civics 323 



of training and discipline in the home or the school rather 

 than upon the child himself. Short, pointed, friendly talks 

 with the children help wonderfully in establishing a general 

 response to genuine, kindly courtesy; and, since such talks 

 help form the child's character, they are an important and 

 legitimate division of civics, the making of the future citi- 

 zen. 



There should be informal discussions with the children in 

 which they express their own opinions on such points as 

 kindness to each other at home; or at school, where there 

 is less intimacy than in the narrower circle of home and 

 immediate friends. Between persons where there is no 

 desire for a close friendship, there may still be that courte- 

 ous friendliness that makes even strangers feel at ease in 

 each other's presence. Discuss in a similar way the honesty 

 that precludes cheating in school as well as stealing money ; 

 respect for the old and infirm; unselfishness; the bravery 

 that dares stop a fight, or use correct language on the play- 

 ground in place of slang; manliness and womanliness. 



The subject matter must be adjusted constantly to the 

 maturity of the class. Lessons on the postman in the first 

 or second grade should be so different from any treatment of 

 the post-office in the fourth grade, that the children have no 

 sense of repetition of old material. The same is true of 

 every topic. The work that belongs to one's own grade is 

 what should be attempted, not that of a year or two in 



advance. 



GRAMMAR GRADES 



Instruction in the grammar grades includes a maturer 

 treatment of the topics used in the primary grades and the 



