Famous Men of the Middle Ages
- Pages
- about 153
- Category
- History
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2.8 h at 250 wpm
From the opening
The study of history, like the study of a landscape, should begin
with the most conspicuous features. Not until these have been fixed
in memory will the lesser features fall into their appropriate
places and assume their right proportions.
The famous men of ancient and modern times are the mountain peaks
of history. It is logical then that the study of history should
begin with the biographies of these men.
Not only is it logical; it is also pedagogical. Experience has
proven that in order to attract and hold the child's attention
each conspicuous feature of history presented to him should have
an individual for its center. The child identifies himself with
the personage presented. It is not Romulus or Hercules or Cæsar or
Alexander that the child has in mind when he reads, but himself,
acting under similar conditions.
Prominent educators, appreciating these truths, have long recognized
the value of biography as a preparation for the study of history
and have given it an important place in their scheme of studies.
The former practice in many elementary schools of beginning the
detailed study of American history without any previous knowledge
of general history limited the pupil's range of vision, restricted
his sympathies, and left him without material for comparisons.
Moreover, it denied to him a knowledge of his inheritance from
the Greek philosopher, the Roman lawgiver, the Teutonic lover of
freedom. Hence the recommendation so strongly urged in the report
of the Committee of Ten--and emphasized, also, in the report of
the Committee of Fifteen--that the study of Greek, Roman and modern
European history in the form of biography should precede the study
of detailed American history in our elementary schools. The Committee
of Ten recommends an eight years' course in history, beginning
with the fifth year in school and continuing to the end of the
high school course. The first two years of this course are given
wholly to the study of biography and mythology.
A short sample. Read the whole book
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