Chapter II: =History=

239. The most common blunder that younger teachers of history are apt to make is that, without intending it, they become increasingly prolix in presentation. It is not that interest deepens, but that the network of events lures them, now one way, now another. This of itself evinces preparation; but mental preparation alone does not suffice; preliminary practice, too, is necessary.

Young teachers of history, like young teachers in other subjects, are
prone to error. What the prevailing error in a given study will be,
is likely to depend upon conventional methods of presenting it. In
Germany it is customary for the teacher himself to be the historian
through whose mind all historical knowledge passes on its way to
the children. But just as good writers of history are rare, so good
teachers of history are likely to be few, since in an important sense
they are at once teachers and oral historians. Where the text-book is
depended upon for the narrative, as in the United States, a different
difficulty presents itself to the teacher. What shall he do with the
text, all the pupils having read it? Perhaps the commonest method is
to call upon them one by one to reproduce it in class. But this is a
deadening process, since it compels nineteen pupils to sit passive
while the twentieth recites the words that the nineteen could repeat
equally well. If, therefore, the besetting fault of the teacher of
history in German is prolixity, that of the American teacher is
tediousness. The German method is that of primitive man, where the
legends of the tribe are handed down from father to son by word of
mouth; the American presentation of history is modern, where all the
resources of scholarship and the advantages of the printing press are
utilized. Each method has peculiar advantages, the former having the
possible charm of first-hand narrative, the latter that of accuracy
and comprehensiveness. The narrative method is greatly superior to
that of the text-book with children whose powers of reading are
not well developed; the text-book, together with its available
accessories, is greatly to be preferred with older pupils capable
of large amounts of reading. The following sections give a vivid
description of the narrative method at its best; the commentary will
attempt to show how the printed page may be made equally attractive,
and, at the same time, much more useful.

240. If, to begin with, a purely chronological, but accurate, outline-view of history is to be imparted, the teacher must be able to traverse mentally the whole historical field, going with equal readiness back, forward, or across (synchronistically). The notable names must form definite groups and series; and the teacher must possess facility in making the most notable names stand out clearly from the groups, and in condensing the most salient points of a long series into a short series.

If this mastery of subject-matter is important for the narrator, it
is equally important for the teacher who depends upon print for the
narration. Observation of current history teaching betrays the fact
that the teacher rarely becomes master of his material to such an
extent that he can throw it into new forms. As it stands in the book,
he probably knows it; but to take liberties with the facts, to expand
parts, or throw masses into brief outline, to make new groupings, or
to change a long series into a short one, usually lies beyond his
ability. This lesson the American teacher must learn through a better
mastery of his materials.

241. Again, the teacher must make himself perfectly familiar with general notions that relate to classes of society--constitutions, institutions, religious customs, stages of culture--and that serve to explain events. But not only this; he must study likewise the conditions under which he can develop them and keep them present in the minds of his pupils. This consideration alone shuts out most generalizations from the first lessons in history. And, accordingly, ancient history, whose moving causes are simpler than the more modern political factors, maintains its place in presentations of historical material to younger pupils.

American history is better than ancient history in respect to its
richness of picturesque variety. It is, moreover, easier for children
to comprehend, since our present conditions have emerged directly
from our pioneer state. Not only are constitutions, institutions,
and religious customs to be studied, but the economic conditions of
those early times are particularly worthy of study, since they are
both important and interesting. Methods of farming, of conducting
household affairs, such as cooking, making fires, producing
clothing, securing shelter, means of transportation on land and
water, methods of communication, and many other similar topics are of
interest to the young.

242. Furthermore, due attention must be given to the difficulty of narrating well a complex event. The very first condition is continuity of the thought-current, in order that the thread of the story may remain unbroken, except where there are intentional rests. This, in turn, presupposes fluency of speech, careful cultivation of which is indispensable to a good presentation of historical events. But mere fluency does not suffice. There must also be resting-places, because otherwise alternate absorption and reflection cannot be secured; and because, without such pauses, even the formation of the series fails, since what has preceded arrests what follows. It is therefore not immaterial where a historical lesson begins and ends, and where the reviews are inserted.

