work of the semester. And so the experiment ended. Looking back over our twenty weeks of effort, it seemed to me that much of value had been accomplished, while for the rest we must look forward to future courses. My plan from the beginning had been to expose the boys to the great masters, in the hope that the serum injected in some degree would take, and result in a love of good literature. It seemed to me that the reading had been encouraged, that the quiet hour I had visioned and made possible had been beneficial, and that the disadvantages of the lecture and recitation method had been eliminated by our emphasis on the newer method of supervised study. The tests seemed to indicate averages quite as high as those obtained in previous semesters when outlines and tests, supplemented by a small amount of collateral reading, had been the vogue. The boys seemed to enjoy the experiment, and it will not have proved a failure if they continue to read.. About those who go on to college, the complaint no longer may be made that their knowledge of literature is thin, for they have a wealth of background resulting from actual contacts with an author's work, rather than a second-hand knowledge gleaned from a textbook writer's reading. My dreams for the future are threefold. I like to think of a day when visiting novelists, dramatists, poets, or essayists shall address the student body in literature at least once a quarter; when each classroom shall have a stage upon which the plays studied may be enacted by the students; when the walls of English classrooms shall resemble the walls of great libraries, lined with materials that no boy could resist. WANTED: GENERAL SCIENCE By PAUL I. PIERSON, Science Department, Chicago Normal College HERE were about eight hundred people who took the first examination given in Chicago for junior high school certificates. Of this number nearly five hundred passed. Of the five hundred exactly twenty-two passed the general science major. Though general science in some form is one of the backbone courses of most junior high schools, and particularly in Chicago, where it is given three times a week for the entire three years in most courses, it would seem that there is a real scarcity of teachers prepared to teach this work. This scarcity is further evidenced by the fact that general science and some of the languages are the only academic majors offered in the examinations for junior high school certificates this June. is given five times a week for a year. While the practice varies in the different schools, it is likely that from one-fourth to one-half of the first year science is general science. It has long been difficult to get teachers whose preparation and inclination fits them for this work. Many of the general science teachers in the high schools of Chicago are those who have been trained in one of the special sciences, and who teach general science only until opportunity offers to get into a line of work more congenial to them. First year science is given in all Chicago high schools in the ninth grade. Here it The general science movement is only a part of a greater educational movement which seeks a reorganization of material used for teaching pupils, especially of the adolescent age, from the standpoint of the pupil rather than that of the subject. This movement touches English, mathematics, and the social sciences, as well as physical science. In fact, this reorganization of material is an essential part of the whole junior high school movement. General science has thus become one of the major lines of work followed in most junior high school courses. But the difficulty of getting teachers trained to teach this seems greater than in the other major lines, if we judge from the few successful applicants for general science certificates. The reason for this would seem to be the fact that few prospective teachers have training in more than one of the special sciences, while many have training in none. Here, then, seems to be a real need on the one hand, and a great opportunity on the part of prospective teachers to prepare themselves for a less crowded field; in fact, one not crowded at all. It is the purpose of this article to point out this need and this opportunity and to suggest to prospective teachers to prepare themselves for this line of work. Eikenberry, in his Teaching of General Science, gives these qualifications for a successful teacher of this subject: 1. Knowledge. 2. Mental quality. 3. Executive quality. 4. Sympathy with pupils. 5. Independence. 6. Resourceful ness. There are undoubtedly very many teachers in the elementary schools of Chicago who possess all these qualifications at least to a sufficient degree to make them successful, except the special kind of knowledge. It might seem a formidable task if one is expected to be a specialist in all of the special sciences. But this is neither necessary nor desirable. Probably our special sciences in high schools have suffered because the teacher's training has been deep rather than broad. The preparation of the general science teacher should be broad rather than deep or exhaustive in any one field. Eikenberry (quoted above) further says that it should include earth science, botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, human physiology, and hygiene, with some knowledge of ap plication to agriculture and the industries. This looks formidable, but that is largely because science teaching in the past has been poorly correlated and we have thought of these departments as separate entities, while as a matter of fact they are closely related. To get the essential facts of these sciences for the "knowledge equipment" need not entail any greater amount of work than to prepare oneself for any one of the other lines of work in junior high school English, mathematics, or social science. A housewife has to be a cook, nurse, laundress, teacher, accountant, purchasing agent, and several other things, but even in this