A Study of Current References
Another method of comparing school courses with common social needs is set forth in the following quotation:
At a meeting of the Committee on Economy of Time held in the fall of 1912 it was suggested that current literature could be profitably employed as a standard for determining the kind of geographical information that the school should provide. The proposal was to read current newspapers and magazines, record the geographical references, and determine from the frequency of these references the relative value of the various types of geographical information. Results of the application of the method presented at the meeting seemed to indicate that the content of geography as now taught in the elementary school would be greatly modified if materials were chosen upon this basis....
Miss Biester collected and classified the geographical and historical references and allusions in eighteen issues of the Outlook and the Literary Digest, representing a period of seven years ending with 1913. She found in these eighteen journals a total of 2,237 geographical references. The distribution was as follows:
Per Cent References to facts of location, size, direction, etc., which may be assumed to require for their understanding a knowledge of “place and location” geography 53.5 References to political divisions and facts of government which may be assumed to require a knowledge of “political” geography 25.1 References to industries, commerce, products, etc., which may be assumed to require a knowledge of “commercial” geography 5.8 References to people, customs, religion, education, etc., which may be assumed to require a knowledge of “social” geography 4.8 References to places as scenes of historical events, which may be assumed to require a knowledge of “historical” geography 1.7 Other references primarily of local or transitory interest 8.9 A grouping of this sort is obviously subject to the errors or peculiarities of individual judgment, but it may be said that the classification just presented is quite consistent with those furnished by other readers. Except for the absence of explicit reference to physiographical principles, this grouping represents fairly accurately the distribution of emphasis in the textbooks ordinarily used in the seventh and eighth grades. The physiographical principles, however, are precisely the “general” principles to which we referred above; that is, their function is broadly interpretive and adaptive; they “cover” a host of particulars too numerous in the aggregate, and too insignificant separately, to warrant specific attention.
Another suggestive grouping is based upon the frequency of references to the various continents. If one is to read intelligently the journals which formed the basis of this test, one will find occasion to apply one’s knowledge of the continents in approximately the following proportions (the maximum frequency of reference being represented arbitrarily by 100):
North America 100 Africa 4 Europe 73 South America 3 Asia 13 Australia 1 The principal European countries had an importance for the readers of the journals in question in the following proportions (giving England, as the country most frequently referred to, the arbitrary value of 100):[65]
England 100 Italy 32 France 80 Turkey 30 Germany 70 Austria-Hungary 24 Russia 35 Spain 22
| Per Cent | |
| References to facts of location, size, direction, etc.,which may be assumed to require for their understandinga knowledge of “place and location” geography | 53.5 |
| References to political divisions and facts of governmentwhich may be assumed to require a knowledge of“political” geography | 25.1 |
| References to industries, commerce, products, etc., whichmay be assumed to require a knowledge of “commercial”geography | 5.8 |
| References to people, customs, religion, education, etc.,which may be assumed to require a knowledge of“social” geography | 4.8 |
| References to places as scenes of historical events, whichmay be assumed to require a knowledge of “historical”geography | 1.7 |
| Other references primarily of local or transitory interest | 8.9 |
| North America | 100 | Africa | 4 |
| Europe | 73 | South America | 3 |
| Asia | 13 | Australia | 1 |
| England | 100 | Italy | 32 |
| France | 80 | Turkey | 30 |
| Germany | 70 | Austria-Hungary | 24 |
| Russia | 35 | Spain | 22 |