l types of discipline, the difficulty lies,
not so much in acquiring the specific skill, as in transferring the
skill thus acquired to other fields of activity. Skill of any sort is
made up of a multitude of little specific habits, and it is a current
theory that habit functions effectively only in the specific situation
in which it has been built up, or in situations closely similar. But
whether this is true or not it is obvious that the teaching of
elementary history provides very few opportunities for this type of
training.

A third view of the way in which historical knowledge is thought to work
into action may be discussed under the head of the cultural value.
History, like literature, is commonly assumed to give to the individual
who studies it, a certain amount of that commodity which the world calls
culture. Precisely what culture consists in, no one, apparently, is
ready to tell us, but we all admit that it is real, if not tangible and
definable, nor can we deny that the individual who possesses culture
conducts himself, as a rule, differently from the individual who does
not possess it. In other words, culture is a practical thing, for the
only things that are practical are the things that modify or control
human action.

It is doubtless true that the study of history does add to this
intangible something that we call "culture," but the difficulty with
this value lies in the fact that, even after we have accepted it as
valid, we are in no way better off regarding our methods. Like many
other theories, its truth is not to be denied, but its truth gives us no
inkling of a solution of our problem. What we need is an educational
value of history, the recognition of which will enable us to formulate a
method for realizing the value.

III

The unsatisfactory character of these three values that have been
proposed for history--the utilitarian, the disciplinary, and the
cultural--is typical of the values that have been proposed for other
subjects. Unless the aim of teaching any given subject can be stated in
definite terms, the teacher must work very largely in the dark; his
efforts must be largely of the "hit-or-miss" order. The desired value
may be realized under these conditions, but, if it is realized, it is
manifestly through accident, not through intelligent design. It is
needless to point out the waste that such a blundering and haphazard
adjustment entails. We all know how much of our teaching fails to