HISTORY IN GRAMMAR GRADES 293 



of our great men, admiration for their energy, self-sacrifices, 

 and persistency, tend to elevate the ideals of children. They 

 can not study the characteristics of men, 

 Results watching a boy become great, as Washing- 



Gained * on > Franklin, Lincoln, seeing the strength 



of character behind the deeds, realizing 

 the difficulties to be overcome, without looking on life gener- 

 ally, and their own lives in particular, in a broader, better 

 way. One's own difficulties seem less when compared with 

 what some one else has overcome, and on which he has risen 

 to strong and noble manhood. From the warnings and 

 examples of history one should learn better living and 

 greater love for home and country. 



The following thoughts are from a fifth grade teacher 1 : 



One of the chief values of history work lies in the oppor- 

 tunity which it affords for teaching good habits of study. 

 Every day some independent preparation 

 of Study must be made by the pupil. This should be 



carefully assigned, so that too much is not 

 required in a given time. One of the principal reasons for 

 poor preparation of work in all studies in the grades is that 

 too much is expected for the length of the period for study. 

 Lessons half learned a few times lead to careless habits of 

 preparation that might have been avoided had but little been 

 required but thorough mastery insisted upon. 



Another fault is that the teacher works too much with the 

 class, too little time being given to independent preparation. 

 Some pupils thus gain nearly all of their knowledge from 

 class work, and almost the only habit formed is the destruc- 

 tive one of dependence. The chief value of working in 



1 Miss Elma Hopkins. 



