means follows that all students should be taught all these subjects to the same extent, or in the same manner. Their presence in a course of study insures unity. Freedom in their treatment, in the emphasis placed upon them, and in their correlations with one another, as suggested by the mental and social status of the pupils, gives the variety in unity which is to be desired.

Correlation Necessary. A proper correlation of subjects, allowing the placing of stress upon this phase or that, is one key to the problem. For example, the children of very many immigrant families need, for a time at least, to recognize the fact that all other subjects must be subordinated to the study of the English language. That does not mean, however, that no other subject should be studied. The same subjects may be pursued by them as by other children, but with a change of emphasis. Language cannot be taught alone. It is the medium for the expression of thought. Hence content" subjects must accompany the study of language and furnish thought for expression, else the instruction in language will be barren. Such content" subjects are the great fundamental interests of humanity, the laws and phenomena of nature, the ideals, the occupations, and the achievements of men- that is, that is, "nature study," history, literature, and the industries. But while all children should study these subjects, the emphasis and the portion of time given to each should vary as widely as do the children themselves.

Stress should be Varied. - In some cases the chief stress should be upon the "content" study itself, and this should be chosen with reference to the needs of the children. To those from poor and sordid homes,

literature and history, imparting ideals, should be made much of. To the children of well-to-do parents with aristocratic tendencies, human industries as exemplified in manual training exercises should be prominent as content studies. With other children, as indicated above, the form of expression itself should receive the chief attention. The need of each must be considered. It will not do to give brimstone and treacle to all because it may be good for some. A mechanical uniformity, regardless of local or individual conditions, not only wastes the time and energies of pupils, but prevents even reasonable equality of result in spiritual growth and in attainment throughout the system.

Course Adaptable.-A course of study, then, to secure unity to the system, need not be rigidly prescriptive. It should require that fundamental subjects be taught thoroughly in all schools, but should allow details of subject matter, the choice of material for elaboration and illustration and, in the main, methods of instruction, to be determined by local and individual needs.

Results Required. The absolute requirement should be" results," as shown in the knowledge and power of the children, and these results should be determined, not by any narrow tests, but by standards of growth wisely and personally applied. These necessarily include steady progress by the children in fitness for life as it comes to them, and the acquisition of sufficient intellectual power and knowledge to enable them to meet the demands of what comes next, whether in school or out.

All children should acquire at least a reasonable minimum of knowledge of the accepted fundamentals, but not necessarily all the knowledge, or the same knowl

edge, of those subjects that other children in the same or in other schools may possess, but merely that which is essential to progression. A pupil who cannot perform reasonably difficult problems in addition and multiplication is not qualified to work in interest, and if this power has not been acquired at the proper time, something has been wrong, because these subjects are fundamental in mathematics. But a knowledge of duodecimals is not essential to work in percentage, even if it comes before it in the book.

Course should be Rich in Suggestion. In addition to stating in broad general terms the prescribed fundamental subjects, with their requirements for each grade, the unity of the system requires that the course of study be rich in suggestion as to detail, as to additional material, and as to the development of the different subjects. While mandatory instruction as to details of matter and of method are dangerous, not only to the freedom of the teacher, but also to the real spiritual unity of the system itself, suggestions as to these matters are promotive of both these desirable ends.

If the unity of the system is to be one of spirit and of aim, all means that tend to make clear the aim and to cultivate the proper spirit are helpful. The highest and best unity can be secured through freedom stimulated by suggestion and inspiration, never through force or prescription.

2. THE EDUCATIONAL FUNCTION

The educational function of a course of study is to serve as a guide to the teacher in his daily work. The characteristics that are required for the preservation

of the unity of the system are equally essential to this second function. There must be prescription as to fundamentals, freedom as to details and methods. The teacher needs to have requirements stated positively and clearly so that he may be sure of his ground and may qualify his children for progress without check or setback. The general phases of the subjects upon which his efforts are to be expended, and the results expected of his class, must be stated in unmistakable language, but in broad terms, the terms of unity rather than of uniformity.

Daily Programs Harmful.-The course of study should not give daily programs to the teachers of the different grades, even approximately. While these programs are of much importance, they are matters of detail to be worked out in every school by the teacher and the principal, according to local conditions. For example, among certain classes of children in our cities the power to compute seems to be almost hereditary, and the desired results can be secured with comparatively little effort, while the study of the English language and of history and civics needs a large share of the time. In other quarters the reverse of this condition is found.

Initiative to be Encouraged. Moreover, prescription as to details of subject matter and of method and as to the daily program is injurious to the teacher and destructive of good teaching. Teachers who are fit for their places can attend to these matters better than the maker of the course of study, and they should not merely be allowed, they should be compelled, to do so for their own growth.

A cast-iron course of study is as destructive of teachers as the shoes worn by Chinese ladies are of their feet.

The school machine at its best constantly endangers the teacher's power of initiative, his most valuable mental possession. Hence every effort should be made to reduce this danger to the minimum. A premium, rather than the threat of disapproval, should be set upon originality that secures results in fresh ways. I have seen scores, hundreds, of potentially good teachers robbed of interest and of teaching power by the rigid requirements, in minor matters, of the course of study. These teachers, when deprived of this corselet and compelled to stand erect alone, to breathe freely and to act unstayed, have been dismayed and helpless, and have begged to be told again just what to do for each period of the day; and I have seen many forced into activity and made in the end strong, original, and enthusiastic teachers through being compelled to do their own thinking and planning.

Thus, for the good of the teacher, as well as for the unity of the system, a course of study should be rigid in its requirements as to results in the fundamentals, but should leave to the teachers its application and administration in particular fields.

It should, however, supply a great amount of material for choice and should suggest method, illustration, and correlations, all in the spirit of the system. It should abound in explanation, suggestion, and inspiration in all sorts of genuine helps; but they should be stimuli to independent effort, not predigested food to take its place.

Course not too Easy to Comprehend. A course of study should not be too easy of comprehension. It should require the teachers to study the course itself, in order to comprehend it, and to study outside the course