 7#a7 ,,children ,,are ,,interested ,,in ,,the ,,things ,,they ,,need ,,to ,,know ,,about4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #bhd 7#b7 ,,making ,,their ,,own ,,clothes ,,in ,,sewing ,,class4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #bhd ,,training ,,the ,,hand1 ,,eye1 ,,and ,,brain ,,by ,,doing ,,useful ,,work4 7,,gary1 ,,ind47 #big ,,schools ,,of ,,to-,,morrow ,,chapter ,i ,,education ,,as ,,natural ,,development 8,we know nothing of childhood1 and with our mistaken notions of it the further we go in education the more we go astray4 ,the wisest writers devote themselves to what a man ought to know without asking what a child is capable of learning40 ,these sentences are typical of the 8mile0 of ,rousseau4 ,he insists that existing education is bad because parents and teachers are always thinking of the accomplishments of adults1 and that all reform depends upon centering attention upon the powers and weaknesses of children4 ,rousseau said1 as well as did1 many foolish things4 ,but his insistence that education be based upon the native capacities of those to be taught and upon the need of studying children in order to discover what these native powers are1 sounded the key-note of all modern efforts for educational progress4 ,it meant that education is not something to be forced upon children and youth from without1 but is the growth of capacities with which human beings are endowed at birth4 ,from this conception flow the various considerations which educational reformers since his day have most emphasized4 ,it calls attention1 in the first place1 to a fact which professional educators are always forgetting3 ,what is learned in school is at the best only a small part of education1 a relatively superficial part2 and yet what is learned in school makes artificial distinctions in society and marks persons off from one another4 ,consequently we exaggerate school learning compared with what is gained in the ordinary course of living4 ,we are1 however1 to correct this exaggeration1 not by despising school learning1 but by looking into that extensive and more efficient training given by the ordinary course of events for light upon the best ways of teaching within school walls4 ,the first years of learning proceed rapidly and securely before children go to school1 because that learning is so closely related with the motives that are furnished by their own powers and the needs that are dictated by their own conditions4 ,rousseau was almost the first to see that learning is a matter of necessity2 it is a part of the process of self-preservation and of growth4 ,if we want1 then1 to find out how education takes place most successfully1 let us go to the experiences of children where learning is a necessity1 and not to the practices of the schools where it is largely an adornment1 a superfluity and even an unwelcome imposition4 ,but schools are always proceeding in a direction opposed to this principle4 ,they take the accumulated learning of adults1 material that is quite unrelated to the exigencies of growth1 and try to force it upon children1 instead of finding out what these children need as they go along4 8,a man must indeed know many things which seem useless to a child4 ,must the child learn1 can he learn1 all that the man must know8 ,try to teach a child what is of use to him as a child1 and you will find that it takes all his time4 ,why urge him to the studies of an age he may never reach1 to the neglect of those studies which meet his present needs8 ,but1 you ask1 will it not be too late to learn what he ought to know when the time comes to use it8 ,i cannot tell4 ,but this ,i know2 it is impossible to teach it sooner1 for our real teachers are experience and emotion1 and adult man will never learn what befits him except under his own conditions4 ,a child knows he must become a man2 all the ideas he may have as to man's estate are so many opportunities for his instruction1 but he should remain in complete ignorance of those ideas that are beyond his grasp4 ,my whole book is one continued argument in support of this fundamental principle of education40 ,probably the greatest and commonest mistake that we all make is to forget that learning is a necessary incident of dealing with real situations4 ,we even go so far as to assume that the mind is naturally averse to learning--which is like assuming that the digestive organs are averse to food and have either to be coaxed or bullied into having anything to do with it4 ,existing methods of instruction give plenty of evidence in support of a belief that minds are opposed to learning--to their own exercise4 ,we fail to see that such aversion is in reality a condemnation of our methods2 a sign that we are presenting material for which the mind in its existing state of growth has no need1 or else presenting it in such ways as to cover up the real need4 ,let us go further4 ,we say only an adult can really learn the things needed by the adult4 ,surely the adult is much more likely to learn the things befitting him when his hunger for learning has been kept alive continuously than after a premature diet of adult nutriment has deadened desire to know4 ,we are of little faith and slow to believe4 ,we are continually uneasy about the things we adults know1 and are afraid the child will never learn them unless they are drilled into him by instruction before he has any intellectual or practical use for them4 ,if we could really believe that attending to the needs of present growth would keep the child and teacher alike busy1 and would also provide the best possible guarantee of the learning needed in the future1 transformation of educational ideals might soon be accomplished1 and other desirable changes would largely take care of themselves4 ,it is no wonder1 then1 that ,rousseau preaches the necessity of being willing to lose time4 8,the greatest1 the most important1 the most useful rule of education is3 ,do not save time1 but lose it4 ,if the infant sprang at one bound from its mother's breast to the age of reason1 the present education would be quite suitable2 but its natural growth calls for quite a different training40 ,and he says1 again1 8,the whole of our present method is cruel1 for it consists in sacrificing the present to the remote and uncertain future4 ,i hear from afar the shouts of the false wisdom that is ever dragging us on1 counting the present as nothing1 and breathlessly pursuing a future that flies as we pursue2 a false wisdom that takes us away from the only place we ever have and never takes us anywhere else40 ,in short1 if education is the proper growth of tendencies and powers1 attention to the process of growing in the particular form in which it goes on from day to day is the only way of making secure the accomplishments of adult life4 ,maturity is the result of the slow growth of powers4 ,ripening takes time2 it cannot be hurried without harm4 ,the very meaning of childhood is that it is the time of growth1 of developing4 ,to despise the powers and needs of childhood1 in behalf of the attainments of adult life1 is therefore suicidal4 ,hence 8,hold childhood in reverence1 and do not be in any hurry to judge it for good or ill4 ,give nature time to work before you take upon yourself her business1 lest you interfere with her dealings4 ,you assert that you know the value of time and are afraid to waste it4 ,you fail to perceive that it is a greater waste of time to use it ill than to do nothing1 and that a child ill taught is further from excellence than a child who has learned nothing at all4 ,you are afraid to see him spending his early years doing nothing4 ,what6 ,is it nothing to be happy1 nothing to jump and run all day8 ,he will never be so busy again all his life long4444 ,what would you think of a man who refused to sleep lest he should waste part of his life80 ,reverence for childhood is identical with reverence for the needs and opportunities of growth4 ,our tragic error is that we are so anxious for the results of growth that we neglect the process of growing4 8,nature would have children be children before they are men4 ,if we try to invert this order we shall produce a forced fruit1 immature and flavorless1 fruit that rots before it can ripen4444 ,childhood has its own ways of thinking1 seeing1 and feeling40 ,physical growth is not identical with mental growth but the two coincide in time1 and normally the latter is impossible without the former4 ,if we have reverence for childhood1 our first specific rule is to make sure of a healthy bodily development4 ,even apart from its intrinsic value as a source of efficient action and of happiness1 the proper development of the mind directly depends upon the proper use of the muscles and the senses4 ,the organs of action and of reception are indispensable for getting into relation with the materials of knowledge4 ,the child's first business is self-preservation4 ,this does not mean barely keeping himself alive1 but preservation of himself as a growing1 developing being4 ,consequently1 the activities of a child are not so aimless as they seem to adults1 but are the means by which he becomes acquainted with his world and by which he also learns the use and limits of his own powers4 ,the constant restless activities of children seem senseless to grown-up people1 simply because grown-up people have got used to the world around them and hence do not feel the need of continual experimentation4 ,but when they are irritated by the ceaseless movements of a child and try to reduce him to a state of quiescence1 they both interfere with the child's happiness and health1 and cut him off from his chief means of real knowledge4 ,many investigators have seen how a sound bodily state is a negative condition of normal mental development2 but ,rousseau anticipated our present psychology as to the extent in which the action of the organs of sense and movement is a positive cause of the unfolding of intelligence4 8,if you follow rules that are the opposite of the established practice and instead of taking your pupil far afield1 wandering to distant places1 far-off lands1 remote centuries1 the ends of the world and to heavens themselves1 you keep him to himself1 to his own concerns1 he will be able to perceive1 to remember1 and to reason in nature's order of development4 ,as the sentient infant grows into an active being1 his discernment keeps pace with his increase in strength4 ,not till strength is developed beyond the needs of self-preservation is the faculty of speculation manifested1 for this is the faculty of employing superfluous strength for other than necessary purposes4 ,hence1 if you would cultivate your pupil's intelligence1 cultivate the strength it is meant to control4 ,give his body constant exercise1 make it strong and healthy in order to make him good and wise2 let him work1 let him do things2 let him run and shout2 let him be on the go4444 ,it is a lamentable mistake to imagine that bodily activity hinders the working of the mind1 as if the two kinds of activity ought not to advance hand in hand1 and as if the one were not intended to act as guide to the other40 ,illustration3 7#a7 ,nature would have children be children before they are men4 ,illustration3 7#b7 ,teach the child what is of use to him as a child4 7,teachers ,college1 ,n4 ,y4 ,city47 ,in the following passage ,rousseau is more specific as to the way in which the physical activities which conduce to health and the growth of mind reinforce each other4 8,physical exercise teaches us to use our strength1 to perceive the relation between our own and neighboring bodies1 to use natural tools which are within our reach and adapted to our senses4444 ,at eighteen we are taught in our schools the use of the lever2 every village boy of twelve knows how to use a lever better than the cleverest mechanician in the academy4 ,the lessons the scholars give one another on the playground are worth a hundredfold more than what they learn in the classroom4 ,watch a cat when she first comes into a room4 ,she goes from place to place2 she sniffs about and examines everything4 ,she is not still for a moment4 ,it is the same with a child when he begins to walk and enters1 as it were1 the room of the world about him4 ,both use sight1 and the child uses his hands as the cat her nose40 8,as man's first natural impulse is to measure himself upon his environment1 to find in every object he sees the qualities that may concern himself1 so his first study is a kind of experimental physics for his own preservation4 ,he is turned away from this1 and sent to speculative studies before he has found his own place in the world4 ,while his delicate and flexible limbs and keen senses can adjust themselves to the bodies upon which they intended to act is the time to exercise senses and limbs in their proper business--the time to learn the relation between themselves and things4 ,our first teachers in natural philosophy are our feet1 hands1 and eyes4 ,to substitute books for them does not teach us to reason2 it teaches us to use the reason of others rather than our own2 it teaches us to believe much and to know little40 8,before you can get an art1 you must first get your tools2 and if you are to make good use of your tools1 they must be fashioned sufficiently strong to stand use4 ,to learn to think1 we must accordingly exercise our limbs1 our senses1 and our bodily organs1 for these are the tools of intellect4 ,to get the best use of these tools1 the body that supplies us with these tools must be kept strong and healthy4 ,not only is it a mistake that true reason is developed apart from the body1 but it is a good bodily constitution that makes the workings of the mind easy and correct40 ,the passage shows how far ,rousseau was from considering bodily development as a complete end in itself4 ,it also indicates how far ahead he was of the psychology of his own day in his conception of the relation of the senses to knowledge4 ,the current idea 7and one that prevails too much even in our own time7 was that the senses were a sort of gateway and avenue through which impressions traveled and then built up knowledge pictures of the world4 ,rousseau saw that they are a part of the apparatus of action by which we adjust ourselves to our environment1 and that instead of being passive receptacles they are directly connected with motor activities--with the use of hands and legs4 ,in this respect he was more advanced than some of his successors who emphasized the importance of sense contact with objects1 for the latter thought of the senses simply as purveyors of information about objects instead of instruments of the necessary adjustments of human beings to the world around them4 ,consequently1 while he makes much of the senses and suggests many games for cultivating them1 he never makes the mere training of the senses an object on its own account4 8,it is not enough10 he says1 8to use the senses in order to train them2 we must learn to judge by their means--we cannot really see1 hear1 or touch except as we have learned4 ,a merely mechanical use of the senses may strengthen the body without improving the judgment4 ,it is all very well to swim1 run1 jump1 whip a top1 throw stones4 ,but we have eyes and ears as well as arms and legs1 and these organs are necessary for learning the use of the rest4 ,do not1 then1 merely exercise strength1 but exercise the senses as the powers by which strength is guided4 ,make the best use of every one of them1 and check the results of one by another4 ,measure1 count1 weigh1 compare4 ,do not use force till you have estimated the resistance2 let estimation of the effect always precede application of the means4 ,get the child interested in avoiding superfluous and insufficient efforts4 ,if you train him to calculate the consequences of what he does and then to correct the errors of his prevision by experience1 the more he does1 the wiser he will become40 ,one more contrast between teaching which guides natural growth and teaching which imposes adult accomplishments should be noticed4 ,the latter method puts a premium upon accumulating information in the form of symbols4 ,quantity rather than quality of knowledge is emphasized2 results that may be exhibited when asked for rather than personal attitude and method are demanded4 ,development emphasizes the need of intimate and extensive personal acquaintance with a small number of typical situations with a view to mastering the way of dealing with the problems of experience1 not the piling up of information4 ,as ,rousseau points out1 the facility with which children lend themselves to our false methods is a constant source of deception to us4 ,we know--or fancy we know--what statements mean1 and so when the child uses the proper form of words1 we attribute the same understanding to him4 8,the apparent ease with which children learn is their ruin4 ,we fail to see that this very ease proves that they are not learning4 ,their shining1 polished brain merely reflects1 as in a mirror1 the things we show them40 ,rousseau describes in a phrase the defect of teaching about things instead of bringing to pass an acquaintance with the relations of the things themselves4 8,you think you are teaching him what the world is like2 he is only learning the map40 ,extend the illustration from geography to the whole wide realm of knowledge1 and you have the gist of much of our teaching from the elementary school through the college4 ,illustration3 ,to learn to think1 we must exercise our limbs4 7,francis ,parker ,school1 ,chicago47 ,rousseau has the opposite method in mind when he says1 8,among the many short cuts to science we badly need one to teach us the art of learning with difficulty40 ,of course his idea is not to make things difficult for the sake of having them difficult1 but to avoid the simulation of learning found in repeating the formulas of learning1 and to substitute for it the slow and sure process of personal discovery4 ,textbooks and lectures give the results of other men's discoveries1 and thus seem to provide a short cut to knowledge2 but the outcome is just a meaningless reflecting back of symbols with no understanding of the facts themselves4 ,the further result is mental confusion2 the pupil loses his original mental sure-footedness2 his sense of reality is undermined4 8,the first meaningless phrase1 the first thing taken for granted on the authority of another without the pupil's seeing its meaning for himself1 is the beginning of the ruin of judgment40 ,and again3 8,what would you have him think about1 when you do all the thinking for him80 7,and we must not forget that the organized material of our texts and set lessons represents the thinking of others47 8,you then complete the task of discrediting reason in his mind by making him use such reason as he has upon the things which seem of the least use to him40 ,if it was true in ,rousseau's day that information1 knowledge1 as an end in itself1 is an 8unfathomable and shoreless ocean10 it is much more certain that the increase of science since his day has made absurd the identification of education with the mere accumulation of knowledge4 ,the frequent criticism of existing education on the ground that it gives a smattering and superficial impression of a large and miscellaneous number of subjects1 is just4 ,but the desired remedy will not be found in a return to mechanical and meager teaching of the three ,r's1 but rather in a surrender of our feverish desire to lay out the whole field of knowledge into various studies1 in order to 8cover the ground40 ,we must substitute for this futile and harmful aim the better ideal of dealing thoroughly with a small number of typical experiences in such a way as to master the tools of learning1 and present situations that make pupils hungry to acquire additional knowledge4 ,by the conventional method of teaching1 the pupil learns maps instead of the world--the symbol instead of the fact4 ,what the pupil really needs is not exact information about topography1 but how to find out for himself4 8,see what a difference there is between the knowledge of your pupils and the ignorance of mine4 ,they learn maps2 he makes them40 ,to find out how to make knowledge when it is needed is the true end of the acquisition of information in school1 not the information itself4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,an ,,experiment ,,in ,,education ,,as ,,natural ,,development ,rousseau's teaching that education is a process of natural growth has influenced most theorizing upon education since his time4 ,it has influenced the practical details of school work to a less degree4 ,occasionally1 however1 experimenters have based their plans upon his principles4 ,among these experiments is one conducted by ,mrs4 ,johnson at ,fairhope1 ,alabama4 ,to this spot during the past few years students and experts have made pilgrimages1 and the influence of ,mrs4 ,johnson's model has led to the starting of similar schools in different parts of the ,united ,states4 ,mrs4 ,johnson carries on a summer course for training teachers by giving a working object lesson in her ideas at ,greenwich1 ,connecticut1 where a school for children has been conducted as a model4 ,her main underlying principle is ,rousseau's central idea2 namely3 ,the child is best prepared for life as an adult by experiencing in childhood what has meaning to him as a child2 and1 further1 the child has a right to enjoy his childhood4 ,because he is a growing animal who must develop so as to live successfully in the grown-up world1 nothing should be done to interfere with growth1 and everything should be done to further the full and free development of his body and his mind4 ,these two developments go on together2 they are inseparable processes and must both be constantly borne in mind as of equal importance4 ,mrs4 ,johnson criticizes the conventional school of to-day4 ,she says it is arranged to make things easy for the teacher who wishes quick and tangible results2 that it disregards the full development of the pupils4 ,it is arranged on the fatal plan of a hothouse1 forcing to a sterile show1 rather than fostering all-around growth4 ,it does not foster an individuality capable of an enduring resistance and of creative activities4 ,it disregards the present needs of the child2 the fact that he is living a full life each year and hour1 not waiting to live in some period defined by his elders1 when school is a thing of the past4 ,the distaste of children for school is a natural and necessary result of such mistakes as these4 ,nature has not adapted the young animal to the narrow desk1 the crowded curriculum1 the silent absorption of complicated facts4 ,his very life and growth depend upon motion1 yet the school forces him into a cramped position for hours at a time1 so that the teacher may be sure he is listening or studying books4 ,short periods of exercise are allowed as a bribe to keep him quiet the rest of the time1 but these relaxations do not compensate for the efforts which he must make4 ,the child is eager to move both mentally and physically4 ,just as the physical growth must progress together with the mental1 so it is in the separate acts of a child4 ,his bodily movements and his mental awakening are mutually dependent upon each other4 ,it is not enough to state this principle without carrying its proof into practice1 says ,mrs4 ,johnson4 ,the child with the well-nourished1 active body is the child who is most anxious to do and to know things4 ,the need of activity must be met in the exercise of the school1 hour by hour2 the child must be allowed to move about both in work and in play1 to imitate and to discover for himself4 ,the world of objects around him is an unexplored hemisphere to the child even at the age of six years1 a world constantly enlarging to his small vision as his activities carry him further and further in his investigations1 a world by no means so commonplace to him as to the adult4 ,therefore1 let the child1 while his muscles are soft and his mind susceptible1 look for himself at the world of things both natural and artificial1 which is for him the source of knowledge4 ,instead of providing this chance for growth and discovery1 the ordinary school impresses the little one into a narrow area1 into a melancholy silence1 into a forced attitude of mind and body1 till his curiosity is dulled into surprise at the strange things happening to him4 ,very soon his body is tired of his task and he begins to find ways of evading his teacher1 to look about him for an escape from his little prison4 ,this means that he becomes restless and impatient1 in the language of the school1 that he loses interest in the small tasks set for him and consequently in that new world so alluring a little while ago4 ,the disease of indifference has attacked his sensitive soul1 before he is fairly started on the road to knowledge4 ,the reason for having a school where children work together is that the child must learn to work with others4 ,granting this1 ,mrs4 ,johnson has tried to find a plan giving the utmost liberty of individual development4 ,because the young child is unfitted by reason of his soft muscles and his immature senses to the hard task of settling down to fine work on the details of things1 he should not begin school life by learning to read and write1 nor by learning to handle small playthings or tools4 ,he must continue the natural course he began at home of running from one interesting object to another1 of inquiring into the meaning of these objects1 and above all of tracing the relation between the different objects4 ,all this must be done in a large way so that he gets the names and bearings of the obvious facts as they appear in their order4 ,thus the obscure and difficult facts come to light one after another without being forced upon the child's attention by the teacher4 ,one discovery leads to another1 and the interest of pursuit leads the child of his own accord into investigations that often amount to severe intellectual discipline4 ,following this path of natural growth1 the child is led into reading1 writing1 arithmetic1 geography1 etc41 by his own desire to know4 ,we must wait for the desire of the child1 for the consciousness of need1 says ,mrs4 ,johnson2 then we must promptly supply the means to satisfy the child's desire4 ,therefore1 the age of learning to read is put off until the child is well grounded in his experience and knowledge of the larger relations of things4 ,mrs4 ,johnson goes so far as to prevent children from learning to read at too early an age4 ,at eight or nine years1 she thinks they are keen to explore books just as they have previously explored things4 ,by this time they recognize the need and use of the information contained in books2 they have found out they can get this information in no other way4 ,hence1 the actual learning to read is hardly a problem2 children teach themselves4 ,under the stimulus of interest in arriving at the knowledge of some particular subject1 they overcome the mechanical difficulty of reading with ease and rapidity4 ,reading is not to them an isolated exercise2 it is a means of acquiring a much-desired object4 ,like climbing the pantry shelves1 its difficulties and dangers are lost sight of in the absorbing desire to satisfy the mental appetite4 ,each of the subjects of the curriculum should be given to the child to meet a demand on his part for a greater knowledge of relations than he can get from studying objects4 ,arithmetic and abstract notions represented by figures are meaningless to the child of six1 but numbers as a part of the things he is playing with or using every day are so full of meaning that he soon finds he cannot get along without a knowledge of them4 ,mrs4 ,johnson is trying an experiment under conditions which hold in public schools1 and she believes that her methods are feasible for any public school system4 ,she charges practically no tuition1 and any child is welcome4 ,she calls her methods of education 8organic0 because they follow the natural growth of the pupil4 ,the school aims to provide for the child the occupations and activities necessary at each stage of development for his unfolding at that stage4 ,therefore1 she insists that general development instead of the amount of information acquired1 shall control the classification of the pupils4 ,division into groups is made where it is found that the children naturally divide themselves4 ,these groups are called 8,life ,classes0 instead of grades4 ,the first life class ends between the eighth and ninth years2 the second between the eleventh and twelfth1 and since an even more marked change of interests and tastes occurs at the period of adolescence1 there are distinct high-school classes4 ,the work within the group is then arranged to give the pupils the experiences which are needed at that age for the development of their bodies1 minds1 and spirits4 ,doing forced tasks1 assignment of lessons to study1 and ordinary examinations have no share in the ,fairhope curriculum4 ,hence1 the children do not acquire that dislike of learning and mistrust of what a teacher or text-book says1 which are unfortunately so common among scholars in the ordinary school4 ,they exercise their instincts to learn naturally1 without that self-consciousness which comes from having been forced to keep their minds on examinations and promotions4 ,bright and intelligent children often acquire a distaste for the schoolroom and what comes out of it1 which they not only never wholly outgrow but which is a real handicap to them as they grow up1 often preventing them from taking their college work seriously1 and making them suspicious of all ideas not actually deduced from their own experience outside the classroom4 ,perhaps they grow so docile they acquiesce in all authoritative statements whatsoever1 and lose their sense of reality4 ,we tell our children that books are the storehouses of the world1 and that they contain the heritage of the past without which we would be savages2 then we teach them so that they hate books of information and discount what a teacher tells them4 ,incompetency is general not because people are not instructed enough as children1 but because they cannot and do not make any use of what they learn4 ,the extent to which this is due to an early mistrust of school and the learning associated with it cannot be overstated4 ,the students at ,fairhope will never have this handicap to contend with4 ,they are uniformly happy in school1 and enthusiastically proclaim their 8love0 for it4 ,not only is the work interesting to the group as a whole1 but no individual child is forced to a task that does not appeal2 each pupil may do as he pleases as long as he does not interfere with any one else4 ,the children are not freed1 however1 from all discipline4 ,they must keep at work while they are in school1 and learn not to bother their neighbors1 as well as to help them when necessary4 ,caprice or laziness does not excuse a child from following a healthy or useful rgime4 ,mrs4 ,johnson feels that children in their early years are neither moral nor immoral1 but simply unmoral2 their sense of right and wrong has not yet begun to develop4 ,therefore1 they should be allowed as much freedom as possible2 prohibitions and commands1 the result of which either upon themselves or their companions they cannot understand1 are bound to be meaningless2 their tendency is to make the child secretive and deceitful4 ,give a child plenty of healthy activity4 ,when he must be disciplined1 do not appeal to a sense which he has not got1 but show him by a little pain if necessary what his naughty act meant to his playmate4 ,if he is to share in fun and good things with his family and friends1 he must behave so that they will want his company4 ,this is a motive which a young child can understand1 for he knows when his friends are agreeable or disagreeable to him4 ,there is less in such a scheme of discipline that impels the child to shirk or conceal1 to lie or to become too conscious of his acts1 than in a discipline based on moral grounds1 which seems to the child to be a mere excuse for forcing him to do something simply because some grown person wants it done4 ,lack of self-consciousness is a positive gain on the side of happiness4 ,mrs4 ,johnson's scheme of discipline contributes toward that love of school and work which all teaching aims to establish4 ,when work is interesting1 it is not necessary to hamper children in their performance of it by meaningless restrictions and petty prohibitions4 ,when children work willingly they come to associate learning with the doing of what is congenial4 ,this is undoubtedly of positive moral value4 ,it helps develop a confident1 cheerful attitude toward work2 an ability to face a task without dislike or repulsion1 which is of more real value in character building than doing hard1 distasteful tasks1 or forcing attention and obedience4 ,the division into age groups or 8life classes0 takes away that emphasis upon the pupils' failures and shortcomings which is bound to be more or less evident where pupils are graded according to their proficiency in books4 ,the child who is slow mentally is not made to feel that he is disgraced4 ,attention is not called to him and he is not prodded1 scolded1 or 8flunked40 ,unaware of his own weaknesses1 he retains the moral support of confidence in himself2 and his hand work and physical accomplishments frequently give him prestige among his fellows4 ,mrs4 ,johnson believes that the recitations and examination of the ordinary schoolroom are merely devices to make the work easier for the teacher2 while the consciousness of what he does or does not 8know10 resulting from marks and grades1 is harmful to the child just as an emphasis of his failures is harmful4 ,especially marked is the contrast of the classroom exercises at ,fairhope with recitations where1 sitting still with their books closed1 the children are subject to a fire of questions from the teacher to find out how much they remember of a lesson they are supposed to have 8studied0 alone4 ,to quote again from ,rousseau3 8,he 7the teacher7 makes a point of showing that no time has been wasted2 he provides his pupils with goods that can be readily displayed in the shop windows1 accomplishments which can be shown off at will4444 ,if the child is to be examined1 he is set to display his wares2 he spreads them out2 satisfies those who behold them1 packs up his bundle1 and goes his way4 ,too many questions are tedious and revolting to most of us and especially to children4 ,after a few minutes their attention flags2 they cease to listen to your everlasting questions and they answer at random40 ,at ,fairhope the children do the work1 and the teacher is there to help them to know1 not to have them give back what they have memorized4 ,tests are often conducted with books open1 since they are not to show the teacher what the child can remember1 but rather to discover his progress in ability to use books4 ,lessons are not assigned1 but the books are open in the hands of the pupils and with the teacher they discuss the text1 getting out of it all the joy and information possible4 ,this stimulates a real love of books1 so that these children who have never been assigned a lesson to study1 voluntarily study the text after the class work4 ,they are not tempted to cheat1 for they are not put in the position of having to show off4 ,the result of this system of discipline and study over and above satisfactory progress in the 8three ,r's10 is freedom from self-consciousness on the mental and moral side2 the ability of a child to put all his native initiative and enthusiasm into his work2 the power to indulge his natural desire to learn2 thus preserving joy in life and a confidence in himself which liberates all his energies for his work4 ,he likes school and forgets that he is 8learning02 for learning comes unconsciously as a by-product of experiences which he recognizes as worth while on their own account4 ,the following activities have been worked out at ,fairhope as a substitute for the usual curriculum3 physical exercise1 nature study1 music1 hand work1 field geography1 story telling1 sense culture1 fundamental conceptions of number1 dramatizations1 and games4 ,in the second class map drawing and descriptive geography are added1 for reading is acquired1 and the number work is modified by the knowledge of figures4 ,each lesson is planned as a concrete experience with a definite end in view1 appealing to the child as desirable4 ,as would be expected from the emphasis put upon following the development of the child1 physical exercise plays an important part in the day's work4 ,it comes every day1 during the regular school hours and usually in the first part of the morning while the children are fresh and energetic4 ,for an hour the school is outdoors in a field the children call 8the gym40 ,bars1 horses1 etc41 are scattered about1 and there is some one there to help them try new things and see that the work is well balanced1 but formal gymnastics in the accepted meaning of the term do not exist4 ,mrs4 ,johnson believes that the distaste of children is sufficient reason for doing away with them1 and that1 since the growing child is constantly seeking of his own accord opportunities to stretch and exercise his muscles1 all the school needs to do is to supply the opportunity1 seeing to it that this is not indulged to the point of harming the child4 ,the children fall naturally into groups2 those who want to swing on the bars and rings1 those who want to climb1 to jump1 or run1 or throw1 etc4 ,running usually takes the form of races2 a tree is used as a target in the stone throwing contests4 ,the children themselves have invented games to use on the apparatus1 and the hour in the 8gym0 is one of the busiest in the day4 ,it leaves the children eager and stimulated for their mental work1 since it has meant no overworking of one set of muscles1 no dull repetition of meaningless movements at some one else's command4 ,besides this regular time for exercise1 the children may study outdoors1 and many of the classes are conducted in the open air4 ,indoors there are games1 handwork1 and dramatizations1 all of which contribute to the physical well-being of the children4 ,there are no cramping desks1 the pupil may sit where or how he pleases1 or even move from place to place if he does not disturb his fellows4 ,the classes go on in a room in which two groups1 each of fifteen or more children1 are working1 and the necessary quiet and order exist4 ,illustration3 7#a7 ,an hour a day spent in the 8,gym40 ,illustration3 7#b7 ,the ,gully is a favorite textbook4 7,fairhope1 ,ala47 ,nature study and field geography are conducted almost entirely out of doors4 ,the children go into the fields and woods and look at the trees and flowers1 ask questions about them1 examine the differences in bark1 leaves1 and flowers1 tell each other what they think1 and use their books to answer questions that the trees and plants have suggested to them4 ,they learn the meaning of the words pistils1 stamens1 and petals with flowers they have gathered1 or watch a bee carrying pollen from plant to plant4 ,individual pupils are encouraged to tell the class what they may have learned at home1 to bring flowers from their gardens1 or to tell of things they have seen4 ,the class visit a neighboring truck farm1 recognize as many vegetables as they can1 and learn the names and characteristics of the new ones4 ,when they are back in the schoolroom those that can write make a list of all the vegetables they can remember1 thus combining with their nature lesson a lesson in writing4 ,there is a garden in the school grounds where the pupils learn to plow1 rake1 and plant1 watch their seeds come up and grow and flower4 ,in a little plot of ground that is their own1 they observe all the phases in the cycle of plant life1 and besides get the benefits of the moral training that comes from carrying through a piece of work that lasts several months and demands constant thought and care4 ,this sort of work plays a large part in the curriculum of the younger children1 for it seems to belong particularly to their world2 to the world of definite concrete objects which they see about them every day1 which they can handle and play with1 and which consequently arouse their curiosity4 ,the field geography is conducted in much the same way4 ,even the very young children acquire a good idea of the different sorts of rock formations1 of the action of the wind and rain1 of river currents1 by direct observation2 if text-books are used they come afterwards1 to explain or amplify something the pupils have seen4 ,the soil about the school is clay and after a rain the smallest stream furnishes excellent examples of the ways of rivers1 erosions1 watersheds1 floods1 or changing currents1 while an explanation of tides or the ,gulf ,stream is made vital by a little trip to the ,bay4 ,a gully near the school building not only furnishes a splendid place for play but serves as a text-book in mountain ranges1 valleys1 and soil and rock formation4 ,all this serves as an excellent foundation and illustration for the descriptive geography which comes later4 ,the more advanced geography is principally commercial geography2 and with the scientific background that the pupils have already obtained1 the real significance of the relations between climates and crops1 industries1 exports and imports1 and social conditions is much more likely to be understood4 ,the value of handwork is strongly emphasized at ,fairhope1 consistently with the emphasis put on physical growth4 ,the little child must go on learning to cordinate with more and more skill his muscular movements if his body is to be developed to the highest standards of health and efficiency1 and nothing contributes to this better than the controlled and rather delicate motions necessary for making things with the hands4 ,the fact that he is making things gives just the stimulus the child needs to enable him to keep on at the task1 to repeat over and over the same efforts of mind1 hand1 and eye1 to give him real control of himself in the process4 ,the benefits of handwork on the utilitarian side are just as great4 ,the child learns how to use the ordinary tools of life1 the scissors1 knife1 needle1 plane1 and saw1 and gets an appreciation of the artists' tools1 paint and clays1 which lasts the rest of his life4 ,if he is a child with initiative and inventiveness he finds a natural and pleasant outlet for his energies4 ,if he is dreamy or unpractical1 he learns a respect for manual work1 and gains something toward becoming a well-rounded human being4 ,boys and girls alike do cooking and carpentry work1 for the object of the work is not to train them for any trade or profession1 but to train them to be capable1 happy members of society4 ,painting or clay modeling play quite as large a rle1 even with the little ones1 as carpentry or sewing1 providing they serve a purpose or are sufficiently connected with other work to hold the pupil's interest4 ,a sense of the beautiful is not consciously present in small children and must be developed through their handling of every-day objects if it is to become a real force in their lives4 ,therefore 8art0 is taught as part of the handwork1 the story telling1 the dramatization1 or the nature study4 ,the youngest children in clay modeling1 painting1 weaving paper mats1 making paper or wooden toys1 etc41 are asked as much as possible to suggest things they want to make4 ,with the acquisition of skill1 they go on making more and more difficult objects2 pupils of nine or ten make raffia baskets1 boats1 and dolls' furniture4 ,the story telling and dramatization are very closely connected and 7up to the age of about ten7 take the place of the usual bookwork4 ,stories of literary value1 suited in subject matter to the age of the pupils1 are told or read to them1 and they in turn are asked to tell stories they have heard outside of school4 ,after the ninth or tenth year1 when the children have learned to read1 they read stories from books1 either to themselves or aloud1 and then the whole class discuss them4 ,the ,greek myths1 the ,iliad1 and the ,odyssey are favorites at this age1 and very frequently without directions from the teacher1 a class will act out a whole story1 such as the ,fall of ,troy1 or any tale that has appealed especially to their dramatic imagination4 ,the school believes that this is the true way for young people to approach literature1 if they are to learn to love and appreciate it1 not simply to study the text for strange words and figures of speech4 ,the pupils are not allowed to use books until the eighth or ninth year1 and by this time they have realized so keenly their need1 they beg for help in learning4 ,the long1 tiresome drill necessary for six-year-old children is eliminated4 ,each child is anxious to read some particular book1 so there is little or no need to trap his attention1 or to insist on an endless repetition4 ,mrs4 ,johnson believes also that it is better for the natural physical and mental development of the child1 if learning to write and figure is put off as late as possible4 ,then pupils approach it with a consciousness of their real need for it1 of the help it will be to them in their daily life4 ,their background of knowledge of things and skill acquired through handwork renders the actual processes of learning comparatively simple4 ,mrs4 ,johnson is convinced that a child who does not learn to read and write in her school until he is ten years old1 is as well read at fourteen1 and writes and spells as well as a child of fourteen in a school where the usual curriculum is followed4 ,the fundamental conception of number is taught orally4 ,the smallest children begin by counting one another or the things about them4 ,then perhaps at the blackboard they will divide a line in half1 then into three parts1 then quarters4 ,by means of objects or lines on the blackboard they next begin to add1 to subtract1 to take three-fourths1 even to divide4 ,the oral drill in this kind of work is constant1 and the children become thoroughly familiar with the fundamental processes of arithmetic1 before they can write a number or know the meaning of the addition or multiplication sign4 ,then when the time comes1 at about the age of nine1 to learn to write numbers1 the drill is repeated by using the conventional signs instead of lines or objects4 ,the school has found that this method does away with the usual struggles1 especially in learning fractions and their handling4 ,long division and the other complicated processes are taught after the pupils can write well and easily1 and no emphasis is put on formal analysis until repeated drill has made the children fairly familiar with1 and proficient in1 the process4 ,games and contests of all sorts invented by the individual teacher are used to make this drill interesting to the pupils4 ,sense culture means the specific training of the child's body and muscles to respond accurately to the desire to perform definite muscular or other sense acts2 or more technically it means motor-sensory cordination4 ,besides the general training coming from handwork and physical exercise1 special games are arranged to exercise the different senses4 ,the youngest class does relatively most of this sense gymnastic4 ,the whole class sits motionless and in absolute silence2 some child tiptoes from his seat to another part of the room1 and then with his eyes shut every other child tries to tell where he is2 or one child says something and the others try to guess who it was1 by the voice4 ,to train the sense of touch1 a blindfolded child is given some ordinary objects1 and by touching them tries to recognize them4 ,one of the favorite games of the whole school was invented to train muscular accuracy4 ,children of different ages1 divided into groups1 throw stones at a large tree in the yard4 ,this game has all the zest of competition1 while teaching the eye and hand to work together1 and exercising the whole body4 ,the unusual physical control of the ,fairhope pupils is seen best in the carpenter shop1 where even the youngest children work and handle full-sized tools1 hammers1 saws1 and planes and do not hurt themselves4 ,there is a foot power jig-saw in the shop and it is an instructive sight to see a child of seven1 too small to work the pedal1 holding his piece of wood1 turning and shaping it in the saw without hurting himself4 ,the ,fairhope pupils compare favorably with pupils in the ordinary public schools4 ,when for any reason they make a change1 they have always been able to work with other children of their age without extra effort2 they are apt to be stronger physically and are much more capable with their hands1 while they have a real love of books and study that makes them equally strong on the purely cultural side of their work4 ,the organic curriculum has been worked out in detail and in use longest for the younger children1 but ,mrs4 ,johnson is convinced the principle of her work will apply equally well to high school pupils and is beginning an experiment with high school children4 ,under her direction the school has proved a decided success4 ,time and larger opportunities will undoubtedly correct the weak spots and discrepancies that are bound to appear while any school is in the experimental stage4 ,the school has provided