suitable literature for the young. There is also a bureau of information to assist teachers in economic and legal matters.

In 1906, a Women's Teachers' Association was organized. Its aim, as announced, is "to work for unity and cooperation among Sweden's women teachers and to further educational and economic interests." The association has its own school journals that work for these interests.

RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

One of the most vital problems before the schools of Sweden at present is the proposed alteration in form and method of the religious instruction in the elementary schools. The present attempts to prepare new books as the basis for this subject are made in response to successive notions in the Riksdag appearing as early as 1903 and taken up again in almost every session from 1908 until the present. In 1911 a committee was appointed to prepare a textbook as a guide for the religious and moral (Sedeläran) instruction. Difficulties, partly anticipated and partly unexpected, arose, so that the committee could not complete its work as early as intended. In 1916 two editions were submitted, one for the elementary schools and one for the confirmation classes. The discussion that followed seemed to make still further alterations advisable; and the work is again in the hands of the board.

The attempts thus made to alter the form of Luther's Smaller Catechism cut deep into the religious traditions of the Swedish people, to whom this book has been the means of imparting the rudiments of religious instruction for centuries. The criticism of the new version came from two opposite directions: (1) The conservatives in the State Church who find in it an unacceptable departure from the church traditions; and (2) the radical Socialists, who want neither the old catechism nor anything like it. Much earnest consideration has, however, been given to this problem by Sweden's prominent churchmen and educators with the result that the new demands emerge in a clear light. "Religious truths," they hold, "should be brought before the children, not in religious formulas nor in maxims of conduct, but in concrete life pictures taken from the Bible and from the history of the church. This mode of teaching does not exclude a general survey of the truths deduced and an ordering of these in synthetic statements."

STUDIES OF THE HOME LOCALITY.

In the United States landmarks of historic interest, identified with the westward advance of the early settlers, are found from Cape Cod to San Diego. There are the vestiges of the settlers' trails, the log cabin era, and the ruins of the temporary structures that were needed

for maintenance and defense in those early times. When some one of sufficient enterprise collects material of this kind and proclaims the fact in print or by lectures there is usually a gratifying local response and appreciation of the effort, often resulting in endeavors to record or otherwise preserve whatever may enhance the prestige of the place. In Sweden this conception has taken the form of summer courses, mainly for teachers, given under the auspices of local organizations, and generally designated as studies in the home locality. In accordance with the underlying idea they set up as their aim, not primarily intellectual training of an academic character, but rather the purpose of rousing devotion to the home region, its interests and traditions. From the very first, then, the course included a study of early history and legends and whatever the place had to offer of antiquarian interest; later they came to include such features of the region as were significant for natural beauty and for this reason adapted to enhance its prestige; at a still later stage the resources and industrial possibilities of the locality were brought within the scope of the lectures. Three distinct characteristics, due to the origin, have marked the work from the first: (1) The lectures are given during the summer, when nature is at her best; (2) they are held at central points in the locality to be studied; (3) they are conducted by teachers who have been brought up in the locality to be studied and who in consequence take a personal pride in their work.

Their origin dates back a year or two prior to 1907, when at least eight Provinces in Sweden carried out programs of this kind. The work extended rapidly the following years until in 1917 it came to have a prominent place in vacation studies in all parts of the country, particularly in the south, where love of home surroundings is especially strong.

A typical instance of how these home locality courses start and develop is contained in an account of a meeting held in the city park at Simrishamn, on June 18, 1909, published in Vor Ungdom (September, 1917). On this occasion 300 persons effected a permanent organization for the study of the home locality, each member enrolled paying a fee of 5 crowns. A six-weeks' session was held. Says Vor Ungdom:

The forenoons were as a rule given up to lectures and the afternoons to excursions. Historic events of local import as well as prehistoric associations were discussed, in connection with an exhibition of relics from the Bronze Age. There was a lecture about the neighboring church, one about the history of the city, and another about life in a near-by city, Inglestad, during ancient times. One excursion was connected with talks on the local flora, another about the shale and lime formations, and one about the floral studies and the trips made by Linaeus in the vicinity; others dealt with the industries, among which fishing on the east coast of Skåne received special attention. But in the entire series nothing made such an appeal as did the folk traditions and the folk songs.

The course made use of the material contained in the city museums. A large and varied exhibition was provided showing ancient customs and equipments; and about one hundred volumes dealing with the locality were brought together.

A report from the course in the Home Locality at Engelholm, in 1912, shows that similar lines were followed. But here were no fewer than three exhibitions: (1) A gallery of paintings comprising 91 numbers; (2) an exhibition showing the history of the place in its development; and (3) another in the articles of sloyd produced in this vicinity, in connection with which prizes were awarded. The formal lectures treated antiquarian and historical topics-the history of the city and country. The series included reminiscences of noted men connected with the place, also the substance of old sagas and traditions. The State geologist gave a survey of geological conditions thereabouts, followed by talks dealing with forestry, agricultural and industrial resources. The series was concluded by a festival in which a conspicuous part was taken by a parade of knights in historic garb. Three counties were included; local banks provided a part of the expense; the Central Bureau for Popular Lectures contributed several hundred crowns. There were 222 participating members, 30 of them being teachers.

