Thus there is collected a large and valuable store of knowledge, habits are trained in true, historical investigation and systematic arrangement of facts, an enjoyment in reading is fostered, and the character of the child has been strengthened along needed lines. Every step of such progress should be based upon child-study, an investigation of the child's condition. and of his probable course of development. About the fifth grade, as already said, heroes begin to suggest the classes to which they belong. Father Serra typifies the brave priests who founded the Missions. John Smith, the whole band of early adventurers. Motives are questioned, children in the fifth grade discuss vigorously the question of right and wrong. A spirited discussion in a fifth grade, in which the majority of the pupils took part, related to John Smith's statement to the Indians that the blue beads he wished to trade for corn were made of the same substance as the blue sky. The teacher simply kept the discussion within legitimate bounds, the pupils developed their own reasons for and against Smith's falsehood. The result was that the majority of the class concurred in believing that Smith would have made the exchange anyway without resorting to the lie, because the Indians wanted the beads; and Smith was lowered in the estimation of the children by his deception. A year later I heard a discussion on the same subject in another fifth grade with opposite results. The pupils were inclined to favor the lie told by Smith because it enabled him to get more corn. Such expressions of opinion are invaluable to the teacher who is studying the ethnological condition of his pupils, and who is trying to choose work that will develop the desirable traits of character. The history of the United States that can be read by pupils. of this age abounds in opportunities for discussion. Properly guided it develops observation, quick-witted thought and judgment; while the decisions that are reached cannot fail to have an effect on the character of the child. The simple fact of weighing and judging motives must lead to decisions about them, and every step in that direction is a gain in moral power. The character growth in the grammar grades needs careful attention. The individual is fast and unavoidably becoming a part of a social body. The child is either painfully conscious that he has a separate existence, or he is fond of society and realizes his own personality only as merged in the social unit. The institutional tendencies are alert, as may be seen in the readiness with which pupils of this age conduct a class newspaper, unite in a debating society, form class organizations; many churches recruit their members from children of this age, largely for the same reason-the respect for the institution. Self-government has been tried and declared very successful by some grammar school principals because the child is led to regard himself as an important part of the institution. There is a love for beauty of art and of literature, and the economical powers are greatly strengthened. . Patriotism, one expression of institutional sense, can be taught very concretely from Roman history with its many examples of devotion to the country. The growth of the Roman nation, made visible by mapping out the frequent additions of territory around the Mediterranean Sea, is of great interest to young students, and is easily transferable to pride in the home nation. Pupils watch closely this national development, and plainly see the nation as an institution to which the individual must be sacrificed at the demand of honor or patriotism. Early Romans gave their lives unflinchingly, even gladly; died with their faces toward the enemy. Sixth grade pupils are carried away by such patriotism. The power of religious fervor can be seen in the Crusades; here, too, is the intensity of religious intolerance whose roots are in ignorance. The Church as an institution dominated thought and progress in the Middle Ages; should not our boys and girls realize its power and see something of its effect on the civilization of the world? that is, of the power of the institution. These are only a few of the thoughts awakened by careful observation of children. Every statement has been tested many times with pupils of varying ages and grades of mental and moral power and development, and every one has been watched through the individuality of several teachers. History is a favorite study in all of our grades; the reason for this is unquestionably because history is to them a reality, and the stories are selected to meet the needs of the child's present and of his de veloping character, consequently they are never tiresome. History so presented is constantly giving models of heroic action and achievement toward which the child is striving. Every child naturally wants to advance to something better and greater than his own little world. History opens his eyes to the possibilities of life, and can encourage him to follow certain examples and shun others. This of course means history based upon a knowledge of the child, and of the needs of the individual and of the race. Take a broad meaning for the word. History is the study of man; man is the individual, the nation, the race. Study in every grade the active and latent traits of the child's character. Select stories or periods of history that appeal most directly to the active powers, and develop most safely the latent powers. Be sure that this selection is based on the natural development of the child, and it