An echo of the celebration was heard across the water in the action of the town council of the city of Newark-on-Trent, which sent the following address on vellum to its namesake:

"We, the Mayor and Corporation of the ancient and royal Borough of Newark-on-Trent, in Council assembled this 27th day of March, 1916, send heartiest greetings and felicitations to the Mayor and Common Council of the city of Newark, New Jersey, upon the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the planting of your city. We rejoice greatly at the marvelous progress and prosperity of the daughter city. This ancestor-borough of Newark-on-Trent was known to the Romans as Ad Pontem, B. C. 54, and as "Aldwark" to the Saxons in A. D., 450. The present name of Newark was probably a corruption of Newwork, either because of a new town built upon the ruins of the old, or because of a new work erected on our ancient Castle here. In the history of England this town has played a great part. It was here the struggles of the Civil War terminated by the surrender outside our walls of King Charles. Our Royal Charters date back to 1550, our incorporation to 1625, and thus our present mayor is the 291st of his long line. We recite these particulars as showing your city is linked up with one of no mean origin, and it is a source of glowing pride to us to note the fame and importance in manufactures, art and education which the daughter city has attained under your hands."

NEWARK'S FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE-SCHOOL PARADE

City School Campaigns for Americanization

The Chicago (Ill.) Association of Commerce has held several conferences to consider co-operative plans for the "Education and Naturalization of Adult Foreigners." The co-operation of the Board of Education has already been enlisted to the extent of opening day schools for aliens who are unable to attend the evening sessions on account of night work. During the last week of November mass meetings for foreign-born residents were held in school buildings, at which distinguished citizens made addresses relative to naturalization and good citizenship, and urged the attendance of aliens at Chicago's thirty-four evening schools.

The Detroit Board of Commerce Americanization Committee, in an effort to increase the attendance in the new term of the public evening schools, recently carried out the following city-wide campaign:

(1) 30,000 handbills printed in seven languages were given out at public offices and at more than 100 factories by Boy Scouts.

(2) 600 window cards were placed in stores in the foreign districts by school children.

(3) 800 maps showing the location of public evening schools were distributed among the plants.

(4) 30 large companies were requested to print and distribute to their men a statement of policy concerning attendance of their men at night school. In addition to an endorsement of the policy of the dependence of advancement in the factory on attendance at the schools, the statement concluded:

"If it should become necessary to reduce our force at any future time, we will endeavor to retain a man with a good night school record in preference to a man not attending school."

(5) 175 letters were sent to factories outlining the plan of co-operation with the schools and giving

material for bulletin boards.

(6) A mass meeting was held on January 5, to which were invited the 9,000 men who took out their first papers during 1916.

(7) A mass meeting was held in the Jewish synagogue to boost the four new evening schools opened in the Jewish section.

(8) Publicity material was sent to foreign papers and information to churches.

(9) A series of news stories was sent to the English newspapers.

Alexander Mark's translation of Rabbi Jehiel Nissum da Pasa's "Compendium of Jewish Laws of Usury," with comments, appears in the current number of the American Economic Review" under the title, "Description of the Bills of Exchange, 1559."

When I first began thinking about what history a student in the vocational courses should take, the question occurred to me- -what history as now offered do students take in the different courses of study in our high schools? To get some facts of some sort as a foundation for reasoning to a conclusion as to what history courses should be offered or required, I, with the co-operation of my colleagues in North High School, made a survey of graduates and present students of that school by courses of study to ascertain just what history is being taken by students in the different courses. I shall state some conclusions from that study as a basis for further discussion of this subject.