While the narrator can utter words in succession only, the event has, in his mind, a very different form, which it is his business to convey to his hearers. Nor does the form of the event resemble a level plane; on the contrary, a manifold interest lifts some things into prominence and lets others sink. It is essential, accordingly, to distinguish how far, in a given instance, the narration should follow in a straight line the succession of events, and where, on the other hand, it should deviate to include accessory circumstances. The very language used must possess the power to induce side-glances and retrospective views, even without leaving the main road. The narrator must have skill to introduce descriptions here and to linger over pictures there, but must be able also, while moving his hearers, to retain his own self-control and to keep his bearings.

243. There remains one other requisite of prime importance, namely, the utmost simplicity of expression. The condensed and abstract language of more recent historians is hardly suited even to the highest class of a secondary school; a sentimental or witty treatment, such as that found in modern novelists, must be avoided entirely. The only safe models are the ancient classics.

The most serious fault with the text-book method is the barrenness
arising from condensation. To teach history solely from a single
book, even if this be among the best, is to produce an atrophy of the
historical interest. It is on this account that successful teachers
introduce large amounts of collateral reading, not of similarly
condensed books, which would be like remedying the drouth with more
dry weather, but of sections from fuller works on the same subject.
In American history the pupil is directed to read selected portions
of standard works like those of Fiske, Parkman, McMaster, Turner,
Tyler, or earlier historians. In English history he is sent directly
to such men as Gardiner, Green, Freeman, Traill, Ransome, Cunningham
and McArthur, Harrison and Macaulay. The method of copious readings
has, in turn, its disadvantages, the most conspicuous of which is
diffusiveness. It is easy for the student to become so absorbed in
a mass of details that he lose the proper sense of proportion, or
overlook the relative importance of events, or fail to fix firmly
in mind the causal series that binds all together. In the case of
either of the methods described, it is the teacher who is responsible
for order and for clearness of detail. In the one case his narrative
must have the artistic unity of the finished historian; in the other
he must so manage a wealth of given material that the golden chain
of cause and effect shall be seen binding diversity into unity. The
ability to do the first is of a much rarer order than that of the
second, for the art of teaching is not so difficult as the art of
historical composition. The remedy for the specific difficulty which
modern text-book teaching of history encounters will be discussed
under paragraph 247.

The stories of Herodotus should serve the teacher as the basis for practice. In fact, they should actually be memorized in an accurate but fluent translation. The effect on children is surprising. At a later stage use may be made of Arrian and Livy. The method of the ancients of letting the principal characters utter their views and set forth their motives with their own lips, the narrator abstaining from reflections of his own, should be scrupulously imitated, and should be departed from only in the case of manifestly artificial rhetorical devices.

244. The course of preparation outlined above (240–243) having gone hand-in-hand with a thorough, pragmatic study of history, it is further necessary, in the exercise of the art acquired, to learn to expand or contract, according to circumstances and the specific aims of each occasion. Concerning this point no generally applicable rules can be given, on account of the great variety of possible cases; but the following suggestions should be noted:--

In general, all helps whereby historical objects may be represented to sense--portraits, pictures of buildings, of ruins, etc.--are desirable; maps for the more ancient times must be regarded as particularly indispensable. They should always be at hand, and their study should not be neglected. Among these helps must be included charts, substantially like that by Strass entitled “The Stream of Time,” which places before the eye not only synchronistic events, but at the same time shows also the alternate union and division of countries. The lack of such aids causes the loss of much time and temper over mere memory work.

Again, attention is due to the following four aspects of the teaching of history:--

