Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/683

 THE TEACHING OF SOCIOLOGY 669

successful. We treat all subjects in this elementary course which are developed in our advanced or more technical courses. The student ap- proaches the latter subjects with a broader point of view than he otherwise would have. The subject-matter presented in the elementary course is concrete and definite. No attempt whatever is made to present the various viewpoints of sociologists or the numerous questions on which they take issue. The natural way for a student to begin the study of any science is with the concrete, positive phenomena which constitutes its subject-matter.

Thomas J. Riley, Washington University

I recently visited a county teachers' meeting in Missouri. Tt was in the spring near the close of the school year. The discussion going on was con- cerning the teaching of geography. One of the teachers in telling about the progress of her class said, "We have just now got to Missouri," refer- ring doubtless to the special study of her own state near the close of the textbook. Professor John Dewey, in his little book. The School and Society, states that a class in geography in the public schools at Moline, 111., knew much about the Mississippi River in the textbook, but had not connected the river of the book with the river on which the city is located. These are illustrations of what is likely to happen when the begin- ning of a study has to do with its definitions, problems, and relations. Stu- dents are likely not to make the connection of the things being studied with the facts of living that lie at their own doors.

It has been my experience in four years of trial that the best introduc- tion to a course in elementary sociology is to study the social facts that may be observed in the community where the university is located. In banning my work at the opening of the last year I instructed my class at its first meeting that they should visit some building in the process of construction, noting especially the division of labor and the necessary interdependence and co-ordination. At the second meeting of the class I found the students all qualified to illustrate and to discuss the topics I had assigned. When this had been considered I in like manner required them to report on physiographic control of social facts in their own city. By this method it seems to me I secured a lively interest on the part of the students, introduced them to an observational method and connected our study with the things lying about them.

The chairman assuring me that I have some time yet at my disposal I venture to ask those who advocate a psychological view of society to what extent they consider psychic forces competent to explain social phenomena ; for example : When a plane of living that a family maintains becomes the plane of many families a standard of living for that group has been tacitly arrived at. Studies in the standard of living seem to have