destroys the idea of causality, because it makes the entire series an effect and denies origination to any member of the series. In this the conception is that the causal influence is received and transmitted by the entire series, but that the causal influence comes entirely from outside of the series, and is not to be found in any link or member of it. Each and all transmit but do not originate. The cause in this case is transcendental, that is to say, its originating action is entirely beyond the realm of experience experience deals only with results. The point of interest is that the ordinary mental operation of connecting phenomena with one another by the idea of cause presupposes a transcendental idea, the idea of self-activity, entirely out of and beyond the causal series.

That bad system of metaphysics, the mechanical theory, also endeavors to get rid of the idea of self-activity. In its analysis of causal phenomena it, therefore, denies origination not only in each and every member of the causal series, but it does not assert that the causal influence comes from beyond; its object is the avoidance of the idea of pure causal influence-it thinks to escape the concept of self-activity altogether. In this we see that it has stultified itself, because in eliminating the idea of causality from the concrete series of events in experience, it has reduced them all to effects, pure and simple, and if these effects are without a transcendental cause that originates the influence that is transmitted by the series, then it follows that it is incorrect to describe the members of the series as effects, for surely that which has no cause is not an effect. But without a cause, the unity of the series vanishes and there is no connection between any member of the series and its antecedent or consequent. One follows another in time, but is not connected with its antecedent or consequent by a causal influence. Since no member of the series is a cause, and consequently no member of the series is an effect, the denial of transcendental causality has resulted in the denial of all causality.

Without the idea of causality, all knowledge, all thought, all science collapses entirely. There is nothing in any one observation which leads us to inquire for its explanation in another observation. There is no dependence of one thing upon another whatever. The most startling result of this conclusion is the production of a spurious theory of idealism-a result evidently seen by the most acute thinkers among our scientific men.

Each sense perception implies, in the first place, a sensation, an act or activity in some one or more of the senses. Secondly, it implies the perception of the dependence of the sensation upon an object outside of Without the causal idea no sense-impression could be interpreted as the perception of an external object. The feeling would be entirely subjective. It is unnecessary to mention further that there could not even be a subjective feeling without presupposing the idea of causality, because

even a subjective feeling discriminates between a subject which thinks or perceives, and the pain or pleasure or other feeling which is its object, and thus it becomes representation, and this is a causal activity of the purest kind, namely, a causa sui, or self-activity.

I leave the subject here, knowing that all who deal with education will know how to appreciate the superior advantages of the theory of final causes over that of mechanical causes in explaining to the child and youth the civilization in which he lives, and in leading him into the insights of art and literature, of religion and philosophy.

THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS OF THE YEAR 1901-2

WILLIAM R. HARPER, PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

In attempting a survey of the progress of educational work during the period of a single year, one quickly discovers three or four things: (1) that such a survey will contain no adequate presentation of the mass of material which may rightly lay claim to be included a volume of hundreds of pages being hardly sufficient, much less a paper of forty or fifty minutes; (2) that no sharp line can be drawn between different years, since the more important events really assume the nature of movements, and most of them cover a period of several years; (3) that prejudice against taking forward steps in education has been greatly diminished, and skepticism as to the value of the old conventional usages in schools and colleges is largely on the increase; (4) that, whatever may have been true in the past, no very close connection any longer exists between the educational movements of England and the continent, and those of our own land. At all events, we may no longer be counted merely as followers; in some respects, we may perhaps claim the position of leadership.

In the field of elementary education the most significant single event that which has touched the largest number of persons and affected them most keenly - has been the death of Colonel Francis W. Parker. As in the case of most men who have accomplished much, the greatness of his work was not fully apparent until he was taken away. The universal appreciation of his leadership, the universal testimony to the greatness of his career, and the universal mourning over his sudden death, together constitute the most striking event of the year. That he should be taken away at the very moment when he was about to enjoy the fruition of a lifetime's work, and that he should not be permitted to enter the buildings on whose plans he had spent so much time and energy, was indeed pathetic; but that he had built foundations broad and strong for future work in the field of elementary education; that he had made noteworthy contributions to the cause of public-school education; that, indeed, he

was one of the great leaders of the last quarter of a century—is everywhere acknowledged. Altho he was an officer of the University of Chicago, I may be permitted to say these things, in view of the fact that his connection with the institution was so brief; and I am sure that the general educational public will approve the policy adopted by the university, to go forward with the work which he established and to undertake the accomplishment of this work in accordance with his purpose and his spirit. To this is pledged the faculty of the School of Education, so closely connected with him personally and officially, and to this is pledged also the new director, Mr. Dewey. It is not too much to expect that this faculty shall develop, on the foundations which have already been laid, a great and noble institution from which good and only good shall emanate for the public-school system of the country.