conditions for wholesome1 natural growth in small enough groups for the teacher 7as a leader rather than an instructor7 to become acquainted with the weaknesses of each child individually and then to adapt the work to the individual needs4 ,it has demonstrated that it is possible for children to lead the same natural lives in school that they lead in good homes outside of school hours2 to progress bodily1 mentally1 and morally in school without factitious pressure1 rewards1 examinations1 grades1 or promotions1 while they acquire sufficient control of the conventional tools of learning and of study of books--reading1 writing1 and figuring--to be able to use them independently4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,four ,,factors ,,in ,,natural ,,growth ,the ,elementary ,school of the ,university of ,missouri1 at ,columbia1 under the direction of ,prof4 ,j4 ,l4 ,meriam1 has much in common with ,mrs4 ,johnson's school at ,fairhope4 ,in its fundamental idea1 that education shall follow the natural development of the child1 it is identical1 but its actual organization and operation are sufficiently different to make a description of it suggestive4 ,in common with most educational reformers1 ,professor ,meriam believes the schools of the past have been too much concerned with teaching children adult facts4 ,in attempting to systematize and standardize1 the curriculum has ignored the needs of the individual child4 ,he believes that the work and play of the school should be children's work and play2 that the children should enjoy school4 ,the life there should be like1 only better than1 the life of the children outside the school2 better because they are helped to know how to play and work correctly and to do it with other children4 8,do children remember how they learned to talk8 ,no1 but their parents remember for them4 ,yet most of us1 both children and adults1 remember how we struggled in learning to read and write at school4 ,we learned to talk simply by talking when we were in need or had something to say4 ,we learned to say1 #8,please1 ,mamma1 give me a drink1' when we wanted a drink4 ,we did not practice on such words at nine o'clock each morning4 ,the pupils in the ,university ,elementary ,school learn to read1 to write1 to draw1 and to do other things1 just when they need to do so4 ,the pupils do in this school about what they would do at home1 but they learn to do it better4 ,they work and play4 ,at home they are very active most of the time doing many things2 and so they are in this school40 ,what would these children naturally be doing if there were no school8 ,on the answer to this question ,professor ,meriam has based his curriculum1 which contains but one subject that appears on the ordinary program2 namely1 handwork4 ,they would1 he says1 be playing outdoors1 exercising their bodies by running1 jumping1 or throwing2 they would be talking together in groups1 discussing what they had seen or heard2 they would be making things to use in their play3 boats1 bean bags1 dolls1 hammocks1 or dresses2 if they live in the country they would be watching animals or plants1 making a garden or trying to fish4 ,every one recognizes that the child develops quite as much through such activities as through what he learns in school1 and that what he learns out of school is much more apt to become a part of his working knowledge1 because it is entirely pleasurable and he recognizes the immediate use of it4 ,again1 these occupations are all closely connected with the business of living2 and we send our children to school to learn this4 ,what1 then1 could be more natural than making the school's curriculum of such material8 ,this is what ,professor ,meriam does4 ,the day is divided into four periods1 which are devoted to the following elements3 play1 stories1 observation1 and handwork4 ,for the younger children the work is drawn almost entirely from the community in which they live2 they spend their time finding out more about the things they are already familiar with4 ,as they grow older their interest naturally reaches out to remoter things and to the processes and reasons back of things2 and they begin to study history1 geography1 and science4 ,the time of the first three grades is divided in this way3 ,from #i to #aj3cj1 observation2 #aj3cj to #aa1 physical exercises2 from #aa to #ab1 play2 #a3cj to #c1 stories2 and #c to #d1 handwork4 ,illustration3 ,games often require muscular skill1 reading1 writing1 and arithmetic4 7,university ,school1 ,columbia1 ,mo47 ,the observation period is devoted to the study of one topic1 and this topic may take only a single morning or it may take several weeks4 ,while there is a general plan for the year's work1 if the children bring up anything which seems of importance to them and which fits in1 the program is laid aside and the teacher helps the pupils in their study of their own problem4 ,this might be true of any of the studies of the day2 the program is flexible1 the school aims to meet the individual needs of the child and the group4 ,the observation periods of the first three grades are devoted to a study of flowers1 trees1 and fruits2 birds and animals1 of the weather and the changing seasons1 of holidays1 of the town grocery store1 or the neighborhood dwellings1 and the clothing that the children see for sale in the stores4 ,the pupils learn to read and write and figure only as they feel the need of it to enlarge their work4 ,the nature work is taught as much as possible out of doors2 the children take walks with the teacher and talk about the trees1 plants1 and animals they meet on their way2 they gather tadpoles and fish for the school aquarium and pick out a tree to watch and keep a record of for the whole year4 ,their study of the weather also lasts through the whole year2 they watch the changing seasons1 what things look like in the fall and what happens as winter begins1 what the plants and animals do in winter1 etc4 ,in this way they watch the whole cycle of the year1 and learn unconsciously the relation between their own climate and the vegetation and animal life about them4 ,the study of their own food1 shelter1 and clothing is concentrated into a consecutive period1 and as interest and time dictate it is added to by a study of some phases of local life that are not concerned with the actual necessities of life4 ,they learn about their neighbors' recreations and pleasures by studying the jewelry store and the circus1 or the community interests of their parents by studying the local fire department and post-office4 ,the method of study is the same for all work4 ,first1 with help from the teacher the children tell all they know about the subject they are beginning to study2 if it is food1 each child has an opportunity to say anything he can think of about it2 what his own family eats1 where the food comes from1 how it is taken care of1 what he has noticed in the grocery stores1 etc4 ,then the whole class with the teacher make a visit to the grocery store1 spend perhaps all the morning there1 each child trying to see how much he can find out for himself4 ,before they start the teacher has called their attention to the fact that the things are sold by the quart1 etc41 for the subject of weights and measures seems to be of absorbing interest to the children when approached from this side4 ,some first grade children have proved to be remarkably keen detectives in noticing the grocer's innumerable devices for making quantities look greater than they are4 ,the pupils are also encouraged to note and compare prices1 and to bring food budgets from home whenever their parents are willing4 ,when they return to their classroom they again discuss what they have seen1 and those who can write make a list with prices of all the articles which they can remember1 or write an account of their visit1 which is dictated by the teacher from the oral accounts the children themselves have given of it4 ,the pupils who cannot read will draw a picture of the grocery store or perhaps have a reading lesson in the catalogue the grocer has given them4 ,later they will study the way the grocer delivers his goods to his patrons1 and in a very general way where the things come from4 ,they will bring grocers' bills from home1 compare them1 add them up1 and discuss the question of economical and nutritious food4 ,perhaps they will do the same thing with the milk and bakery business1 before moving on to the question of the houses in the neighborhood4 ,this and the clothing and recreation of the town will be studied in the same way4 ,later the class will visit the fire department and the post-office and find out what each is for and how they are conducted4 ,this and the study of local amusements usually come in the third grade4 ,the opportunity for the constant use of reading1 writing1 and arithmetic1 and for drill in the correct use of spoken ,english1 is obvious4 ,professor ,meriam is insistent upon the fact that this study of the community in which the child lives is made for the educational value of the work itself to the pupil1 never as a mere cloak for the teaching of 8the three ,r's10 which must be done only as it contributes directly to the work the children are doing4 ,the period devoted to games by the first three grades is of the same educational value4 ,the children are exercising their bodies1 learning to control them and to make skillful motions aimed at some immediate result4 ,much variety and liberty is allowed in this work1 and the teacher is only an observer4 ,most of the games the children play are competitive1 for they have found that the element of skill and chance is what the pupils need to make them work hard at the games4 ,bean bags and nine pins are favorites2 any game1 in fact1 where they can keep score2 the teacher acts as scorekeeper for the little children1 and when the game is over they copy the score in a folder to refer to and see how they progress4 ,the better they play1 the more they enjoy the game2 so they watch the best player1 studying how he moves and stands1 and make drawings4 ,the teacher also writes on the board some of the things the pupils say as they play1 and at the end of the game they find a reading lesson which they have made themselves and which gives an account of their game2 in copying this into their folders they have a writing lesson4 ,the children are allowed to talk and laugh as much as they please while they are playing1 and this is an ,english lesson4 ,great variety is introduced into the games so as to encourage the pupils to talk freely1 and added stimulus is given by using interesting things to play with1 bright colored balls1 dolls1 and gaily painted 8roly-polys40 ,the new words and phrases the children use are written down in the daily account of the game1 and in this way their vocabulary is enlarged in a natural way4 ,the hour devoted to stories is no more a reading and writing lesson than all the rest of the day's work4 ,children immensely enjoy good stories1 therefore they ought to be given plenty of opportunity to become acquainted with them4 ,during this period1 the teacher and the children tell stories to each other2 not stories they have studied from their primers1 but stories that they already know1 that they have listened to1 or read because they enjoyed them4 ,every child likes to be listened to1 and they soon discover they must tell their story well or they will get no audience4 ,some stories they tell by acting them out1 others by drawing4 ,soon they want to learn a new group of stories1 and then1 quite naturally1 they go to the school library1 pick out a story book and read4 ,it has been found that the first grade pupils read from twelve to thirty books during the year2 the second grade pupils from twenty-five to fifty4 ,in this way they learn to read1 to read good books--for there is nothing else in the library--and to read them well1 for they always have the desire to find a story to tell to their class1 or one that they can act4 ,appreciation of good literature begins very early in this way1 or rather1 it is never lost4 ,very small children always enjoy most the best stories--,mother ,goose1 ,hans ,andersen1 or ,kipling's 8,just ,so ,stories40 ,the dislike of books gained in school turns children from literature to trash4 ,but if children are allowed and encouraged to hear1 and read1 and act out these stories in school just as they would at home--that is1 for the sake of the fun there is in it--they will keep their good taste and enjoyment of good books4 ,songs1 says ,professor ,meriam1 are another sort of story1 and little children sing for the fun of it1 for the story of the song2 so the singing at this school is part of the story work1 and the children work and learn to sing better1 in order to increase their enjoyment4 ,children are always clamoring to 8make something40 ,professor ,meriam takes this fact as sufficient grounds for making handwork a regular part of the curriculum and having it occupy an hour a day1 a period which usually seems so short to the pupils that they take their work home4 ,the youngest children1 boys and girls alike1 go into the carpenter shop and learn to handle tools and to make things3 furniture for their dolls1 a boat1 or some present to take home4 ,weaving and sewing interest both boys and girls alike and give scope to the young child for beauty and utility1 so they do a lot of it4 ,the youngest begin usually with dolls' hammocks2 then they learn to do coarse cross-stitching and crocheting4 ,an entire class1 especially among the youngest children1 usually make the same thing at the same time1 but they may suggest what they want to make1 and the older children are allowed a great deal of liberty4 ,the work naturally increases in variety and complexity as the pupils grow older1 and as they acquire skill in the handling of tools4 ,some of the fifth and sixth grade boys have made excellent pieces of furniture which are in constant use in the school4 ,the handwork furnishes another opportunity for drawing and color work1 in the making of drawings for patterns4 ,with the fourth grade there is a marked shift in the work1 due to the widening interests that are coming to the child4 ,the day is divided then into three periods1 which are devoted to industries1 stories1 and handwork4 ,organized games no longer appeal to the pupils2 they want their play outdoors1 or in the freedom of a big gymnasium1 where they can play rougher1 noisier games1 and they are big enough to keep their own scores in their heads4 ,the 8industries0 period takes the place of the 8observation0 of the younger children1 and continues the same sort of work4 ,the child has learned the meaning of the immediate objects he sees about him1 their relation to himself and his friends1 and he is ready to go on and enlarge this knowledge so as to take in the things he cannot see1 processes and reasons1 and relations that embrace the whole community1 or more communities1 and finally the whole world4 ,in the same way that the younger children study their immediate environment1 the fourth grade studies the industries that go on in their own neighborhood3 the shoe factory1 the flour mill1 the work in the wheat and corn fields4 ,they go on excursions to the factory and farm1 and their work in the classroom is based on what they see on their trips4 ,their writing and composition are the stories of their trips1 which they write2 their reading1 the books that tell about farming or shoemaking2 their arithmetic the practical problems they find the farmer or foreman doing2 all done so that it will contribute to the pupils' understanding of the industry he is studying4 ,geography too comes from these trips4 ,it answers the questions3 ,why do they grow wheat8 ,where will it grow best in the neighborhood and why8 etc4 ,this school happens to be situated in a small town where the industries are chiefly agricultural1 but obviously such a plan could easily be adapted to any community by substituting the industries that are found in the immediate neighborhood4 ,in the fifth and sixth years the study of industries is continued1 but the scope is extended to include the principal industries of the world4 ,here1 of course1 pupils must learn to substitute more and more the printed page for their former excursions4 ,this includes drill in reading1 writing1 and mathematics1 related to earlier studies1 and also more and more geography4 ,the use of the library becomes of great importance1 for the pupils are not given one text-book from which they study and recite4 ,work in geography begins with this question3 ,what becomes of the things made in this town1 which we do not use up8 ,the next step is3 ,where else are these same things made1 and are they made in the same way8 ,what else is made in that place and how is it done8 ,then1 where and how are the things made that we get from elsewhere8 ,no one text-book could suffice for this work1 and if it did it would contradict the idea of the school that the children should learn by investigation4 ,they must find for themselves from among the books in the library the ones that tell about the particular industry they are studying4 ,every child does not read the same book1 and as far as possible each pupil makes some contribution to the discussion4 ,just as in the lower grades1 the older pupils all make folders where they keep their descriptions of the industries and illustrations of machines and processes4 ,in the seventh and highest grade in the school1 the study of industries is continued as history2 that is1 the history of the industries connected with clothing1 feeding1 and housing is taken up4 ,the pupils study the history of shelter from the first beginnings with a cave or a brush thicket1 through the tents of the wandering tribes and the ,greek and ,roman house1 to the steel skyscraper of to-day4 ,they study the history of agriculture and learn to understand the development of the steam reaper and thresher from the wooden stick of the savage4 ,the study of the industries in these four higher grades includes a study of the institutions of government4 ,the fourth grade studies the local post-office1 in the fifth and sixth they study the mail system of the ,united ,states1 and then how letters are carried to all parts of the world4 ,the seventh grade studies the history of some of these institutions4 ,part of their time during the past year was devoted to finding out how the different peoples of the world have fought their battles and organized their armies1 first by means of reading and then by discussing what they had read4 ,each pupil kept a record of this work1 writing a short paper on the army of each country he studied and illustrating it as he cared to4 ,the story period of the four highest grades continues the work begun in the lower grades4 ,music and art become more and more concentrated into it4 ,the children continue reading and discussing what they have read4 ,each pupil keeps a record of the books he reads with a short account of the story and reasons why he liked it1 and these records are kept on a shelf in the library where any other pupil can consult them for help in his choice of books4 ,even in high school1 ,professor ,meriam does not believe in teaching composition for its own sake1 nor literature by the usual method of analysis4 ,all the work of the school is a constant drill in ,english1 and by helping the pupils to use and write good ,english during every school hour1 more is accomplished than by concentrating the work into one hour of formal drill4 ,the teaching of ,french and ,german is also considered part of story work4 ,it is a study the pupils take for the pleasure they get from talking and reading another language2 for the sake of the literature they will be able to read4 ,for this reason it finds its place in the curriculum among the things that are purely cultural3 for recreation and pleasure4 ,the studies that come under the title of 8stories0 are the only ones where homework is given4 ,the children come to school to do their work1 and it is not fair to ask them to do this same work at home as well4 ,they should look forward to school as a pleasure1 if they are to get the utmost benefit out of it1 but if the doing of set tasks becomes associated with school work1 the pupil's interest in his work in school is bound to diminish4 ,if1 however1 some of the school work is regarded as appropriate to leisure and recreation1 it is natural that the children should keep on with it out of school hours1 in their homes4 ,the school has been working with this program for eight years1 and has about #abj pupils4 ,the school building has few rooms and these are connected with large folding doors4 ,at least two and usually three grades work in the same room1 and the pupils are allowed freedom to move about and talk to each other as long as they do not disturb their classmates4 ,one teacher takes charge of an entire room1 about thirty-five children1 divided into several groups1 each doing a different thing4 ,individual teachers in some of the neighboring country public schools have also followed the program through one grade and have found that the pupils were all ready for promotion at the end of the year and that they did their work in the next grade with as much ease as if they had followed the usual formal drill4 ,records are being kept of the graduates of the elementary school4 ,most of them go into the high school of the university1 where there is every opportunity to watch them closely4 ,they find no unusual difficulty in keeping up with the regular college preparatory work1 and their marks and the age at which they enter college indicate that their elementary training has given them some advantages over the public school pupils in ability to do the hard formal studying4 ,professor ,meriam is also director of the high school1 but has not as yet changed the regular college preparatory curriculum1 except in the ,english4 ,he expects to do so1 however1 and believes an equally radical reorganization of the work will have beneficial results4 ,in the high school1 ,english is not taught at all as a separate study1 but work on it is continued along the same lines followed in the elementary school4 ,a study of a certain number of graduates from the university schools and an equal number from the town high school1 has indicated that the pupils who have received none of the usual training in ,english during their high school course do better work in their ,english courses in college than those who have followed the regular routine4 ,illustration3 7#a7 ,printing teaches ,english4 7,francis ,parker ,school1 ,chicago47 ,illustration3 7#b7 ,the basis of the year's work4 7,indianapolis47 ,of course1 judging an educational experiment by the pupil's ability to 8keep up0 with the system the experiment is trying to improve1 is of very little value4 ,the purpose of the experiment is not to devise a method by which the teacher can teach more to the child in the same length of time1 or even prepare him more pleasantly for his college course4 ,it is rather to give the child an education which will make him a better1 happier1 more efficient human being1 by showing him what his capabilities are and how he can exercise them1 both materially and socially1 in the world he finds about him4 ,if1 while a school is still learning how best to do this for its pupils1 it can at the same time give them all they would have gained in a more conventional school1 we can be sure there has been no loss4 ,any manual skill or bodily strength that their schooling has given them1 or any enjoyment of the tasks of their daily life and the best that art and literature has to offer1 are further definite gains that can be immediately seen and measured4 ,all contribute to the larger aim1 but the lives of all the pupils will furnish the only real test of the success or failure of any educational experiment that aims to help the whole of society by helping the whole individual4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,reorganization ,,of ,,the ,,curriculum ,rousseau1 while he was writing his mile1 was allowing his own children to grow up entirely neglected by their parents1 abandoned in a foundling asylum4 ,it is not strange then that his readers and students should center their interest in his theories1 in his general contribution to education rather than in his account of the impractical methods he used to create that exemplary prig--mile4 ,if ,rousseau himself had ever tried to educate any real children he would have found it necessary to crystallize his ideas into some more or less fixed program4 ,in his anxiety to reach the ideal described in his theories1 the emphasis of his interest would have unconsciously shifted to the methods by which he could achieve his ideal in the individual child4 ,the child should spend his time on things that are suited to his age4 ,the teacher immediately asks what these things are8 ,the child should have an opportunity to develop naturally1 mentally1 spiritually1 and physically4 ,how is the teacher to offer this opportunity and what does it consist in8 ,only in the very simplest environment where one teacher is working out her own theories is it possible to get along without a rather definite embodiment of the ideal in specific materials and methods4 ,therefore in reviewing some of the modern attempts at educational reform1 we quite naturally find that emphasis has been put upon the curriculum4 ,pestalozzi and ,froebel were the two educators most zealous in reducing inspiration got from ,rousseau into the details of schoolroom work4 ,they took the vague idea of natural development and translated it into formul which teachers could use from day to day4 ,both were theorists1 ,froebel by temperament1 ,pestalozzi by necessity2 but both made vigorous efforts to carry their theories into practice4 ,they not only popularized the newer ideas about education1 but influenced school practice more than any other modern educators4 ,pestalozzi substantially created the working methods of elementary education2 while1 as everybody knows1 ,froebel created a new kind of school1 the kindergarten1 for children too young to attend regular primary classes4 ,this combination of theoretical and practical influence makes it important to discriminate between the points where they carried the idea of education as growth forward1 and the points where1 in their anxiety to supply a school program to be followed by everybody1 they fell back upon mechanical and external methods4 ,personally1 ,pestalozzi was as heroic in life as ,rousseau was the reverse4 ,devotion to others took with him the place occupied by a sentimental egotism in ,rousseau4 ,for this very reason1 perhaps1 he had a firm grasp on a truth which ,rousseau never perceived4 ,he realized that natural development for a man means a social development1 since the individual's vital connections are with others even more than with nature4 ,in his own words3 8,nature educated man for social relations1 and by means of social relations4 ,things are important in the education of man in proportion to the intimacies of social relations into which man enters40 ,for this reason family life is the center of education1 and1 in a way1 furnishes the model for every educational institution4 ,in family life physical objects1 tables1 chairs1 the trees in the orchard1 the stones of the fence1 have a social meaning4 ,they are things which people use together and which influence their common actions4 ,education in a medium where things have social uses is necessary for intellectual as well as for moral growth4 ,the more closely and more directly the child learns by entering into social situations1 the more genuine and effective is the knowledge he gains4 ,since power for dealing with remoter things comes from power gained in managing things close to us1 8the direct sense of reality is formed only in narrow social circles1 like those of family life4 ,true human wisdom has for its bedrock an intimate knowledge of the immediate environment and trained capacity for dealing with it4 ,the quality of mind thus engendered is simple and clear-sighted1 formed by having to do with uncompromising realities and hence adapted to future situations4 ,it is firm1 sensitive and sure of itself40 8,the opposite education is scattering and confused2 it is superficial1 hovering lightly over every form of knowledge1 without putting any of it to use3 a medley1 wavering and uncertain40 ,the moral is plain3 ,knowledge that is worthy of being called knowledge1 training of the intellect that is sure to amount to anything1 is obtained only by participating intimately and actively in activities of social life4 ,this is ,pestalozzi's great positive contribution4 ,it represents an insight gained in his own personal experience2 for as an abstract thinker he was weak4 ,it not only goes beyond ,rousseau1 but it puts what is true in ,rousseau upon a sound basis4 ,it is not1 however1 an idea that lends itself readily to formal statement or to methods which can be handed from one to another4 ,its significance is illustrated in his own early undertaking when he took twenty vagabond children into his own household and proceeded to teach them by means of farm pursuits in summer and cotton spinning and weaving in the winter1 connecting1 as far as possible1 book instruction with these active occupations4 ,it was illustrated1 again later in his life1 when he was given charge of a ,swiss village1 where the adults had been practically wiped out for resistance to an army of ,napoleon4 ,when a visitor once remarked3 8,why1 this is not a school2 this is a household10 ,pestalozzi felt he had received his greatest compliment4 ,the other side of ,pestalozzi is found in his more official school teaching career4 ,here also he attacked the purely verbal teaching of current elementary education and struggled to substitute a natural development4 ,but instead of relying upon contact with objects used in active social pursuits 7like those of the home71 he fell back upon bare contact with the objects themselves4 ,the result was a shift in ,pestalozzi's fundamental idea4 ,presentation of objects by the teacher seemed to take the place of growth by means of personal activities4 ,he was dimly conscious of the inconsistency1 and tried to overcome it by saying that there are certain fixed laws of development which can be abstracted from the various experiences of particular human beings4 ,education cannot follow the development going on in individual children at a particular time2 that would lead to confusion and chaos1 anarchy and caprice4 ,it must follow general laws derived from the individual cases4 ,at this point1 the emphasis is taken from participation in social uses of things and goes over to dependence upon objects4 ,in searching for general laws which can be abstracted from particular experiences1 he found three constant things3 geometrical form1 number1 and language--the latter referring1 of course1 not to isolated verbal expressions but to the statement of the qualities of things4 ,in this phase of his activity as teacher1 ,pestalozzi was particularly zealous in building up schemes of object-lesson teaching in which children should learn the spatial and numerical relations of things and acquire a vocabulary for expressing all their qualities4 ,the notion that object-lessons1 by means of presentation of things to the senses1 is the staple of elementary education thus came from ,pestalozzi4 ,since it was concerned with external things and their presentation to the senses1 this scheme of education lent itself to definite formulation of methods which could be passed on1 almost mechanically1 from one person to another4 ,in developing such methods1 ,pestalozzi hit upon the idea that the 8order of nature0 consists in going from the simple to the complex4 ,it became his endeavor to find out in every subject the ,a ,b ,c 7as he called it7 of observation in that topic--the simplest elements that can be put before the senses4 ,when these were mastered1 the pupils were to pass on to various complications of these elements4 ,thus1 in learning to read1 children were to begin with combinations like ,a ,b1 ,e ,b1 ,i ,b1 ,o ,b2 then take up the reverse combinations ,b ,a1 ,b ,e1 ,b ,i1 ,b ,o1 etc41 until having mastered all the elements1 they could go on to complex syllables and finally to words and sentences4 ,number1 music1 drawing were all taught by starting with simple elements which could be put before the senses1 and then proceeding to build up more complex forms in a graded order4 ,so great was the vogue of this procedure that the very word 8method0 was understood by many to signify this sort of analysis and combination of external impressions4 ,to this day1 it constitutes1 with many people1 a large part of what is understood by 8pedagogy40 ,pestalozzi himself called it the psychologizing of teaching1 and1 more accurately1 its mechanizing4 ,he gives a good statement of his idea in the following words3 8,in the world of nature1 imperfection in the bud means imperfect maturity4 ,what is imperfect in its germ is crippled in its growth4 ,in the development of its component parts1 this is as true of the growth of the intellect as of an apple4 ,we must1 therefore1 take care1 in order to avoid confusion and superficiality in education1 to make first impressions of objects as correct and as complete as possible4 ,we must begin with the infant in the cradle1 and take the training of the race out of the hands of blind sportive nature1 and bring it under the power which the experience of the centuries has taught us to abstract from nature's own processes40 ,these sentences might be given a meaning to which no one could object4 ,all of the educational reformers have rightly insisted upon the importance of the first years in which fundamental attitudes controlling later growth are fixed4 ,there can be no doubt that if we could regulate the earlier relations of children to the world about them so that all ideas gained are certain1 solid1 definite1 and right as far as they go1 we might give children unconscious1 intellectual standards which would operate later on with an efficacy quite foreign to our present experience4 ,but the certainty and definiteness of geometrical forms1 and of isolated qualities of objects are artificial4 ,correctness and completeness are gained at the expense of isolation from the every-day human experience of the child4 ,it is possible for a child to learn the various properties of squares1 rectangles1 etc41 and to acquire their names4 ,but unless the squares and rectangles enter into his purposeful activities he is merely accumulating scholastic information4 ,undoubtedly it is better that the child should learn the names in association with the objects than to learn mere strings of words4 ,but one is almost as far from real development as the other4 ,both are very far from the 8firm1 sensitive1 and sure knowledge0 which comes from using things for ends which appeal to the child4 ,the things that the child uses in his household occupations1 in gardening1 in caring for animals1 in his plays and games1 have real simplicity and completeness of meaning for him4 ,the simplicity of straight lines1 angles1 and quantities put before him just to be learned is mechanical and abstract4 ,for a long time the practical influence of ,pestalozzi was confined to expelling from the schools reliance upon memorizing words that had no connection with things2 to bringing object-lessons into the schools1 and to breaking up every topic into its elements1 or ,a ,b ,c1 and then going on by graded steps4 ,the failure of these methods to supply motives and to give real power made many teachers realize that things which the child has a use for are really simpler and more complete to him1 even if he doesn't understand everything about them1 than isolated elements4 ,in the newer type of schools1 there is a marked return 7though of course quite independently of any reference to ,pestalozzi7 to his earlier and more vital idea of learning by taking a share in occupations and pursuits which are like those of daily life and which are engaged in by the friends about him4 ,different schools have worked the matter out in different ways4 ,in the ,montessori schools there is still a good deal of effort to control the growth of mind by the material presented4 ,in others1 as in the ,fairhope experiment1 the material is incidental and informal1 and the curriculum follows the direct needs of the pupils4 ,most schools fall1 of course1 between these two currents4 ,the child must develop1 and naturally1 but society has become so complicated1 its demands upon the child are so important and continuous1 that a great deal must be presented to him4 ,nature is a very extensive as well as compact thing in modern life1 including not only the intricate material environment of the child1 but social relations as well4 ,if the child is to master these he must cover a great deal of ground4 ,how is this to be done in the best way8 ,methods and materials must be used which are in themselves vital enough to represent to the child the whole of this compact nature which constitutes his world4 ,the child and the curriculum are two operative forces1 both of them developing and reacting on each other4 ,in visiting schools the things that are interesting and helpful to the average school teacher are the methods1 and the curriculum1 the way the pupils spend their time2 that is1 the way the adjustment between the child and his environment is brought about4 8,learning by doing0 is a slogan that might almost be offered as a general description of the way in which many teachers are trying to effect this adjustment4 ,the hardest lesson a child has to learn is a practical one1 and if he fails to learn it no amount of book knowledge will make up for it3 it is this very problem of adjustment with his neighbors and his job4 ,a practical method naturally suggests itself as the easiest and best way of solving this problem4 ,on the face of it1 the various studies--arithmetic1 geography1 language1 botany1 etc4--are in themselves experiences4 ,they are the accumulation of the past of humanity1 the result of its efforts and successes1 for generation after generation4 ,the ordinary school studies present this not as a mere accumulation1 not as a miscellaneous heap of separate bits of experience1 but in some organized way4 ,hence1 the daily experiences of the child1 his life from day to day1 and the subject matter of the schoolroom1 are parts of the same thing2 they are the first and last steps in the life of a people4 ,to oppose one to the other is to oppose the infancy and maturity of the same growing life2 it is to set the moving tendency and the final result of the same power over against each other2 it is to hold that the nature and the destiny of the child war with each other4 ,the studies represent the highest development possible in the child's simple every-day experiences4 ,the task of the school is to take these crude experiences and organize them into science1 geography1 arithmetic1 or whatever the lesson of the hour is4 ,since what the child already knows is part of some one subject that the teacher is trying to teach him1 the method that will take advantage of this experience as a foundation stone on which to build the child's conscious knowledge of the subject appears as the normal and progressive way of teaching4 ,and if we can enlarge the child's experience by methods which resemble as nearly as possible the ways that the child has acquired his beginning experiences1 it is obvious that we have made a great gain in the effectiveness of our teaching4 ,it is a commonplace that until a child goes to school he learns nothing that has not some direct bearing on his life4 ,how he acquires this knowledge1 is the question that will furnish the clew for natural school method4 ,and the answer is1 not by reading books or listening to explanations of the nature of fire or food1 but by burning himself and feeding himself2 that is1 by doing things4 ,therefore1 says the modern teacher1 he ought to do things in school4 ,education which ignores this vital impulse furnished by the child is apt to be 8academic10 8abstract10 in the bad sense of these words4 ,if text-books are used as the sole material1 the work is much harder for the teacher1 for besides teaching everything herself she must constantly repress and cut off the impulses of the child towards action4 ,teaching becomes an external presentation lacking meaning and purpose as far as the child is concerned4 ,facts which are not led up to out of something which has previously occupied a significant place for its own sake in the child's life1 are apt to be barren and dead4 ,they are hieroglyphs which the pupil is required to study and learn while he is in school4 ,it is only after the child has learned the same fact out of school1 in the activities of real life1 that it begins to mean anything to him4 ,the number of isolated facts to which this can happen1 which appear1 say1 in a geography text-book1 are necessarily very small4 ,for the specialist in any one subject the material is all classified and arranged1 but before it can be put in a child's text-book it must be simplified and greatly reduced in bulk4 ,the thought provoking character is obscured and the organizing function disappears4 ,the child's reasoning powers1 the faculty of abstraction and generalization1 are not adequately developed4 ,this does not mean that the text-book must disappear1 but that its function is changed4 ,it becomes a guide for the pupil by which he may economize time and mistakes4 ,the teacher and the book are no longer the only instructors2 the hands1 the eyes1 the ears1 in fact the whole body1 become sources of information1 while teacher and text-book become respectively the starter and the tester4 ,no book or map is a substitute for personal experience2 they cannot take the place of the actual journey4 ,the mathematical formula for a falling body does not take the place of throwing stones or shaking apples from a tree4 ,learning by doing does not1 of course1 mean the substitution of manual occupations or handwork for text-book studying4 ,at the same time1 allowing the pupils to do handwork whenever there is opportunity for it1 is a great aid in holding the child's attention and interest4 ,illustration3 ,songs and games help arithmetic4 7,public ,school #de1 ,indianapolis47 ,public ,school #de of the ,indianapolis school system is trying a number of experiments where the children may be said to be learning by doing4 ,the work done is that required by the state curriculum1 but the teachers are constantly finding new ways to prevent the work becoming a mere drill in text-book facts1 or preparation for examinations4 ,in the fifth grade1 class activities were centered around a bungalow that the children were making4 ,the boys in the class made the bungalow in their manual training hours4 ,but before they started it every pupil had drawn a plan to scale of the house1 and worked out1 in their arithmetic period1 the amount and cost of the lumber they would need1 both for their own play bungalow and for a full sized one2 they had done a large number of problems taken from the measurements for the house1 such as finding the floor and wall areas and air space of each room1 etc4 ,the children very soon invented a family for their house and decided they would have them live on a farm4 ,the arithmetic work was then based on the whole farm4 ,first this was laid out for planting1 plans were drawn to scale1 and from information the children themselves gathered they made their own problems1 basing them on their play farm3 such as the size of the corn field1 how many bushels of seeds would be needed to plant it2 how big a crop they could expect1 and how much profit4 ,the children showed great interest and ingenuity in inventing problems containing the particular arithmetical process they were learning and which still would fit their farm4 ,they built fences1 cement sidewalks1 a brick wall1 did the marketing for the family1 sold the butter1 milk and eggs1 and took out fire insurance4 ,when they were papering the house the number of area problems connected with buying1 cutting1 and fitting the paper1 were enough to give them all the necessary drill in measurement of areas4 ,english work centered in much the same way around the building of the bungalow and the life of its inhabitants4 ,the spelling lessons came from the words they were using in connection with the building1 etc4 ,the plans for the completed bungalow1 a description of the house and the furnishings1 or the life of the family that dwelt in it1 furnished inexhaustible material for compositions and writing lessons4 ,criticism of these compositions as they were read aloud to the class by their authors became work in rhetoric2 even the grammar work became more interesting because the sentences were about the farm4 ,art lessons were also drawn from the work the children were actually doing in building and furnishing the house4 ,the pupils were very anxious that their house should be beautiful1 so the color scheme for both the inside and outside furnished a number of problems in coloring and arrangement4 ,later they found large opportunities for design1 in making wallpaper for the house1 choosing and then decorating curtains and upholstery4 ,each pupil made his own design1 and then the whole class decided which one they wanted to use4 ,the pupils also designed and made clay tiles for the bathroom floor and wall1 and planned and laid out a flower garden4 ,the girls designed and made clothes for the doll inmates of the house4 ,the whole class enjoyed their drawing lessons immensely because they drew each other posing as different members of the family in their different occupations on the farm4 ,the work of this grade in expression consisted principally in dramatizations of the life on the farm which the children worked out for themselves4 ,not only were the children 8learning by doing0 in the sense that nearly all the school work centered around activities which had intrinsic meaning and value to the pupils1 but most of the initiative for the work came from the children themselves4 ,they made their own number problems2 suggested the next step in the work on the house2 criticised each other's compositions1 and worked out their own dramatizations4 ,in almost all the grades in the school the pupils were conducting the recitations themselves whenever there was an opportunity4 ,one pupil took charge of the class1 calling on the others to recite2 the teacher becoming a mere observer unless her interference was necessary to correct an error or keep the lesson to the point4 ,when the class is not actually in charge of a pupil1 every method is used to have the children do all the work1 not to keep all the responsibility and initiative in the hands of the teacher4 ,the pupils are encouraged to ask each other questions1 to make their objections and corrections aloud1 and to think out for themselves each problem as it comes up4 ,this is not done by giving a class a set lesson in a text-book as an introduction to a new problem1 but by suggesting the problem to the class and by means of questions and discussion1 helped out whenever possible by actual experiments by the pupils1 trying to bring out the solution of the problem1 or at the least to give the pupil an understanding of what the problem is about before he sees it in print4 ,the method can be applied to all the classroom work1 but one illustration taken from a geography lesson is especially suggestive4 ,one grade was studying the ,panama ,canal1 and had great difficulty in understanding the purpose or working of the canal1 and especially the locks2 in other words1 they were not intellectually interested in what the teacher told them4 ,she changed her method entirely and starting from the beginning1 asked the class to pretend that ,japan and the ,united ,states were at war1 and that they were the ,government at ,washington and had to run the army4 ,they at once became interested1 and discovered that a canal across ,panama was a necessity if the ,united ,states' ships were to arrive in the ,pacific in time to defend the coast and the ,hawaiian ,islands4 ,the mountain range seemed an impossible barrier1 until the locks were explained to them again1 when they seized the principle4 ,many of them1 indeed1 became so interested that they made models of locks at home to bring to school4 ,they used the map freely and accurately in their interest in saving the country from invasion1 but until one pupil asked why the ,united ,states did not actually build a canal across the ,isthmus1 they did not notice that their exciting game had anything to do with the puzzling facts that they had previously been trying to memorize from their text-book4 ,the teachers in the school make use of any illustrations from the practical life about them that fit in well with the work the grade is doing4 ,thus the third grade set up a parcel post system in their classroom1 basing all their ,english and arithmetic work on it for some time1 and learning to use a map and scales and weights as well4 ,a retail shoe store gave the first grade plenty of work and fun1 and games and dances with little songs have proved a great help in their number work4 ,most of the furniture in the school office was made by the big boys in their shop work1 and several of the rooms are decorated with