THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF HISTORY TEACHERS.
BY H. W. EDWARDS, OF BERKELEY.
The first meeting of the California Association of History Teachers was held in Berkeley, July 14, in connection with the summer session of the University of California. The following papers were read:
“History in the Grammar School”—J. B. Newell, University of California.
“Emphasis in Ancient History”—R. F. Scholz, University of California.
“Emphasis in Teaching of History”—Roger B. Merriman, Harvard University.
Prof. Newell urged that in the grades, history be taught with more attention to the great fundamental facts and elimination of details. He considered that great contests, such as the American Revolution, should be used by the teacher to train the pupil in a broad tolerance, by calling attention to the merits of both sides of the question. He would have the teachers do more reading for themselves, and called attention to the need of more money for providing the schools with books.
The burden of Prof. Scholz’s essay was the neglect of the Orient as a constant factor in Ancient History. Many teachers and most text-books assume that the East ceased to exert a great influence after the time of Alexander. This tendency to divide Ancient History into “compartments” ignores the solidarity of the ancient world, and is essentially unscientific. Oriental influence was a powerful element throughout the whole of the ancient period. In conclusion Prof. Scholz called attention to certain parallels between the race questions of antiquity and those of the present day.
Prof. Merriman made four principal points:
1. Make history interesting—“better be flippant than dull.”
2. Compare and correlate. Example—the date 1492 becomes increasingly significant when one considers Lorenzo de Medici, Charles VIII of France, the conquest of Granada, Pope Alexander VI.
3. Relate the past to modern events and conditions.
4. Make the development of mental power a constant purpose.
In addition to these papers, two short talks were given. Prof. J. N. Bowman narrated the origin of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association, and urged the claims of both parent Association and Branch.
Dr. S. H. Willey, a member of the California Constitutional Convention of 1849, and the first President of the University of California, was present, and was called upon by the chairman. To the history teachers, it was most interesting to listen to one who had done much to make history, and to hear of the birth of the State from one of her “fathers.” Dr. Willey gave an interesting account of the conditions leading up to the convention, and of the making and adoption of the Constitution, together with references to the great struggle in Congress. He urged that the children of the State be made familiar with the facts of her history, and expressed a hope that the teachers would devote more attention to the subject.
The officers of the Association are:
President—Superintendent E. M. Cox, of San Rafael.
Secretary—Prof. J. N. Bowman, Berkeley.