230 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



give them facts that they will use, and to train them in 

 solving problems so that they may each take a useful place 

 in society. College and university training without this 

 point of view does not develop the best teachers for the 

 secondary school. 



We in the high school are somewhat dependent upon the 

 research workers for our text books. High school teachers 

 have had the courage to tax their time and strength for 

 the writing of text books. When they do this, some of their 

 university and college friends wonder if their knowledge 

 of their subject is sufficient to warrant the undertaking, 

 forgetting that what the high school pupil needs is a book 

 so simple that he can read and understand it, dealing with 

 phases of the subject which touch life as he knows it, and 

 giving him only the most obvious facts which he will need 

 later on. He does not need a carefully compiled, logically 

 arranged treatise on the subject. 



The work of investigators in departments of education 

 is becoming increasingly valuable to teachers of all grades. 

 The intelligence tests which are being worked out are of 

 great assistance in classification of pupils. In the subjects 

 presented in the secondary schools standardized tests can 

 not be worked out in such detail and definiteness as has 

 been done in silent reading, arithmetic, writing, spell- 

 ing. There is a certain definite minimum in arithmetic 

 which the experience of civilized man has made desirable 

 to be acquired by every one. We are all agreed that ability 

 to read with understanding, to write legibly, to spell words 

 in common use, should be acquired by every citizen. But 

 who can say in such definite detail exactly what should be 

 the possession of those who study History, Geography, 

 Botany, Zoology, Chemistry? Time was when people 

 thought it desirable to put into spelling books unusual, 

 peculiar, little used words. Now we have careful studies 

 made of the words most commonly used by children in their 

 own activities; studies of words used most commonly in 

 newspaper and magazine articles ; of those used by standard 

 authors. These lists are the basis of work in spelling. 

 Those who are writing text books to be used in the second- 

 ary schools need to be in close touch with the departments 