age of over-specialization a great many are quite successful at it. So the prospective general science teacher need not be discouraged at the prospect. In order to get a good idea of the newer educational point of view as applied to the junior high school in general and social science in particular, Van Denburg's Junior High School Idea, published by Henry Holt and Company, should be read. There are other books, but this is a good one. The Teaching of General Science, by Eikenberry, published by the University of Chicago Press, should then be read. This has less than 150 pages of reading matter and can be read in two evenings. The teacher should then procure Natural Science, by Piper, and Beauchamp, published by Scott, Foresman and Company, which is used as a guide in the Chicago junior high schools and will give a good idea of topics covered. Along with that, the teacher should make the acquaintance, as far as possible, of general science texts. Three suggested as suiting the purpose. would be Science of Every Day Life, by Van Buskirk and Smith, published by Houghton Mifflin; Elements of General Science, by Caldwell and Eikenberry, published by Ginn and Company; and Science for Beginners, by Fall, published by the World Book Company. If the teacher feels herself weak in the background of any of the special sciences Chemistry-McPherson and Henderson. Publisher Macmillan Company. Ginn and Company. interpretation of his social environment. We must rely on general science largely to acquaint the pupil with the so-called "scientific method". This is a method of study and research which, in the two past centuries, has made man a greater master of his physical environment than he had become in all the preceding eons of time. P. Blakiston's Son and To it we owe our modern industrial civiliCompany. zation. But we are at the dawn of a new era. Undoubtedly this new era will be one in which the "scientific method" will be more and more successfully applied to the social sciences, so that we may hope man will become the master of his social environment as today he is the master of his physical environment. What is this "scientific method"? It is simply an unbiased and unprejudiced search for the truth. It is an objective study of the facts of environment, the classification and grouping of these facts to ascertain their relationships, the formulaton of hypothesis to explain these relationships, the testing of these hypotheses, and the formulation of laws. Once these laws are discovered, man uses them for the control of his environment. General science can and should acquaint the adolescent pupil with this method of study and attitude of mind. No other study is so well adapted If one desires to spend some time in school to prepare for this line of work, both the Normal College and the University of Chicago offer summer school courses; the University College (U. of C.) offers evening and Saturday courses in subject-matter of general science and in methods of teaching. We are living in an age of rapid educational progress. The emphasis, especially in our secondary school work, is shifting from the subject to the pupil. The "humanizing" of our curriculum is going General science is in line with this program. It is, or at least should be, the interpretation to the pupil of his physical environment, as the social sciences are the to this end. THE AUDITORIUM IN THE GARY SCHOOLS By FREDERICK W. WECK, Department of Education, Chicago Normal College A PRINCIPLES CCORDING to the Gary plan, the auditorium activities are regarded as of equal value to reading, arithmetic, history, or any other subject or activity in the education of children. The school day continues from 8:15 to 4:15 P. M., and each exercise, with the exception of those of the lower grades, is an hour in length, making seven hours of classroom work for the day. The audi torium program is made to fit into the whole scheme of recitations, and is also an hour in length. A day spent in observing and investigating the workings of the plan revealed the following activities which were being put into practice through the auditorium so as to establish habits which would carry over into life situations: a. Having children take part in programs, thus accustoming them to ap pear and execute their part of a program before an audience as an an ordinary event in everyday life; b. Establishing responsibility for their contribution to the program; c. Developing acquired interest on the part of the audience by listening to a program which in a number of cases proves to be uninteresting. This feature was stressed by the program maker as of great importance since it carries over into real life situations so frequently. d. Fostering the idea of solidarity, a school spirit, among the pupils. Since there are a number of problems that can be solved only by activity, the auditorium is the place for them. e. Promoting and inculcating civic ideals and interests by rendering especially on holidays-patriotic programs. THE STORY OF A SUPERINTENDENT Mr. Wirt, Superintendent of Schools at Gary, Indiana, was formerly employed in like capacity in the town of Blufton, Indiana. While there, so the story goes, he conceived the idea that it would be greatly to the advantage of the boys of the town to gather on a common playground after school hours and to engage in such sports as would be of interest to all boys, whether in school or out. To this end, he rented, at his own expense, a large meadow adjacent to the school. He invited all He invited all boys to take part in games of various kinds. He succeeded in getting a motley array, and much interest and excitement. Par ents living near soon protested against the whole scheme, since they could not endure the kind of language that frequently emanated from the playground. Mr. Wirt called a meeting, inviting all parents to attend. At this meeting he explained his plan and answered arguments and criticisms. He made it clear to the people of Blufton that