Humanities Courses in Secondary Schools

Humanities Courses in Secondary Schools

BY CAROLYN A. GLASS AND RICHARD I . MZLLER

DARY SCHOOLS THAT IS GENERALLY CALLED THE HUMANITIES? Are more secondary schools incorporating this course into the instructional program? Where? How? What content comprises the course? How do the teachers like the course? How about the students? These questions and others have prompted this study. Very little evidence is available on what has been called “the humanities movement.”

One can list many reasons why a secondary-school course on the humanities might be expected to develop. These include: a growing concern about the effects of mechanization and mass society, with accompanying tendencies of alienation both from oneself and from society; a view that man’s rich intellectual and cultural heritage is not being explored by young people; the Hegelian-like view that the humanities can help counterbalance the increasing emphasis on vocational education; and the belief that man, the full man, should be the goal of education-the thinking, believing, acting, and feeling man.

Given conditions that are favorable to the development of the humanities, has this development, in fact, taken place? To help constructive thinking about this question, this background paper will take two approaches: the results of two questionnaire surveys are outlined, and some conditions are discussed that favor development of humanities and some obstacles are mentioned. A personal note concludes the paper.

IS THERE AN INCREASED INTEREST IN TEACHING A COURSE IN T H E SECON-

I. QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYS Two questionnaires were constructed. The first one was sent to every

state department of education in the U.S.A. as well as to the equivalents in the territories. A 100 percent response was received on this questionnaire.

Following up information received on the initial questionnaire, another questionnaire was sent directly to each school that was listed by state departments as having good humanities programs. This questionnaire sought information about the nature of the program.

analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of answers to these two questionnaires form the basis of this report.

Description,

The three questions on the initial questionnaire were: 1.

2.

3.

Has the State Depafiment published materials, articles, etc., relating to this area of interest? Is philosophy or any course (Humanities, Great Books, etc. ) taught in any secondary school system in your state? As you see it, do you believe interest in this area has decreased or increased in the past five years, and how about the future?

MISS CAROLYN A . GLASS is a teacher at Lexington Catholic High School, Lexington, Kentucky, and RICHARD I. MILLER is Director of the Program on Educational Change, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

227

228 EDUCATIONAL THEORY

(Increased - I; Decreased - D; About same - S ) 1960-65; interest evident 1965-70; interest expected

The Role of State Departments in the Humanities Area

The first question was designed to determine whether state departments of education were publishing materials, articles, etc., relating to this area of interest. Of the 54 replies received, five (9.3%) answered “yes,” 47 (87%) said “no,” and two (3.7%) did not reply. The five that have published articles or teachers’ guides on humanities courses for high schools are: Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Virginia.

An analysis of the responses on the first question would lead one to conclude that state departments have not taken an active part-with the exception of Pennsylvania-in establishing humanities programs in their states.

Secondary Schools Offering a Humanities Course

The second question sought to learn ( a ) whether the state departments of education knew about humanities programs within their states, and (b) what schools they would list as having good humanities courses.

Of the 54 replies received on the question about whether philosophy or any course (Humanities, Great Books, etc.) is taught in schools of their state, 31 (57.4% ) answered “yes,” 20 (37% ) replied “no,” and 3 (5.6% ) indicated that they had no knowledge of such a course being taught in their state.

The reliability of these replies may be open to question on the basis of discovering two schools offering humanities courses that were in states that answered ‘‘no.’’

The pattern of answers do indicate that the humanities programs are filtered throughout the United States and its territories, with such states indicating humanities programs in their school systems as Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina. The greater concentration of courses does seem to fall within the eastern half of the country and specifically the northeastern section. This is evidenced by afl3mative replies from such states as: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin.

The third question probed into state departments’ estimations of the direction in which interest in the humanities is moving. One part of the question asked for an indication of interest evidenced from 1960 to 1965. Of the 54 replies, 37 (68.5%) answered “increased,” 13 (24.1%) “about the same,” and 4 (7.4%) made no indication.

Another part of the question asked for interest expected from 1965 to 1970. Of the replies, 43 (79.6%) answered that an increase was expected, 5 (9.3%) about the same, and 6 (11.1%) gave no indication.

