which the vocational aim is given recognition than in those in which it is taught as a general high-school subject; (2) the percentage of girls from the farm is larger in the classes in agriculture in those schools in which it is taught as a general high-school subject than in those in which the vocational aim is given recognition; and

TABLE LVII

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF BOYS AND GIRLS FROM THE FARM IN

(3) the total percentage of both boys and girls from the farm seems to be somewhat larger in the classes in agriculture in those schools in which it is taught as a general high-school subject, this being due to the relatively large percentage of girls from the farm as reported in (2).

VI. SUMMARY

1. The offering in agriculture varies greatly in amount, from a single course in general agriculture to a specialized sequence extending through four years. Some schools offer both general agriculture and one or more specialized courses. The sequences are usually three or four years in length. The courses appearing in the sequences are one or more of the following: farm crops, animal husbandry, soils, horticulture, farm mechanics and farm management, and farm accounts.

2. Farm crops appears more frequently in the first year of the high school than in other years. Animal husbandry is most frequently a second-year subject. Soils and horticulture are not definitely recommended by practice for any year. Farm mechanics and farm management are more commonly found in the fourth

year. Farm accounts appears with equal frequency in the third and fourth years.

3. a) The lengths of most of the courses have not been definitely fixed in practice. They vary between half-year and full-year courses. General agriculture, farm crops, animal husbandry, and farm mechanics and farm management are more commonly full-year courses, whereas soils, horticulture, and farm mechanics and farm management are more commonly half-year subjects. Farm accounts seems always to extend through a half-year.

b) The practice as to time per week allotted to courses in agriculture does not differ essentially from that which obtains in other science courses.

4. Courses in general agriculture are usually true to name, the content being drawn from all the main divisions of agriculture.

5. There is a wholesome tendency through the introduction of practical exercises to relate the courses in agriculture with vocation and life.

6. Field trips are a prominent constituent of courses in agriculture.

7. Schools offering specialized courses in agriculture more frequently provide special laboratories and school plots or farms than do schools offering only general agriculture.

8. The courses in agriculture are taught with approximately equal frequency as vocational subjects and as general high-school subjects.

I.

CHAPTER V

HISTORY AND THE OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES

A. HISTORY

DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY

The distribution, by states, of the schools from which responses to the inquiry in the teaching of the various courses in history have come is shown in Table LVIII. This table does not include three

TABLE LVIII

DISTRIBUTION, BY STATES, OF THE SCHOOLS FROM WHICH HAVE COME RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY IN THE VARIOUS COURSES IN HISTORY

reports in general history, one in Hebrew history, and one report each in separate courses in Greek and Roman history, to which, on account of their small number, no further reference is made in this chapter.

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II. THE OFFERING IN HISTORY

EXTENT OF OFFERING

All but one of the 163 different schools from which responses to the inquiry in history have come have complied with the request to set down their history sequences. These offerings in history, exclusive of civics and economics, extend through from 1 to 4 courses, as follows: I school offers a single course, 9 schools offer 2 courses, 98 schools offer 3 courses, 54 schools offer 4 courses.

I

The school offering but a single course reports it as ancient history. Of the 9 schools offering 2 courses, 5 offer ancient and mediaeval and modern history, 2 offer ancient and American, I offers general and American, and 1 English and American. The offering in the 98 schools reporting 3 courses is as follows: 79 offer ancient, mediaeval and modern,' and American, and 19 schools offer ancient, English, and American. All the 54 schools reporting 4 courses offer ancient, mediaeval and modern, English, and American history.

YEARS IN WHICH THE COURSES APPEAR

The years in which the courses in history appear, as indicated in the responses, are presented in Table LIX. The facts are in brief these: ancient history appears almost an equal number of times in the first and second years, with only a few schools listing it for the third year; mediaeval and modern history appears with almost equal frequency in the second year and in the third year, very few schools listing it for the fourth year; English history is predominantly a third-year subject, with a sprinkling in other years; American history is almost always reported for the fourth year, although a few schools list it for the third and one school for the first year.

The teachers were asked to state what aspects of the various subjects as they are taught recommend them for the years for which they are reported. The answer most commonly given for the place of ancient history is its position in the chronological sequence in the historical field; many teachers seem to believe that the study

1 A few of these report modern instead of mediaeval and modern history, but for convenience they have been included here.

of history must be begun at the beginning of recorded history. A number of teachers speak of ancient history as being easier of comprehension than subsequent courses: "the easiest of all history courses," "the relative simplicity of government and other institutions prior to Rome," "the story element in oriental history and the biographical character of Greek and Roman history." Others say that it is suited for this place because of its foundational relation to other subjects, e.g., Latin, art, and English. Eight teachers recommend it for second-year work because it is "too difficult for Freshmen." Other answers are less significant.

TABLE LIX

NUMBER OF SCHOOLS REPORTING VARIOUS YEARS IN WHICH THE COURSES IN HISTORY APPEAR

Mediaeval and modern history, also, is recommended by many teachers for the years in which it commonly appears because of its place in chronological sequence: "mediaeval and modern should follow ancient history," "mediaeval and modern should come between ancient and American," "mediaeval and modern should be given in the second year as preparation for later history." Several teachers speak of the advantages it offers for correlation with the English literature that usually appears in these years. Eight teachers listing it as a third-year subject mention the maturity desirable for its adequate comprehension. Other answers are less significant and less frequent.