precious to be wasted in the acquisition of any but the most
useful and usable knowledge and experience.
208 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING
In an effort to make the curriculum of the elementary
public school the best means through which the child may
acquire the fundamentals of a hberal education and the
foundation at least of his preparation for practical life, it
has been often revised and greatly modified during the past
few years. Many of the time-honored subjects of the course
of study that do not relate directly to life and everyday
experiences have been discarded, and others which have real
value in interpreting our present civilization and in prepar-
ing the young for life have taken their places. For example,
the tedious and mechanical exercises in parsing are no
longer heard, and the time once wasted upon them is now
spent in more practical exercises in the correct use of Eng-
lish. The time formerly devoted to the tiresome and useless
memorizing of historical dates is now used to better purpose
in the study of such matters as discoveries and inventions,
the growth of industries, the logical sequence and relation
of events, the evolution of the human race, and the devel-
opment of civilization in general.
In order that the child's time may be employed prop-
erly in making his preparation for life, it is important that
the most useful subject-matter be presented to him. To this
end it must be tested and evaluated with direct reference
to its serving the ultimate and immediate aims of educa-
tion better than any other available material. The tests
which should be applied to all subject-matter before it is
given a place in the school curriculum are whether it can be
made a means of the all-around development and prepara-
tion of the child for his place in society, whether it will serve
as a basis for subsequent cultural and vocational education
and training, and whether it will help the pupil to under-
stand the civilization of to-day. In order that subject-
matter may meet these tests, it must satisfy certain require-
ments. A brief discussion of these requirements will perhaps
SUBJECT-MATTER 209
make more clear the kind of subject-matter that should be
used and what it must contain.
1. Subject-matter must furnish material for teaching: —
(1) General and fundamental facts of world knowl-
edge.
(2) Universal experiences and concepts.
(3) The character of our national civilization.
(4) The intellectual tools or symbols of knowledge.
2. Subject-matter must contain material that is useful: —
(1) For its cultural value.
(2) For giving instruction in vocational guidance.
3. Subject-matter must be selected from all fields of
knowledge.
4. Subject-matter should be adapted to the development
of the child.
5. Subject-matter must interpret present-day civiUzation.
Subject-matter for teaching fimdamental facts. The
subject-matter selected for imparting the information from
the great body of world facts that every one should know is
what is usually imderstood by the phrase, " Course of Study."
It is the "what to teach " of the majority of teachers. The
conception on the part of different educators of what is the
actual scope of the subject-matter varies greatly. There are
different opinions regarding the amount of information in a
particular branch or subject that should be covered in the
course of study for all the grades of the school and what
portion of each should be taught in a given grade. Educa-
tors disagree also as to the value of some of the branches
in the school curriculum and as to what extent instruction
in each should be carried.
An examination of courses of study prepared by educa-
tional experts often reveals these differences of opinion in
the subject-matter selected and in the relative importance
to the child's preparation for life which they assign to the
210 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING
various branches. There should be more agreement upon
the subject-matter to be used in the prei>aration for general
citizenship in order that there may be more unity in the
preparation and more homogeneity in our people. If the
fundamentals of the education received by persons in all
parts of the country were the same, if they possessed the
same general facts of world knowledge, the same national
facts, and the same ideals of our civiUzation, the people
would be more homogeneous, the national spirit would be
more active and positive, and men could go among their
fellows in any part of the land, intelligently performing
their parts in any situation in which they might be placed.
The right kind of an education should prepare a person to
meet different situations properly, and the general educa-
tion received by a child in the pubHc schools should prepare
him to meet situations intelligently and confidently.
Subject-matter for teaching universal experiences and
concepts. It has been previously stated that the child inter-
prets new matter presented to him through and in terms of
his own personal experiences. As children's experiences are
limited to those which come from their environment, no
child ever has the opportunity for having all the experiences
or gaining all the concepts through actual contact that are
necessary for a correct interpretation of all the new matter
presented in the schools. Because of this much valuable
time is lost; for if the pupil has not had experiences which
will enable him to relate new knowledge to that already
possessed, he will make but little progress. For example,
there are many facts in connection with the life, growth,
character, and uses of plants, trees, and other vegetable life
which a person must know before he can understand how
a plant grows and reproduces its kind. Certain physical
features, such as rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, plains, val-
leys, must be understood before one can form a correct
SUBJECT-MATTER 211
conception of the earth. If these have not come mto the
child's experience aheady, some provision should be made
in the subject-matter for his acquiring correct concepts of
them. It often happens that the teacher must supply oppor-
tunities for pupils to gain certain concepts through direct
experience as a preparation for receiving new information.
