Arizona republican., 1917-04-18
PHOEN|XY0UTH
 IS RECOGNIZED
 BY EDUCATORS

Another Phoenix boy. young man who first came into prominence here when a student at the Phoenix Union High school where he engaged in rep ortOrial work on The Arizona Repub- lican with credit to himself and this paper. In the current number of "The History Teachers Magazine" is an ar ticle entitled Changing Emphasis in European History in the High Schools of California" It is written by Geroid Robinson, an undergraduate of Leland Stanford University. It is report pre- pared by him in connection with the Teachers Course in History. And Geroid Robinson, a true Phoenician, graduate of the Phoenix institutions of learning, in one stroke, gains for him self unusual fame and renown among the educators of the country. The article in full follows:
 Whether or not the tendency toward increasing emphasis on modern history at the expense of ancient and medieval history is a wholesome one, this ten dency is certainly widespread among the high schools of California If in formation ob,ained from eighty three high schools fol ms an adequate basis fOI generalization. the process of unit ing ancient and medieval history in single years course is well under way, English history as a separate subject is losing it's grip, and modern history of pronouncedly social and economic type is the new Fl Dorado of the textbook makers.
 From the figures that follow it will be very apparent that history teaching in California has come out of that Egypt of self satisfaction in which the Committee of Seven left it, and is seek ing g new Promised Land." It is the purpose of this paper to show how far along this jorney the high schools un- der consideration have proceeded, what has been the manner of their travelling, and whither, in the estimation of the teachers themselves, the road is likely to lead.
 The facts and opinions herewith presented were gathered from eighty three responses to a questionable sent to all the high schools of California having an enrolment in excess of one hundred. The principals or teachers of these schools were asked to write on the following topics:
 "Q) Courses now offered in Eu- ropean history; @ Important changes in European history courses in recent years. with reasons for such changes; t3) Other ways in which history teach ing in your school shows tendency to- ward change as to subject matter, em- phasis and proportion, and so on.' These being the topics under discuss sion, such subjects as civics. econo- mics, and ancient, English and Ameri can history are touched upon only in cidentally, and the discussion for the most part is confined to the European field about as treated within the limits of the standard course in medieval and modern history.
 Although sixty schools report courses in medieval and modern European his tory conforming, at least approximately to the standards set by the Committee of Seven, the trend of the times is un- doubtedly away from, rather than to- wards uniformity of program. In the answers to the questionable thirty ike changes of program. were de- seribed, and almost without exception these changes were in the nature of departure from the committees. four block system
 Emphasis on the Modern Period
 The tendency most in evidence is that toward increasing emphasis on the modern period of European history. Eighteen schools now devote more time to modern history than was possible within the limits of the blocks as de- fined by the committee. Of this num-
 
 give more than a year to the modern period. One school from the group of sixteen retains the ancient, and medi- eval and modern blocks, but replaces the third block with a course in Mod ern Europe" open to second and third year students taking history for the, first time. The remaining fifteen schools of this group cover the an- cient and medieval periods in a single Of -l formation as to the chronological limit of this course five begin the work in modern history with the year 1900 or thtreabouts. and with the other five the break comes in the time of Louis XIV Not all the changes incident to the es- tabishment of these courses were de- scribed in the answers to the questian- naire, but in at least eight cases the change of program has involved the