1. Name, and tell something about, four of the explorers of Canada before 1759.2. Name several other explorers of the New World.3. Which explorer did the most for Canada, Champlain or La Salle?4. In what wars did the French fight against the Iroquois? With what result?5. What explorers of North America were trying to find a way to China and India? (This investigation by the class may precede the lesson on the "Road to Cathay." See p.92.)6. On what did English kings base their claim to be the overlords of Scotland? Trace the dispute down to the Union of the Crowns in 1603.7. Find out how the slave trade was treated by the English.8. Make a list of the early newspapers in Canada. Did they have much influence on public opinion?9. Compare the struggles for the control of taxation in Canada and in the Thirteen Colonies of America. Explain why these were settled differently in the two cases.
1. Name, and tell something about, four of the explorers of Canada before 1759.
2. Name several other explorers of the New World.
3. Which explorer did the most for Canada, Champlain or La Salle?
4. In what wars did the French fight against the Iroquois? With what result?
5. What explorers of North America were trying to find a way to China and India? (This investigation by the class may precede the lesson on the "Road to Cathay." See p.92.)
6. On what did English kings base their claim to be the overlords of Scotland? Trace the dispute down to the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
7. Find out how the slave trade was treated by the English.
8. Make a list of the early newspapers in Canada. Did they have much influence on public opinion?
9. Compare the struggles for the control of taxation in Canada and in the Thirteen Colonies of America. Explain why these were settled differently in the two cases.
With questions such as these for investigation, no pupil will be likely to secure the full facts; each may state in the next lesson what he has found, and the work of each will be supplemented by that of the others. With succeeding investigations it may be expected that the pupils will be more eager to get at all the facts in the text-book. At any rate they are learning how to gather material from books—a very valuable training, no matter how simple the topic is.
When, in the ordinary course of work, lessons from the text-book are assigned, the teacher should indicate the important points, should suggest certain matters for discussion, and should note certain questions to be answered, indicating precisely where the information may be obtained. In the recitation period following, the topicshould be fully discussed, the pupils giving the information they have secured from the text-book, and the teacher supplementing this from his knowledge gained through wider reading. During the discussion an outline should be made on the board, largely by the suggestions of the pupils, and kept in their note-books for reference and review. (See p.100, Lesson on the Feudal System.)
As has been already stated (p.15), the Story stage is useful chiefly for the purpose of arousing interest and developing the historical sense; no drill or review is necessary other than the oral, and, in Form II, sometimes the written, reproduction of the stories. The oral reproduction can be obtained in Form I by using the stories as topics in language lessons.
In the Information stage, where we are concerned more with the acquiring of facts, and in the Reflective stage, where we wish to relate facts to each other according to cause and effect, drills and reviews are necessary. During the lesson, a summary is placed on the black-board by the teacher or pupil, as indicated above. It is used as a guide in oral reproduction and may also be copied in special note-books and used for reference when preparing for review lessons. The teacher may look over these note-books occasionally.
There is great difference of opinion on the value of note-taking by pupils, but it may be said of such notes as those mentioned above that they have the advantage of being largely the pupil's own work, especially when the pupils are asked to suggest the headings; they are a record of what has been decided in the class to be important points; they are arranged in the order in which the subject has been treated in the lesson, and are in every waysuperior to the small note-books in history that are sometimes used as aids or helps. For the proper teaching of history, the latter are hindrances rather than helps, because they rob the pupil of the profit gained by doing the work for himself. Notes obtained from books or dictated by the teacher are harmful to the right spirit of study, and create a distaste for the subject.
Special review lessons should be taken when a series of lessons on one topic, or on a series of connected topics, has been finished. At the close of each lesson, the facts learned are fixed more firmly in the mind by the usual drill; but there must be further organization of the several lessons by a proper review, so that history will not be a number of unconnected events, but will be seen as an orderly development. This may be accomplished: (1) by questioning the class from a point of view different from that taken in the first lessons, (2) by oral or written expansion of a topical outline, (3) by illustrations with maps or drawings, (4) by tracing the sequence of events backwards, (5) by submitting some new situation that will recall the old knowledge in a different way. It must be remembered that it is not a mere repetition that we seek, but are-viewof the facts, a new view that will prove the power of the pupils to use the knowledge they have gained. Thus the lesson on the St. Lawrence River (p.112) is a good review of the facts of history suggested by the places mentioned; the lesson on the Road to Cathay (p.92) may be considered a review of the chief explorers of North America. Such a review aims at seeing new relations, at connecting new knowledge and old, at "giving freshness and vividness to knowledge that may be somewhat faded, at throwing a number of discrete facts into a bird's-eye view."