Some of these courses have departed both in scope and direction from the original aims. In 1916 the programs of those given under the auspices of the National Teachers' Association, while retaining the original feature of work in local interests, assumed the character of teachers' institutes. Another class has enlarged its scope so as to include not only matters of local prestige but also natural history, lectures on languages, civil history, methods, and class-room practice. The organization that has brought these courses to their present advancement is Norrland's Society for Locality Study, founded in 1909. Its purpose is to gather funds for research in local history, to exploit this scientifically through library and school activities, and to disseminate knowledge about the province with the view of fostering love for home and country. The society has departments for archeological study, research in natural history, the study of provincial dialects, folk music (registering songs and melodies), library matters, and finally education. In a few years it has been able to collect specimens for a considerable museum, the expansion of an older collection-the numbers amounting to 9,000. In addition the members have an open-air museum comprising about 60 acres, from which is a magnificent view of the city, the surrounding country, and the sea. Here they have brought the buildings of a farmstead from Ångermanland, a cattle shelter from Norway's peculiar pasture highlands, and a Russian tower of wood construction, with belfry. Then, too, they have completed a natural museum with a collection per

taining to history, zoology, and geography, and a library about Norrland. In 1913 this library numbered 12,000 volumes.

The educational means here provided have developed from the idea that the local parish school should bear, and be fitted to impart, a clearer impress of the locality. Teachers coming from the training schools have not received anything there calculated to help toward such impression. With the view of ordering the work toward these ends, four groups of subjects were instituted:

1. The natural history group: Geology and geography, to which later have been added surveying and map drawing, botany, zoology and meteorology.

2. The philosophy group: Swedish language with paleography; the study of provincial dialects; anthropology.

3. The historic group: The study of antiquity; Swedish history and sociology; statistics of history; local history.

4. The pedagogical group: Psychology; the history and theory of education; technique of studies in the home locality.

The plan of this work comprises lectures and exercises connected with excursions, all with the purpose not only of imparting information but of spurring the members on to independent study and research. Hence whoever wishes may apply for examination both in what he has formally gone through and what he has done independently. The total time of the course is four months, divided between two summer vacations. Four or five lectures, together with the exercises, constitute approximately the day's work. It is expected that all the members will be teachers from the provinces. To carry into practical effect the plan thus outlined, it was found that more money was required than was at the disposal of the association, a difficulty temporarily overcome by receiving permission to use part of the funds for the advanced training of teachers.

In this way the home locality course at Härnösand was started in June, 1914. The outbreak of the World War caused the work to be interrupted, so that a part of the plan had to be deferred until the following summer. But from that time until the present the work as begun has been maintained in steady activity. The number of those enrolled has grown until it includes not only people from Norrland but also from other parts of the country. The regulations for admission require that the candidate shall have served as a teacher at least two years and that he be below the age of 45.

The State aid which each member receives is somewhat less than in similar organizations in Denmark; there each one received 125 crowns in 1915. Those who take part are paid one-half of the traveling expenses where they have more than 60 miles to come. On the other hand, the instructors receive higher pay in Sweden than in

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Denmark-15 crowns for each lecture and 15 crowns for each double hour of laboratory work. Over and above this, instructors living at a distance from the district receive traveling expenses in full. teachers who have participated are preparing outlines of all lectures and publishing them as handbooks for the work in its entirety. These are published by Norrland's Association for Locality Study, and are of value for other forms of instruction besides those here discussed.

This mode of school activity has occupied so conspicuous a place among Swedish school conceptions that educators have contemplated making it the central unit in the projected university for summer work. But the consideration came up that the very nature of the work requires that it be done in specific places and not at a central point remote from such localities. Hence the courses are coming to be established at community centers and to depend on these for expenses. The work they do for teachers is not primarily intended to remedy defects or inadequacies in training, but to supply an element of local inspiration and interest that teachers' training schools have not yet attempted.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNAL MIDDLE SCHOOL.

The modern (real) school created by the enactment of 1904 and providing a six-year course for children within the ages 9 to 15 has not, according to the opinion of school men in Sweden, altogether fulfilled its purpose of giving advanced instruction suited to positions in general civil life. It was accessible only to pupils who lived in or near a larger city; it did not sustain any organic relation to the folk school except in so far as its first three classes could serve as preparation for entrance. Its real purpose was taken over and filled by private schools for boys and girls or by coeducational institutions which, upon meeting specified stipulations, received State aid.

In Sweden, as in Norway and Denmark, there has long been a movement in the direction of requiring the folk school to furnish the basic instruction needed for admission to secondary schools. This movement assumed legislative form in the Riksdag of 1908 in a proposition for State aid to communal middle schools. As this step was taken late in the session it did not come up for formal consideration till 1910, when State subvention was granted to this type of schools. One significant effect of the act was to enable smaller cities and even villages to establish a class of schools that would bring their pupils to a point of advancement equal to that of the modern school. Between the years 1910 and 1916 the number of

Teachers' and students' handbooks, indicating the scope of this work with plan for presenting its subject matter, have already appeared, such as, "Handledning vid Undervisningen i Hembygdskunskap," Parts I and II, by L. G. Sjöblom, Norstedt & Sons, Publishers, Stockholm.