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Finally, in what way does patriotism affect us? As you all 

 know there has been more or less Bolshevism in the schools, espe- 

 cially in the high schools. The authorities have been at their 

 wits ends to stamp it out and they are going to try the following 

 remedy: The>- are going to try to conquer Bolshevism by teach- 

 ing concrete practical American patriotism. They are going to 

 try to show our high school pupils that their political and eco- 

 nomic salvation lies in upholding the principles upon which this 

 government is founded. To this no patriotic American would 

 think of objecting or even disagreeing. But what is the specific 

 program to be followed? In the first place economics is to be 

 put into the last year of high school and no student may graduate 

 without passing it. An excellent and patriotic idea, we all agree. 

 Secondly community civics is to be taught in either the first or 

 second year of high school with a minimum requirement of two 

 periods per week for a year, and this is where we are directly 

 affected. Several high schools are giving all of the community 

 cix'ics for four or five periods per week in the first term or first 

 year, and biology is being forced out to make room for it. Now 

 what we biologists contend is, that while community civics 

 should be taught to our pupils, the place for it is in the elemen- 

 tary or junior high schools and not in the regular high schools. 

 I am saying this not simply because I am a biologist, but because 

 I firmly believe that no other subject in the curriculum has those 

 qualities which adapt it so peculiarly to first year high school 

 students as does elementary biology. 



I seem to be digressing somewhat from my topic, but I feel 

 that the situation is serious enough to warrant it; and unless we 

 are prepared to meet it, and, meet it right now it will not be at all 

 necessary to consider the kind of botany that is best for our city 

 high schools. 



But to get back to my subject. What kind of botany should 

 we teach in New York City high schools? In the first place we 

 should begin with the pupil's environment, the environment of 

 his home, if possible, or the environment of his school or of the 

 neighborhood of his home or school. This, it seems to me, is a 

 fundamental principle, a sort of pedagogical commonplace, but 



