emphasis to the study of the "local community," which was being
sadly neglected ten or fifteen years ago. It was this emphasis,
doubtless, that gave rise to the name "community civics." But
"local study," even though labelled "community civics," may be,
and often is, entirely lacking in vitalizing features. On the
other hand, the vitalizing methods that should characterize
community civics may be applied to the study of our "national
community," and even of the embryonic "world community,"--and
should be so applied in any "community civics" that is worthy of a
place in our schools in this critical period of national and world
history. The real significance of the term "community civics" is
to be found in its application to an interpretation of the
COMMUNITY-CHARACTER of national and international life equally
with that of town or neighborhood.

Another service that community civics performed was in introducing
certain elements of social or "sociological" study into grades as
low as the grammar school. This has sometimes led to the
description of community civics as "elementary sociology." The
Community and the Citizen was perhaps the first "civics" textbook
to include such "sociological" material. So far as that book is
concerned, at least, the "sociological" material was included
PRIMARILY to afford a viewpoint from which the better to interpret
GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP. This point seems often to be missed,
with the result that in some schools we find a more or less
vitalized "social study" labelled "community civics," FOLLOWED BY
a formal study of government that shows no obvious, organic
relation to the earlier study. Whatever else "community civics"
may accomplish, one of its foremost aims should be TO MAKE
GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING THAT OF THE NATION, MEAN SOMETHING TO THE