stencil designs the pupils made in their art lessons4 ,the number work of the whole school is taught from the concrete side4 ,the little children have boxes of tooth-picks and paper counters1 which they use for adding and subtracting2 the older pupils may tear paper or draw squares when they are learning a new process4 ,the class is given something to do which illustrates the process to be taught2 then the children themselves analyze what they have done and1 as the last step1 they do examples with pure numbers4 ,many of the public schools of ,chicago are also trying in every way possible to vitalize their work2 to introduce into the curriculum material which the children themselves can handle and from which they may get their own lessons4 ,this work is fitted into the regular curriculum2 it is not dependent on any peculiarities of an individual teacher1 but may be introduced throughout the entire system1 just as text-books are now uniform through a large number of schools4 ,the work has been applied principally in history and civics for the younger grades1 but it is easy to imagine how the same sort of thing could be used in geography or some of the other subjects4 ,the history in the younger grades is taught largely by means of sand tables4 ,the children are perhaps studying the primitive methods of building houses1 and on their sand table they build a brush house1 a cave dwelling1 a tree house1 or an eskimo snow hut4 ,the children themselves do all the work4 ,the teacher steps in with advice and help only when necessary to prevent real errors1 but the pupils are given the problem of the manufacture of the house they are studying1 and are expected to solve it for themselves4 ,sand tables are used in the same way by a third grade in their study of the early history of ,chicago4 ,they mold the sand into a rough relief map of the neighborhood and then with twigs build the forts and log cabins of the first frontier settlement1 with an ,indian encampment just outside the stockade4 ,they put real water in their lake and river1 and float canoes in it4 ,other grades do the same thing with the history of transportation among the first settlers in this country1 and with the logging and lumber industry4 ,the older grades are studying the government of their city1 and make sand tables to illustrate the different departments of city government4 ,one room has a life-saving station1 with different types of boats1 and life lines that work4 ,others have the telephone1 mail carrier1 and parcel posts systems1 and a system of street cleaning of which the children are particularly proud1 because they have copied conditions which they actually found in some of the alleys near the school buildings4 ,beside the alleys which were dirty1 like those in the neighborhood1 they have constructed a model alley with sanitary garbage appliances made on the best plane based on what the teacher has told them about systems in other cities4 ,in another building all the pupils above the fourth grade have organized into civic clubs4 ,they divided the school district into smaller districts and one club took charge of each district1 making surveys and maps of their own territory1 counting lamp posts1 alleys1 and garbage cans1 and the number of policemen1 or going intensively into the one thing which interested them most4 ,then each club decided what they wanted to do for their own district and set out to accomplish it1 whether it was the cleaning up of a bad alley or the better lighting of a street4 ,they used all the methods that an adult citizens' club would employ1 writing letters to the city departments1 calling at the ,city ,hall1 and besides actually went into the alleys and cleaned them up4 ,the interest and enthusiasm of the pupils in this work was remarkable and they are now undertaking a campaign to get a playground for the school1 by means of advertising and holding neighborhood meetings4 ,the ,english work in these grades is based on the work of the clubs2 the pupils keep track of the work they do1 make maps and write letters4 ,most of the hand and industrial work1 which is not taught for strictly vocational purposes illustrates the principles which 8learning by doing0 stand for4 ,examples of this are to be found in nearly all schools to-day which aim to be progressive4 ,many school systems all over the country have tried having a printing press operated by pupils with great success4 ,the presses were installed not to teach the pupils the different processes in the trade1 but so that the children might themselves print some of the pamphlets1 posters1 or other papers that any school is constantly needing4 ,besides the interest that the pupils have shown in setting up the type1 operating the presses1 and getting out the printed matter1 the work has proved itself especially valuable in the teaching of ,english4 ,type setting is an excellent method of drilling in spelling1 punctuation1 paragraphing1 and grammar1 for the fact that the copy is going to be printed furnishes a motive for eliminating mistakes which exercises written by a pupil for his teacher never provides4 ,proofreading is another exercise of the same sort4 ,in such schools the press publishes practically all the printed matter that is needed during the year1 including spelling lists1 programs1 and school papers4 ,schools are trying all sorts of experiments to make the work in ,english concrete4 ,the text-book method of teaching--learning rules and definitions and then doing exercises in their application--has proved unsuccessful4 ,every teacher is familiar with the story of the boy who wrote1 8,i have gone10 on a piece of paper fifty times1 in order to impress the correct form on his mind1 and then on the bottom of the page left a note for the teacher beginning1 8,i have went home40 ,a purpose in ,english work seems absolutely necessary1 for the child sees no gain in efficiency in the things he is most interested in due to progress in isolated grammar or spelling4 ,when the progress is brought about as a by-product of the scholars' other work the case is quite otherwise4 ,give him a reason for writing1 for spelling1 punctuating1 and paragraphing1 for using his verbs correctly1 and improvement becomes a natural demand of experience4 ,mr4 ,wirt in the ,gary1 ,ind41 schools has found this so true that the regular ,english required by the state curriculum has been supplemented by 8application periods in ,english40 ,in these hours the class in carpentry or cooking discusses the ,english used in doing their work in those subjects1 and corrects from the language point of view any written work done as part of their other activity4 ,a pupil in one of these classes1 who had been corrected for a mistake in grammar1 was overheard saying1 8,well1 why didn't they tell us that in ,english80 to which her neighbor answered1 8,they did1 but we didn't know what they were talking about40 ,in some schools as in the ,francis ,parker ,school1 ,chicago1 and in the ,cottage ,school at ,riverside1 ,ill41 ,english is not taught as a separate subject to the younger grades1 but the pupils have compositions to write for their history lessons1 keep records of their excursions1 and of other work where they do not use text-books4 ,the emphasis is put on helping the child to express his ideas2 but such work affords ample opportunity for the drill in the required mechanics of writing4 ,grammar no longer appears as a separate subject in the ,chicago public school curriculum2 the teacher gives a lesson in grammar every time any one in the classroom talks and with every written exercise4 ,illustration3 ,the pupils build the schoolhouses4 7,interlaken ,school1 ,ind47 ,however1 grammar can be given a purpose and made interesting even to eleven-year-old children1 if the pupils are helped to make their own grammar and rules by doing their own analyzing as the first step instead of the last4 ,this is being done with great success in the ,phbe ,thorn ,experimental ,school of ,bryn ,mawr ,college4 ,grammar had no place on the curriculum1 but the pupils asked so many questions that their teacher decided to let them discover their own grammatical rules1 starting from the questions they had asked4 ,a few minutes were taken from the ,english hour two or three times a week for their lessons4 ,at the end of three months the class could analyze any simple sentence1 could tell a transitive from an intransitive verb instantly1 and were thoroughly familiar with the rules governing the verb to be4 ,the grammar lesson was one of the favorite lessons2 the teacher and pupils together had invented a number of games to help their drill4 ,for example1 one child had a slip of paper pinned to her back describing a sentence in grammatical terms2 the class made sentences that fitted the sentence1 and the first pupil had to guess what her paper said4 ,no text book was used in the work1 and the teacher started with the sentence1 called it a town1 and by discussion helped the pupils to divide it up into districts--singular1 plural1 etc4 ,starting from this1 they developed other grammatical rules4 ,the general tendency in the progressive schools to-day1 nevertheless1 seems to be toward the elimination of the separate study of grammar1 and toward making it and the remainder of the ,english work 7with the exception of literature7 a part of other subjects which the class is studying4 ,the motto of the boys' school at ,interlaken1 ,ind41 8,to teach boys to live10 is another way of saying1 8learning by doing40 ,here this is accomplished1 not so much by special devices to render the curriculum more vital and concrete1 and by the abolition of text-books with the old-fashioned reservoir and pump relation of pupil and teacher1 as by giving the boys an environment which is full of interesting things that need to be done4 ,the school buildings have been built by the pupils1 including four or five big log structures1 the plans being drawn1 the foundations dug and laid1 and the carpentry and painting on the building done by boy labor4 ,the electric light and heating plant is run by the boys1 and all the wiring and bulbs were put in and are kept in repair by them4 ,there is a six hundred acre farm1 with a dairy1 a piggery and hennery1 and crops to be sowed and gathered4 ,nearly all this work is also done by pupils2 the big boys driving the reapers and binders and the little boys going along to see how it is done4 ,the inside of the houses are taken care of in the same way by the students4 ,each boy looks after his own room1 and the work in the corridors and schoolrooms is attended to by changing shifts4 ,there is a lake for swimming and canoeing1 and plenty of time for the conventional athletics4 ,most of the boys are preparing for college1 but this outdoor and manual work does not mean that they have to take any longer for their preparation than the boy in the city high school4 ,the school has also bought the local newspaper from the neighboring village and edits and prints a four-page weekly paper of local and school news4 ,the boys gather the news1 do much of the writing and all of the editing and printing1 and are the business managers1 getting advertisements and tending to the subscription list4 ,the instructors in the ,english department give the boys any needed assistance4 ,they do all these things1 not because they want to know certain processes that will help them earn a living after they are through school1 but because to use tools1 to move from one kind of work to another1 to meet different kinds of problems1 to exercise outdoors1 and to learn to supply one's daily needs are educating influences1 which develop skill1 initiative1 independence1 and bodily strength--in a word1 character and knowledge4 ,work in nature study is undergoing reorganization in many schools in all parts of the country4 ,the attempt is to vitalize the work1 so that pupils shall actually get a feeling for plants and animals1 together with some real scientific knowledge1 not simply the rather sentimental descriptions and rhapsodizings of literature4 ,it is also different from the information gathering type of nature study1 which is no more real science than is the literary type4 ,here the pupils are taught a large number of isolated facts1 starting from material that the teacher gathers in a more or less miscellaneous way2 they learn all about one object after another1 each one unrelated to the others or to any general plan of work4 ,even though a child has gone over a large number of facts about the outdoor world1 he gains little or nothing which makes nature itself more real or more understandable4 ,if nature study is turned into a science1 the real material of the subject must be at hand for the students2 there must be a laboratory1 with provision for experimentation and observation4 ,in the country this is easy1 for nature is just outside the school doors and windows4 ,the work can be organized in the complete way that has already been described in the schools at ,fairhope and ,columbia4 ,the ,cottage ,school at ,riverside1 ,ill41 and the ,little ,school in the ,woods at ,greenwich1 ,conn41 both put a great deal of stress on their nature study work4 ,at the former1 the children have a garden where they plant early and late vegetables1 so that they can use them for their cooking class in the spring and fall2 the pupils do all the work here1 plant1 weed1 and gather the things4 ,even more important is the work they do with animals4 ,they have1 for example1 a rare bird that is as much a personality in the school life as any of the children1 and the children1 having cared for him and watched his growth and habits1 have become much more interested in wild birds4 ,in the backyard is a goat1 the best liked thing on the place1 which the children have raised from a little kid2 and they still do all the work of caring for him4 ,they are encouraged in every way to watch and report on the school pets and also on the animals they find in the woods4 ,in the ,little ,school in the ,woods at ,greenwich outdoor work is the basis of the whole school organization4 ,nature study plays a large part in this4 ,groups of pupils take long walks through the woods in all seasons and weathers1 learning the trees in all their dresses1 and the flowers which come with each season4 ,they learn to know the birds and their habits2 they study insects in the same way1 and learn about the stars4 ,in fact1 so much of their time is spent out of doors1 that the pupils acquire first hand a large fund of knowledge of the world of nature in all its phases4 ,the basis of this work1 the director of the school calls ,woodcraft2 he believes that experience in the things the woodman does--riding1 hunting1 camping1 scouting1 mountaineering1 ,indian-craft1 boating1 etc4--will make strong1 healthy1 and independent young people with well developed characters and a true sense of the beauty of nature4 ,the nature study then is a part of this other training4 ,a teacher is always with the pupils1 whether they are boating1 walking1 or gardening1 to explain what they are doing and why1 and to call their attention to the things about them4 ,there is no doubt that the children in the school1 even the very little ones1 have a knowledge and appreciation of nature which are very rare even among country children4 ,nature study in the big city1 where the only plants are in parks and formal yards and where the only animals are the delivery horse and the alley cat1 offers a very different problem4 ,the teacher may well be puzzled as to the best way to teach her pupils to love nature when they never see it2 or be doubtful as to the value of trying to develop powers of observation when the things which they are asked to observe not only do not play any part in the lives of the pupils but are in quite artificial surroundings4 ,yet while wild nature1 the world of woods and fields and streams1 is almost meaningless to the city bred child1 there is plenty of material available to make nature a very real thing even for the child who has never seen a tree or cow4 ,the modern teacher takes as a starting point anything that is familiar to the class2 a caged canary1 a bowl of gold fish1 or the dusty trees on the playground1 and starting from these she introduces the children to more and more of nature1 until they can really get some idea of 8the country0 and the part it plays in the lives of every one4 ,the vegetable garden is the obvious starting point for most city children2 if they do not have tiny gardens in their own backyards1 there is a neighbor who has1 or they are interested to find out where the vegetables they eat come from and how they are grown4 ,both in ,indianapolis and ,chicago1 the public schools realize the value of this sort of work for the children4 ,in ,indianapolis1 gardening is a regular department in the seventh and eighth grades and the high school4 ,the city has bought a large tract of land far enough in town to be accessible1 and any child who cannot have a garden at home may1 by asking1 have a garden plot together with lessons in the theory and practice of gardening4 ,the plots are large enough for the pupils to gain considerable experience and to put into practice what they learn in the classroom4 ,both boys and girls have the gardens1 and are given credit for work in them just as for other work4 ,all through the school system every attempt is made to arouse an interest in gardening4 ,from the first grade on1 statistics are kept of the numbers of children with gardens at home1 whether they are vegetable or flower gardens1 and what is grown4 ,seeds are given to the children who wish to grow new things1 and the child is supposed to account to his grade for the use he has made of his garden4 ,this work has become a matter of course in many rural districts2 every one is familiar with the 8corn clubs0 among the school children of the ,south and ,west1 and the splendid example they have set the farmers as to the possibilities of the soil4 ,in many small towns seeds are given to the children who want gardens1 and in the fall a competitive flower and vegetable show is held1 where prizes are given1 as a means of keeping track of the work and arousing community interest4 ,it is true that most of these efforts have been grafted on to the schools by the local agricultural interests1 in an effort to improve the crops and so increase the wealth of the neighborhood2 but local school boards are beginning to take the work over1 and it is no less real nature study work because of its utilitarian color4 ,it may be made a means of making a real science of nature study2 in no way does it hinder the teaching of the beauty and usefulness of nature1 which was the object of the old-fashioned study4 ,in fact1 it is the strongest weapon the school can make use of for this purpose4 ,every one1 and children especially1 enjoy and respect most the things about which their fund of knowledge is largest4 ,the true value of anything is most apparent to the person who knows something about it4 ,familiarity with growing things and with the science of getting food supplies for a people1 cannot fail to be a big influence towards habits of industry and observation1 for only the gardener who watches all the stages and conditions of his garden1 seeking constantly for causes1 will be successful4 ,added to this is the purely economic value of having our young people grow up with a real respect for the farmer and his work1 a respect which should counteract that overwhelming flow of population toward congested cities4 ,illustration3 ,real gardens for city nature study4 7,public ,school #de1 ,indianapolis47 ,the work in the ,chicago public schools has not been organized as it is in ,indianapolis1 but in some districts of the city a great deal of emphasis is put on nature study work through gardens4 ,many of the schools have school gardens where all the children get an opportunity to do real gardening1 these gardens being used as the basis for the nature study work1 and the children getting instruction in scientific gardening besides4 ,the work is given a civic turn2 that is to say1 the value of the gardens to the child and to the neighborhood is demonstrated3 to the child as a means of making money or helping his family by supplying them with vegetables1 to the community in showing how gardens are a means of cleaning up and beautifying the neighborhood4 ,if the residents want their backyards and empty lots for gardens1 they are not going to throw rubbish into them or let other people do so4 ,especially in the streets around one school has this work made a difference4 ,starting with the interest and effort of the children1 the whole community has become tremendously interested in starting gardens1 using every bit of available ground4 ,the district is a poor one and1 besides transforming the yards1 the gardens have been a real economic help to the people4 ,with the help of one school a group of adults in the district hired quite a large tract of land outside the city and started truck gardens4 ,the experiment was a great success4 ,inexperienced city dwellers1 by taking advantage of the opportunities for instruction which the school could offer1 were able to plan and do the work and make the garden a success from the start4 ,the advantage to the school was just as great1 for a large group of foreign parents came into close touch with it1 discovered that it was a real force in the neighborhood1 and that they could coperate with it4 ,this element of the population usually stands quite aloof from the school its children go to1 through timidity and ignorance1 or simply through feeling that it is an institution above them4 ,the impetus to 8civic nature study0 in ,chicago1 aside from the district just described1 has come largely from the ,chicago ,teachers' ,college1 where the teacher of biology has devoted himself especially to working out this problem4 ,in addition to the familiar gardening work1 with especial attention to the organization of truck gardening1 plants are grown in the classroom for purposes of developing appreciation of beauty1 scientific illustration1 and assistance in geography4 ,but plants are selected with special reference to local conditions1 and with the desire to furnish a stimulus to beautifying the pupils' own environment4 ,for it is found that the scientific principles of botany can be taught by means of growing plants which are adapted to home use as well as by specimens selected on abstract scientific grounds4 ,by making a special study of the parks1 playgrounds1 and yards of their surroundings1 the children learn what can be done to beautify their city1 and secure an added practical motive for acquiring information4 ,they keep pets in the schoolroom1 such as white mice1 fish1 birds1 and rabbits4 ,while these are utilized1 of course1 for illustrating principles of animal structure and physiology1 they are also employed to teach humaneness to animals and a general sympathy for animal life4 ,this is easy1 for children are naturally even more interested in animals than in plants1 and the animals become real individualities to the children whose needs are to be respected4 ,as the effect of conditions upon the health and vigor of their pets is noted1 there is a natural growth of interest in questions of personal hygiene4 ,it will be observed that while nature study is used to instill the elements of science1 its chief uses are to cultivate a sympathetic understanding of the place of plants and animals in life and to develop emotional and sthetic interest4 ,in the larger cities the situation is very different from that of rural life and the country village4 ,there are thousands of children who believe that cement and bricks are the natural covering of the ground1 trees and grass being to them the unusual and artificial thing4 ,their thoughts do not go beyond the fact that milk and butter and eggs come from the store2 cows and chickens are unknown to them--so much so that in a recent reunion of old settlers in a congested district of ,new ,york one of the greatest curiosities was a live cow imported from the country4 ,under such circumstances1 it is difficult to make the scientific problems of nature study of vital interest4 ,there are no situations of the children's experience into which the facts and principles enter as a matter of course4 ,even the weather is tempered and the course of the changing seasons has no special effect upon the lives of the pupils1 save upon the need for greater warmth in winter4 ,nature study in the city is like one of the fine arts1 such as painting or music2 its value is sthetic rather than directly practical4 ,nature is such a small factor in the activities of the children that it is hard to give it much 8disciplinary0 value1 save as it is turned to civic ends4 ,a vague feeling for this state of affairs probably accounts for much of the haphazard and half-hearted nature study teaching which goes on in city schools4 ,there is a serious problem in finding material for city children which will do for observation what the facts of nature accomplish in the case of rural children4 ,a valuable experiment with this end in view is carried on in the little 8,play ,school0 taught by ,miss ,pratt in one of the most congested districts of ,new ,york ,city4 ,nature study is not taught at all to these little children4 ,if they go to the park or have pets and plant flowers it is because these things make good play material1 because they are beautiful and interesting2 if the children ask questions and want to know more about them1 so much the better4 ,instead of telling them about leaves and grass1 cows and butterflies1 and hunting out the rare opportunities for the children to observe them1 use is made of the multitudes of things which the children see about them in the streets and in their homes4 ,the new building going up across the street furnishes just as much for observation and questioning as does the park1 and is a much more familiar sight to the children4 ,they find out how the men get the bricks and mortar to the upper floors2 they see the sand cart unloading2 possibly one child knows that the driver has been to the river to get the sand from a boat4 ,they notice the delivery man going through the streets1 and find out where he got the bread to take to their mothers4 ,they see the children on the playground and learn that besides the fun they have1 the playing is good for their bodies4 ,they walk to the river and see the ferries carrying people back and forth and the coal barges unloading4 ,all these facts are more closely related to them than the things of country life2 hence it is more important that they understand their meaning and their relation to their own lives1 while acuteness of observation is just as well trained4 ,such work is also equally valuable as a foundation for the science and geography the pupils will study later on4 ,besides awakening their curiosity and faculties of observation1 it shows them the elements of the social world1 which the later studies are meant to explain4 ,the ,elementary ,school at ,columbia1 ,missouri1 has arranged its curriculum according to the same principle4 ,all the material from nature which the children use and study they find near the school or their homes1 and their study of the seasons and the weather is made from day to day1 as the ,columbia weather and seasons change4 ,even more important is the work the children do in studying their own town1 their food1 clothing1 and houses1 so that the basis of the study is not instruction given by the teacher but what the children themselves have been able to find out on excursions and by keeping their eyes open4 ,the material bears a relation to their own lives1 and so is the more available for teaching children how to live4 ,the reasons for teaching such things to the city bred child are the same as those for teaching the country child the elements of gardening and the possibilities of the local soil4 ,by understanding his own environment child or adult learns the measure of the beauty and order about him1 and respect for real achievement1 while he is laying the foundations for his own control of the environment4 ,,chapter ,v ,,play ,all peoples at all times have depended upon plays and games for a large part of the education of children1 especially of young children4 ,play is so spontaneous and inevitable that few educational writers have accorded to it in theory the place it held in practice1 or have tried to find out whether the natural play activities of children afforded suggestions that could be adopted within school walls4 ,plato among the ancients and ,froebel among the moderns are the two great exceptions4 ,from both ,rousseau and ,pestalozzi1 ,froebel learned the principle of education as a natural development4 ,unlike both of these men1 however1 he loved intellectual system and had a penchant for a somewhat mystical metaphysics4 ,accordingly we find in both his theory and practice something of the same inconsistency noted in ,pestalozzi4 ,it is easier to say natural development than to find ways for assuring it4 ,there is much that is 8natural0 in children which is also naturally obnoxious to adults4 ,there are many manifestations which do not seem to have any part in helping on growth4 ,impatient desire for a method which would cover the whole ground1 and be final so as to be capable of use by any teacher1 led ,froebel1 as it has led so many others1 into working out alleged 8laws0 of development which were to be followed irrespective of the varying circumstances and experiences of different children4 ,the orthodox kindergarten1 which has often been more ,froebellian than ,froebel himself1 followed these laws2 but now we find attempts to return to the spirit of his teaching1 with more or less radical changes in its letter4 ,while ,froebel's own sympathy with children and his personal experience led him to emphasize the instinctive expressions of child-life1 his philosophy led him to believe that natural development consisted in the unfolding of an absolute and universal principle already enfolded in the child4 ,he believed also that there is an exact correspondence between the general properties of external objects and the unfolding qualities of mind1 since both were manifestations of the same absolute reality4 ,two practical consequences followed which often got the upper hand of his interest in children on their own account4 ,one was that1 since the law of development could be laid down in general1 it is not after all so important to study children in the concrete to find out what natural development consists in4 ,if they vary from the requirements of the universal law so much the worse for them1 not for the 8law40 ,teachers were supposed to have the complete formula of development already in their hands4 ,the other consequence was that the presentation and handling1 according to prescribed formul1 of external material1 became the method in detail of securing proper development4 ,since the general relations of these objects1 especially the mathematical ones1 were manifestations of the universal principle behind development1 they formed the best means of bringing out the hidden existence of the same principle in the child4 ,even the spontaneous plays of children were thought to be educative not because of what they are1 directly in themselves1 but because they symbolize some law of universal being4 ,children should gather1 for example1 in a circle1 not because a circular grouping is convenient for social and practical purposes1 but because the circle is a symbol of infinity which will tend to evoke the infinite latent in the child's soul4 ,the efforts to return to ,froebel's spirit referred to above have tried to keep the best in his contributions4 ,his emphasis upon play1 dramatization1 songs and story telling1 which involve the constructive use of material1 his deep sense of the importance of social relations among the children--these things are permanent contributions which they retain4 ,but they are trying with the help of the advances of psychological knowledge since ,froebel's time and of the changes in social occupations which have taken place to utilize these factors directly1 rather than indirectly1 through translation into a metaphysics1 which1 even if true1 is highly abstract4 ,in another respect they are returning to ,froebel himself1 against an alteration in his ideas introduced by many of his disciples4 ,these followers have set up a sharp contrast between play and useful activity or work1 and this has rendered the practices of their kindergartens more symbolic and sentimental than they otherwise would have been4 ,froebel himself emphasized the desirability of children sharing in social occupations quite as much as did ,pestalozzi--whose school he had visited4 ,he says1 for example1 8,the young1 growing human being should be trained early for outer work1 for creative and productive activities4 ,lessons through and by work1 through and from life1 are the most impressive and the most intelligible1 the most continuous and progressive1 in themselves and in their effect upon the learner4 ,every child1 boy and youth1 whatever his position and condition in life1 should devote1 say1 at least one or two hours a day to some serious active occupation constructing some definite external piece of work4 ,it would be a most wholesome arrangement in school to establish actual working hours similar to existing study hours1 and it will surely come to this40 ,in the last sentence1 ,froebel showed himself a true prophet of what has been accomplished in some of the schools such as we are dealing with in this book4 ,schools all over the country are at present making use of the child's instinct for play1 by using organized games1 toy making1 or other construction based on play motives as part of the regular curriculum4 ,this is in line with the vitalization of the curriculum that is going on in the higher grades by making use of the environment of the child outside the schoolroom4 ,if the most telling lessons can be given children through bringing into the school their occupations in their free hours1 it is only natural to use play as a large share of the work for the youngest pupils4 ,certainly the greatest part of the lives of very young children is spent in playing1 either games which they learn from older children or those of their own invention4 ,the latter usually take the form of imitations of the occupations of their elders4 ,all little children think of playing house1 doctor1 or soldier1 even if they are not given toys which suggest these games2 indeed1 half of the joy of playing comes from finding and making the necessary things4 ,the educational value of this play is obvious4 ,it teaches the children about the world they live in4 ,the more they play the more elaborate becomes their paraphernalia1 the whole game being a fairly accurate picture of the daily life of their parents in its setting1 clothed in the language and bearing of the children4 ,through their games they learn about the work and play of the grown-up world4 ,besides noticing the elements which make up this world1 they find out a good deal about the actions and processes that are necessary to keep it going4 ,illustration3 7#a7 ,making a town1 instead of doing gymnastic exercises4 7,teachers ,college ,playground1 ,n4 ,y4 ,city47 ,illustration3 7#b7 ,gymnasium dances in sewing-class costumes4 7,howland ,school1 ,chicago47 ,while this is of real value in teaching the child how to live1 it is evident as well that it supplies a strong influence against change4 ,imitative plays tend1 by the training of habit and the turn they give to the child's attention and thoughts1 to make his life a replica of the life of his parents4 ,in playing house children are just as apt to copy the coarseness1 blunders1 and prejudices of their elders as the things which are best4 ,in playing1 they notice more carefully and thus fix in their memory and habits1 more than if they simply lived it indifferently1 the whole color of the life around them4 ,therefore1 while imitative games are of great educational value in the way of teaching the child to notice his environment and some of the processes that are necessary for keeping it going1 if the environment is not good the child learns bad habits and wrong ways of thinking and judging1 ways which are all the harder to break because he has fixed them by living them out in his play4 ,modern kindergartens are beginning to realize this more and more4 ,they are using play1 the sort of games they find the children playing outside of school hours1 not only as a method of making work interesting to the children1 but for the educational value of the activities it involves1 and for giving the children the right sort of ideals and ideas about every day life4 ,children who play house and similar games in school1 and have toys to play with and the material to make the things they need in their play1 will play house at home the way they played it in school4 ,they will forget to imitate the loud and coarse things they see at home1 their attention will be centered on problems which were designed by the school to teach better aims and methods4 ,the kindergarten of the ,teachers' ,college of ,columbia ,university could hardly be recognized as a kindergarten at all by a visitor who was thinking of the mechanism of instruction worked out by ,froebel's disciples4 ,the kindergarten is part of the training school of the university1 and from the start has been considered as a real part of the school system1 as the first step in an education1 not as a more or less unnecessary 8extra40 ,with a view to laying a permanent basis for higher education1 the authorities have been developing a curriculum that should make use of whatever was of real worth in existing systems of education and in the experiments tried by themselves4 ,to find what is of real worth1 experiments have been conducted1 designed to answer the following questions3 8,among the apparently aimless and valueless spontaneous activities of the child is it possible to discover some which may be used as the point of departure for ends of recognized worth8 ,are there some of these crude expressions which1 if properly directed1 may develop into beginnings of the fine and industrial arts8 ,how far does the preservation of the individuality and freedom of the child demand self-initiated activities8 ,is it possible for the teacher to set problems or ends sufficiently childlike to fit in with the mode of growth1 and to inspire their adoption with the same fine enthusiasm which accompanies the self-initiated ones80 ,the result showed that the best success came when the children's instinctive activities were linked up with social interests and experiences4 ,the latter center1 with young children1 in their home4 ,their personal relations are of the greatest importance to them4 ,children's intense interest in dolls is a sign of the significance attached to human relations4 ,the doll thus furnished a convenient starting point4 ,with this as a motive1 the children have countless things they wish to do and make4 ,hand and construction work thus acquired a real purpose1 with the added advantage of requiring the child to solve a problem4 ,the doll needs clothes2 the whole class is eager to make them1 but the children do not know how to sew or even cut cloth4 ,so they start with paper and scissors1 and make patterns1 altering and experimenting on the doll for themselves1 receiving only suggestions or criticisms from the teacher4 ,when they have made successful patterns1 they choose and cut the cloth1 and then learn to sew it4 ,if the garments are not wholly successful1 the class has had a great deal of fun making them1 and has had the training that comes from working towards a definite end1 besides acquiring as much control over scissors1 paper1 and needle1 and manual dexterity as would accrue from the conventional paper cutting1 pricking1 and sewing exercises4 ,the doll needs a house4 ,in a corner of the room there is a great chest of big blocks1 so large that it takes the whole class to build the house1 and then it is not done in one day4 ,there are flat long blocks like boards for the walls and roof1 and square blocks for the foundations and window frames4 ,when the house is done1 it is big enough for two or three children to go into to play with the doll4 ,one readily sees that it has taken a great deal of hard thinking and experimenting to make a house that would really stand up and serve such uses4 ,then the house needs furniture2 the children learn to handle tools in fashioning tables1 chairs1 and beds1 from blocks of wood and thin boards4 ,getting the legs on a table is an especially interesting problem to the class1 and over and over again they have discovered for themselves how it can be done4 ,dishes for the doll family furnish the motive for clay modeling and decoration4 ,dressing and undressing the dolls is an occupation the children never tire of1 and it furnishes excellent practice in buttoning and unbuttoning and tying bows4 ,the changing seasons of the year and the procession of outdoor games they bring furnish other motives for production that meet a real need of the children4 ,in the spring-time they want marbles and tops1 in the fall1 kites2 the demand for wagons is not limited to any one season4 ,whenever possible the children are allowed to solve their own problems4 ,if they want marbles they experiment until they find a good way to make them round1 while if they are making something more difficult where the whole process is obviously beyond them1 they are helped4 ,this help1 however1 never takes the form of dictation as to how to perform each step in its order1 for the object of the work is to train the child's initiative and self-reliance1 to teach him to think straight by having him work on his own problems4 ,the little carts which the older children make would be beyond them if they had to plan and shape the material for themselves2 but when they are given the sawed boards and round pieces for wheels1 they find out by trying how they can be put together1 and thus make usable little wagons4 ,making bags for their marbles1 and aprons to protect their clothes while they are painting the dolls' furniture or washing the dishes after lunch1 offer additional opportunities for sewing4 ,from the needs of an individual doll the child's interest naturally develops to the needs of a family and then of a whole community4 ,with paper dolls and boxes1 the children make and furnish dolls' houses for themselves1 until all together they produce an entire village4 ,on their sand table the whole class may make a town with houses and streets1 fences and rivers1 trees and animals for the gardens4 ,in fact1 the play of the children furnishes more opportunity for making things than there is time for in the school year4 ,this construction work not only fills the children with the interest and enthusiasm they always show for any good game1 but teaches them the use of work4 ,in supplying the needs of the dolls and their own games1 they are supplying in miniature the needs of society1 and are acquiring control over the tools that society actually uses in meeting these wants4 ,boys and girls alike take the same interest in all these occupations1 whether they are sewing and playing with dolls1 or marble making and carpentry4 ,the idea that certain games and occupations are for boys and others for girls is a purely artificial one that has developed as a reflection of the conditions existing in adult life4 ,it does not occur to a boy that dolls are not just as fascinating and legitimate a plaything for him as for his sister1 until some one puts the idea into his head4 ,the program of this kindergarten is not devoted exclusively to play construction4 ,it occupies the place of the paper folding1 pricking and sewing and the object lesson work of the older kindergartens1 leaving plenty of time every day to try their playthings and to take care of their little gardens out of doors1 as well as for group games1 stories and songs4 ,an interesting application of the play motive is being tried at the ,teachers' ,college playground1 by the same teachers who are conducting the kindergarten4 ,there is an outdoor playground for the use of the younger grades after school hours4 ,instead of spending their time doing gymnastic exercises or playing group games the children are making a town4 ,they use large packing cases for houses and stores1 two or three children taking care of each one2 and have worked out quite an elaborate town organization1 with a telephone1 mail and police service1 a bank to coin money1 and ingenious schemes for keeping the cash in circulation4 ,much of the time is spent in carpentry work1 building and repairing the houses and making wagons1 furniture for the houses1 or stock for the two stores4 ,the work affords almost as much physical exercise as the ordinary sort of playground4 ,it keeps the children busy and happy in a much more effective way1 for besides healthy play in the open air they are learning to take a useful and responsible share in a community4 ,a kindergarten conducted along the same lines exists in ,pittsburgh as part of the city university4 ,it is called 8,the ,school of ,childhood10 and emphasizes the healthy physical development of the children4 ,the work is centered around the natural interests of children2 and while they apparently do not do as much construction work as in the ,teachers' ,college kindergarten1 there is more individual play4 ,the writer has not visited the school1 but it seems to embrace a number of novel elements that ought to be suggestive to any one interested in educational experiments4 ,the 8,play ,school0 conducted by ,miss ,pratt in ,new ,york ,city organizes all the work around the play activities of little children4 ,quoting ,miss ,pratt1 her plan is3 8,to offer an opportunity to the child to pick up the thread of life in his own community1 and to express what he gets in an individual way4 ,the experiment concerns itself with getting subject-matter first hand1 and it is assumed that the child has much information to begin with1 that he is adding to it day by day1 that it is possible to direct his attention so that he may get his information in a more related way2 and with applying such information to individual schemes of play with related toys and blocks as well as expressing himself through such general means as drawing1 dramatization1 and spoken language40 ,the children are of kindergarten age and come from homes where the opportunities for real activity are limited4 ,each child has floor space of his own with a rug1 and screens to isolate him sufficiently so that his work is really individual4 ,there is a small work shop in the room where the pupils can make or alter things they need in their play4 ,the tools are full size1 and miscellaneous scraps of wood are used4 ,in cupboards and shelves around the room are all sorts of material3 toys1 big and little blocks1 clay1 pieces of cloth1 needle and thread1 and a set of ,montessori material4 ,each child has scissors1 paper1 paints1 and pencil of his own1 and is free to use all the material as he chooses4 ,he selects either isolated objects he wants to make1 or lays out some larger construction1 such as a railroad track and stations1 or a doll's house1 or a small town or farm1 and then from the material at hand works out his own execution of his idea4 ,one piece of work often lasts over several days1 and involves considerable incidental construction1 such as tracks and signals1 clay dishes1 furniture or new clothes for the doll4 ,the rle of the teacher is to teach the pupil processes and control of tools1 not in a prearranged scale but as they are needed in construction4 ,the teacher has every opportunity to see the individual's weaknesses and abilities and so to check or stimulate at the proper time4 ,besides the motor control which the pupils develop through their handling of material1 they are constantly increasing their ingenuity and initiative4 ,illustration ,illustration3 ,constructing in miniature the things they see around them4 7,play ,school1 ,new ,york ,city47 ,the elements of number work are taught in connection with the construction2 and if a child shows a desire to make letters or signs in connection with his other work1 he is helped and shown how4 ,the toys used are particularly good4 ,there are flat wooden dolls about half an inch thick1 men1 women1 and children1 whose joints bend so that they will stay in any position2 all sorts of farm animals and two or three kinds of little wagons that fit the dolls2 quantities of big blocks that fasten together with wooden pegs1 so that the houses and bridges do not fall down4 ,everything is strongly made on the simplest plan1 so that material can be used not only freely but also effectively4 ,each success is a stimulus to new and more complicated effort4 ,there is no discouragement from slipshod stuff4 ,the pupils take care of the toys themselves1 getting them out and putting them away4 ,they also care for the classroom and serve their mid-morning luncheon4 ,this work1 coupled with the fact that the constructions are almost always miniature copies of the things that the pupils see in their community1 saves the work from any hint of artificiality4 ,the children's constructions grow out of the observations already spoken of 7p4 #ajj71 and give a motive for talking over what they have seen and making