In listing factors that were instrumental in determining the state departments’ estimation of state interest in the humanities program, the results were correlated in two ways. First, the relationship between those states giving a “no” answer in question two and the amount of interest indicated;

HUMANITIES COURSES 229

and second, the comparison between the amount of interest indioated and reasons or factors given for the conclusion.

Of those 20 states replying that no humanities course was being taught in their state, all but three (Canal Zone, New Mexico, Virgin Islands) gave an indication of interest in this area. And the Canal Zone gave as reason for its conclusion that humanities had not been discussed.

Such states as Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Oklahoma and Oregon indicated that interest in this area either was about the same from 1960-65, or they expected it to continue about the same in the future. One factor given in this conclusion was that their curriculum was being revised but in the direction of the vocational areas; while another said that they hoped to move in this direction with the addition of an English consultant to their state department of education.

The greatest number of states replying “no” to question two indicated on question three a present interest in this area or an expected interest. This category includes such states as Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, West Virginia. An increasing stress on academic excellence and a concern for enrichment programs for the gifted were two reasons listed for the anticipated interest.

Of the 31 states replying “yes”-that a humanities course was being taught within their school systems-all states indicated an increase in interest either at present or in the future. Some factors listed as instrumental in their estimations were: more attention paid to the individual needs of the learner, national publicity and conferences reflecting new interest in this type of program, and a need to bring about a balance in the curriculum. While these reasons were dominant, others were given: Nebraska stated that such materials were being read and discussed in a larger degree in their state as a result of Project English; a new emphasis upon literature and history is evident with a tendency to identify the “educated man” with great books; requests made to the state departments from schools systems for information in this area have increased; and finally, one state department replied that “apparently this is another OI those cycles that education and society must go through. Usually takes a decade to get it out of their system.”

It would appear, in conclusion, that those states having a humanities program within their school systems are more aware of the scope of such a program and of its value for education. They also seem to be taking part in establishing such programs in many instances, particularly from an indication of requests made to the state departments by the school systems for information about this area.

As one would expect, the large secondary schools dominated the scene- schools between 1700-1800. Schools with an enrollment from 300-600 were generally special or college-preparatory schools.

The larger schools would be the logical ones pioneering this field with greater faculty specialization and more instructional flexibility.

Respondents were asked to check one of the following course titles: Humanities, Philosophy, or Great Books. In some cases other titles were written in, such as: Society and the Arts, American Civilization, Arts and Man, Essential ideas, and History of Western Thought.


The vast majority of high schools with a humanities course indicated it was entitled “Humanities” in their curriculum. Several schools offered a philosophy course-usually an introductory course or one on ethics. Other schools listed a Great Books course, either in their school curriculum or as independent study.

The humanities offerings appear to be rather evenly distributed throughout the United States. A course dealing with the Great Books appeared most frequently in school systems in such states as Delaware, Minnesota, and Texas. And the philosophy course appeared in a few school systems in states such as: Delaware, New York, and Washington.

Respondents were asked to indicate whether materials presented to the students were in the form of a concepts course (Freedom and Man, God and Man, etc.); Allied Arts (Music, Art, etc.); or Philosophy (original works or textbooks ) .

The types of materials most frequently listed came under the heading of the Allied Arts or a combination of concepts, allied arts, and philosophy. Those schools which offered a philosophy course included readings of original works and a type of concepts course.

For the majority of secondary schools, the humanities course is defined as a study of the allied arts or a combination of the allied arts, concepts, and philosophy.

A vast majority of the school systems reported that their courses in the general area of the humanities had been initiated since 1960. Some school systems in New York and Washington indicated that humanities programs were started in 1954 and 1955. Large school systems in Minnesota, New Hampshire and New Jersey indicated that humanities courses were initiated in 1957, 1957, and 1955, respectively.

The respondent was asked to indicate whether the students enrolled in humanities courses were: intellectually superior, juniors or seniors, or if the course was open to all students.