245. (1) In the first place, even the earliest lessons in geography give rise to the question, whenever the description of a country is finished, “How did things look in this country formerly?” For it is a part of correct apprehension that cities and other works of man should not be regarded as of equal age with mountains, rivers, and oceans. Now, although the teacher cannot stop, during the time set apart for geography dealing with the present, to show and explain maps illustrative of the past, it will be useful, nevertheless, to add a few remarks about the early history of the country under discussion. The art of narration, however, is out of place here, inasmuch as the question, although reaching back in time, is suggested by the country. Mention of former activity, such as migrations and wars, is made simply for the purpose of adding life to the conception of a stationary surface. At the beginning, the notes on by-gone periods in connection with the geography of Germany will accordingly be as brief as possible; gradually, however, as France, England, Spain, Italy, are being studied in succession, these historical notes become knit together, and history is thus, so to speak, made to loom up in the distance. How far to go in this direction can be determined more definitely by distinguishing between the requirements of the first, and of the second course in geography. In the first course the most general statements may suffice, _e.g._, that not so very long ago Germany was split up more than now; that there were older times, when cities and neighboring princes often made war upon each other; that the barons used to live on more or less inaccessible heights; but that, in the interest of better order and stricter surveillance, Germany was divided into ten districts, etc.

The second course will admit of more historical facts than the first, although still only very few pertaining to an older epoch. Only the more recent events can be conveniently connected with geography, except in the case of still extant historical monuments,--such, for instance, as the ruins in Italy, the composite language of England, the peculiar political organization of Switzerland with its many subdivisions, visible on the map, and its diversities of language.

If, as is sometimes recommended, the plan is adopted of preparing the way for the study of mediæval and modern history by a separate introductory course in short biographies, such a plan, though at best only fragmentary in its results, becomes at least more feasible where historical notes of the kind just mentioned are incorporated with the lessons in geography. But in this case it is all the more essential to have a chronological chart upon the wall, to some dates of which the teacher must take every opportunity to refer, in order that the pupils may obtain at least some fixed points. Otherwise scattered biographies are liable to occasion great confusion.

246. (2) The chief basis for the earlier stages of historical teaching will always be Greek and Roman history. It will not be inappropriate to commence with a few charming stories from Homeric mythology, since there is a close connection between the history of a people and their religion. Two wrong ways, however, are to be avoided: one, that of giving a detailed theogony or of including objectionable myths, for the sake of completeness, which would here be devoid of a rational purpose; the other, that of having the mythological elements memorized. Only true history should be memorized by children. Mythology is a study for youths or men.

Persian history must be told approximately in the sequence and setting given by Herodotus; to it the history of Assyria and of Egypt may be joined in the form of episodes, Greece being kept well in the foreground. The stories from the Old Testament, on the other hand, form a chain of lessons by themselves. The history of Rome must at first retain its mythical beginnings.

Whatever German opinion may be regarding the beginnings of historical
instruction for their own children, American history possesses
strong claims for precedence when we come to children of the United
States. If we regard the chief intellectual purpose of history for
the student to be the understanding of the present status through
a knowledge of the historical progress that has led to it, then
the primitive and pioneer history of this country is infinitely
more valuable than any other to an American child, for in it lie
enfolded the forces that have developed our people; whereas Greece
and Rome are as distant in influence as they are in time. It is the
mythology of Greece and Rome that most attracts children; but this
belongs to literature rather than to history. Accounts of battles
are about the same the world over, but it takes more maturity of
mind to understand the Greek rage for individuality after the rise
of philosophy, than it does to understand a corresponding feeling
among the American pioneers, to say nothing of the desirability of
teaching the latter as a phase of our own development. For reasons
of simplicity, therefore, as well as for psychological nearness and
national importance, American history must take precedence over that
of Greece and Rome for American children.

247. Suppose, now, that detailed stories after the models furnished by the ancients have won the attention of the pupils; the mere pleasure of listening to stories can nevertheless not be allowed to determine continuously the impression to be produced. Condensed surveys must follow, and a few of the main facts be memorized in chronological order.

The following suggestions will be in place here. The chief events are to attach themselves in the memory to the memorized dates in such a way that no confusion can arise. Now, a single date may suffice for the group of connected incidents constituting one main event; if it seems necessary to add another, or a third, well and good, but to keep on multiplying dates defeats the very end aimed at. The more dates the weaker their effect, on account of the growing difficulty of remembering them all. In the history of one country dates should rather remain apart as far as possible, in order that the intervening numbers may be all the more available for purposes of synchronistic tabulation, by which the histories of different countries are to be brought together and connected. The same sparing use should be made of the facts of ancient geography, but those that are introduced must be learned accurately.

