Description
I see by the papers that the New York State Education Depart- ment is preparing a new social studies curriculum that will in- clude a year's course in economics in the twelfth grade. They didn't have anything like that when I was in high school; so my initial reaction to the news is that it can't be a very good idea. On second thought, I will allow that it might be all right if they ran the course my way (which they probably won't, I reflect sourly). And that thought leads me to wonder how I'd go about it if I had my druthers.
I should perhaps say at the outset that I come by my sourness in the line of duty. I once had to edit a textbook on educational psychology, and it almost turned my brain to oatmeal, and mushy oatmeal, at that. Somewhat later I wasted several years trying to put together a series of secondary-school literature anthologies. I'd had some experience with college-level anthologies; but it developed that professional educators were unanimously of the opinion that what succeeded with eighteen- year-olds was quite different from what seventeen-year-olds could or should be interested in. I didn't believe it then, and I still don't. That there is a difference, I recognize. That it is as great as pretended by those who call themselves educationists, I
ISBN:9780393315066
