3.8 |
4 | 25 | 57 | 2.9 | 5.8 |
5 | 25 | 67 | 2.9 | 6.9 |
6 | 51 | 71 | 5.7 | 7.3 |
7 | 85 | 91 | 9.7 | 9.2 |
8 | 85 | 117 | 9.7 | 11.6 |
===========================================================<
br> Total | 290 | 496 | 4.2 | 6.5 |
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/i>

The treatment in the course of study manual indicates that it is a neglected subject.  Of the 108 pages, it receives an aggregate of less than two.  The perfunctory assignment of work for the seventh grade is typical: 

“United states history

“B Assignment.  Mace’s History, pp. 1-124 inclusive.  Questions and suggested collateral reading found in Appendix may be used as teacher directs.

“A Assignment.  Mace’s History, pp. 125-197.  Make use of questions and suggested collateral reading at your own option.”

For fifth and sixth grades there is assigned a small history text of 200 pages for one or two lessons per week.  The two years of the seventh and eighth grades are devoted to the mastery of about 500 pages of text.  While there is incidental reference to collateral reading, as a matter of fact the schools are not supplied with the necessary materials for this collateral reading in the grammar grades.  The true character of the work is really indicated by the last sentence of the eighth-grade history assignment:  “The text of our book should be thoroughly mastered.”

In discussing the situation, the first thing to which we must call attention is the great value of history for an understanding of the multitude of complicated social problems met with by all people in a democracy.  In a country where all people are the rulers, all need a good understanding of the social, political, economic, industrial, and other problems with which we are continually confronted.  It is true the thing needed is an understanding of present conditions, but there is no better key to a right understanding of our present conditions than history furnishes.  One comes to understand a present situation by observing how it has come to be.  History is one of the most important methods of social analysis.

The history should be so taught that it will have a demonstrably practical purpose.  In drawing up courses of study in the subject for the grammar grades and the high school, the first task should be an analysis of present-day social conditions, the proper understanding of which requires historical background.  Once having discovered the list of social topics, it is possible to find historical readings which will show how present conditions have grown up out of earlier ones.  Looked at from a practical point of view, the history should be developed on the basis of topics, a great abundance of reading being provided for each of the topics.  We have in mind such topics as the following: