History Taught From Maps.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XL, Issue 12, 21 March 1908, Page 66

History Taught From Maps.

-The “dryasdust,” methods of teaching history, ami the mere iteration of dates of importance in chronological order have long been deplored by tutors and pupils alike. .What is required is to make the subject attractive, with the incidents epiphasised in some striding manner. A step in the right direction, and one which will materially contribute to the easy mastering of what ‘is now a somewhat difficult subject in the educational curriculum, has been made by the introduction of the “history map.” It is designed upon lines analogous to the geographical map on Mercator’s projection. Whereas in the latter the vertical and horizontal lines respectively refer to facts in space, as represented by longitude and latitude, in tire history map the corresponding, lines , relate 'to facts in time. The map, covering, say, a particular dynasty, is divided into vertical columns, each of which corresponds to a year in the duration of that epoch. The horizontal lines, the spaces between which are differently coloured, indicate the length of the reign of each sovereign, and, read downwards, the most eminent men and most important events in political, diplomatic, domestic, literary, and scientific circles, together with the movements of affairs in Scotland, Ireland, the colonies, and abroad. By this simple graphic exposition it is possible to ascertain all the leading features of a certain reign at a glance, obviating that irritating frequency of cross-references common to the ordinary text-book methods. It will be' realised that such a system as this has great possibilities. It can either be a mere compact summary or a fully detailed chart of life from year to year. Certainly it constitutes the most impressionistic method of initiating the young scholar into She principal facts in history, and should therefore have a wide vogue among our schools.