The development, or problem, method is intended to get the pupils to do some independent thinking, instead of merely absorbing knowledge from the teacher. The plan is simply to set clearly before the pupils the conditions existing at a certain moment in the story so that they may see for themselves the difficulties that the people in the story had to overcome. The question for the class is: "What would you do in the circumstances?"
Let us take an example from the life of Ulysses. Ulysses had heard of the Sirens, who sang so beautifully that any one in a passing ship who heard them was impelled to throw himself overboard, with a frantic desire to swim to their island. Naturally the swimmers were all drowned in the attempt. Ulysses desired to hear for himself the wonderful singing, and to experience, perhaps, its terrible effect; but he certainly did not want to run any risk of drowning. Now, how did he accomplish his desire, without paying the penalty?
Again, in the story of Madeleine de Verchères, the narrative may proceed to the point where Madeleine has succeeded in securing the gates. She finds herself in a weak fort with few to help her, and outside a numerous band of Indians, who are kept at bay for a whole week, without even attempting their usual night attacks. How did she do it?
In the case of the U.E. Loyalists, the teacher may narrate the story to the point where the Loyalists, after the treaty was signed, saw that they must remove to Canada. The class must know where the Loyalist centres in the New England States were. Now, what routes would they be likely to take in going to Canada? With the map before them, the class can usually tell the next part of the story themselves.
Even if the pupil is not able to give the correct answer to the problem submitted, he is nevertheless having an opportunity to exercise his judgment, he can see wherein his judgment differs from that of the persons concerned, his interest in their actions is increased, and the whole story will be more deeply impressed on his memory.
The chief difficulty in teaching history is to give a meaning to the language of history. Much of the language is merely empty words. The Magna Charta and the Clergy Reserves mean just about as much to pupils asxdoes in algebra, and even when they give a definition or description of these terms, it usually amounts to saying thatxequalsy; the definition is just as vague as the original terms. The problem is to give the language more meaning, to ensure that the words give mental pictures and ideas; in short, to turn the abstract into concrete facts.
Children can make their own only such knowledge as their experience helps them to interpret. Their interests are in the present, and the past appeals to them just so far as they can see in it their own activities, thoughts, and feelings. The great aim of the teacher, then, should be to help pupils to translate the facts of history into terms of their own experiences; unless that is done, they are really not learning anything. Some of the ways in which this may be attempted are outlined below.
1. In the junior classes where the children are intensely interested in stories, the stress should be put on giving theminteresting personal detailsabout the famous people in history, details that they can understand with their limited experiences of life, and that will appeal to their emotions. These stories should be told to the pupilswith such vividness and animation that they will struggle with Columbus against a mutinous crew, will help the early explorers to blaze their way through the dense forests, will toil with the pioneers in making homes for themselves in Canada, and will suffer with the missionaries in their hardships and perils.
For these pupils the oral method is the only one to use, for there is nothing that appeals to children more quickly and with more reality than what theyhearfrom the teacher. The oral method should find a large place in the teaching of history in all the Forms. It may be added that the teachers who use this method will find history become a more real and interesting study to themselves.
2. What the pupils hear should be reinforced by giving them something tosee. Whatever pictures are obtainable (see pp.45,127) should be used freely at all stages, for the visual images of children are a powerful aid to their understanding; it is for this reason that books for children are now so fully illustrated, and the same principle should be applied to the teaching of history.
As soon as the children are ready for it, reference should be made to maps to illustrate historical facts. (See p.127.) They should see on the map the course that Columbus took across the unknown sea; Champlain's explorations become real when they are traced on the map and the children have a concrete picture to carry away with them. In fact the subjects of geography, art, and constructive work, treated under the head of correlated subjects, are used in history with the aim of making it real through the eye. (See pp.40,44,45.)
