"
The argument that a sense of unreality may arise as a result of the
apparent completeness of knowledge gained in the school is met by the
close contact maintained all the time with the community outside.
There is unanimity of opinion that civics shall be taught from the
elementary school onwards:
"We believe," runs the report of the Committee of Eight of the
American Historical Association, "that elementary civics should
permeate the entire school life of the child. In the early grades
the most effective features of this instruction will be directly
connected with the teaching of regular subjects in the course of
study. Through story, poem and song there is the quickening of
those emotions which influence civic life. The works and
biographies of great men furnish many opportunities for incidental
instruction in civics. The elements of geography serve to emphasise
the interdependence of men--the very earliest lesson in civic
instruction. A study of pictures and architecture arouses the
desire for civic beauty and orderliness[3]."
A recent inquiry by a Committee of the American Political Science
Association makes it quite clear that the subject is actually taught
in the bulk of the elementary and secondary schools of the various
States and that generally the results are satisfactory, or indicate
clearly necessary reforms.
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