Beloit Memorial High School - Beloiter Yearbook (Beloit, WI)

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cile contradictory views, and at last reach probable conclusions. This is true of the merchant, the manufacturer, the farmer, and others. This same method is used in forming historical conclu- sions, and helps make history one of the most practical of school studies. It has been said that the most importantgift of acitizen in such a profession as politics, or law, or medicine, or teaching, or war, is ability in the selection of the premises from which the solution ofthe various problems of life are to be extracted, and that soundness of judgment and clearness of perception in collect- ing and arranging these premises is a large part of each manls or woman's workin the world. The proper study of history gives practice and insight into the solution of these problems and de- velopes this ability. As a knowledge of facts is necessary before a proper interpretation can be given to those facts, the earlier years of historical study are given almost exclusively to-the ac- quisition of facts. 'By the time a student reaches the high school he should be able to do some work in interpreting facts, and dur- ing the high school course much practice should he given in this kind of work. A The American Historical Association has recommended that the course of study in history in high schools be: First year, Ancient history to SOO A. D., second year, mediaeval and modern European history 5 third year, English history 5 fourth year, American history. This plan has been accepted by nearly all the colleges and universities in the country, and is strongly recom- mended by the University of Kansas. At present the Beloit High School offers two years of this work. The work in ancient history is given in the Sophomore year and the American history in the Senior year. So 'far as is practicable under existing conditions the plan followed is a combination ofthe library and the text- book methods. The high school library is very well supplied with reference books and books for collateral reading. A certain amount of collateral reading is required of all students. In each of the courses each student also makes a series of historical maps illustrating the growth and development of the country he is studying. At theend of the course he then has an historical atlas of his own making. 'R This is in accordance with the latest and most approved methods of historical study. It may be said that it is perhaps within the range of possibility that an additional year's work in history may be offered in the Beloit High School by next year.

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HISTORY. Contrary to what many people are inclined to think there is, perhaps, no one study that will J. o. HALL, SUPERINTENDENT OF CITY SCHOOLS. DEPARTMENT on HISTORY. be more effective in giving a per- son a thorough, comprehensive and just view of men and of the world than will a proper and thorough study of history. President Eliot, of Harvard Uni- versity, has well said: Ii the humanity or liberality of a study depends upon its power to en- large the intellectual and moral interests of the student, quicken his sympathies, impel him to the side of truth and virtue, and make him loathe falsehood and vice, no study can be more hu- mane and liberal than historyf' Many people are inclined to look upon t-he study of history simply from the standpoint of chro- nology. This is a very narrow and unjust view, for historical facts by themselves are not his- tory. They must be elaborated and combined 5 they must be organized, that is, be brought to- gether and integrated with reference to their relations. Since his- tory is man-picturing, as geography is earth-picturing, the study of history serves as a proper exercise of the powers of representa- tiong but it does more than this-it serves a valuable discipline ofthe thinking iacultiesg and still further-the historical knowl- edge of the student becomes his moral knowledge. Unlike the method in the so-called exact sciences the method of forming judg- ments in history is very similar to the method employed in the problems oi practical life. In the transaction of human business we accumulate data, weigh the force of opposing evidence, recon-

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r.. l SCIENCE. The work in the Science department includes five subjectsg three of them, chemistry, botany and physics, being carried for a full year each, and the other two, physical geography and geology, being combined to make one year's work. All of this work is required of the regular students, with the exception that in the Junior year they have an option of taking either botany, which is in the Latin-Science course, or chemistry, which belongs to the German-Science course. The work is arranged to meet the demands of the college en- trance requirements, but in amount is much more than that demands, and serves to give the student a very good introduction J, H, ADAMS QPRINCIPALL to severaldepartments oi science. SCIENCE AND GERMAN DEP 1'S- The headquarters of this depart- ment are in a room in the basement of the high school building. This has been fitted up as a laboratory, and is used for a recita- tion room as well. The equipment is very good for a high school course. The former teachers are to be connnended for their work in preparing the fine, large collection of specimens in the museum, which aid very materially in illustrating the work in natural science. There is a fine collection of mounted zoological speci- mens, although no course in that subject is oliered in the school at present. There is also a large collection of minerals, fossils and other geological specimens for the use of the geology class, and this class goes each year on an excursion to the Blue Hills, about twenty-five miles southwest of here, to hunt and collect specimens and to observe the structure and formation of the hills and the