3. A greater difficulty presents itself when we have to deal, in the higher Forms, with topics like the Magna Charta and the Clergy Reserves, and it is a difficulty thatwill test to the full the resourcefulness of the teacher. How can the preceding conditions and the terms of the Magna Charta be brought home to a class? How can children be brought to appreciate the difficulties connected with the question of Clergy Reserves? A few words about the latter may suggest a means.
Two aspects of the Clergy Reserves question stand out prominently, the religious and the economic. The religious aspect will be the most difficult for Ontario children, for they have no immediate knowledge of what a State Church is—the point on which the religious dispute turned; nor do they know enough about the government of the religious bodies to which they belong to make the matter clear to them. A full understanding must come later. The best point of approach seems to be to give the class some idea of the number of settlers belonging to the churches of England and of Scotland, which claimed the right to the lands reserved, and compare with this the number of all other Protestant bodies that claimed to share in them; for this difference in numbers was one of the chief causes of bitterness. An arithmetical appeal is concrete. There was also the economic aspect. The Clergy Reserves were one seventh of the land in each township. Another seventh was withheld from free settlement as Crown Lands. Now in some townships there were about 50,000 acres. Let the class find out how many acres were thus kept from settlement. Tell them that this land was not all in one block, but distributed through the township. They can now be asked to consider how this would interfere with close settlement and therefore with the establishment of schools, churches, post-offices, mills, and stores. A diagram of a township would be of great help. These two points will help them to see why an early and fair settlement of thevexed question was desired. Wherever possible, present problems for them to solve by their own experiences.
4. The reading to the class of accounts of events written by people living at the time will give an atmosphere of reality and human interest to the events. For example, a story of early pioneer days told by a pioneer gives a personal element (seePioneer Days, Kennedy); a letter by Mary Queen of Scots, to Elizabeth (see p.143), will make both of these queens real living people, not mere names in history. (SeeStudies in the Teaching of History, Keatinge, p. 97, also selections fromThe Sources of English History, Colby, p. 163.) Not much of this may be possible, but more use might easily be made of such materials, especially with the early history of Ontario.
5. The use of local history and of current events will be treated elsewhere. (See pp.49,51.)
6. When possible, let the pupils form their idea of an historical person from his actions and words just as we form our estimate of each other, instead of having them memorize mere summaries of his character before they know his actions.
7. Genealogical and chronological tables, written on the black-board and discussed with the class, will be of service in understanding certain periods, such as the Wars of the Roses, and in helping to form the time-sense of pupils. (See Chronological Chart, p.128.)
8. Chief dependence must be placed, however, on increasing the pupil's knowledge of present-day conditions in agriculture, commerce, transportation, manufactures, in fact, in all social, economic, and political conditions, in order to enable him by comparison to realize earlier methods and ways of living. The pupil who understandsbest how we do things to-day can understand best the state of affairs when people had to depend on primitive methods, and can realize how they would strive to make things better.
History is usually called a "memory" subject, and is accordingly often taught as a mere memorizing of facts, names, and dates. The following statement of the chief principles of memorizing will, it is hoped, put mere verbal repetition in its proper place. Interest is the chief condition for teaching history in the public schools, in order that the pupils may acquire a liking for the subject that will tempt them to pursue their reading in after years; without that interest, the small amount of historical fact they can accumulate in their school-days will be of little real value to them when they become full-fledged citizens. In fact, through this emphasis on interest instead of verbal repetition, the pupils are likely to obtain a better knowledge of history and, at the same time, will have a chance to develop, in no slight degree, their powers of judgment.
1. Memory depends on attention; we must observe attentively what we wish to remember. In history, attention may be secured by making the lessons interesting through the skill of the teacher in presenting the matter vividly to the pupils; also by using means to make history real instead of having it a mere mass of meaningless words. (See p.34.)
