Mat, 1912.] 



443 



Education. 



to me defective, while I feel quite sure 

 that the subject can be taught more 

 simply and effectively by giving the 

 first half year to counting, and the 

 second half year to counting by tens; 

 so as to lay a foundation for the un- 

 derstanding of our decimal system of 

 writing, and writing numbers. The 

 second year should be given to addition, 

 substraction and comparison, and the 

 numbers dealt with should not be so 

 narrowly limited. Children who learn 

 to count, and to count by tens, can just 

 as well do problems involving thousands 

 and tens of thousands. The third year 

 should be given to the facts of multi- 

 plication and their application in multi- 

 plication, division, fractions, and ratio. 

 I do not believe ic is well to attempt 

 to teach the ordinary four processes 

 at the same time. There are in fact 

 seven processes ; the first three go to- 

 gether.and the second four, and they 

 should be grouped thus in teaching. 

 A long experience has convinced me 

 that much time may be saved and much 

 power gained by teaching arithmetic in 

 this way. 



" I do not clearly understand whether 

 you expect technical grammar to be 

 taught in the grades below the eighth. If 

 you do, it seems to me that it is not best. 

 Children as a rule do not understand the 

 generalizations, and an attempt to learn 

 them stands in the way of their gaining 

 a real mastery of language. 



" Spelling, of course, is best taught in 

 the lower grades in connection with com- 

 position work. In the fourth and fifth 

 grades there is need for a book that 

 classifies words according to their spel- 

 lings a little better than the one you 

 mention. 



"I want to commend most heartily 

 your plan of trying to base the develop- 

 ment of language oq the child's under- 

 standing of nature and occupations, the 

 language thus growing out of its own 

 experience. I wish also to commend 

 your use of what you call national 

 stories, also repeated stories and rhymes. 

 I know nothing quite so good or useful 

 in teaching language to small children 



as such stories as The old woman and her 

 pig, The house that Jack buitt ,etc. 



" I think Mr. Boykin's adverse criticism 

 of the history work of the eighth grade 

 is based on a misunderstanding of what 

 you intend. I suppose that you intend 

 to make the period of American history 

 designated the real history work of that 

 year, and that the incidents and parts 

 of European history referred to are to 

 be used as collateral work, thus follow- 

 ing the Herbartain idea as set forth 

 especially by Doctor McMurry in his 

 book on Special method in history, If 

 this is so, I commend it most heartily. 



"If at any time you should come to 

 Washington, it would give me the very 

 greatest pleasure to talk with you about 

 your work in Hawaii. I am sure you 

 will have much to tell me that will be 

 very interesting and valuable 



"P.S. — To make this course of study 

 serviceable to the teachers, it ought to 

 be outlined in detail with some suggest- 

 ion as to order of the subjects in the 

 several years, to the time to be devoted 

 to the various parts of the subjects, and 

 the means of correlating them. If the 

 Bureau can be of any service in helping 

 you do this, let me know." 



The following is a copy of a course of 

 study for country schools proposed by 

 the N.E.A. in report for 1905, pages85-86, 

 with some notes on causes of retardation : 



Country School Course. 

 (The course below is given only as a 

 sort of guide and a standard which all 

 country schools may strive to reach.) 



First Year. 



Reading Writing 



Spelling Music 



Language Nature Study 



Number work General exercises 



Second Year, 

 Reading, using in part themes from 

 nature, the farm and the home 

 Spelling Hygiene 

 Language History 

 Number work Drawing 

 Nature Study General exercises 

 Music Writing 