new1 more extensive and more accurate observations4 ,the natural desire of children to play can1 of course1 be made the most of in the lowest grades1 but there is one element of the play instinct which schools are utilizing in the higher grades--that is1 the instinct for dramatization1 for make-believe in action4 ,all children love to pretend that they are some body or thing other than themselves2 they love to make a situation real by going through the motions it suggests4 ,abstract ideas are hard to understand2 the child is never quite sure whether he really understands or not4 ,allow him to act out the idea and it becomes real to him1 or the lack of understanding is shown in what is done4 ,action is the test of comprehension4 ,this is simply another way of saying that learning by doing is a better way to learn than by listening--the difference of dramatization from the work already described lies in the things the child is learning4 ,he is no longer dealing with material where things are needed to carry an act to a successful result1 but with ideas which need action to make them real4 ,schools are making use of dramatization in all sorts of different ways to make teaching more concrete4 ,for older children dramatization is used principally in the strict sense of the word2 that is1 by having pupils act in plays1 either as a means of making the ,english or history more real1 or simply for the emotional and imaginative value of the work4 ,with the little children it is used as an aid in the teaching of history1 ,english1 reading1 or arithmetic1 and is often combined with other forms of activity4 ,many schools use dramatization as a help in teaching the first steps of any subject1 especially in the lower grades4 ,a first year class1 for example1 act the subject-matter of their regular reading lesson1 each child having the part of one of the characters of the story1 animal or person4 ,this insures an idea of the situation as a whole1 so that reading ceases to be simply an attempt to recognize and pronounce isolated words and phrases4 ,moreover1 the interest of the situation carries children along1 and enlists attention to difficulties of phraseology which might1 if attacked as separate things1 be discouraging4 ,the dramatic factor is a great assistance in the expressive side of reading4 ,teachers are always having to urge children to read 8naturally10 8to read as they talk40 ,but when a child has no motive for communication of what he sees in the text1 knowing as he does that the teacher has the book and can tell it better than he can1 even the naturalness tends to be forced and artificial4 ,every observer knows how often children who depart from humdrum droning1 learn to exhibit only a superficial breathless sort of liveliness and a make-believe animation4 ,dramatization secures both attention to the thought of the text and a spontaneous endeavor1 free from pretense and self-consciousness1 to speak loudly enough to be heard and to enunciate distinctly4 ,in the same way1 children tell stories much more effectively when they are led to visualize for themselves the actions going on1 than when they are simply repeating something as a part of the school routine4 ,when children are drawing scenes involving action and posture1 it is found that prior action is a great assistance4 ,in the case of a pose of the body1 the child who has done the posing is often found to draw better than those who have merely looked on4 ,he has got the 8feel0 of the situation1 which readily influences his hand and eye in the subsequent reproduction4 ,in the early grades when pupils fail in a concrete problem in arithmetic1 it is frequently found that resort to 8acting out0 the situation supplies all the assistance needed4 ,the real difficulty was not with the numbers but in failure to grasp the meaning of the situation in which the numbers were to be used4 ,in the upper grades1 literature and history1 as already indicated1 are often renforced by dramatic activities4 ,a sixth grade in ,indianapolis engaged in dramatizing 8,sleeping ,beauty10 not merely composed the words and the stage directions1 but also wrote songs and the music for them4 ,such concentration on a single purpose of studies usually pursued independently stimulates work in each4 ,literary expression is less monotonous1 the phrasing of an idea more delicate and flexible1 than when composition is an end in itself2 and while of course the music is not likely to be remarkable1 it almost always has a freshness and charm exceeding that which could be attained from the same pupils if they were merely writing music4 ,a shoe store in the second grade furnished the basis of the work for several days4 ,the children set up a shop and chose pupils to take the part of the shoe clerk1 the shoemaker1 and the family going to buy shoes4 ,then they acted out the story of a mother and children going to the store for shoes4 ,arithmetic and ,english lessons were based on the store1 and the class wrote stories about it4 ,this same class sang and acted out to a simple tune a little verse about the combinations that make ten4 ,the same pupils were doing problems in mental arithmetic that were much beyond the work usually found in a second grade1 adding almost instantly numbers like #gd and #eg4 ,they probably could not have gone so rapidly if they had not had so much of the dramatization work4 ,it served to make their abstract problems seem real4 ,in doing problems about ,mrs4 ,baldwin's shoes they had come to think of numbers as having some meaning and purpose1 so that when a problem in pure numbers was given they did not approach it with misgivings and uncertainty4 ,one of the fifth grades had installed a parcel post office2 they made money and stamps and brought bundles to school1 then they played post office2 two boys took the part of postmen1 weighed the packages1 looked up the rate of postage1 and gave change for the customers4 ,tables of weights ceased to be verbal forms to be memorized2 consultation of the map was a necessity2 the multiplication table was a necessity2 the system and order required in successful activity were impressed4 ,the ,francis ,parker ,school is one of many using the dramatic interest of the pupils as an aid in teaching history4 ,the fourth grade studies ,greek history1 and the work includes the making of a ,greek house1 and writing poems about some ,greek myth4 ,the children make ,greek costumes and wear them every day in the classroom4 ,to quote ,miss ,hall1 who teaches this grade3 8,they play sculptor and make clay statuettes of their favorite gods and mould figures to illustrate a story4 ,they model ,mycen in sand-pans1 ruin it1 cover it1 and become the excavators who bring its treasures to light again4 ,they write prayers to ,dionysius and stories such as they think ,orpheus might have sung4 ,they play ,greek games and wear ,greek costumes1 and are continually acting out stories or incidents which please them4 ,to-day as heroes of ,troy1 they have a battle at recess time with wooden swords and barrel covers4 ,in class time1 with prayers and dances and extempore song1 they hold a ,dionysiac festival4 ,again1 half of them are ,athenians and half of them ,spartans in a war of words as to which city is more to be desired4 ,or they are freemen of ,athens1 replying spiritedly to the haughty ,persian message40 ,besides these daily dramatizations1 they write and act for the whole school a little play which illustrates some incident of history that has particularly appealed to them4 ,history taught in this way to little children acquires meaning and an emotional content2 they appreciate the ,greek spirit and the things which made a great people4 ,the work so becomes a part of their lives that it is remembered as any personal experience is retained1 not as texts are committed to memory to be recited upon4 ,the ,francis ,parker ,school takes advantage of the social value of dramatizations in its morning exercises4 ,studying alone out of a book is an isolated and unsocial performance2 the pupil may be learning the words before him1 but he is not learning to act with other people1 to control and arrange his actions and thought so that other persons have an equal opportunity to express themselves in a shared experience4 ,when the classes represent by action what they have learned from books1 all the members have a part1 so that they learn to cherish socially1 as well as to develop1 powers of expression and of dramatic and emotional imagery4 ,when they act in front of the whole school they get the value of the work for themselves individually and help the growth of a spirit of unity and coperation in the entire school4 ,all the children1 big and little1 become interested in the sort of thing that is going on in the other grades1 and learn to appreciate effort that is simple and sincere1 whether it comes from the first grade or the seniors in high school4 ,in their efforts to interest the whole school the actors learn to be simple and direct1 and acquire a new respect for their work by seeing its value for others4 ,summaries of the work in different subjects are given in the morning exercises by any grade which thinks it has something to say that would interest the other children4 ,the dramatic element is sometimes small1 as in the descriptions of excursions1 of curious processes in arithmetic or of some topic in geography2 but the children always have to think clearly and speak well1 or their audience will not understand them1 and maps or diagrams and all sorts of illustrative material are introduced as much as possible4 ,other exercises1 such as the ,greek play written by the fourth grade1 or a dramatization of one of ,cicero's orations against ,cataline1 are purely dramatic in their interest4 ,the production of plays by graduating classes or for some specific purpose is of course a well-known method of interesting pupils or advertising a school4 ,but recently schools have been giving plays and festivals for their educational value as well as for their interest to children and the public4 ,the valuable training which comes from speaking to an audience1 using the body effectively and working with other pupils for a common end1 is present1 whatever the nature of the play2 and schools usually try to have their productions of some literary value4 ,but until recently the resources of the daily work of the pupils for dramatic purposes have been overlooked4 ,being for purposes of public entertainment1 plays were added on after school hours4 ,but schools are beginning to utilize this natural desire of young people to 8act something0 for amplifying the curriculum4 ,in many schools where dramatization of a rather elaborate character is employed for public performances1 the subject-matter is now taken from ,english and history1 while writing the play supplies another ,english lesson4 ,the rehearsals take the place of lessons in expression and elocution1 and involve self-control4 ,the stage settings and costumes are made in the shop and art periods1 the planning and management being done by the pupils1 the teacher helping enough to prevent blunders and discouragement4 ,at ,riverside one of the classes had been reading ,tolstoi's 8,where ,love ,is ,there ,is ,god0 for their work in literature4 ,they rewrote the story as a play and rehearsed it in their ,english lessons1 the whole class acting as coach and critic4 ,as their interest grew they made costumes and arranged a stage setting and finally gave the play to an audience of the school and its friends4 ,at another time the ,english class gave an outdoor performance of a sketch which they had written1 based on the ,odyssey4 ,the ,american history class at the ,speyer ,school give a play which they write about some incident in pioneer history4 ,during the rehearsal nearly all the children try the parts1 quite regardless of sex or other qualifications1 and the whole class chooses the final cast4 ,the fifth grade was studying ,irving's 8,sketch ,book0 in connection with its history and literature work1 and dramatized the story of ,rip ,van ,winkle1 doing all its own coaching and costuming4 ,illustration3 ,using the child's dramatic instinct to teach history4 7,cottage ,school1 ,riverside1 ,ill47 ,the ,howland ,school1 one of the public schools of ,chicago situated in a foreign district1 gave a large festival play during the past year4 ,the principal wrote and arranged a pageant illustrating the story of ,columbus1 and the whole school took part in the acting4 ,the story gave a simple outline of the life of ,columbus4 ,a few tableaux were added about some of the most striking events in pioneer history1 arranged to bring out the fact that this country is a democracy4 ,the children made their own costumes for the most part1 and all the dances they had learned during the year in gymnasium were introduced4 ,thus the whole exhibition presented a very good picture of the outline of our history and the spirit of the country1 and at the same time offered an interesting summary of the year's work4 ,its value as a unifying influence in a foreign community was considerable1 for besides teaching the children something of the history of their new country1 it gave the parents1 who made up the audience1 an opportunity to see what the school could do for their children and the neighborhood4 ,the patriotic value of such exercises is greater than the daily flag salute or patriotic poem1 for the children understand what they are supposed to be enthusiastic about1 as they see before them the things which naturally arouse patriotic emotions4 ,exercises to commemorate holidays or seasons are more interesting and valuable than the old-fashioned entertainment where individual pupils recited poems1 and adults made speeches1 for they concentrate in a social expression the work of the school4 ,the community is more interested because parents know that their own children have had their share in the making of the production1 and the children are more interested because they are working in groups on something which appeals to them and for which they are responsible4 ,the graduating exercises at many schools are now of a kind to present in a dramatic review the regular work of the year4 ,each grade may take part1 presenting a play which they have written for work in ,english1 dancing some of the folk or fancy dances they have learned in gymnasium1 etc4 ,many schools have a ,thanksgiving exercise in which different grades give scenes from the first ,thanksgiving at ,plymouth1 or present dramatic pictures of the harvest festivals of different nations4 ,in similar fashion ,christmas entertainments are often made up of songs1 poems and readings by children from different grades1 or by the whole grade1 which have been arranged in the ,english and music classes4 ,the possibilities for plays1 festivals1 and pageants arranged on this plan are endless2 for it is always possible to find subject-matter which will give the children just as much training in reading1 spelling1 history1 literature1 or even some phases of geography1 as would dry ,gradgrind facts of a routine text-book type4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,freedom ,,and ,,individuality ,the reader has undoubtedly been struck by the fact that in all of the work described1 pupils must have been allowed a greater amount of freedom than is usually thought compatible with the necessary discipline of a schoolroom4 ,to the great majority of teachers and parents the very word school is synonymous with 8discipline10 with quiet1 with rows of children sitting still at desks and listening to the teacher1 speaking only when they are spoken to4 ,therefore a school where these fundamental characteristics are lacking must of necessity be a poor school2 one where pupils do not learn anything1 where they do just as they please1 quite regardless of what they please1 even though it be harmful to the child himself or disagreeable to his classmates and the teacher4 ,there is a certain accumulation of facts that every child must acquire or else grow up to be illiterate4 ,these facts relate principally to adult life2 therefore it is not surprising that the pupil is not interested in them1 while it is the duty of the school to see that he knows them nevertheless4 ,how is this to be done8 ,obviously by seating the children in rows1 far enough apart so that they cannot easily talk to each other1 and hiring the most efficient person available to teach the facts2 to tell them to the child1 and have him repeat them often enough so that he can reasonably be expected to remember them1 at least until after he is 8promoted40 ,again1 children should be taught to obey2 efficiency in doing as one is told is a useful accomplishment1 just as the doing of distasteful and uninteresting tasks is a character builder4 ,the pupil should be taught to 8respect0 his teacher and learning in general2 and how can he be taught this lesson if he does not sit quietly and receptively in the face of both8 ,but if he will not be receptive1 he must at least be quiet1 so that the teacher can teach him anyway4 ,the very fact that the pupil so often is lawless1 destructive1 rude and noisy as soon as restraint is removed proves1 according to the advocates of 8discipline0 by authority1 that this is the only way of dealing with the child1 since without such restraint the child would behave all day long as he does when it is removed for a few uncertain minutes4 ,if this statement of the disciplinarian's case sounds harsh and unadorned1 think for a moment of the things that visitors to 8queer schools0 say after the visit is over2 and consider whether they do not force the unprejudiced observer to the conclusion that their idea of schools and schooling is just such a harsh and unadorned affair4 ,the discussion of freedom versus authoritative discipline in schools resolves itself after all into a question of the conception of education which is entertained4 ,are we to believe1 with the strict disciplinarian1 that education is the process of making a little savage into a little man1 that there are many virtues as well as facts that have to be taught to all children so that they may as nearly as possible approach the adult standard8 ,or are we to believe1 with ,rousseau1 that education is the process of making up the discrepancy between the child at his birth and the man as he will need to be1 8that childhood has its own ways of seeing1 thinking1 and feeling10 and that the method of training these ways to what a man will need is to let the child test them upon the world about him8 ,the phrase1 8authoritative discipline10 is used purposely1 for discipline and freedom are not contradictory ideas4 ,the following quotation from ,rousseau shows very plainly what a heavy taskmaster even his freedom was1 a freedom so often taken to mean mere lawlessness and license4 8,give him the pupil no orders at all1 absolutely none4 ,do not even let him think that you claim any authority over him4 ,let him know only that he is weak and you are strong1 that his condition and yours puts him at your mercy2 let this be perceived1 learned and felt4 ,let him early find upon his proud neck the heavy yoke which nature has imposed upon us1 the heavy yoke of necessity1 under which every finite being must bow4 ,let him find the necessity in things1 not in the caprices of man2 let the curb be the force of conditions1 not authority40 ,surely no discipline could be more severe1 more apt to develop character and reasonableness1 nor less apt to develop disorder and laziness4 ,in fact the real reason for the feeling against freedom in schools seems to come from a misunderstanding4 ,the critic confuses physical liberty with moral and intellectual liberty4 ,because the pupils are moving about1 or sitting on the floor1 or have their chairs scattered about instead of in a straight line1 because they are using their hands and tongues1 the visitor thinks that their minds must be relaxed as well2 that they must be simply fooling1 with no more restraint for their minds and morals than appears for their bodies4 ,learning in school has been so long associated with a docile or passive mind that because that useful organ does not squirm or talk in its operations1 observers have come to think that none of the child should do so1 or it will interfere with learning4 ,assuming that educational reformers are right in supposing that the function of education is to help the growing of a helpless young animal into a happy1 moral1 and efficient human being1 a consistent plan of education must allow enough liberty to promote that growth4 ,the child's body must have room to move and stretch itself1 to exercise the muscles and to rest when tired4 ,every one agrees that swaddling clothes are a bad thing for the baby1 cramping and interfering with bodily functions4 ,the swaddling clothes of the straight-backed desk1 head to the front and hands folded1 are just as cramping and even more nerve racking to the school child4 ,it is no wonder that pupils who have to sit in this way for several hours a day break out in bursts of immoderate noise and fooling as soon as restraining influences are removed4 ,since they do not have a normal outlet for their physical energy to spend itself1 it is stored up1 and when opportunity offers it breaks forth all the more impetuously because of the nervous irritation previously suffered in repressing the action of an imperfectly trained body4 ,give a child liberty to move and stretch when he needs it1 with opportunities for real exercise all through the day and he will not become so nervously overwrought that he is irritable or aimlessly boisterous when left to himself4 ,trained in doing things1 he will be able to keep at work and to think of other people when he is not under restraining supervision4 ,a truly scientific education can never develop so long as children are treated in the lump1 merely as a class4 ,each child has a strong individuality1 and any science must take stock of all the facts in its material4 ,every pupil must have a chance to show what he truly is1 so that the teacher can find out what he needs to make him a complete human being4 ,only as a teacher becomes acquainted with each one of her pupils can she hope to understand childhood1 and it is only as she understands it that she can hope to evolve any scheme of education which shall approach either the scientific or the artistic standard4 ,as long as educators do not know their individual facts they can never know whether their hypotheses are of value4 ,but how are they to know their material if they impose themselves upon it to such an extent that each portion is made to act just like every other portion8 ,if the pupils are marched into line1 information presented to them which they are then expected to give back in uniform fashion1 nothing will ever be found out about any of them4 ,but if every pupil has an opportunity to express himself1 to show what are his particular qualities1 the teacher will have material on which to base her plans of instruction4 ,since a child lives in a social world1 where even the simplest act or word is bound up with the words and acts of his neighbors1 there is no danger that this liberty will sacrifice the interests of others to caprice4 ,liberty does not mean the removal of the checks which nature and man impose on the life of every individual in the community1 so that one individual may indulge impulses which go against his own welfare as a member of society4 ,but liberty for the child is the chance to test all impulses and tendencies on the world of things and people in which he finds himself1 sufficiently to discover their character so that he may get rid of those which are harmful1 and develop those which are useful to himself and others4 ,education which treats all children as if their impulses were those of the average of an adult society 7whose weaknesses and failures are moreover constantly deplored7 is sure to go on reproducing that same average society without even finding out whether and how it might be better4 ,education which finds out what children really are may be able to shape itself by this knowledge so that the best can be kept and the bad eliminated4 ,meantime much is lost by a mere external suppression of the bad which equally prevents the expression of the better4 ,if education demands liberty before it can shape itself according to facts1 how is it to use this liberty for the benefit of the child8 ,give a child freedom to find out what he can and can not do1 both in the way of what is physically possible and what his neighbors will stand for1 and he will not waste much time on impossibilities but will bend his energies to the possibilities4 ,the physical energy and mental inquisitiveness of children can be turned into positive channels4 ,the teacher will find the spontaneity1 the liveliness1 and initiative of the pupil aids in teaching1 instead of being1 as under the coercive system1 nuisances to be repressed4 ,the very things which are now interferences will become positive qualities that the teacher is cultivating4 ,besides preserving qualities which will be of use to the man and developing habits of independence and industry1 allowing the child this freedom is necessary if pupils are really to learn by doing4 ,most doing will lead only to superficial muscle training if it is dictated to the child and prescribed for him step by step4 ,but when the child's natural curiosity and love of action are put to work on useful problems1 on finding out for himself how to adjust his environment to his needs1 the teacher finds that the pupils are not only doing their lessons as well as ever1 but are also learning how to control and put to productive use those energies which are simply disturbing in the average classroom4 ,unless the pupil has some real work on which to exercise his mind by means of his senses and muscles1 the teacher will not be able to do away with the ordinary disciplinary methods4 ,for in a classroom where the teacher is doing all the work and the children are listening and answering questions1 it would be absurd to allow the children to place themselves where they please1 to move about1 or to talk4 ,where the teacher's rle has changed to that of helper and observer1 where the development of every child is the goal1 such freedom becomes as much a necessity of the work as is quiet where the children are simply reciting4 ,illustration ,illustration3 ,learning to live through situations that are typical of social life4 7,teachers ,college1 ,n4 ,y4 ,city47 ,at present1 the most talked of schools in which freedom and liberty are necessary for the children's work are the schools of ,madame ,maria ,montessori in ,italy and those of her pupils in this country4 ,madame ,montessori believes1 with many educators in this country1 that liberty is necessary in the classroom if the teacher is to know the needs and capabilities of each pupil1 if the child is to receive in school a well-rounded training making for the best development of his mind1 character1 and physique4 ,in general1 her reasons for insisting upon this liberty1 which is the basis of her method1 correspond with those outlined above1 with one exception4 ,she holds that liberty is necessary for the child if a scientific education is to be created1 because without it data on which to base principles can not be collected2 also that it is necessary for the physical welfare of the pupils and for the best development of their characters in training them to be independent4 ,the point of difference between the ,italian educator and most reformers in this country lies in their respective views of the value of liberty in the use of material1 and this point will be taken up later4 ,madame ,montessori believes that repressing children physically while they are in school and teaching them habits of mental passivity and docility is mistaking the function of the school and doing the children real harm4 ,scientific education not only needs freedom for the child in order to collect data1 but liberty is its very basis2 8liberty is activity10 says ,madame ,montessori in her book called 8,the ,montessori ,method40 ,activity is the basis of life1 consequently training children to move and act is training them for life1 which is the proper office of the schoolroom4 ,the object of liberty is the best interests of the whole group2 this becomes the end of the liberty allowed the children4 ,everything which does not contribute to it must be suppressed1 while the greatest care is taken to foster every action with a useful scope4 ,in order to give the pupils the largest possible scope for such useful activity1 they are allowed a very large amount of freedom in the classroom4 ,they may move about1 talk to each other1 place their tables and chairs where they please1 and1 what is of more significance1 each pupil may choose what work he will do1 and may work at one thing as long or as short a time as he wishes4 ,she says1 8,a room in which all the children move about usefully1 intelligently1 and voluntarily1 without committing any rough or rude act1 would seem to me a classroom very well disciplined indeed40 ,discipline1 in short1 is ability to do things independently1 not submission under restraint4 ,in order to bring about this active discipline1 which allows free scope for any useful work1 and at the same time does not stifle the spontaneous impulses of the child1 the ordinary methods of discipline are done away with1 and a technique is developed to emphasize the positive1 not the negative1 side of discipline4 ,montessori has described it in this way3 8,as to punishments1 we have many times come in contact with children who disturbed the others1 without paying any attention to our corrections4 ,such children were at once examined by the physician4 ,when the case proved to be that of a normal child1 we placed one of the little tables in a corner of the room1 and in this way isolated the child1 having him sit in a comfortable little armchair1 so placed that he might see his companions at work1 and giving him those games and toys to which he was most attracted4 ,this isolation almost always succeeded in calming the child2 from his position he could see the entire assembly of his companions1 and the way in which they carried on their work was an object-lesson much more efficacious than any words of the teacher could possibly have been4 ,little by little he would come to see the advantages of being one of the company working so busily before his eyes1 and he would really wish to go back and do as the others did40 ,the corrections which the teachers first offer never take the form of scoldings2 the child is quietly told that what he is doing is not polite or disturbs the other children4 ,then he is told how he ought to behave to be a pleasant companion1 or his attention is diverted to a piece of work4 ,because children are working on something of their own choice1 and when they want to1 and because they may move and talk enough so that they do not get nervously tired1 there is very little need for any 8punishment40 ,except for an isolated case of real lawlessness1 such as ,montessori refers to in the quotation just cited1 the visitor to one of her schools sees very little need of negative discipline4 ,the teachers' corrections are practically all for small breaches of manners or for carelessness4 ,activity founded on liberty being the guiding principle of the ,montessori schools1 activity is expended by the child on two sorts of material4 ,montessori believes that the child needs practice in the actions of daily life2 that1 for example1 he should be taught how to take care of and wait on himself4 ,part of the work is accordingly directed to this end4 ,she also believes that the child possesses innate faculties which should be allowed to develop to their fullest2 consequently part of the work is designed to give adequate expression to these faculties4 ,these exercises for the culture of the inner potentialities of the child she considers the more important of the two4 ,the child needs to know how to adjust himself to his environment in order to be independent and happy2 but an imperfect development of the child's faculties is an imperfect development of life itself2 so the real object of education consists in furnishing active help to the normal expansion of the life of the child4 ,these two lines of development ,madame ,montessori considers to be so distinct one from the other that the exercises of practical life cannot perform the function of the exercises arranged to train the faculties and senses of the child4 ,the exercises of practical life are designed to teach the child to be independent1 to supply his own wants1 and to perform the actions of daily life with skill and grace4 ,the pupils keep the schoolroom in order1 dusting and arranging the furniture1 and putting away each piece of material as soon as they are through with it4 ,they wait on themselves while they are working1 getting out the things they want1 finding a convenient place to work1 and then taking care of the apparatus when they have worked with it as long as they like4 ,in schools where the children do not live in the building1 a midday lunch is served for the pupils2 and1 except for the cooking1 the children do all the work connected with the meal1 setting tables1 serving food1 and then clearing away and washing the dishes4 ,all the pupils share alike in this work1 regardless of their age2 children of three and four soon learn to handle the plates and glasses1 and to pass the food4 ,wherever possible the schools have gardens1 which the children care for1 and animal pets of a useful sort--hens and chickens or pigeons4 ,even the youngest children put on their own wraps1 button and unbutton their aprons and slippers1 and when they can not do it for themselves1 they help each other4 ,the necessity of the pupils' learning to take care of themselves as early as possible is so much insisted upon that in order to help the youngest in learning this lesson1 ,montessori has designed several appliances to give them practice before they begin to wait upon themselves4 ,these are wooden frames1 fitted with cloth which is opened down the center4 ,then the edges are joined either with buttons1 hooks and eyes1 or ribbons1 and practice consists in opening and closing these edges by buttoning1 hooking1 or tying as the case may be4 ,these appliances may be taken as a bridge between the two sorts of exercises in use in the ,montessori schools4 ,they mark a transition from the principles which are common to most educational reformers to those associated particularly with the method worked out by ,madame ,montessori4 ,another quotation from her first book gives the clew to an understanding of this method3 8,in a pedagogical method which is experimental the education of the senses must undoubtedly assume the greatest importance4444 ,the method used by me is that of making a pedagogical experiment with a didactic object and awaiting the spontaneous reaction of the child4444 ,with little children1 we must proceed to the making of trials1 and must select the didactic materials in which they show themselves to be interested4444 ,i believe1 however1 that ,i have arrived at a selection of objects representing the minimum necessary to a practical sense education40 ,madame ,montessori started her career as a teacher among deficient children in the hospitals where ,seguin had worked4 ,naturally she experimented with the material used with her subnormal pupils when she began working with normal children4 ,it is equally natural that many of the objects which had proved useful with the former were also usable with the average school child4 ,ordinary school methods succeed with deficient children when used more slowly and with more patience2 and in the same way ,madame ,montessori found that many of the appliances which had before been used only for deficients produced remarkably successful results with ordinary children1 when used with more rapidity and liberty4 ,therefore her 8didactic material0 includes many things that are used generally to develop sensory consciousness among deficients4 ,but instead of using the material in a fixed order and under the guidance of a teacher1 the normal child is allowed complete liberty in its use2 for the object is no longer to awaken powers that are nearly lacking1 but to exercise powers that the child is using constantly in all his daily actions1 so that he may have a more and more accurate and skillful control over them4 ,the exercises to develop the faculties of the child are especially so arranged as to train the power to discriminate and to compare4 ,his sensory organs are nearly all exercised with apparatus designed1 like the button frames1 to allow the child to do one thing for one purpose4 ,the pupil does not have to use these objects in any fixed order or work for any length of time on one thing4 ,except for the very youngest children1 who do only the very simplest exercises1 pupils are at liberty to work at any one they wish and for as long as they wish4 ,montessori believes that the child will turn naturally to the exercise he is ready for4 ,the materials to develop the sense of touch are among the simplest4 ,there are small boards with strips of sandpaper running from the roughest to the smoothest1 and pieces of different kinds of cloth2 these the child rubs his hands over while his eyes are blindfolded1 distinguishing the differences4 ,the appliances designed to teach the child to distinguish differences of form and size use the sense of touch as a strong aid to sight4 ,there are blocks of wood with holes of different diameters and depths1 and cylinders to fit each hole4 ,the child takes all the cylinders out1 rubs his fingers around their edge and then around the rim of the holes and puts them back in the proper hole4 ,the ability to judge of size is also exercised by giving the child a set of graduated wooden blocks with which he builds a tower1 and another set which he may use to make a stair4 ,the power to distinguish form is developed by wooden insets of all shapes which fit into holes in a thin board4 ,the child takes out the insets1 feels of them and then replaces them4 ,later the teacher tells him the geometrical name of each form while he is touching it1 and then has him distinguish them by name4 ,there are sets of cardboard forms to correspond to the wooden ones1 and metal plaques where the form appears as a hole in the center of the plaque4 ,these are used in games which consist in matching the same form in the different materials1 and for drawing the form in outline on paper to be filed in with colored pencils4 ,the method of teaching reading and writing uses the sense of touch to renforce the lesson the pupil gets through the eye and ear4 ,sandpaper alphabets with each letter pasted on a square of cardboard are given a child4 ,he rubs his finger over these as if he were writing and makes the sound of the letter as he rubs4 ,movable letters are used only after the child is familiar with the letters by touch1 and with them he makes words4 ,writing usually precedes reading when children learn in this way2 when they take pencil or chalk1 they are able to trace the letters with very little difficulty because the muscles as well as the eye are familiar with the forms4 ,the sense of hearing is exercised by means of two sets of bells1 one fixed to give the scale1 the other movable1 so that the child can make his own scale by comparing with the fixed scale4 ,the children play a number of games where they are as quiet as possible1 acting out simple1 whispered directions from the teacher4 ,there is as well a series of rattles filled with sand1 gravel1 and grains1 and the game is to guess which rattle is being shaken4 ,the sense of color is developed in the same way by means of specially arranged apparatus4 ,this consists of small tablets wound with colored silks in all colors and shades1 which are used in many different ways1 according to the age and skill of the pupil4 ,the youngest learn to distinguish two or three colors and to tell dark from light shades4 ,the older pupils who are familiar with the colors acquire enough skill in their manipulation to be able to glance at one tablet and then go to the other side of the room and bring either an exact match or the next shade lighter or darker1 according to what the teacher has asked for4 ,muscular development is provided for by giving the children plenty of time during the school day to run and play1 and by means of apparatus for free gymnastics1 while the finer cordinating muscles are being constantly exercised while the child is manipulating the appliances for sense training4 ,the faculty of speech is trained by having the children practice the pronunciation of words and syllables4 ,the fundamental conceptions of number are taught much as are reading and writing4 ,besides the sandpaper numbers and the plain cardboard ones1 there is a series of wooden bars varying in length from one to ten meters1 which the children use in connection with numbers in learning the combinations up to ten4 ,the foregoing description of the didactic material is very brief and general and omits many of the uses of the appliances as well as reference to some of the less used material1 but it serves to illustrate the nature and purpose of the work done by the children4 ,pupils acquire a marked skill in the handling of the material which appeals especially to them1 and children of four and five learn to write with very little effort4 ,in fact1 ,madame ,montessori believes that the average child is ready for many of the ideas which he usually does not get until his sixth year at an earlier age1 when they can be acquired more easily2 and that a system such as hers which allows the child to perform one set of acts at the time when he is ready for it saves him a great deal of time later on1 besides giving a more perfect result than could then be achieved4 ,each piece of material is designed to train singly one specific sense through the performance of one set of fixed acts4 ,consequently if liberty is confounded with doing as one pleases1 this method must appear very strict4 ,liberty is found in the use the children make of material4 ,the amount of freedom the pupils are allowed in the classroom has already been described1 and the rle of the teacher is made to correspond with this liberty4 ,she is trained not to interfere with any spontaneous activity of the child and never to force his attention where it is not given naturally4 ,when a child has turned of his own accord to a certain apparatus the teacher may show him the proper use of it2 or in rare cases she may try to direct the child's attention to a different type of work if he seems inclined to concentrate to excess on one thing1 but if she fails she never insists4 ,in fact nothing is done by the teacher to call the child's attention to his weaknesses and failures1 or to arouse any negative associations in his mind4 ,madame ,montessori says1 8,if he the child makes a mistake1 the teacher must not correct him1 but must suspend her lesson to take it up again another day4 ,indeed1 why correct him8 ,if the child has not succeeded in associating the name with the object1 the only way in which to succeed would be to repeat both the action of the sense stimuli and the name2 in other words1 to repeat the lesson4 ,but when the child has failed1 we should know that he was not at that instant ready for the physic associations which we wished to provoke in him1 and we must therefore choose another moment4 ,if we should say1 in correcting the child1 #8,no1 you have made a mistake1' all these words1 which1 being in the form of a reproof1 would strike him more forcibly than others1 would remain in the mind of the child1 retarding the learning of the names4 ,on the contrary1 the silence which follows the error leaves the field of consciousness clear1 and the next lesson may successfully follow the first40 ,the simplicity and passivity of the teachers' rle are increased by the nature of the didactic material4 ,once the child has been taught the nomenclature connected with the apparatus1 the teacher ceases to teach4 ,she becomes merely an observer as far as that pupil is concerned until he is ready to move on to another appliance4 ,this is possible because of what ,montessori calls the 8self-corrective0 nature of her material4 ,that is1 each thing is arranged so that the child can do but one complete thing with it1 so that if he makes a mistake the apparatus does not work4 ,thus a child working with any one thing does not have to be told when he makes a mistake how to correct it4 ,he is confronted with an obvious problem1 which is solved by his own handling of the material4 ,the child is educating himself in that he sees his own mistakes and corrects them1 and the finished result is perfect2 partial success or failure is not possible4 ,take the simplest piece of material1 the block of wood in which solid cylinders are set4 ,there are ten of these cylinders1 each varying1 say1 in length about a quarter of an inch from the one next it4 ,the child takes all these cylinders from their proper holes and mixes them up2 then he puts them back in their right places again4 ,if he puts a cylinder in a hole too deep for it1 it disappears2 if the hole is too shallow it sticks up too far1 while if every cylinder is put in its proper hole1 the child has a solid block of wood again4 ,all the geometrical insets are self-corrective in exactly the same way4 ,even the youngest child would know whether he had succeeded with the button and lacing frames4 ,the tower blocks will not pile up into a tower unless the child piles them one on top of the other in decreasing sizes1 nor will the stair blocks make a stair unless they are laid side by side according to the same principle4 ,in using the color tablets the child needs rather more preparation2 but when he has learned to distinguish the eight different shades of one of the eight colors1 he is ready to arrange them so that they blend from dark to light1 and if he makes a mistake the tablet placed in wrong sequence will appear to him as an inharmonious blot4 ,once the pupil gets the idea with one color he is able to work it out for himself for the other seven4 ,since the pupils are never allowed merely to play with an apparatus1 it becomes associated in his mind with performing the right set of actions1 so a misstep appears to him as something to be undone1 something calling for another trial4 ,the educational purpose ,montessori aims to serve in making her material self-corrective1 is that of leading the child to concentrate upon the differences in the parts of the appliances he is working with2 that is1 in trying for the fixed end he has to compare and discriminate between two colors1 two sounds1 two dimensions1 etc4 ,it is in making these comparisons that the intellectual value of training the senses lies4 ,the particular faculty or sense that the child is exercising in using any one apparatus is sharpened by concentration upon the relations between the things4 ,sense-development of an intellectual character comes from the growth of this power of the sense organ to compare and discriminate1 not from teaching the child to recognize dimensions1 sounds1 colors1 etc41 nor yet from simply going through certain motions without making a mistake4 ,montessori claims that intellectual result differentiates her work from the appliances of the kindergarten4 ,as we said above1 the difference between the ,montessori method and the views of ,american reformers lies not in a difference of opinion as to the value of liberty1 but rather in a different conception of the best use to be made of it4 ,physically the pupils of a ,montessori class are freer than they are in the classes of most ,american educators with whose views this book has been dealing2 intellectually they are not so free4 ,they can come and go1 work and be idle1 talk and move about quite voluntarily2 getting information about things and acquiring skill in movement are the ends secured4 ,each pupil works independently on material that is self-corrective4 ,but there is no freedom allowed the child to create4 ,he is free to choose which apparatus he will use1 but never to choose his own ends1 never to bend a material to his own plans4 ,for the material is limited to a fixed number of things which must be handled in a certain way4 ,most ,american educators think that the training of the pupil to habits of right thinking and judgment is best accomplished by means of material which presents to him real problems1 and they think that the measure of reality is found in connection with the experiences of life out of school4 ,the big thing that children have to learn is twofold2 for their adjustment to the world in which they find themselves involves relations to people and to things4 ,adjustment means not simply the ability to control their bodies1 but an intellectual adjustment as well1 an ability to see the relations between things1 to look behind their surface and perceive their meaning not alone to the individual1 but to the community as well4 8,the best way of making sure that children learn this double adjustment is10 says the ,american school-teacher1 8to give them work which represents truly the conditions they have to deal with out of school40 ,illustration3 ,solving problems in school as they would have to be met out of school4 7,francis ,parker ,school1 ,chicago47 ,outside the classroom the child is constantly having to bend material things to his own needs1 and to satisfy the demands that are made upon him because he lives with other people4 ,if he is to accomplish this successfully for himself and others it is important that he learn to see things as they are2 that he be able to use his senses accurately to understand the meaning that things and people have to and for him as a member of society4 ,hence the need of freedom to meet and solve these problems in school1 much as one has to do out of school4 ,madame ,montessori1 on the other hand1 believes that the technique of living can best be learned by the child through situations that are not typical of social life1 but which have been arranged in order to exercise some special sense so as to develop the faculties of discrimination and comparison4 ,the difference of opinion resolves itself into the acceptance of different views of the nature of the human intelligence4 ,montessori1 in common with the older psychologists1 believes that people have ready-made faculties which can be trained and developed for general purposes1 regardless of whether the acts by which they are exercised have any meaning other than the training they afford4 ,the child is born with undeveloped faculties which can be made to blossom by suitable appliances1 and then devoted at will to other uses4 ,most educators in this country agree with the newer psychological theories that skill can not be achieved independently of the tools used and the object fashioned in the accomplishment of a special end4 ,exercises which distinguish for the child the abstract qualities like length and color1 regardless of the things of which they are qualities1 may give the child great skill in performing the special exercise1 but will not necessarily result in making him more successful in dealing with these qualities as they appear as factors in the situations of life4 ,much less will they train powers of comparing and discriminating at large so that they may be transferred to any use4 ,a child is not born with faculties to be unfolded1 but with special impulses of action to be developed through their use in preserving and perfecting life in the social and physical conditions under which it goes on4 ,if1 accordingly1 the child in an ,american progressive school does not usually have as much freedom of moving about and of choice of his time for doing work1 the explanation does not consist in a less degree of belief in the value of liberty4 ,the emphasis falls on the larger freedom of using and testing senses and judgment in situations typical of life4 ,because these situations are social1 they require that children work more together in common pursuits2 because they are social they permit and often require the teacher's aid1 just as one gains assistance from others in the ordinary affairs of life4 ,help from others is not to be feared as an encroachment upon liberty1 but that kind of help which restricts the use of the children's own intelligence in forming ends and using ingenuity1 initiative and inventiveness in the selection and adaption of materials4 ,the limitation of material to performing exercises calculated to train an isolated sense--a situation that never presents itself in life--seems to the ,american teacher a greater limitation of freedom than that which arises from the need of coperation with others in the performance of common activities4 ,it is desirable not merely that the child should learn not to interfere with others as they execute their own ends1 but also that he should learn to work with them in an intelligent way4 ,hence the scope of the material should not be limited to training the discriminations and comparisons of a single sense 7however valuable this may be with very young children who are incapable of coperative activity and whose main business is to master the use of their organs71,a but should be varied enough to offer typical problems calling for the kind of comparison and discrimination used in ordinary life-situations4 ,and when pupils are making real things for real uses1 or finding out about the activities and materials of out-of-school life1 several children need to work at the same thing and keep at one thing with some consecutiveness4 ,a ,it is significant that many who have experimented with the apparatus hold that its value is greatest with quite young children--three and four years old4 ,but if the educators of this country differ with ,montessori as to the existence of innate faculties which can be trained for general application by special exercises designed only for training and not for the accomplishment of results in which training is incidental1 they welcome her efforts to secure that degree of freedom in the schoolroom which will enable teachers to become acquainted with the real powers and interests of the child and thus secure the data for a scientific method in education4 ,they appreciate the force of her point that artificial conditions of restraint prevent teachers from getting true knowledge of the material with which they are dealing1 so that instruction is limited to repetition of traditional processes4 ,they perceive that her insistence upon touch associated with muscular movement as a factor in learning to write and read1 is a real contribution to the technique of elementary instruction4 ,she has become a most important factor in the popularizing of the gospel of liberty as indispensable to any true education4 ,with a wider understanding of the meaning of intellectual and moral freedom1 and the accompanying breakdown of the negative and coercive ideas of discipline1 the chief obstacle to the use of the teacher's own powers of observation and experimentation will disappear4 ,the scientific interest which requires personal observation1 reflection1 and experimental activity1 will be added to the teacher's sympathetic interest in the welfare of children4 ,education that associates learning with doing will replace the passive education of imparting the learning of others4 ,however well the latter is adapted to feudal societies1 in which most individuals are expected to submit constantly and docilely to the authority of superiors1 an education which proceeds on this basis is inconsistent with a democratic society where initiative and independence are the rule and where every citizen is supposed to take part in the conduct of affairs of common interest4 ,it is significant of the wide-reaching development of the democratic spirit that the voice most influentially identified at the present time with the ideal of liberty in education should sound forth from ,italy4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,relation ,,of ,,the ,,school ,,to ,,the ,,community ,work is essentially social in its character1 for the occupations which people carry on are for human needs and ends4 ,they are concerned with maintaining the relations with things and with others which make up the world we live in4 ,even the acts that are concerned with keeping alive are arranged to fit into a social scheme which has modified all man's instinctive acts and thoughts4 ,everything about this scheme is dependent upon the ability of people to work together successfully4 ,if they can do this a well-balanced1 happy and prosperous society results4 ,without these occupations1 which are essentially social life--that is human life--civilization can not go on4 ,the result is a sort of social education by necessity1 since every one must learn to adapt himself to other individuals and to whole communities4 ,when it is left to circumstances this education1 although necessary1 is haphazard and only partial4 ,we send children to school supposedly to learn in a systematic way the occupations which constitute living1 but to a very large extent the schools overlook1 in the methods and subject-matter of their teaching1 the social basis of living4 ,instead of centering the work in the concrete1 the human side of things1 they put the emphasis on the abstract1 hence the work is made academic--unsocial4 ,work then is no longer connected with a group of people all engaged in occupations1 but is isolated1 selfish and individualistic4 ,it is based on a conception of society which no longer fits the facts1 an every-man-for-himself society which ceased to exist a hundred years ago4 ,the ordinary school curriculum ignores the scientific democratic society of to-day and its needs and ideals1 and goes on fitting children for an individualistic struggle for existence1 softened by a little intellectual 8culture0 for the individual's enjoyment4 ,schools started in this country in pioneer days1 when a comparatively small number of people were scattered over an immense country that offered them unlimited and unexplored opportunities4 ,the pioneer was dependent upon his own ability in seizing these opportunities1 in getting ahead1 in his use of nature's raw material4 ,he lived much alone and for himself2 no one was really dependent upon his relations with others2 for there were few people1 endless material1 and unorganized communities1 without traditions or institutions4 ,the welfare of the country was dependent upon the spread of the doctrines of getting on1 and every man for himself4 ,it was entirely natural that the new schools should reflect this ideal and shape their work to drive home the lesson4 ,our early settlers came from countries with traditions of culture and 8learning02 and it was natural that they should look to their schools to keep alive these transplanted ideals in the midst of their struggle with nature4 ,culture did not mean to them a harmonious development of all the child's faculties1 but it meant rather the storing up of historical facts and the acquiring of knowledge and the literatures of the past4 ,learning1 too1 did not mean finding out about the things around them or about what was going on in other parts of the world2 it meant reviewing the achievements of the past1 learning to read the dead languages1 the deader the language the greater the reputation for 8learning40 ,the school curriculums were principally devoted1 therefore1 to turning the eyes of the pupils to the past1 where alone they could find things worth studying and where1 too1 they might find the refinements of esthetic and intellectual development4 ,a knowledge of the 8three ,r's0 and a little natural 8smartness0 was all the social equipment the child needed1 all the preparation that was necessary for him to begin to get on in the world4 ,once he had that equipment the schools could then turn their attention to giving him culture4 ,however interesting or enlightening such culture might be to the individual1 obviously the first business of the public school is to teach the child to live in the world in which he finds himself1 to understand his share in it1 and to get a good start in adjusting himself to it4 ,only as he can do these things successfully will he have time or inclination to cultivate purely intellectual activities4 ,the public schools started with the awakening of the spirit of liberty and democracy4 ,more and more people realized that there was no possibility of an equal chance for every one1 if a very small minority of the population had entire control of the material of science1 which was so rapidly changing all social and industrial conditions4 ,naturally enough when these popular schools were started1 the community turned to the schools already in existence for their curriculum and organization4 ,the old schools1 however1 were not conducted to give equal opportunity to all1 but for just the opposite purpose1 to make more marked the line between classes1 to give the leisure and moneyed classes something which every one could not get1 to cater to their desire for distinction and to give them occupation4 ,people lived generation after generation in the same place1 carrying on the same occupations under the same conditions4 ,their world was so small that it did not seem to offer much in the way of material for a school education2 and what it did offer was primarily concerned with earning a living4 ,but the schools were for people who did not earn their own livings1 for people who wished to be accomplished1 polished and interesting socially1 so the material was abstract1 purposely separated from the concrete and the useful4 ,ideals of culture and education were and still are to a surprising extent based entirely upon the interests and demands of an aristocratic and leisure class4 ,having such an ideal of culture it was natural to the pioneers to copy the curriculum of the schools made for this ideal1 even when the purpose of their schools was to give an equal industrial and social chance to all4 ,from the very beginning of the public schools in this country the material of the curriculum reflected social conditions which were rapidly passing away3 ideals of education that a feudal society1 dependent upon its aristocracy1 had developed4 ,the tremendous change in society which the application of science to industry brought about1 changes which caused the ,french ,revolution and the general revolution of #ahdh1 effected a reconstruction of nearly all the institutions of civilization1 the death of a great many1 and the birth of many more4 ,the need of popular education was one of the results of the change1 and with this need came the public schools4 ,as their form did not adapt itself to the new conditions1 but simply copied the schools already existing1 the process of reconstruction to fit the new society is still going on1 and is only just beginning to become conscious4 ,a democratic society1 dependent upon applications of science for all its prosperity and welfare1 can not hope to use with any great success a system of education which grew up for the ruling body in an autocratic society using only human power for its industries and wealth4 ,the ever-increasing dissatisfaction with the schools and the experiments in trade and industrial training which are being started1 are protests against clinging to this outworn inheritance4 ,they are the first steps in the process of building a new education which shall really give an equal chance to every one1 because it will base itself on the world in which the children live4 ,there are three things about the old-fashioned school which must be changed if schools are to reflect modern society3 first1 the subject-matter1 second1 the way the teacher handles it1 and third1 the way the pupils handle it4 ,the subject-matter will not be altered as to name4 ,reading1 writing1 arithmetic and geography will always be needed1 but their substance will be greatly altered and added to4 ,in the first place modern society realizes that the care and growth of the body are just as important as the development of the mind2 more so1 for the latter is dependent upon the former1 so schools will become places for children to learn to live physically as well as mentally4 ,again we need to know how to read and write nowadays so that we may be able to do the simplest daily actions1 take the right street-car1 avoid dangerous places1 and keep in touch with people and events we can not see1 and1 in fact1 do almost everything connected with our occupations4 ,but the schools are still teaching reading and writing as if they were ends in themselves1 simply luxuries to be acquired by pupils for their private edification4 ,the same thing is true of geography2 pupils learn boundaries1 populations and rivers as if their object was to store up facts that everybody may not know4 ,but in a society where railroads and steamboats1 newspapers and telegraph1 have made the whole world neighbors1 and where no community is self-supporting1 the desirability of really knowing about these neighbors is obvious4 ,in other words our world has been so tremendously enlarged and complicated1 our horizons so widened and our sympathies so stimulated1 by the changes in our surroundings and habits brought about by machinery1 that a school curriculum which does not show this same growth can be only very partially successful4 ,the subject-matter of the schoolroom must be enlarged to take in the new elements and needs of society4 ,this can be done without overburdening the pupils by effecting the second and third necessary changes4 ,the complication and multiplication due to machinery and the increase in the mere number of facts that are known about things through scientific discoveries1 make the task of mastering even one subject almost impossible4 ,when we consider all the facts connected with teaching the geography of our own country1 the climatic and geological facts1 the racial facts1 the industrial and political facts1 and the social and scientific facts1 we begin to realize the hopelessness of teaching with lists of facts4 ,geography embraces nearly the entire range of human knowledge and endeavor4 ,the same thing is true to a lesser extent of all the subjects in the curriculum4 ,the great number of facts at our disposal in any one branch makes a mere classification of the principal ones seem like a makeshift4 ,so teachers1 instead of having their classes read and then recite facts from textbooks1 must change their methods4 ,facts present themselves to every one in countless numbers1 and it is not their naming that is useful1 but the ability to understand them and see their relation and application to each other4 ,so the function of the teacher must change from that of a cicerone and dictator to that of a watcher and helper4 ,as teachers come to watch their individual pupils with a view to allowing each one the fullest development of his thinking and reasoning powers1 and to use the tables of reading1 writing1 and arithmetic as means of training the child's abilities to judge and act1 the rle of the child necessarily changes too4 ,it becomes active instead of passive1 the child becomes the questioner and experimenter4 ,it is the rare mind that can get relations or draw conclusions from simply hearing facts4 ,most people must see and handle things before they can tell how these things will behave and what their meaning is4 ,the teacher then becomes the one who sees that the pupils get proper material1 and that they use it in ways that are true2 that is1 in ways that represent relations and conditions that actually exist outside the classroom4 ,this is simply another way of saying that in a society where every one is supposed to take care of himself1 and is supposed to have liberty of person and action1 up to the point of harming others1 it is pretty important that every one should be able to conduct himself1 that is1 to act so that he can take care of himself successfully4 ,for its own sake society can not afford to train up its children in a way that blunts and dulls the quickness and accuracy of judgment of the baby before it begins school4 ,if it does this it is increasing the number of incompetents who will be a drag on the whole of society4 ,dogmatic methods which prescribe and make for docility and passivity not only become ineffective in modern society but they actually hinder the development of the largest possibilities of society4 ,all the educational reformers following ,rousseau have looked to education as the best means of regenerating society4 ,they have been fighting against the feudal and pioneer notion that the reason for a good education was to enable your children and mine to get ahead of the rest of the community1 to give individuals another weapon to use in making society contribute more to their purse and pleasure4 ,they have believed that the real reason for developing the best possible education was to prevent just this1 by developing methods which would give a harmonious development of all the powers4 ,this can be done by socializing education1 by making schools a real part of active life1 not by allowing them to go their own way1 shunting off all outside influences1 and isolating themselves4 ,froebel1 ,pestalozzi1 and their followers tried to effect just this linking up with society which would result in the development of a social spirit in every one4 ,but they did not have the means for making their schools embryo communities4 ,the demand for popular education was still so small that the community was not willing to recognize the schools as an integral part1 and the idea that children were anything but miniature grown-ups1 was still so new that successful methods of handling groups of children had not been developed4 ,the rle of the community in making the schools vital is just as important as the rle of the school itself4 ,for in a community where schools are looked upon as isolated institutions1 as a necessary convention1 the school will remain largely so in spite of the most skillful methods of teaching4 ,but a community that demands something visible from its schools1 that recognizes the part they play in the welfare of the whole just as it recognizes its police and fire departments1 that uses the energies and interest of its youthful citizens1 not simply controlling their time until they are prepared to be turned out as citizens--such a community will have social schools1 and whatever its resources1 it will have schools that develop community spirit and interests4 ,a great deal has been written lately about the public school system at ,gary1 ,ind41 with special reference to the novel features of school administration that are being worked out there1 or else with emphasis on the opportunities for industrial training4 ,but the biggest idea there is the one behind these new features4 ,it is the social and community idea4 ,mr4 ,wirt1 the superintendent of schools1 has had an opportunity to make the schools of the steel town almost from the very beginning of the town1 and he has wanted to do it right4 ,he did not visit the most famous schools all over the country or send for the best school architect2 instead he stayed right at home1 and forgetting what had or had not been done in other places1 he tried to make the best possible schools for ,gary4 ,the question he tried to answer was this3 ,what did the ,gary children need to make them good citizens and happy and prosperous human beings1 and how could the money available for educational purposes supply all these needs8 ,the industrial features of his schools will be taken up later1 but it may be well to point out in passing that they were not instituted to turn out good workers for the steel company1 nor to save the factories the expense of training their own workers1 but for the educational value of the work they involved4 ,in the same way it would be a mistake to consider the ,gary schools simply as an attempt to take the unpromising immigrant child and turn him into a self-supporting immigrant1 or as an attempt to meet the demand of an industrial class for a certain sort of training4 ,illustration3 ,the pupil stays in the same building from day nursery through high school4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,mr4 ,wirt found himself the superintendent of schools in an ,american town1 responsible for thousands of children coming from all sorts of surroundings4 ,it was his problem to take care of them for a number of years in such a way that at the end of the time each child would be able to find his own job and do it successfully1 whether this was feeding a machine or managing a business1 whether it was taking care of a family or working in an office1 or teaching school4 ,his problem is not to give the special information each one may need for the details of his work1 but to keep the natural interests and enthusiasms of childhood1 to enable each pupil to gain control of his mind and body1 and to insure his being able to do the rest for himself4 ,to be successful as a human being and an ,american citizen1 is the goal that the public schools of the country have set for their pupils3 earning a living forms part of this ideal1 and follows as a matter of course if the larger training is successful4 ,there are many factors to be considered in deciding on the best ways of reaching this goal3 such as the individual peculiarities of every child that goes to school2 the people that will teach2 the neighborhood in which the child lives2 and the larger community which pays for the schools4 ,mr4 ,wirt's plan takes advantage to their full value of the contributions each one has to make to the whole scheme4 ,each factor is a contributory asset2 without it the others could not perform their work2 therefore it means a weak spot in the result if anything is overlooked4 ,a tremendous waste in the organization of the ordinary public school appears at the first glance to a critic who is seeking to spend the school taxes with the greatest possible benefit to the children and to the taxpayers4 ,the entire school equipment of building1 yard1 and supplies stands empty for half of every school day1 besides summer vacation and ,saturdays4 ,the buildings are expensive and for the greater part of the time are not in use at all4 ,this is an extravagance in itself1 but when we consider the way the average child who goes to public school in town or city spends the hours when he is not in school1 and the very incomplete education he gets during the school hours1 we begin to realize just how serious this extravagance is4 ,mr4 ,wirt decided to keep the schools open all day in ,gary1 so that the children would not be forced to spend the greater part of their time playing in the alleys and on crowded street corners1 exposed to all the dangers to health and morals that such places offer for the loiterer4 ,still the buildings would be closed for many hours a day and for many weeks1 and he decided that the people who built the buildings--the taxpayers--ought to have a chance to use them for public purposes during this time1 so the ,gary schools have evening school1 ,saturday classes1 and summer sessions4 ,this makes the up-keep of the buildings much more expensive than having them open for a few months only1 therefore some way of running the plant more economically must be discovered4 ,children can not sit still all day at their desks as they do for five hours in most schools2 therefore other things must be provided for them to do if they are to keep well and busy during eight hours of school4 ,the ,gary buildings obtain this necessary economy by using a building for twice as many pupils as the ordinary building is supposed to be able to take care of4 ,there are two schools in every house1 one from eight to three and the other from nine to four1 and each takes its turn at the regular classrooms during alternate hours1 the remaining half of the day being spent in the various occupations that make ,gary unique4 ,in this way enough money is saved to equip shops and pay extra teachers for the subjects that supplement the regular curriculum1 and to pay for the extra sessions4 ,thus with taxes of ordinary size the people of ,gary get schools that utilize the children's time1 and give them greatly increased facilities for learning1 besides offering the adults of the community opportunities for special courses in evening school4 ,at present in ,gary the number of adults using the school buildings is greater than the number of children1 though of course the number of hours they attend school is much shorter4 ,by having two duplicate schools in every building one half the usual cost per classroom is saved1 and enough money to supply healthy activities for the children for eight hours a day and to keep the schools open evenings1 holidays and ,sundays for adults is obtained4 ,each building is equipped with a gymnasium1 swimming pool1 and playground1 and has physical directors that are in attendance for the entire eight hours4 ,physical training is as much a part of the regular school work as anything else1 and besides the work that is part of every pupil's program there are two hours a day when the playground is open for the children to use as they please4 ,instead of going to the streets to play1 the children stay in the school and use the play opportunities it offers4 ,for the most part the physical training takes the form of supervised play and apparatus work4 ,experimentation has shown here as in so many other places that the pupils are not really interested in the formal group exercises1 and that they go through with them under compulsion and so lose most of the benefit4 ,so for the gymnastic drill1 swimming pool1 tennis courts1 and apparatus are largely substituted4 ,the directors see that the individual gets the special exercise that he needs so that the work does not lose its orderliness or effectiveness1 and besides getting physical development suited to his needs1 every child has a healthy and pleasant place to play or otherwise spend his time outdoors4 ,the ,gary pupil is expected to gain physically during the school year just as he is expected to keep up with his grade in his other work4 ,each child is examined by a doctor1 and the pupils who are not strong enough for the strain of the classroom work are not sent home to do nothing until they are stronger1 but are kept in school and given a program suited to their strength1 their classroom time is cut down to a minimum1 and they spend most of the day on the playground or in the gymnasium1 doing the sort of things the doctor says they need to get strong4 ,the physical growth of the pupils is just as important as the mental1 and by devoting the same care to it that is given to the child's progress through the grades1 the schools go a long way towards making themselves a small community which gives every opportunity for a normal and natural life4 ,the schools are open eight hours a day1 but the grade teachers teach for only six hours1 while the physical directors are on duty for the whole time4 ,four hours of each school's time is given to the regular classroom work or laboratories1 and one hour for the auditorium and one hour for 8application0 or play4 ,then there are the other two hours when the children may use the play facilities if they wish1 and they all do use them4 ,by rotating the classes the number of teachers does not have to be increased1 and the pupils get the benefit of teachers especially trained for the subject they are teaching4 ,by dividing each school into groups of pupils the classes are smaller than in most public schools4 ,for the first two hours in the morning--from #h3ae to #aj3ae--one school has the use of the classrooms1 studios1 shops and laboratories1 one group in a recitation room for the first hour and in the shops for the second1 the second group beginning with the shop work4 ,the other school uses the playground for the first hour and attendance is not compulsory1 for the second hour one group goes to the auditorium and the other remains on the playground for systematic gymnastics or has an 8application0 period4 ,then at #aj3ae the first school goes to the auditorium and playgrounds for its work and the second school takes possession of the class and shop rooms for two hours4 ,grades one to five have two hours daily in regular classrooms for formal instruction in language1 history1 literature1 and mathematics4 ,grades six to twelve have three hours daily for this formal instruction4 ,the additional hour is taken from the play and application periods4 ,grades one to five have one hour of laboratory work in science or shop work in industrial training1 thirty minutes for music or literature1 and thirty minutes for physical training4 ,grades six to twelve have the entire two hours for shop work in industrial training1 laboratory work in science1 or music and drawing4 ,by this scheme of alternation of classes and schools twice the number of children that are usually cared for in one building are taken care of in smaller classes by teachers who are specialists in their subjects4 ,for besides the industrial teachers1 there are teachers for ,french1 ,german1 history1 mathematics1 literature1 music1 art1 nature study1 and the sciences4 ,this additional efficiency is paid for by the saving on buildings effected by the two school systems4 ,each grade room is used by at least four different classes1 so each child does not have a desk where he keeps his things and belongings1 but has a locker for his books and changes his classroom at the end of the hour4 ,no one teacher is responsible for one set of pupils1 but for her own work1 and in the same way the pupils are responsible for themselves4 ,obviously such a scheme as this requires a real spirit of coperation among the pupils and teachers1 and also good business management4 ,mr4 ,wirt believes that lack of just this has been one of the reasons why the public schools have lost so many of the opportunities that ,gary is using4 ,running a big institution successfully from the business end is a large order in itself1 and ,mr4 ,wirt feels that school principals and supervisors have been too greatly handicapped in being expected to do this business while carrying out an educational program4 ,he believes that the school principal or superintendent should be a business manager1 an administrative officer simply for the building or for the city4 ,the educational policy of the schools1 the program1 and methods should be looked out for by experts who are free from the details of administration4 ,these supervising educators should not be appointed for districts but for subjects1 and should move their offices from time to time from one school to another1 so that they may really keep in touch with all the work in their subject1 and so that no one school will be overstrong in one subject4 ,these supervisors should act as the educational principals of the schools where they have their offices for the time1 and the whole body of supervisors arrange the curricula for all the schools4 ,gary has too few schools as yet to enable the completion of such a plan1 but the present organization shows the same broad-mindedness and desire to get the coperation and value of all the work of all the teachers through the system1 from the newest assistant to the superintendent himself4 ,in discipline1 in social life1 and in the curriculum the ,gary schools are doing everything possible1 in coperation with church and home1 to use to the best educational purpose every resource of money1 organization and neighborhood influence4 ,the school is a small community in its discipline1 and a democratic one4 ,the work is so well arranged that the children want to go to school2 there is no need to drag them with truant officers or overawe them by a show of stern authority4 ,once in the school building they feel at home and take the same interest and responsibility in the work that they take in their own homes4 ,each child knows what all the other children and classes are doing1 for all the children are constantly meeting in the locker rooms or as they pass through the halls for their change of classroom at the end of every hour4 ,the auditorium and the system of visiting classes1 and the repairing and manufacturing of school equipment by the students1 are strong factors in creating the spirit that prevails among the scholars4 ,there is a student council in each school elected by the students to attend to the interests of the student body and to the order of the building4 ,there are health campaigns carried on by the school doctors coperating through the school printing press with the ,english classes and the auditorium periods4 ,the children take such a keen interest in these1 and work so hard that there is a larger percent of contagious diseases among the children under school age than among those in school1 in spite of the greater chances for contagion among the latter4 ,instead of simply enforcing the health laws1 the school authorities tell the children what the laws are1 why they were made and how they can help to keep down contagion and all sorts of sickness2 in chemistry and cooking the pupils are taught enough about germs and physiology so that they understand what contagion and dirt mean4 ,the result is that the children themselves take every precaution to prevent sickness1 and when a classmate is sick they see to it that quarantine is enforced and that the school doctor is notified4 ,the schools have carried on a pure milk campaign in the same way2 the pupils brought samples of milk from home and tested it1 and then saw that their parents did something about it if impurities were found4 ,an anti-fly campaign goes on all the time and meets with a real response from the children4 ,in the matter of health the schools not only do their share as a part of the whole community1 they do more than this1 acting as assistants to the board of health and getting rid of the prejudice and fear of city doctors which is so common in our foreign communities1 and which makes it so hard to keep down disease and take care of school children4 ,once the coperation and understanding of the children is gained by the city doctors1 it is not hard to have their adenoids or eyes attended to4 ,the children know why these things need to be done even if their parents do not1 and they see to it that the parents are kept from interfering and that they help4 ,another difficult problem for the public schools in an industrial community with a foreign population is to keep the children in school after the legal age at which they may leave4 ,the ,gary schools go about this just as they attack the question of public health1 not by making more rules or trying compulsion1 but by getting the children themselves to help1 by making the schools so obviously useful for each individual that he wants to stay4 ,there are no 8,high ,schools0 in ,gary6 ,a pupil goes to school in one building from the day he enters kindergarten until he is ready for college or until he goes into business or the factory4 ,there is no graduation with a celebration and a diploma at the end of the eighth grade4 ,when a pupil begins the ninth grade his program deviates from the plan of previous years1 but otherwise there is nothing done to make the child think he has gone as far as he needs1 that from now on he will simply be getting frills and luxuries4 ,the teachers do not change4 ,the same history1 language and literature teachers conduct all the grades2 and in the shops the pupils get a chance to learn some one thing thoroughly4 ,the pupils do not look forward to the last four years of school with dread of a hard and useless grind1 they look at it as a continuation of their school life1 getting harder from year to year as their own ability increases4 ,and especially they regard this period as an opportunity to get training whose immediate value they can see4 ,the arguments of the school to persuade the pupils to stay in school are practical1 telling arguments1 things the children can see4 ,the school press prints from time to time bulletins explaining to the pupils and their parents the opportunities that the ,gary schools offer in the way of general education and of special training4 ,these bulletins give statistics and information about the opportunities in the different fields of work2 they show the boys and girls in figures the relative positions and salaries of high-school graduates and those who leave school at fourteen--as they appear one1 two1 or ten years after leaving school4 ,business men come to the schools and tell the students what the chances for graduates and non-graduates are in their business and why they want better educated employees4 ,statistics of ,gary pupils are kept and shown to the pupils4 ,the usual break between the eighth grade and high school does not exist1 and1 therefore1 parents do not think it necessary to take their children out of school4 ,they find that the sacrifices they have made to keep the children in can be kept up for a few years more4 ,if children are going to learn a trade better by staying in school than by leaving1 and if children are keen to continue in school with definite plans for the future1 even the most poverty-stricken parent is unwilling to thwart the advantage of his children4 ,it is well known that in big cities where the proportion of pupils who leave school at fourteen is overwhelming1 and where the usual reason given is that the parents need the financial help of the children1 the real reason for defection is the indifference of the pupils themselves to school4 ,the almost invariable answer given by the child to the question1 8,why did you leave school80 is1 8,because ,i did not like it40 ,this fact taken with the poverty at home is enough to make them leave school at the first chance4 ,give the child work that he recognizes as interesting and valuable and a chance to play1 and his hatred of school will speedily be forgotten4 ,the inflexibility of the ordinary public school tends to push the pupils out of school instead of keeping them in4 ,the curriculum does not fit them1 and there is no way of making it fit without upsetting the entire organization of the school4 ,one failure sets a pupil back in all his work1 and he soon gets the feeling that his own efforts are not important1 because the school machinery works on at the same rate1 regardless of any individual pupil or study4 ,indifference or dislike is almost surely the result of feeling that work is making no impression1 that the machine for which he is working is not after all affected or dependent upon his work4 ,in ,gary organization has been made to fit each individual child1 and is flexible enough so that even the most difficult pupil can not upset its working4 ,the child and the school get along together4 ,we have explained in an earlier paragraph how the two-school system works so that an individual can spend more or less time on any one subject1 or can drop it altogether4 ,the child who is weak physically spends much of his time on the playground1 while the child who is weak in arithmetic or geography can take these lessons with both schools or even with a grade below1 and hundreds of children in the same building can make the same sort of change in their program without disturbing the orderly conduct of the school routine4 ,a pupil who is stronger in one subject than in the rest of his work1 can take that subject with a higher grade4 ,the pupil who is losing interest in school and falling behind in most of his studies1 or who is beginning to talk of leaving1 is not punished for this lack of interest by being put still further back4 ,his teachers find out in what he is good and give him plenty of time to work at it1 and to get ahead in it so that his interest in his work is stimulated4 ,if he later wakes up to an interest in the regular school program1 so much the better4 ,every facility is given him to catch up with his grade in all the work4 ,if this awakening does not come1 the boy or girl has still been kept in school until he or she learned some one thing1 probably the one most suited to the pupil's ability1 instead of leaving or failing entirely by being held back in everything until even the one strong faculty died and the pupil was without either training or the moral stimulus of success4 ,illustration3 ,special teachers for special subjects from the very beginning4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,the school program is reorganized every two months and the pupil may change his entire program at any one of these times1 instead of having to struggle along for half a year with work that is too hard or too easy or not properly apportioned4 ,for administrative convenience the schools still keep the grade classifications1 but pupils are classified not according to the grade number1 but as 8rapid10 8average10 and 8slow0 workers4 ,rapid pupils finish the twelve years of school at about sixteen years of age1 average workers at eighteen1 and slow workers at twenty4 ,this classification does not describe the quality of work done4 ,the slow worker may be a more thorough scholar than the rapid worker4 ,the classification is used not to distinguish between the abilities of scholars1 but to take advantage of the natural growth of the child by letting his work keep abreast with it4 ,the rapid child moves as quickly as possible from grade to grade instead of being held back until his work has no stimulus for him1 and the slow worker is not pushed into work before he is ready for it4 ,does this flexible system work successfully or does it result in easy-going1 slap-dash methods8 ,we have only to visit the schools and see the pupils hard at work1 each one responsible for his own movements through the day1 to be convinced that the children are happy and interested2 while from the point of view of the teacher and educator1 the answer is even more positively favorable1 when we consult the school records4 ,fifty-seven per cent4 of all the school children in ,gary who are thirteen years old are in the seventh grade or above it4 ,this is a better showing than most industrial communities can make1 and means that the majority of all the ,gary school children go through school at about the same rate as the average pupil who is preparing for college4 ,even more remarkable than this are the figures regarding the pupils who have gone on to higher schools or colleges after leaving the ,gary schools4 ,one-third of all the pupils that have left the ,gary schools during the eight years of their existence are now in the state university1 in an engineering school1 or a business college4 ,when we remember that the population of ,gary is made up principally of laborers in the steel mills1 and is sixty per cent4 foreign born1 and compare with this the usual school history of the second generation in this country1 we realize how successful ,mr4 ,wirt has been in making a system which meets the needs of the pupils1 a system that appeals to the community as so good that they want to go on and get more education than mere necessity requires4 ,the motive back of these changes from the routine curriculum is always a social one4 ,mr4 ,wirt believes that if the social end of the school is properly emphasized the pedagogical will take care of itself4 ,the public schools must study the needs and qualities of its pupils1 the needs of the community and the opportunities that the community contributes to the schools' welfare4 ,we have seen how the physical life of the child and the health of the community are used in the school curriculum1 so as to make the curriculum more interesting1 and for the good of the community as well4 ,this same close connection is kept up between the school work and other community interests and matters of daily life4 ,every advantage is taken of the social instincts of children in the teaching4 ,instead of isolating each grade and cutting off the younger children from the older1 the two are thrown together as much as possible4 ,the younger grades use the laboratories and shops which would be an unwarranted extravagance if the high-school pupils were not in the same buildings and using them also for technical training4 ,they use them not only for beginning lessons in science or manual training1 but they go into them when the older classes are working there to act as helpers or as an audience for the higher grades4 ,fourth and fifth grade pupils thus assist seventh1 eighth1 and ninth grade students in shops1 studios1 and laboratories4 ,the older children learn responsibility and coperation from having to look out for the little people1 and the latter learn an astonishing amount about the subject from waiting on1 watching1 and asking questions of the older pupils4 ,both grades find out what is going on in the school and get thereby a large feeling of fellowship1 while the interest of the lower one grows and finds reasons for staying in school4 ,the work of the older children is used1 wherever it is feasible1 in teaching the lower grades4 ,maps and charts made in drawing are used for less advanced pupils in nature study or geography2 the printing shop makes the spelling lists and problem sheets for the whole school2 the doctor in his health campaigns calls in the art and ,english workers to make posters and pamphlets4 ,the halls of the schools are hung with notices of what is going on in the school1 with especially good and interesting drawings or maps1 with information about what is being made in the different shops1 or about anything that the whole school ought to see or know4 ,another strong element in making public opinion is the auditorium1 where every pupil in the school spends one hour each day1 sometimes for choral singing1 sometimes to hear an older grade tell about an interesting experiment in physics1 to find out from a cooking class about cheap and nutritious bills of fare1 or to hear the doctor tell how the school can improve the health conditions in its home neighborhoods4 ,the auditorium period is for the use of the general community as well4 ,ministers1 politicians1 any one in the city who is doing anything interesting1 may come in and tell the children about it4 ,the school invites all social agencies in the neighborhood to come in in this way4 ,the hour for 8application0 contributes to the same end4 ,the children go to the nearest public library to read or to look up references for their class work1 or simply for a lesson on the use of library books2 or they may go to the neighboring ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a4 building to use the gymnasium or to listen to a lecture2 or they may go to any church or club that offers religious instruction desired by the parents4 ,the school is a social clearing house for the neighborhood4 ,the application period is also used to supplement