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The writer, who is now of Teachers College, Columbia University, and was formerly with the Glendora Foothills School, Glendora, Cal., has taken as his topic “law as a factor in school projects—natural law, the ‘cans and cannots’; common and statute law, the ‘musts and must nots’; and moral law, the ‘oughts and ought nots.’”
Professor Coe is a convinced advocate of the project method in education. He makes it clear that his selection of law as the subject matter of his book in no sense implies desire to discourage free purposeful activity on the part of pupils.
He discusses in the nine chapters of the essay: the dependence of projects upon law, how natural law both opens and closes doors, the project as the method of nature, natural law and teacher law in the project, the will of the pupil and the will of society, how the young assimilate moral law, moral law and moral creativity in the school, the school and economic law, and the healthy school in a sick society.
The author uses the term, “law,” in a broad sense. He says: “We do not stretch the proprieties of language when we speak of the ideal as law, for persistent idealizing marks the striving of humanity as truly as does legislation.” He urges teachers to recognize that pupils do form ideals whether with or without the teacher's help, and that ideals represent an actual or possible inner law in projects.
He gives six phases of law as factors in the projects of the young: natural laws, teacher laws, economic laws, common and statute law, moral law and ideals as laws.
He stresses the need of “the discipline of self-restriction as well as the discipline of self-expansion.” He speaks feelingly of the failure of parents: “Most parents bring up their children by impulse and guesswork, yet believe they really love their offspring.” *** “If parental affection were wise, it would give the parent no rest until he learned what science has to say as to the nutrition and physical care of the child; as to how habits are formed, an