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The
Egyptian
Military
in Popular
Culture
Context and Critique

DALIA SAID MOSTAFA

The Egyptian Military in Popular Culture
 Dalia Said Mostafa

The Egyptian Military

in Popular Culture
Context and Critique
Dalia Said Mostafa
University of Manchester
Manchester, United Kingdom

ISBN 978-1-137-59371-9 ISBN 978-1-137-59372-6 (eBook)

DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-59372-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956558

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to
the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.

Cover image © Paul Davey / Alamy Stock Photo

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW,
United Kingdom
 To the young Egyptian activists who are unlawfully jailed in military
prisons and who continue to believe in the just demands of the 2011 January
Revolution.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks go to the Palgrave Macmillan team and the external reviewer
for their invaluable advice throughout the writing and editing processes.

vii
 CONTENTS

1 Introduction: Multi-Layered Images

of the Egyptian Army in Popular Culture 1
Introduction 1
Some General Characteristics of Egyptian Popular Culture 6
The Significance of the Military Figure
in Egyptian Popular Culture 8
The Early Formations of the Egyptian
Army and Ideas of Nationhood 10
This Book 15
Notes 18
Bibliography 19

2 Popular Images of Army Officers and Freedom Fighters

as National Heroes in the 1950s and 1960s 23
Introduction 23
Cinema as a Site for Articulating the Popular
Image of the Military Hero in the Aftermath
of the 1952 Revolution 25
Multiple Representations of the Patriotic
Freedom Fighter in Literature and Cinema 31
The Military Figure in Comedy: Ismail Yassin’s Films 42
Nasser in Abdel Halim Hafez’s Nationalist Songs 46
Notes 51
Bibliography 52

ix
x CONTENTS

3 Various Representations of the Martyred Soldier

in the 1967 June War and the Victorious Hero
in the 1973 October War 53
Introduction 53
An Overview of the Impact of the 1967 June
Defeat on Culture 56
A Critique of the 1967 June War Defeat in Film 61
Counter-Narratives of the Military Figure
in Literature, Film and Song 73
The National Bond between the Army
and the People Rekindled in Popular Culture
after the 1973 October War Victory 84
Notes 90
Bibliography 91

4 Transformation of the Popular War

Hero’s Image under Mubarak and the Commencement
of the 2011 January Revolution 93
Introduction 93
The Army’s Economic Outreach under Mubarak 94
Corruption and Greed Overshadow the October
War Hero’s Role in Film 100
Disturbing the Popular Image of the Heroic
Army Officer in Atef al-Tayyeb’s Film al-Barei’
(The Innocent) 105
The Patriotic Intelligence Officer in Two Popular
TV Drama Series 109
The Contested Image of the Military Figure during
and after 25 January 2011 115
The Undoing of the Revolutionary Discourse
and the ‘Legitimisation’ of the Counter-Revolution
with Sisi’s Presidency 124
Notes 128
Bibliography 130
 CONTENTS xi

5 Conclusion 133

Filmography 135

Songography 139

Index 141
 LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 4.1 Picture taken by the author—Tahrir Square, 1 February 2011 118
Fig. 4.2 Picture taken by the author—A street graffiti image painted
on the walls of Ittihadiyya Presidential Palace
(Heliopolis, December 2012) 119
Fig. 4.3 Picture taken by the author—A street graffiti image painted
on the walls of the American University in Cairo
(Mohammed Mahmoud Street, December 2012) 123
Fig. 4.4 Picture taken by the author—A street graffiti image painted
on the walls opposite the Ittihadiyya Presidential Palace
(Heliopolis, December 2012) This graffiti
is dedicated to the ‘martyr’ of the 2011 Revolution.
The banner at the top reads as ‘FREEDOM’,
and the phrase at the bottom with question
and exclamation marks reads as ‘the rights
of the martyrs?!!’ 127

xiii
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Multi-Layered Images

of the Egyptian Army in Popular Culture

INTRODUCTION
Perhaps one of the most compelling outcomes of the 25 January 2011
Revolution in Egypt lies in how it has highlighted the complex and some-
times contradictory relationship between the ‘people’ (al-sha‘b), the ‘army’
(al-geish) and the Egyptian nation. On 11 February 2011, the Egyptian
people were able to topple a dictator who belonged to the military establish-
ment, former president Hosni Mubarak, ending his 30-year rule. However,
the people overwhelmingly accepted that the Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces (SCAF) would rule the country for a transitional period until
a new civilian president was elected. Thus, SCAF stepped in as Mubarak
stepped out. SCAF remained in power until June 2012 when the Muslim
Brotherhood Mohammed Morsi won the presidential elections. After a
brief period in office (June 2012–June 2013), the military ousted Morsi on
3 July 2013 in the wake of mass demonstrations that lasted for four days
(30 June–3 July) and saw at least 25 million people march and occupy the
streets whilst requesting the army to intervene. An interim president took
over, Judge Adly Mansour, who was the head of the Supreme Constitutional
Court. Then, in June 2014, the people brought to power a new president,
Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was a member of SCAF and served
as Minister of Defence during Morsi’s presidency.
Why would the Egyptian people opt to return to a military/patriarchal/
authoritarian setup after millions took to the streets in 2011 demanding
the downfall of the Mubarak regime? Thousands of demonstrators paid

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 1

D.S. Mostafa, The Egyptian Military in Popular Culture,
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-59372-6_1
2 D.S. MOSTAFA

with their lives and limbs to free the country from a military dictator; so
why would the people want another military regime in power? Is this a
paradox or ‘history repeating itself’ in peculiar ways?
This volume aims to demonstrate, through analysing a range of rep-
resentations in Egyptian popular culture, that the relationship between
the Egyptian people and their army resists any simplistic interpretations
because it can only be understood in the context of the perception of the
‘nation’ and ‘nationhood’ within a broader political and historical frame-
work. It is widely argued that the modern Egyptian nation as a concept
was closely associated with the formation of a modern army (that goes
back to the 1820s), to the extent that many Egyptians define the nation-
state in association with a strong army. The story of the Egyptian nation,
its people and their army is a complex one which not only has long-lasting
historical roots, but also infuses the popular imagination and the collective
memory of the society as a whole.
Although the exact size of the Egyptian armed forces is not officially
published, a number of scholars have provided some estimates. Yezid
Sayigh indicates that it is estimated to be 468,500 in active-duty strength,
with 479,000 members in the reserves and 72,000 in attached paramili-
tary forces (Sayigh 2012, p. 5). The armed forces also provide a large
number of the senior operational and administrative officers in the Interior
Ministry and the General Intelligence Service, which report to the presi-
dent (Sayigh 2012, p. 5). Military service is compulsory in Egypt for all
males aged between 18 and 30. They remain in reserve for nine years
(CNN 2011). However, males who have certain disabilities or do not
have male siblings in their families are exempted from the service (see the
Egyptian Ministry of Defence official website for details). The military
service lasts between 12 and 36 months, where those who hold university
degrees serve for 12 months. After the 1979 Camp David peace treaty
with Israel, Egypt’s military became the second-largest recipient of US
military aid after Israel (CNN 2011) estimated at $1.3 billion annually
(Marshall 2015, p. 4). Yet Shana Marshall argues that this annual sum
has been dwarfed by the $20 billion plus which the Egyptian regime has
received from Gulf countries since 2013 (Marshall 2015, p. 20).
The relationship between the army and the people in Egypt is extremely
important when we attempt to explore the trajectory of the 2011 January
Revolution, both its achievements and its setbacks, which are still unfold-
ing. It is a topic which has not been analysed before from the angle of
popular culture, hence this book attempts to fill an academic gap in order
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 3

to investigate the cultural implications and influence of the ‘military fig-

ure’ in Egyptian society: the heroic soldier, the conscript, the military
leader, the freedom fighter, the martyred soldier and the Intelligence offi-
cer. Although still revered by large sectors of the Egyptian population,
the army as an establishment has undergone great scrutiny and challenges
since the fall of Mubarak, something which has not happened since its
glory days in the 1950s and 1960s under the popular Egyptian president
Gamal Abdel Nasser. In their protests against SCAF after February 2011,
tens of thousands of Egyptians chanted ‘Down with Military Rule’, a slo-
gan which took many forms and colours in street graffiti, placards, posters
and songs across the country.
Since the start of the 2011 Revolution, many Egyptian novelists, short
story writers, poets, singers, painters, filmmakers and journalists have con-
ceptualised their perception of the nation and their sense of nationhood
through various expressions. They have reflected on the new Egypt and
its army, and the extent to which the demands of the revolution in achiev-
ing social justice, freedom and human dignity have or have not been ful-
filled. Although many of these renowned writers and artists took part in
the 2011 protests to bring down Mubarak, they were the same people
who supported Sisi coming to power because they strongly opposed the
Muslim Brotherhood regime under president Mohammed Morsi. The 30
June 2013 movement was enormous; no one could have been able to
stop it or to anticipate what was going to happen afterwards. But one fact
remains: those millions on the streets were united against the oppressive
measures taken by Morsi during his term in office, and felt that the country
was slipping into a civil war. They believed that the only organised force
in Egypt which could bring down the Brotherhood regime was the army.
The demonstrators called upon the army to stop a civil war from erupt-
ing and to support them in holding early presidential elections. However,
after 3 July 2013, politics took a completely different turn, ending up
with Sisi resigning from his military post to run for presidential elections
in May and June 2014.
Thus, I argue here that the 2011 January Revolution was the catalyst
which led to the redefinition of concepts surrounding the nation-state and
the position of the army within this scheme. The army was challenged in
a ‘popular’ way by thousands of protesters on the streets during the rule
of SCAF. Under Sisi, however, we see that the opposition against the mili-
tary regime receded. Egyptians widely argue that maintaining the unity of
the nation’s army is crucial for the whole of the Arab region, since they
4 D.S. MOSTAFA

