HISTORY-Continued. Second half year—Continued. "Some of the scenes described in the book, such as the Roman trial, might profitably be dramatized by the pupils. They should be encouraged to make a history museum to which they might contribute representations of such things as Kablu's house, Darius's bow and arrow, Cleon's stylus and wax tablet. The girls may dress dolls in the various costumes described." SIXTH YEAR. OUTLINE. CIVICS. First half year: 1. Health Cleanliness-of person; of premises. Ordinances regarding removal of garbage, etc. Protection of food and drink. 2. Wealth-While children can do little to produce wealth they can do much to conserve it. Care of property in the home, school, neighborhood, public places. 3. Knowledge "As the citizen develops, so the community develops." State laws on school attendance and working certificates. 4. Beauty Beautifying home and surroundings. Personal appearance, simplicity, good taste. Care of trees, parks, park benches, etc. 5. Protection Protection of younger and weaker children. Service to older people. Danger of congregating in crowds in case of accident. City ordinance. Care in crossing streets. City ordinance. Second half year: "How the child as a member of the community may appreciate what civic growth in the community has done for him, and how he may enjoy what has been developed; how he should endeavor to conserve and protect but never to destroy or mar." A study of the civic growth of our city. Water supply. Lighting and heating. Improved streets and boulevards. Industrial growth. Growth of our schools; such topics as Advantages and disadvantages of location of our school; heating, lighting, and ventilation; building and grounds; medical inspection; libraries and art galleries; industrial training; etc. GEOGRAPHY. "By the time the children have reached the sixth grade they are sufficiently mature to approach the study of a continent or country with some problem in mind. "Furthermore, children should begin to do some of the research work necessary to secure the needed facts." GEOGRAPHY-Continued. First half year: Africa; South America. The study of Africa is centered around such problems as "Egypt was once the leading power of the world; to-day it is a country of little influence and under the domination of England. Why?" The study of South America may center around such problems as "Brazil, a country nearly as large as the United States and known to European countries 400 years ago, has a population only one-fourth as large as that of the United States and is just beginning to take a prominent part in international affairs." The teacher is urged to encourage the pupils to make their own problems based on some current event. Second half year: The United States. The same principles control the study of this half year. Conservation is emphasized. Type studies of selected cities. HISTORY. First half year: Primary history stories of heroism. The period of discovery and colonization. 66 'Connect the history with the geography . . . according to the children's maturity." "Teachers will show the relation of Livingstone, Cecil Rhodes, Stanley, and Kitchener to the development of Africa." Second half year: Primary history. Pioneer Indianapolis. COMMENTS. History in this year becomes a "subject" with a textbook. Not only is there correlation of subject matter in geography, history, and civics, but emphasis is given in the methods of teaching, to the cultivation of initiative, judgment, cooperation, power to organize knowledge around current events-all of which are civic qualities of first importance. The civics work of this year becomes more systematic, though no textbook is used and it occupies no separate place in the program. The elementary study of American history and the study of the geography of various countries afford the occasion for a simple analysis of the "desires of man that a city tries to satisfy," and for making comparisons between different communities. The pupils have their first systematic introduction to laws and ordinances relating to the civic topics "just those within the comprehension of sixth-grade children. . . . Teachers will use judgment in dealing with these subjects.” Emphasis is laid on what the child can do for the community. Many of the civics topics of this year, as of others, are partially developed in the opening exercises and followed up in the oral and written composition work (see p. 27). A weekly lesson in hygiene in this grade affords a further opportunity for discussion of questions of public health and sanitation. Much community data is also gathered and discussed as the basis for problems in arithmetic (see pp. 23-27). SEVENTH YEAR. OUTLINE. "Generally speaking, three periods a week should be given to geography and two to history. Whenever necessary, a part of a geography period may be given to 'current events.' One period weekly the opening exercises should be devoted to civics.” -3 93597°-15 CIVICS. First half year: Civic beauty; government. Impress upon the children that they and their parents owe it to the community to help make it a desirable place in which to live. Create a sentiment for wellkept homes, yards, streets, alleys; a pride in beautiful trees, parks. Decide with the children what they can do to prevent the unsightly and to encourage the beautiful. Show how, if the people become interested in it, the city will aid by (a) passing sanitary regulations in regard to yards, etc.; (b) building good pavements and keeping them clean and in repair; (c) making boulevards, parks, etc.; (d) passing ordinances for the protection of trees, birds, etc. Government: The work on government must be as concrete as possible, approaching it, perhaps, through the necessity for rules in the game, in the home, in the school. The purpose is to emphasize the necessity for government, with ample illustration of how the people may use it to satisfy their interests, with which the children have by this time become familar, rather than to give a great deal of information about the organization of government. State and national, as well as local, government are referred to. Second half year: Interdependence. 1. In the home among members of family. 2. In the community. Community furnishes schools, parks, transportation, streets, etc. Individuals furnish labor and capital for private and public enterprises, beautify the community in their own premises, etc. 3. Of city, State, and Nation. 