Psychology Of High School Subjects

PSYCHOLOGY OF HIGH-SCHOOL SUBJECTS BY CHARLES HUBBARD JUDD PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION AND DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL. OF EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON - NEW YORK CHICAGO LONDON ATLANTA DALLAS COLUMBUS SAN FRANCISCO PREFACE if Vk m It is more difficult to prepare-anbook on applied science than to write a book on pure science. Applied science touches so many fiejds of thought and action that there are twenty critics ready to point out difficulties where only one would appear against a volume on pure science. In the following pages I have been guilty of excursions into the territory of the teacher of English, into the stronghold of Latin, into the newly established dotfiains of science and manual arts. I have made observations in these various quarters from the point of view of the psychologist. Many of these observations will be looked upon by my colleagues in psychology as unpsychological many will be regarded by specialists in English, Latin, science, and the manual arts as biased and ill-advised. It is the fate of anyone who attempts to contribute to applied science to draw upon himself abundant criticism. The only opportunity which one has of making a remark of a purely personal type being in the preface, I am con strained to point out that it is not at all unlikely that many of the specialists who will say that I ought to keep within the bounds of my own field will unhesitatingly talk in psychological ternis which they cannot justify. It would be easy to point to cases where psychology has been used but not applied, where the name of the science of education has been set up as a defense by those who are altogether unscientific. Fortunately, however, the timehas arrived when educa tion is to be put on a broad, objective foundation. The iii iv PSYCHOLOGY OF HIGH-SCHOOL SUBJECTS numerous books on high-school education which have pre ceded this show that personal views are soon to be set aside in favor of more general and well-established principles. Whoever is able to state in an objective way the grounds of his beliefs about secondary-school problems has a right to speak, and to hope that the criticism which he receives will be directed toward his methods and his formulation of problems rather than toward his special views. It is in this hope that the following pages are offered. It would be difficult to acknowledge the contributions which have been made directly and indirectly to this vol ume. Some years ago the author acted as inspector of high schools for the state board of education in Con necticut and came into close and instructive contact with Secretary Hine and others who were engaged in developing secondary education in that state. For the past six years he has profited greatly from intimate association with Prin cipal F. W. Johnson and the other members of the faculty of the high school conducted as a laboratory school in the School of Education of The University of Chicago. During the last four years he has learned mucli from a group of principals of high schools in and about Chicago who have admitted him each month to the informal meetings at which they canvass without restraint the problems of high-school teaching and organization. To all these the author is under special obligation. To the students who have been mem bers of the classes in which this book has been gradually put in form the authors obligations are larger than heis able adequately to acknowledge. The reports which have been handed in by members of these classes have been full of fruitful suggestions. Many other obligations of a less personal type are indicated by footnotes in the text. C. H. J. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Educational psychology as a study of students. New motives for making such a study. The problems of such a study are to be found in the special subjects of instruction. Methods of collecting material...