2. Facts that we wish to remember should be grouped, or studied in relation to other facts with which they are vitally connected. The facts of history should be presented to the class in their relation of cause and effect, or associated with some larger centre of interest; in otherwords, pupils must understand, in some degree, what they are asked to remember. (See pp.92,97.)
3. If we increase the number of connections for facts, we are more likely to remember them. It is largely for this reason that history should be taught with correlated subjects, such as geography, literature, science (inventions), etc. For example, the story of the Spanish Armada is remembered better if we have readWestward Ho!and the story of the Renaissance is made clearer and is therefore remembered better, if we connect with it the inventions of printing, gunpowder, and the mariner's compass. (See p.121.)
4. Repetition is necessary to memory. Facts or groups of facts must be repeated to be remembered. This is the purpose of the drills which are necessary to good teaching, but are only a part of it. Reviews are not to be considered merely as repetitions, but should be treated more as aids to better understanding. (See p.31.)
These subjects are very intimately related, and each should be used in teaching the other. Geography, which is often called one of the "eyes of history," may be used in the teaching of this subject in two ways. In the first place, an account of an historical event lacks, to a certain degree, reality in the minds of the pupils if they do not know something of the place where it occurred. Accordingly, in studying or teaching history, reference should be constantly made to the map to give a local setting to the story. The voyage of Columbus, the operations of Wolfe, the coming of the Loyalists, are made more real if they are traced out on the map, and are therefore better understood and remembered by the pupils. For this purpose, it is better, in most cases, to use an outline map, which may be sketched on the black-board by the teacher or the pupils, because on the ordinary wall maps there are so many names and so much detail that the attention may be distracted. Many of the details on the map are, moreover, more modern than the events that are to be illustrated, so that wrong impressions may be given.
In the second place, it must be kept constantly in mind that many events in history have been influenced by the physical features of a country. For example: the lack of a natural boundary between France and Germany has led to many disputes between these countries; the fact of Great Britain being an island accounts for many things in her history (see p.108); the physical features of Quebecand Gibraltar explain the importance of these places; and the waterways of Canada account for the progress of early settlement. The climate and soil of a country affect its history; treaties are often based on physical conditions, and trade routes determined by them; a nation's commerce and wealth depend largely on the character of its natural resources.
Some easy problems may be given to the senior classes to be answered by reference to physical conditions:
Why are London, New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Halifax, such important centres? Why are certain places fitted for certain manufactures? Will Winnipeg become a more important city than Montreal? Will Vancouver outstrip San Francisco? What is a possible future for the Western Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan? What might have been the state of North America to-day, if the Rocky Mountains had run along the East coast, instead of along the West?
Why are London, New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Halifax, such important centres? Why are certain places fitted for certain manufactures? Will Winnipeg become a more important city than Montreal? Will Vancouver outstrip San Francisco? What is a possible future for the Western Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan? What might have been the state of North America to-day, if the Rocky Mountains had run along the East coast, instead of along the West?
On the other hand, history contributes a human interest to geography; the places of greatest interest are often those associated with great events in history—Athens, Mount Sinai, Waterloo, Queenston Heights.
Literature gives life and human interest to both history and geography. By means of literature we are able to get a better notion of the ideals and motives of a people than the mere recital of the facts of their history can give. In this connection we naturally think of Homer'sIliadand its influence on the Greeks. It was their storehouse of history, morals, religion, æsthetics, and rules for the practical guidance of life, as well as their literary masterpiece.
It is often easy to interest pupils in a period of history by reading or quoting to them some ballad, poem, or prosenarrative that colours the historical facts with the element of human feeling. Macaulay'sHoratiusgives a deeper impression of Roman patriotism than almost anything in pure history can; the various aspects of the Crusades are vividly shown by W. Stearns Davis inGod Wills It, a story of the first Crusade. In fact, if stirring events can be linked in the child's mind with stirring verse, if the struggles and progress of nations can be presented in a vigorous narrative that echoes the thoughts, feelings, and interests of the time, we make an appeal to the interest of the pupil that is almost irresistible. The objection is sometimes urged against the reading of standard historical tales and novels, that these are somewhat exaggerated in sentiment and inaccurate in facts. Even if this be so, it may be said that they give in outline a fair picture of the period described, that the interest in history aroused by such tales begets a liking for history itself, and that such exaggerations and inaccuracies are soon corrected when the pupil begins to read history.