cannot fail to help educate better men and women, hence a better race. A MEMORY. MRS. HELEN E. STARRETT, CHICAGO, ILL. A form of grace beyond the grace of youth; EDITORIAL. ΤΕ \EACHING in our high schools as a life occupation for men is discussed in a recent number of the Forum by Edward Emory Hill. The impression is left on the reader's mind that the advantages and rewards of this profession are not so great as those pertaining to most other intellectual callings. High school teachers, this writer thinks, are not in a way to secure an advancement to independence, but are in the position of the better class of mechanics, who get about the same pay; and they are less hopefully regarded than the young lawyers, physicians and ministers, who have large possibilities of advancement in their several professions. So far as this article is a plea for better pay, and a truer valuation of the high school teacher's office, we are in sympathy with it. We are inclined to think, however, that it does not adequately present the advantages and opportunities of the profession. To be sure, some cold, hard facts and figures are given. But so they could be in regard to the ministry, the law, etc. The average ministerial salary is exceedingly meagre, and the lawyer often waits years for his practice; while on the other hand the teacher usually secures at the outset a fair return for his time and labor. The intellectual reward and the spiritual satisfaction of being helpful to young minds at the most critical period of their development is very great. So far as we have observed there is no lack of respect and even of admiration for the noble work of the high school teachers on the part of the public. And in these days chances of advancement and of widening spheres of usefulness are always open to energetic and able teachers in all grades. The extension of the influence of the high school, the perfection of its equipment, its successful administration, the preparation of text-books which shall be used in other schools, and the development of professional interests in teachers' meetings and institutes open up fields of effort and opportunities for growth and enlargement that compare favorably with those of any other calling or profession. The truth is that here as elsewhere "there is always room at the top." While work of a low order may not be highly regarded or very richly rewarded able workers in this field are appreciated and are in demand at satisfactory salaries. The rewards of this calling we believe to be on the whole as numerous and as desirable as those of any other. UR public schools do noble service in levelling down and levelling up class distinctions. In other words, in putting all their pupils on an equality so that no one is frowned down on because his parents are poor and work for a living; or looked up to because his parents are rich and idle. We pride ourselves upon the fact that here all stand on an equal footing, that honest worth is recognized, and that ability may lead any one on up to the heights. It is not exactly so; the conditions are not quite so idyllic. We do recognize some class distinctions and cannot altogether keep our schools free from their baneful influences. Still, it is largely true that here boys and girls stand on their own merits and are rated accordingly. And because of our freedom and the manliness which goes with it, it is difficult to realize how much snobbishness there is across the water. Thus we read with amusement and disgust that a principal of a private school in Putney, a suburb of London, declares that "he had on one occasion lost nearly all his pupils because it was discovered that the grandfather of one of his pupils had been a local tradesman." Think of it! What a heinous crime! One might be the brightest and best scholar in school, but if his grandfather sold tea the school must be depopulated and this scholar a pariah. A tradesman complains that in this place (Putney) of 22,000 population, there is "not a single middle-class boys' school to which I can send my son," and at the private schools, though he was ready to pay the fees, "his application has been three times refused on the ground that he is a tradesman in the place." No wonder the Educational News of Edinburgh boils over with honest Scotch wrath and exclaims :: Could snobbery further go? But its reign should, and probably will, be brought to a speedy end. The master of a private school is no doubt entitled to the British privilege of deciding for himself who shall, and who shall not, be admitted to his classes. His school is his castle as much as his home; and his will is the supreme law of both. But in that case he cannot justly complain if those who have no right to his hospitality are otherwise provided for. Yet that is exactly what the masters of English private schools do. They are up in arms against an attempt to provide higher grade public schools in their vicinity. The consequence is that in a London suburban district, with 22,000 population, a man bearing the brand of trade cannot get his son into any school suitable to his age and attainments. He is willing to pay whatever fees are charged. But that matters nothing. He is in trade; and the suburban stockbroker, who gets rich by swindling simple clients, will not tolerate the contamination of his son by contact with the son of an honest tradesman. Putney has no public secondary school because it would be an invasion of the rights of a few third-rate scholastic snobs; and the tradesman's son must go without his educa |