PERIODICALS "A Plea for Arithmetic in the First Grade." B. B. McFarland. Kindergarten and the First Grade, January and Febru ary, 1922. a The school should be a place where the child is permitted to grow up in the most natural way. If number work enters into the child's life at the age of four, five, or six years, it should be given chance for development, but if the situation is forced then a later time will suit better. A study and observation of child nature points to the fact that number ideas enter every early in the child's life. Children feel the need of number combinations as soon as they begin to express themselves. The number work as presented in the past, no doubt, had no place in the child's life, but this does not show, of course, that there is no number work suitable to the early school period. Several questions have been raised and answered. I. Is arithmetic too difficult for children of five or six years? Child study has often pointed out that the right sort of arithmetic is not too difficult for small children and that they are as able to reason as they are to memorize. of the concept. When the concept is well established by the means of objects, then abstract manipulations should be provided. The most imminent danger growing out of the use of object are: (1) a poor choice or selection of objects; (2) using the same objects in such a way as to establish too close a relationship between the object and the process or the concept; (3) passing from the concrete to the abstract before the concept is fixed, the relationship established; (4) adhering to the concrete with such persistence that instructions do not carry over to the abstract." IV." How, then, can the teacher determine a method in arithmetic so as to bring about the proper adjustment of subject matter and skill and insure against waste?" The selection of situations which contain the proper number material is at times a task, which takes much time and energy. The method of procedure is at times puzzling. The following points are suggestive as to material and method of treatment. The author discusses this subject under the following headings: (1) "Some suggestions as to treatment"; (2) "Finger-plays"; (3) "Rhymes and rhythms"; (4) "Stories"; (5) "Games"; II. Another question is often asked, (6) "Bead stringing, stick and block lay"What have we to base such work on with ing, construction"; (7) "Projects." The such young children?" There is a world following projects are discussed in brief: of very good material in the life of the (a) A Valentine Party, (b) Sand Table. child. When a child is playing with his The following are mentioned: "A Grocery many toys, he begins to feel the nature of Store"; "A Toy Shop"; "An Eskimo or a number in many ways by the method that Holland Sand Table." he uses to group his objects. As he gets older he uses the many things about him so that number has a natural setting and a steady growth. III. What is the best method? This is very well answered in one paragraph by the author. "The teaching of all fundamental number concepts should be done with concrete objects first and in response to some situation which calls forth a need The article as a whole is very suggestive to the teacher needing material for the early courses. "The Scientific Technique of Curriculum-Making." C. H. Judd, University of Chicago. School and Society, January, 1922. School people are attempting everywhere to reorganize school work, and there is no part of the procedure more important than the working out of curricula which are worth while and which suit the mental level of the child. The older methods of curricular study have been questioned, and new methods have been introduced in many places. The experimental-objective scheme is used in very many places. The objectives are determined in many ways, material selected which must be used to attain these objectives. After this material has been selected, it is tried under actual school conditions to find out the proper oganization for children. Dr. Judd in his discussion has raised many questions and has given a good discussion, but many of his questions are left unanswered. concludes the article with the following suggestions, "First, there must be a continuous collection of the newer types of intellectual material not now included in the curriculum and a scrutiny of this material to discover what is available for school use. Secondly, there must be evolved a technique for putting this material in its proper order so as to fit the child's mental development and the principle of economy of teaching. Thirdly, there must be developed a technique for the formulation of material." "Extra-Curricular Activities in Junior High Schools." T. H. Briggs, Columbia University. Educational Administration and Supervision, January, 1922. The junior high school is a democratic institution organized and administered on a psychological basis; at least this is the ideal situation that is in the minds of many school people. The organization set forth is to fit the peculiar functions of the school at the age of adolesence. The organization is still in the experimental stage and should not be permitted to reach its final growth without having the extracurricular activities considered. this school is growing up in a scientific age there is no reason why it should not receive scientific consideration as it is Since being formed. Do not let it just spring up and then have to overcome the faults later. Dr. Briggs has done a very good piece of work in getting up this report. He gives the following definition, "Extracurricular Activities are those legitimate activities not provided for in the curriculum." He works out thirteen principles which he thinks should be followed. They are based on the following ideas." First, they should offer the school its best opportunity to help pupils do certain desirable things that they