For the benefit of those teachers who may not be familiar with our courses as now provided in Minneapolis, I will say that there are seven courses of study, viz.: Manual training, commercial, home economics, Latin, modern language, general, and arts. The pupil elects his course of study upon his entrance to the high school. We offer the following history courses in connection with these courses of study: One year each of ancient, medieval and modern, English, including American colonial history, general, and commercial, and one-half year of civics and economics, and United States history since 1783. No history at all is required in the manual training, home economics or arts courses, but practically all history courses are elective. In the commercial course we require a year of general history, a year of commercial history and one-half year of civics. the general course we require a year of general history or a year of Greek and Roman, together with United States history and civics, practically all other courses being elective. In the Latin course we require Greek and Roman; in the modern language course we require in addition to Greek and Roman a year of medieval and modern, the other courses being elective, except general and commercial. These courses of study are being revised and will no doubt be materially changed.

In

From the survey mentioned above, certain facts stand out more or less clearly: One of such facts which will have a bearing upon the subject under discussion is that there is a marked tendency, where the students have an option between the one year course in general history and the two year course in ancient and medieval and modern history, for the student to elect the longer course, and this is done in an increasing amount in succeeding years since that option has been permitted. Another fact of interest is that in those courses where no history is required, where stu

1 Read at the History Section of the Minnesota Educational Association at St. Paul, Minn., November 2, 1916.

dents have so free a field for electives, while we do have all sorts of peculiar combinations, nevertheless most students who begin history elect enough history courses to really count for something in history work. Also in courses where some history is required and then history becomes elective, by far the larger per cent. of students go on with the history in the later years of the course, except where they took the course in general history. Now, what does this mean? One thing that it indicates to me is that the tendency among pupils with us is away from the short course where they have a free choice, and that if the student begins history he will likely continue in it. The lesson to me is that we as history teachers need to take steps to get the students to begin history early in the course, and that it does not necessarily follow that the way to get him is to offer a short course.

Of our seven courses of study, two at least may be called vocational, manual training and commercial. Of those graduating from the manual training course last year about 35 per cent. had had no history at all in the high school. About 30 per cent. had had two years or more of history, and the others had had less than two years of history. In all cases, however, where only one year of history was elected, history was not begun until in the senior year. In other words, in all cases where the student began history early enough in the course to permit the election of more than one year of history, the student did so elect more than one year of history. Not one of these students had taken the short course in general history. On the other hand, a rather striking fact is that in the general course, where students did take the short course in general history (as they were required to do in the second year if they had not chosen Greek and Roman history in the first year) comparatively few of them elected any more history than what was required of them.

By a process of elimination we can see why more students in the manual training course do not elect more history. In the first two years of that course, three subjects are required, the only elective being between history and a language. In the third year two electives are offered, only two subjects being required. Here, however, physics is one of those electives, and it is natural and proper that a student interested along mechanical lines should have an elementary knowledge of physics. For the same reason he will probably elect chemistry in his senior year. Now where does history come in? If a student knows that he will go to the university for an engineering course (as only a small per cent. of last year's class did) he should have a modern language. That leaves as the only opportunity history as an elective in the

senior year. One year of history is, therefore, about all that can be expected from those manual training students who expect to go to the university, but that is all right because they will probably have an opportunity at the university to take some history courses. Now for the student who does not intend to go to the university, but who expects to go into industry upon graduation from the high school. This is really the class under discussion, and here it is largely a question as to which has the greater value for the student, history or a modern language. And this question suggests the other one- -what values does history offer as a high school subject? This will be discussed later in this paper.