The curriculum of the common school in these last years has greatly expanded, and now includes much material drawn from the departments of natural science, drawing, art, manual training, as well as from those of history and literature. This material is so various in its character and so large in its amount as to produce "a stuffed condition of the school course which occasions uneasiness and distress." The "new education " has given us certain problems that urgently demand solution. It is generally understood that these problems group themselves under two heads : (1) how to select in each department of study the most important topics for treatment, and (2) how to bring these various departments of study into such relationship with each other that each will contribute to the other, and that waste shall be reduced to a minimum. So far as I am able to gather the facts, it may be said that no new principles or theories have been projected during the past year. Leaders in the new education have concentrated their efforts upon its practical side. In many quarters there has been conducted quiet investigation of the problems just mentioned. The educational theory and practice, which is based on the teachings of psychology and the history and development of the culture of the race, is becoming more and more generally accepted; but it requires just such critical and scientific study as that which is being given it in educational circles thruout the various sections of the country. The changes that have already come are almost greater than can be calculated. It is essential, however, that the severest tests be applied, and that the most rigid scientific criticism be encouraged.

No one can fail to see the increasing acknowledgment in the modern education of the child of the importance of training in æsthetics. In more than one great center there has been manifested a growing desire to decorate and beautify the buildings. It has been suggested that perhaps in no former year has greater interest been taken in the architecture of the school buildings than during this year. The work accomplished in this regard in the cities of Boston, New York, and Chicago deserves especial mention.

It is true, perhaps, that the teacher is beginning to recognize more clearly the importance of study for the sake of information as distinguished from that of method study. This difference is the old bone of contention between the normal school and the college. A radical step, and one which seems to acknowledge this general principle, has been taken during the past year in the city of Chicago. The city normal school, whose function it is to train teachers for the elementary field, has advanced its course of study to three years, and has made its requirement for admission co-ordinate with that of the leading colleges in the country. This step will surely be followed by other normal schools. In establishing and maintaining such scholastic standards, the public normal schools join with the schools and departments of education in the colleges and universities to strengthen the equipment which has hitherto seemed sufficient for the corps of elementary teachers. The old requirement was that of the high-school curriculum, with the adding of one or two years of professional training. This means that larger familiarity with the subjects. taught in other words, broader scholarship-will henceforth be demanded. The most serious drawback to the advancement of the work in the elementary schools along the lines of the educational theories of recent times has been the utterly inadequate scholastic training of the teachers who undertook professional investigation. This need of broader scholarship has nowhere been more deeply appreciated than among the teachers themselves, and in testimony of this statement we need only recall the interest and support of that great multitude of elementary teachers who spend a part of their vacations in the summer schools and colleges. The encouragement of summer study by the superintendents of the great cities, and the avidity with which such opportunities have been seized, present a situation heretofore unknown; and one from which the greatest possible results may be expected. It is not method study simply that these teachers hunger for; it is rather information on special subjects in which they have discovered their weakness.

This suggests another characteristic of the teacher's work, which stands today in marked contrast with that of even recent years. I have in mind the larger freedom accorded each individual teacher: freedom from the old conventions and ideas as to what constituted curriculum as well as method. The breaking up of these formal conceptions has resulted in a spiritual liberty formerly unknown and capable of producing the largest efficiency in the work of the individual teacher. The work is no longer so mechanical. The presentation of these new subjects compels variety of method, and it is a noteworthy fact that with this greater freedom from conventional treatment there is a growth of mind and spirit which gives an inspiration and arouses an enthusiasm incomparable with that of the old régime. There are some who think that this freedom of the teacher has had its origin in the efforts made within these later times to adjust the work of the school to its environment; to have the child

study things instead of studying about things; to bring him into contact with real life instead of that which represents life. It has seemed to me that all of this is strictly parallel with that freedom of the teacher which is found in elective work as compared with work prescribed; and, while in the latter case there will always be prescribed work, and in the former case we must recognize the necessity of a certain amount of rigidity, in both movements we are tending toward larger spiritual as well as intellectual liberty.

The friends in the stronghold of kindergarten work, Chicago, have been greatly exercised lest a backward step should be taken in this important field. At times it seemed to the public that the whole department of kindergarten work was to be abandoned in the city of Chicago for lack of funds. It is probable that nothing could have done more to arouse the public interest in the subject than the danger which was thought to exist. It may be said with confidence that at no previous time has the position of the kindergarten work been more strongly established; and to my mind this constitutes one of the most important facts in the educational history of the year. The place of the kindergarten has been established in the minds of the great majority of Chicago citizens, and all future budgets must contain liberal provision for this division of educational work. The superintendent of Chicago schools has strongly favored the placing of kindergarten work in the schools, especially in those of the poorer districts. In arrangements made for next year, the same number of schools as for last year has been retained; but their effectiveness has been doubled, so that twice as many children will be cared for.

Much may be expected from the campaign now being made in Michigan in behalf of the centralized rural school. Strong public sentiment has been aroused, and while hitherto the state grange has opposed every movement in this direction, a large part of its membership has come to advocate the proposed change. The district schools will be great gainers from this movement.

An interesting development in connection with the rural schools, especially in the states of Wisconsin and Missouri, is to be noted in the introduction of instruction in agriculture. This, of course, corresponds to the introduction of industrial, or manual, training in the city schools. It is an application of the now generally recognized principle of bringing the school work into close touch with the home life of the pupil; and it may safely be predicted that no more important application of the principle has yet been discovered. The nature of the subjects thus introduced, and their pedagogical possibilities, combine to make this step one of marked significance in the history of education. The complete reports of the revision of the public-school system of Ohio have not yet been published, but from private information it may be said that a most