The course of history has been modified by songs, ballads, and stories. The influence on the national spirit and ideals of songs such asRule BritanniaandThe Marseillaise, of stories such asUncle Tom's Cabin, of novels such as those of Dickens and of Charles Reade is incalculable.
A few poems and prose compositions are given here as suggestions; a fuller list may be found in Allen'sReader's Guide to English History, Ginn & Co., 30c.
Poems:Boadicea, Cowper;Recessional, Kipling;Edinburgh After Flodden, Aytoun;Hands All Round, Tennyson;Columbus, Joaquin Miller;Waterloo, Byron;The Armada, Macaulay;The Revenge, Tennyson;The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tennyson.Prose: "United Empire Loyalists," Roberts'History of Canada, Chap. XV; "Departure and Death of Nelson," Southey;Montcalm and Wolfe, Parkman; "The Crusader and the Saracen," in Scott'sThe Talisman; "The Heroine of Castle Dangerous," inStories of New France, Machar and Marquis; "Adam Daulac," inMartyrs of New France, Herrington.
Poems:Boadicea, Cowper;Recessional, Kipling;Edinburgh After Flodden, Aytoun;Hands All Round, Tennyson;Columbus, Joaquin Miller;Waterloo, Byron;The Armada, Macaulay;The Revenge, Tennyson;The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tennyson.
Prose: "United Empire Loyalists," Roberts'History of Canada, Chap. XV; "Departure and Death of Nelson," Southey;Montcalm and Wolfe, Parkman; "The Crusader and the Saracen," in Scott'sThe Talisman; "The Heroine of Castle Dangerous," inStories of New France, Machar and Marquis; "Adam Daulac," inMartyrs of New France, Herrington.
The connection between history and science is very close, because it was only after the invention of writing that history, the record of human progress, became possible. Further, the remarkable way in which the chief stages in the development of civilization coincide with certain inventions and discoveries makes the study of history very incomplete without a knowledge of the inventions and discoveries, inasmuch as these opened a road for human development. (See p.119.)
To make this evident, it is enough merely to mention a few comparatively recent inventions, such as the mariner's compass, the printing-press, gunpowder, the steam-engine, the power-loom, the cotton-gin, and the telegraph.
To the introduction of the mariner's compass in the fourteenth century, by which sailors were made independent of landmarks and the stars, and could therefore go more boldly into the open sea, we owe the explorations of the fifteenth century that culminated in the discovery of America, and the way to India by the Cape of Good Hope. The introduction of gunpowder in the fourteenth century gave the lower and middle classes a weapon that made them equal in power with the nobles and brought about the downfall of the feudal system and the rise of modern democracies. The printing-press gave to the world thelearning of the past and revolutionized social conditions. The invention of high explosives has made possible many of the great engineering works of to-day. The inventions that have made transportation and communication so easy and rapid have already done a great deal to bring nations to a better understanding of each other and thus to promote the peace of the world. Discoveries in medicine alone have had an incalculable influence on the health and prosperity of society. In fact, the study of history and an understanding of modern social and industrial conditions are impossible without a knowledge of scientific inventions and discoveries. (See pp.87,92.)
Children naturally take an interest in what individuals have done, and it is easy to interest them in the work of men such as Watt, Stephenson, Whitney, Fulton, Morse, Edison, Marconi, and their fellows. The biographies of famous inventors should therefore be given, both as a record of what they did and as an inspiration to like achievements.
Constructive work may be used to advantage in history and civics. It gives concrete expression to some facts of history through the construction by the pupils of objects mentioned therein. In studying Indian life, the class may make in paper, wood, etc., wigwams, bows and arrows, stockades, etc.; in connection with pioneer life, they may make some of the buildings and implements used by the pioneers,—log houses, spinning-wheels, hominy blocks, Red River carts, etc.; in studying campaigns, they may make models in plasticine or clay, or on the sand table, of forts, battle-fields, etc., for example—the Plains of Abraham, Queenston Heights, Chateauguay, Plymouth Harbour; theUnion Jack may be cut out and coloured. (See p.68.) In this way the activities of the child may be made of practical use.