It must not be forgotten that the basal concepts must be
acquired through actual experience, and for this reason
every available opportunity for gaining them through direct
experience should be improved. The child should be brought
into contact with his environment in such a way as to give
him fundamental experiences and concepts. The value of
the kindergarten is in large measure due to the concepts
gained by the children from the games and occupations.
Illustrations and experiences with material concrete objects
should be given in the recitation whenever possible. A man's
knowledge and also his abiUty to gather added information de-
pend upon the number of useful concepts he possesses; hence
it is important that he accumulate as large a store of such
concepts as he can. Since the basal concepts are acquired
largely in childhood and new knowledge is interpreted and
acquired by means of these, it is evident that provision
should be made in the curriculum for subject-matter that
is rich in concept-forming material.
Relation of subject-matter to present civilization. Subject-
matter should bear a close relation to the life of the present
day, and the test which must be applied in selecting it is
whether it does pertain to or interpret the present civiliza-
tion. Unless it will stand the test of the present demand
that it serve as a means of realizing this educational aim,
it should not be given a place in the course of study nor
should tlie pupil's time be squandered in acquiring it. The
course of study in the American pubhc school should grow
out of and represent the complex civilization of the America
812 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG
of to-day. If it did, then to acquire the subject-matter in our
pubHc schools would be to understand American civiHzation
and become acquainted with American ideals both national
and individual. In evaluating subject-matter upon the ba-
sis of what it reveals of national life, it follows that the
material of most value is that which contributes most in
gaining a knowledge of our national civilization.
Emphasis should be placed upon the subjects which will
enable the child to know and understand the present. The
two general subjects of history and science including geog-
raphy are without question the most valuable ones for this
purpose. History gives important material from the past
with which to compare and interpret the present, and
science enables us to know and understand what is being
done in the world to-day and the conditions under which we
live. These subjects should receive more emphasis in the
school curriculum than they generally do; in fact, they
should be given the most important place in the course of
study for all grades and also in the high schools and the
colleges. It is the needs of present-day civihzation, not the
conventions of the past, that should determine the subject-
matter for the course of study for our schools. Tested by
this standard, what more impractical matter could be found
than some of that prescribed for college entrance require-
ments which determine the course of study for many of our
high schools? Until these higher institutions of learning
make present-day needs, and not the standards of the past,
the determining factors in arranging their curricula, we
cannot hope for universal reforms in the selection of sub-
ject-matter in our secondary schools. However, the many
changes from the useless to the practical, in the courses of
study in the schools in all parts of our country, give promise
that the subject-matter will more and more be taken from
the civilization of the present instead of that of the past.
SUBJECT-MATTER 213
Subject-matter for teaching symbols of knowledge. The
entu'e effort of the teachers of the lower grades was formerly
concentrated upon teaching children the tools or symbols of
knowledge, quite apart from any subject-matter in which
they might be interested or from which they might gain any
useful knowledge. This made learning to read, to spell, or to
"do number work" a laborious and irksome task. More-
over, the pupil's progress was based entirely upon the
objective result of learning the symbols, and the subjective
result was altogether ignored. It has at length been discov-
ered that these and all the other symbols of knowledge can
be taught just as thoroughly, and usually more quickly,
if presented in connection with subject-matter contauiing
useful facts and ideas which the pupil should learn. Besides,
the presentation of concrete matter makes the subject more
interesting to the learner and faciUtates his acquisition of it.
With the introduction of pedagogical principles into
teaching, teachers have learned the value of using subject-
matter having useful content for the teaching of the symbols
of knowledge and, as a result, they have turned their efforts
toward providing the pupil with useful subject-matter which
will serve as the material through which he will gain a mas-
tery over words, numbers, and other necessary symbols.
With this new plan the child gains much useful information
while learning to read, to spell, and to multiply, — in short
while acquiring skill in the use of all the tools of knowledge.
By this means much of the former waste in the child's
school day is corrected, for while acquiring a knowledge of
the symbols, he makes real growth in the acquisition of val-
uable information and in vital subjective results.
Matter for its cultural value. Education is frequently
thought of as being synonymous witli knowledge, and is
spoken of in the quantitative sense as indicating a large
amount or quantity of knowledge. There are, however,
214 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING
subjective results in education that are quite as positive as
quantitative knowledge. One of these results to the indi-
vidual is termed '' culture." Among the results of education
this one is considered of such importance that an individual
who does not acquire it during the process of education is
not considered an educated person no matter how much
knowledge he may have accumulated. By culture is meant
that development and refining of the intellectual and moral
nature through education which gives one the power to
know, to appreciate, and constantly to enjoy the beauti-
ful in nature, in conduct, in art, and in life. It is directly
opposed to whatever is coarse, low, vulgar, and to all things
that by their nature are antagonistic to human welfare.
