Principles and methods in commercial education; a textbook for teachers, students, and business men

Front matter

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Preface

The occasion of the publication of a pioneer work on the subject of Principles and Methods in Commercial Education makes it appropriate to review the progress in the field of education which has made this work necessary. The rapid development of commercial education within the past fifteen years, which has been marked by the establishment of secondary and higher schools of commerce, has not only enlarged the concept of business education beyond the clerical aim of the old-time business college, but has also given rise to the need for properly trained teachers in commercial schools. The demand is for teachers who, besides being masters of their subject, are acquainted with the principles and methods of their specialty and have the ability to apply these principles in the class-room. While facilities for training persons for the higher branches of business have been established by universities, and while the literature dealing with this phase is considerable, it is strange that practically nothing has been done thus far to give prospective teachers the pedagogical foundation without which the mastery of the subject alone is inadequate to fit them for the highest attainment in their profession. The universities have sadly neglected the opportunity to offer normal training to commercial teachers, and

^ the lack of literature on methodology is a distinct reflection

^ of this neglect.

^ Within the past few years the demand for the close corre-

lation of theory and practice in commercial education has given rise to experiments intended to bring the work of the i

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75757 vi Prefau

school in close relation to the business community. Accordingly, in several localities cooperative and/ continuation plans of apprenticeship have been established, the purpose of which is either to give students laboratory work as apprentices while they are studying, or else to give apprentices who are at work the theoretical educational foundation necessary to lead them to advancement in their vocation. The working out of this plan of cooperation necessitates an understanding on the part of the school authorities of the needs of business and, on the other hand, a familiarity by the business man with the aim of the work of the school. If the commercial world is to benefit by the specialized training given in the school, the business man must become better acquainted with the aim, the value, and the methods employed in a business education.

This work, then, is intended to give the teacher in the commercial school the broad vocational outlook upon his subject, to acquaint him with the pedagogical principles underlying it, and to discuss the special methods in the different subjects included in the curriculum. To the business man the book is intended to convey a knowledge of the value and content of a business education, to give him a sympathetic view of the work of the school, and a better understanding of the needs of it, so as to enable him to cooperate with it in a direction which will be of benefit both to the school and to the community at large.

While several contributions have been made to the literature dealing with the content and history of commercial education, notably by President Cheesman A. Herrick and by President Edmund J. James, there has been a strange neglect of the pedagogy of the subject ; and this in a field in which the lack of trained teachers is probably greater than in any other. The authors, therefore, feel that the publication of this pioneer work on Principles' and Methods in Commercial

Preface vii

Education meets a timely want, and that it will help to raise the standard of the commercial teacher and give the business man an appreciation of the value of a theoretical education in correlation with practical work.

The authors have confined themselves largely to the consideration of commercial education in secondary schools, because in these pedagogic training is most urgent. As the higher schools are of a professional or special character, and as the students in these schools are older, the lack of good method is not so disastrous as in the case of younger pupils. Outline lessons and syllabi have been given in several instances as illustrative of the application of the principles discussed, and particularly in subjects in which the text-book is not a sufficient guide for the proper sequence of topics or for the method of the recitation.

The authors beg to acknowledge their indebtedness to Dr. John L. Tildsley, Principal of the New York High School of Commerce, for permission to use his syllabi in Local Industries, Municipal Activities, and Economics. As far as we know. Dr. Tildsley was the first teacher to develop a practical syllabus in the former two subjects, and the first one to apply the principle that the study of commercial geography should begin with the industries of the immediate locality, and that the study of civics should be made practical by including not only the political, but the economic activities of the immediate environment of the pupil. These syllabi were developed by Dr. Tildsley while he was chairman of the Department of Economics of the school, with some modifications by the teachers of his department. On the practical value of algebra in commercial arithmetic we desire to make recognition of the work of Mr. W. S. Schlauch, of the High School of Commerce, whose book on Commercial Algebra is in preparation.

vui Preface

Finally, it is the hope of the authors that this work will aid university schools of pedagogy and normal schools to realize the importance of devoting more attention to the training of efficient teachers in the field of commercial education.

THE AUTHORS.

New York, October 21, 1914.

Chapter I The Essentials And Value Of A Business

EDUCATION

PAGB

Introduction — Content of a Business Education: Language; Mathematics: Commercial Arithmetic, Algebra, Plane Geometry; Bookkeeping and Accounting; Business Practice and Office Routine; Stenography and Typewriting; Science : Biology, Chemistry, Physics ; Technique of Commerce; Economics; Commercial Geography; History; Civics; Commercial Law; Other Subjects — Disciplinary Phase of Business Education : Intellectual Training : Observation, Judgment, Reasoning, Imagination; iCsthetic Training ; Training of the Will — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography 1-48

