THE HESPERIAN
stances tluit must be considered in ouch indi
vidual ease. I wish, howover, to cmphusizo
one thing, viz: that our energies are frequent
ly frittered away by attempting too much,
and thus leaving no cloar and distinct im
pression of anything. Dwell on a few topics
until they are understood; distinguish be
tween the important and the unimportant;
dwell on the one and omit or slight the
other.
At this point 1 conceive it may be neces
sary for me to put in a word of caution and
explanation for fear T may be misunderstood.
I do not intend to say that the entire time
given to the study of American history can
be, or even should be, thus spent in delving
over original documents. Much time must
necessarily be given to the study of the in
vestigations of others, in a word to the
study of the histories placed before us. I
wish, however, to make it as emphatic as T
can that the study of history is not the com
mitment of dates although dates are an
important item in historic study that his
tory is not even the acquisition of many facts,
if those facts stand unconnected with eacli
other in the pupil's mind, hence mean
nothing to him. When it is necessary to use
a text-book be sure that there is no mere
commitment of words to memory. You
must reach the child's understanding. If
you fail in this, you have failed in toto, and
the child has nothing for his labor. To
test whether the child understands or not
quiz on every sentence uttered, if there is
any chance for misconception.
sf -sf -J -S- vJ
Close your own book; rely wholly on
your knowledge of the subject for your ques
tions. Be alert, active, ready in illustra
tion, and for younger children especially,
full of anecdotes. Let more than one au
thor be consulted for every important state
ment. Observe whether they agree in facts
and in conclusions. If there are any dis
crepancies, look up the points in dispute,
weigh carefully all the evidence obtainable,
think and get your pupils to think, and thus
become more than a more hearer of a parrot
say "Polly wants a cracker."
Another principle in the teaching of his
tory needs "to be over before us, viz: The
necessity of constant review work. But I
believe the common method of conducting
reviews is entirely and seriously erroneous.
Wo go over the era studied taking every
thing in course, and then go over the same
work again in the very same order, and call
it a review. This method violates the prin
ciple of education that interest can bo sus
tained only when somothing new is con
stantly presented to the child's mind. It
is comparatively easy to gain both ends, and
where the teacher has access to even a small
library it is one of the simplest things im
aginable. Suppose the era studied be from
1780 to 1S20, the era of our country's his
tory preparatory to the struggle over slavery.
I will briefly describe the method I have
actually followed in my own classes as an
illustration of my meaning. In the first
place we take up each administration as a
whole, learning the leading events in it,
dwelling especially on the formation, devel
opment, and principles of the various political
parties, following in outline the interpreta
tions given to the newly formed constitution,
thus fixing fairly well in the mind the lead
ing events of the time. Then for a review,
we have a character study, one pupil present
ing an outline of the life and influence' of
Hamilton, another of Jefferson, still another
of Clay, and so on till each member of the
class has the life of some leading statesman
to review. The pupil in this work should
aim to show what leading idea his character
stood for, and then try to prove his thesis
by means of a careful grouping of the facts
of the life of the subject of his study. Next
we review the period as seen in its relation
to foreign affairs. Diplomacy and some of
trie leading principles of international law
are developed. In going over the subject
this time, we try to see how our nation's life
has been moulded by its relations to other
nations. Especially, the now principles, in
regard to the relations of nations, for which
our statesmen contended, are developed
and fixed in mind. There are other import-