Arizona republican., 1917-04-18

dDandOnment Of English history as separate course-a subject to be dis cussed later.
 Of the two schools that give more than year to the modern period, one has replaced ancient, medieval and modern and English history with q year of ancient and a year and a half of medieval and modern history. and the other offers, in addition to the regular ancient and medieval and modern courses, half years work in the European Background of American History"
 It should be added that four schools not yet considered have combined an- cient and medieval history in a single years course without expanding mod ern history beyond the half year for merly allotted to it.
 The changes in the program of stu dies already actually effected are hard ly moer significant than those in pros pect. In eight schools the decision has already been reached to adopt in the near future the tWo-year course in Eu- ropean history, in three ather cases the move is being considered, and still an other school is about to substitute for the ancient, medieval and modern, and English blocks three years course in the history of Europe as a whole.
 Even where a encouragement of the program of studies is neither completed nor in contemplation, there is a strong tendency to shift the emphasis within the old blocks to the more modern as- poets of the subjects. Statements as to
 mphasis and proportion vary and over lap in every possible way and any at tempe to summarize the results can | not be overwhelmingly successful However, 1t may be said that in twenty schools which have not yet forsal;en the cid blocks. there is a conscious emphasis upon the modern period; twelve answers tell of special efforts to relate the past to the present. and, at the apex of the whole movement, nineteen schools give special attention to cur | rent events. Again it must be said that any one school may appear in all three of the groups just mentioned
 A few practical suggestions are of i fered as to how the shifting emprasis F within the old blocks may be accom- plished. this, for instance, Certain topics formerly taught in the second year have been put into the Ancient history couse: such topics as E'eudal- ism. the Crusades, the Rise of the Uni- versities;" and again, "Beginning this year. the ancient history work will be carried to about the twelfth century, in order to allow more time for eight | centh and nineteenth century European history and also for present day ten dencies;" and lastly, in a school with a large library, ancient history is to be completed in three quarters, and the last quarter is to be devoted to library reference work in medieval history.
 Tn ba of icl1i roll tions between past and present, two teachers follow approximately the same method To quote from one of them: We try to select a list of topics which are vital to present-day living. e. g., city government, the loc of common people, .. relation between capital and labor, public health, etc, etc. and we have the students take notes in their notebooks of points of interest under these topics. They start these notebooks in ancient history and carry them right through medieval and modern history and American history. This gives at all times an opportunity to make comparisons and to note the progress of man along the several lines of endeavor outlined"
 Many of the teachers who are con- cerned with the problems O. relation ship also have something to say re- glfding the value of the study of cur rent events and the methods of hand ling the material. Six schools devote one day a week throughout one year to this work, one extends the work through two years; four use the Lit erary Digest" and two "The Independ- ent" as a text book, and one offers special course in current history.
 Bringing together all the data ob- A,t, +l,.1 ment for modern emphasis, we find that eighteen schools have changed their courses of study with the object of gaining time for modern history, twen- ty other schools have accomplished the transfer of emphasis by a redistribu- tion of time within the standard blocks, and nineteen schools have found time for the study of current events.
 Many of the teachers enlarge upon their reasons for emphasizing the mod ern period, but only few of their statements can be quoted. One teacher says: 'I try to retain only that matter which seems to have a bearing on the future. -. I extend this year, more than ever before, to hasten 10 the E.- rope of the last fifty years. So far as the experience and ability of my stu dents permit I mean to make this modern European year"-and all this is to be accomplished within the limits of the old blocks Another teacher writes, regarding the adoption of the two-year course in European history: 'The new system gives the student more knowledge of the affairs of Eu- rope today; he is able to read compre- hendingly in magazines and neWspa- pers." Another says, Our students want what seems vital and present They do not care so much what hap pened a thousand years ago. The defi- hilton Of scholarship seems to be changing" A single statement summa- rizes the ideas back of the whole movement toward the modern and the practical: to quote, We believe that history work Gin high schools) should be primarily for those who do not go to college, and that we should present those things which most intimately touch the life of a citiZen... There is altogether too much ignorance re- Sarding the economic and social chang es now in progress, which are so close ly related to the life of the voters of 9 democratic country"
 In Protest
 In sharp contrast with all this are several earnest protests against the moderninzing tendency. The head of a large history department deplores the disposition of his teachers to place great emphasis on recent history. He says, While the writer would welcome more time for recent modern history, he feels medieval history to be so im- portant to an understanding of the de- velopment of our present institutions. that the relative time devoted to it should not be greatly dimished." An- other teacher writes, Students find medieval history hard enough without