Culture is the phase of education that gives quality, finish,
and moral excellence to the individual. It is not a veneer, a
thin coating of polish; nor is it, like a social veneer, apparent
only in certain social situations. On the contrary, it char-
acterizes the whole life and conduct of the person possessing
it; for it permeates the entire fiber of the individual and
becomes an integral part of his whole nature.
It has been said that culture is a subjective result of edu-
cation. As such it grows, expands, and thrives through the
exercise of the aesthetic feelings and emotions. If these are
not aroused, there will be no growth in culture. It is there-
fore necessary that subject-matter should be provided that
will call these into activity. Although nearly every subject
of the curriculum has elements which if properly used will
appeal to the aesthetic sense, there are some subjects that
are richer in these elements than others and, hence, make a
more direct appeal to the aesthetic sense than others do. For
their cultural value these subjects should have a place in the
curriculum. History and literature, as well as all branches
of art, have cultural value and make direct ai)i)eals to the
love and a]>prcciation of the beautiful when there is the
SUBJECT-MATTER 815
proper background of information and emotion to make
possible an understanding and interpretation of the appeal.
Thus, music, painting, sculjiture, poetry, and other arts are
highly cultural and should in some form have a place in
the school curriculum. Nature is a veritable storehouse of
subject-matter that may be used for its cultural value.
Satisfaction and enjoyment in the study and contemplation
of nature is proof that there is cultural growth; and increas-
ing appreciation and love on the part of the pupils for all
culture-producing features of education will show the
teacher tliat valuable subjective reactions have resulted
from his teaching.
Subject-matter for vocational instruction. There has been
much discussion during recent years in the educational
world concerning vocational education and the duty of the
public school toward the matter. The two main points
around which the discussion has centered are, first, the age
at which a child may begin special preparation for vocational
activity, and second, what shall be the character of the
subject-matter for prevocational instruction. No satisfac-
tory conclusion has been reached, for the attempts at solv-
ing these questions represent merely the personal opinions
of the various persons concerned with the problem of voca-
tional instruction for the young. There is, however, fairly
general agreement among educators that a child should
receive at least a general elementary, cultural education
before he begins the formal preparation for a special voca-
tion. Vocations have become so numerous and their demand
so exacting that special instruction can be given for very
few of them in the public schools excej^t in those cases where
sjjecial buildings and equipments can be secured. To give
practical instruction in the industrial vocations requires
complete equipment and special teachers, which add greatly
to the expense of the school system. This extra expense, a
216 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING
large majority of communities do not as yet feel warranted
in incurring, and prefer to await the outcome of the experi-
ments along this line that are being tried in some of the
larger cities. In the case of the commercial vocations, the
average school cannot give much vocational instruction for
the reason that these occupations are highly specialized and
the school lacks the means for giving the necessary experi-
ence in them. It is true that most schools do give instruction
in various commercial branches, such as bookkeeping and
typewriting, for the benefit of those who are looking toward
temporary clerical positions; but this instruction is not
really vocational, but rather prevocational in its nature.
The demand for regular instruction for the commercial
vocations has become so great that commercial courses are
now provided in many of the colleges and in special schools
of commerce. The professions naturally require special
courses in colleges that have departments expressly for giv-
ing instruction in them. While the average pubUc school is
not equipped to give instruction in the vocations, all can
provide for some prevocational instruction and guidance.
Some suggestions regarding the means and methods by which
this may be done will be given in subsequent chapters.
Subject-matter from all fields of knowledge. The child is
in the midst of the complete life of the nation in which he
lives. In various ways he touches nearly every field of human
interest in one or more of its phases, and he gathers some
facts from each. In this way he acquires an unorganized
mass of information which must be arranged and defined
before it can become a practical and usable body of knowl-
edge. For example, he learns some facts of geography,
physiology, physics, chemistry, and astronomy; but he does
not know them as facts of any science, for his information
has not as yet been put into the universal language of these
branches. It must be organized and defined in order that he
SUBJECT-MATTER 217
may be able to add to it from the classified knowledge of the
sciences and thus increase his store of definite knowledge.
In the quest for facts of general interest which every person
should know, the course of study of the elementary school
should draw upon all sources of useful knowledge. Every
person should know some of the truths of natural history,
of geology, of chemistry, and other subjects of human
interest and should know them as facts of these different
branches of knowledge. If this point is kept in mind in the
selection of subject-matter, much of the general information
which the child has acquired without conscious effort will
be of great service to him in the acquisition of further infor-
mation and in the practical activities of everyday life.