are witnessing the disintegration of one national army after another: the
Iraqi army since 2003; the Libyan army since the fall of Gaddafi; and the
Syrian army in the ongoing conflict. Nowadays, it is often argued that the
Egyptian army is the only one in the region that remains intact. This is of
course a tremendously serious matter for Egyptians and Arabs alike, since
Israel also has a strong army which is still occupying Arab lands and hence
is perceived as a constant threat. Add to this the increasing threat posed
by the current Islamic State militias, where one of their strongholds is
North Sinai. Yet it is also important to highlight that the Egyptian armed
forces have not been tested in any combat operations or war effort since
the 1973 October War.
Egyptian writers and artists have often linked revolutionary struggles in
their modern history to such notions as liberation from foreign powers,
national sovereignty, patriotism and democracy. Concepts of nationhood,
which can also transpire into extreme nationalist views and reactionary
political positions, are vital for our understanding of the relationship
between the people and the army. Therefore, this book aims to explore the
image and representation of the military figure in a selection of Egyptian
cultural products including literature, cinema, song, vernacular poetry, TV
drama series and graffiti. Culture, politics and history are intertwined to
illustrate the notion of the ‘popular’ embedded in the works under analy-
sis. The approach followed here underscores the concept that popular cul-
ture can subvert political and national stereotypes on the one hand, but
can also reinforce them through visual imagery and popular storytelling,
on the other hand. I conceptualise the realm of popular culture in Egypt
as the blood veins which feed the nation’s perception of its armed forces.
The book is structured around a number of pivotal political and histori-
cal events and dates, in order to trace and finally illuminate the moment
of the downfall of Mubarak as a military figure who ruled the country for
thirty years. The setting off of the 25 January 2011 Revolution shook the
armed forces to the core, and the military elite had to act quickly in order
to restore control over the country’s political and economic resources,
even if this necessitated having to let Mubarak go and pretend to side
with the people in their quest to bring down the ‘regime’. Thus, I trace
the significance of the military figure as a cultural and popular construct
so as to show how this masculine figure has been created and recreated
through visual images, symbolism and language to come to occupy the
hearts and minds of millions of Egyptians. Indeed, it is beyond the scope
of this volume to include all genres and representations of the military
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 5

figure in Egyptian popular culture, hence my analysis will focus on a range

of examples which I find indicative in specific ways, and which aim to shed
light on the multi-layered complexity of this figure. I will address works
which I view as popular in the sense that they have been widely screened or
read, written, sung or directed by well-known writers, filmmakers, poets,
singers and so on. I focus on works which have had a large audience, cre-
ated a powerful debate on the cultural scene, or have been groundbreak-
ing in their critique or subversion of the positive image of the military
figure. Therefore, popular culture is used here as an overarching theoreti-
cal framework for reflecting on political and historical events where the
military figure has played a key role.
It is also essential to note that while the Egyptian state as an institu-
tion has been widely researched and analysed in both the Arabic- and
English-speaking worlds, in-depth academic studies of the army and its
role in society and politics have been limited until the start of the 2011
Revolution.1 This is largely owing to the risks and challenges of critiqu-
ing the Egyptian army or finding published information about its internal
dynamics or income and revenue.
Meanwhile, in recent years, interest in the popular culture of the Arab
world (including Egypt) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
region in general has gained momentum in Western academia. This is
demonstrated through the publication of a number of essential texts
which have covered a broad range of topics and theories (see, for example,
Hammond (2007); Shafik (2007b); Alsharekh and Springborg (2008);
Z. Fahmy (2011); Sabry (2011); Mahfouz (2011); Laachir and Talajooy
(2012); Mostafa (2012); El Hamamsy and Soliman (2013); Valassopoulos
(2014); El Desouky (2014); Valassopoulos and Mostafa (2014)). This is in
addition to earlier key studies, particularly W. Armbrust’s Mass Culture and
Modernism in Egypt (1996), as well as his edited volume Mass Mediations:
New Approaches to Popular Culture in the Middle East and Beyond (2000);
and R. L. Stein and T. Swendenburg’s edited volume Palestine, Israel,
and the Politics of Popular Culture (2005). This research area is further
enriched by the publication of numerous journal articles and special issues.
Indeed, this new direction in research on popular culture has been
enhanced by the events of the Arab revolutions and uprisings which broke
out in 2011. With respect to Egypt, popular cultural production in jour-
nalism, film, song, street dance and theatre, graffiti, TV talk shows, TV
drama series and other genres has come to constitute a crucial archive
and wealth of material about a society going through radical political and
6 D.S. MOSTAFA

social change and a revolution in the making. In this context, this book
aims to build on a solid body of work by creating a lineage between what
is happening at the present moment and past socio-political events, with a
focus on the military figure.

SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EGYPTIAN POPULAR

CULTURE
I have argued elsewhere that popular art in Egypt has been historically per-
ceived as potentially crossing the social and political boundaries to reach
out to the different ‘other’—boundaries that have their origins in class,
education, gender or age (Mostafa 2012, p. 274). Popular art has been the
realm in which taboo issues around politics, religion, violence and sexuality
in society have been critiqued and challenged, in sharp contrast to main-
stream cultural discourse. Within this popular ‘counter-discourse’, articula-
tions of the Egyptian nation, and ideas around nationhood and belonging,
are paramount. However, it is also essential to bear in mind that not all
popular culture is necessarily progressive and open-minded in relation to
the ‘other’. On the contrary, the history of modern Egypt shows that the
sense of patriotism and nationalism embedded in popular cultural discourse
might take different directions. It can lead, for example, to more radical
and experimental art which subverts extremist views about nationhood; and
it can also be a beacon for chauvinistic (even fascist) ideologies about the
nation and the complete negation of the other (Mostafa 2012, p. 263).2
Popular cultural elements such as vernacular dialects, symbols and
motifs from a wealth of Egyptian films, plays, songs, comedy, and satire
and irony in particular have permeated the field and opened the doors
for multi-layered interpretations. In his expansive study Mass Culture and
Modernism in Egypt, Walter Armbrust (1996) demonstrates throughout
the book how ‘[p]opular culture features in the lives of most Egyptians’
(p. 3); and that ‘Egyptian popular culture has no up, no down, no begin-
ning or end’ (p. 6). He establishes that ‘[p]opular culture […] reveals
much about the state of contemporary Egypt’ (p. 10), thus suggesting
that popular culture is so pervasive and deeply rooted in Egyptian soci-
ety to the extent that one popular song, for example, can be quoted to
underscore the irony revealed by a certain situation which can then allude
to many other interrelated symbolic interpretations in cinema, literature
or folk culture. Armbrust refers to this phenomenon as ‘hypertextuality’
(p. 6). He also makes this comment:
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 7

Popular culture has been linguistically important in Egypt because it has his-
torically been a qualitatively different vehicle for establishing national iden-
tity than official discourse. The two – popular and official discourse – have
always been conceptually distinct. (p. 8)

I agree with Armbrust’s general premise in Mass Culture where he empha-

sises the linguistic aspects, particularly the vernacular, in creating a distinct
national popular cultural discourse throughout Egypt’s modern history. It
is essential to stress here that one of the key elements of popular culture
in Egypt is the use of the vernacular, which is the linguistic medium used
in the majority of popular production in film, song, radio programmes,
TV drama series and talk shows, plays and many other fields of entertain-
ment. The interesting feature of the vernacular in Egypt is that almost
each and every region in the country has its own dialect and idioms, which
originate in classical Arabic. I have argued that these diverse dialects have
popularised (or rather Egyptianised) Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). For
example, the Upper (southern) Egyptians, the Sa‘idis, speak an Egyptian
dialect which is very different from the one spoken in Alexandria or the
Sinai Peninsula (Mostafa 2012, pp. 274–275). Even in the capital Cairo,
there are numerous dialects spoken by all those Egyptians who came from
different parts of the country to reside in Cairo. This notion of the diver-
sity of the vernacular, which is intrinsic to Egyptian society, is vital because
these various dialects have acquired their rich linguistic register from the
heritage and history of work and the political struggle of each community,
hence adding an extra layer of meaning to their articulation of the concepts
of the nation and nationhood. To give one example here, we find that the
dialect spoken in the Canal Zone cities (Port Sa‘id, Isma‘iliyya and Suez)
is quite distinct as it relies heavily on the natives’ historical experience of
working as fishermen and in other trades associated with the sea, as well
as their struggle as working-class communities against aggressive invaders
especially during the Suez War (1956). It is through the sea that they have
built their crafts, trades and livelihoods, thus this heritage figures most
prominently in the lyrics of their patriotic songs (Mostafa 2012, p. 275).3
Yet, and despite this rich vernacular diversity, different communities across
Egypt understand each other’s dialects and fully interact with them.
As Benedict Anderson reminds us in Imagined Communities: ‘From
the start the nation was conceived in language, not in blood, and that
one could be “invited into” the imagined community’ (Anderson 1991,
p. 145). If, according to Anderson, the newspaper and the novel were the
8 D.S. MOSTAFA

main catalysts for the emergence of the concept of nationhood in eigh-

teenth-century Europe, it is vernacular poetry, oral folktales, popular mag-
azines, cartoons, plays, and songs that have historically played a greater
role in articulating and disseminating the concept of nationhood in late
nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Egypt. One reason for
this was the high illiteracy rate in the country, which continues to be a
major problem in Egyptian society to the present day.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MILITARY FIGURE IN EGYPTIAN

