Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-05-03
lNSTRUCTING THE PUPIL.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD AND
NEW SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS.

curred-Rise of IIlustration-Langu
Books Popular-DecIne of the "Higher
Readers"--The Development of Taste.
In the last 20 years, educators note,
striking changes have taken place in
school textbooks. particularly those
for elementary schools. One of the
most notak=s of the differences be-
tween the textbook of today and that
OF the earlier period lies in illustra-
ton. Publishers, complying with the
demands of the new education" have
employed all the wealth of modern
processes i'll making attractively
and accurately pictorial almost
every subject of study to which
the application of Illustrations is at
all possible-and in some instances
pictures are found in books where
they occasion distinct surprise. For in
stance, it would not seem that the
subject of English composition cried
aloud for illustration, yet in some of
the most recent textbooks on the sub
ject pictures are feature.
To the representatives of American
public schools at the Paris Exposition,
it was made plain that, in illustration
and in general effectiveness, the
United States led the world in the
making of textbooks. They them
selves saw nothing to equal the pro-
duction Of this country and their OBJ
servation was confirmed by the COM
ment Of foreign teachers when
examining the American exhibit.
Frequent eXclamations of astonish-
to have fallen from them, fol-
lowed by the wish that books of such
character were at their disposal. Ad-
miration appeared to proceed es-
pecially from the teachers of central
and eastern Europe-Russians and
Austrians being conspicuous among
the lauders.
The books upon which illustration is
most lavished are primers and early
readers, Biographies, national histo
ries, histories, and all works for the
teaching of science. No pains have
been spared to make the pictures not
only beautiful, but correct. For in
stance, when a place is pictured, it is
no longer, as in the older textbooks,
either from the sketch Of some trav-
eler or purely from the imagination,
but from photographs taken on the
spot. Illustrations in color are becom-
ing more and more in vogue N books
intended for the youngest children.
All these results are in striking con-
cast to the attempts at illustration
made in the older books for of course,
such attempts have been made from
70 np Tnn,ani,,,c uh unrbic
Pictus" is one of the curiosities of edu-
cational literature. But 20 years ago the
idea of the abundant illustration of
today had not been conceived, and pro-
cesses had not been invented, devel-
oped, and brought to the point of the
present cheapness-for school text
books must not be expensive. Hence,
such illustrating as was done was
with more or less crude wood-engrav-
ing, and the effort made today to Sc
cure truth in the representation Of OBJ
jects was not deemed essential.
In no class of textbooks has a
greater change taken place than in
Biographies. The old biographies
were little more than bald-presenta-
tions of political divisions of the
worlds surface and of lists of names
of places. The new Biographies show
an entirely different conception of the
subject They seek to exhibit man as
acting upon his environment and as
acted upon by it. Consequently, the
new geography is full both of history
and of science.
Much of the change in general in
textbooks is attributed to wide
spread adoption of the method of in
duction in presenting knowledge to the
child This has not only radically af-
fected the treatment of nearly all
branches of study, but has created a
new class of textbooks for the teach
ing of the vernacular called Language
books" 1t is adapted to very young
children, and is meant to teach them
how to think and to form sentences,
and serves as an introduction to for
NAL grammar. The popularity of works
of this type is very great; they are
used universally throughout the coun-
try. The idea originated with German
educators.
A change in instruction is leading
10 I1le ueCllut VI Ille ulBneI IedutiS
the "ffth" and sixth" as they were
called-and the substitution of COM
plete pieces of literature for the frag-
ments which the readers contained.
Publishers have responded to the new
trend by bringing out small volumes,
each containing one or more complete
poems or essays. and annotated for
the special use to which they are to
be put. DR.. William II. Maxwell, the
superintendent of schools in New
York City, was one of the first to
discard the advanced readers, and on
this subject he says: "The memoriter
method of learning-the committing
to memory of the eteXt-books-found its
counterpart in the rote method of elo-
cutionary drill on the fragments Of the
school reader The method of study