the regular classroom studies by means of practical work in the shops or on the playground4 ,thus an arithmetic class may get a lesson in applied mathematics by laying out the foundation for a house on the playground1 or by spending an hour in the school store1 a room fitted up like a grocery store1 where the children get practice in mental and oral arithmetic and in ,english by playing 8store40 ,the application period may also be spent in doing work for the school building4 ,thus an older pupil1 studying stenography and typewriting or bookkeeping1 might go to the school office and do an hour of real work1 helping one of the clerks4 ,the boys in the fifth grade put in this time in tending the school storeroom4 ,they take entire charge of the school supplies1 check up all the material sent in by the board and distributing it through the building to the teachers and janitors4 ,the records of the pupils in the different shops are kept by other pupils in their application time4 ,one paid bookkeeper has general charge of an office1 where the pupils come with printed slips filled out by the shop teacher1 giving them credit for so much time at a certain rate of skill2 the pupil clerks give the pupils credit on their record for this work and keep all the records4 ,pupils also run a post office for the building1 and the writer saw a sixth grade boy delivering salary checks and collecting receipts for them through the building4 ,children who do this kind of work are not only learning arithmetic and bookkeeping1 they are learning as well responsibility and reliability4 ,they get an appreciation of what their school means1 and are made wide-awake to its welfare2 they learn that they are the real school1 identical with its interests4 ,the school lunch room is conducted by the cooking department4 ,when the ,emerson ,school was first built it was equipped with the regulation cooking school desks1 individual gas burners1 tables and lockers4 ,all this has since been turned into a serving table where student waiters serve the food they have cooked--real lunches to their fellow students1 who pay a student cashier4 ,the younger girls get their cooking lessons by going to the older girls' cooking lessons as helpers and watchers4 ,the girls do all the menu planning and buying for the lunch room and keep the accounts4 ,they have to pay expenses and serve menus that come up to the standard set by the chemistry department1 where they have analyzed food and made tables of comparative values4 ,the result is steaming hot food1 nourishing and well cooked1 sold very cheaply4 ,the daily menu is posted with the price of each article and its food value1 and the walls of the lunch room are hung with posters and charts showing the relative values of foodstuffs1 sample menus for cheap and nourishing meals1 and the extravagance of poor food4 ,these have all been made by the cooking school students and are the result of actual experimentation4 ,gary schools do not teach civics out of a textbook4 ,pupils learn civics by helping to take care of their own school building1 by making the rules for their own conduct in the halls and on the playgrounds1 by going into the public library1 and by listening to the stories of what ,gary is doing as told by the people who are doing it4 ,they learn by a mock campaign1 with parties1 primaries1 booths and ballots for the election of their own student council4 ,pupils who have made the furniture and the cement walks with their own hands1 and who know how much it cost1 are slow to destroy walks or furniture1 nor are they going to be very easily fooled as to the value they get in service and improvements when they themselves become taxpayers4 ,the health campaigns1 the application work which takes them to the social agencies1 of the city1 the auditorium periods when they learn more about their city1 all give civics lessons that make their own appeal4 ,the children can see the things with their own eyes2 they are learning citizenship by being good citizens4 ,the value of this practical civics is doubly great because of the large number of children with foreign parents1 who know nothing about the government or organization of the city in which they are living1 and who1 because they do not understand what they see about them1 cannot know its possibilities and limitations4 ,the parents learn nothing of the laws until they break them1 of public health until they endanger it1 nor of social resources until they want something4 ,they are naturally suspicious of government and social authority in consequence1 and it is very important that their children should have some real knowledge on which to base a sounder judgment4 ,besides giving them this1 the schools try to teach ,american standards of living to the pupils and so to their parents4 ,on entering school every pupil gives the school office1 besides the usual name1 age1 and address1 certain information about his family1 its size1 its resources1 and the character of the home he lives in4 ,this record is kept in the school and transferred if the child moves out of the school district4 ,every grade teacher takes a certain number of squares in the school district1 and they make plans of this area4 ,the children make a large scale map1 with streets1 walks1 lamp posts and mail boxes1 locating every house1 barn1 or shed and every empty lot4 ,this is altered as changes are made4 ,every child brings measurements of the rooms in his home and draws a floor plan of his house4 ,these plans are kept with the teacher's map of her district1 so that she has a complete map of the neighborhood and home of every child living in it4 ,by comparing these with any family record1 it is a simple matter to tell if the family are living under proper moral and hygienic conditions4 ,the teacher has a district small enough to know it thoroughly1 and as far as possible she gets acquainted with all the children living in it4 ,if bad conditions are due to ignorance or poverty1 the teacher finds out what can be done to remedy them1 and sees to it that the family learn how they can better themselves4 ,if conditions are very bad1 neighborhood public opinion is worked up through the other children on the block4 ,from time to time an auditorium period is devoted to showing these maps and pointing out the good and bad features of blocks and neighborhoods4 ,children always carry the news home to their parents1 and as rents and accommodations are freely discussed1 these reports are often acted upon4 ,the parents are encouraged to come to the school and ask for information1 and on more than one occasion some newly arrived family has moved from an overcrowded rear shack to a comfortable flat with the same rent because through the children they found out that their bad quarters were unnecessary4 ,because the school does this work to help1 and as part of its regular program1 it is accepted by the children and their parents as a matter of course4 ,information about improvements1 sanitation1 the size and comfort of the houses1 and the rents1 is given to the parents4 ,if a block is poor a good block near by where conditions are better and the rents the same1 is shown them4 ,thus the schools not only teach the theory of good citizenship and social conditions1 they give the children actual facts and conditions1 so that they can see what is wrong and how it can be bettered4 ,gary schools use the community as much as possible as a contributor to the educational facilities1 and in so doing they give good return in immediate results1 besides the larger return in alert and intelligent citizens4 ,conditions in ,gary are not ideal4 ,the schools have no larger sums to spend than any city of its size1 the teachers might be found in any other town1 and the pupils come for the most part from homes that offer their children no training1 while the parents are trying to adjust themselves to entirely new surroundings4 ,but these schools have done much by showing a good business management1 by spending the taxpayers' money in an economical way so as to give the younger generation the largest possible facilities for spending their time profitably4 ,the results of the system as seen in the school buildings and playgrounds1 the alert and happy students1 and the statistics of their progress through school as well as their careers afterwards1 are doubly inspiring just because they have been accomplished with the resources available in any public school4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,school ,,as ,a ,,social ,,settlement ,schools all over the country are finding that the most direct way of vitalizing their work is through closer relations with local interests and occupations4 ,that period of ,american school history which was devoted to building up uniformity of subject-matter1 method1 and administration1 was obliged to neglect everything characteristic of the local environment1 for attention to that meant deviation from uniformity4 ,things remote in time and space1 and things of an abstract nature1 are most readily reduced to uniformity and doled out in doses to children in a mass4 ,unfortunately the consequences were too often that in aiming to hit all children by exactly the same educational ammunition1 none of them were really deeply touched4 ,efforts to bring the work into vital connection with pupils' experiences necessarily began to vary school materials to meet the special needs and definite features of local life4 ,this closer contact with immediate neighborhood conditions not only enriches school work and strengthens motive force in the pupils1 but it increases the service rendered to the community4 ,no school can make use of the activities of the neighborhood for purposes of instruction without this use influencing1 in turn1 the people of the neighborhood4 ,pupils1 for example1 who learn civics by making local surveys and working for local improvements1 are certain to influence the life of the locality1 while lessons in civics learned from the purely general statements of a text-book are much less likely to have either applicability or application4 ,in turn1 the community perceives the local efficiency of the schools4 ,it realizes that the service rendered to welfare is not remote1 to appear when the pupils become adults1 but a part of the regular1 daily course of education4 ,the statement that the schools exist for a democratic purpose1 for the good of citizenship1 becomes an obvious fact and not a formula4 ,a community which perceives what a strong factor its school is in civic activities1 is quick to give support and assistance in return1 either by extending the use of its own facilities 7as happens in ,gary7 or by the direct assistance of labor1 money1 or material when these are needed4 ,the supervising principal of public school ,no4 #bf in ,indianapolis is trying an experiment unlike any other known to us in an effort to make his plant a true school2 that is1 a place where the children of his neighborhood shall become healthy1 happy1 and competent both economically and socially1 and where the connection of instruction with the life of the community shall be directly recognized both by children and parents4 ,mr4 ,valentine's school is located in the poor1 crowded colored district of the city and has only colored pupils4 ,it is not an attempt to solve the 8race question0 nor yet an experiment suited only to colored people4 ,there is nothing in the school not entirely practical in any district where the children come from homes with limited resources and meager surroundings4 ,a visitor when leaving this school can not fail to wish that such ventures might be started in all our great cities1--indeed in any community where people need to be aroused to a sense of their needs1 including the fact that if they are to contribute to the best interests of the community1 they must be taught how to earn a living1 and how to use their resources for themselves and their neighbors both in leisure time and in working hours4 ,mr4 ,valentine's school is a school for colored children only in the sense that the work has been arranged in relation to the conditions in the neighborhood2 these modify the needs of the particular children who are the pupils4 ,yet the success of the experiment would mean a real step forward in solving the 8race question0 and peculiar problems of any immigrant district as well4 ,mr4 ,valentine is not interested in illustrating any theories on these points1 but in making up for gaps in the home life of the pupils2 giving them opportunities to prepare for a better future2 in supplying plenty of healthy occupation and recreation2 and in seeing to it that their school work reacts at once to improve neighborhood conditions4 ,mr4 ,valentine's school is really a social settlement for the neighborhood1 but it has a decided advantage over the average settlement1 for it comes in contact with all the children living within its district for a number of hours each day1 while most settlements reach the children for only a few scattered hours each week4 ,the school has a larger influence than most settlements because it is a public institution for which the people who use it are paying their share2 they feel that their relation to it is a business one1 not a matter of philanthropy4 ,because of this businesslike relation the school is able really to teach the doctrines of social welfare4 ,in any settlement the work is always handicapped by the fact that the people who make use of it feel that they are receiving something for which they do not pay1 that something is being done for them by people who are better off financially than they are4 ,but giving a community facilities that it lacks for special classes and recreation through the public school of the district put the work on a different basis4 ,the school is really the property of the people of the district2 they feel that they are more or less responsible for what is done there4 ,any wider activities that a school may undertake are to a certain extent the work of the people themselves2 they are simply making use of the school plant for their own needs4 ,the neighborhood around ,mr4 ,valentine's school is one of the poorest in ,indianapolis1 and once had a bad reputation for lawlessness and disorder as well4 ,the school had struggled along for years with little or no support from the community as a whole or from individual parents4 ,the per cent4 of truancy was high1 and a large number of cases were sent to the juvenile court each year4 ,the children took no interest in their work as a whole1 and cases of extreme disorder were not infrequent2 one pupil tried to revenge himself on his teacher for a merited punishment with a butcher's knife1 in another case it was necessary to arrest a boy's father as a lesson to the neighborhood4 ,besides this attitude of hostility and of unwilling attendance1 the school had to contend with immoral surroundings which finally made it necessary to do something to isolate the school building from neighboring houses4 ,finally the school board bought the tract of land and wooden tenements around the school building4 ,it was at first proposed to tear down the old buildings1 but the authorities were persuaded to turn them over to the school for its use4 ,the school now found itself the possessor of a large playground and of three frame tenements in the worst possible condition1 the board having stipulated that this added property should mean no further expense to the city after its purchase and the cleaning up of the grounds4 ,it was decided to use the buildings for social and industrial purposes4 ,one of them was fitted up by the pupils and neighbors interested as a manual training building4 ,in this there is a carpenter shop1 a sewing room1 and a room for the class in shoemaking4 ,each grade devotes a regular number of hours a week to hand work1 and has an opportunity to join other industrial classes after school4 ,the immediate practical appeal of the work is never lost sight of1 and the work is arranged to fit the needs of the individual pupil4 ,the carpenter shop is open all day1 and there are classes for the girls as well as for the boys4 ,pupils are at liberty to go into the shop and work whenever they have any free time4 ,the work is not confined to exercises to train the child in the use of tools1 but each pupil makes something that he needs or wants1 something that will be of real use to him4 ,processes and control of tools are taught the pupil by means of the piece of work he is doing4 ,this is the keynote to all the industrial work done in the school4 ,the more remote end of teaching the child processes which will be useful to him later is not lost sight of1 but material is always used which has some immediate value to the child or to the school4 ,the boys have learned carpentry work by making things that were needed in the school building--tables1 cupboards1 and bookcases--and by doing some of the repairing on the building4 ,the girls have learned to sew by making clothes for themselves1 for their brothers and sisters1 and by making curtains and linen for the school4 ,they have learned to cook by making soup for hot lunches for the school and the neighbors1 and by cooking a whole meal for their own class4 ,besides the cooking and sewing department for the girls1 there is a class in millinery and in crocheting4 ,these two classes are conducted from the commercial point of view1 to teach the girls to do something that will enable them to earn some money4 ,in the millinery class the pupils start by making and trimming hats for themselves1 so that they learn the different processes in the trade4 ,the girls in the class who show the most skill are then allowed to take orders from friends and neighbors and trim or make hats for them4 ,besides the cost of the material the buyer pays a very small sum for the work1 and this goes into the school treasury4 ,the millinery class has done quite a business in the neighborhood1 and turned out some very successful hats4 ,crocheting is taught as a trade1 and any girl who wishes to make some money has an opportunity to learn how to make lace1 table doilies1 and all sorts of crocheted articles1 like hoods1 etc41 which will sell4 ,as the girls are learning1 they are working on something which they can use for themselves or in their homes4 ,the work for the boys is arranged in the same way4 ,besides the carpenter work and the repairing there is a boys' cooking class1 a shoe-repairing department1 and a tailoring shop4 ,the cooking class is even more popular with the boys than with the girls4 ,in the shoe-repairing shop1 which holds classes after school hours1 the boys learn to mend their own shoes4 ,a professional cobbler is the teacher1 and the mending must be neatly done4 ,the boys begin work on their own old shoes and as they progress in skill1 are allowed to bring shoes from home to be repaired1 or to mend for the girls and for the younger boys in the school1 who1 however1 pay a small sum for the work4 ,the tailoring department is run on the same plan1 to teach habits of personal neatness and of industry through giving the pupils work that results in neatness and gives some manual skill and control of tools4 ,the class is taught by a tailor1 and the boys learn to patch and mend their own clothes1 as well as to sponge and press them4 ,attendance is entirely voluntary1 and the class meets after the regular school work is over4 ,knowing how to keep themselves tidy has resulted in a very marked improvement in the appearance and habits of the boys in the class1 and has had an influence not only on the whole school1 but on the neighborhood as well4 ,the boys no longer resent the attempts of the teachers to influence them towards cleanliness and neatness1 for they have become conscious of the advantages of these habits4 ,the cooking and domestic science classes are taught in one of the tenements turned over to the school without having been repaired1 although the cooking equipment was supplied by the city4 ,all the other work on the building--cleaning1 painting1 repairing1 furnishing1 and decorating--was done and paid for by the pupils of the school with help from the neighborhood clubs that use the building4 ,there is a large cooking room1 a demonstration dining and sitting room1 and two bedrooms4 ,the girls not only learn to cook real meals1 but they learn how to serve them1 and then how to take care of the demonstration house4 ,the domestic science classes include lessons in buying1 the comparative costs and values of food1 something of food chemistry and values1 and large quantity cooking4 ,this work is done in connection with the soup kitchen4 ,a group of girls have charge of the kitchen long enough to really learn about the work4 ,they plan the menu and do the buying1 cooking and serving of the soup1 selling it for three cents a bowl to the pupils of the school and to neighbors4 ,they keep all the accounts and not only have to make all their expenses1 but are expected to make some profit for the use of the school as well4 ,they have made enough profit in one year to furnish most of the demonstration house4 ,aside from teaching how to do housework thoroughly and easily1 the purpose of the house is to furnish an example of what can be done to make one of the regular frame tenements of the district comfortable and attractive1 without more expense than most of the people now put into their homes4 ,the house is very simply furnished1 with cheap and strong things1 in plain colors that are easily kept clean2 the painting and papering was done by the pupils4 ,the sewing class has made all the curtains and linen for the house1 and made furniture by covering boxes1 etc4 ,besides the class work that goes on in the building1 the rooms are also used as a social center for the girls of the school4 ,the third building left standing on the ground purchased by the school authorities has been turned into a boys' club house4 ,there is a gymnasium1 two club rooms1 and a shower bath room4 ,this house was in exceedingly bad condition when it became part of the school property1 and there was no money and not much lumber available to repair it4 ,but the boys of the school wanted the club house1 and were not discouraged because it was not given to them all finished4 ,they started out1 as they had done in the manual training and domestic science buildings1 to do the work themselves4 ,under the direction of the manual training teacher1 they pulled off old paper and broken plaster1 tore up uneven floors and took out partitions4 ,then they laid floors1 put in woodwork and painted it1 rehung doors1 mended windows1 and made furniture and gymnastic apparatus4 ,when there was a job they could not do1 such as the plastering and plumbing1 they went among their friends and asked for money or help in work4 ,plumbers and plasterers who lived near the school came in and gave their time and work to help the boys get their building in order1 and other friends gave enough money to finish the work4 ,men in the neighborhood dug a long ditch through the school grounds for sewerage connections4 ,gradually they are adding to the gymnasium apparatus and to the simple bathing facilities1 while cleaning and keeping up the painting continue to supply opportunities for useful work4 ,as already indicated1 the reflex effect upon homes in the vicinity has been marked4 ,the school board had intended to wreck the three tenement houses when they bought the land2 but ,mr4 ,valentine saw the opportunity to give the community something which they needed1 and at the same time to arouse a spirit of coperation and interest among both parents and pupils in place of the old spirit of distrust and antagonism1 when he persuaded the board to turn the buildings over to the school4 ,he told the pupils what could be done with them and asked for their help in doing it4 ,he got a hearty response at once1 and so went out into the district with the children and told their parents what he proposed to do and asked for help4 ,he got the same generous response for the first building1 the manual training shops1 as for the boys' club4 ,besides the time and material which the skilled workers of the community have contributed1 the community has given #cej in cash1 no small sum for people as poor as they are4 ,the value of the work being done in these buildings and of the training the boys have had in making them over1 is proved by the fact that the community and the boys themselves wanted the work badly enough to pay for getting it in money and work4 ,while it has undoubtedly been a struggle for the school and the district to contribute so much1 the benefit to the school and to the community has been greater just because of these sacrifices and struggles4 ,the work has made over the relations between the school and the pupils4 ,the children like to go to school now1 where before they had to be forced to go with threats of the truant officer1 and their behavior is better when they get to school4 ,the children's parents have changed their attitude in the same way4 ,they not only see that the children go to school1 but they want them to go because they appreciate that the school is giving them things they need to make them self-supporting2 but they also see that they have their own share to do if the work is to be successful4 ,the school has been the cause of the growth of community spirit in increased civic and social activities of the district4 ,with improved attendance and discipline1 the number of cases sent to the juvenile court has decreased one-half in proportion to the number of pupils in school4 ,meanwhile the educational value of the work done has undoubtedly been greater than that of work done in disconnected shops and kitchens4 ,illustration3 7#a7 ,the boys like cooking more than the girls do4 ,illustration3 7#b7 ,mending their own shoes1 to learn cobbling4 7,public ,school #bf1 ,indianapolis47 ,the school is also carrying on definite work to arouse the pupils to a sense of responsibility for their community and neighbors4 ,giving the pupils as much liberty and responsibility as possible around the school buildings is an important factor4 ,each pupil in the higher grades is given some small child in one of the lower grades to look out for4 ,on the playground they see to it that the charge has a fair chance to play1 and that he behaves himself2 they see that the little boy or girl comes to school clean and tidy1 if necessary doing the washing or mending themselves4 ,this work has proved especially successful in doing away with bullying and in arousing personal pride and a sense of responsibility in the older children2 the younger ones are better looked after than before and have many opportunities to learn things from the older and more advanced pupils4 ,the older pupils are also encouraged in every way to help in carrying on the outside activities of the school4 ,they make calls and write notes to keep up the attendance at the night school2 they see to the order of the principal's office and keep the boys' club house in order4 ,all the teachers of the school are agreed upon a policy of frank discussion of the poverty of the district1 and of urging the pupils to earn money to help their parents by becoming as nearly self-supporting as possible4 ,each grade keeps track of what its members earn and how they earn it1 and the grade with the largest sum to its credit feels that it has accomplished something worth while during the year4 ,there is a savings bank in the school to teach the children habits of thrift and economy2 here a pupil may deposit any sum from a penny up4 ,the pupil receives a bank book in which stamps are pasted for his deposits1 the money being kept in a city savings bank4 ,the school also has a branch library1 and the pupils are taught how to use it4 ,part of the playground has been made into a school garden1 and here every pupil in the higher grades has a garden plot1 also instruction which enables him to grow successfully some of the commoner fruits and flowers4 ,this work is made very practical2 the children have the sort of garden that would be useful and ornamental if it were in their own back yard4 ,the school carries on a neighborhood campaign for home gardens1 and the pupils with school gardens do much of this work1 telling the people who want gardens what to plant1 and giving them practical help with their plot until it is well established4 ,in all these ways the teachers are trying to make ambitious1 responsible citizens out of the student body4 ,inside the school pupils are taught higher standards of living than prevail in their homes1 and they are taught as well trades and processes which will at least give them a start towards prosperity1 and then1 too1 they are aroused to a feeling of responsibility for the welfare of the whole community4 ,all these things are done as part of the regular work of the school1 and to a large extent during regular school hours4 ,but there are many other activities which1 while not contributing so directly to the education of the children1 are important for the general welfare of the whole community4 ,there is a night school for the adults of the neighborhood who want to go on learning1 the shops being used as well as the schoolrooms4 ,a group of people especially interested in the school have formed a club to promote the interest of the night school1 and to see that the men of the community understand the opportunities it offers for them to perfect themselves in a trade or in their knowledge and use of ,english4 ,this club is made up of men who live near the school and who are sufficiently alive to the needs of the school and the community to work very hard to let all the district know what the school is already doing for its welfare and what it can do as the people come to demand more and more from it4 ,besides keeping up the attendance at the night school1 the club has done much for the general welfare of the school1 like helping raise money for remodeling the buildings and giving an expensive phonograph to the school4 ,the success of the school as a social center and the need for such a center are realized when we remember that this club is made up of men who live in the district1 whose children are using the school1 and who are perhaps themselves going to the night school4 ,there is also a vacation school during the summer time for the children of the neighborhood1 with some classroom work and a great deal of time spent on the playground and in the workshops4 ,the school has an active alumni association which uses the school building for social purposes and keeps track of the pupils that leave4 ,a parents' club has been started as an aid in gaining the coperation of the pupils' parents in the work of the school and as a means of finding out the real needs of the neighborhood4 ,the parents are brought in even closer contact with the school through the series of teas given by the grades for their parents during the year4 ,each grade serves tea once a year in the domestic science house for the mothers of its pupils4 ,the children do the work for the teas as part of their domestic science work1 and write the invitations in their ,english class4 ,the teachers use these teas as an opportunity for visiting the children's homes and getting acquainted with their mothers4 ,the teacher who knows the home conditions of each child is much better able to adjust the work to the child1 being aware of his weak and strong points4 ,to poverty-stricken1 overworked mothers these social gatherings come as a real event4 ,the pupils of the school are given social as well as educational opportunities through their school life4 ,the boys' club house is opened nearly every night to local boys' clubs1 some of them being school organizations and some independent ones4 ,there are rooms for the boys to hold meetings and to play games1 and a well-equipped gymnasium4 ,the teachers of the school take turns supervising these evening gatherings4 ,the attendance is large for the size of the building4 ,giving the boys a place for wholesome activities has done much to break up the habits of street loafing and the gangs which were so common in the district4 ,the girls of the school use the domestic science house for social purposes4 ,two chapters of the ,camp ,fire girls hold regular meetings in the building and get help and advice from the teachers4 ,each domestic science class aims to teach the girls how to live a comfortable and self-respecting life1 as well as how to do housework1 and so becomes a social center of its own4 ,the girls learn to cook and serve good cheap meals1 and then they sit down together and eat what they have cooked4 ,they talk over their individual problems with the teacher and with each other1 and give each other much practical help4 ,the domestic science teacher helps the girls who have some skill find work to do after school hours so that they can help their families by helping themselves2 she helps the pupils find steady work as they leave school and then keeps track of them1 encouraging them to go on fitting themselves for better work4 ,the success of the settlement work the school has done points strongly to the fact that the schoolhouse is the natural and logical social center in a neighborhood1 the teachers coming into closer and more natural contact with both children and parents than is possible in the case of other district workers4 ,there are large economies combining the school and the settlement in districts where the social and economic standards of living are so low that the people are not especially successful citizens4 ,both the school and settlement facilities are enlarged by using the same group of buildings for both purposes4 ,the settlement has the use of better and larger shops and classrooms than most settlements can command1 and the school uses the social rooms and activities to become itself a community4 ,the school comes in contact with almost all the families in a district so that community action is much easier to establish4 ,but even more important than these economies are the far-reaching results which come from the fact that the school settlement is a democratic community1 really reflecting the conditions of the community4 ,in using the school plant for any activities1 whether simply for the usual eight classes or to supply the community with all sorts of opportunities1 as the ,gary schools are doing and as ,mr4 ,valentine's school is doing1 the people of the community feel that they are using for their own ends public facilities which have been paid for by their taxes4 ,they want to see real1 tangible results in the way of more prosperous and efficient families and better civic conditions1 coming from the increased plant in the district school4 ,because the schools are public institutions in fact as well as in name1 people know whether the schools are really meeting their needs and they are willing to work to see that they do4 ,the school settlement reaps all the advantages of working for definite ends and of having the businesslike cooperation of the community as a body4 ,in spite of the fact that the work of ,mr4 ,valentine's school has been hampered by lack of funds1 and that some of the special things done are suited to one particular local population1 the changes which have taken place in the neighborhood in the relation between the school and the parents1 and in the spirit of the pupils in their school attitude1 show what a public school may mean to its neighborhood when it ceases to be an isolated academic institution4 ,the ,gary schools and ,mr4 ,valentine's school have effected an entire reorganization in order to meet the particular needs of the children of the community1 physically1 intellectually1 and socially4 ,both schools are looking towards a larger social ideal2 towards a community where the citizens will be prosperous and independent1 where there will be no poverty-ridden population unable to produce good citizens4 ,while changes in social conditions must take place before this can happen1 these schools believe that such an education as they provide is one of the natural ways and perhaps the surest way of helping along the changes4 ,teaching people from the time they are children to think clearly and to take care of themselves is one of the best safeguards against exploitation4 ,a great many schools are doing some of the same sort of work1 using the activities of the community as a means of enriching the curriculum1 and using the school plant for a neighborhood center4 ,the civic clubs of the ,chicago public schools1 which have already been described1 are aiming at the same thing3 the better equipment of pupils for their life in the community with the hope of improving the community itself4 ,the ,cottage ,school at ,riverside1 ,illinois1 where pupils all come from well-to-do ,american families1 has found a similar club valuable for the pupils and of real use to the town4 ,the school organized by the pupils into a civic league has made itself responsible for the conditions of the streets in certain portions of the town1 and is not only cleaning up but trying to get the rest of the town interested in the problem4 ,mock elections and 8self-governments0 based upon political organization are examples of attempts of education to meet the need for training in good citizenship4 ,using the school plant as a social center is recognition of the need for social change and of the community's responsibility to help effect it4 ,the attempt to make this enlarged use of the school plant is not so much in order to train young people so that they can assume the burden of improvement for themselves as to give the neighborhood some immediate opportunities which it lacks for recreation1 intercourse and improvement4 ,the school plant is the natural and convenient place for such undertakings4 ,every community has the right to expect and demand that schools supported at public expense for public ends shall serve community uses as widely as possible4 ,as attempts in socializing education have met with such success and such enthusiasm among the children that their value as educational tools is established1 so giving the people of the community a real share in activities centered in school buildings and employing school equipment1 is one of the surest ways of giving them a more intelligent public spirit and a greater interest in the right education of the youth of the land4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,industry ,,and ,,educational ,,readjustment ,the chief effort of all educational reforms is to bring about a readjustment of existing scholastic institutions and methods so that they shall respond to changes in general social and intellectual conditions4 ,the school1 like other human institutions1 acquires inertia and tends to go on doing things that have once got started1 irrespective of present demands4 ,there are many topics and methods in existing education which date back to social conditions which are passing away4 ,they are perpetuated because of tradition and custom4 ,especially is it true of our institutions of learning that their controlling ideals and ideas were fixed when industrial methods differed radically from those of the present4 ,they grew up when the place of industry in life was much less important than it is now when practically all political and social affairs are bound up with economic questions4 ,they were formed when there was no positive connection between science and the operations of production and distribution of goods2 while at the present1 manufacturing1 railways1 electric transportation1 and all the agencies of daily life1 represent just so much applied science4 ,economic changes have brought about a closer interdependence among men and strengthened the ideal of mutual service4 ,these political1 intellectual1 and moral changes make questions connected with industrial education the most important problem of present-day public education in ,america4 ,the fact that the ,greek word from which our word 8school0 is derived meant leisure suggests the nature of the change which has taken place4 ,it is true at all times that education means relief from the pressure of having to make a living4 ,the young have to be supported more or less by others while they are being instructed4 ,they must be saved from the impact of the struggle for material existence4 ,opposition to child labor goes hand in hand with the effort to extend the facilities of public schools to all the wards of the nation4 ,there must be free time for schooling1 and pupils must not come to their studies physically worn out4 ,moreover1 the use of imagination1 thought and emotion in education demands minds which are free from harassing questions of self-support4 ,there must be an atmosphere of leisure if there is to be a truly liberal or free education4 ,such things are as true now as when schools were named after the idea of leisure4 ,but there was once assumed a permanent division between a leisure class and a laboring class4 ,education1 beyond at least the mere rudiments1 was intended only for the former4 ,its subject-matter and its methods were designed for those who were sufficiently well off so that they did not have to work for a living4 ,the stigma attached to working with the hands was especially strong4 ,in aristocratic and feudal countries such work was done by slaves or serfs1 and the sense of social inferiority attached to these classes naturally led to contempt for the pursuits in which they were engaged4 ,training for them was a servile sort of education1 while liberal education was an education for a free man1 and a free man was a member of the upper classes1 one who did not have to engage in labor for his own support or that of others4 ,the antagonism to industry which was generated extended itself to all activities requiring use of the hands4 ,a 8gentleman0 would not use his hands or train them to skill1 save for sport or war4 ,to employ the hands was to do useful work for others1 while to render personal service to others was a badge of a dependent social and political status4 ,strange as it may seem1 the very notions of knowledge and of mind were influenced by this aristocratic order of society4 ,the less the body in general1 and the hands and the senses in particular1 were employed1 the higher the grade of intellectual activity4 ,true thought resulting in true knowledge was to be carried on wholly within the mind without the body taking any part at all4 ,hence studies which could be carried on with a minimum of physical action were alone the studies belonging to a liberal education4 ,first in order came such things as philosophy1 theology1 mathematics1 logic1 etc41 which were purely mental4 ,next in rank came literature and language1 with grammar1 rhetoric1 etc4 ,the pursuit of even what we call the fine arts was relegated to a lower grade1 because success in painting1 sculpture1 architecture1 etc41 required technical and manual training4 ,music alone was exempt from condemnation1 partly because vocal music did not require the training of the hands1 and partly because music was used for devotional purposes4 ,otherwise education should train men to appreciate art1 not to produce it4 ,these ideas and ideals persisted in educational theory and practice long after the political and industrial conditions which generated them had begun to give way4 ,practically all the conceptions associated with culture and cultural education were created when the immense superiority of a leisure class over all working classes was a matter of course4 ,refinement1 polish1 esthetic taste1 knowledge of classic literatures1 acquaintance with foreign languages and with branches of sciences which could be studied by purely 8mental0 means1 and which were not put to practical uses1 were the marks of culture1 just as they were the marks of leisure time and superior wealth4 ,the learned professions--divinity1 law1 and1 to a less extent1 medicine--were admitted upon suffrance to the sphere of higher education1 for the manual element in the service rendered to others was not so great as in industrial pursuits4 ,but professional education was looked upon with disparagement in contrast with a liberal education just because its aim was rendering service to others4 ,and for a long time medicine in particular occupied a mediocre and dubious position just because it required personal attention to the bodily needs of others4 ,opposition to the introduction into higher education of the natural sciences was due not only to the conservative dread of change on the part of established institutions1 but also to the fact that these sciences emphasized the use of the senses 7which are physical organs71 of physical apparatus1 and of manual skill required in its manipulation4 ,even the representatives of mathematical science joined those of literary studies in assuming that the natural sciences must be less cultural than sciences like geometry1 algebra1 and calculus1 which could be pursued in a more purely mental way4 ,even when the progress of social changes forced more and more useful studies into the curriculum1 the idea of a graded rank in the cultural value of studies persisted4 ,occupations like banking and commerce involved less manual activity and less direct personal service to others than housekeeping1 manufacturing1 and farming1 consequently the studies which prepared for them were at least more 8genteel0 than studies having to do with the latter4 ,even at the present time many people associate mental activity with physical acquiescence4 ,the first breach in this order of ideas occurred in elementary education4 ,along with the spread of democratic ideas which took place in the eighteenth century1 there developed the idea that education was a need and right of the masses as well as a privilege of the upper classes4 ,in reading ,rousseau and ,pestalozzi1 an ,american student1 who is used to the democratic idea of universal education1 is not likely to notice that their conception of the educational development of all as a social necessity is even more revolutionary than the particular methods which they urged4 ,but such was the case4 ,even so enlightened a liberal as ,john ,locke wrote his educational essay with reference to the education of a gentleman1 and assumed that the training of the laboring classes should be of a radically different kind4 ,the idea that all the powers of all members of society are capable of development and that society owed it to itself and to its constituent members to see that the latter received this development1 was the first great intellectual token of the democratic revolution which was occurring4 ,it is noteworthy that ,rousseau was ,swiss by birth1 that democratic political ideas were rife in ,france when he wrote1 and that ,pestalozzi was not only ,swiss by birth but did his work in that republican country4 ,while the development of public elementary schools for the masses inevitably puts emphasis upon the usefulness of studies as a reason for education1 the growth of the public curriculum and methods was profoundly affected by the surviving ideals of leisure class education4 ,elementary education1 just because it was an education for the masses1 was regarded as a kind of necessary political and economic concession rather than as a serious educative enterprise4 ,a strict line was drawn between it1 with its useful studies1 and the higher education of the few conducted for genuinely cultural purposes4 ,reading1 writing1 arithmetic1 the three ,r's1 were to be taught because of their utility4 ,they were needed to make individuals capable of self-support1 of 8getting on0 better1 and so capable of rendering better economic service under changed commercial conditions4 ,it was assumed that the greater number of pupils would leave school as soon as they had mastered the practical use of these tools4 ,no better evidence could be found that primary education is still regarded with respect to the larger number of pupils1 as a practical social necessity1 not as an intrinsic educative measure1 than the fact that the greater number of pupils leave school about the fifth grade--that is1 when they have acquired rudimentary skill in reading1 writing and figuring4 ,the opposition of influential members of the community to the introduction of any studies1 save perhaps geography and history1 beyond the three ,r's1 the tendency to regard other things as 8frills and fads10 is evidence of the way in which purely elementary schooling is regarded4 ,a fuller and wider culture in literature1 science and the arts may be allowed in the case of those better off1 but the masses are not to be educatively developed so much as trained in the use of tools needed to make them effective workers4 ,elementary instruction to a larger extent than we usually admit1 is a substitute1 under the changed circumstances of production and distribution of goods1 for the older apprenticeship system4 ,the latter was never treated as educational in a fundamental sense2 the former is only partially conducted as a thoroughly educational enterprise4 ,in part the older ideals of a predominantly literary and 8intellectual0 education invaded and captured the new elementary schools4 ,for the smaller number of pupils who might go on to a higher and cultural education1 the three ,r's were the tools of learning1 the only really indispensable tools of acquiring knowledge4 ,they are all of them concerned with language1 that is1 with symbols of facts and ideas1 a