In comprehensive high schools, the humanities course is limited to juniors and/or seniors, and in many cases to the superior student. The college preparatory high schools likewise offer the humanities course primarily for juniors and/or seniors with no emphasis placed upon the superior student.

The great books course, both in the comprehensive and college preparatory high schools, is usually open only to juniors and seniors. The philosophy course in these same types of schools, is open to juniors and/or seniors, with emphasis placed upon the superior student.

Respondents were asked to indicate the professional training of teachers for such a course. The following suggested specialties were given: English major or minor, philosophy major or minor, special certificate, or other.

The majority of the teachers employed in teaching the humanities courses were either English majors or minors. Those who taught a philosophy course were either history or philosophy majors or had some graduate or under- graduate training in philosophy. The great books teacher seemed most frequently to have an English major.

The major trend among those schools having a humanities course, and particularly one which used the Allied Arts as source material, was toward


team teaching. The average course in the humanities was taught by four teachers, frequently with majors in English, art, music, and history or social studies. Team teaching is also being used in some school systems in New York State which offer a philosophy course. Team teaching seemed most prevalent in school systems in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

On the second questionnaire, the individual schools were asked whether they had “any means of evaluating the relationship between student interest in this course and his further study?”

The majority of school systems reported that they did not have means of evaluating student response at the present time, primarily because their humanities programs were relatively new. The main source of information used by schools indicating some evaluation was interviews with college students returning to visit their high schools. According to these reports, the students believed that further study in the arts and humanities came as the result of interest stimulated by the humanities course in secondary school.

A final question to individual schools asked for an evaluation of the humanities course. Of the 51 individual schools answering this question, a substantial majority took evaluation to mean whether the course was good or bad. With one or two exceptions, these evaluations were glowing. Typical comments include: “very valuable to students,” “one of the most exciting courses ever offered,” “received with considerable enthusiasm,” “fills a great need,” and “exceptionally stimulating to the students.”

Some responses were analytical rather than evaluative, with such comments as: “broadens horizons in vocational thinking,” “great need for a balance in the curriculum,” “for about top 15 per cent of student body.” “sharpens critical thinking and reading scope,” and “biggest problems are qualified teachers and enough time for planning.”

In general, the greatest value from the humanities courses in the sampled secondary schools seemed to be in helping to broaden the curriculum and in widening the horizons of college-bound students. Also, several schools indicated that the course helped to develop critical thinking and to broaden the outlook toward the arts.

11. SOME OBSERVATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

This section is based upon a selective survey of the literature, the two questionnaire surveys, and first-hand visitations of a small number of secondary- school humanities programs. More appropriately, this section should be entitled “Some Informal Observations and Tentative Conclusions.” More research and study is needed in order to fortify or modify many points that will be raised subsequently.

Three Themes Supporting Humanities Programs in Secondary Schools At the start of this paper, several reasons for the current development of

humanities programs were listed. This section will be addressed to some addi- tional factors that favor the humanities movement.

1. Increasing mechanization and complexity in living requires greater intellectual and cultural expansion. -Stephen Vincent Benet recognized that


man might be dominated by his inventions when he wrote of the machine as- The great, metallic beast. . . The genie we have raised to rule the earth, Obsequious to our will But servant-master still, The tireless serf already half a god . . . . To counterbalance tendencies toward greater mechanization and com-

plexity, the schools need to offer opportunities that will help youngsters think about aesthetic and cultural experiences-the humaneness of man. As Jacques Maritain has written:

The Humanities are those disciplines which make men more human, or nurture in man his nature as specifically human, because they convey to him the spiritual fruit and achievements of the labor of generations, and deal with things which are worth being known for their own sake, for the sake of truth or the sake of beauty.1

2. Awakening sense of values on part @ today’s youth requires opportunities for intellectual probing-The abundant response of American youth to the Peace Corps and other service-type opportunities has deflated some pessimistic views of today’s youth. Harold Taylor has pointed out that the “new generation” is often misunderstood by those of the “older generation, especially among educators, who have not themselves had the experience of direct involvement with the situation of the world. . . .”2

Where in the secondary school program does youth have an opportunity to examine values? Social studies could provide some opportunities in this area of study although one seldom finds this to be the case.