are going to do any way; second, they offer a ready channel through which the school may utilize the spontaneous interests and activities of the adolescent, and through these lead to higher types of activities and make them both desired and possible of attainment.” Each of the thirteen principles is well discussed which makes the whole article give a very comprehensive view of the subject. "Word Knowledge in the Elementary School." E. L. Thorndike. Teachers College Record, September, 1921. What words are necessary for a child's vocabulary is a problem which should be worked out for each individual environ There should be a minimum list which is to be done before any formal school list is taken up. That is the minimum list should contain a set of words. peculiar to the child's environment and about things that he knows. A large city will have need for several such lists, and the children will not get full school benefit unless the local list is used as a starter. These lists must be in form for the teacher to use, or they will not be used. The teacher does not have time with her other work to go out and get a list of words to use. There is a vocabulary which goes with special subject matter and one which is used when one comes in contact with outside life, but these should not be taken up until they can be motivated. Take children of average intelligence and one may know at the beginning of school as much as the other will at the end of the year. The same word list would be of no use for both. Many lists have been prepared, which shows how school people are beginning to think on the subject of the selection of words. In this study Dr. Thorndike has collected some valuable material on the selection of vocabularies. He has in this article several words for the different groups. A careful study of the list will give one a very good idea of words that should be given. NOTES ON ARTICLES IN CURRENT EDUCATIONAL MAGAZINES "Mathematics in the Junior High School." D. Snedden. School and Society, December, 1921. A study of mental and social levels with intention of selecting mathematical subject matter which will be will be most profitable. "An Analysis of the Content of Six Third-Grade Arithmetics." F. T. Spaulding. Journal of Educational Research, December, 1921. A good way to find out what has been taught in any subject is to examine the texts used in that period. This is a study of the texts from 1906 to 1920. "The Place of Graphs in Business." Elizabeth Wigginson, Chicago Ill. Visual Education, January, 1922. Graphs are fast becoming the method of presenting business facts to the public and also to the managerial force. This article shows very well the place the graph is filling in the business world. "The Concrete in Arithmetic." E. J. Bronner, Principal of Normal School, Rochester N. Y. Normal Instructor and Primary Plans, January, 1922. Teachers are always in need of concrete material for actual class work. This is a discussion of material which may be used in the early grades. "The Duties of the Student Adviser." Rose E. Agester. School Review, Janu ary, 1922. In large schools pupils need individual attention at times, but there is no one responsible to give it. The student adviser as discussed here will probably help solve the problem. "Supervision from the Teachers' Viewpoint." J. C. Morrison. Journal of Educational Method, December, 1921. A discussion of what teachers want in the way of supervision and what they usually get. "The Program of Physical Education." D. Chase. Educational Review, January, 1922. A review of some of the important plans used in several places, with suggestions of a constructive nature regarding the future physical education, also legislation. on the subject. "The Intellectual Value of Physical and Social Maladjustment." W. R. Wells. School and Society, November, 1921. Physical and social maladjustments often cause pupils to seek social approval through some intellectual achievement when it cannot be acquired otherwise. Thus the physically unfit may be educated when the more able take to other lines of work. "Word-blind." Florence A. Cummings. Education, January, 1922. The troubles that people have in spelling are due to the language and not to the ability of the individual. A unique way of explaining our inability to spell. "Kindergarten Control of School Entrance.' Arnold Gesell. School and Society, December, 1921. A study of the fundamental principles which should underlie the organization of kindergarten and first grade work. A very comprehensive study of the nature of early child life. "The Predictive Value of Mental Tests." L. L. Thurstone. Educational Review, January, 1922. What do mental tests at high school age tell about pupil's ability to do college work? This discussion gives some actual data on the subject. BOOKS The Teaching of History in Junior and Senior High Schools. By Rolls Milton Tryon. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1921. Pp. 294. The writer of this little volume modestly explains, to start with, that a discussion which attempts to be so practical and concrete does not pretend to present the way to teach history but only a way. His introductory chapter is a painstaking analysis of what the history recitations should be, with the purpose of discovering the various factors essential in making it a success. As an analysis, it is interesting and instructive, but the mass of suggestions that grows out of it, if taken too seriously, would likely confuse the mind and paralyze the effort of a young teacher just entering for the first time into this field. Teaching is like walking; the beginner, at least, must not be made too conscious of all his little movements. If he only knows which way he is headed and is anxious to get there, he will learn to go ahead naturally and unconsciously. Too much attention to detail is apt to produce a pedagogical automaton or to cause teacher locomotor ataxia. Chapter II is filled with minute instructions as to how to teach pupils to study history. In chapters III and IV the writer considers the merits of "the five special methods of procedure" used most extensively in teaching high school history: "The Lecture Method," "The Textbook Method," and "The Topical, Source, and Problem Method." In these chapters he not only considers the advantages and disadvantages of these different methods and the circumstances under which they may be used properly, but also traces in an interesting and suggestive way the development of plan and method in history teaching during the past century or more. Under the head of "Progress Within the Subject" Mr. Tryson points out the chief obstacles that must be overcome in this field and suggests some "general methods of procedure" for overcoming them. The topics, "Written Work in High School History," "Measuring the Results of History Teaching," "Library and CollateralReading Problems," "Teaching Current Events in Connection with High School History," "Planning the Course and Lesson," and "The High School Teacher," which head the remaining chapters, give a pretty definite idea of the contents of the rest of the book. The reader of this volume cannot fail to be impressed with the exhaustive study that its author has made of this whole subject. He has put into it, not only the results of his own painstaking observation and experiment, but has also summed up in a masterly way, so far as was possible, in about three hundred pages about all that educators have thought or attempted in this important field. No high school teachers can afford to miss it, and an examination of its contents might be well worth while, possibly, for college and university instructors in this subject. E. E. Hill. Source Book for Economic Geography of North America. By Charles C. Colby. University of Chicago Press, 1921. Pp. 410. Price $4.00. This book comprising a choice collection of recent geographic articles and excerpts from various publications on North America, forms a valuable aid to the study and interpretation of the regional economic geography of our continent. The chapter arrangement is good and points the dominant environmental phases of the major natural regions to be treated, and their larger actual and some of the potential economic responses. The simplicity and consistency in the style of geographic adaptation of the materials drawn from widely scattered sources, render the book easily readable and teachable for college students, for whom the book is designed, and also make it a good teacher's reference in the secondary and elementary schools. Inasmuch as the book will probably not only be used as a text book, but also for reference purposes, more maps, physical and political, would add much in the interpretation and "fixing" of the text matter, the place value of the tables of statistics, and the good specific maps inIcluded in the book. Dr. Colby has done a great service for students and teachers of the geography of North America, in putting into book form such an abundance of helpful information from many sources, some of which has heretofore been unavailable to the majority of us due to a language barrier. It is this latter which makes Miss Alice Foster's contribution on Mexico, especially valuable. Alyda C. Hanson. Hand Craft Projects. By Frank I. Solar. Detroit: Bruce Publishing Co., 1921. Pp. 157. Hand Craft Projects is the first of a series of books which will contain descriptions of about two thousand articles which may be constructed by boys and others interested in wood-work. The first few pages are devoted to such topics as shop notes, lumber, equipment, standards and convention joints, tools, hardware, and finish, followed by various projects that may be worked out in wood. A working drawing and perspective sketch appear for each project with directions for its construction. Among the various projects presented are many original designs, that are very attractive and will prove a great stimulus and arouse the enthusiasm of anyone working in wood. There are also several "old time" projects that have been cleverly redesigned so that only their name has any resemblance to the hackneyed prob lems found in so many wood-working books. The book will prove to be an asset both to pupil and teacher in a wood shop, not only for its brief, concise, and explicit directions for constructive and thoroughly explanatory drawings, but also as a mine of bright original ideas, that have not as yet appeared in books of this kind. Emil Jabrosky. Manners and Conduct, In School and Out. By the Deans of Girls in Chicago High Schools. Chicago: Allyn and Bacon. Here is a brief and practical treatise on manners that high school youngsters delight to read. They laugh a little at some of the rules, but they really like to know how to behave at a party, or how to perform an introduction. The writer has observed the restraining effect that the general use of this book has had upon one of the big uproarious city high schools. Moreover, the influence extended to the street cars, where teachers were regularly offered seats by boys and girls become a little more thoughtful than formerly. The authors have given careful attention to behavior in the class room, the corridors, the lunch room, and at social gatherings, and have laid the foundation, as far as precept can do this, for real elegance and charm of manner in life outside of school. Once or twice, perhaps, the rules are a bit stiff; for instance, a fellow is warned not to whistle much, even at home, for fear of disturbing others. And it is hard for girls and boys not to assemble in chatting groups on the street, especially after school. The manual is brightened by many a quaint quotation from the Earl of Chesterfield, Franklin, Pope, Marcus Aurelius, and others. Mary L. De Frees. |