The _simplicity_ of the old course both in the common school and in
higher institutions is in marked contrast to the present multiplicity.
It was a narrow current in which education used to run, but it was deep
and strong. In higher institutions the mastery of Latin and of Latin
authors was the _sine qua non_. In the common school arithmetic was
held in almost equal honor. Strong characters have often been
developed by a narrow and rigid training along a single line of duty as
is shown in the case of the Jesuits, the Humanists, and the more recent
devotees of natural science.
As contrasted with this, the most striking feature of our public
schools now is their _shallow and superficial_ work. It is probable
that the teaching in lower grades is better than ever before, but as
the tasks accumulate in the higher grades there is a great amount of
smattering. The prospect is, however, that this disease will grow
worse before a remedy can be applied. The first attempt to cultivate
broader and more varied fields of knowledge in the common school must
necessarily exhibit a shallow result. Teachers are not familiar with
the new subjects, methods are not developed, and the proper adjustments
of the studies to each other are neglected.
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