POPULAR CULTURE
Like so many millions of fellow Egyptians, I was brought up to believe
strongly in our national army as the protector of the nation from foreign
invasions and forceful aggression. This solid belief was not only formed
through studying history books at school or listening to endless debates
and discussions within family circles about the heroism and patriotism
of the Egyptian army, or by watching countless political speeches which
hail the army and its achievements and victories, but more importantly
through many films we have watched, songs we have fondly memorised,
radio programmes and TV drama series we have listened to and seen
over and again while growing up, and countless images on TV, in docu-
mentaries, and in cinema, which reflect the courage and discipline of our
national army. Until this day, if you ask young boys in Egypt what they
would like to become when they grow up, most of them are likely to give
you one of two answers: an army officer or a police officer. The respect
for the Egyptian army’s patriotism in defending the nation-state against
its ‘enemies’, and the sacrifices which the soldiers and officers have made
for the nation and paid for with their lives and blood, and the lives of their
sons, permeate the memory and experience of millions of Egyptian fami-
lies. Egyptian mothers and fathers feel proud of their sons who sacrificed
their lives for the nation. They are the ‘divine martyrs’ who will always
live in the collective memory and their stories will continue to be told
to future generations. This is why the image of the ‘martyr’ (shaheed) is
a profoundly powerful one in Egyptian popular cultural outputs, to the
extent that the armed forces have marked 9 March as ‘Martyr’s Day’,
which is celebrated every year. It was the day when Abdel Mon‘eim Riyad,
commander-in-chief of the armed forces, was martyred in 1969 during the
War of Attrition between Egypt and Israel. Riyad’s memory and sacrifice
for the nation are highly revered by the army and the people alike.
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 9

Another revered image is that of the ‘freedom fighter’ (fida’i). Army

men and freedom fighters, especially the martyrs amongst them, occupy a
special status in a nation which has seen many threats to its national sover-
eignty and social unity. The army is perceived as the foundation of a unified,
strong nation. It comes as no surprise then that the figure of the military
man, with his tidy clean uniform, his distinct military hat and his posture,
has been represented in multi-layered forms in the field of popular culture.
Yet the militarisation of a society’s culture in such a manner, which has
been going on for decades, also posits questions about the national iden-
tity of its people: how does this militarised culture impact on the social
relations and the language used as manifested in artistic works? What can
popular culture tell us about the ‘masculine’, ‘aggressive’ or ‘patriarchal’
elements resulting from the nation’s militarised identity? Indeed, one of
the main motivations for writing this book is the fact that the army is
regarded so highly and is held in such a revered status that its impact on
culture goes unchallenged by critics and academics. Situating the military
figure in the context of popular cultural elements which have glorified his
image is one of the aims of this volume, in order to interrogate, engage
and challenge widely spread notions about nationhood and revolution.
But to what extent and in what ways are we able to establish the strong
bond between army, people and nation in the field of Egyptian popular cul-
ture? Here, I would like to engage some key ideas presented by Menna Khalil
in her chapter entitled ‘The People and the Army Are One Hand: Myths
and their Translations’ (2012). In it, she elaborates on how the Egyptian
army has come to occupy ‘almost godlike qualities’ through its nationalist
history and past revolutions (p. 250). She makes this observation:

Whether an international strategy or an internalized perception, the collec-

tive memorialization of the army as protector against foreign imperialism
and liberator of the nation, as a force having always stood by and guided
the will of the people, gave it almost godlike qualities. […] In prior revolu-
tions and moments of popular resistance (1882, 1919, 1952), the army (an
institution as well as a body of conscripts) is historically defined as liberator
or savior of Egypt from corrupt rule, hegemonic dominance, and foreign
invasion. Of course, that is not to say that the army was involved as a leading
actor in all these events, nor did all these events really have the removal of
foreign dominance as their central theme. However, it is the army’s process
of conscription (in the early 1800s) and its centrality as a national defense
force that give it such resonance of unity and belonging with ‘the people’.
(pp. 250, 254—emphasis in original)
10 D.S. MOSTAFA

Khalil’s argument, thus, situates the Egyptian army within a national histo-
riographical framework, but also insists on questioning the extent to which
the concept of ‘national unity’ between the people and the army is indeed
foregrounded in the society. Furthermore, she emphasises the popular char-
acterisations of the army and how this ‘discourse’ is vital ‘to understand the
complex and ambivalent relationship between the people and the army’
(p. 253). I agree with Khalil on the use of the term ‘ambivalent’ to describe
the historic relation between the people and the army in Egypt. Such a rela-
tionship has passed through many ups and downs, and perhaps it is the sphere
of popular culture which has captured this sense of ambivalence, uncertainty
and heterogeneity most clearly, as will be illustrated in this book.

THE EARLY FORMATIONS OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY

AND IDEAS OF NATIONHOOD

Perhaps a brief discussion of the early formations of the Egyptian army

can throw some light on major issues which have continued to be asso-
ciated with the military figure in Egyptian popular culture. The key
idea here is that the army was central to the development of modern
Egyptian national identity. Mehmed Ali (or Mohammed Ali hereafter),
the governor of Egypt from 1805 to 1848 under Ottoman rule, laid the
foundations for the army in the first years of the 1820s. Khaled Fahmy
argues that ‘the Pasha inadvertently helped to homogenize the experience
of these thousands of Egyptians in a manner that was crucial in the found-
ing of their “imagined community”’ through ‘[t]he deeply felt sentiments
of injustice, frustration and animosity that the Arabic-speaking soldiers
and their junior officers had towards the Turkish-speaking military elite’
(2002, p. 314). Fahmy further argues that the Egyptians’ path towards
the modern nation-state was not a smooth and linear one, as they came
to understand the ‘essential truths of the nation by a process of violence,
silence and exclusion’:

The Pasha’s army was above all crucial for the rise of the modern nation-
state of Egypt by introducing practices that together changed the nature of
the Egyptian state and its relationship to its ‘citizens’ and completely trans-
formed the very fabric of Egyptian society. By catching its deserters, pun-
ishing its criminals, educating its youth, vaccinating its children, silencing
its women, interning its insane, and by doing all this in a subtle, ‘humane’
and ‘rational’ manner … this is how the Egyptian nation came into being in
modern times. (K. Fahmy 2002, p. 314)
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 11

Mohammed Ali’s regime imposed new measures on the Egyptian peasants

in order to recruit them into the newly founded army, but so many sol-
diers (together with their families) resisted such measures and found ways
and means to subvert them, which is manifested through the detailed and
in-depth historical and archival documents provided by Fahmy’s study.
Through these accounts, it becomes clear that the peasants did not want
to leave their lands to serve in the army, particularly as they were com-
pletely controlled by Turkish and French officers, doctors and govern-
ment authorities.
Thus, with the early formations of the army, the Egyptian soldiers
started to form a sense of national identity through defiance, subver-
sion and resistance in order to ‘distance themselves from the Pasha and
his grand projects’ (K. Fahmy 2002, p. x). The foundation of the army
required the opening of new factories, schools, hospitals and other vital
institutions so as to produce commodities for the daily consumption of
the army, to educate the soldiers and officers, and to prevent and cure
them from diseases. Such modern institutions closely associated with
the army changed radically the lives of thousands of Egyptians and their
families, as Fahmy demonstrates throughout his book. This explains why
many Egyptian nationalists and historians see in Mohammed Ali ‘the pro-
totype of a national hero’ (K. Fahmy 2002, p. 14). However, Fahmy’s
book comes to critique this particular reading of modern Egyptian his-
tory and argues that Mohammed Ali exploited Egypt’s resources and sol-
diers to gain power and control over this rich province and establish his
own dynasty in defiance of the Ottoman Sultan. Mohammed Ali’s dynasty
extended into the midst of the twentieth century when Egypt’s last mon-
arch, Farouq, was overthrown by the Free Officers’ army movement in
1952, hence opening a new chapter in Egypt’s history as a new republic.4
The issue of recruiting conscripts from poor rural backgrounds in Egypt
has been glorified through the popular perception of the army: conscripts
are from the masses and belong to them; hence the assumption that they
can never harm their fellow citizens. This idea constitutes the essence of
the widely popular slogan ‘The Army and the People are One Hand’ (al-
Geish wal Sha‘b Eid Wahda), which was, for instance, chanted over and
again during the early days of the 2011 Revolution as well as when Sisi
toppled the former president Mohammed Morsi on 3 July 2013. This
popular view of the ‘conscript’ also has a historical background. In his
book, Fahmy discusses how the Egyptian conscripts, who were the lowest
rank in the army and were mainly peasants, over the years, became aware
12 D.S. MOSTAFA

of the class and language divisions within Mohammed Ali’s army. These
peasants belonged to underprivileged families in rural areas and they spoke
Arabic, while the high-ranking officers were overwhelmingly Turkish who
did not speak Arabic. The Egyptian soldiers were banned from being pro-
moted to higher ranks in the army which was built over their shoulders—
an unjust situation which will eventually lead to the ‘Urabi Revolution in
1881–1882, as will be explained shortly.
Fahmy’s study on the Egyptian army in its early formations provides
us with a coherent and informed analysis of the historical dimensions for
the popular image of the military figure in Egyptian cultural outputs.
Despite his illustration of the problematic relationship between the birth
of the modern nation, its army and Egyptian citizens, nevertheless, over
time, Egyptians have come to see their army as their protector, as can be
seen today in the perception of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the ‘saviour’ of the
nation from the ‘terrorist’ Muslim Brotherhood group and the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as from imperialist and foreign
aggression.
There are specific dates and events in modern Egyptian history which
have established a bond between the people and the army, one that is
extremely hard to break and even harder to challenge. Perhaps one of
the earliest events in this context is the 1881–1882 ‘Urabi Revolution
which broke out against the increasing manipulation by foreign pow-
ers of Egypt’s economic and financial resources, and to demand the
Khedive to draft a constitution for the country. Another main demand
was that Egyptian army officers be promoted to higher ranks similar
to the Ottoman officers. ‘Urabi also insisted on the restoration of the
army to 18,000 men (Cole 1993, p. 235). Around the year 1879, a
group of army officers formed a political party named the National
Party (al-Hizb al-Watani). They were able to attract a number of civil-
ians as well. It was this group, led by Ahmed ‘Urabi, which formed the
core of the movement that led the rebellion within the army (Hourani
1983, pp. 194–195). The ‘Urabi Revolution also came to be known
as the Peasants’ Revolt, as Ahmed ‘Urabi, perceived as a national
hero, belonged to a wealthy peasant family and had the backing of
large sectors of the peasantry. In fact, the ‘Urabi movement came to
respond to the peasants’ discontent against the increasing injustices of
the Ottoman regime in taxation and land appropriation. Such a severe
discontent turned into a full-fledged uprising against the elite who con-
trolled the lands and the Khedive who was complicit with them.5
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 13