On the industrial and social side of history, which is being more and more emphasized, it is of great value to the child to become acquainted, even though on a small scale and through the simplest implements and machines, with the construction of machinery and modes of manufacture. For a lesson on the Industrial Revolution in England, for example, it will give pupils a better understanding of the changes, if they know something, through their own activities, of the way of making cloth.
For suggestions on constructive work, see the Manual on Manual Training:
P. 22: Suggestions for the various seasons and days.P. 26: On the use of the sand table.P. 55: On collecting and preserving pictures.P. 58: On relief maps and geographical formations.
Art assists history in two ways. First, pictures may be used to illustrate events in history and make them real. It is often difficult for children to form a definite mental image of historical scenes merely from the words of the teacher or of the text-book, because their experiences are limited and the power to combine these properly is lacking. This is recognized now in the many text-books which are freely illustrated. Pictures of persons famous in history are also of value, in that they make these persons more real to the pupils. Materials for class use may be collected by the teacher and pupils,—engravings, prints, cuts from newspapers and magazines of famous people, buildings, cities, monuments, events; for example, the Landing ofColumbus, the Coming of the Loyalists, the Fathers of Confederation, the Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, an Old-Time Trading Post, the Death of Brock. A good idea is to have a class scrap-book, to be filled with suitable contributions from the class. The teacher will find a private scrap-book exceedingly useful. Many fine pictures are given inThe Highroads of History, andThe Story of the British Peoplefor Form III. It may be added that these pictures should be supplemented freely by descriptions and narratives given by the teacher. (SeeVisual Aids in the Teaching of History.)
Second, the pupils may be asked to illustrate, by drawings and sketch maps, historic places, routes of armies and of explorers, the journeys of settlers, etc.
History, no less than other subjects of study, needs to be expressed by the pupils, if it is to make them more efficient. Some of the usual modes of expression are given above in connection with constructive work and art. The chief mode of expression, however, for history is through composition, both oral and written.
In the Junior Forms the stories should be reproduced orally (see Details of Method for Forms I and II, p.25), either by pure narration or by dramatization; the pupils relate in their own language what they have learned, or are allowed to dramatize the story. In the dramatization, the pupils should be given a good deal of freedom in constructing the conversation, once they get to know what is wanted, the only restriction being that no pupil shall be allowed to take part who does not know the story thoroughly. Incidents such as Harold taking the oath to help William of Normandy gain the crown of England, Joseph being soldinto Egypt, the Greeks using the wooden horse to capture Troy, are very easily dramatized.
In the Senior Forms the black-board outline may be used as the basis of written or oral reproduction. The subject of composition will itself be less objectionable by reason of these exercises, as the pupils are asked to reproduce the history as material valuable and interesting in itself, not merely as a means of showing their skill in expression. Moreover, in the study of history, the pupil hears or reads the compositions of others, and unconsciously gains, by these examples, much in vocabulary and in power of expression. In fact, much of the culture value of history depends on the training it affords in composition, and, by intimately connecting these two subjects, a double advantage is gained—the ability to comprehend historical material, and practice in effective expression.
Geography is one of "the eyes of history"; chronology, or the arranging of events according to their dates, is the other. This suggests that dates are to be used merely as a help in "seeing" events in history in their proper order, so that their relations to other events may be better understood. When these relations are seen, the dates lose much of their value.
For example, let us consider the following dates: 1763, 1774, 1775, 1783, 1791. The short interval between 1763, when Great Britain finally assumed control of Canada by treaty, and 1774, when the Quebec Act was passed, helps to make clear the reason for the French citizens receiving so many concessions. They outnumbered the English so much that these concessions were deemed necessary to hold their allegiance to the Crown in face of the efforts made by the discontentedNew England colonies to get their support in the coming revolution against Great Britain. The success of the Act was shown in 1775, when the invasion by the revolutionists failed. The war of the Revolution was ended by treaty in 1783, and Canada received as settlers, principally in Upper Canada, the United Empire Loyalists, whose ideas of government were so different from those of the Lower Canadians that the separation of Upper and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791 became necessary. These dates, so close together, emphasize the rapidity with which events moved in that period, as well as the sequence of cause and effect. We think also of the dates of Cartier's voyages, 1534, 1535, and 1541, merely to raise the question as to why so much time elapsed between the second and third voyages. When these points are properly seen, the events are kept in place by their relation of cause and effect, and the dates lose their value. Moreover, the relations thus discovered will do most toward fixing these dates in the memory. It should be understood, therefore, that dates are only a means to an end, not an end in themselves.