Chapter II The Course Of Study Of The Secondary

COMMERCIAL SCHOOL

The Problem — Course of Study — Principles upon which Electives are offered — Explanatory Remarks on the Subjects of the Course : English ; Foreign Languages ; Mathematics ; Industrial Biology; Industrial Chemistry; Physics; History; Commercial Subjects; Industries and Commerce of City ; Municipal Activities ; Commercial Geography ; Commercial Arithmetic; Business Technique; Bookkeeping and Office Practice ; Accounting ; Economics ; Technique of Commerce and Industry; Commercial Law; Drawing and Illustrating ; Stenography and Typewriting ; Practicum — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography .... 49-69

ix

Table of Contents

Chapter III General Principles Of Method Pagb

Teaching of Commercial Subjects — Teacher's Knowledge of the Subject — Principles of Teaching: Principle of Self- Activity ; Interest and Purpose ; Apperception ; proceeding from Concrete to Abstract and from Known to Unknown; Drill and Principles of Habit Formation ; Formal Steps of Recitation; Individual Instruction and its Limitations — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography .... 70-90

Part Two Special Methods In Commercial

EDUCATION

Chapter IV

Importance and Difficulties — Probable Causes of Failure : Elementary School Curriculum too Broad ; Lack of Practical Work on Child's Level of Experience ; Insufficient Drill — Remedies: Limit Ground to be covered in School (Mc- Murry's Rules for Elinunation) ; Perfection in Skill — Development of Arithmetical Skill : Transfer of Skill from Drills to Practical Problems; Interesting Drills; Speed and Accuracy; Short Cuts — Artificial Aids to Calculation — Application of Algebra to Arithmetic — Applied Business Problems — Topics in Arithmetic : Percentage ; Profit and Loss; Commission; Trade Discount; Interest; Bank Discount; Stocks and Bonds; Partial Payments; Compound Interest; Taxes and Duties; Foreign Exchange — The Course of Study — Special Methods: Subdivision of Difficulties; Blackboard; Oral Work; Diagrams; Text-book; Teacher's Notebook; Examinations — Model Lesson: Interest — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography 91-128

Table of Contents zi

Chapter V Office Practice And Routine Fags

Pedagogical Basis — Penmanship: Legibility and Speed; Free-arm Movement ; Training of Teacher ; Methods of Instruction — Business Forms : Reasons for Including during First Year — Topics : Checks ; Notes and Drafts — " Budget " or ** Voucher" System of Bookkeeping — Office Routine: Aim of Course — Topics — Filing Systems — Practice Office

— Summary — Exercises — Bibliography .... 129-150

Chapter VI

Pedagogical Basis — Place in Course — Literature — Aim of Course — The Teacher — The Text-book — Model Lessons: First Lesson in Bookkeeping; Proprietor's Account; Personal Accounts; Trial Balances; Journal; Statements; Formulas; Special Books; Extra Columns; Closing the Books; Drafts — Exercises in Constructive Imagination

— Special Devices — Bookkeeping Ethics — Notes on Method : The Recitation ; Home Preparation ; Reviews and Quizzes ; Examinations — Syllabus — Summary — Exercises

Chapter VII

Bookkeeping vs. Accounting — Capital and Income — Purpose of Course — Model Lessons : Balance Sheet ; Single Entry ; Controlling Accounts ; Cost Accounts ; Installing Systems ; Auditing — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography . . 201-226

Chapter VIII

Place in Curriculum — Teaching Difficulties — Local Geography — ^Topics : Materials of Commerce ; Physiographic Condixii Table of Contents

PAGE tions influencing Commerce ; Human Factors in Commerce ; General Geography — Selection of Material for Study: Principles of Selection — Organization of Knowledge — Aids: Text-book; Reference Books; Trips; Museums; Pictures; Maps; Graphs — Methods: Heuristic; Inductive; Type ; Deductive — Model Lessons : Cotton ; Analysis and Interpretation of Statistics — Syllabus in Local Industries — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography .... 227-270

Chapter IX

Aim of Course — Distinguished from Commercial Geography — Difficulties of Subject — Topics: Manufacturing; Preparation for Market ; Transportation ; Marketing Product ; Exchange — Economic Activities of the Government — Syllabus in Municipal Activities — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography 271-285

Chapter X

Taught by History Department — Historical Method — Aim of the Course — Selection of Topics — Methods: Text-book; Topical ; Source ; Combined — General Method in History

— Teaching Aids : Maps ; Trips ; Pictures ; Charts ; Note-books; Library — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography . 286-299

Chapter XI

Teaching Faults — Aim of Course : Utility ; Culture ; Discipline ; Correlation — Topics : Three-fold Division — Introductory Subjects — Methods: General; Text-book Method; Case Method — Teaching Aids — Reviews and Examinations — Research — Teacher's Library — Model Lessons : Statute of Frauds; Real Property vs. Personal Property — Summary

— Exercises — Bibliography 300-343

Table of Contents ziii

Chapter XV The Preparation And Equipment Of The

COMMERCIAL TEACHER

Need of Trained Teachers — Development of Commercial Teaching — Teacher's Training: College Education; Correspondence Instruction; Practical Experience; Mastery of Many Subjects — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography 401-415 xiv Table of Contents

Chapter XVI

RELATION OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL TO THE HIGH SCHOOL OF COMMERCE AND TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY

PAGE

Articulation — Vocational vs. Prevocational Training — High Schools and Universities — Relation of High School to Business Community — Cooperation — Continuation Study — The Fitchburg Plan — Summary — Exercises — Bibliography 41M33