“NEW YORK CITY CONFERENCE.

…As the recent history syllabus has made this one of the working questions here in New York, Dr. Muzzey’s paper was particularly timely. Moses Weld Ware, of the Morristown School; Dr. Helen L. Young, of the Normal College; Fayette E. Moyer, of the De Witt Clinton, and Robert J. Halpin, of the Montclair High School, led the discussion which followed, and among the speakers who were drawn into the argument were Mr. White, Miss Byrnes, Dr. Schuyler, Mr. Paine, Mr. Shapiro and Dr. Dawson.

There were some differences of opinion as to how properly to emphasize modern conditions and how closely the teacher should adhere to the text-book in the class room. Mr. Ware showed how history might be taught from the modern viewpoint, advocating the topical method of treatment rather than the chronological. Miss Young protested against the dissecting of the past in the spirit of to-day, believing that the proper way to teach history was to make the past live over again and then show modern instances of similar conditions. In this way the teacher would avoid the grave danger of distorting the true value of facts and destroying historical perspective.

In the main the speakers were thoroughly in accord with the idea that history teaching must be related as closely as possible to present-day experiences and modern lines of development; in other words that it be made vital. As one speaker aptly said:’If you get into a baseball game in the fifth inning, you do not care what the score was in the third inning. You ask what the new score is. The third inning may have been very exciting, but you want the latest news, so that you can enjoy the game from the moment you arrive.’ It was also pointed out that much depends upon the teacher. An enthusiastic teacher could teach anything in any way and give the students something vital. Mr. Halpin insisted that text-books were never dead, but that the teachers who used them often were.

The Executive Committee for the year 1912 is as follows: Miss Clara Byrnes, chairman, Normal College of the City of New York; Moses Weld Ware, secretary, the Morristown School, Morristown, N. J.; Miss Constance Warren, treasurer, the Brearley School, New York; Dr. Livingston Schuyler, the College of the City of New York; Dr. Daniel C. Knowlton, Central High School of Newark; Miss Florence Stryker, State Normal School, Montclair, N. J. …”

Reference Data:

History Teacher's Magazine, Vol. 3, by WWI Collection, 1911, pages 37-8