4. Of different nations. GEOGRAPHY. First half year: Some prominent nations of the world. The work is centered about problems as in the preceding grade. Much attention is given to social and economic aspects of the subject. Second half year: The world in general. Conditions of commerce. The sea as the great commercial highway. Causes, conditions, and control of commerce, and the means of transportation. The study of the British Empire, for example, includes How its parts are helpful to one another. The means of knitting its parts together. Relations of the Empire to the rest of the world. The study of the United States in this grade includes What has caused it to become almost self-sustaining? What has caused it to become one of the great commercial powers of the world? Conservation the great problem of the future if the present position at home HISTORY. First half year: European beginnings of American history to the Crusades. "No history should be treated as though it had a meaning or value in itself, but should be made constantly to show its relation or contribution to the present... In work of this grade, make children feel that the history of our country is a part of the history of the world and that it had its beginning many centuries before its discovery. . . ." Second half year: European beginnings of American history from the Crusades through the period of exploration. COMMENTS. No separate time allotment is yet given to civics as such, except that at least one opening exercise a week is set aside for this purpose. Yet much emphasis is given to the civic relations in connection with geography and history and the other work of the school. "Community arithmetic" has by the seventh year become an important part of the regular work in arithmetic. It will be described in some detail in the pages following this outline. EIGHTH YEAR. OUTLINE. "The time given to history and civics should approximate three lessons a week to history and two to civics. At opportune times consider important current events, the time to be taken from either history or civics. The adjustment of the time is left to the teacher." (Note the flexibility of the arrangement.) CIVICS. First half year: The beginning of the community. What is a community? The site of the community. What the people in the community are seeking. The family. The home and the community. The making of Americans. The relations between the people and the land. What the community is doing for the health of the citizen. Education. The community and religious life. Second half year: Protection of life and property. The citizen in business life. Relation of government to business life. Transportation and communication. Civic beauty. Dependents, defectives, and delinquents, and what the community does for them. How the community governs itself. Changes in methods of self-government. The government of rural communities-township and county. First half year: United States history from colonization through the administration of J. Q. Adams. Second half year: United States history from the administration of Andrew Jackson to the present. COMMENTS. The eighth-grade course in civics is the culmination of the civic training of the child in the elementary school. It is "not primarily an analysis of government. . . . . In fact, the study of government should not be gone into too deeply." It is intended to give the pupil an organized conception of what his membership in the community means. Government is discussed throughout the course as the supreme means by which the entire community may cooperate for the common welfare. At the end of the course the main features of governmental organization are discussed in the light of what has preceded. The real object of study is the actual community life in which the children participate. The study of Indianapolis is therefore prominently in the foreground. But the course is by no means merely a local study. The children are as truly members of a State and a national community as of the local. Local, State, and national relations are discussed in connection with each topic. Thus, in the study of health protection or of the citizen in business life, for example, the pupil learns of the part played by city, State, and Nation, of their relations to each other and to the citizen, and that the governments of all three alike afford means of cooperation. A textbook in civics is used this year for the first time. It is, however, merely a guide to the study of the actual community, and an interpretation of it. "Magazine articles, newspaper items, information gained from pamphlets issued by city departments and . . . . through original investigation . . . . should constitute an important part of the child's education." The teacher exercises judgment in rearranging the order of topics suggested in the outline, in order to adapt them to current interests or to corresponding topics in history or other subjects. The topics in history and civics often directly supplement each other. For example, the first eight topics suggested in the first half year fit well with the study of the period of colonization. The significance of the topic "transportation and communication” in civics is emphasized during the period of development of highways, canals, and railroads in the nation. Geography does not appear in the printed outline for this year, but it is an important factor in both the history and the civics of the year. "It is suggested that when possible the teacher of civics and the teacher of arithmetic cooperate." "Community arithmetic," described in detail in the pages following, is given large emphasis in this grade. This Finally, the instruction of this year is accompanied by constant training by practice. Cooperative activity for the common good is the keynote to the entire course. phase of the work is suggested in some detail in the following pages. ILLUSTRATIVE SUGGESTIONS TO CIVICS TEACHERS. In order to illustrate in greater detail the character and method of the eighth-grade civics, the following "suggestions" to the teachers of this grade with reference to the treatment of the topic "protection of health" are given. References are included to indicate the kinds of materials used. A week should be given to the subject; no exhaustive study can be made of it in this time, however. Select the material for study and discussion with the following ideas in mind: To make real to the pupil the importance of health and of sanitary conditions to the citizen and to the community. To fix responsibility for health conditions of the community upon the citizen. |