er and quality. Much of the present research
is done with small groups of students in a seminar where personal
direction is given to investigations and where the methods of research
are developed under direct supervision.

=Value of the subject=

Any determination of the value of a subject in the school curriculum
is necessarily based upon the opinions of individuals whose judgment
will vary in large measure according to their respective training,
influences, and predilections. The value of the subject which is
usually placed first is its usefulness in imparting information. Much
instruction in government is descriptive and informational in
character and is offered primarily to increase the stock of knowledge
and to give information with respect to the present and the future
interests of the citizen. While this descriptive material has served a
useful purpose, it is doubtful whether, as in the formal civics of the
public schools, the method of imparting information has not been used
so extensively as to have a detrimental effect. Too much attention has
been given to the memorization of facts and the temporary accumulation
of information more or less useful, and correspondingly too little to
thinking on the great political and social issues of the day.

When governments are engaging in endless activities which affect the
welfare of society in its social and aesthetic, as well as political
aspects, government instruction becomes increasingly necessary and
valuable as a cultural study. The recent development in European
political affairs has impressed upon the citizens of this country as
never before the results of a profound ignorance with respect to
conditions in foreign countries. While the knowledge of the affairs of
the great nations of the world has hitherto appeared advisable, it has
now come to be regarded as a necessity. From the standpoint of culture
a knowledge of the institutions of one's own country and of other
countries is one of the cardinal elements of education and provisions
for such instruction ought to be placed among the few primary topics
in the preparation of all educational programs. If culture involves an
understanding of the social and political conditions of the past and
present as well as some appreciation of the problems which confront
the individual in his activities of life, then the study of both
history and government must be given a foremost rank among the
subjects now classified as cu