In July 1882, the ‘Urabists were able to isolate Khedive Tawfiq and
demand the Ottoman Sultan to depose him. The ‘Urabists installed a
secular interim government to run the country meanwhile (Cole 1993,
p. 240). Yet things took a sharp turn mainly as a result of the interven-
tion of British troops which came through the shores of Alexandria to
crush the revolution. They provided military support to the Khedive in
order to depose ‘Urabi and his fellow army supporters. The ‘Urabi army
was defeated in the famous battle of al-Tall al-Kabir in September 1882.
‘Urabi and the close circle of officers who initiated the rebellion were
punished by arrest and exile. ‘Urabi was exiled to Ceylon and returned to
Egypt only in 1901.
Juan Cole (1993) insists in his expansive study on the ‘Urabi move-
ment that it was a full-fledged revolution, not a mere revolt within the
army, and was supported not only by large numbers of peasants but also by
various other groups, guilds and associations in urban provinces, forming
a broad popular movement to back him up. Cole explains that through
his demands ‘Urabi was able to create a ‘platform upon which a variety
of forces in civil society could agree’ (p. 235). Moreover, Ziad Fahmy’s
study (2011) about Egyptian popular culture at the end of the nineteenth
century highlights how the increasing use of the Egyptian vernacular in
newspapers and journals during this period popularised the ‘Urabi move-
ment and its demands amongst the masses.
The counter-narrative to this, in some history books, blames ‘Urabi for
opening the gates to the British troops to occupy Egypt in 1882. Despite
this counter-narrative, the ‘Urabi Revolution has remained part of the col-
lective memory of Egyptians and endured in popular culture to symbolise
a heroic army officer, whose demands were in favour of the masses not the
elite, and who was able to stand in the face of foreign powers. His is per-
ceived as a ‘nationalist’ movement.
The widespread use of the Egyptian vernacular in newspapers, cartoons
and journals in the later part of the nineteenth century also helped to shape
the nationalist movement ‘from below’ against the Ottomans and the
British, as Ziad Fahmy asserts in his study Ordinary Egyptians: Creating
the Modern Nation through Popular Culture (2011). He presents the two
cases of Ya‘qub Sannu‘ and ‘Abdallah al-Nadim, two influential and popu-
lar writers and nationalists at the time, who, through their respective satiric
magazines Abu-Naddara Zarqa’ (The One with the Blue Spectacles) and al-
Tankit wa al-Tabkit (Joking and Slating), popularised the ‘Urabi movement
and its demands amongst the masses. These journals were able to capture
14 D.S. MOSTAFA

the anger and discontent felt by the masses about foreign interference and
the corruption of the Turkish elite. Sannu‘ was also a great playwright and
arguably the pioneer of colloquial Egyptian theatre. As his satire became
more critical of Khedive Ismail and the elite, the Khedive finally ordered
his exile to France in 1878 (Z. Fahmy 2011, p. 48). But Sannu‘ continued
to publish his famous magazine in Paris for many years to come and man-
aged to smuggle all its issues into Egypt (Z. Fahmy 2011, p. 48).
Indeed, the popularity of satiric magazines, plays, newspapers, cartoons
and songs underscored the nationalist demands through connecting with
the language of the masses, rather than the educated nationalists. For
instance, the cartoons and satiric comments in Sannu‘ and al-Nadim’s
magazines were read out loud to those who could not read. When the
‘Urabi movement started gaining momentum amongst the masses, after
securing support from within the army ranks, both al-Nadim’s al-Tankit
wa al-Tabkit and Sannu‘’s Abu-Naddara Zarqa’ came to stand by the
officers’ movement in their fair demands, and al-Nadim himself became an
advocate for this newly emerging nationalist momentum (Z. Fahmy 2011,
p. 56). Al Nadim even changed the name of his magazine to al-Ta’if (The
Voyager), as suggested to him by ‘Urabi, in order to include other political
news (rather than devoting the magazine entirely to satiric comments and
cartoons) (Z. Fahmy 2011, pp. 56–57).
The above cases indicate the extent of the popularity of the ‘Urabi
movement at the time and the active participation of popular magazines in
representing its demands and ideology. Here, as Ziad Fahmy aptly points
out, the vernacular Egyptian dialect, as the language of the everyday for
most Egyptians, coupled with images and cartoons, played a crucial role
in shaping ‘Urabi and his supporters as heroic icons of the army revolt.
‘Urabi’s caricature on the cover of one of the issues of Abu-Naddara
while holding a banner where we read the iconic slogan coined by ‘Urabi,
‘Misr lil-Masriyyeen’ (Egypt for the Egyptians), is one example of how
‘Urabi was reaching the hearts and minds of Egyptians (caricature repro-
duced in Z. Fahmy 2011, p. 57). When the British troops occupied Egypt
in 1882 after the defeat of ‘Urabi and his men, the Egyptians coined the
proverb ‘Ya Kharabi ya ‘Urabi’ (Oh, my ruin, o, ‘Urabi) to signify shock
and disbelief at the events. Until the present day, we hear people using this
proverb in situations where things have gone extremely wrong (Z. Fahmy
2011, p. 62).
Thus, the ‘Urabi Revolution is perceived by many historians as the first
popular movement in Egypt’s modern history on the road towards building
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 15

a nationalist consciousness against foreign powers and their manipulation

of the country’s resources. In a recently published chapter entitled ‘Egypt’s
Modern Revolutions and the Fall of Mubarak’ (2014), Juan Cole situates
the 2011 Revolution within the historical framework of three past revolu-
tions in the nation’s history, which, as he argues, emerged in the wake of
mass social and political movements: the 1881–1882 ‘Urabi Revolution;
the 1919 Egyptian Revolution; and the 1952 Free Officers’ Coup (p. 60).
As he comments: ‘These political and social movements have clearly and
powerfully shaped the evolution of the modern Egyptian nation’ (p. 60).
Whilst reflecting on the recent revolution in Egypt’s history, Cole tries to
find intersections between it and the previous revolutions.
Indeed, the 1919 popular revolution was a decisive moment in Egypt’s
history in the twentieth century. For the first time, the masses united around
a popular civilian leader: Sa‘d Zaghloul, a lawyer, not a military figure as
in the pervious ‘Urabi Revolution. Much literature has been written about
the 1919 Revolution and its aftermath, and about Zaghloul and his legacy.
Therefore, I will not analyse this event, suffice it to say that Zaghloul was
detached from the army ranks, and the Egyptian army was effectively under
the authority of the British. Zaghloul died in 1927, but the political party
which he led, al-Wafd, survived and played a key role in politics until the
Free Officers came to power in 1952 and abolished all political parties in
1954. Yet al-Wafd was revived under president Anwar Sadat, and has con-
tinued to take part in national politics until the present day.

THIS BOOK
In this introduction, I have highlighted a key moment in the develop-
ment of modern Egyptian national consciousness, the ‘Urabi Revolution,
and the perceived role of the army in expressing the will of the Egyptian
people. The rest of this book examines Egyptian popular culture in order
to explore perceptions of the army and its relationship to the people and
the nation, and how these have shifted over time as a result of changing
political conditions and the development of political consciousness and
protest movements. It could be argued that one of the most significant
years in the history of the Egyptian army was 1948, when Egyptian
soldiers joined the Arab War in Palestine against the Zionists. Chapter
2 examines the importance of this year in the military experience of
Gamal Abdel Nasser and how it was reflected in the film Allah Ma‘ana
(God is on Our Side) which was released in 1955 and directed by Ahmed
16 D.S. MOSTAFA