It is important also to know the dates of certain events when we are studying the history of several countries, in order that we may consider together those events that are contemporary.
There are, of course, some dates that should be remembered because of the importance of the events connected with them, for example: 1066, 1215, 1492, 1603, 1688, 1759, 1776, 1789, 1841, 1867.
In the Junior Forms, because the pupils are still lacking in the "historical sense," little emphasis need be put on the giving of dates. A few of the most important may be given in Form II, but it is very questionable if they have any significance to the pupils at this early stage.
The study of history should not end with what is contained in text-books, for the making of history never ceases. The study of current events will be found to be a very valuable element in history teaching. Teachers and pupils who are interested in the events of to-day are much more likely to be interested in the events of the past. A knowledge of current events will arouse curiosity in what led up to them, will suggest a motive for studying the past, and will often supply concrete examples for both history and civics. In fact, the teaching of civics may be based almost entirely on current events. (See Civics, p.52et seq.) The influence of a knowledge of current events on the study of history is very plainly seen to-day in the earnest and widespread effort to discover the causes of the war that is devastating Europe at the present time. History becomes real when pupils understand that what is happening now has its roots in the past and, at the same time, is history in the making. For example, the present war will certainly intensify our interest in the great movement to prevent war by means of world-wide arbitration of disputes between nations, or by any other means. The value of this phase of history teaching depends very largely on the interest taken in it by the teacher and on the work that the pupils can be induced to do for themselves. The teacher talks to the pupils about some important current event in an interesting way. Then the pupils are encouraged to add to what he has said by relating what they have heard, or have read in thenewspapers. After a few lessons the chief difficulty is to make a suitable selection of topics to be discussed in class. Those of national importance, if within the scope of the Form work, will have prominence, and the pupils will be given hints as to articles about these topics in papers, magazines, and books. It is obvious that topics likely to arouse religious, political, or other party feeling, should be avoided. For actual school-room practice the following scheme has been used successfully in Form III:
The teacher has suggested the kinds of events that are worthy of discussion, and the pupils come to class prepared to tell what they have read in the papers about some of these. The teacher aids them to give fit expression to their information, and the pupil who has been chosen as editor writes a summary of the lesson on the black-board, and later, on a sheet of paper.
Ordinarily, the editors should be chosen from those who write and spell well.
Where the subject-matter lends itself to such treatment, these summaries may be placed in two columns—one, theGirls' News Column; the other, theBoys' News Column. The summaries on the sheets of paper may be arranged in order for a week or a month and be known asThe School Review. Such a lesson includes history, and oral and written composition.
The following items of news were those discussed in a Form III room at the end of the week, when some time is taken to talk over the events of the week:
Feb. 5th, 1915Rescue of the crew of the Japanese cruiser Asama.Rescue work in the earthquake in Italy.Wireless message frustrates a German plot to blow up a French steamer.Fire in a New York factory—rescue of the inmates.Inhuman treatment of Belgian women and children.British officer praises the enemy.The Austrians are defeated by the Montenegrins.Canadians wounded in France.Importance of discipline and accurate shooting for Canadian troops.Germany proclaims a war zone around Britain.Two New York boy heroes of a fire.Tsar honours a girl wounded while carrying ammunition to the troops.Opening of the war session of the Canadian Parliament.
These items are sifted from a great many suggested by the pupils. In the sifting process, a very useful discussion is had as to what constitutes real "news," and what is mere "gossip"; that is, what is of value as news to the world at large, and what is of purely local, personal interest.
In civics, current topics may be made very useful. Items of municipal, provincial, or federal affairs furnish a concrete basis for the study of our system of government, and may also suggest moral examples.