fact which throws a flood of light upon the prevailing ideas of learning and knowledge4 ,knowledge consists of the ready-made material which others have found out1 and mastery of language is the means of access to this fund4 ,to learn is to appropriate something from this ready-made store1 not to find out something for one's self4 ,educational reformers may go on attacking pouring-in methods of teaching and passive reception methods of learning2 but as long as these ideas of the nature of knowledge are current1 they make little headway4 ,the separation of the activity of the mind from the activity of the senses in direct observation and from the activity of the hand in construction and manipulation1 makes the material of studies academic and remote1 and compels the passive acquisition of information imparted by textbook and teacher4 ,in the ,united ,states there was for a long time a natural division of labor between the book-learning of the schools and the more direct and vital learning of out-of-school life4 ,it is impossible to exaggerate the amount of mental and moral training secured by our forefathers in the course of the ordinary pursuits of life4 ,they were engaged in subduing a new country4 ,industry was at a premium1 and instead of being of a routine nature1 pioneer conditions required initiative1 ingenuity1 and pluck4 ,for the most part men were working for themselves2 or1 if for others1 with a prospect of soon becoming masters of their own affairs4 ,while the citizens of old-world monarchies had no responsibility for the conduct of government1 our forefathers were engaged in the experiment of conducting their own government4 ,they had the incentive of a participation in the conduct of civic and public affairs which came directly home to them4 ,production had not yet been concentrated in factories in congested centers1 but was distributed through villages4 ,markets were local rather than remote4 ,manufacturing was still literally hand-making1 with the use of local water-power2 it was not carried on by big machines to which the employed 8hands0 were mechanical adjuncts4 ,the occupations of daily life engaged the imagination and enforced knowledge of natural materials and processes4 ,children as they grew up either engaged in or were in intimate contact with spinning1 weaving1 bleaching1 dyeing1 and the making of clothes2 with lumbering1 and leather1 saw-mills1 and carpentry2 with working of metals and making of candles4 ,they not only saw the grain planted and reaped1 but were familiar with the village grist-mill and the preparation of flour and of foodstuffs for cattle4 ,these things were close to them1 the processes were all open to inspection4 ,they knew where things came from and how they were made or where they went to1 and they knew these things by personal observation4 ,they had the discipline that came from sharing in useful activities4 ,while there was too much taxing toil1 there was also stimulus to imagination and training of independent judgment along with the personal knowledge of materials and processes4 ,under such conditions1 the schools could hardly have done better than devote themselves to books1 and to teaching a command of the use of books1 especially since1 in most communities1 books1 while a rarity and a luxury1 were the sole means of access to the great world beyond the village surroundings4 ,but conditions changed and school materials and methods did not change to keep pace4 ,population shifted to urban centers4 ,production became a mass affair1 carried on in big factories1 instead of a household affair4 ,growth of steam and electric transportation brought about production for distant markets1 even for a world market4 ,industry was no longer a local or neighborhood concern4 ,manufacturing was split up into a very great variety of separate processes through the economies incident upon extreme division of labor4 ,even the working-men in a particular line of industry rarely have any chance to become acquainted with the entire course of production1 while outsiders see practically nothing but either the raw material on one hand or the finished product on the other4 ,machines depend in their action upon complicated facts and principles of nature which are not recognized by the worker unless he has had special intellectual training4 ,the machine worker1 unlike the older hand worker1 is following blindly the intelligence of others instead of his own knowledge of materials1 tools1 and processes4 ,with the passing of pioneer conditions passed also the days when almost every individual looked forward to being at some time in control of a business of his own4 ,great masses of men have no other expectation than to be permanently hired for pay to work for others4 ,inequalities of wealth have multiplied1 so that demand for the labor of children has become a pressing menace to the serious education of great numbers4 ,on the other hand1 children in wealthy families have lost the moral and practical discipline that once came from sharing in the round of home duties4 ,for a large number there is little alternative1 especially in larger cities1 between irksome child labor and demoralizing child idleness4 ,inquiries conducted by competent authorities show that in the great centers of population opportunities for play are so inadequate that free time is not even spent in wholesome recreations by a majority of children4 ,these statements do not begin1 of course1 to cover the contrasts between present social conditions and those to which our earlier school facilities were adapted4 ,they suggest1 however1 some of the obvious changes with which education must reckon if it is to maintain a vital connection with contemporary social life1 so as to give the kind of instruction needed to make efficient and self-respecting members of the community4 ,the sketch would be even more incomplete1 however1 if it failed to note that along with these changes there has been an immense cheapening of printed material and an immense increase in the facilities for its distribution4 ,libraries abound1 books are many and cheap1 magazines and newspapers are everywhere4 ,consequently the schools do not any longer bear the peculiar relation to books and book knowledge which they once did4 ,while out of school conditions have lost many of the educative features they once possessed1 they have gained immensely in the provision they make for reading matter and for stimulating interest in reading4 ,it is no longer necessary or desirable that the schools should devote themselves so exclusively to this phase of instruction4 ,but it is more necessary than it used to be that the schools shall develop such interest in the pupils as will induce them to read material that is intellectually worth while4 ,while merely learning the use of language symbols and of acquiring habits of reading is less important than it used to be1 the question of the use to which the power and habits shall be put is much more important4 ,to learn to use reading matter means that schools shall arouse in pupils problems and interests that lead students both in school and after they leave school to seek that subject-matter of history1 science1 biography1 and literature which is inherently valuable1 and not to waste themselves upon the trash which is so abundantly provided4 ,it is absolutely impossible to secure this result when schools devote themselves to the formal sides of language instead of to developing deep and vital interest in subject-matter4 ,educational theorists and school authorities who attempt to remedy the deplorable reading habits with which many youth leave school by means of a greater amount of direct attention to language studies and literatures1 are engaged in a futile task4 ,enlargement of intellectual horizon1 and awakening to the multitude of interesting problems presented by contemporary conditions1 are the surest guarantees for good use of time with books and magazines4 ,when books are made an end in themselves1 only a small and highly specialized class will devote themselves to really serviceable books4 ,when there is a lively sense of the interest of social affairs1 all who possess the sense will turn as naturally to the books which foster that interest as to the other things of which they feel a need4 ,these are some of the reasons for saying that the general problem of readjustment of education to meet present conditions is most acute at the angle of industry4 ,the various details may be summed up in three general moral principles4 ,first1 never before was it as important as it is now that each individual should be capable of self-respecting1 self-supporting1 intelligent work--that each should make a living for himself and those dependent upon his efforts1 and should make it with an intelligent recognition of what he is doing and an intelligent interest in doing his work well4 ,secondly1 never before did the work of one individual affect the welfare of others on such a wide scale as at present4 ,modern conditions of production and exchange of commodities have made the whole world one to a degree never approximated before4 ,a war to-day may close banks and paralyze trade in places thousands of miles away from the scene of action4 ,this is only a coarse and sensational manifestation of an interdependence which is quietly and persistently operating in the activity of every farmer1 manufacturer1 laborer1 and merchant1 in every part of the civilized globe4 ,consequently there is a demand which never existed before that all the items of school instruction shall be seen and appreciated in their bearing upon the network of social activities which bind people together4 ,when men lived in small groups which had little to do with each other1 the harm done by an education which pursued exclusively intellectual and theoretic aims was comparatively slight4 ,knowledge might be isolated because men were isolated4 ,but to-day the accumulation of information1 just as information1 apart from its social bearings1 is worse than futile4 ,acquisition of modes of skill apart from realization of the social uses to which they may be put is fairly criminal4 ,in the third place1 industrial methods and processes depend to-day upon knowledge of facts and laws of natural and social science in a much greater degree than ever before4 ,our railways and steamboats1 traction cars1 telegraphs1 and telephones1 factories and farms1 even our ordinary household appliances1 depend for their existence upon intricate mathematical1 physical1 chemical1 and biological insight4 ,they depend for their best ultimate use upon an understanding of the facts and relationships of social life4 ,unless the mass of workers are to be blind cogs and pinions in the apparatus they employ1 they must have some understanding of the physical and social facts behind and ahead of the material and appliances with which they are dealing4 ,thus put1 the problem may seem to be so vast and complicated as to be impossible of solution4 ,but we must remember that we are dealing with a problem of readjustment1 not of original creation4 ,it will take a long time to complete the readjustment which will be brought about gradually4 ,the main thing now is to get started1 and to start in the right direction4 ,hence the great importance of the various experimental steps which have already been taken4 ,and we must also remember that the essential thing to be brought about through the change is not amassing more information1 but the formation of certain attitudes and interests1 ways of looking at things and dealing with them4 ,if accomplishment of the educational readjustment meant that pupils must become aware of the whole scope of scientific and social material involved in the occupations of daily life1 the problem would be absolutely impossible of solution4 ,but in reality accomplishing the reform means less attention than under present conditions to mere bulk of knowledge4 ,what is wanted is that pupils shall form the habit of connecting the limited information they acquire with the activities of life1 and gain ability to connect a limited sphere of human activity with the scientific principles upon which its successful conduct depends4 ,the attitudes and interests thus formed will then take care of themselves4 ,if we take arithmetic or geography themselves as subjects isolated from social activities and uses1 then the aim of instruction must be to cover the whole ground4 ,any failure to do so will mark a defect in learning4 ,but not so if what we1 as educators1 are concerned with is that pupils shall realize the connection of what they learn about number1 or about the earth's surface1 with vital social activities4 ,the question ceases to be a matter simply of quantity and becomes one of motive and purpose4 ,the problem is not the impossible one of acquainting the pupil with all the social uses to which knowledge of number is put1 but of teaching him in such a way that each step which he takes in advance in his knowledge of number shall be connected with some situation of human need and activity1 so that he shall see the bearing and application of what is learnt4 ,any child who enters upon the study of number already has experiences which involve number4 ,let his instruction in arithmetic link itself to these everyday social activities in which he already shares1 and1 as far as it goes1 the problem of socializing instruction is solved4 ,the industrial phase of the situation comes in1 of course1 in the fact that these social experiences have their industrial aspect4 ,this does not mean that his number work shall be crassly utilitarian1 or that all the problems shall be in terms of money and pecuniary gain or loss4 ,on the contrary1 it means that the pecuniary side shall be relegated to its proportionate place1 and emphasis put upon the place occupied by knowledge of weight1 form1 size1 measure1 numerical quantity1 as well as money1 in the carrying on of the activities of life4 ,the purpose of the readjustment of education to existing social conditions is not to substitute the acquiring of money or of bread and butter for the acquiring of information as an educational aim4 ,it is to supply men and women who as they go forth1 from school shall be intelligent in the pursuit of the activities in which they engage4 ,that a part of that intelligence will1 however1 have to do with the place which bread and butter actually occupy in the lives of people to-day1 is a necessity4 ,those who fail to recognize this fact are still imbued1 consciously or unconsciously1 with the intellectual prejudices of an aristocratic state4 ,but the primary and fundamental problem is not to prepare individuals to work at particular callings1 but to be vitally and sincerely interested in the calling upon which they must enter if they are not to be social parasites1 and to be informed as to the social and scientific bearings of that calling4 ,the aim is not to prepare bread-winners4 ,but since men and women are normally engaged in bread-winning vocations1 they need to be intelligent in the conduct of households1 the care of children1 the management of farms and shops1 and in the political conduct of a democracy where industry is the prime factor4 ,the problem of educational readjustment thus has to steer between the extremes of an inherited bookish education and a narrow1 so-called practical1 education4 ,it is comparatively easy to clamor for a retention of traditional materials and methods on the ground that they alone are liberal and cultural4 ,it is comparatively easy to urge the addition of narrow vocational training for those who1 so it is assumed1 are to be the drawers of water and the hewers of wood in the existing economic rgime1 leaving intact the present bookish type of education for those fortunate enough not to have to engage in manual labor in the home1 shop1 or farm4 ,but since the real question is one of reorganization of all education to meet the changed conditions of life--scientific1 social1 political--accompanying the revolution in industry1 the experiments which have been made with this wider end in view are especially deserving of sympathetic recognition and intelligent examination4 ,,chapter ,x ,,education ,,through ,,industry ,the experiments of some of our cities in giving their children training which shall make them intelligent in all the activities of their life1 including the important one of earning a living1 furnish excellent examples of the best that is being done in industrial education4 ,the cities chosen for description are ,gary1 ,chicago1 and ,cincinnati4 ,this book is not concerned with schools or courses which are designed simply to give the pupils control of one specialized field of knowledge2 that is1 which train people for the processes of one particular industry or profession4 ,it is true that most of the experiments in industrial education tried so far in this country have taken the material offered by the largest skilled industries of the neighborhood for their basis1 and as a result have trained pupils for one or more definite trades4 ,but wherever the experiment has been prompted by a sincere interest in education and in the welfare of the community this has not been the object of the work4 ,the interest of the teachers is not centered on the welfare of any one industry1 but on the welfare of the young people of the community4 ,if the material prosperity of a community is due almost entirely to one or two industries1 obviously the welfare of the individuals of the community is very closely connected with those industries4 ,then the educational purpose of training the children to the most intelligent use of their own capabilities and of their environment1 is most easily served by using these industries as the material for the strictly utilitarian part of this training4 ,the problem of general public-school education is not to train workers for a trade1 but to make use of the whole environment of the child in order to supply motive and meaning to the work4 ,in ,gary this has been done more completely than in any other single place4 ,superintendent ,wirt believes firmly in the value of muscular and sense training for children2 and instead of arranging artificial exercises for the purpose1 he gives children the same sort of things to do that occupy their parents and call for muscular skill and fine cordination in the business of everyday life4 ,every child in ,gary1 boy and girl1 has before his eyes in school finely equipped workshops1 where he may1 as soon as he is old enough1 do his share of the actual work of running and keeping in order the school buildings4 ,all of the schools except one small one where there are no high school pupils1 have a lunch room where the girls learn to cook1 and a sewing room where they learn to make their own clothes2 a printing shop1 and carpenter1 electrical1 machine1 pattern1 forging1 and molding shops1 where boys1 and girls if they wish1 can learn how most of the things that they see about them every day are made4 ,there are painting departments1 and a metal working room1 and also bookkeeping and stenography classes4 ,the science laboratories help give the child some understanding of the principles and processes at work in the world in which he lives4 ,the money and space required to equip and run these shops are saved from an ordinary sized school budget by the 8two school system0 that has been described above1 and by the fact that all the expense usually charged by a school to repairs and paid out to contractors1 is spent on these shops and for the salaries of the skilled workmen who teach in them4 ,the buildings are kept in better repair than where all the work is done during the summer vacation1 because as soon as anything needs to be fixed the pupils who are working in the shop that does that kind of work get at the repairs under the direction of the teacher4 ,these shops can not be considered in any way an unnecessary luxury because they are used also by the high school pupils who are specializing for one kind of work and by the night and summer school for their vocational classes4 ,the school management says in regard to the success of this plan1 8,when you have provided a plant where the children may live a complete life eight hours a day in work1 study1 and play1 it is the simplest thing imaginable to permit the children in the workshops1 under the direction and with the help of well-trained men and women1 to assume the responsibility for the equipment and maintenance of the school plant4 ,an industrial and commercial school for every child is thus provided without extra cost to the taxpayers40 ,illustration3 ,learning moulding1 and manufacturing school equipment4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,the first three grades spend one hour a day in manual training and drawing1 which take the form of simple hand-work and are not done in the shops1 but in an especially equipped room with a trained teacher4 ,the pupils draw1 do painting and clay modeling1 sewing and simple carpentry work4 ,the five higher grades spend twice as much time on manual training and drawing4 ,the little children go into the shops as helpers and watchers1 much as they go into the science laboratories1 and they pick up almost as much theory and understanding of processes as the older children possess4 ,the art work and simpler forms of hand-work are kept up for the definite training in control and technique that comes from carrying through a problem independently4 ,because the small child's love of creating is very great1 they continue until the pupils are old enough to choose what shop they will go into as apprentices to the teacher4 ,since sixth grade children are old enough and strong enough to begin doing the actual work of repairing and maintaining the building1 in this grade they cease to be watchers and helpers and become real workers4 ,distributing school supplies1 keeping the school records and taking care of the grounds are done by the pupils under the direction of the school office or the botanical laboratory1 and constitute a course in shop work just as much as does painting or repairing the electric lights4 ,the school heat and power plant is also a laboratory for the pupils1 in which they learn the principles of heating and lighting in a thoroughly practical way because they do much of the work connected with keeping the plant running4 ,the shop and science courses of the schools last only a third of the year1 and there is a shorter probation course of five weeks4 ,the pupils choose with the advice of their teachers what shop course they will take2 if at the end of five weeks they do not like it they may change4 ,they must change twice during the year4 ,in this way the work can not lose its educational character and become simply a method of making juvenile factory hands to do the school repairs4 ,taking three shop courses in one school year results in giving the pupil merely a superficial knowledge of the theory and processes of any one kind of work4 ,but this is as it should be1 for the pupils are not taking the courses to become carpenters1 or electricians1 or dressmakers1 but to find out how the work of the world is done4 ,moving as they do from one thing to another they learn as much of the theory of the industry as children of their age can understand1 while an all-around muscular and sense training is insured4 ,to confine the growing child too long to the same kind of muscular activity is harmful both mentally and physically2 to keep on growing he must have work which exercises his whole body1 which presents new problems1 keeps teaching him new things1 and thus develops his powers of reasoning and judgment4 ,any manual labor ceases to be educative the moment it becomes thoroughly familiar and automatic4 ,in ,gary1 the child of the newly arrived immigrant from the agricultural districts of eastern ,europe has as much chance to prepare for a vocation1 that is really to learn his own capabilities for the environment in which he finds himself1 as the child of the educated ,american4 ,from the time he enters the public school system1 whether day nursery1 kindergarten1 or first grade1 he is among people who are interested in making him see things as they are1 and in teaching him how to do things4 ,in the nursery he has toys to play with which teach him to control his body2 and he learns unconsciously1 by being well taken care of1 some of the principles of hygiene and right living4 ,in the kindergarten the work to train his growing body to perform useful and accurate motions and cordination goes on4 ,in the first three grades1 emphasis is put on teaching him to read and write and obtain a good foundation for the theoretical knowledge which comes from books4 ,his physical growth is taken care of on the playground1 where he spends about two hours a day1 doing things that develop his whole body in a natural way and playing games that give him opportunity to satisfy his desire to play4 ,at the same time he is taking the first steps in a training which is more specifically vocational1 in that it deals with the practical bread and butter side of life4 ,he learns to handle the materials which lie at the foundations of civilization in much the same way that primitive people used them1 because this way is suited to the degree of skill and understanding he has reached4 ,on a little hand loom he weaves a piece of coarse cloth2 with clay he makes dishes or other objects that are familiar to him2 with reeds or raffia he makes baskets2 and with pencil or paints he draws for the pleasure of making something beautiful2 with needle and thread he makes himself a bag or apron4 ,all these activities teach him the first steps in the manufacture of the things which are necessary to our life as we live it4 ,the weaving and sewing show him how our clothing is made2 the artistic turn that is given to all this work1 through modeling and drawing1 teach him that even the simplest things in life can be made beautiful1 besides furnishing a necessary method of self-expression4 ,in the fourth grade the pupils stop the making of isolated things1 the value of which lies entirely in the process of making1 and where the thing's value lies solely in its interest to the child4 ,they still have time1 however1 to train whatever artistic ability they may possess1 and to develop through their music and art the esthetic side of their nature4 ,but the rest of their hand-work takes a further vocational turn4 ,the time for manual occupation is now all spent on intensive and useful work in some one kind of work or industry4 ,these pupils are now less interested in games1 so they spend less time playing and more time making things4 ,the girl goes into the dressmaking department and learns to sew from the point of view of the worker who has to produce her own things4 ,she is still too young to carry through a long1 hard piece of work1 so she goes for the first two years as a watcher and helper1 listening to the lessons in theory that the seventh1 eighth1 or ninth grade pupils are taking1 and helping them with their work4 ,a girl may choose dressmaking for her first course1 but at the end of three months she must change to some other department1 perhaps helping cook the lunch for the school and learning about wholesome foods and food chemistry for the next three months4 ,or if she is fond of drawing1 she may devote nearly all her time for shop work to developing her talent for that4 ,in the same way the boy chooses what shop he will go into for three months4 ,in the carpenter shop he will be old enough really to make for himself some of the simpler things needed in the school building4 ,if he choose the forging or casting shop he will have a chance to help at shoeing the horses for the use of the department of education1 or to help an older boy make the mold for the iron stand to a school desk4 ,in such ways he finds out something about the way iron is used for so many of our commonest things4 ,in the fifth and sixth grades nearly all the boys try to get at least one course in store keeping4 ,here they go into the school storerooms with the janitor2 and with the school lists at hand unpack and check up the material which comes in both from the workshops and from outside4 ,then as these things are needed through the building they take the requisitions from the office1 distribute the material1 and make the proper entries on the books4 ,they are taught practical bookkeeping and are responsible for the smooth running of the supply department while they are working there4 ,as they learn the cost of all the material as well as the method of caring for it and distributing it1 they get a good idea of the way a city spends its taxes and of the general business methods in use in stores4 ,both boys and girls may take a beginners' course in bookkeeping and office management4 ,here they go into what is called the school bank1 and keep the records of the shop work of all the pupils in the school4 ,before pupils can graduate from school they must have completed a certain number of hours of satisfactory work in the school shops4 ,in order to fit the needs of every individual pupil1 the amount of credit does not depend upon the mere attendance through a three months' course1 but each pupil is given credit by the shop teacher for so many hours of work for the piece of work he has done4 ,the rate of work is standardized1 and thus a more equal training is insured for all1 for the slow worker will get credit for only so much completed work regardless of the time it has taken him1 and the fast worker will get credit for all he does even if he outstrips the average4 ,a fixed number of 8standard hours0 of work entitle the pupil to 8one credit10 for which the pupil receives a credit certificate4 ,when he has eight of these he has completed the work required by the vocational section of the ,gary schools for graduation4 ,all the work connected with keeping the records for these credit certificates is done by pupils under the direction of an advanced pupil4 ,from the seventh grade the pupils are the responsible workers in all the shops4 ,a pupil who knows that he has to leave school when he has finished the eighth grade can now begin to specialize in the workrooms of some one department4 ,if he wishes to become a printer he can work on the school presses for an entire year1 or he can put in all his shop time in the bookkeeping department if he is attracted by office work4 ,the girls begin to take charge of the lunch room1 doing all the marketing and planning for the menus and keeping the books4 ,sewing work takes in more and more of the complications of the industry4 ,the girls learn pattern drawing and designing1 and may take a millinery course4 ,the work for the students in office work is now extended to include stenography and typewriting and business methods4 ,the art work also broadens to take in designing and hand metal work4 ,there is no break between the work of the grades and the high school in the vocational department1 except that as the pupil grows older he naturally tends to specialize toward what is to be his life work4 ,the vocational department is on exactly the same level as the academic1 and the school takes the wholesome attitude that the boy who intends to be a carpenter or painter needs to stay in school just as many years as the boy who is going to college4 ,the result is the very high per cent4 of pupils who go on to higher schools4 ,the ordinary view among children of laboring people in large cities is that only those who are going to be teachers need to continue at school after the age of fourteen2 it does not make any difference that one is leaving to go into a factory or shop4 ,but since the first day the ,gary child began going to school he has seen boys and girls in their last year of high school still learning how to do the work that is being done where1 perhaps1 he expects ultimately to go to work4 ,he knows that these pupils all have a tremendous advantage over him in the shop1 that they will earn more1 get a higher grade of work to do1 and do it better4 ,through the theory lessons in the school shop he has a general idea of the scope and possibilities in his chosen trade1 and what is more to the purpose1 he knows how much more he has to learn about the work4 ,he is familiar with the statistics of workers in that trade1 knows the wages for the different degrees of skill and how far additional training can take a man4 ,with all this information about1 and outlook upon1 his vocation it is not strange that so few1 comparatively1 of the pupils leave school1 or that so many of those who have to leave come back for evening or ,sunday classes4 ,the pupil who stays in a ,gary school through the four years of high school knows the purpose of the work he is doing1 whether he is going to college or not4 ,if he wants to go into office work1 he shapes his course to that end1 even before he gets his grammar grades diploma perhaps4 ,but he is not taking any short cut to mere earning capacity in the first steps of office work4 ,he is doing all the work necessary to give him the widest possible outlook4 ,his studies include1 of course1 lessons in typewriting and stenography1 bookkeeping and accounting1 filing1 etc42 but they include as well sufficient practice in ,english1 grammar1 and spelling so that he will be able to do his work well4 ,they include work in history1 geography and science1 so that he will find his work interesting1 and will have a background of general knowledge which will enrich his whole life4 ,the student preparing for college does the work necessary for his entrance examinations1 and a great deal of manual work besides1 which most high school pupils are not supposed to have time for4 ,it is just as valuable for the man who works with his brain to know how to do some of the things that the factory worker is doing1 as it is for the latter to know how the patterns for the machine he is making were drawn1 and the principles that govern the power supply in the factory4 ,in ,gary the work is vocational in all of these senses4 ,before the pupil leaves school he has an opportunity to learn the specific processes for any one of a larger number of professions4 ,but from the first day he went to school he has been doing work that teaches the motives and principles of the uses to which the material world is put by his social environment1 so that whatever work he goes into will really be a vocation1 a calling in life1 and not a mere routine engaged in only for the sake of pay4 ,the value of the pupils' training is greatly increased by the fact that all the work done is productive4 ,all the shops are manufacturing plants for the ,gary school2 the business school finds a laboratory in the school office4 ,in dressmaking or cooking the girls are making clothes which they need1 or else cooking their own and other people's lunches4 ,the science laboratories use the work of the shops for the illustration of their theories4 ,the chemistry is the chemistry of food2 botany and zology include the care of the school grounds and animals4 ,drawing includes dress designing and house decoration1 or pattern drawing for the hand metal shop4 ,arithmetic classes do the problems for their carpentry class1 and ,english classes put emphasis on the things which the pupils say they need to know to work in the printing shop3 usually paragraphing1 spelling1 and punctuation4 ,the result of this coperation is to make the book work better than if they put in all their time on books4 ,the practical world is the real world to most people2 but the world of ideas becomes intensely interesting when its connection with the world of action is clear4 ,because the work is real work constant opportunities are furnished to carry out the school policy of meeting the needs of the individual pupil4 ,the classification according to fast1 slow1 and average workers1 both in the vocational and academic departments1 has already been described4 ,it enables the pupil to do his work when he is ready for it1 without being pushed ahead or held back by his fellow pupils2 the slow worker may learn as much as the rapid worker1 and the latter in turn does not develop shiftless habits because he has not enough to do4 ,but if for any reason a pupil does not fit into any of the usual programs of classification1 he is not forced to the conclusion that the school holds no place for him4 ,the pupil who is physically unfit to sit at a desk and study goes to school1 and spends all his time outdoors1 with a teacher to help him get strong4 ,in the same way the two-school system enables the child who is weak in arithmetic to catch up without losing his standing in other subjects4 ,he simply takes the arithmetic lessons with two grades4 ,in the shops the poor pupil simply works longer on one thing1 but as his progress is not bound up with that of the class it makes no difference4 ,the pupil who thinks he hates school1 or is too stupid to keep on going1 is not dealt with by threats and punishments4 ,his teachers take it for granted that there is something wrong with his program1 and with his help fix it for him4 ,the child who hastens to leave school without any reason as soon as he may1 is told that he may come back and spend all his time on the thing that he likes4 ,this often results in winning back a pupil1 for after he has worked for a few months in his favorite shop or the art room1 he finds he needs more book knowledge to keep on there and so he asks to go back to his grade4 ,the large number of foreign pupils is also more efficiently dealt with4 ,the newcomer concentrates on ,english and reading and writing until he is able to go into the grade where his age would naturally place him1 and the pupil who expects to go to school only a very short time before going to work can be put into the classes which will give him what he needs most1 regardless of his age or grade4 ,the work around the school buildings which can not be done by the pupils under the direction of the shop or department heads1 is not done by outside hired help1 but is given to some school pupil who is interested in that sort of work and is ready to leave school4 ,this pupil holds the position for a few months only1 until he has no more to learn from his work or gets a better position outside4 ,these pupil assistants are paid sightly less than they could earn if they went into an office1 but the plan often serves to keep a pupil under school influences and learning when he would otherwise have to leave school in order to earn money1 perhaps just before he finishes his technical training4 ,illustration3 ,real work in a real shop begins in the fifth grade4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,gary has fortunately been able to begin with such an all-around system of education1 putting it into operation in all her schools in a nearly complete form1 because the town was made1 as it were1 at a stroke and has grown rapidly from a waste stretch of sand dunes to a prosperous town4 ,but many other cities are realizing more and more strongly the necessity of linking their curriculum more closely to the lives of their pupils1 by furnishing the children with a general training and outlook on life which will fit them for their place in the world as adults4 ,recently the ,chicago public schools have been introducing vocational work in some of the school buildings1 while technical high schools give courses that are vocational1 besides work in trade-training4 ,of course such elaborate equipment as that in ,gary is impractical in a building where the shops are not used by the high school as well as the grades4 ,twenty or more of the regular school buildings in the city have been fitted up with carpenter shops and cooking and sewing rooms as well as laboratories for work in science4 ,each one of these schools has a garden where the pupils learn how to do practical city gardening4 ,from one-fourth to even a half of the children's time is spent on manual training instead of one-eighth as in the other schools of the city1 and in other respects the regular curriculum is being followed4 ,the teachers in the schools who were there before the change of program feel convinced that the pupils not only get through with as much book work as they did when practically all their time was given to it1 but that they actually do their work better because of the motive furnished by the hand work4 ,the courses given by the schools are not uniform1 but most of the schools include courses in mechanical drawing1 pattern making1 metal work1 woodwork1 and printing for the boys1 and for the girls1 work in sewing1 weaving1 cooking1 millinery1 laundry1 and general home-making4 ,both boys and girls have work in designing1 pottery1 bookbinding1 and gardening4 ,the program differs somewhat in different schools to meet the needs of the neighborhood or because of the resources of the building2 but all the pupils of one school take the same work1 so that when a pupil graduates from the eighth grade in one of these schools he has acquired a good beginner's knowledge of the principles and processes underlying two or three trades4 ,this special work is supplemented by the regular work in music and art and this1 with work in the elementary processes of sewing and weaving and pottery1 constitutes the work for the younger grades4 ,the object of this training is to enable the child to pick up the thread of life in his own community1 by giving him an understanding of the elements of the occupations that supply man's daily needs2 it is not to confine him to the industries of his neighborhood by teaching him some one skilled trade4 ,the laboratories for the study of the elements of science play a most important part in this work4 ,in them the child learns to understand the foundations of modern industry1 and so comes to his environment as a whole4 ,without this comprehensive vision no true vocational training can be successful1 for it is only as he sees the place of different kinds of work and their relation to each other that the youth can truly choose what his own vocation is to be4 ,elementary courses in physics1 chemistry1 and botany are given pupils1 and the bearing of the work on what they are doing in the shops is made clear4 ,the botany is taught in connection with the gardening classes1 chemistry for the girls is given in the form of the elements of food chemistry4 ,one school gives a laboratory class in electricity1 where the pupils make the industrial application of the laws they are studying1 learning how to wire when they are learning about currents1 and how to make a dynamo when they are working on magnets1 etc4 ,all the pupils take a course in the elements of science1 so that they may get a true basis for their ideas about the way things work4 ,there is no doubt that even in this rather tentative form the vocational schools have proved themselves a decided success1 enabling pupils to do their book work better than before4 ,linking it with the things of everyday life gives it meaning and zest1 and at the same time furnishes a mental and muscular control over the sort of thing they are going to need as adults while earning a living4 ,there are five technical high schools in ,chicago1 four for boys and one for girls4 ,in all of these and in three other schools there are given what is known as 8prevocational0 courses4 ,these are for pupils who have reached the legal age for leaving school1 but who are so backward in their work that they ought not to be allowed to do so1 while at the same time this backwardness makes them wish not to stay4 ,these classes have proved again the great value of training for the practical things of everyday life to the city child4 ,the boys and girls who are put into these classes are by no means deficient3 they are simply children who for one reason or another have not been able to get along in the ordinary grade school as well as they ought2 often the reason has been poor health1 or because the child has had to move from one school to another1 or simply because the usual curriculum made so little appeal that they were not able to hold themselves to the work4 ,the prevocational classes include the sixth1 seventh1 and eighth grades1 and give the greater part of the time to training the child through developing skill with his hands4 ,book work is not neglected1 however1 and the pupils are held up to the same standards that they would have to reach in an ordinary school1 though they do not cover quite so much ground4 ,the work can be made more varied than in the vocational grammar school because the equipment of the high school is available4 ,moreover1 their ambition is so stimulated that very large numbers of them do additional work and transfer to the regular technical high school work1 where in spite of their prior backwardness they do as well as the regular students4 ,ordinarily not a single one of them would ever have entered a high school4 ,the girls' technical high school does about what the vocational grammar schools are doing excepting that the work is more thorough1 so that the graduate is more nearly prepared to take up work in some one industry4 ,the cooking includes work in the school lunch room1 and training in marketing1 kitchen gardening and general housekeeping4 ,the vocational classes proper take up large-quantity cooking1 household administration1 and restaurant management4 ,in sewing the girls learn how to make their own clothes1 but they learn as the work would have to be learned in a good dressmaking establishment2 there is a course in machine operating for the girls who wish it4 ,more advanced work teaches such principles of pattern making and designing as would be needed by a shop manager4 ,but the most important difference is found in the emphasis that is put on the artistic side of women's traditional occupations4 ,drawing is taught while the girls are learning to design dresses1 and color in the same way2 how to make the home pleasing to the eye is made a vital problem in the housekeeping department1 and the art department has decorated the model rooms4 ,the pattern and coloring for any piece of work1 whether it is a centerpiece to be embroidered1 a dress1 a piece of pottery1 or weaving1 has been carefully worked out in the art department by the worker herself before she begins upon it in the shop4 ,the girls are not simply learning how to do the drudgery of housework more efficiently2 they are learning how to lift it above drudgery by making it into a profession4 ,the vocational courses in the boys' technical high schools continue the pupils' study in the regular academic subjects1 and give them work in excellently equipped shops4 ,there is work in printing1 carpentry1 forging1 metal work1 mechanical drawing1 and in the machine shop1 well supplemented by the art department4 ,the pupil does not specialize in one kind of work1 but secures general training4 ,the object of all the vocational courses in the grammar schools is to prepare the pupils for any branch of work that they may want to take up by giving them an outlook over all the branches of work carried on around them4 ,the work is cultural in much the same way that it is cultural in ,gary4 ,the success of these courses in bringing boys back to school1 in enabling others to catch up with their grade1 and in keeping others in school1 points strongly to the fact that for a great many pupils at least some work which will link their school course to the activities of everyday life is necessary4 ,the technical high schools give two-year courses for the pupils who can not afford to stay in school for four years4 ,they are designed to give a boy training for a definite vocation1 and are at the same time broad enough to count for the first two years of high school work if the boy should be able to go on later4 ,at the ,lane ,school two-year courses are given in patternmaking1 machine shop work1 carpentry1 electricity1 printing and mechanical drawing2 all of these courses include work in ,english1 shop arithmetic1 drawing1 and physiology4 ,the four-year pupils take one of three courses1 according to what they expect to do4 ,the technical course prepares students for college1 the architectural course prepares for work in an architect's office1 and the general trade course prepares for immediate entry into industry4 ,during the first two years of work the student devotes his time to the study of general subjects1 and during the last two the major part of his time is put in on work that leads directly to the vocation that he has chosen4 ,the two-year course has not cut down the total attendance at the school by offering a short cut to pupils who would otherwise stay four years4 ,on the contrary1 it has drawn a different class of boys to school1 those who had expected to go directly to work1 but who were glad to make a sacrifice to stay on in school two years longer when an opportunity appeared to put those two years to definite account in training for the chosen occupation4 ,all these technical high schools have shown conclusively that boys and girls like to go to school and like to learn1 when they can see whither their lessons are leading4 ,giving the young work they want to do is a more effective method of keeping them in school than are truant officers or laws4 ,in the ,lane ,school the work of the different departments is closely connected so that the pupil sees the relations of any one kind of work to everything he is doing4 ,a problem being set to a group of students1 