civics which, after all,
may be defined as political and social science interpreted in
immediate and practical ways.

[Footnote 1: Peabody, _The Religion of an Educated Man_.]

[Footnote 2: Haines, _The Teaching of Government_.]

[Footnote 3: Haines, _The Teaching of Government._]

[Footnote 4: Bourne, _The Teaching of History and Civics in the
Elementary and the Secondary School_.]

[Footnote 5: Charles Morley, 1897.]

II

INDIRECT TRAINING FOR CITIZENSHIP

After all is said and done the ideal training for citizenship in the
schools depends more upon the wisdom engendered in the pupil than upon
the direct study of civics. If the spirits of men and women are set in
a right direction they will reach out for knowledge as for hid
treasure. "Wisdom is more moving than any motion; she passeth and
goeth through all things by reason of her pureness[1]."

It happens also in natural sequence that the spirit developed in a
school will lead to the construction of institutions in connection
with school life calculated to secure its adequate expression.

Elementary schools, however, are much handicapped in this way. If it
comes about that work other than educational or recreative is
forbidden to children during the years of attendance at school, and
also that the period of school life is lengthened, there will be
opportunity for the development of games on a self-governing basis.
Elementary school children have a large measure of initiative; all
they need is a real chance to exercise it. They would willingly make
their schools real centres of child life. Many children at present
have little else than narrow tenements and the streets, out of which
influences arise which war continually against the social influences
of the school.

The opportunity afforded by well-ordered leisure would be accentuated
by the more complete operation of movements such as boys' brigades,
boy scouts, girl guides, and Church lads' brigades, which are in their
several ways doing much to develop citizenship. Such bodies are now in
effect educational authorities, and classes are organised by them in
connection with the Board of Education.

There have been many attempts to introduce self-governing experiments
into elementary schools and, whilst they have often been defeated by
reason of the immaturity of the children, yet some of them have met
with great success. The election of monitors on the lines of a general
election is an instance