Granted that the primitive method of historical narration by the
teacher is the most effective in its appeal to the beginner, it
must be maintained that the combined knowledge and literary skill
of modern historians infinitely surpass the powers of the ordinary
teacher. The modern problem is, not how to compose history, but how
to utilize that which has been composed. It is, in short, to guard
against the confusion that comes from diffuseness. Wide historical
reading may be as bad for the student as wide reading of novels. The
mind may surrender itself to the passing panorama as completely in
the one field as in the other, until the impressions made are like
those of a ship upon a sea. The remedy is the thorough organization
in the mind of the student of the knowledge gained in diverse fields.
This is secured by teacher or author, or both. Some authors secure
clearness of outline by topics, references, and research questions.
Larned’s “History of England” concludes every chapter in this way.
As an illustration we may quote from Chapter XVI, which narrates the
quarrel between King Charles and his people:--

202. _Charles I._
Topic.
1. Charles’s character and views.
References.--Bright, II, 608, 609; Green, 495; Montague, 118;
Ransome, 138, 139.

203. _Bad Faith in the Beginning of the Reign._
Topic.
1. Charles’s marriage and broken pledges.
Reference.--Bright, II, 608, 614.

204. _The First Parliament of King Charles._
Topics.
1. Charles’s designs and his treatment of Parliament.
2. Attitude of Commons and their dissolution.
3. The King’s levies.
Reference.--Gardiner, II, 502, 503.
Research Questions.--(1) What were the legal and illegal sources
of the King’s revenues? (Ransome, 151, 155). (2) What might be
said to constitute the private property of the crown? (3) What
contributed to make Charles’s court expensive? (Traill, IV, 76).
(4) How would this need for money make for parliamentary
greatness?[25]

In a similar way the remaining topics of this section of English
history are recorded, guiding the pupil in his outlines and his
readings. With suitable care on the part of the teacher to see that
the student fixes the outline firmly in mind, there is no danger of
becoming lost in a wilderness of words. At the same time the pupil’s
mind is enriched from many noble sources, instead of being limited by
the presumably meagre resources of a single teacher. By this method
the child may enjoy the benefits of modern erudition, without at the
same time being harmed by dissipation of mental energy.

Other authors reach the same ends by different means. Fiske’s
“History of the United States,” for example, concludes each chapter
with a topical outline in which cause and effect are emphasized.
At the close of Chapter X, on the “Causes and Beginning of the
Revolution,” we find the following:--

=Topics and Questions=

76. _Causes of Ill Feeling between England and her Colonies._
1. What was the European idea of a colony, and of its object?
2. What erroneous notions about trade existed?
3. What was the main object of the laws regulating trade, etc.?

77. _The Need of a Federal Union._
1. One difficulty in carrying on the French wars.
2. An account of Franklin.
3. Franklin’s plan of union, etc.

78. _The Stamp Act Passed and Repealed._
1. The kind of government needed by the colonies.
2. How Parliament sought to establish such a government.
3. The nature of a stamp act, etc.

79. _Taxation in England._
1. How Pitt’s friendship for America offended George III.
2. The representation of the English people in Parliament.
3. How the representation of the people is kept fair in the
United States.
4. How it became unfair in England.
5. Corrupt practices favored by this unfairness.
6. The party of Old Whigs.
7. The Tories, or the party of George III.
8. The party of New Whigs and its aims.
9. Why George III was so bitter against Pitt.
10. The attitude of the King toward taxation in America.
11. The people of England not our enemies, etc.

At the close of these topics there follows a list of fifteen
“Suggestive Questions and Directions,” with page references to
Fiske’s “The American Revolution,” Vol. I, the whole being concluded
by eighteen topics for collateral reading from “The American
Revolution,” and from Cooke’s “Virginia.”[26]

It is a significant fact that modern text-books for children are
being prepared by masters in the various departments of knowledge,
not a little thought being bestowed upon the highest utilization
of all modern instruments for arousing the intelligent interest of
the pupils. This being the case, it is idle to rely upon primitive
methods, however potent they may have been in the past, with pupils
who have learned to read fluently.

[25] Larned, “History of England,” Houghton, Mifflin & Co., p. 396.