Badrakhan. I then focus on the period beginning in 1952, when the Free
Officers launched a coup against the monarchy and British colonialism in
Egypt, culminating in a full-fledged political and social revolution ending
their presence and legacy. Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the Free Officers,
became officially the Egyptian president in 1956. Nasser, perceived by the
masses as a national hero and coming from a rural background like ‘Urabi,
declared the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company in 1956, a move
which led to the Tripartite Aggression by British, French and Israeli forces
against Egypt. Egyptians from all walks of life—women and men, old and
young—joined the popular armed resistance movement which sprang up
before, and gained momentum during, the Suez War in support of Nasser,
providing a powerful popular backing for the soldiers in the Canal Zone
cities of Port Sa‘id, Suez and Isma‘iliyya, the cities which were brutally
bombed and shelled by the foreign powers. The foreign troops could not
break these cities and their attempt to reoccupy the Canal failed.
One of the key symbols reignited and immortalised during the Suez
War was the image of the fida’i (freedom fighter) who will be represented
in countless visual and literary works. Thus, Chap. 2 highlights the multi-
layered images of the military figure (particularly the army officer and the
freedom fighter) in popular cultural outputs such as literature, cinema
and song in the 1950s and 1960s. I specifically examine two novels, al-
Bab al-Maftouh (The Open Door) by Latifa al-Zayyat and al-Summan wal
Kharif (Autumn Quail) by Naguib Mahfouz (both novels were adapted
to cinema). In addition, I analyse Salah Abou Seif’s significant film La
Waqt lil Hobb (No Time for Love), which portrayed the sacrifices made
by freedom fighters and their plight in defending the nation. The hero-
ism and discipline of the military figure was also inflated in comedy, so
I examine a series of films starring the popular comedian Ismail Yassin.
The chapter concludes by highlighting the significance of the repertoire
of nationalist songs which the popular singer Abdel Halim Hafez sang
for Nasser. Through this chapter, it will become clear that Nasser was the
iconic military figure who inspired this long-lasting image of the army man
as a hero, and which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s supporters like to draw on.
Chapter 3 discusses a variety of representations of two popular images
that recurred in numerous cultural products in the aftermath of the 1967
June War defeat and of the 1973 October War victory: those of the mar-
tyred soldier on the one hand, and of the victorious war hero on the
other hand. This comparative analysis further complicates the relationship
between the people and the army and allows for the investigation of differ-
ent dimensions in popular cultural outputs of this relationship.
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 17

Here, I focus on cinema to highlight a new visual language through

which the June defeat was critiqued in a number of groundbreaking films
made in the late 1960s and early 1970s, yet with a sympathetic outlook
towards Nasser and the defeated soldiers, specifically the martyred amongst
them. These include al-‘Usfour (The Sparrow) by Youssef Chahine and
Ughniya ‘ala al-Mamarr by Ali Abdel Khaliq, amongst others. I also
examine a number of works in literature, film and song which I consider
as ‘counter-narratives’ to the widely spread nationalist discourse, which
have depicted the responsibility of the military regime for the June defeat.
In this context, I analyse Naguib Mahfouz’s novella al-Karnak (Karnak
Café) which was made into a film. I also consider a selection of poems and
songs produced by the popular duo poet Ahmed Fouad Negm and singer
Sheikh Imam, and two significant films in this regard, Shafiqa wa Mitwalli
(Shafiqa and Mitwalli) directed by Ali Badrakhan, and Wara’a al-Shams
(Beyond the Sun) directed by Mohammed Rady, both released in 1978.
With the 1973 October War victory, a new mood in the country took
over as the faith of the Egyptian people in the army as the protector of the
nation was rekindled, so I examine examples of nationalist stories, songs
and films which aimed at glorifying the war victory.
In 1981, Hosni Mubarak became Egypt’s new president after the
assassination of Anwar Sadat by militant Islamists from within the army
ranks on the very same day of celebrating their war victory: 6 October
1981. The symbolism of this historic day, when a unit in the army
rose against their commander-in-chief and plotted to assassinate him,
was a major shock to the nation. It indicated that there were deep
divisions within the army and defied the notion of its ‘unity’ as Sadat
wanted the people to believe. Chapter 4 explores how the image of
the heroic military figure changed in the popular imagination during
the Mubarak years as a result of the increasing and pervasive involve-
ment of the army in most economic sectors of the nation. The army
was building an economic ‘empire’ of its own, which did not bene-
fit the large majority of the population in any significant way. Here,
I analyse a number of popular films which depicted this change, par-
ticularly in representing a ‘deluded’ October War hero—such as Atef
al-Tayyeb’s Sawwaq al-Autobis (The Bus Driver), Mohammed al-Nag-
gar’s Zaman Hatem Zahran (The Era of Hatem Zahran) and Salah
Abou Seif ’s al-Mowaten Masry (Citizen Masry). I also analyse another
crucial film which came to unsettle the positive image of the military
officer: Atef al-Tayyeb’s Al Barei’ (The Innocent). Yet two remarkably
18 D.S. MOSTAFA

popular TV drama series, namely Tears in Shameless Eyes (1980) and

Raafat al-Haggan (made in three parts in 1989, 1990 and 1991),
which were produced by state TV, used much nationalist discourse to
inflate the image of the Intelligence officer and the patriotic ordinary
citizens who were able to defeat the Israeli Mossad through successful
‘Intelligence wars’. I then address Mubarak’s fall from grace with the
outbreak of the 25 January 2011 Revolution, and the perception of
SCAF in popular cultural outputs, especially street graffiti. My conclud-
ing remarks in Chap. 4 highlight the ‘legitimisation’ of the counter-
revolutionary discourse which has been dominating the cultural field
since Sisi came to power in June 2014.I don't think there's a need to
mention the Conclusion, since it's brief and mainly wraps up the main
premises of the book.

NOTES
1. The few earlier studies include Anouar Abdel-Malek’s Egypt: Military
Society—the Army Regime, the Left, and Social Change under Nasser
(1968), which analyses the class character of the 1952 July regime and
focuses on 15 years in the history of the national movement in Egypt
(1952–1967); and P. J. Vatikiotis’ The Egyptian Army in Politics: Pattern
for New Nations? (1961) which studies the army’s structure and dynamics
under the Free Officers’ regime, and considers critically the union between
Egypt and Syria which culminated in the United Arab Republic
(1958–1961). In addition, reports, studies and articles by Harb (2003),
Cook (2007), Albrecht and Bishara (2011), Abul-Magd (2011, 2012 and
2015), Amar (2012a and 2012b), Khalil (2012), Sayigh (2012), Marshall
and Stacher (2012), Bou Nassif (2013), Salem (2013), Kandil (2014) and
Marshall (2015) shed light on the workings of the military and its political
and economic roles.
2. In the realm of cinema, for example, film critic Viola Shafik devotes a chap-
ter entitled ‘The Other’ in her book Popular Egyptian Cinema: Gender,
Class, and Nation, to discuss the portrayal of certain sectors of Egyptian
society, such as the Copts, the Jews and the Nubians, and the exclusion and
marginalisation they suffered. She draws attention to the many stereotypes
which were prevalent in a variety of popular films, and which have influ-
enced the viewers over the years, with respect to such representations. See
Chap. 1 ‘The Other’ in V. Shafik (2007b, pp. 13–87).
3. One of these iconic songs is ‘Ya Biyout el Sweis’ (Oh, Houses of Suez) which
was written by veteran poet Abdel Rahman al-Abnoudi and sung by the great
singer Mohammed Hamam in the aftermath of the Suez War in 1956.
 INTRODUCTION: MULTI-LAYERED IMAGES OF THE EGYPTIAN ARMY... 19

4. For another detailed study which engages the early formations of the
Egyptian army, see Timothy Mitchell (1988) Colonising Egypt (Berkeley and
London: University of California Press).
5. A good number of substantial studies in both Arabic and English have been
published on the ‘Urabi Revolution since the late nineteenth century,
including the memoirs which Ahmed ‘Urabi wrote himself. In his compre-
hensive study al-Thawra al-‘Urabiyya (The ‘Urabi Revolution), the Egyptian
writer Salah Eissa outlines the various narratives which surrounded ‘Urabi’s
movement and provides a list of important references in this regard. See
S. Eissa (1982, 2nd edn). In his analysis, Eissa adopts a socialist perspective
of the events and considers the revolt as one based on class-consciousness on
the part of the peasants.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abdel-Malek, A. (1968). Egypt: Military society—the army regime, the left, and social
change under Nasser (C. L. Markmann, Trans.). New York: Random House.
Abul-Magd, Z. (2011, December 23). The army and the economy in Egypt.
Jadaliyya. Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://www.jadaliyya.com/
pages/index/3732/
Abul-Magd, Z. (2012, May 8). The Egyptian republic of retired generals. Foreign Policy.
Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/05/08/
the-egyptian-republic-of-retired-generals/
Abul-Magd, Z. (2015, June). Egypt’s adaptable officers: Business, nationalism, and
discontent. Paper delivered at BRISMES conference, London School of
Economics. Retrieved October 20, 2015, from https://brismes2015.files.
wordpress.com/2015/06/zeinab-abul-magd.pdf
Albrecht, H., & Bishara, D. (2011). Back on horseback: The military and political
transformation in Egypt. Middle East Law and Governance, 3, 13–23.
Alsharekh, A., & Springborg, R. (Eds.). (2008). Popular culture and political iden-
tity in the Arab Gulf states. London: Saqi.
Amar, P. (2012a). Egypt as a globalist power: Mapping military participation in
decolonizing internationalism, repressive entrepreneurialism, and humanitarian
globalization between the revolutions of 1952 and 2011. Globalizations, 9(1),
179–194.
Amar, P. (2012b). Why Mubarak is out. In B. Haddad, et al. (Eds.), The dawn of
the Arab uprisings: End of an old order? (pp. 83–90). London: Pluto Press.
Anderson, B. (1991). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread
of nationalism. London: Verso.
Armbrust, W. (1996). Mass culture and modernism in Egypt. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Another random document with
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supervisors in transforming an institute which is organized on the old
basis.
If a teacher’s supervisors are not helping her, it may be well to
inquire whose fault it is. The teacher who meets the supervisor
halfway, the one who invites criticism, who avails herself of the help
and suggestion which may come from exhibits, visiting, teachers’
meetings, and institutes will, in all probability, grow strong enough to
help others. She may in her turn be called upon to accept the
responsibilities, the trials, and the joys of a supervisor.[29]

For Collateral Reading

The Seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Scientific Study of
Education.

