the race has passed through in the process of its evolution; that, for example, he becomes in turn a savage, a nomad, and the rest. At least there is proof enough in this theory to justify the presentation at the same time of phases of history that are similar to one another and correspond somewhat to the present state of the child, without regard to their chronological order.

"The childhood of the race" is not merely a distant state to be studied in monuments and ancient heroic poems; it is an ever present fact. As far back as history goes there were living, side by side, nations in a state of advanced civilization sloping toward decay, and savages, as well as people just emerging into a semi-civilization. The racial childhood portrayed in Homer existed at the same time with the old and mature civilization of Egypt and nations farther east. When Rome was declining toward her fall, the Germanic peoples were just beginning to look forward to their toga virilis.

And it is so to-day. We have all stages, from ancient and decadent Persia, through the declining Latin races, the vigorous adult Saxon peoples, the young, undeveloped, but advancing Russian nation, the childish Filipino, to the African savage, yet in swaddling clothes.

Hence stories of peoples in a state of racial childhood may be obtained from any age, and for the purposes for which such stories are profitable, the era makes little difference. A group of stories of primitive heroes taken from many nations in as many ages is quite as good for ethical ends as one taken from a single age. And one order of arrangement is practically as good as another.

The best way to inculcate patriotism is not always to tell of our own heroes alone, and of their successful ex

ploits against their foes, but to give,stories of brave men who did brave deeds in war or peace, who made sacrifices, who lived good lives for their country, whatever that country was. Buddha, Aristides, Horatius, Gustavus, Tell, Winkelried, Garibaldi, Toussaint, Gladstone, plus Washington, Lincoln, and our other national heroes, make a better list for this purpose than our heroes alone, and in such a list for such a purpose chronology cuts no figure.

Chronology subordinated in Primary Schools. — In the primary schools the orderly teaching of history may easily be overdone, and the very end we seek be lost by an attempt to force chronology upon the children before they are ready for it. In the primary schools, then, where history is taught almost wholly for its ethical value, chronology should receive the slightest attention, and that should be confined wholly to the history of the United States. In the general history stories used in the grades no regard should be paid to the time order.

Relations that Primary Children can Grasp. - Children, such as are found in the average primary school, can have slight conception of the relations of effects to remote causes. The effects must be immediate and glaring for them. Moreover, psychological relations are much more easily grasped than geographical or political relations.

Injustice calls for immediate resistance, or poetic justice. Sudden danger calls for bravery. Moral emergencies demand moral courage. Suffering is cause for pity and help. "Freedom to worship God" is reason enough for the coming of the Pilgrims. The long, complex struggle of creeds and the contests of clerical and

civil powers which were the remote causes of the pilgrimage are meaningless to children. The noble triumph of Joseph teaches its own lesson and satisfies the instinct for poetic justice, whereas the ceaseless struggle of a commercial race against both the agricultural and the military, which the history of the Jews in Egypt really typifies, is for adults only. General Putnam riding down the perilous steps is picturesque and inspiring to children, and requires neither time relations nor philosophy to give it force. So the immortal story of Sir Philip is worth more to primary children than the list of England's sovereigns "in order duly set."

All of these historical tales rest for their interest upon a psychological motive. The relation of effect to cause is direct, immediate, and manifest. Hence, they are good stories to serve as an introduction to history. Groups of such stories, selected and arranged with regard to the natural development of children's interests, with an ethical rather than a political or an informing purpose, and giving especial attention to the history of our own national life, constitute the best material for history teaching in the primary grades.

In the Grammar Grades. In the grammar grades, naturally, increasing attention should be paid to the sequential order. The history of the United States may here be presented chronologically. But even in these grades, care must be taken not to overwork chronology. The earlier ethical motive has not been outlived. Nor have the children suddenly become able to appreciate the historical succession of events as explained by social philosophy.

In general history the psychological order still is better

than the time order. An orderly knowledge of world history is as yet beyond the children.

In the higher grammar grades, then, while the study of the history of our country may be pursued strictly in the order of events, general history should still be taught chiefly in selected incidents or series of incidents. Biography may give way to a considerable degree to the stories of great epochs, treated in an orderly manner so as to emphasize increasingly the relations of these events to consequences less immediate than those formerly considered. Geographical motives, such, for example, as the effect of mountain barriers between nations, and certain political motives, such as desire of conquest, may be introduced. The history of England and of certain other European nations as related to the settlement of America should be given with some fullness. Especially should the history of England as it bears upon the struggle for independence receive quite full and orderly treatment. Without such a background it is impossible to understand the birth and childhood of the American nation.

In the High Schools. In the high school the chronological order should rule, to make plain the dependence of the development of each age upon the preceding, and to give that enlargement of vision which constitutes one of the chief values of the study of history.

In the Colleges. — In the college the study should be, of course, chronological, but it should be more. It should be philosophical and should give the student an insight into the deeper human motives of action, out of which grow ideals, moral judgment, and an appreciation of the relations of both to individual conduct and to the progress of humanity.

CHAPTER XIV

HISTORY (Continued)

THE second of the preliminary questions to be discussed is the place of biography in the teaching of history. Should history be taught to children as a series of great events, the evolution of an ever changing society, or as centering about the lives of significant men? Shall we follow Freeman or Carlyle in our teaching?

Nature of History. - Naturally this inquiry raises the larger question of what history is. Is it a narrative of evolution due to countless unconscious forces, geographical, psychological, social, or is it the record of master minds controlling their fellows and consciously leading to determined ends? This is too great a question for discussion here, except as it touches the teaching of history to the young. Indeed, it can be answered only by a compromise statement. History is doubtless the result of both conscious and unconscious forces. Geographical conditions, the forces of earth, air, and sky, affecting man's physical wants and their gratification; psychological conditions—the aspirations of men and the consequent struggles to satisfy them; social conditions-the relations of men with men, governed by love or hate, need or greed, the never ceasing battle between those who would enslave and those who would be free,

these are great forces, and without doubt they largely determine the activities of individuals, and hence of nations and of races.