Greek and Roman Civilization; With an Introduction to the Source Study Method - Fred Morrow Fling

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1899. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... introduction. The pedagogy of the last half of the nineteenth century differs both in matter and in method from that of the first half. Our age is scientific above all things, and this spirit has permeated, one by one, all branches of instruction. The change in matter has consisted in a revolt against the claims of the classics to a monopoly of all knowledge and all discipline. The revolt was successful and the classics were relegated to their proper place in the new curriculum. Henceforth they are to form a part and not the whole of education. Through the breach thus made new studies entered demanding their share of attention. In truth, some of them demanded more than their share, and for a time, under the influence of the reactionary spirit, the movement threatened to go too far in the opposite direction and to abandon the classics entirely. But the new matter was not more important than the new method. With the sciences came the scientific spirit and the laboratory method. The old method, or lack of method, presided at the birth of the new studies, but the textbook recitation was at first supplemented by experiments performed before the class, and at last by experiments performed by the class, and the change was complete. That the laboratory method was the only method to be employed in teaching the sciences was quite clear; that it had a universal application and might be as readily employed in teaching other subjects, not generally recognized as sciences, was not so clear. The result of this apparent inability to understand the great possibilities in the new method has been a marked absence of progress in the teaching of certain subjects. History, unfortunately, is one of these. I say "unfortunately," for I know of no subject whose right teaching is of more ...