METHODS OF TEACHING POLITICAL ECONOMY. 39 



text-book they note in the margins in a few penciled words the gist of 

 each paragraph as it is read ; then, at the close of the chapter, to 

 advise the reader to review it by means of his marginal notes, and 

 then make a general but brief synopsis of the chapter. This will both 

 save time and teach that essential thing how to study rapidly but 

 thoroughly. It will destroy aimless reading, which is so common in 

 these days of many books. 



10. In advanced courses, much of what has been said in regard to 

 these details will be less important, for the teaching is necessarily dif- 

 ferent in kind. Such courses naturally fall either (1) into those which 

 continue to study principles, as the systems of various writers or 

 schools of political economy in the past and present, or (2) into those 

 which treat historical or practical questions. In the former the lecture 

 system is unsatisfactory for reasons given above ; and the class should 

 themselves be constantly wrestling with the fuller discussion of sub- 

 jects in which they can hitherto have had only a general knowledge. 

 Experience seems to show that a topic, furnished with references to 

 writers, affords the best method of procedure. This, of course, implies 

 a good working library and a list of reserved books. 



In the practical courses a large part of the training consists in teach- 

 ing the student how to use books, how to familiarize himself with the 

 principal storehouses of statistics, such, for example, as the English 

 " Parliamentary Documents," or our own Government publications ; 

 how to collect his materials in a useful form ; and then how to apply 

 graphic representation wherever possible. The greatest good comes, 

 of course, from putting the student on his own resources at once and 

 forcing him to find his own materials, look up his own books and 

 authorities, and come to a conclusion on the subject assigned to him 

 independently of all aid or suggestion. The instructor can then at the 

 conferences take up a paper for criticism and discussion, or first assign 

 it to another member for that purpose. This is a feasible plan ; but, 

 if carried on throughout a whole course, it requires of the student so 

 much time that his other work must suffer, and, in addition, but few 

 subjects can be taken up in this thorough and leisurely way. In prac- 

 tice it has been found best to use the lecture system partially. One 

 subject can be taken up by the instructor at regular exercises, for 

 which he furnishes beforehand the references, and partly lectures and 

 partly discusses the subject with his class, thus guiding them steadily 

 over the field and directing the disposition of the time to be devoted 

 to each subject. In this way many more subjects can be reached 

 during the year. But the advantages of the investigating method 

 can be partly retained by requiring a monograph from each member 

 of the class on a practical subject of his own selection from a list 

 prepared by the instructor, and this thesis can count for attendance on 

 part of the lecture-work. In this thesis the student is pushed to do 

 his best to give a really serious study to some particular topic, and he 



