Is It the Right Answer?

Abstract

OUR AIMS, among others, are sometimes F advanced for liberal or general education. Historically and until recently a very common aim was that the schools should acquaint their pupils with classical literary culture, preferably in the original languages. A later aim which has been flourishing more recently is that the pupils should be made acquainted with modern literary and scientific culture. These two aims are still largely dominant in the thought of many educators, and they still contain important hints, because of the fact that literary culture is supposed to have preserved for us the excellencies of life through the ages, and therefore must not be ignored. However, as alleged aims of education, they are decidedly inadequate and are so considered by most serious students of education at the present time. A third aim is now very prominent and is expressed by those who hold that schools and colleges should prepare for adult activities in a realistic modern world. This aim brings forward particularly the social studies, and it implies that the problems of democracy, international relations, industry, community life, and the like, should be set before the pupils more or less in panoramic fashion, either with or without a positive invitation to more or less specific action. Parallel with this aim some other educators are proposing the more modest objective of helping young people in their present tasks of carrying on their individual and co6perative activities. The contrasting of these two last aims is the purpose of the present paper. All teachers must sympathize heartily with the effort to make the social studies more effective and to introduce courses on