such as the making of a gasoline engine or a vacuum cleaner1 the different elements in its solution are worked out in the different classrooms4 ,for the vacuum cleaner1 for instance1 the pupils must have reached a certain point in physics and electrical work before they are capable of trying to make the machine1 since each pupil becomes in a sense the inventor1 working out everything except the idea of the machine4 ,when they are familiar with the principles which govern the cleaner they make rough sketches1 which are discussed in the machine shop and altered until the sketch holds the promise of a practical result4 ,in mechanical drawing1 accurate drawings are made for the whole thing and for each part1 from which patterns are made in the pattern shop4 ,the pupils make their own molds and castings and when they have all the parts they construct the vacuum cleaner in the machine and electrical shops4 ,the problem of the gasoline engine is worked out in a like way2 and since all the work that is given the pupils has been chosen for its utility as well as its educational value1 the pupil does everything connected with its production himself1 from working out the theory in the laboratory or classroom to screwing the last bolt4 ,the connection of theory and practice not only makes the former concrete and understandable1 but it prevents the manual work from being routine and narrow4 ,when a pupil has completed a problem of this sort he has increased knowledge and power4 ,he has tested the facts he learned and knows what they stand for in terms of the use the world makes of them2 and he has made a useful thing in a way which develops his own sense of independent intelligent power4 ,the attempts of the ,cincinnati school board to give the school children of that city a better education1 by giving them a better preparation for the future1 have been made from a somewhat different point of view4 ,three-fourths of the school children of ,cincinnati1 as of so many other cities1 leave school when they are fourteen years old2 most of them do not go beyond the fifth grade4 ,they do this because they feel they must go to work in order to give help at home4 ,of course a fifth-grade pupil of fourteen is fitted to do only the easiest and most mechanical work and so receives very low pay4 ,once at work in factory or shop on this routine kind of work1 the chances for the worker to advance1 or to become master of any trade1 or branch of his trade1 are slight4 ,his schooling has given him only an elementary control of the three ,r's1 and usually no knowledge of the theory or practice of the business he is engaged in4 ,he soon finds himself in a position where he is not learning any more4 ,it is only the very exceptional person who will go on educating himself and push ahead to a position of independence or responsibility under such conditions4 ,the person who becomes economically swamped in the cheapest grades of work is not going to show much energy or intelligence in his life as citizen4 ,the experiments of the ,cincinnati schools in introducing manual and industrial training have been directed to remedying this evil by making the school work such that the pupil will desire to stay in school if this is in any way possible2 and if it is not1 by giving him opportunities to go on with his education while working4 ,the ,ohio law requires children to stay in school until they are sixteen unless they must go to work1 when they are given a certificate permitting them to work for the employer with whom they have found their first position4 ,this permission must be renewed with each change of position4 ,consequently the pupil is kept in school until he has found work1 and if for any reason he stops working1 the school keeps in touch with him and can see that he goes back to school4 ,the city also conducts continuation schools1 where most of the pupils who leave between the ages of fourteen and sixteen have to return to school for a few hours a week1 receiving theoretical instruction in the work they are doing4 ,the cash girl has lessons in business ,english1 arithmetic of the sort she has to use1 and lessons in salesmanship1 and receives a certain amount of general instruction about her special branch of trade4 ,there are voluntary continuation classes for workers above sixteen years of age1 by means of which any shop or store is able to use the facilities of the public schools to make their workers more efficient by giving them more knowledge of the theory of the trade4 ,these continuation classes are undoubtedly of the greatest value to the employee who can not go back to school1 but they do not give him that grasp of present problems and conditions which would enable him intelligently to choose the work for which he is best suited4 ,they improve him in a particular calling1 but the calling may have been selected by accident4 ,their function is to make up to the child somewhat for what he has lost by having to become a wage earner so young4 ,the coperative plan which is being thoroughly tried out in ,cincinnati is less of a makeshift and more of a distinct contribution to education1 and has so far proved so successful as to be of great suggestive value4 ,more than any other vocational plan it takes advantage of the educational value of the industries that are most important in the community4 ,the factory shops of the city become the school shops for the pupils4 ,many of the big factories of the city have shown themselves willing to coperate with the city for the first year of the experiment4 ,this has proved so successful that many more factories are anxious to get their beginning workers in this way4 ,in a sense it is a return to the old-fashioned apprenticeship method that prevailed when manufacturing was done by hand2 for the pupils get their manual skill and the necessary practice in processes and shop conditions by working for wages in the city factories4 ,when the plan is further along the factories and stores will not be the only community institutions that will furnish laboratories for the school children of the city4 ,the city college will begin its plan of having the domestic science pupils get their practice by working as nurses1 cooks1 housekeepers1 or bookkeepers in the city hospital1 and the engineering and architectural students will get theirs by working in the machine shops and draught-room of the city4 ,as far as possible the departments of the city government will be used for the pupils' workshops2 where they can not furnish opportunities for the kind of work the pupil needs1 he will go into an office1 store1 or factory where conditions reach the standard set by the board of education4 ,so far this plan has been tested only with the boys and girls who are taking the technical course in the city high schools4 ,the pupils who have finished the first two years of work1 which corresponds to the work of any good technical high school1 begin working alternate weeks in shop and school4 ,the pupil chooses a kind of work in which he wishes to specialize1 and is then given a position in one of the factories or shops which are coperating with the schools4 ,he receives pay for his work as any beginner would1 and does the regular work of the place1 under the direction of1 and responsible to1 the shop superintendent4 ,one week he works here under trade conditions1 meeting the requirements of the place1 the next week he returns to school1 and his place in the factory is taken by another pupil who has chosen the same line of work4 ,the week in school is devoted entirely to theoretical work4 ,the pupil continues his work in ,english1 history1 mathematics1 drawing1 and science1 and enriches his trade experience by a thorough study of the industry1 all its processes and the science they involve1 the use1 history1 and distribution of the goods1 and the history of the industry4 ,this alternation between factory and shop is kept up for the last two years of the course1 and also during the pupil's college course1 provided he goes on to a technical course in the city university4 ,from the standpoint of vocational guidance1 this method has certain distinct advantages over having the pupil remain in the classroom until he goes into a shop permanently4 ,his practical work in the factory is in the nature of an experiment4 ,if his first choice proves a failure1 the pupil does not get the moral setback that comes from a failure to the self-supporting person4 ,the school takes the attitude that the pupil did not make the right choice2 by coperating with him1 the effort is made to have his second factory experience correspond more nearly to his abilities and interest4 ,a careful record of the pupil's work in the factory is kept as well as of his classroom work1 and these two records are studied1 not as separate items1 but as interacting and inseparable4 ,if his class work is good and his factory record poor1 it is evident that he is in the wrong factory2 and the nature of the class work will often give a hint of the sort of work to which the pupil ought to change4 ,if all the work is mediocre1 a change to another kind of practical work will often result in a marked improvement in the theoretical work if the change has been the right one4 ,the pupil has an opportunity to test his own interests and abilities1 to find if his judgment of them is correct2 if it is not1 he has a scientific basis on which to form a more correct judgment4 ,illustration3 ,children are interested in the things they need to know about4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,illustration3 ,making their own clothes in sewing class4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,the work is not approached from the trade point of view2 that is1 the schools do not aim to turn out workers who have finished a two years' apprenticeship in a trade and are to that extent qualified as skilled workmen for that particular thing4 ,the aim is to give the pupil some knowledge of the actual conditions in trade and industry so that he will have standards from which to make a final intelligent choice4 ,the school work forms a necessary part of the training for this choice1 for it is just as much a guide to the interests and bent of the boy as would be his success in any one shop4 ,and it lifts his judgments from the plane of mere likes and dislikes to that of knowledge based on theory as well as practice4 ,for the exceptional pupil who really knows what he wants1 and is eager to go ahead with it1 this plan offers distinct advantages4 ,the boy's desire to get to work is satisfied by his weeks in the shop1 and in his classroom he is learning enough of the larger aspects and possibilities of the trade to make him realize the value of additional theoretical training for the satisfaction of his own practical purposes4 ,as a result of the first year of working on this plan a large number of factories1 at first indifferent to the plan1 have asked to receive apprentices in this way1 and a number of pupils have decided to go to college who1 when they were spending all their time in school1 had no such intention4 ,the technical course for girls includes only those occupations that are traditionally supposed to belong to women because they are connected with home-making4 ,they may continue for the four years working in school1 which is made practical by having the pupils trim hats to wear1 make their own clothes1 do some commercial cooking1 with the buying1 selling1 and bookkeeping connected with it2 or they may specialize during the last two years as the boys do1 by working alternate weeks in shop and school4 ,so far girls have gone only into millinery or sewing establishments1 where they work just as do the boys under actual trade conditions4 ,the aim of the work for the girl1 just as it is for the boy1 is to help her find her life work1 to fit herself for it mentally and morally1 and to give her an intelligent attitude toward her profession and her community1 using the shop experience not as an end in itself but a means to these larger ends4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,democracy ,,and ,,education ,the schools that have been described were selected not because of any conviction that they represent all of the best work that is being done in this country1 but simply because they illustrate the general trend of education at the present time1 and because they seem fairly representative of different types of schools4 ,of necessity a great deal of material that would undoubtedly prove just as suggestive as what has been given1 has been omitted4 ,no attempt has been made to touch upon the important movement for the vitalization of rural education3 a movement that is just as far reaching in its scope and wholesome in its aims as anything that is being done1 since it purposes to overcome the disadvantages of isolation that have handicapped the country schoolteacher1 and to make use of the natural environment of the child to give him a vocational education1 in the same way that the city schools use their artificial environment4 ,and except as their work illustrates a larger educational principle1 very little attention has been given to the work of individual teachers or schools in their attempt to teach the conventional curriculum in the most efficient way4 ,while devices and ingenious methods for getting results from pupils often seem most suggestive and even inspiring to the teacher1 they do not fit into the plan of this book when they have to do simply with the better use of the usual material of the traditional education4 ,we have been concerned with the more fundamental changes in education1 with the awakening of the schools to a realization of the fact that their work ought to prepare children for the life they are to lead in the world4 ,the pupils who will pass this life in intellectual pursuits1 and who get the necessary training for the practical side of their lives from their home environment1 are such a small factor numerically that the schools are not acting wisely to shape all the work for them4 ,the schools we have been discussing are all working away from a curriculum adapted to a small and specialized class towards one which shall be truly representive of the needs and conditions of a democratic society4 ,while these schools are all alike in that they reflect the new spirit in education1 they differ greatly in the methods that have been developed to bring about the desired results2 their surroundings and the class of pupils dealt with are varied enough to suggest the influence that local conditions must exercise over methods even when the aim is identical4 ,to the educator for whom the problems of democracy are at all real1 the vital necessity appears to be that of making the connection between the child and his environment as complete and intelligent as possible1 both for the welfare of the child and for the sake of the community4 ,the way this is to be accomplished will1 of course1 vary according to the conditions of the community and to a certain extent according to the temperament and beliefs of the educator4 ,but great as the differences are between the different schools1 between such a plan as that worked out by ,mr4 ,meriam in ,columbia1 ,missouri1 and the curriculum of the ,chicago public schools1 an analysis of the ideas back of the apparent extreme divergence of views1 reveals certain resemblances that seem more fundamental than the differences4 ,the resemblances are more fundamental because they illustrate the direction that educational reform is taking1 and because many of them are the direct result of the changes that modern science and psychology have brought about in our way of looking at the world4 ,curiously enough most of these points of similarity are found in the views advocated by ,rousseau1 though it is only very recently that they have begun to enjoy anything more than a theoretical respect4 ,the first point of similarity is the importance that is accorded to the physical welfare of the pupils4 ,the necessity of insuring the health of all young people as the foundation on which to build other qualities and abilities1 and the hopelessness of trying to build where the body is weak1 ill-nourished1 or uncontrolled1 is now so well recognized that it has become a commonplace and needs only a passing mention here4 ,health is as important from the social point of view as from the individual1 so that attention to it is doubly necessary to a successful community4 ,while all schools realize the importance of healthy pupils1 the possibilities of using the activities of the child that are employed in giving him a strong healthy body1 for general educational purposes1 are not so well understood4 ,as yet it is the pioneer in education who realizes the extent to which young children learn through the use of their bodies1 and the impossibility of insuring general intelligence through a system which does not use the body to teach the mind and the mind to teach the body4 ,this is simply a restatement of ,rousseau's proposition that the education of the young child rests largely on whether he is allowed to 8develop naturally0 or not4 ,it has already been pointed out to what an extent ,mrs4 ,johnson depends on the physical growth of her pupils as a tool for developing their intellectual ability1 as well as the important part that muscular skill plays in the educational system of ,madame ,montessori4 ,this seems not only reasonable but necessary when we think of the mere amount of movement1 handling1 and feeling of things that a baby must indulge in to understand the most familiar objects in its environment1 and remember that the child and the adult learn with the same mental machinery as the very small child4 ,there is no difference in the way the organism works after it is able to talk and walk2 the difference lies in the greater complexity of activities which is made possible by the preliminary exercises4 ,modern psychology has pointed out the fact that the native instincts of a human being are his tools for learning4 ,instincts all express themselves through the body2 therefore education which stifles bodily activities1 stifles instincts1 and so prevents the natural method of learning4 ,to the extent of making an educational application of this fact1 all the schools described are using the physical activities of their pupils1 and so the means of their physical development1 as instruments for training powers of judgment and right thinking4 ,that is to say the pupils are learning by doing4 ,aside from the psychological reasons for teaching by this method1 it is the logical consequence of a realization of the importance of the physical welfare of the child1 and necessarily brings changes in the material of the schoolroom4 ,what are the pupils to do in order to learn8 ,mere activity1 if not directed toward some end1 may result in developing muscular strength1 but it can have very little effect on the mental development of the pupils4 ,these schools have all answered the question in the same general way1 though the definite problems on which they work differ4 ,the children must have activities which have some educative content1 that is1 which reproduce the conditions of real life4 ,this is true whether they are studying about things that happened hundreds of years ago or whether they are doing problems in arithmetic or learning to plane a board4 ,the historical facts which are presented must be true1 and whether the pupils are writing a play based on them or are building a viking boat1 the details of the work as well as the main idea must conform to the known facts4 ,when a pupil learns by doing he is reliving both mentally and physically some experience which has proved important to the human race2 he goes through the same mental processes as those who originally did these things4 ,because he has done them he knows the value of the result1 that is1 the fact4 ,a statement1 even of facts1 does not reveal the value of the fact1 or the sense of its truth--of the fact that it is a fact4 ,where children are fed only on book knowledge1 one 8fact0 is as good as another2 they have no standards of judgment or belief4 ,take the child studying weights and measures2 he reads in his text-book that eight quarts make a peck1 but when he does examples he is apt1 as every schoolteacher knows1 to substitute four for eight4 ,evidently the statement as he read it in the book did not stand for anything that goes on outside the book1 so it is a matter of accident what figure lodges in his brain1 or whether any does4 ,but the grocer's boy who has measured out pecks with a quart measure knows4 ,he has made pecks2 he would laugh at anybody who suggested that four quarts made a peck4 ,what is the difference in these two cases8 ,the schoolboy has a result without the activity of which it is the result4 ,to the grocer's boy the statement has value and truth1 for it is the obvious result of an experience--it is a fact4 ,thus we see that it is a mistake to suppose that practical activities have only or even mainly a utilitarian value in the schoolroom4 ,they are necessary if the pupil is to understand the facts which the teacher wishes him to learn2 if his knowledge is to be real1 not verbal2 if his education is to furnish standards of judgment and comparison4 ,with the adult it is undoubtedly true that most of the activities of practical life have become simply means of satisfying more or less imperative wants4 ,he has performed them so often that their meaning as types of human knowledge has disappeared4 ,but with the school child this is not true4 ,take a child in the school kitchen2 he is not merely preparing that day's midday meal because he must eat2 he is learning a multitude of new things4 ,in following the directions of the recipe he is learning accuracy1 and the success or failure of the dish serves as an excellent measure of the pupil's success4 ,in measuring quantities he is learning arithmetic and tables of measures2 in mixing materials1 he is finding out how substances act when they are manipulated2 in baking or boiling he is discovering some of the elementary facts of physics and chemistry4 ,repetition of these acts by adults1 after the muscular and intellectual mastery of the adjustments they call for has been established1 gives the casual thinker the impression that pupils also are doing no more than wasting their time on insignificant things4 ,the grocer's boy knows what a peck is because he has used it to measure things with1 but since his stock of knowledge is not increased as he goes on measuring out peck after peck1 the point is soon reached where intellectual discovery ends and mere performance of a task takes its place4 ,this is the point where the school can see that the pupil's intellectual growth continues2 while the activity of the mere worker who is doing the thing for its immediate practical use becomes mechanical4 ,the school says the pupil has had enough of this particular experience2 he knows how to do this thing when he needs to and he has understood the principles or facts which it illustrates2 it is time he moved on to other experiences which will teach him other values and facts4 ,when the pupil has learned how to follow a recipe1 how to handle foodstuffs and use the stove he does not go on repeating the same elementary steps2 he begins to extend his work to take in the larger aspects of cooking4 ,the educative value of the cooking lessons continues because he is now studying questions of food values1 menus1 the cost of food1 and the chemistry of food stuffs1 and cooking4 ,the kitchen becomes a laboratory for the study of a fundamental factor in human life4 ,illustration3 ,training the hand1 eye1 and brain by doing useful work4 7,gary1 ,ind47 ,the moral advantages of an active form of education renforce its intellectual benefits4 ,we have seen how this method of teaching necessitates greater freedom for the pupil1 and that this freedom is a positive factor in the intellectual and moral development of the pupils4 ,in the same way the substitution of practical activities for the usual isolated text-book study achieves positive moral results which are marked to any teacher who has used both methods4 ,where the accumulation of facts presented in books is the standard1 memory must be relied upon as the principal tool for acquiring knowledge4 ,the pupil must be stimulated to remember facts2 it makes comparatively little difference whether he has to remember them in the exact words of the book1 or in his own words1 for in either case the problem is to see that he does store up information4 ,the inevitable result is that the child is rewarded when his memory is successful1 and punished by failure and low marks when it is not successful4 ,the emphasis shifts from the importance of the work that is done to the pupil's degree of external success in doing it4 ,since no one's performance is perfect1 the failures become the obvious and emphasized thing4 ,the pupil has to fight constantly against the discouragement of never reaching the standard he is told he is expected to reach4 ,his mistakes are constantly corrected and pointed out4 ,such successes as he achieves are not especially inspiring because he does no more than reproduce the lesson as it already exists in the book4 ,the virtues that the good scholar will cultivate are the colorless1 negative virtues of obedience1 docility1 and submission4 ,by putting himself in an attitude of complete passivity he is more nearly able to give back just what he heard from the teacher or read in the book4 ,rewards and high marks are at best artificial aims to strive for2 they accustom children to expect to get something besides the value of the product for work they do4 ,the extent to which schools are compelled to rely upon these motives shows how dependent they are upon motives which are foreign to truly moral activity4 ,but in the schools where the children are getting their knowledge by doing things1 it is presented to them through all their senses and carried over into acts2 it needs no feat of memory to retain what they find out2 the muscles1 sight1 hearing1 touch1 and their own reasoning processes all combine to make the result part of the working equipment of the child4 ,success gives a glow of positive achievement2 artificial inducements to work are no longer necessary1 and the child learns to work from love of the work itself1 not for a reward or because he is afraid of a punishment4 ,activity calls for the positive virtues--energy1 initiative1 and originality--qualities that are worth more to the world than even the most perfect faithfulness in carrying out orders4 ,the pupil sees the value of his work and so sees his own progress1 which spurs him on to further results4 ,in consequence his mistakes do not assume undue importance or discourage him4 ,he can actively use them as helps in doing better next time4 ,since the children are no longer working for rewards1 the temptation to cheat is reduced to the minimum4 ,there is no motive for doing dishonest acts1 since the result shows whether the child has done the work1 the only end recognized4 ,the moral value of working for the sake of what is being done is certainly higher than that of working for rewards2 and while it is possible that a really bad character will not be reformed by being placed in a situation where there is nothing to be gained excepting through an independent and energetic habit of work1 the weak character will be strengthened and the strong one will not form any of those small bad habits that seem so unimportant at first and that are so serious in their cumulative effect4 ,another point that most of the present day reformers have in common1 in distinction from the traditional way of looking at school work1 is the attempt to find work of interest to the pupils4 ,this used to be looked at as a matter of very little importance2 in fact a certain amount of work that did not interest was supposed to be a very good thing for the moral character of the pupil4 ,this work was supposed to have even greater disciplinary qualities than the rest of the work4 ,forcing the child to carry through a task which did not appeal to him was supposed to develop perseverance and strength of character4 ,there is no doubt that the ability to perform an irksome duty is a very useful accomplishment1 but the usefulness does not lie in the irksomeness of the task4 ,things are not useful or necessary because they are unpleasant or tiresome1 but in spite of these characteristics4 ,the habit of giving work to pupils solely for the sake of its 8disciplinary0 value would seem to indicate a blindness to moral values rather than an excess of moral zeal1 for after all the habit is little more than holding up a thing's defects as its virtues4 ,but if lack of interest is not to be admitted as a motive in selection of class work1 it is fair enough to object that interest can not serve as a criterion1 either4 ,if we take interest in its narrowest sense1 as meaning something which amuses and appeals to the child because of its power of entertainment1 the objection has truth4 ,the critic of the new spirit in education is apt to assume that this narrow sense is what is meant when he hears that the pupils ought to be interested in what they are doing4 ,then logically enough he goes on to point out that such a system lacks moral fiber1 that it caters to the whims of children1 and is in reality an example of the general softening of the social fiber1 of every one's desire for the easy way4 ,but the work is not made easy for the pupils2 nor yet is there any attempt to give the traditional curriculum a sugar coating4 ,the change is of a more fundamental character and is based on sound psychological theory4 ,the work given to the children has changed2 the attempt is not to make all the child's tasks interesting to him1 but to select work on the basis of the natural appeal it makes to the child4 ,interest ought to be the basis for selection because children are interested in the things they need to learn4 ,every one is familiar with the way a baby will spend a long time making over and over again the same motions or feeling of some object1 and of the intense interest children two and three years old take in building a tower of blocks1 or filling a pail with sand4 ,they do it not once but scores of times1 and always with the same deep absorption1 for it is real work to them4 ,their growing1 unformed muscles have not yet learned to act automatically2 every motion that is aimed at something must be repeated under the conscious direction of the child's mind until he can make it without being aware of effort towards an adjustment4 ,since the little child must adjust the things about him1 his interests and his needs are identical2 if they were not he could not live4 ,as a child grows older his control over his immediate needs so rapidly becomes automatic1 that we are apt to forget that he still learns as the baby does4 ,the necessary thing is still1 as it will be all his life1 the power of adjustment4 ,good adjustment means a successful human being1 so that instinctively we are more interested in learning these adjustments than in anything else4 ,now the child is interested in adjusting himself through physical activity to the things he comes up against1 because he must master his physical environment to live4 ,the things that are of interest to him are the things that he needs to work on4 ,it is then the part of wisdom in selecting the work for any group of children1 to take it from that group of things in the child's environment which is arousing their curiosity and interest at that time4 ,obviously as the child grows older and his control of his body and physical environment increases he will reach out to the more complicated and theoretical aspects of the life he sees about him4 ,but in just this same way the work in the classroom reaches out to include facts and events which do not belong in any obvious way to the child's immediate environment4 ,thus the range of the material is not in any way limited by making interest a standard for selection4 ,work that appeals to pupils as worth while1 that holds out the promise of resulting in something to their own interests1 involves just as much persistence and concentration as the work which is given by the sternest advocate of disciplinary drill4 ,the latter requires the pupil to strive for ends which he can not see1 so that he has to be kept at the task by means of offering artificial ends1 marks1 and promotions1 and by isolating him in an atmosphere where his mind and senses are not being constantly besieged by the call of life which appeals so strongly to him4 ,but the pupil presented with a problem1 the solution of which will give him an immediate sense of accomplishment and satisfied curiosity1 will bend all his powers to the work2 the end itself will furnish the stimulus necessary to carry him through the drudgery4 ,the conventional type of education which trains children to docility and obedience1 to the careful performance of imposed tasks because they are imposed1 regardless of where they lead1 is suited to an autocratic society4 ,these are the traits needed in a state where there is one head to plan and care for the lives and institutions of the people4 ,but in a democracy they interfere with the successful conduct of society and government4 ,our famous1 brief definition of a democracy1 as 8government of the people1 for the people and by the people10 gives perhaps the best clew to what is involved in a democratic society4 ,responsibility for the conduct of society and government rests on every member of society4 ,therefore1 every one must receive a training that will enable him to meet this responsibility1 giving him just ideas of the condition and needs of the people collectively1 and developing those qualities which will insure his doing a fair share of the work of government4 ,if we train our children to take orders1 to do things simply because they are told to1 and fail to give them confidence to act and think for themselves1 we are putting an almost insurmountable obstacle in the way of overcoming the present defects of our system and of establishing the truth of democratic ideals4 ,our ,state is founded on freedom1 but when we train the ,state of to-morrow1 we allow it just as little freedom as possible4 ,children in school must be allowed freedom so that they will know what its use means when they become the controlling body1 and they must be allowed to develop active qualities of initiative1 independence1 and resourcefulness1 before the abuses and failures of democracy will disappear4 ,the spread of the realization of this connection between democracy and education is perhaps the most interesting and significant phase of present educational tendencies4 ,it accounts for the growing interest in popular education1 and constitutes a strong renforcement to the arguments of science and psychology for the changes which have been outlined4 ,there is no doubt that the text-book method of education is well suited to that small group of children who by environment are placed above the necessity of engaging in practical life and who are at the same time interested in abstract ideas4 ,but even for this type of person the system leaves great gaps in his grasp of knowledge2 it gives no place to the part that action plays in the development of intelligence1 and it trains along the lines of the natural inclinations of the student and does not develop the practical qualities which are usually weak in the abstract person4 ,for the great majority whose interests are not abstract1 and who have to pass their lives in some practical occupation1 usually in actually working with their hands1 a method of education is necessary which bridges the gap between the purely intellectual and theoretical sides of life and their own occupations4 ,with the spread of the ideas of democracy1 and the accompanying awakening to social problems1 people are beginning to realize that every one1 regardless of the class to which he happens to belong1 has a right to demand an education which shall meet his own needs1 and that for its own sake the ,state must supply this demand4 ,until recently school education has met the needs of only one class of people1 those who are interested in knowledge for its own sake1 teachers1 scholars1 and research workers4 ,the idea that training is necessary for the man who works with his hands is still so new that the schools are only just beginning to admit that control of the material things of life is knowledge at all4 ,until very recently schools have neglected the class of people who are numerically the largest and upon whom the whole world depends for its supply of necessities4 ,one reason for this is the fact that democracy is a comparatively new thing in itself2 and until its advent1 the right of the majority1 the very people who work with their hands1 to supply any of their larger spiritual needs was never admitted4 ,their function1 almost their reason for existence1 was to take care of the material wants of the ruling classes4 ,two great changes have occurred in the last century and a half which have altered men's habits of living and of thinking4 ,we have just seen how one of these1 the growth of democratic ideals1 demands a change in education4 ,the other1 the change that has come about through scientific discoveries1 must also be reflected in the classroom4 ,to piece together all one's historical information into a rough picture of society before the discovery of the steam engine and of electricity1 will hardly serve to delineate sufficiently the changes in the very fundamentals of society that these and similar discoveries have brought about4 ,the one possibly most significant from the point of view of education is the incredible increase in the number of facts that must be part of the mental furniture of any one who meets even the ordinary situations of life successfully4 ,they are so many that any attempt to teach them all from text-books in school hours would be simply ridiculous4 ,but the schools instead of facing this frankly and then changing their curriculum so that they could teach pupils how to learn from the world itself1 have gone on bravely teaching as many facts as possible4 ,the changes made have been in the way of inventing schemes that would increase the consumption of facts4 ,but the change that is demanded by science is a more radical one2 and as far as it has been worked out at present it follows the general lines that have been suggested in this book4 ,this includes1 as the curricula of these different schools have shown1 not alone teaching of the scientific laws that have brought about the changes in society since their discovery1 but the substitution of real work which itself teaches the facts of life for the study and memorization of facts after they have been classified in books4 ,if schools are to recognize the needs of all classes of pupils1 and give pupils a training that will insure their becoming successful and valuable citizens1 they must give work that will not only make the pupils strong physically and morally and give them the right attitude towards the state and their neighbors1 but that will as well give them enough control over their material environment to enable them to be economically independent4 ,preparation for the professions has always been taken care of2 it is1 as we have seen1 the future of the worker in industry which has been neglected4 ,the complications of modern industry due to scientific discoveries make it necessary for the worker who aspires to real success to have a good foundation of general education on which to build his technical skill1 and the complications of human nature make it equally necessary that the beginner shall find his way into work that is suited to his tastes and abilities4 ,a discussion of general educational principles is concerned only with industrial or vocational education which supplies these two needs4 ,the questions of specific trade and professional training fall wholly outside the scope of this book4 ,however1 certain facts connected with the movement to push industrial training in its narrower sense have a direct bearing on the larger question4 ,for there is great danger just at present that1 as the work spreads1 the really educative type of work that is being done in ,gary and ,chicago may be overlooked in favor of trade training4 ,the attention of influential citizens is more easily focused on the need of skilled workers than on that of a general educational readjustment4 ,the former is brought home to them by their own experience1 perhaps by their self-interest4 ,they are readily impressed with the extent to which ,germany has made technical trade training a national asset in pushing the commercial rivalries of that empire4 ,nothing seems so direct and practical as to establish a system of continuation schools to improve workers between the ages of fourteen and eighteen who have left school at the earliest age1 and to set up separate schools which shall prepare directly for various lines of shop work1 leaving the existing schools practically unchanged to prepare pupils for higher schools and for the walks of life where there is less manual work4 ,continuation schools are valuable and important1 but only as palliatives and makeshifts2 they deal with conditions which ought not to exist4 ,children should not leave school at fourteen1 but should stay in school until they are sixteen or eighteen1 and be helped to an intelligent use of their energies and to the proper choice of work4 ,it is a commonplace among teachers and workers who come in contact with any number of pupils who leave school at fourteen to go to work1 that the reason is not so much financial pressure as it is lack of conviction that school is doing them any good4 ,of course there are cases where the child enjoys school but is forced to leave at the first opportunity in order to earn money4 ,but even in these rare instances it would usually be wiser to continue the family arrangements that were in vogue up to the child's fourteenth birthday1 even if they include charity4 ,the wages of the child of fourteen and fifteen are so low that they make a material difference only to the family who is already living on an inadequate scale4 ,the hopelessness of the situation is increased by the fact that these children increase their earning capacity much more slowly and reach as their maximum a much lower level than the child who is kept in school1 so that in the long run the loss both to the child and his family more than offsets the precarious temporary gain4 ,but the commonest reason advanced by pupils for leaving school is that they did not like it1 and were anxious to get some real work to do4 ,not that they were prepared to go to work1 or had finished any course of training1 but simply that school seemed so futile and satisfied so few of their interests that they seized the first opportunity to make a change to something that seemed more real1 something where there was a visible result4 ,what is needed then is a reorganization of the ordinary school work to meet the needs of this class of pupils1 so that they will wish to stay in school for the value of what they are learning4 ,the present system is bungling and short-sighted2 continuation schools patch up some of its defects2 they do not overcome them1 nor do they enable the pupils to achieve a belated intellectual growth1 where the maladjustment of the elementary school has served to check it4 ,the ideal is not to use the schools as tools of existing industrial systems1 but to use industry for the reorganization of the schools4 ,there is danger that the concentrated interests of business men and their influential activity in public matters will segregate training for industry to the damage of both democracy and education4 ,educators must insist upon the primacy of educational values1 not in their own behalf1 but because these represent the more fundamental interests of society1 especially of a society organized on a democratic basis4 ,the place of industry in education is not to hurry the preparation of the individual pupil for his individual trade4 ,it should be used 7as in the ,gary1 ,indianapolis1 and other schools7 to give practical value to the theoretical knowledge that every pupil should have1 and to give him an understanding of the conditions and institutions of his environment4 ,when this is done the pupil will have the necessary knowledge and intelligence to make the right choice of work and to direct his own efforts towards getting the necessary technical skill4 ,his choice will not be limited by the fact that he already knows how to do one thing and only one2 it will be dictated only by his own ability and natural aptitude4 ,the trade and continuation schools take their pupils before they are old enough or have knowledge enough of their own power to be able to make a wise choice1 and then they drill them in one narrow groove1 both in their theoretical work and in their manual skill1 so that the pupil finds himself marked for one occupation only4 ,if it proves not to be the right one for him it is still the only one he is trained for4 ,such a system does not give an opportunity for the best development of the individual's abilities1 and it tends to keep people fixed in classes4 ,the very industries that seem to benefit most by receiving skilled workers for the first steps of the trade will lose by it in the more difficult processes1 for the workers will not have the background of general knowledge and wider experience that the graduate of a technical high school or vocational school should have acquired4 ,but the introduction of the material of occupations into the schools for the sake of the control of the environment brought by their use will do much to give us the proportion of independent1 intelligent citizens that are needed in a democracy4 ,it is fatal for a democracy to permit the formation of fixed classes4 ,differences of wealth1 the existence of large masses of unskilled laborers1 contempt for work with the hands1 inability to secure the training which enables one to forge ahead in life1 all operate to produce classes1 and to widen the gulf between them4 ,statesmen and legislation can do something to combat these evil forces4 ,wise philanthropy can do something4 ,but the only fundamental agency for good is the public school system4 ,every ,american is proud of what has been accomplished in the past in fostering among very diverse elements of population a spirit of unity and of brotherhood so that the sense of common interests and aims has prevailed over the strong forces working to divide our people into classes4 ,the increasing complexity of our life1 with the great accumulation of wealth at one social extreme and the condition of almost dire necessity at the other makes the task of democracy constantly more difficult4 ,the days are rapidly passing when the simple provision of a system in which all individuals mingle is enough to meet the need4 ,the subject-matter and the methods of teaching must be positively and aggressively adapted to the end4 ,there must not be one system for the children of parents who have more leisure and another for the children of those who are wage-earners4 ,the physical separation forced by such a scheme1 while unfavorable to the development of a proper mutual sympathy1 is the least of its evils4 ,worse is the fact that the over bookish education for some and the over 8practical0 education for others brings about a division of mental and moral habits1 ideals and outlook4 ,the academic education turns out future citizens with no sympathy for work done with the hands1 and with absolutely no training for understanding the most serious of present day social and political difficulties4 ,the trade training will turn future workers who may have greater immediate skill than they would have had without their training1 but who have no enlargement of mind1 no insight into the scientific and social significance of the work they do1 no education which assists them in finding their way on or in making their own adjustments4 ,a division of the public school system into one part which pursues traditional methods1 with incidental improvements1 and another which deals with those who are to go into manual labor means a plan of social predestination totally foreign to the spirit of a democracy4 ,the democracy which proclaims equality of opportunity as its ideal requires an education in which learning and social application1 ideas and practice1 work and recognition of the meaning of what is done1 are united from the beginning and for all4 ,schools such as we have discussed in this book--and they are rapidly coming into being in large numbers all over the country--are showing how the ideal of equal opportunity for all is to be transmuted into reality4 ,transcriber's ,notes ,punctuation1 hyphenation1 and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book2 otherwise they were not changed4 ,simple typographical errors were corrected4 ,illustrations have been repositioned between nearby paragraphs4 ,in some cases1 they now appear on different pages than the ones in the ,list of ,illustration4 ,ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained4 ,page #aeb3 8one to ten meters0 probably is a misprint for 8centimeters04 ,page #aed3 8in other words0 was printed as 8others04 ,page #bhh3 8truly representive0 was printed that way4