Problems in American Democracy | Page 2

burdened with a mass of data which would prove confusing, and which would be out of date before he is out of school. Instead, an effort has been made to outline, first the essential nature of the problem, and second the fundamental principles which affect its solution. Care has been taken to cultivate the problem attitude, and to encourage the spirit of independent investigation and open-minded judgment on the part of the student.
It goes without saying that the success of this book will depend largely upon the use which the teacher makes of it. The text aims to supply the basic facts and the fundamental principles involved in specific problems, but the teacher must interpret many of those facts and principles, and ought, in addition, to furnish illustrative material. The book is not intended to be an encyclopedia, but rather a suggestive guide.
The text covers the fundamentals of three distinct fields: economics, sociology, and government. Sufficient reference and topic work is offered to enable teachers to expand the text along particular lines. Thus
Part II
might serve as a nucleus around which to build up a special course in economics, while
Part III
would serve as a basis for a similar course in applied sociology, if for some reason it were not feasible to take up other parts of the book.
Though the text is the result of the co?perative efforts of a considerable number of specialists, its treatment of the problems of American life is neither dogmatic nor arbitrary. The effort has been to treat all of our problems sanely and hopefully, but at the same time to make it clear that many of these questions are still unsettled and the best method of disposing of them is yet hotly debated. This fact has strongly influenced the manner in which the problems have been treated.
TOPICS AND READINGS
Following each chapter are suggestions for work to supplement the text. These suggestions are of six kinds, and are intended to meet a variety of needs.
A number of easy questions on the text is first supplied.
Following these is a number of required readings to supplement each chapter of the text. The student may be asked to read a single chapter from Williamson's _Readings in American Democracy_, collected and arranged so as to furnish in compact form and in a single volume supplementary material which otherwise the teacher would have to find in a number of separate books. In case the use of the Readings is not feasible, some or all of the alternative required readings may be available.
The required readings are followed by a number of questions thereon. Questions on the material contained in Williamson's Readings in American Democracy will be found at the end of each chapter in that volume; questions on the required readings cited as alternative to this volume will be found at the end of each chapter in the text.
Topic work is provided in two groups. Topics in the first group form a link between the text and the everyday experience of the student on the one hand, and between the activities of the student's local community and national problems on the other. The student is called upon, for example, to investigate the attitude of the local press toward controversial questions, or to examine the administration of local charitable relief. Topic work of this sort not only quickens the interest of the student, but it encourages original investigation and independent thought. It lets the student know what is going on in his community, and it informs individuals and institutions beyond the school that this agency is beginning to connect with the problems of the municipality, state, and nation. This sort of topic work also allows the student to test the accuracy of the text, and to interpret local conditions in the light of broad, national tendencies.
The second group of topics contains material for report work. In the case of practically all of these topics, the student is referred specifically to books and other publications.
Beginning with
Chapter XVIII
of the text, the topics are followed by a series of questions for classroom discussion. Some of these may be turned into classroom debates. Others allow the student to challenge statements in the text. A few of these questions have never been satisfactorily answered by anyone, yet the student must face them in the world outside the school, and it cannot be time wasted to understand their content now.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the preparation of this text the author has received valuable assistance from a number of sources. Though such assistance in no way diminishes his responsibility for the shortcomings of the book, the author desires here to acknowledge the aid extended him.
The entire manuscript has been carefully worked over and criticized by Clarence D. Kingsley, Chairman of the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education. Payson Smith, Commissioner of Education for