[26] Fiske, John, “A History of the United States for Schools,” Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, pp. 211–215.

248. The general surveys that follow the detailed narratives have this advantage for the pupil: he infers of his own accord, that in periods of which not much is told, a great deal took place, nevertheless, which the history or the teacher passes over in silence. In this way the false impressions are prevented that would be produced by purely compendious instruction, which indeed, at a later stage, becomes in a measure unavoidable.

249. (3) Mediæval history derives no assistance from the study of the ancient languages, nor is it closely related to present conditions; there is difficulty in imparting to the presentation of it more than the clearness obtainable through geography and chronology. But more than this is requisite: the burden of mere memory work without interest would become too great. The fundamental factors, Islamism, Papacy, the Holy Roman Empire, Feudalism, must be explained and given due prominence. Most of the facts down to Charlemagne may be made to contribute additional touches to the panorama of the Great Migration. With Charlemagne the chain of German history begins, and it will usually be considered advisable to extend this chain to the end of the Middle Ages, in order to have something to which synchronous events may be linked later on. Yet some doubt arises as to the value of such a plan. To be sure, the reigns of the Ottos, the Henrys, the Hohenstaufen, together with intervening occurrences, form a tolerably well-connected whole; but as early as the interregnum there is a sad break, and although the historical narrative recovers, as it were, with the stories of Rudolph Albrecht and Ludwig the Bavarian, there is nothing in the names of succeeding leaders, from Carl IV to Frederick III, that would make them proper starting-points and connecting centres for the synchronism of the whole period in question. It might be better, therefore, to stop with the excommunication of Ludwig the Bavarian, with the assembly of the electors at Rhense, and with the account of how the popes came to reside in Avignon. Then--going back to Charlemagne--France, Italy, even England, may be taken up, and greater completeness given to the history of the crusades. Farther on, special attention might be called, in a synchronistic way, to Burgundy and Switzerland, and to the changing fortunes of the wars between England and France. French history may then leave off with the reign of Charles VIII, and English history with that of Henry VII, while German history, from Maximilian on, is placed again in the foreground. The Hussite wars will be treated as forerunners of the Reformation. Other events must be skilfully inserted. Many modifications of grouping will have to be reserved for subsequent repetitions.

250. (4) In presenting modern history, the teacher will do well to avail himself of the fact that modern history does not cover so long reaches of time as mediæval history does, and that it falls into three sharply defined periods, the first of which ends with the treaty of Westphalia, the second extends from this date to the French Revolution, and the third, to the present. These periods should be carefully distinguished, the leading events of each should be narrated synchronistically, and a recital of the most essential historical facts about each country should follow. Only after each has been handled in this way, and the subject-matter presented has been thoroughly impressed upon the memory by reviews, will it be well to pass on to a somewhat fuller ethnographical account reaching back into the mediæval history of each country and extending forward to our own times. No harm is done by going over the same ground again for the purpose of amplifying that which before appeared in outline only.

The chief point is, that no course of instruction which claims at all to give completeness of culture can be regarded as concluded before it has introduced the pupil to the pragmatic study of history, and has taught him to look for causes and effects. This applies preëminently to modern history, on account of its direct connection with the present; but mediæval and ancient history, too, have to be worked over once more from this point of view. History should be the teacher of mankind; if it does not become so, the blame rests largely with those who teach history in schools.

251. A well-compiled and well-proportioned brief history of inventions, arts, and sciences should conclude the teaching of history, not only in gymnasia, but also and especially in higher burgher schools, because their courses of study are not supplemented by the university.

Moreover, the whole course in history is properly accompanied by illustrative poetical selections, which, although perhaps not produced during the different epochs, yet stand in some relation to them; and which in some measure, even if only by illustrating ages very far apart, exhibit the vast differences in the freest activities of the human mind.

=Note.=--National history is not the same for each land, nor
everywhere of equal interest, and, owing to its connection with
larger events, often unintelligible to young minds when torn out
of its place and presented by itself. If its early introduction is
desired in order to kindle the heart, special pains must be taken
to select that which is intelligible and which appeals to boyhood.