There is quite a marked tendency to separate American government from American history in the fourth year of the high school, and to give a half year’s work in each subject. If American government is taught as a separate subject a text-book should be selected which allows the teacher to organize the course so as to work from the familiar to the unfamiliar aspects of government, from the local to the national aspects of the field of study. Several good text-books of this character have been recently published.[4]
The attempt has been made in this article to show how the history teacher can be trained, or can train himself, to organize thoroughly the field of study to be covered so as to complete the course in the time allotted and also bring out the meaning and importance of the study undertaken. Proper organization of the field of study will undoubtedly aid the teacher greatly, but such organization must be followed by successful recitation and class-room work. The next paper in this department will therefore, be devoted to a discussion of the training of history teachers in the organization of the recitation.
Instruction in American Government in Secondary Schools
A COMMENT ON THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF FIVE.
By William A. Schapes,
Chairman of the Committee of Five, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
The American Political Science Association has taken an interest, not only in the investigation and discussion of the scientific questions arising within the field of Political Science, but has also paid attention to the problem of improving the instruction in Government in our schools and colleges. To further this work a section on instruction in Political Science was organized at its first annual meeting. In 1906 the committee of five, originally of three members, was appointed to complete certain investigations which had been started in the section on instruction, the partial results of which had been published in a paper by the writer in the proceedings for 1905. The committee was required to ascertain the amount and kind of instruction in American Government being offered in the secondary schools of this country and make recommendations for the consideration of the association. In accordance with these instructions the committee undertook to collect its information directly by correspondence with the teachers in about 600 high schools distributed throughout the United States. The work extended over more than two years, the final report being read at the Richmond meeting in December, 1908, and published in the proceedings for that year.
The point on which the report lays greatest stress, namely, the necessity of teaching Government as a distinct subject in the secondary schools, was expressly approved by the association without a dissenting vote. It does not follow, of course, that the report expresses the views of every member of that association, in every particular. In fact it does not. The report does represent the views of the entire committee after making an exhaustive study of the question.
The report covers 38 pages of the proceedings, and is therefore too elaborate to be properly presented in a brief article. Only a few of the essential features will be referred to.