In an age where science and technology play a vital role, the vast scope and rapid production of knowledge tends to leave little time for discussing philosophical and moral aspects of many critical developments in modern life. Educators are asking the question, “What can the schools do to help the students develop a sense of values without being dogmatic?” The humanities course offers one answer to this question. Clifton Fadiman argues that in terms of equipping students to meet demands of the adult world, this direction is important:

A great work of art, properly taught, performs work on the teenager; and-this is what somehow he must be taught to Yeel-it performs it more efficiently, more economically and even more lastingly than most of his so-called “practical experience.” The Humanities force him to grow up. They are not a nosegay to put in his buttonhole as a mark of culture. They are, or should be, as much a part of his life as his relations to his family or the career he will later choose for himself.3

3. Increasing interest in self-realization evident among youth requires opportunities for individual and group introqwedion.-In Hamlet one finds these lines:

1Quoted in: Clifton Fadiman, “The Role of the Humanities in Secondary Schools.”

2Harold Taylor, “American Idealism, 196.5,’’ Saturday Review, 48:16 (June 26, 1965) . 3Clifton Fadiman, op. cit.. p. 7.

An address given in Miami, Florida, November 23, 1962, p. 7.


. . . What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!

Literature courses may brush over such well known passages, but how often does the already crowded course outline allow probing analysis of such thoughts? A humanities course allows one to see oneself by viewing others, and by relating oneself to great men and women and to great ideas. A primary role of the Humanities is to entice and stimulate young minds into exploring the human experience through what man has written or done. A great painting, for example, is an eloquent statement speaking across the ages about human feeling and insight. And about the music of Bach and Vivaldi, Secretary- General Hammarskjold once said, “They have a beautiful way of creating order and perspective in one’s mind.”4

Three Obstacles to Expansion of Secondary-School Humanities Programs

This section will touch upon three problems of conditions that will continue to inhibit growth of this area.

1. Inadequate teacher preparation.-If the humanities program is to enjoy continued growth and interest, some provisions for special teacher preparation will need to be considered. At the present time, someone with a special interest in the area is given the course to teach. Interest is a vital prerequisite, but so is content competency. Even a cursory study of the background of teachers who offer the humanities course and the content of the course will reveal a high correlation-as one would expect. Is there a core of subjects or knowledge that should be included in the humanities, or is any approach as good as any other?

Encyclopedia Britannica Films is in the process of making a series of films on the humanities, and the University of Georgia has developed an interesting and provocative series of films for the general public on the great issues of mankind. Films can be particularly useful in in-service programs that are pointed taward developing competencies for teaching humanities courses in secondary schools. The in-service area offers excellent opportunities for the humanities area.

2. Curriculum fullness.-In describing the “creeping curriculum,” Ole Sand has said, “Never has so much about so little been taught to so many!” Where does a humanities course belong in the secondary school?

Thusfar, the course is predominantly an elective course for bright junior and senior students. If it is good for this group, is it also good for average students? Are we selling short the below-average students by assuming they could not master the content or they would not be interested?

The newness of the humanities course has not allowed time for curriculum specialists to analyze the course with respect to the total school program, and experimental programs in this content area have been very slow in getting under way. The expected future growth of the humanities will need to reckon

4Richard I. Miller, Dag Hammarskjold a i d Crisis Difilomacy (New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1961), p. 17.


with curricular fullness, and an intelligent reckoning will require more research and experimentation.

Misconceptions about the humanities.-Too often the secondary school humanities course is a series of loosely related anthologies, with little analysis and with little inductive learning. Reading and knowing Shakespeare is one thing; understanding him is another. With understanding can come increased insight into human motives and behavior, the poetry of language, the power of words, and the historical parade of human events.

One suspects that a great many of the teachers offering humanities courses are doing a good job, but not an outstanding one. A good teacher has half the battle won, but the other half is mastery of content.

Some excellent programs have been developed-programs that have care- fully considered what should be included in a humanities course. Three such programs are mentioned:

A report on the work of the Pennsylvania Committee on the Humanities has been published and will not be repeated here.