One of the chief uses of local history in the class-room is to make the study of general history more vivid and interesting (1) by making more real those facts of history associated with the locality in which we live, and (2) by providing suitable illustrations, from the pupil's own experience, of facts in general history. When a pupil has seen the place where an event of history has happened, he has an interest in that event that he could scarcely gain in any other way, and the history of that period may then be taught with more interest and profit to him. A pupilfinds also in local history certain facts that he must understand in order to interpret the story of happenings, distant in time and place.
Some parts of Ontario are much richer in material than others, but in all historic spots may be found. On the St. Lawrence River, in the Niagara peninsula, in the Talbot settlement district, in York county, along the Ottawa River, in the Huron tract, there is no lack of useful material. But it is not necessary to confine such local history to the outstanding events of war or the larger happenings of civil progress. In every locality there are remains of the earlier Indian inhabitants, in the form of mounds, sites of villages, relics of war and the chase (arrow-heads, stone implements, beads, etc.); relics of the early settlers, in the form of roads and old log houses; relics of pioneer life consisting of furniture, household and outdoor implements, etc., that will serve as a basis for comparison with present-day conditions, and make real to the children the lives of the earlier inhabitants and settlers of Ontario.
The teaching of civics has a threefold aim:
1. To instruct in the mechanism of government. (Descriptive)
2. To instruct in the history of national institutions so as to show the line of development, and also to impress the fact that existing institutions are capable of development, are not fixed. (Historical)
3. "To show the cost of each institution in the efforts and sacrifices of past generations and to quicken and make permanent the children's interest in public life and their sense of responsibility to their fellows." (Patriotic and Ethical)
Two points stand out clearly—to teach the machinery of government and to instil ideals of public conduct. Of these the second is by far the more important and the more difficult to teach directly. The best way to attempt it is by means of biography and personal references. There are great men and women in history whose lives are worthy examples to the young: Sir John Eliot, Pym, Hampden, who stood for freedom of speech and debate; Gladstone, who helped to right historic wrongs in the East; Lincoln, who stood for union and the freedom of the individual; many eminent Canadians, such as Sir John Macdonald, George Brown, Alexander Mackenzie, Egerton Ryerson, Sir Oliver Mowat, and Sir James Whitney; women such as Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Fry, Laura Secord and Sarah Maxwell. Besides these eminent examples, there are in every locality men and women who give unselfishly of their energy and time for the good of the community.
There should also be impressed on the minds of the young a sense of their responsibility for an honest and faithful use of the ballot, a right won for them by the long and earnest effort of their forefathers; and the necessity for purity of government in our democratic form of administration. In school life, a good deal can be done to create a sense of fair play, respect for the rights of others, and of the necessity for submission to lawful authority by encouraging the pupils to conduct all their school organizations, whether in play or in work, honourably and by right methods.
Some of the lessons that may be taught to children during their school life are as follows:
1. Respect for the rights of others. Pupils may be brought to see that misconduct on their part affects others, not themselves only.
2. Respect for the property of others. This may be secured best by teaching them to take good care of their own property first, for unless a child cares rightly for his own, he is not likely to take much thought for the things of others.
3. Respect for public property. This is something that needs attention badly. It is a very common thing to find people destroying trees, flowers, etc., in public places, throwing refuse on the street, and otherwise disfiguring their surroundings. A beginning of better habits may be made by getting the pupils to aid in beautifying and decorating the school building by means of pictures, either prints or their own work, by flowers in pots, by keeping the floor and walls clean and free from marks and litter; also in making the grounds around the school more attractive by means of flowers and shrubs. Arbor Day may be made of great use in this respect, if the spirit of that Day can be carried through the whole year. A pride in the attractiveness of the school will have its influence on the pupils in the wider life of the community.
A knowledge of the machinery of government may be based on the pupils' knowledge of the organization of the school. The appointment, power, and duties of the teacher are the starting-point. The next step will be to investigate the composition of the board of school trustees. This may be done at the time of an election for school trustees. The following questions may serve as an outline of study for all the political bodies by which we are governed: