52 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



for entrance or take it up on entering college, it would be altogether to 

 his advantage to induce him to take it up in the high school. And this 

 could in most cases be accomplished, particularly if he could know that 

 it would result in the saving of time. 



As for English, it is a recognized fact that the first college courses 

 in composition and literature are of an elementary character, quite 

 within the reach of the high school to accomplish in the time now 

 devoted to the study. This as recognized by the practise of some colleges 

 which allow the better trained pupils credit for these courses on proving 

 by examination, and in some cases by the recommendation of their high- 

 school instructors, that they are competent to go on with more advanced 

 work. First-class high schools are able to give the preparation required 

 for the present college courses in three years. A great gain would be 

 made in training high-school pupils in the effective use of the vernacu- 

 lar both in speaking and writing, if not only the teachers of English, 

 but those of all subjects, would come to share in this training. At 

 present the pupil feels that high standards of form are required only in 

 the English class rooms. If in history, science and other subjects, the 

 same standards of form in the notes and papers and in spoken language 

 were required as in the English classes, our students would be better 

 prepared for college in less time than is now devoted to the work. Many 

 papers required in other departments might also be used to meet the 

 requirement for written work in English, thus saving time which the 

 pupil devotes to the preparation of themes used by the English teacher 

 alone. 



In science, the preparation at present required by colleges is doubt- 

 less of a more specialized form than our high schools can profitably 

 give to the large number of pupils who will never enter college. It 

 should be possible, however, to organize courses in high school of the 

 highest value to the students as a training in the materials and method 

 of science, which could also form the basis for further work in college 

 without going over again the same ground covered in the high school. 

 High-school science would be more profitable in itself as well as for 

 college preparation if the various courses in the high school were organ- 

 ized in a more unified and progressive sequence. Their value as prepa- 

 ration for further courses in college would be greatly enhanced if college 

 teachers could become well acquainted with the aim and method of 

 high-school science. 



The situation in history may be described as similar to that of the 

 sciences. Of both history and science, it may rightly be said that some 

 and often all the work of a student has been taken in the earlier years 

 of the high school when he was too immature to pursue the subject in 

 any other than a most elementary manner. In this case repetition is 

 not only necessary, but desirable, if the student is to take up these sub- 

 jects in college. Repetition is not necessarily wasteful if it be from a 