The Lexington, Massachusetts, high school developed a project called “A Pilot Project in the Study of Mankind.” The statement of purpose for the program is as follows:

. . . the over-all objective was the development of a greater awareness on the part of the student of his relationships to mankind as a whole. A second purpose was to enable the student to become more objective toward himself in the perspective of other people immediately about him. A third was to place the student in a position where he could view the ideas, values, and aspirations of his own culture against a wider circle of different cultures. Still another objective was to help the student seriously consider whether or not there are common concerns shared by men everywhere-concerns which, in turn, could provide the foundation for a world community.5

The evaluation of the results of this project are interesting from the stand- point of a reasoned optimism about the future of such programs:

3.

The project was subjected to various techniques of evaluation which, although imperfect demonstrated to our satisfaction that students of high school age will respond to a searching examination o’f the great issues of our time, and that their own values will often be broadened to include more regard for their common interest with people everywhere on earth.6

A third humanities program, started in 1964, was offered to two classes of sixth-grade students in the Shelmire Elementary School of Southampton, Pennsylvania. It included one semester of a study of man’s relationship to nature and the arts. It was considered to be quite effective. The rationale for offering such a course is stated in the following goals:

1. 2.

3. 4.

Help develop a concept of the meaning of the word ‘humanities.’ Arouse new dimensions of interest, which would be reflected in choice of TV, motion pictures, and reading. See themselves as human beings in a world of humans. Deepen insights in respect to other cultures.

5Richard G. Lyons, “Philosophy and Anthropology in the Stndy of Mankind,” Social

Wbid., p. 406. Education, 28:405 (November, 1964) .


5. Provide a different orientation in the arts-expressions about and

These two surveys leave many important questions unanswered. Obviously a great deal more study is needed before sufficient data is available for effective decision-making about curricular aspects of teaching about the humanities in secondary schools.

111. A PERSONAL NOTE The school of tomorrow should be as different as tomorrow itself. But for

all the brave words about change and innovation, a pitiful harvest remains in prospect unless we think differently and act differently about what is known of the future. As an example: The so-called Seven Cardinal Principles of Education listed “worthy use of leisure” as a major objective. Developed in the Model T age, the relevance of this objective continues to escape the structural inertia of that social institution known as the public school.

The general area of the humanities remains an underdeveloped area of the secondary-school instructional program. The Bible admonishes us : “Man does not live by bread alone,” yet the current concern for vocational and technical education, adrenalized by billions in federal money, will very likely have profound effects upon the public school. Hopefully, the as yet unseen future trends in vocational education will move toward the broad sense of “all education as vocational preparation” as well as the narrow view of job preparation. The cause of democracy will be weakened if the latter pays no more than lip service to the former-and the odds do not look favorable at the moment.

Unless those in professional education can move ahead more imaginatively and courageously, directions for the future will not be theirs to influence significantly. Already unmistakable signs of shifted control are evident. The role of academic scholars in major curriculum studies has been the vital catalytic factor in success of these efforts, and increasing action of state legislatures in instructional matters speaks both of their impatience with educational conservatism and of sense of frustration over lack of vigorous leadership by educators.

Educators may be standing at some sort of crossroad. American education is the best ever-make no mistake about it. More children are being educated better than ever before. But the question we should be asking is this: “Is it good enough for the future?” A future in which the forces of specialization, complexity, impersonalization, international relations, and knowledge expansion may be expected to continue-indeed accentuate-their divisive and invidious onslaught upon development of the whole man. C . P. Snow’s two, indeed two dozen, cultures are everywhere as we continue to be basically unconcerned upon separation of art and intellect or with the early Greek belief in “mens sana in corpore sane"-a sound mind in a sound body.

Is our education good enough for the future we want? President Kennedy caught the essentiality of the relationship when he said: “I do not know whether or not the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton, but I do believe that the future of our nation will be decided in its classrooms.”

?Henry W. Ray, “The Humanities in Elementary Education,” Social Education, 27:459

reactions to man himself.?

(December, 1964).

Documents

Humanities Courses in Secondary Schools