Many teachers seem to think that instruction in the ele-
mentary grades must be limited to a small number of sub-
jects that are particularly easy to comprehend, and that
subject-matter to be used below the high school and the col-
lege cannot be taken from the general fields of human inter-
est. They do not take account of the fact that the child's
life brings him in contact with various departments of knowl-
edge and gives him experiences and fundamental facts for
his later study of these subjects. Further, they do not under-
stand that in every field of human interest there are funda-
mental facts and truths that if properly presented any child
can understand. Human experiences and knowledge are
interrelated and in such a manner that the basal facts of all
contribute to a clearer understanding of each. For example,
a study of the industry of wheat-growing includes some facts
about geography, botany, physics, chemistry, history, so-
ciology, economics, mathematics, and commerce, as well
as facts about agriculture. To such facts of general knowl-
edge as the child has already acquired, to serve as a nucleus,
the teacher adds other facts, and thus the child's knowl-
edge is continually enlarged and his experiences enriched.
218 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING
Subject-matter should be adapted to the development of
the child. It will be readily understood that all subject-
matter must be adapted to the age, experience, and under-
standing of the child. This adaptation of the matter to be
taught must be largely the work of the individual teacher,
since he alone knows the capabilities and experience of his
pupils. When he does properly adapt subject-matter to the
capacity of the particular child, it insures interest on the
part of the latter, with the corresponding ease in acquiring
the new matter. It insures, also, development of his mental
powers and a desirable subjective response. A teacher's abil-
ity rightly to adapt subject-matter is one of the surest means
of determining his capability and skill as an instructor of
the young, and his inability to do so marks him as inefficient
in one of the most essential features of good teaching. More-
over, the failure of the teacher to adapt the subject-matter
of the curriculum to the comprehension of his pupils, is the
cause of great loss to the pupils, to the patrons of the school,
and to the State.
This failure occasions loss of opportunity and consequent
loss of time to the pupil, not only in the present, but also
in the future, when the knowledge would have been of serv-
ice to him had he possessed it. It causes loss in personality,
for not only has the child been deprived of such instruction
as would develop his inherent capacities to their highest
degree of perfection, thus making his child life richer; but
it has robbed him of that development and foundation upon
which his future life would have been built. Because of
this he may be destined to fill a place in life very different
from the one for which he was intended by nature. To the
parents tliis failure means loss, because they do not receive
adequate returns in the education of their children for the
money they expend for the maintenance of the school. It
means loss to the State; for the educational loss to the
SUBJECT-MATTER 219
children affects their future citizenship and, therefore, the
welfare of the State. Any one who will carefully con-
sider these points will be convinced of the importance of
properly adapting the subject-matter to the capacity of
the child. Indeed, so important is the matter that the
teacher who has learned how to do this has gone far to-
ward becoming an efficient instructor.
Summary. From the foregoing discussion, it is apparent
that if the ultimate aim of education is to be realized in the
preparation of the individual for his place in the civilization
of the present, all the educative agencies must be judiciously
employed toward this end. The school, as the agent of so-
ciety in directing the education of the child, must select
and guide the various influences and means that have a
share in the educative process. The school must decide
upon the subject-matter and determine how it shall be
used for the attainment of the true educational aim. It is
through properly chosen subject-matter that the early
concepts growing out of childliood experiences are defined
and corrected. Properly selected and adapted subject-
matter enables the child to gain information and experiences
in the right sequence, thus saving much energy and time
that would have been wasted if it had not been presented
in the right order or in a form best suited to his develop-
ment. It is the duty of every teacher, from the lowest to
the highest grade, to make such a selection and use of the
subject-matter of the course of study that through it the
child will be able to realize all the benefits which it offers.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Course of Study, Yocum, chap. v.
Meaning of Education, Butler, pp. 17-34, 51-66.
School Management, Dutton, pp. 111-18.
Education and the Larger Life, Hentlerson, pp. 48-49.
Principles of Educational Practice, Klappcr, pp. 146-50.
220 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING
Art of Education, Howerth, pp. 127-36.
Teaching the Language Arts, Hinsdale, pp. 21-24.
Principles of Elementary Education, Bachman, pp. 183-204
Types of Teaching, Earhart, pp. 1-14, 16-21.
Changing Conceptions of Education, Cubberley, chap. v.
EXERCISES
1. If the subject-matter should largely grow out of the civilization in
which the child lives, show why a knowledge of botany is more valu-
able to the average child than Latin or Greek.
2. In a large high school a little more than three fifths of the time of the
whole school was given to Latin, German, French, and mathematics,
and a little less than two fifths of the time to literature, history, Eng-