their boys had not learned this language on the playground, but on the street corners, in alleys, and poolrooms, and that it was his purpose to "public-view" this unseemly phase of boy life, by which means, since public opinion is powerful, he would be able, in the course of time, to control it. He stated, further, that town boys have too much leisure; that instead of being employed advantageously to themselves and community after school hours, these idle times result as a detriment to both, and that he therefore proposed to use supervised playgrounds as a means of regulating boys' activities during these leisure times. How shall this leisure time be used so as not to be a detriment to the child or the community? Shall it be directed or left undirected? In the adult world there is no force, no organized power aiming directly at controlling or directing people's activities during their leisure time. What means and efforts there are for usefully and pleasantly using this leisure time of the adult world is such that participation on the part of the individual is purely voluntary. Lectures, concerts, art galleries, places of amusement, etc., are all, or nearly all, under private direction. The public has little used, or little thought of using its leisure time to good advantage. In the case of the adult, whose habits toward things are more or less stabilized, are fixed, whose ways of life and attitude little can be done. It is the youth, young men and young women, children of all ages whose habits are forming, whose ideals are not set up or stabilized, whose manifest themselves, it is these, the fuinstincts in part are just beginning to leisure now will be a determining factor ture generation, on whom the use of in the usefulness of their future years and the positions they will fill in society. THE LARGE AND SMALL AUDITORIUM In the construction of an auditorium for school purposes two ideals have been prominent: 1. The idea of serving the whole school at any one time, as on holidays, when a special program is presented and the whole school takes part, or when a musical program or a play is given. These occasions are few, leaving the auditorium a vast void at all other times, save at commencement, when parents and friends attend. At such times the auditorium, no matter how large, is still usually not spacious enough to hold all interested. 2. The idea more recent in its development is that of serving only part of the school at any one time, but by being used every hour of the day, yet serves the whole school. An auditorium for this purpose need not be very large; a capacity of 300 to 400 suffices for a school of 3,000 membership. This form has been adopted in the platoon system because it is more economical in its construction and in its use. A small auditorium can be used every hour of the day, just as a classroom, since a sufficient number of pupils of common interests can easily be grouped together for a common program. For example, seventh, eighth, and ninth year pupils were grouped together at Gary, similarly tenth, eleventh, and twelfth year, also fourth, fifth, and sixth. Besides, there are certain activities which lend themselves much more readily to auditorium treatment than to classroom. Special teachers aid and direct the pupils in selecting their subject-matter, working out their graphs, and in securing devices necessary to to the proper presentation of the program. The amount of time given to the Gary type of program is one hour-the length of the regular recitation period. The hour is divided into two periods of forty and twenty minutes, respectively. During the forty minute division the pupils give their program. The remaining twenty minutes are used by the teacher of music for the practice of three and even four part songs, or the pupils listen to records on the phonograph for appreciation of classics. Sometimes the historical background of a song is sketched by the teacher, such as that of the "Star Spangled Banner", etc. When the hour is over, the pupils who render the program for the day remain on the stage while the assembly is dismissed and classes go to their respective classrooms, shops, playgrounds, etc., for a different type of work, while another group of pupils come to the auditorium, where the program is repeated by the same pupils as before. In this way the "programming" pupils get six or seven opportunities in delivering their programs, which means that they get well over their stage fright before the day is over and learn to deliver their parts with telling effect, without stammering or interruptions. In other words, they become master of the situation, losing whatever timidity they had at the beginning. They learn their errors and have opportunity to correct them and to discover the most effective way to present their material to the assembly. In each case there is a committee of pupils whose duty it is to take charge of the program for the day. One of these pupils announces the numbers of the program, another states the object or aim of the entertainment with a brief statement of the names, ages, grades, and accomplishments of the pupils taking part. At the close of the program for the hour the announcer asks for criticism from the audience, which is given freely and is usually of a constructive character. On certain days, such as national holidays, special programs are given of patriotic character, or, when opportunity offers, noted men and women are invited to make addresses. Thus on several occasions members of the Civic Opera Company of Chicago were invited to contribute. Once a month "Superintendents' Day" is held at Gary, when the superintendents of neighboring cities are called on to give talks on administrative phases of school activities. One day each week is set aside for moving pictures. These are distinctly educational in type. Lantern slides are also used frequently as illustrative material. The object is to vary the program in such a way as to avoid monotony, to |