Now, regarding the commercial course. At present we require a year of general history, a year of commercial history and one-half year of civics. I believe that it would be the overwhelming if not unanimous verdict of teachers as well as pupils that this course as at present constituted is not satisfactory from the standpoint of history. I have two suggestions to meet this situation. The first is to admit students in vocational courses (and, if possible, require it) to the regular history courses beginning not later than the second year. This will necessitate a short introductory study at the beginning of the semester of the contributions of the ancient world to modern civilization. Our present text (West's "Modern World") has such an introductory study. To the commercial or vocational student the ancient world means less than it does to the classical student, and, if omission must be made, I believe it could be more properly made there. Then instead of having the unsatisfactory course as at present, the student could have a year of European history, with emphasis upon continental development, a year of English history, with emphasis upon political and economic development, and a year of American history and civics. This is a more thorough and a more interesting course, and the commercial or industrial phases of development can be studied in greater detail than other students may make by collateral reading and special topics along those lines, where other students in other courses may be reading on social or political topics, and thus a full rich course be given with the different lines of development studied together (as they actually happened in time) instead of (as at present) a smattering of political history from the dawn of history to A. D. 1916 in one short school year-and then when the student has probably forgotten most of those bewildering facts, a second dose almost as bewildering over the same road, but dealing with commercial development, is administered. Certainly one very definite result can be expected from the present arrangement all interest in history and things historical may be totally and forever killed. It would require the interest of a genius in history to survive that double dose that is at present being administered. Instead of this, without any other change than that of eliminating general and commercial history as such, and adapting the regular courses as above indicated to meet the individual needs of vocational students a much more satisfactory arrangement would exist. At

present in our courses in European and English history much emphasis is placed upon economic and commercial development, and stress is laid upon the modern period. In our own school, Cheyney's "Social and Industrial History of England" and Ogg's Social Progress in Contemporary Europe," as well as other books, are in our school library in sufficient numbers to make possible a class-room study in some detail. Of such topics as the medieval system of industry and the manorial system of agriculture, and the changes through the industrial revolution and the economic transformation in agriculture to bring home to the student's mind an understanding of present-day economic problems. An understanding of such a topic as the present housing and land problem in Great Britain, for example, would be all but impossible without such a study of how the, situation came to be as it is. Every student needs to make that study of industrial development and most of all the vocational. It could very well be done at the same time. In American history we have a semester for the national period (the colonial period being treated with English history where it of right belongs). This makes possible the giving of considerable attention to economic development. As we use Cheyney's Social and Industrial History of England" for the economic side of English history, so we have many copies of Bogart's "Economic History of the United States," together with Coman and Moore. The economic development is treated along with the political. For example, one cannot get a proper understanding of the period between the war of 1812 and the annexation of Texas unless a careful study be made of the economic forces which were working and shaping political movements during the period. The study of the tariff cannot be fully understood unless at the same time westward development, the public lands, internal improvements, and the rise of a labor agitation be studied. Such a topic as the Webster-Hayne debate cannot be correctly interpreted unless there be an explanation of the interaction of all of these forces. The question of the merchant marine and the decline of shipping means something to the student if he has such an all-around development of the subject as the events actually happened. Because I believe it a mistake to have the high school student to attempt a specialized course in any line of development as industrial and commercial history without first having a thorough course in the general development of Europe and America, I believe it much better not to attempt a division of courses in history for the so-called Vocational courses. This is my first proposition.

My second one is that if this plan could not meet the approval of the makers of the courses of study, and they insisted upon organizing separate classes for the students in the vocational courses, a two years' course in European history with some such texts as Robinson and Breasted and Robinson and Beard "Outlines of European History" (not necessarily those books, of course) be used, with emphasis along the lines indicated above. It is difficult in actual practice, however, to run two sets of history courses at the same time in the same school. There would

be conflicts of classes, and we would find it necessary at times to assign vocational students to the regular history classes anyway, so I therefore maintain that it is better for the vocational student and less confusing for the program of recitations to combine the two in the regular classes. I believe it much better to keep the continuity and richness of the four years' course intact, and let the vocational student take what he can of it, trying to get him to take at least three years of it, but being sure above everything else that what he does take is good. I believe this for the reasons which follow.

The question at issue really is, should the history course be shortened or should a short history course be encouraged especially for those students whose formal education is to end with the high school. Before we can answer that question we must first determine the goal of history instruction. We history teachers, of course, believe in history instruction, but we are perhaps puzzled at times by the question as to just why history is a valuable subject of study for high school students.