Exercises.
1. What is the purpose of supervision?
2. Give illustrations of work done by the supervisors whom you have found most
helpful.
3. Name the types of criticism. Give illustrations of each type from your own
experience.
4. What is wrong with the teacher who resents adverse criticism?
5. Why wait a day or two after the supervisor has visited you before asking for
criticism on your work?
6. If the supervisor does not volunteer criticism, what would you do?
7. Have you ever attended a school exhibit which has helped you in your work?
What kind of work should be sent to the exhibit? Why insist upon a continuous
exhibit rather than one that lasts only a week?
8. How can you hope to get the most out of a day’s visiting? What help would
you expect from the supervisor?
9. Of what value are examinations to you?
10. When a teacher says that she can get nothing from the teachers’ meetings,
what is wrong?
11. What help would you expect to get from the observation and discussion of
actual class teaching? Have you ever taught a class for observers?
 12. What suggestions would you make for the improvement of your institute? Do
you think changes could be made if teachers wanted to gain the most possible
during the week or more devoted to the institute?
13. What is wrong in a situation where teachers complain that their supervisors
are hard taskmasters?
14. If supervision is to make for professional growth, what contribution must the
teacher make?
15. How do you explain the attitude of the teacher who says she wants no
supervision?
 CHAPTER XVIII

T H E T E A C H E R I N R E L AT I O N T O T H E C O U R S E O F

STUDY

Teachers sometimes look upon the course of study merely as a

demand made by those in control of the school system for a large
amount of work to be accomplished. The course of study indicates
that certain topics in English, arithmetic, nature study, geography,
history, industrial arts, and the other subjects of the curriculum are
assigned to the grade, and the teacher expects that her pupils will be
examined on this work at stated times during the year in order to
determine the efficiency of her work and the fitness of the children
for promotion. From this point of view, the course of study is an ever
present taskmaster, always urging that more work be accomplished.
Let us inquire whether this is in reality the meaning of the course of
study to the teacher.
In the first place, all will admit that in any system of schools it is
necessary to determine somewhat definitely the work to be done by
a given grade. If such provision were not made, it would be
impossible to transfer children from one school to another, and very
difficult for the supervisory force to render help to large numbers of
teachers. Then, too, there is an order in the development of subjects,
which is necessary both from the standpoint of the subject and from
the point of view of the child who is to gain the experience which the
subject offers.
 It is true that a course of study which is made to fit all of the
children of a great city or state must be interpreted liberally, if good
teaching is to be done. To this end, our best courses of study
demand that a minimum amount of work be done by all teachers,
and suggest alternative and optional work to meet the needs of
children whose experiences are varied, and whose needs are
correspondingly different. In any progressive school system, the
capable teacher has opportunity to vary the material presented
under the head of the various subjects in such a manner as will
satisfy the interests and the problems of the group of children for
whose growth she is responsible.
A good course of study will save the teacher much time and
energy by the organization of material which it presents. In many of
our larger cities a volume of from fifty to two hundred pages has
been prepared for each subject. These manuals suggest the order in
which it has been found by experience that the topics can best be
presented. In many cases a helpful analysis of each large topic from
the point of view of presenting it to children is included. Besides this
organization of material, references which will prove helpful to the
teacher, both from the standpoint of subject matter and of method,
are included in our best courses of study. In many cases suggestions
for teaching, elaborated at times into complete lesson plans, are
given.
In the making of the course of study, the teacher should welcome
any opportunity to contribute her knowledge concerning the
availability of material or the methods to be used in her grade. Any
good course of study should be the joint product of at least three
classes of people: the expert in the subject, the expert in supervision
and administration of schools, and the expert teacher. The subject
matter expert is needed to pass upon the material from the
standpoint of fact and from the point of view of one who sees the
beginnings of a subject in relation to the whole field. The supervisor
has to provide for the proper relation of the different subjects,
determines the amount of time to be devoted to the subject, and the
general method of procedure in teaching the subject. The teacher
needs to advise as to the practicability of the whole scheme. She
has in mind a particular group of children with certain experiences,
interests, and abilities, and her judgment is probably safer than
either of the others as to the availability of any particular topic or
phase of the subject. In addition to this service, any group of
teachers can give most significant help with respect to the methods
which have proved most helpful. Indeed, our courses of study could
be made much more helpful if teachers were only asked to give
suggestions concerning the organization of material and methods of
teaching, which they are so well equipped to offer by reason of their
experience in teaching the subject to children. Happily, the practice
of inviting the coöperation of teachers in making the course of study
is becoming more common in our cities. Any capable teacher who is
anxious to participate in the organization of the curriculum will find
opportunity to make her contribution.
Possibly there are teachers who, because of the very excellence
of the courses of study provided, feel that all that is required for them
is to follow blindly the directions given. Instead of considering the
course of study as a hard taskmaster, they look upon it as a crutch
upon which they lean heavily. For these teachers there is little need
for preparation. The course of study and the textbooks have solved
the problems of teaching. Let us inquire just what the curriculum of
our schools stands for before attempting to decide just what relation
the teacher bears to it.
A course of study is not so much knowledge to be poured in.
Rather it represents possible experiences for which children may
have need, experiences which will aid them in the solution of their
problems and make possible for them the realization of their
purposes. How did all of this knowledge come to be preserved, and
how did it happen to be arranged in groups labeled by certain
names? Men have preserved from time to time, by handing down by
word of mouth or by records made on stone, wood, skin, paper, or
other surfaces, knowledge which they have found useful in meeting
the problems which confront them. For convenience of reference this
knowledge has come to be grouped, and to each group a name has
been applied. If we could only remember how we came to have this
body of knowledge, how it happened to be thought worth while to
preserve the experiences which when grouped together we know as
subjects, it might make us a little more judicious in our attempt to
acquaint children with their inheritance.
Our schools have all too frequently acted upon the principle that
children could assimilate the school subjects without reference to
their past experience or their present needs. It has been common to
say, teach so much of this or that subject, just as if the child mind
was a receptacle to be filled. The difficulty of this attitude toward
school subjects is twofold: first, the children fail to gain any
appreciation of the experiences involved; and, second, they fail to
gain from the process the power of independent thought, or the spirit
of investigation which it is the purpose of education to impart.
The doctrine of formal discipline, as commonly interpreted, has
been largely responsible for our wrong idea of the meaning of
subjects of study. The idea that any study, especially if it proved
disagreeable to the pupil, and had no definite relationship either to
his past experiences or present needs, would mean most for his
education, has not yet entirely disappeared. Aside from the
psychological fallacy involved, that ability to do one kind of work
would spread or be available for all other kinds of mental activity
which we call by the same general name, the devotees of the
doctrine ignored the fact that the maximum of activity or hard mental
work could be secured only under the stimulus of genuine interest.
[30]

Possibly the introduction of the industrial arts[31] and the more

rational approach which they demand, may serve to illustrate the
method to be used in teaching other subjects. In cooking, for
example, we would hardly expect to have a child begin by engaging
in an exercise in beating eggs without reference to any problem
which required this activity. If children are to learn something of wood
and its use in our industries, we commonly expect them to gain
some knowledge of the processes involved in the course of the
construction of furniture for the playhouse, a flower box for the
window, a sled, a checkerboard, or some other interesting project. It
is true that the industrial arts lend themselves more readily to the
dominant interests of children to do and to make than do most
school subjects. If these activities, which are essentially the activities
characteristic of our modern civilization, be used to best advantage,
they will offer many opportunities for making significant the other
subjects.
Any considerable participation in the processes which are
fundamental to the great industries cannot fail to arouse an interest
in the source of materials, the development of the industry, and a
desire to express one’s self with reference to the work which is being
done. From the interest in the source of materials grows naturally the
work in nature study and geography. The development of the
industry takes us back even to the time of primitive man, and history
becomes significant. The handling of materials in construction
suggests the need of measurement, and arithmetic is provided for. In
all of this work there will be a demand for communication, the
necessity to learn what others have recorded in books, and the wish
to express one’s own experience in oral and written speech. The
experiences of people like ourselves, as idealized in literature, will
make its appeal in spite of the worst our teaching can do. It is not
maintained that all subject matter groups itself naturally around
industrial activities, and that these activities should, therefore, form
the center of the curriculum; rather, it is sought to emphasize the
relationships to the real needs of children and the possibility of
utilizing these genuine motives in the teaching of school subjects.
We teach the subjects of the curriculum in order that children may
understand their environment, be adjusted to it, and, as President
Butler puts it, come into possession of their spiritual inheritance. Out
of the work which is done, these same children should gain power to
adapt themselves to new conditions and should be equipped to
render service in the progress which is yet to be made in our society.
Now one’s adjustment to the present environment must be an
adjustment to his environment, a solution of his problems as they at
present exist. Future adaptability is conditioned by the experience
which one has had in making such adjustments. The ability to
contribute to the progress in which each should participate is
dependent, not so much upon the number of facts one possesses,
as upon the attitude of investigation which characterizes him, the
respect for truth, and ability to think straight which have been
developed by his education. From whatever point of view we
approach the problem of teaching our subjects, the answer is the
same: meet present situations, solve present real, vital problems,
make subject matter meet the needs of the children you are
teaching. This analysis of the curriculum makes apparent the
important part to be played by the teacher in making available the
experiences which the school subjects are organized to present.
The courses of study may present much that is helpful in the
organization of material, the suggestions for teaching may be
gathered from the experience of many teachers, and still the great
problem of making these subjects vital to children remains as the
work of every teacher. Motives which grow out of the experience
which children have already had must be sought. The material to be
presented will be significant in the experience of these children only
when they approach it in order to satisfy their real needs. Aside from
the possibility of finding in one of the subjects, as, for example, the
industrial arts, a motive for other work, the school situation itself
presents many opportunities for discovering real needs to children.
The school festival, school parties for parents, fairs and sales, the
general assembly, excursions, gardening or other industrial activity,
plays and games, have in the hands of skillful teachers provided a
compelling motive for a great variety of school work. The author
would not deny the power of intellectual interest, but he knows, as
does every other teacher, that with children in the elementary school
this motive is only gradually developed. The teacher who is alert to
find some real need for the computations of arithmetic; who gives a
genuine opportunity for oral or written expression; who appeals to
the desire to use the knowledge gained in history and geography by
means of the historical festival, the article in the school paper, and
the like, as well as to the curiosity of the child; who allows children to
make real things which satisfy their individual or collective needs in
the industrial arts,—is the teacher who is teaching school subjects in
the way that will mean most in the education of her pupils.
 The demand that the teacher vitalize the curriculum does not lose
sight of the necessity for drill, or of the demand that children know,
as a result of their education. As a matter of fact, the more vital the
experiences, the more apparent it becomes to both teacher and pupil
that the fixing of knowledge or the acquiring of skill is a necessary
condition of present efficiency and of future progress. The children
who have the most genuine need for the multiplication table will be
the first to learn it. If you are to read to a whole school and want to
have them enjoy with you the selection which you are to interpret,
you will have the best possible reason for good expression. History
means something, if you really need to know the history of a period
in order to reproduce accurately its language, manners, dress, and
the like in your festival. The mistake which at times has been made
by enthusiastic teachers of neglecting the drill side of the work, has
not been due to any difficulty which the situation presented from the
standpoint of the children who are engaged in meaningful activities.
The teacher may not expect all children to gain equally in
command of the experiences represented by the course of study. For
her there must literally be courses of study for each subject, in that
she must adapt her work in so far as is possible to individual needs.
The office of teacher may well be exalted, for it is the teacher who
must, because of her insight, provide for the needs of each child
committed to her care, and in rendering this service provide society
with its greatest asset, a truly educated human being.

