144 W. B. Powell — Geographic Instruction. 



This preparation is not yet complete ; it must include a knowl- 

 edge of humanistic phenomena which he must get first hand, 

 for geography involves a knowledge of men and of nations, with 

 the conditions of their lives and their related industries and 

 commercial characteristics and achievements. 



The second circle of studies may well begin with the study of 

 humanistic iDhenomena. 



Now we study the life of the city in all its ramifications as far 

 as the child is able to understand it ; — the buildings of the city, 

 of what they are made, for what they are used, where the ma- 

 terials came from of which they are made, how these are prepared 

 and how they are transported ; home life under different con- 

 ditions such as nationality and classes ; home interiors, schools, 

 churches ; the uses of buildings, and their corresponding struc- 

 tures thus fitting them for their uses ; the streets, how they are 

 named or designated, how houses thereon are named or desig- 

 nated ; where bridges occur, why they are there, thus deter- 

 mining thoroughfares and principal streets by their causes ; 

 the occupations of the people; the productions of the city, 

 means of transportation, means of communication, means of 

 lighting the city ; the water system of the city in its details ; 

 the sewerage system, which leads to a knowledge of the use of 

 the river as a scavenger ; all of which knowledge, with much 

 more that cannot here be enumerated, is gained by actual ob- 

 servation and experience and, if properly done, helps to lay the 

 foundation for a correct understanding of geography ; helps to 

 prepare the child for the study of other cities which he may not 

 have visited, but of which he may know by reading and by com- 

 parison with the facts of his ow^i city which he has studied. This 

 group of facts should be taught thoroughly and with great care. 



Children twelve years of age are found in the city who have 

 never seen the White House, who do not know the relative posi- 

 tions of the Capitol and the Treasury. Children, graduates of 

 the high school, are found who have never seen the Soldiers' 

 Home and do not know what it is for ; who do not know how 

 Washington is supplied with water, or understand the meaning 

 of the name Conduit road. Such children are not found in great 

 numbers, but that a few have been found suggests that others 

 may have been ill-prepared for the study of geographic text, and 

 that perhaps all have had less preparation by contact with 

 things than they should have had. 



Another group of phenomena to which the children's minds 