Is the great aim of history instruction the securing a knowledge of the principal facts which have been recorded in the progress of man from the earliest days up to the great present? Yes, indeed, it is that, but it is also much more. A knowledge of certain facts is of fundamental importance in history work. There must be memory drills-drudgery, perhaps, you may call it—to make the fundamental facts stick in the pupil's memory. He should master certain facts so well that they will become a part of his permanent store of knowledge. The importance of this phase of the work must not be minimized, and, incidentally, it might be stated that this is much easier said than done. Many of the makers of our courses of study, however, and most of the advocates of a shorter course probably think this to be the only aim of history instruction. If it were the only aim, history teaching would be a very disappointing proposition. Who has not experienced the disappointment of asking students for fundamental facts or dates, things which they should by all means know, and found them woefully lacking? Teachers of senior subjects often experience this, and perhaps have a tendency to charge it to the negligence of the teachers in the earlier years of the course, and no doubt university teachers have experienced it, and have felt at times like charging it up to all of us high school teachers. If a teacher has the rather disappointing but very valuable experience, however, of having the same students that he had in a previous semester, and finds that facts that were emphasized and drilled on during the previous term have not been retained as he fondly hoped they would be, and he cannot charge it up to the negligence of some other teacher, and he knows that those facts were emphasized and drilled upon and seemingly mastered, it raises the question sometimes as to whether history instruction is really worth while, if a permanent knowledge of a very long list of facts is the sole or great aim of history instruction. If it be granted that a knowledge of certain

facts is the raison d'etre of history instruction, and if history teachers or school authorities should agree upon just what facts are of fundamental importance, and if it be further provided that such lists of facts be not too long a list, then a short course over several centuries of time might have some reason for being. Before deciding the question yet, however, let us see what further values history may have as a subject of study.

History instruction should help lay a foundation for sound thinking, and it should emancipate the mind from wrong habits of thought. For example, a common weakness among men is "jumping at a conclusion," of forming an opinion before all the facts are known, and then perhaps seeking facts to uphold that opinion and rejecting those facts which are contrary to that already formed opinion. History instruction should help set up habits of open- and fair-mindedness. It should give training in impartially looking at both sides of a question, and carefully weighing the evidence pro and con before reaching a final conclusion. It must deal with the weighing of probabilities as well as of facts. Our conclusions on the problems we meet in every-day life must be based to a large extent upon probabilities. We need to get all the available facts, but most of our vital decisions on every-day practical questions must come from weighing probabilities. A business man cannot always mathematically prove in advance that his adventure will succeed. He must have all the facts, then weigh the probabilities, and his final success depends as much, or perhaps more, upon the latter than on the former. No other subject in the high school affords such good training in this process of gathering and using facts and weighing probabilities as does history. This is a habit, however, that can be but slowly developed as a result of mental processes running through a considerable period of time. The highest value or greatest good must come from a repetition of the process until historical-mindedness becomes more or less a habit. You may tell a student in a short time to be historical-minded, but it is quite a different thing to get him to be historical-minded. The following quotation is taken from the editorial column of one of our Minneapolis papers a short time ago: "The discouraging thing about American political affairs oftimes is the lethargy of the American mind. The labor of thinking is irksome to many. Prejudices are easily appealed to, as the demagogue knows. But it is sometimes a task of appalling proportions to induce voters to use their minds, to reason things out, to follow logical processes of thought." The truth of this statement is beyond question. tory, if properly taught, affords just such a mental training, and is of invaluable service, not only to the individual, but also to the State. A short history course could do little in this direction.

His

Secondary education in general, as well as history instruction in particular, should be practical—it should meet the needs of every-day life. In our vocational courses, especially, we are too likely, however, to think of practical education only in the light of

making a living. School authorities sometimes act in making vocational courses as if the sole aim of education were to make a living. It sometimes appears that they almost forget that there are large social responsibilities for the individual as well as private interests. I maintain that any educational system that is supported by public taxation should of necessity include a thorough training in citizenship. Of all students, the ones whose formal education is to end with the high school, the ones therefore in our vocational courses, should have thorough training to make them good citizens as well as good stenographers or good mechanics. History and civics, if properly taught, offer that training, and should by all means be included and given sufficient time to get something like adequate results. Like telling a student to be historical-minded you can tell him in a short time to be a good citizen. But good citizenship is a habit the same as historical-mindedness is a habit, and it takes time to instill any habit that is really worth while. A short history course could do little along this line.