For Collateral Reading

S. T. Dutton and D. Snedden, Administration of Public Education in the United
States, Chapter XVIII.

Exercises.
The selections from courses of study are quoted by Dr. C. W. Stone in his
monograph on Arithmetic Abilities and Some Factors Determining them. In Dr.
Stone’s study the pupils in twenty-six schools or school systems were tested. One
of the problems raised had reference to the excellence of the course of study. The
selections quoted represent a variety in excellence such as one will find in the
courses of study prepared in any subject.
Study these selections from the following points of view:—
 1. Do any of them give too little information to the teacher concerning the work
required in the grade?
2. Do any of them restrict the work of the teacher unduly?
3. Which do you consider the best course of study?
4. Are any of these statements so complete as to relieve the teacher of the
necessity of reorganizing the work for her own class?
5. How would you modify any of these courses of study in order to make it more
valuable to teachers?
6. Indicate possible maximum, minimum, and optional work in the third-grade
work in arithmetic.

S E L E C T I O N S I L L U S T R AT I N G G E N E R A L E X C E L L E N C E

From each of two systems ranking among the lowest five in course of study.
3 B. Speer work. Simple work in addition and subtraction, following the plan in
the Elementary Arithmetic.
3 A. Primary Book. First half page 26, second half page 41.

Grade III, Number

Exercises, mental and written, in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division of numbers.
The processes will be explained.
The multiplication table up to 12 will be made by the pupils and thoroughly
committed to memory.
Drill in rapid addition.
Notation and numeration to five periods.
Table of weights, United States and English money. Problems in all tables
learned.
Square and cubic measure. Troy and apothecaries’ weights. Principles of
multiplication.
From the system standing best in course of study.

Grade III B
 Scope: Review the work taught in preceding grades. (This review may require
from four to six weeks.)
Addition and subtraction of numbers through twenty. Multiplication and division
tables through 4’s. Give much practice upon the addition of single columns.
Abstract addition, two columns; the result of each column should not exceed
twenty. The writing of numbers through one thousand. Roman notation through
one hundred. Fractions ½, ¼, and ⅓. The object of the work of this grade is to
make pupils ready in the use of the simple fundamental processes.
Book: Cook and Cropsey’s New Elementary Arithmetic (for use of teacher), pp.
1 to 46.
The chief difficulty in the work of this grade is in teaching the arithmetical forms
as applied to concrete processes. Pupils should know very thoroughly the work
given on pages 1 to 23, Cook and Cropsey’s Arithmetic, before any new forms are
taught. They have up to this time used the arithmetical signs and the sentence,
and have stated results only. New forms for addition and subtraction are first
applied to concrete processes on page 24. No other forms should be taught until
pupils are very familiar with these. A drill should be given showing that these two
forms are identical and that we must first know what we wish to use them for, if
applied to problems. Write
9
2
upon the board and indicate your thought by the signs + and -.
9 9 9 apples 9 apples
+2 -2 +2 -2
11 7 11 7 apples
Pupils should be very familiar with these forms before any written concrete work
is given.
When the new form for multiplication is introduced, this drill should be repeated:
9 9 9
+2 -2 ×2
11 7 11
Nothing new should be added to this until pupils can use these forms without
confusion.
When presenting the new forms for division and partition the same method may
be used, but pupils should use the form for division some weeks before using the
same form for partition. It is not necessary to use the division form for partition until
the last four weeks of the term, and not even then, if there seems to be any danger
of confusion in using the same form for both processes. The terms division and
partition should not be used. The terms measure and finding one of the equal parts
can be easily understood. Pupils should be able to read arithmetical forms well,
before any use is made of these forms in their application to written concrete work.
All concrete problems should be simple and within the child’s experience.

Grade III A
Scope: 1. Review the work of Grade 3 B.
2. Abstract addition of three columns. Subtraction, using abstract numbers
through thousands. Addition and subtraction of United States money. Multiplication
and division tables through 6’s. Multiplication and division of abstract numbers
through thousands, using 2, 3, 4, and 5 as divisors. Addition and subtraction by
“endings” through 2 + 9, last month of term. Writing numbers through ten
thousands. Roman notation through one hundred. Fractions ½, ¼, and ⅓.
3. Application of fundamental processes to simple concrete problems, of one
step.
4. Measures used—inch, foot, yard, square inch; pint, quart, gallon; peck,
bushel; second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year. Use actual measures.
Books: (In hands of pupils) Walsh’s New Primary Arithmetic, pp. 1 to 68.
(For teachers’ use) Cook and Cropsey’s New Elementary Arithmetic, pp. 46 to
85, Article 105.
Even with only the work of a single grade to judge from, one has no difficulty in
recognizing the wide difference in the excellence of these courses. As may be
seen from Table XXVIII, page 73, in the rating they stand about thirty steps apart,
i.e. the one from which the third illustration was taken has a score of 65, while the
others have scores of 32 and 39, respectively.

S E L E C T I O N S I L L U S T R AT I N G E X C E L L E N C E I N D R I L L A N D I N
CONCRETENESS

From the system ranking next to the best in drill.

Grade III B
I. Objective.
1. Work.
a. Fractions. Review previous work. Teach new fractions; 7ths, 10ths,
and 12ths.
 b. Notation, numeration, addition and subtraction of numbers to 1000.
c. Liquid and dry measures.
d. United States money.
e. Weights.
2. Objects and Devices.
a. Counting frame.
b. Splints, disks for fractions, etc.
c. Shelves.
d. Liquid and dry measure.
e. United States money.
f. Scales.
II. Abstract.
1. Work.
a. Counting to 100 by 2’s, 10’s, 3’s, 4’s, 9’s, 11’s, 5’s, beginning with any
number under 10; counting backwards by same numbers,
beginning with any number under 100.
b. Multiplication tables. Review tables already studied. Teach 7 and 9.
c. Drill in recognizing sum of three numbers at a glance; review
combinations already learned; 20 new ones.
2. Devices.
a. Combination cards, large and small.
b. Wheels.
c. Chart for addition and subtraction.
d. Fraction chart.
e. Miscellaneous drill cards.
f. Pack of “three” combination cards.
Prince’s Arithmetic, Book III, Sects. I and II.
Speer’s Elementary Arithmetic, pp. 1-55.
Shelves: See II A.
Combination Cards: large and small. These cards should contain all the facts of
multiplication tables 3, 6, 8, 7, and 9. As:—
7×1 2×7 7÷1 21 ÷ 3
1×7 7×3 14 ÷ 2 21 ÷ 7, etc.
7×2 3×7 14 ÷ 7
For use of these cards, see directions in I B.
Wheels for Multiplication and Division:
 See directions under II A.
Chart for Adding and Subtracting:
For directions, see II B and II A.
Add and subtract 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 9’s, 10’s, 11’s, 12’s, 15’s, and 20’s.
Fraction Chart shows, ½, ¼, ⅛, ⅓, 1/6, 1/9, 1/12.
Miscellaneous Drill Cards:
For directions, see I A.
“Three” Combination Cards:
For use, see I A.

