form. In 1905 a second and an enlarged edition was issued, [1] and these
volumes for a time formed the basis for classwork and reading in a number
of institutions, and, though now out of print, may still be found in many
libraries. At the same time I began the collection of a series of short,
illustrative sources for my students to read.

It had been my intention, after the publication of the second edition of
the Syllabus, to expand the outline into a Text Book which would embody my
ideas as to what university students should be given as to the history of
the work in which they were engaged. I felt then, and still feel, that the
history of education, properly conceived and presented, should occupy an
important place in the training of an educational leader. Two things now
happened which for some time turned me aside from my original purpose. The
first was the publication, late in 1905, of Paul Monroe's very
comprehensive and scholarly _Text Book in the History of Education_, and
the second was that, with the expansion of the work in education in the
university with which I was connected, and the addition of new men to the
department, the general history of education was for a time turned over to
another to teach. I then began, instead, the development of that
introductory course in education, dealing entirely with American
educational history and problems, out of which grew my _Public Education
in the United States_.

The second half of the academic year 1910-11 I acted as visiting Lecturer
on the History of Education at both Harvard University and Radcliffe
College, and while serving in this capacity I began work on what has
finally evolved into the present volume, together with the accompanying
book of illustrative _Readings_. Other duties, and a deep interest in
problems of school administration, largely engaged my energies and writing
time until some three years ago, when, in rearranging courses at the