Then, again, history instruction should give a knowledge of many books and how to use books and libraries. Next to knowing the thing itself, the most valuable thing is to know where and how the information may be found, and to have the ability and interest to do the thing in a proper way. Here, again, it is habit and one that a short course could do little with, because in a short course text-book work is about all that can be done because of a lack of time.

Another thing that a good high school history course should do is, not only to acquaint the student as to how the world of to-day came to be what it is, but also to acquaint him with what the world of today is. This cannot be done from the regular text, no matter how good it is, for the simple reason that events of importance do not cease happening when the text-book goes to press. And frequently the authors of good text-books are negligent in keeping the book revised up to date. A study of recent and current history must come from outside the text, and, if the length of the course permit it, it is possible to use one of several good weekly or monthly magazines in connection with the history work. A magazine like the "Literary Digest" or "Independent" may be had for school use at five cents a copy. Pupils should be encouraged to thus subscribe for such a magazine, if one is not already in the home, and one period a week or part of one period a week should be given for this work. With such work running over two years or more of high school a student will not only acquire something of a knowledge of present-day problems, but what is probably more valuabe, he will have been trained to some extent at least in the selection of the more valuable things in magazine and newspaper, and how to get at and select and use the more valuable things. This habit is invaluable to the citizen, but, like other good habits, it takes time to adequately develop it.

Probably as valuable a thing as a history course can give is one that has been suggested at different times in this paper, viz.: a permanent interest in history

and in things historical. We must not forget that our product is an unfinished product upon graduation from the high school, and that a necessary part of his equipment must be the means and the desire for the acquisition of further knowledge. It is not to be hoped or expected, of course, that all of our students will be interested as much in history as we are. But it is our business as history teachers to leave with our students an abiding interest in the subject. Nor does this mean that the requirement of thoroughness in the mastery of the tasks set shall be sacrificed. Easy and interesting are not synonymous in school work. While thoroughness is not to be neglected, it is essential that such a degree of interest be stimulated that after the high school graduate may have become a good stenographer or a good mechanic he will likewise be a good citizen and interested in good citizenship, and how it came to be what it is and whither it is tending. Above all, our history courses should not permit a student to feel that he knows it all—that all history is within the covers of his text-book, and, having fairly mastered that, he has learned all there is to learn about the subject. Last winter in talking with one of my best students in English history, I was considerably jarred when he remarked that he did not think it necessary for him to take the course in senior American history because, as he said, he had learned all of that in the eighth grade.

We might go on and mention other valuable aims of history instruction, but enough has been said to make clear my main contention that history has values which are eminently worth while, but which require adequate time for development. What we need to do as history teachers is not so much to help construct a short course in history to fit into somebody's scheme for making good stenographers and good mechanics, but to be fully convinced among ourselves that we have something to offer in the training of future citizens which is fully as valuable and probably more vital in the life of the republic than the mere ability to make an honest living. Is it to be wondered at if our citizens care more for the almighty dollar than they do for the finer ideals of citizenship if our public schools emphasize vocational training and neglect training in citizenship? We should, therefore, first of all realize fully our mission. And when we have the full realization of our opportunity and responsibility it becomes us to fight to convince others, especially the makers of our courses of study, that what we have to offer is worth three or four years' work in the life of every boy and girl, and especially those whose formal education must end with the high school. As a minimum requirement, all students should take American history and civics. They will give us a hearing if we can show them that we ourselves know what we want to do and can do it. The word "Americanism," that we hear so much about to-day, is full of opportunity and responsibility for the history teacher. Unhappy events which have happened in our country in the last two years have indicated that we have not Americanized all the elements of our population to the extent to which we thought we had. The