Grade III A
I. Objective.
1. Work.
a. Fractions previously assigned.
b. Notation, numeration, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
of numbers to 1000.
c. Long and square measures.
d. Weights.
2. Objects and Devices:
a. Counting frame.
b. Splints, disks for fractions, etc.
c. Shelves.
d. Scales.
II. Abstract.
1. Work.
a. Counting to 100 by any number from 2 to 12, inclusive, beginning with
any number under 10; counting by same numbers backward,
beginning with any number under 100.
b. Multiplication tables—all tables.
c. Drill in recognizing sum of three numbers at a glance; review
combinations already learned; 20 new ones.
2. Devices.
a. Combination cards—large and small.
b. Wheels.
c. Chart for adding and subtracting.
d. Chart for fractions.
e. Miscellaneous drill cards.
 f. Pack of “three” combination cards.
Prince’s Arithmetic, Book III, Sects. III to VI, inclusive.
Speer’s Elementary Arithmetic, pp. 56-104.
Shelves: See II a.
Combination Cards: large and small. The cards should contain all the facts of
the multiplication tables 11 and 12, also the most difficult combinations from the
other multiplication tables. As:—
12 × 1 12 ÷ 1 24 ÷ 2
1 × 12 12 ÷ 12 24 ÷ 12, etc.
12 × 2 12 ÷ 2
2 × 12 12 ÷ 3
For use of cards, see directions in I B.
Wheels for Multiplication and Division:
See directions under II A.
Chart for Adding and Subtracting:
For directions, see II B and II A.
Add and subtract 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 13’s, 14’s, 16’s, 17’s, 18’s, and 19’s.
Review other numbers under 20.
Chart for Fractions shows all fractions already assigned.
Miscellaneous Drill Cards:
For directions, see I A.
From the system ranking best in concreteness.
Mathematics: If the children are actually doing work which has social value, they
must gain accurate knowledge of the activities in which they are engaged. They
will keep a record of all expenses for materials used in the school, and will do
simple bookkeeping in connection with the store which has charge of this material.
In cooking, weights and measures will be learned. The children will also keep
accounts of the cost of ingredients. Proportions will be worked out in the cooking
recipes. When the children dramatize the life of the trader, in connection with
history, they have opportunity to use all standards of measurements. Number is
demanded in almost all experimental science work; for instance, the amount of
water contained in the different kinds of fruit, or the amount of water evaporated
from fruits under different conditions (in drying fruits). All plans for wood work will
be worked to a scale and demand use of fractions. When the children have
encountered many problems which they must solve in order to proceed with their
work, they are ready to be drilled on the processes involved until they gain facility
in the use of these. The children should be able to think through the problems
which arise in their daily work, and have automatic use of easy numbers, addition,
subtraction, multiplication, short division, and easy fractions.
 As one reads these two samples of excellence he must find that each is so
excellent in its one strong feature that it is not good; that work according to either
must suffer; that what each needs is what the other has. Such a synthesis is
represented in the next illustration.

A Combination of Excellences
September. 1. Measure height, determine weight. From records determine
growth since September, 1905. 2. Learn to read thermometer. Make accurately,
scale one fourth inch representing two degrees on paper one inch broad. Find
average temperature of different days of month. Practice making figures from 1 to
100 for the thermometer scale. Count 100 by 2’s. 3. Make temperature chart. 4.
Measure and space calendar, making figures of size appropriate to inch squares.
Learn names of numbers to 30. 5. Make inch-wide tape measure for use in nature
study, number book and cubic-inch seed boxes. 6. Review telling time. A. In
addition to above; analyze numbers from 11 to 40 into tens and ones. Walsh’s
Primary Arithmetic to top of page 10.
October. Problems on calendar,—number of clear, of cloudy, and of rainy days in
September. Compare with September, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1902; temperature chart
and thermometer; height and weight. Lay off beds for tree seeds; plant the same.
Make envelopes for report cards. Drill on combinations in the above. Make rod
strings and hundred-foot strings for determining distance wing seeds are carried
from plants. Practice making figures from 1 to 100 for thermometer scale. Develop
table of tens. A. In addition to the above analyze numbers from 40 to 50 into tens
and ones. Primary Arithmetic, pp. 10-22. Teach pupils to add at sight.
November. From wall calendar count number of clear days, of cloudy days, and
rainy days in October. Compare with September; with October of 1905, of 1906.
Find average daily temperature; 8.30 a.m., 1 p.m. What kind of trees grow fastest?
Measure growth of twigs of different kinds of trees. Compare this year’s growth
with that of last year and of year before last. Compare rate of growth of different
kinds of trees, as oak, willow, Carolina poplar, and elm. Develop table of 5’s from
lesson with clock dial; review 2’s and 10’s. Practice making figures from 1 to 100
for the thermometer scale. Learn words representing numbers as well as figures.
Make seed envelope. A. Analyze numbers from 60 to 65 into tens and ones.
Primary Arithmetic. B, pp. 17-26; A, pp. 39-49.
Last six weeks of first term.—Continue finding average daily temperature. From
wall calendar count number of clear, of cloudy, and of rainy days in November.
Compare with November, 1906, 1905. Continue measurements on growth of trees.
Drill on telling time from clock dial. Practice making figures from 1 to 100 for
thermometer scale. Continue learning words representing numbers. Review tables
of 2’s, 5’s, 10’s; learn table of 3’s. Primary Arithmetic. B, pp. 27-40. Analyze
numbers from 11 to 30 into tens and ones. Primary Arithmetic. A, pp. 49-61.
Analyze numbers from 66 to 100 into tens and ones. In January review all facts in
number book. Drill on tables.
(Only the first one half of the third year’s course shown.)
The system from which this last selection is taken had the following remarkable
rankings: 3d best in general excellence, 2d best in concreteness, and 5th best in
drill. And as measured by the tests of this study, this system stood 4th from the
best in abilities, and spent a little less than the medium amount of time.
 CHAPTER XIX

M E A S U R I N G R E S U LT S I N E D U C AT I O N

Efficiency in any line of human endeavor depends upon our ability

to evaluate the results which are secured. No one would question
the progress which has been made in education during the past
hundred years; but one may very justly inquire concerning the
efficiency of the work that has been done from the standpoint of the
money which has been spent, and the effort and devotion of those
who have engaged in teaching. In the mercantile pursuits it has been
noted that seven out of every ten failures can be charged directly to
a lack of knowledge of facts. Such investigations as we have had in
education tend to prove that a like situation is to be found in this
field. The failures in education, whether due to a lack of economical
use of the funds available, to an inefficient system of organization, or
to unintelligent practices in method, are, on the whole, not to be
charged to a lack of devotion on the part of those who have given
their lives to the schools. Until it is possible to measure the results
achieved, the facts of success or failure cannot be established.
Of course, no one would deny that real progress is made by the
process of trial and success, both in the art of teaching and in the
practice of administration. It is true, too, that we shall have to depend
in considerable measure upon demonstration as a means of bringing
about improvement in current educational practice. It is none the less
true, however, that scientific work in education will furnish the basis
for the more rapid elimination of the mistakes in current practice, as
well as point the way for improved organization of teaching. The
science of education will, in its development, occupy relatively the
same position with reference to the art of teaching that the science of
medicine occupies with respect to the art of healing. The progress
which has been made during the past twenty-five years in the art of
farming would never have been possible without the scientific work
that has been done in agriculture.
Aside from the fact that we are only beginning to have a
profession of education, many other factors have entered to delay
the progress in the direction of standardizing our work by means of
accurate measurement of the results achieved. One of the most
comforting of the fallacies which are at times urged against the
attempt to measure results is found in the popular statement that the
only criterion by which the success of school work can be measured
is found in the ultimate success of the individuals who are subjected
to the process. The most inefficient teacher in the most poorly
equipped school, if his period of service has been long enough, will
point to the success of a few of the boys who once attended that
particular school, as proof of the adequacy of the work which is now
being done. The failures are never brought to mind. The fallacious
reasoning found in such an appeal is all too common in our
educational discussion. To take a selected group of individuals, who
have, because of native ability, and possibly because of favorable
environment, achieved distinction; and to claim that this success is
due to our system of education, may be satisfying to our pride, but
cannot appeal to our good judgment. The only available measure of
the success of the work done in any particular school is to be found
in the changes which are brought about in boys and girls, young men
and young women, during the period of their school life.
It has been argued, too, that that which is most worth while in
education cannot be measured. Those who advance this argument
speak continually in terms of “atmosphere,” “spirit,” and the like.
There are two replies to be made to this contention. The one is that
any power which the teacher has, whether it is called influence, or
ability to teach arithmetic, must result in some change in the children
who are taught. Another equally valid answer is to be found in the
fact that the best teachers of arithmetic, of literature, of geography, of
history, and the other studies are, at the same time, the teachers
whose influence we value most in the school.
We have been hopeful that the sciences of biology, psychology,
sociology, and economics would, in their development, solve the
problems of education. No one would deny the significance of the
work done in these fields as fundamental to the development of
scientific work in education. No one is fully equipped to undertake
investigation in the field of education without preliminary training in
these fundamental sciences. Progress in the science of education
has come, however, through the efforts of those men of sound
fundamental training who have attacked the problems of education
as such, rather than through the work of the biologist, psychologist,
sociologist, or economist. If we should wait for the sciences
mentioned to solve our problems, progress would indeed be slow.
Those who are unacquainted with modern statistical methods as
applied in the social sciences have at times felt that it was
impossible to measure large groups of individuals who differ in
ability, in interest, and in environment. It is impossible within the
limits of a brief chapter to make clear the validity of such
measurement. It may be confidently asserted, however, that the
measurement of a large group of individuals is, on the whole, more
satisfactory than the attempt to measure a single individual. We can
be more sure of the accuracy of our results in comparing two groups
of children of a thousand each, than we could in the attempt to
measure accurately a single individual with regard to ability in school
subjects.
A most persistent objection to the measuring of results comes
from those who feel that it is not fair to compare individuals or groups
who are not alike in all particulars. They would claim, for example,
that we cannot compare children in spelling ability when one group
comes from homes in which the English language is spoken, while
the other comes from the homes of those who speak a foreign
language. It is probable that this objection is due to a belief that
measurement will result in a comparison of the present situation
without any regard to the growth or development which has
characterized the group. If we derive units of measurement in