Some high schools are indeed devoting an entire year to American Government with excellent results. In fact, if the instruction in all the high schools could be brought up to the level of a few conspicuously advanced schools the main desires of the committee would be fulfilled.
In selecting a text the teacher should avoid the old style manual, consisting of the clauses of the constitution with comments. Such books are entirely out of date. They represent the first attempts at textbook making in this field. They never were good texts. It is rather surprising that more than a score of high schools reporting still use these useless books. The teacher should equally avoid the new hybrid text which attempts to combine in one, a treatment of History and Government. In the very nature of things such books must be confusing and distracting to the beginner.
It is equally important that superintendents and principals stop the practice of assigning the subject to any teacher on the force whose time is not fully taken up with other duties. No one can hope to teach Government with the best success who has not a genuine interest and an appropriate training for the work.
Lessons Drawn from the Papers of Candidates of the College Entrance Examination Board
BY ELIZABETH BRIGGS, TEACHER OF HISTORY AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN SACHS’ SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, NEW YORK.
In studying the reports of the secretary of the College Entrance Examination Board, the history teacher learns the disheartening fact that less than 60 per cent. of the candidates in history get 60 per cent. or over in the examinations. The proportion of the whole number of candidates in history who have received over 60 per cent. for the past eight years is as follows:
| 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 |
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % |
| 59.2 | 53.2 | 53.7 | 54 | 47.3 | 43.2 | 50.3 | 42.8[5] |
It should be noted in passing that the lessening number of successful candidates characterizes not only history, but the whole group of entrance examination subjects. But further disquieting statistics prove that history has generally fewer successful candidates than most of the other subjects; in 1907 it was surpassed in this respect only by physics; in 1908, by German, mathematics and zoölogy. Also in the class of high ratings, 90-100, history comes near the foot of the class; in 1907, all the other subjects ranked higher except physics and chemistry; in 1908, all except Spanish, chemistry, botany, geography and music. That is to say, history makes a poorer showing than all the other large subjects, those offering a thousand candidates or more.
Granting that the demands of the examiners are reasonable, history teachers must conclude that the necessary equipment is not being furnished to their pupils. Although the questions are designed to test something more than a superficial knowledge of events, such a superficial knowledge, provided it be complete as to the whole field, would enable a candidate to obtain a rating of 60. The papers of the candidates are evidence that instruction has been generally omitted on one point, and has been slighted on three others.