The old reading, writing,
arithmetic, and grammar could not be shelved for the sake of the new
studies and the same amount of time must be divided now among many
branches. It is not to be wondered at if all the studies are treated
in a shallow and fragmentary way. Some of the new studies, especially,
are not well taught. There is less of unity in higher education now
than there was before the classical studies and "the three R's" lost
their supremacy. Our common school course has become a batch of
miscellanies. We are in danger of overloading pupils, as well as of
making a superficial hodge-podge of all branches. There is imperative
need for sifting the studies according to their value, as well as for
bringing them into right connection and dependence upon one another.
_Fourthly_, there is a large body of thoughtful and inquiring teachers
and principals who are working at a revision of the school course.
They seek something tangible, a working plan, which will help them in
their present perplexities and show them a wise use of drawing, natural
science, and literature, in harmony with the other studies. _Finally_,
since we are in the midst of such a breaking-up period, we need to take
our bearings.
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